Download and install the following plugins:
1. ProPlayer
2. Widget Logic
3. Executable PHP widget

Once installed upload your videos and their preview images.

Add the PHP Widget to your sidebar. Then add the php code similar to this:

<?php
print insert_proplayer(
array(
“width” => “200″,
“height” => “213″,
“image” => “http://www.praxmatrix.com/i/video_icon_full.jpg”,
“playlist” => “none”
),
“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sjSHazjrWg”
);

?>

In the Widget Logic section of the widget add simlar code depending on the page you want it to show up on: is_page(26)

Keeping creating PHP widgets for as many different pages you have.

Make a directory in your account called www which would be:
/home/useraccountname/www/

make an index.html file that has some text like “Yay working!”

1. open a terminal
2. Install VIM by typing: apt-get vim
3. Now you are ready to edit the apache file
4. type: cd /etc/apache2/sites-available/
5. type: sudo vim default

Press I and change DocumentRoot and Directory
from /var/www/ to /home/useraccountname/www/
then press ESC and : and w
then press : q
then type: sudo a2enmod userdir
then type: sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart

Vista really motivated me to work at understanding more about Linux because it was so horrible and I had no idea when the next version of Windows would release. Linux has made huge strides and 99% of the quirks are gone. So finally Windows 7 is going to release this fall. It is a huge improvement over Vista in many ways but way worse in others. Lets talk about Windows 7 for a second to get it out of the way before moving onto why I made my final move to Linux.

Windows 7 has finally figured out something from Vista. Provide drivers! So on install you will find that it installs 90% of your drivers. This is way better than either Windows XP or Vista. Other than that Windows 7 has nothing to shout about. People talk about all the wonderful stuff in Windows 7, but the reality is that most of it is all marketing hype. Lets go through the list of new features:

1. Pin items to taskbar – this was called quick launch in XP and Vista and it worked better as quick launch.
2. Snap to windows to half the window screen. Nice but you will almost never use it, Linux has it.
3. Aero shake clears windows out of the way. Even less chance you will remember to use this feature, really not worth the effort when you can use the icon minimize to desktop that has been in XP and Vista.
4. UAC or User Account Control – slows down the system and is just plain worthless security.
5. Customize the tray – oh boy that is a huge reason to buy Windows 7.
6. New look for paint and calculator. Another worthless feature. Why didn’t they just integrate paint.net which is free and way more powerful?
7. Wifi has been tweaked and is even more worthless than Vista. I had the worst time trying to connect to a secured wireless connection that I finally gave up.
8. Touch screen – yeah this won’t be used by most of us.
9. The UI has been re-arranged again from Vista boy that really helps.
10. File manager finally works after being broken in Vista. Your point of reference stays the same where in Vista it always changed.
11. Boot a 5 seconds faster than Vista and about the same as XP.
12. More DRM control.
13. ISO burning you will still most likely want real burning software.
14. Better multi-monitor support.
15. Better projection screen support.
16. DirectX 11 – but hey there are no games to play yet and there won’t be any for at least a year or two. I am betting Fable2 will be released at the same time as Windows 7.

So there you are with the features. There are other minor features but the reality is that you are getting a fixed version of Vista with DirectX11. You will spend $250+tax for the Home Pro edition.

I ask the question why??? Why not stop spending money on Windows and get an OS that gets upgraded every 6 months for free???

This April I finally made the final move to Linux. I love Mint Linux which is based off of Ubuntu and you may want to check out Ubuntu as it is great as well. But Mint Linux has the Windows feel that I like. With the April release Mint Linux boots in 18 seconds or less on my computer, way faster than XP, Vista or Windows 7. 100% of my drivers are installed and instead of a DVD it fits on a CD. It comes with:

1. Gimp – as good as photoshop for me being a non-designer.
2. Open Office 3.1 – which opens super fast now and is as good as Office 2007.
3. Brasero – a great disk burning software.
4. Firefox installed with the latest version of Flash.
5. Apt – which allows you to easily install a vast array of software for free.
6. Tomboy – quick note taker.
7. Compiz – awesome 3d graphic effects!

Mint Linux also reads my NTFS Windows hard drives and can write to them so it was easy to work with data on those drives. With Wine I was able to play my favourite free MMO Runes of Magic. There were still certain windows apps that wouldn’t run.

Well in Windows 7 there will be Window apps that won’t run either and because of this they are including a Virtual PC version that runs Windows XP. So under Linux I found that I could purchase for $190 ($60 cheaper than Windows 7) Vmware Workstation that runs DirectX games and runs seamlessly in Linux so it looks like it running as a Linux program.

As a web developer this allows me to run to IE and Safari to test webpages. Flash and Photoshop though I am using Gimp more. You could also use Office 2007 if you wanted instead of Open Office.

With Linux you also get a way better UI than Vista or Windows 7, the system is super fast compared to Windows and you can run all your applications now with Vmware Workstation. The only thing you don’t get is DirectX11. Even when games are finally developed, they will still run on DirectX 9 for the PC. Mint Linux also has tons of features and the ability to customize your system to suit you perfectly.

Also in 2 years there will be four releases of Mint Linux. Wine will make huge strides beyond where it is now, which will include DirectX 10 and 11. Open Office and other open software will keep moving forward even faster. So it just keeps getting better and better.

