Review

Surf Locally, Without Being Local: GeoSurf™

Lets talk about some serious business: Have you ever bought some inventory on a United States website, sitting in India & wanted to see how it looks for your US clients?

If nothing else, you could be interested in seeing what your competitor is upto in certain country. Where else they are advertising and what creative they are using etc.

Proxy Server
When these kind of situations occur, one thing we all know from our school days is to quickly visit particular site via proxy server!
Oh, did you know this trick as well ?

If yes, then how often these proxy servers failed to show the web pages you are trying to load. How many times these pages kept on loading ?
How many times your browser crashed while trying random proxy sites.

Do Business From Your Country, At Your Comfort
Small businesses like analytics companies for example, need to check their clients inventories from various locations. But they can’t afford to open their company branches in various countries.
In such a situation, they can simply invest a small amount of money in services like GeoSurf and operate comfortably from a single location.

GeoSurf™: Surf Locally, Without Being Local
It’s basically a simple toolbar. Once you install it to your browser, you need to login, select the country from which you want to see a particular website, then hit Apply. It’s that simple. And in seconds you will be surfing the site using GeoSurf locally.

GeoSurf™ is browser toolbar that enables users to get the local perspective from more than 80 global locations. It is often used
by online media professionals (buyers, campaign managers, sales, affiliates, and compliance teams) to view geo-targeted ads and
web content. This way, they can easily validate and monitor campaigns, see who is bidding on localized ad placements, generate
new sources of business, and enhance current marketing activities. It is straight-forward and easy-to-use. The toolbar grants
access to our network of servers that provide our premium proxy service. All of the servers on our network are owned by us,
thereby making them fast, secure, and reliable.

Why GeoSurf ?
GeoSurf is a business intelligence browser add-on that allows you to surf and view content from more than 80 countries and US locations.
It’s an excellent solution for media buyers, campaign managers, sales managers and business development executives.

With GeoSurf you can easily:
– See who’s bidding on your traffic sources
– Perform advanced business intelligence on your competitors
– Confirm geo targeted content is displayed correctly
– and much more..

I have been using GeoSurf for sometime now.
They don’t have ugly popups, popunders! etc.

The main advantages of using GeoSurf:
All the servers are owned by them, so they are fast and reliable.

I used it for some days without any trouble, so thought of reviewing them on my blog.

How I use it ?
I turn on this add-on and start searching for the main keywords of my blog.
I can easily track the rank of my blog for various countries. It helps a lot in creating niche sites targeting specific countries.
Have you heard: You can’t easily beat your competition for a competitive keyword ? Did you think, you can atleast rank high for such a keyword in specific or some countries atleast!

Surfing from various countries was never easier then this. Signup for a trial account, absolutely for free -> SignUp for GeoSurf™

Buying External Hard Drive ?

Most of us using internet will fall short of storage space quickly. Obviously it happened with me shortly after I got my Dell Desktop and I was already in search of a good external storage device.

Old Story!
On 22-Dec-2010 I bought “Western Digital‘s” 1TB (Tera Byte) External HDD (Hard Disk) for Rs. 3700 + 5% VAT
I’m sure, now the rate might have gone still low, so I think it’s a good idea to get an External Hard Disk to take backup of your important Data.

Content of the package I bought:
USB2.0 external hard disk.
USB cable.
AC adapter.
Quick Install Guide.

Compatibility:
Formatted NTF for Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7
Requires reformatting for Mac OS X Tiger, Leopard or Snow Leopard.

Physical Dimensions
Height 8.02 Inches
Length 1.42 Inches
Width 4.90 Inches
Weight 2.24 Pounds

Metric
Height 203.82 mm
Length 36.14 mm
Width 124.68 mm
Weight 1.02 kg

As used for storage capacity, one megabyte (MB) = one million bytes, one gigabyte (GB) = one billion bytes, and one terabyte (TB) = one trillion bytes. Total accessible capacity varies depending on operating environment. As used for buffer or cache, one megabyte (MB) = 1,048,576 bytes. As used for transfer rate or interface, megabyte per second (MB/s) = one million bytes per second, megabit per second (Mb/s) = one million bits per second, and gigabit per second (Gb/s) = one billion bits per second.

Warranty
And not to forget, it comes with 3 years warranty.

