AfterTheDotNet

Google Reader shows a blank page in Firefox (solution included)

I use Google Reader for subscribing and reading RSS feeds. I find the service easy to use and intuitive. The additional features like trends and recommendations are very useful and handy. Primarily I use Firefox to browse the Internet and access Google Reader. I have been facing a problem since  the last three to four months, ever since I upgraded to Firefox, while accessing Google Reader.

Once every month when I try and access Google Reader in Firefox the page shows a blank page though the top menu is visible (the one having links to other Google services). When I access Google Reader in Internet Explorer or Google Chrome it shows up properly. In the past somehow the problem was fixed though I did do a lot of things like clear cache, disable extensions and reinstall Firefox. It again happened last week and this time around I was determined to find out how to fix the problem.

to get the solution for the problem click here…

Share your ITunes playlist legally

Now you can put your ITunes playlist to better use by sharing them on SonicSwap. SonicSwap’s focus is on helping you discover new music and new artists by letting it’s users share their ITunes playlist.

SonicSwap is a useful mashup which gives a richer experience to its users by not only playing back the songs but also showing the videos with it! The way SonicSwap works is

Read more about SonicSwap

Manage your expenses better with Shoeboxed

Personally I have never been able to get myself to use a software that helps me organize my expenses. Given the state of the world economy I was looking for a software a service that I could use. Then I came across Shoeboxed.

• Shoeboxed is an online service that helps you keep financial records by recording receipts that you mail, email or upload.
• You can send the receipts by mail or email and they would be scanned by Shoeboxed. Under the premium plans the receipts are returned to you.

To read more about shoeboxed click here

How much do bloggers earn? – Read Write survey

Read Write Web did a survey recently to find out how much bloggers actually earn. The survey participants were 20 top tier bloggers. Though some of the bloggers could not disclose their actual earnings because they cannot do so legally. One thing to keep in mind is that the participants were not owners of the blogs but were people who are employed by the owners of the big blogs on the Internet.

The survey was conducted by sending out emails which requested for information. Some of the findings were

• Most of the bloggers get paid per post. Most of them are paid $25 per post. These bloggers were part time bloggers and not employees
• Some of the bloggers go on to become full time employees as bloggers, consulting or join the marketing department. Their salaries range from $40,000 to $90,000 (including benefits). However this does not include any equity that might be part of the agreement which is usually the case.
• The big money for bloggers is in consultation for which they charge nothing less than $150 per hour. Most of the bloggers are consulting regarding running blogs, twittering and advanced usage of RSS feeds. The bloggers blogging about search engine marketing make the most amount of money as consultants.

The post at Read Write web concludes that most of the bloggers are blogging not because of money but because of the thrill of blogging. One thing to remember when interpreting results is that the survey participants were only 20 and they were hand picked bloggers who were participating in running successful blogs. To read the full post go to the Read Write website.

How Much Do Top Tier Bloggers and Social Media Consultants Get Paid? We Asked Them! - ReadWriteWeb

Got a great idea? – get $10 million support from Google

Google as part of it’s 10th anniversary if offering $10 million as a reward for changing world’s best ideas into products. The project is called “Project 10 to the 100th”. Participants can submit ideas in 7 categories. They include

1. Community: How can we help connect people, build communities and protect unique  cultures?
2. Opportunity: How can we help people better provide for themselves and their families?
3. Energy: How can we help move the world toward safe, clean, inexpensive energy?
4. Environment: How can we help promote a cleaner and more sustainable global ecosystem?
5. Health: How can we help individuals lead longer, healthier lives?
6. Education: How can we help more people get more access to better education?
7. Shelter: How can we help ensure that everyone has a safe place to live?
8. Everything else: Sometimes the best ideas don’t fit into any category at all.

How to submit and to read the rules continue reading…

Web 2.0 bank robbers

Though AfterTheDotNet blog does not report on robberies but I was compelled to report this story after I heard it on TWIT podcast. I was thinking about not discussing this because I felt most of my readers would have heard about it since it was there on TWIT and most of the readers would be listening to TWIT. For the uninitiated TWIT blog is broadcast every Sunday afternoon (PST) and I would strongly recommend it. It has become a habit for me and the week I do not listen to it I feel there is something missing in life!

I would also warn you – DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME OR ANYWHERE ELSE.

Last Tuesday at about 11 AM PDT a robber, wearing a yellow vest, safety goggles, a blue shirt, and a respirator mask (which was like a particle mask which looks like a surgical mask), sprayed a  bank guard, who was overseeing offloading cash to a Bank of America branch in Washington,  with pepper spray, grabbed his bag of money, and fled the scene.

Bank robbery with assistance from Craiglist

Postacards, ecards, online greeting cards web 2.0

Postcard.fm is a service that allows you to create and send postcards or greeting cards which are customizable.

The way it works is

• Upload a picture (jpg, gif or a png file)
• add music or a song to it (an mp3 file > 20 mb)
• add your message and preview your card and
• send the card

What makes the service fun to use is the usability and the customization that one can do! to read the full post click here

Brick by apple?

Apple has again successfully created a controversy over the release of their product later this month (October 14, 2008). Rumor has it that it is called ‘brick’. The internet is rife with rumors of what ‘brick’ is.

• While some insist that the new product is a iteration of Apple TV
• others feel that it is a updated Mac Mini like Eee PC (source BusinessWeek)
• another rumor speculates that it would be a some new smaller touch based device (source Blargkaboom)

The latest rumor which originated from a apple rumor site (and there are many of them), called 9to5Mac says that the term ‘brick’ was not coined for the product but for the process that has been used to produce the product.

to read the full post click here