10 ways you could be breaking the law with your computer without even knowing it

Are You Unknowingly Breaking the Law with your Computers?
Those of us who use our computers on a day to day basis have a tendency to take them and their use for granted.

Most of us have our WIFI connection set on automatic. We set our preferences to remember the networks we have accepted and let it do it’s thing.

WIFI for Dummies

We don’t take into account that there are many networks with the same name. Most of the networks out there are created by plugging in the wireless router and connecting it to the modem. This uses the default name for the network. How many networks have you seen named “linksys” or “NETGEAR”? Our computers just remember the network by their names and just connects to any open network.
(Post from Search Engine Optimizician.)

The big question is “Am I breaking the law?”.

The Answer is “…possibly!”.

1. Digital Millennium Copyright (DMCA) Act
   The DMCA makes it a criminal offense to circumvent any kind of technological copy protection. Even if you don’t violate anyone’s copyright in doing so. Simply disabling the copy protection is a federal crime.
2. No Electronic Theft (NET) Act
   The NET Act made copyright infringement a federal criminal offense, it doesn’t matter whether you circumvent copy-protection technology and/or derive any commercial benefit or monetary gain. Just making a copy of copyrighted work for a friend now makes you subject to up to five years in prison and/or up to $250,000 in fines.
3. Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)
   ACTA covers a number of areas, which include counterfeit products and generic medicines, but computer users are effected the chapter “Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights.”
4. Court rulings regarding border searches
   Be aware that even though you’ve done nothing illegal and are not even a suspect, the contents of your portable computer, PDA, or smart phone can be accessed by government agents when you enter the Unites States.
5. State and federal laws regarding access to networks
   “WIFI for Dummies”
   Many states have criminal laws that prohibits accessing any computer or network without the owner’s permission. The wording of most these laws include connecting to a wireless network without explicit permission, even if the network is unsecured.
6. “Tools of a crime” laws
   Some states actually have laws that make it a crime to possess a “criminal instrument” or the “tool of a crime.” What this means is that you could be arrested and prosecuted, for constructing a high gain wireless antenna for the purpose of tapping into someone else’s Wi-Fi network whether or not you actually accessed a network.
7. Cyberstalking and Cyberbullying laws
   The “cyberstalking” laws enacted by the states have a tendency to contain some pretty broad language. April 2009, the Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act (H.R. 1966) was introduced in the U.S. Congress. This would make it a federal crime to “intimidate, harass, or cause substantial emotional distress to another person, using electronic means to support severe, repeated and hostile behavior.”
8. Internet gambling laws
   The federal Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 criminalizes acceptance of funds from bettors. Some state laws do apply to the person placing the bet. A Washington law passed in 2006 makes gambling on the Internet a felony.
9. Child pornography laws
   You be arrested for possession of child pornography or for exposing children to pornography even though you never voluntarily indulged in it.
10. Pro IP Act
    The Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act (Pro IP Act), signed into law in 2008, imposes stricter penalties for copyright infringement. Some local jurisdictions have also established seizure authority for piracy.

This post is paraphrased from “10 ways you might be breaking the law with your computer: UPDATED” by Debra Littlejohn Shinder, MVP posted March 10th, 2010. Please visit that website for more detailed information.

After all of that eye opening information we can no longer consider our selves innocent when it comes to using our computers. We are not computer babies any more.

Late,
Gary Pool SEO

Top Ten Ways to Break the Law with your Computer is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician

An Afternoon at the World Trade Center in Portland with Apple Snow Leopard Server

Tomorrow as part of my duties as the founder of LIMUG I will be attending the Apple Snow Leopard server tour held at the World Trade Center Auditorium in Portland Oregon.

LIMUG is the LinkedIn Mac users group with 11,000 members. Be sure to check out the LIMUG website. (Cool logo eh?)

The Apple Snow Leopard seminar is going to cover hardware, software, setup, administration, and integration. It also covers podcast producer to, scripting for system administrators, and the iPhone integration.

The Apple iPhone integration being covered at this seminar is really interesting. There is absolutely no mention of Apple’s new iPad in their entire agenda. I do find it interesting that they do mention the iPod touch to which the new Apple iPad is being referred to as just a larger version. They do plan on discussing how the new Apple Snow Leopard Server can assist with automatically configuring these mobile devices and using that services such as mail, calendar, contacts, and remote access.
(Post from Search Engine Optimizician.)
With the advent of the smart phones it makes our jobs as Internet marketers more extensive and we have to consider mobile devices accessing the Internet. I’m attending this event with the hope of picking up some tidbits of information that might not only further my Apple knowledge but also my Internet marketing knowledge.

This event is actually sponsored by Apple Inc. and MacForce one of our local Macintosh suppliers in Portland.

Late,
Gary Pool SEO

World Trade Center, Apple iPhone, and Apple Snow Leopard is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician

If You Use Firefox You Need to Check Out these Add-ons to Enhance Your Internet Security

Since I have been discussing Firefox extensions and plugins I thought this information on enhanced security would be appropriate.

I ran across an article on TechRepublic about Firefox and enhancing internet security.

Compromising Web sites has become cybercriminals’ favorite method of getting malware installed on computers. … ways to beef-up Firefox and make it more difficult for the bad guys.

While I don’t use all of these, I do use quite a few. I would suggest you take a look at them for your particular use.
(Post from Search Engine Optimizician.)
Ten Firefox Add-ons for Your Internet Security

1. NoScript
   “The best security you can get in a web browser!”
   Allow active content to run only from sites you trust, and protect yourself against XSS and Clickjacking attacks. NoScript allows you to decide whether JavaScript, Java, and other content are allowed to run.



2. BetterPrivacy
   “BetterPrivacy is a safeguard which protects from usually not deletable LSO’s on Google, YouTube, Ebay… ” The best way to control Flash cookies. Flash cookies are difficult to remove, do not expire, and can re-create deleted HTTP cookies.



3. AdBlock Plus
   “AdBlock Plus is not a security add-on.” Ever been annoyed by all those ads and banners on the internet that often take longer to download than everything else on the page? Install Adblock Plus now and get rid of them.



