Author: TruXter

Why Company Review Websites Are Useless

Posted onAuthorTruXter

Websites that allow you to do company reviews, have a huge hole in them. Seo people for years have hated running into bad reviews on these company review websites showing scarey reviews of the company they are trying to help in Google and other search engines. Review sites like company name sucks or angie’s list. The downside is the simple fact that 90% of the reviews, it’s someone upset while the other 10% is the websites SEO or Webmaster. Simple fact is only upset people leave reviews. A happy customer just waddles away and enjoys their purchase only to return and buy another product. The negative reviews are in most occasions, an ex employee that got fired for what he or she thinks is unjust or the competitor’s unscrupulous SEO . Disgruntled employees know deep stuff and can give away some information that should not be out. Like say an employee got busted sleeping in his company vehicle when he or she was supposed to be working. Or some kid who quit when his father who worked at the same place got busted stealing from the company. The kid then leaves a bad review of the company and releases information that is not for the public. It could be months before the company gets hold of this information. by then, many potential customers could have seen this and been turned away by a skewed truth. A good SEO knows how to pull up information about companies and use it to their advantage. With a simple post on one of the review websites, and a manipulation of their own website and bam, you have better search results. And it’s all free. You don’t even pay to be there.

These websites do not reflect the truth about the company in question in most cases..

This is getting more and more well known in SEO world. Hopefully Google takes this into consideration. because websites that claim to be honest reviews, really needs to put a disclaimer saying that they really can’t see if the same person is making 100 posts about a company because there is no 100% way to verify that each account on their website is legitimate.

If you want to test this out, go  create an account for either of the reviews sites I listed, and do a negative review of them, on their website and see which one gets filtered first.
I am pretty sure that Angie’s list will snuff all negative reviews of their site faster than they will help a company fight off an angry ex-employee. and the other site “company name sucks” will probably do nothing. Who knows, maybe they will. Test it out for yourself.

Home Made Cloud Concept

Posted onAuthorTruXter2 Comments

The whole “cloud Computing” title seems to have changed recently. So Now I have come up with a low cost concept to cloud computing. A concept that avoids any server fees for what ever site you are storing your media on.
If you have a network at home, or at least a router at home and more than one computer on this network. Maybe a spare computer that is old, out dated and kind of useless for most of your common everyday uses, but has windows XP or better, this will work for you.
The low cost cloud computing Concept I have kicked up is, just share a directory to the network, set router to allow one specific port open, get winamp for your phone, have win amp set to connect to your home’s i.p. address. In the directory that has the shared files, also share your winamp playlist file.
Set phone winamp to connect through specified port.

i will have to get back to this concept later when I haven’t been drinking. If anyone with a positive comment wants to chime in. Please do.. It will remind me I wrote this (when I get the notification in my email).

Thank you firefox for the built in spell check.

Domain Storage Half Off May 2011

Posted onAuthorTruXter

It seems that Powweb is running a half off sale on their Website domain storage and free domain name sale.
I did not know this until I was at work and getting my boss off of our ten year old dedicated host server that kept crashing and only gave us like 200 mb of storage. My boss was paying $1800 a year for such service. We do not need that kind of server with that little of storage. Sure if they had given us 5 gb of storage, then a dedicated server would have been perfect. Then we could have put customer files on the server and gave them access to the files at break neck speeds. instead we had enough space for a 20 page website with one repeated flash image, and we were maxed out. 200 mb of storage does not go that far. On top of all of that, we had 250 mb limit per month. With no ability to run any scripts because the server was built in 1998 and only updated as far as it’s obsolete operating system is worth.
I called tech support to see if I could get anything done. The fees became unbelievable. That company was bad for the company I work for. Useless for creativity, and far antiquated.
So I mentioned that I use powwebto my boss and that I pay $130 a year, with unlimited emails, unlimited bandwidth and unlimited storage. That’s for domain name renewal and storage renewal. My boss was amazed at how I knocked the bill into less than 1/10th the cost of previous server bills. I requested he clicked the link on my website for the domain host and he just handed me the credit card and put me on it. While I was filling all of the totals out, I saw that I could get him 2 years for $93.12 on his domain storage. This of course I noticed when at the end it asked “did any refer you?” I selected “other” and then typed in my website address ( TruXterTech.com) and it knocked off an extra $5 off of his bill.
When I showed him that he now has unlimited website storage and unlimited bandwidth and unlimited email accounts, he just grinned. didn’t say much after that. Kind of creeped me out but hey, I did good.