Problem and Solution
So far I have heard complaint about their AC adapter, which is odd shaped and gets disconnected in the middle of a transfer! Thankfully, I have not experienced it(I waited as long as 4 months in testing) yet. But if you are experiencing such problems, then simply get a different kind of adapter and use it to plug your hard disk.

Get Enchanted!

Anybody can register a company and start selling their product online or offline. But the problem is, not every company is enchanting.

Who is Guy Kawasaki and why you should care ?
Guy Kawasaki is the former chief evangelist of Apple. He is also the co-founder of Alltop.com(an online magazine rack of popular topics on the Web) and a founding partner at Garage Technology Ventures. His nine previous book include the international bestseller “The Art of the Start”, as well as “Reality Check” and “The Macintosh Way”. He has a BA from Stanford University and an MBA from UCLA. He lives in Silicon Valley with his wife and four children.

My Review:
I was very enchanted after reading this book, and I wrote a detailed review but later on stumbled upon a presentation video of Guy Kawasaki which covered a lot of things which I was pointing to in my review. So I thought, I would give you some pointers to things which I loved the most in this book. And please make sure you watch the presentation video of Guy, which I have embedded below in this review article(RSS subscribers will have to visit the site to watch it.)

Some of the biggest takeaway for me from this book:
1. “You need to convince people to dream the same dream that you do.”
2. “Keep it short, they’ll ask if they are interested.”
3. “The goal of premortems is to prevent the potential problems in order to increase the likelihood of success.
Premortems: Identification of the problems in advance rather than after they occur.
4. The first follower is what transforms the lone nut into a leader.

5. The power of Data.
Hans Rosling: Let my dataset change your mindset

Hans Rosling shows the best stats you’ve ever seen

6. YouTube: I got some biggest tips about producing YouTube videos: To keep the intro to minimum or remove it!
7. Wrong use of social proof:
“Twenty-five million people are killing themselves by smoking” could convince folks that smoking is OK because 25 million people do it!

8. Presentation: This is one of the best part I got in this book. It includes some awesome, simple tips for delivering an Enchanting presentation. (page no: 115)

With every theory, Guy gives more than one practical example to prove the point. Showcasing social proof and as he tells “don’t fall for the example of one”.

Well, one thing to point: in page no 48-49
The company name of “Tata” comes from its founder “Jamsedji Tata”. And yes, “Tata” means “grandfather” in Kannada(regional language of Karnataka – Bengaluru )

Biggest Business takeaway for me from this book:
1. Enchant clients.
2. Premortum.
3. Deliver Bad News Early.
4. Whom not to enchant.

Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1: Why Enchantment ?
Chapter 2: How to Achieve Likability
Chapter 3: How to Achieve Trustworthiness
Chapter 4: How to Prepare
Chapter 5: How to Launch
Chapter 6: How to Overcome Resistance
Chapter 7: How to Make Enchantment Endure
Chapter 8: How to Use Push Technology
Chapter 9: How to Use Pull Technology
Chapter 10: How to Enchant Your Employees
Chapter 11: How to Enchant Your Boss
Chapter 12: How to Resist Enchantment
Conclusion

Can’t wait to get a glimpse of this book ?
Watch this presentation from Guy Kawasaki which covers most of the topics covered in the book, in brief.

As I told before, I had written a long review of this book and before publishing stumbled upon this awesome presentation. Please watch it fully, without fail.

This is the full, one-hour version of Guy’s Enchantment speech at Stanford

How this book helped me
With every new release of Apple products I always wondered, who might be the marketing genius behind these launches ? Ofcourse, it’s Steve Jobs. After reading this book, I understand, there’s something more than Marketing, and that is “Enchantment”.

Guy explains every bit about creating a company as Enchanting as Apple, Virgin or Zappos.

I have a small online project lined up and I wanted to recommend users to read one book, i.e., Dale Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends and Influence People“. But now, I have to recommend two books, and yes the other book is Guy’s “Enchantment – The art of changing hearts, minds, and actions“.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who want to Enchant someone.

“Read this book to create a company as enchanting as Apple.”
– Steve Wozniak, Co-Founder of Apple

Why you must buy this book ?
Because it is “the best” resource for creating a company that enchants. And it has excerpts from many other books. Guy has read many books, taken notes and has given condensed form of these books, hence reducing our effort to read all those books!

