Tech Crunch 2.0

Mobile email from Rediff.com

2010-10-21T03:09:00.001-07:00

Rediff.com on Wednesday launched ‘Rediffmail NG', the next generation email service that works across all mobile phone platforms including Symbian, Java and Android, as well as on all mobile phones in the market.

“India's 67-crore mobile phone users now have the advantage of being able to send and receive unlimited email, look up contacts and assign tasks to the calendar, and set reminders with the same ease from mobile devices as from their PC — and all for the lowest price available (Rs.50 a month, inclusive of data charges),” said Rediff.com India Chairman and CEO Ajit Balakrishnan.

Users of Rediffmail NG can maintain service upon switching phones which has become increasingly important with the introduction of new phone models on a continuous basis. Additionally, Rediffmail NG offers seamless service across a users phone and PC, providing instant and secure synchronisation, and full-service features including administrative control, SMS and always-on email service, he pointed out.

Pact with MTNL
Meanwhile, Rediff.com has also joined hands with Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd. to offer email service on mobile phones.

The service is available for MTNL users in Delhi and Mumbai currently. The company is in talks with other telecom operators to expand the service.

Online portal in India for Grocery purchase

2010-05-11T16:21:00.000-07:00

Here is a boon for working couples in Bangalore and Hyderabad. You need not spend lot of time in Grocery shopping anymore.

You can also save petrol, traffic and energy for something else. A new portal has come up - www.greenytails.com - that delivers the Grocery for you at your door step. The delivery is done for free as long as you order for a minimum of Rs. 300.

Greeny tails also promises to supply you with tonnes of promotion codes/coupons if you send them an email at info@greenytails.com, with subject line bearing "Request for promotion codes". The portal seems to be promising but still lots of work to be done for sure.

Create your own ringtones

2010-05-10T17:20:00.000-07:00

Wolfram Tones is an online sound generator that can help you create 100% original patterns of music that you can download to your cell phone and use as a ringtone. You’ll get a different tone every time you press the composition button.

Using Wolfram is simple. Just select a genre or style of music for the ring tone (like Rock, Jazz, Classical, etc.) and the program will generate a completely random but pleasing tone. You can even specify how various musical instruments should be used to render the composition.

When you are done, you can either download the MIDI ringtone to your computer or you can send it directly to your cell phone via SMS as a ringtone attachment.

Search Engine by Apple?

2008-11-13T16:19:00.000-08:00

Rumours are floating around that Apple may be building a search engine. As per tech crunch, the rumour may not be true as they have not seen any search companies losing their employess to Apple.

Gmail with Video chat

2008-11-11T16:27:00.000-08:00

Google has added the video chat feature to their fast growing popular Gmail application.

In order to access Gmail Video and Voice Chat, users have to install the voice and video plug-in and Google takes care of the rest.

Google and the Gmail team are in the initial stages of rolling this feature out to PC and Mac machines, which means the functionality may not appear right away. But don't worry, the Gmail team guarantees that the functionality will be available to everyone in the next couple of days.

Vonage settles dispute with Sprint

2007-10-08T09:29:00.000-07:00

Wireless telecoms carrier Sprint Nextel and Internet phone company Vonage said on Oct. 8 they had settled a patent dispute and entered into a licensing agreement.

A federal court jury found in September that Vonage had infringed Sprint patents and ordered Vonage to pay $69.5 million in damages.

Vonage said the agreement is valued at $80 million. Sprint will license its technology, which helps connect phone calls between Internet and telecoms networks, to Vonage.

New features from Google Docs and Spreadsheets

2007-06-27T10:42:00.001-07:00

Here are some cool features from Google for their Docs and Spreadsheets application.

They say they have focused more on the following areas.

Looking pretty
Getting organized
Search that thinks ahead

Looking Pretty - Yes, you can see the difference as soon you enter. It is a lot more easier to view the contents and looks pleasant too.

Getting organized - The much awaited folders option are available now. Interesting thing is it act as a tag too!!! I defintely love the drag & drop option.

Search that thinks ahead - The search has become more or like the Google Suggest. As you start typing you start getting the suggestions based on the file names you have saved already in your account.

All these new features defintely add value to makes life even more easier for the users.

More details here

Google Calendar gallery

2007-06-08T08:57:00.000-07:00

A new feature has been introducced to the Google Calendar application. Using Google Calendar gallery, you create, share and save your favorite upcoming events directly in Google Calendar.A lot of popular events have already been shared by a few people or companies. NBA, Disney, TLC Channel are among those few.

Click here more details

How to improve Alexa rank?

2007-05-23T09:54:00.000-07:00

Popular blogger Maki at doshdosh.com has come out with 20 different ways to improve one's Alexa rank.

