Archive for the ‘RevMe’ Category

Godado

Thursday, November 1st, 2007

I came across a new company today named Godado. At first I had to do a double take because I thought it said “Go Daddy” but that may have been based on the fact that they were fresh in my mind thanks to the commercials they’re now running for their services. Godado looks to be a new affordable web hosting and domain service. They’re plans start in the $5.95 a month range, giving you 5GB of disk space and 200GB of bandwidth. It seems pretty reasonable for the price when it comes to the disk space alone but they don’t offer you very much in regards to resources on top of that. There’s a single database with the Starter package, one would assume it’s a “blog” kind of a package but I don’t know anyone using 5GB of disk space to run their blog, and I run four of them on just 2GB of space, not even close to using the 2GB at that. I like the ability to have more than one database though, I know that when it comes to WordPress you can run them all on the same one, but when you’re looking to use multiple secure database based programs, having more than one comes in handy. But even if you’re paying close to $17 a month with this company you’re only given five. I’ve seen better resources, I’m not saying that this company is bad by any means – I haven’t read any reviews on them – I’d just like to see a bit less overselling on the space and more resources for the price. MySQL/PHP is free to any server master, why not give some more resources up?

Playing around

Thursday, September 20th, 2007

I just downloaded a program called A-PDF Size Splitter.¬† It lets you split any Acrobat PDF file, or group of files, into smaller-sized PDF files. It’s decent when you have to deal with file sized limits imposed by your email provider or even for meeting specialized requirements such as maximum attachment size on websites that you’re involved with.

I’ve recently dealt with a client who sent me all of his write-up’s via PDF format.¬† Now, the questions about the site itself were done via email, the write-ups were all of his content pages that needed to be worked into his 300+ page website.¬† He’s an amazing author but even his short stories were like 15MB files, my inbox nearly blew up on me because of it.¬† I kind of wish I knew about this program before I started working with him, he’s recently downloaded it to make my life a little easier.¬† I could easily split things up on my end but he’s in love with the program now.¬† It wasn’t an email issue for me though, it was Acrobat, it would crash on me with the initial load of some of the files considering how large the file-size was.¬† I think it would benefit anyone who uses PDF’s on a regular basis, honestly.

Web Hosting Unleashed – My search continues.

Tuesday, September 4th, 2007

I’ve been looking around the Internet for a new hosting company. I’m sick and tired of the horrible service that I’m dealing with everything from constant server outages and email spam issues to the account suspension a few weeks ago that seemed to go right over my head – even though I’m the one who’s paying for everything so naturally I should have been informed FIRST, you know?

So, I’m going through numerous websites and comparing pricing, I came across Web Hosting Unleashed, they currently have a database of 2,084 web hosting companies. I learned that the number one reviewed host is Lunarpages, a company that I’ve actually been looking into. The only thing about them that I’m not too fond of is the pricing they have set for the resources that I would personally need in a dedicated server. I’ve been lucky enough to find a few hosts of the same caliber with some saving and a few more resources at the same time. I used Web Hosting Unleashed to locate a few of them, the rest were based on word of mouth through a few colleagues of mine.

This site just recently did an update of their template about 10 months ago, and I have to say they’ve done a really nice job on it. I like sites that are focused around Web 2.0 styling so naturally my eye is being drawn there. I’m sure this is only a fad thing but when vectors and scratched up images were the big thing, I always found plain-jane CSS templates to be more appealing.

Another thing I like about them is their Coupons section. I’m a coupon code fanatic so naturally going through them is appealing to me. I can’t find one for my top-choice companies but that’s OK considering I know of the other options out there in case they don’t work out for me. I guess I’m just itching to start fresh and move things over, who knows. I do know that Web Hosting Unleashed will help me out and that’s all that matters to me.

They also have a hosting guide, it’s a pretty detailed page of different searches you can make, and what hosting terms mean. Say you’re interested in starting up a reseller account and are looking into billing software, you can search specifically for hosts that offer a free billing software to use with your clients. I’d say that’s a nifty resource. It helps organization – that’s for sure.

This was a sponsored post.

Resources: Mac Pokerstars

Monday, August 20th, 2007

The following write up is for Mac Pokerstars.

