Mauricio Zuniga's Blog

Review of ReliableSite.net

2009-03-20T03:20:00.000-07:00

I have now been using ReliableSite.net for quite some time and I would like to update my last review.

One of my main issues with ReliableSite was that they had not implemented automated billing. This has long since been resolved and you can subscribe to their services via paypal payments.

The site has in deed been "reliable", and MauricioZuniga.com has been running on their clustered server for more than a few months. However, it seems that they are now only offering dedicated servers and shared solutions (no more clustered solutions).

This is probably due to so many complications that arise from clustered systems which are not true cloud/virtual computing systems.

I recommend their shared services for small to midsize asp.net/sql 2005 type of sites.

I like the godaddy solutions as well, so you might want to compare between these two options.

A last place to compare might be eDealDomains.com just to be sure of your pricing.

All these three establishements are fairly similar and I have worked with all these hosting companies successfully.

I will post some of my preferences for dedicated hosting soon as well.
-Mauricio

Windows Click / Windowsclick Malware Spyware Removal - Bszip.dll

2009-03-19T21:52:00.000-07:00

I spent days working on this malware removal.

I ran avg, spyware doctor, lavaware, and various oher programs including various attempts to run malware bytes. I couldn't get malware bytes to run, so i tried runing it from the network.

I even did various repair installs, registry cleaners, and manual removal of bszip.dll and any other weird dlls. I searched for all uac.sys in system and checked in device manage.

I was still receiving redirects to windowsclick.com when using google or yahoo on internet explorer and firefox on one of our computers.

Eventually, I ran into this post
http://www.antionline.com/showthread.php?t=278009

I read closely- and I found a clue that mentioned that this malware disables certain execution of exe files. I installed malware bytes, then I went into c:\program files\ and found ma lware bytes directory. I then renamed the mbam.exe file to mbam3.exe.

I double clicked on the newly renamed file. Then I was able to run Malware Bytes and perform a full scan.

This only got me to a point where I could use the computer to some degree, but didn't actually remove the problem. After doing further research, I found on another site a mention of combofix.org. I changed the name to fixcombo.exe before running the file and I was able to run the program.

Combofix was able to find multiple references of UAC*.dll UAC*.* and a few other random files. If I tried this first it probably would have saved me hours. So I hope this recommendation works for you.

FractAlien's Glitch Rack in Ableton

2009-03-10T18:59:00.000-07:00

I went to spend some time with a friend this weekend in his studio; work on some music together. He taught me a bunch of great tricks and also showed me some of his favorite plug-ins.

One of them, I hope he doesn't mind me saying, is Glitch.
The concept is pretty simple, you affect the beat, loop, or music in a sequenced format. So the effects are being sequenced independently of the music. I figured this can be done through automation in the track on one long chain of effects. This ended up being more complicated than what I thought, so I figured out a better solution: create a little machine (rack) which better helped take one loop and mash the sh1t out of it.

I know that my rack is not a direct copy and perhaps cannot do a lot of what glitch can do (tape stop's, reverses) but if you have some ideas to help me improve it or on how to recreate some of these sounds, please let me know! This is only my first version so I'll be improving it soon.

There is a lot more to the machine- if you would like further info, just let me know..

Here is the video

Fringe - Case 0091

2009-02-12T22:47:00.000-08:00

The Sheep Patterns in Iowa (Case 0091)

Case 0091 evidence 001:
http://www.61803398874989484820458683436563811.com/77203.htm

Case 0091 evidence 002:
http://www.61803398874989484820458683436563811.com/77203/09179.htm

Case 0091 evidence 003:
http://www.61803398874989484820458683436563811.com/77203/09179/80576.htm

Case 0091 evidence 004:
http://www.61803398874989484820458683436563811.com/77203/09179/80576/28621.htm

Case 0091 evidence 005:
(a missing piece which you can find by looking through the directory contents)
http://www.61803398874989484820458683436563811.com/77203/09179/80576/28621/35448.htm
(I am not sure what to make of this)

Case 0091 evidence 006:
http://www.61803398874989484820458683436563811.com/77203/09179/80576/28621/62270.htm

Case 0091 evidence 007:
http://www.61803398874989484820458683436563811.com/77203/09179/80576/28621/62270/52604.htm

Case 0091 evidence 008:
http://www.61803398874989484820458683436563811.com/77203/09179/80576/28621/62270/weather.html
(hidden - you have to look in the directory structure to find this page)
these also seem to be related to the weather case, since they are in the parent directory for the same day, but I can't tell for sure:
http://www.weathermatrix.net/2008/0525/

After doing some research myself and noting the phi in the frog,
I have come to the conclusion that we are dealing with the phi/golden ratio:
- Golden Ratio

61803 39887 49894 84820 45868
34365 63811 77203 09179 80576
28621 35448 62270 52604 62818
90244 97072 07204 18939 11374

I am not sure how it relates to the sheep, but i can see the pattern in the url structure and seems to be a recurring theme.

Here is a thread on the fox website related to the matter:
http://fringewiki.fox.com/thread/1865772/Case_0091?t=anon

Fringe - Walter Bishop's Lab Notes

2009-02-12T16:44:00.000-08:00

I have really started to get involved in JJ Abram's show Fringe (I also love Lost). Low and behold, I came across the Fox site which seems to have recaps of each episode. More importantly, within these recaps there seems to be a photo of Walter's Lab Notes. My first experience with these notes was when I went to re-watch the show "Ability".

I will now start posting these notes on my blog as I find them. There seems to be a lot more to this show than what appears on TV.

Pilot:

Same old Story:

The Ghost Network:

The Arrival:

Power Hungry:

The Cure:

In which we meet Mr. Jones:

The Equation:
The Dreamscape:

The Safe:

Bound:

The No Brainer:

Transformation:

Ability:

VMNet0 bridge not running - VmWare Network Bridge Issue

2009-01-15T17:19:00.000-08:00

Symptom:
- VMNet0 bridge not running Error Message
- automatic bridging checkbox greyed out in "manage virtual networks" even when run as administrator (with uac enabled).
- reinstalled vmware and no progress

If you go into the properties for your network interface (NIC).

You should notice that the vmware bridge service is missing on the network interfaces (wired and wireless).

If so, within properties of the network interface you will need to install the vmware network bridge service manually by hitting the install button, choose server, browse to the vmware program directory and chose the netbridge.inf file.

I confirmed the installation of the service, checked if it was enabled on both the wireless and wired interface and rebooted my machine.

A reboot is important and might not work until you do so.
But After that, the bridge should work at this point.

Take A Screen Shot / Screensnap From A Web Page

2008-12-10T00:43:00.000-08:00

I have been working on a project for my company where we have been able to take a screen shot (aka a screenshot/screen snap) from a web page. I believe the technology is innovative as I have not found this available to the public online.

One of the most common uses we have found is to get your clients to show you screen shots for bug reporting purposes on your development projects.

The technology can be used to share quick screen shots with friends, co-workers, or for that developer that cannot see what you see on your screen. We have been able to use this technology at Clear Sky Innovations to allow an auto-attachment of your screen shots into cases. For instance, if you are looking at case 1234 and you click on the "add screen shot" button, you will then be able to see the image in the case attachments section.

In any case, to take a Screen Shot From a Web Page just go to ScreenShotSite.com

Zeitgest Addendum - Proposed Solutions For Our Problematic Society

2008-11-18T18:18:00.000-08:00

This documentary explains why the fractional reserve practice imposed by the government, the federal reserve, and corporations is bound to lead to the current economic crisis that we are experiencing. It explains how we have become wage slaves to the governments and banks around the world and how this slavery is then extended to entire countries as a form of economic imperialism.

There are also proposed solutions for a better society by the Venus Project. There are many technological advances that can help us address some of the bigger issues that our society is confronted with today. From proposed changes to the political infrastructure to implementation of our current technological advances, Zeitgeist Addendum aims to give us some semblance of hope amidst what is obviously a broken system.

Zeitgeist Addendum
The second film, Zeitgeist: Addendum, attempts to locate the root causes
of this pervasive social corruption, while offering a solution. This solution is not based on politics, morality, laws, or any other "establishment" notions of human affairs, but rather on a modern, non-superstitious based understanding of what we are and how we align with nature, to which we are a part. The work advocates a new social system which is updated to present day knowledge, highly influenced by the life long work of Jacque Fresco and The Venus Project.

