Technical Tidbits™

This post will probably affect maybe 1% of our readership, but I felt it worthy of posting anyway.

I have been having problems for quite some time using HootSuite for my social networking in both Firefox and IE 8 browsers. I finally found that it worked best in IE8 if that was the only thing running. Meaning, I didn’t have other tabs open like I so often do with Firefox. And, I can run IE 8 with HooteSuite while having my Firefox open with all the tabs I want without interference.

This morning, I made an amazing discovery! I had HooteSuite running in my IE and I had opened Firefox to log in to my BlogTalk radio show. Panic set in!

BlogTalk radio would not load properly and even when I tried to call in to the switchboard, the phone call would not connect and my switchboard items became dimmed out.  (Now why the calling part would be related to the online switchboard I don’t know.) With less than 3 minutes to show time, I started panicking!

I don’t know what made me shut down IE and HootesSuite, but as soon as I did, I was able to connect to the BlogTalk radio switchboard and my call went through!

When I decided to write this post, I went back to each page – HooteSuite and BlogTalk Radio – and looked at the page sources to see what might be conflicting.

Both sites use JavaScript but I’ve never had a problem having multiple tabs open with JavaScripts running on each page. Even the most complex JavaScript doesn’t seem to be resource intensive by any means.

The problem appears to be Flash. I don’t know whether each of these sites are so Flash intensive that the browsers (both IE and Firefox) can’t handle it, or whether there is a conflict with the resources being used by each and the way the browsers manage it.

Even now as I type this post, I have the radio switchboard open in one tab and HooteSuite open in another and I’m getting a lag in the typing here in the WordPress blog tab.  It seems to happen when either HooteSuite is updating the tweets, or when BlogTalk radio refreshes the page for the advertising at the top. Which appears to be handled by JavaScript so I’m really confused!

Anyway, I wanted to put this out there so anyone who might be having a problem using HooteSuite might benefit from knowing that you may have to restrict using it with other resource intensive sites.  At least until we can upgrade to such a powerful computer that it won’t matter how resource intensive a web app is for the browser! (Where is an affordable terabyte processor when you need one? )

So, if you’ve been kicked out of our radio show chat or lost your sound during a show, make sure that you’re not running HooteSuite in the background while you’re listening to the show live. I bet you won’t experience any problems during the show!

BTW, I know that friend of the show, Charles Taggart, uses TweetDeck during the show and he has never reported being kicked out of the live chat nor losing sound. (Yes Charles, I’ve heard the chirps over our phone conversations! LOL) So, whatever the difference is between how TweetDeck and HooteSuite is programmed to work, is where the problem is.

And I’m not going to blame the browsers on this one! Are you surprised? (GRIN)

Rob Caskey, VP of Marketing for Liquidation.com

Get advice from a true expert, when Rob Caskey, VP of Marketing for Liquidation.com, appears live on Technical Tidbits. Learn the secrets of successful retail sales and find out how Liquidation reached the top of the game as a re-seller of major retailers’ overstock, surplus and seasonal unsold merchandise

The holidays are long gone, but do you ever wonder what happens to the seasonal merchandise that doesn’t sell?  Rob Caskey, VP of Marketing for Liquidation.com, knows.

Liquidation.com is the largest re-seller of overstock, customer returns, seasonal and other unsold merchandise. You can buy at tremendous deals from the online auction house and re-sell anywhere.

Would you like to make a few extra dollars with a flea market booth? Are you an eBay seller? Have you thought about opening a dollar store? Whether you’d like to earn extra cash selling online, or find a new career working for yourself as a retail business owner, Caskey will share the secrets to re-selling success.

Rob Caskey is VP of Marketing for Liquidation.com (a division of Liquidity Services, Inc. NASDAQ: LQDT) which is where major retailers go to sell their surplus, overstock, customer returns, seasonal and overall unsold merchandise and the online auction becomes a sourcing center for resellers from eBay to independent boutiques to dollar store merchants to anyone and everyone trying to make extra money at flea markets, yard sales, and other online/offline venues.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010 10 AM CDT Call In Number: (718) 506-1315 Or Listen LIVE Online: Technical Tidbits on BlogTalk Radio

LIVE CHAT WILL BE OPEN AS ALWAYS!

Please note: If the show page shows the time in EST (New York) time and you are on Central Time (CDT), you have to delete your cookies. BlogTalk Radio says this is an “old” cookie problem. The show is at 10 AM in Illinois or Central Daylight Time!

Talk to me LIVE this Wednesday, February 10th at 10 AM CDT on my BlogTalk Radio show!

The Official Blurb:

Everyone’s got questions! – Ask your question on this special episode of Technical Tidbits with Debbie Mahler. One full hour of taking your questions either on the phone or in the live chat! You’ll have access to your own technical guru for a full hour FREE!  And as she tells her students: The only stupid question is the one left unasked! Get your questions answered!

Everyone from advanced techies to Grandma — who just wants to download photos of her grandbabies from Facebook — will hear something of value on this special edition of Technical Tidbits with Debbie Mahler.

It’s all about YOUR Frequently Asked Questions. And that means questions from you, our loyal and beloved listeners. So phone in or chat live! Here’s your chance to have all your burning technology questions answered by the expert.

Join me LIVE!

Call In Phone Number: (718) 506-1315

Or go to the show page:  Technical Tidbits on BlogTalk Radio, and scroll down to see the live chat box!