Speedy speedy

Are you into racing? I've been looking at DragonFireRacing's website, a great place where you can get teryx exhaust systems and there are some amazing bits of kit you can get for your offroad. I have a friend who's into this sort of thing, so I must remember to bookmark the site for them to have a look at. Myself, I'm happy to watch and just go "Wow"

Why GMail is awesome

I found an excellent post on LifeHacker talking about 10 great things that GMail does. This is putting aside the mundane email handling, massive storage space, spam filtering etc; but instead looks at features that makes GMail exception. Here’s a summary:

• Themes: You can completely change the way GMail looks using themes
• Chat: You can launch video and audio chat right from within your browser, no downloads required
• Backup your email: You can back up your email onto a different platform anytime you want. So you don’t have to feel you depend on The Big G
• Audit: You can see all the locations you’ve signed in and out from
• Contacts: Contact management is a real breeze on Gmail and integrates nicely with other platforms too.
• Consolidation: GMail lets you consolidate different email accounts in one place
• URLs: As Gmail is web based you can bookmark locations and send them to your friends
• Keep email on your desktop: You can download gadgets and even an entire Google Desktop which integrates nicely with your email
• Search: Google is the master of search and whether you’re looking for business satellite internet or technical help you’ll always be able to find them in your mailbox
• Experiment: Google Labs always has new exciting features in development, so if you’re so inclined, you may want to give them a whirl.

Head off and read the post.

Twitter as a marketplace

Did you know that you can tap into the awesome power of Twitter to attract people to your products and services? There's a service called Magpie that taps into people on Twitter to send messages to people who follow them. The interesting thing about Magpie is that it analyses the message streams of Titterers it uses so that any sponsored messages are contextually relevant to the people who follows them. This enables your messages to be targeted to a group who would be interested in something you are offering.

So, for example, if you are trying to sell an automated OS recovery package you probably wouldn't want to bother teenagers or moms with your message (or pay for their reading it), but would prefer to bring it to the attention of technical support staff or operational managers. Magpie lets you do this effectively without spending too much on your advertising; particularly as it's a new network so you don't have to bid against many advertisers at the moment.

Interesting concept, and one to watch as people try out different marketing techniques with new social networks.

Join an artisan marketplace

(My Original Blog Post: http://www.u-g-h.com/2008/12/08/join-an-artisan-marketplace/)
Are you handy with craft but hopeless with websites? Do you wish you could sell your creations online? Well, here's a website that you might find interesting. ArtFire.com is a marketplace that lets artisans and craft aficionados display their artwork and sell them to other people all around the world. The focus is predominantly on handmade products so if you feel you have a talent in that area it's a site you should really check out.

The site operates on the basis that artisans can list their items (basic sellers can see up to 10 items at a time with 4 pictures each without charge) allowing buyers to search through them and buy anything they fancy. there's even a facility for buyers to request items made specifically to their requirements. It's a great concept and a great way to make your way into creating a global brand for your products. Sellers get their own subdomain complete with stats and a way to attract loads of visitors to their products.

I gave a search through the website and came across this gorgeous set of printed monkey heads that I'm pretty sure Arthur wouldn't mind getting for Christmas. Who knows, I might get my credit card out and do some shopping.

Actually, that's another benefit of joining a market place like this. Payment facilities are provided for you out of the box (together with all the necessary conversion from other countries) so that's one less thing to worry about.

If you're artisticly inclined, check it out

One man's art is another man's pornography

(My Original Blog Post: http://www.u-g-h.com/2008/12/07/one-mans-art-is-another-mans-pornography/)
There's an interesting debate happening in cyberspace at the moment. It concerns album cover of the 1976 album by Scorpions called Virgin Killers (shown alongside). Apparently six British ISPs (Virgin Media, Be/O2/Telefonica, EasyNet/UK Online, PlusNet, Demon and Opal) are inadvertently filtering all access to Wikipedia after the site was added to an Internet Watch Foundation child-pornography blacklist.

There are a number of updates on The Register outlining whats happening as the events unfold, with the latest step being a statement issued by the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) saying:

A Wikipedia web page, was reported through the IWF’s online reporting mechanism in December 2008. As with all child sexual abuse reports received by our Hotline analysts, the image was assessed according to the UK Sentencing Guidelines Council (page 109). The content was considered to be a potentially illegal indecent image of a child under the age of 18, but hosted outside the UK. The IWF does not issue takedown notices to ISPs or hosting companies outside the UK, but we did advise one of our partner Hotlines abroad and our law enforcement partner agency of our assessment. The specific URL (individual webpage) was then added to the list provided to ISPs and other companies in the online sector to protect their customers from inadvertent exposure to a potentially illegal indecent image of a child.

