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Has Linux stagnated?;nbsp; Is Ubuntu no longer the poster child?;nbsp; Has it stopped pioneering usability?;nbsp; Or have we literally reached a plateau where things are as good as they can get for usability and it's just a case of tidying up the graphics driver support etc?

The last Ubuntu I reviewed was 8.04 Alpha and while I didn't dabble with it for long, I found it to be a reasonable step in the right direction.;nbsp; So with 9.04 what has changed?

Installation
The installation process is still fairly good, although the step where you choose which drive to install to seems to have gone backwards.;nbsp; I remember in 8.04 it was more intuitive than this...;nbsp; Either way, the whole process is easy and certainly within the ability of someone who can install Windows.

Aesthetics
While the OS itself looks the same (and has done since Breezy Badger as far as I can tell), the login screen looks fantastic this time around.;nbsp; Very sleek and professional.

Networking and Media Handling
Because I insist on evaluating operating systems based on their initial functionality and ease of use, I weight decent media support and networking very heavily.;nbsp; Networking in Ubuntu has always been good and 9.04 is no exception.;nbsp; The media playback however seems to be less intuitive than in previous releases.

Having toyed with every major release since Breezy Badger, I've seen the last few download codecs on demand and it's always worked perfectly.;nbsp; This time it does correctly identify the missing codecs but fails to install them.;nbsp; In order to view the video files I have saved on a network enabled machine, I needed to download and install VLC.;nbsp; I day say this isn't something the ;quot;normal;quot;, absent minded user would be able to manage.;nbsp; I only knew to install VLC because of prior knowledge, you'd expect the platform default player to be as durable as possible. ;nbsp;

A nice (seemingly new) feature that I like is the automatic mapping of viewed network folders to your desktop; so browsing my media-server machine it automatically mapped my ;quot;TV Shows;quot; folder to my desktop.;nbsp; This may be the first time an operating system has done something of it's own accord and I've been appreciative. ;nbsp;

Once I'd got VLC installed everything worked fine. ;nbsp;

Applications:
I expect ;quot;usable;quot; releases to either provide a full suite of software to the user post-install or make the interface for obtaining new applications so simple it's within the realm of any 'average' user.;nbsp; I'm in a quandry as to where Ubuntu falls...;nbsp; The applications provided post install are sufficient for very basic use but it's not exactly a full studio - meaning even the most average of user will long for more.;nbsp; The Add-Remove applications menu is acceptable if not a little overwhelming for the uncertain.;nbsp; In something I refer to as the ;quot;agony of choice;quot;, usability suffers when people are given free reign. ;nbsp;

If you dare select ;quot;all available applications;quot; you'd better be well provisioned, because you could die from starvation before you could read the description of every application available.;nbsp;

Sure they're categorised but if Joe Blogs isn't quite sure what category his desired application lives in, he could end up reading every single description across 2-3 categories.;nbsp; Unless you know the name of the application you require (VLC in my case) it may be problematic.;nbsp; Although, I guess this is true of any release that doesn't offer a full software studio by default.

The only thing I think of when using Ubuntu 9.04 is how little things have progressed in the past year.;nbsp; I've avoided any Linux related news for over 9 months and step into my first review in a long while and everything has stayed the same.;nbsp; I know the next Ubuntu is out in 2 months (and this one is a few months old) but I really expected more.

Has Linux stagnated?;nbsp; Is Ubuntu no longer the poster child?;nbsp; Has it stopped pioneering usability?;nbsp; Or have we literally reached a plateau where things are as good as they can get for usability and it's just a case of tidying up the graphics driver support etc?;nbsp; I'll muse this subject in a separate blog post.;nbsp; In conclusion, this Ubuntu release is perfectly capable but seems to personify the lack of enthusiasm the community is enduring.

I'm looking for how well SimplyMepis 6.5 handles media playback, connecting to my current network and general editorial use.

Under the premise that the ;quot;average;quot; user will play music and videos on their machine, browse the Internet and dabble in Office/Graphical applications I will be putting the distro through these same tasks. I'm deliberately not touching the gaming issue for obvious reasons.



#1. Network to my Windows network and grab a video file to play
SimplyMepis is a KDE app so I'm more at home here but it's not a complicated procedure: click applications, what do I want to do? Transfer files across the Internet/network, right, so I hover over ;quot;Internet;quot; and then ;quot;File Transfer;quot; and there is my normal app - GFTP. Not a difficult process to find an obviously named FTP app (it just so happens I run an FTP server in the house for secure file transfers, but you could just as easily grab the tried and tested NTFS R/W driver from Synaptic). There were no issues what-so-ever connecting to the Internet or accessing my current network and in the screenshot below you'll see the episode of Family Guy transferring across to my desktop:



#2. Play the episode of Family Guy
Any XP user will know the pain of a fresh install and media-support. You need to install Codecs and remove any clashes and likely spend more than 30mins sorting it all out (unless, like me you've done it so many times you have everything you need backed up on a DVD). Codecs in XP can be an absolute pain in the arse so it's not strange to expect similar levels of discomfort from Linux. Lies, all lies it seems. Once again I double click on the episode and it just plays without issue or delay. Infact see it playing in the screenshot below with this review being written in KWrite behind it... Yet again this new wave of usable Linux continues to impress me through the no-hassle approach.



#3. Browsing the Internet
Well, clearly not an issue anymore (although this wasn't attempted on a Laptop with a wireless connection as I would hope to - I still haven't placed a sensibly priced notebook to do this on). Distros come with Firefox preinstalled and there's never going to be a problem connecting to a hard-ADSL line so connecting to the Internet isn't the headache it once was (although the situation is probably different when battling with all the different wireless devices of this world.

#4. Editorial, Office and Image editing
The GIMP comes installed as standard (as normal) so your image editing needs are always catered for in this Photoshop substitute. OpenOffice comes as standard too so that's all your office needs sorted as well (and if you've used MS-Office before then you'll be right at home). So out of the box functionality is quite comprehensive as you'd expect but what about installing new software?

#5. Installing new software
It's worth expressing again that ;quot;stereotypically;quot; people think it's difficult to install things in Linux - with hours of sitting scratching your head at the command line trying to install packages, finding the pre-requisits and then trying again. Times have changed people, now Synaptic Package Manager makes everything easier than you could have dreamed. You open it up, browse a catalogue of applications and pick the one you want. Mark it for download and it'll download it (along with any pre-requisits), install it and notify you when your new app is ready to be used. Difficult? No. I can't actually remember the last time I needed to use the Terminal (command line) in these popular Linux distros... Which is a good step.

Everything seems to be catered for once again. Out of the box functionality is equivalent to a few hours of tiresome installing in XP

Obviously that's what you want from these new distros - a level of usablity that borders on fool-proof. You don't need to venture into the wide world of the Internet to find applications (well, not in the traditional ;quot;browser;quot; sense anyway) and SimplyMepis just handles all the complicated bits for you.

How does it feel to use
Obviously less quantifiable but it feels good - a fairly typical KDE environment. I set up my location to be Cambridge UK and the desktop informed me of the time and the weather (including times for sunrise/sunset, dew point, temperature...) which I do quite like (albeit if it's not functionality beyond that offered by Google Desktop... It doesn't have all the razzle dazzle of PCLinuxOS2007 (Compiz/Beryl enabled from the second you install it) but it can be obtained through Synaptic without issue - that I'm nigh certain of. It just works is all I can say. This is yet another great distro to rightfully stake for a place on the ;quot;Usable Linux;quot; battle

Overall
Overall it's great. SimplyMepis takes a lot from the first word of it's name ;quot;Simple;quot;. As per the other distros I've reviewed recently (Ubuntu Feisty Fawn, PCLOS2007) everything that you would want is just offered directly out of the box - you could seriously be watching DVD-Ripped movies within minutes of installing SimplyMepis (as you could in Ubuntu and PCLOS I might add). Of course the distros ARE different in how they do things but when I'm looking at things at this level of basic functionality. SimplyMepis just works and that's exactly what it should do - offering what you'd expect from a few hours of installing in XP directly out of the box. This is yet another strong contender for the Usable Linux title

.

