Just discovered www.KillerStartups.com, a site that features short reviews of some of the most innovative and successful startups businesses on the Internet. You can vote for my Prime Rate website here.

The site reviews at least 15 Internet startups every business day; visitors get to give sites they like a thumbs up by voting.

Interested in making money online? Visit www.KillerStartups.com daily and see how other great ideas are flourishing. Yup. Enjoy!

The latest version on the Yahoo! Toolbar is a web browsing tool that I highly recommend. Simple to install, easy to configure and has a highly effective anti-spyware feature.

Recently, my main workstation PC had been getting sluggish. Despite going through my usual list of fixes (defrag, disk scan, virus scan, etc.) my computer was still hesitating in the most annoying way. I was very seriously considering doing a complete wipe of my hard drive then reinstalling my operating system and programs, but, as you can imagine, that is a HUGE pain and would gobble up a massive slice of my precious time.

So imagine my happiness when I found that the Yahoo! anti-spyware tool, which is free with the latest version of the Yahoo! Toolbar, was able to quickly and easily remove all sypware code from my computer, which in turn restored my computer to peak performance. My main workstation is now running as fast as it did when I purchased it in 2008. Yahoo!

To download the latest Yahoo! Toolbar, click here. I’m using it with Mozilla Firefox version 3.6 for Windows XP.

FYI: My workstation is an Acer computer, with an AMD Athalon 64 X2 dual core processor 4400+ running at 2.29 Gigahertz. I have 1.75 GB of RAM installed.

Bob Parsons, the founder of the discount domain name megasite www.GoDaddy.com is a real character. Marine, war veteran, entrepreneur and self-taught software engineer, Mr. Parsons is the kind of guy most men would like to have beer with. He made $64 million buy selling his software company to Intuit back in 1994, then went on to create the world’s most recognized domain name registrar.

Some might find some of his advertising campaigns cheesy, but I totally get it. He’s not trying to use silly gimmicks to distract people from bad advice or bad deals. He’s actually providing a great service at a great price, and sharing useful advice, anecdotes and wisdom on the side, as a way to keep his audience smiling and coming back for more. The way I see it: There’s nothing wrong with adding fun to serious content.

In his latest video blog entry about negotiating, Parsons once again offers great advice, and adds lots of fun too. He’s got all kind of silly nonsense going on in the clip, but all that is just keep you smiling while he shares sage advice with viewers. I think he’s a brilliant mix of P.T. Barnum and Bill Gates. Check out his latest video blog (episode #31) about negotiating here. Enjoy.

My dream of being the king of Wi-Fi domain names is pretty much over, so I’m dropping a bunch of Wi-Fi-related names. These names will drop within a few days, so if you’re interested in any of them, let me know as soon as possible (use this contact form to send me an message.) Once these drop, GoDaddy will snatch them up, and GoDaddy will ask for a much higher price for each than I’m asking:

METROPOLITANWI-FI.COM
MUNICIPALWI-FI.COM
VOWI-FI.INFO
NYWI-FI.COM
USAWI-FI.COM
USWI-FI.COM
NYCWI-FI.COM
CITYWI-FI.COM
LAWI-FI.COM
WI-FIUK.COM
WI-FINYC.COM
WI-FIUSA.COM
WI-FIEU.COM
WI-FISAFETY.COM
WI-FICOMMUNITY.COM
WI-FIMOTELS.COM
WI-FIMOTEL.COM
HOTELWI-FI.COM
WI-FIHOTEL.COM
MOTELWI-FI.COM
INTERNETWI-FI.COM

Yep, another case of your hard-earned tax dollars being put to good use.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) just announced that the agency is going to fine bloggers up to $11,000 if a blogger posts a review, endorsement, etc. without disclosing the fact that he/she was compensated to do so. The FTC hasn’t updated this policy since 1980 (yep, Olivia Newton John was singing Magic on the radio.) but, for some reason, FTC decision makers decided that now’s a great time to step up the policing of bloggers.

