When it comes to blogging, there are some decisions to be made related to our domain names. First of all, we have to decide where we want to host our website. For example, if we decide to host our site on Blogspot, then our domain name will look like this: domain.blogspot.com. On the other hand, if we choose a custom domain, then we can completely customize our domain name. We will also not be forced to use “blogspot”, “wordpress”, or any other word in our blog address. Custom domain cost money, but some sites can teach you how to have an extra income to cover the costs of your domains.
Being hosted on a custom domain name is generally considered to be a better solution, but why are there still many successful blogs that are hosted on Blogspot? I believe that they did not switch to a custom domain name, because they did not want to lose their domain age and back links. If that happened, this would mean that from a SEO perspective they would have to start from the beginning. Since accumulating links can take a long time, changing a domain is not an easy decision to make.
Another aspect to consider may be growing registration fees. The registration fees for domain names are generally getting higher, as VeriSign quite often raises the prices. VeriSign raised the prices at least two times since 2006, so some analysts are getting alarmed by this trend. I think that the prices are still relatively low, as the cost of hosting is the major expense for webmasters. This especially applies to those with a lot of traffic and downloadable resources such as videos, audio, and software. VerisSign claims that the .com and .net infrastructures are continually being fortified against more sophisticated cyberattacks, so let us hope that this company will spend the extra money it is receiving on security.
The decision whether to switch to a custom domain will ultimately be up to you, so consider all facts before making a final decision.
Blog, Tech, Web
When it comes to movies, sequels are often regarded as inferior, because they may lack what made the original movie so great. This often happens, because the producer wants to take advantage out of the success of the first title. He wants to earn more money, even if he knows that the sequel will never be as good as the first movie. When it comes to computer and video games, I believe that the opposite is true. Games are constantly evolving, and games 20 years ago take 1000 times less space on a hard drive compared to modern games. While it is not always true that the size of the game indicates whether a game is good, my point is that this shows how fast games are changing. Most gamers agree that they are getting more and more fun to play. So what I am trying to say is that you do not have to worry whether the sequel to your favorite game will be better. That is because statistically speaking it is going to be a higher quality product. It will be interesting to see how games will look like in ten or twenty years. How do you think they will change?
Tech
When it comes to Massive Multiplayer Online Games, it seems that many of them are in the beta stage for an extended period of time. This especially applies to Korean games, as Western games are usually in the beta stage only while the developers work hard on the game. They usually keep the game private in a sense that they only allow a limited amount of testers to participate in the beta tests.
The situation is completely different when we take a look at Korean games. Those games are officially in the beta stages while they allow everybody to play it, and even after they officially launch. This means that many Korean games are getting released even though they are not polished enough. Unfortunately, many Asian games fall into this category. Many observers speculate that the reason behind extending this beta phase is to have an excuse for poor quality of many of those games. According to gamers, if everyone is allowed to play a game, it should not be considered to be a game in beta. Before a product is released and being sold, the developers should ensure that everyone is satisfied with the overall quality. Gamers will not trust developers that release unpolished games. That is just a simple fact and it is in the best interest of game developers to ensure that all products that they release are polished. If a game is released to the general public, then it does not look very professional if the developers uses an excuse the the game is still in beta.
Tech, Web
Sites like Flickr have been growing in popularity for the last few years. Taking photos and uploading them to sites like Flickr has been a hobby of many enthusiasts. Unfortunately, some people try to take advantage out of it, and are selling pictures taken from Flickr on sites like eBay. Usually, they claim that they are their own, which of course is not true. It is not easy to identify such people, and even if you are the one who took the pictures, it will not be easy for you to track each photograph you have made. Even if you are using some tool to detect duplicate images, it is easy to change the size of the picture by slightly cutting the bottom or right/left side of it. This way it should be impossible to track whether your photos are being posted anywhere else. Your best bet is to watermark your pictures.
Of course, if you are taking pictures simply for fun, then you are not going to lose any money because someone is selling your pictures. If would be a completely different situation if you were a professional photographer because people who downloaded your pictures from Flickr could undercut your prices very easily. That is because they would have no costs associated with downloading your pictures. I am not saying that sites like Flickr are a bad thing, but I am simply reminding everyone that it is easy for people to take someone’s work and claim it as their own.
Tech, Web
One of the things that economists dislike are monopolies. I think it is safe to say that the public also dislikes them, because whenever we have contact with monopolies it is the consumer that suffers the most. This is often due to the fact that we have to pay a higher price, or simply the quality of goods and services are lower. When it comes to the technology market, it seems that Microsoft and Google are in many ways monopolists. What consequences does that have to an average Internet user? I believe that it does not benefit us, because there is not enough competition in the market. If this trend is going to continue, then soon there will be even less companies to compete with Microsoft or Google.
A prime example of the monopoly of Google is Pagerank. Pagerank has become very important for many webmasters in the blogosphere, and even if this is only the opinion of Google about your website, this does not change the fact that bloggers are still interested in it. This is because Google is a monopolist, and Internet users are starting to realize what the disadvantages are of a company being a monopolist. Fortunately, there are some counter measures being taken like the introduction of other ranking systems like RealRank, a ranking system that actually tracks the visitors to your site and ranks it accordingly. On the other hand, PR updates only once every few months, and it is very hard to know whether your PR will get higher or drop.