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It doesn't look like that's going to happen this time, as Hardy Heron seems to be bringing more than it's fair share to the table.

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I place a lot of importance on Ubuntu (maybe unfairly) because I consider it to be the poster child of ;quot;usable linux;quot; and it inherits the pressures associated with that role. So, with that in mind let's see what this alpha 5 release is showing.

Aesthetics
I hate starting on something so petty but it's what struck me first when the installer loaded: the background is a heron! That's a nice touch and while the Ubuntu artists seem to split opinion slightly with their artwork, I really like this new edition. Although I'd be tempted to move towards the familiar territory of the Ubuntu animal wallpapers. Otherwise it looks the same as Gutsy did and that's no bad thing; the colour schemes and layout now iconic with this release.

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Masses of new features, packages and delights
While this is a test release it still gives indication of what new features are coming with the final version and I'm amazed at what the devs have managed to cram in. Xorg 7.3 is included which should offer improved auto-configuration, keeping you away from xorg.conf. Kernel 2.6.24 is bundled in this release too with the most notable new feature being the power saving functionality for 64bit based machines. There's a load of new software installed by default too but I'm going to gloss over those...

GVFS
Finally, the filesystem manager (for want of a better name) associated with Nautilus has been updated. GVFS is set to replace GnomeVFS and make the world a brighter place for us all. It should be quicker and offer a wider range of operations (restoring items from the trash, pause/undo file operations etc). This is a welcome addition for obvious reasons.

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Windows based installation set to take over the world
I was surprised when I read about how this is going to work (although I've not experienced it first hand as yet). Umenu is a ;quot;simple launcher that lets the user install Ubuntu from Windows using Wubi, install Ubuntu to a partition without having to make their CD-ROM the first boot device;quot;. This allows you to chuck the CD in the drive while running XP and install Ubuntu from there...

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Wubi
I approached it in the above paragraph but felt it needed more. Wubi allows users to install and uninstall Ubuntu like any other Windows application; it does not require a dedicated partition nor does it affect the existing bootloader, yet users can experience a dual-boot setup almost identical to a full installation. This is a great way to allow users to try Ubuntu in a more meaningful environment than the LiveCD without actually committing to installing it properly. Such a good idea in my humble opinion.

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Usage, installation etc
As with previous releases installation is a doddle; especially for those of us who remember installing without graphical partition managers (or a GUI at all). Using this early release of Heron is just like using Gutsy, and Edgy, and Feisty... The interface is largely the same and if there are changes (beyond default applications) I don't see them. It's intuitive enough I guess (although I personally prefer a KDE environment to Gnome).

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Inexplicable change to the location map
This I really can't understand. When you're installing Ubuntu (as with any other OS) it asks you to select where you're from. On previous editions of Ubuntu you get a simple world map with major cities highlighted; you click on the map to zoom in and select your city. This has changed and it's really counter-intuitive. The map is zoomed out by default, but when your mouse enters the area it zooms in and suddenly your mouse is controlling how the region pans. It has become more difficult than necessary to select your location - although I suspect this will be highlighted and fixed by the time the full release comes about. It just feels like someone has ;quot;overcooked;quot; this region by spending too much time on it when in reality I felt it was finished in Gutsy.

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Conclusions
What more can I say? If I went over all the excellent features of Ubuntu I'd be repeating myself. I appreciate that this is only the alpha 5 release but the new functionality looks to be very promising indeed; of course I won't commit to anything until the final release is out in April but I think (yet again) it'll be good.

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PClinuxOS 2007 was possibly the best release of last year, so will this Gnome edition give Ubuntu some pressure?

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Aesthetics and Live CD
PCLinuxOS was one of the most visually pleasing releases I've toyed with so I was somewhat surprised when I saw the LiveCD loading. It wasn't that attractive (in my personal opinion) and couldn't hold a flame to PCLOS2007, so what was going on?



PCLOS then began to toy with me by asking me which device I wanted to configure with a stylish prompt; a gentle gradient on the selected item topped off a sexy looking menu... So maybe the first screen I saw was overlooked somehow? Here's the menu:



But then once I'd configured my network device (which was unbelievably easy I might add) I was then prompted with another rather ugly screen prompting me to login:



I don't get it, PCLinuxOS 2007 had consistently excellent designs throughout, maybe the designers had gone on strike? However once you login and you're in the Gnome environment everything looks sexy again; subtle gradients, strikingly excellent icon designs and a clean, uncluttered (typically Gnome) environment. I don't get the whole journey but I really like it once you're logged in - and ultimately that's what counts. Maybe it's personal preference but the loading screens don't do it for me, but once you're in the system it's sexy. Very sexy.



Installation
Much like the KDE PCLOS, this Gnome edition uses the Draklive installer that comes with Mandriva and while some users don't like it I personally love it. I think it's the most intuitive installer around at the moment and that's excellent for new users who don't understand partitioning (etc). As always the installation goes smoothly with Draklive handling all my partioning for me with minimal intervention required. Anyone could install PCLOS.



Environment and Applications
PCLOS Gnome edition was released on December 28th 2007 and as such ships with Kernel 2.6.22.15, Gnome 2.21.2 and a bundle of default installed apps (Firefox, Azureus, XMMS, you get the idea). Listing the applications is folly when Synaptic is installed; just go shopping and download whatever you want. As my girlfriend put it ;quot;what, so it's like shopping online where everything is free?;quot; It's worth noting though that a lot is on offer directly post-install for those who want instant ;quot;plug and play;quot; functionality.

Networking
PCLOS picked up my network without issue (although I can't comment on wireless drivers because I'm using a wired connection). Once connected it picked up my windows network effortlessly and allowed me to access all my files in the Samba shares. Now that I'm on my network it's time to drag some media files over and see what the codec support is like. However, sorry about dragging on about aesthetics but how sexy is the below screenshot of me simply copying a file...



Media Playback
The selection of media files I tried playing all worked fine without requiring me to source some codecs so I can only assume PCLOS comes with popular ones preloaded. This is good because ;quot;normal;quot; users want ;quot;plug-and-play;quot; functionality, they don't want to have to faff around finding codecs and apt-getting packages. Media support in this release is excellent so that's good.



Configuration
The PCLinuxOS control centre (that is used on both this Gnome version and the KDE 2007 one) is excellent. It's intuitive and powerful in equal measures. I like the wording used on the options ;quot;change the screen resolution;quot; for example; these are terms that normal users will be comfortable with. ;quot;Display Settings;quot; seems so cold and ambiguous so that's why I consider this configuration utility to be high on the usability scale.



Conclusion and Overall Thoughts
It's very polished, fast and thoroughly beautiful once you've gone past the confusingly ugly loading screens. It's very usable and while I (through personal preference) don't find Gnome environments as intuitive as KDE it still works together very well. Out of the box functionality is impressive and that's a desirable thing in modern linux distros. It's the overall feel that impresses me; the menus slide gently, the subtle gradients and excellent icon design give the feeling that a lot of thought went into the user experience.

Yet that just confuses me even more as to why the loading visuals (and even the default wallpaper) are a little less than sexy. Ho hum. Go try this release, it's worth a look as an Ubuntu alternative.

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This release - Linux Mint 4.0 Daryna KDE Community Edition - is quite an ambitious stab at something new and that's not what I was expecting at all.

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You see I've always looked upon Mint with confusion; as a derivative of Ubuntu I never quite understood why it existed. Sure there was a time where preloading codecs and software was a desirable thing but now days everyone has tackled that problem in different ways - thus making ;quot;out of the box;quot; releases like Mint a little redundant. There are some really interesting things about Mint that deviate from that stereotype massively.

Installation
This release is big. It comes at just under 1gb which means you're in DVD territory and while that's no bad thing these days (as DVD's are no longer expensive) it seems an interesting choice to make. Clearly the judgment was made that 'out of the box' functionality is important and therefore the DVD is to be loaded with goodies, codecs and puppies for the user to toy with.

