With a new server, I had some php pages showing Server Error:

HTTP Error 500 (Internal Server Error): An unexpected condition was encountered while the server was attempting to fulfill the request.

This happen when my PHP script was actually supposed to display some syntax errors or other php errors, but the server was configured with display_errors = Off, so I needed to edit php.ini and change to

display_errors = On

This fixed the problem, even though I tried many things before this. Note that just setting the parameter error_reporting = E_ALL didn’t fix this, it was the display_errors parameter.

The 500 internal server error in this case is a bit confusing and it only happen in Google Chrome browser, in Mozilla Firefox 5 it just shown a blank page which it would have been more helpful instead of making me think something is configured incorrectly on the server (which is what most people would say).

Tip: for some other users the problem was missing php.ini file in certain directories.

If you use to type an address directly in the address bar instead of searching on Google, you might have noticed many websites that do not have any content on them, just links; These are “parked domains”.

Parked domains are domains that are registered and and owner eider doesn’t have time to put content on that website yet, or simply registered it to place ads on it.

parking a domain is simple, first you have to register a domain name and secondly you need to edit its settings to point to a company that is responsible with showing the ads on your domain name, then you wait for the cash to come in

1. Registering a domain name

To register a domain name we recommend GoDaddy.com or our own site (turbopack.com), for a new .com domain name you usually pay a fee around $7 and $10 per year.
Pick your name, pay the monthly fee and move forward to the domain parking company.

2. Domain parking companies

Recommended domains parking companies are sedo.com and our own tntparking.com , register for free and then go to “add domains” where you type in the domains you just registered. Other advanced settings are: setting your keywords, description, etc, for a domain like newcellphones.com you would want to set the keywords like “new, cell, phones, gsm, mobile”, this will help the domain parking company to display more relevant ads for your domain name.
You are not done just yet, now you have to set your domain name to point to this domain parking company.

3. Linking your domain to the parking company

When you are logged in to your domain parking company, they will tell you to set the “domain name servers” or “ns” to point to something like:
ns1.sedoparking.com
ns2.sedoparking.com
This is done by logging in at the company where you registered the domain, go to domain settings, look for name servers or “ns”, this value should look like the two above, usually starting with NS1 and NS2 and set them to what your domain parking company said. It might take around 24 hours until you will start setting ads when you access the domain name in your web browser.

4. Where the money comes from

Now that domain settings are correct, you should see ads when accessing your domain address in web browser, these ads are paid by various individuals or companies, the domain parking company usually has contracts with advertising companies, this is something that should not care about too much, we are just explaining how it works
When a visitor on your site clicks an ad, you get a percent of what the advertiser pays, usually around 60% of what advertiser pays, the rest goes to the parking company. How much you can earn per click depends on the category of your domain name, expensive topics are Search Engine Optimization, insurance, business and money related topics, etc. The most $ I ever seen for one click was around $17.00, but this is a rare exception, it is usually around $0.05 to $5.00
Most domain parking companies will show you statistics for individual domain name, so that you can see how much each domain made per month, and after a year when you have to pay the domain registration fee again, you can drop the domains that did not generate enough income for you.

More info

Most domains will not generate significant income, usually you need many domains for a steady income. There are some domain gurus that spend hundreds of thousands of dollars a day buying domains (usually from owners), and then earn income from them over time.

On Friday 16 Jul 2010  this dedicated server from Godaddy shown some signs of file system errors, basically whenever I did a search through SSH command it kept saying that some paths could not be searched and it recommended to run a file system check.

I did some quick research and found that one of the commands to check file system is the FSCK command, so I typed it trying to scan from root directory (“/”).

Server then says that you should be carefull and you should not run FSCK command on a mounted file system, or something like that.

WARNING!!!  Running e2fsck on a mounted filesystem may cause SEVERE filesystem damage.
Do you really want to continue (y/n)? yes

Right after I pressed “y” the server started to behave abnormally, sites shown header session errors, files in site appeared unavailable, etc, then server went offline completely and it was not available by any means (plesk panel access, SSH, etc), server crashed. Obviously I did a mistake by running the command like that.

This server has 30 websites on it (including this blog), many databases, blogs, user uploads, important data gathered over around 3 years. I had no recent backups, this is because I have some more important websites and because I am trying to manage around 40 websites alone, regularly backing up the data can be a pain.

