As always JealousBrother users are the most important asset to our website and we truly value your opinion. After receiving some suggestions from a couple of users on some potential changes to the way rivalry comments are displayed we decided to put it up for a vote and discussion over on the main site.

Redesign Rivalry Comments VS Leave Comment Layout Alone

Here are some of the questions you might ask yourself when considering whether or not we need to make some changes to the rivalry comments layout.

1.) Do you find the discussions easy to follow and contribute to?
2.) Do you like the order in which the comments are displayed? (Example: Oldest to Newest)
3.) Do you like being able to see all of the replies to comments regardless of the number of replies?
4.) Would you like to see any changes made to the way rivalry comments are currently displayed?
Of course these are just a few examples. We welcome any input and look forward to hearing what you think!

You can find the rivalry and discussion over at the main site by clicking on the image below:

Shortly after purchasing my Droid Bionic 4G LTE smart phone I was blown away by the results of my data transfer rates on bandwidthplace.com. Depending on my location I was getting speeds between 3Mbps to 32Mbps and no, I’m not joking. This along with the mobile hotspot capabilities of the Droid Bionic is what peaked my interest in finding a way to get a Verizon 4G LTE signal at home which has been a problem since we switched from At&t to big red a couple of years ago.

Our neighborhood apparently is in a Verizon black hole where the force is so strong that no reception can penetrate through. Well, that’s not entirely true, we get a signal but it’s random and jumps from network to network (1x, 3g, 4G LTE occasionally on one side of the house) every few seconds. Bear in mind that the signal we received was never enough to make a call or transfer data. Up until I decided to ditch my home internet and setup a home network using my Bionic we had been using a Verizon (Samsung branded) network extender which worked great for phone calls but required a high speed internet connection and did not function well with data functions like text messages.

Okay, enough with the back story lets get to the meat of what this article is about; Wilson Electronics (WE) 4G LTE signal Booster and the accompanying WE antennas. Considering that I am a rather cheap individual I was not willing to pay retail for a WE all in one kit ($700+) so I decided to piece the system together using several sources which I’ll detail below.

The Review:

The question on your mind is likely, Does it work? YES! Let me start by saying that I went from sporadic signals that lasted no more than 5 seconds to a consistent 4G LTE signal that floats between -82 and -95 depending on the tower I’m receiving the signal from. This provides roughly 4Mbs to 12 Mbs download speeds and upload speeds between 1 ½ Mbs to 5 Mbs. However, your situation may vary for a number of reasons. Careful research and thought must be conducted prior to making the investment. To give the primary and very general requirement for success with WE signal booster here’s what the technical support staff at WE told me, if you can attain a signal from the carrier then this system will work for you. Meaning, if you can lock onto a signal from the carrier even for a brief moment or two this system will likely help you attain a solid and consistent signal. I’m not saying you’ll be sitting with a -65db signal but if you’re situation is similar to mine you could see signals ranging from -82db to -94db depending on several factors; like distance to the tower, broadcast power of the tower, etc…

Negatives:

• Monopoly on Cables: The cables used are WE exclusive which will force you to spend a lot of money on cables for the installation.
• The cable is VERY stiff and not easy to maneuver.
• Price of Coaxial Surge Protector: We had a house hit by lightning so we appreciate the need for this product but $70 is outrageous for what the product is. We’d all probably pass out if we knew the markup on this item.
• Installation Requirements: The distance between the antennas and the being forced to mount the booster inside the home/business makes for an expensive project.

Positives:

• Works as advertised. I’m likely the only resident in a half mile radius with 4GLTE. That comes with bragging rights.
• The booster, surge protector, and antennas all seem very well built.
• WE support staff is very helpful and some of them are very insightful.

Bottom Line:

Depending on how much you pay for the system I would say it’s worth every penny as long as you don’t spend $800 as WE suggested it would cost during my first phone call with them.

The Hardware:

1. WE 4G LTE 700 (801865) Booster (Purchased items 1, 2, and 3 from SolidSignal.com) Product Link: 801865 with 301135 and 301111 or 801865 with 301135 and 304411
2. WE Dual Band Panel Indoor Antenna (301135)
3. WE Wide Band Antenna (304411) NOTE: According to WE Support staff the 301111 Yagi antenna will not work for the 700 MHz band (Stated it’s an 800 MHz) THEY WERE wrong and even the manual that comes with the 301111 states that it works for the 700MHz band. Furthermore it is this antenna that I am using now so I can personally guarantee it works with the LTE network.
4. AT LEAST 50 feet of WE Ultra Low Loss Cable 952350 N male connectors on both sides of the cable. In order to use your amplifier at near full power you need at least 50 feet of separation between the inside and outside antenna. (Bought mine on Rocksignal.com) Product Link: 50ft Ultra Low Loss WE cable
5. AT LEAST two separate 2 foot (longer cables will allow more flexibility when it comes to installation. I recommend at least one of these be a 10 foot cable) WE Ultra Low Loss Cables 952302 N male connectors on both sides. (Only need one if you opt not to use the lightning protection) (Bought mine on Amazon.com) NOTE: I didn’t realize I would need these cables initially so I ended up buying them from Amazon but it would probably be more cost effective to buy these from RockSignal.com as well because shipping may be combined and their price is better.
6. Mounting Hardware: A pole of 1 ½ to 2 inches in diameter to mount the outside antenna on. The pole needs to be AT LEAST four 3 ½ feet long as there has to be at least 3 feet of clearance in all directions of the antenna. (I welded two top posts for chain link fences together and welded a 45 degree angle piece of metal conduit to the top to enable me to elevate the WE 301111 antenna. Found at Home Depot)
7. Optional: WE Coaxial Lightning Surge Protector 859902 (Overstock.com currently has this item for a really good price.) NOTE: We were previously hit by lightning and lost a lot of electronic equipment so let me just say, Don’t be a cheap ass and spend the extra $60 or so to protect your WE amplifier and countless other devices that could be affected if the lightning jumps to another part of your electrical system. Product Link: WE Lightning Surge Protector

