Admin login issue in magento v1.3
———————————————-
You have to edit some code in the following way:

1. Instead of using “localhost ” in your browser, use 127.0.0.1
2. Browse to this file in your magento code: appcodecoreMageCoreModelSessionAbstractVarien.php
3. Go to line number: 79 & 80  – comment both of these lines
//$this->getCookie()->getLifetime(),

//$this->getCookie()->getPath(),
4. Now empty the cache folder: varcache
5. Empty the session folder: varsession

Okay, this should be resolved by now.

Admin login issue in magento v1.4
———————————————-
Again you to edit the code in the following way:
1. Instead of using “localhost ” in your browser, use 127.0.0.1
2. Browse to this file in your magento code: appcodecoreMageCoreModelSessionAbstractVarien.php
3. Find this code:
if (isset($cookieParams['domain'])) {
$cookieParams['domain'] = $cookie->getDomain();
}
And edit it to this:
if (isset($cookieParams['domain']) && !in_array(“127.0.0.1″, self::getValidatorData())) {
$cookieParams['domain'] = $cookie->getDomain();
}

4. Now empty the cache folder: varcache
5. Empty the session folder: varsession

You can know login into the admin panel.

What was the issue:
——————————
The issue is that magento is not able to store cookie on your system from “localhost”. It needs a true domain to setup cookie and then validate it. thats why some blogs advice you to edit “hosts” file and use some name that looks like domain name instead of using “localhost”.
But if you use the “127.0.0.1″ instead of “localhost” with the above discussed edits then  atleast i got both the version got working fine.
Some good references that I searched:
———————————————–

http://mitulmpatel.wordpress.com/2010/04/05/can-not-login-to-magento-admin-panel/

http://mysillypointofview.wordpress.com/2010/03/24/how-to-fix-magentos-admin-login-failing-no-error-message-on-localhost/

After struggling for many days to install  ”Magento” on my local windows machine running wamp server, I found a really great post that helped me successfully install it.

http://www.techyuva.com/how-to-install-magento-on-wampserver-windows-xp-with-sample-data

The main thing that I noticed is that – you can’t install magento on PHP 5.3.0. You need to download PHP 5.2.8 and add to your Wamp Server installation and make it active. Only after that you can install Magento on your local windows machine.

You have to read the whole article to make a successful installation.

Luckily, I found 2 ways to achieve this functionality.  And both are using JavaScript code (JQuery).

1. Upload files one by one from a single file upload control.

Checkout this plug-in:

http://www.fyneworks.com/jquery/multiple-file-upload/#tab-Overview

2. Select multiple files from the browse popup, pressing “CTRL” button on your keyboard.

Checkout this JQuery plug-in this really works: http://www.uploadify.com

There must be more ways to do this same thing. If you know them please discuss in comments.

http://jquery-howto.blogspot.com/2009/02/how-to-get-youtube-video-screenshot.html

It has been converted into the JQuery plug-in by the developer.

http://jquery-howto.blogspot.com/2009/05/jyoutube-jquery-youtube-thumbnail.html

Anyone business can make a press release, whenever they start a new service, launch a new product or anything that could be interesting for people to know about your organization/business.
Basically, press release is for the media  guys to pick it up and report it to the public. There are various FREE and Paid platforms to make your press release.

Press release is always in the form of a write-up that includes the details about your service/product or whatever you are releasing press release for.

Is releasing a press release really works?
I posted this question on LinkedIn and found some really interesting answers:

Heather Baker Answers:

“ There is NO value whatsoever in free press release submission sites.
- yes they give you backlinks, but these are nofollow backlinks so worthless for seo.
- yes they give you visibility online, but have you ever met anyone who goes to a release submission site for news?
- while the home pages of these sites are well optimised, the page on which your release goes is not.
when it comes to getting media coverage there are no shortcuts – you need a good story that you can pitch to journalists.
Article-based marketing is a good alternative to free press release sites – for various reasons – dofollow backlinks, great optimisation, used as a resource by journalists etc. But the content needs to be unique and useful, so again not a shortcut. “

Ramesh Kumar Answers :

"Few journalists seem to be picking stories from these free sites. They want ‘some spicy stuff’ to build a story around.
I am not sure by submitting to PR websites, you get visibility. that happens only when some journalists pick it up and build a story around and publish
Ideally if a journalist understands your story and is convinced that readers will be interested in the story, your details may be published in the article.
Make some friends with Media people and/or hire a PR agency. "

Elizabeth Ball Answers:

“There are dozens of free press release submission sites out there but I think the most effective thing is to post to one (ore more) consistently so you build up a bank of info. Visitors can then check out your other releases which helps to position you(r client) as a guru. “

You can find a complete list of answers here:

http://www.linkedin.com/answers/marketing-sales/advertising-promotion/internet-marketing/MAR_ADP_INM/735046-42471046

How to publish press release:
There are several FREE press release submission sites. but I am not sure if that can serve your purpose of obtaining high quality back links. But yes, they can do give you back links.

And there are some high quality PAID services that can really help you get more visibility.
http://www.prweb.com/
http://www.i-newswire.com/

FREE Sites to submit press release:
http://nakedpr.com/2007/07/29/big-list-of-free-press-release-distribution-sites/
http://mashable.com/2007/10/20/press-releases/
http://www.1888pressrelease.com/

Setting up PHP/MYSQL/Apache development environment:


WAMP server
This package is specifically for windows based machines and the three most essential software for PHP based website development (PHP/MySQL and Apache ) are bundled in it and provided in a executable package. And moreover if you need to update any of the 3 bundled software in WAMP – you can do it!