If you have a company and if you don’t read this book, then I guess, it would cost you a lot.

Recommended:
1. Dale Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends and Influence People“.
2. Guy Kawasaki’s “Enchantment – The art of changing hearts, minds, and actions“.

5 Feature-packed Shopping Carts

This is a guest post by James Adams. If you want to guest post on this blog, check out the guidelines here.

The shopping cart which you choose needs to have plenty of features. It needs to be scalable to your needs, offering many categories and products. Shopping cart software is great for providing your customers with a full virtual storefront. Here are five great shopping cart solutions.

1. BigCommerce
BigCommerce is feature packed, stuffed with everything from premium hosting to single-click reordering. This is one of the most fully customizable shopping cart applications on the market today. This program fully supports electronic goods for direct downloads, 12 shopping methods, more than 50 payment methods, affiliate programs, and more. You can truly automate your store with email notifications when your stock is running low, a newsletter, and a complete return system. The plans are fully scalable to the size of your business.

Pricing: $49.95 setup, plans starting at $24.95 per month for 100 products

2. Volusion
Volusion prides itself on the security features that it offers to customers. It offers 128-bit SSL security, complete disaster planning, and proactive protection against hackers. Volusion can be integrated with QuickBooks and Endicia. This software fully embraces affiliate programs with a 5 tier affiliate system, discounts and coupons. You can build a socially networked store with the Social Store Builder, so you can sell your products directly to customers on MySpace and Facebook. Everything within Volusion is customizable, including the product descriptions, keywords, and website.

Pricing: $49 setup, plans starting at $29 per month for 100 products

3. Fortune3
Fortune3 makes establishing a full store simple. You do not need to have a volume of HTML knowledge under your belt to capitalize on the features of this application. You can sell downloadable products, establish custom pricing and bulk discounts. Checkout and style templates are available. Modify your cart button styles and store design with the touch of a button. Fortune3 supports multiple sales tax options, shipping costs, and shipping calculation. There is automated SEO and an automated affiliate program. If you have any problems, this shopping cart offers unlimited email and telephone support as well as live chat.

Pricing: $39.95 setup, plans starting at $29.95 per month for 30 products, transaction fees starting at .95%

4. Shopify
Set up your shopping cart quickly and easily with Shopify. You can track your inventory, receive email notifications, and receive fully integrated fulfillment through Amazon. Shopify is a simple fully featured shopping cart program. Your administration screens are managed through a single panel and the interface is streamlined for easier use. Tailor discount programs and coupon codes to your specifications. The software is PCI compliant and built on constantly improving open-source software. Shopify does not handle money or ship your packages, but it does integrate with services that can perform those functions.

Pricing: Plans start at $24 per month for 100 products. Transaction fees starting at 2%

5. SunShop
With SunShop, you receive a full service shopping cart without the monthly fee. Set up your store in very little time using their installation wizard. SunShop offers a fully customizable storefront, newsletter support, email templates and website templates. There are unlimited categories and support for multiple product images and options. You can establish on-site promotions, upselling, affiliate programs and referral programs. With SunShop, you can checkout without having an account and receive live order tracking for all of your purchases. The software is fully compliant with all standard security protocols.

Pricing: $249.99 purchases a single license and 60 days of support

If you wish to establish an online store, it is essential to have shopping cart software which can suit your needs. The program you choose needs to grow with your business.

James Adams works at Cartridge Save, a top ink supplies specialist based in the UK.

9 Weird Facts About Printer Ink

This is a guest post by James Adams. If you want to guest post on this blog, check out the guidelines here.

Most homes have an inkjet printer or laserjet printer to print the family photos, papers for school, or even book drafts. As a result, millions upon millions of consumable cartridges are created, many of which end up in the garbage heap. Here are some quick facts about the cartridges that you use every single day.

1. In the UK alone, more than 30 million inkjet cartridges are dumped each year into landfills. This is the equivalent weight of 18 blue whales. If placed end to end, unrecycled cartridges could circle the Earth.

2. There are specialty markets which you can purchase edible inkjet ink for your printer. In fact, there is a restaurant in Chicago which uses edible ink and paper to print out its delicious sushi entrees. The chef, Homaro Cantu, prints out delightful concoctions using a Canon i560 inkjet printer.

