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  • Showing only topics in ~comp with the tag "ask.advice". Back to normal view / Search all groups
    1. Server admins, PHP/Symfony experts: I need your guidance

      I've been the sole developer for my company's website for over a decade now. It's gone through a bunch of evolutions throughout the years, but I've been sidetracked lately and have let things...

      I've been the sole developer for my company's website for over a decade now. It's gone through a bunch of evolutions throughout the years, but I've been sidetracked lately and have let things stagnate as far as maintenance goes. Now, I'm looking to do some upgrades for security purposes and I'm trying to wrap my head around everything.

      Some facts:

      • PHP 8.0.12
      • MySQL 5.7
      • Symfony 5.4
      • Web server is currently Apache only because that's what I've always used. I'm open to nginx or other options.
      • Running on a Google Cloud VPS with Ubuntu 20.04
      • I also use Google Cloud Storage to host thousands of images

      My first thought was to take baby steps and start by upgrading Symfony as much as possible. However, the next major version (6.0) requires PHP 8.0.2. Symfony 6.1 requires PHP 8.1. Symfony 7.2 (the current release) requires PHP 8.2. So, then it just makes sense to upgrade PHP to the latest version.

      However, I am terrified of upgrading PHP in the current (outdated) Ubuntu environment. So I might as well upgrade the distro while I'm at it.

      And then, MySQL 5.7 is no longer supported, so I might as well bring that up to date too (8.0, I believe).

      There will be no baby steps. I'm gonna have to just upgrade everything all at once. Which then leads me to my next question: should I stick with the self-managed VPS, or is it time to look at something like Google App Engine or Fly.io that is a little bit more managed and "locked down" than what I'm doing right now? Should I look into just going with Docker instead?

      Put another way, if I'm going to start from ~scratch, what's the modern best practice to host all of this, given that I'm going to have to upgrade a bunch of different things all at once? (Turns out the "baby step" of upgrading Symfony will actually have to come last since I need to hit these prerequisites first).

      Please let me know if I've left anything out. PS, security is a pretty big concern for us because we manage user auth, so I'm all for anything the cloud providers can do to take some of that responsibility away from me.

      9 votes
    2. Time for a new mouse?

      I've been having intermittent problems with selecting text. I'm not sure which software it is in, but it is certainly in Slack and IntelliJ. The text I select will often/sometimes not stay...

      I've been having intermittent problems with selecting text. I'm not sure which software it is in, but it is certainly in Slack and IntelliJ. The text I select will often/sometimes not stay selected once I lift my finger up. It will take several times to make the selection last, sometimes swiping in a different direction.

      Is it my mouse or the software?

      My mouse in made by Inland, model RTM098( J10 ). Probably very old.

      11 votes
    3. Is OneDrive for Linux Mature Enough Yet?

      I'm looking to see if anyone can speak to how life is (good, bad, or meh) with using one of the popular OneDrive clients on a common enough Linux distribution. Ok, so allow me to set the...

      I'm looking to see if anyone can speak to how life is (good, bad, or meh) with using one of the popular OneDrive clients on a common enough Linux distribution.

      Ok, so allow me to set the context...

      • My partner uses Windows laptop, and with next year's end of life on Win10, I need to make decision to advise them on whether we get them another Windows laptop (presumably running Win11), or finally get them to take the plunge on using Linux - (a laptop running some common enough linux distro).
      • I run linux as my personal daily driver on my laptop for more than a decade, and on server side having been using and dabbling with linux since about 2004. So, i will add also that i'm all bought in on the linux, libre/free and open source lifestyle.
      • I'm not a fan of Windows, but not judging that others like my partner use it. By the way, my partner doesn't care about tech nor computing, they simply use applications and move on with their life. (Yes, i have politely nudged them over the years to try linux, but they have been hesitant to do so without a true need, so why rock the love boat, right?)
      • My partner's computing needs are quite basic, but slightly tricky...Here is what i mean:
        • They use a web browser or mobile apps for the vast majority of their compouting/app needs
        • For office suite, they use desktop versions of MS Word and Excel
        • Quite importanrtly, they use OneDrive to sync their files (and there are alot important files for them and our family)

      So, from a computing needs perspective, that's pretty much it. For every other function and need (e.g. email, productivity, etc.), they simply use browser or mobile apps as noted above.

      You might be thinking, well, move them to linux, and if they like Microsoft, then use the Word or Excel browser app, right? Well, they LOATH having to use the browser or mobile versions of Microsoft Office. Being of a certain age, they might be ok with LibreOffice, since it mimics close enough to desktop versions of Word, Excel desktop apps...So, I think the desktop and office suite are less of a problem to find an alternative if needed...
      But, OneDrive, yeah, this is the one app that they won't let go. Not because they love Microsoft (they could careless about the company), but because they have a good trust and experience of its functions to date on Windows. Onedrive has really empowered their workflow. That is, because they jump from browser to mobile app often through their day, etc....the feature of having a file easily and reliably sync (via onedrive) between devices is probably the most important need that they have.

      Now, before anyone says, well try "NextCloud"...yeah, been there and done that. Nextcloud works wonderfully for me (has for years)...but it does not conform exactly to my partner's workflow. I've tried Collabera, but could never get it to work reliably enough. I want to state again, i am a strong, emphatic open source advocate...But if my partner can't get their work done without me constantly diagnosing and fixing things....then its not proper solution for them.

      So, while i have a solid linux or open source option for all of their other needs, Onedrive is the challenge here. So, can anyone advise, how things are with onedrive clients on linux? Any particular client that is worth me looking into? What about a specific linux distro that, maybe possibly works best with a particular onedrive linux client? I should add that my partner is willing to pay for file synching and does NOT want to have me self-host things for this single function since they don't want to have me kill myself in supporting it. So, if there is a valid alternative to onedrive that is awesome on linux, and that they can pay a company to reliably host, that is welcome as well.

