Technology For Agents

Dropbox Beta Invite Delay

Steve Castaneda — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 19:13:31 +0000

I just wanted to express my apologies for the delay in getting the Dropbox beta invitation questions out in a timely manner. I had some emergency issues come up this weekend that prohibited me from accessing the blog, but I will be updating the contest today. Head over and check it out! -SC-

What is OpenOffice?

Steve Castaneda — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 20:26:54 +0000

OpenOffice (also referred to as Open Office) is an open source (free) set of applications aimed to function just like Microsoft Office without the hefty price tag. As of today, the Microsoft Office suite of tools costs $499.95 direct from Microsoft.com. Do you use Office enough to justify that kind of expense? Agents and Expenses As a real [...]

Dropbox Beta Contest Update

Steve Castaneda — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 18:28:28 +0000

Just a quick note that the contest for a free Dropbox beta invitation has been updated with a new question. If you’re interested in testing out Dropbox, please feel free to participate in answering a real estate question to get the next invitation. Our first winner, Bob Zabor, successfully answered the very first contest question to [...]

Free Microsoft Office Ultimate 2007

Steve Castaneda — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:46:40 +0000

One of the tools I see agents using the most are the productivity tools known as Microsoft Office. In real estate, you’re probably using Excel, Word, and Powerpoint almost every day. Rather than having to fork over nearly $350 for the best of the best (Ultimate) version of Office 2007, why not try to get it [...]

Dropbox Beta Invitation Contest

Steve Castaneda — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 19:23:00 +0000

Update: There are only 5 out of 10 invitations left! Have you heard of Dropbox? This nifty tool has developed quite a buzz lately, and after personally trying it, I can see why. Not only is it intuitive and simple to use, it could possibly become my preferred online storage for the future. [...]

Using Dropbox For Online Storage

Steve Castaneda — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 14:42:12 +0000

In 2007, two fellows by the name of Drew Houston and Arash Ferdowski had a notion that file sharing and storage was way too complicated, and that it needed to be simplified. Sounds pretty crazy, hmm? I’ve tried their solution, Dropbox, and what can I say; it’s a piece of cake. In the real [...]

Easy Fix for Zipform Vista Users

Steve Castaneda — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 22:22:24 +0000

An agent recently visited with me as he was extremely frustrated that Zipform Desktop wasn’t playing nice with Windows Vista. It seems that many programs have slight issues coping with the changes that Vista brought to the table, but I’m happy to say that we found a solution to his problem. Perhaps this will help [...]

Firefox 3 Launch A Gigantic Success

Steve Castaneda — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 18:08:06 +0000

Ryan Paul over at Arstechnica reported yesterday that the big campaign to have everyone download Firefox 3 was a resounding success. Their goal was a mere 5 Million downloads. The actual numbers hit were around 8, that’s EIGHT, million downloads of the awesome browser known as Firefox 3. I was one of many who downloaded the [...]

Download Firefox 3 Today

Steve Castaneda — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 18:44:07 +0000

Today is the big day! Firefox 3 has been officially announced and is ready for you to download and enjoy. I’ve been using Firefox 3 for quite some time now, and all the pages I browse load noticably faster than other browsers. If you are currently using Internet Explorer or any other currently available browser, [...]

Keep Your Outlook Database Secure

Steve Castaneda — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 15:01:03 +0000

What software do you use to house your real estate database? Among the real estate agents I’ve consulted with, most agents seem to use either Top Producer or Microsoft Outlook. We know that Top Producer is fairly secure; you’re asked for a username and password before even logging in. What about Microsoft Outlook? Anyone with access [...]

PDF Annotator 2 Released

Steve Castaneda — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 14:20:13 +0000

One of the ways you can sign contracts using your Tablet PC is using a piece of software named PDF Annotator. I’ve personally used this to have my clients sign contracts to buy and sell real estate, so give it a shot! You don’t need to have a tablet PC per say, but a tablet component [...]

