Looble… Looble!

Software Engineering, Technology & Open Source for Evil Overlords

How to Sync Your USB Stick with an SVN Repository

Syncing your USB stick with an SVN repository is a smart thing to do if you work on a project from multiple computers. It’s even smarter if you occasionally work on a public computer such as at a café, library or university. By syncing your USB stick with an SVN repository you’re creating your own personal mobile development studio.

It’s brilliant. An evil overlord must always be ready to flee the scene quickly…

Why sync with SVN?

If you carry the latest version of your files on a USB stick, the day will come when you lose all your files. USB sticks are small and portable which makes them prone to loss or theft. What you should carry on your USB stick is the ability to access the latest version of your files. FTP or VPN are two ways to access your files, but SVN has many advantages over them if you’re working with and changing files frequently (read/write!).

What are the advantages of SVN over FTP and VPN?

FTP, VPN and SVN all have different purposes. If you’re working on the development of software, SVN is the clear winner because it will track changes made to your files and allow you to revert to an earlier version if necessary. If you work on the same files from a few locations or if you are part of a team of developers, SVN will also make merging the files together extremely easy.

If everything you have read so far makes sense, then you might be interested in another debate, Git vs SVN – Which is Better? Otherwise, just keep reading.

Why use a USB stick? Can’t I just download an SVN client, get my files and start working?

If you lose your USB stick, then yes, you can use an SVN client to get your files and begin working. This however is unnecessary overhead. By using your USB stick you can sit down at any computer and immediately begin working. If the computer has network access you can first get the latest version of any changed files. If the computer doesn’t have network access, you can still work on the version saved on the USB stick and then merge this with the latest version the next time you do have network access.

Time is money. How do you expect to finance your evil operations if you splurge your time? Carbon-14 isn’t about to stop decaying every-time you twiddle your thumbs.

Are there other advantages to using a USB stick for development?

Another advantage to using a USB stick for development is that you don’t need to save any files on the computer you’re using. If you’re working on private documents or proprietary software it is especially important not to leave behind source code! Working from the USB stick is much more convenient because you don’t have to constantly delete all your files when you’re done. Just take them with you. (If you’re forgetful and your project is private you should also consider encrypting the data on your USB stick…! Read my Top 5 Things to Put on Your USB Stick)

Getting started: Install Rapid SVN on your USB stick

Put a copy of Rapid SVN (http://rapidsvn.tigris.org/) on your USB stick so that you can connect to your SVN repository and access the latest version of your files. When you’re ready to work, checkout the latest version of your files into a folder on the USB stick.

When you’re done working on a file, add the latest version back into the repository. Your USB stick and the repository will now both have the latest version of the file. If you lose the USB stick, your files are safe. If you move between computers, your privacy is safe. If you go offline, you can still work.

It’s the perfect mobile development solution.

This is all great information assuming I have an SVN repository. How do I create an SVN repository?

First you need to decide if your project is open source or private… If your project is open source, there are many free SVN hosting providers available. I use Google Code for my Looble Labs projects (http://code.google.com/p/looble/) and GitHub for Battle City. Below are some free SVN hosting providers for open source projects:

http://code.google.com/
http://www.assembla.com/
http://github.com/ (Not SVN… Read more about git http://git-scm.com/)

What if my project is Private? Can I still use SVN? .

If your project is private (not open source) there are still a few free options available. Below are some free private SVN hosting providers:

Can I host my own SVN repository on my computer?

Yes!

Subversion is an open source version control system. You can download the latest version at http://subversion.tigris.org/. You can find installation instructions at http://svnbook.red-bean.com/en/1.5/svn.intro.install.html

Git is also a free open source version control system. You can download the latest version at http://git-scm.com/. You can find installation instructions at http://book.git-scm.com/

Should I use SVN or Git?

In my opinion, SVN and Git are both excellent options. I use SVN for my Looble Labs projects and Git for Battle City. For more information read Git vs SVN – Which is Better?

Looble... Looble!

How to Handle an Encounter with a Giant Squid

Calamari anyone?

You know what really makes me want to plunge? Giant Squid. Not because they have the biggest eyes in the animal kingdom or because their wieners (slang for penis) are 3 feet long. Nope, all of that stuff is just fine and dandy.

