This is very cool and I'm sure you will enjoy it. Somebody in Canada, or maybe the USA, I'm not entirely sure has set up a live web cam which is pointing at a pair of nesting bald eagles. It is important that you have your sound on as the Eagles often call to each other and you really don't want to miss that. This is just great, enjoy

http://www.tetraplegicliving.com/live-eagle-cam

Most broadband suppliers like to show off and tell you what speed they provide. However, in my experience what they say they offer is not always what you get. For instance BT Internet adverts boast 20 MB. I don't know anyone who gets this amount of speed with BT Internet. However I came across a handy little website tool today that tests your broadband and tells you both your upload and download speed. You might want to test it at various times of the day, you'll probably find that your Internet runs fastest when not many people are armed, normally late at night when everyone is asleep. Anyway, check it out, I think it's pretty cool.

http://speedtest.net/index.php

A few months ago I wrote about Mozilla Firefox not working properly in Vista 64-bit. Well, it seems that the latest version of Firefox, 3.6.3 works considerably better than some of the previous versions. In fact since I've been using the latest version of Firefox I haven't experienced any problems whatsoever and Firefox is the browser I use 99% of the time. I've also got Windows 7 on one of my computers, I will replace Vista on my bedroom computer at some stage. I have also not experienced any problems in Windows 7 using Firefox either.

I have been using Vista since last June and have been relatively pleased with it. However a few little niggling problems started cropping up so I bit the bullet and decided now was a good time to upgrade to Windows 7. So off I went to Staples in Torquay and got myself the family pack upgrade which is good for three PCs. I thought the price was reasonable, I think it was around £130.

I would really recommend backing up all your files before attempting any upgrade. I backed up all my files onto an external hard drive just in case things went pear shaped. The upgrade went extremely well and without a hitch. I have now been using Windows 7 for a few days and am absolutely delighted with it. I don't want to tempt fate but all of the little problems I was having with Vista have now disappeared and it is working really well, I couldn't be happier.

To be quite honest there really isn't a lot of difference between Windows 7 and Vista when it comes to the layout and workings, so if you are a seasoned Vista user, Windows 7  shouldn't confuse you too much. Things have been smartened up and it definitely that little more aesthetically pleasing on the eye, I particularly like the on screen keyboard, that is a marked improvement. I do use this on a regular basis when I am in bed so that is one particular function I am very happy with. Windows Mail is absolutely fantastic, really love it, miles better than what was included in Vista. I really do like the facility where you have a library tab in the taskbar, it makes accessing my documents, pictures, videos etc. just a little quicker. You don't have to have it in your taskbar, you can disable it. However when you spend as much time on the computer as I do, anything that makes life easier is an advantage.

I haven't been using Windows 7 for more than a week yet so I've so much more digging around to do, however I wanted to share what I have learned so far with you. Don't let people put you off Windows 7, the people who go around criticizing it are more than likely the same people who haven't used it yet. I don't care what anyone has to say about Windows 7, it is a massive improvement on both XP and Vista. If you like both XP and Vista, you are going to absolutely love Windows 7.  So don't hesitate if you are still a Vista user, get out there and get yourself an upgrade.

Just one thing I must mention before splashing out on an upgrade. Make sure that before purchasing the upgrade, make sure you are actually getting the right installation. For instance, if you're on XP then you can't upgrade to Windows 7, you've got to install a new Windows 7 operating system. If you are not sure what you need to purchase and install a program called Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor. This is a free download from Microsoft and it will  take a look at what you already have installed and tell you which upgrade you need to get, or indeed if you need to install a complete Windows 7 operating system. If you have been using Vista for a few years and have been experiencing problems then it may actually be worth your while purchasing the full operating system. Remember that an upgrade is just an upgrade, if you have got some bugs in Vista then you may still experience problems in Windows 7 so sometimes a completely clean installation is the key to getting things back on an even track again, it'll be exactly the same as reformatting your hard drive which an upgrade doesn't do. I didn't bother with installing a completely new operating system because my computer is less than a year old.

