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Written by Ben
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Friday, 03 June 2011 20:20 |
It has been awhile since I have had to work with AOL. Every so often I've had to test website compatibility with their browser (which is a whole other issue), but for the most part it's been a relic of Web 1.0. However, I recently had a client who wanted to move from their AOL email account to an email account at their own domain name.
I have set up email using a custom domain name on multiple occasions. The best way is to use Google's services (which they are now calling Google Apps - rather confusing if you ask me) to integrate the domain name with Gmail. If a client already uses a Gmail account, it's a simple step to allow them to receive email from and send as
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. However, adding a step to migrate from AOL to Gmail was not something I had ever attempted.
Essentially there are three goals for migrating (in order of importance):
- The new Gmail account should be able to receive all new incoming email from the old AOL account,
- Import old email and contacts from the old AOL account into the new Gmail account,
- Preserve folders and groupings for old email and contacts from the old AOL account.
I did not have much faith in AOL's email functionality, especially in functionality that would allow a user to migrate from their services. Luckily I was surprised. AOL allowed both exporting of contacts through a CSV file and POP3 access from other email clients (like Outlook, Thunderbird, and in our case Gmail). Even better (and even more surprising) they provided documentation of how to do it:
While a CSV file and POP3 would not allow for preservation of folders and groupings, it would copy all email and contacts and allow the copies to live in Gmail. (IMAP on the other hand would preserve folders for email, but it would not copy it to the new account.) So the top two out of three goals isn't too bad. And with Gmail's filters and labels, it's not too hard to re-sort old emails.
The great thing about this solution is that you don't even need to set up a forwarder with AOL. Gmail will pull new email so long as the POP3 is active.
Thank you AOL for making this a much easier process than I ever would expect from you. Perhaps I should reconsider your services...
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Last Updated on Friday, 03 June 2011 21:02 |
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Written by Ben
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Friday, 18 February 2011 19:07 |
I've only once signed up with a Chase account (a story in itself), yet somehow I ended up with five accounts at the ignoble institution. Yesterday I reduced that number to three.
In the Beginning
Back when I eighteen I opened my first credit card with First USA. Also around that time, I opened a free WaMu personal checking account. As a happy WaMu customer, I also opened a business checking account and credit card account with them when I incorporated Lost Mouse. I have always been a responsible and low-maintenance customer: I paid off any balance each month and on-time, never over-drafted my accounts, and I even went paperless with my accounts when the option became available. As it turns out, this is not the kind of customer that Chase wanted.
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Last Updated on Friday, 03 June 2011 21:01 |
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Written by Ben
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Wednesday, 16 February 2011 19:24 |
The Web is great for sharing photos with friends, relatives, and strangers. However, as digital cameras produce higher and higher quality images they are also producing larger and larger image files. When posting these image files to the Web, their size is rarely taken into consideration. Some website will re-size image files for you, but I recommend doing it yourself in order to personally manage the trade-off between file compression and quality degradation.
I have found that I've been repeating these instructions on occasion to friends and clients. So instead I'll repeat myself just once more on this blog.
Goal: To reduce dimension (height and width) and file size (kilobytes and megabytes) so that when displayed on a website, the images fit on the monitor and load quickly.
Tool: Picnik.com - This is a user-friendly and free online tool that has limited image editing capabilities, but luckly all the ones that are needed to re-size image files.
Step One: Open Picnik.com
In a web browser, visit www.picnik.com and click "Get Started" (if applicable).
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Last Updated on Thursday, 24 February 2011 23:22 |
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Written by Ben
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Wednesday, 19 May 2010 20:33 |
If you've never used filters and labels to sort your email, you're missing out on a great time management tool. To clarify, I don't mean just using filters for spam (Gmail does that automatically for you). Filters and labels are to be used to sort and prioritize emails. In case you are not quite sure what I am talking about, filters are located at Gmail >> Settings (upper right link) >> Filters (a tab link).
Now I tend to check any email that comes into my inbox within seconds of it arriving. It's an addiction. And it's compounded by the fact that I receive a ridiculous number of emails each day. I'm on mailing lists, I receive Facebook and Linkedin notices (some people don't even email any more!), emails from other accounts used on other projects are routed to my gmail account. It's awful. On top of that, every message that is delivered to my inbox rings my phone.
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Written by Ben
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Saturday, 21 November 2009 02:37 |
I have resisted getting a smartphone for as long as I can, but now I am in the process of giving in. It's in my nature to resist being more wired-in regardless of the clear irony that I am a serial Internet entrepreneur. I even resisted getting a cellphone until 2005. Despite its advantages, being more connected just feels like I'm taking one step closer to the Borg. I'm also I'm Jewishly frugal; if I don't absolutely need a new gizmo, I'm not going to pay an extra $40 per month for it - not unless it's going to save me even more money. That being said, it's time to put my heritage to use and calculate the total cost of ownership for the smartphones and plans that I am considering: the AT&T iPhone 3Gs, T-Mobile myTouch 3G (with contract), and T-Mobile myTouch 3G (no contract).
This is only a total cost of ownership comparison. I've played with both and I'll be happy with either phone. I've also been a T-Mobile customer since 2005 (yes, since my first cellphone) and I've been mostly satisfied.
Methodology
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Last Updated on Friday, 25 February 2011 00:56 |
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