When troubleshooting a network, there are three categories your problem usually falls under.  You will either have a physical network problem, a configuration problem, or a software problem.  A rule of thumb when troubleshooting a network is that you want to only change one thing at a time and check if that change solves the problem.  You also want to take notes of the changes you do just in case you break something else while troubleshooting your network.

The first thing you want to check is the physical part of your network.  This means checking to make sure the network card, modem/router, and cables are in good shape and working correctly.  You want to make sure the modem and router (if you are using one) are turn on and receiving a signal from your ISP Company.  Most modems and routers usually have a light that tell you if it’s on and others lights that tell it whether its receiving or sending data from your ISP and computer.  If you don’t see any lights on in your modem, then check your power cable to make sure its plug in and that the socket has power.  If everything is good with the power, then you want to check the data cable going from the wall to your modem. You can also called your ISP company and ask them to check if you are receiving a data signal.  If you are getting a signal from your ISP Company and your model is good.  Then the next thing to check is the cable running from the modem or router to your computer.  Check the cable to make sure its good and no breaks are found in them.  Sometimes a pitch in the cable can break one of the wires inside and damage the whole cable.  If you have an extra cable, go ahead and change the cables and test the connection to see if it works.  If the cable is good, then the next thing to check is your computer. Make sure the cable is plug into your computer and it’s secure. You also want to make sure your network card is working property. When the computer finishes booting up doing this simple test.

Click on Start -> Run

Type “cmd” without the quotes

A black window will open and show the default path of your computer.  It’s usually c:\ which is your hard drive address.

Type PING “127.0.0.1″without the quotes.  This will send a test signal to your network card asking for a response. You should see something similar to the following text

Reply from 127.0.0.1 bytes=32 times <=1s TTL=128

Reply from 127.0.0.1 bytes=32 times <=1s TTL=128

Reply from 127.0.0.1 bytes=32 times <=1s TTL=128

Reply from 127.0.0.1 bytes=32 times <=1s TTL=128

If you get anything else or your ip number starts with *196.254, then there is a pretty good change the network card itself might be bad.  The *196.254 ip number usually means that your computer could not get a dynamic ip number from your modem/router and assign itself an ip number.

*Note: If you setup your router/modem to start with ip number 196.254 then the problem might be something else.

To test the configuration you would do the following simple test in your computer.  The first thing you want to do is test to see if the TCP/IP software is working properly.  To figure it out, type IPCONFIG in the black (DOS) window.  You should see the following text.

IP ADDRESS: **192.168.n.n

Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0

Default Gateway: **192.168.n.n

The number you want to write down is the “IP ADDRESS” and Default “Gateway”.  If you have a private network or you are using a router your ip number will usually start with 192.168.n.n. Once you have written down the numbers, you want to

In the black (DOS) window type PING **192.168.n.n. (Default Gateway number).  This will send a signal to your router/modem.  If it’s communicating with your router/modem you will see similar information as when you ping your computer earlier (127.0.0.1).

Reply from **192.168.n.n bytes=32 times <=1s TTL=128

Reply from **192.168.n.n bytes=32 times <=1s TTL=128

Reply from **192.168.n.n bytes=32 times <=1s TTL=128

Reply from **192.168.n.n bytes=32 times <=1s TTL=128

If you get another message then your computer might not be communicating with your router or modem.  With the black (DOS) window still open, type IPCONFIG /RELEASE.  This will release the ip number held by your computer.  Then type IPCONFIG /RENEW.  This will re-assign a new ip number to your computer.

Type IPCONFIG in the black window and you should see the new ip number assign to your computer.

IP ADDRESS: **192.168.n.n

Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0

Default Gateway: **192.168.n.n

Then type TRACERT www.google.com (You can type any website address or ip number.  I usually use Google since I know its always working.)  You will see HOPS that your computer takes to reach Google’s servers.  They are usually 13 to 30 hops per request, but it all depends on the location of the server and the path your computer takes to reach the server.

Here is an example

1          40ms    1ms      1ms      **192.168.n.n

2          47ms    51ms    36ms    216.239.46.40

If everything looks good with your configuration and you are getting an ip number and response from the server and modem.  Then the problem might be with software running in your computer.  Sometimes anti-virus software comes with a firewall which can prevent you from connecting to the internet.  Check to see if you anti-virus software comes with a firewall.  If it does, disable the firewall and try connecting to the internet.  If your computer connects to the internet, then you just need to reconfigure your firewall software to allow your computer connect to the internet.

If any of this solutions don’t work for you.  Then you might want to take it for service and have a professional computer technician to look at it for you.

**NOTE: the ‘n’ in the ip address refers to any real number between 0-255.

Today they are many shopping carts out there to sell your products online.  Deciding on which shopping cart solution is best for you depend on your needs.  In this article I am going to write on the pros and cons buying your own shopping cart versus using an online shopping cart.

The pros of buying a shopping cart are that you own the source code.  You can make any changes to the shopping cart to fit your needs.  You can add or remove features that come with the shopping cart.  You have full control of the customization of the shopping cart.  You can move your shopping cart to any hosting service when ever you want to.

The cons of the buying a shopping cart are that you need to pay for upgrades to the shopping cart. Sometimes companies will only offer one year of support and upgrades. If you are not tech savvy then you will need to hire a techie to help you with installing the shopping cart and adding any additional features. Any security updates that are release by the company; you are responsible for installing them yourself or hire someone to install then for you. You also have to make sure the software is compatible with your hosting account. Sometimes if you make any changes to the shopping cart files, you will risk losing support from the company.

