Most of us know about it, and not many people like it – the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA for short) is one of the most talked about pieces of law talked about in geeky circles in the past few years.  How much do you really know about it though?  Thankfully, I have found a great guide for both newbies to your digital rights and experts.

Here is just a small sample of this great DMCA takedown guide:

For the most part, that system has been used as intended. Countless DMCA notices have been filed to secure the removal of everything from illegal MP3s and movies to plagiarized poems. However, the system has also been abused at times and mistakes have been made in other cases.

Given how important this process has become, it is crucial for bloggers, Webmasters, hosts and anyone who posts content online to understand how the procedure works so they can both take advantage of it to protect their own work, if needed, and be prepared to answer any claims that are filed against them.

Be sure to check out the rest of this fantastic write-up over at brainz.org.  Well worth checking out for any webmaster out there.

Configure the Basic Options

First, login to your WordPress admin interface and click on Options > General and setup the General Options. Need to check and make sure your blog title and your addresses are correct. Next go to Options > Discussions and edit your comment and trackback settings. I like to make sure I get e-mailed when anybody leaves a comments, and I like for comments to be filtered through me before they get posted. With the plugins I’ll give you in a few hopefully we will get rid of the need for you to moderate too many.

Grab Your “Must Have” WordPress Plugins

Here are the WordPress plugins I like to use on the basic install of any WordPress powered site:

• Subscribe To Comments
• RSS Feed Signature
• Smart Archives
• Google XML Sitemaps
• Comment Timeout
• Akismet
• All in One SEO Pack

Update Your Permalinks for SEO Friendliness

Now you need to go back into Options > Permalinks and choose the Date and name based option then hit the Update Permalink Structure button. If your .htaccess file is set to be writable, then it should update it automatically. If not, then you can copy and paste the permalink code from WordPress into your .htaccess file.

Past this point, you may want to go check the rest of your settings, add a blogroll and configure your theme. I think I have gotten most of the important steps out of the way. If you stumble into any problems always remember to go check WordPress.org. They have tons of information on installs, backing up, upgrading and more.

Greasemonkey Scripts for Google Calendar

• Add Google Calendar to Gmail
• Google Calendar Show Week
• Force Secure Connections
• Fully Maximize Google Calendar with F12 Toggle
• Google Calendar Header and Navigation Switcher
• Optimize Google Calendar
• Google Calendar – colorize Sat/Sun (start on Sun)
• Textwrap Events
• Google Calendar (“Slate Series”) theme
• Scroll Through Calendar with Mouse Wheel

Sync Google Calendar with Other Calendars

• Incorporate Google Calendar Into Outlook
• Stay in Sync with GCal and Thunderbird
• Get Google Calendar to Sync with Windows Calendar
• Get Apple iCal and Google Calendar to Sync

Add Google Calendar to your Start Page or Web Site

• Add Google Calendar to iGoogle
• Add Google Calendar to Netvibes
• Add Google Calendar to Pageflakes
• Add a Public Calendar to Your Web Site

Extra Tips and Tricks for Google Calendar

• Add Calendar Information to a Map
• Google Calendar as a Todo List
• The Firefox Extention, Better GCal
• Get Remember the Milk into Google Calendar
• Google Calendar in Your Sidebar (iPhone Version)
• Google Calendar in Your Sidebar (iGoogle Version)

If you know of anymore or have your own awesome tip list be sure to share. I always love adding a little ‘bit more to any online or offline application to get a little more use out of it – and I have to say Google and the other brilliant minds out there make that an easy thing to do.

Running from Live CD or Full Install

Last week, I had downloaded the ISO file, burned it to a CD with DeepBurner and was preparing to install Ubuntu on my hard drive. Before we go much further, let me tell you that you can run Ubuntu right from the CD. That’s right! You can run it and all it’s programs right off the CD. It’s called a Live CD and this way you can check out Ubuntu without installing it. Now, you won’t be able to save anything as it’s a live CD and is read only. You would have to install it to do any of that but, the Live CD will give you the opportunity to see what all Ubuntu has to offer. It tends to run quite a bit slower than an actual installation so don’t let that influence your decision.

My installation went so smooth that I was left wondering why I hadn’t tried this before. As Ubuntu runs through the pre-installation process, it asks you questions like what time zone you’re in (it does this in a general way as my time zone was selected by way of Mexico which is CDT), keyboard preferences, language, and eventually, you get to the part where you get to decide where to install Ubuntu and how.

This can be frustrating to some as your average user (like me) normally wouldn’t have a clue as to what partition to install Ubuntu to. This is easily overcome because Ubuntu gives you several choices on how to install it. I chose to install it to my second hard drive and clicked next. The next screen allows you to review your choices and if they’re good to go, click install.

