Steve Hoffacker's Sales Quips

Earlier today, I recommended Google chrome as a browser that you might want to try after I stumbled upon it and noticed better quality photos and text on it.

Well, on second thought, stay with firefox - I am. While I am impressed with the resoultion, brightness and quality of the photos and images on chrome and the way it displays recently viewed pages as snapshots on the history screen, there are a couple of serious shortcomings that neutralize my original enthusiasm for the site.

You can't use a toolbar like Google or any others. There is no spell checker, form fill-in or other features. As a matter of fact (according to the Q+A found in their help section), the Google toolbar specifically is incompatiable with the Google chrome site. Amazing!

There are no title tags visible, so all of the SEO is lost to readers. It's still there, you just can't see it.

Nice try - too bad it came up short.

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For more information on my coaching and educational programs and services, sales tips, insights, or strategies, visit my website stevehoffacker.com or my other blog homesalesinsights.com. © Steve Hoffacker, 2009. All Rights Reserved.

First there was netscape, then internet explorer. I got all the way up to IE7. Then I started having glitches, loading, and resolution issues with IE7 and people here on the Rain suggested Mozilla's firefox. That was a good move. Still some issues with speed. Is that firefox or is that AR - or both?

I had downloaded Google chrome several weeks ago and had never done anything with it, but I have been hearing more and more about it.

Yesterday as I was going through my list of programs, there it was. Why not? So I opened it.

The photos are brighter than firefox. The pages seem to load quicker, and when you close the browser and reopen it, everything comes right back (if you select that option).

So, firefox has better graphics and photo resolution and brightness than IE - and Google chrome beats them both.

The only drawback so far is that there is no toolbar for spellcheck or other features, but I'm overlooking that for now.

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For more information on my coaching and educational programs and services, sales tips, insights, or strategies, visit my website stevehoffacker.com or my other blog homesalesinsights.com. © Steve Hoffacker, 2009. All Rights Reserved.

Yesterday I did not turn the TV on at all - no weather report, no market updates, no sports scores or games - and no political commentary or ads.

Before you think it was anything great, let me say that it wasn't a conscious decision - it just happened.

I probably would have watched a football game last night but didn't.

I got the closing stock market numbers off the web.

I got the weather forecast a couple of days ago - and we hare having some really nice weather right now.

I just didn't "need" the TV yesterday - and I have suffered no ill effects. Am I allowed to say that?

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For more information on my coaching services or sales tips visit my website stevehoffacker.com or my blog homesalesinsights.com.

I don’t even remember getting my first fax machine, but I may now own my last one. No, not because it’s so good – because it’s obsolete.

Fax machines have their place, I guess – such as faxing a signed copy of something or returning a form that was easier to go ahead and fax rather than scan and email. However, I don’t remember the last time I actually did this.

In recent weeks, the only incoming faxes I’ve received have been spam.

And don’t bother calling those numbers that say you’ll be removed because you won’t. You’ll just get the same thing from a different (sometimes) originating number with a different number to call for removal. The only reason those numbers are printed on there at all is to comply with the “opt-out” provision of law, but they have no intention of letting you off that easy.

So my solution is simply. I have unplugged my fax machine. If you really need to send me a fax, call me and I’ll connect it long enough to receive your message. Then it’s off again.

Funny how we thought faxes were so neat – especially after we got past the thermal paper ones with the disappearing images.

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For more information on my coaching services or sales tips visit my website stevehoffacker.com or my blog homesalesinsights.com.

On Saturday, in my post "Back to the Dark Ages," I confessed my addiction to Active Rain and gave a long and varied account of how losing my internet connection had put a real crimp into my life.

I went on to detail how I had suddenly lost my connection and how I had checked every possible thing from the modem to the wall jack to the pigtails (4 of them) to 3 different computers - all to no avail. I called AT&T and we eliminated everything and decided that I should buy a wireless signal enhancer.

I even checked with my son the electrician who did the original installation and my computer technician.

Everyone seemed to be in agreement on the signal booster.

Then it hit me. I hadn't checked e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g. It occurred to me that the pigtail from the modem to the wall jack on the originating end of the signal might be loose. No one had thought of that. I unplugged it (it looked fine, but what was there to lose?) and plugged it back in.

Could it really be that simply?

Well, I'm back.