The problem is that giant squid make the worst possible usage of their suction cups. These guys could climb a building, play outfield for the Yankees, or even hold-up that soap tray in the shower that keeps falling. Instead, they float around their entire life, never to be employed as a plumber. With eight tentacles and hundreds of suctions cups, they could easily unclog thousands of toilets daily and contribute to the economy. You would think evolution would lead them down this path – you know survival of the fittest – because who’s going to eat a squid after it spends the day in clogged toilets. Of course, I guess that point is moot since we do presently dump sewage into the oceans and enjoy our calamari anyways…

No buttock cleavage, no game.

Maybe the real problem with squid is their lack of a true buttocks. How can we truly accept them as plumbers if they can’t produce plumbers crack? Wait, that’s off-topic…

Why squid suck, haha pun intended.

Ok, back to the point – squid suck. Do you know how squid waste their true anatomical potential? Rather than even considering the plumbing career, squid simply go around sticking their suction cups to whales!

What’s the point? Are they hoping the whale will take them for a ride? You can’t just go around sticking it to whoever or whatever you want. Granted I would do the same if given the opportunity, but that’s not the point.

The point is squid suck.

Wake-up call for the squid – time to get real.

I think it’s time we demonstrate to the squid why enslavement at the hands of humanity is a much better way to spend life rather than gleefully roaming the oceans and sticking it to random whales.

You gonna let squid stand in the way of this?

Great idea – what do we have to do?

Squid have nice round and wet heads. In fact, a squids head is the ideal location for sticking a plunger. The next time a 33-foot giant squid is found, you know what to do. Stick it to the squid, give it a taste of it’s own medicine.

Think of your children – stick it to the squid.

Don’t let these giant squid continue to steal media attention away from American Idol or that Jon dude with all the kids. Do you want your children to see giant squid on TV every night and then have squid-related nightmares?

Do your part to ensure that the next time a giant squid shows up on TV, it has a plunger stuck to it’s head. The future of your child and reality TV may very well be at stake. Maybe your kid you could live without, but what about the Cake Boss?

Stick it to the squid, I think that’s the point. Or maybe I’m just frustrated about plumbers crack.

Looble... Looble!

Battle City is now Open Source – Join the Community!

Have you ever wanted to get your hands on the source code of the worlds most awesome online game? Now you can! Battle City has officially been released under GPLv3.

For those concerned, fear not! Looble will remain supreme commander of the master source version of Battle City. What does this mean? It means we will maintain an official release of the game and continue to operate the Classic Battle City Server (for another month unless you save it!). It also means that anyone can now contribute to the project, run their own server or even start their own unique game based on Battle City. Have a question? Ask the Battle City Google Group or post a message on the Battle City Forums!

What is Battle City?

Battle City is a very fun online game. Players build cities or join cities built by other players. Once in-game, player characters are represented by tanks. The city buildings produce items which equip the tanks with improved weaponry like bombs, cloaks, medkits, etc… The goal is to destroy enemy cities before being destroyed! To find out more, check out the video or visit http://battlecity.looble.com.

Battle City source code on GitHub

GitHub is a social coding website; it’s like Facebook for programmers! By hosting the Battle City source code on GitHub it’s easy for anybody to join or follow progress on the project. If you want to contribute to the development of Battle City, create an account on GitHub and get the Battle City source code.

Why is Battle City Open Source? Because Open Source Matters!

Over the years I’ve learned a lot working with open source. Open source matters to me. It has helped me get ahead in my career by allowing me to gain valuable work experience. I hope that by releasing Battle City as open source, it will now be able to help and teach someone else. Many people have contributed to making this possible, I’m only a small part of the puzzle. Thank you everyone for your contributions over the years!

But Seriously, as an Evil Overlord, how does this help you achieve world domination?

It’s actually quite brilliant. By officially releasing Battle City as open source, I hope to attract developers to join the Battle City community. Every evil empire needs intelligent programmers. With these new minions working on Battle City, I free up my own time to work on the next piece of my plan for world conquest.

Why would programmers want to be a minion of the Looble Empire?