So, we have countless bloggers trying earn a little extra money by doing paid reviews, and the FTC wants to clamp down now, during the worse recession since the Great Depression? I really don’t have a problem with them updating their policy, but to get fined up to $11,000 is simply draconian. How much does the FTC think bloggers get paid to write reviews anyway?

I don’t do paid reviews, but since this recession has hurt my income considerably, I was contemplating jumping into the review game (I have 16 blogs and counting.) Not sure now. I don’t mind starting a post with, “I was asked to review XYZ Widgets…” but it seems that the FTC wants me to post something like “Disclaimer: I was paid $56.75 to review this product…” which is just too cheesy.

I once accepted $20 to let someone post an informative article in this blog. The author was simply interested in getting quality links from quality sites. It was a well written article, so I didn’t mind. I didn’t contribute anything to the piece. Could I get in trouble for that? Hmmm….

For more on this story, click here.

To read the official FTC press release, click here.

Of course, your comments are welcome.

I love music. Always have. Music has enriched my life in many ways, and has helped me get through some very tough times.

My taste is very eclectic. I like everything from jazz to classical to disco and funk.

I love sharing music too, especially with my six-year-old daughter. I am extremely thankful that she likes 99% of the music I like, so long road trips are always enjoyable. She really likes my disco, which is great because uptempo music helps to keep me alert.

One thing I don’t do is force my music onto others. It’s just not right. It’s rude, obnoxious and a weak attempt at getting strangers to like you. I am referring to those who blast heavy metal from their hi-powered car stereos in the middle of the night. I am talking about those who annoy everyone on the subway with their amazingly loud cell phones that double as MP3 players.

And, of course, I am referring to those bloggers who have autoplay music installed on their blogs.

You know, when I was a kid living in NYC, I used to love hearing music blaring from boomboxes as I moved around town playing classic video games and searching for the best slice of pizza. NY was cool back then, and the local radio stations had excellent DJs spinning great tunes all day and night. It was cool back then because that was 1979, 80 and 81, and I was a preteen. Besides, you can’t break dance without a ghettoblaster, right? New York was suffering from the ill effects of stagflation back then. Loud dance music on the street was acceptable to many, in my opinion, because it kept energetic kids dancing and making some honest money, instead of getting into trouble with the law.

I got my own boombox in 1981, but I never carried it about on the street. Even as a kid, I knew how obnoxious it was (OK, I confess: the fact that I was very skinny back then had something to do with it too since I was an easy target for muggers.)

So, to all those who have autoplay music installed on your blog(s), I entreat you: please, stop the music. You are ruining your blog with those autoplay MP3 player apps. You are causing me to have a heart attack every time I stop by your site and just happen to have my volume turned up. You are making me old and gray with the stress. You don’t have to autoplay your music. Just let us play it if we’re interested. Is that too much to ask?

Oh, and if you think I’m the only one who feels this way, wait until you see the comments, which I am quite certain will be added in short order!

Most readers of this blog have, at some time or the other, indulged in a bit of domain speculation. And what better way to pass the time on a warm summer afternoon than speculating on the value of our portfolios and the riches awaiting us on disposal?

But how do you value a domain?

With physical assets such as houses, sale prices of neighboring properties provide a reasonable guide. With other asset classes such as gold and shares, very definite markets exist within which prices are constantly fluctuating. With intangibles like domains and websites however, it’s a little trickier. The old adage that it’s worth only what someone is willing to pay for it is all very true but … it doesn’t help you put a figure to the online property.

That’s where the various online valuation services come into play. There are paid ones, yes, but there are also a lot of free services. So you just head on over to one of those and have each individual domain in your portfolio valued at the speed of your average broadband, right? Wrong!

A detailed valuation report at SitePoint explains just how these services demonstrate the art of being free and still being a con.

