I’ve probably mentioned this before, but one thing I really wanted to sort out on my Ubuntu desktop, was setting it up as a LAMP server.

LAMP stands for Linux Apache MySQL PHP. Essentially I wanted to get these setup so I could install web applications locally for messing about with, and for working on my own web development skills.

I had previously installed them all from the Ubuntu repositories, but I was having problems with the rights for my various applications, so wanted to have another shot at it.

Of course, like with most things in Ubuntu, the key is in the community resources. There’s a great tutorial for setting this up here. After a short bit of messing about, following the instructions, I was up and running. I got a public_html directory defined for my local user, and then installed a backup copy of this blog to run completely locally. The big advantage being that if there are new mods, or a significant upgrade, or if something’s just giving me grief on the live blog, I’ve now got a safe test environment to work in.

Following a brief look at a friend’s phpBB 3 forum, I’ve also decided to install it on my Ubuntu box as well. I’m really enjoying the idea of being able to play with these things, without them being public on the internet. Plus it gives me a platform to start looking at proper PHP coding, so hopefully I can start trying to customise my blog a bit more.

With Ubuntu 8.04 now including a Wubi installer on the CD, I thought this provided a great chance to try Ubuntu on my laptop. Wubi allows you to install Ubuntu as if it was a Windows application. It installs via Windows, but on rebooting, you get the choice of Windows or Ubuntu to boot into. If you decide you want rid of it, then boot into Windows, and uninstall Ubuntu like any other Windows app. The real benefit of this is that it doesn’t touch your Windows system, so for trying out Ubuntu it gives you the complete experience with none of the risk.

It works very well I must say. It installed easily, and on booting it sorted out the Linux system in the virtual disc it had created. Eventually I was faced with the usual Ubuntu login prompt and then desktop.

Unfortunately there was one thing that gave me a problem. I couldn’t get my wireless to work at all. My laptop (HP NX6110) has a Broadcom card that is apparently supported, but I had varying degrees of success via ndiswrapper and the bcm43xx drivers. Ndiswrapper at least managed to get my laptop’s wifi light to come on, but I couldn’t then get connected to my wireless network. I should say however that my ethernet worked no problem.

So, despite messing around with it for a good while, I just couldn’t get the wifi to work. I ended up removing the ubuntu installation, but I wouldn’t let this stop anyone else from trying out Wubi. Wifi is still tied up in proprietary Windows drivers for the most part, and for anyone else curious about trying Ubuntu out, I’d really recommend trying out the Wubi installation method. Everything else worked fine on my laptop on boot up (display, sound, ethernet) and its a great tool for anyone curious about Linux, but unsure about getting rid of their Windows installation.

You know, this season is off to such a strong start, and doesn’t seem to be letting up.

Probably an even stronger episode than last week, we had Helen Raynor’s second Dr Who story. Still dealing with the return of a classic enemy, this time she was writing the first appearance of the Sontarans in new Who.

I wasn’t a big fan of her Dalek 2-parter this year, but I’ve enjoyed her Torchwood scripts, and this was a great first part. It packed in loads, and successfully reinvented the Sontarans. Well, I say reinvented, but beyond their new blue suits, they were very true to their initial concept.

Their love of warfare was brought to the fore in a way it probably hadn’t been before, but I think this worked well to set them apart from the other alien menaces. I especially liked the touch of Staal being bitter about his race’s exclusion from the Time War. We also saw the return of some Sontaran staples. Just like in the Time Warrior, we saw the Sontarans hypnotising humans, pushing them to the point of death as a workforce. They’re also happy to use other humans in achieving their goals, with Rattigan being used in presumably much the same way as Irongron was (or indeed the Androgums in The Two Doctors).

For arc fans, we also had the third (by my count) mention of the Medusa Cascade this season. There seems to be a few arc threads putting put into the stories, and this seems to be one of the more mysterious. The Master mentioned it last year, and beyond its name, we have little idea of its significance.

Great to see Wilf back as well. His role as Donna’s Grandad has really clicked in a way Martha’s family didn’t last year.

And talking of Martha, I loved her return. Its no secret I was a fan of her character last year, and this more mature version works well. Her working for UNIT was, of course, mentioned in her Torchwood appearances, but still makes a lot of sense, much like Rose working for the alt-Torchwood. It makes sense that the Doctor’s companions would take up roles like these, unable to ignore what they’ve seen while travelling with the Doctor. Much like we’ve also seen Sarah Jane carrying on the cause (albeit without the benefit of a big organisation like Rose or Martha).

If the rest of the season can maintain this level of quality, then its fair to say it’ll have been the strongest one yet. Which is appropriate given its minor rest next year.

Hasbro have updated their site with new pictures of the Animated Ultra Magnus toy (there’s a lot of new info due to Botcon being this weekend).

I’m definitely picking this guy up.   He looks really cool