Guest Posts: Share The Love, Lighten The Load
This is all about Guest Posts; one of the most useful social tools for any blogger! You can easily expand your reach with simple SEO & Blogging tips, my last article missed one of many joys through blogging ‒ everything is community oriented.
Blogging & SEO: An Old Dog’s Guide
You're probably thinking "Shawn, what is this all about - you're young - you know all the new trends!?"; that's only half true. I've been coding websites as long as I can remember, and things have changed drastically. I've been able to easily snag #1 result on Google and related engines, but that was over 5 years ago. 5 years isn't much to any average Joe, but when it comes to technology it can seem like a lifetime.
- Try to remember when tabled layouts were more than acceptable!
The "New Web" is cluttered with social networks - and this is great - but it can prove very difficult to optimize anything for search engines. Everything has become what you could call "organic". It's not longer focused on hits or links, it's focused on content and interest. Hits and links still play a key role, but the old "link spamming" tactics don't work anymore.
Let me guide you through some key points to help bring your website recognition!
Adsense and AJAX: A Solution
Tired of fight with Adsense when using AJAX? That's exactly how I've been the last couple days. For such a widely spread service, it's terrible how bad flexibility for Web applications can be!
Anyways, most reputable programmers wont be relying much on iFrame, so here's an easy solution - just run this function every time you want to update the ads on your page.
I must warn you, DO NOT abuse this, Google can and will ban your account if impressions are being forced. I can't vouch that Google will even approve of this method, but from reading the ToS it should be acceptable giver the [end] user sent a request to change page content.
var redirects = 0;
function updateAdsense() {
redirects++;
var ads = document.getElementsByTagName('iframe');
var src;
if(ads && ads.length){
for (var i = 0; i < ads.length; i++){
src = ads[i].src.split('&');
if(redirects > 1)
src.pop();
src = src.join('&');
src = src + '&'+new Date().getTime();
ads[i].contentWindow.location.replace(src);
}
}
}
You can see I use "location.replace", this solves issues with Adsense updates effecting browser navigation. In basic, it makes the back button work correctly.
As you can see this code is rather lazy, I will be providing an update soon. 
Update
var redirects = 0;
function updateAdsense() {
redirects++;
var ads = document.getElementsByTagName('iframe');
var src;
if(ads && ads.length){
for (var i = 0; i < ads.length && ads[i].id.substr(0,16)=='google_ads_frame'; i++){
src = ads[i].src;
if(redirects > 1) {
src = src.split('&');
src.pop();
src = src.join('&');
}
src = src + '&'+new Date().getTime();
ads[i].contentWindow.location.replace(src);
}
}
}
New Work In Progress
I'm quite excited to say I've been cracking down on alot of code these past two days. I can be quite messy at times, so I created some nice scripts and cron jobs to help me share the latest and greatest of my projects.
You can go ahead and check out my "dev" directory.
http://neotelos.com/dev/
The new directory automatically packages "snapshots" of my current progress every hour for download. Be sure to check the latest update to my AJAx Framework, major changes are in progress.
Enjoy!
WDKJD7S9V3X4
Guide to Faster Internet
Introduction
I've taken quite the effort to put together a thorough guide to getting the most of your network connection. My goal is to bring everything from hardware mods to software tweaks together into one organized document.
Every tweak and mod has been tested by non other than myself, and while these modifications are generally safe, I take no responsibility for the outcome of one following my guide. So I wouldn't go flashing DD-WRT onto your router until you actually know the risk you are taking!
--- So all said, have fun and enjoy my guide!
Better Browsing with Firefox
Firefox has numerous competitors - Google Chrome, Safari, Opera, Internet Explorer - yet it still remains one of the most customizable browsers of all time.
If you're like me, you either - A) Want to Maximize Screenspace - or - B) Have low resolution.
I've decided to put together a guide of Firefox plugins to bring you're boring browser to this:
Remove Statusbar
For this we want to install a handy little plugin called Fission.
By default it just shows the page loading status in the URL bar, but if you go into the plugin settings you can also show the active link status and connection status.
After installation go to the Firefox view settings and deselect the status bar and you're all set!
Add More Search Options
I recommend installing this plugin for a more refined experience, but prefer to turn off the "Endless Pages" feature as it can create issues with many websites.
Remove the Menu Bar & Bookmarks Toolbar
Once we have TinyMenu installed we can merge the Menu Bar and Navigation Bar, to do this the plugin author offers an easy guide here.
Remove the Titlebar
This plugin allows you to merge the toolbars and the titlebar when fullscreen, quite the space saver!
Hope you all enjoyed this guide I put together!
Logitech MX Revolution
I bought the Logitech MX Revolution mouse a little over a month ago and figured it's time to make a short review.
Initial Impressions
A very well designed mouse that's great for productivity, yet has a few minor setbacks. I've never been a fan of spending more than $20 on a mouse, but this was definitely a great buy. I find the automated switching scroll (free scroll to click scroll) to be very intuitive. The ergonomics also make this mouse quite comfortable.
Pros
- Very comfortable design
- Relatively portable, despite being designed as a desktop mouse
- "MicroGear" scrolling mechanism
- Auto free scroll based on scroll speed
- Rechargeable
Cons
- The receiver is a bit large for notebooks, but still has a small enough footprint to carry around. (should have included the, smaller, unifying receiver)
- With extensive use (and not turning the device off), the battery lasts about a week for me.
- Thumb wheel does not scroll. This was one of the first things that annoyed me upon use, it's not a major setback but I don't find navigating through windows to be as intuitive without an actual scroll wheel.
- Laser is towards the right side of the mouse. This personally does not bother me, but if you like to lift and reposition your mouse this can be cumbersome.
- You cannot center click when auto free scroll in enabled, this is obviously software related...but drives me absolutely nuts!
- No changeable battery...it's completely integrated, poor design in many aspects. (both business and consumers alike)
- Picky about some surfaces but still much better than most optical mice.
That's about it for a general review, but of course there are so many more things to consider. Overall this is a great mouse, one of the best I can find in the current market; I just wish it would have been slightly more refined.
The Logitech Performance MX was released after I purchased this mouse, which seems to have addressed some issues I have had with this product.
Best described...the best mouse I found on the market at the time of purchase, but far from perfect. Be sure to check out the Logitech Performance MX too, a newer model.
New AJAx Framework
I've decided it's about time I release something new, the last decent piece of software I released en mass was a forum script many years ago. It's time for something new.
I've got the 2nd release of my AJAx Framework with a working navigation demo. It offers great stability and much predefined functionality, such as an automated queuing system. The latest and greatest feature of all is the built-in legacy support, you can completely disable JavaScript and PHP will attempt to accommodate.
I strongly encourage developers to examine the source.
You might be surprised with what you see!
Demo - Download - Documentation - Website
Panasonic GH1 DSLR
I've been really looking towards investing in a Panasonic GH1 Digital SLR camera. It's definitely a step up from the Canon Rebel t1i, D7, and D5 MKII, having amazing video capability. You can shoot standard 1080p video at 24fps or 720p video at 60fps, the quality is astounding!
Considering this camera is nearly half the price of similar models, and the stock lens kit is such high quality...this is quite a camera!
Here are some links to check:
http://photofocus.com/2009/09/12/panasonic-gh1-mini-review-my-new-favorite-video-camera/
http://www.pdnpulse.com/2009/08/red-one-vs-canon-5d-mark-ii-vs-panasonic-gh1-video.html
WP is Twitterific!
I just linked my bog to my twitter account for all to enjoy.
I'm using the WP to Twitter plugin, it's well refined and a pleasure to use!
Follow me on Twitter to follow both myself and my blog!
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