Favorite software package.

I just found a place to buy my favourite PC Software online.

As someone who first learnt how to design websites on Microsoft FrontPage, I was really looking forward to trying out their new web design software - Microsoft Expression Web Professional Design Tool. It is now available at Buypcsoft.com for $258.95. That's $40.05 cheaper than on the Microsoft site.

Had the opportunity to try it out on a friend's place and it was great.
First thing I noticed about it was the similarity of it's interface with Macromedia Dreamweaver. Unlike FrontPage, which is the first choice of many web design amateurs (and sneered at by professionals), this WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) web design software package is targeted at the professional web designers. It promises to help you create standards-based sites with full CSS and XML support. Thus your sites are automatically optimized for accessibility and cross-browser compatibility.

One of the most attractive features of this software from Microsoft are the sophisticated CSS design features. You can browse through various CSS styles and actually see what each style looks like before applying it.

The XML features allow you to build interactive websites by using the XML data source for page elements. It allows you to view quickly each feature using the drag-and-drop tools.

This software requires PCs running on Windows Vista / XP / 2003.

Bushnell binoculars

If you are looking for binoculars, one brand that you can't afford to ignore is Busnell. Busnell Optical is the leading producer of binoculars in the United States. My favourite model has to be the Bushnell H20 10x42 Porro Prism Binoculars. It has been described as the "the ideal binoculars for the outdoor enthusiast!" by the Western Outdoors Magazine.It is water proof and has one particular feature that appeals to me - Fold-down winged eyecups. This means that I can see the whole field of view even for people who wear eyeglasses, like me.

If you are looking for a place to buy bushnell binoculars, I would recommend Eagle Optics. The company has an amazing range of quality optics including Bushnell products. They have been selling optical products, both in their store in Central Wisconsin and by mail order since 1986. Now they have their own online store. It is a great place to buy binoculars simply because of the range of products they have on offer. They also have among the best lowest prices on the web. Right now, they have the new convenient Google Checkout Payment Option in place as well as outstanding customer service.

They also offer free financing for order above US $200.

Free handphones with T-mobile and Wirefly

Wirefly.com is offering free T-Mobile phones when customers sign up with a new wireless account. Among the popular models of phones are the Moto RAZR and the Motorola PEBL.

Of the two model mentioned above, I would definitely go for the Motorola PEBL. Though not the most high tech of phones available, I love it's curvaceous design and the unique external screen. Trying it out at the local store, I really liked the feel of this phone on my hands and the clamshell open mechanism is really smooth.

However, it's not on the top 10 list of T-mobiles phones listed on the site, given below:
#1: Samsung Stripe
#2: Dragon Tattoo RAZR
#3: BlackBerry Pearl
#4: Plum Samsung T509
#5: Motorola v3i D&G
#6: Samsung T619
#7: Samsung T519 Trace
#8: Samsung T719
#9: Nokia 6133
#10: Samsung T319

If you live in the US, you can check whether you are eligible for the the online offers by entering your zip code.

For your information, Wirefly.com is the online storefront of InPhonic Inc. It has received a number of Internet awards, including Forbes magazine's "Best of the Web" for 2004 and Keynote System's "Best In Overall Customer Experience" in 2005. Wirefly.com is also the Internet's #1 Store for Cell Phones and Plans.

Auctions with a twist

Just got to know about this new and unique online auction site called bid4prizes. Unlike other auction sites where the highest bidder wins, instead here the LOWEST UNIQUE bidder is the winner.

Yes! You can bid just 1 cent on a cool product and win if you are the only one who bid 1 cent for that product. Talking about cool products - people were bidding on amazing products like a Scion XB car, Samsung 50" Plasma TV, an Apple iPhone and lots more.

Joining in is quite easy. Once you have registered on the site you can start bidding. Just follow the steps:
STEP 1: Select your the item you are interest in by clicking it's image.
STEP 2: Enter your cellphone number and your bid amounts in cents.
After the auction ends, check to see if your bid was the lowest unique one. If yes! You won the prize.

Eclipse broadband services

Eclipse is one of UK's leading broadband provider for both home and business users. If you are a business owner, take a look at their award-winning business broadband service. With super-fast connection speeds of up to 8Mbps service and great customer support (UK-based), they are the preferred choice.

You have a choice from three Business Broadband options, namely:
Option 1: small office,
Option 2: wireless office and
Option 3: large wireless office

The last 2 options come with free wireless router. All options come with unlimited downloads for a fixed price and FREE telephone calls.

Hosting company goes green

I support all Green companies and was really nice to learn thatWebcity Web Hosting Australia is doing their bit for the environment. The company is funding the planting of trees to offset its carbon emissions.

