Upon polling 425 Twitter users in early to mid April, it was discovered that just about 100% of those who replied agreed that, “I value getting information in a timely manner,” and “I find it exciting to learn new things from people,” whereas only around 80% of users “like to be connected to lots of people.”

Although, the study did show that about 70% of those surveyed did agree with statements saying I find it gratifying to have people follow me,” and “I want to generate new business.”

As for the topic of do Twitter members value large numbers of followers, survey respondents appeared to be evenly divided. For the statement “People who have a large number of followers are more respected than those who don’t”, about 50% of respondents agreed.

Just about 40% of the sample survey agreed with the statement and most of them, 34%, “mildly agree”. The remainders of the group, 60%, were equally split among “neither agree or disagree”, “mildly disagree” and “strongly disagree”.

But every one of those surveyed strongly disagreed with the statement “People who have a large number of followers are smarter than those who don’t.”

Another interesting bit of information to come from the survey is that it appears Twitter users aren’t in need of instant gratification from their other Twitter members. Only 50% implied they weren’t bothered by a lack of responses when answering the statement “I feel bad when I tweet something and nobody responds.”

A mere 2% were in strong agreement with the statement while nearly 32% strongly disagreed. And once again, all of those remaining were equally divided between “mildly disagree,” “neither agree nor disagree,” and “mildly agree.”

© aaalex for zMogo Tech Stuff, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: app, twitter

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This news makes it even harder to hate Google; with these tools the average joe can keep an eye on his ISP and make sure its not trying to sneak anything by him, and will help to keep those sneaky ISPs honest. Google may be the most massive company in the universe, but they sure are helpful.

This comes at the perfect time for men, because I’m beginning to suspect that our ISP is throttling us.

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Post tags: blog, Design Stuff, google, internet, isp, measurement labs, throttling

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With some of the larger, more popular social network sites you have several problems that are of concern to some users including the lack of family friendly content and the risk of exposing yourself or your child to offensive or harmful material that may be of particular concern to many families. Additionally, with such large sites it may often be difficult to find others in the crowd who share your particular religious or philosophical views. For these reasons, among others, we are seeing a few religious or ideological themed social networking sites springing up. After scouring the web for such communities these sites proved to be worth a look:

Jewish Social Networking Sites:

Jew Crew: http://www.jewcrew.org/home.php

A social networking site that helps users connect to other Jewish members from around the world.

My J World: http://www.myjworld.com/

A community web site and for personal networking or growing your business by connecting to a Jewish community where you can join clubs, explore videos, or just meet some interesting new people.

Frum Chat: http://www.frumchat.com/home.php

A great site for the Jewish community with easy to use features and over 800 members on an easy to use site.

Christian Social Networking Sites:

Tangle: http://www.tangle.com

A unique social networking site for the Christian community where you can find churches and new ministries, submit and review prayer requests, and read the Bible online.

Holy Pal: http://www.holypal.com

A fairly large christian social network with all the standard features, share videos, upload your photos, create groups, and connect with others.

My Faith Haven: http://myfaithhaven.com

Easy to use Christian site that not only includes some of the traditional social networking features but also features a daily Bible verse and arcade.

My Godly Place: http://www.mygodlyplace.com

Another site that aims to be a christian alternative to myspace boasting hundreds of members along with polls, forums, etc.

Shout Life: http://www.shoutlife.com

Another great alternative to the other sites that offer a “safe and clean” environment for all of your social networking needs.

Generation JC: http://www.generationjc.com

Blogs, music, chat, and more make this site an interesting choice for those looking for christian communities online.

Life Space: http://www.lifespace.cc

A small but growing christian social network that is offering a family alternative to some of the more well known sites out there.

Messianic Social Networking Sites:

The Nazarite Site: http://the-nazarite-site.ning.com

A social networking community for messianic believers as well as others in the religious community of Sabbath observant followers. Nice design and great features make this one a good choice.

Moshiach Now: http://moshiachnow.ning.com

Another small messianic social network worth checking out with customizable profile and easy to use features.

Messianic Evangelicals http://messianicevangelicals.ning.com

A teaching ministry and social network combined that describes itself as a “Union of Two House Messianic Israelite and Evangelicals”.

Messianic Torah: http://messianictorah.ning.com

A small but interesting social network for those in the messianic community.

One to Watch: Another up and coming social networking site for the Messianic community is Kehila which is a brand new site accepting members now but plans to official launch at the end of the month so it might be worth checking out: http://kehilaonline.ning.com

Other:

Buddhist Network: http://www.buddhist-network.com

Christian and Jewish communities are not the only one getting into social networking as you can see with this popular Buddhist community with forums and plenty of interesting people to meet.

