As you know, I am an avid user and promoter of Semiologic Pro.  Sometimes though, Semiologic  isn't quite right for a particular job.  For those instances, I now use Artisteer.

I created this site as an example of just how easily you can create a site.  I have since restored the Semiologic theme, but you can see an example of a site created using Artisteer at Jellybean Computers.  Without any experience, you can quickly get enough feel for the progran to create a perfectly acceptable website;  one that is better than 95% of the themes you see offered in the theme directories.

In fact, it rivals many of the premium themes, and combined with the Semiologic plugins already in your arsenal, the result is just remarkable.  This particular installation is just an experiment and I plan to change back to my Semiologic Custom theme at some point.  But will definitely keep Artisteer in my toolbox for when it is needed.

If you are interested in creating only WordPress themes, you can get started for only $49.95.  For $129.95, you can also create themes for Drupal, Joomla, and html sites.  For the extra charge you receive a library of  Textures, Glares, and Gradients along with additional Photo Objects and Color and Font Schemes.  For additional information from the Artisteer website just click on the ad or any of the links.

I do not consider Artisteer as a replacement for Semiologic.  Rather, it should be viewed as a supplement which when used with Semiologic plugins provides some variety for those sites where Semiologic just doesn't fit.

Try Artisteer by downloading the free trial.  You may try either or both versions and decide which one fits your needs.  The trial is fully functional, but inserts a "trial" watermark all over the skin, making it unusable for a production site.  You can create, upload and test as much as you wish.  Enjoy.

I spent a few hours today setting up a simple shopping cart using the wp-shoppingcart plugin.  I entered a few products, set up the PayPal configuration and attempted to make a mock purchase.

The PayPal site greeted me with the following message:

"Return to Merchant
Unable to process payment. Please contact the merchant as the shipping address provided by the merchant is invalid, and the merchant has requested that your order must be shipped to that address."

I googled the problem and found the WordPress help topic addressing this issue at  http://wordpress.org/support/topic/153679

Unfortunately the information and the file identified as being at   /includes/modules/payment/paypal_ipn.php  turned out to be incorrect. 

Searching through the shoppingcart plugin revealed the code at wp-content/plugins/wp-shoppingcart/merchants/paypal_multiple.php  Open the designated file and scroll to the area shown in the graphic below.

Locate the highlighted line and comment it out as shown.  If you use  WeBuilder 2007 for your php edits, the line numbers shown should be accurate.  Save the edited version of this file and all should now work with PayPal.

Try it out and let me know if you find any problems.