Top 10 Funniest April Fool’s Day Office Pranks:

Many of today’s websites utilize Flash to deliver rich interactive content from visualization software, to presentations, games, product demos, and videos. Some websites are built entirely in Flash.  In fact, Flash has grown so popular for interactive content delivery that Intechnic does Flash programming for one website out of four-five that we build.

Unfortunately,  iPad users won’t be able to enjoy Flash as part of their Web experience.  Apart for the built-in support for Youtube, it just won’t work.  Apple blames Flash’s developer Adobe for dragging their feet on Flash support for IPhones and now IPad.  However, some believe that this move is intentional as Apple is pushing support of HTML5, which allows for video to play natively without need for Flash.

The new IPad has some other disappointments as well.  It has no video output, no USB ports, resolution smaller than some netbooks!  Some even compare it to HP TC 1100, released SEVEN (!) years ago (see the comparison chart). This brings me to my question: will Apple’s iPad really revolutionize the Web?

For those who want the simplest possible explanation, here is Web 1.0 vs. Web 2.0:

1) Higher Cost & No Savings
We have estimated that the cost of having a web developer updating a website over the course of its lifespan can add up to 2-3 times the cost of integrating a Content Management System (CMS) and having the website updated internally.  In some cases, this cost becomes a contributing factor to why websites become stagnant and don’t get updated for years (terrible for search engines and company image).

2) You Are Not in Control
If you can’t update critical information on your own website, you are not in control of your own website. What if your web developer goes out of business or you can’t get a hold of them?  How you are going to publish that special promotion, correct a typo, or update important contact information?  Having the ability to control content on the website is of utmost importance for any business.

3) Delays & Low Priorities
The truth is that web developers don’t like maintaining and updating websites. It is hardly profitable and tedious work that always gets pushed to the end of the task list.   Resulting from this, customers can wait for the longest time to get their website updated. With a Content Management System built into the site, you can update your own website from the comfort of your office and on your own timetable.

4) Missing out on Long Term Benefits
Having a Content Management System on your website also has long term benefits: Since the content is kept separate from the design, the site can be easily redesigned without any change to the actual content.  With the content stored in the database, web developers can easily integrate the existing content into a newly designed web site.  This allows for a site to be upgraded more frequently in order to keep up with the latest trends and technologies. 

5) Wrong Perceptions
Despite what some think, having  a Content Management System on your website doesn’t cost much, it  is not difficult to use (if you can read this blog or use Microsoft Word, you will be to update content using CMS), and doesn’t take up much of your time.  It is secure and easy to use and for all the reasons above is the best tool your business website can have.

I recently came across a interesting piece written by Greg Grothaus titled ” Duplicate Content & Multiple Site Issues” (http://docs.google.com/present/view?id=dgk2ft62_40g8w32thb) that any serious webmaster or website-owner should read.

Basically, the answer is simple: if your intent is to manipulate search engine rankings – this will almost always land you in trouble. Search engines like Google get more and more sophisticated every day. There is simply no proven way to duplicate content and not risk being banned or penalized in the long term.
However, there could be legitimate reasons for having duplicate content in which case it is a good idea to take steps preventing Google and other search engines from “thinking” that you are trying to cheat the system. There are many proven methods like Permanent (301) HTTP Redirects, Canonical META tags, and keeping an eye on Google Webmaster Tools.

If you think your website may have this problem, talk to your web developer. If they have no idea what you are talking about, talk to us.

Here are some of the highlights:

• New homepage features a continuously updated stream of Latest Jobs and Latest Resumes. 
• The website is now equipped with multiple RSS feeds for Latest Jobs, Latest Resumes, Resumark  Blog, as well as Job Articles.
• You can now browse Jobs by Location, Jobs by Industry, and Jobs by Occupation.
• You can also browse Resumes by Location,  Resumes by Industry, and Resumes by Occupation.
• New Resumark Blog has been updated to include some of the latest features and bells and whistles, including category-specific posts, extended Archives, and much more.

We invite you to check out the website for yourself. As usual, feel free to post resume (you get paid $1 when an employer downloads it) or Post Jobs  (it is free).

Resumark.com is a unique job site that pays job seekers every time their resume is downloaded by an employer.  The site collects resumes from job seekers and sells them to employers, while compensating job seekers for posting their resumes online. The model is unique and has been hugely popular.

