Wish you could free your iTunes Library from your computer and take it with you in your pocket? GetUSB.info put together an excellent tutorial on how to run a mobile iTunes Library from a USB stick or hard drive. This method will run the entire iTunes application from the storage device, making it easy to manage iTunes libraries from a single location. I believe this is how iTunes should have be developed. Having a library specific for each computer is a frustrating way to enjoy your music if you use multiple computers everyday (ie. work, home, laptop, etc.).

What pushed Greg from GetUSB.info over the edge, was his wife wanting to purchase music from iTunes at work and then sync up iTunes with her computer at home. Typically this is done by purchasing the music and downloading directly to the iPod. But his wife is a CPA and travels from location to location for audits and doesn't even use the same computer all the time. The solution was to run iTunes from a USB flash drive so she could just manage a single Library.

It's worth mentioning this does not get around the five license authorization for running iTunes purchased music, rather this is a method to manage your iTunes library from a single location for multiple computers.

Here is a quick summary so you know what you are getting into:

• Create an autorun file for the USB drive


• Create a batch file to auto-launch iTunes from any computer


• Install iTunes on the USB stick


• Install iTunes on any computer to run from the USB drive

Of course this method also works for larger storage hard drives - basically anything that appears as a Mass Storage Device on your PC system. If you are looking for a long term strategy for managing your iTunes music, I strongly recommend doing this process to an external hard drive that is, at least, 120GBs.

Requirements:

• Any iPod


• PC with iTunes


• An iTunes Library that you want to move onto a USB stick or hard drive

---

Step 1: Creating the Autorun file

The autorun file tells the host computer what you want to do when the USB device is plugged into the computer. This step creates a single click auto-launch for iTunes.

1. Open Notepad and type the following:
   
   

   [autorun]
   icon=\iTunes.ico
   open=iTunes_mobile.bat
   action=Mobile iTunes
   label=Mobile iTunes
   shell\open\command=iTunes_mobile.bat
   shell\open=Mobile iTunes

   
   


2. 
   

   Save the Notepad document as 'Autorun.inf'

   
   
   
   
   
   


3. If you want a cool looking icon than pay attention to the first line 'icon=\iTunes.ico' and place your ico file in the root of the USB drive (get one here). If you don't care, delete the line.

---

Step 2: Creating the Batch file

Next create the batch file needed to automatically run iTunes upon connection of the USB drive. Please note you need XP Service Pack 2 or Vista for the autorun feature to work..

1. 
   

   Open Notepad and type the following:

   
   

   
   

   set APPDATA=%~dp0Application Data
   if not exist "%~dp0Application Data" mkdir "%~dp0Application Dataset HOMEPATH=%~dp0Documents and Settings
   if not exist "%~dp0Documents and Settings" mkdir "%~dp0Documents and Settingsset USERPROFILE=%~dp0
   set ALLUSERSPROFILE=%~dp0
   echo starting iTunes
   start \iTunes_programs\iTunes.exe

   
   

   
   


2. Save the file as 'iTunes_mobile.bat'
   
   
   
   


3. With these two files, the autorun file and the iTunes_mobile.bat file we are ready to move along to installation.

NERD NOTE: iTunes is available as a free download for Mac OS X, Windows Vista, Windows XP and Windows 2000 from Apple's website. It is also bundled with all Macintosh computers, and some HP and Dell computers.

---

Step 3: Installing iTunes

1. 
   

   Install iTunes to your PC as normal - not the USB drive!

   
   


2. 
   While iTunes is installing on your PC go over to the USB drive and create a folder named 'iTunes_Programs'
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   


3. When the iTunes installation is complete on the PC copy EVERYTHING from 'c:/Program files/iTunes' into the new folder of the USB drive 'iTunes_Programs'
   
   
   
   


4. Once this is complete create another folder on the USB drive 'iTunes_Installer' Drag the iTunesSetup file into this folder. We use this when installing iTunes on future computers.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   


5. Now that we have iTunes on the PC and we have everything on the USB drive, run the iTunes_mobile.bat file. Here a screen will flash then disappear and iTunes will open with a blank library.
   
