I recently bought a computer magazine, it had an article I was interested in, so I decided, what the heck, let's buy this issue of this magazine. I paid $6.99 for it and I thought, well, look how thick it is, has to have a lot of information in it and I'll probably end up enjoying it because it is a computer related magazine, so what the heck, I mean, it's only $6.99.
I decide to read the magazine later, I was busy updating this webpage and a bunch of other webpages I'm the webmaster of, so I was busy, but finally I complete my work for the day and I settle down to read this article. It Was a very good article, 2 pages long, had some interesting information in it, but it only took me a few minutes to read. I turn my attention to the rest of the magazine, starting at page one, working my way through each page. It only took me about 30 minutes to read through what I thought to be a thick magazine with lots of content. I could have just thought, "You're a genius, who needs those speed reading courses," but I wasn't feeling that egotistical and I started to think back to what I read.
Page one, Table of Contents, Page 2 advertising, page 3 the beginning of a tech article, Page 4 another advertisement.....The light bulb went off...it wasn't the fact that I read fast or retained the information so quickly, I suddenly realized it wasn't my intellectual prowess at all, no, it was the fact that this thick magazine I paid for was just littered with advertising, in fact, there were as many pages of advertising as there were pages of information.
This "thick" magazine, suddenly started to look really thin to me, and that $6.99 I paid for it, suddenly started to seem like a lot of money. The few pages of content in this magazine wasn't even left completely alone, instead there was a series of small almost "banner" like ads on the pages that contained the stories. If you removed all the advertising from the magazine, set up the pages just with content, the magazine would have been about 10 pages long, instead of the whopping 203 pages it turned out to be. I paid $6.99 for 10 pages of content...it gets worst, trust me it does.
How does it get worst, well, this magazine was doing a review of hardware, the advertisers that were in the magazine were computer companies. It started to get me thinking about the honesty of the reviews. After all, if you were computer company would you promote in a magazine that said your computer was awful? Would this computer magazine bite the hand that feeds it? Well, these are all questions that came into my mind and suddenly the value of the 10 pages of content came into question for me. Did I just pay $6.99 for a biased 10 pages of content? Umm, lets go over why this is wrong:
• I paid for content not for advertising
• So much advertising biased the articles in the computer magazine - why would I trust someone's opinion on hardware or software when the advertisers are the very companies getting reviewed?
• The magazine is double-dipping, making the reader pay, making advertisers pay, they're getting paid twice for the same useless content.
I feel as if that $6.99 was thrown away, I could have given it away and I would have had a better feeling about it. The thing is, if that was a magazine that had 200 pages of content, I would have probably paid $10 maybe more for it, because it would have been worth it, but this, just was such an egregious example of someone trying to squeeze out as much money as they can for 10 pages of useless biased content!
From now on, I only stick to internet based information, you could find it all online and you can get it free at least. I can live with advertising on a webpage because I don't have to pay to get into the webpage, a win win situation there, but the second I start paying for something I don't want to see one ad!
Sunday, January 20, 2008
PC vs. Apple Computers
Apple makes some really good software, OS X has proven that, with its FreeBSD base giving it Unix stability, but still making it easy enough for the average person to use it...so you might ask, "Why does he hate Apple Computers?" Well, the plain and simple fact of the matter is this, when you buy a Mac, you're stuck with a Mac. Apple software always has to be married to Apple Hardware and for me, if I'm going to spend over a thousand dollars for a computer, I want to be able to run any damn operating system I want on it. Even if OS X can walk on water and turn water into wine, it doesn't stop me from wanting to try out new things, new operating systems, and I'll be damned if anyone limits me to just one choice in that area.
Often people confuse this debate as Apple Computers vs. Microsoft, and that's just not the case. When you own a pc you can pretty much run any flavor of operating system you want, from Microsoft to any number of distributions of Linux, to any number of Unix OS, and about any other crazy operating system that comes down the line, trust me, I should know, I've tried tons of them. To me, this is the way a computer should be, it shouldn't be dependent on one software package. If you pay for a computer it should be as flexible as it possible can be.
There is another thing, how many people build their own computers? I do, I know lots of my friends do, and why? Most of the times it's:
• Cheaper to build your own
• You can put quality parts in and customize to your liking
• If it breaks down you could fix it, you're not some gelatinous mass that's too scared to open the case.
• You can upgrade indefinitely, I should know, I used the same case for 4 motherboard upgrades.
Build an Apple Computer, go on, build one...I'm sure that there are some techies that could do it, but why would you want to go through the hassle of dual processors when Intel is putting out computer chips that blow anything Apple has out of the water.
It's a simple matter of choice...I want to be able to upgrade my computer on my own, not have a computer go out of date that I can only make a planter out of it later on. I've upgraded motherboards, processors, and I've always found it cheaper then buying new. With Apple you just can't build your computer, if you buy it and don't like the Apple OS, guess what, you're stuck with it.
Apple users are more loyal then pc users, well DUH, they have to be, because they can't go, OS X sucks, let me format this and use Win XP....oops, no, sorry you can't, because you're still stuck with an Apple hardware that only wants to run apple software.
