Hey gang, this does not have much to do with multimadrid but I just redesigned the site for my cell phone rental biz at www.onspanishtime.com and I would love your opinions, feedback, etc...
I wanted to make it a little more "professional" and "corporate" than it used to be and I think I have succeeded.
Geez, Jer, where is the famous "Chip n Tips" of San Sebastian??? Ya know, they never even answered my email, so I know I did the right thing renting from you.
The redesign looks good. One can have TOO MUCH Flash, but you've stayed within the boundary of good taste.
Hey, I just saw this software download trial offer for something called "GOTOMYPC" PAGE
What do you think? I know there is Web2Mail so one can access email from anywhere(and thus not really need a Hotmail account)but does this mean what I think??? Amazing!
Pack light, sleep cheap, eat well.
Posts: 479 | Location: ROCKFORD,MI, USA | Registered: 23 May 2001
Hey Sue, well, I did a search on "Chips n Tips San Sebasti�n" and got THESE RESULTS, not one reference on them
No competition is the best competition !
I agree with you on the FLASH thang, I tried to keep it modest
Yikes! I moved to Spain to chill and enjoy the lifestyle here and that GoToMyPC sofware sells...
quote:
Work on your office PC from home for greater work convenience and flexibility.
and...
quote:
Tap into your office email from a hotel or airport.
Do those prospects scare the hell out of anyone else or am I alone here
Hmmmmmmm... working from home as well as at the office is not "convenient" in my book but Yes, it is amazing what computer science can do these days.
As for the Web2Mail and being able to check mail form any PC, I have my own webmail server at http://mail.onspanishtime.com:8383 and myself, ena, my mom and board member tonytorero have accounts there.The best of both worlds and with no advertising
Saludos, jer...
p.d. hey, how on earth did you segway into software from giving me feedback on my new design
1) Glad to see you kept the Flash to a minimum. I dislike too much Flash on Websites and some sites go WAAAAYYYYY over the top.
2) Not keen on the opening of the second browser window to display your comparative costs, but that's just a personal thing.
3) The site is optimised for 1024x768 and overlaps the screen for any-one who has their monitors set for 800x600 resolution. It's a bit of a pain moving the page across the screen.
4) Apart from that it's great.
David
ps sorry about this, but when we are in Spain next year we won't be utilising your services, as my mobile (cellphone) service in Australia has International Roaming which works very well in Europe. I used it during our last trip with no worries and not much cost as I'm not a person who "HAS" to talk on the phone to feel alive.
Travel light and with an open mind and a smile
Posts: 44 | Location: Adelaide, Australia | Registered: 23 May 2001
Hey David, thanks for the feedback, I suspected that a technical topic might bring ya out of hiding
I totally agree with you on that optimization thing. I have always made it a point to design for 800x600 but over the last year I have evaluated my webstats for both multimadrid.com & onspanishtime.com and to my surprise, my users screen res (included in the stats) went from just 30% usinig 1024x768 a year ago to a whopping 70% now
So, eyes must be getting better around the world
I am still designing multimadrid for 800x600 and always will due to the huge amount of visits it gets but I decided to go for the 1024 thang on the cell phone site since I love the way it looks!
Yeah, I would never use an unsolicited pop up for external advertising or anythign like that but I felt it was super important for the future clients to see the disgusting prices that other services charge
Funny you should mention your roaming, I have a client from Australia whi is bringing his phone for a trip next month and he ordered just a SIM card form me to avoid usimg the roaming. He is coming on business as well so that makes a huge difference. Also, most people rent phones so that others (elderly parents, young children, etc...) can get in touch with them in case of emergencies back home and since all roaming services charge for incoming calls, they like the advantages of free incoming that my service (eitrher a phone or just a Spanish SIM card) givves them.
I too hardly use my cell phone, 99% of the time it is for incoming calls so I know what you mean there.