   
   
   


6. During this process you will see some additional files and folders created on the USB drive. This is good - everything worked as planned. Now, everything should look like this after adding the autorun file, bat file and ico icon file along with running the iTunes_mobile.bat file:
   
   
   
   

---

Step 4: Loading your USB drive

Next create the batch file needed to automatically run iTunes upon connection of the USB drive. Please note you need XP Service Pack 2 or Vista for the autorun feature to work..

1. 
   

   Your USB drive is now ready to accept content. Drag-n-drop everything from the host computer under /My Documents/My Music/iTunes Music/ to the USB drive under /My Documents/My Music/iTunes/iTunes/iTunes Music/
   
   
   
   Your file path might be slightly different if you customized iTunes from a previous installation. This process might take some time depending on the size of your library.

   
   


2. Once the copy process is complete run the iTunes_mobile.bat file again and everything will appear in it's place. Simply double click the 'iTunes_mobile.bat' file. If you are missing the song ratings on the USB drive, go back into the PC iTunes and run an 'Export Library' which creates an xml file. In the USB drive iTunes run the 'Import Library' feature to read in the xml file - your ratings should be restored.

---

Step 5: Checking the Autolaunch

1. 
   

   At this point you probably haven't disconnected the USB drive. Do that now.

   
   


2. 
   

   Reconnect the drive and the following window should appear.
   
   
   
   

   
   


3. When you double click on the Mobile_iTunes icon listed first, iTunes will launch and use the library from your USB flash drive! Nice.
   
   
   
   


4. Congratulations you are running iTunes from your USB drive.

---

Step 6: Installing iTunes on a different computer

So you are at work and ready to run your iTunes from a USB drive. This is what you do.

1. 
   

   Plug in the USB drive, but DON'T click the Autorun icon which pops up (and we created). Rather, close the pop-up window and navigate to the USB drive from My Computer.

   
   


2. 
   

   Right click on the USB drive/stick and click "Explore"

   
   


3. 
   

   Open the 'iTunes_Installer' folder on the USB drive and double click the iTunesSetup.exe file. Run the installation.

   
   


4. Once the iTunes installation is complete you'll have a blank iTunes library on the new PC. That's OK, close iTunes.
   
   
   
   


5. Now click your iTunes_mobile.bat file. This will open iTunes with your Library from the USB drive. Done! Congratulations you are running iTunes library from your USB drive on ANOTHER computer.

---

Step 7: Bonus

So here is the bonus. If you perform this USB tutorial on a large USB hard drive, chances are that external enclosure has additional USB ports. Now connect and sync your iPod to the USB drive, forget connecting the iPod to your PC. You can sync, grab podcasts, whatever, without connecting the iPod directly to your computer.

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Yes, it's true. There are some people that prefer the look of Internet Explorer to the way Firefox looks (though I've never met one). So, I've created this simple How To guide that shows you just what needs to be done to get Firefox looking just like IE. The goal of this project is mainly to demonstrate the power of Firefox's themes and extensions in making the browser work the way you want it to. There's even a pre-built profile for Firefox Portable.

Why? In the name of all that is good and righteous... WHY??

Since a couple people seem to think I must be going over to the dark side, let me give a few reasons:

1. Because I could. Because it was there
2. As a challenge to see how fully Firefox could be altered to look like IE without actually hacking any code
3. To show how easy it is to make Firefox look the way you want it to
4. To hopefuly get a few people to realize that "I like the way it looks/feels" is not a good reason to keep using IE

So, for anyone who asks... NO, I am not suggesting anyone do this to trick someone into thinking they are still using IE. No, I don't use this myself. No, I don't really think it's a good idea to have Firefox looking like IE as I personally find Firefox' default toolbar layout far more user-friendly (and screen real estate-friendly). And, YES, I still think Internet Explorer should be removed, placed in the corner and set on fire. Thanks for reading. :-)

Step 1: The Theme

The first thing we need is an Internet Explorer Theme. The best one that's currently updated for Firefox 2.0 is the Looks Familiar theme over at addons.mozilla.org:

1. Install the Looks Familiar theme
2. Select to use the theme and restart Firefox for the changes to take effect

Step 2: The Icons

The next thing we need are window icons that look like Internet Explorer's:

1. Download the Firefox Internet Explorer Icons Pack and unzip it to your Firefox program directory (typically C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\ for regular Firefox of PortableApps\FirefoxPortable\App\firefox for Firefox Portable). It will create the necessary directories within the chrome directory and copy the icons to them.
2. Restart Firefox for the changes to take effect

Note: To uninstall the icons, just delete the icons directory within the chrome directory in your Firefox program directory.

