December 2008 - Page 2 of 2

Beta label removed from Google Chrome

Thursday December 11, 2008

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Today was the 15th release by Google and within 100 days of its initial launch. Google announced this morning the first release of Google Chrome without the beta label attached to it.

We’ve been talking about Google Chrome since September and most of you already know what an amazingly fast browser it is. With the first release without the beta label, Google has improved the stability and performance of plug-ins (video performance in specific) which had issues in the beta version. When doing a benchmark test on V8 JavaScript engine, it runs 1.5 times faster on V8 benchmark. Google claims this will get even faster.

Google Chrome’s bookmark feature is now even friendlier. Some users had problems in the beta release which have now been resolved. Now you can organize your bookmarks and import/export from different browsers.

Most users that use Mozilla Firefox also utilize the plug-ins feature. Hopefully in the next few days, Google will come out with extensions to integrate with Google Chrome.

What are your thoughts? Which browser would you say has the most potential?

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Hunger in Eastern Massachusetts And How You Can Help

Hunger is a silent epidemic. Each year, more than 320,000 people seek food assistance in eastern Massachusetts alone. They are the most vulnerable among us: children and seniors. They are people we know: our friends, neighbors, and colleagues. They live in each and every one of our communities, and are quietly seeking help from the more than 600 member hunger-relief agencies in the nine counties and 190 cities and towns of eastern Massachusetts that receive food from The Greater Boston Food Bank.

Lisa was checking in to Twitter this morning and saw a post that intrigued her from Connie Reece, about how Tyson foods was donating 100 pounds of food for every comment to this post. This time of year a comment is not to much to ask for please do your part, comment, feed the hungry and prove that tweeting and blogging about a subject is more than a bunch of people talking about what they had for lunch or where they can spot their cars on google maps.

Go Comment, it will make you feel good.

Reading Time: 4 minutes

How does Google know?

Google is always adding and developing the services it offers for free. Sometimes I joke they are reading my emails. One day I may mention, “Gee, I would like folders for that …” and a couple weeks later, or a couple days in some cases my feature appears. Call it selective attention, hundredth monkey effect or just the natural development of software.

As I made my transition from using Outlook to only Gmail and Gmail for your domain I bemoaned the loss of adding a task and attaching the referenced email. Loved that. Needed that.

The latest addition to Google Labs is Tasks. Now located below your “Contacts” link on the left margin. This from Google:

We put your tasks in the same kind of window as chats, so they’re visible while you’re scanning your inbox, reading mail, or searching (and in Settings, too!). Just pop your list out into a new window to use Tasks outside of Gmail.

To enable Tasks, go to Settings, click the Labs tab (or just click here if you’re signed in). Select “Enable” next to “Tasks” and then click “Save Changes” at the bottom. Then, after Gmail refreshes, on the left under the “Contacts” link, you’ll see a “Tasks” link. Just click it to get started.

Tasks will allow you to create a ‘to do’ list right within Gmail.

Tasks can be generated straight from an email.

Open your email, decide you need to add this task, from the “More Actions” drop down menu now you may select “Add to Tasks”. The email will be added to your Task list with the subject line listed in your queue of things to do.
If you have your shortcuts enabled in Labs you can do this with Control + t, also:

Tasks can be prioritized.
Tasks allows you to break down a project into manageable steps.
The Task window can pop-out and become a whole new window.

So while Google is possibly listening (and when aren’t they) here is my wish list for Tasks:

1. An iPhone application to see and use my Tasks list on the go
2. Ability to combine Tasks lists from other gmail accounts into one master list
3. Add due dates for Tasks to Google Calendar

What do you want Tasks to do next?

