Stupid htaccess Tricks ? Perishable Press

Hey Web Developers, here's some fun worth having...play web site dress up i the privacy of your own home while the world sees only what you want it to see. Great for fixing code and providing a demo to your client at the same time!!

--Kate

Stupid htaccess Tricks ? Perishable Press: "Redirect visitors to a temporary site during site development [ ^ ]

During web development, maintenance, or repair, send your visitors to an alternate site while retaining full access for yourself. This is a very useful technique for preventing visitor confusion or dismay during those awkward, web-development moments. Here are the generalized htaccess rules to do it (edit values to suit your needs):

# redirect all visitors to alternate site but retain full access for you
ErrorDocument 403 http://www.alternate-site.com
Order deny,allow
Deny from all"

Attorney General: Attorney General Announces $20 Million Settlement With The Hartford Involving Secret Kickback Allegations

Attorney General: Attorney General Announces $20 Million Settlement With The Hartford Involving Secret Kickback Allegations: "Press Release

Attorney General Announces $20 Million Settlement With The Hartford Involving Secret Kickback Allegations

May 10, 2006

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal today announced that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (The Hartford) will pay $20 million under an agreement with Connecticut and New York to settle allegations that it paid brokers millions of dollars in secret kickbacks in exchange for steering lucrative pension plan investment business to The Hartford.

The Hartford is one of the oldest and largest investment and insurance companies in the country, with millions of customers worldwide. The settlement will provide $16.1 million directly to the pension plans harmed by the scheme and $1.95 million in penalties each to Connecticut and New York.

From 1998 through 2004, The Hartford entered into concealed financial agreements with brokers, including Dietrich & Associates, Inc. (Dietrich), Brentwood Asset Advisors (Brentwood), Glastonbury-based USI Consulting Group, and BCG Terminal Funding.

Under these agreements, The Hartford secretly paid brokers millions of dollars in exchange for brokers steering pension plan purchases of annuities, and providing inside information on competitive bidding.

'The Hartford was at the hub of a series of secret conspiracies that enriched both the brokers and The Hartford at the expense of their customers,' Blumenthal said. 'Our evidence shows a shocking systematic scheme that betrayed their moral and legal duties.'"

and

"The Hartford paid secret kickbacks to brokers who steered pension plan business and undercut the competitive bidding process - raising the pension plan's costs," Blumenthal said. "The Hartford and its co-conspirators elaborately concealed kickbacks as so-called expense reimbursement agreements - really just false fronts for the scheme. The scheme exploited pension plans - taking funds from retirement vehicles that are the bedrock of our nation's workers' livelihoods.

"There is no pleasure in uncovering wrongdoing by one of Connecticut's best respected corporate citizens. Our continuing investigation of The Hartford and others must be pursued wherever the evidence leads. The Hartford has cooperated - taking the high road - and we hope others will as well. The message is that no one in this industry - insurers or brokers, big or small - can break the law and betray their trust.

"Our reforms - stopping contingent commission agreements - will help prevent future insurance abuses. This investigation was spurred by a whistleblower and we hope others with knowledge will come forward."

Blumenthal said this settlement culminates a year-long investigation conducted jointly with the New York Attorney General's office. Blumenthal said The Hartford cooperated with the investigation.

Similar articles came about in regards to Travelers. Travelers now requests each applicant to sign forms in regards to previous broker or broker related work activities.

House rejects Net neutrality rules | Tech News on ZDNet

Have you been hearing about Net Neutrality? Too bad you didn't do your homework and pay closer attention. History is in the making, with you or without you!

Lately on the local political scene, I have been hearing about "those bloggers" and have come to realize that many people are forming opinions without all the facts. That probably does not surprise some of you, but I wish to remind all of us (yes, me included!) to take care in researching - not just to find backing for a pre-formed opinion, but to given true consideration to the issues at hand that affect every one of us. Some may seem more related than others you might say, but don't be fooled. We are all in this together!

Please read the following blurb from TechNews on ZD Net, one of the first internet publishing houses, on the results of the Net Neutrality Vote.

House rejects Net neutrality rules | Tech News on ZDNet: "By a 269-152 vote that fell largely along party lines, the House Republican leadership mustered enough votes to reject a Democrat-backed amendment that would have enshrined stiff Net neutrality regulations into federal law and prevented broadband providers from treating some Internet sites differently from others.

The vote on the amendment (click for PDF) came after nearly a full day of debate on the topic, which prominent Democrats predicted would come to represent a turning point in the history of the Internet.

'The future Sergey Brins, the future Marc Andreessens, of Netscape and Google...are going to have to pay taxes' to broadband providers, said Rep. Ed Markey, the Massachusetts Democrat behind the Net neutrality amendment. This vote will change 'the Internet for the rest of eternity,' he warned.

At issue is a lengthy measure called the Communications Opportunity, Promotion, and Enhancement (COPE) Act, which a House committee approved in April. Its Republican backers, along with broadband providers such as Verizon and AT&T, say it has sufficient Net neutrality protections for consumers, and more extensive rules would discourage investment in wiring American homes with higher-speed connections.

The concept of network neutrality, which generally means that all Internet sites must be treated equally, has drawn a list of high-profile backers, from actress Alyssa Milano to Vint Cerf, one of the technical pioneers of the Internet. It's also led to a political rift between big Internet companies such as Google and Yahoo that back it--and telecom companies that oppose what they view as onerous new federal regulations."

