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AdesClrPicker v2.2 - Updated

Posted in » News, Sponsors - by Ades

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My free color picker software “AdesClrPicker” has been updated. For those who are not familiar with this tool, it’s a color picker tool that allows you to capture colors anywhere on your screen with a single click of your mouse in either HTML, RGB, C++, VB and Delphi color codes.

In this update, the tool has been optimized (i.e the coding) now it runs even more efficiently. Also the #FFFFFF-bug which caused the tool to get stuck in some situations has been solved. (This was a tough bug, literally ;) took me very long time to find.)

So, please download the new version of the color picker (click here).

Website: www.adesclrpicker.com/

P.S Thank you for your continuous support, feedback and suggestions to make this color picker the best freeware!

LogoDesignTeam - year three

Posted in » Sponsors - by Ades

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LogoDesignTeam has been advertising with AdesBlog for the past 2 years consecutively, and I am humbled to know that despite the current economic slowdown they have decided to stay for another year. For that, I would like to thank them and wish them a successful year with AdesBlog!
About LDT

LDT is a logo design company that specializes in high quality, affordable custom logo design services. It employs 90+ professional graphic designers who are talented, experienced and most importantly passionate about what they do. Their service cost $149 for the entire process of coming out with a brand identity (i.e logo) for your company, you will be given four different concepts where you select one and choose the direction of your brand identity. LDT offers unlimited logo revisions and a 100% money back guarantee.

Logo Repair Services

LDT offers an interesting service called logo repair. Logo repair include things like cleaning the logo, improving the concept, and creating vector files out of your old logo images.

If you are interested in transforming your logo into something more exciting, request for a quote here.

Holiday Logo Designs

If you want to have a touch of emotion on your logo for that special holiday, this is the service that you are looking for.

Think of a holiday logo like a universal greeting card and you will get the message. Your very own logo… but with a happy face. Don’t envy Google and its fun logos! Now, have some fun with your own set of exclusive holiday logos. request for quote.

Make Money with LDT

Finally, if you are an effective blogger and online marketer, you can sign up for LDT’s affiliate program and make money with it. You can refer people to their services, or offer logo design services under your own name/company, LDT will do all the work and you - will be enjoying the results of their hard work - getting your share for every referral. sign up here.

Website: www.logodesignteam.com

P.S If you are interested to build your brand with AdesBlog, contact me here.

Have a Holiday Logo Set!

Posted in » Sponsors - by Ades

16 Comments 

One of my long time sponsors of this blog is LogoDesignTeam.com. Logo Design Team is a logo design company offering 100% original, professional, custom logo design services for an affordable fee of $149 only.

I would like to thank them for renewing their sponsorship of my website for another year.

Holiday Logo Design

Latest service offered by LDT is a Holiday Logo Design service. Yes, the one like you see on Google when there is a significant holiday. Below are some logo samples of what they have designed, see portfolio section for more holiday logo sets.

Go get your own set of holiday logos! Request for a quote here.

Website: www.logodesignteam.com

WAPT - Load and stress testing tool for web applications

Posted in » Sponsors - by Ades

5 Comments 

I am sure you have seen similar screens (to the left) from twitter all the time, right? People even do not pay attention to these error messages anymore, because it became a common occurrence.

So, how not to be a twitter? In other words, how not to repeat the failures of twitter when you launch your new web project?

Besides having robust and scalable infrastructure, one way to make sure your web application (code) is reliable and won’t go down when there is too many people accessing it, is to - test, test, test! (E.g. load testing, stress testing…etc)

But how do you test when it’s not even live yet? How do you simulate thousands of people accessing your website? So that you can test if your application can handle the load? (I think the twitter developers supposed to ask these questions before they launched twitter :)

Solution is WAPT

WAPT 5.0 is a load and stress testing tool that provides you with an easy-to-use, consistent and cost-effective way of testing web sites, web servers, and intranet applications with web interfaces. You may test and analyze the performance characteristics under various load conditions to find bottlenecks of your web applications. WAPT has a set of features to test web sites with dynamic content and secure HTTPS pages. It provides informative test results through descriptive graphs and reports.

You can simulate the number of users accessing your site, you can either set a fixed number of users, or define it in a way that it will increase the number of users to your website at specified time intervals (see below).

WAPT can simulate up to several thousands real users to check the performance of your site and find any bottlenecks.

Full Features:

• Accurate simulation of real user activity
• Different types of users in one test
• Testing of dynamic web applications
• Flexible load level definition
• Testing of HTTPS/SSL content
• Descriptive test reports and graphs

WAPT is designed for Microsoft Windows 98/ME/NT/2000/XP.

It’s priced at $350 for 1-2 licences. You can try the 30-day free trial version here or order full-version here.