If you will notice, TruXterTech.com loads super fast and is rarely ever down. Then you know with everything unlimited and at half price, you are getting a great deal. Hope you do the wise thing and select more than one year because this sale will not last forever. I don’t even know if it will be on next month. They don’t really say much about that. probably a good idea to select two or more years. Imagine getting 5 years at the cost I pay for two. For five years you wouldn’t have to worry about your website storage, at all.

I can tell you that I have called their tech support and the phone was answered in seconds and the issue was resolved in a matter of minutes. And yes it was my fault for “learning how to do stuff” when I shouldn’t have been messing with stuff. but they restored me for free and got me running again in minutes.

Low Cost Barebone from Compusa

Posted onAuthorTruXter

ECS IC780M-A DiabloTek Barebones Kit – ECS IC780M-A Mobo, AMD Phenom X4 9750 CPU, Zalman CPU Fan, Centon 2GB DDR2 RAM, Seagate 320GB HDD, LG 24x DVDRW, DiabloTek ATX Mid-Tower Case, 400W Power Supply

 

To see images of this barbone budget computer build click here for images.

$199 for the beefy budget computer.

Specifications
ECS IC780M-A Motherboard

Processor Socket: AMD
Processor Interface: Socket AM2+
Form Factor: ATX
Processors Supported: AMD Athlon 64
AMD Phenom
AMD Phenom II
AMD Athlon II
HyperTransport Bus: 2600MHz (5200 MT/s)
Northbridge: AMD 770
Memory Supported: 400MHz DDR2
533MHz DDR2
667MHz DDR2
800MHz DDR2
1066MHz DDR2
Memory Type: DDR2
Number of Pins: 240-Pin
Maximum Memory Supported: 4GB – 32bit
32GB – 64bit
Number of Slots: 4
Max. Memory Supported Per Slot: 8GB
Channels: 6 Channels
LAN Type: 10/100/1000 Mbps Gigabit
PS/2 Keyboard Connectors: 1
PS/2 Mouse Connectors: 1
USB Ports (Total): 8
USB Rear Panel Ports: 4
USB Onboard Headers: 2 – (expandable to 4 USB ports)
LAN Ports: 1
IDE Headers: 1
Serial ATA 3.0Gb/s Headers: 4
ATX Power Connectors: 1 24-Pin Connector
PC Power Connectors: 1 – 4 Pin
PCI Slots: 3
PCI Express X1 Slots: 2
PCI Express X16 Slots: 1
RAID Support: Yes
RAID Modes: 0
1
10
AMD Phenom X4 9750 Quad Core Processor

Manufacturer: AMD
CPU Type: Desktop
Processor Interface: Socket AM2+
Processor Class: Phenom X4
Processor Speed: X4 9750 / 2.40GHz
Cores: Quad
Cache Size: 4MB L2 + L3
Fan: Not Included
Wattage: 125W
Additional Technologies: HyperTransport
MMX
Enhanced Virus Protection
AMD64
Cool’n’Quiet
Unlocked Multiplier: No
Instruction Set: SSE
SSE2
SSE3
Zalman Hydraulic Bearing CPU Cooler

Fan Type: CPU Cooler
Socket Type: 775
AM2
AM2+
AM3
1156
1155
Bearing Type: Hydraulic
RPM: 1400 ~ 2700 RPM
Connector(s): 4 Pin (PWM)
LG GH24NS50R 24x Internal CD/DVD Drive

