A list of all the Blog Posts in this category.

Google Plus

This time next week the Google+ service will be discontinued. The service officially went live in June 2011 to compete against Facebook.

The service is shutting down due to the lack of use. A couple of security issues found in 2018 forced Google to reconsider the service and prompt the shutdown rather than fix the issues and face possible lawsuits.

I first joined the service on September 21, 2011, and didn't post much over the years.

There is no product "grave yard" at Google Headquarters. If there was, this is what it might have looked like.

Five Things I learned about Google+

Google+ got into a lot of trouble of forcing users to their users to join the social network. On November 6th, 2013, if you wanted to leave a comment on a YouTube video, you needed to be a member of Google+. On July 27, 2015, Google announced that the Google+ requirement wouldn't be needed anymore.

Google+ was promoted by Guy Kawasaki in "The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users" and "What the Plus!" His main focus in the book was that Google+ was a better Social network then the popular Facebook. It's these books and his promotional podcasts that got me interested in Google+.

While Google+ is shutting down, this doesn't impact any other Google Services.

No other Google products (such as Gmail, Google Photos, Google Drive, YouTube) will be shut down as part of the consumer Google+ shutdown, and the Google Account you use to sign in to these services will remain. Note that photos and videos already backed up in Google Photos will not be deleted.

Patrick Spenceley was the first person that added me on Google+. He is a "Paranoid programmer :-) JS/CSS/CF/.Net/HTML/tSQL/XML"

Trey Ratcliff is the most active person that I have been following on Google+. He post amazing photos from around the world. He has been active over on Facebook for a while. "He's not at all bitter about Google+ shutting down."

Download Your Data

If you used Google+, don't forget to download your data this week! You can download your data on Google's Take Out page.

Damage Poof Pod

Activity tracking is all the rage - from Fitbits to Apple Watch. We are tracking everything from how fast we do a lap in the pool to how long we sleep.

What about pets? Wouldn't it be great to track to see how active they are? Are they getting enough exercise? How about sleeping patterns?

Poof Pea and Beans

That's where Poof comes in. They have different types of devices that attach to a collar and used to track your furry friend. The devices are so small that they won't even notice that they have them on. Poof Pea cost $39.99 and Poof Bean cost $49.99 - the difference the bean is smaller and not distracted by smaller dogs.

Smart Phone

You use an App on your smartphone to download the data and get some very cool chart graphs to track their movements - or lack of.

You simply need to be in the same room as your pet - so you can download the data while they are taking a nap.

Our Experiences

We got a Poof Bean as a Christmas gift and we were very excited to track our 1.5 old puppies. He is an active dog that also spends time at a near-by puppy camp.

Occasionally we leave him alone and the Poof Bean told us that he pretty much slept the whole time. When we were home he would be more active and want to play all day long.

Day Camp

We decided to put the Poof Pod on when he went to day camp - we wanted to see how much activity he did all day. The first time he wore it the numbers were off the charts! He was playful all day.

Second time was a whole different story. When he came home I notice that the Poof Bean was missing from the collar holder. I called the Day Camp and let them know. They checked the play area and did find a device that looked like a bean.

A week later at drop off they gave me the remains of the Poof Pod. Clearly, it was broken.

Damage Poof Pod after a day at Dog Camp.

Not Returnable

According to the Poof website, the broken Pod is not returnable.

We are out of luck.

As a product that would be around pets, it seems that it should last for more than a couple of weeks. Especially if it cost $49.99.

Cool Concept

At the end of the day, having a Poof is pretty cool. I would recommend not having it on where the dog could be in playful situations where the device may fall out.

It will be a while before we get another one - and we wouldn't get the Pod as it appears that it doesn't hold too well.

Domain Expired Voicemail

This week I got a strange voicemail. What made is strange is that when I got the call it showed up as No Caller ID and only rang once. Moments later a voice message was left.

Took a screenshot when the call came in, and then later of the message that was left.

