So, please register on our forum at http://forum.webtechglobal.co.uk and stop bloody emailing us.

No More Spam Registrations

The new forum will not be open to new registrations. Ha ha, there spam stopped instantly.

Seriously it won’t however our WordPress will allow registration and we’ll bridge WP users to phpBB. We may make it a one login system but this will be second to simply adding registered WordPress users to the forum database. We’ll use all WordPress has to offer to manage all of our data and continue creating our own administration plugins to do just that.

Now For Categories

Categories aren’t done. Going to plan it a little, make it inviting and try to make trolls appreciate our forum a little. Here is what I was thinking for our WordPress plugins…

WordPress
….CSV 2 POST
………Help (errors, tutorial requests and general how to)
………Changes  (ongoing changes, new version, dev and beta talk basically)
………Suggestions (feedback and criticism)
………Showcase (post your own blog build using CSV 2 POST)

All of our other services are conducted on a one to one basis right now so we won’t be pushing clients to the forum rather than email. When the website is automated for all services, so shall the support be…that kind thing. WordPress will be priority then we’ll go from there.

I am now seeking a solution. It may be time consuming hacking the plugin, especially how that only causes the problem of not being able to easily update it in future.

Normal Digg Digg Floater Position

Wrong Digg Digg Floater Position

The Cause = Tool Tips Script

I recently added tool tips to CSV 2 POST and then carried them forward to other plugins. When the script bellow is removed, the WYSIWYG editors Add Media button works again. It didn’t take days to figure out, that would really have set me back. I see a lot of people are experiencing issues and I’m sure this tool tips script is well used. It might be a conflict between jQuery 1.9.1 and older jQuery bundled with WordPress 3.5.1! That is a big guess though. All I know is I really like this tool tip script and would like to find a solution that helps keep it. For now I’ll need to remove it.


<script type="text/javascript">
jQuery(document).ready( function() {
jQuery('.givemesometips').tTips();
});
</script>

Features

We’ve not finished with the plugin yet but it is ready to display videos and is a great tool to do it quickly.

• Add videos to posts without opening the posts
• Options to change video appearance
• Display Google AdSense ads if a post does not have a video

Premium Coming

We’re still playing around with some ideas. One idea is the ability for visitors to submit a video ID for a video they feel applies to the post. Options to cycle through multiple videos is an idea considered.

Download

The free plugin can be downloaded from WordPress.org.

Example

Our own administration systems require staff to log specific information per service i.e. if a client hires us to increase their websites traffic, we must record existing statistics if any. What we would like to do is continue to update the statistics after service has been provided. If we do this with enough clients, we can create statistics showing percentage increase per $1.00!

Will this work and is it worth doing? We believe so. For now though we’re happy with a simple blogging approach. We will encourage clients to return and post about their recent experience with WebTechGlobal services. Clients are now being asked to post their thoughts and feelings on the performance of changes done to their business by WebTechGlobal. Remember this can include a whole new brand or a mobile phone app, so a lot of potential for good blog posts.

Transparent Purpose

We would love to generate statistics, but that will take time. For now one benefit is our clients being able to increase traffic to their website and use our website to spread their brand. We’re happy to help in that way because their success helps us. The news they post will also serve as a public method of communication to the WebTechGlobal team. There is total transparency meaning this blog category serves both as a place of testimonial and criticism.

This is approach is another sign of WebTechGlobal innovation and professionalism.

Anyway here is the guide I recommend following…

http://forums.anvisoft.com/viewtopic-45-3840-0.html

Update Days Later

Once past some annoying issues and the full strength of apps was realized I begun to feel Windows 8 is good. There are issues that could upset home users but with some updates and more really cool apps. I can see Windows 8 being a lot of fun. I’ve been installing development related software, testing it and all works well.

Can’t Review It

I was planning on recording a serious review using my new video editing software. When I first logged into Windows 8, played around with apps quickly and considered the average home user. I thought it worked well and can see the average home user being very excited during their initial moments on Windows 8 with what will probably be a new computer. Hours later and the excitement of a new machine taking out of the equation…I’m frustrated. I couldn’t write a serious review of Windows 8 if I tried because it traps me on a couple of screens. On returning to those screens I was not trapped, the Home links and so on worked instead of failing to respond so my experience did get better. I still decided to quickly blog my experience in more direct words and show how it was a little problematic to begin with but then got better.

Hanging, Stuck, No Return…CTRL + ALT +DEL!

I’ve been using Windows for around 20 years and University educated. Trust me I’m not a confused newbie and I’ve not been drinking. Within my first hours of using Windows 8 I’ve found screens that hang and leave me staring like we had to 20 years go. You want examples?