What I wanted to say in this post is that there are advantages of having more than just one or two companies that basically control the Internet, or in this particular case, control the only popular website ranking system.
Home, Tech
Many people believe that graphics in games are very important. Different games have a different palette of colors. Games that are more aimed for children like, for example, Flyff tend to be more colorful. On the other hand, games that are designed for adults tend to be more gloomy and darker. It is easy to notice whether a particular game is aimed at children or at adults. However, most gamers play colorful games from time to time. There is something attractive about playing a game that is bright and colorful. For example, a very popular online game called World of Warcraft has very colorful graphics, and is played by many people who are in their thirties. There are also games that are gloomier, but are very popular as well. I cannot imagine playing them all the time, but the overall atmosphere in them was different: dark and mysterious. I think that if game developers want to introduce darker graphics, they should feel free to do so. However, they should realize that most children might not want to play such a game. You should also realize that if a particular game seems too dark for you, you can usually increase the brightness in the game settings. These setting, however, might not work that well if you plan on playing in windowed mode. Overall, different players may prefer different type of graphics. It seems that there are is a market for both colorful games and more gloomy ones.
Tech
There are millions of blogs out there. While bloggers communicate with their readers with written language, I am wondering how attractive it would be for readers to view videos of bloggers speaking on various subjects. Qik Video Streaming allows streaming videos from mobile phones, and such content could appear on blogs or related sites like Facebook. I am pretty sure that video streaming blogs will not replace traditional blogs. On the other hand, I am also pretty sure that some bloggers will want to integrate video streaming to some degree. Qik Video Streaming has a latency of around 1-2 seconds, so it is pretty efficient. Time will tell how popular it will become. While it may not become very popular within a year or two, I think that video streaming will gain on popularity when fast broadband connections will be even more accessible. Many Internet users have download limits set by their Internet service providers so they cannot download as much data as they would like. However, this is also likely to change and this is one of the reasons why video streaming might gain on popularity in the future. Of course, it does not mean that regular blogs will disappear.
Blog, Tech, Web
Computer games have been around for a long time now, and it might even seem that they have been with us forever. However, computer games really gained in popularity during the last twenty years, as the technology became more accessible. When we look at the influence of games, it is hard to say exactly what their influence is, but the trained eye will be able to see some important facts. First of all, games are something that can really draw people’s attention. They can be quite addictive, and they are also challenging. They also give a sense of accomplishment when the game is won. One can wonder what would happen if computer games were invented a few hundred years ago. Maybe we could have avoided a couple of wars because of that. When you think about it, winning a game could give a sense of accomplishment which wars often revolved around. Rulers who were greedy for power might have sometimes declared wars just to prove that they are the strongest. Is it a coincidence that there are less wars these days than there were a couple of hundred years ago? What is your opinion? What influence do computer games have on our society?
If we look at the current trend, it is easy to notice that computer games are selling very well even during recession. That is because they are relatively inexpensive taking into account for how many hours they can entertain us. Games are an economical choice and maybe that is why they are so popular.
Tech
Scientists are working on a system which could allow people to feel shapes and objects of 3D designs on computers. This is supposed to be achieved without any inconvenient mechanical gear. The research took place in Carnegie Mellon University, and it was announced that the system would be based on a touch-based interface, without using any gloves or force feedback. This device is going to provide the most realistic sense of touch of any haptic interface in the world today. Users will move a control handle while optical sensors measure the position and orientation of the device in relation to objects displayed on the user PC, while electrical coils inside the device receive signals and interact with magnets, causing the unit to levitate. While the description of the device might seem a bit complicated, I think that it has really great potential. This device sounds like it might be very useful, but additionally I think that it also sounds like a lot of fun. Such 3D designs could be used for games, various programs, or even for education purposes. While this technology is not exactly as sophisticated as the holodec from Star Trek, it is certainly a step in the right direction.
Tech
In today’s world we are being encouraged to multitask. When you drive a car, you might be required to talk to your children or on the phone, eat while watching the news etc. While multitasking can be tiring, it can actually be a lot of fun. It allows you to do at least two things at the time, and thus use your time more effectively. There are many activities which can be combined together like, for example, eating and watching TV. Why would you just look at your food, if you can watch news at the same time? Additionally, many doctors argue that talking with full mouth is not healthy, and thus it is not the best idea to talk with family members while eating a meal. Many children and teenagers do their homework and watch TV simultaneously. This might be more difficult, so I would not recommend it in most situations. However, if someone can focus on doing his homework while listening to music or watching TV, then there is nothing wrong about that. I know that many people dislike multitasking, but in many situations it is beneficial. In my opinion, you do not have to worry about multitasking as long as you use your time more effectively this way. Some people can concentrate on a lot of different things at the same time. However, if multitasking is making you tired, then you should consider doing just one thing at a time.
Tech