The Overall Cost: (Estimated)

1. WE Amplifier (801865) and WE Indoor Antenna (301135) and WE Outside Antenna (304411) – $299.99 plus $12.95 for shipping = $312.94
   See links in the Hardware section #1 for links to the kits that include the 301111 or 304411 antenna.
2. 50 ft cable (952350), 10 ft cable(952310), and 2 foot cable(952302) = $69.79 plus $8.95 for shipping = $78.74
3. WE Lightning Protection (859902) = $46.49 plus $2.99 for shipping = $49.48

——————————————————————————-
Total = $441.16

Please keep in mind you will need some other materials including a pole to mount the outside antenna to, electrical tape, wire ties, etc… but this should give you a ballpark idea of what you’re looking at for the cost.

Installation:

1. If you have a Android powered phone download an app called “Open Signal” as this will help you find your nearest towers and will help (Somewhat) in the aiming process.
2. Utilize the app above to discover where you nearest towers are. Spend some time walking your property, neighborhood, and even drive down the street to see where the most consistent signal is coming from. Then move to step 3.
3. Evaluate the best mounting area on your property/house while considering the following things; location of the cell tower, where your inside antenna will be mounted knowing the outside antenna can’t aim anywhere near the direction of the inside antenna (oscillation WILL occur), distance the outside antenna is from the inside antenna (50 feet minimum is required for near full power on the amplifier), and finally the most important thing; whether or not your wife will approve of the location because if momma ain’t happy 4glte or not, YOU WILL NOT be happy.
4. Next run the cable to the locations you plotted making sure you’ve met the previously mentioned requirements.
5. Install the antennas: Inside and outside.
6. Install the Coaxial Surge Protector.
7. Mount the Signal Booster and connect the cables. The SB needs to be mounted on the inside of your home away from the extreme temperatures of the attic or outside weather. Unless you opt to buy more than 50 feet of the cable listed above then this takes VERY careful planning. Mine is mount less than a foot from the ceiling behind our plasma tv. Consider whether you have an inside location that will work with only 2 – 2 foot cables to reach the inside antenna and surge protector. If not you will have to buy longer cable.
8. Check all of the connections and then plug it in. If both of the lights are green it’s working as expected, now aim using the Open Signal app as your guide but give the cell phone plenty of time to process the signal before making adjustments to the outside antenna.

Aiming Tips:

Consider your location carefully. If for example like me, you aren’t currently getting a good signal due to hills, trees, or land is blocking the signal you might need to slightly elevate your antenna in addition to mounting it at a higher point. As you can see in the images above I mounted my antenna fairly high (About 20 feet) and have it installed at a slight angle. Also, be patient when checking for signals, cell phone signal meters are not in real time. At points in the aiming process if you drop your signal all together be sure to check the amplifier inside the building, chances are you may have tripped the oscillation protection. This means your antennas signals are coming in contact with each other and need to be separated. Feel free to ask any questions in the comment section below and make sure to sign up on JealousBrother.com and get involved in some rivalries. Thanks.

(Also offers a Free Fully Functional 30 day trial)

Modes:

A1SG offers two modes of use “Easy Mode” and what I’ll call “Super Advance Mode”. While easy mode may be ideal for smaller websites with excellent url structures it’s not suitable for larger websites or those with structuring issues. I won’t be covering “Easy Mode” in much detail as none of my websites were a suitable choice for crawling in this mode. With that considered it is certainly possible that there are plenty of well structured websites that could very much benefit from the “Easy Mode”.

Before I come off too negative let me open the door to what I’ll refer to as “Super Advanced Mode”. To say the advance mode gives you amazing control over your sitemap analysis and output would be the understatement of the century. I’ve been working with the software for well over two months now and I’ve likely only evaluated 55% – 65% of the options available in this software. Extensive options come with an elevated learning curve which Thomas told me was a trade off he’s willing to make.

User Interface:

A1SG is very powerful but it is also a bit confusing. The large number of features take it’s toll on ease of use which includes attempting to figure out what all of the different filters do and what the appropriate syntax is to make them spring to life. To counter the confusion A1SG offers numerous mouse over tips and a very extensive online help section for all of the different features to help explain the use and sytnax which is a neccessity for people like me who refuse to dive into manuals. To give an example of how extensive the option sets are I’ll list the tabs for scanning a website; Paths, Scan Progress, Crawler Options, Crawler Engine, Crawler Identification, Webmaster Filters, Analysis Filters, Output Filters, and Data Collection. Each one of these tabs has numerous options for the end user to choose from which while very usefull features this does make it a little more challenging to operate but then again it is “Advanced Mode”.

Functionality:

If theres one thing that trumps all others it’s functionality; Does it Work? I can give a resounding YES to that question and further praise that it works very well. Features are great to look at on a company’s description of their software but unless they actually work in a real world environment they’re useless. A1SG makes good on their feature set and I can assure you that if you come across a problem, bug, or have a suggestion Mr. Schulz will promptly and professionally respond to any inquires made and as you’ll see below he will make changes to the software if research and common sense determines the feature will benefit the users.

