You run a Linux web server, and have painstakingly crafted custom backup processes for all your important data. Undoubtedly, the backup copies end up being stored in the form of a tar archive. Everything works great – copies are made, compressed, and sent off-site. There’s just one naggy little issue: whenever you open one of those tar backups, it includes the entire directory tree above the folder you actually need. This problem always drove me nuts when creating MySQL database backups.
Here’s the scenario: You have a remote-hosted Linux server that you currently access via SSH by entering a username and password. You would like to use a public/private key pair so that you don’t have to enter a password every time you log in. You do most of your work from a Windows/Mac client, where you generally don’t mess with the command line and would rather not bother to learn. Here’s how to enable key authentication for the root user on your remote Linux server.
My I was trotting along the tubes today with my trusty steed StumbleUpon, when I came across a new iPhone app called Word Lens. I could try to explain how they use the camera to translate signs and display the translation as video right on your phone in real time, but it wouldn’t do justice to their awesome demo:
Mobile apps now officially amaze me.
PHP IDS is an intrusion detection system written in PHP. It allows developers to incorporate security analysis directly into their systems. Since it’s written in PHP, it can go wherever the site goes, and has minimal server requirements. Plus, since it works at the site level, a developer can pick and choose how and when to apply it to site actions. I love it.
Unfortunately, I went to the PHP IDS site today to grab the latest version, only to discover the site is either temporarily down or closed entirely.
This post is part of a series for new entrepreneurs looking to get their first business idea off the ground. Don’t get investors or build the prototype just yet, sit down and answer some basic questions. All it takes is a pen and paper. Looking for the entire First Step Q&A?
1. What does your product actually DO? Put your idea down on paper. If it takes more than a few lines to succinctly define, you need to refine your description or the idea itself.
Several would-be entrepreneurs reached out to me at the end of the year, seeking advice on how to get started with their business ideas. In the course of those conversations, I realized that ideas and expectations were all over the place: they had some pieces in place, while skipping crucial steps in others.
The exercises made me realize that while there’s no end to “starting a business” advice, very little of it explains what you do immediately after the “Hey, wouldn’t it be great if…” moment (probably because that stuff is uninteresting and doesn’t fill a publishable book).
I had the great fortune of being interviewed by the guys over at MO.com earlier this month, discussing Fwd:Vault and what I’ve learned about starting a business in general. Who’s MO.com? From their website…
MO.com interviews entrepreneurs from all walks, across all industries, and from around the world. We focus on their habits and methods; what makes them tick. The primary focus of MO.com is entrepreneurship. M.O. is the abbreviation for Modus Operandi or Method of Operating and we interview entrepreneurs to learn about their methods and to share their strategies and business philosophies with our readers.
My friend Tim Murphy recently launched entrepreneur-startup-guide.com to chronicle his adventures in starting his own company, and one of his first pieces recounts a conversation we had over lunch.
So many people have helped me get started on my journey, I was ecstatic at the opportunity to pay it forward. Apparently he actually found something of value there, and I hope you do too.
Fwd:Vault’s been listed on the startup review site Discovering Startups, which is cool in and of itself. However they also run a monthly contest for most popular startup, and the winner gets front page facetime on their site. All you have to do is click the badge below to visit our review, then click the “Vote” button in the upper righthand corner. No site registrations necessary.
And tell your friends to hit the site as well!
I’ll be down on the University of Tennessee campus in Knoxville this week showing off Fwd:Vault at the Innovation Expo at Global Finals, the year-end celebration event for Destination ImagiNation. Our expo participation kicks off our new partnership with DI. The event is closed to the public, but if you’re an attendee, I’m looking forward to meeting you!
We have events planned throughout the weekend, and I’ll be chronicling them over on the Fwd:Vault blog.