4. Perspectives
   Anything that helps to reduce the likelihood of TLS/SSL attacks (think identity theft) is important. “We will try to keep the version on addons.mozilla.org up-to-date, and plan on eventually submitting the extension for a review in order to no longer be in the Firefox addons sandbox.”



5. SSL Blacklist
   Detects weak or revoked certificates. Both should be a concern. SSL Blacklist also checks if the certificate was built using the vulnerable MD5 hash algorithm, another huge security weakness.



6. WOT
   “WOT ranks search entries according to their trustworthiness, vendor reliability, privacy, and child safety.” Web of Trust warns you about risky sites that cheat customers, deliver malware or send spam.



7. PhishTank SiteChecker
   “PhishTank SiteChecker is a Firefox add-on using an API provided by PhishTank and its active anti-phishing community.” PhishTank SiteChecker gives Firefox users a way to bring the community judgment of PhishTank into their browser, for extra protection against phishing…



8. TrackerWatcher
   The Trackerwatcher add-on allows you to see what’s going on behind the scenes. “TrackerWatcher shows you what companies may watch what you do on any web site and how they promise to handle your information.”



9. BugMeNot
   BugMeNot’s main purpose is to eliminate advertising spam from Web sites that require registering. “Don’t register any more! Search for public logins in BugMeNot. Enter the URL in the search box. “



10. Xmarks
    While not a security add-on Xmarks is still very helpful and it makes a total of 10 . It will allow you to keep your bookmarks synchronized on several computers without any hastle.

While they may slow you down until you get them set they do offer quite a bit of extra protection.
Enjoy!

Late,
Gary Pool

Firefox Add-ons for Internet Security is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician

USB flash drives can be used for more than just a sneakernet

Do you remember the old days when we used floppies to transfer data from computer to computer? Now we are using USB flash drives for that purpose. Oh but that little memory stick you are carrying can be much more than that old fashioned sneakernet.
(Post from Search Engine Optimizician.)

Sneakernet

Sneakernet is a tongue-in-cheek term used to describe the transfer of electronic information, especially computer files, by physically carrying removable media such as magnetic tape, floppy disks, compact discs, USB flash drives, or external hard drives from one computer to another.

Sneaker refers to the shoes of the person carrying the media. This is usually in lieu of transferring the information over a computer network. This mode of data transport is often used as an academic example to illustrate the trade-off between latency and bandwidth.

Here are 10 things you can do with a USB flash drive you may have not thought of

1. Run portable applications
   You can install portable applications on your USB flash drive.
   OpenOffice can be run as a portable application
2. Boot an operating system
   You can boot both Windows or Linux from a USB flash drive
3. Connect to a wireless network
   Using the Wireless Network Setup Wizard in Windows XP to save wireless network configuration information to a USB flash drive. Then you can use your drive to easily connect another computer or a WCN-compatible device, such as a router or printer, to your wireless network.
4. Create a password reset disk
   You can use a password reset disk to reset your password and quickly get back into your user account. In Windows Vista, you can use USB flash drive rather than a floppy disk as a password reset disk.
5. Boost performance
   Windows Vista will allow you to use a USB flash drive to speed up your system with the ReadyBoost technology.
6. Manage it
   Windows XP will actually allow you to manage the use of your USB flash drive with the USB Flash Drive Manager.
7. Use it as an MP3 player
   Just copy your MP3 files to your USB flash drive, plug it into your computer. Well it’s not really a player but a place for your playlists to reside.
8. Password-protect it
   With the Rohos Mini Drive you can safeguard data on your USB flash drive.
9. Run a Web site from it
   With Server2Go, you can easily run a Web server that supports Apache, PHP, MySQL, and Perl right from a USB flash drive.
10. Lock your PC
    Predator (a freeware utility) will allow you to turn a USB flash drive into a key you can use to lock and unlock your computer.

This post was inspired by “10 cool things you can do with a USB flash drive“ by Greg Shultz.

Late,
Gary Pool

Boot Your Windows or Linux computer from a USB Flash Drive is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician

History, Current State & Future of the Corporate Internet Strategist Role – Gregory Miller

Gregory Miller
Managing Director
Network Tool & Die Company

(Post from Search Engine Optimizician.)

Brief Internet History

• 1968 – DARPA
• 1970 – First 5 nodes
• 1974 – TCP specification by Vint Cerf
• 1984 – On January 1, the internet with its 1000 hosts converted en masse to the TCIP protocol

The internet is a network of networks

The United States is not the biggest user of the internet.

October 31st the internet may be blown apart world wide into segments.

Caida.org has gorgeous mapping of the internet.

Heavy Traffic

• annual global IP traffic will exceed two-thirds of a zettabyte in 4 years
• global IP traffic will quintuple from 2008 to 2013
• in 2013 the internet will be nearly 4x larger in 2009 that = ~10 billion DVDs crossing the internet every 30 days
• globally mobile data traffic will double every year through 2013 increasing 66x between 2008 & 2013
• an “exaflood” is coming
• what is an exabyte? a tower of big books that is 200 million miles high
• in the US by 2015 – 1 Zettabyte

exabyte unit
2^60 = 1,152,921,504,606,846,976 bytes = 1024 petabytes or roughly 10^18 bytes.

zettabyte unit
2^70 = 1,180,591,620,717,411,303,424 bytes = 1024 exabytes.

The “Internet Strategist”

The Role

An expert i designing, developing. and directing long range plans to leverage the Internet as a principal instrument of business continuity

Examining all aspects and impacts… from the Board Room to the Mail Room

• digital commerce is only one perspective
• the view extends far beyond web site management
• the “iStrategist” must have a 360 degree view

Reporting…

• generally into executive management
• 40% report into the CIO or CTO
• 34.8% do not report into the executive management arena

On the internet we are building the Sears skyscraper equivalent with very little if any engineering.

