http://www.peternichol.com/ Peter Nichol's official blog Copyright 2012 Peter Nichol 60 en-gb Sun, 20 May 2012 10:55:51 http://www.peternichol.com//images/p.jpg http://www.peternichol.com/ http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/facebook-broken/ If Facebook isn't working for you, Facebook is broken, slow or just not loading, there is another way in... Wed, 14 Oct 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/building-a-keyword-ladder/ What is a keyword ladder, and why should I use one? Thu, 24 Sep 2009 17:03:39 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/from-a-design-to-a-website/ Once you've got a design, how will you then build it into a website. Wed, 23 Sep 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/starting-to-design-a-website/ Where to start when it comes to designing a website. Tue, 22 Sep 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/can-receive-emails--but-not-send-them/ What could be causing my email client to be able to receive emails, but not send them? Mon, 21 Sep 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/dynamic-style-sheets-using-php/ How to create a dynamic css style sheet using php. Sun, 20 Sep 2009 17:40:33 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/voice-chat-coming-to-facebook/ Facebook is going to be getting a skype type voice chat. Tue, 15 Sep 2009 17:37:48 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/tag-a-friend-in-your-facebook-status/ Now you can tag a friend in a Facebook status. Tue, 15 Sep 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/2-games-to-play-when-im-bored/ When you're bored these are 2 highly addictive games that will keep you entertained for ages. Mon, 14 Sep 2009 2:56:59 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/visual-basic-6--check-directory-or-file-exists/ Before opening files or directories using VB6 you want to check that the file or directory exists so that you don't create errors. Sat, 12 Sep 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/visual-basic-6--get-last-backslash/ Useful VB6 to find the string after the las backslash, often used with file paths. Fri, 11 Sep 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/turn-your-computer-monitor-into-a-mood-light/ Turn your computer monitor into a mood light Wed, 9 Sep 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/turn-your-computer-monitor-into-a-party-light/ Turn your computer monitor into a party light. Tue, 8 Sep 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/turn-your-computer-monitor-into-a-strobe-light/ Turn your computer monitor into a strobe light. Mon, 7 Sep 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/how-did-keywords-used-to-work/ When search engines first came about how did they work with the website's keywords? Sat, 5 Sep 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/pagerank/ How do I get my website a higher PageRank? Thu, 3 Sep 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/keyword-competition/ How can you find out good keywords/keyphrases with little competition? Wed, 2 Sep 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/inbound-links/ Check how many inbound links there are to your website Tue, 1 Sep 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/optimising-for-a-keyword/ Each page should optimise for a specific keyword/keyphrase. Thu, 27 Aug 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/page-titles/ Whay is the web page's title so important? Sat, 22 Aug 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/cheating-google/ What does Google count as trying to cheat? Fri, 21 Aug 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/friendly-urls/ What are friendly URLs, and why should they be used? Thu, 20 Aug 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/what-every-website-should-have/ Every website that is made should have the following things... Tue, 18 Aug 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/sending-a-trackback/ Sending a trackback to another website. Mon, 17 Aug 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/setup-trackback-trackback-page/ Saving trackbacks to a database when they are received. Sun, 16 Aug 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/setup-trackback-blog-entry-page/ Setting up the blog entry page ready to implement the trackback functionality. Sat, 15 Aug 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/setup-trackback-database/ Setting up the database ready for the trackback functionality to be implemented. Fri, 14 Aug 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/what-is-needed-to-add-trackback-functionality/ What is needed to implement the trackback functionality to a blogging website. Thu, 13 Aug 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/when-do-i-use-a-trackback/ The code needed for a blog entry to be auto-discovered for trackback functionality. Mon, 10 Aug 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/what-is-a-trackback/ What is a trackback and how they're used. Sun, 9 Aug 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/a-short-history-about-blogging/ How blogging started and how it's evolved. Fri, 7 Aug 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/windows-update/ Use Windows updates to keep your computer up-to-date with the latest fixes and patches from Microsoft. Mon, 3 Aug 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/defragment-hard-drive/ Defragment your hard drive to free storage space on your hard drive. Sun, 2 Aug 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/disk-cleanup/ Running a disk cleanup will remove temporary files and empty your recely bin to free up more hard drive space. Sat, 1 Aug 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/system-tray/ Clear