Happy Quote
December 17, 2005 in Happy Quotes“Blocked? Plunge forth with ghastly ideas, dreadful songs, appalling paintings or unspeakable prose. Give yourself permission to suck. I’d be surprised if the great didn’t find its way out of that pitiful pile of poor.”
DropSend
December 15, 2005 in 4 out of 5 stars, A service, File uploading services, FreeDropSend: This online application allows you to send files via email or store them online for later retrieval. Carson Systems The interface is really easy to use and it really seems to simplify the process of getting a large file to a recipient. I've found it great for giving design comps to clients without the headache of dealing with server issues. It could be expanded a bit more to allow for versioning, giving the user the ability to say that this file is version 1 and this file is version 2 and so on. Free up to 250 MB online storage and 5 email sends Reviewed by Daniel SchutzsmithWhat is it?
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FAMFAMFAM Icons
December 13, 2005 in 4 out of 5 stars, Design, FreeWhat is it?
FAMFAMFAM.com Icons: Icon images for use in personal or commercial projects. (Every online-oriented entrepreneur needs a good set of icons!) FAMFAMFAM.com Icons contains 3 icon sets:
Flags: 239 countries
Mini: ~140 small icons
Silk: 700+ general purpose icons
Who makes it?
Mark James
Why is it the killerest?
The icons are professionally made, yet free even for commercial use. The Silk set is quite complete (with 700+ icons) to cover the needs of a demo or even a commercial application.
Mark James, the designer, continues to create new icons and new sets (Bitsy is a new set to be released soon).
Everything is released under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License
What could be improved?
Not much really. On the other hand there are commercial icon sets that are both better made and more complete.
How much does it cost?
Free
Rating?
Reviewed by Dimitris Giannitsaros
KeePass Password Safe
December 9, 2005 in 4 out of 5 stars, A piece of software, FreeKeePass Password Safe is a free, open-source Windows application that stores your passwords in a strongly encrypted database (only a single file). Translations are available for at least 30 languages, and you can import your passwords from many other password management applications. Screenshots are available here. Dominik Reichl It has a very intuitive user interface, as well as many advanced features, including a very good random password generator, a password quality tester, and the ability to write plug-ins to extend the application's features. You can include attachments with your password record, and it will even remind you when your password should be changed. It supports two-factor authentication (password plus a token that is stored on a disk, pen-drive, or other medium). For the crypto-people in the audience, it uses SHA-256 hashes and AES encryption.
It is completely free and open-source, and is being updated regularly.
I've been using this product since around 2003, and I haven't had a single problem with it. I store my passwords on a pen-drive so that I can always have access to them, yet not be worried in case I lose it. KeePass was designed only for Windows. FREE Reviewed by Michael ScovettaWhat is it?
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Beginner's Guide to SEO
December 8, 2005 in 4 out of 5 stars, A website, SEO/SEMBeginner's Guide to SEO: SEO stands for "Search Engine Optimization." This is a very comprehensive guide to understanding the process and strategies of optimizing a web site for search engines. Rand Fishkin of SEOmoz It's very thorough and an excellent resource for learning about SEO - it includes up-to-date information, tips, tricks, and resources. This guide isn't your standard smoke-and-promises SEO claptrap, this is good info. It comes in 3 formats; downloadable MS Word, multi-page online and single page versions. FreeWhat is it?
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Happy Quote
December 2, 2005 in Happy Quotes"If we have learned one thing from the history of invention and discovery, it is that, in the long run - and often in the short one - the most daring prophecies seem laughably conservative."
- Arthur C. Clarke
TrueNYC
December 2, 2005 in 2 out of 5 stars, A websiteTrueNYC :
A Website and TV show (Manhattan only) that showcases entrepreneurs and
solicits advice, guidance, and inspiration for others who want to start
businesses but are not sure how to do it. David Schnurman I'm not in NY so for me the value is watching the concise interviews with
entrepreneurs online and reading through some of the articles David
has posted. There are some good ideas and inspiration. Some interviews
are better than others but you're bound to find something of
interest to you amongst the 17 videos interviews he has. The site is full of passion, but skinny yet on content and design. David is a third year law student and at the moment can only
do this part-time. (He's hoping in time that the website will grow into
a portal for all types of NYC entrepreneurs to exchange advice, ideas
and experience.) FreeWhat is it?
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Happy Links
November 30, 2005 in Happy Links- Entrepreneur hero Evan Williams offers "Ten Rules for Web Startups"
- Sony offers a cornucopia of lessons on how to completely blow it with customers. (In the wake of the rootkit debacle).
- The Beauty of Simplicity "Marissa Mayer, who keeps Google's home page pure, understands that less is more. Other tech companies are starting to get it, too. Here's why making things simple is the new competitive advantage."
- Keep It Simple waxes on about the impact of Too Much Information (TMI), Too Much Choice (TMC), Too Many Options (TMO) and "Time Famine" and the simple solutions being spawned as a result. How can you simplify as a competitive advantage?
- Top Ways To Use Web Analytics To Improve Your Blog or Website. A Google Analytics review will be coming here to WorkHappy.net as soon as Google opens it back up for registrations, but bookmark this if you don't have Google Analytics yet, and pay close attention if you do. Great advice here.
- How to Make a Million Dollars. Dripping with cheese, but loaded with good entrepreneurial motivation.
- What Not To Do offers advice from a seasoned entrepreneur (John Osher, sold his company to Hasbro for bank) who reveals the 17 most common mistakes startups make and how to avoid them -- plus, the 5 things you must do to ensure success.
Meet With Approval
November 21, 2005 in 4 out of 5 stars, A service, Free, Hosted softwareMeet With Approval: It is an extremely quick and simple event planning web-app. Use it for planning meetings, parties, reunions, weekends, corporate events, etc. This Side Up No login/registration. Free. Allows for for attendees to
choose which dates will work the best for them. Allows for the
event coordinator to base final date selection on the preferences of
all the attendees. (It's also got a very nice web 2.0 feeling interface
to it). It could always have more features, but gets the job done as is. Free Reviewed by TeevioWhat is it?
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Happy Links
November 17, 2005 in Happy Links- Presentation Zen: [Bill] Gates, [Steve] Jobs and the Zen aesthetic. This excellent analysis comparing the presentation styles of both (sprinkling some Zen philosophy in as a framework) offers some valuable lessons. The comments that follow offer additional food for thought.
- Online Resources Small Businesses Shouldn't Live Without offers a beefy list of links for entrepreneurs.
- An interview with Jason Fried of 37signals by Business Week that seems focused on Jason's "doing less" philosophy ("under-doing" the competition, "one-downing" them). Nothing new (esp here where I can't seem to go a week without some Fried worship) but interesting nonetheless.
- Kathy Sierra over at Creating Passionate Users has an insightful missive on the tendency for passionate user to forgive almost anything. "Forgiveness is relative. We diss Windows with impunity, but when our Mac does the same thing, well, geeez nobody's perfect."
- Newsvine and How Big Companies Can Innovate offers some great advice on how bigger companies (any company really) can foster the innovative spirit (with Google as the poster child). (Frankly, reading through that just reminded me why I work for myself.)
- Interview with Entrepreneur hero Guy Kawasaki where he discusses brand advocacy and the second bubble. The interview is too short (grab his book, reviewed at right for a much better dose) but offers some tidbits. "The goal of a lot of online marketing is to get bloggers and networks talking about a product. The best way to do this remains creating a great product."