Google Introduces Google Checkout Shopping Cart

March 24, 2008

Google released a beta service today called Google Checkout Shopping Cart. The cart is a very simple javascript based cart that integrates into websites and the Google Checkout payment service. The entire cart uses a new shopping cart API and only needs a few lines of code on a website.

The checkout process uses the existing Google Checkout system.

This cart looks to be an extremely easy way for websites to add shopping cart and payment functionality. It looks like it could be customized as much as a website would want, but seems to be a better fit for websites wanting to sell only a few items.

I think that this could really help Google push their checkout service, as it has all but died since they gave up their free incentives.

Some Google shopping cart links:
Google shopping cart demo
Getting started with Google shopping cart
Shopping cart API documentation
Shopping cart customizing
Shopping cart FAQ's

Posted by jestep | Filed Under: General | Comments: (6 comments)

Enterprise open source firewall appliance software!

February 14, 2008

I needed to setup a content filtering firewall a few weeks ago for an office of about 50 people. The existing firewall was a Sonicwall Pro 4060 which is a very solid firewall and is more than adequate for 50 computers. Sonicwall also has a content filter application that installs on the Pro 4060. The drawback to using Sonicwall's filter is the price. Their filter is billed on a recurring yearly subscription, and would cost about $2,000 per year to use. $2,000 per year was far beyond the budget for such a project, so I went to look for an open source or lower cost setup, hopefully without any annual fee. My first thought was a custom Linux-Debian computer made only to function as a firewall. After some research and a few recommendations, I found a great out-of-the-box Linux operating system, Untangle, that is designed specifically for dedicated firewall applications. This was a much better solution that custom configuring a Linux server.

The following is a quick guide on how to setup a Enterprise class firewall for a small to medium sized business. How good your firewall performs is dependent on the hardware that you use, but if you copied the specs of the one that I setup, it should easily handle 100+ computers and servers.

Posted by jestep | Filed Under: General, Networking, Security | Comments: (1 comment)

How to properly use promotional products

February 11, 2008

Promotional products are something that many businesses use, but few use effectively. I get bags full of pens at conferences, but rarely do these ever incline me to deal with that company ever again. Chances are most promotional product use, ends with similar results.

There are a few key factors in making promotional products work.

Give people something they want!
Don't skimp out!
Design them properly!
Quality targeting is more important than quantity!

Posted by jestep | Filed Under: General | Comments: (5 comments)

Oh my stock, photos that suck

January 30, 2008

Almost every website with any resemblance of professionalism uses stock photography. Although it is usually very high resolution, it is so often very low in realism.

Do people actually respond to fake, photographs? Only your own testing can tell for sure, but one thing's for certain, if the images on your site are actually unique and speak to your customers, you have an advantage over everyone else.

Here's my favorite examples of the too-stock photography that we see everywhere!

Posted by jestep | Filed Under: Development, Marketing | Comments: (11 comments)

Starting a new business, 5 reasons to avoid Microsoft now!

January 15, 2008

If you are a new online business owner, one of the best pieces of advice I can give you is to not become a whore to Microsoft, their high cost, and their ludicrous licensing system.

Since most of us started with Microsoft Windows it's natural to assume that they are the only viable company that can provide software for our business computers. What you will find especially if you can grow into a medium size business with several employees, is that Microsoft is truly an evil company, and your business is far better off without them. I don't just mean that your web server should not be running Microsoft, but if you have the capacity to, I recommend not installing a single piece of Microsoft software in your entire business.

There's millions of people that make the Microsoft sucks claim, but here's why you should avoid them with your business: Continue reading…

Posted by jestep | Filed Under: General | Comments: (4 comments)

The myth of tax free internet sales

December 12, 2007

It has been a long held belief by most online shoppers that out of state internet purchases are tax free. I have to admit that I believed this for a long time myself, but unfortunately it's not the case.

Just to dispel any theory dissolving that old 'Death and Taxes' quote, internet purchases are not tax free. That's right. As the wording goes, most internet companies don't have to collect out of state sales tax. However, consumers, businesses and any end users still must pay a "Use Tax" on non-taxed purchases that they make through mail-order or online.

Most states currently have Use Tax which specifically requires consumers to pay their state sales sales tax on purchases they make online that are not taxed by the business. There are some exemptions for certain types of products and for states that do not have any sales tax, but for the most part taxes on these purchases are required to be paid to your state government. With the exception of very large purchases, use tax is rarely if ever monitored, as it would simply be an impossible feat for any state government to handle. However, we can all be sure that states are losing out on millions if not billions in uncollected taxes, so if you aren't paying them, enjoy the free ride while it lasts.

Here's a Use Tax table that I came up with covering which states require it:
(Let me pre-apologize about all of the PDF links here, Government websites are about as bad as they come,and in many cases PDF's are all that's available.)

Posted by jestep | Filed Under: General | Comments: (4 comments)

Get an awesome computer for really cheap!

December 5, 2007

If you are in the market for a new computer, but you don't want to drop a couple grand, here's how to get a really good one for under $500.

