Kickstartnews Revue - Podcast #52 - Show Notes for May 30, 2006

Here's the lineup for show #52:

• Hot News: Item 1, Google web applications are being bundled on Dell computers. Item 2, Yahoo and eBay have agreed on an advertising partnership. Item 3, While all that partnering is going on, Microsoft is mired in the beta muck of its new Windows Live Ideas online services and applications.
• Letters to the Editor: We've got four tech support e-mails for you. Confusion about Bumper Sticker software and where to find sticker paper, problems with Photoshop v5.5 on Windows XP, the best 13"x19" color desktop printer, and somebody is concerned about security when using password vault software.
• Kickstartnews Confab: No Confab this week because we're running long and we want to keep this download a sensible size. The Confab will be back next week!
• KSN Interview: Howard talks with Cory Koski of Element and Stein Web Services. If you've been confused about your web hosting or site design, and if you feel you're not getting good value for your money, don't miss this interview. Cory is quietly competent and he'll give you the insight you need to make some smart decisions. Lots of good advice for anyone who is trying to start or restart a web site.

Kickstartnews Revue - Podcast #51 - Show Notes for May 15, 2006

Here's the lineup for show #51:

• Hot News: There were a few news items this week which might be worthy of inclusion in Hot News, but we've got a ton of Letters to Editor to catch up on instead, most of them really interesting too!
• Letters to the Editor: We've let the e-mail stack up and now we're catching up. Comments on our review style, using the web and Google to research wireless applications, problems with the MYOB accounting software, Membership Plus 2005 Deluxe training support, scheduled recording problems with WebRadio Recorder, Postscript printing problems, and congrats on our 50th podcast!
• Kickstartnews Confab: We've got a great Business Online and Technology interview coming up and it runs a bit long, so we're going to skip the Confab this week. Not to worry. The Confab will be back in full force next week!
• KSN Interview: BOAT! Business Online and Technology with Judi Tyabji Wilson of Tugboat Enterprises. Judi and Howard have a Skype chat about what to do when you have that great idea which just begs to be turned into a business. If you're starting up, starting out or expanding, don't miss this interview.

Here are the rest of the Show Notes . . .

Kickstartnews Revue - Podcast #50 - Show Notes for May 8, 2006

Here's the lineup for show #50:

• Hot News: Google is facing a mounting wave of click fraud problems related to its wildly successful AdWords service. The Spam Kings are being nailed by the courts, finally. And the experimental band Tool and a few of its contemporaries are teaching the music business new ways to do business successfully. Kickstartnews Managing Editor Howard Carson explains everything.
• Letters to the Editor: Somebody asked us about cost estimating with CADPro 4, an apprehensive Linux user wants to know about installation partitioning on a Windows PC, and, another reader wants - nay - demands help really but doesn't tell us anything about the problem. Now THAT'S a problem!
• Kickstartnews Confab: If everybody does their job right and all of the stars and planets align, businesses gow and change prosperously over the years. Sometimes, your business changes so radically that taking care of long-time customers becomes a problem. Does there ever come a time when you have to kick a loyal customer to the curb?
• Big City Byte: Are There Any Decent Resources That Don't Cost a Small Fortune for Small Businesses with Software and Hardware Trouble? Are Meetups the answer? And when the hell did all the computer user groups disappear?

Here are the rest of the Show Notes . . .

eBay Is Dangerous If You're Not Careful! Some Lessons Are In Order . . .

eBay sometimes sucks. Do I hear a lawsuit brewing in the background? I don't think so. I'm just expressing an opinion. Do business on eBay if you must, but recent experiences have left me somewhat cold about the whole so-called eBay experience. Here's my story.

At the beginning of March 2006 I decided to gain some extra storage space at home and at Kickstartnews. To help accomplish this goal, I thought it would be a good idea to sell off some excess technology. What better avenue of approach then than eBay? The hell you say.

The first few sales went well. Honest buyers, fast payments, and I responded by packing the items very carefully, insuring each item appropriately, and shipping by the fastest method allowed by the shipping charge which each buyer prepaid. So far, so good.

Things came to a grinding halt however . . . More

Kickstartnews Revue - Podcast #49 - Show Notes for May 1, 2006

Here's the lineup for show #49:

• Hot News: Three items this week. First, WalMart is shortly going to be selling do-it-yourself computer parts. This is dangerous. Howard is fed up with WalMart. It's a business success story run amok. Second, various County governments across the U.S. are actively engaged in projects to post as many public documents online as possible. Greater access to common information is good, right? Not if it includes social security numbers and other personal information. Let's hear it for the bureaucrats. Third, why are you wandering around with an insecure laptop? A new service can delete or encrypt files remotely the moment a stolen laptop is connected to the Internet. It's a mixed blessing.
• Letters to the Editor: Three new reader and listener e-mails this week. Commentary on our review of the rather popular Servant Salamander file manager. Corel Designer 9 serial number and installation woes. Wait until you hear this story. And somebody wants a free copy of the Fortress Personal Lie Detector software.
• Kickstartnews Confab: Are you disciplined? Is your office a place of discipline and organization? Do you care? You should. Well organized and disciplined activities which govern the processes we put in place to deal with the various types of work that come our way, are often the single most important key to getting things done effectively. Managing Editor Howard Carson, the project oriented, less disciplined cowboy, will discuss this with Contributing Editor Lianne Reitter, someone who is much more process and systems oriented.
• Big City Byte: Be careful on eBay. The place is dangerous. There are thieves lurking all over the place!

Here are the rest of the Show Notes . . .