If Apple stops its megalomania and creates an OS X that works on the PC, I'll completely retract this article...but I doubt those money grubbing, anal retentive, corporate weasels, will ever give up their choke hold on the mindless sheep that buy a Mac.
Lots of people complain about Microsoft and yes, they deserve to get slammed from time to time for their practices, but if I don't like MS, I ditch them and go Linux, or FreeBSD...I don't have to be loyal to Microsoft because my hardware isn't loyal to one company, unlike Apple Computers.
So, my basic statement here, OS X is a good OS, but they should put it out in a PC Version and set Mac users free of hardware restrictions. There are emulators out there, but why bother, if you hate Windows, get a pc and put Linux on it...trust me, just as good as OS X.
Ahh that rant felt good...enjoy :o)
Often people confuse this debate as Apple Computers vs. Microsoft, and that's just not the case. When you own a pc you can pretty much run any flavor of operating system you want, from Microsoft to any number of distributions of Linux, to any number of Unix OS, and about any other crazy operating system that comes down the line, trust me, I should know, I've tried tons of them. To me, this is the way a computer should be, it shouldn't be dependent on one software package. If you pay for a computer it should be as flexible as it possible can be.
There is another thing, how many people build their own computers? I do, I know lots of my friends do, and why? Most of the times it's:
• Cheaper to build your own
• You can put quality parts in and customize to your liking
• If it breaks down you could fix it, you're not some gelatinous mass that's too scared to open the case.
• You can upgrade indefinitely, I should know, I used the same case for 4 motherboard upgrades.
Build an Apple Computer, go on, build one...I'm sure that there are some techies that could do it, but why would you want to go through the hassle of dual processors when Intel is putting out computer chips that blow anything Apple has out of the water.
It's a simple matter of choice...I want to be able to upgrade my computer on my own, not have a computer go out of date that I can only make a planter out of it later on. I've upgraded motherboards, processors, and I've always found it cheaper then buying new. With Apple you just can't build your computer, if you buy it and don't like the Apple OS, guess what, you're stuck with it.
Apple users are more loyal then pc users, well DUH, they have to be, because they can't go, OS X sucks, let me format this and use Win XP....oops, no, sorry you can't, because you're still stuck with an Apple hardware that only wants to run apple software.
If Apple stops its megalomania and creates an OS X that works on the PC, I'll completely retract this article...but I doubt those money grubbing, anal retentive, corporate weasels, will ever give up their choke hold on the mindless sheep that buy a Mac.
Lots of people complain about Microsoft and yes, they deserve to get slammed from time to time for their practices, but if I don't like MS, I ditch them and go Linux, or FreeBSD...I don't have to be loyal to Microsoft because my hardware isn't loyal to one company, unlike Apple Computers.
So, my basic statement here, OS X is a good OS, but they should put it out in a PC Version and set Mac users free of hardware restrictions. There are emulators out there, but why bother, if you hate Windows, get a pc and put Linux on it...trust me, just as good as OS X.
Ahh that rant felt good...enjoy :o)
Security Tips and Tricks
I wanted to give a brief, yet hopefully informative, little guide on internet security and how to protect yourself online. There are four major areas that I'm going to cover:
1. Updating Windows
2. Firewalls
3. Antivirus Software
4. Email
Updating Windows is the first suggestion that I would have for you. When you installed your brand new Windows operating system they didn't have all the bugs worked out of it and they issue updates for your operating system. These updates will fix many of the security holes that were found in the original operating system. So, how do you go about updating your Windows? Go to http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/ and click on the link that says product update to the left. Microsoft will quickly scan your computer, see what version of Windows you have and what patches you have missing. It will give you a long list of files that have to be updated and its a long tedious task to update, trust me, lots of installing, rebooting, going back to the website, getting the next element, etc. This however is the most important thing you can do to increase the security of your computer. These updates will fix known exploits or holes in your system. Trust me, they know about these holes in the system because hackers have found the holes and used them in various exploits. So Update! Update! Update!
Next suggestion is a firewall, with the ever increasing number of people with a broadband connection and 24/7 connectivity it becomes even more important that you put a firewall on you computer. Your computer has a series of ports that are either opened or closed to receive and send information onto the net. If someone attacks these ports with D.O.S. (Denial of Service) attack they can shut your connection to the net off, but that's not that bad, but they can also look at these open ports and find openings in your computer. This is serious because they can gather information on you, can look into you hard drive, and do all sorts of malicious activities. Go to the Firewall section of the website to download one of the free software programs there. They will make your computer even more safe then it was with the security updates you just completed.
The third and final suggestion is Antivirus software. Viruses can range in severity from something simple and annoying to viruses that will wipe your hard drive clean. So you need to get an Antivirus software program. AVG is a free virus scanner that works excellently at protecting your computer. Read more about the antivirus software at the Antivirus section of this website. Antivirus software will also help prevent Trojans from getting on you computer. Trojans allows a user to have remote access to your computer, yes, just like the trojan horse it sits on your computer waiting for the person that put it there to use it...so antivirus software will work wonders on your computer. Make sure you keep the virus definitions up to date! Also avoid downloading email attachments, downloading files from an untrustworthy site, and make sure you frequently scan you hard drive.
