And for our next product, we’re bringing out a toy that makes pottery called “Harry The Potter”.
Harry Copter
Tag Archives: irishblogs
WP Super Cache 0.9.7
WP Super Cache version 0.9.7 is now available. WP Super Cache is a page caching plugin for WordPress that will significantly speed up your website.
Since the last release of the plugin a number of new features have been adding, bugs fixed, and documentation updated. For a taster, here are the changes from the readme.txt:
- Fixed problem with blogs in folders.
- Added cache file listing and delete links to admin page.
- Added “Newest Cached Pages” listing in sidebox.
- Made admin page translatable. (work in progress)
- Added “How do I make certain parts of the page stay dynamic?” to FAQ.
- Disable supercaching when GET parameters present instead of disabling all caching. Disable on POST (as normal) and preview.
- Fixed problem with cron job and mutex filename.
- Warn users they must enable mobile device support if rewrite rules detected. Better detection of when to warn that .htaccess rules must be updated (no need when rewrite rules not present)
- Use the wordpress_test_cookie in the cache key.
- Show correct number of cache files when compression off.
- Fixed problem with PHP safe_mode detection.
- Various bugfixes and documentation updates. See Changelog.txt
- Advanced: added “late init” feature so that plugin activates on “init”. Set $wp_super_cache_late_init to true in config file to use.
- Advanced: Added “wpsupercache_404” filter. Return true to cache 404 error pages.
If you’re upgrading and your blog is installed in a sub directory the mod_rewrite rules may not have been created correctly. You’ll know this because the timestamp on your cached pages will change on every load. If that happens, remove the Supercache rewrite rules and recreate them through the admin page.
You can list all the blog’s cache files now, ordered by generation time. From that listing you can delete individual files.
The debug function is very powerful. You can choose the level of logging. Level 1 logs errors and warnings of a serious nature. Level 5 logs them plus lots of normal functions. Here’s what level 5 logging looks like for one single request:
20:49:34 /was-the-janitor-really-in-the-fugitive/ No wp-cache file exists or user agent rejected.
20:49:35 /was-the-janitor-really-in-the-fugitive/ In WP Cache Phase 2
21:49:35 /was-the-janitor-really-in-the-fugitive/ Setting up WordPress actions
21:49:35 /was-the-janitor-really-in-the-fugitive/ Created output buffer
21:49:35 /was-the-janitor-really-in-the-fugitive/ supercache dir: /www/wp-content/cache/supercache/ocaoimh.ie/was-the-janitor-really-in-the-fugitive/
21:49:35 /was-the-janitor-really-in-the-fugitive/ Output buffer callback
21:49:35 /was-the-janitor-really-in-the-fugitive/ supercache dir: /www/wp-content/cache/supercache/ocaoimh.ie/was-the-janitor-really-in-the-fugitive/
21:49:35 /was-the-janitor-really-in-the-fugitive/ Anonymous user detected. Only creating Supercache file.
21:49:35 /was-the-janitor-really-in-the-fugitive/ Gzipping buffer.
21:49:35 /was-the-janitor-really-in-the-fugitive/ Writing non-gzipped buffer to supercache file.
21:49:35 /was-the-janitor-really-in-the-fugitive/ Writing gzipped buffer to supercache file.
21:49:35 /was-the-janitor-really-in-the-fugitive/ Renamed temp supercache file to /www/wp-content/cache/supercache/ocaoimh.ie/was-the-janitor-really-in-the-fugitive/index.html
21:49:35 /was-the-janitor-really-in-the-fugitive/ Renamed temp supercache gz file to /www/wp-content/cache/supercache/ocaoimh.ie/was-the-janitor-really-in-the-fugitive/index.html.gz
21:49:35 /was-the-janitor-really-in-the-fugitive/ Sending buffer to browser
That’s a lot of text. Keep an eye on the load on your server because logging that much data on a busy server will add extra load. Start by limiting the logging to your own IP and test with various browsers.
The error messages that are normally sent to the browser about “missing html tag”, “404 error” and “blank page” are now only shown if debugging is enabled. This will hopefully avoid problems with PHP scripts that generate Javascript.
