NASA Wake Up!

NASA, wake up!


I just read an article on CNN about a lady who's baby monitor is "picking up audio and video transmissions from the Shuttle".

Hogwash.

Her proof? A video of the baby monitor showing the audio and video transmission.

NASA's already said she's not getting it from the Shuttle... that it's coming from another source.

The manufacturers are already "investigating" this issue.

Wanna know what they're going to find? SIMPLE. One of her neighbors (probably her closest one, definitely the geekiest one) has a device that transmits video wirelessly from a source to a destination that just happens to be on the same frequency as the baby monitor. You can buy those for under $100. It's signal is just higher.

Why is this news?

Move on... nothing to see here.

~Andy

Google Video Is A Security Risk

Google Video Is A Security Risk

One of our main products is VideoPaste, that allows a person to quickly and easily convert video from any source to flash, and stream it on their website for pennies a day. Because of that, we're often asked what makes us different/better than the other folks doing video conversion out there today.

While we have a "stock" answer to that question, today I get to modify that answer.

An alert user has noticed (and provided proof to such) that if you use Google Video, to store your video, and then publish it to a social network such as MySpace, that your username and password are sent over the Internet in plain text for the world to see.

Wow.

Now, while I am sure Google will take steps to correct this, why would they allow it to happen in the first place? Who missed the meeting on privacy and security and user trust?

One of the things we strive for here is to keep our users information private and as secure as possible. Thankfully, our player doesn't require you to pass any sensitive information.

I encourage you to read the full article, complete with screen shots, over at http://www.seroundtable.com/archives/013820.html

~Andy

A working class hero won american idol: Jordin Sparks

A working class hero won american idol: Jordin Sparks


So, like a lot of the world, I watched the Idol Finale last night. It was an "ok" show, with some "ok" performances... I think this whole season has pretty much been a wash since Jordin sung her first note.

I can recall Scott and I sitting down one night and laying out step by step the elimination process and calling Jordin the winner... long time ago.

But, it is what it is. And that's what America is talking about today: Idol.

Meanwhile, I've got to go to Scott's office and wire up a new color laser printer and a VOIP phone... my work is never done. ;-)

~Andy

The Secret To Winning On American Idol Is Dance With The Stars On The Lot

The Secret To Winning On American Idol Is Dance With The Stars On The Lot

Andy Stetzinger

OK, so, it's a wild guess on my part. I've never been, nor ever will be on any of those shows. Ain't gonna happen.

However, you're here, reading this, so it proves that keyword rich headlines work like a charm. Really.

You can jump over to google trends and take a look at the biggest searched terms for the day, and make your own traffic drawing headlines if you want to. It's pretty easy to do.

Anyhow...

Enjoy.

~Andy

The week ahead!

The Week Ahead

Scott's out on vacation, enjoying a week at the beach. I made sure he took the EVDO router with him, though... just in case.

I'll have a little catching up to do, as Fri/Sat/Sun of last week was spent at a convention with my family. The hotel's "free wireless hotspots" were not working, so, I didn't have the access I had anticipated. That, and the scope of this convention was larger than I thought... it would have been hard to work there anyhow.

The office is relatively clean, so, that's good - at least I can find my desk...



Yes, that really is my desk, and yes I do have a need for each of those systems... To be slightly geeky, there are 7 different Operating Systems pictured there... like I always tell people, I am OS Agnostic.

I'd best be getting some coding done now...

~Andy

Sunburned and happy!

Wendy and the kids and I went out to the beach this past weekend. We got burned. I left the camera in the car, so, no videos or photos. Probably just as well, since I'm burned to a crisp. ;-)

Blogging The Trip Northward.

Blogging The Trip Northward!
3/9/2007

The Trip
Wendy's Dad, whom I call "Pops", is turning 60. The family is getting together for this occasion... in Fairfax, VA. It snowed there yesterday... and we're heading that way!

[0430]
I'm up. Wendy's up. The kids are still asleep. Here shortly, I'll begin loading up the CRV and getting things organized. When I woke up, I thought of about three things I should have done yesterday evening... oh well! Once we're loaded and on the way, things will become routine. I just wonder how scared Scott is... after all, I coded ImmediateProof.com in 7 hours... this is a 14 hour trip!

