I’ve been thinking about starting up the site again over the last moth or so, I even went as far as to upgrade WordPress and change the theme around a month ago, but never actually posted anything after that.

Like most people, on the 1st of Jan of every year, I subconsciously think “how can I make this year better than the last”. So here’s what I’m going to do: I’m going to start posting here again as of today. My personal goal is a minimum of 1 post per week. I think this is a fairly easy goal to achieve and hopefully go beyond. I’m looking at this as a fresh start. A new beginning. God knows I need it. My my own admission I’ve been pretty poorly motivated over the last few months to the point where at times I could barely be bothered to check my emails.

But, all that ends right now. I’m not going to try and list out a bunch of new years resolutions, as doing that just creates stupid amounts of pressure, and you end up pissed off with yourself when/if you dont meat your own expectations. All I am going to do is make myself more relaxed and productive. How I’m going to be doing that remains to be seen. I spent the christmas break mulling a few ideas over in my head and will likely try and modify my workspace and workflow in an attempt to get some sort of order and discipline into my work routine.

So, I’ll be back very soon with some interesting content – I’ve had 890 days to think of things I want to write so there’s no shortage of articles to put together

Now, obviously my choices will not suite many programmers. For this reason, please bear in mind that I’m a PHP developer, and my choices focus on PHP/HTML/CSS development. There are going to be a few repeated apps, simply because there’s a fine line between the two subjects.

Ok, lets get started!

10. VMWare Fusion
As any web developer will know, getting your sites to work properly in all the major browsers can be a nightmare. Especially when you’ve got to work around IE. For this reason, I needed to have a way to test out my work on Internet Explorer 6, 7 and 8, as well as some other, less well known Windows only browsers. VMWare fusion lets you install, and run Windows on top of your existing OS X system. You can effectively run windows and mac applications side-by-side seamlessly. This is great when testing our your work in those Windows browsers. VMWare has a few alternatives such as Parallels, or the free VirtualBox by sun. All of these apps provide a great way of getting Windows, Linux or any Unix based OS up an running inside your Mac!

9. Snapz Pro X
Snapz Pro X is a screenshot application, that replaces the standard CMD+Shift+3 screen capture combination with a range of options. For example, instead of saving the screenshot to your desktop, you can put it in the clipboard. In addition to this, you’re not forced to capture the entire screen. Snapz X Pro lets you capture a small selection, a window (‘objects’) or even take a video! It’s a very lightweight application and has some great features!

8. Dropbox -
Where o where would I be without my Dropbox! Dropbox provides you with 2GB of free storage. It acts like a folder on your mac, but whenever files are updated (locally or by another computer with access), the files get synced. Whats great, is that because the files are synced, you don’t need Internet access to use it. I generally use DropBox for storing files that I’m working on, allowing me to access them on my iMac, or my MacBook Pro. There’s also a great revisions system, which means if you accidentally overwrite a file, you can log into their site, and retrieve it, similar to a subversion setup. If you use THIS LINK to get a Dropbox account, I get some extra free space, and so do you. If you dont want to use that link, you can go directly to GetDropbox.com and register.

I’m currently using the free 2GB, however for $9.99 /month (or $99.99 /year) you can upgrade to 50GB storage. They also offer a 100GB option for $199.99 / year.

7. Active Collab
I only really started using this over the last month, however have found it to be fantastic for managing my web projects. It lets you track release versions (and their individual tasks, documents, etc), projects, files, staff, time tracking, etc. Its fantastic. There are a few free alternatives out there, and a fork was made off of the first release of Active Collab before it stopped being a free app.

6. Web Developer Toolbar (Firefox)
The Web Developer Toolbar is a Firefox addon. Ok, its not technically an App, but its as good as. It lets you perform a range of options on a website, including disabling images, javascript, css, etc as well as add custom stylesheets, resize windows, etc. It’s a must-have for web developers. You can download it for free from the Mozilla addons site!

5. MAMP Pro
MAMP pro is the paid add-on to the free MAMP application. MAMP is basically Apache, MySQL and PHP for your Mac, all ready to use. MAMP Pro adds on an attractive GUI to allow you to setup virtual hosts, and configure custom settings per domain. I use it for splitting up projects into separate local sub-domains.

4. Transmit
Transmit is a paid FTP application, with a fantastic GUI and range of features. It’s made by Panic, the same guys that brought you Coda. Transmit is a fantastic FTP application, and supports all major functions. In addition, it supports Amazon S3, WebDav, SFTP and SCP.

3. Photoshop
I think this one goes without saying. I’ve been using Photoshop for over 5 years and have yet to find anything remotely similar. Even GIMP, an application that Linux lovers swear is just as good as Photoshop, really does not come anywhere near the features of this great Adobe app. I’m using CS4 on my MBP, and CS3 on the iMac (simply because I’ve not really needed to upgrade yet!)

