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drewmcphee.com.au blogs.

Umbraco CMS no go on godaddy

Posted on 27. May, 2011 by Drew Filed under blogs

Well I tried, but I just couldn't get Umbraco running on godaddy. Well it ran for about 5 minuites, allowing a few page edits before it would fall over when trying to write config files to the application. I had to resort to old school .net to build this site in the end, but I am not giving up. Watch this space...

Setting up the PayPal Sandbox

Posted on 24. May, 2011 by Drew Filed under blogs

I had a fair bit of trouble getting the sandbox setup properly for paypal so I thought I would put some steps down to make it a bit more easier for anyone just getting started with setting up the pay pal sandbox.

1 - Go to https://developer.paypal.com/ and click the sign up now button. create an account (your username must be a different one if you have a paypal account)

2 - Click on Test Accounts, and add a business and personal account (note that if you are an australian you cant get the API keys without selecting me from the where do you live dropdown). Take note of the passwords that you use. When you create an account it creates a test bank account and test credit card for you to test your code with. You can also take note of these details for use later on in your testing.

3 - Click on API credentials, and take note of your API account, username, password and Signature. These are obviously used within your code config.

4 - Click on Test Accounts, and making sure your business account is selected, click on the enter sandbox test site button.

5 - Sign into your test site with your business account users details, your business accounts username should already be pre-filled in on the login form. Note that you must login with your business account details and not your API credentials.

6 - In the My Account Overview page, click on the step buttons to confirm your details and setup the api permissions.

7 - Most of the standard methods are activated once you have done this, but some are not. To check your api permissions click on my account/profile to go to your profile summary, then in your account information links click on API Access. Check the boxes next to the API's you wish to use, then click submit.

8 - You will prolly need some funds in your account if you are using payment methods such as mass pay, so click the Add Funds button and add some cash. Note that this is for testing use only and the money transfer is from a fictional bank.

9- These funds that you transferred need to be cleared, go to my accounts and scroll down to the bottom, you will see the fund transfers in the list, click on details link for that transaction, then click on clear transaction to complete the process.

That should be it, double check you have your API credentials setup properly in your code and you should be able to hit the sandbox for testing.

happy coding :)

The Top 10 Worst Company URLs

Posted on 23. May, 2011 by Drew Filed under blogs

Everyone knows that if you are going to operate a business in today's world you need a domain name. It is advisable to look at the domain name selected as others see it and not just as you think it looks. Think carefully about your choice or your company could end up on this list!

Failure to do this may result in situations such as the following (legitimate) companies who deal in everyday humdrum products and services but clearly didn't give their domain names enough consideration:

1. A site called 'Who Represents' where you can find the name of the agent that represents a celebrity. Their domain name. wait for it. is www.whorepresents.com

2. Experts Exchange, a knowledge base where programmers can exchange advice and views at www.expertsexchange.com

3. Looking for a pen? Look no further than Pen Island at www.penisland.net

4. Need a therapist? Try Therapist Finder at www.therapistfinder.com

5. Then of course, there's the Italian Power Generator company. www.powergenitalia.com (password protected)

6. And now, I have the Mole Station Native Nursery, based in New South Wales: www.molestationnursery.com

7. If you're looking for computer software, there's always www.ipanywhere.com

8. Welcome to the First Cumming Methodist Church. Their website is www.cummingfirst.com

9. Then, of course, there's these brainless art designers, and their wacky website: www.speedofart.com

10. Want to holiday in Lake Tahoe? Try their brochure website at www.gotahoe.com

Phone banking any more secure than internet banking?

Posted on 23. May, 2011 by Drew Filed under blogs

I just got a crossed line phone call that was a bit strange....seems it was somebody trying to ring a certain Australian banks customer service line. I heard the beeping of their phones keypad as they keyed in the required response to get through the recorded message....then I heard the customer talking to their bank, who then asked for their customer number and password to verify their identity....which I heard as clear as day!

So if you are against Internet banking for security reasons, it seems phone banking can be worse! All you gotta do is pick up a crossed line, and listen....no hacking required!

