How to install XAMPP?

XAMPP is an easy-to-use multi-platform package that installs Apache, MySQL, PHP, phpMyAdmin, and a whole slew of other software useful for dynamic web development on your computer. Installation is painless, and configuration minimal. This page guides you through installing the package on both Windows and Mac OS X. You can also read general notes about using XAMPP.

Installing on Windows

1. Go to http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=61776 and click "XAMPP Windows". Click the "1.6.5" link to expand the appropriate version, and choose to download xampp-win32-1.6.5-installer.exe.
   
   

   The XAMPP Control Panel in Windows
2. Run the installer. If you want, you can choose to install the Apache and MySQL servers as services, which will make them start automatically every time you start Windows. If you don't choose this option, you will need to use the XAMPP Control Panel application to start the servers individually each time you need them. This may be desirable if you don't intend to use your servers that often.
3. Upon completion of installation, the XAMPP Control Panel will open (if not, click Start » All Programs » Apache Friends » XAMPP » XAMPP Control Panel). This tool lets you start and stop the various servers installed as part of XAMPP.
4. Start Apache and MySQL by clicking on the "Start" buttons next to each item. If prompted by Windows Firewall, click the button labelled "Unblock".
5. Go to http://localhost/. If you are directed to a page with the XAMPP logo, your installation was successful. Congratulations!

You can add or change the files in C:\xampp\htdocs to change what you see at http://localhost/ on any local web browser. You may need to delete index.php in that directory to stop the server from automatically redirecting you to the XAMPP configuration interface.

Here are the locations of some configuration and log files you may want to view or change:

Type	Location
Apache configuration	C:\xampp\apache\conf\httpd.conf, C:\xampp\apache\conf\extra\*.conf
Apache logs	C:\xampp\apache\logs\access.log, C:\xampp\apache\logs\error.log
PHP configuration	C:\xampp\php\php.ini
MySQL configuration	C:\xampp\mysql\bin\my.cnf

Installing on Mac OS X

1. Go to http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=61776. Choose "XAMPP Mac OS X".
   The XAMPP Control Panel in Mac OS X
2. Choose to download xampp-macosx-0.7.1.dmg.
3. Double-click the Disk Image file you just downloaded.
4. In the window that opens, double-click XAMPP for MacOS X.pkg.
5. Once installation completes, go to your Applications folder, and go inside the xampp folder inside.
6. Double-click on XAMPP Control Panel. This tool lets you start and stop the various servers installed as part of XAMPP.
7. Start Apache and MySQL by clicking on the "Start" buttons next to each item. Note that you will need to repeat these steps if you reboot your computer and wish to use Apache and/or MySQL.
8. Go to http://localhost/. If you are directed to a page with the XAMPP logo, your installation was successful. Congratulations!

You can add or change the files in /Applications/xampp/htdocs to change what you see at http://localhost/ on any local web browser.

Here are the locations of some configuration and log files you may want to view or change:

Type	Location
Apache configuration	/Applications/xampp/etc/httpd.conf, /Applications/xampp/etc/*.conf
Apache logs	/Applications/xampp/xamppfiles/logs/access_log, /Applications/xampp/xamppfiles/logs/error_log
PHP configuration	/Applications/xampp/etc/php.ini
MySQL configuration	/Applications/xampp/etc/my.cnf

Notes about XAMPP

Note that "localhost" (often resolving to the reserved IP address 127.0.0.1) is a special name defined in the DNS system as a name that a host uses to reference itself, using the loopback interface. URLs that refer to "http://localhost/" can only be used on the system with XAMPP installed. However, by default, XAMPP configures Apache to allow connections from outside your system, so people on your network, or in some cases users from anywhere in the world, may be able to access your Apache-served files using your IP address.

You can go to http://localhost/phpmyadmin/ to use the locally-installed copy of phpMyAdmin, a tool useful for manipulating your MySQL databases in a graphical environment.

On the Windows version of XAMPP, you can use the command-line interface (CLI) version of PHP at C:\xampp\php\php.exe. On Mac OS X this is located at /Applications/xampp/xamppfiles/bin/php. If you want to be able to execute PHP by simply typing "php" at the command line in either operating system, you need to add the directory containing PHP (C:\xampp\php on Windows and /Applications/xampp/xamppfiles/bin on Mac OS X) to your "path" variable. There are tutorials available for doing this on Windows and on Mac OS X.

If you want to fine-tune your Apache, MySQL, or PHP settings, you can go to http://localhost/xampp/ to view and change parts of your XAMPP configuration. If you are feeling especially adventurous, you can also hand-tweak the configuration files in the XAMPP installation directory.

