New Apple MacBook Air 13 to replace Apple MacBook

Is the Apple MacBook Air any good?

When I purchased my Apple MacBook Air from A-Z Computer Services in Sale, I did not really ask too many questions about it. The hard drive failed on my trusty MacBook, just 18 months after I had replaced it. That Apple laptop had lasted me over 6 years and put the enjoyment back into computing after enduring years of rubbish from Windows-based junk. So staying with the Apple brand was a given.

The MacBook Air looks fantastic. Outwardly it looks about one-third the thickness of a standard  MacBook and feels like it weighs one-third, too. It looks very simple and elegant, with nothing visually stunning about it. The first thing I noticed when I got it out of the box at home was that the 2 USB ports are now located one on each side of the laptop. This is better than having them next to each other on the same side. This was especially so for me because my USB mobile broadband modem is too wide to permit the other USB port being used at the same time. So now I can at least run the modem and a printer at the same time.

There is still an issue in that the USB port on the left hand side is too close to the recharging outlet, so if you are recharging and have a wide USB mobile broadband modem like me, you will need to plug the modem in on the right hand side port. Frustratingly there is still only two USB ports, but hopefully we will see more and more wireless technology making issues a thing of the past. The other complaint I have is that there is no DVD drive. Yes the MacBook Air is thinner and lighter, making it more portable than its predecessors. But I still like a DVD back-up: now I have nothing to read them at all!!!

The future is seeing more and more of us utilize online backup resources such as Dropbox and iCloud, but it is nice to have something sturdy like a DVD. USB memory sticks are fragile and can break easily. Personally, I think it is a bit too early to do away with the DVD writer yet. But, I have made the jump, so I will have to get used to it! Other gripes: the bluetooth. It still has trouble syncing in with the iPhone. Mine is the iPhone 4S, so while it is not the latest unit, it's not old enough that you would think there'd be issues.

There was also software compatibility issues between the MacBook Air and my mobile broadband modem. This prevented me accessing the internet at all and so I had to take the laptop back to the shop the next day and have them download and install a software patch, plus all my backup files from a DVD I had with me! It's an ongoing issue that when you update hardware, you have to update a lot of software and even some other hardware and or peripherals. It can be a major inconvenience and in my case, days of productivity lost.

But now I am up to date! At least for now. The new MacBook Air 13 is small, light, compact and very fast. It looks the goods and is supposed to have a new and more sturdy hard drive that cannot fail in the same way the old ones did. We will have to wait and see, I guess. In terms of software, I have not noticed anything new or special but I am still getting used to the new mouse pad, which does not have a separate push key. Mine is the standard 128GB unit with 13" screen which cost $1,249 new. The alternative was to buy the highest spec iPad, but I was forewarned that the iPads do not yet have the full functionality of a laptop to replace the MacBook. So for now I am sticking with my roots!

It's Gripe Day.

Time to Exercise My Gripe for the Day.

It is now 5:10pm as I type this blog entry. I have had an 'on-off' day, struggling to get things done in a somewhat haphazard fashion; I did not plan the day too well to begin with. Anyway, working on adgreement and putting some outdoor advertising billboards up went smoothly. Then I went into my social media accounts to promote the listings and let people know about the each billboard.

Knowing that the MySpace and Tumblr social media accounts for adgreement had received less attention, I thought it might be prudent to update them. So I logged into both accounts and tried to upload photos of the out-of-home billboards that I had listed on the website. For the second time now, I really struggled with the new MySpace page layout. To start with I could not find anything! The old layout was simple and easy to use; the new interface is complex and makes you feel like an idiot. The MySpace login lasted a whopping 5 minutes before I gave in and logged out again.

Then I logged into Tumblr, thinking that surely I could have a success here and get it updated. Wrong! All I tried to do is upload 4 or 5 photos of billboards recently uploaded on adgreement.com and yet Tumblr wanted to take an eternity to do so. So I waited. And waited...and waited. Nothing. It was determined to be a pain in the aft and so I threw that in for the day, too. Zero and two on MySpace and Tumblr. Which is probably why I have not updated them for some time! Frustrating, because the user experience should be so much kinder. Especially for doing something as simple and easy as uploading photos.