Print to PDF for Free

Steve Castaneda — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 18:58:44 +0000

Is that logo familiar? I’d be confident to say that it’s the non-official online document of most real estate transactions. CutePDF is free software you can download and install on your computer to enable the option to print virtually any document to a PDF. I say “print” because the process is just like printing [...]

iPhone 3G for $199

Steve Castaneda — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 18:52:36 +0000

It’s official! The iphone 3G has had a substantial price reduction. From $399 down to $199 (8gb version), I think they just made a fantastic move in the mobile market. This is news straight from WWDC 2008, where Steve Jobs and his staff were giving a keynote about the latest and greatest regarding the iPhone. This [...]

Firefox Set to Break World Record

Steve Castaneda — Thu, 29 May 2008 14:45:35 +0000

When I look at the visitors at my site, I notice that a majority use Internet Explorer to browse the web. While IE is a good tool, let me expose you to Firefox; a browser with a development community that blows away the competition. Sometime in June, Mozilla aims to release their long awaited [...]

Hittail Launches Premium Plan

Steve Castaneda — Mon, 19 May 2008 21:35:52 +0000

HitTail, an excellent provider of real-time long tail analysis, has recently announced their HitTail Premium plan; offering discounts to existing members. Current members can get a discount rate of $19.99 a month, or $199.99 annually to upgrade their subscription. The new plan includes new tools for segmenting paid versus organic website hits, and additional online [...]

Systematic Follow-Up With Online Leads

Steve Castaneda — Thu, 15 May 2008 22:26:59 +0000

Your site is starting to really pull in some visitors, and you’re using a great IDX solution to start pulling in those registrations. Now what? Believe it or not, you’ve just earned your right to bat. Will you knock it out of the park? Following up with your registrations is one of the [...]

Houston Agents Help Trulia Rank Top 10

Steve Castaneda — Wed, 14 May 2008 14:34:50 +0000

After doing some research today, it looks like Trulia is on the rise in the search engine rankings in the Houston real estate market. Houston is the 4th largest city in the United States, and the largest in Texas; it’s a gorilla of real estate markets in my opinion. Trulia ranking well doesn’t surprise me. [...]

Organize Microsoft Outlook

Steve Castaneda — Tue, 13 May 2008 20:55:57 +0000

One of the main reasons I use Google Mail for my email software is the focus that Google has placed in making sure my email is organized for me in an easy and intuitive way. Though today, I was hinted by Graham Cohen, technology coordinator at Keller Williams International, to a fantastic piece of software called [...]

Tracking Your Mileage

Steve Castaneda — Mon, 12 May 2008 20:53:04 +0000

Keeping track of my mileage has always been a chore. I’ve tried them all; clipboards, spreadsheets, even the good old pen and paper. Regardless of the method I use to track, the habit of jotting down my mileage each day is one that I just haven’t grown into. As an agent running a [...]

Sign Contracts On Your Tablet PC

Steve Castaneda — Fri, 09 May 2008 14:51:37 +0000

Have you ever had an interest in working in a paperless environment? It’s quite a step away from conventional real estate work. We’re so used to printing contracts and fumbling through packets of listing presentations that it’s sort of how we do business now; the status quo. It’s not a widespread phenomenon just yet, [...]

Trulia Widgets Help Their SEO, Not Yours

Steve Castaneda — Thu, 08 May 2008 17:29:52 +0000

Do you like helping your competition when it comes to search engine optimization? I personally don’t like to. However, it seems that many uninformed agents looking to increase the nifty features of their website are inherently harming their chances of doing well in search engine rankings. How is this so? Eric Bramlett, Austin Real Estate [...]

Choosing Your Anti-Virus Solution

Steve Castaneda — Tue, 06 May 2008 17:14:26 +0000

When protecting your computer, you’ll inevitably get to the point to where you’ll have to decide on your anti-virus solution. Most agents I know would rather not fiddle with such a task, but realize that without the proper attention, leaving your computer exposed could be deadly to the productivity in your business. What is there [...]

