KLIKWAE NEWS

Lenovo ThinkCentre® M55 (88116CU) PC Desktop

2008-12-10T09:16:00.000-08:00

ThinkVantage Technologies are integrated into every ThinkCentre M55p desktop to help you help yourself -and reduce the burden on your help desk. These tools, including ThinkVantage System Migration Assistant, ThinkVantage Client Security Solution and...

Read Product Description and Full Specs

Hewlett Packard Pavilion HDX9010TX (883585418510) PC Notebook

2008-12-10T09:05:00.000-08:00

With ATI Mobility RADEON HD 2600 XT graphics, 4 speakers and a Triple Bass Reflex subwoofer, this notebook provides a powerful multimedia and gaming experience. The built-in HDTV tuner lets you watch stunning high-definition TV on the massive 20.1" display.Windows Vista Ultimate preloadedWhich Windows Vista edition is right for you? Compare now.

Sony Ericsson, HTC to Release Android Phones in 2009

2008-12-10T08:44:00.000-08:00

It was bound to happen, but we never imagined it was going to be so soon. Phandroid says that Sony Ericsson will release their first Android-based telephone in summer 2009, according to IDG Sweden:

We expect to initially focus on higher-end products, but we will also add products for a broader mass market at a later date. The first Android handset will arrive in the summer.

That was the official word from Gustaf Brusewitz, an official Sony Ericsson spokesman for Sony Ericsson in Sweden. He also added that they will continue to develop for Symbian and Windows, to get all their bases covered.

HTC, the current makers of the G1, will also come with their own Android cellphones in summer 2009. Not only model, but a whole portfolio, according to HTC exec Peter Frølund:

Yes, we will have one or more Android-products by the summer of 2009. I can say that we are working on a portfolio of models.

Personally, I can't wait to see what HTC and Sony Ericsson will bring to the table in terms of hardware design and—hopefully—User Interface overhauls. [IDG Sweden and Business DK via Phandroid]

Canon PowerShot SX10

2008-12-09T10:20:00.000-08:00

Whether the action is fast or slow, close up or far away, you'll always get the shot you want with the PowerShot SX10 IS. This camera puts you on the cutting edge of advanced technology, with an incredibly powerful 20x optical zoom, 10-megapixel resolution, and DIGIC 4 image processor for high-performance face and motion detection.The PowerShot SX10 IS is equipped with a 20x optical zoom lens with a focal length of 5.0-100mm that allows you to shoot any scene from wide-angle to telephoto. The camera uses a VCM (Voice Coil Motor) for high-speed, quiet, energy-efficient lens movement with precise control. Focal length is conveniently indicated on the lens barrel.The lens is optimized to fully exploit its zoom length and wide shooting angle in concert with the camera's high 10.0-megapixel resolution. UD glass effectively suppresses chromatic aberration, while enhanced negative refractive power ensures that distortion at the wide-angle is also corrected. Further aberration is controlled with the inclusion of a double-sided aspherical glass-molded lens and ultra-high refraction index lens.The SX10 IS is equipped with Canon's acclaimed optical image stabilizer technology that automatically detects and corrects camera shake - one of the leading causes of fuzzy or blurred shots. Even when zoomed in, you can get the steady, crisp, brilliant images you'll be proud to shoot and share. And Canon's optical image stabilizer technology is convenient to use. It functions perfectly with or without a flash.

Dell XPS M1330 Laptop Computer

2008-12-04T05:10:00.000-08:00

Love great art? The XPS M1330's sleek lines and elegant form elevate it from PC to icon. Opt for Crimson Red or Tuxedo Black and enjoy the surprisingly sensual look and feel of MicroSatin paint. Select high-gloss Pearl White for the ultimate in simple sophistication.

As one of the thinnest and lightest notebooks in its class, the XPS M1330 is a truly portable notebook. How did Dell get so thin? Dell's optional LED display uses 32 tiny, white LEDs for a super bright, super skinny screen. Projected weight starting at just under 4 pounds (1.8 kg) and featuring next-gen technologies like optional embedded mobile broadband, slot load optical drive, HDMI connection, Biometric Fingerprint Security, the XPS M1330 is the last word in leading edge high tech.

True mobile freedom is about more than just the size and weight of your notebook. The XPS M1330 offers an exclusive set of wireless options that help you stay connected wherever you go. Enjoy a wire free environment.

BlackBerry Bold hits AT&T on November 4 for $299.99

2008-10-25T13:39:00.000-07:00

The hopes and dreams for a "summer release" have long since faded, but at least AT&T's finally agreed to a hard date for the hotly-anticipated Bold: November 4. The news comes courtesy of the company's earnings call -- not the most obvious place to slip in news this big -- but at least it's coming straight from the horse's mouth.

Philips reveals Bluetooth-enabled GoGear LUXE DAP

2008-10-25T12:40:00.000-07:00

Philips' GoGear line hasn't exactly sent us into uncontrollable fits of jubilation of late, but the latest DAP to fall under the aforesaid umbrella doesn't look half bad. Boasting a prism-like motif and integrated Bluetooth 2.1 functionality, this unit will actually pause your tunes and allow you to answer a call if your BT-enabled phone is nearby and paired up. It also features 10-hours of playback time and

100-hours in standby, and there's an FM tuner included in case you roll through 2GB of jams and just can't bear to hear any of them again. Word on the street has it that this bugger will surface in Singapore next month for around S$139 ($92), though other Asian countries should see it pop up shortly thereafter.

Apple iPhone 3G goes Global in 70 Countries

2008-08-09T12:24:00.000-07:00

To tumultuous applause at the WWDC 08 conference in San Francisco USA, on Monday the 9th of June 2008, Steve Jobs announced the release of the much anticipated new iPhone, dubbed the iPhone 3G. The new iPhone 3G is being launched in 22 countries initially, on the 11th of July, including South Africa a little later, at a maximum retail price of $199.00 everywhere.

FileRescue

2008-06-12T14:20:00.000-07:00

FileRescue Professional

FileRescue Pro is an easy to use, but powerful software utility designed to restore accidentally deleted files and folders. It allows you to recover files that have been removed from the Recycle Bin, as well as those deleted by-passing the Recycle Bin (e.g. Shift-Delete). It will also recover files deleted by virus attacks and software faults. 100% FREE to try.

FileRescue works under Windows and supports the FAT12, FAT16, FAT32, NTFS and NTFS 5 file systems.

features
- Explorer-style user interface, with an easy to use Recovery Wizard
- Supports all Windows file systems: FAT12, FAT16, FAT32, NTFS and NTFS 5 used by Windows NT/2000/XP/2003
- Recovers data lost due to a virus attack or software faults
- Recovers files emptied from the Recycle Bin
- Recognizes localized names (UNICODE support)
- and many more!

Size: 1.67 MB

Download FileRescue Professional

Size: 1.3 MB

Download FileRescue for FAT

Size: 1.3 MB

Download FileRescue for NTFS

Active Partition Recovery v5.0.337

2008-06-12T14:06:00.000-07:00

Active Partition Recovery
Active@ Partition Recovery for Windows will help you if non-system partition is lost, i.e. you can boot Windows, install and run the software from under Windows Operating System to recover deleted or damaged partitions located on data volumes (D:, E: ...), attached HDDs, as well as on the external USB drives and Memory Cards (SunDisk, MemoryStick, CompactFlash, etc...). BOOT.INI is corrected automatically (if needed) to keep the system bootable, as well as damaged Volume Boot Sectors are corrected to mantain integrity of the partition. Software allows also to fix damaged MBR and to delete invalid partitions.

Size: 1.8 MB

Download Active Partition Recovery

Review MOBILedit! Forensic v2.5.0.7

2008-06-12T14:03:00.000-07:00

Mobile phones contain some of the most important evidence in criminal investigations. Law enforcement agencies around the world need every possible advantage to help solve crimes. In many instances, mobile phones contain the important incriminating evidence that legal investigators require to solve a case. MOBILedit! Forensic has changed the way this evidence is obtained and presented. It provides reports with tamper-proof and indisputable evidence in a court of law. This report details out every piece of information in the phone such as call history, list of contacts, messages, photos, voice recordings, video, files, calendar, tasks, notes etc. MOBILedit! Forensic is a must-have for any forensic agent looking for that extra edge.

How It Works?
With just a single click, MOBILedit! Forensic collects all possible data from the mobile phone and generates an extensive report onto a PC that can be stored or printed. MOBILedit! Forensic is the most universal cellular phone solution with architecture able to support virtually all phones. MOBILedit! Forensic allows you to customize the output making it completely adaptable to the needs of your judicial system. MOBILedit! Forensic also has frequent updates and upgrades so that you can be sure you are using the absolute latest in technology.

Features:
Phonebook
SMS
MMS
Files
SIM Card
Calendar
Tasks
Notes
Picture Viewer
Phone Backup
RTF reports
XML export/reports
XSL reports
XLS export
TXT export

Size: 21.6MB
Download MOBILedit! Forensic

AVG Antivirus Professional Single Edition

2008-06-12T13:58:00.000-07:00

AVG Professional Edition comes complete with all the help you could possibly need. Extensive context-sensitive help. Comprehensive online-help at our website Search our technical FAQ section, or contact our technical support team. Free 24 hour a day, 7 days a week, technical e-mail support. Need more product help and support? Search our sales FAQ section for more product support, or contact our sales department. Get information on licensing options. Special licensing agreements for schools/charities.
[size: 21.4 MB ] [ download ] [producer] [v.7.1 trial]

Review Shadow Professional v2.6.3.2

2008-06-12T13:53:00.000-07:00

Shadow Professional

The most reliable privacy protection software on today's market

Shadow Professional is a complete suite of tools to keep web activity, files and documents strictly private. Press start and surf web without any evidence. Make your secret bookmarks hidden, shred files, use disk wiper and have hidden folder for your private documents.

Packed with its Hidden Secret Folders for downloaded files, with Secret Bookmark, with complete Manual Clean Up Editor and with Active Shred Editor - Shadow Professional is premiere, full featured and extremely reliable solution for anyone who wants to take care of their own privacy, whether in home or office.

Size: ~ MB

Download Shadow Professional

Review Advanced eLearning Builder v3.61

2008-06-12T13:48:00.000-07:00

Advanced eLearning Builder
Advanced eLearning Builder authoring tool is designed for creating e-learning materials such as e-tests, tutorials, quizzes, etc. The system enables the creation of e-tests, just with several mouse clicks (visual design), which contain several types of exercises.

The Advanced eLearning Builder authoring tool creates standalone EXE files.
By planning exercises in visual mode, exercises can be designed, corrected, examined, complemented, and updated in a simple and survivable way.

