Save Money By Building Your Own Computer – NewEgg

Please review these videos if you want to know how a PC is built or want to build your own. 

Very extensive for first time builders.  I’ve built hundreds of PC’s (yes >200) and I sat through all three videos.  If they move, or get updated, I’ll include the Youtube links here as well.

Part 1 - Choosing Your Components

Part 2 - The Build

Part 3 - Installing Windows & Finishing Touches

So, am I Naïve or is there a scam going on that NOT everyone knows about yet?

My son has a phone with him, he receives text messages and ignores them, possibly deletes them.  End of the month, I see $50 in charges for I don’t know what.  I call VW and ask for an explanation, not knowing what it was about and assumed my kids did something wrong that I’ll be responsible for.  Apparently, no, they didn’t even need to be involved for someone to enter MY cell phone number on a web site and for one of my phones to start receiving “Premium Services”.  Please check them out but DON’T give them any information.  This is a scam.  Consider this fair warning.

So, whether or not this can be proven, and it can, a few of the sites clearly state text STOP and they will stop billing you for the AUTOMATICALLY renewing monthly charges then get “conveniently” billed to you cell phone.  And, you can get a refund within 30 (or some number of) days after “signing up.”  I was told by VERIZON WIRELESS who was billing me through them, how it was started, how to stop it via texting STOP to the culprits, what web sites were involved and even phone numbers.  I was also told to BLOCK “Premium Services” right after I STOP and verify the STOP took place.

OK, before going too far I needed to get my hands on the cell phone, send STOP to 5 different services, and 2 used the same code.  Then BLOCK all Services that weren’t specifically required.  I can block texting, “Premium Services”, ringtone downloads, etc. but of course I never thought some of these services existed nor would I want them but they are ALLOWED by default apparently.

This is where it gets ugly…

I thought I would be able to rectify by asking my son why he did this AND by calling support for these web sites.  First, he said he never heard of the sites and never accepted any charges.  OK, so I believe him.  If I don’t believe him, at least I know he doesn’t want the services since he certainly doesn’t want to pay for them  So now I call the number on one site and get put on hold for 20 minutes before the automated service finally asks me to leave a bunch of information and they will eventually return my call.  Not happening.  Next number, “We don’t handle service for those companies any longer.”  But, I can give you a number to call and I can even alert all of the other companies that we DON’T support so they can make proper arrangements.  Great, but still nothing solid.  No more phone numbers to call since no one answered.  So then I sent e-mail to each of these companies explaining that the charges were fraudulent and not accepted by me or anyone with authority to do so.  One sent me a reply that I would receive a refund within 3 weeks.  Again, not good enough.  One sent a response that they are aware of the issue and gave me what appears to be a service ticket market Priority: Medium.

Final play

So when I call Verizon Wireless to let them know we’ve been scammed, the response was less than satisfying.  I was told to pay the $50 in FRAUDULENT fees because VW already paid the vendors.  Oops, their bad.  So I ended with a monthly bill about $50 out of whack that won’t get paid.  I explained that I won’t pay and that they can send me a new bill or turn off my service, but they won’t get another dime for their own mistake.  This long conversation brought me to a wall quickly with no alternatives.  No name, no Manager, no resolution, no new bill, no dropped FRAUDULENT charges, no resolution whatsoever.

Have you ever heard of a credit card company doing this???  I don’t use my cell phone as a credit card.  Yes browsing, yes e-mail, yes phone calls, and sometimes, rarely for SMS Text messages.

Are there any good lawyers out there who need something to do?  Trust me, I’m not interested in the money.  I would like to keep mine, pay what I owe, and would have enjoyed my free or work time back, but I would just like VW to learn from there mistakes and make this right.

Now for the culprits and what to avoid:

Don’t visit any of these sites if you can avoid them.  They are all a scam:

Also, look for the MyServices section of your Verizon Wireless account:

Under “I Want To…”  Go to PLAN, then Change Features.  Way down at the bottom select “Service Blocks”

It’s all self-explanatory, but ask VW if you don’t know what these mean.  Following this suggestion could save you $$$ and lots of time and aggravation.  If someone can comment on other Fraudulent Sites or how to avoid these scams through other mobile carriers, please do so.

Current Multi-blog enabling LINQ to SQL BlogEngine.NET Provider. (Updated 3/12/10)

I have been asked for this code so that we can share the multi-blog solution that has been working for me for almost a year now.  This is the time to check it out and help make it work for yourself and others.  I’m going to continue to “dog food” this here.  Current version of BlogEngine.NET supported by this provider, as of this post, is 1.6.0.3.  Although I need to update my own site(s) from 1.6.0.1.

How will I update?