Vista SP1 Released

Steve Castaneda — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 15:54:28 +0000

To all of my vista agents: Windows Vista SP1 was released recently, and you should be sure to update your computer as soon as possible. Having the latest editions of your software is always a good thing. With this release, Windows hopes to fix a boat load of bugs and to tweak their software [...]

Floorplanner

Steve Castaneda — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 15:47:59 +0000

I’ve stumbled across a really neat tool that you can show to your clients that are looking to buy a home, or to a seller that needs a few tips on how to rearrange their home. Created by a company named, Suite75, floorplanner is built in full flash technology and feature the ability to drag and [...]

March Maintenance

Steve Castaneda — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 14:48:33 +0000

I’m going to be performing some updates and maintenance to TechForAgents.com today, so you might see some funky screens and errors while visiting. I apologize for that! The upgrade should be complete this morning with everything working like a charm this afternoon. It should work great; let’s hope I don’t break anything! For those of [...]

Converting Online Leads

Steve Castaneda — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 16:43:52 +0000

Take the internet lead: this type of consumer is quick to browse websites, makes decisions to stay or go in the matter of seconds, and many times is more educated about the real estate process than the average consumer. If one of your sources to tap is in the realm of online lead generation, mastering the [...]

5 Essential Technologies for Agents

Steve Castaneda — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 16:47:40 +0000

Having technology as a part of your life in your career as a real estate agent is pretty inevitable. More and more consumers are going online to look for homes while expecting to communicate more efficiently, and you undoubtedly have to have a thriving database to really achieve big. Technology is part of [...]

One Dollar Camera Image Stabalizer

Steve Castaneda — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 17:52:01 +0000

This was just too good not to mention. Cobbler over at Metacafe posted a video recently on how to create a stabalizer for your camera that will hardly break your budget; it’s only a $1 worths of materials. I’m seen way too many times that agents have taken pictures, and those pictures have been subject [...]

Will Agents Become Obsolete?

Steve Castaneda — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 22:30:12 +0000

The following question was proposed by a forum member at real estate webmaster forums, and I thought I’d share my response and get your opinions on this topic. This has been a question that has been on agents minds for quite some time now, and I feel that once the media catches on that they’ll hype [...]

How Much Memory Do I Need?

Steve Castaneda — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 16:53:01 +0000

Sorting through the vast amount of choices you are presented when customizing your next computer can be quite an endeavor. You’re presented with numerous specifications and names of products that you’re probably not too familiar with. The amount of memory you have in your computer can really make a difference in how your computer functions [...]

Postlets Makes It Easy

Steve Castaneda — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 22:20:37 +0000

You guys really have to check out this neat tool available online for free called Postlets. I’ve been using it to upload my listings into Craigslist; sellers should be pretty ecstatic about having their listings marketed in multiple places to increase exposure. In a nutshell, you are able to upload a listing and post it [...]

It’s Not About You

Steve Castaneda — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 21:22:21 +0000

Don’t take offense; the consumers that you are working hard to attract don’t want to learn about who you are, what you’ve done, or what you’ve sold; Initially. Choosing to make your real estate website more consumer focused than agent focused is a decision you surely won’t regret. Nearly 85% (TAR) of consumers browsing [...]

Happy New Year

Steve Castaneda — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 20:56:24 +0000

I just wanted to wish to all my readers a happy and safe new year, and let’s make 2008 an even better year! Looks like it’s time to get those new year resolutions ready and primed for the first day of January, so be sure to set those goals and aim high. -SC-

Use GMail For Important Notes

Steve Castaneda — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 15:23:52 +0000

Ever had an issue that you had to call customer support with that you thought you resolved, only you had to later call them back and use a reference number to bring them back up to speed? Did you lose that reference number? In many cases, I’ve had very important notes from conversations with technical [...]