Various elements such as gap-fill tasks, multiple choices, and alternative questions are used to set tests questions. Additionally, many other elements such as various types of texts, graphics, multimedia, Object Linking and Embedding - OLE, and buttons ensure that your test has an attractive look and professional feel. And, all these elements can be easily moved and resized using a mouse. Elements offer various customization possibilities including changing colors, fonts, and contents; thus, creating and modifying all kinds of e-tests is quick and easy.

Visual design mode allows the building of e-learning materials in a simple and comprehensive way. Therefore, you can always see exactly how the final test to be deployed to students will look. Additionally, built-in dynamic resolution assures you that a test will automatically adjust to all possible screen resolutions that end-users may have so the look won't be deformed in any way.

Advanced eLearning Builder also contains many pre-defined test templates that allow you to make professional looking tests in no time at all. This way, creating e-tests is as easy as editing text in a word processor, which allows beginners to start using the application immediately.

An additional feature of Advanced eLearning Builder is test flow control, which allows you to write teaching sequences that can adjust to the students' knowledge and supply students with additional information when needed. This way, individualization is granted.

All tests created with Advanced eLearning Builder are finally graded and supplied with a customizable commentary.
The package also contains a real world example that can be used in the class with, or without, customization.

Size: 2.1 MB

Download Advanced eLearning Builder

Screen Shots

Macro Photography

2008-06-12T13:42:00.000-07:00

"how to take close-up pictures of small things"
by Philip Greenspun

Taking close-up pictures of small things is called "macro photography." I have no idea why. Perhaps because the small things in macro photography are generally larger than the things you are taking pictures of when doing "micro photography". If you really want to be pedantic then you should say you are doing "photomacrography".
What Kind of Camera

You probably want a standard 35mm single-lens reflex camera. You will see in the viewfinder what the film sees. If you have a lot of money, you can get a 6x6 single-lens reflex such as the Rollei 6008. That's more or less the same idea. If you have a lot of patience, you can do macro photography with a 4x5 inch view camera.

In the digital world, true macro photography is possible only with single-lens reflex cameras that take interchangeable lenses, such as the Canon D30, the Fuji S1, the Nikon D1, and the various Kodak professional bodies. One nice thing about these cameras is that their small CCDs effectively magnify the image captured by whatever macro lens you've purchased. Thus a 100mm macro lens mounted on a Canon D30 effectively becomes a 160mm lens. And if the lens gives 1:1 magnification on 35mm film, you get 1.6:1 on the D30's sensor.
Doing it all with a 50mm Normal Lens

In the good old days a 35mm single-lens reflex camera came with a 50mm "normal" lens. These lenses were extremely light, rugged, and high quality so naturally the consuming public abandoned them for heavy, fragile, low quality zooms. But that's another story... Anyway, suppose that you are out in the woods with your Nikon and a 50mm normal lens and you want to take a picture of the tip of a pine needle.

First, though, you want to take a picture of the moon. That's pretty far away, so you feel comfortable setting the lens focusing helical to "infinity". The "nodal point" of the optics will now be 50 millimeters from the plane of the film. [Note: exposure for the moon should be roughly f/11 and 1/film-speed.]

The effort of setting up your tripod is so great that you become tired and fall asleep. When you wake up in the morning, there is a bear standing 10 feet away. You refocus your 50mm lens to get a picture of the grizzly. As you turn the helical from "infinity" to "10 feet", notice that the optics are racked out away from the film. The nodal point is a bit farther than 50 millimeters from the film plane. The lens is casting an image circle somewhat larger than the 24x36mm frame. Some of the light gathered by the lens is therefore being lost but it isn't significant.

After snapping that photo of the bear, you notice that his fangs are glistening. These aren't going to appear very large in your last shot, so you move up until you are about 1.5 feet from the bear. That's about as close as the Nikon lens helical will let you focus. The nodal point is now pretty far from the lens. Extra light is spilling off to the edges of the frame , but still not far enough to require an exposure correction. The bear's face is 1.5 feet high. You've oriented the camera vertically so that the face fills the 36mm dimension. 36mm is about 1.5 inches. So that means you are working at "1:12". The subject is 12 times the size of the subject's image on film.

You're losing some light, but also you notice that you don't have too much depth of field. A 50mm lens focussed down to a foot from the subject only has a depth of field of 1/16th of an inch at f/4. No problem. You haul out a big electronic flash and stop down to f/11. Now your depth of field is a whopping ... 1/2 inch.

Looking down, you become fascinated by some pattern's in the bear's claws. Each one is about 1.5 inches long. You'd like to fill the 35mm frame's long dimension with a claw, which means that the subject and its image will be the same size. You want to work at "1:1". But those scumbags at Nikon skimped on the helical. You can't rack your optics out far enough to focus at 1:1. It looks like that pine needle tip photo is completely out of the question.

Why did Nikon limit your ability to focus close? For starters, at 1:1 your lens would be so far away from the film that it would cast a huge image circle. The standard 35mm frame would only be a tiny fraction. So only about 1/4 of the light gathered by the lens would reach the film. A scene that required a lens setting of f/16 at infinity would require a lens setting of about f/8 at 1:1. All this other light would be bouncing around inside your camera and lens, reducing contrast. Finally, a fixed stack of optical elements can't be designed to form sharp images at so many different focussed distances.
Close-Up Lenses

Your eyes don't focus so great on really small things either. Do you try to pull your cornea a foot away from your retina? No. You stick a magnifying glass in front of your cornea. You can do the same thing for your 50mm lens. Unlike your cornea, it even has convenient threads for attaching a magnifying glass.

A photo shop could never sell you a "magnifying glass" for $50 so they call these things "supplementary lenses" or "close-up lenses". Good things about close-up lenses:

*

they don't require any exposure corrections
*

you can throw a couple in your pocket in case you need them

Bad things about close-up lenses:

*

they aren't very high quality though they might be good enough if you stop down to f/16 and if you can find two-element close-up lenses (e.g., Nikon-brand) instead of the cheapo one-element ones.
*

you have to take them on and off constantly if you are taking pictures of things at different distances.

I never use close-up lenses but they are described fairly thoroughly in the Kodak Professional Photoguide.

At right: a model of Sacre Coeur, captured with a Minolta 50mm lens and single-element Minolta-brand close-up lens. The image has lots of problems but I think I was 11 years old when I took it.
Macro Zoom Lenses

Macro zoom lenses are not macro lenses. They don't allow significantly greater magnification than a 50mm normal lens and they deliver low quality.
Macro Lenses

What you want is a macro lens. Fortunately, it is difficult to buy a bad macro lens. This is kind of odd in a world where 90% of the lenses sold are bad. Here's my theory: Every day at least one man wakes up and says to himself "I have a 1.5 inch long penis; I think I will buy a big SLR like a pro. But I don't want to spend money on frills like lenses so I'll get a Tokina zoom." However, no man ever wakes up and says to himself "I have a 1.5 inch long penis. I think I will buy a macro lens so that I can make a 1:1 photograph of my penis and distribute this photo from my Web server. But I don't want to spend too much on this lens so I'll try to find a cheap Sigma."

In short, anyone in the market for a macro lens is already fairly sophisticated and quality conscious. If you read USENET then you know that the world is full of people asking "is this $150 Tamron 75-300 zoom as good as a $900 Nikon 300 prime?" Can you blame Tamron/Tokina/Sigma for trying to separate people like this from their $150? But there isn't apparently a big enough collection of fools in the market for macro lenses to support a junky macro lens subcategory.

In my humble opinion, the best macro lenses are the latest autofocus mount models made by Nikon (my primary 35mm system is Canon EOS, by the way). Nikon makes 60mm, 105mm and 200mm focal lengths. Each lens will focus continuously from infinity to 1:1. You can shoot the moon and capture the bear claw without stopping to change lenses or screw in filters. How do these lenses work? Do they just have a much longer helical than the 50mm normal lens? Yes and no.

Yes a macro lens helical has much more travel than a normal lens helical. You can watch the front element move an inch or two. However, these helicals aren't just pushing a stack of glass back and forth like the 50mm's helical. Inside one of the elements is moving ("floating") so that the optical design changes to a more appropriate one for close-up photography. Thus you get sharp images at all focussed distances.

How do you choose a focal length? The same way you do with a non-macro lens. If you can't get very close to your subject at a soccer game, you don't pull out a 50mm lens; you get a 300. If you can't get close to an insect without it getting scared and flying away, then you want the 200mm lens and not the 50. If you want to compress features in a woman's face, you don't get a 28mm lens; you get a 105mm lens. It is the same with macro work; longer lenses give you a flatter perspective.

What about other companies? Canon makes 50, 100, and 180mm macro lenses. All three incorporate floating elements. The 50 is cheap but it only goes to 1:2 without a "life size converter" (sort of like a telextender) that you stick between the lens and the camera. The 50 is also annoying because it has the ancient non-USM Canon motor. So it can't do simultaneous AF and MF like the ring-USM lenses. The 100 goes to 1:1 but also has the old-style motor. The 180/3.5 is a new design with three low dispersion elements, a tripod mount, and USM for full-time manual focus. It is also compatible with the Canon telextenders. At right, you can see about as close as one can get with the Canon 50 (from my Christina page; part of the reason that photo.net is banned by most of the Net censorship services).

Tamron makes a newish 90/2.8 macro lens that goes to 1:1. It is probably pretty good.

If you feel like spending a lot of money then what you want is a 6x6 cm Rollei 6008. The 120/4 Zeiss Makro-Planar (same lens as for a Hasselblad) will set you back about $3400. That's right, you could buy a Nikon 105/2.8 macro lens and three N90 bodies for the price of the Rollei lens alone.

Rollei probably has the most intelligently designed macro system in the world.

I photographed these orchids at left in Hawaii with the 120 Zeiss macro lens, Kodak Gold 100 film (120 size naturally), tripod, f/16 and 1/15th of a second.
Exposure

Unless you are using close-up lenses, when doing any kind of macro work, you always have to consider the effective f-stop. Even if you are using the SLR body's built-in meter, which will correct automatically for light loss, you can't turn off your brain. Why not? Because the effective aperture affects picture quality.

Taking pictures through a pinhole results in tremendous depth of field but very low sharpness due to diffraction. This is why lenses for your 35mm camera stop at f/22 and don't go to f/45 or f/64. View camera lenses provide these smaller apertures for two reasons: (1) the lenses are longer (f/64 on a 210mm lens is not all that small a hole); (2) the negative won't be enlarged very much.