911 - Conspiracy Theories - Secret Societies - Zeitgest

2008-11-18T18:00:00.000-08:00

A Crazy Movie/Documentary on what some might consider to be conspiracy theories. But watch closely - there are some good questions that are asked in here.

I came across this original video after I found the sequel; which is better and more logical in my opinion. But this documentary is quit interesting nonetheless. In this video, there are key questions that are asked about our current situation. Even if you disagree with much of the video, I think you will find that there are some very interesting view points that are presented.

911 Conspiracy Theory, Federal Reserve, and Secret societies with a hint of hope sprinkled in.

as taken from Zeigeist website:
'Zeitgeist, The Movie' and 'Zeitgeist: Addendum' were created as Not-for-Profit expressions to communicate what the author felt were highly important social understandings which most humans are generally not aware of. The first film focuses on suppressed historical & modern information about currently dominant social institutions, while also exploring what could be in store for humanity if the power structures at large continue their patterns of self-interest, corruption, and consolidation."

Psycho Girlfriend Creates the Slutmobile

2008-10-24T01:10:00.000-07:00

I will try to make this short. There's a lot of speculation out there as to what happened with the "slutmobile".

So I had a really rough week and my friend said that he was having some friends over on Saturday night. He lives about 25 minutes away.. that's right 25 minutes away. I own a Jeep Cherokee which is quite the gas guzzler, so I asked my wife if I could borrow her car to go. She said it was no problem and I arrived pretty late, probably around midnight.

We were hanging out having a few brews, etc... and we were having some geeky discussion about whether video games would become like virtual reality or whether we would end up thinking to move the characters in the games.

Oddly enough we hear a knock at the door. All I remember at this point is that my friends girlfriend comes in looks around and then the drama begins.
She looks across the room and recognizes some girl which she has seen before. She starts yelling and screaming expletives about how my friend was a lying sack of sh*t c*cks***** cheating son of a bitch.

Apparently she immediately thought that the girl was there to sleep with her boyfriend. I honestly believe that the girl she was referring to was actually there with another guy... so her assumptions and delusions were unfounded. Mind you, I talk to my friend a fair deal, and it doesn't seem to me like he is cheating on her. I could be wrong, but I don't think he has the time to be with someone else nor does he really have a desire (I mean look at the pics.. I'd be scared to cheat on her too!).

In any case, she went crazy at this point made a racket, broke some sh&t and made everything very ackward. She left screaming and we weren't sure what to do at that point. Everything was fairly friendly up until then.

We weren't sure if we should stay or leave and my friend asked if we wouldn't mind staying. He knows that his girlfriend is psycho, but that he didn't want us to end the evening like that.

We all obliged... shortly (about 20 minutes afterwords). We hear about 3 loud thumps outside. We run out to see what was happening and we could see her lincoln cruiser ramming into the back of the cars. We run out to tell her she's a crazy bitch, and she leaves once again, screechin out of the driveway.

When we go to assess the situation, we see what happened.

On the side of the house is painted something like "CHEATING C*CK*****"

We start cleaning things up and I start to lose it at this point. I'm not quite sure what to do at this point. Then before I know it - while we are trying to figure out what to do, she comes back!!!!

She runs in to kick the sh*t out of the girl inside the house (which I remind you is innocent).
She leaves the keys in the car and runs in. I take the keys and I'm not sure what I should do at this point. Should I crash the car, should I throw the keys, what I should I do?! As I go inside to yell at her and tell her she is ruining other peoples lives. She starts to run outside screaming at all of us. She realizes she doesn't have her keys and starts screaming that SHES GOING TO CALL THE COPS RIGHT NOW. I was fine with it... but apparently she knew something I didn't because all the other people were like Give her her keys....

I didn't need to ask, I figured someone there was going to get in trouble if she did call the cops. I obviously didn't want to deal with that either. So I gave her the keys... but not without making it explicit with as much rage and fury, that she was to LEAVE RIGHT F***** NOW. and that I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOUR F***** FACE! LEAVE NOW LEAVE NOW!!! I said with such rage and fury that she could tell that I meant business. I was not her boyfriend and she was in danger that I was going to do something.

She left and I never heard back from her. My friend pleaded with me and assured me that he will take care of it. As she realized what a crazy bitch she was, she finally apologized through text through her boyfriend and said she would offer $1000 to fix it.

Little did she know her damages would amount to a lot more than that .... not to mention the fact that she will have to live with the stupidity for the rest of her life.

As I noted in Flickr, my wife also works at a school - so she can't drive the slutmobile to work... (yes, the slutmobile is what we're calling it)

And now all my friends call me slut. which as much as I'd like to say is true... well its not. The situation is complex, but right now I have shopped around for a few different quotes.

For those of you that figured out I left the vin in the original pic posted, thanks for pointing that out (I have removed it) - I never meant the quote to make it through the internet and now it has become famous overnight. I was using it to get alternate quotes from different people. If you have found someone exploiting or using this, please bring it to my attention.

I will probably take the car in to get fixed for a slightly better deal this coming week. But the drama still continues, and I would like to figure out her full name, which has been an issue because her boyfriend is protecting her.

I firmly believe it is time she needs to pay for the repercussions (and especially if the financial/repair issue isn't rectified.).

I will post updates as they happen here...

Update:
Right now I'm still getting quotes and I have to try to get the car fixed. Some better quotes are by people who do this type of work on the side, but the whole ordeal is going to cost about $2000 at least.

the Ban-She(e) is supposed to pay for the damages, but it doesn't seem like she will. My friend has made himself responsible but its a lot of money that might have to be paid over time. It doesn't seem like a deal breaker as he is still with her... which I can't understand.

It's still not funny to me, but it will be eventually I suspect...

The problem is that without comprehensive insurance coverage, that leaves me with pressing criminal or civil charges if it doesn't get taken care of appropriately. In which case I would need to ask for help from the community to track her down because I don't know her full name and my friend is pretty much protecting her (hint: she's a heavy MySpace user and I have her profile).

UPDATE:
My Friend gave me some money (oddly enough, not because of my blog posts - which he knows nothing about). This is enough to pay for the windshield and the start of the body work to come. I will only ask for donations if I know that I am not going to receive the money from my friend. But if you would like to help the cause, I would be grateful if you take the time to click on an advertisement that interests you and in turn donate a few cents to the cause.

Even if I get full payment from him (which I feel better about today honestly), I still plan on making things right... so for those of you that are wondering I do have a plan.

What is that plan? Aside from the likely legal issues, maybe you will find out who this crazy girl is... and hopefully the story will stay with her for the rest of her life . Stay tuned.

PHP Code to Connect to Amazon API and Display Results by Keyword

2008-09-05T23:53:00.000-07:00

This is the function that I built and used to connect to the Amazon API.
I can post parsexml.inc.php if someone actually reads this and uses the information.
thanks.
Here is the code:

<?php require_once("parsexml.inc.php");
function AmazonResults($keywords,$page=1){
// original by Mauricio Zuniga
// http://www.ClearSkyInnovations.com

$a = str_replace("%20", " ",$keywords);

if ($_GET['page']){
$page = $_GET['page'];
}
?>
<style type="text/css">

</style>

<h1 class="style4"><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#FFFFFF"><span class="style29">Amazon Results</span></span><br />
</h1>

<?php

//include 'clsParseXML.php';
$c = 'nintendo wii';
if (!($keywords=="")) {
$c = $keywords ;
}
$b='http://ecs.amazonaws.com/onca/xml?Service=AWSECommerceService&AWSAccessKeyId=[ YOUR KEY HERE ]&AssociateTag=chaosexistenceco&Version=2006-09-11&Operation=ItemSearch&ResponseGroup=Medium,Offers&SearchIndex=All&Keywords='.urlencode($c).'&ItemPage='.$page;

$xmlparse = &new ParseXML;
$xml = $xmlparse->GetXMLTree($b);

