Technorati: Direktori blog, Tag & Bookmark Online

Seperti yg pernah dijelaskan sebelumnya, untuk promosi blog supaya lebih luas dikenal setidaknya anda harus mensubmit ke dua direktori blog terkenal: technorati.com dan feedburner.com.

Technorati adalah direktori blog terbesar saat ini disusul oleh blogsearch.com milik google. Technorati tidak hanya berfungsi sebagai direktori blog, tapi juga sebagai blogsearch, tags aggregator, piranti untuk mengetahui situs/blog apa saja yg pasang link blog Anda dan online bookmarks. Apa itu tag dan online bookmarks dan bagaimana memaksimalkan fungsi technorati?

* Tag: tag mirip dg subyek atau kategori. Ini berfungsi untuk memudahkan search engine menemukan tulisan Anda. Saat ini sudah ada search engine yg khusus mencari 'tag'. Jadi, umpama blog anda di beri tag "indonesia", maka setiap ada yg mencari kata 'indonesia' di search engine, blog anda akan masuk.

Di Technorati, kita boleh memasang 20 tag untuk setiap blog. Saya isi antara lain dg nama-nama negara di ASEAN yg populer, plus nama lain. Karena salah satu tag blog saya adalah Brunei, blog saya jadi masuk di situs pemerintah Brunei yg punya tool otomatis untuk memasukkan secara otomatis situs/blog yg mengandung kata Brunei. Ini sekedar contoh.

* Social bookmark: kalau anda buka internet explorer (IE), maka di situ ada menu FAVORITE. Menu Favorite gunanya untuk menyimpan link yg anda anggap perlu di IE anda, termasuk alamat blog anda sendiri sehingga lain kali cukup membuka link tsb. dari Favorite IE. Caranya, setelah membuka alamat misalnya, http://republika.co.id, maka klik menu FAVORITE. Klik Add, dan klik OK.

Yg di atas namanya offline bookmark, saat ini banyak situs yg menyediakan layanan online bookmark. Termasuk di antaranya Technorati. Kelebihannya, online bookmark ini bisa diakses saat kita online di manapun. Berbeda dg offline bookmark yg hanya bisa diakses di komputer kita sendiri.

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Berikut panduan step by step memaksimalkan Technorati (panduan ini dg asumsi anda sudah sign-up/register di Technorati. Kalau belum silahkan register dulu).

1. Submit ke Direktori Blog dan Tag Technorati

Caranya:
a. Setelah sign-in, klik menu ACCOUNT.
b. Ada instruksi Claim a Weblog, isi alamat URL blog anda di kotak yg tersedia. Contoh: http://mysite.blogspot.com
c. Klik Begin Claim
d. Ada menu Quick Claim, isi dg id dan password blogspot Anda.
e. Klik Quick Claim.
f. Isi deskripsi singkat tentang blog Anda di kotak yg tersedia.
g. Beri tanda tik di menu "Include this blog in Technorati's Blog Finder"
h. Isi 20 tag (kategori) yg paling Anda suka di kotak yg tersedia.
i. Apabila Anda tidak ingin memasang fasilitas Technorati di blog Anda, maka klik SAVE CHANGES. Selesai.
j. Apabila Anda ingin memasang fasilitas Technorati (lihat contohnya di blog ini: http://purwarno-sastra-uisu.blogspot.com/) seperti blogsearch, who links to this blog, dll, maka ..
(i) beri tanda tik di menu "Show Technorati embed on my site"
(ii) Ada preview tampilan disitu, kasih/buang tanda tik yg tidak ada suka;
(iii) Copy/paste kode script di bawahnya, dan masukkan di SIDEBAR template blog Anda.
(iv) Klik SAVE CHANGES. Selesai.

2. Technorati Bookmarks/Favorites

Caranya:

a. Klik menu FAVORITES
b. Masukkan alamat blog/situs yg ingin anda simpan di kotak "Add a blog to your favorites"
c. Klik ADD. Selesai.

Catatan:
- Technorati membatasi pemuatan Bookmarks sampai 50 alamat blog.
- Blog/alamat situs apapun bisa Anda masukkan, termasuk blog/situs Anda sendiri.
- Memasukkan blog Anda di online bookmark Technorati juga akan menambah expose blog Anda.

3. Profile
Caranya:
1. Klik menu PROFILE.
2. Klik menu EDIT
3. Isi data termasuk foto Anda (kalau ingin tampil fotonya).
4. Klik SAVE PROFILE. Selesai.

4. Siapa yg Link Blog Anda?

* Mengetahui siapa yg nge-link blog kita itu penting dalam dunia perblogan (blogosphere). Karena dg demikian, kita dapat 'membalas budi' dg cara membuat link balik (linkback) blog orang yg ngelink blog kita. Ini namanya link-exchange.

* Semakin banyak yg nge-link blog kita, semakin bagus. Karena akan semakin mudah ditemukan di google. Naiknya rangking kita di search engine google, antara lain tergantung dari seberapa banyak yg nge-link kita. Tapi, tentu saja orang umumnya tidak akan ngelink blog kita, kalau kita tidak melakukan hal yg sama, bukan?

Cara Mengetahui Siapa yg Link Blog Kita.
1. Buka technorati.com (tidak perlu sign-in).
2. Di kotak search, isi alamat blog kita.
Contoh, ketika saya memasukkan alamat http://firdaussite.blogspot.com blog milik saya, Technorati menjawah: 8 sites link to: http://firdaussite.blogspot.com. Kemudian di bawahnya diterangkan blog siapa saja yg masang link.

Tambahan:

Kalau di technorati.com, kita hanya boleh mem-bookmark hanya 50 links, maka alternatifnya apabila masih kurang Anda dapat register di situs yg memberi layanan bookmark online gratis dan tak terbatas sbb:

1. http://del.icio.us (ini yg paling terkenal dan saat ini sudah menjadi bagian dari layanan yahoo.com)
2. http://furl.net
3. http://spurl.net
4. http://shadows.com

Dikutip dari : Wynwira at Blog Tutorial

Apa itu Feed, RSS dan XML?

RSS singkatan dari Rich Site Summary atau ringkasan dan bentuk sederhana dari sebuah situs. Kalau di situs, selain isi kita juga dapat melihat gambar dg segala warna warninya, sedang RSS hanya mengandung isi/dokumen dari sebuah situs.

a. Fungsi RSS Feed

Jadi apa gunanya RSS Feed? Guna dari RSS Feed adalah untuk tujuan sindikasi kandungan situs, berita yang ada di situs/blog, dll.

Sindikasi di sini maksudnya, sebuah situs yg memiliki RSS Feed dapat kita baca isinya tanpa harus datang ke website tsb. Contoh, untuk membaca CNN.com, kita tidak perlu datang ke situs tersebut, tapi cukup dg berlangganan RSS Feed CNN yg dapat kita taruh di situs lain yg menyediakan layanan RSS Feed aggregator atau RSS Feed Reader secara gratis. Di RSS Aggregator atau Reader ini bisa kita kumpulkan seluruh RSS Feed situs terkenal dan kita dapat membaca semuanya dalam satu halaman. Misalnya, Anda dapat membaca CNN, BBC, DETIK, Media Indonesia dari http://my.yahoo.com saja. Caranya? Silahkan baca pelan-pelan penjelasan berikut.

b. RSS FEED AGGREGATOR atau READER

Pemberi layanan gratis RSS Feed aggregator atau Reader yg terkenal ada dua yaitu Yahoo! di http://my.yahoo.com dan Google di http://reader.google.com .

c. YAHOO! RSS Aggregator

1. Buka http://my.yahoo.com dg id & password yahoo email Anda.
2. Klik 'Continue to My Yahoo!'
3. Ada dua kolom kiri dan kanan. Semua kolom tsb. bisa Anda delete dg mengklik tanda 'x' atau kalau suka dibiarkan saja.
4. Lihat di bagian paling bawah ada menu 'Add Content' --> klik
5. Di sebelah kanan kotak 'Find Content' ada menu 'Add RSS by URL' --> klik
6. Masukkan RSS Feed dari koran Media Indonesia berikut di kotak yg tersedia:
http://www.mediaindo.co.id/promo/rss.asp
7. Klik 'Add'
8. Klik 'Add to My Yahoo' (warna kuning).
9. Selesai.

