Archive for category Internet & Computers

What’s the Buzz with Google Buzz??

Feb 11

Posted by Tom Doyle in Internet & Computers, Online Marketing, Social Media Marketing

Google have yet again started rolling out a new application with stealth for the last couple of days. Users of Gmail are gradually being presented with a new screen when they login to Gmail. Rather than being brought directly to their inbox, they are shown a page promoting their new “Buzz” service. “No sign up required” the message happily proclaims.

But what is it and why would I want it?

Basically, Google Buzz is Google’s take on a Twitter styled system. I guess you could say it has everything that Twitter doesn’t. Do we really need another system like this? I’d have to say no, but it is a great way to get people engaging online. For example, Facebook brought in a similar system last year and it’s use grew substantially. Twitter still lags way behind Facebook in terms of users, but it’s simple system is appealing to a lot of people. People new to Twitter will probably feel that Google is trying to rip off Facebook, but that is not the case.

So where does this leave Twitter? For months there were rumours that Google was on the verge of buying Twitter – but it never it just never materialised. Most people within the online community expected it as a fact, rather than something that was about to happen. Personally, I can’t see Google buying Twitter now that it has built it’s own system that is very similar (or a complete rip!) with a lot more features.

It will be interesting to see if this has an effect on Twitter if any at all! One things for sure, Twitter will have to start working extra hard at trying to build a revenue model for the site as it doesn’t look like anyone will be interested in buying them now… unless of course Microsoft want a piece of this!

Microsoft and Yahoo! bitch and moan about Google Buzz (pheedcontent.com)
I just turned off Buzz (vostok.es)
BREAKING: Google Buzz is brilliant, Facebook just lost half its value. (calacanis.com)
Follow KevinMD on Google Buzz (kevinmd.com)
Brands Wasting No Time With Google Buzz. This Could Get Annoying. (techcrunch.com)
Pixar exec to join Twitter as CFO (news.cnet.com)
Google ‘Buzz’ to take on Facebook (thestar.com)
Google Buzz, Facebook, and the Non-Revolution. (pamil-visions.net)
Microsoft Slams Google Buzz (techcrunch.com)

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Tags: Facebook, Google, Google Buzz, Microsoft, Online Communities, Social network, Twitter

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HL-340 Drivers (RS232 USB Cable)

Jan 21

Posted by Tom Doyle in Internet & Computers

: Image via Wikipedia

Everytime I need to find drivers for my RS232 cable, it takes an absolute age. It’s so hard to find a link to a trustworthy copy of the driver.

So rather than wasting a lot of time the next time round, I’ve decided to upload the HL-340 drivers to my blog! It’s probably illegal to do this, but I’ll take my chances!

Maybe you’ve been scouring the web yourself looking for them? If so, click here to download HL-340 drivers (rar file)

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Tags: RS-232, RS232 to USB, USB-SER

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Internet Register Ireland Scam

Jan 8

Posted by Tom Doyle in Internet & Computers

Here’s another of those Internet Directory scams that is doing the rounds a lot lately.

The Internet Register Ireland is very similar to the European City Guide scam, it looks a little more legit in that it has an Irish phone number to fax the registration form to.

Whatever you do, don’t even think about returning this form. If you do, expect a bill of €958 every year for absolutely nothing (well you may get a link in a useless web directory).

You’ve been warned!

European City Guide Scam (tomdoyletalk.com)
World Company Directory Scam (tomdoyletalk.com)

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Tags: European City Guide, European City Guide Scam, Internet Scams, Scam, World Company Directory Scam

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Athlone Web Design

Dec 11

Posted by Tom Doyle in Internet & Computers, Web Design

: Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Regardless of what business you are in, there’s always someone willing to go the extra mile to lower the tone, quality and image of the industry. None more so than the web industry. Spamming the Internet is easier than any other form of marketing – it’s free, easy and only takes a short amount of time.

Fortunately, most professional web design companies, don’t lower themselves to these tactics because they either don’t need to or prefer to distance themselves from such tactics to avoid damaging their brand. None-the-less, there is always one shady company hanging around the corner waiting for an opportunity to pounce. It really irks me to see companies pass themselves off as being “professional web design companies”, when they resort to these spamming tactics.