So I contacted the GoDaddy support team about the server crash, I must say I was not expecting much help because I knew I didn’t purchase the server with “assistance plan”, basically if you get the server without assistance option, then you are on your own and you are responsible for your own actions. They had a look, and they said it looks bad, the HDD data was unreadable from what I know. I had the option to let them run a FSCK file system check again but this would most probably not recover the data and it might make things worse, OR pay a fee and have the HDD drive in an USB enclosure next to the freshly installed server.

At this point I already got a new hosting plan from them and started to upload sites from my computer (mostly php scripts but with no content or database), I was 95% sure I lost all data from that dedicated server and all work for over 3 years.

While searching for Linux data recovery after FSCK, I found a data recovery company, I explained the problem to them, they were happy to help if I send them the actual hard drive and approximate cost would be $3000-$4000 where $1000 is paid up front, the rest depends on total GB, type of data, etc. So I decided to let the GoDaddy support team try a recovery by another FSCK command.

After a few hours I got the good news

Our data center technicians have run a file system check on your server’s hard drive and it appears to have resolved the issue. Your server is back online and is currently accessible via SSH and Plesk.
Please respond to this email if you have any further questions or issues.

All this stress took around 2 very loooong days while I thought I lost all my data, and you can lose all your data just by one command, so be very careful, it looks like running a file system check on Linux is not as easy as on windows

I think Godaddy did a good job even though it was not really their fault or their responsibility, basically they fixed mistakes that I did; even though I was on a dedicated server without assistance plan.

I think promoting the blog by displaying the generic small icons of social bookmarking doesn’t work so if you like this post please Stumble it, Digg it or save it in your favourite network.

This might get more complex but I will try to cover only one problem that I noticed.

Most of the online activities have dates associated with them, user registrations, comments, bank records, emails, etc. When a date is saved on a server (or even usage in local computer programs) , it is saved as a “timestamp”, a timestamp looks like this: “2147483647″ that number means “19 Jan 2038″ , the thing is that many system administrators assume this field is an INT (integer number) when it is actually a BIGINT (big integer number) which can have a much larger maximum value, an INT number can only have a maximum value of 2147483647 meaning that when timestamp 2147483647 is reached it will not be able to move forward, so all databases, programs, etc that have wrongly assumed timestamps as integer numbers will have issues starting that 19 Jan 2038 (timestamp 2147483647).

More on timestamps 

UNIX timestamps are seconds that passed since Unix Epoch (January 1 1970) If you would like to see the live current timestamp you can visit www.currenttimestamp.com .

For the ones that are not familiar with servers… the date on Unix/Linux machines is stored as a number that represents the number of seconds since 1960, on 13 February this number will be 1234567890. This Unix timestamp format is the most common way of storing an accurate date on servers, developers are more familiar with this, because users see the dates formatted in a more user friendly manner like “13 February, 23:31″ rather than “1234567890″.

You can download Google Chrome here.

It looks nice so far, it is fast and hopefully it will get as popular and even more popular than Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer, these other two are currently the most common web browsers, Firefox being more secure and flexible and Internet explorer that is more … buggy and insecure.

Another free WordPress theme, this theme can also be seen at www.TNTtemplates.com

Download zip file (1.33 Mb)

Well according to Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia…

"[T]he phrase Web 2.0 can refer to a perceived second generation of web-based communities and hosted services — such as social-networking sites, wikis, and folksonomies [collaborative tagging schemes] — which aim to facilitate creativity, collaboration, and sharing between users. The term gained currency following the first O’Reilly Media Web 2.0 conference in 2004. Although the term suggests a new version of the World Wide Web, it does not refer to an update to any technical specifications, but to changes in the ways software developers and end-users use webs. According to Tim O’Reilly, ‘Web 2.0 is the business revolution in the computer industry caused by the move to the Internet as platform, and an attempt to understand the rules for success on that new platform.’ Some technology experts, notably Tim Berners-Lee, have questioned whether one can use the term in a meaningful way, since many of the technology components of ‘Web 2.0′ have existed since the early days of the W!
eb."

There is no doubt the www has advanced significantly since inception, but there really is no new version of the www. It is simply much more useful to the everyday person.

However, if we counted each major innovation as a whole number and each minor revision as a tenth, we would already be into double digits. So why are we calling it "Web 2.0"?

If you have seen the latest Die Hard movie, or ever bought software for your computer, you will understand why we are not in Web 2.0. Even if we call it Die Hard 4.0 or MS Office 2007, it’s still basically the same movie or tool. So what we are really experiencing now is more like Web 16.0.

If you have an in-depth, honest conversation with your web designers, they will tell you that Web 2.0 is a myth. So to explain how we got to Web 16.0, here’s a history of the most significant events on the www.

