Tuesday, April 28, 2009
You can't help it, everything and everyone is going online. If you plan on starting up a business or getting any sort of mass exposure for something you have to do it online. Even my Mom who is terrified of computers has recently been heard saying she was going to "Google" something. That's right, it's a known verb to all generations to Google. And we all know to go online you need to have a domain and a host and a site designer, etc. It's great to know it can be done but where can you find the best resources?In comes sites like Web Hosting Rating, where you can get user reviews about different elements of web hosting as well as a wealth of other webby information.
For someone like me who is already on the web I can still find useful information at Web Hosting Rating, because they have great articles about what you should look for in your hosts. For instance, many hosts have a built in web designer element and you just need to know where to look to find this application. Web Hosting Rating fortunately has an article that makes the hunt a bit easier. There is a current article on their site right now which discusses SoloLaunch. "SoloLaunch is a user-friendly software program that allows you to easily build and maintain a professional website regardless of experience."
My favorite section of their site is the Awards page. Independent customer rating of the best web hosting providers. It's updated all the time and it breaks ratings down based on user need. So you can look to see who is the top in e-commerce if that's your niche or for me it would be the best blog host which right now is Globat.com.
Whether your needs are many because you're just starting out online, or your needs are more specific you'll be able to use WebHostRating.com as a resource. Click and bookmark this one!
This is a sponsored post.
Labels: hosting, web, web hosting rating
Friday, April 24, 2009
As of this morning, you can download the brand new Peggle for WoW addon from PopCap's site.WoW Insider got a chance to play with the add-on from its early beta on, and it's extremely impressive -- not only will you find the usual addictive peg-hitting gameplay that we've come to know from Peggle, but PopCap and creator Michael Fromwiller (whom we interviewed about Bejeweled, and who we're told is actually being hired on full-time at PopCap as soon as he finishes school this spring) have really added a new level to the game by tying it right into World of Warcraft. The game rewards you with "Talent points" that can change the game play itself, and you can challenge other players within World of Warcraft to duels and score battles. There's even a "Peggle loot" setting, which, when used as Master Looter, will let your guildies and friends with the add-on actually take Peggle shots against each other to determine who gets loot drops.
If you've never played the game Peggle you should try it out. It's much more mindless than WoW, but sometimes your mind needs a break while still being entertained. My five-year-old loves Peggle and so do I. You'll love it.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
A couple months ago I signed up for one of those free stock type games (WeSeed) you can try out with fake money to see how you would do in the real stock market. I haven't done so bad considering the intense fluctuations stocks have been experiencing.My interest in stocks is mostly due to the fact that I have a 403B with my employer and I'm losing money as I'm sure most people are right now. So I've been wanting to learn more about what it's all about.
One of the places I've come across for information and advice is tradeMonster. The site was co-founded by Jon Najarian, Pete Najarian, and Dirk Mueller which means they collectively have an average of 20 years experience dealing with financial information.
When it comes to finding an online options broker you definitely want someone with experience and I'd say especially those with young, fresh and innovative minds because they too are dealing with the craziness of today's economy. And yes, I admit, going to their website and being greeted with a wave of music which totally pumped me up also helped.
But when you look beyond the fresh site and energizing music you see all the tools and assets they have to offer as a trading facility online. Their production tools are completely browser based so you can access information from anywhere. Once you pull up your account you have the tools to actively watch the market and pick up strategies tuned in to your personalized needs. It is a bit overwhelming at first, but at the same time it is an invigorating experience (coming from a 28-year-old novice).I should also let you know they have different options for different type people. Someone like myself would be better off dealing with paperTrade which is the area you sign up to test different trading strategies and learn risk management. It's free to open the account and it brings you all the necessary proprietary stock reports right to your browser window.
WeSeed is free, too but the advice and analysis you receive is from other people like yourself. Being able to work with tradeMonster and knowing people who actually do this for a living are the ones giving me advice definitely puts me at ease.