What Good Is WebsiteTraffic...

Traffic!

Last week's KeyThing 24, and this week's KeyThing TV have really added a boost of traffic to the KeyThing website.

They combine for a total of 31.24% of our raw new traffic this week on the KeyThing site, and account for new sign ups to our newsletter.

Despite what anyone tells you, "Traffic" is not King. The conversion of traffic reigns supreme. What good is all the traffic if nothing is becoming of it?

Over the next few months, Scott and I are going to be focusing on key things to not only build traffic to a site, but then how to obtain the most wanted response from that traffic. It's an element most of the traffic building gurus seem to forget about, or altogether avoid.

I don't want to take away any of the big moments over the next few months, but I will say that now is the time for you to make sure you're subscribed to the newsletter, tuned into the podcasts and blogs, and watching KeyThing TV. It's going to take all our our media outlets to handle this big of an event.

It's just a matter of time...

It's Just A Matter of Time

An Australian state just joined the list of places world wide to ban YouTube. They justified the ban for fear of copy-cat attacks on students like the one posted to the site. While the ban only covers government ran schoools, banning youtube is nothing new.

Many coorporations around the globe ban the video sharing site. They view it as a huge waste of bandwidth, resources, and time.

The problem is there are still some businesses out there who have thier company video "hosted" on youtube.

My personal opinion of "company videos" being "hosted" on a site that caters to stupid human tricks, and last nights "did you see what so-and-so did?" clips boils down to one of ignorance.

I wouldn't want my company to be seen in the same light as some stupid video somebody else thinks is funny. I wouldn't want my visitors to my website see an empty page, or a "Blocked by coorporate firewall" message. I also wouldn't want my customers to get a nasty-gram from their IT department after visiting my site simply because I decided to host my video with a company blocked on their corporate firewall.

I respect my customers more than that.

But, I understand that some people just don't know any better. So, here it is, in plain english: If you respect your customers, do not host your company video on so-called "popular" video sites such as youtube.

Could you imagine it? A loyal customer of yours decides to check your website during a slow time at his job. He pulls up your website, and suddenly sees a big message on his screen that includes a big red X, and the words "Blocked By Firewall" right were your latest video is. He thinks nothing of it, and goes about his business. The next day, he comes into work, but can't log in. He calls I.T. to report a problem, and is told his access has been revoked because of a violation of company policy, and that he needs to report to his supervisor immediately.

Even if the local I.T. department decided to re-instate his access, and even if his supervisor decided not to put anything on record... how do you think your loyal customer is going to feel about YOU? How many people do you think he'll tell not to visit your site?

Just avoid all of that mess. It's much easier.

~Andy
KeyThing Marketing Technologies
KeyThing TV

And So It Goes....

And So It Goes...
2/27/2007
Andy Stetzinger

As I was preparing myself for this week, I kept looking two weeks down the road. It's always good to have an end-goal in mind. I don't mind putting in the long hours when I know theres a moment of rest somewhere close by.

I don't mean sleeping, either. I mean resting. Turning off the brain. Letting go for a while. That's what I mean.

Why two weeks ahead? I'm sure next week I'll be tidying up some of the code written this week, improving it, making it faster... my job is never done.

After the down time, we'll be at a place where we can look at the "Shelf" as it were. Look at projects we've got listed, and what we should do with them. One's we haven't started, or did start, but had to move away from... this is a time that I'll personally enjoy. I love working on projects that haven't been pre-sold, or haven't been promised to someone else. Scott's never done that.... but I have had employers in the past who have, and it's not a fun environment to work in.

I've got a bunch of classes out at The Knowledge Shop over the next few months - mainly on Fridays. I have always enjoyed teaching, and it does get me out of the home office for a day or so every week. :-)

This Thursday, I'm teaching a class on Keyboard Shortcuts, and on Friday, MS Publisher.

Thursday night, I'll be at The Knowledge Shop for a Greater Orlando Linux Users Group meeting (GoLUG).

While there's a lot of stuff going on, I'm managing it just fine.