Dan Jones

What's Let's Encrypt?

For years, purchasing, renewing, installing and managing SSL certificates overwhelmed me with expense and complexity. Now, Let's Encrypt makes it fairly simple and free.

Let’s Encrypt is an emerging, free, automated, and open certificate authority brought to you by a California public benefit corporation called the Internet Security Research Group—it also has nonprofit status. 

Its goal is to make HTTPS become the default Internet browser protocol to ensure greater privacy and security on the web. Mozilla and the Electronic Frontier Foundation are two of its platinum sponsors:

Let's Encrypt entered public beta in December, so I can now easily guide you through exploring its services.

In this tutorial, I'll walk you through installing Let's Encrypt on a few of my websites, including my WordPress consulting website, http://lookahead.io, soon to be https://.

Before we get started, please remember, I do try to participate in the discussions below. If you have a question or topic suggestion, please post a comment below or contact me on Twitter @reifman.

Let's Encrypt Feature Summary

Let’s Encrypt runs on Python working with Apache to automate certificate registration and renewal, simplifying the process of activating HTTPS capability for any website, including WordPress.

Here are the key benefits that Let's Encrypt delivers:

• Free: Anyone with a domain name can register a trusted certificate without cost.
• Automatic: An Apache web server can easily acquire a certificate, securely configure it, and automatically manage renewal.
• Secure: Let’s Encrypt will advance TLS security best practices, both as a Certificate Authority and by helping sites maintain secure servers.
• Transparent: All certificate transactions are publicly recorded and available for inspection.
• Open: The automatic issuance and renewal protocol will be published as an open standard.
• Cooperative: Let’s Encrypt is a community effort to benefit everyone.

Installing SSL With Let's Encrypt

Let's begin by updating my server, Apache Ubuntu.

sudo apt-get update

If you don't have Git installed on your server, it's best to have it to install Let's Encrypt:

sudo apt-get install git

Once installed, clone the Let's Encrypt software into the Apache opt sub-directory for third-party applications:

sudo git clone https://github.com/letsencrypt/letsencrypt /opt/letsencrypt

First I experimented with installing Let's Encrypt on my Fever news reader application, not WordPress. I host it at http://fever.lookahead.io:

cd /opt/letsencrypt
./letsencrypt-auto --apache -d fever.lookahead.io

The Setup Wizard

To begin, you'll be asked for your email address:

Then shown the Terms of Service:

Let's Encrypt gives you the option of offering HTTPS as a secondary option or directing all traffic to HTTPS:

You're done in minutes:

You'll also be shown some notes on certificate expiration and renewal:

IMPORTANT NOTES:
 - Congratulations! Your certificate and chain have been saved at
   /etc/letsencrypt/live/lookahead.io/fullchain.pem. Your cert will
   expire on 2016-05-03. To obtain a new version of the certificate in
   the future, simply run Let's Encrypt again.
 - Your account credentials have been saved in your Let's Encrypt
   configuration directory at /etc/letsencrypt. You should make a
   secure backup of this folder now. This configuration directory will
   also contain certificates and private keys obtained by Let's
   Encrypt so making regular backups of this folder is ideal.
 - If you like Let's Encrypt, please consider supporting our work by:

   Donating to ISRG / Let's Encrypt:   https://letsencrypt.org/donate
   Donating to EFF:                    https://eff.org/donate-le

Installing on WordPress

To install Let's Encrypt SSL on my WordPress consulting site, it was just as easy. There was just one minor difference. I asked Let's Encrypt to support the www sub-domain as well:

cd /opt/letsencrypt
./letsencrypt-auto --apache -d lookahead.io -d www.lookahead.io

You can go visit it now, either HTTP or HTTPS, you'll end up here, https://lookahead.io:

SSL Reports

You can go to sites like Qualys SSL Labs to get a site report on your SSL capability:

https://www.ssllabs.com/ssltest/analyze.html?d=fever.lookahead.io

Here's the authentication page:

Certificate Auto-Renewal

Auto-renewal is pretty simple too. First, we grab the renew script and give it execution privileges:

sudo curl -L -o /usr/local/sbin/le-renew http://do.co/le-renew
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/sbin/le-renew

Then run the script for each domain:

sudo le-renew lookahead.io
Checking expiration date for fever.lookahead.io...
The certificate is up to date, no need for renewal (89 days left).

