where technology is simplified
Archive for August, 2008
Find Cheap Web Hosting with 4CheapWebHosting
Aug 26th
Cheap web hosting is like the proverbial pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Almost all new webmasters try to get it. But after a few unsuccessful tries everyone knows it only exists in fantasy with unicorns and flying dogs. 4CheapWebHosting would like to help the novice web master who is looking to set up their own website with affordable, feature rich and easy to setup webhosting. It provides powerful search functionality capable of searching hosting companies based on feature, cost, platform and a myriad of other criteria.
Who Is It For?
4CheapWebHosting is a great resource to quickly locate web hosting companies based on the users needs. The quick search feature allows visitors and potential customers to search for hosts by the monthly cost, disk usage and Windows or Linux platforms. In most cases these are enough for deciding on a suitable webhost for new comers. 4CheapWebHosting looks to lower the learning curve so that anyone can look for an appropriate hosting plan which can serve their needs. The advanced search is mostly reserved for experienced webmasters. But in case of 4CheapWebHosting anyone can take advantage of the top rated hosts and the variety of features that they have to offer. The glossary and tutorials are aimed at novice webmasters who can take advantage of the information to make a wise selection.
Features Of 4CheapWebHosting
The information presented on 4CheapWebHosting are direct and to the point. The reviews do not include long paragraphs of text. The Top Rated Cheap Web Hosting section only includes a big table of company facts. Apart from the web host name and a thumbnail of the site the database includes the server platform (Windows or Linux), monthly fee, a proprietary rating system called 4Value rating, disk space, bandwidth and number of allowed domains on the hosting account.
Clicking on any of the web hosts will take the user to a page with the plan details. The detailed page shows the features included with a hosting plan such as if a control panel, database type, free domain parking and several other features. These terms might be confusing to someone new to webhosting. 4CheapWebHosting has thought of that and in order to accommodate them has linked all the features to a glossary where each item is explained. For example, a newbie might not know what domain parking is. The 4CheapWebHosting Glossary describes it as A temporary DNS entry for an unused domain name. Generally a domain name that is parked for free will be on the registrar’s server pointing to a temporary page. I have included a screenshot of the BlueHost plan details below.
What makes 4CheapWebHosting Unique
The information included in 4CheapWebHosting database is detailed and useful to all web masters who are just getting their feet wet. I can recall from personal experience how confused I was when I started looking for a webhost. 4CheapWebHosting has taken a big step to answer detailed questions which might be on the minds of newbies. The Glossary certainly is a great addition and will help people make an informed decision. The webhosting tutorials answer some basic questions regarding how the webhosts are rated, how to buy domains etc. But they are severely lacking and serve little purpose. In the future I would like to see 4CheapWebHosting expand on these FAQ’s.
The quick search and the detailed search page will allow users to look for only the features that they are interested in. Thus they can spend their hard earned money on their choice of webhost and not have to pay for things that they do not need. One very unique feature is to choose webhosting companies based on currency. This is a very important aspect to the international community who might want to use Japanese Yen or Italian Lira. As far as I can recall 4CheapWebHosting is the only comparison review site that offers this feature.
Areas of Improvement
4CheapWebHosting has listed quite a few web hosts on their website. However big players in the hosting world such as DreamHost, LunarPages, Yahoo Hosting, GoDaddy and HostMonster are missing from their database. If 4CheapWebHosting wants users to take it seriously they have to include the most popular ones. For example, cNet has one of the biggest collection of web hosts categorized by type of service, features, cost and customer ratings which includes all major and minor hosting companies.
Verdict
4CheapWebHosting is a great resource for new webmasters who can learn the “webhosting terms and language” and choose an affordable host that has all the features they need. This is a HIGHLY RECOMMENDED site and gets 5 Out Of 5 Stars.