Email - No reputable place will ask for you to fill in your credit card information in an email, delete it or sending it to your ISP to point out this danger. If you get an email from EBAY or AOL or any other big company and there is this link in the email asking you to update your credit card info, don't do it, it's a scam, don't do it, they just make a webpage that looks like Ebay or AOL. This is a quick way to get your credit information stolen...so basically use some commonsense when you're reading your emails.
These four basic steps will secure your computer and make your time on the internet a pleasurable one and not a headache. Happy Safe Surfing!
1. Updating Windows
2. Firewalls
3. Antivirus Software
4. Email
Updating Windows is the first suggestion that I would have for you. When you installed your brand new Windows operating system they didn't have all the bugs worked out of it and they issue updates for your operating system. These updates will fix many of the security holes that were found in the original operating system. So, how do you go about updating your Windows? Go to http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/ and click on the link that says product update to the left. Microsoft will quickly scan your computer, see what version of Windows you have and what patches you have missing. It will give you a long list of files that have to be updated and its a long tedious task to update, trust me, lots of installing, rebooting, going back to the website, getting the next element, etc. This however is the most important thing you can do to increase the security of your computer. These updates will fix known exploits or holes in your system. Trust me, they know about these holes in the system because hackers have found the holes and used them in various exploits. So Update! Update! Update!
Next suggestion is a firewall, with the ever increasing number of people with a broadband connection and 24/7 connectivity it becomes even more important that you put a firewall on you computer. Your computer has a series of ports that are either opened or closed to receive and send information onto the net. If someone attacks these ports with D.O.S. (Denial of Service) attack they can shut your connection to the net off, but that's not that bad, but they can also look at these open ports and find openings in your computer. This is serious because they can gather information on you, can look into you hard drive, and do all sorts of malicious activities. Go to the Firewall section of the website to download one of the free software programs there. They will make your computer even more safe then it was with the security updates you just completed.
The third and final suggestion is Antivirus software. Viruses can range in severity from something simple and annoying to viruses that will wipe your hard drive clean. So you need to get an Antivirus software program. AVG is a free virus scanner that works excellently at protecting your computer. Read more about the antivirus software at the Antivirus section of this website. Antivirus software will also help prevent Trojans from getting on you computer. Trojans allows a user to have remote access to your computer, yes, just like the trojan horse it sits on your computer waiting for the person that put it there to use it...so antivirus software will work wonders on your computer. Make sure you keep the virus definitions up to date! Also avoid downloading email attachments, downloading files from an untrustworthy site, and make sure you frequently scan you hard drive.
Email - No reputable place will ask for you to fill in your credit card information in an email, delete it or sending it to your ISP to point out this danger. If you get an email from EBAY or AOL or any other big company and there is this link in the email asking you to update your credit card info, don't do it, it's a scam, don't do it, they just make a webpage that looks like Ebay or AOL. This is a quick way to get your credit information stolen...so basically use some commonsense when you're reading your emails.
These four basic steps will secure your computer and make your time on the internet a pleasurable one and not a headache. Happy Safe Surfing!
Intalling CGI Scripts
For many new webmaster this is probably one of the most daunting tasks they'll need to do. Mainly because you're not used to the UNIX environment, but also because you have to edit some perl scripts to make the script work. Here are the basic things you need to install CGI-Scripts.
1. You need a web host that gives you a cgi-bin, most free hosting companies won't give you a cgi-bin because of security reasons. If you're on a free web host and you want to add things like a guestbook or message boards, I would suggest you use a service like www.bravenet.com they have codes that you just cut and paste. Good thing, it's easy, bad thing, it has advertising and it generally makes your page look a little less professional.
2. You'll need the script itself. You can download almost any cgi-script for free at www.cgi-resources.com this is where I go to get any scripts that I'll need for the websites I write.
3. You'll need a plain text editing program. If you're in a windows operating system Notepad would be fine to edit perl / cgi scripts. (Don't use Word, Wordpad or any other "rich text" type program, it will screw up the script).
4. You'll need an ftp program, this is a program that will upload your page to your server. I like WS_FTP Pro, you an use the lite version of this program, which is free, but this pro version offers more features and easier to use I think.
Okay, so that's what you'll need, now here is the important things you'll need to know about installing the scripts:
1. Always read the included installation instructions. All scripts come with a readme.txt file or some form of installation instructions. Read these carefully, because they'll tell you how and what you need to do for this script.
2. Knowing the perl path for your server. In all cgi scripts the script itself will need to know where the perl kernel is. In most cases the perl path is /usr/bin/perl and most people that write scripts will point it here, contact your web host if you're unsure of where the path to your perl kernel is
3. Make sure to upload the .cgi files to the cgi-bin on your server. Almost all the servers I've been on makes you upload your scripts to a separate folder called the cgi-bin. If you upload your script elsewhere it just won't work (note, on some servers they do allow you to put the cgi-scripts in any directory, but it's been my experience that most have the separate cgi-bin).
