MarcForrest.com

Category: Tech News

  • Namibia gets the iPhone4 & iPad before SA

    The last couple of weeks have been fueled with speculation as to when the much anticipated iPhone 4 will land in South Africa. Rumours have been running wild, and I have received countless emails asking when the official launch is. So far there has been no official word from the service providers, so we all need to just sit tight and keep our ears to the ground. As soon as I know anything, I will def let you know here :)

    But that said, Namibian cellular service provider MTC has recently announced that they will be stocking the iPhone4 & iPad. On the MTC site there are 2 promos with the details:

    The iPhone4 deal they are are offering is:(The exchange rate is 1 to 1, so the prices below are basically in Rands)

    iPhone 4 once off payment of N$2 999 on a contract.
    Contract cost is N$399 (per month) and you get-

    • 300 anytime minutes
    • 300 anytime minutes from MTC TO MTC
    • 300 sms’s
    • 600MB data

    The iPad offering is:

    Once off Payment N$1,999 and N$399 per month for what looks like a 32GB 3G iPad
    This included:

    • 100 MB mailbox
    • 600 MB data per month

    You can also buy the iPhone4 and iPad without the contract:

    • Apple i-Pad Wi Fi 16gig N$ 9,667.19
    • Apple i-Pad Wi Fi & 3g 32gig N$15,704.69
    • Apple i-Pad Wi Fi & 3g 64gig N$ 14,267.19
    • Apple i-Phone 3gs 16gig N$ 9,336.56
    • Apple i-Phone 4G 16gig N$ 13,764.06
    • Apple i-Phone 4G 32gig N$ 15,093.75

    The prices seem pretty exhobirant for the outright purchase, and am hoping the South African SP’s come up with (a lot) cheaper pricing.

    [Thanks to Mr. @PietSous for the heads up about this thread on the MyBroadband forums]

  • Google Pac-Man WordPress Plugin

    One of my other side projects is a site called Themergency. I have spoken about the site before when we launched the site. Basically the site looks at all things WordPress, and gives some really cool tips & tricks for your WordPress installs.

    Now Brad, the clever dude behind the whole site, has written a fun WordPress plugin called “Google Pac-Man”

    The plugin allows you to embed the Google Pac-Man game into your WordPress site. Very clever, and fun. You can download the plugin from the wordpress plugin site.

    [pacman]

    At the moment it only scales to 600 pixels wide, which is why it looks a bit big, but we will fix that in the next version. We will also look at some options on excluding sound etc.

    If you have any WordPress plugin needs, give us a shout, and we will see what we can do :)

  • Where to buy your US iTunes vouchers

    One of the most popular posts on my site is how to sign up for a US iTunes Account. The post gets hundreds of hits daily, and has earned me a bit of a reputation. Often, when introducing myself, I get the “Oooooh, so you the guy who did *that* iTunes account post”. LOL. Quite funny actually ;)
    The great thing about iTunes vouchers is that you can use them to buy Music & Movies as well. Not only iPhone or iPad apps. Cool hey ?

    So, I did some research. Eventually I came across a site called iTunesUSA.co.za. Yip, local guys offering iTunes vouchers at almost the same price as the other guys. The other big thing that appealed to me with them, is that the delivery was instant. As soon as you made the payment , you got the code in your email. Straight away !! I put a tweet out yesterday asking who owned the site, and within a couple of hours, I got a phonecall from the guys who run the site. After a 45 min chat, I came away with, this is someone who loves what they do. And such a cool idea.

    If those sites are out of stock you can also try WildTwig who accept PayPal, both which work 100%

    Lets support the local guys. I know I’m going to :)

  • How to use QR Codes effectivley

    Well we know that I am a fan of QR codes after the whole Photocode debacle (which I haven’t seen too much about). The opportunity that QR codes offer is way beyond what most other 2D barcodes can offer.

    I thought I would put a few thoughts down on how to ensure that when using a QR Code, be it in a campaign or personal use, making sure you get the full potential out of them.

