ikmalTips : make most swipe out of your safari

My post earlier mentioned about new beta Firefox are able to make use of trackpad without any 3rd-party application. By that, I mean MultiClutch. That particular post also mentioned that the same effect can also be applied on Safari browser.
So you can now use :

• 3-finger swipe (up/down) for moving top/bottom of page
• rotate gesture to move between tabs

You can do so by first downloading the MultiClutch application here. And then use the following command. Add a new one by using (+) function.

MultiClutch is donationware, free to use; donate if you like. And, it's not limit for Safari use only! It can be use on any as long as the application already have a keyboard shortcut assign to it. 

That's it. Have fun browsing.

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ikmalTips : swipe on firefox (latest version)

For all of MacBook user (late 2008), you have been given the privilege to use the four finger swipe to display Expose or desktop. Now you can apply them to Firefox browser. Not really four though. Read on.
You can use Multicluth to add 3 finger swipe (right/left) on previous Firefox to back/forward a page. And that's all.

Now, Firefox has released it's latest release called version 3.1 Beta 2.

Not even Safari capable of doing this, yet (without using MultiClutch)

This version able to applies use of 3-finger swipe (up/down) as to move at the top/bottom of a page, while rotate gesture on the trackpad will navigate between open tab.
Even though this need some practicing, I find this very useful. I'm pretty sure Safari will add this feature later on. Go ahead and download a copy.

Firefox v3.1 Beta 2 Download

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ikmalTips : cool dashboard widget for mac os leopard

If you ever wonder if there are simple games to play on Mac such as Pinball or Solitaire. The answer is yes. It turns out you can play games on your dashboard widget.

click image to see my dashboard in action

You can play Paradise Paintball for free and it's in first-person-shooter. You can play them with your friend on Mac or Facebook. The program is amazingly small in size (3.3Mb !) and can be played on your dashboard. Simple enough and the best part is you can play within network. Meaning you can ask your friend to play along. Way better than Solitaire if you ask me (addicted once). *smiles

You can download them at Apple site here and check out other cool widget they have made available.

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ikmalTips : save video (flv) files on safari - tips on safari

Perhaps there are different method of doing so, but this is by far the easiest.
Every heard of movie streaming? There are several sites promotes this by hold a host for certain movie files so other users can easily watch them on their own PC/Mac. And it's free.
You can read on my previous post here on movie streaming guide (and site that host them).

Let's get on with it.
I always stream my videos using Google host, those videos are acceptably fast to load. However, I always have trouble on saving them using Safari. But all you need to do is

Press CMD (Apple icon) + Click on Video

On the menu, choose Copy Movie and Done!
I've not yes test this on a PC, please leave a comment if you did (Ctrl act as CMD). But it works on PPC. Now, I can easily save video from sites in flv format.
My favorites .flv player is VideoLanClient aka VLC.

But please make sure the movie your about to save is fully loaded. Image below is what happen when you press CMD + Click on a half-loaded video:
If you press CMD + Click, this menu will appear and enables you to save them (videos are saved in Downloads folder)
I tried this on most sites and it works like a charm, you just need to make sure it's fully loaded. Leave a comment if you know how to use this on a PC.

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ikmalTips : create a password protected folder on mac os leopard

If you ever wanted to hide your porn super important files from public viewing or unnecessary attention. You can always set a password on your files. Meaning, password will be requested every time those files need to be accessed.
This tricks applies to Leopard OSX, I don't know about other OS (Operating System). There are few password encryption software for Windows here.
Moving on.

Create a Password Protected Folder on Leopard
Step 1 - Create A New Folder

• Create a new folder (example : on your desktop) will became an image soon (dmg)

Step 2 - Encrypt Your Files

• Choose your files, and encrypt them with 128-bit (256-bit will take longer time to access, though safer) - in my case my file was named as Locked Files. Choose the option read/write to easily added files later or choose read if your locked files already contains some files
  

Step 3 - Set Your Password

• Create a password for your files, be sure to remember them
  

Step 4 - Resize

• Resize your files to desired amount
  

That's it. Your files now in DMG format. Opening it will require a certain password. Now you can have more privacy with your 'super important files'. Cool right.
If you have any question regarding the steps, please leave a comment below.

Thanks. Happy locking guys.

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ikmalTips : update on problems on unibody macbook (late 2008)

I just received my MacBook today after nearly 2 weeks of 'repairing'. The repair process was taken care by Malaysian Apple Authorized Reseller called Machines. If you have no idea what problem does it suffer before, please read my previous post.
Moving on. With 40% powered battery, I did a quick check up of sleeping problem first by closing lid (it couldn't before). It passed the test.

A grinned with a quick thank you to the Geniuses and I head straight back home - was in a rush.

On taking out the Mac from my bag, a warm (or quite hot) can be felt from the sleeve with 0% battery power! I was furious. It turns out, my MacBook was not repaired for any single problem it had. Those bastards.

Earlier today, I stumble across updates for the Unibody and tell them (Geniuses) about it and finally they said that my computer has been repaired. Hurm. I thought they was waiting for an update too, which is ridiculous. I really would not bother mentioning it, if they actually fixed it. But bastards, every single problem still occurs. A complete waste of my time.

Are they trying to end my warranty somehow? I'm quite pissed off right now and will be heading to the Geniuses tomorrow (after calibrating my battery; battery only last 2 hours - and I know it depends on usage). Will tried the updates first.

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ikmalTips : quicktime 7.5.7 disable shutdown on new unibody macbook

Today, I encounter my first problem on my beloved Unibody MacBook. I never thought an update can ruin it all. The problem starts when I run automatic update contains the following :

I Google myself on the net and find out that most QuickTime updates creates one problem to another. This updates (7.5.7) allows SD iTunes playback over DisplayPort. This updates however only available through Software Updates on new MacBook for the moment.

