SiteMeter Causes Sites to Crash in IE

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.

Brusheezy Photoshop Brushes

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.

Akismet Bug

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.

Now There’s Power Steering Parts!

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.

New Microsoft Browser

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.

Deleted From the Internet

It’s a long-standing joke about Google controlling so much of the Internet that they just may delete it, someday. They actually did (accidentally) delete their own blog a few months ago, amidst much snickering.

Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.

But what if Google removes your website? A huge percentage of Internet users use only Google as their search engine. This guy, Ryan Stewart, found out the hard way.

At first I thought it was just because I was in China and my blog had been blocked. But after asking my Twitter friends to check for me I realized that wasn’t the case. My blog had been completely removed from Google’s index. All of my blog posts were effectively gone to everyone that uses Google, which is basically everyone and especially technology-minded folks that I try to reach as an evangelist.

I was confused, angry, and I felt completely helpless. Everyone uses Google. It was a big referrer to my blog and when I posted tips and tricks for Flash/Flex/AIR I did so knowing that someone could Google the problem and find my blog. My name? No longer my own.

His story is riveting and scary. Stewart confesses that he “broke Google’s laws,” but these things can happen, even by accidentally hitting that “delete” button, as Google did to themselves. Really, I think Google has too much power, too much monopoly. It’s scary to think that if they decide to shun you, you are completely gone from the Internet. There is no real “savings account,” no buffer should this ever happen, by purpose or accident. I really hope to see more folks rise up and start their own search sites and etc.

Some ISPs Capping Usage

I have Verizon as my ISP. I’ve been pleased with the service, but for the past two months or so, I;ve noticed that I often get slight “disconnects.” I do not download videos or music (although my husband listens to music). The odd thing is that my connection is almost always interrupted, and constantly so, when I drop Entrecards. Weird.

Anyway, I saw news today that some ISPs are starting to cap usage. Remember those early days of Internet service, where you were charged by the hour? I can’t imagine some businesses would be dumb enough to return to those days, they were as annoying as nose blackheads, but there have been stupid CEOs before, and no doubt there are stupid CEOs now.

The phone company, Frontier Communications Corp., is one of several Internet service providers that are moving to curb the growth of traffic on their networks, or at least make the subscribers who download the most pay more.

This could have consequences not just for consumers - who would have to learn to watch how much data their Internet use entails - but also for companies that hope to make the Internet a conduit for movies and other content that comes in huge files.

As you can see, ISPs aren’t intending to cap time usage, but bandwidth usage. This is unwise. Bandwidth usage is not something you can really control. What if Aunt Bertha’s anniversary photos roll in unexpectedly, using up 10% of your bandwidth for the month? Too many uncontrollable variables. But unfortunately, I expect ISPs to start doing this.

If an ISP would offer “unlimited” usage (by changing nothing as it stands right now), they would make a ton of business. We’ll wait and see how this works out.

Relativity For the Average Person

The kids will soon be starting their lessons again, and we are gearing up for another year of the three R’s. Well– the three R’s plus “S” for “Science.” I am always scouting around for some good online helps and tutorials. Here’s a great one I found that helps to explain Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. It’s done by the University of New South Wales in Australia; it’s a series of videos, and it starts with the initial concepts of relativity by Galileo to theories beyond Einstein’s theory. High school students will like it, although it has some complexity to the lessons– but hey, it’s more entertaining than scheduling financial matters and paying bills at authorize.net!

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