The advance set of filters are very effective and can include strings(text within url), directories, or files. Thomas even added a filter feature to the software based on a suggestion I made while reviewing the software. Once the software finishs scanning a website it loads up the Analyze Website tab which lists all of the files, folders, url’s that were found during the crawl. The problem was that when you deleted a url within this screen it would still appear the next time the site was crawled so Thomas was nice enough to add a feature that automates this process and saves the end user a tremendous amount of time on initial setup and with recurring crawls. All you have to do is right click on the url and select “delete and filter” and the software will automatically add that url to the appropriate filter. (It’s worth noting that you can select multiple urls at once by holding shift and using the up or down arrow to highlight all of the urls you’d like removed)

Features:

You can find a more detailed list of features here: A1SG
It would quite honestly take 5 thousand or more words to highlight all of the features this software comes packed with so I’m going to mention a handfull of the features that I most appreciated.
Depending on the version (Standard or Professional) A1SG can create xml, text and html, ror, rss, asp.net, google image, video, mobile, news, and code sitemaps.

Similar to the InSpyder product previously reviewed A1SG allows you to open up the throttle of the crawling engine as long as your server can handle the large number of connections. A1SG allows 31 simultaneous connections which cuts the wait time of crawling the rather large JealousBrother.com to a mere eleven minutes.

As previously mentioned, the filter features are very powerful and include the following:

1. Webmaster Filters: Instructs the software to obey or disregard elements like robots.txt, Disallow, crawl-delay, nofollow, and cannonical directives.
2. Analysis Filter: Instructs the software what url’s the software should analyze based on several filters which include file extensions, MIME content, or url’s that match a string, regular expressions, or relative path. The software also allows you to determine how deep into the sites structures the software analyzes.
3. Output Filter: Instructs the software as to which url’s are output to the website analysis(Crawl Summary). Includes the same set of filters as listed above for the Analysis Filter.

Another set of features that sets A1SG apart from the rest is it’s diagnostic properties. Once you crawl a website you can easily explore a url’s source, actual file, html, css, and tidy validation and more all within the same piece of software.

Auto Upload Feature: Unlike the other sitemap software I’ve used A1SG utilizes a Command Line form of automating your sitemap creation. Depending on the individual this will be a benefit or a downfall. Personally I prefer the automation to be built into the software if it works but I have had bad luck getting automated sitemap creation, upload, and ping to work on any of the sitemap software I’ve used with the automation process integrated within the software. Use of the command line equates to being able to use the windows task scheduler to automate the sitemap build and upload. Find out more about this here.

Suggestions:

Easy Mode: While I personally feel “Advanced Mode” is a bit overwhelming I also feel that “Easy Mode” has too little configuration options. If A1SG was to offer one page of options for easy mode that included crawl connections, ability to obey robots.txt, and output exclusion filter (delete and filter option as well) it would be far more useful to those with limited experience and those not wanting to tackle advanced mode. The key is to keep it simple yet functional; the common sense defaults could be left in place for the other features that are available in “Advanced Mode.”

Price and Cost Comparison:

One major concern for me when purchasing software is the price and length of the liscence. The software I’ve previously reviewed was slightly more affordable and had similar softare upgrade terms. With A1SG you get the following:

1. You always have access to latest 3.x update.
2. You are ensured free upgrade to 4.x (+ all 4.x updates) if 4.x released within first year of your original 3.x purchase.

CoffeeCup Sitemapper: $29 Last Updated: May 19th 2010
Inspyder Sitemap Creator: $39.95 Last Updated: Very Frequently
MicroSys A1SG: $49/$69 Last Updated: Very Frequently

My Quick Start Guide

(Decide to try or buy? Follow this guide for a really quick start at building your first sitemap)

1. Click on the “Easy Mode” button. This will engage super “Advanced Mode”
2. Enter the domain you wish to crawl and create a sitemap for.
3. Click on the “Crawler Engine” Tab and if your server can handle the connections; Turn the throttle WAY up! NOTE: Thomas warns me that this can crash your server if it can’t handle the load. So please use this with caution.
4. Click on the “Start Scan” button to start the super fast crawl of your website.
5. Review the crawl results, removing any unwanted urls by right clicking on them and selecting “Delete and Filter”. This will ensure they aren’t rediscovered on future crawls. (You can remove multiple urls at once by holding the shift key and using the up or down arrows to highlight them.)
• Important Note: It’s ALWAYS best to fix your url structure problems than to just mask them up. So while it’s convenient to remove unwanted urls from the sitemap you should always make an attempt to correct the issue with 301 redirects or modifying your websites code to alleviate the problem, if there is one.

6. Select the type of sitemap you’d like created and then click on the “Build Now” button. (Depending the version of A1SG you purchased or demoing you will have different options for what kind of sitemaps you can create.)
7. Your sitemap is now complete and has been saved in the path shown. You can also copy and paste the results or use one of the convenient buttons to export it in the most convenient fashion for you.

This review was written after I was contacted by the man behind the A1 Sitemap Generator (A1SG) Thomas Schulz with an offer for a free lisence in exchange for a detailed review of his software, I of course couldn’t refuse free software. Before accepting the offer I explained to Thomas after a couple weeks (Turned into a couple of months. Thanks for your patience Thomas) of use I would compose a fair and honest review of his software as I’ve done with Coffeecup and Inspyder’s offering a few months prior. I believe in blunt honesty with an appreciation for passionate people and the software they create.

For some professions, the comeback has more potential than others. In the arts (or media surrounding an art), you can get away with it. For example, see Leonard Cohen’s recent tours where he’s performed epic-length sets and been given the highest praise possible, even if they were a consequence mostly of his former manager’s decision to embezzle his savings. But also consider Jay-Z’s three-year “retirement,” from which he emerged with the mediocre Kingdom Come, on which he rapped about his yacht to pretty substantial derision. While American Gangster was a more inspired follow-up, we really didn’t need literal yacht rap.

