TapeFailure Review Video by CenterNetworks
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http://www.centernetworks.com/video-review-of-tapefailure-watch-your-users-use-your-site
a collection of things i like and want to remember. by "scrapbooking" it on my blog i can go back and google it later
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Posted by Augustine at 6:25 AM
Labels: tapefailure
United States Patent | 6,173,267 |
Cairns | January 9, 2001 |
A method for providing fulfillment in a promotional contest includes providing a card in a product package marked with an internet address and a password. The purchaser of the product contacts the internet address and inputs personal information and the password to learn if the purchaser is a winner in the contest. If the purchaser is a winner, the card is sent to the company to verify the winning status before sending the prize to the purchaser.
Posted by Augustine at 2:29 PM
Labels: code based promotions
United States Patent | 7,216,235 |
Platt | May 8, 2007 |
An authentication system for securing information within a disk drive to be read and written to only by a specific host computer such that it is difficult or impossible to access the drive by any system other than a designated host is disclosed. While the invention is similar in intent to a password scheme, it significantly more secure. The invention thus provides a secure environment for important information stored within a disk drive. The information can only be accessed by a host if the host can respond to random challenges asked by the disk drive. The host's responses are generated using a cryptography chip processing a specific algorithm. This technique allows the disk drive and the host to communicate using a coded security system where attempts to break the code and choose the correct password take longer to learn than the useful life of the disk drive itself.
Posted by Augustine at 2:18 PM
Labels: not hackable, password, tivo
All Gmail's "folders" - even the Inbox, Sent Mail and unread messages - are actually labels, and you can narrow your email searches to them using the label:
operator (or l:
for short). The Google Operating System weblog lists more shorthand that refers to these special labels:
^b chats ^f sent mail ^i inbox ^k trash ^r draft ^s spam ^t starred messages ^u unread mail
Using these along with the l:
operator, you can search for, say, all the unread messages not in your Inbox using -l:^i l:^u
. Not exactly readable, but certainly succinct. —Gina Trapani
Posted by Augustine at 1:58 PM
Labels: gmail hack
Dear Lifehacker,
As you are one of the biggest Gmail fans around, I was wondering if you knew of any way to create a filter in Gmail such that emails from a specified sender (or from specified senders) could be given an automatic response. I know that Gmail has a "Vacation Responder" option, but that sends replies to everyone who sends an email, or at least sends a response to everyone in your Contacts, and that just won't work. Any ideas, oh mighty Lifehacker?
Sincerely, Filtered Frank
Dear Frank,
First of all, thanks so much for your excellent question! We live to come up with these little workarounds. Second: there is a workaround! However, you're going to have to roll up your sleeves and possibly break Gmail's Terms of Service and grab a second email account. Hit the jump for how.
The solution requires that you grab yourself a second Gmail account, which is considered a no-no apparently okay in Gmail's ToS. However, last time I checked, everyone and their cute fluffy pups has at least two Gmail addresses, so this doesn't seem like that daunting of a move. However, don't say we didn't warn you!
Got your second Gmail address? Good, let's get started. From here on out, I'll refer to you main Gmail account as Gmail 1 and your second as Gmail 2 (could it get more complicated?).
Now when you receive a message from the sender you want to always auto-respond to, Gmail 1 will forward the message to Gmail 2, which will automatically send out your pre-defined response as though it's coming straight from Gmail 1. As an added layer of security, I'd add the original sender's email address to your Gmail 2 contacts and check "Only send a response to people in my Contacts" in the vacation responder. Since Gmail 2 is only for automated responses, that means it should be the only email(s) in your Contacts, and you will never send off an auto-response accidentally.
A bit convoluted, yes, but it should do exactly what you're looking for Frank.
Hack on! Lifehacker — Adam Pash
Posted by Augustine at 1:57 PM
Labels: gmail auto responder hack
Los Angeles-based Orgoo is a new webmail service that is going to be a popular application for some users. Not only does it emulate Outlook-style desktop mail applications extremely well, it also integrates instant messaging from all of the major IM providers directly into the interface. If you are looking for a service-independent webmail/IM service, you’ll want to check this out.
If you’ve been around long enough to remember Oddpost, which launched in 2002, you’ll see similarities with Orgoo. Like Oddpost, Orgoo is an Ajax webmail service that lets users access their favorite email accounts via POP or IMAP access. Evolution of the Oddpost service stopped, however, in 2004 when it was acquired by Yahoo. Much of the Oddpost engine has now been integrated into Yahoo mail.
The key difference between Orgoo and the major Internet webmail services (Gmail, Yahoo, Live Hotmail, AOL) is that it also integrates instant messaging from all major providers.