Note that XAMPP may tell you that PHP is insecure because it is not running in "safe mode". However, PHP's safe mode feature is considered a broken security measure (and has been removed in the next version, PHP 6.0) and should not be enabled.

source: http://www.keitr.com/tutorials/xampp

How to install Wordpress

The Procedure in installing wordpress:

1. Download wordpress CMS - http://wordpress.org/latest.zip
2. Unzip the package in an empty directory.
3. Open up wp-config-sample.php with a text editor like WordPad or similar and fill in your database connection details.
4. Save the file as wp-config.php
5. Upload everything.
6. Open /wp-admin/install.php in your browser. This should setup the tables needed for your blog. If there is an error, double check your wp-config.php file, and try again. If it fails again, please go to the support forums with as much data as you can gather.
7. Note the password given to you.
8. The install script should then send you to the login page. Sign in with the username admin and the password generated during the installation. You can then click on 'Profile' to change the password.

How to convert video format using ffmpeg?

FFmpeg allows Linux users to convert video files easily between a variety of different formats.

Today's affordable digital video cameras have placed the power of digital recording within most people's reach. Unfortunately, this has been accompanied with a corresponding increase in the variety of file formats and codecs available. Some of these formats are more efficient than others, and some are less encumbered by proprietary licensing restrictions. So, having the ability to convert from one format to another is a great help, as you can decide what format you are comfortable with and use that one instead of being restricted to a specific file format.

FFmpeg is a simple and straightforward application that allows Linux users to convert video files easily between a variety of different formats. In this article, I walk you through installing FFmpeg and provide a few instructive examples to demonstrate the range of applications for which it can be used.

Full post can be found here: www.linuxjurnal.com

CRT (cathod ray tube) Features and Attributes

To evaluate the specifications of CRT monitors, here are a few more things you need to know:
Shadow-mask
A shadow mask is a thin metal screen filled with very small holes. Three electron beams pass through the holes to focus on a single point on a CRT displays' phosphor surface. The shadow mask helps to control the electron beams so that the beams strike the correct phosphor at just the right intensity to create the desired colors and image on the display. The unwanted beams are blocked or "shadowed."
Aperture-grill
Monitors based on the Trinitron technology, which was pioneered by Sony, use an aperture-grill instead of a shadow-mask type of tube. The aperture grill consists of tiny vertical wires. Electron beams pass through the aperture grill to illuminate the phosphor on the faceplate. Most aperture-grill monitors have a flat faceplate and tend to represent a less distorted image over the entire surface of the display than the curved faceplate of a shadow-mask CRT. However, aperture-grill displays are normally more expensive.
Slot-mask
A less-common type of CRT display, a slot-mask tube uses a combination of the shadow-mask and aperture-grill technologies. Rather than the round perforations found in shadow-mask CRT displays, a slot-mask display uses vertically aligned slots. The design creates more brightness through increased electron transmissions combined with the arrangement of the phosphor dots.
Dot pitch
Dot pitch is an indicator of the sharpness of the displayed image. It is measured in millimeters (mm), and a smaller number means a sharper image. How you measure the dot pitch depends on the technology used:
In a shadow-mask CRT monitor, you measure dot pitch as the diagonal distance between two like-colored phosphors. Some manufacturers may also cite a horizontal dot pitch, which is the distance between two-like colored phosphors horizontally.
The dot pitch of an aperture-grill monitor is measured by the horizontal distance between two like-colored phosphors. It is also sometimes are called stripe pitch.

The smaller and closer the dots are to one another, the more realistic and detailed the picture appears. When the dots are farther apart, they become noticeable and make the image look grainier. Unfortunately, manufacturers are not always upfront about dot pitch measurements, and you cannot necessarily compare shadow-mask and aperture-grill CRT types, due to the difference in horizontal and vertical measurements.
The dot pitch translates directly to the resolution on the screen. If you were to put a ruler up to the glass and measure an inch, you would see a certain number of dots, depending on the dot pitch. Here is a table that shows the number of dots per square centimeter and per square inch in each of these common dot pitches:

Dot Pitch	Approx. number of pixels/cm2	Approx. number of pixels/in2
.25 mm	1,600	10,000
.26 mm	1,444	9,025
.27 mm	1,369	8,556
.28 mm	1,225	7,656
.31 mm	1,024	6,400
.51 mm	361	2,256
1 mm	100	625

Refresh Rate
In monitors based on CRT technology, the refresh rate is the number of times that the image on the display is drawn each second. If your CRT monitor has a refresh rate of 72 Hertz (Hz), then it cycles through all the pixels from top to bottom 72 times a second. Refresh rates are very important because they control flicker, and you want the refresh rate as high as possible. Too few cycles per second and you will notice a flickering, which can lead to headaches and eye strain.

more details here: http://computer.howstuffworks.com/monitor8.htm