4. When uploading CGI, make sure that you upload it in ASCII, not BINARY, if you upload it in Binary the script will not work. Binary is for photos and regular pages, but for scripts you'll need to upload it in ASCII format.
5. Know the root to your cgi-bin and also the public_html files. Most of the times the path will look like /home/username/domain name/public_html and the root to your cgi-bin will look like /home/username/domain name/cgi-bin - Once again, you'll need to contact your web host if you're unsure. Also, some scripts will point to the cgi script by having the url and not the root, pay attention to what the script asks, because sometimes it will be the url where the script is located, like, http://www.yourdomain.com/cgi-bin/scriptname.cgi
6. Knowing your sendmail path. This is for scripts that will allow users to email or perhaps if the program emails you if someone posts messages etc. The send mail path is usually /usr/lib/sendmail once again, if you don't know contact your web host or check their FAQ, they usually give this information there.
7. Knowing how to chmod or set permissions to files and directories. All the scripts you download will tell you to set permissions to your scripts and files, you must do this! If they say to set the permission to a certain number, you must do so! If you don't, the script won't work! In the different ftp programs there are different ways to set permissions, usually most will have where you can right click on the file and there will be a permissions button or a chmod button and then you can set the permissions that way.
8. Contact your Web host if you have trouble...always remember that you're paying for a service and most places offer technical support, don't be too shy to ask for help, that's what technical support is there for and especially if you're paying for the service you should use the service as much as you can!
These are the basics you need to know, each script is different, some programmers really go out of their way to make the script easy to install, some programmers write great scripts but give lousy instructions, so, just try out some scripts, don't be scared of them, and don't give up on them, because the first few times, you'll almost always get errors, trust me, I should know!
One other thing, I found with my own webhosting company that they weren't that willing to give cgi help, I think that's sort of lame to tell you the truth. A company that offers services should be knowledgeable on such topics, but you often find tech support usually knows less than you and that you're on your own most of the times.
I've installed lots of scripts now and there are a few that I'll use over and over again because they're just so easy to install and really work great. If you want some help in this area I can point you to the easiest to install cgi-scripts, just tell me what your looking for or I'll write a tutorial on what scripts to use. Have fun, don't get frustrated, and don't give up, you'll get the hang of the cgi-scripts soon enough :o) If not, email me and I'll try and help out.
1. You need a web host that gives you a cgi-bin, most free hosting companies won't give you a cgi-bin because of security reasons. If you're on a free web host and you want to add things like a guestbook or message boards, I would suggest you use a service like www.bravenet.com they have codes that you just cut and paste. Good thing, it's easy, bad thing, it has advertising and it generally makes your page look a little less professional.
2. You'll need the script itself. You can download almost any cgi-script for free at www.cgi-resources.com this is where I go to get any scripts that I'll need for the websites I write.
3. You'll need a plain text editing program. If you're in a windows operating system Notepad would be fine to edit perl / cgi scripts. (Don't use Word, Wordpad or any other "rich text" type program, it will screw up the script).
4. You'll need an ftp program, this is a program that will upload your page to your server. I like WS_FTP Pro, you an use the lite version of this program, which is free, but this pro version offers more features and easier to use I think.
Okay, so that's what you'll need, now here is the important things you'll need to know about installing the scripts:
1. Always read the included installation instructions. All scripts come with a readme.txt file or some form of installation instructions. Read these carefully, because they'll tell you how and what you need to do for this script.
2. Knowing the perl path for your server. In all cgi scripts the script itself will need to know where the perl kernel is. In most cases the perl path is /usr/bin/perl and most people that write scripts will point it here, contact your web host if you're unsure of where the path to your perl kernel is
3. Make sure to upload the .cgi files to the cgi-bin on your server. Almost all the servers I've been on makes you upload your scripts to a separate folder called the cgi-bin. If you upload your script elsewhere it just won't work (note, on some servers they do allow you to put the cgi-scripts in any directory, but it's been my experience that most have the separate cgi-bin).
4. When uploading CGI, make sure that you upload it in ASCII, not BINARY, if you upload it in Binary the script will not work. Binary is for photos and regular pages, but for scripts you'll need to upload it in ASCII format.
5. Know the root to your cgi-bin and also the public_html files. Most of the times the path will look like /home/username/domain name/public_html and the root to your cgi-bin will look like /home/username/domain name/cgi-bin - Once again, you'll need to contact your web host if you're unsure. Also, some scripts will point to the cgi script by having the url and not the root, pay attention to what the script asks, because sometimes it will be the url where the script is located, like, http://www.yourdomain.com/cgi-bin/scriptname.cgi
6. Knowing your sendmail path. This is for scripts that will allow users to email or perhaps if the program emails you if someone posts messages etc. The send mail path is usually /usr/lib/sendmail once again, if you don't know contact your web host or check their FAQ, they usually give this information there.