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Imagine there’s no Heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today

Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace

You may say that I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world

You may say that I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will live as one

1980, I was a high school student in the OC before that was cool, I was not a sporto, I was not a band geek, I was not a thespian, but I knew people in all of those clicks and could move freely between them. The 80s was not a time of great music with few exceptions. We were raised in a house with everything from Brubeck to the Beatles being played on vinal via the Hi-Fi. We have always loved new tunes when they came out from out favorite artists. John Lennon had taken a hiatus to raise his second son, and the world was without his gift for many years when Double Fantisy came out. I can remember slow Sundays on the patio, rib eye steaks on the grill, John and Yoko on the turntable. That year summer ended and winter came, and with it the senseless killing of one of the most popular composers of all time.

It’t now almost 30 years later and Imagine still kinda chokes me up.

We Miss You John…

Reading Time: 7 minutes

Over the Thanksgiving weekend Dennis and I went to see the new Baz Luhrmann film Australia, starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. Having read many reviews of this film, some great and some mixed, I figured we might as well venture out on Black Friday and see this epic film. What better way to spend two and three-quarter hours when a movie includes wonderful scenery of Australia, World War II history, an expose of the “stolen generation”, not to mention I could enjoy watching Hugh Jackman (People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive 2008) and Dennis could similarly enjoy watching the beautiful and talented Nicole Kidman. As we purchased our tickets, I noticed the theatre was giving away free Australia movie posters. What a treat! Not exactly like receiving a movie “program book” that I frequently received back in the 60’s and 70’s. Yes, I said “program book.”
These were souvenir books, some over 30 pages in length, that were part of your ticket price, typically produced for those major films like Dr. Zhivago (1965) and Hawaii (1966). And, yes, I still have some of these treasures, and remember that these movies often included an “intermission!” But, back to Australia…it is 1939.

There is much to say about this movie and I really hope you will see it for yourself. What struck me the most is how Luhrmann managed to weave the 1939 movie, The Wizard of Oz, into his storytelling. And of course, there is the beautiful Oz song, “Over the Rainbow”. As I watched Australia I thought to myself, what is it about “Over the Rainbow” that somehow reaches your inner soul and magically soothes you. We all know that Australia is not the first movie that has incorporated “Over the Rainbow”, as I can name at least six other films, and it undoubtedly won’t be the last…so still the question remains. Why do people love the song “Over the Rainbow”?

Consider the following: “Over the Rainbow” was written in 1939; lyrics by Edgar Yipsel(Yip)Harburg; music by Harold Arlen; original performing artist was Judy Garland; won the Academy Award for Best Original Song (1939) and was voted by the American Film Institute as the Best Movie Song of all time. According to SongFacts.com, Yip Harburg’s “lyrics have a political significance. Harburg was expressing hope for America under President Franklin Roosevelt’s “New Deal” program, which was designed to get America out of the Great Depression in the early ’30s.” Hmmmm…

I suppose you are wondering what my blog post about Over the Rainbow, Australia and the magic of music has to do with Webconsuls’ primary services, SEO and SMO. Well, here is the connection. A few months ago, one of our clients, Whiteside Manor, Riverside, CA, asked us to create a video for their website. We had wonderful photos, but we needed just the right music. Dan contacted his friend, Paul Meredith, and asked Paul to record a version of “Over the Rainbow.” You can view the finished product here:

So today:
1. Let me know your thoughts about “Over the Rainbow” and Australia.
2. See if you can name one or more of the other movie soundtracks which include “Over the Rainbow”.
3. Let me know if you need Webconsuls to produce a video for your website

….’Somewhere over the rainbow… skies are blue
And the dreams that you dare to dream
Really do come true.’

Dare to dream…

Reading Time: 4 minutes

In pay per click marketing, in most cases I find myself defining the typical internet user/searcher/customer in very specific terms. I must assume that the potential customer is looking only for the particular item/service searched– nothing more nothing less. Therefore, specific landing pages corresponding to that search term are a must, while sending a searcher to your homepage is not optimal.

To quote the linked article, “The first and most important objective of the landing page is to convince the visitor that they’ve come to the right place.” In my opinion this must be done, clearly, simply, and above the ‘fold’ or without making the searcher scroll. The Szetela article uses the metaphor of going to a Sears department store. When you know the specific item you are looking to purchase, you can go directly to it by parking and entering the store in the door leading to that particular department. You then find, purchase and leave the store creating as efficient and seemless an experience as possible.