Sports comebacks, however, are always simply a minor footnote attached to what could have been simply a celebrated career. Michael Jordan’s return to basketball as a Washington Wizard paled in comparison to his successes as a Chicago Bull, which even the non-sports world heard about constantly in the late 1990s. Brett Favre’s “comeback” as a Minnesota Viking has been mired by derision over his age, marred by his need for surgery, and yet further so by his supposed sexting as a New York Jet. In fact, I was invited to several Brett Favre-themed parties, though everyone there seemed to think he was at least 45 for some reason. Given the nature of aging and physical performance, it’s virtually impossible for the sports comeback to improve one’s records.

However, the place where the two meet – movies about men returning to sports – is an exception to this rule. Rocky Balboa is way more watchable than Rocky V.

What do you think? Join the debate on our main website!
Should retirement be a graceful onetime thing or do you believe in the Rocky Balboa kind of comeback stories? Or is Brett Favre example enough?”

A. Hall is a guest blogger for Dog Ate My Blog and a writer on nationally accredited online schools for Guide to Online Schools.

Want to be a Guest Author on the JealousBrother Blog?
We’re always on the look out for talented authors who’d like to contribute to the JealousBrother Blog. JealousBrother.com is about rivalry, disagreement, and most importantly Opinions! Prospective authors should possess above average writing skills and should consider topics in their genre that would make interesting rivalries on JealousBrother.com. We also welcome articles that have to do with all things social media. We can’t accept every inquiry so take the time to submit ideas that are creative, unique, informational or a combination of all three.

For more information contact Ryan Kazinec at: service@jealousbrother.com

For the last week or so Fox News and local talk radio have been covering the heartfelt comments from the leader of the Philidelphia Black Panther party King Samir Shabazz but can the same be said for CNN and MSNBC? These two networks are very quick to tarnish and ridicule the Tea Party but surely they are balanced enough to at least cover the controversial comments made by this piece of garbage Jester Samir. Actually no, they aren’t. I am appalled at the disgusting slant of CNN. Don’t take my word for it; let’s take a look at some pictures. Click on each picture and read the accompanying description.

As you can see from the pictures there is an obvious political (possibly racial) slant on CNN’s website. Searching for “black panther” on their website comes up with no related articles or videos (Same results were produced on MSNBC’s website). Visiting the politics page surfaces three negative stories regarding the tea party and no mention of Samir’s comments. Visiting the justice page features a video of Mel Gibson (An obvious racist) but fails to include anything about King Samir. I should note that I would equally disgusted if Fox News didn’t cover the Mel Gibson racial rant.

This is how it started:

Let’s see what Samir has to say.

So what was Eric Holder and the Department of Justice Thinking?

“In the first week of January (While Bush was still in office), the Justice Department filed a civil lawsuit against the New Black Panther Party and three of its members, saying they violated the 1965 Voting Rights Act by scaring voters with the weapon, uniforms and racial slurs. In March, Mr. Bull submitted an affidavit at Justice’s request to support its lawsuit.

When none of the defendants filed any response to the complaint or appeared in federal district court in Philadelphia to answer the suit, it appeared almost certain Justice would have prevailed by default. Instead, the department in May suddenly allowed the party and two of the three defendants to walk away. Against the third defendant, Minister King Samir Shabazz, it sought only an injunction barring him from displaying a weapon within 100 feet of a Philadelphia polling place for the next three years—action that’s already illegal under existing law.“
Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203550604574361071968458430.html

So what does the head of the New Black Panther party have to say about Samir’s racist comments?

Mel Gibson’s Most Recent Racial Rant.

You might be asking, so what happens when you search for Mel Gibson on CNN.com. Here you go:

I’ll end this post with the following question; Why has a majority of the media chosen to ignore black racists but has no problem covering white racists? If we must give either one these racist pieces of trash a spotlight they should both be covered and neither one should be ignored. Wake up CNN, MSNBC, and so many other media outlets.

So what do you think? Does CNN have a racial bias? Click here to take a side and speak your mind.

Don’t agree with me?

As always with JealousBrother.com we welcome differing opinions, views, thoughts, ideas, ideologies, etc… So if you’d like to offer a rebuttal you can leave a comment, request an opportunity to compose a guest post (See our “Guest Authors” page for more details), or start a rivalry on our main site. Remember this is the JealousBrother Blog, JealousBrother.com is a social network that thrives on disagreement.

Side By Side: InSpyder Sitemap Creator - CoffeeCup SiteMapper

Before jumping into the comparative review of SiteMapper and Sitemap Creator I want to give a layman’s term definition to what a sitemap is and what it may or may not do for your website or blog. It is indeed a map but it’s more than that; a good way to explain it would be to say it’s a hybrid map, more like a GPS (Unit that gives directions) set to the shortest and most efficient distance. Let’s say you have a ton of irrelevant or duplicate content urls on your site, to add to the analogy above, these urls could be considered freeway traffic or ice cream stores; things you want to avoid when traveling because it eats up your time.

Let’s think of search engine bots(Those that crawl your website) as impatient kids in the back seat of the family’s station wagon (Does anyone actually still own a station wagon?) on a long family road trip across the country (Country=Your Website). Now wouldn’t it make sense for your GPS (Sitemap) to get you to your destination as quick and efficient as possible so you don’t lose your mind? Yes it would. While a Sitemap is considered to be a suggestion to the search engines I’d be inclined to think they take them fairly seriously, especially when it’s well formatted and the most useful content of your website is added to it. The beautiful thing about sitemaps is that unlike your gps unit on the road trip you can actually remove traffic/obstacles in the road instead of just attempting to avoid them (Suggestively that is because it is up to the search engine on whether it follows the Sitemap path).

There are two types of sitemaps, html and xml. Html is primarily for the benefit of your website visitors while xml (xml’s can be zipped and indexed) is purely for the use of search engine bots. (There are evil bots too)
Now that we have a basic understanding of the sitemaps let look at two pieces of software I purchased and used within the last three weeks.

