Joomla 1.5.8 Released

On November 10th, 2008 Joomla 1.5.8 [Wohnaiki] was released. This release contains a number of bug fixes and two moderate-level security fixes.  Two moderate-level security issues were fixed in this release: Default filtering for content & Filtering for Web Link descriptions. For more information visit: http://www.joomla.org/announcements/release-news/5219-joomla-158-released.html

Destination Based Sales Tax – Virtuemart doesn’t support it!

While I appreciate all of the work the guys at Virtuemart have done over the years, their shopping cart product still does not support one the Internets most recent must have items – Destination-based sales tax based on local zip code + 4.  I have been working on a website for a company in Washington using Joomla 1.5.x and Virtuemart 1.1.x.  Unfortunately I was almost finished the site, just for a new law to go into affect, which affects many States now, and that is the new Destination-based sales tax law.  This has thrown a major glitch into our time lines and development.  Now my company has taken a huge financial hit because Virtuemart does not support this, nor do they seem interested in building this feature into the site any time soon.  There isn’t much help or any relevant contributions in the Virtuemart forums either.  There have been a few suggestions for older versions of Joomla/Virtuemart and you can find one here: http://forum.virtuemart.net/index.php?topic=22809.0, however nothing real solid for newer versions.  This post is just an FYI for anyone looking to use Virtuemart, as they don’t support this extremely important feature.

Joomla 1.5.6 High Risk Security Issue Fix Released August 12th

On August 26th, 2008 – Joomla 1.5.6 [Vusani] was released. This is a quick turnaround security release to address a high level security issue and it is recommended all users upgrade immediately.  Release notes: SECURITY [HIGH] Fixed security hole in reset logic to check for proper token length. For more information: http://developer.joomla.org/security/news/241-20080801-core-password-remind-functionality.html

Joomla! 1.5.5 Released – Monday, 28 July 2008

The Joomla! community released Joomla! 1.5.5 [Mamni] on Monday July 28th 2008. This is a quick turnaround release to address the Duplicate Title error from 1.5.4 . This release also contains important SEF URL improvements and fixes for com_content in addition to a number of bug fixes and improvements.

I just noticed Joomla 1.5.4 was released earlier this month

Joomla! 1.5.4 [Naiki] is a normal maintenance release which includes a few low to moderate security issues, many bug fixes, and several very nice improvements. It has been a little over ten weeks since Joomla! 1.5.3 was released on April 24, 2008. The Development Working Group’s goal is to continue to provide regular, frequent updates to the Joomla! community containing the latest bug fixes and minor enhancements.

So far I have really enjoyed working with Joomla version 1.5.x.  I’ve been integrating that with the Virtuemart shopping cart.  I think the guys at Virtuemart are doing a fantastic job, however there are many code tweaks that need to be made before you are able to realistically send any customers to your store.  Most of them are pretty small, but hopefully they will be fixed in near-future Virtuemart releases.  They seem so basic an obvious to me….

Webmasters should keep up on Official Google Blog & Webmaster Blog

If you’re serious about web design they you should be reading these blogs.
http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/
Official news on crawling and indexing sites for the Google index.

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/
Insight into new Google products, technology and Google culture.

Joomla 1.5 Stable, and VirtueMart 1.1 Stable both Released Recently

Over the last couple of months Joomla released a stable version of thier 1.5 CMS platform, and VirtueMart released a Version 1.1.0 Stable platform to support the newer Joomla CMS. This combination is truly a blessing.  However these releases are fairly new, and I am still finding small bugs, and seemingly obvious configuration setting that aren’t there. While this combination is great, don’t expect to get your site running overnight. 

Would You Use Content Management System CMS To Build A Client Website

Would you use a Content Management System (CMS) for a high traffic or client website?  Why or why not?  I have been designing websites for myself for a couple of years now, and have not thought twice about modifying a free Content Management System or pre-written e-Commerce solution to help build my business and personal websites.  But now, I have been hired to design websites for several small companies.  Let me ask you what you think.   If I design a client website starting with a Content Management System like Mambo, Joomla, or e-Commerce solution like osCommerce, would you consider this cheating?  Should  I really reinvent the wheel  if I am able to start with a great system that has already been written, then modify or add to it to suite my clients needs?  Am I being deceitful to my client?  I personally don’t think so!  If you charge them for your time, and your time is building them a site that suites their needs, and you deliver, then you are doing exactly what they have asked.  Chances are you have also saved them a bundle of money.  What do you think?

Just take a moment and look at many of the websites you frequent.  I bet many of them are built on these pre-existing systems.  I know many of my favorite sites are!  Many thanks to the contributors of these systems.

Are your affiliate partners not paying you too?

A few years ago I started making money on the web with affiliate sales.  I found a company who was and still is identified as one of the most reputable companies in their business.  I was previously using http://www.linkshare.com to track and set up my sales and my store.  About 2 years ago, this company asked me if I would like to work with them directly, and identified all of the benefits of doing so.  I quickly agreed.  Immediately I recognized how valuable this relationship was, and where this business could possibly take me.  

Well after working with them for a year or so I started receiving my payments months behind, then eventually not at all.  Now it is a year and a half later and the company is filing for Bankruptcy protection under chapter 11.  They also filed for a “sale motion” to sell all or most of their assets.  My agreement with this company expired nearly 1 year ago, but my account with them is still set up, and they still send me reports showing the business I have sent them and where they owe me commission.  I know I can increase my sales with this company, however I don’t know when and if I will ever get paid.  I would be happy to start fresh,  but don’t understand how this bankruptcy works, and when I can hold them responsible for what they owe me.  Should I wait to focus my time until the “sale” is final?  If they are protected under chapter 11, does that mean they don’t owe me for anything before the file date, but owe me for everything afterwards?  I really enjoy this business and feel I have become an expert.  I would really like to increase my sales, but I don’t want to waste my time either.  I have not found any of their competitors offering a competitive affiliate program, so changing companies is not likely.  Any advice is greatly appreciated.  Keep in mind, I have little money to invest in attorney fees.  Thanks.

Changing your title tags to often

I’ve searched some on the web, and cannot find much information about the affects of changing your title tags too often, and when is too much.  Over the past couple of months one of my primary sites ranked very well on Google, and then my web hosting company had some issues where my account was suspended for two days.  During this apparent suspension the title tags for some of the websites I manage changed to “Site has been suspended“.  Google did index this new temporary site suspensed title, then of course after two days my titles changed back.   Please note I had just changed my title tags a few weeks before, but before that it had probably been over a year.  When my title tags were again indexed correctly on Google, my site had slipped from the first page for some of the most importantly targeted keywords to “no where to be found” on google.  I know there are many factors to receiving good Google PR, but this coincindence has me in fear…Any thoughts, advice??  If I’ve been marked down for these unitentional frequent changes, how long do you think it will take to get the red flag removed..if ever?