Send2Fax
June 29, 2005 in 0 out of 5 stars, A service, FaxingSend2Fax: An email based faxing service. Send2Fax, LLC All together now: "Efax sucks!"
The idea is great, and they get a brownie for pioneering it into the public sector. But they also suck. They use a proprietary file format so you have to download their clunky spam ridden software to view faxes. Their customer support is atrocious. They are expensive ($12.95/mo + $0.20/page for toll free). Note: you can get free efax, but if your usage goes above the smallest amount (don't recall the limit) then they force you to upgrade, or they'll cancel your number. It's real cute.. But I'm not here to (only) rail on efax. Send2Fax is where it's at.
With Send2Fax, they send (email) your faxes in PDF format. No stupid proprietary reader required. They are reasonably priced, and from what I've seen, reliable. They rule because they are everything good about efax, with none of the evil. $1.95/mo + $0.15/page ($4.95 setup fee) billed from $20 deposits. More. Reviewed by Carson McComasWhat is it?
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Demoted! Now recommending FaxPipe.
11 Ways to Improve Landing Pages
June 29, 2005 in 4 out of 5 stars, A magazine article, An article, An idea11 Ways to Improve Landing Pages: A great article on improving your ad landing pages. Michael Nguyen for Digital Web Magazine Similar to a post I wrote last week about dramatically increasing your conversion rate from ads, particularly Google Adwords ads. It has great tips and best of all a before-and-after, "hands on" where he shows how to apply his tips as he changes a terrible landing page he found, into one that would actually work. Good stuff. Reviewed by Carson McComasWhat is it?
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Skype
June 28, 2005 in 5 out of 5 stars, A piece of software, FreeSkype: Free Internet telephony that just works. (It's their slogan, but it also happens to be 100% true.) Skype Skype is probably the new Internet enabled technology I'm most excited about. It's simple, you install it, hook up a microphone to your computer, call your friend anywhere in the world (who must also be using Skype if you want to talk for free, or for a couple cents/min you can call a normal phone). And miraculously, without any hoop jumping, configuring, or other shenanigans, it just works. Beautifully too. I use it over broadband so can't speak to dial up, but I speak regularly with clients and friends all over the world. Germany, Venezuela, Mexico, Florida, Idaho. Imagine talking to the whole world for free. Skype rocks! Skype has built in IM, which is cool but it would use some of the features of the more mature IM programs. Still, it's very cool. I'd love them to do video, and I think they will. There are some plugins for Skype video (one called vSkype) that supposedly work well. Free as the moon and the stars and the air and the clouds. Reviewed by Carson McComasWhat is it?
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Dropload
June 27, 2005 in 4 out of 5 stars, A service, File uploading services, FreeDropload: A service where you can send big files to others, without having to email it to them. Because it's flat simple to do something that everyone struggles with -- getting large files to someone else. Typically people email them. Have you ever waited for a 10MB email? It's not fun, Dropload solves this problem.
It works by allowing you to upload a file, which then triggers an email to your recipient, they click a link and download at their leisure (as long as it's within 7 days). You get an email when they've picked it up. It's a tad spare in features, but honestly, it only does what it purports to do. Performance can be weak when it's slammed. I love it. Free as a bumblebee. Reviewed by Carson McComasWhat is it?
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Campaign Monitor
June 27, 2005 in 5 out of 5 stars, Email newsletter management, Hosted softwareCampaign Monitor: Web based email newsletter and list management software for web designers. Switch I.T. (now Freshview) It's going to be hard to explain the ecstacy I experience each time I use this service. For years I've been trying to find the perfect tool to manage email newsletters for myself and my clients. Just when I thought no one could get it right, Campaign Monitor came along and blew my socks off.
They handle everything, from capturing your subscribers, sending your campaigns and delivering very sexy reports straight to your clients. Plus, the software is continually updated and they provide you with loads of tips and articles on getting the most out of email marketing.
