Remember this mess?

Do you remember when life was less .. digital? Particularly in the music world, it was so much more fun to buy music. A recent article on the BBC online mentions how the they are bringing back the device.

The cassette tape, also known as audio cassette, or simply tape, is a music playing device .  Between the early 1970s and the late 1990s, the cassette was one of the two most common formats for prerecorded music.

How do we listen to music?

Cassettes used to be the most popular means to access music during its heyday. It was affordable, portable and simple to duplicate, unlike the vinyl.
The popularity of the cassette took off after the introduction of the Sony Walkman in 1979. Between 1985, when it overtook vinyl, and 1992, when it was eclipsed by CDs, it was the most popular audio format in the country. But sales collapsed towards the end of the 90′s and major labels abandoned the cassette in 2003.

However, just as the new technology era has taken over with the increase of new merchandise – our simple old cassette tape has come back. Montreal- based company, Duplication.ca, who have used a variety of products, such as the DVD, CDs and Blue Ray, have found themselves shifting towards the medium they first used, really not forgetting their technological roots of where music began.

They have stated that cassette recordings make up 25% of the business. That is quite a change from five years ago, where the company was producing 4 or 5 more times since then.

“Digital will always be ones and zeros,” says Fernando Baldeon, a sales consultant at Analogue. “Analogue is still the best sound from a recording.”

Music translates well over cassette, it is authentically polished, how music should be, appreciating the analogue sound. Digital is always compressed into a format and although it will remain popular for consumers today, it still does not display the same authenticity and longevity that cassettes have. It is the sweet simple things of life, which are the real ones after all.

Despite the music format becoming increasingly rare in our society, gadgets, t-shirts, and accessories did not hold back on recreating the cassette:

So what do you think? Does the knowledge of the cassette’s resurrection impact your life at all?

Email is used so much nowadays that it is taken for granted. You wouldn’t have thought that 40 years ago it was considered a technological discovery! This week i’m going to sing the praises of the ‘humble’ email because without it, we would not know what to do with ourselves!

So.. Where did it all start?

Ray Tomilson – The First Email

“During the summer and autumn of 1971, I was part of a small group of programmers who were developing a time-sharing system called TENEX that ran on Digital PDP-10 computers. We were supporting a larger group working on natural language. Earlier, I had worked on the Network Control Protocol (NCP) for TENEX and network programs such as an experimental file transfer program called CPYNET.

I was making improvements to the local inter-user mail program called SNDMSG. Single-computer electronic mail had existed since at least the early 1960′s and SNDMSG was an example of that. SNDMSG allowed a user to compose, address, and send a message to other users’ mailboxes.

The first message was sent between two machines that were literally side by side.  I sent a number of test messages to myself from one machine to the other. The test messages were entirely forgettable and I have, therefore, forgotten them. Most likely the first message was QWERTYUIOP or something similar. When I was satisfied that the program seemed to work, I sent a message to the rest of my group explaining how to send messages over the network. The first use of network email announced its own existence.” – Ray Tomilson

Email in its early years

Since the breakthrough in the 70s, email has become extremely popular. Up until the year 2000, it was extremely popular to send chain mail online to all your friends. This would consist of an email containing either photos, quotes or even a ghost who threatens that your life will end if you do not pass it on. Before people used CC and BCC in emails, it was very common to receive an email with everyone’s contact lists exploited. These emails were shortened to the name “forwards” (FWDS) , as everyone would forward them on to their friends. As email used to be such a new feature, I feel like people would find it exciting to send something to their friends in this way. With the introduction to social networks, “FWDS” still remain in online society today – but very rarely!

You can have a look at the largest database of forwards at the forward garden!

Email today

It is very easy to set up your own email account today. All you have to do is search “email” into your search engine, and you will be thrown options. It is important when choosing your email name. For example: if you are applying for jobs or using your email address in a proffesional manner, “ilovecatsanddogsalldaylong@hotmail.com” is not going to gain you the respect you might want to receive.

Using a combination of your name for an email address is the most respectable way of establishing your email address. But what if you don’t want the second half of your email address to consist of the server that you used to create it?

Email at Daily

At Daily we have a professional, secure email hosting service. You are able to register your own personalised email address for personal or business use. All our email hosting accounts include anti-virus and anti-spam filters, plus free webmail.

Why choose email with us?

• Professional-looking email addresses for you@yourdomainname
• No need to change email addresses if you change your ISP
• Set up email addresses for the whole family or business using one domain name
• Free Anti-spam and Anti-virus – for your peace of mind
• Collect your email on the go – collect email sent to mailboxes on your smart phone
• Your email is stored securely on a private network and backed-up for protection
• We don’t scan your Emails to serve you advertising like Gmail, Yahoo and Hotmail
• You can send emails through our network securely using our servers
• We provide large mailboxes – up to 25GB with Hosted Exchange – so your email won’t bounce
• You can create separate mailboxes to filter off priority Emails
• IMAP or POP3 protocols are used – choose which suits you best

So what will it be?  (me@ilovecatsanddogs.co.uk could still be available with us…..) And I have the perfect icon picture for you…

So.. I will presume that you have all heard of 3D movie and the introduction to 3D TVs. Does the 3D world actually affect you at all or do you seem to think that it makes no difference? Personally, I find some 3D movies enjoyable but it is definitely not worth those excruciating prices to watch a film with an occasional object flying out at you..