Website: http://www.loadtestingtool.com

This was a sponsored post* more info

AdesBlog is now mobile compatible

Posted in » Sponsors, Technology - by Ades

10 Comments 

AdesBlog is now mobile device compatible, thanks to AlexKing’s WordPress Mobile Edition plugin.

Once installed, this plugin will redirect all mobile devices’ browsers to a mobile friendly version of your blog.

As you can see from the screenshot (i am not sure you can see or not, sorry for the bad shot ;), only the content of the blog will be displayed in the mobile version. All the graphics and other excessive things will be removed.

Unlike in RSS readers, in mobile version you can view/make comments too.

Mobile RSS Reader

As for RSS readers for mobile devices, I have found NewsGator’s RSS reader for mobiles particularly useful. SonyEricsson’s built in RSS reader was not so good, it truncates the posts. And when you click on “more” it loads the blog itself.

But one disadvantage with NewsGator’s RSS readers is that, you need to manage all your RSS’s through your account on NewsGator’s site. That means, you cannot add any new RSS’s through your mobile phone, you need to add it online to your NewsGator account first and then it appears in your mobile phone automatically. I have no idea why they have done it this way.

Do you know of any other good RSS reader for mobile devices?

Gmail for Mobile

And what is mobile device without your favorite email service - gmail, right? Gmail has developed a mobile version of its Gmail. It’s very neat application. I have been enjoying it very much. To install, point your mobile device browser to www.gmail.com/app

Do you have any interesting internet related mobile apps? (not games) I would be

Note: Maxis users type *100# and press “Send/Call” to setup your internet connection on your mobile. When you receive a message, press reply and type “5″ and send. (5 should be “Phone Settings”). Then reply again and choose “1″ and send (1 is “GPRS WAP Settings”), after which just follow the instructions.

Welcome to Sponsors, GraphicDesignTeam & LogoDesignTeam

Posted in » Sponsors - by Ades

5 Comments 

I would like to welcome my long-time advertiser LogoDesignTeam, this time for ordering 125×125 banner option and for bringing its sister site GraphicDesignTeam on board.

LogoDesignTeam.com - A Graphic Logo Design Company offering 100% Original, Professional Custom Logo Design for an affordable $149.

‘Logo Design Team’, a Team of 80+ Professional Graphic Designers are well-equipped in Talent, Expertise, Experience and Infrastructure to serve the Custom Logo Design, Creative Graphic Design, Web Design and Print Media Design requirement of Startups, Small Businesses and Big Corporate Houses.

GraphicDesignTeam.com - offers 1) Royalty Free Vector Illustrations, 2) Royalty Free Vector Packs, 3) Royalty Free Photos, 4) Logo Templates, 5) WebSite Templates, 6) Flyer Templates, 7) PostCard Templates, 8) Brochure Templates, 9) WebSite Header Templates and much more.

You can use them personally or you can also use them and design additional stuff for your clients. You can charge your clients for the designs that you derive using GDT images.

URLs: www.logodesignteam.com and www.graphicdesignteam.com

If you are interested to advertise on AdesBlog.com, please check the ad options and rates here.

Stylish WebDesign - Creative Solutions for Your Business

Posted in » Sponsors - by Ades

5 Comments 

StylishWebDesign is a design new startup web design team that offers wide range of web design related services. However their specialty is in offering custom design for individuals and small businesses. You can see their previous works here.

Unlike other web designers, during the design process and throughout the project development, SWD gives the customer the url of the project, where customers can see the real-time progress of the project. I think that’s a great thing.

They also assure you that your website will be completed within a week (provided that you are not developing huge site with lots of functionalities).

If you are interested in their services you can send them email at job@stylishwebdesign.us, and they will give you a free quote.

I think some of the advantages of working with small company compared to huge design houses is that, they are agile and personal. They are responsive to your emails and much much cheaper.

SWD has a design directory too. It’s a paid directory, they charge $9.95 for a normal review and $19.95 for an express review. I see that the directory is still new, so, in case you want to submit your websites, I think normal review should be just fine. I am not sure if the customers who order web design get a free directory listing. I think they should.

Recommendation: Everything seems fine with SWD, but I have one recommendation - I think more human touch on the site would play to their advantage. At the moment, you are not sure who is the team behind SWD and where they are located. Putting team member profiles (with photos) and contact details (maybe blogs too), would be one thing that I wanted to see.

Website: www.stylishwebdesign.us

(This was a sponsored review)

Thanks to Sponsor LogoMaid.com

Posted in » Sponsors - by Ades

3 Comments 

I would like to thank my long time sponsor LogoMaid.com for staying with AdesBlog for another 6 months.

