Jason Fox

Tim Hahne reduces the 24 hour endurance race at the Nurburgring into just 19,500 frames. 13 beautiful minutes of Porsches, Ferraris, Audis, Aston Martins, BMWs and lots of German men wearing massive headphones.

Here are the steps for installing Apache2 with SSL support on your local development machine. Several of our applications require HTTPS for certain actions and I’ve been bitten in the past by not testing this in development. So, here’s how to get Apache up and running with SSL.

Compiling and Installing Apache

1. Download the latest source distribution (v2.2.15 for me) from: http://httpd.apache.org
2. Extract the source: tar -xvf httpd-2.2.15.tar.gz
3. Create an install directory (I put it in /usr/local): sudo makedir /usr/local/apache2
4. Configure the makefile with the following options: ./configure --prefix=/usr/local/apache2 --enable-ssl --enable-setenvif --enable-proxy --enable-headers
5. Compile the source code: make
6. Install apache: sudo make install
7. Create your self-signed SSL keys by following this tutorial: http://developer.apple.com/internet/serverside/modssl.html
   • Scroll down to the Configuring SSL section and start from there
   • You will need to download mod_ssl to get the sign.sh script mentioned in the tutorial but that’s all you need it for. You’ll notice the mod_ssl site says it’s only for Apache 1.3.X. That is because Apache2 has built in SSL support which we enabled in the makefile configuration above so mod_ssl is no longer needed.
8. Edit your httpd.conf file: sudo vi /usr/local/apache2/conf/httpd.conf
9. Add the following configuration to the bottom of the file to proxy all HTTP and HTTPS requests to port 3000, i.e., Rails:
   • This assumes Rails is running on port 3000 on your machine
   • This assumes you put the SSL keys where the tutorial told you to
   • The last tag might already be in your httpd.conf file, if so, no need to repeat it here

     # Apache needs to know you want to accept connections over HTTPS
     Listen 443
     
     SSLCertificateFile /etc/httpd/ssl.key/server.crt
     SSLCertificateKeyFile /etc/httpd/ssl.key/server.key
     
     # Below is optional, but was helpful to me in debugging this setup
     CustomLog logs/ssl_request_log  "%t %h %{SSL_PROTOCOL}x %{SSL_CIPHER}x \"%r\" %b" 
     
     <VirtualHost *:80>
         ServerName localhost
         ServerAlias 127.0.0.1
     
         ProxyPass / <a href="http://localhost:3000/">http://localhost:3000/</a>
         ProxyPassReverse / <a href="http://localhost:3000">http://localhost:3000</a>
         ProxyPreserveHost on
     
     <VirtualHost *:443>
         SSLEngine On
         ServerName localhost
         ServerAlias 127.0.0.1
     
         ProxyPass / <a href="http://localhost:3000/">http://localhost:3000/</a>
         ProxyPassReverse / <a href="http://localhost:3000">http://localhost:3000</a>
         ProxyPreserveHost on
         RequestHeader set X_FORWARDED_PROTO 'https'
     
     <ifmodule ssl_module>
         SSLRandomSeed startup builtin
         SSLRandomSeed connect builtin
     </ifmodule>
     

Auto-starting Apache

If you’d like to have apache start automatically whenever your computer starts do the following:

1. Create a new plist file for apache with a unique name: sudo vi /Library/LaunchDaemons/org.apache.httpd
2. Put the following in the file (assuming you installed apache in /usr/local/apache2):

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
   <!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
   <plist version="1.0">
       <dict>
           <key>KeepAlive</key>
           <true />
           <key>Label</key>
           <string>org.apache.httpd</string>
           <key>ProgramArguments</key>
           <array>
               <string>/usr/local/apache2/bin/apachectl</string>
               <string>start</string>
           </array>
           <key>RunAtLoad</key>
           <true />
           <key>UserName</key>
           <string>root</string>
           <key>WorkingDirectory</key>
           <string>/usr/local/apache2</string>
       </dict>
   </plist>
   

3. Test it out with launchd: sudo launchctl load -w /Library/LaunchDaemons/org.apache.httpd; You should see several instances of httpd running if you do a: ps aux | grep httpd

Testing it out

1. Fire up Rails on whatever port you are forwarding your HTTP/HTTPS requests to
2. Request an action with HTTP
3. Request an action with HTTPS

Possible Problems

I encountered the following cryptic error in FireFox when I was testing out an Apache install on a second dev box:

SEC_ERROR_REUSED_ISSUER_AND_SERIAL

I found out by reading through some forums that each SSL certificate needs to have a unique serial number. Since I had followed the above procedure to install Apache and SSL on both my laptop and the second dev box I already had a certificate with the same serial number stored in my browser (for my local machine) as the one on the second dev box. If you follow the above process the serial number of your certificate will be 01. So to fix this do the following on your new certificate (for me it was the one on the dev box):

sudo openssl x509 -req -days 365 -in server.csr -CA ca.crt -CAkey ca.key -set_serial 02 -out server.crt

This simply assigns 02 to the second certificate and keeps FireFox happy. You probably will not encounter this problem unless you are testing SSL on multiple machines like I was but I figured I’d mention it anyways. Note, you can see the serial number of a certificate in FireFox by going to:

Firefox > Preferences > Advanced > View Certificates (button)


Then double click on a certificate of interest. Also note that Chrome did not complain about this but FireFox won’t even let you visit a site with a duplicate serial number.

If you get stuck…

Try one of the following resources that I used to get this up and running:

• Testing SSL Requirements on Rails
• Using mod_ssl on Mac OS X
• Same Serial Number of Certificate Error

I think the geeks have it wrong.  The iPad is a revolutionary device and a game changing one at that.  I believe that the iPad is to computing what the Nintendo Wii is to video gaming.  While it may not have the most amazing graphics, the most powerful CPU (though it just might), the most storage or even all of the features that we want such as multitasking, it does not matter.  I repeat, it does not matter, just as it did not matter for the Wii.

