Data Devil Dog

Share Home Movies On TiVo For Free

2007-03-27T20:02:00.000-07:00

Upload five of your favorite home movie video clips to TiVo between now and 30 April '07, and you'll be able to share them with any other TiVo subscribers for free. After the free offer ends, you can upload video clips to TiVo to share with family and friends for as little as $3.99 per month.

TiVo subscribers receive the shared movies for free, so Grandma doesn't have to pay to see your delightful vacation you and the kids videotaped just for her. TiVo's service allows you to edit the video after it's uploaded, so you can remove any embarassing parts or rearrange the clips. And only those family and friends you give the channel code to that you create for each uploaded video will be able to see the video on their TiVos. The channel will appear on their TiVos as "Home Movies from One True Media" in their "Now Playing Section."

So if you don't want cousin Ralph or the neighbors to see your video, you don't have to give them the channel code, and they'll never know you uploaded any videos to TiVo, even if they have TiVo subscriptions.

Free Unlimited Yahoo! Mail

2007-03-27T19:34:00.000-07:00

Imagine never having to delete E-mails to make room for more. Yahoo! just announced that it's going to allow unlimited E-mail storage for Yahoo! Mail starting in May 2007. Yahoo! Mail already offers Norton Antivirus and SpamGuard to protect your inbox, E-mails up to 10 MB, access to your inbox from any computer connected to the Internet, Messenger alerts for incoming messages (even on your mobile phone), an address book, Address AutoComplete, 15 filters and 500 blocked E-mail addresses, and more. If you don't have a free Yahoo! Mail account, sign up here.

Happy 10th anniversary, Yahoo! Mail!

Hide Your PayPal E-mail Address From Spammers And Cons

2007-03-27T18:19:00.000-07:00

PayPal is a great way to get online payments, but adding a PayPal button on a Web site or blog invites spammers to spam you, because the example script provided by PayPal requires that your PayPal E-mail address be included in the script. Unfortunately, PayPal requires it to be a legitimate address, because they send messages to that address. Therefore, spammers scrape Web sites and blogs continuously, hunting for E-mail addresses and when they find a PayPal address, they know they've hit pay dirt. PayPal E-mail addresses are targeted for fraud (commonly termed "phishing") because the scammer knows either a credit card or bank account (or both) is attached to it.

A side note is in order here. A common deception is to pretend something is wrong with your PayPal account that requires you to log into your account to fix it. Of course, the scammer provides a link in the E-mail, but it's not to PayPal's site. It's to the scammer's Web server that shows a bogus PayPal login page, and if you type your User ID and password on that page, the scammer has what he needs to steal everything from your account. The tip off is that they send the message to "Dear PayPal Customer" or "PayPal Member" because they have no idea what your name is. I guarantee PayPal knows your name and addresses you by name (or by your company's name if you have a business/merchant account) whenever they send you E-mail messages. And PayPal doesn't show a link with a hidden link to a Web server located in Asia or South America. If it's really from PayPal, the link is to https://www.paypal.com. It's best to type the address yourself in a Web browser instead of clicking on a link in an E-mail, even if you think you should trust the link.

When I added PayPal buttons to my Web site, I encoded my E-mail address within the PayPal button scripts to hide it from Web bots, but I later found an even better way by replacing my E-mail address with my PayPal Referral ID (or Affiliate ID) instead. To find out what your PayPal Referral ID is, log into your PayPal account. After logging in, scroll down to the bottom of the Web page, where there is a Referrals link. Select this link and you'll go to the "Merchant Referral Bonus Program" page. Near the top of this page is the code for the link to "Send your personalized referral link in an email." It looks something like this:

https://www.paypal.com/us/mrb/pal=DO1RE2ME3FA4S

Everything after the pal= is your Referral ID (I put it in red font for emphasis). Copy your Referral ID and paste it into the PayPal button script for the business name's string value (instead of your E-mail address):

<input type="hidden" name="business" value="DO1RE2ME3FA4S">

Save the script on the Web page or blog and when the customer presses the PayPal button, he'll be taken to the secure PayPal site where he can make his online payment. The customer will be able to see your real PayPal E-mail address, but Web bots that scrape Web pages won't unless they follow through with the PayPal transaction, and since Web bots aren't programmed to interact with Web site pages yet, that may be a long time coming.

And while you're on the "Merchant Referral Bonus Program" page, don't forget to copy the "Add a referral logo to your website" script to put on your Web site or blog, like this:

Any new merchant (except eBay merchants) who signs up using your referral link will make you eligible for 0.5% of that merchant's revenues for the first 12 months.

Know When To Say No, Even If It's Free

2007-03-25T15:41:00.000-07:00

They say the best things in life are free, but there comes a time when someone offers free goods or services, and one would be much better off by refusing them. Take, for example, one young Memphis Belle who was out on the town recently in Memphis, Tennessee, enjoying her 25th birthday. Someone offered her free drinks to help her celebrate. She should have said, "No, thanks. I'm driving home tonight."

Memphis cops later caught her weaving across the highway and threw her in the pokie for drunk driving after her Breathalyzer test showed a 0.10% blood alcohol content. Having her mug shot taken is embarassing enough, but her profile shows another gift she accepted on her birthday. You know someone paid good money for that roadkill.

Beware Of Fake Blogger.com Blogs

2007-03-25T13:34:00.000-07:00

A security vendor, Fortinet, has discovered fake Blogger.com blogs which contain script-iniated malware or redirect the visitor to phishing sites. Google (the owner of Blogger.com) has verified this and stated to CNET, "These are not legitimate blogs that were compromised. They appear to be deliberately set up to promote phishing, which is against our terms of service. We are investigating, and blogs found to include malicious code or promote phishing will be deleted." Fortinet asserts that it's impossible for visitors to detect the danger from these hundreds of fake blogs, which look like legitimate blogs dedicated to a large range of interests, including Star Wars, auto hobbyists, school, furniture, Christmas, and girlfriends.

How can you avoid being taken for a ride when visiting Blogger.com blogs? You can turn off JavaScripts in your Web browser. If you're using Internet Explorer, this is "all or nothing" in that all Web sites visited will either be denied or allowed to run JavaScripts. Since most Web sites these days can't function without JavaScripts, your Web surfing will be decidedly boring or even unworkable until you manually turn on JavaScripts temporarily for Web sites you deem safe. And then you have to remember to turn JavaScripts off again when leaving the safe Web site.

I found that a better way to handle this is to use the free, award-winning Firefox Web browser and NoScript add-in, which denies all scripting (including JavaScript and any other executable script) until you manually allow scripting for each domain or allow scripting globally (which is not recommended). This can be per domain, so if you're visiting a Web site that uses scripts from multiple domains, you can pick and choose which ones, if any, to allow. If you don't already have Firefox installed, you can download it from the Firefox (with Google Toolbar) button in the sidebar on the right of this blog, or you can download it directly from Mozilla.com (without Google's Toolbar).

Free Linux CD - Ubuntu 6.06 LTS

2007-03-25T12:59:00.000-07:00

The beta version of Ubuntu Linux 7.04 was just released, which means their production version can be expected to be released within a month (if history is any guide). The award-winning Ubuntu is an increasingly popular flavor of Linux, and not only is it available for free download over the Internet (requires broadband Internet Access for the 700 MB file), but Ubuntu will ship a CD to you for free if you request it (Ubuntu v6.06 LTS only). Expect six weeks for delivery to your mailbox.

If you want the latest version of the CD (Ubuntu 6.10), you can order it, but that one isn't free (but it will be much faster than six weeks for delivery). At least some of the CD images available on the download page allow one to boot directly from the CD (called "LiveCD") to run Ubuntu Linux without having to install it on the computer first. Check Ubuntu's download and shipping options to see which one of these options meets your needs.

Ubuntu offers two versions of Linux (desktop and server) and two versions of support, Long-Term Support (LTS) and regular support. The LTS version provides security update support for three years after release of the desktop version and five years of security update support after release of the server version. Regular support is for at least 18 months of security updates after release of the product. Community technical support and documentation are both free, while professional technical support is available for a fee.

In case you're wondering, Ubuntu is an ancient African word meaning "humanity to others," or "I am what I am because of who we all are."

Put Live TV On Your Web Site, Blog, Or Home Page

2007-03-19T20:22:00.000-07:00

Ever wonder if your Web site, blog or Google Personalized Home Page is missing something important? If you don't have any free Google Gadgets to spice it up, it probably is. Give your readers the opportunity to watch TV from a live TV channel on your Web page or blog with the free Live TV Gadget. Or you can watch TV yourself on your Google Personalized Home Page if you don't have a Web site or blog.

Take a look at a few examples of Web sites with the Live TV Gadget, Maine Television Stations and Calf Killer Old Time Radio.

Database Tips Blog

2007-03-19T20:12:00.000-07:00

This blog tends to be more generic in order to appeal to mainstream computer users. I decided to branch off with a blog on database tips because I realize that many of my readers (at least the ones from the newsgroups, where I'm known to give free technical advice) are looking for database tips, but a database-oriented blog would bore the majority of my other readers. So if you're interested in computer software, the Internet, and security in general, as well as the free things I find on the Internet, please continue to read this blog, Data Devil Dog. If you're interested in databases, specifically Microsoft Access and the things one can do with Access when connected to other popular database engines, such as Oracle, SQL Server and MySQL, please read my other blog, Database Tips.

Free Online Dating

2007-03-16T11:56:00.000-07:00

(This is a sponsored post.)

Markus Frind, CEO of PlentyOfFish.com, the largest free online dating Web site has recently decided to change the direction of his Web site in order to grow it to the next level, possibly embracing the social network's tactics of creating a full-fledged online community for users, since he sees the social networks as glorified dating sites that are responsible for the 20% decline in online dating sites' traffic in 2006. In case you don't recognize Markus Frind's name, he's the Internet millionaire who showed off his nearly CAN$1 million monthly check from Google AdSense ads on his Web site last year. He runs his Web site from his apartment and he has only one employee, so he doesn't have to distribute his profits to a large staff's salaries.

