"Heard the News? Yahoo! Photos will be closing this fall...". This is the headline on Yahoo! Photos. Yahoo provided a few alternatives such as Flickr, Kodak Gallery, Shutterfly, Snapfish and Photobucket. After some investigation, I decided to used Picasa from Google instead. Below are pros and cons I found about Picasa.
Pros:
1. Direct support for blogger, you can blog about a picture and view pictures in blog posts directly in Picasa Web Album;
2. Picasa, a 5MB installation is a fantastic free photo editing and organizing software for amateurs like myself;
3. "Hello" photo sharing service;
4. Support image formats: JPG, PNG, GIF, PSD, TIF, RAW ...;
5. Support video formats: AVI, ...;
5. Web album allow setup of Public and Private albums;
Cons:
1. Available only to Windows 2000 and above (Linux version is available in Google Labs);
2. Web album does not seems to support download of original pictures (original files can be transferred using P2P);
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Fun web sites related to google
http://elgoog.rb-hosting.de You will feel dizzy looking at this web site, because it is a "mirror" of google.
http://gwigle.varten.net Fun games about google. I am stopped at level 1.d.
http://www.googleguide.com/advanced_operators_1.html Useful tips on using google. The linked article is especially useful. Using these operators you can type your search on google homepage without entering the "Advanced Search" page.
http://gwigle.varten.net Fun games about google. I am stopped at level 1.d.
http://www.googleguide.com/advanced_operators_1.html Useful tips on using google. The linked article is especially useful. Using these operators you can type your search on google homepage without entering the "Advanced Search" page.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Buy T-Bill from Treasury Direct
This article is about how to buy United States Treasury Bill online directly with individual account.
To park extra cash, what is better than a high-yield CD? If you have more than $1000 to save and if you live in a state with high income tax rate (like California) , look no further. With 5.2% current rate and state tax exemption, T-Bill is the answer.
TreasuryDirect http://treasurydirect.gov/
TreasuryDirect is direct channel for US Savings Bonds investors. It just take 10 minutes to setup an account online. The web site seems reasonably secure with features like virtual keyboard, and HTTPS communication. Earlier last year, the site would list your whole social security number on the pages, later it started to show only a few digits, which is good for security. This tells you that someone care about security is behind this web site.
Once you setup bank account information, purchasing is extremely easy. Just select security type, and total amount on the home page, then click "Buy Now" and confirm your order.
Here is a bullet list of important features of TreasuryDirect:
- Considered to be THE most secure investment, backed by the full faith and credit of the US Treasury;
- Minimum unit of investment for T-Bill: $1000;
- Exempt from state tax, still subject to federal tax;
- Pruchase limits:
* Savings Bonds: max $30,000 of each type--EE or I bonds, per person per year;
* Bills, Notes and TIPS: up to $5 million of each type.
- $25 annual fee is charged for account with balance greater than $100,000;
The only problem: there is absolutely no official paper record. Which make me a little nervous.
UPDATE
September 30, 2008:
In the event of recent financial meltdown and all the other bad news surrounding the stock market, T-Bill becomes very desirable. People are rushing for this safe-haven. Even I see a surge of viewer-ships of this post (5 times of average page views to be exact).
But be warned that you are going to pay a premium to buy T-Bill now. As of September 30, 2008, interested rate has dropped to around 1% APR. Some of the short term bills event dropped to 0.05% briefly.
While it is a remote possibility that US government may default, it looks less and less remote in the recent years. Look at how congress keep raising the Federal Debt Limit to protect the "full faith and credit". You know how remote it is!
To park extra cash, what is better than a high-yield CD? If you have more than $1000 to save and if you live in a state with high income tax rate (like California) , look no further. With 5.2% current rate and state tax exemption, T-Bill is the answer.
TreasuryDirect http://treasurydirect.gov/
TreasuryDirect is direct channel for US Savings Bonds investors. It just take 10 minutes to setup an account online. The web site seems reasonably secure with features like virtual keyboard, and HTTPS communication. Earlier last year, the site would list your whole social security number on the pages, later it started to show only a few digits, which is good for security. This tells you that someone care about security is behind this web site.
Once you setup bank account information, purchasing is extremely easy. Just select security type, and total amount on the home page, then click "Buy Now" and confirm your order.
Here is a bullet list of important features of TreasuryDirect:
- Considered to be THE most secure investment, backed by the full faith and credit of the US Treasury;
- Minimum unit of investment for T-Bill: $1000;
- Exempt from state tax, still subject to federal tax;
- Pruchase limits:
* Savings Bonds: max $30,000 of each type--EE or I bonds, per person per year;
* Bills, Notes and TIPS: up to $5 million of each type.
- $25 annual fee is charged for account with balance greater than $100,000;
The only problem: there is absolutely no official paper record. Which make me a little nervous.
UPDATE
September 30, 2008:
In the event of recent financial meltdown and all the other bad news surrounding the stock market, T-Bill becomes very desirable. People are rushing for this safe-haven. Even I see a surge of viewer-ships of this post (5 times of average page views to be exact).
But be warned that you are going to pay a premium to buy T-Bill now. As of September 30, 2008, interested rate has dropped to around 1% APR. Some of the short term bills event dropped to 0.05% briefly.