Apabila Anda ingin menambah RSS feed dari koran atau media lain Anda cukup lakukan hal serupa secara berulang-ulang. Sayangnya, masih sedikit media di Indonesia yg situsnya memiliki RSS Feed. Untuk media barat dan India, hampir semua sudah menyediakannya.

d. RSS Feed Blog

Hampir semua blog gratis memiliki RSS Feed. Untuk blogspot, alamatnya berakhiran dg atom.xml. Contoh, blog saya http://firdaussite.blogspot.com, maka RSS Feed blog saya tsb adalah http://firdaussite.com/atom.xml

e. Cara Meng-copy RSS/xml FEED

Cara meng-copy RSS Feed sangat mudah. Arahkan mouse pada RSS atau XML Feed sebuah situs, umpama di CNN.COM. Klik kanan dan copy shortcut -> klik. Terus paste-kan ke My Yahoo! seperti proses di atas. Selesai.

Jadi, apabila dalam My Yahoo Anda berlangganan dg 5 (lima) RSS Feed, umpama dg CNN, THE HINDU, THE TIMES OF INDIA, BBC, NEW YORK TIMES, maka Anda akan dapat membaca semuanya cukup dari My Yahoo Anda, tanpa harus mendatangi satu-persatu kelima website tsb.

Dikutip dari : Wynwira at Blog Tutorial

Aksesoris Blog

Kalau diumpamakan, blog itu berjenis kelamin perempuan. Dan, karena itu, perlu dihiasi dg aksesoris supaya selalu tampak cantik dan dapat menarik hati kaum blogger (yg ini berjenis laki-laki).

Berikut sejumlah "perhiasan" blog yg dapat dipasang di blog Anda yg berfungsi tidak hanya sebagai perhiasan tapi juga untuk menarik hati kaum blogger (baca, pengunjung) dan search engine. Sekali lagi perlu diingat, aksesoris ini hanya dapat dipasang pada blog yg templatenya dapat diedit seperti blogspot.com, blogdrive.com plus blog yg domain/hostingnya beli sendiri, tentunya.

1. Bukutamu

Bukutamu blog disebut juga dg shoutbox atau tagboard. Sama dg bukutamu website, tapi bentuknya lebih sederhana. Banyak situs penyedia bukutamu blog gratis yg bisa Anda cari di google dg kata kunci shoutbox atau tagboard. http://shoutmix.com termasuk penyedia bukutamu blog yg disukai yg servernya cukup stabil.

Caranya:
(a) Daftar di alamat di atas, ikuti semua perintahnya; (b) Setelah selesai, log-in dg id dan password yg sudah terdaftar; (c) Klik menu "Code Generator"; (d) Pilih Full-frame shoutbox; (e) Klik "Generate the Code"; (f) Copy kode HTML yg ada, dan masukkan ke template blog Anda di bagian Sidebar; (g) Klik SAVE SETTING & REPUBLISH. Selesai.

Fungsi dari bukutamu blog ini seperti yg Anda tahu untuk membuat interaksi pemilik blog (blogger) dg pengunjung lebih aktif dan menunjukkan bahwa kita orangnya cukup accessible.

2. Statistic dan Tracker

Berfungsi untuk mengetahui berapa pengunjung yg datang setiap harinya, setiap minggu, dan bulan dan dari negara mana saja. Selain itu, ia memberi tahu kita lewat mana pengunjung itu datang: lewat pencarian di google atau via blog/situs lain yg memasang link blog kita. Statistic/tracker gratis yg paling terkenal ada dua Sitemeter dan Extreme Tracking. Klik link berikut untuk mendaftar: (a) http://www.sitemeter.com/?a=newaccount (b) http://www.extreme-dm.com/tracking/?reg Setelah daftar, login dan masukkan kode HTML-nya di blog Anda.

3. Kamus Online

Kalau blog Anda berbahasa Inggris, Anda bisa memasang Kamus Indonesia-Inggris dan Inggris-Indonesia di blog Anda supaya pengunjung Indonesia yg lagi belajar bahasa Inggris bisa betah nongkrong. Kode HTML-nya bisa diambil di http://kamus.net

4. Jadual Shalat

Bagi blogger Muslim, www.islamicfinder.org menyediakan jadual shalat lima waktu yg bisa ditempel di blog. Anda bisa pilih berdasarkan kota dan negara. Silahkan ambil kodenya di link berikut: http://www.islamicfinder.org/index.php?inl_language

6. Jam Dinding

Tidak cukup dg jam tangan dan jam di HP atau Anda merasa dinding blog Anda perlu dipasang jam? Silahkan pilih di http://clicklink.com dan ambil kodenya.

7. Peta Kampung Kita

Bagi yg ingin melihat nama dan peta kampung kelahiran nempel di blog, silahkan daftar di http://feedmap.net

Caranya,
(a) masuk ke http://feedmap.net; (b) Klik "Explore Blog", akan muncul peta dunia; (c) Pilih negara Indonesia dg cara klik kanan secara terus menerus mouse komputer Anda dan geser/putar peta dunia tsb. ke kanan/kiri sampai ketemu peta Indonesia. (d) Setelah peta Indonesia ditemukan, perbesar fokus peta dg cara mengklik 2x secara berulang-ulang; (e) Pilih kawasan atau propinsi yg paling dekat dg kampung kelahiran Anda, dan perbesar fokus peta dg mengklik berkali-kali sampai tidak dapat diperbesar lagi; (f) Setelah nama kampung kelahiran atau kota terdekat dari kampung kita tampak, arahkan panah mouse ke kota tsb dan klik kanan mouse; (g) Akan tampil menu "Add Blog", klik menu ini; (h) Akan muncul kotak, isi alamat blog Anda. Contoh, http://wynwira-business.blogspot.com (jangan lupa pake awalan http://; (i) Klik submit; (j) Apabila berhasil, maka akan muncul tulisan: Thank You! Di bawahnya ada tiga kotak yg berisi kode html untuk BLOGMAP, NEIGHBLOGMAP BUTTON, dan LOCAL BLOGROLL. Copy ketiga kode HTML tsb. dan paste di sidebar blog Anda.

Dikutip dari : Wynwira at Blog Tutorial

Memaksimalkan Kerja Blogger

Rekan-rekan mahasiswa dan masyarakat di India pelan tapi pasti sudah mulai rajin menorehkan tulisan di blog masing-masing, searah dg perkembangan rekan-rekan lain di Tanah Air. Umumnya mereka membuat blog dg provider blog gratis paling terkenal yaitu Blogger atau Blogspot.

Pada tulisan-tulisan lalu, sudah dijelaskan sejumlah tips untuk membuat blog kita menjadi google friendly, mudah ditangkap mesin pencari (search engine) google dan saudara-saudaranya. Tips berikut ini sebagian akan mengulang tulisan lalu secara lebih detail plus sejumlah tambahan bagaimana untuk memaksimalkan cara kerja blog kita. Saya urut dari awal.

Setting-an Blog

Setelah log-in dg id Anda, klik link blog. Setelah itu:

(a) Klik 'SETTING' dan klik 'BASIC'.