I may be evil, but I’m not a bad guy from a minions perspective. Yes, I do want to take over the world, and yes, I will always act in my own self-interest in order to achieve that goal. However, I am very interested in keeping my minions happy. I don’t have time to deal with mutiny or other sorts of revolts against my leadership.

So why serve Looble? Because you will be rewarded. Because your overlord knows he cannot conquer the world without your help and will therefore do whatever it takes to retain your services.

If you’ve ever contributed to Battle City, add Looble to your resume on LinkedIn. I’ll be happy to give you a recommendation. Open source matters to my plans for world domination and you deserve recognition for your contributions.

Open source projects count as work experience. Employers love hiring individuals who show interest in software development outside of school or paid employment. And I need moles in these companies.

Follow me on Twitter or join the mailing list

For daily updates related to Battle City and open source, follow me on Twitter. For weekly/monthly updates from Looble, join the mailing list or subscribe to the Looble RSS feed.

Looble... Looble!

Top 5 Things to Put on Your USB Stick

Congratulations, you’ve just bought a new 32 GB USB stick! It’s awesome. Back in ‘99 you would have sprained your back lifting this many gigabytes, and now, you hold it in the palm of your hand in all its glory. But wait… now what?

What do you actually do with your USB stick?

There are many different things to do with a USB stick. Be creative! Below is a list of the top 5 things your USB stick must have:

#1 – RETURN IF FOUND.txt

If your USB stick has important documents, pictures or playlists then a RETURN IF FOUND.txt file is a must have. Use BIG CAPITAL LETTERS so the file name stands out.

What should you write in the text document? That’s up to you. Some people write their mailing address, others leave a phone number, some offer a reward. Mine says:

“If found please contact me via http://twitter.com/deceth to arrange return. I’ll gladly buy you a brand new USB stick as a thank you! Thanks. I really appreciate it!”

#2 – Install Portable OpenOffice (or any other portable application!)

Portable applications are great because they allow you to take the software you need anywhere you go. If you’re working on different computers such as at home, at work, at university, at a library, at a café, or at a friends house, then a portable application will save you the hassle of downloading software the computer you are using is missing.

Other times, you won’t even be permitted to install software on the computer you are using! Having a portable application on your USB stick is a good way around that problem. I have OpenOffice installed as a portable application on my USB stick and love it. I’ve never been unable to open a document I wanted to work on.

Visit PortableApps.com for a whole list of applications you can install on your USB stick. With Portable Firefox your bookmarks and settings will follow you anywhere you go. With Portable Linux, you can take your whole desktop with you! Visit http://portableapps.com/

#3 – Install True Crypt for encryption

Not everyone will return your lost USB stick, especially not if they stole it. If you have important private information on your USB stick, True Crypt will allow you to encrypt it. True Crypt is open source and can be used as a portable application, meaning you can decrypt and access your files all from your USB stick, no need to install any software on the computer. Get True Crypt at http://www.truecrypt.org/

#4 – Get TiddlyWiki, a portable wiki all in a single file

TiddlyWiki is a single html file which acts and behaves like a wiki. You can add content, edit, save, tag and search very easily. It is the perfect portable tool for taking notes and organizing information. If you’re taking notes during class or during a meeting, TiddlyWiki is the perfect tool for scribbling down that first draft. Get it at http://www.tiddlywiki.com/

#5 – Install a game… like Battle City!

It’s great to work hard, but even better to procrastinate! Keeping a game saved on your USB stick ensures entertainment is always right at your fingertips. Battle City is the perfect game to save on your USB stick because its open source! If caught playing a game in class, just let the professor know you are actually performing quality assurance testing. Get Battle City at http://battlecity.looble.com

Looble... Looble!

Are Your Archives Burying You Worse Than Digg?

If you’re like me, you fantasize about reaching the front page of Digg. Who wouldn’t? All the traffic, the glory, the fame… I submit an article to Digg every now and then, hoping, wishing, that this time will be different, that this time the diggers will digg, not bury. Somewhere along the way I started to wonder, are the diggers ever coming, do they even exist? Maybe Digg is just a figment of my imagination created by the matrix to keep me occupied while my body is harvested? Who knows… One thing is for certain, Digg is not the only evil preventing me from achieving world domination … In fact, my archives were burying me far worse than Digg!

What are Archives? How do I Punish them for Failing me?

