Spam has been plaguing email for years, but blogging now seems to be getting more that it’s fair share. Up to a few days ago, this blog was plagued with spam. Everything from adult content to fix credit, insurance, make money online, and the list goes on. Akismet brought slight relief in that I could check each comment before accepting it, which was okay in preventing spam comments from being shown on my blog, but I had to spend a lot of precious time going through literally hundreds of comments trying to figure out which was genuine and which was spam. That was until I tried Lester Chan’s WP-Ban plugin. The plugin is so effective, I am now spam free. It allows you to:

1. Ban IP addresses (usually written like: 194.165.42.151) that are sending spam.
2. Ban IP address range.These pests sometimes use numbers in a range (dynamic IP addresses) so the plugin allows you to specify an IP range.
3. You can also ban domain extensions. This was quite welcome as I get nothing but spam from .ru domains so I just banned everything with the .ru extension.
4. Ban specific domains. Those “sdiuewkwqer.com” domains can be entered into WP-Ban and you’ll never hear from them again!
5. Ban Referrers.

You can see the statistic for how many times those IP’s are attempting to spam you after being banned. Another handy feature is the use of Wild Cards so there can be generalized banning. After two days, the spam dried up. Sure, there will be new IP addresses coming in to replace those banned, but all you’ll have to do is enter them in WP-Ban as soon as you identify them as spam and they’re out of your life. You can download the plugin from LesterChan.net. Chances are you will see other free plugins that may come in handy.

The advance of technology since the advent of the micro-chip has been mind boggling. The possibilities for improvements in entertainment seem endless and every now and again revolutionary products makes us wonder: “What’s next?”

Now imagine a guy like me being used to his 71 channel cable system with a monthly subscription, owning a piece of software that allows me to watch over 3000 stations from all over the world?! Imagine the joy I feel scrolling through those endless channels!

The only other thing you’ll need besides the software is a PC or laptop with internet connection. You can access this service from any country in the world! Now all you have to do when going on  a vacation is to pack your laptop (which you usually do anyway) and you’ve taken all 3000 channels with you! Welcome to to the world of iSoftware TV.

What Do You Get?

Over 3000 channels of television stations from around the world.

What kinds of stations?

Stations countries all over the world including local, regional and international broadcasts.You’ll get Sports, News, Movies, Music, Weather, Kids Channels, Educational, Shopping and even radio stations! . There is HBO, CNN, ESPN, EuroSports, MTV, MSNBC and and thousands more. Most importantly,  the movies are DVD quality! The digital sound quality is equally impressive.

Channels originate from which countries?

ALBANIA, ALGERIA, ANDORRA, ARGENTINA, AUSTRALIA, AUSTRIA, BELARUS, BELGIUM, BOLIVIA, BOSNIA, BRAZIL, CANADA, CHILE, CHINA, COLOMBIA, COSTA RICA, CUBA, CZECH REP, DENMARK, DOMINIC. REP, EGYPT, ESTONIA, FINLAND, FRANCE, GERMANY, GREECE HUNGARY, ICELAND, INDIA, INDONESIA, IRAN, IRAQ, ISRAEL, ITALY, JAMAICA, JAPAN, JORDAN, KURDISTAN, KUWAIT, LATVIA, LEBANON, LUXEMBURG, MACEDONIA, MALAYSIA, MALTA, MEXICO, MONGOLIA, NETHERLANDS, NEW ZEALAND, NICARAGUA, NIGERIA, OMAN, PANAMA, PERU, PHILIPPINES, POLAND, PORTUGAL, PUERTO RICO, QATAR, ROMANIA, RUSSIAN FED, SAUDI ARABIA, SERBIA, SOUTH AFRICA, SOUTH KOREA, SPAIN, SRI LANKA, SWEDEN, SWITZERLAND, TAIWAN, THAILAND, TURKEY, UNITED KINGDOM, UKRAINE, USA, VATICAN CITY, VENEZUELA, VIETNAM.

I still haven’t found the time to go through all the channels and it is so good to get different perspectives of the world without traveling.

But how long does it take to start using the service? As soon as I ordered, I downloaded the software and installed it and presto, I was watching ISoftware TV! Best of all, it was a small, one time payment and no monthly cable bill!

This is indeed the future of television. With subscribers demanding more and more from their program providers, this is the ultimate package. Try ISoftware TV. I am sure you’ll thank me for introducing it to you. TV will become interesting again. The predictability and stereotypical programming is gone. Now you’ll have more stations than you’ll have time to watch! Learn about different people and cultures…be informed, amazed and entertained. Still watch the regular programming you love. Get ISoftware TV!