I'm happy to say that this is one Microsoft product that I am completely in love with.

This is a direct link to where you can download Windows 7 upgrade advisor

http://windows.microsoft.com/upgradeadvisor

If you have got Jomsocial on your website & have been having a few problems getting it to connect to Facebook then I recently came across a really fantastic tutorial which enabled me to set up the Facebook connection on my Jomsocial website and get it working flawlessly. In case you are none the wiser, Jomsocial is a social networking component that can be added to a Joomla 1.5 website application. It is really based around Facebook and I can absolutely promise you that your members will love it.

here is a link to the tutorial

http://www.herdboy.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=168:how-to-set-up-facebook-connect-for-jomsocial&catid=56:guides&Itemid=249

The majority of PCs running Vista are mostly running on a 32-bit system. However, quite a few people are actually running on Vista 64-bit system, many gamers use it because it is quite a bit faster than 32-bit. I recently invested in a couple of brand-new PCs that had all the latest hardware installed, including the Vista 64-bit system. It wasn't until I got the PCs that I realized I was going to have a few problems running some software and a vital piece of hardware that I rely heavily on. I didn't have too much of a problem with the hardware, in fact the alternative is better than it ever was before. However for the life of me, I could not use Firefox 3.5 on Vista 64-bit system without having constant problems. I got so fed up in the end that I totally uninstalled it and reverted back to using Internet Explorer, Chrome and occasionally Safari. Chrome is okay for browsing but absolutely no good if you are creating websites. Internet Explorer, well what can I say about this horrible browser, I absolutely detest it, it is the biggest load of crap that has ever been developed, as far as I'm concerned, Bill Gates has made his billions out of producing absolute rubbish, but I won't get on my high horse about this because we'll be here all day. 

Okay, where were we? Oh yes, browsers. So I've been struggling with Chrome and Internet Explorer, quite often getting very frustrated. Anyway, a version of Firefox has been released that by all account works on 64-bit Apparently it is absolutely awesome, not my words, the words of people who have been using it. I have only been using it for the last few days so I don't want to jump the gun and start raving about because the way my luck runs, it will probably crash as soon as I start telling everyone how brilliant it is. I have however noticed that everything is running a damn site got faster than Google chrome which I consider to be extremely slow at times. It is also remembering all my passwords which is something I have missed when using Internet Explorer. Early indications for me are quite favorable, let's hope it stays like this.

I thought I would tell everyone about it and you can make your own mind up. Please do post back user results, as no doubt, this will help other people who have also been left frustrated after migrating to Vista 64-bit and then finding out their beloved Firefox doesn't work properly.

This browser is very much in its infancy and where as I can't confirm for sure, I believe that various elements are not supported. For instance, I was not able to view any YouTube videos even after trying to install the plug-ins. I think that this particular browser is probably only beneficial for those of us who have quite a bit to do with web development and maintenance, if you are just browsing the Internet then Google Chrome will do the job just fine

A couple of weeks ago I treated myself to a Colour Laser Printer. The last printer I bought and still have is a 3 in 1 HP, photo copier/scanner/printer. The printer perform really well and I would have no qualms in recommending one. However, ink for these type of printers is quite expensive. I think you are talking around £40 to replace all the ink cartridges. I can't tell you exactly how many pages you get off one cartridge but the ink will not last very long if you do a lot of printing. The other problem you have with inkjet printers is that if they are left for too long without printing, you sometimes find that the ink dries and it won't print properly. I had this problem with a cannon inkjet printer. Because the original cartridges are quite expensive, many people opt for compatible replacement cartridges. Basically, these just copies and not original cartridges made by printer manufacturer. They cost considerably less than the original cartridges, sometimes less than a quarter of the price, however, I have found that these are never as good as the original cartridges. In fact, I've had some that just don't work at all. Also, you may find that some printers have a function that stop you from using compatible cartridges. You may well find that you get a message telling you that you are not using compatible cartridges. Sometimes you just get the message and they will work, other times, you may find that they will not work at all. Although compatible would work on my Canon printer, I would get a message telling me that I wasn't using Canon original cartridges. I did find that compatible cartridges were nowhere near as good as the original Canon cartridges.

