I have numerous blogs running WordPress and with the latest release it stated I needed to be running PHP5.0 or better and my current dedicated server was running 4.99, or at least that’s what WordPress was telling me when trying to update. WordPress actually wouldn’t update until I had a newer version of PHP running.

So here is what I had to do to get the latest version of WordPress to self update to 3.2.1.

1. You need to update or add an htaccess file to the folder of your site (main root, not wordpress installation)
2. Using textedit/notepad create a blank file and add this to it or open your file “AddType x-mapp-php5 .php” name the file “.htaccess”
3. upload this to the root folder of your site, it will also work for any subfolders within your site so you only have to upload it once.
4.  I used Transmit to upload but any FTP program will do, if you can’t see the file once you have created it (or can’t see this file to begin with as you might already have one on your server/folder) you will need to find the option “to show hidden files”. You will then be able to see the file.
5. go to your Admin in WordPress and try updating again, and it should work.

I found that after initially changing my htaccess file and updating wordpress I only got the homepage of my blog to work, all the other pages brought up an error. It seemed to clear itself after about five minutes and then all the links worked correctly.

You can find out more from 1and1 here.

Flare for mac from the mac app store is a great image application for editing images.

I noticed the small app in the mac app store, although I use photoshop daily I was intrigued with this program. I downloaded it and started using it for quick edits to photos, it has a number of presets a bit like instagram for the iPhone. It’s a simple drag-and-drop process then you can apply the presets to your images, you can then tweak these individual presets to your liking, then save and export the image.

You can also export directly to Flickr which is very handy for the quick uploads – it maybe me but I couldn’t find a way in which to batch process images.

Choosing the image -

Choose a preset for your image

Editing the presets

Flare is available from the Mac app store or you can get it online from here.

Or visit the Flare website

“Flare is a fast, easy, and beautiful darkroom for your Mac.

With Flare, you can apply photographic effects to your photos, then save them to your Mac, upload them to Flickr, or send them in an email. Flare comes with over twenty presets that create different kinds of effects, but if the preset you’re looking for doesn’t exist yet, you can tinker with the presets or even build your own from scratch.”

My main reason were it’s Christmas coming up and we as a family do lots of calendars, something missing from the new iPhoto and something that Apple forgot to mention about the new iPhoto. I see now that they have last night issued another update that adds calendars back into iPhoto – more on that from TUAW.

You can also read a review of iPhoto11 on TUAW.

Still no reason to go back now, for one iPhoto new interface is a step backwards it awkward to use and very clunky. When you edit your photos in the original iPhoto you had this option to copy the last settings of say levels to the next photo, so you could go through lots of them changing them as you went. Not anymore, that feature has gone. Emailing photos is pretty bad and I can’t think why they did it this way when it just worked before. Producing books and cards is also much harder than it was before, I found it slow and cumbersome to get a book going. All this for just a few new layouts and cards. Read all the issues other users are having on the Apple support site…

And another thing, I have had a mac since 2004 and not once in the UK have I ever had a coupon code for buying books, cards and photos NOT ONCE. I have a mobile me account which I renew each year and still no coupon code or offer, sure this isn’t the case in the USA!!

Here is a quick guide to downgrading iPhoto this helped me and only works if you have a backup of your previous iPhoto – http://appletoolbox.com/tag/iphoto-09/

If you haven’t seen Sherlock Holmes yet the best thing for me about the film (including the CGI shots of London) is the opening and closing title sequence. It a master piece of illustration and design. Read more about how it was done and by who here – Sherlock Holmes opening title sequence.

Check out a set of black & white photos of Southwark Street in London.

www.foz4.com

http://lifehacker.com/5321371/wallpaper-roundup-ocean-views-and-abstract-blues/gallery/

Using CSS for design and layout is a must for todays designers. Here are a few links to Grid layouts and CSS generators to get you started and saving you time when building a new site.

www.gridsystemgenerator.com

www.1kbgrid.com

www.pagecolumn.com

kematzy.com/blueprint-generator

netprotozo.com/grid/

www.designbygrid.com

www.spry-soft.com

http://ilovetypography.com/

More typography here – http://new.typographica.org/2009/features/our-favorite-typefaces-of-2008/

It basically polarizes the photo then allows you too add a tag, the finished product looks like polaroid snaps.

“Want to add a funky retro look to your photos? Polarize will do the job for you! Polarize is the only iPhone application that will do a series of pixel-by-pixel modifications to your photos, getting that true look. No cheezy overlays are done here.

Polarize gives you:

-A great unique look to your photos

-The ability to write at the bottom of your photos with a custom hand written font

-Any size photo is accepted!

-High resolution output”

Why not give it a go, click here for iTunes link or check out his site apps beacon

You can browse all the functions of the phone, then watch a video of the phone abilities in action.

Check out www.42goodthings.com from www.project.se