    • Use a decent QR Code generator
      I use Zing which is built on the open source Google chart API. It is fast, and offers a variety of options. Another site I came across this morning is http://www.qrstuff.com/, which also seems pretty cool. You can also use http://imagecharteditor.appspot.com/ to create QR Codes. Quickmark also has a pretty cool SDK which allows you to create your own QR codes in your applications.
    • Ensure your landing page is Mobile compatible.
      This is huge. You cannot direct people to a URL using a non-mobile webpage and expect them to browse that using their phone. QR Codes are designed to open on a mobile phone screen, so make sure your site is mobile compatible. If you have a WordPress site, install the mobilepress or WPTouch plugins which will automagically transform your normal site into a WordPress site. If you don’t use WordPress….um…..
    • Use short URL’s
      I have written about this before, and when it comes to QR Codes, the shorter the better. Having a shorter URL ensures that your image size is smaller. Use a URL shortener like Bit.ly to make your URL’s smaller. Bit.ly also offers basic tracking stats, so you will be able to see how many times your URL has been opened.
    • Use Capital letters
      This one may sound a bit silly, but a QR Code with a url of http://bit.ly/aaaa will be bigger (image size) than a QR Code with the URL of http://bit.ly/AAAA.
    • Make your content relevant & valuble.
      Don’t expect people to snap a QR Code displayed in a magazine about gadgets, and then it takes them to a article about fish. Test your code before your publish it. It could lead to a potentially embarrassing situation :)  Rather link to a webpage about your product or campaign, and then on the page have a video, as opposed to linking straight through to a video.
    • Tell people what QR Codes are
      Because QR codes are a relitvley new technology (outside of Japan), you need to educate your users on what they are all about. Include a link on your site, or even below the image about what QR Codes are all about and where to download a QR Code reader from. It will still be a while till people know what QR codes are all about and how to use them.
    • Download a quality QR Code reader.
      I use Quickmark on the iPhone which seems to work the best and fastest. They also have apps for Nokia & Android. For Blackberry you can use BeeTagg
    • Get users to “Like” your Facebook page using QR Codes.
      This isn’t a must do, but more of a useful tip. Create a QR Code that will give people a like button to like your site or URL. You can create a URL that will point straight to the Facebook Like link (http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http://marcforrest.com) or read more about it on this site

    There are loads of uses for QR Codes. I can think of a few off the top of my head. Code in a magazine pointing to more info about a specific gadget and video of how it works. Or, a QR Code in a menu in a restaurant that links to a webcam in the kitchen or video of how the food is made. What about a QR Code on the flyer of an event or band that gives your more info about them or the full line up of a festival, and offer calendar events & a free song of the band which you can download. The possibilities are endless. If you wanna chat more about QR Codes, drop me a line on my contact page, and I would love to chat more about it.

    Have you got any QR Code tips & tricks to get the most of these awesome codes ? Share them in the comments below.

  • Vodacom Fan Cam at Tri Nations Game

    If you were lucky enough to be at the Tri Nations game on Saturday, you may have seen a couple of guys on the side of the field, taking what is a HUGE Hi-Res picture of the game, just as the Haka was being performed. The image is made up from a series of around 80,000 individual images, using specialized photo equipment, which is then stitched up and then edited into 1 final picture. You can literally zoom into every single person in the stadium and see their faces close up. If you find yourself or someone you know, you can also tag them, and choose to share it on Facebook or Twitter.

    Here is a screen shot of the opening picture, with the Baa-Baa’s doing the Haka. To see the gigapixel in full check out the Vodacom 23 player Fan Cam.(Full screen version here)

    Click image to see the GigaPixel

    To get an idea of the quality of the hi res image, this is a screenshot of some of the spectators right at the top of the stadium. Crystal clear. Be warned though. You will spend loads and loads of time browsing through the picture, it’s incredible !!

    Here is a snapshot of the dudes trying to break the world record for the most Elvis’s in 1 place.