technokrz {dot} com

13 Powerful Firefox Extension for Web Professional

Sharl — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 21:47:30 +0000

Like most web developers or SEO professionals, I use a vast array of tools to get the job done. I use a combination of desktop and web applications, some purchased and some free. Everyone I know has downloaded a free copy of Mozilla Firefox, but few realize that by installing some of the 1,500 free extensions they can eliminate the need for most of the other applications they currently use. Below are my 13 favorite extensions for web professionals (in no particular order):

HTML Validator (http://users.skynet.be/mgueury/mozilla/) – validates web pages to the W3C HTML standards with a simple green check in the corner of the page if the page validates, a red check if it doesn’t, and a yellow exclamation point if there are warnings. It also includes an enhanced view of source code that allows you to see where errors are within the code.
FireFTP (https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/684/) – free, secure, cross-platform FTP client that provides easy and intuitive access to FTP servers. This eliminates a piece of software for those of you who use a separate program for FTP. Very lite and smooth. Beside Filezilla I also use FireFTP
Professor X (https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/2823/) – lets you view header information without having to view source code. The page “slides” down and Professor X shows you the contents of the page’s head element, including Meta, Script and Style content.
NikkelWHOIS (https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/2646/) –view the WHOIS information for any page by clicking the button on the top-right of the browser.
IE Tab (http://ietab.mozdev.org) – sick of swapping between Internet Explorer and Firefox when testing out a web page you’re developing? With IE Tab you can view Internet Explorer in a Firefox Tab!
FireBug (https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/1843/) – an advanced debugger console that lets you monitor your JavaScript, CSS, HTML and Ajax.
Codetech (https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/1002/) – web page editor that has the feel of Dreamweaver. An amazing extension for anyone doing web design that doesn’t want to fork out a few hundred dollars for Dreamweaver.
Server Switcher (https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/2409/) – easily switch between sites on your development and live servers by clicking the switch server icon.
SEO for Firefox (http://tools.seobook.com/firefox/seo-for-firefox.html) – pulls useful market research data right into Google’s and Yahoo!’s search results, including Google PR, Age, links, Alexa rank, WHOIS, and more. It also adds a few helpful links to the top of the search pages, including Google Trends, Google Traffic Estimator, and the Overture View Bid tool. This is marvelous. I love this one.
Yet Another Window Resizer (https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/2498/) – allows you to resize browser window to default screen resolutions.
AdSense Preview (https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/2132/) – preview the Google AdSense ads that would appear on that page. This is incredibly useful if you are considering putting AdSense on a page and don’t want to go through the hassle of signing up for an account and putting the ads up just to see what type of ads will show.
Screen grab (https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/1146/) – takes a screenshot of the webpage and saves it as an image file. This saves a ton of time compared to the method I used to use – take a screenshot and open Adobe Photoshop to crop the image.
Server Spy (https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/2036/) – indicates what brand of HTTP server (Apache, IIS, etc.) runs on the visited site on the lower-right side of the browser.

p/s: My ‘comments closed’ problem still prolong. Please help me.

How to Recover Your Lost Data

Sharl — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 06:47:09 +0000

Have you experience data lost? It is a disaster when you lost data from your computer. For some people computer files are a lot more important than their lives because it represents their whole life’s work and achievement. There are people who rely on their computers for almost everything, from their daily schedules, business and personal files and what have you. For some people who own the company, they operate using only a computer. So, the possibility of losing their computer data is thus a horrifying thought for them.

Even a student who uses his computer to store assignments, research papers and other school data will be dismayed at the though of losing such files. What more for a computer dependent entrepreneur who relies on his computer for the day to day existence of his business. Losing computer data for both types of computer users would mean a catastrophe because once lost, computer data can no longer be recovered.

However, technological advancements have made data recovery possible depending on a lot of factors. For one, computer users are advised to make back ups of their computer data to make sure they would not be caught red handed when computer data is destroyed. For some who hold very important computer data, the back up itself should even be further backed up to make sure there is a way of recover lost data.

Fortunately, there are companies who offer data recovery services in case of an unforeseen disaster like corruption of files or crashing of a computer hard drive. People who store very important data in their computers need to have back ups but in any case, they should be acquainted with a computer company that can offer them fast and efficient services for the recovery of their lost computer data.

It is thus pertinent that computer users have a way of knowing where to contact computer companies who can recover lost data for them no matter how such data was lost. There are various ways of losing precious data and one of those is carelessness. People take for granted that computers are very fast and efficient machines they can accidentally command their computers to lose or delete data in a flash.

The widespread use of internet has also been responsible for thousands of computer crashes all over the world because of viruses that attack computer hard drives. There are plenty of technical reasons why data is lost. Added to that are unforeseen disasters like fire or other calamity.

Computer users who have backed up their lost data but who discover that their back ups do not work still have a recourse. Rest assured that there are companies and software that can recover your computer files efficiently and quickly to minimize your potential losses.

Companies providing data recovery are equipped with technical people who around the globe and are more than capable of bringing back lost data. You just have to be able to know them beforehand so that when your computer data gets lost or destroyed then you have immediate access to their services.

