Michele Neylon :: Pensieri

Oracle Ireland Spamming Everyone. How NOT To Use Email Marketing

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 02:31:15 PST

Oracle Spam, originally uploaded by blacknight.

While I doubt this is Oracle's normal policy, they really do need to teach their staff how to market properly.

Using email to help promote sales is a good idea, but the way that this is being done is incredibly bad and damages email marketing in general.

So far today I have received 5 separate copies of an Oracle "offer" on my work domain. I also received multiple emails a couple of weeks ago in my personal email.

It is incredibly annoying.

Why?

Because I never signed up for ANY of these emails and now I'm being asked to unsubscribe, which in some cases is going to be nigh on impossible as the emails in question do not send - they are only setup to receive only.

So how can I get off Oracle's spam list?

I can't reply to the emails, as they seem to be coming from some automated system.

And judging by the email addresses that are being targetted it's pretty obvious that the email addresses were scraped off websites.

Ubuntu Gets A Visual MakeOver

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:27:11 PST

Ubuntu, which is one of the more popular Linux distributions these days, has unveiled a completely new look.

It's got a new logo:
And a whole new range of styles for just about every other visual asset associated with the brand, both online and on the users' desktops.

The new look is very slick compared to the "old" image of Linux distributions as being ugly, yet functional

Full details here

Thanks to Laura for mentioning it earlier this evening

Vodafone Announce iPhone For March 25th

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 04:39:15 PST

Vodafone Ireland have announced today that the iPhone and iPhone 3GS will be available from March 25th 2010.

What is semi-interesting is that Vodafone are pitching the device at their full range of clients ie. both pre-paid and monthly and also business users.

They're also going to be offering "tethering" which allows you to use your iPhone as a modem.

Though "tethering" is a "special" feature on the iPhone it's standard on most "smart" phones, such as the Nokia N95, for example.

The pricing seems to be quite competitive, but how well that will integrate with existing contracts is not at all clear. In our case, for example, we have about 15 handsets with Vodafone. I don't see why I'd want to pay a premium just for an iPhone - which I already have, as I bought an unlocked one from Expansys.

Trying to make sense of the pricing options on the Vodafone site would give you grey hair!

The price of the actual handsets (same model) vary from FREE to around €99 for the 8 Gb 3G, while the 32 GB 3GS can cost up to €300.

It's also not clear if the handsets will be 100% locked to Vodafone's network, which would render the incompatible with Maxroam and other services when travelling overseas.

Of course Vodafone already asked us all to sign up to be informed about the iPhone months ago, but have been silent ever since.

What kind of demand will they get?

Will they have enough hardware to handle it?

Will people be switching from rival carriers?

Cleaning Up Old Configs On Ubuntu / Debian

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 13:08:05 PST

Image via Wikipedia

This is more for my own use than anyone else...

If you remove a package in Debian / Ubuntu you often end up with legacy configuration files lying around.

Running the following command removes all the crud left lying around your system and may fix silly issues that you run into. As it's Linux, there's probably about 10 other ways to do this!

Here's the command:

sudo aptitude purge `dpkg --get-selections | grep deinstall | awk '{print $1}'`

Enjoy!

Microsoft To Offer Users Choice Of Browser

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 03:38:58 PST

Image via CrunchBase

If you've been following the EU vs. Microsoft over the last few years this latest titbit should interest you.

From the beginning of March 2010 (ie. tomorrow) Microsoft will be rolling out a new update to its users which will give them a choice of browser.

While users have always been able to install alternative browsers to the default Internet Explorer the software company will now make that choice more explicit and obvious.

Have Microsoft suddenly changed tack? Not really. They're only doing this it would appear as a result of the EU's pressure on them.

More details on the Microsoft legal and policy site.

Will this have much impact on browser usage?

Salt and Pepper For Geeks

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 23:59:50 PST

I've no idea why anyone would buy these unless it was a joke, but they're still fun:

You'd have to be a real geek to want salt and pepper from these oversized computer keys!

More info here

The Science of Valentine's Day (Or Something)

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 02:44:50 PST

XKCD rock (click to enlarge):

Personal Reflections On ICANN Nairobi

Sat, 13 Feb 2010 10:54:00 PST

I'll probably be posting about this at greater length elsewhere...

The ICANN meeting in Nairobi seems to be attracting more publicity and debate than any other meeting in the last couple of years.

Why?

Because so many people are making noises about either attending OR not attending it.

I'm not attending. I'd love to be able to attend all the ICANN meetings, but I simply can't.

There are several reasons why I'm not attending and they're all inter-related.

To start with attending ICANN meetings is not cheap. Sure some people get funding from ICANN and 3rd parties to attend. I don't. In common with ANY business trip I have to weigh up the costs of attending with the benefits. The trip to the Seoul meeting, for example, was far from cheap. You have to factor in several things not least of them being the cost of flights and the hotels - and unfortunately ICANN meetings generally seem to end up being in hotels that cost about $200 / night (or more).

Security is another issue.
Nairobi was meant to be the venue of the ICANN meeting a couple of years ago, but they ended up relocating it to LA. The security threats in Nairobi have been a matter of concern for quite a few people, but they weren't really at the forefront until quite recently. Having said that when I mentioned Nairobi to my mother she was not happy. Not happy at all and since she doesn't normally worry about those kind of things, I'd take her concerns very seriously.
My business partner wasn't too happy about the idea either, so that's pretty much a clincher.

