SecondVersion

I, as well as many open source developers, have joined the Go PHP 5 initiative. Starting February 5th, 2008 - we will be dropping support for PHP version 4, and will be using PHP 5 instead. My Domain Name Portfolio project is one of many going in this direction.

GoPHP5’s official Press Release:

PHP projects join forces to Go PHP 5

5 July 2007 — A consortium of PHP developers has announced today that several leading Open Source PHP projects will be dropping support for older versions of PHP in upcoming releases of their software as of February 5, 2008 as part of a joint effort to move the PHP developer community fully onto PHP version 5.

The Symfony, Typo3, phpMyAdmin, Drupal, Propel, and Doctrine projects have all announced that their next release after February 5, 2008 will require PHP version 5.2 as part of a coordinated effort at GoPHP5.org, and have issued an open invitation to any other PHP projects and applications, both open source and proprietary, that want to participate in the effort.

Most PHP-based web applications today run in both PHP version 4 and PHP version 5. PHP 4 was released in 2000, and quickly cemented itself as one of the dominant web development languages. Version 5 was released in 2004 with dramatic improvements in functionality, but adoption has been slow due mostly to the “chicken and egg” problem that accompanies many new platform releases.

“Most of the PHP developers I talk to want to use PHP 5 but can’t because so many web hosts offer PHP 4 by default,” said Larry Garfield, a Drupal developer and one of GoPHP5.org’s founders. “The hosts won’t upgrade until projects do, but projects won’t upgrade until the hosts do. That has made a lot of projects reluctant to be the first to drop support for PHP 4, so we’ve decided that we will all be first.”

By pre-announcing plans to require PHP 5.2 in upcoming software versions in 2008, GoPHP5 hopes to provide web hosts with the incentive to upgrade their servers to newer, more stable, more featurerich versions of PHP as well as sufficient time to do so. Users that are already using current versions of participating projects won’t be left out in the cold, either. All involved projects will continue to support current releases on PHP 4 for their normal life cycle, giving both users and hosts time to plan and implement an upgrade.

“The phpMyAdmin project is very enthusiastic to join the GoPHP5 initiative,” added phpMyAdmin’s project lead, Marc Delisle. “We see GoPHP5 as a way both to improve our product’s new versions — not always having to add workarounds to remain PHP4compatible — and improve the experience of our users — by projecting the correct message about the PHP system itself and its evolution.”

PHP 5 offers developers a wide array of features designed to make developing fast, modern web applications faster and easier. That includes vastly improved XML handling for Web services, an integrated SQL database called SQLite, better handling of time zones, dramatically improved security tools, stronger objectoriented functionality, and more.

Many PHP projects already require PHP 5. Encouraging a larger installedbase of PHP 5 will broaden the market for those projects as well.

PHP is a widely-used general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for Web development. PHP is one of the leading web development languages in the world, running on a third of the world’s web servers. It is the platform of choice for companies from Yahoo to Facebook as well as the most widely-available development platform on shared hosting, which powers millions of web sites world wide.

For more information:

http://gophp5.org/
http://www.phpmyadmin.net/home_page/gophp5.php
http://drupal.org/gophp5

Press Contact: larry.garfield@gophp5.org

Ahhhhhhhhh

After all the years and troubles with shared hosting, I’ve finally upgraded to a VPS. Which this site is now (of course) running on. Sooo much better.

I am using JaguarPC, they’ve been in the business forever, and I’ve heard many great things about them. I highly recommend you give them a try, not only do they know what they’re doing, offer great support, etc - they provide unbeatable prices.

You can take a look at their plans here.

Oh happy day!

WordPress 2.2.1 is now available. I’ll be upgrading soon, and I suggest others to do the same. Aside from the usual bug fixes, some rather important security fixes were made in this release.

WordPress 2.2.1 is now available. 2.2.1 is a bug fix release for the 2.2 series. Since 2.2 was released a month ago, the WordPress community has been improving fit-and-finish by identifying and fixing those little bugs that can be so annoying and by fine-tuning some small details. The result is a nicely polished 2.2.1 release. The full list of bugs fixed in 2.2.1 is available here. Here are some highlights.

• Atom feed validation fixes (#4274, #4307, #4381, #4382)
• XML-RPC fixes (#4314, #4329, #4315, #4469)
• Widget backward compatibility fixes (#4275)
• Widget layout fixes for IE7 (#4264, #4268)
• Page and Text Widget improvements (#4302, #4259)

Unfortunately, 2.2.1 is not just a bug fix release. Some security issues came to light during 2.2.1 development, making 2.2.1 a required upgrade. 2.2.1 addresses the following vulnerabilities:

• Remote shell injection in PHPMailer
• Remote SQL injection in XML-RPC Discovered by Alexander Concha.
• Unescaped attribute in default theme

Special thanks to Alexander Concha for his continued assistance in making WordPress more secure. Special thanks also to Daniel Jalkut of Red Sweater Software for his improvements to our XML-RPC implementation.