And you can set up a cron job to run regularly:

crontab -e

Add this line:

30 2 * * 1 /usr/local/sbin/le-renew lookahead.io >> /var/log/le-renew.log

Troubleshooting

I did run into a few quirks that I thought I'd share. When I installed SSL for my old Community Starter open-source project (both root domain and www), Let's Encrypted gave this error:

We were unable to find a vhost with a ServerName or Address of 
    │ www.communitystarter.org.
    │ Which virtual host would you like to choose? 

I had set up a wildcard alias in my conf file:

<VirtualHost *:80>
        ServerName communitystarter.org
        ServerAlias *.communitystarter.org
        DocumentRoot /var/www/communitystarter/

This change fixed it, adding an alias for www holdouts:

<VirtualHost *:80>
        ServerName communitystarter.org
        ServerAlias www.communitystarter.org
        ServerAlias *.communitystarter.org
        DocumentRoot /var/www/communitystarter/

Then the home page embedded Vimeo video failed:

I just had to change the iframe to the Vimeo player to use HTTPS:

<!-- ***************** - START Video - ***************** -->
<div class="video-wrap video_left">
<div class="video-main">
<div class="video-frame">
<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/37639283" title="introduction to newscloud's community starter" scrolling="no" width="572" height="312" frameborder="0" marginheight="0"></iframe>
</div><!-- end video-frame -->
</div><!-- end video-main -->
<div class="video-sub">
<h2>NewsCloud's Community Starter</h2>
 <p>Community Starter is a simple, affordable platform to launch social media communities and extend existing websites. It provides a suite of Facebook-connected interactive features that can help you host a vibrant online community for your neighborhood, topic, community group, nonprofit, membership association or city.</p>
<a href="/how-community-foundations-can-build-engaged-local-communities-with-newscloud.html" class="ka_button small_button small_tealgrey"><span>Start your community →</span></a><br class="clear" />
</div><!-- end video-sub -->
</div><!-- end video-wrap -->
<!-- ***************** - END Video - ***************** -->

Problem solved:

In Closing

I'm very impressed with the community goal Let's Encrypt has delivered on with quality and ease. Web publishers everywhere will benefit from simple, free SSL. Thank you EFF, Mozilla, and Let's Encrypt!

You can donate to either Let's Encrypt or EFF to support this work:

• Donate directly to Let's Encrypt
• Donate to EFF

You can learn more technical detail about their software here. Let's Encrypt also has a well-structured community forum:

What's Next?

Let's Encrypt is actively working on finishing its first public release:

We have more work to do before we’re comfortable dropping the beta label entirely, particularly on the client experience. Automation is a cornerstone of our strategy, and we need to make sure that the client works smoothly and reliably on a wide range of platforms.

To keep up with the latest code, just update your git tree occasionally:

cd /opt/letsencrypt
sudo git pull

My primary WordPress site runs with Varnish 3.x currently. This doesn't work out of the box with Let's Encrypt. I will probably spend some time soon tracking down a solution for that.

In the meantime, if you're looking for other utilities to help you build out your growing set of tools for WordPress or for code to study and become more well-versed in WordPress, don't forget to see what we have available in Envato Market.

If you have questions, please post them below. Or you can contact me on Twitter @reifman. Please check out my Envato Tuts+ instructor page to see other tutorials I've written, such as Cloning WordPress in Linux (in 90 seconds).

Related Links

• Let's Encrypt
• How To Secure Apache with Let's Encrypt on Ubuntu 14.04 (Digital Ocean)
• How To Secure Nginx with Let's Encrypt on Ubuntu 14.04 (Digital Ocean)

"I stopped believing in Santa Claus when my mother took me to see him in a department store, and he asked for my autograph."

http://deathbulge.com/comics/343

Can’t wait to try out Traf

http://maximumble.thebookofbiff.com/2016/05/23/1337-broke/

And that’s a wrap. Google have just finished hosting their annual developer conference, Google I/O, where the tech giant unveiled several exciting new products and made some big announcements.

Let’s take a look at all the biggest news from Google I/O 2016.

1. Android N Developer Preview 3

Google I/O isn’t just about new consumer tech, it’s also about the tools that allow developers to create products based on Google’s technology, most notably Android apps.

