One crucial thing that came up was the reasoning behind rejecting an email address that the user enters into the form. It boils down to wanting or needing to be able to contact the user at a later time. A very common case is account recovery. If a user loses their password, and you don’t have any way of contacting them, they’re probably stuffed. If you can tell them as quickly as possible that what they’ve entered doesn’t look right, then you’re going to save a lot of bother.

A few people commented that they often get less technically savvy users entering all kinds of incorrect things, ranging from just the local part (or conversely just the domain) of their email address to their desired user name on the service they’re trying  to register with. Given that this sort of thing goes on, validating that an email address is composed of an “@” symbol with some characters on either side is sensible (of course, you should still send a validation email if you want to make sure you’re being given correct data).

As for using such validation to prevent fake account creation, it’s trivially bypassed. If I’m working for nasty-corporation.com and want to sign up a bunch of accounts on your site to post loads of spam, I’m probably going to be able to generate email addresses, or better still create valid addresses on my domain to register an account. As annoying as they can be, some form of Captcha is better for this (preferably one with an audio alternative to the picture, for accessibility reasons), and doesn’t rely on spammers being totally incompetent.

Just one more thing, I know the comment system built into WordPress does a poor job of all this. More than a few of you were good enough to point it out. I’m switching away from the default one soon anyway.

I really started to notice this when I began to use the disposable addresses system that Gmail provides. Any mail sent to <youraddress>+<some_other_string>@gmail.com arrives in the Gmail inbox for <youraddress>@gmail.com. This is quite handy, and I personally use it for automatically tagging email I receive. For instance, for any email related to unicorns, I’d simply enter “<myaddress>+unicorns@gmail.com” on the sign-up form, and my mail filters would automatically tag all mail sent to that address for me (as an aside, these don’t really work as “proper” disposable email addresses as it’s easy to just strip everything after the “+” character in the local part of the address, and get the proper address). Sounds great, right? Well it is, until half of the internet fails at email address validation and rejects it.

The problem is that the email address specification allows for far more than most programmers expect it to. For instance, things like ” ! $ & * – = ^ ` | ~ # % ‘ + / ? _ { } ” are all valid, along with a whole bunch of others (even “@” if you quote or escape it). Some of these are a tad silly. Using another “@” sign by escaping, for instance, is just confusing, and is probably only used by sociopaths. Reject some of those others however, and you’ll start to annoy your users.

I was recently at a talk given by Andrew Godwin at FOSDEM. In that he mentioned a problem Django ran into, where their regular expression used for email validation would hang on long input (scratch that, I think this is the bug he mentioned, that other one is hideously old). After some head scratching, they came up with an improved regular expression, which didn’t have the issue. I’m not sure that either solution actually validates according to the specification though, and if the validation falls on the side of being too strict, it’s probably out there irritating people right now. As a fun aside Perl’s Mail::RFC822::Address module gives you a glimpse at a regular expression that actually follows the specification from RFC822.

Even the best validation is only going to get you a syntactically correct email address, with no guarantee that it actually exists. If you want to know that you’re being given a valid address, send it an email and have the user click a validation link in it, and stop annoying your users!

EDIT: I wrote a little follow up article on some of the points raised by commenters.

First off, you need to grab the latest stable binary from http://httpd.apache.org/download.cgi (at the time of writing, it’s version 2.2 that you want, specifically 2.2.16). I chose to get the one which includes OpenSSL (which you’ll need if you want to test serving secure content). Once you’ve got that, run through the install wizard. In terms of which options to choose during it, I went with installing the server as a service so it started up with Windows. Also, I chose to customise the install and selected to install all features (as opposed to taking just the typical ones). This is almost certainly unnecessary, but I did it just to make sure I wasn’t missing anything I needed.

Something to note throughout this guide is that after any change to the config files you must reload the server. The installer will have added an icon to your notification area which will allow you to do this.

The config files are located in <your_install_directory)\conf\. In some areas, the config files dependant on your installation directory, which can differ (for instance, if using a 32 bit operating system, you won’t have things installed in “Program Files (x86)”).