Being as I’m in the process of purchasing my iMac, quite a bit sooner than anticipated, I’ve been keeping a very long list of bookmarks for websites that I’ll be visiting on a regular basis. This means for either software and product downloads or even just sites that seem to work the best on Safari based browsers. Being a PC member for so long, Mac is almost like an elite club that I’ve been lingering around and never actually applied for – you know?

I’m someone who will take some time here and there and load up a few game websites just to break up the monotony of reading line after line of code on a regular basis. Sure, I can code up a template faster than anyone I know but the photoshop end of things take a lot out of me. I find myself playing Poker quite a bit so I’ve floated around websites like PokerStars.com and other sites where I’m looking for tips and tricks while I’m playing for free over on Yahoo.

The thing is, I’m a gambler so finding out that PokerStars is working on new software for Mac users has got me intrigued. A fellow webmaster located on PokerOnMac.com has been keeping track of this new development since 2006 (based on how his archives go back). He gives you a full break down of everything you can expect from this new software. He also explains many aspects of the site as it is right now for the PC based users and the limited group of Intel based Mac running boot camp or parallels.

The thing I like about PokerStars is they really do come across like an actual Casino. As a Total Rewards member with Harrah’s (Ceasers, Showboat, Bally’s…etc) you’re given points for all the money you earn, or even just showing up at the casino. These points turn to cash and then you can use the points to buy products. With PokerStars, you can use your points to buy everything from iPods to Plasma TVs, even a car. It’s pretty darn cool. I probably wouldn’t have ever known this if I didn’t come across pokeronmac.com though, while I do read the sites I don’t typically look into the benefits considering I’m not financially sound at the moment to actually sign up and throw some money onto this site, you know?

Maybe when they come out for the Mac I’ll go poke around as an actual member, who knows – I may do pretty well and could wind up owning that house afterall.

MIA

Monday, August 20th, 2007

I’m way behind on many things. I just now got to the mound of email that was piling up over the last two days. I’ve been really busy getting loan based things in order but after thinking about it, while I do want to have a place of our own, we may wind up taking out a personal loan (instead of a home loan) and then going to rent an apartment. We really only need 1000sqft at the absolute largest. Naturally I want an actual HOUSE that I can call my own but at this point it’s safer to take the route we know we can afford instead of the route that throws a 30 year mortgage on our heads.

So I’m going down my check-list, making sure I know exactly where to start on things. I have a few things to process in Paypal and then I’ll get back to work on other accounts. I know Dick has been looking for me, I just responded to his email. It’s just been a difficult weekend, I don’t like dropping off the face of the earth but I’ve been working non-stop on multiple accounts for the last few months and I really just needed a break. I spent quite a bit of time sleeping this weekend. My schedule has gone back to waking up around 1pm which isn’t that great but I’m sure tonight that will change. I’ll get myself back in bed by Midnight and then get back on track. It shouldn’t be too hard for me, right?

I’m noticing quite a bit of trouble keeping on track with the software I’ve been using to organize myself. I wanted to get away from a pen and paper so for quite some time I’ve been using Active Desktop and it’s to a point now where I absolutely can not stand it. I found another alarm clock software download that I thought was pretty cool. It’s called Say the Time, and it’s a personal time management utility for Windows. It’s for those in the home computing market, mainly. It allows users to create multiple customizable alarms and reminders. You can hear the time spoken aloud, you can create a virtual sticky note and even customize the look of the task bar clock. Naturally the only option I’m really going to use is the sticky notes but that beats having them all over my monitor, you know? I’m playing around with the 30 day trial, it’s only like $25 so I may consider buying it. As of right now I’m content with it, I’ll have to use it for a little bit longer before I make that leap.

Time to get back to work.

Lounging around…

Friday, August 10th, 2007

It’s Friday night and while most people are heading out, I’m doing everything I can to just stay in. Sean is already asleep but he has to be up at like 3:30am or something like that. There’s some server things going on with his job that he needs to be awake for. I think it’s converting thumbnails or something like that, I don’t know. He told me but again – I’ve been out of it so it hasn’t really stuck for me. I think he found a way to get Image Magik to work with converting .GIF thumbnails without making them a static/still image. So I assume he has to take care of the rest of the thumbnails his boss has uploaded. Who knows.