LogoMaid has an amazing collection of 4200 pre-designed logos to choose from, for as low as $29. If you are looking for a logo, be sure to check their collection out. Also, for bloggers, if you are interested to make money, you can sign up for LogoMaid’s affiliate program and start making money. You will earn 25% of the sales, unique logos cost $199, that means you can earn $49 from each unique logo sale. Visit: LogoMaid.com

P.S If you are interested to advertise on AdesBlog, please see the rates here. If you advertise for longer period, you will get great discounts. You can reach me here.

Qwest - Bundle and save this holiday

Posted in » Sponsors - by Ades

1 Comment 

There are many great offers on the net these days during the holidays season. One such offer comes from Qwest. Qwest offers phone and internet related services. At the moment they are giving away $150 American Express Gift Card and a 2 months FREE phone service when you purchase their services.

Local Phone Service

Quest’s local phone services comes with unlimited local calling and 5¢ for long distance calls. You also get to create the exact plan you need by choosing from Qwest’s extensive list of calling features, including caller ID, call waiting, voice mail, three-way calling, and many more. Monthly price starts from $25.99 for the local phone services.

Quest’s was awarded with 2007’s Highest Customer Satisfaction by J.D Power and Associates .

High Speed Internet Service

Qwest also offers DSL High Speed Internet services, that start from $19.99 a month. Download speed for the starter pack is 256Kbps. There is a faster plan that costs $26.99, which comes with 1.5Mbps speed. And the fastest is 7Mbps, which costs $36.99. Quest internet comes with QuickConnectâ„¢ installation kit, unlimited Internet usage, 2GB of e-mail storage, and quality technical support 24 hours day, seven days a week.

Bundle and Save (+ Get DirecTV with 140 channels)

With Qwest’s Quick Strike Bundle you will get DIRECTV® with unlimited local calling, unlimited direct-dialed long distance, your choice of calling features, and Qwest’s 256 Kbps DSL High-Speed Internet with MSN® Premium.

You’ll also have access to over 140 channels of digital quality television. With this package you will save up to $360, for only $92.96 a month.

If you are interested to get these offers, call to the number below and mention the promo code.

Note: This was a sponsored review.

LogoCreator.com - Buy once, create tons of logos

Posted in » Sponsors - by Ades

1 Comment 

The logo to the left, was designed by a product called The Logo Creator 5.0. Basically it took me less than one minute to create it.

I had a chance to try out the Mega Pak version, which has over 380 logos inside, that you can mix, match and manipulate.

Mega Pak version basically includes all the following individual softwares, and costs $189.95. You can also opt to individual softwares based on the theme of the logos that you want to create, they are:

• The Corporate Edition (80 logos) Price: $29.95
• The Cartoon Mascot Logo Edition (50 logos) Price: $29.95
• The Travel and Leisure Logo Design set (50 logos) Price: $29.95
• The Entertainment Edition(50 logos) Price: $29.95
• The Spiritual Collection (50 logos) Price: $29.95
• The Real Estate Edition (50 logos) Price: $29.95
• The Sports Collection (50 logos) Price: $29.95

For example, if you are mainly launching sites that are in business (corporate) category, then The Corporate Edition is right for you. It has 80 logos inside, and over 300 built in logo design elements and 50 built in fonts.

Working with Logo Creator

The Logo Creator has an easy to follow interface, as you can see to the left. Interface elements are intuitive, so new users who is use it for the first time will find it quite easy to work with it.

Main window is a preview area where you edit the chosen logo. Side bar allows you to change the logo attributes, such as Format, Color, Shadow, Blur…etc. And the top toolbar is where you type in your text (or change the existing texts). The toolbar is also used as a source library for you to select different images (see below).

You can just drag and drop any image to the main window and they will become editable. Even for images, you will be able to change color, opacity level, shadow, blur, size, gradient..etc

Who is it for?

It’s suitable for IT and non-IT people alike. If you want to create your own logos but don’t want to spend hours to learn Photoshop, then Logo Creator is right for you. Because it’s designed for a specific purpose only, and that is to design logos. Obviously, specific purpose softwares are a lot easier to use. Because it doesn’t have all the additional unnecessary features that a software like this do not need. With only the right features and tools, you will be creating your logos lightning fast ;)

My Suggestions

I think it’s a great software, my only suggestion is to have more shapes and design elements. I think you can’t go wrong with high quality professionally designed shapes. It might be costly in the beginning, because designer needs to spend longer hours to create each design element. But once created, they have zero additional cost for every software sold. Of course, high quality product also directly relates to satisfied customers.

That said, I think for $29.95, The Logo Creator is still a bargain! So, check it out! There is a discussion forum too, where you can interact with other members, and discuss your issues.

Note: This is a sponsored post, if you want to get your software or site reviewed, details are here.