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Chrome’s New Feature Tells User If Other Users Facing Problem Accessing Website

1
September 1, 2010

I was just trying to access a video chat website on Google chrome and noticed a new error. What was supposed to be either a possibly 404 error or a request timeout was shown as “Oops! Google Chrome could not connect to site.com” and additionally it also mentioned that “Other users are also experiencing difficulties connecting to this site, so you may have to wait a few minutes.”.

This is a new addition into Google Chrome it seems as I have been regularly using the browser and have noticed this notification for the first time. Google is working hard for sure to offer a lot of features to users and make web browsing a pleasant experience.

One of the best things about this error is that the user is made aware that its not his connection that is the problem but the server hosting that specific website is the source of the problem. This can save a lot of time to those who sometimes can’t figure out what is the problem that the website is not loading.


Posted in: Technology | Tags: ,

Digg V4 Is Fantastic But Needs To Be Fixed

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August 31, 2010

Previously in beta, the version 4 of Digg.com has been released to the public. There are many things that have been changed in the latest version of Digg, the bury button is gone, user profiles have been changed, the upcoming section has been deleted, the introduction of publishers into the system and many other changes.

The change has been drastic and the biggest compared to all previous version that have been released before. As far I can see the latest version of Digg takes a lot of features from Twitter, Facebook and even Youtube. The product has been some kind of mashup website that has never been seen before even though many users right now are referring the website as a twitter clone. The truth is it is not a twitter clone. Digg has become a very unique social news website.

It however seems that the work on Digg V4 was not completed and was released to the public. One big change that the latest version brings is the limitation on content discovery. Many users will find it quite difficult to find new and unique content. The user is asked to follow specific publisher profiles which will decide what kind of stories will be suggested for the user. I think it’s a fantastic idea but I am not able to find much stories through that way. Its good to hear that Kevin Rose has announced that Digg will be having an upcoming section again.

Right now Digg.com is facing one of the biggest revolt by its users. Many users are dissatisfied with the changes that have been made and are leaving the website. Surprisingly, Kevin Rose’s tweet claims that the website traffic has increased as compared to previous trends which I assume is the affect of the wide news coverage that the latest version got.

Though many users believe that it might be the end of Digg, its certainly not. As far I have noticed, Digg has implemented a lot of search engine optimisation techniques that are not affecting user experience. An example of this is Digg showing stories from domains. What Digg is trying is not helping just the users but also search engines in content discovery. Eventually Digg will end up ranking for many of the domains on search engines which will help it get lots of visitors – not thousands, not even hundred thousands but millions of visitors. Since Alexa.com gets traffic by ranking for domain names on search engines in a similar fashion, the potential for Digg.com is huge and this will eventually help not only Digg but other publishers as well in gaining exposure.

Something I did not liked as a publisher was that Digg uses “nofollow” tag for most of the stories. That means I won’t benefit unless the story passes the popularity threshold on Digg. Still a link is better than no link at all.

Also at the moment Digg is lacking the much needed tools that will help the small users build up their profile on Digg. Digg has made impossible for small users to gain popularity on the website. It is no doubt that the power that publishers are having on Digg is too much while the role of user has just been limited to voting.


Posted in: Technology | Tags:

BP Share Price To Remain Constant For A While

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August 28, 2010

After plunging down and showing some quick recovery, I have no doubt that the BP stock prices have reached a point where the price is matching the actual value of the company. A few weeks back, BP was able to reach the 40s mark on the New York Stock Exchange but now it seems that the share price value has dropped off a bit.

The reason for that is simple, the disaster has grabbed all the attention of the company towards the crisis and even though BP has been able to block the leakage, it is still spending a considerable amount of resources and money in the cleanup efforts around the affected region. But that is just not it, the disaster will also affect the company getting contracts and oil drilling opportunities around the world thereby blocking potential growth of the company as a whole.

At the moment, many companies and government would not like to associate themselves with BP. Its not just the disaster that has affected the public opinion about the company but also because of the company being London based.


Posted in: Business | Tags: , ,

Adsense Now With Hover To Play Multimedia Ads

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August 22, 2010

I just noticed a while ago while going through some pages of my website that whenever I hovered my mouse on an adsense ad, it would play an audio and a small box appearing to enter my number.

This is the first instance of hover to play audio ad by Adsense that I have noticed. Hover to play audio ads can be annoying and this one took me by surprise as I was just moving my mouse on the screen.

I am not sure if this advertisement is a cost per impression ad or cost per action ad or a combination of both but recently have noticed many advertisements that involve user engagement rather than the usual click format.

Adsense has recently been rolling out many “user action” based advertisements. While some advertisements ask the user to put up his question, others ask travel relation information. There are also insurance related advertisements going around.

One thing that is for sure is that they definitely will pay the publisher more than what they would be expecting from the pay per click scheme. As more and more advertisers move to the new format, publishers will be having a bigger impact on their earnings.


Posted in: Technology | Tags: , ,

Prospective Tourists Start Their Search For Sex Slaves During Commonwealth Games

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August 19, 2010

Recently I had posted a story regarding Commonwealth Games to be impacting the country’s prostitution industry. Apparently it seems true to a big extent cause according to our server logs, many visitors are being tracked to be searching for sex during commonwealth games, rates for sex services, and other related massage services in Delhi.

The 2010 Commonwealth Games are going to give a big boost to the industry and I expect that it is definitely going to divert some attention of the Government and the public towards this industry.