Domain Expertise

• technology, operations, law & policy
• need not be expert in every area essential core competencies required
• generally more technically oriented
• business development & strategic planning capacity
• evangelist & innovator; clearly a thought leader

“Technology”

• inter-networking, architecture, protocols, & services
• emerging technologies
• skynet

“Operations”

• marketing sales & service/support
• logistics, manufacturing, & supply chain

“Law & Policy”

• security, privacy, digital commerce regulation
• internet governance

A lawyer is simply a “tool”.

Source of Internet Strategists

3 Areas

• network & systems or web admin
• digital of database marketing eCommerce CRM
• business development & strategic planning

Emergence of the Pure “iStrategist”

• past 3 years a new breed has appeared strategic planning or business development

generally 4+ years experience in technology

• truly tripartite background from training & experience (i.e. engineer with an MBA/JD)

Internet Strategy Examples

• Automotive: Warranty cost containment – BMW
• Healthcare: Pain management Meds compliance – ReliefInsite
• Active Lifestyle: Reflex (see also: Nike) Autonomic Physical training – Reflex

The Product wants to become a website!
Greg once again gives us a TDF reference. (Astana jumping to bring back Cadel Evans in unison.)
What do you do to build a sustainable relationship with your customers / clients?
How can your web site help?

What is Required of a True Strategist?

Competency in Inter-networking & Internet

• architecture, protocols, services
• evolution and development & processes thereof
• security & privacy
• internet governance

Competency in Digital Commerce

• digital marketing
• trans. management (order, process, settlement, fulfillment)
• customer intelligence

Competency in Digital Supply Chain

Partner & Vendor services

• logistics (e.g., EDI… )
• manufacturing

Operations

• Communications (e.g., VoIP, SMS, Mail, etc.)
• Customer service & support

The Internet is working at a holistic level for the company.

TLD discussion

You’d give up court resolution
Non-profits get the nod in all matters
Digital Strategists discovered the flaws

Watch out for ICON!

Late,
Gary Pool

Build a Sustainable Relationship with Your Customers and/or Clients is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician

Ever Wish You Could LoJack Your Computer or Smart Phone?

Here is an answer for theft protection for your computers and smart phones. It is called GadgetTrack and they have products for Mac, PC, iPhone, Blackberry, and Windows Mobile. This is not only for portables it will work on towers and desktops as well.

There is a installation review on the LIMUG site titled “MacTrack – LoJack for your Mac and iPhone Too” if you want to read more.

This anti-theft software works like LoJack you can turn it on and it will start sending you information to locate your computer.

One of the really cool features of this software is it’s integration with flickr. If your computer has a built in camera it will actually send you the picture of the culprit and his location.

Check out GadgetTrack so you too can sleep better at night.

Late,
Gary Pool

LoJack for Laptops – GadgetTrack is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician

Copywriting for SEO on Your Blog

Well I did make my first major decision of the SearchFest day I choose to attend the Blogging, Copywriting, and SEO Session in the big room. I didn’t even have to change seats after Danny Sullivan’s inspiring keynote.

Blogging, Copywriting, and SEO

Moderator: Scott Hendison – Search Commander, Inc.

Scott Hendison is the CEO of Search Commander, Inc. and a search engine expert. Scott is a former Portland computer & software retailer that built his Portland computer repair business with Pay-per-Click and organic search engine optimization.

Here are my notes as taken, with a little formatting thrown in.

Stoney deGeyter – Pole Position

Who is your market? – What are they interested in? – What are the needs?

Who it is you want to attract? You need to speak to them on their level.

• Keyword research
• How to hit the broad topics
• Topical concepts

Have a good pick-up line!
How do you capture the audience and bring them into the website?

• Compelling opening

Speak the language
Scannable
Bullet points
Bolds and italics

Use headings, use pictures

• Be really easy on the eyes (Anglina Jolie)
• Make the content more than just a book
• Formatting counts

• Keep them interested
• Appeal to their needs
• Ask questions
• Inform

Give more than they came for via Links

• Do it right and do it again
• Proof and rewrite
• Integrate keywords
• No stuffing
• Need value, desire

Rebecca Kelley – SEOmoz

7 Blogging Myths

The Black, The White and Everything In-Between

Blogging is a Link Magnet!

Blogging is a great way to attract links

• Crap is crap
• Great content can lead to links

Content is King

• If you blog it they will link
• Good content doesn’t magically spread
• don’t be afraid..

Dofollow Blogs = Easy Link Building
You dirty spammer

List of dofollow blogs

It’s List or Bust

• This presentation is a list
• causation does not = correlation
• Diversify your content

• Blog When it’s Convenient
• Blogging takes consistency
• viral content on empty blog is suspicious

• Look for Content on Google Trends
• Social Media Searches
• SEOmoz PopularSearches
• SEOmoz Blogscape

Don’t Over think it
Let your heart lean and you follow with your posts.

It’s Your Blog, Do Whatchoo Wanna Do

Your Website Needs a Blog – But you need to maintain it.

Heather Lloyd Martin – SuccessWorks

Marsha Brady Syndrome

Make your site dateable
You can… In just 7 easy steps!

Rethink your approach

• Tailor your blog to the economy.
• Will your “old” approach work in today’s economy?
• Rethink your benefit statements – are they still valid?
• Go where the action is

Keyword research…

• 2-3 keyword phrases per page ignore keyword density
• Consider if you have good copy
• Grab their attention

Title structure

• 60-75 characters including spaces
• include main key phrase/s in title
• Always stay current – Always

Give your copy an update check

• press pages
• conference/events
• product
• old articles that are obviously out dated

Let your personality shine through
Pages need personality

Ask for what you want
CALL TO ACTION on every page!

• Don’t lower your writing standards
• Enjoy ultimate success
• folded listings

Well there you have it. I did choose to go to the blogging session. It was a great session and I am glad I chose to improve my blog.

Late,
Gary Pool

How to SEO Your Blog – SearchFest 2009 is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician

A client recently forwarded me an email they had received from a supposed SEO Company.

Is it real?
Is it just another one of those scams?

You make the call!