• App Store: On right clicking the menu would appear at the top of the screen and offer “Home” and “Apps” I think it was. The home option done nothing, sent me nowhere, did not start any loading sequence or processing indicator. Nothing, just stuck.  While stuck on the app store screen I thought of a joke. Me, looking for an app that returns me to my desktop! The app store does not offer the desktop button bottom left or does it offer the menu on the right of the screen when position cursor there. To top it off the Sony VAIO “Assist”, “Web” and “VAIO” buttons are prevented from doing anything while on the app store, I was hoping they would be my eject out of this falling plane that is about to crash and burn. Seriously this fault of the Home option not doing anything is pathetic and I had no option but to use CTRL +ALT + DEL to get out.
• Login: You might not even believe this one. I sat for five minutes waiting for Windows 8 to log me in after I entered my password. I had my old laptop beside me keeping me busy so I wasn’t being impatient and let the minutes pass. Eventually I found the wait wasn’t good enough and hit the power button on the Sony VAIO E17. Pressed it again and the quick start simply brought me back to the log in screen with the processing indicator showing that it was logging me in. I was moments away from a full shutdown until it stated incorrect password! All that time to establish I entered the wrong password, wow. I entered the wrong password because I had transferred my old Windows account to the new PC and got muddled on which account was which. Easy mistake and I paid with 5 minutes of my life which I will never get back. Thank you Microsoft!

5 Hours Use

Keep in mind this is after around five hours use. These are critical issues in this operating system which have slowed me down and I feel very sorry for new computer users or anyone who bought an expensive PC for the first time only to experience this. It is unacceptable to be faced with these issues before I’ve even installed anything. That is right, I’ve not even installed my gigabytes worth of software and developer applications. Now to consider install Windows 7 and also consider when I can afford a MAC.

Full Day Use

Another issue prompted me to continue noting my experience for the rest of the day.

• 0515  - Transferred Account: I logged into the account I transferred from my old PC and Windows 8 took me through the setup screen again. The start screen that explains how to use the new cursor in corner feature that even my 3 year old quickly got the hang of. So I had to watch that and all other colors that show up and another 10 minutes of my life wasted. I didn’t want another account, I used the file transfer tool thinking it would transfer files and that is all. It never explained that it would setup another account so that was a little annoying. When that finished and I had been welcomed to Windows 8, again! I had a black screen and a cursor. Seriously, the entire screen was just black and there was my cursor begging to visit each corner which it did and nothing happened when arriving in those corners. Power button then back to the desktop and that worked but the whole black screen thing is just wrong. A home user would shit themselves and sorry for the language but there is just no other way to put it. New computer users can be terrified and Windows 8 is going to upset a lot of people.
• 0530 – I discovered that the app store offers so called apps but no download button, well some do. Why do some apps have a download option but some don’t, even the free ones that are not already on my system? There is nothing to explain what action I should take to get the app, it’s mental. Click on the links on the app information area and nothing happens. That is probably because the app store seems to take over. Sony “Assist”, “Web” and “VAIO” buttons on my laptop do nothing while on the app store. An assistance button that can’t offer any help at all. Probably not Sony’s fault but a basic user would easily blame Sony and march back to the store with their new laptop complaining.
• 0600 – Transferring Files Manually: Windows 8 appeared to be transferring files using the easy transfer tool but I don’t see any files anywhere especially how I got stuck on a screen with a Home option that done nothing during that process. So I can’t really trust it to do the job properly. It is important I know what is on my PC and I have everything I need. I don’t want to have to keep visiting my own laptop so I’ll transfer manually the slow manual way and get the job done right.
• 0630 – I do like the apps screen but I’m saying that as a father with a 3 year old that I know will enjoy a lot of fun apps offered on a plate. That is obviously the intention but it is a shame I’m opening free apps that offer no way to install them.
• 0655 – Uninstall App: handy little procedure where right clicking app tiles then clicking uninstall takes us to the Programs and Features window. I like this, any connection from app and its settings to the Windows we already know is good in my book.
• 0700 – Apps and Flow: I’ve installed some more apps and I’m telling myself to visit the corners frequently to get used to the accessability they offer. It actually works, it works well. The sharing option that appears in the menu on the right when cursor is top right of screen is handy when the current app can share content. There is a fluid interface here and I can see huge potential in expanding menus on all sides of the screen. Big plus for Windows 8 in this area when things are going right and the flow is not being stopped by a hanging screen.
• 0730 – Blank Apps: I’ve clicked on a couple of apps, I see the icon at the center of the screen then that vanishes only to leave an empty screen with nothing on offer. No loading icon. It’s just bizar. My own website is mess right now but I’m not selling it to millions of users around the world. These issues really need sorted. To be clear, I can get out of these blank screens quickly enough but the apps I’m talking about are core apps so this really shouldn’t be happening.
• 0930 – No Problems: I’m still preparing the computer for the long term. Deleting what I don’t want and installing a lot of software. Not being presented with any major issues, even the ones already experienced aren’t happening again. Obviously I’ve not even touched on the developer side of things and talking about the average user experience. The way its looking is that once we know where issues can arise and avoid them Windows 8 is good. The tiles for apps is working for me. I’ve created groups of tiles that I wouldn’t normally have on desktop or task bar simply because we can group them and groups of tiles seem to make it very easy to quickly find an app/tool/software I need to use if it is something small or complex i.e. I’ve grouped system management, I’ve grouped multimedia related, I’ve made a group for development related websites including my hosting and another group of websites related to software I use and require regular interaction with. This is good, this works for me. I can see me relying less on long lists of browser bookmarks with this so what we may have here is an alternative to just that.
• 12:00 – VIERA TV: some interaction with our Panasonic TV with total success. Panasonic VIERA works great with Windows 8 as a media server. I’m not going into technical details and what I’ve done exactly. I’m just here to state that all worked great while Windows 7 failed in the same area not many weeks back.
• 13:45 – Kids Apps: being a Sunday I invited my 3 year old to spend some time with me and we downloaded a lot of free apps. Many of which are far better educational tools than the free flash games I’ve found online even the demos. My little girl kept clicking on the Facebook button which posts progress in a game to Facebook along with screenshots of the game itself. Very cool indeed and all the while, no Windows 8 issues. Keep in mind I’m not doing anything technical as I will be later in the week when I transform this PC into a developers environment. As a family computer it works well. Easier sharing, connectivity options and there is a lot of safe software at hand with no ads or installation hassle. Another big plus for Windows 8.
• 18:03 – Windows Essentials 2012: I was downloading Windows Essentials 2012 as the other half got used to using that as it came with Windows 7. I initiated the download or installation around three hours ago and I still have the “Preparing to install…” dialog up with the loading bar. It has been there all that time. I tried closing it using right click and selecting close on the task-bar icon around an hour ago. It’s not causing any issues so I forgot about it. It just seems that right now Windows 8 has a lot of hangups and I think it is in the nature of conflicts. Being a new computer I’m installing and and deleting a lot of software. I’m running software while other apps are being installed and every so often something misbehaves as if two apps clash. It’s not impossible to use the computer though and most issues are easy to get around I’m finding.
• 0500 – Windows Essentials 2012: so its the next day now and the dam box is still there telling me it is preparing to install Windows Essentials 2012. Talk about a screw up right. I’ve never seen anything like it in 20 years of using Windows.