Cache Size: 2 MB
DVD+R Write Speed: 24X
DVD+RW Rewrite Speed: 8X
DVD-R Write Speed: 24X
DVD-RW Rewrite Speed: 6X
DVD Read Speed: 16X
DVD-RAM Write Speed: 12X
DVD-RAM Read Speed: 12X
CD Write Speed: 48X
CD Rewrite Speed: 32x
CD Read Speed: 48X
Color: Black
Length: 6.5″
Width: 5.7″
Height: 1.6″
Weight: 1.5 lbs.
Load Type: Tray
Interface Type: SATA
Enclosure Type: Internal
Type: CD/DVD Drives
Centon 2048MB PC6400 DDR2

Memory Category: Desktop
Memory Type: DDR2
Memory Speed: PC6400
Memory Speed MHz: 800MHz
Memory Size: 2048MB
Total Memory Size: 2GB
Memory Modules: 1
Memory Channels: Dual
Memory Socket: DIMM
Pins: 240
Seagate ST3320418AS Barracuda Hard Drive

Drive Type: Internal
Capacity: 320 GB
Interface: SATA 3.0Gb/s
Interface Type: SATA
Spindle Speed (RPM): 7200
Buffer Memory: 16 MB
Average Latency (msec): 4.17
Temperature, Operating (°C): 0 to 60
Temperature, Nonoperating (°C): -40 to 70
Shock, Operating: 2 msec (Gs): 70
Shock, Nonoperating: 2 msec (Gs): 350
Diablotek CPA-9611B ATX Mid-Tower Case

80mm Fan Ports: 3
80mm Fans Included: None
Form Factor: ATX Mid-Tower
Compatible Motherboards: ATX
µATX
Side Panel Type: Vented
Power Supply: Not Included
External 5.25″ Drive Bays: 4
External 3.5″ Drive Bays: 1
Internal 3.5″ Drive Bays: 6
Expansion Slots: 7
Front USB Ports: 2
Front Audio Ports: 2
Depth: 17.5″
Width: 7.5″
Height: 17″
DiabloTek PSDA400 Power Supply

Form Factor: ATX
Wattage: 400W
Modular Cabling: No
Fan: 80 mm
Input Voltage: 8A@115 / 5A@230 V
+3.3V: 26 A
+5V: 35 A
+12V 1: 15 A
-12V: 0.5 A
-5V: 0.5 A
+5VSB: 2.0 A
Motherboard Connector: 20+4 Pin
4-Pin P4: 1
4-Pin Floppy Connector: 1
4-Pin Peripheral Connector: 4
SATA Power Connector: 4

All of that for $199 before tax.
Computer case, motherboard memory and processor with AMD quad core cpu, dvd burner. Everything a barebone system needs. Now all you need is an operating system. If you check my previous build your own budget computers, you will see that I have listed many inexpensive operating systems.
FY Tiger Direct and Compusa are the same company.

Cold Call Computer Scammers

Posted onAuthorTruXter1 Comment

There are people who are cold calling victims and telling them that they work for Microsoft and are detecting many errors. They get the victim to install software that allows them open access to the computer. compromising the computer.
The caller pretends to be from Microsoft and have detected issues from your computer.

Part 1

Part 2

Part3

a pretty cool one with a kid pwning the Fake Microsoft computer repair scam callers.

What I don’t get is that at the beginning of the call the caller says they are from Microsoft. but by the end of the call they do not say it again. I have been hoping one of you would get them to confirm it at the beginning of the video and again near the end before you download the software they are looking for you to install. I have not yet received this call.
Can’t help but wonder if the call is because you have your phone number listed on the internet publicly for some website somewhere.

Budget Computer Build – Work Horse Edition

Posted onAuthorTruXter

Another build of a computer for people on a budget. This one will be the fast, upgradable strong running computer, for cheap.
For Doing Office work with lots of horse Power. Peach Tree,Quickbooks,Autodesk any heavy resource software you can throw at this beast should be easy running and show very little weight on this machine.

