pwrusr.com

This is about validation and clean coding techniques.

Recently, by browsing the web, I stuck at the w3c validator. Everybody knows it, everybody use it…or everybody ignores it?
Maybe latter is true!

Let’s start from the basics: after some modifications made to this current template (typography), thought about the (in)famous W3C Validator.
So, clicking at the link on the sidebar, near the end where it says “Valid XHTML”, was redirected there.
After the check, I found something like 12+ errors! Amazing! I just installed WordPress, added some plugins, added this nice theme and wrote some random articles. The bad results, were in some way related to dumb errors, made by me when I first inserted content (I wrote directly, in place of putting code, so I forgot hyphens, etc.).
Then I tried to figure my errors (and try to solve them). I solved the solvable, the others are in my “future tasks” list, maybe someday I’ll figure them out.
In conclusion, for W3C Validator my site is crap.

Once I was there, I decided to give it a try once more and test some of the “big guns”, to see if they were good enough to pass the Validation process… surprise, surprise!

• Microsoft.com is giving TONS of errors, but they may pass – MS generally tend to live inside it’s separate world.
• SUN.COM is, like MS, a site full of crap, coded by people that don’t care about Open Standards.
• DELL.COM results in 143 Errors, maybe the guys at Dell aren’t so synchronized about the creation of a standards conforming WebSite?
• Even GOOGLE.COM, an example of clean, compact, fast and efficient website, results on, uhm, let’s see…there are 30 Errors!!!
• Not talking of the mighty ADOBE.COM, THE contributors of a huge piece of the actual web – 7 errors.

And the list goes and goes and goes…For me this is simply incredible! Who’ll ever say that? The most expanded Operating System in the World, paired with the First Supporters of Open Source Software, followed by one the biggest HW Company in the WORLD, and neared by the BEST Search Engine of Earth, not to say about the BEST Web Editing & Graphics Software Company simply don’t care to have a “Standards Compliant Web Site”.

Now, if the “big guns” really don’t care about it, why should I?

My only consolation stands here: www.sitepoint.com results in only ONE error, and they don’t even sacrifice one bit of information, offering RICH content and 99.9% compliance.
Now that’s the way web sites get done, and sooner or later I will try and best their result on mine (even if this means a complete rewrite of the template). I can get no…

BTW, are we so sure W3C Validator is up to its task?

Update 25/dec/2007: My new search does give the INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ORGANIZATION (http://www.iso.org), as a “Non Valid” web site!
LOL! Even ISO don’t care about web standards.

Here’s my experience on actively contributing in the resolution of a problem related to Active FTP & gnu-linux/ip-tables based firewall solution.

First, make sure your firewall has loaded the following modules:

ip_conntrack_ftp

ip_nat_ftp

Then check that the right Forwarding rules apply:

iptables -I FORWARD -m state --state ESTABLISHED,RELATED -j ACCEPT

being “RELATED” the important part.

Hope it saves the day to someone…mines already got lost :(

My primary objective is to make a pc boot from usb flash drive and make him launch the standard debian installer.

Make sure BIOS is set to boot from USB (also called Removable Device).

Get boot.img.gz (here stable):

wget http://ftp.be.debian.org/debian/dists/etch/main/installer-i386/current/images/hd-media/boot.img.gz

unzip & put raw content inside the UNMOUNTED flash drive:

zcat boot.img.gz > /dev/sdc (assuming sdc is yours).

Get current netinst iso image (here etch-netinst):

wget http://cdimage.debian.org/debian-cd/4.0_r1/i386/iso-cd/debian-40r1-i386-netinst.iso

then copy image inside flash drive as is.

Now plug flash drive inside the pc to boot then start it up: if it works, it will boot a kernel and find the iso image for the install process.

Notes: if you see @ partitioning time your flash drive listed before your HDDs, then check BIOS option “Boot Removable Devices First” and put it to “disabled”.

Original Reference: http://www.debian.org/releases/sarge/i386/ch04s04.html.en

My first post is gonna talk about the nice integration often searched by people ’round the web…
Enter Joomla & Flash Integration:

Quickstart for the impatient
1) Create a Section/Category/Content of your choice (say “intro”).
2) Create a void Joomla theme (go to compassdesign, they have an already made one).
3) Customize the template to your needs (insert Flash intro in that case).
4) Upload the template to your Joomla install and associate it to the “intro” Section.
5) Set the intro section as your first mainmenu entry and give it “Special” permissions.

…done: your site now will have a nice Flash intro!

For the less impaired, here a more detailded descriptive explanation:

As in point 1), you were taught to create an ex-novo section, this way you have a brand new section whom to associate a custom template. So, as usual, “New” -> “Section” and name it (whatever you want); “New” -> “Category” and name it then “New” -> “Content” and save, then create a new menu entry called “intro” wich connects to this section.

Next we need a null basic template for joomla, go get yours at www.compassdesigns.net (note you have to register, so proceed and search for Blank site template).

When you have it, open it up with your fav text editor (mine is PSPad) and customize it with your code (find the body and insert your splash intro code there); [here I'm not gonna go with many details: you have to know some basic (X)HTML on you own before doing that].

Now upload your hand-modified template as usual from the Joomla backend (“Install” -> “Templates”)

Then go to “template chooser” and open your listed template; from there “associate” the template to your “Menu Voice” (via the “Associate” button up-right.