Mine is easy.  Drop in the new DLLs.

If I do a code “diff” and find the Web code to have changed recently (which I’m sure it did) I will copy those specific files to the Web folder.

How do you update from a clean BlogEngine.NET 1.6.0.3 code base?

1. You should download the latest BE.NET code from codeplex and create a folder for the solution. 
2. Extract the code from the zip into your solution folder. (…and follow the directions for setting up a stand-alone SQL Server Blog)
3. Copy and unzip the BlogEngine.Linq2SQL.3-12-10.zip folder into the solution folder with the Core and Web projects.
4. Add an existing Project to the solution, select the BlogEngine.Linq2Sql project.
5. Verify the References (to project “BlogEngine.Core”)
6. Add a reference to “BlogEngine.Linq2SQL” from the “BlogEngine.NET” Web site.
7. Change Target Framework on BlogEngine.NET Web site to “.NET Framework 3.5”
8. Execute the SQL build script “Linq2SqlUpdate.sql” to add schema to support Multi-Blogs.
   • Make sure to run against the Database you created in Step 2.
9. Assuming you are using the correct connection string, modify the Web.Config
   • blogProvider, membership, roleManager
   • See: Web.Config.xml

But why is it now different from BlogEngine.NET 1.5.1.46?

I downloaded it yesterday and Diffed to find out what I need to change to keep up…and it was the “version number.”

So, I guess keeping up with several code changes over the past few months and making sure my version of the Multi-blog capable SqlBlogProvider was in tune paid off, only to realize I’m still one of the very few to implement such a “clean” version of multiblog BlogEngine.NET.  I’ve been working on an Entity Framework provider since this could replace or certainly enhance the capabilities of BlogEngine, but it may really be just another stepping stone to work out a new architecture to support BlogEngine-Like capabilities for .NET 4.0 and IIS 7 using MVC, Entity Framework and perhaps WCF for integration and remote administration capabilities.

At least I’m learning a lot about Open Source capabilities and limitations. Does anyone want to legitimately tackle a Next Gen BlogEngine with me?  Of course, I would not want to steal the branding created here unless there is a parallel effort to create a distinctly separate single Blog, Multi-user system such as BlogEngine.NET and a more scalable, database centric, multi-blog, real-time administration console application.

Design first, Agile methodology, Eat-your-own-dog-food approach with lots of prototyping.

Or I could just use BeerHouse or DotNetNuke, I guess.  Need to go get some additional experience.

See Y’all l8r,

Dave (BizTron)

A few widget improvements

As commented on by BenAmada:

I think it would be more ideal to create a new widget that does what you're looking for -- rather than modify the TextBox widget.  Others have asked to be able to output Google AdSense code or other pieces of Raw HTML into widgets.  It never works very well with the TextBox widget.

A new, very simple widget could be created that has a multi-line textbox in it (not tinyMce), and raw HTML would be pasted into the textbox.  I know this widget would be perfect for the AdSense and other Ad people, and sounds like it might fit what you're looking for too.

…

Here is a quick Literal Widget created on suggestion since it helps me with one of my own issues.

Thanks “BenAmanda”

Widget:

Please try this and let me know if you have made any improvements.  It’s simple and not tested extensively and came right out of the TextBox widget, but without tinyMce and simple required mods.

Other Widgets:

• Twitter Widget
• Literal Widget

This one is simple to use.  The original version can be found at: (Creating a XBox 360 Widget.)  I just wanted to update it for my own needs, and so that it would run with current BlogEngine.NET Core.  This is what it looks like…

Config:

Please let me know if there are any problems using this.  It requires .NET 3.5 and BlogEngine.NET 1.5.  If it runs on anything else it is purely unintentional. :)

Twitter Widget

I wanted to post Twitter feeds for a variety of Blogs and ran into several problems with the incarnation I found available on the web. (TwitterFeed-Widget for BlogEngine.NET)  Running Multiple blogs, I ran into cache bleeding into each blog since multiple widgets or multiple blogs were never thought about when originally built.  I assume this widget, was just a first attempt.  In that light, I only assume that this iteration is my “draft” version as well, but hope to improve it as necessary.

Hopefully I do not need to show a screen shot since the sample should be running in the Widgetzone of this Blog.  (Of course, I may not have pushed the most recent code here so I will have to update this Post when I confirm.)

Besides updating the Cache to support multiple widgets and Blogs, I removed the XML file and System.IO requirements, and replaced System.Xml with LINQ (System.Xml.Linq).  I only believe that I improved the original but by no means created any ground shattering new solution, { as I like to believe I do in my Professional life everyday :) }

XBOX GamerTag Widget

Look for the Improved XBOX GamerTag Widget ( or Creating a XBox 360 Widget.)  I simply updated it for .NET 3.5, Linq, and BE.NET 1.5.  I’ll Post that soon as soon as I can.