CoffeeCup SiteMapper was the first program I purchased and at just $29.00 ($26.10 with coupon code: 226STS) it was definitely an easy choice to make the investment. Visually speaking SiteMapper is a beautiful piece of software; functionality wise was a completely different story. It comes packed with a lot of convenient features such as scheduling to automatically update and ping the search engines, built in preview of the sitemap, and of course the ability to create both html and xml sitemaps.

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to test the scheduling and pinging features of this program because after five days of attempting to crawl a website I finally gave up. The crawl would start out fine but before too long the software would lock up forcing me to open the task manager to shut it down(I read similar complaints of this on their Support Forum). Now before you think this was computer related, I installed SiteMapper on my desktop and two laptops just to be certain. (All running Vista Home Premium so there is a small chance it was OS related but not likely)

SiteMapper Frozen

For five days I attempted using the options available to remove certain areas of the website from the crawl but this software doesn’t allow for text specific exclusions (wildcard) and it doesn’t appear to respect the commands in robots.txt as advertised (Option was enabled) or there would have been little problem with getting their bot to avoid certain areas of the website. On the positive side, CoffeCup has a support forum for all of their software programs with forums for suggestions; bad news is that they are obviously selective with who they reply to. I left a well written suggestion/question (Find it here) in their forum and was ignored while they happily addressed a question from a user immediately after me. To this day, over two weeks later I have yet to be acknowledged. I even submitted a support ticket but only waited two days for a response that never came before closing it on my own out of frustration.

While SiteMapper is visually appealing and rather easy to use, it’s not quite there functionality wise. If you’re running a small blog or simple website it may work for you but I wouldn’t suggest it for anyone with a complex website with a lot of dynamic content, you will likely be very disappointed. I would suggest downloading and installing the trial version of their software long before purchasing it. I have no doubts that this software will be great in the future but right now, not so much.

After growing very tired of failed crawl attempts with SiteMapper I scoured the internet trying a multitude of free and trial sitemapping software and about gave up (From being disappointed) until I came across a Sitemap Creator made by InSpyder. I downloaded the trial version and loved it, while not as visually appealing (close) as SiteMapper its functionality wise it was rock solid.

At $39.95 it’s a little more pricy but worth every penny, trust me. (I contacted InSpyder and they were nice enough to provide JealousBrother readers with a 10% Discount on Sitemap Creator: 10% Discount and enter: YRJKPR )(Coupon will expire 58 days beyond the publish date of this post) First and foremost, after nearly two weeks of use I have yet to have the software lock up and it has never failed a crawl. One of the best features is the easy import of robots.txt restrictions and their bot will obey the excluded command which includes wild cards that exclude url’s with certain characters. InSpyders offering also comes with a scheduling and pinging system which may be a bit confusing at first (When you have multiple sitemaps and formats) but makes sense after a couple of times working with it. There scheduling system will even run while you’re not logged into your computer. Sitemap Creator comes with a majority of the same features SiteMapper offers but has a lot more flexibility with prioritizing, exclusions (previously mentioned), and overall functionality.

The bottom line is that when it comes to sitemapping software above all else, it has to work and InSpyder Sitemap Creator does just that. It is very consistent and if It can crawl JealousBrother (A lot of Dynamic Content) then it will probably handle your site with ease. For the money I’d say buy this product and if it’s this stable now imagine how stable and functional (And maybe even more visually appealing) it will be a few years from now.

InSpyder Sitemap Creator Organization

CoffeeCup SiteMapper Organization

InSpyder isn’t without some down falls though (Although they pale in comparison to SiteMapper), the layout of the crawled url’s is a bit clustered and not broken down into a hierarchical display, SiteMapper certainly wins in this department as they break down the urls crawled into expandable and closable file folders much like you’d be used to seeing in Windows file manager. SiteMapper also has the advantage with Title Editing; they allow the title of a url or category to be altered while InSpyder does not. While I don’t know if this is a positive as it may confuse the search engines seeing how the title within the Sitemap will vary from that which is actually crawled. I still like the flexibility of being able to do so.

While I wasn’t able to test (Could never finish a crawl) CoffeeCup’s html output for sitemaps I’d imagine they would be significantly better looking than that of the out of the box settings from InSpyder, however InSpyder has a template system that allows you to modify the appearance of the html version of the sitemap. (Of course html, css, coding experience is required)

Something that both programs lack that I would love to see is the ability to better organize the content of the sitemap (More beneficial for the HTML sitemaps as it’s for the website visitors benefit). What I mean by this is the ability to create catagories/titles to make it easier to organize(drag and drop) the content. I know the argument would be that should be on the website design end but sometimes that’s not possible or there is entirely too much content to make it fluid. While it is a mystery as to how some sites have sitelinks on Google search results, one has to imagine it has something to do with fluidity of how the google bot views your content. I’d imagine a perfectly organized/labeled sitemap wouldn’t hurt your chances.

Since I’ve opted to use InSpyders Sitemap Creator on a regular basis I do have a couple of isolated suggestions for future upgrade consideration.

1.) Allow for the option to exclude the listing of the root domain without forcing all of the content to be de-listed. Why you might ask? Well, if someone was inclined to build a multi-sitemap setup for a single website this creates a problem. When creating a sitemap for a certain area/folder of a website the sitemap is supposed to be placed within the same folder the content resides in. The root address causes a problem as it will likely be returned as a broken link(guessing) or at a bare minimum duplicate content.

2.) Expand the functionality of indexes. Currently the only way a user can utilize the index system is if they have over 50k links. What if someone doesn’t have that many links but wants to break their site down into multiple sitemaps? This could be for better index tracking, optimizing the way the bots see the site, or for a overall cleaner sitemap setup.