Now, gettings yourself off a blacklist can be as difficult as getting industrial clamps off your car, but I'm sure Wikipedia will be able to swing it somehow. We'll just have to watch what happens, but there are also some interesting questions about the powers behind Wikipedia that keep popping up, particularly around their transparency.

Getting some new shirts

Well, I’m still into T-shirts though, I came across a website that sells MMA gear and I found a number of T-shirts I wouldn’t mind adding to my collection. Thing is, I really need to get more adult-ish clothes. Can’t live in T-shirts for ever I guess.

I received a package today which was some clothes we bought a week ago from Marks & Spencer. It took a bit longer than expected, but then they did warn us that they had loads of orders that day (they had a 20% off day). I’m trying to move away from geeky T-shirts of which I have a full wardrobe and wear more rugby shirts or polo shirts.

Loving iPlayer

The BBC has a great little Internet tool that lets you download movies and shows that have been aired on TV on any of their channels. It's called iPlayer and it's a great way to catch up with programmes you've missed on TV. It's not quite live event video streaming as you can only watch programmes that have already been played on TV, but it's a great way to make sure you don't miss an episode of your favourite series.

Which reminds me, I downloaded this new show called Survivors. Better catch up on it before it expires (downloaded shows only last for a couple of weeks)

Looking around in the dark

If you're in the dark, how about getting yourself a street light? Ok, you might not really need a street light, but it’s a great example of how you can get pretty much anything you like online. I found a website that lets you purchase any sort of commercial lighting including street lights. The website actually sells a whole collection of different lights, both residential and commercial and what I find really cool are these lights called “Grow Lights” which are designed to help plants grow.

That sheds some light doesn't it?

An SEO tip

Here’s a cool tool which you can use to help optimise your websites. You know that you need to focus on keywords to try and attract the right visitors to your website. Well, Google have a Keyword Tool that can help you find the right keywords for your website. Let’s say you have something hard like teryx exhaust all you need to do is key in the phrase, fill in the Captcha and the website will come back with ideas for you to try.

It’s a cool idea and a tool you should keep in your toolbox for when you next need it.

Top 5 Manx Tweeters

(My Original Blog Post: http://www.u-g-h.com/2008/12/03/top-5-manx-tweeters/)
I was looking at Twitter Grader to see who the Twitter Elite in the Isle of Man are and these are the top 5 at the moment:

#			Tweet Them	Grade	Bio	Location
1		OwenC	Tweet	96.7	Your friendly neighborhood geek	Isle of Man
2		sherrilynne	Tweet	95	PR and marcoms consultant.	Isle of Man
3		ManxStef	Tweet	82	Freelance slacker geek who should probably get a real job	Isle of Man
4		jamesq	Tweet	81	A happy kinda guy just wandering along with my beautiful fiancee for company.	Isle of Man
5		Clarissa789	Tweet	80	Wedding Planner Extraordinaire	Isle of Man

I must say, I'm pretty chuffed to be at the top of the list. I know all the others on the list except for Clarissa whose Tweets seem to be predominently posts on her wedding site. A number of people are using Twitter for SEO purposes, whether it's to sell term life insurance quote online or wedding services, so I guess there are always going to people Tweeting who I don't really know.

Again .. pretty cool I'm first ;)

Just blogged: The Business Impact of Social Networking - http://ping.fm/ppptN

It's really time for bed isn't it?

Reading up on Multi Factor Authentication: http://multifa.com/

Reading up on Teryx Performance accessories: http://www.dragonfireracing.com/

Racing Around

Do you race off-road vehicles? If so, check out DragonFire Racing, a website that supplies a whole range of different parts, accessories and services for sand cars, quads and ATVs. They supply everything from teryx accessories all the way to motorsport DVDs and also have a great range of services.

I'll be perfectly honest, I'm not really into racing in a big way, but like anyone, I love watching a good race and it's amazing the sorts of terrains that ATVs can handle. Pity they don't show more of it on TV.

Make your software do all the work

If you work daily with databases you’ll know that there are certain jobs that you have to perform over and over again. This is where Database Automation comes in, which Wikipedia defines as “the automation of servers and databases respectively causing the reduction of database related tasks” which is pretty succinct and sums it up very well.