Quite simply, nobody can put an accurate value to a domain or website as the price one buyer is willing to pay for it could differ quite considerably from what another would. The best way to test the market is in a competitive auction. Even that isn’t 100% efficient as the auction is viewed only by a small selection of buyers. There is one site that monitors sale prices and tries to predict value based on what sites similar to yours have sold for. That’s your best bet for getting a close enough picture. For further reading, try this site that provides a lot of useful information on buying and selling websites and domains.

Don’t you just love it when you get a nice (I define nice as more than $100) and unexpected class action settlement check in the mail? Happens to me every once in a while. Got one the other day. $123.80. Not huge, but during a deep recession like the one we’re in now, every dollar has significant value.

The reason for the restitution payment: The web hosting company Alabanza moved their datacenter to a new location, which resulted in significant interruptions for web hosting clients. For more on this particular class action suit, visit www.alabanzamigrationsettlement.com.

I was an Alabanza reseller for many years, via LinuxWebHost.com. The service was OK, but the uptime was disappointing. Eventually, I had developed so many websites that it made sense for me to get my own dedicated server, and that’s what I did. I actually use two dedicated servers now: one that hosts my not-so-critical sites, and another with GoDaddy.

I’ve been impressed with the GoDaddy server. Uptime is excellent, and I really like using the Plesk control panel. I pay a little over $300 per month, and that includes daily backups, access to 24/7 phone support — which is excellent — and all kinds of extras like server monitoring, security services, emergency services and patching services. It’s very reassuring when you know that you can call up support at 3:00am and there’ll be a highly qualified, knowledgeable and patient support professional on the other end who’s ready to stay on the phone with you until the problem is solve (I use VOIP to for long distance calls, so I don’t worry about long-distance toll charges.) There have been times when an issue couldn’t be fixed right away, but whenever they’ve had to escalate one of my support tickets to a higher level, they’ve always fixed the problem within 24 hours. They’ve never dropped the ball, and that means a whole lot when you make your living with websites.

For more about Dedicated Servers at GoDaddy.com, visit www.GoDaddy.com .

News – July 9, 2009: Just found a coupon code for GoDaddy dedicated servers. Use coupon code fbServer15 to get 15% off your dedicated or virtual dedicated server order. This coupon expires on July 23, 2009. Enjoy!

News – July 19, 2009: GoDaddy just release a new code for dedicated servers. The new code is fbfServ15; gets you 15% off your dedicated or virtual dedicated server order. Expires on August 2, 2009. Enjoy!

99.9% of my many domain names are registered at www.GoDaddy.com. Why? Because, for domain names, GoDaddy’s prices simply can’t be beat. Moreover, their website is fast, intuitive and virtually error-free.

Every once in a while, GoDaddy distributes a coupon code to generate sales. Usually these codes have a minimum purchase amount attached to them, which reduces their attractiveness, but they’re still very valuable for anyone who needs to buy new domain names in bulk.

Today’s coupon code is quite special, and it made me smile. Coupon code gdr0442pl has no minimum purchase amount attached to it. You can use this code right now to get a full 15% off your new domain name registrations.

It would be great if gdr0442pl could last for weeks, but I guess that’s asking too much. In fact, gdr0442pl has an extremely short lifespan: it expires at midnight on May 3, 2009! So if you’re going to take advantage of this one, don’t procrastinate. www.GoDaddy.com! Enjoy!

May 25, 2009 Update: Use code fbDomain10 to get 10% off .COM, .NET, .ORG, .BIZ, and .US domain names. Coupon code fbDomain10 expires on June 8, 2009. Enjoy!

The latest domain name discount coupon code from the good folks at www.GoDaddy.com is gdr0607pl, which can get you a very generous 30% off dot-COM, dot-NET, dot-ORG and dot-BIZ domain names. This is a very hot coupon, not only because 30% off is a substantial discount, but also because this coupon will work with both new domain name registrations and domain name renewals.

Coupon code gdr0607pl is set to expire on June 25, 2009. Enjoy!