Although the official release won’t be out until later this summer, Google took the opportunity to show off more of Android N, in the form of a new developer preview.

The previous two Android Developer Previews introduced a new Just In Time (JIT) compiler that aims to boost overall software performance, the Vulkan rendering API for high-performance, 3D graphics, and productivity improvements, most notably split-screen multitasking in the form of multi-window and picture-in-picture mode, and direct reply notifications.

Launched during the opening Google I/O keynote, Android N Developer Preview 3 is the first beta-quality candidate, meaning this release is considered stable enough to test on your primary smartphone or tablet.

The major new feature in Developer Preview 3 is native support and optimizations for virtual reality, via a VR mode. This mode will help developers provide high-quality mobile VR experiences that make use of features such as intelligent head-tracking. Head-tracking is particularly important as it aims to reduce the delay between the user’s head movements and the VR images, which is why so many people get motion sick when wearing a VR headset.

The other major new feature in Developer Preview 3, is a seamless update process. Devices running Android N will automatically download updates in the background, and the next time the user powers up their device, it’ll automatically switch to the updated system image.

Many people expected Google to unveil Android N's official name at Google I/O, but Google are trying something a bit different this time around. They are asking the Internet for suggestions, because what could possibly go wrong with that? You can send Google your ideas via the Help name Android N website.

If you’re already enrolled in the Android Beta Program then you should get an OTA (over-the-air) update soon, or you can download the factory images for supported devices, and then flash them manually.

2. A New Virtual Reality Platform

At Google I/O 2014, Google debuted a lo-fi virtual reality (VR) headset that went by the name of Google Cardboard. Two years later and Google have just announced a new VR experience, Daydream.

Daydream consists of multiple components.

Phone

As you can imagine, VR isn't something that just any Android smartphone can support. Daydream will only work on smartphones that have the required sensors, display resolutions, chipsets, and other hardware. Google are helping to define a set of specifications that a smartphone needs to meet in order to be considered Daydream-ready.

According to Google, we can expect to see Daydream-ready phones from many big brands, launching in the fall.

Android N

Android N supports Daydream via its new VR mode, although it’s worth noting that just because your device is running Android N doesn’t automatically mean it’s Daydream-ready. The device still has to have all the hardware specified by Google.

Headset and Controller

At the moment, there’s no physical Daydream hardware, just a blueprint for a standalone VR headset and controller that Google will share with third parties.

Google say that we can expect Daydream headsets and controllers to start appearing later this year.

Apps

Google has created special VR versions of its own suite of software offerings, including YouTube, Street View, Play Movies, Photos, and even the Google Play store.

3. Android Wear Breaks Away From the Smartphone

Google also made some exciting announcements for Android wearables and released the first developer preview of Android Wear 2.0.

The biggest change is that, as of Android Wear 2.0, wearables can function independently of a smartphone. This means that apps can now run within a wearable and will continue to function normally even if the paired smartphone is out of range or powered off. This update has the potential to make Android smartwatches a lot more powerful, and generally a lot more useful.

Other new features in Android Wear 2.0 include new input methods, support for Android N and, an API for complications, which allows app developers to pass raw data to watch faces.

For more information, check out the Android Wear 2.0 Developer Preview website. Google also issued a new Material Design for Wearables guide, which is a must-read if you’re developing for the wearable platform.

4. Run Apps With No Installation Required

Google are on a mission to make using mobile apps more like browsing the web and their new Android Instant Apps feature is a step closer to this goal.

With Instant Apps, developers can slice their apps into modular chunks, which gives Android users the option to selectively download and use only the code that’s necessary for them to perform a certain action, rather than downloading the entire app.

This is good news for users, as we all know how annoying it is to have to download an app that you know you’re only going to use once or twice. For example, if you wanted to watch a video that’s only available via a particular video-playing app, Instant Apps gives you the option to grab the parts of the app that are required to play the video, instead of having to download an entire app just because you want to watch a single video.

Instant Apps is possibly one of the most interesting Google I/O announcements for Android developers, as it has the potential to completely change the way users and developers think about mobile apps. It'll also make it much easier for new users to discover and start using your app.

Android Instant Apps will be released in the fall and will be compatible with Android JellyBean and higher.

