Brian Moreau

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My network

NEW* Brian Moreau TV

 

     

 

 
 
 

Power Links

This is a list of some of the most used and useful sites I visit.
Please note I am by no way associated with any of these sites.

  News      
  Government      
NHS
  Weather      
  Business      
IPO
  Search      
MSN
Dogpile
Yahoo
Ask
Aol
  Fun      
  Email      
UK2
 
 
 

My Domains

These are some of the domains I have registered and the web sites I have designed and built.

Name: Description:
WFIUK Internet and Broadband solutions.
The fastest broadband in the universe, (oh really?)
Pix Cells

A picture gallery with vote ranking.
Domain lapsed but site active on another server.
Almost complete.

 
 
 
 

Web Standards

These are industry standards for websites.
It is argued that these standards do not necessarily need to be followed and a vast number of web sites do not adhere to such standards.

Your website should be free from errors whether you employ the standards or not and the tools are therefore useful for checking websites for any errors.

Should you be designing a website targeted at an accessibility audience you should consider use of the standards.

Name: Description:
   
Banner Sizes Standard banner sizes.
Valid XHTML 1.0 Strict XHTML 1.0 compliance.
 
   
 
 
 

Web Tools

Name: Description:
   
Website error checking -
   
W3C Link Checker Web site link checker.
   
SEO tools -
   
GOOGLE Trends Whats top today
SEO Tools Keyword Suggestion Tool
XML Sitemaps Free online XML sitemap generator
   
Antivirus -
   
House Call Free online virus scanner from Trend Micro
Panda Active Scan 2 Panda free online virus scanner
   

Diagnostic tools -

 
   
IP-Address Visual ip address trace
Port Checker Can you see me, open port checker, ideal for checking home servers and IP Cams
   
Font help & tools -  
   
Fonts 15,475 Fonts!
Font help Instructions on how to use True Type fonts (TTF) on your website
Font-Face Generator @Font-Face Generator
   
 
 
 

Language reference

Name: Description:
   
ActionScript Flash ActionScript reference
PHP dot net Official PHP reference site.
PHPJabbers PHP preg_match and Patterns.
SQL Data Types Essential SQL Data type reference chart
 
Google Maps:  
   
Google maps Google Mapplets API.
 
   
   
 
 
 

Lamp

LAMP refers to a number of software packages collectively known as a solution stack.
The software is ideally suited to developers and servers.
LAMP consists of the following.

LINUX The operating System
APACHE The web server.
MySQL Database management.
PHP Programming language.

LINUX can be run on various processors and has recently found its way into the mobile platform. Linux dose not necessarily need to be installed it can be configured to boot from ROM or can be embedded direct onto a device.

Linux is not generally available to download singularly it is generally distributed as a package.

There is no easy solution to determining which application suits you the best but hear are a few of the most popular variations for you to explore.

Ubuntu Stable and complete OS with applications also has a server edition.
Red Hat Red Hat provide packages for high end business.
a Llinux Comes with all of the major packages.
Ark Linux Download ISO and install.
Zoroshell Embedded and server aplications
Wirespring Linux-based software suite for building and managing interactive kiosk networks

You may find this tutorial useful which explains how to write ISO image files to CD

How to write ISO files

And if you dont have a program to write DVD ISO files to disk you can download a free program from "The FREE Coumpany"

Once you have Linux installed you will need a web server.
If your Linux package did not already come with one installed then Apache is your best choice.

 
 
 
 

Power aplications

USB View USB Hardware inspection tool
   
 
 
 

Trade links

PCR Computer & IT resellers, retailers, system builders, distributors, vendors
Bluepoint IT trade supplies
 
 
 

Computer maintenance

Computers can run for many years with no problems whatsoever however from time to time things can go wrong with devastating effects.

It is a good idea to maintain your computer from time to time this can prevent needless expense or worse a loss of files and data.

There are two main types of computer maintenance these are physical maintenance to the actual computer and the other is maintenance of the file and operating system.

Maintenance of the file and operating system includes operations such as defragging, registry repair and file sorting.

Physical maintenance involves an actual inspection and cleaning of the internal parts.
The frequency of this largely depends on the environment the computer is kept in or how dusty that environment is.

     

The following pictures are of an actual home computer that failed during use.

The owner reported a loud bang from the computer followed by a loss in the home electrical supply.

On removing the cover a very obvious build up of dust had occurred.

Look closely the grey areas are deposits of dust.

The power supply unit was removed and the cover taken off to reveal a more serious build up of dust.

     
     

The dust may look harmless but let’s take a closer look.

Notice in this close up the dust has almost totally encased the wires, more seriously and why this PC failed is the very thick dust on the PSU PCB.

Note the burned PCB near the yellow cable, circled.

So why did this computer blow up?

The dust which is basically a mixture of things I would rather not mention becomes stuck to the PCB because the dust is electrically charged and attracted to the charge that exists in the circuit, eventually it builds up so thick it becomes sticky and eventually it will start to possess electronic characteristics such as capacitance and resistance once this happens the small amount of current that passes through the dust can upset the balance of the circuit and cause a fault.

 

Let’s take another look at how dust can kill your computer.

This is the cooling fan that sits on top of the processor taken from the same PC.

Take a closer look at the lower image on the right and note how the dust has actually built up on the blades of the fan and around the perimeter.

This has several effects, the first is extra weight and friction causing the fan to slow down and could slow to such a point your processor overheats and fails the other is the dust being uneven will cause the fan to wobble slightly causing an imbalance which will not only make it more noisy but will also introduce stress to the fan motor and bearings resulting in premature failure.

Also although you can not see from this picture but the vanes on the Heat Zink were also very blocked with dust, this restricts the air flow and again can result in your computers temperature to rise.

If the fan don’t fail first the processor can overheat and be damaged.

     

 

     
  How to clean your computer.
 
 
 
© 2008 Brian Moreau