Dear Website Owner,

65% of people searching the Internet will never find your web site unless you’re ranked on first page of Google, MSN, or Yahoo. If I help you obtain as much as 4 times more WEB traffic to your online business by promoting you to the first page of the search engines would you be interested?

Our company is on the first page when you search on Google for our primary search term “SEO Company.” We would like to do the same for your web site so you can come up for your main keywords as well? All of our processes use the most ethical “white hat” Search Engine Optimization techniques that will not get your website banned or penalized.

This special SEO program includes:

1. No upfront fees
2. A month-to-month program
3. More traffic guaranteed

Please reply to my email and I would be happy to send you a proposal.
______________________________________________________________________
Sincerely,
Travis Wolk

501 VERDUGO WAY
WESTLAKE VILLAGE , CA
91362 – USA
______________________________________________________________________
Simply reply with opt out if not interested to hear from us.

Wow their company is on the first page for the search term “SEO Company”. So where is their URL so I can check it?

How do they do it? Who are they anyway?

I had no way to look this “SEO Company” up other than entering their URL in Google. Here is just one of the results.

First of all a real SEO Company will not send out unsolicited emails. If a company doesn’t give, or is afraid to give you their URL turn and run as fast as you can. There are plenty of these con artists out there and they just give the real SEO Companies a bad name.

Do you have any scams you’d like to share?

Late,
Gary Pool

SEO Company Scams is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician

What Platform is Your Web Site Running On?

As the search engine optimizician I have to deal with Microsoft servers quite often. Even though windows is the most popular operating system for computers, windows servers are not the predominant server used for the world wide web.

I personally like to work with Linux servers. The Linux platform is easier to use. You can create 301 and 302 redirects as well as solving your canonical issues with the addition of a .htaccess file.

A redirect can be accomplished on a Microsoft IIS server by:

• In internet services manager, right click on the file or folder you wish to redirect
• Select the radio titled “a redirection to a URL”.
• Enter the redirection page
• Check “The exact URL entered above” and the “A permanent redirection for this resource”
• Click on “Apply”

You just have to jump through more hoops when you want to do anything on a windows server. Do you know if your site hosted on a Linux or a Windows server?

What Operating System are Your Home and Work Computers Running?

I am actually using three operating systems in my home and work computers. I use Windows XP, Mac OS X, and a few flavors of Linux on my home and work machines. I basically use Mac for every day use, Windows and Linux to check the rendering of sites I have been working on. I also use the Microsoft platform to run certain applications that haven’t been ported to the Apple platform yet.

The Microsoft Windows platform has it’s own set of problems, not the least of which is the long ……………….. long start up time. I usually try to turn on that machine early and let it run through all its stuff while I am getting work done on my Mac. What operating system(s) are you running on your computers?

Worm Infects Millions of Microsoft Computers

In recent weeks a worm, a malicious software program, has swept through corporate, educational and public computer networks around the world. Known as Conficker or Downadup, it is spread by a recently discovered Microsoft Windows vulnerability, by guessing network passwords and by hand-carried consumer gadgets like USB keys.

Experts say it is the worst infection since the Slammer worm exploded through the Internet in January 2003, and it may have infected as many as nine million personal computers around the world…

Microsoft rushed an emergency patch to defend the Windows operating systems against this vulnerability in October, yet the worm has continued to spread even as the level of warnings has grown in recent weeks. Read more…

Enough said, you now have my operating system preferences let me here about yours.

Late,
Gary Pool

What OS, Windows, Linux, Unix, or Mac? is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician

ITEC Portland 2008

I will be attending ITEC Portland 2008 today.
GEEKdom Reigns!
The ITEC events in the past were not only interesting but very beneficial and this years doesn’t look like it will break the run.

Keynote: Technology is Broken and How to Fix IT

James Gaskin will explain how Technology Is Broken, and that it may not be your fault.

Keynote: Virtualizing Your Storage Environment with Nordisk Systems and IBM

Greg Sents will show us how IBM, the pioneer in storage virtualization can help you meet the ever increasing demand in your storage environment.

DATA SECURITY: UTM: Simple, Elegance and Power

Cameron Byers will explain how modern IT security managers are essentially required to protect against multiple attack vectors while ensuring optimal performance for their organization.

CLOUD COMPUTING: Cloud Wars: Protecting Web Applications from the new Phantom Menace-Google Hacking

Robert Ruddick discusses the next generation of SQL Injection attacks and best practices to protect your organization against these increasingly sophisticated and dangerous threats.

VIRTUALIZATION: Data Duplication and Lowering Costs in Your Virtual Infrastructure

Justin Stevens presents on the effective use of virtualization technologies is critical in today’s race to improve performance in a world of ever-increasing storage capacity demands.

APPLE SEMINAR: It’s Just Good Business: Leopard Server

E. Reese tells us – It’s really not about Mac vs PC. It’s about good business. About getting the most out of your technology investment. 

DATA SECURITY: FTP: The Enemy Within

Robert Wong talks about a time when simple things such as transferring files from one location to another was just a matter of getting your IT guy to install an FTP client on your machine. 

NEXT WORKPLACE: Do More. Travel Less. Be Present: Leveraging High Definition Video for Competitive Edge

Scott Jones presents on: More and more, organizations are turning to High Definition video communications as an everyday business tool.

ENTERPRISE & SOCIAL SOFTWARE: Email Archiving: Improving Productivity and Meeting Compliance Requirements

Ryan Speir discusses, agreements, documents, notifications, contact information, and many other kinds of critical business information.

DATA SECURITY: Botnets: Battling the Borg of the Internet

Peter McNaull’s topic: Sure, you’ve heard of bots and botnets. But have you ever actually seen a bot, bot source code, or a bot herder’s Command and Control (C&C) center in action?

ENTERPRISE & SOCIAL SOFTWARE: Break On Through To The Other Side

Kim Johnson talks about successful companies know that their most profitable investment is in their employees. When people are at their peak performance, productivity increases, business operations are more accurate, and the costs involved with human error decrease.

NEXT WORKPLACE: Are Energy Costs Eating Away AT Your IT Budget?