Comprehensive guide to .htaccess- intro

Comprehensive guide to .htaccess- intro: "htaccess files must be uploaded as ASCII mode, not BINARY. You may need to CHMOD the htaccess file to 644 or (RW-R--R--). This makes the file usable by the server, but prevents it from being read by a browser, which can seriously compromise your security. "

DRS: Services Subject to Sales and Use Taxes

Doing Business in Connecticut

Web design and mantenance is NOT taxable, but all other computer services are at 1%. Keep your eyes peeled for those services which are taxable at 6%!

--Kate

DRS: Services Subject to Sales and Use Taxes: "

Services Subject to Sales and Use Taxes

* Advertising - Sales of non-media advertising and public relations services and direct mail advertising services, other than cooperative direct mail (TSSN 30; PS 95(5));

* Business analysis, management, management consulting and public relations services, excluding any environmental consulting services or services rendered in connection with aircraft leased or owned by a certificated air carrier or in connection with an aircraft with a maximum certificated take-off weight of six thousand pounds or more. (2002 Conn. Pub. Acts 1, 65, 67 (May 9 Spec. Sess.); Conn. Agencies Regs. ?12-407(2)(i)(J)-1);

* Computer and data processing services, including but not limited to, charges for on-line access to computer services, providing computer time, storing and filing of information, retrieving or providing access to information, designing, implementing or converting systems, providing consulting services, and conducting feasibility studies, programming, code writing, modification of existing programs, and installation and implementation of software programs and systems even where such services are rendered in connection with the development, creation or production of canned or custom software or the license of custom software. Computer and data processing services are taxed at 1%.(services rendered in connection with the creation, development, hosting or maintenance of all or part of a Web site which is part of the Internet, commonly referred to as the World Wide Web are not taxable)

NOTE: The termination of the tax on computer and data processing services scheduled to take place on July 1, 2004 has been repealed. The services will remain taxable at 1%. See SN 2003(10).

* Contractor services (IP 2004(29), A Guide to Connecticut Sales and Use Taxes for Building Contractors; Conn. Agency Regs. 12-426-18);"

About Telecommute Connecticut!

Telecommuting is supported by the CT DOT

It became clear to me this fall that telecommuting helps not only companies but the commuter traffic issues in downtown Hartford. The more telecommuting that is approved, the lighter the strain on CT's roads.

The Connecticut Department of Tansportation offers business management plans, executive guides and more!

About Telecommute Connecticut!: "Telecommute Connecticut! - a commuter service of the Connecticut Department of Transportation - is a comprehensive resource that helps employers design, implement and maintain a telecommuting program that enhances the bottom line and makes them the employer of choice.

Every member of the Telecommute Connecticut! consultant team is tops in their field, and their services are available to you at no charge. Click here to learn more about our experienced consultants.
We make the collective knowledge and talents of highly experienced professionals in the fields of training, human resources, computing, networking, telecommunications and more, available to your company. "

This year I discovered a great perk of a local healthcare company. With remote teams based in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Connecticut, does it make sense to spend hundreds of travel dollars weekly on commuting between offices?

This company stepped up and provides teleconferncing options to its employees and supports the use of laptop, VPN, secure instant messaging, and remote teamwork. Employees can start work earlier, and work later, while arranging family and personal needs with those of the company.

How does your Hartford area company reduce transporation issues?

--Kate

the jackol’s den ? htaccess Cheatsheet - Mikhail Esteves

Thanks to the Jakol's Den for this quick reference!

the jackol’s den ? htaccess Cheatsheet - Mikhail Esteves: "htaccess Cheatsheet

Here is a simple cheatsheet for the .htaccess file:

Enable Directory Browsing

Options Indexes
## block a few types of files from showing
IndexIgnore *.wmv *.mp4 *.avi

Disable Directory Browsing

Options All -Indexes"

htaccess Generator

htaccess Generator: ".htaccess file generator"

Blogger: Post a Comment

Blogger: Post a Comment: "Hello everyone!

It builds my faith in eBusiness to see people maximize the benefits found in online applications! So congrats on your new blog!"

Firebug Downloads

Firebug Downloads

Firebug and CSS

Wow, now developers are making smart tools for smart people! Thanks Greg for this link!! --Kate

Firebug and CSS: "Now you see it, now you don't

Often, the solution to a problem can be found just by disabling a few CSS properties and seeing what the world looks like without them. As you mouse over each property, you'll see a little circular icon on the left. Clicking that will disable the property, and clicking it again will turn it back on.

On a larger scale, you can toggle an entire style sheet on or off by clicking the 'Disable' button in the toolbar of the main CSS tab."

myspaceprodesigns.com - hex color chart

Hurray, Uday posted a color chart - thank you! Just a tiny piece posted below...

Kate

myspaceprodesigns.com - hex color chart: "he following colors are the 216 'Web Safe' colors. If using these hex codes for MySpace, please leave off the hashmark (#) as it is filtered and not allowed on MySpace.com. However, if using these colors for XuQa or any other website, it is good practice to leave the hashmark in place, as many CSS Shorthand tricks will not work without the hashmark."

Skidoo : Ruthsarian Layouts

In considering a web site refresh, I had to go revisit a few of my favorite CSS layout sites. This article at Ruthsarian Layouts helps identify a coupl of strategic measures to save the CSS developer lots of grief! Thanks again!

Kate
Skidoo : Ruthsarian Layouts: "Devil in the Details

Getting three columns to line up next to each other, using just CSS, is a (fairly) simple matter of setting the float property on each column. To place a footer below the three columns, regardless of which one was taller, just set the clear property on that footer element and it will appear below the three (floating) columns."