So as our markets stabilize and eventually improve if you want to hop on ship while investments have the potential to start low then you should definitely sign up with tradeMonster.
For a girl who loves Super Mario, this is exciting. I mean Super Mario is one of the all-time classic games in my world. Granted I did grow up with Atari before Nintendo, but when Super Mario came out my brother and I were in awe and addicted. This Nintendo purse is the dream of every girl who grew up mashing buttons on a Nintendo system. This cute accessory has a screen and a fully-functioning Nintendo inside. It's also got two controllers connected to it that allow a game of Super Mario Bros. 3 to be played by two people anywhere and everywhere!
Thank you Jeri Ellsworth for designing this awesomeness!
*~*~*
Western Digital has launched its My DVR Expander for the TiVo DVR, now with 1TB of hard drive storage capacity. Designed for storing HDTV shows beyond the stock storage, the upgraded DVR Expander uses a eSATA connection and can hold up to an additional 140 hours of HD television or a maximum of 600 hours standard definition, simply by attaching the device to any TiVo DVR, including those that normally restrict regular eSATA drives.
*~*~*
MySpace boss and co-founder Chris DeWolfe is stepping down from his job, but will stay on as a "strategic adviser" on the board.
The social networking site's owner News Corp announced the move yesterday.
DeWolfe's contract will not be renewed by "mutual agreement" said News Corp, adding that the firm was talking to MySpace president Tom Anderson about taking on a "new role in the organisation".
Reports say the new CEO of News Corp (NWS) social network MySpace will be former Facebook COO Owen Van Natta. Mahalo CEO Jason Calacanis, who's close with News Corp digital boss Jonathan Miller, probably knows whether this is true or not, but he says he can't confirm or deny it till Friday.
*~*~*
LittleSnapper from Realmac Software has been available for OS X for quite some time (and was one of the apps available in this year's Macheist bundle), and a few days ago they released a trimmed-down version that runs on your iPhone. While it lacks the basic photo editing and annotation available on its desktop counterpart, LittleSnapper for iPhone is no slouch.
Labels: DVR, iphone app, myspace, nintendo, tivo, western digital
Monday, April 20, 2009
You've probably seen the commercials comparing the Subaru Stella to the BMW Mini. The commercials are lame if you ask me, I don't see any comparisons to begin with so of course they can dish out tons of incomparable features.Fuji Heavy Industries, parent company and maker of Subaru automobiles, has just announced its plans to begin testing prototypes of its Subaru plug-in Stella electric vehicle, which will be introduced in Japan this summer. Furthermore, the company has managed to boost power output from 40kW in the previous iteration to 47kW, and it also stripped away some unnecessary weight and fine-tuned the output management system. There's no mention of a price or expected launch date in North America.
*~*~*
Adobe is working to bring its Flash web animation and video viewer to the living room via a new run-time system for HD TVs, set-top boxes, Blu-ray players and other connected living room devices.
This is all part of bringing Internet content into the TV viewing experience.
Adobe has signed up a host of partners to support the technology, called the Adobe Flash Platform for the Digital Home. The new platform is available now to OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), and the first devices and processors that will support it should be available in the second half of the year, Adobe said.
Partners that have signed on to support the new version of Flash are Atlantic Records, Broadcom, Comcast, Disney Interactive Media Group, Intel, Netflix, STMicroelectronics, The New York Times Company, NXP Semiconductors and Sigma Designs.
*~*~*
Oracle will acquire Sun Microsystems for $7.4 billion, or $5.6 billion net of Sun's cash and debt. The deals comes after IBM withdrew its offer to buy Sun earlier this month.
"The acquisition of Sun transforms the IT industry, combining best-in-class enterprise software and mission-critical computing systems," said Oracle CEO Larry Ellison in a statement. "Oracle will be the only company that can engineer an integrated system - applications to disk - where all the pieces fit and work together so customers do not have to do it themselves. Our customers benefit as their systems integration costs go down while system performance, reliability and security go up."