The pros of using an online shopping cart are that you usually don’t have to worry about finding a hosting service as they will provide it for you.  Any updates or upgrades they do to the shopping cart your will get them for free as long as you are a member. You sometimes get a sale representative that will assist you in setting up your shopping cart and train you on use it.   You don’t have to be tech savvy to maintain your shopping cart as they handle all the coding for you.

The cons of using an online shopping cart are that you don’t own the code.  You cannot take the shopping cart to another hosting company.  You have to start all over again if you are not satisfied with their service.  You also have to work with the features they offer and cannot make changes to them.  You are also limited to the customization of the website.  You end up using a template offer by them or pay an additional fee to have your layout install on your shopping cart.  Depending on the online shopping cart service you get, you will either pay a flat monthly fee for the used of the shopping cart with a limited number of products or pay a percent of the sales you make for each month.

In my opinion if you are tech savvy or have a dedicated team of IT personnel, and its within you budget, then I would suggest going with buying your shopping cart.  You will be able to modify it and make it fit your needs.  In the other hand, if you are not tech savvy or have a limited budget, then I would suggest going with the online shopping cart. The company you choose will take care of setting up the shopping cart for you. It’s also cheaper at the front end and you will have the support your need from the company’s representatives.

When choosing either to buy a shopping cart or use an online one. Security should also be your main concern.  You want to make sure the hosting company whether using an online shopping cart or buying a shopping cart has all their server software and hardware firmware up to date and are PCI compliance. Always remember that you will need to have an SSL to take credit cards online.

Pre-Paid Legal Services, I was introduced to this company by my friend from college.  We kept out of touch for about 8 years when I moved to Las Vegas and he move to L.A.  We found each other in Facebook and began talking again about the old college days in phoenix. We also talked about each others business ventures and how we were doing with our lives.  I own a marketing company and he owns a small business with Pre-paid legal services.  At first I was a little skeptical of the business he was running since to me it was just another MLM company.  I figure he was going to talk about the millions everyone else is making and how he is on his way to making it too. So I actually kept my guard up when he started talking about it.  He said how good of a company Pre-Paid Legal Services is and how he has become his own boss.   That it’s a lot of work but its fun since he gets to network and helping others.  He asked if it sounded like something I would be interested in doing.  I said “Yes”, as you always need a plan “B”. You never know when something might happen where your business is no longer profitable and need to find something else to support yourself and family.  I asked him, “How much of an investment I was going to need to get started?” and “How many of my friends would I need to introduce to get myself in the door?”  He answer that before I did anything that he would first have me watch a video online then have me watch a DVD he was sending me by mail.  He also wanted to introduce me to his friends who are also involved with Pre-Paid Legal Services Inc.  I talk to a couple of them who said that it’s a lot of work, but they enjoy their work. After I hang up with him, I my business partner about the offer my friend made Prepaid Legal Services.  He said it was a service he since used it when he first started the business.  It was cheap and they helped him with his business.

While I was waiting for the DVD to arrived, I went ahead and did research on the company using Google.  The first link that came up was that of the company’s website.  I clicked on the link and read what they offered.  I then continue down the page and saw nothing on them negatively. I went to page two of Google and I started seeing the word scam and complaints associated with Pre-Paid legal Services.  I clicked on the links and started reading them.  Similar to what I read from World Financial Group’s complaints on the internet was that the customers were misguided by the associate selling the service or misinform about the service itself. Again, I decided to give them a chance like I did with World Financial Group. I waited for the DVD to arrive.

Once the DVD arrived, I watch it on my computer while I worked on my client projects.  The DVD was a presentation about the company, how much money it makes, what services they offer and how to become an associate.  After I finish watching the presentation, I called my friend and told him that I would be interested in doing. What were the steps I needed to take to make it happen?  He had me filled out an application online to become an associate and a member.  Since he is in California and I am in Nevada that he was going to introduced me to a young lady who is here in Nevada to help get started with the business.  He first called her and we did a 3-way conference called so we could introduce ourselves to each other.  She them told me where the company has the meetings here in town.  I went to the meeting and met up with the young lady who introduced me to a large number of people who were already associates themselves.  The meeting started and we sat listening.  The meeting was basically similar to the video I watched.  The representative was talking about the company, the services they offered, and how to become part of Pre-Paid Legal Services.  After the representative was done, he made a statement that stand out from the rest of the representatives and made me ask my friend is I heard correctly.  “That this might not be for everyone so here are the 3 categories you might fall under.

1. You are not interested and want to leave
2. You are only interested in the membership but you have questions
3. You are interested and want to become an associate and a member.

Make your choice and best of luck to you in what ever decision you make.”

Well I decided become an associate and sign up for the membership.  After my package arrived by mail, I decided to do a background check on the lawyer that was assign to me.  My business partner and I had already contacted a lawyer previously for a question which we paid. I decided to ask the lawyer the same question and see what answer I would get from him. I was surprised that his answer was similar to the one given by our other lawyer.

At the end, I wasn’t promised the millions that others representatives were promising me for the other MLM Companies.  Just that depending on the work I did, is what I was going to earned.  Many associates have become financially secure and are happy with their lives selling prepaid legal services.

The other company is World Financial Group, this company like Primerica offered financial products too. With this company my cousin and his wife actually got involved and they contacted me to setup a meeting with their friend who is an agent who he spoke highly off. They made him sound like the super man of financial advice. I decided to setup a meeting with them and his friend to see what they had coming. I then ask my friend, what the name of the company was and he told me “World Financial Group”, but if I had any questions I can ask them on that day because he was busy at the moment. I told him I understood and would write them down.

