As a web developer, I have to manage many websites for my clients. That is a given in my field. However, so is the burden of having to keep track of every site. This burden only gets worse when several of the sites that I manage are using WordPress to manage the content.

Every day, some plugin needs to be updated, and every so often the developers at WordPress release a new version, so all the sites have to be upgraded. This can be a hassle to track when you still have to create more websites and, like me, attend class and do homework.

Fortunately for me, I found a service that can help me with this endeavor.

ManageWP is the service that I found. For a cost, it allows me to add all of my client’s WordPress installs to a central dashboard (which is the WP dashboard, so it is very familiar) and makes my task as a webmaster much easier. I can see traffic stats on one graph. I can update plugins, themes, and WordPress itself with the click of a single button on their dashboard.

Some of my favorite features that they offer are:

• bulk installation and management of plugins and themes,
• sending email notifications when updates are available,
• schedule backups,
• ability to clone or migrate a WP install from one site to another,
• the Run code tool, and
• a remote Worker plugin to install on each site to allow for deep integration (which can be custom branded or even hidden)

ManageWP is a service that allows me to do what I need to do with ease and efficiency that I could not attain before. They also have several pricing plans to accommodate those with only a few websites, to those with 250 sites. Plus, they have several packages so that you can pay for the features that you need. As an added bonus, they have their own blog about how to make your blog better.

All in all, I like ManageWP, and I see myself continuing to use them in the future while managing WordPress sites.

Image from sportslogos.net

Once a year, there is a single game that most Americans plan to watch, or at least will be exposed to by their friends, family, or colleagues.  This game, of course, is the annual Super Bowl championship, where the two top teams will be facing off in a large arena, become a spectacle and a symbol of American sports during the time before and during the game.  No doubt, an important occasion for every football fan. For the people that are not fans of football, however, it is still an important occasion. Why is that?

In 2012, we are being treated to the 46th Super Bowl, and where the NFC’s New York Giants will play the AFC’s New England Patriots on Sunday, February 5, 2012, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. In the United States, it will be televised by NBC, as well as broadcasted online by NBC Sports.

Of course, as many Americans know, this is the biggest game during the year. Parties and gatherings are planned. Time off from employment is scheduled to allow employees to watch this game. Stores prep every aisle that they can for the amount of food and related accessories that fans will purchase.

The importance placed on this game by football fans and the media may be why those that, normally, do not follow sporting events are drawn into watching this game in order to see what the buzz is about. They hear about the big-name commentators, and ridiculously expensive tickets to get into the stadium, and the million-dollar commercials. Still, why do so many people watch this game year after year?

Regular people feel left out, and want to be a part of this large social event. Humans are social creatures, and we try to fit into where we think we should by doing what we see others doing. This has long been known to scholars of human behavior and communication patterns. We also do what it takes to get what we can out of a situation. So, people that are not true fans of football will sit on the couch with their buddies and cheer for one of the teams, even if we know nothing about either one. We just do it to gain social acceptance. We know that we are being watched, so we try to act accordingly while in our little panopticon (we will act differently while being watched, so a prison system was developed around this trait in humans).

You might ask: “How did they do that?” The answer is actually quite simple. CSS3. Yes, they made their page rotate a full 360 degrees by using little more than some very simple CSS. Here’s the actual CSS that they used:
body {
-moz-animation-name: roll;
-moz-animation-duration: 4s;
-moz-animation-iteration-count: 1;
-o-animation-name: roll;
-o-animation-duration: 4s;
-o-animation-iteration-count: 1;
-webkit-animation-name: roll;
-webkit-animation-duration: 4s;
-webkit-animation-iteration-count: 1;
}

I’d say that’s a cool trick. All you have to do is type in a certain phrase, the Instant Search detects what you’re doing, activates a little bit of code to modify the CSS rules pertaining to the body tag, and suddenly the entire page is rotating around its central point.

The iPhone 4S touts a better rear camera, better battery life, a more powerful processor, a better notification center, and a voice control system. The new 8MP camera isn’t the most impressive, since many other phone models had 8MP cameras for at least a year. The battery certainly is an improvement, since the new processor is a dual-core A5 model. Seriously, eight hours of talk time while on 3G is incredible, at least to me. The processor will be a very-welcomed relief to those that like to multitask, and balance several open apps at once, or gamers that want to continue gaming while away from their consoles or computers. The notification center has been created to reduce the distractions that a new message can cause while using any other app. Literally, any other app. Placing notifications on the lock screen is a nice touch, though. Finally, the voice control system. Named “Siri,” it wants to be a new way to control your phone. This feature, however, has been in the Android system for a while now. What Siri, will do differently, though, is make a fully-functional voice control app. The system in most Android phones right now is okay, but not great. With the support of Apple and the many developers for the iOS platform, Siri should lead the other phones in a race to allow a touch-less phone (a hint at the future, perhaps?).