Whether it is offering a family friendly environment that you can feel good about your children using, giving you a chance to promote your ministry or service that is of interest to the religious community, or simply giving you an opportunity to connect with like minded individuals, these specialized social media networks are seeing some success and may be worth checking out.

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Post tags: blog, Design Stuff, theme, video, Web Stuff

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With some of the larger, more popular social network sites you have several problems that are of concern to some users including the lack of family friendly content and the risk of exposing yourself or your child to offensive or harmful material that may be of particular concern to many families. Additionally, with such large sites it may often be difficult to find others in the crowd who share your particular religious or philosophical views. For these reasons, among others, we are seeing a few religious or ideological themed social networking sites springing up. After scouring the web for such communities these sites proved to be worth a look:

Jewish Social Networking Sites:
Jew Crew:
A social networking site that helps users connect to other Jewish members from around the world.

My J World:
A community web site and for personal networking or growing your business by connecting to a Jewish community where you can join clubs, explore videos, or just meet some interesting new people.

Frum Chat:
A great site for the Jewish community with easy to use features and over 800 members on an easy to use site.

Christian Social Networking Sites:
Tangle:
A unique social networking site for the Christian community where you can find churches and new ministries, submit and review prayer requests, and read the Bible online.

Holy Pal:
A fairly large christian social network with all the standard features, share videos, upload your photos, create groups, and connect with others.

My Faith Haven:
Easy to use Christian site that not only includes some of the traditional social networking features but also features a daily Bible verse and arcade.

My Godly Place:
Another site that aims to be a christian alternative to myspace boasting hundreds of members along with polls, forums, etc.

Shout Life:
Another great alternative to the other sites that offer a “safe and clean” environment for all of your social networking needs.

Generation JC:
Blogs, music, chat, and more make this site an interesting choice for those looking for christian communities online.

Life Space:
A small but growing christian social network that is offering a family alternative to some of the more well known sites out there.

Messianic Social Networking Sites:
The Nazarite Site:
A social networking community for messianic believers as well as others in the religious community of Sabbath observant followers. Nice design and great features make this one a good choice.

Moshiach Now::
Another small messianic social network worth checking out with customizable profile and easy to use features.

Messianic Evangelicals:
A teaching ministry and social network combined that describes itself as a “Union of Two House Messianic Israelite and Evangelicals”.

Messianic Torah:
A small but interesting social network for those in the messianic community.

One to Watch: Another up and coming social networking site for the Messianic community is Kehila which is a brand new site accepting members now but plans to official launch at the end of the month so it might be worth checking out.

Other:
Buddhist Network:
Christian and Jewish communities are not the only one getting into social networking as you can see with this popular Buddhist community with forums and plenty of interesting people to meet.

Whether it is offering a family friendly environment that you can feel good about your children using, giving you a chance to promote your ministry or service that is of interest to the religious community, or simply giving you an opportunity to connect with like minded individuals, these specialized social media networks are seeing some success and may be worth checking out and they are just the tip of the iceburg, so if you did not see your particular religion of choice featured here be sure to do some searching and you are sure to find a community that will fit your need for specialized social media. And do not forget that these communities can be a great way to promote your products or services that migh be of special interest to religious communities.

© Niki Fears for zMogo Tech Stuff, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: blog, Design Stuff, theme, video, Web Stuff

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In the MMO genre, virtual economies are common and almost inevitable in some cases. In Parallel Kingdom, a de facto in-game economy naturally evolved when the developers first gave players the ability to drop items on the ground and transfer gold directly from player to player. This style of trading was unregulated and led to scamming in which players would drop items on the ground for trade only to be picked up by the other player who sometimes never sent any gold. Even with these limitations, a very active economy flourished in the game.

In the new version, a consummable resource called “Food” is required for some features. Every new player starts with some for free, and they can get more by purchasing it in the game or trading with other players. This allows players to acquire more of this resource without having to pay money if they don’t want to.

In addition, trade posts and cities have been introduced. These allow players to trade with each other safely and securely. Players put items up for sale and other players visiting the city can browse and buy anything they come across. This has led to many players making careers in the game solely as traders, visiting trade posts, scouting out good deals and selling in another city.

The most remarkable aspect of this virtual economy is that it exists entirely in a mobile game. According to a TechCrunch article, only 20% of free iPhone apps downloaded are used after the first day, and only 5% of users continue to use an app 30 days after download (see citation). These numbers do not seem to be very friendly to developers looking to cash in on longer term users through micro-transactions.