Wordpress.org has announced that there are now two wordpress contests running. Quoted from their blog post:

There are two contests going on in the WordPress community right now. If you’d like a chance to flex your WordPress skillz and perhaps win a prize and lifelong fame, you should consider dropping your code in the hat.

The first is the Sandbox Designs competition, which is like a theme competition, but working only with CSS and the highly semantic Sandbox theme. They already have a thousand dollars in prizes, so check it out.

Second our friends at Weblog Tools Collection are running a WordPress Plugin competition. They have a blog to track all the entries, but if you’re participating don’t forget to submit your code to the Plugin directory.

Both competitions require entries to be under the same GPL license that WordPress is, so regardless of who wins they’ll make the entire community much richer. (Remember, WordPress itself was written on the base of existing GPL code!)

Sounds cool, eh? I think I may enter into the plugin competition.

For more information:

Sandbox Designs competition

WordPress Plugin competition

I came across a neat podcast earlier today, regarding PHP and security. This podcast is by Eli White and Zend.com.

The tips & techniques mentioned in this podcast can be considered somewhat basic, and what most intermediate-advanced coders should know; but it’s still great to listen to.. especially for you beginners out there.

You can find the link below.

Description from Zend.com

HP Abstract, the new PHP centric podcast is here. Sit back, relax, and let the funky beat wash over you. While you are at it, grab a nugget of information.

Episode 1: PHP Security Tips

Special Guest: Eli White
Release Date: 06/05/2007
License: Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0

Eli talks to us about practical tips you can use to help make your application more secure.

Hello everyone.

The long and eagerly awaited release of Domain Name Portfolio 0.5.0 is now here; bringing many many new changes.

You can view most of the changes here; and download here.
Have fun!!

www.domainportfolio.us

Wordpress recently updated (and I will be updating soon…) to 2.2, I strongly encourage you to download the new version.

On behalf of the entire WordPress team, I’m proud and excited to announce the immediate availability of version 2.2 ‘Getz’ for download. This version includes a number of new features, most notably Widgets integration, and over two hundred bug fixes. It’s named in honor of tenor saxophonist Stan Getz.

Goodies:

• WordPress Widgets allow you to easily rearrange and customize areas of your weblog (usually sidebars) with drag-and-drop simplicity. This functionality was originally available as a plugin Widgets are now included by default in the core code, significantly cleaned up, and enabled for the default themes.
• Full Atom support, including updating our Atom feeds to use the 1.0 standard spec and including an implementation of the Atom Publishing API to complement our XML-RPC interface.
• A new Blogger importer that is able to handle the latest version of Google’s Blogger product and seamlessly import posts and comments without any user interaction beyond entering your login.
• Infinite comment stream, meaning that on your Edit Comments page when you delete or spam a comment using the AJAX links under each comment it will bring in another comment in the background so you always have 20 items on the page. (I know it sounds geeky, but try it!)
• We now protect you from activating a plugin or editing a file that will break your blog.
• Core plugin and filter speed optimizations should make everything feel a bit more snappy and lighter on your server.
• We’ve added a hook for WYSIWYG support in a future version of Safari.

In addition there were also dozens of UI and accessibility improvements, ranging from more concise wording around options and links to things like a view and preview link above the content box when you’re editing a post or page.

Developer Features:

We also improved a great deal under the hood that hopefully you’ll never notice, but if you’re a developer for the WP platform it provides a lot to sink your teeth into. Here is a sampling:

• A new set of WordPress-specific XML-RPC APIs that allow for editing pages, setting categories, and much more.
• We now use jQuery for a number of internal functions, and hope to transition all of our JS to use it. (We still need volunteers for this.)
• Comment feeds now support multiple formats, including Atom.
• Our internal mail functions now use phpMailer, which allows for things like SMTP support.
• You can now set database collation and character set in your config file.
• You can also hardcode your site and WP URL in the config file, overriding the values in the DB.
• Finally we’ve increased the inline documentation of a number of functions inside of WP, which should help you navigate those parts of the code.

If you’d like an in-depth look at everything that changed, here is a list of all 244 closed tickets in our bug tracker and you can use this link to see what files and lines of code changed. (It was a lot!)

Upgrade NOW!

40 million Americans have a sleep disorder, and 95% of those are undiagnosed and untreated.