Frind's change of direction will leave a gap for smaller fish, such as JustSayHi.com, who will quickly fill it. JustSayHi.com is a no-frills, free Web site for online dating, just like PlentyOfFish.com, where members join together in a forum to get to know one another. Members of Just Say Hi want to keep the community as a high quality site that is fun to be a member of. They police themselves and don't allow any disrespectful or crude posts from any member. After all, there are PlentyOfFish in the sea, so it's best to make the site attractive to them, not repulsive. Certainly the free price at JustSayHi.com is much more attractive than the $30 per month Match.com charges or the $25 per month Yahoo! Personals charges.

Searching For A Cell Phone Plan

2007-03-14T01:45:00.000-07:00

(This is a sponsored post.)

My parents have been travelling the length of California this week to visit relatives, including me. They weren't sure how long they'd stay at my sister's house, but they planned to give me a call to let me know if they were going to arrive Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday afternoon. Tuesday at dinnertime I heard a knock on my door. My parents had arrived. I was very happy to see them, but I was surprised that they hadn't called. My Mom explained, "I tried to call after we left, but wouldn't you know it? My cell phone battery was already dead. I just bought a new battery for it, but if I don't recharge it the full 5 1/2 hours every night, it quickly loses its juice. I need a new cell phone that isn't so power hungry."

Of course, a new cell phone means a new cell phone plan to go with it. As I'm the "techie" in the family, my Mom looks to me for advice. Since I'm not familiar with cell phone plans other than the ones available for the cell phone I used to have, I had to check the Internet for other cell phone service providers to compare the options available. Wirefly Mobile makes it easy to comparison shop with the major cell phone service providers, Cingular Wireless, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless, Sprint, Nextel, Alltell Wireless, and Disney Mobile, as well as other national and specialty cell phone carriers. Wirefly has the Wireless Wizard to help one decide the best cell phone plan to fit one's needs. Just type in your ZIP code on this Web page to start the process.

Whereas I would need text messaging, data capabilities, and low minutes because I don't want to pay for minutes I'm never going to use, my Mom's needs are simpler: a cell phone plan that offers lots of minutes, but none of the extra services and capabilities she'll never use. Wirefly Mobile shows the most popular cell phone plans by price and minutes, so I can see at a glance which cell phone carriers' plans my Mom would likely be interested in.

Many of the plans include free cell phones, which can save you hundreds of dollars over other carriers' cell phone plans, so it pays to compare all of one's options. I found Wirefly's Resources Web page to be especially helpful when explaining to my Mom the various featues available in case she wanted more than "just a cell phone."

U.S. Loses An Hour, Gains 2 Days For Taxes

2007-03-12T17:02:00.000-07:00

If you're located in the U.S. in one of the states that observes Daylight Savings, you lost an hour on Sunday a few weeks earlier than normal, thanks to new legislation by Congress. And if you're a U.S. taxpayer, you have two extra days to file your Federal tax return, thanks to recent legislation in the District of Columbia.

When Tax Day, April 15th, falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the next business day is the deadline for filing one's taxes. Normally, this would be Monday, 16 April '07, but this year that's a legal holiday in Washington, D.C. It's Emancipation Day, a holiday that the IRS wasn't aware of when their IRS forms for 2007 went to print. Even though your tax forms state that the tax filing deadline is April 16th, you have until April 17th to file your Federal return.

Use the extra 47 hours wisely.

And don't forget that some of the tax software suites offer free tax preparation and free E-filing of your Federal tax returns, including TurboTax and TaxAct, and several others. And all taxpayers who earned less than $52,000 (adjusted gross income) in 2006 may E-file their Federal tax returns for free.

Keep Your Web Browsing Habits Private

2007-03-10T19:04:00.000-08:00

Did you know that the search engines keep track of your search history via cookies and their massive databases? The search engines collect and store information on your searches and attach them to your IP address, and if you're logged into one of their services, this information is also attached to your online identity. To avoid this tracking of your Web surfing, read Preston Gralla's article, "Seven ways to keep your search history private."

Also beware if you have installed Internet Explorer 7. If you turn on the "phishing filter" tool, the URL's you visit will be sent to Microsoft. According to IE7's help:

"When you use Phishing Filter to check websites automatically or manually, the address of the website you are visiting will be sent to Microsoft, together with some standard information from your computer such as your computer's IP address, browser type, and Phishing Filter version number. To help protect your privacy, the address information sent to Microsoft is encrypted using SSL and limited to the domain and path of the website you are visiting. Other information that might be associated with the web address, such as search terms, information you entered in forms, or cookies, will not be sent."

Is This A Scam?

2007-03-10T15:55:00.000-08:00

When something sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Less than 3 1/2 hours after receiving my first ever payment through PayPal, I received a message through that same E-mail address from what appears to be a phishing scheme. It's probably just a coincidence that this message was sent so soon after doing business with one of the sponsors of this blog, because my PayPal E-mail address, while very new, is also embedded in Web pages for a PayPal button on a Web site that has had more than 3,400 visitors in the week since I placed the button on those Web pages. Any one of those visitors (which includes bots) could have harvested my PayPal E-mail address.

From: WaMu [customer@email-wamu.com]
Sent: Thu 3/8/2007 10:51 PM
Subj: Washington Mutual OnlineSM $20 Reward Survey.

Dear Valued Customer,

CONGRATULATIONS !!!

You have been chosen by the Washington Mutual online department to take part in our quick and easy 5 question survey. In return we will credit $20 to your account - Just for your time!

Helping us better understand how our customers feel benefits everyone. With the information collected we can decide to direct a number of changes to improve and expand our online service.
The information you provide us is all non-sensitive and anonymous - No part of it is handed down to any third party groups.
It will be stored in our secure database for maximum of 3 days while we process the results of this nationwide survey.

We kindly ask you to spare two minutes of your time in taking part with this unique offer!

To Continue click on the link below:

http://www.wamu.com/secure/online.wamu.com/IdentityManagement/index.html?Washington-Mutual-survey

Many Thanks and Kind Regards - Washington Mutual Bank Customer Department

A few notes are in order:

1. The domain, email-wamu.com, supposedly their customer service address, doesn't exist.

2. I'm not a Washington Mutual bank customer, nor have I ever been one.

3. The time sent precedes the time received by more than six hours (Recv: Fri 3/9/2007 5:04 AM PST), which means their system clock is either way off or else they initiated the E-mail in the time zone that includes Guam and the eastern-most parts of Asia and Australia.

4. The clickable link in the E-mail (I removed this when I pasted it into this blog post) actually contains the following URL:

http://72.18.74.130/wamu20/online.wamu.com/IdentityManagement

While it appears that the domain is WaMu.com (Washington Mutual, a legitimate bank), that's not where the browser will open the Web page, because the IP address is used for the URL. Therefore, the browser won't use the DNS server to find the current IP address of WaMu.com. It will open the default Web page in the wamu20/online.wamu.com/IdentityManagement directory on the Web server at the 72.18.74.130 IP address. That IP address belongs to TexLink Communications (TexLink.com), which is a Texas communications carrier for small and medium businesses. No doubt the scammers have an account on TexLink's Web server.

This is one of those times when we receive the warning, "Don't click on the links in an E-mail from someone you don't know!" and we should heed that warning.

Free Starbucks Coffee 15 March 2007

2007-03-10T15:36:00.000-08:00

Starbucks is celebrating their Second Annual Coffee Break. Stop by any Starbucks between 10 AM and 12 noon on Thursday, 15 March '07 and get a free 12-ounce (Tall) cup of coffee:

"All company-operated and licensed Starbucks stores in the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia and Greater China will be giving away free Tall (12-ounce) cups of coffee to anyone who drops by."

Test Your Memory

2007-03-10T15:30:00.000-08:00

If you have time to kill while online, here's a Web site full of games to test your memory. One can even play some of them with a mobile device.

The "Gotta Have" Extensions If You Have Firefox

2007-03-10T14:49:00.000-08:00

If you have the award-winning (and free!) Firefox Web browser installed on you computer (or you are thinking about installing it), ComputerWorld.com has compiled a list of the 20 free Firefox extensions you gotta have to customize it. I don't know how they left out the NoScript security add-on (winner of the "2006 PC World World Class Award" that prevents JavaScripts, Java or other executable code from running without your permission) or the AdBlock Plus add-on (prevents ads from being downloaded to your computer) from their list, but they did. You can download these free add-ons from Mozilla.com at the links I've provided.

Microsoft's WGA Gift Keeps Coming Back

2007-03-09T19:27:00.000-08:00

If you are running Windows XP, did you notice the Automatic Updates offered you the Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) Notifications application again a few weeks ago, despite your choosing not to download it and not be reminded every time it's available? (The WGA is the pesky application that Microsoft uses to check whether or not your Windows XP installation is pirated, and phones home via your Internet connection without your permission to keep checking if your Windows XP license is still not a pirated copy. But at least with Windows XP, one has a choice of whether or not the WGA application gets downloaded and installed. Vista users have WGA built into the operating system.)

According to David Lazar, director of Microsoft's Genuine Windows program, each time the WGA application is updated, it will be reoffered again for download, and there's no way to refuse it altogether by permanently removing it from the Windows Update list. This application gets updated every 90 to 120 days, so expect to be asked to download and install the WGA application again around June. And September. And December. And . . . forever.

And if you decide to allow it to install just to be rid of the annoyance of being reminded every three or four months to download and install the WGA, be aware that Microsoft has removed the ability to uninstall it from your PC by hacking the Windows Registry.

Free And Legal BitTorrents

2007-03-08T22:26:00.000-08:00

Now that BitTorrent.com is renting its wares at $1.99 for TV episodes and $2.99 to $3.99 for movies that expire 24 hours after you start watching them or within 30 days of the download, it seems that there's no such thing as a free lunch when it comes to our favorite movies downloaded from the Internet.

Or is there? Free and legal Web sites that use BitTorrent technology can be found if one knows where to look. NewTeeVee.com published a list of 10 Web sites that offer free and legal BitTorrent downloads, so you can hold off on getting that Windows PC and installing Microsoft's Windows Media Player 11, which is the only operating system and video playing technology the DRM videos BitTorrent.com downloads can use.

Making Money On The Internet, Update 5

2007-03-07T19:19:00.000-08:00

Blogsvertise.com approved my two ads this morning, so I'll be paid $10 via PayPal in 30 days. In case you're interested, Blogsvertise is exhibiting at the SES NY at the Hilton in Manhatten, which is a major search engine tradeshow. You can attend the exhibitor-only area free if you register online beforehand. Stop by the Blogsvertise.com booth (#2016) and say, "Hi!" and pick up a free T-shirt just for showing up.