If you're at 1:1 and have selected f/22 on the macro lens barrel, you need to look at the lens markings and/or the close-up exposure dial in the Kodak Professional Photoguide to learn that your effective aperture is f/45.

If you're using a handheld meter, then you absolutely must use these corrections (e.g., meter says f/22 but you're focussed down to 1:1 so you set f/11 on the lens barrel).

[Note: the modern Nikons, e.g., 6006, 8008, N90, show you the effective aperture in the viewfinder; the F4 does not; Canon EOS cameras do not. Another reason to go with the Nikon system if you are into macro photography.]
Lighting

A good quick and dirty lighting technique is to use a through-the-lens (TTL) metered flash with a dedicated extension cord (SC-17 in the Nikon system). A modern handheld flash is extremely powerful when used a few inches from a macro subject. That lets you stop down to f/16 and smaller for good depth of field. I sometimes just hold the flash to one side of the subject and have an assistant hold a white piece of paper on the other side to serve as a reflector. Anyway, you have enough power in the flash to pretty much use all the diffusion material that you can find. Let the camera turn the flash off when enough light has reached the film.

Lighting is the most important and creative part of any kind of photography. I've written an entire book chapter on the subject so I'm not going to try covering it here.

The Samoyed nose at right belongs to Alex. I captured it with a Canon EOS-5, 180/2.8 macro lens, and TTL-metered Canon flash. Below: a foot recently pulled out of one of those weird sandals with all the bumps. Nikon 8008, 60/2.8 lens, SB-24 lens with SC-17 cord

Dimpled feet (from wearing those nubby sandals)
Let's combine what we've learned until now: the aquarium

Combining everything we've learned up to this point, let's look at a case study: the aquarium. The items inside are pretty close, so you need a macro lens. If you put a rubber lens hood on the front of the lens, then you can mush it up against the glass and avoid reflections. Now you need light. Well, you can just get a flash on an extension cord and point it into the aquarium from just about anywhere.

Here are some examples from the public aquarium in Monterey, taken with a Nikon 8008, 60mm AF macro lens (set for manual focus), SB-24 flash, SC-17 extension cord. I wiped the glass with a handkerchief, asked my friend to hold the flash, and pushed the lens hood up against the glass:

Monterey Aquarium. California. Crab. Monterey Aquarium. California. Jellyfish. Monterey Aquarium. California.

I'm still trying to figure out how I managed to get a lawyer in that last frame...
Focus

With a depth of field of around one millimeter for precise macro work, camera positioning and focus become critical. If you have a good tripod and head, you'll find that you have at least 10 controls to adjust. Each of them will move the camera. None of them will move the camera along the axis that you care about.

That's why people buy macro focusing rails. These are little rack and pinions capable of moving the entire camera/lens assembly forward and back. You use the tripod to roughly position the camera/lens and then the macro rail to do fine positioning.

I snapped the photos below in the garden of the Getty Center and, though I had a fancy Canon 180 macro lens, I didn't have a tripod. So I couldn't focus precisely and couldn't stop down enough to get sufficient depth of field. The results are rather disappointing...

Beyond 1:1 the Canon Way

In the Canon EOS system, going beyond 1:1 is as simple as calling up one of the photo.net recommended retailers and ordering a Canon MP-E 65 1X-5X macro lens. Mount lens on tripod, mount camera on lens, twist ring on lens, release shutter: Digital photo titled jelly-just-flash

(Flower interior at above left was captured with a traditional EOS film body; the jelly bean image at above right was taken with a D30 digital body.)
Beyond 1:1 with Nikon, et al

Going beyond 1:1 requires more than buying a Micro-Nikkor and turning the focusing helical. In fact, you probably should read a real book by a real macro photographer. [Bob Atkins likes John Shaw's Close-ups in Nature .]

Here's a basic introduction to the tools, though... Flower

First, you can get a bellows (flexible accordion) and/or some extension tubes. These will let you push the lens farther away from the camera body. Extension tubes are rigid and tough; they only let you separate your body and lens in fixed increments. Bellows are delicate but they let you continuously control the lens distance from the body. How much magnification this extra extension will get you depends on the focal length of the lens. If you have a 1000mm lens that already needs its nodal point 1000mm from the film plane to focus at infinity, then a 50mm extension tube isn't going to be worth much. However, if you have a 50mm lens, then that same 50mm extension will take you all the way to 1:1.

Second, you probably want a "reversing ring" for your lenses so that you can turn the back element of the lens toward your subject. Why? Think about the normal way you use a lens. You are taking a picture of the Statue of Liberty. The Statue of Liberty is larger than 24x36mm. So you point the front element of the lens at the statue and the back element at the (smaller) film. Your lens is designed to work like this, taking the large and compressing it into the small. However, if you are working at 10:1, where the tip of a pine needle is going to take up a big portion of the frame, you want the lens to take the small and expand it into the large. So you want to just flip the lens around.

Third, once you've reversed the lens, you probably want some way to retain the automatic diaphragm. You want the aperture to remain fully open until just before your exposure and then close down to the selected shooting aperture. My old Rollei 6008 had all-electric lenses so you could do this with a clean and reliable electric contacts. Nikon has mechanically stopped-down diaphragms for backward compatibility so they can't do this; you end up with a strange dual cable release contraption. Canon EOS has all-electric lenses but in 10 years they haven't figure out how to engineer a bellows or reversing ring so don't hold your breath (instead they make a kludge to adapt their ancient Canon FD macro system to the EOS).
Beyond 1:1 the Lazy Way

At left are a couple of Ant Robots built at the MIT AI Lab by James McLurkin. Photographed with Canon EOS-5 and Canon 50/2.8 macro lens (lit by off-camera 430 EZ flash). This lens only goes to 1:2.

At right is a detail of the ant claws, which was taken with the Raynox MicroExplorer. The Raynox is a set of close-up lenses available for about $150. I mounted the 6X lens on a Canon 35-350L zoom lens (the kit also comes with 12X and 24X lenses). Yes, in the end I stuck a magnifying glass in front of my lens.

Here is the original ant claw picture. You can see that vignetting was severe at f/16. Fortunately, I could see this in the viewfinder to a large extent with the DOF preview and Adobe PhotoShop papers over a lot of photographic sins. Vignetting is the principal drawback of the MicroExplorer and it is apparently worse at small apertures.

source:photo.net

Nokia 6124 Classic

2008-06-12T13:38:00.000-07:00

Nokia has announced Nokia 6124 classic smartphone exclusively for Vodafone operator. The company positions the smartphone as a compact multimedia device providing quick access to various services, including Internet access (3G support enables quick content download). Nokia 6124 classic will be launched to Vodafone markets in the second quarter of 2008.

Nokia 6124 Classic at a glance
Available:	Q2 2008
Network:	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 UMTS 850 / 2100
Data:	GPRS + EDGE + UMTS (3G) + HSDPA
Screen:	240x320 pixels, 16m colours
Camera:	2 megapixels
Size:	Lightweight monoblock 89 grams / 105 x 46 x 15mm approx
Bluetooth:	Yes
Memory card:	microSD
Infra-red:	No
Polyphonic:	Yes
Java:	Yes
GPS:	No
Battery life:	2-3 hours talk / 9 days standby

Samsung SWT-W100K Portable Media Player

2008-06-12T13:32:00.000-07:00

Samsung upped the stakes in portable media players and released the SWT-W100K. The 4.3-inch touchscreen device is built to replace not just most handhelds but also some PCs, courtesy of its fourth-generation Internet access. The W100K is one of the few devices to support WiBro (known as WiMAX in the West) on the go and pulls data more quickly than some landline connections: it can download up to 13Mbps and has enough upload speed for high-quality video calls with a built-in front camera. A back 2-megapixel camera with autofocus takes on video capture.

The Korean company also sets up the W100K as an in-car companion and supplies it with both a GPS receiver for mapping duties and a DMB tuner for catching over-the-air digital TV in its native Korea. As a media player, the device ships with 8GB of built-in flash and plays H.264, MPEG-4, WMV, and XviD video clips as well as several audio-only formats.

Samsung plans to ship the device soon for the equivalent of $525 in its home country; it has not announced any plans for an international launch, though the anticipated full launch of Sprint's Xohm WiMAX network this year would allow the device to run on an American network without the DMB tuner.

MSI GX-620 and the GX-720 Concept notebook

2008-06-12T13:28:00.000-07:00

MSI will show its Green Concept notebook product design with Anion technology! Anion technology is a technology to purify the air and remove toxic substances. MSI is the first to combine anion technology with the advance computer technology to create World’s First Anion Notebook. Notebooks are often used in indoor spaces with insufficient ventilation; the MSI Anion notebook can provide users the benefits of clean air anywhere.

MSI developed the MSI PR620 Anion Notebook, which makes it world’s very first notebook that is capable to release anion to better your health. Using the latest in technology, the MSI PR620 Anion Notebook can release up to five hundred and fifty thousand ions/cc (50 cm from the air vent)*. This is more than if you were right next to mountains or the beach. The Anion module can also contain concentrated ozone lower than 0.02ppm. (UL & TUL regulations must be lower than 0.05ppm; high ozone concentration can be harmful to human bodies).

Writing Good Blogs

2008-06-12T13:23:00.000-07:00

There's a lot of blogs out there on the Web, most of which don't entice one to go back regularly to read updates. What is missing from these on-line journals that would essentially make them 'good' blogs? Well, the answers in life usually come down to simplicities.

So let's look at the problem like we were children. Children don't complicate life with miscellaneous information, and when they speak they tell you straight to the point exactly how they feel and think about a subject.
First of all, we should ask the questions," Why do blogs exist? And what are they here for?" Well, in an ideal world 'good' blogs would help people connect, sharing knowledge and feelings about issues in life. As they are journals written by individuals we would hope that they'd be readable and open to comment by all other people, not just a select group of friends.

The key is speaking in a way that is understandable by the masses, get rid of acronyms and local slang that only few will comprehend. Keep the sentences grammatically simple and generally short and concise. Try to write in your blog as often as possible because if people enjoy reading your thoughts and ideas they'll want to communicate or at least be filled in regularly on 'your world'.

Ask questions, comment on other blogs of similar content, start communities with others you've never met, based on your interests. Keep focused; if your blog is about thoughts on war and peace, keep your thoughts on the latest movie and how hungry you are for somewhere else. The idea is to incite intelligent communication so that in time our collective stockpile of knowledge and wisdom will gradually grow like a tree in fertile soil.

