It’s simple enough to be used by even the most technology challenged person who love to Blog and wold like to add Google Analytics to their Blog.

Copy paste this URL into your Browser’s address bar:

http://yoast.com/wordpress/google-analytics/#utm_source=wordpress&utm_medium=plugin&utm_campaign=google-analytics-for-wordpress

Navigate across to the website and download the Google Analytics plugin to the desktop.

Next login to your Wordpress Blog admin section
Generally the URL is: http://< Your Blogs URL goes here >/wp-admin

This is my Wordpress Admin page, you may have an Admin page that looks slightly different but the functionality of the page should be identical.

Locate the Plugins link in this page and Click it

A drop down list of choices appears from them selecct “Add New”. This informs Wordpress admin that you wish to install a new plugin to your Wordpress Blog.

On Click of the link Add New, a form is displayed in the Browser via which a plugin can be installed into your Wordpress Blog

Click the Search Plugin’s button. Navigate via the file Browser that pops up to where the Google Analytics plugin was download (i.e. Your Desktop)

Double Click on the plugin’s .zip file when located. This will begin the plugin upload automatically.

In a minute or two the Successful Plugin Message should be displayed in your Browser

This means the Google Analytics plugin has been successfully installed into your Wordpress engine

Google Analytics plugin configuration

Locate the Google Analytics plugin in the Settings section of the Dashboard page

Click the link Google Analytics

The Google Analytics plugin setup page will be displayed in your Browser

Simply Add the Google Analytics UID which you got when you registered the Blog with Google. You do not have to do anything else.

Simply Click the Update Google Analytics Settings and your Done. Google Analytics has been setup for your Blog

Easy as pie.

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I’ve designed, coded, tested and debugged various commercial applications, generally delivered over an Ethernet backbone, but now increasingly being delivered over the Internet.  I’ve enjoyed all I’ve done so far from the very successful applications to the occasional application that has flopped dramatically for one reason or the other.

I’ve had a web presence seemingly forever.  I never took my web presence seriously earlier, but now I’m looking at leveraging  this to generate niche revenues for myself.  I’m convinced its possible and the entrepreneur in me has kicked in strongly.

Prior my desire to stream money via the Internet, I’d never looked at Search Engine Optimization  (or Search Engine Marketing) seriously.  I’d got several quotations from different service providers all willing to do SEO for my Website and Blog for a price, and some of the prices I got quoted took my breath away (which perhaps triggered my curiosity and entrepreneurial spirit).  Hence, I began my journey of discovery of SEO.

What a journey it is (the journey is not over yet).  I’ve never had so much amazing (much of it seemingly either black magic or pure B.S.) thrown at me during any journey of SEO discovery and I’ve made quite a few of these in my technical odyssey which is till date ‘Work in Progress’.

That was until I met two young people Sandeep and Priyanka.  Together they run the SEO Training Institute at Mumbai and I count myself very lucky to have met them.  They gave me the low down on SEO and introduced me to SEM using a simple, easy to understand  approach.  Sandeep’s mobile number is +919769123589 and Priyanka’s mobile number is +919920045488. Do give them a call if you are in a similar situation as I am.  They taught me well and I’m plugging them openly in this post.

Sandeep and Priyanka are not the only thing that happened to me in SEO, I discovered the Keyword Position Monitoring Report Service and I discovered the KPMRS blog.

The KPMRS blog is truly amazing. It delivers a ton of very valuable SEO information using simple, easy to read, language.  There’s nothing shrouded in mystery in any of the posts on this blog.  The blogger’s passion, skill and in-depth comprehension of the subject is immediately visible.  I really want to share this gem with anyone who reads this post.

Do go over to the KPMRS Blog and read. You’ll be happy that you did.  I’m steadily growing my knowledge and skill in SEO simply using this one resource.  Once I’m done I’m going to apply all the knowledge I’ve gained to move my website and Blog upwards in search engine pages (not that they are doing too badly now).

I’m totally confident I can and I will.

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Step 1: Change the default password.

Each router comes with a default Login ID and Password.  Normally the routers default Login ID is ‘Admin’ and the Password is ‘Password’.  Pretty original don’t you think?  Anyways, the first step in securing your WLAN, is in changing the Admin password to any other strong password.  A strong password is one that is at least 10 characters long and contains a mix of upper case and lower case alphabets, numbers and special characters.  Eg. Ivn!12;rOss

Step 2: Change the router’s default ip

Each router is assigned a default ip address which normally is 192.168.0.1.  When setting up the router change this ip to any other ip.  You can stay within the series, such as 192.168.0.XXX i.e. the last value should be changed to anything you like form a single digit to three digits.