Notation used throughout the guide

The use of “->” denotes before and after of each line changed (before on the left, after on the right).Anything which is for the user to decide is given between angular brackets. In code blocks, “#” is used for any comments (just as it is within the config files).

Basic Setup

To get Apache just serving content from its htdocs folder (which is located in the installation folder) requires the least configuration. To achieve this, just make the following changes to the defaults in the config file.

In httpd.conf:

Listen 80 -> Listen <Number Of Port To Run Web Server On>
#ServerName localhost:80 -> ServerName localhost:<Number Of Port To Run Web Server On>

At this point, you should be able to navigate to http://localhost:<Number Of Port To Run Web Server On> and see a page confirming that you’ve set it up correctly (or your own index.html if you’ve replaced the one that’s in the htdocs folder by default).

Add setup for user directories

Adding the necessary config for user directories means that each user account you have on your machine will have a directory that they can place files in to be served by Apache.

In httpd.conf:

#LoadModule userdir_module modules/mod_userdir.so -> LoadModule userdir_module modules/mod_userdir.so
#Include conf/extra/httpd-userdir.conf -> Include conf/extra/httpd-userdir.conf

You should now be able to navigate to http://localhost:<Number Of Port To Run Web Server On>/~<user>/ and view any content that the user places in their website directory (by default “My Documents\My Website”). You can change which directories are used as user directories by editing conf\extra\httpd-userdir.conf in the Apache installation folder.

Add setup for virtual hosts (also known as vhosts)

Virtual hosts are more useful in a development (and in most production contexts) context than user directories. They allow you to specify a folder which Apache should serve from when receiving a request on a given domain/subdomain. They also allow you to specify some settings specific to that virtual host, such as a custom log file to use (rather than just putting everything in the default log file).

In httpd.conf:

#LoadModule vhost_alias_module modules/mod_vhost_alias.so -> LoadModule vhost_alias_module modules/mod_vhost_alias.so
#Include conf/extra/httpd-vhosts.conf -> Include conf/extra/httpd-vhosts.conf

In httpd-vhosts.conf:

NameVirtualHost *:80 -> NameVirtualHost *:<Number Of Port To Run Web Server On>
# Delete the two existing VirtualHost entries, and add your own following this template.
<VirtualHost *:<Number Of Port To Run Web Server On>>
 ServerAdmin <yourname>@localhost
 DocumentRoot "<drive_letter>:/path/to/your/website"
 ServerName <subdomain>.localhost
 ServerAlias <subdomain>.localhost
 <Directory "<drive_letter>:/path/to/your/website">
  Options Indexes FollowSymLinks Includes ExecCGI
  AllowOverride All
  Order allow,deny
  Allow from all
 </Directory>
 ErrorLog "logs/<subdomain>.localhost-error.log"
 CustomLog "logs/<subdomain>.localhost-access.log" common
</VirtualHost>

One thing to note with a vhost, is that you’ll need to add an entry to your hosts file for the each subdomain you use, so that the domain still resolves to localhost (at least, I found that without this, it the domains didn’t resolve). To do this, simply open C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts and add a line that looks like:

127.0.0.1 <subdomain>.localhost

With that done, you should have it all working, and should be able to visit any of your virtual host sites at http://<subdomain>.localhost:<Number Of Port To Run Web Server On>/. If it’s not, please leave a comment as I could well have missed something crucial out (though I think I’ve covered everything, as this guide was produced by diffing my working config files against the original ones).

Things to watch out for

• In Apache’s config files, forward slashes are used in paths, as opposed to the backslashes you’d usually use on Windows.
• You’re probably best running this on something other than port 80. One thing that many people get caught out by is trying to do this on a machine which also has Skype running on it (not too unlikely on a home dev machine), which it turns out binds to port 80. To work around this, either disable this option within Skype (I recommend doing this), or run the web server on a different port. The option to disable is in Tools -> Options -> Advanced -> Connection -> Untick the checkbox “Use port 80 and 443 as alternatives for incoming connections”.
• Make sure you reload/restart the server after any config file change. This is a required step, and without it your changes will be ignored.