Go to eBay (of course) and look for a Dell Precision 450, 470, 650, or 670 with dual processors. These computers can run dual hyper-threading Xeon processors and usually come with XP Pro installed. You may need to buy some more RAM but otherwise a Dual 2.8Ghz (HT) computer will run under $500, and if you have time to bid rather than buy you may find one for under $300. Dual Hyper-threading roughly equates into four processors total.

Since these computers are essentially servers with XP on them, they should last a long time. The processor / chipset combination is rock solid, and you will be hard pressed to find a comparable computer for the price.

Posted by jestep | Filed Under: General | Comments: (1 comment)

Spam-proof your dedicated server!

November 13, 2007

I wrote about a great cpanel firewall add-on that I found a while back.

The same company that designed configserver firewall, has two security packages that are designed to help maintain a cpanel/whm dedicated server.

I recently purchased the "cPanel Service Package + MailScanner" package for one of the servers that I manage.

Here's what you get for $125:

iptables SPI firewall (csf)
Login failure detection (lfd)
Stop unnecessary processes
Logcheck
Logwatch
WHM configuration check
OpenSSH configuration check
Install and configure Rootkit Hunter
Install and configure Chkrootkit
install mod_security
Host spoof protection
Operating System check
Name server configuration check
Disk check
Kernel check
Apache tune and check ***
MySQL tune and check
Enhanced log rotation
Day of the week backup rotations
Secure /tmp /var/tmp /dev/shm
Install and configure ConfigServer Explorer (cse)
Install and configure ConfigServer Mail Queues (cmq)
Install and configure ConfigServer Mail Manage (cmm)
Perl installation check
Delete unnecessary OS users
Disable open DNS recursion
Enhance path protection
Remove SUID/GUID from binaries
PHP hardening
Exploit check
Disable vulnerable phpBB installs
Initial cPanel configuration
Enhance MailMan performance
Install MRTG graphs
MailScanner Server service
One week of informational tickets

While this is all great, what really caught my attention was the improvement with the email that the server was handling. Continue reading…

Posted by jestep | Filed Under: General, Security | Comments: (1 comment)

Online business will benefit from aggressive retail cross-selling

November 2, 2007

I am sick of shopping at retail stores (Putting aside mom-and-pop stores). I like going down the street to buy something, but I can't buy a candy bar anymore without being offered a warranty, two magazine subscriptions, and a credit card. The cross-selling situation is getting to the point where I and others avoid shopping at retail locations. I avoid going into a number of stores simply because I don't want to deal with being offered a bunch of crap that I don't need. I have no problem saying no, but i just don't want to have to. I bought a laptop from Circuit City, a while ago, and I had to literally walk out of the store for the salesman to stop adding the warranty to the bill. I've known more than ten people who've been talked into several hundred dollar warranties because they were pressured into buying them. They were hardly any improvement on the manufacturer's warranty. In the past few months I have been observing other people's reactions to this retail mess, and I'm certainly not the only one who is sick of it.

Lets compare up-selling online and in retail.

Posted by jestep | Filed Under: General | Comments: (5 comments)

Get Adobe Acrobat Pro (non-academic) legally for under $250

October 19, 2007

Here's a good way to get a full and legal copy of Adobe Acrobat Pro 8 for just over $200. This is not the academic version, which is only licensed for non-commercial usage.

Adobe Acrobat is a ridiculously expensive piece of software, and unfortunately many businesses truly need it to survive. I've tried a lot of the cheap and free PDF software, but nothing that I've found compares to Acrobat Pro, especially when you need to make electronic forms, and other more advanced PDF tasks.

Luckily, Adobe substantially reduces their price for an Upgrade product over the full retail version of the software. What this means is that if you own Acrobat 5, 6, or 7 Standard, you can purchase the Pro upgrade for about 1/3 of the retail price of Acrobat.

Get on eBay and search for 'Adobe Acrobat 5′, or 'Adobe Acrobat 6′, and look for a legal copy of the standard edition of either one of these. A Buy it Now version should cost around $60, and you may be able to get it on an auction for under $50. Once you get the software install it on your computer, and activate it. You don't need to register it, but normally you will need to activate it.

Next you will need to purchase an upgrade copy of Acrobat Acrobat 8 Pro, which you will install over Acrobat 5 or 6. The upgrade version is readily available for $150.

Now you have a perfectly legal, full version of Acrobat 8 Pro, and it cost just over $200. Still ridiculously expensive, but you saved over 50% of the retail version.

Enjoy…

Quick Note: The upgrade is available in 4 versions. Mac Standard to Pro, Mac Pro to Pro, Windows Standard to Pro, and Windows Pro to Pro. Make sure you get the correct upgrade version or the upgrade will not work. If you have Acrobat 5, 6 or 7 Pro, you need the Pro to Pro upgrade, and 5, 6, 7, and 8 Standard need the Standard to Pro upgrade.

Posted by jestep | Filed Under: General | Comments: (Add comment)

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