And this doesn't only mean tasks like taking backups. Activities like creating database, purging tables and running optimisation scripts can all the automated, but one must realise that this only reduces the amount of mundane, repetitive activities and does not eliminate the need for DBAs. The intention of DBA automation is to enable DBAs to focus on more proactive activities around database architecture and deployment.

Livecasting with TodoCast

Here's in interesting idea if you're a Videographer. TodoCast is a company that can provide you with a portable satellite and live video streaming system designed to bring digital video live over the internet. This can enable you to set up live event video streaming which can be used to build pay-per-view events, sponsored channels or even your own channel.

I thought that was a pretty cool offering as it means you can create your own channel and produce material from anywhere in the world. You could have a sports channel, or a wildlife channel or even one that just follows you around in a reality TV fashion.

The Future of the Web?

One thing I love about the Internet is the ability to find just about anything you want and look up information about just about anything. It doesn’t matter if you’re after something simple like a funny joke or something exotic like Polaris exhaust systems, you’re bound to come across a website that has just what you're looking for.

I’ve been online for a number of years now so it’s great to see this new world grow, but one can only wonder what the future holds. Will the Internet one day turn into a huge neural net and become truely intelligent? Only time will tell.

Booo .. Twitter seems to be dead this morning

Doing business in the Isle of Man: http://ping.fm/TAl0r

Looking for NFL jerseys? Check out: http://www.sidelineapparel.com/

There's some great technology out there nowadays.

Neat: Automated OS Recovery: http://www.persystent.com/products/product_features.html

Cool topic: Automated PC Repair - http://ping.fm/1hFqJ

Reading up about Data Center Automation: http://ping.fm/lhoge

Using the Web on your yacht

Do you ever wish you could make a living online? Well, if you could all you would need is a satellite internet provider and you could manage your affairs from anywhere in the world. If that were the case, you could get yourself a yacht and as long as you could earn enough online, you could go around the world and always be online.

In my case, it's more likely to be a barge .. but you get the drift.

Reading up about live video streaming services - http://www.todocast.tv/

Yup .. doing lots of reading today ;)

Reading up about live video casting solutions: http://www.todocast.tv/

Reading up on satellite internet services - http://www.ipinternational.net/services.php

Reading up on Polaris Performance - http://ping.fm/TkCTV

Looking for business success?

Interesting post on Link4Business talking about "How to succeed in business". I was reading the post and wondering if my readers would be interested in what it says; so I decided to cross-post it here. Have a read:

It appears that great entrepreneurs have 5 key qualities that help them succeed in situations that others may fail…

1. A desire to succeed – not having an employee 9 to 5 mentality. They want to go that extra mile to succeed and will do whatever it takes.


2. A positive Mental Attitude – both towards themselves and their business. They see opportunities where others see obstacles, their cup is always half full and disappointments don’t get them down. They look forwards, not backwards.


3. A commitment to hard work – they’re not afraid of hard work and the commitment needed to succeed.


4. Patience – Rome wasn’t built in a day and as well as being committed they have the patience to see the job through, taking it step by step.


5. Persistence – challenges and problems will reveal themselves along the pay but the successful entrepreneur will persist with their ideas and not give up or change direction.

I thought that made interesting reading, especially as a know a number of entrepreneurs that fit the points above like a glove. It doesn't matter if you're selling live event video streaming or wordpress blogs, the desire to success coupled with the other points above are critical to make sure you arrive at your final destination.

What's Arthur getting for Christmas?

Well, Christmas is just round the corner (well, close enough), so I’ve been keeping my eyes open for different ideas as to what we can get him. One idea I came across whas that of personalized books just like the ones down at Frecklebox. You get get ones with all sort of different things in it, like stories and pictures and even personalised placemats (like the picture I’ve included here).

Even though Arthur is still two, he can recognise and even spell out his name, even if he can’t write it out yet. I would prefer to get him something like this than plain baby clothes, as he can build more of an emotional attachment to it and it’s something he can take forward with him; rather than grow out of.

Shop and Win

Do you have a great shopping cofession story to share? Well, if you pop down to ShopandConfess.com you can share your experiences and see what other great stories other shoppers have left. And you can win some great cash prizes for sharing your story if you're lucky. Here's something to give you a taste:



Here's how you sign up. Head down to the Registration Page and sign up there. If you'd like to give me credit for referring you, just pop the URL of this blog into the URL field on the signup form (that's http://www.u-g-h.com). It doesn't matter if your experience is about Danze faucets, jazz shoes or grow lamps; if you have a great story .. share it! .. It could make you rich!

