Connection problems using IE

I normally use the Firefox browser to access the net. A couple of minute ago I went to my blog using Internet explorer, just to see if it displays correctly and I was shocked to see the site go off and a warning appear. My blog is hosted with Blogger and I assume that this is a specific problem related to Blogger as I don't have problems with other blogs hosted elsewhere.

The error warning is given below:



On clicking the "More information" button, I get the following:

Internet Explorer cannot display the webpage

This problem can be caused by a variety of issues, including:

•Internet connectivity has been lost.
•The website is temporarily unavailable.
•The Domain Name Server (DNS) is not reachable.
•The Domain Name Server (DNS) does not have a listing for the website's domain.
•There might be a typing error in the address.
•If this is an HTTPS (secure) address, click Tools, click Internet Options, click Advanced, and check to be sure the SSL and TLS protocols are enabled under the security section.

I have no idea what is causing this problem and am not sure whether this is affecting my visitors who use IE as well.

Anybody facing a similar problem?

Update:
Pushing the Followers widget to the bottom the sidebar seem to have solved the problem.

New recent comments widget

For quite sometime, I have been using the "recent comments" widget provided by Blogger templates. However, I noticed that they have stopped working. A number of Blogger users have been asking for a "recent comments" widget for quite sometime but the guys at Blogger don't seem to be listening. Going through all the gadgets you can add to your blog in Blogger in draft, I came across the Blogger comments gadget provided by Tigersyard.com. It shows the latest comments of any blogger blog. However you need to know your Blog ID. It's not perfect but it is the best working wigdet for this purpose. I am sure others will come and improve it further. I would prefer to have a few lines instead of the whole comment listed. Please tell me if you have a solution.

Ubuntu up and running

As some of you might be aware, my previous attempt to load up Ubuntu on my old computer ended in failure - read Ubuntu installation problems.

After that I discovered that the problem might be with my Maxtor hard disc, which was not being recognised at all. I was about to assign it to the rubbish bin when my tech expert friend Wolfgang asked me whether he could have a look at it first.

To cut a long story short, he found that the hard disc was in a mess and reformatted everything. Yesterday night, I put it in, reconnected all the cables, said a short prayer and started up the computer. Loaded up the Ubuntu CD and started installing it.

I would be lying if I said that I was not worried. Unlike a Windows installation, where you get a slide show telling you how Windows was going to make your life easier, here I got lines of code running down my screen before it finally got a graphics interface. It took ages to load after I hit the install icon and I even dozed off on my chair during the installation process.

Finally the installation was complete and after restarting the computer and removing the CD, I had a brief scare when the lines of code reappeared and started running down the screen. But in the everything was OK. Ubuntu comes with several applications preloaded - including the Firefox browser, GIMP, Open office, etc. There were several games as well.

Here's how my desktop looks:



Will be writing about my experience using Ubuntu later.

Ubuntu installation problems

I finally received my free Ubuntu installation disk yesterday. It is a copy of version 7.10 known as the Gutsy Gibbon which was released in October last year. Haven't used my old PC since I got my new Dell and was really looking forward to installing and running Ubuntu. I was quite excited because I have never tried any Linux Operating System.

As they say, the best laid plans often go awry and so it did. At first it looked as if the installation was going all right and then I got these unending steam of code. I understood that there was something wrong with the installation process. to be more specific "Buffer I/O error on device sdc, logical block 0".

I had no idea what that meant and went to several Ubuntu forums to find a solution. It was clear that I was not the only one having the problem as a search gave thousands of results. tried out some of the suggested solutions but none of them worked. And that is how I spent my Sunday - trying to install Ubuntu, without any success. Really frustrating.

Would really appreciate it if anyone could help me with this.

Cheap Dell PC

Dell Inspiron 530

Some of my friends who had bought the same Dell model as mine - an Inspiron 530, simply couldn't believe that I got my PayPerPost PC that cheap (£ 279.02 inclusive of VAT) when I told them the specifications.

According to them, even with the basic specs, it simply couldn't come below £300.

I agree that my PC is NOT the ultimate computing machine but it isn't that basic either. It has a 2.20GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor with 2MB cache, 1 Gig DDR2 667MHz RAM and 250GB Hard Drive.

The reason my computer is that cheap is because I left out a lot of optional stuff. The costliest accessory I left out was the TFT monitor as I can get a cheaper one on eBay. I also didn't want a floppy drive and opted not to include speakers or a modem.

I don't play graphic intensive games nor do I use the PC as a multimedia centre, so I left the standard graphics card in as well. I also didn't opt for any software, other than those already included with the PC. This included the operating system as well - I went for Windows Vista Home Basic.

Of course, as I had mentioned before, I took advantage of their free delivery offer and had an additional £20 off.

In the end I had a PC that more than meets my computing needs.

Just for fun, I tried building another Inspiron 530 online on the Dell site. This time however, with all the best options available. It came to nearly £2,500. But then at that price, I would rather go for their top of the range XPS 720 H2C.



Doesn't that look sexy?

Setting up the Netgear wireless router

A couple of guys have asked me how I went about setting up my old Netgear router to run with TalkTalk after they read my post 'Reconnected finally' on my ah ok lah blog. I thought that it might be a good idea for a post. I have to warn you though, it is a bit technical.

The router I have is a Netgear DG834G Wireless Route. It came for free with the AOL broadband package I had prior to signing up with TalkTalk.

Just follow the steps. Just make sure that all the cables have been connected properly - network cable from router to computer and telephone line to router.

1. Open up the location http://192.168.0.1 on your browser.

i. You will see the login pop up as given below:


ii. The default user name is admin and the default password is password

iii. Once you are logged in, you should choose: Encapsulation PPPoA (PPP over ATM)

iv. Fill in your TalkTalk Login and password (that they had posted to you).



v. Click "Apply"

2. Under ADSL settings, choose:

i. Multiplexing Method: VC-BASED
ii. VPI : 0
iii. VCI : 38



iv. Click "Apply"

3. Now to make your network secure (security-enabled wireless network) , open Wireless Settings.



i. Choose an SSID (that will be your wireless network name)
ii. Under 'Security Options', choose WPA-PSK (Wi-Fi Protected Access Pre-Shared Key)

NOTE: I choose WPA encryption. I am not sure but apparently, it is more secure than WEP (Wired Equvalent Privacy) encryption.

iii. Choose your unique network key (between 8-63 characters) under WPA-PSK Encryption.

You are done.