I decided again, to do my research and Google “World Financial Group”, the first link was their business link and click on it to investigate the company to make sure it was legit. The website look legit, so I decided to do a “whois” search on the domain just to make sure it was not recently register and someone just pop up a website quickly. For those that don’t know, you can checked when a domain name was register, who is register too, and the expiration date by going to whois.net and typing the domain name. This is one way to find out if their website was recently setup or if it has been on for a long time. After confirming that the website was legit, I went and scroll down on the Google search results and the first couple of links had the company names with the word scam in them. I decided to click on them to read what people we accusing the company of scamming them. It basically turns out to be complaints of uneducated agents that were sold them a product that got them in a financial mess. Most of them apparently had lost their life savings to the advice that was given to them and from the product they sign up too. I decided to write down some questions for when I meet my cousin’s friend.

Well, for the day of the meeting I decided not to plan anything else and just be ready to see what my cousin’s friend had to offered and really listened to him. I was getting my questions ready and some paper to write down some notes. As soon as they walk in the house, my cousin introduced me to his friend and told me that his friend was in a hurry and I was just going to get an over view of the investment plan. To me, it just trigger a red flag as to why would you make an appointment with someone, them come to the meeting and tell the person you had to leave right away. Normally scammers used this tactics to pressure you into signing up without thinking about it until it’s too late. The reason you setup an appointment with someone is to make sure you are both free to explain everything and answer the person’s question. Well he started talking about the financial products they offered and how much money I would be saving for myself to become debit free. That I could get a life insurance to secure my family and at the same time invest money in a 10% to 14% compound interest portfolio to save for my retirement. He then started talking about how the company is making lots of money and how agents are becoming new millionaires in their business daily. He then continues talking on how I could be part of the company and what I needed to do. He then asked me to compile a list of 10 friends that would benefit from their products and service. That I should give it to my cousin so they could be contact them on my behalf. When it came time for me to start asking questions, it was already time for him to leave.

If I wanted to, we could setup another meeting where we would go over my current financial situation and then proceed from there as it was also going to help my cousin with his training. I later learned that my cousin had to sign up 10 people under one of the products they offer if he was actually to move forward with the company. Basically for my cousin it was no signups no future with the company. I decided to setup my other appointment for the following week so I could get my questions answer. I also decided not to create my list of 10 friends since this guy had already turned on too many red flags for me. For one, he rushes through the presentation and two he didn’t have time to answer my questions. Even if it was to help my cousin I was not going to risk my friendship with my friends.

The next meeting came up and my cousin show up with another agent. This agent was actually pretty good and he was able to answer my questions. We then talk about the specifics of the insurance and investment portfolios the company offered. My cousin got tired of me asking questions and told me that I should just trust him and sign up to the insurance as they were there to help me. I ignored him and continue asking questions and told them I currently had a small investment in a “No load” mutual fund. He went ahead and started talking about the insurance they offer and that I could also set money aside for my retirement. That I would not lose any money if the market went down because I would be guaranteed a 1% as apposed to my mutual fund where there was no guarantee. He pulled his computer and shows me his financial software to compare how much money I would be making in 10 years with my investment if I sign up with their company vs. how much money I would make with my current mutual fund. I turns out that I was going to make more money on the mutual fund then I would of with their investment. So I told him I was not interested in their product since I was going to make more money on my owned. I would be risking it more, but at the end if everything work out I would be on top.

After our meeting was over, I decided to call an out-of-state agent with World Financial Group, a friend of mine who is in the investment market, and a financial advisor who I paid for his response. I asked them all the same questions as I did with the 2nd agent just to make sure he wasn’t BSing me with his answers. After talking to all of them I came to the conclusion that the 2nd agent I met knew what he was actually talking about. This agent was actually looking out for my best interest since he actually show me the good and bad sides of the investment and didn’t just try to offer me death trap like Mr. busy who just wanted me to give up my friend’s list, sign me up to the insurance plan, and company to sell their services.

With Amway, 2 agents a couple actually came knocking on my door.  My parents, who were home at the time, answer the door and the agents asked him if my dad had time to hear about these great products they were selling.  My dad answers “Yes” and decided to let them in the house and see what they were selling. It turns out they were selling a variety of products like nutritional supplements, beauty products, and other products for the home. The agent went on talking about how great the products and how safe they were for the environment.  My dad asked the agent is he was selling Nutrilite and Legacy products.

The agent replies “Yes” and asked my dad if he has used the product himself.  My dad answer “Yes, I have used the products”. The agent immediately told my dad that since he had already try the products and knew their true value of how great the products were that he should try to sell them.  That he could me making millions in no time by selling it to his friends and buying the products himself.  My dad with a big smile told the agent that my next door neighbor was an Amway agent and has been doing it for years and from what he could see and from what she told him, she wasn’t yet making the millions that were promised to her.  My dad then told the agents that they were already wasting his time and they needed to leave. If he needed any products he would go to my next door neighbor and buy them from her.

I later learned that someone I know is also an Amway agent and decided to go with her instead. In this one, I really didn’t do any research since they were mainly talking to my parents and I was just listening. After they left, I asked my dad what he though of the products.  He told me, “that they were great products but they were expensive.  Quality wised they are worth it but  it’s not within many people budgets to buy them in a weekly bases.” Then I though, yet another agent making statements and trying to get people’s hopes up of making millions of dollars with in reality only a few can accomplished it within their business.

