Anyway, if you use phpns - or any CMS which uses TinyMCE for WYSIWYG text entry / editing - you'll find that if you embed code like YouTube links in code view, switch back to WYSIWYG view, then switch back to code view again... All your lovely embed codes are gone!

This was really annoying me, so I decided to have a hunt about for a quick 'n dirty solution. After lots of forum reading, a few things were clear:

• TinyMCE won't let you easily disable its code cleaning / HTML verification, which sucks
• Even the TinyMCE devs aren't quite sure how to efficiently stop this from happening
• Trying to fully disable its HTML verification / cleanup routines is nigh-on impossible, the codebase is a spider's web of PHP
• and by default, it hates all <object> and <embed> tags, even if you have the TinyMCE Flash plugin installed.

This can royally screw with your meticulously-entered YouTube embeds. However, on his blog, Akbar neatly demonstrates a simple but effective method to stop TinyMCE eating your embed code - and all you need to do is add the object and embed tags and possible variables... There's a full demo, with borrowable code, on his web site.

Even more frustratingly, attempting to rename/delete the domain's folder via FTP or SSH didn't work, and I couldn't re-add the domain to the account as DirectAdmin could (bizarrely) still see that it was already hosting it! Moving/deleting the domain's DNS zone file didn't work, and neither did a DirectAdmin restart. So, Catch 22... What to do?

I went digging into the server filesystem (using root) and had a look at some of the many catalogue files DirectAdmin uses to remind itself which domains it's hosting. I first checked for a .db file in /var/named/ (where the named DNS app stores its zone files for each domain) - the domain's file was still there. I then checked /etc/virtual/domains and /etc/virtual/domainowners (the first file holds a list of domains hosted on the system, and the second shows each domain's owner account), and for some reason while domains still had the problem domain listed, its ownership had disappeared from domainowners.

So, after readding it, saving the file out and restarting DirectAdmin via the control panel's Service Monitor (when logged in as admin), the domain immediately reappeared in the user's control panel and it's working perfectly once again. However, this would've been virtually impossible to fix had I not found some crucial info on the web, including John's post on Binary Web Host, where I first learnt of the existence of the domains and domainowners files.

Hopefully this helps other people avoid suffering this problem for long if they encounter it - I could find no useful info on the DirectAdmin knowledge base or forums, and it even had my server host stumped too (and they're no cowboys - they had never seen this problem before with DirectAdmin where it hadn't fixed itself after a restart).

How a boxfresh Ronin should look...

I recently went out in some brand new trainers (a pair of Etnies Ronin skate shoes, which are black and white suede/synthetic material mixture with a white trim round the sole). Unsurprisingly, it rained on Saturday evening, and when I came back my shoes were DESTROYED.

Unfortunately, mine weren't quite caked, but were fairly smattered in nasty looking mud. But what to do? Well, after some careful research (and even more careful testing), here's some tips for cleaning these kinds of skate shoes.

Shoes like the Ronins aren't all suede - they have what Etnies describe as an "action leather upper" combined with synthetic, woven sections (for example, the material around the E motif on the side of the shoe is a different fabric). However, in my case, the whole lot was just smothered with nasty, gunky mud.

So, what to do? Well, first thing's first - DON'T TRY TO CLEAN THE SHOES WHILST THEY'RE STILL WET! All you'll do is rub the dirt right into the fibres, ruining them pretty much forever (or until you get them professionally cleaned which could cost a lot). Resisting the temptation to grab the scrubbing brush, put them in a warm place overnight and let the mud dry completely.

Before you start to remove the mud, you'll need a couple of things:

• A suede brush (they come in all shapes and sizes; a photo of one here - I bought mine from Timpson's)
• A suede eraser/cleaning block (or a soft white pencil eraser like a Staedtler if you can't find a suede eraser - again, I got one from my local Timpson's)
• A small dish/bucket/container, into which you'll put a mix of warm tap water and a small amount of bleach or clear vinegar (not brown malt vinegar!)
  • Optionally, something like the soapbar-shaped Vanish stain remover bar (which I used)
• A small plastic-bristled scrubbing brush and/or J-cloth/dishcloth (I just used a J-cloth)
• Some paper tissues / absorbent towels or cloths
• Some spray-on suede/leather/nubuck protector (Kiwi and Punch make this stuff, along with loads of shoe shops' own brands - I ended up finding some in Asda)

Start by using the suede brush to rub off most of the heavy soiling - you'll be surprised, as long as you brush with the nap of the fibre, just how much comes off once the mud's dried. The suede is also more resilient than you'd think - of course, having coloured or very light suede/nubuck shoes will affect the end result slightly as you may have some more permanent discolouration, but my black shoes looked almost spotless after this first brushing.