Unfortunately archives cannot be banished or beheaded like your ordinary minion. Archives are the void where old blog posts and articles go. The underworld of your blog…

As your articles age, they fall deeper and deeper into the abyss. The worst part is that your archives don’t discriminate between good and bad articles, they suck everything into the void and bury some of your best writing for eternity. That’s a long time.

Any good overlord needs to be able to summon his/her best demons at any given time. If peons visiting your blog can only find your 5 or 10 most recent posts, then your archives are burying you worse than Digg. It’s your responsibility to turn your evil archive oppressor into a powerful minion, an ally, by making your best content accessible all the time.

How do I turn my Archive into a useful minion?

I’m glad you asked. Take a close look at Looble… It’s by no means a perfect blog, but it does have a few essential qualities of a successful empire. Here is how I keep my best content ready for unsuspecting peons passing through my lands:

1. Use Simple Tags Wordpress Plugin for Related Posts

By using the Simple Tags Wordpress Plugin for related posts, suddenly articles buried deep in my archives have an opportunity to bubble back up out of the void whenever they are relevant. If someone finds my current article interesting, giving them a list of related posts could be exactly what they are looking for! This is a great way for me to increase page views and convert more peons into loyal followers and minions. It’s a win-win situation, because I win twice.

2. Start Using Tags

Tags are great because you don’t have to worry about keeping them neat, they are inherently chaotic by nature. Over time, you will end up with thousands of different tags, and that’s great! Always keep your categories clean and meaningful, but tag your posts with anything and everything! Using the Simple Tags Wordpress Plugin, I then display a list of tags at the end of every post. Clicking a tag will bring up a list of all articles that share the tag. This again gives old posts an opportunity to be summoned out of the underworld when a peon is vulnerable to it’s content. Remember, converting peons to followers is essential to building a powerful empire.

3. Internal Linking Within Blog Posts

When I write a new post, I often include a link to a related article I have already written. For example, if I write a post about Blogging for Dummies, I might I might include a link to If you Clone, You’ll End up Alone. This gives me an opportunity to send peons to an older post which is as good as the one they just read or better. It’s a way of adding icing to the cake to help convince the peon Looble is an empire worth joining.

Don’t forget, good internal linking will also help search engines better crawl your website, help increase your page rank, and help increase your page views and readership!

Tux by manjari!

Other Ideas to Prevent Quality Content from Being Hidden

1. Have a “Top Posts” or “Popular Articles” List.
2. Get the Articles plugin by Alex King
3. Make category pages easy to browse by using excerpts rather than full posts.
4. Don’t have too many categories!
5. Show links to your archives by year or by month it doesn’t matter. Just make sure your readers know there is more!
6. Link to your articles in social media sites like StumbleUpon, Twitter, FriendFeed, Facebook, or delicious.
7. Link to a relevant article when commenting on a blog instead of to your blogs main page.

Have another idea? Please comment!

If you’re new here, now is the time to comment, to show your overlord you are worthy. How do you prevent your articles from disappearing into the nether regions of the internet? I’d love to know, steal your ideas, and re-publish them.

Don’t worry, I’ll give you credit. I’m an evil overlord, not a stupid overlord.

Posted in Blogging for Dummies, Digg.

Tagged with Digg, plugins, social media.

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By Deceth – December 27, 2009

Save the Battle City Server – Make a Donation!

The Battle City Server is in trouble – it’s broke. Broke as in out of gas, out of supplies, out of money. We’ve gone under – into the red, into the world of debt where server death is imminent.

But there is hope.

You have the power to save the Battle City Server. You can make a difference. If you want the Battle City Server to stay up and running 24/7, please make a donation.

Without donations the server will R.I.P.

Battle City will live on even if we can no longer afford to keep the server running – I’ve made sure of that. The game is now open source. Anybody can contribute to development or host their own server.

If we can’t afford the current 24/7 server, we’ll have to rely on members of the community hosting servers from home. It’s a cheaper solution, but it’s not the best solution. I think having a dedicated server available 24/7 is the best option, and if you agree, please make a donation so we can keep it up and running!

The current Battle City Server has been running since November 2007 – it’s already been two years! How has it survived this long? Thanks to generous members of the the community.

