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LangaList Yet *Another* Expanded Issue! 2006-10-05 Please visit our sponsors and help keep the LangaList S.E. free!
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1) Still MORE Extra Content!Yup, we're still at it--- Mike and I are working to
deliver some of the content we couldn't send you while I was unavoidably
offline for a while. Hence this series of much longer than usual issues. (More info:
http://langa.com/newsletters/2006/2006-09-18.htm#1 and
http://langa.com/newsletters/2006/2006-09-21.htm#1 ) Click to email this item to a
friend 2) System Restore and Microsoft's Confusing Naming Practices
You've been tripped up by a Microsoft weakness, Don. Let me explain: Sometimes, Microsoft gets the naming of things exactly right. "Notepad," for example, or the "Program Files" folder, or "Control Panel." These names are obvious and self explanatory. But other times the names they choose are downright bizarre. For example, ask 100 ordinary Windows users the difference between the "TaskBar" and the "Quick Launch Toolbar," and you'll mostly get blank stares. (BTW, if you're not sure, see http://tinyurl.com/s74cs and http://tinyurl.com/nc3jm ) Or, consider the little cluster of icons down by the clock. Microsoft uses three official names for this: the "Notification Area," the "Status Area" and the "System Tray." Three different names for the exact same thing! (see http://tinyurl.com/okjmq ) So, not only are some of Microsoft's names obscure, they're also inconsistent. "System Volume Information" is another poorly chosen name, probably left over from the early deep-geek engineering design discussions of the current versions of Windows. If Microsoft had named it "System Restore Data" (because that's what it really is), there'd be no confusion. When System Restore is monitoring a drive, it tracks changes in the "System Volume Information" folder. Because the folder is part of System Restore, it's protected from casual snooping or alteration. But you can eliminate or reduce the size of System Volume Information folders by trimming the amount of space you want to reserve for System Restore on each drive, or by disabling System Restore on those drives. System Restore How-To info: See Tip #10 in Click to email this item to a
friend --- ( Your Clicks On Ad Links Help Keep The LangaList S.E. Free! ) --- "Thanks for the running the ad for Mr InkMan.Net. I bought 3
cartridges --------------( the above is an advertisement )-------------- 3) Setting Up An Online Store, Pt 1
Here's a quick overview of how the process works: First, you have to collect data from customers--- what do they want to buy, in what quantity, and for how much? For security purposes, most credit card companies also ask for a customer's billing (physical) address, as a way to make sure that the person ordering is the actual card owner. When the customer clicks "order" or "submit," the charge information is transferred in real-time to the appropriate credit-card company. Most small businesses use a "gateway" service (e.g. http://www.authorize.net/ ) that lets you have one contact point for all the different credit card companies you want to deal with: You send the information to the gateway company, and it sends the information to the appropriate credit card company, gets the response (purchase approved or denied) and then transmits that information back to you. If the charge is approved, the order can be marked as complete; and you, the merchant, then can fulfill the order. Finally, the major gateway companies settle up at the end of each day: They tally the orders and collect money from the credit card companies on your behalf. The credit card companies make their money by skimming a few percent from each transaction you send in. The fees vary, with Amex and Discover being the most expensive for a merchant to use, and Visa and Mastercard less expensive. The gateway company also needs to be paid, so when it collects money from the credit card companies, the gateway company takes a little for itself and sends the (diminished) balance by wire transfer to a known-good bank account you've previously set up for the purpose. There are three main ways to handle all the above: There are turnkey systems that handle almost everything for you: You sign up with a web site that handles all the back-end processing for you; they provide a front-end storefront or ordering forms or software; they manage the gateway services; and sometimes, they communicate directly with the credit card companies. PayPal is one such system: Everything happens on the PayPal site, and PayPal handles security, the semi-customizable storefront front-end software, fraud detection and prevention, the gateway functions, payment to the merchant, refunds to the customer, and so on. PayPal is actually very easy to use, and its fees--- while not cheap--- are reasonable. 