July 03, 2008 | TrackBacks: (0)

The 10 days of Vista

Last week I decided to build a high-powered Vista workstation and give it a go for the first time in almost a year and a half. I was genuinely surprised that I actually enjoyed the experience. In fact, though I've largely gone back to my Mac and Linux laptops and workstations, I do use RDC to the Vista system for those times when I need Windows. My XP installation has laid dormant for ten days now, and I don't think it'll be coming back. That said, it hasn't been all wine and roses. Vista refuses to properly suspend the system,... more

TAGS: Gear, Systems

July 01, 2008

Why the iPhone isn't for me

To preface, I've used iPhones and I have an iPod Touch that I use constantly. I love the interface, and I dig the device. Initially, I had to resist the urge to just buy an iPhone and deal with these problems, but I didn't, opting to get a Nokia N95 instead. A year has passed, and I've realized that I definitely made the right choice -- the limitations of the original iPhone (and the iPhone 2.0) are simply too numerous. Perhaps I've been spoiled by my N95 (and truth be told, I'll be getting an N96 in the next few... more

TAGS: Gear

July 01, 2008

Google speaks, sort of

A day after I posted the last update in this sorry saga, Google deigned to communicate with me: Hello, Thanks for providing us with additional information. However, after thoroughly reviewing your account data and taking your feedback into consideration, we've re-confirmed that your account poses a significant risk to our advertisers. For this reason, we're unable to reinstate your account. Thank you for your understanding. As a reminder, if you have any questions about your account or the actions we've taken, please do not reply to this email. You can find more information by visiting https://www.google.com/adsense/support/bin/answer.py?answer=57153. Sincerely, The Google AdSense... more

TAGS: Other stuff, Problems, Web dev

June 30, 2008

Google's response, or lack thereof

It's been 18 days since Google decided to disable my AdSense account. Having no Earthly idea why they did this, I've followed their instructions and filled out all the forms, wondered aloud about why they might have done this, and postulated that it might be stupidly simple for anyone to cause this to happen to others. It's all been for naught, I'm afraid. Although the dispute form I filled out claimed a 48-hour response time, I've heard nothing from them. I gave them my phone number, email address, carrier pigeon route ID... everything I could think of -- but nary... more

TAGS: Other stuff, Problems, Web dev

June 25, 2008 | TrackBacks: (0)

Vista once more

It's been quite awhile since I actually spent some time in front of a Vista system. About a year and a half, actually. The other day, I decided to give it a go once more, and this time, in style. I'm spending the week foregoing my normal Linux and Mac workstations and laptops in favor of a Vista Ultimate system. Back in February 2007 I found some problems, but I didn't hate Vista. I find that now, I'm actually enjoying Vista. I'm sure this revelation will come with some form of pestilence, dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria, and... more

TAGS: Systems

June 19, 2008 | TrackBacks: (0)

Musings on AdSense and DoS attacks

So 72 hours have elapsed since I contacted Google about the abrupt suspension of my AdSense account, with no response. I've gone through the logs on the servers that run the three sites I had AdSense ads on, and the statistics are underwhelming. Two of those sites have had a few hundred visits this month combined, and the third isn't much farther ahead. There was nothing suspicious in any of the logs (and remember, I use Google Analytics for all these sites, so they know this as well). I used those ads to defray the cost of hosting those sites.... more

TAGS: Problems, Web dev

June 18, 2008 | TrackBacks: (0)

Do no evil, continued

So it's been six days since Google disabled my AdSense account without warning, and 48 hours since I filled out their response form. I've heard nothing from them in that time. Based on a comment on my original post, I started digging around to see what other folks were running into, and found adsenseaccountdisabled.org, a site that has some more information on these occurrences, and forums for those that have been hit by it. Apparently, based on the text of the email I received, I've been flagged for violating their T&C for landing pages. Of course, this is all news... more

TAGS: Other stuff, Problems, Web dev

June 16, 2008 | TrackBacks: (0)

Do no evil?

Like many, many folks the world over, I've taken to using Google as my one-stop shop for Web elements. Ads through AdSense, advertising through AdWords, and analytics through Google Analytics. The tools are very well designed, fast, and provide just about everything I need for the small collection of sites that collectively handle maybe a few thousand hits a day. In fact, just two weeks ago, I received my first check from Google for $124 -- representing over a year of their ads displayed on my low-traffic sites. So imagine my surprise when my account was disabled last Thursday.... more

TAGS: Other stuff, Problems, Web dev

June 08, 2008 | TrackBacks: (0)

It's way too early for this...

My nifty plan of a sleep-in Sunday morning was destroyed by the puppy, unfortunately, leading me to traipse around the neighborhood with bedhead, Birkenstocks, and a bathrobe at 7am. So much for that. Once I had corralled the dog, I came back in to grab a cup of coffee, and check my email. I found a love note from Microsoft Live/Hotmail, informing me that they had rejected a legitimate email from me to a Hotmail recipient for policy reasons. I suppose this is a better reaction than simply eating the email and not telling anyone, but barely. Their SMTP 5.1.1... more

TAGS: Life, the Universe and Everything, Problems