Posted on September 2nd, 2010%
After upgrading the CSFBL forums to vBulletin 4.0, I noticed that performance was slightly worse than in the previous version. A little searching revealed that vBulletin supports memcached (an in-memory distributed caching system). Since I’ve got RAM to spare, I figured this is worth a shot.
Unfortunately, getting memcached running on the server (Windows Server 2008 R2 64-bit) took a few tricks, and getting memached running through IIS/PHP was another. To help other people through the same process (and to remind myself in the future), I’ll share the installation and configuration steps that worked for me below.
Downloading and configuring memcached
The official distributions of memcached are written for Linux systems, so the first task is finding Windows binaries. The memcached project site, fortunately, has links to Windows binaries, which are hosted by NorthScale. Both 32-bit and 64-bit versions are available.
(Note that NorthScale also offers their own . . .
→ Read More: Installing and configuring memcached and PHP on Windows
Posted on June 25th, 2010%
I was busy typing away on my laptop yesterday when suddenly, a window flashed on the screen, quickly closed, and my computer began restarting.
The window was nothing other than the “Windows Update restart now” dialog box. I don’t know what the default button is, but considering windows will “click” on a button based on keystrokes, and I was typing at a fast pace (as I am known to do), I had no time to stop typing to avoid unintended activation of an unwanted feature.
In other words: Please tell me what moron would design an operating system that works this way?
In my ranting, I did manage to begin calling Microsoft to complain, a task I quickly gave up on due to its inevitable futility; instead, I focused on using my friend Google to find the best way to turn off the damned restart now prompting from Windows Update.
One of the most common suggested solutions was to . . .
→ Read More: Stop the “restart” popup from Windows Update
Posted on June 1st, 2010%
Sometimes, geeks translate things in ways most people wouldn’t understand.
Geek #1: I can’t find my notepad.
Geek #2: Look . . .
→ Read More: Quote for a Geek: The missing notepad
Posted on April 14th, 2010%
From “Domain Modeling or Data Modeling“:
Users do not care “objects”. They care UI, and the fact that the data on the UI are saved in databases. So, by definition, UI and the key data are the “business language”; objects are not.
I have seen the value of domain driven design, but my style lends itself mostly to UI modeling using mockups. This is probably a result of my upbringing: I’m not a trained computer programmer!
For me, user interface mockups are the most effective way to communicate concepts and start building an application. Normal business people (that is, everyone except computer programmers!) respond to a visual and interactive UI in a different way than an abstract object/data/domain model. UI mockups can be easily understood by any user, which improves . . .
→ Read More: Domain, data, or UI modeling?
Posted on April 8th, 2010%
How to manage a client’s expectations:
It’s not about bending over backwards for the client. It’s about making the client think your bending over backwards when you’re not bending at all.
Not sure if I heard that from someone else or made it up myself, but I’m sure I learned it from someone much smarter . . .
→ Read More: Quote: How to manage a client’s expectations
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