July 03, 2003
Be friendly to Googlebot
[via Simon Willison] Scribbling.net’s useful tips on:
This is something less known:
Webloggers: use the meta tags to help the Googlebot index only your permalinks, not your constantly changing front page. To do this, use
<meta name=”robots” content=”noindex,follow” >
on your front page and
<meta name=”robots” content=”index,follow” >
on your posts’ permanent locations.
In fact, most weblogs didn’t use frame, flash or DHTML (major blog tools don’t use these stuff by default); and most bloggers maintain meaningful title of pages and links. If you start your blog with blogging tool like MT, your blog has been friendly to Googlebot. Scribbling.net has more tips to be more understandable by Googlebot, a recommended read.
Related Google information:
Google Toolbar 2.0 (Beta)
I went over to Google Toolbar to grab the Toolbar 2.0 Beta. The one I am having on my IE toolbar is version 1.7, but too bad it didn’t has an option “Update Google Toolbar” to auto-checking latest version and help users to shift over. Instead, I heard good word about the new version, then I have to go search in Google to get where is it, and then download, install it.
What’s good about this version, even it’s beta? It has these new features:
- Pop-up Blocker: Yo! This definitely is the hot function. You could turn on the pop-up blocking by “Ctrl + mouse click” on it, turn off the blocking by simply click on it.
- AutoFill: Automatically fill in a form with the click of a button.
- BlogThis: You would find the icon familiar if you’re a blogger.com users. And of course, this is a BlogThis! function for Blogger.com. (Note: Just a reminding if you forgot Google has bought Blogger.com)
- New Option Screen: Unlike previous version to show the option as html page, the new version would pop-up a configuration window to let you configure your search preference, your personal details for AutoFill to fill-in for you, privacy options…etc. I notice there’s a new search button: Search Country, yet to know how to use it.
What’s the impact it brings? I am sure lots of people using Google Toolbar, because Opera has the Google search bar, and Mozilla has the easy access to Google search in navigation bar, to gain easy access to Google in IE — you’re left with the option to install Google Toolbar. Then now you have the easy to use popup-blocking by Google Toolbar. Considering the number of people who able to block pop-up window, you, the Webmaster of ads-heavy sites, should you still keep your pop-up Ads strategic? Don’t the rate of people seeing your Ads drop tremendously?
Who gain the benefit? If the popup Ads didn’t work, where did you think you would go to put your advertisement? Would Google benefit from this?
Anyhow, the pop-up blocking is a good implementation, the feature definitely is helpful.
What [ ] Are You?
Some of my friends never feel enough with just one interesting quiz.
[via theOtaku.com: Guru, Anime Quiz]
- What Anime Medium Are You?
- What Anime Art Style Are You?
- What Forest Creature Are You?
- What Magical Girl are You?
- What NERV Child Are You?
- What Shoujo Mascot Are You?
- What DragonBall Girl Are You?
- What DragonBall Guy Are You?
[via Quizilla!]
- What Matrix Persona Are You?
- Which X-Men character are you most like?
- What Finding Nemo Character are You?
- What Chinese Symbol Are You?
- Which Spirited Away character are you?
- What Toy Story/ Toy Story2 Character are You?
- What Nintendo character are you?
- What disney character are you?
Yes, I’m boring.
Price Control Scheme on Software
Bernama: Gov’t To Fix Prices If There’s No Cooperation From Industry
The government has no choice but to fix the prices of computer software, compact discs (CDs), video compact discs (VCDs) and digital video compact discs (DVDs) if the industry does not cooperate in determining the price control scheme for these products.
The Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry is going to meet with industries this Thursday to discuss price control for these products. Government decided last week to categorise these products as controlled items under Price Control Act 1946.
But what do they mean by “no choice”? I personally don’t understand how they could apply a price control scheme on softwares. It sounds like they’ve never studied the industry before voice out the decision. Just because it plays hard on pirates, then it’s “no choice” to fix the prices?!
Let’s looks at these items that going to put under price control scheme. We’re here talking about products regarding music, movies and computer softwares. They are more or less sort of intellectual products, not just some manufacturing items. And it’s sure the industries would oppose the decision, it cut their profit margin smaller or worse, making lost. On my personal opinion, here’s my though on the feasibility of implementing price control on these items:
- Compact Discs(CDs): This is refer to audio CD (music industry). How much is the cost to produce an album? I have no idea. But price of a CD could go from RM30 to RM50. If that has to be a positive proposal, one might could work out some price rate based on it. The current price range in the market isn’t that big and price control is possible.
- VCD: I always have a doubt on copyrighted VCD, especially on those western movies. Did the big corporates in Hollywood giving out the right to produce VCD? They have the channels to sell and distribute DVD. But VCD? There isn’t many VCD players sold in U.S.. Anyhow, I don’t know how the industry players should define the price of an original copyrighted VCD. But not doubt an affordable price could be worked out. Some of the original VCD is sold at about RM16 on the market. If applying some re-structure on the sale channels, it should be able to drop to a more affordable price.
- DVD: I never knew how much is a copyrighted DVD cost in Malaysia. Check around my friends, none of them ever bought an original DVD. So I could only refer to Amazon. On Amazon, most of the DVDs are sold at US25.00, which is around RM95. On copyrighted DVD, there is a region code embedded into DVD to ensure that DVD could play in certain region. Therefore, could government do put some power on this, taking it to a lower price? RM25.00 looks pretty reasonable to me :-).
- At last, computer software. Unlike previous 3 items, they already have publicly recognized price range and you could base on that to propose a better price scheme, software price is varied. It’s just too general to call it computer software, in that way, the price could go from RM15.00 up to millions ringgit. So, so how are they going to do with software? Categorise it, you said. But there are so many categories. Even if you’ve successfully categorize softwares on the market. You would face the most important question: how to measure it? Complication is the nature of softwares. Every pieces of the software development process is a decision of design (even when you’re coding, you got make a design decision in a few lines of code). And the complication increased when it involved human interaction. There’s just no effective scientific way to measure the effort of a software creation. It doesn’t sound right if you’re going to put a price control scheme on computer software.
I am not saying that software development is creative art but movies/music creation isn’t. For movies, there’s a mature market and VCD/DVD is the side-products. And either CD or VCD/DVD has a recognized stable market price to follow, and you could work on that if some kind of control has to apply on it. To talk of softwares, it is a big category — inside there price is varied, effort can’t be measured in a single way; even though most softwares could be develivered in a CD. It could be workable if government’s intention is to put price control on certain softwares (e.g. Microsoft Windows/Office).
Dinesh has his thought on Software like chicken rice and We just don’t get it !