Category: Information

Categories
Announcements Information

New Guidelines for Bloggers from the FTC

I just caught this article on CNN… “FTC targets bloggers, celebrities”

Starting on December 1st, Bloggers as well as users of Social Websites will have to reveal if they are being compensated in any fashion when endorsing a product.

Which is good news for us customers, and has been the “norm” for some time in other mediums: i.e. “Full Disclosure”

As I write this post, the thought occurs to me…

What about sites that host “Customer feedback”, sites like Amazon, Target, Walmart, etc.

In the CNN article, the author states that some companies create their own Blogs, and then post comments as “objective”…

That got me thinking about Companies letting Employees use “non-company” email/account to write “reviews” of products.

This could also go the other direction…

An Employee of Company A, using a “non-company” email/account, writing a negative review of a competitors product on a Blog, Social Website, or Online Store site.

In either case, it would be next to impossible for the FTC or anyone else to track down a “post’s” original author or intent.

Most operators of hosted email accounts (AOL, Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, etc.) will not easily reveal the identity of the users, which is good, but just add one more layer to the complexity of the possible situation.

Combine that with the ease of setting up an email account anywhere in the world…

All the above just emphasizes the old saying “caveat emptor”…

Final thought, since I use Google for several things, AdSense, Analytic, Blog, etc., and I earn money via the AdSense program, will that mean, come December 1st, that I have to disclosure this fact?

– Andrew

Full Disclosure: I use AdSense and Google…

Embedded video from CNN Video

– Andrew
§ § § § §
[adrotate banner=”1″]
Categories
How to(s)? Information Open Source Reference Software Tech Talk Website

DotNetNuke Upgrade (5.0.x) – The Long Way

The following steps have been written for a remote shared hosting environment, and have been used in a DNN 5.0.1 to 5.1.1 upgrade.

  1. Backup your website files;
  2. Backup your database file;
  3. Download the lasted package;
    1. Most folks use the “Update” package, but others seem to prefer the “Install”
  4. Backup and then Verify/Modify your web.config (Step not need in DNN version 4.6.2 and above)
    1. Database connection strings in <connectionStrings> section
      1. Data Source=(your server name);Initial Catalog=(your db name);user id=(your db user);password=(your db password);” providerName=”System.Data.SqlClient”/>
    2. Database connection strings in <appSettings> section
      1. Data Source=(your server name);Initial Catalog=(your db name);user id=(your db user);password=(your db password);”/>
  5. Backup and Modify <add key=”AutoUpgrade” value=”false” /> in web.config from true to false;
    1. Change this to prevent accidental upgrade from an outside source during your Upgrade file transfer [Reference Link]
  6. Add the a file named “App_Offline.htm” to your root directory;
    1. By adding this file, it will take your site off line. [Reference Link]
  7. Replace/Move the Unzipped files into the active site;
    1. Some Hosting environments allow one to Upload a Zip file and then Unzip to over write the existing files.
    2. Manually replace files/directories.
      1. Unzip the Update/Install package on your Local Hard drive
      2. Use something like FileZilla to view and move files and directories
      3. This can take 45-60 minutes
      4. Allows one to get a better understanding of the internal “plumbing” of DNN
  8. Backup and Modify <add key=”AutoUpgrade” value=”true” /> in web.config from false to true;
  9. Rename or Delete “App_Offline.htm” to your root directory;
    1. One can just add the “.bak” extension and leave the file in place for future use.
      1. Example: “App_Offline.htm.bak”
  10. Browse to
    1. During this process, all new web.config changes are added [Reference Link]
  11. The Upgrade window should appear, and give a progress status line for each item or event that is happen.
    1. This takes approximately 5-10 minutes.
  12. Your done!
    1. Total time: 60-75 minutes

Additional Resources:

DotNetNuke – “Chat About It” Forum – “Upgrade Steps”

– There are additional links within this thread

Mitchel Seller “DNN Saint” – Main Website

– This site has a TON of great DNN related info!

[contentblock id=1]