This release adds a new “late init” feature. This is only useful in half-on mode however. This causes the plugin to create the “cache key” and display the cached page at the end of the “init” action, after all WordPress include files and plugins have been loaded. This is very useful if your application needs to interrogate the database to modify the cache key. Activate it by setting $wp_super_cache_late_init to true in the config file.
Lots to digest and new toys to try out. Hope you enjoy this new version of the plugin!
The Lisbon Treaty: reasons for voting yes
Last year I voted no to Lisbon and despite reading about the controlling superstate in “Vulcan’s Hammer”, as a consequence of the fictional Lisbon Laws I’ll be voting yes today.
More than anything else, the “No to Lisbon” campaign has convinced me to vote that way. Thanks.
I think "Halo 3: ODST" is a pile of pooh
I was looking forward to Halo ODST. I even pre-ordered it from Amazon. Now I’ve played it and I’m very disappointed.
It’s standard Halo 3 fare. Some graphics are slightly improved and there are minor changes, but, oh dear it is boring. I’ve played it for a few hours now and the monotonous streets of New Mombasa are so samey-samey that nowhere really stands out. Making my way through dark corridors with little to see and even less happening is even worse.
You stumble upon enemy groups on the streets and blast away at them from a distance until your weapon runs out of ammo. It’s always the same groups of the same characters too. Oh look! Them fellas with the shields, and the big guys, again! Didn’t I kill them back there a bit?
Or maybe it’s the weapons. The original Halo 3 was all bright and colourful and cartoony and I liked it. It had some great set pieces. The weapons suited it. The energy weapons you pick up from dead enemy corpses are much the same as in the previous game but here they look totally out of place, even childish or something. The pistol is great though. Zoom in, bang, headshot! Nice.
Maybe I’m expecting too much of of the venerable Halo 3 engine? I’m honestly not sure if I can bring myself to load the ODST disc to play the game again. By all means, rent it out and give it a go, or buy the original Halo 3. It’s going cheap now and it’s a great game!
Oh, in case you’re wondering, I only played the single player game. I don’t have any interest in multiplayer, although Firefight was a nice distraction for 5 minutes. (and now the fanboys will crucify me.)
Ubuntu? Laptop? Intel Graphics? Speed Boost!
If you’re using the latest version of Ubuntu, Jaunty Jackalope, or version 9.04 and you use a laptop with an Intel graphics chip like I do in my Dell D630 you may have gotten used to to the God awful video performance since you upgraded from the previous release.
I had. I had forgotten that windows aren’t supposed to tear when you drag them, and that yes, the underpowered chipset in my laptop can sort of handle the special effects in Compiz. What changed? The new drivers in 9.04 did. Intel are apparently reshaping how their drivers work but while they do it performance has taken a back seat and is cheerfully swilling on beer while the computer does the heavy lifting up front. (errr)
Anyway, simple way to fix it? Revert to the driver in the previous version of Ubuntu! It’s horribly easy to do. Just follow this guide, update your apt sources, install the old driver and restart X. I did and now I have fancy windows bouncing here, there and everywhere! In fact, my wife used her online O2 account to send a few texts and the confirmation popup window hopped around the screen all on it’s own! Oh how we laughed!
Oh, and for anyone who uses a browser, there’s a really simple way to get a CPU upgrade for free. Download Chrome or Chromium (or for Ubuntu .debs) and give it a whirl. After using Firefox for many years it’s like a breath of fresh air, fast moving air that is as it zips along! OK, it’s not completely bug free. The latest builds have a problem with the “default browser” setting (grab a build from around Sep 4 but the fix will be available soon) but it’s the main browser on my Linux desktop and I love the thing!
Missing months of expenses
So, here I am working on my end of year accounts with the help of my wife and I read Gavin’s unbelievable report that the Dail, our national parliament, has lost 29 months worth (over 7 years) of expenses data for Irish politicians! You’d think that after almost 100 years in existence they might have got something as simple as storing expense sheets down to a fine art?
Why is this not so bad? Well the news aspect firstly. The Houses of the Oireachtas have so far been unable to locate expenses data for a combined period of 29 months. Eh? Not alone that, they want to charge me to find this information. Information that really should be in the public domain anyway. But we have to deal with the system we have…
Still feel guilty about losing that petrol receipt now?
