Drupal's variable table -- where most admin settings are saved -- had an overhaul between Drupal 6 and Drupal 7. No longer is it simple to browse the table with the SQL command line or using tools such as phpMyAdmin. Here are a few tricks to make browsing this table simple again.

No one likes being spied on. If you need proof, look no further than the push-back against TSA’s body scanners, concerns about unmanned aerial drones, or the recent clamor over online privacy policy changes.

I get asked this question a lot: What’s the best way to setup a new domain? Unfortunately, the answer has dozens of variations based on what sort of traffic you’re expecting, what kind of Web site you’re running, and what software is running that site. But there is one recommendation that has remained the same for several years: divide or be conquered – put your domain registration, Web hosting, and email hosting with three different companies.

UPDATE: 3/23/2013: In general, these instructions still work for Windows 8. While some of the UI aspects have changed, the basic directions are the same. One exception is when downloading PuTTy. Since it’s an unsigned .exe file, Windows will boldly claim that “Windows protected your PC.” Click More info followed by Run anyways and you’re on your way.

UPDATE: 4/22/2012: A few more scattered updates, plus a new section on setting up XDebug on Aptana for super-easy  debugger config.

Obviously, I’m writing this on a computer. But the keyboard I use is basically the same as the Sholes & Glidden typewriter of 1873, the first model to be commercially successful.  That success has run out as Godrej & Boyce, possibly the last typewriter manufacturer, closes its doors.

The biggest change in Drupal over the past year is not the Git migration or the release of Drupal 7, both of which were fantastic steps forward for Drupal. It’s the more inclusive developer community.

Google ignited a bit of a firestorm when it claimed that Bing was poaching its search results. To test their theory, they baited a honeypot and caught Bing with its hand in the jar.

Someone should make an Amazon.com commercial out of this.

My youngest got a Leapster for Christmas – it was the first gift she opened and she was so fascinated with it that she nearly forgot to open the rest of her gifts.  Like many hi-tech kids toys, it combines education and entertainment.  Kids solve math problems while playing a Frogger-type game, for example, and connect to the LeapFrogs’s Web page to turn their game progress into rewards.

Phoebe was in heaven…  until the stylus stopped working.  And that was only the beginning of LeapFrog’s failure.

Yesterday’s ruling by the FCC regarding “Net Neutrality” allows those of us whose livelihood depends on the Internet to breath a very limited sigh of relief. The Good: the FCC upheld the concept of Net Neutrality for broadband connections; the Bad: they didn’t for wireless connections and they may not have the legal basis to enforce their policy over wireline providers.

See the cartoon after the jump...