What is the Google Supplemental index?

When Google originally introduced Supplemental Results in 2003, our main web index had billions of web pages. The supplemental index made it possible to index even more web pages and, just like our main web index, make this content available when generating relevant search results for user queries. This was especially useful for queries that did not return many results from the main web index, and for these the supplemental index allowed us to query even more web pages. The fewer constraints we're able to place on sites we crawl for the supplemental index means that web pages that are not in the main web index could be included in the supplemental.

Link:
http://.../supplemental-goes-mainstream.html

Top 12 SEO tips for 2007

Some good, some OK but the entire article is worth reading for someone who has never thought about Search Engine Optimization (SEO) before. You can also read my blog post on what I know about SEO - been meaning to come out with a v2.0 of this post as I have learned so much more since that post first appeared.

If you could do one thing now its #3 in the SEO Tips article.

Article:
http://.../top-12-seo-tips-for-2007.htm

25 Rounded Corners Techniques with CSS

25 Rounded Corners Techniques with CSS: "Rounded corners is one of the most popular and frequently requested CSS techniques even the father of internet Google also launch the rounded corners style markup with her Google Adsense and let users to custom their ads recently. Actually, there are a lot of methods and techniques to create rounded corners with Cascading Stylesheets. Some are quite simple just need pure CSS, and a part of them need 2 to 4 background corner images and Javascript."

Link:
http://cssjuice.com/25-rounded-corners-techniques-with-css/

Troubleshoot IIS7 errors like a pro

Troubleshoot IIS7 errors like a pro: "So you just moved your application to an IIS7 server, and now you are getting an error when you make a request to it. This seems to be a popular theme on IIS.NET forums these days, and after answering a hundred or so of these posts, I figured I should do something to help people track down and fix their issues with a little less frustration.

Server software, and web servers specifically, are very complex and highly configurable systems that support multi-tier applications using a variety of technologies and subsystems, and endure further complexity due to security, performance, and reliability demands, so it’s a wonder it all works as well as it does in the end. IIS7 strives to improve the experience of diagnosing and solving problems when they do occur, so knowing how to use the new IIS7 diagnostics features can come a long way in helping you become a pro at troubleshooting server problems."

Full Story:
http://.../Troubleshoot-IIS7-errors-like-a-pro.aspx

GIMP’s major UI revamp

GIMP is well known as a powerful application, and especially in the last few years has gained a rather large community of users. There’s also a large group of people for whom GIMP would be their tool of choice, if it had the same kind of attention to user interface as Inkscape, GNOME, Firefox and other modern Open Source apps.

Full Story:
http://.../gimps-major-ui-revamp/

Gimp:
http://www.gimp.org/

Teach a Kid to Program

A list of some tools to get kids interested and started in programming at a very early age. The earlier the better.

Link:
http://howto.wired.com/wiredhowtos/...

Veign goes tribal

I have designed two new shirt designs for CafePress for Veign. I wanted a design that used some tribal designs to make it look a bit more interesting. Note: Even though the shirt previews aren't high quality looking the shirts and the images will be.

What do you think?

Link:
http://www.cafepress.com/veign

Custom embroidered and printed shirts

Create custom printed or embroidered shirts through Blue Cottons online design studio. Very easy to do and probably expensive, not sure as I didn't go through the entire process. If you want stuff thats affortable and also very ease to use check out CafePress. I have had a CafePress store for Veign for a long time and use it to buy shirts and stuff to give out to clients or anyone else wanting to wear a shirt with Veign on it.

Link:
http://www.bluecotton.com/

Hungary competition authority raids Microsoft office

Hungary competition authority raids Microsoft office: "Hungary's competition authority (GVH) said it had raided Microsoft Corp's (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) Hungarian subsidiary because it suspected the firm had abused its market power when dealing with software distributors."

Link:
http://.../technologyNews/idUSL2671940720070726

How to patch up your UXtheme.dll file in XP home or pro

In order to use custom themes or MSStyles on your computer you need to patch up your Uxtheme.dll file. Otherwise you can only use signed themes that are created by Microsoft.