There was no safe haven from this. No news broadcaster would pass up on such an opportunity. Even the BBC looked like it had slumped into tabloidesque coverage, complete with flashbacks to the earlier, more dramatic scenes later on in the evening when there was nothing more to say. Though in this case “dramatic scenes” is a complete misnomer. Said scenes consisted of a mobile phone conversation that never seemed to end (which, oh joy, they played repeatedly through the night), dull comments from a few people who happened to be walking past as police moved in, and the aforementioned woman in hysterics. But hey, at least watching her gradually lose composition was fun, right?

The problem is that not only have we become accustomed to this type of coverage, we actually crave it. It brings some excitement to the day, as we peer in on an unfolding drama, like a neighbour peeking over the fence while next door have a good row, but from the comfort of an armchair, plonked in front of the telly. I’m not trying to claim innocence here. I got in from work, saw that there was a media shitstorm in progress, and immediately headed for the remote. It was something to take my mind straight off the day, and it passed the time while dinner cooked, or so I thought. I hardly felt calmer from watching it, and those sausages were just a tad more cooked than I’d planned. In fact, all that happened was that my evening was consumed by sloppy, poorly constructed coverage of an event with an outcome we all knew was coming. Just think of all the things I could have done instead. There was at least enough time for five or so episodes of The Good Wife (which I’m currently watching, and so should you be).

It’s our own fault though; we deserve every one of these media frenzies. They know that viewing figures will skyrocket, and that if they dedicate a section of the morning paper to a minute-by-minute breakdown they’ll have no problem shifting thousands upon thousands of copies. It’ll be the level of coverage we receive for as long as we remain ready to consume it. It’s just a shame nobody dangled a microphone down to Raoul so we could get his opinion, imagine that, we’d at least get a few complaints to Points of View to laugh at. That said I don’t suspect even he could have added a great deal to what we already knew. “Well there have been a few people come past, there was this cyclist bloke who looked well knackered. Anyway, I digress. I’ll fucking shoot the lot of you!”

Next time I’ll find out in the morning. I won’t bother staying tuned for a dragged out phone interview, some shaky footage from a mobile phone camera, or an explanation from a firearms expert (“Well you see, you point the gun at something you don’t want to be alive much longer, and then it isn’t”). I’ll turn it off and do something vaguely fulfilling. Alright, that’s a lie, but I’ll feel at least ten percent more guilty next time I slip up and watch this crap. Happy now?

What has happened here is a complete misunderstanding. Following the main example from that post (though it’s completely true of other services which Buzz can import from) Google Buzz will only display shared Google Reader items and comments that you publicly share. If these are private, then Google Buzz isn’t going to ruin your day and wave them around publicly.

To top this off, within Buzz there is actually a link (under Connected Sites, select Edit next to the Sharing With column) which takes you straight to the privacy options page, where you can go back and fix your earlier mistake of not correctly choosing your privacy settings. I’d actually say that, far from revealing your private data, Google have done a reasonable job of letting you protect your privacy in this case.

The hype that this has generated is rather saddening, and a reminder that people are all too quick to jump on the bandwagon. The author has posted a follow up, with a bit more explanation and as it turns out, a confirmation from Google of what I have focused on here (though this doesn’t have too much attention brought to it).

If you care about the story not being spoiled you may want to avert your eyes. The game starts with you being plonked down on a roof somewhere in some city where the graphical bloom goes up to 11 and stays there at all times. You’re taught your repertoire of jumping and fighting techniques in one go, god forbid you should forget them, and then launched into the game. The story is set in your regulation future dystopia, where the police are evil, the government are evil and concrete blocks are extremely springy. You’re not really given too much motivation to hate the government; you just take the game’s word for it and set about acting like a royal prick with a poorly explained briefcase fetish.

Sadly, the game play doesn’t even come close to making up for the plot. There is one route, and only one route, and any deviation from it will result in crunchy death as you faceplant into the pavement. Most of the time this route is helpfully painted red, but the game occasionally decides you’re more competent than that and lets you decide what to do. Don’t be fooled though, there’s one path, and any attempt at creativity will be duly rewarded with death.