Thank you Nightwish, Ender, wdgoulas, Vindkast, Surge, Jizohn, Alex, Corey, Gunman, darkluigi07, OldSchool, Incyte, Spyderman, Rushing, Xeva, Bartsie, Rage_Against, Mad_Orber & Alton. Together we have raised $719.76. Including ads on the Battle City website, we’ve raised a total of $769.19.

$769.19 is a lot of money. But it’s all gone. Total costs of operating Battle City as of today are $1001.98. We’re short $232.79. Since I also want to keep the server up and running, I’ve paid that amount myself as a donation. Normally I donate in the form of time and updates. I haven’t contributed any updates to Battle City in the last year so the least I could do is make a donation to cover several months of costs.

I need your help. I’ve donated as much as I can.

These days the server is empty a lot – but it’s there. If you want to log-on to Battle City, you can. If you want to organize a battle, you can. If you just want to take your tank for a drive and build a city for nostalgia sake, you can. I like knowing Battle City is up an running, even if I’m not able to log-on very often. I know there are others who feel the same – who want the server available 24/7 even if they no longer play.

If you want to keep the Battle City Server up and running, please make a donation today. Every 30$ donation adds an extra month of life to the server. All donations received will go directly to covering costs for the next year.

Thanks.

—
Battle City is a free online tank wars game. Orb the enemy to win!
http://battlecity.looble.com

Looble... Looble!

2 GB Memory Card for Under $11

With the Christmas Holidays fast approaching, what better a time to share my opinion on what’s hot and what’s not this year!

If you’re a serious Web Developer, chances are you will always have your digital cameraready when visiting local customers. Clients love having their websites personalized, so if you’re making a website for a flower shop, you’ll want to get in shots of your clients store and best products to display on the website!

Now is the time to take advantage of the great prices on memory cards for your camera! This 2 GB Memory Card is available right now for $10.98! Thats an incredible price which I doubt you’ll be able to beat anywhere! My 512 MB card cost me over 50$ less than 2 years ago.

So how big is a 2 GB Memory Cardanyways? The amount of pictures you can fit onto your memory card depends a lot on the quality of the image. Here is a little table to give you a better idea which shows the amount of pictures you can fit on a card given the card size and the quality of the image measured in mega-pixels.

Photo Quality	128MB	256MB	512MB	1GB	2GB	4GB
2 Megapixel	134	268	552	1119	2245	4494
3 Megapixel	120	240	490	996	2000	4000
4 Megapixel	60	119	245	497	999	1998
5 Megapixel	48	95	195	395	800	1595
6 Megapixel	44	88	180	366	735	1471
7 Megapixel	39	78	161	327	657	1314
8 Megapixel	35	69	143	290	582	1164
10 Megapixel	26	53	109	221	444	887
12 Megapixel	20	40	83	169	339	678

As you can most certainly see, a 2 GB Memory Cardis likely more than enough to capture all the pictures you need in order to create the perfect website design. You’ll even have room left for holiday pictures with friends and family!

If you’re looking for a new digital camera to go with that memory card, I recommend Cannon’s 7.1 MP PowerShot Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom. I have had a Cannon digital camera for 2 years now and have been extremely satisfied with it. They are excellent camera’s, very easy to use and have an excellent grip that fits right into your hand perfectly.

While I don’t recommend you try confirming what I am about to say, I can also state from experience that Cannon camera’s seem to have a magical ability to survive being dropped. Again, please do not try testing this as you may not have the same luck as I was fortunate to have with the same camera on several occasions!

If you’re going to invest in a Digital Camera, I also suggest checking out DigitalShutters.com which will help you understand your camera better and which will give you some great tips for improving the quality of your images!

Looble... Looble!

Posted in Technology.

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By Deceth – November 28, 2009

How to Create an Amazon Store and Make Money Online

Amazon is one of the worlds leading e-commerce websites. In fact, you can buy just about anything on Amazon these days! By joining Amazon as an associate you can earn a commission on any sales you help Amazon generate. Refer people to Amazon and if they make a purchase, you make money.

How Much Money do I Make from Amazon?

Since becoming an associate, I’ve made about 3$. You might says that’s not much, but lets consider how I made this 3$. All I did was create two Amazon stores; the Web Development Software and Books Store and the Battle City Amazon Store.

