Apple iPhone 3GS Update
by John R. Sedivy
As many of you likely know Amy and I are pretty big Apple fans. We have been anxiously awaiting the new iPhone 3GS which is due for release tomorrow. I found a review this morning from Wired which I have provided a full summary of here. For the details read the complete product review titled “Speed, Smarts Keep iPhone 3GS at the Front of the Mobile Race.” I can hardly wait!
Benefits
At first glance the new iPhone appears to be a simple update when compared to it’s predecessor, however according to Wired there much more new capability here – let’s take a look:
1. Noticeable speed improvements for launching of apps, loading web pages, and displaying graphics
2. Higher resolution camera which allows for focusing
3. Video capability
4. Voice control – Ability to dial or play music upon voice command
5. Compass
6. Text & graphic editing
7. Larger keyboard
8. Voice recording capability
9. GPS phone locator
10. Safari auto-fill
The feature I am most excited about are the speed improvements – faster is better! I am also looking forward to the video capability, voice recording, and compass – each of which adds capability that eliminates the need to carry extra devices, which is always welcome! Recently Amy had need of a compass when she was implementing Feng Shui for the office, we were commenting on how nice it would have been to have this capability in our iPhones – it seems as if Apple has a knack for knowing their customers needs without prompting.
The GPS phone locator sounds like a really cool feature that I was previously unaware of. I will not go into details here, but recommend checking out the Wired article referenced above for more information. From the sound of it, new iPhone owners will not likely have to worry about a lost phone anytime soon!
Disadvantages
There were a couple of technical limitations listed in the Wired article, but they did not seem to be anything we would miss, perhaps with exception to limited multi-tasking – you’ll still have to close out one program (say email) to access another (maps, for example).
The only real disadvantage that I see for the new device is the service plan. I am not sure why AT&T penalizes existing users for upgrading. I am okay with the fact of extending, or resetting my contract, but feel the fee is unfair – this is hardly the way of rewarding existing users – especially those excited enough about the product to purchase prior to expiration of the contract. I had heard rumors recently that the iPhone will be available from other providers – if this is true hopefully competition will reduce or eliminate this snag.
If the Wired product review is any indication, the new iPhone 3GS sounds great – I can hardly wait to get my hands on one! More to follow!
-John R. Sedivy of Cape Cod Branding
Planting Tomatoes Upside Down
by Amy Stevens Adams
I love cooking with tomatoes and have always wanted to grow them in my own garden. I am by no means a gardener and am just now beginning to find my way around the yard, literally. 
My dad is the opposite. He knows everything about every plant, can grow anything, and loves the time he spends out in my parents’ massive (7 acre) property; tending to his fruit trees, vegetable garden, pond, rose bushes, asparagus patch, bamboo, and tons of various flowers. He has a very green thumb that I never inherited. Over the years I’ve called him for advice when I’ve noticed some poor houseplant of mine (usually ivy) is on it’s last legs. This year my call was different. I needed advice on a ‘real’ garden. My first question was how to grow tomatoes. He told me that while tomatoes are relatively easy to grow, they do have their share of issues; pests and animals will want to snack on them, and I’d have to string them up to keep them out of the dirt. However, he told me, “you can hang them”.
Hanging tomatoes upside down from a planter solves many of their problems, and also looks cool. I rushed out to pick up the few simple supplies I’d need.
1. Hanging planter (Mine is about 16″ in diameter and lined in moss)
2. Potting soil (I’m using Coast of Maine. Great stuff)
3. Tomato plants (I bought 5 of them, 2 Cherry Tomatoes and 3 Vine Tomatoes)
4. Basil plants to plant on the top (This can be any herb or flower you want)
Once back home I filled the planter with soil and began by figuring out where I’d want my tomatoes to hang. Because my planter hangs against the house, I didn’t want to plant along the backside where there wouldn’t be sun exposure. So I marked off 5 spots on the front half of the planter (down on the sides where the moss shows through the metalwork, refer to photo above) and I used a pair of scissors to make holes the size of quarters. From there, I took each tomato plant out of it’s little plastic square box and shook off most of the dirt from it’s roots and literally shoved the roots through each hole and into the soil on the inside of the planter. I made sure the plants where securely in the holes by pushing them in about 3 inches (some tomato plants will need to have a couple low leaves removed to do this). Now I had tomatoes plants hanging upside down around the side of the hanging planter. Next I planted my basil on the top of the planter just like you normally would plant.
The tomatoes will continue to grow down and as the fruit grows it will weigh it down. This will allow the tomatoes to hang freely without having to sit in the dirt or risk be eaten by deer or rabbits. As they ripen, just pluck them off. I’ll post updates and new pictures every couple of weeks. Feel free to post any questions and I’ll do my best to answer them.
-Amy Stevens Adams of Cape Cod Branding
More SEO Part I: Indexing
by John R. Sedivy
While progressing through the “Search Engine Optimization For Dummies” book I have come across some new SEO items that we had implemented in our website that I thought would be valuable to pass along. I will address a new SEO related topic each day for the next three days, starting with indexing. This is a follow up to my original SEO series published last month, refer to my article “SEO Part I: Sites Vs. Systems” to learn the basic distinction between search engine websites versus search engine systems.
Indexing Explained
In simplest terms indexing basically refers to having your website listed for later retrieval by a person conducting a search by means of a search engine or directory. There are two important places you need to concern yourself with, the first being the search engines, and the second being The Open Directory Project, both of which are addressed here.
Search Engines
Is your site currently indexed, or located, within the major search engines and directories? These include:
1. Google
2. Yahoo
3. MSN Live
4. Open Directory Project
Here is a quick and easy way to check Google:
1. Go to Google
2. Enter the following: “site:domain.com”, for example our site would be site:http://capecodbranding.com as shown in Figure 1 below:
Figure 1. Google Home Page
3. Click “Google Search”
4. View the Google results. An example of the Cape Cod Branding indexed pages are provided below as Figure 2.
Figure 2. Google Results Page
Note the indexed pages on the left and the total number of results on the right, which I have highlighted.
The same approach may be used to determine how much you have indexed within the other search engines such as Yahoo and MSN Live.
Open Directory Project
The Open Directory Project is a large collection of websites which is volunteer run, but owned by AOL. Your website being present in this listing is supposedly just as important as the search engines. Browsing the rules for submission it appears to be managed fairly strictly. We had submitted back in January, without anything happening since. Back then the backlog was approximately two months for approval and inclusion although we did not receive confirmation. Since then we submitted again about three weeks ago (late May), with the backlog estimated at two weeks, still without result. I will provide an update once I learn more. In the meantime, here is a quick way to check if your site is listed on Open Directory Project:
1. Go to the Open Director Project website.
2. Enter your domain name, without the “www” and click “Search” as shown below in Figure 3:
Figure 3. Open Directory Project Home Page
3. Review the results screen as shown in Figure 4:
Figure 4. Open Directory Results Page
Note again that our site has not been listed yet, hopefully you will have better luck!
To Be Continued…
In More SEO Part II will address the importance of keywords and how to select the optimum keywords.
Checking your sites indexing is a quick way to determine the extent of your web presence on search engines and directories!
-John R. Sedivy of Cape Cod Branding
