Steven Rosson

I am finishing up with a migration from Blogger to Godaddy WordPress and found a few really frustrating issues. One in particular, the cannot login issue, was referenced on several forums but not addressed very thoroughly. What does it look like? You type in your username and password and are perpetually returned to the login screen without any error message.

In the end, the solution was quite simple and something that everyone should pay attention to when installing Blogger through GoDaddy Applications.

When putting in the install info, GoDaddy asks you to select the domain name for the WordPress install. Selecting the domain name (in my case “stevenrosson.com”) causes the config variable for my domain to be set exactly to “stevenrosson.com”.

The problem? I had .htaccess redirects set up for all my domains to automatically insert a “www.” before everything. This is great for search engine optimization, but not so hot if your WordPress login is looking to access files on “stevenrosson.com” and is instead hitting a 301 redirect to “www.stevenrosson.com”.

To fix this, temporarily disable whatever line in your .htaccess file is causing this particular redirect (you can comment it out with a # symbol) and then sign in to WordPress. You’ll then be able to visit your Settings page and change “WordPress address” and “Site address” to reflect the proper domain (i.e. the www.stevenrosson.com). Then stick your .htaccess rule back in place. If you have not edited .htaccess manually and simply used GoDaddy site redirects, simply delete whatever redirect is prepending the “www.” and put it back in once finished.

The overall blogger migration was not as smooth as I’d hoped: I’m still working out some glitches with categories and pages displaying 404 errors. UPDATE: The solution to this ended up being a trip back to my Settings > Permalinks page and reapplying what I’d done. The .htaccess file in the blog directory had not been updating properly. So, problem solved, things seem to be working fine, and it’s good to be back.

Since the main undoing of my laptop was its weight (and the fact that I manhandled it) I figured the most important factor for me would be size. I naturally gravitated toward netbooks and spent a few weeks reading Consumer Reports and combing through reviews on CNET.

I finally settled on the Samsung N120 primarily due to its keyboard size, which is (to my knowledge) the biggest available for a netbook. It also packs a gigabyte of DDR2 RAM and a 160 GB hard drive, which is more than my two-year old HP Pavillion that cost twice as much. Its battery can last up to 8 hours during modest use or, according to the editors at CNET, 5 hours and 14 minutes during video playback. Oh, and it weighs in at just under three pounds.

For the past year or so I’ve been using Fedora Linux on my HP laptop. It’s a great distribution but I often found myself envious of the Ubuntu community for the amount of support available. When I bought the Samsung N120 and the time came to fix it (i.e., install Linux) I found the Fedora+N120 reviews to be less than stellar.

I instead opted for the Ubuntu Netbook Remix which, according to the Ubuntu Wiki, was pretty compatible. The only issue it mentioned was Wireless LAN: apparently it has problems detecting the N120′s Atheros card.

I can’t speak for anyone else’s experiences, but for me it installed like a dream. I imaged it onto a flash drive, booted into the Ubuntu installer (which did require switching the boot order in the BIOS), and partitioned it alongside Windows XP. It took about 40 minutes total and has no bugs that I’ve found. Ubuntu Netbook Remix detected my wireless LAN (a WPA network) within seconds and has had no connectivity issues. Sound works, function keys work, hibernate works, and internet works: what else do you need? I haven’t had any luck with my cube yet, but all in good time.

Now for anyone considering Linux for the first time, let me tell you that you really just can’t go wrong with this combination. Ubuntu is very user friendly and comes preinstalled with Firefox, Pidgin (for instant messaging), Evolution (for email) and OpenOffice (for documents, spreadsheets, and presentations). Your Windows files wil port right in, and you can even remap your Ubuntu bookmarks to point to your Windows documents/pictures/music if you want to work with the same files from either operating system.

I used Xmarks (formerly Foxmarks) o port over my Firefox bookmarks and passwords, which also worked like a charm. Whether you are switching from another Firefox installation, Safari, or even Internet Explorer, Xmarks makes it incredibly easy to keep things in sync. My biggest fear about this sort of software has always been the server doing something stupid and overwriting my uploaded data with local (empty) data on a fresh install: this is not a problem at all with Xmarks as it clearly offers initial options of server –> local download, local –> server upload, or two-way synchronization. The Xmarks add-on is free, though I sent over a little donation as a token of my appreciation for saving me a whole lot of time: when I first moved from Windows to Linux (Fedora) after Google Browser Sync was discontinued and before Xmarks existed, it was no easy task (perhaps due to my n00bery at the time) getting my passwords and such ported over.

