Having trouble installing Win7 x64 (Windows 7 64-bit) on your mac? Keep getting a Select CD-ROM Boot Type” message when you go to install? Boot Camp have you pulling your hair out?

Some googling reveals the answer over at Jowie.com, but it’s a little confusing to know exactly where to start. Hopefully this step-by-step tutorial makes it idiot-proof. If you need pictures, Jowie’s site has some nice screenshots.

So, without further ado, install Windows 7 (x64) on your Mac (specifically, I’ve done this for a mac mini) in 7 easy steps!

A word of clarification: You need to have access to an existing Windows installation in order to modify and burn your installation disk with ImgBurn. There are millions of them all over the world, go borrow one if you need to. You could possibly try to do this through a temporary VirtualBox (or parallels or vmware) windows installation, though I don’t know if the burning process would work correctly.

Step 1: Download and install ImgBurn
Step 2: Insert your Windows 7 Install DVD, OR mount your .iso file with Daemon Tools Lite.
Step 3: Extract your boot image:

• Using ImgBurn, go to “Build” mode
• Select the Advanced Tab
• Under that, select the “Bootable Disc” tab
• Select your DVD drive at the bottom and hit the disk icon. If it asks you if you want to keep those settings, tell it “yes”

Step 4: Add your disk to your new disc image

• On the left side, click the folder icon in the “Source” section and browse to select your Windows 7 Install DVD (Just select the actual drive, no files or folders inside it)
• Hit ok.

Step 5: Verify build settings

• Click the options tab on the right.
• System should say ISO9660 + UDF, Revision 1.02
• Click the Advanced tab again
• Click the Restrictions Tab
• Select “Level X – 219 Characters”
• Select ALL 4 checkboxes below
• Click the “Bootable Disc” Tab again
• Make sure “Make image bootable” is checked
• Emulation Type: None (Custom)
• Boot Image: (should already be selected if you told it to use those settings. If not, select the .ima file you saved in Step 3)
• Sectors to Load: 8 (if you’re using Vista x64, it should be 4)

Step 6: Build your new iso

• Enter a destination for your new ISO on the left. (Use the folder icon to the next of the dropdown, or enter a filename in manually)
• Click the big folder pointing at a disc document at the bottom to create your new image!
• If it asks about a Volume name, just hit “OK”

Step 7: Burn your new iso.

• Switch to burn mode.
• Select your NEW .iso file (don’t accidentally use your old iso!)
• Select your destination blank DVD

Click the burn button.

Tada! Pop that disc into your mac mini, or imac, or macbook, or mac pro, or whatever, and you’re set! Welcome to Windows 7!

Back at the end of 2005 I was looking for cheap shared webhosting. If you’ve ever been in the market for such a commodity, you’ll know it’s a complete crap shoot: there’s about 40,000 options that all look the same, cost the same, and yet offer widely varying levels of service and support.

All of them have complainers out there moaning about some issue or another, because frankly, people only talk about stuff when bad things happen.

…or, when good things happen!

Long story short, I chose webhostingbuzz for my shared web hosting, because it was loaded with features and extremely reasonably priced. Good choice.

1. I got great service at a great price. Been with them since about December of 2005, if that says anything. Perhaps more telling, I also set up a couple of websites I built for a client on WHB (The Bookends & The Great Exchange)
2. I just won an iPod touch from them! Yes, my friends, they held a sweepstakes and I won an iPod Touch. As if I wasn’t happy enough already with their service, I am now the happiest WHB customer out there

All that to say, if you’re looking for shared hosting, virtual private servers, or even a dedicated server, you definitely want to check out WebHostingBuzz.

It’s easy to find horror stories on Customer Service issues all over the internet–I had just a great experience with the HP Home and Home Office Store that I felt almost obligated to share it with the world (or, the small percentage of people that read this blog).

To make a long story short, I placed an order for some ink after reviewing some information that was a bit misleading. After discovering that the “Custom” ink cartridges actually contained less ink than the normal cartridges, I contacted HP to return the item.

On the first phone call, the lady (whoever you are, Sandy, thanks!) actually listened to my situation, noted it in my account, and agreed to process a return. Here’s where it gets amazing though: she processed a refund right there, and told me I didn’t have to return the item! She called it a token of their appreciation of me as a customer. All I can say is, I appreciate them as an above-and-beyond sort of company.

Since I will likely never purchase another (overpriced) Apple laptop computer, HP may have just won themselves my future purchases. Certainly, I will continue to shop their store, and recommend it to anyone who will listen! So, here it is: I heartily recommend the HP Online Store, http://www.shopping.hp.com/

HP Customer Service: 6 stars out of 5

If you haven’t heard it from about 1,000 people already, Microsoft made the Upgrade version of Windows 7 Available for pre-order today at less than half the suggested retail price. It ships October 22, and the pre-order price is available only until July 11, or “while supplies last,” whatever that means.

Order it from amazon now:

Windows 7 Premium Upgrade – $49 (Reg. $119)

Windows 7 Ultimate Upgrade – $99 (Reg $219)

What are you waiting for? This will probably run faster than XP if you’re still running it, and certainly faster than Vista. Get it cheap before supplies run out and you’re back in 6 months paying $119/219 for it.

(Well, sort of).

I’ve been coding a new template for a new venture I’ll be embarking on over this summer break, and I wanted it to look all nice with alpha’d png images. IE6 hates those things.

Despite the fact that it probably won’t matter (most of my traffic these days is Firefox, and the direction I’ll be headed is for more tech-savvy and mac users), I hate leaving little things untended.

So…. I looked, and looked, and looked for a script that might work for my pngs in IE6. Supersleight wasn’t flexible enough, (the jQuery plugin would have done the trick, but for it for some reason it did not work at all for me) and so I kept looking…

Some dude made it work. Nicely. Check it out if you’re frustrated with other solutions.

IE6 PNG fix

It claims to work even for repeating backgrounds, but I haven’t tested that. I did verify that it doesn’t work well for backgrounds on tr and td elements.

Enjoy!

Bidding on ebay, and I hate always getting sniped.

Turns out, there’s free ebay sniping tools out there:

eBay Sniper