Taking Your First Steps Into Ubuntu

Now, because I still wanted to keep Windows due to the many apps/programs/files/junk that I had accumulated over the years I was a bit nervous by this point. Remember, I was a first-timer at this too at this point. Well, my fears were totally unfounded as Ubuntu recognized my other hard drive with Windows and asked for logon credentials to be able to access it. Sweet! Dual boot plus access right from the Ubuntu Desktop! Can it get any better than this? Oh yes…read on!

After the installation process completes, you remove the CD (it tells you to as it needs to reboot now) and when Ubuntu boots back up, you’re greeted by your new desktop. Right about then you’re presented by a notification that you need to update your new installation with around 148 updated files, apps and so forth. Just click the icon and follow the prompts. After it finishes you may need to reboot once more.

Now is where you see that you have a wonderful new desktop that is secure (no viruses to be concerned about, no malware), many apps to check out like Open Office (a M/S Word/Excel/Powerpoint substitute), Firefox (much better than M/S Internet Explorer), Evolution (a replacement for M/S Outlook) and many more apps and programs that are real similar to their paid for counterparts that run on Windows but are installed free on your new operating system.

Ubuntu Linux Resources

This site has an excellent tutorial on installing Ubuntu 7.04, although you don’t need to install all the apps/software that he does unless you just want to. Keep in mind that you can access your Windows drive from Ubuntu anytime you want plus having the option to boot into Windows can’t be beat.

These next sites address some neat information for those who want to know more about Ubuntu:

• Ubuntu Linux Resources
• Installing Software in Linux
• UbuntuLinux.org

Now considering I was new to all this Linux stuff and was a bit unsure what to expect, I was impressed by the ease with which Ubuntu installs, updates, and operates. It’s so easy you’ll feel comfortable in no time. As a matter of fact, I’ve rarely booted into Windows at all in weeks! That’s just how impressed and at ease I am with Ubuntu now. That speaks volumes!

Next week I’ll go over some neat apps that Ubuntu has to offer that Windows also has. Call it a comparison or battle royale between the two operating systems. Either way, I think you’ll find it interesting.

Article by Scott Wilson – Scott has been involved with PC’s, operating systems and web development for around 6 years. Once he figured out how to turn a computer on he’s never been quite able to turn it back off again. He’s been continually adding to a weblog to help pass on information relating to the world wide web. You can find out more about Scott and his work at MerlinsMinute.com.

• What is Mozilla Firefox?
• How Do I Download Firefox?
• Why Should I Switch to Firefox?
• What Are Firefox Extensions?
• What Are Firefox Themes?
• Can I Customize Firefox’s Toolbars?
• How Can I Manage My Firefox Bookmarks?
• How Does Firefox Handle RSS Feeds?
• Firefox Keyboard Shortcuts to Remember
• What is the Firefox Search Box?

Know of any other topics that you would like to see me cover? Drop me an E-mail and let me know.

With that said – I figured I’d share with the masses the week long guide that we got published over there in hopes that it helps somebody else out there with getting WordPress installed and configured right.

• How to Find the Right Web Host for Blogging
• Tips on How to Pick the Right CMS for You
• The Fun of Installing WordPress by Hand
• A Few Post Installation WordPress Configurations
• WordPress Themes and Plugins – Get Them Going

If you want to listen to the entire show or save the mp3 to listen to later – you can download it and listen to it over at WebHostingShow.com.

I don’t know by how much I have grown as a writer in that time – I like to think there has been a little leap in quality and class. I’ll let you be the judge of that though. Still relevant even after all these years – here are a few of my very first posts for this blog right here.

• What is Virtual, Reseller and Dedicated Hosting?
• What is Web Hosting?
• What is a Sub Domain?

Many of these made there way in one way, shape or form into Lockergnome’s Guide to Web Hosting. I’m really starting to get the itch to do another self-help book about the hosting industry – just need to find the time to get it all written.

In comparison with what I know now with what I knew then I think I could help even more people out. What do you think?

First thing you need to do is point your browser towards Yahoo! Pipes and click on “Create a Pipe”. After doing that you will see a big confusing interface you can not make heads or tails from. Don’t worry. Just click on “Fetch Feed” and drag it over to your right (onto the grid).

Next you will want to click on the “+” graphic next to URL to add more feeds to the list. Click it once for every feed you would like to group together as one.

After that, you will need to sort your mega feed by date, so it looks like a regular ol’ RSS feed. To do that, click on “Operators” on the left sidebar and then drag and drop “Sort” onto the grid. Don’t worry if this looks messy, you don’t get any points for making it look nice yet.

On the box that says “Sort” you are going to want to select “Publication Date” on the drop down box. In the next drop down box you see (to the right of the first one) you need to select “descending” as the order you would like your feed to be displayed. That will cause all of the newest entries on your feed to be displayed at the top.

Next, you see that little circle under each of the boxes you have created? You need to connect them all together so they will work as one. Start with the “Feed Fetch” box. Drag the little circle down to down to the top of “Sort”. If you did it correctly you should see a blue line connecting the two now. Next click on the circle under “Sort” and connect it to the circle on top of “Pipe Output”.