Creating the stores was extremely easy (take a look at my tutorial below!). What else have I done? Nothing! I’ve just been sitting back watching the money roll in. If you have lots of visitors and promote your store you’ll probably make more money than me… Either way, 3$/year is pretty good for 30 minutes work. Since this is residual income, in one-hundred years that will be equivalent to 600$/hour!

How to Make the Most Money with Amazon

The best way to make money from Amazon is to promote products. When you write a blog post, include a link to a related product on Amazon. By using Amazon affiliate links directly in your articles you should be able to make much more than 3$/year.

If I was writing an article about how awesome my Canon PowerShot A550 7.1MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom is, I might use a link to Amazon in my article like so!

Why use an Amazon Store if Affiliate Links work Better?

Sometimes it’s not possible to post affiliate links within an article. Remember, you don’t want to upset your readers by posting links to products they have no interest in. You want to promote products that are relevant. Battle City is an open source online game. There is no good way to promote products for Battle City while remaining on topic unless Amazon starts selling tanks, land mines, or bazookas =p

When it’s not possible to promote products directly in articles, promoting them indirectly in an Amazon Store is the next best option. It’s not intrusive to readers, and can be kept relevant to the overall theme of the website. For some niche websites that don’t have many related products, this works great. The Battle City store displays games and gaming consoles which fits the theme.

Why Amazon Stores are Great for Niche Sites

Let’s look at Battle City; it’s an open source online game. If I’m writing about the latest features and updates, slipping in an Amazon link to promote Mario Kart doesn’t make sense. Promoting Mario Kart would make sense if I was writing a review of Mario Kart or posting a list of the top Wii games… That’s why an Amazon store is perfect. I know people who play Battle City are interested in gaming, so I setup a store which features games and consoles. The store indirectly promotes these products to a group of people who are interested in these types of items. Sales are lower than with directly promoting products in articles, but sales still do come in!

How to Setup Your Amazon Store

So how do you setup your own store? Visit Amazon.com and click the Join Associates link to sign up with Amazon. Once your account is created, login and click aStore. Then select, Add an aStore. To show you how it’s done, I’ll create an aStore for Web Dev Notes!

At this point, I’m assuming you were able to create an Amazon Associates account and have found the aStore button. Click the Add an aStore button as shown below! As you can see in the screenshot, I already have two Amazon aStores! You are allowed to create up to 100 which should be more than you will ever need!

Next you will be presented with the “Create aStore Pages” area which will allow you to setup your different store categories and select the items to display. You can select specific items, or specific Amazon categories. Since I want something related to Web Dev Notes, I’ll add Web Development Software and Books to my store! The screenshots below show how I have done this! If any of the screenshots are unclear, click them to see the full-size view.

First we want to “Add a Category Page”

Next, select the category to begin editing it. I will select the “Add products by Amazon.com category” option so that I can include the entire Web Development section. Click “Select an Amazon Category” to browse the categories and to select the one you want in your store.

Since I am looking for Web Development Software, I will first select the Software category. I will then specify that I only want to display Web Development software.

After saving all these selections and changes and giving my category an appropriate name, I am taken back to the beginning where I can add another category, or continue to the next step. I’ll add one more category for books then show a preview of what the Web Dev Notes Store looks like so far!

First, a look at the Category Pages screen which now has two categories! Before going on, I’ll hit that up arrow to move the Books category above the Software category because I believe books are more popular with my readers than software. The category shown at the top of this list will be the default one displayed first.

And, a preview of the store so far!

Wow, that was all pretty easy so far! Next step is to customize the look to match your website better! There are some themes you can select from or you can define your own colors and edit the CSS file. Take a look at the BattleCity Amazon Store to see what it looks like. If you have visited the BattleCity Classic website, you’ll notice that the color schemes match perfectly.

How did I match up the colors to resemble my website? First, I took a screenshot of my website and then pasted it in Paint. Then using the color selector tool, you can get the exact RGB value for the colors. Since you need the hexadecimal value of the color, I used this RBG to Hex Converter.

First, I define my new theme.

Here is a new preview of the store with the updated theme.

Before you continue, give your store a name!

