I’ve been on a lengthy investigation, trying to determine why one of my sites is not working, intermittently. I’ve been getting emails from friends who say they cannot access my site. (Not this site, my Freaky Frugalite blog). What’s weird is that all these things from all sorts of places started going wrong at the same time! It was uncanny! I installed a new theme, I installed SiteMeter as a web stat counter, my web host had DNS problems (that they say they resolved), and ?? So now I am having problems crop up, and I can’t tell what it is. Weird!
Anyway, I found this news article while searching and thought it might be helpful for you SiteMeter users. Apparently, the javascript code for SiteMeter has been causing sites to crash for people using Internet Explorer. See here and here for more information.
This goes back to August 2, 2008. I don’t know if SiteMeter still has the issue. One fix I’d heard, besides removing the code from your site, is to place the code at the very bottom of your footer, so that the code will load last. That is what I am attempting right now. We’ll see if it works.
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Do you use Photoshop? I use it and a few other image editing programs. I have to say, the built-in picture frames, brushes, and patterns in Photoshop are lame. It’s a good thing people put up their creations online; I just don’t have a ton of time to spend, creating new brushes and stuff. One EXCELLENT site for finding patterns and Photoshop Brushes is Brusheezy.com. Like the site says, “Stupid name, cool brushes.” lol. It’s a treasure trove of stuff there, and it’s ALL FREE! (But please abide by their terms of service). Artists upload their art and you can download the stuff. It’s one of my favorite for finding new stuff for Photoshop. They’ve got a blog, too, for tips and good advice. Bookmark this one! I favorited it in Technorati for future reference, too.
I updated my Akismet plugin software, and weird things have been happening. On one blog, the plugin disappeared completely! Where’d it go!? On the other blogs, I can no longer “Delete All.”
My heart stopped and I wondered if I was having hosting problems (AGAIN). But a quick check at the Wordpress forums showed that others are having the same “Delete All” problems. They are saying it’s a bug.
My only question is:
Don’t people test things thoroughly out anymore, before releasing things to the user??
GRRR!
It doesn’t explain my mysterious loss of Akismet on my other blog, though (different host than the others). Siiigh. Honestly, some days I look back on Blogger and miss it. I really do.
Long, long, loooong gone are the days when we were at the mercy of car dealers, to buy replacement parts for our vehicles. Hurray! I love the Internet! I love car part sites! We have had to revamp and replace a staggering amount of parts in our minivans. It’s been staggering on the budget, too. I did a recent check, and did you know that even a simple thing like a replacement headlamp is $45 at the car dealership? $45?!?! Are they CRAZY?! Online, they can be as low as $15. My husband has been scouting out places for power steering parts, and we have been completely aghast at what dealerships are changing. And for what?! They probably go to the Internet for replacement parts, too! Grrr!
Our 1998 Dodge Caravan, while it has low mileage, is limping. One of the main problems right now is it has a leak in the power steering area somewhere. We have to keep the fluid compartment filled, or else the steering rack will grind. What a horrid sound. Because I have limited mobility, I need power steering! We have put off replacing the parts, because of the high costs. But– thanks to the Internet and sites like PowerSteeringPros.com, we can get dealer-quality parts for low prices– even steering box parts and more! Everything related to power steering! Because the company specializes in parts for power steering, they are more knowledgeable than, say, the WalMart do-everything-but-know-nothing shop.
Wait til Mr. M comes home today and sees that I found a great car part site. He just may take me out to dinner! After the van is fixed, of course. 
In any other case, this headline “New Microsoft Browser” would elicit a big yawn from me. But this perked my attention:
Latest Microsoft browser challenges Google
It’s from the Financial Times, and they make you pay to read the article. So I did some hunting around, and found this, skewed differently.
Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 browser a threat to online ads
Microsoft’s latest version of its dominant Internet Explorer web browser could threaten the rise of online targeted-advertising because it allows users to access websites in private.
Internet Explorer 8, which was launched by the software giant yesterday, contains a feature called “InPrivate” which allows users to essentially hide their personal details by automatically erasing so-called “cookies”, and also hides the browsing history from other people using the same computer.
The new feature potentially threatens the business model of companies such as Google, which uses cookies to collect information from users as they visit websites, and then uses it to target adverts at them.
Well, I am ALL for browsing in private! But of course, a lot of guys are touting this as a way to access pornography without the missus knowing. :-p (P.S. Guys, your women already know you do it, by your behavior).
Anyway, Microsoft is still trying to elbow it’s place in the rat race with Google. If that’s all we have, Microsoft or Google, I think the Internet is doomed, lol. I doubt I’ll download the new Internet Explorer 8 until I am forced to so with a Windows Update. I much prefer Opera and Firefox. But it is very interesting to see the trend these companies are going.