I ended up starting off gently, then slowly increasing pressure and speed as I got most of the mud off. To continue, I used the suede eraser - it's quite hard and crumbles easily, taking the dirt with it, so I used that to crack off the more stubborn mud flakes and remove some of the smaller stains and marks.

I grabbed the Vanish stain remover bar (it looks like a bar of soap, but you can rub it onto problem stains), daubing it where necessary for the more heavily soiled areas - of which there were, fortunately, not many. Once that was done, I got some water/bleach mixture onto the J-cloth and used it to thoroughly wash the shoes' outer fabric - NOT completely soaking the shoes or utterly drenching the fabric as that's really bad for it. Being methodical is the key here, and then take the time to then go round the shoes with the paper towels and dab off the excess liquid. Repeat for the other shoe, then leave to dry overnight.

Once completely dry, give your shoes a good spray treatment with the protector - this will help to stop moisture ingress and keep your suede/nubuck/leather looking newer for longer! If you have coloured material be sure to test on a discreet area first, juuuuust in case it adversely affects the dye of the material). Some protectors state that the colour of your shoes may darken slightly after application - sometimes it's just unavoidable, but it's for the best in the long run. After the shoes have dried, use the suede brush to bring up the pile of the fibre again to restore some of its natural look. Finally, enjoy your newly-restored shoes again - without having to resort to professional shoe cleaning services!

However if you do need professional suede/nubuck cleaning, a professional shoemakers like James Taylor and Son in London look like a promising place to begin your search. (Watch their VideoJug feature on cleaning suede shoes - recommended viewing for all suede shoe owners regardless)

So, at all costs:

• avoid washing your shoes straight away, avoid putting your shoes in the washing machine (AWFUL for both the shoes and the washing machine)
• avoid using suede/nubuck cleaner as some people report that it actually spoils the fabric completely
• don't leave your shoes wet after cleaning them yourself and
• don't forget to BUY A MORE APPROPRIATE PAIR OF SHOES FOR MUDDY WEATHER!

I learnt that the hard way so you don't have to (fortunately my shoes are as good as new now). Given all this snowy weather we're having, the amount of mud/snow/grit you'll be getting on your shoes is certainly not good for brand new suede or nubuck, so it pays to protect your footwear before you head out the door

Also, a handful of quick tips which I found useful when I was first beginning to learn the ways of the Fruit:

• If you want to eject your CD/DVD from your Mac's drive without booting into an OS, just press and hold the left mousekey when booting up.
• If you want to display the boot selection screen (to choose between OSX, Windows or an external drive / Install DVD) press and hold Alt during boot until the menu's displayed.
• If you want to change your default OS for dualbooting, use the Boot Camp Assistant applet (found in the Control Panel in Windows, and similarly in the OSX Options). In Windows, you can also quickly reboot into OSX by clicking on the Assistant system tray and choosing "reboot into Mac OS X".

Next, something I found VERY useful: you can change your keyboard layout back to the regular Windows layout!

Lots more info after the jump...

If you're a touch-typist (like me), Boot Camp installs two keyboard layouts in Windows. UK English keyboards have a slightly different configuration - @ symbol is over by the Return key and not on the Number 2 key - inverted commas (") are there instead. The backslash is also over by the left Shift key, not by the Return key (on regular keyboards, the Hash/Pound symbol is usually on the key where Apple chose to put their backslash).

To revert back to the regular British English keyboard layout, it's actually childishly simple. As I set Windows up as English (United Kingdom), the Boot Camp Assistant installed "United Kingdom (Apple)" alongside - and it also set it as default. However, as I explained, to my muscle memory inverted commas (") are Shift-2 and the @ symbol is Shift-" (as shown on the MacBook keyboard), etc...

Having multiple locales and keyboard layouts installed makes Windows display the Language bar in the system tray. Using it, you can temporarily switch between the two layouts. To permanently set the standard British English layout, go into the Control Panel, open up Regional and Language Options, go to the Languages tab and then choose "English (United Kingdom) - United Kingdom". Hit Apply and OK, and you're done. Thank you Apple for not overwriting the default keyboard layout!

One insanely useful Windows feature which Macs still lack: you can open ANY program's main menus by using the appropriate hotkey (apart from programs designed with a nonstandard GUI - 99.9% of all apps have a standardised set of menus up top). For example, if you have a program open, pressing Ctrl+F will open the File menu. Not sure what the key combo is? Just open the menu, and every option with a shortcut key available will display it underlined. (So to close Firefox for example, you can go Alt-F -> X). If you hold down Alt, usually the "hotkey" to open each menu will gain a little underline to indicate what to press.

You can get ridiculously fast at navigating your way through menus once you learn your shortcut keys! It's one of the features I miss the most in OSX; I know you can open menus by clicking with the mouse, but that's not the point if you're a keyboard warrior like me (I hate using a mouse, it's such a slow way of interfacing with a computer.)