5. Android Gets Chromebook Support

Google are finally going to be adding support for Android apps to Chromebooks. Although this won’t be happening until later this year, you can start getting your Android apps ready for Chromebooks today by following Google’s handy online guide.

6. New Mobile Analytics

After acquiring Firebase in 2014, Google have relaunched it as a developer platform. This newly-expanded Firebase platform includes tools to help developers improve the quality of their apps, attract new users, and monetize their work.

Firebase also features a mobile analytics tool, which Google rebuilt from the ground up. The Firebase Analytics tool provides similar functionality as Google Analytics, but is designed specifically to meet the needs of mobile app developers.

7. Android Studio 2.2 Preview

Google also released a preview of Android Studio 2.2. Android Studio 2.2 Preview 1 includes a new layout editor to help you visually design your layouts, plus a blueprint mode that's handy for inspecting the spacing and arrangement of your app's various user interface elements.

Android Studio 2.2 Preview 1 also introduces a new layout manager, ConstraintLayout, that should help you maintain a flat view hierarchy by expressing complex user interfaces without having to resort to nesting multiple layouts. Whenever you drag-and-drop a view into ConstraintLayout, you define how that view should be positioned relative to other on-screen elements, by adding constraints.

ConstraintLayout is distributed as a support library that’s compatible with Android version 2.3 and higher.

To help you reduce the size of your project, Android Studio 2.2 Preview 1 introduces a new APK analyzer that helps you understand the contents and size of your APK components.

Developers can also look forward to adding Firebase services to their projects via a Firebase plugin for Android Studio. To access the Firebase features, select Tools > Firebase from Android Studio's menu.

You can download Android Studio 2.2 Preview 1 now. If you’re using a previous version, then you can check for updates on the Canary channel by selecting Android Studio > Check for Updates from the menu.

8. Google Play Services 9.0

Even though we can expect some overlap between Google Play Services and Firebase, Google clarified that they’ll continue to update Google Play Services and the company actually launched a new version during Google I/O.

Google Play Services 9.0 includes updates to the Player Stats API, a new video recording API that helps users record and share their gameplay experiences, and a new native ads format, called Native Ads Express, which allows publishers to define various formatting information in CSS templates.

9. A New Virtual Assistant

With Google Assistant, the tech giant is trying to open up a more two-way dialogue between you and Google by designing a virtual assistant that’s designed more like a chat app, particularly when compared to something like Google Now.

Google Assistant will not only provide you with relevant search results, but will also be able to answer follow up questions. For example, if you ask Google Assistant to find you some reviews of the latest Hollywood blockbuster, the conversation doesn’t need to end there. You can go on and ask “Who was the director?” or “Who is the lead actor?”. Google Assistant will continue the conversation without skipping a beat.

Google Assistant will also provide answers based on your current context. For example, if location services are enabled and you stand in front of a theatre, you can ask “so, who designed this?” and Google Assistant will come back with an answer.

According to Google, the assistant software will learn your preferences based on your interactions with Google services and text conversations you have with friends and family. It will take a proactive approach to recommending movies and restaurants it thinks you might enjoy. And since Google Assistant learns your preferences, you’ll also be able to ask it questions like “Did my team win?”

To demonstrate how all these capabilities link together, Google CEO Sundar Pichai used Google Assistant to book tickets to a family-friendly movie on his smartphone. Typically this might involve opening a web browser app, finding your nearest cinema, opening their website, and then spending some time scrolling through their Currently Showing page, being sure to check each movie’s blurb and rating to see whether it’s suitable for children. Instead, he simply asked Google Assistant what movies were playing tonight and specified that he was bringing some children along. Google Assistant then came back with some family-friendly options currently showing at the local cinema and booked him four tickets. Much easier.

Google Assistant won’t just be built into your Android smartphone or tablet. It’ll feature in a couple of other Google products too, namely the Google Home speaker and Google's new messaging app Allo.

10. Google Takes on Amazon Echo

Amazon’s voice-controlled Echo has been positively received by consumers, so it’s no surprise that Google has decided to get in on the action. Meet Google Home.

Google Home is a small speaker that's powered entirely by voice, thanks to its always-listening microphones. It's also the first hardware to host Google's new assistant bot, Google Assistant.