I think of most importance is the fact that you want this journal to be 'good' reading. Of course we all have ideas about what genres and styles we like, but writing from your heart and soul is imperative for the connection with others that you're looking for. Share yourself; don't hide behind walls of fear of ridicule and judgment.

In real life relationships trust, respect, intimacy, and unity are all necessary for a bond to form. It's the same in the 'virtual' world; people want to hear from real people-not just one-sided, highly opinionated arguments from egos that don't want to hear the 'other side of the coin'.

Now, in my last article I really tore apart most writers out there, and here I'm giving some pretty complex ideas on how to fix the problem of 'bad' writing. In my next article I'll attempt to go back to the simple basics of how to write for beginners. I hope I haven't come across as too judgmental, I just truly believe the 'blog world' could become a real asset to humanity, and at the moment it's missing the mark.

Ideas about sentence structure, grammar, paragraphing, using a thesaurus (varying terms used so as not to sound repetitive), whether or not your blog is suitable for a personal or professional approach, are all important to creating a simple and enjoyable read for the blogging visitor. If you are a beginner, please check out my next article on the basics.

Jesse S. Somer
M6.Net: http://www.m6.net/ Jesse S. Somer is a writer hoping to help potential bloggers to write interesting and informative on-line journals.
http://www.finalsense.com

Directory Submission Strategies

2008-06-12T13:20:00.000-07:00

1. Research each directory and categories that will fit your domain/sites. Another reason why manual directory submissions are far much better than automatic blasters or auto submissions is that you need to think through very carefully what categories fit your sites. Disregarding this important research about your site will not save you from millions of unrelated commercial messages (spam) done on your email.

Careful research of your site's category will prompt you to write a concise, accurate description that relates to the directory's description.

2. Determine the best description for your web site in each category. Since manual directory submission is one of the core promotions that you can do for your web site, it's better to hint the webmaster or owner of the directory that you mean serious business and that your keywords and descriptions are the fruits of your careful study of your web site.

If the directory doesn't have your desired specific category it's better to suggest it to the owner of the directory rather than be sorry.

3. Make sure your (USP) unique selling proposition is included in your site's description. Your description should be unique even though it resembles description style of other web sites in your targeted directory. So if you're company has specialties in 3 services, mention those 3 specific services in your description. If your site targets a specific audience, include that as well.

4. Write descriptions of varying lengths and keep it in a .txt file for cut-n-paste submissions. Directories are not similar in the number of characters it accepts so better be prepared submitting the ones they approve. Make sure there are no repeat keywords on the description and don't try to "stuff" it with too many unrelated keywords. Remember that your site is a work of "art" in the eyes of the "human" editors of these directories so appeal to them not to the software-backend of their directory.

5. Whenever budget allows, use the paid or premium listings of a directory. Most free listings are often listed very slow like in after 4 weeks and doesn't have any guarantees, remember since most of the search engines measure link popularity in the quickness your site appears in a given high - pr directory so better invest that kind of money long term on the directories rather than be sorry.

6. Verify your site manually by visiting the directory itself to see your listings. If your site is not yet listed in the given amount of time, it's healthy to resubmit it to the directory let's say an ample wait time of 4 weeks is acceptable and does not appear that you are actually "begging" the directory owner. Keep track of your dates of submissions, categories, descriptions, titles and so on. If your site is not yet listed after so much wait time on it, it's better to contact the directory owner to know and for you to act what stuff your site contains that prohibits them from listing it.

7. Always submit your domain name and not a page. This will limit the directory you can submit to, but it's better to have quality visitors rather than so many that will only consume your bandwidth.

About the author:
Human-edited general web directory of quality and spam-free web sites, offering free and paid submission into our directory. 100% SEO Friendly Web Directory.

So the next time you do your daily submissions, prioritise going to http://www.seoreign.com/

Users of eBay: the importance of knowing and following all the rules of eBay

2008-05-08T02:07:00.000-07:00

Are you an eBay member? If so, do you consider to be a relatively new eBay member? If you have recently begun buying or selling on eBay in recent months may be. Over the years, is likely to be more aware of how eBay. For example, if you are an eBay seller, can find new ways to improve your eBay listings or if you are a seller, you can find new ways to get great deals. One thing you can do, overtime, is to learn more about the rules of eBay.
As you probably already know, eBay is considered one of the world’s most popular online markets. eBay gives Internet users, like you, the option to buy and sell online. While all internet users the ability to buy and sell is nice, you can do to some problems, mostly relating to security or inappropriate content. That is why eBay, like all other markets online, has developed a set of rules or guidelines to be followed if you are a seller or a seller on eBay. You must not only become familiar with these rules, if they have not already done so, but will also have to follow them.

If you are a seller on eBay, one of the most important rules of eBay that you need to comply with rules is prohibited. Though almost anything can be sold on eBay, there are some restrictions. For example, alcohol, drugs, pornography and theft of merchandise are just some of the many topics that all sellers, including you, are prohibited from selling. EBay Another rule that must be followed, as a seller on eBay, is paying all eBay fees on time. eBay has set up a payment schedule, which will be notified in advance. In order to make a profit selling goods on eBay, you’ll want to make sure that you pay eBay fees on time.

If you are a seller, rather than a seller on eBay, you will also have to know and abide by all rules of eBay. One of those rules is only bidding on items that you intend to buy. If you place a bid on an eBay auction or if you agree to buy an article appearing in a “Buy It Now” ad format, you must do. This rule stated in the guidelines eBay. If you do not feel you can pay for the items to bid or agree to pay, it’s better if you stay away from eBay, for the moment. EBay Another rule to follow is being honest with their purchases. If you do not get a purchase on eBay, is fine to report, but give it a couple of days for item to arrive. Although eBay scams are often associated with sellers, many buyers are beginning to inflame the problem. This involves reporting that they had not received an item, when in fact made, thus resulting in a refund, as well as article purchased.

In most cases, you will find it relatively easy to get caught breaking the rules of eBay. That is why it is advisable that you not only know all the rules of eBay, but also comply with them. If not, you may end up suffering the consequences. One of those consequences that implies having your eBay account suspended temporarily or even permanently suspended. In rare but serious cases, the authorities may be contacted or legal action may be taken against you. In all honesty, the measures taken depends on the parties involved.

Despite the varied consequences of breaking the rules of eBay, it is extremely important that you take the time to examine all eBay, including sites of rules, restrictions and guidelines, before you get into trouble that is difficult to escape . To learn more about the rules of eBay, visit the company’s support center, talk with an experienced eBay member, or try to contact eBay’s customer service department.

TIPS TO SELL UR BLOG

2008-04-20T08:05:00.000-07:00

Things to Consider Before Putting Your Blog Up for Auction

Have you ever wondered how to sell your blog? Many bloggers are now seeing their blogs as an investment opportunity. They build them into a highly-optimized community with a high page rank and sell them for thousands of dollars. If you're wondering how to sell your own blog, here are a few tips to help you along.

Why are you selling your blog?

Your buyers may ask you this question, especially if it's bringing in good traffic and revenue. Don't be afraid to tell a potential buyer the blog is too much work or you don't have the time to devote to promotion and marketing. Always disclose any negative issues.

It's best if you own your own domain

If your blog is a subdomain of Blogger or Wordpress.com, it might not be as appealing to others as you might believe.

Most blog buyers won't even entertain the thought of buying a subdomain. If this is the case, consider putting off the sale until you purchase a new domain, do a re-direct until traffic is flowing to the new domain, and sell the blog a few months later. Your blog's biggest selling point may be its domain name, make it a good one.

Decide what your blog is worth

There are plenty of factors to consider including monthly revenue, monthly traffic, page view and page rank. Domain name is also a factor, as is your topic.

Detail your stats and revenue

The person who buys your blog will want a detailed report regarding traffic and revenue. You can do this via an Excel spreadsheet with screen shots to back up your figures.

Where will you sell your blog?

If you're not sure where to sell your blog, consider one of these online market places:

* Digital Point
* Performancing
* Site Point Auctions
* Name Pros
* Blogger Talk Forum

You can also mention on your blog that you will be selling to the highest bidder. Not only will you reach interested members of your community, but if you have decent traffic and bring in good revenue, word is sure to spread quickly.

Remember, once you sell your blog, there's no going back. Be absolutely sure this is something you want to do. Many bloggers experience regret after selling their blogs, especially if they don't believe the new owner is doing it justice. Think carefully about what you are about to do and read up on how to get the best sale. Many of the online marketplaces also offer selling tips in their forums.

Though blogging is a fun hobby for some, ProBloggers consider it a way of life. Who knew it could be an investment opportunity as well?
Related Articles

16 THINGS FOR BLOG SUCCESS

2008-04-20T08:00:00.000-07:00

Take advantage of the tools money can't buy

Think anyone can blog? Think again! While it's true that anyone can start a blog and throw one into cyberspace, the fact is very few people can successfully pull it off. If you want to truly make it as a blogger, you need to have several things. I'm not talking laptops and software, indeed those are important. Most of what you need to become a successful blogger can't be found in stores, or even blogs about blogging.
1. Passion for Your Topic
If you choose a topic you love, your passion will show through. If you choose a topic you don't know much about only because of the high paying keywords, that will be apparent as well.

2. Creativity
You're going to need to update your blog, at the very least, several times a week. A successful blogger is creative enough to come up with fresh, engaging content every time.

3. A Good Idea
Not the same idea as everyone else. Not a copycat of someone else's blog. But your own unique, good idea. If you want to make it as a blogger, you have to have great content and a fresh idea.

4. A Good Work Ethic
If you think blogging is just writing a quick five minute post and forgetting about it until next time, you couldn't be more wrong. You're going to spend hours on your blog designing it, writing it, promoting it and more. Most bloggers spend two to five hours on each blog every day.

5. The Ability to Work Alone
Most bloggers work alone. You have to be able to shut out all of the distractions of home or the coffee shop and concentrate on creating a good post.

6. A Notebook
You're going to come up with ideas at the oddest times. What if you're not close to your computer? It's helpful to have a notebook or PDA handy so you can jot down ideas.

7. A Thick Skin
You're going to be flamed, you're going to be trolled and people are going to pick your blog posts apart and call you names. You can let it get to you or you can develop a thick skin.

8. A Thriving Social Network
It helps to have people to talk to, network with, and shoot ideas off of. This will not only help to eliminate the loneliness some probloggers experiences, but by interacting with others you're sure to come up with fresh new ideas.

9. Motivation
What keeps you motivated? Passion for your topic? Advertising revenue? The adoration of your public? Whatever it is, channel it and use it to keep you driven.