Watch full-length videos on YouTube

Image via CrunchBase

Interesting news this morning that YouTube has announced that they are going to start featuring full-length movies and episodes which will include in-steam video ads to keep the broadcasters happy. This seems to be a move directed to counter the threat that Hulu affords them, particularly as they have launched similar features to them in the recent past. It seems that shorter videos will still be ad-free, but the full-length features will need to be monitised to support the model they have pursued with their advertisers.

So, down I popped to give it a try and here’s what I get:

Hmm, seems like they’ve decided to omit 95% of Internet users by restricting usage to just one country. I’m hoping that this is for scaling/trial reasons rather than something their broadcasters are insisting on (which is probably the case). The reality is, if they restrict access to this material, then it will just drive users to seek out other services and this will really prevent users from adopting their services.

So, before you throw away your TV, invest in some new modern furniture and high speed satellite internet and a new giant monitor for your computer, check if the service works in your area. You may be disappointed, I know I was.

Related articles by Zemanta

• YouTube launches full-length episodes
• Users OK with ads in streaming TV, not on YouTube uploads

Hmm .. 2:00 am .. time for bed. Seems like I like to stay up late even when I'm on holiday *grin*

Weather doesn't look 100% for swimming and Arthur's a bit moaney

In the meantime Camille's off to look at cool baby clothes. Maybe I should point her at http://ping.fm/Ke16W

Might be heading off to town to help a friend look through some mens wedding bands just like the ones at http://is.gd/4fnx

If I signed up to live event video streaming I'd be streaming live right now: http://todocast.tv/

Which camera should I get?

Well, it's my birthday next week and Camille is getting me a new compact camera to replace my old Minolta (which is now 5 years old). To tell you the truth, 3.2 megapixels is still great for online photos, but it's slow, doesn't give any control over exposure time and the battery really doesn't last long. So, I've been looking around for what to get and here are my choices:

• Samsung NV100HD - Specs look impressive, boasting a 14.7 megapixel sensor a a wide array of features. Some of the reviews suggest that the quality of the photos doesn't do the camera justice, so not sure about this one.


• Sony Cybershot DSCW120 - I really really like this camera. It has a whole bunch of features I love, but I'm not too fond of Memorysticks to store images on. I'm a bit of an SD man I guess.

I'm a bit torn between the two, but I think the Cybershot is the one that might win in the end.

There's a new model out too that seems just perfect for me, but it's a touch more than I wanted to spend. It's the Sony Cybershot T700 and has some amazing features. It's ultra-slim, does everything all the other cameras seem to do, has a massive touch screen on the back and even have 4Gb of internal memory. Check out the review here.

The question is .. which one would YOU go for? (continue reading &aquo;)

Honeypot Post: Which camera should I get? http://s3nt.com/vee

Honeypot Update: Which camera should I get? http://s3nt.com/vee

Show me the honey

We haven't had a honeypot in some time, so here's a chance to catch up on some great links to keep you nice and distracted:

• How to network: Excellent advice on how to get out there, make friends and build business contacts


• Twittex: Here's how to resume your Twitter-SMS service in the UK


• AVS Video Converter: Free tool that lets you rotate and flip video


• A tale of love: Great gadgety video


• Save My Boys: Help Jenn and Carolyn get their boys back


• E: Is this the future of social networking?


• SuperPress: Get your mitts on the theme I'm using for this site


• Tater Titan: Some people just have too much time on their hands

Enjoy! (continue reading &aquo;)

Honeypot Update: Show me the honey http://s3nt.com/u8u

Honeypot Post: Show me the honey http://s3nt.com/u8u

SuperPress is a modular WordPress theme that gives you the choice to completely change the way your blog looks: http://is.gd/3Ibs

Clickjacking here's how it works

I've posted before about Clickjacking and how scary this is for most Internet users, regardless of which browser you're using or whether you have Javascript turn on or off. There's more information about the threat on the Interweb today, including a demo of how the exploit works and some advice on how you can avoid it. First of all, what is clickjacking? There's a great writeup on Securoris that explains it quite succinctly:

Clickjacking allows someone to place an invisible link/button below your mouse as you browse a regular page. You think you’re clicking on a regular link, but really you are clicking someplace the attacker controls that’s hidden from you. Why is this important? Because it allows the attacker to force you to interact with something without your knowledge on a page other than the one you’ve been looking at. For example, they can hide a Flash application that follows your mouse around, and when you go to click a link it starts recording audio off your microphone. We have protections in browsers to prevent someone from automatically initiating certain actions. Also, many websites rely on you manually pressing buttons for actions like transferring large sums of money out of your bank account.