Step 3: Disable the router’s DHCP service.

DHCP enables remote computers to connect to the router and obtain an ip address assigned by the router.  As far as is possible assign static ip’s to all the computers on your network.  If you need to have DHCP to make life easier for you  then restrict the number of computers on your network by limiting the number of DHCP ip addresses that the router can create to 5 from its default of 50 assuming of course that you only have 5 computers connecting to your network.

Step 4: Restrict the network mode.

If you computer can use WiFI ‘N‘ or ‘B/G‘ restrict the router to use any one network mode only. This can help prevent some computers from automatically joining your network. While this is not 100% effective it can help deter the casual snooper, especially if you use the newer ‘N‘ standard.

Step 5: Change the router’s default SSID.

The SSID is the name of the network.  This often reveals the name of the house or office from where the WiFi signal is coming which can allow hackers to zero on your physical location. Change the SSID to a random name.

Even better is disabling the SSID broadcast altogether. This makes your WiFi router invisible to laptops and cell phones which automatically scan for WiFi hotspots.  Hopefully, if hackers do not even know that your network exists they will not bother to break in. This is just common sense, prevention is much better than cure so to speak.

Your computers and cell phones that need to access your WLAN can be passed the SSID of the router manually when they are being setup so they can communicate with the router and connect to the WLAN.

Step 6: Opt for WPA2 or PSK security instead of WEP.

WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) keys can be cracked relatively easily hence opt for WPA (WiFi Protected Access) which uses 64 bit or 128 bit encryption.  PSK’s are Pre-Shared keys which provide stronger security than WEP or WPA.  The encrypted key is shared by the router and your WiFi devices.

Step 7: Enable the router’s MAC filter.

Enable MAC (Media Access Control) address filtering to restrict or authenticate a particular computer on the network. A MAC address is a unique physical address assigned to a network card to uniquely identify the network card.  No two network cards have the same MAC address anywhere in the world.  (Pretty amazing isn’t it ?). The  can use the network card’s MAC address to authenticate it.

If any unregistered computer tries to join the network, i.e. a computer who’s MAC address has not been manually registered with the router, it will simply be prevented from doing so.

Step 8: Use the router’s firewall.

Enable the router’s firewall if it has this feature. Usually router’s use SPI (Stateful Packet Inspection) which reviews the packets of data entering your network.

If the router has an Internet filter enable this too. Enabling the Internet filter rejects anonymous Internet requests and keeps your network from being pinged.

Step 9: Disable remote administration

This maybe a great convenience if you are constantly administering the router / network from afar but this is an excellent window of opportunity for hackers.  If you have to use remote administration keep this facility ‘On’ only for the period of time that its essential to have.

Step 10: Switch of the router when not in use.

This may sound a bit silly, but is quite sensible.  If the router is not used at night switch it off.  If you are going out on holiday switch it off.

Step 11: Disconnect the Internet when not needed.

If you do not need to be connected to the Internet constantly, simply unplug the ISP’s connection to the router.  The network will still work but it will isolated from all potential hacking.

Step 12: Position the wireless router carefully.  Place it in the center of your room or office.  The WiFi router broadcasts like a sphere with the strongest signal at the router location.

Hence, the signal strength of the router will be the weakest at the circumference of the sphere.  This could help prevent the router from being accessed by the neighbours or from the street outside.

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Post tags: new ip, Securing, Securing your WLAN, WiFi, WLAN

Today computers are a widely used business tool, there are literally millions of computer users. Almost all businesses use computers in some form or another to make them productive and help them succeed in a competitive world.

Computer based, business applications must be designed to fit specific business models. Such applications, definitely bring a measurable return on investment to the business in which they are run. Banking, Accounting, Inventory, Management Information System, Knowledge Management Systems and so on are examples of everyday business applications being run on computers.

All applications can be distilled down to two unique sections. The first section captures information and the second section stores such captured information.

In the business world, there are two types of people those who create business applications and those who use these business applications.

Strangely, it appears that these two types of people come from two totally different worlds. Quite like the catch phrase “Women are from Venus and Men are from Mars”. Yet one cannot do with out the other.

Techies, as the application developers like to call themselves seem to have little or no understanding about people who actually use their applications. They are always of the opinion that whatever they create is just perfect and must be used without compliant. Whereas, users of commercial applications always seem to be cribbing that the application never quite takes their needs into account.