Some of them are quite obvious and straight forward like ...

1. Install the Alexa toolbar
2. Put up an Alexa rank widget
6. Write or Blog about Alexa

While there are few, well thought innovative ones ...

9. Use Alexa redirects
10. Post in Asian social networking
18. Pay Cybercafe owners

Maki's post contains a very good introduction about Alexa Rank and why would someone be interested in it? The blogger has also explained it simple terms on how to get started with Alexa. There is also section which talks about the problems and credibility of the ranking system.

Check it out for more details

Google Page Rank is just one of the factor

2007-04-27T12:58:00.000-07:00

Danny Sullivan of search engine land has come up with an excellent article about Google Page Rank. he starts with the basic facts about page rank.

In a nutshell, it considers links to be like votes. In addition, it considers that some votes are more important than others. PageRank is Google's system of counting link votes and determining which pages are most important based on them. These scores are then used along with many other things to determine if a page will rank well in a search.

Danny goes on to say that Google is somewhat qualifying that PageRank is important but not the sole factor in how pages are ranked.

He supports this fact by illustrating with an easy example.

In the above result, you can see that Movies.com which is listed first has a PR8 score while the Internet Movie Database listed second has a PR9. The page with a lower PageRank still got the higher search rank!

Here are some more interesting points at the end of his article.

PageRank tells how important a page is, relatively speaking, compared to other pages.

PageRank is just one of MANY ranking factors used to determine ranking in search results.

High PageRank does NOT guarantee a high search ranking for any particular term. If it did, then PR10 sites like Adobe would always show up for any search you do. They don't.

The anchor text of a link is often far more important than whether it's on a high PageRank page.

If you really want to know what are the most important, relevant pages to get links from, forget PageRank. Think search rank. Search for the words you'd like to rank for. See what pages come up tops in Google. Those are the most important and relevant pages you want to seek links from. That's because Google is explicitly telling you that on the topic you searched for, these are the best.

Are Vizu Polls accurate?

2007-04-25T04:40:00.000-07:00

I have been using Vizu Polls for a while now as part of monetization of this blog. Today I noticed a new poll and voted my choice in the given options. I found something funny in the responses screen. The percentage of responses did not sum exactly to 100%. Indeed they add upto 15.1+24.7+24.7+46.2+19.4=130.1

Has anyone else observed this?

As a blog publisher I dont care much about this issue. But I feel pity for the ones who paid for this poll. :-(

Google's Brand Value at $66 Billion

2007-04-23T14:28:00.001-07:00

CNET News reports that Google has knocked off many traditional companies to reacg the top spot and been named the most powerful global brand of 2007 in a recently published ranking.

Google ranked first with a brand value of more than $66 billion, nearly double its value in the 2006 ranking.

According to Millward Brown Optimor, here are the 10 most powerful global brands of 2007, plus brand value:

1. Google--$66.4 billion
2. General Electric--$61.9 billion
3. Microsoft--$55 billion
4. Coca-Cola--$44.1 billion
5. China Mobile--$41.2 billion
6. Marlboro--$39.2 billion
7. Wal-Mart--$36.9 billion
8. Citigroup--$33.7 billion
9. IBM--$33.6 billion
10. Toyota Motor--$33.4 billion

How to get DVD's on your iPod ?

2007-04-21T14:02:00.001-07:00

Vonage may file Bankruptcy !!!

2007-04-18T09:25:00.000-07:00

Some bad news for Vonage Customers .... Vonage has just said that if their legal battles continues then they may end up filing for bankruptcy.

Here is what NY times has to say about the news ...

The filing yesterday with the Securities and Exchange Commission also detailed other risks from continuing litigation. They include the possible interruption of service, an inability to repay its debt and a decline in its stock that could lead to the delisting from the New York Stock Exchange.

Vonage was ordered to pay $58 million and royalties on future sales to Verizon after it lost the patent infringement case in March.

The court also barred Vonage from adding new customers while it appealed the decision.

An appeals court allowed it to continue signing up new customers ahead of a hearing to consider a permanent stay on the bar on April 24 .

Vonage’s chief executive, Michael Snyder, stepped down last week as the company said it planned to cut jobs and expenses by $30 million in 2007.

Google adds presentation feature to Google Docs and Spreadsheets

2007-04-17T13:48:00.000-07:00

At last Google has confirmed that they are about to add a presentation software to their Google Docs & Spreadsheets family. There were already lot of rumours going around this for sometime now.