Samsung i900 Omnia Viral Video
Aug 25th
I have not seen many viral ad campaigns by Samsung. But advertisements for the i900 aka Omnia are an internet hit. Video is included below. For a high quality version head over to YouTube. The phone features great looks combined with functionality. The most impressive features are listed below the video. The rest can be seen in Samsung’s press release.
What Does Omnia Have?
Well, pretty much everything that you have been waiting for in a mobile phone.
- Powered by Windows Mobile 6 Professional
- Includes Microsoft Word, Excel and Powerpoint
- Has a fully functional touch-screen with on-screen QWERTY keyboard
- Also includes optical mouse
- 5 MP camera – you can leave your digital camera at home from now on
- Built in GPS – for the times you get lost
- Bluetooth, USB, WiFi connectivity with FM radio
- Very slim and sexy design – for the times you miss your girl friend!
Review: Build A Community With Thoughts.com
Aug 20th
Social community websites are very popular in the current internet market. Hundreds of specialized community sites are catering to the web audience of all ages, but Facebook and MySpace are the unchallenged leaders. But they are limited in what users can do and this is where Thoughts.com is trying to carve out a market for itself. Thoughts.com gives users the ability to create blogs, upload videos and pictures and create albums, host podcasts, polls and forums all on their servers. Users can let their creativity take over and make good use of all the features offered at Thoughts.com.
Features
The typical scenario is that some social websites offer blogs (like Blogger), some offer picture hosting (like Flickr), some offer personalized pages (like Facebook). Thoughts.com covers all the bases and offers pretty much all social networking and community features – blogs, pictures and albums, videos, polls, forums and personalized profiles to manage all the user activities.
Blogs seem to be the most popular section of Thoughts.com where people are encouraged to create a blog and new posts are published frequently. Blogs page by default shows the most recent posts across the Thoughts.com network. Going by the update time of the various blog posts the community looks active and engaging. Navigation also includes popular posts, top 100 blogs, random blogs and the ability to browse by popular tags. Such a collection of most recent posts is sure to increase community interaction and help the website grow.
Thoughts.com - Blogs
Users have the ability to upload pictures and create albums. Several albums can be seen on the Photos page, but the community activity is low and most albums have few views. Various tags are located on the right pane making navigation easier. Videos section has quite a few videos and users have the ability to upload after registration. There are also a variety of podcasts, polls and surveys listed on the site. The news section provides up to the minute stories pulled from Reuters. Individual user profiles are similar to what is being offered by most other social networking websites. A cool feature is the “presence icon” which shows the current status of the user next to the name. It shows if he/she is currently online and logged in to the website network.
What makes Thoughts.com Unique
Thoughts.com offers a lot of services to its members. The combined feature list of blogs to forums and everything in between are enough to attract and retain users. There are very few other websites which allow such a range of activity and in this respect Thoughts.com is unique. A quick look at the homepage is enough to impress even the most demanding user.
Thoughts.com - Homepage
Areas of Improvement
The website offers a lot of services to its members and it has a functional and interactive community built around itself. Thoughts.com has its work cut out for itself because it has a well established presence. There are many members who update their blogs, albums and participate in the forums. However the number of distinct properties of the website can be confusing to some users. As more people start using this site on a daily basis they can expand in to the various sections.
Verdict
Thoughts.com is a HIGHLY RECOMENDED website and it is definitely worth checking out. If you are still on the edge then take a tour of Thoughts.com and decide for yourself if you would like your creativity reign freely.
DeskAway: Project Management Made Easy
Aug 20th
Project management is a difficult job. Ask any project manager about their work and the answer will include “stress” and “headache”. DeskAway is trying make the lives of project managers easier with their innovative and well rounded software product. DeskAway is a subscription based system focused on better project management directed at individuals, small teams and small-midsize businesses. It is a great solution for distributed teams who can work on projects and track changes and documents all from one centralized location. The features are endless and cover everything under the sun. The pricing model is flexible and a free account can be used to try the product before upgrading to a paid model.