However, Parallel Kingdom developer CEO, Justin Beck, says, “Parallel Kingdom is looking to tap a different audience. Right now casual gamers are all the hype, and many developers are sacrificing good, in-depth game play to try to attract them. In the end, the committed long term players is where most of our recurring revenue comes from.

When looking at our statistics, we see committed players playing every day for months. Parallel Kingdom is not about touting a large number of downloads, but taking the slower route to building an amazing game, community, and entertainment service that players love.”

Citation:

http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/02/19/pinch-media-data-shows-the-average-shelf-life-of-an-iphone-app-is-less-than-30-days/

© redsneaker for zMogo Tech Stuff, 2009. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: app, style, tech

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RS: Having started Geek Brief TV in 2005, do you feel more or less geeky now than you did in 2005?

CL: I certainly feel more geeky now. I was always a geek, but there’s something to be said for involving yourself in the world of technology 24/7! Things I didn’t have time to pay attention to before, or learn how to do before (like build a robot) are no longer an issue. Now it’s my job to do it, and I love that!

RS: Geek Brief covers such a wide array of technology, if you had to pick 1 item, what item covered in Geek Brief was your favorite?

CL: Oooh, I hate this question!! It really boils down to some of the products I covered in my Christmas Gift Guide, the “You” Edition. I love Drobo, the Kindle, the PogoPlug and Eye-Fi.

RS: As the director of the Geek Intelligence Agency, do you have any secret messages to relay to the GIA members?

CL: Stay brave! It’s up to us to stimulate the economy with our gadget buying!

RS: Fans of Geek Brief TV know that it’s a very tightly knit show about technology that packs lots of information into a small package. I would like to ask, do you talk fast to increase the denseness of the content in each brief or are you just amped up on caffeine?

CL: Haha! Well, both! The fast pace of GeekBrief.TV was inspired by the TV show Gilmore Girls. Their scripts were known for being seven times longer than a normal TV script. The producer was always telling her actors “that’s great, but it could be faster.”

People can comprehend a lot more at a fast pace than they think they can. I get a lot of people who complain when they first watch, but 95% of them come to love the pace.

RS: Being a maven of technology and working with some of the coolest gadgets available and with the holiday season approaching, you must be difficult to buy presents for. What would be a good gift for the host of a popular technology news podcast?

CL: Anything to do with robotics is a great gift for me! Or on the more practical side, I’m always in need of t-shirts for the show. That’s usually what my family gets me.

Check out Geek Brief TV at http://www.geekbrief.tv

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Unlike some video games that are out there it’s available on multiple platforms; Xbox, Playstation, and on the computer, so that everyone that wants to play the game can without having to have the right console.

The game’s main character is one of the user’s choosing, and there is a different introductory origin story for each choice that forms the basis that the rest of the game is built on.

This isn’t to say that the story line is different depending on what choices you make, because over all you go through the same storylines no matter how you interact.

The difference is how you get the tasks done; you may be able to diplomatically diffuse a situation, or you may talk your way into a fight you didn’t have to have. The right discussions with the right characters can lead to rewarding side quests.

Some courses of action will annoy your group, because each character has their own set of morals, and may disapprove of your decision to help, or not help, a certain NPC.

You can affect how the characters feel about you to the point of forming a romantic relationship with them on one extreme, to having them abandon the party on the other. Each character that can join your party has their own unique traits, and the more they like you the more likely they are to impart that knowledge to you.

The plot is the typical one for most RPGs; the world is in grave danger and only you can help save it. Each character has a rich history and a full set of character traits and personality. Morrigan is a mage that lived in the backcountry with her mother learning the art of magic in a way not taught by the Mage Circle of Ferelden. Alistair is a Templar turned Gray Warden who had an interesting childhood.

These two are particularly interesting, because Templars are sworn to hunt down Mages that don’t conform to the Mage Circle standards, but they’re both in your party for a higher purpose. This is another area that the depth of the game comes in, because as you’re walking around town, these two will sometimes start bickering with each other.

There is witty banter, non sequiturs, and comic relief all interspersed in a long and intricately developed game. If you like RPGs even a little bit, this one is a can’t miss.

The actual gameplay is good too. The combat is of a real-time style, but does allow you to pause and control your party’s actions. You can set up tactics so that your teammates will heal when they need to, or pick off a weak enemy, or use a debuff on a strong one. Movement is easy, switching between characters is a snap, and the camera control is excellent.

The best part of the game is that you can pretty much set your own pace. You can speed through things, minimize boring storyline and get to the action. You can also delve into the deep storylines, plots, and history laid out at every turn. You can interact with your party to learn more about them, unlock different abilities, or blow them off and learn nothing about them except how they can help you annihilate the enemy. The game is a long one, but when it’s over you wish there was more. Luckily all signs point to a sequel.

