Blank Canvas

Recover Gmail Password Via Text Message

The Artist — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 10:19:08 +0000

Logging into my Gmail account the other day, I was alerted to the fact that I did not enter a secondary email address to my Gmail profile. It is kind of dangerous in the sense that should I forget my Gmail password, Gmail would not know where to send the password hint to since there is no alternative email. It could send my password to my Gmail account but if I have forgotten my password to it, there is no way I could retrieve it.

Anyway, Gmail has innovatively enabled us to request for our password in the event that we have forgotten it to be sent via short message service. Although it is not stated on their blog, I am going to assume that this service is only available to Gmail users in the United States.

Also, Gmail did not state if this is a free service or if there will be a nominal (or even premium) charge, either by Gmail or the respective telcos. Also, I understand that this is an option to “change” password recovery and not an alternate way. I think we should have both options available simultaneously; not either or.

Real Estate Marketing

The Artist — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 18:21:33 +0000

My friend, Jay, lost her job recently and thought that she should go back to being a real estate agent, a job which she held part time previously. While some people may say that the poor economy makes for bad business, Jay thinks that this is going to be a vibrant market because as there are people who are letting their properties go, there would also be cash rich people picking up cheaper real estate.

Being a real estate agent now is a whole lot easier now thanks to web technology. However, if you have any kind of website, you would know how difficult it is to get noticed. Although there are many different real estate marketing strategies that are being used today, what Jay needs to know is which one works best for her. Real estate is a niche market with a limited target audience; those who are looking for property to buy and could afford it in these times.

OnTopResults.com has been offering their online marketing services to medical professionals. This company has recently expanded their services to real estate marketing.

Besides offering search engine friendly real estate web design, OnTopResults.com makes sure that the real estate agent is able to reach out to ask many people as possible, and a good way to ensure this is to be at the top of search engines.

GeoCities Closes On 26th Oct, 2009

The Artist — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 17:50:28 +0000

I remember writing about Yahoo!’s announcement that they will be closing Geocities sometime at the end of the year, though they did not mention an exact date. Well, it is now revealed that 25th October, 2009 will be the final day that our GeoCities website will be live.

I remember telling a friend, who still has a GeoCities website about this and she said that she would have to copy her posts from GeoCities to WordPress free blog. No, she will not be moving her website to Yahoo! Web Hosting.

I know of another friend who is still keeping his GeoCities website although he has his own popular website now. I thought that he had already migrated all his content but he said that he hasn’t. I will have to remind him of this and let him know the deadline. Yahoo! says that from 26th October, 2009 onwards, GeoCities webmasters will not be able to access any of their files or photos.

If you still have a live GeoCities website, you may want to take up this friend’s idea of copying all content over to free WordPress or Blogger blog.

More Than Just News

The Artist — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 03:42:20 +0000

My father asked me the other day, if the internet only has news. That is what he uses the internet for, by reading alternative news on various media websites the whole day. I told him of course not and there is a lot more than this on the web and it is just a matter of searching for information, services or merchandise.

If my father was so inclined, he could also shop for fashion jewelry online. Holsted Jewelers has excellent collections of designer-inspired jewelry for men and women but that’s not the best thing about them. The best thing is that these items are seriously budget-friendly! You will agree with me if you have shopped for fashion jewelry before.

China Blocks Access To Social Media Sites Following Riots

The Artist — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 03:34:14 +0000

Following racial riots in China a few days ago, China has blocked access to social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. Earlier, about two weeks ago, the Chinese government has already blocked access to Google’s communication applications from Gmail to Talk.

Well, who else is not surprised? While China tries to project a liberal image, they are still heavily dependant on censorship, thought the reason for Google’s blockage was said to be because of porn content and not because of the riots.

But even with heavy censorship, those who are so inclined could still access these websites via proxies, which are readily available online. Now, the Chinese government should ban those sites if they want to go all out in stopping the dissemination of information in China! LOL

Google Apps Out Of Beta

The Artist — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 03:09:25 +0000

Just after writing a post earlier this morning that Microsoft’s Bing is out beta in a few countries, following Bing USA, Google has announced that they will be removing the Beta tag from a slew of Google applications, including Gmail, Talk and Docs, which are some of the applications in Google Apps Premier Edition. Google’s move is a bid to lure enterprises like software companies to subscribe to their paid service.

While I think that it is high time these Google applications come out of Beta since Gmail, for example, has been in Beta for at least five years, if memory serves me well, I am not sure if Gmail, at least, is ready due to my bad experience with it which has not been addressed or acknowledged by anyone in Gmail until today.

In any case, hopefully, now that they are coming out of Beta, we will see improved services for these apps, even for users of the free versions.

Cancun Break

The Artist — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 02:55:30 +0000

My friend, Pete, and his girlfriend along with three other couples just returned from a Bali vacation. Pete told me that while they had fun, it was not really as romantic as he envisioned because of the three other couples. Pete told me that the next vacation at the end of the year would have to be as romantic as possible as it would be their first anniversary as a couple.

I told him about the romantic cancun vacation that I read about and how it could be the kind of romantic vacation that he is dreaming of. I have visited the website of Karisma Hotels numerous times dreaming of my own vacation, though it does not have to be romantic. I just would like to get away for awhile for some rest and recreation and away from the hustle and bustle of city living!