Using GMail As An Archive

Steve Castaneda — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 22:36:59 +0000

If you are a user of Microsoft Outlook, Mozilla Thunderbird, or any other software program to manage your emails and are concerned about backing up your data you should consider GMail as an archive tool. Using GMail, you can effectively archive all your emails in case your main office computer goes downhill. You can also [...]

October Monitor Pick of the Month

Steve Castaneda — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 14:40:40 +0000

Choosing the right monitor can be a bit daunting. Should you go the affordable route and purchase a CRT (the huge and heavy monitors), or should you invest in a space saving LCD? The prices for LCD monitors has been plummeting in recent years, so if you’re in the market for a new [...]

Top Producer Adds Automated Prospecting

Steve Castaneda — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 15:22:29 +0000

One of my favorite contact managers just introduced a new feature that goes hand-in-hand with their market snapshot product. Market builder is an automated prospecting solution designed to streamline the direct mail process and help drive traffic to your market snapshot feature of Top Producer. Learning About Market Builder Choosing how your lead generation will be [...]

Tracking Keyword Search Hits

Steve Castaneda — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 16:11:35 +0000

Once your very first site is on the world wide web, you’ll most likely begin to ponder how your visitors are making it to your site. A proactive online lead generator will be sure to track keywords that they rank well for in the search engines; that’s how they get visitors. Hittail is [...]

Removing NoFollow From A Wordpress Blog

Steve Castaneda — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 15:52:18 +0000

It’s only a matter of time before that wonderful day comes that you get your first comment on your very own blog. I’ll coach for you to have a blog about your local real estate market, but how do you help it gain in popularity? Good “search engine optimizers” will check your source code of [...]

HP Laserjet 1020 Review

Steve Castaneda — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 00:42:14 +0000

Choosing your first office printer can be exciting. You begin to start thinking about the possible savings you can achieve through printing your own mail-outs, letterhead, and research for your clients. Choosing the right printer, however, is a whole other story. Color Versus Black and White For the purpose of this review, I am assuming [...]

Office 2007 Review For Real Estate

Steve Castaneda — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 15:30:14 +0000

Ryan Ward, a real estate specializing in Atlanta, Georgia real estate, wrote up a nifty review for Microsoft’s Office 2007 Suite that many real estate agents I’m sure have contemplating using (including me). With his permission, I’ve brought his review over to TechForAgents.com. His review goes into depth on his experiences with the performance of [...]

Happy Fathers Day

Steve Castaneda — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 15:16:10 +0000

To all of my readers and visitors, I want to wish you a wonderful Father’s Day! I hope that you get to spend this great day with those that you love and care for. I will be meeting up with my father and cooking indoors today; Houston is experiencing some not-so-great weather. What are [...]

Dell Sales Manager Confessions

Steve Castaneda — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 01:37:38 +0000

When starting your real estate career, forming a team, or even improving the tools you work with now many agents will ask what kind of computers to buy. Dell is a common response around our office, being that all the office computers and monitors are manufactured by Dell. When considering to purchase a Dell, be [...]

Using Google Alerts

Steve Castaneda — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 02:12:12 +0000

One of the tools I have that I see very agents under-utilizing is the Google Alerts tool. It’s a very simple tool to use; enter your search criteria, do some minor configuration on frequency of updates, and submit your email address. Voila! You have real-time updates to Google’s index. How I Use This [...]

Apple Releases Safari For Windows

Steve Castaneda — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 03:14:33 +0000

Apple has announced that their web browser found on all Macs has been released in a public beta for Windows. You can get more details at the Apple Safari download page. I went ahead an installed the browser and wasn’t necessarily impressed. The browser crashed within 5 minutes of usage by visiting a movie [...]

Answering Your Cell Phone

Steve Castaneda — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 23:06:34 +0000

Though a fundamental asset to your real estate business, answering your cell phone can sometimes be a hazard to both your health and business. Ever caught yourself swerving on the road to pick up that phone call on the highway? I’ve done it; I’ll be honest. What’s a better way to respond [...]