Installation was undeniably easy; borrowing most of the process from Ubuntu. The LiveCD detected my monitor size to be absolutely mammoth and adjusted the resolution as such. Unfortunately the 24;quot; screen it thought I had was actually just a 17;quot; but changing this was nice and simple (more on that in configuration). No qualms with installation, you've seen it all before. It works, let's move on.

Aesthetics
It's an okay looking release but there are a few rough edges that leap out at me. The icon design doesn't have the same flair that PCLinuxOS Gnome 2.21.2 showed last week and in fact reminds me of PCLinuxOS 0.93 ;quot;Big Daddy;quot;. Big Daddy was handsome in it's day (I toyed with it in November 2006) but times have moved on and Mint looks rather ;quot;ordinary;quot;. Although I'm sure some sexier wallpapers would do the trick.



As you can see from the above screenshot, it's not a bad looker when you're using it, it's just not a stunner. Subtle gradients on the highlighted rows would really help. I don't know, it's just the icons and minimal padding around items seem really amateur-ish. Mint looks to be yet another release borrowing the familiar ;quot;Vista;quot; style windows too; not that I mind, it's functional and attractive it just feels like the designers lacked inspiration somewhere...



I feel like I've been a bit harsh, it's not *bad* looking it's just nothing to write home about. I can't help but feel that a release that's clearly aiming for mainstream acceptance should be a little more polished in that respect, but that's just my opinion.

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Now that I've got my aesthetic gripes out of the way, let's move onto areas where Mint performs really well

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Networking
As you would expect with an Ubuntu derivative (it is using the Gutsy Kernel after all) the networking in Mint is solid; my connection was picked up straight away (again, I can't comment on wireless support as this machine uses a wired connection). Once connected to the Internet I was able to access my Samba shares without any problems at all. So I pulled down a few files to test media support.

Media
I don't like Kaffeine (the application, obviously). I never have and I doubt I ever will. I know some people like it but I don't. This comes installed as standard and despite my distaste for the application it played my chosen files fine (episodes of The Simpsons). Clearly Mint comes with codecs preloaded and that's good.



However it wasn't until I opted to install VLC that I found the most interesting aspect of Mint...

Installation, Apt and Usability
Every release I've used in recent history makes use of Synaptic Package Manager; most of them using the very same GUI. I was expecting to have to source VLC from the online category and allow Synaptic to apt-get it for me (this is fine, I consider it ;quot;the norm;quot; and fairly usable). The Mint guys have other ideas and have chosen to tackle software installation in a new and interesting way...

In the menu there is an item called ;quot;Software Portal;quot; which prompts you to either search for a specific piece of software or browse the catalogue. I expected this to be a similar interface to the ;quot;Add/Remove Programs;quot; bit found in Ubuntu. I was wrong. Once I'd submitted my search for ;quot;VLC;quot; Firefox opened and I was taken to the Mint website itself where the catalogue was managed. I was presented with the following screen:



Opting to ;quot;Install Now;quot; opened a download in Firefox; I downloaded this file and opened it with ;quot;mintInstall;quot; (as selected by default). This then hooked up this downloaded file to Synaptic and I was asked whether I wanted to install VLC:



Opting for ;quot;Yes;quot; the mintInstall application did an apt-get on VLC and installed it (in a very Synaptic-like manner). Once VLC was installed it was added to the menu as usual and we were done.



While I'm still mildly amazed by Synaptic after all this time I was more interested in the new approach Mint had taken. Instead of prompting me to open Synaptic I was given a local interface to enter my search terms which then queried the online catalogue of software... Instead of interacting with Synaptic directly I was using Firefox to navigate the catalogue and select the application to install.

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You know what this felt like? This felt like using Windows.

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Using a web-browser to find the software you like? Download it then install it? Hang on doesn't this all sound awfully familiar? Indeed - this is like an abridged Linux/Windows installation procedure. You're still using Synaptic (and indeed apt) but the inclusion of a web-browser into this process makes it more familiar to Windows users.

And that's the clever bit. Usability is key, right? ;quot;Software Portal;quot; is a more friendly name than ;quot;Synaptic Package Manager;quot;. It's less confrontational to new users too (you're not presented with a massive list of modules and packages to cherry-pick through). Sure you can still get them, but the Mint guys have obviously thought about the user experience and that's a good thing. It's not fully polished yet (aesthetically if anything) but it's great to see releases thinking outside the box occasionally.

Configuration
Mint also has a pretty powerful configuration utility with natural language and an easy UI:



However if you know what you're doing you can get a decent level of information (and configuration) out of the utility. It's good. I don't find it as good as the one you find in Mandriva and PCLOS but it's a nice step forward.

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Final thoughts
I can't see myself using Mint on a regular basis; for whatever reason it feels a little bloated and underwhelming out of the box. It was only when I dugg a little deeper did I find the installation workflow that captured my imagination. When I said before that I finally ;quot;get;quot; Mint I meant it. This release isn't aimed at me. This release is aimed at users who want/need direct out of the box functionality without the desire to trawl through lists of modules to get what they want. This box is aimed at people who just want to be given a DVD and have an operating system - for them it's pretty good. It's just *not* pretty enough in my opinion (but that's quite a shallow standpoint).

I really like the thought that's gone into the installation of software (because it's different) and for all the obvious reasons it's a good release; it just doesn't have that ;quot;wow;quot; factor that I feel others seem to have. It's absolutely worth a look if you're the sort of person who finds Ubuntu too lightweight. For me, well I guess I'll stick with PCLOS for now.

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;quot;I may have a massive personal preference towards KDE but I somehow think that PC-BSD has an excellent combination of intuitive elements that make it easy for me to recommend.;quot;

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PC-BSD is a free operating system based on Free-BSD with ease of use in mind. The PC-BSD website claims ;quot;Like any modern system, you can listen to your favorite music, watch your movies, work with office documents and install your favorite applications with a setup wizard at a click.;quot; and that's a big claim to make.

Who PC-BSD is aimed at
It has been designed with the ;quot;casual;quot; user in mind; so the focus is going to be on an intuitive experience and out-of-the-box functionality. The ultimate question is, is it easy to use? Let's have a look

Installation
You seldom get to see an installation process as intuitive as this; it feels enough like Windows to be comforting to the Microsoft faithful yet has that distinct Linux feel (once you're asked about setting root passwords). It may not be the prettiest installer in the world but it's very functional and easy to use - top marks!





It's even nice to be asked what system components you want added (as default applications). Rather than be loaded with 101 things you're not likely to use it asks you - a nice touch I've not seen in any other OS.



When PC-BSD is installing it's all very civilised yet the critic in my can't help but notice the slightly low-res images used to advertise the system you're installing... To be fair it installed quite quickly and offered me the option of installing extra languages and software from a second CD, which I declined.



Aesthetics
It's KDE through and through but don't expect any immediate visual delights. That's not to say it's an ugly release out of the box - it looks acceptable. However it does have excellent support for graphics cards and the presence of Compiz-Fusion means that visual glory is just a few clicks away.



Help for new users
There's a helpful ;quot;quick start;quot; guide provided upon your first login to the system as well as a ;quot;quick guide;quot; ever present on the desktop - these are a nice addition to help fresh users become more comfortable in the environment.

Networking
As usual I can't comment on wireless support but the connectivity seemed excellent otherwise; my home network was picked up immediately and I could happily navigate the Samba shares. The presence of Konqueror always bothers me (I consider it tiresome, slow and generally outdated but that's just me). I can't fault the networking but the story might be different had I not been using a wired connection.



Media Support
Taking a media file from a Samba share (such as an episode of South Park) and trying to play it often highlights how much 'out of the box' functionality the release has. In this case opting to play the file results in instant playback (albeit in Kaffeine, my least favourite media player). I tried a few other files too and all of them played so the PC-BSD guys are serious about offering a decent yet immediate user experience. It may not be rare in the current free-OS climate but it's still desirable.



Configuration
PC-BSD comes with the usual KDE Control Center (exactly the same as I found in Linux Mint 4.0 Daryna). It's a solid configuration utility and the usability level is pretty high - I especially like the use of natural language (as I said in my Mint review). No concerns over config - most users should be comfortable with this.



