Digital Grog — Australia’s Tech, Gadgets & Digital Life Unfiltered

Digital Grog is Australia’s go‑to tech blog for sharp reviews, digital trends, AI tools, gadgets, cybersecurity updates, and practical how‑tos covering the latest in Aussie technology

Virtual pass for ProBlogger Training Event

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Over the last 4 years Problogger has  run an Australian ProBlogger Training Event each year and have grown it from 100, to 200, to 300 and this year to 450 attendees.
The tickets  to this years event which is being held in just over 3 weeks sold out several months ago and so Virtual Passes are on offer for those who couldn’t get tickets.

450 bloggers from all over the world will gather on the Gold Coast on 13-14th September for the annual Problogger event.

This pass gives virtual attendees the chance to listen in to all 31 sessions at the conference (they get all audio files to keep forever) and see any slides used. Virtual Attendees also get access to two great webinars after the event where they can interact with speakers and the wonderful Jonathan Fields.

Sneak peek at some of the content from last year?

Darren RowseHere’s a recording of a session from Darren Rowse last year.  Imagine yourself with access to over 30 hours of this!  Oh the blogging joy.  That’s exactly what you’ll get with a virtual pass.

From Little Things … Big Things Grow — with Darren Rows

 

 

 

Full details of what is included are listed here: http://probloggerevents.com/pbevent-virtual-pass/. It is the closest thing available to being there at the event and is ideal for anyone around the world unable to get to Australia.

Speakers at the event

Speakers at the event include myself, Trey Ratcliff (one of the most followed people on Google+), Amy Porterfield (Facebook expert), Tsh Oxenreider (founder of SimpleMom), Shayne Tilley (the guy who heads up all my marketing and site development) as well as some great speakers from the Aussie Blogosphere (most of whom are full time bloggers doing some amazing things).

 

Previous years

  • Year 1 saw Chris Garrett, myself and a handful of other speakers speak to a packed room of 100 bloggers in a small, cheap suburban hotel.
  • Year 2 saw 200 bloggers turn out to the Novatel to see our first event with 3 ‘streamed’ sessions running simultaneously. Timothy Ferris even popped in for a surprise interview
  • Year 3 saw 300 bloggers come to Etihad Stadium (or rooms at the stadium) with Chris Guillebeau and Aussie Sarah Wilson keynoting

Tickets for this virtual pass are $249.99

Get your ticket or virtual pass here

You can see the full speaker list at http://probloggerevents.com/speakers/ and see the schedule at http://probloggerevents.com/schedule/

The Australian app developer competition

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“Applicants will be judged according to what the app offers, the market need for the product and its path to revenue. I am excited to be part of this Curtin University initiative and I look forward to seeing the unique and innovative entries in the competition,”

dates and details of oz app austrlia competition

The “2014 OzAPP Awards” is calling for mobile applications and is now calling for creative app developers in the Asia Pacific region including Australia and New Zealand to bring forward their best new app concepts for mobile, web and cloud.

The 2014 Oz App Roadshow program will feature

  • Interactive workshops
  • Keynotes speakers (Bill Tai, Partner at Silicon Valley based Charles River Ventures)
  • Mentoring sessions for applicants
  • Pitching opportunities

The road show program will be held in  major cities including Singapore, Perth, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane.

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Final judging will be staged in Perth, Western Australia in February 2014. To register for free or to learn more about OzAPPs, visit www.ozapp.com.au.

Sponsors

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Car to Car Communication on Fast Track to Success

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Car to car communication is an idea that can be used to drastically improve driver safety, and some of this technology is already being implemented into today’s latest models. Cars can be updated with the latest road traffic or safety information, in order to avoid icy patches on the road or keep a safe distance from one another in a motorway pileup. Notifications could be given if an ambulance is approaching, so that cars can clear the road before the driver is even able to see or hear the emergency vehicle. There are multiple potential uses for talking car technology, which is why both government agencies and automakers alike are interested in its future.

car technology and car communications

Car technology – Latest Tests and Improvements

A recent conference was held at the University of Michigan in the United States to discuss the future of car to car communications. This Global Symposium on Connected Vehicles and Infrastructure highlighted the fact that recent US trials showed that the system could be entirely viable. In these trials, vehicles chosen for the test communicated with roadside devices throughout the town of Ann Arbor. The vehicles were capable of changing the traffic light if conditions were safe, or could alert the driver if the light was about to change.