While it is a remote possibility that US government may default, it looks less and less remote in the recent years. Look at how congress keep raising the Federal Debt Limit to protect the "full faith and credit". You know how remote it is!
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Microsoft Still Think George Bush a Miserable Failure
GOOGLE finally updated their algorithm. If you search for "Miserable Failures", it no longer return the president's bio as top result. But, Microsoft's Search Engine insists that he is still the top candidate for "Miserable Failures".
Monday, September 11, 2006
New Search Engine, same "Miserable Failure"
In the eve of new Microsoft search engine's debut. I tried the term "Miserable Failure" on GOOGLE, YAHOO and MSN. They all still return Mr. Bush's Bio as #1 match. A new twist is that AMAZON managed to get shown on the MSN search's sponsored list for this search.
This just shows how uniform the world's major search engines are, and how easy it is to fool them all.
This just shows how uniform the world's major search engines are, and how easy it is to fool them all.
Monday, May 08, 2006
Google Click Fraud Case
In recent news, plaintiffs are expecting more settlement from the click fraud case against Google. I really doubt there is much merit of getting much more.
Would an Ad agent expect a refund if TV watcher switches channels when their Ad is on, or when a newspaper reader skips their Ads while scanning for stories? Still they are paying based on the media’s number of viewers and target audiences. Same story here, most of the plaintiffs know the existence of click fraud but they also know they will still make a profit factoring in the cost and set their bidding price accordingly. They really should not expect much more refund from Google except those few who can prove their case is much higher than industry average.
On the other hand, I am not sure if anybody audited Google’s books. Google is dismissing AdSense sponsors for fraud, and refuse to pay them, and revoke their account sometimes. Meanwhile, they are charging their customers for clicks. If the numbers do not really match on both sides, Google’s credential will be serious questioned.
How about this: If you watch Soprano, but skip the Ads during the break, you will be slapped a penalty from Cable company. Have fun!
Would an Ad agent expect a refund if TV watcher switches channels when their Ad is on, or when a newspaper reader skips their Ads while scanning for stories? Still they are paying based on the media’s number of viewers and target audiences. Same story here, most of the plaintiffs know the existence of click fraud but they also know they will still make a profit factoring in the cost and set their bidding price accordingly. They really should not expect much more refund from Google except those few who can prove their case is much higher than industry average.
On the other hand, I am not sure if anybody audited Google’s books. Google is dismissing AdSense sponsors for fraud, and refuse to pay them, and revoke their account sometimes. Meanwhile, they are charging their customers for clicks. If the numbers do not really match on both sides, Google’s credential will be serious questioned.
How about this: If you watch Soprano, but skip the Ads during the break, you will be slapped a penalty from Cable company. Have fun!
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Google Page Creator
Finally, I get an email from GOOGLE announcing that my account for Google Page Creator has been enabled. You can find my pages here: http://huguogang.googlepages.com/.
Currently, there is not much content there. But, if you use Gmail, I highly recommend you have a look at this page: Gmail Keyboard Shortcuts. There is a .pdf file on the page that you can print out as a quick reference for the keyboard shortcuts. Another better cheat sheet can be found here: http://www.comp.nus.edu.sg/~kanmy/gmail/gmailKeys.html. You only need to print the first page, and it contains some undocumented shortcuts.
Currently, there is not much content there. But, if you use Gmail, I highly recommend you have a look at this page: Gmail Keyboard Shortcuts. There is a .pdf file on the page that you can print out as a quick reference for the keyboard shortcuts. Another better cheat sheet can be found here: http://www.comp.nus.edu.sg/~kanmy/gmail/gmailKeys.html. You only need to print the first page, and it contains some undocumented shortcuts.
French Want a Bite of Apple
A recent bill proposed in French pending final approval is targeting companies like Apple and Sony. See the news here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4833010.stm. They basically require open DRM technology to allow competitions in both music player devices and download services.
That actually raised a big question I have had for a long time. Why is Microsoft gets a slap in the hand when they are trying to bundle IE with Windows, while Apple can enjoy bundling MAC, iPod, iTunes together to make huge profits. My theory goes like this: due to their close tie to the entertainment industry, they are able to negotiate a deal with big music companies with favorable terms. Then they use this advantage to force consumer to buy iPod, because you just cannot get anything else that can play the downloaded music. And, of course they provide iTunes for free, bundled with QuickTime player free download so that you won’t want to buy other music or movie player software.
YES is my vote, if I were to vote for the bill.
Update I found this insightful article from Wired: How France is Saving Civilization
Update An editorial on San Francisco Chronicle: Don't Dare Copy This
That actually raised a big question I have had for a long time. Why is Microsoft gets a slap in the hand when they are trying to bundle IE with Windows, while Apple can enjoy bundling MAC, iPod, iTunes together to make huge profits. My theory goes like this: due to their close tie to the entertainment industry, they are able to negotiate a deal with big music companies with favorable terms. Then they use this advantage to force consumer to buy iPod, because you just cannot get anything else that can play the downloaded music. And, of course they provide iTunes for free, bundled with QuickTime player free download so that you won’t want to buy other music or movie player software.
YES is my vote, if I were to vote for the bill.
Update I found this insightful article from Wired: How France is Saving Civilization
Update An editorial on San Francisco Chronicle: Don't Dare Copy This
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