This is sucks and I'm mad as hell. Now, my Unibody MacBook have the following symptom :

• Unable to shutdown since it will restart itself - I used all method available to shutdown and only shutdown using power button will works
• Cannot enter Sleep mode on close lid and manual - both will make a sound of CD ejecting and wakes up (I didn't use any external nor bluetooth)
• Automatic boot when lid is open after shutdown (when AC plugged in)

Updates on symptoms

• Heated when on 'sleep' mode and rather warmer then before
• Battery performance ridiculously decrease - even the AC adapter gets so hot because unable to charge effectively
• Fan noise going berserk - noticeable sound from the fan (it never did before)

I suspect this is what cause the problems (at least) since this is my last changes/updates/installation. I'll try revert the QuickTime installation and update on the post soon. I'm going to cry right now.
Please note that this doesn't make a Mac sucks. I still love it. *laugh. For now.

Updates on Fixing

I eliminated the following repair tips:

• Resetting System Management Controller (SMC) - not working
• Resetting PRAM and NVRAM - not working
• Cache Cleaning using Onyx - not working
• Delete Necessary PLIST files - not working
• Verify Permission on Disk Utility - not working
• Going to Geniuses first thing today

I will keep updating until it's fix or send to the Geniuses. Subscribe to ikmalTips. I'm not hating the Mac right now because it's still able to handle Apps (rather than Windows). The problem just annoys me. I really feel like smacking.. *smiles

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ikmalTips : changing folder icon on stack

On Leopard OSX, you have a really cool feature that was not only meant for an eye-candy. It serve a purpose as a cool shortcut on you desktop/dock. It's the 'Stack'. Once click it will expand itself depends on the style you desire. 

However, when your dock shortcut serve as a shortcut to other folder; the icon is quite lame. There are no easy option available yet on changing this icon using OSX. But it's still changeable, though it might be tricky but certainly easy.

All you need to do is drag your icon to the folder settings (right click on folder > Get Info) as illustrated below.

If your stack shortcut already attach to the dock, you need to re-attach them. Now, instead of your stack looking like this:
It will look like this! Taa-dah.You can use this to change all other icon on the dock. Apps and sorts. However, please be careful because the default icon will be replaced so you need to find them back in order to switch back. Create a backup to be safe of course.

There are easy application call CandyBar to easily change all the dock icons and the dock appearance itself without hassle. But this would do just fine. You can download them using the link below (it's a trialware - 14 days for free). I might have a crack for it somewhere. 

Leave a comment if you want them. But if you really like them, you should pay for it. I don't. *smiles.

Download CandyBar for changing Mac icons and Dock

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ikmalTips : updates for fixing unibody 'alu' macbook trackpad

New products always have few imperfection. New MacBook is maybe one of it. Several complaints have been made to the Apple that the new glass trackpad (without button) are lack of responds. It will have problem on registering clicks on the trackpad.  This problem only on the new late 2008 aluminium MacBook/MacBook Pro 

Meaning, in 2 out of 10 clicks may not be read by your OSX. Even though I never encounter such problem, there are certain released that suffer from it. Mine was lucky enough though. I use software such as Photoshop CS4 and uses only the trackpad itself; I would notice if such problem exists.

However, the complaints has reach to Steve as well. He responded "software fixed coming soon".

Well it did. The patch already made available to download. I read that such problem exist mostly on the Pro. Well for those who haven't suffer, thank Steve (?), for those who did, curse him and download that patch now!

Download Trackpad Firmware Update

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ikmalTips : change menu bar color on leopard

In Mac OSX Leopard, there are features that consider cool or somewhat annoying to few. This is the controversial Menu bar. Its located on the top of the windows and functions as a menu to every applications open.

You'll notice once you change the background to various colors, it will turn to this:

A quick fix for this is to change the top background to solid color; so it will turn to this:This actually a cool features and does not bug me at all (for me at least). Because the Menu is adapting to the background color to make it more eye-friendly. However, they (Apple) should create an option to disable this because it might be annoying, consider to the background attach to the desktop.

If you really want to disable this, then you might find this App really useful.

OpaqueMenuBar - adjusts the transparency of the Menu Bar (it's donationware - free to use, donate if you want)

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ikmalThink : macbook unibody vs new macbook air

I was very excited when Apple release the new Air, wasn't very on its brother the 'Macbook'. Until I've seen it with my own eye. To my excitement, I made a comparison between both of them. Repeatedly over numerous counts. Obviously, if you rather choosing style over practicality; Air is very decent. Slim, solid design. 

And I really think, it's not worth it. I heard few rambling about small difference between thickthinness on MacBook and Air. Well, they lie. You can notice the difference in size and weight. It's quite a statement. Thought it's not major, its still noticeable. Thumbs up for the Air.

And despite the fact of all 'missing' features on Air, they hardly dealt any confusion to my decision making. But from the spec comparison, you know it's not worth your money. I view myself as an advance user for both Mac/Pc, so, I realize the fact that MacBook is a whole lot better. 

You can view the specs here: 

MacBook Unibody | MacBook Air

And I think that Apple tries to kill Air in order to create a better Mac. That's why they didn't upgrade within the same range of specifications. It kills me that they kill the Air.

But they already know how to create a thin portable. They will create a better one in the future. Rumors are wild on the release of the new 'Air' on April 2009. To all potential buyers of 'Air' late 08 Edition, please think twice before buying yourself one. 

High-spec MacBook provides the same functionality and the same 'coolness' like the Air. Despite the form factors. The price is about the same. So, the price tag was not an issue in my comparison. If you really need a thin portable right now. I still opt you the Air. However, it will no longer look cool in a long run. If you really demand an Air thin, go for it. I agree its really cool. Otherwise, go for MacBook; yes thicker but absolutely better. I know cause I already own one! Yeay!

