How to setup and verify your url with google.

Today we are going to show you how to setup your domain url and verify it with google. we will be using a url purchased from http://www.namecheap.com.  We will pointing this url to a “Google Sites” website.

purchase a url (there are many places you can do this we used namecheap clcik here they are cheap and provide good services).

• log into “Google Webmaster Tools”  using your google account click here
• click on the red button ADD A SITE near top right of page.
• enter your domain url you purchased and add
• on the next page click on the “Alternative methods”  tab and find namecheap.com (or your domain provider where you purchased your url).
• follow the instructions on that page for your domain provider
  here is googles instructions for namecheap
  Follow the steps below to create a DNS (Domain Name System) record that proves to Google that you own the domain.
  1. Log in to your account at www.namecheap.com.
  2. Go to My Account>Manage Domains and choose the needed domain name from the domain list.
  3. Select All host records.
  4. Insert the @ character into the hostname tab under Subdomain settings.
  5. In the IP Address/URL field copy and paste the number below:
     (This code is unique to your google account you will need to use the one you are given).
  6. Choose TXT record as the record type in the drop down menu.
  7. Click on Save changes.

  Congratulations! Your new DNS TXT record now contains your security token. Keep in mind that changes to your DNS settings can take up to 24 hours to propagate through the Internet, but depending on your host, this can happen faster
• Now in webmaster tools click verify if after 24 hours if things still dont verify contact your domain provider for further assistance.
• Next log into your “Google Sites” website you want to add the url
• in the top of the page n the right hand side click on more from the dropdown menu click “manage site”
• on the left side panel click on web addresses
• type your url in the box provided and click add.
• if all has gone well you should now ba able to use your url.

Blogger Widgets – Blogger Widgets

Here is a list of extra tips and tricks you can apply to your blogger site.�

Blogger Widgets – Blogger Widgets.

itunes 11 – The new look and feel.

itunes 11 has a new look and feel. This can make it annoying for all of us long term users.  Things are not so bad.  here is a link with some tips that can help you again use itunes. click here

Training.

here is an online it training course. You can do this training at your own pace and get qualified click here

Kindle Cloud Reader: Kindle on your pc.

    You may have a kindle reader or kindle on your tablet or smart ph but did you know about Kindle
Cloud Reader. I just found out about it and it rocks.

Kindle Cloud Reader lets you read ebooks instantly in your web browser – no Kindle device
required.

To start using the kindle cloud reader or any kindle device you need an amazon account.

1. go to the amazon website click here.
2. login to your account or create one if you dont have one.
3. then buy or find free books and get them.
4. then log-in to Kindle Cloud Reader  click here
5. you will be prompted to setup cloud reader for offline use if you like ane you can download the books you want to read from your account.

Enjoy reading your books on your pc in your web browser and have fun.

To all Mac, Windows and Linux users “This guy has a point”.

Was looking around Youtube for the latest on mac, windows & linux stuff and came across this guy. He made a valid point among his ramblings.

I agree totally with his views that it does not matter what computer, operating system or device you use. use what works for you. Don’t slam others that have a different view, or way of doing things. Yes have your own views but don’t force them on others, or think less of them for having a different way.

Now I Have always had the view that all operating systems have a place out there. I like all operating systems for different reasons.

1. Windows: This is the best widely used gaming platform. This is due to the game developers building on the  windows platform more. some have mac ports which are ok . Usually linux does not even get a look in. Windows are cheeper
2. Mac/Apple/osx: Generally Mac has always been at the top of the professional Music and Graphics side of the market Mac is simple easy and has less tweaking. It just works. they do cost more but they are made really well.
3. Linux: Linux is generally for people who like tinkers. Linux can be tweaked and rebuilt for the users equipment/hardware or the exact needs the user may have. There are many different operating systems built on the linux platform.

Price:  How much money do you have to spend,/want to save.

• PC computers: You may prefer to get your pc due to the cheeper price.  if you get a pc you are free to get one with windows preinstalled, one with no os(put your own on), or build your own from scratch.   either way with your pc you can choose to run windows, linux or dual boot and have 2 or more operating systems on the same computer.
• Mac Computer: Mac computers are expensive to get but updates and apps are generally cheeper, once you have one. Mac also make great computers that are built to last

At the moment I have a Macbook pro running osx 10.8 Mountain Lion and am happy using that.  I have an few linux os running in a virtual machine (vbox) and that suits me fine. I dont own a windows pc, and have an old XP copy that the license no longer works. so i dont have windows so to speek. I will not be buying the full Windows 8 just to have it. I would get the upgrade if i had a working windows os already. its cheep atm.  upgrade = $89 full = $189 (nzd).