*~*~*
Today sees the public launch of Tweetie for Mac, the desktop-based big brother of what many consider to be the iPhone's best Twitter client. People have been playing around with a beta version of the app for the last few days since the initial preview last Thursday.
In other Twitter news...
Late last night, former Engadget editor-in-chief Ryan Block tweeted out that he had done some research to attempt to quantify the "Oprah Effect" - that is, the number of users who signed up for Twitter after Oprah featured the service on her show on Friday. The number he came to was about 1.2 million new users.
Labels: adobe, auto, flash, iphone app, online tv, oracle, subaru, sun microsystems, tweetie, twitter
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Motorola in Mexico earlier this week announced the upcoming release of the MOTOROKR W6 handset, which hopes to combine music with a set of fitness-tracking apps. I think it sounds very cool, honestly. I am sure you can get apps like that for other gadgets, but to have it all come in one piece that's set and ready sounds like a great idea.Users can enter their name, age, sex, weight and height into a fitness app that will then create a training plan based on that information. There is also a timer that keeps track of the duration of workout and the theoretical number of calories burned. The handset can export this information into a Microsoft Excel document for tracking progress over time.
Internal memory can be expanded with a card of up to 2GB.
*~*~*
Oh Lordy.
AT&T is offering a new service that allows parents to track loved ones using their phones.
AT&T's service called FamilyMaps allows people to track the location of any cell phone on AT&T's network from a mobile phone or PC. The person being tracked receives a text message informing him or her that he or she is being watched. The service periodically informs the tracked individual that he or she is being watched.
I can hear the tweeny boppers sighing now.
The service uses satellite GPS technology and cell tower triangulation to pin-point the location of the phone. The service is not supported on prepaid or AT&T Go Phones. And the service costs $9.99 for two phones and $14.99 for up to five phones.
Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel, and Alltel have each been offering "tracking" services for more than a year. Sprint Nextel has even lowered the price of its service from about $10 a month to $5 a month.
What's different about these social-networking location services from the service AT&T is offering is that these other services often require those being "tracked" to also run the application on their phones.
*~*~*
Microsoft's Office team has officially announced a Service Pack 2 for Office 2007, which adds some speed, reliability, and printing improvements across the board. The major new new thing? Native support for OpenDocument files (ODF), the major format of OpenOffice.org, without a plug-in, and printing to PDF. SP2 should arrive on April 28.
*~*~*
Delegations from across the Western Hemisphere will descend upon the twin island Caribbean nation of Trinidad & Tobago this week for the fifth Summit of the Americas. A hemispheric agenda on energy figures prominently among the issues they will be addressing.
A key component to such an approach would be the reduction and eventual elimination of the United States' 54-cents-per-gallon tariff on ethanol imports, as well as revision of current agricultural subsidies in the United States.
Enhanced regional collaboration on alternative fuels is a logical next step to the efforts begun by Brazil and the U.S. two years ago. However, overcoming U.S. domestic politics that have allowed debate on ethanol to be influenced by the corn lobby remains a robust hurdle for follow-through on such an initiative.
For more developments on the Summit click here >>
Labels: ATT, cell phone, Microsoft, motorola
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) are testing an innovative technological system in the Detroit area this month that ultimately will help protect drivers from being surprised by black ice, fog, and other hazardous weather conditions.The prototype system is designed to gather detailed information about weather and road conditions from moving vehicles. Within about a decade, it should enable motor vehicles equipped with wireless technology to transmit automated updates about local conditions to a central database, which will then relay alerts to other drivers in the area.
"The goal is to reduce crashes, injuries, and deaths by getting drivers the information they need about nearby hazards," says Sheldon Drobot, the NCAR program manager in charge of the project. "The system will tell drivers what they can expect to run into in the next few seconds and minutes, giving them a critical chance to slow down or take other action."
Maybe then we could all have cheaper auto insurance!? Yeah, I know, I'm dreaming.
