The Blog Searcher.com

Sometimes I wonder if I should take up blog design instead of blog writing. I love tweaking my blogs, and I notice that with this blog, I have spent more time tweaking it then actually writing! I really think I have found just what I was looking for with this new design.

Much has been happening over the summer. Mostly I have been taking care of all my other blogs and this was placed on the back burner. I’m sorry guys, I won’t let another 3 months go by before I post again.

Thanks to all my readers for sticking around even while I was not posting. I really appreciate that you stayed.

I wrote about the new Windows 6.1 a while back, over at my other blog - Simple Mindz. Please go here to read all about it.

I really am loving the new Windows Mobile 6.1. Its such an improvement to the older version.

Things are changing around here, so stay tuned for many new posts, new links and fresh new affiliates!

Feel free to comment me or drop me a line to let me know what you think about the new site design!

Since I actually have not been on the computer all that much this past month, I needed a program that I could install on my Smartphone that still kept me connected to my Twitter peeps! So, I did some searching on the net for some decent programs.

I am sure you have all pretty much heard about “Twitter.” And if you haven’t - follow this link here where I talk about Twitter and also Twhirl

Anyways, I found this great program called “Tiny Twitter” and I gotta tell you - I love it! It is simple and easy to use. It does not take up a ton of space on my Smartphone and it seems pretty stable. I have had to instances where it did not work, but all I needed to do was close the program completely from my task manager and restart it - and it worked perfectly!

To me - it reminds me of Twhirl. And that’s ok for me because I use Twhirl on my desktop! Here is a photo of my Twhirl program I use on my computer.

And here - is a picture of the “Tiny Twitter” program that I use on my Smartphone.

As you can see - I updated a tweet from my Twhirl program and also my Tiny Twitter program. With Tiny Twitter, I can send and receive tweets, get everybody’s updates and not have annoying SMS messages every single time when someone updates!

And as far as I know - this does not count as an SMS message. You can follow peoples time line, send direct messages, update, tweet, and reply.

And it works on Blackjacks, Blackberry’s.. Any Java enabled device, and Windows mobile smartphones!

And MY favorite part? It’s FREE!

You can go to the site and download the software OR on your Smartphone - go here -

http://m.ttwt.at

To get it via your smartphone browser.

Since I am a software geek, and I love to find new things for my phone - I gotta write this next review on a little program called, “E Mobile Radio.”

I found this program at that Handango site that I frequent. And I gotta tell you, I am very happy with it!

This program allows you to listen to actual, live radio - for free.

Did I mention, it was free? No subscription fees, recurring fees or anything.

You DO however, have to have internet enabled on your smartphone. And also a good internet subscription with your phone carrier. I myself have unlimited internet on my Blackjack 2, so I do not need to worry about any overcharges.

I paid a total of $19.95 for the program, and let me tell you - it was well worth it!

There are over 70 radio channels, rock, jazz, classical, talk and news are just some of the categories. I myself happen to love talk radio, so the CNN channel and also the MSNBC and Fox News Talk are all some of my favorites. Can you believe…they even have ESPN! This I thought was pretty cool because now I can get the baseball game!

They also have world music and you can add channels to your favorites with only a few clicks on your smartphone!  And you can also download via web - or your phone. Go to their site directly, or go to Handango to download from there.

Either way, I suggest that you guys go and download it. It’s well worth the $19.95. This is a great software, It really is.

I am listening to Fox News right now as I type this review out. Seriously, this program really rocks!

This was a video that I had over at my other site - SimpleMindz.net
It was pretty helpful in explaining pingbacks and trackbacks so I thought I would share it again. I think easy to understand videos are best. A lot of people just starting out in the blogging world are not *pros* and I think some have just learned computers! So when they are trying to learn, keeping it simple is best!

There is a site that I came across sometime last week, totally by accident. And I gotta tell you - I love this place. The place is called “Zedge.net.”

I just love it when I find sites that turn out to be awesome! That’s how I stumbled upon my software site that I wrote about back in March.

Zedge.net has free wallpapers, videos, ringtones and also games for your smart phone. We are talking 100% free.  Not “free if you sign up…” Not “Free - for the first 10.” 100% Free!

You just need to sign up for an account - that’s it! You are then part of the community - and you are good to go!