Last year I spoke about out mobile features for your business – as it has been proven to be more successful for businesses if they have some form of mobile friendly site or app. I am sure you can all agree that as a customer you find it more appealing if you can access a certain brand or company in as many ways as possible. Despite this,  I really believe that technology has developed enough for our nation. Is it necessary to keep advancing?

Apparently so! - It has been found that Amazon are working on a 3D phone that is glasses free!

It was discovered on a report on The Wall Street Journal that the device will apparently use retina-tracking technology to create the images on the smartphone’s display to ‘float above the screen like a hologram and appear three-dimensional at all angles’ (The Wall Street Journal). Furthermore, it is known to be attempting an ‘audio-only’ streaming device.

The article continues to explain that this would be similar to an iPod or MP3 that connects straight to the cloud and lets you stream music anywhere, but the device will only work with music from your Amazon Cloud Drive account.

The 4.3inch HD screen on the device will have the capability to view the 3D content without the need of the 3D glasses. It will also allow you to take 3D photos.

Japan is completely different. They have had 3D phones since 2002. Take a look at Disney’s 3D phone below:

So, what do you think? Is the 3D phone for you?

I had a try myself.. to see what all the fuss was about. It really is a fantastic tool, making your life so much easier! Why don’t you have a look at the video below of my initial browse of the new instant website!

Some of our new features: You can build a website in minutes! Instant Website makes website building simple – just click, drag and drop – no coding required – and comes with everything you need including web space and email. And it’s mobile-friendly too!

Thanks to Instant Website, your website will never go out of date! Add new features and content to your website by simply dragging and dropping one of our many specialist widgets. And because Instant Website is always online, you don’t have to download or update anything to be using the latest software and widgets.

Social media is big news for small business, and with Instant Website it’s super-easy to add Facebook ‘Like’ buttons, your Twitter feed, or your Instagram photos to your website. Just drag the widget to wherever you want it to appear on your website and start reaping the benefits of direct customer contact! Have products to sell online? Integrating a shop into your website couldn’t be simpler with our shop widget! We make it simple to add products for sale, and you can even accept Paypal payments or arrange for cash on collection. Available with Instant Website Unlimited only.

Using our Video widget (available only with Instant Website Unlimited) it’s easy to embed content from YouTube – all you need to do is put the embed code into the widget. Plus, there’s several photo widgets to help you put the emphasis on your images, including a simple photo gallery, a slick slideshow or a stylish virtual photo album.

Display your images in a virtual photo album! Perfect for showing off your art or photography portfolio or even your holiday snaps – visitors can flick through your photos displayed in a virtual album just as they would a real photo album! Make it easy for website visitors to get in touch and request information! Use the Contact Form widget to add a simple to integrate form on your site so that they can drop you a line, or the Meeting Request form to let them suggest a time to meet you face to face. Help drive business by dropping in a Request a Quote form or a callback from you.

Create a mobile-ready version of your site – for free! Instant Website is built to be mobile-friendly – just a few clicks and you’ll have a site that works perfectly across mobile phones and tablets. It will adapt to all sizes of smartphone or tablet display – and you can even create mobile-only pages so you can offer promotions to people who are out and about near your business! Best of all, it’s built in – you don’t have to pay anything extra!

Add upcoming events to your site! It takes just a few clicks to put together your event calendar, giving you the power to list special events (like weddings), promotions, shows or gigs on your website with ease.

With much more – you just need to have a look yourself!

It can be argued that since the introduction of the Internet, people have slowly spent less time together. More so, the anti-social behaviour of watching television has changed. There has been a shift in television viewing habits, as people are encouraged to watch their favourite TV shows online, with platforms such as Netflix.

Tim Lott writes in an article, “I am going down with the ship into the whirlpool of electronic half-life. This all has a positive side. The web has made the world more interesting. Too interesting. Real life, real people, real members of the family are dull and problematic in comparison.”

He continues to explain how technology is increasingly ruining his family relationship at home, as not one member of their household can sit at home without the use of technology.

Similarly, with the introduction of Facebook Home, it can be argued that social networks are taking over without us even wanting it to. After all, it is very difficult for most people to have a conversation without discussing online events: For example, mentioning what YouTube video you saw the previous night or what someone posted on your Facebook wall.

Similarly, a report from Telecom’s regulator Ofcom explains that people are switching off their televisions more and more to seek online entertainment.

As young teens are brought into the world with the use of technology (unlike the older generations who were introduced at a later date), they tend to use their spare time to use the Internet. Furthermore, the use of newspapers has decreased, as the same information can be found online.

Do you consider yourself to be someone who is completely dependent on the Internet?

Well – it could be worse: An article on the BBC news online has introduced new ways of using technology at home.

And we thought that just the use of the television, computers and phones was an overload?! Think again. This new use of technology at home puts a whole new meaning to technology to me.