Here is what Sam Schillace, Engineering Director has to say in his post

we want to welcome the team from Tonic Systems to Google. Tonic, which we've just acquired, is based in San Francisco and Melbourne, Australia. They have some great technology for presentation creation and document conversion, and it will be a great addition as we add presentation sharing and collaboration capabilities to Google Docs & Spreadsheets.

This feature is expected to be released in summer this year.

USB Speed Typing Mouse - Keeps you company

2007-04-15T06:40:00.000-07:00

I found this toy at Drinkstuff.com. I am not really sure if this USB device will ever get popular. Damn sure, I am not going to buy one of them but still worth going through the site to find many weird toys like these. Nice time pass. You may like a few.

This particular USB Speed Typing Mouse has a pedal and when connected to the USB port, starts pedalling based on the speed you type. You can see the rate in which the count increases on the LCD display.

Smart and Evil ways to improve your blog ranking

2007-04-14T13:22:00.000-07:00

Have you heard of John Chow? Probaby yes, if you are old to the blog world. For the new comers, John Chow runs a blog called JohnChow Dot Com and he describes it as "The Miscellaneous Ramblings of a Dot Com Mogul". His blog can be easily termed as the bible to learn the ways to make money online.

He has shared a lot of innovative ways to improved a blog's traffic, ranking, monetization and so on. One of those ways is to write a review post just like this and link to his home page with the anchor text "make money online" and also to link back to his post which talks about the rules of this review. Advantages are that you get back a link from his high traffic, high ranked blog and he keeps going higher and higher. :-) Worth a try. What do you think?

2.5D maps from Google

2007-04-12T08:55:00.000-07:00

Google has introduced yet another feature to its already popular Google Maps. It is to show 2.5D models of buildings. The buildings appear like a pencil sketch and gives the viewer a fair idea about the shape and size about the location. Give it a try....

Example of 2.5D map from Google

Buy and Sell Web 2.0 companies

2007-04-10T12:52:00.000-07:00

Do you own a Web 2.0 company and would like fetch a good price for it? or Are you looking to buy a Web 2.0 company which may add to your current portfolio? Here is a new Web 2.0 which helps, people buy and sell Web 2.0 companies.

Go and Check out Web 2.0 for Sale

Fake advertisement on craiglist

2007-04-09T14:03:00.000-07:00

You thought craglist cant harm you. It can, says Times online

Read on this interesting story...

Everything including the kitchen sink was stripped from a rental home in after an advert on Craigslist invited people to take whatever they wanted free.

The landlord of the house in Tacoma, Washington State, says the ad, posted last weekend was fake. “It said come and take what you want. Everything is free,” Laurie Raye told Seattle’s KING-TV.

Mr Raye had cleaned out the rental after evicting a tenant. After the advert appeared, the property was stripped of the sink, light fixtures and the hot water heater. Even the front door and a vinyl window were pilfered, Mr Raye said.

Neighbours said they saw strangers hauling items away, apparently looking for salvage material.

Jim Buckmaster, the chief executive of Craigslist, said that the ad was on the site for less than two hours before users flagged it down. He said Craigslist rarely encounters such false postings, despite receiving 25 million postings each month.

BBC strikes Google-YouTube deal

2007-03-02T12:46:00.001-08:00

The BBC has struck a content deal with YouTube, the web's most popular video sharing website, owned by Google.

Three YouTube channels - one for news and two for entertainment - will showcase short clips of BBC content.

The BBC hopes that the deal will help it reach YouTube's monthly audience of more than 70 million users and drive extra traffic to its own website.

The corporation will also get a share of the advertising revenue generated by traffic to the new YouTube channels.

Google Stops showing Yahoo maps in One Box result

2007-01-16T13:35:00.000-08:00

Philipp Lenssen has these snapshots of "before and after" scenarios of Google map search result. As you can see Google has stoppped showing "Yahoo maps" in their "One Box" results. Tough battle ahead.

Yahoo styled Google start page !!!

2007-01-11T14:28:00.000-08:00

Here is how Steve Bryant thinks a Yahoo styled Google start page would be. Cool. Eh?

Google Jet

2007-01-03T08:06:00.000-08:00

Heard of Boeing 767? This Boeing 767 seen in this picture is beleived to be owned by the Google Kings Sergey Brin and Larry Page. As per the report in stuff.co.nz , the plane was spotted in Newzealand recently. The report continues to say that ...

"The 767 is said to be among the largest private jets in the world, nearly 70 per cent longer and three times heavier than the Gulfstream favoured by many businessmen and celebrities.

The jet has reportedly been refurbished and now sports two bedrooms and adjoining bathrooms, a sitting area and a large galley. It is capable of holding up to 50 passengers. Brin and Page are estimated to have a combined worth of $US20 billion ($NZ28.5b).