The most common types of sleep disorders

There are over 100 types of sleep disorders that exist, the following are the most common:

• Insomnia
• Sleep apnea sleep disorder
• Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) and Periodic Limb Movement Disorder (PLMD)
• Narcolepsy

The symptoms of sleep disorder

Do you…

• feel irritable or sleepy during the day?
• have difficulty staying awake when sitting still, such as when watching television or reading?
• fall asleep sometimes while driving?
• have difficulty paying attention or concentrating at work, school, or home?
• perform below your potential in work, school, or sports?
• often get told by others that you look tired?
• have difficulty with your memory?
• react slowly?
• have emotional outbursts?
• feel like taking a nap almost every day?
• require caffeinated beverages to keep yourself going?

If you suspect that you are not getting enough sleep or that you might have a sleep disorder, consult a physician, sleep specialist, or a sleep disorder center for a diagnosis.

It is important that you get diagnosed asap, you need your sleep; don’t be deprived of it. Visit www.floridasleepdiagnostics.com today to learn more about sleep disorders, and what can be done to help you.

Do you own a site or blog? (perhaps several?) If so, do you currently employ a means of earning money with your site or blog? If not, sorry, but you’re crazy!

Make money online with your site or blog, with LinkWorth.com

What is LinkWorth.com, you ask?

LinkWorth.com provides search engine marketing, text link advertising, and more. LinkWorth will enable you to earn money online with your site, by providing a ‘meeting ground’; so to speak, for website owners and advertisers.

They have several very creative and innovative ways to get your site out there, for you advertisers. As for website owners, and trust me on this, advertisers just eat these up. I’ve been a member of LinkWorth for a while now, and I must say I am very pleased.

As quoted from their website, they offer the following products:

The ability to offer different product options is something very important to us. With LinkWorth being the original text link advertising portal of it’s kind, we have realized that only those who continue to keep up with technology will be able to provide the perfect solutions advertisers need. During our short but very successful year of business, we have been able to add two new products to our system giving advertisers three (3) products to choose from. All of our products revolve around contextual link advertising but each use a different technology. Our three (3) products are traditional text link ads, billboard link ads and rotating text link ads.

Traditional Text Link Ads

The most common product, along with our flagship product, is the traditional text link ad. This is a simple keyword used as the anchor text (text actually linked), the hyperlink which directs the user to your website and a description explaining what the ad is referring to. These text ads are placed on as many partner websites as possible in the home page, an internal page or even on every page of the partner website. These links will draw traffic from this partner website along with building link popularity. Read more on text link ads…

Billboard Link Ads

Our new popular product is the billboard ads. Think of it much like a billboard on the side of a road. It is a complete page of content written by the advertiser and hosted on a partner website. A link is placed on the partner website which points to the billboard page uploaded to the partner website. Then the billboard containing all of the content will direct the user to advertiser websites. Billboard ads create relevancy when relevance does not exist, along with increasing relevant content on a site that has relevancy. It’s a win/win solution. Read more on billboard link ads …

Rotating Text Link Ads

Rather than placing one text ad with one keyword on a partner site, we now have the solution to provide a list of your top keywords on one single text link ad. The partner places the code on their website in the desired location and every time the page is viewed, the anchor text / keyword will rotate to the next keyword in the list. This gives advertisers the ability to launch an arsenal of keywords on one given website. Read more on rotating text ads …

LinkWords - In-Text Ads

Welcome LinkWorth’s newest product to our family; LinkWords! LinkWords is sort of a mixture of our bread and butter LinkAds, but with a twist. This type of ad is strictly directed at bringing targeted traffic to the advertiser. This dynamic ad software will read a pre-determined block of text, decided by the partner, and decipher targeted keywords for the theme of the given website. LinkWords will then query our database of advertisers and match these keywords with advertisements setup in our system. The matched keywords will then be double underlined and with a simple mouseover, a tooltip window will appear showing the advertisers ad. If clicked, it will direct the user to the advertisers website and a moving the mouse off of the tooltip will cause it to disappear. Read more on LinkWords …

What are YOU waiting for??

Head on over to LinkWorth, and start making money with your site or blog NOW! You will NOT regret it. You will LOVE LinkWorth!

Just terrible. My prayers out to the victims, their friends, and their family.

BLACKSBURG, Va. - A gunman opened fire in a Virginia Tech dorm and then, two hours later, in a classroom across campus Monday, killing at least 30 people in the deadliest shooting rampage in U.S. history, government officials told The Associated Press. The gunman was killed, bringing the death toll to 31.

“Today the university was struck with a tragedy that we consider of monumental proportions,” said Virginia Tech president Charles Steger. “The university is shocked and indeed horrified.”