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ikmalThink : macbook aluminium unibody (end 2008)

I've submitted a post regarding the sexy and upgraded MacBook Air previously. However, in my anticipation on Malaysian release. I stumble across a comparison made between both new Unibody MacBook and new MacBook Air.

Is MacBook Air no longer sexy?

Reviews on how bad MacBook Air before has not affected me even one bit. But now, even if money won't be an issue, I still stutter on making such decision.
Unless its 0.68kg lighter, 0.47mm thinner, brighter screen with ambient light sensors - keyboard and screen (love this); there are no other functional and practical use of the MBA even though lighter is a thumbs up. They should have updated the Air far superior than MacBook to be able to compete.
Please don't get me wrong, I really love the Air before but why Apple pushes us to this. I mentioned earlier that money is not an issue but buying MBA rather than MacBook is just plain stupid.

MacBook Unibody specifications (low spec/high spec)

• Processor: 2.0GHz/2.4GHz with 3MB L2 and 1066 FSB
• Memory: 2GB of 1066MHz DDR3 - supports up to 4GB
  
• Hard Drive: 160GB/250GB running at 5400 rpm
• Slot Loading optical drive: 8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
• Price: a lot cheaper than Air
• Extra: Stereo and battery status indicator on side
  
► view full specifications

Above specifications is what differs from MBA, people do nagged about its missing Firewire (they nagged about everything these days). I never use it but there are people who really need it that much. Extra USB and Optical on MB really does not affect much in my comparison because I need only one and it's for a Thumb Drive if you REALLY on the go (talk about portability, hands on optical?).
Also!
Easy access on battery and HDD makes it easier to upgrade to SSD (solid state drive) in the future since the price will be a lot reasonable in 5 minutes time. I heard rumors that MBA will be "upgrade" on April '09. Till then, I'll stick with my decision on MB and get my hands on it ASAP.

Thank you.

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ikmalThink : new macbook air in malaysia (end 2008)

For all Mac fans out there, you should know about the arrival of the super cool MacBook Air (MBA) - new released.

What's new on the new MacBook Air?

Upgraded Intel processors and better graphics display (new NVidia - up to 4 times faster). Also not to forget its roomier hard disk (120GB), Mini Display port replacing Mini DVI, new 1066MHz FSB, additional cache (6MB) and DDR3 performance. Even though this is arguably a great update because others have done it much better. But it's a Mac. This is good. I've been using Windows desktop since my childhood and it's time to make the change.
Just look at it.
Now it's about to release for Malaysian market - rumored on 14th October 2008.
Below are specifications that are differentiate between both. See full specification here.

1.6GHz MacBook Air (MB543LL/A)
Processor : 1.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Hard Drive : 120GB 4200-rpm Serial ATA
► view full specifications

1.86GHz MacBook Air (MB940LL/A)
Processor : 1.86GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Hard Drive : 128GB solid-state drive
► view full specifications

Both are extremely well for its design. Even though the lack of certain features in previous released has not been change due to Steve Job's vision. Because it's build for wireless. I agree with the splendid design. But a built-in 3G and expandable RAM would be great. Everything else, fine by me.

I'll post a review on it as soon as I made my purchase (as soon as it made available). Can't wait the outcome of its new glossy screen and the new 4 finger swipe. Excited on the review?
Subscribe to ikmalsays.blogspot and get email or feeds on updates.

Thank you.

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ikmalThink : free link exchange

Since I'm new to blogging, I've been working hard to gain rank and yet still do not acquire my PageRank - by Google. Even though my Alexa is growing by day. Maybe I'm doing something wrong. But I will not give up. If you have any suggestion regarding this, please drop a note and I will really appreciate them.

On top of that, I will love to exchange links with any sites that are more or less related to ikmalsays.blogspot. Please drop a comment and I will be gladly get back to you. You can check my reciprocal link on the sidebar. Link exchange will increase your rank, even though inbound link is better (link from a site without linking back means you get an inbound link).
I'll submit a post about link soon.

Subscribe to ikmalsays to receive email notification on updates.

Best of luck for us bloggers!

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ikmalTips : adding digg button to blogger post

I always love the look of post with a Digg buttons embed in the post. It just look so professional and does not clogged everything much. I've been using the script for a while now. Its been on the net since forever.

The reason I post this because there are problems when using it. Read on.

For anyone who not very familiar with Digg, it's actually a social bookmarking tool. You can Digg your favorite post and the more Digg it gets the higher its visibility and more chance of the post being expose.
I'm sorry for not stating my source of the code. My defense is, I simply forgot. You can use the code provide here. Credit to anyone who provide them. Or let me know.

Digg Button on Blogger Post
Step 1 - Back up your original template

• Whenever your tries to customize your blog template ALWAYS save the original template into your computer. In case of anything goes wrong either with the code or the after-effect are worse, you can always revert back to the original template before you applied the editing.
• To back-up your Blogger template, go to Layout > Edit HTML and click on the "Download Full Template" link near the top of the page. You will be prompted to save a copy of your blog template as an XML file to your computer. Be sure to save this to a location where you can easily find it if required.
• To restore to the original setting (before editing), simply upload the template using the upload form located on the same page.
• Or, a quick method I always use. Check Expand Widget Template option and copy all the text (Ctrl + A) in the scroll bar box and save it onto any simple text application (Notepad, Wordpad, etc). In case of mishap, simply reverse the process. - useful when you are going to restore in between editing time.