WEB 0.1 — 1958 – SAGE – Radar systems are first networked
WEB 0.2 — 1960 – Packet switching is first created

WEB 1.0 – EMAIL – "A New Way to Send Unsolicited Mail Is Born"

Although the exact history of Email is a tad murky, it is generally accepted that it appeared in 1965, and was created so that people accessing a mainframe could communicate with each other. This was the first step in the interconnection of people, facilitating almost instant communication at no cost to the user.

WEB 1.1 — 1967 – Markup language is created
WEB 1.2 — 1969 – ARPA – A link is established between computers
WEB 1.3 — 1968 – ARPA Net – First packet-switched network created

WEB 2.0 – WYSIWYG – "What You See Is What You Get (sometimes)"

With the invention of WYSIWYG in 1970, users could now be presented with a basic display of what their finished product would look like, as they were working on it. This removed the need to memorize complex code.

WEB 2.1 — 1970 – ASP – First Application Service Provider (SAAS)
WEB 2.2 — 1970 – Style sheets are created
WEB 2.3 — 1971 – @ is created to separate hosts and users
WEB 2.4 — 1973 – TCP/IP is created to simplify networking
WEB 2.5 — 1973 – First connection to another country established
WEB 2.6 — 1974 – The term "Internet" is adopted
WEB 2.7 — 1976 – X.25 – The first network standard is approved
WEB 2.8 — 1978 – International packet switching service created

WEB 3.0 – USENET– "The Black Market of the Internet"

Usenet was established in 1980 to offer mail and file transfers as well as give personal users access to news. Usenet is in fact a large network of servers all in communication with each other; a user posts something to the local server and that item is passed along to the other servers. Usenet was a major turning point because users could finally have an open conversation with anyone on the net, without needing to specifically know the user (unlike Email). The downside is that with a sometimes un-policed net capable of file transfers, the Usenet of today is a haven for piracy of all types, where anything you can imagine is accessible.

WEB 3.1 — 1979 – Email is made available to personal computer users, millions of Nigerian Princes suddenly need public help

WEB 4.0 – REAL TIME CHAT – Going Outside Deemed "Obsolete"

Real-Time Chat was created in 1980 following users’ frustrations with Usenet articles sometimes taking 24 hours to be updated. This signaled a turning point: online conversations became instant, albeit isolated into segregated groups.

WEB 4.1 — 1980 – First ISPs created providing dialup internet
WEB 4.2 — 1981 – TCP/IP becomes a standard
WEB 4.3 — 1981 – US/Europe/Canada/Hong-Kong/Australia connect
WEB 4.4 — 1983 – TCP/IP becomes the only standard
WEB 4.5 — 1983 – First wide area network using TCP/IP operational
WEB 4.6 — 1985 – FTP – The File Transfer Protocol is created
WEB 4.7 — 1988 – IRC – Internet Relay Chat is created
WEB 4.8 — 1988 – Bulletin Board Systems and Forums created

WEB 5.0 – HTML/HTTP/Web Pages – "It Has Begun…"

Around 1980, many researchers were using the internet, but they had no single way to create/display "documents" (web pages). Physicist Tim Berners-Lee and his colleagues needed a simple system for creating/displaying documents, but found that existing systems were too commercial, platform-specific or complicated for the average user. So they created their own relatively simple system, consisting of browsing software called "WorldWideWeb," a protocol for transmitting the information (HTTP) and a document annotation convention called "Hyper Text Markup Language" (HTML). This meant anyone could now create web pages using their simple language.

WEB 5.1 — 1989 – Images can now be animated, oh the horror!
WEB 5.2 — 1990 – The network now covers the entire world (publicly)

WEB 6.0 – Search – "Did You Mean: Google?"

Before 1990, there was no way to find a page; you had to know the specific location. Around 1991, search engines began indexing (storing) the content they found, giving users the ability to search for a page even if they didn’t know the page’s location.

WEB 6.1 — 1991 – DNS – Dynamic Naming System is created
WEB 6.2 — 1991 – The first text-based browser is created

WEB 7.0 – DHTML – "Because Non-Scrolling Text Is Boring"

The web was static until Dynamic HTML (DHTML) was created. DHTML introduced client-side scripting, allowing authors to include code in their web pages that performed an action upon being downloaded onto a user’s computer. DHTML introduced rollover buttons and drop-down menus on web pages. It goes a long way to making the web more personalized.