Software
PC-BSD comes with an absolute boat-load of software installed by default (even with my liberal additions during the install). They've pretty much covered every single software niche by default so you shouldn't really need to install anything unless you have very specific needs (or dislike the default offerings).

Installing new software
This is an interesting notion and unfortunately Mint already stole PC-BSD's thunder for me; you see I spent many minutes scrolling through the installed software and control panel menus looking for something that resembled Synaptic. However what I should have been looking for was on the desktop all along: ;quot;Download PBI's;quot; is a link to an online catalogue of software (much like last week's review of Mint).



You download a ;quot;PBI;quot; file that acts like an .exe or .msi file under Windows. I was expecting PBI to be a different visual extension to Synaptic (apt, basically) but that's not what it did at all... Maybe it was because I chose to download MSN Messenger 7 but it acted and installed exactly like I would expect under Windows...





So I decided that I'd get Wine from the same online repository but again, it installed like a Windows based installer.



Good work to the PC-BSD guys, I didn't once see the word ;quot;package;quot; or ;quot;repository;quot; when installing a selection of applications. While that may not seem like a compliment to those of us who actually use Linux on a frequent basis, for someone who only used Windows in their lifetime the means of installing software under BSD is refreshingly similar. It's easy, it's obvious and more importantly anyone could do it.

Conclusions
I can't understand why I've never used BSD before; it's fabulous. I may have a massive personal preference towards KDE but I somehow think that PC-BSD has an excellent combination of intuitive elements that make it easy for me to recommend. Sure there are prettier releases out there and yes there are probably ones more suited to those of us who love Synaptic. But for flat-out ease of use? This is pretty top notch. I recommend you check out PC-BSD.

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;quot;Foresight is a desktop operating system featuring an intuitive user interface and a showcase of the latest desktop software, giving users convenient and enjoyable access to their music, photos, videos, documents, and Internet resources.;quot; is how the website sells it to you, but it's this sentence that got me:

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;quot;As a Linux distribution, Foresight sets itself apart by eliminating the need for the user to be familiar with Linux;quot; - a brave yet foolish claim to make if you can't back it up.

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Because Foresight is clearly gunning for the mainstream market by citing usability as one of their key concerns (through intuitive interface, etc) I'd be expecting the release to be attractive and very functional straight out of the box. Let's begin then shall we:

Installation
The thing that struck me first was the lack of a LiveCD, something that is so common in releases these days. Especially considering Foresight weighs in at 1.2gb (offering you a DVD or 2CD download). So already it might be at a disadvantage to other releases that offer you the chance to ;quot;try before you buy;quot;. Never mind, let's install it anyway.

The only real point to note is that extlinux is the default boot loader but you're given the option of Grub; everything else was textbook.

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I've got to hand this to Foresight; it made a complicated looking install amazingly easy. Unlike DreamLinux (which had a pointlessly complicated installation process) Foresight looks difficult but it actually auto-completes everything for you. I was very impressed with the installation process because it required little to no input from me at all; just user details. A good start then.

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Aesthetics
It's not a bad looking release to be fair, but it doesn't amaze me. The loading screens are okay and the interface is typically Gnome but not overly offensive.

One of my biggest complaints is that I personally find it too green by default; so I entered the appearance configuration in an attempt to make it more tolerable. I changed the background to a sexy blue alternative and changed the menu type, but couldn't for the life of me get the vile bright green active menu state to change to something a little less... green. As you can see it looks wrong.



I assume this is a personal failing rather than Foresight making it impossible to change the colour... Otherwise it's not a bad looking release so I can't fault it there.

Networking
As always I can't comment on wireless connectivity because the machine has a wired connection; but it picked up my Windows network without any problems. I could comfortably access my Samba shares and that's something I class as very important for a ;quot;usable;quot; release.

Media Support
This is one of the most crucial elements for a release that claims to give users ;quot;convenient and enjoyable access to their music, photos, videos, documents, and Internet resources;quot;. It's here that their claim that ;quot;Foresight sets itself apart by eliminating the need for the user to be familiar with Linux;quot; really comes to bite them in the arse. Pulling a media file across and trying to play it results in a ;quot;codec not found;quot; error.



A little disappointing considering 90% of the releases I toy with have such codecs bundled; especially when you consider that Foresight is 2x the size of PCLinuxOS, Mint, etc. Obviously it could save itself by doing ;quot;an Ubuntu;quot; and offering me a download link to get the codecs I need... No such luck.

Right. So I need to go and dig up the codecs myself do I? Fine. Another minor problem is that I cannot find a package manager of any kind (I'm looking for Synaptic or something along those lines). I can't see anything in the System/Administration menu beyond an inexplicably unhelpful ;quot;Add/Remove Software;quot; application that doesn't seem to offer anything to a user who doesn't already know what they're looking for.



So I do what I should never have to do: RTFM. Let me just say that truly usable, intuitive applications don't require the user to read the manual before finding what they need... Anyway, I find the chapter on ;quot;Proprietary Codecs;quot; that offers me some advice:



Just in case you can't see the image above, it's asking me to paste a command into the command line. So Foresight tries to have a USP of ;quot;you don't need to know anything about Linux;quot; but not only does it require me to read the manual but I also need to sudo a package update on the console? Hell, it doesn't even tell me where I'd find this ;quot;command line;quot;, which would be a problem if I didn't already know Linux. Do you see the problem?



Sure when I run that command it installs the codecs and everything is right with the world again but that's not the problem. A distro that claims to be really usable and good for media cannot make getting codecs this complicated because ;quot;normal;quot; users would be confused. I couldn't sit my mom down and ask her to play a video because she'd cry... Yet I would have no problems getting her to do it in Ubuntu, Mint, Pardus, Mepis, PCLOS and so on. Foresight has lost me.



Installing Software
Well the ;quot;add/remove software;quot; application is possibly the least useful thing I've used this year; unless you know specifically what you're looking for you're out of luck. It's not a browsable directory of installable applications, it's a search window where you enter the name of the application you want. It's awful.

I searched for ;quot;GIMP;quot; and the only result returned was ;quot;gimp, image manipulation software;quot;. So I decide to search for ;quot;image;quot; to see if I get a wider range of results but all I got were packages with the word ;quot;image;quot; in the name (GIMP was absent). How would someone who doesn't know the name of the package they want ever find anything?

;nbsp;

I have to assume there is a real package manager hidden somewhere in the system - so I return to the user manual. The manual claims to have ;quot;PackageKit;quot; which is a front end graphical user interface to manage the software on your system... Yet it offers no insight into where it might be or how to access it; the only thing I can find is the god awful ;quot;add/remove;quot; application that I've already expressed my distaste for. Again, maybe PEBKAC (problem exists between keyboard and chair) but I'm pretty used to toying around in various Linux environments and it's never THIS hard.

;nbsp;

Part of me wants to make witty puns; the irony of using Foresight as the name for such a release, but the other part of me just wants to just make it go away.

;nbsp;

Configuration... Actually forget it, I give up
You know what? This is normally where I write about the configuration utility and the installed applications but I can't even be bothered to do that. I just don't get it; what was actually on the 1.2gb DVD image that I downloaded? Sure there are a few installed applications on offer but no more than PCLOS. The out-of-the-box media support is non-existent and it's Gnome! It should be light shouldn't it? I just can't be bothered because Foresight isn't meeting me half way.

;nbsp;

Ubuntu is smaller, better, more intuitive, more usable and requires less knowledge of Linux than this; it bests Foresight in every single way so how could I possibly recommend it?

;nbsp;

It's not pretty enough to make me sit and work out how everything is done... I have never had to read the manual using Ubuntu and that's why Foresight fails. Ubuntu is smaller to download, equally easy to install, equally attractive and infinitely more usable. I'll keep an eye on the release but ultimately I've lost the will to keep reviewing it because it cannot salvage a remotely positive score.

There are too many other good releases to try; ones that are half the size and offer you a LiveCD for a start, let alone the lack of an obvious package manager and shoddy media support.