Google's AdSense approved my account at lunchtime today, so I've added them to my list of revenue streams in the right sidebar under "Online Revenue Streams," and I'll get busy figuring out how to add their advertisements to the layout. I've already read through Google's terms of service and agreements, and they authorize me to report the gross amounts earned through Google's AdSense, but not such things as click-through rates (which I had no intention of reporting anyway). So I'll tally up the earnings from Google's AdSense with any other revenue streams I get approved for so that readers can compare the amounts earned.

Free Samsung i607 BlackJack Smartphone

2007-03-06T21:16:00.000-08:00

Shopping for a Smartphone? Purchase the Samsung i607 BlackJack Smartphone at Amazon.com by 31 Mar. '07 and activate the service with Cingular, and with the rebates, you'll get it for free plus either a penny or $25.01 in your pocket, depending upon when you purchase the phone and whether or not you activate a service plan of $39.99 or higher. The rebates are $50 from Cingular and $25 from Amazon.com. The $25 rebate from Amazon.com expires 7 Mar. '07, but each week for the past month a new rebate has been issued. That doesn't guarantee that another $25 rebate will be issued starting 8 Mar. '07, so you'd probably better not wait too long to make your purchase.

As always, restrictions apply.

Free Traffic Camera On Your Mobile Phone

2007-03-06T20:19:00.000-08:00

How many times have you been stuck in New York traffic thinking that if you'd only known traffic was going to be this bad, you would have taken another route? Never let this happen to you again! (If you live in the New York metro tri-state area and have the right mobile device, that is.) Download the WCBS Video Cellmate service's traffic camera to your cell phone, Blackberry, or Palm Treo, and you can check traffic conditions while you're on the road. You'll see live, real-time video images, not just maps of the highways with warnings that traffic is "slow as molasses in winter."

BMW is sponsoring WCBS Video Cellmate as a free service of WCBS 880. This free service is powered by 3rd Dimension Technology, and it's available to "cell phone subscribers with data plans on Sprint, Cingular and T-Mobile, as well as Blackberry and Palm Treo users on any network, including Verizon," according to the Free Traffic Cam Web site. Check the list of mobile devices that can support the service to see if yours is on it.

No word yet on when they'll expand the free service to other metro areas.

Making Money On The Internet, Update 4

2007-03-06T14:11:00.000-08:00

(This is a sponsored post.)

Another good way to make money on the Internet is to sell merchandise online, but that requires either a merchant account or a business/merchant PayPal account to accept credit cards over the Internet, because people don't want to write checks for online purchases. I checked out AdvantageProcessors.com, and it seems that online Web sites are considered high risk merchant accounts. That makes sense, because you don't have the luxury of seeing the purchaser eyeball to eyeball on the Web. If you see the buyer in person and he's wearing tattoos and leather motorcycle gear, yet he's purchasing goods with a credit card and drivers license that has the name and picture of a female Sunday School teacher on it, you'd think something was fishy and refuse to accept the credit card. So selling online can certainly be riskier than selling from a walk-in establishment.

AdvantageProcessors.com has a list of helpful tutorials to help new merchants get started and manage common problems, such as chargebacks. AdvantageProcessors.com advertises competitive pricing and low credit card transaction rates, but one needs to apply for a merchant account before finding out what those rates are.

Making Money On The Internet, Update 3

2007-03-06T13:22:00.000-08:00

(This is a sponsored post.)

I found another Web advertising network called DClickAds.com, which apparently includes both Web sites and blogs as ad publishers, too. A BlogSpot.com URL is listed in one of the Publisher's Profiles displayed on the home page. (The profiles probably rotate so you may not see a BlogSpot.com URL if you look right now.) The Web site ages for each profile are listed in years, so perhaps new blogs such as this one may not be eligible. On the other hand, it's a new advertising network, so they may be willing to work with newcomers.

The ad publishers get to choose what to charge and whether to display banner ads, text link ads, or embedded link ads (which suits me because I'd rather avoid those distracting banner ads). Ad publishers also choose the methodology for the advertisement, whether it be pay-per-click or by time frame, either by the week or by the month. So there's enough flexibility for everyone.

DClickAds.com requires a download and install of their ad placement software, and the Web site hosting the ads must support PHP 4 or ASP/Windows. I suspect this may conflict with Google's AdSense guidelines about other similar ads on the same Web page, but it's hard to tell at this stage.

It's also hard to tell how the ad publishers get paid, because on this page they mention that payment is by check, which will be mailed 30 days after the ad campaign ends or the click count is reached, while on the FAQ page, they explicitly state that they only support Webmasters through PayPal.

Making Money On The Internet, Update 2

2007-03-06T12:26:00.000-08:00

Blogsvertise.com approved my account early this morning, so that's good news. And it was fast, too. A very short wait. The approval letter mentions that I need to log into my account and post a picture that they randomly display on their Web site. I suspect this is so that other members can get an idea that there are real people behind the tasks, not some automated script. I tried uploading a photo, but their script doesn't work.

I'll keep you posted on what happens next. I added an item on the sidebar on the right for this blog titled "Online Revenue Streams." It will list revenues earned and paid thus far to let you compare the various revenue streams available. Blogsvertise is the only ad network I've been approved for as yet, but hopefully others will approve me, too. Google's AdSense has a very large queue, so I expect it will be a much longer wait for the approval or disapproval.

Making Money On The Internet, Update 1

2007-03-05T21:12:00.000-08:00

I submitted this blog to Google AdSense as an ad publisher, and they'll get back to me in a few days with either an approval or disapproval notification. I'll keep you informed of the outcome.

I also submitted this blog, as well as two other Web sites I'm the Webmaster of, to text-link-ads.com as an ad publisher. Of course, with fewer than 400 visitors per month, I didn't expect this blog to be accepted, but the two Web sites I submitted have considerably more traffic. One is three years old with nearly 400 visitors per day, more than 850 page views per day, and nearly 700 inbound links. For every submission, I received the following reply within a minute:

"Thanks for your submission!

"We are sorry but your site has not been accepted into our publisher program at this time. The main reason for websites not being accepted is because of our minimum traffic and link popularity requirements. Please do note that we do reevaluate all submissions monthly and will notify you via email as soon as you are accepted. Hopefully soon!

"In the meantime you are invited into our affiliate program. You can display text links or banner ads on your properties and earn $25 everytime someone you refer to TLA makes a purchase or is accepted into our publishing program."

So much for text-link-ads.com. They aren't interested in small potatoes, but at least they don't keep you waiting for their answer.

I also submitted this blog to Blogsvertise.com as an ad publisher. It was the first one I found that didn't require the blog to be at least three months old. Unfortunately, when I started my blog, the new Blogger was just coming online and I didn't want to get involved with all the bugs in a beta release, so I started my blog elsewhere. However, I wasn't getting any traffic and none of the search engines had indexed the blog, either, so I migrated it to the new Blogger in the middle of January, where it was indexed nine days later and I started getting search engine traffic.

Like most of the other programs I checked out, Blogsvertise's program only pays through PayPal. One thing I noticed is that their rules are inconsistent regarding how much is written in the blog, since the Publisher's Rules require approximately 75 words or more, while Blogsvertise's advertisers are told that the blogger's post will be at least 60 words.

According to the message I received after I created an account on their Web site, I should only have to wait 24 hours before I find out if this blog has been approved or rejected. So I'll let you know of that outcome fairly soon, too.

How Much Is Your Domain Worth?

2007-03-05T07:50:00.000-08:00

If you're a Web site owner, do you know how much your domain is worth? Based upon the age of the domain, traffic, page rank, inbound links, and indexed pages with the major search engines, dnScoop.com can provide an estimate of its dollar value. Here's mine:

My Site is worth
$1,320,088

How much is your site worth?

Take the value with a grain of salt, though, since no one is likely to write a check for that amount. (It appears that the price tag comes from the BlogSpot.com domain, not my little corner of it.)

The free online tool provides links to the online references where it gets its data from, so you can see for yourself who's linking to your site, what the page rank is, how many Web pages from your site are indexed by the major search engines, and the estimated value of placing a single text link ad on the site. The tool even provides the HTML script to show off the dollar value of your site, as shown above.

Update (10 Mar. '07): Here's another site, Sootle.com, that just uses link popularity (retrieved via Yahoo!'s API) to calculate your Web site's value. The numbers seem to be more realistic, if a little disappointing. If you link to their Web page as I have with their graphic, they'll update the current value every 24 hours.

This website is worth
What is your website worth?

Free Download: Sid Meier's Railroad Tycoon

2007-03-05T07:30:00.000-08:00

After 16 years, Sid Meier's Railroad Tycoon computer game is available for a free download. It comes bundled with DOSBox, a DOS emulator, as well as the player's manual and reference cards. It's only 14.2 MB.

If you're a fan of Empire Builder, Iron Dragon, EuroRails, British Rails, Nippon Rails, or Rail Baron, you'll love this game. No broken crayons or lost playing pieces!

Making Money On The Internet

2007-03-04T11:40:00.000-08:00

You see Google AdSense ads practically everywhere you go on the Internet. Ever wonder how much money the top Google AdSense moneymakers make? They make oodles and oodles of money. Monthly. Doubt me? Read John Chow's article on Google's biggest Ad breadwinners who have shown proof of their incomes.

Google doesn't disclose to ad publishers what percentage of the ad revenues they're getting. Google's pitch is "Sign up and find out how much you'll make!" because they don't have much competition from the other big guys yet, such as Yahoo! and MSN. Yahoo!'s new Yahoo Publisher Network (beta) has a chance to grab market share from new international Web publishers by revealing how much ad publishers will make. I mention new international Web publishers, because already-established ad publishers will be very reluctant to change over from Google's AdSense due to all of the hassles of making a switch, and those current ad publishers are generally in North America, Google's backyard.

Two major problems with Yahoo!'s YPN are that it's a beta and that they choose which ad publishers get to participate in it. One minor problem (because it's temporary) is Yahoo!'s network of advertisers is much smaller than Google's, limiting income for ad publishers.