Conclusion

Well it has been three days and my conclusion is simple. Windows 8 is not as bad as initially viewed or going by what I’ve read online. Taking everything into consideration, the fact that it is a new software and the strengths of the apps selection is only weak because of that fact. I think Windows 8 is good and the potential to be great with a service pack is there. Today I found a tweet by Twitter themselves regarding their new Twitter app. A fine example of how the strength of Windows 8 tiles will only be realized once the apps destined to be popular and useful are actually released.

I’ve done no work on this new laptop yet and looking at it as a home user but I have looked at the kit for developing apps and I love it. No doubt some impressive apps are yet to come in the very near future. The initial issues I faced would easily have beginners calling premium support lines which I disagree with totally. Once past those issues though I think the average home user will have a good experience with Windows 8.

So I decided to move ['101'] to the end of my array, change the key to 126 which is the next value and this means the array keys being with 102. I considered that for some strange reason the first key in the array is being skipped but to my surprised 102 is included in the loop after the form is submitted and 126 is also included. Nothing about this makes any sense so I thought I would post and hopefully someone can make me that little bit smarter by filling me in on why PHP is doing this!

Fixing These jQuery

This is a great slideshow filled with screenshots that make it very easy to understand. This is the first place to visit if you are new to jQuery or Ajax as the slideshow eventually gets to that topic. http://fixingthesejquery.com/#slide1

The cause of the media uploader indicating a failure (yet the image still uploads) is one of the following two lines, I think it is the second…

ini_set(‘display_errors’,1);
error_reporting(E_ALL);

When I remove these lines from my blog the issue is gone. When I add them again the fault does not return, straight away. Refresh the screen with the media manager closed then open the media manager again and the issue returns. Red box indicating media fails to upload.

That is not all folks.

I’m using the Schema Creator Plugin by Raven for the first time and the first thing it done was created a shortcode with “null” as the value. I found this strange considering how simple a plugin it is and how good the ratings are. This is what led me to then test the media manager in search for any indication of other script conflicts and what do you know. I found one didn’t I. So this issue with the error reporting lines may be having an effect with many plugins right now or the conflict with the media manager triggers further issues. Schema Creator has its own media button above the WYSIWYG editor so it may have picked up the null return from an Ajax function shared with the media up-loader.

Some guess work there but I think it is enough to help a lot of people.