Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Creating a paypal check out button

In this tutorial I'll show you how to create a paypal check out or donation button for your website. With this buttons you can either have a store online which accepts paypal as a method of payment or you could also add a donation button to your blog or website like I will do right now.

1 - Go to http://www.paypal.com and sign in with your paypal account

2 - Click on the "Merchant Services"

3 - Click "Create payment buttons for your website". On this section you will want to be careful with the button you chose because different buttons will do different things. Below is a chart taken from paypal which describes what each button is meant for:

4 - Once you have chosen the type of button which you wish to add, fill out the blanks like "organization name/service" (here goes the name of your website), Donation ID (optional)

5 - For contribution ammount I recommend that you go with "Donors chose their own contribution ammount", so that this way people who will donate will be able to choose the ammount of the donation. If you are selling a product then you will need to fill out the price, tax, and shipping fields.

6  - On paypal there is a step 2, which will ask you if you want to save your button for future use. I recommend you to do this since it never hurts to have a back up, right?

7 - Step 3 on paypal... These fields are really self explanatory and completely depend on your personal preferences. If you are selling an item you will need a shipping address, but if you are taking donations you may not want to request a shipping address since there is nothing to ship. On "Take customers to this URL when they cancel their checkout" you may want to use your website's or store's URL (ex. http://dreadtech.blogspot.com/), and the same thing applies to the box which reads "Take customers to this URL when they finish checkout".

8 - Finish! Once that you have filled out all of parameters/options for the button click on "Create button" at the bottom of the screen. This will generate the code which you need to copy and paste into your website. Here is my button: 










Friday, March 29, 2013

Changing EXIF data

Some people have come to me asking me if it is possible to change the date and time of a picture using Windows. The answer is yes. 

To do this task you need to download a piece of software, but first things first. Where can you find the date and time of when a picture was created, accessed and modified? If you right the icon of the picture and select properties, you will see the window below (please note that your window may be slightly different depending on the version of Windows which you are using): 




To modify these dates first download EXIF Date Changer. There are several tools out there but this is one the one I like and recommend. From the menu below you will want to check "All images in source folder" if what you intend to do is to change the dates of more than 1 file in 1 folder. For this demonstration I will only change the date of my 25.jpg picture.



Once that you have installed the program, follow these steps:
1- Select if you want to change the date and time of a folder or from a single picture.
2- Select the source (where the picture is stored).
3- Set the date which you want the picture to have.
4- Click "Process Photos".
5- (optional) Click on the options tab and uncheck "Rename files to:" if you want to keep the picture file name (25.jpg in my case).

The picture which you chose will appear on the destination folder (for me its under my pictures > 2 org > adjusted.

Here is the link to download EXIF Date changer: Go here and select from any of the mirrors available.

Remember, I do not own EXIF Date Changer and I am not responsable to any damage done to your files or pictures. Follow this procedure at your own risk.

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Opening iPod 6th Generation

Hello world! 

This is my first blog entry. Opening an iPod 6th Generation. 

Genius bar? I don't think so! Opening an iPod is easy but it requires patience and some skill with handling electronics. First you just need to slightly pop the cover with a soft tool or something soft and flat like on the image below.




Once that the cover has been slightly opened, Insert flat objects all the way down until you release the hinges (you should hear a clicking sound) like on the image below. 




Note that there are 2 more hinges at the top but they are not hard to pop once that the ones on the image below have been released. You should NOT start with the ones on the top because its easier to crack your screen if you do so. I personally prefer to start with the ones on the center by the sides of the iPod.

Once that you have managed to get the cover like on the picture below, you will be able to pull the cover up from top to bottom. 

WARNING: At the bottom of the ipod there is a small connector. Be careful with it and do not apply brute force or you may damage the main board/connector.



Remember that you will end up bending your iPod unless you use soft tools. I am not liable for any damage done following this procedure.


Amusing you with tech, and video game shall be my mission.