In July, The Wall Street Journal reported Brin and Page were in a legal dispute with an aviation designer hired to refurbish the plane.
"

Source: Stuff.co.nz

Cognizant finishes 2006 with an Excellent Growth

2006-12-31T18:51:00.000-08:00

Rising demand for global outsourcing services pushed shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. up 55 percent in 2006, making the company one of the top five tech performers in the S&P 500 this year.

Cognizant provides offshore information technology and other business services, with centers in China, India and other locations worldwide.

Shares jumped in May after the company reported a 48 percent increase in profit, helped by higher demand for technology services across all industries. Customers in the media, telecom, financial services and health care industries contributed to the stronger-than-expected results.

Cognizant also issued full-year earnings guidance that beat Wall Street's expectations, then raised its outlook when reporting another blockbuster quarter in August.

The stock was selected in November to join the Standard & Poor's 500 index.

Also in November, the company said it would spend more than $200 million through 2008 to expand its India operations, adding new facilities in five cities _ Chennai, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Pune _ and hiring more than 30,000 employees.

Shares of Cognizant traded at their lowest point on Jan. 18, touching $48.51 on the Nasdaq. The stock climbed as high as $82.49 on Dec. 12, before closing at $77.87 on Thursday, a full-year gain of $27.60, or 55 percent.

Source: Chron

Yet another Sex Survey

2006-12-28T11:19:00.000-08:00

UK Magazine The Sun reports that half of Brits chat on their home phone naked.

Here goes ths story...

The poll showed 49 per cent of 600 people questioned were happy to use the phone in their birthday suit.

Women are more likely than men to go au naturel - 40 per cent of men bare all while chatting, compared to 57 per cent of women.

The survey also showed 83 per cent of people talk and multi-task with women topping the poll at 86 per cent.

And their multi-tasking is more practical than British men.

Of those women questioned, 64 per cent admitted to preparing food while using the phone and 43 per cent do the ironing.

While 63 per cent of men confessed to watching television.

Women are also more than twice as likely as men to pick up the phone to speak to their parents.

The BT Broadband Talk poll discovered that men are more likely than women to be found speaking to friends of the opposite sex.

30 predictions for 2007

2006-12-27T10:53:00.000-08:00

Here is a list of 30 Predictions for 2007 in Media/Tech/Pop from Rex Sorgatz

) $100 PC. Finally, computing in the Third World! But priorities are reassessed when someone does the math and realizes that the One Benjamin PC could feed a single African for 37 years.

2) MySpace. Despite (or because of) News Corp's ownership of MySpace, unique users start to disappear. Someone at the New York Times realizes that your friend Tom has released absolutely zero new features to the community since Fox's takeover. In a scramble, MySpace releases a bunch of bad features that everyone hates. However, they sell several more sponsorship deals for movies, tv shows, and bands that you don't care about.

3) Apple. Apple buys Last.FM. Finally. And iTV is a hit. Finally. And the iPhone? Nope, never. Why? Cuz the iPhone is like God -- if it really existed, you wouldn't care that much.

4) Google. By partnering YouTube and Apple's iTV, Google has you watching Ask A Ninja on your plasma. Hello, Google Video ads.

5) Gawker. A rumor is leaked about a Conde Naste buy-out that involves a digital unit built around the new WiredNews.com. Nick Denton is too busy updating Lifehacker to respond.

6) The Office. Jim chooses Pam. Forgetting this is fiction, I attempt to drunk-dial Karen.

7) Studio 60. Sorkin's new show sorta catches on. Gloating until my pancreas explodes, I try to explain that Studio 60 is the first example of middle-brow camp. You call me a moron.

8) Technorati. A media company takes a shot at buying Technorati. Maybe Tribune, maybe NYT, probably Wash Post. By the end of the year, people are talking about a Newsvine purchase.

9) Publishing. Your mom is charged with plagiarism. Her book skyrockets to the top of the best-seller list.

10) TV News Anchor Ratings. 1) Brian Williams. 2) Charlie Gibson. 3) Katie Couric.

11) Windows. Vista ships. You try not to yawn.

12) Twitter. Google buys Twitter. A bunch of media organizations sigh deeply over not thinking of this first.

13) AOL. I have no idea. And neither do they.

14) Facebook. That snotty Harvard kid tells Yahoo, "Tell you what, I'll buy you instead."

15) Yahoo. Ba-bye, Terry.

16) Zune. Version 2.0 of the Zune is launched. A small group of converts start to form, while Engadget asks "too little, too late?"

17) Second Life. Robots invade and kill everyone. Turns out "everyone" is 5 kids in Tallahassee.

