Personal Finance Management and Planning

Huge Tax Credit for HomeBuyers

noreply@blogger.com (ghostrider30) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 17:22:22 PST

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Coldwell Banker. All opinions are 100% mine.

If you are a first time homebuyer like me then you would definitely want to check out
2010 Homebuyer Tax Credits to get some interesting information on Tax credits from Coldwell Banker. I was looking for some exciting deals on purchasing a home in Houston and came across the video that brought me to this interesting fact for first-time homebuyers, or those who have not owned in the last three years, who can now receive up to an $8,000 tax credit.

I did my research on this topic and even tried starting a new Home Search on the site and found a wealth of information on saving tax. Some important facts that are revealed are that Homeowners who have lived in a current home consecutively for 5 of the past 8 years can receive up to a $6,500 tax credit when purchasing a home. There may be no future extensions, so all qualified homebuyers are urged to act and have a written, binding contract by April 30, 2010 (close by June 30, 2010.) Income limits are now $125,000 for singles, $225,000 for married couples with a $20,000 phase-out of the credit for both. The first-time tax credit was working, but what housing and our national economy needed was incentive for the move-up buyer. According to The 2009 National Association of Realtors® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, the number of first-time home buyers rose to 47 percent of all home sales from 41 percent of transactions in last year!s study, and was the highest on record dating back to 1981. The previous high was 44 percent in 1991. I highly encourage you to watch the video and research the site if you are in a similar boat like me.

"Swagbucks" Search Engine that pays you money to Search

noreply@blogger.com (ghostrider30) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 17:05:44 PST

Swagbucks provides "Bucks" for searches, entering special SwagCodes, shopping, referring others, interacting on Swagbuck's Facebook page, commenting on Swagbucks's blog, and other stuff. 3 Bucks are awarded just for registering (free). Bucks can be redeemed for a very large selection of gift cards and other goodies. Some samples as of December 11, 2009:
$25 Restaurant.com e-Gift Card for 40 Swagbucks.
$5.00 Amazon e-Gift Card for 45 bucks.
$50 Southwest airlines e-Gift Card for 570 bucks.
$5 credit to your PayPal account for 70 bucks.
$20 Target e-Gift Card for 235 bucks.
$10 Barnes and Nobel for 125 swagbucks
$15 iTunes for 185 swagbucks
$50 REI for 840 swagbucks
$50 TicketMaster for 840 swagbucks
$50 Lowes for 865 swagbucks
Please tell me if any of the specific prizes I mentioned disappear, or if a good one of general interest is added. Thanks.
The web site says that searches are by Google and Ask. So you may get the same results here as on those web sites, though I have not yet verified this. If you do several searches per day anyway, it would cost you little time to simply open your Swagbucks account in a separate window and use it to do your searches.
Not all searches result in bucks. I am still trying to determine if the bucks are dependent on the specific search, or are random.

2 Swagbucks per day gets you, for example, a $5 Amazon.com certificate every 23 days. Easy. Just do the searches you would do anyway via Swagbucks.
I seem to regularly be awarded 1-3 bucks for my second, third or fourth search in the morning and again at night.
Frequently clicking on page two or three of a search result gets me a swagbuck. So now I automatically do this for every search.
Searching, clicking on a result, then clearing out my cash and clicking on my back button very often results in bucks.
SwagBucks will deactivate your account if they think you are doing "unatural" searches. I suggest you just open a separate window for SwagBucks and simply do your normal searches there.
SwagCodes are codes provided by Swagbucks on its Facebook, Flickr, and Twitter pages, in its emailed newsletter for which you may sign up, on its toolbar which you may download, and on its blog. Sometimes the code comes in the form of an interesting puzzle which you must solve.

