Category Archives: Ubuntu

Mod_Rewrite and Zend Framework 1.10.x and Ubuntu

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So all the tutorials on configuring your development server to run Zend Framework successfully say that you need to enable mod_rewrite in apache2 so that .htaccess and Zend_Router* works well.

What they all say is to make sure it’s loaded and enabled. I will raise my hand and say it wasn’t that easy for me to find because Ubuntu lays out Apache2 a little differently from say Fedora. First of all in the /etc/apache2 folder there are a few folders to take note of.

sites-enabled and mods-enabled actually tell you what has been enabled or not and not an uncommented list in some httpd.conf file. Basically the folders in there have symbolic links that come from sites-available and mods-available. This perhaps is a better idea as you can add new mods and not have to recompile apache or whatever.

I digress, to enable mod_rewrite in apache2 in Ubuntu 10.04.1 you need to create a symbolic link from mods-available to mods-enabled to do this you can either use the command:

sudo ln -s /etc/mods-available/rewrite.load /etc/mods-enabled/rewrite.load

or if you prefer GUIs you have to run nautilus as root so you can try

sudo nautilus

and navigate to “/etc/mods-available”, right-click on rewrite.load and select “make link” and the cut the new file created called “link to rewrite.load” paste it in mods-enabled and rename it to “rewrite.load ”

Now all you need to do is restart your web server and you’re all set to reroute anyhow you want.

sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart

Ubuntu Karmic Beta

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First Attempt

First thing I had to do on my laptop (an old compaq evo N410c), is to disable visual effects because the first install window would just not draw. Once I filled in my details set up how I wanted my hard disk partitioned and clicked on install the window closed and nothing happened. (Thank God I got into work early so I could start it again).

Second Attempt

The second attempt saved me time because some of the information I put in the first time had persisted so that was not a problem. I selected the guided partition option when it got to the file system business and clicked on install again. For the second time the installer just closed down and that was the end of that.

Third attempt

At this point I think either this image I downloaded is corrupt. Or beta is not ready for my laptop. I’m going to download another image and this time run an MD5Checksum on it to make sure that it’s the right image. After which I will install. On trying out the new image of my downloaded and checked image, using unetbootin to extract/decompress onto my USB stick, I still get the same trouble.

Fourth Attempt

I am going to install a clean copy of jaunty (hopefully that works) seeing as I currently use crunchbang with openbox window manager. For all I know it might be a GNOME problem but I suppose I will find out this evening. I did also notice a crash report for metacity, I am not sure how concerned I should be because of this but I am acutely aware of my laptop’s graphic inadequacies, but it should be able to run jaunty and ultimately karmic without disastrous effects on productivity.

Progress!!!

So after installing Jaunty and then bumping it up to karmic it went off without a hitch and it’s actually working much better than any ubuntu worked on this laptop, bearing in mind the restrictions I have on this machine

Wading into an age old debate

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So in the past few years of my using ubuntu, I have sometimes strayed into the KDE version and then back. I am happy with GNOME, and I think it’s brilliant for the way the desktop applications seem all so seamlessly integrated, although i believe it could even be better. Having said that I have not used the Version 4 incarnations of KDE ever since I heard all the horror stories and to be honest the first KDE 4 version was a total fiasco for me so I decided to wait. Having said this I did not drop my favourite music player Amarok, until it just decided not to work anymore, after which I was stuck with Rythmbox and Banshee, both of which are not very high on my preference list.

This decision gave GNOME a firmer foothold on my mountain of preference and basically helped it to climb to the top. Recently I have been quite restless with my laptop, first it was playing with the decision of whether to put Karmic Alpha 6 on my laptop, or to install Jaunty but the Kubuntu version. I have done nothing with these ideas yet but knowing myself I will get very rash in a few days and do something silly.

No here’s the question, do I try to get my hands dirty with the latest incarnation of KDE 4, which i hear is a lot more stable than it was when I first tried it or do I just stick with my GNOME installation. After reading a few more KDE reviews I am not all that convinced that I will enjoy the KDE experience. Ordinarily I would install both environments on the same laptop, but I have the way it morphs my menu items under applications into something else. I like to keep both environments separate and contained. So the question goes… is the latest KDE release worth moving to if I thoroughly enjoyed using KDE 3.5 and hated KDE 4.0?