Don Johnson tells us about new backup power system designs are delivering more power in a smaller space and saving you thousands of dollars is energy costs, almost paying for themselves in the life of the product.

APPLE SEMINAR: No Mac is an Island: Mac/Windows Integration

E. Reese talks about how Apple is the fastest-growing personal computer platform today. One of the reasons for this is the fact that Macintosh/PC worlds are no longer divided by incompatible standards.

Keynote: PROFITABILITY-The Other Side of Compliance

Diane Childs, Shelah Johnson, Ron Miller, and Robert McMillen discuss how being compliant has often times meant spending money, more time and more recourse. This panel explores how a business balances their needs Vs government demands.

DATA SECURITY: Requirements of the New Oregon Identity Theft Protection Act which Applies to All Small and Medium Sized Businesses.

Sean Odom points out:

• Available exclusions for small businesses
• Penalties for non-compliance
• Requirements for compliance
• Five most overlooked compliance items
• New requirements for inventory and transporting your backup media
• Where to go for help

THE NEXT WORKPLACE: Going Green In The Server Room

Robert McMillen, host of the All Tech Radio Show and Lance Liden, the director of Competitive Programs for the Americas from IBM. Robert and Lance will discuss "Going Green" which is a billion dollar national program from IBM that educates companies on how to save money and the environment…

APPLE SEMINAR: Podcast Producer: How to Make it Work for your Business

E. Reese explains how podcasting is now one of the most powerful tools you can use to market your business. And as you’ll see in this seminar, Apple Podcast Producer makes it easy. No experience necessary.

Explaining Geeks to Humans and the Inverse

James Gaskin presents on how geeks love technology but don’t understand non-technical employees. Non-technical employees don’t understand technology or geeks. The only common ground for these groups? They both hate the idiot vice presidents who can’t communicate to employees from either side of the geek divide.

Looks like today will be a FULL day. Maybe I’ll see you there.

Late,
Gary Pool

ITEC – Technology – Data Security – Going Green is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician

If you have been following me at all you probably aware that I am a Mac fan.

I have met Steve Wozniak in person before and actually shook his hand. I think The Woz is an incredible person and a great educator.

I ran across this video where the BBC actually sat The Woz down in front of a camera and filmed this interview titled Steve Wozniak: How it began. I thought you might enjoy it.

Because I was unable to over come the auto play feature you can watch the
video by clicking on this link and closing the window when you are finished.

Steve “The Woz” Wozniak co-founded Apple Computer with Steve Jobs. In this video he remembers how it all began from the Computer History Museum in Silicon Valley, California.

late,
gary pool

Steve Wozniak | How the Mac Began is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician

I came across this nice little video.

This is a great example of Marketing for both the song and the computer.

Aren’t Apple Computers great?

late,
gary pool

Now That is Marketing | Music | Mac is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician

Day One Portland to San Diego, Portland to Crescent City with a stop at the Dutch Bros Mother Ship.

As we were getting ready to go last week our biggest worry was the weather, it had been showing on the route we were going to take.

Today was fantastic the Lord gave us such fantastic weather to travel. We couldn’t even have dreamed up any better weather than we had today.

Add California to your page

As you can see from the video I need work on my camera skills. You will see my skills advance as I actually learn the intricacies of this new camera.

We pulled into Crescent City California just before dusk. We are staying at a Best Western in a nice room with high speed wireless.

Tomorrow we will continue south on Hwy 101 and spend some time in the redwoods.

late,
gary pool

Portland to Crescent City | Dutch Bros Mother Ship is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician

According to Forbes Warren Buffett is now the richest man on the planet.

Riding the surging price of Berkshire Hathaway (nyse: BRK – news – people ) stock, America’s most beloved investor has seen his fortune swell to an estimated $62 billion, up $10 billion from a year ago. That massive pile of scratch puts him ahead of Microsoft (nasdaq: MSFT – news – people ) co-founder Bill Gates, who was the richest man in the world for 13 straight years.

Gates is now worth $58 billion and is ranked third in the world. He is up $2 billion from a year ago, but would have been perhaps as rich–or richer–than Buffett had Microsoft not made an unsolicited bid for Yahoo! (nasdaq: YHOO – news – people ) at the beginning of February.

2001

2008

If you saw Bill’s retirement movie I think he’s not worried about it.

Enjoy your retirement Bill you earned it. Being number two in the race for the worlds richest man isn’t too bad.

late,
gary pool

Did retirement cost Bill Gates his richest man in the world title? is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician

Stop the presses Danny Sulivan buys a Macintosh computer!
Danny bought a MacBook Pro, 15″ screen, 2.4 GHz.

Here’s the deal. All the Search Engine Land editors had a meeting at SMX West, as Barry’s blogged. I sat down and flipped open my trusty Toshiba Windows XP machine, which I’ve had to go back to while my super-wonderful Sony Vista laptop goes back for repairs. I was the only one without a Mac. Sigh. I knew I’d been beaten.

Plus, the new Macbooks had come out. So I now own a MacBook Pro, 15″ screen, 2.4 GHz. I bought VMWare so that I can get Windows XP running on it, as my security blanket. And I was mean and rude to the Mac employee who sold it to me, complaining I should be able to just buy Mac software for my Intel computers and what, Steve Jobs doesn’t have enough money that he has to resist that.

Danny Sullivan and an Apple computer the next thing you know he will be moving from the UK to the US.
What Danny is moving to California?

After 12 years of living in the UK, I’m going home — back to Southern California, back to Newport Beach.

The next thing you know Danny will be attending SEMpdx SearchFest ’09.

late,
gary pool

Danny Sullivan Buys a Mac is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician

Explaining the Macintosh Surge

A Quote by David Pogue:

At the risk of enraging the Apple bashers, I can’t keep my mouth shut any longer: Something is going on with the Macintosh.

At this week’s Macworld Expo, there were 475 exhibitors. That’s 100 more booths than last year.

There were 50,000 attendees. That’s 10,000 more people than last year.