To help bridge this gap I’ve listed a few principles of Graphical User Interface design I’ve used, which seems to have always (more or less) resulted in satisfied ‘Users’.

The principles of User Interface design:

Consistency:
Things that work one way in one part of the application should work exactly the same way in other parts as well. This allows users to learn something once, then apply that knowledge again and again as they use the application. This really allows users to get comfortable with an application quickly.

Consistency between programs, is just as important as consistency within a program. No matter how important the program is, it will not be the only one that your customers are using. If every other program uses a certain key combination to trigger the ‘Save’ command, it’s a bad idea to use that combination to mean ‘Send Email’ in your application. Even if your program might be made slightly better by having, key combinations behave in a nonstandard manner, it’s guaranteed to drive your users crazy. If they have any kind of choice, it will also drive them to a competitor’s product.

Aesthetic integrity:
There’s an old saying that says when a man wears a bad suit, people notice the suit. When he wears a good suit , they notice the man. The same goes for interface design . A good design is understated and lets the user concentrate on the information being presented. Bad designs use loud graphics, overly gray, carved backgrounds, and other fashionable ornaments that are just there because the designer thought they looked cool.

Some designers even go so far as to change the look of standard interfaces elements like buttons and scrollbars. This really confuses users, since they assume that the change must have been done for a reason, and they’ll actually put their own rules for how these revised elements differ from the standard ones. It seldom occurs to users that the only reason you made them look different is that you got bored with the regular ones.

See-and-point, not remember-and-type:
Computers are good at remembering things likes codes, command names, and lists of data. Humans are generally terrible at it. Instead of making users remember and type this sort of data, the computer should always give them a list of valid possibilities and let them choose from it. Not only will the users’ anxiety level drop, but the programmers are spared having to handle all the error conditions, that arise when users guess wrong.

Direct manipulation:
Good Graphical User Interfaces (GUI’s) allow their users to feel as if they are directly controlling a little world inside the computer. Instead of having to learn an abstract set of command words, they can just grab the things they want to work on using the mouse and interact with them directly. Want to delete a document? Drag and drop it on the trashcan icon. Want to move a file from one directory to another? Just grab the file icon and move it to the folder it should be in.

This sort of direct manipulation is the real strength of graphical user interfaces. Instead of memorizing commands and parameters, users are able to learn the behaviors of a few simple interface objects like folders or buttons then apply that knowledge in different situations.

Perceived Stability:
Even if your program thinks it knows what’s best for a user, keep in mind that users are the ones in control, and that no change in their environment should happen without their knowledge and permission. Hence, maintain stability throughout.

Metaphors from the real world:
Sometimes it’s possible to get users comfortable with something in your computer world by equating it to something they already know about from the real world. This is not so much a general principle as it is a really good trick for making an interface understandable to newcomers.

Most graphical user interfaces, for instance, represent hierarchical disk directories as folders. The idea is that since users know how to use folders in the real world (they can put things in them, give them names, put them inside other folders, and so on), they will have an idea of how to use folders when they see them on a computer VDU.

Other metaphors in common use includes various brushes in paint programs, in boxes for mail systems, and even the all purpose Thrash can. Naturally, there are some limits to the use of metaphors, they cannot be used at all in command-line interfaces, but when they can be used properly, they can be very effective.

WYSIWYG:
What You See Is What You Get.
Documents on screen should match what they will look like when they are printed. In the old days, word processors often used command characters for font changes, such as control b This is a bold phrase control b, which became This is a bold phrase when printed. This is not WYSIWYG.

Feedback and Dialog:
Good programs never keep the user guessing. They react immediately when users perform an action, such as clicking a button. If something is going to take a long time to process, the computer should keep the user informed about not only what it’s doing, but how long it’s expected to take.

The quality of user feedback a program provides and the user’s blood pressure level is directly related. If the user clicks on a button and your program does not respond in some way within half a second, the user starts getting nervous. One study showed that when the computer failed to visibly respond to a button click, it took just 8.5 seconds for half of the participants to assume the machine was hung and press the restart switch.

Forgiveness:
Humans make mistakes. Good programs allow for this by letting them undo their last action, or even revert to a previous version of the document. If users are about to perform some potentially damaging action from which there is no going back, the computer should inform them of the danger and ask whether they want to proceed.

User Control:
No matter what, the user must be the one in control at all times. Nothing destroys a user’s peace of mind faster than having the computer appear to be taking over some action. Want to generate a few thousand letters and dozens of negative magazine columns? All it took was the rumor that Windows 95 contained a runaway agent would sniff out and report all the software on a user’s system and report it back to Microsoft. Think about this before you design any sort of system, agent or wizard that attempts to put anyone other than the user in control.

