Many of you must have noticed the OpenID field above the comment form. Yes, now the blog is OpenID enabled. You can login to the site and post comments using your OpenID. If you do not have an OpenID, I recommend you to get one. There are many free OpenID providers.

• MyOpenID - (username.myopenid.com)
• Verisign Personal Identity Provider - (username.pip.verisignlabs.com)
• America Online - (openid.aol.com/screenname)

I had a little trouble configuring and setting up the Wordpress OpenID plugin with my theme.

I am out of station for the next 3 days. Once I’m back, I’ll provide more information on how I configured it on my blog.

If you would like to know more about OpenID, then please visit this Wikipedia article and the official OpenID website.

After reading on how to get free Yahoo Publiser Network (YPN) vouchers at JohnCow.com, I decided to try my luck. And I found some good free vouchers. I don’t have any use of them.

• Free Assisted Setup
• Free Assisted Setup
• $100 Self Serve Credit
• $100 Self Serve Credit
• $75 Self Serve Credit
• $75 Self Serve Credit

You can create more vouchers by replacing the last 4 digits (USXXXX) of the final url with other random digits.

Hope this helps. And thank JC for giving away the idea for free.

Publisher Spot

Today I am going to introduce you to the site Publisher Spot. Publisher Spot is an Ad Network Review site for helping out publishers select and rate the popular and major Ad Networks. One of the major mistake made by webmasters in monetizing their sites and the main reason for low earning from sites is the improper selection of the Ad Network. Some networks are known to work well with certain types of site/niche. For an established publishers, their extensive experience will help them select the best network. But for new publishers there is no way to know which is better, other than by testing out each ad network. If you plan to begin web development and marketing business seriously, then I advice you to try out each ad service to find out the pros and cons of each service. If all you want to do is to monetize your existing blog or site, then the best thing to do is to learn from the experience of others. Thats when Publisher Spot can be a great help to you.

Ad Network Reviews

At present there is extensive review and rating of about 15 most popular Adnetworks including Adsense, Kontera etc. Each review provides indepth details about

• Main features
• Publisher control over the ads
• Available ad types and formats
• Stats / Reports
• Getting started with the new network
• Payment (The most important part)
• Referral programs

and much more.

Design / Navigation

The design of the site looks really good to me. It is simple and have easy navigability. I have always loved simple websites. The site also allow viewing the entries by rating/date. Also there is an advanced search feature which allows us to search for networks with features we want. With just 15 reviews, these features may not be that important. Lets hope that more and more ad networks will be reviewed and added to the list.

What I didn’t like

So far I have discussed why I liked the site. But there were some things that I didn’t like.

First and foremost, the usage of referral links in the reviews of Text Link Ads and Agloco. I think that is very unprofessional, because it gives the impression that the site is favoring certain networks. It would have been ok, if it was used only in “Visit Ad Network” link at the end of the review. But referral links, that stands out from the rest of the content, throughout some reviews looks very bad.

Also, there are two test entries in the reviews. Since the site is live, I think those reviews should also be removed. It shows lack of responsibility and concern.

Conclusion

A site like Publisher Spot looks really promising, but the success of such sites depends on its users. It is only when people rate the different ad networks from their own experience, the best network can be found out. Hence I strongly recommend everyone to rate the ad networks you have tried out, so that we can find out the best ad networks out there.

This entry was posted because Tyler Cruz, an internet entrepreneur and owner of Publisher Spot, was giving out a free link from his blog which is ranked 8,549 on Technorati. But the views posted in the review is of the author’s own opinion and is purely unbiased.

As many of you might be knowing, this blog is powered by the free and open source blogging platform ‘Wordpress‘. Before I moved to my own domain, the blog was hosted at Wordpress.com. Though the service was fast and good, I was dissatisfied. Because I was not allowed to upload new themes or plugins. Also, I was not allowed to edit the template files. I want to take blogging seriously. Hence I decided to take my own domain and move the blog over to here. Since the original blog was not much old and since there was only less than 15 posts, the migration went without any trouble. I am going to briefly explain what all steps I took for completing the transfer.

The two basic requirements for hosting your own website are the domain and hosting. The first step I took was to register the domain JoyceBabu.com. I registered the domain with bagfull, an Indian domain registrar. Their rate is lower than that of GoDaddy. I have already bought more than 10 domains from them and I like their customer service.

I already have a custom hosting plan with Wicks Hosting. Hence I decided to host my blog also in the same hosting account. Once the domain and hosting were ready, I changed the nameservers of my domain to point to my hosting server.

Now the third step was to setup the blog at the new server. I downloaded the latest stable version of Wordpress (v2.2.1) and uploaded it to the server. To install the software I needed a MySQL database, which I created and the installation went smooth.