Stay tuned over the next several months, because I intend to find out how much can be made on a new blog such as this one, which doesn't have a lot of subscribers and visitors yet and basically has no "Blog Juice" at 0.1 (that's my ranking after nearly three months, 84 posts, more than 1,000 visitors, 5 subscribers, and barely 20 links, according to Yahoo!, so we'll see how it improves -- or slides, as the case may be! -- over time):

Not that I think a small, new blog like this can make much money, but I'm curious as to how much it really is. My guess is $10 - $15 a month -- if I can sell ad space, which may not be possible until this blog is much older and becomes more popular. Please add your comments, whether you think I'm off the mark -- or not.

One-Click Subscription To Bloglines

2007-03-04T11:34:00.000-08:00

If you're visiting a Web page or blog that is RSS-capable, you can subscribe to the RSS feed with your free Bloglines account with just one easy click of the big orange RSS button in your browser.

* If you have Firefox 2.0, this feature is already built in. (Sorry. Earlier versions of Firefox aren't capable of using this technology.)

* If you have Internet Explorer 7, you need the free Bloglines plug-in. (Sorry. Earlier versions of IE aren't capable of using this technology.)

Other free services available with your Bloglines account

1. If you're tracking a package that's been shipped via UPS, FedEx, the U.S. Postal Service, or DHL, add the package tracking number on this Web page (log in required), then subscribe to it to easily track it.

2. If you need disposable E-mail addresses to apply for free offers (or when you just don't want to give out your real E-mail address), "subscribe" to a disposable E-mail address inside your Bloglines account. Any mail sent to that E-mail address will show up as a new item under that subscription on your list of feeds. "Unsubscribe" to that subscription when you no longer need it, and the disposable E-mail address will no longer receive any messages.

3. Create your own Bloglines blog, where you can write on any topic you wish, any time you wish.

Get Things Done With GTDGmail

2007-03-02T18:14:00.000-08:00

Finding it hard to get organized? If you have a Gmail account and use the Firefox Web browser, download the free GTDGmail extension to help you get things done through Gmail. With GTDGmail, you can:

See at a glance which tasks are unfinished.
Quickly and easily organize tasks with labels to categorize items into Contexts, Status, Projects and References.
Save specialized searches to query your GTD tasks.
Compose tasks and references, then send them to your Inbox.
Print tasks on 3 x 5 cards and take them with you (suitable for a Hipster PDA).
Use plenty of keyboard shortcuts to quickly organize the tasks.

For more information, see the GTDGmail Web page.

Beginner Developer Learning Center

2007-03-01T20:01:00.000-08:00

Microsoft has centralized its free tools and free tutorials for new software developers as the "Beginner Developer Learning Center." If you're ready to start learning how to program for the Windows desktop or the Web, then Microsoft has the beginner tools for you.

If you're interested in designing Windows applications, download and install Microsoft's Visual Studio Express Editions, then get started with the lessons.

If you're interested in designing Web applications, download and install Microsoft's Visual Web Developer Express Edition or Microsoft's Visual Studio Express Editions, then get started with the lessons and the Starter Kits.

The lessons run about 20 to 40 minutes each and consist of video/audio, hands-on labs, and written documentation.

Book List For Access 2007

2007-02-28T18:49:00.000-08:00

The book list for Access 2007 is out for the books already published and those that will be published in the near future. Whether you need a comprehensive reference, such as "Microsoft Office Access 2007 Inside Out," by Microsoft Access MVP's (Most Valuable Professionals) Jeff Conrad (AKA "The Access Junkie") and John Viescas, or you're a beginner and need "Access 2007 for Starters: The Missing Manual," or you're an experienced developer and you need the "Access 2007 VBA Programmer's Reference" to give you the edge, you'll find a wide variety of choices in the list of 13 books on Microsoft Office Access 2007 listed on Microsoft's Access Blog.

Offer Search On Your Web Site, Part 2

2007-02-24T18:04:00.000-08:00

If you have a big Web site or a blog you've been writing pages and posts on for a long time, chances are it's hard to find the brilliant thoughts you've written unless visitors use a search engine. Make it easy for your visitors to find your important information by adding a free Yahoo! Search Engine on your Web site or blog. Customize the look on the search results page to match your Web site or blog and add Yahoo!'s powerful search analysis tools. It's free.

Offer Search On Your Web Site, Part 1

2007-02-24T17:55:00.000-08:00

Even with links to Web pages or blog entries from a central "table of contents," sometimes it's hard for new visitors to find information on your Web site or blog. If you just want a simple search box, head over to Yahoo! Search Builder and let the builder quickly create the HTML code for you to paste on your Web page or blog. Now that's easy!

12 Quick Productivity Improvements

2007-02-24T17:09:00.000-08:00

Does your IT organization need additional "visibility" to show its value? IT may not contribute to the bottom line, but it saves costs by improving workers' productivity. It's true value is often overlooked, because it's hard to put a dollar sign on the additional revenues earned due to IT's productivity gains.

But it doesn't have to take a lot of effort or Olympic Committee planning to show IT's value to the organization's productivity. Dan Tynan has excellent suggestions for quickly improving the organization's productivity in his article, "12 quick IT productivity wins," such as:

1. Stop losing, start finding
2. Meet less, work more
3. Use IM (with caution)
4. Free up your help desk
5. Get the news you need
6. Get a handle on your projects
7. Stop micromanaging
8. Double your displays
9. Give your WAN a boost
10. Play the game — literally
11. Look for easy ways to integrate
12. Think strategy, not tactics

Why BloggerBotIsDead And What To Do About It

2007-02-23T08:00:00.000-08:00

If you're looking for information on why BloggerBotIsDead and the best alternatives, then please follow my link to my blog post's page, because the recommended alternatives have problems you should know about and no one else is reporting on them.

Simulate Access 2007 Runtime Mode

2007-02-23T07:55:00.000-08:00

An old trick to prevent users from making changes to a database's design is to use the /runtime switch when opening the database file. Access 2007 has a new trick to do the same thing. Change the ACCDB extension to ACCDR. The user will be able to open the database in runtime mode -- without having to specify the /runtime switch or have the Access Runtime version installed. The UI Ribbon and navigation pane will be missing when the database file opens, so ensure that you make alternate arrangements in your database application design with custom UI Ribbons if necessary.

Announcing Google Apps Premium Edition

2007-02-23T07:42:00.000-08:00

Move over Microsoft Office 2007, Google Apps Premium Edition is now on the scene, and for a whole lot less money. Google is charging customers $50 a year for the online software that includes E-mail, word processing, spreadsheet, calendar, Web publishing, and chat. These applications don't reside on one's computer, but on the Internet from Google's Web servers, so an Internet connection and Web browser are required. One of the downsides (and there are many) is that there is no PowerPoint software application equivalent in the Google Apps suite of office tools.

Google invites you to try Google Apps Premier Edition for free through April 30th, 2007. Compare the features of the Premier Edition with the free edition.

See Google Apps FAQ for more information.

SQL Server 2005 Express SP-2 Available

2007-02-20T12:28:00.000-08:00

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 SP-2 is available for download, which means the free edition, SQL Server 2005 Express Edition SP-2 is also available for free download. The BOL has also been updated, as well as SQL Server Management Studio Express, the samples, and SQL Server 2005 Feature Pack. All of these are free downloads available from links on the same page as I listed above.

The SQL Server 2005 Express Edition is 36.5 MB, the SQL Server Management Studio Express is 43.1 MB, and the BOL is 135.0 MB. Hopefully, you have broadband, not dial-up Internet access.

Scam Alert: Drive-By Pharming

2007-02-17T21:24:00.000-08:00

Symantec's security expert, Zulfikar Ramzan, in conjunction with two professors, Sid Stamm and Markus Jakobsson, at the Indiana University School of Informatics, has produced a proof-of-concept JavaScript Web application that, if disseminated in the wild, would mean that one only need visit a malicious Web page to be attacked and have account User ID's and passwords swiped. No malware is installed, so the user wouldn't even be aware that an attack had occurred. This special method of attack is called "drive-by pharming," and you need to know about it.

The attack is aimed at broadband users whose Internet connection is routed through a router before connecting to the user's computer. The malicious Web application changes the DNS (Domain Name Service) server setting for the router (which requires the router's password -- and half the time people don't change the default password!), so that when the user types in the URL for a bank, the router requests the IP address of the desired URL from the attacker's DNS server, not the DNS server it's supposed to get the address from. Of course, the attacker's DNS server has been set up to return the wrong IP addresses for certain banking and credit card institutions' Web sites, which just so happen to be the IP addresses for the attacker's bogus Web sites that look just like the real thing. The user types in his User ID and password at the bogus Web site and . . . bingo! The attacker has all he needs to transfer money out of the real bank account.

It's easy enough to protect yourself from this scam by changing the default password on your router, so that no one can change its settings without your knowledge. Here is a list of the most common routers and links to the manufacturers' Web sites to find out how to change your router's password.

For more information about this scam, including a short video explaining it in more detail, please follow this link.

Get It Done with Access

2007-02-16T21:19:00.000-08:00

Need some tutorials to figure out how to use Access for your database tasks? Microsoft has some online tutorials showing how to get it done with Access. So far the online tutorials are:

Basing one combo box on another
Shading alternate rows in a report
Multiple column reports
Eliminating unwanted blank lines in labels and reports
Counting in reports
Summing in reports
Using parameters with queries and reports
On time and how much has elapsed

If you don't see a tutorial you're interested in, send your question to msaccess@microsoft.com, and Microsoft will answer as many questions as possible in future tutorials.

Gmail Is Free To Anyone

2007-02-14T21:37:00.000-08:00

Did you hear the news? Google decided to share the love on Valentine's Day and announced that anyone may sign up for a free Gmail account, without an invite, without a mobile phone, and without a U.S.-accredited school .edu E-mail address. So now you don't have to follow the instructions I posted 27 Jan. '07 on how to get a free Gmail account, no strings attached. Life just got easier for those who want a spam-free inbox.

And in case you're thinking it's no big deal about a Web E-mail provider, PCWorld voted Google's Gmail #2 in its "The 100 Best Products of 2005," right behind the Mozilla Firefox browser. So go see what you've been missing if you don't already have a Gmail account.