Newsletter Page on Adgreement.com

Advertising Newsletter Published

After a long break from listing advertising space, I have been able to compile a brief newsletter. It's more like using it as an excuse to practice using ACYmailing, which I am still a little bit uncertain of. In any case I was able to get something completed and uploaded onto the adgreement website without a major hitch. The next newsletter will be more comprehensive.

Newsletters about advertising space with adgreement.com

From time to time I am also posting relevant information and useful resources about advertising and ad space on the website. These articles are best located by going into the adgreement sitemap, found at the bottom of each page. Such updates in recent times included some statutory regulations regarding outdoor advertising and billboards in various states of the USA.

Website sitemap for adgreement

Focus for next week: will be contacting potential buyers of ad space to see if any of our current inventory is of interest or whether they require something different. I will be placing emphasis on smaller radio and tv networks as I don't see that larger stations will leap aboard straight away (although that would be nice!). In the meantime, here is the direct link to the newsletter:

Latest Newsletter for November 2013

Banner ads are available at adgreement.com

Advertising news on adgreement.com

Newsletter for adgreement.com coming!

I'm getting it together! It's been a busy week and now I can sit down and compile everything that is newsworthy and put the newsletter together. Things are moving a bit better as 2013 draws to a close and Christmas approaches us. It has been a strenuous year, primarily because the firm developing our website dragged their feet and did not help whatsoever when they were needed most! Oh well, you can't force someone to give you their 100% best service: that has to come from their heart!

The main thing is that adgreement is operational, functioning (to some extent) and we have some customers who have come forward and offered advertising space up for grabs. Right now we have a bundle of billboards for our outdoor advertising section, some mobile advertising trucks in the USA, a handful or commercial radio advertising time slots in Australia and now our first website advertising space.



The hundred dollar question for me right now is how I am going to update ALL the social media accounts?!!! I have dozens of accounts and have only had time to do the most popular social media: Facebook, Twitter and Photobucket have been active. Now I need to find a free facility that can update multiple social media accounts simultaneously. Years ago I had such a facility which I used for my boatplace.com.au website, but that was sold and the new owners insisted on users paying.

My plan for the next week is to start contacting potential buyers of ad space to match up with our sellers. I have spent a considerable amount of time and effort e-mailing businesses who might offer advertising space. So now it is time to invest some effort into the other side of the buy and sell equation! The point I need to stress is that it is equally important to the success of adgreement.com that buyers of advertising space register and let us (and the advertising world) know what they are looking for.

Anyway, I am psyching myself up to complete this newsletter, so I will post a link when it is ready and uploaded onto the adgreement website.

Billboards, mobile truck ads and Radio Advertising!

New Billboards, some Radio Air Space + Mobile Truck Ads...

It's been a busy few days, uploading new advertising space listings which include billboards in both the USA and New Zealand. We also have timeslot ad space up for grabs on a Sydney radio station popular in the growing western suburbs. And just to top it off there are some mobile advertising trucks available, also in the USA.

For this week I will be focusing on contacting more billboard advertising agencies for listings, as well as radio stations, smaller tv networks and magazine publishers. Adgreement is searching for advertising space far and wide and this means helping promote businesses, organisations and causes in far and distant places around the globe. If you know someone we can help, please contact adgreement.com as we would love to do just that!

In the next week or so I will be trying hard to complete a newsletter, as this has not been done for some time. There is a lot to report and give mention to, as well as finding the time to update social media (which is always a bit of fun). There will be a YouTube video made at some point, but I have not decided the content for this, so it is on the to-do list! The adgreement.com photobucket account has been updated with images of billboards etc and there will be plenty more to come!

If you would like to buy advertising space on both the adgreement website and or the newsletter, please get in touch!

Visit adgreement to buy and sell advertising space worldwide

QR Codes

I have been mucking around on Google again and was looking at QR codes; those funny little square bar code-like symbols that are popping up everywhere. You often see them by themselves with no explanation at all as to what they are or represent, as the creator wants you to scan it and visit a website. So finally I generated a QR code for adgreement.com which looks like this...

While I don't think the QR code is ultra-special by itself, it could be useful for advertising clients who advertise on the adgreement website and want their own QR code. So what we can do is offer to generate each advertising client their own unique QR code. They can display the code on their product packaging, website, shopfront, labels, sign space, or vehicles etc which people can then scan into their mobile cellphones and tablets. The QR codes will direct visitors to the advertiser's ads on adgreement.com.