Five Reasons To Wait on iPhone Purchase

Steve Castaneda — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 23:30:02 +0000

Yesterday, I wrote about how the Apple iPhone is to be released on June 29th, and today I stumble upon an article by Forbes that goes into detail on why you should wait on an iPhone purchase. The writer, Dan Frommer, hits on some key points that I missed out on, which are quotes [...]

Apple IPhone Releases on June 29

Steve Castaneda — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 01:13:59 +0000

You may have heard a buzz surrounding Apple’s (the maker of the “Mac” or Macintosh) new phone to be released this month; the Apple iPhone. This phone features fantastic features such as touch screen technology, can also be used a widescreen iPod, and comes with a internet browser named, “Safari” aimed to provide the owner with [...]

Top Producer Market Snapshot

Steve Castaneda — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 04:03:07 +0000

If you’ve been a subscriber to Top Producer, you’ve inevitably heard from their sales staff regarding the new Market Snapshot software being rolled out to many markets in the US. This product will allow you to get great looking market updates for both buyers and sellers, which include sold history graphically mapped on a [...]

Keller Williams Agents Get Wolfnet IDX

Steve Castaneda — Thu, 10 May 2007 17:19:04 +0000

If you are a real estate agent with Keller Williams, you should be ecstatic to know that Keller Williams has partnered with Wolfnet Technologies to offer their IDX solution to all agents at no additional cost. The new IDX will include the traditional IDX based search for properties for sale, or for a $10 [...]

Google Maps Introduces MyMaps

Steve Castaneda — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 21:36:35 +0000

Ryan Ward, a real estate agent specializing in Atlanta Georgia Real Estate, brought to my attention today that google has introduce a new feature called, MyMaps. MyMaps allows you to create maps based on markers, lines, and shapes that you design on a regular google map. The search results look to even be [...]

Amazing $200 Inkjet Printer - Coming Next Year

Steve Castaneda — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 13:56:57 +0000

I’m pretty much stunned at this new technology emerging in the printing industry. Released at Silverbrook Research yesterday, these new inkjet printers will make HP, Epson, and Lexmark really start to tremble. We’re talking color printing on standard A4 paper at sixty (60), not a typo, pages per minute. They even speculate [...]

Technology Dictionary

Steve Castaneda — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 13:37:35 +0000

Walter Mossberg has a great writeup for anyone looking to brush up on the technology lingo. He visits terminology such as “Core 2 Duo” and “EVDO”. If you feel a little overwhelmed at times by the terminology thrown around technology for the real estate industry, read up! Since the digital revolution began 30 years [...]

Online Social Networking for Real Estate Agents

Steve Castaneda — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 01:28:03 +0000

We are now at a time where, according to NAR, 80% of consumers are finding their home online, and the newly added lead generation source for real estate agents is taking shape. One of the ways to generate referral business is through online social networking. I define online social networking as any online [...]

Zipform Users Get Discounts on NAR Relay

Steve Castaneda — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 14:29:23 +0000

The National Association of Realtors has announced that they are offering discounts to Zipform users when signing up for Relay. Relay is an online transaction management system which a wide range of features. This excerpt from Realtor.org reads: Secure 24/7 access and client interaction One-click connection to ZipFormOnline® and WINFormsOnline® REALTOR®-controlled access REALTOR® Secure certified and Cybertrust [...]

Verizon V740 Replaces V640 EVDO

Steve Castaneda — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 15:55:13 +0000

I’ve just heard word that Verizon Wireless is releasing a replacement for their V640, the V740. These are the wireless PC Cards that go into your laptop to allow you to have wireless service all over town. Set to hit the shelves on March 30, 2007, this model will feature 25% faster downloading and uploading [...]

Gmail and Greasemonkey

Steve Castaneda — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 14:22:34 +0000

When I first started to use Gmail as my main email provider, I was saddened to learn that I could not put my signature below every email I sent out. My email signature is used to provide my contact information to recipients, and also as a constant reminder for referrals. Having my email [...]