out the system tray to stop background applications and processes from eating up your computer's resources. Mon, 27 Jul 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/visual-effects-windows-vista/ Cut down your visual effects with Windows Vista to speed up your computer's performance. Sun, 26 Jul 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/visual-effects-windows-xp/ Cut down your visual effects with Windows XP to speed up your computer's performance. Sat, 25 Jul 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/free-tools-windows-defender/ Windows Defender is free with Windows Vista and is a firewall application that can help minimise un-wanted Internet activity. Fri, 24 Jul 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/free-tools-windows-firewall/ Stop un-wanted Internet activity from accessing or interacting with your computer. Thu, 23 Jul 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/free-tools-aml-registry-cleaner/ Running a registry cleaner will remove any old, errornous and harmful registry entries that may be affecting your computer's performance. Wed, 22 Jul 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/free-tools-spybot-search-and-destroy/ Downloading SpyBot Search and Destroy will help protect your computer from Internet threats. Tue, 21 Jul 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/free-tools-adaware/ AdAware is a free adware removal tool. Mon, 20 Jul 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/free-tools-avg-anti-virus/ AVG anti-virus software is a free tool that will help keep your computer safe from viruses. Sun, 19 Jul 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/how-do-i-know-if-i-have-spyware-or-adware/ A few symptoms that your computer may be infected with spyware or adware. Sat, 18 Jul 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/how-do-i-know-if-i-have-a-virus/ A few checks that you can carry out to see if your computer is carrying a virus. Fri, 17 Jul 2009 23:08:12 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/7-tips-to-starting-up-on-twitter/ How should I start using Twitter to benefit me? Thu, 9 Jul 2009 20:12:38 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/dual-monitor-cloning-with-windows-vista/ Windows Vista does not allow dual monitors to be switched back to monitor cloning. Thu, 25 Jun 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/top-gears-the-stig-revealed/ Top Gear's The Stig finally reveals himself Sun, 21 Jun 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/security-warning-with-a-wireless-keyboard/ A new security risk has been found when using a wireless keyboard Sun, 14 Jun 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/flaw-in-firefox-on-the-apple-mac/ A security risk has been found when using Firefox on the Apple Mac Fri, 12 Jun 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/konami-code-to-hack-facebook-background/ A Konami code that will change Facebook's background Sat, 23 May 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/why-use-twitter-hash-tags/ Twitter has something called hash tags, but why use them? Sat, 9 May 2009 14:00:24 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/tinyurl-blocked-by-zone-alarm/ You may find that Zone Alarm is blocking your web browser from going to TinyURL Fri, 8 May 2009 16:56:55 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/how-do-loading-times-affect-website-traffic/ If a website takes a long time to load it can lose you a lot of website traffic Thu, 7 May 2009 20:53:49 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/microsoft-office-2007-file-extensions/ The problems with file extensions since Microsoft Office 2007 Wed, 6 May 2009 12:29:15 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/paypal-receipt-for-play-and-connect-ltd-scam/ A scam email from PayPal saying that I had purchased from Play and Connect Ltd Tue, 5 May 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/php-switch-syntax/ The syntax used when using the PHP function, switch Tue, 5 May 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/offline-networking-opportunities/ Networking shouldn't just be left to online sources, but also should be carried out offline. Mon, 4 May 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/facebook-status-games/ An un-official list of games you can play using just your Facebook status Sun, 3 May 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/best-ways-to-promote-a-blog/ When promoting your blog these are teh best ways to do it. Fri, 1 May 2009 15:52:11 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/why-promote-someone-elses-blog/ Why should I promote someone else's blog, can't I just write it again in my own words? Thu, 30 Apr 2009 21:19:07 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/php-server-variable/ What is the PHP server varialbe and what value does it hold? Wed, 29 Apr 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/php-login-example-using-mysql-and-cookies/ A login example using PHP, MySQL and Cookies Tue, 28 Apr 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/php-from-or-php-form/ PHP from - a common mistake for spelling PHP form. Mon, 27 Apr 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/css-with/ How you can use CSS with different website development languages Sun, 26 Apr 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/request-php-variable/ What is the _request variable in php? Fri, 24 Apr 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/facebook-analysis/ How can we analyse the results that we get from Facebook? Thu, 23 Apr 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/how-long-before-website-changes-take-effect/ Once a change has been made to a website how long will it be until