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Showing posts from January, 2011

Ad Targeting Gone Wrong?

I was checking out a story on Chris Simms , the occasional backup quarterback for the Titans and son of former NY Giants QB, Phil Simms. I've always admired the guts of this man, as he played an entire half of a football game with a ruptured spleen. That's seriously  tough. Anyway, I was amused that the story, about Simms losing a key ruling in a traffic stop where he was suspected to be under the influence of marijuana, described him in a "zombie" like state. The ad that ran intext with the article? Shows Saints QB Drew Brees in a state that could easily be described as "zombie like." That's either really good ad targeting or really bad ad targeting. Either way, makes for a funny distratcion!

eWallet Users: Discover Dropbox

I am an avid user of eWallet , a great application to store your personal information safely and securely: passwords, credit card info, back accounts...you name it. Unlike my advocacy of "living in the Cloud" for just about every other application and data set, I still think security is a concern: do you really want your passwords stored on a server that can be accidentally obtained or hacked? Nope, and neither do I, so I use eWallet to store it all: it's a Windows/Mac/iPhone/Android app that syncs locally, and stores everything in 256 bit encryption. Problem is, I want to access that data on multiple machines. Sure, I can fire up the iPhone and see it there, but it's more convenient to have it on my other PC's, as well. I experimented with they remote syncing options, but they all required a password to be sent in the clear, something that is a definite no-no. Then I read on their blog that they are releasing a Windows Phone 7 version, and they pointed out tha

Casual Dining and Websites

As part of America's tradition of New Year's resolutions, I joined thousands of Americans in trying to drop a few pounds this year. In addition to the 70+ miles on the bike on my commute each week, I am trying to eat a little better. One place a coworker, Alison , turned me on to was Mixt Greens , a salad place extraordinaire. I enjoyed a heck of a repast, and after, I wondered just how nutritious my meal was, so, just on a whim, I headed over to their site. Buried under a small tab marked Nutrition Info, I saw this amazing calculator , allowing me to see the exact details of what I just consumed. Not just the prepacked pieces; the very meal I had custom made for me. It's powered by a company called FoodCALC , and they have partnered with several restaurant chains to do this. Why I think it's brilliant is that Casual Dining places usually struggle for a good reason to drive people online, or vice-versa. The occasional loyalty card does it, as do coupons, but this g