Let’s face it, using the word “Professional” is probably one of the oldest marketing tricks in the book. It says it as it is. Just because these companies offer a lower quality of work does not mean they are not professional in other ways, therefore, it’s hardly false advertising. The bit that gets me is when they try to pass themselves off as being as good as the next or largest web development company in the country. The simple fact is that those regarded as the best among their peers have never resorted to such tactics to get where they are today.

BenDunne.com has been flooded with spam since it went free (until the 18th of December) and in every category, there is a web design company offering cheap and nasty web solutions. Why Athlone Web Design think that posting adverts with pictures of kittens, puppies motorbikes and even wads of cash will help make anyone decide to use them is beyond me. But to think that they call themselves professional when they need to resort to tactics like this is just well beyond belief.

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Tags: Web design, Web Design and Development, Web development

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BenDunne.com is Free, but full of spam

Dec 10

Posted by Tom Doyle in Internet & Computers, Online Marketing

I’ve talked about BenDunne.com now on a number of occasions now, it’s nearly getting boring. That was of course until he announced last week that it would be free to post adverts on BenDunne.com until the 18th of December 2009. I refrained from posting on this blog about it to try stop the monotony of it all.

But today it’s clear that he is still being terribly advised by his “web team”. As soon as it was free to post ads on BenDunne.com, the madness started. Now it appears you can buy anything from a pet called Mogawi to a Raptor or even a certain golfer as a golfing coach. Clearly the site has been overrun with spammy listings since it went free to post. The guys at IQ Content, found a lot more examples of these spammy listings (click here to view).

This has to be one of the best examples of a badly planned web project I have ever seen. I really do hope Ben’s site succeeds, but so far it’s hard to have any faith in him achieving success. That is of course until he gets better advice.

Related Articles

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Tags: Ben Dunne, BenDunne.com

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World Company Directory Scam

Nov 20

Posted by Tom Doyle in Internet & Computers

Just a little word of warning to anyone that receives an email from a company calling themselves “World Company Directory”. This looks very much like another scam we reported on recently, the European City Guide Scam. We received an email from worldcompanydirectory.com today, and the email went like this:

Madam/Sir.

In order to have your company inserted into the registry of World Company Directory for 2009/2010, please print, complete and return the enclosed form (PDF file) to the following address:

WORLD COMPANY DIRECTORY

100 Pall Mall – St. James
London SW1Y 5NQ
United Kingdom

email: register@worldcompanydirectory.com

FAX: ++44 207 321 3738

Updating is free of charge!

Please don’t even think about filling in this form and returning it. It’s a nasty attempt to get you to sign-up, unwillingly for an annual subscription charge of €980. The small print clearly states:

I HEREBY ORDER A SUBSCRIPTION WITH SERVICE PROVIDER WORLD COMPANY DIRECTORY LTD. I WILL HAVE AN
ENTRY INTO ITS DATABASE FOR THREE YEARS. THE PRICE PER YEAR IS EUR 980.

Avoid at all costs or pay the price!!!

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Tags: European City Guide, European City Guide Scam, Fraud, Scam, WORLD COMPANY DIRECTORY. WORLDCOMPANYDIRECTORY.com

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WiMax pricing finally released

Nov 9

Posted by Tom Doyle in Broadband, Internet & Computers, WiMax

: Image of imagine WiMax

It’s only 3 weeks late, but Imagine have finally released their much anticipated WiMax Broadband pricing. And after all the hype, it wasn’t something worth waiting for.

Although most press releases this morning mention that Imagine’s WiMax is 50% cheaper than Eircoms equivalent, anyone who has been on the lookout for Broadband recently, knows that Eircom is one of the more expensive offerings. When you compare Imagine’s WiMax with one of their competitors such as UPC / NTL, the mid range offer from Imagine is actually €8 more expensive. The only benefit of choosing Imagine’s WiMax package is the fact that it has an unlimited download cap. Imagine’s fastest offering, the 7MB option is €3 cheaper than UPC’s 10MB offering. On the positive side, Imagine’s Mobile Broadband offering is quite impressive. For a 7MB mobile broadband connection, it costs only €15 a month.

