BinaryWolf

Where is My Google AdSense 1099 Form?

I was working on my taxes when I discovered that I hadn’t received a 1099 tax form from Google for my AdSense earnings for last year. Yes, I did earn over the minimum required amount to be sent a 1099 form. So I contacted Google about this and had to jump through a few hoops to get this issue resolved.

Initially Google required that I had to resubmit (as in I had already done this once before) my tax information. If you have an AdSense account that would be the My Account tab, then the Tax Information tab. If you do this correctly you will see the Submitted: Month Day Year and Last updated: Month Day Year information displayed at the top of the page.

However, that might not be enough to get a 1099 form sent out. You may need to contact Google at adsense-support@google.com and give them a phone number and time to call, so they can call you to confirm your address and social security number. They are not able to view your ssn on their system, so they need to confirm it via a phone call before issuing a 1099 to you and the IRS. The Google rep (friendly and professional) confirmed that they currently have a bug in their system (due to them being oversecure) that is causing some problems with sending the 1099s. They are working on a fix.

Update: March 8, 2007. I finally received a 1099-MISC form from Google today. In the recipients name box, they omitted my last name. Only my first name appears. In the recipients identification number box they omitted my social security number. Sigh.

Tags: 1099 tax form, Google, AdSense

Hate Windows Vista?

Are you looking for a desktop on which you can run Linux® or other open-source operating systems? Look no further!

Dell’s open-source n Series desktop solution provides customers with a Dimension E520, E521 or C521 desktop without an installed or included Microsoft® operating system. With the n Series desktop, customers have the flexibility to install an alternative operating system (such as a version of Linux® ), and help reduce the price of this system. In addition, the n Series desktop comes with a non-formatted hard drive ready for your custom installation.

User’s can install Windows, Linux, or any other OS without having to first wipe a Dell software preinstallation. Dell’s n-Series first started shipping without an operating system in September 2002.

Tags: open-source n Series desktop, alternative operating system

Listen to an Elevator in Texas

Have you ever been riding in an elevator and then, out of nowhere, heard a voice on the elevator phone? It happened recently to a couple of Cisco employees in Texas.

This tale begins as I was trying to contact Linksys (networking for home and small business users) about a problem with returning a warrantied defective router to them. Even though I had proof via a tracking number that someone had signed for it, the Linksys website showed no record of receiving my RMA “bricked” router in their Texas warehouse.

Calling Linksys toll free customer support numbers resulted in long tedious waits on hold. When I eventually got through, it was to a script reading, clueless, outsourced customer support drone. A dead end. Emailing customer support resulted in no response at all. Another dead end. Frustrated with the process, I decided it was time for me to get my hands on a more “local” phone number. Of course, that number was nowhere to be found on the Linksys website.

The shortest path between two points is usually a straight line, but of course I had to do this the hard way. I knew that the Linksys warehouse was in Round Rock, Texas, but I was unable to discover a phone number for that location. In fact I was having a little difficulty finding any United States phone number for Linksys (later I found out that even Linksys customer support doesn’t have a phone number for the warehouse!) I expanded my search to the parent company of Linksys, Cisco Systems. They had an office in Texas listed online with a phone number displayed. I called the number I found for Cisco in Texas, hoping to be redirected to the Linksys warehouse. Imagine my surprise when I called that number and found myself talking with a couple of Cisco employees riding in an elevator! I could hear the indicator chime in the background as the elevator passed by each floor. The Cisco guys couldn’t help me and they had to get off the elevator. The whole thing was laugh out loud funny!

If you want to have some fun, call (214) 575-3192 for Cisco in Texas. Listen for the chimes as the elevator passes each floor. You might even find yourself chatting with some unsuspecting passengers riding in that elevator in Texas!

Oh yeah, eventually I did manage to contact an enlightened Linksys customer support rep, ironically located just a few miles up the up the road (that’s what I meant by the shortest path) from me. Even then, I still had to spend way too much time finally resolving the problem, but that’s a post for another day.

Tags: Linksys, defective router

Add a Shop to Your Blog

Have you ever thought about adding your own shop to your blog or website?

Zlio helps you start your own online shop in 5 minutes! Even if you don’t have anything to sell. Zlio offers you a catalog of thousands of products without having to program anything. The key principal of Zlio is: Find, Add to your shop and Earn Commissions!

Zlio has characteristics similar to a blog, a comparison shopping service, and an e-commerce destination. You do not need technical expertise to launch your own ZlioShop, drive traffic to your ZlioShop, and earn commission through transactions generated at your ZlioShop.

The best way to get a handle on the features of Zlio Shops is to sign up and start experimenting. You can have a shop up and running in just a few minutes!

Tags: Zlio, comparison shopping, e-commerce

Converting Video Formats

Online Solutions

zamzar.com

Zamzar supports conversion between a wide variety of different file formats.

* Document formats
* Image formats
* Music formats
* Video formats

heywatch.com

Video. Many sources. From the web to your local HD, encode the videos you want.
Podcast. Subscribe to your own HW Podcast feed and get automatically your encoded videos.
Encoding. All formats and devices. A huge list of formats updated frequently (input and output).
Make your own. Create the format according to your needs on heywatch.com

blip.tv

You shouldn’t have to choose between great quality Flash video and compatibility with iTunes. Your videos should work everywhere, no question. That’s why blip.tv supports every video format under the sun, from Flash 8 (much higher quality than most Flash video) to Quicktime (for the all-important iTunes) to DivX and 3gp (we think cell phones are cool, too).

