Welcome to Simon Philp's Blog

If you've not heard already I am pleased to announce a new community driven site  Podcast Kicks.

What happens is podcast episode url's are submitted into the system.  The author ( who can submit ) can then put a widget on their site that displays the amount of "kicks"/"tuned ins".  I will be running a monthly contest whereby the podcast with the most kicks will be the "featured podcast" across the site for a duration.

Please be sure to check it out.

Just posted a new funky house podcast. 
Already on Episode 9, where has all the time gone?

When doing the voiceovers had a little bit of a cold so I apologise for sounding dull :P

As stated on the site and the podcast itself podcast number 10 will be coming in 2 parts.  It's going to be a good one.

 Enjoy the mix.  Now onto my 5 consistent posts. 

Last 3 posts:

1. Intechnology Golf day 2008
2. alternatives to BT Vault - Mozy backup
3. Looking at CSS frameworks

It's that time of year again whereby Andy and I had the opportunity to attend Intechnologies golf day. This being our second time down we had an idea of what the day was to consist of.

Like last year we signed up to the beginners section whereby a golf pro would show us how to hit the ball may it be with a driver, number 7 or a putter. This year there was certainly alot more people which meant that there were 3 beginner groups all rotating to the 3 various areas of the course.

I'd like to say that I remembered alot from last years "coaching" but it was down to learning it all again.  Out of the competition between the 3 groups, it was Andy and I's team that won. Nice trophy for the office and a bottle of champers.

The whole event was well organised and it was good seeing people we met last year.  The rest of the pictures from the golf day can be found on my flickr page.

Last 3 posts:

1. Alternatives to BT Vault - Mozy backup.
2. Looking at CSS frameworks.
3. 5 post consistency, thoughts.

2 months ago I started off writing about
"Online storage/backup,
alternatives to BT Vault".
This post outlined 5 companies that offer backup solutions for personal and business use.

This post highlighted that combining the following you can get 6gb of free online backup storage:

• iDrive free 2gb.
• Mozy free 2gb. 

I am going to look at Mozy. With Mozy as a home user you can get unlimited backup for your home computer for only $4.95 a month. For the price of a beer or 2 you can relax knowing that the files that mean the most are backed up, away from your computer so if anything unfortunate happens it's the case of downloading them again.

Signing up

At this moment in time I believe that there is a promotion of 10% off 1 year and 2 year accounts if you enter the code - JUNE here. Signing up to Mozy is very simple and fast.

The initial process is about 3 pages of information gathering, very painless. A screenshot of the first page can be seen to the left. Within minutes of signing up for the free 2gb I had received an email with further instructions and directed to the windows client download. The download is only 7mb and there is also an option for the Mac version 4.8mb.

Installation

The installation is straightforward.  You have control over the encryption private key, how much resources the program will use network and process.  As you can see from the screen shot on the right you can choose  what directory you want to backup and how much space will be needed.

The folders you see in the listing are from my work laptop. It's the matter of selecting the appropriate folders and clicking next and the software does everything else.

Another great feature is that it adds your online storage to "my computer" listing so it's like another drive. Performance is dictated by how quick your internet connection is but I have yet to notice anything I would be unhappy about.

Features

• 128-bit SSL encryption used on your data during the backup process.
• 448-bit Blowfish encryption while in storage.
• Schedule when you want your backup to run.
• File change recognition.
• Outlook backup support.
• Block-level incremental backup
• Works on Mac's and Windows

Final Thoughts

I thoroughly find Mozy very easy to use and configure.  Backups ran without any problems.  Home prices with Unlimited Backup for $4.95. If you would rather try before you buy just use there free 2gb. You can also Protect Your Company's Data With MozyPro!.

• Ease of use 9/10
• Features 9/10
• Performance 8/10

I am a big fan of CSS.  It's not a very difficult concept to pick up. I would say that the only frustrating  side of implementing a pure CSS based layout is cross browser compatibility.  If you have your own site and have changed or even created the skin/design you use then you'll know yourself depending on the change requires looking at it with a variety of common web browsers. This will be done on a local testing environment or through an online service like BrowserCam.

For anyone not heard of BrowserCam this service takes screens shots of a url from a variety of different operating systems, browsers and now devices.

See your web design on any browser on any operating system. Check javascripts, DHTML, forms and other dynamic functionality on any platform. Not just yours. Use our bank of testing machines remotely to test your website.

How can we take the pain away from implementing a clean cross browser design?  Why not start with using a CSS Framework as a building block?