(Credit: Copyright UCAR, photo by Michael Chapman)
*~*~*
Years after the HAL (Hybrid Assistive Limb) suit first debuted, it seems that Cyberdyne's pride and joy is about to get really real. According to a report over at HPlus Magazine, the company is linking up with Daiwa House in order to "begin mass production" of the cybernetic bodysuit.
Sounds like someone really wants to be like Iron Man.
The cybernetic suit that "augments body movement and increases user strength by up to tenfold."
Though whether or not that warrants the $4,200 price tag remains to be seen.
*~*~*
A new blog hosted by Southern Illinois University Carbondale's Technology Transfer Program promises to be a nexus of information on energy research across the University campus and around the world.
The blog, "SIU Energy Technology," will promote energy research at SIU's campuses, publish articles by researchers, carry links to outside information and act as a general clearinghouse for energy research information.
Labels: auto, blogging, energy, HAL, robots
Thursday, April 9, 2009
The current economic downturn is the perfect opportunity for this social banking service to go mobile.SmartyPig's accounts are securely held in West Bank, they get a 3.05% interest rate and customers can get discount on their purchase from top retailers such as Best Buy or Amazon. If you are one of those who already uses some sort of financial management system for other things you don't have to worry. Integration is easy peasy. You can integrate your SmartyPig account into your preferred financial money management site like Mint, Geezeo, Wesabe, Rudder, Yodlee, Buxfer, and Expensr.
*~*~*
TunesBag is essentially a social music player that can best be compared to the likes of Lala, imeem and Anywhere.fm in the sense that it allows you to upload your entire MP3 collection, stream it from anywhere over the Internet and share it with your friends. It's completely free and claims to be perfectly legal under Austrian law. I imagine if they were able to outsmart of the rippers from getting their hands on those files it would remain legal since it's a stream and not something anyone could actually burn and download and sell, right?
*~*~*
We've seen no official word from the Bluetooth Special Interest Group, but phonescoop has it that the Bluetooth 3.0 specification is just about ready for prime time. Reportedly, the spec will feature "dramatically increased speeds, allowing for the transfer of large video files, music collections and photo libraries wirelessly within seconds."
Bluetooth 3.0 will reportedly transfer files at rates of 480 megabits (60 Megabytes) per second in close proximity, and 100 megabits (12.5 Megabytes) per second at 10 meters. At those speeds, high-quality streaming video is a definite possibility, along with a host of other applications that are simply impractical with the current transfer rates.
*~*~*
Will Wright, the lead designer behind the phenomenally successful Sims franchise, announced today that he has left EA Maxis to start a new project that isn't directly attached to game development.
The Spore designer will instead be heading up a new entertainment think-tank called Stupid Fun Club which, though it has the backing and support of Electronic Arts, does not seem to be directly linked to the publisher.
According to Wright the purpose of Stupid Fun Club will be to develop new ideas and IPs that can used across all forms of entertainment and interactive media. While one application is obviously the creation of new video games, the group will also look at movies, TV, books, comics, internet sites and physical toys.
"The entertainment industry is moving rapidly into an era of revolutionary change," Will said in an announcement. "Stupid Fun Club will explore new possibilities that are emerging from this sublime chaos and create new forms of entertainment on a variety of platforms. In my twelve years at EA, I've had the pleasure to work alongside some of the brightest and most talented game developers in the industry and I look forward to working with them again in the near future."
Labels: bluetooth, electronic arts, music, smartypig, tunesbag, will wright
Monday, April 6, 2009
Facebook's photo storage system holds 850 million photos and costs a lot of dough. Niall Kennedy has a nice overview of what Facebook is doing to minimize its storage costs.
Facebook's system, dubbed Haystack, is custom-built but relies on content delivery networks and NetApp. Facebook is trying to minimize the custom stuff and use commodity hardware.
*~*~*
Old worm, new tricks...
The Neeris worm, which dates from as far back as May 2005, making it a bit of geriatric, has been adapted to spread using the infamous MS08-067 vulnerability harnessed by Conficker. Earlier variants of the Neeris worm exploited a much older flaw (MS06-040) in the same Windows component hit by the Conficker exploit, so the update to the older malware probably involved more of a tweak than a complete rewrite.