As far as I can see - there are no copyright issues or anything like that. These are ringtones, wallpapers, videos and themes, that users themselves make and upload to the site. As for the games I am not too clear on. I did not see any games that were “for sale” anywhere else. So, I am thinking that the users themselves made them. I was not actually able to find a game for my Blackjack 2 to download and try out, otherwise I would have given you a performance post too.

Still, Even though Zedge (from what I have read in their TOS) is very strict on their rules and policies as to content and such - I would recommend scanning for viruses - as with ANYTHING that is downloaded from the web, at anyplace, anytime…it should be standard practice. Not everyone in the world has only “good things” to share ya know.

(For those of you that do not know how to scan software for viruses- you just right click on the downloaded program and you should have a “scan with antivirus” option.)

You can also personalize your own phone with their wallpaper maker, voice maker, theme maker, screensaver maker…This I was not able to try out yet. But I will be getting to it sometime this week, as I have a few days of vacation coming up.

The possibilities are endless! And the wallpapers are quality graphics. Here is mine on my smart phone.

This first picture is the graphic I downloaded. The second photo shows how it looks on my phone. I think it’s pretty nice looking! And I got two cool ringtones too! One is a song from South Park (not intended for kids) and the other is “Mission Impossible”….sung by chickens…It’s a riot

Yeah, say it…I am a geek. I can’t help it…

Everything I have downloaded was/is free. Which is such a nice bonus! I know I just hate it when I pay for a graphic for my phone - and the damn thing looks awful! But, I still use it because I paid for the darn thing.

At Zedge.net - you don’t need to worry, if you don’t like the graphic…remove it! Same with the videos, ringtones and whatever else you download.

As for the videos, I did not download any as of today. But I gotta tell you - a lot of them look very adult. There IS an option to filter out the adult stuff, so you don’t have to worry bout the younger kids seeing it all.

And of course you need to be over 13 to join.

Also - you have the option of downloading the content to your phone or computer. This was a very handy feature. And, they support a huge ton of cell phones which is a huge bonus!

I really had fun looking around the site and downloading stuff.

And I really recommend them. Go there and take a peek. I think you will find what you are looking for. I know I did. Add me to your friends list - my profile is here: BlogLady

One of my newest favorite sociable places just happens to be Blogsvine. I actually learned about it from Mr.Javo.com. I went there, checked it out, signed up and well, the rest is history!

Blogsvine, is different. Different because it actually wants and encourages you to add your posts and links. And it is super friendly too! I have found a really good amount of blogs on there that I actually enjoy reading. And I have not seen any spam there as of yet.

Just today, I was at another social network, submitting a post and I saw a ton of spammy advertisements! And I thought to myself, “Self….everytime you add a post you wonder if they will complain because you added too many of your own, And here you are, looking at tons of spam posts!”

And no, I am NOT just tooting my own horn either because I wrote about becoming a featured blog, at my other site for this month! I mean, sure - that is most definitely a great thing, but it’s not why I am writing this post today.

I really think it is and will be a great up and coming social networking site! It is friendly, fun and it has a lot to offer. From a simple Wordpress plugin that you can add to your blog, (the one I am using) To the option to vote for the posts that you like. And you can go to their website that has an extensive list of actual categories to add to. The place is really good. I really enjoy the community that they have there. I think you will too.

Go there, sign up. Take a look around and see if you would like it. It’s really easy to navigate around the site and you can have it down packed in no time!

This review comes to you thank to my 17 year old daughter. She found this great photo editing website called Picnik.

I was watching her last night, while she was editing her photos, and I asked her, “what is that place called?”

“Picnik” she said. “It’s a great photo editing place that even edits your photos from Facebook, Myspace, Photobucket, Flickr and all that.”

I was definitely interested because I am always looking for great little sites that make my life a bit easier!

So I thought I would try it out for myself this afternoon.

I went there, and the first thing I noticed was that you did not need to register to use the site. This to me is a great thing, especially if younger kids want to use it. The parents do not have to worry about giving info away. You upload, edit right from your browser. And, when you save it - it downloads the photo automatically to either your Facebook, Myspace or your folder on your computer. Pretty cool I thought.

The amount of stuff you can do is endless. I was playing with all kinds of different photo editing things. Here are a few goofy pictures. Please keep in mind I am NOT good with editing photos…lol.