These 10 principles of user interface design guide are well known to most anyone who’s ever read an interface design guide. They bear repeating here since they’re probably the most important things to keep in mind when it comes to giving your product a good human interface. Just like those other 10 commandments, the G.U.I. world would be a better place if more folks lived with them in mind.

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Post tags: Aesthetic integrity, Consistency, Direct manipulation, WYSIWYG

Prior installing Apache it’s necessary to get its executable from:

Apache.org

On entering the URL into the Browser’s address bar and clicking Go or pressing the Enter key the page as shown in diagram 1 will be rendered in the Browser.

Diagram 1.

When Apache’s home page loads take a look at its right hand side and locate the link HTTP Server. On click of the HTTP server link the page as shown in diagram 2 is rendered in the Browser.

Diagram 2.

Locate the Download link in the Apache 2.X.X Released as shown in diagram 2. On click of this link the page as shown in diagram 3 is rendered in the Browser.

Diagram 3.

From the Win32Source select the Apache binary that you desire. The choices available are expanded briefly in table 1.

Choices available for Apache Binaries:

Table 1.

Any of the above binaries will load successfully on Windows XP. If you want to play only with Apache then the Win 32 source should be just fine, i.e. option 1.

If you want to play with Apache and use SSL then choose Win32 Binary including OpenSSL 0.9.8h (MSI Installer) i.e. option 2

I am using Firefox as my Browser of choice, hence On click of either option 1 or 2 the file download window pops up as shown in diagram 3.

Diagram 4.

Click the File Save button and save the Apache binary chosen to an appropriate subdirectory on the hard disk.
For example c:\webserver.

Installing Apache:

Navigate to the previously created folder (c:\webserver) and double click the Apache executable file in that folder. This will start the installation of Apache web server on the computer. Simply follow the instructions shown by the installer:

The first screen that renders in the Browser On click of Apache’s executable is as shown in diagram 5.

Diagram 5.

Click Next

Select ‘I accept terms in the license agreement’ radio button as shown in diagram 6. Click Next.

Diagram 6.

Click Next.

The screen as shown in diagram 7 renders in the Browser.

Diagram 7.

Click Next. The screen as shown in diagram 8 renders in the Browser

Diagram 8.

In the Network Domain text box type in localhost

In the Server Name text box type in localhost

In the Administrators Email Address text box type in a legitimate Email address to which Apache can send messages to. We’ve used info@localhost. We have a mail box on the hosting server with the same name. Click Next. The screen as shown in diagram 9 is rendered in the Browser.

Diagram 9.

Select Custom and click Next. The screen as shown in diagram 10 is rendered in the Browser

Diagram 10.

Because we want our server to be installed in c:\webserver click Change to change inform Apache’s installer where you want Apache’s installation to be done. The screen as shown in diagram 11 is rendered in the Browser.

Diagram 11.

Navigate to C:\webserver and then click OK. The screen as shown in diagram 12 is rendered in the Browser. Click Next.

Diagram 12.

Apache’s installer has collected all the information it needs to successfully install Apache on the computer. Click Next to begin the Apache’s install process. After the install process completes the screen as shown in diagram 13 is rendered in the Browser indicating that Apache has been successfully installed on the computer.

Diagram 13.

Click Finish to complete Apache’s install process. You should notice a small icon in the system tray as shown in diagram 14.

Diagram 14.

Testing Apache’s Installation

Type in the URL http://localhost in the Browser’s address bar and press Go or Enter. The screen as shown in diagram 15 should render in the Browser indicating that Apache has been installed correctly.

Diagram 15.

Apache has been installed successfully and is running perfectly on your computer

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Post tags: .msi, Apache home, Apache install tutorial, Apache URL, Download Apache, Install Apache

I think that all employers recognize that a certain amount of turnover is beneficial, for example letting deadwood go, but a high rate of attrition does have a negative impact on the company.  Especially on the morale of those employees, who for whatever reason choose to stay.

Sometimes I believe that entrepreneur’s are so involved in ‘growing’ their business that they ignore visible signs of employee unrest. When scaling a business upwards I can actually empathize with this having done exactly this myself.  Until one day, much to my surprise (and horror) a small group of my best employees came to me and told me that they were moving on. I learned a valuable lesson about employees that day.

