Watches - Find, Compare, and Buy at Shopping.com
This is impressive. I found it via a blog I read. They've built a very rich data model for common objects, such as watches. Given this extensive range of attributes there are many, many ways to filter thousands of items to find the handful one wants. Building this must have taken a great deal of work, though some was done by parsing text descriptions.
This needs some evaluation. For buying watches there's no beating it. (There are THOUSANDS of wrist watches out there.)
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
Defined Contribution / Medical Savings Accounts (washingtonpost.com)
Selection Time (washingtonpost.com)
In the original model there wasn't a big gap between the cash portion and the indemnity portion. These incarnations with large gaps are much more suspect. They penalize illness too severely.
The article misses the most important question. Does the plan have an associated PPO with negotiated cash rates? If consumers pay "retail" fees for medical costs they'll blow through their cash portion in no time. Cash rates have been artificially inflated by the discounts demanded by payors.
Before you commit, it's a good idea to read through the list of frequently asked questions (www.opm.gov/hsa/faq.asp) posted by the federal Office of Personnel Management. Even if you work in the private sector or are shopping for an individual policy, the questions should prepare you for a talk with your agent or your employer's benefits staff. This is especially important for individual policy buyers, since they'll likely be dealing with salesmen who may biased toward their own product.
Here are some reasons you may find an HSA tempting:
• You own the money in the account even if you retire or change plans or employers.
• Tax-free withdrawals may be made for expenses such as prescription drugs, a doctor visit for a sinus infection, setting a broken arm and physical therapy prescribed by a doctor. (See the IRS list at www.irs.gov/publications/p502/ar02.html#d0e516.)
• Unused funds and any interest they've earned can be carried over, without limit, from year to year. (You can even spend set-asides on nonmedical expenses. But do that before age 65, and you'll pay income tax on the funds used plus a 10 percent penalty.)
In the original model there wasn't a big gap between the cash portion and the indemnity portion. These incarnations with large gaps are much more suspect. They penalize illness too severely.
The article misses the most important question. Does the plan have an associated PPO with negotiated cash rates? If consumers pay "retail" fees for medical costs they'll blow through their cash portion in no time. Cash rates have been artificially inflated by the discounts demanded by payors.
Blogger and Blogspot -- slow and slower
Blogger: Create your Blog Now -- FREE
I think both Blogger and Blogspot are succumbing to their popularity. Performance is degrading at a fairly steady pace.
I think both Blogger and Blogspot are succumbing to their popularity. Performance is degrading at a fairly steady pace.
Monday, October 25, 2004
PhotoBooth: Select iPhoto images and crop as needed for transient printing
Stunt Software - PhotoBooth
I need this software! Too bad it's going to cost me $20, but it's not like there's much competition. I'd hoped Portraits and Prints would do this -- but they missed the boat. (Too bad, it would have been an easy add for them).
Lets one browse the iPhoto library, choose images to print, then crop as needed for printing.
Update 1/05: Portraits & Prints apparently does something similar, but as of 10/04 they didn't ship wtih the right template. I'll have to check back and see if they've bundled the template.
I need this software! Too bad it's going to cost me $20, but it's not like there's much competition. I'd hoped Portraits and Prints would do this -- but they missed the boat. (Too bad, it would have been an easy add for them).
Lets one browse the iPhoto library, choose images to print, then crop as needed for printing.
Update 1/05: Portraits & Prints apparently does something similar, but as of 10/04 they didn't ship wtih the right template. I'll have to check back and see if they've bundled the template.
Saturday, October 23, 2004
Hosting things to watch out for!
Top 10 Web Hosting Reviews: Personal and Business
Nice list of things to watch out for! MyHosting.com doesn't provide phone access. Hmmm.
Here's the full list (nice site - hosting-review.com)
Call your webhost, simply having only a email address is a sign of a fly-by-night operation.
Nice list of things to watch out for! MyHosting.com doesn't provide phone access. Hmmm.
Here's the full list (nice site - hosting-review.com)
In order to help you avoid getting scammed by the unscrupulous hosts that do exist, we have tried to put together the 'tricks' used by such companies to try to grad your cash:
Unlimited bandwidth or Unlimited Webspace - it is simply impossible for a company to offer unlimited bandwidth, unlimited webspace or both. The economics do not add up to any sort of profitable business. The scammers ar trying it. As hosting companies and their associated technologies are themselves limited (i.e. bandwidth or hard disk space), unlimited offerings are a marketing ploy. Often you will find clauses embedded deep within the company's terms of service contract that negate the unlimited offering.
No Contact (telephone, email, etc.) - some hosts simply make it impossible to contact them by any means possible. Call your webhost, simply having only a email address is a sign of a fly-by-night operation.
Long term contracts only - while cheaper plans may warrant an annual only plan, some hosts provide annual service exclusively. There is no guarantee that even though you have paid them for 12 months that you will get 12 months of service. Please avoid long term contracts greater than 12 months of service.
Domain Name Registration in the webhost's Name - some hosts offer to register your domain for you, legally register the domain in their own name! Therefore, if you try moving off, you will lose the domain because it was done in their name. This is a scam that we hope is quickly going away, but watch out for it.
No Money Back Guarantee - every respectable host offers a money back guarantee (30 day minimum)
Complicated uptime Warranty - some hosts hide behind their Terms of Service with complicated uptime guarantees such as the customer must report the downtime.
Webhosting -- this is a killer business
Top 10 Web Hosting Reviews: Personal and Business
I can't recall ever finding out so much information so quickly. Armed with two data points I'm sorting this out very quickly. Two of my early choices are in the top 4 on this site.
Globat
Startlogic (this is a sister site to iPowerWeb run by the same people, I'm downrating them for doing this)
lunarpages
ipowerweb
I'll check out a few more reviews and decide who I like. I'll look mostly at the clarity of the support site, quality of the documentation and FAQs, and read some more reviews. At this level features don't matter so much to me -- except I like the LunarPages WAR hosting. Overlal LunarPages is pulling ahead.
I can't recall ever finding out so much information so quickly. Armed with two data points I'm sorting this out very quickly. Two of my early choices are in the top 4 on this site.
Globat
Startlogic (this is a sister site to iPowerWeb run by the same people, I'm downrating them for doing this)
lunarpages
ipowerweb
I'll check out a few more reviews and decide who I like. I'll look mostly at the clarity of the support site, quality of the documentation and FAQs, and read some more reviews. At this level features don't matter so much to me -- except I like the LunarPages WAR hosting. Overlal LunarPages is pulling ahead.
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