Windows and apple release.

Here you go Apple and Microsoft both had their product release conferences within 2 days of each other . Both clame to have the most popular Operating System(os), products and stuff in the us. amazing, how can they both be claiming the same thing.

Apple actually build, create, and sell their own computers, smart phones, tablets etc with their os themselves. this gives apple the ability to integrate their os and devices together directly. This direct approach does give Apple soem advantages as their departments are closely working on the same focus.  To provide the best user experience, and top computers.

Windows on the other hand make just the operating systems and rely on other companies to make computers, smart phones, tablets etc for them. this means that as Windows is not directly building the computers the manufactures have to build their devices to take advantage of the os fully.  This indirect approach means that each computer manufacture competing against themselves  don’t have much room to push the boundary. they can only do what the os allows them.

Product Launches

Apple keynote Special Event, October 2012

Windows 8  Launch. October 25th 2012

An interesting article from New Zealand Herald click here

Mac: How to protect your investment

As mac computers are expensive and they do look nice. you may want to protect your investment as much as possible. Its worth paying a little bit extra to keep it in top condition.

KEYBOARD PROTECTERS

You can get keyboard protectors such as the moshi ones. click here. they provide a great protection from dust, oil from your fingers and liquid spills. A good way incase something may happen.

WARNING: I was going to get a keyboard protector  till I heard someone say DON”T GET ONE. the reason being that.

• keyboard skins raise internal temperatures by as much as 20 degrees C.
• With only one thin slit serving as both inlet and exhaust (it runs along the hinge) and no other holes in the case, ventilation is *vital*. heat does escape from under the keyboard.
• A keyboard protector will bake it into an early grave.
• A better way to keep the Keyboard clean. There isn’t one, unfortunately, short of operating with clean fingers, and perhaps running a little keyboard vacuum cleaner around the edges now and then.

With the expense of mac computers anything that will cause the computer to raise the internal temperature and ware out faster is not an option. I hope this bit of information will help you making a decision weather its worth using a protector or not.

Still if you feel its worth getting one by all means its your choice.

CASE PROTECTORS

these are a great investment

• Mac official store products: c;ick here
• Hard covers: click here
• Skins:  removable, easy to reposition skins GelaSkins click here
• Sleeves: click here
• Bags: Any laptop bag will do. I prefer backpack style as I dont drive, catch public transport and walk allot.

CONCLUSION

Whatever you decide best suits your needs when it comes to protection, it is ok to pay for something quality your macbook investment is worth it.

Finally a great computer experience.

Well on friday the 14th September I finally received my macbook Pro. It came within 2 days of ordering it from mac online store. wow.

So far i have activated the free upgrade to OSX 10.8.1  ”Mountain Lion”

To install apps first. 

• Go to Launchpad>System Preferences>Security & Privacy.
• unlock the app.  click on the padlock on the bottom left corner and supply your password.
• under allow applications downloaded from make sure you select anywhere

Now you are ready to install all apps my usual applications.

1. chrome browser
2. Thunderbird email
3. Adium instant messaging (suggested by pidgin messing site for mac),
4. Songbird media centre
5. Avast antivirus
6. Dropbox
7. VLC media player
8. Skype
9. Libre Office
10. Picasa photo manager 

I found a link detailing some of the better alternative apps for mac OSX. click here it mentions soem of the above apps I had already setup.

More tutorials on how to setup these apps and other things i find out will come.

Keep save file small. for better running.

As Saluki Linux is one of the many unique and varied Puppylinux operating systems. After using puppylinux myself over a few years, I notice, some people Find having a small save file, apart from taking up less space, helps to make it faster and more stable.

1. first save all you document, music, and other personal files outside the save file.
2. use sfs files instead of installing pets. sfs files are great for saving space and on smaller flashdrives, they may take up more ram to run so consider wisely which apps to install and which to run as sfs.

Another good way is to have some of the bigger apps outside the save file if possible. The following works for Thunderbird, and firefox. and maybe other applications to.

1. first download the latest Firefox (ff) tar.gz file from click here
2. extract it to the folder /mnt/home/apps folder. (/mnt/home is the drive, where the puppy setup files are. (You will need to make the folder called apps, to put all applications outside of save file)
3. once extracted, open it and click on the firefox-bin file and ff should run.
4. next you will need to create a desktop file. create the folder /mnt/home/apps/desktop-files
5. go to menu>office>geany and copy the following.

