synchronising Drupal 8 config to a new site

When trying to use the Drupal 8 configuration manager you will get to a point where the config from your developemnt site will not import into the production site because the UUID of both sites is not the same.This safety is built in to avoid importing the configuration froim the completely wrong site screwing up the site completely. So as long as the UUID of both sites is not the same you can not synchronise the config of both versions. So the base question is : how to copy the UUID from one site to another?

Use an svg logo

This is a simplified example!

In your template file use the following code to set up the logo.

Template files for specific view modes

Add this to your theme template.php file.

/**
 * adds templates for teasers
 * @param string $vars
 */
function MYTHEME_preprocess_node(&$vars) {
  if ($vars['view_mode'] == 'teaser') {
    $vars['theme_hook_suggestions'][] = 'node__' . $vars['node']->type . '__teaser';
  }
}

Now you can add a regular template file like node--basic-page--teaser.tpl.php to the templates of your theme. Just make sure the fields you want to use in your template are available in the view mode of the content type.

Behave Windows, behave!

I am an avid Linux user at home. All systems in this house use Linux in one form or another. Even the laptops my 6 and 8 year old daughters use run this OS. It all works well.

DrupalCampGent program

Tomorrow, May 25th 2012 and the day after, I will be attending Drupal Camp Gent. This is a totally free conference totally dedicated to Drupal. When I say "free" I mean totally free. Even the coffee and the lunch is free. NICE!

Using Good Passwords

The need for good passwords

"Why, of why, do I need a good password"you may ask. I may ask you "why. oh why, do you use security keys on your front door". The principle is the same: easy passwords are like old style keys: easy to hack. People with mall intent, also called black hat hackers or crackers, use automated systems to gain access to your computer, your password protected files, your wireless network or the web sites you visit. Most of these systems are based on lists of passwords, called rainbow tables. The less complex your password is, the easier it will be found in the list. These lists contain millions and millions of entries and are usually several gigabytes in size. More common passwords like 123456 and Passw0rd are at the top and are found super fast. 123456 is the most used password in Hotmail. How did somebody find out? They hacked thouseands and thousands of hotmail addresses and made a list of the most common used passwords. More info can be found here.

A secure USB key

A USB key is a very practical thing for having data available to you everywhere you go. You want to have all kinds of data available to you at all times. Keeping that data safe is another matter. It's all too easy to loose a key or have it stolen from your person. Are you sure that all the data you put in the key is harmless, even when the data it contains is put on the internet for the whole world to see?
This series of articles will show you how I solved this problem.

How do you set up a PC for the kids?

Hardware requirements

A computer to be used by children is at best a dedicated PC. You will not have to worry about protecting your data or other resources. There is simply nothing there for the child to erase or reconfigure. Whatever you do, never, ever let children use a computer you use for work, no matter what their age is. Accidents happen and you will be the only one to blame for allowing it. If necessary, use a USB key or external hard drive to boot from. An 8GB USB key is enough to put the OS and plenty of software on. A key like this is very cheap and certainly a lot cheaper than lost data.

If you use the free and open operating system Linux, you can get away with older hardware. I have recently used a PIII of 700MHz with 384MB of RAM with great success. It ran all the educational software without a hitch and even ran Flash at acceptable speed. This machine is an exception though but in general I can say that any Pentium processor with at least 512MB of RAM is enough to get a more than acceptable speed. This puts the Kids PC in the category of “old PCs too slow for a modern Windows OS”. Many people throw these PCs out the door so you can easily get a PC like this for free if you ask around.

How do you protect your kids while they are using the computer?

Some people are scared of letting their children use a computer because they think it's a bad influence. They have been confronted with images unfit for young eyes or they think the child will be at the computer all the time playing violent games and not play outside anymore. I tell you that neither of this should scare you away from setting up a PC for the kids. You are in control and decide what the child can and can't do. if you don't want the child to go on-line, just don't plug it in. If you don't want it to play certain games, just don't put them on there. it's all very simple really.

I have had two types of requests when configuring a PC to be used by a child: make sure the PC can only be used a certain length of time or make sure he/she is not confronted with porn or violence when being on-line. I want to add a third one: protect the identity of your child, yourself and your family.

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