And while I'm at it, here's some generic Windows shortcuts for everyone to enjoy - mostly learnt through trial-and-error:
(For those not quite familiar with the lingo, Apple key is also known as 'Command', Alt is also known as 'Option')

• Command+D: minimise / maximise all open windows, aka "Show Desktop".
• Command+R: open Run box.
• Alt+Spacebar: opens the foremost application window's context menu (useful if you need to resize/move/close a window and your mouse batteries have died!) Once the menu's open, just press the key for the underlined letter to select which option you want.
• Alt+F4: close current application/window.
• Ctrl+Escape: open Start menu (handy if you're using an old USB keyboard which doesn't have a Windows key on it).
• Ctrl-Alt-Delete: show Task Manager (useful to kill errant programs).
  • On a MacBook Pro keyboard, which doesn't have its own Delete key, you have to press Ctrl-Alt-Fn-Backspace (doesn't matter in which order they're pressed; make an impressive t-t-t-tap sound whilst doing it! Impress your friends and loved ones!)
• Alt-Tab: like on a Mac, this opens the Alt-Tab menu, which you can use to "tab" through application windows. If you want to back out from changing windows, just hit Escape before letting go of the Alt key. 
  • Windows XP lets you tab through *all* of your application windows, not just each open application - this can greatly increase your productivity if you're working with lots of open windows in Photoshop, for example (instead of only being able to quickly select the Photoshop window and still having to mouse over to the appropriate image window).
• In Vista, Command-Tab brings up the Aero interface equivalent of Alt-Tab called "Flip 3D" - a shameless Exposé ripoff which gives you realtime previews of your open app windows. I never use it, but some Vista users swear by it.
• Fn-'strange key next to right Shift key': enable/disable Insert functionality (Insert lets you replace text as you type, if you put the pointer/caret at the front of a line of text... Don't forget you've left it on if you're typing something in your word processor!)
• Ctrl+A: select all text in current active window. (OSX equivalent: Command+A)
• Shift+Ctrl+arrowkey: select entire word in that direction. (OSX equivalent: Shift+Command+arrowkey)
• Ctrl+arrowkey: jump left/right by an entire word. (OSX equivalent: Alt+arrowkey)
• Take screenshot of entire screen and save to clipboard: Fn-Shift-F11.
• Take screenshot of active window and save to clipboard: Fn-Alt-Shift-F11.
  • You'll need to paste the image into Paint or your image editor of choice - Windows doesn't save screenshots to files. If you're looking for a nifty free imageviewer, try IrfanView.
• Enable/disable Number Lock: Fn-F6.
• Alt GR (aka Right Alt Key, which only British English keyboards have): Alt+Ctrl+key (so for é = Alt+Ctrl+e. Essential for accents!)
• In web browsers: Ctrl+T to open new tab, Ctrl+W to close tab. (OSX equivalents: Apple+T, Apple+W respectively)
• Command-F / F3 key: open Search facility.
• For Terminal/commandline users... The Pipe symbol (¦): Ctrl+Alt+(key-next-to-1) (has a plus/minus and Section symbol on it)
• Tilde symbol (~): Shift+(MBP-backslash-key) (next to the Return key, middle row)
• Fn+Backspace (Delete): Send selected file(s) to Recycle Bin.
• Shift+Fn+Backspace (Shift+Delete): Permanently delete selected file(s), bypassing the Recycle Bin. No Purgatory for you!
• Hold down Shift and click the left mousebutton (or use up/down/left/right arrowkeys) to select a range of files/icons anywhere (Windows Explorer, Outlook, a web page etc.)
• Hold down Ctrl and click the left mousebutton (or use up/down/left/right arrowkeys) to selectively choose files/icons anywhere (Windows Explorer, Outlook, a web page etc.)
  • You can use the spacebar as you would use the left mousebutton. Give it a try: in a list of emails or desktop icons, hold Ctrl. Hit Space, and the file is selected. Press the up/down arrowkey and the selector moves up/down one; skip past a few and hit Spacebar again and those two files are selected. Holding Shift after making your first selection with select every consecutive file automatically. Magic!

Phew, that list just keeps on growing and growing...

If you have "Use All F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys" enabled in Boot Camp Assistant, you can still use the Mac shortcuts - just hold down the Fn key and press your desired shortcut key. If it fails to work even after you've enabled the option, Boot Camp may need to be reinstalled - just pop your Mac OS X install disc back in, and rerun the Boot Camp Drivers installer. Reboot, and it should reappear again.

Apple have also published a pretty-much-full list of the various shortcuts for MBP-Windows users in their Boot Camp knowledgebase.

Happy powerworking!