Acro.net – Technology Rants & Raves by Acroplex®

I’ll save analyzing the dozens of reasons why the former Apple CEO is one of the top technology visionaries of the 20th century.

This is about how Steve Jobs has treated me and my company, Acroplex LLC when I contacted them a month ago about a trademark violation by a third party on iTunes.

Unlike other companies such as Facebook and Amazon, Apple’s response to my request to take down a violator from their marketplace was positive and virtually instant.

The Apple culture might seem distant and artificial to some – even to me, a professed non-Apple fan. I don’t own any Apple gear, gadgets or software. I don’t like iTunes or QuickTime. Still, I respect the largest company in the world, even more so now that they’ve shown that they respect the little guy, me.

Being able to talk to a real person, at the corporate legal department – let alone, on the phone instead of exchanging numerous customer ticket updates – is a big plus. The counsel I spoke to was cordial, professional and showed politeness and understanding that I have yet to experience elsewhere.

Long story short: I will be using Apple’s action and response as an example, as the battle continues with Amazon, Facebook and a couple of other online vendors to take down unauthorized material that violates my trademark.

Thank you Apple, and thank you Steve Jobs.

It really doesn’t feel like it’s been a full decade of selling domain names, and yet I sold my first domain in early 2000 for low four figures.

In those days, the market was still raw, GoDaddy was the new up-and-coming force and Frank Schilling was still in Canada building homes and planning his life-changing move to the Caymans and domaining.

Things have changed since then; domainers nowadays have an astounding amount of resources to tap into. There are domain forums, networking groups, domain conferences and newsletters, blogs and publications.

Having completed yet another domain sale to be published in DNJournal tomorrow, I marvel at the way some domainers promote their domains and how they evaluate their virtual property.

When attempting to maximize your domain sales, make sure that you don’t leave money on the table. Research your investment and when an offer comes along, there is a single strategy that will boost both your confidence and your bank account.

That’s “the power of no” – something that Rick Schwartz has applied time and again to every domain offer that didn’t make the cut.

When evaluating a domain name for sale, you will soon learn how to accurately gauge its potential. Then you will exercise patience until that offer comes along; in the meantime, you will be able to turn down every suitor that doesn’t make the cut.

Rick’s blog is a great resource of aggressively dished information about domain selling strategies. Visit it often and read it as if it were your favorite Sports Almanac.

Follow me on twitter at http://twitter.com/acroplex for updates.

When ordering electronics, I love saving money; when it comes down to paying state tax at my local Best Buy I’d rather have items ordered online.

But shipping can be an issue with items ordered online. Very few US-based online retailers offer it, unless the order is in the hundreds of dollars.

The other day, I was looking for a “sandwich” carrying case made specifically for my Nokia phone. I also wanted to maximize its mini SD card to a 2 Gb card. I could find comparable products at Best Buy but not ones made for my phone. Best Buy didn’t carry the SD card either.

Then I discovered this online shop called CellPhoneShop.net

After a little browsing, I found the items I needed, entered a free shipping code that themselves provided and paid using Paypal.

Surprisingly, the confirmation order came from a Hong Kong Paypal address which made me feel a little uneasy. Estimated delivery time was 8 to 10 business days.

After 11 calendar days I was feeling a little nervous about my order but as it was less than $18 the loss wasn’t that much. I simply wanted those two items and could not find them anywhere else.

On Saturday, a small padded package arrived, with a yellow customs declaration sticker in English and Chinese. It was actually shipped from far away Hong Kong.

The items were securely packed in bubble wrap, a receipt was included along with a coupon for 20% discount on my next order. The items were brand new, clean and in full working order. I am 100% pleased and surprised by this first order from the Far East.

At an era when $18 can get you a mediocre generic phone case at Best Buy, it’s amazing to receive both the case and a 2 Gb SD card – shipping included – all the way from Hong Kong.

The store is highly recommended and I will be ordering more items from them soon.

In the days of tight budgets and uneducated entrepreneurs, companies such as LogoGarden.com promise to bring a cheap alternative to custom-made brand development.

LogoGarden claims to be an expert veteran in the field:

“For 15 years LogoGarden.com founder John Williams owned an award-winning branding firm that served national and global companies. His firm’s growing fame led many entrepreneurs to seek John’s assistance with their branding and Logo Design.”

LogoGarden.com also declares that the versatile system with which customers can create a $79 logo is their own creation:

“John built on this vast experience to now bring you LogoGarden.com. It reflects his most advanced thinking to deliver enhanced ease of use and more than 10,000 new symbols designed by John himself and his hand-picked team of world-class logo designers.”

If only it were true.

In an article detailing the amount of creative theft, designer Bill Gardner lashes out at LogoGarden and its owner, John Williams and describes how more than 200 images have been so far identified as flat out stolen.

“Most of the designers I’ve been in touch with have had their attorneys contact Mr. Williams. Several of the corporations whose logos are registered with the US Patent and Trademark Office are also taking action.“

Domainers seeking cheap thrills from unqualified people or companies offering “logo” services must understand that slapping stylized text next to clipart does not constitute a logo or brand identity design. A professional designer’s role is to create from scratch something new and fresh that matches the requirements of the project.

Follow me on twitter for updates.

French domain investor Francois Carrillo shares his story about how he chose the domain name eCOP.com for the domain escrow service he provides, at his blog Domainware.com.

The image used at eCOP.com is very memorable, as much as the domain itself. Francois mentions that he went through a lengthy research for the owner of the image, in order to purchase rights for its use:

So I decided I absolutely wanted this photo for my site.
This way when people visit, they will not immediately forget the site.
The challenge was to find who was the owner and had the right on this artistic photo. After a deep search I found he was:
S. Demmitt, a photographer from Los Angeles. I contacted him to negotiate the rights to use it for my site.
The negotiation was friendly, and we quickly found a deal of mutual interest.

It took me two minutes to locate the eCOP image’s creator, using a little known online service called TinEye.com

One can upload an image or link to its URL and TinEye will provide other existing variants and matches.

The service also exists as a browser plugin (Firefox, IE, Safari, Opera, Chrome) with which you can right-click on an image on a web page and TinEye will search for it.