• Title --> Isi judul blog Anda. Sebaiknya nama Anda sendiri. Contoh: firdaussite Blog Tutorial
  
• Description --> Deskripsi singkat isi blog Anda. Sebaiknya tidak terlalu panjang dan berisi kata-kata yg paling mewakili isi blog Anda. Contoh: Refleksi tips menulis dan tip kiat cara membuat blog.
• Add your blog to our listing? --> klik YES. Supaya setiap posting kita selalu masuk di daftar blogger.com.
• Show quick editing on your Blog? --> klik YES
• Show Email Post Links? --> klik YES
• Show Compose Mode for all your blogs? --> klik YES
• Klik SAVE SETTINGS dan REPUBLISH. Selesai.

(b) Klik 'SETTINGS' dan klik PUBLISHING.

• Notify Weblogs.com --> klik YES. Tujuan: setiap kita mengupdate blog kita, search engine khusus blog yaitu weblogs.com akan mengupdate otomatis databasenya.
• Klik SAVE SETTING dan REPUBLISH. Selesai.

(c) Klik SETTINGS dan klik FORMATTING

• Show --> pilih posts (jangan days). Kemudian pilih angka posting yg Anda inginkan untuk tampilan di blog Anda. Contoh: Show: 4 posts, berarti posting yg tampil di halaman blog Anda sebanyak empat posting.
• Date Header Format --> pilih model tanggal/bulan yg sesuai dg selera. Format tanggal/bulan ini akan selalu tampil di bagian atas posting kita.
• Archive Index Date Format --> pilih model peng-arsip-an. Blog kita akan dibuatin arsip setiap bulan. Contoh: February 2006.
• Timestamp Format--> pilih bentuk waktu yg Anda suka. Sebaiknya yg pendek. Contoh: 7.50 PM.
• Timezone --> pilih zona waktu yg sesuai. Contoh untuk WIB: [UTC-+7.00]Asia/Jakarta.
• Encoding --> pilih Universal (Unicode UTF-8). Ini adalah kode format yg dipakai kebanyakan search engine besar termasuk google, yahoo dan MSN. Dg kode ini, Google, dll akan lebih mudah mendata setiap update di blog kita.
• Converts Linebreaks --> pilih YES.
• Show Title field --> pilih YES.
• Show Link Field --> pilih NO. Tapi andai dipilih YES juga tak ada pengaruhnya.
• Enable float alignment --> pilih YES. Pilih NO juga tidak apa-apa.
• Klik SAVE SETTINGS. Klik REPUBLISH. Selesai.
  

(d) Klik SETTINGS dan klik COMMENTS.

• COMMENTS --> pilih SHOW.
  Who Can Comment? --> pilih ANYONE. Supaya semua pengunjung baik yg anggota blogspot maupun yg tidak dapat ikut berkomentar.
• Comments Default for Posts --> pilih New Posts Have Comments.
• Backlinks --> pilih SHOW. Supaya tahu kalau ada yg ngelink ke artikel di blog kita.
• Backlinks Default for Posts --> pilih New Posts have Backlinks.
• Comments Timestamp Format --> pilih format jam yg singkat. Contoh: 8.00 PM.
• Show comments in a popup window? --> pilih YES. Supaya ketika di klik, blog kita pengunjung, blog kita tidak hilang.
• Show word verification for comments? --> pilih YES. Untuk menghindari komentar otomatis oleh robot spam.
• Enable comment moderation? --> pilih NO (sebaiknya). Kalau Anda termasuk orang yg "jaga wibawa", pilih YES (kalau YES, setiap komentar akan disensor dulu oleh Anda, baru bisa muncul di kotak komentar).
• Show profile images on comments? --> pilih YES. Supaya gambar komentator yg punya id blogger, dapat menampilkan fotonya.
• Comment Notification Address --> isi dg alamat email Anda, kalau Anda ingin dapat notifikasi dari blogger.com setiap ada komentar baru di blog Anda.
• Klik SAVE SETTINGS. Klik REPUBLISH. Selesai.
  

(e) Klik SETTINGS dan Klik ARCHIVING

• Archive Frequency --> pilih Monthly.
• Enable Post Pages? --> pilih YES.
• Klik SAVE SETTINGS. Klik REPUBLISH. Selesai.

(f) Klik SETTINGS dan Klik SITEFEED.

• Publish Site Feed --> pilih YES. Supaya setiap memposting, blog kita memiliki dua database: versi website dan versi feed. (Untuk soal feed akan diterangkan di kesempatan lain).
• Descriptions --> pilih FULL.
• Site Feed URL --> ini adalah alamat feed Anda yg bisa disindikasikan di tempat lain seperti di http://my.yahoo.com, http://reader.google.com atau di http://360.yahoo.com. Lihat contohnya di sini atau di sini . Jadi, sekali kita update blog, postingan kita akan tampil di dua tempat dalam waktu bersamaan dan ini akan menambah "daya tangkap" google pada blog kita.
• Article Footer --> kosongin saja.
• Klik SAVE SETTINGS. Klik REPUBLISH. Selesai.
  

Apabila selama ini blog di blogger atau blogspot Anda kurang di "lirik" sama google atau yahoo search, maka dg mengimplementasikan tips di atas, blog Anda akan lebih dikenal dalam waktu tidak lama lagi.

Dikutip dari : Wynwira at Blog Tutorial

Pasang Foto di Profile Blogspot

Banyak blogger yg nanya tentang bagaimana cara memasukkan fotonya yg ganteng dan cantik di profile blognya. Berbeda dg di blog gratis lain, di blogger/blogspot, prosesnya agak sedikit rumit bagi yg masih baru di dunia internet.

Ada dua cara memasukkan foto :
CARA PERTAMA

Upload foto Anda di postingan blog. Caranya:
(a) Setelah login, klik link blog Anda.
(b) Klik menu "posting" atau "Create"
(c) Di toolbar posting ada tombol bergambar panorama warna biru. Klik
di situ, dan akan muncul pop-up window untuk "upload images"
(d) Klik browse ke file foto Anda yg sudah tersimpan di komputer
(e) Klik Upload Image warna biru (tunggu beberapa saat sampai proses
upload selesai)
(f) Klik Done

(g) Sekarang foto Anda sudah masuk ke posting. Klik menu "Edit HTML"
di toolbar posting bagian atas sebelah kanan.
(h) Akan tampak sejumlah kode HTML di situ. Copy/paste kode yg berada
setelah tulisan [src="] yaitu link yg dimulai dg [http://] dan
berakhir dg [.jpg] atau [.jpeg]
(i) Simpan link tsb. di notepad atau ditulis di kertas.
(j) Jangan lupa, klik publish.
(k) Setelah itu, klik menu "Dashboard"
(l) Klik menu "Edit Profile"
(m) Di sini ada menu "Photo URL", paste link foto Anda tadi di kotak
yg tersedia.
(n) Klik "Save Profile" di bagian paling bawah.
(o) Selesai.

CARA KEDUA
---------------------

Cara kedua adalah dg meng-upload (memasukkan/menyimpan) foto Anda di hosting lain, dan baru kemudian link URL foto tsb. di copy/paste ke profile blogger/blogspot.

Yg paling mudah, simpan/upload foto Anda di http://geocities.com karena hosting ini milik yahoo.com. Jadi, siapa saja yg memiliki email yahoo dapat langsung log-in ke geocities.com dg memakai id yahoo Anda.

Misalkan file foto Anda adalah jenggot.jpg dan email id Anda orangkeren. Maka, nantinya setelah foto itu diupload ke geocities, link url Anda akan menjadi sebagai berikut: http://geocities.com/orangkeren/pic.jpg. Nah, copy/paste link
tsb. ke profile blogger.com di kolom yg tersedia dan setelah itu SAVE CHANGES dan REPUBLISH.

