Blog Archive for 06/2006

I've spent a lot of time in search engine optimisation forums of late trying to get better page rankings for my own site and that of some of my clients. A lot of novice webmasters have been led to believe that Google PageRank (a way by which Google determines the importance of a web page) is the be all and end all of search engine visibility.

Google updates the PageRank we see for pages periodically (usually 3 months) and the inexperienced often chant the mantra, 'when is the next PageRank update'?

This is a question that need not be worried about too much and to prove it I've written an article on the matter that I hope will put a few people straight.

You can read the article here.

I was recently after a sleek keyboard to replace my ugly Microsoft one. I searched high and low for something affordable yet aesthetically pleasing but couldn't find anything that really took my fancy. I was surprised to find out from some forum crawling that to a certain extent most Mac peripherals will work on PC. I'm fairly neutral on the *NIX / Windows / PC ground so it didn't bother me if I used Mac hardware or not. A common admission of even the most hardcore anti-Mac users is "I don't like them but their stuff looks good" and I'd certainly agree with this. However, I have always thought that Mac hardware can be a little overpriced so I was delighted when I found out you could buy a white Mac keyboard directly from the Apple UK Store for £19.99 plus VAT - that's even cheaper than the tacky Microsoft one I was about to throw out.

I ordered the keyboard through Apple's easy-to-use website (another thing you have to give them credit for) and the keyboard arrived a few working days later.

I was, and still am, delighted with the product. The information I'd received from the Internet proved trustworthy: the keyboard would indeed work on non-PC hardware. What's even better is that the keyboard has two built-in USB ports which came in handy for my mouse and graphics tablet. So not only is it a great keyboard, I now have two extra free USB ports!

When I plugged the keyboard into my Windows XP machine it recognised the Apple keyboard and promptly installed the appropriate drivers. The only (very slight) two issues I had was that the keyboard layout was American and I had to change it to a UK layout manually; the second is that the keyboard remained inactive until the login screen. This isn't really a problem - it just means using my PS2 different keyboard if I ever need to do anything with the BIOS (which is very rare).

My Linux (Kubuntu) box faired even better. It worked instantly and automatically changed the keyboard layout to UK and unlike my XP machine the keyboard works from boot up.

As well as working well the keyboard feels sturdy and looks fantastic. I cannot think of a better value keyboard and whether you're pro Mac or not I recommend it as a good all-round keyboard.

After looking at my new keyboard it made me realise how awful my Genius mouse looked. I went back to the Apple website to see if they had anything that would match my mouse. They did: the Mighty Mouse.

The Mighty Mouse looks just as well-designed as the keyboard. Apple dub it as "the mouse that reinvented the wheel. The scroll wheel, that is". It has an attractive slim design: the scroll wheel is a sensitive, petite grey circle and the left, middle and right buttons are hidden from view (it looks like a single button - you click on the left-hand side of the mouse for the left button, the right-hand side for the right button, et cetera). With my mouth watering as I looked at the picture I promptly ordered myself one. It set me back £34.99 plus VAT but I was so impressed with the keyboard I reasoned it was a price worth paying. Again, the item came quickly. I opened it up and I have to say the Apple Mighty Mouse is worth every penny. The design is superb and it is a delight to use (the hidden buttons work really well). It is very small though and may not be suitable for the large-handed.

All-in-all I've very pleased with my purchases - my desk has never looked so good!

Toshiba have announced that the first ever recordable HD-DVD player will be released on in Japan on 14 July 2006.

The player, named RD-A1, is the first of its kind and comes with a mouth-watering 1 Terrabyte hard disc; in terms of HD content this equates to 130 hours of digital high-definition video. The player accepts HD-DVD single and dual-layer discs that can store 115 minutes and 230 minutes of HD video respectively.

There are currently no plans to release the player outside of Japan but even if there were who could afford one? In terms of English Sterling the player would set you back almost £1900! The HD revolution has really left people struck with awe but at these sort of prices it doesn't matter how much you want one it's likely that if you can afford a decent TV you won't be able to record anything that comes through it!

Opera Software today made version 9 of their web browser available for free download.

The Opera web browser has become a popular alternative to Microsoft's Internet Explorer and the free open-source web browser Firefox. Opera shares many of the useful features found in Firefox and is well-known for its fast rendering of web pages and sleek interface.

The new version of Opera has many new features including BitTorrent support, a content blocker (for hiding ads) and a host of fun desktop widgets. These new facets of Opera join the plethora of useful features that are making many Windows users ditch their copy of Internet Explorer.

You can download the new version of Opera for free here or you can get a full list of the features here.

Tonight BBC 2 aires a new comedy series of seven episodes from the pen of Steve Coogan (most famous for his Alan Partidge character) and the lesser-known Neil MacLennan (I only know him as a writer of Monkey Trousers).