© Ceetar for zMogo Tech Stuff, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: app, baldurs gate, bioware, dragon age, dragon age origins, game review, pc, playstation, Review, rpg, rpgs, style, video, Video Games, xbox

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Under $20

Giottos Rocket Air Blower. (About $12) Every camera bag should have one of these indispensible gadgets. The Rocket Air Blower shoots a powerful stream of air that will clean lenses and filters. It’s design prevents dust from being blown into the object being cleaned and it does a remarkable job in cleaning the surfaces of filters or lenses.

Bower Wrist Strap (About $6) Small camera or large camera, a wrist strap is cheap insurance preventing a camera from slipping out of your hand and hitting the hard floor. The Bower wrist strap is comfortable to use all day and is large enough to hold a DSLR safely. This is not the tiny wrist strap that comes with some cameras. This one is padded and thick to it won’t cut into your wrist or slip off your hand. Even with my big hands, this wrist strap worked extremely well.

Under $50

Joby Gorillapod (About $45) Every shot can be made better with the use of a camera support. Unfortunately there isn’t always enough space to set up a full tripod. The GorillaPod uses a series of interlocking plastic joints to lock it’s three legs around almost any object. Trees, fence posts, even a kitchen chair. The Gorillapod is small enough to take with you almost anywhere and is surprisingly strong.

Under $100

Samsung 8-inch Digital Photo Frame (About $80) Every camera buff wants a way to display their photos and digital photo frames are perfect. Housing the images on an SD card, updating the images is easy and is limited by only the size of the SD card. What makes this Samsing frame a little different is that it is the ony one I’ve found where you can schedule a time when it’s on and off so it isn’t using electricity while you aren’t at work or asleep. This particular frame can also be used as a second PC monitor.

Under $200

Casio Exilim EX-FS10 (About $175) This 9 megapixel pocket-sized camera works remarkably well. With a bright 2.7 inch LCD display and ISO settings from 50-1600, this camera is capable of many great photographs. In burst mode, it can take up to 30 photos per second, which is impressive for such a small camera. The camera’s video capabilities also set it apart from its peers. Not only will it shoot 848×480 resolution video, but it can shoot it in super slow motion which can be very fun for shutterbugs of all experience levels.

Kodak Zi8 HD Pocket Video Camera (About $180) If you are looking for a sub $200 video camera that shoots HD and fits in your pocket, then this is your camera! Video can be 1080p resolution at 30 frames per second and can upload to YouTube quickly and easily via the USB cable. For the price and the video quality, it will be difficult to find a better video camera out there.

All in all, the variety of photo-centric gadgets keeps increasing and the features continue to keep us shutterbugs happy year after year!

© redsneaker for zMogo Tech Stuff, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: app, Design Stuff, gadgets, pc, video, Web Stuff

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RS: First off, WHAT is ShopTab?
JF: ShopTab is a Facebook App that allows business owners to sell more products by creating a shop tab on their Facebook fan page, showcasing products from their existing online store. Easily. Quickly. Inexpensively.

RS: When did ShopTab launch
JF: ShopTab launched in October 2009

RS: What made you decide to create ShopTab?
JF: Over the past 8 years I have been working with small to large clients with their online marketing and social media strategy. One of my biggest passions is helping small to medium size business owners understand and leverage the internet to connect with their customers. Many of my smaller ecommerce clients have been requesting my help on how they can monetize their efforts on Facebook.

My wife owns an online baby product business http://www.littlebutterflykiss.com. She, as with many of my smaller ecommerce clients, don™t have large budgets to afford website development of a custom Facebook shop tab nor large marketing budgets. I decided to help and after 3 months of development we recently launched ShopTab to complement any ecommerce tool. It has some built in social shopping features such as Share to Facebook Wall to get the word out about their Shop Tab products.

RS: What sets ShopTab apart from other similar applications?
JF: There are a few shop type applications on Facebook but ShopTab specifically:

1. Was designed and developed from the business owner perspective. We focused heavily on the needs of the business owner when developing the application and spent the extra time and money to ensure the tool did not require any technical knowledge. We require no additional programming code or html.
2. Works with every ecommerce tool.
3. Allows a shop owner to export their products from their current ecommerce tool and upload through our easy to use admin tool. A few of our recent customers told me they set up their 500+ product store within 10 minutes.
4. Ds not charge an upfront fee for the shop tab application, nor take a percentage of each sale. Our customers pay a flat small monthly fee starting at $10/mo for up to 500 products. We also offer a 7 day free trial and they can cancel whenever they want — no long term contracts
5. Ds not require they use any specific platform to handle payments, sales tax, shipping, security, etc. We send their prospective customer to their website to handle the transaction.
6. Sends customers directly to an existing shopping site, increasing traffic and enabling a shopping experience unfettered by any limitations within Facebook. For instance, upselling, cross-selling, recurring purchases and so forth can still be handles as they always have.

