June 08, 2008
category:Web

Live Search

Here is a search engine using Live Search for everything Ubuntu.

Check it out.

Posted at 04:25 PM | Comments (0)

June 07, 2008
category:Web

Live Writer

My first test with Windows Live Writer. First impression - Smart!

I have never been a fan of Microsoft because most of the things they did were Windows related and typically could not or did not interact very well with the outside world. Live Writer, at least, seems to be working seamlessly with my MT blog. It has taken Microsoft awhile to recognize that we, as customers of a machine bundled with XP or Vista, do have a choice to use non-Windows stuff.

Will do a test on my Wordpress blog and a diary in my localhost after this.

Cheers!

Posted at 12:59 PM | Comments (0)

April 08, 2008
category:Web

Streaming Music (PC to Hi-fi)

I have always wanted to own a Squeezbox so that I can stream my iTune collection to my Conrad Johnson tube amp for some quality playback while working/playing in front of my computer. As I have got used to using iTune, there is less and less incentive to switch on my hi-fi because I hate the idea to get up every so often to switch CDs. And of course, my Conrad Johnson cannot play or scrobble to last.fm – an excellent community for music fans and a top class personalized radio station.

You may call the setup laid out below as ‘The Poor Man’s Squeezbox’ as it would be ideal for people who cannot afford a Squeezebox but still want to stream their music from a computer to their hi-fi or home-theatre sound system and to control the stream from any computers that have been hooked up to the home network (or internet if you want to make it accessible to the public at large).

First, my existing setup:

I have one desktop PC (let’s call it Bobby) and 3 laptops (let’s call them J, K & E) for my 3 girls. They are all connected to a wireless home network thro’ a Philips wireless router. We can play each other’s music collection simply by sharing the iTune library but control of song selections and playback remain with iTune itself, ie, if I hook up J to my hi-fi, I still have to get up and use the iTune (or whatever media player fancied) in J to select my song list, stop, pause or change its volume. It takes care of sharing but doesn’t get me any further in gaining control over what and how I would play my music. (just a side note here, Remote Desktop is possibly the simplest option but it tends to be an overkill because it takes over J completely and no one can use J once Remote Desktop takes over.)

Now, the ‘almost perfect’ setup using SqueezeCenter:

Requirements:

1. a server (I use Apache which imho is far superior and easier to configure than IIS that comes with my XP Pro)
2. perl
3. MySQL
4. SqueezeCenter
5. A media player (I use iTune. Winamp, Windows Media or the default player incorporated in SqueezeCenter will all work equally well.)

The main task is to get a server, perl and MySQL installed. If you are using Linux or like me who already have Apache, Perl and MySQL setup, you are nearly 80% done. The setup of Apache, Perl and MySQL are very well documented elsewhere and there are many excellent tutorials to help you get them up and running in a Windows box with minimum fuss.

(SqueezeCenter will have its own instance of MySQL installed. This is one big improvement as SQLite or any file base database will have a hard time storing a large music collection. For example, I have about 40,000+ songs and if I run amarok (the top favourite player in Linux) with SQLite, it will crash when importing my music library. It, however, works perfectly smooth when I use it with MySQL.)

Test to make sure that you can connect to localhost and run some perl scripts before installing SqueezeCenter.

SqueezeCenter is a daemon (or a media server if you like). It allows other computer to connect to it thro’ a web interface. I install it in my desktop, Bobby for the reason that my main music collection is stored in several local harddisks there and it will make importing my iTune library a little faster. In practice, it does not really matter whether I install SqueezeCenter in Bobby, J, K or E. All I need is one SqueezeCenter installed in any one of the computers in the network.

My local LAN address of Bobby is 192.168.1.88, J is 192.168.1.89, K is 192.168.1.90 and E is 192.168.1.99. After SqueezeCenter is installed, open up your favourite browser and enter the address http://192.168.1.88:9000 if I am at Bobby or enter http://192.168.1.99:9000 if I am at E (you get the idea).

SqueezeCenter web interface will warn you that it cannot detect any player, you have 3 options (to be exact):

1. Buy a Squeezebox
2. Use the default player (Read the entire warning message on the right pane if you are using the latest version of SqueezeCenter ver 7) and click on ‘SoftSqueeze’ – it will automatically install itself for you and is actually quite fun to play with as it emulates the actual Squeezebox using java. (Try this first as it saves you the trouble to open up a stream using your favourite media player. Once this is working, you can always switch to iTune or whatever.)
3. Use iTune (or any other media players) to open up a stream http://192.168.1.88:9000/stream.mp3 at Bobby or similarly http://192.168.1.90:9000/stream.mp3 at K.