What are custom themes? Just check out Window Blinds.

Link:
http://.../how_to_patch_uxtheme_dll_file_xp_home_pro

How to Determine if a Link Passes Reputation / Authority / Equity / Juice / etc.

How to Determine if a Link Passes Reputation / Authority / Equity / Juice / etc... : "I have been buying many links but it is hard to know which ones count and which ones do not. Is there any way to test if a link is clean and passes link authority?"

Link:
http://www.seobook.com/archives/002347.shtml

Microsoft Signs Ad Deal with Digg

Microsoft Signs Ad Deal with Digg: "Few details are known at this point, although Digg creator Kevin Rose says it's 'similar to the one Facebook signed with Microsoft last year.' This means that Digg will turn over control the site's advertising exclusively to Microsoft and its adCenter platform."

Link:
http://.../Microsoft_Signs_Ad_Deal_with_Digg/1185391775

How people earn money with Adwords and Adsense

Made for Adsense websites are everywhere and have only one purpose, earn money for their owner. You can read the only story on how to use an Adwords account to drive traffic to your Adsense optimized website.

The basic premise is that the Adwords click costs you less than the money you get from the person clicking on the websites Adsense ad. Thus earning you profit.

Link:
http://.../researches/crazy_adsense_experiment.php

Mozilla Admits Firefox Exploit Caused by Firefox Bug, Not IE

Mozilla Admits Firefox Exploit Caused by Firefox Bug, Not IE: "On July 10, engineers at Secunia issued a security advisory, rated 'Highly Critical,' warning Firefox users that their browser could be tricked into executing arbitrary JavaScript code. Soon afterward, Mozilla developers issued a statement saying the problem was caused by Internet Explorer, which could trick Firefox into executing that code. This morning, Mozilla security chief Window Snyder had to issue a retraction, stating Firefox could just as easily trick Firefox into doing the same thing"

Link:
http://.../Mozilla_Admits_Firefox_Exploit_Caused_by_Firefox...

Online Regular Expression Tool

Pretty cool and very useful, if you've ever done much with Regular Expressions you will know how much a tool can come in handy. The only thing I don't like is there are no instructions or help on the site.

Link:
http://erik.eae.net/playground/regexp/regexp.html

Speed up your internet connection

The TCP Optimizer is a free, easy Windows program that provides an intuitive interface for tuning and optimizing your Internet connection. There is no installation required, just download and run.

I have it used it to tweak my settings but its hard to tell how much, if any, its speed up my internet connection. Check it out and leave a comment if you noticed much of a difference. Also, you can use one of the many connection speed tests to check just how fast your connection is.

TCP Optimizer:
http://www.speedguide.net/downloads.php

Convert YouTube videos to MPG (and other formats)

Vixy.net makes it easy to convert a YouTube video, and all FLV video formats, to MPG4 / AVI / MOV / MP4 / MP3 / 3GP.

This service allows you convert a Flash Video / FLV file (YouTube's videos,etc) to MPEG4 (AVI/MOV/MP4/MP3/3GP) file online. It is using a compressed domain transcoder technology (outline in Japanese). It converts FLV to MPEG4 faster and less lossy than a typical transcoder.

Want to setup your own Vixy.net? Then check out the Open Source project they have released.

Link:
http://vixy.net/

Collected Quotes from Albert Einstein

• "Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction."
• "Imagination is more important than knowledge."
• "I want to know God's thoughts; the rest are details."
• "Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one."
• "Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character."
• "I never think of the future. It comes soon enough."
• "The eternal mystery of the world is its comprehensibility."
• "Sometimes one pays most for the things one gets for nothing."
• "Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind."
• "Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new."
• "Great spirits have often encountered violent opposition from weak minds."
• "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler."
• "Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen."
• "Science is a wonderful thing if one does not have to earn one's living at it."
• "The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources."
• "The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education."

Read More

Cfont Pro gets a minor release

I released a very minor update to Cfont Pro, my Font Manager, which enhances a few things and sets the ground work for some additional features. I already have another version coming together but will wait and compile a larger release.