Free Antivirus And Anti-Spyware, Part 2

2007-02-12T19:31:00.000-08:00

As I reported in Part 1, once upon a time savvy computer users didn't require antivirus and anti-spyware software, but with today's hacker-infested Internet and slimy virus-dripping and worm-crawling E-mails just waiting to catch us off guard, everyone needs antivirus and anti-spyware software.

AntiVir PersonalEdition Classic

Avira's free AntiVir PersonalEdition Classic has a small impact on system resources, including a small 34 MB file size and only three running processes. It provides typical antivirus services, such as scanning drives and right-click capability to scan individual directories and files.

When tested, AntiVir PersonalEdition Classic detected 100% of in the wild viruses and 85% of zoo viruses. It also claimed two false positives. According to Mary Landesman, About.com's guide to antivirus software, Avira's AntiVir was one of the first five antivirus vendors to release antivirus updates five times during a prolific virus outbreak period, which included 26 outbreaks. AntiVir PersonalEdition Classic does not detect or remove spyware or adware. However, the paid versions do.

Free Antivirus And Anti-Spyware, Part 1

2007-02-12T18:40:00.000-08:00

It used to be that savvy computer users didn't require antivirus and anti-spyware software because they could avoid viruses and spyware by never opening E-mail attachments from unknown senders and avoiding disreputable Web sites. But no more. Everyone needs antivirus and anti-spyware software to protect their computers. This doesn't have to be expensive. Some antivirus and anti-spyware vendors offer free versions of their products, and I'll cover some of the most notable or popular ones.

AVG Free Edition

According to Mary Landesman, About.com's guide to antivirus software, "AVG has been certified to remove 100% of in-the-wild viruses -- but results with zoo viruses are a low 81% and those same tests resulted in 11 false positives (detection of viruses in non-infected, legitimate files)." Even so, the AVG Free Edition is still fairly popular, since earlier tests may not reflect today's environment, and AVG Free Edition takes up few computer resources to do the job.

AVG Antivirus And Anti-Spyware for Windows XP, 2000, NT, ME, and 98 are available as free downloads from GRISOFT.

Optimize Your Windows Registry

2007-02-11T20:25:00.000-08:00

Over time, Windows operating systems can become sluggish and slow to boot and load programs, even though the hard disk has plenty of disk space and has been defragged -- and there's plenty of memory. The culprit? A bloated Windows Registry, due to installs and uninstalls of software, hardware, and drivers, and repeated changes in Registry settings. A slow computer isn't the only symptom of a sick Windows Registry. Occasionally, something goes wrong and errors are saved in the Registry, which may result in applications to not responding, or the computer freezing, or even system crashes.

The old-fashioned remedy was to format the hard drive and reinstall the operating system and software applications, a time-consuming chore. A better method to is to clean up the Windows Registry by removing the unwanted junk and correcting any Registry errors. Many products that clean up and optimize the Windows Registry are on the market, and some are free, like RegCure, which is available for a free download for a limited time only.

Update (19 Feb. '07): The free download will scan your computer for all problems, but it only offers to fix two limited areas, fonts and file associations. For a price of US$29.95, the rest of the problems will be fixed. Therefore, for being so bogus in its meaning of the term "free download and scan," RegCure's link has been removed from this blog. There are other products out there that don't try to pull a "bait and switch" scam, so one would be better off spending money on those products, not RegCure's. Sorry for my misguidance.

Update (2 Mar. '07): It seems RegCure is a scam by many accounts and user reviews. People have reported RegCure finds as many as 1,100 errors, RegCure cleans them, yet subsequent RegCure scans still find errors! RegCure has picked up on its unpopularity and the power of search engines to draw its customers. If you Google for "RegCure scam," many of the links (and especially the sponsored links!) redirect you straight to RegCure's "free" download page!

If you've been scammed by RegCure, try contacting ClickBank customer service if you purchased the product online through them. If that doesn't work, ask your credit card company for a charge-back.

Opera 9.1 Web Browser Available

2007-02-09T17:28:00.000-08:00

The free Opera 9.1 Web Browser is now available for download. The improved security of Opera supports SSL version 3 and 256-bit encryption, provides pop-up blocking and fraud protection against phishing sites, and it clears the history and cache when exiting, protecting your privacy. Version 9 has new features, such as BitTorrent download linkers, a content blocker (for unwanted ads and images), individual site preferences management, thumbnail previews, widget Web applications, and more.

Opera sports loads of features, such as the built-in POP/IMAP E-mail client is a combination E-mail program, news reader, mailing list organizer and RSS/Atom newsfeed reader. It also includes tabbed browsing, a file transfer manager, password manager, fast-forward, and "mouse gestures" (where certain mouse movements launch commonly used features). Opera even includes voice features, which allow you to talk to it to operate its features, or to have documents read aloud to you. How's that for automation?

Security At Public Wi-Fi Hot Spots

2007-02-08T19:23:00.000-08:00

You're at an airport waiting for a connecting flight with an hour to kill before it arrives. You see a public Wi-Fi hot spot and decide to fire up your laptop. Why not? It's a free connection to the Internet. Right?

Wait! Public Wi-Fi hot spots are an invitation to "come hack me"! Public Wi-Fi hot spots are becoming more and more commonplace in airports, hotels, restaurants, and even public libraries. However, while public Wi-Fi hot spots are convenient, they are also unencrypted, unsecured networks waiting for hackers to come join the party. If you haven't taken steps to secure your laptop from intruders, your User ID's, passwords, and bank account numbers you transmit through that unsecured network -- and any other data on your hard drive -- could be at risk when you connect to those public networks. Read Preston Gralla's article, "How to protect yourself at wireless hot spots," to learn what steps to take to put up the barricades that hackers can't peek through.

Put Windows Vista Under Your Thumb

2007-02-08T19:07:00.000-08:00

Don't have Windows Vista installed on your computer yet? You probably will -- sooner than you think. According to Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft, Windows Vista is expected to "be adopted five times faster than Windows 95 and twice as fast as Windows XP in the next three months." If you're a power user, you'll need to tweak the defaults and features to get it under your control. Read Preston Gralla's article, "Five Ways to Bend Windows Vista to Your Will," to learn the first things you need to do after installing Windows Vista or buying a new computer with Windows Vista already installed.

Customize The Office 2007 UI Ribbon, Part 4

2007-02-05T17:30:00.000-08:00

Not too keen on writing code to customize the Microsoft Office 2007 UI Ribbon? Fear not. Microsoft Office OneNote MVP Patrick Schmid created a tool for the job, the RibbonCustomizer add-in for Microsoft® Access™, Excel®, Outlook®, PowerPoint®, and Word® 2007. Customize the UI Ribbon with but a few mouse clicks!

Easily customize the UI Ribbon dialog, add groups to the UI Ribbon, switch multiple customizations on and off, or reset tabs to the default with the Starter Edition of the RibbonCustomizer. It even includes pre-defined customizations to get started with.

The Starter Edition is free, and it includes a 30-day free trial of the Professional Edition, which possesses even more features. Requires Windows® XP SP-2, Windows® Server 2003, or Windows® Vista; Microsoft Office® 2007 (no betas); and .NET 2.0 Framework (if not already installed, the 20+ MB file will be downloaded automatically).

Patrick's Web site includes a very detailed tutorial on how to use the RibbonCustomizer, including part 1 and part 2.

Does That File Contain Malware?

2007-02-03T13:58:00.000-08:00

Wondering if the free file you just downloaded has a virus or includes some other malware? VirusTotal offers a free scan of any suspicious files using several antivirus engines. Just upload your files using the SSL connection (or the regular connection if you're not worried about security), and VirusTotal will scan your files with multiple popular antivirus engines and display a report of the results. One may also E-mail multiple files to them and a report will be returned with the results.

The Most Popular Open Source Applications

2007-02-03T11:16:00.000-08:00

Wondering what the most popular free Open Source applications are? With some help from OpenSourceWindows.org, a blogger named Carol compiled a list of the 20 most popular Windows Open Source applications for 2006, and listed the equivalent portable applications. She even has links to Open Source software for the Mac and for Linux. All of these applications are available as free downloads.

Customize The Office 2007 UI Ribbon, Part 3

2007-02-01T18:36:00.000-08:00

Although it's often mentioned that the XML code needed to customize the Microsoft Office 2007 UI Ribbon can easily be written in any text editor, such as NotePad, one should use better software tools for programming. Microsoft Office Access MVP Gunter Avenius's Microsoft Office Access 2007 UI Ribbon tutorial includes links to the free tools needed to easily and quickly develop custom UI Ribbons.

His tutorial is well organized, and includes plenty of good examples which are available for download. It's so well organized that one may use it as a quick (and useful) reference. The examples include code and often show accompanying graphics to illustrate each concept. Includes troubleshooting tips in the FAQ section.

Customize The Office 2007 UI Ribbon, Part 2

2007-02-01T18:14:00.000-08:00

Need to create a custom UI Ribbon for the new Microsoft Office Access 2007? Viki Selca and Clint Covington of Microsoft wrote a tutorial, "Ribbon Extensibility in Access 2007," that shows how to create a custom UI Ribbon using only Ribbon extensibility markup XML and macros.

I know what you're thinking. "Macros are for weenies." But it turns out that the VBA code won't run due to the new security model unless the user has certain settings set. However, macros can be deemed "safe," so that an application can have a guaranteed minimum functionality, even if the VBA code can't run. Microsoft put extra effort into the macros for Access 2007, so that developers can write as little code as possible (or no code) and still have a reasonably functional database application.

Customize The Office 2007 UI Ribbon, Part 1

2007-02-01T17:35:00.000-08:00

Confused by the new UI Ribbons in Microsoft Office 2007, which have replaced the old familiar CommandBars (which were once called menu bars and tool bars)? (You may have noticed that there's no graphical editor to drag 'n drop items onto the UI Ribbons like we can with CommandBars in earlier versions of Office.) Don't know how to customize the UI Ribbon? Fear not. Free tutorials are available.

Frank Rice of Microsoft and Ken Getz of MCW Technologies, LLC, have written a series of three articles to help get you started programming custom UI Ribbons with XML. (No. I'm not kidding.) Those fancy UI Ribbons are done with XML code (at least the part we can customize). Neat, huh?

Frank's and Ken's first article is Customizing the Office (2007) Ribbon User Interface for Developers (Part 1 of 3). This tutorial shows how to customize the the Microsoft Office 2007 user interface (UI) Ribbon.

