Journal of Useful Tips » Jon Moffet

5 ways to spend your Paypal credits online if you can’t withdraw it

Jon Moffet — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 16:33:14 +0000

There are plenty of reason why people seems to be unable to withdraw their Paypal money from their account. One of the main reason is that Paypal prohibit users from certain countries from withdrawing their Paypal account into local bank account, and getting a US checking account incurs additional costs that might not justify its use.

Afraid not, because here are 5 ideas how you can spend your Paypal credit online, and let it not go to waste.

Bid items on Ebay - Ebay has many local websites, all of it supports Paypal as a method of payment. So why don’t you leverage this with your paypal credits?
Send flowers to your loved ones - Sites like Flowers.com.my offers variety of gifts and flowers on special occasion for your loved ones. You can show your appreciation by sending them bouquet of flowers
Get domain names, SSL cert or whois protection - Websites like Namecheap.com, provides an easy to use interface which enables you to obtain and manage your domain name more effectively. They offers SSL certificate at a reasonable price too!
Get your own VPS - You can get VPS account and run your own Web hosting company or your own SQL Server with RapidVPS. Payable using Paypal account of course
Order books online - What more better thing you can do other than reading books? You can browse the most popular books, read reviews and order books online on Barnes & Noble

Gender Genie - Automatically Identify blogger’s gender

Jon Moffet — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 07:33:24 +0000

I found a fun service named Gender Genie which can guess the gender of an author by just using sample paragraphs from the author’s writings. Based on an algorithm by Moshe Koppel and Shlomo Argamon from Illinois Institute of Technology, Gender Genie can quite accurately (albeit sometimes humorously) predict the writers gender solely base on the style of his/her writings.

The downside of this service that I found that it need at least 500 words sample in order to predict gender fairly accurately, a number which is quite impossible to get with a blog entry.

However having said that, Gender Genie is a fun service available on the web which you can try in order to test the ‘masculinity’ (or ‘femininity’) of your blog. You should try it now : The Gender Genine

Tags: gender, blog, blogging, blogger, wordpress, blogs

Funny 404 Not Found Page - Webserver can get depressed too

Jon Moffet — Sun, 27 May 2007 07:51:20 +0000

My friend forwarded this 404 page link to me, it’s funny that somebody has gone to a great length to make sure that you dont walk-away empty-handed when you encountered a 404 Document Not Found messages on their websites.

For those who don’t know, 404 error code is probably the most popular HTTP code you encountered in the internet. It denotes that the page that you’re accessing does not exists or have been removed from its location.

You can refer to History of 404 website for more background information about the error code

Tags: history, http, webserver, web server, http, humor

How to Embed MP3 player in blogger.com (BlogSpot) blogs

Jon Moffet — Sat, 19 May 2007 15:53:39 +0000

Users of Google Blogger.com service might find their option is a bit limiting compared to hosted Wordpress blogger when it comes to embedding MP3 player on their posts. This is due to the restricted nature of blogger.com service compared to self hosted Wordpress, which can be extended with countless plugins.

However, don’t be discouraged as Google Operating System blog has provided us with a solution to embed MP3 player in Google Blogger.com service. Please refer to : Embed MP3 Files Into Your Website for further instructions

Tags: wordpress, blogger, blogger.com, blogs, blog, mp3, flash

HugeURL - the opposite service of TinyURL

Jon Moffet — Sat, 19 May 2007 06:22:04 +0000

Users of TinyURL might be aware of the useful website that offer service to shorten a long url in the forms of http://tinyurl.com/xxxxx , but have you ever heard about HugeURL?

HugeURL is a complete opposite of TinyURL which actually expand shorter URL to fill browser’s address bar.

Here’s a sample of HugeURL output of http://tipvista.com:

http://www.hugeurl.com/?OTMyYTIxNzY4YzBmYzc0ZTg2MzBjYWQ0Mjgz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Visit HugeURL because “Because bigger is better, right?”

