MachineReadable.net » Web

Negedhaet.co.il – all publicity is good publicity

Boaz Arad — Sat, 17 May 2008 20:24:28 +0000

I’ve recently run into a site called negedhaet.co.il this site calls for the erasable “FriXion” pen from Pilot to be banned in schools. The site links to videos of kids using the pen to cheat in exam appeals, forge medical documents, and modify attendance records. It also links to a petition for banning the pen, and to two relevant Internet forums. After noticing what appeared to be a consumer cation notice for the pen on one of the sites pages (bottom of page) – I became suspicious.

I guessed that the site was a campaign by Pilot trying to utilize the “Streisand effect” to promote the pen – generating great publicity for the product by calling for it to be banned. A quick check on internic.co.il revealed the domain to be owned by Niv Kantor. Another search revealed that Niv Kantor works for McCann Digital – an online advertising firm that touts modern advertising methods…

Looking to confirm this alleged correlation between the advertising agency and the Pilot pen company, I discovered that Y. Berman – the exclusive Israeli importer of pilot pens has indeed engaged into a $250,000 contract with the McCann-Ericksson advertising agency for an online promotion campaign of… the FriXion erasable pen!
Just to be sure, I checked the yellow pages – and indeed – McCann-Ericksson link directly to McCann Digital as their homepage – the trifecta is complete.

Getting Gmail java app on Motorola i760

Boaz Arad — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 07:52:49 +0000

My i760 came without a proper web-browser – so I could not download the Gmail java app through the phone, or access m.gmail.com to check my mail.

The solution to this problem is downloading the Gmail java application files from the google servers here:
gm-Generic-Advanced_MIDP2.jad
gmail-g.jar
Then upload them to your phone using a data cable, and a J2ME media loader application like myJal. Depending on the software you use, you may have to rename the above files so that they have identical filenames (i.e. rename “gm-Generic-Advanced_MIDP2.jad” to “gmail-g.jad” – do not change the extensions!)

Once you load the files up to your phone “gmail” should appear in you Java applications folder. Clicking “gmail” will preform a short installation process, after which you will be prompted for your Gmail user-name and password. Once you enter your information, you’ll be logged on to your Gmail account and able to read and write mail!

phpWebsite CafePress Integration Module

Boaz Arad — Thu, 25 May 2006 21:36:35 +0000

The CafePress Integration Module for phpWebsite will allow you to display your CafePress shop (basic or premium) within your phpWebsite driven site.

Keeping visitors on your site is important, especially if you are trying to sell something. This module will allow your visitors to shop in your CafePress store without leaving your site until the final checkout.

The screen shot shows the module in action under phpWebsite’s default theme, though it should work just fine with any other theme.
I wrote this module based on Mark McClelland’s “PHP-NUKE CafePress Addon” for the Molecular Shirts and Shirt Wisdom websites I help run. I decided to publish it after receiving a request for it via e-mail.

The current version 0.1 is obviously a beta – please keep me posted about any bugs you find or problems you have with it.

phpWebsite CafePress Integration Module v0.1 – Download

Imageshack Transloader

Boaz Arad — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 16:08:03 +0000

ImageShack.us used to offer a simple java tool enabling you to quickly rehost any image from the website you are currently viewing without downloading it first.

After dragging a snipplet of java your bookmark toolbar, clicking it would display all the images on your currently viewed page. Clicking an image would automatically host it on ImageShack.
I’m guessing that ImageShack decided that this Transloader was cutting into their advertising profits, because it was removed quiet some time ago from their “tools” page.

The transloader can still be found here on ImageShack, Though I can’t seem to find a link to the transloader page from anywhere in ImageShack.