Scam Scam Scam

This has nothing to do with domain registration. What they are trying to do is to trick you into registering into an SEO search program.

Here's What I Learned

• This whole scam is getting people to register Clearly they don't want you to answer the phone. The message sounds automated.
• When you call the number left in the message they use Caller ID to figure out who you are.
• They send you another text message to click on a link
• The link takes you to a page to let you know what's really going on.
• It's that page that gives you the official information.
• Don't register for the service - much of what is offered can be done for free. (You shouldn't be paying $75 to register a website. If you want to get on Google you can simply request Google to Register Your Site. )
• If a company goes through all this deceptive practice to get your business- how legit are they?
• I am pretty sure that the company will sell the phone number information.

Text on the Final Order Page

This is the text that appears on the final order page:

My domain isn't expiring, I registered it back on October on GoDaddy - apparently, other GoDaddy customers are getting these messages.

Whois securepay.id

This is the Registration information of the company behind the website.

contact:      administrative
name:         Muhammad Neil El Himam
organisation: Ministry of Communication and Information Technology
address:      Jalan Medan Merdeka Barat No.17
address:      Jakarta Pusat DKI Jakarta 10110
address:      Indonesia
phone:        +62 82111610360
fax-no:       +62 21 3835845
e-mail:       neil@pandi.id

Apple Maps Store Information

Apple Maps has a rough start on iOS. It shipped with IOS 6 back in 2011 and had some well publicized problems. Things seems to have been fix and the application has seemed to be reliable.

However this weekend I noticed another flaw in the company details section. When checking for the hours of American Girl in Natick on a Saturday night - Apple Maps said the business was closed at 6 pm.

We were eating dinner next door to American Girl and noticed people coming in with American Girl bags - was the store still open?

We we checked the American Girl website and discovered that it closes at 9 pm on a Friday night.

I doubled checked Apple Maps and it does say 6pm. I then checked Google Maps and saw they had the correct closing time for American Girl.

Here's a side-by-side comparison:

Lesson Learned

Don't trust Apple Maps for business times - this isn't the only local business that had the incorrect times.

When it really matters used the company website to find the right time. Only use the maps apps as a general information.

First Amazon Purchase

Do you remember your first Amazon Purchase? My first Amazon purchase was on February 13, 2001.

I found that information when I was going through the mail on my old Powerbook laptop. It's one of the oldest emails that I have on the computer.

Here's the copy of the Amazon confirmation that I got:

The thumbnail images didn't show up when I enabled the Internet on the laptop. (Not surprising!)

Here are the current prices:

• Set Your Voice Free is now selling for $37.44 (Used from $6.07)
• The Millionaire Next Door paperback is now selling for $11.52 (Used from $3.75)
• Photoshop 6 Down and Dirty is now selling for $26.71 (Used from $1.99)

Looks like the Set Your Voice Free by Donna Frazier was the book that has the best appreciation.

American Auto Shield Phone Calls

Have you been getting calls about your car warrantee being expired? Chances are its from a reseller of American Auto Shield or Car Shield.

Recently, they have been calling me a lot, trying to get coverage of a vehicle that I don't even own. In the latest call, the operator sent me a copy of the contract. Glad they did because there's no way I would have signed up for them.

Read Real Customer Reviews

When you talk to a salesperson on the phone, they will tell you to make a decision right then. The reason is that they don't want to discover reviews online. Here are a couple of review websites that offer some insights on consumers services:

• Consumer Affairs Website - 140 Reviews
• Best Company - Car Warranty Consumer Reviews

Interesting that they do have a good review on the Better Business Bureau website.

One thing I notice is that they never tell you the name of the company on the call - until you ask. I wonder why is that?

