Alpha Inventions: Pulling The Thorn From Your Stats

One of the great things about WordPress is the stats feature, hands down it is the killer feature that keeps me here. With a single click I can see what posts are popular and use that information as a gage when I am planning future posts. Not to say that popularity is the sole motivator for how I manage my blog, but it is of course a factor.

Like all things that can “indicate popularity”  people become obsessed with stats, and some creative coders manipulate this personality flaw of these bloggers. These “code magicians” can give you access to products to drive up your stats, but few do it in a way that legitimately increases readership of your blog. An example is a product that has dogged my stats for some time: Alpha Inventions.

The premise is this: Alpha scans blogs on services like WordPress and aggregates them. The blogs it grabs are then displayed on a screen run by Alpha with the page changing every few seconds. The idea is that this site is a big advertisement for all the blogs that appear and will thus drive traffic to those sites. This seems strait forward and it certainly does drive up traffic, Alpha recently drove up my traffic by 150+ hits in a single day for a simple update to my “about” page.

However, this traffic is in no way legitmate and only serves to warp your stats and thus cripples the useful stats tool which CAN help you drive REAL traffic to your site which results in actual readers. Why would I say this? Simple, each time your site goes up on the the Alpha website your blog counts it as a hit regardless of whether the person seeing it decides to visit your site and actually read (and maybe subscribe to) your content. So in the end you’re traffic hasn’t really gone up and now you have no idea what posts are popular.

I have read several forum threads about this one product and it was a real challenge for many people to convince the inventor to even allow an opt-out. Basically the guy just didn’t get it. In his view blogger content is public, search engines crawl our pages all the time, so whats the problem? Clearly the guy is not a blogger and has never used the tools of the trade. I have no problem with this blog being public or search engines crawling it to increase my search rating; but these things do not fowl up my stats… Alpha does. After some very long threads the guy finally put in an opt-out page, which is not very easy to find (there is no link I can find on his main page, I found it on a support thread after two hours of reading support threads). So if you are in the same boat as me, here is the link to block this site: alphainventions.com/block

Ideally this service would be an opt-in for those that want it, rather than being an opt-out and an added annoyance to blog authors everywhere…as if we do not already have enough. I know Alpha hasn’t made any friends here at Alltech.

Zenbe Update

As I wrote in an earlier post Zenbe Mail which was a promising product seems to continue it fall from a hopeful path. As I reported the free  Zenbe Personal has basically become abandon-ware in that it receives no updates, does not allow new sign-up, and judging from the posts I have been reading no user support either.

In that aforementioned post I down graded Zenbe to a “watch”, however due to some recent events I am down grading it again to my lowest rating of “Just say NO!”.

The reason for this is now on top of all of the neglect of the free product, their server for it has gone down due to a  maintenance issue. This happens, but no one was told the maintenance was taking place in the first place. Further I am seeing comments on the official blog post regarding  it that peoples inboxes now have the entire contents of their trash cans dumped into the inbox making for huge messes. Whats worse is the forum has been completely down for about a month now leaving users with little recourse to seek assistance.

Let me make one thing clear: though I only use the free Zenbe service this suggestion not to use the product applies to all Zenbe products and services. My logic is that if a team can not support and reasonably assure one products viability it is rather likely they lack the resources to maintain any of their products. I know I am not going to pay for something when it appears that the free product and the support forums become more useless on a regular basis. It’s a shame too, I really liked Zenbe.

Need a New Portable Computer and a Kindle Cheap?

The Kindle is pretty great and netbooks are pretty great, but buying both is a bit much for many people. A descent netbook will run you around 350-400 bucks and the Kindle is 260 dollars; that bring your total to 550-650 dollars for both device assuming your ok with a entry level netbook. That a bit much, but what if you could have the advantages of both in one device, with the latest software, and have that one device be more capable all for 550? Sound to good to be true, listen up:

Archos is about to release a new tablet called the Archos 9. It has Windows 7, an atom processor, 5 hours of battery life, full touch screen, and unlike many tablets has a traditional usb port. Basically it can do everything a Windows 7 netbook can, but is set up like a 9 inch Iphone. It is completely worth the 550 price tag.