2CheckOut.Com illustrates another kind of turnkey storefront: It operates much like PayPal, except that it's not designed to hold the merchant's money in a spendable form. Rather, they transfer payments to the merchant via wire automatic transfer after a couple of days. They're a high-cost service, but have the advantage of being pretty good with international orders, which can get complicated. Another benefit of turnkey systems is immediacy: PayPal takes just a couple days to fully set up an online merchant account; a place like 2CheckOut takes even less time. At the other end of the spectrum are roll-your-own approaches that you do on your own website. You sign up with a gateway company and, once you pass their security and financial screenings, they'll guide you through the process of becoming an authorized merchant with whatever credit card companies you wish. Each credit card company has its own set of forms and procedures; the amount of initial paperwork will remind you of doing your taxes. It'll take at least a couple weeks for all the gears to turn; but then you can build your own front end using whatever "shopping cart" software you wish. This approach gives you the most control over the look, feel, and features of your online store, and it's the least expensive to run, but takes a lot more time to set up and operate. In between, there are hybrid options such as EasyStoreCreator.com . If you already have a merchant account set up with a gateway service (and through it, have become an authorized merchant for whatever credit card companies you wish); then you can use their secure front end software to build a simple storefront and to collect orders. If you don't have a merchant account with a gateway service, they can set you up. Generally, hybrid services are easier to get going than roll-your-own, but not as easy as a turnkey; they're not hugely flexible; and the costs are in-between, too. Before this item gets too long, let's break it into a separate sections for better readability. (See below.) Click to email this item to a
friend 4) Setting Up An Online Store, Pt 2(continued from above) Initially, I had a roll-your-own storefront which communicated with a gateway service I'd signed up with; but this was back in a simpler time. As online security became more and more of an issue, it became more and more time consuming for me to add layer after layer of security to the ordering forms. I ended up spending way too much time running the mechanics of the online store instead of writing the newsletter! So, I moved most of the processes to professionally-maintained commercial services; in effect, paying someone else to manage the minutia of the ordering process. I've personally found one turnkey service--- PayPal--- to be the best for me, mainly because it's reliable, easy, and not terribly expensive. My second-choice is a hybrid service--- EasyStoreCreator--- using their front end plus my own merchant account, which I still have at Authorize.Net. My least-favorite choice is the turnkey (expensive and not very flexible) 2CheckOut, but I maintain my account there to help international customer who run afoul of the US-centric processes used on the other sites. This all works, but it's still a complicated thing; and I hope to have some major simplifications and improvements to announce soon! The above only scratches the surface, but at shows you the broad picture.
There's lots more information available online: Click to email this item to a
friend 5) Virtual PC Virtually Doesn't Work With Vista
Microsoft's Virtual PC (VPC) can be a wonderful
thing. It fools software into "thinking" it has a complete PC all to itself. The
"PC" it interacts with, however, is software in disguise. It's a great way to
test software (like Windows Vista) without committing your entire system or
putting your main environment at risk (
http://tinyurl.com/63smp ). VPC used to be a fairly expensive application,
but nowadays Microsoft gives it away. Your best bet will be to start with the most recent version of Vista you can get your hands on -- preferably (as of this writing) Build 5728 or at least RC1. A fellow named Jonathan Maltz maintains a very good list of precisely which OS versions work on VPC and which don't ( http://vpc.visualwin.com/ )--- and for those that do, what known problems might occur. You can download VPC 2004, free, at
http://tinyurl.com/6twu3 . And VPC 2007
is in the works; it will provide native Vista support, both as host and guest;
and still will be free. Click to email this item to a
friend --- ( Your Clicks On Ad Links Help Keep The LangaList S.E. Free! ) --- "Thank you for providing this service for a reasonable price. --------------( the above is an advertisement )-------------- 6) Two Ways To Put Windows On A Diet
Thanks, Kevin! nLite has shown up a few times on the
LangaList: Click to email this item to a
friend 7) Can't Find Perfect Search Utility
Is there a perfect desktop indexed search utility?
