HugoLarge

Gone are the days of upgrading WordPress manually. Thanks to Keith Dsouza of the Techie Buzz web site, you can now upgrade your WordPress blog with a few simple clicks of the mouse, all from the wp-admin console with the help from WordPress Automatic Upgrade plugin.

The plugin installs just like any other plugin, in the wp-content/plugins folder on your WordPress install on your web server.

Once activated you will see the following message at the top of the Dashboard when an upgrade is available:

Once you click the link you will be presented with some dialog that will guide you through the upgrade process as show by the following screenshots. The dialog is broken down into three sections describing, what task has been done, the task status and what task needs to be done next.

Here you can see that some old WordPress files are backed up and ready for download to your system in case something goes wrong. The next step is to backup the database.

Here the WP database has been backed up and is ready for download. Next will show options for uploading the latest WP files.

I always choose to let the plugin get the latest version from wordpress.org.

The latest files have been successfully downloaded and unzipped to my web server. Next we go into maintenance mode for the site which is a very nice feature to let your readers know things are OK and why the site is down.

Now the site is in maintenance mode and you can verify by clicking the link. Next we de-activate all plugins, but not Auto Upgrade of course.

The plugins are de-activated and next the upgrade begins.

The upgrade install is complete but here you can check if a database update needs to be completed. The link opens a new window with the WP database upgrade button.

Here’s the Database Upgrade button.

We see that the WP database upgrade is complete.

Here we see that the plugins have been re-activated which was the next step after the database upgrade.

We’re almost done. Here we can see the WordPress upgrade has been completed and the plugin wants to do a bit of house cleaning from all the zipped and unzipped updates.

All files have been cleaned up and the upgrade is complete.

While there seems to be a lot of steps to complete a WordPress upgrade using this plugin, the alternative of doing a manual upgrade takes a lot longer to complete.

I’ve been using this plugin for some time now and I’ve had no issues. But, like anything, you may want to do a manual backup of your WP files and database prior to first using this plugin, just in case it doesn’t work as advertised for you. After you test and find it works… go for it. It’s truly a time saver. Easy button anyone?

So for the last few months I’ve been debating on which portable video camera to purchase and I finally decided on the Flip Video Mino in black. I wanted something small that used internal flash memory for capturing video. I also wanted something that was easy to use not only for myself but for my wife and daughter. The fact that I can capture video direct to the device, plug it in via USB to my MacBook Pro and upload to YouTube is exactly what I have been looking for.

I plan on using the Flip Mino for capturing my daughter as she grows up, family times, quick happenings I may encounter and for my upcoming speech class.

The Flip Mino arrived today from Amazon and I was curiously intrigued with how “Appleish” the packaging was. So I’ve taken some photos of the Flip Mino unboxing along side the Apple iPhone box. One of the small features I like about the Mino is that it has a tripod mount on the bottom which will come in handy for those speech videos. 

Here are some pictures that show off the packaging and some of the hardware features of the Mino.

Flip Mino and Apple iPhone Box

Flip Mino and Apple iPhone box inside

Flip Mino Front View

Flip Mino Back View

As you can see the box and packaging has been inspired by Apple design. The front and back of the Mino is very clean and I can’t wait to test it out.

If you want to see some additional unboxing photos go to my Flickr page where I’ve posted the rest of the photos I’ve taken. Then be on the lookout for videos to follow!

Ok, So The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW.com) posted an article this week about an article from Tom’s Hardware regarding the misconceptions on price between Apple and other PC manufacturers. I’m not here to argue their point in either direction although I do like and own Apple products. I also work as a Windows Server admin so I get my fair share of both Intel Servers, PC’s and Apple.

Both articles contain many comments from both sides arguing their agreement or disagreement with Tom’s Hardware and how they’ve compared Apple and PC manufacturer products. The one thing missing from this whole debacle is this… Let’s compare the Apple Mac Pro and the Dell XPS Tower in this way:

The Dell XPS:

And the Apple Mac Pro:

Need I say more?

In this How To I’ll show you a method of removing the DRM protection from purchased music from the iTunes music store. I have not tried this on any other DRM protected media but I don’t see why it would not work.

In order to remove the DRM protection from purchased music in iTunes you will need iMovie HD 6, which is a free download on the Apple web site. Once you have iMovie HD 6 installed on your system, follow these steps to remove the DRM:

1. Open iMovie HD and create a new project. The project name can be what ever you’d like since the project can be deleted once the process is complete.

2. Select the Media tab in iMovie and then click on your iTunes Library in the Audio browser window at the top of the interface. You can search for the song to make it easier to find.

3. Once you’ve found the song you want to convert, drag it to the audio time-line at the bottom.

4. iMovie will now import the file.

5. After the import is complete you need to add an image to the time-line or else the project will not export. To do this click the Photos tab above the media browser and select an image from either iPhoto or Aperture. The photo does not matter as it’s only used to allow the project to export. Disregard the Ken Burns Effect pallet as it will go away once the photo is rendered in the time-line.

6. Now the project is ready to be exported. To do this, click the Share menu and choose Quicktime. In the Compress movie for: drop down, select Expert Settings and then click the Share button. This will open the Save exported file as… window. From here you can choose where you’d like the exported file to be saved, I use the default Movies folder in my Home Folder. You’ll want to select the Export: drop down and choose Sound to AIFF as the export format. All other settings can be left at default. Then click Save and the project will save and compress the project.

7. At this point you can browse the Finder to the location you’ve saved the file and drag the .AIFF file into your iTunes Library.