As a result of the genuine security concerns quite a few other people have decided against going.

Fewer attendees might be seen as positive in some quarters, but if you treat an ICANN meeting as a business event then fewer attendees will have a direct and tangible impact on the chances of recouping the costs via sales etc.,
Since the ICANN public meetings are where a lot of the various groups interact then fewer attendees will mean that a lot less actual progress will be made on existing issues.

But let's go back to the two key points:

Economics
Security

When you put them side by side it's pretty clear that it's not really a viable option for me to attend.

Of course there is always the option of ICANN moving its location or for various groups within ICANN to convene in a number of "hubs"

Ultimately everyone has to decide for themselves whether they should attend or not. I've decided not to, for my reasons, others have decided to go regardless. What irks me is when people try to make the entire "go - don't go" thing into a political and PR football.

If someone decides not to attend that is their call. Respect their decision.

If someone chose not to go because their wife was expecting, for example, there'd be no commentary. But choosing not to go because you or your dependants / relatives / co-workers etc., are concerned about your personal wellbeing shouldn't be an excuse for some people to get up on a soapbox and try to make out that they are somehow more superior and "better" by choosing to go.

I guess in some ways it's a reflection of the general attitude of people within the ICANN community. Mutual respect is sorely lacking in some quarters. People will pay "lip service" to it, but they just love the "politicking"

Spartacus - Lots of Blood.. and Silly Tshirts

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:34:32 PST

Spartacus Blood and Sand isn't going to be showing in Europe for a while I suspect ..

For those of you who have been able to see it the tshirts it has inspired so far are quite amusing.

Who'd have thought that you could get so much inuendo into a simple Latin word like "ludus" ....

More info here

Home Cinema Discussion Forum Live

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:47:00 PST

As part of my "let's use those domains" plan I finally put a new Home Cinema Discussion site live at the weekend.

I picked up the domain about a year ago, but it had been sitting "gathering dust", so I'm happy to see it's now in use .. hopefully the site will get some traffic and attract a few active members in the coming weeks / months...

Now where did I leave that list of domains?

Irish Blog Awards 2010 Nominations Closing

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 05:36:05 PST

Remember the Irish Blog Awards?

Well nominations have been open for the last couple of weeks BUT they are closing this afternoon.

So if you haven't had a chance to nominate your favourite Irish blogs (and bloggers) now is the time to do it under one of the many categories.

The event will be held later this year in Galway.

Carlow Business Directory Now Live

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 13:11:00 PST

I'd have to be the first one to admit it. I have an annoying habit of registering domains then forgetting about them or simply not having the time / energy to do anything meaningful with them.

So I love it when I'm actually able to get something up and running on a domain that is functional and hopefully of some use. Emphasis on hopefully!

A few months ago I picked up carlow.biz. It was available, though it was registered a few times in the past to other people.

So with the aid of Forbairt Media's graphic skills, the new Carlow business directory is now live.

Yes - it's still a work in progress (the design is still being tweaked), but if you're based in Carlow and have a site that should be included please submit it! It won't cost you anything.

For the SEO types ...

All the links are clean, direct links.

And of course it's hosted by Blacknight.

Getting Friends With Flowcharts

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 17:35:22 PST

Over the last couple of weeks several people suggested that I watch "The Big Bang Theory", which is an American comedy (if you, like me, weren't aware).

I finally succumbed and "gave it a go" and am now totally hooked.

One of the shows main characters, Sheldon, seems to get some of the best and funniest lines (and scenes).

Sheldon isn't very good with human interpersonal relations (and that's putting it mildly!), so when he had to become friends with a colleague from work he decided to apply logic and a flowchart to the "problem".

The result was hilarious.

So what you say.

Well I'm into my "geeky" and "funny" tshirts, so I came across this one over on ThinkGeek :
I'm not sure how well that would look on a tshirt, though I'm willing to give it a try!

If you're "into" crazy tshirts there's even a site dedicated to the tshirts worn by Sheldon in the series!

Mafia Wars Going A Bit Too Far?

Sun, 24 Jan 2010 06:40:57 PST

Like a lot of people I've been playing Mafia Wars on Facebook for quite some time. You can usually check your progress once or twice a day, which probably takes a couple of minutes at a time.

Yes - it is addictive

No - Nobody will ever win.

But it's still semi-amusing and keeps me vaguely entertained.

However they may have gone a little bit too far now with their latest addition - SMS notifications.

If you are a player based in the US you will be able to signup to get alerts when you are attacked etc., which means that you will never really have any peace from the game, which I don't think is a particularly good idea for the players. For Zynga, of course, the more time people spend on their platform the more money they will earn.

Here's what the offer looks like:

Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but I still see it as being a bad move.

Donate Donate Donate - You Know You Want To!

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 10:55:21 PST

You'll have to excuse the cross-posting, but as this is for a good cause I'm not going to be that apologetic.

Following on from the tragedy in Haiti we (Blacknight) have organised a collection in aid of Médecins Sans Frontières

To make it that bit more interesting we've added a little twist - if we raise enough money we'll discount domains. The more we raise the bigger the discount.

More details here or just go and donate here