Have you seen this Firefox error:

"Connection Interrupted | The connection to the server was reset while the page was loading."

Internet Explorer has its own version.

It is displayed when you are uploading a file through browser interface or when you are submitting large forms.

There may be several reasons, but I'll share my situation in case you encounter the same thing. I had experimented with my Netgear router's content filtering settings by adding keyword blocking. Later on I did clear the keywords but inadvertantly kept Keyword Blocking option checked "Always" although there were no keywords. This was the cause of the error message.

It took me a while to figure this out. There was no solution offered online anywhere else so I traced back the changes I made to the router.

So, just in case you are seeing the same error message, check your router's settings.

I have been searching for a good Google Maps Plugin for WordPress. Google Maps Plugin by Avi was the one I had found the most useful after trying a few others. After inconsistent results and css problems with different themes, I even tried using iframe embed on pages and posts within “code” tags as I explained here.

I have been looking to find a solution to accomplish the following tasks:

1) I want to be able put maps of places I visited on individual posts. I also want to have a single page with a map with markers of all these places I posted about. Clicking on these markers will open the info window with a link to the individual map.

2) I want to add a location mashup map for a business with multiple locations. This will work pretty much the same as above except the markers will link to the individual location maps.

I am happy to report that I found the right plugin: Geo Mashup Plugin for WordPress.

A single map page that can present your posts in many ways

• It can show just one category, for example
• Clicking on a post marker shows a summary of the post in an info bubble

A small search map on the post editing page to easily add location to posts

Template tags to make links from located posts to the map and other things

GeoRSS automatically added to feeds

Option show the full post for a clicked marker on the map page

You can see a working example of this plugin on my latest project CarDealsNet.com.

This is a must-have plugin.

Note on Word WordPress 2.6: While working to set this plugin up, I wanted to have the mashup page have a different page template. I noticed that my "page template" option disappeared. I found out that the page template I use did not have the header:

<?php

/*
Template Name: Geo Mashup
*/

<?

I am pretty sure the template without the header worked on the previous WordPress version. Anyways, if you don't see the "page template" option while writing a page even though you created one, it is because you forgot to add the template header.

Incoming search terms:

• wordpress geo mashup

Google Maps for WordPress plugin I posted about before has not been working consistently. Even after the latest update, it was not able to pinpoint the marker to the exact location on the map. After trying another plugin that gave JavaScript errors, I decided to use iframe embed on pages and posts within "code" tags which worked out great. The the moral of the story is that before you run out and try to find a plugin to accomplish a certain task, see if you can do it without a plugin.

Perishable Press has a good article titled Optimize WordPress: Pure Code Alternatives for 7 Unnecessary Plugins about this.

The process of embedding the Google Map on your blog page or post is very easy: After you searched for the address on Google Maps, you'll see a link on top left corner of the map that is titled "Link to this page". When you click on the link, dropdown box will offer you two options. Click on "Customize and preview embedded map" option and adjust your map size settings so that the map fits your blog page/post, copy the code and past it on your page/post within "code" tags. That is all there is to it. This is the easiest way to go if you only need a simple location map on your blog.

The same approach applies to WP iPaper plugin I talked about here. There is no need to use it at all. Get your iPaper embed code and insert it on your post/page within "code' tags. This way you can even include the document's text in embed code. Including the text of your document in the embed code will allow search engine crawlers to index the document. As Scribd explains:

This will mean people who search for relevant terms may end up at the page where you add the embed code. This will help drive more traffic to web pages where you embed the document.

Now on to another plugin I have started using:

WordPress Custom Admin Branding plugin is great if you have a blog/website you will allow others to register and use admin area to contribute. You can customize your WordPress login screen to look the way you want.

The Custom Admin Branding Plugin allows you to not only re-brand the WordPress login screen, but also the admin header and footer with your own custom images.

I rather have the total control of how my sidebars look. Although the WordPress widgets are easy to use and great time savers, they don't always work well with all the themes.

I like the Tag Cloud but I noticed that a big Tag Cloud on a sidebar does not look good. So I decided to put the Tag Cloud on a separate page:

http://blog.nonstopsites.us/tags/

Here are the instructions to do it:

If you have tons of tags and you want to display them all in one place, but not on the main page of your blog, you can create a tag archive page. Here's how.