Step 3: The Toolbar Layout

The next thing we need to do is to adjust the layout of the buttons on the toolbar to mimic Internet Explorer:

1. Right-Click on the toolbar and select Customize
2. Click Add New Toolbar and call it Address Toolbar
3. Drag the address bar and Go button from their normal position onto the new (blank) Address Toolbar
4. Drag the Search Box off of the toolbar onto the buttons window to remove it
5. Drag the stop button to the left of the refresh button
6. After the Home button, place a seperator,then the Bookmarks button, then the History button, then another seperator, then the print button

You should now have a Toolbar that looks like this:

Step 4: Window Title

If you wish to complete the look and change the application from Mozilla Firefox to Microsoft Internet Explorer, just follow these steps:

1. Download the Firesomething 1.7 (Hacked for Firefox 2.0) Extension by right-clicking this link and saving it to your desktop
2. Select File and then Open in Firefox and open the file you just saved
3. Install the extension as usual and restart Firefox
4. Go to the Firesomething options window (Tools - Addons - Extensions - Firesomething - Options)
5. Delete all the Vendors, Prefixes and Names (right-click Select All, right-click delete in each field)
6. Enter Microsoft in Vendors and click Add (or enter Mozilla for fun)
7. Enter Internet Explorer in Names and click Add
8. Check off "Use the same generated name in..." and click OK
9. Close the extensions window

Step 5: Miscellaneous Features

Internet Explorer differs from Firefox in the ways that it handles a few things. If you prefer the IE way of doing things, here is how to get Firefox to work the same way.

Favorites Menu

You can have Firefox show a Favorites menu tied to the local favorites by using the Plain Old Favorites extension. You can also hide the bookmarks menu by using the Menu Editor Extension.

Allow Copy/Paste

By default, Firefox doesn't let JavaScript perform copy and paste operations for security reasons. Unfortunately, this makes using some scripts like WYSIWYG editors a bit less convenient. You can enable the clipboard on specific sites to overcome this issue.

IE Tab

You can add the ability to visit specific sites within Firefox using the Internet Explorer browser rendering engine by using the IE Tab extension. Even sites like Windows Update will work.

Default Links

You can even add in the default links from Internet Explorer to fully complete the look if you'd like. Just create bookmarks to each of these links and place them on the Links toolbar in the following order.

• Best of the Web
• Channel Guide
• Customize Links
• Free Hotmail
• Internet Start
• Microsoft
• Windows Media
• Windows Update
• Windows

You can also set www.msn.com as your homepage... and the transformation is complete.

Known Issues

If you have more than one window open and you have Windows XP set to group similar taskbar buttons, the group will be labeled Firefox instead of Internet Explorer. This is because Windows pulls the name for groups from the actual EXE.

Considerations

If you're using these instructions to replace Internet Explorer with Firefox on a non-techie's computer where they don't like the Firefox interface, I would recommend not altering the Window Title or icons. That way, you can still tell which one is Firefox and which one is Internet Explorer... but browsing will feel the same.

Firefox Portable Profile 2.0

Is that Portable Internet Explorer? No, but it's close. This pre-built profile can be dropped into Mozilla Firefox - Portable Edition to make it look just like Internet Explorer. Just download the Portable Firefox Internet Explorer profile and unzip it to the profile directory of Firefox Portable after deleting the current contents (Usually FirefoxPortable\Data\profile). You will also need to download the icon package and unzip that to the FirefoxPortable\App\firefox directory if you want the Internet Explorer Icons. This profile is for Firefox Portable 2.0.

via johnhaller

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I have several movies available in Windows Media WMV format. I want to convert the files for playback on PSP and iPod. What can I use to convert WMV to MP4?

