Since I had decided to embark on full-time freelance ventures, there is only one application that I use most often than any other installed in my computer – Firefox. I just realized that without this beloved browser, I would find it difficult to do freelance work. It is actually the tons of add-ons that are already written for the browser which made my work a lot easier to do.
I have around 25 plugins which I find indispensable in doing web design work and blogging. I don’t plan to discuss all these twenty-five plugins here but I would like to mention those that relate to my blogging work.
useful Firefox plugins for blogging
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When I was still working as an employee, one of the frequent things that most supervisors and managers do is to make their own PowerPoint presentations to their boss. Most often they are asked to report the status of their accomplishment. For this kinds of individual presentations then this would definitely appeal to such top management, who are more interested to see how things are running.
However, this kind of simple PowerPoint presentation is less appealing to other types of settings. For instance, audiences that are on a product presentation find PowerPoint slides quite boring, especially when there dozens of people involved. One such solution for the product to sell for these audiences is to make dynamic, eye-catching video presentations. One example is Chicago-based Richter Studios which can deliver not only video production services but also interactive and web presentation services.
I am not personally based in Chicago (but my cousin is) and would probably not be hiring their services for any of my personal blogs or websites. However, I find this site useful in instances where I get to have the chance to work on a great budget for a corporate client who needs to deliver impressive video presentations that must be embedded within their website.
This is a paid review.
UPDATE: PlurkYM isn’t working anymore because Plurk had enabled the service, in addition to Google Talk.
CarloReid had already made his own blog post packed with more commands to the PlurkYM bot. Check out his post about PlurkYM in his blog.
Plurk had not yet offered the capability to send status updates and microblogs through YM. Carlo Reid had suddenly thought of creating PlurkYM that makes it possible for users Yahoo Messenger to post status and microblog updates on Plurk. I caught him testing this and I got curious: he was trying to make PlurkYM work!
Yahoo Messenger cannot post updates to Plurk
From the screenshot above, Plurk can post updates using Google Talk, MSN and is now trying to add AIM to list. I was disappointed to see that Yahoo Messenger is not included.
PlurkYM is still in its testing stage. Please direct all comments, suggestions and bug reports to Carlo Reid through his blog.
Privacy
To make this work, the PlurkYM bot asks for the Plurk username and password during registration. Carlo Reid assures privacy of this information:
PlurkYM saves your password in encrypted format that isn’t readable by an ordinary human being. It’s transmitted to plurk.com in an encrypted format too. I am committed to provide maximum security on personal information that PlurkYM collects. Please be assured that all information gathered by the PlurkYM bot are safe, secured and will never be shared with anyone. If you feel that your information has been compromised, please unregister with the service immediately and report the problem to me.
There are actually other sites that ask for your username and password to use Twitter and Plurk, such ping.fm and many third-party Facebook applications.
How to Setup PlurkYM continue reading »
Some of you may have noticed an unusual Entrecard widget displayed here in this tech and freelance blog and that of the single parent blog. That widget is called the Entrecard chicklet which looks a lot like those popular chicklets provided by Feedburner and TwitterCounter. Entrecard recently announced this new cool chicklet to Entrecard members. Some members have noticed Entrecard’s announcement, blogged and tried it.
This chicklet was developed by Maddy, the talented guy behind Great Registry Hacks. He was the one who helped me fix the task manager problem I had experienced a few posts ago.
Maddy asked me to try out this widget. I decided to install the chicklets on my two blogs. I am probably the first member to have these widgets even before Entrecard announced this one.
sample EC chicklet
The Entrecard chicklet can either show the popularity rating or the ad price. Once that the chicklet is installed, the chicklet is a clickable link that goes straight to the blog’s original or customized Entrecard profile.
Why Should You Install the Entrecard Chicklet
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Withdrawing funds from Paypal using “withdraw to bank account” or “withdraw to card” are not the only ways to get funds from Paypal to any Philippine bank account. There are other lesser known options, and I had identified five ways to get those funds in the Philippines.
I have personally used only one of the options listed here. Except for Payoneer virtual bank account where I am currently invited to participate in their pilot program, I have not personally tried out these services.
I had identified other options because there are more Filipinos who like to pursue ways in earning online. However, getting customer support help in withdrawing funds is really not that good, when someone gets into a problem withdrawing funds. Just like what this guy experienced: what started out as a dull bearable pain, came back and turned into a headache, then into a migraine – I hope this story doesn’t get worse than that.
PLDT Online
PLDT Online is a huge portal where one can shop, pay bills and buy e-load online. I am more interested in their Smart Money reload facility. If you own a Smart Money account, just withdraw cash directly from verified Paypal or Moneybookers account. I think the transfers are immediate except for the first withdrawal, where there is a need to submit documentation to verify one’s account. There are corresponding fees applicable depending on the how small or how large the amount to be withdrawn.
i$end
The i$end feature is the one that comes with the desktop version of Chikka Txt Messenger. Getting funds from Paypal is reported to be immediate: it will just take a few minutes that funds get credited into one’s Smart Money account. However, there are no enough writeups to see satisfied and dissatisfied users (I found only one through Google, as of writing this post), so it is safe to assume that there are less people who opted to try out this feature.
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