7. Knowing how to chmod or set permissions to files and directories. All the scripts you download will tell you to set permissions to your scripts and files, you must do this! If they say to set the permission to a certain number, you must do so! If you don't, the script won't work! In the different ftp programs there are different ways to set permissions, usually most will have where you can right click on the file and there will be a permissions button or a chmod button and then you can set the permissions that way.
8. Contact your Web host if you have trouble...always remember that you're paying for a service and most places offer technical support, don't be too shy to ask for help, that's what technical support is there for and especially if you're paying for the service you should use the service as much as you can!
These are the basics you need to know, each script is different, some programmers really go out of their way to make the script easy to install, some programmers write great scripts but give lousy instructions, so, just try out some scripts, don't be scared of them, and don't give up on them, because the first few times, you'll almost always get errors, trust me, I should know!
One other thing, I found with my own webhosting company that they weren't that willing to give cgi help, I think that's sort of lame to tell you the truth. A company that offers services should be knowledgeable on such topics, but you often find tech support usually knows less than you and that you're on your own most of the times.
I've installed lots of scripts now and there are a few that I'll use over and over again because they're just so easy to install and really work great. If you want some help in this area I can point you to the easiest to install cgi-scripts, just tell me what your looking for or I'll write a tutorial on what scripts to use. Have fun, don't get frustrated, and don't give up, you'll get the hang of the cgi-scripts soon enough :o) If not, email me and I'll try and help out.
Protecting ur kids Online with Web Filters
You have kids, you have a computer with an internet connection, the two put together = trouble! I don't mean to understate this point, because when it comes down to it, you, the parents, are the the one that has to take responsibility for your children and what they view. I'm generally pretty harsh on parents that think that nothing can happen on the internet...while the internet feels "safe" because it's in your house, what bad thing could happen? Well, read the newspapers and see what can happen with the "safe" internet. If you're going to have a net connection you need to be responsible and make sure your kids are safe online. So, here are some programs that will help you monitor what your kids are up to:
iProtectyou - This is one of the best programs on the net at the moment to stop your kids from seeing objectionable material and unmonitored chat and email sessions. This program is FREE so download it. This program allows you to control which websites your kids are allowed to visit, which programs can have internet access, blocking email, chat, instant messages that would have objectionable words in it...it will also gather information about what your children are doing online...you can also set up a schedule when your child can be online. I just can't say how great of a program this is and if you're a parent and you want to help your kids be safe, this is the program for you. It is password protected, so as long as your kids don't have the password, they can't change the settings. Really, take responsibility for you children's online life. If I get enough requests I'll write a tutorial for this program that will show you the steps for setting this program up. You can download this program here http://www.softforyou.com/
We-Blocker - This is a very effective web filtering tool that will stop objectionable websites. It has some very nice features including multiple accounts so you can set up different settings for different age groups or different age groups. A very good web filtering tool, I still like iProtectyou a little more because you can limit access to certain programs and chatrooms, IM's, and other venues should be restricted...so this is good if you just want to filter web pages. You can download this program at http://www.we-blocker.com/index.php
AOL and MSN, and many other Internet service providers have some form of internet blocking and restricted zones you can set so you can limit the access of your children on the net. It will limit emails, IM's and things like that...but I think parents are too often drawn into a false sense of security with these settings...if you minimize AOL and open a browser like Mozilla the filters will be gone, and you know those kids will find ways around simple defenses.
In closing, the best way to make sure you kids are safe online is to surf with them...kids, especially young kids, shouldn't be left on the computer without parental supervision. If however you can't be with your kids while they surf, please download iProtectyou and make sure you set it up to block areas that would be dangerous for them. No matter how many laws the government passes to protect children, it will always be up to you, the parent to proactively protect your children.
Bash Shell Commands
Well, I've been dreading writing this section of the website because I don't feel like an "expert" in this area, but it's part of my online knowledge and I thought that maybe a newbie could help other newbies with Linux. With most of the current distributions of Linux you have an xwindow system that looks remarkably easy to understand...umm, but eventually you have to go to a shell...eventually...yes...you have to face the evil that is the command line. Now don't worry, this is okay, just breathe deep, there you go, keep breathing deeply, continue, come on, getting lightheaded yet? Soon you'll be in that state of euphoria where you'll be game enough to start putting in some commands.
