A review of the ShoppingAds and AuctionAds services December 28, 2007
Posted by Bryan in : Coding, New Products, Reviews , 1 comment so farI’ve been testing the AuctionAds and ShoppingAds services for several months now. Despite some promising results early on (as mentioned in this post), I am very disappointed with the overall results. Over the past six months, I tested a variety of AuctionAds and ShoppingAds ad blocks from in numerous positions on various sites. As a result of real world obligations I haven’t devoted much time to site development lately and the ad blocks remained in place longer than their performance warranted. Bad for my bank account, but good for testing purposes. The final result? In over six months of testing I made less from these services’ combined totals than I typically make from AdSense in one day.
Both AuctionAds and ShoppingAds allow for product images in their ads and this is one of the reasons I expected them to be successful. However, Google’s targeted ads clearly outperform AuctionAds’ and ShoppingAds’ keyword based ads despite AdSense’s lack of product images.
Unfortunately, I can’t rule out issues with the AA/SA backend as the cause for the low earnings. For example, I received several clicks on the referral based service (AuctionAds) but none on the CPC service (ShoppingAds), a fact that is inconsistent with all other ad blocks during the same period and suggests a problem with unrecorded clicks. Additionally, earnings appeared and disappeared rather frequently on reports from both systems. Bugs are to be expected in new products, but frankly, if I have to devote a significant amount of time to double checking earnings reports, it’s just not worth it for me.
My current recommendation regarding these services is to fight the urge to be an early adopter. Wait until these services become more mainstream and work out the bugs. Currently they require more effort than they are worth given the viability of other alternatives.
Bridge the gaps in Outlook October 19, 2007
Posted by Tara in : New Products, Reviews , add a comment
Timebridge has released a web-based, public scheduling manager into beta that may cut down on the amount of “back and forth” it takes to schedule a meeting through Outlook. If you have ever scheduled a meeting through Outlook, you know that it may take several emails and cancellations to get a time that works for all attending parties. With Timbridge, you are allowed to pick up to 5 possible meeting times that attendees can pick from. And you’re not restricted to Outlook, as Timebridge also interfaces with Google calendars. (more…)
Convert Those Old Cassette Tapes August 1, 2007
Posted by Tara in : Reviews , 2 comments
Desktoptwo: It could be the next big thing July 30, 2007
Posted by Bryan in : New Products, Reviews , add a commentOnline desktops have the potential to change the way we use computers as much as or more than any other technology that has recently emerged. What, you’ve never used one? I’m not surprised. The basic idea behind them is very sound, but so far their real world implementations haven’t been.
Online desktops provide internet-based services that allow you to do all the things you could do while you are at home sitting in front of your desktop, from any computer connected the the ‘net. Specifics vary from product to product, but generally there’s some sort of online storage, a few applications, and an interface that emulates an operating system.
Sounds like a great idea, but (more…)
Hardware Cooling’s Supra Notebook Cooler June 20, 2007
Posted by Bryan in : Reviews , add a comment
Have you ever had your laptop get so hot that it’s uncomfortable to type on? Ever had that happen when it was actually on your lap? This happens to me quite a bit and I know it can’t be a good thing. Fortunately I’ve got a solution to offer you: the Supra Notebook Cooler from HardwareCooling.com. (more…)
Why Pandora.com rocks June 17, 2007
Posted by Bryan in : Opinion, Reviews , 1 comment so farEditors note: It’s not all sunflowers and “Kumbaya” at Texxors.com. Last week Tara wrote an article on the Pandora internet music service that some of our other editors disagreed with. In the interest of equal time, here are their thoughts on why Pandora rocks.
If Texxors.com seems schizophrenic at times, it’s because we’ve got several different author’s writing for the site. As you might expect, these authors don’t always agree on the best products or approaches. You saw this a little bit in Jeff and Liz’s different takes on how to stay virus free online and you’re going to see it again in this response to Tara’s recent article on Pandora.com. In the interest of presenting multiple opinions and giving our readers as much information as possible, these are the reasons I and a few others affiliated with the site think that Pandora rocks.
(more…)
Last minute Father’s Day gift: Make magazine June 16, 2007
Posted by Bryan in : Other Stuff, Reviews, Tips , add a commentYou can’t say we haven’t helped you out this Father’s Day. We arranged for huge discounts on the MySoldius solar charger, gave you a list of cool but inexpensive tech gifts, and we’ve even got a suggestion for you last minute shoppers: Make: magazine. (more…)
Ning Social Networking: Wordpress meets MySpace June 15, 2007
Posted by Bryan in : New Products, Reviews , 1 comment so far
In a recent post in the forums reader olhaok mentioned the Ning social networking site. My first thought was, “That thing’s still around?” When I first came across Ning several months ago it was very rough around the edges. The concept was interesting but the implementation was very poor. I expected it would soon get lost in the flood of new social networking sites that were emerging at the time.
The idea behind the service was good enough: to offer a full-featured, free, online content management system and social networking service (think Wordpress meets MySpace or MyBlogLog), but it just didn’t seem like it could recover from some serious design flaws. (more…)
5 gifts for Dad under $60 June 13, 2007
Posted by Tara in : New Products, Other Stuff, Reviews, Tips , add a commentWith Father’s Day rapidly approaching, I decided to to put together a mini gift guide for those of us who want to show our appreciation for dad without breaking the bank. Each one of these gifts is under $60 and is user friendly, as we know sometimes parents just don’t understand. The first gift is one I know for sure my own dad would like:
1. The Humminbird SmartCast RF30 Wireless Remote Fish Finder
Retails for $59.99, designed as a wrist mount, this little gadget has a 75-foot remote operating range and 100-foot depth capability. It has a 1.25-inch high-visibility display with 48 x 32 pixels of resolution. It is obviously waterproof and has one touch menu navigation for ease of use. (more…)
Recharge your Wii: Penguin United Wii Rechargeable Battery Combo June 12, 2007
Posted by Beth in : Reviews , 1 comment so far
I just spent countless hours of my life playing Super Paper Mario on my Wii. What better way to test out the Penguin United Wii Remote Charging Dock and 2x Rechargeable Battery Combo? With normal gameplay on the Wii, you can wear out your Wii remote batteries pretty quickly. Rechargeable batteries are obviously a better option than regular batteries, but then you still have to take out the batteries, put them in the charger, and wait for hours for them to recharge. But the Penguin United rechargeable batteries are different. These packs replace the normal battery compartment on your remote, and the remote can sit directly in a docking station while recharging.