WEB 7.1 — 1993 – The first graphics based browsers are created
WEB 7.2 — 1993 – Screen casts are first created
WEB 7.3 — 1994 – Wikis are created; Britannica begins holding its breath
WEB 7.4 — 1994 – The World Wide Web Consortium is formed
WEB 7.5 — 1994 – CSS – Cascading Style Sheets created

WEB 8.0 – ONLINE DIARIES – "Teens Reportedly Misunderstood"

Online diaries were first created in 1994 as a means for people to store their diaries online for personal or public reading. Writers could now reach almost anyone worldwide at practically no cost, and everyone could create editorials on whatever subjects they liked, without fear of censorship.

WEB 8.1 — 1996 – The first social bookmarking site created

WEB 9.0 – RANKED RESULTS – "The Online Popularity Contest"

Search engine results helped find things, but many of the results were useless or had nothing to do with the keywords used. As of 1996, search results started to be ranked based on a multitude of things, like how popular a page is. This made searching faster and easier, and significantly less painful.

WEB 9.1 — 1996 – Flash is created, whole websites can now be animated
WEB 9.2 — 1997 – The term "Blog" is adopted

WEB 10.0 – HIRED BLOGGERS – "Wow Isn’t Product X Great!"

As of 1997, personal diaries began to evolve to what became known as "blogs." Many corporate websites and personal homepages had (and still do have) news sections, these were traditionally updated manually in a back-end system. With the advent of blogs, the commercial sector jumped in, seeing a new marketing medium.

WEB 10.1 — 1998 – The first audio news site is created
WEB 10.2 — 1999 – The first web-based operating system is created

WEB 11.0 – RSS – "Newspapers Deemed Obsolete"

Really Simple Syndication (RSS) was created due to the lack of a universal feed format. The creation of RSS means that users could now "subscribe" to feeds containing video, audio, text, or graphics. Users no longer had to trawl the web for new information, they could "subscribe" to a feed and have it sent to them directly.

WEB 12.0 – REMOTE SCRIPTING – "Waiting For 4 Seconds Now History!"

Remote scripting allows scripts running inside a browser to exchange information with a server, so that scripts could be triggered locally, processed remotely and have information returned directly to the browser. This made the web faster and easier to use, and removed the need to refresh the page for simple tasks like sorting.

WEB 12.1 — 2001 – Blogs evolve from online diaries

WEB 13.0 – PODCASTING – "Now Everyone Can Avoid Listening To You By Choice Rather Than Circumstance!"

Podcasting originated as a portmanteau of the iPod® and broadcasting, although "portable on demand broadcasting" has now become the widely-accepted definition. Originally Podcasting was created to allow individuals to distribute their own radio shows, but it has become popular for a wide variety of things, from educational materials to the latest gaming news. Podcasting opens up distribution of audio content to anyone with a server, with users "subscribing" to the RSS feeds that appeal to them.

WEB 13.1 — 2002 – Folksonomy is created, giving rise to "tags"

WEB 14.0 – VIDEO PODCASTING – "Web-Based One-Sided Conversations"

Shortly after Podcasting became popular, video Podcasting was created as a means to send the equivalent of TV episodes to users. Though similar to podcasting, the content was not limited to just "TV episodes". Video Podcasting opens up the video medium so that making a TV show is possible for anyone.

WEB 15.0 – VOIP – "High Tech, Dodgy Sounding Free Calls"

With the Voice Over Internet Protocol, telephone audio is sent over the internet, rather than a traditional phone line. This removes almost all cost involved, and also removes the need to have a physical phone line. What this means for consumers is calling becomes much simpler, easier and significantly cheaper.

WEB 16.0 – SAAS – "The Industry Makes a SaaS of Itself."

Software as a Service (SaaS) is just a new term for a concept that has been around since the dawn of the internet (ASP from 1970). SaaS refers to using a piece of software run/provided through the internet, and instead of paying a large one-off purchase price, you "rent" the software for as long as needed. So while SaaS is the buzzword of the day, the concept is decades old.

..The CONCLUSION?

So if you follow the basic rule that each total upgrade is a new ".0" then we are nowhere near Web 2.0. The story is really one of falling price, increasing reliability and bandwidth, coupled with ubiquitous access.

Simply put, "Web 2.0" is just shorthand for the development process outlined above. Bottom line, the web really becoming what the web really always should have been.

Source: Article researched and written by: Julian Stone, Sam Law – Project and Time Management Specialists from ProActive Software - http://www.proworkflow.com Peter Hodge – Editor and Contributor from InfoNews – http://www.infonews.co.nz Disclaimer: Facts are as accurate as could be researched at the time.