Although I enjoy renting to the average visitor (tourist) to Spain is my "staple" so to speak and makes my salary every month, I have been getting a lot of corporate clients lately. It started in May with 8 phones for a U.S. company doing buisiness here for a week. Then I had the mega 70 phones out in Barcelona for the International Aids COnference in early July. Now I am preping a 65+ phone order for the U.S. UNITED STATES EQUESTRIAN TEAM and 2 Canadian teams in Jerez de la Frontera during the entire month of Sept. It is all for the WORLD EQUESTRIAN GAMES that take place every 4 years.
So, I wanted to give the site a more corporate look.
Nice to have prosperous friends in faraway places! Segway? Going back to that spelling reform topic, huh? I was looking for the "technical thread", and figured this was as good as any.
Loved the search on Chips n Tips. All I had for them was an email address. It didn't bounce back, so perhaps they do exist...
Pack light, sleep cheap, eat well.
Posts: 479 | Location: ROCKFORD,MI, USA | Registered: 23 May 2001
Hey, at what point did "wanker" stop being "Brit-speak" and enter common useage in America(and expats)? It does sound more polite than the "classic American" sobriquet.
By the way, the GOTOMYPC costs a mere $19.95 per month for the truly obsessive workaholics out there. I'll pass.
Pack light, sleep cheap, eat well.
Posts: 479 | Location: ROCKFORD,MI, USA | Registered: 23 May 2001
Hey Sue, actually, Asterault is half french so being that much closer to the Brits may have influenced that "wanker" thang
Seriously though, I too often find myself using the word as well but my brother is married to an English "bird" and lives in the U.K. so maybe that and the time I have spent there has influenced me.
I do not think the usage of "wanker" is "common" amongst American expats, I tend to lean towards the theory that other factors (ie. my brother living in England) cause this is some American expats.
Actually I don't hide, I simply browse the site almost daily and logon when I need to reply to a question. It simply reverts to a time thing -"one less thing to do, or in this case 2 - Logon and Logoff". Guess I'm either lazy or on time constraints. I'll go with the second reason.
Back to the Phone rental though. You have invoked a thought for me that, depending on the number of calls I "might" make, it could be more cost effective to hire a Sim card from you for the duration of the trip. Worth a thought or 2.
Catch you later
David
Travel light and with an open mind and a smile
Posts: 44 | Location: Adelaide, Australia | Registered: 23 May 2001
David, I know ya don't hide, twas but a joke Besides, nobody can hide form me, haaaaaahhhhhaaaaaahhhaaaaaa (out loud in an evil tone!)
I hear ya on that time constraints thing, believe you me! After all, this site sucks the lifes blood out of my veins daily but I LOVE IT !
Since a SIM rental only runs $15 for the week, they are very popular these days, even amongst visitors from other European countries who have decided to skip the roaming charges that their home carriers hit them with. So, cost effectiveness would depend on how expensive one's roaming is.
ALso, most people get the SIMs (as well as the full handsets) that my service provides for the free incoming calls
I for one would not want to be charged $2 or $3 per minute to call from Madrid to Barcelona to confirm a hotel reservation when a Spanish SIM would do the same thing for .30 cents/min.
The only bad thing about using the Spanish SIM is that you would have a different phone # than your current one while the Spanish SIM is in your phone.
You are correct about not being able to hide. The one thing about the Internet is that you are constantly being monitored my your Computer's IP Address, although right now it may confuse you as this is on my Home PC using a different ISP so a different IP Address.
Anyway, the costs that you quote for the SIM card rental seem quite reasonable so it's something that I'll contact you about next year. One thing, does the coverage include Portugal????? or even Morocco??????
David
Travel light and with an open mind and a smile
Posts: 44 | Location: Adelaide, Australia | Registered: 23 May 2001
- rent or buy a cell phone from me for your stay in spain, more info at 
- already have a cell phone, get a spanish SIM card for it at 
Besides, nobody can hide form me, haaaaaahhhhhaaaaaahhhaaaaaa (out loud in an evil tone!) 