18) Mobile. 2007: the year in mobile. If I keep saying it, eventually it will be true.

19) Comedy. Dane Cook gets invited to speak at this year's White House Press Corps dinner. When Cook jokes about fucking the Bush Twins, G.W. laughs more than he did at Colbert.

20) Chumby. This little nerd toy you've never heard of becomes a huge hit.

21) Newspapers. More lay-offs, more shrinkage, more free weeklies, more navel-gazing.

22) SmartPox. Add it to the list of great ideas that won't catch traction. (See also: Open ID, micro-payments, free city-wide wireless.)

23) CBS. The digital unit will make a few acquisitions that seem peculiar. But by the end of the year, they will look hipper than Unkie Viacom.

24) GNR. Klosterman spreads a rumor that Axl will release Chinese Democracy on April 24. Thousands of thirty-somethings show up at a record store at midnight only to discover... ha ha, fooled you, old man.

25) Courtney Love. Comeback album, comeback movie, comeback fragrance.

26) Celebutantes. People talk a lot about Britney's comeback, but the new summer album does as well as releases from Jessica Simpson, Paris Hilton, and K-Fed. Meanwhile, Nicole Richie accidentally eats herself.

27) Ze Frank. The funniest guy in America lands a deal at Comedy Central.

28) Amanda Congdon. While the blogosphere wonders who's watching, Amanda's ratings go up, up, up. When you go home for Thanksgiving, you realize your dad has it bookmarked.

29) lonelygirl15. Remember Ellen Feiss?

30) Earth. The planet will get warmer.

Cognizant Steps up its SEI CMMI level

2006-12-20T12:12:00.000-08:00

Cognizant, a leading provider of IT services, announced today that the Company's software development and delivery center in Coimbatore, India has become the first in the world to be successfully appraised at Maturity Level 5 of the latest version 1.2 of Capability Maturity Model® Integration (CMMI) through the latest version 1.2 of Standard CMMI Appraisal Methodology for Process Improvement (SCAMPI). The appraisal was conducted by an independent SEI Authorized High Maturity Lead Appraiser from KPMG between November 27 and December 8, 2006.

CMMI Maturity Level 5 is the highest level of process maturity that independently verifies an organization's capabilities to continuously enhance its processes through incremental and innovative process and technological improvements. CMMI Maturity Level 5 affirms the organization's ability to statistically manage the sub-processes in order to achieve process and business objectives.

"We are very proud of this achievement, as it further reinforces our commitment to continuous process maturity and innovation that enhances the value of solutions we provide to our customers," said R Chandrasekaran, Managing Director and President of Global Delivery, Cognizant. "This independent appraisal is a clear indication that Cognizant can deliver the highest levels of quality to customers through continuous process improvements in every location that we expand to globally. This new capability accentuates our customer-centric culture by providing greater transparency to our customers from project execution and enhanced structuring of the decision- making process to metrics management."

"Continuous improvement has become a way of life for Cognizant's Coimbatore Center," said Mr. V Sankaran, KPMG - SEI Authorized SCAMPI Lead Appraiser. "This center has consistently adapted to various quality initiatives and emerging industry best practices, keeping value addition to customers in mind. The leadership team at Cognizant has consistently demonstrated commitment towards superior process and quality. The greatest strength of the organization is the empowerment and opportunity to implement process improvement initiatives by associates at all levels, ensuring that high maturity practices will sustain for the long term. With their focus on continuous process improvements, Cognizant Coimbatore has successfully transitioned to the latest version of the model, CMMI v1.2."

Cognizant's Coimbatore Center has developed a unique operational model that integrates best practices such as CMMI, lean manufacturing and six sigma concepts to improve operational efficiency and productivity. To reach this level, Cognizant demonstrated structured process improvement and innovations categorized under Efficiency aiders, People aiders, Process aiders and Productivity aiders with a goal of achieving substantial process and business benefits.

The Carnegie Mellon® Software Engineering Institute (SEI) had released the latest version 1.2 of CMMI model and latest version 1.2 of Standard CMMI Appraisal Methodology for Process Improvement (SCAMPI) in August 2006. Subsequently, SEI authorized only a selected few High Maturity Lead Appraisers (HMLA) after undergoing a stringent evaluation criteria. The CMMI Level 5 appraisal for Cognizant was carried out by Mr. V Sankaran, SEI Authorized High Maturity Lead Appraiser from KPMG.

Source: Coimbatore News

SAMSUNG Launches the World’s First ‘Optical Joystick’ Phone

2006-12-19T13:21:00.000-08:00

Samsung Electronics , a leading provider and innovator of mobile phones, launches the world's first mobile phone featuring a n optical joystick for a whole new mobile experience.