Frankly, I think I had forgotten that employees are people and needed to be treated as such.  I had been so engrossed in business growth that I had become a pretty unlikeable person.

After listening closely to what my employees had to say that fateful day, I learned that its necessary to spend a few minutes of everyday verbally appreciating what people had done.  Something that had not crossed my mind, quite simply because no one spent a few minutes of any day appreciating what I had done to grow the my company on that day.   Every one expected me to do what I had to do, period.  While I had to appreciate what others did.

This was one valuable lesson I learned that day.

Oh! another lesson I learned was that it pays handsomely to – ‘Shut up and Listen’.  I still use this to my absolute benefit with both  employee’s and client’s.

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Post tags: efficient, employee retention, experienced, Listening, trained

MySQL is an industrial strength RDBMS that is my data store of choice.

Everything that Oracle or SQL Server can do, MySQL can do better and at a fraction of the cost of transaction when compared to either Oracle or SQL Server.

The installation process of MySQL on a Linux (or M.S. Windows) server is a breeze when compared to the installation process of most other RDBMS engines.

Plenty of help is available from people who actually care as compared to people who are paid a salary to help. An amazing difference when experienced.

I recommend MySQL to anyone who wants to build a commercial application, run using a Browser and delivered via an Intranet or the Internet.

Do give MySQL a shot, I’m sure you won’t regret you tried it and then migrated to it as your data store of choice.

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Post tags: Ease of use, Industrial strength RDBMS, Installing, MySQL

For example, If a bug has to be fixed or some functionality changed, added or deleted how is an impact analysis across application modules done in the absence of or with inadequate application documentation.

Most of the clients I’ve encountered have been documentation averse.  The reaction I’ve always got initially is that documentation time is better spent in coding, testing and delivering the application. Somehow it appears that only when the client ‘Sees’ something happening on a computer screen, that is married to their application that the man hour rate they are paying is justifiable.

I have to patiently spend some of my time explaining to clients why application documentation is so important.  Often after I’ve done this, the client is still not convinced that the money paid out in man hours consumed in documenting a project is money well spent but most will grudgingly permit me to have my way.

Its only when a sudden, unplanned application change has to be carried out and this is executed almost painlessly because of a thorough impact analysis that the importance of proper application documentation dawns on them.

Regretfully, this is all to often opaque to a client.  Hence, after our tech team has carried out such a change, and the change have not given rise to associated bugs or other modules to stop working or work incorrectly, I do a presentation on how the change was done almost effortlessly and correctly.

Do you believe that documentation is really unnecessary ?

Do you document an application prior coding  and testing ?

Do you update application documentation prior (or in parallel with) coding changes ?

What documentation tool do you use ?

Please share this information (and anything else) in your comments to this post.

If you would like a simple, effective, M.S. Word template to use for your application do drop me an Email and I’d be happy to send you a M.S. Word template in reply.  You are free to use the template exactly as you wish.

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Post tags: Application documentation, Bug free changes, Continuity, Impact Analysis, Module design, Module updation

Given the many things that businesses can’t control, I used to think that business owner’s paid careful attention to the one thing that they can control, the quality of the people they hire, especially those who are being chosen to slot into their tech team as a project leader, analyst designer or system architect. These are employees being specifically chosen to be leaders.

To my complete amazement I discovered that business owner’s who claim ‘People are our most important asset’ usually do not think very hard about choosing the right people for the right job. Often I’ve noticed that the selection of employees that will fill the leadership pool is delegated to the HR department with a woefully inadequate definition of their mandatory skills.

Often it is left to the HR department to do some research of mandatory skills that fit a specific job profile and then do their best to find an individual with skills that match.

This approach, while being partially effective, simply does not take into account the direction in which business owner wishes the company go in the foreseeable future.   Hence, there are Microsoft specialists hired in leadership positions a few months before the company makes an extended foray into Open Source tools and technologies to sustain its growth.

Most likely this happens because the company is currently executing a few projects in the Microsoft domain and the business owner has not informed HR of the swing away from Microsoft to Open Source when telling them to bring in leadership. Believe me an ASP.NET domain expert is quite lost coding in PHP during the first three to six months or so.

Sadly, what’s overlooked is that its the quality of people which is really the best competitive differentiator.

If you look at any business model that is consistently successful, you’ll find that its leaders focus intensely on their people acquisition.  Whether you are the head of a large company or in charge of your first profit center you cannot delegate the process of selecting and developing business process leaders to anyone else.

It’s a job, you have to love doing.

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Post tags: business process leaders, competitive differentiator, Employee choice