I used to have a problem of controlling flash elements on my sites.. On one site we have 6 different flash flv movies that are all the same size and are in the same position on the page. But only 1 is displayed at a time based on what the user wants to watch. So the selected flash movie needs to have the highest stacking order/zIndex.
CSS
strace+ is an improved version of strace that collects stack traces associated with each system call. Since system calls require an expensive user-kernel context switch, they are often sources of performance bottlenecks. strace+ allows programmers to do more detailed system call profiling and determine, say, which call sites led to costly syscalls and thus have potential for optimization.
Linux gcc linux strace
You may not think much about verifying your website with these search engines, but I am of the opinion it is extremely good for Search Engine Optimization (SEO). In fact, I read the other day on Google that if you buy a domain with a checkered past that has been punished by the search engines and you want it to be reincluded in the index this is what they recommended. Verify your sites.
WordPress
Web Design
Since I was disqualified and accused of cheating, which is absolutely false, I decided to go ahead and do the crime I have been punished for. That's right, I'm going to show YOU how I could have rigged the DHSOTM contest to hopefully make the statement that I absolutely did not cheat and I absolutely want to be re-instated as the winner. Hosting
You've probably seen this.. one of THE coolest video games I've ever seen (though I haven't played).. Its tempting me back to MLG.. Games are games today, but in the future Gaming Skill will be highly sought after.. So I check in with the gaming world occasionally, I'd hate to miss something like a new Duke-Nukem (cancelled after 10 years in development and no releases).
I have around 10 really nice articles I've been working on for awhile now, my problem is that I am a perfectionist, so I keep finding improvements.. worth it.
Web Design Game YouTube
Here is the basic process that I use to speed up Windows. A lot of good tips and tricks I've picked up over the past 15+ years of crashing and burning Windows that can transform your PC to be much faster than its ever been. The process focuses on freeing up RAM/Memory, freeing up your CPU/Processor, and optimizing your Hard Drive for a permanent solution.
Make sure to check out the free software I recommend at the end, installing them after this optimization process will keep your machine fast for a long time.
Windows Defragment Optimize Sysinternals Windows XP
Linux firewall nmap
Learn how to setup, configure, secure, optimize, and create a low-maintenance website the AskApache way. I'm piecing together all the hacks, tricks, methods, and ideas discussed throughout this blog and all across Netdom and glueing them all together to show you how to have the most optimized, crazy fastest, and best website setup I can think of.
Hosting Apache HTTP Server Caching Htaccess HTTP linux operating systems round-robin DNS technology Web Developer Web server
thought I'd take a break from coding and post about how open-source is such a great tool for finding the best answers to the toughest questions,
/** is the status code informational */
#define ap_is_HTTP_INFO(x) (((x) >= 100)&&((x) < 200))
/** is the status code OK ?*/
#define ap_is_HTTP_SUCCESS(x) (((x) >= 200)&&((x) < 300))
/** is the status code a redirect */
#define ap_is_HTTP_REDIRECT(x) (((x) >= 300)&&((x) < 400))
/** is the status code a error (client or server) */
#define ap_is_HTTP_ERROR(x) (((x) >= 400)&&((x) < 600))
/** is the status code a client error */
#define ap_is_HTTP_CLIENT_ERROR(x) (((x) >= 400)&&((x) < 500))
/** is the status code a server error */
#define ap_is_HTTP_SERVER_ERROR(x) (((x) >= 500)&&((x) < 600))
/** is the status code a (potentially) valid response code? */
#define ap_is_HTTP_VALID_RESPONSE(x) (((x) >= 100)&&((x) < 600))
Hacking
What they say about kung-fu is true..
It can be attained by anyone through hard work over time. You can become as good as the amount of work you put in. Here's a short look at a basic technique that I use. Simply reverse engineering the source code and taking notes along the way...
static void php_session_send_cookie(TSRMLS_D)
if (SG(headers_sent)) {
if (output_start_filename) {
php_error_docref(NULL TSRMLS_CC, E_WARNING, "Cannot send session cookie - headers already sent by (output started at %s:%d)",
output_start_filename, output_start_lineno);
} else {
php_error_docref(NULL TSRMLS_CC, E_WARNING, "Cannot send session cookie - headers already sent");
}
return;
}
/* URL encode session_name and id because they might be user supplied */
e_session_name = php_url_encode(PS(session_name), strlen(PS(session_name)), NULL); PHP PHP Session Session ID
The bottom line for this article is that I want to make WordPress as fast, secure, and easy to install, run, and manage because I am using it more and more for client production sites, I will work for days in order to solve an issue so that I never have to spend time on that issue again. Time is money in this industry and that is ultimately (time) what there is to gain by tweaking WordPress.