Dikutip dari : Wynwira at Blog Tutorial

Cara Praktis Promosi Blog 2

Setelah membuat blog dan memposting tulisan, curhat, puisi dan cerpen serta diari Anda, cobalah tiga hari kemudian cek blog Anda di http://technorati.com/search, pakai kata kunci nama Anda atau link Anda seperti http://firdaussite.blogspot.com (pemakaian http://.. ini perlu untuk membentuk link). Apabila masih belum muncul di technorati.com, berarti ada setting-an blog Anda yg perlu diperbaiki.

Ikuti petunjuk sbb:
(1) Log-in ke http://blogger.com dan masukkan id dan password seperti biasa;
(2) Klik judul blog Anda;
(3) Klik "setting", trus klik "publishing"
(4) Di bagian paling bawah ada menu "notify weblogs.com" pilih "yes".
(5) Klik "Save Settings" dan "republish". Selesai.

Jangan lupa, menu "comments" dibikin publik supaya orang mudah memberi komentar, Caranya:
(1) Klik "Setting", trus klik "comments". Di "settings comments" ini ada berbagai pilihan, pilih sbb:
(a) Comments : pilih "show";
(b) Who can comment? : pilih "anyone";
(c) Comments default for comments : pilih "New Posts have comments"
(d) Backlinks : show
(e) Show comment in pop up window? : pilih "yes"
(f) Show Word verification for comments? : pilih "yes"
(g) Enable comment moderation? : pilih "no"
(h) Show profile images on comments? : pilih "yes"
(i) comment notification address : isi dg email anda.

Terakhir, klik "Save Settings" dan "Republish". Selesai.


Dikutip dari : Wynwira at Blog Tutorial

Cara Praktis Promosi Blog

Setelah selesai membuat blog, hal yg tak kalah pentingnya adalah mempromosikan/memperkenalkan blog milik Anda pada dunia ramai. Apa gunanya membuat blog kalau isi curhat, puisi, cerpen, refleksi dan opini Anda yang diposting tidak dibaca orang, bukan?

Ikuti langkah-langkah promosi blog sebagai berikut:

(1) Daftarkan di blog directory

Daftarkan blog Anda ke berbagai direktori blog (blog directory). Sedikitnya, daftarkan di tiga blog directory terbesar dan terpopuler, yaitu (a) http://technorati.com/ (b) http://feedburner.com/ (c) http://blogdigger.com/. Ikuti seluruh petunjuk pada ketiga blog directory tsb ketika mendaftar.

Blog-blog directory ini nantinya secara otomatis akan mengirim data blog dan posting-posting anda ke berbagai search engine, termasuk tiga search engine besar yaitu http://google.com, http://msn.com, http://yahoo.com.

(2) Link-trade, Link Exchange atau Tukar Link

Ajak teman anda yg memiliki blog untuk saling tukar link. Link URL anda di blog dia, dan jangan lupa anda juga memasukkan link blog teman anda tsb. di blog anda. Dalam dunia blog, ini disebut juga dg istilah BLOGROLL. Dan blogroll ini salah satu penyebab cepatnya popularitas blog di seluruh dunia, mengalahkan website yg biasa.

Blogroll atau link-exchange tidak harus melalui permintaan, bisa juga dg saling suka rela. Umpamanya, ada seseorang blogger (pemilik blog) yg memasang link Anda di blog dia, apabila Anda tahu, maka Anda juga "berkewajiban" menambah link blog dia di blog Anda. Apabila tidak, maka akan dicap sebagai "blogger pelit". Di dunia maya pun, sebagaimana di dunia nyata, orang pelit akan selalu teralienasi. Dg kata lain, sedikit "tamu"nya. :)

Nah, bagaimana cara mengetahui ada yg mengelink blog Anda? Caranya mudah: tulis di kotak http://technorati.com/search alamat blog Anda atau blog siapa saja yg ingin Anda ketahui. Contoh blog ini, http://firdaussite.blogspot.com/, setelah itu tekan search, anda akan tahu siapa saja yg ngelink ke blog tsb.

Sebagai langkah pertama 'proyek' tukar link, Anda bisa mencoba dg memasang link blog http://afsyuhud.blogspot.com/ di sidebar blog Anda. Dalam waktu tidak lama, alamat blog Anda akan tampil di blognya.

(3) Berkunjung ke blog lain

Untuk menambah teman untuk diajak blogroll, sempatkan berkunjung ke blog2 lain, dan berkomentar di buku tamu atau tagboard mereka atau berkomentar di tulisan mereka sambil jangan lupa memasang alamat blog Anda di blog mereka. Dalam waktu tidak lama, mereka akan "bertamu balik" ke "rumah" atau blog Anda.

(4) Aktivitas posting
Usahakan sedikitnya satu kali posting setiap harinya. Posting yg teratur di blog, akan membuat tamu datang secara teratur juga.

(5) Alamat blog di signature email
Tulis alamat blog Anda di signature email. Sehingga setiap anda menulis email ke pribadi atau ke milis, alamat blog anda akan selalu muncul, dan "menggoda" orang untuk berkunjung. Memposting ringkasan tulisan di blog Anda ke milis juga akan sangat menggoda member milis untuk datang ke blog Anda.

Dikutip dari : Wynwira at Blog Tutorial

Petunjuk praktis membuat Blog

arena banyak yg bertanya tentang apa itu blog, maka agar lebih praktis saya tuliskan saja di sini info dasar blog bagi pemula. Tulisan ini berdasarkan cara pandang saya melihat teknologi blog yg sekarang lagi tumbuh pesat diminati tidak hanya kalangan awam, tapi juga mulai merambah ke kalangan intelektual dan akademisi serta selebritis Indonesia. Di luar negeri, blog sudah berkembang sejak lama. Kita saja yg memang suka ketinggalan.

1. Apa itu blog?

Blog adalah situs pribadi. Berbeda dg website yg setiap memposting harus susah payah memakai kode ekstensi .html .php, .asp, dll, blog merupakan otomatisasi dari semua ekstensi tsb. Sehingga karena sudah diotomatisasi, maka kita-kita semua yg lugu teknologi menjadi ostosmastis dapat memposting apa yg kita inginkan persis seperti kita memposting email ke teman atau ke milis.

Dan karena kemudahan inilah, maka semua orang yg tahu internet dapat membuat blog atau situs pribadi; sama halnya dg memiliki email. Tak heran apabila pemilik blog bervariasi: mulai dari pembantu rumah tangga, ibu rumah tangga, tukang jualan sayur di pasar klewer, cewek-cewek "ramah" di pasar senggol, sampai profesor dan menteri-menteri.

2. Bagaimana cara membuat blog?

Seperti halnya email, buat account dulu di free blog provider (pemberi hosting/domain blog gratis). Yg paling populer adalah http://www.blogger.com/ Bagi Anda yg sudah agak melek-huruf teknologi bisa juga buat account http://www.wordpress.com/ dan http://blogsome.com/. Selain yg dua ini masih banyak penyedia blog gratis yg bisa Anda ketahui kemudian. Ikuti pentunjuk step-by-step ketika mendaftar.

3. Setelah selesai register/sign-up di http://www.blogger.com, anda dapat mulai memposting/mempublish apapun yg Anda inginkan di blog mulai dari curhat, puisi, cerpen, tulisan serius sampai yg canda.

