Here is a link, good for 1 month from today. I will post another page in the future with a longer lasting link.

JPGmag.com Archive Collection (tgz)

If the link isn’t working just hit me up on twitter, on via email utahcon@utahcon.com

Lighttpd from PacktPub.com

PacktPub never let’s me down, and did they ever live up to their goal of packing books full with this one.

Don’t let the small size fool you, this book has everything you need to know to install, setup, configure, tweak, and secure Lighttpd.

If you don’t know what Lighttpd is then you really need this book. Lighttpd is a smaller, faster, more secure web server, like Apache, only better.

Andre Bogus really breaks down what is great about Lighttpd by showing how to install Lighttpd. He also shows how you can use the power of regular expressions to tweak how your web server handles requests, and even how to secure your web server.

You will learn in depth how to secure Lighttpd and be prepared for an attack, and how to react when you are attacked.

You will also learn how to host multiple sites on a single server with Virtual Hosting.

Andre even covers how to migrate from Apache to Lighttpd, in depth.

This is really a great book, and if you are new to the world of web servers, or administration of a website it is a must!

And things look great!

Image courtesy of Engadget.com

If you haven’t seen the news Zune 30s are bricking all over the world today. I unfortunately was hit by this flaw in the Zune device too. Thanks to my buddy TagGerr a quick case cracking and battery unplugging later and my Zune was back to rocking some All That Remains for my listening pleasure.

Thanks TagGerr!

Update: Looks like Microsoft is aware of the problem and working on a fix.

Screen Capture from Zune.net

I am not sure how they plan to fix bricked Zunes already. Unless their answer is wait til your battery dies and try again.

Electronics Learning Lab

Here is a short description:

Learn all about electronics with the Electronic Learning Lab. This set includes everything children age 10 and up need to learn basic and integrated circuits. Build projects that reward with warbles, sirens, flashing lights and circuits that make decisions. Topics are presented in an increasing order of complexity to keep learning fresh and fun. Ultimately advance to circuits using transistors, diodes and 15 integrated circuits.

I am really learning a lot already, and making steps toward my plans for world domination.

I have always been amazed by electronics. I have always wanted to understand them more and be able to look at the things I have and think “I can make that better”. So this new Learning Lab has started me down that path.

So far I haven’t done anything fancy, but I am learning little be little about electronics and what they do. Thanks Santa!

The PHP Complete Reference

Living up to it’s name the PHP Complete Reference is a tome of PHP knowledge. With great detail about each (and just about every) PHP function, the book easily warrants the space it takes on your desk. If you are like me you will spend most of your time flipping back into the book to remember the correct order of arguments for in_array or another function.

Don’t expect to learn anything fancy or exciting, the book covers the functions and the basics. It is also not exactly where you want to learn PHP, but that is where my second book I am reviewing comes in. The book PHP: A Beginner’s Guide is the perfect companion to the Complete Reference. What you learn in the Beginner’s Guide is backed up and reinforced in the Complete Reference.

PHP: A Beginner's Guide

The Beginner’s Guide is really a great starter book for PHP developers, or those who think they will be PHP programmers. The information is provided in usable chunks, but fast enough that the book isn’t a boring text book. When paired with the PHP: Complete Reference you will become a better PHP developer in no time at all.

Both books are from McGraw-Hill, and are availble at Amazon.com or directly from McGraw-Hill.

Guess that just details for us how well DRM works. Oh well, sit and wait.

Pro PHP: Patterns, Frameworks, Testing and More

Kevin McArthur is a self-taught entreperneur and opensource developer from Edmonton Alberta. Kevin has been running a very successful PHP application development studio for over 7 years. Additionally Kevin took time to write Pro PHP: Patterns, Frameworks, Testing and More, published by Apress.

The book really lives up to the name. It disucsses in great details the framworks that are most popular including Zend Framework. Kevin has what seems an infinite amount of knowledge on Zend Framework, and a quick Google search will reveal he is quite active is sharing that information.

I was a little let down on the Testing and Code Control sections of the book. I felt like Kevin mearly skimmed, and could have really dug into more detail, espeically about testing. 

In talking about patterns for PHP Kevin reinforces some of the basics of good programming, and explains the pros and cons of each style of framework. You can tell he has spent his fair share of time in each of the patterns discussed.

Overall if you are thinking about playing with patterns and frameworks this is the book for you. Don’t look for any golden knowledge about testing, but the rest is gold!