I plan on getting to bed soon but for now I’m just kind of surfing around the web. I came across a site that gives you the ability to receive either an SMS or email alert about freebies being given away in your area. I thought it was pretty interesting. They’re called FreeAlert and it’s not just US based, it’s supposedly worldwide. I don’t have text messaging for my phone, I find it to be a completely useless feature. It’s cheaper to have a two minute conversation than it is to send the 20+IM’s to get your thoughts out – you know? I considered signing up for the email portion of it but have to look into it a little bit further.

The site itself is charity based, the items you receive can be redistributed to the disabled, orphans, widows, refugees or other needy people in your community. Around here there aren’t many needy people so I doubt I could be of much help to anyone but I’m sure those living in larger cities can find some kind of value through FreeAlert, who knows.

Website Overview: ProfileBuilder.com

Tuesday, August 7th, 2007

Important Note: When being asked to review a website, paid or not, I treat it as though I’ve just come across the site on Google and then give my opinion from there. Price tags do not, by any means, sway my opinion on a sponsored entry. This is something I would like for the sponsor to keep in mind. Through me, you will receive my 100% honest opinion on your product and I remind you that this is what you’ve asked for.

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New Resource: WebCockPit

Tuesday, July 24th, 2007

I found something pretty cool today it’s called WebCockpit 1.0. It’s a pretty large article in regards to how the 1% of the worlds richest people get more done by working less and less hard at the same time. They consider it to be a simple brain hack that allows you to accomplish 300% more work in the same amount of time. Figure you work for 8 hours a day and still feel as though you accomplish nothing. This article, and free site, teach you how to triple your daily accomplishments in 8 hours, and maybe even less.

When you sign up for a free account you’re sent to a page that houses the quick hacks. The first one states that we burn over 10% of our available ‘fuel’ every day just digesting our food. If you chew every bit of food 30 times before swallowing you use less energy – which gives you more towards accomplishing your daily work efforts.

Another hack is in regards to the water myth of drinking 8 glasses a day. It’s actually a wives tail or to be more blunt, it’s a well established urban legend. There’s no scientific support behind the popular 8-glasses-a-day theory. None of the scientists at the American Journal of Physiology state that we don’t actually NEED water, because naturally you need water in order to survive, but as far as 8 glasses a day, it’s truly not helping anyones health.

While you do not need 8 glasses a day, drinking water regularly throughout the day is important. Because most of us are chronically dehydrated – this then causes fatique and it then effects your overall performance. Many people who simply take up the habit of drinking a glass or even half a glass every hour notice that their energy levels skyrocket.

Dehydration making you tired? Dizziness, Chronic Fatigue, Impotance, Hair Loss, Headaches, Low Back Pain, Constipation and more are all linked to dehydration (Resource: Merck Manual of Health).

I found this article to be quite interesting, I think you should check it out. Note that from the get-go you’re only given two of these and you do have to pay in order to gain access to the rest but knowing that you’re going to learn quite a bit, I’d say it’s worth the money.

Review: Lhasa Apso resource

Sunday, July 15th, 2007

If you’re looking for a small-breed dog with a lot of attitude then you’re more than likely in the market for a Lhasa Apso. This breed of dog is also known as “The Lion Dog of Tibet” as well as “Abso Seng Kye”. In my eyes, owning a Lhasa has been the best experience in the world. I have a female who weighs approximately 18 pounds but she also eats very well, how could you not in an Italian household? Most Lhasa’s range from 12-15 pounds depending on the sex.

Lhasa Apso A Lhasa Apso is a small, long haired breed that’s friendly but assertive, lively and intelligent. My Lhasa, for some strange reason, has been a high energy furball since the first day I got her but she’s also been a lazy lap dog as well. I’ve done a lot of research on Lhasa Apso’s and while I feel that websites like breederretriever.com are great for pet owners, picking up books from the store are great as well. The information that I found on their Lhasa Apso page was accurate but they also didn’t list quite a bit of important information about the breed. I know that while they were used as a defense against intruders, I also know that they were used as space heaters as well. This may sound strange but I’ve read stories about how holy men and nobles alike would keep multiple Lhasa Apso’s around them while they sleep to act as a heat resource. I can vouch for the fact that my Lhasa retains an awful lot of heat considering if she’s close to you at night you wind up getting very warm, very quickly.

