For those who rely heavily on picking up web content through RSS [like me], there’s little time for websites anymore. My first thought when I see a teaser feed is — feel lucky if that teaser drives even one person back to the main site — and better luck yet if you can ever track and prove that it actually does.

Full or tease. It’s an age-old dilemma surrounding RSS ever since it came on the internet scene back in the 90s. Some web engineers insist on partial feeds that drive traffic back to a website for reasons like – advertising, community, traffic stats, aggregator avoidance, or whatever other reasons.

Here are a few points to consider why running full RSS feeds is the only way to go.

Advertising-
I’ve heard a few folks express concerns such as this: “how do I satisfy my advertisers when my full content is running in RSS and my ads are on the website?” Take John Gruber’s Daring Fireball as an example of feed advertising gone wild. He’s nailed weekly feed revenue with something called ‘feed sponsorships.’ Daring Fireball sells it this way:

Week-long sponsorships are available for Daring Fireball’s syndicated feed (RSS). This is the only way to promote your product or service specifically to Daring Fireball’s audience of Mac nerds, designers, nitpickers, perfectionists, and connoisseurs of fine sarcasm.

When John says Daring Fireball’s audience, he means over 150,000 feed subscribers and 1.3 million web page views. John’s Daring Fireball just so happens to run a full and juicy RSS feed.

Then there’s community-
This almost seems like a no-brainer, but I’ll mention it anyway. If you provide another outlet (e.g. full wholesome RSS feeds) to your readership, then you are [by default] growing your community. Of course, you could shit on your community and tease them with partial feeds only to sacrafice readers by driving them back to your advertisers. (breath)

And traffic stats-
Another no-brainer, but here we go with a sprinkle of TechMiso opinion. Forget your traffic stats. When it comes to RSS, just put stats behind you. Full RSS feeds should be looked at as a campaign to generate readership. Give people your full-on wholesome content and when they get hooked, you will realize an organic increase in traffic back to your website. Take Steve Pavlina’s stellar motivational and commentary blog:

StevePavlina.com was launched on Oct 1st, 2004. By April 2005 it was averaging $4.12/day in income. Now it brings in over $1000/day (updated as of 10/29/06).

Steve doesn’t talk about how large his audience is, but at $1000/day in 2006 (probably triple now in 2009), I’d wager to say his audience is large and established. Steve’s blog just so happens to be smartly available as a full RSS feed. Thanks Steve.

Aggregator avoidance-
I wrote in a past article about the land of lawless aggregators. Aggregators suck. They steal content and monetize it in sleazy fashion. But on the flip side, what aggregators ‘are’ good at is spreading your word. And some aggregators can be considered borderline acceptable in the manner they reproduce your material — like excerpts rather than just full on scraping. Worst case: you attempt to contact the offending aggregator and request they cease and desist.

I’ll wrap up here with what I thought was a joke. Virginia DeBolt on blogher.com stated something that almost had me fall off my chair:

The hard work and talent showcase inherent in creating a beautiful blog design doesn’t show up in a feed.

Here’s where the confusion kicks in. Your blog design is an insignificant factor in popularizing your content. People care about what you write. The better you write, the better your chances are of increasing your readership.

Virginia did go on to say:

I don’t think there’s a universal right answer for you about which way to go. My goal was increased traffic to the blog. I tried it both ways before I decided on partial feeds. Perhaps that’s my universal answer: decide on your goal for your RSS feeds, and test it for yourself to see what works.

Can we have a decision Virginia?

I say go full RSS feed. If you have a different experience with using partial feeds, stop by TechMiso here and leave us some soup de la comment.

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Looking at how many other services, objects and other things evolved over the past decades, especially if you look at how many services embraced the internet, it’s shocking to see the newspapers haven’t done this in a way they should. They still rely heavily on printed forms of news. Not that this means it’s the end of the world, but it’s getting a bit out of control if they fail to improve their medium and want us to pay for it.

It may seem weird, paying for a medium that fails to improve itself. That would be a bit like paying a junkie because he can’t get rid of his addiction. However, it gets even worse.