The Orgoo interface has both email and instant messaging on the main dashboard (click on image for large view). Sign into AIM, Live Messenger, Gtalk, ICQ, Yahoo) and chat with your contacts (similar to meebo/ebuddy). You can optionally archive all IM conversations and the drop them into the same folders you use for email - a very handy way of keeping information organized. Since IM archives are saved the same way as emails, users can also forward IM conversations as emails.
Both Gmail and Yahoo offer IM integration within their webmail applications, but neither allow users to log into other third party services. Gmail allows Gtalk only, and Yahoo allows Yahoo IM only. Orgoo is service-independent and so users who have email in one place and IM in another (or use multiple services for both) will find this to be a much more useful application.
One thing I really like about Orgoo is their attention to detail. There are a number of examples of this. Users can choose from a number of visual templates and can upload avatars for emails/IM. Any address in an email or IM turns into a link that shows the address in Google Maps via a popup. They allow users to create on the fly chat rooms. And they are allowing users to record quick audio or video files and send them via email. See screen shots below for the maps and video screen shots.
Orgoo will offer users 3 GB of storage for free. The service is currently in private alpha testing with a handful of USC students only but will be expanding in the coming weeks to a larger group.
The two founders, Sean Rad (20) and Shahzad Tiwana (34) are students at USC and brought in a seasoned veteran, Michael Kantor, as CEO. The company has raised a small round of angel financing and has just 11 employees (three in California, eight in Pakistan).
There are a number of competitors out there. In addition to the webmail services mentioned above, a number of services have great service-neutral webmail services (see our coverage of Goowy). Foldera, a public company, is also a direct competitor but is yet to launch (Disclosure: I am currently on the board of directors of Foldera).
Orgoo has created a lot with a very small team and next to no financing to date. Their biggest challenge going forward won’t be getting users, but proving that their service is scalable. One of the most common complaints about webmail is speed - even Gmail and Yahoo, with unlimited resources, have a hard time keeping their services humming. If Orgoo can keep the service flying, they could become very popular very fast.
Posted by Augustine at 9:16 AM
Labels: instant messaging, webmail
"may i have a coke" means something entirely different than "may i have some coke" -- one will get you arrested and the other implies you're from the South...
Link, via this post on Gadling. (Thanks, marilyn terrell)
Posted by Augustine at 1:05 PM
Labels: digital cameras, dpreview.com
Posted by Augustine at 12:58 PM
Labels: counterfeiting, flickr, theives
Video advertising is a final frontier in the monetization of Web 2.0. Adbrite was first to market with Adbrite In-Video. Last week Google started testing in-video text ads on YouTube.
Cambridge, MA based ScanScout joins the fray. Founded 2 years ago, ScanScout launched recently and has followed up with an announcement of $7million Series A funding in a round led by General Catalyst Partners.
At first look, ScanScout's video advertising product looks identical to what Google is testing with YouTube. Text ads are overlaid on the video and open video-on-video advertisements or external sites.
We don't know a lot about the tech behind Google's offering. I noted in my post covering the subject last week that the sample YouTube advertisements lacked context. ScanScout on the other hand has no question mark on the issue.
ScanScout technology scans each video and determines content, with ads delivered contextually to match each scene. Think of it as an Adsense for video because it's exactly how it works, but on scenes as opposed to pages.
I'm yet to be convinced that text based overlays are the future of online video advertising. ScanScout argues that pre-roll and post-roll are regarded as dead by many because they "leverage an old paradigm that essentially ignores the consumer", and yet this optional form of advertising can easily be ignored itself.
If in-video text advertising is indeed the future of online video advertising, contextual delivery is essential and ScanScout provides a product that delivers exactly that.
Posted by Augustine at 11:24 AM
# [Google Inc]
127.0.0.1 pagead.googlesyndication.com
127.0.0.1 pagead2.googlesyndication.com #[Google AdWords]
127.0.0.1 adservices.google.com
127.0.0.1 ssl.google-analytics.com #[urchinTracker]
127.0.0.1 www.google-analytics.com #[Google Analytics]
127.0.0.1 imageads.googleadservices.com #[Ewido.TrackingCookie.Googleadservices]
127.0.0.1 imageads1.googleadservices.com
127.0.0.1 imageads2.googleadservices.com
127.0.0.1 imageads3.googleadservices.com
127.0.0.1 imageads4.googleadservices.com
127.0.0.1 imageads5.googleadservices.com
127.0.0.1 imageads6.googleadservices.com
127.0.0.1 imageads7.googleadservices.com
127.0.0.1 imageads8.googleadservices.com
127.0.0.1 imageads9.googleadservices.com
127.0.0.1 partner.googleadservices.com
127.0.0.1 www.googleadservices.com
127.0.0.1 apps5.oingo.com #[Microsoft.Typo-Patrol]
127.0.0.1 www.appliedsemantics.com
127.0.0.1 service.urchin.com #[Urchin Tracking Module]
Posted by Augustine at 10:59 AM
SouthPark dedicated an entire episode to the smugness of hybrid car drivers and San Francisco residents in general. The episode is funny because its largely true - Silicon Valley is well known for having a left-leaning, environment-loving population that sometimes feels superior to the rest of the country. They cheered when Al Gore won an Oscar for his movie about global warming, and they are cheering again as some of the largest Internet companies in the valley are jumping very publicly on the "green" bandwagon.