   [Desktop Entry]
Encoding=UTF-8
Name=Firefox
Icon=/mnt/home/Apps/Icons/firefox.png
Comment=Email
Exec=/mnt/home/Apps/firefox/firefox-bin
Terminal=false
Type=Application
Categories=internet
Comment=A full featured Web Browser
GenericName=Firefox

6. save this file to /mnt/home/apps/desktop-files
7. next you will want to make a folder /mnt/home/apps/icons
8. go to google images and type firefox icon, choose an icon and download it. then move it to the new icons folder you made
9. go to /mnt/home/apps/desktop-files right click the file and go to create symlink. A new linked app will popup.
10. right click on the new linked file and select cut.
11. next open /use/share/applications right click on an empty space and select paste. Now restart x. the desktop file will put firefox in your puppy menu.

This works for other apps as long as the source file tar.gz has a app bin file. some do others don´t trial and error is the best thing.
With this setup I run Firefox and Thunderbird in several different puppy os, saluki, wary, slacko, lupu528.

Puppylinux boot options and setup modes.

If you have been using puppy linux for a while you should be familiar with the 2 main ways of installing puppy full and frugal click here. The recommended way that puppy is designed to run at its best is frugal install.

Basic Options: There are some options with the frugal install. these options can be found if you press f1 when booting from the puppy live cd. there is a good explanation for them click here and click here

Advanced Options: (behind the scene, options when running puppy). There are several other ways you can run a puppy frugal install, called the PUPMODEs.  There is some good information about the different PUPMIODES click here. What pupmode you need depends on the computer specks., how you intend to run puppy and what you want to achieve. Take a look and see what is the best option for you.

Puppylinux boot options and setup modes.

If you have been using puppy linux for a while you should be familiar with the 2 main ways of installing puppy full and frugal click here. The recommended way that puppy is designed to run at its best is frugal install.

Basic Options: There are some options with the frugal install. these options can be found if you press f1 when booting from the puppy live cd. there is a good explanation for them click here and click here

Advanced Options: (behind the scene, options when running puppy). There are several other ways you can run a puppy frugal install, called the PUPMODEs.  There is some good information about the different PUPMIODES click here. What pupmode you need depends on the computer specks., how you intend to run puppy and what you want to achieve. Take a look and see what is the best option for you.

Using one set of apps across many puppy linux operating systems.

Puppy linux is a great operating system in all its many forms., as you well know if you use it.

Today we are going to look at how to set up applications to be used in more than one puppy os. (I have a usb hdd with several puppy versions on it and I was wanting to save space).

Option 1 is to try running an sfs file in different puppy os, even if the sfs file is built for one version of puppy it might work in others.

Option 2 This works only with apps that pre-compilied with all libs needed to run in them. such as  firefox (ff) and thunderbird (tb). Lets use ff here.

1. Download the latest ff tar.gz file from http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/
2. extract, or unpack, it to the usb drive(or where ever your puppy files are.
3. then click on the bin file called firefox or firefox-bin and it should run.

Now you are probably going to want firefox to come up in the puppy menu so you will need to create a desktop file called firefox. To do this

open a blank txt tile and copy the following

[Desktop Entry]

Encoding=UTF-8

Name=Firefox

Icon=/mnt/home/Apps/Icons/firefox.png

Comment=Email

Exec=/mnt/home/Apps/firefox/firefox-bin

Terminal=false

Type=Application

Categories=X-Internet;

Comment=A full featured Web Browser

GenericName=Firefox

(you will need to change the 2 lines Icon=/mnt/home/Apps/Icons/firefox.png and exec=/mnt/home/Apps/firefox/firefox-bin to where the files are setup on your computer) then copy this file to /usr/share/applications

also edit the file /usr/local/bin/defaultbrowser and change the exe line to

 exec /mnt/home/Apps/firefox/firefox-bin “$@”

(again changing the path to where you have put your firefox file).

Option 3 using Portable applications from click here This option works very well in puppy linux but it is not native, it uss wine (Windows environment emulator). To run the windows portable files

1. install the wine app for your puppy version from the ppm (puppy package manager) or the wine sfs.
2. next download the portable apps suite from click here make sure you put this on your puppy flashdrive or of you don’t have much space on a separate flashdrive will do..once you have this setup you will notice you have a set of apps already built in,
3. then you can download apps here click here or search the site for others.
4. Then click them and wine will start to install them. Choose your flashdrive with portable apps on it and install there.