An article on BBC news online described how the website was targeted by hackers. Users with the username “Admin” were targeted via an army of “botnets” to break into them.

Apparently, this recent attack was a preparation for a bigger attack to come at a later date. It is important that you are careful with what you download or view on the internet as thousands of computers are infected with a virus that enables hackers to manage their computer activity. As a result of this, hackers can command these computers to attempt logging into random WordPress accounts by guessing passwords to match the username “admin”.

This process would be long winded and mundane if you were going to attempt it manually – but these hackers are able to check  thousands of passwords at a time, speeding up the process.

Following these attacks, WordPress had released an update to its security measures last week, encouraging its users to use another form of authentication. Unfortunately, there are many WordPress users out there who will not be persuaded to change their account details, either through laziness or simply not understanding how to do so. Hackers succeed with such lazy users, and thus this attack will continue to target those who have not created more original usernames.

Last week, we received a few enquiries about our freeze on WordPress without warning – well, at the time we did not know the full details of the hack and we had to act fast in response to the attacks to protect all of our customers from vulnerability.

So to all of you out there who still use “admin” as your username for your blog, we strongly advise you to change it to something more personal and change your password to something less obvious. For example, “Admin” and “computer” is a recipe for disaster.

 WordPress founder Matt Mullenwag also advised users to rethink their current security:

Adapted from the “Home” website description, it says as soon as you turn on your phone or press the home button, you see a stream of posts from News Feed. The Cover feed puts the spotlight on whatever friends are sharing now—photos, status updates, links and more.

As I am sure you are well aware, it can be very challenging to run a successful ecommerce business. This is because you need to acquire customers, earn their loyalty, increase your Internet visibility and improve turnover.

Luckily for you, our shop design eShop, has exactly what you would need to meet those challenges.

You are able to:

• Gain access to new markets via links with marketplaces, comparison sites and product portals to help you.
• Blogs, forums, guest books and product reviews
• Build customer loyalty with newsletters and discount vouchers
• Improve your search engine rankings with web page ranking tool, SEO Cockpit
• Increase the number of online orders with cross-selling and promotional items
• Facebook shop and integrated “share” buttons to make the most of the dynamic nature of social networks

6 Steps to eShop Success:

1)   The largest range of marketplaces, comparison sites and product portals


Multiply your sales channels by offering your products on eBay and Amazon, and ensure maximum visibility by exporting your product catalogue to the biggest product comparison sites: Ciao, Le Guide, Shopzilla, Twenga, Become, Shopping.com and Kelkoo. eShop makes it easy!

2)  Your shop in Web 2.0


Use social and cross-selling features to generate improved conversion rates and higher sales. Use a blog to keep your customers in the loop and position yourself as an expert in your field; add a forum to allow you to interact with your customers – and your customers to interact with each other; win the confidence of potential buyers by collecting positive reviews. You can even recommend products to complement the one a customer is already buying (think ‘customers who bought product x also bought product y’) – it’s a great way to increase your sales!

3)  Earn your customers’ loyalty


Generate promotions and discount vouchers straight from your eShop backoffice – you can even offer them to specific customers if you like! Plus there’s a newsletter tool to help you make it easy to communicate promotions and build relationships with your customers.

4)  Increase your shop’s visibility


Optimize your search engine ranking using the SEO Cockpit – it’s easy to do, just follow the steps we give you!

5)  Make the most of the dynamic nature of social networks


Integrate a Facebook shop into your eShop and give yourself access to over 20 million potential customers with ease! Social commerce is booming – more than 25% of users have already made a purchase through Facebook. Plus, you can add buttons for Google+, Facebook and Twitter to your shop to help use social media to spread the word about you.

6)  Analyse your results

Analyse your shop’s traffic page by page to help you develop your understanding of your customers’ activity, making it easier to see what encourages them to buy and what could do with improving.

So, what are you waiting for?

With all these great marketing tools built-in, eShop gives you a flying start on building your business. Buy one today and see for yourself!

A Cheetah.

Usain Bolt.

Rollercoasters.

Spaceships.

Daily’s Domain Search.

What do these have in common?

They are just so fast!

At Daily, we are aware that technology is constantly advancing and as a result we want to keep improving our features to meet your needs. We’ve speeded up our domain search so that it’s ultra lightning speed – so why don’t you try it out for yourself?

The approach we always take is to deliver:

Whilst we have you at the topic of advancements, is there anything you’d like to see us work on?

This tool is perfect for any business, helping them discover the efficiency and social engagement of their content. The tool is known as Pinterest Web Analytics, which is exciting for businesses as they are constantly attempting to advance social conversion. Pinterest business users should be extremely happy with this advance, especially those of you who are familiar with any form of an analytics tool!

Only business pages that have a verified website and are on the most updated version of Pinterest can access the analytics tool. To find the tool, click Analytics in the top-right menu under your company name.

The new look for Pinterest is much more organized and is easier to use than ever when wanting to add new pins and more. The Pinterest Web Analytics can provide businesses with more than they could imagine. For example, you will be able to see how far your pin has travelled to other pinboards and users.