Desktop Solutions

SUPER, Simplified Universal Player Encoder & Renderer. A GUI to ffmpeg, MEncoder, mplayer, x264, mppenc, ffmpeg2theora & the theora/vorbis RealProducer plugIn. If you need a simple, yet very efficient tool to convert (encode) or play any Multimedia file, without reading manuals or spending long hours training, then SUPER © is all you need. It is a Multimedia Encoder and a Multimedia Player, easy-to-use with 1 simple click.

On2 Flix for Flash Video. AVI, MPEG, QuickTime, DivX, Xvid, H.264, 3GPP–easily converts any video to the highest-quality On2 VP6 for Flash video FLV or SWF.

Splitting a Large Video File into Smaller Clips

Virtual Dub

Virtual Dub is open source and available on all platforms. Virtual Dub supports many video formats include DivX, MPEG, AVI, etc.

VirtualDub helps you get video into your computer.

If your capture device is Video for Windows compatible, then VirtualDub can capture video with it. But VirtualDub isn’t your average capture program:

* Fractional frame rates. Don’t settle for 29 or 30 when you want 29.97.
* Optimized disk access for more consistent hard disk usage.
* Create AVI2 (OpenDML) files to break the AVI 2GB barrier and multiple files to break the FAT32 4GB limit.
* Integrated volume meter and histogram for input level monitoring.
* Real-time downsizing, noise reduction, and field swapping.
* Verbose monitoring, including compression levels, CPU usage, and free disk space.
* Access hidden video formats your capture card may support but not have a setting for, such as 352×480.
* Keyboard and mouse shortcuts for faster operation. To capture, just hit F6.
* Clean interface layout: caption, menu bar, info panel, status bar.

VirtualDub lets you clean up video on your computer.

There are lots of programs that let you “edit” video. And yet, they’re frustratingly complex for some of the simplest tasks. VirtualDub isn’t an editor application; it’s a pre- and post-processor that works as a valuable companion to one:

* Reads and writes AVI2 (OpenDML) and multi-segment AVI clips.
* Integrated MPEG-1 and Motion-JPEG decoders.
* Remove and replace audio tracks without touching the video.
* Extensive video filter set, including blur, sharpen, emboss, smooth, 3×3 convolution, flip, resize rotate, brightness/contrast, levels, deinterlace, and threshold.
* Bilinear and bicubic resampling — no blocky resizes or rotates here.
* Decompress and recompress both audio and video.
* Remove segments of a video clip and save the rest, without recompressing.
* Adjust frame rate, decimate frames, and 3:2 pulldown removal.
* Preview the results, with live audio.

You can take a captured clip, trim the ends, clean up some of the noise, convert it to the proper frame size, and write out a better one. Don’t see a video filter you want? Write your own, with the filter SDK.

AviSplit (freeware video joiner, video splitter)

AviSplit is an application for cutting and rejoining AVI/DivX files. Avisplit can split a large AVI file into more convenient pieces (you set the size), rejoin those pieces or extract a clip with a specified starting and ending point.

Whether pieces or a clip, Avisplit output can be viewed in any standard player, and when the pieces are recombined, the result is exactly the same as the original.

Whether splitting, rejoining or clipping, AviSplit is very fast as no data processing is involved (lossless). Generally, using Avisplit is about as fast as copying the file itself!

AviSplit Classic is a freeware video tool for non-commercial use and may be redistributed without additional permission. So far AviSplit has been released only as freeware. This software is fully functional and does not contain any advertisements or transmit anything through the Internet.

Tags: Virtual Dub, Avisplit

Google Talk Tips & Tricks

Google Talk is a downloadable Windows application that enables users to quickly and easily talk or send instant messages to their friends for free. Calls are made through your computer using the latest voice technology; all you need is an Internet connection, a microphone and a speaker.

Shortcuts

* CTRL + Mousewheel up/down over input textbox: Change the font size of the textbox.
* F9: Open Gmail to send an email to your friend
* F11: Start a call with your friend
* F12: Stop the current call
* ESC: Close the current window
* ALT + ESC: Minimize the current window
* TAB: Switch between multiple chat windows
* CTRL + I: Same as TAB
* SHIFT + TAB: Same as TAB but in reverse order
* CTRL + TAB: Same as SHIFT + TAB
* Windows + ESC: Open Google Talk (if it’s minimized, or in the tray)

Secret Startup Parameters

* /nomutex: allows you to open more than one instance of Google Talk
* /autostart: when Google Talk is run with this parameter, it will check the registry settings to see if it needs to be started or not. If the “Start automatically with Windows” option is unchecked, it won’t start.
* /forcestart: same as /autostart, but forces it to start no matter what option was set.
* /S upgrade: Used when upgrading Google Talk
* /register: registers Google Talk in the registry, includig the GMail Compose method.
* /checkupdate: check for newer versions
* /factoryreset: set settings back to default.
* /mailto email@host.com: send an email with Gmail
* /diag: start Google Talk in diagnostic mode
* /log: probably has something to do with the diagnostic logging

More from tips & tricks from Customize Talk.

Tags: Google Talk