If you edit movies using Windows Movie Maker or simply saved a bunch of video in WMV format, there's no direct conduit to getting videos to your PSP or iPod. Sony added WMA support to the PSP sometime back and it would be great to see WMV support if only because Windows Movie Maker is installed with every copy of Windows XP and ultimately Windows Vista. In the meantime, there are a handful of options for converting WMV files to MP4 files compatible with both PSP and iPod devices.

The easiest solution I've found for this conversion process is PSP Video 9 from Videora. It includes a number of settings compatible with both the PSP and iPod. PSP Video 9 automatically names files in a way recognized by the PSP and creates a .THM thumbnail file for each movie. While you might be tempted to use an h.264 encoding profile for iPod owners, using one of the PSP compatible settings will get you a file that looks good in both places, which saves time over creating a PSP specific file and iPod specific file.

Note: PSP Video 9 will pass WMV files through an AVISynth (*.avs) profile during conversion.

If you happen to be a Nero user, I highly recommend Recode as a solution for converting video to MP4. Like most of the products in the Nero family, Recode doesn't have the most intuitive user interface on the planet, but the video conversion feature is rock solid. In general you can keep the default audio and video settings, but as you step through the wizard, be sure to check the box next to Expert Mode in the Nero Digital Settings, and check the Simple profile (QuickTime compatibility) under Advanced options, which is acutally to insure PSP compatibility not QuickTime.

You will need to rename your video file to something compatible with the PSP naming scheme before transferring the file to your PSP.

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• 1 comments »

I was looking at this website, which purports to show you deleted YouTube videos, and while I didn’t find it that useful (since it mostly shows random videos and is slow to load), I did find out how it gets at these deleted videos. Turns out that in some cases, even after the video dissapears due to copyright or nudity problems, YouTube will still have the .FLV (Flash video) file available on its servers. If you have the URL of the missing vid, replace the video ID (the string of gibberish) in this URL:

http://v136.youtube.com/get_video?video_id=[video_id_goes_here]

Pretty cool, right? You can download the “banned” Xbox 360 ad or Lazy Sunday.

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• 5 comments »

You just downloaded the latest, baddest program from some torrent somewhere. However, it's just a bunch of bin files. You realize these are CD images or ISOs... but you don't know how to run them.

You just create a text file that is named the exact same thing as your bin file except with a cue extension. In this text file you need this information:

FILE "yourbinfilenamehere.bin" BINARY
TRACK 01 MODE1/2352
INDEX 01 00:00:00

Step-by-step:

Say you have a file called gameiso.bin

1. Right click on a blank space in the same folder
2. Select new text document
3. Double click to open your New Text Document.txt
4. Paste this into the file:

FILE "gameiso.bin" BINARY
TRACK 01 MODE1/2352
INDEX 01 00:00:00


Make sure you edit gameiso.bin to the exact name of your bin file.

5. Click File menu
6. Click Save
7. Click the Red X to close it
8. Right click the New Text Document.txt and select Rename
9. Rename it like your bin file except with a cue extension:


gameiso.cue
10. Now any program that can read CD-rom ISOs (nero, alcohol, etc) should be ready to read the file.

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In a previous article we talked about "Google Hacking" and in that article there was a brief how-to find mp3's using google. My_Haz has taken this concept and completely worked out all the bugs and angles and has written a comprehensive "How To Find MP3's with Google". No more worrying about the RIAA busting you.. Lets use google to do the work.



How To Find MP3's with Google This How-To will teach you how to use google to find mp3s. This How-To will be highly pragmatic and will focus on the hows and not the wherefores of the various search strings. Written by my_haz Note: Thanks to all the folks that have bookmarked this page and sent me emails. If you like this tutorial i have another one that you may be interested in if you ever woundered how to crack porn sites. That one is under the name on_a_role_again but its me my_haz. How to Crack Porn Sites

----------------------------------------------------------------------
= Index
----------------------------------------------------------------------

0) Key
1) Directories
2) Xitami Servers
3) Directory Listing
4) Andromeda Servers
5) Zina Artists
6) Apache mp3 Servers
7) Individual Songs


----------------------------------------------------------------------
= Section 0 - KEY
----------------------------------------------------------------------

You this are just some definitions I will use below.

