• May272008

    NES Controller Coffee Table - it actually works!

    Posted by Gene in Random Stuff

    NESThis guy went all out on his Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) game controller coffee table. Very nice work my friend, I’d buy one if you sold them. Turns out you can even play your NES with the dang thing.

  • May212008

    Webmonkey is back

    Posted by Gene in Web Development

    WebmonkeyI remember first starting out designing and coding websites like over 10 years ago, webmonkey was a great resource for me at the time. It’s pretty much sat stagnant since then without much improvement. Now it’s been relaunched and rebooted.

    What Is Webmonkey?

    is an online resource for web developers. Here, you’ll find tutorials, tips and advice for designing and building websites and programming web applications. We have articles for beginners, professionals, students, grandparents, bloggers and programmers of all skill levels.

    We’ve been around since 1996, when the site was launched by the staff of Wired Digital, the online home of Wired magazine, Wired News and the search engine Hotbot. After being run by different entities for a number of years, Webmonkey rejoined the Wired.com family in April 2008.

    What happened to the old site?

    Webmonkey.com has been completely redesigned. We’ve taken many of the features of the old Webmonkey — the daily Monkey Bites blog, the reference library and the bulk of the tutorials — and given them a new home. When you browse the new website, you’ll notice that the vast majority of the content is now hosted on a wiki.

  • May152008

    5 commandments for email marketing

    Posted by Gene in Email Marketing

    Here’s 5 top rules for email marketing for us all to follow:

    1. Market unto others as you would have them market unto you.
    2. Deliver content that you can’t get anywhere else.
    3. There is a limit to the amount of email your audience can stomach.
    4. Make sure your message is emotional or memorable (have a purpose).
    5. Make the message personal.

    Source: OMMA

  • May082008

    Lance Winslow scares Chuck Norris

    Posted by Gene in Random Stuff, Marketing

    This absolutely has to be the most wacked-out “about” page i’ve ever seen: http://www.lancewinslow.org/founder.shtml

  • May052008

    CMLS Rules Obstructing Competition

    Posted by Gene in Business

    keysI’ve been interested in the real estate market for most of my professional career. Not the buying and selling of homes but specifically in areas where real estate touches the internet. I’ve worked for two real estate technology start-ups (that shall remain nameless for the sake of good karma) and in each instance I only grew more interested in it. So naturally I’ve still followed this stuff over the years. I’ve always known the Columbia Multiple Listings Services (CMLS) to be behind the times, in a major way for most of their existence. This lawsuit by the Justice Department against the CMLS comes as no surprise to me.

    By providing an efficient means of exchanging information on home listings, MLSs can benefit consumers, but that same role makes access to the MLS database - and therefore MLS membership - critically important for any broker seeking to serve clients efficiently in the MLS’s service area, the Department said. Consequently, the rules adopted by CMLS governing who can be a member and how members must run their businesses have a significant impact on competition among brokers in the area served by the MLS.

    This is the rub, they provide the service but they control the data as well. Realtors willingly give them their data, and even pay to do it in one form or another. I’ve always thought of starting a 100% free MLS service for the Columbia area, but CMLS has always been the warlord of the area and significantly controls the mind-share of the local Realtors.

    The Department said that CMLS’s rules also give Columbia real estate brokers the ability to exclude rivals from outside Columbia who might offer local consumers innovative brokerage options that save them money or provide services that better match their needs. The Department’s lawsuit challenges these and other CMLS rules that unreasonably restrain competition among real estate brokers and thereby lead to reduced consumer choice and higher fees paid by consumers.

    Did you know the only way you can gain access to the CMLS data is if you are a licensed Realtor?

    There you go, it’s all about the money right? By controlling the data they control the money, clever. I have to think that by keeping the technology that powers the MLS itself they also control the money by controlling the way you can access it.

  • May012008

    Adobe - Open Screen Project

    Posted by Gene in Software

    adobeAdobe and about a dozen other top-flight technology companies have started the Open Screen Project. This is a pretty big play for Adobe to push for their technologies (Flash & Air) to be standardized across the web. Of course that all depends on it’s adoption. Going open source is pretty huge for Adobe, they pretty much own this market, the only thing that comes close would be the use of “Ajax” itself, which could put Flash in direct competition for mind-share among web-developers. Adobe is notably doing the following to help this project to gain it’s foothold:

    1. Opening up the runtime to its Flash player.
    2. Removing licensing fees for Flash on mobile devices.
    3. Publishing the APIs for porting Flash to other devices.
    4. Publishing Adobe protocols for pushing content to devices.

    Again, this is huge… Will Apple finally port Flash to the iPhone?

    To support this mission, and as part of Adobe’s ongoing commitment to enable Web innovation, Adobe will continue to open access to Adobe Flash technology, accelerating the deployment of content and rich Internet applications (RIAs). This work will include:

    - Removing restrictions on use of the SWF and FLV/F4V specifications
    - Publishing the device porting layer APIs for Adobe Flash Player
    - Publishing the Adobe Flash® Cast™ protocol and the AMF protocol for robust data services
    - Removing licensing fees - making next major releases of Adobe Flash Player and Adobe AIR for devices free

    “Adobe is spearheading the Open Screen Project with support from industry leaders who share a common vision to provide rich, interactive experiences across computers, devices and consumer electronics,” said Shantanu Narayen, chief executive officer at Adobe. “A consistent, more open platform for developers will drive rapid innovation, vastly improving the user experience.”

    Read the press-release here

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