10. Longevity
Blogging isn't a fly by night operation. If you want to succeed, if you want your readers to trust your name, you'll want your blogs to last through the ages. The most successful blogs have been around for a few years. It's the people who cut bait and run after two months of blogging that fail.

11. Long Term Vision
Do you have a plan? Where do you see your blog two years from now? Five years? Ten? A successful blogger has the ability to see into the future. I'm not saying you know exactly what you're going to blog about, but you'll need to think about how your blog is going to succeed for years to come.

12. The Ability to Work Odd Hours
Blogging isn't exactly a 9 to 5 gig. Ideas hit at any time. Many probloggers even work well into the night or the wake at the crack of dawn to fit blogging into a busy day.

13. A Willingness to Learn New Things
As a blogger you want to continue to feed your readers new information. This means you'll have to set a portion of your day aside to read other blogs, books, magazines and websites in your niche.

14. An Open Mind
Sometimes bloggers need to completely change their line of thinking. What might have worked a year ago, doesn't work now. Tools and techniques become obsolete. Keep an open mind, don't be afraid to admit defeat and always be on the lookout for new trends and ideas.

15. The Ability to Teach
Blogging isn't about talking about yourself. It's about sharing what you know with someone else. Many bloggers are teachers, not story tellers. Though the ability to tell a story is also something a successful blogger must possess.

16. Patience
It's been said here many times, patience pays off. Blogging isn't instant gratification. It takes time and patience to build up a successful blog. If you want an instant pay out, stick with copywriting.

HOW TO ENCOURAGE VISITOR TO MAKE COMMENT

2008-04-20T07:49:00.001-07:00

One of the ways blogs are different from websites is the community. Blogs allow comments, and the more the better. In fact, the livelier your community, the more attractive your blog becomes. Blogs with high comment counts draw others in like magnets. Plus, your existing readers will come back often to see how the discussion is going. Remember, everyone enjoys a good party. Encourage your visitors to return by engaging them in conversation. Here’s how:
Ask questions:

A Question in a post’s title will not only attract readers, but it will also encourage them to answer. Is there something you’ve ever wondered about others in your niche? Ask and they’ll be sure to answer.
Discuss a controversial topic:

Nothing stimulates conversation like controversy. You don’t have to go for shock value but if yours is an unpopular opinion or if you’re in disagreement with a certain news items or author, do discuss on your blog. You’ll be amazed at how emotional some people get!

Make a list post:

List posts are a great way to bring in traffic and provide great content. They’re also handy for stimulating conversation. Drop a list and watch how many of your readers to come out of the wwoodwork to disagree with your choices or suggest something you missed.
Have a contest:

Have contests where entrants have to answer questions, provide links, or somehow respond in the comments. Offer up a prize to the winner(s).
Say something funny:

Write a funny post. You don’t have to stray off topic or go over the top, just provide a humorous anecdote or take a look at the lighter side of your niche. The best part? You’ll receive a whole bunch of funny comments in return.

Templates

2008-04-20T07:33:00.000-07:00

DOWNLOAD

DOWNLOAD

How to Make a coin wish list

2008-04-19T21:57:00.000-07:00

Every coin collector should have one of these. A coin wish list is exactly what it sounds like: a list of the coins you want, to make of a particular set or variety of coins. Every coin collector should have one of these. A coin wish list is exactly what it sounds like: a list of the coins you want, to make of a particular set or variety of coins. You won’t have that much to base a good coin wish list on in the beginning, but you can still make one comprising of the easier to get modern coins.

Perhaps a set of the nickels minted for the twentieth century, or a set of the Lincoln cents for every year and mintmark. These might not be spectacular but they are easier to compile than some others and it’s a good starting point.

Compiling this coin wish list will also give you good practice for getting your ideas in order and will it make it that much easier for you to keep track of the coins you’ve already found.

With something as easy as a coin wish list to start with, you can also easily find a set of the coins shiniest and closest to their original mint state as possible.

A coin wish list isn’t as hard as you might think. Just the other day as I was rifling through the coins in my pocket I came across a shiny 1972 Lincoln cent piece. And as you go through your coin wish list you can also find and replace your first finds with ones more suitable for your collection.

You can choose from amongst the best of the coins and add them to your collection. Be careful though when you’re discarding any coins as you might find some interesting errors which will be an advantage to your collection instead of detracting from it.

When you get further on in your coin collecting efforts and you find you need more from your collection than just the easily obtainable coins, you can make yourself another coin wish list.

This one will of course benefit from your experience and you can get your teeth into something meatier than what you’ve been doing so far.

I’ve made dozens of coin wish lists over the years, and as I keep closing one I go in for another one, and look for a different angle each time. Of course some of them are easier to close than others, and some of them are just for the pure fun of it.

This is especially true of when I’m in the last stages of a particularly difficult collection. I only have a few more pieces left to complete the set and they’re usually not as easy to find or get to as the others.

Naturally there’s only so much that I can do to finish it, and I’ve taken the necessary steps to do so, but I still have time on my hands. In which case, I can go looking for something else to capture my attention.

Whichever way you look at it though, a coin wish list is an essential part of your coin collecting efforts and something which you really should do, even if it is only for a fun set in the beginning.

50 Ways to Increasing Your Blogs Traffic

2008-04-18T12:16:00.000-07:00

I just posted this to my blog, but also thought someone here might find it helpful. This obviously isn’t all inclusive (after 50 it was time to stop) and I didn’t include some methods I don’t really care for like FFA sites and safelists so please feel free to add to it if you like:
1. Write and submit articles to the article directories.
2. Leave comments on other people’s blogs with a backlink to your site.
3. Answer people’s questions on answers.yahoo.com.
4. Post in forums and have a link to your site in your signature.
5. Write a press release and submit it to PRWeb.com.
6. Advertise your website in the appropriate category on CraigsList.com.
7. Give an unbiased testimonial on a product/service that you have used in exchange for a backlink to your site.
8. Start a blog and submit it to the 100’s of free blog directories.
9. Manually submit your website to the major search engines.
10. Optimize each page of your website for a particular keyword or search phrase.
11. Add a link in your email signature to your website. It’s a free and easy way to get a little more traffic.
12. Make a custom 404 error page for your website redirecting people to your home page.
13. Use PPC search engine advertising.
14. Add a bookmark this site link to your webpages.
15. Have a tell-a-friend form on your site.
16. Send articles to ezine publishers that includes a link to your website.
17. Hold a crazy content and make it go viral.
18. Give away a freebie (ebook, report, e-course) to keep people coming back to your site.
19. Add an RSS feed to your blog.
20. Submit your site to any related niche directories on the net.
21. Participate in a banner or link exchange program.
22. Create a software program and give it away for free.
23. Purchase the misspellings or variations of your domain name, or those of your competitors.
24. Buy a domain name related to your niche that is already receiving traffic and forward it to your site.
25. Pass out business cards with your domain on them everywhere you go.
26. Start and affiliate program and let your affiliates send you visitors.
27. Start a page on social bookmarking sites such as MySpace.com.
28. Submit a viral video to YouTube.com
29. Conduct and publish surveys to your website.
30. Find joint venture partners that will send you traffic.
31. Start your own newsletter or ezine.
32. Use a autoresponder or email campaign to keep people coming back to your site.
33. Purchase ads on other sites.
34. Send a free copy of your product to other site owners in exchange for a product review.
35. Sell or place classified ads on eBay.com with a link to your site.
36. Post free classified ads on any of the sites that allow them with a link to your site.
37. Exchange reciprocal links with other related websites.
38. Network with other people at seminars or other live events.
39. Purchase advertising in popular newsletters or ezines.
40. Advertise on other product’s “thank you” pages.
41. Create a free ebook and list in on the “free ebook” sites.
42. Buy and use a memorable domain name.
43. Do something controversial.
44. Create an Amazon profile and submit reviews for books and other products that you have read.
45. Start a lens on Squidoo.com.
46. Use a traffic exchange (low quality traffic, but can sometimes be worthwhile).
47. Get referrals form similar but non-competing sites.
48. Create and sell a product with resell or giveaway rights and include a link to your site in it o others pass it around for you.
49. Email your list. If you don’t have one, get one.
50. Buy a pair of sandals; get your website engraved on the bottom and walk on the beach, stomp in the mud or play in the snow.

Writer : Justin Michie from warriorforum.com

Google Analytics 2.0 - Book review

2008-03-23T01:23:00.000-07:00

Google Analytics 2.0 by Jerri L. Ledford , Mary E. Tyler

Before reading this book, I didn’t even think anyone could write a whole book about a free service that looked pretty simple to understand. I mean, hey all you need to know is how many people visit the site and from where, right? Wrong! Read along and I will tell you what I learned.
I think by now a lot of people have heard about google’s free service to track information about your website. Perhaps you even already have it installed. I think most people would agree that statistics are important. That and its just fun to see the number of visitors, especially when they are increasing. But beyond the number of visitors, I didn’t care about much else. Mostly due to not knowing what they stood for or just thinking they didn’t matter much.

Well let me just say that after reading 300 or so pages about google analytics, I have a very different opinion on the matter. I had google analytics installed before on other websites, but I didn’t know about all the features it had or what was really important to track or even how to use its more advance features.
What is in the book

This book pretty much covers anything you need to know about google analytics. It goes into the different ways you can track how a visitor visits your website, the pages they click through in order to get somewhere, and how to track if visitors are reaching your goal or not. Your goal being different depending on what type of website you run. The book goes over how to track these different goals for ecommerce websites and content websites. By using these different tracking methods, you will be able to understand how to improve your website.

For example if you are running a content website where you want the visitors to spend as much time as possible on your website then by knowing all this information google analytics gives you. You will be able to understand how a person navigates the website, what they are likely to click on, what interests them, and what makes them stay or what makes them leave. Then you can take that information and change the website’s navigation to better suit your visitor’s needs and provide content they like more.
Conclusion

The only problem I have with this book is that the last few chapters are pretty much fluff as they are redundant, but useful as a quick reference I suppose. The only other thing is that I couldn’t find how to track how many times people downloaded something. I found out by using the help section in google analytics though. Here is the link if you want to track downloads.

Other than that, this book would be helpful to anyone who wants to understand how their website is being used on a deeper level and if the changes they made to their website have the impact they wish. I highly recommend this book, great to have on the shelf until you master google analytics. I will try to review a book that will help improve both of our repertoire of skills once a week around this time.

How to Design a Better Blog and Make More Money

2008-03-23T01:19:00.000-07:00

Why is Your Blog Design Important to Your Blog’s Success?