After Squeezebox is installed and the music library imported under ‘Settings’ -> ‘itune’ in SqueezeCenter (bottom right corner), use the ‘select’ button at the top right hand corner of SqueezeCenter to select a player. Assuming I have launched a player in Bobby, J, K and E, I should see 4 players appearing in the dropdown menu. I will have to select the one I will be using (This can be done in any one of the computers.)

Say, if I hook up K to my hi-fi, I’d select ‘itune at 192.168.1.90’ from the dropdown menu, create a playlist or simply play any songs shown on the left pane. If one of my daughters wants to play some music thro’ her laptop speaker using J in another room, she would select ‘itune at 192.168.1.89’ from the dropdown menu.
You can expand what SqueezeCenter can do using plugins. Ver 7 is already budded with last.fm scrobbler and will scrobble to last.fm with minimum effort. Go to ‘Settings’ -> ‘Plugins’ and enter your last.fm details there. It also allows using multiple identities. I installed only one plugin - Lyrics is a handy tool to grab and display the lyrics of the current playing song in the left pane.

Finally, always take a look at ‘Settings’ -> ‘Players’. Here you will choose which last.fm identity you will use for a particular player and more importantly, the quality of audio stream. I use ‘highest’ in my wireless LAN environment and have found no skipping. If connection is made over the Internet, this may have to be lowered or maintained at the default level (which is at 9, lowest).

There is a lot more you can play with Squeezebox. If I want to play my home music collection while I am at work (assuming no one is at home to launch my SqueezeCenter for me), I will need SSH server and client. But if I just want to share my collection to the world while I’m playing at home, I can do so by simply replacing my LAN address with my WAN address (or using dynamic dns) and opening up the relevant port in my router.

Try this http://lastfm.mamafanfan.com:9000. If I’m online, you should be able to see and play my music collection. First, remember not to mess with other players in the drop down menu. Choose your own player to configure (your player will assoicate with an IP address of yours) . Secondly, as I have limited bandwidth, if it gets too busy or I suspect abuses of the system, I will have to close down the server. Good luck and enjoy!

Posted at 06:04 PM | Comments (0)

April 03, 2008
category:Web

Moving a Web Host to New Location

I have just completed relocating my web host account. It involved a number of blogs using Movabletype (ver 3.2)., a photo gallery (Gallery 1.5), and a personal diary (Wordpress 2.0) residing on my home server but making use of the MySQL server in my former web host.

The entire process was made easier as both my new and former hosts allowed shell access which enabled direct transfer of files from host to host. If I did not have shell access, it would have taken me at least 3 times longer to complete the transfer involving an extra step in downloading/uploading to and from my computer.

This is to document the steps I took for the relocation. It is not only for my own reference but may also help those who are contemplating a similar move.

1. First, make a note of the following:

Existing Web Server (this can usually be found in the web host control panel and is required because after the domain transfer becomes effective, it will no longer be possible to ftp using the domain name): web.old.com

Existing Web server: web.old.com

Existing MySQL server: mysql.old.com

Existing MySQL databases: db_1, db_2 … etc

Existing MySQL users: user1, user2 …. etc

New Web Server: web1.new.com

New MySQL server: mysql.new.com

2. Create domains in your new host. Note down the new DNS server.

These new domains will not become effective until changes are made in the Register. For example, hollymolly.com is registered in www.register365.ie. I will go to the register and update the DNS (typically in the form of ns1.xxxx.com, ns2.xxx.com).

It makes no difference whether to effect the change in DNS now or later after the entire transfer process is complete. If yours a busy site, do it after so that your site will remain accessible during the entire transfer process. Mine is not and I prefer to doing it right away as the change will take a few hours to propagate and my site will be up and running by the time the transfer is complete.

Doing it now will also enable logging onto MT control panel (in the new host) to make a few necessary adjustments by the time the transfer is done.

3. Create databases in the new MySQL server using the same db names as per existing.

# mysql -u root -p
mysql> create database db_1;

4. Create the same set of MySQL users with corresponding privileges.

mysql> grant all previleges to db_1 to user@yourhost identified by ‘password’;
mysql> flush previleges;
mysql> quit;

(if using phpMyAdmin, it can be configured to handle both your new and old MySQL servers from the same interface saving the trouble using two instances of phpMyAdmin, one for mysql.old.com and the other for mysql.new.com. Just add $i++ with specific server configurations in config.inc.php.)

5. Backup the existing databases.

Logon to the existing shell web.old.com (PuTTy is an excellent SSH client to do this) .

mysqldump —all-databases -u root -p > ~/db_backup.sql

This will create a text file db_backup.sql in your home directory. Leave this where it is for the moment.