There are two sides to look at this exploitation- user and website owner. As a user, if you visit a malicious site (either a bad guy site, or a regular site that’s been hit with cross site scripting), the attacker can force you to take a very large range of actions. Anytime you click something, the attacker can redirect that click to the destination of their choice in the context of you as a user. That’s the important part here- it’s like cross site request forgery (really, an enhancement of it) that not only gets you to click, but to execute actions as yourself. That’s why they can get you to approve Flash applications you might not normally allow, or to perform actions on other sites in the background. As with CSRF, if you are logged in someplace the attacker can now do whatever the heck they want as long as they know the XY coordinates of what they want you to click.




As a website owner, clickjacking destroys yet more browser trust. When designing web applications (which used to be my job) we often rely on site elements that require manual mouse clicks to submit forms and such. As Robert (Rsnake) explains in his post, with clickjacking an attacker can circumvent nonces (a random code added to every form so the website knows you clicked submit from that page, and didn’t just try to submit the form without visiting the page, a common attack technique).




Clickjacking can be used to do a lot of different things- launching Flash or CSRF are only the tip of the iceberg.




It relies heavily on iFrames, which are so pervasive we can’t just rip them out. Sure, I turn them off in my browser, but the economics prevent us from doing that on a wide scale (especially since all the advertisers- e.g. Google/Yahoo/MS, will likely fight it).




Clickjacking is very difficult to eliminate, although we can reduce its risk under certain circumstances. Because it doesn’t even rely on Javascript and works with CSS/DHTML, it will take a lot of time, effort, and thought to eliminate.

If that sounded scary, have a look at a video showing one application of the exploit:

If you want to study that further, you can actually run it through it's paces here.

So, what can be done about this? First of all, it's worth realising that while it's a powerful threat, the risk of it happening isn't that high at the moment. Vendors have started recognising the threat and coming up with solutions for dealing with it. Adobe has come up with a workaround and NoScript has released ClearClick to help address it. It's only a matter of time before this is quashed too (won't be easy though) (continue reading &aquo;)

Honeypot Post: Clickjacking here's how it works http://s3nt.com/u1e

Honeypot Update: Clickjacking here's how it works http://s3nt.com/u1e

Exciting news tomorrow

We're almost there! Hyder and I have been working on a massively exciting theme for WordPress which will be unveiled very very soon. I'm using it on this blog as well as on WordPress Guru and you can tell just how customisable it us but looking at the differences between the two sites.

There's a superb feature set sitting behind the theme and it's a culmination of many hours of work from both of us. I've even managed to lose weight by skipping meals to work on the theme! It has tons and tons of options and some really exciting unique features (I love my media manager for example)

I'm not going to talk any more about the Super WordPress theme, just want to mention that you can win a free copy of the theme by signing up at our contest here

Keep an eye on the blog, more news soon! (continue reading &aquo;)

Honeypot Update: Exciting news tomorrow http://s3nt.com/uzk

Honeypot Post: Exciting news tomorrow http://s3nt.com/uzk

Buy your specs here

It's always great what you can find on the Web. Tonight I came across a website where you can get eyeglasses from as low as $8.00. Ok, they're based in the United States, so there's probably shipping, tax and all the other stuff, but that price is so cheap it's just remarkable. They claim that their cheap prices are due to the fact that there are no middlemen and using the Internet as a sales medium allows them to offer the cheapest price available.

I decided to do some further digging and found a mention of ZenniOptical on Clark Howard's Radio Show Blog. Unfortunately the comments aren't all good claiming that refunds are impossible to obtain and warning there's little or no customer support. I suppose that's the other great side of the Internet; just looking for some information can quickly give you all the data you can require about any particular subject. Don't get me wrong; there are some positive comments too claiming how the shoppers are delighted with their purchases (especially those who paid $8 for the specs and $5 for shipping) and how they had positive experiences with the company.