Once you have your nifty new tablet, its time to turn it into a much more exciting Ereader than the Kindle itself. Simple download the Kindle for PC software for free, sign up, and start reading. Unlike the Kindle your books will be in color, and unlike the Kindle for the Iphone you will actually be able to see the words on the screen. Also remember that the Archos 9 is a touch device so the Kindle app will work much like the Iphone app.

As with all non-Kindle hardware there are a few smalls drawbacks:

• Like with the Iphone perodicals are disabled
• You can not do notes

Peek Update

The more I think about it the more the Peek kind of makes sense. Here are the main points that have caused my change of heart:

1. With Twitter, Unlimited Text, and Push Email the Peek Pronto is very capable and meets the needs of many people that have chosen these forms of communication over traditional voice calls.

2. At twenty bucks a month of unlimited service with no contract you really can’t go wrong. Cellphones are far more expensive. Also the Peek itself is priced fairly at 60 bucks with free shipping.

3. For the price of an Iphone and a months service bill you can have Peek for life with nothing to pay for ever.

4. Right now they are running a deal if you buy a Peek they cut the service from 20 to 10 bucks a month for as long as you own the device.

With my change of heart I am giving the Peek a Rating of: Use It

Check out the Peek over on their website, you still might catch the sale if you hurry.

Two Awesome Firefox Add-ons

One reason Firefox is so awesome is that it is very customizable. A user can make it super simple or highly complex just by going to the Firefox Add-on site. As an avid Firefox user I try out lots of add-ons, but only two are mainstays on my system. One is functional and the other is a theme that I feel updates the Firefox experience and makes an already awesome app even better.

Xmarks is an essential add-on for anyone that uses several browsers. The concept is simple: You install the add-on, create an account, and then you can sync your bookmarks and/or passwords via the Internet to any browsers with the add-on also installed. The best part is that it has cross-browser support for not just Firefox but also IE, Safari and even Chrome. Further you can use it across different platforms so you can sync your Firefox bookmarks to Safari, IE, or Chrome, or any other combination for that matter. It also has some great search features as well. Xmarks will highlight the top three most bookmarked sites in your Google search and by simply clicking on the Xmarks icon in your url bar you can find out more information about whatever site you are visiting.

Chromifox Extreme Carbon is a great theme inspired by Google Chrome. Unlike Chrome though it has a nice industrial grey/silver color scheme similar to Safari. I like the simplicity of the Chrome inspired layout with the tabs above the menus along with the industrial design of Safari all while preserving the menus of Firefox. Chrome’s “Bug Zapper” blue color, overly simplistic menus, and lack of a separate search box annoys me. This theme take the best cues from three different browsers and marries them very nicely. Here is a screenshot:, click on it to view a larger version

No Email For You ~GMX to its Users

In the never ending odyssey of GMX blunders the past couple weeks have been rather eventful. It would seem over the past couple weeks increasing amounts of people have been locked out of their accounts for “security reasons” stranding dozens of people without access to their mail.

If this happens to you email: support@gmx.com to regain access. Of course who knows how long it will take to get a access again, if you have experienced this process hands on please comment so others know what to expect.

If this hasn’t happened to you, it would be a good time to get your ducks in a  row.  No matter how much you like/dislike a service you should always have a secondary account to fall back on, in fact most email providers require a alternative email address to sign up. Also if you are a GMX user make sure your back-up account is listed and correct within your GMX user settings, you may need it to get back into your account.

Promising New Battery Technology

EV cars have long fascinated me, frankly I want one. I have wanted one since GM’s controversial ev1 program. For many EV’s are perfect since the average person does not travel more than 40 miles a day. One of the barriers for widespread EV adoption though is the Battery Technology unfortunately.

Large scale batteries add a pretty hefty cost to the price of a car and have an unavoidable limit on how far one can travel with a single charge; not to mention the impact on the environment. So the customer is paying more for a handicapped vehicle. I love the EV concept and even I get that.  Until this is either overcome completely or at minimum total mileage is around 120 miles with little to no cost difference EV’s will remain a niche product. They will have a place in the market, but will never rule the roads.

One promising technology is a liquid battery called Redox Flow. In this type of battery a charged fluid and be extracted when it loses its charge and then replaced with freshly charged fluid. These fluids can be used over and over again which makes it sustainable unlike many of our current battery technologies. With this concept one could pull into a “gas” station, pump out expired battery fluid, pump in fresh fluid, the station could then recharge the fluid, and sell it right back. Conceivably this tech could not only kill out dependence on foreign oil it could save/create jobs through “gas” stations AND eliminate the pollution to refine and transport petrol.