Other than that, I have been very busy lately with lots of new customers and website builds. I have also been setting up my own hosting service via my dedicated server, and learning new programming languages, so never a dull moment.

Website or TVC? Web offers better value...

Posted on 23. May, 2011 by Drew Filed under blogs

I'm a bit of an insomniac, so late night TV can be interesting. There is a company advertising TVC or Television Commercial production, and "for as little as $15000", which I take is the starting price, you can have your very own TVC. This included creative and production, but no tv slots to show it. Having a think about this, its a very expensive exercise when you consider that 15 grand buys you an ad that unless very generic will have a limited shelf life, but more of a concern is, once you make the thing, its no good unless its being played by a TV station at some sort of reasonable hour, where people may not ignore it, if your lucky.

Your ad campaign may be compromised due to the inheret cost of TVC production, meaning many companines cant afford the prime air time and the ad will end up on air at 2am seen by...well just who do they think is watching TV at that time of night? By the looks of the ads, and don't forget ads are specifically targeted at their timeslot audience, they think I are all 30 something males with no girlfriends and no lifes! Then when you inquire about a more decent time slot, be prepared to fall over. Its a lot to spend just to be able to put a sticker on your product that says, "as seen on TV!" Yeah, but by who?

The Web can really stack up against any media as far as "bang for you advertising buck" goes. With one of my websites, you can have a virtual TVC on your website, costing you about a tenth of what you would spend on a television campaign. Websites offer many other advantages in that you can change them when ever you want with minimal cost. With technologies like Flash, you can have media rich advertising achiving similar results with massive savings over traditional mediums. Tack your URL onto your print, wack some URLs on your company cars, do some SEO and link exchanging, and before you know it, you will have more eyeballs looking at your companies information than you could ever expect with a similar spend elsewhere.

So versitile are these new technologies developed for the web, flash is now being used to render broadcast quality cartoons and even TVC's! This can save a company a bundle over traditional medias. Flash can be used to develop a "spash" or intro page for a website, which can then be converted into a TVC! Now that's good value! Combined with email marketing, you can target audiences as well, if not better than any other medium.

Bionic Tooth Implant?

Posted on 23. May, 2011 by Drew Filed under projects

I have the tools, I have the technology, I can rebuild him! How much would 6 million get you these days I wonder? Steve Austin got a bargain!

About 10 years ago, I used to play Rugby League. This resulted in 3 broken noses (no, i dont have 3 noses!), a fractured femur, a broken metatarsal, and getting most my front teeth knocked in by a thug who is now in jail :) The emergency dentist shoved most of them back in, but one didnt want to go back in so I had root canal on it, which was a brand new dental technology back then. This lasted a while, but it inevitabley broke.

Last Month I got my last crown from www.spadental.com.au. I'm now able to chomp into a steak faster than a speeding bullet, able to chew through apples in a single bite...Look, it's a bird....no it's a plane....no, its super chompers!

The crown involves a porcelin tooth mounted over the original tooth shaved down to a stump base. It was walk in and walk out 1 hour later with a full smile. Amazing.

Content - Heart and Soul of your website.

Posted on 23. May, 2011 by Drew Filed under blogs

Why is it your own website takes the longest amount of time to build? A good website is all about content. It can have all the bells and whistles you can throw at it, but in the end, users are there usualy to get information, not to be wowed at gizmos. Getting your content right is a tough slog, a never ending quest. But usually well worth it, as it ensures return visitors.

drewmcphee.com.au website launched!

Posted on 23 May, 2011 by Drew in Filed under blog

drewmcphee.com.au is a new website formed by Drew McPhee, who has nearly 20 years of internet development experience and has built websites for Microsoft, The Nine Network and IBM.

drewmcphee.com.au can cater for all your web needs. And not just microsoft technology. I can build websites, web applications and web services in any flavour that you desire. I can also roll out sites at low cost using either umbraco or wordpress depending on your platform of choice. I can also do windows application development and flash development.