I suppose it's all a matter of expectations and getting exactly what you're after. (continue reading &aquo;)

Honeypot Post: Buy your specs here http://s3nt.com/uzg

Honeypot Update: Buy your specs here http://s3nt.com/uzg

WordPress v2.7 will be awesome

I just came across a video recorded by Allen Stern which shows Matt Mullenweg (one of the co-founders of WordPress) showing off some of the new features in WordPress 2.7 (due in around a month). Here's the video:



There's quite a bit of excitement about in the Wordpress ecosphere, and there's little doubt that lessons have been learnt and this release will be just great. If you want to get a feel of what it will be like, here are the Wordpress 2.7 wireframes. You can also get a first look at the new version of WordPress here.

(continue reading &aquo;)

Honeypot Post: WordPress v2.7 will be awesome http://s3nt.com/uqy

Honeypot Update: WordPress v2.7 will be awesome http://s3nt.com/uqy

Watching The Andromeda Strain (new version)

Internet Satellite technology is pretty cool: http://ping.fm/ovRT8 - Get coverage anywhere in the world!

Loving the Velvet Lobster on the Quay

I met up with some mates at the Velvet Lobster here in the Isle of Man and was pleasantly surprised how great it was. It's always the same when you find a new place, you don't want to share it with everyone, for fear that it will be packed next time you turn up, but this place was just great. It's a coffee shop/snack bar sort of place with great ambiance and the food was very very nice. I had a coffee banoffee shake and it was to die for!

Anyway, I met up with @jamesq and @nickop, two Twitter buddies of mine (unfortunately @toonjamie couldn't join us) and we decided we should probably meet up more often and maybe organise something for all our Twitter friends. So if you're based in the Isle of Man and use Twitter, follow one of the guys above and you'll know when the next one it ;)

p.s. I love the way Zemanta automatically picks out your Twitter friends and lets you link directly to their profile ;)

(continue reading &aquo;)

Honeypot Update: Loving the Velvet Lobster on the Quay http://s3nt.com/t7a

Honeypot Post: Loving the Velvet Lobster on the Quay http://s3nt.com/t7a

Honeypot Update: Amazon to offer Windows services on EC2 http://s3nt.com/t0u

Honeypot Post: Amazon to offer Windows services on EC2 http://s3nt.com/t0u

Amazon to offer Windows services on EC2

The "cloud" market is certainly getting hotter and hotter. Amazon is making huge inroads into this space and their descision to host services created by Microsoft is testament to the Microsoft arena catching up in this space. The interesting thing about this is that it will increase take-up of cloud services and (this is what I find most exciting) on a "pay-as-you-go" basis. They haven't announced pricing yet, but the price points of the different elements in the AWS stack is pretty compelling, so I'm sure it will be quite reasonable. (continue reading &aquo;)

Microsoft tries the "Tesco strategy"

It seems like everyone and his dog has some sort of loyalty scheme nowadays. You can collect points when you shop in your local supermarket, when you take a trip in a plane and now, even when you Microsoft's Live Search. It's a scheme called SearchPerks and is designed to allow web surfers to collect tickets ("points") that they can redeem for various prizes. This technique worked for Tesco, so why shouldn't it work for Microsoft?

Well, the bottom line is that Microsoft's search engines consistently returns worse results than Google. Don't believe me? Try it for a few days. You'll find yourself switching back to Google when you REALLY need to find something. The problem that Microsoft faces is not one of getting people to try their product, the problem is that their search technology is inferior to Google, and at the end of the day, that's all punters care around. You may attract a small segment of bargain hunters with this strategy, but as soon as you remove the incentive, you will lose them to other schemes like Homepage Friends, who pay hard cash if you search through them (using Yahoo! incidentally)

What do others think? Well, nobody really seems really convinced, with some parties actually finding the attempt hilarious. Begging people to use your products is no way to increase their confidence and it's practically impossible to "earn" anything of value.

Once again, the search engine war is all about relevance, and until Microsoft get that into their head, they're just going to keep pumping money into it for nothing. What a waste!

(continue reading &aquo;)

Honeypot Post: Microsoft tries the "Tesco strategy" http://s3nt.com/twv

Honeypot Update: Microsoft tries the "Tesco strategy" http://s3nt.com/twv

Failed opening required 'XML/RSS.php' - Solved

Sometimes, it takes a small problem to make one realise how little he actually knows. I personally know a fair bit about all sorts of technology, ranging from networks, to development to integration; however I haven't really had much experience with Linux. It's partly because most of the services I use are nicely packaged, but also because I'm mostly grounded in a Microsoft world in my day-to-day job. But it was great to find that thanks to the Internet I can research a problem and solve problems too.