Fortunately you do not have to read all of these to get the codes. Some enterprising Canadians post them on a RedFlagDeals.com thread. The codes last for only a short period of time. So it is best to sign up with RedFlagDeals.com, then subscribe to the thread. You can chose to receive instant notice of new posts to this thread via email or cell phone. After you receive a notice of a new post you must visit the thread while you are logged in to receive another notice. I just stay logged in and click on the link to the thread in the email. Please carefully read the instructions at the top of this thread. It is for posting SwagCodes and their expirations only. No thank yous, no discussions, etc, because every time you post something on that thread it gets emailed to everyone subscribed to it, thus forcing us to visit the thread to get the next email.
SlickDeals has a similar thread, but it does not have the level of cooperation of RedFlagDeals, as people post thank you's, comments, duplicate information, etc.
SwagCodes usually earn one easy buck, sometimes more. To get credit for a code, click on My Account at the top of the page, enter the code in the Enter your SwagCode field to the left of the page, and click on Gimmie.
Please do contribute your finds of SwagCodes on these threads.
There is a flyertalk thread on which SwagCodes and successful searches are posted. You can subscribe to this one for email notices of new posts.

There is a useful general discussion of Swagbucks on the afore mentioned RedFlagDeals.com. This is where you read and post comments other than finds and expirations of SwagCodes, say thank you if you must, etc.

Whenever you successfully refer someone, the bucks earned in that person's account from searches are matched in yours, to a maximum of 100 bucks per referral. This, of course, is why I hope you will use my referral link to join the program

Best deal post chistmas day sale

noreply@blogger.com (ghostrider30) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 17:10:44 PST

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Charter Communication. All opinions are 100% mine.

If you have missed the Thanksgiving and Christmas deals of 2009, then here is you last chance to get a peek of year end groundbreaking sweepstakes and offerings with one last push—and it’s the best of the year 2009. As I had mentioned earlier, I had seen this opportunity on the charter site and before I purchased my HDTV I had ordered the cable from their site. I am still hoping I will win one of their two most exciting deals: 1)They have great deals on Charter Cable, Internet and Phone services, including FREE Gift Cards with special online deals and 2) Good chance to win cool prizes for the holidays.

Some of my friends that I refered also used the Charter gift cards worth up to $200 with special online deals from Black Friday to Cyber Monday. It was a mind boggling deal to get upto $200 off. I had advised them to make use of their gift cards from major retailers in electronics, clothing, home, accessories, and restaurants and that way they had saved shopping money when they need it most. After Cyber Monday, they still have 38 days of specials. They are giving out great gifts, prizes and deals every day. Please note that each day is something different, so check it out often. There are plenty of chances to win each day. I would definitely wish to win iPods, Camcorders, TVs, GPS units, webcams, Photo frames, and more by just switching to Charter cable. When I checked Charter's Daily Deal Web Site today, I found even got some great Showtime schwag give aways like Dexter, The Tudors, and Californication. I am a big fan of HBO and would love their entourage box-sets too. Its easy to keep up with all the daily deals. Just become a fan of Charter on Facebook and they’ll be updating it every day through the holidays with all the latest. Over the last two years, Charter has outpaced the industry in creative and newsworthy Sweepstakes including great prizes like an HDTV-a-day, Toyota Prius, a new 2010 Chevy Camaro 2SS, Xbox 360s and more.

Several ways to generate traffic to your blog

noreply@blogger.com (ghostrider30) — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 13:48:28 PST

I am creating a list of traffic generating strategies for a blog/website. I will continue to update this list in real time and keep it updated. Please add your comments if you have any more suggestions.

1. Pay-Per-Click
2. Banner Advertising
3. Ezine Advertising
4. Text Links
5. Leads (co-registration)
6. Offline Marketing
7. TV, Radio & Podcasts Advertising
8. Newspaper Advertising
9. Word of Mouth Referrals
10. Paid Inclusion
11. Traffic Packages
12. Classified Ads
13. Cost-Per-Action
14. Search Engine Optimization
15. Article Marketing
16. Affiliate Programs
17. Press Release
18. Directories
19. Forum Marketing
20. Email Signature
21. Shopping Sites
22. Shareware-Download Sites
24. Traffic Exchange
25. Banner Exchange
26. Link Exchange
27. CPA Networks
28. Affiliate Networks
29. Desktop Messaging
30. Contests & Races
31. Tele Seminars & Conferences
32. Write Testimonials
33. Surveys
34. Create a Product
35. Expired Domains
36. Exit Traffic
37. Myspace
38. Google, Yahoo & AOL Groups
39. Facebook
40. Social Bookmarking
41. Blogging
42. Video Sites
43. Podcasting
44. Content Sites
45. Wikipedia & Wikihow
46. Yahoo Answers
47. Return traffic
48. List Building
49. Viral Traffic
50. Joint Ventures
51. Product Launches
52. Cross Promotion (Integration Marketing)
53. Giveaway Events & Bonuses
54. Freebies For List Owners

Video recording on older models of iPhone (2G)

noreply@blogger.com (ghostrider30) — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 12:58:33 PST

The iPhone App Store is getting prettier by the day. After live video streaming and live video broadcasting became a reality on the iPhone over the past couple of weeks, now video recording on the older models of iPhone becomes possible as well.

In a sign of changing times, Apple has now approved an iPhone app called iVideoCamera that lets you record short videos from any iPhone model, including iPhone 2G and iPhone 3G. The iPhone app which is available on the App Store captures video at 3 FPS. Other features of the iPhone app includes the ability to save camera roll or "photos" and share it on social media outlets like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

The approval is significant as such iPhone apps like Cycoder had to go through the unofficial route and available only for iPhone users who had jailbroken their iPhone.

The video quality of the app doesn't seem to be all that good - a 3 FPS video at a 160x213 resolution. Also, the maximum video length is only one minute. However, an update to the app has already been submitted, which should bring a higher frame rate and video length to the app users very soon. If you are one of those who do not own an iPhone 3GS, this app is a must-have. You can download this app for $0.99. Please note that you will need iPhone OS 3.1 or above.

How to make a video call on iPhone

noreply@blogger.com (ghostrider30) — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 13:01:05 PST

Video calls are now a reality on the iPhones! Fring, the Israel based mobile VoIP service provider has announced that iPhone users can now make video calls with the help of their iPhone app. The company has launched this service for both iPhone and Nokia smartphone users.

Technology makeover for small business from AT&T

noreply@blogger.com (ghostrider30) — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 17:48:36 PDT

AT&T small business products and services now help streamline your business operations and give you a leg up on the competition. You can be one lucky Grand Prize winner and experience first-hand the AT&T advantage with a complete makeover for your small business. AT&T Small Business InSite offers this exciting opportunity and to enter, simply create a 2 minute video telling why your small business needs a makeover. Complete the online entry form, then upload your video. If you have a unique business story like mine and if you show how your business stands out above the rest and tell how you could benefit from an AT&T makeover then you can definitely qualify for this opportunity. My entry will be about how to make money from blogs and I will be giving a full video of how I had made more than $1000 from my blog each month simply by blogging. This is my small business model and I will be getting a special win I hope from AT&T with their winning contest. I would like to win AT&T products & services package especially the Samsung Epix smartphones.
So what are you waiting for? If you think you are faced with a complex dilemma, stop and ask, "What will the consequences of my options be in 10 minutes, 10 months, and 10 years?" There is a web seminar from Suzy Welch on the AT&T site and even that will help you small business owners decide that its the right time to enter into the contest and have your technology makeover done.

Deposit a check directly from your iPhone

noreply@blogger.com (ghostrider30) — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 17:16:34 PDT

How cool is that ?
USAA plans to offer this feature on other phones later in the year. They might be a small bank, but it seems to be quite innovative as it had introduced the option of depositing a scanned copy of the check three years back.

Apple might not be making a lot of money from the iPhone App Store (if you compare it to the money, they make selling the iPhone hardware), but it is iPhone Apps like these that will add to iPhone's appeal and be one of the sticky factors.

The new version of the iPhone app is already available on the App Store which includes the revolutionary USAA Deposit@Mobile feature. If you are USAA customer, then you can download the iPhone using this direct iTunes link

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=312325565&mt=8

Watch the cool video here

Search and Win Moola upto m$100

noreply@blogger.com (ghostrider30) — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 17:11:26 PDT

That's right, Search and Win is back! Start searching for your chance to get your first Moola bonus here: http://search.moola.com

In association with a new 3rd Party API partner named "Freecause", Moola is back with Search and Win. Just like last time, you'll get the chance to receive a m$ bonus (up to m$100 available,) EVERY time you search. Search results provided by Yahoo Search.

Add Search and Win to your current browser or replace your current search engine home page with Moola's Search and Win page to maximize your chances to win.

Where to get an Instant quote

noreply@blogger.com (ghostrider30) — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 17:04:50 PDT

Financial one is the one stop shop to get instant quote for Life Insurance, Annuities & Automobile Insurance

The online term life insurance rate comparisons allows you to shop online from over 140 life insurance companies. You can't find an online shopping system that quotes more companies! Now quoting term life insurance, universal life insurance, and return of premium life insurance.

Request an annuity quote and within one business day we'll provide you with an annuity quote from amongst the most competitive companies in the industry.

Articles and Resources on finding inexpesnive auto insurance quotes customized to the coverage you prefer.

How to tweet from Google Wave

noreply@blogger.com (ghostrider30) — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 16:33:24 PDT

Google team showed off a few extensions for their new communication platform. One of the most interesting ones, though, was Twave, a Twitter extension for Google Wave. The integration makes sense: Google Wave and Twitter are both forms of real-time communication, so why not bring them together? The result, though, speaks to the potential applications of Google’s newest product.

Twave is an extension based on a Google Wave robot, which is an automated participant in a conversation. It is basically how an extension can perform tasks within Google Wave – in this instance, a Google robot, named “Tweety.” The result is a full stream of your Twitter feed within Google Wave. Not only can you see tweets, but it looks like you can manage them like you would email, with replies, archiving, and even Google Wave’s awesome playback feature.

There were several other great extensions and robots that were demonstrated today. Here’s just a few of the coolest ones:

- Debuggy: A robot that responds with debugging information about each event on a wave

- Stocky: Automatically detects stock quotes and provides real-time stock information

- Bloggy: Pushes wave content to a blog

- Maps: Allows for collaboration on a Google map to plan events

- Bidder: You can turn a Wave into your own eBay

- Ratings: All Wave participants can rate and review items – then it will show you a tally of the results.

These innovations are only the beginning of the many additions that developers will build for Google Wave. The web is truly transforming into a real-time engine, and Google Wave + Twitter is only the beginning. Not only can we expect a slew of great Twitter applications within Google Wave, but some really innovative use of Google’s new real-time conversation platform.

How I plan to get my Sony 40" Bravia upgraded for FREE using Charter Promotion

noreply@blogger.com (ghostrider30) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 18:35:29 PDT

Charter customer programs keep getting better. Last year it gave away laptops and Xbox 360 game systems and one customer drove away a 2009 Honda Civic Hybrid. I just submitted my entry by visiting charter.com/yourlife/ to win some great prizes. Each week Charter is giving away either a 15” laptop or a 52” HDTV to one lucky customer who submits their story. My story is pretty simple and since my girlfriend just purchased a 40" Sony Bravia Full HD my life has changed forever. I spend countess hours watching movies with her and enjoying the wide screen TV. I feel as if we both are into the TV in a real movie. The Charter cable just brings in the right amount of programming into the mix and never lets us feel bored in times when we are not having fun with each other. I hope my entry wins me a package of one 52” HFTV, one 15” Laptop, and a free year of the Charter Bundle with includes Digital Cable with HD and a DVR, Charter High-Speed Internet and Charter Telephone. This is the special bonus at the end of the promotion that Charter will be giving away to best entries like mine. So go ahead and submit your story and be amongst the winner circle. If you are savvy on the net also check out Charter on Facebook which is a good way to connect to other users and see how the Charter digital tools are shaping their life.