This Assistant-powered device promises to integrate with a wide range of services and perform all sorts of tasks, including streaming music and videos, answering your questions, managing your task lists, setting alarms, and adding events to your calendar.

You can link Google Home with other Wi-Fi connected devices, including Nest devices and Chromecast-compatible speakers and screens. And if you purchase multiple Google Home devices, you’ll be able to link them together to provide this functionality all over your home.

Further down the line, Google want to give you the ability to control things outside of your home too, for example, ordering flowers or telling Google Home to open and close your garage door. Google Home will also integrate with third-party services, so you’ll be able to do things like call an Uber or use OpenTable to book a table at your favorite restaurant.

Google hasn’t opened Home’s APIs to developers yet, so at the moment Google Home can’t communicate with as many third-party services as Amazon’s Echo. But Google say these integrations will become possible as the platform develops.

Google Home will be released later this year, but you can register your interest now. The price has yet to be confirmed.

Conclusion

Google I/O is always an interesting mix of up-and-coming consumer gadgets and new developer tools, and this year was no exception. Particular highlights for Android developers included the Instant Apps feature, upcoming Chromebooks support and, of course, more details about Android N.

The prospect of Android N’s built-in support for VR is also interesting, although currently it’s difficult to get a clear picture of just how Daydream will work as a whole. It would have been nice to see a prototype of the headset and controller rather than just a specification. It’ll be interesting to see how Google’s latest virtual reality project shapes up over the next few months, along with all the other products and tools announced at Google I/O.

Never let your sense of morals get in the way of doing what’s right.

Isaac Asimov

Josh Buchea has collected "A list of everything that goes in the <head> of your document". Over 100 <meta> tags alone!

Direct Link to Article — Permalink…

HEAD is a post from CSS-Tricks

The NautBoard is dolphin to the power of jet ski. This twin-peaked towable ties up to your favorite motored vessel just like a raft or water ski rope, but rather than zipping you along well above the water's surface as you hold on tight, the NautBoard gives you the option to drop under during the ride. You'll glide like the fastest of our fish and marine mammal friends, no suits, fins, or sea creature anatomy required.

NautBoard creators describe its use as "virtually effortless." It delivers a light, 2- to 5-knot pull in action, and can be used both on top of and below the surface of oceans, lakes, or even swimming pools. (You'll have to haul out the manual labor in a pool, pulling it by hand or with a winch.) As you get comfortable with the NautBoard's feel and maneuverability, you'll be able to dive deeper and stay under water longer during towing. Or just chill at the surface and enjoy both unlimited thrills and an unlimited supply of oxygen.

NautBoards are made of a durable, flexible, lightweight, and UV-resistant composite material. They float until pulled underwater.

Drugs & alcohol, bullies, gluten--parents have got a lot of evils to worry about as they raise their children these days. So I get why a lot of them are anti-trampoline. Why add flying off a spring-loaded canvas bed and cracking one's skull open to the list of kid concerns?

Because, Daaaaaad, they're so fuuuuuunnnn! Please, pleasepleaseplease can we get one?

Here, Trampolines Down Under has made a move to help parents retain the love and admiration of their children, without relinquishing all control over whether or not those children's bones and brains remain intact. The TDU system features an in-ground retaining wall insert that brings the trampoline top and its bouncy-bouncy good time down to ground level.

These in-ground trampolines have surface areas and spring setups similar to traditional trampolines, but instead of legs and posts, they install around the circumference of TDU's wall. The patented wall kit is made of lightweight Polyethylene molding and has a self-locking buckle system that enables consumers to snap it together in just a few minutes. (Note: Digging the hole to put it in in your back yard will probably take a little longer.)

Once in place, the retaining wall is designed to accommodate movement of the overlying surface without letting it collapse under the trampoline. It also preserves a flush transition from the trampoline ring to the adjacent ground so it won't interfere with your lawn care rituals.

In addition to looking kinda cool, an in-ground trampoline is obviously intended to reduce associated injuries. While not completely eliminated as a possibility, falls to the ground are less likely, and if they do happen, it will be from a much lower height. And the TDU system does get rid of any chance of injury from kids walking or rolling under the trampoline while others are jumping.

Oh, and if you live in an area that gets tornadoes or regular wind storms, you won't have to worry about Angry Mother Nature carrying your trampoline away.