If the searcher then stays to browse or comes back later for similar items, it is all gravy. But the conservative, strict approach assumes this is not the case and in my experience, it is not. Secure the immediate sale- any other objectives cannot be campaigned for with statistical confidence.

The browser or the type of person who enjoys shopping and spending time do so is not the person we are concerned with as previous topics have covered. In short, the browsing shopper will either find the product regardless of what ‘department door’ they arrive in or aren’t looking to buy in the 1st place. They are simply browsing.

Please read the article for another point of view and as always- share your experiences, tips and tricks by replying and helping out the rest of the viewership.

http://searchenginewatch.com/3631984

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Google Friend Connect allows more visitors to engage in your website. Best part is, it doesn’t require any programming. The user can join your website using their existing Google, Yahoo, AIM, or OpenID and they can invite friends to join your site as well.

So what can a user do once they join your website through Google Friend Connect?

First, you can add the member gadget which displays member display pictures and allows them to spread the link to join your website.

The Wall gadget which works similarly to Facebook’s wall application or a blog post where users can post comments or links to videos on your site.

Another great feature is the Review/Rate gadget which is self explanitory. Allows users to rate the page or a section of a page and post a comment on the rating and get user feedback.

Once you have placed the gadgets on your site, you can then login to Google Friend Connect and view stats on how many members have joined over time. This is a completely new service offered by Google and more gadgets are being developed.

Reading Time: 2 minutes

We got our FREE Ubuntu 8.10 disks in the mail!

Ubuntu is an African word meaning ‘Humanity to others’ and is also a free operating system that you can use to breath new life into an old computer, host your enterprise or just get your feet wet in the land of *nix. Click here to order your free Ubuntu CD now.

This version of Ubuntu 8.10 is code named Intrepid Ibex. Do not be afraid to try it. Take the Ubuntu CD you get in the mail and boot your computer from it for a test drive!

Got Ubuntu? Everything you need comes on one CD, providing a complete working environment. Additional software is available online directly thru a pull down menu.

Above, Check out this old interview with Mark Shuttleworth, founder of the Ubuntu Foundation.

Ubuntu, an African word meaning ‘Humanity to others’, or ‘I am what I am because of who we all are’. The Ubuntu distribution brings this spirit of Ubuntu to the software world. Give it a try, Let us know what you think.

Reading Time: 11 minutes

What is a Kindle?

A Kindle is an portable reading device which connects to the internet. The Kindle can download books, blogs, magazines and newspapers wirelessly.

I enjoy playing with new devices and having worked with DAISY books, a digital format created for accessibility purposes, I was very curious about this product from Amazon. The following is a list of pros and cons from my user experience. It is not an exhaustive list but one from my direct experience with the device.

What the Kindle Excels at:

The Kindle is great if you like to burn through lots of paperback books and general reading material. Paperback novels, books with very few illustration and not too much organizational formatting are ideal for this device.
The Kindle is the ideal device to use for casual reading while traveling. When I do occasionally travel I never know what book I am going to want to read. A Kindle enables you to have over 200 titles and only one 10.3 ounce device to carry.
Kindle books are generally cheaper than their traditional version. Best Sellers and New Releases are $9.99 unless marked otherwise. Currently 105 of the 112 New York Times Best Sellers are available on Kindle.
The Kindle is very immediate. You can download a novel from the online store in seconds and be reading. Finish the book you brought, visit the Kindle store right from your device and pick a new read. Amazon was not being foolish when they enabled this device with full time internet access.
Want to take a peak at a book. One of my favorite treats with the Kindle is being able to download the first chapter of any Kindle version for free. You have a sample of the book to try before you buy.
Kindle books are saved and could be made available if you ever accidentally erased or lost your Kindle.
The Kindle is a wireless internet device with no monthly fee. You can access your email, your social networks and browse the internet all from your Kindle.
You can subscribe to newpapers, magazines, and blogs and have them delivered to your Kindle.
A built in dictionary looks up words with a push of a button. I love this feature and wish I had it when I read the book “All the Pretty Horses” by Cormac McCarthy.
The Kindle is also a full encycolpedia. Access to Wikipedia.org, your online encyclopedia, comes with your Kindle.
An easy to read screen which excels in the elements, especially bright sun and wind.The Kindle’s screen is “electronic paper” and does not glow like a computer monitor. The screen of a Kindle is more like the etch-a-sketch of the my childhood. The “digital ink” is magnetic. The electronic ink is easy on the eyes and reads well even in direct sunlight. Reading the humongous and unweily New York Times in a slight breeze is much easier on the Kindle.
The text size is adjustable.