For your information, Webcity is one of Australia's leading discount domain name registration and web hosting providers. In operation since 1997, the group services over 100,000 customers in Australia and neighbouring regions. It has it's headquarters in Sydney.

My sister who resides down under, was asking me about a reputable host. I think I am going to recommend this company.

Flippies making a comeback

I am sure that all of you have come across or even owned a flippie at one time or the other. Flippies (or Flip books ) refer to "books with a series of pictures that vary gradually from one page to the next, so that when the pages are turned rapidly, the pictures appear to animate by simulating motion or some other change" (Source: Wikipedia).

Their popularity died out with the advent of movies and later TV. However, they are making a come back as an effective and unique advertising tool.

Recently, this company called Flippies has re-engineered the novelty into a bona fide promotional advertising tool. Now, commercials, sports moments, product demos and even your own video clips can be transferred into print as a flippie. Check out the Flippies Custom Flip Books


Among all the advertising mediums available today, I am sure you will agree that this is certainly a unique yet simple way of promoting a product or service. Presents a range of marketing possibilities - from product launches to conference giveaway items.

Finding the best online savings account

I am not sure about you guys, but a lot of people prefer to their money in their savings accounts as a risk free investment. However, a lot of people complain that earning on the money saved is quite low. There are so many banks around that promise you the best interest rates that choosing the best one can be prove to be quite a headache.

Compare online banking savings accounts and find a new savings account or checking account that earns more interest today with SavingsAccounts.com

This new site focuses on the direct to consumer online banking industry. They promise to help you find the perfect online savings account. Even though it is still in the early development stages, the site is a great place to learn how to earn better interest rates. They do this by comparing online banks and finding one offering the highest interest rates. This will be based on your specific account features that best suit your individual needs.

When I last checked, HSBC was the most attractive with interest rates for savings accounts as high as 6%.

SEO charges based on top rankings

There are a lot of Search engine optimization (SEO) companies out there on the net and choosing one for your company can be a tough choice. After all, how do we know they can deliver after we have already spent the money.

Well, looking around the net, I came across this incredible offer from a search engine optimization company called eTrafficJams.com based in Tampa Bay Florida. They promise top 10 organic search engine placements on Google, Yahoo!, and/or MSN completely FREE of charge for a month. This means that you are not bound to a contract regardless of the results as is the case when you sign up with other search engine optimization companies.

I was thinking that might be a great way to instil confidence in your customers so that they can try you out. However, they are not cheap - their monthly fees are based on the number of top 10 rankings they get for their clients and start from $500/ month. I liked the fact that they had four different SEO packages to choose from, to suit your needs and your search engine marketing budget.

Quite impressed with what their clients have to say in their testimonials page. One of their clients, says that they received top 5 rankings on AOL, Google and Yahoo in just a few days. As I have always stressed, before you go for any SEO company, it is always advisable to look at their Google page rank. I checked and found that their home page has an impressive PR 6 and Alexa rankings of 143,059.

On the other hand if you are looking for an affordable option, I might be able to help you. Just search on Google for SEO Expert Coventry.

World Class Data Center in Raleigh

Hosted Solutions is the US East Coast’s leading Data Center and Managed Services Provider, which has been in operation since June 2001. Hosted Solutions' Data Center Raleigh in North Carolina, is one of it's 4 Data Centers, which it operates in 3 key markets. The other data centers are in Boston, Charlotte and Cary.

The Raleigh data center is a SAS 70 Type II compliant facility designed to meet the most demanding requirements. Regardless of whether you choose colocation, dedicated server, managed services or disaster recovery, their Raleigh Data Center prmoises to deliver the highest level of security, safety, redundancy, reliability, scalability and technology.

Even though the Hosted Solutions state-of-the-art facilities are targeted at local key markets, they are capable of handling server management applications for customers worldwide. They promise 100% uptime and 24x7 local technical support guarantees. They also promise to deliver uninterrupted managed services and availability. to all their customers, regardless of whether they are a Fortune 100 company or a small business.

The fact that a high number of companies have chosen Hosted Solutions for colocation, dedicated server, managed services and disaster recovery. I was particularly interested in the hosting services they have to offer. Most people are not really sure what type of hosting they need. I found out that they have a range of dedicated servers to meet the "needs of any architecture - small or large - centralized or distributed."

According to Joe Colopy, Founder and CEO of Bronto Software and one of their satisfied customers:

“As a rapidly growing software-as-a-service company, we sought a data center partner with the highest levels of reliability, proactive and friendly support, and the capacity to handle our growing needs. We found that partner in Hosted Solutions,”

If you are interested, you can contact a sales representative from 8am to 6pm EST.