*~*~*
With President Obama's 60-day comprehensive review of US cyber security still underway, Sens. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Olympia Snow (D-ME) on Wednesday introduced sweeping legislation that would establish a cyber security "czar" within the White House and bring both governmental and private sector "critical infrastructure" under a unified regulatory regime.
In case a lone cyber security advisor doesn't seem like enough, that legislation provides for the creation of cyber security advisory panel to be staffed by stakeholders from the governmental, private, academic, and nonprofit sectors.
The bill establishes a dizzying array of programs, administered by a variety of agencies, over the course of its 51 pages. Perhaps most significantly, the bill tasks the National Institute of Standards and Technology with developing a set of security standards and vulnerability tests that will apply to any information networks or software used by federal agencies and contractors-but also by any private entity designated as "critical infrastructure" by the President. The President is also empowered to order the disconnection of any federal or private critical infrastructure network, either during a "cyber security emergency" or for reasons of national security more broadly.
*~*~*
Windows only: Looking for a different kind of, and can be customized to fit any theme.
Unlike other popular Windows alternatives to the taskbar, like the previously mentioned (and popular) RocketDock or ObjectDock, SliderDock offers a kind of pop-on, jump-out functionality. That is, if you only want to use SliderDock for a certain subset of apps or file locations, you can hide it with a custom keyboard shortcut.
Facebook's system, dubbed Haystack, is custom-built but relies on content delivery networks and NetApp. Facebook is trying to minimize the custom stuff and use commodity hardware.
*~*~*
Old worm, new tricks...
The Neeris worm, which dates from as far back as May 2005, making it a bit of geriatric, has been adapted to spread using the infamous MS08-067 vulnerability harnessed by Conficker. Earlier variants of the Neeris worm exploited a much older flaw (MS06-040) in the same Windows component hit by the Conficker exploit, so the update to the older malware probably involved more of a tweak than a complete rewrite.
*~*~*
With President Obama's 60-day comprehensive review of US cyber security still underway, Sens. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Olympia Snow (D-ME) on Wednesday introduced sweeping legislation that would establish a cyber security "czar" within the White House and bring both governmental and private sector "critical infrastructure" under a unified regulatory regime.
In case a lone cyber security advisor doesn't seem like enough, that legislation provides for the creation of cyber security advisory panel to be staffed by stakeholders from the governmental, private, academic, and nonprofit sectors.
The bill establishes a dizzying array of programs, administered by a variety of agencies, over the course of its 51 pages. Perhaps most significantly, the bill tasks the National Institute of Standards and Technology with developing a set of security standards and vulnerability tests that will apply to any information networks or software used by federal agencies and contractors-but also by any private entity designated as "critical infrastructure" by the President. The President is also empowered to order the disconnection of any federal or private critical infrastructure network, either during a "cyber security emergency" or for reasons of national security more broadly.
*~*~*
Windows only: Looking for a different kind of, and can be customized to fit any theme.Unlike other popular Windows alternatives to the taskbar, like the previously mentioned (and popular) RocketDock or ObjectDock, SliderDock offers a kind of pop-on, jump-out functionality. That is, if you only want to use SliderDock for a certain subset of apps or file locations, you can hide it with a custom keyboard shortcut.
Labels: dock, Facebook, president barack obama, virus. cyber security, windows, worm
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Can the Web save the Big 3 automobile companies? Probably not, but making Web-friendly vehicles could help to sell a few more cars. Tech companies have increasingly been showcasing web applications for automobiles. Microsoft was working with Hyundai on making an in-car computing system and OnStar may be incorporating Twitter into its vehicle systems. Now Ford will be allowing owners of the Ford F-150, Super Duty, E-Series and Transit Connect trucks and vans to access the web from their vehicles through the Opera mobile browser. Opera will be the featured browser on Ford's first broadband-capable, in-dash computer.Ford is purposely installing these computers in trucks and vans to appeal to contractors, farmers, and construction workers to turn these cars into "mobile offices." Truck owners will be able to use the in-dash browser to access sales information, contact databases, job-site plans, inventory lists, calendars, e-mail, or even the weather.