$30 iTunes Store voucher for FREE from Apple

noreply@blogger.com (ghostrider30) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 18:14:47 PDT

Were you among the ones not able to activate his iPhone 3G S and was being told that the activation could take up 48 hours ? Well the issue seems to be widespread as many owners of the new iPhone got a similar message. It is being reported that Apple has issued emails to those who are still suffering activation issues and offering them a $30 iTunes Store voucher. Here's is the entire text of the email:

Dear Apple Customer,

Thank you for your recent Apple Store order. We appreciate your patience and apologize for the inconvenience caused by the delay in your iPhone activation.

We are still resolving the issue that was encountered while activating your iPhone with AT&T. Unfortunately, due to system issues and continued high activation volumes, this could take us up to an additional 48 hours to complete.

On Monday, you’ll receive an email from Apple with an iTunes Store credit in the amount of $30. We hope you will enjoy this gift and accept our sincere apologies for the inconvenience this delay has caused.

Thank you for choosing Apple.

Sincerely,
Apple Online Store Team

Denims for bloggers

noreply@blogger.com (ghostrider30) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 20:26:40 PDT

Armani Exchange is the happening place to get the perfect denims that stand you out as a blogger. I found the most incredible new pair of premium denim starting at $98 that mesmerized my eyes. I just pictured myself in the photo where the guy holds his girl in the jeans. Money isnt a problem for bloggers like us and its just to get into the new style I would like to try out the premium denims. Its the most appealing commercial I ever seen on the jeans. I prefer dark wash, light wash and destruction wash denims that suit my personality. They have a dressing room that lets you start building your look. Then mix and match colors and style and layer items to create your own styles. Finally you can shop or share your style with others. Now you can text A|X to be the first one to know about new collection arrivals, deals and special events. There is more to the texting by the entering into the "Text AX contest" SMS campaign you can also win a pair of denim every day for the moth of July by texting the keyword "DENIM2" to ARMANI (276264). For more info visit http://clk.atdmt.com/K01/go/159833558/direct/01/ (If you are a twitter addict like me just follow @ArmaniExchange on the twitter and be happy to get latest tweets on the demins)

Other interesting fact I discovered from the A|X Blog was about a special offer for customers who purchase a full price pair of denim from Armani Exchange, in store or online, between 7/7/09 – 7/19/09 will receive a gift card of $20 off you next purchase of $100 or more, valid 7/30/09 through 8/15/09.

This is really a cool offer and I hope this post will get all fellow bloggers into deminware just like me.

MMS on iPhone 2G

noreply@blogger.com (ghostrider30) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 19:46:33 PDT

The non-availability of the MMS feature for 1st generation iPhone (iPhone 2G) was probably one of the most disappointing news for iPhone 2G users that was announced at the WWDC 2009 Keynote address.

In fact, the MMS feature is not available currently to even iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS in the US. Some folks had figured out a way to enable MMS on iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS.

Fortunately, it turns out that there is a way to also enable MMS on a jailbroken iPhone 2G.

Step 1: Launch Cydia by clicking on the Cydia App

Step 2: Once Cydia loads, go to the Search option at the bottom right.

Step 3: Now type in ActiveMMS2G in the Search box in order to find this application

Step 4: Once you find the application, click on the Install button and then Confirm button at the top right corner

Step 5: This will install the application on your iPhone 2G. Once the installation is complete, press the Reboot Device button in order to restart your iPhone.

Step 6: Go to Settings > Messages. And make sure the MMS Messaging option is set to On.

Step 7: After your iPhone has restarted, Press Settings > General > Network > Cellular Data Network.
Under the Cellular Data Network you should be able to see a new MMS Settings option. ActiveMMS2G will ENABLE the MMS feature on the 3.0 firmware. It will NOT input the correct settings for your carrier.

Step 8: Under the MMS Settings, fill up the required values. Remember, every network provider will have different values to be entered. Therefore MMS will only work once the correct carrier settings are set.

Following is how the MMS Settings page for a T-mobile customer in US will look like. You can also click here to view the information.

Step 9: Once done. click on the Network button at the top-left and then click on the Home button to go to the Home Screen. Now Turn OFF your iPhone 2G and then Turn it ON.