Once the blog was setup, the next step was to move my current posts and comments from the old blog to the new one. Fortunately, Wordpress permits exporting the existing posts and comments from the admin interface. The exported file was imported into the new blog. Once that was over, I manually edited each post at the old location to point to the new location. Also I disallowed comments at the old location.

The final step was customization of the blog. Inability to customize the blog to my liking was the primary reason for migrating to my own hosting account. I spend one whole day searching for a theme for the new blog. My search ended once I found my current theme. The theme was not compatible with current version of Wordpress. Hence I had to fix a few errors and made some small changes to the template.

Once the theme was fixed and uploaded, I started testing various plugins. I have tested over a hundred plugins and have found some really good ones. I will provide more information about that in my next post.

If you wish to create a new blog or transfer your existing Wordpress.com account to your own domain and the above steps seems too much complicated to you, then feel free to contact me. I will do it for you, ofcourse for a small fee .

Last week I won the CyberStreetReport Survey #2. The aim of the survey was to predict the price at which Apple (AAPL) will close atleast five days before. I predicted $144 and the correct price was $143.75. I won $25 cash prize and will be soon getting a blog review too. I would like to thank Reno for the competition and prize.

Update: Unfortunately, due to low response from visitors, Reno has decided to end the competition with Survey #3. But he has promised to run more competitions once the site is established.

It has been a long gap since my last post. I was fully occupied with my exams.

Recently, I had submitted an article in JobMob, a popular employment related blog, on the topic “How To Ace A Walk-in Panel Job Interview“. Fortunately, they have approved the article and have it published in the site as a guest post.

In the article, I have tried to point out many of the common mistakes made by interviewees. Also tips on how to prepare for the interview, how to behave at the venue and how to answer the questions are also discussed. Also, there is section on preparing and attending a phone interview.

The article was posted as part of a Guest Blogging Contest conducted by the above site. The guest post getting the largest number of visitors during the 7 days period, following the date of posting, will win the contest.

I humbly request you to visit the article and post your comments on it.

Today I am going to blog about how to browse the web anonymously. Most of the people think that their identity cannot be found out just by visiting a site since they are not directly giving any. But it is not true. When you visit a website, your IP (Internet Protocol) Address is available to the website which can be used to identify you. When we visit a website, most of the sites keep a log of visit details like your IP Address, Location, Browser, Operating System etc. This is the reason why, you can’t vote twice in the rating systems. When you search Google, they keep a record of your searches for researching searching behaviour. There are many instances when we would like to and times necessary to keep our identity safe.

Worried? Don’t be. There are several methods to circumvent these problems. Some are

1. Web Proxies - Recently, when Indian ISPs decided to block Blogger, proxies came to the rescue of Indian bloggers and blog surfers. Proxies act as a link between you and the site you visit. When you request a site through a proxy site, your ISP passes the request to the proxy server, thinking that you are visiting the proxy site. The proxy then makes a request to the website you want to view. To the website, it looks like somebody from the IP Address of the proxy server is visiting the site. Also many of the proxies allow you to block cookies and scripts thus giving your better security.
2. TorOpera - TorOpera is a software bundle that contains Opera, Tor and Privoxy. The main advantage of TorOpera is that it is portable, hence you can use it directly from your pendrive. You can use it directly without installing (which normally needs administrative privilage). Tor can be used to operate network servers so that their exact location is unknown.
3. JAP Anon Proxy - JAP is another proxy system designed to protect your online privacy. JAP is written in Java and is platform independant, free and was designed to be easy to use. JAP sends requests through a cascade of encrypting mixes (Mix Cascades), run by independant organizations, and thus hides the origin of any connection. Users can select which operator to trust. This is not possible in P2P anonimity networks like TOR, as the anonymisation proxies are also anonymous.
4. xB Browser - This is another free, anonymous web browser that allows you to surf internet securely and anonymously, bypass firewalls and internet censorship. The biggest advantage of xB Browser is that it requires no configuration or special knowledge and it is also portable. Also, xB Browser is Open Source too.

Some interesting sites

• Scroogle - Scroogle allows you to search google anonymously. Scroogle randomly selects its IP Address when you search google and also deletes the cookies set by them. Hence your identity and search behaviour is protected.
• BugMeNot - Many sites have a very bad policy of allowing us to view their contents only after registering with them. BugMeNot is a service that allows you to overcome that limitation. You can get valid usernames and passwords for most of the popular sites at BugMeNot. They also have IE and Firefox plugins.
• BrowserSpy - BrowserSpy provides us with a lot of information about our computer and browser. You will be amazed by the amount of details you were providing to sites you were visiting, believing that you are anonymous. It can also be used to test whether the tools mentioned above are working or not.

