All the Texts, Without All the Costs

All the Texts, Without All the Costs - Frank Radice, the former president of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and now a media consultant, is a compulsive texter. But after racking up more than $1,000 in texting charges on a monthly mobile phone bill two years ago, he began searching for a less expensive way to communicate.

He found apps that allowed him to text free. “Once you try them, you’ll never go back to regular texting,” said Mr. Radice, 62, who texts on an iPhone and iPad using either TextNow or Skype IM.

Even though a text message usually costs the carriers less than a penny to route between mobile phones, they charge customers as much as 20 cents to send a text and another 20 cents to receive one. This adds up to an estimated $20 billion a year in revenue for the wireless industry and a lot of grumbling from consumers who feel abused.

But in the last two years there has been a proliferation of mobile apps, the latest being Apple’s iMessage, that allow users to text free. While they differ in format and ease of use, they all work on the principle of sending and receiving texts via cellphones’ data streams.

“Traditional texts are sent over a defined protocol, like their own channel, that is different from the voice and data channels,” said Michael O’Brien, senior vice president for marketing solutions at Syniverse Technologies, a company in Tampa, Fla., that develops products and services for the wireless industry.

A single text message sent via a texting app uses no more than 160 bytes of data. Most cellphone data plans are 2 to 10 gigabytes (one gigabyte is about a billion bytes). So even if you texted someone all of “War and Peace,” 160 characters at a time, you would still have ample data left on your plan — although you might lose a friend.

TextFree is one of the oldest (circa 2009) and most popular texting apps, particularly among teenagers and preteenagers, who use it to text beyond the limits of their parents’ payment plans. They can also use it to text from their laptop computers, iPod Touches and iPads (bad news for parents who thought they could keep their children from texting by taking away their cellphones). Pinger, the company that offers TextFree, says the median age of its 15 million subscribers is 14.

Advertising supports TextFree and its chief competitors, TextNow and textPlus. Ads flash and bob on the bottom of the screen as you type messages, although your recipients see nothing but your text.

Or you can pay to remove the ads. On TextFree and TextNow, it costs $5.99 a year to avoid ads imploring you to buy, say, Energizer batteries. To use textPlus ad-free costs $4.99 a year, but the company is now offering it for $1.99 per year as part of a promotion.

Registered users of these apps get a new phone number for texting. Texts sent to this new number are automatically forwarded to your cellphone or other wireless device. It also appears as the originating number when texts are sent using the app. TextFree and textPlus work on iOS (i.e. iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch) and Android devices, while TextNow is only iOS compatible. But the apps are agnostic about recipients’ devices. You can send texts free to just about anyone, including the more than 60 percent of Americans who don’t have smartphones.

“Some of my friends complain about having to text to a different number,” said Barry Asch, 40, a middle-school teacher in Wellington, Fla., who uses TextFree on his iPhone. “But in this economy, if I can save $20 a month on texting fees, they can get over it.”

TextFree, TextNow and textPlus allow transmission of picture files within texts and have customizable options like special ring tones (sounds like tropical birds, marimba and even flatulence) to announce texts from particular people in your address book. And of course, they have a full range of cartoony emoticons, called emoji, if you’re into that.

On a recent test run of all three services, TextFree was the fastest, most reliable and easiest to use. It also allows you to send texts free to 25 foreign countries while its rivals do not support international service beyond Canada. Moreover, TextFree allows you to text from your computer — a boon to all who prefer a full-size keyboard over a tiny touch screen when they have the choice.

Another option for free texting are instant messaging apps like iMessage, Skype IM, Kik, Google Talk, Facebook Messenger and GroupMe. These might be thought of as digital cliques that offer free texting as long as the people on the other end, even if they are in different countries, have the same app. Regular texting charges apply if users send a text via Facebook Messenger, GroupMe or iMessage to nonusers. Kik, Google Talk and Skype Chat allow correspondence only between users.

You don’t get a new phone number when using instant messaging apps but rather a user name. These services tend to sling messages back and forth with lightning speed and allow texting to groups as large as 100 people, which is good for organizing gatherings. Picture files are also accommodated.

With the exception of iMessage, which is available only on iOS devices, instant messaging apps tend to work well on all types of smartphones — iOS, Android and BlackBerry. Those with a Windows Phone, however, are limited to Kik and GroupMe. Skype IM and Facebook Messenger have the bonus of allowing you to send text messages from your computer when you log onto the Skype and Facebook Web sites.

And then there is Google Voice (not to be confused with Google Talk), which is a no-cost comprehensive communication app that is in a class by itself. While it has a range of useful services — like voice mail, call recording, call forwarding, telephone number porting and voice mail transcription — it also offers unlimited texting to anyone in the United States. Users can elect to have texts sent to their mobile phones as well as have them delivered to their e-mail inboxes.