Malaysia as South East Asian oil hub

Artist's impression of the new hub

Malaysia is set to become the oil hub for the entire South-East Asian region with the setting up of a RM1.4 billion (approx. $405.6 million) storage facility in Pulau Tanjung Bin near Tanjung Pelepas, Johor (just off the Port of Tanjung Pelepas). The Malaysian Government has given the green signal for the project.

This is a significant development and the facility would be the World's largest Petroleum hub when it is completed. The 1.0 million cubic-meter storage terminal would be located on a 40 ha island and will be able to handle over 60 million tonnes of petroleum products annually.

The proposed project will be handled by KIC Group of Companies subsidiary, Asia Petroleum Hub Sdn Bhd, which is a joint venture between KIC Group of companies (90%) and Trek Perintis Sdn Bhd (10%).

According to Asia Petroleum Hub's executive chairman Abdul Rashid Mohd Isa, the hub would enable the government to reduce its subsidies for petroleum products through the elimination of double handling charges. (Source: The Edge).

The facility is expected to start operations by early 2008.

Some more details about the project:
- Financial adviser and financier: CIMB Group
- Managed by: Kadriah Integrated Facilities Sdn Bhd
- Project management: QI-pmc Sdn Bhd
- Engineering and design consultant: Mott MacDonald Ltd, a British-based engineering firm
- Contractors: Muhibbah Engineering (M) Bhd and Nam Fatt Construction Sdn Bhd, with ZAQ Construction Sdn Bhd as the managing contractor.

Tags: Asia Petroleum Hub KIC Abdul Rashid Mohd Isa

Video marketing site

Selldeo.com (http://www.selldeo.com)is an online classified listing site with a difference. Instead of just old fashioned text and photos, this site carries user-generated video ads.

Usually that kind of video marketing was only reserved for big companies with huge marketing budgets. This is another indication of the fact that the internet has totally changed the way we do business as well as marketing products and services.

This service is now available to artists, home run businesses and even you. The video ad hosting makes video marketing widely accessible to the public. It also gives rise to a wide range of possibilities - virtual tours, video reviews and so on. In case you are not that tech savvy, don't worry, the site allows simple text ad listings too.

For your information, the site also has homepages that are focussed at several local markets so that local sellers can target their specific target segments.

There are two things I really like about this classifieds site. First of all it's totally free for both sellers and shoppers and secondly, there is no limit to how long an ad can run.

If you do want some extra attention, you can opt for the Featured Ad space for a nominal fee and get featured prominently in the center of their homepage. Another Adam ok recommended site.

Online marketing blog

I was showing my wife this Internet Marketing Blog that I had just came across and my wife went, "Not another one!"

Well! This blog is slightly different. A number of the posts are on Social Media Optimization and Social Media Marketing. Michael Brito does talk about Search Engine Optimization, Paid Search and Web Strategy topics too and I can see that unlike a few other self declared "SEO experts", I think Michael knows what he is talking about.

Even though he transferred his blog to this new domain only in September 2006, it already has a 4 Google page rank.

Among the several interesting posts, I found one of particular interest titled- "Can Social Media Kill a Brand?" I totally agree with him. Unfortunately a lot of companies continue to ignore social media at their own risk.

I definitely recommend this blog for those who are interested in online marketing.

Using dogs to detect molds

Was quite shocked when we noticed mold on the wall in between the bed and just below our bedroom window. Fortunately it is not that serious and I just wiped it with a old rag using a cleaning fluid.

Not many people realize the ill effects of mold on our health. Molds produce tiny spores to reproduce and exposure to it can result in allergic reactions, asthma, and other respiratory complaints. In our case, the mold was in the initial stages and probably caused by water leaking. The more serious mold problem are those where it is hidden inside walls and not visible to the eye.

While searching for more information on mold and Mold Removal, came across the site of this company in New Jersey.

It was quite interesting because this New Jersey Mold Company uses mold detection dogs to find hidden mold inside walls. Unique and quite cost effective it seems.

Alcoholism and drug addiction treatment

Nobody needs to talk to me about the horrors of drug addiction or alcoholism because I have seen the ill effects with my own eyes. I have seen families torn apart and even people dying because of these two diseases.

The problem with many addicts is the denial. They refuse to accept that they are addicts and will give excuses like "I am only a social drinker".

I was going through Watershed.com's and found this interesting article titled "The Signs & Symptoms of Alcoholism and Drug Addiction". If you have the symptoms listed, you better seek some professional help.

Car boot sale online

I am sure that most of my regular readers are aware that going to car boot sales has become our favourite family weekend pastime. iBootSale.com is UK's online version of Car boot sales, where sellers put up their unwanted possessions on their pitches. Buyers can browse, haggle and purchase the items just like in a real car boot sale.

The only difference is that this is one car boot sale is open 24/7 and is not affected by rain, snow or sleet.

If you have unwanted stuff stored in your attic or garage, just go over there and register. Right now the charge for pitches are currently FREE! This is for 90 days and 25 items. However in the future, there will be a simple charge for each pitch.

Just checked and found out that there are a lot of items at incredible prices. Better hurry before they are gone.

Self rewinding hose reels

Slowly but steadily, I am transforming our garden. It is proving to be quite tough as I have to deal with tough grass, lots of pieces of junk buried in the soil and deep roots of the brambles that the landlord cut down a few months earlier.

Right now I am using a watering can to water my plants, which is not very convenient. I thought about buying a water hose but I know of the problems associated with hoses, namely rolling up them up and storage after use. Just imagine the work if they are a 100 ft or more in length.

I was surprised when I read about the NO-CRANK™ range of hose reel. As the name suggest, these hoses are hands-free rewinding garden hoses. Intrigued by it all, I found out that Hydro-Pro™ system is a water piston engine that uses the water pressure to rewind up to 175ft of garden hose. In other words, it is like an engine and powered by water.

The hoses are available in various designs and different price ranges to suit every gardener. I am seriously considering getting one.

Online POS software

POS stands for point of sale. It is the checkout counter in a shop or anywhere else where you pay for your product or service.

There are several POS and inventory management software on the market. I just got to know about the MerchantOS POS and inventory management software. What makes the MerchantOS different is that it is a web based POS system This means that you only need an internet connection to help you record sales and keeping track of inventory. No need to install the software on your computer or other technical stuff.

Anyway, I was just going through the MerchantOS.com website. The design is quite simple, nothing flashy here but gets it's message across. I guess that is quite suitable for a B2B website. The website is quite easy to navigate and very informative.

They have a support forum but I would have also liked a simple FAQ page with a link on the front page.

I have to admit that the home page does look a bit congested. Maybe they should get rid of all the wasted spaces on the sides which would help in a better layout. The web designers can play around with colors and font sizes to give the site a more professional look. Right now it looks like a blog. Some people feel that you should not have a lot of text on the home page, but I beg to disagree. You should have all the important information on the home page and linked to other pages with more information. I found out what I was looking for on the MerchantOS.com website right on their home page.

If you have a business, you can check out their 3 minute demo or log on into their demo account to give it a trial run.

The information that MerchantOS customers have processed around $5 million in sales in 5 months, is quite impressive. Read about this and other news on their blog here.

AT&T to Cingular and back again

When I first heard about it, it was really confusing case of branding. First of all, AT&T became Cingular. Now Cingular is becoming AT&T again. Unless you are someone from the industry, I guess you are scratching your head in utter confusion.

OK, let me start from the beginning. Cingular Wireless was founded in 2001 as a joint venture of SBC Communications (now AT&T) and BellSouth (which AT&T acquired in 2006). Cingular, later purchased AT&T Wireless Services on October 26, 2004, making Cingular the largest wireless provider in the United States.

Cutting short the story and back to the present - a few later after SBC and AT&T merged, plans to to market Cingular's service under the AT&T brand were released in 2005. Finally, as part of the transition from the Cingular brand to AT&T, a new multi-media campaign was launched early in January this year.

I guess the re-branding may be a smart move on the part of AT&T, as the Cingular name as suffered from some bad publicity in the press in recent years. It should be pointed out that AT&T is the top carrier in the United States, based on customer totals. However, it may take some time before consumers accept that Cingular is the new AT&T.

It is expected that the first cell phone under the new AT&T brand will probably by the Apple iPhone, which many consider as a Cingular exclusive model - "the AT&T iPhone".

Some feel that the company should have waited until they had launched the phone to go for the rebranding.

Take a look at this gadget and you will definitely agree when I say that it more than a gadget but is simply a work of art.

You can check out the other Cingular phones available on the Wirefly.com website. Wirefly.com is an authorized dealer of Cingular phones.

Pingo pre paid cards

We call out a lot to friends and relatives all around the World but mostly to Malaysia. After receiving a shock with our first telephone bill, we decided to go for pre paid calling cards recommended by our friends here. Everybody seems to have their own favourite brand or company and we are trying out a couple.

Recently I heard about Pingo.com and intrigued when I heard that Pingo’s mobile users save 90% or more on their international calls and am thinking of signing up.



I am also thinking of recommending Pingo pre paid calling cards to the philippines to some of my Filipino friends in the US after I learned that the calls rates are as low as $0.138/ minute for a call.

Anybody who signs up with Pingo.com will receive 4 hours of free International calls. There is another great offer for readers who sign up for Pingo through my blog - they will receive US$5 in FREE Calls.

For your information, Pingo is a service offered by iBasis, a public company and one of the largest carriers of international phone calls in the world.