You have been told over and over again that the key to success with your blog is creating quality content. That is true, I won’t argue with that, but if it was that easy how come your blog isn’t as successful as you wish it to be? I know it isn’t, because you are still looking for new articles on how to make it even better. What people often don’t tell you that can keep you from the success that you want is your:
Blog Design.

Who are you more like you likely to believe when looking to buy a house, a guy in his pajamas or a guy in a suit? The power of first impressions can not be denied in first person contact, but it is often overlooked online. just because you can hide behind your computer doesn’t mean your blog is immune to the same effects. The people visiting your blog operate in a very similar way to how they would in first person contact.

A blog that looks like it was put together by someone’s nephew in their basement or uses a free template will give off the impression of being unprofessional, lack of credibility, and sketchy. You could have created the world’s most comprehensive blog on a subject, but your blog design can prevent people from even giving you a chance. And without readers, how are you suppose to make any money?

Focus on the following strategies and you will be able to design a better blog and make more money, gain more traffic, and get more subscribers.
Usability

If it takes too much effort or time to navigate around your blog, find articles, or use, then your visitors will leave you for your competitor. The most important thing to pay attention to in regards to usability is to make it so the blog is easy to use.

People are use to a certain way a blog works. There are headlines, posts, comments, archives, and links to posts that are usually in a general area. When you try to get too innovative with your blog, you might end up making it harder for your visitors to use your blog, because they never used anything like it before. Don’t assume they are willing to learn, because they really don’t care. This is even more true for first time visitors to your blog.
Color

Don’t choose a color because it matches your personality or it just looks good. Pick each color you use with the full knowledge of what it will do for the message you are trying to communicate. This has a lot to do with knowing your audience, which I assume you know very well or else you need to start researching again.
Visual Interest

Visual interest is all in the details of your blog design. They are the little details that leads a visitor’s eyes to certain parts of the blog that you want them to pay attention to. When visual interest is weaved into your blog design right, you will be able focus the visitor on the most important parts of your blog, such as your money-making posts.

The dangerous thing about visual interest is that if you overdo it, you can make it harder for the user to pay attention to anything as there are too many things on the blog that is vying for the user’s attention. Attention is a scarce resource that users give so don’t squander it. Use it only for the most important parts of your blog design.
Functionality

While blog design is an art, it is first and foremost an interface people use in order to get to the information that you have written. That is why it is important to breathe more life into a blog design by enhancing it with increased functionality through the use of javascripts, ajax, widgets, and other extras.

The point of increasing functionality has to do with usability, which is to make it even easier to use. The easier you make it for a new visitor to navigate your blog like they been there 10 times already, the more likely the visitor will find your content, subscribe to your blog, and make you more money.

Designshack featured my web/blog design portfolio

2008-03-23T01:06:00.000-07:00

Nothing is more satisfying to a designer than being recognized for their efforts in creating a design. I finished putting together my portfolio about last month and since then I have been included in a few web galleries and top X lists, which makes me all giddy every time it happens.

It is even more awesome that Designshack decided to include me, because I often use their website to find inspiration from the web’s best. Besides the little moment of fame, it is also a great way to get traffic and spread the news that your site has launched. Just another benefit of having a great design for anything, including your blog.

Unfortunately, this blog’s design is not ready yet and needs some tweaking with the details to make it good enough.

In other news though, I have been tweaking with this theme’s code in order to turn it into a gallery. Yes, there will be a blog design gallery with not only blog designs, but their elements too. The elements include, but certainly not limited to comments, headlines, headers, footers, and forms. It will be done in a day or two and then it will be just a matter of collecting and organizing them for ease of use.

5 Simple Ways to Make Your Blog Design POP

2008-03-23T01:04:00.000-07:00

In “The Secret of Great Blog Designs,” I talked about using schemas and the peak-end rule to not only make your blog design more memorable, but to also associate your blog with the concepts, images, and ideas that will help you towards your goals. Before we can go deeper into that, we have to first make our blog design POP.
What does it mean to make a blog design POP? A blog design that pops is simply one that grabs people’s attention and can often times evoke a “Wow!” Does it mean that you must make your blog really extreme in order to get noticed? No, it does not, especially if you are doing it just for the sake of getting it noticed. The pursuit of just that one goal alone won’t get your blog design very far.

But if your blog design does not pop at all, it will simply go unnoticed and disappear into the masses of everyday blogs. First we must understand how to make something pop before we go into what we can do to make our blog designs pop. It has been show in studies that humans have two ways of scanning visual elements when they are searching for something.

Parallel processing - This is an automatic and unconscious processing that occurs first and is done by taking everything in at once. It is a very quick and simultaneous processing that uses associations to understand what it is looking at. What that basically means is that you have no control over it and it is done instantly.

Serial processing - This is a very deliberate and conscious processing that we use when parallel processing doesn’t yield the results we want. It is a very slow and sequential processing that uses rules to find things and is done consciously. What that basically means is that if a person is still motivated to find something, they would use this or just give up altogether.

In order to make something pop, we must get it so that the parallel processing picks it up instantly. If it doesn’t pop, then there is no guarantee that a person would put in the effort to look beyond the blog design. They might if they believe that you have what they are looking for somewhere on your blog, if not they will leave.

Car Insurance Tips

2008-03-23T00:56:00.000-07:00

Different needs and financial resources will lead you to different types of insurance. You need to concentrate on a reliable insurance, in conformity with your practical requirements, one as low in premium and as high in discounts as possible. Car insurance is compulsory from a legal point of view but you must also consider the life security of you and those who ride along with you in the car.
The car insurance industry is extremely competitive with companies trying to offer the best deal for their customers. There so many possibilities that all you need to do to decide is take a little time and research the online related websites or the local resources.

Car insurance companies are supposed to offer honest and valuable services. Investigate their claims history and be careful with those that refuse to play their client’s claims. You can get free, easy, fast and professional quotes from online brokers or companies. Send your requirements and your questions to as many sites as you can to have as wider a range as possible to choose from. Check the insurance company’s record claims and go for the one that has a clean history in satisfying them. The services that you receive online are very popular and can save you a lot of time and effort. Save their contact information and talk to them about your car insurance expectations, if you are not entirely sure.

After you have finished consulting all that you could get your hands on, compare the possibilities with the realistic, practical needs and choose a company. Remember that they can provide discounts if you are older, with a clear driving score or if you offer to pay deductibles.

Some of the basic car insurance packages include liability, collision and comprehensive coverage. Liability coverage pays for any damages that are caused to others in the accident. It refers to the situations when the accident was caused by you. To be extra careful, it is advisable to get additional coverage which will necessitate a higher premium. In the case of collision coverage the expenses and the premium will differ according to the age of the vehicle, the age of the driver, the people that usually drive the car. If the driver is a teenager then the premium will be the highest, as he or she represent higher risks of accidents. The comprehensive coverage is deductible which means that the insurance company will finance you according to the actual worth of the car at the time of the accident.

Always keep in mind that in such cases as insurance, car insurance to be more specific, being practical and precise is essential. It is a matter f securing your life and that of the ones that come into contact with. The internet will turn out to be the more resourceful and effective way or comparing the best car insurances that best fit your needs.

Social media optimization : A new theme for publicity

2008-03-23T00:50:00.000-07:00

It is very important for every business to use the latest technology and techniques to survive in this competitive world. And the similar approach is applicable in the field of promotion and publicity. However, the market has found a solution for this complexity and termed it as 'social media optimization' or commonly known as SMO. The promotion under the category of SMO is dealt through social media,
communities available on Internet and many other community websites. The entire process of SMO varies at a great extent and involves countless steps in order to have the maximum number of benefits from its several aspects including the option of “Digg this" and means of blogging. It also has the option of supporting third party community. In common words the social media optimization is an efficient marketing tool available for the use of search engines.

The process of social media optimization is best figured as practical, quick and most organic solution in the arena of advertising. The promotion under the category of SMO is dealt through numerous ways including social media, online communities and many other community websites. A set of favorable measures united with the concept of SMO leads to the emergence of a substantial document formulation and as a convenient way to disburse the information. Many other associated issues like promotion of bookmarks and related links are also among the beneficial aspects of SMO that collectively make it the most important advertising necessity.

Inefficient strategy of marketing with poor set of tools can often lead to unpopularity of your product or service which in turn may greatly affect your status in the market. These situations can be easily handled with the correct utilization of social media optimization and reward your organization with generative response. The complete process can give you an opportunity to decipher the qualitative information and pave a route to call forth a level of interest for a relatively a less popular product or service. Experts are on an ongoing research and study to introduce more and more attributes and rules, so the customers can have a more developed and manageable set of services for their promotion affairs. SMO has everything that is required to have for an entire outlay of promoting a product or a service.

Social Media Optimization is an absolute ideology to promote a product or service in the most appropriate manner with a professional sense of marketing. Regarded as one of the most frequently used ways to publicize your current commercial or your latest feature, social media optimization is highly recommended. The benefits of advertising your services and products with SMO are countless. Now you can save yourself from the expensive recruitment of a heavy workforce just for keeping a track and manipulating as how many people are watching your commercial. SMO is a modern technique that has been designed to match the pace modernization and advancement. So if you are looking for a better way of publicity, do it with Social Media Optimization.

5 Tips For How You Can Learn More

2008-03-22T13:47:00.000-07:00

There are a number of reasons why we should be lifelong learners. Continuing education reaps us professional, personal and health benefits that are too numerous to list. However if you do not want to enter another classroom as long as you live then take heart as there are other ways you can be a lifelong learner. Here are five tips for ways to continue your education.
First and foremost is to read. Read for fun and pleasure but also read for information and research. You do not have to fear taking on heavy, dusty tomes filled with multi-syllabic boring language. There is a whole industry of writers who make history and science fun. In fact, you do not even need to read books at all. There are a lot of informative magazines that offer both general and specific information. Check them out at a large book store or your local library before selecting a few to take home. Do not overlook the wealth of information available to you on the internet. There are site and publications devoted to just about any topic you can imagine. Start with a main news site and then begin sifting and searching to find topics that interest you. The best thing about this kind of reading is that you get to pick it -- not a teacher with an agenda you don't understand.

Listening is an often overlooked skill when it comes to learning today. Sure listening in the classroom is important but there are people all around us who have a wealth of knowledge to share if we are only willing to listen. Open your ears and your mind. You might be surprised at what you can learn.

You can also learn by simply observing the life around us. What can you learn about parenting by watching the families around you? You can learn not only what to do but what not to do. What can you learn about financial planning, relationships, and just about everything else you want to know? You can learn from the mistakes of others if you only take the time to be observant.

If you are looking for answers then ask questions. Ask questions of experts as well as information brokers, such as librarians and teachers. You should also ask questions of people like you because they can share their experiences and knowledge.