After all the hype generated from the Imagine publicity team, I feel very let down. At the moment, with the current pricing structure, there is absolutely no reason for me to change my current provider at home. I’m sure a lot of people will feel the same.

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Tags: Broadband, Computers and Internet, Eircom, Mobile Broadband, UPC Ireland, WiMax, WiMax Ireland

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WiMax – Google It! Imagine still playing a costly game

Nov 2

Posted by Tom Doyle in Internet & Computers

There has been plenty of talk across the Irish web community about how risky Imagine’s “WiMax – Google it!” campaign is. It’s two weeks now since Imagine had promised to launch their new WiMax offering in Ireland. But even today, their website continues to exclude information on their pricing for WiMax.

I missed their Tweet on Twitter last Friday, where they announced that the pricing won’t be released until sometime this week. So the first thing I did when I arrived in work this morning was visit Google and type WiMax… Then I of course clicked on the sponsored listing. When I think back, this is what I’ve been doing for the last 2 weeks!! At this stage, I’m sure I’ve cost them at least €5 – my assumption would be that a lot of other people are doing the exact same as me!

Even as late as this morning, Jason Roe asked on Twitter “Anyone got any idea why there is a billboard that says “wimax” google it? I had a quick look.. no sign of the people who ran the campaign!”. While Bernie Goldbach writes about how his website is receiving an extra 85 hits per day because his article is appearing top of the Google SERPs for “WiMax Ireland”.

Both these events are another clear indication that their campaign simply is very risky and it’s costing them money! But fair play to them, they are taking the risk and people are talking about them! I doubt that this was their initial intention, but I may be wrong… I have been a couple of times in the past

WiMax – Aren’t Imagine so confident

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Tags: Jason Roe, WiMax, WiMax Ireland

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Mugurdy – The New Irish (made) Search Engine

Oct 29

Posted by Tom Doyle in Internet & Computers, Online Marketing, Web Design, Web Development

I always love to see new indigenous Irish companies getting a break. But when I read a newspaper article about an Irish company who were about to launch a new visual search engine, I thought to myself “oh no, someone else has been duped into parting with their hard earned cash!”.

A “visual search engine” is nothing new by any stretch of the imagination. There are a number of high profile visual search engines already up and running on the web for some time. In fact one of the leading visual search engines (searchme.com) has recently shut its doors. Their once innovative website sits looking deserted, with what can only be described as a desperate plea to raise cash by selling their IP to anyone who will take it off their hands! In the company press release, they stated that they needed to raise at LEAST $100 million to compete with the likes of Google, Bing or Yahoo!. This should be a stark reality check for Mugurdy, since it’s straight from a company that had already pumped $44m into their doomed idea.

But who cares huh?
We’re Irish after all and we all love the under dog… Surely Mugurdy can pull this one out of the bag with their Irish fighting spirit!

Wrong…

I stumbled across the sites release after reading a post on Boards.ie which said:

“I just thought I’d drop in a link to http://www.mugurdy.com which is a search engine we’ve been working on for a while now. It’s not finished, is basically still in beta, but I’d be interested to hear any feedback on it!”

I’m not entirely sure what Mugurdy’s strategy is here. If this is their plan for promoting the website, they really need a reality check. Remember, Microsoft pumped $1 billion into the marketing of their new Bing search engine to try compete with Google. If Mugurdy think that posting a link on one of Ireland’s most popular web properties is the way forward, they should really think again. I do hope they have a better strategy for promoting their site than this.

Anyway, I decided to play around with the search itself, to see if I would ever use a search like this. Now I know from using other visual search engines, that they just don’t give me what I expect from a search engine that I would be someone hard to please. Let’s face it, I search for information, not for pictures. I can see a use for a visual search engine for certain things, like looking for the prettiest website in a particular sector or to find a website that I a visual memory of what the website looked like. But for finding specific information, visual search just doesn’t cut it.

The first thing I noticed when I visited mugurdy.com was the homepage… They obviously went for the simplistic look made famous by Google. But they left out one key element of the Google homepage that Google value so much, their copyright notice. I’ve spoke before about why Google value their copyright notice (click here to read) and if Mugurdy want to compete with the big boys, they need to start researching in depth why things work so well for Google. There is plenty of free material available out there with studies on how people interact with Google.