Dikutip dari : Wynwira at Blog Tutorial

Hosting Gratis

Hosting atau Space digunakan untuk meletakkan/menyimpan file–file website yang telah dibuat sebelumnya agar website/halaman web dapat ditampilkan di jaringan global yaitu internet. Banyak ISP (internet service provider) menyediakan layanan hosting namun hosting yang disediakan “TIDAK GRATIS”, artinya kita untuk mempunyai media penyimpanan di internet harus mengeluarkan uang untuk biaya sewa, dan biaya sewa biasanya dibayar setiap bulan.
Namun ada juga ISP/Perusahaan yang bergerak dibidang teknologi informasi menyediakan layanan hosting gratis, seperti perusahaan yang sudah terkenal di dunia internet khususnya dalam hal pelayanan email gratis yaitu www.yahoo.com.

Konsep Dasar Membuat Web

Sebelum membuat web secara profesional, tugas penting sebagai seorang pengembang web adalah memberikan ide dan gagasan tentang point apa saja yang akan ditampilkan dalam sebuah halaman web. Dengan demikian, seorang pengembang web juga perlu berkonsultasi dengan pemilik web itu sendiri agar segala sesuatu yang menjadi tujuan pemilik web dapat terpenuhi.

Setting Firefox Agar Tidak Boros Memory

Dalam firefox terdapat bug boros memory dimana, saat kita minimize firefox kita maka permintaan akan memory berkurang , tetapi saat maximize lagi firefox akan makan memory besar bahkan dua kali lipat.

Masalah ini bisa menyebabkan komputer anda Hang. untuk mengatasi ini ada caranya yaitu :

1. Buka firefox anda.
2. pada Address bar ketik about:config
3. Right Click di page itu lalu pilih new->Boolean
4. Muncul popup lalu ketik config.trim_on_minimize , tekan Enter
5. Lalu pilih True, tekan Enter

Restart your Firefox.

Restart Windows Tanpa Restart Komputer

Kadangkala kita saat install program atau game , perlu restart dulu setelah install, padahal kalau untuk restart tentu memerlukan waktu yang lama dan kadang males , apalagi banyak pekerjaan yang belum di save.

Rata- rata 30 detik untuk PC kita sendiri melakukan proses boot ( BIOS ) ditambah lagi beberapa detik untuk windows sendiri itu booting.

Nah ada caranya waktu anda mengeksekusi perintah Restart, tahan tombol Shift

Mencari File-File Dengan Google Search

Mungkin ada kalanya kita pengen mencari file yang kita inginkan baik berupa movie ( wmv dll ) dan Music ( mp3 ) atau extension file lainnya.

Dalam google tinggal kita ketik sesuai dengan extension yang kita inginkan.

inurl:pdf -> untuk cari khusus PDF
inurl:avi|mpg|wmv|rm -> Cari Video dengan extension type avi,mpg,wmv, dan rm

Begitu seterusnya. Selamat Mencoba :)

PC Media Antivirus (PCMAV) 1.0 RC18

PC Media Antivirus (PCMAV) 1.0 RC18

Copyright (c) 2007 Majalah PC Media
A member of Pinpoint Publications

Ternyata PC Media Antivirus RC 18 dah keluar, Antivirus ini terus mengupadte kemampuannya. Lebih lengkap tentang fitur baru yang ditambahkan, bisa anda baca di file readme.txt.

Download PCMAV-RC-18.

Mencegah Virus masuk dari Flash

Salah satu pencegahan agar komputer tdk tertular virus adalah dg mencegah tereksekusinya file virus. Untuk melakukannya, kita dapat memakai salah satu fitur di Windows XP yaitu Software Restriction.

Adapun langkah-langkahnya adalah sebagai berikut:

1. Pilih Start-Control Panel
2. Pilih Administrative Tools-Local Security Setting
3. Klik kanan di Software Restriction Policies, lalu pilih Create new Policies
4. Kemudian klik kanan di Additional Rule, dan pilih New Path Rule.
5. Di Kolom Path, masukkan drive dimana aplikasi di dalamnya tidak dapat dieksekusi. Karena kebanyakan malware menular dari flash disk, sebaiknya ketik drive di mana flash disk berada. Misalnya, jika flash disk ada di drive D maka ketikkan D:\
6. Di Security Level pilih Disallowed
7. Pilih OK dan restart komputer.

Sumber :

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/virologi

Cek Billing Speedy dengan Cepat

Biasanya kalau kita ngecek billing speedy dengan cara biasa, kita akan dibawa pada ritual berikut:

1. Buka browser
2. Buka www.telkomspeedy.com
3. Klik tanpa flash atau dengan flash
4. Isikan Username speedy berikut password
5. Baru keluar besaran penggunaan speedy secara global.
6. Jika ingin tagihan detail, masih harus klik Info Usage & Billing.

Gimana?? Bosen kan?? Kan bisa pake speedy allert? Iya, jika anda suka. Kalo saya terus terang gak suka, soalnya banyak menggangu, saat kita pake komputer dan gak connect ke internet. speedy allert nya suka muncul dalam jangka waktu tertentu. Ganggu banget.

Berikut cara cepatnya.

1. Klik kanan desktop
2. klik new shortcut
3. pada box yang muncul isikan https://portal.telkomspeedy.com/index.php?act=infousage
4. Klik Next, Lalu Isikan Cek Billing Speedy sebagai nama shortcut atau terserah.
5. Klik Finish.

Ok, Sekarang waktunya ngecek.

1. Klik dobel shortcut Cek Billing Speedy.
2. Jika muncul security allert, jawab Yes saja.
3. Isikan Nomor speedy yang 12 digit itu, berikut password.
4. Anda bisa lihat hasilnya sekarang.

Semoga ada gunanya.

Koleksi Tulisan Onno W. Purbo

Beruntung kita bangsa Indonesia, memiliki seorang pakar informatika seperti kang onno (begitu dia biasa dipanggil). Bagaimana tidak, demi untuk memajukan rakyat indonesia, agar semuanya bisa melek internet dan teknologi informasi dan komunikasi pada umumnya, dia membagi-bagikan ilmunya (tulisan-tulisannya) kepada siapapun warga Indonesia bahkan warga lain di dunia ini dengan gratis tiss, tak berbayar. Lisensi yang beliau berikan adalah Copyleft bukan Copyright.

Semoga Bangsa kita menjadi bangsa yang melek IT dan amal beliau dan orang-orang yang seperti beliau diterima oleh Allah SWT. Klik di sini untuk meluncur ke perpustakaan kang onno.

Fujitsu FDX340 BUS Powered USB Modem

Netgear DG814 4 Port DSL Modem

Fujitsu FDX340 BUS Powered USB Modem

Fujitsu FDX310 BUS Powered USB Modem

D-Link 200 USB DSL (MAC)

Aztech User Manual DSL 605EU

Aztech User Manual DSL 605ER

Aztech User Manual DSL 605E

DynaLink RTA 770 W Quick Setup Guide

ProLink Hurricane 9000 Wireless

Alcatel ADSL 1000 User Guide

OvisLink Air Live 8064 ARM

ADSL Tecom GW 2000

ADSL Tecom AR 4031

ADSL Tecom AR 1031

ADSL Tecom AR 4021

ADSL Speed Touch 510V5 UserGuide

ADSL Comtrend CT 536+

ADSL Prolink Huricane 9200 S

ADSL Speedstream 5450

ADSL Speedstream 4200

ADSL Huawei

ADSL Prolink Huricane 9000 P

Browser apa yang paling BAGUS?? MOZILLA FIREFOX!!

Bila anda bertanya-tanya, browser apa yang paling bagus untuk ber-internet RIA??.

Saya rekomendasikan MOZILLA FIREFOX.

Mengapa??

