February 24, 2007
And it could be ... dare I say it ... disruptive.
Pop in your email at the iBegin Source site and find out when it goes live (T minus ~10 days)
February 9, 2007
Okay you stragglers (I'm referring to you, 271 subs according to FeedBurner) - this blog is nothing more than historical archive.
I will make it easy.
The new site is Tech Soapbox
The new feed URL is http://feeds.feedburner.com/TechSoapbox
January 20, 2007
Just a reminder - I am now blogging at Tech Soapbox.
Two of my latest (and interesting) posts revolve around blog resources we sold off (including one of the biggest blog directories) and avoiding the manic information overload.
For those that subscribe to the AJAX Review RSS feed, you want to subscribe to http://feeds.feedburner.com/TechSoapbox (if you want to stay with me). FeedBurner still says 255 subscribers!
January 18, 2007
Blogging on AJAX Review was fun. At first. Then it got sort of boring - 99.9% wherever AJAX was used, it was for a stupid reason. So while I ranted about how AJAX was a technique to make pages more useful, I kept getting emails for odd random sites that were nothing more than gimmicky.
So I stopped blogging.
And then I occasionally blogged about something tech-related that I found interesting. Such as local search not really being truly local. Or why Google consistently beats down Yahoo! and MSN. But really, those have nothing to do with AJAX 
I actually comment on all the blogs I am subscribed to (if I don't comment once a month I unsubscribe from them). And extending comment would mean blogging again. But not here - I am no longer reviewing AJAX websites.
So I now have Tech Soapbox. The name gives it away. I've posted five times already there, from the recent post on how the internet is still confusing to my original post - a rant about scummy business practices.
I've even posted some information about myself on the About Us page. It should really be 'About Me', but I guess that will be fixed up soon.
So - instead of forcing you guys to change over your RSS feed (I hate being forced to do anything), I present to you the new feed URL: http://feeds.feedburner.com/TechSoapbox.
December 21, 2006
We recently created a little widget that lets your visitor's rate how fast your site loaded. Afterwards, we figure out their city locations by their IP and map it. Cool quick and easy way to see how fast your site loads around the world.
It is one of my underlying arguments of AJAX - something useful that does what it is supposed to do (without excessive frills).
Check it out: Rate My Web Hosting
On a related note, I will be expanding this original blog into a new blog that will contain my daily musings and thoughts. I was slightly holed by having 'ajax' in this domain, hopefully my endeavors will be longer lasting on the new domain
November 17, 2006
Even with geocoding provided for free by companies like Google (and thus finding an enterprise paid solution should not be much of a stretch), it seems like most local search sites have no clue how to find an address.
Lets try the ubiquitous search of 'pizza'. Our sample address: '1495 Union Ave, Memphis, TN' Memphis is a big city, but doesn't get the attention that cities like SF and NY get.
Google: pass
Yahoo: pass
Local MSN pass
Insider Pages: fail
JudysBook: fail
Local.com: pass (but all those ads make me want to gouge my eyeballs out)
Yelp: fail
TrueLocal: fail
YellowPages.com: pass (barely - it actually just did it by ZIP. Good enough, but not good enough for a domain that cost $100,000,000).
Tooting my own horn:
iBegin Memphis: pass
Just a caveat - iBegin Memphis isn't ready for primetime. But just like I mentioned in my earlier post about why Google keeps winning, the small details matter.
November 17, 2006
Because Google knows what it is like being a webmaster. You don't want to wait around - you want it done asap.
I read today that Google, MSN, and Yahoo had all standardized on a sitemaps format. More information at Sitemaps.org. Kudos on that.
But the submission process is crappy. You can submit directly to Google, but that is well hidden. Otherwise you have to sign up for their Webmaster Tools site. A bit cumbersome, but it is rather nifty. That is for another day.
MSN lets you submit a URL, but it asks you for a captcha every time. Really - this is just annoying. If I am an automated robot that beat your captcha the first time, I can damn well beat it the second time. Plus, sitemaps are supposed to be guidelines. I would imagine that once a domain/site has enough trust/authority, the sitemap would then just be a way of getting in. So boo for hassling me in that manner.
Yahoo - they have Site Explorer. So okay, like Google, they make me register. Fine. But the entire process? Way behind Google. Google makes you upload a blank file with a name, and then immediately verifies it. Yahoo? You must upload some text (for most people, not a big problem, but for me and how I work online, creating a file is 100x easier than adding content in it). On top of that, the verification is 'queued'. I now sit six hours later, with my sites stuck in pending.
Google: Makes me register, but instant verification, two methods, and tons of interesting data
MSN: No registration required, but damn annoying captcha (it adds up with each URL)
Yahoo: Makes me register, cumbersome verification, no idea if I get any associated information.
Google still gets it, while MSN and Yahoo are still left looking.
November 9, 2006
I recently did a guest over at The daily j.d.a where I talked about headaches associated with user verification and validity.