      Or, should i simply advise them to stick to Windows through EOL, get them set on Win11 along with native Onedrive, and move on with our lives?

      I'm thankful for anyone's recommendations and advice. Cheers!

      16 votes
    4. Advice Needed: Simple and Reliable notifications

      I have a long standing problem that probably has several good solutions, I just haven't been able to figure them out. So here I am, asking you. I'm selfhosting some services, a mix of selfbuilt...

      I have a long standing problem that probably has several good solutions, I just haven't been able to figure them out. So here I am, asking you.

      I'm selfhosting some services, a mix of selfbuilt and open source software. But some things I don't want to selfhost. Notably backups and alerts/notifications. For backups I have a solution which works well in every regard except one - I don't always get alerted when things fail, because the way I send myself those alerts is failing more than the actual backups.

      Currently I'm using python and gmails smtp interface to send myself email, but gmail disables my smtp access from time to time, and it's really easy not to notice not getting an email. I've tried sending the email regardless of whether the backup failed or not, but I've noticed several times that I still don't notice if the they stop coming.

      Now on to my requirements/wishlist.

      1. I'm already using s3 glacier at aws for the backups, so preferrably something in the aws space.
      2. I would like to get an popup/toast on my phone when a message is being sent. And the ability to review messages later.
      3. I would like as few moving parts as possible.
      4. I don't want to write my own client.
      5. I want it to be cheap, and if there's a cost I prefer to pay it at a place where I'm already paying, meaning aws (or possibly proton).
      6. I want a stable service.
      7. I prefer to manage as little as possible of the infrastructure.
      8. I'd like a simple programmable interface that can't easily fail. E.g. http based.
      9. It's no problem if messages are not received instantly, I could easily tolerate delays up to 24 hours.

      As you may have noticed I'm pretty much expecting there to be something in aws that I can use, but aws documentation is so abstract, that I often don't understand what the point of something is or how I'm supposed to use it.

      10 votes
    5. Computer Airflow

      I have a standard Meshify 2 that has a lot of space in it. Its pretty much only got my GPU (3080) and a few drives. Anyway, it idles around 40C in my office, which is fine. Here's my question ---...

      I have a standard Meshify 2 that has a lot of space in it. Its pretty much only got my GPU (3080) and a few drives. Anyway, it idles around 40C in my office, which is fine.

      Here's my question --- I've got five 140mm fans, not including the normal exhaust on the back. Here's the setup I did today.

      • Front (top to bottom): two intake
      • Top (front to back): optional intake (comes on at 50C), two exhaust

      The top exhausts run around 50rpm slower than the two intakes. I read that I should build negative pressure. This case is covered in filters, too, so dust hasn't been an issue.

      Under load (GTAV) the system maxes out around 60C.

      Is that top optional intake a waste of time?

      Apologies for the terrible tagging...

      7 votes
    6. Best solution to extract PDF data?

      Hi folks-- To those more knowledgeable than I am: What would be the best local solution to extract numerical data from a batch of PDF file reports? The values I want are interspersed among word...

      Hi folks--

      To those more knowledgeable than I am:

      What would be the best local solution to extract numerical data from a batch of PDF file reports? The values I want are interspersed among word processor formatted tables and irrelevant text. The text and table formatting are (nearly) identical across reports. The data I want vary across reports. The PDFs are not of images...I can select and copy text without OCR. I have thousands to process, and the data themselves are confidential (I have clearance) and cannot be shared. I can use Windows or Linux but no MacOS.

      I am technically inclined, so I bashed my head against regular expressions just enough to use notepad++ to find and delete most of the irrelevant stuff and make a CSV, but it's a hacky, imprecise method and not nearly automated enough for batches. For reference, I don't code for a living or even as a hobby, but I use R and bash, am familiar with IDEs, and can follow pseudocode well enough to edit and use scripts.

      Any thoughts? Thanks in advance!

      24 votes
    7. Formatting Maven Errors

      Maven conveniently puts all errors at the end of a build. However, the error messages are not formatted. The errors messages are presented as once giant line via word wrap. I'm on a windows box,...

      Maven conveniently puts all errors at the end of a build.

      However, the error messages are not formatted. The errors messages are presented as once giant line via word wrap.

      I'm on a windows box, using Git Bash to run maven.

      I could futz around and make a macro in Notepad++ for formatting the error messages into a more readable format.

      Before I go that route I was wondering if maven had any handy settings or if there is some handy utility that will do that for me.

      3 votes
    8. Relative installed shady browser extension

      [Possibly solved, please look at comments] Hey, so recently a family member accidentally downloaded a shady browser extension called: "Easy Print" on Firefox. 30k downloads, no ratings, weird...

      [Possibly solved, please look at comments]

      Hey,

      so recently a family member accidentally downloaded a shady browser extension called: "Easy Print" on Firefox. 30k downloads, no ratings, weird "offical" website and installed accidentally trying to buy tickets. I assume it showed something along the lines of: "Buy ticket now" and they just clicked on it (being overall inexperieced with security). Only extension installed was uBlock until then.

      I won't post a link just in case, but you can easily find it by googling: "Easy Print Firefox" or "Easy Print App" for their website.

      What makes this weirder is that they change the default search engine to Yahoo, which for me was always a red flag for a hijacked browser.

      I uninstalled it, but am concerned that they installed something like a keylogger along with it.

      Can anyone help me what this is and, especially, how I can properly teach them the basics of internet safety? Not the first time their PC/browser was filled with unwanted stuff...

      Thank you and best regards!

      15 votes