Drawback that I found

Sharing
The downside is that if you are accustomed to sharing your paperbacks with other readers you can’t really lend or trade your Kindle books as you would a dogeared paperback.

Diagrams
The Kindle is not great for books which contain diagrams. I read a lot of “how to” books. The most recent book I purchased was on photography. I would never even considered buying the Kindle version as the color photographs and illustrations would not be shown full size or in color. Computer instruction and technical books don’t render well for the same reason.

A book in the hand …
When I start a book I read all the front material, the table of contents, all the back material, then I start the book. A Kindle book will display all the same material but it just never feels as easily contained as a book in your hands. Call me old fashioned but I do find comfort in that tangable property of books.

Availability
Not everything has a Kindle version at the moment. There are more than 190,000 titles. You should be able to find something.

Can Kindles replace books?

Kindles and electronic devices can create digital copies of the text in books. Where the representation of the straight text is all you need the Kindle serves its function well. Will it replace books? Not in my lifetime and not for me.

There are the books that you carry around from childhood. I lost my original copy of my beloved book “Happy Horsemanship”. A copy of my favorite book on the Kindle would be a poor substitute. There are the books you have given to you by your parents. My copy of “Collected Poems of Emily Dickinson”, the inside cover contains my Mother’s handwriting “to Lisa, Love Mom and Dad, Christmas 1984” or “My Dog Skip” given to me by a friend and past student are not only stories but mementos. Another favorite and useful book never far from my desk “Reader’s Digest Family Word Finder”, a thesaurus of sorts, but one that is actually intuitive and immediate to use. I have turned to this resource for help since junior high school. Paging through this reference that I have had for so many years, even the breaks in the binding serve as bookmarks to pages I have referenced repeatedly. Kindles can’t do that.

On the other hand … I can’t access my email with my copy of Emily Dickinson.

There are books you will keep forever. There are books you want to touch and pour over. There are books you want to just consume with one read. The Kindle is for the later.

In my opinion and experience the ideal Kindle candidate is one of two people, a traveling bookworm who frequents the best seller section and devours newspapers and/or the gadget infatuated individual who will thrive on squeezing every functionality they can out of an internet device that happens to also read books.

Will you buy a kindle for a gift … well not right now because they are currently sold out. There are Kindles available for resale on ebay, but some of those are asking for as much as twice the retail prices. OUCH!

Reading Time: 2 minutes

HAPPY CYBER MONDAY!

Hope you all had a safe trip to Grams house and a Healthy Happy Thanksgiving. Did you find all the best deals on Black Friday? Because Today, Monday December 1st, is the first day back to work after Black Friday. All across America wallets are opened and credit cards are being removed. Current estimates say that 56% of workers with internet access, 70+ million people, will spend more time today shopping online than working.

CyberMonday was born.

Do you need something for your Kindle? Today sites like Amazon will offer deep discounts and see Cyber Monday traffic increases up to 26%.

So if you missed your new LCD or PLASMA deal on Friday you get a second chance today!

Looking for more Cyber Monday Deals? Don’t forget to check out CyberMonday.com

Now to find that perfect gift for Lisa McClure…

OUR BLOG

Month: December 2008

Beta label removed from Google Chrome

What is a Kindle?