Texts can also be viewed from the Google Voice Web site, which allows texting from a computer. And since this is a service offered by Google, the texts saved online can be searched using keywords. But, unlike other texting and instant messaging apps, you cannot attach pictures to Google Voice texts.

Deryck Wong, 21, a senior at the University of California, Berkeley, who is majoring in business and economics, uses Google Voice to do all his texting. “I got tired of all the fees from my carrier,” he said. “I’ve gone over my limit before and it was ridiculous how much they charged me per text.” Now he has a cellphone plan that includes just voice and data. He has no texting charges at all, saving him at least $15 a month.

“I spend the extra money on sandwiches at the school’s cafe,” said Mr. Wong, which spares him the frozen food or ramen he would otherwise make for himself at home. “It’s more convenient and tastes a lot better.” ( nytimes.com )

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Access Your Home PC Even When You're Not Home

Access Your Home PC Even When You're Not Home. I routinely use my local coffee shop as a temporary office--and judging by the number of other laptop users I see there, I'm not alone.

Invariably I end up needing something on my home PC--a file, an e-mail stored in Outlook, a Web link I bookmarked, or whatever. If only I could access that system from afar!

I can. In fact, there are many solutions that afford remote access to other PCs, but I've yet to find one I like better than oldie-but-goodie LogMeIn Free.

All you do is download and install the small LogMeIn utility (which is available for both Windows and Mac), set up your account and password, then leave your PC running when you leave the house.

To connect from afar, just open up a browser (on any Internet-connected PC), head to the LogMeIn Web site, and sign into your account. Click the big green Remote Control
button, enter your password, and in a few seconds you'll see your home PC's desktop right inside your browser. (The first time you do this, you'll need to install a browser plug-in, which is quick and painless.)

You can now interact with your home PC just as if you were sitting at it. (I recommend maximizing the LogMeIn window within your browser so you can enjoy a full-screen interface, which is much easier on the eyes.) Keep in mind that everything will seem a bit slower than usual, which is simply a by-product of remote access. Also, graphics may look a little splotchy, as LogMeIn intentionally reduces Windows' color depth to improve performance.

If you do maximize the LogMeIn window, you'll need to move your mouse cursor to the top of the screen (near the center) to access its toolbar.

I can't tell you how many times LogMeIn has come to my rescue. I'm also a fan of the LogMeIn Ignition app for iPhone, which provides the same incredible remote access right on my handset. (Alas, it's a little pricey at $29.99.) Confession: I'll sometimes fire up the app to remotely shut down my downstairs PC, just so I don't have to run the stairs.

Is there a remote-control utility you like better than LogMeIn? If so, talk it up in the comments! ( washingtonpost.com )

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Pengaruh Virtual Memory Pada Windows

Pengaruh Virtual Memory Pada Windows. Supaya Restart Windows Lebih Cepat. Virtual Memory, atau yang lebih dikenal dengan nama swap file, merupakan memori bohong-bohongan yang terletak di dalam hard disk. Pada dasarnya, Virtual Memory berguna jika RAM yang terdapat di sistem sudah tidak mencukupi sehingga dipakailah ruang hard disk sebagai tempat penyimpanan sementara. Karena itu, tidak mengherankan jika ukuran Virtual Memory bisa disetel sampai 2 kalinya RAM sistem.

Tapi tahukah Anda, besar-kecilnya Virtual Memory dapat mempengaruhi kecepatan shutdown atau reboot Windows. Semakin besar Virtual Memory, semakin lama pula Windows melakukan reboot atau shutdown.

Begini solusi untuk mengatasinya.

1. Klik menu “Start”, lalu ketik “Local Security Policy”.
2. Atau coba ketikkan “secpol.msc” di menu Start. Lihat kolom kiri, lalu pilih “Security Settings > Local Policies > Security Options > Shutdown : Clear virtual memory pagefile”. Set value-nya menjadi “Disabled”.

Anda memiliki RAM sistem yang besar? Anda dapat pula menyetel supaya Windows berjalan tanpa Virtual Memory dengan cara ini.

1. Klik kanan “Computer > Properties”. Pilih “Advanced system settings”.
2. Klik “Settings” pada bagian Performance. Pada window “Performance Options”, klik tab “Advanced”.
3. Di bagian “Virtual memory”, klik “Change”. Di situ Anda dapat melihat di kandar mana XP menaruh Virtual Memory.
4. Untuk men-disable penggunaan Virtual Memory, pilih kandar di mana XP menaruh Virtual Memory (pagefile.sys), lalu klik “No Paging File”, dilanjutkan dengan mengklik “Set”. Setelah itu, reboot komputer Anda.