Google and Yahoo in particular seem to be in a race to prove who's the greenest.
Google
Google is investing a lot of money in solar technology, saying that they will partially power their huge data centers with solar power. They are also installing 1.6 megawatts of solar photovoltaic panels at their headquarters in Mountain View. The panels will cover the roofs of the buildings, and Google says it is "the largest solar installation on any corporate campus in the U.S."
There are frequent references to the benefits of being carbon neutral on the Google blog as well, and last year Google launched the " Summer of Green" website to help people travel in an environmentally friendly way.
Last week CEO Eric Schmidt said the solar energy policy is not only the right thing to do, but that it will save the company money as well. While it is certainly true that Google's energy costs will decline, the savings will come nowhere near to offsetting the cost and maintenance of the panels themselves. Google is doing this because they think it's right, and because they will get positive press out of it.
Yahoo
Not to be outdone, Yahoo has gone green in a big way, too. Earlier this year, co-founder David Filo pledged that Yahoo would go carbon neutral, basically by purchasing carbon offsets for their massive electricity usage.
Today Yahoo will go one step further, and they are bringing in actor Matt Dillon to help them. They (Yahoo and Dillon) are announcing the "Greenest City in America" challenge, and will search for the most environmentally friendly city in America. The winner gets a whole fleet of hybrid taxis (or the cash equivalent). Another fleet of taxis goes immediately to New York City.
Yahoo will also urge people to become more environmentally friendly via two handy websites -Be a Better Planet and Yahoo Green.
So who's the greenest? No idea. But more hybrid cars and solar panels are popping up around around silicon valley, giving the SouthPark guys plenty of material for a follow up episode or two.
Posted by Augustine at 10:47 AM
Benchmark Capital put $8 million to work with Swedish game site Power Challenge, the company will announce today. Power Challenge is a rich Internet application - a game that runs in java and plays very much like a video game. Users build and customize their teams and play against others for points and status. The quality of game play is high and is designed to push the boundaries between traditional PC gaming and online gaming.
Power Challenge, along with its sister site Manager Zone (acquired earlier this year), says it is adding 4,000 new players daily. They’ll use the cash from the financing to fund the development of new games titles, which are currently limited to soccer and hockey. The games are currently playable only on Windows PCs.
The company was founded in 2004.
Posted by Augustine at 10:43 AM
Labels: online game
How to make a viral video and create viral profits
Consumers Have Changed, So Should Advertisers -- ClickZ -- June 4, 2009.
Social Media Benchmarks: Realities and Myths -- ClickZ -- May 7, 2009. The ROI for Social Media Is Zero -- ClickZ -- April 9, 2009. How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising -- ClickZ -- March 12, 2009. Enthusiast Digital Cameras - Foveon, Fujifilm EXR, Exilim 1,000 fps A New Immutable Law of Marketing -- The Law of Usefulness -- Marketing Science -- February 17, 2009. Social Intensity: A New Measure for Campaign Success? -- ClickZ -- February 11, 2009. Connecting with Consumers: Next-Generation Advertising on the Web -- AssociatedContent -- January 30, 2009. Beyond Targeting in the Age of the Modern Consumer -- ClickZ -- January 14, 2009. Experiential Marketing: Experience is King -- ClickZ -- December 18, 2008. Search Improves All Marketing Aspects -- ClickZ -- November 20, 2008. Do something smart, not just something mobile -- iMediaConnection -- November 7, 2008. Social Commerce: In Friends We Trust -- ClickZ -- November 6, 2008. The New Role of the Digital Agency -- RelevantlySpeaking -- October 29, 2008. Make Digital Work for Your Customers -- ClickZ -- October 23, 2008. Social Networking: Make Your Product Worth Talking About -- HowToSplitAnAtom -- October 23, 2008. Social Media Ads are DOA -- MediaWeek -- October 13, 2008. Missing Link Marketing -- Marketing Science. -- September 22, 2008. The Need for Speed -- MediaPost -- September 22, 2008. SEO Can't Exist in a Vacuum -- HowToSplitanAtom -- October 8, 2008. A Different Perspective On Social Media Marketing -- Marketing Science. -- July 15, 2008. WOM: Just Don't Do It -- Adweek -- July 14, 2008. Tips for Success in a Web 2.0 World -- iMedia. -- April 23, 2008.