Well here is my personal experience with Primerica which happen a couple of years ago. If you never heard of them they basically sell financial products to help you with your finances and become debit free. The agent calls me for a job interview from my resume I posted on monster.com a about a couple of years ago.  I actually forgot that I posted it up there.  He said that he saw my resume and I had the skills and knowledge to work for his great company.  I ask him great, what part of the IT Department am I being interview for, he said none.  But that I should still come down for the interview as I will be interested in the job his offering me.  So I decided to give it a try, at the time I was unemployed.

I went down to the job interview. He basically told me what the company was about and what great potential I had working for the company and at the same time I could start my own insurance business.  I asked him a couple of questions about the insurance I was selling and he gave me vague answers to them all.  He then took me step by step on how the company actually worked and how much money I was going to make.  He then tries to sell me the insurance and sign me up to become an independent agent.  I told the agent I would have to think about it since at the moment I was unemployed and would need to borrow money to cover the cost of it.  So when I went home, I decided to do research myself and I actually called another agent from out-of-state and ask him the same questions I had ask the agent I met with. Some of his answers were conflicting with the vague answers the agent I met with had giving me.

So I decided to go online and do more research and even check with the BBB to see if any complaints had been file against the company. BBB in Nevada gives them a rating of “NR” which basically means “No Rating”.  At the end I decided not to sign-up with the agent that contacted me because the agent was actually looking out for himself instead of me.  If I had the money to cover my expenses at the time I would of actually gone with the out-of-state agent who answered my questions correctly.  Only thing I regret right now is not keeping the name and phone number of the out-of-state agent so I could get in contact with him. All I remember is the state and area code of the agent.

Many of you know either know someone who belongs to a MLM company or are part of one yourself. Well I have been approached by many MLM companies’ agents in the last few years. Many of the MLM companies I have been approached are agents from Primerica, World Financial Group, Amway, and most recently Prepaid-Legal Services. I myself have always been open-minded but in these cases I usually keep my guard up and give everyone a chance for them to present their services or products. I already know the routine they are going to try on me, so I just listen to the first part of the presentation, then start taking notes in the second part of the presentation. For those of you that have not experience the tactics of a MLM agent, its usually starts with them offering you this great service or product then half-way through the presentation it turns into a job interview with you giving up a list of usually 10 of your closest friends and family so they can be contacted by this agent on your behalf. They also charge a fee to join the MLM and start your own business. This is understandable since any business you start; you end up paying for it. If you want to start a McDonalds franchise or any fast food restaurant for that matter, you are looking into paying thousands or millions of dollars to setup a business with them. The MLM Companies usually charge between 200 to 600 dollars to become an independent agent.

In my opinion a MLM business is the same as any other business. You have to put in your time and effort if you want it to work and want to succeed. You can’t just sign-up to company and expect to start making millions of dollars within a couple of days. You have to study and learn the product you are selling and get involved with the company and work with other agents so you can learn from them. The person that got you involved in the business will usually help you get started and introduced to you some of the top players in the company. Take the training courses they offered you and start marketing yourself with family, friends and others around you.

In the other hand, if an agent starts talking about how easy it is money and how you can make lots of money with their MLM Company then you might really want to question that agent. Some agents are just there for themselves and looking to make a quick dollar at the cost of you and the reputation of the company they represent. They have no problem signing you up to worthless product or service so they can make money.

Here is something you might want to consider next time someone approaches you with a MLM business model and wants you to join their company. Can I actually run my own business? Can I open myself to going out there and selling a product or service to another person? If you answer yes, then you will probably succeed in your own business. If you answer no, then you might want to work on the “why not” and see if you can push yourself to doing it. It might just fear or just someone else’s opinion keeping you down, then you might want to give it a second though. If you still feel uncomfortable, then just continue with the same path you are currently on as not everyone can run a business.

In the next couple days, I will be writing about my own personal experience talking with Primerica, World Financial Group, Amway, and Prepaid-Legal Services agents.

On my previous post I show you how to setup your Gmail on your IPhone using POP.  In this post I am going to show you how to setup your Gmail account using IMAP.

First thing you need to do is make sure your Gmail account is POP access is enable.  To do this login to your Gmail account and then click on “Settings” and then click on “Forwarding and POP/IMAP” tab.  You will see 3 sections which are “Forwarding”, “POP Download”, and “IMAP Access”.

You want to view the “IMAP Access” Section which will give you the option to enable or disable IMAP Access.  Choose enable and click “Save Changes” at the bottom.

These instructions are the Iphone software version 4.0, but since many Iphone users are still using software version 3.0. I will also post the configuration for it.

IPhone software version 4.0

Open the Settings app on your device

1. Tap “Mail, Contacts, Calendars”
2. Tap “Add Account…”
3. Tap “Gmail”
4. Enter your account information, being sure to use your full Gmail address, including “@gmail.com”
5. Tap “Next”
6. Tap “Save”. You should now have access to your Gmail account from your IPhone.

Iphone software version 3.0

1. On your iPhone home screen, tap “Settings”
2. Tap “Mail”
3. Tap “Add Account…”
4. Tap “Other”
5. Add Mail Account – Enter your Name, complete email address, account password, and description.  For description you can enter GMAIL or your email address.
6. Tap “Save”
7. For Incoming Mail Server:
   1. Host Name is “imap.gmail.com”
   2. User Name is your full Gmail address, including “@gmail.com”
8. For Outgoing Mail Server:
   1. Host Name is “smtp.gmail.com”
   2. User Name is your full Gmail address, including “@gmail.com”.
9. Tap “Save”

Settings Recommended for the IPhone from Google

1. From your mail account’s Advanced Settings:
   1. Deleted Mailbox > On My iPhone > Trash
   2. Deleted Messages > Remove > Never

These settings will move any email deleted from GMail’s web interface to the “trash” folder in your IPhone.  Any emails you delete from your Iphone will be move to the “trash” folder in your Google mail account.