Maybe it could be useful after all. But anyway, I think it's a fun concept and a great way to aruse people's curiosity.

Billboard and Transit Advertising

Billboard and Transit Advertising 

Today has been tiring. I have been on Google researching billboard and transit advertising companies in the UK, USA, Ireland and South Africa. The later part of the day was spent e-mailing potential customers and letting them know about adgreement.com. Being a new business, this is always challenging. Many potential customers half-expect to be dealing with a multi-national corporation, not a start-up!!!

It is part of a long process to build up awareness and with any luck, get some really good quality customers to work with. At this stage, it does not matter about the size of the client or what country they are located; so long as they have some good quality advertising assets with which to work and there is a potential market for that ad space to be utilized!

Currently I am interstate on assignment and the weather where I am is very warm. I'm tired and it has been a long day talking with people, sending e-mails, responding to inquiries and conducting Skype conversations with potential customers. All good stuff, but I am seriously in need of a nice walk along the beach and maybe a good surfing session!

Interestingly, I happened across some great little companies who handle taxi cab advertising in London and the wider UK. This is a great little niche market and I hope to be able to assist some of these businesses expand their markets and sell lots of advertising space for them! Another advertising asset has also surfaced in London that I had not given thought to: telephone booths/boxes. In many parts of the world they are disappearing due to mobile technology and operating costs. But in the UK they are almost a recognized national icon: you can't get rid of the telephone box!

Next week I will be traveling once again. So I am going to go and have a rest and perhaps go for that walk down the beach!

http://www.adgreement.com

Billboard Advertising Regulations in New Orleans USA

Signage regulations - as per City of New Orleans Gov. website

Billboard Permit

Type:

Permit

Classification:

Building/Construction

Category:

Location

Apply online?

No

A permit is required to erect, construct, post, paint, alter, maintain, or relocate any general advertising sign or billboard in the City of New Orleans. The City’s sign regulations are designed to: protect the public safety – so that signs do not fall down on pedestrians or customers, prevent signs from becoming projectiles in the event of heavy winds or rains, regulate the aesthetics of an area as to the size and number of signs visible at any given time. Depending on the details of your sign(s), you may need multiple permits.
Duration: 20-30 days

Fees

• $60.00 Base Fee 
• $5 per $1000 of Construction Value 
• Plan Review Fee - $1 per $1000 of Construction Value 
• Zoning Review Fee: $125 
• First Year Operating Fee: $40 
• For a reinspection following a violation: $100 
• For a one-year renewable operating permit for general advertising signs:
  • Junior Billboards (up to 100 square feet), $50 per sign face 
  • Large Billboards (over 100 square feet), $100 per sign structure

Required documents/steps

• Fill out and submit the BUILDING_PERMIT_MASTER_APPLICATION and the SIGN_PERMIT_APPLICATION_SUPPLEMENT_H
• A Registered Sign Contractor is required in order to obtain sign permits
• Letter from property owner or lease giving permission for property use for the permit purpose, if applicant is not the owner 
• Plot plan indicating the location and setbacks of the proposed signage 
• Two (2) sets of plans stamped by a Louisiana registered architect or civil engineer
• Sketch of proposed signage clearly indicating the copy and detailing colors and sizes

Issuing agency

Safety and Permits

You may also need

• Electrical Permit, if applicable
• Approval by the City Planning Commission/City Council for construction of a general advertising billboard.

User guides

• Sign Guidelines

For billboard advertising opportunities, please visit www.adgreement.com

New Billboard Inventory Loaded!

New Orleans Billboards Available.

We are happy to announce that 20 more billboards that been added to the adgreement.com website. These are located in and around metro New Orleans and are of varying sizes, localities and prices. You can rent or lease billboard advertising space direct through adgreement or let us know what you are looking for and we can find it for you.

Here are some of the billboards available:

New Orleans Billboards

Billboards in New Orleans

Advertising Space in New Orleans

Causeway Boulevard New Orleans Billboard

Orleans Parish Billboards Available

Westbank Highway Billboard

Metro New Orleans Outdoor Advertising

We are looking for more billboards to list, as well as cinema screen advertising and signage space opportunities for eager advertisers requiring the ad space. Please contact adgreement or visit or website.

adgreement - the convenient way to buy and sell advertsing space worldwide