RS: Why Facebook?
JF: With over 350 million fans and growing everyday and the strong desire for business owners to find a way to monetize their Facebook presence “ Facebook was the right choice for our intial launch.

RS: If I were looking at setting something like this up, what would I need to do to get started?
JF: Simply visit http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=189977524185 and click on Go To Application. From there a business owner would create their account, log into the admin, and either use our product feed upload tool or add products individually.

RS: What features are you looking at adding in the near future?
JF: For this we are relying on our customers to tell us what else they need. Just last week customers asked us for a way to share a product to their wall. That feature was added yesterday. We are going to rely on what features make the most sense for our business owners but do not require an increase in monthly cost to the ShopTab business owner. There are a few features such as horizontal vs. vertical layout that we have in the works but again if another feature comes up that is more important to our ShopTab business owner customer it will take higher priority over our feature roll out schedule.

Check it out: http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=189977524185

© redsneaker for zMogo Tech Stuff, 2009. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: app, Design Stuff, development, internet, program, tech, Web Stuff

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Anyone can join and for that question, anyone can leave as well. There is no-one bossing you around. But that is true only for projects which are hosted for free. There are other projects managed by Linux giants like Red Hat and Novell which get their funds from the Enterprise Solutions they provide. Additionally, there are many companies financing the world of Open Source, especially the world of Linux for their own benefit. Many of them are reputed companies specializing in providing state of the art business solutions.

One such company is Google. Even antitrust controversies like Microsoft are in the game. Microsoft has its CodePlex foundation where, it is said, Microsoft puts employees to write open source code and pays them and has been denying this fact ever since it surfaced. But Microsoft has other better things to worry and care for.

There are many other companies which deal in Linux development specifically.

Red Hat

Red Hat is a S&P 500 company and is a major promoter of Linux and Open Source. Its most popular product includes Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Fedora. Red Hat was founded in the year 1993 and has never looked back ever since.

The company went public in 1999 and has received wide appreciation from the Open Source world. It has its headquarters located a Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. It has 2800 employees and has a net income of 78.72 million USD. Achievements :

Red Hat grabbed the Operating System Product of the Year award more than once and has been awarded a number of times elsewhere.

The entry of Red Hat into the S&P 500 was a big win for the world of Linux and ensured continued development over the years. Red Hat has followed a number of acquisitions ever since its birth. It acquired Cygnus Solutions in 1999 and the JBoss in 2006.

These were major milestones for Red Hat. Products :

The major products of Red Hat include the Red Ha Enterprise Linux and the community driven and Red Hat backed Fedora Project. Red Hat developers work for the Fedora project project along side their mainstream job and many developments from the Fedora project make it to the Red Hat distribution releases.

Canonical

Canonical Ltd. is a company founded by South African multi-millionaire Mark Shuttleworth. He made a furtune when he sold away his venture Thawte to VeriSign. Ever since, Mark Shuttleworth has been financing open source software and development all over the world through his company Canonical Ltd., which is a private company dedicated to this sole purpose.

The company was founded on 5th March 2004 and has its registered headquarters at Douglas, Isle of Man in Europe. Canonical Ltd. has revenue of 30 million USD and has a little over 200 employees.

Activity :

The company has been involved in a number of activities right after after its birth.

The Software freedom day is held on the third Saturday of every September. Canonicals sponsored the event in 2005-2006 by a huge amount.

Freedom Toaster is an innovative kiosk designed for users to save on download costs and burn CD/DVD of their favorite Linux distribution of choice, for free of cost and in seconds.

Products :

The major contribution of Canonical to the world of Linux includes the Ubuntu distribution of Linux which forms the base for a number of side projects like Mint, Ubuntu Ultimate Edition etc. Ubuntu has a definitive 6 months release cycle ensuring a continuous flow of quality work from the developers. Other products include Landscape, which is a browser based web-server manager, Launchpad, the website containing Open Source software projects and Ubuntu One which is a closed source file synchronization service.

Novell

Novell was founded in 1983 and has over 4000 employees currently. Its headquarters are located at Waltham, MA, USA and the company specializes in enterprise software solutions for Linux. This is one of the oldest players in the Open Source world and has played a key role in emerging technologies like the LAN and network security.

