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Friday, October 9, 2009

Clixpy a usability tool for webmasters, bloggers and designers

Clixpy a usability tool for webmasters, bloggers and designers

Clixpy.com
Like to find out how usable your site is ? What actions does visitor take at your site ? how user session has progressed  ? Well, you can get all this insight and more using Clixpy. It is a online tool which captures every user visit, page view, page load and other important things. It tracks everything your site’s users do: mouse movement, clicks, scrolling, form inputs. You can watch and examine videos showing your users’ actions.

Also Clixpy guides to features which are difficult for visitors to use and which are easy, where your users spend more time and importantly why they leave your website. When equipped with this knowledge, you can optimize your landing pages and may convert visitors to be subscriber, clients and/or regular visitor.

If this all made you curious and would want to try the tool to garner more detailed information of your web site, please visit Clixpy.

There are two ways to experience Clixpy. You have 9 free sessions or you can buy more sessions. In first 9 free sessions, you can use Clixpy with as many domains and sites as you like.You can buy 100 captures to 1000 captures for a price range of $5 to $50 respectively. And you get to use your PayPal account. :D)

Registering is easy. Share your email, provide password and may "optionally" provide company name, company website link . The registration will be followed by a activation email sent to your email address. So make sure you give correct address. Once you have actiation email, click on activation link and login with user id ( i.e. email address) and password.

First login will take you to a page with three tabs. Play Session, Install and Buy Captures. Install tab will be active. Copy javascript from install tab, insert the script to your website's template/html source just before end of head html tag.

The same script could be used on multiple domains and sites. And you will have a choice to play sessions from each domain or particular website. IF you are interested in playing demo of the Clixpy, you can take a look here.

Here is the screen shot from my account:



My first session has been captured and ready to be played as seen in this screen shot.

  • First observation is that You can turn on and off session tracking using the "Tracking Session" on/off button.
  • Second thing if you do not want your browser to be tracked, especially if you have eCommerce site and you keep performing money transaction, then you can disable Clixpy for your site especially where you are asking user is entering credit card by manually adding attribute noclixpy="true" to such elements.
  • Third good thing I have liked is I can use Clixpy in IE 8, FireFox 3.5.x, Safari 4.x and Chrome with similar experience and no issue so far. 
  • It could not track Flash session though. 
  • No visible difference in page load or user activities as it uses tiny javascript with AJAX. 
  • If you do not want your browser to be tracked by Clixpy. Then by adding a cookie Clixpy will not trace your browser.Here is the page for disabling Clixpy.
  • Last but not least, they claim that they do not track or capture any input with type "password"

Clixpy.com

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Free Microsoft Security Essentials real time protection against virus, spyware and malware

Microsoft has released “Security Essentials” for PCs which are running genuine windows. It is a free download. You can download Microsoft Security Essentials here.

Microsoft Security Essentials

As usual this product from Microsoft is simple to install. Easy to update and quick to scan. And with green "right" mark on taskbar makes easy to tell if that PC is secure

Installation Screens

Installation Initiation

SecurityEssentialsInstallationWizard

Installation Complete

SecurityEssentialsInstallationWizard_Complete

Updating Security Definitions

SecurityEssentialsVirusDefUpdate

Quick Scan after install and initial update

SecurityEssentialsVirusQuickScan

Final and regular screen of Microsoft Security Essentials

SecurityEssentialsScanComplete

Also on the Security Essentials site, under support tab, there are videos which can show

  • how to install Security Essentials,
  • how to scan your PC
  • how to address threat when detected by Security Essentials

Also you have access to online community as well as access to help and how-to. If everything else fails, you can open a support case too.

My first impression is positive for the product. I have observed that

  1. the Microsoft Security Essentials can be installed along side Avast! and Spyware Blaster.
  2. in quick scan mode the Microsoft Security Essentials has performed the task quickly without slowing down my Vista laptop.
  3. after scanning while watching from windows tray this virus, malware protection has not reduced opening and closing of browsers, office documents or archives.

Minimum Requirements

You can find minimum requirements for Microsoft Security Essentials here. It can be installed on Genuine Windows XP (Service Pack 2 or Service Pack 3); Windows Vista (Gold, Service Pack 1, or Service Pack 2); Windows 7. Plus it supports Windows XP mode in Windows 7.

It would be interesting to see reaction of other companies which are already in this space of PC Protection from virus, spyware and malware. Also how would open source pc tools compete with this new tool.

Enjoy... and stay safe !!!!

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Shri Ganesh Festival : Ganpati Baapa Morrya

Shri Ganesh Festival : Ganpati Baapa Morrya



I would like to share eight images of Lord Shri Ganesh taking moment on just completed Ganesh Festival.

Lord Ganesh is prayed as the God of Knowledge and for his super Manager image. It is one of the social festival almost each household as well as every neighborhood in India (especially western states) has an idol of Lord Shri Ganesh. There is a ompetition among each neighborhood about decoration and special attraction around the Lord's idol.

In India and now throughout the world, every year, during month of Auguest, Ganesh Festival is been celebrated. Indian People bring a statue of Lord Shri Ganesh and situate it in their God room. Perform daily rituals and socialize among family, friends and neighbors’. The Poojan is followed by sweets called Modaka. By the way poojan is performing prayer of Lord Ganesh with a oil lamp and appropriate musical instruments. Modaka is made up of jagary, coconut inside wheat flour and then it is deep fried in oil. Other sweets are rice pudding with kesar. Yummy !!!

If you may please look at the Lord, he has the head of an elephant and big tummy. The large ears represent full attentive listening. The eyes shows concentration, focus and deep observation. While the trunk in front of mouth signifies loud and clear voice for everything but no unnecessary talking. The big head is for storing the knowledge while tummy is for all positive , negative things, secrets. The moon on head is for calmness and patience. All the attributes of Super Manager.

Also each picture of Lord Shri Ganesh signifies the Lord’s characteristics and has a story behind it.


    First row
  • first image - Gajanan –a God with head of an elephant.

  • Second image – Mahakai – humongous body form

  • Third Image – Omkar – The one who is born with and from sound of universe. sound of the sacred syllable.

  • Fourth Image - Shoorpakarna - Large-Eared Lord


  • Second Row
  • First image - Vakratunda - Curved Trunk Lord

  • Second Image – Sindhurvarna – The one with color of saffron.

  • Third Image - Vighnavinashanaya - Destroyer of All Obstacles and Impediments

  • Fourth Image – Chatur booja – The one with four hands.


  • Third Row
  • First Image - Mangalamurti - All Auspicious Lord

  • Second Image - Bhalchandra - Moon-Crested Lord

  • Third Image - Ekadanta - Single-Tusked Lord

  • Fourth Image - Lambodara - The Huge Bellied Lord

And so on…

Happy Ganesh Festival…Lord Ganesh we would be waiting for you to visit us next year !!!