There’s a long time-line associated with this breed, they’ve been around for over two thousand years but only made their way out of Tibet in the 1920’s, at least that’s what resources claim. The Lhasa arrived in Britain in the 1920s and then they were introduced to America in the 1930’s by Suydam Cutting. They were a member of the Terrier group in 1935 but were then reclassified in 1959 to the Non-Sporting Group.

I find my Lhasa to be very affectionate and high energy. While some resources claim that they have low trainability, mine is trained so well to the point that if she had thumbs she could put the leash on herself. It’s great when sites can give you a lot of information but unfortunately the ones I’ve come across are only giving you an average number of what all Lhasa’s can do. My Lhasa interacts well with all animals, resources claim that the breed typically doesn’t. Yes, she is a bit timid around strangers but she also came from a puppy mill so it’s hard for her to trust people, something everyone understands. She can handle cold weather, and if she can’t I do throw a coat on her from time to time, she can also handle heat pretty well but I say if it’s too warm for me to sit comfortably outside, it’s just too warm for her.

Bella A typical Lhasa has long hair, but these are mainly show dogs. I do not know one Lhasa owner that has used their dog for some kind of financial gain so naturally they aren’t going to keep a lot of hair on their dog. Lhasa’s have very thick hair, not fur, so instead of shedding they can easily be matted down and I believe that’s nothing more than cruel, and you can only brush an active dog so often before you decide to take care of them once and for all and shave them down to a more manageable length. I personally puppy-cut my Lhasa every few months so in the long run she’s a short haired dog for me, but that’s based on convenience as well.

Bottom line, if you’re interested in a new pet you should consider looking into all of the different breeds available to you. Resources like breederretriever.com are great because they give you a simple breakdown of every aspect of the dog so you can search through the database and find the breed that’s right for you. Since they do give you such a simple break down I can recommend that after using their site, if you find the breed you like, head down to the library or even move the mouse up to your google toolbar and look up some more information on the breed. A quick break down is great but a decision such as brining a new dog into the home does require you to do quite a bit of research first.

Review: Canadian Web Hosting

Monday, July 9th, 2007

Important Note: When being asked to review a website, paid or not, I treat it as though I’ve just come across the site on Google and then give my opinion from there. Price tags do not, by any means, sway my opinion on a sponsored entry. This is something I would like for the sponsor to keep in mind. Through me, you will receive my 100% honest opinion on your product and I remind you that this is what you’ve asked for.

This review is for Canadian Web Hosting Services.

I know it seems a bit strange that I’m writing a review for a web hosting company but this is only because I don’t have a bias opinion when it comes to the web hosting world. When, these days, it seems that everyone and their mother has a website, you’re going to need numerous companies out there housing all of these websites and there’s no possible way of getting around that.

When I first loaded the site I did notice a little bit of a lag but I want to assume this was Firefox and not them considering the main header on the site is flash based. I think that’s pretty typical for any hosting company so as of right now they don’t stand out very much for me at all. I do feel that for the services they’re offering, they’re a bit under priced to the point of what I’d believe to be overselling. For less than CAD$9.00 a month they’re offering a terabyte of transfer with 125gb of storage. All this triggers for me is a massive amount of overselling their servers. For CAD$16.00 a month you get 3 terabytes of bandwidth and a 300gb hard drive, that’s a dedicated server – basically – and there’s no possible way they can afford to run multiple servers with those kind of resources when they’re only earning $16 per month on that particular account! Doing further information you find out that it is only in the $16 per month range if you happen to purchase a yearly based account, the monthly price for this account is more in the $20 range if you choose to pay on a month-to-month basis. I personally would choose to pay CAD$20 for the first month and then decide from there if I’d like to stay with their services. You would have to pay them approximately $200 in order to go with the $16 per month plan. I think the $20 is the better route to take, honestly.

