- A weblog by InetSolutionBy Jason Sherrill
Posted on Jun 29, 2007
I found this picture in a children's educational book, published in 1976. I wonder how many kids were able to easily comprehend the size of the crab based on this comparison?
Continue reading "for fun - something you won't see in any kids books anymore" »
By Jason Sherrill
Posted on Jun 26, 2007
We just purchased two new Intel Quad-Core X5355 Xeon processors for a new web server that we're putting online next week. We paid $1,220.52 for each processor - a hefty sum. Today, I received a postcard from Intel that clearly explains why those processors cost so much.
Continue reading "For Fun - No wonder Intel processors cost so much" »
By Jason Sherrill
Posted on Jun 17, 2007
My friend Sharon is a realtor in Michigan, and Michigan's housing market is about the worst in the U.S. this year. Sharon has actually been selling more homes than most of her peers, but she said her marketing costs have increased since homes are sitting on the market from six to 18 months or longer, thus requiring longer ad runs. We talked about using her website to advertise her listings, which she uses extensively. She said that online virtual tours are hugely popular with internet savvy buyers, but they hire an outside firm to produce them and they're expensive. While iPix and similar systems produce great results, any realtor can create her own virtual tour with 30 minutes, a $150 Canon digital camera and the free PhotoStitch software that comes with it.
Continue reading "why every realtor should own a Canon digital camera" »
By Jason Sherrill
Posted on Jun 11, 2007
Today I stopped at Meijer on my way home from work. As usual, there were only 10 or 12 checkout lines open, each with three or more people waiting in line. My strategy for choosing which line to wait in is pretty basic. I look for the line that has the fewest total items, not people, in front of me. Three carts with 20 products in each equals 60 items. I also try to guess whether the cashier is a rookie or seasoned professional. That's all the criteria I can think of to use.
Tonight, I chose a line with 60 to 80 items, and what I thought was a seasoned professional. I waited in line for 16 minutes. I chose the wrong line. But in that 16 minutes, I realized that it would be incredibly simple for Meijer to provide shoppers with a reliable method to guess which line will move fastest.
Continue reading "a simple idea to make choosing the fastest checkout line easy" »
By Jason Sherrill
Posted on Jun 10, 2007
Today I'm in my car traveling to Kalamazoo for a graduation party. As I'm writing this, we're driving past mile marker 122 on I-69 (my wife is driving). But the fact that I'm posting this live while in the car isn't even the cool part.
While we've been driving, I've updated the bios and latest firmware on a new Intel server that's sitting in a rack in our Utica office. I've also just started installing the operating system. I've done this all without having to be in the same room, or even the same county, as the server.
Continue reading "setting up a new server while riding in a car" »
By Jason Sherrill
Posted on Jun 9, 2007
Like many people, I visit my dentist twice each year for a routine cleaning, one-sided conversation (I still haven't mastered annunciating clearly with hands in my mouth), a free toothbrush and a discussion about the state of the e-commerce industry. For the past two years, during each cleaning my dentist has said something like, "I should get a website, but I have no idea why. I just feel like I should have one. But I don't know what it's going to do for me. Am I really going to attract a lot of new patients from the web?"
No, he isn't going to attract a lot of new patients from the web, but there is a critical reason why he, and other medical practitioners should have at least a basic website.
Continue reading "why even doctors need to have a website of their own" »
By Jason Sherrill
Posted on Jun 7, 2007
Your home page is the most valuable real estate on your website, but also the hardest page to choose content for and layout. A good home page will drive visitors into your site, while a poor home page will drive visitors away. But how can you tell exactly how visitors are using your home page?
Continue reading "Using heat maps to see how visitors use your website" »
By Jason Sherrill
Posted on Jun 6, 2007
Last week I told you about a nifty site called PriceProtectr.com. It's just darn cool, as it proved again today:
Price Protectr saw a price drop on the LaCie 500 GB USB 2.0 External Hard Drive, Design by F.A. Porsche (301103U) you submitted for price protection at www.priceprotectr.com.You purchased the item for $163.84 and it just dropped to $128.99! The item URL is:
Please verify the item and price, and review the retailer's price protection policy before requesting a refund.
It's like getting free money. How fun!
Continue reading "PriceProtectr.com saved another $34.85 this week" »
By Jason Sherrill
Posted on Jun 6, 2007
Mildew Stain Away is a fantastic mildew stain remover that also prevents mildew from returning. I used to buy it at Damman Hardware, but they've gone out of business. Last night, I discovered that Amazon Products, the manufacturer, sells the product directly on their website. But due to a major mistake on their website, I'm willing to bet that they're not selling nearly as much as they could.
By Jason Sherrill
Posted on Jun 5, 2007
We first wrote this article in 2004 to provide answers to this common website usability problem. I stumbled upon it again today and was surprised to see that not much has changed in the past three years. Not only is the problem prevalent throughout the internet today, but the solutions that we recommended three years ago are still valid today.
Continue reading "are you ignoring the most critical element on your website?" »
By Jason Sherrill
Posted on Jun 4, 2007
While shopping at a local Meijer store today, I watched a frail, elderly couple make their way, slowly, to the pharmacy at the back of the store. The woman moved a few inches with each shuffle of her feet, while the man rolled at a similar pace in an electric scooter; both looked as though a collision with a butterfly could hurl them to the floor. I glanced at the other people in line at the pharmacy, and saw several older folks whose days of running marathons are distant memories. Assuming that older folks account for a notable amount of pharmacy revenue, I wondered, "Why did Meijer put the pharmacy all the way back here?". I then recalled that the Rite-Aid stores, the Kroger's and a handful of other pharmacies in the area also have their pharmacies in the back of the store. Why?
Continue reading "place your pharmacy at the front of the store (aka, design for your users)" »
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