CMS Commander is a remote management software for WordPress, Drupal, Joomla and phpBB websites. Simply add all your websites to your CMS Commander account and then control them all through a secure SSL connection. Save lots of time by bulk managing your site network with all of CMS Commanders features: Install new plugins on all your websites simultaneously, automatically update plugins and themes when new versions are available, create automatic backups of all your sites, remotely manage user accounts, articles, comments and much more!
CMS Commander Enables You to Bulk Manage All Your Websites From One Account. Sign Up For Free Now!
CMS Commander is a remote management software for WordPress, Drupal, Joomla and phpBB websites. Simply add all your websites to your CMS Commander account and then control them all through a secure SSL connection. Save lots of time by bulk [...]
Zip Cloud / My PC Backup are Scammers!
At the prodding of a buddy of mine over the winter I signed up for an online backup service called Zip Cloud. It’s an online backup service which basically takes a copy of all your files and places them online. [...]
Straight Talk Samsung R451C
The Samsung R451c from Straight Talk is a decent enough phone. I bought this phone last November and have been using it since. I’m a heavy texter and less of a voice user but the voice quality anytime I’ve used [...]
CMS Commander Enables You to Bulk Manage All Your Websites From One Account. Sign Up For Free Now!
0
Zip Cloud / My PC Backup are Scammers!
At the prodding of a buddy of mine over the winter I signed up for an online backup service called Zip Cloud. It’s an online backup service which basically takes a copy of all your files and places them online. If your computer ever crashes you simply download all your files onto a new computer. Pretty novel concept, eh? I’ve been using online backup with Dropbox for quite a few years now.
There are lots of services out there that specialize in online backup. I personally use Dropbox, which isn’t truly an online backup service in the traditional sense but serves my purposes well. I pay $10/mo for 50GB of space and unlimited computers.
Zip Cloud offers “unlimited backup” space for $4.95/mo which sounds great until you actually sign up. The red flag was they tried to squeeze you into yearly billing. So $4.95/mo becomes $60 if you’re not careful, more on this later.
First off, you can pay quite a bit extra per month for “unlimited upload speed”. This is probably the most scammy upsell. The speed of your backup is determined by the the upload speed of your internet connection. For the most part, upload speed is abysmal in the US. You would essentially be paying extra to remove an artificial limit placed on your account by Zip Cloud and still be waiting days for your backup to complete. My guess is support would blame your internet connection after taking the extra money.
Instantaneous backups? Yup, that’s a monthly upsell too. Every reputable service offers instantaneous backups of your files even with the introductory or free plans. What use is a backup that’s days old? Every additional computer to be backed up or sync’ed also incurred another monthly fee.
ZipCloud / My PC Backup is nickel and diming their customer. Generally, I’m okay with the upsells or “freemium” business model. However, scamming people with nonsense upsells is not okay. The ‘unlimited upload speed’ package is what turned me off right away. It’s a pity that you don’t see all this nickel and diming before you sign up.
Once I seen what was going on I went to cancel and here are screen caps of the cancellation process.
Remember that yearly billing squeeze I mentioned earlier? Look the first option of cancellation:
Continuing on with an offer of 20% off:
No, okay how about 50% off?
You really want to leave? Well okay but would you stay with us to the end of your billing period so we can keep your money?
Zip Cloud seems pretty desperate, don’t they? Stick with reputable services like Dropbox, Mozy, and Carbonite. Skip scammers like Zip Clound / My Backup PC.
How To Find AppData in Windows 8
If you’re looking for the appdata folder in Windows maybe to copy over your Filezilla sites, the old %appdata% trick in the search box doesn’t work. The trick still works in the run dialog. Open up a Run box (Win Key + R), type %appdata% and press enter, your appdata folder will open.
That was easy!
How to Read Web Pages on your Kindle Fire While Offline
If you’re anything like you me you have tons of bookmarks that you save to “read later”. I don’t know about you but my read it later folder had over 500 items in it as of two hours ago. I whacked it down to about 50 using the Send To Kindle Email Feature.
The process is pretty simple. I simply used Google Chrome’s built-in Print to PDF feature to “print” the web page to a PDF file then emailed that file to my Kindle’s private address which syncs the PDF to my Kindle.
This won’t help you actually surf the web while offline. You cannot comment on blog posts for instance nor like the page on Facebook but you read what you wanted to read. This will be very convenient for me.
Most of the stuff I save to read later is either long form or overly technical perfect for reading when stuck in a waiting room somewhere. Heck, it might even allow me to spend less on books from Amazon!
If your interested in making PDFs yourself read my other article: How to make a PDF.
How Do I Create a PDF?
What is a PDF?
PDF is short for Portable Document Format. In short, PDF is universal; A document that displays the same on any device that supports reading PDFs and pretty much every device from your smart phone (even some dumb phones) to your tablet and computer can display PDF files.
Content creators use PDF files to insure all text and images get displayed the same everywhere.
How Do I Create a PDF?
You can create PDF files easily in office suites like Microsoft Office and Open Office. If you are using a Mac, OS X has a “Print to PDF” function built-in. You can using that in any application by opening the Print Dialog (command P for short)
Google’s Chrome browser has a built-in PDF “printer”. Create a PDF file of any website by simply selecting Print from the wrench menu and select “Print to PDF” as your destination printer.
There is also a way to generate a PDF from any program that can print. You do this by installing a virtual printer. This basically tricks the program into printing to a file instead of a real printer. I’ve always used Primo PDF for this functionality.
3 Easy Steps to Creating a PDF from Any Program:
- Download and install Primo PDF
- Create a PDF from any program simply by opening the print dialog (Ctrl P) and selecting Primo PDF as the printer.
- Save the file on your hard drive.
Your done! Have a better way? Sound off in the comments.
How to Clean Nicotine Stained Windows
In November 2010 our landlord put in new windows. They aren’t better than the old ones but the great thing about these windows is they open in to clean the outside glass.
The windows haven’t been cleaned since being installed. 
It’s been bugging me for a good 6 months today I got a jump-start on an early spring cleaning.
Our apartment has two problems with keeping the windows clean; There are three heavy smokers in the house the windows get stained real fast. plus we’re on a main street, beside the building is a the town shop, so lots of diesel trucks passing but with the soot to match.
How Long Will This Take?
5 to 10 minutes per window. I did 11 full size windows and a door in 2 hours including a couple of smoke breaks.
What You Will Need:
- Windex – Cheap stuff from the dollar store works just as well.
- Bleach – This cuts the nicotine, grime, and soot.
- Spray Bottle - 50/50 bleach with warm water
- Rags – an old t-shirt works fine
- Paper Towels
5 Steps to Squeaky Clean Windows:
- Spray a good dousing of bleach water on the glass and frame. Avoid getting bleach on the frames if they’re wood!
- If possible pop the windows out so you can clean the outside. Spray the outside down with bleach too.
- Give it a few minutes to penetrate. With a rag wipe the bleach off on both sides. We’re not going for picture perfect in the step just get all the big stuff off.
- Take clean paper towel and wipe the remaining bleach off both sides.
- Spray a generous amount of Windex on both sides and wipe in a straight up and down or side to side. Paying attention to the edges.
That’s it! All my windows came pretty much picture perfect using the method above. Should I start a cleaning service now? 