Evolution is pretty slick as well: porting over your Outlook mail is a little more challenging as you will need to convert your .pst Outlook files to .mbox before Evolution will import them. There are several walkthroughs on Google to help accomplish this.

Ultimately I say it’s all worth it for the freedom of not being a slave to Microsoft. I’m no Microsoft hater – I do use their insecure and overpriced products on occasion – but I do value privacy and convenience (of which they deprive their users at every opportunity).

On a more serious note, though, it really is great to know that your system is stable and secure and that people around the world are constantly working and collaborating to make it even better. Windows is good for some things (albeit certainly not those), but at the end of the day, that’s really what open source software like Linux is about.

I was browsing Craigslist today when I came across a post that really made me cringe: it was from a lawyer, bless his heart, offering a $2500 reward for the return of his stolen $250 laptop. On the laptop were his court files, client records, calendar, finances, and even family photos. “The contents of the laptop are worthless to everyone except me,” he says, “but my livelihood depends on it. I will handsomely reward whoever can return it to me, no questions asked, ten times the value of the computer itself.”

It’s a horrifying thing to think about: suddenly losing years worth of important files – emails, pictures, school work – with no recourse for retrieving them. Theft, however, isn’t the only way to lose data.

• Accidentally deleting or overwriting important files can be frustrating and irreversible. One wrong click, or a sneaky computer virus, and it’s all gone.

• Natural disasters can strike anyone, anywhere. Floods, fires, and electrical surges can instantly destroy your hard drive, as well as any physical backups (CDs, DVDs, hard drives) in the immediate vicinity.

• Hard drive failure is inevitable: it is not a matter of if, but when. Laptops are especially vulnerable: a drop to the floor can break one little pin and cost over $1000 to recover your files.

Years ago I watched my father spend entire days saving his files onto 3.5″ floppy disks. Then CD burners became common and the technologically inclined could save their important documents onto a few CDs in just a few hours. Today, we have a new solution that saves time, money, and lots of hassle: secure online backup.

Online backup software operates in the background on your computer and automatically secures your files on a regular basis. It detects when something has changed and adds it to your secure online backup with no user intervention required.

I personally use and strongly recommend online backup to many of my clients. Most of these programs are easy to install and set up. Some also allow you the luxury of accessing your backup files securely through their website from any computer. Restoring files from your backup is (usually) very simple: you can download the entire backup or select specific folders to retrieve.

Whatever backup solution you choose, no computer user – home or business – should be without a comprehensive backup solution. External hard drives, while not entirely secure, are available at most electronics stores and are cheaper than ever (I saw a 1 terabyte hard drive at Fry’s last week for $99). If you do use an external drive, remember to store your backup in a secure off-site location like a safe deposit box.

Data loss is inevitable: it is not a matter of if it will happen, but when.

Don’t be the Craigslist lawyer.

EDIT: Removed reference to a particular online backup site. The point is the backup, not who you do it with.

Microsoft enthusiasts (yes, they do exist, and I have actually spoken with a few of them) have been on my case lately about why I’m always bashing Windows, Internet Explorer, Office, etc. They tell me how great Microsoft is, how much it’s changing as a company, and why everyone should start trusting them because of the new “Trustworthy Computing initiative” that Father Gates introduced to the world in 2002 – seventeen years after introducing the first version of Windows, but better late than never.

While surfing the net today I came across a website that reminded me why, no matter what Microsoft does, Firefox will always be better than Internet Explorer (click to enlarge):

I won’t hate too hard though. After all, the confusion is totally understandable. I’d probably need a fancy online service to figure out that this .cn website (that means China) is not the real Myspace too. But since most of us are not Microsoft and do not have access to this luxury (which they have obviously taken offline so they can use it all for themselves), we are oh so lucky to have the power of Firefox:

’nuff said.

UPDATE: As of 1/24/2008, Internet Explorer still displays the same error message on obvious phishing attempts. Where is Microsoft and why aren’t they doing anything about this?

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