//echo 'TOTAL RESULTS'.$xml['ITEMS']['TOTALRESULTS'];
//echo 'TOTAL RESULTS'.$xml['ITEMSEARCHRESPONSE']['ITEMS']['TOTALRESULTS'];
$totalresults = $xml['ITEMSEARCHRESPONSE'][0]['ITEMS']['0']['TOTALRESULTS'][0]['VALUE'];
$items = $xml['ITEMSEARCHRESPONSE'][0]['ITEMS']['0'];

//echo 'totalresults = '.$totalresults;

$numtodisplay = 10;
$numberofpages = $totalresults/$numtodisplay;

if ($totalresults < $numtodisplay) {
$numtodisplay = $totalresults;
}
?>
<style type="text/css">

</style>

<table><?php

$maxcols = 3;
$colcounter = 0;

for ($number = 0; $number < $numtodisplay; $number++){
//echo $items['ITEM'][$number];
$url = $items['ITEM'][$number]['DETAILPAGEURL'][0]['VALUE'];
$img = $items['ITEM'][$number]['MEDIUMIMAGE'][0]['URL'][0]['VALUE'];
$asin = $items['ITEM'][$number]['ASIN'][0]['VALUE'];
?><?php
//echo $items['ITEM'][$number]['SMALLIMAGE'][0]['VALUE'];
$brand = $items['ITEM'][$number]['ITEMATTRIBUTES'][0]['BRAND'][0]['VALUE'];
$title = $items['ITEM'][$number]['ITEMATTRIBUTES'][0]['TITLE'][0]['VALUE'];

//echo $title.$brand;
$desc = "";

if (strlen($items['ITEM'][$number]['ITEMATTRIBUTES'][0]['FEATURE'][0]['VALUE']) > 0) {
$desc = $desc. $items['ITEM'][$number]['ITEMATTRIBUTES'][0]['FEATURE'][0]['VALUE'].'<br />';
}
if (strlen($items['ITEM'][$number]['ITEMATTRIBUTES'][0]['FEATURE'][1]['VALUE']) > 0) {
$desc = $desc. $items['ITEM'][$number]['ITEMATTRIBUTES'][0]['FEATURE'][1]['VALUE'].'<br />';
}
if (strlen($items['ITEM'][$number]['ITEMATTRIBUTES'][0]['FEATURE'][2]['VALUE']) > 0) {
$desc = $desc. $items['ITEM'][$number]['ITEMATTRIBUTES'][0]['FEATURE'][2]['VALUE'].'<br />';
}
if (strlen($items['ITEM'][$number]['ITEMATTRIBUTES'][0]['FEATURE'][3]['VALUE']) > 0) {
$desc = $desc. $items['ITEM'][$number]['ITEMATTRIBUTES'][0]['FEATURE'][3]['VALUE'].'<br />';
}
if (strlen($items['ITEM'][$number]['ITEMATTRIBUTES'][0]['FEATURE'][4]['VALUE']) > 0) {
$desc = $desc. $items['ITEM'][$number]['ITEMATTRIBUTES'][0]['FEATURE'][4]['VALUE'].'<br />';
}
if (strlen($items['ITEM'][$number]['ITEMATTRIBUTES'][0]['FEATURE'][4]['VALUE']) > 0) {
$desc = $desc. $items['ITEM'][$number]['ITEMATTRIBUTES'][0]['FEATURE'][5]['VALUE'].'<br />';
}

//echo $desc;
$lowestprice = $items['ITEM'][$number]['OFFERSUMMARY'][0]['LOWESTNEWPRICE'][0]['FORMATTEDPRICE'][0]['VALUE'].'<br />';
//echo $lowestprice;

//echo "$number <br />";
$uid = getUID();
if ($colcounter ==0) {
?><tr><?php
}

$domain = ucwords(str_replace('www.','',strtolower($_SERVER["SERVER_NAME"])));

?>
<td width="224" valign="top">
<div id="'<?php">'>
<table width="32%" border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" bordercolor="#E8ECD8" bgcolor="#E8ECD8">
<tr>
<td height="2" colspan="2" background="http://www.saveonatoz.com/images/greenbuttonbackground2.gif" class="stylea1 style7"><a href="">');" class="style5" style="color:#FFFFFF" onmouseover="Tip('Compare Side by Side/Bookmark Item')" title="Compare Results Side by Side or Bookmark for Later">+ My List</a> | <span class="stylea1"><a href="ComparePrices.php?keywords=<?php echo str_replace(">&searchtype=broad" class="stylea3" style="color:#FFFFFF"><strong>More Like This One</strong></a> </span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td height="70" valign="top" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" class="stylea1"><div align="center"><img src="http://www.saveonatoz.com/images/cart_add.png" /></div></td>
<td valign="top" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" class="stylea1"><span class="stylea3"><b><a href="">/default.php?next=<?php echo urlencode($url);?>&searchfor=<?php echo urlencode($title);?>" class="stylea3" target="_top">Look at <span id="">"><?PHP echo substr($title,0,50);?></span></a></b> </span><span class="stylea3"><br />
</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="2" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" class="stylea1"></td>
<td height="150" valign="middle" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" class="stylea1"><div align="center"><a href="">/default.php?next=<?php echo urlencode($url);?>&searchfor=<?php echo urlencode($title);?>"><img width="100" onmouseover="this.width='200';" onmouseout="this.width='100';" border="0" src="<?php if ($img == " />"><br />
</a></div></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td bgcolor="#FFFFFF" class="stylea1"><div align="center"><a href="" keywords="<?php">&searchtype=broad"><strong><img src="http://www.saveonatoz.com/images/magnifier_zoom_in.png" border="0" /></strong></a></div></td>
<td bgcolor="#FFFFFF" class="stylea1"><a href="" resulttype="A1&uid="<?php">&title=<?php echo str_replace(" ","-",$title);?>" target="_top" class="stylea3"><strong>Item Details</strong></a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td bgcolor="#FFFFFF" class="stylea1"> </td>
<td bgcolor="#FFFFFF" class="stylea1"><div align="right">
<table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="8" cellpadding="0">
<tr>
<td width="80%"><div align="right"><strong><?php echo $lowestprice?> </strong></div></td>
<td width="20%"><div align="right"><strong><a class="style2" target="_top" href="">/default.php?next=<?php echo urlencode($url);?>&searchfor=<?php echo urlencode($title);?>" onmouseover="Tip('Purchase At The Sellers Website')"><img src="http://www.saveonatoz.com/images/proceed-to-checkout.gif" align="bottom" border="0" /></a></strong></div></td>
</tr>
</table>
</div></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td bgcolor="#FFFFFF" class="stylea1"> </td>
<td bgcolor="#FFFFFF" class="stylea1"><div align="left"><?php if (strlen($desc) > 300) {?><div onmouseover="Tip('<?php echo str_replace(">')"><?php echo substr($desc,0,299).'...'; ?></div><?php } else { echo $desc; }?></div></td>
</tr>
</table>
</div>
</td>
<?PHP
if ($colcounter==($maxcols-1)){
$colcounter =-1;
?></tr><?php
}//if
$colcounter ++;
}//for
?></table><?php //echo floor($numberofpages) ;
if ($numberofpages > 5) {
$numberofpages = 5;
}
for ($number = 1; $number <= floor($numberofpages); $number++){
?><a href="" searchtype="AMAZON&page="<?php">&keywords=<?php echo str_replace(" ","--",$a);?>"><?php echo $number; ?></a> <?
}

//echo "<pre>";
//print_r($xml);
//echo "</pre>";
} //function

function showAmazonItem() {
// original by Mauricio Zuniga
// http://www.ClearSkyInnovations.com

//require_once("../../include/parsexml.inc.php");

//echo 'qwww';
$ACCESS_KEY='YOUR ACCESS KEY HERE';

$asin='B000MRAAJW';
if ($_GET['uid']) {
$asin=$_GET['uid'];
}
# Build URL to query based on ASIN and ACCESS_KEY
$url='http://webservices.amazon.com/onca/xml?Service=AWSECommerceService';
$url.="&AWSAccessKeyId=0RQPV9B42VF2TWHHNA82&AssociateTag=chaosexistenceco&";
$url.="&Operation=ItemLookup&IdType=ASIN&ItemId=$asin";
$url.='&ResponseGroup=Medium,OfferFull';
# Place the results into an XML string
// $xml= file_get_contents($url);
// echo $xml;