Oh, and this application is Donationware (free).

Link:
http://www.cfontpro.com/

What's up with the copyright on Facebook?

Why does hovering over different parts of the copyright notice on Facebook produce numbers and number sequences? The above number showed up when the cursor hovered over the copyright symbol. Anyone have any information on this?

How to make Windows XP last for the next seven years

How to make Windows XP last for the next seven years: "Windows Vista may be shiny and brand new, but as plenty of PC users will tell you, sometimes newer isn't better. Many PCs simply don't have the horsepower to run the new operating system, and even those that have the juice may get bogged down by processor-and RAM-hungry Vista.

If you've got Windows XP, worry not -- you can keep it running on your hardware for years to come. As with an old car, though, if you plan to keep XP around for a while, you're going to have to spend some time maintaining it. Think of us as your virtual mechanics. We'll give you tips, tweaks and tricks so that you'll be able to keep XP running smoothly, at top performance, for smooth operation and long life."

Link:
http://www.computerworld.com/...

ajaxWindows

Why do I keep posting about Virtual Operating Systems? Please prove me wrong on several points: 1) They are not OS's and 2) They are not useful in their current state of development (or even future development).

Link:
http://ajaxwindows.com/apps/windows/content/index.html

The hunt begins

For information in what exactly will be included in WinXP SP3.

Do you know? If you have any information feel free to email me too.

Link:
http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=588

The Open Source Web Design Toolbox: 100 Tools, Resources, and Template Sources

In fact, the open source model, which began with programmers, has been so successful that it is currently being applied in government, media, education and private business. But despite these new applications, the unique combination of the open source model with the universalism of web design remains one of the ideal applications of open source. This pervasiveness of the open source spirit in web design now means that you can use open source software to design both graphics and your CSS and HTML, and you can also use the dozens of reliable open source code resources or thousands of templates to base your own designs on. In this article we highlight 100 open source web design tools, resources, and templates.

Link:
http://...100-tools-resources-and-template-sources/

Dell Computer Ad from 1992

Stripe Generator

Another web2.0 graphic, thingy creator. Kinda like the web2.0 logo creator.

Is it useful? Not really. Is it fun to play with? Not at all.

Link:
http://www.stripegenerator.com/

Here they come: Google Camera Cars

Get ready to have your streets, house and business photographed by Google as they ready their fleet of vehicles. Looks like Google is getting ready to expand their street view feature on Google Maps.

Say Cheese!

Link:
http://.../google-streetview-camera-car-fleet-set-to-invade-america

URL Shrtn lets you create a TinyUrl site

URL Shrtn is a free URL shortening and forwarding service - this script allows you to run your own site similar to tinyurl.com and other URL shortening services.

Not sure you will be able to compete with a site the magnitude of TinyUrl but who knows if you have an idea missing from TinyUrl.

Link:
{removed}

UPDATED: Seems like URL Shrtn is no longer available.

PR Leap

PR Leap is an online press release service that offers both free and paid distribution to search engines, newswires and websites since 2003.

That means you can use PR Leap to get word of mouth rolling, quickly and inexpensively for yourself, your business, or your product. Everything on PR Leap is submitted by the PR Leap user community. All newsworthy press releases are welcomed.

Even includes a FREE account. Worth checking out.

Link:
http://www.prleap.com

AutoPOST automatic form submission

AutoPOST is a Web site/utility that can automatically submit a form, complete with data. Your form submission is packaged into one extended URL, which you can use anywhere you'd use a normal URL-- a bookmark, a link, a non-form-supporting browser. Whenever you access the URL, the form is automatically submitted. AutoPOST supports both GET and POST form submissions (POST submissions are routed through a special AutoPOST script when called, transparent to the user).

Link:
http://www.io.com/~jsm/autopost/

Adobe PDF Reader OUT, Foxit IN

Man am I glad to finally dump Adobe PDF Reader. The straw that broke the camels , besides the 110Meg+ install, was the constant and annoying updater. In comes Foxit reader to the rescue with its very small under 2Meg install and fast opening of PDF files.