Note: I spent no time on readability, this is primarily a read the code and figure it out article.. This is for advanced users looking for a reference or discussion and for those of you looking to advance. Feedback would be great if you make it that far..
WordPress wordpress wp-config.php
DreamHost PS gives you your own "virtual machine", protecting your CPU and RAM on your physical machine for faster websites. Here's what I like and dislike about DreamHostPS, and some of the issues and solutions for migrating.
Hosting DreamHost
DreamHost has a contest every month nicknamed "DHSOTM" or DreamHost Site Of The Month, that lets the customers rank websites hosted on DreamHost.
By winning the contest you get to put a graphic designed in the 90's on your site. I want it so bad!
Hosting
Apache Web Server users have problems getting Apache Authentication/password-protection in htaccess working, this is a troubleshooting guide to get Password Protection working!
Htaccess
This amazing bash linux prompt does more than meets the eye. If you want to know how to become really good with technology, linux is the secret sauce behind the AskApache articles. Open Source is elixir of the web. Thanks to everyone who helped me for the past 20 years. I use linux/bsd because homey don't play, so this is geared to be as productive a prompt as I can make it.
Don't have much time.. or just don't care? Not a problem, here are the 3 lines to copy and paste - you can just paste them right in your shell to test it, or add to a startup script.
export AA_P="export PVE=\"\\033[m\\033[38;5;2m\"\$(( \`sed -n \"s/MemFree:[\\t ]\\+\\([0-9]\\+\\) kB/\\1/p\" /proc/meminfo\` / 1024 ))\"\\033[38;5;22m/\"\$((\`sed -n \"s/MemTotal:[\\t ]\\+\\([0-9]\\+\\) kB/\\1/p\" /proc/meminfo\`/ 1024 ))MB\"\\t\\033[m\\033[38;5;55m\$(< /proc/loadavg)\\033[m\";echo -en \"\""
export PROMPT_COMMAND="history -a;((\$SECONDS % 10==0 ))&&eval \"\$AA_P\";echo -en \"\$PVE\";"
export PS1="\\[\\e[m\\n\\e[1;30m\\][\$\$:\$PPID \\j:\\!\\[\\e[1;30m\\]]\\[\\e[0;36m\\] \\T \\d \\[\\e[1;30m\\][\\[\\e[1;34m\\]\\u@\\H\\[\\e[1;30m\\]:\\[\\e[0;37m\\]\${SSH_TTY} \\[\\e[0;32m\\]+\${SHLVL}\\[\\e[1;30m\\]] \\[\\e[1;37m\\]\\w\\[\\e[0;37m\\] \\n(\$SHLVL:\\!)\\\$ " && eval $AA_P Linux bash Prompt PROMPT_COMMAND PS1 sed ssh
I am almost ready to publish the final tutorial on using ssh tunnels from a truecrypt partition on a Windows machine. Of course I choose to go way overboard in my research and the tutorial is full of some pretty awesome windows tricks.. I will come back to this post soon and post all the other advanced tools I use for debugging windows, for now though you MUST know how to debug the kernel and use these basic debugging tools.
Windows Assemblers basic debugging tools Debug Debuggers Debugging Kernel
Ask.com started going after Google with a TV commercial highlighting all the extra content-rich features available in the Ask.com search results.
The commercial is a very effective piece of marketing, and the song is pretty good too!
Web Design
Apache .htaccess Directives and Loaded Modules allowed on DreamHost Apache Server 2 Setups.
Hosting
Quick and easy method to get a list of all Apache Modules currently loaded, a list of all the directives each module provides, a list of currently used directives, etc... These directives can be used in httpd.conf and/or .htaccess files so it is definately useful to know which ones are available and which ones are currently being used.
Htaccess Apache bash lynx mod_rewrite mod_status server-info server-status
Every month a contest called DHSOTM is held for the highest rated website on DreamHost. By winning the contest your site gets SEO and traffic benefits, which I hope to measure soon.
SEO

Stop wasting your lives with Mac Terminals.. or Macs. Get a real machine and then get a real shell multiplexer! For many years we all loved GNU Screen, but tmux is by far a better option today. The only time I am in the shell and not using a multiplexer, is when I'm not on one of my machines. My Arch Linux machines all run URxvt and my .bash_profiles all start tmux automataically, whether in X or single-user mode, tmux is where it's at.
Hacking, Linux linux.bash Screen shell tmux
One of the biggest speed bottlenecks of sites today are images, specifically unoptimized images or large scaled images. With Apaches Rewrite module we can convert all existing jpegs and png files (and most gifs) to webp, then transparently rewrite them so that a request for img.png from a browser that supports webp will receive img.webp.
Hosting, Htaccess, Optimization accept Header png RewriteCond RewriteRule vary webp