Configuring XAMPP as a Wordpress development server

By tim | Published: August 28, 2010

Finally!  I’ve managed to get a satisfying development environment for Wordpress on my local machine! I’ve had a semi-operational setup for a few years, but have just managed to meet all my needs!

I’m using XAMPP on Mac OSX to design my Wordpress themes, and now my setup features:

  • a sensible, unique hostname for my local site (eg. memelab.dev)
  • prettylinks using url rewrite
  • functioning Wordpress and plugin updates
  • a wp-config.php edit which eliminates the need to edit the database when uploading the site to the production server Read More »
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Productivity on the Mac: Saving Files

By tim | Published: March 5, 2010

If there’s one thing that annoys me, its trawling through a Save As dialog box in order to save the file to an appropriate location.

Save time with three simple but rarely mentioned strategies which can take the pain out of filing your documents. Read More »

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Photoshop Precision: Using transform options

By tim | Published: February 16, 2010

This is the next installment in the Photoshop Precision series: how to cut the guesswork out of scaling and positioning your images.

You can postion and scale objects precisely using the transform toolbar, which runs along the top of the screen if it is set to visible.

To show it, you must be in transform mode (Command-T [Mac] or Control-T [PC] or Edit > Free Transform), and the options must visible (Window > Options). Read More »

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Buying a Secondhand Macbook, in detail

By tim | Published: February 15, 2010

Macs rock.  Here is an update of my previous post on buying secondhand now covering hardware differences, where to buy in Australia, Applecare warranty, and why they hold their value.

I’m a big fan, because its the very best way to recycle, and its cheaper!  I’ve had really good experiences, having bough a Powerbook secondhand, sold 2 macs to friends, and advised several other friends on satisfactory purchases.  I’ve covered everything that comes to mind, and included links to more information where relevant. Read More »

Posted in Hardware | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Photoshop Precision: Avoid blurring your image

By tim | Published: February 9, 2010

This is the second article in the Photoshop Precision series.

Photoshop sometimes appears to blur objects, lines or images.  This could be due to rounding, or losing data after transforming a layer.  Read on for best practice in resizing images and creating vector shapes, and come to grips with the way Photoshop displays your document. Read More »

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