Jay Gaulard Blog

How Fast is Your Broadband Connection?

Thursday, May 1st, 2008

Since I got this new business class broadband connection (about an hour now), I have noticed a nice increase in internet speed. By the way, I figured out how to set up my static IP address. It really wasn’t hard. Sorry Hannigan, no call today.

Anyway, since I am blazing fast now, I decided to check out my actual upload and download speed. How did I do this? Well, I hopped over to SpeedTest.net and did my thing. You can visit them and follow the very simple instructions to check your own broadband speed. Here, take a look at my results…

I think that’s pretty good, but I don’t have anything to compare it to. I’ve never done this with any of my earlier connections. Now I wish I had. Boy, there’s got to be someone out there who can tell me if thi is fast or not…

Comcast Business Class Cable Internet

Thursday, May 1st, 2008

I am not sure if I previously mentioned this or not, but I am now in need of business class internet service, because I now require a static IP address.

The guys from Comcast just left. They switched our services from residential TV, cable and internet to just residential TV and cable and now business internet. They did a bunch of stuff, but the main thing was to set up another modem downstairs, alongside the old one and the router.

I already see a speed increase with downloading my files. I just happen to be in the middle of a big download, and strangely enough, the connection didn’t break…it just got faster. I have yet to set up the router to work with the static IP, but have found the support page that tells me how to do it. We are going out for a little while and I’ll give it a shot when we get back.

One thing I am going to do is the create a screen capture of the original settings, just in case I screw up. I am also going to have Hannigan’s number on hand. Hopefully he is familiar with Linksys routers.

What Do These Top Level Domains Mean? List of TLDs

Thursday, March 20th, 2008

I have been purchasing quite a few domain names lately. At last glance, I own 78 of them. Over time, I am taking any confusion out of who owns the real domain by scooping up as many different extensions as I can. I have noticed a disturbing trend of domains being bought and sat on…or cyber squatted. Well, this has been going on forever, but now they are buying even the not-so-popular ones. Little by little, I keep on buying them, until I have them all. Sure, it may take years (it already has), but I will get there. I check what’s available every so often.

I do limit myself to the more popular ones though. I go after .com, .net, .org, .us, .info and .biz. I also grab often mistaken spellings of the same extensions. Some may think this is a bit extreme, but I have stopped listening to people. My extremeness has gotten me this far.

Anyway, today I bought eleven new domains. They were .info and .biz. As I shop for these things, I often wonder what they mean. Are they for specific purposes, like they used to be? I will admit, the requirements to purchase a particular domain extension are becoming quite relaxed. I learned a bunch by looking through the list of internet top level domains.

If you take a look at this list, you will notice that extensions that used to be for a particular purpose is now open to everyone. The .govs are still for the government though. I think that anyone can buy a certain domain extension, but if challenged in court, you need to provide proof that you are what the domain is meant for.

Today Certainly is Another Day

Friday, February 29th, 2008

Today was another busy day. I spent a good majority of the day organizing things online. I would tell you what they are, but I have this thing about telling people my secrets. Oh well. I will say that I find it simply amazing that I am able to wake up every morning of my life and work on the computer for at least eight hours straight. Mind you, those are the days I have nothing to do. Oh, I just love looking at the clock as it reads 3PM and realizing that I have been sitting here since 7AM.

As I get older, I find myself focusing on my “physical” self more than I used to. I always try to sit up straight in my chair, so I don’t get a bad posture, like I have been warned about when I was a kid. I also recognize that I need exercise these days. When I say need, I mean “need.” I mean, I am in good shape, but as anyone gets older, I think they become more aware of these things. I also feel my eyes going to hell. When I was a kid, I used to pride myself on not wearing glasses. Well, the years of staring at this monitor has taken its toll, I’m afraid. Last year, I bought computer glasses to help take the strain off my eyes. These days, I find myself having to focus a heck of a lot more. I can actually feel my eyes getting tired. People say that you should get up every so often to give your eyes a break. They say that you should look out the window every once in a while so your eyes can focus on something else, other than your computer screen. I do that, but I am just hoping that one day I will make enough money to pay someone to do my work for me as I sit in a chair behind them, telling them what to do.

So, what’s new in life…I guess it’s just day to day stuff. As I work, the cats take their turns using my lap as their bed. I am not working on adding any more websites to my portfolio…well, I had to pop a new one in there, I just couldn’t help myself. This is the year of marketing. I haven’t focused on that portion of the business all that much in the past few years, so it might be something I should do to boost the $$$. I believe I can do a very good job with that in the next ten months.

I also have been making beer, if you haven’t noticed. I think it’s a pretty rewarding thing to do. Paul came over to pick up ten bottles for a party he is having tomorrow. He is going to get back to me with the consensus. I hope he likes them.

Since I have been in college, I have been looking for the perfect place to live. Where we are living now isn’t perfect, by any meaning of the word. As my mother would say, we have decided to hate it. It’s painful to realize that, but it’s true. I have learned that it’s pretty useless looking on the internet for that perfect town. All it takes is one lousy picture of a town to ruin everything. On to the next perfect town with that one lousy picture, and so on. I think the only way I am going to make it is to get an “anchor” house somewhere up north, with another smaller home in the heat for weekends in the Winter. I have also learned that the perfect town may not even exist anymore. Back in the day, there was a quiet little main street somewhere in Indiana that you could walk up and down for the rest of your life. Now, you have to worry about tornadoes and the Wal-Mart they are putting up at the end of the block. You might think I’m kidding, but look around. The most pristine places are very unaffordable. So the quest goes on.

On Monday, Laura and I are making a trip to Washington, CT. We are going to have lunch at the Mayflower Inn. A few years ago, my mother got us a gift certificate for the Inn that we used for a perfect Valentine’s Day dinner. It was one of the nicest places on earth. We were thrilled with the little antique town, but it was kind of dark on our way in. We really want to see it during the day. You would be surprised what the Connecticut hills have to offer, for a price. I’ll let you know how it goes. YouTube certainly needs a video or two of Washington, CT.

It just started snowing. Laura proposed another walk in the snow. Who am I to say no? I have a feeling I will be putting my boots on at midnight again. I do want to say that I am getting a little tired of the snow. Every time I think the driveway will be clear for a few days, it snows. I admit that it keeps things exciting, but enough already. It’s been a snowy Winter. The next week looks warmer with the temperatures above freezing. Also, the sunset is much later now, so that January depression has lifted. Now, the sun is going down close to 6PM. In March, we set the clocks ahead, so that should be fun. I am going to try to really soak up the seasons this Spring, Summer and Fall. I think they are worth it.

Wow, what a post. This might actually be what blogs are for. I guess I have to write some real stuff when I am not busy buying things and writing about them. Hey look…it’s another cat on my lap. I think they are doing laps now. This one is Sexy Boo.

Google Android, Do Not Call, Useful Websites and Machine Intelligence

Tuesday, February 19th, 2008

Latest Google Android SDK: Solid Improvement!

Google has announced another prerelease version of the Android SDK. We took a close look at how it performs and found that Google is listening to feedback—the new SDK is a solid improvement over its predecessor.

Do Not Call Registry saved from mandatory reset

When the Do Not Call Registry launched in 2003, it had but one major flaw. Thanks to some rare Washington harmony, our DNCR registrations are safe for life (or until you move).

9 Useful Websites You Should Know About, But Probably Don’t

The following is Nine Websites You Should Know About, But Probably Don’t. There were still some extremely useful websites that were left out, so I’m writing a continuation article to cover these sites.

Ray Kurzweil: Machines Will Match Human Intelligence By 2029

“I’ve made the case that we will have both the hardware and the software to achieve human level artificial intelligence with the broad suppleness of human intelligence including our emotional intelligence by 2029,” he said.

An Internet Marketers Guide To Leveraging Your Way To Massive Online Success

The term leverage is used often in internet marketing circles, and simply means the power to act effectively, using existing knowledge, money or something else in a manner that results in a chain reaction of greater success.

Advertising, Google, the Web and Click Throughs

Thursday, February 14th, 2008

Who Will Control Advertising on the Web?

Exactly how are companies going to make money on the social web? The path to the next generation of online advertising does indeed remain murky, but two new deals may provide a little light.

Google Experimental Search with Digg Style voting

Straight from google experimental labs, they’re experimenting on search engine ranking which can be influenced by users via a “vote” (sort of like digg).

Overhaul of net addresses begins

The first big steps on the road to overhauling the net’s core addressing system have been taken. On Monday the master address books for the net are being updated to include records prepared in a new format known as IP version 6. Widespread use of this format will end the shortage of addresses that sites can be given.

How Big Is the Web? 155,583,825 Sites - Report

A January Netcraft survey estimates that there were last month 155,583,825 WEB SITES ON THE INTERNET.

Improving your click through rate with Creative Search Marketing

Consumers are becoming more savvy in the way they search online, great targeting isnt enough to get their attention relevance of ad creative is now the driving factor in click through rate.

Voting, Democrats, the Internet and Recession

Friday, February 8th, 2008

Why Can’t America Vote Right?

Democracy in America is in trouble. For some reason we can’t figure out how to cast votes and count them without blunders, inaccuracy and stupidity. Worst of all, a consensus seems to be forming that computers or electronic ballots are to blame, and that the solution is paper-based voting. Here’s my proposal.

Democrats’ Nightmare: Elite Superdelegates may pick nominee

If neither Illinois Sen. Barack Obama nor New York Sen. Hillary Clinton manages to pull decisively ahead in the next few weeks, the nomination could depend on the convention votes of 796 party leaders, or superdelegates, who are free to ignore the preferences of Democratic voters.

Analyzing the Internet Collapse

When the Internet suddenly collapsed early last Wednesday across the Middle East and into India, it provided a stark reminder of how the Net’s virtual spaces can still be held hostage to real-world events.” And showed “the fragility of the Internet at its choke points.

What This Recession Nonsense Really Means for Us

Recession, shmecession. Everyone keeps blathering on about the dwindling dollar, the deflating markets, and an economy that is sure to dissolve into something obscenely dire any day now. But what does that all really mean and what exactly are we supposed to be doing about it?

10 Mistakes People Make When Starting a Business

What are the common mistakes that new entrepreneurs make and how can you avoid making them yourself? Here is our top 10 list of mistakes people make when starting a business:

Matt Cutts, Internet Companies, Entrepreneurs and Search

Tuesday, December 11th, 2007

Matt Cutts 3 Step Process to Building a Really Good Site

This post is a combination of transcribed content from video recorded at a PubCon 2007 evening session that featured Matt Cutts, my organization of that content, and related resource links for websites or articles Matt spoke about during his presentation.

The offices of today’s leading internet companies

Charl’s post showcases some really innovative workspaces at some of the hottest Internet companies today. These workspaces are generally informal and designed to bring people together rather than keep them locked away in their small, grey cubicles.

The Twice Shy Entrepreneur

A number of venture capitalists I’ve spoken with have said that too many “old guard” entrepreneurs are not being bold enough in their business decisions, and it’s hurting their startups.

Top 10 Worldwide Rising Search Terms - Google

Earlier this week Google released the fastest rising search terms in the US. I have received the fastest rising search terms Globally from Google and there are some interesting conclusions to point out.

Facebook Wakes To Find Its Members Making Money - G-A-S-P!

Looks like Facebook does nont like people making money off their own profiles.

Google, Internet, Tables and Bloggers

Saturday, November 17th, 2007

Google offers API for Outlook migration to Gmail

Google took a giant step on Friday to make it easier for companies to migrate any e-mail system over to Google Apps Gmail by offering an E-mail Migration API targeted at corporate developers and e-mail administrators.

Become an Internet Legend in Your Free Time: Tips from Internet Celebrities

“The Internet moves very fast,” says Gary “Numa Numa” Brolsma. “Your video has to be funny, or get to the point, very quickly. People are clicking all the time. If you don’t hook people in the first 15 seconds, they’ll move on.”

Top 30 websites that still are using tables as layout structure

You won´t believed how many they are. Some of then are your daily web routine. Stop hunting those IE CSS tricks and bring back your Frontpage 98 my friend designer, we are still in web 0.8889

How Top Bloggers Really Promote their Websites

Simple question: “If you had 2-hours a day to devote to no-cost, off-blog (even off-line) marketing for your blog, what would you do?” I posed this very question to a collection of some of the world’s top bloggers and social network marketers…and here’s what they revealed.

15 Unreasonably Useful Websites

A list of 15 websites that are either useful or entertaining.

YouTube, Culture, Yahoo! and Neutrality

Thursday, November 15th, 2007

High-quality YouTube videos coming soon

YouTube co-founder Steve Chen, speaking at the NewTeeVee Live conference today, confirmed that high-quality YouTube video streams are coming soon.

Does Internet kill or promote culture?

This article by Jeffrey Barlow of Pacific University discusses the impact of the internet on modern cultures. Using 2 differing texts, he discusses how the internet positively and negatively effects the way we act in society.

Yahoo! Says the Future Will be Modeled on Facebook

The future of both email and start pages is in social networking, according to Yahoo, but what’s really at issue here are two concepts that Yahoo execs didn’t name explicitly, but which will be familiar to most of the readers here. RSS and Attention Data.

Once thought dead, ‘Net neutrality roars back to center stage

Network neutrality has lost some steam, but the boilers have returned to full pressure after two senators ask Congress for an investigation. AT&T, Verizon, and Comcast have only themselves to blame.

Hulu Launches! Should YouTube Be Worried?

While it may not live up to its billing as a “YouTube killer,” Hulu is as different as a web video service could possibly be from the market leader.