Your almost done! In the upper right corner you should see a button that says “Publish”. Click that. A new box will come up and give you a lot of information to fill out about your feed. You can name it, put a description and some keywords. After doing that, click “Publish” at the bottom of that box.

Now click on the link that says “Back to My Pipes”. If everything was done correctly you should now see your newly created pipe listed there. Click on the name of your pipe and you can see a lot of information about it. The next thing you want to do is hit the “Run this Pipe” link.

Now you should see a Web page representation of your mega feed. Click on the link that says “Subscribe” and you will be given a list of options to choose from. There are a great number of ways you can keep up to date with this feed.

The one you pick is up to you. Here is the final product for the mega ego feed that I created! Neat, hu?

So now you have your own egotistical RSS feed to keep track of all of your different posts to all these different places. Even if you don’t have as many blogs or write at as many places as I do – you can still make use of this tool. You could combine your del.icio.us links and your Flickr feeds to keep track of your favorite links and photos. You could get the RSS feeds for all your friends’ blogs on MySpace and make one feed to track them all. The only limit is needing an RSS feed and your imagination.

+ Now Learn How To Plug That UGLY Feed Address Into FeedBurner!

On the other hand though, Firefox is a “stupider” browser (no offense to my Mozilla friends) so it is harder for deviants out there to get it to do their evil deeds.

No matter if you like Firefox or not, you have to admit there are a lot of great extensions out there that can make your browsing a lot safer. Nothing beats common sense, but having some of these extensions installed should be a good first line of defense.

NoScript

For those folks out there who are extra suspicious about the browsing they do Online, and want to really be safe – picking up NoScript might be a good idea. Once you install this, no JavaScript or Java will be able to run via a Web site without getting your permission first.

Stealther

Do you like to pretend that you are a super secret spy when browing the Web? Maybe you just don’t want that nosy brother or sister looking in on what you have been doing. No matter the situation, if you want to stay secret – the Stealther Firefox extension is for you.

McAfee SiteAdvisor

You can think of SiteAdvisor as a good second opinion when you are browsing the Web. You know, the kind of second opinion you ask for when you go to the doctor after he tells you your leg is about to fall off. This makes staying away from the “bad” areas of the Web a lot easier to do. I just wish they would make that damn button a little smaller in the status bar.

WOT

We all like to stay clear of things that might be bad for us Online. McAfee’s SiteAdvisor has done a great job in filtering the Web and letting us know what is safe and what might not be so safe. Is there an alternative out there though? Yes there is, and the name of it is WOT. Think of it as an alternative to what SiteAdvisor does.

PhishTank SiteChecker

This extension allows you to use the power of PhishTank to make your browsing experiance a little safer. It does a really good job at blocking you from visiting Web sites that have been known to be a hazard for other Internet visitors as well. If you wish to, you can choose to visit the link anyways or you can learn more about why it might be a good idea if you avoid it.

Foxy Proxy

Now I am not afraid to mention that this whole proxy switching thing never made too much sense to me. Then again, I never feel the need to be sneaky or need to get around anywhere to get my browsing done. For those of you who do feel sneaky or need a work around to browse, I have found the perfect companion for your Firefox browser. FoxyProxy is the way to go.

Fire Encrypter

Want Firefox to help you encrypt your secret files and documents? Maybe you just want to learn more about the encryption process? No matter which camp you fall into, the Fire Encrypter Firefox extension is for you. It brings the top secret world of encryption right into your favorite little browser.

CookieCuller

Want more control over your cookies? No, I’m not talking about the ones your grandmother loves to shove down your throat – I am talking about the ones that involve your browser. The Firefox extension CookieCuller gives you total control over which cookies stay on your computer by letting you protect cookies of your choice while automatically deleting the rest.

TrackMeNot

With all this talk about your privacy being attacked and people snooping on what you have been searching about, you are bound to feel a little paranoid. You might be watching over your shoulder as you type. You might be turning the lights out before you get Online. How can you protect yourself from being tracked in your searches though? If you use Firefox, you need the TrackMeNot extension.

Have another extension you think should be mentioned? Leave a comment and share it with us all.

Now first things first, what is ecommerce? Ecommerce is the conducting of commerce with goods and services over the Internet. It includes: consumers using the Internet to purchase goods and services online; as well as businesses selling and communicating with other businesses through the Internet.

There are a lot of “Mom and Pop” stores all over the world that want to get their goods and services Online. How do they do it? Well there are a few things that Joe is going to need.

Topics Covered on this Web Hosting Show – Special Edition Podcast:

1. What to Look for in Getting a Domain Name
2. Picking the Right “Ecommerce Friendly” Web Hosting Company
3. Finding Shopping Cart/Online Store Software
4. Dedicated IP Address – Need it or Not?
5. SSL Certificates and Credit Card Processors

What are you waiting for? You know you want to tune in, listen and learn!

+ Download and Listen to the Web Hosting Show, Episode 93!