If you think I've been unfair to Foresight then please say so but remember that I'm looking at usability and functionality. If I don't think a normal user can do it then it loses points - simple. Avoid Foresight, get Ubuntu.

Vista was released to a somewhat underwhelming response.;nbsp; XP is still the most popular system by a country mile because it was not only excellent but it was also famously easy to pirate.;nbsp; OSX has incrementally improved but what's happened to Linux?;nbsp; Let's look at the graph:

It's quite clear to see that XP and Vista are merely trading users and it looks like the uptake of Vista has increased in the last month or two.;nbsp; However, OSX has increased a bit too whereas Linux has declined slightly, having not really gained more users in the past 12 months.;nbsp; What better representation for the stagnation of Linux than this?;nbsp; Mainstream user conversion is not happening and shows no sign of happening - much to the glee of the Linux fanboys.

I always thought 2007 would be the year of Linux; the tipping point looked perfect.;nbsp; Vista on the horizon and some very promising, usable releases.;nbsp; Yet it just never happened.

The statistics are taken from aggregated W3Counter.com statistics, taken from around ~25,000 member sites to offer a broad demographic in an attempt to give a more accurate representation of the current market.;nbsp;;nbsp;

So, what will the next 6 months show?;nbsp; My estimate is the increasing climb of OSX and Vista with a gradual reduction in the amount of XP users.;nbsp; Windows 7 will no doubt cause a sudden reduction in XP users.;nbsp; Until then, I expect the Linux usage will barely change - if the above graph is any indication, we could see further decline.

Some of the products even come with a pre-made brochure website for you to get your teeth stuck into; which I'm sure is going to be suited to those who aren't confident designer/developers.;nbsp; Overall there are apparently over 1,200 different products available.

So is it worth it?
It depends on your objectives but for the current price of $37, you could spend it and only use the products for personal benefit (using the advice held in each to become better at [whatever]).;nbsp; But if you're looking to resell products (on eBay, on the Internet, using PPC, whatever) then this site solves your problems.

The dilemma with reselling is where do you get the product from?;nbsp; Do you write it yourself and claim the intellectual property as your own, or do you sell someone elses work?;nbsp; This site gives you unlimited access to over 1,200 products allowing you to choose the right product to resell.

For $37 (although this looks to be moving up to $69.95 soon) you have the core for a multitude of online businesses.;nbsp; This costs so little that if you're any good with PPC you should be able to comfortably make your money back in only a few days; therefore this does offer decent value for money.;nbsp; Especially if you buy it now before the price goes back to normal.;nbsp;

I don't normally like the products I'm asked to review but this is a good idea if you're trying to find products to resell on the Internet in any capacity.;nbsp; Visit Super-Resell.com.

Back in January a friend and I opted to buy JoomlaShopBuilder - a plugin for Joomla that can essentially generate affiliate sites based on feeds from affiliate networks - i.e give it a computing feed from Clickbank or something similar and it'll create you pages based around those products.;nbsp; It wasn't quite what we needed but it was a great starting point.;nbsp; The terms and conditions (which appear to have been revised since) stated that:

So we bought the plugin for $100 or so.;nbsp; However, the plugin was encrypted - not what we were expecting.;nbsp; So I emailed JoomlaShopBuilder requesting the unencrypted plugin.

The response
I actually did get a response back.;nbsp; It was a long, personally written response explaining that the encyption had only been done recently and the various reasons behind it.;nbsp; ;quot;Mack;quot; explained that people were making modifications to the source and then complaining when updates didn't work, or when affiliate networks changed their web-services.;nbsp; He explained that supporting all these modifications was impossible.

My solution
I'm a web developer, hell, I'll happily waive the support contract for an unencrypted version if that's the problem.;nbsp; I explained that I needed to make bespoke modifications and should be entitled to do so based on the terms and conditions.;nbsp;

I never heard from JoomlaShopBuilder again.

Dates and emails
I received Mack's response in January 26th 2009.;nbsp; Since then I have sent 5-6 emails through their official technical support and 1 to Mack's personal email account.;nbsp; I have received no replies.

So the bottom line
I paid $100 for a plugin that specified in the terms and conditions that you can make modifications to the source code.;nbsp; This wasn't the case so I requested a refund (trades description act being in breach for one thing).;nbsp; He has not responded and considering he's based in the US and I'm based in the UK there's nothing I can do.;nbsp;

So 6 months later I've decided enough is enough and I'm going telling people.;nbsp; Never buy anything from JoomlaShopBuilder. ;nbsp; Found this interesting?;nbsp; Maybe you should email roadmack@gmail.com to let him know.

Mack, if you read this - it's not nice to ignore emails.

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Black Hat SEO is the art of doing questionable (read ;quot;bad;quot;) things in order to improve SEO, therefore Black Hat Affiliates will do questionable things in order to make money.

So what is cookie stuffing?
The act of cookie stuffing is the means of injecting affiliate information into an unknowing visitor's cookie.;nbsp; Therefore if you inject your own Dell affiliate details into a user's cookie, if that user then goes and buys a product from Dell, you're seen as being the referer and therefore you are paid commission.

Understanding how cookies work
A cookie will remain on a machine for a finite period, be that until it's set to expire or the user manually clears their cookies.;nbsp; Most affiliate schemes have cookie-referal lifespans of about 30 days, so if you inject your Dell cookie into every user, if any of them buy something from Dell within 30 days, you get the commission.

Seems like a great way to make money!
It's a way to make a lot of money I'm sure, but not only is it immoral to do it, but you can expect to be banned from your affiliate vendor should they ever catch you (which will become increasingly likely if the practice starts to pick up).;nbsp;

My advice would be to understand what it is and never do it.;nbsp; Karma will always catch up with the dishonest.

Black Hat SEO is the art of doing questionable (read ;quot;bad;quot;) things in order to improve SEO, therefore Black Hat Affiliates will do questionable things in order to make money.

So what is cookie stuffing?
The act of cookie stuffing is the means of injecting affiliate information into an unknowing visitor's cookie.;nbsp; Therefore if you inject your own Dell affiliate details into a user's cookie, if that user then goes and buys a product from Dell, you're seen as being the referer and therefore you are paid commission.

Understanding how cookies work
A cookie will remain on a machine for a finite period, be that until it's set to expire or the user manually clears their cookies.;nbsp; Most affiliate schemes have cookie-referal lifespans of about 30 days, so if you inject your Dell cookie into every user, if any of them buy something from Dell within 30 days, you get the commission.

Seems like a great way to make money!
It's a way to make a lot of money I'm sure, but not only is it immoral to do it, but you can expect to be banned from your affiliate vendor should they ever catch you (which will become increasingly likely if the practice starts to pick up).;nbsp;

My advice would be to understand what it is and never do it.;nbsp; Karma will always catch up with the dishonest.

Unfortunately someone else released their almost identical plugin 2 weeks before I was ready, so I've sat on it for all this time.;nbsp; Now, I've released it.

What it does
Wordpress Campaign Manager allows you to replace any keyword or keyphrase in your blogs content with an incentivised link.;nbsp; So I can take the word ;quot;hosting;quot; and replace every instance of that word with a link to a hosting affiliate scheme.;nbsp; From one administration panel I can manage site-wide campaigns on every post ever written.

Affiliate Link Masking
Another crucial feature is the ability to cloak affiliate links, so www.alongunfriendlyurl.com?affiliate_id=123456789 can become www.yourwebsite.com/go.php?l=kitten.;nbsp; This means you can assign a friendly alias (kitten in that example) which will then redirect the user to the affiliate campaign, but the link they saw in their browser was on yourdomain.com.;nbsp; All the big affiliate money-makers do this and it's an important factor in making money online.

As a bonus, Wordpress Campaign Manager will also tell you how many times your masked links have been clicked.

It won't mess with your other campaigns
Wordpress Campaign Manager has been created so that it won't hijack links or break your content, instead it only uses instances of your keyword (e.g. hosting) that aren't being used in titles, forms, images or other links.;nbsp; Therefore it does no harm to your pre-existing affiliate campaigns but allows you to leverage unused keywords.

