I remember using Google when it was still in its infancy, back in the late 90s and being impressed, and in total awe with the little info it gave me about how many seconds it took Google to find my search.  I remember how the home page was clean, and uncluttered, with only the search form, Google Search button and I Feel Lucky button.

Once the search was completed, all I saw was my search, and didn’t have to deal with ads.  It was such a clean site, with search as the primary concept.  Webmasters loved it!  Web browsers love it!  I loved it!

What the hell happened G?  I see sponsored links before my search results (most of the time the 2 are unrelated).  I see your G-news before I see the site that I am looking for.  And at times I see NSFW images from G-images on the search page ahead of my searches.

Your home page is cluttered with the whole garage full of things that you offer.

Bring back the G that we all loved, and stop cluttering your searches to make that extra penny.  “Don’t be evil” and  play on a level playing field.  Don’t bend your rules to appease.

I know I will still use your search, but will always look for another Google.

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You hear that Jessica Alba (link may be NSFW) is pregnant!

Read it here

Oh well… there is always Jessica Biel. (Then again maybe not)

Get Your Jessica Alba Myspace Layouts Here

Get Your Jessica Biel Myspace Layouts Here 

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Today I noticed on JohnChow’s blog that he is doing a paid review for Quarterwiki – ie. Buy a wiki page for $0.25. This paid wiki craze was started with the Milliondollarwiki a few months back, and I will admit I also bought into it. I really, really had to hold myself back from buying more than just one page. I did buy USA and that’s it.

Now here is the thing.  I have not made a cent from that page.  Paid wiki pages suck from SEO standpoint.  Look at my page in Google and you will notice that even with the whole domain name in the search it does not show up in the first, or second place.  My comment in the MDW forum shows up first, then my Digg comment (not a digg submission) and then the page itself.  My page I must admit has original content, and not a copy paste job.  Ok, I am not saying “If you build it they will come” but atleast optimize it for search engines.

If you look at majority of the paid wiki pages (I will go out on a limb and say ALL PAID WIKI PAGES),  they are filled with affiliate links (my page too), banners (my page too), Adsense (my page too) and hardly any inner links with other MDW pages.

Owners of the Quarterwikis are also the ones that brought you Onebuckwiki, and buying pages on that is just making them money, and for that I have to smile and say “YOU SOBs!”   Good luck!

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For those of you who have not heard of Photrade, it is the new photo uploading site that pays you for your photos. This is what their About Us page says:

I have 1 invite that I can send. Add yourself via comment on this post and you are entered for a drawing. Even better, if you have commented and are also a RSS Feed subscriber at the time of the drawing, you will also get paid $50 via Paypal.

Will announce the winner on Monday 17th Dec.

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I am not trying to turn this blog into engadget or gizmodo, but I just got an email about this product, and it just seems too cool. This headset, by Callpod called The Dragon, will allow you to talk between to Dragon headsets, within 250,000 sq ft area, it extends the range to 100 ft (from approx 30ft for other headsets). I have not ordered one yet, but will surely give it a try and post my feedback once again.

This is not a paid review, and if you need more information here is the link

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These are some of the ideas that I have had along the way.  There was one of my sites that I had posted it on for anyone to utilize them, but that database got wiped out during upgrades and here I am listing them again, for you to make use of the ideas or comment on them.

1. Wifi Card Sharing: If you use one of the Wifi cards from cellular carriers you know what I am talking about.  Wouldn’t it be awesome if you are traveling with a bunch of friends, and while you are using your wifi card, you are able to share the wifi with your other friends’ laptop?

2.  Instant Voicemails: The cellphones nowadays already have mms, email etc.  Wouldn’t it be easier if someone left you a voicemail, that message got sent directly to your phone, just like a text message.  This way you wouldn’t have to call into your voicemail service, which is really tedious if you are in meetings all day, can’t answer your phone, and have to call your phone over and over to check your messages.

3.  Cellular Portal: I tried this one and failed.  Not because the concept was flawed, by my developers were dumbasses.  The idea was quite simple.  I would be warehousing all the cellular accessories, and run a portal where any cellular accessories retailer can start a micro site on it, with all our products.  All they have to do is promote their site, and we do the warehousing, shipping and payments.  After the sale, at the end of the month, they make their profits, and we take out the cost of goods.  On the back end, the retailers can choose which products they want to carry in their online shop, along with different templates and store branding etc.  This was done 4 years ago, but it is still a great idea.  I charged my retailers $10/month for their site.

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Upsell! Upsell! Upsell! This does not relate just to offline businesses, but also online businesses. Most online stores are not setup for cross selling. Ebay has that function, where it offers you other products that are offered from the seller, but that is still not quite what I am talking about. Amazon offers you, what other books or products other customers bought, along with the item that you are purchasing, that is something that they have it down pat.

Bloggers don’t offer tangible products, but they have “blogroll” ie. other blogs that you might also like if you are reading my blog. This however has become more of a business transaction. I looked at quite a few high traffic blogs, and in the blogroll, they had blogs totally unrelated to the content of their own blog. If I am on a money making blog, I really don’t give a shit about your wife’s vacation blog.

I remember when T-Mobile launched in Dallas (under the name Voicestream), and they were offering their dealerships to anyone and everyone. I just about died laughing when I noticed a barber shop, with a T-mobile sign in the window. Come on!!!