Linearity aside, the game still manages to produce an unnecessarily frustrating experience. Every time you grab an object or ledge, you’re treated to a face full of concrete and have to stop and move the camera around, breaking the flow of the game. This, teamed up with the loss of momentum every time you jump over anything higher than a cinder block, caused a steady feeling of rage which didn’t really subside at any point in the game.

The lack of choice in paths reared its ugly head more than once during the game, but one incident stuck out more than the others. In a section in chapter 7 the character is running on top of some ventilation shafts and some pipes are highlighted red on the other side of the room. I spent a good half hour wall running along the wall that headed directly to them, only to be left disappointed at the game’s edge detection and plummeting to an inevitable death. It turned out that I was meant to run along a wall parallel to what I was aiming at and make possibly the most hilarious jump ever to reach the bars.

The edge detection was a constant annoyance. At times it seemed like the protagonist simply wasn’t trying, but as soon as a bit of concrete turned red it may as well have been a fucking spring board. The net result is that you only go where the game wants you to go, no matter what incredible leap that may involve. Occasionally it will even help you when you don’t jump far enough, and you’ll end up performing a mid air vault for a pipe or ledge.

Overall, I’m confounded as to why people recommended this game so highly. While it’s a nice concept, it’s totally marred by a lack of polish (no, not bloom, there’s enough of that) in the execution. Bring on the release of Assassin’s Creed II on a real platform.

The iPad though, leaves a lot to be desired. It seems like Apple have produced an enlarged version of the iPhone (but not a phone, so really more like an iPod Touch), without applying significant work to it. It suffers the same issues as the iPhone, those being:

• A total lack of multitasking. Running applications in the background is not a new concept, and failing to provide such functionality seems like a massive step backwards. I’ve felt this about the iPhone for a while and it seems even more crippling for a device which truthfully should provide more.
• No camera included. While it’s obvious that this device isn’t for taking photos, I don’t understand why it doesn’t have a small, integrated webcam on the front. Being able to make video calls on, for instance, Skype seems like a reasonably sensible use-case for this device.
• Lack of a hardware keyboard. This is a more debatable point, but to me it makes little sense. With a device of this size I don’t envisage that an on screen keyboard would be pleasant to use. Selling a keyboard dock isn’t really a solution as you’re just increasing the amount of clutter that you have to carry with you to use the device as you want to.

I’m left not really knowing who this product is aimed at. Which group of people want a larger iPhone whose main advantages are negated by dodgy design decisions? It seems more  like they’re simply riding the wave of success which means that people will end up buying them simply because it’s the latest thing to emerge from the shinies factory.

With that spiel out of the way, there were a few things from 2009 which stick out in my mind. In no particular order, other than what seemed like a logical grouping at the time:

• Nick Griffin’s appearance on Question time: I’d never been a fan of his politics, and as expected this only reaffirmed my opinion. What did come out of this for me, was the showcasing of the ludicrous views that he promoted. If anyone was in any doubt, this displayed the truly regressive stance he holds on such a wide range of issues. All I can hope for is that people saw the same thing and went away realising that perhaps, as far as “alternative” parties go, there are better choices.
• America got a dose of change with the inauguration of Barack Obama: I’m not qualified to expand too much on this as I’ve not followed his actions especially closely this year. I’ll pick one thing out though; his policies on health care and the reform he wants to bring are a good thing. In Britain we’re accustomed to being entitled to health care, and it seems crazy that it would be denied to those less well off. Any policy which helps turn this around is a good thing. The Nobel Peace prize was a little premature though, seems like it’d be better to see how he does in his term before handing it out.
• Swine Flu: I nearly left this one out. The worst part of this (okay, not the worst part really, any death caused by it is of course above this) was the reaction of the general populace. People were panicked by what boiled down to regular flu with a higher chance of being caught. People don’t get like this over your average flu which goes round in winter and there was no need to worry so much over it. Go get your extra flu jab if it applies to you, other than that, go have fun and stop worrying.
• Jenson Button wins the F1 World Drivers’ Championship: This was a great season of Formula 1. It was thrilling all the way through and at the end we got the icing on the cake with a British champion. I hope we have this kind of close racing again next year as producing cars to this specification is no longer a new challenge. The introduction of the new points system should heat things up by heavily rewarding challenging for a win (new points are: 25, 20, 15, 10, 8, 6, 5, 3, 2, 1).
• Muse album release: Perhaps not too much of a landmark for the year, but something I’d been looking forward to and therefore I’ll sneak it in here. They departed once again from the precedent they had set, experimenting on the new album with some stadium rock (which has drawn comparisons to Queen), a true R&B track in the form of “Undisclosed Desires”, a few tunes in the kick ass style we’re used to and a 3 part symphony. I initially didn’t know what to make of the album. A part of me had wanted it to simply be a continuation of their earlier music, but it’s grown on me and I appreciate it more for being a different experience.
• Rage Against the Machine make Christmas Number 1: This was the first time I listened to the chart show on BBC Radio 1 and I was genuinely on edge throughout. That is until the internet took over and leaked the result part way through. It wasn’t totally certain, but as more of the order it listed was confirmed correct it seemed like Rage were in for the victory, and so they were. Having bought the song myself I was thrilled to see the pop machine dethroned and the smile wiped off Simon Cowell’s face. It only lasted the one week, and McElderry made it to the top a week later (congratulations to him, this wasn’t done to spite him), but the point was made.
• Joe McElderry was well gutted: Sorry, couldn’t resist. It’s not too bad anyway, apparently he’ll make some money out of all this music lark.