I would suggest getting in contact with apple or your mobile phone carrier if you are having trouble setting up the email.

There are two ways to setup a Gmail email account on your IPhone.  You can set the account using POP (Post Office Protocol) or IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) .  Here I am going to show you how to do it using POP.

First thing you need to do is make sure your Gmail account is POP access is enable.  To do this login to your Gmail account and then click on “Settings” and then click on “Forwarding and POP/IMAP” tab.  You will see 3 sections which are “Forwarding”, “POP Download”, and “IMAP Access”.

You want to view the “POP Download” Section which will give you  the option to enable and download all the emails on the email account, enable and download only the new arrived emails, or disable.  Choose enable with what ever option you want to use.

You will them need to select whether you want to keep a copy of the email on Gmail inbox, mark it read in Gmail, archive the email in Gmail, or delete the email once its been downloaded to your POP client.  Once you made your selections click “Save Changes” at the bottom.

Since the mail configuration on the software update 1.1.2 and 1.1.3 are different, here are the instructions on setting them up for both versions.

For the 1.1.2 Software Update

1. Tab “Mail” from your Iphone home page.
2. Tab Gmail
3. Enter your Gmail address, and password in the appropriate fields
4. Tab Save.  Your Iphone should now be set with Gmail.

For the 1.1.3 Software Update

1. Tab “Mail” from your Iphone home page.
2. Tap “Other”.
3. Select “POP” from the tab menu.
4. Enter your name, email address, and password in the appropriate fields. The Address field should be your full email address (username@gmail.com). Google Apps users, enter your full address in the format ‘username@your_domain.com.’
5. Under Incoming Mail Server, fill in the Host Name field as ‘pop.gmail.com.’ Google Apps users enter the server names provided; don’t add your domain name in this step.
6. Under Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP), fill in the Host Name field as ‘smtp.gmail.com.’
7. Tap “Save”. Iphone should now be set with Gmail.

If you have any issues on connecting to Gmail after following the instructions on top, check the settings on your iphone.

1. From the Home menu, tap “Settings”.
2. Select your Gmail address.
3. Scroll to the bottom of the page and tap “Advanced”.
4. Ensure that your settings are as follows:
5. Incoming Uses SSL: On
6. Outgoing Uses SSL: On
7. Authentication: Password

If the settings are correct,  I would suggest getting in contact with apple or your mobile phone carrier for further assistance.

The New York New York Hotel and Casino have the Manhattan Express which is a rollercoaster that goes around the casino both inside and outside. The Roller Coaster will lift you up 203 feet, drop you down 144 feet and leave your pulse trying to catch up to 67 mph. simulating a jet fighter’s barrel roll, you’ll turn 180 degrees, hang 86 feet in the air, take the famous “heartline” twist and dive, and get your negative g’s on! Ah, what a rush.  The best sits on in the front of the coaster.  They also offer a photo just as you are dropping 67 MPH which is cool.  The tickets go for about 14 dollars a person.  You can also get the all day pass for 25 dollars which includes 2 dollars off a 5×7.  Not sure how this would work, but you can actually get married in the coaster.  I am guessing the couple of sit on the front and the minister in the back and you would say “I do” as you are dropping. For those who are seeking a thrill in their wedding ceremony this might be something to look into.  If you do get married, please invite me so I can see it first hand and blog about it. J If you would like more information about the Manhattan Express at the New York New York Hotel and Casino click here.

In my opinion when it comes to Thrill Rides, no one in Las Vegas has them better than the Stratosphere Hotel and Casino.  Their 4 Heart-Pounding Thrill rides stand about 900+ feet about the ground on top of the casino.  They are the Skyjump, Insanity, X-Scream, and the Big Shot.  The skyjump is a control free fall from about 800 feet.  I believe this attraction is about 100 dollars a jump, but you get a reduced rate for repeat jumps.  The Insanity is a massive mechanical arm extends 64 feet over the edge of the Tower and spins you at a force of 3 Gs for a truly mind-bending experience.  You might want to think twice about opening your eyes on this ride as you will be facing down looking at the Las Vegas Strip.  The X-Stream resembles a giant teeter-totter propel you and several other riders head-first, 27 feet over the edge of the Stratosphere Tower. After being shot over the edge, you’ll dangle weightlessly above the Las Vegas Strip before being pulled back and propelled over again for more.  The Big Shot ride will shot you 160 feet in the air at 45 miles per hour.  Then drop you again just to be shot back up before you are allow for you to take a breath.  I would suggest getting on these rides with an empty stomach or you will be sorry and so will the people at the ground of the casino. J  For more information on the Thrill Rides at the Stratosphere Hotel and Casino click here.

The Excalibur Hotel and Casino offer the best family show I have ever seen in the 13 years I lived in Las Vegas. The Tournament of Kings transports you to King Arthur’s court to help celebrate the return of his son, Christopher.  The king offers a tournament with his best knights and of course a large feast.  Just like in medieval times you get to eat you dinner with your fingers.  So make sure to wash your hands before entering the show.

Some of the other attractions that can be found off the casino properties are the Vegas Indoor Skydiving, Las Vegas Mini Grand Prix, Pinball Hall of Fame, the Las Vegas Sign and many more.