Here is how iSoftware stacks up against the competition:

$10 OFF $200 Coupon in our Computer Store! New Customers Only! exp 09/30/08

Executive Openings! C-level Execs., Senior VPs, VPs, Directors & Managers. $80,000 to $500,000+

Click Here to download!

Error Nuker is a FREE PC Diagnostics tool that identifies the precise problems in your Windows registry so you can determine exactly what your PC is suffering from. Even if your PC is perfectly fine, you should try the diagnostics tool if you want to avoid serious problems before they happen. Best of all you can keep the tool and find out if your PC has problems for FREE as often as you like.

Windows communicates with its registry dozens of times every second and broken registry keys can make that communication difficult and slow. Even moderate use of a PC running Windows could result in numerous registry keys and files spread across the Windows registry. Many of these entries are no longer needed or used by Windows and may well disrupt the smooth running of your system.
After just a few days these Windows registry keys and files can begin to accumulate and, over time, will cause your PC to slow down, trigger ‘missing’ .exe or .dll files messages and finally stop running altogether.

It’s likely you will find dozens (possibly hundreds) of ‘time bomb’ Windows registry keys and files, just waiting to create havoc with your system - usually at the most inconvenient moment! Once you see the extent of the problem you’ll undoubtedly want to rid these ‘time bombs’ from your PC as fast as possible. Now here’s the good news - Error Nuker will fix them for you, quickly and efficiently with just one mouse click using it’s Windows Registry Repair Algorithm (WRRA).

Here are the main features of this program:

Automatic Scan
By default, Error Nuker scans the registry for all types of errors. This is the simplest way to clean up the registry. Automatic Scan is recommended for ‘non-technical’ users.

Custom Scans
You customize your search and scan Windows registry for particular types of errors (shared DLLs, missing fonts, invalid startup entries, etc.).

Manual Cleanup
After the scan is complete, Error Nuker will show you a full list of errors with details, broken down by types and let you fix individual invalid entries or all invalid entries of a certain type.

Backup and Undo
Before removing an entry from your registry, Error Nuker automatically creates a backup file that can be used to undo the changes.

Scheduler
You can schedule Error Nuker to scan the registry whenever you start your computer.

FREE
Error Nuker will scan Windows registry and give you a detailed list of errors broken down by type Absolutely FREE.

Click Here to download!

I would like to share this site that has some “priceless” tips, tweaks and tricks for Windows XP users. Chances are, there is something here you might find useful.

Windows XP Tips and Tricks

This is a letter I sent to a friend looking for advice on buying a DSLR for the first time. He doesn’t have much experience with cameras but wants to make one buy and get something good. This might help anyone in a similar position:

Check out DPReview if you want a new camera. It is really detailed and will tell you every single thing about the cameras. It also has a side by side comparison if you want to compare different cameras.

The big two DSLR manufacturers are Nikon and Canon. Other manufacturers have good cameras (some may argue that they are better) like Pentax, Olympus, Sony, Panasonic and lately Samsung but Nikon & Canon are still untouchable due in no small part to their huge market share . The lens and other accessories for them are easy to find. I won’t get into the technical stuff as most of the features are quite similar between brands and will mean nothing to someone owning a DSLR for the first time. You will have to do more detailed research to find out how things such sensor size, autofocus points, exposure bracketing, burst speed, ISO range, etc., will be of importance to you.

Here are some simple but very useful features you should think about when buying a DSLR:

1. Dust Removal is included in most newer models. Important for a DSLR as changing lenses causes dust to build up on the sensor and will eventually show up in your photos. My Nikon D40 doesn’t have the feature and I am having a hard time getting the dust out which shows up especially in photos of the sky. I have tried several cleaning methods to no avail.
2. Size and Brightness of the LCD screen should be at least 2.5″ so you won’t struggle to read the display,  especially if you have reached that 40 year old barrier…like me.
3. Compatible Lenses: not every nikon lens will fit every nikon camera, the same is true for the others. The drawback with Nikon D40, D40x and D60 is that only a narrow range of lens will work on them. See this article on my website to help you understand.
4. Live View: This is an added bonus coming out with newer cameras that allows you to take pictures with the LCD screen (without having to look through the viewfinder). This is handy for taking pictures in crowds or if you want to take photos without anyone realizing your camera is focused on them.

5. Kit Lens: make sure it comes with a good lens from wide angle to short zoom (anywhere between 18-55mm at least). the lower thesmaller figure (18 in this case), the wider the viewing angle of the lens and the more the larger number (55 in this case), the longer the zoom. A good kit lens is extremely necessary if you don’t have the cash to spend on expensive add-on lenses right away.

