AOL will continue support of the current version by releasing any security updates until February 01, and then all development will stop.  AOL recommends that all users switch to Mozilla Firefox, the open source browser upon which recent versions of Netscape were based.

AOL acquired Netscape Communications Corporation in 1999 and released the Netscape browser code as the open source "Mozilla Project".  While AOL is officially proclaiming AOL demise, some think the browser actually died when it was acquire by AOL.  If you have a nostalgic longing for the Netscape browser, you can still install the Netscape extensions in your Firefox browser. 

Wow, what a package this is.  There are widgets everywhere.  They can be placed in the header, the footer, any sidebar, or in the content area in any imaginable location or configuration.  If you have been looking at or thinking about Semiologic Pro, now is the time to act.  You can get more information by clicking the Peel Ad in the upper right corner of this page.

I have plans to create some Camtasia videos to demonstrate features available in this great tool for Internet marketers.  So bookmark this page and plan a return visit.

Comments, as always are welcome.

I use Semiologic Pro exclusively and am waiting for either the plugins themselves to be revised, or for WordPress to be tweaked to allow some of the features that are exclusive to Semiologic Pro.

I do have one test website where I installed WordPress 2.3 with Semiologic Pro just to see what some of the problems might be.  The header now no longer displays, and some of the plugins associated with categories no longer work.   This brings up an important point anytime a new version of WordPress is introduced.:

Make any new installations on a test site if possible.  If not possible, upload to one of your less important sites.  You don’t want to jeopardize a prime site with the resulting inconvenience to your readers. You should be able to create the site on a subdomain.  Just be sure to change the privacy in order to deny robots access to the site.

I should point out that the problems with WordPress are not limited to the Semiologic Pro theme.  But with some 80 plugins available, the chances are perhaps greater that you will encounter a problem with Semiologic Pro.  Strictly a matter of numbers.

Another thing.  WordPress 2.3 has a lot of great features. Combined with Semiologic Pro, it should be an even more desirable combination.  If you would like to investigate the advantages of Semiologic Pro, click the box in the peelaway ad i the uper right corner to get to Denis de Bernardy’s site.

As always, comments and questions are always welcome.  Please share your experiences and viewpoints.

That means that you must take steps before hand to insure the integrity of your website.  Foremost on that list should be to make a complete backup of your database and files on the host.  You can use the export option under manage to do that.  Note also that some plugins may not be compatible, so these should be checked by either referring to the list or the plugin author.

So if you make the mistake of upgrading then finding out one of your "must have" plugins does not work, your complete backup will allow you to revert back to the former version.

So I repeat - Make a complete backup of your website before you upgrade.  Will you do it?  Probably not.  Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.

As always, your comments are welcomed.

Skype routes calls through other Skype peers on the network which puts an extra burden on those who connect to the Internet without NAT, as their computers and network bandwidth may be used to route the calls of other users.  Interestingly, eBay has alienated these users by increasing the charge for a call in number from $38.00 per year to an unbelievable $60.00 per year.  Discussion of this is widespread on various websites and forums that I have visited.

Skype has also experienced considerable popularity with some business users after incorporating features such as call transfer and auto redial, and the ability to add Skype to the company PBX.  Perhaps eBay wants to concentrate on these business users.

Skype however, depends on the peer to peer nature of its service, and a mass exodus of many of those users could have a detrimental effect on Skype’s ability to handle the traffic.  Make no mistake about it, Skype will lose users.  When the rate increases 40%, alternatives, such as GizmoProject or VoiceStick become more attractive. 

In a previous post, I mentioned that the pending EverBank purchase caused me to investigate other online banks.  As I explained to one commenter, I have nothing against EverBank, if fact I have heard great things about them.  One is that they are rated number one by Forbes magazine.

But that wasn’t the issue.  I wanted to be in control of who my bank was, and just felt that I shouldn’t automatically accept a transfer to EverBank without at least finding out what other online banks had to offer.

EverBank has a relatively high deposit requirement to get their highest interest, and it is only in the mid 4% range.  HSBC pays 5.05% on anything greater than $1.  But they have a horrible billpay system.  It seems that the system pays the bills you request, but you must keep the records of when they were paid, and when the next payment is due.

EverBank on the other hand has a Bill Pay identical to that of NetBank, at least as far as I can tell from the EverBank demo.  I have therefor decided to use HSBC for savings deposits and EverBank, when the transfer takes place, for checking and BillPay.  EverBank requires a minimum balance of $1500 for free BillPay, but pays interest at the rate of 3.35%, so is an acceptable trade off from NetBanks free BillPay and 2.5% interest.

Complicating the NetBank acquisition by EverBank, I suspect, is the facts that NetBank has missed the last two SEC filings, has been delisted by NASDAQ, and it’s stock, now listed on the OTC pink sheets closed today for 10 cents a share.

I am a retired Land Surveyor and I have a Land Surveying website set up wth Adsense Ads running in the right sidebar.  I have recently noticed a few 7 and 10 cent clicks, so decided to see who was advertising on my site.

I checked the URL of several of the ads and found that they went to lists of links, some not relevant to land surveying.  Not only is a click on this low paying click forcing an exit from my website, but the visitor is not even being served relevant information.  Will this visitor come back?  Would you?

Not only have I offended my visitor by sending him to a site which is obviously irrelevant, but I also lose the opportunity of getting a higher paying click.  Today I entered all four of the domains into the competitive ads filter.  I may get fewer ads, but they will be of higher quality, for me and for my visitor.

Her site had very little content, aside from the posts about her listing on Google search.  She has a Google Page Rank of 0 and from all appearances, has the potential of attracting very little traffic.

The importance of Listing on Google search is in itself meaningless.  I have a personal website LarryandJuliadotcom which is listed at positions one and two if you use the search term "larry and julia"  It is one of 2.2 million pages listed for that search term yet our site has a Google Page Rank of 0, and makes very little money through the Adsense program. 

And for what it’s worth, this website is also in positions one and two when you do a search using the term "mr blogmeister" and it drops down to 8th position if you just search for "blogmeister"

So, I would caution you to discount page position on a Google listing as an indication of anything.  If the search term is not one someone is likely to use, it is worthless.  But you probably already knew that.

As always, your comments are both encouraged and welcomed.

I have been a customer of NetBank for a number of years, drawn by the attractive rate on their Money Market account (4.5%, now 3.05% for under $10,000.00) and the convenience of their Bill Pay system.  Later I was a user and fan of their QuickPost system for making overnight deposits to my account. They have since  discontinued QuickPost..

Their acquisition by EverBank prompted me to do some searching for an alternative.  I investigated ING Direct, but they have only a high interest savings account which you can link to a local checking account.  Delays in transfers made that alternative unacceptable. Washington Mutual has an online account that pays 3.89% (5.05% APY), but requires a $10000 minimum to get that rate.

I then found HSBC Direct, paying 5.05% on savings with no minimum, and linked to an online payment account paying 2.5%.  The online bill paying account does not allow for writing paper checks, but does allow the linking of other local bank accounts for transfers either into or out of HSBC at no cost.

If you have grown to love NetBanks latest implementation of BillPay, you will be a little disappointed with the offering of HSBC.  It seems more primitive and not quite as intuitive.  One feature of NetBank allowing for entry of due date is gone, so you must again manually enter a payment date which allows for the transit time required for payment..  A small deficiency, and one that I would have to accept in the transfer of NetBank to EverBank.

If you are a NetBank or HSBC user, I welcome your comments.

I consider myself an Internet marketer, and like the majority of Internet marketeers, do not use scraped material for my posts.  So the previously posted article does not apply to them, or to me.  I am sorry for any misunderstanding and welcome your comments.