Google Video Adds Download Support. You can now download videos on google video in the Windows/Mac, Video iPod, or Sony PSP format. Isn’t that great news. The news doesn’t end there either. Google videos can now be embedded into personal websites, such as this site. I like youTube better, because my videos are posted instantly, and other users can comment on them, but having two ways to share is always better than one:

Google Pack goes Live, the news can be found everywhere. The whole internet seems to be rejoicing that Google has released this package of software, most of which is free. Great news to be sure, but is it worth all the fuss? Honestly, it doesn’t seem to be that big of a deal. In fact, if it was Microsoft who released this package, the same users who are hyping Google Pack, would be villifying Microsoft for trying to force software down their throats.

Most of these offerings, a lot of users have already. I looked through the list to see what I needed, and found nothing. With the exception of Google Earth, which I could’ve picked up any time I have wanted to, I already have all that I want. Without further ado then, I bring you 10 reasons why Google Pack is overrated and overhyped:

1. Google Pack Screensaver – Windows already comes with this ability, and it works great. Why do I need another screensaver?
2. Google Toolbar for Internet Explorer – You’ve also packaged Firefox with Google Toolbar into this package, which I already have in the first place, do I need this toolbar? I don’t think so. (Doesn’t 99% of the online population have this already anyway?)
3. Trillian – The paid mode of this instant messenger is probably the best IM app out there, but the free version is just ok. Doesn’t Google have their own IM in development?
4. Google Talk – In the world of IM apps, this little one is featureless and not ready for primetime.
5. RealPlayer – Your kidding right? I’ve been trying to keep Real Player off my system for years. I’ve found myself just walking away from links that require it. Unsuspecting downloaders, be ready for all of your media to be taken over by this one.
6. Google Video Player – Google videos providing premium content to pay-per-click is a good idea, but can I only view it with this app? Bad idea. If that’s not the case, do I really need another video player on my system?
7. Norton Antivirus 2005 Special Edition – This is the package breaker. Google has to be kidding right, they’re aligning with Norton for the anti-virus option? Norton is only throwing in a 6-month free subscription with this one to boot, then it will be useless unless a license is paid for. Good luck ridding your system once you decide not to continue with Norton too. With good options out there, Grisoft, Avast, why go with Norton?
8. Ad-Aware SE Personal – Decent product, but other spyware programs are needed too. This is not a complete answer to the spyware problem, by any means.
9. Adobe Reader 7 – I haven’t seen a computer in awhile that doesn’t already come with Adobe Reader and Adobe is already running processes checking for updates of their own software.
10. GalleryPlayer HD Images – No thanks, I have enough of my own pictures taken up enough room on my hard drive as it is.

As I mentioned earlier, if this was Microsoft offering such a package, everyone would be picking it apart. I have what I want of the package already. I see no reason, whatsoever, to package this all together. Thanks, but I’m passing on this one.

A couple of months ago, you may remember reading about the million Dollar Homepage, a site who’s goal, as it was obviously stated, was to make a million dollars. The site’s owner’s plan was to sell advertising one pixel at a time for one dollar a pixel. The purchased pixels were then placed on a large grid on his site for everyone to see and click. Not a bad idea, especially considering that the site reached it owner’s goal of earning one million dollars.

What ensued was copy cats building sites that tried to do the same thing, but tweaked the concept one way or another, and as far as I know, none of the copycats have had success. This is usually the way things go isn’t it? First to market always hits their goal while every other unoriginal hack flounders around trying to make a living off of another’s idea.

Now another site is garnering attention from the tech crowd, OnlyOneAd.com. Instead of pixels, this site has one viewable advertisment posted on it’s page every day. The cost of purchasing the ad will double in size until Ad 21, which will cost just over one million dollars. Another very creative idea, but this brings me to my question, or actually, my two-part question.

1. Why do companies advertise on a site like this?
2. Who visits these pages looking for a service?

It seems to me that the only reason these type of sites are garnering traffic is because visitors are interested in the idea of making one million dollars rather easily, not in finding a service that may be advertised there. It’s not as if the advertisements are indexed in a manner in which I could find a spyware solution if I went looking for one. I can honestly say that I would never find myself visiting OnlyOneAd on the off chance that that day’s ad may contain something I need.

I do believe that these ideas are inventive, but how they make their goals, or any money at all for that matter is beyond me. Maybe that why I haven’t come up with my own million dollar idea yet.

Almost 3 years ago, 2 years 354 days to be exact, I started a blog. I hosted the blog at bmgwebdesign.com and called it bloggingly delicious. Over the years, it grew. It started as a blogger blog, but soon I moved to using Movable Type for it’s added features. Then I changed yet again to WordPress for it’s ease of use and still more features.

Disaster struck then and left me without my domain. Last summer I lost the ability to sign into my wordpress, because I could not renew my domain, and therefore 2 and a half years worth of blogging history were gone. I was also without my own domain for the first time since I had started this blog.

At this point of frustration, I wanted to continue blogging, but just barely. I definitely knew that I did not want my own domain anymore…too much pain and hassle. There was only one choice, blogger.

Like I said, though, it would have to be a brand new start because all of my history was gone. Gone, that is, until I found out that most of it was cached in the internet archive, January of 2003 to August of 2004 to be exact. I began the posting each post from that time frame one by one.

As I finished up posting every message, I again realized one of the drawbacks of using blogger versus MT or WordPress…categories. In MT or WordPress I could categorize every post, making it easy for a reader to browse through and find posts he or she is interested in. I gave up that niceness, however, when I decided to not blog from my own domain, however.

I didn’t have to give it up for very long, though. I soon found myself reading an article that instructed me on how to use del.icio.us to categorize all of my posts again. All I had to do then is catagorize every post I had just reposted to this blog. No problem. Take notice that at the bottom of every post are the links to browse the rest of the posts in the listed catagories.

Another feature I had while using MT or WordPress was the ability to post interesting links in my sidebar quickly and easily. Once again, it’s not easy to do in blogger. I tried using SideBlog, but it turned out to be another interface completely and rather a pain to maintain. Again del.icio.us was there to provide for me. You’ll now find that I have links and news in the sidebar. They are updated more often than I blog, so keep an eye over there if you like interesting links, or simply subscribe to the rss for each channel.

Even though this blog has sported the title before, with the help of del.icio.us, I can now truely say that my blog is bloggingly del.icio.us.