Virtual Memory ini bisa dibilang bagai buah simalakama. Misalnya, jika Anda ingin mempercepat shutdown atau reboot dengan men-disable fitur “Shutdown : Clear virtual memory pagefile” pada “Local Security Policy”, sistem Anda jadi kurang aman karena cracker bisa saja “melihat-lihat” isinya. Sebaliknya, bila Anda tidak memakai Virtual Memory, bisa-bisa sistem Anda menjadi kurang stabil.

Sebagai jalan tengah, bagi Anda yang memiliki RAM sistem berukuran besar, ada baiknya menggunakan sedikit Virtual Memory. Sebagai contoh, bila Anda memiliki 1GB RAM, Anda bisa memakai Virtual Memory sebesar 256MB atau 128MB dengan tetap menyetel “Shutdown : Clear virtual memory pagefile” menjadi “Enabled”. Besar-kecilnya Virtual Memory dapat disesuaikan dengan kebutuhan dan ruang hard disk. ( kompas.com )

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This is absolutely delightful news

This is absolutely delightful news - The nonprofit body that oversees Internet addresses approved Friday the use of Hebrew, Hindi, Korean and other scripts not based on the Latin alphabet in a decision that could make the Web dramatically more inclusive.

The board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers — or ICANN — voted to allow such scripts in so-called domain names at the conclusion of a weeklong meeting in Seoul, South Korea's capital. The decision follows years of debate and testing.

The decision clears the way for governments or their designees to submit requests for specific names, likely beginning Nov. 16. Internet users could start seeing them in use early next year, particularly in Arabic, Chinese and other scripts in which demand has been among the highest, ICANN officials say.

"This is absolutely delightful news," said Edward Yu, CEO of Analysys International, an Internet research and consulting firm in Beijing, emphasizing that the Internet would become more accessible to users with lower incomes and education. Yu spoke ahead of the approval, which had been widely expected.

Domain names — the Internet addresses that end in ".com" and other suffixes — are the key monikers behind every Web site, e-mail address and Twitter post.

Since their creation in the 1980s, domain names have been limited to the 26 characters in the Latin alphabet used in English — A-Z — as well as 10 numerals and the hyphen. Technical tricks have been used to allow portions of the Internet address to use other scripts, but until now, the suffix had to use those 37 characters.

That has meant Internet users with little or no knowledge of English might still have to type in Latin characters to access Web pages in Chinese or Arabic. Although search engines can sometimes help users reach those sites, companies still need to include Latin characters on billboards and other advertisements.

Now, ICANN is allowing those same technical tricks to apply to the suffix as well, allowing the Internet to be truly multilingual.

Many of the estimated 1.5 billion people online use languages such as Chinese, Thai, Arabic and Japanese, which have writing systems entirely different from English, French, German, Indonesian, Swahili and others that use Latin characters./AP

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The Role of Articles in SEO

The Role of Articles in SEO - Achieving Top Rankings in Weeks. You have employed every trick in the SEO handbook but that first page ranking in the search engines has been eluding you. You are about to give up. But before you do, perhaps you may wish to consider taking up article marketing.

First of all, what exactly is article marketing? Article marketing is the process of writing and submitting original content to article directories. This is not a new concept. For years, marketers have been publishing content in newsletters, magazines, and other publications to gain exposure for their businesses.

The process starts by submitting an article to an editor. If the content is suitable, the editor publishes the article, and the marketer gets some exposure. The process is then repeated with as many publications as possible. In theory, if each publication brings just one customer, then a hundred publications may bring a hundred customers. A hundred customers may just be what a new start-up is looking for.

On the Internet, the results can be astonishing. There are literally thousands of article directories on the Internet. With each article you submit, you are allowed to include two to three text links in the author resource box. Do note that most directories won't allow you to include links in your article body. So keep them to your author signature.

Every time an article directory publishes an article, the website will experience an immediate surge in traffic. This traffic comes from the subscribed readers. After that, the surge dies down a little. The marketer now waits for the search engines to index and rank the articles. Once the article ranks in the search engines, the marketer will receive a constant stream of traffic from the indexed articles.

In addition, the links in the articles will also give the search rankings of the website a much needed boost. When someone writes and submits articles, the wheels of SEO has already started to turn, whether the marketer is aware of it or not. Each published article carries at least two links, pointing back to the author website. In other words, the author website gets high quality back links from well established authority sites whenever an article is approved for publication. But to achieve high rankings in the search results, you need to execute article marketing in the correct manner.

How to prepare your articles for submission.

Article submission can take up a lot of time. So you want to be sure that you get the highest rate of approval from the editors. Here is what you should do to ensure that you get most of your articles approved.