When it comes to standard web hosting, you’re rarely going to find companies that can do it 100% correctly. There is absolutely no need for someone to search around and get the most bang for their buck when it comes to web hosting. Do not put yourself on a server where you’re given 3 terabytes of bandwidth and an 80 gig hard drive to over load with stuff that you don’t need. I’ve noticed a trend in many people looking for high-bandwidth accounts in the $5-$7 a month range. Unless you average over 10,000 hits per day on your personal blog that your friends from school visit on a regular basis, you do not need anything more than 8 to 10 gigs at most of bandwidth. Yes, having some extra is nice depending on how many sites you happen to be direct linking off of but there’s no way that you will ever blow through 3+ terabytes of bandwidth in one month unless you’re doing something illegal or just running some kind of an adult site, if that’s the case you aren’t on a shared server that’s for sure.

Another thing that doesn’t quite sit right with me is how oddly priced their services are. They’ll give you over 3 terabytes of transfer for an account that can only host up to 10 add-on domains but a reseller account with 10 cPanel domains only has the option of 500GB of transfer even on a plan that costs $300 per month to run. For $150 you can rent a dedicated server and load it with as many clients as disk-space will allow and also giving you about 2-4 terabytes of transfer in the process. Half the price and four times the resources, that’s more than likely the company anyone who properly shops around would choose. If you’re someone spending $300 a month on literally no resources, please email me so I can point you in the right direction.

I’m not too sure if I would recommend this company to someone looking for web hosting. I will say that I would greatly appreciate anyone who is currently hosted with this company, and not an owner/support member, to give me their opinion on their services. What do you think of their company? How is their support staff? How much of the resources that you’re paying for do you actually USE during the month? I’d love to hear it.

This was a sponsored post.

Chinese Medicine: Reishi

Wednesday, July 4th, 2007

I came across an article today about Reishi at LongevityHerbs.com. I think this would work along side my previous post about some Gotu Kola product that Sean is currently using. This one is a mushroom that is supposed to be one of the most widely-used herbal remedies in Traditional Chinese Medicine, leave it to the Chinese to use fungus to cure something, they come up with some of the funkiest remedies that actually work and no one else (well…outside of China) would think of using them. This is why they’re ahead of us, take a lesson Bush.

Reishi has anti-inflammatory properties which help it to positively effect ones respiratory system. It’s supposed to be great for allergies, bronchitis and reducing blood pressure issues in relation to hypertension. Now, I’m not a doctor, I’m not someone that follows medicine and I could care less about what’s in an aspirin, I just know it stops my head from hurting. Karen, however, if it’s written in some medical diary or could be found through Google – she can more than likely diagnose anything you throw her way.

A quick note that I found interesting on the products description:

Much attention is paid to reishi’s high concentration of polysaccharides, which are linked to aiding cancer remission; acting as hypoglycemic agents; and strengthening the immune system. Reishi also scavenges free radicals, which retard aging and promote general healthfulness on a systemic, cellular level. Finally, it is known to protect the liver and help instill calmness.

I would assume that anyone who is dealing with the above conditions (personally or family oriented) may find this “herb of good fortune” to be of some help to them.

Weightloss Resources: MyFitnessPal.com

Monday, July 2nd, 2007

I’ve been doing rather well with sticking to my diet thanks to my trusty calorie counter. I mentioned a few times that I was looking for a good one and I’m rather happy that I was able to come across one that works really well for me. I can just punch in all of the numbers I need in order to keep track of everything I’ve been doing. With the ability to keep track of calories, carbs and many other aspects of your diet, this free service gives you an idiot proof way of successfully losing weight and keeping it off. I’d kept food journals for years but none of them really ever worked for me until I joined up on myfitnesspal.com.

The site is not only easy to use, but it’s fast. They believe that the easier it is to track your diet, the more likely you are to stick to it. They can work with any diet you happen to be on from Atkins to South Beach, even The Zone and many others. They have free message boards to provide you with motivation and 24/7 support. You aren’t the only one on a diet, everyone in the world has been on a diet during some point in time or they’re still on it today. Talk to the people who understand what you’re going through, that’s what they’re here for.

Another thing that I absolutely love about this site is they are completely free. They’ll never ask you for a credit card, a check, a money order, or even a Paypal agreement. You will never pay a dime and you’ll still be tapped into resources that many sites require that you pay for. Why should you spend more anymore money on dieting than you already have? Go with something that will benefit you and any other person who signs up to it. You truly won’t regret it.