3.) Sorting deficiencies with numbers. In url’s that end in numbers let’s say (?exampleID=1). When attempting to sort the url list numerically this will occur: ?exampleID=99…?exampleID=10…?exampleID=100…?exampleID=101… Notice the ID=10 is not numerically sorted. This goes hand in hand with the need for increased organization mentioned above in reference to both pieces of software.

4.) Copy and paste excluded page list. Self explanatory but when you’re dealing with a wide range of dynamic url’s this could be very useful rather than having to add them individually.

The last thing I’ll touch on is support. CoffeCup has the elements for a terrific support structure, email, support forums, ticket system, video tutorials, etc… but they unfortunately fell flat in how they interacted with me on their site. However, InSpyder only offers a phone number for sales and lacks support forums but they have replied to two of my emails within 24 hours each time and they do have a FAQ and User Manual section. Support tools are only good if they’re adequately provided to the end user. I’d certainly love to see more support options from InSpyder and more support interaction from CoffeeCup in the future.

I want it to be known that I don’t resent CoffeeCup, I use their free html editor on occasions and it works wonderful. I wanted this review to be as honest and straight-forward as possible. The reality is that a significant amount (Extremely large amount of work) of work goes into the production of any piece of software and I don’t want to down play just how hard it is to do. I wish both companies the best and hope to see continued growth in both sitemapping products.

What do you think? Which Program is Better? Take a Side in the Rivalry and Voice Your Opinion.

UPDATE: As you’ll notice by the comment below Mr. Swedorski from CoffeeCup software promptly contacted me after reading this review. A couple of developments that have altered my previous opinion of their software have occurred. If you are having the same issue with their SiteMapper program freezing up you’ll want to read this.

1.)The freezing issue seems to have been a software conflict with Windows Vista. (I’ll detail a workaround Mr. Swedorki provided that did the trick if you’re having issues with SiteMapper freezing up)

2.) While I do feel CoffeeCup dropped the ball on how they handled my inquiry on their forum they have certainly made up for it with the service I have received throughout the last couple of days.

Now onto the details of how to fix the freezing issues within Windows Vista:

1.) Right-click the shortcut icon and click Properties.
2.) Click the Compatibility tab.
3.) Put a check mark by Run This Program as an Administrator.
4.) Put a check mark by Run This Program in Compatibility Mode For: and ensure Windows XP Pro Service Pack 2 is selected.
5.) Click OK. (This fix seems to have corrected the freezing issue on my computer)

“If you continue having problems you may also need to set the application as an exception to Vista’s Data Execution Prevention (DEP) feature. Normally if this is the culprit, you’ll get a little bubble along the taskbar notifying you, which will allow you to set the offender as an exception. One last option that could be the cause of this, and related to the DEP feature, is User Account Controls. This is the large window that appears in Vista asking you to “Allow” or “Deny” access to functions within programs. You can turn this off within your Control Panel > User Accounts window, along the left-hand pane.”

CoffeeCup still lacks some of the control features that InSpyder has but Mr. Swedorski has informed me that he will be submitting a request to enhance the way “wild cards” are handled by their software which will greatly improve the control you’ll have over the crawling of your site. This is great news for those of you who own SiteMapper. I would like to thank CoffeeCup for handling this whole situation in a professional and prompt manor.

Profile Notification System: Your profile has received a very cool notification system. Look for the “Recent Activity” link on your profile. This cool new feature will inform you whenever someone leaves a comment on rivalries you started, replies to one of your comments left on a rivalry, and when a new shout has been left on your profile. This feature takes the guesswork out of figuring out who’s interacting with who.

Email Notification System: The new email notification system will promptly notify you whenever you receive a JealousBrother private message, a new shout on your profiles wall, or a new reply to one of your comments. As always, JealousBrother respects your privacy and you can turn email updates off at any time by navigating to “Edit Profile” section of your profile.


RSS (Really Simple Syndication) System Amazingly simple yet so useful. You can now subscribe to JealousBrothers RSS feed(s). That’s right I said Feeds as in plural. You can subscribe to JealousBrothers main feed, any rivalry category feed, as well as individual rivalries.

JealousBrother Main Feed: This will keep you informed of the latest rivalries featured on the main page. Navigate to JealousBrother.com and click on the RSS button on your browser or on the button on the JealousBrother header.

Category Feeds: Simply click on the category you’d like to subscribe to and then click on either one of the RSS buttons. (Browser or JealousBrother Header)

Subscribe to Comments on Individual Rivalries: A little different than your typical RSS feed, this feature will email you with any activity that takes place within that particular rivalry. (You can unsubscribe at any time)

Last Login Date: Your JealousBrother profile now boasts a last login date. If one of your friends hasn’t logged in for a while make sure you give them a hard time.

We Have Widgets/Blidgets:
Don’t worry it’s not a disease and it’s not contagious…Well hopefully it’s contagious and spreads like a wild fire. The JealousBrother Rivalry Blidget is far more than a standard widget, it’s actually an RSS feed on steroids. With this one blidget you can track the RSS feeds of every single category on JealousBrother. The default feed displayed is the popular rivalries but by the click of a mouse you can quickly access any category of your choosing. Sports, Politics, Entertainment… you get the idea. So pick a widget that fits your website, social network profile, or blog and never again will you have to go without JealousBrother. I guess you can say the JealousBrother’s will always be at your side. Thanks and have fun!

Visit our Widget/Blidget page to see all of the available sizes

JealousBrother Rivalry Widget 325w x 400h:

Facebook Application: Thanks to Widgetbox we now have a simple but effective Facebook application. You can find it here. The application will allow you to add a small JealousBrother Widget to your Facebook profile. It can be added as a tab or a movable box widget.

To Install the JealousBrother Rivalry Widget you’ll need to do the following:

1.) Click on the “Add to my Page” link on the left of the Applications Wall (This Page).