1. Make a copy of your single.php or index.php template, and name it something like "tag-archive.php"
2. At the top of your tag archive template, insert this:
   <?php
/*
Template Name: Tag Archive
*/
?>
3. Replace everything from
   <?php if (have_posts()) : ?>
   to
   <?php endif; ?>
   (aka The Loop) with the <?php wp_tag_cloud(); ?> function. You can download a Kubrick-compatible tag archive template here.
4. Upload the new template file tag-archive.php to your theme folder.
5. Create a new page and call it something like "Tag Archives". Under Page Template in the sidebar, select the new template you created. Leave the body of the page blank, and publish it.
6. Make sure you link to the new page in your navbar or sidebar so people can find the tag archive page

Displaying Tags on a Tag Archive Page

 

Here is another tool I use and recommend:

Constant Contact for email marketing, newsletters and online surveys. It does not cost a bundle, it is easy to use and you can get started immediately. It is do-it-yourself email marketing at its best. I have been using constant contact for years now and I am impressed by their service. They have a variety of templates that are easy to use and customize. They also make it a snap to create subscription forms that you can integrate into your web site.

Constant Contact's leading email marketing and online survey tools supported by its expert personal coaching and support help all types of small businesses and organizations create professional-looking email newsletters and insightful online surveys and begin a dialogue with their customers.

The service is great to build and maintain an opt-in list for permission based email marketing. You can send eye-catching HTML email newsletters, email postcards, coupons to your clients, customers or web site visitors. There is a wealth of information available on their site.

You can try Constant Contact free.

Do-It-Yourself Email Marketing

 

Last week I had to put together a site in a few hours that would contain videos, mp3 files and a simple contact form.  Considering the lack of time I decided to use WordPress to put this site together.

Step One was to pick a theme that I can quickly make it look distinct without spending much time. I found the Options theme by Justin Tadlock was perfect for the job. I have not studied the documentation and not even using most of the options available but it was a good choice since it fit the project.

Step Two was to add some static pages. One was a location page where I wanted to use Google Maps Plugin for WordPress I mentioned here before. Unfortunately it only displayed the map as a gray rectangle. Figuring that it was due to style sheet issues and not having time to go through it, I opted to use the iframe embed of the Google Map which worked perfectly.

I also wanted to have some documents available on this site. I like scribd and the ipaper format so I went ahead and got the WP IPaper Plugin. It did not work at first. Since I really wanted to have the IPaper version of documents on this site, I decided to spend a little more time to troubleshoot which led me to discover that the plugin works only if you do not put the access key in quotes. Cool!

It is time for the videos and I realize what a hassle to embed videos in WordPress... Well, after a quick search online I came across FLV-Embed Plugin. Since I already had FLV copies of videos available this plugin was a perfect choice.

To have the mp3 files embedded, the clear choice was Audio Player WordPress Plugin.

When it came to deciding on the contact form, I quickly scanned and tried a few plugins promising to accomplish this task effortlessly. Finally I decided to use cforms II. It is easy to understand, install, use and customize. It does the job!

In less than three hours Swift299Gas.com was up and running thanks to WordPress and all these theme and plugin authors who make them available.

Here is the latest plugin I installed here: WordPress Sphere Related Content Plugin. I think it is pretty cool.

The Sphere Related Content plug-in displays an icon link at the end of your blog posts. When a reader clicks on the icon link, Sphere finds blog posts and media articles related to your content. See it in action on over 1 billion article pages on popular media sites and blogs like the WSJ, New York Times, TechCrunch and Real Clear Politics. Our plug-in works best on English language blog posts and topics that are being actively discussed in the blogosphere.

WordPress Sphere Related Content Plugin

It has the new video widget and extra options for political bloggers. Too bad Skip Dunn can't use this one since he is still blogging on nucleusCMS platform.

If you want to have the option to have your blog posts translated from one language to another, WordPress Global Translator plugin is the way to go.