Employers know that resumes come in all flavors and file formats.  When developing the website, Intechnic was facing a difficult task to come up with a fast and reliable system to accurately search and sort thousands of resumes in dozens of various file formats.

As soon as a new resume is uploaded, Google search appliances index it and continuously re-index resumes in the database for any changes. With over 100 file formats and 100 languages supported, the system is so versatile that it supports virtually any resume file format from old MS Word for DOS documents to latest Open Office document formats. What’s even better, every resume can be viewed online (Google converts it into HTML) without the need of installing or supporting any special software to view exotic or legacy file formats. No viruses either.  You can see the complete list of the supported file formats here: http://www.resumark.com/system/resume_formats.html

The power of Google search lets users employ the well known operators to refine their search results:

For example, if you want resumes for Java programming language but no coffee:
http://www.resumark.com/search_results.html?&q=java+-coffee++programming

Or sales experience in Canada OR Mexico:
http://www.resumark.com/search_results.html?q=sales+Canada+OR+Mexico

Intechnic has years of experience deploying and tailoring Google Search Appliance technology for clients’ needs. If you have thousands of documents that need searching and your existing search is not up to the task – give us a call.

Intechnic specializes in and offers various Google search solutions starting from entry-level Google Mini to Enterprise-level Search appliances.  Our integrated hardware and software solutions continuously index all your documents or HTML pages (supporting hundreds of different file formats and languages) so they are readily available to be found if and when necessary.

Did you know that most sales on many e-commerce sites come from the search results? If you are running an online store with a large inventory it is imperative that every product in your inventory can be found through any combination of keywords.   Simple searches that catalogs are usually equipped with often don’t do justice.  If your customers can’t find something they are looking for, chances are – they will be looking elsewhere.

If your organization or website is in need of high-quality Google search capabilities, contact us for more information.

1. Manually screen ALL orders. Never (we repeat NEVER) ship products or provide services without manually screening the order and verifying each legitimacy. There is no automatic system to prevent 100% of fraud.  Sometimes something in the order will jump out that no system can catch.
2. It is often a good idea to authorize the credit card for the order amount and capture the funds following manual screening. This will eliminate any chargeback fees and hassles of voiding or refunding purchases later.



3. Always make sure all transactions are routed through SSL and are encrypted.  Do not take credit card orders without a valid SSL certificate and an encrypted connection.
4. For better protection encrypt credit card numbers and expiration dates (or not store them at all) and do not e-mail credit card numbers (in order notifications, for example) this is way too easy to intercept.
5. Make sure to mask all but the last 4 digits of credit cards on all receipts, packing slips, and shipping statements. You are also required to mask the expiration date.
6. Always check CVV2 on the card (extra digits on the back for Visa/MC or on the front for Amex). CVV2 (Card Verification Value) is an important security feature for credit card transactions over the Internet. Verifying the CVV2 number at the moment of credit card authorization enhances fraud protection and helps to verify two factors: 1) that the customer actually has the credit card in their possession; and 2) that the credit card number is legitimate. Since it is illegal to store CVV2  (yes, don’t store it in your records!) this is the best way to ensure physical presence of the credit card.



7. Always utilize Address Verification Systems (AVS). AVS is a service in which a merchant can verify a credit card holder’s address with the issuing bank. Address Verification is recommended by all major issuing banks for all credit cards processed over the Web.  It makes fraudster’s job more difficult, not only they need to know credit card number, expiration date and CVV2 but they also need to know the address the bank has on file!
8. Check the IP address of the order.  Fraud can be further reduced by integrating geographical location analysis directly into your shopping cart, analyzing the location of the originating purchase, and comparing it to the billing address of the credit card instantly. Orders from high risk countries and from customers with anonymous e-mail addresses should then be further analyzed to verify their validity.
9. Some situations may require advanced credit card verification services and scoring models to minimize fraudulent transactions in certain environments. These services include Issuing Bank BIN Number matching (verifying issuing bank name and number), anonymous proxy detection, velocity filters, purchasing pattern analysis, IP address blocking, and others. 
10. If you don’t know what to do – hire a trusted e-commerce professional.  For example, Intechnic offers over ten years of experience building and running successful e-commerce stores with millions of dollars of daily revenues.  If your provider hasn’t mentioned things from above – fire them and hire Intechnic instead.