Frank's and Ken's second article is Customizing the Office (2007) Ribbon User Interface for Developers (Part 2 of 3). This article contains the details on reference material for the controls and method signatures of the UI Ribbon.

Frank's and Ken's third article is Customizing the Office (2007) Ribbon User Interface for Developers (Part 3 of 3). This article contains the UI Ribbon FAQ.

These articles and tutorial apply to the following software products:

Microsoft Office Access 2007
Microsoft Office Excel 2007
Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007
Microsoft Office Outlook 2007
Microsoft Office Word 2007
Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Tools for the 2007 Microsoft Office System
Microsoft Visual Studio 2005

Save Office 2007 files in PDF or XPS Format

2007-01-31T07:47:00.000-08:00

Need to save your Microsoft Office 2007 format files in PDF or XPS format? Get the free Office 2007 "Microsoft Save as PDF or XPS" add-in.

This add-in only works with the following Microsoft Office applications:

Microsoft Office Access 2007
Microsoft Office Excel 2007
Microsoft Office InfoPath 2007
Microsoft Office OneNote 2007
Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007
Microsoft Office Publisher 2007
Microsoft Office Visio 2007
Microsoft Office Word 2007

(Some of these applications also allow sending of PDF and XPS E-mail attachments.)

Requires Windows XP SP-2 or Windows 2003 Server for installation. Microsoft requires validation of a genuine Microsoft Office edition before download is allowed.

Access Developer Extensions 2007 Are Free

2007-01-30T11:53:00.000-08:00

Microsoft Access developers have been complaining forever that the Access Runtime should be free to distribute. Microsoft has finally heard the pleas! When the Access Developer Extensions 2007 are released (scheduled for March 2007), they'll be free to download and redistribute.

That's a cost savings of US$549 (upgrade version) or US$799 (full version) for Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Tools for the Microsoft Office System (VSTO). Most editions of VSTO included the Access Developer Extentions (ADE), which includes the unlimited Access Runtime redistribution license.

In case you don't know what the Access Runtime is, the Runtime is a slightly cut-down version of Access installed on computers that don't have the retail version of Access, so that Access developers can distribute their database applications without the customer having to purchase a retail license for Access for every computer that the database application runs on. What is "slightly cut-down"? It's missing the design capabilities of the retail product, built-in menus, and graphics filters, but is otherwise fully functional for tables, queries, forms, reports, modules, and macros.

Connect To Access 2007 From Pre-2007 DB

2007-01-30T07:43:00.000-08:00

Need to connect to an Access 2007 format database, but don't have Access 2007 installed yet? Or do you need to connect to any other Office 2007 formatted file or to Sharepoint Services and don't have them installed? Download the Data Connectivity Components of the 2007 Office System Driver, which includes the ODBC and OLEDB drivers for the ACE (accdb) and Jet (all versions of mdb) database engines, a driver for Microsoft Office Excel 2007 (xls, xlsx, and xlsb), and a driver for Sharepoint Services.

To connect to an Access 2007 database file without security using OLEDB, use this connection string (all one line):

"Provider=Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0;Data Source=C:\MyDir\MyDB.accdb;Persist Security Info=False;"

To connect to an Access 2007 database file with a database password using OLEDB, use this connection string (all one line):

"Provider=Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0;Data Source=C:\MyDir\MyDB.accdb;Jet OLEDB:Database Password=MyPswd;"

To connect to an Access 2007 database file without security using ODBC, use this connection string (all one line):

"Driver={Microsoft Access Driver (*.mdb, *.accdb)};DBQ=C:\MyDir\MyDB.accdb"

To connect to an Excel 2007 file using ODBC, use this connection string (all one line):

"Driver={Microsoft Excel Driver (*.xls, *.xlsx, *.xlsm, *.xlsb)};DBQ=C:\MyDir\MyFile.xls"

Google Docs And Spreadsheets

2007-01-30T07:27:00.000-08:00

Please note that Yahoo! is linking to this page from the search engine because it doesn't have most of the other 100+ pages of this blog in its index yet.

If you're looking for information on why BloggerBotIsDead and the best alternatives, then please follow my link to my blog post's page, because the recommended alternatives have problems you should know about and no one else is reporting on them.

If you're looking for information on the many ways to safeguard your data, computer, and network for free, then please start on the most recent page of my blog.

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Google Docs And Spreadsheets

Collaborate with your colleagues over the Internet using shared spreadsheets and word documents by using Google's free Docs and Spreadsheets (Beta) Web application. Only you and the folks you select can access these online documents. Upload existing documents or create new ones online, and then share them remotely with your colleagues. The documents are stored securely on Google's servers, so no need to worry about snoops.

Use a Web browser to edit your documents from anywhere: at the office, at home, at school, from a hotel while on travel, or anywhere else one may imagine. Best yet, you and your remote colleagues can share and edit the documents at the same time. Document revisions list who changed what and when to help keep track of multiple collaborators' edits.

Need your own copy? Export a copy of the document to your hard drive. Worried that your spreadsheets and documents on your hard drive may be lost during a data disaster? Store a copy of them online with Google's Docs And Spreadsheets. The convenient auto-save while working online with Google's Docs And Spreadsheets helps prevent data losses due to power outages or Internet disconnections.

This Web application has the look and feel of common Office programs, so they'll be familiar, and productivity won't drop while learning how to use the application. When finished with the document, publish it online as a Web page with a single mouse click. When it's published, choose whether the whole world may view it, or certain people you select may view it, or no one else at all may view it. These documents can even be posted to a blog if desired.

Be warned that the Web application is a bit slow, and of course it's still in beta, so don't expect too much.

Google Analytics

2007-01-29T17:42:00.000-08:00

Wondering how to improve your Web site for your visitors and how to best target your ads? Get free Google Analytics to analyze traffic, such as how visitors weave through your Web site, where any navigational bottlenecks are, determine where your best customers are coming from, and determine which keyword advertising campaigns are the most profitable. It's even integrated with Google Adwords. A number of reports in multiple languages will reveal all of these important points and more to Web site owners.

Newest Version of IrfanView

2007-01-29T17:28:00.000-08:00

The latest version (v3.99) of the widely used IrfanView graphics editor is now out. IrfanView can view, convert, optimize, scan and print graphics. It can create slide shows, play movies, and do much more. It's free for private, non-commercial use or for educational use.

Photo Editor

2007-01-29T17:13:00.000-08:00

Need to fix your digital photos? Retouch photos with free Photobie imaging software. Photobie uses layers, just like PhotoShop, to help edit the photo. Photobie even accepts PhotoShop plug-ins. It also provides a screen capture tool, a simple GIF animator, and a photo framing tool.

The user interface is intuitive and easy to use, but there's also a help forum to get help. Check out the artists' galleries for examples. Photobie isn't a professional photo editing package yet, but its planned upgrades will probably make it one. Photobie has won several awards, including Editor's Picks for FreewareFiles.com and UpToDown.com, and five stars from Software Headlines.

Requires the .Net Framework.

Top 16 Vista Time-Saving Tips

2007-01-29T07:49:00.000-08:00

Microsoft Windows Vista has some radical new features, but it will still be paramount to be as efficient as possible when working with the operating system. Robert Cowart and Brian Knittel wrote an article, "Top 16 Vista Time-Saving Tips," to help maintain productivity. They also work on most earlier versions of Windows, so it's worth a read, even if Vista isn't on the horizon in the near future.

Google Web Accelerator

2007-01-28T17:53:00.000-08:00

Does your Internet connection seem slow? If one has broadband, one expects Web pages to load fairly fast. However, sometimes they don't due to various reasons. Google has a tool that may help alleviate some of those reasons. It's called the Google Web Accelerator. According to Google, "Google Web Accelerator uses various strategies to make your web pages load faster, including:

Sending your page requests through Google machines dedicated to handling Google Web Accelerator traffic.
Storing copies of frequently looked at pages to make them quickly accessible.
Downloading only the updates if a web page has changed slightly since you last viewed it.
Prefetching certain pages onto your computer in advance.
Managing your Internet connection to reduce delays.
Compressing data before sending it to your computer."

Will this speed up a dial-up connection? Probably not. It's a Google Labs project that is designed for broadband connections. It requires Windows XP or 2000 SP-3 operating systems and Internet Explorer 5.5+ or Firefox 1.0+ browsers (or change the proxy settings if using another browser).

Video Series: SQL Server 2005 Express

2007-01-28T07:51:00.000-08:00

Want to learn how to use the free SQL Server 2005 Express Edition? Microsoft's MSDN has 13 free videos for beginners to learn SQL Server 2005 Express. It's not just short clips, either. It's a total of nearly nine hours of instruction to help you learn to build databases and manage them, and to connect to them from other applications. The tutorials are geared for beginner level database administrators, so don't worry if you don't already have some experience.

Google Pages, Part 3

2007-01-27T20:42:00.000-08:00

As I reported in Part 1, Google's Google Page Creator is a free tool to build Web sites that are hosted for free on Google's servers. If you're still deciding whether or not to create a free Web site with Google Pages, please see the following Web pages to help you make your decision.

Help is available for those who need it:

Google pages help

Google pages discussion group

Tips for building your Google Pages Web site

To use Google Page Creator, just visit http://pages.google.com/ and sign in with your Gmail address and password.

Get your Google Pages Web site listed in any of the directories so that others can easily find you:

The unofficial Google Page Creator listings

Google pages links (with detailed descriptions)

LinksBucket

Google pages directory

Google pages search and directory

Need to generate some income? Place ads on your Web site or become an affiliate member and refer customers to businesses who will pay you:

Google pages affiliate programs

Wanna see what others have done with their Google Pages? Check out the reviews of some good sites and not so good sites.

Google Pages, Part 2

2007-01-27T20:28:00.000-08:00

Please note that Google is linking to this page from the search engine because it deleted all other 100+ pages of this blog from its index.

If you're looking for information on why BloggerBotIsDead and the best alternatives, then please follow my link to my blog post's page, because the recommended alternatives have problems you should know about and no one else is reporting on them.

If you're looking for information on the many ways to safeguard your data, computer, and network for free, then please start on the most recent page of my blog.