The kicker is, it’ll cost €2,440 to pay civil servants to search for this information that should already be in the public domain. Gavin is looking for donations to pay for the FOI request but I think a national paper or media organisation should stump up the cash and help bring politicians down a peg or two when the sh*t hits the fan.
WordPress Upgrade Notifications by Email
This weekend will go down in history. It’s the first time I’ve been seriously sick in well over 5 years. A bug infected my son on Wednesday, but he got over it quickly enough. Then the same bug hit my wife and I on Sunday morning and we’re just getting over it now.
Odd that a worm attacks software I work on and I get very sick at the same time. Unfortunately I couldn’t run an exploit scanner and remove the bug but my body’s defenses took care of the bugs eventually.
All this leads me to a handy little plugin called Upgrade Notification by Email written by Konrad Karpieszuk. Install it on your blogs and it will check once a day if a new version of WordPress is out. When that happens it will email the admin with a message saying the blog must be upgraded.
It’s odd that the plugin itself contacts WordPress.org instead of relying on the built-in version checker but it’s only one request a day.
What I’d like to see next is a direct link to the upgrade page on the blog.
Far more challenging would be a plugin to auto upgrade a blog. In case a theme or plugin breaks things the plugin should probably deactivate all plugins and change the theme back to the default theme. Once the upgrade is complete, all plugins should be reactivated and the theme too. The admin has to be emailed before and after the upgrade.
It’s easy to say what it should do, but doing it is another thing altogether. The reactivation process has to be sandboxed in case of failure so the plugin doesn’t die. The plugins page already does this so at least there’s example code to work from. Anyone up for coding it?
Huge Xbox 360 price hike on the way
Well, this is shocking. I’m glad I bought my Xbox 360 a while back before this price hike went into effect.
For those who don’t know, visit the Xbox 360 Elite page for Ireland. See that price? Looks like we get gouged yet again with sky high prices in rip off Ireland. *sigh*
I bet you thought the minor price hike in the UK was bad. At least Microsoft could blame a weak currency but we’re in the Eurozone for crying out loud!
(via)
PS. I can recommend without reservation the new Batman game. I’m a few hours into it now and it’s enthralling. It has to be the best superhero game ever. The scene in the morgue with the Scarecrow had me freaked out and just a little scared.
D’you remember the Batman stories where he fought Scarecrow? It’s one thing to read it and watch Batman’s reactions to the fears planted by the poisoned gases, but quite another to be right-in-there-feeling-the-fear. Can’t wait to play it again!
Jelly pirates walk the plank
I can’t remember how I found this twitter account but Jelly SMS runs a jellysmspirates account listing people who are using a hacked copy of their software.
A real time feed of people who are using a hacked copy of Jelly SMS for iPhone or iPod Touch
If you use a hacked copy of their software you better watch out. Your info might be listed on that Twitter account!
The important question for developers is, “Does it work?” Apparently it does. The developer has even seen increased sales and says, “For me, piracy seems to be a good thing!”
I wonder if any other online services do the same?
`
Upgraded my Dell D630 to 4GB RAM
That was quick:
- Order placed with Crucial yesterday afternoon around 1.30pm for 2 sticks of 2GB RAM.
- UPS guy called this morning at 11.30am with RAM.
- Dell D630 laptop upgraded to 4GB RAM with the help of this tutorial. Only took about 20 minutes, although unscrewing and removing the keyboard was a bit nerve wrecking.
- Rebooted and found that Linux only found 3.5GB of the RAM but fixing that is simple:
# apt-get install linux-headers-server linux-image-server linux-server
- Reboot and I see 4GB RAM. Should make running Firefox and Bibble Pro 5 a lot less painful. Both memory hogs.
4GB of DDR2 RAM only cost me about 50 Euro. I’m sure I have a receipt for 8MB of SDRAM I bought years ago. Cost me 100 quid then. So, 4GB of RAM back then would have cost a small fortune.
Edit: the server kernel has terrible video performance (unsurprisingly), I’ve gone back to the desktop kernel and will recompile it when that 500MB of RAM becomes a real necessity (or I move to a 64 bit version of Ubuntu).