Very Nice case for under $45.
Windows 7 Ultimate for under $130
1TB Hard Drive for under $55
Motherboard And Cpu Combo under $120 Athlon II X2 250 (2 x 3.0GHz – 2MB Cache – 4000MHz FSB)
4 Gigs Memory PC3-10600 under $35
500 watt Power Supply under $50
19 inch Monitor under $120

$555 Home built computer with Operating system still sealed in it’s package. Beating this price and power combo will not be the easiest task. Of course if you have any of these items, subtract it from the total and then see what  the cost would be. In most cases people will leave out the monitor and the Operating system (especial windows 7 ultimate) and consider that  a computer.

So the barebone computer would only coast you $305
TigerDirect

Latest Build Your Own Budget Computer

Posted onAuthorTruXter2 Comments

Today’s build your computer special is across Fry’s and Compusa and Tiger Direct. I did the computer parts prices a bit higher saying “under” for a reason. I didn’t feel like doing the math for everything so I estimated the tax cost on most items. so go ahead and use my totals to get a ball park figure of what this computer will cost you. The main purpose of a computer build like this one is for a media center. Or I would have chunked in a DVD drive instead of the blue ray. I saw the blue ray player and price hunted to make the entertainment center computer work
To complete your system as parted, how about you make your own DVR from Knopmyth, and then just use the windows 7 as an addon and not a must have. This is better than a DVR and you can use the machine for more than just a DVR.

Blue Ray burner $99

4 gigs DDR3 under $40

Nvidia Gforce 250 under $85

EVGA GeForce GTX 550 Ti SuperClocked Video Card $119.99* After Rebate
icon

AMD Pnenom II x3 under $75
icon

Great CPU Cooling under $35

Windows 7 Under $100
icon

2TB Hard driver under $85

MSI Motherboard under $85 (sorry didn’t research it much, make sure the processor works with this motherboard)

Large Computer case under $65

Enjoy your build your own. This is a fine custom computer. This is a custom budget media center computer.

If anyone wants prices on the machines I build (slightly more customized than just parts) Please respond below. Payments are up front. Machines can range from budget power computers, to high power gaming machines to media creation and media editing beasts. and anywhere in between.
TigerDirect

First Impressions of Firefox 4

Posted onAuthorTruXter

Right off, Firefox 4 looks a bit like Google Chrome.
My home computer didn’t do what my work computer did when I upgraded to Firefox 4. My work computer When I upgraded to Firefox 4 all of the menu items in my browser disappeared. Lost my back button, lost my refresh button, Lost my home button, but all of that was restored by going into view, toolbars, customize. I then brought everything back. Could be because my work computer is Windows Xp and my home computer is Windows 7. My work computer also lost my Conduit toolbar while my Windows 7 computer at home did not.

After some usage, I really like the way the tabs move in Firefox 4 as you open and close them. The look of Firefox 4 stops looking so much like Google chrome and more traditional Firefox.and it seems to fix the crashing I was seeing on twitter when I used the older version of firefox web browser.
Not a bad web browser.

How To Fix Thunderbird Reply at Bottom

Posted onAuthorTruXter1 Comment

If you use Thunderbird as your primary email client and when you hit “reply” and your message is now below the quoted message from the original message and you really want to fix  this. I promise you it is right in front of your face.

I always forget how to fix the reply for Thunderbird. I work in an office with 30+ computers that use Thunderbird and I always have to fix this when we hire a new employee or get a new computer. So the whole reply at bottom be default for Thunderbird makes me nuts. Here is the fix for you.
In Thunderbird:

  1. Go to “Account Settings”
  2. Select “Composition & Addressing”for the account in question
  3. Check the checkbox in the Composition group that says “Automatically quote the original message when replying”.
  4. Once the combo box below is enabled select the option “Start my reply above the quote”

This will solve your response or reply issue with Thunderbird. I have no idea why they default the reply below the quote.
Mozilla needs to set the default so the reply is at the top of the quote in your reponse emails.