Using Your Cell Phone for Email

Steve Castaneda — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 20:44:24 +0000

Today, Chris McKeever over at the NAR Center for Technology Blog gave insight into how to use your cell phone’s email address to become a more efficient real estate agent in the field. He hit on a great tip; every cell phone provider has it’s own email address. I really like his approach [...]

Using Gmail for Email

Steve Castaneda — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 06:10:58 +0000

I’m surprised when touring many new, experienced, and veteran real estate agent offices just how rudimentary and out-dated their email systems are. I think it’s necessary to shed a little light on just how nice Gmail is for real estate agents, and how using it can improve your day-to-day business. First off, let me explain [...]

Multiple Stops with Mio C310x

Steve Castaneda — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 05:57:35 +0000

Though this can be a direct testament to my inability to read an instruction manual, I have finally learned how to enable multiple stops along a home tour using the Mio C310x. It’s actually quite simple. Using the “Edit Route” feature, you can add stops to your route by searching for a new [...]

M537 and M437 From HP

Steve Castaneda — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 03:26:27 +0000

HP has released two new models for their point-and-shoot cameras, the M537 and M437. As a real estate agent, we must be sure to invest in technologies that help us do business from day-to-day. A digital camera is just that; without it, how else do we plan on taking pictures of our [...]

Top Producer Introduces Outlook Connector

Steve Castaneda — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 19:33:44 +0000

In the past, Top Producer 7i hasn’t been the greatest email platform provider. Using their software, you can forward all emails to your Top Producer inbox and send emails from there, but the system really isn’t as robust as Google or Yahoo Mail, even Microsoft Outlook. Probably the best thing about using Top [...]

Should Real Estate Agents Upgrade to Vista?

Steve Castaneda — Sat, 03 Feb 2007 23:55:25 +0000

At the end of January, Microsoft released a much anticipated edition of their Windows family. This version is said to have a drastic increase in security, performance, and looks. Real estate agents who have a computer most likely use Windows XP Home or Professional. Do real estate agents need to upgrade to [...]

Home Building Automated by a Robot

Steve Castaneda — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 04:06:19 +0000

The Times Online reports that the process of building a home is soon to be taken on by a robot. I don’t know about you, but building the shell of a two story home in twenty four hours is pretty amazing. “The bot should have its first test run in California this April, where it [...]

Newly Elected Technology Chairperson

Steve Castaneda — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 04:25:34 +0000

This is sort of old news, but I can’t believe I didn’t share this with everyone. As of the end of last year, I have been elected to serve on our office’s Agent Leadership Council (ALC) and am the chairperson for the Technology Taskforce. This committee has been charged to make sure our [...]

Get A Database

Steve Castaneda — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 04:09:10 +0000

After a day long brainstorming session with our market centers top agents, I have come to the conclusion that there are quite a bit of real estate agents that are not using databases to their advantage. To put it plainly: If you are not using a database of some sort in your business to [...]

Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act of 2007

Steve Castaneda — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 14:38:22 +0000

Today, the 110th Congress is working on legislation that aims to permanently ban state and local taxes on internet access. Local real estate offices should breathe a sigh of relief that this issue is being introduced and discussed, however realize that this bill has yet to be ratified. The ban in internet access taxes has [...]

Mio DigiWalker C310x Review

Steve Castaneda — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 20:28:02 +0000

I did the unthinkable; I made a compulsive purchase. About three weeks ago, I was at my B&M Circuit City and happened to stroll by the GPS display. They seemed to twinkle and beep at me just as the casino slots do at those theme parks for adults. I paused, and began [...]

M400 Bios Update 2.03 Adds Widescreen Support

Steve Castaneda — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 16:01:40 +0000

I’ve been using the Toshiba Portege M400 for quite a bit now, and was a bit flustered that the M400 did not allow for an external monitor with widescreen resolutions. The M400 couldn’t be forced to use a 1680×1050 resolution, which is fantastic on a Dell 2005FPW. Little did we know that Toshiba recently released [...]

