I am always looking for ways to increase my income or reduce my outgoings, if I am able to help the environment along the way then that is a huge bonus. So to nail 2 out of three in one hit was a fantastic opportunity, and one I just had to shout about !!!
Did you know?
You can build your own solar panels, saving $10,000’s off retail price?
You have probably read about it or seen it on TV, but have you tried it yourself?
I am going to keep this short as all of the information that you need to get going is elsewhere, however as an introduction, read this, then click on the link, DIY Solar Panels, for access to the site that will answer all of your questions !!!
Solar energy has come a long way in recent years however as you probably already know, it’s still very expensive! ($27,000 average cost).
Over the last few years I have figured out how to significantly reduce this up front cost making it more affordable for the average home owner just like you.
Now you can build a single Solar Panel or a complete array of panels to power your home for a fraction of retail cost.
Streaming music from a Computer has available for years. Its not a difficult to see why people would want it. Do you want to have to be changing CD’s every time you fancy a change of musical theme, or is it better to just pick up the remote ??
Obviously the remote, and until recently I was doing just that with an old Netgear MP101 which had faithfully served me for 3+ years. Its ability to use the most up to date encryption was non existent and it fairly frequently lost connection to my network, but I battled on.
Then I heard about the Logitech Squeezebox. I read reviews, and researched the product as best I could and it seemed to be a better deal, but there was, as with most things, quite a lot of bad comment as well. So I parked the idea.
A few more months passed by, and having seen something potentially better my MP101 started to annoy me more and more whenever it dropped connection midway through my favourite track.
So about 6 months ago, I decided, enough was enough, I was buying a Logitech Squeezebox Duet. I ordered, it arrived the next day and within 2 hours it was set up and working.
So how does it work. There are two main components. The first is thing is the Squeezebox Receiver, this is small, and is designed to lay flat. Mine sits on top of my Amplifier, and at less than a couple of Centimetres tall, is barely noticeable. This box needs its own mains power supply, and is in turn plugged into the Amplifier to feed the chosen music !!!
The second component is the remote, if you have every used a iPod then the interface for this will not be unfamiliar, I hadn’t, but even so it was very easy to start using. The Remote comes with its own docking station, and it is an idea to put it back there for any extended periods of down time as it is how the remote is charged. The remote control is used to set up the system and also, obviously, to select the music that you want to play.
Since installing, we have had no network drop outs, we have been able to add stronger encryption to our home network, and in time I fully intend to add more Receivers to other rooms in the house so that we can gain access to our music collection there as well.
Despite the negative articles I read, I have to say that I have been very happy with the performance of the Squeezebox, and right now I want to take advantage of its increased capacity and recut my 1,000+ CDs into a loss-less format instead of standard MP3.
In addition, the Squeezebox makes available many Internet Radio Stations including all of the big ones in the UK, something that the MP101 tried to do but was never really successful with.
Specifications
System Requirements
PC
Windows® 2000, Windows® XP, Windows Vista®
733 MHz Pentium, 512 MB RAM
80 MB available hard disk space
Ethernet or Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n) home network
Broadband Internet connection required
Mac
Mac OS® X (10.3.5 or later)
256 MB RAM
80 MB available hard disk space
Ethernet or Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n) home network
Broadband Internet connection required
Linux/BSD/Solaris
Perl (5.8.3 or later)
256 MB RAM
80 MB available hard disk space
Ethernet or Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n) home network
Broadband Internet connection required
Technical Specifications
Squeezebox™ Controller
2.4-inch colour LCD TFT display with backlight
Rechargeable Li-ion battery
Built-in 802.11b/g wireless
Squeezebox™ Receiver
Digital optical, coax, and analog connectors
High-fidelity 24-bit Wolfson DAC
Plays MP3, AAC, WMA, Ogg, FLAC, Apple Lossless, WMA Lossless, and WAV music files
Built-in 802.11b/g wireless
10/100 Mbps Ethernet port
Connects to SqueezeCenter™ software, providing access to music libraries on local computers
Connects to SqueezeNetwork™ for access to Internet radio and online music services
I had heard of Viral Marketing in the past, and whilst I never really got it (I am not a Marketing person by trade), I recognised that it had the potential to be huge.
As I am currently trying to build up several businesses, one real world and one internet based, I have been taking an active interest in tools that are available to make the whole Bloging and Tweeting and Babbling exercise some what easier, look further into this blog for articles talking about SPN Babble, and Tweet Adder.
So when I came across an article about Viral Following, I just had to look into it.