The Nintendo Wii is really just a GameCube in different packaging just like the iPad is just an iPod Touch in bigger packaging.   The “magic” of the Wii is not it’s amazing technical specifications like say the Sony Playation 3.  No, the real magic of the Wii is in its ability to change the way that the game is played; literally and figuratively.

The Wii is appealing because anyone can play the games, old, young, veteran video gamers or newcomers and have fun playing them.  The Wii removes the requirement of being a video gamer to play video games.  There’s no need to master impossible sequences of key presses just to be able to challenge your friend to a game of tennis.  Instead you just pick up the controller and play; it requires no instruction and therefore lowers the barriers to video gaming.  The iPad does the same thing for computing.

The iPad is the first “computer” that I would consider buying my mom (actually the Litl Webook was the first, however, it is now surely doomed).  The trick of the iPad is that it removes the “computer-y” things from the computer.  This one aspect of the iPad is the key thing that absolutely makes it a revolutionary device irrespective of it’s technical specifications or naive feature set.  The iPad allows anyone young, old, tech savvy or not to be able to intuitively use a computer for the first time in history.  This to me is why the iPad is a game changer and is one reason why the iPad will not be a flop.

The iPad is a harbinger of things to come in computing, specifically in human-computer interaction models and I, for one, welcome it.

Streaming audio with Apple’s Airport express is seamless and simple.  You plug in the Airport Express into the wall, plug in the audio cables (NOT INCLUDED) to your stereo and off you go.  However, if you want to watch movies on your computer and enjoy the same wireless audio you get with iTunes, things get a bit more complicated.

First off, Apple’s Airtunes protocol apparently has a built in 2-ish second delay before it starts playing the audio you’ve summoned up.  That’s not a problem if you’re listening to music, but, if your audio is paired with some video the result is unsycnhronized viewing.  More importantly, though, is the fact that iTunes only let’s you stream music to the Airport Express.  What about that pirated copy of Paranormal Activity you just downloaded from bit torrent?  Fear not, there is a solution.

First you need to get a nice little app called Airfoil.  Airfoil allows you to stream ANY audio from any application to your Airport Express.  Wow, perfect!  Well, hold on a second, let’s return to that little issue with Apple’s Airtunes protocol before you plop down your $25 for a license (you were going to BUY a license, weren’t you?).

The problem again is that any audio you play over the air with your Airport Express will be delayed about 2 seconds.  This means that your audio will lag behind your video.  Booooo… Ok, so, let’s just delay the video a bit so that the audio has time to catch up!  Simple solution, right?  Yes and no.

Desynchronization of audio and video will work in video players like VLC.  VLC makes desynchronization of audio and vidoe really, really simple.  In fact, you can change the sychronization settings on the fly by pressing the “f” and “g” keys.  I found a post that explains it all.  (Note that his instructions are for an older version of VLC.  However, the instructions are the same except that in the new one you select the “All” radio button in the bottom left hand corner of the preferences pane instead of the “Advanced” checkbox to access VLC’s full array of settings.  Also I found -2100 to be a better delay for me.)

Unfortunately there is no solution that I know of for synchronizing internet video like Hulu.com with the delayed audio of the Airport Express.  That’s a bit of a let down as Hulu.com is really the only way I watch “television” these days (It’s not exactly television if I watch it on my computer, now is it? I’m really “watching computer”.  Oh what will we do when the mediums we’re used to are no more?  How will we know what to call things anymore? Will a newspaper still be called a newspaper if we read it on Apple tablet or will it be a newstablet?)  If anyone knows of a solution please let me know.

In conclusion, a combination of Apple’s Airport Express, Airfoil and VLC allow you to cut the cords and enjoy audio on your stereo wirelessly, however, it’s not without faults and frustrations and some big exceptions (read: no Hulu.com). Oh, I should mention that Airfoil does ship with its own video player that handles the audio desyncrhonization for you.  I however was unable to get it to play several of my videos.

Ever have Expose freeze up on you? Command-TAB stops working, Spaces stops working, the Dock stops working, show desktop stops working, show windows stops working; you’re trapped!  Well, if you happen to have a terminal window open or can launch one, fear not!  Simply issue the following command (make sure to use a capital ‘D’) and you’re golden.  No restart required!

$ killall Dock

Share and enjoy!

Recently I had a problem with Bj where it would not start up.  Nothing was written to the backgroundjob log or Rails log and no exception was being thrown.  To make the problem even stranger, Bj would start-up just fine in development but not in production but worked just fine in production from script/console.  After digging into the Bj code and adding some debug statements I found the problem.

# database.yml
development:
  adapter: mysql
  database: my_development
  username: me
  password: password
  host: localhost
  port: 3306

test:
  adapter: mysql
  database: my_test
  username: me
  password: password
  host: localhost
  port: 3306

production:
  development

Bj was getting an ActiveRecord::ConnectionNotEstablished exception but was swallowing it.  The solution was to explicitly define the production database connection in database.yml.

If you receive the “File system formatter failed” error message while trying to partition a large hard drive using Disk Utility in OSX you need to change the partition type to GUID.  Click the Options… button at the bottom of the partition list and select the GUID Partition Table:

Just got my two Iomega Prestiege 1TB hard drives from Amazon ($104/each) to support my new backup strategy (more on that later).  First impressions: PROS: Very quiet, very solid feeling construction, CONS: Activity light placement forces you to put it to the left of you, the color is not at all like the picture; the drive is more of a gun metal, putty grey than a shiny silver aluminum like the MacBook Pro.  Oh well, all I ask is that it will last longer than my Western Digital MyBook.