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Google Pages, Part 2

As I reported in Part 1, Google's Google Page Creator is a free tool to build Web sites that are hosted for free on Google's servers. As a project from Google Labs, it's currently in its testing phase, and Google is inviting folks to try it out for free. So be advised that it's in beta and don't expect too much.

You may not get past first base

One first needs a Gmail Account to sign up for the free tool. If you don't already have one, create one. However, a mobile phone (most commonly called a cell phone) that handles text messaging is required to create a Gmail Account. Don't have one? Get a friend's help and his phone, because Google is only offering Gmail Accounts to mobile phone numbers with text messaging so that they can receive the Gmail invitation code. Don't have a mobile phone and your friends don't, either? Google isn't buying that. Once you have your mobile phone in hand, request a Gmail Account.

Our little secret

Google doesn't want everyone to know, so this will be our little secret -- just between you and me. ;-) There are alternatives to getting Gmail for those who are both friendless and without mobile phones:

Students and faculty of accredited U.S. institutions can submit a request for a Gmail invitation, as long as they have valid .edu E-mail addresses.

Get yourself invited by someone who already has a Gmail Account. Don't know anyone with a Gmail Account who has any invitations left? Here's how to get Gmail without a mobile phone, an invite, or an .edu domain E-mail address. Just remember to donate two or three or more of your invitations back into the pool after you receive your new Gmail Account, because too many other people are forgetting after they get theirs.

And don't ever ask me why I know this.

Update on Gmail (14 Feb. 2007): As I reported here, Gmail is now free to anyone, no strings attached.

Other gotchas

One problem that some users may have is screen resolution. Menu items and scrollbars may not be visible in the Google Page Creator if the resolution is set too low. What's too low? 800 x 600 and 1024 X 768 are both too low. Set your screen resolution to at least 1152 X 864 or higher.

After a preliminary investigation, I've found that Google's statement that your Google Pages "can be crawled by Google within a few hours of publication" seems to emphasize the word "can." Apparently, it takes a few weeks to show up in Google's search engine results according to reports by users.

Google Pages, Part 1

2007-01-27T20:01:00.000-08:00

Need to publish your soccer league's schedule or your church bulletin online, but don't have a Web site? Google offers the free Google Page Creator to the public to create a free Web site. According to Google, "Google Page Creator is a free tool that lets you create web pages right in your browser and publish them to the web with one click." The Web sites created by the Google Page Creator will be hosted on Google's very own servers, so one doesn't need to worry about finding a Web host to host these marvelous creations. Google reports that they have no current plans to charge for the Google Page Creator, so don't worry that you'll be charged next week on your credit card if Google stops the free ride.

As free Web sites go, one is usually better off finding a cheap Web host, because the free ones tend to be unreliable, unresponsive to freeloading customers, and go out of business at the drop of a hat. But I suspect Google is going to be around for awhile, so one doesn't have to worry about one's Web site going offline with no customer service to contact because they're busy looking for new jobs.

Google doesn't skimp on the disk space for each Google Pages Web site. One is allowed up to 100 MB to upload images and other files, which includes the HTML Web pages created with the Google Page Creator.

If the idea of building a free Web site for your business with Google Pages sounds good, it would be better to head to another Web host so that your business will look professional to the potential customers that find your business via the Internet. However, if one just needs to post something on the Web for school or another activity, Google Pages just might do the trick.

I'll be doing some investigations on Google Pages, so expect some follow up blog posts.

Moore's Law Marches On

2007-01-27T19:37:00.000-08:00

Both Intel and IBM announced they have made a major breakthrough in semiconductor technology that will bring new life to the computer chip industry in performance, power consumption, and transistor density. Both companies have replaced the materials that were formerly used as an insulator inside transistors. This material had been allowing current to seep through, since the material had been shaved so thin to accommodate more transistors per silicon chip. The wasted current meant that additional electricity was needed for normal operations, which generated additional heat.

Cheaper, better, faster, and smaller coming to a computer near you in the second half of 2007.

Google's Webmaster Central

2007-01-26T20:52:00.000-08:00

Are you a Webmaster? Have you seen Google's Webmaster Central? It has links to free Webmaster tools, Google's Blog, and Google's Discussion Group for Webmasters. It even has links to Google Web pages that will check whether or not your Web site is being indexed by Google, submit your URL to Google, submit your site map to Google, or get help from Google's Webmaster FAQ.

Google Webmaster Tools

2007-01-26T16:55:00.000-08:00

Wondering why search engines aren't indexing your Web site or aren't bringing search engine traffic to your Web site? Get free Google Webmaster Tools to diagnose potential problems by using the tools to see how Google crawls and indexes your Web site. Find out what queries visitors use to find your Web site, when the Googlebot last visited your site, and which pages are indexed by Google.

Host Your Files Online (Why BloggerBotIsDead)

2007-01-24T07:56:00.005-08:00

Need to hotlink to images or other files on the Web for your blog, forum posts, MySpace profile, or your Web site? Hello.com is the recommended host for blog images at Blogger.com, but don't bother signing up for a new account if you're not already a registered member. Once upon a time their BloggerBot may have worked seemlessly with BlogSpot.com blogs, but no more. As soon as one signs up for an account, downloads and installs their software, and then logs in, the "BloggerBotIsDead" is listed as one of the default "friends" (use these named "friends" to upload your files to your friends' PC's). That probably used to be the "BloggerBot friend" before the new Blogger went online. (One cannot add the BloggerBot friend, either. This friend will be pending for a long, long time. Fuggetaboutit.) It turns out that BloggerBot's demise was announced in November 2006.

Instead, one can find other Internet file hosts to host images and other files. One reliable and free host I tried was SnapDrive.net. Register for an account and get 2 GB of free space to hotlink to. Maximum file size is 100 MB. There's no software to download and install. Most file types are accepted. No illegal files are allowed. That means no pirated software or copyrighted music, and no racy photos you wouldn't want your Mom to see, guys! If one wants to remain anonymous and not register, one can still upload image files for free (with the same restrictions), but only up to 20 MB -- and only images.

It's easy to use, but one thing that isn't as intuitive as I'm sure they think it is is how to get the HTML code for pointing to your file on the SnapDrive.net site. When one uploads a file, a set of three tabs shows the HTML text for different situations (such as an URL or an anchor link) that one may use on a Web site, blog, forum profile, or MySpace profile. Copy the one that's needed to the clipboard after selecting the correct tab. Paste this code wherever the HTML script is needed for linking to your file on the Internet. If one forgets to do this or needs to do it again later, all one need do is select the file on the list, then select "File Properties" (which is the "Plus" sign -- intuitive, huh?), then select "URL" or "BB Code" or "HTML code," whichever one is needed. The appropriate code will be displayed, which can then be copied and pasted elsewhere.

Other alternatives to the BloggerBotIsDead phenomenon are to use "Blog This!" in Picasa or to use the Blogger Dashboard. Keep in mind that Picasa requires a download and install of software, Picasa's "Blog This!" only allows up to four images per post, and it has known issues that haven't been fixed yet. And keep in mind that if the Blogger Dashboard is used to upload images, only up to 300 MB of disk space can be used for images. But they're hosted for free.

Didn't hear the news that BloggerBotIsDead until now? It was a very small announcement on 17 Jan. 2007 by the official Picasa Guide. No announcement yet when they'll remove all the Web pages that explain how BloggerBot works, implying that it's still alive.

Update on BloggerBotIsDead (12 Feb. 2007):

It's been more than three weeks and still no acknowledgement that BloggerBotIsDead on Hello.com. Come to think of it, Hello.com's home page shows the most recent news as "Picasa Brings Instant Photo Publishing to Blogger," which is dated 10 May 2004. Hmm. The next news item (that BloggerBot is no longer available for Blogger blogs) on that Web page may take a long time.

Update on BloggerBotIsDead (20 Feb. 2007):

It's been more than a month and Hello.com finally updated their Web site. Finally! When following a link to their "How BloggerBot Works" page, one is redirected to a secure server and is presented a sign-up page to create a new account for Picasa. As I mentioned above, their bloated software download isn't needed, and it has limitations and bugs when working with your Blogger.com blog. Skip it.

Host Your Files Online (And Why BloggerBotIsDead)

2007-01-24T07:55:00.000-08:00

(Note: Google and Yahoo! are linking to this post, but you should be reading the one I renamed.)

Need to hotlink to images or other files on the Web for your blog, forum posts, MySpace profile, or your Web site? Hello.com is the recommended host for blog images at Blogger.com, but don't bother signing up for a new account if you're not already a registered member. Once upon a time their BloggerBot may have worked seemlessly with BlogSpot.com blogs, but no more. As soon as one signs up for an account, downloads and installs their software, and then logs in, the "BloggerBotIsDead" is listed as one of the default "friends" (use these named "friends" to upload your files to your friends' PC's). That probably used to be the "BloggerBot friend" before the new Blogger went online. (One cannot add the BloggerBot friend, either. This friend will be pending for a long, long time. Fuggetaboutit.) It turns out that BloggerBot's demise was announced in November 2006.

Instead, one can find other Internet file hosts to host images and other files. One reliable and free host I tried was SnapDrive.net. Register for an account and get 2 GB of free space to hotlink to. Maximum file size is 100 MB. There's no software to download and install. Most file types are accepted. No illegal files are allowed. That means no pirated software or copyrighted music, and no racy photos you wouldn't want your Mom to see, guys! If one wants to remain anonymous and not register, one can still upload image files for free (with the same restrictions), but only up to 20 MB -- and only images.

It's easy to use, but one thing that isn't as intuitive as I'm sure they think it is is how to get the HTML code for pointing to your file on the SnapDrive.net site. When one uploads a file, a set of three tabs shows the HTML text for different situations (such as an URL or an anchor link) that one may use on a Web site, blog, forum profile, or MySpace profile. Copy the one that's needed to the clipboard after selecting the correct tab. Paste this code wherever the HTML script is needed for linking to your file on the Internet. If one forgets to do this or needs to do it again later, all one need do is select the file on the list, then select "File Properties" (which is the "Plus" sign -- intuitive, huh?), then select "URL" or "BB Code" or "HTML code," whichever one is needed. The appropriate code will be displayed, which can then be copied and pasted elsewhere.