For more information on this check out the article over on cnet.

GMX and Firefox 3.6

I had been waiting for it and it finally happened: My first forum poster asking why his “upgraded” Firefox doesn’t work with GMX.

As many know GMX decided long ago that they would not support all browsers, nor would they support any development releases. Some sites take the same approach but GMX goes a step further and blocks these development releases outright rather than giving the user the “enter at your own risk” sign other sites employ. Frankly there is nothing wrong with that.

Some people get rather upset about this, but I believe these users are misguided. Here are the facts:

1. Development releases are NOT upgrades, they are unfinished software and by their nature wont work quite right.

2. The makers of these programs do not intend for them to be used as your primary source for its intended function. Its just for testing and feedback.

3. Webmasters are completely within their rights to limit the software their sites interact with in any way. If you choose to use a piece of unfinished software you should check to make sure it will work with the sites you want it to first.

4. Most people that are legitimately testing say a Beta of a web browser know these first three facts, plan accordingly, know how to get around problems like the one GMX presents, and are the ones least likely to be surprised…because they know it goes with the territory.

Firefox 3.6 is not an upgrade, its not finished, and its not meant for daily use. If you are not testing it, can not accept the first three facts on this list, and are unwilling to interact with Mozilla community to learn skills to get around problems you should just stick with the current full release, which at current is 3.5.5. Also remember if you can’t get it through the auto update function in Firefox’s help menu it is not ready yet.

Here is what Mozilla says right on the Firefox 3.6 download page:

“This is pre-release software: you may encounter compatibility problems with some websites and add-ons.”

 

GMX Maintenance This Friday/Saturday

I just saw this on the forum for GMX and since many people might not see the “Status Update” post because that area of the forum has been so baron for so long I thought it a good idea to cross-post it here:

“Hi everyone,

This coming Friday, Nov. 13, we will be undergoing maintenance procedures to update our database and improve the overall performance of GMX Mail.

Please be advised that the procedure will take approximately 30 mins.

Nov. 13, Friday evening (US)
Nov. 14, Saturday morning (Europe)

During the maintenance procedure, you will still be able to access your account. However, the registration of new addresses, as well as any changes in the account settings, will not be possible during this period.”

This was an official post from GMX and did not originate with me, to see the original post: click here.

Kubuntu 9.10: First Thoughts

As I posted previously I am in the process of taking the plunge into the new Ubuntu 9.10. More accurately I am taking on Kubuntu and Xubuntu. Xubuntu has been my primary operating system for some time now, but a few months ago I installed Kubuntu on my fathers computer because of its “windows-like” feel. Due to this I decided to take on Kubuntu first so I felt comfortable when updating his system in a couple months. So lets have it, shall we?

The Good:

1. First and fore most this version of Kubuntu actually worked with my laptop. My laptop is an Everex gbook that uses a low power VIA processor and graphics. The last version had many install issues and I never did get it to work right, though the same version of Xubuntu worked fine.

2. Even on my system It feels much more snappy, I am excited to see how it will preform on my fathers full powered pc.

3. Flash installed easly and worked properly on the first try, a big improvement over the last version.

4. The widgets seem more stable this time around and do not randomly quit.

The Bad:

1. Kpackagekit is still crap. The gnome/xfce manager for downloading/updating seems faster, more intuitive, user friendly, and less prone to issues. I have a hard time finding packages in kpackagekit and a weird problem…

3. That weird problem is that the Mozilla Java plug-in broke my dependencies and now I get all these maddening alerts that fill my screen and obstruct its operation. You can follow my thread on this issue over at the Ubuntu Forums

4. The reminders are worse than Windows Vista! I literally had 46 reminders about this dependency issue waiting for me when I got home. One would have done the job. There should be a way to turn these things off.

So far for me its about 50/50 which is a vast improvement over the last version. I will keep you all posted, hopefully can solve these few issues and move on to Xubuntu soon

 

**Update** I fixed the Java plugin issues. Apparently the Java plugin in the repos breaks some dependencies. I used aptitude to remove that package and installed the sun-java.bin instead via the terminal and all seems fine now.