Linux Server Diary

The trials and tribulations of a Linux newbie trying to setup a home server.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Getting Things Done to GTD (Jabber with Google Apps)

This is a complicated process I followed to try to make things easier. It started with an article discussing how to Make Gmail Your Gateway to the Web. Basically, he is trying to make his GMail account his gateway to everything. I've got my Google Apps account all setup to received email from every account with filters and tags and alternate accounts. The calendars are shared with the rest of the family (if I could only get everyone else to use them).

The only thing he's done that I haven't is what he calls "update and track your social networks via IM". So, I setup the ping.fm and notify.me accounts as he describes, and tried it out. It all worked pretty well except I coulnd't get the notify.me account to validate GTalk.

A little Google research and I found that I have to add 10 SRV entries in my DNS for the domain to property route the jabber messages to Google. This Google article explains it pretty well. Next, I had to figure out how to enter this info into a Dreamhost account. I found that the correct method is to enter "_xmpp-server._tcp" in the name field and "5 0 5269 xmpp-server.l.google.com." in the value field (be sure to include the period at the end). After a little time for the DNS to get settled, I tried the validate process again, and it worked great.

OK, so after all of that, let's try it out.

Ping.fm works exactly as advertised. I setup micro-blog messages to go to Twitter, and status updates to both Twitter and Facebook. It all works via the chat client in GMail.

Notify.me also did what I expected. I couldn't find a way to get my entire Twitter stream to come through, but the messages sent to me came through fine. (Still working on direct messages)

However, there is a problem. In the IM that comes in from notify.me, I can't tell who sent the message. There isn't any setup of the format that I can see, but it wasn't there. I posted a suggestion message to the service.

We'll see how long I keep this setup going.

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Saturday, November 08, 2008

Development Machine

I'm in the beginning stages of a new software project, so I've been experimenting with various tools and services.

To start with, I looked into building a development environment. Since I had decided on using the Python/Django platform for the project, I needed something to take me beyond using GEdit to monkey with text files.

I've heard of Eclipse quite a bit, but I was not familiar with the extent of its extensibility and how developers have taken advantage to extend the platform in all directions. It wasn't until I found PyDev, an Eclispe add in for Python, that I considered using the tool.

Installs of both Eclipse and PyDev were quick and easy, and I'm already liking the results. Once I get more comfortable with Python and get more experience with Eclipse, I feel that I will be happy with the environment.

Something else that I needed for the project was a version control system. I've never used a formal tool, but I've used backups and strict procedures to simulate the process. Since my internet hosting company, Dreamhost, offers quick and easy setup of Subversion respositories, I decided to give it a shot.

Before Eclipse came on the scene, I was using the command line SVN tools to communicate with the repository, and I'm pretty comfortable with the process. However, on a whim I decided to search for a Subversion add-in for Eclispe, and I found Subclipse almost right away. After I installed it and tweaked the connectors for a bit, it is working without issue. Very nice.

Since Python comes with the SQLite dbms included, I haven't thought much about database yet. An advantage of SQLite is that it runs on the client with no additional software to install. Very portable. I can setup MySQL on Dreamhost when testing multi-user, but I'm hoping for a connector to SQL Server or Oracle at some point. That's probably 6 months away.

Finally, I've been looking for a way to organize my thoughts. I'm a notebook guy at work, but I don't want to mix notes on my extra-curricular projects with work related things. Dreamhost also offers Mediawiki installs, so I'm trying it out. It's not the best for taking notes, but it's easy to use. We'll see.

At some point, I may involve others in this project, so the version control tool and wiki will help us share notes and source code. I could also setup a Google Apps domain for email and calendaring.

With all of the tools I'm using, all but one are open source, and even Google Apps is no charge. Imagine trying to do this 10 or 15 years ago, when much expensive Microsoft software would be required to even get off the ground. This modern economic model is great for start ups and small projects. My only cost is for the hosting service, and I set that up more for family use.

I'll report back on the progress in a few months.

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CrossOver Linux Professional

I'm finding that I rarely boot up the Windows partition any more on my laptop; Linux Mint 5.0 (based on Ubuntu 8.04) is serving me quite well.

However, there are a few Windows apps I still like to use.  Specifically, I like Media Monkey over any of the Linux based music player/organizer programs I've seen.  Also, Photoshop Elements has a couple of features I can't seem to emulate in The GIMP.

I've tried running these programs inside Wine, but with no success.

However, the other day I came upon a posting on Lifehacker (one of my daily reads) talking about a one day offer to get a free license for CrossOver.  I chose the Linux Professional version.

The key arrived the other day, and the install was uneventful.

First thing I tried was Media Monkey.  The install went quickly, but there was immediately an error saying that the player couldn't initialize.  I could perform other functions, but couldn't play anything.  There is a setting in the CrossOver configuration covering sound drivers, and I'll have to do a little research on that.

Next, I'll try Photoshop Elements.  The program offers presets for installing the full strength Photoshop in several versions, so I'm hoping they have this program covered as well.

More later.

UPDATE:

I installed Photoshop Elements and it works, but it is god-awful slow.

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