Finally, the most important part of becoming a lifelong learner is simply pursuing knowledge whether it is for a specific purpose or simply knowledge for the sake of knowledge. It is not important what you decide to study and learn more about and you can change topics as often as you change your shoes if you like. The important thing is to continue opening your mind and filling your brain.

You can becoming a lifelong learner and enjoy continuing education by reading, listening, observing, questioning, and pursuing knowledge. If you take these five steps for continuing education then you will live a smarter and more fulfilling life.

How To Find MP3's with Google

2008-03-22T11:43:00.000-07:00

How To Find MP3's with Google This How-To will teach you how to use google to find mp3s. This How-To will be highly pragmatic and will focus on the hows and not the wherefores of the various search strings. Written by my_haz Note: Thanks to all the folks that have bookmarked this page and sent me emails. If you like this tutorial i have another one that you may be interested in if you ever woundered how to crack porn sites. That one is under the name on_a_role_again but its me my_haz. How to Crack Porn Sites.
------------------------------------= Index--------------------------------------

0) Key
1) Directories
2) Xitami Servers
3) Directory Listing
4) Andromeda Servers
5) Zina Artists
6) Apache mp3 Servers
7) Individual Songs

------------------------------------= Section 0 - KEY--------------------------------------

You this are just some definitions I will use below.[Directory String] can be any of the following :
1) "index of"
2) "last modified"
3) "parent of"
[file type] can be any of the following :
1) "mp3"
2) "shn"
3) "wma"
[mp3 name] can be any of the following :
1) the name of the album in quotes
2) the name of the artist in quotes
3) be daring and leave it blank and have lots of links
4) be creative!
[limitors]
1) -html -htm -php -asp -txt -pls
(inurl:) is optional and may be omitted and in fact most beomitted if not using a search tool other than google.
(intitle:) can be used in place of
(inurl:) and has a similar effectagain you must be useing google.
(-filetype:txt) adding this to the end of your search string canfilter some false positives.
(-playlist) adding this to the end of your search string canfilter some false positives.

------------------------------------= Section 1 - Directories--------------------------------------

These are the most common way that mp3s are stored on the www, youshould try these strings first.
String Format :
Type 1 : [Directory String] + (inurl:)[file type] + [mp3 name]
Type 2 : [Directory String] + (intitle:)[file type] + [mp3 name]
Type 3 : [Directory String] + [file type] + [mp3 name] + [limitors]

Example Strings :
- intitle:index.of + mp3 + "grandaddy" -html -htm -php -asp -txt -pls
- "index of" + "mp3" + "radiohead" -html -htm -php
- "index of" + mp3 + "grandaddy"
- "index of" + inurl:mp3 + "beatles" -txt -pls
- "index of" + intitle:mp3 + beatles
- "last modified" + "shn" + "dylan"
- "last modified" + inurl:shn + "bob dylan"
- "parent of" + inurl:wma + "grandaddy"
Suggestions :
- Try (intitle:index.of + "mp3" + "band name" -htm -html -php -asp)
first it is usually the most effective.

Another Little Trick:
- If you have been getting alot of results on google but the pages don't seem
to be there try adding dates and the "apache" string to your search i.e.

- intitle:index.of + mp3 + "grandaddy" -html -htm -php -asp apache feb-2005
- intitle:index.of + mp3 + "grandaddy" -html -htm -php -asp apache 2005

or if you just want a big list of mp3' doing a search like this everymonth
- intitle:index.of + mp3 + -html -htm -php -asp apache mar

------------------------------------= Section 2 - Xitami Servers--------------------------------------

String Format :
Type 1 : "xitami web server" + (inurl:)[file type] + [mp3 name]
Type 2 : "xitami web server" + (intitle:)[file type] + [mp3 name]

Example Strings :
- "xitami web server" + "mp3" + "radiohead"
- "xitami web server" + intitle:shn + "beatles"
- "xitami web server" + inurl:mp3 + "magnetic fields"

------------------------------------= Section 3 - Directory Listing--------------------------------------

String Format :
Type 1 : "directory listings" + (inurl:)[file type] + [mp3 name]
Type 2 : "directory listings" + (intitle:)[file type] + [mp3 name]
Type 3 : "directory listings of" + (inurl:)[file type] + [mp3 name]
Type 4 : "directory listings of" + (intitle:)[file type] + [mp3 name]

Example Strings
- "directory listings" + "mp3" + "radiohead"
- "directory listings" + intitle:shn + "beatles"
- "directory listings" + inurl:mp3 + "magnetic fields"
- "directory listings of" + "mp3" + "radiohead"
- "directory listings of" + intitle:shn + "beatles"
- "directory listings of" + inurl:mp3 + "magnetic fields"

------------------------------------= Section 4 - Andromeda Servers--------------------------------------

String Format :
Type 1 : "scott matthews" + andromeda + [mp3 name]
Type 2 : "scott matthews" + andromeda + [file type] + [mp3 name]
Type 3 : "powered by andromeda" + [mp3 name]
Type 4 : "powered by andromeda" + [file type] + [mp3 name]
Type 5 : inurl:andromeda.php + [mp3 name]
Type 6 : inurl:anromeda.php + [file type] + [mp3 name]
Type 7 : "scott matthews"
Type 8 : "powered by andromeda"
Type 9 : inurl:andromeda.php

Examples :
- "scott matthews" + andromeda + "radiohead"
- "scott matthews" + andromeda + "mp3" + "fitter"
- "powered by andromeda" + "gradaddy"
- "powered by andromeda" + "mp3" + "just like women"
- inurl:andromeda.php + "shn"
- inurl:anromeda.php + "wma" + "dylan"- "scott matthews"
- "powered by andromeda"- inurl:andromeda.php

------------------------------------= Section 5 - Zina Artists--------------------------------------

String Format :
Type 1 : "zina artists"

Examples :- "zina artists"

------------------------------------= Section 6 - Apache mp3 Servers--------------------------------------

String Format :
Type 1 : "stream all" + apache + [mp3 name]
Type 2 : "stream all" + apache
Type 3 : "shuffle all" + apache + [mp3 name]
Type 4 : "shuffle all" + apache

Examples :
- "stream all" + apache- "stream all" "shuffle all" mp3
- "stream all" + apache + radiohead
- "shuffle all" + beatles

------------------------------------= Section 7 - Individual Songs--------------------------------------

Format : [mp3 name].mp3 -playlist -filetype:txt

Examples :
- "ok_computer_live.mp3" -playlist -filetype:txt
- "*ok_computer*.mp3" -playlist -filetype:txt
GOOD LUCK!

Search Engine Rankings

2008-03-21T04:31:00.000-07:00

The methods employed to increase your search engine rankings may seem like rocket science to you, so you have probably avoided dealing with this issue. I am here to tell you - the time has come to face your website! A high search engine ranking for your website is so essential that if you have the slightest desire to actually succeed in your business, there is no way you can continue to avoid this issue.

At least 85% of people looking for goods and services on the Internet find websites through search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and MSN. The idea of optimizing your pages for high search engine rankings is to attract targeted customers to your site who will be more than likely to make a purchase. The higher your page comes up in search engine results, the greater the traffic that is directed to your website. That's what search engine optimization is about.

You can immerse yourself in all the technical information available online to figure out how to optimize your web pages to achieve higher rankings. Or you can look at a few simple items on your pages, make some small adjustments, and most likely see improved rankings quite rapidly. The first item you should examine is the title bar on your homepage.

The title bar is the colored bar at the top of the page. Look at the words that appear there when you access your home page. To increase search engine rankings, the words on your homepage's title bar should include the most important keywords or phrases, one of which would include your company name.

Then click on all your links and examine the title bars on the pages you access. Each title bar on every single page of your site should contain the most important keywords and phrases taken from the page itself. However, avoid very long strings of keywords, keeping them to six words or less. Avoid repeating keywords more than once in the title bars, and make sure that identical words are not next to each other.

The next item to put under your microscope is your website content. Search engines generally list sites that contain quality content rather than scintillating graphics. The text on your site must contain the most important keywords - the words that potential customers will be typing into search engines to find your site.

Aim to have around 250 words on each page, but if this is not desirable due to your design, aim for at least 100 carefully chosen words. If you want to achieve a high ranking on search engines, this text is essential. However, the search engines must be able to read the text, meaning that the text must be in HTML and not graphic format.

To find out if your text is in HTML format, take your cursor and try to highlight a word or two. If you are able to do this, the text is HTML. If the text will not highlight, it is probably in graphic form. In this case, ask your webmaster to change the text into HTML format in order to increase your search engine rankings.

Next we come to what is called meta tags. I know this sounds like something out of science fiction, but it is really just simple code. Many people believe that meta tags are the key to high search engine rankings, but in reality, they only have a limited effect. Still, it's worth adding them in the event that a search engine will use meta tags in their ranking formula.

To find out if your page is set up with meta tags, you must access the code. To do this, click the "view" button on the browser menu bar, and select "source." This will pull up a window revealing the underlying code that created the page. If there are meta tags, they usually appear near the top of the window. For example, a meta tag would read: meta name="keywords" content=. If you do not find code that reads like this, ask your webmaster to put them in. This may not do much for your search engine rankings, but any little boost helps.

Lastly, we come to the issue of link popularity. This is a factor that is extremely important in terms of search engine rankings. Almost all search engines use link popularity to rank your website. Link popularity is based on the quality of the sites you have linked to from your links page.

If you type in "free link popularity check" in a popular search engine, the search engine will then show you what sites are linked to your site. In the case that there aren't many sites linked up to yours, or that the sites that are linked up have low search engine rankings, consider launching a link popularity campaign. Essentially, this entails contacting quality sites and requesting that they exchange links with your site. Of course, this requires checking out the rankings of the websites you want to link up with. Linking to popular, quality sites not only boosts your search engine ranking, but it also directs more quality traffic to your website.

Search engine rankings are extremely important for a successful Internet marketing campaign. Before you go out and hire a search engine optimization company, try taking some of the simple steps listed above, and see if you can't boost your rankings yourself. Don't ever ignore this all-important factor in Internet marketing. Remember, the higher your search engine ranking, the more quality customers will be directed your way.

Privacy Policy

2008-03-21T04:17:00.000-07:00

Information Collection and Use
klikwae collects minimal personal information when you request or submit an article.
We use your information to contact you and or to display your article(s).

Information Non-Disclosure Agreement
Your information will never be sold or handed to another party under any circumstances.

Security
Your information is stored in a protected database. Only klikwae have access to
this information.