In Holland a group of people are complaining that it’s our fault that the newspapers fail to improve themselves. If we take a look at the junkie example this would mean that not only we have to simply pay him money, but we have to pay him because it’s our fault he can’t stop using drugs.

The reason for all this? The internet.

The group that came up with this idea claims that every person in Holland that uses the internet has to pay a certain amount of money per year so that the newspapers can improve themselves. Even people who might never read the newspapers would still have to pay, whether they actually want it or not. Why? Because the group wants to make clear that the news they share isn’t free.

Of course, the last part makes sense. Those working for a newspaper have to feed a family too, just like any other person. But does that mean consumers have to be forced to pay money, rather than that the company changing it’s way of sharing information?

A great example of a company that embraced the internet for sharing news, rather than ignoring it and using plain paper, is the company behind the Dutch website Nu.nl

Nu.nl is a Dutch website aimed at sharing news for free. The articles aren’t always that good. In some cases you might actually wonder why on Earth certain articles have been published. But considering it’s free, and almost every article posted on other news websites/papers is posted there as well, it’s pretty damn awesome. Nu.nl mainly generates revenue by displaying advertisements, besides that it’s also backed up by a big media company also running several other big Dutch websites.

Nu.nl is a great example of how you can share news and still make money out of it. Don’t think this is the only way for a company that offers a free service to generate revenue – premium accounts, for example, is yet another method.

Charging people money for something they might never even use is plain wrong and I strongly doubt (and hope) it won’t be a accepted by the Dutch parliament. However, considering this country is ruled by a Harry Potter look-a-like and a bunch of idiots I’d say we all will be paying the newspapers so they can buy more expensive cars pretty soon.

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First of all, what exactly is task management? For the sake of this article we will define task management as a means of managing current and future tasks through the use of a web or desktop application. Just like there is calendaring apps for managing your schedule, task management is for organizing specific jobs and/or projects which need to be completed.

Microsoft Outlook has had a “tasks” feature for years. Apple ostensibly refuses to add true task management in to OS X even though iCal does offer a “todo” list of sorts. Task management is one of the last remaining pieces of the Google puzzle I would love to see solved sometime soon.

With the choices available, and not necessarily of any specific product, what needs to be taken in to account prior to jumping in the deep end?

Web-based

One of the dilemmas I face with task management stems from the fact that at home I am an Apple user, at work I am tied to Windows and when I am mobile I use an iPhone. It is important to be able to access the task management software no matter the location, whether at home, at work or on the go.

Since the web is essentially ubiquitous the obvious choice would be with a web-based task management system. Unfortunately the answer is not necessarily black and white.

Although one of the best reasons for web-based task management is the pervasiveness of the internet, it may also be one of the largest hindrances. There area a few key things to keep in mind.

• Not all corporate networks allow unfettered access to the web. The web-based application you find most appealing may not be accessible from where you need it to be.
• Web-based task management is not as feature-rich as desktop software. If you require comprehensive project management capabilities then you might be sorely disappointed.
• The lack of offline access may be problematic if there is a need to be able to manage tasks and/or projects when you are without internet access.

One of the best web-based task management applications I have used is Remember The Milk. If you are seriously considering the web-based route then give RTM a look. As a side bonus, RTM does have an iPhone app for mobile users.

Desktop-based

By and large, desktop-based task management software offers a far more fluid and comprehensive feature set. Although there are a number of simplistic applications, much of the quality software has complex project management capabilities. This allows for more than a mere TODO list, but the administration of multifaceted tasks with many intricate details. This is not something seen in most web-based applications.

One of the strengths of desktop applications is the fact that they are tied to a particular operating system and run as native applications, ultimately offering a more thorough experience overall. Generally speaking, the average person feels more comfortable in a native application than they do trying to manage tasks in a web-browser. The look, feel and usability of the controls are far greater in native apps.

The previously mentioned strength is also the greatest weakness. Being tied to the desktop for a native application means being tied to *A* single desktop. The vast majority of apps offer no web-based or mobile synchronization, so managing tasks while away from the primary computer may be problematic.