The company was one of the first tech giants to compete with Microsoft and started with buying UNIX rights from Novell. Novell was headed by current Google CEO Eric Schmidt for a long period and has flourished to be a key competitor to the closed source world of paid software.

The company ran into many controversies due to its deal with Microsoft and was looked down upon by major Open Source communities around the world. Things have started getting better now and Novell will probably gain back the confidence it had once. Novell has a net income of 8.7 Million USD.

Achievement :

Novell entered into an agreement with Microsoft on 2nd November 2006 whereby it decided to setup a lab which allowed research to be carried out for better compatibility of its software with other software vendors. Novell is especially known for its excellent customer support and it holds support as a top priority in its business solution.

Products :

Novell has a number of products which include Novell NetWare, SUSE Linux and the Novell Cloud Security Service.

© Chinmoy for zMogo Tech Stuff, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
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RS: First off, WHAT is upillar.com?

TM: upillar.com is a free nationwide online classified website. Items are listed both locally and nationally allowing buyers and sellers to reach the broadest possible audience absolutely free! upillar.com never takes a portion of the sale. We provide our services 100% to the public. Whether you are buying or selling; Motorized vehicles, Clothing, Electronics, Real Estate, or looking for your next job, upillar.com’s free online classifieds are the place to go.

RS: What made you decide to develop upillar.com?

TM: I was going to college trying to make college payments by buying and selling stuff. Nothing was available at the time. The only free services were very cumbersome and difficult to use. I decided the public deserved a place to go where everything was free, and actually easy to use.

RS: Why the name upillar?
TM: The letter “u” signifies “you” or “yourself” , the word “pillar” gives reference to a sign of strength. So you are what makes our free marketplace strong.

 

RS: What is your background? Did you work at an internet company previously?

TM:No internet background whatsver. I ran with this as a dream, and was able to put together the entire site from scratch during 4 1/2 years of development with a whole team of programmers.

RS: What is your vision for the future of upillar.com?

TM:We hope that upillar.com becomes THE place to buy and sell goods for free. With major releases soon coming, upillar.com will offer sections that specifically cater to Real Estate & Jobs. Although you can find those categories in our current classified section, the new release will customize an entire section of our website dedicated to those categories giving some of the biggest names in the internet a run for their money.

RS: What were some of the major obstacles you encountered while starting this site?

TM: Some of our biggest problems were; Name, Trust, Organizing our website, flow(How users click through the website),and credibility. With our newest release coming the first week of December, we hope to improve many areas of our current system.

 

RS: What is on the immediate horizon for upillar?

TM: upillar.com has just signed a major national advertising campaign that will begin the first week of December. We would be happy to tell you more about it once the official releases go out! We anticipate millions of listings in our first quarter of next year.

RS: What sets upillar apart from ebay and Craig’s list?

TM: upillar.com is often referred to as a hybrid of craigslist and ebay at first glance.

upillar.com’s services are completely free like Craigslist.org, but has some major functionality differences between the two. First; when you list an item for sale, the item is placed into a category instead of a city. This enables users to list an item once, and it immediately becomes searchable both on a local level and a national level. Second; You can place up to 20 photos for free on each listing. upillar.com also gives buyers easy access to the seller by providing a safe way to communicate with the seller without giving up personal information.

upillar.com also offers a very powerful keyword search technology that enables users to find what they are looking for in under 30 seconds. This is accomplished by “category narrowization” . Ebay has a great platform where this technology has proven to be valuable. Since upillar.com is a classified website, sellers dont have to worry about monitoring their listings to make sure minimum dollar amounts are met. Just list your item and let it be until someone emails you or calls you.

 

RS: What was the first item sold on upillar?

TM: First item sold on upillar.com was my own personal Sony camera. First public item sold was a purebred Labrador puppy.

RS: Technologically speaking, what was the biggest issue you’ve had thus far?

TM: Biggest problem so far has been our patent pending technology of displaying book values on all our motorized vehicles. Teaming up with NADA guides, upillar.com was able to create the first ever website that shows what each car,boat, motorcyle, or ATV is worth without ever leaving that listing. Need to know if what you are buying is a good deal? You’ll never have to worry about it again on www.upillar.com. We have since figured the technology out and by January first the values will be displayed in each motorized listing. (Values are currently available on upillar.com, but can be somewhat confusing to some users. The fix will come January 1, 2010 for that specific technology.

Check out the site at http://www.upillar.com

© redsneaker for zMogo Tech Stuff, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: app, development, internet, program, sony, tech, Web Stuff

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1. Qooq (pronounced Cok) http://www.qooq.com/ Approx $520: Qooq is a device meant for the kitchen that connects to your home network by Ethernet or WiFi to look up recipes. You can even subscribe to a monthly update that includes tips and recipes. This device also has a meal planner, so you can put your entire 4 day Thanksgiving meal spread in there and look up a new way to prepare cranberries. The Qooq can also be used to get weather updates so you will know why some of your guests are late, internet radio can bring in some holiday music, and it can also be used a s a digital picture frame.

