Free Map Tools
This site has some super Google Map tools – including Meeting Centre Of Gravity by Postcode and Map Tunnelling.
Author Archive
WordPress 2.7.1 auto upgrade fix
I discovered last night that the auto-upgrade function to take WordPress 2.7 to 2.7.1 failed – or rather it sat at the “downloading wordpress-2.7.1.zip” message indefinitely.
At the auto-upgrade is a new feature of 2.7, I had never been able to test this functionality, although I had high expectations of it since the plugin upgrade has worked so well.
After searching the forums and Google for a while I found bassmadrigal’s solution – modify .htaccess for the WordPress installation in question and add:
AddType x-mapp-php5 .php
Works fine, and the auto upgrade of plugins stills works too.
The science bit
Using 1and1 as a host requires this directive in .htaccess as detailed in the WordPress codex. It forces the 1and1 server to parse .php files as php5 files (instead of, presumably, php4).
I had this before my upgrade to 2.7 (OK, technically a re-installation) and unfortunately the baby got thrown out with the bathwater.
1and1 contract secret
Shhh, 1and1 don’t want you to know this, but…
… you can cancel or amend contracts at
contract.1and1.co.uk
As far as I can tell, this information is not to be found on the admin.1and1.co.uk FAQ or Help pages. I had to complete an online support request to find this info.
Once you are in, it’s easy – so I have started the process of releasing four unwanted domain names.
Update 2nd December 2010: the URL has changed to cancel.1and1.co.uk – still not well documented.
GS1 Prefixes
GS1 is the organisation which deals with retail barcode number range issuing; they publish a handy table showing prefix codes.
Smoke free signage
Premises in England are required to display an A5 no smoking sign at all entrances (roundel only for staff only entrances).
Here is a PDF containing the sign.
Magento
Since I last looked (around 9 months ago, I think) the Magento web store project seems to have shaped up nicely. It is certainly prettier than OSCommerce, but more importantly they have kept the code and the presentation separate using – of course – CSS.
It is written in PHP, and has a growing collection of add-ins, so I’ll be seriously evaluating it as an alternative to OSC for the Oriental Food Shop.
More fonts
Not sure why I haven’t come across this before, but a great source of free fonts;
PayPal login problem
PayPal have more or less admitted that there are problems for some users logging in to complete payments, either direct or using the eBay flow. There are many threads on the eBay forums about this problem, for example;
(Remember, PayPal, Skype and eBay are the same beast.)
It is faintly amusing that every time somebody reports the problem, PayPal ask for browser, operating system, screenshots, etc. – delaying tactics, I’m sure that they have identified a cause already.
There is a history of similar problems going back to April, and Grace’s theory is that it is a result of the changes to the eBay look-and-feel at around this time.
But I have worked out a solution – a bit sneaky, but works for both eBay and PayPal – use the mobile sites from your usual browser.
To login, bid and pay from eBay: eBay mobile site – this works for UK accounts too.
To pay for an item through PayPal: PayPal mobile site – you will need to know the item number if paying for an eBay item, or the email address of the recipient for another payment. Again, this works OK for UK accounts.
Skype Supernode Registry Hack
If you are running Skype v3 or later, there is a registry change (provided by Skype for Universities etc.) that reportedly prevents your PC becoming a supernode. I say reportedly, because whilst I have been a guinea pig for the last week I haven’t noticed being a supernode, but of course Skype may not have tried. If you aren’t running the latest version of Skype yet you should probably upgrade (Help, Check for updates), because later versions allow you to edit previous messages, and voice quality is improved.
If you think that being a supernode may cause you problems, try editing the registry as shown in the code below. (WordPress security doesn’t allow this file to be uploaded). You will need to reboot your PC for it to take effect.
This is the edit:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Skype]
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Skype\Phone]
"DisableSupernode"=dword:00000001
Chinese Fonts
A couple of sources of Chinese fonts:
