Two 3 Skypephones

Look what arrived through the post yesterday:

Not one ...


but two 3 Skypephones.


One is white while the other one is black. These are among the first 3 Skpyephones to be issued and I will be trying them out for a month.

The phone comes with Skype built in. That means that I can make (and receive) Skype calls to (and from) anyone in the World for free. This 3G phone has a 2 megapixel camera, bluetooth and came with a 256MB micro SD memory card. It was quite easy to use but I haven't tried all the functions as yet.

I will write an in-depth review of the phone later in my SEO Expert blog.




In the dark.

The phone was designed by UK mobile operator 3 and Chinese mobile manufacturer Amoi and built by the later.

You can get the phone for free with a monthly contract (minimum £12/ month plan) or for £59.99 £49.99 on "Pay as you go" (or £59.99 with £10 starter top-up).

Thanks to Matt from 3mobilebuzz.com.

Update: Matt writes that the phone retails at £49.99. Sorry about that.
Actually, I got the info from the 3 Store site. Seems that they have updated the info now.

Broadband connection cut off

Our internet broadband connection at home is down. I am in the process of changing from my service provider from AOL to TalkTalk.

There are a few reasons I am changing from AOL. At first I was quite happy with their service but later found that my friends were enjoying faster broadband speeds and it seems to be getting worse.

I also have had to call their customer service 4 times in a duration of 2 months. I got connected to a call center in India each time and everytime didn't solve my problem. In the end I had to solve the problems myself with the help of some IT savvy friends. What made it worse was that I was charged 5p per minute for the calls to their customer service.

After being unable to access the net for 2 consecutive days, I finally decided to cancel my broadband subscription. My contract with them had ended as well a few days back. Imagine my reaction when I found out that they had ALREADY cut my broadband connection BUT WERE STILL BILLING ME.

AOL YOU REALLY SUCK

We have signed up for the Talk2 International with Broadband package from TalkTalk. The phone line comes with free broadband. Best of all, calls to their customer service is absolutely FREE. They promise "up to" 8MB broadband speeds and 40GB usage allowance but I am sceptical. Waiting for their modem and the setup CD to arrive. I will conduct a broadband speed test as soon as I have it up and running.

Till then, I won't be blogging that much.

Moving to WordPress

At present all my blogs are hosted with Blogger. I am quite happy with that but I would be lying if I told you that I haven't been tempted to move to WordPress and hosted somewhere else. One of my friends was describing the various bells and whistles on his WordPress powered blog including the various plugins support by this blog publishing system, the ability to block IP addresses of people I don't like and of course the huge number of themes available on the web.

A lot of people told me that if I consider myself a serious blogger, then I should move from Blogger and get myself a unique domain name and host my blog somewhere. In the past I did survey around a bit but good hosting companies that supported WordPress were charging quite a lot. However, today I realise that there are a number of reliable and reasonably priced blog hosts around. 34SP.com Ltd is one affordable WordPress webhosting company that I recently came across. Their prices start from $35.95 per year for 200Mb space and 2000Mb of bandwidth per month. For those who are new to WordPress, do check out their list of useful WordPress resources on the web - from codex, themes and plugins to discussion forums.

Right now they are offering all new customers who order WordPress hosting a free upgrade - double storage space and bandwidth.

Online marketing companies

The World Wide Web is the first truly new medium since television, offering marketers with several opportunities as well as challenges. In fact, a study by the Internet Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers this year showed that online advertising is the fastest growing advertising medium. Thus, it no wonder that so many internet marketing companies have mushroomed all over the net. Even the traditional ad companies have got into the act.

So how do we know which company to choose?

I have a few simple tips: First of all look at their track record. The older they are, the better. Secondly, take a look at their own Alexa and Google rankings. If these companies claim to specialise in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), yet are themselves stuck with a low PR, it doesn't make sense.

Look at the companies that fulfils both criteria. They should have over over 10 years experience in SEO, Pay Per Click Management, Online Media Buying, and Website Usability.

Look at their home page - does it have a Google PR 3 and above? 

Cheaper broadband deals with BT

Regular visitors to my blog might recall that a few days back, I had blogged about BT broadband with wifi. One of my friends commented that even though the features listed were amazing, the prices were a bit too steep for his liking. What I forgot to mention was that they have cheap broadband deals as well.

The lowest is option 1, which still comes with 8Mb download speeds. With this, you get a standard wired router, 250 Wi-Fi minutes per month and 5GB of free secure online storage with BT Digital Vault. All this for £8.95 per month for 6 months followed by £17.99 thereafter on an 18 month contract.

I am on a budget as well and this deal looks quite attractive.

Making email interactive

Can email be interactive? If you said "No!" then you are wrong.

Leading email marketing company, iContact has launched a unique feature around email content, called the iContact Community. It allows visitors to comment, rank, and discuss email newsletters with their subscribers which opt in.

It works by allowing email marketers to create a public profile, publicly archive their newsletters and blog posts, tag and categorize their newsletters and blog posts in categories like Automotive, Business, Entertainment, shopping and more.

At first glance, it looks very much like Digg and it's not surprising as the community employs a similar model - more interesting and relevant the content published, the higher the chances for it to get votes.

This should definitely interest those publishers who are looking to get more visitors and subscribers, as the community profile will be indexed by Google and the major search engines.

When I last checked, the Community had already 213,458 Articles, 120,876 Members and 119,016 Publishers just a few days after launch.

iContact certainly has one of the best features and one of the best prices in the market. Their user-interface is quite intuitive and streamlined. You don't have to take my word for it as you can try it out for free. Use their service to create, send and track Email Newsletters, Surveys, and RSS Feeds. They have different pricing packages from 500 to 100,000 subscribers. Anyone can join as a iContact publisher by paying $9.95 per month. This is for 500 subscribers. However, you have to contact them directly for a quote if you have a huge number of subscribers, exceeding 100,000 contacts.

If you are a non-profit organization, you are in luck as iContact is now offering a 20% discount, provided you can prove your non-profit status.

Do check out the iContact Blog as well. They have a number of tips for improving email marketing campaigns and of course updates on iContact and informations about the Broadwick Corporation.

Wifi with BT Total Broadband

Our broadband contract with AOL ends this month and we are seriously thinking of moving to another service provider. Even though I have had no problems with my present service, broadband speed is a priority for me.

After doing a bit of research I discovered that BT broadband provides the fastest broadband speeds in the UK. The most attractive package is their Option 3 package. This package offers up to 8Mb download speed with unlimited downloads, 5GB FREE secure online storage with BT Digital Vault. It also comes with the wireless BT Home Hub and Hub Phone so that you can easily set up a wi-fi network in your home.

I already have a wifi broadband network set up in my house so that I can even use my laptop in the garden. However, the threat of intruders do worry me a bit. This is why the BT Home Hub is quite attractive to me. This next generation wireless router has an built-in firewall that blocks viruses and unwanted intruders and even updates itself automatically.

With all these features I am seriously considering changing to BT's Option 3 deal.

8GB memory card for mobile phones

It's amazing how the mobile phone has evolved. I still remember the days when businessmen used to carry those early huge brick sized gadgets - they were among the only people who could afford them.

Now, it has become more than just a device for making and receiving calls, it has become a personal lifestyle statement. People now use a mobile to take pictures, listen to music, play games and for surfing the net - the so called "Mobile Lifestyle".

In fact, they have become miniature computers. And with all the music, image and data files that gets accumulated over time, the demand for storage solutions for mobile devices has grown.

Those who require huge amount of storage space for their mobile devices might be happy to learn about the new Sandisk 8GB Microsdhc. Read the press release below for more details.

SanDisk microSDHC™ 8GB
SDSDQR-8192

SanDisk is proud to announce our newest format and capacity to the SD card family: microSD High Capacity (microSDHC) 8GB flash card. Included as bonus is our new MobileMate™ Micro Reader (SDHC compatible) providing users with a complete and versatile solution for transferring music, video, photos and other files between their mobile devices and computers.

Features:

High storage capacity (8GB) for storing essential digital content such as high quality photos, videos, music and more
Optimal speed and performance for microSDHC compatible devices
Speed performance rating: Class 4 (based on SD 2.00 Specification)
High Quality microSDHC card backed by 5 year limited warranty
Built to last, with an operating shock rating of 2,000Gs, equivalent to a ten-foot drop **
SanDisk microSDHC 8GB card ships with Bonus MobileMate™ Micro Reader
High speed USB 2.0 compatible transfer rates
No additional card adapters required
Compatible with Windows Vista and certified for Windows XP and Mac OS X
Not all devices support microSDHC 8GB cards. Please contact your device manufacturer for details. To ensure compatibility, look for the microSDHC logo on the product or packaging of your new phone or PDA.

Test your internet speed

It was reported that more than half of UK homes have broadband now. You may find it hard to believe but customers in the UK have a bigger range of ISPs to choose from than in the US.

However, it was reported that many of the ISPs are not delivering the promised broadband speeds, with customers in some places reporting less than one fourth of the promised download speeds. Of course, there's always a warning in fine print:

Download speeds may vary substantially depending on where you live and technical factors such as the quality of your telephone line

Take the Internet Speed Test to find out whether you are getting the speed your ISP said you would. It is easy to use. All you have to do is press the "Begin" button and you will get the download and upload speed results. It's totally free. The website also has links to a number of freeware links as well as tips and tweaks.

Google $30 million moon contest

Space the final frontier

Last Thursday, Internet search giant Google announced the sponsorship of $30 million prize to anyone that can land a robot on the moon and send back images and data. Known as the Lunar X Prize, they are offering it in partnership with the Los Angeles based X Prize Foundation.

According to the post "Fly me to the moon" on Google's blog, they hope that the prize could

lead to important developments in robotic space exploration, a whole host of new space-age materials, precision landing control technology, and who knows what else.

Peter H. Diamandis, chairman and CEO of the X Prize Foundation said:

The Google Lunar X PRIZE calls on entrepreneurs, engineers and visionaries from around the world to return us to the lunar surface and explore this environment for the benefit of all humanity

The contest is on till Dec. 31, 2012 unless extended.

Make your blogs interactive and fun with quizzes

One of the ways to attract more visitors to your site is to make it more interactive and fun. Maybe you would like to find out what they like about your site or their opinion on a certain issues.

Quibblo allows you to create fun online quizzes, surveys and polls and then add them to your blog or sites. These are known as "Quibblets". There are some personality tests as well and those who take part can cut and paste the results of those test on their own blogs.

Go ahead and create your own Quibblet.

I love Coke Zero

Coca Cola had always been my favourite soft drink. I later changed to Diet Coke because I wanted to reduce my sugar intake. Somehow, it wasn't the same and I never did like the taste of the latter. I was really glad when they brought out the Coke zero. It tastes just like the original Coke and I can drink without guilt knowing that it doesn't contain any sugar. As their tag line goes:

Coke zero : Life as it should be : Real taste, zero sugar

Take a look at their new campaign “Life as it should be”. It really great and interactive fun. They have come up with a few old black and white movie clips. You can choose one of them and manipulate the movie. You can make one of the actors say what ever you want them to say - just add your own words. You can then send the movie to your friends. It will then go on to compete with other movies to be the highest rated.

WWF has an island in Second Life

The environmental conservation group WWF now has a new home at Conservation Island.

However, don't start searching for it on your atlas or even on Google maps. This Island only exists in the virtual World of Second Life. It is located at WWF (138, 196, 41).

In case you are not aware, Second Life is a 3-D virtual world entirely built and owned by its users, known as Residents. It's totally free to join in. It was developed by Linden Research, Inc and launched in 2003. Residents interact and do business with each other in this World. I was surprised when I learnt that Second Life even has a virtual currency called the Linden Dollar, which is actually traded. Residents can convert Linden Dollars into US Dollars and vice-versa. Despite fluctuating a bit, the value has remained stable at approximately 250 Linden Dollars (L$) to the US Dollar for quite sometime now.

Most of the content in this virtual world are created by the Residents and they retain the copyright over their content. It's amazing to learn that countries have actually opened up embassies in this World. In fact, educational institutions and NGO's (like WWF) are coming in as well.

New Blog Directory

Promote! Promote! Promote!

That's the mantra, if you want more traffic to your blog.

One of the things that you need to do to increase traffic to your blogs is to submit them to as many blog directories as possible. Reaching out to a wider audience may get your blogs searched, browsed, rated and reviewed and hopefully, all these will translate to a higher page rank.

One of the blog directories on the net is Alive blog directory where you have several listing options. For example, you can have your blogs as a "Featured Listing" for a year (by paying annually) or to have a permanent listing by paying a one off payment (naturally costlier). There are also annual and permanent listing options for regular listings as well.

Acer takes over Gateway

Gateway's business model was one of the many case studies we discussed during our MBA classes about 7 years ago. Even during those days, it was facing serious competition from other computer manufacturers, especially Dell which took it's made-to-order philosophy and improved on it. This company was founded in 1985 in an Iowa farmhouse and was famous for it's black and white spotted boxes.

Learnt today that it has been acquired by Acer Inc. for $710 million. This makes the Taiwanese company, the third largest computer company in the World after Hewlett-Packard and Dell Inc., overtaking China's Lenovo Group Ltd.

Read the full press release: Acer to Acquire US-Based Gateway, Inc., Solidifying Acer's Position as the #3 Largest PC Company in the World

Surf the Internet anonymously

You might be surprised at some of the information your IP address reveals about you. In case you are not aware, the way the whole Internet works is based on IP or Internet Protocol. Without going into the technical details, an IP address is a unique identifier that allows your computer to communicate with others. For example, when you leave a comment on a blog, your IP address is visible (at least to the blog owner).

Using a few freely available tools on the web, it is very easy to instantly trace back to your Internet service provider (ISP). You must also remember that when you signed up for an internet connection, you provided your address to the ISP. Of course, ISPs do not go around giving everybody your personal details but under certain circumstances, they will. It's scary.

Theoretically, by looking at your surfing patterns and the way you behave and express yourself on the net, people can actually profile you.

If you are concerned about Internet privacy, you may be interested to learn that you can hide IP address. The Hide My IP Address software (http://www.hide-my-ip-address.com/) does exactly that by using a specially-modified browser, based on Firefox. They are able to do this by automatically re routing all of your Internet traffic through at least TWO ultra-secure, ultra-fast and anonymous Tor network servers for total privacy. Go over to the site for more details.

New UK music site growing fast

Contrary to what some people seem to think, the UK music scene is truly alive and kicking. Check out TourDates.co.uk, one of the fastest growing music sites in the UK. Offering free gig listings & free music downloads, this site allows unsigned artists, bands, DJs and ensembles to set up free artist profiles, upload promotional music tracks and videos, as well as sell their music online. More information on how to get your gig listed, is given in their press release below.

They have also launched a magazine called LondonTourdates as a companion to their online presence, which will be distributed for free at venues through out London. You can download an online version from the site as well.

Press Release:

The UK's fastest growing new music website, TourDates.Co.UK, has launched a magazine to compliment its online activities.

The magazine, LondonTourdates, is distributed in music venues across London free of charge.

To get listed bands simply need to signup online and add their gig dates. All gigs are displayed online at TourDates.Co.UK with those located in London also being listed in the LondonTourdates magazine which is also available to download at TourDates.Co.UK

Tourdates is an online music community providing free music downloads, news, reviews & gig listings for bands performing in the UK.

Do follow ah ok lah

After putting it off for several months, I finally updated my blog template from the old classic Blogger to the new Blogger.

Came across this free template called Adsense Tech Template by by Charm Skins. Spent several hours yesterday tweaking and modifying the template to look like my previous template and it was finally done around 2 am in the morning.

So what do you think?

One of the major advantages is that this template now allows me to remove the 'nofollow' tag from the comment module. So I am officially part of the Do follow movement. For more information, read my post "I do follow" on my SEO Expert blog.

I have also joined the "Do Follow Blogroll" that was started by my online pal, Tricia. Don't forget to leave your comments.



Please refer to the 'Do Follow Bloggers' post on Trica's blog for more information if you want to join in as well.

The Nokia N95

The release of the Nokia N95 in mid March of this year, went almost unnoticed in the hype surrounding the debut of the iPhone. The phone was released with the tag line "It's what computers have become" and with the S60 software running on Symbian OS, it truly is a mini-computer in your hands. This smartphone has a integrated GPS receiver, built-in Wifi, built-in 5 Megapixel (2592 x 1944) digital camera with Carl Zeiss Optics as well as a frontal CIF camera for video calls, a media player and several other advanced features.

Another unique feature that I almost forgot to mention is that the Nokia N95 is among the few to support a 4GB MicroSD / MicroSDHC memory card.

The CIA, Al-Qaeda and 12 foot aliens

I was reading this rather boring post on the Times Online blog, about two image processing experts who disagree on whether Al-Qaeda had altered a video or not. Read the post "Mousetrap technology" here.

Reading the comments really made me laugh out aloud.

A guy called Simon Arbuthnot says:

KR is correct.

Everybody knows that Al-Quaeda are a creation of the CIA, that the twin towers were blown up by George W. to cover up his fathers involvement in The Philadelphia experiment with time, causing earth to be invaded by 12 foot high space aliens 40 years before the experiment took place. The space aliens are now building an inter-galactic craft in the bermuda triangle to get back home to their own planet.

The whole clash of civilisations thing is just a conspiracy to stop us finding out about it. The only people who know the truth are The Queen, Geroge W and George snr, Margaret Thatcher and David Ike.

I found the comments more interesting than the post.