The best part - you get all this for only a penny an email. And you only pay when you use it (no silly monthly charges or anything). Honestly, this thing just rocks. Hmmm.... this is a tough one the thing is near perfect. For the anal-retentive in me, there are some totally unimportant quirks where you can't delete some of your past campaigns. $5 + 1 cent/email Reviewed by Carson McComas What is it?
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Stock.xchng
June 24, 2005 in 5 out of 5 stars, A website, Design, FreeStock.xchng: Free online stock photo site. It's awesome. Stock.xchng makes it, everyone contributes. This site has great photography, contributed by anyone/everyone. There's excellent quality control so just about every photo is professional quality. And the price is right - free! Think p2p meets Getty. The most any photographer will ever ask of you is that you credit them (and not all of them ask that, plus it's all voluntary). Some of the search results could be more relevant. That's a pretty small quibble though. All images are free Reviewed by Carson McComasWhat is it?
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LAUNCHcast (Yahoo Music)
June 24, 2005 in 5 out of 5 stars, Fun, Hosted softwareLAUNCHcast (Yahoo Music): Every deskmonkey needs good tunes. Launch is an online radio (of sorts) where you tailor the kind of music you listen to based on how you rate music. It learns what you like, then delivers it to you. It works extremely well. It's not "on demand," it's more like the radio, where you take what you get, but they give you what you want. Yahoo bought them a few years back. High quality music, massive music selection, runs in your browser (nothing to download or install), exposes you to all sorts of new stuff you'd never find otherwise.
Ideally I'd like it to be on-demand, but realize for the price that this can't be beat. Free for medium quality music w/ads. $36/yr for no ads, high quality music. Reviewed by Carson McComasWhat is it?
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I listen to Launch 8+ hrs every day. I've gotten more return on this money than any money I've ever spent.What could be improved?
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TypePad
June 24, 2005 in 5 out of 5 stars, Blogging, Hosted software, ProductivityTypePad: Hosted blogging software. Six Apart The smarty pants behind the legendary Moveable Type created this hosted blogging software package. I built my own blogging software. It was awesome. I used it for 3 months then subscribed for a trial account of TypePad and switched everything over after using TypePad for about 3 hours. It's awesome, inexpensive and takes all the technical maintenance issues out of your hair so you can concentrate on creating content.
I have a short list, but they are constantly evolving features and I suspect most of them will be implemented in time. My biggest beef is that I'd like a link from the email I get whenever I get a comment so I can at once delete the comment and ban the commenter. Note that 6a are implementing (and have implemented) all sorts of excellent anti-comment spam solutions. I get very little. $5/mo to $15/mo (a bargain!) Reviewed by Carson McComasWhat is it?
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At the Pro level you have complete control over look and configuration, if you prefer not to use the excellent point-and-click wizard tool that anyone can use, for setting up your blog.
Note: I use it for this blog here, as well as my personal blog and I recommend them to clients all the time. What could be improved?
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Basecamp
June 24, 2005 in 4 out of 5 stars, Hosted software, Productivity, Project managementBasecamp: An online project management tool. 37 Signals 37Signals took the malarkey out of hosted applications and did this one right. It's super easy to use, setup and understand. Pricing is set according to how many projects you have, not how many users (like competitors). It's the only project management tool I've kept using after a week (been using it for over a year now). It is somewhat sparse on features, (with an eye toward making each feature near flawless) it could use a few more features. So of this writing they are working on Basecamp 2.0. From free to $99/mo Reviewed by Carson McComasWhat is it?
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Safety Bar
June 23, 2005 in 5 out of 5 stars, A piece of software, Spam/SpywareSafety Bar: A plugin software module for Outlook and Outlook Express. Cloudmark Because it stops easily 99%+ of my spam. I get over 100 spam messages/day. Cloudmark catches all but maybe 1 every 2 weeks. I never see them. It's amazing. They also gear it to block fraud-oriented spam (phishing and whatnot). Bottom line, this is the solution to spam and it's a total bargain. Easier whitelisting. Plus a blacklist of my own that doesn't pertain to the whole community would be nice. $4/mo or $40/yr -- per desktop. Reviewed by Carson McComasWhat is it?
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