I have been toying with the idea of using Things to fulfill me task management needs. It is one of the premier task management applications on OS X and even has an iPhone application capable of synchronizing with the desktop. The problem for me is that at work I use Windows and am not allowed (by my own company-wide policy) to use portable electronic devices in my workspace.

Conclusion

To this day I continue to contemplate the various task management options and have yet to make a decisive determination. The amount of options available should be enough to match most people’s needs no matter which route taken. It really boils down to each user and their specific requirements.

Bottom line for the average user: if you are highly mobile, have complete and unfettered access to the internet and are not looking for anything complex then web-based may potentially be your best option. If you are essentially tied to a single computer and have no real need to access tasks from a variety of workstations, then desktop may be your best option.

For me, I am going to wait just a little while longer to see what the Google Gods have in store for the future. What I really would like to see is a halfway decent task management application integrated with Google Calendar and Gmail, offering API access so third-party developers can create innovative software for managing tasks. I envision one of those innovative ways would an iPhone app capable of syncing with Google Tasks and offering offline access.

Until that day arrives I will stick with my favorite old-fashioned task management system – soft cover Moleskin notebooks.

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It was love at first sight for my iPhone 3G and me. Ever since I scored an iPhone 3G on the first day the product was launched in Japan I have been nothing short of faithful.

About the only time you do not see me with my iPhone in tow is when I am at work, and that is only because we do not allow personal computing devices in our building due to security concerns. Trust me – if they were allowed I would be sporting one all over work!

While the iPhone 3GS, from all appearances, is an exciting product it just does not seem to be the compelling upgrade I was hoping for Apple to offer. Not only do the features seem somewhat inconsequential, SoftBank makes matters worse by charging upgraders roughly ¥2300/mo for the 32GB device. This translates in to ¥55000 for a device that is almost half that cost.

But even if SoftBank had a better pricing structure I would still not consider snatching up an iPhone 3GS. Why pay $300 simply for a faster processor, a better still picture camera, the ability to record video, voice control as well as a compass. These features do not warrant an upgrade – as I said before, the feature set is not a compelling reason for paying the exorbitant prices required to upgrade.

What I have done, and what I hope every iPhone 3G owner is doing, is upgrade to iPhone OS 3.0. That upgrade was unquestionably compelling and wholly worth the price. However, I will add that there does seem to be a noticeable performance hit with iPhone OS 3.0 on the iPhone 3G. The device does lag moreso now than previously, but it is one I can deal with until next June, when Apple hopefully offers a truly compelling reason to upgrade.

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Like the woman found guilty of illegally downloading music from the internet and fined a monster $1.9 million USD, a man in Japan may face stiff penalties for downloading, stealing and monetizing 50,000 customer accounts from his employer, Mitsubishi UFJ.

News agencies in Japan are reporting that a former acting manager at Mitsubishi UFJ Securities has admitted to data theft and illegal computer access during his tenure in the systems department.

Using the ID of a female temp staffer, Hideaki Kubo admitted illegally accessing and retrieving personal information on approximately 1.5 million Mitsubishi UFJ customers.

It’s being said that Kubo first pulled encrypted sensitive customer data from a database and then ordered a subordinate to copy that data to a CD Kubo ’stole’ from the company supply room.

What Kubo did next was to upload this data to various mailing lists in return for almost $4,000 USD in payment.

For Kubo’s unauthorized access to UFJ customer data, he faces a possible 1-year prison term or a fine of up to $5,000 USD.

For the one dollar CD he stole from the UFJ supply closet, Kubo faces a potential 10-year prison term.

With his head buried in his lap, Kubo was escorted from a Tokyo police station on his way to court for arraignment. He appeared embarrassed and ashamed.

Stealing data off the company network almost always ends in bad results. Even behavior that can be perceived as unlawful will put you treading in dangerous waters — Like deciding to remove or ‘archive’ sensitive data off company servers, or simply stealing supplies like technical textbooks and manuals. All are grounds for punitive action.