This is a great time to make the move to Linux and it will keep getting better as time move onward.

AllowOverride None

with

AllowOverride all

gnome-spell
aspell-en
aspell
wbritish
myspell-en-au
myspell-en-za
myspell-en-gb
hunspell-en-us

Then I modified it so it would just go through the group of checkboxes I wanted and made them checked. Here is the new javascript:

<script>
function toggleCheckedAll (boxname, id, boxnum, boxend) {

//variables
var allCheckBoxes = document.getElementById(id);
var checkStatus = allCheckBoxes.elements[boxname].checked;

//loop through all checkboxes
for (var i = boxnum; i < boxend; i++) {

//variables
var formElement = allCheckBoxes.elements[i];
var formElementName = formElement.name;

//check all but the one that we clicked
if(formElementName != ‘checkBoxAll’) {
if(formElement.checked) {
formElement.checked = checkStatus;
} else {
formElement.checked = checkStatus;
}
}

}
}
</script>

Then I have my check box that runs the script:
<input type=”checkbox” name=”checkBoxAll” onClick=”javascript:toggleCheckedAll(\’checkBoxAll\’, \’formname\’, 6, 22)”  />

You will have to replace formname and set the begining check box number and the ending check box number and you are set to go. Now you can have multiple groups of check boxes checked.

Graphics
This one of the first things you will want to customize. In most cases your system will be using a generic video driver. This great for getting started but you will want to install restricted drivers for your video card, so that you get the full performace. Talking with people who own ATI cards this works but doesn’t work as well as the restricted drivers that come with the system. There are three easy ways to install better drivers:

1. Restricted Drivers
2. Automatix
3. Envy

To activate restricted drivers just go into the Control Center and go to Restricted Drivers. For Automatix, just go to their website and install Automatix and then you can install the drivers. For Envy, just go into the Control Center and run Envy.

My system won’t start and I am stuck at a text prompt!!!

If this happens just follow these instructions:

1. at the prompt type: sudo envy -t and use this to remove the current drivers. Also have it clean the system of drivers.
2. For NVIDA type: sudo apt-get install nvidia-glx. Do not allow it configure your xorg.conf and it should boot back to your desktop. If this doesn’t work then try having it configure your xorg.conf file.
3. For ATI type: sudo apt-get install xorg-driver-fglrx.
sudo apt-get install linux-restricted-modules-$(uname -r) #Okay if it is already installed
sudo dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg #Select the fglrx driver

Screen Resolution
It is most likely that your system is not running at the resolution that you like and this will cause the screen to look fuzzy or blurry on LCD monitors. You can adjust the screen resolution higher by going into the Control Center and then choosing Screen Resolution. If the resolution isn’t listed then we have to edit your xorg.conf. To do this open up a terminal window. Then type: sudo gedit /etc/X11/xorg.conf

Once the the editor pops up, scroll down until you see “1024×768″ “800×600″ “640×480″
Now you can just add in the resolution in front of those like this: “1280×1024″ “1024×768″ “800×600″ “640×480″
There are six of them, so do that for all six and then save the file. You will now need to restart the desktop by either rebooting or doing CTRL-ALT BACKSPACE.

Key Bindings
Once you get settled into your system, you will want to alter your key bindings. In gnome they are a real pain in the ass to configure beyond the default set they have for you. I suggest getting Automatix as it can setup CTRL-ALT-DELETE to open your system monitor to kill of programs that have locked up. I will talk more about Automatix more, but for now

Now you will need to install Xbindkeys. This will give you the ability create any custom keyset. For example I like to use a different file manager than the one that comes with gnome. So with Xbindkeys I was able to set my WIN-E to open up Thunar.

Once you have install Xbindkeys you will have to run it from a command prompt by typing xbindkeys-config. You can add an icon to your taskbar or to the menu manually if you are afraid that you will forget. Once you do that you still need to set it for starting when you log into your desktop. So start the Sessions manager. In Mint it is found under Preferences or in the Control Center.

PDFs
I found that using Adobe’s PDF reader was way better than any of the other PDF readers. The standard PDF reader that comes with Mint Linux is the Gnome (the name of your desktop) version called Evince which is great for opening Adobe Illustrator files.

If you are totally new to computers and Linux, then I suggest Ubuntu. It is easy to use and there is a ton of support. You can find it here: Ubuntu

If you are more experienced with computers but new to Linux then I suggest Mint Linux. It is based off of Ubuntu but has a nicer experience, especially if you are a Windows user. If you are a Mac user then I point you back to Ubuntu. You can find Mint Linux here: Mint

If you do more work with graphic design and sound production then you should check out Ubuntu Studio. You can find it here: Ubuntu Studio

If you are interested in version besides Ubuntu, then check out these. One of the issues I have encountered is that installing software can be more challenging. On Ubuntu it is very easy to find deb files and install. On these other system sometimes it works and sometimes you have to do the install manually.

Open Suse
Fedora
Dream Linux

Beyond these you are stepping into advanced Linux distros and should learn about Linux before you try them. You can check out all the different version and their development here: Distro Watch

Test Test Test
Before you install any of these versions of Linux, I strongly suggest that you download the live CD and try it out first. This way it won’t alter your system in a way that could make your experience be really bad.

The second issue is that you may not have another hard drive to install on. If this is the case and you are running Windows then I suggest using Wubi to install right within Windows. Wubi