I was trying to get some directions the other day from Google Maps and discovered that the map wouldn’t load. I recently upgraded to Firefox 3, but thought for certain that I had successfully used Google Maps since the upgrade. I did a little digging around and found that I wasn’t the only person experiencing this problem. Question was, “How do I fix this problem?”

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WebCamMax is an application that can take your ordinary webcam to the next level. Cool screen effects, video source switching, and cam recording are just a few of the features packed into this affordable piece of software. And while most webcams sold today come with some sort of extra control software, WebCamMax has richer and more extensive features than a standard webcam software bundle. I was so impressed with the trial version of WebCamMax that I bought a copy and it was through that purchase that I learned a few things about the product worth mentioning to other perspective WebCamMax customers.

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On Monday I wrote a quick article discussing how you could use SyncToy, a free application from Microsoft, as a simple hard drive back up utility. While I think the application is fantastic, it does lack one critical feature: scheduled execution. Fortunately, both Windows XP and Vista have a built in scheduling application that you can use to add this missing functionality to SyncToy. In this article I’ll review the steps required for installing SyncToy, how to configure a sync, and how to schedule it with the built in application for automated execution.

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Not too long ago the hard drive in my primary computer died. Fortunately, the death was progressive so I was able to make a quick backup before the inevitable complete failure occurred. My approach to the backup was a basic drag-n-drop of files and folders to an external hard drive. The process took longer than necessary and I wasted a lot of time trying to determine what was and was not critical. In the end, while drag-n-drop did the job, I wished there was a way to automate the process and convert this basic computer task into a reasonable backup solution. I started to look around, and here is what I found.

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It’s no secret that an iPod can do much more than play music. Movies, pictures, and audio books can also be loaded onto your iPod making it more than just an digital music player. In a previous post I described how to rip and load a DVD movie onto your iPod with free software. Now, I want further extend the functionality of an iPod by outlining the process for ripping and loading a CD audio book.

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Now that I finally gave in and signed up for Twitter, I want to add my Twitter feed to my blog. And as one might suspect, Twitter offers a few options to help you get their product on your site. Here’s how I put my Twitter updates in the TechTraction sidebar.

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My nephew had his first encounter with the infamous Blue Screen of Death which left his desktop computer utterly useless. Having been appointed the family “computer guy” many years ago, I received the casual, yet mildly panicked, inquiry, “Hey, can you fix Thomas’ computer? It says something about an unmountable boot thingy.”

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I’ve been doing a lot of work over the past year with PHP, and have been loving this language for dynamic web page development. I program in a couple of other languages so I have a few personal preferences for how I write code regardless of the language. Therefore, I often write standard if statements in PHP the same way I do in other languages; however, there are at least two other ways to write a PHP if statement that I often forget (old habits die hard) and am writing today’s post a quick “cheat sheet” type of reference for myself, and anyone else that needs a quick reminder of the available PHP if statement styles.

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On Monday I answered the question (at least in from perspective) why Microsoft Office continues to dominant the realm of word processing, spreadsheets and presentation graphics — it’s the proprietary document formats for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Basically, once you’ve started amassing a pile of documents saved in .doc, .xls, or .ppt format, you’re stuck with an application that can read and edit those formats. Obviously, many find it easy to just stick with Microsoft Office; however, for those that prefer a non-traditional route, alternatives do exist.

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Last week I wrote a 3 part series explaining how to copy (a.k.a. rip) a DVD movie to your iPod:

The first article listed the two pieces of necessary software (DVD43 and Handbrake)
The second article described how to install and use those two applications together to decrypt and then copy a DVD movie into a format […]

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