Archive for November, 2006

MyBB… I like the way you import

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So today for something different I’m going to have a bit of a guest author on my blog to talk about something they’ve been working on in MyBB. That person would be Tikitiki and the feature would be the MyBB import system. Ryan actually wrote this article previously but he’s decoded he may be removing his blog soon but still wants to be famous people to know about what he’s been up to.

So, below Ryan talks about the MyBB conversion wizard. Though it is actually a lot more than that. It could be called the “MyBB Merge Wizard”. Essentially what you can do is import as many different bulletin boards as you want in to your one copy of MyBB - and you can even merge one or more copies of MyBB as well. Now keep in mind when you’re reading below that the system isn’t finished yet but is currently under active development - there is lots of work to be completed.

The design (well idea) of the system and how the base functionality works was designed by myself over a year ago. Ryan rewrote it all, I rewrote some bits, Dennis touched it up a bit further and now Ryan has taken back over and is pushing development right ahead.


The whole point of the MyBB Import system is that you can merge databases. You can also select what to import, and what not to import. Now it’s not finished, but I’ll explain what the system does and how easy it really is!

MyBB Conversion Wizard - Welcome.png

The first step - The welcome page! Not all of the converters have been finished, but this shows what will be done by the time 1.4 is released. Currently we’ve finished: MyBB (Merge), SMF, phpBB 2, and PunBB.

MyBB Conversion Wizard - Module Selection.png

The second step shows you the module list. You’ll need to fill in your database configuration details as shown in the picture below.

MyBB Conversion Wizard - phpBB 2 Database Configuration.png

This page is where you’ll fill in the database details of the database you want to import.

MyBB Conversion Wizard - Module Selection2.png

Once you are done with that, you’ll get back to the module page. Here you’ll see that you can select a module to start out from. These modules need to be done first because data is required from these modules for other modules.

MyBB Conversion Wizard - Import phpBB 2 Usergroups.png

Here you’ll input how many of the module you selected you want to import. Once you’re done with this, click next to continue.

MyBB Conversion Wizard - Import phpBB 2 Usergroups2.png

At this screen, it shows you whats been run in the module. Click next to continue; If there are more it will continue on with the module, otherwise you’ll be sent back to the module list as depicted in the picture below.

MyBB Conversion Wizard - Module Selection3.png

Here you’ll be able to select the next module, or, if your finished, you can press “Clean Up” and it will show the next page.

MyBB Conversion Wizard - Completion.png

The is the last page of the importer before you can visit your new imported board :)

You can also pause modules so you don’t have to run them all. Say you only wanted to import 10 threads. And of course, you can resume the module if you wish to continue importing them, but we’ll get into that more later

November 16th, 2006 31 Comments

“The Set Up”

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Somebody asked me today for an updated copy of how my workstation/desk looks these days with everything on it - and more specifically how I managed to fit everything on my desk.

P1010248
View the annotated version at flickr!

Ignoring the pretty crappy quality of the photo (bad lighting I tells you!), you can see:

  • Sony Ericsson K750i Phone + Wallet
  • Griffin Radio Shark - USB powered radio receiver. This thing is awesome!
  • Uniden cordless house phone
  • USB flash drive on AMD lanyard
  • 20″ Samsung 204b LCD Monitor
  • Intel Mac Mini - My little baby
  • 2 Port DVI/USB KVM - To switch between my Mac Mini and my Desktop PC
  • Dell Axim X51v PDA - Second little baby
  • Toshiba Qosmio F10 laptop + Cool Master Notepal cooler
  • Desktop PC - In the Thermaltake Shark case
  • Microsoft Wireless Comfort Keyboard + Mouse package
  • Also somewhere on the shelves is my iPod, XP Media Center Remote and my 2.5″ portable USB HDD

So there you have it - where the magic happens.

Of course, usually my desk is crowded with other dumped rubbish, notes and assortedness however I decided I best clean it up before I take a photo of it.

Now back to more assignment work once again I guess.

November 11th, 2006 5 Comments

Pda, pda, pda, pda

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To add to my ever growing list of tech. gadgets and to help me become a more organised person (oh yeah, as well as the certain “cool” factor), I purchased a Dell Axim X51v PDA last Thursday. It arrived the following Monday after being shipped Express UPS postage from the United States.

P1010244
Behold - Dell Axim X51v in all its glory

The specifications of the Axim X51v (my model) are:

  • 624 MHz Intel X-Scale processor
  • 64 MB SDRAM
  • 256 MB Flash Memory (File Storage)
  • Built in 802.11b wireless ethernet
  • Built in Bluetooth
  • Compact Flash and SD card slots
  • Windows Mobile 5.0

I’ve had a bit of a play around with Pocket PC applications too. It’s interesting to note you can actually get games such as Age of Empires 1, Worms World Party, my long time favourite and addictive game bejeweled and a whole bunch of other known PC titles. I’ve played around with Age of Empires and Worms World Party so far and I’m pretty impressed at the performance.

Back to the applications side of things, I’ve got a copy of Skype installed so I can make calls anywhere there is Wifi access, NoviiRemote which makes use of the infrared port on the PDA so I can control devices such as TVs and set top boxes, Opera to browse the web (much better than the compact version of IE that comes with WM 5.0), Virtual Earth mobile as to access Google Earth/Maps and WiFiFoFum2 which is basically a wireless network scanner for all of the wardriving I do. The PDA also comes standard with a Terminal Services Client, mobile versions of Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook and MSN Messenger.

What I’ve found interesting is the lack of quality in Microsoft’s ActiveSync. The product just isn’t up to the quality I’d expect. Hopefully with Vista and the new Mobile Device Center things will change - I’ll have to try it out and see how it looks at a later stage.

In between assignment work I’ve also been playing around with the .NET Compact Framework in VisualStudio which can be used to develop applications for Pocket PCs. I’ve come up with varying results and have intentions of building a paint/notes application where you can draw over the network to other PDAs or a server application which instantly saves the drawings and generates an RSS feed of them which you can subscribe to.

It’s a very cool little device.

Back to assignment work now I guess.

November 4th, 2006 9 Comments