Step 2 - Start adding the codes
- Please check Expand Widget Template radiobox (the box. :P)

• Find this in your template (use Ctrl + F for Firefox)
  

<p><data:post.body/></p>

• Exactly before the code stated above, copy and paste code below

<div style='float:left; margin-right:10px;'><script type='text/javascript'>digg_url="<data:post.url/>";</script><script src='http://digg.com/tools/diggthis.js' type='text/javascript'/></div>

• If you want your Digg button positioned to the right, instead of using
  

<div style='float:left; margin-right:10px;'>

• Replace the code in orange, with the code below for alignment to right
  

<div style='float:right; margin-left:10px;'>

However, after using them for a while; I noticed that your site loads a bit slower than normally it does, IF :

• Your post has been Digg-ed, thus it needs to check with it server for verification
• Your page has more than several post. Meaning more Digg button and more script to load and connect to server

I remove mine because of this. But you still can Digg post using Addthis! social bookmark button. (? Leave a Comment)
Otherwise, I would say that Digg is cool feature. You can check out Yahoo! Buzz as well.

That's all. Good luck guys and happy Digg-ing!

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ikmalThink : make money with blogspot

The population of internet society increase every day. People are obsessing over create a massive amount of money on the net. Is it possible? How hard could it be?
Aimed for a million dollar profit income annually is simply a wrong decision to make. Regardless, on any amount of money your make within the period will discourage you for posting in the future. As if, earning 3 bucks monthly aren't hard enough for a new blog. I've seen a lot of this lately.

People are getting crazy over the rave review giving the idea of creating 'the big bucks' and after a month or so, they stop.

Please get this straight; there is no such thing as easy money. You need to earn it. Those people who earned a lot on their sites doesn't post like we normally did. They experienced enough to know which post will make a solid strong structure. They experienced trial-and-error themselves.

Looking up to them as a role model is good. Pretending to be one of them from the very beginning is a no-no. Regular update on empty, pointless content does not make you a million dollar blogger. It's what matters that count. You need to create readable posts that people a looking for. You post still be search-able in the future. Submit your site to search engine. Attract your visitors. Every visitor is a percentage chance of you reaching your goals.

And it takes time, years to be exact. Great Wall of China doesn't build overnight. It takes time to develop something profitable. Post something great and post a lot of them.
I started blogging about 4 months ago - first time I know what blogging is. So it's exactly previous 2 months from this moment when I knew a thing or two about blogging. And I'll be cashing out AdSense in a month. This is good enough for a start.

A great start promises a great ending
- Ikmal Ezzani. *wink

I don't think blogging would be my career, but earning a decent side-income would be great, right?
Blog for fun, money is just a bonus. *Good luck to all of us

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ikmalTips : cannot access high traffic sites

On a featured post earlier. I already post a decent amount of paragraph complaining my browser cannot access my Blogspot account. I'm so frustrated but able to solve the problem. The problem caused by Trojan Vundo - correct me if I'm mistaken.

Problem accessing/signing in to Blogspot and high traffic sites.

What it does was basically corrupting browser, mostly on Firefox when accessing high traffic sites like GoogleMail, Yahoo, Redtube and also effect our beloved Blogspot. After a quick search I encounter a few post describing the problem caused by bad cache (pronounced as kash~) or internet cookies. All you have to do is:

• For Firefox - Press Ctrl + Shift + Del
• For IE - On top of the browser. Choose Tools > Internet Options > General tab, look for browsing history and click Delete

If the above procedures failed (like on mine) download Spybot S&D here. Run the program. After a quick restart, the problem will be fixed (as on mine).
But after a while, I checked on my settings and find out Redtube was disabled to normally stream because Spybot was blocking the sites. Thus, effecting my porn streaming. *wink. But it does fixed to access blogspot which what matters to me.
There a dozen of porn sites, but only one blogger account. Enough said. Damn to the trojan! *pesky bastards.

P/S: using Malwarebytes also help. Download here.

That's all. Thank you and happy fixing.

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ikmalThink : is Entrecard no longer useful?

I heard numerous amounts of ramblings saying that Entrecard is giving empty traffic. People are arguing whether traffic for Entrecard really bring along a reader or merely a dropper. But then, there are still few advantages of collecting this so called 'EC point'.

For most of you don't know, Entrecard is a widget that let you drop business card to other site in exchange for a point. Visitors may also do the same to your site. Read my post on optimizing Entrecard banner.

Entrecard gets a big thumbs up for its ability to place banner on quality sites or you get to use the point to buy banner placement on other sites via EC Shop (currently under maintenance). Also:

• sell it to other - earn extra bucks
• create a competiting using EC point as the prize - attracts visitors

But now, they have changed the rule. Send credits to others are limited by 14 transfers a week up to maximum of 1,000EC. Whichever comes first. This is really devastating. For me at least. Because you are not able to sell it either. Then this will lower my spirit of actively dropping everyday. What else do you need that point for.

My real goals were to provide huge amount of credit for competition. But now.. *sad faces.
My site is really new and I really need extra boost as such to gain more traffic.

Should I remove my Entrecard widget? But then again..

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ikmalThink : optimizing blogger for multiple topics

It's been weeks now since I get a head start to continue writing in this particular blog. I've been tied up trying to optimizing my other sites. But it's certainly worth it. And I still receive hits on ikmalsays.blogspot.com even I'm not even on it. At least, I know it will survive under circumstances.
And my Alexa not even drop its rank.
I'm not trying to brag even one bit. It's just made me thinking. Now, I'm sure that writing a powerful, strong post is a lot better than empty post content submit regularly. I should create a post on this. *smiles.
And I heard about how Alexa was not really precise on their ranking which explains my rank. Or is it? That's something to ponder upon.
Drop a comment if you know anything about this.