$xmlparse = NULL;
$xmlparse = &new ParseXML;
$xml = $xmlparse->GetXMLTree($url);
//echo ' in here ';

//echo "<pre>";
//@print_r($xml);
//echo "</pre>";

$asin_returned = $xml['ITEMLOOKUPRESPONSE'][0]['ITEMS'][0]['ITEM'][0]['ASIN'][0]['VALUE'];
$ean = $xml['ITEMLOOKUPRESPONSE'][0]['ITEMS'][0]['ITEM'][0]['EAN'][0]['VALUE'];
$format = $xml['ITEMLOOKUPRESPONSE'][0]['ITEMS'][0]['ITEM'][0]['ITEMATTRIBUTES'][0]['FORMAT'][1]['VALUE'];
$label = $xml['ITEMLOOKUPRESPONSE'][0]['ITEMS'][0]['ITEM'][0]['ITEMATTRIBUTES'][0]['LABEL'][0]['VALUE'];
//echo 'label'.$label;
$author = $xml['ITEMLOOKUPRESPONSE'][0]['ITEMS'][0]['ITEM'][0]['ITEMATTRIBUTES'][0]['AUTHOR'][0]['VALUE'];
$ean = $xml['ITEMLOOKUPRESPONSE'][0]['ITEMS'][0]['ITEM'][0]['ITEMATTRIBUTES'][0]['EAN'][0]['VALUE'];
$isbn = $xml['ITEMLOOKUPRESPONSE'][0]['ITEMS'][0]['ITEM'][0]['ITEMATTRIBUTES'][0]['ISBN'][0]['VALUE'];
$manufacturer = $xml['ITEMLOOKUPRESPONSE'][0]['ITEMS'][0]['ITEM'][0]['ITEMATTRIBUTES'][0]['MANUFACTURER'][0]['VALUE'];

$languages= $xml['ITEMLOOKUPRESPONSE'][0]['ITEMS'][0]['ITEM'][0]['ITEMATTRIBUTES'][0]['LANGUAGES'][0]['LANGUAGE'][0]['NAME'][0]['VALUE'];
$listprice = $xml['ITEMLOOKUPRESPONSE'][0]['ITEMS'][0]['ITEM'][0]['ITEMATTRIBUTES'][0]['LISTPRICE'][0]['AMOUNT'][0]['VALUE'];
$currency= $xml['ITEMLOOKUPRESPONSE'][0]['ITEMS'][0]['ITEM'][0]['ITEMATTRIBUTES'][0]['LISTPRICE'][0]['CURRENCYCODE'][0]['VALUE'];
$formatted_price= $xml['ITEMLOOKUPRESPONSE'][0]['ITEMS'][0]['ITEM'][0]['ITEMATTRIBUTES'][0]['LISTPRICE'][0]['FORMATTEDPRICE'][0]['VALUE'];
$product_group= $xml['ITEMLOOKUPRESPONSE'][0]['ITEMS'][0]['ITEM'][0]['ITEMATTRIBUTES'][0]['PRODUCTGROUP'][0]['VALUE'];
$publisher= $xml['ITEMLOOKUPRESPONSE'][0]['ITEMS'][0]['ITEM'][0]['ITEMATTRIBUTES'][0]['PUBLISHER'][0]['VALUE'];
$region_code= $xml['ITEMLOOKUPRESPONSE'][0]['ITEMS'][0]['ITEM'][0]['ITEMATTRIBUTES'][0]['REGIONCODE'][0]['VALUE'];
$studio= $xml['ITEMLOOKUPRESPONSE'][0]['ITEMS'][0]['ITEM'][0]['ITEMATTRIBUTES'][0]['STUDIO'][0]['VALUE'];
$title= $xml['ITEMLOOKUPRESPONSE'][0]['ITEMS'][0]['ITEM'][0]['ITEMATTRIBUTES'][0]['TITLE'][0]['VALUE'];

$upc= $xml['ITEMLOOKUPRESPONSE'][0]['ITEMS'][0]['ITEM'][0]['ITEMATTRIBUTES'][0]['UPC'][0]['VALUE'];
$lowestnewprice= $xml['ITEMLOOKUPRESPONSE'][0]['ITEMS'][0]['ITEM'][0]['OFFERSUMMARY'][0]['LOWESTNEWPRICE'][0]['FORMATTEDPRICE'][0]['VALUE'];
$lowestnewprice_currency= $xml['ITEMLOOKUPRESPONSE'][0]['ITEMS'][0]['ITEM'][0]['OFFERSUMMARY'][0]['LOWESTNEWPRICE'][0]['CURRENCYCODE'][0]['VALUE'];
$lowestnewprice_formatted= $xml['ITEMLOOKUPRESPONSE'][0]['ITEMS'][0]['ITEM'][0]['OFFERSUMMARY'][0]['LOWESTNEWPRICE'][0]['FORMATTEDPRICE'][0]['VALUE'];
$lowestusedprice= $xml['ITEMLOOKUPRESPONSE'][0]['ITEMS'][0]['ITEM'][0]['OFFERSUMMARY'][0]['LOWESTUSEDPRICE'][0]['FORMATTEDPRICE'][0]['VALUE'];
$lowestusedprice_currency= $xml['ITEMLOOKUPRESPONSE'][0]['ITEMS'][0]['ITEM'][0]['OFFERSUMMARY'][0]['LOWESTUSEDPRICE'][0]['CURRENCYCODE'][0]['VALUE'];
$lowestusedprice_formatted= $xml['ITEMLOOKUPRESPONSE'][0]['ITEMS'][0]['ITEM'][0]['OFFERSUMMARY'][0]['LOWESTUSEDPRICE'][0]['FORMATTEDPRICE'][0]['VALUE'];
$total_new = $xml['ITEMLOOKUPRESPONSE'][0]['ITEMS'][0]['ITEM'][0]['OFFERSUMMARY'][0]['TOTALNEW'][0]['VALUE'];
$total_used = $xml['ITEMLOOKUPRESPONSE'][0]['ITEMS'][0]['ITEM'][0]['OFFERSUMMARY'][0]['TOTALUSED'][0]['VALUE'];
$detail_page = $xml['ITEMLOOKUPRESPONSE'][0]['ITEMS'][0]['ITEM'][0]['DETAILPAGEURL'][0]['VALUE'];
$sales_rank= $xml['ITEMLOOKUPRESPONSE'][0]['ITEMS'][0]['ITEM'][0]['SALESRANK'][0]['VALUE'];
$small_image_url= $xml['ITEMLOOKUPRESPONSE'][0]['ITEMS'][0]['ITEM'][0]['SMALLIMAGE'][0]['URL'][0]['VALUE'];
$medium_image_url= $xml['ITEMLOOKUPRESPONSE'][0]['ITEMS'][0]['ITEM'][0]['MEDIUMIMAGE'][0]['URL'][0]['VALUE'];

$large_image_url= $xml['ITEMLOOKUPRESPONSE'][0]['ITEMS'][0]['ITEM'][0]['LARGEIMAGE'][0]['URL'][0]['VALUE'];
$actor= $xml['ITEMLOOKUPRESPONSE'][0]['ITEMS'][0]['ITEM'][0]['ITEMATTRIBUTES'][0]['ACTOR'][0]['VALUE'];
$AUDIENCERATING= $xml['ITEMLOOKUPRESPONSE'][0]['ITEMS'][0]['ITEM'][0]['ITEMATTRIBUTES'][0]['AUDIENCERATING'][0]['VALUE'];
$BINDING= $xml['ITEMLOOKUPRESPONSE'][0]['ITEMS'][0]['ITEM'][0]['ITEMATTRIBUTES'][0]['BINDING'][0]['VALUE'];
$editorial_review_content= $xml['ITEMLOOKUPRESPONSE'][0]['ITEMS'][0]['ITEM'][0]['EDITORIALREVIEWS'][0]['EDITORIALREVIEW'][0]['CONTENT'][0]['VALUE'];
$desc= $xml['ITEMLOOKUPRESPONSE'][0]['ITEMS'][0]['ITEM'][0]['EDITORIALREVIEWS'][0]['EDITORIALREVIEW'][1]['CONTENT'][0]['VALUE'];

//echo 'medium'.$medium_image_url;
//echo 'small image'.$small_image_url;

$document_title = $title.' '.$label;