2.) When prompted select which page/profile you’d like to add the App to.

3.) You’ll then need to grant the application access to your account.

4.) Go to your Account drop down and select “Application Settings”

5.) Locate the JealousBrother Rivalry Widget and click on “Application Settings”

6.) You can then decide whether you want a Tab, Box, or both. Adding a box will give you the option of adding a box to your visible profile.

7.) That’s it……Thanks for your support!

Additional Information: You can add a box, tab, as well as status updates. If you add a box you opt to move it to your wall.
For those of you who want to add the Widget to your main wall you’ll need to do the following.

At step 6.) above you’ll need to make sure you add the box option; after saving your setting you’ll need to navigate to your profile. You’ll see a new tab labeled “Boxes” Click on it. You’ll see the JealousBrother Widget and you need to click on the little pencil above it to edit it. It will give you the option to “move to your wall” and selecting that option will add it as a movable widget on your wall. Enjoy.

After looking back at a rivalry I started several months ago I decided to raise the same question again, only this time on the JealousBrother blog. As I was working one day in a small town in East Tennessee I noticed a stray dog ravaging the Food Lion (grocery store) parking lot for food. The idea for the rivalry that follows was instantly spurred from my very brief interaction with this poor dog. Every time I see a stray I tend to ask myself multiple questions. Where’s this pets owners? Did they abandon him/her? Should I call the shelter? Will this poor animal end up dead on the side of a road? You get the point.
Who do you have more compassion for, Homeless People or Homeless Animals?

I’ve bumped into a couple of different conversations with people on this very topic and the discussions usually hit altering points of view. The topic I’m referring to is whether you have more compassion/sympathy for a homeless pet or a homeless person. Before you start calling me names and telling me how bad of a person I am I would appreciate at least a minute to explain my point of view.



First and foremost I’m forced to realize that each and every stray animal (excluding those born wild) had an owner at some point and time. Anyone who decides to take the responsibility of pet ownership knows there are a lot of requirements to take adequate care of an animal. There are several scenarios that play through my mind as I imagine how each pet became a stray but the replicating result is pure negligence of a human to put the animal in the situation of being homeless. Whether the animal was dropped off on the side of the road, escaped a back yard by digging under a fence, or was allowed to aimlessly roam the neighborhood with no contained perimeter, it all leads back to negligent owners.

Now that we’ve established a pet becomes homeless due to irresponsible owners we now need to realize animals rely on their masters/owners for nearly every aspect of their well being, including food, shelter, hygiene, etc… Here’s the reality, sure a dog can survive for a period of time on natural instincts but not for long, especially when you’re considering a domesticated animal. So I raise this question. Can an animal get a job to provide shelter and food for itself?

Here’s where a number of you probably won’t like me very much, this is where my lack of sympathy and compassion comes into play. When a person becomes homeless it’s usually due to a choice or decision they made in life. Sure some people make choices that seem responsible at the time but later end up realizing it may have been the wrong decision to make. However, each and every human being has the ability to pick themselves up and start over. For me survival is a must and living a life on the streets isn’t an option. If something horrible happened I could end up on the streets but not for a minute longer than needed. I would get a job at all costs, even if it meant flipping burgers at a fast food joint. I would survive, even if that meant renting a studio apartment or a garage at someone’s house.

Bad things happen to good people but we all can make the choice to keep going, to pick up whatever pieces are intact and begin rebuilding things. Can stray animals say the same thing? No. When people ask me why I choose to donate to charities/organizations that support animals I confidently reply, “I have compassion for them. They can’t choose their owners and certainly can’t fend for themselves.” It’s not my goal to say giving to charities that support homeless shelters is a bad idea; it’s a great thing to do. It’s homeless shelters and other related programs that give some individuals the helping hand they need to get back on their feet and it’s the homeless people who strive to reverse their course in life that I do have compassion for. So whether you contribute to animals or people just follow your heart and do what feels right to you. I welcome your thoughts here on the blog or feel free to express yourself within the rivalry.

As always with JealousBrother.com we welcome differing opinions, views, thoughts, ideas, ideologies, etc… So if you’d like to offer a rebuttal you can leave a comment, request an opportunity to compose a guest post (See our “Guest Authors” page for more details), or start a rivalry on our main site. Remember this is the JealousBrother Blog, JealousBrother.com is a social network that thrives on disagreement.

Vote Now: Express Your Opinion!

Who do you have more compassion for, Homeless People or Homeless Animals?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rMDAhVeY6o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=015Phk6Frpg

Anything Can Make a Difference:

Humane Society Donation Page

National Coalition for the Homeless Donation Page

About two days into a rising fever that floated from 99.6 to 101.4 degrees my wife decided to head to the doctor. Once she made it into the clinic she registered a heart wrenching 103.5 degrees. After some back and forth and somewhere around fourteen phone calls including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) the doctor came back and was candidly honest with my wife and mother. Much to his dismay he informed them that there was no sub-type specific test available to detect the swine flu (Novel Influenza Type A (H1N1)) without lengthy laboratory analysis. (My wife was told results would take between 7 – 14 days to get back)

You might be asking so what does this mean? There is no way for physicians to test specifically for the swine flu (Novel Influenza Type A (H1N1)) without a positive culture or RT-PCR performed by an approved laboratory. This means that you’ll be completely better or dead before you can find out whether or not you actually had the swine flu and not some other sub-type of the Type A virus. (Which includes the seasonal flu)

According to the CDC, “At this time, there are only two FDA cleared assays for confirmation of novel influenza A(H1N1) virus infection, including the CDC rRT-PCR Swine Flu Panel assay; however, experimental rRT-PCR assays, not approved or authorized by FDA, may be able to detect novel influenza A (H1N1) virus infection.”(source)

The two CDC approved tests are “real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR)” and “laboratory analyzed viral cultures” but the only test physicians can use is the “Rapid influenza diagnostic tests (RIDTs)”. I’m not a physician so if you’d like to know the details of each test you’ll need to do some research (See the Links at the bottom of the page) or ask your physician. What is important is what the CDC has to say about each test.

