Users of WordPress who have recently upgraded to version 2.5.1 should double check their RSS feeds! It’s taken me nearly 6 weeks to spot that my Google Reader hadn’t updated with the latest entries/comments from slickhouse.com!

Knowing that plenty of comments and a handful of posts had been made after May 1st, I started looking for the cause of the problem. Initially I thought it was due to the move from my shared Linux hosting to dedicated Windows hosting (at slickhouse). However, trawling through server logs showed that slickhouse had migrated long before then.

The next step was to work out what files (if any) had changed. Unfortunately 4 things occured at the start of May - upgrading to the version 8 theme; moving MySQL to another dedicated server; updating the permalinks within the database and upgrading to WordPress 2.5.1

A few Google searches later (after exhausting the first 3 things) found that many others had experienced problems with their RSS feeds after upgrading to version 2.5.1 - a bug that to this day still appears to be un-fixed.

However, there is a solution. You need to update all links to your RSS feed from /wp-rss2.php to /feed/. For the comments, /wp-commentsrss2.php becomes /comments/feed/ - much friendlier! If you’re using Feedburner (highly recommended) then you’ll also need to update the URL to your feeds within your account.

Within the WordPress PHP theme code, you can call these links using:

<? php bloginfo('rss2_url'); ?>
<? php bloginfo('comments_rss2_url'); ?>

This is a temporary solution until the WordPress development team come up with a fix to the bug, however many may switch to these URLs permanently for their RSS feeds, or at least until they break again. Let me know if you too have encountered empty feeds. And for those wanting to subscribe to the slickhouse.com feeds - links are in the top-right (hover your mouse over the RSS icon).

Nearly 2 years after purchasing the relevant parts to make Red19, the Foxconn C51XEM2AA-8EKRS2H motherboard is slowly dying. A while back, both of the onboard Gigabit network adapters stopped working, which forced me to purchase a PCI adapter to continue using the machine.

Recently the keyboard has stopped responding after a period of time. Firstly it would spew out a string of random characters, after merely pressing A. But now it has evolved to no output at all. Initially thinking it was Vista (with a format on the horizon), I then noticed that it wouldn’t work during POST (let alone the BIOS). So that ruled out the software setup. Then thinking it was the Saitek keyboard itself, I opted for an old PS2 affair - but today this has proved to be useless too. So, putting it altogether I’m concluding that the motherboard is at fault.

The AM2 CPU HSF bracket on the Foxconn had snapped a few weeks ago, which I didn’t notice until I pulled the side off for a spring clean. This meant that the CPU had been overheating for weeks (perhaps months). But after fitting a new bracket and a new blob of thermal paste, the problems have continued.

So, now for options. Budget is tight here, as Lily is on the way. And it’s not an emergency, as I’m typing this on my VAIO without any problems. But my new HDD video camera is filling up with video that needs editing soon (and putting on the web!), so I’ll need Red19 up and running again in the near future.

1. New AM2+ motherboard (with support for Quad core)
2. New Intel 775 motherboard + Core 2 Quad Q6600

Both options are viable at this stage. 1 would set me back £50+ depending on choice. 2 would set me back £200+ again, depending on choice. Of course, I’d also want to chuck in another 4GB RAM (totalling 6GB) as the prices have plummeted recently and to make good use of the 64bit technology.

However, after reading many news articles about Intel’s (and AMD’s) new motherboards just around the corner, I think 1 is more practical. Afterall, I made the choice to go AMD 2 years ago, a few months prior to Core 2’s release, thinking that it would be nothing special…

Let me know if you have any AM2+ motherboard recommendations. No special requirements, apart from the option of continuing with the overclock for the 4000 X2 processor (2.0GHz > 2.6GHz) with no fuss. The Foxconn was good, but has shortlived all expectations I had for it - especially as it was around the £150 mark. RMA may be an option, so I’ll let you know if I go down that road.

This year’s Apprentice, season 4 is drawing to a close. Last night’s episode showed the final 5 candidates clawing their way through 4 gruelling interviews.

Whereas in previous seasons, we have seen Sir Alan fire several candidates to leave him with 2 potential Apprentices for the final - this year he decided to just eliminate Lucinda, the oddest candidate to date.

In fact, this series has seen a lot of shock firings in the boardroom, with Sir Alan getting rid of multiple candidates in several episodes. Has he become more ruthless this time around, to ensure he won’t end up with a monkey working for him?

We’ve followed each week’s episode very closely and have our bets on Alex walking away with the apprenticeship. Roll on next week’s final!

Tonight we met my grandparents in a pub for a catch-up meal, as they were staying in the area. This meant that we missed our usual Wednesday evening ritual - The Apprentice, Tuesdays @ 9pm on BBC1.

Luckily, BBC’s iPlayer makes the unmissable, unmissable. So, a few minutes after it had finished on BBC1 (just as we returned from the pub), I turned on the wireless laptop and we were able to watch the full episode in full-screen glory. No installations or 3rd party programs, no active-x controls or scripts, just the usual Flash 9, as per YouTube.

I have to admit that it’s the first time I’ve used the iPlayer - though Anneka and Emily have used it countless times recently, to watch programmes they’d missed. The quality is good and consistant, though there was visible tearing and stuttering from time-to-time. I think this is due to the limitations of streaming Flash media, rather than bottlenecks in the 10MB cable broadband, or the wireless connection.

So, if you’re going to miss, or have already missed a BBC TV programme - then catch up with the unmissable via the highly recommended BBC iPlayer. We’re going to use it again next Wednesday for The Apprentice, as we’ve already booked tickets to go and see Sex and the City.

Oh, as for tonight’s episode of The Apprentice - we were shocked that Alpha won, as their advert and packaging looked horrid, but Rennaissance missed one minor point - their ad contained no mention of the product that they were trying to sell. School boy error #1.

As The Lounge is becoming full (464+ comments) and summer is pretty much here, I think we should move conversation outside into the sunshine. Hence, The Summer House. Feel free to talk about anything, as before…

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