Edefense

I-Tul’s spam quarantine service works so well that some customers forget what the pain of spam. Over 60% of spam is caught before it ever reaches your quarantine, inbox or email server. The only item in a quarantine have a low or medium liklehood of being spam.

Before I started the service for my email account, I recieved over 250 spam messages a day! Overwhelming. Now, I recieve none and only review 5-10 a day in my quarantine.

Tired of spam? We can sign you up and you will see a reduction in as little as a few hours.

I just love this song!

Superstar by Lupe Fiasco featuring Matthew Santos

YouTube Video

Phone Book Zombies

Fun article on the history and slow demise of the phone book. We never use phone books, the web is so much faster. Do you use a phone book? Let me know…

The Book of the Undead – Why won’t phone books die?
By Paul Collins, Slate.com – Posted Friday, March 21, 2008, at 12:53 PM ET

Happy St. Patricks Day!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

May the luck of the Irish be with you

Wireless Telephone Laws FAQs

Courtesy of the Lincoln Police Department
Effective July 1, 2008, two new laws dealing with wireless telephones (cellular phones) go into effect that will prohibit all drivers from using a handheld wireless telephone while operating a motor vehicle. The following is a list of frequently asked questions that will provide a better understanding of these new laws and the impact they will have on adult and juvenile drivers.

Q: When do the new wireless telephone laws take effect?
A: The new laws take effect July 1, 2008.

Q: What is the difference between the two laws?
A: The first prohibits all drivers from using a handheld wireless telephone while operating a motor vehicle. (Vehicle Code (VC) §23123). Motorists 18 and over may use a hands-free device. Drivers under the age of 18 may NOT use a wireless telephone or hands-free device while operating a motor vehicle(VC §23124).

Continue reading »

Cool Tech – “A clickable world”

How cool! You can point a laser at an item and the robot will being it to you.

On Yahoo: Researchers show off laser-guided robot

Site Music

Should you have music on your site?

I think music on a web site can be a good idea. It can work with the design to convey the attitude or atmosphere. Generally, I think this benefits sites geared toward consumer or lifestyle choices. IE: if I am in a more relaxed mood I tend to like the music. If I am in a hurry or very task oriented, it is a distraction. Think of the tasks that you work on when you like the radio on and ones where you prefer silence.

A client introduced me to the new Nordstrom’s Designer site and I like the music, i was disappointed when it stopped when I started to browse. On the other hand, the Newsweek site starts playing a video when you open the home page which I find rather jarring most off the time.

So, like most things in life, it all depends on the circumstances and the execution. If you have a more targeted market and the experience will be improved with more ambiance, then music can be great. If you are trying to attract a wide audience and are more business oriented, then it may be better to pass.

What is your favorite use of music on the web? Let me know by clicking “comments below”.

-Amanda Hart

Red Mind, Blue Mind?

If you see someones office, car, wardrobe can you make a good guess about their politics?

I liked this article from Newsweek about how our political leanings are a part of our personalties, part of who we are.  I have often found that to be true.  What do you think?

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MIND MATTERS

Wray Herbert
Red Mind, Blue Mind?

What our political views may reveal about our personalities.
Mar 3, 2008 | Updated: 5:24 p.m. ET Mar 3, 2008

My office is a cluttered mess and always has been. You can’t see my desktop, and my books are not alphabetized. I rarely file anything, though I do make neat piles on the windowsills and floor. I have artwork and mementos, but I have never quite gotten around to actually nailing them to the walls. They sit leaning against the wall. I decorate with Post-It notes.

I have never given much thought to my disorderly life. I figured I was just a slob. But new research suggests that there be meaning in my mess, indeed that my office disarray may reflect my views about everything from women’s reproductive choice to the war in Iraq. According to this view, habits like tidiness and messiness are really habits of the mind; they are meaningfully linked to basic personality traits, and these traits in turn shape political ideology. Put another way, our deepest psychological needs and fears may play a big part in determining where we fall on the political spectrum: left or right, liberal or conservative, Blue or Red.

Read entire article

Important: Net Neutrality

Net neutrality is of utmost importance to all of our customers. Basically, right now all web content is delivered equitably regardless of the source. But, some ISPs would like to change the world so that sites would pay them more to get priority delivery. Other sites would simply load slowly or not at all.

This would substantially raise the cost of doing business on the Internet and make it almost impossible to compete with an ISPs own products. IE: if you offered the same program, like photo sharing, that Yahoo does, theres would always load faster. Unless, you pay more, probably a lot more, to play with the big boys.  Keep this in mind at at time when Google is controlling more content, like people’s medical records & Microsoft is looking to by Yahoo.

There is a long way to go before this is over. But, if you have any interest in doing business on the web, you should fight for Net Neutrality. Right now, call your politicians and let them know you care about preserving net neutrality.

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Whose Web Is It, Anyway?

An FCC hearing this week sparks a new debate on ‘Net neutrality.’
By Brian Braiker | Newsweek Web Exclusive

magine an alternative reality in which you attempt to do a routine online search. In this Bizarro World, your Internet service provider (which happens to be one of the four top dogs: Comcast, AT&T, Verizon or Time Warner) has a deal with Yahoo, but not Google. You try your search on Google first but notice the page loads very slowly. Impatient, you try again on Yahoo, which is running noticeably faster. Over time, you default to Yahoo’s apparently faster search engine whenever you look something up.

Welcome to one vision of a world without “Net neutrality.” In the neutral Internet of today, we’re accustomed to accessing any Web site at any time, at the fastest speed available. This applies to corporate sites as much as it does to start-ups and individuals. For now the virtual playing field is fairly level.

…

In what may be a watershed moment for the Net neutrality debate, on Monday the Federal Communications Commission held a public hearing at Harvard Law School to determine whether Comcast was manipulating its network traffic in a “reasonable” manner. (Watch it here.) “There wasn’t a lot of argument over the facts of the case: they were slowing down BitTorrent,” says David Weinberger, a research fellow at Harvard Law School’s Berkman Center for the Internet & Society. “The question is: is this a violation of policy, and if so what happens to Comcast and more importantly what happens to the policy?” A spokesman for the FCC would not speculate on when the commission would issue a decision. Also this week, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo issued a subpoena asking Comcast for “information” (a Cuomo spokesman declined to elaborate to NEWSWEEK).

Read entire article Newsweek: http://www.newsweek.com/id/117068

Business Resource: HRCalifornia

Passing along a great find!

For business owners looking to make sense out of California employment guidelines and laws, I have found the best resource. The California Chamber of Commerce has the HR California web site: http://www.calchamber.com/hrc/. Here, you will find information, forms, checklists, wizards and much more.

If you have a great business resource to share, please let me know by commenting below.