Tags: tinyurl, url, http, website, services

Sitemeter received new facelift!

Jon Moffet — Thu, 10 May 2007 07:33:51 +0000

Sitemeter - a free web statistic service has received a new face lift today which replaces its old 1990s look with a new green and snappy (albeit still Web 1.0) look. At the time of this writing, I still I can’t find additional features on Sitemeter free account, although they have changed some of the stats labeling to a new name (but with the same functionality) - (Weekly,Monthly,Yearly)->(Previous 7 days, Previous 30 days, Previous 12 Months)

The latest facelift is nice, but I would rather stick to Google Analytics account as it give me more detailed statistics than the other free web statistic tool available on the internet.

Tags: statistic, stats, web stats, sitemeter, internet, freestuff

Download free Computer and Tech e-book from these websites

Jon Moffet — Fri, 04 May 2007 04:46:51 +0000

Nowadays, computer books are being sold everywhere around you.

However, choosing a good computer book might not be as easy as it used to be. A lot of books nowadays barely touch the subject you’re interested in, that’s why you need an in-depth preview of the books before you actually fork your money on them.

And what better way to get a good book preview than e-book downloads?

Here is a list of websites that offers free e-book downloads, feel free to peruse them for your research/previewing purpose :

Note: Most of the book listed on these websites are copyrighted by their respective publishers/authors. Downloading material without express permission from the copyright holder might be illegal in your country, you have been warned.

Tags: books, e-books, download, downloads, free download, ebook, bittorrent

PPCalc - Paypal Payment fee calculator

Jon Moffet — Thu, 03 May 2007 22:36:49 +0000

PPCalc is useful website that can calculate PayPal payment fee. This is useful if you’re planning sell product and service on the internet using Paypal.

By using the fee calculator, you can determine the exact amount of money you will get (minus fee) when the customers pay you, thus it will give you the general idea on the revenue you’re getting.

Reverse Fee Calculator
Another useful feature of this website is the Reverse fee calculator, which can be use when you want to make sure the person you’re sending money to receive the *exact* amount you’re intending to send.

For example, if you’re owe Brian USD10 and then you decided to pay him using Paypal, you need to make sure that Brian receive USD10 even after Paypal deducted processing fees.

PPCalc takes care of this problem by calculating the payment markups you need to add in order for Brian to receive USD10 after the processing fees (in this case you need to send USD10.66).

In conclusion, PPCalc provide you with a handy tool to calculate Paypal processing fee for your convenience to send or receive payments across the internet.

Tags: paypal, payment processor, calculator, e-commerce, ecommerce, credit card, ccnow

The Copyrighted Illegal Numbers

Jon Moffet — Thu, 03 May 2007 21:49:40 +0000

Observe the numbers !
09-F9-11-02-9D-74-E3-5B-D8-41-56-C5-63-56-88-C0

For the past 48 hours, the blogosphere was swarmed by posts regarding this hex number which is the key to decrypt protected content of High Definition DVD (HD DVD) media (AACS).

The numbers is being posted all over the internet as part of the ‘Spread this number’ campaign when the general public was angered by the DMCA takedown notice issued by AACS LA on websites that merely publishes “a number”.

It was argued that nobody can’t own a mere ‘number’ - let alone restrict other people from using it solely because it is being use as an encryption key to protect media content.

The “Spread this number” call is a step taken by bloggers around the world to overwhelm AACS LA enforcers in order to force them to find a better way to protect their content beside banning people from using “a number”

By the time of this writing, Google.com search for the numbers returns close to 1 million results - a significant increase from a mere 9,140 results when the key was searched on May 1,2007.

Warning: Spreading the numbers on your website can be considered an offense depending on which country you’re living. Spread it at your own risk :p

Tags: numbers, aacs, hd-dvd, hddvd, the number

What if your boss want to start a blog ? (Dilbert)

Jon Moffet — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 12:37:08 +0000

What happens when your boss suddenly wants to start a blog?