2. Terminal
I’m a heavy Terminal user when developing. I generally tend to keep terminal open 24/7 because it allows me complete control of my Linux server. I use it to debug, test and install software. If you’re strictly dealing with a Mac, you’re not going to be needing this, however its a handy tool to have when you’ve not got a GUI handy!

1. Coda
Yes, Coda’s done it again. You will recall, Coda made it to the top of my last ‘Top 10′ post, for the simple reason that there is nothing like it! Coda provides a complete web development suite; A site management system, a file browser, a code editor, a css editor, a terminal, books and a web browser. What more could you need?!

So, those are my top 10, what are yours?

So, heres a little project update to let you know where I’m at.

VPSSpeed
VPSSpeed is expanding at a phenomenal rate. In the last week we’ve filled 2 Core 2 Quad (8GB RAM) servers and taken in a lot of new customers. Unfortunately with these new customers came the fraudsters….you know the ones, those guys who signup, send 50,000+ spam emails, then dump the account. Because of this, an entire IP range got put onto the Spamhaus blacklist!

It forced me to take extra steps to prevent fraud orders. From using MaxMind fraud verification, to no longer allowing free email addresses such as Yahoo and Hotmail. Since doing this, we’ve not had any fraud orders get through.

I’ve got a great range of new features that will be added to VPSSpeed soon. These include:

• Updated website
• Advanced reseller program
• New OS Templates
• A company blog
• Twitter (Who’s not using it these days!?)
• Dedicated Servers
• DNS Hosting
• + more

There are quite a few other little bits and bobs that I’ll keep under wraps for now! We’re also looking at offering VPS hosting in other locations. Whilst our Dallas provider does a great job, we’re looking at offering a few alternate locations such as Atlanta, Tampa, New York, etc.

If you’re interested in a VPS server, then do check out VPSSpeed.com you can also get 25% off your first month with the coupon RMCOM.

WSDReg
WSDReg has taken a bit of a back seat at the moment. This month it is 3 years old and is still going strong with a customer base in the thousands, and domains in the tens of thousands. I’ll be working more with WSDReg in a few months time.

Unnamed top-secret hidden project
This one’s got me rather frustrated. Its something I’ve been working on for close to a year now and is coming very close to ready for use by it’s first customer. I cant go into much detail about it but I’ve mentioned it on my blog before!

There’s not a huge amount to say about this one at this time but I’ll be posting more details once it goes live!

Well that’s about all for now! I’ve only got about 5 weeks left at university (if that) then I’m off for 4 1/2 months, so will post more updates soon!

Pictures to come in the next few weeks so keep watching the Flickr feed!

So, whats been going on? Well the first thing, WebmasterStash had a refurb, and merged with another webmaster community, giving us a much larger array of content in the forums. I decided to close the main site as we simply didn’t have time to add new tutorials, templates and scripts due to work and life commitments. I think we tried biting off more than we could chew with WebmasterStash. Anyway, take a look at the new site (well, forums) and feel free to provide some feedback!

Next up, CLUBdb. This is still a fairly secretive project so I cant go into much detail at the moment. All I can say is that its being backed by a large club in the UK. CLUBdb is to fill a huge void in the market and provide some fantastic features. This probably makes no sense at all due to its secrecy…but don’t worry. It will make plenty of sense soon!

Mike has been working hard at a new Rike script. He started off working on a download manager, much like FMDeluxe (if anyone reading this can remember that far back! :p). However decided that his time would be better spent on a non open-source script, that way it could be marketed and licensed out to other companies. Mike is now working on an e-commerce based script with some fantastic new features that rival some of the best shopping carts out there!

The RikeMedia website will also be making a return soon with a new design and company blog. We will be issuning press releases and updates on projects, plus have sections showing what services and products are offered by the company.

Well I think thats about it for now. I’ll be launching the WSDReg Christmas promotion in the next few days and will be offering some fantastic offers! Be sure to keep your eyes on WSDReg.com for the full details!

I’m now a full time student studying Computer Science at the University of Hertfordshire. The best bit is that on my induction interview I was asked “You do know you got a £3,000 scholarship?” to which my reply was “Uh…no….but thank you!” :p

With my little (free) nest egg, I’ll be buying whatever new Apple laptop gets released tonight/tomorrow morning! I’m going to be buying a MacBook Pro to replace my 8 month old MacBook!

So, tomorrow afternoon I will post the unboxing pictures!

(ok, ok….this was a poor excuse for a blog post, but I am getting quite excited at the prospect of finally owning a MacBook Pro!)

I’ve now started the mammoth task of moving from one room, to another…why you ask? To fit in 2 brand new desks! I was all prepared to put them in the current room, just about to go and buy them and did a final measurement of where they were going to go….only to find they weren’t going to fit! So I’m now moving to a MUCH bigger room, with lots of space for the desks. I decided whilst I was at it I may as well go all out and get wooden/laminate flooring put in too. So today I’ve gotta get everything out of my room (which is currently pretty cluttered with total crap so its gotta be a good thing!)