[Directory String] can be any of the following :
1) "index of"
2) "last modified"
3) "parent of"

[file type] can be any of the following :
1) "mp3"
2) "shn"
3) "wma"

[mp3 name] can be any of the following :
1) the name of the album in quotes
2) the name of the artist in quotes
3) be daring and leave it blank and have lots of links
4) be creative!

[limitors]
1) -html -htm -php -asp -txt -pls

(inurl:) is optional and may be omitted and in fact most be
omitted if not using a search tool other than google.

(intitle:) can be used in place of (inurl:) and has a similar effect
again you must be useing google.

(-filetype:txt) adding this to the end of your search string can
filter some false positives.

(-playlist) adding this to the end of your search string can
filter some false positives.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
= Section 1 - Directories
----------------------------------------------------------------------

These are the most common way that mp3s are stored on the www, you
should try these strings first.

String Format :
Type 1 : [Directory String] + (inurl:)[file type] + [mp3 name]
Type 2 : [Directory String] + (intitle:)[file type] + [mp3 name]

Type 3 : [Directory String] + [file type] + [mp3 name] + [limitors]

Example Strings :
- intitle:index.of + mp3 + "grandaddy" -html -htm -php -asp -txt -pls
- "index of" + "mp3" + "radiohead" -html -htm -php
- "index of" + mp3 + "grandaddy"
- "index of" + inurl:mp3 + "beatles" -txt -pls
- "index of" + intitle:mp3 + beatles
- "last modified" + "shn" + "dylan"
- "last modified" + inurl:shn + "bob dylan"
- "parent of" + inurl:wma + "grandaddy"

Suggestions :
- Try (intitle:index.of + "mp3" + "band name" -htm -html -php -asp) first it
is usually the most effective.

Another Little Trick:
- If you have been getting alot of results on google but the pages don't seem
to be there try adding dates and the "apache" string to your search i.e.

- intitle:index.of + mp3 + "grandaddy" -html -htm -php -asp apache feb-2005
- intitle:index.of + mp3 + "grandaddy" -html -htm -php -asp apache 2005

or if you just want a big list of mp3' doing a search like this everymonth
- intitle:index.of + mp3 + -html -htm -php -asp apache mar

----------------------------------------------------------------------
= Section 2 - Xitami Servers
----------------------------------------------------------------------

String Format :
Type 1 : "xitami web server" + (inurl:)[file type] + [mp3 name]
Type 2 : "xitami web server" + (intitle:)[file type] + [mp3 name]

Example Strings :
- "xitami web server" + "mp3" + "radiohead"
- "xitami web server" + intitle:shn + "beatles"
- "xitami web server" + inurl:mp3 + "magnetic fields"

----------------------------------------------------------------------
= Section 3 - Directory Listing
----------------------------------------------------------------------

String Format :
Type 1 : "directory listings" + (inurl:)[file type] + [mp3 name]
Type 2 : "directory listings" + (intitle:)[file type] + [mp3 name]
Type 3 : "directory listings of" + (inurl:)[file type] + [mp3 name]
Type 4 : "directory listings of" + (intitle:)[file type] + [mp3 name]


Example Strings
- "directory listings" + "mp3" + "radiohead"
- "directory listings" + intitle:shn + "beatles"
- "directory listings" + inurl:mp3 + "magnetic fields"
- "directory listings of" + "mp3" + "radiohead"
- "directory listings of" + intitle:shn + "beatles"
- "directory listings of" + inurl:mp3 + "magnetic fields"

----------------------------------------------------------------------
= Section 4 - Andromeda Servers
----------------------------------------------------------------------

String Format :
Type 1 : "scott matthews" + andromeda + [mp3 name]
Type 2 : "scott matthews" + andromeda + [file type] + [mp3 name]
Type 3 : "powered by andromeda" + [mp3 name]
Type 4 : "powered by andromeda" + [file type] + [mp3 name]
Type 5 : inurl:andromeda.php + [mp3 name]
Type 6 : inurl:anromeda.php + [file type] + [mp3 name]
Type 7 : "scott matthews"
Type 8 : "powered by andromeda"
Type 9 : inurl:andromeda.php