Let’s see what happens next year anyway. Overall try to keep a positive vibe going on into 2010. All the best to you from here!

My second gripe (and only other so far) is the ridiculous way that account security is handled. Something which is probably never an issue for most people just went straight to the top of my list. It turns out that if you forget the answer to the security question on your account there is no way to change it. That’s correct, even as an authenticated user you can’t change this setting. In itself I wouldn’t have cared about this. I’m not a moron, I can remember my password (although apparently not my secret answer, yes I do appreciate the irony in this). However, in their infinite wisdom they have decided to require this answer to change the email address associated with the account. This leaves me in a rather crappy situation. My account is associated to an email address that I’m trying to move away from and I’m being denied the option to do so.

What infuriated me at this point was the response I received to my support request. It contained the following: “The problem you were experiencing is now resolved and you should be able to use all the features of your account now.” For some terrible reason this got my hopes up, but it turns out it was some canned bullshit. The website has not been changed to allow this, and I’m still in the same predicament. I’ve sent a reply, but I don’t hold a great deal of hope for it getting a proper response. If it carries on like this I’ll give them a call and see if their phone support is any better.

I’ll write more when there’s some advance in the situation, but for now it’s a case of waiting.

It seems that Kobayashi decided that this trend didn’t apply to him, and brought the car home 9th (Brazil) and 6th (Abu Dhabi) for his two races, both times ahead of his team mate, Jarno Trulli (although Trulli managed to cause chaos on the first lap in Brazil, and didn’t finish as a result). The results by themselves are impressive, and aside from some youthful exuberance in taking Nakajima’s front wing off, his driving showed that he was worthy of those results. He fought with the best of them (including our new champion, Button) and often looked an old hand. It would be foolish to disregard Trulli’s experience, and it remains clear that there are lessons to be learned for Kobayashi, yet I can’t help but feel that he’s already managed to show Trulli up.

With a bit of luck we’ll get to see how it plays out after the winter break, however it seems the young aspirant may be on the verge of having his F1 drive pulled out from under his feet. There seem to be early indications that Toyota will be withdrawing from F1 (usual reasons, lack of return in terms of success rate and HQ wanting to scale back their participation due to the economic climate), which could spell the end for young Kamui. If he’s going to race at all next year he’ll either need to be picked up by another team or get some sort of new sponsorship deal to continue his racing in GP2.

His other option, returning to Japan to work in his father’s sushi restaurant, is a lot less glamorous and would certainly be a shameful waste of talent. For the moment it’s a waiting game which may end up with Kobayashi searching for any team who’ll keep him in the sport.

UPDATE: It’s official then, we’ve lost Toyota. With a bit of luck we’ll have a Sauber run team appearing out of the also withdrawing BMW.