Run don't walk and remove Adobe's bloatware and grab Foxit.

Link:
http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/rd_intro.php

See how a website looks in other browsers

Use one of the websites below to see how a website will render in other browsers. Critical step in designing a website is to ensure that designs renders the same in the major browsers: IE6, IE7, Firefox, Safari and Opera.

IE NetRenderer:
http://ipinfo.info/netrenderer/index.php

Browser Cam:
http://www.browsercam.com/

BrowsrCamp:
http://www.browsrcamp.com/

iCapture:
http://www.danvine.com/icapture/

ieCapture:
http://www.danvine.com/iecapture/

Is your blog profitable?

Many of the people who write blogs today simply want to share their opinion on something. But then there are the business-minded folks, who have found a way to use blogs, or Web logs, to bring in a little extra cash too.

And if you don't read ProBlogger, then check out his site too.

Link:
http://.../how_to_make_money_from_your_blog_5_tips

Another news mashup website

ScaryMind is a horror news mashup site that I threw together quickly to read about another one of my interests. I figured I would put it on a domain of mine that was not being used for anything else and that way if anyone else has interest they could use the service too.

Link:
http://scarymind.com/

In case you're interested the other news mashup website was HorseURLs.com.

92,815,583 domains currently in use

See what domains are doing through the Total Domains Trends Worldwide statistics. Pretty amazing the amount of domains that are gained and lossed in a given week.

Just shows how difficult a good domain name is to get by how many are gained each week. One of the factors in choosing the company name of Veign was that I was able to get Veign.com. This is a trend that will continue until something better than the internet comes our way (not in my life time).

Link:
http://www.webhosting.info/domains/global_stats/total_domains/

In Canada for a week

This week there will be little to no posts as I am off to Canada for a week. Going to do a road trip so time will be too limiting to blog.

Website page layout templates using CSS

Some great examples of page layouts using CSS as the primary layout method;

CSS Layouts:
http://layouts.ironmyers.com/

Layout Galore:
http://blog.html.it/layoutgala/

Even more layouts:
http://www.thenoodleincident.com/tutorials/box_lesson/boxes.html

If you need a custom designed website then check out my website design services.

Law Search Engine with Law.com's Quest

Law.com's Quest brings legal professionals relevant results from across the Law.com network of sites and the legal web, including hundreds of hand-picked law firm websites and legal blogs.

Link:
http://quest.law.com/Search/

Locate huge savings at Amazon

A neat little trick to locate huge savings at Amazon.com is by entering a special URL that displays products from a certain category and limits the results to products that are discounted by a certain amount.

Example URL:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/?node=468642&pct-off=90-

URL Breakdown:

Url to get to Amazon Search:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/?

Display products from the Computer and Video game category (node):
node=468642

Show products that are at least 90% off:
&pct-off=90-

That's all there is to it. The link below provides a URL generator to make the whole process simple.

Link:
http://eleven21.com/amazargains/

History Of AOL Search

History Of AOL Search: "In preparation for those trying AOL tomorrow as part of our first Google-Free Friday, I thought it would be helpful to give some background on AOL in search. AOL has long offered search -- and even owned several web crawling technologies -- over the years. Don't forget to read AOL: Tomorrow's Google Free Friday Alternative for tips to what services to use from AOL in your searching!"

Link:
http://searchengineland.com/070705-194717.php

The Earth's Atmosphere

The Atmosphere: "The atmosphere describes all the air surrounding the earth, from the ground all the way up to the edge of deep space. The atmosphere is composed of several layers, each defined because of the various phenomena which occur within the layer. These transitions are gradual, and most heights and measurements mentioned below refer to the average area of transition from one layer to another."

Just because I needed to look it up to answer a question I had.

Link:
http://www.pbs.org/.../science/atmosphere.html#thermosphere

Make Your Own Firefox Extensions

A typical Firefox extension is nothing more than an XUL (XML User-interface Language) file you can edit with Notepad. In contrast, IE extensions must be compiled into DLLs and then installed into the operating system.

Link:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/...