DeskAway Features
DeskAway is a truly one-product-does-all software. An overview of the features is best way to determine if it will suit the needs of members and contributors of any project. In most cases DeskAway has more features than any project will need. It is a simple to use, intuitive product which requires limited training and will start paying you back minutes after you being using it. Here is a brief list of the features of DeskAway. I am providing this only as a quick reference and, frankly, this list does not do justice to the software. Take a look at the product tour to get a feel of what DeskAway is capable of.
DeskAway Features
What Makes DeskAway Unique?
Project management software is inherently complicated due to the various activities that are being tracked. DeskAway has done a great job of documenting their product and the video tutorials gives the users first hand experience. The videos include most of the product features including Dashboard overview, project listing, milestones, to do lists, tracking issues that crop up during the project. DeskAway even manages to pack in a user time tracking system, document management system, simple contact list and messaging platform. The last few features are very unique as most companies have to pay more for time sheet, content management and messaging. Along with most of the videos DeskAway team have included a “More…” link which takes you to a product feature page. There are feature specific information along with screenshots, links to videos and case studies. This will give the customers a better understanding of what they can do with that feature.
DeskAway - Timesheet Feature
To give an idea of the video tutorials I am including the Daskboard Overview video below. I would highly recommend checking out more product videos before deciding on the use of the software.
Click to Play - Video Overview of DeskAway Dashboard
Cost
DeskAway is a well rounded and impressive offering. Their sales pitch is even stronger now that they are offering free access. DeskAway can be used for free to manage 3 projects with 5 different users. This option would give most project managers the opportunity to test the product before paying for it. However the free plan is limited with 25MB file sharing limit, number of documents limited to 10 and restricted repoting functionality. The paid DeskAway plans vary from $10/month to $99/month with discounts for yearly contracts. I would suggest starting out with the free option to test the product and then upgrading to the appropiate plan.
Verdict
DeskAway is a sure way to make project management easier and user friendly. The software automatically keeps track of all the little things and takes the burden off the members and project manager who can concentrate on their work. If you need further convincing check out the Case Studies which showcase DeskAway’s accomplishments in various settings. This is a HIGHLY RECOMENDED product and it is definitely worth checking out.
DeskAway - Organize, Manage and Track
Find The Right Webhost With Web Hosting Pal
Aug 15th
Webhosting is a crowded market. There are literally hundreds of hosting companies trying to get attention of customers. This makes it very difficult for prospective webmasters to choose a host suited for their needs. This is specially the case for novice webmasters who might be looking for their very first webhost. They “newbies” might not be familiar with the advanced features or technical terms or have ideas about potential traffic and disk needs for their website. This is where Web Hosting Pal comes in. A site with updated hosting information without annoying popup ads or masked ad links.
What Makes Web Hosting Pal Unique
Web Hosting Pal compares features and prices and publishes the names of the Top 10 Webhosts. These recommendations along with brief feature descriptions help potential customers to choose between various hosting companies. If anyone wants to do more research on the host, their website is only a click away.
First time consumers looking to build their own web presence will benefit from the side by side comparison of BlueHost, Hostmonster, LunarPages and others. The side by side review of the top hosts gives visitors a complete picture of features and associated cost. The Beginner’s Guide gives a run down of the commonly used hosting terms and how they affect the webhosting package. Helping users make informed decisions is the goal of Web Hosting Pal.
Areas Of Improvement
The updated table based comparison of Top 10 Hosts is a nice feature. But it cannot be customized to a particular customers needs or preferences. For example a customer might have 100MB disk space requirement but might like to have 1TB (1,000GB) monthly bandwidth. A simple preference based system could ask the user certain questions such as – high, medium or low selections for disk space and traffic choices. Such personalization would go a long way to make Web Hosting Pal website unique and enhance its value.
Verdict
Web Hosting Pal is a great resource for quickly comparing the best hosting companies and is highly recommended. however the depth of available information on the various hosting plans is limited and advanced webmasters would need to do their own research on top of what Web Hosting Pal provides.
