XAMPP

What it is: a web server running on my own computer.

Why I like it: because you don’t have to work off (or even have) a live server to develop PHP/MySQL websites. Also because I can run Web2Project.

Why you should use it: Well, if you’re a web developer you probably already do and if you’re not you’ve got no reason to use it. Unless you want to run your own private wiki or something like…

Web2Project

What it is: project management software written in PHP.

Why I like it: because I can keep track of my progress through any number of projects. Plus it generates Gantt charts for the month or the entire project on demand.

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In addition to Lightbox, I now have an extra feature called ‘Add Lightbox and Title’. This plugin means that we can stop using steps 4 onwards in How to set up Lightbox 2 in WordPress. The revised set of instructions is:

1. Go to the WordPress admin section and select “Add New” from the plugins menu.

2. In the “Add New” section, search for Lightbox 2. You will see a whole page of results, but since we’re just doing a basic installation, install the first one on the list. Click the install link on the right hand side of the page and follow the directions to install Lightbox 2. You should get a page saying “Installation successful”. Make sure the plugin is activated.

3. Still in the “Add New” section, scroll down the page until you find ‘Add Lightbox and Title’. Install and activate this plugin as well.

4. Once you have done that, create a new post or edit an existing post. When you insert the image, click the little “upload/insert” button at the top of the editing screen. Upload an image, making sure you select “File URL” rather than the other two options.

5. There is no five unless you’d like to count previewing the post and clicking on an image to make sure everything is working.

This is much easier than having to enter the lightbox data manually. The plugin automatically gives every image rel=’lightbox[post-id]‘ when the post is viewed.

I’ve installed a new plugin and disabled the original Anti-captcha which was putting real comments in the spam folder. Users now have to enter the Captcha code when they want to post a comment. If this system is causing anyone problems, please let me know.

It looks like my anti-spam plugin isn’t working as well as I’d hoped. Most of the comments are being sent straight to spam even if they were written by a human. I’ll try tweaking a few settings, but the next few days will probably see a more standard type of Captcha being implemented.

I’ve added a new WordPress plugin “All In One SEO Pack” to The Daily ALIEN. Hopefully, nobody will notice any changes to how the blog works. If you do, leave a comment on this post and I’ll see what I can do to fix the problem.

The plan for this plugin is to improve the visibility of my blog and get a few more visitors.

I’ve also changed the settings for comments now that Anti-Captcha seems to be blocking the spam comments. Your comments should be visible immediately rather than just being queued for approval.