RIDT’s: According to the CDC website, “None of the currently FDA approved RIDTs can distinguish between influenza A virus subtypes (e.g. seasonal influenza A (H3N2) versus seasonal influenza A (H1N1) viruses), and RIDTs cannot provide any information about antiviral drug susceptibility.” (Source)

rRT-PCR Swine Flu Panel: “The rRt-PCR Swine Flu Panel test should be ordered to presumptively diagnose novel influenza A (H1N1) infection only.” (Source)

Further, “A positive test result from the rRt-PCR Swine Flu Panel indicates that the patient is presumptively infected with novel influenza A (H1N1).” (Source)

According to Merriam-Webster’s Medical Dictionary, Presumptive is “expected to develop in a particular direction under normal conditions” (Source)

CDC had the following to say when comparing the RIDT’s (Only test physician can perform) and The rRt-PCR Swine Flu Panel test ,

“These tests differ in their sensitivity and specificity in detecting influenza viruses as well as in their commercial availability, the amount of time needed from specimen collection until results are available, and the tests’ ability to distinguish between different influenza virus types (A versus B) and influenza A subtypes (e.g. novel H1N1 versus seasonal H1N1 versus seasonal H3N2 viruses).” (Source)

I’m left with one VERY important question, What does the CDC consider a confirmed case of Swine Flu?
The CDC uses the following guidelines: A confirmed case of novel influenza A (H1N1) virus infection is defined as a person with an influenza-like illness with laboratory confirmed novel influenza A (H1N1) virus infection by one or more of the following tests:

(Source)
The CDC has this to say about the real-time RT-PCR test, “If reactivity of real-time RT-PCR for influenza A is strong (e.g. Ct <30) it is more suggestive of a novel influenza A (H1N1) virus. Confirmation as novel influenza A (H1N1) virus by real-time RT-PCR was originally performed only at CDC, but at this time may be available in your state public health laboratory.” (Source) What I’m left wandering is how something based on suggestion turns conclusive. I couldn’t find any information where the CDC elaborates.

The CDC has this to say about Viral Cultures: “Isolation of novel influenza A (H1N1) virus is diagnostic of infection, but may not yield timely results for clinical management. A negative viral culture does not exclude infection with novel influenza A (H1N1) virus.” Seeing the word “Diagnostic” is a move in the right direction but I am a bit discouraged when they say a negative culture does not exclude an infection. My hopes are this leaves room for human error when collecting the cultures and isn’t proclaiming the culture test itself is flawed.

So what exactly am I getting at? There is no way for a physician or health organization to definitively tell a patient whether they have H1N1, H3N2, or any other Influenza A sub-type (Which includes seasonal flu) when using readily available RIDT’s. The only diagnostic results come from the lengthy process of laboratory analyzed cultures and rRt-PCR swine flu panels.

If you have any information you think I should add or anything you’d like to say feel free to leave a comment.

Will you be Taking the Swine Flu Vaccine when it’s made available?

As always with JealousBrother.com we welcome differing opinions, views, thoughts, ideas, ideologies, etc… So if you’d like to offer a rebuttal you can leave a comment, request an opportunity to compose a guest post (See our “Guest Authors” page for more details), or start a rivalry on our main site. Remember this is the JealousBrother Blog, JealousBrother.com is a social network that thrives on disagreement.
CDC Sources:
1.) http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/guidance/rapid_testing.htm
2.) http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/eua/pdf/eua_amendment_swine_healthcare.pdf
3.) http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/eua/testkit.htm
4.) http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/casedef.htm
5.) http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/specimencollection.htm
Merriam-Webster Medical Source:
1.) http://www.merriam-webster.com/medical/presumptive

You see, I was a Republican, and I voted for Bush – once. But somewhere along the way the GOP stopped caring about my vote. Maybe because I am a conservative that believes in a strong military but also thinks that a woman has the right to chose, or that there is much to be gained from stem cell research and we should fund it with the full throated support of the U.S. government. Maybe it’s my northeast liberal upbringing, but I could care less if a man wants to marry another man, for we should all know the trials and tribulations of love and marriage.

And I think the GOP knows that they need to be a bit more progressive too, but they also know that that can never happen as long as the face of the party remains that of Rush Limbaugh’s.

Because Limbaugh and his ilk and their never ending rants against anyone who isn’t so far right that they fall over is what has pushed me into the loving arms of the Dems. I mean, it’s easy to say you believe in everything one party believes in right? You don’t have to think, you can just say, hey, I’m a Republican, so I have to think this way.

But to come out and say you are for bombing Iran back into the 12th century but that you also want your daughter to have the right to have an abortion takes some logical, rational thought doesn’t it?

And in the end, it may very well be the wrong way of thinking, and I will be judged by my creator just like you will, and some of us are going to be right, and some of us are going to be wrong.

But I don’t think the likes of Rush Limbaugh should be telling me I am wrong, considering his own checkered past. Which leads me to my question, on the heels of some of Limbaugh’s most controversial statements, I want to know from the Republicans out there, is Limbaugh the voice of the Republican party and does he represent your point of view?

Or, in perfect Jealous Brother parlance, is Rush Limbaugh good for the Republican Party?

About the Author:

Robert Barr is the founder of blabrmouth.com, a political commentary weblog that cuts through the media hype of today’s top political news! He also founded Philabustr.com which covers Philadelphia Business News in the Raw.