Examples :
- "scott matthews" + andromeda + "radiohead"
- "scott matthews" + andromeda + "mp3" + "fitter"
- "powered by andromeda" + "gradaddy"
- "powered by andromeda" + "mp3" + "just like women"
- inurl:andromeda.php + "shn"
- inurl:anromeda.php + "wma" + "dylan"
- "scott matthews"
- "powered by andromeda"
- inurl:andromeda.php


----------------------------------------------------------------------
= Section 5 - Zina Artists
----------------------------------------------------------------------

String Format :
Type 1 : "zina artists"

Examples :
- "zina artists"


----------------------------------------------------------------------
= Section 6 - Apache mp3 Servers
----------------------------------------------------------------------

String Format :
Type 1 : "stream all" + apache + [mp3 name]
Type 2 : "stream all" + apache
Type 3 : "shuffle all" + apache + [mp3 name]
Type 4 : "shuffle all" + apache

Examples :
- "stream all" + apache
- "stream all" "shuffle all" mp3
- "stream all" + apache + radiohead
- "shuffle all" + beatles

----------------------------------------------------------------------
= Section 7 - Individual Songs
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Format : [mp3 name].mp3 -playlist -filetype:txt

Examples :
- "ok_computer_live.mp3" -playlist -filetype:txt
- "*ok_computer*.mp3" -playlist -filetype:txt
- kid*a.mp3 -playlist -filetype:txt




GOOD LUCK!!

via i-hacked

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Background

You're browsing the web and you click a link to an article on a site (let's say nytimes.com) but instead of getting the article you get a screen asking you to login or register. Infuriated at the idea of pointlessly registering for yet another site you turn to your good buddy bugmenot.com

Instructions

STEP 1: Make a note of the website address your are trying to access. For example:
http://www.nytimes.com/cnet/CNET_2100-1024_3-5567274.html
Or even just:
www.nytimes.com

STEP 2: Visit http://bugmenot.com

STEP 3: Enter the address from step 1 into the box and press the "Get Logins" button

STEP 4: You should now be presented with at least one username and password. Make a note of them.

STEP 5: Go back to the site you were originally trying to access in step 1 and proceed to login with the username and password you noted in the previous step.

With any luck you should be able to access your article now!

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VLC Media Player is one of the most versatile media players ever. What it lacks in looks, it more than makes up for in functionality. It can read and save all the major formats of video and audio, and much more than that, it can rip DVDs. This is a pretty simple process, if you know what you’re doing. Plus, it saves you having to buy expensive DVD ripping software!

The first step is to open up VLC and click the open button (it’s the leftmost one). From the dialog box that appears select Disc and then DVD. Enter the letter of your DVD-ROM drive in the device name box, and 0 in the title box. Click OK to see if that’s what you want to rip. If it is, click the stream/save box and then settings. Otherwise, change the title to 1 and then keep increasing the number until you find the one you want. It might take a little bit, some DVDs have the main video as late as title 15.

Once you’ve got the right video though, open the settings box and uncheck the “play locally” box if it’s checked (unless you want to watch it at the same time it’s ripping) and check the file, video, and audio boxes. Select where you’re going to save your movie (save it as a .mpg, like movie.mpg) by hitting browse and then navigating to the folder where you want to save it and typing moviename.mpg in the name box. Select mp1v for the video codec and mp3 for the audio, 1024k is usually a good size and produces a nice balance between size and quality.

Click OK, and OK again. VLC should start transcoding the disc to your hard drive, where you can watch it. As a bit of a warning, when you want to watch the file with VLC, be absolutely sure that the stream/save box is unchecked in the open dialog box, or bad things might happen. Like your two hours of transcoding being erased (guilty!) You can watch the ripped files in any media player though.

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With the growing interest in blogging as a means of online promotion and branding, a lot of marketers are starting blogs to promote their opinions, products, books and services.

But a blog is like a website. "Write and they will come" isn't exactly a magic formula to bring in traffic by the boatload.

If you need to promote your website in order to build traffic to it, you need to promote your blog as well.

Here are some ways you can become a well-read and influential blogger.

1. Write Posts That People Will Want To Read

This should be common sense, but many marketers tend to forget that their readers are real people and that you need to use the principles of online copywriting to make your headlines and copy interesting to your readers.

If you write posts that people enjoy reading, they will reward you by returning to your blog regularly.

