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Web Dev + WordPress + Security
20 posts

Fun with the DOS Command Prompt

Note: This article assumes a basic familiarity with the DOS command prompt, and is somewhat of a continuation of our previous article on DOS, Basic DOS Commands. Here, we are exploring a few of the more interesting commands available via the DOS command prompt. For a more complete reference please consult the Windows Help file (Windows XP) by entering the following command at the command-line prompt (or via the Start > Run… dialogue box): Continue reading »

DOS Fundamentals

Ahh, the fun I have at work while experimenting with the command line. I will be the first to admit that I understand very little of DOS, especially when considering the scope of its functional capacity. Nonetheless, I am taking the time to chronicle a few interesting DOScoveries here in this article, as well as in at least a couple of others (see related articles section at the end of this article). Continue reading »

Cultivating a Successful Screenshot Archive

Let’s face it. Websites are as transient as the wind. Developers and designers spend countless hours producing sites that may exist online for mere months or even less before being restructured, redesigned or removed completely, forever disappearing into eternal nothingness — or, even worse, into the sterile void of a search engine database. Clearly not the best situation for designers looking to maintain a complete record of their online work. Continue reading »

Embed Flash and Video via the object Tag

Here is a collection of code snippets for embedding Flash and video using the HTML <object></object> tag. Useful for sites showcasing dynamic multimedia content. Continue reading »

WordPress 2.1 Released

As promised, the fine folks at WordPress have released WordPress 2.1, which has been named “Ella” after jazz legend Ella Fitzgerald. The new version features several key improvements, including lossless XML import/export, spell checking, post Autosave, and even a new search-engine privacy option. All that, and much more. Reading through the vast list of changes and developer features, we are quite excited to dive in and explore the new and improved, “state-of-the-art semantic personal publishing platform.” Continue reading »

Invite Only: Traffic Control via Whitelist

Web developers trying to control comment-spam, bandwidth-theft, and content-scraping must choose between two fundamentally different approaches: selectively deny target offenders (the “blacklist” method) or selectively allow desirable agents (the “opt-in”, or “whitelist” method). Currently popular according to various online forums and discussion boards is the blacklist method. The blacklist method requires the webmaster to create and maintain a working list of undesirable agents, usually blocking their access via htaccess or php. The downside of blacklisting is that it requires considerable […] Continue reading »

Essential Mint Extensions

As many statistics freaks already know, Mint is an excellent way to keep a close eye on your site’s visitors, referrers, most requested resources, and much more. Even better, Mint’s functionality is easily enhanced via a growing collection of free extensions referred to as “Peppers”. Peppers provide Mint functionality for a wide range of statistical operations, including everything from geographical IP information to nice, graphical summaries of collected data. Continue reading »

Maximum and Minimum Height and Width in Internet Explorer

Behold the seventh wonder of the virtual world: max/min-height and max/min-width properties are possible in Internet Explorer! Indeed, by taking advantage of IE’s proprietary CSS attribute, expression, you too can whip IE widths and heights into desirable proportions. The CSS expression attribute enables JavaScript commands to be executed within Internet Explorer. JavaScript via CSS? Thanks, Microsoft! Continue reading »

Rename the Recycle Bin in WinXP

This quick tutorial explains how to rename the Recycle Bin in WinXP. For those of us who like to customize our desktop environments. Continue reading »

Industrial-Strength Spamless Email Links

In our previous article on creating spamless email links via JavaScript, the presented method, although relatively simple to implement, is not the most effective solution available. Spambots, email harvesters, and other online scumbags relentlessly advance their scanning technology, perpetually rendering obsolete yesterday’s methods. Continue reading »

Perishable Press Unresolved Error Log

This post is hereby dedicated to the official logging of all unresolved and/or unexplained errors encountered during development or implementation of various plugins, extensions, themes, scripts, and/or anything else that results in bizarre and mysterious errors, bugs, or other anomalies. Further, we will also post any potential solutions, fixes, workarounds, or explanations for any errors logged in this post. This information is provided for reference purposes only — please share any related information you may have concerning any of the […] Continue reading »

Welcome to Second-Generation iPod nano

The second-generation iPod nano is the perfect perpetual soundscape delivery system. Its lightweight design, intuitive interface, and generous storage capacity encourage digital listening pleasure virtually everywhere. The sound quality is crystal clear even at deafening volumes, and the sharp display screen makes it super-easy to configure a highly customizable set of preferences. The zen-like control wheel features touch-sensitive volume adjustment, which tricks you into thinking that you are magic or something every time you change the volume. It may be […] Continue reading »

Riding the Wave

Compared to some of the big players out there on the internet, we here at Perishable Press run a relatively small website. We began this project in September of 2005 with nothing but a domain name and a pocketful of inspiration. During the first several months of development, our traffic statistics looked something like: one unique visitor and 10,000 hits (i.e., nobody but us). And then, suddenly and unexpectedly, everything changed.. Continue reading »

Keep it Dark: Hiding and Filtering CSS

Hiding and filtering CSS rules for specifically targeted browsers is often a foregone conclusion when it comes to cross-browser design considerations. Rather than dive into some lengthy dialogue concerning the myriad situations and implications of such design hackery, our current scheduling restraints behoove us to simply cut to the chase and dish the goods. Having said that, we now consider this post a perpetually evolving repository of CSS filters.. Continue reading »

Memorable Quotes, Part 2

The amazingly profound and incoherent things that people say on teh Internetz.. Continue reading »

Delete index.dat on Windows 98SE

This brief tutorial on removing (and replacing) the index.dat file applies to any Windows OS running on MS-DOS. Although I haven’t researched this officially, it appears that all Windows versions released prior to Windows 2000 are running on the 16-bit MS-DOS kernel. Conversely, Win2000 and WinXP operate on a 32-bit kernel and thus do not utilize MS-DOS. Thus, this method focuses on removing the index.dat from machines running Windows 95, 98, and 98SE. Continue reading »

Welcome
Perishable Press is operated by Jeff Starr, a professional web developer and book author with two decades of experience. Here you will find posts about web development, WordPress, security, and more »
Banhammer: Protect your WordPress site against threats.
Thoughts
I live right next door to the absolute loudest car in town. And the owner loves to drive it.
8G Firewall now out of beta testing, ready for use on production sites.
It's all about that ad revenue baby.
Note to self: encrypting 500 GB of data on my iMac takes around 8 hours.
Getting back into things after a bit of a break. Currently 7° F outside. Chillz.
2024 is going to make 2020 look like a vacation. Prepare accordingly.
First snow of the year :)
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