Appropriate word count - Articles should ideally be 500 words and above. You can write whatever you want. But bear in mind that the editors are looking for valuable content that their readers will enjoy reading. So your articles should not be self promotional. All promotional materials should be included in the author resource box, which will appear at the end of the article.

Proper formatting - The article does not have to be perfect. But it has to be legible, and relatively free of grammatical errors. The style of writing is not that important. Most styles will be accepted. Use the hard return to separate paragraphs, and do not include any HTML. Not all article directories accept HTML tags in the article body. As long as the article is of decent quality, it should be approved.

Include target keywords in article title - Your target keywords should be include in the article title. This will increase the chances of your articles rising to the top in the search results. Having keywords in the article title is also part of SEO. When performing SEO, you want the search engines to find relevant content that link to your sites. Having your target keywords in the title is one way of letting the search bots know that the content in the article is related to what you have to offer in your website.

Write a catchy title and interesting summary - The title is very important because if it cannot capture the attention of your reader, you have just lost a potential visitor. Your title should be speaking directly to your target audience. The article summary should also be clear and concise. Don’t beat around the bush. You can elaborate further in the article body. For the summary, use short and powerful sentences.

Delivering the promise of your article title - Make sure that you stay on topic and deliver the promise in the article title. For example, if your article is about link building, then make sure you share some methods on how to build one way back links quickly. Don't stray and write about your pet and then forget to go back to your main topic.

Using anchor texts in links - Anchor texts are the words that are in between a set of HTML link tags. Before going into article marketing, you should already have a set of keywords to target. Use these keywords not just in your article title, but also as your anchor texts. For instance, if you are targeting the keywords "Search Engine Optimization", use these words in your links. Don't use words like "click here" or any other generic term.

Once you have the above in place, you can start submitting the articles to the article directories.

How to submit articles quickly and easily.

Before you start submitting the articles, you must first get a list of article directories. Your list should contain at least 200 article directories. Choose directories that have been around for years, and have high page rank.

The article submission process can be grueling if you don't have the right tools to help you. As a business owner, you shouldn't be doing such manual tasks yourself. You have more important things to do, like developing products, marketing, and so on. The process shouldn't be consuming too much of your valuable time. Here are some quick suggestions.

Use a free form filling tool to help you - There are tools available for download, such as RoboForm that will help you fill up the forms at the article directories. Once you set this up, it's just clicking and submitting. That will save you from having to copy and paste the article into each and every submission form. A great way to submit articles if you are on a shoe string budget.

Invest in article submission software - There are special software in the market that will help you submit your articles either on a semi-automated basis, or on a fully automated basis. If it's a fully automated process, you don't have to be actively involved. You will, however, have to let the software complete the submission process before shutting it down.

Outsource article submission - You can hire someone else to submit the articles for you. This can be a dedicated person that you work with, or it can be a professional service provider. The difference between this option, and that of using software, is that you don't have to monitor the submissions. Simply place an order, and you can switch off your computer and go work on other stuff.

Article marketing, when done right, can bring short, mid and long term traffic. The short term traffic comes from the current readership base of the article directories. The mid to long term traffic comes from the search engines and the articles. As articles remain online indefinitely on the Internet, they remain as traffic baits and help to attract more visitors to your websites.

If you have done your keyword research, and heed the advice given above, your site could achieve top rankings in the search engines within weeks.

About the Author: Darren Chow is a full time article marketer. He founded a successful article submission service, and has been offering high quality article writing and submission services to hundreds of Internet Marketers worldwide.

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How to Configure Sitemap Autodiscovery in Robots.txt

How to Configure Sitemap Autodiscovery in Robots.txtAt Search Engine Strategies New York it was announced that you can now have your sitemap automatically discovered by configuring it in your Robots.txt file. It is simple and easy to do, you’ll just need to know the URL or web address of your sitemap.

First, open your Robots.txt file on your server for editing. Then you will need to add the following line to the end of the file (it can be anywhere, but the end is probably a good place).

Sitemap: http://www.mydomain.com/sitemap.xml

Save the Robots.txt file with the new line for the sitemap URL. There you go! Your whole file may look something like this:

User-agent: *
Disallow: /somefolder/
Disallow: /somethingelse/
Sitemap: http://www.soloseo.com/sitemap.php

Search engines already come to your Robots.txt file when they visit your domain, so on their next crawl they will automatically find your sitemap file.

If you have a new site/domain you will probably still want to submit the sitemap URL to the search engines. To submit you can either submit the URL through their interfaces or use a ping.

Submit Sitemap to Google or Ping Google with your Sitemap

Submit Sitemap to Yahoo or Ping Yahoo with your Sitemap

Submit Sitemap to MSN Live.com

Info for Ask.com Sitemaps or Ping Ask.com by hitting this address: http://submissions.ask.com/ping?sitemap=http://www.yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml

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