A book publisher told me that 2007 Macintosh book sales were up by double-digit leaps over the previous year.

Gartner’s fourth-quarter 2007 research shows that Mac shipments grew 28 percent over the year before, giving it an 6.1 percent market share. (It was 3-point-something only a couple of years ago.)

According to Net Applications, use of the Mac’s Web browser, Safari, climbed 32 percent in 2007.

Apple sold 2.16 million Macs in the last quarter–a new company record.

And anecdotally—well, you probably know somebody who’s switched to the Mac recently.

David goes on to dismiss the iPod “halo effect” and people being fed up with viruses and spyware on Windows.

He lays the blame right in the lap of Windoz Longhorn OSX I mean Vista. Quoting a source as saying “Well, if I have to buy a new machine and learn a new interface, I may as well get the cool-looking, virus-free one.”

This is a very possible explanation of Apple’s gigantic 35 percent leap in just 12 months.

Sounds very plausible to me. I’m on board.

Do you have a better theory?

late,
gary pool

The Macintosh is on Fire | Is it Apple or Vista? is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician

Do you live in Portland? Do you have some computers or computer stuff lying around the house or office that you would like to get rid of? Are you looking for a good buy on particular computer stuff?

If the answer to any of the above questions is “yes” I have the answer for you – the PMUG Swapmeet.

This event is for both Macs and PCs. It also includes anything that can be used for either. Microsoft stuff is welcome.

PMUG is holding a Computer Swap Meet Saturday August 4th at the MAC from noon to 3 pm.

Multnomah Arts Center
7688 SW Capitol Hwy
Portland, OR 97219

Tables are available for $25 and half a table for $15.
This event is FREE to buyers.

For more information visit the PMUG website.

See you there.

Late,
seopdx/gary-pool.html”>Gary Pool

Mac and PC Computer Swap Meet in Portland, Oregon is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician

Internet Strategist Career Symposium – July 20th – Portland, OR.

Back from the floor of the event on day 2 of what I would describe as overall a very good group of presentations. Today we are on the 2nd floor of the Governor Hotel in a room referred to as the Library.

Internet Strategist Career Symposium – The Road to Chief Internet Strategist.

History, Current State & Future of the Corporate Internet Strategist Role.

Gregory Miller – Partner
Network Tool & Die Company

Technology – Infrastructure Update

• Protocols – Is the World Ready for IPv6?
• Recent Developments in Privacy & Security – The Real Value Quotient: Customer Intelligence
• Next Generation Networks – Internet2 Progress Report
• State of Growth – Synopsis: Traffic, Demographics & Usage

• Automotive: Warranty cost containment – BMW
• Healthcare: Pain management Meds compliance – ReliefInsite
• Healthcare: Autonomous rehabilitation – Reflex
• Technology: Re-purposing a service – Real Connect & RMPP

Greg even talked about one of the products used in the Tour de France. The product is the heart monitor – cadence monitor – energy use monitor. By the way Tom Boonen from Quickstep won today’s stage.

OK we are being called back from out break.

The Technology: what’s now? – what’s next?

What is Required of a True iStrategist?

• Competency in Inter-networking & Internet
• Competency in Digital Commerce
• Competency in Digital Supply Chain

What’s Now?
Circleid.org is a good informational site.

• Arcitecture
• Protocols IPv6 is a something we need to know. IETF
• Security – Blended threats – identity theft – unified threat management
• Customer intelligence – Extending CMDB capability to support site analytics

What Matters?

• The new old 2.0 – Twitter – tagging – facebook – LinkedIn – Wikimedia
• 5 technologies to Keep and eye on – Digg – Ning (lets you build your own social network) – Facebook Services API – Google Maps API (and things like Wayfaring.com) – Second Life

What’s Next?
This is just going too fast to report on.

• Some great things to watch
• We witnessed several technologies yesterday
• Web 3.0
• Semantic Web – RDF – web2express.org/demo/

Next up is John P. Tomaszewski

Vice President of Legal, Policy, and Compliance

TRUSTe
Law – A Survey of the Landscape

Why do we care?
Leagal Topics – eCommerce –

• Taxing transactions in Second Life?
• Property taxes for your holdings in Second Life?
• Information is the new cash!
• Data has direct value.
• You can’t think of the internet as just the internet.
• You need to think of your self as a data strategist.
• If you have an internet site up you are a global company.
• You need to understand how and where your business works.
• Data is viewed very differently depending what country you are in.
• eDiscovery
• What kind of data strategy does your business have?
• How do you create reliable systems to handle the data?
• How can you streamline the contracting process?
• Business level protection for the USA Patriot act
• When you are collecting data as a business you have to consider the government will be involved.
• Global Business will open a doorway to global crime.
• Part sociologist and part anthropologist
• Privacy
• The privacy definition is changing
• Convergence of Data sources
• Net neutrality – antitrust laws – anti-competitive – protected class
• Can you control the pipe that I own?
• DRM & Fair Use – current law is really antiquated
• On-Line coupled with Off-Line
• Legislation
• Who gets to tax eCommerse?
• Import – Export Fees?
• Security
• Who are you letting handle your information

Great session today! Wow this is really the nuts and bolts that holds or doesn’t hold it all together.

Late,
seopdx/gary-pool.html”>Gary Pool

Internet Strategy Forum Summit West 2007 Day 2 is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician

Web 2.0: Social Strategies

Hi from the floor of the 2007 Internet Strategy Forum’s Executive Summit. I will actually be posting live.

Rob Smith the editor of the Portland Business Journal is the MC for today’s event. At the end of the day I will be attending a networking event. Just by attending I will have a chance to win a $200 Best Buy gift certificate. Rob just introduced Robert Scoble. Robert is rated the #34 blogger in the world.

Robert Scoble told us the story of when he left M$. He had told his friends to not to tell anyone. In no time at all a blogger Robert didn’t even know had a blog post on his leaving M$. In no time at all it had had been reposted all around the face of the earth. Wow the power of the net. He told us about Twitter and how fast the word spreads over the world.