Google re-cawls and the changes take effect? Wed, 22 Apr 2009 16:53:30 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/displaying-a-directorys-files-using-php/ Using PHP to display a list of files on your web server Tue, 21 Apr 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/best-ways-of-link-building/ Google gives a better page rank to a website that is seen to be useful by others and so having links back to your website is always a good thing. Mon, 20 Apr 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/drop-down-navigation/ How to implement drop navigation to your website Sun, 19 Apr 2009 11:42:35 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/firefox-addons/ Which Firefox Addons I recommend Sat, 18 Apr 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/avoid-the-spam-filters-when-sending-bulk-emails/ When sending a bulk email you want to get as many of the emails into the inbox as possible, here's some tips on how to avoid the spam filters Fri, 17 Apr 2009 15:19:34 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/website-funnel-model/ How the website funnel works and how to track it. Thu, 16 Apr 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/transferring-a-domain/ What are the implications of transferring a domain, and when does it need to be done? Wed, 15 Apr 2009 12:44:48 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/using-a-web-pages-title/ How best to you a web page's title for search engine optimisation Tue, 14 Apr 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/why-do-i-need-ftp-access-to-my-website/ People keep talking about FTP for a website, but do I really need it? Sun, 12 Apr 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/is-facebook-note-s-the-same-as-a-blog/ Rather than setting up a blog, can I just use the notes feature of Facebook? Sat, 11 Apr 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/how-many-pages-should-my-website-have/ How many web pages should my new website have? Fri, 10 Apr 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/which-web-browsers-should-i-test-my-website-with/ When you build a ne website you need to be sure that every visitor is able to view the website with their different web browsers and computer setups. Here's a check list for you Thu, 9 Apr 2009 8:29:17 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/talktalk-broadband-setup-adsl-problems/ Are you having problems whilst setting up your ADSL TalkTalk broadband connection? Wed, 8 Apr 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/petals-around-the-rose-game/ Petals around the rose is like a mathematical game, or maybe better described as a puzzle. Tue, 7 Apr 2009 17:38:30 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/facebook-page-or-facebook-group/ Which is better for my business - a Facebook page or a Facebook group? Mon, 6 Apr 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/why-use-return-receipt-on-emails/ What is the purpose of the return receipt on emails and when should it be used? Sun, 5 Apr 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/using-google-analytics-to-track-file-downloads/ Google Analytics isn't just for page views, also track the files that are downloaded Sat, 4 Apr 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/where-to-submit-your-applications/ If you've developed your own applications, where should you submit them on the Internet? Fri, 3 Apr 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/is-myspace-a-thing-of-the-past/ Has MySpace finally reached it's limit, is it all over? Thu, 2 Apr 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/word-grid-game/ A game like the Word Find game but on a larger scale Wed, 1 Apr 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/word-find-game/ Find as many words as you can in the grid. Tue, 31 Mar 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/why-join-forums/ Joining forums is good for SEO and link backs to your website, find out how. Mon, 30 Mar 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/creating-a-dynamic-sitemap-or-other-xml-file/ Creating a dynamic sitemap or xml file using php Sun, 29 Mar 2009 18:12:45 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/facebook-smileys-chat-emotions/ Want to make your Facebook chat a bit more interesting? Add some smiley face emotions. Sat, 28 Mar 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/twitter-remote-and-mybloglog/ Which is better to use on your website Twitter's twitter remote or Yahoo's MyBlogLog Fri, 27 Mar 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/days-alive-calculator-application/ Want to know how many days you've been alive? Thu, 26 Mar 2009 0:37:57 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/writing-copy-for-email-newsletters/ How to get the best results out of an email newsletter Wed, 25 Mar 2009 16:02:01 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/use-the-right-pictures-online/ Pictures that you're going to use on your website should be picked carefully Tue, 24 Mar 2009 14:03:52 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/web8-game/ I have built a new game called Web8. It's like sudoku, but in a web. Mon, 23 Mar 2009 4:29:31 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/website-analytics-are-always-useful/ Are the website analytics still useful and worth doing even if I never look at them? Sun, 22 Mar 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/optimise-your-error-404-page-not-found/ There's nothing worse than hitting the default "error 404 page not found" page Sat, 21 Mar 2009 0:00:00 http://www.peternichol.com/blog/entry/barriers-when-sending-email-newsletters/ Some issues you may want to consider when sending bulk emails or email newsletters Fri, 20 Mar 2009 0:00:00