This was using the “focal Black & White” feature. And then I framed it with a “Polaroid frame.” It’s my daughters gingerbread house she made. See that little bear guy? Well, his gingerbread chick is to the right of the picture, yo’.

Here is my old plant. I made the background Black & white and kept the green color of the plant. I say “old” plant because, well - I forgot to water the damn thing like a week after I got it. ;(

This last one I love. It’s a picture of my daughters cat sleeping on the couch. It kinda looks cartoonish- that’s cool. I think you can tell that I love the Polaroid feature?

There is just a ton of stuff you can do. It does not matter if you know anything about photo editing or not. You can still make some pretty neat things from there. The only downfall I have noticed it that I was only able to store about 10 photos there, and had to delete some to re edit them.

But you can always just upload the edited photo again. All in all, I give the site a 9 on a scale of 1-10. And the not registering is a bonus too I think. If you want to add more photos, you can choose to upgrade your account and its just $24.95 for the whole year. Not too bad. Way cheaper then buying a photoshop program! And what kid knows how to even use photoshop, nevermind an adult..lol.

When I thought about writing this post this morning I couldn’t help but think of that Comcast commercial -

The commercial where the guy goes and gets tiger stripes all over his body and then calls the tattoo guy from his NEW “Comcast digital Voice phone….”

“Sorry Roger - You tiger now!…”

I guess that’s how I felt when I was upgrading my Wordpress to The NEW Wordpress 2.5. If I mess it up, it’s permanent. I figured I would let you all know that it was easy to upgrade - but wanted to warn you to not be a dummy, like Roger - Or myself, TheBlogSearcher. lol.

Last night, I noticed a tweet came in from Lisa Sabin-Wilson about the new Wordpress 2.5. And I followed her link to her site and read about the new 2.5.

I was VERY excited at all the new changes and I thought, I am going to give this a try. I have (now) 5 different blogs that I work on, so lets try the upgrade on the one that is still fairly new and does not have very many files. One that I will be able to backup and replace with no problem.

I gotta teach myself how to do this stuff eventually, so let’s do it I thought!

I downloaded the 2.5 upgrade over at Wordpress.org

Read all I could about all the new changes, and followed the link to the page where it tells you just how to upgrade.

I kept that page open and opened up my FTP. I followed the instructions to a tee. Made a backup of my site, and deactivated all my plugins.

I started the process of uploading all the files to my FTP, put them in the proper place, but for some reason, it didn’t work.

I wanted to cry. I almost emailed Tech Support - asking them to fix it for me, but I thought - “You gotta stop whining to tech support and think this out. ” (but …Roger, you tiger now….)

And I did. I copied and pasted the *error* I kept getting and found my way to the forum. I read in the help forum that I was “missing files” and that the upload had not uploaded all the files I needed properly.

Ok, I thought to myself, we will look at all the files. When I viewed the wp admin file folder - it was empty! So, for that first site I uploaded every file individually. What a pain that was. But I was still done in under 15 minutes.

I could not understand though, why all the files were in the download - but not when I uploaded. I must have done something wrong. Then, it hit me -

When I opened the Wordpress zip file - I did a drag and drop. NOT a cut and paste.

So then, I reopened my Wordpress zip file and cut it out and pasted it onto my desktop. Now, I was onto my second installation - this site, TheBlogSearcher.com. I crossed my fingers and…

I opened up my Wordpress file, and started uploading first the admin files, then the includes. I saved the WP-content for last as I wanted to take care not to delete any plugins or themes that I wanted. When I was done, I typed the address I needed to go to in my browser, and TaDA! There it was, “your files have been upgraded, please continue here..”

It worked like a charm. I had the whole thing done in probably 7 minutes.

Was about 5 minutes when I uploaded/upgraded my Simple-Mindz site. Done.

I still have 2 more blogs to upgrade, but they are not high on my priority list as they are in the infant stage. But, I gotta tell you, it really was easy to upgrade to the “New 2.5.” And I gotta tell you, the new 2.5 is AWESOME!

So now, yeah - That’s right…..I am writing this post entry in my NEW “Wordpress 2.5 upgrade….”

Twitter and Twhirl, They go together like peanut butter and jelly.