Verizon Wireless PC Card Change

Steve Castaneda — Thu, 19 Oct 2006 14:43:09 +0000

I was excited the other day, because a well known blog over at jkontherun.com noticed me over here at TechForAgents.com and decided to write about me using the V5740 wireless card from Verizon Wireless. They gave me some great insight about my experiences using the V5740. The informed me that they have had better experiences [...]

Toshiba Tablet PC Portege M400

Steve Castaneda — Tue, 17 Oct 2006 14:03:53 +0000

What an exciting week it’s been! As you may have noticed, I hinted to a purchase in my last post about a new Tablet PC. I bought my first laptop computer this week, and decided that my first should be one built to last a while. After reading review after review at [...]

First Look at Verizon Wireless Broadband

Steve Castaneda — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 02:01:17 +0000

I had a chance to get setup yesterday with Verizon Wireless Wireless Broadband access. It’s quite a neat feature to have a Tablet PC and be able to access the internet from each of my client’s homes. At the brick and mortar store, I met with a sales representative and we quickly identified [...]

Vista RC2 Available

Steve Castaneda — Sat, 07 Oct 2006 14:10:28 +0000

I’ve just received word that release candidate 2 of the Windows Vista platform is now currently out for testing for a select group of beta testers. This stage is usually right before full production, so this is great news for those of you eagerly anticipating it’s release. I’ve been using Vista for some [...]

Tadalist Call Log

Steve Castaneda — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 20:02:30 +0000

Today, I did some experimenting with Basecamps Tadalist, and started to use it daily for to-do’s and checklist tracking for clients. For the most part, I learned that Top Producer 7i takes care of most of the to-do’s and checklists, but one item I’ve been struggling with is getting a online system for call [...]

Keeping Your Computer Running Efficiently

Steve Castaneda — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 02:48:17 +0000

I’ve been asked around the office on how I keep my computers and laptops running smooth; free of spyware, viruses, and adware. I’ve setup a routine that I commonly go through weekly that seems to do the trick for my business and personal computer needs. You could use this same system I’ve derived [...]

Top 20 Blog Designs

Steve Castaneda — Sat, 08 Jul 2006 02:51:46 +0000

Silentbits.com has had a great editorial up on some impressive blog designs. I feel that these designs can be used as fuel for your creative mind when started your own real estate blog. Blogs can be a great way to demonstrate for your particular area that you are the expert by providing insight [...]

Happy 4th of July

Steve Castaneda — Tue, 04 Jul 2006 15:43:18 +0000

To all my readers I’d like to wish you all a happy 4th of July! I hope that you get to spend this Independence Day with your family and friends. While you are visiting with family, be sure to share this prominent quote of today’s history: “Thus may the 4th of July, that glorious [...]

Mapquest Takes A Step Forward

Steve Castaneda — Mon, 03 Jul 2006 23:09:31 +0000

I was excited to login to Mapquest.com today and notice that they’ve implemented a feature that is an absolute necessity for real estate agents. Mapquest is known for providing accurate maps and detailed explanations on driving directions to your destinations. Now, you can create a route using their “beta” route planner to input more than [...]

Internet Business Promoter Initial Review

Steve Castaneda — Sun, 02 Jul 2006 15:30:59 +0000

I am always on the lookout for tools that can be used by real estate agents to increase the traffic to their site. One such tool that I ran across about a couple of months ago is named Internet Business Promoter. This piece of software made by Axandra offers a vast array of [...]

RELAY - Initial Reviews and Impressions

Steve Castaneda — Fri, 30 Jun 2006 02:03:31 +0000

About a month ago I was reading through the National Association of Realtor monthly magazine, and I noticed an excerpt that gave insight into RELAY. RELAY is NAR’s transaction management system that has been secretly in the works for seven years now. They’ve just recently released their software to the real estate community, [...]

