Rakuten.com: Stay Away

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A user on Slickdeals.net, a popular site that lists daily deals that I frequent, recently posted a thread on their forums listing a number of users that were hit with fraudulent charges on their credit cards after recent purchases at rakuten.com. Rakuten.com was formerly buy.com, which I had no problems with, but after recently buying an AppleTV off of Rakuten.com, I was hit with a $700+ charge from Sears on my discover card.

People are suggesting to use PayPal, but I would stay away from Rakuten.com for the time being.

PS3 Blu-ray Disc Remote Control: How to Make It Work With Your Samsung TV

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PS3 Blu-ray Disc Remote Control

I can finally rejoice! I was happy with my new PS3 Blu-ray Disc Remote Control since I watch most of my media on my PS3. The only downside was I couldn’t get it to work with my Samsung TV (model LN52B610 52″ 1080P LCD HDTV), but after having read the manual I realized I can make it work… but I needed the programming code.

The manual lists the possible codes for Samsung TVs: 459, 460, 461, 462, 463, 464, 465, 466, 467, 468. I tried them all and gathered that both 464 and 465 worked. I was happy for a bit but realized that the remote didn’t work quite anything like the original Samsung remote: the directional buttons were used as volume/channel control, and some other buttons like Return didn’t do anything. I figured the features were just limited for universal remote controls.

After a few hours, I couldn’t stand the fact that I had limited control over my TV, so I started investigating. Considering both codes 464 and 465 work, there have got to be others, and maybe one of them will allow my remote control to give me full control.

I finally hit the jackpot when I ran into an Amazon review. The author suggested using code 304, and lo and behold, it worked!

PHP: How to array_merge Without Losing Numeric Keys

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PHP function array_merge is nice in that you can easily merge one (or more) arrays into a single array with a single call of the function. The keys are retained, but only if they’re not numeric keys(!).

E.g.

< ?php
$array1 = array(2 => "hi");
$array2 = array(3 => "data");
$result = array_merge($array1, $array2);
?>

Result:
Array
(
    [0] => hi
    [1] => data
)

Perhaps this is the behavior you want. But what if you want to retain the original numeric keys?

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Help: My MacBook (Air/Pro) Won’t Charge!

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I had a panic attack today. I had left my MacBook Air inside its sleeves and on my bookshelf for a week since I didn’t have an immediate need for it and I didn’t want someone stealing it. I took it out today to prepare it for a trip overseas, only to find that my MacBook Air wasn’t charging and the charger LED wasn’t turning on. I opted not to buy the extended AppleCare, and mine expired a few months ago. I looked up the cost for a new charger to find out it’ll cost me $79. $79!!! I knew of Apple and their premium prices, but I still found it shocking.

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