» Smart Phones, Web Design, Google or whatever
Internet
Things about and on the Internet
Google Adsense Optimization
Jan 15th
In reading Google’s Inside Adsense (blog) Asking Dave Taylor about AdSense I was reminded of a goal I had relegated to the “I’m not going to do that pile”, though now I’m re-thinking it. I’m talking about putting Adsense in the middle of articles/posts with no border and a matching background.
Hearing Dave Taylor and Inside Adsense discussing this idea has sparked my interest again and I’m seriously going to re-consider exactly how I could implement this on my blog.
Cricket Wireless Broadband
Dec 5th
I just heard about this the other day, I don’t know how I could have missed it when I was buying my Cricket EZ cell phone and opening my monthly plan but Cricket has a wireless broadband service. I’ve got calbe so I’m not in the market, so maybe I simply overlooked it.
Read more about it on Reuters.com, evidently the service is not brand new as I thought, Cricket Brings its Unlimited Leadership to Wireless Broadband Services.
Free Gmail Stickers By Snailmail!
Dec 5th
You read right, free Gmail Stickers for free*, just mail a self-addressed stamped envelope** and you’ll get 3 things:
- a Gmail m-velope
- a set of Gmail keyboard shortcut stickers,
- one of three “bookplate stickers”
For more details click the link above and read more about the stickers including the cool story about how the stickers came about aside from the obvious get Gmail/Google stuff in people’s hands marketing value.
* additionally lawyer requested terms from the Gmail blog: while supplies last, Google won’t maintain your contact information in any way, and these stickers are “void where prohibited and only while supplies last.”
** more details from the Google blog (quoted direct from the blog):
So how do you get your stickers? We may be all about speedy electronic communication, but this time we’re going old school with snail mail. Just send a self-addressed stamped envelope (along with a note if you’re so inclined) to:
Send me some Gmail stickers already
P.O. Box 391420
Mountain View, CA 94039-1420Make sure to include enough postage to return a sticker pack via U.S. mail. It’s less than one ounce, so a standard $0.42 stamp will do if you’re in the United States; enclose an international reply coupon (IRC) if you’re outside of the U.S. And be sure to send your envelope in soon — one per person please.
Hacking NASA
Nov 21st
Its scary that in April 2005 NASA was hacked and still no one is really sure exactly who did the hacking. If they do know, they are not saying. The usual suspects include Russia and China but no formal accusations have been made.
Apparently NASA’s computers are a weak link in the DoD information chain. According to BusinessWeek online:
America’s military and scientific institutions—along with the defense industry that serves them—are being robbed of secret information on satellites, rocket engines, launch systems, and even the Space Shuttle. The thieves operate via the Internet from Asia and Europe, penetrating U.S. computer networks. Some of the intruders are suspected of having ties to the governments of China and Russia, interviews and documents show. Of all the arms of the U.S. government, few are more vulnerable than NASA, the civilian space agency, which also works closely with the Pentagon and American intelligence services.
For about 10 years now NASA has been aware of these intrusions and have not been able to stop them, and its costing actual dollars in terms of hardware, not just data and research. Another quote from this BusinessWeek online article says:
In 1998 a U.S.-German satellite known as ROSAT, used for peering into deep space, was rendered useless after it turned suddenly toward the sun. NASA investigators later determined that the accident was linked to a cyber-intrusion at the Goddard Space Flight Center in the Maryland suburbs of Washington. The interloper sent information to computers in Moscow, NASA documents show. U.S. investigators fear the data ended up in the hands of a Russian spy agency.
So in other words there was a hack incident where a satellite was turned toward our Sun and for all intents and purposes turned into a pile of orbiting junk. You would think in the 10+ years NASA would have secured funding for new software, hardware and manpower to protects its (and our) interests. Undoubtedly something has been done, but as this article seems to indicate, NASA is still a target being successfully penetrated by foreign interests.
GoDaddy Gets New Site Design
Sep 27th
GoDaddy has improved their visible image in one fell swoop with the launch of a new site design. Although the Domain Manager section of the site was redesigned in look and function sometime last year, the rest of the site lagged behind. Now its seems that has changed, and like the Domain Manager’s update last year, the new design is more than skin deep. While its true that GoDaddy’s new look is less cluttered, and has a more progressive look, the site also has improved functionality in the form of flyout menu and tooltips.
Beyond the fact that the new menus are more visually appealing, when you log in you’ll notice that they also provide improved visual feedback. As you roll over the buttons, they change – a welcome upgrade from the old. Speaking of login, the login and log out has been better implemented and, at least in my opinion, sits exactly where I’d expect to find it. I must say the new look is also just, well COOLER. Yep, its waaay cooler.
If you’re looking for a web host, give GoDaddy a try!
Yahoo not feeling pretty, getting makeover
Sep 24th
Yahoo isn’t “feeling pretty” so they are getting a makeover. According to Yahoo begins radical home page overhaul, Yahoo is feeling pressure to make good on year old promises to make changes.
“We are going to put what matters to you most at your fingertips,” said Tapan Bhat, the senior vice president in charge of “front doors”–the main destinations at Yahoo, including Yahoo.com, MyYahoo and the Yahoo toolbar.
If you want to take a peek at what the new design could look like head on over to Yahoo begins radical home page overhaul on Reuters.com and there’s an image at the top of the article. Also from the reuters.com article:
The real test of the success or failure of the Yahoo home page redesign will only come when the company opens up Yahoo.com to let independent developers create their own applications to work on Yahoo.com, Dangson said. [That's] where Google, Facebook and MySpace all are further along, she said.
So, after Yahoo gets its makeover, we’ll see if indedpendent developers become interested enough to “join the party” and make cool new Yahoo apps to see if they can catch up with some of the others in terms of custom 3d party apps.