It was not immediately clear whether the gunman was shot by police or took his own life. His name was not released, and investigators offered no motive for the attack. It was not known if the gunman was a student.

The shootings spread panic and confusion on campus, with students complaining that the university did not warn them about the first burst of gunfire until more than two hours later.

Witnesses reporting students jumping out the windows of a classroom building to escape the gunfire. SWAT team members with helmets, flak jackets and assault rifles swarmed over the campus. Students and faculty members carried out some of the wounded themselves, without waiting for ambulances to arrive.

The massacre took place at opposite sides of the 2,600-acre campus, beginning at about 7:15 a.m. at West Ambler Johnston, a coed dormitory that houses 895 people, and continuing at least two hours later at Norris Hall, an engineering building about a half-mile away, authorities said.

Police said they were still investigating the shooting at the dorm when they got word of gunfire at the classroom building.

Some students bitterly questioned why the gunman was able to strike a second time, two hours after the bloodshed began.

“What happened today this was ridiculous. And I don’t know what happened or what was going through this guy’s mind,” student Jason Piatt told CNN. “But I’m pretty outraged and I’ll say on the record I’m pretty outraged that someone died in a shooting in a dorm at 7 o’clock in the morning and the first e-mail about it - no mention of locking down campus, no mention of canceling classes - they just mention that they’re investigating a shooting two hours later at 9:22.”

He added: “That’s pretty ridiculous and meanwhile, while they’re sending out that e-mail, 22 more people got killed.”

FBI spokesman Richard Kolko in Washington said there was no evidence to suggest it was a terrorist attack, “but all avenues will be explored.”

Up until Monday, the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history was in Killeen, Texas, in 1991, when George Hennard drove his pickup into a Luby’s Cafeteria and shot 23 people to death, then himself.

The massacre Monday took place almost eight years to the day after the Columbine High bloodbath near Littleton, Colo. On April 20, 1999, two teenagers killed 12 fellow students and a teacher before taking their own lives.

Previously, the deadliest campus shooting in U.S. history was a rampage that took place in 1966 at the University of Texas at Austin, where Charles Whitman climbed the clock tower and opened fire with a rifle from the 28th-floor observation deck. He killed 16 people before he was shot to death by police.

Founded in 1872, Virginia Tech is nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of southwestern Virginia, about 160 miles west of Richmond. With more than 25,000 full-time students, it has the state’s largest full-time student population. The school is best known for its engineering school and its powerhouse Hokies football team.

The rampage took place on a brisk spring day, with snow flurries swirling around the campus. The campus is centered around the Drill Field, a grassy field where military cadets - who now represent a fraction of the student body - once practiced. The dorm and the classroom building are on opposites sides of the Drill Field.

A gasp could be heard at a campus news conference when Virginia Tech Police Chief W.R. Flinchum said at least 20 people had been killed. Previously, only one person was thought to have been killed.

Investigators from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives began marking and recovering the large number of shell casings and will trace the weapon used, authorities said.

A White House spokesman said
President Bush was horrified by the rampage and offered his prayers to the victims and the people of Virginia.

“The president believes that there is a right for people to bear arms, but that all laws must be followed,” spokeswoman Dana Perino said

After the shootings, all entrances to the campus were closed, and classes were canceled through Tuesday. The university set up a meeting place for families to reunite with their children. It also made counselors available and planned an assembly for Tuesday at the basketball arena.

After the shooting began, students were told to stay inside away from the windows.

Aimee Kanode, a freshman from Martinsville, said the shooting happened on the fourth floor of West Ambler Johnston dormitory, one floor above her room. Kanode’s resident assistant knocked on her door about 8 a.m. to notify students to stay put.

“They had us under lockdown,” Kanode said. “They temporarily lifted the lockdown, the gunman shot again.”

“We’re all locked in our dorms surfing the Internet trying to figure out what’s going on,” Kanode said.

Maurice Hiller, 21, a mechanical engineering student from Richmond, saw police and SWAT team members with guns drawn going toward Norris Hall. “This is something just totally beyond anybody’s expectations,” he said.

Police said there had been bomb threats on campus over the past two weeks by authorities but said they have not determined a link to the shootings.

It was second time in less than a year that the campus was closed because of a shooting.

Last August, the opening day of classes was canceled and the campus closed when an escaped jail inmate allegedly killed a hospital guard off campus and fled to the Tech area. A sheriff’s deputy involved in the manhunt was killed on a trail just off campus. The accused gunman, William Morva, faces capital murder charges.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/virginia_tech_shooting;_ylt=AulCBHGZMPBXDoN6q2DjjJWm1OFF