XAMPP Server
This package is available for not just Windows platform but for Linux and Mac as well. And  it has few more software bundled in it than WAMP server package, like FTP client, PERL and Webalizer etc.

FTP clients


FileZilla
FileZilla allows you to upload/download files to/from remote server very easily. This is one of best open source / FREE FTP client available till today.

PHP/HTML Editors


NotePad++
NotePad++ is one of the best FREE  HTML/PHP editor. It not just allows you to edit/write code in PHP and HTML but many other languages. For full list of features please visit its project website.

Database Management Tools


MySQL GUI Tools
MySQL GUI Tools is a bundle of three tools:

• MySQL Administrator 1.2
• MySQL Query Browser 1.2
• MySQL Migration Toolkit 1.1

For more information on these tools and many other tools offered by MySQL to manage your database, please visit MySQL website’s download page.

Email Client:


Mozilla Thunderbird
Mozilla Thunderbird is one of the best FREE email client available today. You can use this software to manage your all POP based emails boxes. For more information on thunderbird please visit its website.

I shall write about more FREE and essential software in my next post.

To get your website designed/developed, you can contact us on cwebconsultants@gmail.com or visit our website www.cwebconsultants.com

• Pricing for merchants
• How easy or difficult it is to integrate the gateway with a website
• What kind of payment modes are offered by the gateway
• Whether you need a merchant account with the any bank or same bank or not required at all.

So I have tried to find out answers to all the above questions for many prominent payment gateways. And below are my findings!

ABC Payments

Pricing:
Different pricing plans for different kind of businesses. For more information please click here.
Website Integration:
Form based integration using various server side languages like  PHP/ASP/PERL . More information can be found here
Payment Modes:
Wide range of payment modes are offered that includes:

• Credit cards
• Online banking
• Pre-paid cards
• Mobile phone payments

*No merchant account is required for this payment gateway, payment are issued through bank cheques.

CC Avenue

Pricing:
Three different pricing schemes are offered. For detailed information click here.
Website Integration:
I am afraid that I could not find any example integration kit for any server side language on their website. But yes, there  are some references to the form based website integration in their gateway demos. More information on their website integration options can be found here.
Payment Modes:

• Credit cards
• Online banking
• Pre-paid cards
• Mobile phone payments
• SMS based payments

Merchant Account:
CCAvenue offers you to choose between saving account or current account on their signup form. So I do not think that Merchant account is compulsory for this payment gateway.

ICICI BANK – PaySeal

Pricing:
Sorry, I could not find any pricing details for merchants on PaySeal. So the best way to know the correct and updated pricing is to contact ICICI bank here.
Website Integration:
To get PaySeal integrated with your website, you need more control over the servers where you decide to host your website. As you have to install COM components (supplied by ICICI bank) and JAVA runtime environment to make the PaySeal work. Perhaps this seems a bit complex at the face of it but it could be achievable if you have access to the server.
Payment Modes:
Only Credit Cards (VISA/MasterCard/VISA Electron)
Merchant Account:
You have to open the merchant account/current with the ICICI bank to avail the merchant services. If you already have a current account in ICICI bank then you can use that.
ICICI bank offers you to advertise your web shop through the various advertising programs of the bank. More information can be found here.

E-Billing Solutions (EBS)

Pricing:
Five different kind of pricing options are offered. You can find more and updated information regarding the pricing plans on EBS clicking here.
Website Integration:
I have to say these guys provide really good integration documentation: A number of server side languages are supported and sample kits are provided.

Payment Modes:

• Credit Cards
• Prepaid cards
• Internet banking

Merchant account: You do need a current account but it could be with any bank. 

DirectPay

Pricing & Website Integration:
Sorry, I could not find any pricing/website integration information on their website. Perhaps they like you to contact them personally to get the latest information. So please contact DirectPay to get the latest information.
Payment Modes:

• Credit cards
• Internet banking
• Prepaid cards

Merchant account:
You do not need to open any merchant/current account with any bank to avail their services. All the accumulated funds are transferred to your existi
ng bank account by DirectPay.

HDFC Bank

Pricing:
As advised by the bank, please call HDFC bank to find out latest pricing details. Phone numbers can be found here.
Website Integration:
Bank claims to provide good user guides but I could not find any relevant information regarding website integration of payment gateway on their website. So please contact the bank to find it out.
Payment Modes:
Only credit cards as far as I know.
Merchant account:
I could not find any information regarding the requirement or non-requirement of merchant accounts on their website. So please contact the bank to get latest information.

CITIBank

As far as I know, CitiBank provides little information regarding Pricing plans and website integration on their website. So the best way to find out the latest information is to either call them or write to them.
Payment Modes:

• Credit cards (VISA/MasterCard/CitiBank Card)
• CitiBank ATM/Debit cards

Merchant account:
I could not find any information regarding merchant accounts on their website so please do contact the bank regarding this.

In addition to the above payment gateways, there are more payment gateway that are offering similar services. I have briefed them below.

• IndiaPay
• Optimal Payments
• Transecute

If you come across more payment gateways or any error/bug in the above post, please report that in the comments section.

To get your ecommerce websites designed/developed or to get any of the payment gateway integrated on your website contact us on cwebconsultants@gmail.com