One Problem Resolve

Sharl — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 06:34:23 +0000

Hi,

After one night struggle with WordPress problems finally I can only resolve one problem. These thing happen after I am transferring my blog to a new hosting provider. My sifu also did not know how to solve it. We just make try and error and research on Google. I stayed until 2am in the morning to figure out. These are the problems

Cannot upload media (picture, video and etc) to server
All comments section are closed

Problem no. 1 already solved where I just need to change the path of my new server in the WordPress setting section. Just go to WordPress dashboard > Setting > Media > In Store uploads in this folder fill in the textbox your current path of upload file.

Previously I cannot upload to the server because the path was incorrect. Solved.

Problem no. 2 is still mystery. My sifu tell me to change themes few times, removing some plugins and enabling all the discussion option. However the comment section still close. It happens to all three blogs that I move to new hosting.

Anybody can contribute ideas and solution. Please email me using contact form.

Cheers!

Technokrz.com Problem Again and Again

Sharl — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 00:51:04 +0000

After recovering from severe server problem earlier this year, this time around technokrz.com facing another problem. After moving to new web hosting since a month ago I cannot upload anything to technokrz.com except for plain blogpost. I cannot upload images, cannot perform editing and also few problem with current WordPress platform. My blog theme also screwed up and not function here and there.

Later today I am forwading my problem to WordPress expert and hopefully this blog can recover soon.

Tomorrow I will update my WordPress to 3.0 platform. Hopefully any bugs related is fixed. Hopefully… ^_^

TomTom GO Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator

Sharl — Tue, 18 May 2010 16:04:11 +0000

I am not posting for almost two weeks because of changing web hosting. Now I am really happy when this blog has zero downtime when moving to new web hosting. Cheers!

So this new product that catch my attention is one more product from TomTom. It is TomTom GO 730 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator.

With TomTom GO 730 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator you will get new ultimate driving experience. You can enter the address on the touchscreen or use voice address entry.

Whereas IQ Routes Technology gives you the fastest route every time by using actual average speeds of travel on your route to calculate your trip. Meanwhile Advanced Lane Guidance feature uses photorealistic images to bring even more clarity to complex multi-lane exits so you can be more confident on the road

With TomTom Map Share technology, you can instantly modify street names, street direction, POIs, road speeds. One most important features is Bluetooth hands-free calling and added safety features for easily accessing local emergency providers to make your driving even safer.

Some pros:

Voices are good
Routing is execellent
Ability to reroute around 1 road is awesome
Tomtom support is very helpful. They speak english and seem to be located within the US.
Much better software than other GPS providers.
Most accessories for the 720/920 work for the 730 including the Traffic antenna

Some cons:

Screen washes out in sunlight – We will have to look for a sunshade
Mounting system – What were they thinking? It fell off the window twice and doesn’t even clip into the mount. Had to purchase a 3rd party mounting system (Ram mounts work)
Should come with some type of case to protect the unit.
Really wish the speeding and red light cameras were supported in the US
POI doesn’t seem to be as robust as a Garmin. Tomtoms have millions of POI but just not the stuff we normally look for such as grocery stores, etc.

TomTom GO 730 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator

Olympus PEN E-P2 12.3 Mega Pixel

Sharl — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 13:31:50 +0000

This is user review found on Olympus PEN E-P2 12.3 MP Micro Four Thirds Interchangeable Lens Digital Camera with 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 Zuiko Digital Zoom Lens and Electronic View Finder.

I got mine on Saturday from a camera store here in Austin. The camera is nice and small but feels very solid. I was interested in the EP1 but could never get my mind around the practice of viewing and focusing on the back LCD screen. I was interested in this product segment because I have a collection of the Pen F half frame film cameras that this one is based on. I was very happy to learn that several people are making adapters that will allow me to use those old Pen F lenses on the EP2. I am looking forward to using two of my old favorites, the 60mm f1.5 and the 70mm f2.

I took the EP2 and the kit zoom lens out for a three hour spin yesterday morning. It was 30 degrees outside and the first thing I discovered is that this is not a camera with an interface you can use with gloves on. The buttons are too small and require too much pressure with gloves.

In daylight I didn’t notice any real problem with focusing. It was not as slow as I was led to believe. BUT, it does do this little “focus on either side of sharp” and then lock and shoot that takes a few tenths of a second each time you autofocus. The cure is to switch the focus on control to the fn button or the ael button and then you can focus once and shoot until the subject/camera distance changes. It’s definitely not bad. I also tried a bunch of low light focusing later in the evening and, with 60 watt household lights in various fixtures the focus locked pretty well.

You would be unwise to buy this camera without the EVF (electronic viewfinder). In my opinion this is what makes this camera and cameras like the Panasonic GF1 special. It’s a great finder. Almost as clear and clean as a great optical finder. Better than the optical finders on the Olympus e300 and e520 cameras that I also own.