The only harm that I see is that many children are going to be recruited to be exploited by the visitors not only from outside but mainly from the country itself. Something that favours the tourists is the low price of sex workers in the country. Something that does not favours them is the chance of getting a disease.


Posted in: Sport | Tags: , , ,

Google Releases Google Chrome Browser Version 6 Beta

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August 14, 2010

Google has released an updated beta version of its popular Google Chrome Browser. There have been a couple of updates in the latest version of Google Chrome which includes new functionalities which seem to be introduced by Google using data that is received from user activities on its browsers.

It seems that Google has tried to focus on giving maximum space allocated for the webpage that needs to be accessed through its browser. That means less scrolling and also web publishers can expect users to have more focus on advertisements. Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and Mozilla’s Firefox browser seem to take a lot of space unlike Google Chrome.

What I noticed instantly was that the favourite button has been moved from left to right position. Also the bookmark shortcut button does not seem to work anymore which was the only shortcut feature of Chrome that I had been using.

There has also been a zooming functionality added for the ease of users. Many users do not know how they can zoom a web page and this will be very convenient for them.

The Google Chrome team has been quite quick in releasing updated versions of the Google Chrome browser and an interesting thing is that the browser updates itself automatically. So in case your worried about security issues then its worth to move to Google Chrome.


Posted in: Technology | Tags: , ,

Adsense Introduces New Adformat To Increase Publisher Earnings

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August 13, 2010

So today while browsing through the pages, I noticed there was a new adsense adformat that I have never seen before on websites using adsense. It seems that Google is now testing a new style in order to help web publishers increase their adsense earnings.

Usually the ads are divided vertically for views for a 728×60 ad unit however as can be seen in the new format, the ads have started appearing vertically. It is expected that the Click through rate for adsense publishers will be higher cause otherwise Adsense would not be rolling out these changes.

According to what I have found is that the ads are quite attractive at the moment than the previous format which was being used and puts more focus of the visitor towards the ads. I think that the main reason why this change has been implemented is that Google felt that much of the focus of the visitors was towards a particular side of the ad unit.


Posted in: Technology | Tags: , ,

Android Froyo Finally Arrives For HTC Desire

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August 13, 2010

Version 2.2 of Android also known as “Android Froyo” has been officially released by HTC for the Desire. Previously there was speculation that the Android Froyo would be coming for HTC Desire and was later confirmed by HTC Netherlands where the ROM Update was released early.

The Android 2.2 is available for HTC Desire users in Europe and can be downloaded using the OTA Upgrade feature. Users can either opt to download the firmware through their WiFi networks or through 3G/HSDPA.

The latest version of the Android operating system brings many new pre-installed features for HTC users. Not only is there an improved battery and cpu performance but also applications like Flashlight, Google Places, and WiFi Hotspot now available on the Desire. I have found that these applications have been quite useful for me especially the WiFi Hotspot which allows me to connect computers to the Desire and access internet.


Posted in: Technology | Tags: , ,

2010 Commonwealth Games To Boost Sex Tourism In India

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August 8, 2010

The Commonwealth Games in Delhi would be starting in the month of October and the event is expected to pull millions of visitors in the capital with a significant number of foreigners also visiting the capital to be a part of the games.

India has a billion dollar prostitution industry with the Government reporting in 2007 that more than 2.8 Million prostitutes were actively involved in the business. Interestingly a 1996 report from Human Rights Watch reported that there were more than 10 million sex workers in the country while BBC reported that there were more than 3 million prostitutes already in 2003-2004. It is likely that the Government has under reported the exact figures to prevent media attention towards the industry.

Unlike many other Asian countries, India is one of the few where prostitution is actually legal. With the Commonwealth Games 2010 coming up at Delhi, the business is likely to have visits of foreign clients who would be paying a lot more than the usual local clients. The Capital is already well known in the country for its GB Road District where thousands of prostitutes serve hundreds of thousands of clients annually.

At the moment, prostitution is a bit taboo in the country and that is one of the reasons why the Government has not put much closure regarding the business at the light of the Delhi Games. It is likely that prostitutes from all across the country would be visiting the capital to offer their services.

Now there are a few problems with the Prostitution Industry that are to be highlighted – since foreign clients would be having a visit at the brothels in the capital, there would be people who would be luring young girls into this business. That means virgin girls as young as nine, even lesser than that would be serving these people. I am quite sure that the Police is quite aware of this and even these people would be getting themselves involved with these young prostitutes.

Statistics reveal that more than 30 percent of the sex workers in the country get themselves involved before the age of 18 years and that is quite alarming. It is quite unfortunate that nothing would be done regarding the situation.


Posted in: Business | Tags: , ,

BP Share Price Gaining Rapidly Yet Risky Investment For Many

0
August 7, 2010

News of BP Plc (NYSE:BP) being successfully able to block the oil leak at the Gulf of Mexico has got the stocks of the company rising quick. Many people are recommending BP stocks to be a good investment to add into their portfolio. One of the much expected things by many is that the shares of the company will rise as they had been undervalued due to the crisis and the company’s image among the public completely destroyed by the disaster.

The oil leakage has been blocked permanently and the company has also announced that it is likely to resume its operations at the site in the future.

BP Plc has also started removing blooms from some of the affected sites which will help the company gain back its image among the public that the company is taking full responsibility and not running away from the issues.

The disaster has also provided the company with expertise that no other company in the field has – tackling issues that caused the disaster and performing operations in case disaster strikes.


Posted in: Business | Tags: , ,