The price
All of the competing products retail for $97 which I think is too much for what they do.;nbsp; Wordpress Campaign Manager retails for only $40, not because it's worth less than the competitors (in fact, it does more!) but because I think $40 is a more realistic price for a Wordpress plugin.

Click here to visit the site and purchase Wordpress Campaign Manager.

;nbsp;

Unfortunately someone else released their almost identical plugin 2 weeks before I was ready, so I've sat on it for all this time.;nbsp; Now, I've released it.

What it does
Wordpress Campaign Manager allows you to replace any keyword or keyphrase in your blogs content with an incentivised link.;nbsp; So I can take the word ;quot;hosting;quot; and replace every instance of that word with a link to a hosting affiliate scheme.;nbsp; From one administration panel I can manage site-wide campaigns on every post ever written.

Affiliate Link Masking
Another crucial feature is the ability to cloak affiliate links, so www.alongunfriendlyurl.com?affiliate_id=123456789 can become www.yourwebsite.com/go.php?l=kitten.;nbsp; This means you can assign a friendly alias (kitten in that example) which will then redirect the user to the affiliate campaign, but the link they saw in their browser was on yourdomain.com.;nbsp; All the big affiliate money-makers do this and it's an important factor in making money online.

As a bonus, Wordpress Campaign Manager will also tell you how many times your masked links have been clicked.

It won't mess with your other campaigns
Wordpress Campaign Manager has been created so that it won't hijack links or break your content, instead it only uses instances of your keyword (e.g. hosting) that aren't being used in titles, forms, images or other links.;nbsp; Therefore it does no harm to your pre-existing affiliate campaigns but allows you to leverage unused keywords.

The price
All of the competing products retail for $97 which I think is too much for what they do.;nbsp; Wordpress Campaign Manager retails for only $40, not because it's worth less than the competitors (in fact, it does more!) but because I think $40 is a more realistic price for a Wordpress plugin.

Click here to visit the site and purchase Wordpress Campaign Manager.

;nbsp;

The Twitter API documentation is okay, but again, as with all APIs you'll spend a fair portion of your time interfacing with it. ;nbsp;However, I was recently pointed towards lab.arc90.com's Twitter API client which makes life somewhat easier.

Suddenly it's a case of instantiating the class with your username and password, as such:

$twitter = new Arc90_Service_Twitter('username', 'password'); ;nbsp;

Updating your Twitter status using the Arc90 client is a 4-lines-of-code affair, from start to finish. ;nbsp;Which makes life easy, tidy and more importantly quick. ;nbsp;

I thoroughly recommend investigating it if you're doing some development using the Twitter API. ;nbsp;Thanks to Stephen Beattie for finding and referring the client.;nbsp;

The Twitter API documentation is okay, but again, as with all APIs you'll spend a fair portion of your time interfacing with it. ;nbsp;However, I was recently pointed towards lab.arc90.com's Twitter API client which makes life somewhat easier.

Suddenly it's a case of instantiating the class with your username and password, as such:

$twitter = new Arc90_Service_Twitter('username', 'password'); ;nbsp;

Updating your Twitter status using the Arc90 client is a 4-lines-of-code affair, from start to finish. ;nbsp;Which makes life easy, tidy and more importantly quick. ;nbsp;

I thoroughly recommend investigating it if you're doing some development using the Twitter API. ;nbsp;Thanks to Stephen Beattie for finding and referring the client.;nbsp;

Previously premium cable/satelite channels were the only means for users to see adult content with printed media taking the backseat. However once the adult industry found its way online one of the biggest businesses in the history of mankind found a way to grow exponentially.

Porn helped grow the Internet
As the Internet gained in popularity, the number of adult oriented websites exploded exponentially and a business model was born; using the same subscription model used television, sites were established that allowed users to pay a fixed fee and have access to instant content.

Obviously as technology improved the adult industry followed - faster connections brought around an increase in video and said goodbye to premium-rate dialers. However, with the second dot-com boom (the often cited ;quot;web2.0 boom;quot;) the whole industry started to shift.

Web2.0 moved the goalposts dramatically
Web2.0 was a term banded around to represent user generated content and various forms of data syndication; it was obvious once Youtube became popular that a user-generated pornography video site wouldn't be far behind. User submitted content could then be uploaded to the site and served for free...

Suddenly sites such as Youporn, Pornotube and Redtube (to name the only three I am aware of) sprung up and changed the business model. Users could see all content, all the time. No subscriptions, no fees, just user submitted content.

Free content = no more paid subscriptions
Suddenly new subscriptions to premium paid services dwindled as users found comparable content for free on these new sites; which in turn spawned dozens of similar sites and moved the goalposts for the adult industry. So how can the conventional, premium sites still survive? I don't know. I can only imagine they survive by creating their own services and monetise them correctly (i.e. not with subscriptions but heavily promoted CPA campaigns).

So one of the core industries that helped found the Internet has had to adapt and shift with the times and there probably won't be a way back. Even if they clamp down on copyrighted material there's still such a volume of genuine user generated content (read amateur) footage that the damage is already done.

Pornography is free because of the web2.0 trend and the only battle for the adult industry is whether they can monopolise on the situation as they always have.

Previously premium cable/satelite channels were the only means for users to see adult content with printed media taking the backseat. However once the adult industry found its way online one of the biggest businesses in the history of mankind found a way to grow exponentially.

Porn helped grow the Internet
As the Internet gained in popularity, the number of adult oriented websites exploded exponentially and a business model was born; using the same subscription model used television, sites were established that allowed users to pay a fixed fee and have access to instant content.

Obviously as technology improved the adult industry followed - faster connections brought around an increase in video and said goodbye to premium-rate dialers. However, with the second dot-com boom (the often cited ;quot;web2.0 boom;quot;) the whole industry started to shift.

Web2.0 moved the goalposts dramatically
Web2.0 was a term banded around to represent user generated content and various forms of data syndication; it was obvious once Youtube became popular that a user-generated pornography video site wouldn't be far behind. User submitted content could then be uploaded to the site and served for free...

Suddenly sites such as Youporn, Pornotube and Redtube (to name the only three I am aware of) sprung up and changed the business model. Users could see all content, all the time. No subscriptions, no fees, just user submitted content.

Free content = no more paid subscriptions
Suddenly new subscriptions to premium paid services dwindled as users found comparable content for free on these new sites; which in turn spawned dozens of similar sites and moved the goalposts for the adult industry. So how can the conventional, premium sites still survive? I don't know. I can only imagine they survive by creating their own services and monetise them correctly (i.e. not with subscriptions but heavily promoted CPA campaigns).

So one of the core industries that helped found the Internet has had to adapt and shift with the times and there probably won't be a way back. Even if they clamp down on copyrighted material there's still such a volume of genuine user generated content (read amateur) footage that the damage is already done.

Pornography is free because of the web2.0 trend and the only battle for the adult industry is whether they can monopolise on the situation as they always have.

WebHostingChoice.com is a website dedicated to providing a direct comparison between a good number of US hosts. While the hosts are limited to being US only, the comparison chart on the homepage offers a reasonable indication as to how the hosts generally perform. Metrics such as price, setup costs, whether you get a free domain, bandwidth allowance, storage allowance and money back guarantee. There's also a ;quot;score;quot; assigned to each host.

Clicking through to read the review for each host allows you to see more information on the package offered; up-time guarantees, control panel, langauge support, SSL support and further breakdowns for costs.

It's comforting to see companies scored in such a way, but I'd like to see some reviews of how the hosts handle their customers - often customer support can make me go with a more expensive supplier simply because I know my account is handled properly. There's nothing worse than paying your bills and still feeling like an anonymous chump when something goes wrong.

WebHostingChoice don't cover *all* hosts, as my guys (Dreamhost) aren't included at all, so I wouldn't take it as impartial and complete.

The other reason that makes me question the advice is that most of the links are set up in a way that makes me believe it's affiliate generated - so clicking through to sign up with a host would profit WHC. While I'm entirely for people generating profit from their sites, it does make me raise an eyebrow as to whether ;quot;Host A;quot; is really the best or they're being touted as the best purely to increase the chance of an affiliate sale (when Host A offers a higher CPA than Host B).