FaceBook, MySpace for College kids. You are allowed to investigate people with similar likes. Who’s friends are who’s. You can send videos to just your friends or to just one person.

Flickr is up on the screen. Robert is telling us about when he was invited to join John Edwards in his airplane in the campaign trail. John actually had a blogging expert, photo expert, and video person to take care of the internet marketing.

Blog Search tool by Google. You need to see what people are saying about you and or your company.

Kyte.tv is a place where Robert plays or works as the case may be. Techmeme is on the screen now and Robert is talking about how fast the reports are being updated. It has a great page that gives you the hottest tech topics on the web with very quick updates.

By the way Robert uses a Mac.

Rob is now introducing Mark Colombo VP Electronic Channels FedEx. We are getting a lesson on Ben Franklin. Mark is relating Ben Franklin to web 2.0. The way I see it this is a tough comparison. Ben Franklin can be defined to the the details. Web 2.0 is such a hard term to nail down it is like trying to squeeze jello without having it escape through your fingers.

The slide on the screen shows Ben Franklin in front of a Macintosh computer. Mark is using a PeeCee for the presentation. Ummm interesting. Mark defines web 2.0 as the use of newer internet applications. This presentation is really a marketing piece for FedEx in disguise. Final thoughts on FedEx… they are not a web 2.0 company. They don’t even believe in having their own blog.

We are taking a 10 minute break. We are back from the break. Rob just introduced a representative from Rubicon Marketing Group Inc. They are a speaker sponsor for ISF Summit West.

Tim Kopp the CMO of WebTrends is the next speaker. Time came to WebTrends from Coca Cola. Marketing is a conversation not just an information push. Consumers have an explosion of choices today and this brings about increased expectations. This includes personalization.

Technology – Finance – Marketing the intersection is where Web 2.0 pays off. The consumer is in charge. People are using RIA and the over whelming majority believes that it is adding value to their lives. WebTrends will launch their new engagement software in 2 weeks.

Rob is introducing Cammie Dunaway CMO Yahoo!
Building Brands in a Web 2.0 World.

Cammie Dunaway – Chief Marketing Office

Panelists:

• Bryan Rhoads, Sr. Internet Strategist, Social Media, Intel
• Mark Erickson, Sr. Computer Scientist, Adobe
• Linda Gold, Founder, President & CEO, M3i Works
• Thomas Powell, Founder and President, PINT

They Promised we would gain insights from the frontline experiences of Web 2.0 leaders. Maximize the positive impact of the intersection of technology and cultural shifts. Demystify Web 2.0 tools and incorporate practical business and marketing approaches that leverage engineering, applications and worldwide social media. They delivered.

The reason I didn’t give you a more detailed description of this panel discussion is that I was too involved in to take copious notes.

So what’s my take on Web 2.0?

You are going to be involved in Web 2.0.

To use a sports expression. Whether you are playing at home or away is up to you. (good thing I don’t have to define web 2.0)

Up next is Mike Moran

Distinguished IBM Engineer

IBM
Author of Search Engine Marketing, Inc.: Driving Search Traffic to Your Company’s Web Site.

Mike’s topic is Marketing 2.0: Do It Wrong, Quickly.

Mike is contradicting earlier information we received earlier this morning. (About Diet Coke and Mentos)

• Be real
• Be relevant
• Be responsive

What is it we are looking for?

• How are we watching people to see if things are better than before?
• How can you drive demand for your products?
• What are your conversions?
• Your website is for getting people to respond to you and take the next step.
• Whatever that next step is it doesn’t matter.
• How do you measure the results?
• Did the see the message?
• Did they choose it?
• Did they buy it?

Customers will vote with their mice.
Respond to the world not to just your customers.
Do it wrong quickly and then fix it!
Listen Learn and adjust.

Steve Gehlen just introduced the last speaker of the day, Erik Kokkonen
Vice President, Global Publishing Services
CNET Networks

Erik’s Topic: Could The Web 2.0 Party Be Over Already? The Move Toward Enterprise 2.0.

Erik’s presentation was weak. Every third word was “uh” and he read his slides to us. Once I got over the previously mentioned stuff there was content being delivered. Too bad it had already brought to the podium earlier in the day.

The party after was crowded but the energy was high. All and all it was a very good day. Even if I had to wait until I got home to see the “Tour de France”. I can’t wait until tomorrow’s Internet Strategist Career Path Symposium.

Late,
seopdx/gary-pool.html”>Gary Pool

Internet Strategy Forum Summit West 2007 is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician

Most businesses are often hard-pressed for time and money. If you are a small business, a home based business, or even a medium size business, this statement is even more applicable. There has been a growing interest in search marketing and understanding the benefits of SEO. But there is still a big gap between understanding SEO and actually doing SEO. I have assembled this list to help you whether you are actually doing the SEO your self or are planning to hire a SEO company.

Here is my top 10 list of the most important SEO Don’ts.

1. Don’t reply to the spam you get in your e-mail promising SEO
   Submitting to 1,200 search engines or 800 directories is ridiculous and will get you nowhere. You can’t buy 2,000 quality links for $50. No reputable SEO can or will guarantee a number one ranking on any search engine for keywords that matter. You don’t want a SEO company that sends out spam
2. Don’t wait too long to implement your SEO strategy
   Whether you’re launching a new Web site or upgrading your current site, SEO considerations should be part of the discussion from day one.
3. Don’t waste your time submitting your URL to search engines
   Today’s crawler-based search engines will find your site more quickly as soon as you get a link from another web site already being crawled. Search engine submission died many years ago.
4. Don’t make your web site uncrawlable
   This can can be attributed to an incorrect robots.txt file, having session IDs or too many variables in your URLs, using a complicated navigation menu that spiders can’t (or won’t) follow, or developing an all Flash, all graphic, or all database driven site.
5. Don’t target overly general keywords
   A lawyer and/or law firm in Gresham has no chance at ranking for the word "lawyer," a real estate broker and/or agency in Sherwood has no chance at ranking for the phrase "real estate." Optimize for relevant, specific keywords and phrases that will bring targeted traffic to your site.
6. Don’t stuff keywords in your meta tags, image alt tags…
   This used to work in the dinosaur days of the search engines. Today, it is considered keyword spam and can loose you search engine juice.
7. Don’t use the same title on every page
   Variety is said to be the spice of life and it is on your website too. When combined with relevance, it is extremely important and will help in avoiding duplicate content issues and Google’s supplemental hell.
8. Don’t ignore usability
   Proper site structure, logical navigation, descriptive link text, and so on, are good for both users and search engine spiders. If your potential customers and/or clients have trouble with your site how long do you think they will stick around?
9. Don’t give up on creating great content
   No matter what business arena you’re in, you can add great (link bait) content to your web site. Use a glossary it is an easy way to create a page of great, keyword-rich content. Some more considerations might be, a frequently asked questions page, a testimonials page, how to articles, just use your imagination.
10. Don’t use the same exact anchor text on all links to your site
    The search engines will see this is an obvious sign of unnatural link building. Your link building should look natural, and using varied anchor text will help.