Step 10: Now, open the native SMS App on your iPhone and you should be able to see a camera icon right beside the text box.

Step 11: Click on that Camera icon. You can either take a photo or press the Choose Existing button.

Step 12: This should display the smaller version of the photo selected by you inside the message box.

Step 13: Well, that's about it. Your should be able to send and receive pictures by using the MMS feature on your iPhone 2G.

Get ahead in blogging career with learn.com

noreply@blogger.com (ghostrider30) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:26:39 PDT

Elearning isn't how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It's being able to differentiate between what you know and what you don't. From kindergarten to graduation, I went to public schools, and I know that they are a key to being sure that every child has a chance to succeed and to rise in the world. But never before I came across an online site that offers a single, integrated platform for those seeking skill improvement for a particular job profile and those seeking to hire skilled, "job ready" workers. No doubt that Learn.com is the worldwide leader in on-demand workforce development and productivity with more than 50 million end users around the globe. I read about this elearning system on the news wire and couldnt help checking out in order to bridge the gap of my learning and taking charge of my dream job. My dream job is to be a world class blogger and writer and it needs great deal of communication skills and technical writing capabilities. I immediately found a great deal of online courses on Learn.com after signing on for a personal account and then I also tried to test my Skill Score®, then created a course, and search thousands of Web based courses, college programs and accredited courses. This portal is ideal for increasing my knowledge and skill level on any subject, or to share my knowledge and domain expertise with the world. Learn.com is the place to go for creating my own course and teach the world on how to do blogging and even make a living while doing blogging. It truly is the world's first and only on-demand knowledge network. This platform fully supports President Obama's call for a rigorous new approach to higher education and technical training by launching a comprehensive new skill development platform. So you can say that this is the First Learning Site even Obama would not hesitate to certify and testify. Above all, they have a collaboration with the top universities like Boston University, George Washington University, Bellevue University, Cornell University, to name a few online degree universities. You can be a solid trained material ready for job on day one. I am even trying to get a promotion by telling my boss about this site and that I signed up for a career advancement course from this site. You can too take advantage of this unique opportunity and move ahead in your career without holding back to anything.

Dunkin' Donuts offering free lattes on Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (ghostrider30) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:00:05 PDT

You don't have to be a Dad to get free coffee Sunday at Dunkin' Donuts.

In celebration of Father's Day, the stores are offering customers a free small latte beverage, hot or iced, any flavor.

The restaurant ran a similar promotion on Mother's Day so if you missed it at that time, then today is your chance to get the free lattes.

To add to this freebie, some stores are also offering FREE Donuts for Dad on Father's Day. Let your Munchkins spoil dad with FREE DONUTS on Fathers Day!

For more information including store locations, go to dunkindonuts.com.

Who let the frogs out?

noreply@blogger.com (ghostrider30) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 20:24:55 PDT

The frogs are out on cyberspace and they are the amazing BluFrog breed. These frogs can make you a big winner simply by a blog comment or a twitter tweet or a blog post. It is that easy to win a get away or a gaming package. If you are commenting on the blog then just leave a comment on their contest page telling which experience you want to win and why. If you are trying to enter via Twitter Tweet then just spread the word about the contest by tweeting why you entered to win and which experience you would choose if you won. Be sure to include #bluworld and http://bit.ly/UiiJy in your tweet. Finally if you are entering via blog post on your blog, then write a blog post about the contest and which experience you would choose if you won. Be sure to leave a comment on their contest page with the URL if the trackback doesn't appear.

Again I am listing here the five BLU prizes that will make you think who let these blu frogs out

1. BluGamer: The Ultimate Gaming Package
What are every gamer’s dream gifts these days? New socks and underwear? Um, not so much. How about an Xbox 360 Elite Gaming System with a Rock Band 2 bundle to boot? Now that sounds more like it!

2. Happy Blu-Year: Win a New Years Eve trip to NY
No dispute here. You KNOW where you’d love to be as the clock nears midnight on December 31st … and now you and a friend can get there, absolutely free!

