Archive for January, 2008

Online logo & business card design

If you are a developer like me, you must admit that designing logos and business cards are sometimes very time consuming and not very satisfying. However, Logoyes has made Logo Design easy for you.  Just a simple 1, 2, 3 steps would do the trick.

1. Find your industry

2. Choose a symbol

3. Add your name and customize

You can also print some business cards for free!  This is done on step 6 of the whole process.

I have gone through the process myself – and I found it really simple.  Everything is flash based, so you have to make sure you have flash plugin installed on your browser.  Have a look at my work!  I only used 3 minutes to do this.

You should at least give it a try – no payment is required just to try it out.  No registration of credit card etc.  Just try it and if you don’t like what you created, you pay nothing.

This service allows anyone, regardless of experience, to create a fully professional logo and looks good on billboards and business cards.

Want more options?  You can buy the high resolution vector version of your design at a discounted price, or even get a professional designer to design the logo for you.  All you have to do is click on the ‘custom logo design’ line and you are done.

New Gmail Feature – Time Delay

From Matt Cutts’ blog, it is likely that Gmail is going to release a new feature – time delay.  What it does?   Well, something I don’t use often, but busy people love it – write now, send later.

Basically you write up an email, but choose not to send now.  Instead, you can choose to send it at a later time, determined by you only.

This would certainly slow things down.  You can now have a report that you don’t really want your client to complain about today before EOB – send it at 3am and worry about it tomorrow.

Florida Web Development

If you are in the US and in need of a website, then you should check out Florida web development.

They have served lot of clients with big projects in all regions of the country. Their web development production offices are located in Atlanta, Georgia, Gainesville, Florida; and their web design company sales offices are located in New York, Seattle, Los Angeles, Detroit, Ann Arbor, Michigan and Jacksonville, Florida.

And one more thing – they are an award winning web development company! They have won 14 Addy Awards in 2006. What sets them apart? They have a team based approach to custom web development, whereas most other professional web design companies do not.

(Brought to you by Florida Web Development)

Domain name front running

Have you ever tried to search for a domain name, and found one you really like, but it becomes unavailable the next day you come back and register it? Apart from the conincident that someone else wants to purchase the same domain name, this could be due to domain name front runners were at your back.

Front runners purchase / steal domain search data from ISPs / registries and ‘taste’ these names. (They are also called domain tasters – which is one type of front runners.)

Therefore, it is best practice to purchase a domain name right the way if you found it. We all know how hard it is to find a good domain name now, especially in the .com domain.

However, there was an article recently about Network Solutions being ‘so kind’ to try to protect us from it. What they do and the way they do it isn’t too great though. The information below is from Jonathon Nevett, Vice President of Policy at Network Solutions.

When you search for a domain name in the Network Solutions website and it becomes available but not purchased, Network Solutions would ‘reserve’ it for 4 days. During these 4 days, you will not be able to purchase this domain name elsewhere unless from them.

If the domain name is not purchased within these 4 days, then it would be released back to the registry.

What does this mean? This means that they know a domain name of interest, and would keep them to make sure that interested party is going to purchase from them! Mr Nevett said “we do not monetize the traffic on these domain“. That is clearly a lie. You buy from them, and you paid and they got monetized.

This protection measure provides our customers the opportunity to register domains they have previously searched without the fear that the name will be already taken through Front Running.” But it seems to me they are being the front runners now.

I seriously hope that ICANN is going to do something.

Review – HughesNet Satellite Internet

I was asked to write a review on the HughesNet Satellite Internet. At the first glance of the website, I was thinking “Great! Another ISP offering fast and reliable internet.”

Yet it is not just “another” ISP.  Hughes net is a fast speed internet option that is available everywhere, as long as you are located in the contiguous U.S, ‘with a clear view of the southern sky’.  (Too bad I can’t use it.)  Instead of a single-direction internet, HughesNet uses a two-way satellite technology.  It gives you a broadband high speed internet access, always-on Internet connection.

Broadband Internet access is always important for general household, small/medium/large sized business.  Who don’t need internet now?  With the advance of technology, it is very important to have a stable yet fast internet access.

For leisure, you can use the fast speed internet for watching net TV, surfing the internet, work at home, check email, play games online… there is no limit.  And of course the usual stuff: frees up your phone, no need to dial up, easy installation, always on, download large files / music / video in a flash, and compatible with Windows or Mac.

HughesNet has got different plans for different usage.   Choose the one that is most suitable, and you are on the way to the new world.