Today’s car communication systems use sensors, cameras, and short range communication to transmit basic data. You may already be able to look at a car comparison to choose vehicles with advanced safety features and Bluetooth connectivity, but expect to see short range communication added to the list of basic features not too far in the distant future. This allows cars to track the location and speed of other vehicles on the road, spot pedestrians or animals, and share data with other vehicles.

old car dash and new technology

Use of Australian Technology

The trial undertaken by the University of Michigan is just one example of many similar studies worldwide. The latest form of car to car communication was devised using technology developed by the University of South Australia’s Institute for Telecommunications Research. This system is the one being used both in Ann Arbor and in a similar German study. In Ann Arbor, over eight billion transmissions have been successfully sent between vehicles and roadside infrastructure to help track traffic and improve safety since the trial began.

The Future of Car to Car Communication

These early trials have been largely successful, but it could still be some time before the best SUV cars are able to talk to one another. One issue to contend with is the cost of these systems. Dr. Alexander from the University of South Australia believes that these costs would be quite low to implement, but if sensors must be used in existing traffic structures this could cost more. At the moment, new cars from manufacturers like Volvo are already coming equipped with basic communication systems in place. This will become more widespread as the results of current trials are analysed and the demand for safe, intelligent car design grows.

3 Adwords Mistakes Every Advertiser Makes

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Adwords. A double-edged “advertising software” opening doors and frustrating DIY marketers with its endless updates, changes and idiosyncrasies. Business owners frequently abandon self-started online ventures for a myriad of reasons; time doesn’t run freely, and the attention Adwords demands from would-be success stories seems like an entire department in itself. The failure to run a thriving campaign is not a short-coming of the system, but a disconnect between business owners who underestimate nimble subtleties of Google’s answer to old-school billboards.

How do you avoid falling into these same traps, as you traverse the shady world of “pay-per-click”, display and re-marketing? Learn from the following three mistakes, save a bucket load of stress and increase ROI.

google adwords quality score

Know Your Competition

Advertisers commonly rely on an underwhelming WOW factor or quick gimmicks to attract online customers. It’s easier to incentivise than run an on-going analysis of your competitors and while it isn’t politically correct to refer to your competitors as your enemy, the philosophies of Sun Tzu are relevant outside the lecture theatre. Draw up a database of top performing text ads refined to your top five keywords – what commonalities are leading them to trump you and replace your business in the 1,2,3 stakes? Don’t plagiarise, but draw inspiration from their tactics. Remember, landing pages form an integral part of a good formula. Keep it relevant.

Are You Irrelevant?

Click through rate; the bread and butter of the Adwords campaign and the most basic measure of relevancy health. A high CTR is symptomatic of a well targeted text ad; if your numbers are floundering, you need to review the conversation you’re trying to have with potential customers or clients. Make sure your ad includes top performing keywords within your niche, land visitors on targeted pages and don’t drown the ad in too many keywords – after all, you want to seduce audiences, not chase them away with money-grabbing.

The Mysteries of Ad-Writing

You’ll see a variety of styles and phraseologies on the internet, bribing, targeting or presenting as oblivious – a kind of just-the-facts gimmick that works for some verticals. Striking a balance between fresh, brief content and tried best practices to appease Google is fraught with difficulties. Again, your competitors serve as a reasonable indication as to what works and what doesn’t in a specific area of your vertical. Integrate the best ideas into a reviewed strategy and don’t forget to include a call to action beyond the typical Call Now. Instead, feature cheap or free shipping rates, a company guarantee or a specialist success rate. The goal of ad text is to draw people in and convert their interest into possible sales or contracts.

Of course, these are common mistakes of every advertiser. If you fail, accept that failure and move past those expectations; instead of shutting down your Adwords account, review current campaign setup and be honest about the conversion DNA of keywords, text ads, landing pages and site information. A little soul-searching will reveal a way forward or at least a route past your previous obstacles.

This post was written by Jessica Hannah, who is a member of the team at Search Factory, an online marketing agency based in Brisbane, Australia.