3. Blullapalooza: Win a trip to Lolapalloza in Chicago
Get ready to jam all day and into the night, as you and your music-crazed friend attend the world’s most famous music festival in Grant Park, Chicago. It’s Lollapalooza time and you are THERE, absolutely free!

4. BluStreak: Win a Richard Petty Racing Experience
Ready to race up a Blu streak? Then this is your pick … the Richard Petty Driving Experience that gives you the thrill of stock car racing, side-by-side action, drafting, passing and all! And you and a friend get it all, absolutely free!

5. XtremeBLU: Win a trip to the Winter X Games in Aspen
You can’t get more Extreme than this … it’s the 14th Winter X Games from ESPN and you’re front and center in the middle of all the action … for free!

My favorite is the #1 BluGamer since I am an avid gamer and always a XBOX fan trying to get my hands on the new Project Natal that is going to change the gaming industry forever. This will give me a platform to get ready for Project Natal. So I am going for it now, Any other takers?

Why is Apple trying to prevent you from bookmarking the Google website?

noreply@blogger.com (ghostrider30) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 19:43:14 PDT

Safari 4 browser that Apple announced at their Worldwide Developers Conference is perhaps labelled as the fastest browser in the world, with its perfect 100% score on the Acid 3 test. However here is a conspiracy that you will get revealed to when adding the bookmarks manually instead of importing them. Just try to add Google Search. Instead of adding Google to the bookmarks, Safari will pop a weird message on you.
Google is the only search engine Safari does this to. You can add Yahoo Search and Bing without any notices. When you do a search on Google.com, Google gets all the money from those sponsored results on the right side of the page. However, if you do what Safari recommends and do your Google search by using the Safari search field, Apple gets a cut from the revenue generated by those sponsored links. The Google search box built into the FireFox browser I think makes over $100 million a year. However, FireFox doesn’t warn their users when they try to bookmark Google. Just imagine how much they’ll be making if they do what Apple does and tell users to do their searches with the browser search field instead of at Google.com?

QLOG musings for effective SEO

noreply@blogger.com (ghostrider30) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 19:16:34 PDT

I came across amyafrica.com which is a decent site for getting interesting information on various topics and asking the questions and Amy and the audience at large answering them. Its a mix of bullentin board and blog and also has several free tips and twitter updates regularly posted on the site.

I liked the post on SEO on http://www.amyafrica.com where they have explained the difference between Organics versus PPC in the layman's terms by simply citing the example that Rome was not built in a day. I am sure that QLOG will eventually build a web empire that is even bigger than Roman empire and now is the time where you can contribute to its growth by visiting QLOG and showing up your support.

I can give the testimony that QLOG has helped me increase my site traffic without spending a fortune and gave me a ton of ideas on how to improve the effectiveness of my homepage by creating a more efficient shopping cart and checkout process. There are some articles that can give you ideas on how you can boost sales dramatically with aggressive email marketing. Its a great tool for simplified reporting and performance measurements as well.

Right now, the QLOG is about a month old so there aren't a ton of posts. But they are doing a phenomenal job of adding about 2-3 posts a week about everything from analytics, conversion, creative, and email marketing,to navigation, SEO/SEM, shopping carts, and other topics of interest. As promised on QLOG, there are also also be guest posters on various topics so users can hear from other experts in the field.

20,000 American Airlines miles for a checking account

noreply@blogger.com (ghostrider30) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 18:58:28 PDT

Here is a cool way in 3 steps to get 20,000 American Airlines miles for just opening a checking account

1. Open and fund a qualifying Citibank regular checking account with a minimum of $1,000 by June 30, 2009.

2. Within 30 days of opening your account, make at least one direct deposit into your account or make at least two electronic bill payments from your account or five pinless debit card purchase transactions each month for three consecutive months and earn your first 10,000 American Airlines bonus miles.

3. Continue making a direct deposit into your account or making two electronic bill payments from your account or five pinless debit card purchase transactions each month for the next nine consecutive months and earn an additional 10,000 American Airlines bonus miles.

