Quick Online Tips

New Google Adsense Video Units with Thumbnails!

QuickOnlineTips — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 18:15:49 +0000

Google has added 2 new video unit sizes in 728×90 and 160×600 formats to their already large range of ad formats. Video ads are emerging as a successful advertising concept, particularly with faster broadband internet services and the desire of netizens to see more interactive audiovisual media.

If you are thinking these video units will be bizarrely elongated, it is notable that these two new formats will feature five video thumbnails - when a user clicks on one of the thumbnails, a full sized video unit will appear, along with accompanying Adsense ads like this -

How to use the new formats? You need to create new video units from your AdSense Setup. However, these video units are currently only supported for English or Japanese-language accounts in a few countries like Australia, Canada, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Spain, United Kingdom, United States.

Its important to distinguish different video ads like Click-to-play video ads (videos ads displayed on AdSense publisher websites) with Video units (allows AdSense publishers to add video content from YouTube partners to their sites in a customizable player, packaged with text overlay ads and a companion banner above the video) with AdSense for video Beta (delivers text overlay and InVideo ads into AdSense publishers’ video streams).

How to get Google Adsense video ads on your site? Simply enable text and image ads in these ad unit sizes and wait for the revenue to come in. If you check the preview adsense video ads page, then the usual Google Adsense video units display one running thumbnail only on the extreme end of these ads after the ad was clicked.

People like to click video ads, the more the better, and with 5 choices available to click, the CTR should be interesting when it becomes available here.

5 Free Softwares You Can’t Afford to Miss

QuickOnlineTips — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 17:22:11 +0000

Guest article by Manpreet Singh from Cyber Spirits who shares his list of 5 free softwares you can’t afford to miss.

1. Mobile Me
Mobile Me is a new Apple Software which allows your data to be updated once and used anywhere. MobileMe stores all your email, contacts etc. as a cloud and pushes them down to your iPhone, iPod, Mac, and PC. Once you update anything in your iphone (or any mobile phone) Mobile Me will automatically update all your devices. Read full review here.

2. Pixel Cryptor
PixelCryptor allows you to smartly encrypt your data using picture and image files and later can be decrypted using the same picture on your computer or the one where PixelCryptor is installed. The advantage is that you can create your own images too which are more unique than password.

3. Log Me In
If you need total access to your home PC from anywhere in the world, then use LogMeIn, which allows you to virtually access your desktop anywhere in the world with a single click. Go to Products and grab LogMeIn free version. Just install this software on the remote desktop you want to access. Thats it!

4. Open Office
OpenOffice, is a Microsoft Office like suite that has already been a major breakthrough to make Word, Excel etc. documents accessible for free rather than using Microsoft’s Office which is a paid software. Other features of OpenOffice include creation of Presentations and now Open Office 3.0 also supports PDF editing.

5. iSpring
If you are looking to convert you powerpoint presentations into flash presentations with no knowledge of flash, iSpring is the solution. This new software can convert any presentation of yours to flash presentation for free. The best advantage is that you can convert big size presentations into a few MBs of size only.

This guest article is written by Manpreet Singh, who writes on Finance, Technology, Life Style and Sikhism at Cyber Spirits and about free softwares and web technologies at Digital World. If you want to share your expert tips, why not guest blog on QOT.

Send Your Name to Moon on NASA LRO Spacecraft

QuickOnlineTips — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:31:47 +0000

Want to send your name on a mission to the moon? NASA invites people of all ages to join the lunar exploration journey with an opportunity to send their names to the moon aboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft. Fortunately for you, the deadline of June 27, 2008 has been extended to July 25 by popular demand.

Submit your information, print a certificate and have your name entered into a database, which will be placed on a microchip that be integrated onto the spacecraft. LRO is scheduled to launch later this year and will map the lunar surface to help locate safe landing sites and vital resources on the moon.

BloggerTalks interviewed Stephanie Stockman about blogging at NASA

The idea came from several places. The engineers on the LRO project suggested sending names and I had worked with the New Horizons mission to Pluto, where they sent names on their spacecraft. Our plans to “get it out there” included working with the Planetary Society, coordinating a press release and new webpage with NASA Headquarters as well as utilizing social media.

You can stay updated at the LRO Twitter site. Over 1 million names have been submitted already and my name is going to the moon, is yours?

Firefox 3 Creates Guinness World Record

QuickOnlineTips — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 17:23:54 +0000

Millions of users downloaded Firefox 3 on Download day in an attempt to create a Guinness World Record for the “largest number of software downloads in 24 hours”…. and they did it!

Guinness World Records has officially confirmed that they achieved the record for the “largest number of software downloads in 24 hours.” from 18:16 UTC on June 17, 2008 to 18:16 UTC on June 18, 2008, as 8,002,530 people downloaded Firefox 3!

Now Firefox claims to have over 180 million users in more than 230 countries, and as the FireFox download counter continues to tick away at 580 million downloads till date… IE sent a cake to congratulate the Firefox guys.

Did you download Firefox 3 on Download? Show off your download certificate

Adobe PDF Ads Optimized for Higher Earnings

QuickOnlineTips — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 17:06:39 +0000

If you publish PDF documents, try the Ads for Adobe PDF program to display advertisements in PDF documents and earn money. Though the program was launched some time back, Adobe has optimized the Adobe PDF ads for higher earnings.

Adobe PDF ads

Choose how ads are matched to your PDF. If your pdf has a main topic, choose Match ads for the entire PDF to dynamically match one set of ads to the PDF and display this same set of ads on every page. If there are multiple related topics, then choose Match ads for each page to dynamically match and display a different set of ads on each page. That will make ads more targeted leading to a better CTR.

