What the.. Flickr Dropped Most of My Photo Sets When It Migrated Me From Pro Back to Basic
After clicking a link in my blog which pointed to a Flickr photo set, I found out that my group of images no longer existed – well, at least in the set that I originally created. Curious to find out what happened I started poking around and remembered that I let my Pro account expire this month. It turns out that Flickr will drop all your photo collections (including your page layout showing collections) when your Pro account expires. I get that. But, in doing so, Flickr also (I expect inadvertently) dropped around 30 of my sets, leaving me with only 6!
I’ve got to say I’m a little peeved. I put a lot of work into creating those sets and now they are showing as non-existent. The funny thing (or maybe not so funny) is, if you know the original link to one of your “missing†sets, you are presented an empty set that still contains your set description and title (see above pic). Go figure? MORE »
Popularity: 9% [?]
Woohoo! GNOME Nautilus Has Received a Huge Speed Boost Improvement
I’m not quite sure when it happened (this morning or a couple days ago), but the Ubuntu team pushed out a new update to Gutsy 7.10/GNOME 2.20.1 that drastically increased the speed of Nautilus’ file seek functionality – a big bugaboo of mine. Here’s what I mean: Previously it took Nautilus a good 5-10 seconds on my 3Ghz PC with 1GB of RAM to display my listing of 1,400 images (and growing) every time I wanted to upload an image to my website or view contents from that particular folder. Well, guess what? It now takes one second (or a matter of milliseconds) for the upload listing and a second or two for the thumbnail view when first opening the folder.
I can’t even begin to tell you how pleased I am about this update, but I can say that my productivity is going to shoot through the roof because of it. Great work Nautilus developers!
Side note: I also noticed, when in list mode for uploads (as in the above pic), that one can now toggle on/off hidden files through the right-click menu (interesting), but one still can’t right-click or double-click a file to rename or delete it like in Windows.
Popularity: 25% [?]
Blockbuster Takes Away Key Package Features in Total Access Plan
I just got the following email from Blockbuster stating that their 3-at-a-time package has changed once again. This is the third such email I have received from the company since joining the program the first fews months into its launch.
BLOCKBUSTER Total Access - Due to changes in our subscription plan pricing, your current BLOCKBUSTER Total Access plan, Unlimited Online DVDs up to 3 at a time plus unlimited in-store exchanges each month for $17.99, will no longer be available at the current price.
You will be moved to our new plan that includes Unlimited Online DVDs 3 at-a-time plus up to 5 free* in-store exchanges for $17.99. This plan will not include an e-coupon for in-store DVD and/or game rentals. The new subscription plan and pricing will go into effect on your regular monthly billing date following August 31, 2007.
In addition, exclusively for BLOCKBUSTER Total Access customers, we have introduced in-store movie rentals for $1.99* per movie should you need more than the in-store exchanges included in your plan.
What’s different?
I used to get 3 movies out a time with unlimited in-store, trade-in rentals + 2 monthly coupons for in-store games or movies rentals all for $17.99 (originally $14.99). Now, I’m just getting the above. MORE »
Popularity: 15% [?]
When to Sell or Not to Sell a Web Property
Today I was asked for my advice by a fellow web publisher if he should sell his web property, which he’s devoted four years to as a side project, or if he should take it more seriously and put all his resources into it. He was also curious if I worked on eHomeUpgrade on a full-time basis or as a side project as well. Below is my response. MORE »
Popularity: 9% [?]
The Smart Way to Balance Ad Network Banner Ads with Google AdSense
Not too long ago I had an interesting conversation with an ad network account manager from Gorilla Nation Media (a fine company who I’m no longer with) who told me that the company was amending its policy on web publishers using default Google AdSense “image ad†code in areas where the network had graphic/flash banners. Of course, I had to ask why since my current network, NetShelter, had no such restriction in place. It turns out ad clients got wise to the fact that they could get a better deal – or extend their ad dollars – by using Google AdWords to buy image ads (which now include Flash animation and video) on the same properties at drastically reduced prices from the market rate networks were justly trying to get for their publishers. MORE »
Popularity: 13% [?]
My thoughts on eHomeUpgrade’s 2007 Readership Survey Results
It was about three months ago when I first posted the announcement of our Readership Survey on eHomeUpgrade. The purpose was to get a pulse on the readers’ interests, recommendations for site changes / additions, and general demographics. Overall, the response was pretty positive. And, as it turns out, eHomeUpgrade is satisfying the majority of readers with the direction of the site. Yes! MORE »
Popularity: 15% [?]
Why I’ve Decided to Create a Personal Blog
If you ask any one who has ever spent and time with me, you’ll find out that I’m person who is full of ideas, has an opinion on just about everything, is passionate about technology, and likes to share his knowledge freely with others. As such, this blog will be my outlet to express myself and provide a public window into my life as an independent internet entrepreneur, web publisher, blogger, and technology enthusiast.
I also look forward to the exchange of ideas and networking possibilities the medium of blogging can provide. Thanks for reading and I hope that I have the opportunity to meet some of you face-to-face in the near future.
Popularity: 15% [?]
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About
Alexander Grundner is a San Francisco Peninsula based web publisher who spends most of his time tracking down news stories for eHomeUprade, attending technology events, or working on his next big project.
For fun he likes to stay active outdoors, take photographs, shoot video, hack together PHP/Python code, play with Linux, and test new technologies.