Other than that the site is perfectly usable and helpful (albeit less than aesthetically glorious), the information is certainly a good starting point. I'd recommend taking the advice with a pinch of salt and reading more reviews before committing to a host.

WebHostingChoice.com is a website dedicated to providing a direct comparison between a good number of US hosts. While the hosts are limited to being US only, the comparison chart on the homepage offers a reasonable indication as to how the hosts generally perform. Metrics such as price, setup costs, whether you get a free domain, bandwidth allowance, storage allowance and money back guarantee. There's also a ;quot;score;quot; assigned to each host.

Clicking through to read the review for each host allows you to see more information on the package offered; up-time guarantees, control panel, langauge support, SSL support and further breakdowns for costs.

It's comforting to see companies scored in such a way, but I'd like to see some reviews of how the hosts handle their customers - often customer support can make me go with a more expensive supplier simply because I know my account is handled properly. There's nothing worse than paying your bills and still feeling like an anonymous chump when something goes wrong.

WebHostingChoice don't cover *all* hosts, as my guys (Dreamhost) aren't included at all, so I wouldn't take it as impartial and complete.

The other reason that makes me question the advice is that most of the links are set up in a way that makes me believe it's affiliate generated - so clicking through to sign up with a host would profit WHC. While I'm entirely for people generating profit from their sites, it does make me raise an eyebrow as to whether ;quot;Host A;quot; is really the best or they're being touted as the best purely to increase the chance of an affiliate sale (when Host A offers a higher CPA than Host B).

Other than that the site is perfectly usable and helpful (albeit less than aesthetically glorious), the information is certainly a good starting point. I'd recommend taking the advice with a pinch of salt and reading more reviews before committing to a host.

I need people who are willing to install the plugin, test it and give me feedback.;nbsp; In return for doing so you will be given a full version of the finished plugin to use forever.;nbsp; For free. ;nbsp;

Send me an email at steven.york@seopher.com if you're interested in being a tester.;nbsp;

I need people who are willing to install the plugin, test it and give me feedback.;nbsp; In return for doing so you will be given a full version of the finished plugin to use forever.;nbsp; For free. ;nbsp;

Send me an email at steven.york@seopher.com if you're interested in being a tester.;nbsp;

Problogger.net

Darren Rowse has an attractive fat footer where he offers information about himself (as the author), some useful resources and a push towards incentivised schemes. This is more a promotion of his primary purpose (as a professional blogger) than for SEO gain and I imagine it works well for him.

PSDTuts

Fellow 9rulers PSDTuts is purely informational and offering opportunities for people to interact with the site.

WebDesignerWall

One of the most aesthetically pleasing sites I know, WDW also use a fat footer in a conventional ;quot;blog;quot; way; summarising recent posts, recent comments and information about the blog itself. Footers like these are an excellent way to encourage users who have just finished reading content to continue interacting with the site.

Waitrose

Waitrose implement a navigational style footer which doubles up as an SEO enhancer. It allows users to find what they need quickly and effectively with deep-links to the respective sections to ensure search-engine spiders can index the site efficiently.

Break

Online humour-video vendor Break uses a fairly simple yet effective fat-footer linking to other sites within the same network, popular tags and the obvious ;quot;about, contact, advertising etc;quot; set of links you'll find in most footers.

Last.fm

A site I consider to be one of the greatest on the Internet has a footer that encourages more interactivity from the user. It lists places where they can continue to get involved (join groups etc), download and use more widgets, get help or see information about Last.fm themselves.

;nbsp;

Due to the effectiveness of fat-footers on these high profile sites we're not seeing more and more blogs using them to good effect.;nbsp; I use them here on Seopher.com but also on Distro-review.com too.;nbsp; They're a great way of enticing readers who have just finished reading a post to read something else or interact in a different way.;nbsp;

Think I've missed something sexier than these?;nbsp; Shout at me in the comments.

Problogger.net

Darren Rowse has an attractive fat footer where he offers information about himself (as the author), some useful resources and a push towards incentivised schemes. This is more a promotion of his primary purpose (as a professional blogger) than for SEO gain and I imagine it works well for him.

PSDTuts

Fellow 9rulers PSDTuts is purely informational and offering opportunities for people to interact with the site.

WebDesignerWall

One of the most aesthetically pleasing sites I know, WDW also use a fat footer in a conventional ;quot;blog;quot; way; summarising recent posts, recent comments and information about the blog itself. Footers like these are an excellent way to encourage users who have just finished reading content to continue interacting with the site.

Waitrose

Waitrose implement a navigational style footer which doubles up as an SEO enhancer. It allows users to find what they need quickly and effectively with deep-links to the respective sections to ensure search-engine spiders can index the site efficiently.

Break

Online humour-video vendor Break uses a fairly simple yet effective fat-footer linking to other sites within the same network, popular tags and the obvious ;quot;about, contact, advertising etc;quot; set of links you'll find in most footers.

Last.fm

A site I consider to be one of the greatest on the Internet has a footer that encourages more interactivity from the user. It lists places where they can continue to get involved (join groups etc), download and use more widgets, get help or see information about Last.fm themselves.

;nbsp;

Due to the effectiveness of fat-footers on these high profile sites we're not seeing more and more blogs using them to good effect.;nbsp; I use them here on Seopher.com but also on Distro-review.com too.;nbsp; They're a great way of enticing readers who have just finished reading a post to read something else or interact in a different way.;nbsp;

Think I've missed something sexier than these?;nbsp; Shout at me in the comments.

Blendtec - Will It Blend?

One of my personal favourites; what was the best way for Blendtec to demonstrate the might of their blenders?;nbsp; Gun for product placement in films?;nbsp; Leverage food channels?;nbsp; No, all they needed to do was blend an iPod, a broom, golf balls and a multitude of other things.;nbsp; This campaign attracted visitors like no other - people loved watching sturdy/expensive items turned to dust by this blender.;nbsp; On Youtube alone the iPhone blending attracted nearly 6million visitors, the iPod attracted nearly 6 million too, 3million for a bag of marbles - you get the idea.;nbsp; Sales of Blendtec blenders increased by something like 800% because of this cheap yet moreish campaign.;nbsp; Pure genius.;nbsp; Visit Will It Blend?

Honda - The Accord ;quot;Cogs;quot;

I consider Honda's marketing team to be amongst the best in the world because they frequently deliver rememberable, instantly recognisable advertising.;nbsp; This advert that they created for the new Honda Accord became iconic; it didn't need to be subtle in it's intentions, the sheer scope of what they accomplished ensured that people were forwarding this advert to each other across the entire Internet.;nbsp; It was shown on TV's worldwide and implied that if Honda could go into this much detail with their advertising, the car must be exceptionally well made.;nbsp; Which they were. ;nbsp;

Guitar Hero - Bike Hero

Only yesterday [http://www.seopher.com/articles/marketing_stunt_of_the_week_bike_hero] I awarded this 'marketing stunt of the week' because the scope of what was achieved here is just excellent.;nbsp; It was completely unbranded and uploaded as if someone had gone out and done it - it showed a guy using his pushbike as a guitar-hero controller and cycling his way around a track they'd drawn around his neighbourhood.;nbsp; He had to hit the right notes at the right time...;nbsp; It's really quite inspiring to watch.;nbsp; All this video does is raise awareness of Guitar Hero in a positive light, but done in such a clever way that it's indistinguishable from normal user-generated content.;nbsp; It wasn't until someone blew the whistle that it was flagged as viral marketing.

Burger King - Subservient Chicken

Nike - Ronaldinho Golden Boots

This campaign was unquestionably created by Nike, so heavy the branding and obvious it's intentions; yet it had so many admirers just to see the unhuman skills shown by Ronaldinho.;nbsp; Clearly it was fake yet it was done so well that no one could conclusively prove it was.;nbsp; Why was it good?;nbsp; It hinted that by buying Nike boots you too could develop inhuman skill, yet at the same time it was done in a way that made you want to show your friends.;nbsp; That's good viral marketing.

