Author Archive: Sami K.

Apache2 – How to pass PCI-DSS compliance scan/test on Apache in 2013

Apache 2.2 up to 2.4 need special configuration to be able to pass a PCI-DSS scan. Below is what you need in 2013 to pass a basic PCI-DSS scan on your webserver. Obviously a properly configured SSL certificate helps too. You also need to configure variables in conf.d/security if you are using Debian or Ubuntu.

Published on: 31 May 2013
Posted by: Sami K.

WordPress – How to setup one child functions.php for multiple themes

If you have multiple child themes and you want to have a common functions.php between all of them, there is a simple way to do that. create the following file /wp-content/themes/common-funcs.php, and paste what you need in it. In the child theme functions.php use:

Published on: 31 May 2013
Posted by: Sami K.

A strategy for entering the online storage market

Dropbox has been done. Box.net is a good competitor. Going up against them as a me-too competitor is a waste of time and not very likely to succeed. What has not been done however is a hardware box that you host at your office that provides file sharing which then backs up to the internet. […]

Published on: 30 April 2013
Posted by: Sami K.

Does Open Source matter for clients of hosting services?

In response to this article, I wanted to write a rebuttal. Omega8.cc claims that open sourcing your platform is not something that matters to clients and I respectfully disagree. Omega8.cc open sources their platform, but is giving their competition some room by saying that it’s a myth that open sourcing a platform should matter to […]

Published on: 8 December 2012
Posted by: Sami K.

Why WordPress is a winner

Etopian Inc. critically analyzed all the best publishing and blogging platform out there and we have decided that WordPress is still the winner. For us this wasn’t a big surprise, we have been using WordPress for over 6 years and in that time it has definitely come out on top for us more often than […]

Published on: 13 November 2012
Posted by: Sami K.

Gaining and keeping your competitive edge online

There are millions of web sites on the web showcasing many different businesses in varying industries. And each business has thousands of potential rivals. This reason alone should be enough for you to focus your efforts to gain an edge over them. As the author Seth Godin puts it, it pays to be the purple […]

Published on: 13 November 2012
Posted by: Sami K.

Why have keep one brand when you can have two?

While working with clients in Alberta, and more specifically Calgary, we often find ourselves helping our clients alter their presence. Sometimes, however, an alteration results in a complete re-branding where the old brand is destroyed in order to make room for a new brand. And while this is not a bad idea as consumers do […]

Published on: 12 November 2012
Posted by: Sami K.

Drupal node_save action firing in a hook (gotcha)

Recently while developing a website for a client I ran into this issue which is so simple, yet the effects so devastating. First a bit of background. I was trying to use a hook that is fired by an existing action to update some fields on the same node after the action has occurred. This […]

Published on: 5 October 2012
Posted by: Sami K.

Drupal vs. WordPress – Why recommend Drupal instead of WordPress?

A client recently asked us why we would recommend Drupal instead of WordPress for migrating a custom content management system to Drupal. This is a multilingual site for an IPTV company. Below is our answer. Now each client is different, and the factors mentioned below were important to the specific client. Drupal is more secure […]

Published on: 6 September 2012
Posted by: Sami K.