Samsung 's latest ‘Optical Joystick' Phone (Model: SCH-V960 ) is suited with the latest technology that may revolutionize the way users interact with the menu and user interface of mobile handsets. Users utilize the optical joystick key by placing their finger and moving a cursor to navigate through the menu, similar to a cursor of a mouse on a PC .

Optical sensors will read and react to users' finger movement, thus breaking down the traditional four-way menu navigation and providing 360 degrees of freedom. The familiarity and free movement of the V960's Optica l Joystick will result in quick and hassle-free menu navigation.

Users can point the cursor and click directly on icons on MyScreen, similar interface to that on a PC environment, and gain direct access to frequently used menus such as photo album, messaging, and music menu. Users can also use the Optical Joystick to easily scroll through the play list while listening to their music.

Through an illumination sensor, the Samsung V960 also includes a 'Smart Lighting' feature that automatically controls the brightness of the LCD screen and keypad. By using the 'Smart Lighting' feature, users are protected from eye strain and will minimize power consumption for increased efficiency. In addition, the V960 also supports a 2 megapixel camera, GPS and Bluetooth ® function.

Soruce: Samsung.com

Google Adsense clarifies Ad and image placement policy

2006-12-18T19:08:00.000-08:00

Here is some clarfication from Inside Adsense on Ad and image placement.

We've recently received a number of emails from publishers asking how we feel about the placement of images near Google ad units. There's been some confusion on this issue, and so we turned to our policy team to set the record straight.

Can I place small images next to my Google ads?

We ask that publishers not line up images and ads in a way that suggests a relationship between the images and the ads. If your visitors believe that the images and the ads are directly associated, or that the advertiser is offering the exact item found in the neighboring image, they may click the ad expecting to find something that isn't actually being offered. That's not a good experience for users or advertisers.

Publishers should also be careful to avoid similar implementations that people could find misleading. For instance, if your site contains a directory of Flash games, you should not format the ads to mimic the game descriptions.

What if I place a space or a line between my images and my ads? Would that work?

No. If the ads and the images appear to be associated, inserting a small space or a line between the images and ads will not make the implementation compliant.

Does this mean I can't place ads on pages with images?

You can definitely place Google ads on pages containing images -- just make sure that the ads and images are not arranged in a way that could easily mislead or confuse your visitors. For example, if you run a stock photography site with a catalog of thumbnail images, don't line the ads up with the thumbnails in a way that could be misleading. Consider using a full border around your ads or changing your ad colors, for example.

What do unacceptable implementations look like?

Here are some examples that wouldn't comply with our policies.

Jaxtr lets friends phone you on your blog

2006-12-14T16:13:00.000-08:00

A Silicon Valley start-up is gearing up to embed free, Web-based telephone services on a variety of popular social networking and blogging services, including MySpace, Friendster and Blogger.

By contrast with existing Web calling services such as Skype that are typically computer-based, or require consumers to buy special headsets or microphones, Jaxtr plans to allows users to make inbound calls to bloggers from any phone in the world.

Jaxtr, a 14-month-old closely held company based in Palo Alto California, said it is beginning a test by private invitation of its new calling service, with plans to make it widely available to Web users sometime early in the new year.

In addition, Jaxtr said that Konstantin Guericke, co-founder of business social networking site LinkedIn, has joined the Web-calling company as chief executive. Jaxtr was founded by entrepreneurs Phillip Mobin and Touraj Parang.

For Jaxtr's target audience of young Web users, when they are not spending time chatting with one another on their social network pages, they are probably available on a mobile phone. "We bring those two phenomenon together," Guericke said.

Once registered on Jaxtr's site at http://www.jaxtr.com, a user can embed an interactive phone feature into selected blogs or social network profiles -- News Corp.'s MySpace, Tagged, Friendster, Hi5, Xanga and Google's Blogger.

Consumers will be able to click on any Jaxtr link, enter their own phone number, which triggers an instant call to their phone. Answering the phone connects the caller to the Jaxtr user's own phone. Callers then speak phone to phone.

The private test underway this week will be extended to friends of initial participants later this month. Jaxtr expects to earn revenue from power users, advertising and enhanced calling features, the company said. "I think this is going to spread very quickly," Guericke said.

The service provides local phone numbers that allow callers to eliminate expensive international long distance charges from any of 29 national markets in Europe, the Americas and Asia. Initial countries range from United States to most of Western Europe to Brazil, Chile and Mexico and Japan and Singapore.

While one of a proliferating number of voice over Internet companies challenging conventional phone industry economics, Jaxtr is not a direct phone company rival, as it still pays interconnection charges and encourages use of standard phones.