The next step is to check a bunch of configuration options such as whether you want to display the sidebar menu on the right or left, if you want to show similar items or not, etc… I put my sidebar on the right and then checked every box! Once you’re done that, click finish and you are done!

Want to see the final product? Visit my Web Dev Notes Store!

Don’t Forget to Customize your Store Items

The most important aspect for any type of affiliate sales is making sure the product is relevant to your readers. When you create an Amazon store, you can specify exactly what you would like to display in it. For example, you’ll notice that in the Battle City Amazon Store, the first items you see are Video Games and Video Game Consoles. BattleCity is an online computer game, so this makes sense. If I try to sell cook books from the BattleCity store, I am setting myself up to fail.

Amazon Stores are Great Because No Maintenance is Required

As you can see creating an Amazon store is very simple. It might take 30 minutes to setup, but once you’re done, you never have to do a thing again. Just tell your site visitors about the store, link to it, and watch the sales role in. Even if you only make 3$/year like me, every little bit helps!

Posted in Blogging for Dummies.

Tagged with affiliate, Amazon, aStore.

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By Deceth – September 12, 2009

Have you met Larry the Remote Controlled Pigeon?

Meet Larry, the remote controlled pigeon!

His name isn’t really Larry, but what else would you call a pigeon with electrodes glued to the brain? That’s right, Larry is a cyborg pigeon who can be controlled remotely…

The People’s Daily Online reports that scientists in China have successfully found a way to use brain implants in pigeons to control the birds movement. This means Larry will soon be recruited by the military for special ops missions and assassination plots. Not a bad career move for the bird normally seen begging for french fries outside of McDonalds.

Pigeon or weapon of mass destruction?

Next time you see a pigeon it might not be a pigeon, it might be Larry. Is Larry carrying a nuclear bomb today or a spy-cam? Maybe just an AK-47… And what if satellite photos show large gatherings of pigeons in Iraq or Iran? Does this justify an invasion because they could be Larry’s?

Larry not the first – U.S military already training Nemo

Larry is not the first animal turned cyborg. The U.S military has already tried creating remote controlled sharks and currently trains dolphins to search for mines. Bet you didn’t know that was going on under the sea…

How does Larry work? Can he become autonomous and start the war between humans and machines?

The brain implants you see sticking out of Larry’s head actually stimulate different areas of Larry’s brain according to signals sent by scientists. The signals force Larry to comply with commands. When scientists want Larry to fly left, they send a signal, and Larry thinks, “Hey I really want to go left!”. You can read more details on the subject at Hacked Gadgets.

Can Larry become autonomous? Of course. If scientists tell Larry to go left when there is a cookie on the floor to the right, Larry will immediately override the signal. Scientists will need to send the signal continuously. “Hey I really want to go left, no wait, there is a cookie lets go right, no left, no right, no left, no right, no left, omg cookie!”

A casual observer would likely report witnessing a rabid pigeon doing a strange ritualistic break dance around a stale half-eaten biscuit. Eventually Larry would short-circuit his brain implant and release his arsenal of nuclear weapons against any rodent or seagull that threatens his cookie.

Can pigeons bypass the current missile defense system?

The answer is yes. Billions of dollars have been invested in a missile defense system that offers absolutely no protection against Larry’s. This is a serious problem. The heat signatures associated with missiles and Larry’s are very different. Larry’s also travel at much slower velocities than missiles making them much harder to detect. Unless traveling in a large flock, Larry’s even go undetected by radar.

What advantages does Larry bring to the table?

Rejuvenated Carrier Pigeon Business
If Fedex or UPS can get their hands on some Larry’s, we’ll see pigeon post just like owl mail delivery in Harry Potter. It’ll be great, imagine the savings! Thousands of workers could be laid off and replaced with pigeons who work long hours in exchange for a handful of grain.

Also, think of the carbon savings! Switching to pigeons for mail delivery is a great way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and go green! Remote controlled pigeons could save the environment. Forget about Smokey the bear and forest fires, Larry can save us from global warming!

Cleaner streets – Better Disease Control
Most pigeons spend their days downtown panhandling and begging for food. This technology will get the pigeons off the streets and into jobs. There will be a wide array of new employment opportunities for Larry’s, ranging from couriers to assassins.