My 6th semester exams started today. Today’s exam went fine, though there was some problem with time management. Hence, I won’t be able to blog regularly till August. I will try to find time in between. So far I had 500 visits, which is not that bad stat for a new blog like this. Thanks to all for reading the blog and for your valuable suggestions.

In January 2007, a theory was was proposed in ecoIron that a black version of Google will save 750 Megawatt-hours of energy every year. This was based on the the article by Energy star that a white pixel needs more energy than a black pixel. According to the article, a white pixel needs 74watts of energy wheras a black pixel needs only 59 watts. With 200 million queries made each day, Mike of ecoIron proposes that the difference will be very large if google decide to change its background to black. Initially there was skepticism that this will affect the readability of the pages, which is not entirely correct. For printed media, which is a reflective media, a light background will be more readable. Hence you need highest contrast to decrease the strain on your eyes. But for computer screens, too much light can give headaches and visual trails. Hence a dark background is much more suitable for reading, as far as computer screens are concerned.

Ofcourse, Google did not hear this. But somebody else did which lead to the starting of Blackle.com. The site is powered by Google Custom Search.

If you are into web design and development, then this article by Vorlath will tell you the importance of using a dark coloured background over a light background.

[rockyou 76252315]

Yesterday (07-07-07), The new seven wonders of the world was announced by the swiss non profit group, New 7 Wonders Foundation. In a spectacular ceremony held at lisbon portugal, the new members were announced by a group of celebrities around the world. The ancient wonder, Piramid of Giza, was given a honorary status and was directly selected without any voting as it was the only still standing site from the ancient seven wonders. According to the organization that conducted the polls, about 100 million votes were cast by the people through the new 7 wonders website and sms messages. Half of the profit from the poll will be provided for the renovation of world heritage sites, especially the bamian statute of Afghanisthan.

The new seven wonders of the world are :-

1. Great Wall of China - The Great Wall of China, is a series of stone and earthen fortifications in China, built, rebuilt, and maintained between the 5th century BC and the 16th century to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire during the rule of successive dynasties. The Great Wall is the world’s longest human made structure and is the only human made structure that is visible to naked human eye from the moon.
2. Taj Mahal, India - The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum located in Agra, India. The Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan commissioned it as a mausoleum for his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Construction began in 1632 and was completed in approximately 1648. The Taj Mahal is the finest example of Mughal architechture. It is represented as a symbol of love.
3. Chichen Itza, Mexico - Chichen Itza is a large pre-Columbian archaeological site built by the Maya civilization located in Mexico. Archaeological data, such as evidence of burning at a number of important structures and architectural complexes, suggest that Chichen Itza’s collapse was violent.
4. Christ the Redeemer, Brazil - Christ the Redeemer is a large Art Deco-style statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The statue stands 32 m (105 feet) tall, weighs 1000 tons and is located at the peak of the 710-m (2330-foot) Corcovado mountain in the Tijuca Forest National Park, overlooking the city. As well as being a potent symbol of Christianity, the statue has become an icon of the city.
5. The Colosseum, Italy - The Colosseum or Coliseum, is a giant amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy. Originally capable of seating around 50,000 spectators, it was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles. The Colosseum has long been seen as an iconic symbol of Imperial Rome and is one of the finest surviving examples of Roman architecture.
6. Petra (Jordan) - Petra is an archaeological site in Jordan, lying in a basin among the mountains which form the eastern flank of Arabah (Wadi Araba), the large valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. It is famous for having many stone structures carved into the rock. The long-hidden site was revealed to the Western world by the Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt in 1812.
7. Machu Picchu (Peru) - Machu Picchu, often referred to as “The Lost City of the Incas”, is probably the most familiar symbol of the Inca Empire. Machu Picchu is a pre-Columbian city created by the Inca Empire. It was brought to international attention by archaeologist Hiram Bingham in 1911.

Click here for a nice slideshow of the new 7 wonders.

The other finalists of the election, that did not get through the final list are, the Acropolis, the Statue of Liberty, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the stone statues on Chile’s Easter Island, Australia’s Sydney Opera House, Cambodia’s Angkor, Spain’s Alhambra, Turkey’s Hagia Sophia, Japan’s Kiyomizu Temple, Russia’s Kremlin and St. Basil’s Cathedral, Germany’s Neuschwanstein Castle, Britain’s Stonehenge and Mali’s Timbuktu.

The foundation claims the election to be the first Global election. The election did not go without controversy. UNESCO, the UN’s world heritage body, issued a press release distancing itself from the election and condemning the foundations practises. Since the new results do not have the UN’s approval, there is surely going to be clashes on it. But the foundation is not finished with it. They have announced another global election to find the NEW 7 WONDERS OF NATURE. Well, with 50% of the total money all to themselves, I can understand their interest. What will be next? The new seven wonders of the universe?

Courtesy: Some of the data and pictures for the slideshow were taken from Wikipedia.