Microsoft Says Your Phone is Your Next PC

I just read an interesting article on physorg.com that talks about Microsoft's research on developing the cell phone to be the next 'PC' platform - a project they are calling 'Fone+'
I agree with this approach. People don't want to carry all kinds of devices with them, the cell phone is going to evolve into the 'communicator'
http://www.physorg.com/news98525702.html

New Study from Pew Internet Project

Pew has just released an interesting study as a PDF that groups internet users into three categories
1. Elite Tech Users
2. Middle-of-the-road Tech Users
3. Few Tech Assets



Their study shows 51% of Americans utilizing some sort of internet technology (the first two groups above) and 49% with little or no usage. From studying the demographic data it looks like the largest divide was for older users, but lower income also played a large factor

Google Announces New Version of Google Analytics

The Google Analytics Blog announced they are starting to roll out a new version of Google Analytics. A few of the new features include:

• Email and export reports: Schedule or send ad-hoc personalized report emails and export reports in PDF format.
• Custom Dashboard: No more digging through reports. Put all the information you need on a custom dashboard that you can email to others.
• Trend and Over-time Graph: Compare time periods and select date ranges without losing sight of long term trends.

You can view a demo of the new service here.

Over the next several weeks, Google will be migrating all existing Analytics accounts to the new Google Analytics interface.

Great Six Minute Video On ClimateAppraisal.com

KUAT TV in Tucson, AZ published a great story on ClimateAppraisal.com!
Check out the video:

Climate Appraisal Services Gets Written Up in USA Today

Climate Appraisal Services LLC (CASL) had a nice write up in the 3/28/07 USA Today.

You can read the article here.

My Brother Busts Up a Fake ID Ring

My Dad called me today from Arizona where he and my mom and little brother got to meet the latest addition to the Nork Clan Aubrey Nork (what a cutie). Congrats to Gary and Susan. I'm sure that nork.com will have all the latest pictures.

He told me to Google "Gary Nork" - it seems my brother Gary is getting national press for breaking up a Fake ID ring in Georgia! Way to go Gary!

Transatlantica - The First (And Only) Fanzine for Miracle Legion

Great things happen when you clean your office! The spring cleaning bug hit me today and low and behold, when I moved my file cabinet i found this little gem! Back in 1992 Rob Silk put together this fanzine for my favorite band - Miracle Legion.
Discussion of this newsletter came up on the "As Far As We Know" message board a few years ago and Rob responded that he had lost his original copy. As far as I know, this is the only living copy! Enjoy...

transatlantica-opt.pdf

Testing Out Picnik and Flickr

I've been playing around with Picnik to edit my photos on picasaweb and then uploading them to Flickr. I like the functionality and integration with both Flickr and Picasaweb that it offers.

Check out my albums:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/itsjack
http://picasaweb.google.com/itsjack

1st Address-Based Climate Reporting Service Launched






Our client - Climate Appraisal Services LLC has issued a press release announcing the launch of the first online service to help home buyers determine if there are any environmental factors that could impact their purchase. The premium report includes information on shoreline reduction, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, volcanoes, drought and fire, flooding, health and disease risks, and industrial factors.



Check it out at http://www.climateappraisal.com/

I Signed Up For My Google Pay-Per-Action Beta Account

Some of our clients have already defined their Return On Investment calculations and know how much they would like to pay for a lead through AdWords. I'm looking forward to getting my beta account for Google Pay-Per-Action as announced in the AdWords Blog. I'll let everyone know when I get my invite.

Liking The New Picasa!

I set up a web server in my Dad's basement back in 2004. I installed Gallery and got my brothers and parents to all post their photos in a central location. Nork.com now has well over 8000 photos of the family! For about a year, I have been using Picasa to edit and touch up my photos before uploading to Nork.com. Yesterday I downloaded the new version of Picasa that allows direct upload to http://picasaweb.google.com/. So far I like what I see! Now when I edit my photos, i can upload them with one click. Check out my first photos at: http://picasaweb.google.com/ItsJack/GermanyOctober2006

Another Nork Is Blogging

Blogs are such a wonderful way for people with common interests to meet.

My Brother Michael will be leaving in little over a month for the Peace Corps in Romania.

He has started his own blog http://norkinromania.blogspot.com/.

One of his first posts was how to pack. He received some fantastic comments that will really help him as he prepares for his two year stay. Others have posted on his blog saying that they will be leaving with him for his trip. He's making friends and gaining knowledge all at the same time

I thought Google Only Hired Geniuses!

OK, everyone loves Google right? Sure, generally I'm a big fan myself. Of course I use their search engine, their blogging software and Gmail. OK, so I figure Google can do no wrong - well read on...

We recently purchased a Google Mini Search Appliance for an enterprise client of ours. Great idea, use the Google search algorithm as an internal search solution. Well, not so great - we have been having trouble with the interface configuration as well as the search results not displaying on the second page. I have to say that the Google Mini support is the WORST I have ever experienced in my 12 years in the IT business! First of all, there is absolutely no phone support. Secondly, when a support technician emails you back, they always ask irrelevant questions were already answered in the original support request, wasting every ones time! And lastly, they are so quick to pass the buck. They take no responsibility for solving the problem but send emails about how their service agreement states that they actually don't have to help me at all! Getting these problems resolved are painful and generally a huge headache. Issues that should take less then a day to fix drag out for MONTHS! Shame on you Google, I know you can do better!

Google, if your listening, bring some of those geniuses over to support the Mini! Offer phone support! If support doesn't improve this will definitely be the last Google Search Appliance we purchase.

Printing the Web: Solutions and Techniques | Smashing Magazine

Great Article In Smashing Magazine For Printing On the Web

Printing the Web: Solutions and Techniques Smashing Magazine