1. Firefox Mozilla sangat cocok dengan GOOGLE. Ditandai dengan adanya kerjasama antara FIREFOX dengan GOOGLE.

2. Firefox Mozilla sudah terdapat feature "multitab", sehingga akan memudahkan kita dalam browsing tanpa ada jendela2 baru yang terbuka. Kalau menggunakan Internet Explorer (versi 6), maka akan terbuka banyak IE yang artinya,.. consume much memory!

3. Firefox Mozilla sudah terdapat Pop-Up window control. Sehingga kita mudah mengatur, popup mana yang boleh, dan mana yang tidak.

4. Firefox Mozilla ada cookie managernya. Cookie disini akan membantu kita untuk membuka alamat web menjadi lebih cepat. (alamat web yang pernah kita buka sebelumnya).

5. Firefox Mozilla ada download manager yang sudah terintegrasi. Dengan feature ini, anda bisa download dengan aman dan nyaman, karena bila sewaktu-waktu download terputus, kita bisa langsung "melanjutkan" proses download tersebut tanpa harus mengulang dari awal lagi.

6. Firefox Mozilla ada image manager. Fitur ini berguna bila anda punya koneksi jelek, anda bisa mensetting untuk tidak menampilkan IMAGE dalam web yg anda buka, sehingga proses LOADING akan lebih cepat.

7. Firefox Mozilla GRATISSS!!! , download mudah dan install mudah.

8. Firefox Mozilla bisa anda jadikan alternatif bila browser anda (yg lain) ada masalah.

So,.. tunggu apa lagi,.. install Firefox Mozilla

DOWNLOAD

ADSL Aztech 305 UE

ADSL Speedstream 5100

ADSL USB Modem

ADSL Jiesai JS-A8E

ADSL ZYXEL Prestige 2602 HW Series

ADSL Vigor

ADSL Modem PTI

ADSL ENZER

ADSL Alcatel

Pengantar Konsep dan Aplikasi TCP/IP pada Windows NT Server

Panduan Installasi VPN Client

Installation Guide Modem Kasda

Setting Modem KASDA KD-318RG

KOMPUTER
1. IP Address harus dalam kondisi tanpa alamat (default) 

Start – Setting – Control Panel – Network Connection – Local Area
Connection –Properties – Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) – Properties
2. Check koneksi Modem dengan PC 

Start – Setting – Control Panel – Network Connection – Local Area
Connection – General
3. Bila kondisi baik maka akan terbaca : IP address yang valid 

Start – Setting – Control Panel – Network Connection – Local Area
Connection – Support
4. Bila kondisi tidak sesuai dengan diatas maka berarti link
antara modem dan PC kurang bagus (Bad contact atau Card Ethernet
rusak) , setelah diperbaiki ulangi prosedur diatas

MODEM
1. Akses modem melalui Internet Explorer dengan mengakses IP
Gateway modem(192.168.1.1) seperti dalam kotak diatas
2. Username : admin ; Password : adslroot
3. Lihat pada Folder HOME, SubFolder HOME Operasional Status :
jika Hijau atau SHOWTIME maka modem telah terhubung dengan DSLAM,
jika masih berwarna kuning maka berarti modem masih belum Sikron
dengan DSLAM.
admin
adslroot
4. Configure modem : SubFolder QUICK CONFIGURATION Koneksi Kabel
ke Telkom
“OK”
Username & Password
“Not OK”
5. SUBMIT
6. Test Akses ke Internet, jika bagus maka setting harus disimpan
kedalam Modem secara permanen melalui Folder ADMIN, SubFolder
COMMIT&REBOOT tekan COMMIT
Koneksi Ke Internet
“ OK”
Tips : Sebaiknya Disimpan didalam Folder “My Documents/Setting
KASDA” hanya untuk mempermudah pencarian jika belum ada maka
perlu dibuat(Create) terlebih dahulu. Cara pembuatan berdasarkan
Prosedur Windows untuk create folder.

PROSEDUR BACK UP CONFIGURATION
Prosedur ini sangat bermanfaat untuk menyimpan konfigurasi
setting Modem & router yang sudah berjalan bagus. Prosedurnya
adalah :Admin – Backup/Restore Config – Save Config – Save –
My Documents/Setting* Kasda - Save

Perhatian :
Tidak boleh melakukan perubahan nama file. Karena akan
mengakibatkan file tersebut tidak dikenal sehingga tidak akan
dapat digunakan. File asli adalah commitedcfg.cfg

PROSEDUR RESTORE CONFIGURATION
Prosedur ini sangat bermanfaat untuk mengembalikan konfigurasi
settingke kondisi normal jika terjadi perubahan sehingga
menyebabkan seting berubah dan system tidak berjalan seperti
sebelumnya.Admin – Backup/Restore Config – Browse –
My Documents/SettingKasda – Klik Nama_file - Open - Upload
Setelah di Upload modem akan “Reset System”. Kemudian masuk
lagi kedalam Web Configurator dengan me-Refresh sehingga
tampil menu awal. Jika system sudah berjalan Nomal maka harus
dilakukan prosedur “Commit” seperti telah dibahas sebelumnya.
Tujuannya untuk menyompan secara permanent.Jika prosedur commit
ini tidak dilakukan maka suatu saat power supply dimatikan maka
konfigurasi akan hilang

Netgear DG834G ADSL Modem / Wireless Router Review

This review of the Netgear DG834G is really a follow on from our previous review of the non-wireless Netgear DG834. The big difference in the two models is that the DG834G has a built in 802.11g wireless interface, which is obvious from the presence of the wireless antenna. Both units run the same firmware and offer the same features, so rather than repeat ourselves, this review will concentrate on the wireless configuration and performance aspects of the Netgear DG834G router.

Netgear has been releasing many versions of firmware for its routers, the one used in this assessment of the DG834G is version 1.05.00. To summarise the routers features:

• Firewall with control of inbound and outbound traffic

• Universal Plug and Play (UPnP)

• intrusion detection logging

• denial of service protection

• ability to block specific web sites

• a schedule system to allow time based blocking in the firewall

• 64/128 bit WEP encryption support

• WPA wireless protection supported

• Access control list for wireless devices

• Wireless isolation to stop wireless devices talking to each other

Configuration of the DG834G

The set-up for this router is identical to the non-wireless model. The configuration to get the unit connected to an ADSL line can be carried out using either the wireless or wired connections. Most importantly, in common with other wireless routers, once running you can use any combination of wireless or wired connections. A common misapprehension is that you must leave one computer connected via Ethernet, this is not necessary, though having the option is useful in case you mess up the security settings.

The wireless of the DG834G is enabled by default when the router is shipped, with a default SSID of NETGEAR and is running in mixed mode (i.e. Support for both 802.11g and 802.11b networks). While this works out of the box, it is the least secure set-up possible, in that anyone with a computer and wireless network card within range of your router will be able to connect and use the Internet for free, but perhaps most importantly they would have access to the computers on your home network. We will now cover some of the security options available. Which ones will work best for you are very much down to the version of operating system and what wireless network card you are using.

In an ideal world you want to be running in WPA-PSK mode, with wireless isolation on and broadcast of SSID turned off.

Setting up WPA protection

Wi-Fi Protected Access commonly called WPA, has two main modes, WPA-PSK (Pre-Shared Key) which is what most home networks will use, and WPA-802.1x which uses a Radius server for the authentication - something that home users will simply not have. When you select the desired Security Option in the Netgears web configuration, it usefully shows the appropriate fields for you to alter. In the case of WPA-PSK there is only one field, the Network Key, which can be between 8 and 64 characters long. As with other passwords we recommend going for something that is a mixture of letters and digits and avoid obvious things like your houses address, family name etc.