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For more information on my coaching services or sales tips visit my website stevehoffacker.com or my blog homesalesinsights.com.

After reading Jason Couch's post today on old TV commercials, it got me thinking about how far I had come in the ability to watch TV. I still remember going to movies in grade school and watching ads telling us not to support "pay TV."

Paying to watch TV - why that's a little like buying bottles of water. Wait a minute, we do that.

Anyway, I remember getting our first TV, and we got exactly one station. We had those little rabbit ears to improve reception. Oh, and did I mention everything was in black and white?

Then we moved and found out if you had one of those really tall towers with the TV antenna on it (like nearly everyone did back then) that you could maybe (if all the conditions we right) pick up a ghosty signal or two from other towns. We had one of those electric rotor controls on the TV that you could use to reposition the antenna. So to change channels, not only did you have to click through the channels with the manual dial, you had to move the antenna to the appropriate heading for that channel. It became quite an art.

I don't remember getting cable, but it was after we were married. And then this digital stuff - hundreds of channels and some nights still nothing to watch. Go figure.

So we had VHS, then we went to DVR and Tivo - and we have HD also.

Now the TV signal that we grew up on is obsolete.

I wonder what's next in the TV evolution.

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For more information on my coaching services or sales tips visit my website stevehoffacker.com or my blog homesalesinsights.com.

Yes, it's true. I'm addicted (I hate using that word) to Active Rain.

Two nights ago I had so much work to get out that I actually missed the deadline for getting all of my comments posted - bummer.

Last night, I'm typing away, commenting, and my ethernet connection goes out. I tried every conceivable fix - nothing, Changed out cables from the jack to the computer. Tried 2 different computers - nothing. Troubleshot the modem - it works. The issue is in the main cable.

So I get out my Compaq and start using it with the aircard (Plan B). Only had 11% battery which soon went to nothing. Misplaced my powercord since the last time I charged it. For now it's a paperweight.

Plan C - I start using my wife's new little notebook that is very tiny. Got my comments finished.

That's what I'm doing for this post also.

Now I need to find some superpowered wireless booster that will eliminate the ethernet altogther because I don't think replacing the cable is a viable or quick option.

Aren't computers great?

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For more information on my coaching services or sales tips visit my website stevehoffacker.com or my blog homesalesinsights.com.

OK. I posted a question on Thursday in my blog asking whether Internet Explorer or firefox was better – and the overwhelming concensus was that firefox is the way to go – especially for Active Rain.

So I switched. But I have issues:

(1) My outside blog Steve Hoffacker’s Home Sales Insights (blogger.com platform) won’t post in firefox. When I copy and paste, it converts everthing to html and then tells me I’ve made an error. For now, I’m still using IE but would rather not.

(2) My Goggle tool bar with the best spell checker I used so far is gone.

(3) My pictures look much better in firefox but it takes 45 seconds for them to upload and must go through Active Rain first rather than just to my window.

(4) When I copy and paste I get an intermediate window and when I paste using “Control+V” as it suggests, all of the formatting disappears – paragraphs, italics, bold, hyperlinks, everything. Even when I try to copy a properly formatted footer from another post, the same thing happens.

Am I missing something here? I must be.

Somebody, please HELP!!! Thanks.

Oh, if it makes any difference, I don’t know html so everything I do is in WYSIWYG.

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For more information on my coaching services or sales tips visit my website stevehoffacker.com or my blog homesalesinsights.com.

This is a serious question - this is not intended as a humorous post. I'm looking for advice here.

I just had Internet Explorer "experience an unexpected error" again and shut-down. This happens daily - sometimes up to 3 times a day. All my browser windows, including AR are just frozen and then closed.

There's got to be a better way. Firefox? Something else? Anything else? Thanks.

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For more information on my coaching services or sales tips visit my website stevehoffacker.com or my blog homesalesinsights.com.

How often is it that you get selected to be listed in a prestigious "Who's Who" directory? Well, that honor came to me twice already today - and it's only the middle of the afternoon. One notification came by fax and one came by junk email.

Needless to say, had I ever heard of these two directories, the honor might have had more significance.

I'm not rushing out and ordering any copies yet.

Apparently just another clever way of phishing.

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For more information on my coaching services or sales tips visit my website stevehoffacker.com or my blog homesalesinsights.com.