The Qooq comes with 500 preloaded recipes and features a touch screen so you don’t have to mess with a mouse or keyboard.

2. Sharper Image Rechargable Wine Opener http://www.sharperimage.com $39.99: After that 5^th bottle of wine, the traditional method of poping the cork might be asking a little too much. Sharper Image to the rescue! The Rechargable Wine Opener removes the cork with just a push of the button.

3. Digital Measuring Cup http://www.comforthouse.com/taylor3890measuringcupscale.html (Taylor Model 3890) $30: If the rechargeable wine opener has been in use, maybe a digital measureing cup will be necessary this Thanksgiving! Taylor’s digital measuring cup will handle all your measuring needs for the big day. Dry goods or liquids, this measuring cup will do it all. The cup is one liter in size and will automatically calculate volume from weight. The digital measuring cup will measure in pounds, grams, fluid ounces, cups and millimeters

4. LED Fridge Magnet http://www.iwantoneofthose.com/new-arrivals/digital-video-memo/index.html about $50: The screen is 1.5 inches and has a built-in camera to record images or video. It can store up to 30 seconds of video and can be plugged into your USB port on your computer. Maybe capture some of the family memories in the kitchen and keep it on the fridge until at least the next holiday. Although this gadget won’t help you prepare the meal, it entertain those that seem to congregate around the food.

5. Cook your Turkey with Lasers! From a competition by Electrolux, invented by French student, Ludovic Peperstraete http://www.coroflot.com/public/individual_details.asp?individual_id=200276 : Still a prototype, but maybe for next Thanksgiving. This oven uses three lasers to ZAP your food. The cooking dsn’t come from the lasers individually but from the lasers criss-crossing each other to make heat. Hopefully you won’t blow the turkey up!

6. USB Microwave-Beanzawave- $160: Lastly, maybe you have to work at your tech support job on Thanksgiving. Heinz brings us Beansawave, a USB powered microwave. You can nuke some Thanksgiving beans right there in your cubicle while fixing a network adapter in Newark. This little gadget uses mobile phone frequencies to cook the meal in less than a minute. Being advertised as the smallest microwave, the Beanzawave (horrible name) is less than 8 inches tall and is currently not available to the public, but it should be available in the very near future.

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Post tags: app, gadgets, internet, tech, video

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SCOTTEVEST manufactures clothing with a proprietary system of routing wires and cables into clothing for gadgets along with unique pockets for all your electronics.

RS: First off, WHAT is SCOTTEVEST?

SJ: It’s a full line of clothing designed to carry, among other things, all your electronic devices. We have a patented Personal Area Network that enables you to wire your devices in your garment in a fashion that allows you to manage your wires and have everything in a pocket and everything in its place. We recognize that people are carrying around more and more stuff and now you can do so without looking like a geek

RS :What made you decide to create the first vest?

SJ: It was the year 2000 and I was traveling quite a bit¦I had a commute from Chicago to Princeton, NJ. I worked in a business casual environment and I didn’t have any pockets to store my stuff. This was before the iPod was invented and there were CD players and such with earphone cables. I was constantly asking my wife to hold my gadgets as we went on our walks. I came up with the idea of designing a great looking jacket. At that time it was called the EVEST 1.0.

RS: Have you always been fond of gadget?

SJ: Yes! I have to have all the coolest gadgets! It started with the transistor radio when I was young. Transistor radios and cameras and it never ended.

RS: Your products have so many useful pockets, do you ever have problems at security check points?

SJ: No. Quite the opposite. You can take your jacket off and put it right through. It’s no different than using a suitcase or bag full of your devices. In fact with the restrictions on carryon bags, the SCOTTEVEST makes it much easier.

RS: How has social media affected your business? Twitter, Facebook, YouTube?

SJ: I’ve been doing this for quite some time. I have notices that many of my hits come from social media. I think people like to interact with the CEO of a company that they are buying products from. I personally respond to every single tweet that comes to my twitter account. I really enjoy interacting with the customers on a daily basis.”

RS: Tell me a little about your newest products”the soft shell Jacket and the Flex Cargo Pants.

SJ: The softshell jack will be available at the end of November. Its like most soft shells with waterproof breathable material. The unique thing is all the pockets and the clear touch fabric [He then demonstrated by placing his iPhone into a pocket of his hoodie and showed how you could control the iPhone right through the the clear pocket window] The flex Cargo pants won’t be available until January. They have a little bit of stretch in them and they have a lot of hidden pockets.