(it is possible to do the above thro’ phpMyAdmin but take note of the size limitation imposed by it. The shell command is a lot easier.)

6. Backup the existing domain

While still in the old shell account

tar -cvf domain1.tar ~/domain1.com

This will compressed the entire content in domain1.com into a tar file domain1.tar. This file will be in your home directory.

Repeat this with other domains as follow (replace domainXXX.com with the actual domain name):

tar -cvf domainXXX.tar ~/domainXXX.com

7. Transfer and Uncompress the files

Logon to the new host web1.new.com

At the shell:

ftp web.old.com
(use sftp user_name@web.old.com if possible. It is more secure. Many hosts are now phasing out ftp)

Enter user name and password as required.
Make sure you are at the $HOME directory:

ls -l

Then

get db_backup.sql
get domainXXX.tar

These will transfer all your backup files from the old host to the new host.

mysql -u root -p < ~/db_backup.sql

This will import all your existing databases to the new MySQL server.

tar -xvf domainXXX.tar ~/domainXXX.com

This will copy all the content in domainXXX.com to your new host (repeat for other existing domains as required).

Almost there.

There is no need to delete the backup files. Move them to a backup directory as they provide a valuable snapshot of your web sites at the time of the transfer.

At shell,

cd ~/
mkdir backup
mv db_backup.sql ./backup
mv domainXXX.tar ./backup

8. The following adjustments are Software Specific.

a. Wordpress

Go to wordpress root directory (where you logon to wordpress) and edit wp-config.php using your favourite editor,

The only line that need change is

define(‘DB_HOST’, ‘mysql.old.com’);

Change this to

define(‘DB_HOST’, ‘mysql.new.com’);

Databases name and user name remain the same as we have made them to be previously in step 3 & 4.

b. Movable Type

Edit mt-config.cgi

Change

DBHost mysql.old.com

To

DBHost mysql.new.com

Change

TemplatePath /home/old path to your mt tmpl/mt/tmpl

To

TemplatePath /new path to your mt tmpl/mt/tmpl

** If using StaticWebPath for images, it needs attention as well to reflect the new filesystem path.

Logon to MT control panel (after DNS change became effective) and adjust the new site path under “Settings”.

c. Gallery

I took the opportunity to upgrade from Gallery 1.5 to the latest version 2.2.4.

Note down the albums directory. Install Gallery 2.2.4 in a new directory.

Towards the end of the Gallery 2.2.4 installation, there is an option to import existing albums. Importing existing albums by pointing to the albums directory.

Remap the old gallery url http://domainXXXX.com/gallery to point to the path of the new gallery 2.2.4 installation so that users accessing my old gallery 1.5 will automatically see the new gallery 2.2.4

d. Others

Some software may require a different version of php to run (for example, php4.4 instead of php5.0) or its own php.ini. Using a different version of php than the one provided by your web host or using a specific php.ini can be done:

Make a cgi-bin directory in the web-root directory if it does not already exist.

Copy php5.cgi or php4.cgi to cgi-bin
Copy php.ini to cgi-bin

Add .htaccess to root:

Options ExecCGI
AddHandler php-cgi .php
Action php-cgi /cgi-bin/php.cgi

Change permission:

chmod 644 $HOME/domainXXX.com/.htaccess
chmod 755 $HOME/domainXXX.com/cgi-bin
chmod 750 $HOME/domainXXX.com/cgi-bin/php.cgi
chmod 644 $HOME/domainXXX.com/cgi-bin/php.ini

Posted at 05:11 PM | Comments (0)

March 14, 2007
category:Web

Still Here

Posted at 10:10 PM | Comments (1)

January 08, 2007
category:Web

Completely Blown Away

I was never a fan of Johnny Cash but thanks to Dangerous Orange who introduced me to a Johnny Cash I didn’t know before. I have been kept playing “Hurt” last week - unstoppable, completely blown away. And the sad fact is that it very much sums up my feeling this new year.

Posted at 11:19 AM | Comments (1)

December 30, 2006
category:Web

Sound Bytes on the Web

There is a number of quality web sites for audio streaming. They provide an attractive alternative to the radio channels found in iTune, Windows Media Player, LAUNCHcast, AOL XM as a source for free music. With the help of some gadgets, such as Squeezebox or a RockFM or a simple wired or wireless transmitter to link up your computer with your hi-fi, you can enjoy your favourite music in CD-quality non-stop 24/7 without paying a single cent.