Jaxtr, a play on the phrase "jack your phone," promises its users can hear from callers through their Web site profiles while preserving the privacy of their existing phone numbers.

An alternative is for users simply to add a personalized Jaxtr link to their e-mail signature -- creating a second way to invite their friends to call them back for free -- by clicking on the link or by placing an inexpensive local call. Similarly, an Evite party invite could have a Jaxtr call link.

No special software needs to be downloaded, nor do users need to first sign up their friends or family to benefit. Only the recipient of Jaxtr calls need to sign up for the service. It's a Web-based version of the decade-old dial-around services that allow callers to bypass international phone charges.

When a call recipient is unavailable, the caller can leave a voice mail message. Recipients can block unwanted callers or only invite selected callers. Callers need not be registered with Jaxtr, only the recipient of the call needs to be.

A recipient gets to choose which of their phones receive the call. One can switch between a home, office or mobile phone, for example.

Source : Yahoo News

Hackers to step up 'cyberwar' in 2007

2006-12-12T10:17:00.000-08:00

CNN reports that Hackers may step up Cyber War and online attacks becoming more sophisticated. Here are some excerpts ..

"
Computer hackers will open a new front in the multi-billion pound "cyberwar" in 2007, targeting mobile phones, instant messaging and community Web sites such as MySpace, security experts predict.

As people grow wise to email scams, criminal gangs will find new ways to commit online fraud, sell fake goods or steal corporate secrets.

"The attacks are becoming more sophisticated," said Dave Rand of Internet security firm Trend Micro. "It's all about making money. And they're making a lot of it," he told Reuters.

In 2007, hackers will be scouring social networking sites such as MySpace to gather information for more focused attacks on people's computers.

"It is definitely an area that is ripe for more exploitation by malware (malicious software)," said Ed English, Trend Micro's Chief Technology Officer for anti-spyware.

People could find their computers infected with viruses that secretly record all their keystrokes or send out millions of spam email messages.
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Source: Click here for more ...

Google AdSense for content in 4 new languages

2006-12-11T12:13:00.000-08:00

Just read this from Inside Adsense. Non English bloggers will gear up with more content and in turn for more money. Indian bloggers writing in any of the Indian languages still have to wait.

"We're excited to tell you that AdSense for content is now supported in Croatian, Czech, Slovak, and Traditional Chinese. If you manage a site in one of these four languages, you can now complement your existing AdSense for search boxes (and revenue) with contextually-targeted AdSense ads!

To get started with generating your AdSense for content code, just visit the AdSense Setup tab in your account. Please keep in mind that after you add the ad code to a new page, it can take up to 48 hours for our crawler to access your site. Once your site has been crawled, our system will automatically detect the primary language of your pages and serve targeted ads in the correct language.

Welcome (or Dobrodošlica / Vítame / 歡迎) to our new AdSense for content publishers!

Source: AdSense for content in 4 new languages

Advertise online - even if you don't have a website

2006-12-06T19:59:00.000-08:00

AdWords advertisers know that online advertising is an effective way to promote their businesses. What do you do, however, if you want to advertise online, but you don't have a website? Does this sound familiar? Here is help.

Hosted business pages, a new feature for AdWords Starter Edition, will let you do just that. A hosted business page is an informational webpage that new advertisers can create when they sign up for AdWords Starter Edition. You can use a hosted business page to tell people more about your business when they click on your ad. For example, if you own a restaurant, you might write about your award-winning cannoli; if you are a tailor, potential customers would be thrilled to read about your 48 hour turnaround on alterations.

Hosted business pages are now available for new US advertisers using AdWords Starter Edition. It's important to note that a hosted business page is not a full-featured website with its own domain name, but rather a single landing page for your AdWords ads. Hosted business pages are free with a new AdWords account, and can be set up with no knowledge of HTML.

If you're already an AdWords advertiser, perhaps you'd like to tell your favorite local restaurant owner that they can now advertise online, even if they don't have a website. Just watch out for the crowds of new customers.

Source: adwords.blogspot.com

Other Advertising Networks Besides Google AdSense

2006-12-05T10:06:00.000-08:00

Popular blogger John Chow has managed to put a list of Money Making Networks other than Goolge Adsense.

He says "When bloggers think of online advertising, the words Google AdSense immediately pops to mind. Google had done an amazing job capturing the internet advertising market with the AdSense product. However, Google is not the only game in town. As a webmaster, it is your duty to seek out other ways to monetize your site. As we all know, putting all your eggs in one basket isn’t the smartest thing to do."