WPA is a bit limited in its support, since currently only Windows XP has it, and that requires updates to be downloaded from Microsoft website here. A further limiting factor is that not all wireless network cards support WPA yet. We have used a Netgear WAG511 in this review. Windows XP supports several different standards for the security keys (AES, TKIP and WEP), but the Netgear router makes it simple by only supporting the one, TKIP. To configure our WAG511 to work with the Netgear settings we have should have the set-up shown below on our wireless network card properties.

The network key is exactly the same as what we entered in the Network key box on the routers web configuration. As the PC does not display the actual text entering the value correctly can take a couple of goes with long and complex keys. If you do lock yourself out of the router and do not have a way of connecting via Ethernet then the only way to get back into the router is to press the reset button and reconfigure the router again (this can be made simpler if before playing with wireless security you back up the settings of the router to a computer).

If you have got the key correct, then your computer should get issued in IP address and be able to access the router. There is no simple "your key is wrong" message in Windows, the Wireless Network Connection Status window will show you as Connected even if you get the security settings wrong. The only indication that something is wrong is the lack of an IP address.

Setting up WEP encryption

WEP is currently the most common wireless encryption, and while the 64bit version can be cracked, it is still a lot better than nothing. The 128-bit level of encryption is certainly secure enough for home users.

Two levels of WEP encyption exist. 64-bit encryption uses 10 hexadecimal digits. A hexadecimal digit is A-F and 0-9. The 64-bit encryption is relatively secure, but can be broken if someone has the time to do it. So it will suffice for most home LANs, but 128-bit is recommended just in case you have a hacker living across the street. 128-bit encryption uses more digits to make it harder to crack the key, 26 digits in fact, which can make typing it in correctly much harder. The upside is that a key this long is difficult to break, though not totally impossible. Whilst the router has space for four keys you only need to use one. Their is space for four keys, so you can store four preset ones, and then easily alter the key used by your network at anytime.

The settings in Windows XP for WEP are shown above, the network key was a1b2c3d4e5 as shown in the Netgear screenshot. It is often best to use an easily typed key when initially setting up any of the security options, and switch to a more complex one once you know your network cards and router are working. The set-up for 128-bit WEP is the same, just your key should be 26 hexadecimal (0..9, A..F) characters long, and helpfully the Netgear expands the size of the key fields appropriately when 128-bit is selected.

Other wireless security/set-up options

The router offers some other ways of helping to secure your network. The simplest of these is the ability to turn off the wireless side of the router totally. Hiding the SSID can help to keep the very casual passerby out of your network, though some people have found that some wireless network cards do not work very well if the SSID is hidden - the downside to hiding the SSID is that you need to manually specify it on any of the machines you want to actually connect to the network.

Wireless Isolation is a fairly rare feature on home based routers. When switched on, it stops two computers on the wireless network from seeing each other, but still allows you to see computers on the wired network. An option to isolate the wireless users from the wired network also would be welcome.

Perhaps the most useful extra wireless option is the ability to set-up an access control list. This is simply a list of machines that you have defined as being allowed to access the Internet.

The DG834G makes the access control set-up as simple as possible, by displaying which MAC addresses it can see. The MAC address is a unique identifier that all network devices are given. It can be found either by using the list of available Wireless stations as shown above, or from your computer by using the ipconfig /all command in a DOS command prompt window as shown below.

Performance

The Netgear DG834G has had a chequered performance history, it has had numerous firmware upgrades but none seem to have vastly improved the wireless throughput which is lower than many other units on the market as shown below.

Wireless Performance Measurements

Wireless device	Time for 229MB file copy (seconds)	Average transfer rate (Mega bits per second)
Belkin F5D7630UK4A	134	13.67Mbps
BT Voyager 2000	387	4.73Mbps
Buffalo WLI-CD-G54	98	18.63Mbps
Linksys WAG-54G	100	18.32Mbps
Linksys WRT54G	107	17.1Mbps
Netgear DG834G	194	9.44Mbps
U.S.Robotics 9106	128	14.31Mbps

The other main performance aspect that concerns people with wireless router hardware is the range of the kit, in the past we have measured the ability for reviewed hardware to work at a set of increasing distances in a mixture of indoors and outdoors environments. We have decided on a simpler and hopefully more subjective approach by using the signal meter of the wireless card in a Compaq IPAQ. The routers are placed in the same location and same orientation to increase reproducibility, and rather than measuring across open ground we are measuring through a number of brick walls.

Wireless router percentage of detectable signal

Router	1st Wall	2nd Wall	4th Wall
Belkin F5D7630UK4A	80%	13%	0%
BT 1250 (2Wire)	100%	54%	26%
Linksys WAG-54G	93%	53%	6%
Linksys WRT54G	93%	26%	0%
Netgear DG834G	100%	60%	26%
U.S Robotics 9106	75%	20%	0%

Wall 1 comprises double brick construction with bathroom tiles

Wall 2 comprises of double brick construction with kitchen tiles

Wall 4 is the next measurable point, due to an old coal bunker between walls 3 and 4.

The total distance between the first and last measuring point is around 6m and shows the problems that can exist in a brick building when using wireless. Therefore the common advice of locating the wireless router centrally is very important if you want good coverage.

After the DG834Gs poor showing in the throughput stakes it was nice to see it manage to get a usable signal through four walls. The version 1.05 firmware is also much more stable, with the wireless side of the router running for 4 or 5 days without it dropping. Some other units do manage longer, but even when the Netgear did drop the signal it would reconnect automatically.

The non-wireless performance is on a par with the other kit tested, online gaming works fine with stable latency, and downloads fly along as one would expect. If you stress the router heavily it can become a bit sluggish to respond. Peer to peer applications like Bit Torrent may cause problems for others sharing the connection, though at least it does keep working unlike some that will just grind to a halt under heavy loads. Online gaming with the latest firmware is fine, the latency is low and stable, some earlier versions of the firmware did have higher than usual latency though.

One nice addition with the latest firmware in this router is that the ADSL attenuation and noise margin figures are available on the statistics page. The line attenuation is possibly reading about 2-3dB lower than would normally be expected on the test line, so that should be bourne in mind when using the figures. This variation in the attenuation figures between routers means you should not really use your own router figures to predict your ability to receive 1Mbps and 2Mbps services. The key numbers to watch really are the noise margins which should stay reasonably static, if you see these varying by 10dB or more then you may have a poor connection, or a source of interference locally.

If you are unfortunate and have a line that has high attenuation and low noise margins, the DG834 family is at least very quick at reconnecting if the ADSL signal drops, taking around 30 seconds to reconnect and authenticate you again. Some units can take upto a couple of minutes to do this, for example the USR 9106 with its 2.1 firmware.

Conclusions

The big question really is, is it worth the money? Well looking at the pricing in the online stores which is around £99 with a bundled 802.11G wireless card, the unit offers great value for money, and now many of the vices of the earlier models are fixed it is quite a nice device to use. The DG834G lacks the advanced functionality of units like the Vigor 2600G, but offers more features than say the U.S.Robotics 9106. It will work with a block of static IPs from the ISP, but people are reporting unexpected behaviour from the firewall, another area the Vigor 2600G wins.

This review has been done over a very extended period of time, around six months, and has seen numerous firmware upgrades. None of these appear to have solved all problems for all people, which is a shame. The review unit does appear stable, but there are reports of others finding different versions of firmware more stable. Interestingly this is not just linked to the Netgear units, long term stability appears to be something that a lot of 802.11g kit has yet to fully resolve

Billion Bipac 5100S ADSL modem/router review

The Billion Bipac 5100S is sold in the UK by http://www.adslguide.org.uk/jump.asp?url=http://www.solwise.co.uk, and as well as being pocket sized, it is a cheap one port ADSL modem/router. The unit is ideal for people who have just the one computer they want to use with ADSL and prefer the connection stability and security even a simple router can offer. Alternatively it is quite happy being used connected to an Ethernet switch running networks of more than one computer.