Global Translator is a free and open source WordPress Plugin which is able to automatically translate your blog in the following fourteen different languages:
English, French, Italian, German, Portuguese, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Arabic, Russian, Greek, Dutch and Norwegian.

WordPress Global Translator Plugin

Microsoft has done it again!

If you enjoyed the pain of upgrading Vista get ready for another wave of pain.

A week ago I downloaded the Vista Service Pack 1 and ran the update on my Sony laptop which halted at boot. Tried the safe mode and saw crcdisk.sys as the last entry when the computer halts. A quick search about crcsisk.sys revealed that others had the same problem and some had to go through re-installing vista to fix it. Scary stuff... Luckily I had made a set of recovery disks and a quick system restore solved the problem of not being able to boot.

So I waited for Vista Service Pack Update to be delivered by Windows update. Today, after prompting I let the update go through again. Call me brave or stupid... Guess what? My laptop halted at boot with an error message about acpi.sys being corrupt which required another recovery disk repair and rolling back the update. This is ridiculous.

Here are the results of search about Vista Service Pack Problems on Yahoo. This is scary stuff.

I just can not understand this blunder by Microsoft that is called VISTA... How is it that a new OS upgrade demands more memory, more computing power, more money to get these things and runs slower? How is it that by upgrading to a new OS you end up dumping some of your peripheral hardware because there are no drivers available? How is it that when it is time to update this new OS, it halts your computer? How can a multi-billion dollar company make such a blunder?

Six months ago, it was nearly impossible to find a new computer with Windows XP. They are easier to find now. We just ordered two with XP professional loaded from DELL.  And I heard Microsoft will discontinue Windows XP. Unbelievable! I think Vista offers a great opportunity to enter the Computer OS market for a company who can put together a reliable, feature-packed, compatible linux distro. I also hear Vista runs better on MAC. How Ironic! You got Apple building computers with INTEL chips and making them capable of running Microsoft software while Microsoft trying to turn Windows into a Mac look-alike with all the useless eye candy. First thing I do with a computer loaded with Vista is to turn off all that Aero stuff.

I hope computer and hardware manufacturers start putting some pressure on Microsoft to get its act together because their tech support lines will be getting a lot of calls after this Vista Service Pack 1 start going through the Windows Update.

UPDATE Jan 9, 2009 >>>

After I re-imaged the my hard drive to the original setup, I went through the Vista Service Pack 1 update without a problem by following the instructions on Sony Support site:

When using the Windows Update utility, the installed Microsoft Hotfix KB948343 may block the installation of the Windows Vista® Service Pack 1 (SP1) update if the following drivers are also installed:

Sigmatel Audio Version 6.10.5511.0 (or earlier)
Intel Graphics Version 7.14.10.1322 - 7.14.10.1403
UPEK finger Print Version 1.9.2.99 (or earlier)

If you are experiencing this issue, you will need to download and install the Windows Vista Service Pack 1 Five Language Stand Alone KB936330 update from the Microsoft Download Center at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=b0c7136d-5ebb-413b-89c9-cb3d06d12674&DisplayLang=en.

IMPORTANT: The Windows Vista Service Pack 1 Five Language Stand Alone KB936330 file size is 434.5MB, and may take a while to download.

Incoming search terms:

• Vista Service Pack 1 Issues

Here is another plugin for WordPress I find useful:

Amazon Machine Tags Plugin for WordPress

Whenever I post on any of the blogs I have, I like to link to a book, movie, or product available at Amazon.com and relevant to what I am writing about. This is not a straightforward process. I have to open up a new browser window, login to my associates account, search for the product, create the link, copy and paste it into the post. I know of some solutions that are available to make this process easier but the plugin I started using on this blog is the easiest. All you do is to search for the product at Amazon.com get the asin and create a simple tag within brackets [ ] like this:

amtap amazon:asin=0470149469

You will need to have Amazon Web Services Access ID to make this work. If you are an Amazon Associate, your Associate ID is included automatically. The tag will be displayed as below with item information and a thumbnail image including prices:

WordPress For Dummies (For Dummies (Computers))

Matt Mullenweg (Foreword). For Dummies 2007, Paperback, 408 pages, $2.25