I recently ran into a problem where I started to get a “Fatal error: Call to undefined function imap_open()” error in PHP when using the IMAP functions. This is a quick post to tell more novice Debian users (like me) how to install the PHP IMAP extension. This stuff should also work for Ubuntu and other Debian derived Linux distributions.

The command to install PHP IMAP is different for Debian than other systems like CentOS or Fedora. To install the extension simply run the following command as root or using the sudo command:

aptitude install php5-imap

You should then see something like this:

Reading package lists… Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information… Done
Reading extended state information
Initializing package states… Done
Reading task descriptions… Done
The following NEW packages will be installed:
libc-client2007b{a} mlock{a} php5-imap
0 packages upgraded, 3 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
Need to get 841kB of archives. After unpacking 1810kB will be used.
Do you want to continue? [Y/n/?]

Then simply answer “y” and then press ENTER.

You should then be able to immediately access the IMAP functions from the command line. To access the commands from web based scripts you need to gracefully restart Apache, to do this run the following command from root or using the sudo command:

apache2ctl graceful
OR
/usr/sbin/apache2ctl graceful

You should now be able to use PHP IMAP functions.

There is an interesting thread at the moment on WebmasterWorld regards the impact or lack of regards On Page SEO in 2012. I was put onto it by SE Round Table.

To summarise, a senior member of the forums has being explaining how he has made some on-page changes in the last 10 days and the changes have had little impact on his rankings in Google. He states “”I have always have this suspicion, that text on site is just for google to what its about, but almost zero value for rankings”. My instinct was to initially disagree with this opinion but over at iClick we are starting to see the same problem. We have recently made some considerable changes to the content of one of our sites, and although it has been indexed and has had a slightly positive impact on our rankings, it doesn’t appear to have had the impact that it once would have.

Its early days but with all the changes going on at Google – is On Page SEO dead? Or is it just taking longer for On Page changes to have an impact on the SERPS?

Read an extract from the aforementioned forum post:

The way I see it, on-page text today is for the “relevance” part of the total algorithm. The whole algorithm is, in broad strokes, “relevance + connectedness + quality”. After you’ve clearly stated the relevance of the page, then the rest of your ranking power comes from elsewhere.

I’ve added on-page bold tags with no effect. I’ve added or changed h1 elements with no effect. Not too long ago, those might well have done something, but that’s not the game anymore.

And moving from a table layout to a CSS-P layout today might get you nowhere, too. It all depends how deeply complicated the table layout was, I think.

It’s that time of the year again when the Bennion family household becomes a battle ground. In the red corner we have Mrs Bennion, the warmed blooded, financial controller of the household. In the blue corner you have me, the cold blooded, pampered, money waster of the household. As I switch the heating on and start to feel cosy, the present Lady Bennion switches it off and explains how much money it is costing and I need to stop being soft. Like many other marriages I am often overruled and over the years I have come up with lots tips on how to stay warm, and save your marriage!!!

6 Tips for staying warm:

1. A good blanket – preferably an electric one
2. Thermal socks – normally used for rambling
3. Slippers -  sneak them onto the radiator (if you can get it on!) for 10 mins
4. Dressing Gowns – get some good ones, you’ll probably need two in January
5. Hot Water Bottle – try to hide it, after adding step 4 you’ll start to look a bit ridiculous
6. Exercises – perform lunges and star jumps every 30 minutes or so

Hopefully you ‘ll find these tips for staying warm both useful and practical. If you’re still struggling and are starting to feel hypothermia setting in, then maybe an electric heater in the garage and portable TV is the best solution!