The spotlight is even brighter on those who have privileged account access like Kubo. So for Kubo [or anyone else with privileged access] to make this kind of blunder is just plain dumb. You may think you can’t be fired over a paper clip. Think again.

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As an ex-overweight IT professional I have seen way too many good techs succumb to the epidemic of the expanded midsection and the inevitable decline in general health.  We simply cannot afford to keep losing the valuble experience of these dedicated individuals to the impending heart attack or stroke.

Just as you might monitor the health of your operating systems, you also need to monitor your own health.  If you are in a hospital or, God forbid, dead, who is going to keep the network running?

And just as you continually test your knowledge of new computer systems through training courses, you need to keep testing your body through exercise.  This is the key to optimum health.  The human body was designed to move, not sit still in front of a computer screen all day.  There are exercises that you can do while waiting for that software update or reboot.  There are things you can do while just sitting at your desk.

Another huge piece of the health puzzle is what you put into your body.  I believe the world’s food system is corrupt and it is dragging us down into a quagmire of malnutrition, compromised immune systems, chemical dependency, and eventually a slow, painful death.  All you have to do is check the latest declining health statistics and you will surely ask yourself, “What is going on here, and how can we stop it?”

As someone with 10+ years of research and experience with various health conditions, I look forward to presenting more effective ways to combat and reverse the many  maladies that ail us, most of which are completely curable.  And of course, any criticism and discussion is very welcome.  I hope we can all learn something that will improve our overall health, as well as learn about any gadgets that will make living a healthy life easier for everyone.
Greg Hill
The Health Geek

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Take Google OTA Sync for example. It is an exceptional product for iPhone users but unfortunately only implements two of the three hottest aspects of mobile computing: contact and calendar synchronization. Google has quietly left push email out of the equation. Why is it taking so long to realize arguably the most important feature mobile users desire?

In case you are not sure what Google OTA Sync is, Google has this to say about the product, which is currently available in illustrious beta form for iPhone, WinMo and SyncML phones:

For iPhone and Windows Mobile devices, Google Sync allows you to get your Gmail Contacts and Google Calendar events to your phone. Once you set up Sync on your phone, it will automatically begin synchronizing your address book and calendar in the background, over-the-air, so you can attend to other tasks. Sync uses push technology so any changes or additions to your calendar or contacts are reflected on your device in minutes. The connection is always on so you don’t have to manually sync your phone after Sync has been set up. This means that when your colleague changes the time of the TPS report cover sheets meeting, you’ll know about it right away.

Google OTA Sync uses Microsoft’s very own ActiveSync technology, essentially tying your iPhone to a “Microsoft Exchange Server” to perform the over-the-air synchronization of contacts and calendars. Since Exchange was designed as an email server first, it only stands to reason that push Gmail should have been fairly easy to implement.

But here we are, almost four months after the release of Google OTA Sync and over two after the unveiling of the iPhone, and still no push Gmail. Yahoo! Mail offers push capability to the iPhone as does Apple’s MobileMe. Oddly absent from this equation is Google, even though the company does offer the ability to push contacts and calendars to mobile devices.

The larger question is why is push Gmail so important? First, rather than the iPhone having to poll Google’s servers for email periodically, the data is pushed from Google to the device as required. When a new email is delivered to a Gmail inbox, it would then also be pushed to the mobile device. This allows for near instantaneous notification of new mail.

Without push Gmail, email could be sitting on the server for hours before the mobile device is aware new mail has arrived. From a productivity standpoint, push Gmail is extremely beneficial because of the ability to immediately notify users of new mail.

For those of us out here in Japan, push email is pretty standard on mobile phones. The big three, DoCoMo, au and SoftBank all offer push email to their entire mobile phone lineup. The Japanese market expects email to be pushed to mobile devices rather than the devices periodically polling for mail.

Going at this half-assed is surely not going to win Google any cool points. The more Google stalls, the more people will migrate to solutions which do work, such as MobileMe. Even though I still find the service undesirable for anything other than the push email, contacts and calendaring, at least Apple did invest the time to fully integrate all the important aspects of mobile computing.