Last night I started dealing with a problem were a PHP component I had written some time back has stopped working after a server move. Looking through the logs I could see that the error I was getting was:

PHP Fatal error: require_once() [function.require]: Failed opening required 'XML/RSS.php' (include_path='.:/usr/share/pear:/usr/share/pear/XML') in /var/www/vhosts/xxx/httpdocs/site_elements/register.php on line 6

Okay I thought, it must be that the PEAR component I needed wasn't available. PEAR stands for PHP Extension and Application Repository and is a framework and distribution system for reusable PHP components. I needed the RSS component which was used by my code. I eventually got myself SSH access to the box and deployed the components (also finding out that I needed a couple of prerequisite packages). The way you do this is:


pear install XML_Parser
pear install XML_Tree
pear install XML_RSS


This downloads and deploys the required components for you into /usr/share/pear. But my code still wouldn't run.

Eventually I found out that this was becuase PHP was running in "safe mode". Safe mode is a way to protect PHP from different users on the same server, but this was a dedicated server so I didn't really need it on. One thing that safe mode does is that it stops you from including files from other directories. This was coupled with another parameter "open_basedir" that limits the files that can be opened by PHP to a specified directory tree (which didn't include /usr/share. so that needed to be rectified too.

I did my reading, open SSH again and proceeded to update my php.ini file to adjust these settings. I saved it, tried the site again. Still exactly the same error.

Reading a bit more around the subject, I discovered that each website also has it's own httpd.conf file which overrides php.ini, so the search was on once again to find more of these settings. Sure enough, I found this configuration file, modified it, saved it and tried the site again. Still the same error.

At this point I ran out of things to try, so like all techies I figured, maybe I need to restart Apache to read the settings again. You know, the traditional "turn it off and turn it back on again". Being a noob when it comes to Linux I logged into my control panel, stopped the site and started it again. Still the same error.

Eventually I got to the bottom of it. Stopping and starting the site didn't quite restart the service the way I wanted it to. The REAL way to do it is with the following command (again in SSH)

service httpd graceful


And would you know it .. the problem is now solved!

I thought I'd document the process here for two reasons. If you're trying to solve this problem you may find these steps useful. You may need this if you go into fixing people's technical problems, there may be a franchise opportunity there somewhere. And I'm pretty sure I'll need to do this again one day, so it's always a good idea to write it down!

(continue reading &aquo;)

Honeypot Post: Failed opening required 'XML/RSS.php' - Solved http://s3nt.com/tg4

Honeypot Update: Failed opening required 'XML/RSS.php' - Solved http://s3nt.com/tg4

Christmas Cookie

Christmas comes but once a year. So step away from the fancy gadgets, baby clothes and shopping sprees and settle down with some cookie recipes to spread some cheer. Trust me and follow these instructions:

Ingredients

• 1 cup of water
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup of brown sugar
• lemon juice
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup nuts
• 2 cups of dried fruit
• 1 bottle Jose Cuervo Tequila

Here’s what you do:

Sample the Cuervo to check quality. Take a large bowl, check the Cuervo again, to be sure it is of the highest quality, pour one level cup and drink.

Turn on the electric mixer…Beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl. Add one teaspoon of sugar…Beat again.

At this point it’s best to make sure the Cuervo is still OK, try another cup .. just in case.

Turn off the mixerer thingy. Break 2 leggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit. Pick the frigging fruit off floor…

Mix on the turner. If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaterers just pry it loose with a drewscriver.

Samp! le! the Cuervo to check for tonsist icity.

Next, sift two cups of salt, or something. Who giveshz a sheet.

Check the Jose Cuervo. Now shift the lemon juice and strain your nuts.

Add one table. Add a spoon of sugar, or somefink. Whatever you can find.

Greash the oven.

Turn the cake tin 360 degrees and try not to fall over.

Don’t forget to beat off the turner.

Finally, throw the bowl through the window, finish the Cose Juervo and make sure to put the stove in the dishwasher.

CHERRY MISTMAS

Even cheaper noise-canceling headphones

A couple of days ago I blogged about how I found a set of noise-cancelling headphones for under $20. Well, today I was checking the Weekly Deal pages on buy.com to see what was on sale and I came across an even cheaper set! The RCA HPNC500 Active Noise Cancelling Headphones retail for $17.99 which is just an awesome price for technology like this. The normal retail price is $99.99 so there's an $82.00 discount and then there's free shipping to boot (if you live in the United States that is).

