Alessandro Melandri

DarkStripes Octopress Theme Released

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Some months ago I published an article about the Octopress theme customization used on this site and since then I received a lot of feedback and customization requests.

I finally reworked it and built a complete Octopress theme, released on Github, so you can fork it and customize it to fit your taste.

Following one of the most requested modification, I’ve updated the header code removing the image “{am}” and rendering the logo using only HTML and CSS.

I'm still tweaking the code and trying to test it on all browser (IE still to come), so maybe the best way to install the theme is to clone the Git repository in your Octopress .theme folder. Please, use GitHub issues if you have any problem with the theme.

If you'd like to see how it looks, this websites always uses the latest code.

In the screenshot below you can see the difference beetween the old header using an image for the logo and the new header that is using html and css to render the same logo.

jQuery/Javascript to Replace Broken Images →

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A nice StackOverflow thread about using Javascript to manage missing images in web pages.
Those are my favourites tecniques:

Simple Javacript function to be invoked on the img onError event

function ImgError(source){

    source.src = "/images/noimage.gif";

    source.onerror = "";

    return true;

}

One line jQuery code to get the same result

$('img').one('error', function() { this.src = 'broken.gif'; });

Using Apache Mod_auth_form

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Protecting a web site area using Apache httpd basic security is very simple but you have no control over the login alert window displayed by the browser, so when at work we saw that since version 2.3 Apache added a module that will let you use a an html form instead of the ugly alert we decided to upgrade to latest version and give it a try.

I compiled Apache 2.4.2 on CentOS 6.2 32 bit. I won't detail here the installation process, if you need help just follow this tutorial.

The following instructions are based on the mod_auth_form documentation page and the few tutorials I found online.

First of all create a test folder in the web server root and put a test page inside it

cd /usr/local/apache/www/

mkdir testfolder

echo 'It Works' > ./testfolder/index.html

chmod -R 755 testfolder/

Then create a login page in the webserver root that will be used to authenticate users

/usr/local/apache/www/login.html 
<html>

    <head>

        <title>Login page</title>

    </head>

    <body>

        <form method="POST" action="">

            User: <input type="text" name="httpd_username" value="" />

            Pass: <input type="password" name="httpd_password" value="" />

            <input type="submit" name="login" value="Login" />

        </form>

    </body>

</html>

Please note that leaving the action empty, after a successfull login the user will be redirected to the previously requested resource.

Now edit Apache main configuration file enabling required modules

/usr/local/apache/conf/httpd.conf 
LoadModule auth_form_module modules/mod_auth_form.so

LoadModule session_module modules/mod_session.so

LoadModule request_module modules/mod_request.so

LoadModule session_cookie_module modules/mod_session_cookie.so

and then add a Directory directive to protect the folder

/usr/local/apache/conf/httpd.conf 
<Directory "/usr/local/apache/www/testfolder">

    AuthFormProvider file

    AuthType form

    AuthName Reserved Area

    Session On

    SessionCookieName session path=/

    require valid-user

 
   # This is the login page

    ErrorDocument 401 /login.html

 
    # This is the file containing users login data

    AuthUserFile /usr/local/apache/auth/.htpasswd

 
</Directory>

Now add a user to the .htpasswd file and reload the web server configuration before trying to navigate to the protected folder.

htpasswd -c /usr/local/apache/auth/.htpasswd myusername

Arcipelago Gulag

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L'uomo oscilla tutta la vita fra il male e il bene, scivola, cade, si riarrampica, si pente, si ottenebra nuovamente, ma fino a che non ha varcato la soglia della malvagità il ritorno rimane nelle sue possibilità, ed egli resta nell'ambito delle nostre speranze. Quando invece, per la densità delle azioni malefiche, o il loro grado, o per il carattere assoluto del potere, egli oltrepassa d'un tratto la soglia, esorbita dall'umanità. Forse senza possibilità di ritorno.

[…]

Dobbiamo condannare pubblicamente l'IDEA stessa dello scempio compiuto da uomini sui loro simili. Tacendo sul vizio, ricacciandolo nel corpo perché non si riaffacci, noi lo SEMINIAMO, e in futuro germinerà moltiplicandosi per mille. Non punendo, non biasimando nepppure i malvagi, non ci limitiamo a proteggere la loro sterile vecchiaia, ma strappiamo da sotto alle nuove generazioni ogni fondamento di giustizia. Ecco perchè esse crescono “indifferenti”, non è colpa della “insufficiente educazione”. I giovani imparano che un'azione ignobile non viene mai punita sulla terra, anzi, porta sempre il benessere.

Non sarà accogliente un tale paese, farà paura viverci.

Aleksandr Solženicyn Arcipelago Gulag

Learning From Competition →

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Reacting well to competition requires critical analysis of your own product and its shortcomings, and a complete, open-minded understanding of why people might choose your competitors.

They’re not fanboys. They’re not brainwashed by “marketing”. Your competitors’ customers aren’t passing on your product because they’re stupid or irrational.

They’re choosing your competitors for good reasons, and denying the existence of such good reasons will only ensure that your product never overcomes them.

Marco Arment Instapaper Developer

Windows 8 a Giant Misstep Forward →

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In my opinion, the best computing model is one in which all the devices you use have operating systems, UIs, and interaction models that are appropriate for that device’s form factor and for its intended purpose with data being seamlessly shared between them. My interpretation of Windows 8 is that Microsoft tried to anticipate Apple combining their operating systems into one, and tried to beat them to it. However, I think they’ve beaten Apple to something Apple isn’t interested in doing, and that actually represents a big step backwards in computer interaction and productivity

Sublime Text Workflow →

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SublimeText easily became my editor of choice and I'm spreading the word with my colleagues.
This is a nice tutorial that explains how to set up SublimeText: a good read even if it focuses on how to setup a development workflow on a Mac.

Finger-Friendly Design: Ideal Mobile Touchscreen Target Sizes →

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When you’re designing mobile interfaces, it’s best to make your targets big so that they’re easy for users to tap. But exactly how big should you make them to give the best ease of use to the majority of your users? Many mobile developers have wondered this, and most have turned to the user interface guidelines provided by the platform developer for the answer.

Open Source Research and Reference →

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An incredible repository of open source reference articles.

Calomel.org is a privately held site dedicated to documenting open source programs and configurations. The goal of our domain is to be simple to maintain, trivial to navigate and efficient to serve.
[…]
We do not accept any donations, gifts or financial reimbursement for information found on Calomel.org. This site is run for the sole purpose of sharing what we have learned with anyone who is interested. If you wish to contribute, please teach what you know to others and hopefully they will do the same. We all benefit from knowledge freely shared.