CSS Frameworks

The way I look at any kind of framework is that its sole purpose is to reduce development time.  The initial learning curve of any framework could discourage it's use depending on it's complexity but long term could help simplify the development process. What frameworks are out there?

• Yahoo! UI Library: Grids CSS
• Blueprint
• YAML ( yet another multicolumn layout )
• Logiccs
• Elements
• ESWAT
• CleverCSS
• Typogridphy

Quite a few out there each bringing there own uniqueness to the table.  I suppose like any other framework it's about finding one that you're comfortable with and fulfills your requirements.   In my previous post "5 post consistency, thoughts." I received a couple of comments regarding CSS so I have decided that after my next funky house podcast post I will be doing 5 posts about CSS.  First three I will be looking at one of the above frameworks ( and explaining why) to create a simple subtext skin, the fourth post will be about adding individual styles to each of your blogs categories (on post) and the final one will be based on any feedback.

I hope to try and make the posts transferable in the sense that you could use the basis of the markup with any other blogging engine may it be your own, wordpress or something else. If you have anything questions or suggestions for the last post please comment below or get in touch.

Having a look over my last couple of posts I realised that it's time to add some consistency.  If you're a reader of my blog then you'll realise that most of my posts are personal with a smidge of web development and subtext. I obviously also promote a past time for the love of dance music with my funky house podcast, which will be diving into some trance soon and uplifting euro.  By this I mean I will be releasing a couple of mixes i listen to while I am at the gym which helps get through the brick wall that's called cardio work.

Back to consistency.  I have been thinking that the next 5 posts are going to be related to a single subject.  I've not decided what the subject will be but I am open to suggestions. I plan on doing the 5 post stint  every couple of weeks as I only think it's fair that I am allowed a rant or a rave in between .

I do have some posts that are nearly finished in relation to my "Online storage/backup, alternatives to bt vault" and the followup to online backup solutions but I think I'll wait as I need to research and experiment  alittle more. Ideas?

• Carry on with my mvc and me series
• Carry on with jQuery posts
• Cover more aspects of subtext skins
• Easy CSS implements that can change your website for the good
• Write about how I produce my podcasts
• just commit more time to subtext
• Write about funky house podcasts discovered out on the internet

Or again I could look at my statistics and get ideas about what people are looking for?  I will be having a think over the weekend about what the next 5 posts are going to be, if you see something please comment.

I hadn't realised but on Saturday the 7th of June was my year anniversary of using subtext. 

I have written a couple of articles in relation to subtext.  I have also created several themes and submitted a patch.  Subtext hasn't changed much in the year that I have been using it.  Current version is 1.9.5 and 2.0 is currently in the works. 

If you'd like to see all posts regarding subtext then checkout my category link. Looking forward to another year of subtext and any enhancement, features it brings.  Hopefully I'll be able to get my hands dirty in the development again soon :)

The time is near.  My current hosting packages have been outgrown.  I have a couple of projects that require access to resources shared hosting can't offer. This ranges from asp.net trust issues to database performance issues.

What am I looking for?  Well I am looking for a windows VPS solution.  A search here and there keeps bringing up the same results. Easyspace and webfusion.  Both have benefits over each another but I am really looking for a host that has outstanding support that I receive with my current host.   I thought about 1 and 1 but I really have no intentions ever giving them my money ever again!

I can save £5 a month by merging both my windows hosting packages into an Easyspace VPS solution a month.  This does look good on paper but I have my concerns.   Easyspace VPS solutions come with a 12 month minimum contract of which I am dubious about.  On a realistic level  there will only be about 4 websites hosted on this virtual server.  3 low end sites and 1 project that could guzzle resources. The one big factor that attracts me to easyspace is the fact that there isn't a bandwidth restriction like the others.

For the record I won't be moving my funky house podcast site that runs off wordpress and is hosted my dreamhost (Use this code for a free domain - SIPHILPDM001).  Reason being is that my podcast site takes a bit of a beating from visitors and mixes being downloaded. I'd like to keep that seperate so that all sites run smoothly :)

If you can recommend any  UK windows VPS provider please comment or get in touch.  I would also be interested in hearing about positive or negative feedback about the two providers I mentioned above.

UPDATE: Signed up with easyspace.  Support guys really friendly. Happy so far.  Will be uploading projects to the server this weekend :)  Min contract is a month.

If you're looking for a UK VPS Windows solution check out easyspace