It is simple rule.  If you don’t ask, you will never know the answer.  If you are selling a phone, ask the customer if they need a charger or case to go along with it.  If you are selling a computer, ask the customer to get some games, or productivity software.  If you are selling cars, ask the customer to get mats.  Upselling on the your main product is what is the cream that you really want.  You might lose money on the main product, but you will probably make 10 times the cost on the accessories you sell.  Your customer will drive a hard bargain on that car, but won’t haggle as much on that mat.

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I have personally used almost every kind of bluetooth headset, and thought that since most of you will be shopping this Christmas for a bluetooth, this will hopefully guide you in the right direction. Don’t expect any technical crap. Just a plain old review by me.

Samsung WEP 200

This is one of the smallest and the lightest bluetooth headsets, and works good with almost all phones except, sometimes it does not pair well with Treo 650

Pros: Small, light, good sound quality, and decent noise cancellation.
Cons: No hook to really secure on the ear, ear gel is hard rubber and that bothers, does not pair well with Treo 650

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Samsung WEP 180

Just a little bit longer than the WEP 200, but the benefit is that it comes with a ear hook which is quite flexible to fit the contours of any ear.
Pros: Good sound quality, ear gel is soft, decent noise cancellation, comes with an ear hook.
Cons: Ear hook breaks easily if you are not careful

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Blueant X3 Micro

Small, lightweight, available in a multitude of colors like black, hot pink, white, orange etc. Although this is not a brand name company, the headset is really good. The sound quality is great, and the ear gel is comfortable with the ear hook.
Pros: This headset comes with a car charger and home charger adaptors, a usb charger, 2 ear hooks, extra ear gels and sponge, a lanyard, and also a 2 year warranty. The sound is crisp, good noise cancellation, and the headset is comfortable. You can always hang it on a lanyard so it does not have to be in your ear all the time.
Cons: A little heavy compared to the WEP200 and WEP180, and the ear hooks get loose after a few weeks of use.

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Motorola H700

Light weight and small, with foldable mic, which prevents from accidental dial outs when you have the headset in your pocket. However, does not pair well with Treo 650/700 phones
Pros: Small, lightweight, good sound quality, with ear hook, does not go in your ear (stays outside), foldable mic prevents accidental dial outs.
Cons: After a few months the foldable mic may get a little play, and that sometimes turns the bluetooth on and off if you happen to touch it by mistake. In the winter, if you happen to have your jacket covering your phone, you may get static on the headset.

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Motorola H9

*** AN ALL AROUND PIECE OF JUNK!!! ***
Not worth a review

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Blueant Z9

Extremely comfortable, ear hook adjustable for comfort, dual mics for amazing clarity and noise cancellation, soft ear gel and extra ear hooks, with USB and home chargers in the box. While in conversation, it gives you 2 settings for noise cancellation. Push the power button once and it will say “Noise cancellation maxed” or “Noise cancellation standard”. This headset also allows you to use 3 phones at the same time and allows you to switch from phone to phone by just pressing the power button.
Pros: The dual mics on this headset are on the side and not in front like other headsets, which prevents a lot of the wind noise. Amazing sound quality. Comes with a built in clip, which allows you to clip the headset on your shirt while not using it. Convenience of USB charger (keep that in the office) and home charger. Extra ear hooks in case the one you are using breaks. Lightweight and small. Just a little bit wider and longer than the WEP 200. It also has 2 different setting for noise cancellation. Allows you to use upto 3 phones at the same time.

Cons: To end conversation, you have to push the power button down for 3 seconds until you hear a low beep, and at times you end up turning the bluetooth off.

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Aliph Jawbone

Not small and light at all, but amazing sound quality with noise and wind cancellation. It apparently picks up your voice through your jawbone (thus the name Jawbone). Comes with extra gels, and ear hooks for each ear and various sizes. It also has a noise shield setting by pushing the noise shield button.
Pros: Great sound quality, amazing wind and noise cancellation with the noise shield.

Cons: Bulky, and heavier than most headsets. The ear hooks, although are in various sizes, are not very comfortable. A little too much of a headset for a someone really just wanting to talk in the car or office.

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I personally am recommending the Blueant Z9. You can get more information about it at www.blueantwireless.com

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Yes I have been waiting impatiently for Docsyncer and finally got their email to do signup with a beta account since the site is still not open to everyone. One little problem. I don’t want to download your software on multiple machines. I don’t care about syncing every single doc. Just let me upload what I want from my machine onto your site and you sync that! That would be ideal. So if you are reading this, get on it!

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Why is it that whether your are bookmarking on del.icio.us, or Stumbleupon or any other social bookmarking site, the browser takes you to their site, and then you have to enter tags and all the other crap that I just dont have the patience for.

This is what would be ideal for me and I am sure for many of you:
1. A browser plugin for that social bookmarking site
2. When I am on a site that I like, I should be able to click on the bookmarking icon, and it should just book mark it for me. Kind of like when you are on Digg and click on “Digg it” button, it diggs it and changes the color of that icon. Ofcourse, you would have to be signed on to that site to bookmark.
3. When I am travelling and want to see my bookmarks, I visit the site, and just a list of the bookmarks shows up once I sign in.

I use Foxmarks for syncing my laptop and office computers, but when I am away from either one, I want to be able to access my bookmarks.

What do you think?

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