So I have now got a Samsung CLP-315 Colour Laser Printer and I am really happy with it. I wouldn't say it was a cheap option at all, in fact, the ink for a laser printer is very expensive indeed, twice as much as an inkjet printer. However, you get a lot more for your money, the laserprinter I have just purchased will print something like 1500 pages in black,and 1000 pages in color. The quality is also extremely good. I bought mine from Staples in Torquay Devon for a little over £100. A full set of ink media costs more than the printer which does seem a little ridiculous but it should last me for at least two years considering how much I print

I don't know if anyone else has been having a problem with Google lately, but I have found that it seems to be getting slower by the day. Google searches take for ever at the moment, it sometimes takes a couple of minutes before the second page loads . Thank god its only Google, none of my websites are having any issues with speed so's something to be thankful about. However, I use Google on a regular basis and this is rather annoying. It's almost like being back in dial-up days.

I'm sure Google are aware of this since I've noticed it for the last week or so, They really need to pull their fingers out of their backside and get it sorted because anyone who is paying for their advertisements are not going to be happy because I suspect a lot of folks will be giving up on searches because who likes waiting a long time for pages to load these days?.

Are you looking for a new hosting company? If so look no further than Host Gator. After being with various other hosting companies including Dream Host and Rochen, somebody on the Rocket Theme Joomla template club recommended HG. I signed up for the business package which gives you unlimited disk space, unlimited bandwidth, unlimited SQL and quite a lot more. I know that a lot of people say there's no such thing as unlimited bandwidth, of course there isn't, but they will give you more than you will need for most websites you will ever develop. I can host unlimited domains for no extra charge on my account which is something that is very important to me. Even though my account is shared hosting, it really does fly, I was very impressed when I first started using it because dream host does tend to be a little bit slow once you've got quite a few websites on your account.

HG also has a very active and extremely helpful forum where people are always there to answer your questions. What I like most of all is the support they offer. It is absolutely superb. If you go to their forum which is accessed through your C panel, you can talk to somebody live. You get an almost instantaneous reply when you shout for help and the technicians are extremely knowledgeable, they haven't failed me yet.

I'm on the business package which retails at $175 a year. Believe me, it's worth every penny. If you are only hosting one website then there are much cheaper packages, but if you're like me and host numerous websites then this is definitely value for money.

Check them out, I promise you will not be disappointed. They fully support Joomla which is one of the reasons why I use them.

I'm going to show you how easy it is to add a favicon to your website whether it be a Joomla or normal HTML website.

First of all you need to create your image. For this you will need a photo editing program if you intend on making your own. I use Photoshop for most of my image and photo editing work. A favicon image needs to be one of two sizes, either 16 x 16, or 32 x 32. Obviously trying to create an image on a canvas this small won't be very easy so I find it easier to create my design on a canvas of 500 x 500, something like the image below.

Now visit this website and upload the image. The software within the website will convert your image to ".ICO" format and also resize it. You have got to convert your image to this format, anything else will not work as a favicon. You can then download your converted image ready to put into your website.

If you are adding a favicon to a Joomla website like this one then open up the index.php file within your template folder and enter the following code in the head section


Then upload your favicon to the main images folder in the root. That's it, all done. You may have to refresh/and or clear your cache a couple of times before the favicon shows properly.

Adding a favicon to a normal HTML website is even more straightforward. Add the exact same code to the head section in index.html and place the favicon in the images folder.

That is how you add a favicon to your website.