BlogEngine.NET Core Version 1.5.1.31 is running on this server as of this Post.

ref: (Waiting for a Minor Release of BlogEngine.NET with MultiBlog)

 

I based my implementation on SqlBlogProvider, but since it was out of synch with BlogEngine.NET I had a dilemma.  My biggest complaint about BlogEngine.NET if I had any at all was the fact that sometimes changes come at a snails pace.  This is not to say that you can’t find a new build three every other day, but that the major enhancements I want don’t always take, or in the case of MultiBlogs, the most popular enhancement to date, is completely ignored.  Once Jacob Proffitt created a solution, I figured it would be rolled into BlogEngine.NET.

OK, so I was Way off on this one. So here’s a strategy:

• Get the latest BlogEngine.NET code and use it as a baseline. (1.5.1.31)
• Get the latest SqlBlogProvider code and ditto. (27978)
• Make sure to upgrade Everything to .NET 3.5
• Modify the SQL Database Schema to include Blog and Host tables, and BlogDataStoreSettings
• and add BlogId columns where necessary.
• Recreate the DBML for the new schema.
• remove references to multiblog="true" because they don’t matter anymore.
• Simplify and verify.

OK, done!!!  Now what?

I have a set of Blogs running an older version of everything and now I have a new schema.  Also, I have new capabilities and only a SQL script to modify or add new blogs.  It is simple but always required modifications before running.

• Windows Form, new simple DBML for required tables…because the Provider model is too complex,
• and Done.

Oh, and I needed a migration tool and some more fun with Linq to SQL, so I created a one-off migration tool with a useless UI that couple be done from a command line, but I thought I might need more.

And, it’s running now!!!

BlogEngine.NET code is now at version 1.5.1.39 (change set 31351)

Now I have to isolate changes, bug fixes, enhancements I want and implement…but this is the exact scenario I want to avoid.

• Do I create a Branch that uses most of BlogEngine.NET?
• Should I start over?

I think the best option is to start a new core based on current or future technology and leave behind what can be upgraded.  Linq, Entity Framework, WCF, Silverlight 4, .NET 4.0 can be used much more.  MVC can become a solid base for the UI, maybe. This is not a hard nut to crack, and get’s easier with time and new technology.  The hardest part about using BlogEngine.NET today is that it takes longer to fix than to build again from scratch.

It’s time for a new architecture.  I’m glad I didn’t create one myself a few years ago when BlogEngine.NET was introduced, but I will be happy when I can safely deploy a new version based on those principles.

Please support my technical-development community support initiative and send checks for any amount to help offset the cost of my next “ergonomic” workstation. You KNOW I’ll support the community MUCH better with this in my office. :)

Pipedream: Multiple Blogs

I’m not sure if anyone else has noticed but the NUMBER ONE requested feature of BlogEngine.NET (That’s #1 by a landslide) is to support Multiple Blogs per installation.  I have been struggling with this concept and while searching for and designing a workaround using BlogEngine.NET and the Provider model using SQL Server only, I came across SqlBlogProvider that also uses Linq to SQL.  This model supports Multiple Blogs in a single SQL Server Database in a single Application folder.  It now also supports multiple hosts or domains per blog if required.  So the only dilemma I’m struggling with today is where to go from here.

Current Conundrum:

Now that the SqlBlogProvider supports what I need, although there are a few items I’ve extended I’m still having problems syncing between the “current” or “newest” code base(s) of BlogEngine.NET and the SqlBlogProvider.  They don’t jive, nor should they.  However, I want it all, and I want it now…Yeah, I know it sounds like a song.  The strategy I would have employed was to Add a blog table, and then the host table to support another level of hierarchy, then add a BlogId to each necessary table.  However, in order to create the least possible interference with the Core, the SqlBlogProvider author added separate tables (Junction tables) and a separate Provider project.

Status:

I’ve made the changes to the latest BlogEngine source I had from a few days ago (1.5.1.31) and SqlBlogProvider (1.5 Change Set 27978) but haven’t finished the work I wanted yet.  My plan is to finish some bug fix work across both projects which may be done as far as my issues are concerned.  Now I’m adding a GUI for setting up new Blogs (via Linq and the new provider I chipped out of SqlBlogProvider).  Then I’ll dog-food it for a while and see where it leads me.  I may learn enough from this to start fresh and rebuild the core in my own way but I’m willing to share the results if someone asks.

You’ll know it’s in use when the BlogEngine.NET version at the bottom of this blog changes from 1.5.1.22 to 1.5.1.31 or above.