The complete TDU trampoline kit includes a 14' trampoline and vented safety pad (the latter facilitates airflow and drainage, and won't get hot to the touch during summer scorchers), and a 14' TDU retaining wall system.

Jackson Landers of the Smithsonian reports on an exciting discovery:

American history has just been slightly rewritten. Previously, experts had believed that the Native Americans of central Massachusetts spoke a single language, Loup (pronounced “Lou,” literally meaning “wolf”). But new research shows that they spoke at least five different languages.

“It’s like some European families where you can have three different languages at the dinner table,” says Ives Goddard, curator emeritus and senior linguist in the department of anthropology at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. “There was probably a lot of bilingualism. A question that is raised by there being so many languages is ‘how did that work?’ How did they manage to maintain five different languages in such a small area?”

The lost languages were re-discovered by taking another look at several manuscripts written by French missionaries who were also working as linguists in the mid 1700s. While working on her master’s thesis at the University of Manitoba, Holly Gustafson compiled lists of verb forms found in one of the manuscripts. Goddard noticed some contradictions in the compilation. […]

“This gives us a picture of the aboriginal situation in New England being fragmented into different groups,” says Goddard. “This tells us something about the social and political situation.”

Goddard believes that the situation may have been similar to that of the Sui people of the Guizhou Province of China. Women from a particular band of villages would always marry into a different band of villages in which a different language was spoken. The woman would continue to speak her original dialect, her husband would speak another, while their children would grow up understanding both but primarily speaking the father’s dialect outside of the home. Family and cultural ties are maintained between the different groups of villages while maintaining an independent sense of identity.

Goddard’s research begs the question of how many other native American languages may have been missed. The cultural diversity of pre-colonial America may have been underestimated. Rediscovering those languages can help to explain where the lines were drawn between different cultures.

Fascinating stuff — thanks, Trevor!

Stressed out? Stuck in the office while summer happens out the window next to you? Just need some serenity now? I don't know how the hell a faux grass carpet is supposed to solve any of those problems, but according to the people who are bringing barefoot-in-the-field to your desk chair, you should give it a try and find out.

They call the anti-fatigue faux grass rug on-demand relaxation. The ultimate relief for exhausting days. The key to making your feet smile. And what evidence backs the idea that placing bare feet in grass--real or faux--provides total body rejuvenation? Maybe it's just the power of escapism, imagining yourself running through the park. Or the power of nostalgia, remembering doing it as a kid.

Or maybe the whole "grass foot massage" concept is a total crock, but a faux grass floor mat feels nicer to sink your feet into than the shaggy polyester one with coffee stains and enchilada sauce crust all over it you're using now.

We don’t know a millionth of one percent about anything.

Thomas A. Edison

Darth Vader Ice / Chocolate Mold – I find your lack of chocolatey sweets disturbing

Froot Loop Cereal Scented Candle – Just don’t try to eat it!

Foot Hammock – It’s like a vacation… for your feet!

Thanks to The Master Pan breakfast will never be the same!

London Underground has said “excess sunlight” is causing delays for the Tube network.

Bright sunshine beaming onto CCTV monitors, which are used to give a clear view of the platform before pulling away, is blocking drivers’ line of sight, according to staff.

“Whether it’s powdered, filled or a hot Original Glazed, stop in for a free doughnut from Krispy Kreme. In honor of National Doughnut Day, on Friday, June 3, stop in to any Krispy Kreme US or Canadian location for a FREE doughnut of any variety–including its world famous Original Glazed® doughnut. ” Free Doughnut at … Continue reading Free Doughnut at Krispy Kreme on June 3rd

The post Free Doughnut at Krispy Kreme on June 3rd appeared first on SweetFreeStuff.com.

       

 

 

I’m a dad of two nerdy girls (and a baby boy, but he’s not ready for fandom yet). I show them everything from Star Wars and TMNT to Disney princesses to Lumberjanes and everything in between. A story about Star Wars So just the other day, my daughters and I were watching the original Star

The post Star Wars, Ghostbusters, and Female Reboots appeared first on Underfold Comics.

More Cluster Fudge HERE

If a man has lost a leg or an eye, he knows he has lost a leg or an eye; but if he has lost a self—himself—he cannot know it, because he is no longer there to know it.

Oliver Sacks