Also, I made some minor changes to ikmalsays.blogspot.com, since my first day of blogging (4 months back); I'm having difficulties or more like identity crisis for this site.
- I have no idea what to blog about.
Instead walking one step at a time, I rather get on a Lambo and speed my way up. This brings me to series of topics I had on this site alone.
Those are music, tips, general, sells and review. A whole lot for a noob like me. It's ridiculously hard to maintain and navigate by post. Lesser traffic and fewer subscribers - due to random topic.

After a careful consideration, I create different site for each. The hardest to maintain was this one and my movie review site. Because I need to be updated constantly, and I am barely right now.
Those two are two hard to maintain and decided not to go further on ikmalMusic, which gain lesser attraction.
But I manage to establish ikmalSells and it works brilliantly with my girlfriend support. Thanks Iris. It's called FukuShop. It's an online store for ladies by the way.

I hope I can do well enough right now. Below are link to my other sites:

• ikmalReview | my review on movie/tv series and provide link to watch for free
• FukuShop | my online store of clothing for Malaysian - not shipping others yet. sorry

Well, I think that's all for now. Hope for the best. *smiles.
Thank you and have a nice day.

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offTopic : creating another blog

It's been quite few days and to be exact this is the third day since I create a new post. During this short period, I've been creating a new blogger account for my 'item for sells' section. Which has already been up and crawled (submit few weeks back).

Generally, I sell cloths that are suitable for female in between early and mid ages. The link to this particular site will be promoted in ikmalsays.blogspot, once it's fully operational. There are pros and cons creating multiple controlled sites, which as you all know, the hassle.
But it's worth creating few great sites supporting each other and this does increase rank. Instead of exhange link with other sites, it's easier to exchange with one of your own.

Well, I just starting to manage two of them and already feel the pressure. Other webmaster able to manage dozens of them without breaking a sweat. I guess experience will make it easier.

Until then, thanks for visiting and have a nice day.

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ikmalTips : faster loading blogger template

Page load time is really essential in a blog. Every ticking seconds count, before your visitors click away. Every bytes conserve on page load will save you another second. But how I can achieve this? There are many possible way to achieve this. This is what I learn until this moment. It's sorted for better viewing.

Save on Image :

- Save image with lowest quality possible (without ruining the image).

• Image full of solid color doesn't need high quality format.
• Always specify image height and width, so the browser doesn't need to check the image first
  
• Try saving on different format. Sometimes small resolution image are better saved on GIF format. Or vice versa.
  
• Save image using appropriate resolution. You don't need 1280x1024 resolution for image on sidebar.

Save on HTML size :

- All unnecessary blank space (page break) on your html can be removed. It does not change page layout appearance. But be very wise to choose unnecessary space. On widget codes they are necessary (don't check Expand Widget Templates on your layout). Try remove blank space before and in between </b:skin> tag. Even though this could save you a slice of size, it does matter. That's why they are called unnecessary. And remember, ALWAYS preview before save them.

Save on FTP (File Transfer Protocol) :

- This is the term use for importing image or script from other sites to be viewed on yours.

• Save all images at one place. This will dramatically reduce request for FTP process.
• As for blogger, save your image on blogger account itself instead of other image hosting provider. Create another blog for image purpose only (hide from public view) OR go straight to Picasa since all the images save on your blogger template will be stored at Picasa account. Show me Picasa.

Save on Page Load :

- This is for tabbed navigation (check out buttons above header). They are not lag between image changes on hover.

• This can be achieved using Splice (or Sprice?) technique. Where both hover and normal image are basically based on the same image just the difference in positioning. Thus, count as on image load.

- This is for widget. You can hide few widgets that you thought not necessary to view at your post page. This is for making navigation faster to leave comment or viewing full post (if the posts are summarized). For instance, I hide few Ads and Entrecard widget on post page. You can use :

• <b:if cond> method. Placing the codes correctly between widget will hide your widget and show on certain page (main page, post page, etc).

- Another tips is for loading content first rather than widget. This is great for making visitors actually read your content before page fully loads.

• Find your outer-wrapper and sort them by moving main-wrapper to the first position. But please note that using this will make your sidebar moves to right side. Like on mine.

This is few lists that I know will create effect. Do leave a comment if you have any tips to share. OR if want to request a proper tutorial for any of tips listed.

That's all. Thank you and happy loading.

More topics on ikmalTips.

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ikmalThink : i post and get paid

Few days back, I've posted a good and decent way to earn money by participating in so-called forum called MyLot. I've tested the program and here's how the calculations are made (I've read about it). You get a cent on every :

• discussion you respond
• respond on your discussion
• click on your attached photo

It's not much but it will be if you participate hard enough. You can check out my post on MyLot. Anyway this is another program I've tested. You'll get paid on every paid review accepted by your advertiser. Best of all. Its looks just like your other blog post except you are being paid for it. How cool is that?

Sponsored Review

- You earn a lot more than your Ads on newborn blog. It's easy to sign up and approved. You only have to meet with their low requirement and that's it. Interested? You can take a peek at their sites, here :

SponsoredReview.com

Although it's maybe not as easy as it sounds and not financially be able to lose your day job. It is a great start for newborn. You can create a chain of funds to improve your site/business for further development. As they say, a great start promises a great ending.

What do you think ?

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ikmalThink : this is not another chrome review

Help! Cannot sign in to Blogger!

Several hours before I attempt to login into my blogger account (this blog) and from that point onwards (after waking up from a long nap) I still cannot login to my account since blogger sign in page does not load up at all. It's just remaining stuck at one point. I've clear all the history thought that it was problem caused by cache or sorts. But still don't load up. Please be note that I used Firefox 3. So I've change to InternetExplorer and try to sign in again. Suprisingly, it works like a charm.

