The Best Online Tools To Help You Know Everything About Web Sites

A large part of web development is research. Learning how one website works or how it was developed can help lead the direction of another project. Also, while curiousity is bad for kittens, it's fun for the average web worker. Here is a nice article with a few more links for your bag-of-tricks.

How do I contact the owner of a website? How popular is my site on Digg or Delicious? What other websites are hosted on my web server? Is my competitor using WordPress or Drupal? Example.com is loading fast, what is the name of their web hosting company? Is my blog accessible from China or Japan?

If you got questions like these in your mind, here are some of the most useful online tools to help you know each and every detail of any website on the planet.

Here are the list of these tools.

• Just-Ping.com
• WhoIsTheOwner.net
• YouGetSignal.com
• WhoIsHostingThis.com
• SocialMeter.com
• Popuri.us
• BuiltWith.com

I haven't heard of any of these, but I'm certainly going to check them out immediately. There is a much more detailed description of each one at the linked article. Of course, it is not always possible to find out everything you might like to know about how your favorite website works. Inevitably, if this information is freely available, it can leave certain high-profile sites vulnerable to zero day security issues. Most web masters with any sense will take measures to hide or otherwise obfuscate this information. And this is another reason to keep these tools handy so that you know what other people can learn about your site. To find out more read the full article at labnol.org > internet > tools.

Found via del.icio.us {tags: web-developer web-developer/tools community domains internet marketing technology articles blogs}.

CompUSA is Going Away

Apparently, CompUSA is going out of business forever. This seems weird to me as I thought they'd always be around. I can't say I was the biggest fan of theirs and I shopped at Best Buy more. Check this out.

It's always sad when a store you used to frequent goes out of business, but how about when that store used to mark up its prices like mad? Things become slightly less sad. Nevertheless, this desolate scene at a Portland CompUSA definitely brings a slight tear to our eye.

I almost got a job at the local CompUSA in the distant past. Check out some last pictures of a store closing at gizmodo.com - CompUSA.

Phishing Attempt - TechLifeBlogged

The concept of phishing is hard to explain to those that haven't experienced it or seen it up close. It's a very quick innocuous crime with the speed and dexterity of the pick-pocket, but the victim doesn't even know for weeks or months, if they ever realize it at all. Education is the only preventative. Scott does a good job here-

These kinds of email are a dime a dozen but I thought it might be good to have an example I can point to when trying to educate others.

Read the full post about Phishing at TechLifeBlogged.

My Take on the Failure of Open Source

For Christmas this year, we got a new computer which I've been meaning to post about for awhile. I've used several good references for the software it needed to start being usable, including but not limited to the following:

• Download.com
• Freeware-Software.org

At one point, my wife asked if "Office" was installed on the computer. Being an anti-Microsoft pinko communist leftist revolutionary nutjob frugal like I am, I was leaning towards having almost nothing but open source software on my new computer. Though I could have semi-easily obtained a decently priced copy of Microsoft Office, I elected to use OpenOffice.org for the office productivity route. I've got a copy of Microsoft Outlook that I'll use with my Dell Axim. I'll probably use Thunderbird for all other email.

I installed the software without testing it and probably would never have noticed anything lacking that would have been a problem. I showed it to my wife and let her use it with the point that she would let me know if anything was out of place. Everything worked fine for over a month.

Then today the hammer fell. Where's the clipart? she asked. Will all of the clipart available from Microsoft's Office Update site be compatible with StarOffice Writer? Of course, the answer to this is no. For those who've never used it, MS has a decently integrated web site where you can quickly browse for clipart and use it in any office product. It's slick and simple and has thousands upon thousands of images.

And for this reason alone, Open Source Failed -- at least for today. Sure, I could search for and find a similar site or project of open source clipart and media. Or I could just point my wife at Creative Commons and the initiatives like it, along with search engines that can find images marked for it. But nothing will match the immediate familiarity of the Microsoft source. Until that day comes...

Anyhow, that's my take on it.

iTunes Issue

I'm a fan of iTunes and I am a long time Apple fan. I'm having a little issue recently with this little media player and I hope to help others work around it. If anyone knows a way to actually fix the problem, I'd like to know.

I've been creating a set of playlists from mp3s (that I totally purchased legally) and these lists have grown longer than would fit on one CD. In case you didn't know it, blank CDs can hold a maximum of 80 minutes of music usually. If you create a playlist of songs in iTunes, you can then record it to disc. For your convenience, if your list is longer than 80 minutes, Apple's music player will split the list up for you.

I've got a two-hour playlist that warns me about the multiple disc burn which I validate and set the first disc to burn. Where the problem begins is when it spits the full disc out and asks for the next one. At this point, it only highlights 3 or 4 songs for the new disc. Sometimes it will burn the rest, but often it seems to completely halt and invisibly cancel the entire burn process.

What I thought at first might be an issue with my CD-burner or a corrupt installation of iTunes appears to be related to the files themselves. All of these mp3 files have been previewed by me start to finish. The player will play them, but iTunes cannot burn them for some reason. I moved the file to the end of the remaining playlist and click the button again and I get success with the one song as exception.

Once I identify tunes like these, I can delete the mp3 and then... "repurchase" them. But I was looking for some other more elegant fix. Thanks!

More About iTunes and MP3s

• Amazon.com Search - iTunes
• Amazon.com Search - MP3s

Third-World Wind Power: First Look

It's a simple idea, but it's possible to get wind energy without turbines. The result is less expensive, easier to install and most importantly it's more efficient.

Check out the links and full video at Third-World Wind Power: First Look.

Update: The original links and video are down. Brightcove.tv has ceased hosting it publically. I think they were a hosting service and not a video sharing company. However, I did find the original article on Popular Mechanics, so go check it out! And also there is this response article on Ecogeek.

Turn off that iPhone movie NOW!

A ZDNet post linked to ...

..A Consumerist report that an ATA Airlines flight attendant tried to get a passengerto turn off his iPhone because, well, cell phones are not allowed to be used in flight and he was watching a movie on his iPhone.

And so there is this debate and uproar that this airline customer should be accosted in this way and asked to turn off his digital device while other passengers were allowed to continue. My opinion?

Just as the bartender is well within his rights to determine to the best of his ability who can and cannot drink, flight attendants can determine which electronic devices can and cannot be used. I want them to be experts at their jobs and safety and security. I don't want them to have to keep up on the latest and greatest technological gadgets (like I do).

If it has numbers on it and looks like a phone, it probably is, so if it's lights and screen are still on, you will be asked to hit the OFF button. It's also fair to the other passengers whose phones don't have an airplane mode (or don't know how to activate it).

Nevermind the fact that they have shown on Mythbusters that cell phones aren't likely to be dangerous to the plane. Also, keep in mind that we (those of us reading this page) might think that an iPhone is something everyone knows about. Even though the product might be a household name, I doubt that everyone in the world could tell the difference between one and a television remote.

On a recent cross-country flight, I was asked to turn off my Dell Axim simply based on looks. It is not a phone. It has a Bluetooth mode, but I never turn it on. I turned it off without a second thought. Besides the fact that I'd already read all the downloaded email that was on it, I had an actual novel that I wanted to get to. Perhaps some people believe that certain inalienable rights are being infringed upon, but iPhones and cross-country flights are luxuries that we should enjoy. In order to enjoy them we have to follow the safety rules and requirements of the crew, regardless of their seemingly arbitrary nature.

Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religion, Freedom to Assemble and so on are requirements. But Freedom to Watch Jennifer Love Hewitt on Your iPhone? Yeah, turn it off.

Read the full post at ZDNet.com.