Transport for London - Do The Test

Transport for London created this absolutely astonishing piece of viral video; you're challenged to keep an eye on the video and count how many times the team in white pass the basketball.;nbsp; At the end of the video a new dimension is introduced that forces you to re-watch it - the message this video promotes is massively important and they conveyed it brilliantly.;nbsp; This is a video that I personally sent to 10+ of my friends because it had the perfect combination of surprise and competitiveness to make it viral.;nbsp; Visit Do The Test. ;nbsp;

Cadburys - In the Air Tonight Gorilla

This is a campaign that didn't quite resonate with me, but it did with everyone else.;nbsp; A very simple advert created for TV showed a gorilla sitting behind a drum kit listening to Phil Collins' ;quot;In the Air Tonight;quot;, upon reaching that famous drumming moment the gorilla starts playing the instrument.;nbsp; I didn't understand quite why this advert had such appeal but it really did - certainly amongst children and those 30+.;nbsp; The advert had a very strong presence online and raised brand awareness, clearly delivering a good ROI because this video can't have cost much to make.

Jack Links Beef Jerky - Messin with Sasquatch

A fairly simple premise but executed in a tidy way - short videos showing guys messing with Sasquatch.;nbsp; Nothing overly amazing about these videos but they were mildly amusing and perfectly forwardable and with a few million views on Youtube alone shows that the campaign took off pretty well.;nbsp; While the videos don't have the creativity or vision of heavyweights such as Honda, the fact that I knew the product solely because of the viral campaign shows it works (they're not sold here in the UK - jerky isn't popular at all).;nbsp; Visit Messin' With Sasquatch.

Honda - Difficult is Worth Doing

Honda have the best marketing team in the world (in my eyes) and this campaign showed quite how much effort they put into their advertising.;nbsp; With a slow lead-up for a week or two on TV (small snippets explaining Honda were going to be doing something) they then went all out and broadcast a live advert with choreographed sky-diving.;nbsp; This wasn't quite as viral as their ;quot;cogs;quot; campaign but it showed how much time and effort they're willing to put into their advertising and by proxy, how much time and effort goes into their products.;nbsp; It didn't matter that they didn't advertise the fact that they sell cars, because Honda no longer need to tell people what they do.;nbsp; They just need to continue to prove how good they are at doing it. Watch the video here.

Blendtec - Will It Blend?

One of my personal favourites; what was the best way for Blendtec to demonstrate the might of their blenders?;nbsp; Gun for product placement in films?;nbsp; Leverage food channels?;nbsp; No, all they needed to do was blend an iPod, a broom, golf balls and a multitude of other things.;nbsp; This campaign attracted visitors like no other - people loved watching sturdy/expensive items turned to dust by this blender.;nbsp; On Youtube alone the iPhone blending attracted nearly 6million visitors, the iPod attracted nearly 6 million too, 3million for a bag of marbles - you get the idea.;nbsp; Sales of Blendtec blenders increased by something like 800% because of this cheap yet moreish campaign.;nbsp; Pure genius.;nbsp; Visit Will It Blend?

Honda - The Accord ;quot;Cogs;quot;

I consider Honda's marketing team to be amongst the best in the world because they frequently deliver rememberable, instantly recognisable advertising.;nbsp; This advert that they created for the new Honda Accord became iconic; it didn't need to be subtle in it's intentions, the sheer scope of what they accomplished ensured that people were forwarding this advert to each other across the entire Internet.;nbsp; It was shown on TV's worldwide and implied that if Honda could go into this much detail with their advertising, the car must be exceptionally well made.;nbsp; Which they were. ;nbsp;

Guitar Hero - Bike Hero

Only yesterday I awarded this marketing stunt of the week because the scope of what was achieved here is just excellent.;nbsp; It was completely unbranded and uploaded as if someone had gone out and done it - it showed a guy using his pushbike as a guitar-hero controller and cycling his way around a track they'd drawn around his neighbourhood.;nbsp; He had to hit the right notes at the right time...;nbsp; It's really quite inspiring to watch.;nbsp; All this video does is raise awareness of Guitar Hero in a positive light, but done in such a clever way that it's indistinguishable from normal user-generated content.;nbsp; It wasn't until someone blew the whistle that it was flagged as viral marketing.

Burger King - Subservient Chicken

Nike - Ronaldinho Golden Boots

This campaign was unquestionably created by Nike, so heavy the branding and obvious it's intentions; yet it had so many admirers just to see the unhuman skills shown by Ronaldinho.;nbsp; Clearly it was fake yet it was done so well that no one could conclusively prove it was.;nbsp; Why was it good?;nbsp; It hinted that by buying Nike boots you too could develop inhuman skill, yet at the same time it was done in a way that made you want to show your friends.;nbsp; That's good viral marketing.

Transport for London - Do The Test

Transport for London created this absolutely astonishing piece of viral video; you're challenged to keep an eye on the video and count how many times the team in white pass the basketball.;nbsp; At the end of the video a new dimension is introduced that forces you to re-watch it - the message this video promotes is massively important and they conveyed it brilliantly.;nbsp; This is a video that I personally sent to 10+ of my friends because it had the perfect combination of surprise and competitiveness to make it viral.;nbsp; Visit Do The Test. ;nbsp;

Cadburys - In the Air Tonight Gorilla

This is a campaign that didn't quite resonate with me, but it did with everyone else.;nbsp; A very simple advert created for TV showed a gorilla sitting behind a drum kit listening to Phil Collins' ;quot;In the Air Tonight;quot;, upon reaching that famous drumming moment the gorilla starts playing the instrument.;nbsp; I didn't understand quite why this advert had such appeal but it really did - certainly amongst children and those 30+.;nbsp; The advert had a very strong presence online and raised brand awareness, clearly delivering a good ROI because this video can't have cost much to make.

Jack Links Beef Jerky - Messin with Sasquatch

A fairly simple premise but executed in a tidy way - short videos showing guys messing with Sasquatch.;nbsp; Nothing overly amazing about these videos but they were mildly amusing and perfectly forwardable and with a few million views on Youtube alone shows that the campaign took off pretty well.;nbsp; While the videos don't have the creativity or vision of heavyweights such as Honda, the fact that I knew the product solely because of the viral campaign shows it works (they're not sold here in the UK - jerky isn't popular at all).;nbsp; Visit Messin' With Sasquatch.

Honda - Difficult is Worth Doing

Honda have the best marketing team in the world (in my eyes) and this campaign showed quite how much effort they put into their advertising.;nbsp; With a slow lead-up for a week or two on TV (small snippets explaining Honda were going to be doing something) they then went all out and broadcast a live advert with choreographed sky-diving.;nbsp; This wasn't quite as viral as their ;quot;cogs;quot; campaign but it showed how much time and effort they're willing to put into their advertising and by proxy, how much time and effort goes into their products.;nbsp; It didn't matter that they didn't advertise the fact that they sell cars, because Honda no longer need to tell people what they do.;nbsp; They just need to continue to prove how good they are at doing it. Watch the video here.

The video shows a teenager using his bike as a Guitar Hero controller, with LED's on the handlebars indicating what notes he should be hitting. He then rides around a mammoth Guitar Hero circuit with the entire track drawn on the ground. It's hard to imagine quite how long this must have taken to A) set up and B) film.

The production is excellent; it's perfectly plausible that someone would do this in their free time and that's where most viral campaigns fail. This is an epic stunt pulled off exceptionally well and for that, Guitar Hero is my marketing stunt of the week.

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The video shows a teenager using his bike as a Guitar Hero controller, with LED's on the handlebars indicating what notes he should be hitting. He then rides around a mammoth Guitar Hero circuit with the entire track drawn on the ground. It's hard to imagine quite how long this must have taken to A) set up and B) film.

The production is excellent; it's perfectly plausible that someone would do this in their free time and that's where most viral campaigns fail. This is an epic stunt pulled off exceptionally well and for that, Guitar Hero is my marketing stunt of the week.

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