Bing ads to charge Australians more

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Bing ads is showing Australians more love by  specifically targeting Australians now, by increasing their prices due to GST component now introduced. Starting in July, you’ll be able to manage your advertising spend and billing in Australian dollars for bing ads

advertising with bing ads

Bing ads in Australia –Changes

If you have a Bing ads account  and use bing ads to advertise rather than google adwords , starting 1 August 2013, the amount you pay for search ad clicks for your accounts —which use a payment method with an Australian billing address—will increase by the applicable amount of Australian GST.

However, for the month of July 2013, they plan to give a reprieve as they will be no increase in the amount you pay for search ad clicks.

Typical Yahoo BIng Advertisement

Advertise in Yahoo!7 and Bing Search results

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My battle to get back my windows 7 ultimate

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Today  suddenly i got  this message that “ my copy of windows 7 “ is not genuine.

Windows 7 activation problems

Daymm !!!  i paid good money  to get my windows 7 pack software   from a newspaper advertisement ( guy who got a prize  and wanted to sell his software ) and made sure  the pack was genuine by checking  the Microsoft seal and also  having a look at a genuine one bought from the shop  before i bought it from this advertiser in the newspaper.

samantha stosur says micrsoft aint cool

It turned out to be a perfect genuine copy  and i have been using it for almost 2 years now and suddenly i get a message that it has been blocked today

Immediately i went to Google  and on some site they told me to renter my product key  by right clicking on  my computer and properties and then re entering my product key at the bottom of that screen

Guess what “ it  didn’t work” said your  software is blocked or something.

are yu kidding me my software is not genuine

 

I managed to find a link to self help check on my pc and phone support  by going through a help link on my pc.

 

I went through this automated phone help process  that  provided me a installion id  set of numbers , there were 9 sets of numbers of 6 numbers each that i needed to type into the phone pad  and when i finished typing it ,it said my windows is blocked

 

Image from this site –>  http://dnyankosh.files.wordpress.com

i got a different set of contact numbers on that screen  due to me being in Australia

This led me to the next step  where they provided me phone support numbers ( a local Australian 13 zero number as well- ( Australian number going to Indian call center))

 

The girl in Microsoft support asked me for the  same set of numbers once again  and i provided it  and she told me the same thing , your software is blocked  and it old her i know that , thats why i have called your support number and she said sorry but i will give you a website url  and you can send all your details over there

THAT WASNT MUCH HELP AT ALL MICROSFT , Why offer phone support then ?

Anyway the url she gave me  was http://www.microsoft.com/howtotell/default.aspx

I  decided to try another thing . ie restore back my pc from before  and things seemed to be normal  once again ,, however i noticed that  my copy of windows 7 is still showing as not activated  and now suddenly  i keep getting this pop up  ..my software is not genuine

Microsoft are you hearing me !!  This is how genuine customers are treated ! not happy !!

I have a nagging suspicion that this could have happened  due to software that i keep downloading and testing on my pc ,, with one of them turning out to be rogue software

————— Update  14 july 2013 —-

I am still battling to get my genuine windows 7 ultimate genuine copy recovered ( Microsoft has suddenly decided to blok my copy of windows even though its a genuine copy i paid good money for)

Today i went to the “Australian Microsoft”  website once more  to give another try ,

I clicked on on of th suggestions worked – to get this message

  • If you need additional support, we are here to help. Get in touch with a local support professional.
    Click here for support

The next message i got was to activate windows , which was already done  but i was desperate enough( from seeing the regualr counterfeit software message ) to try again. IT TOLD NE TO GET THE PRODUCT ID

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activate windows product id

 

 

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I got these instructions from the website 

  1. Click Start and then click Control Panel.
  2. In the Category View, click System and Security, and then click System. In the Classic View, double-click System.
  3. Under the Windows Activation section of the page, the Product ID (PID) is a 20 digit number next to Product ID.

No result from validation , Back to square one 

I just got a contact number for Microsoft  Australia, hope i get something useful from this now ( as i haven’t really got any real help from Microsoft so far from on-line nor from phone to solve my issue) . Let’s see how this goes !!

  • Contact Australia Microsoft

Hope i can sort this out eventually

 

( Let me know if you have  got into similar circumstances and what you have done to fix it  !!)