But don't think about driving using your cell phone, that is far too dangerous...
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Taking steps to help expand the marketplace and improve the consumer experience for digital entertainment, Microsoft Corp. today announced that PacketVideo Corp. will include support for Microsoft PlayReady technology in its CORE multimedia platform, significantly broadening PlayReady's reach to a range of mobile device platforms. Microsoft also announced the availability of the PlayReady Service Provider Program, in addition to announcing a range of content and technology companies that join the more than 50 companies that have selected Microsoft PlayReady technology to power products and services to deliver mobile and in-home entertainment content. PlayReady is a content access technology that enables content owners and service providers to deliver virtually any type of digital content, using a wide range of business models, from on-demand streaming video and subscription to rental or download-to-own. PlayReady also provides significant improvements in ease of use for consumers looking to access, manage and sync protected content with devices.
More Microsoft news...
At CTIA 2009, Robbie Bach, head of Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division, ran through essentially the same news that his boss, CEO Steve Ballmer, presented about six weeks ago during the Mobile World Conference in Barcelona. The company demonstrated how Windows 7 has built-in software for connecting to 3G wireless networks, showed off some of the features of Windows Mobile 6.5, and played a quick video highlighting its mobile application store, Windows Marketplace for Mobile.
The demonstrations were all geared around Bach's central theme of the "three screens:" the PC, the television and the mobile phone. Microsoft intends to make sure Windows is able to give people access to their personal data, information, and services on all three of those screens.
But Bach promised that Windows Mobile phones will be the subject of Microsoft's next big advertising push, and said the company's partners will have 10 phones running Windows Mobile 6.5 ready when that operating system arrives in the second half of this year.
*~*~*
SANYO Fisher Company (SANYO), a subsidiary of SANYO North America Corporation, today announces that shipping has started for the new, 2009 Dual Camera Xacti lineup announced in January this year.
The all-HD Dual Camera lineup for 2009 offers a variety of unique features including 1080p, 60frames per second High Definition Video with 8 megapixel photos (VPC-FH1), standard (720p) High Definition Video, up to 2 megapixel photos and 30x optical zoom (VPC-TH1) on land, or even underwater - down to a depth of 10 feet for an hour (VPC-WH1), and standard (720p) High Definition Video and 10 megapixel photos (VPC-CG10).
As part of the launch for the new lineup, SANYO has also unveiled part of its marketing plan for the 2009 Dual Cameras part of which includes a push into online communities. One highlight of the plan features SANYO's Dual Camera line in a number of videos alongside a number of Web Stars - many of the hottest names in online video culture. Some of these stars earn a living making viral videos capable of generating audiences that often surpass that of some hit TV series. Web names such as Lisa Nova, iJustine, Rhett & Link, Mr. Safety, Audrey Kitching, Brandon Hardesty and Apprentice A are creating a variety of videos typical of their style, but with a theme relevant to the 2009 Dual Camera line.
*~*~*
Is gaming all about ego? Gosh I hope not!
"Most people are very narcissistic," said Electronic Arts' Wright, creator of the Sim City and Sims franchises and now last year's avant-garde Spore, onstage with Federated Media's John Battelle. "The more you can make the game about that person, the more interested, the more emotionally involved they will get."
Advancements in technology have made it possible for the customization craze of the social-networking world to permeate the console and PC gaming sectors, and that has begun to open up the industry to new users who didn't see the appeal in hardcore gaming or immersive role-playing virtual universes.
When it comes to the Wii, probably not.
"The Wii, to me, represents the idea of non-immersive gaming," he said. "When you think about the Wii...most of the entertainment is not happening on the screen, it's about watching your friend act like a doofus swinging the thing around and maybe throw it into the TV set."
Labels: auto, camera, dashboard computer, ford, gaming, Microsoft, sanyo, wii
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