At the Vegas Indoor Skydiving you get to experience the similarity of free falling from a plane without actually jumping from one.  You will put in a room with a vertical wind tunnel that will lift you up.  It’s capable of supporting the weight of an average adult.  They are open daily from 9:45 am – 8:00 pm.  The starting price for this experience is 75.00 dollars which is for 1 fight 1 person.  You might want to visit their website as they sometimes offer a 10.00 off coupon.  For more information about Vegas Skydiving click here.

Las Vegas Mini Grand Prix offers 4 tracks, rides, and a restaurant.  The tracks are the GO KARTS which you race on the longest race track they offer racing against your friends or others.  The SPRINT KART SPEEDWAY you get to race in sprint karts in a special track.  The Adult Grand Prix Cars you get to race to beat the track record.  You need an actual driver’s license to jump in this adult kart.  The last track is the Kiddie Kart which is for kids.  The karts are built to offer the right speed for the kids to have fun. For more information on Las Vegas Mini Grand Prix click here

There are actually other good family shows and attractions around Las Vegas like the Blue Man Group, Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition, Las Vegas’ Comedy Pet Theatre, and others. But I have not had the experience of seeing those shows. At the end your family will have a great and an unforgivable experience in Las Vegas no matter what there age is.

NOTE:  The prices I mention were the prices that were being charge at the time of me writing this article.  Some of the prices might of change, so I would suggest contacting the perspective properties to get the latest prices and hours for attractions and shows.

Las Vegas, NV is known as sin city and also as the city that never sleeps.  Many believe that Las Vegas is only for adults because they only know about the gambling, our popular slogan “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” and of course the popular urban legend that prostitution is legal Las Vegas. When in reality you will get arrested for soliciting a prostitute in Las Vegas or any where in Clark County.  The only place that prostitution is legal in Nevada, it’s in Pahrump, Nevada which is part of Nye County. Each county has its own set of laws.

But in reality Las Vegas, Nevada is a family town.  We have as much entertainment for the family as we do for only the adults.  Many casinos have been adding attractions for the.  You can find some of the attractions at the Strip (Las Vegas Blvd) and also off the strip.  Here is some of the attractions offer by the casinos for the family that I have visited.

Circus Circus Hotel and Casino, in my opinion it’s the number one casino when it comes to family entertainment.  As soon as you walk into the casino you see the attractions the casino has to offer for the family.  Everything from free circus acts, to wall climbing, to midway games to win prizes, and then you have arcades games, and of course the Adventure dome.  In the Adventure dome you have extreme rides and junior rides to accommodate everyone.  They even have a laser arena to zap your friends in case you need a break from all the rides.  The majority of rides are based on height so you might want to check with the property to see what height requirements are require for each ride. The prices of the ticket are actually determined by height.  Anyone who is under 48″ pays the 14.95 for the junior tickets and the ones over 48” pay the regular ticket price. For everyone’s safety they do enforced the height and you will be measure at the entrance, so make sure to buy the correct ticket for yourself and everyone else.  On special holiday’s, tickets cost extra so always call the casino to find out the prices for the adventure dome For more information about the family attractions at the Circus Circus click here.

The MGM Grand Hotel and Casino offers the Lion Habitat and the CSI: EXPERIENCE™. The Lion Habitat is a 5,000 square foot showcase enclosed in protective glass that enables the public to view the lions at play and leisure.  The show hours are daily from 11:00am to 7:00pm.  For more information about the Lion Habitat show you can click here.  Afterwards they are return to an 8.5 acres ranch which is 12 miles outside Las Vegas.  The CSI: EXPERIENCE™ which just like the show, you get to investigate a crime and try to solved it.  You start out by having an introduction to the show and the attraction itself.  Then you are invited to solve one of the 3 crimes presented.  You are presented with evidence of the crime you have seen selected to do and at the end you are ask a series of questions which you must answer to try and solved the crime.  The show runs daily from Daily 10:00 am – 10:00 pm.  The last show starts at 9:00pm.  The tickets go for about $30.00 for 12+ – adult and $23.00 for 4 – 11.   They ask that you book your tickets in advance as there are a limited number of shows.  The Experience duration average is between 60-90 minutes. The show is recommended for children 12+ to adults.  Children under the age of 12 must be accompanied by an adult.  For more information about the CSI: EXPERIENCE™ show you can click here.

Mirage Hotel and Casino has the Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden and Dolphin habitat which houses a family of Atlantic bottlenose dolphins.  The secret garden consists of black panthers, golden tigers, leopards, lions, white lions, and white tigers.  They have daily group tours scheduled at 11:00am, 1:00pm, and 2:30pm.   The group tours are set at 5 people per group; 3 groups per tour and a maximum of 3 tours per day.  Make sure to arrive early for your scheduled tour as they don’t allow for people to join after the tour has been started.   For more information about Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden and Dolphin habitat click here.

NOTE:  The prices I mention were the prices that were being charge at the time of me writing this article.  Some of the prices might of change, so I would suggest contacting the perspective properties to get the latest prices and hours for attractions and shows.

Many hosting companies today offer hosting packages with either Windows or Linux operating systems.  If you are building a basic website that will only have html code and/or some client side coding like JavaScript then it really doesn’t matter which operating system you select.

Then why do hosting companies offer two different operating systems?  It’s because of all the different applications available to run a website.  Some applications that are made available for windows OS may not provide support or be available for Linux and vise-versa with Linux applications not being available for windows.

Some people feel comfortable using windows because they are familiar with the system and application it runs.  Some of the common applications found in windows hosting accounts are IIS, Microsoft Access Database, Microsoft SQL Server, ASP.NET, ADO, ASP and others.