According to the BBC website Saxondale is "an ex-roadie with anger management issues and a pest control business". Alison Graham of the Radio Times has reviewed tonight's episode; she comments, "it's a testament to writer/creator Steve Coogan's abilities that you stick with Saxondale - both the man and the comedy - to the end of this opening episode, because the character is so completely repellent. He's unsmiling, with a drably monotonous voice and dreadful personality. Tommy Saxondale is, in short, horrible and everything about his life is downbeat."

I'm looking forward to this; although I don't think it will come close to the quality of Partridge it looks like it will be moderately entertaining.

Episode 1 of Saxondale is on BBC 2 tonight from 10:00 to 10:30.

If you're familiar with a place that is "is the center of weirdness for the universe" then you're probably familiar with an American TV program from the early 90s called Eerie, Indiana.

Over 10 years ago Channel 4 aired both series of this cult show that saw protagonist Marshall move to a town called Eerie with his family. In each episode Marshall and his friend Simon would encounter another strange facet of the town.

This DVD is an essential for all fans of the programme. The Region Two is due for release on 20 July 2006 and both series (all 19 episodes) are available in a single boxset from Play at a price of £17.99.

Google today released Beta 4 of Google Earth, a free 3D interface to the planet.

The new version boasts a larger map index, a new and more simplified user interface, textured 3D buildings and a feature that allows users to share geographical information with others. Perhaps the most importantly new feature is that there is now a Linux version out too!

For those not familiar with it, Google Earth is a free desktop application that allows you to views places, terrain, buildings, data, roads and lots of other useful data via a 3D globe interface. Find out more about Google Earth here.

Get Google Earth Beta 4 Now!

Features of the new Windows Vista are dropping like flies. This is pretty appalling considering how long Microsoft have been developing their new operating system.

It looked like things might be picking up recently when Microsoft offically released the Public Beta version of Windows Vista (which means anyone can test it out not just MSDN members).

And what happens when you try to download it?

Oh dear. Microsoft have run out of bandwdith - the world has indeed gone mad.

I came across this Flash game on a forum today and thought I would post the link. It's called Adventure Island Fling. This is a well-polished Flash game with addictive and entertaining gameplay.

The object of the game is to hurl a turtle as far as you can across the sea, scoring as many points as you possibly can. There are obstacles along that way that can help or hinder your throw.

Happy flinging!

John Humphrys returns to Radio 4 this morning with a new Series of On The Ropes. In each episode of this programme Humphrys chats candidly to a high-profile figure who has, at some point, hit rock bottom or fallen completely from grace.

Even if you're not familiar with the interviewee, Humphrys' entertaining and outspoken manner makes this first-rate listening.

The series kicks off at 9:00 this morning and features "fat" chef Clarissa Dickson-Wright. Humphrys chats with Dickson-Wright about her upper-class yet violent childhood, her fall to chronic alcoholism (half a bottle of vodka before breakfast!) and her rise to a television programme that was watched by over 70 million people that world over and was subtitled into Inuit!

The 9:00 programme is repeated at 21:30 and is also available through the Listen Again feature on the Radio 4 website.

Play are having a sale on the following comedy DVD boxsets: The Simpsons (series 4 - 6 are easily the best), Family Guy (never seen it), Futurama (consistantly superb) and King of the Hill (not very good in my opinion). The Simpsons and Futurama are timeless classics and with at least 50% of each box set featured in the promotion now has never been a better time to start collecting.

Details of the promotion can be found here.

The wait is over! The stable version of the new Ubuntu / Kubuntu Linux distribution is out as of today. You can get the .iso file or order a free CD from the Kubuntu website. I'm downloading it as I type (it must be popular as I'm only get ~40 KB/Sec). In fact, Canonical, the sponsors of the Ubuntu projec,t have reported over 50,000 pre-orders for CDs for this version.

If you're an inveterate Windows user and have never considered tryning Linux before I emplor you to try Kubuntu. It's like all the best bits of Windows and Linux rolled into one.

As a self-confessed eye candy addict I've been itching to try out the new Compiz XGL features that are available on Dapper Drake. This adds a plethora of eye-candy to your Linux desktop (3D desktop cube, fancy window transitions, transparency, et cetera).

I'll post a report and some screenshots once I have it up-and-running!

In upgrading the website to from XHTML Transitional to XHTML I came across an irritating aberration in my GUI: In Opera, Firefox and Netscape Navigator, the DIVs were leaving a distance of a few pixels between each other. Naturally, Internet Explorer either doesn't even register there is a problem or it completely ingnores it. This gap wasn't then when it was (valid) XHTML Transitional. After much Googling I found many people with the same problem but no answer.

After a brief tinker I found the solution and I'm pleased to say it's very simple. Just set the line-height for the troublesome DIVs to 0px;.