HTML colours

The following list of 140 HTML colours stems from the original X11 colour names and is our preferred choice of defining colours in web content. While not recognised by some of the older browsers, all modern general-purpose browsers support the full list:

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PHP upgrade woes

There’s been lots of noise about PHP 5.0.5 breaking application code which had been happily running for quite some time under previous versions.

Given the following two functions:

function foo(&$stuff) {
   echo $stuff;
}

function bar() {
   return "hello world";
}

This bit of code will not output the string “hello world”, as might be expected:

foo(bar());

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Sony software: dumb, defective and dangerous

Sony have embarrassed themselves recently with their dumb, defective and dangerous attempt at copy protecting some CD releases under their “Sony BMG” label.

Most major anti-virus companies have already identified the software as spyware. Computer Associates, for instance, have labelled it as:

“A trojan that opens security vulnerabilities through rootkit functionality.”

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Email etiquette

Dealing with junk mail from spammers is one thing. But junk mail I personally get from people I know is another. Chain letters, stupid attachments, pointless replies and virus hoaxes are not only a waste of bandwidth but they’re a waste of time as well.

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Wordpress is secure, Sam

In his article for The Age from a few days ago, entitled “Linux worm attacks PHP flaw”, Sam Varghese asserts:

“The vulnerability is present in popular content management systems such as PostNuke, WordPress, Drupal, Serendipity, phpAdsNew, phpWiki and phpMyFAQ which have not yet been patched.”

I don’t think you’ve done your homework, Sam. WordPress 1.5 or higher is safe. See this:

http://wordpress.org/development/2005/11/wordpress-is-secure/

In fact, so are most of the other applications mentioned. Before you commit to a story for your newspaper, it’s important to do your research, Sam. Otherwise you run the risk of looking like a goose.

EDIT: Sam has notified me today (Wednesday, 16 November 2005) that the article has now been changed to read:

“The vulnerability is present in versions of popular content management systems such as PostNuke, WordPress, Drupal, Serendipity, phpAdsNew, phpWiki and phpMyFAQ which have not yet been patched.”

The bold bits are the alterations he decided to make. Just two words which change the meaning of the whole sentence.