I had some difficulties with streaming mp3 over fish:// protocol and the smb:// protocal from Ubuntu. I knew there was a way to mount the remote samba share locally on my Ubuntu filesystem.

First, you’ll have to download the necessary applications: smbfs and smbclient. For the purposes below, I have changed my remote host (the samba server) to “foo”.

root@localhost:~# apt-get install smbclient

Then you’ll have to create a “mount point” that will be on the local filesystem to access the remote filesystem. It is similar to mounting a dvd or cd-rom drive on ubuntu (typically under /mnt/dvd or /mnt/cdrom).

root@localhost:~# mkdir -p /x/foo

Now that we have a mount point and the smbclient software installed, try getting a listing of all available shares on the server named “foo”.

root@localhost:/x/foo# smbclient -L foo -U%
Domain=[WORKGROUP] OS=[Unix] Server=[Samba 3.0.24]

        Sharename       Type      Comment
        ---------       ----      -------
        print$          Disk      Printer Drivers
        HPDeskJet6122   Printer   HP DeskJet 6122 Network Printer
        share           Disk      Public Share
        IPC$            IPC       IPC Service (spring)
        HPOfficeJet4110 Printer   WinXP
        hpoffice-4110   Printer   HP OfficeJet 4110 hpijs
        hp_deskjet_6122_USB_1 Printer   hp deskjet 6122
Domain=[WORKGROUP] OS=[Unix] Server=[Samba 3.0.24]

        Server               Comment
        ---------            -------
        FOO               foo

        Workgroup            Master
        ---------            -------
        WORKGROUP            FOO

The following command will actually mount the remote share dubbed “share” from remote server “foo” to the local path “/x/foo”. You should be prompted for your samba password on the host “foo”.

root@localhost:/x/foo# smbmount //foo/share /x/foo/ -o username=foouser,uid=1000,mask=000

You can now browse all the shared files on your local host by looking in /x/foo/.

Picking a domain registrar can be a difficult task. I look for ease of use, affordability, and privacy options.

1. NetFirms

   My current favorite, but is very limited. Privacy on .net and .com is free.

2. MyDomains

   A good domain selection tool written in AJAX that will suggest other extensions if the one you want is taken. Also has a suggestion tool that will mix-up the words and find similar words.

3. GoDaddy

   my current registrar, privacy doubles the cost.

4. Yahoo

   was $1.99, but required a renewal for another year. Privacy is extra, and must have valid whois information. Also after transferring my domain, they continued to bill me 2 years in a row.

Do you validate your markup? How about your CSS? What about accessibility guidelines? Validating your code against the W3C validators can save time in creating cross-browser applications.

The W3C offers a QA matrix of popular specifications that the standards body recommends.

The list includes both recommendations and those specs that are in working draft.

The W3C (aka World Wide Web Consortium) is the standards organization for web development on the Internet. Some of the many features of the W3.org site include automatic validators and references for designers and browser developers.

Validating code can save time by immediately seeing all potential errors on a page that could be causing visual display problems when writing markup and CSS. It is important to validate both CSS and X/HTML markup in an effort to create a cross-browser, cross-platform web application.

There are other validators of importance that I use on a regular basis — including the Section 508 Accessibility guidelines recommended by the W3C. Some countries and states have passed laws for government sites and contractors working with governments forcing them to comply with at least one of the three levels of Accessibility.

Satisfying these guidelines and recommendations can ensure your web site works on all browsers, screen readers for the blind, and mobile phones.