Okay, it isn't that bad, the thing you have to do is remember back to the days of DOS and Microsoft and when you had to type in commands to get anything done. Basically that's the best way to describe it to Windows users. Okay, so you're at a terminal and you don't know any commands, here are a few (the list will expand as I learn more).
cd - this basically works like the old MSDOS command, this stands for Change Directory and basically you can change the directory your in with this command.
cp - this is the copy command. Basically you can use this command if you want to copy the contents of a file to some other place. Not so different from the Copy command in MSDOS. You can use this to copy the content to other folders, etc.
ls - This is the list command, very similar to the MSDOS Command Dir. Basically it lists all the contents in a directory or a folder. This had a bunch of wildcards you can add to it, like ls -l will list the file in it's long format... ls -a will allow you to see all the files in a directory including hidden files.
mkdir - This command will make a directory. The command would look something like mkdir testfolder and this would create a directory with the name testfolder.
mv - this stands for move...basically this allows you to move files from one directory to another or you can move it within the same folder.
rm - this stands for remove. This will allow you to delete files without confirmation. Okay a delete command, basically you can delete files but also important ones you didn't mean to delete, umm, well, yeah, okay you know how I know this fact.
rmdir - This will allow you to remove a directory, if you add rmdir -r the directory doesn't have to be empty before deleting it.
passwd - if you type in passwrd it will allow you to change your password. It will ask for you old one and then make you type in the new one twice...the password has to be at least 6 characters long.
Okay, this is it for now because I don't have my linux box open at the moment and I'm not exactly pleased with what I wrote here, hmm, okay so this tutorial is at best so so...I'll need to work on this more and get back to you. If there are any Linux pros out there that would like to write articles for this website, just drop me an email...trust me, I'm humble, I don't pretend to be anything but a newbie.
iProtectyou - This is one of the best programs on the net at the moment to stop your kids from seeing objectionable material and unmonitored chat and email sessions. This program is FREE so download it. This program allows you to control which websites your kids are allowed to visit, which programs can have internet access, blocking email, chat, instant messages that would have objectionable words in it...it will also gather information about what your children are doing online...you can also set up a schedule when your child can be online. I just can't say how great of a program this is and if you're a parent and you want to help your kids be safe, this is the program for you. It is password protected, so as long as your kids don't have the password, they can't change the settings. Really, take responsibility for you children's online life. If I get enough requests I'll write a tutorial for this program that will show you the steps for setting this program up. You can download this program here http://www.softforyou.com/
We-Blocker - This is a very effective web filtering tool that will stop objectionable websites. It has some very nice features including multiple accounts so you can set up different settings for different age groups or different age groups. A very good web filtering tool, I still like iProtectyou a little more because you can limit access to certain programs and chatrooms, IM's, and other venues should be restricted...so this is good if you just want to filter web pages. You can download this program at http://www.we-blocker.com/index.php
AOL and MSN, and many other Internet service providers have some form of internet blocking and restricted zones you can set so you can limit the access of your children on the net. It will limit emails, IM's and things like that...but I think parents are too often drawn into a false sense of security with these settings...if you minimize AOL and open a browser like Mozilla the filters will be gone, and you know those kids will find ways around simple defenses.
In closing, the best way to make sure you kids are safe online is to surf with them...kids, especially young kids, shouldn't be left on the computer without parental supervision. If however you can't be with your kids while they surf, please download iProtectyou and make sure you set it up to block areas that would be dangerous for them. No matter how many laws the government passes to protect children, it will always be up to you, the parent to proactively protect your children.
Bash Shell Commands
Well, I've been dreading writing this section of the website because I don't feel like an "expert" in this area, but it's part of my online knowledge and I thought that maybe a newbie could help other newbies with Linux. With most of the current distributions of Linux you have an xwindow system that looks remarkably easy to understand...umm, but eventually you have to go to a shell...eventually...yes...you have to face the evil that is the command line. Now don't worry, this is okay, just breathe deep, there you go, keep breathing deeply, continue, come on, getting lightheaded yet? Soon you'll be in that state of euphoria where you'll be game enough to start putting in some commands.
Okay, it isn't that bad, the thing you have to do is remember back to the days of DOS and Microsoft and when you had to type in commands to get anything done. Basically that's the best way to describe it to Windows users. Okay, so you're at a terminal and you don't know any commands, here are a few (the list will expand as I learn more).
cd - this basically works like the old MSDOS command, this stands for Change Directory and basically you can change the directory your in with this command.
cp - this is the copy command. Basically you can use this command if you want to copy the contents of a file to some other place. Not so different from the Copy command in MSDOS. You can use this to copy the content to other folders, etc.
ls - This is the list command, very similar to the MSDOS Command Dir. Basically it lists all the contents in a directory or a folder. This had a bunch of wildcards you can add to it, like ls -l will list the file in it's long format... ls -a will allow you to see all the files in a directory including hidden files.
mkdir - This command will make a directory. The command would look something like mkdir testfolder and this would create a directory with the name testfolder.
mv - this stands for move...basically this allows you to move files from one directory to another or you can move it within the same folder.
rm - this stands for remove. This will allow you to delete files without confirmation. Okay a delete command, basically you can delete files but also important ones you didn't mean to delete, umm, well, yeah, okay you know how I know this fact.
rmdir - This will allow you to remove a directory, if you add rmdir -r the directory doesn't have to be empty before deleting it.
passwd - if you type in passwrd it will allow you to change your password. It will ask for you old one and then make you type in the new one twice...the password has to be at least 6 characters long.
Okay, this is it for now because I don't have my linux box open at the moment and I'm not exactly pleased with what I wrote here, hmm, okay so this tutorial is at best so so...I'll need to work on this more and get back to you. If there are any Linux pros out there that would like to write articles for this website, just drop me an email...trust me, I'm humble, I don't pretend to be anything but a newbie.