Six Practical Questions to Ask

• What's the process for the first time that I may need coverage?
• Will I need to provide a Federal Odometer Statement before signing the contract? If not, why would I need one if I should need to cancel the contract?
• If I decide to travel across the country, and something happens how do I find an approved garage to fix?
• What is the waiting period before the policy goes into effect, does it start today or when I received the material?
• What happens if I decide to join Uber or Lift? Would my car be classified as a Commercial vehicle?
• Can I read the terms and conditions of the contract before I make any payment decision?

msoutlookonline.net

Just a friendly reminder...

Just because a website is marked as "secure" it doesn't mean that it is safe to enter data.

Case in point is this site: https://controlpanel.msoutlookonline.net/ it seems like a legitimate site but it's not a safe site. Think it's real? See what happens when you click on the "Forgot Password" link. In Chrome or Firefox, you're alerted that the site is suspicious.

This site was found searching for OWA - Outlook Web Access. It's so easy to think that it's real.

Today's Lesson

Make sure the site you are on is the right site, change your password frequently and make sure you have unique passwords on all the websites you do use. This way if your password is compromised you don't have to worry about changing passwords on multiple sites.

Netscape Welcome Email

This is it. Here's the email that some say launched the Internet Revolution. Marc Andreessen first public announcement that Netscape is now ready for public beta.

Ready Post Packaging Tape

One thing that I learned this Christmas season is to buy packing tape in advance, especially if you're going to be mailing any packages.

This is because if you forget to bring packing tape to the post office - you'll be paying a bit of a premium for packing up Priority mail packages. There's no reason to pay the premium if you plan ahead of time and bring tape in.

Pricing / Description on Ready-Post Tape

Here's the information about the tape that is available at the post office.

Ready Post Packaging Tape cost $3.49
Description: Clear Tape 1.88 in x 800 in

Amazon Options

There are a couple of options on Amazon that should be good solutions for next year:

• Scotch 02878 Heavy Duty Shipping Packaging Tape, Clear - for $9.09 you get 3 tape packages. That comes out to $3.03 for each roll.
• Duck MAX Strength Packing Tape With Dispenser, Clear, 6 pk, 1.88" x 22 yd. - 6 Rolls for $10.83. This comes to $1.81.
• Scotch Tear-by-Hand Tape, 1.88 Inches x 50 Yards, 2-Pack - Cost per roll is $4.66 - which is more expensive than the option at the post office. But you get nearly twice as much like the one in the post office. In addition, you can easily tear the tape by hand. This will make it easy to cut the tape - there's no need to bring scissors to cut the tape.

Don't forget - set up a reminder.

This year, I set up a reminder for the first week of October to order some packing tape for Christmas. This way I can plan in advance, so when we bring gifts to the post office, I can just tape them up and not have to buy the tape at a premium price.

In addition, I added some notes to the reminder on what I would do differently "next year." For example, it's better to plan to finish shopping well in advance instead of waiting for the last minute to buy and find things.

What Do Different Colors Mean

Picking the right color is essential to get the attention of the audience. Understanding the color meaning goes a long way to picking the right colors.

There are lots of websites that have good information, but recently Jen Miller over at Jen's Reviews did an extensive study of color meanings and their symbolism. It's a great reference read on understanding the reasoning to use certain colors.

Five Things I learned from Jen Review's Color Meaning Story

• The report reviews 10 colors: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple, Pink, Black, Brown, and White.
• You'll learn about the positives and negatives meanings of each color.
• The Red Sox colors are the color of Red - love and roses and White: the color of all things good.
• Blue is considered the most popular color probably because Blue is all around us - the earth is made up of 70% of water. It also means trust, which is why you see companies like Microsoft, Facebook, and Twitter use it in their logos.
• One of the colors is the color of power - find out in the study.

Great Read!

The study is a great quick read - only 2,500 words. It's a great read when trying to pick the perfect logo or trying to decide on the best background for the flyer that you're sending out.

Why trust this study? Jen Review is a great site with a lot of practical information. The writers on the site are experts in their fields. The editorial team features for Olympians, doctors, doctors and more. Content is written by experts and has been featured in many publications because of the quality of content and the content is constantly updated.