6. Face Detection: shuts off the LCD screen when your face goes up to the viewfinder so you are not blinded by the bright LCD at nights. I suffer with this problem using my D40 at nights because it lacks this feature.

8. Vibration Reduction: extremely important especially for amateurs to reduce blurs in the photos, even if your hand shakes. Some cameras employ VR in the camera (which is the better option) and others place it inside the lens. If you buy a camera without VR (Canon calls it Image Stabilisation or IS), ensure it is included in the kit lens.

7. Price…of course (needs no comment). I shop at Right Price Camera. They have some really good prices.
For other more technical advice check out DPreview and you may also look at these links:
http://tech.yahoo.com/gd/discovering-the-great-dslr-features/200187 and
http://alatest.com/digital_slr_cameras/c-248/
Check out Ken Rockwell’s Reviews of Nikon and Canon cameras at the bottom of his home page. Ken is considered an expert on digital cameras.
Finally, check out what I’ve done with my photos at my photography site Amateur Photoblogger or check out what else I have to say at my blog http://dejagib.com/blog.

Hope this helps you.

Dejagib.

Competition has forced camera manufacturers to include innovative features to gain advantages over other brands. There has been waterproof cameras for some time…now cameras have YouTube Capture Mode (Casio Elim EX-Z1080), shockproof, freezeproof, dustproof, face detection and vibration reduction to name a few. Fujifilm has given us a camera with special features for bloggers.

Fujifilm has chosen to exploit the possibilities from the vast and rapidly expanding blogging market with the Finepix Z10fd. Let’s face it, with the explosion of social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace,HI5, LinkedIn (just to name a few), it is inevitable that soon everyone will eventually have a blog or two. Everyone now wants to express themselves to the world. Bloggers need photos for their blogs.

Blog mode

Crop & Resize ………………………… Save To PC…………………….. Upload to Blog

Auction mode

7 Color Choices and a Slim 18.8mm “Aero” Body.

Other features include: face detection, red-eye removal, picture stabilisation mode, intelligent flash, slide show with music, scrap book show, wireless communication and Powerful Technology in the Color.

• Catalogue &(PDF:7.6MB)
• Owner’s Manual &(PDF:4.4MB)

Specifications (DETAILED)

7.2MegaPixels - 2.7″ LCD Monitor - 4X Optical Zoom - 5.1X Digital Zoom - 6.3-18.9mm f/3.7-4.2 (35 Equiv. 38-114mm) - xD & SD/SDHC Card Slot - 54MB Internal Memory - Dim. 3.6x 2.2x 0.8″ - Weight 3.9oz.

Sample Image

Accessories

Finepix Z10fd on Flickr

Transformation packs allow you to change various features of your Windows XP installation including the theme, wallpaper, boot screen, login screen and mouse pointer. There are several such packs for download from Geek Needs at this link: Transformation Pack Round up for Windows XP | GeekNeeds.

Firefox 3 is made to work with all types of connections, fast & slow. ADSL users will get a kick from this method of increasing their browser’s speed.

matt-helps | Firefox 3 super speed increase

Having computer problems? Before you call the repairman, check out this handy site that offers a FREE computer repairs flowchart for diagnostic and repair guidance. Fix it yourself…..it could save you some money in these tough times.

Computer Repair Flowchart

There are addons and there are addons, but my very favourite of all has to be the StumbleUpon Firefox Addon. Firefox is the only browser I use, so I don’t know if it is available for any other. Once you’ve tried it (StumbleUpon), you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it.

The concept is simple: sign up for free, download the browser toolbar, and check a few boxes to tell it the kinds of sites you like. You can choose your site or channel then hit the stumble button….a random site (previously recommended by a fellow stumbler) will open. You have the option to give it thumbs up if you like it or thumbs down if you don’t. If you do, it will be added to your profile as a list of sites you like. It is also added to the toolbar as a Favorites (Star) Icon for future reference.

The more stumbling you do, the more StumbleUpon understands what you like. It uses community-based ratings to compare your results with people having similar preferences so that it can make quality recommendations.

It is great for when you want to surf and don’t know where to go or when you want to view different sites from a specific channel. When I want to view different blogs, I just select the WordPress or Blogspot category and just keep hitting the stumble button. The Stumble Images Icon is perfect for the times I want to look at some beautiful photos. You will find your way of using it, depending on your preferences. This is an addon every browser should have.