8. Once the file is in your iTunes Library, you can change all the file info to match the Artist, song title, album and so forth. You can even drag the album art from the original file in iTunes out to your desktop and then drag the same file into the newly created DRM-Free file. You’ll also want to convert the new file to AAC by selecting the file and control-click or right click the file and choose Convert Selection to AAC in the context menu.

9. At this point the original song file has been stripped of it’s DRM and converted back to an audio AAC file that can used by GarageBand to create a ringtone for the iPhone.

Stay tuned for a How To on creating ringtones in GarageBand.

Disclaimer: The sole purpose of removing the DRM from purchased iTunes music in this How To is to allow the file to be used to create ringtones for the iPhone. These files are not being redistributed in any way.

OK, so what’s the big deal with server naming standards? Can’t you just think of a name like “Bubba” and use that for the server name? Sure you could but what if you have quite a few servers, say a few hundred or thousands that are geographically dispersed? Then you might want to come up with a decent naming standard that will incorporate not only site locations but server function and numbering system.

At my current employer, we’ve done just that and here’s a breakdown of what we came up with for our Windows Server naming standard.

Our current standard name consists of seven sections or “Classifications” that together comprise the server name and it goes something like this:

CC | T | XXX | 123 | F | NN | O

• For the first classification, CC, we define the city or location based on a two letter code that has been standardized by my employer.
• The second classification, T defines the type of server whether it’s a physical piece of hardware or virtual machine. For example we use P for physical and E for an ESX virtual machine.
• The third classification, XXX defines a descriptor that could be the three letter initials for the software company who’s software is running on the server. Purely discretionary.
• The forth classification, 123 defines a numerical identifier and this section has been somewhat controversial for me and other co-workers. More on that later.
• The fifth classification, F defines the actual function of the server. So a domain controller would be designated with D, or a SQL server would use a Q for example.
• The sixth classification, NN is only used for cluster nodes and would indicate the node number as 01 or 02 for example.
• The seventh classification, O defines a remote administration card or heartbeat NIC for a cluster node. We use HP servers which include an integrated lights out card (or iLO) which we designate as R.

So based on the above information, a typical server name would be as follows:

BFPAAD001D which breaks down this way, Bum Fuck (BF) Acme Active Directory (AAD) server number 001 which is a domain controller (D). Since the server is an HP and has an iLO which has it’s own IP and DNS name, the iLO designation for this server would be BFAAD001DR with the R for remote card.

Now if you noticed, this post is also categorized as a “Rant” as well so here it is.

Overall the naming standard is pretty close to perfect, for our environment, but the one issue I have is that some want to name servers with a numeric designation starting with 000. For myself I don’t agree with this practice and a great example of this would be when you have 10 servers that are all identical in function, like a Citrix farm. The numeric designation for these servers should begin at 001 and end with 010. That makes sense. It’s like if someone wanted to borrow five dollars (in one dollar bills) from you and you started your count at zero (0). So you would count 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, there’s your five dollars. That does not make sense!

So my question. What standard do you use for your server names and would you use a 0 numeric identifier?

Have you ever wanted to test that new lens before you bought it? Or how about that vacation where you wished you could have brought a new lens for the SLR/DSLR with you… Well look no further, I have two lens rental web site for you to check out.

The first is RentGlass.com and they have just what you need. This was the first lens rental company that I found a couple years back when looking for a lens for a family vacation. They feature both Nikon and Canon lenses and will ship out the lens to you via USPS. Rental periods are from 1 to 3 weeks and prices start at around $13 a week.

Another lens rental site it LensRentals.com and they boast about having the largest stock of any rental company in the business and the fastest shipping. They do offer reservations, which RentGlass does not but these extras come at a price. Both lens rental fee and shipping are both higher at this company but the ability to reserve a lens may outweigh the extra costs. The rental periods are from 7 to 30 days and the site also offers an iPhone version where catalog and order tracking information can be seen.

While I have not yet rented a lens, the thought has crossed my mind. Especially when I’d like to take the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VR Zoom with me on vacation but the $1900 price tag prohibits the purchase. That’s where renting a lens is appealing. It’s also a good idea to rent a high dollar lens first to test it out before making a big purchase.

UPDATE: Reader “Keira S.” recommended two other lens rental sites that offer shorter rental periods and visual reservation systems. Take a look at the following sites if interested:

ProPhotoRental.com

BorrowLenses.com

I’m really not that proficient in Photoshop but I’ve created a very basic logo for the blog. I’ll probably stick with it for a while until I come up with a better design. I really don’t want anything flashy, just something with a clean look to it. Let me know what you think.

The new iPhone app for Wordpress was released today so I wanted to give the new app a try. This post was written using the Wordpress app and I have to say the interface is really nice and easy to use.

Since this is a new blog for me, I don’t have all my categories in place. But no worries, you can add new categories right from the iPhone Wordpress app.

Overall, typing out and submiting a blog post is pretty easy with this app. If you write for a blog and use the iPhone, this is one app you need to try for yourself.

Check out some of the iPhone screenshots taken and uploaded with Wordpress app.

Main screen

Write Post

Posts

For some reason a screenshot of the photo upload page would not capture. I guess you’ll have to check it out for yourself.

Alright, I’ve decided to start a personal blog using my own name. I know the blog URL is hugolarge.com but Scott Russell was taken. So HugoLarge is just a pen name I’ve created for my own enjoyment and this blog.

My goal for the blog is to post about my interests and experiences in daily life. I’m a Windows Server administrator by profession but use and love Apple products like my MacBook Pro and iPhone.

I also have a pasion for digital photography, which I’ll share from time to time.

Other than that, I just a normal guy.