(these portable windows apps will work in puppy or any other linux os, and mac using wine windows emulator)

What does the term Modem mean these days ???

What is the term Modem mean in todays  computer terms.

The general overall meaning of Modem is a device that connects your computer to the internet.   Some people use the term Modem meaning Dial-up modem. but i found a great list explaining the different modems here.

Different types of modem? – Yahoo! Answers.

Windows Computer Tips and Tricks.

Firefox Browser: (ff) Firefox is a great full featured browser if you are used to windows Internet Explorer you will find ff can do that amd much more. In ff I use the addons Adblock +, Adblock Plus pop-up addon and Element hiding helper for adblock plus. I find these addons help speed up browser running.

also here are some other tweaks you can apply to make it even better. note if you don’t like a feature just undo it. click here These works on all versions of ff and on all operating systems.

Google Chrome Browser:This is a good browser of choice. It is optemised to run fast and smooth. it needs less tweaking than other browsers, and is way faster than internet explorer. my setup usually included these 2 addons Adblock +  blocks adds using a extensive list that is updated and maintained by the application developers.  Adblock + ellement hiding helper. In chrome this addon you need to add stuff to it, manually at the moment.

other things you can do to tweak and improve chrome browser that i use are found here.http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/03/speed-up-google-chrome-by-enabling-hardware-acceleration-and-pre/

msconfig: this is a windows system command run this app and go to the startup tab. here you can tweak what applications will load at start up. if you dont know what one element is a quick Google search “what is the windows 7 start up process (process name)”. Some of these are quick start up processses for applications, to make them load faster when you run them, or might be applications you don’t use not needed really. I don’t touch another settings apart from the startup tab.

CCleaner: this is a cache and registry cleaner. It helps keep your applications in windows running at there best by automatically looking at them and cleaning them up for you. also the registry cleaner is a handy tool to clean up old registry entries that are not needed. seehttp://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/features

Windows Defrag: Dont forget to defrag your computer at least one every week or 2. in windows def ragging is needed to clean up the file system. Over time the windows file system becomes messy due to the fact that parts of the information for files and applications can be put all over the computer known as fragmentation. defragging scans the hard drive and finds all teh related files puts them together and leaves all the extra space at the end of the drive. this makes your computer fun faster when done regularly.

1. click  the windows start button
2. type defrag in the search box
3. run the defrag application.

for a good tutorial on windows defrag click here

Computer Protection:

There are 2 main types of protection you need to get when running windows 1. Anti-virus 2. Anti-spywear  these are a must have here is what I recommend and would use on windows.

Avast Antivirus: this is one of the best free antivirus i have come accross. remember it pays to run one antivirus application on your computer. to save conflicting. Avast has boot time scan feature that AVG does not. Boot time scanning is needed because some of the windows system files that are running the operating system cant be scanned. this is done before the windows boots up so it can scan everything. Run The avast boot time scan once you install and setup avast, then run it if you suspect you have a virus or about every few months. click here

Spybot S&D:  Spybot is a good application that will find allot of other things that anvitirus won’t such as Malware and Trojans and other things. click here

Here are some good things to look at:

• Anti-virus and Anti-spy click here
• Ways to protect your computer click here

I hope you find these basic tips handy and greatly improving your windows computer using.

How To Ask Questions The Smart Way

How To Ask Questions The Smart Way

via How To Ask Questions The Smart Way.

I came across the article a few years ago, read it, used it a bit then as you can do I forgot about it. Found it again in my bookmarks. It’s a great place to go to get ides on how to better communicate online. if you want to ask questions that get more responses in forums and on chat sites check it out.

Fixing windows boot problems.

the other day i was using a computer that had windows on it. I wanted to copy grub4dos onto my usb hard-drive so it could boot.

• I booted into a puppy linux operating system.
• ran the grub4dos install application
• Rebooted and found I had accidentally copied it to the internal windows hard-drive.

Now you would think that it would be easy to find how to restore the Windows operating system master boot record (mbr), and boot partition. I had to google around for a few hours typing “how to restore windows mbr” “how to restore windows boot partition” etc without luck. i tried a few things and nothing. after this I went to the support chat #windows on irc Freenode network. and asked a few people who pointed me to places that did not help. One guy eventually gave me the less than five minute solution. so here it is for you to do if you ever need to reinstall the windows mbr or/and the boot partition. Remember to use the same operating system cd/dvd of the windows version on the computer.