Primarily CPM Based Ad Networks

121Media

24/7 RealMedia

Accelerator-Media

Ad Solutions Network

Ad World Network

AdAgency1

AdBonus

AdDynamix / Pennyweb Networks

AdOrigin

AdPepper

AdSmart

Adtegrity

AdZuba

Ampira Media

Bannerconnect

BannerSpace

BlueLithium

BURST! Media

Casale Media

Claxon Media

Click Agents

ClickBooth

CPX Interactive (Formerly Buds Media)

EuroClick

Experclick

FastClick/ValueClick

Federated Media

Gold Group

Gorilla Nation Media

Hurricane Digital Media

Impression|Up

InterClick

Interevco (Interactive Revenue Company Ltd.)

Joetec

Mamma Media / FocusIn

MaxOnline

Oridian

Premium Network

Quake Marketing

Quin Street

RealCastMedia

RealTechNetwork

Revenue.net

Right Media

Rydium

The Robert Sherman Company

Tribal Fusion

Valuead.com

Yes Advertising

Primarily CPA/CPL Ad Networks

Advertising.com

Amazon.com

Axill

Azoogle Ads

ClickBank

ClickXChange

Commission Junction / BeFree

CoverClicks

DarkBlue

DrivePM

emarketmakers

Linkshare

Maxbounty

Meta Reward

ProfitCenter

Revenue.Net

ShareASale

Strategic Affiliates

WebSponsors

Primarily CPC AND/OR Text Based/Contextual Ad Networks

Google AdSense

Yahoo! Publisher Network

AdForce

AdHearUs

AdKnowledge

AdSonar

Affiliate Sensor

All Clicks

AllFeeds

BannerBoxes

BClick

BidClix

Bidvertiser

CBprosense

Clicksor

ExpoActive

IndustryBrains

Mirago

Miva

Nixxie

One Monkey

Oxado

TargetPoint

Textads Dot Biz

TextWise

Text Link Ads

Vibrant Media

WebAdvertising.ca

AdBright

HyperBidder

Shopping/Comparison Networks

TTZ Media

PriceGrabber

Chitika

Shopping.com

CNet Shopper

“Non-Standard” Ad Networks (PopUps, Expandables, Pay Per Post, etc.)

7AdPower

Opt-Media

PayPopUp

PointRoll

PopUpTraffic

Tremor Network

WhenU

PayPerPost

ReviewMe

CreamAid

Specific Demographic Ad Networks

Absolute Agency

AVN Ads (*****WARNING: ADULT NETWORK*****)

BlogAds

CrispAds Blog Advertising Network

HerAgency

HispanoClick

Pheedo RSS & Weblog Marketing Solutions

Qumana Adgenta Blog Ads

WayPointCash (*****WARNING: ADULT NETWORK*****)

NON-US Primarily CPM Based Ad Networks

ClickHype

DMO Global

NON-US Primarily CPC AND/OR Text Based/Contextual Ad Networks

Response Republic

PeakClick

NON-US Primarily CPA/CPL Ad Networks

TradeDoubler

Commission Monster

Affiliate Future

AdLink

Source: John Chow

Scientists flick switch on giant Mexican telescope

2006-11-23T17:09:00.000-08:00

Scientists turned on a massive telescope built on one of Mexico's tallest mountains on Wednesday, hoping to get a glimpse of the beginning of the universe.

With a base like a launching pad and an antenna the size of a big Ferris wheel, the Large Millimeter Telescope or LMT, will be used to pick up electromagnetic radiation known as millimeter waves emitted 13 billion years ago, when the first stars burst into existence, astrophysicists say.

"This telescope ... will allow us to make fundamental discoveries about the formation and evolution of galaxies, about the formation and evolution of stars, and about the origin of the universe itself," National Astrophysics Institute Director Jose Guichard said during the inauguration.

The $128 million telescope is a U.S.-Mexican project built on the 15,026-foot (4,580-metre) summit of Sierra Negra, Mexico's fifth-highest peak, in air so thin that bottled oxygen is kept at hand in case workers faint.

With an antenna diameter of 164 feet, the LMT dwarfs existing millimeter-wave telescopes and should be able to pick up signals from the faintest objects in outer space.

While optical telescopes detect light rays and others look for radio, infrared or gamma waves, the LMT picks up electromagnetic radiation at wavelengths of 1 to 3 millimeters -- shorter than radio waves but longer than infrared, visible light and gamma rays.

Sierra Negra, an extinct volcano to the east of the city of Puebla in central Mexico, was chosen because of its height and mild climate. While oblivious to light pollution, millimeter telescopes work best at altitudes where the level of water vapor in the air is low.

Aource: Reuters