Make your posts conversational, pithy and topical. Keep them short and stick to one topic per post.

Write often and regularly so that both readers and search engines visit your blog more often.

2. Optimize Your Posts for Search Engines

I cover this topic in detail in my article on "Search Engine Optimization For Blogs" http://www.blog-maniac.com/blog-seo.htm

But here are the most important rules to follow to get your posts listed for keywords of your choice.

* Make sure your blog URL contains the primary keyword you want to optimize for

* Use your primary keywords in the title of your post

* Use your secondary keywords in the body of your post

* Use your keywords in the anchor text of links in the body of your posts

3. Submit Your Blog and RSS Feed To Directories

If you publish a blog you should submit your blog and RSS feed to big directories like Yahoo and Dmoz, as well as the numerous blog directories and search engines.

Here is the best list I've found of places to submit your feed or blog, compiled by Luigi Canali De Rossi, who writes under the pseudonym Robin Good.

Best Blog Directory And RSS Submission Sites http://www.masternewmedia.org/rss/top55/

Another list of sites to submit your Blog. http://www.rss-specifications.com/rss-submission.htm

4. Ping The Blog Services

There are a number of services designed specifically for tracking and connecting blogs. By sending a small ping to each service you let them know you've updated your blog so they can come check you out.

Bookmark the Ping-O-Matic ping results page so you can visit it and quickly ping a number of services with a single click.

http://pingomatic.com

5. Build Links To Your Blog

I recommend the methods here as the best ways to get links pointing to your blog

* Link to your blog from each page on your main website

* Trackback to other blogs in your posts

* Post legitimate comments on other blogs with related topics

* Offer to exchange links with other similarly themed blogs and websites

6. Edit Your Blog Posts Into Articles

One of the best methods for promoting your website is to write articles and submit them to article directories.

The suggestion for extending this to edit your blog posts into articles and submit them to directories came from the coach at "Explode Blog Traffic" who also has other noteworthy suggestions at his blog here. http://bloghit.blogspot.com/2004/11/how-to-explode-blog-traffic.html

You'll find an extensive list of article directories here http://ebizwhiz-publishing.com/write-articles/submit-articles.htm

7. Create Buzz About Your Blog

Creating a buzz about your blog posts and topic in the local and online media will give your marketing a viral component.

* Create a controversy around your blog or it's topic.

* Distribute bumper stickers or other merchandise with your blog's URL and tagline.

* Write a press release about something newsworthy and tie it in with your blog topic.

8. Capture Subscribers By Email

It may seem strange for a blogger to send out updates by email, but email is still the #1 choice of most people who want to receive news and information.

Using a free service like Bloglet to manage your subscriptions is easy and it allows your subscribers to manage all their subscriptions from one interface. http://www.bloglet.com

However, if you want more control over your list and don't mind mailing out the updates yourself, you can use an autoresponder system to capture and follow-up with subscribers.

RSS responder is a new script that allows you to keep in touch and follow-up with your subscribers without the hassle of email. http://ebizwhiz-publishing.com/rssresponder.htm

These tips should give you a good start to building your blog traffic.

Priya Shah is a partner in the search engine marketing firm, SEO & More http://www.seoandmore.com Request the whitepaper Boost Your Search Engine Visibility With Blogs And RSS http://www.seoandmore.com/blogs-rss/

Submitted by Priya Shah

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Here's something for broadband people that will really speed Firefox up:

1.Type "about:config" into the address bar and hit return. Scroll down and look for the following entries:

network.http.pipelining network.http.proxy.pipelining network.http.pipelining.maxrequests

Normally the browser will make one request to a web page at a time. When you enable pipelining it will make several at once, which really speeds up page loading.

2. Alter the entries as follows:

Set "network.http.pipelining" to "true"

Set "network.http.proxy.pipelining" to "true"

Set "network.http.pipelining.maxrequests" to some number like 30. This means it will make 30 requests at once.

3. Lastly right-click anywhere and select New-> Integer. Name it "nglayout.initialpaint.delay" and set its value to "0". This value is the amount of time the browser waits before it acts on information it recieves.

If you're using a broadband connection you'll load pages MUCH faster now!

by korn

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