Probably not. But you might give X1 a try (
http://www.x1.com/download/ ). X1 is
very fast and accurate, and is easy to use. It indexes e-mail, including
attachments, and is configurable to maximize accuracy and minimize index file
size. It places optional launch bars in Outlook or on the Windows Taskbar. Click to email this item to a
friend --- ( Your Clicks On Ad Links Help Keep The LangaList S.E. Free! ) --- Adding RAM Is Often The Fastest,
Least-Expensive --------------( the above is an advertisement )-------------- 8) VPN Not The Only Way To ConnectOur recent piece on setting up a Remote Desktop connection via "virtual private networking" (VPN) sparked some very good reader advice and information on alternatives to this approach.
It's true. Remote Desktop can be used effectively
without a VPN in some circumstances. Whether you use a VPN or choose the direct
route, it's important to note that Remote Desktop is powerful -- too powerful to
be used without caution. Here's how to use it without compromising security:
Thanks, Ed! Windows Live Messenger (
http://get.live.com/messenger/overview ), the instant messaging service
formerly known as MSN Messenger, sports quite a few useful features, some of
which are related to instant messaging (offline instant message and video calls,
for example) and some of which are not. Live Messenger can be used only on XP,
Vista and Mobile versions of Windows. Click to email this item to a
friend 9) Recommend This Newsletter And Win!If you think the LangaList is a worthwhile read, maybe a friend would find it
useful too! Just use the following link to recommend the LangaList--- your
friend may find a new source of useful information and you just may win one of
three FREE ONE YEAR SUBSCRIPTIONS to the LangaList Plus! edition given each
month. (If your name is drawn and you're already a Plus! subscriber, your
current subscription will be extended by a full year.) Click to email this item to a
friend 10) Super Advice On Those "Super Hidden" FoldersAn item in the Sept. 25 issue ("'Super-Hidden' Folders Are Super Annoying" http://langa.com/newsletters/2006/2006-09-25.htm#3 ) prompted two readers to submit a tip and some good advice.
And this from reader Carol Waldera:
Thanks, Daniel and Carol! Great advice. Click to email this item to a
friend 11) And *Another* Code Load Success Story!After his site was listed in the last "Load The Code" section, this code-loader wrote:
Do you have a home page or website? (It doesn't matter what size.) Please click
over to http://langa.com/code.htm , and
maybe you can join the thousands of LangaList readers who have "Loaded the
Code!" (If you've already "Loaded The Code" and are wondering if your site will
appear here or on the Langa.Com web site, please see
http://langa.com/link.txt ) Manually Browse All Posted-to-Date Sites Starting At 50 Freeware Favorites Omninotables Brisbane (AU) Computer Repair A Computer Portal (huge compendium) KiwiPlanet Ayrware (C++) Jomama's Stuff CMSimple (DJ services and more; UK) LoserWho OneGuy's Point Of View Click to email this item to a
friend 12, 13, 14, 15, 16,) Plus! Edition Highlights:Today's LangaList Plus! Edition contains about 40% more content including:
Plus! Edition info: http://langa.com/plus.htm Click to email this item to a
friend --- ( Your Clicks On Ad Links Help Keep The LangaList S.E. Free! ) --- Cyber Guys! --------------( the above is an advertisement )-------------- 17) Just For GrinsWe all should get plenty of exercise, but with so much to do on our PCs, who has time to exercise? Well now you can combine PC time with physical fitness with the new Geek-a-Cycle, which combines a PC desk with a gym-style stationary bike. It's not a joke or hoax, but a real product you can buy ( http://www.slimgeek.com/ ). Click to email this item to a
friend (Give a gift subscription to
the LangaList Plus edition! Most months, the LangaList is is published about 6 times. See you next issue, 2006-10-09! Best, Please recommend the LangaList to a friend! (And maybe win a prize!) An easier-to read formatted HTML version is available in the "Current Issue" section of http://langa.com. (The HTML version of each issue normally is available by 9AM EST [UT-5] of the issue date.) All past LangaList issues are also available at the Langa.Com site. UNSUBSCRIBE (instant removal!):
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