The potential of what I saw astonished me, and its another one that’s FREE, always a good thing !!!
An extract from the site reads ….
Plug into The Easiest Twitter System that will start adding Thousands of Followers in only 5 minutes with a few clicks of your mouse!
This system is 100% FREE!
Quick and easy… we don’t even need your email!
Works around-the-clock constantly bringing you new real followers!
This system allows you to promote another program at the same time!
“Viral System” ensures your following increases exponentially!
The site goes on to suggest that if 4 people follow everyone involved, then the potential is to add just under 90,000 people to your list.
Because its free, I thought that I would give it a go, and whilst I cant at this moment in time prove it was them, overnight I have gained 35 Followers by doing nothing.
So based on their example of 4 and my possible result of 35, I am wondering whether I should prepare for an explosion of Followers ???
I am of course using more typical tools such as Tweet Adder as well (they were all turned off last night so the only impact was Viral Following and natural growth), but I am now going to be keeping a close eye on this and I will add notes to this blog entry as and when I see any numbers.
In the meantime, give it a try, its FREE, so there is nothing to loose … Link here
Are you Tweeting using Twitter or other such tools ??
Are you frustrated by the need to spend so much time achieving these things.
Well no more, take a look at SPN Babble this tool is an awesome time saver and what’s more, its FREE !!!!
Register on here, then once logged on, go to the Connect link from the top right and you will be able to connect SPN Babble to (at the time of writing) 10 other Social Networking Sites. This means that when you post something into SPN Babble, it can move the same post to these 10 sites as well, further spreading the word.
But the magic isnt over yet …. On the SPN Babble main page there is a WordPress download. Add this to your WordPress blog, activate and configure as per the instructions and every blog that you write will be micro blogged to SPN Babble automatically and then in turn fed out within seconds to 10 other sites.
Write once, market 12 times, this is excellent, and I say it again, its FREE !!!
Twitter is today’s internet hot spot! From famous people such as Oprah, Ashton Kutcher, to new channels such as CNN, and even your local radio stations all have twitter accounts to grow their network of twitter followers.
Their intention, to generate new fans, leads, news hounds, and music listeners. The internet however, and Twitter particularly present a level playing field, meaning that you can compete with these users equally.
Through our own Twitter usage we have been using a multitude of different tools to plan and control our use of Twitter and we have found it necessary to use 3 or 4 pieces of software to carry out the different necessary tasks, such as Auto Following, Auto Un-Following, Scheduled Tweets, and a VIP Safe List, but all this has now changed.
If you follow the methods employed in the Twitter Adder Networking Software, you can CAPITALIZE on the NEW twitter phenomenon very quickly, and achieve a dramatic increase in sales, lead generation, website visitors, networking, music promotion, and video promotion.
This is done by rapidly growing your network of followers by auto following fellow Twitters with similar interests. Once you follow these targeted users, they will come to your twitter profile page to review who you are. They will review your twitter bio, your web link, and your recent “tweets” to see what you are all about.
If they like you, and you have the same interests, about 30% to 50% will follow you back. Once they follow you back, all your tweets will appear on that users twitter page for everyone to see!
The following list of features is extracted from the the Twitter Adder site …
Increase Twitter and Site Traffic to your event, charity, service, business, band, or website
Find Like Minded Twitter Followers in Seconds
Auto Follow up to 1000 Targeted Profiles per Day
Get up to 500 new twitter followers per day per profile
Many companies, one example we all know is Dell, are earning Millions of Dollars on Twitter, reaching many thousands of customers that want to buy now. What do these Corporates know that we don’t ???
The internet was always supposed to level the playing field between the Corporates and the Small Business Man, and Twitters arrival has made no difference to this.
You need a mechanism for generating tens or even thousands of followers, this may seem impossible, but it isnt. There are service sites and products out there that will do just this however they are many and in the most part are expensive, typically requiring a subscription of over $150 a month.
Now there is a tool called Hummingbird by Mesiab Labs and (at the time of writing) for a one off flat fee of $197, you can have access to all they know and all they have, its awesome.
According to reports from both Google and Yahoo, more than 30% and growing of all searches relate to a person.
It might be that the search is for someone famous, or looking for that long lost school friend or work colleague, but they all fall into the same category.
As this appears to be one of the fastest growing search areas, many sites are now presenting specialised services, one such site being Search For People. Here you can search for individuals across 50 US States free of charge, plus there are links to other sites that provide complimentary services.
There is even an Affiliate Scheme that you can join if you want to get in on the act !