At least this shows that the problem come from the browser itself. After using IE for a while I became frustrated again seeing my page misalignment and list-style problem (only occurs on IE). Out of desperation, I decided to try the new Google Chrome.

Then, it occurs. A tiny bit of love to the new Google Chrome. The page load pretty darn fast. I make this comparisson by loading my site, ikmalsays.blogspot. By using IE and Firefox loads the page by loading content first and then sidebar (as optimized, because I wanted the content to show first on page load). However, on Chrome, both section loads near exact moment but with a few per seconds lack at start. This is good. For me at least.

But since it's new, they are not much plugin that can be integrate in the browser (I use Roboform). I'm sure this will be sort in few days, at least week. But one thing that I love about Chrome, it's new feature called Incognito Window. Basically, you can used this window tab to browse and surf net with total privacy. That means no browsing history and cookie. Only to that particular window. But any bookmarks and download are properly saved. Isn't that cool?
Interested? Download here :

GoogleChrome(Beta).com

However, I've heard rumours saying that Chrome saved password in text format. But other than that, it's awesome!

But I cannot login to my account using Chrome as well. Does this mean I need to use IE? Forever...? No..!

*Update : Problem solved. It caused by Vundo Trojan. It prevents browser to access certain high-traffic sites. You can remove it using Spybot S&D. Where can I get that? Check my previous post here.

That's all. Thank you and happy preventing.

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ikmalThink : my spelling is prefect!

Everyday you create a great post content on your blog but failed to get notified by your readers and this lack of respond makes you want to quit blogging.
For any reason that you read this particular post up to this level, then you are proving me right. This post is written based on my new blogging experience.

Like newspaper, people often browse the pages by the headlines not by reading text content on every corner on the newspaper. Human eyes need to be distracted before it can focus properly. <- (I made this up. I don't know if it's true. :P). So you need to create a proper attention to your post before it can gain publicity, so to speak.

And I think there a several section of the post that can be made attractive. As listed below :
- Headlines

• even though it's the great place to gain SEO rank, you should include few non-relevant keywords to attract readers eyes.
• mine is dumb, don't use it, i only need it for sorting purposes.

- Pictures

• a great picture that is significance to your post is extremely a bonus point.
• you should be familiar with common used idiom; "a picture worth a thousand words". which will help you a lot since you are dealing with text-based content.

- Text Decoration

• using bold/underline/strikethrough/italic on proper section of your post content creates variety from another.
  
• statistics shows that human eyes can be easily get tired on reading the same style font after a period of time <- (I was making stuff up again. haha. but i really think so).
  
• highlight your text to create extra attention on certain interesting facts only. not all of it. want me to make up statistics again?

This is short list of available tips on writing a great content. There is lots of different opinion out there. Google them or experience yourself. If you like to share yours, kindly spends 10 seconds and leave a comment.

Wise people learn from mistake made by others, only fools learn from their own.

- quote found on Myspace. haha.

That's all. Thank you and happy posting.

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ikmalReview : tropic thunder

Rated :

Honestly, if you are expecting to see a bad review about this movie, then you're absolutely on the right track.
Long story short, this movie is about 5 (including 2 bum) movie stars or so called 'primadonnist clown', who often differs opinion from each other while on set. The conflict between actors cost director and producer big loads of cash while creating their latest war film. Thus, creating major headache to the movie director, who then accept a suggestion from another clown to bring the movie production to the real life movie set. With a hope that they can clear and straightened each others out.

But soon, they discovered they are playing with fire on real gunpowder, literally. What's the worse that could happen to them? Everything actually. A sip of the storyline creates attention on the premiere but not on the screen. It does have its funny moment and over reacting situation that giggles you. But not much.
The big-name actors that are casts in this movie are fine. Just look at the poster. But I don't think by combining them together will create a great combination. Stiller? Wacky. Jack? Wacky. African Downey? What? See what I mean. And I'm not even including Tom Cruise.
It's like a drummer in a rock band. One is perfect. Two is acceptable. Three is just weird. They create laughter on their great acting but not as the character they posed.

Even though this movie is lack on storyline, it do have it's big explosion, faggot fight and gruesome kids holding AK's. I don't think you will appreciate this after you paid for it. I'm not supporting piracy or any of that kind that makes movie star short a few bucks from their million dollar income.
But if you interested to watch the movie. You can watch it here :

VideoEmbedder.com

* Remarks on star rating given (2.5) : This movie could fill up your time between twinkling moment you had when your eyes are open between sleep. Not really, they do create a good movie but just not as good as you actually pay for it. This is not 'the movie' to watch this month. Because when I watch comedy, I expect myself to laugh and cries. This don't do both.

• storyline (0.5)
  
• graphics - explosive (0.7)
  
• soundtrack (0)
  
• genre element (0.3)
  
• originality (1)

That's all. Thank you and happy wacking.

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ikmalThink : i don't want to click you

How to make your Entrecard click-friendly?

Most advanced blogger would be familiar with a widget-based program called Entrecard. Similar to all other programs that let you promote your site on other site with a certain amount of credit. Entrecard was one of my top traffic sources since my blog is still fresh and considered unknown to the internet community. I really strongly recommend this service to new bloggers. Entrecard will provide you a small amount but decent traffic. But that depends. On what?

Maybe you will pay a big load amount of money to advertise on high traffic sites but will you get your traffic as well?
It depends on your banner. You need advertising strategies. You need the attraction. The wow! factor.
Please be advised, I'm not a professional on any field, I just want to share my new blogging experience. This is an example of Entrecard banner.

Would you rather click on this?
- Flashy, strong keywords and straight forward

OR

Would you rather click on this?
- Clean (maybe a bit messy), contains incomplete statement

This is a random example and I hope you're getting the picture. And please don't answer you won't click any cause it's hideous. The point is, the general keywords, most used terms such as "free, money, sex and such as", no longer attracts most of internet surfer.
But curiosity and common-sense will never abandoned human.