$domain = ucwords(str_replace('www.','',strtolower($_SERVER["SERVER_NAME"])));
# Use Simple XML to put ?><h1><?=$title.' - '.$label?></h1>

<table width="682" border="0" cellpadding="4">
<tr>
<td width="4%"><a href="">"><img border="0" src="" />" /></td>
<td width="96%" valign="top"><?php
//echo 'total new : '.$total_new."<br />";
echo 'Listed Price : '.$formatted_price.' ('.$currency.')'."<br />";
//echo 'Currency : '.$currency."<br />";
echo 'Sales Rank : '.$sales_rank."<br />";
echo '[New] Lowest Price : <b>'.$lowestnewprice."</b><br />";
echo '[Used] Lowest Price : <b>'.$lowestusedprice."</b><br />";
echo 'Product Group : '.$product_group."<br />";

//echo 'title'.$title."<br />";
//echo 'Listprice : '.$listprice."<br />";
if (!($actor == '')) {
echo 'Actor : '.$actor."<br />";
}
if (!($author== '')) {
echo 'Author : '.$author."<br />";
}
if (!($AUDIENCERATING== '')) {
echo 'Audience Rating : '.$AUDIENCERATING."<br />";
}
echo 'Binding : '.$BINDING."<br />";
if (!($upc== '')) {
echo 'UPC : '.$upc."<br />";
}
if (!($ean== '')) {
echo 'EAN : '.$ean."<br />";
}
echo 'ASIN :'.$asin_returned."<br />";

//echo '<br /><br />'.$desc;
?><br />
<a href="" next="<?php">"><img src="http://www.saveonatoz.com/images/proceed-to-checkout.gif" align="bottom" border="0" /></a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2"><?php echo $desc; ?><br />
<a href="">/default.php?next=<?php echo $detail_page; ?>&searchfor=<?php echo urlencode($title);?>"><img src="http://www.saveonatoz.com/images/proceed-to-checkout.gif" align="bottom" border="0" /></a><br />
<?php echo '<br /><br />'.$editorial_review_content.'<br /><br />';
?></td>
</tr>
</table>
<?php
};

?>

You are free to use it as long as you leave my very small credit and link in there as you modify.
If you find this information useful please visit one of the sponsors or just let me know.
Thanks and have a great day!

Kicked off Google Index - Deleted From Index

2008-09-05T23:42:00.001-07:00

Well, I have had a lot going on in my life and have not been able to culminate a useful post in quite some time, so I figured I would just start making a quick entry to try and rectify that. Last month was pretty rough - my laptop hinges gave out in a way which incapacitated and broke the laptop - so I had to buy a new one. In addition, my car broke down and cost me about $1600 to fix. In addition, I found that one of my projects have been kicked off/deleted from the Google Index. I have deemed after some research that the project probably broke some clause about too much duplicate content within subdomains, which I can see in retrospect how the amount of domains that I own could be an issue since I probably end up taking a decent amount of resources just for indexing.

Well, I can write with assertion that that Google will punish you - and severely. So off I go to figure out what to do with my domain investment and the code that I have taken a long time to write.

The code I have written hooks up to the CJ API, Ebay API, Amazon API, Half.com API, Shopzilla API, MSN API, Google Base API, just to name a few of the integrations (including Affiliate linkups with all of these systems).

If anyone is interested in this code, I will post it so that at least something useful comes out of the project now that all my plans have been thwarted.

But lesson learned - and it was never the intent to do any malice in terms of overstepping the boundaries. I highly recommend if you are using advanced domain parking techniques that you read googles TOS very closely so that you know what you are and what you are not allowed to do.

All Systems Down: ReliableSite.net Review

2008-07-04T15:07:00.000-07:00

So I don't know if it was some weird juju, but it seemed like the perfect storm hit many of my sites...

ReliableSite.net: Even though I have chosent to remain a customer, I do have quite a few concerns about their service. So much so that I am writing this blog entry about you.

I must warn you that the billing situation for their site does not handle auto billing - so you must either login to pay your bill OR you have to pre-pay for a full year. I had mine going to my yahoo account (but as I am looking back through my emails and they might have stopped sending my bill to the correct address) .

In any caser, I don't really check my yahoo email accout often unfortunately. In any case, here I am - 10 days overdue on my invoice and I login to see the problem in my yahoo email. So I immediately login to pay my bill. Unfortunately in my haste, I didn't realize that I paid with an E-Check (which takes a few days to clear).

I paid, but the system would not let me access my account - due to the fact that it was an e-check apparently. So I put in a support ticket stating that I had sent in payment, but that I was having some difficulties, etc... They wrote me back telling me it was an e-check.

I immediately logged in and then paid via C20.

I then used their online support as you can see below. They told me someone would be with me shortly as they:
payment as well as the c20 payment i had just made

[20:55] ReliableSite: Ok
[20:57] ReliableSite: We're mid-restore on a very large server right now.
[20:57] ReliableSite: We should be able to bring you back up within the next 12 hours.
[20:58] djfractalien: ok, thanks

on 6/26 I receive this response (apparently their Reliable Servers had crashed):

----- Original Message -----

From: Support - ReliableSite.Net

To: mauricio@chaosexistence.com

Sent: Thursday, June 26, 2008 1:28 AM

Subject: [37D-0FF59F09-2606] Invoice #1075

Hello,

Someone should get back to you shortly, we have the control panel down for the time being for a server restore.

Thank you,
ReliableSite.Net Support

New Products:

Windows Server 2008 Shared Hosting - http://www.reliablesite.net/v3/shared.asp

Affiliate Program (earn $15 for shared, $25 for reseller, and $30 for clustered referrals) - Sign up now at https://payments.reliablesite.net/register.php

From: mauricio@chaosexistence.com
Sent: Thu, 26 Jun 2008 00:27:53 -0400
To: Support Department
Subject: Invoice #1075

[20:53] djfractalien: hi reliable site... I think have a mess... I think you terminated (maybe deleted my account) but I had made a payment - but since it was an echeck (not intentionally) it had not cleared and thus why the problem... sigh. I went in to try and repay via c20 but it looks like maybe im too late because I cannot get into helm :(
[20:55] djfractalien: I have a ticket submitted... [040-0FF2D18F-E8A3] . In addition you will probably receive my paypal payment as well as the c20 payment i had just made

I have made the payment already via C20 but my account has not been reinstated yet, can you please help? I have several sites down. Thanks,
Mauricio Zuniga

=============================

By the 30th of june, I still had not received word - they had received my payment from C20 AND Paypal... still I could not access my control panel:

----- Original Message -----

From: Support - ReliableSite.Net

To: mauricio@chaosexistence.com

Sent: Tuesday, July 01, 2008 1:06 AM

Subject: [2BF-0FFC29FB-CC6A] Invoice #1075

Hello,

Please excuse the delay, the account should now be active and you should receive an e-mail with the login instructions.

Thank you,
ReliableSite.Net Support

New Products:

Windows Server 2008 Shared Hosting - http://www.reliablesite.net/v3/shared.asp

Affiliate Program (earn $15 for shared, $25 for reseller, and $30 for clustered referrals) - Sign up now at https://payments.reliablesite.net/register.php

From: mauricio@chaosexistence.com
Sent: Mon, 30 Jun 2008 23:34:19 -0400
To: Support Department
Subject: Invoice #1075

I have paid this through C20 AND my payment through paypal ALSO cleared... my sites are still down - have been for about a week now.

==================================

EVERYTHING HAD BEEN WIPED OUT! NO RECOVERY... ALL MY DNS / Domain ENTRIES, Databases, Files, etc... (about 600 domains).

I put in a support ticket - they said that they did not have a backup (although they alluded that they might). Luckily I have much backed up, but not the latest versions of the databases unfortunately...

===================

Finally, I get around to trying to work on the disaster recovery a day or two after they send me my new login info. What do you know....I have to put in a support ticket yet again. I cannot add or delete domains in my account: yet delayed ONCE again.

My sites went down for weeks... everything deleted, sure I'll take some of the blame... but having used their online support I was in contact with people in their company - I would assume they understood that I was trying to make a payment, and thus might make some type of effort on their end to not delete everything. You seriously delete your accounts 10 days after the invoice is due? I am surprised by how nonchalant the loss of my data was for them....

