There were no instances of httpd or mysqld running, so I figured that MAMP was running into an issue when trying to startup.   The entire GUI was locking up even after I pressed the “OK” button.

Contrary to the reported error the /etc/hosts file was writeable  so the issue was somewhere else.  The contents of the /etc/hosts file were changed to include several of my defined hosts and a null entry:

127.0.0.1 localhost
255.255.255.255 broadcasthost
::1 localhost
fe80::1%lo0 localhost

127.0.0.1 (null)

Several forum posts said that this null item needed to be removed from the hosts file and also from the MAMP definition.  I was able to clear out the hosts file but the null item would reappear each time I started MAMP.

MAMP has an option to “Start Apache and MySQL when starting MAMP Pro”  which I had selected. Because of this and the GUI locking up, I wasn’t able to get to the Hosts tab to remove the errant item.   Based on this post I found the preferences file in ~/Library/Preferences/de.appsolute.mamppro.plist.  The plist file is binary and can’t be edited directly, so I renamed it and restarted MAMP.  The plist file was recreated and although I lost my hosts definitions, I was able to get back to work.

Here are the steps to fix:

1. Close MAMP
2. Kill any httpd or mysqld processes
3. Clean out /etc/hosts file
4. Rename/remove ~/Library/Preferences/de.appsolute.mamppro.plist file

After three and a half years of working out of a spare bedroom office in my house and the birth of our third child, it was apparent that it was time for GrowDev HQ to move to a new space.   Not only was my house becoming a louder environment to try to concentrate in, but my work/life divide was totally blurred.

I made a list of “nice to haves” and asked around for referrals on space.

My list of features:

• One room with a door.  I don’t need a conference room since all of my clients are out of state.
• Under $200/month rent, preferably no long-term lease.
• Fast internet
• Within 5 miles from my house. I’d love to be able to walk or bike to work.

While out driving with my wife she suggested that I stop in to an office complex near our home and see if there were any vacancies.  The complex turned out to be two buildings owned by a flooring company and they had a vacancy in their smaller building.   I went the next day and was excited to discover that the space met or exceeded each item on my list.  Also, the electricity, security system, and trash pickup is included.

The office is located 0.1 of a mile from my front door.  Once the weather calms down and street construction finishes I’ll be able to walk to/from work.

After Two Weeks

I’ve been working from the new office for two weeks now and the only response I have is “Why didn’t I do this sooner?”   Having a quiet dedicated space to work has made a huge difference in my productivity.  When I’m at the office there are not any crying kids downstairs (or happy kids that want to play), chores waiting to be done, or other distractions.  Plus, when I’m home I can disconnect from work and not be tempted to pop in the office for 10 minutes to work or code something.

Pictures of Office

Here are some pictures of the new office.

I moved my current desk and “world’s smallest couch” into the new space and it fit perfectly.  I have some wall decor to put up, but haven’t hung anything yet.

The internet offered by the office was 1MB up/ 1MB down, and a little flaky in the afternoon.  The owner was ok with me getting my own service so I had Time Warner Business Class installed.

I share the space with two bookkeepers, a fence company and a custom home builder.  My neighbor brings her dog Sam to work every day.  He’s so quiet you hardly known he’s here!

This project was a collaboration with Atom Groom Design.

What we did:

• Magento template design integration
• XHTML/CSS coding
• Site installation
• CMS setup
• Custom navigation coding

Visit Blue Collar Supply

This project was a collaboration with Sweet Pea Design Studio.

What we did:

• Magento template design integration
• Custom Magento module coding
• XHTML/CSS coding
• Site installation
• CMS setup
• Gift registry

Visit DNA Diapers

This project was a collaboration with August Afternoon.

What we did:

• Magento  template design integration
• Custom Magento module coding
• xHTML/CSS Coding
• WordPress template coding
• Site Installation
• CMS setup
• Newsletter integration
• Magento Training

Visit American Eco Furniture

This project was a collaboration with Sweet Pea Design Studio.

What we did:

• Magento  template design integration
• Custom Magento module coding
• xHTML/CSS Coding
• WordPress template coding
• Site Installation
• CMS setup
• Newsletter integration
• Wholesale site setup

Visit Lots to Say Baby

Looking forward to 2011 here is a list of things I’d like to see happen this year.