Hopefully Google has plans to finish the complete integration of a mobile platform capable of properly competing with MobileMe and RIM. If not, as I mentioned above, I fear a certain subset of consumers will begin to look elsewhere to fulfill their mobile computing needs.

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Basic Search

I started with a basic and easy search term (McDonald’s), followed by a basic but not quite as easy search term (United Nations), and finished off with a very difficult search term (”Haslina Ali”). The results were interesting as below:

Bing showed utter focus, displaying purely McDonald’s websites from various countries, while Google gave surprisingly low returns in numbers. Google, however, outshone in the other search terms while Bing only listed the actual United Nations website as the 3rd result.

News and Image Searches

Despite being new, Bing also provides image and news searches, allowing us the joy of adding that to the comparison criteria.

For the news search, Google got the best rating mostly because Bing and Yahoo only gave me returns from the Philippines despite me not being located in the Philippines (they both detected that I’m in Malaysia).

Blind Search

Luckily, the internet was able to provide us with a Blind Search medium, to prevent unbiased decisions. 3 random search terms provided the following results.

The Decision

Google has proven to be the strongest player in all 3 criteria, giving better and more relevant results. Its news search has a cool feature that provides a timeline for news results. Its image search has a great feature that allows you to specify what color picture you want.

Bing and Yahoo proved not to be slouches, either, and while not returning the best results, also had other cool features. Bing gives you a summary of the website if you scroll over it along with a list of other items on the page, and the image search has a very user-friendly search settings sidebar. Yahoo has a great news database due to Yahoo! News, and provides a ‘Related Concepts’ bar at the top whenever you search for something.

Though it’s still a baby, Bing has shown that it has great potential and we look forward to how it develops.

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The Discovery channel is one of my favourite TV channels, featuring shows that are not only interesting to watch, but also contain enough humour to prevent them from getting boring. I don’t watch TV that often, perhaps one or two times a week, but whenever I do I instantly notice that their range of series has increased a lot over the past few months.

You’d think that more is better, but in this case they have multiple TV series with a similar subject. For example, first there was American Chopper, then came American Hotrod. Now we have American Chopper, American Hotrod, Overhaulin’, and so on. Another example is the Ink series, first there was Miami Ink, now there’s also LA Ink and London Ink.

For somebody who is new to Discovery channel, this can be a little overwhelming. Imagine you want to view a survival show, such as Ultimate Survival (also known as Man vs. Wild). You actually have to choose between three shows, Ultimate Survival, Survivorman and another one, of which I can’t remember the name. Ofcourse each show has a different approach, but they all share the same subject, and in some cases it’s very hard to spot the differences.

On top of that, many TV shows are repeated throughout the week, meaning that you’ll be watching the same type of shows over and over again. Luckily this doesn’t mean that every show isn’t worth watching, Mythbusters and Ultimate Survival are probably my favourite shows.

We’ll just have to wait and see what the future brings us, perhaps there will be 4 Mythbusters shows, 25 survival shows and 84 Ink series. Whatever happens, as long as I can keep watching the walrus moustache I’m happy.

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First of all, there is no need for anyone to start running around like Paul Revere, instead screaming, “the Miso Soup is ending.” That could not be farther from the truth. TechMiso is here to stay!

In fact, TechMiso does, and continues to have, our full faith and devotion. Neither Rich, Haslina, Yorick or I are going anywhere – the site is a huge priority in our lives. Unfortunately, sometimes life happens to get in the way, ultimately preventing us from focusing on the things we adore.

Publishing of stories is going to pick up this week and should be back to a slightly lower than normal level. I will be writing on a regular basis, along with Haslina and Yorick offering weekly-or-so articles on various topics. Rich is mired in a world or craziness at the moment and will publish as time permits. Our intent is to have fresh content on the site daily, with a missed day here and there.

On behalf of our entire team of Miso Soup enthusiasts, I sincerely apologize for the lack of stories the past few weeks. Please allow us to welcome you back in to our home for a tasty bowl of fresh Miso Soup.

Cheers.

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