Sigh - why do I choose to remain here... well there are other factors I don't want to get into right now, but I would be weary. They do have some good deals and technology - but their support seems more concerned with closing the ticket than actually resolving the issue.

Argument list too long when using RM command

2008-06-10T02:36:00.000-07:00

I ran into this issue myself when going to delete a large number of files from a linux drive...

I found the answer here:
http://www.moundalexis.com/archives/000035.php

But the easy answer is this... be very careful and navigate to the location where you want to delete everything and then use this command:
find . -name '*' -print0 | xargs -0 rm

Hope that helps, I know I will use this page to look it up in a few weeks when I forget again.

How to manually delete a service in windows

2008-05-31T23:18:00.000-07:00

I had to find out how to manually delete a service the other day...

i looked it up online, nowI cannot find the link where it came from as I just saved the text... (Sorry whotever wrote it!).

Normally it should not be necessary to manually delete a service. Uninstalling an application should remove its associated service (if any).

However, should it be necessary to manually remove a service:

Run Regedit or regedt32.
Find the registry entry:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/CurrentControlSet/Services
Find the service there and delete it.
You may wish to look at the keys and see what files the service was using and perhaps delete them also.

Note:

You will have to reboot before the list gets updated in server manager.
I have had it pointed out that some programs are cunning and prevent you from removing their service easily. (For example the spyware\malware called ‘Command Service’ - "cmdService".) These change the permissions to make it more difficult for you to delete them. For these you will have to right click on the ‘service’ in regedit (regedt32), go to permissions and grant the administrator full control before the service can be deleted.

TUTOS - Blank Screen When You Add A New Bug

2008-04-23T00:57:00.000-07:00

So I love TUTOS so far, except I encountered a bug when I entered a bug. I found the solution in their forum, but it was after searching google for a while with no luck I was about to post something for help when I noticed a post which had the answer.

Go into php/bugtracking/ folder.
edit bug.pinc

line 880 something...
$mail->resetBody();
change to
$mail->resetBodies();

delete all the echo or debugging information throughout the mess you have made trying to fix this.
Thats it!!

How to setup Mailman List Administration on a different Port

2008-04-17T22:49:00.000-07:00

This is just a really quick set of commands that I needed to use in order to fix my mailman html administration to work on another port. My mailman installation is on ubuntu (debian), so your locations might be different.

I needed mine to work on port other than 80 so this is what I dug up after some research:

In your mailman config file (/etc/mailman/mm_cfg.py):
search and replace the port in the Default URL Pattern:

DEFAULT_URL_PATTERN = 'http://%s:8080/mailman/'
(the 8080 represents the port you would like to use,
so if you are using a different port, plug it in there)

Use a program like vi in your ssh connection or you use webmin, edit this file in the file editor.
I would also recommend checking these settings if they are not already there:
# Max recipients for each message
SMTP_MAX_RCPTS = 4
# Max messages sent in each SMTP connection
SMTP_MAX_SESSIONS_PER_CONNECTION = 30

I had to change these to work properly with my isp host as mailman was sending too many recipients per message and it ended up bouncing.

Ok, now save your file.

You will notice that this will not change any of your current administrative pages and it will unfortunately still end up giving you the old urls (without the port you need).

To fix this you can use this little session I saved to remind myself what I did (it took me a while to find the location, but)...

> cd /var/lib/mailman/bin
> /withlist -l -r fix_url mailman
bash: /withlist: No such file or directory
> ./withlist -l -r fix_url mailman
Importing fix_url...
Running fix_url.fix_url()...
Loading list mailman (locked)
Finalizing
Saving list
> /etc/init.d/mailman force-reload Mailman
* Restarting Mailman master qrunner mailmanctl
 ...done.

Voila! Now you should be able to reload those pages and see the changes: your urls should include the port that you need.

Sendmail SMTP Smarthost Authentication with Alternate Port

2008-04-13T23:53:00.001-07:00

Wow, so this project took me almost all weekend to complete. I am trying to get a maillist server running to also power a mailman installation. I tried to use my virtual private server, it overwhelmed it and my server started having issues; although I have finally deduced a great optimization of those settings (which I still have to post at some point).

In any case I have to credit this page with helping me most of the way; but I think I might have missed something or perhaps it is missing a small be key entry. In any case, I will provide you with my exact files (Without the domains).

This installation was done on ubuntu.

Configuring a smarthost for sendmail

To configure a smarthost (with authentication) for sendmail, you'll have to create a file called /etc/mail/auth/client-info and modify the file /etc/mail/sendmail.mc.

Configure authentication

Create the directory /etc/mail/auth/ if it doesn't exist. Then create the file /etc/mail/auth/client-info. The content in of this file represents your login credentials for the smarthost. It should look like the example below:

AuthInfo: "U:username" "I:email" "P:password"

Where:

is the fully qualified domain name (fqdn) of your smarthost
is the userid used to login at the smarthost (often your email address)
is the account to be used for your smarthost (often your email address as well)
is the password that belongs to your smarthost username

Here is an Auth File example: client-info.zip

Next, you'll have to build the password hash database with this command:

sudo bash -c "cd /etc/mail/auth/ && makemap hash client-info <>  Configure sendmail 
Now you have prepared the authentication setup for the concerning smarthost,
let's go on and configure sendmail to use this smarthost. To do so, please edit the
file /etc/mail/sendmail.mc. Find the line starting with MAILER_DEFINITIONS in this
file and insert the lines before this line: 
define(`SMART_HOST',`relay:smtp.yourisp.com')dnl
define(`confAUTH_MECHANISMS', `EXTERNAL GSSAPI DIGEST-MD5 CRAM-MD5 LOGIN PLAIN')dnl
FEATURE(`authinfo', `hash /etc/mail/auth/client-info')dnl
I also had to add these lines to get mine to work (not part of the original article).

# "Smart" relay host (may be null)
define(`RELAY_MAILER_ARGS',`TCP $h 587')dnl
DSsmtp.smarthost.net
The key addition that I made to the article is the DS entry.  Without this entry, the actual
forwarding did now work.

Now use the M4 macro processor to translate the /etc/mail/sendmail.mc file into a format
sendmail understands (/etc/mail/sendmail.cf). This can be taken out by: 
 sudo bash -c "cd /etc/mail/ && m4 sendmail.mc > sendmail.cf"
This is an example of what mine looks like.  I use it to effectively relay all sendmail delivery
via my isp's authenticated smarthost on port 587.  You can use webmin to effectively copy and
paste this.  I am also including a zip file, but you would have to search through it extensively
- I don't recommend it.
divert(-1)dnl
divert(0)dnl
define(`_USE_ETC_MAIL_')dnl
include(`/usr/share/sendmail/cf/m4/cf.m4')dnl
VERSIONID(`$Id: sendmail.mc, v 8.14.1-8ubuntu1 2007-08-01 05:06:30 cowboy Exp $')dn1
OSTYPE(`debian')dnl
DOMAIN(`debian-mta')dnl
undefine(`confHOST_STATUS_DIRECTORY')dnl        #DAEMON_HOSTSTATS=
FEATURE(`no_default_msa')dnl
dnl DAEMON_OPTIONS(`Family=inet6, Name=MTA-v6, Port=smtp, Addr=::1')dnl
DAEMON_OPTIONS(`Name=MTAv4,Port=smtp,Family=inet')
DAEMON_OPTIONS(`Name=MSPv4,Port=submission,Family=inet')
define(`confPRIVACY_FLAGS', `authwarnings,needmailhelo,noexpn,novrfy')dnl
define(`confCONNECTION_RATE_THROTTLE', `15')dnl
define(`confCONNECTION_RATE_WINDOW_SIZE',`10m')dnl
FEATURE(`access_db', , `skip')dnl
FEATURE(`relay_hosts_only')dnl
FEATURE(`use_cw_file')dnl
FEATURE(`greet_pause', `1000')dnl
FEATURE(`delay_checks', `friend', `n')dnl
define(`confBAD_RCPT_THROTTLE',`3')dnl
FEATURE(`conncontrol', `nodelay', `terminate')dnl
FEATURE(`ratecontrol', `nodelay', `terminate')dnl
dnl define(`confCON_EXPENSIVE',`True')dnl
include(`/etc/mail/m4/dialup.m4')dnl
include(`/etc/mail/m4/provider.m4')dnl
FEATURE(`relay_hosts_only')dnl
define(`RELAY_MAILER_ARGS',`TCP $h 587')dnl
define(`SMART_HOST',`relay:smtp.smarthost.net')dnl
# "Smart" relay host (may be null)
DSsmtp.smarthost.net
define(`confAUTH_MECHANISMS', `EXTERNAL GSSAPI DIGEST-MD5 CRAM-MD5 LOGIN PLAIN')dnl
FEATURE(`authinfo', `hash /etc/mail/auth/client-info')dnl
FEATURE(`always_add_domain')dnl
MASQUERADE_AS(`yourdomain.net')dnl
GENERICS_DOMAIN(`yourdomain.net')dnl
FEATURE(`allmasquerade')dnl
FEATURE(`masquerade_envelope')dnl
MAILER(`local')dnl
MAILER(`smtp')dnl
here is an example config file
 