You can download a pdf version of this list.
Stay tuned for my next top 10 list, Top 10 SEO Do’s!

I offer a free 1 hour consultation call 503-616-4SEO.

Late,
Gary Pool

SEO Top 10 List of Things Not to DO! is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician

I was surfing the net and watching some older Matt Cutts videos looking for some tidbits. They are all very informative and well worth watching. Here is a list with links.

• Crawl dates in Google cache
  4 min – Sep 6, 2006
  Matt talks about how Googlebot crawls the web, and what "crawl date" is shown on cached pages. In this video: – Red candy is a 404 page – Purple candy is a 200 (OK) page – Green candy is a 304 status code (page has not changed)
• Qualities of a good site
  6 min – Jul 30, 2006
  Matt Cutts answers Google questions: – Does Sitemaps depend on pageviews? – What are the top things to do in SEO? – How does Google decide to use a DMOZ snippet versus the description from a meta tag? – Should I use bold or strong tags?
• Optimize for Search Engines or Users?
  4 min – Jul 30, 2006
  Matt discusses SEO VS. User Opitmization, Site Spam, and Code Validation and the W3C.
• Recap of SES San Jose 2006
  9 min – Aug 28, 2006
  A short review of news from SES San Jose, and some educational or funny moments.
  Some of the changes happening to people or companies recently – Fun moments
• Matt Cutts Warns Against Buying Links
  51 sec – Jun 15, 2007
  Matt explains that link buying IS against the practice of link buying and warns those who are participating in such schemes may face tough times ahead as Google works harder to remove them.

During my Google searching of various SEO topics I ran across a series of videos with the keyword "Algorithm" using the related topics link. Curiosity got the best of me, so I watched some of the videos on youtube. These are great. I even uploaded one of the videos to myspace. It’s called the Algorithm March check it out.

This is a clip from a japanese kids show called "Pythagoras Switch" or "Pitagora Suicchi".

One last tidbit. Searching this morning I found a Google result for a Matt Cutts blog post that wasn’t uploaded yet… Uhmm.

Matt Cutts: Gadgets, Google, and SEO
I also got Matt-jacked into a dark room by Rand for the “SMX Diaries” video interviews. And WebProNews had some snippets of me from the Q&A session. …
www.mattcutts.com/blog/ – Jun 19, 2007

The latest post on his blog is or was:

Terry Semel stepping down
June 18, 2007 @ 1:45 pm · Filed under Web/Net

Well thats the story of Matt Cutts MySpace, SEO, Youtube, and the Algorithm March.

Late,
Gary Pool

The Story of Matt Cutts, MySpace, SEO, Youtube, and the Algorithm March is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician

GoLive has 9 Lives!

Adobe Systems announced the release of GoLive 9, a new version of their visual Web page editor. GoLive 9 costs $399; upgrades from previous versions cost $169. There is a trial version available for download.

GoLive is a WYSIWYG web design program that was acquired by Adobe from CyberStudio years ago. Adobe has really upgraded GoLive this edition. Just take a look at some of the feature upgrades GL9 boasts.

Designer styles
Design with character and paragraph styles similar to those in Adobe InDesign software but defined in CSS. Add new styles, edit existing ones, or delete old
styles in the Control panel, or use the Style Options dialog box to define specific properties.

Visual CSS layout
Use a visual CSS layout window to create or verify standards-compliant code that renders faithfully on the latest mobile devices and web browsers. Advanced Positioning and Margin & Padding tools make CSS Layout more visual and easier to use.

Place command
Conveniently place images and other content in pages using the File > Place command. If you place an image, the Save For Web feature automatically opens so you can optimize the image into the appropriate web format.

Updated tools
Work with tools familiar to you from other Adobe applications to select, edit, and create objects on the page. Streamline the design process with new or revised versions of the Text, Container, and Deep Selection tools.

Adobe InDesign integration
Copy or drag specific content components between InDesign and GoLive. Preserve formatting or applied styles, and automatically translate them into CSS.

Color management
Maintain common color settings throughout Adobe applications, and print with a simplified interface for color management.

Platform support
GoLive 9 is a universal binary application that runs natively on Intel® based Macintosh computers. It has also been thoroughly tested on 32-bit versions of Micro$oft Windoz Longhorn OSX Vista Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, and Enterprise editions.

Familiar site management tools
Simplify site management with concepts already familiar to you from Adobe Creative Suite® software. Manage your site from start to finish using a Site Window largely based on Adobe Bridge.

Publish Server
Work on multiple pages on your site and then use the Publish Server to upload, download, and synchronize modified content.

Smart Objects
Save time by placing native Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and PDF files into GoLive as Smart Objects, which re-render on-the-fly when you crop or resize them.

Mac system requirements for GoLive 9 call for a G4 or better processor (including Intel multicore processors), Mac OS X v10.4.8, 256MB RAM, 1GB hard disk space.

GoLive is really alive, really!
Well at least it has 9 lives.

late,
Gary

Adobe GoLive Still Alive! is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician