iPhone webmark

Do you have a fav icon?  What about a fav icon for the iPhone aka webmark?  There really isn’t any reason why you shouldn’t have either one.  Just like a fav icon, the webmark will create a graphic link on an iPhone (further distinguishing your site from others).  It can be argued on how important the graphic is but one thing you’ll notice when looking at your own favorites folder is that the links with a unique graphic beside it catch your attention first.  The graphic is like a logo in that it brands your site and raises awareness.

The webmark is a graphic file is limited to the following 3 criteria and your own creativity.

1. it must conform to a 57 x 57 pixel canvas
2. must have the name ‘apple-touch-icon.png‘
3. saved in your root folder of the website (not the server)

That’s it!  Pretty easy, now you get out there and make yours.  If you’re feeling especially proud of your icon, send it to me so I can post it here on phofuki.com

iphone,webmark,fav icon

HotSpots and Free WiFi

Today I decided to get out for a change of scenery.  I recommend you do this as often as possible, it will help you focus on what is important to you, but why digress in to such swishy washy stuff.

 

I have plenty of locations to choose from when I decide to get out, from parks and scenic views to coffee shops and library’s. Today I needed the use of the internet while working. This meant that my options were limited to the library, Starbucks, and Panera. Two out of the three offer free WiFi. So I chose Panera since I was also feeling the need for a tasty treat. I’ll be honest here, the Starbucks by my office is where I wanted to go, it’s a bit more quiet and the coffee and treats are better. But wait, Starbucks doesn’t offer free WiFi and why would I pay for a full day when I’m only going to use it for a couple hours? *I can’t wait until this summer when ATT will supposedly offer some free time on their WiFi hotspots, specifically Starbucks. I’m really not sure why ATT doesn’t offer some free WiFi to their data subscribers like they do their DSL subscribers (maybe that just makes too much sense).  I don’t know why the free time isn’t offered by more establishments limited or not but it should be offered.

I chose a nice little spot near the fireplace in Panera.  I can usually get an open outlet and don’t get bothered by the early lunch crowd.  Panera use to limit what ports were open on their WiFi, which meant that certain internet applications simply would not function.  I am very happy to inform you that most of those restrictions have quietly been done away with. 

I spent time here today without paying for WiFi but I did buy coffee, a bagel and then a muffin.  If I had not needed to get to a meeting, I would have stayed for lunch. If this isn’t an example of why more places should offer free WiFi, I don’t know what is.  For example, the Starbucks and Barnes & Noble are paid hotspots and they are nearly empty at all times and certainly never beset upon by mobile workers such as myself.  The Panera location is packed all day with laptop screens glowing and meetings taking place.  Now I know there is a cost associated with offering the free WiFi but surely the cost is higher if the WiFi goes unused.  The offering of free WiFi helps add value to the establishments offerings and further adds to building community.  

I’d like to hear where you go when you need ot get out.  When you need to get out, what’s your favorite place to go and work?

hotspot,wifi,free

Words from Flickr

I just happened upon this nice little bit that uses Flickr photos to render whatever word you want. That’s right, you can spell with Flickr using a small little app created by Erik Kastner.

wordpress plugins | what i use

All this talk about blogs, content creation, traffic building and adsense had made me do a lot of searching and testing.  After having to go through the whole trial and error phases with many plugins, I decided to see if some of my favorite bloggers had created a list of plugins they used.  Well I probably should have done that first.

I decided to put together my top plugins that I have tried and am currently using.
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Need a visual tutorial of Flickr?

A few days ago I blogged a little on Flickr. I just came across this little video that takes the viewer on a small tour of Flickr (from signing up, uploading photos, editing photos and sharing them). The video is ayear old so some of the tools have been upgraded and there are a few new features but for the most part everything is the same. Give it a look see and I’ll see you on Flickr. Thanks Jeff from TheThinkingStick.com for putting together a very nice tutorial.

[wp_youtube]QLo4355l6QE[/wp_youtube]

Blogged with Flock

Tags: flickr, tutorial, utech

Channel Change

I’m running out of channels. Every year (well at least the last 3) it seems that my wireless router goes a little bonkers. This year I was sure it was Leopard wreaking havoc on my network. Basically, I’ll have my internet then at random times it will drop. Sometimes it will drop the just the wireless connection, other times its just the internet with the intranet working without problem. This year after doing a little research online, I’ve found that the best thing to was to change wireless channels (something other than the typical 6 or 11). I was a little hesitant as the higher channels travel seem to travel further even though they are a higher frequency (the opposite should be true). The lower channels seem to be less prone to interference from other routers (seemingly my problem) or other electronic devices. It’s now been a week since the modification and I am happy to report that the network has been smooth running. No more hiccups and life is back to pre-holiday surfing. Although I went with the lower end of the channel spectrum, I find that the signal quality has not suffered in my small home. So if you are having problems with connectivity to your wireless router, try changing the channel and try and pick one that is at the opposite end of the spectrum to that of your neighbors

iYule

 It’s that time of year that many of us start looking for that crackling fire to display on our computers.  Well at least that’s my story for the last decade.  Every year I get close to Xmas and start thinking about putting a roaring fire on my computer display.  Unfortunately, I never get around to it and then another year goes by and I’m back in the same boat (Vicious Cycle).   Well look no longer, over at iYule you will find not only that fire but the sound to go along with it and wait…you can get a 30min loop for your computer, iPod, iPhone and even a zune.   Check out their website and demo the product.  best of all, part of your purchase goes to charity.  Yeah, I know this really should be free but for as long as I have thought about this…I’m ok with paying a couple dollars for someone else’s efforts. After all we do live in age of instant gratification.  Click here to fill that want and do some good at the same time

Twitterrific - get it now

So it’s not new but I had to write about it today. Twitterrific is a little app from the iconfactory. I got wind of it shortly after jumping on the Twitter band wagon and I have to say it is one the best apps I’ve come across in a while. It’s compact, easy to setup and best of all FREE. Keep up with what everyone is doing and add your own tweets on the fly, all without having to log into twitter each time. Go on now..join and send me a tweet

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