Setting ur Home page
These steps are pretty similar for most of the browsers out there, I'll show you how to set your home page in Internet Explorer (this is the page the first opens up when you launch your browser), but basically you can find this option in the settings of all the browsers out there. Here is how to set your IE homepage.
First go to Tools and then Internet Options
The general tab will be where you would want to change the settings, in the Home Page section where it says Address: you can either fill in a web address that you want to have as a homepage or you can hit the Use Blank which will make no page load when you first open your browser.
In Mozilla and Netscape you would go to:
Edit ---->Preferences
Then go to the Navigator branch to the left and it will open up this display, you can either click Blank Page, Home page (that will be the page url listed where it says Home Page) or you can use the last page you visited.
There you have it, how to set your home page in IE and in Netscape and Mozilla.
First go to Tools and then Internet Options
The general tab will be where you would want to change the settings, in the Home Page section where it says Address: you can either fill in a web address that you want to have as a homepage or you can hit the Use Blank which will make no page load when you first open your browser.
In Mozilla and Netscape you would go to:
Edit ---->Preferences
Then go to the Navigator branch to the left and it will open up this display, you can either click Blank Page, Home page (that will be the page url listed where it says Home Page) or you can use the last page you visited.
There you have it, how to set your home page in IE and in Netscape and Mozilla.
The Great Browser Question – Which to use.
What is a browser? Simplest possible terms it's the program that allows you to surf web pages. For most people that use Windows their browser of choice is Internet Explorer, but why? Well, simple answer to that is that it comes built in with your Windows system and it's highly integrated (perhaps too much so) into the Windows operating system. For most people IE is just fine and you don't really need another browser, but did you know that there are other browsers out there? Did you know some of them have really cool features? Well, there is this brave new world of browsers out there and it's time that you take a look and test drive other browsers, after all, just because you have Windows doesn't mean that you have to use IE. Here is the breakdown of what's out there at the moment
Mozilla - Oh, you gotta love open source, it sometimes produces the best programs out there and Mozilla is a happy result of this open source community. So, let's do a brief little history on Mozilla...many years ago in a galaxy far far away there was a browser that competed with Dark Empire (also known as Microsoft)...this brave browser was called Netscape Navigator. Well, years of struggle, and finally Netscape on deaths door does something that few expected, it gave away its source code and made it open source and asked a band of rebels to take the challenge of making a better browser than IE...lo and behold MOZILLA was born...yes Mozilla, the first distribution of it basically made this loud thudding sound...oh god was it bad, but still it kept growing, getting better, and soon became THE BEST BROWSER. Yes, it's grown so big now that it will be stepping on Tokyo soon and the cries of, "Mozilla is coming, Mozilla is coming" will be dubbed with an out of sync English accent. Seriously though, Mozilla is faster than any browser out there, it meets almost all the internet standards perfectly, and it's a very stable browser. For my money it's the best value, oh and it's free, yes I mentioned that right? Yes, well it is free. You can download Mozilla here www.mozilla.org . Many Linux users will be familiar with this browser since it comes as standard fair in most of the Linux distributions now.
Internet Explorer - Okay, so, this is the one most people use. Internet Explorer has come a long way and it's in many ways one of the things Microsoft succeeded with by paying attention to the internet standards that are currently out there. I find that Internet Explorer meets many of the HTML, CSS, XML, ASP, PHP, and pretty much any other webpage standard you want to throw at it...why is this good? Well, it means that the webpage will be displayed as the author intended it to be displayed. So, it is a very good web browser, however, I find on older systems like Win 95, 98, ME, if you screw up your IE, you screw up your whole damn operating system. This is where IE is just too integrated into the operating system and this is where you could end up in a little bit of trouble.
Opera - The innovative little browser that could. What makes this browser interesting is the features it adds beyond the basics of web browsing. One thing I like is the popup blocker included in the program. Yes those annoying popup ads are bye bye and they stay that way. It's a small, relatively fast browser, and generally I like it. It is web compliant, umm, mostly compliant, okay so I have used it and gotten some funky looking pages from time to time. The Con's of this browser - It costs, umm, $30 the last time I checked...if you don't pay you can have a freeware version that's supported with advertising. It sort of makes me cringe to pay anything for a web browser, mainly because the best browser is free, but I can't fault Opera for wanting to make money, not every program can be open source. I think Opera will have it's market in Palm devices because of it's ability to render pages small and to still make them look like web pages. Give it a download here www.opera.com if you want to give it a try.
Avant - This is more of an add-on to Internet Explorer, so it won't get really that big of a write up. Originally it was called IE Opera, umm, yeah good name considering there was already a browser named Opera, but anyway, so they became Avant. Pluses about this browser, it has a very effective popup blocker and some quick mouse gesture things, so it's more of an add-on to IE and it does work rather nice, but, it's still basically Internet Explorer.