As I continued on, it was clear that Mugurdy simply didn’t have the quality results that Google would have. I don’t knock them for that, we’ve seen how hard it has been for every other search engine on the web to come up with the quality of results that Google possess.

It didn’t take me long to realise (again) that visual search just isn’t for me, and never will be. For me, it’s much quicker and easier to hold my ctrl key and click each link on Google results to open a new tab. I can click 4 or 5 that interest me and by the time I’ve clicked the fifth result, the other 3/4 before that will have loaded into a full browser window in a new tab. You just can’t beat that simplicity.

It really makes you think about how companies are getting investment in Ireland. In the past year or two I’ve seen a lot of good start up businesses with great web ideas struggling to raise investment. Then you see companies like Mugurdy being invested in when they clearly have little chance of success. If our investors keep investing in ideas like this, we’ll have no money left to put behind really high potential start ups.

Web Search Market Share (arnoldit.com)
Microsoft’s ‘Bing’ Is Anything But Bling As Marketshare Keeps Slipping (inquisitr.com)

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Tags: Bing, Google, Microsoft, Mugurdy, Search Engines, Visual Search Engine, Visual Search Engines, Web search engine, Yahoo

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WiMax – aren’t Imagine so confident!

Oct 28

Posted by Tom Doyle in Internet & Computers

I have to admit, I simply can’t wait for Imagine to release information on the WiMax packages they plan to provide in Ireland. Imagine had announced that their WiMax offering would be ready to go on the 19th of October. Fast forward 9 days or so and there is still no information on their website.

You got to love Imagines confidence in their bus shelter advertisements. “WiMax… Google it”, states one poster in a nearby bus shelter. It’s fair to say that not many people know exactly what WiMax is. Even when speaking to a few techies recently, the mere mention of the word “WiMax”, left a dazzled look on their faces. So why are Imagine so confident that Googling WiMax will be enough to draw people in and use their service.

Of course, when you search for WiMax on Google, the Imagine website is no-where to be found in the organic search results. Imagine do have a paid listing on top of the search results simply stating “Next Generation Phone & Broadband Saving You up to 50% Every Month!”. Now, if I was an ordinary Joe Soap that had never heard of WiMax and the great advantages it brings, would I bother clicking through? I get bombarded on a near daily basis as it stands with the “best broadband offer available” adverts. Ok, but what if I did decide to click-through, my real motive would only be to see how much I could really save… Unfortunately, when I get to the Imagine website, the link to the “WiMax” plans don’t work. Imagine seem to have spent a lot of money already on a product launch that doesn’t seem ready to be launched – it must be great having so much money to burn!

Which makes me think a little more…

Would Imagine be ready to challenge someone who is willing to spend more to appear higher than them for that keyword?

Let’s take a simple scenario; let’s say Eircom were to roll out WiMax tomorrow (I know that would never happen). Every single Imagine poster for their WiMax product that I have seen, simply uses the following as their call to action : “WiMax… Google it”. Now all Eircom have to is get above them in the search results to sabotage their campaign. How easy would that be? Well if Eircom could produce some quality content and were willing to spend more money than Imagine, not too hard is the simple answer! At the moment, the top bid for WiMax on Google Adwords (targeting Ireland only) is €1.50 per click…

Another way of looking at it is that someone could write a decent web site covering the WiMax topic and generate a small bit of revenue. It doesn’t look like it would be too difficult to get to the top of the Google Search results (in Google.ie) for the keyword WiMax. So in theory, someone could potentially take a cut of the money being spent with Google Adwords by Imagine, utilising the Google Adsense network. I’m sure it wouldn’t be much, but something none-the-less! Google adsense to follow below

Understanding Google Adwords Quality Score (smtusa.com)

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Tags: Google Adsense, Google Adwords, Imagine, Wi-Max, WiMax, WiMax Ireland

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Tom Doyle

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Archive for category Internet & Computers

HL-340 Drivers (RS232 USB Cable)

Internet Register Ireland Scam

Athlone Web Design

BenDunne.com is Free, but full of spam

World Company Directory Scam

WiMax pricing finally released

WiMax – Google It! Imagine still playing a costly game

Mugurdy – The New Irish (made) Search Engine

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