Others fill comfortable with Linux and will go with that OS for their hosting needs.  Unlike Windows where specific software is needed to create an executable file to run on the server with Linux you can actually just open a plain text editor write your code, save and compile the file and make it an executable file to run in Linux.  The only setback with Linux is that it has different distributions versions so each from different companies like Red Hat, SuSE, Xandros, Slackware, Lycoris, Linspire and others. Each distribution generally uses the same kernel system which is the core of the OS but the difference is on the add-ons each company adds to their version of Linux. So if you decided on the Linux server find out which distribution the hosting company is using to see if it will work for you.  The common applications found in Linux hosting plans are Apache, MySQL database and PHP (PHP can also run in windows servers but its mainly found in Linux servers).  This setup is usually referred to as LAMP.

At the end, before you decide on a hosting plan, first analyze what you want your website to do and what applications, and scripts are available to accomplish your goal.  Once you have your information you can then decide on whether to a Linux or Windows hosting server.

Here I am going to create a simple script that will create a xml file using php from data stored in a mysql database. The reason to use xml is to create a common syntax that many different applications can read. For example, you can use JavaScript, PHP, ASP, Flash, and other applications to call the data from the same xml file without ever having to change the format of the xml file. If you change the data in the xml it will change the data sent to all the applications.

Here is the sample script. If you have any questions, please post them in the comments section and I will answer them when I get a chance to view them.
<?php
//define the content type as xml
header(“Content-type: text/xml”);

//variables that information to connect to database
$hostname_config = “localhost”;
$database_config = “database_name”;
$username_config = “db_username”;
$password_config = “db_password”;

//connect to database or display error is cannot connect.
$config = mysql_connect($hostname_config, $username_config, $password_config) or trigger_error(mysql_error(),E_USER_ERROR);

//select the database you are connecting too or display error
mysql_select_db($database_config, $config) or die(“Error connecting to database”) ;

//query the database; in this example I am going to query the table name book_list and
//display all the records of books available. I am going to call all the fields in the
//database and organize the records by name in ascending order from A-Z.
//table: book_list; fields: bookID, name, publish_date, pages, genre, summary
$statement = “SELECT * FROM book_list ORDER BY name ASC”;
$query = mysql_query($statement, $config) or die(‘Error with table book_list’);

//start the output for the xml file
$xml_output = “\n”;
$xml_output .= “\n”;

/* Here I am grabbing all the records from the database putting them in a while loop.
it will stop once it has gone thru all the records.
since xml doesn’t like special characters, I need to make sure to convert them to HTML entities.
I am using the htmlentities php built-in function to accomplish this.
I could of used htmlspecialchars but decided to go with htmlentities */
while($row_query = mysql_fetch_assoc($query))
{
$xml_output .= “\t\n”;
$xml_output .= “\t\t” . htmlentities($row_query['bookID'], ENT_QUOTES) . “\n”;
$xml_output .= “\t\t” . htmlentities($row_query['name'], ENT_QUOTES) . “\n”;
$xml_output .= “\t\t” . htmlentities($row_query['publish_date'], ENT_QUOTES) . “\n”;
$xml_output .= “\t\t
” . htmlentities($row_query['pages'], ENT_QUOTES) . “\n”;
$xml_output .= “\t\t” . htmlentities($row_query['genre'], ENT_QUOTES) . “\n”;
$xml_output .= “\t\t” . htmlentities($row_query['summary'], ENT_QUOTES) . “\n”;
$xml_output .= “\t\n”;
}

//this closes the xml output
$xml_output .= “\n”;

//once the loop is done and we created all the the xml code. we use the echo command to output the results.
echo $xml_output;
?>

Many hosting companies provide different hosting plans.  Some of the hosting plans that are offer are shared hosting, Virtual Private Server (VPS), and dedicated hosting.

Shared Hosting is where many websites reside in one server.  Each website has its own section on the server to keep them separate from each other.  This is the most economical type of hosting.  The hosting company provides an Admin panel for you to manage your hosting account online.  You also share the bandwidth with other websites on this type of hosting.

Some of the benefits of shared hosting are the cost of the hosting and hardware / software upgrades and patches.  With share hosting you will usually pay between 6 dollars to 25 dollars a month.  The difference in the pricing depends on the features and the service they offer.  Some hosting companies will just charge you to host your website only, but you might need to pay extra from their backup plan and for each individual support issues.  Other companies might include the hosting, backup, and maybe a couple of hours of support in their hosting price so it might seem expensive.

Some of the setbacks on Shared Hosting are that you shared the same ip number with the rest of the websites unless you purchase a unique ip number for your hosting plan.  Purchasing an ip usually cost between 5.00 dollars to 10 dollars a month.  If one website gets the server ip number ban because of unethical practices, there is a good change that your website will also be affected. You ask yourself how this might affect you. Well, if the website who is doing the unethical practices decides to spam Hotmail, Yahoo, or Google, there is a pretty good change the ip number will be ban. If the ip number does get ban, then your emails will start bouncing back to you and customers will not be able to get your newsletter, get notification of specials you have on your online store, or your reply to an important question they ask you.

Another setback with share hosting is the applications running on the server. If the hosting company has PHP 4.0 on the server and you need it upgraded to PHP 5.0 to run an application that requires it.  The hosting company will most likely deny the upgrade to the software since its going to affect all the websites on the server.  This will cause more work for them and also for their other clients if they have to upgrade their scripts to work with PHP 5.0.  They might make an announcement to upgrade the software in the future, but you will have to wait into it happens. Then you have the server reboot issue if one of the applications is being installed or updated on the server your website will be affected.  Most hosting companies will notify you when they are upgrading their software and hardware but they wouldn’t accommodate the time they decide to do it.