Here’s why I really love the camera. I spent years and years shooting with a Hasselblad and I love composing images as squares. Several DSLR’s with “LIve View” are available that can be configured to shoot different aspect ratios in Jpeg. Including the square. But when shooting portraits those cameras go through too much time consuming labor to use it effectively and the effect can only be seen on the rear LCD screen. On the EP2 this is not the case. The exposure is relatively instantaneous. And the camera can be used in a square format which you can view through the EVF.. You basically wind up with a 6×6 camera that shoots 9 megapixel files (the crop of the 12 megapixel sensor to square) at three frames per second.

The color and sharpness, even with the kit lens, is superb. Out of camera jpegs are something Olympus is famous for and this camera is even better than it’s predecessors. I’ve also processed a few raw files with Capture One 5.01 and they are great but not that much better than a well exposed Jpeg.

At the end of the first paragraph is a link to a gallery of images. The image at the top of the blog is full size. Click on it to see just how sharp the files are.

The only unhappy note I have about the camera is that the BLS battery was “only” good for around 300 images. I always buy a spare battery when I buy a new camera so I had one in my pocket when the first battery became depleted. Keep in mind that it never got about 35degrees (f) while I was shooting and cold really messes with batteries. I presume you might be able to hit the 500 shot mark with warmer weather.

Finally, I am excited to shoot HD video with this camera. With adapters I’ll be able to use some of the great lenses I’ve bought for my regular Olympus cameras.

Here is my con list:

1. The batteries could last longer….

2. The EVF plugs into a port under the hot shoe. It also takes over the hotshoe. This means that you can’t use the hot shoe or even trigger a flash if the EVF is plugged in. This is a big deal. I wish the camera had a little pc terminal somewhere. Then I could use the EVF and still be able to trigger studio flashes.

3. Same thing for microphones. If you want to use an outboard mic for recording sound you’ll need to use the same connection port. So you get to choose between EVF and microphone.

4. I wish there were more dedicated Olympus lenses for this format. I’d love a 20 or 25mm prime lens with a fast aperture. I think that would be sooooo cool. Maybe that’s down the road.

All in all this is the camera I’ve wanted for a while. I am happy with it. It gets only four stars because of the multi-function port. On image quality it’s five star. If they drop in price after the launch I will try to buy a second body. Have fun deciding between this and the Panasonic GF-1.

Some technical details

12.3-megapixel interchangeable lens digital camera; Micro Four Thirds format
Includes 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 Zuiko digital zoom lens and Electronic View Finder
3-inch HyperCrystal LCD with Live View function; Continuous Autofocus (C-AF) tracking system
Record HD video with high-quality audio; Full Manual Control of shutter/aperture in Movie Mode
iEnhance to automatically adjust color and contrast for a more dramatic effect
Capture images and video to SD/SDHC memory cards (not included)

Chemistry for Word

Sharl — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 06:40:42 +0000

Chemistry students and teachers might want to check out the new Chem4Word add-on for Microsoft Word.

The free software, which was developed by Microsoft Research and Unilever Centre for Molecular Science Informatics at the University of Cambridge, allow Word user to insert chemical symbols, formulas and even 2D models of molecules into documents.

Chem4Word works with Word 2007 and the current beta version of Word 2010 and is listed as a beta version itself at http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/projects/chem4word/ – where more information and a demonstration video are also available for scientist, aspiring scientists and those who have chemistry papers due soon.

Source: New York Times Special Feature

A Searchable File for Your Notes

Use Unique Passwords

Sharl — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 13:56:28 +0000

It is good idea to use unique passwords for your online accounts, especially important ones like e-mail and online banking.

When you create a password for a site, you might think of a phrase you associate with the site and use an abbreviation or variation of that phrase as your password – just don’t use the actual words of the site. As an example, the phrase for your banking website could be “How much money do I have?” and the password could be “#m$dIH4ve?”

It’s cool huh

How to Speed Up Your Computer Part 2: Disk Defragmenter

Sharl — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 00:27:59 +0000

Note: This is from Windows XP interface

1.   Open your C drive properties and click the ‘Tools’ tab.
2.   Proceed to ‘ Defragment now…’ button.
3.   The Disk Defragmenter window will appear, click the button ‘Defragment’.
(Disk defragmenter will analyze first and then will defrag your hard disk)
4.   The highlighted drive C is the drive that had done defragmentation.
(If you have more than one hard disk, you can only select one at a time.
You can view the progress at the bottom of the window.
5.   Once the defragmentation is complete, a pop-up menu will appear.
To display detailed information about the defragmented disk or partition, click ‘View Report’ or click ‘Close’.

Jabra STONE Bluetooth Headset with Extreme Noise Blocking

Sharl — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 02:36:21 +0000

Look it at first time Jabra STONE Bluetooth Headset is very cool gadget with a decent design. This is the art of technology. 4 stars given.

Product features

Bluetooth headset with unique seamless frame that takes the headset off your face while improving conversation quality
Portable charging unit doubles as carrying case that fits easily in your pocket
Dual microphones reduce background noise while carrying your voice true and clear
Connect up to 2 devices at a time; streams music from A2DP-enabled mobile phones
Up to 8 hours of talk time and up to 12 days (288 hours) of standby time