 Note: What to do if no authentication needed?
In case no authentication is needed or necessary in your smarthost setup.
This how-to can be used as well. In that case, just simply skip the paragraph 
Configure authentication and only add the line define(`SMART_HOST', )dnl
to the /etc/mail/sendmail.mc file. All the rest of the how-to applies as well. 
 
 

To prevent sendmail from sending messages for local recipients through the smarthost,
you'll have to tell sendmail which domains are locally processed. This can be done by
inserting all local domains in the file /etc/mail/local-host-names, like in the example below: 
localhost
mylocaldomain.com
myotherlocaldomain.com
 Of course, the domains mylocaldomain.com and myotherlocaldomain.com need
to be replaced by your actual local domains. 
Now, again this file /etc/mail/local-host-names needs to be translated into a format
sendmail understands. Us the make command to do so, like shown below: 
 sudo bash -c "cd /etc/mail && make"

 Restart sendmail and check the configuration 
 To make sure your configuration is all right, restart sendmail
To restart sendmail, use this command: 
sudo /etc/init.d/sendmail restart

sudo bash -c "cd /etc/mail/auth/ && makemap hash client-info <>

sudo bash -c "cd /etc/mail/ && m4 sendmail.mc > sendmail.cf"

/etc/init.d/sendmail reload 


this solved the following problems for me
Apr 13 23:20:07 ubu sendmail[8640]: m3E6K5Rq008640: from=, size=1221, class=0, nrcpts=1, msgid=<027201c89db4$0287afa0$6402a8c0@experience>, proto=SMTP, daemon=MTAv4, relay=[192.168.2.100]
Apr 13 23:20:07 ubu sendmail[8659]: m3E6K5Rq008640: to=, ctladdr= (1000/1000), delay=00:00:01, xdelay=00:00:00, mailer=relay, pri=121221, relay=64.202.165.58, dsn=5.1.2, stat=Host unknown (Name server: 64.202.165.58: host not found)

(reason: 550 Host unknown)

550 5.1.2
Host unknown (Name server: 64.202.165.58: host not found)
Host unknown (Name server: 64.202.165.58: host not found)



If you have gone through all of this and you still cannot figure out what is wrong, try going to your /etc folder and find nswitch.conf
this is what mine looks like:
# /etc/nsswitch.conf
#
# Example configuration of GNU Name Service Switch functionality.
# If you have the `glibc-doc-reference' and `info' packages installed, try:
# `info libc "Name Service Switch"' for information about this file.
#hosts: dns files mdns4_minimal mdns4 [NOTFOUND=return]

passwd:         compat
group:          compat
shadow:         compat

hosts: dns [NOTFOUND=continue] files
ipnodes: dns [NOTFOUND=continue] fileshosts: dns [NOTFOUND=continue] files
networks: files

protocols:      db files
services:       db files
ethers:         db files
rpc:            db files

netgroup:       nis


and your /etc/resolv.conf file should look  like (with your own nameservers/dns servers)
nameserver 68.87.69.146
nameserver 68.87.85.98
nameserver 192.168.2.1
sendmail.zip

Error: No space left on device - PHP, IIS, Win2K3

2008-04-03T15:15:00.000-07:00

Today I went to upload on one of my client's sites and realized that the uploads were not working.

After looking at the directories and permissions to ensure that they were not deleted, I went back to see that the directories that were suppposed to be created with each upload where not being created.

I went to turn error reporting on the php script:

error_reporting(7);

this error appeared on the IIS 6, Windows 2k3 Box.

Warning: mkdir() [function.mkdir]: No space left on device in E:\Domains\www.domainname.com\html\upload_new.php on line 75

I checked and there was enough space left on the device. I moved the upload to different drive and that seemed to work. But no matter what I did on the upload directory permissions wise, I was still receiving the same error.

After going crazy for a while, I found a post online that could be very helpful in debugging if my post does not solve your problem.

It ended up being that the IUSER_XXXXX ran out of space for their disk quota and was not being allowed to write to the disk. There are a few ways that you can fix this, but I don't need quota's turned on for this machine and I don't care if they go over the quota, so I chose to just turn the enforcement off. You could easily delete files to go back under quota or raise the users quota.

You can change your quota rules by going to your volume or drive (e: in my case) and right clicking and selecting properties. There you can see a quota tab. There are a few options here (which I will not get into), but to fix the problem you can easily just click a checkbox which will stop the system from enforcing quota rules (it will stop disabling people if they go over the quota). Likewise, you can change your quota limitations on this screen.

If you find this useful, please digg me, link me, or click on a sponser for which you find legitimate interest.

Zip Codes Database Table MySQL Export (2006 version with Latitude & Longitude)

2008-04-02T02:45:00.000-07:00

As I had promised to myself and a few others. Here is a 2006 Zip Codes Database MySQL Export with latitude and longitude coordinates.

I had been looking for a zip radius solution for one of my projects and I ran into micah's zip code class online. The class is very nicely done; and I am very grateful for people like him who share their work with the world.

But I did notice that the database table for zip codes being used was a bit outdated; I tried to find a mysql export, or as I like to childishly snicker "dump", with the 2006 zip code public data I had found online. I could not find one readily, so I offered some time to transfer the data to a mysql friendly format that would work with micah's solution (If you would like examples on how I made a zip radius search with Micah's class just let me know!).

It is late and I still have much else to do. I have been able to transfer the data, but I do not have time to break it up into 5 mysql files. If you are kind enough to do so, please send me a zip and I will post it here. Thanks for reading. If you would like to support me, please link me, digg me, or perhaps click on one of the sponsors of which you find legitimate interest.

Without further ado, here is the zip code table export.
zip_codes_2006.zip

Subtotal Not Adding Up Correctly in PHP (with Items over 1000)

2008-03-30T15:13:00.000-07:00

I am on a few list serves and occasionally I am able to get a few of the questions answered. I will post some of them on my blog occassionally in case you run into the same issues. In this case, one of my fellow programmers ran into an issue where his subtotals where not adding up properly. I had run into the same issue myself. Just read below. It is simply a matter or recognizing that your variable might be formatted to display with a comma, such as 1,432.12

----- Original Message -----

From: Matt

To: List

Cc: Mauricio

Sent: Sunday, March 30, 2008 11:48 PM

Subject: Re: it it a php bug? or am i just slow?

That was it!! apparently the ',' was settype()ing it on the fly as a string, so when it came to the += it was evaluating wrong.. Many thanks Mauricio!
Mauricio Zuniga - Systems Engineer wrote:

also,

even though you are giving us the values,

could it be possible that you have your number formatted with a comma?

such as 1,321.43.

I once ran into an issue where my subtotals were not correct because of this...

----- Original Message -----

From:
To:

Cc:

Sent: Sunday, March 30, 2008 10:29 PM

Subject: Re: it it a php bug? or am i just slow?

I set up the following loop:
$item_price = 0;
$items = array(50, 100, 1357);
foreach ($items as $v) {
$item_price += $v;
echo "
$item_price";
}
and it gave the following output:
50
150
1507
which is what was expected.

Could you post the actual loop code you are using? Perhaps there is something there we can help with?