If you can pre-program a flight sequence, Larry might even be able to take the dog out for a walk. Honestly, if this isn’t a technological revolution, I don’t know what is.

What are the downsides to Larry aside from nuclear apocalypse?

After remote controlled pigeons comes remote controlled humans. If you think that’s impossible, guess again. The technology has already been tested on many politicians who serve oil companies and large corporations rather than those who elect them.

Conclusion

All I’m saying is, be careful. When it comes to pigeons in the 21st century, you can never be too careful.

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Git vs SVN – Which is Better?

Samorai Tux Penguin Git and SVN are version control systems. Both are better than no version control system so you win no matter which you choose. There are some important differences between Git and SVN which might make one more suitable for your type of project than the other. It’s not a question of which is better, but which is best suited for your situation and development process.

SVN is easier to use than Git

SVN has been around longer. There are tons of tools available which make using it easier for non-technical users. SVN error messages make more sense. If the version control system will be used by managers, graphic designers or other non-developers, SVN is a better choice. With TortoiseSVN anybody tech-savvy enough to browse for files can easily use SVN. Git has a much higher learning curve than SVN.

Why is Git so popular if it’s harder to use?

Git is the new kid on the block, SVN is old-school. Don’t get me wrong, Git deserves it’s popularity. Git is fast and excellent for managing large open source projects with many collaborators. While branching is possible with SVN, branching and merging is what Git was built to do. Git may be harder to learn, but once you do learn how to use Git, you’ll find it to be very feature rich and functional. Another huge advantage to Git is the GitHub website which makes programming a social activity. GitHub lets you connect with and follow other developers, sort of like Facebook for software developers. It makes coding more fun, and even makes it possible for less technical people to take part in the development process.

What is the main difference between Git and SVN?

Subversion offers a centralized model whereas Git offers a decentralized model. What does this mean? With git, everyone has their own copy of the entire repository. Basically, everyone is always working on their own branch and functional code can later be merged into the master. With SVN, everyone has a working copy and changes are committed to a central repository. To work on a branch a user must copy the trunk into another directory and then merge it back when complete.

Why are you using Git for Battle City?

Battle City is an open source multiplayer game. It’s a big project which I hope will grow to have many developers from all around the world. So why not create an SVN repository for Battle City? In my experience, Git better manages the chaos involved with an open source project that has many collaborators contributing random bits of code. SVN is better suited for a more structured development process, where tasks are defined and the team knows who is working on what.

Git allows any developer to sit down, get a copy of the Battle City repository, and then just start messing around with whatever they feel like. Eventually, once the developer is ready to share their changes, they can push their code their own branch of Battle City. GitHub makes it possible to easily track and follow other branches, and eventually, good changes in a branch can be merged into the master. In my experience, Git with GitHub will make managing user contributions and maintaining a master version much easier than SVN.

Confused? The GitHub website is full of helpful documentation and resources to help you get started!

So… Should I use Git or Subversion?

It’s really a matter of preference. Anything you can do with one you can do with the other. If your project involves lots of branching and merging, I’d recommend Git. Keep in mind, not all projects involve branching or merging.

Take Battle City for example. Before Battle City was released as open source, back when only one or two people worked on the code at any given time, all commits were done to a central SVN repository. This made sense because there was a project plan and list of features to develop. It was easy to watch the central repository and track progress.

Once Battle City was released as open source, development became a free-for-all. Contributors could work on anything, experiment with new ideas, even create conflicting items. If all commits were still done to a central repository, the project would never again compile and so branches became important.

Branching can still be done with SVN and within a company or organization this might make sense because a manager could check progress of new features by looking at the commits on branches and merges to the trunk. With open source however, you don’t care what others are doing or about tracking their progress, you are simply thankful for any contribution.

Git allows users to download their own copy of the repository, do their own thing, and check back in if ever they have anything useful they want to share.

Git vs SVN Conclusion

So should you use Git or should you use Subversion? Take a look at your situation and your project and make a decision because neither is best, but one is often better for what you are doing.

Related posts from around the web:

http://robwilkerson.org/2008/04/05/subversion-or-git/
http://git.or.cz/gitwiki/GitSvnComparsion

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