stevesh

I looked at every cart I could find which was free or had a free demo available, and ended up using Zencart. Pretty steep learning curve, but the documentation is getting better (there's a book available now. It's expensive, but very good), and the support forum is almost as good as TCH's. Zencart is, like almost all open source software, a work in progress, but it's active and the developers are very available in the forums. It works fine with Paypal (although there is some question whether you can use it with Paypal's merchant account). Our cart is here: www.paramountcoffe.com/cart and there is a gallery of Zencart sites in their forums. Steve

I doubt very much if it's the server - I upload files many times that size regularly (though not to Coppermine).

The important issues are the PC2-4200 number and the number of pins. I buy all my hardware fron www.newegg.com and all the PC4200 memory they show is 240 pin, so you might want to check that. Newegg's prices are half or less than the numbers you mentioned. Check the reviews on their products to see what others thought of that particular memory. Very useful. Steve

I voted for Not a Darn Thing - TCH is just right for what I need. Also, I assume that 60% increase in cost to provide telephone support is a real number. I'll use it from now on when customers on my Web stores ask why I don't post a telephone number. For my money, the Help Ticket / Email support works fine. I've never understood why users insist on talking to support people. Steve

XP Home on 2 computers - one is dual-boot with Windows 98, which I need for my film scanner, XP Pro on the third Laptop (486 Thinkpad) runs DOS and XTREE as the file manager

I use Zencart for several sites, and it works well and is easy to install, but has a very steep learning curve when it comes to configuration and modification. Support is OK (done through a forum) but not up to TCH standards, and docs are few, mostly written by users. It can't be used with Paypal's merchant account system, as it has no provision for express checkout (you must create an account before you can buy anything). I'm still using it mostly because I've taken the time to figure it out. I'm going to try Joomla/Virtuemart next. Zencart, BTW, is a fork of oscommerce. Steve

If you don't get the possibility of logging in as Adminisitrator, boot into Safe Mode (F8 as the computer is booting), and login as Administrator with no password. That'll let you change her local user password. If she has set an Administrator password, Bill's method should work. If not, take a look at this: http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/pub0009...icle.asp?ID=305 It's worked for me. Steve

I've had exactly the same problem, with multiple FTP programs and ISP's. Never did find the reason for it. I use the same zip - upload - unzip solution as everybody else. Steve

I know (wish it did). So the difference of 1.6 Gb in traffic between CPanel and Awstats is email? Thanks, Bruce. Steve

A quick one - the CPanel home page says I have used 1932.88 Mb of bandwidth this month. Awstats says I've used 319.43 Mb. Is the difference email traffic, or am I not understanding something? Thanks Steve

I had exactly the same problem with a different model Linksys card in the laptop of one of our salespeople. Never did figure out what it was, but a HD format and XP re-install fixed it, so I always assumed it was the drivers from the previous network card causing some kind of conflict, although I deleted what I could before installing the new one. Steve

I strongly recommend you buy your own SSL certificate.The cost isn't that much, and potential buyers can be put off by the box that pops up with a shared certificate. If you have no certificate at all, the 'padlock' on your customer's browser will be open, and most people have learned to look for a locked padlock before they submit credit card info. Steve

Chances are it's something your Internet service provider has done, like requiring authorization, or requiring, as ours does, that you use their outgoing mail server, rather than your TCH server.

The masking methods will only work until someone wants to take the time to write a 'bot that can read through them. A good, secure form mailing program like Ultimate Form Mail is the way to go. Steve

I use Phorm (ww.phorm.com) and like it a lot. Some learning curve, but very powerful. Steve

I'm no programmer, either, but... From the Phorm (www.phorm.com) forums: $Message = stripslashes($Message); where $Message is the field name Seems this has something to do with 'Magic Quotes' being turned on in the PHP config on the server The Phorm forums have a lot of very useful info about sending form data, and the program itself is very good. Steve

Interesting story Here about Adwords TCH-Bruce - corrected link

Done. I'm not sure why being able to recommend a business (any business) unreservedly makes me feel so warm and fuzzy, but I sing TCH's praises every chance I get. Looking forward to another year of excellent service. Steve

I use Phorm (www.phorm.com) Very powerful and secure.

Mine took about 7 days, but there was a problem getting the necessary fixed IP address, so... Steve

This looks like a joke at first, but it turns out to be an amazingly useful tool. I have one in my pocket most of the time now, and it was about $300 cheaper than my PDA. http://www.pocketmod.com/ Steve

Technically true, but... I don't want to get off on a rant here, but it looks to me like what you're trying to accomplish is an Internet sales website at the absolute minimum cost. I see this on a lot of ecommerce forums. My thinking goes like this: TCH Starter Plan - 4.00 /month - 48.00 / year Domain name --------------------- 10.95 / year SSL ----------------------------------150.00 / year Your time --------------------------- 0.00 / year Total -------------------------------- 208.95 / year or 17.41 per month If 17.41 a month is meaningful money to you, it seems to me that your time would be better spent getting a part time job and saving up a little capital to start your web business. I'm not trying to discourage you or anyone else from going into business - far from it. But you have to be realistic about what you're going to need to invest to do it right. I don't buy from websites which only accept Paypal because I don't want to do "business" with some guy working on less than a shoestring out of his spare bedroom, who will disappear when I need to return something defective. A merchant account and an SSL certificate tell me something about your commitment to what you're doing. Just my $.02 worth - comments appreciated. Steve

I always worry about security vulnerabilities. I use Zencart with my own SSL certificate. I also use Verisign for credit card validation. Not that expensive, and I'm leery of the credit card acceptance methods built into some of the shopping carts which send half of the CC number with the order and the other half in a separate email. A lot of Zencart users only accept Paypal, but I wouldn't buy from a site which wouldn't accept my credit card directly, and I think there are a lot of people who feel the same way. Steve

We use the zone system, and add a tare to each item. The tare includes the weight of the box for a single item, so if the customer buys several (all our items weigh the same) he/she pays a little more than the actual shipping cost. It's not that bad, though, because most of the shipping charge, at least with UPS, is the up-front package charge. Small changes in weight (or distance) don't make that much difference. Steve

All the items you listed would/should be a part of any shopping cart program. I use Zencart on a couple of sites here at TCH, and it works fine. Pretty steep learning curve, but it's free. Steve