If you're regular Entrecard user, you will possibly be noticed the 'blue monkey', and it's really stand out amongst other user. But I do think flash banner is awesome.
However, please leave a comment on any suggestion, recommendation you had in mind.

That's all. Thank you and happy Entrecarding.

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ikmalTips : summarize blog post on blogspot ( III )

Quite recently, I post guide for summarizing blog post on main page. The purpose of using this hack is you can display more post at your front page without clogging the layout with too many posts and texts. Thus, you will maintain a clean and easy to read page content.

There are actually two types of summarizing your post. The first hack, will provide you link at the bottom of summarize post and once clicked you will directed to the post page of the topic desired.
While, the second on will expand/collapse your post on the page itself. You can check out both hacks here :

• summarize post with link directed to post page
• summarize post with link that can expand/collapse

In this post, I will write about the third option. I read about it at BloggerBuster by Amanda. Check out her blog for lots of easy to follow tutorial. These hack utilize the jQuery Expander Plugin by Karl Swedberg.

The advantage of using this hack is

• You no longer need to edit your post with span command to divide between full and summarized
  
• Expanding post are equipped with smooth transition (i recommend older hack if you are planning for this, they have fade effect too and proper alignment on collapse mode)
• You can manually select the length of your post by characters.

Let's get on with it.

jQuery Expander Plugin

Step 1 - Back up your original template

• Whenever your tries to customize your blog template ALWAYS save the original template into your computer. In case of anything goes wrong either with the code or the after-effect are worse, you can always revert back to the original template before you applied the editing.
• To back-up your Blogger template, go to Layout > Edit HTML and click on the "Download Full Template" link near the top of the page. You will be prompted to save a copy of your blog template as an XML file to your computer. Be sure to save this to a location where you can easily find it if required.
• To restore to the original setting (before editing), simply upload the template using the upload form located on the same page.
• Or, a quick method I always use. Check Expand Widget Template option and copy all the text (Ctrl + A) in the scroll bar box and save it onto any simple text application (Notepad, Wordpad, etc). In case of mishap, simply reverse the process. - useful when you are going to restore in between editing time.

Step 2 - Start adding the codes
- This are for the expand/collapse hack | i want post page method

• Find the </head> tag (use Ctrl + F on Firefox for quick find), and paste the following code BEFORE the tag.

<script language='javascript' src='http://halotemplates.s3.amazonaws.com/jquery-truncator/jquery-1.2.3.pack.js' type='text/javascript'/>
<script language='javascript' src='http://halotemplates.s3.amazonaws.com/jquery-truncator/jquery.expander.js' type='text/javascript'/>
<script type='text/javascript'>
$(document).ready(function() {

$('.excerpt').expander({
slicePoint: 280, // default is 100
expandText: '[...]', // default is 'read more...'
});

});
</script>

• Next, find the following codes (or similar) ;
  

<div class='post-body entry-content'>
<data:post.body/>
<div style='clear: both;'/> <!-- clear for photos floats -->
</div>

• And replace all with these following codes :
  

<b:if cond='data:blog.pageType != "item"'>
<div class='excerpt post-body entry-content'>
<data:post.body/>
<div style='clear: both;'/> <!-- clear for photos floats -->
</div>
<b:else/>
<div class='post-body entry-content'>
<data:post.body/>
<div style='clear: both;'/> <!-- clear for photos floats -->
</div>
</b:if>

• Preview your template and save upon success
• Skip to Step 3
  

- This is for the post page hack | show me expand/collapse hack again

• Find the </head> tag (use Ctrl + F on Firefox for quick find), and paste the following code BEFORE the tag.

<script language='javascript' src='http://halotemplates.s3.amazonaws.com/jquery-truncator/jquery-1.2.3.pack.js' type='text/javascript'/>
<script language='javascript' src='http://halotemplates.s3.amazonaws.com/jquery-truncator/jquery.extractor.js' type='text/javascript'/>
<script type='text/javascript'>
$(document).ready(function() {

$('.excerpt').expander({
slicePoint: 280, // default is 100
expandText: '[...]', // default is 'read more...'
});

});
</script>

• Next, find the following codes (or similar) ;
  

<div class='post-body entry-content'>
<data:post.body/>
<div style='clear: both;'/> <!-- clear for photos floats -->
</div>

• And replace all with the following codes :

<b:if cond='data:blog.pageType != "item"'>
<div class='excerpt post-body entry-content'>
<data:post.body/>
<div style='clear: both;'/> <!-- clear for photos floats -->
</div>
<a expr:href="data:post.url">Continue Reading</a>
<b:else/>
<div class='post-body entry-content'>
<data:post.body/>
<div style='clear: both;'/> <!-- clear for photos floats -->
</div>
</b:if>

• You can change this to desired text
• Preview your template and save upon success

Step 3 - Settings available for hack

• Take note on code your applied on </head> mentioned on Step 2. You will notice these codes :

$('.excerpt').expander({
slicePoint: 280, // default is 100
expandText: '[...]', // default is 'read more...'
});

• This can be customizable to your liking. And also other few available options.

Hope you achieved the summarize layout you want so much. Thanks to both Amanda and Karl again.

That's all. Thank you and happy tweaking.

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ikmalThink : not another one?!

Here's another Paid To Write program that needs you NOT to quit your day-job. Actually it's all based on participation. Ever use Yahoo! Answers? Similar to this program, it needs participation from around the world to provide respond on any discussion created. If you ever used one, you'll see how fast you get your respond. And the best part; Yahoo! Answers, doesn't pays.

