It’s just been announced that Matt Mullenweg, creator of all things WordPress, will be appearing on the WordPress Weekly Podcast on May 23rd 2008 at 9PM EST. WP Weekly is an excellent weekly podcast that covers anything related to WordPress. It’s run by my friend Jeffro over at Jeffro2pt0. Make sure not to miss this episode, it’ll be a good one for sure!

Instructions for connecting to the podcast live or downloading a recorded version after the show can be found on the official WP Weekly homepage.

Tagged as wordpress news, wp weekly

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I’ve just released version 1.2 of Smart Ads, a WordPress plugin that allows users to automatically (yet intelligently!) insert advertisments like Adsense before and after their posts. This version brings three new features to the plugin.

First, users can chose to hide the advertisment that is placed before the post content if their content begins with an image. This helps save the formatting of their posts.

Second, custom ads can be inserted by placing <!-smartads-> or {smartads} into the post or page content based on the users settings in the Options menu. This allows users who use the visual editor to bypass WordPress’s default “I hate HTML” mentality by using something other then an HTML comment.

Finally, the options box that appears while writing a new post has been made much smaller and placed into the right side bar. Also, it can be hidden based on the users preference.

Here’s a complete list of Smart Ads’ features:

• Show ads above and below post content automatically
• Only show ads on single.php or page.php, not homepage
• Limit ad visibility by post word count
• Limit ad visibility by post age
• Limit ad visibility by category
• Selectively disable ads on a post-by-post basis
• Disable top ad if post begins with an image NEW!
• Disable all ads for registered blog members
• Add custom ads to posts or pages by selecting to type <!-smartads-> or {smartads} (for those who use visual editors) NEW!
• Limit custom ads to be shown on only single post view or enable them on the homepage
• Built for WordPress 2.5!

Click here to download Smart Ads v1.2 or read additional release information.

Tagged as wordpress plugins

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So I’m just about done with classes for the semester and then I’ll have a few weeks off. I’m looking forward to being able to catch up on things I’ve been neglecting. I’m currently finishing up my design of a custom plugin for the Market Theme as well as a few other freelance projects. Also, in a few days I’m going to revamp Simply-Basic with a new theme. I’ve been debating for a while on this. Since I don’t have time to code one from scratch I’ve decided to purchase a premium theme. I’ve found a few that I like, but I think I’ve settled on Shade Pro by Theme Spinner.

A new theme will allow me to pursue a few new directions with the blog. I’m going to start publishing video tutorials and posts. Topics will range from easy computer how-to’s to in-depth software reviews. I’ll try to release these on a weekly or semi-weekly basis. I’m still looking for a good video screen-capture program if anyone has any ideas. The summer will also allow me to return to a more frequent blogging schedule (finally!).

And on top of all that I’m going to try to release a few WordPress plugins I’ve been tinkering around with. So keep up with Simply-Basic. I think there will be some changes that everyone will enjoy. If you haven’t done so already, now may be the perfect excuse to subscribe to the blog so you can read the posts from the comfort of your RSS reader.

Tagged as cleaning

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For the past few days I’ve been trying out FunContact on my phone running Windows Mobile 6. FunContact, made by VITO Technology, is a contact manager for Windows Mobile that replicates the look and feel of the popular iPhone interface. After trying it out, I’m quite impressed! FunContact costs $19.95, but VITO Technology has agreed to give it away for free to a few lucky Simply-Basic readers!

Wanna get it for free?

Here’s how: a few readers will receive a free copy of FunContact or any other software of their choice from iWindowsMobile.com for the best feedback (left in the comments) as to what to improve or add to FunContact in the next version. That’s right, it’s that simple. You can download a free 14-day trial from their website to help. Remember, only a few of the best comments will win, so leave your best suggestions!

FunContact

FunContact is an easy way to experience the iPhone interface on your Windows Mobile device. When I’m on the go I hate having to pull out the stylus to click the small on-screen buttons, especially when it’s just to make a phone call. FunContact gives you a finger-friendly way to find, manage, call, and even add contacts. It’s a complete replacement for Window’s Mobile built-in contact manager.

Here’s a video showing FunContact in action:

The Nitty Gritty

FunContact works for Windows Mobile 5 & 6 pocket PCs and only costs $19.95. It is full of features that you’d expect from a contact manager. It is a slight memory hog, however. In my personal tests it used nearly 2mb of memory. Load times were quick. Even quicker was the transition time from portrait to landscape modes on my T-mobile Wing. With its sexy interface and ease of use, FunContact has been put in my permanent Windows Mobile library.

The Contest

Don’t forget to leave your best suggestions for how to improve FunContact in the comments. Readers who leave the best suggestions will get a FREE copy if FunContact or any other software of their choice from iWindowsMobile.com. Winners will be announced on the blog and via email.

Tagged as contests, windows mobile

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Sponsored reviews are usually characterized by love/hate emotions among bloggers and readers. Some feel they pollute a blogger’s writing, others don’t mind. Personally, I don’t mind sponsored reviews as long as they are adequately marked and are still a benefit to the reader. Enter SocialSpark.

Note: for the sake of up front disclosure, this article itself is a sponsored review, you can tell by the graphic that appears below the post.

SocialSpark is a relatively new service created by Izea (the makers of PayPerPost). Luckily for bloggers and readers alike, SocialSpark has set up a strict code of ethics that governs sponsored posts. For example, all links automatically carry a “no follow” tag. This protects bloggers against search engine penalization for paid links. Also, all posts require the “Sponsored by…” image that you see at the bottom of this post. This transparency assures that visitors know when they are reading sponsored content. Bloggers are also told to write honest opinions and reviews.

SocialSpark feels almost like a social networking site revolving around sponsored reviews. Members are given public profiles which they can edit. Members can add other users as friends, send private messages, leave public comments on their profile, or give “props”, a thumbs up/down way of saying which other users you like.

A nice feature about SocialSpark is the variety of listings it has. Members can choose from the regular “Sponsored Posts,” “Blog Sponsorships,” or “Sparks.” Blog sponsorships are pop-up advertisements that say “This blog sponsored by…” that appear the first time a reader visits your blog. The ad is hidden on subsequent visits. These type of ads pay a small daily rate (typically $0.30-$5.00) for up to 30 days. Sparks are free opportunities that bloggers can arrange, such as a “blog you back” arrangement or review exchanges. Both are nice additions that increase the earning potential of a blogger and the potential reach of an advertiser.

Overall SocialSpark seems to be a well designed advertising service. I wish payouts scaled based on a blogs rank (right now they are usually pretty low), and the website has a few bugs to be ironed out. But it looks like a service that has a lot of potential.

More Images Hover for full size

SocialSpark homepage	Sponsored Post Offer	Accepting an offer

Tagged as advertising, sponsored posts

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Anytime now Microsoft is set to release Windows XP Service Pack 3 to its Windows Update program for the masses to download. Or if you can’t wait, like me, you can download it right now via the direct links discovered by gHacks.

SP3 doesn’t introduce many features that the average user will notice. After my upgrade I honestly didn’t see a single thing new. There are, however, a significant number of security upgrades and fixes that administrators may notice. For those interested, Microsoft has released a whitepaper detailing the changes you can expect (pdf link).

For the many of you (myself included) who can’t stand Vista, upgrade to SP3 when you can. It looks like we’ll be using XP for quite sometime.

Tagged as windows xp

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