If I want to give you the content that you deserve in a more timely fashion, then I need to stop worrying about finding images to go along with posts and start focusing on the content. The content is what you’re really after, so I’m going to give it to you. Maybe I’ll re-visit a post and update it with some funny, crazy, new, fresh pics, Icanhazcheezburger style, but until then, let’s get back to the matter at hand. Sharing knowledge.

Codeigniter is great framework in and of itself, but it does not come with a built in auth library. Therefore there are many parties who have stepped in to fill this void. I won’t go into details about these libraries, but know that they are all a great choice when it comes time to secure your application. However, the authentication library that I have chosen to use is called CL Auth.

CL Auth is a great authentication library that comes with some pretty useful functions. It was written by Jason Ashdown (Flash UK over at the CI Forums) and inspired by the FreakAuth Light Authentication Library.

Here is a quick feature list:

* Remember Me (inspired by phpBB3)
* Forgotten Password
* DB Sessions
* Better Captcha
* URI Auth management (see below)
* Email Verification
* Login using Username OR Email address
* Password encryption with MD5 MCrypt
* Extendable user profile
* Optimised for performance

CL Auth does not come with an Admin Panel

CL Auth is compatible with CodeIgniter 1.6.3 (verified)

The system takes a new spin on authentication by using a uri management system for handling users and groups.

I decided to drum up an integration of this authentication library with the Vanilla Forum Engine. Vanilla is another, clean, modular, and state of the art forum engine that takes a different approach to managing a forum.

Check out the integration wiki here.

Now it’s back to coding.

Dosbox is a great tool that I use whenever I need to bring back those programs from my past, i.e. Flame Dragon Knights. It was created by a team of 4 individuals with the intention of running games made for our old friend, MS-Dos. These days pc’s come equipped with a much more robust operating environment, yes even Vista is considered robust :ban: . Dosbox will emulate an Intel x86 PC complete with sound, graphics, mouse, etc… In other words, it’s an old school emulator with an attitude. I highly recommend it if you need to play some of the old school classics (the original Daggerfall comes to mind).

Installation is easy peasy.

Head over to their site and hit the version number in the top right:

Now once you have the right version for your Operating System, click on and install the executable file that is downloaded. After the short install, you’ll have a “DOSBox” icon on your desktop.

Step 1: Open up the program and you’ll be presented with the first screen.

Step 2: The first thing you need to do is “mount” a drive that you can work with. If your familiar with Linux then you know what it means to mount a drive. The quick definition is simply this. You are going to add a drive to your current working environment which contains the files that you want to run/play with. Enough techie talk. Go ahead and type (without quotes): “mount c c:\the-name-of-the-folder-that-contains-your-files”

Step 3: Then you’ll want to switch to the “c:\” drive by typing (without quotes): “c:”

Now you just have to track down the folder and files that will run the game you need to play. Like magic I can once again play the game that has been haunting my memories lately.

There you have it folks… My Dos in a Box!