1. boot into the recovery cd
2. go to repair my computer
3. then go to comand prompt
4. then type bootrec.exe /fixmbr (this will fix the mbr)
5. then type bootrec.exe /fixboot (this will fix the boot partition)

I also believe you can run this from the operating system cd/dvd or if you have it on a usb flashdrive. and repair it from there. As I did not have a cd/dvd of the windows operating system on this computer i could not test this.

I do hope this helps you if you need to find the information.

copy iso to usb using dd command

Today we are going to copy a iso to usb ready for use using the dd command. I suggest you first read up on what dd commands are before attempting this as they can be fatal and wiping hdd, usb and data etc.  click here used inmporperly might result in your hdd being wiped.

first we are going to  make sure the device path eg /dev/sdxx of teh usb that you want to copy the iso on. we will call this the usb key

1. open a terminal  and type df and see what we have in the /dev/sdxx  column
2. then plug in the usb key and run df again to see what new /dev/sd came up , the new /dev/sd   is the usb key. We MUST know the usb keys/dev/sd  to do anything. (we are going to give the usb key /dev/sdd)
3. Next locate the iso you want to copy (we will say ~/iso/test.iso, where ~/ = your home folder)
4. open a terminal and type cd ~/iso  (where ~/iso is the folder your iso is in)
5. type ls to check if the iso file you want to copy is there.
6. Stop before you continue note. the following command will wipe everything on the usb key (or other device you point to. make sure you know the exact device name /dev/sdx (run step 1 and 2 again if you need to) and make sure you dont have any data you need on teh usb key
7. in terminal run dd if=test.iso of=/dev/sdd Replace test.iso with the name of the iso file you want to copy and  Replace /dev/sdd with what your usb key is.
8. this should take about 5 minutes or so then you should be ready to boot from the usb device.

It Cracked

It happened. The other day I was rearranging my desk, I moved my screen it fell off the stand and hit something on desk front on. It’s got a crack up middle which is starting to bleed around the edge. Its a bit annoying but I can bare with it. Its not beyond using. And for this old pc not worry. I will look around for a cheap one on trademe might be able to get a bargin.

A look at SolusOS – Eveline

Over the last couple of days ive been looking into this release. What drew me into this release was that the project leader and founder is Ikey Doherty, who was one of the original people to work on LMDE. He also teamed up with Justin Krehel who also worked on LMDE, and in my opinion the linux mint community lost a great deal when they departed. However linuxmint’s loss is certainly SolusOS’s gain.
SolusOS is based on Debian Stable + Debian backports aswell as their own software repository. It uses an enhanced gnome 2 with polished look and feel. It will like most linux distrobutions have to make the move to gnome3 , but will continue to support gnome 2 as long squeeze is supported. They are already making plans for how gnome 3 will look and feel for SolusOS 2.
I booted up the live usb I had created with unetbootin. Before I let it boot into the live session , I wanted to see what boot options it had , not only did it have compatibility mode it had something I missed from the first release of LMDE , the option to by-pass the live user session and run only the installer.
It uses the same installer as LMDE, which isn’t too bad but in my opinion does leave room for improvement as there is no option for creating lvm’s or setting up encrypted partitions. It also requires users to either have made the partition(s) or it opens up gparted to make them , there is not a simple way of doing it like ubuntu’s ubiquity has. So that might be a little daunting for newcomers to linux. However I have been informed that these things might be included in future releases.
So after the installation had finished , I rebooted and logged in to find the best first run wizard I have ever used and the only one I found useful so far. It prompted me about network settings including the basic firewall options, however the thing that impressed me the most was the hardware wizard detected my hardware and told me which drivers needed to be installed, including the nvidia driver which I have been asked countless times , so its nice to see that it is covered easily here. Upon saying yes to the nvidia drivers , it showed me a list of was going to be installed, and even when this was done warned me that nouveau was running and I should restart to complete the process.
The desktop is easy on the eye and has a great layout , it comes with compiz and emerald theme manager . Not only does it look good and comes pre-packaged with all the usual software (Vlc , Libreoffice and Firefox) it also includes a lockdown editor useful to those who wish to create the own linux kiosk and for parents of young children aswell. Other useful software include PlayOnLinux, DropBox , Xchat, Openshot, Cheese and Minitube.
So for those who are newcomers to linux , distro-hoppers or those just wanting a change from what they’re using , this is an easy choice for me , easy to install, easy to configure and easy to use with a great community easily contact via the or in their irc channel #SolusOS which is at irc.silverirc.com