If you are a blogger, you have most likely heard about Twitter. It has been around since 2006. I only recently began using them about 4 months ago. It really hasn’t been too long and I am already pretty much addicted to it.  I like to “twitter” whenever I get a chance. Twitter is pretty much a social networking site that uses micro blogging to let people update what they are doing throughout the day using their web site, instant messaging or cell phones.

The updates are actually called, “tweets” and are 140 characters or less.  I love the ease of use and the simplicity of using it. This is generally what attracted me to the site in the first place. When I began to blog, I noticed little Twitter boxes on some blogs that I was reading. I also noticed that it allowed them to post updates as to what they were doing. At anytime.

Naturally, I followed the link, signed up, and before I knew it - I was a Twitter fanatic…

So, since I was becoming a Twitter addict - I was getting a bit tired of always going to the web site to update just what I was doing. But, I loved to twitter- so I was in a pickle! That’s when I started searching for something that might make it easier. I happened to read about some good little Twitter applications over at ProBloggers place and decided to try a few that he had listed..

I tried a couple, and I just did not like them all so well. I installed Twhirl - and was instantly hooked!

“Twhirl” is a desktop client that was designed for Twitter, “based on the Adobe AIR Platform.” (as listed at the site)

With Twhirl, you can:

• Have different color schemes.
• It will automatically check for newer versions.
• Use it with multiple accounts.
• Search tweets.
• Get notifications of new tweets. (with sound!)
• Cross post with other programs like Pownce and Jaiku.
• Post images to TwitPic.

In a nutshell - I love using Twhirl. It keeps me connected and makes Twitter easier to use. Both Twitter and Twhirl go hand in hand. And I really recommend them to anyone that wants to stay in touch with their friends, fellow bloggers and anyone else for that matter!

If anyone would like to follow me, feel free to add me to their Twitter/Twhirl accounts! My Twitter name is: TheBlogLady. Look me up! I love getting new followers and I reply to everyone that twits me.

photo credit: .hj barraza

When you bring home a new gadget, like an IPod or one of those new digital picture frames you think that it’s going to be a piece of cake to set it up and get it working right?

Well, you might just be in for a little surprise. Apparently, a lot of these gadgets that have been acquired by the consumer are being shipped overseas with nasty little computer viruses within.

I was reading an article by Jordan Robertson (AP) in the Boston Herald on Friday, and I thought that this was something important that others should know about.

This can happen when the computer that was used in the final stage for “product” testing at the factory has a nasty virus in the computer that it was tested on. Most gadgets being affected are the more popular ones. The IPods, digital picture frames, and GPS devices. There were some recent cases that the Associated Press reviewed that the bigger stores like Best Buy and Target were selling some of the devices embedded with viruses.

Most of the viruses are coming from Chinese companies that are known for their lower prices, and the bigger stores are turning to these companies because of the discounts. So quality control is not always the best within these overseas partners.

It really does not seem to be anything more then a product tester plugging in the device to an infected computer, which then infects the device. When an unsuspecting consumer buys their new gadget, takes it home & plugs it in to configure it - that’s when the virus can and does spread. The virus can be a spammer type virus, a password stealer or even ones that can open ports so a hacker can gain access easily.

I am not an expert, but I would really suggest a few things. One would be to not buy something from a store that you don’t know.

Although this can be really hard to try and find out where the company does buy their stuff. Usually - it does tell you where it was made or imported from. And both stores like Target and Best Buy ARE well known, so you would think that it would be safe. That’s not always the case though.

I think - and I say this to everyone, A good solid, dependable antivirus is the best and the most important piece of software one can have on their computer!

(I tell this to my friends at work - who never upgrade their antivirus programs at all… Somedays I am horrified to open my email, Because I can probably guess that almost half don’t even have antivirus…!)

I think with a good solid program, this would be your first defense in keeping those pesty bugs off of your computer, should you buy a new IPod or something!

And if you did get a virus, or your software finds one as you try to install/configure your new gadget - I would definitely stop what I was doing and call the store where you bought it. Maybe they can exchange it. I would think most stores would. The only problem with that is they all probably came from the same company. So the likelihood of another one being infected is high.

All in all - I think protection and precaution is the key here. Do not just click “next” when installing software. Read what it says first. And pay attention when your antivirus pops up! This could be the most important warning…!

Just a small amount of knowledge can go a long way when it comes to keeping viruses off your computers and out of the devices.