Changes to this Privacy Policy
Changes may occur anytime without prior notice and will be announced through mailing list.

Administrator
http://www.klikwae.blogspot.com

How to Create a Blog Design from Scratch?

2008-03-20T15:42:00.000-07:00

I often get asked this question by people who have been blogging for some time, but are new to blog designs. They want to get rid of their blog design templates and take their blog to the next step by having a custom blog design. There is usually just a little problem, they don’t have the money to hire someone or the expertise to build one for themselves. If this sounds like you or you just want to learn even more, then this series just is for you.

In this series, I will focus on how I would learn how to create a blog design if I were to start all over again from the beginning without any knowledge in the area of blog designs, web design, or graphic design. Basically starting over from scratch with the goal of creating an awesome blog design for my blog.
In this series, I will focus on how I would learn how to create a blog design if I were to start all over again from the beginning without any knowledge in the area of blog designs, web design, or graphic design. Basically starting over from scratch with the goal of creating an awesome blog design for my blog.

In the process, I will show you how you can create a blog design for your own blog. While there are thousands of ways to approach learning how to create a blog design, I will approach it in a way that I have found to be very efficient when it comes to learning any new skill and getting it to an above average level. These are the basic steps I feel that a person needs to pass through in order to reach a level where their skill is good enough to create a blog design from scratch. I find that a lot of times people new to something tend to take these steps in the reverse order and only after failing a few times do they managed to get all the steps or just end up giving up altogether.

I must warn you though that this method is not for everyone. It is not a method that will get you a good blog design tomorrow; there are actually no methods that can do that unless you can pay someone a lot of money. This method is about building the fundamental skills in order to build a great blog design.
1. Figure out what you need to know and the price you must pay

There are a few skills you need to learn and there is no escaping that. Creating a good blog design is a huge time sink in the beginning, because there is a learning curve. Prepare to invest a lot of time and patience, even more so if you have less experience in something related to blog design.
2. Buy, borrow, or steal the best books

There is no substitute for a good book on CSS/XHTML, graphics design, and typography. Can you get by with online resources only? Yes, you can, but there will be a lot of gaps in your knowledge that can frustrate you. It is just not worth it when your local library is likely to carry a good book. I used my library extensively and purchased ones I couldn’t get through the library.
3. Gather the best online resources

Online resources should be used as a supplement to books and not a replacement. Online resources are often very specific in what they teach so they do not cover everything you need to know.The exception is with php though because you really only need to know snippets of php code to create a blog design unless you are trying to do something very complicated. I found a php book to be very valuable for when I was writing a plugin for WordPress.
4. Learn from the best

Find out what the best are doing and imitate them. This does not mean copy their designs. What it means is to not reinvent the wheel by using what already works. There is a reason blog designs don’t have circular navigations that fly around because it does not work. Learn from others and your skills will grow fast.
5. Experiment with your blog design

There are a ton of good tutorials that will teach you specific skills you need to create a blog design, but after that there is no escaping trial and error. Behind a good blog design are many failed ones that you don’t get to see. Persevere and your blog design will be godly.

E-business Strategy Vital for E-commerce Web Solutions

2008-03-20T10:06:00.000-07:00

Though there are a number of e-commerce web solutions in the market, what makes your e-commerce venture stand out from the thousands of other such ventures on the Internet and fetch you a high Return on Investment is your e-business strategy. If you have your e-business strategy neatly defined, it would be easier for you to choose your customized e-commerce solution.

Depending upon your ebusiness strategy, website developers develop for you
e-commerce web solutions that suit your business best. Choose a developer who has plenty of experience as an ebusiness solution provider in developing successful e-commerce websites that include sites geared towards selling specific Products or Services, Dating sites, Auction sites, Social Networking sites, to name a few.

A good e-commerce web site design would provide: (1) a 'Unified Storefront' that is a well-displayed showcase of products (2) a 'Shopping Cart System' where you place your selected products (3) a system that integrates your online data transactions and e commerce payment solutions with your existing accounting system and (4) a fine-tuned Search option to locate just websites the ability to create additional value for their users and add functionality that retains customers. It provides an easy mechanism for collecting information about customers.
For developing a profitable e business auction site, there are a set of vitally important power-packed options and tools you should have. For instance, your should have a full Admin Area to exercise complete control over the web-site (2) Multiple Payment Modules (3) the option to run your site as Private Or Public Site and (4) a complete Auction Interface.
Besides, there is a complete strategy working behind it to make your presence felt in the huge auction marketplace even if you are running not a whole auction site but say an e-Bay store. And impressive eBay web design cans double sales in incredibly short period of time. You need a professional eBay Stores Designer who would help you create a successful store right from the logo and layout to setting up categories and sub categories and advise you on the proper text and keywords to use in your SEO eBay store.
Orient InfoSolutions is a leading IT solutions provider that specializes in creating customized e-commerce solutions for you based on sound e-business strategy. It provides flexible e-commerce web solutions to setup and run an online business with real-time credit card processing and secure online transactions. The solutions are engineered in a way to serve as your very own ebusiness strategist. You can visit OrientInfoSolutions.com for some in-depth and comprehensive information of highly effective e-commerce web solutions.the kind of product you want.

A successful e-commerce web site design should have an intuitive and user-friendly control panel enables administrators to manage the webstore and sales — whether it's membership, product or service purchases. It should have a system for keeping records of returning customer profiles, allowing them to retrieve and re-order from previous orders, speeding up the process.

E-commerce web development should also focus on database driven website design to allow business

How To Make Money Online Without Having A College Degree

2008-03-20T10:03:00.000-07:00

So is it really possible to make money online "without" a college degree? Have you ever wondered if it is possible to make money online by working from home? Have you ever wondered how good of an income is possible when you do it online?

How does a seven figure income sound? Are you now wondering how people "make money online?"

Statistics show that there are approximately 6.6 billion people in the world. Every nation on Earth has internet access including developing countries. Yes, there really are people in countries with unsafe drinking water who see the same web as people in industrialized nations.

In America, 75% of the population has regular access to the internet. Even if only half the world has access to the internet, 3.3 million potential customers are enough for anyone. The world market is big enough to share.

There are a variety of ways to make money online. All you need is a little creativity, a computer with internet access, desire and most importantly, guidance. When most people try to do this, they boot up their computers, pull up a web browser and get the virtual equivalent of writer's block.

It seems a little crazy, doesn't it? There is no ticket taker at your log in page asking for money. You know your ISP isn't sharing part of your monthly payment with John Doe Business Owner. With a few exceptions, you are not asked to fork over a credit card number when you visit a website. How can people do this when nearly everything seems free?

Once you start to make money online from the comfort of your own home, you will not want to stop. Once you get a taste of the freedom of being your own boss, you will never go back to making someone else richer.

Believe it or not, most internet millionaires did not recieve any kind of special certificate, special training or any kind of degree whatsoever for making a lot of money online. All they did was followed a system. A proven system. I am pretty sure that you have heard the old saying,"systems don't fail, people do." This is one of the most basic fundamental principles to follow if you would like to make a lot of money online.

Can anyone really make a million a year income online? The answer is yes!

You see, when it comes to the internet, there is literally an endless supply income profit potential. Here is a big piece of advice that someone once told me when I was a "newbie" to the internet world, "never let anyone tell you that you need a degree to make money online". There are more and more studies of kids (that's right, kids) such as 15-17 years old raking in thousands a week! The internet is now a powerful medium in making millions online.

Now, don't get me wrong, it used to be that you needed a college degree to make any sort of decent amount of income on the net but not anymore. The reason behind this is that individuals are becoming equipped with all types of tools, software and resources on the internet that they are exposed to. The biggest thing that would stop an ordinary person from making the income an extraordinary person makes online has "nothing" to do with a degree.

Want to know what it has to do with? You ready? Come in a little closer and I'll whisper it to you, targeted traffic. You need a LOT of it. If you concentrate on building your "targeted traffic", you are well on your way to making a million a year without a college degree.

Proxy Setting

2008-03-20T09:45:00.000-07:00

Proxy Settings in Internet Explorer 4.X


  1. Click "View" \ "Internet Options");
  2. Click "Connections";
  3. Enable "use a proxy server";
  4. In fields "Address" and "port" type proxy name and proxy port;
  5. If nessesary, enable "bypass proxy server for local addresses";
  6. Click "OK".


Proxy Settings in Internet Explorer 5.X


  1. Click "Service" \ "Internet Options";
  2. Click "Connections";
  3. If you use Dial-Up connection,
 choose your connection and click "Settings" button.
     If you use LAN connection, click "LAN Settings" button
 in the "Local Area Network (LAN) Settings" group box;
  4. Enable "use a proxy server";
  5. In fields "Address" and "port", type proxy name and proxy port;
  6. If nessesary, enable "bypass proxy server for local addresses";
  7. Click "OK";
  8. Click "OK" to close IE settings.


Proxy Settings in Internet Explorer 6.X


  1. Click "Service" \ "Internet Options";
  2. Click "Connections";
  3. If you use Dial-Up connection, choose your connection
 and click "Settings" button.
     if you use LAN connection, click "LAN Settings" button
 in the "Local Area Network (LAN) Settings" group box;
  4. Enable "use a proxy server";
  5. In fields "Address" and "port", type proxy name and proxy port number;
  6. If nessesary, enable "bypass proxy server for local addresses";
  7. Click "OK";
  8. Click "OK" to close IE settings.


Proxy Settings in Netscape Navigator 4.X


  1. Click "Edit" \ "Preferences";
  2. Click "Category" \ "Advanced" \ "Proxies";
  3. Set "Manual proxy configuration";
  4. Click "View" at "Manual proxy configuration";
  5. Set proxies for following protocols: HTTP, FTP, etc.


Proxy Settings in Netscape Navigator 6.X


  1. Click "Edit" \ "Preferences";
  2. Click "Category" \ "Advanced" \ "Proxies";
  3. Set "Manual proxy configuration";
  4. Click "View" at "Manual proxy configuration";
  5. Set proxies for following protocols: HTTP, FTP, etc.


Proxy Settings in Konqueror


  1. Click "Setting" \ "Configure Konqueror...";
  2. Choose "Proxies";
  3. Enable "Use proxy";
  4. Set proxies for following protocols: HTTP, FTP, etc.


Proxy Settings in Mozilla


  1. Click "Edit" \ "Preferences";
  2. Click "Category" \ "Advanced" \ "Proxies";
  3. Set "Manual proxy configuration";
  4. Click "View" at "Manual proxy configuration";
  5. Set proxies for following protocols: HTTP, FTP, etc.