Hopefully I wouldn’t be the one that going to write it :p, my hands are already full with my own blogs.

p/s: blogging is fun and rewarding if you write it voluntarily in your own time, but it would be a living hell if your sole ‘job description’ is just for writing blogs :p

Tags: funny, comic, dilbert, blogs, boss, phb, blogging

What’s the differences between cc: and bcc: in your e-mail client ?

Jon Moffet — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 11:43:16 +0000

If you’ve been using email clients for some time, you may already aware that you have the option of sending email to multiple recipient using to:, cc: and bcc:.

cc: means ‘carbon copy’ - is a copy given to another recipient beside the person you’re sending the email to. For example, if you are writing an email inquiring about the price of a particular product, naturally you’ll send it to sales@example.com, and then you might want to send a carbon copy to your supervisor - supervisor@yourdomain.com, telling him that you’re doing your job.

so when the sales department in the other company responded, your supervisor will be able to read the reply as well. So everybody in the cc list is able to know each other email address when they receive it.

bcc: stands for blind carbon copy - basically is the same with cc: but with a little twist, the bcc: receiver just receive a copy of the email, and he can’t read other email addresses in the list. So in a nutshell, bcc offers more privacy than cc because the email address of the recipient is protected from each other.

hope that helps clears up some questions

Tags: email, emails, bcc, cc, email client, gmail

Today is Friday the 13th

Jon Moffet — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 06:24:20 +0000

Today is Friday - 13 April 2007, some people call it the dreaded Friday the 13th as they believe weird things may happen during this day because they consider it is an unlucky day. The date has been use by malicious crackers to spread viruses to computers around the world as it is a synonymous with ‘grief’ and ‘bad luck’.

I don’t know about you but people around me are making so much fuss about the date. Personally I do not believe in such superstition as it is counter-productive to base our lives solely on mere dates and numbers.

The next occasion of Friday the 13th will happen on 13 July this year, it coincide with the release of Harry Potter film : Order of the Phoenix. Harry Potter films is a well known franchise raking millions of dollars throughout the world, will Friday the 13th bring bad luck to Harry Potter? I don’t think so…

Tags: friday, superstitions, harry potter, humour, humor, funny, 2007, bad luck

Masterseek - Business Search Engine

Jon Moffet — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 23:24:08 +0000

If you are searching for specific electrical and electronic equipments manufacturing companies or something way different like companies which are into creating custom or bespoke computer software, it is better to search in a vertical search engine like Masterseek

Now you must be wondering how a vertical search engine will help..Vertical search engines deliver to businesses what the big sites can’t without the use of complex keyword combinations: relevant and essential content versus an exhaustive return of information.

Business.com their competitors are just directories whereas Masterseek is a search engine plus directory

You can even list your company on Masterseek and get a good exposure based on keywords and additional listing of your products.The price ?? Only 199$ for 12 months..Good isnt it ?? It sure is and for the next three months any basic submission listing is free!!

Howto Check Future Google Pagerank Prediction

Jon Moffet — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 07:59:41 +0000

Curious about your website’s current and future Google Pagerank? You can check it using any of these free tools :

Note that there are no guarantee that any of these tools are entirely accurate because PageRank is entirely dependent on Google’s proprietary algorithm.

PageRank is a page ranking-system employed by Google to determine the value of a webpage, it is the most popular metric for determining the popularity of a website beside Alexa Ranking system.

Tags: google, pagerank, page rank, seo, domain, alexa, pr

Real Life “The Simpsons” Advertisement

Jon Moffet — Sat, 24 Mar 2007 11:55:58 +0000

Ever watched The Simpsons? Then I’m sure you’re familiar with the unique Simpsons opening sequence including the infamous couch gags.

Here’s a real life “The Simpsons” opening sequence specially made by the British SkyTV

Cool isn’t it?

Tags: cartoon, simpsons, bart, marge, the simpsons, fox network, homer