Even though you might run into some issues with share hosting, it’s still cheaper them dedicated hosting. Some of the setbacks that I mention do happen, but they are rare.  We have not had to restart our server in a long time.  We have not had any of our client’s ban our ip number.   So share hosting is still a good way to go if the other hosting plans are not in your budget.

Virtual Private Server (VPS) is between Shared Hosting and Dedicated Hosting.  On this plan, the server hard drive is split into different partitions.  Each partition has its own operating system and web server applications.  So you don’t have to worry about sharing the same applications with the other hosting accounts.  You can upgrade any software application on your hosting account with no problem.  There is a fee if you ask the hosting company to do it, but if you are familiar with installing software on the operating system running on your hosting account you can try it yourself.  You still share the same ip number and bandwidth, so you still run into some of the problems with the Shared Hosting Plan.  Each partition can be rebooted itself so it does not affect the other partitions.  You get the same tools as shared hosting to manage the server.  This type of hosting normally runs between 69.00 dollars to 109.00 dollars.  It all depends on the features that are offer by the hosting company and any additional features you might need to have on your hosting account for your website to run.  You are responsible for backing up your own data or pay the hosting company a monthly fee.

Dedicated hosting is when you lease an entire server from a hosting company.   On this plan, you don’t share the server with anyone.   The hosting company handles the hardware issues that occur on the server and you handle the application issues. The benefits of dedicated hosting are that you decide what operating system and applications run on the server.  You are basically free to do what you want with the server as long as you are within the guidelines setup by the hosting company. You also don’t share the bandwidth with anyone else so you don’t have to worry about your website being slow loading because another website is hogging the bandwidth and server resources.  You normally get 2 ip numbers in case you want to run more than one website on the server and need a unique ip number assign to one of the websites.  You are able to purchase more ip numbers from the hosting company if needed.

Some of the setbacks are that you are responsible for maintaining the server’s applications.  If a critical update needs to be done to any of the applications running on your server, you are responsible for doing it yourself or hiring the hosting companies’ computer engineers to do it for you.  Some hosting companies will offer an administration server fee to perform system updates and server maintenance.  This is an additional fee to the dedicated hosting fee.  You are also responsible for backing up the data in the server or pay the hosting company a fee to use a backup service for you.  So be ready to do some software updates or maintenance work if you decide not to pay for their administrator fees.

With the cost of hardware and bandwidth going down, hosting companies are offering affordable hosting plans for everyone’s budget.

Hello Everyone. Today I receive a phone call from an old friend whose computer mouse died while he was doing his homework on his personal computer. The mouse was not responding so he unplugged it and then when to re-plugged it to see if that would fix the problem which it did not. He had multiple applications running and wanted to try and save his work on them. He couldn’t remember how to “save” using the shortcut keys. I told him to go ahead and used the Alt+F+A which would open the windows dialog box to save his work from Microsoft office. He felt a little relieve about his homework being save, but he still wanted to at least be able to bookmark the websites he had open in Google Chrome.

Well for those who are familiar with Google Chrome know that the browser itself doesn’t have the standard menu that Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari and other browsers have. My friend not being too computer savvy didn’t know the shortcut commands to move around Google Chrome. I told him he could pressing the alt key to trigger the icon menu and used the arrows on the keyboard to navigate around chrome or use the shortcut Ctrl+Shift+B to open the bookmark window for him to save the websites. He told me “No” and wanted his mouse to work again because he was afraid that he was not going to do it correctly and might not be able to find the websites again. So I show him this little trick on how to control your mouse cursor with his keyword.

You press and hold alt+ left-shift and press the “num” lock key located to the top left of your keypad. You release the keys and if done correctly you will get a windows message box to display asking for confirmation on activating MouseKeys feature on your computer. If the “Ok” button is highlighted, you press the enter key and that should display a small mouse icon to the bottom right of where the clock is located. If the icon mouse has a circle with a line thru it, it means that the feature is disabled. To enable it press the num key until the circle with the line goes away and you only see the mouse icon. When the mouse icon is displaying you can use the keypad to move your mouse cursor around. While the keypad has the mousekey feature enable, you cannot used it to type number.

Here are the num key pad functions for the keyboard mouse.

Key 1 moves the cursor to the bottom-left
Key 2 moves the cursor down
Key 3 moves the cursor to the bottom-right
Key 4 moves the cursor to the left
Key 5 works as the action key for the mouse buttons.
Key 6 moves the cursor to the right.
Key 7 moves the cursor to the top-left
Key 8 moves the cursor to the top
Key 9 moves the cursor to the top-right

The mouse buttons are control by the operator keys. By default the keyboard is setup to trigger the left button when you press the key 5.

/ sets the keyboard to use the left button when key 5 is press
* sets the keyboard to use the left and right button press together when key 5 is press.
- sets the keyboard to use the right button when the 5 is press.
+ will highlight the word or icon the cursor is on top. If you want to highlight more of content then what the cursor selected, you just hold down the left-shift key down and use the arrows to move the highlighter around.

Well after a little getting used to moving the cursor with the keyboard and the relief of having his cursor back. He threatens to kick my butt for now showing him this trick earlier; I told him I work on an hourly rate and needed to waste as much time as possible. He laughs and offers to buy me lunch next time we meet.

To disable this feature, just press alt+ left-shift and press the “num” lock key. The Mousekey feature will be disable and make the icon disappear from the clock area. The keypad will return to its normal used.