Daniel

Mattwrote:
Not sure if this is a bug in PHP, or if I'm just especially slow... I've got a script that's calculating the total order for items in a cart. To do this it's doing a simple += on the variable $subtotal as it prints each row on the cart page, then it prints $subtotal in the appropriate spot at the end. So on its way through the loop that prints each row, right at the end of the loop it does: $subtotal += $item_price; Simple, straight forward, not a problem. It works perfectly fine. IF the value of $item_price <= 999.99 (?!??!!!?!?!?!?) Anything >= 1000.00 and it adds 1 to subtotal, not the $itemprice. (?!?!?!?) I've echoed $item_price and $subtotal while the loop is printing, I get results as below: // first iteration echo $item_price; // 50.00 echo $subtotal; // 50.00// second iteration
echo $item_price; // 100.00 echo $subtotal; // 150.00 // so far, so good, right?// third iteration
echo $item_price; // 1357.00 echo $subtotal; // 151.00 /// what??// fourth iteration
echo $item_price; // 100.00 echo $subtotal; // 251.00 Any ideas? The only option I've considered so far is chucking every computer in the house out the damn window and becoming a carpenter, but I'm still on the fence about that. -M.E.
--

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

How to Take a Video Screen Capture in Jing and Send it to Youtube.com

2008-03-28T03:30:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a painstacking process this was!
It took me so long that I decided to write a blog entry about it while I am waiting for the conversion.

Here are the ingredients that I used to capture my screen and get it on youtube for sharing.

I went to jingproject.com by techsmith which is my favorite free screen capture tool (and I hope that it stays that way).

When you download and install this program you can then easily create screen videos of whatever you do. Simply talk over what you are doing while recording to create a video. You have a maximum time of 5 minutes and you can pause the video while recording.

It takes a little getting used to, but there is no editing available in jing as of this post. That is ok, we have ways to get around that for now. I personally used Sothink SWF Quicker to edit my SWF file for places where I needed to blank out sensitive information.

I could not figure out anything else I could do with this software, although my intention was to somehow edit it to fix the ending. Regardless... its good enough. This whole process is taking me longer than I would like anyway.

I also found a free flash to video encoder to then get my swf file to a youtube friendly format. I chose mpg as I know this should be small. Now be ready to wait at least 15-25 minutes. You can specify how the length of the conversion (ie you may cut some of the end of the video... wow which is exactly what I wanted to do since I somehow added 10 minutes of nothing at the end while messing with it in the previous program!) But please note that the demo version for the converter I downloaded actually ended up putting up some real annoying ads over the conversion. I would not mind in most cases, but it bounces around in the most annoying fashion all over the screen. Oh well- if I find a better tool, I will post it here. For now, at least I have my video on youtube!

Now that you know how... you should be ready to take your video and upload that baby!

By the way, I recently found out the sothink has a swf to video conversion tool which is much better than the one that i originally used. All the software mentioned here has at least a 30 day trial limit.

Configuring Linux Apache on Virtual Dedicated Server via SSH

2008-03-28T02:11:00.000-07:00

So I ran into an issue these last few days where I was taking way too much RAM on my server. Of course, that is the woe of someone who is always pushing the limits of whatever computing power I can get my hands on.

I had to get my feet wet a little bit more with ssh, apache configurations, httpd.conf, and even little things such as commands on how to navigate within Linux. I am fairly versed in many computer aspects, and this wasn't too difficult, but I imagine I will forget how to do this in the next week, so I try to keep a good record of what I do.

I have decided to publish my video for others. I hope you will use it for good and reciprocate my efforts by providing a link to either my site http://www.SaveonAtoZ.com or this one http://www.MauricioZuniga.com.

So without further ado, here is the video on how to configure your httpd.conf on your virtual dedicated server. Mine, as you can see was hosted on eDealdomains.com - But I am sure it can work for you on almost any control panel with SSH connection (please refer to your control panel).

Lastly, I did run out of time in the video right at the end ... the only thing left for you to do is restart apache service and you are set to go. In my control panel there is a way to do that. Worst case scenario, you could always reboot the server if you can't figure out how to reboot just the apache service (this is how you will know if your edits broke something or not!). Just google restart apache and I am sure you can find the answer with your new tools and the ability to work with ssh.

By the way, i would recommend making one change at a time in your httpd.conf then restarting Apache. That way you can easily debug for issues and you will know where your problems are. Good luck to you, and remember to make backups before you do anything. Lastly don't blame me - please use any of my information at your own risk!

Link to SWF Video :Configuring Linux Apache On Virtual Dedicated Server via SSH (Will Start Video, Right Click to Stop it). To download video right click on link from here.

Start Video By Clickin on Image :

(Right click on video to stop it)

Futher Evaluation of BuildTraffic com and Adwords

2008-03-27T03:59:00.000-07:00

On my site, I don't have that great of a bounce rate. I attribute this partially to the Ajax programming that does not require page loads to view further content.
Regardless, it is one of the few ways that I can see whether people are using the site. I tried to setup a goal in Google Analytics to measure how much I am converting in click throughs but it is a little bit tricker than I had anticipated.

Regardless, After running my ad campaigns with BuildTraffic.com, the Bounce Rate is 86.94 (How many people only load 1 page).

However, if I look closely, the bounce rate for just my build traffic campaign in and of itself is 98.53%. This means that hardly anyone clicked through or used the site as a result of the campaign. The average pages per user is a low 1.02. I suspect that some of this might be the same user getting the same advertisement rather than actually using the site. I kept a close watch on my stats and I am sad to say that although the traffic was targeted as promised and the numbers were fairly impressive; the conversion rates are so bad that its probably not worth it.

Now to be fair, any marketing campaign might change for you. You might have the midas touch. For instance, my campaign with build traffic would probably work better if I offered something for free rather than getting people to use my site and come back to it. At worst, I wasted my money. At best, I gained some web presence - but I cannot verify that ny of my sales through affiliates came from buildtraffic.com traffic. Again there was nothing wrong with the targeting of the users sent our ways, but I did find that our stats differed greatly from what they said that they referred to us. Even though they told us to check the server logs, I was suspicious that their javascript based system would not show up in our counters. I am not sure what, if any, limitations there are to statcounter.com or google-analytics.com (i'm running both to try and get as much info as possible), but our 3rd party counters did not match up. In one case about 1000 users didn't show up for a campaign which I found highly suspect.

I have started using adwords a bit to see whether that is worthwhile. Although I try to make money from adsense myself, I have a few affiliate programs which have higher payouts for conversions. I will try some experiments with adwords as I have already seen that the conversion rate is much better than anything with build traffic. Bottom line is if the ad is being pushed to you, chances are the user will do their best to ignore it. If you entice a prequalified user directly to a targeted landing page, you will have much better luck. That is all the time I have to post tonight. I must get some sleep now.

Save Money with My Mashup/Coding Project (Featured on Programmable Web)

2008-03-25T22:22:00.001-07:00

My Coding and Side Project, SaveOnAtoZ.com was recently featured on Programmable Web a few weeks back. It simply appeared on the front page. I did not have time to write a blurb on it then, but I wanted to write it down as one of my accomplishments. Programmable web features a list of API's and their corresponding web "Mashups". Mashups are defined as

a mashup is a web application that combines data from more than one source into a single integrated tool; an example is the use of cartographic data from Google Maps to add location information to real-estate data from Craigslist, thereby creating a new and distinct web service that was not originally provided by either source.

- Wikipedia

What is Save On A To Z? Well the goal is to save money on everything. Simply speaking, the site connects to various apis and helps you conduct product searches based on keywords. The different result sets are segmented and / or listed on the same page according to your preferences. You can bookmark and compare the items side to side. The result sets can be loaded in to the same page via ajax.

The results are drawn from Amazon, Ebay, Half, Shopzilla, Buy.com, Best Buy, Shop.com, Google Base (Formerly Froogle), Nextag, Sortprice, MSN just to name a few of the engines. You can seriously check across all these sites within a few seconds. In addition, I am always expanding the result sets.

My goal is to provide you one of the most comprehensive resources for comparing prices and saving you money. With today's economy in a downward spiral and gas prices rising, we need to be sure that we are saving as much money as possible.

I hope you find my project useful. You can visit it here. If you can bookmark it on a social site, share it with friends, or link it in your blog, i would be most grateful. Thanks for reading. Hope this saves you a lot of money!