Seller Net Sheets Revisited

Steve Castaneda — Fri, 30 Jun 2006 01:38:15 +0000

Top Producer offers a handy feature for real estate agents in it’s 7i version under a tab labeled “financial”. Inside, you will see that you can track your working expenses and buyer or seller net sheets. I haven’t experimented too much with the business finance tracker, but I have been using the seller [...]

Search Engine Optimization and Your Business

Steve Castaneda — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 04:16:18 +0000

Real estate agents are constantly in search of tips and advice on how to get their website to earn the top ten rankings in major search engines, such as widely known google.com and yahoo.com. Agents sometimes spend hundreds, if not thousands, consulting with web developers and “SEO Specialists” in regards to their personal website [...]

GPS Woes

Steve Castaneda — Mon, 08 May 2006 02:07:38 +0000

I’ll admit it, I was a little flamboyant in regards to Verizon Wireless’s GPS capabilities on the phones. However, after experimenting with the phone for a month now, I’ve come to the conclusion that there is just too much time wasted fiddling with the gadget. One of the primary objectives of incorporating technology into our [...]

Cell Phone GPS

Steve Castaneda — Fri, 07 Apr 2006 16:07:17 +0000

I stepped into the office yesterday, flipped up the phone to answer a ringing call, and heard a snap. The life of my phone after three years has finally come to an end, as the flip up lcd screen snapped at it’s base. Long live the free, silver phone, for it worked so [...]

Net Sheets - Top Producer 7i makes it easy

Steve Castaneda — Fri, 07 Apr 2006 04:05:12 +0000

I received an offer in on one of my real estate listings yesterday, and I went through the normal routine of asking myself, “How can technology help me present this offer in its best light?”. I jumped into my contact management program, Top Producer 7i, and quickly found my way over to the financial [...]

Simplifi - A First Look

Steve Castaneda — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 04:59:31 +0000

Recently, I had the opportunity to use Simplifi, a really unique online real estate contact management software made by Topaz Software. There are quite a few contact management technology providers for real estate agents out there, and Simplifi looks to be a promising start. Upon login, you immediately notice one major thing. Topaz Software [...]

A Settlement for Blackberry

Steve Castaneda — Fri, 03 Mar 2006 23:18:17 +0000

Have you been scared lately that your Blackberry was going to be incidentally inoperable due to recent legal issues with RIM? Well, it looks like your phones are staying on, as Blackberry has reached a settlement with NTP. According to MSN, Research in Motion will pay the small Virgina based firm $612.5 Million dollars. [...]

Backpackit First Impressions

Steve Castaneda — Fri, 03 Mar 2006 20:37:01 +0000

I had a chance to register for a free account over at Backpackit.com and started to play around with their features. One of the first things I saw was that you are able to use this tool took keep track of buyer files, pictures, files (you have to pay to upload files), and notes. [...]

Ask.com Maps using Ajax

Steve Castaneda — Thu, 02 Mar 2006 22:28:44 +0000

A new mapping tool that just hit the web is Ask.com’s Mapping Tool. I’ve started to play with it a bit, but it seems to be a bit sluggish. Perhaps this is due to the mass hysteria that surrounds new software on it’s premier. None the less, this new mapping service is [...]

Top Producer 7i

Steve Castaneda — Thu, 02 Mar 2006 18:04:38 +0000

Probably one of the largest available systems currently available is the Top Producer system. It is currently one of the most in-depth and well supported systems available, allowing for real estate agents to gain a considerable amount of help in regards to client management. This review will be an on-going review. I will uncover [...]

Welcome to Technology For Agents!

Steve Castaneda — Thu, 02 Mar 2006 17:22:33 +0000

First let me say, “Thank you for visiting.” This is the first post of many in this blog among many, where I plan to speak and share my insight into the many technologies available for real estate agents across the world. Hopefully, you will find the future info posted here to be extremely [...]