Netscape Navigator - I put this browser last, because, well, basically Mozilla and Netscape are indistinguishable at the moment. Netscape is basically Mozilla only they make you register to use the browser, which isn't that bad, but still it's basically Mozilla or is Mozilla basically Netscape. The line is getting blurred a bit. The positives about Netscape, well, I used them loyally for years, so I'll always have a bit of loyalty towards them. Second, I liked that they knew when they needed help and opened their source code. One other pro is that their email client that comes attached with the browser will accept AOL mail, so if you want an email client for you AOL account this is the way to go (AOL bought out Netscape a few years ago). Basically Netscape is Mozilla that you have to register to use...but still, it is a good browser and has some interesting integrations in it, like ICQ, AIM, etc.
So that's the list, did I miss some browsers, umm, yeah, probably I did, but I'll make this list longer as new browsers come out. Which browsers do I use, I like Mozilla, it is the fastest most stable...that would be my choice, but any of the browsers listed will do a good job, you just have to pick a browser that's best for you. Mozilla is coming...oops, sorry, I couldn't resist.
Mozilla - Oh, you gotta love open source, it sometimes produces the best programs out there and Mozilla is a happy result of this open source community. So, let's do a brief little history on Mozilla...many years ago in a galaxy far far away there was a browser that competed with Dark Empire (also known as Microsoft)...this brave browser was called Netscape Navigator. Well, years of struggle, and finally Netscape on deaths door does something that few expected, it gave away its source code and made it open source and asked a band of rebels to take the challenge of making a better browser than IE...lo and behold MOZILLA was born...yes Mozilla, the first distribution of it basically made this loud thudding sound...oh god was it bad, but still it kept growing, getting better, and soon became THE BEST BROWSER. Yes, it's grown so big now that it will be stepping on Tokyo soon and the cries of, "Mozilla is coming, Mozilla is coming" will be dubbed with an out of sync English accent. Seriously though, Mozilla is faster than any browser out there, it meets almost all the internet standards perfectly, and it's a very stable browser. For my money it's the best value, oh and it's free, yes I mentioned that right? Yes, well it is free. You can download Mozilla here www.mozilla.org . Many Linux users will be familiar with this browser since it comes as standard fair in most of the Linux distributions now.
Internet Explorer - Okay, so, this is the one most people use. Internet Explorer has come a long way and it's in many ways one of the things Microsoft succeeded with by paying attention to the internet standards that are currently out there. I find that Internet Explorer meets many of the HTML, CSS, XML, ASP, PHP, and pretty much any other webpage standard you want to throw at it...why is this good? Well, it means that the webpage will be displayed as the author intended it to be displayed. So, it is a very good web browser, however, I find on older systems like Win 95, 98, ME, if you screw up your IE, you screw up your whole damn operating system. This is where IE is just too integrated into the operating system and this is where you could end up in a little bit of trouble.
Opera - The innovative little browser that could. What makes this browser interesting is the features it adds beyond the basics of web browsing. One thing I like is the popup blocker included in the program. Yes those annoying popup ads are bye bye and they stay that way. It's a small, relatively fast browser, and generally I like it. It is web compliant, umm, mostly compliant, okay so I have used it and gotten some funky looking pages from time to time. The Con's of this browser - It costs, umm, $30 the last time I checked...if you don't pay you can have a freeware version that's supported with advertising. It sort of makes me cringe to pay anything for a web browser, mainly because the best browser is free, but I can't fault Opera for wanting to make money, not every program can be open source. I think Opera will have it's market in Palm devices because of it's ability to render pages small and to still make them look like web pages. Give it a download here www.opera.com if you want to give it a try.
Avant - This is more of an add-on to Internet Explorer, so it won't get really that big of a write up. Originally it was called IE Opera, umm, yeah good name considering there was already a browser named Opera, but anyway, so they became Avant. Pluses about this browser, it has a very effective popup blocker and some quick mouse gesture things, so it's more of an add-on to IE and it does work rather nice, but, it's still basically Internet Explorer.
Netscape Navigator - I put this browser last, because, well, basically Mozilla and Netscape are indistinguishable at the moment. Netscape is basically Mozilla only they make you register to use the browser, which isn't that bad, but still it's basically Mozilla or is Mozilla basically Netscape. The line is getting blurred a bit. The positives about Netscape, well, I used them loyally for years, so I'll always have a bit of loyalty towards them. Second, I liked that they knew when they needed help and opened their source code. One other pro is that their email client that comes attached with the browser will accept AOL mail, so if you want an email client for you AOL account this is the way to go (AOL bought out Netscape a few years ago). Basically Netscape is Mozilla that you have to register to use...but still, it is a good browser and has some interesting integrations in it, like ICQ, AIM, etc.
So that's the list, did I miss some browsers, umm, yeah, probably I did, but I'll make this list longer as new browsers come out. Which browsers do I use, I like Mozilla, it is the fastest most stable...that would be my choice, but any of the browsers listed will do a good job, you just have to pick a browser that's best for you. Mozilla is coming...oops, sorry, I couldn't resist.
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