RS:What is the item in the catalog with the most pockets?

SJ: I would say the Signature System. It has 52 pockets.

SCOTTEVEST
http://www.scottevest.com

© redsneaker for zMogo Tech Stuff, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Design Stuff, gadgets

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The game brings back Soap MacTavish and his team who are sent to hunt down terrorist Vladimir Makarov. You will visit unusual locations like Rio de Janeiro, Kazakhstan, and Afghanistan among other locations. The locales are brought to life with Infinity Wards proprietary software engine dubbed W4.0 which they claim is a generation more advanced than the predecessor COD4:MW

The game starts off with training exercises and an obstacle course to figure out the controls and to assess your level of difficulty for the first mission. For me, it was Super Beginner.

One of the best parts of a new COD game is new weapons and MW2 ds not disappoint. Players will get to use the Predator missile. The unique overhead view to launch the missile allows you to guide to its final destination. It takes minimal time to get a hold of the controls for the first time, but this addition adds another layer to the COD player experience. The game also adds Special Ops mode which can be played solo or with others. Special Ops mode is basically a series of mini missions. Other new features include preloading classes like Ranger and Overwatch and adding some unlockable classes like Riot Control. Players can create their own classes as well for more gaming freedom.

Multiplayer mode is where this game shines. Just like MW1, MW2 handles very similar in the multiplayer mode. Users can unlock new weapons, gain experience, and use other add-ons throughout the game. A new feature to Multiplayer is the addition of custom killstreaks and deathstreaks so players can determine what items will become available based on the number of subsequent kills. Deathstreaks were created for players like me so we don’t die too often. Deathstreaks allow a player who dies three times before killing an enemy, to then assume the enemy’s abilities. I like this!

Over all, the game has impressive graphics to give the player the feeling of being immersed in a battlefield and is a Must have if you are a Call Of Duty fan or an avid First Person shooter. Infinity Ward knows how to build a compelling and fun FPS and it shows in MW2. Modern Warfare 2 is focused squarely on the multiplayer mode. The single player mode is shorter that previous editions of the Call of Duty games. So you will find yourself with your friends in a room online playing what could be the biggest game of the year!

© redsneaker for zMogo Tech Stuff, 2009. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: app, mac, software

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Who Should Used Specialized Media for Music Communities:

If you have a product or service that is of special interest to either music fans or to musicians and bands then networking on these specialized social media networks can be a great form of advertising. This can include businesses that sell music equipment, venues that are looking for new talent, or businesses that meet specialized needs such as creating custom web sites for a band or designing promotional t-shirts, or other service can also greatly benefit from getting their name and products or services in front of the right people.

Of course, anyone involved in the music industry will also want to explore social media dedicated to music fans as a simple and cheap way to promote there own music, find new fans and venues, and sell their own CD’s and other music related items. Additionally, music fans who want to stay up to date on what is happening with their favorite bands or discover great new music that they might not otherwise be exposed to will likely find something worth there time at one of the many music related social media networks.

So whether you are looking to sell your own business or service, promote your own music, or simply spend your online time finding the best new music then checking out music themed social networks may be a great choice. Here are a few great suggestions to get you started:

MusoCity- A great little community for music lovers, fans, bands, and music professionals of various musical genres and a great place to discover new musical artists. Get your free account and start mingling with other music fans and discovering new talent right away.

Last FM- This is a great site for music lovers with videos and profiles for just about every type of music you could be looking for including indie, rock, pop, metal, and even jazz and classical music. Musicians can even find ways to sell their music and build a fan base with Last FM.

ilike.com- iLike is designed for music lovers and utilizes a spectrum of other social networking sites to let users share play lists, discover new music, and get personalized concert alerts.

Diletante- This is a wonderful community for lovers of classical music and new artists and composers looking to gain an audience for their musical talents.

Photo Courtesy of Tuomas Vitikainen

In additional to social networks devoted to the broad spectrum of music, certain artists have also started their own unique versions which is not  only a great way for the bands to connect with their fans but it also presents an excellent opportunity for you to network with others who share your common interest or who might loosely fit a particular type of demographic. One great example of this is the network designed by H.I.M. on their web site at heartagram.com.

Regardless of the type of music that you are looking for or the audience that you wish to capture, odds are there is a perfect social network or two out there that can help you achieve your social networking goals while meeting some interesting people and finding great new talent in an easy and affordable way.

© Niki Fears for zMogo Tech Stuff, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: app, Design Stuff, Gear, style, theme, video, Web Stuff

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