2 metres from now, turn right, you have reached the cereal aisle.

 A Michigan-based grocery chain have recently implemented a marketing strategy to increase customer satisfaction and furthermore retention, by offering consumers a free in store GPS system, that informs shoppers of where to find a turkey, tomato or the toilets.

There will be no need to flag down store employees anymore at Meijer retailers, as the find-it app solves all queries, despite this however, consumers may find this app to be overkill, not needed, annoying to use and/or time consuming, so it will be interesting to see how this kind of app will play out in the marketplace, and whether other large chains will take on the technology. 

For the Avid Apple Fan Club

This blog post is dedicated to all of the Mac fans out there who just can't seem to get enough. Mashable has provided ten fun facts about the mega company that is Apple. To read the article and brush up on the facts, head to the website, or you can continue reading on below... I have posted my favourite fact!

Fascinating Fact, Number 8

8. The First iPod Had A Secret Easter Egg

"Apple’s first iPod came with a little secret — an Easter egg — in the form of a game that could be accessed if you knew the right combination of buttons to press.

How to find the game is described in Nick Triano’s early 2002 Geek.com review of the iPod (memorable quote: “I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that it will change the way you listen to music”). “Go to the ‘About’ menu, hold down the center button for about three seconds, and you’ll get a Breakout (Pong) game to play while you listen.”

Breakout, the hidden game itself, is notable in Apple’s history as it was a product that both Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak worked on together at Atari, where legend has it Jobs cheated Wozniak out of thousands of dollars of bonus money."   

Death to Internet Explorer 6

In-light of recent media coverage involving suspected Chinese attacks on Google and various other companies I thought I'd take the opportunity to discuss the continued use of Internet Explorer and specifically IE6.

I personally think that most people still using IE6 are unaware of the security risk they are taking. Internet Explorer has been subjected to many security vulnerabilities and concerns: Much of the spyware, adware, and computer viruses across the Internet are made possible by exploitable bugs and flaws in the security architecture of Internet Explorer, sometimes requiring nothing more than viewing of a malicious web page in order to install themselves.

The "Aurora" IE Exploit recently used against Google users is the perfect example of a security flaw used in Internet Explorer. The link below contains an example video showing just how easy it is for this type of attack to occur. http://praetorianprefect.com/archives/2010/01/the-aurora-ie-exploit-in-action/

I know that may of our clients are forced to use IE6 because of company / corporate security policies setup by their system administrators. What I don't understand though is the continued use of IE6 by system admin's when other options are available.

System admin's will argue that undertaking an upgrade is a expensive exercise and that they are better of delaying upgrades and saving money until they can undertake a full system upgrade. My response to these remarks are, "What is more expensive… the lose of company data (sensitive or financial) or having a virus run through the company network?"

There are other reasons for not using IE6 which are related to web development, basically IE6 is holding things back. There are many new tools available in modern web browsers but unfortunately some of these simply cannot be used because of the existence of IE6. Another problem is the development time used to get websites and web applications compatible with IE6, this can sometimes account for up to 20% of development time.

So if you have the option to upgrade or change web browsers, you can find a list of modern web browsers below.


Google Chrome - http://www.google.com/chrome/
Firefox - http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/
Safari - http://www.apple.com/safari/
Opera - http://www.opera.com/

Favourite Software

If your anything like me and get a huge amount of emails everyday you will understand the need to organise the amount of newsletter subscriptions you get. Recently I have welcomed NewFire onto my computer and it has been the best thing Ive done in a long time. Not only have I now directed all my newsletter subscriptions to the program, but Ive also signed up to a world of new blogs. The program collates all the postings and I can look at them whenever I have time. I find now I actually read them instead of deleting in my mail box because Im too busy. My email box is now not as cluttered and the program was free! I use NewsFire, its simple to use and made for Mac If your on a Windows based machine and have Outlook you can set RSS feeds up in that. Believe me it makes life easier and you actually get to read some great stuff...Highly recommended!

Google Wave

Google Wave... it’s not email, it’s not chat. It’s something totally new.

I should warn you this vid goes for ages so you might want to skip ahead a bit.

What is a Browser?

What is a browser? This was a question Google asked over 50 passersby of different ages and backgrounds in Times Square, New York. Many responses came up...its amazing that something so integral to most people's life and they have no idea what it is.

One Number for Life

Is Google the centre of our global communications? Could be! In the next few weeks they will launch a new service "Google Voice". Google Voice will allow users to maintain a single phone number forever and maintain that number diverting it to any number that you may currently be using, home phone, work phone, mobile, hotel room etc. And it’s free, so what’s in it for Google? If it is a success it will ensure Google becomes the centre of your communications system, effectively giving them control and data on everyone you communicate with on every channel giving them a multitude of ways of monetising the system. Its not available in Australia yet but I’m sure it won’t take long! In the meantime take a look....and you can check out their blog as well

Features include:

GOOGLE NUMBER - One number for all your calls and SMS
  • Call screening - Announce and screen callers
  • Listen in - Listen before taking a call
  • Block calls - Keep unwanted callers at bay
  • SMS - Send, receive, and store SMS
  • Place calls - Call numbers
  • Taking calls - Answer on any of your phones
  • Phone routing - Phones ring based on who calls
  • Forwarding phones - Add phones and decide which ring
     
GOOGLE VOICEMAIL - Voicemail as easy as email, with transcripts:
  • Voicemail transcripts - Read what your voicemail says
  • Listen to voicemail - Check online or from your phone
  • Notifications - Receive voicemails via email or SMS
  • Personalize greeting - Vary greetings by caller
  • Share voicemail - Forward or download voicemails
VOICE FEATURES - More cool things...
  • Conference calling - Join people into a single call
  • Call record - Record calls and store them online
  • Call switch - Switch phones during a call
  • Mobile site - View your inbox from your mobile
  • GOOG-411 - Check directory assistance
  • Manage groups - Set preferences by group


 

 

 

 

 

 

iPhone 3.0 Feature Guide

iPhone 3.0 OS, the next generation operating system for the iPhone, iPod touch, and whatever Apple device comes next. The new iPhone OS 3.0 adds over 100 new features including 'Cut, Copy and Paste, Peer to peer communication with other iPhones over bluetooth or WiFi, Spotlight search, Push Notifications, MMS, and Landscape keyboard support for all native iPhone apps!

Click here to view the comprehensive guide the peeps over at Gizmodo have put together showcasing all the major features screen by screen.



Become a fan on Facebook



What we're saying Twitter

  • @GoldCoastFC Congrats on the signing announcements today guys - exciting times ahead! 11:59AM Sep 01
  • Good morning to everyone on this fine monday morning! Some light reading for you. http://fb.me/I6oS8bA5 11:41PM Aug 29


Videos on YouTube



Bookmarks on Delicious