Community Edition Version 2.0

Understandably this may be a pie-in-the-sky wish since we are currently not yet to a stable  1.5 version release.  Nevertheless it would be nice to have a tested and feature-rich major version of the community edition released this year.  A 2.0 version would hopefully continue to improve on speed and data migration.

More Developer Tools

Working with Magento day in and day out you quickly find out where the bottlenecks and time wasters are in the development cycle.  In general I prefer using the command line instead of a web interface.  One thing I like about the Drupal platform is the Drush module (Drupal Shell) which allows developers to execute commands against Drupal installations via command line.  A Magento command line tool that mirrored administration functions would be very useful.  Alistair Stead’s MageTool is a huge step in the right direction.

I’ve also started using Alan Storm’s Commerce Bug extension.  Per the website, “Commerce Bug is a development and debugging extension for the Magento platform.”  It provides very useful information for pages that you are trying to debug.

Developer Community

One area where Magento has been lacking is a suitable focal point for the community of developers to connect.  The Magento Forum should serve this purpose, but it has been historically under-moderated and several questions end up being ignored or poorly answered.  Also, participation by team members has been all but non-existent in recent years.  Moderators have recently been showing up and getting involved so I hope that this will change in the future.

Stack Overflow is a Q&A site for developers that has an active Magento category.  Nearly all questions posted to the site get a quality answer.  Plus, the site doesn’t require a subscription like similar sites.

Your turn: what improvements would you like to see in the Magento platform for 2011?

What tools are you planning to build yourself?

Image credit: World of Oddy

The root cause is that the shipping method name now has a “®” symbol at the end of it.

Following is a fix for the issue that involves a change to core code to get you back up and running. The fix removes the ® symbol in the method name.

This fix was first reported in the Magento Forum here, but I’ve reduced it down to two steps for those that don’t want to read through six pages of forum posts.

In file:  /app/code/core/Mage/Usa/Model/Shipping/Carrier/Usps.php

Step 1: Find the following line of code:

foreach ($xml->Package->Postage as $postage) {

And add the following line immediately after it.

$postage->MailService = str_replace("<sup>®</sup>","",(string)$postage->MailService);

Step 2: In the same file, find the following line of code:

foreach ($xml->Package->Service as $service) { 

And add the following line immediately after it.

$service->SvcDescription = str_replace("<sup>®</sup>","",(string)$service->SvcDescription);

Be sure to clear cache and re-compile if necessary.

Update – First Class Mail

In addition to the changes above, the First Class mail method names need to be updated so they will work.

In  file: /app/code/core/Mage/Usa/etc/config.xml

Find the <usps> area and change the following tags for <allowed_methods> and <methods>.

From:

• First-Class Mail International Large Envelope
• First-Class Mail International Letters
• First-Class Mail International Package
• First-ClassFirst-Class Mail
• First-Class Mail Flat
• First-Class Mail International
• First-Class Mail Letter
• First-Class Mail Parcel

To:

• First-Class Mail International Large Envelope**
• First-Class Mail International Letters**
• First-Class Mail International Package**
• First-Class Mail Package
• First-Class Mail Large Envelope

Some of the old methods don’t seem to be available anymore.   The new names will now display in the admin area control panel  (System > Configuration > Sales > Shipping Methods > USPS )  so your store administrator can activate them.  Unfortunately the asterisks are currently required on the International option.

If you need assistance updating your site, please let us know and we can provide a quote.

This project was a collaboration with Wicked Cool Studios.

What we did:

• Magento  template design integration
• Custom Magento module coding
• xHTML/CSS Coding
• WordPress template coding
• Site Installation
• CMS setup
• Newsletter integration

Visit Praise Tea

Whole Truth Solutions provides an array of Holistic Health Services and all natural wellness products.

This project was a collaboration with August Afternoon Design.

What we did:

• Cart Keeper template design integration
• xHTML/CSS Coding
• WordPress template coding
• Site Installation
• Cufon text replacement
• CMS setup
• Newsletter integration

Visit Whole Truth Solutions