For the more technically minded, here are the technical specs:

• Active Noise Canceling Headphones


• Perfect for Airline Travel


• 12dB Active Noise Canceling eliminates virtually all outside noise


• Deep, rich sound from 40mm driver


• Full-size earcups provide comfortable fit for long-term listening


• Swivel ear cups for easy storage in laptop cases


• Single-side cord entry keeps wires out of the way


• Airline adapter included


• Pouch included provides easy storage and protection on-the-go


• Frequency Response: 20-20,000 Hz


• Sensitivity: 102dB


• Impedence: 32 Ohms


• Cord Length: 4 feet


• Plug: 3.5mm Stereo Mini Plug

The reviews looks relatively good, particularly considering the cost. The biggest bugbear seems to be the fact that the headphones need a battery and there are no instructions pointing this out, but I'm pretty sure I could figure this out on my own ;)

It's great to see technology like this becoming more and more accessible. It was only a few years ago when you were limited to purchasing what was available in the store around the corner. Nowadays, you can shop from anywhere you want in the world, and if you use a satellite internet provider you can do  your shopping from anywhere in the world too. It makes you wonder what things will be like in ten years time. How will we go about seleting what products to buy? How will we pay for them? And more interestingly, how will them be delivered to us?

(note to self: stop watching so much Star Trek)

(continue reading &aquo;)

Honeypot Post: Even cheaper noise-canceling headphones http://s3nt.com/s4k

Honeypot Update: Even cheaper noise-canceling headphones http://s3nt.com/s4k

Rapidly becoming a ping.fm fan

Persystent Repair is an automated PC repair solution that works BEFORE your OS boots. Cool! http://ping.fm/6bM86

Persystent Repair is an automated PC repair solution that works BEFORE your OS boots. Cool! http://ping.fm/6bM86

Honeypot Update: Win yourself a webcam http://s3nt.com/suf

Honeypot Post: Win yourself a webcam http://s3nt.com/suf

Win yourself a webcam

Feeling geeky? Could you use a webcam? If you answered yes to both of those, Chris Pirillo is running a contest where all you need to do is join a group on his Geeks social network. Here are the details:



I'm in there .. are you going to try your luck? (continue reading &aquo;)

Honeypot Update: Network Solutions build websites too http://s3nt.com/sub

Honeypot Post: Network Solutions build websites too http://s3nt.com/sub

Network Solutions build websites too

Well, you learn something new every day. To me Network Solutions was the place where you use to go to buy domain names. I stopped using them because I found a cheaper provider, but now I see you can get .com domains from there for $9.99. And interestingly, you can register a domain for 100 years. That's a good way not to forget that you need to renew your domain. Anyway, that wasn't what I was going to blog about.

I noticed today that they also offer web design services. They basically have two different types of services; a standard service where a user gets to select from one pre-designed templates and a premium service where you work with a development team to create the exact website you require. I don't know how long they've been doing this for, but it does make sense to see them branching out into providing services that are complementary to their core business. They present a whole list of advantages as to why someone should go for their services and some of them sound pretty compelling.

Luckily, I wouldn't ever use them, because I can do my own work, but it's always good to know what sort of services are available on the market. The question is: if you needed a website built, would you consider someone like Network Solutions? (continue reading &aquo;)

Android-based, HTC-made, T-mobile powered G1 hits the streets

Unless you were hiding under a rock yesterday, you'd have heard the news that Android, Google's new mobile operating system finally has a home. The first device to sport this is the G1, and HTC device that T-mobile will be making available to punters on a choice of two tarrifs. The device looks cool, though there are still some niggles that I'm sure will be resolved pretty sharpish. It’s got GPS, WiFi, a touchscreen, an accelerometer, a camera, Gmail, Google Maps, a Webkit-based browser an App market and a keyboard. What more could you want on a phone?

It should be available in the US and UK by the "end of the year", but this particular offering will be locked to T-mobile (until someone writes an unlock for it). However, the OS is open source, so it won't be long before a whole host of other mobile phones could be running it. Expect a number of gadget sites to be publishing instructions on how to install it on unlocked cell phones with the right specification as it becomes more and more commonplace.

I'm still on my Windows Mobile XDA here. It does the trick but I'd love to get my mitts on one of these.

(continue reading &aquo;)