Because of this need, we are using Kayako SupportSuite for our helpdesk application. While setting it up, we noticed that the latest release has a little bit of an issue with fetching mail using google’s pop3 service.

We haven’t looked into the problem too much, but we have noted that there is mention of it on the Kayako Forums that other users are experiencing the same difficulties.

Of course, we made sure our PHP installation was indeed compiled with SSL and IMAP and IMAP-SSL support, but this still did not fix the problem. So far, this is the only “solution” given by the Kayako support representatives.

Well, we actually wanted it to work, so we dug a little furthur into it. As it turns out, it’s not actually Kayako’s fault that this doesn’t work, but merely a not-so-great implementation of SSL/POP3 in PHP. Kayako could work around this, and are aware of the problem so we assume it will get fixed in future releases.

We did get IMAP SSL working using the Kayako fetching script, but IMAP is not perfect for support queues. So, we still wanted to get POP3 working. No matter what was tried, we could not get it to work.

Then, an ephinany hit – we also use Microsoft Small Business Server on our Intranet, and we ran into this problem previously with Exchange server not being able to communicate with SSL enabled mail hosts.

So, we introduced the same hack that we did on the Microsoft Exchange Server, to our Kayako SupportSuite Linux Server.

We used Stunnel.

Elegant? No. Best Solution Ever? No. Does it work? So far, flawlessly.

It’s very easy to setup, and get going. Here is what we had to do under Gentoo Linux.

First we made sure our use flags were proper

# emerge -pv stunnel

Which outputs this

net-misc/stunnel-4.21-r1 USE=”ssl tcpd -ipv6 (-selinux)”

This looks fine, we need tcpd, and ssl. Now we install stunnel.

# emerge stunnel

Then we have to configure some options, which are very straight forward

# nano /etc/stunnel/stunnel.conf

Now we make the file look like this

setuid = stunnel
setgid = stunnel
pid = /var/run/stunnel/stunnel.pid
socket = l:TCP_NODELAY=1
socket = r:TCP_NODELAY=1
output = stunnel.log
client = yes
debug = 7

[pop3s]
accept = 127.0.0.1:1109
connect = pop.gmail.com:995

[smtps]
accept = 127.0.0.1:259
connect = smtp.gmail.com:465

Save and exit the file. These lines will make the SMTP-SSL server listen on localhost port 259, and connect out to gmail at port 465. The POP-SSL will be listening on localhost port 1109, connecting out to gmail on port 995.

That’s it for the stunnel configuration. You can start it up like so.

# /etc/init.d/stunnel start

Now add it to your defaults so it will auto start

# rc-update add stunnel default

So, we’re done with the stunnel configuration. Now we’ll need to configure Kayako so make use of this.

Now we’re done with the SMTP setup, so we’ll have to setup your email queues with the proper information. We’ll assume you’ve already read the Kayako documentation on email queues and will not go into them here.

Now you are finished the Kayako configuration. You should be able to run your administrative cron script to check for new mail. Check the Scheduled Tasks -> Task Log to verify that your mail is being fetched. If you don’t know what we’re talking about here, you haven’t read the Kayako documentation, and should do so now.

We’ve been using this for a few weeks now and haven’t had an issue. It’s cronned to check mail every 2 minutes, and we have the added benefit of Google Apps archiving all incoming mail for us automatically before Kayako picks it up for delivery.

Hope you like the tutorial, we welcome feedback in the comments.

Covert Persuasion
By: James Speakman
Rating: 5

This book is pretty hardcore sales material, but if you run and operate your own business I’d say it’s pretty much required reading. Getting into people’s heads is very hard to do if you don’t have multi-million-dollar budgets like the large companies. You have to rely solely on yourself. People will not buy your product or service, without buying you first. This book gives one all the tactics, tricks, tips, and anecdotes needed to make the most of your personal and business meetings. While it may seem a bit selfish, and self absorbed to focus on the selfish goals, ultimately what does sales come down to? Exactly that. You must convince the client or prospect that what you are giving them is the best and there is no other product or service that matches what you are selling. I don’t mean lying, that would be wrong and unethical, I mean spinning the truth so it is always in your favor (or, in your clients favor).

I won’t go into much detail about this book, because I think you should go out and get a copy of it to read yourself to learn all the points included. I’m not saying this is the be-all-and-end-all of sales tactics books, but it’s definitely worth the addition to your current library.

In the back of the book they include 5 charts they allow to be printed and reprinted for use, and I’ve saved them to PDF and uploaded them here in case anyone wants to download them to use them. Very good stuff in these sheets.

Covert Tips Sheet 1
Covert Tips Sheet 2
Covert Tips Sheet 3
Covert Tips Sheet 4
Covert Tips Sheet 5

Note these were reprinted from the permission in the book and I express no warranty or anything on these PDF’s. There may be spelling mistakes etc, and you will not get rich by simply reading these! Go buy the book already!

Lately I’ve been thinking I want to know where I am now, and where I want to be in 5 years, along with my super cool girlfriend too. I wanted something a little more sophisticated than this software (multiple users, the ability to compare and contrast goals so we can plan things as a couple), but this software has the best bang for the buck and at 69$ USD, it’s pretty affordable.

So, here’s the story of aquiring the software, installing and using it.

First I went to the website and cliked on the buy link, and then I received an email about 10 minutes later (mostly due to my anal spam filtering comprised of amavais, clam, spamassassin, dspam, domainkeys, greylisting and rbl) that included a download link for the software. There wasn’t a KEY or anything included, so I assume this software either phones home, or is totally un-protected.

Being the cautious windows user I am, I’m running under a limited user account. After downloading the software, I went to my downloads directory and double clicked the executable. Then I accepted their license terms after briefly scanning over them.

Next, because I am a limited user, I changed the installation path to something I have permission to use. In my case I chose.

E:\Apps\LifePlan5

The program installed without any problems and I was presented with a nice little completed box, with the option to run the program now. I chose to run it.

I went through the software and input some basic values and then took a screenshot of all the dialogue boxes to see what we can do with this program. You’ll notice that we can export to outlook to import all our tasks and organize everything completely which is a nice bonus.

Well, As one can plainly see from all of the screenshots this program pretty much has anything anyone would want for managing their future plans for up to 5 years.

The one drawback, as I mentioned previously is no support for multiple users and combining plans as a “couple”. But other than that, I think considering all the math this thing does for you, and the pretty reports it generates it’s worth the 70$ if you’re serious about planning your life and where you want to go. I would recommend it for anyone interested in this type of personal development.