Computer Corner

Real-world Computer and Internet Access issues are addressed here.

Please note that if you are having performance issues with Apple computers, I suggest that you read Why is my Mac Running Slow? at ChrisWrites.com.

three-letter .co domains

27 Jul 2010

The .CO era is here! These new domains for company registrations are going like hot cakes, and the prized 3-letter domains (none of which are ...

dot-co domains now registered

27 Jul 2010

To complement the available short domain list, here is a list of .co domains that are now registered. Note that we haven't included numbers ...

Frame-busting

Web Programming 26 Jul 2010

Here's some code you may find useful if your website is stuck in an iframe inside someone else's site: if(top.location != location) { ...

How to Flatten a PHP POST Array

Web Programming 19 Jul 2010

The situation is this: You have a PHP script that takes POST data, and you need to pass that data on to a remote server. How do you do it? ...

Show Bots the Content to Index

Web Programming 17 Jul 2010

There are a few ways to tell bots whereabouts the content is on your web page: Google ad section targeting: What is section targeting and ...

Facebook Bot User-Agent

Web Programming 17 Jul 2010

Here's a user-agent you'll need to add to your list of robots: facebookexternalhit/1.1 (+http://www.facebook.com/externalhit_uatext.php) I ...

Sending Emails: How to Remove the X-Authentication Warning

14 Jul 2010

Here is the header that appears in emails that your web server has sent through sendmail or postfix: X-Authentication-Warning: serverx.mysite ...

Efficiently decode a short url

Web Programming 11 Jul 2010

I am building a reference of short urls, and for each one need to record its final destination url, server software and page title. Curl almost ...

Behind the bit.ly url

Web Programming 08 Jul 2010

If you want to know more about what a bit.ly url refers to, here is a PHP function that may be of use to you. It first checks what the destination ...

Implementing Facebook OpenGraph

Web Programming 25 Jun 2010

Facebook makes its new Graph interface sound so simple, but what about Facebook OpenGraph? This is where third-party web sites specify extra ...

Effect of Sponsored Trending Topics

23 Jun 2010

Here are a couple of follower graphs (courtesy of TwitterCounter.com) for Disney-Pixar and Coca-Cola, both of whom have been sponsoring trending ...

Sitemaps in robots.txt File

Web Programming 08 Jun 2010

Give your carefully created sitemap a mention in your robots.txt file. You simply use this format: Sitemap: http://www.mysite.com/sitemap ...

GIMP: Removing Background From Photo

Web Programming 06 Jun 2010

You can use the GIMP image manipulation program (with some dexterity and a lot of staring) to remove the background from a photo. The best guide ...

Dell Inspiron Views

Laptops 23 May 2010

Bought for my Mum, a Dell Inspiron laptop with a 15" screen and 3 years onsite warranty, for £400.

The Google Wonder Wheel

22 May 2010

Google is really playing around with different interfaces to help you fine-tune your search results. For a pretty broad phrase like 'cycling ...