What if the user is offline and no targeted ads can be shown? Now you can restrict viewing of the PDF when ads cannot be displayed and a coversheet is displayed on the PDF which asks the user to download the latest version of the free Adobe Reader and/or connect to the network, after which only the coversheet is removed and you can view the PDF with ads. So users are forced to load ads…

Display ads within the PDF content - The ads are no longer stuck in the sidebar as a tall skyscraper. You can place ads where you want them in the PDF and customise ad sizes, ad color palettes, borders, background and text colors. Blend it in and improve visibility.

Adobe has partnered with Yahoo! to provide contextual ads to match PDF content and the program pays per click! With all these new features, Adobe PDF Ads is definitely a advertising program to look out for and monetize your PDF documents.

Apple iPhone 3G Pricing Plans

QuickOnlineTips — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 18:04:35 +0000

AT&T has announced iPhone 3G pricing plans for new and existing AT&T customers as the iPhone 3G prepares for sale at AT&T retail stores from July 11, 2008. There are some good deals to look out for, but do check the fine print to find the iphone tariff plan that works for you.

Apple has earlier informed that iPhone 3G will be priced for $199 (8GB model) and $299 (16GB model). Now these prices require two-year contracts and are available to iPhone customers who purchased before July 11, customers activating a new line with AT&T and current AT&T customers who are eligible, at the time of purchase, for an upgrade discount. Existing AT&T customers who are not currently eligible for an upgrade discount can purchase iPhone 3G for $399 for the 8GB model or $499 for the 16GB model for a new two-year service agreement. Check more pricing details here.

They introduce many Voice, Data and Text Messaging Plans also.

* AT&T NationSM Unlimited: Includes unlimited Anytime Minutes for $129.99 a month.
* AT&T Nation 1350: Includes 1350 Anytime Minutes and unlimited Night & Weekend Minutes for $109.99 a month.
* AT&T Nation 900: Includes 900 Anytime Minutes and unlimited Night & Weekend Minutes for $89.99 a month.
* AT&T Nation 450: Includes 450 Anytime Minutes and 5,000 Night & Weekend Minutes for $69.99 a month.

With Apple iPhone coming to India on Vodafone and Airtel, I wonder what pricing plans they will implement. Vodafone has already started pre-registration of Apple iPhone in India.

Preview Digg Recommendation Engine Beta

QuickOnlineTips — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:54:11 +0000

Digg Recommendation Engine beta is unleashed and the next time you login to Digg.com, you might be surprised to notice a new site design that recommends stuff and users your way. The Digg Recommendation Engine uses your past digging activity to identify Diggers Like You to suggest stories you might like.

How do you know Digg Recommendation is live for you? Look for the red beta flag on your Upcoming tab - which means you have access to the Recommendation Engine. If you don’t spot it, they will roll out the new feature to everyone within the week.

Catch this video below to see what it looks like.

Google Adsense Testing New Ad Fonts

QuickOnlineTips — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 11:31:49 +0000

Google Adsense seems to be testing various font family types on our site. Instead of the usual arial font type which appears by default, I checked different pages and found ad units displaying various font types. I managed to catch a few snapshots.

Rotating Google Adsense Fonts

This is how the Adsense fonts usually look like.

And here are the different variations spotted on the same ad unit within 5 minutes. Can you identify the fonts?

Though matching site fonts to adsense fonts is a standard strategy to increase adsense CTR, there is no end to strange Adsense ads that we spotted over the years. You can check out more ads with 2×2 ads, favicons, no titles, titles in italics and no “Ads by Google” and interactive keywords.

Buy MOO Business Cards, in Regular Size!

QuickOnlineTips — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 10:56:20 +0000

MOO now lets you create and buy MOO business cards in regular size! MOO is well known for its amazing minicards, but I always wished they would create regular business cards. They listened and now I can grab a premium quality business card.

MOO Business Cards

You can use up to 50 different images per pack and use these cards to display your product range, your portfolio, or even your favourite quotes (using text-o-matic). There are many templates to choose the layout for the text. Upload an image or logo, and select from a new range of fonts, colours and layouts.

The paper quality is available as ‘Classic‘, just like as in MiniCards or choose ‘Green‘ made of 100% recycled paper, which is bio-degradeable! Go eco-friendly and make a statement. Here are some MOO Business card ideas to get started. It costs $21.99 for 50 business cards.

Of course you can remember these great business card ideas. But being a blogger has its advantages, like free business cards.

Buying .tips Domain Name!

QuickOnlineTips — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 10:31:01 +0000

Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has approved a recommendation that will allow a whole range of personal domain name options to be introduced to the Internet’s addressing system. The internet domain names are opening up as the web is evolving at a rapid pace and its a win-win deal.

This proposal allows applicants for new names to self-select their domain name so that choices are most appropriate for their customers or potentially the most marketable. It is expected that applicants will apply for targeted community strings such as (the existing) .travel for the travel industry and .cat for the Catalan community (as well as generic strings like .brandname or .yournamehere). There are already interested consortiums wanting to establish city-based top level domain, like .nyc (for New York City), .berlin and .paris.

They plan to open a limited application period where any established entity can apply. Trademarks will not be automatically reserved, but an objection-based mechanism for trademark owners is proposed.

Does that mean I can buy quickonline.tips some day! There is still time as applications for new names will be available in the second quarter of 2009. Considering the enormous scope of this announcement, if you are looking for cheap domain names, then these will definitely not come cheap. Why not explore options and buy a .ME domain name till then.