Some users have told me that this doesn't work for a Citi Business card. And this that this does not work with a Chase credit card, regardless of how Citi posts the charge.

Gift a stem cell and save $200

noreply@blogger.com (ghostrider30) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 18:36:07 PDT

Whatever your age, you are younger this month than you will be next. And now you have the option to capture your moment and take charge and be cutting edge: to lead the stem cell revolution with C'elle. The most ideal time for any woman regardless of her age who experiences menstruation to collect and preserve her C'elle menstrual stem cells is during her very next period, while her body is disease-free and continues to produce this most precious resource. Many women may likely want to consider the opportunity to participate in the C'elle service on multiple occasions while during the era of her menstruation. You never know that your stem cells may help you most loved ones in the future. If you have loved someone and lost their love, the stem cells will still preserve the memory of your love and can be everlasting gift to refreshing your memories. Give a unique gift to protect the future health of someone you care about. With C'elle's exclusive and proprietary technology, stem cells in a woman's menstrual blood can easily be collected, isolated and cryo-preserved. And getting started is fast and simple with C'elle's easy-to-use collection kit. Now you can even save $200 with the special code CN200. Order your kit today and see the C'elle benefits for yourselves.

Faster Safari; But No MMS or Tethering in the US

noreply@blogger.com (ghostrider30) — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 19:04:20 PDT

iPhone OS 3.0 coming on June 17; Brings Movie Downloads, Faster Safari; But No MMS or Tethering in the US

There were speculations that Apple will launch its iPhone OS 3.0 at WWDC. Apple has done the next best thing, it has announced that their next generation iPhone OS will be available to users on June, 17th.

iPhone OS 3.0 will be free for the original iPhone and iPhone 3G user but will cost $9.99 for iPod Touch users. During the keynote address at WWDC, Apple provided some more details about iPhone OS 3.0

Make money online for your services using Mavenlink

noreply@blogger.com (ghostrider30) — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 08:26:20 PDT

I was inspired by reading the four hour workweek book by Tim Ferris and then I started hunting the web for avenues to collaborate online to get projects done. The first one I came across was Mavenlink. Mavenlink is not just any other 'freelance' sites on the web, and none other compare to Mavenlink. It is the first site that promotes YOUR brand instead of detracting from it. You now have an opportunity to differentiate your services and sell value instead of hourly rates. And, perhaps most importantly, working within Mavenlink speeds the overall engagement with your clients rather than slowing the process. All in all a great experience. Its all the great essence that is being preached in the four hour workweek book.

To start with become a member, then you can fill out a more detailed profile, or begin posting or finding projects immediately. Then you are ready to find and post projects and once a project is posted on the site, Mavens can find it, ask clarifying questions of the Client, and bid on it when they're ready. Collaboration tools enable Clients and Mavens to communicate, track, deliver, and evaluate at each stage of the project. When the Maven delivers the project and the Client accepts, Mavenlink triggers an immediate PayPal payment. So its a great way to make money online for your services.

For businesses and clients, Mavenlink provides the most accessible, affordable, and efficient way to provide the flexibility you need to acquire expertise. Find exactly the expertise you're seeking to complete projects of any size or complexity. With Mavenlink, you can access just-in-time advisory and consulting services, save substantial time and money, and eliminate cumbersome administrative overhead. Mavenlink is the most accessible, affordable, and efficient way to provide your business with the flexibility you need to acquire expertise. And did I mention that joining is free, quick, and easy?

Faster Processor and RAM in iPhone 3G S

noreply@blogger.com (ghostrider30) — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 19:03:19 PDT

When Apple announced iPhone 3G S at the WWDC 2009 Keynote address, they mentioned that it was the fastest iPhone they had ever created.

But they didn’t provide us any details of the processor speed or increase in RAM I thought we might have to await until June 19 when iPhone 3G S will be officially available.

We might not have to wait that long as T-Mobile.nl has posted some technical specs about iPhone 3G S revealing that the third generation iPhone comes with a faster 600 MHz processor and 256MB of RAM. This is cool.