So, once I’ve moved in to my new room, I’ll post some pics of the workspace. I know members over at the MacRumors forums love seeing other peoples work spaces (and I have to say, so do I) for inspiration, so that should make a few people happy!

So yeah, that’s about it…I know this post probably wont interest many people, but I’m excited and had to air that excitement somewhere! (Yes, I can be sad :p)

We decided the best thing to do would be to flip sites. Make em’, sell em’ or buy em’, fix em’, sell em’! I’ve been watching the videos at SiteFlipAcademy and Justin has done a great job! He’s got some great information on his site, and in his videos. Anyone looking to become a ‘flipper’ should take a look at his site.

Currently I’m working on getting our new RikeMedia site done, which will run on WordPress, but not be an actual blog. I like wordpress and the way it deals with content…there’s no reason why it cant be used purely as a content manager!

I’m currently integrating the design. After that I will re-write all the content and such as well as insert a portfolio for all the sites we make/sell.

Mikes working on a custom CMS which we will use on some of the sites we make to sell. I’ve not seen it yet but it sounds pretty fancy….custom licensing system, modules, template engine, all the cool little features you’ll ever need. Oh, and complete integration with vB 3.7.

We are thinking about licensing it out (I.E selling licenses) as it will match if not beat the features and functionality of many premium scripts out there.

For the sites that don’t need a CMS we’ll probably just hand code them. There will be a few as not all site needs/wants a complex system.

Our first site up for sale is WebmasterStash. We simply lost the will to keep this going. Its a lot harder than you think, especially when you don’t get a return. It took us over 6 months to make WebmasterStash, before opening in December. Its gotten us nowhere!

Anyway, I’ll post another update about Rike once its up and running.

In other news, next week is my FINAL week of college…it feels really weird, and will feel even more weird when we go downstairs in the lift for the final time. We decided that we would all go to the pub on Tuesday, along with all our tutors (which could be interesting!). A final laugh all together, before we all bugger off to Uni’s all over the country!

Right….thats all for now folks!

Once the new layouts completed I will post it up for download should anyone wish to use it! I did think about moving away from WordPress. A guy I met on the VPSLink forums, Kelvin recently did the same and taught himself Python. His site is now running a totally custom system, and looks fantastic. I was thinking about doing the same, however I really don’t want to learn another language until I’ve sorted some more important things out (I.E WSDReg, Sites, etc). I may still do it, however not until at least next year.

I also was talking to my friend Mike about something I wanted to do. I am planning on creating myself my own management area. Basically with all the sites I have, if I want to check the emails I end up having to jump around all over the place to get to the accounts. So I decided I would make my own mail client (in php) which would allow me to add additional accounts to it from multiple sites, thus providing me with a single interface to manage the accounts with!

At the same time I also want to make myself a code library with reusable code, so I thought why not make it a complete “localhost” system to manage all my web related projects! I’ve not started the mail part, but the code library is getting there.I *may* give the system out when its completed, however I’m not 100% sure if I wish to do that yet.

I will also be moving RickyMills.com to a better host soon. I’ve been with VPSLink for a long time, however my VPS has stated rebooting, and the LXAdmin control panel is god awful to use…the amount of times I’ve had to reboot the server because it ends up hanging on a command or tells me the “back-end is being rebooted” is unbelievable!

VPSLink are really great, but LXAdmin sucks something terrible! So I’ll be getting a decent shared host that I can get a good deal with. Not sure who yet however it wont be until I finish college (about 3 weeks time).

I think that’s it for now!

I am now however finally starting to get back into it, in the last week or so especially. I have a development server, which was replaced by my fantastic insurance company when my last one was ruined in a flood (the server was running in our garage because it was hot and noisy). So the insurance company said I had XXX to spend on the parts, and I would be putting it together…this is about 6-8 months ago.

The server has been working fine, however its big, heavy, noisy and gets very warm (the RAM more than anything!).

So I decided I would try getting something a little smaller, cooler and quieter…then it hit me….a Mac Mini! These little things are tiny, silent and can run headless (I.E without a screen, keyboard and mouse).I looked around the web and found some really great articles on setting up a Mac Mini as a server. One guy has even taken 2 mac minis and put them into a single 1u server…giving him 2 top speed servers!

Anyway, my Mac Mini is due to arrive today, so I’m currently waiting patiently :p I got a pretty great deal, Intel C2D 1.68Ghz with 1GB RAM and a 100GB HDD for £250 (the current cheapest Mac Mini is £399, or £350 with astudent discount). I also happened to sell my old iPod Touch at the same time so ended up paying £150! Very good deal!!

Once its all setup, I’m going to start setting up and selling sites once more, and will also do a bit of flipping (buy, fix, sell). I’ve not done it in a few months (well, I did do FotoRazor however that was a bit of a failure in the end!).

I also hope to get myself a large library of small sites that will generate a small Adsense income to keep my account ticking over. Plus I will be making a page with sites for sale to go on my site.

I’m making another post after this one with more info as I don’t want to overwhelm you all in a single post!