NTice Blog

Version 2.5 of Wordpress

Nathan — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 19:04:24 +0000

Wordpress released version 2.5 yesterday and some of the new features are great. Along with a new look my favorite new feature is the one click autoupdate plugin feature. This should save webmasters time especially ones who have many wordpress sites to upgrade. It looks like all of the investment money that has been sent to the wordpress developers recently has really been paying off. If you have never used wordpress it is time to start. There have been over 1.9 million downloads of wordpress so far this year. With wordpress you can have a brand new site up and working in a matter of minutes and oncethe site is setup, adding new articles is as simple as sending an email. Open source development has helped produce one of the best content management tools with wordpress.

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Vista SP1

Nathan — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 16:36:25 +0000

Windows Vista SP 1 has been released, bring on the madness. I have been testing the sp 1 release at my office for a few days before the release and all I can say is good luck. It will fix alot of problems windows users have been complaining about like wireless connection speed problems, but it will also cause alot of problems for non-tech savy users. SP1 for vista will not fix the biggest problem with Vista, the fact that many devices are not compatable with Vista. I have installed Vista over 100 time for various clients and in my own office and I have run into problems with accessories every time. Sometimes its a printer, sometimes a camera, and I can’t even list the number of pieces of software that are virtually incompatable. I spent 22 hours with Time Matters by Lexis Nexis trying to get that software working with Vista (which i finally figured out on my own).

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Aesthetics and Functionality

Nathan — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 04:52:52 +0000

When given a choice I prefer to work on functional issues instead of aesthetic ones. I trained for a few years to be an architect and learned quite a bit about aesthetics and design. I also learned enough to know I would make a much better engineer than an artist. Developing functionality in software and web design is often much more enjoyable to me than making aesthetic choices because you know when you built it right, it works. Often when I am working on a project I’ll field questions from my clients about Aesthetic choices. Why did you choose this color or place the ad in that place on my website? These questions have no real answer as the old adage goes beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Now there are some basic design principles that every designer should apply but once you get beyond that your design will either be approved or shot down strickly based on your clients opinion of what looks good to them. After all it is their business, product, service, etc and you are building their public face on the internet. The best advice I can give is design before you build and once the design is approved make sure your clients know changes can be expensive.

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I’ll have the Spam, with Spam, and a side of Spam.

Nathan — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 22:11:48 +0000

There are millions of spam email going out just today. The are almost as many ideas about how to get rid of all of the spam. Some recommend using a id system that tracks the server where the emails originate and verifies that each step of the way from that server to your inbox. There are many software solutions and they work to different degrees but require almost constant maintanance by the end user. I think we need a system that will verify who the sender is without having to “opt in” or be on someones whitelist. Then we can create an opt in system for spam from companys you do business with and charge those companies a per email tax to fund any hardware upgrades required to implement the system. Let me know if you have a better idea I would love to hear it. Maybe one day when my clients ask me if I can do something about their spam I will be able to say I can get rid of it all together.

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Website Hosting Questions

Nathan — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 15:42:22 +0000

Where should I host my website? People ask me about website and email hosting all of the time and I usually tell them that I can host it for them. When you need to host your own site I would recommend using 1and1.com. I have used several hosting providers over the last 10 years, too many to name here. Most hosting providers are really just resellers of someone elses hosting product and that gives them very little control when there are problems with service. 1 and 1 has both linux and microsoft hosting platforms from 1 site shared hosting up to a dedicated server. Prices start at around $3 per month for shared hosting accounts and that includes free domain name registration. One of the big issues I have with most hosting providers is their support after the sale is terrible, not so with 1and1. If you are interested in hosting your website, email, or just registering a domain name try 1 and 1 and you won’t be disappointed.

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Thinking About An IPhone. But Is AT&T Worth It?

Nathan — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 00:34:50 +0000

I have been thinking about getting an iphone as I really need a new phone and it seems like a very handy gadget. I would like to have one item that holds all my music, phone numbers, the internet, etc. but I don’t know if I am prepared to switch from Sprint to AT&T. The other day I had almost made up my mind to buy an iphone when I read a news story saying there was outage on the AT&T network in at least 18 states that lasted quite some time. Now to be fair the voice network never went down only the data network. I took this as a sign to put off buying the new iphone for awhile but I am sure I will eventually cave in. The big issue is that AT&T techs said they had no idea what caused the network failure. No Idea. That is scary. Almost as scary as my next Sprint bill.

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Great Ways To Earn Money On the Internet

Nathan — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 01:01:51 +0000

People ask me all of the time how can I make money on the internet. Well most people are looking for the get rich quick website and don’t want to put the time in to produce real and lasting income on the internet. One great resource is The Earners Blog. This blog will give you tips on how to improve your websites earning potential and give you a great idea about what it takes to make money. There are many important subjects including SEO, affiliate marketing, web design, and some great insites into making money on the internet. Please enjoy it.

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Privacy? What is that?

Nathan — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 19:25:21 +0000

This is what our kids will be asking. Here is a very interesting video and discussion on Boing Boing about AT&T’s new policy to filter the internet and spy on you. The government can already look at any internet traffic when they want to so the first battle on this issue has already been lost. AT&T will get approval for this from any regulators because they cooperated so fully with any and all government spying that needed to be done in the last few years. This video, I am sure will never be shown on tv, so I thought I might include it here.

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JStraitDesigns.com Website Launched

Nathan — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 16:26:22 +0000

Recently we worked with Jim Strait on a new website for his unique artistic creations. The website was built to showcase his tables, lamps, paintings, and accessories. JStraitDesigns.com is a great example of a permenant gallery for an artists work. We are planning on adding new content as it is created but as you could see on the site these complex pieces take a considerable amount of time to build. If you are interested in some unique art please visit the site and let Jim know what you think of his work and the new website.

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Harter, Larson, and Dodd CRM Installation

Nathan — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 05:02:45 +0000

We recently completed a network upgrade and crm management software install at the law firm of Harter, Larson, and Dodd. This is the first part of a project to improve work performance and help bring in a new lawyer and assistant to the firm. We installed Time Matters 9 and Billing Matters to help improve the office efficiency. The new system will help to organize the many digital documents used for each client, all of the email correspondence of the firm, and the schedules of the lawyers at the firm. The next project will be a full upgrade of the existing website and email.

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