While thinking about how to post RSS feeds on a site without the knowledge of PHP or programming, I stumbled upon a site, FeedDigest, that helps someone like me to put content in a web page from one or more RSS feeds.
The code is really easy to put in a web page. I’ve linked to a sample page with my blog’s latest headlines.
Here’s another twist — my blog with Digg’s. I do not publish as frequently as Digg so most of the links will be Digg’s.
The tool is very nice and its got an easy to use interface with different customizable templates. Plus, it does not cost anything!
Finally! I’ve been in the market for a personal electronic, offsite backup for our home files. I can now back-up all my files for $5/mo at Carbonite.
A few weeks ago — well, maybe a month — I signed up to get the official “We’re Live” notice from them. I signed up as soon as I got it. My wife and I have quite a bit of personal data to save and I’d been doing the process manually for months. Backing up to DVD does not give me that warm and fuzzy feeling that an automated system like Carbonite does.
It works in the background like Google Desktop and encrypts the files on my desktop before they travel to Carbonite’s data center. The interface is easy to understand. The first back-up takes a while because its the first time I’ve sent multiple gigs to them. Once the initial back-up is complete, the system takes a daily snapshot and sends any modified files to Carbonite.
(Disclosure: The company I work for offers a business service like this. We could sell it to individuals, but I do not think that we’d make any money at $5/mo. The company bundles other services and SLAs on top of the service so we’re a bit off from $5/mo.)
If you have been spending your time and $5/mo on DVD media, I recommend you try Carbonite.
Exxon Mobil and a few other oil and gas companies just released 1 Q earnings. Exxon made over $9B in income — a figure that most businesses will never see if they add up all years of revenues. Is this wrong? Is Exxon wrong?
I say that they are not doing anything wrong. Exxon is in the business they are in to make money for their shareholders. The company is not a government or non-profit designed to serve the public or a greater good. Why are so many people upset at Exxon?
What people should be upset about is that they require so much oil and gas to function. Sure, we’d all love it if Exxon could somehow cut their prices in half and enable the per gallon fee to be half. They simply do not have that power. With only nine cents of every dollar being income, they are below other companies averages in the US market. (Microsoft, for example, makes about thirty cents for every dollar in revenue.)
As a country, we need to improve our use of public transportation and realize that walking is OK. Bike riding, scooters, and the like are OK. Maybe what we really need is $10/gallon gas to get people to think this way.
If the trend for higher and higher gas prices continues, then people may start thinking about creating companies that use alternative energy like bio-diesel, ethanol, and the sun. Archer Midland is a company that makes money from alternative energy. Their stock is up a tremendous amount since last year.
Entrepreneurs — what are you waiting for?