One of the drawbacks (it may be considered as an advantage if you want to discover something new), if it may be called so, is that these providers are licensed as Internet Radio and the relevant regulations do not permit them to provide on-demand services (ie, play any of your requested songs instantaneously). You can only seed the playlist with your favourite songs or artists and, hopefully, your requested songs will pop-up in your radio station sooner or later.

Here is a list of providers (in order of my personal preferences) whom you may wish to tune into:

1. finetune

I use this most often because it allows me to play specific songs (they by-pass the licenced requirements by limiting 3 songs from a single artist per each playlist). It has a decent search interface and is an excellent source for oldies.

What finetune lacks is some plugins to integrate it with your preferred music player. It doesn’t provide any stand-alone player and is 100% web-based. Keep an eye on FineTune’s development as it looks quite promising.

Here you will find several playlists I have created or simply try out the flash player below.

2. Last.fm

Definitely a must to visit. It is so good that I am considering to pay them for a subscription service. Even as a free account user, I am sure it won’t disappoint you.

It plays random music based on the user’s profile and his/her listening habits – every song the user plays in his/her computer will get scrobbled to the user’s profile using a plugin.

It is perhaps the best supported radio site. It can be accessed through a web-based flash player or its stand-alone Last.fm player. The stand-alone player will display some informative details about the current track you are playing in addition to a myriad of functions to communicate with Last.fm about the music you like. It is far more superior than, say, the “Now Playing” in Windows Media Player.

There is also a number of add-on to integrate Last.fm with your blog/web site. Here is a list of my recent tracks scrobbled to Last.fm from my computer.

3. Pandora

This is the engine behind MSN Radio. It works similar to Last.fm but perhaps lacks the “attractiveness” of a community spirit. It’s free account is ad supported but the ad is not intrusive. There is a web-interface to let Pandora know of your taste.

4. Mp3Tune (Sideload)

A promising alternative for playing and sharing your music on the web. It uses a ajax-based player to play songs stored in the user’s “Locker”. It can only plays existing mp3 files – either mp3 you already own or mp3 you manage to find (“steal”) on the web. Read some suggestions by my_haz or GoogleTutor to find out how to search for some unprotected music directories.

mp3Tune use a plugin, Oboe, to make it very easy to upload mp3 files into your “Locker”. Once installed, it will automatically detect any mp3 found on a webpage and gives the user the option to upload (sideload) them to his/her locker.

It is actually easier than one may have thought to find mp3 on the web. An advance Google search will typically give a few dozen of sites where the users either have not properly protected their music uploads or they intentionally want to share their mp3 collection with the rest of the world. Obviously, if they have a popular mp3 collection, they will soon find out that they cannot access their own web site when the traffic limit set by their hosting provider is exceeded.

Try this:

-inurl:(htm|html|php) intitle:”index of” +”last modified” +”parent directory” +description +size +(wma|mp3) “Bob Dylan”

5. The Hype Machine

6. Radio.blog.club

7. MusicDiscovery

8. AccuRock

9. SHOUTcast

10. Odeo

Posted at 10:12 PM | Comments (1)

November 30, 2006
category:Web

A Firefox Plugin for Chinese Student

Dictcn is a very useful learning tool. Just mouse over a word in a web page and it automatically translates it from English to Chinese with pronunciation. The voice tool is great and responds very well with the mouse.

The Chinese translation is handy for Chinese students learning English and it seems just as useful for English speaking students learning Chinese.

However, there is one thing Chinese students should bear in mind: one of the most valuable things I learned from my English teacher was not to look up words in a English-Chinese dictionary. She insisted that every student of her to use only English dictionaries. It seemed hard at first but gradually it had proved to be an extremely effective way to speed along the learning curve.

There is a brief description of the Firefox plugin at Google Code and it can be found in the usual Firefox extension repository.

Posted at 10:02 PM | Comments (0)

November 25, 2006
category:Web

Web Player

Chinese songs, especially Cantonese songs, are typically aweful. It must be something to do with the dialect itself - it sounds so un-musical. Faye Wong is perhaps one of the very few exceptions who can “sing” in Cantonese.

I have decided to stream my favorite karaoke song 容易受傷的女人 for your enjoyment. ajaxTune and XSPF are both easy to use as a web player for audio streaming. And they are both free.

The problem is that neither of these players will display Chinese. I am not sure if there is any official translation for 容易受傷的女人. If there is, please let me know. I try - “A woman with fragile emotion”.

Using ajaxTune

And using XSPF Web Player (Flash)

Posted at 07:17 PM | Comments (0)

July 23, 2006
category:Web

Criss Angel And Half A Woman

Don’t know how he did this but you just gotta watch it. Stunning!

Criss Angel And Half A Woman - video powered by Metacafe

Posted at 10:30 AM | Comments (0)