11.15.10
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Keep bookmarks synced on multiple computers & browsers

Delicious.comWeb surfers using multiple browsers on multiple computers were horrified to hear of the untimely demise of Xmarks (formerly FoxMarks). If you wanted to keep your bookmarks / favorites synchronized everywhere you surf the net, Xmarks did an admirable job. The service would check the computer you were working on for new favorites and update your entire set in the cloud. It would then push them out to whatever computer you were working on so wherever you were surfing you were able to access and edit all your favorites.

Maintenance and support started to slip on Xmarks earlier in 2010, and the company finally announced in late September that it would be ceasing service.

And while there appears to be an outside chance they’ll revive the service for paid subscribers, many users are turning to delicious.com to replace the service. While the site is more popular for its social bookmarking features (explained here), it also does a solid job of providing access to favourites in different browsers and on multiple computers. The service works exceptionally well with Internet Explorer and Firefox, but is also workable from any other browser. Continue reading →

10.17.10
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The 5 reasons an avid book collector bought an e-reader (Kindle) and prefers it over real books – and the iPad.

Books, especially old or rare ones, fascinate me. For many years now I have been enthralled by not only reading, but also by collecting the physical books themselves. Our family has accumulated several hundred books over the years, and going to shop for books is something even my youngest son (4) has come to enjoy.

So it is not lightly that I say I might just have to find a new hobby. We bought an iPad when they were released in late May and I was very surprised at how much I enjoyed reading on it. The ability to have several books with me at all times, and the much lower price of the books was very attractive. There was also the fact that I could keep copies of those books on my iPhone, meaning I’d have them with me whenever I had 5 minutes to read.

Over time, though, I’ve found some limitations that had me back in the bookstore. The iPad was heavy, it’s very hard to read in bright light, and its high price means you have to be very careful with it.

But then we bought a Kindle. When Amazon introduced a wi-fi version with a $139 price tag this summer I was intrigued. Though I found the iPad difficult to read for long stretches, the convenience of having all your books with me at all times almost outweighed the drawbacks.

Continue reading →

10.02.10
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Usability – the best investment that most organizations will never make.

A price tag well into five figures is no longer uncommon for a small business trying to build a website. Many medium sized businesses tag another zero on the end of their bills – yet even larger companies with even bigger budgets are often reluctant to spend a small fraction of that to ensure that their sites actually work.

A small but growing industry has been screaming for attention, but is still not getting the respect they deserve. Usability experts have spent years studying how people use the Internet to determine what works and what doesn’t, and even though their invaluable insights are available for a fraction of what it costs to create a site, the vast majority of comapnies never bring one in.

Continue reading →

09.24.10
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Blogging your way to improved sales: The top 10 tips for starting a small business blog

Small business blog success - top tips for business blogsSmall business owners have asked me many times over the years about how blogging might help their company. They’ve heard about the success of companies like Dell and Walt Disney and they wonder if there is some way blogs could have the same kind of impacts on their small or medium sized businesses. The improved client relationships these blogs build, and the way that translates into increased sales, can clearly help small businesses as much as it does big ones.

The only problem is that a bad blog can hurt your company, too.

Building a popular and successful blog isn’t rocket science, though, and it is a marketing tool that is accessible to even the smallest of companies. Following are these top 10 tips to help your small business use this powerful tool effectively will also help you avoid the potential pitfalls. Continue reading →

09.21.10
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US movie streaming finally poised to come to Canada

Watching movies in Canada is about to become much cheaper and much more convenient.

At least it will if today’s rumours passed along by Mashable are true. US-based DVD rental-by-mail company Netflix announced in July they were looking at expanding into Canada. Instead of competing against Zip, who already has physical distribution centres set up across Canada, however, Netflix planned to stream their movies over the internet.

Canadian gamers were thrilled in July to hear that Netflix was working with Xbox to stream movies over the Xbox instead of set top consoles. Expectations are that the service will require a subscription from Netflix, and will include streaming high-definition movies – similar to the way the service operates in the US.

Today’s rumours suggesting Netflix is poised to announce a streaming service in Canada seem to line up with the earlier announcement, leaving Canuck gamers drooling over the prospect of the kind of entertainment integration that the industry has promised for years, and that Americans have enjoyed for some time now.

EDIT: The announcement came as expected, but contained an odd twist. Netflix did come to Canada, but for every device except the Xbox360. Both Netflix and Microsoft’s Xbox division are being extremely tight-lipped about the reason behind the omission, but both are saying they expect the service to come to the Xbox in a few weeks.