Other alternatives to the BloggerBotIsDead phenomenon are to use "Blog This!" in Picasa or to use the Blogger Dashboard. Keep in mind that Picasa requires a download and install of software, Picasa's "Blog This!" only allows up to four images per post, and it has known issues that haven't been fixed yet. And keep in mind that if the Blogger Dashboard is used to upload images, only up to 300 MB of disk space can be used for images. But they're hosted for free.

Didn't hear the news that BloggerBotIsDead until now? It was a very small announcement on 17 Jan. 2007 by the official Picasa Guide. No announcement yet when they'll remove all the Web pages that explain how BloggerBot works, implying that it's still alive.

That's Not Quite Right . . .

2007-01-22T02:27:00.000-08:00

If you've ever been to a foreign country or purchased products made in foreign countries that come with instruction manuals, you've probably seen foreigners' attempts to communicate in English that don't quite overcome the language barrier. Some of the time, it just doesn't make any sense, but there are times when the English translation results in a chuckle (but only from the English-speakers).

Create A Logo

2007-01-21T12:12:00.000-08:00

Need to create a logo for your company, Web site, or software application, but don't have a fancy graphics application to build it with? Create your free logo at CoolText.com. It's not for creating a complex, futuristic, or airbrushed design that would cost $10,000 if a professional created it for you, but these free logos will do for the rest of us non-graphic artists.

If you need to create custom buttons for your software application, you can create them for free at CoolText.com, too. And if you need a selection of fonts, you can download them for free there, too.

Build Your Own Graphic Images

2007-01-20T16:04:00.000-08:00

Got time on your hands? Need some spiffy graphics for your Web page, blog, or software application? Design your own graphics with zillions of templates provided for free by Txt2pic.com and CustomSignGenerator.com, where you can create free personalized images and custom E-cards online. I built my license plate graphic that you see displayed at the top of this blog. You can even build your own animated GIF's.

Try not to get too carried away.

6 Tips For Increased Productivity

2007-01-18T20:54:00.000-08:00

Worried that you and your co-workers will have to re-learn how to use the new Microsoft Office 2007 applications with so many menu and toolbar items having been replaced with buttons on the new UI Ribbon? Don't let the new changes slow down your productivity. Use the old shortcuts and learn some new tricks with Christopher Elliot's article, "6 tips for increased productivity."

A Better Clipboard

2007-01-17T08:23:00.000-08:00

Need a better clipboard to paste your previous bits of text or URL's? Store up to 200 text and Rich Text items, 20 bitmaps, and 200 URL's in the buffer with YC3. With this freeware tool, you can print, drag 'n drop, and permanently store "boilerplate" items.

Watch TV on Your PC

2007-01-16T15:44:00.000-08:00

Ever want to put a T.V. in the same room as your PC so you can surf the Internet . . . uh, work on your computer during commercial breaks? Now you don't have to, because the T.V. can come to your PC. Watch more than 300 live television channels on your PC. It requires a broadband Internet connection, but it works with any version of Windows from Windows 98 and newer, as long as your screen resolution is a minimum of 1024 X 768.

Or if you want to do something really useful, you can learn a foreign language by listening to people speak in their native tongues, whether it be Spanish, German, French, Portugese or Arabic, since these live channels are broadcast from countries around the world. Ausgezeichnet, dude.

This freeware application has far more awards than can be mentioned here. If you scroll down on their home page, you'll see what I mean.

Microsoft's "New Day Launch Tour 2007"

2007-01-15T09:14:00.000-08:00

Ready for a New Day Launch Tour 2007

Receive a free copy of Microsoft Office Professional 2007 and Microsoft Office Groove 2007 when you attend a Windows Vista, 2007 Microsoft Office system, and Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 launch event. Events are scheduled for 16 Jan. '07 through 27 Feb. '07 in various U.S. cities.

Microsoft Office Access 2007 Inside Out

2007-01-14T18:49:00.000-08:00

"Microsoft Office Access 2007 Inside Out" is scheduled to be released 9 May '07. Microsoft Access MVP's (Most Valuable Professionals) Jeff Conrad (AKA the Access Junkie) and John Viescas are the authors, and if history is any guide, it's going to be an outstanding book. You can pre-order a copy at Amazon.com now.

1 GB USB Flash Drive

2007-01-13T10:08:00.000-08:00

Do you need a new 1 GB USB flash drive to carry your data around? It's not free, but at nine bucks after the rebate, this deal is hard to beat. The drive is pre-loaded with Computer Associates Anti-Virus 2007 Home Protection Pack, which includes one year of free virus definition updates. Rebate offer is good through 18 Jan. '07 only, so if you need one, get it now.

Update: Use Google Checkout and get $10 off your purchase. So, buy the flash drive with Google Checkout and receive the purchase price and $1.01 back with the rebate. Sweet.

SQL Server Development Team Blog

2007-01-08T16:55:00.000-08:00

Find out the latest scoop on SQL Server from Dan Winn, the Microsoft SQL Server Senior Program Manager for Strategy, Infrastructure & Architecture.

Microsoft Access Development Team Blog

2007-01-07T17:47:00.000-08:00

Get the scoop on Microsoft Office Access 2007 from the Group Program Manager for Microsoft Access, Erik Rucker.

Should You Upgrade to Access 2007?

2006-12-23T17:27:00.000-08:00

Wondering if you should upgrade your databases to Access 2007 now that Microsoft has released it? Read Microsoft Office Access MVP Allen Browne's comprehensive article on what's hot and what's not in the new Access 2007. Check out Allen's other great tips for Microsoft Office Access, too.

Oracle Developer Tools for Visual Studio .NET

2006-12-22T19:20:00.000-08:00

If you're a Visual Studio .NET developer building Oracle database applications, get the free Oracle Developer Tools for Visual Studio .NET. It supports Visual Studio .NET 2003, Visual Studio 2005, integrated PL/SQL debugging, ADO.NET 2.0, and .NET Stored Procedures for .NET 2.0.

Oracle TopLink and ADF

2006-12-22T19:05:00.000-08:00

The free Oracle TopLink and Application Development Framework (ADF) provides a complete J2EE application infrastructure for Java developers to build Java object-to-relational persistence architectures. It's part of Oracle Application Server, but can be used independently with other J2EE-compliant application servers.

Oracle Developer Suite

2006-12-22T18:57:00.000-08:00

If you're an Oracle database application developer, try the free Oracle Developer Suite of products (including JDeveloper, Oracle Designer, Oracle Forms Developer, Oracle Software Configuration Manager, Oracle Reports Developer, Oracle Discoverer, Oracle Warehouse Builder, and Oracle Business Intelligence Beans).

Oracle BPEL Process Manager

2006-12-22T18:53:00.000-08:00

If you're managing your organization's data processes, try the free Oracle BPEL Process Manager.

Oracle JDeveloper 10g

2006-12-22T18:46:00.000-08:00

Are you a Java application developer in need of an industry-leading tool to work with databases? Try Oracle's free Oracle JDeveloper 10g. It works with Oracle and non-Oracle environments, and supports all major J2EE application servers and databases.

Virtual PC

2006-12-21T18:07:00.000-08:00

Ever decide too late that you shouldn't have installed that latest beta software on your system, and wish you could easily undo the damage? Now you can safely try out different software configurations and operating systems without messing up your computer's current configuration. Download Microsoft's free Virtual PC 2004 to use for various configurations, including legacy platforms and beta tests. Requires Windows 2000 SP-4, Windows XP SP-2, or Windows 2003 (32-bit).

Toad for IBM DB2 Freeware

2006-12-19T17:42:00.000-08:00

Administer your DB2 database with Toad for IBM DB2 and IBM DB2 Express-C Freeware to simplify, automate and improve the quality of application and database development.

IBM DB2 Express-C

2006-12-19T17:33:00.000-08:00

Need a free client/server database engine that doesn't have the same 4 GB data size limitation of Oracle 10g Express and SQL Server 2005 Express? Try the free IBM DB2 Express-C database engine. DB2 Express-C is free to build, deploy and distribute and has no such database limits.

While there's no file size limit, only up to 4 GB RAM is supported. It works on all systems up to 2 processor cores, and on AMD or Intel x86 architectures with up to 2 dual core chips. It's designed to seemlessly upgrade to any of the DB2 Universal Database editions, which support larger database servers or server clusters, so migrations shouldn't be a hassle. Runs on Windows and Linux, either 32-bit or 64-bit.

Toad for MySQL Freeware

2006-12-19T17:11:00.000-08:00

Administer your MySQL database with Toad for MySQL Freeware to simplify, automate and improve the quality of application and database development.

MySQL Community Server Database

2006-12-19T17:04:00.000-08:00

Need a free enterprise level client/server database? Download the free MySQL Community Server Database. MySQL won the "European Entrepreneur of the Year 2006" award.

SQL Optimizer for Visual Studio (free trial)

2006-12-15T18:14:00.000-08:00

Get the free trial for SQL Optimizer for Visual Studio if you need help optimizing your SQL queries for SQL Server. Look in the right margin of the Web page in the "Next Steps" table for the link, "Download trial software." This tool is the Microsoft 2004 Global ISV Partner of the Year Award winner.

Toad for SQL Server Freeware

2006-12-15T17:56:00.000-08:00

Administer your SQL Server database with Toad for SQL Server Freeware. It's an intuitive, graphical tool that will simplify, automate and improve the quality of application and SQL Server database development.

SQL Server Management Studio Express

2006-12-15T17:38:00.000-08:00

Use the free SQL Server Management Studio Express to administer the free SQL Server 2005 Express Edition.

SQL Server 2005 Express Edition

2006-12-15T17:18:00.000-08:00

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition is a free, redistributable version of SQL Server 2005. It's easy to use and designed for building simple data-driven applications needing up to 4 GB of data, but scalable so that it can easily be upgraded to the more advanced versions of Microsoft SQL Server 2005. The SQL Server 2005 Express Edition is the replacement for the Microsoft SQL Server Desktop Engine (MSDE), which won't be supported on the Microsoft Windows Vista operating system. Runs on Windows.

Free Microsoft Office 60-Day Trials

2006-12-15T14:46:00.000-08:00

Download a free 60-Day trial of Microsoft Office 2007 products.

Oracle 10g Express 2-Day PHP Course

2006-12-14T17:40:00.000-08:00

If you're a PHP developer working with Oracle Express and haven't had formal training at Oracle University, try the free online Oracle Database Express Edition 2 Day Plus PHP course.