The router itself has a built in ADSL modem and NAT functionality, and as of November 2004 retails for £40.89 including VAT. The unit can be used on either a static or dynamic single IP address ADSL account, or the NAT function can be disabled for people who have a block of static IP addresses. The router has UPnP, which is seeing an upsurge in use again now that applications like Bit Torrent support it. Also for home workers, it has support for VPN Passthrough. The firewall relies heavily on the basic functionality of NAT, but you can block a few limited services to increase the security.

What you get for your money

The picture below gives a real idea of the small size of this router, it measures just 18.5cm x 12.7cm x 4.7cm. It comes with an RJ11 lead to connect you to your ADSL micro-filter, and a network cable to connect to a single computer. The Power supply is smaller than the usual power brick, and should fit very well into most power strips; the supply to the router is 9V AC 1Amp.

A short set-up booklet from Billion is included, and the CD includes a full manual covering all the basic and advanced features of the unit. To make life simpler, Solwise include a supplementary sheet with screen shots of the settings for a BT and a Kingston Communications phone line.

The LEDs on the front of the router, are large and bright, with their purpose as follows:

1. PWR - the router has power
2. SYS - the router is booted and running
3. LAN - an active Ethernet connection is connected, flashes to indicate activity
4. ADSL - lit once the router has synced to the ADSL line
5. PPP - lit once the router has successfully authenticated the supplied username and password

The rear of the router is pretty simple, with just four features:

1. RJ11 socket for the ADSL line
2. RJ45 Ethernet socket
3. Recessed reset button
4. Power input socket

One small oddity worth mentioning is that when using a hooded RJ45 cable, the bottom lip of the case can make it hard to unplug the cable. A very minor thing, but be careful when unplugging any network leads to avoid damaging the RJ45 plug or socket. The reset button appears to work two ways, a short press (less than three seconds) just reboots the unit, holding in for around six seconds resets the machine to its factory defaults.

Basic Configuration

The router is configured pretty much like all the others on the market. First connecting an Ethernet cable between your computer and the router, waiting for an IP address to be assigned by DHCP (the default IP range is 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.1.254), and then accessing the web set-up on the router at http://192.168.1.254. It does not matter if your ADSL line is plugged in or not at this stage, you can configure the router in anticipation of your ADSL line being activated, so you can use it as soon as possible after activation.

The screenshot above shows what options you have when you first connect to the router, of course it is password protected, and to get to this point you will have needed to enter admin for the username and admin for the password when prompted. The configuration is fairly simple; just click the Wizard Setup link shown in the screenshot above, to be guided through the options that need changing.

The first step is to check the ISP parameters, which should be set as default to the values above, so click Next to continue to the next step.

The next stage is to enter your ISP assigned username and password. We have shown one of the BT test accounts - the password for this login can be blank, or any old text. If you have a static IP address we still recommend leaving 'Obtain an IP Address Automatically' set on this page, just in case your ISP told you the wrong IP address. Static IP addresses are controlled by the ISPs hardware, which is simply told to keep handing the same IP address out for a specific account name.

It is best to leave the connection setting marked as 'Nailed-Up Connection'. This means no matter how long you leave your connection idle, the router will keep the connection open. If you want, you can switch to letting the router only connect on demand, but this can mean a few seconds delay if it does disconnect when you first request a web page again. The Network Address Translation field should be left at 'SUA Only' for the majority of users. An explanation of the NAT modes is shown below:

Step three in the setup, displays all the settings you have entered, so you can review them and check you have got things correct. For people who want to use the router on a different LAN IP range, which is entirely optional, there is a button to take you to the LAN IP configuration pages.

If all is well, you should see the PPP light come on a short while after pressing the Save Settings button. You can double check the status by looking at the System Status under the Maintenance menu. An example using the bt_test@startup_domain login is shown below:

The show statistics button provides a wealth of other information, and is a pop-up that refreshes every five seconds by default. Unusually it also tells you the CPU load of the router, so if you are using a very busy network you can monitor how busy the routers processor is, as well as the speeds of the ADSL line.

Advanced Configuration

The 5100S is not limited to just getting you online, it does have further options that allow you to configure services to be visible behind the firewall functionality of the router. You may need further configuration, commonly called port forwarding, for some online games, peer to peer applications, and running things like a web server.

Under the NAT menu item for the router is the screen shown below. Normally most people will be using the SUA Only option, and to configure a virtual server you would click the 'Edit Details' link. Selecting None would turn NAT off, which means you would have no connection unless you are provided with a block of static IP addresses. The Full Feature option is what is commonly known as Multi-NAT, where multiple public IP addresses are translated to multiple private LAN IP addresses.

Once you have clicked the 'Edit Details' link, the second screen is shown which lets you see what rules you have configured already, and add additional rules. Eleven rules can be entered, and fortunately with such a small amount available in the web interface, you can specify a port range. For example if you wanted to forward ports 6881 to 6999 to the computer with the LAN IP address of 192.168.0.10, you would enter 6881 as the Start Port No. and 6999 as the End Port No. and the IP address as 192.168.0.200. Obviously you need to click Save for the settings to be stored. Unlike some other routers, when you save settings on the 5100S, it does not totally reboot the router, it appears to save settings very fast, and with minimal interruption to the other computers on a network.

Rule 1 is slightly different to the others. It would normally be termed as the DMZ option. Entering an IP address for Rule 1 means that all incoming unsolicited traffic would be directed to the computer at that IP address. This can prove useful if you run out of rules, and need to get something like an X-Box or PlayStation 2 online.

The firewall options are very basic, but by their nature therefore very easy to use. You have just six options as shown above, which allow you to block certain types of traffic in an incoming direction.

For those people with a dynamic IP address from their ISP, the inclusion of support for DynDNS is useful, since this allows you to use a domain name to direct people to any services you are running. This avoids the need to keep telling people about your change in IP address.

The router does support UPnP, which is actually turned off by default. Two levels are supported, the first check box will simply let you see the Internet Gateway icon, and observe the statistics, and tell you the router is connected. The second option is the one to select if you want applications like Windows Messenger and Bit Torrent to be able to open and close ports automatically.

There is a command line interface available via telnet, which reveals a number of options including support for SNMP. A very simple and useful command is shown above, which reboots the router for you. The presence of a telnet interface is not critical, but very often there are features in a router only available via the command line interface.

Performance

The unit is very small, but this hides what appears to be a very stable little router. It may not have all the features of things like the more expensive Speed Touch 530, but many people have no need for those features. During the course of the review, the router was happy serving content for a web server, and being used for fairly large amounts of web browsing.

Latency wise the unit appears pretty much standard, which is really where most routers are these days. So for gamers there is often little difference between units. The difference is more about reliability during game play, which the 5100S seems to have.

Running some speed tests showed good results, varying around the same average for the ADSL line used for the reviews, averaging at around 940kbps downstream and 252kbps upstream. The diagnostics section of the routers web interface shows the attentuation and other parameters of the ADSL line.

Conclusion

Small but perfectly formed comes to mind. With its size you almost expect it to run off a couple of AA batteries. For people who are looking for a first router, the unit seems ideal as it is cheap and easy to set-up. Additionally, Solwise are very good in providing that extra bit of documentation, and a lot more support than the various PC component box shifters.

The small number of port forwarding rules is a bit of a concern, but with ranges allowed most people should be fine. Having UPnP is useful, as this simplifies issues like port forwarding for novice users, and for those with security concerns, it is easy to disable the UPnP.

The presence of a telnet interface is perhaps a bit beyond your novice router user, but it will give those keen to learn more, something to get their teeth into.