But not this one. And yes I already signed up. Haha. I'm talking about MyLot. It's been there for a while now. It's like PayPerPost and Y! Answers combine. You get pennies for people respond to your discussion or your blog post. It's the same concept like forum posting. It is easy money and it is better than nothing right? But then again, people are too obsessed with earning money online nowadays.
That's why there are too many of these program around. Check out my post later for another PaidToWrite program.
Oh, I forgot. Check out :

MyLot.com

That's all. Thank you and happy responding.

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ikmalReview : house m.d - tv series

Rated :

Dr Gregory House(Hugh Laurie) a.k.a Dr. I Stuck A Needle Up My Ass, is the stars on this hit medical series, House M.D. This series revolve around the life of middle-aged doctor who's in fact a genius. This series has aired for four season and already scheduled to broadcast the fifth on September 16, this year.
Each series starts from a random situation somewhere and ends up having someone panicking over a person coughing blood or such as. Then, Dr. House assemble his team of 3 (change on season 4) and tried to diagnose the patient's problem from start to ends and have few unexpected outcome in between.

What makes this series a hit; is not the medical diagnosis nor the panic situation but the way Dr. House treats or cure his patient. Dr. House is a genius and a guru in medical diagnosis but he has issue for being polite to people around him. Add to that, he's having problem with his leg and makes him more irritating to all.

All the disease that is featured in this series are rare but realistic. Most of them even though rare but have the possibilities to appear in our daily life. All series broadcast will feature different patient and disease. But starting on season 4, it's more focused on Dr. House medical staff (due to the changes of cast). But stills have the same concept of treating people.

I don't get bored watching these because it doesn't get boring over time. They brilliantly shift focus on House, his staff, patient and situation. And the storyline doesn't really link or connected to other (some of them are) that makes it watchable even on mid-season.

You can start watch full episode here :

Hulu.com

or get yourself House M.D DVD if you don't want to miss a single episodes.

* Remarks on star rating given (4) : If you are a fan of medical series, you love blood and syringe, you gonna love this. And if you think you hate hospital condition where it tense all the way, you're wrong, you will love this. This is no EmergencyRoom (a hit in early 90s).
Following my review criteria :

• storyline (0.8)
  
• graphics (0.8) - realistic video content
  
• soundtrack(0.7)
  
• genre element (0.7)
  
• originality (1)

That's all. Thank you and happy blood splitting.

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ikmalThink : bloglog from yahoo or google?

I realized something today. There is new added widget for blogger. It's called 'Followers'. (How to? - Dashboard > Page Element > Add A Gadget). This is a Google version of Bloglog that are currently provided by Yahoo!.

This is a screenshot of Bloglog :

Maybe the requirement of loading the widget itself on the the blogger platform site makes the widget unacceptable by few users. But then again, it's not too large. There are pros and cons here.
Bloglog has more variety in receiving readers whilst the 'Followers' are restricted to blogger from blogspot only (correct me if i'm mistaken). But the requirements of loading external widget are higher on Bloglog. But not to forget, big thumbs up for recent readers on Bloglog. So, which is better? I will try test-run Followers over the weekend.

If you are interested in my blog. Follow me using Followers on the sidebar. In order to maximixe the Followers, I will promote the same campaign as U Comment | I Follow but with U Follow | I Follow U Back term. :-)

That's all. Thank you and happy following.

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ikmalTips : 7 tips for earning money on new blog

There are several attempt of creating blog with a purpose to create huge sums of money. However, most newbie, such as myself; always see this big picture of having easy money as a goal. This is my first mistake. There is no such thing as easy money. At least you need to work on it.
If you are one of us. Then you should be familiar with Ad program such as :

Google Adsense
- Ads contains text or image or Ads are being implemented on search result. Most stable and mostly preferred by experience blogger. Will displayed relevant Ads over time.

AdBrite
- Has options like Google. But fewer ad format. Can be target by viewers age, keywords and countries. Check out their product, BritePic.

Chitika
- high CTR rate with their Chitika eMinimalls product. Ads shown will browse to internet merchant. Including Amazon and eBay for appropriate item. Bloggers will gain percentage profit on buyer directed. Target US visitors.

This is a few list of Ad program available. I'll post a new one listing all known Ad program later. Let's get on to this! Here are the 7 tips for money on new blog.

1. Don't be too eager
There are no chance people will visit your site and purposely clicked on ads shown. So there is no point showing lots of ads in every corner of your site. (check out point no.5)

2. Double the visitors, double the profit
The first real step is gain visitors. You visitors is money, in a way. You need to attract as many people as you can. The higher your page impression, the better chance you'll get.

3. Blend Ads with your template
Always make the ads look like it came from your site. People always envy others. They would never let you easily get rich intentionally.

4. Spend time to target your Ads shown
As Google AdSense, the option to show relevant ads are automatically reach within month, others will need to customize on their own. Search for ads that relevant to your post. This will increase percentage of people clicking the ads if they are relevant.

5. Attract visitors
If you own a new blog, which having the difficulties of getting visitors. You need all possible attraction. You need to have a decent layout. Fast loading sites. A great content. Which categorize this as a good first impression. That's why you don't need too many ads on one page.

6. Positioning
Optimizing the position of ads are important. You don't need a big advertisement instead on your page header. You don't need your top sidebar full of Ads of cologne. (unless you reach a certain level which your ads will perform better above fold)

7. Visitors, visitors, visitors
That was the only point. You only need visitors to achieve your money-making purposes. Don't get too excited with all the hype you heard over time. They all real. They did earn quarter mill monthly. But they earn it. You need to work for that.

I did a few mistake too, but I've learn my lesson. Now I can gain more than few bucks each month. At least better than nothing. A good start promises a great ending.

That's all. Thank you and happy making-money.

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