So, what does this mean?

What does the iPhone 4S mean to the general population? The short answer: not much. The long answer:  this only means that Apple is testing a new feature, and will learn to improve for the future generation of iOS devices. And of course, a new device means that one will be rendered completely obsolete, most likely the iPhone 3G. And by obsolete, I mean not capable of supporting newer versions of an iOS operation system.

What does the iPhone 4S mean to the developer community? The short answer: it is something worthy to look at. The long answer:  it adds many new features from the iPad to a smaller screen. So, developers will have to focus on making their iPhone apps compatible with AirPlay, the Notification Center, and the Siri system, since the APIs may be different in order to utilize the new features properly. Also, the new processor allows for more intensive apps to be run, and for better graphics to be used. So now there is no excuse for a good game with slow response time or poor graphics. Lastly, developers will most likely be happy with the iPhone’s ability to connect with the Sprint network. This will allow even more users to use their apps, and will allow Sprint the ability to increase their postpaid income.

What would you recommend doing?

In short, the iPhone 4S isn’t greatly important to the general user, but may be of some interest to those involved with the functions and development of the iPhone’s system. I wouldn’t recommend upgrading your phone right now. Instead, I would wait another year for the (hopefully) iPhone 5 to be released, with (hopefully) many new and exciting improvements.

Well, it’s either your computer, or your network. If it’s your network, you might want to see if your ISP’s DNS servers are offline. Go to an IP address of a known site (such as 69.63.181.11 for Facebook, 74.125.224.72 for Google) and see if you can browse those sites normally. If you can’t, then your problem isn’t DNS related and some other tutorial on the Internet may help.

First, the question some may be asking is “What is DNS, and why should I care?” Simply put, DNS is the phonebook for the Internet. You put in the URL “google.com” and a DNS server returns “74.125.224.72,” so that your computer can find the server that you requested. It’s easy to remember a domain name, but not so easy for a person to remember a huge amount of IP addresses. This system makes it easier to browse the web.

Now, if you have found your problem to be DNS related, here is what you should do: use a free DNS provider. Two good services happen to be OpenDNS and Google Public DNS. Google Public DNS is free, but OpenDNS has free and paid versions. I find that the free version of OpenDNS works well for my personal use. They even have a page for someone to visit when they know that their current DNS servers are not functioning (208.69.38.205) and they will offer assistance if you tweet them @OpenDNS.

If a friend asks what to do about their “broken Internet,” you can just tell them what you were told here and possibly save the day.

We are really excited to be partnering with CJEllison.com in the production of HouseofBonhoeffer.com for the House of Bonhoeffer at The King’s College, New York City.

CJEllison is a long time veteran of the web production industry, and the website is coming along even better than expected. We’re launching the site on January 20th, 2010, and you can join us over the internet for our Launch Party in the Empire State Building by visiting this link.

Source: ChadAbbott.com

Basically, this plugin will allow you to update your profile’s status or your fan page’s status using the secret, unique email that Facebook provides for mobile updates.

This plugin uses a post’s shortlink to update Facebook, where a large variety of services can tweet the post if needed. If you want to find a good shortlink service, my advice is the get WordPress.com Stats. It provides users of WordPress 3.0 with wp.me shortlinks, which last as long as WordPress.com is around.

I’m not a designer, creator, or engineer of Facebook or Twitter, so I can’t answer any questions about them. But feel free to Like my page or follow me on Twitter. I use this program myself to update my Facebook page, so that’s how I back my code.

You can find the plugin here.

I would like to say that this is most likely a scam, false, or a trick. Any one of those symptoms may be the signs of a virus, but it could be something far more simple. There are many free solutions to this software, and they don’t nag you (not as much) if you don’t have the top-of-the-line software from them. In any case, you should consult with a computer specialist, and not rely on a commercial to tell you how to fix your computer. It would probably be cheaper, easier, and more thorough than the software advertised on TV with the commercials that are meant to scare you into submission.

What’s the Difference Between Viruses, Trojans, Worms, and Other Malware? [Lifehacker]