LogMeIn Hamachi

LogMeIn Hamachi is a VPN service that easily sets up in 10 minutes, and enables secure remote access to your business network, anywhere there's an Internet connection.

It works with your existing firewall, and requires no additional configuration. Hamachi is the first networking application to deliver an unprecedented level of direct peer-to-peer connectivity. It is simple, secure, and cost-effective.

Link:
https://secure.logmein.com/products/hamachi/vpn.asp

Difference between the free and premium version:
https://secure.logmein.com/products/hamachi/advantages.asp

Internet Explorer 8 Alpha screenshots

A person at leneros.com has posted some of the images saying that the images actually are that of Internet Explorer 8 Alpha.

Judge for yourself if it is or if it's just a theme or some hack. Me thinks its a fake.

Link:
http://.../internet-explorer-8-alpha-screenshots/

Happy 4th to all!

What is that file extension?

You can look up the information about desired file extension and its file associations using File-extensions.org website. Simply use the search box in the top-left corner of each page tosearch for a specific file extension. You may also view an alphabetical list of extensions using the starting letters above, or browse by file type using the links on submenu at the left side of the page.

Link:
http://www.file-extensions.org/

Ever want to know what the Google search URLs mean?

Luckily, someone has dissected the URL to give a description of each parameter. It may not be complete but it does give some good information about the URL and the amount of information carried in it.

Link:
http://.../google-url-parameters.pdf

Microsoft Windows Vista 30-Day Eval VHD

For organizations with complex desktop infrastructures, whether large or small, Windows Vista Enterprise is the operating system designed specifically to help realize a better return on IT investments. In this VHD, you'll have the opportunity to road-test new and improved features including management (e.g. MUI, BDD, etc…) usability (e.g. Search, Navigation, etc…) and security (UAC, Windows Defender, etc…), enhancements to the Windows Vista platform.

Link:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...

Warez Chief Gets 51 Months in Prison

Griffith lead a group could DrinkOrDie, which was part of a massive piracy operation the spanned the United Kingdom, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Australia. It was founded in Russia in 1993, and was dismantled in 2001 following raids of its bases of operation worldwide.

Wow. This was one of the warez groups I used when I was much, much younger. I no longer deal in any warez and haven't for a very long time - older and wiser.

Link:
http://.../Warez_Chief_Gets_51_Months_in_Prison/

Veign's new development portfolio

A decided to not only display the websites I have done but also start showcasing some of the features of websites that I have done and can do for clients. I'm hoping to continue growing this new development portfolio over the next couple months as I gather more information to add.

Development Portfolio:
http://www.veign.com/development-portfolio.php

Design Portfolio:
http://www.veign.com/design-portfolio.php

The top 10 how-to's to make you richer, stronger and slightly more dangerous

HOWTO: Break into most locks by creating a bump key


HOWTO: Make Your Own Thermite


HOWTO: Open A Beer Bottle With A Piece Of Paper


HOWTO: Rip a Phonebook in Half Easily


HOWTO: How To Get Free Drinks

(here's another, and another)

HOWTO: Kill A Ninja


HOWTO: Beat Super Mario Bros.


HOWTO: Perfectly Fold a T-shirt


HOWTO: Freeze Beer in an Amazing Way


HOWTO: Steal a Coke From a Coke Machine


BONUS: How to Steal Gas

What is wrong with my RSS feed?

How am I supposed to know? I bet you Feed Validator will. Great tool to validate your RSS feeds.

To use it, simply enter the address of your feed and click Validate. If the validator finds any problems in your feed, it will give you messages for each type of problem and highlight where the problem first occurs in your feed. If you're unsure what a message means, click the "help" link next to the message for a fuller explanation.

Link:
http://feedvalidator.org

Google.......Whatcha upto?

It [Google] has reportedly approached the Federal Communications Commission recently about obtaining wireless spectrum, the base upon which mobile-phone networks are built, in the U.S. agency's next auction.

What are they doing? What is the future with Google? Will we all be connecting through a Google ISP / Network someday? Why do I keep asking all these questions?

Link:
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/...