3. Nearly a gallon of oil goes into the production of one laser cartridge. Several ounces of oil go into the creation of an inkjet cartridge. Less oil in energy is used when a laser printer cartridge is remanufactured, though very few cartridges are reused, remanufactured, or recycled.

4. Water makes up at least 50% of an inkjet ink cartridge. The other ingredients to the cartridges are pigments and chemicals which keep the ink from evaporating. This ink is precisely manufactured to make sure that the ink doesn’t evaporate, bugs don’t enter the ink, the cartridge itself is durable, and will not corrode.

5. In the US, it is estimated that over 375 million inkjet cartridges are disposed of every year. The weight of these cartridges is equivalent to over 112,000 Volkswagen Beetles or 67,000 Ford Explorers. Purchasing remanufactured cartridges saves you oil as well as around 3.5 pounds of waste. We currently recycle only around 25% of the inkjet cartridges that are used.

6. Cartridge manufacturers inflate the prices of their inkjet cartridges. They will use the tactic of selling the inkjet printers themselves for at or below cost so they can sell their proprietary inkjet cartridges for a significant profit. This is in contrast to laser printer manufacturers, who will sell their laser printers for high prices, knowing that consumables will not be bought as often.

7. The retail cost of ink itself costs more than most liquids on the planet, including oil, liquor, milk, and space shuttle fuel. The HP 20 black ink cartridge has 28 ml of ink and costs an average of $40 per cartridge. In order to get a liter of ink, one must have around 36 ink cartridges. The cost of a single liter of HP ink is $1,440.

8. Lexmark has a single-use policy written on its cartridges. The company won a lawsuit in 2005 which allows it to prosecute individuals for refilling their cartridges. Those cartridges which aren’t labeled with the single-use markings have to be returned to the company for refilling.

9. There is a computer chip in each inkjet cartridge which informs the printer of the levels of toner within. Since manufacturers stand to win when cartridges are empty, there is the inclination to prematurely signal the depletion of a cartridge. There are a few especially annoying printers which will not print black and white when only a single color has been depleted.

Inkjet printer ink is one of the most valuable liquids on the planet, yet it is used at an alarming rate. Laser printer cartridges are almost as expensive, if one considers the resources which go into the production of a single cartridge. Whether in the UK or the US, recycling inkjet and laser printer cartridges is important.

James Adams is a regular contributor of guest articles to blogs around the web. He works for Cartridge Save, a popular supplier of printer ink based in the UK.

10 Most Useful Features of the Nikon DSLR D3000 Camera

This is a guest post by Roger Elmore. If you want to guest post on this blog, check out the guidelines here.

Among good digital cameras, Nikon’s digital SLR D3000 is a great entry-level piece that is a popular upgrade option for those who want more than a cheap point-and-shoot can offer. So far the peskiest thing about it is that you don’t get live view. However, that’s not to say the D3000 doesn’t have some cool features. Here we will explore some of the features that make the D3000 one of the most versatile digital cameras available to those who are newly expanding their skills in photography.

1. Guide mode: Most individuals who purchase the D3000 are doing so to begin dabbling in high-end digital photography, and their primary intention is to take casual, high-quality photos. The great thing about the D3000 is that you can adjust the mode dial at the top of the camera to “Guide.” This mode is a great help to folks who aren’t sure what camera setting they need to use to get the results they’re wanting. Guide mode helps beginners learn how to use the more advanced features of the D3000, such as freezing motion and softening backgrounds.

2. 3-inch LCD screen: The D3000 features a 3-inch LCD screen monitor which helps you get a better visualization of the image you’re trying to capture. Compare this to Nikon’s older models, such as the D60, which features screens at 2.5 inches, or to a point-and-shoot, which often have very grainy screens. You can also adjust the brightness of your screen, which is handy.

3. 11-point auto-focus system: The cool thing about this feature on the D3000 is the autofocus (AF) system, which helps you capture fast-moving images, provided you’re using a lens that is compatible with the system. There are also 4 AF modes: one for still objects, one for moving objects, one that lets the camera decide, and one for 3-D tracking.

4. 10.2 megapixels: The D3000 is a major step up from a basic point-and-shoot because of how many megapixels (MP) it offers. While basic digital cameras only allow you 5 or 6 MP, the D3000 allows you a whopping 10.2 MP. While this many megapixels won’t really matter if you only plan to make small 4×6 prints, it matters a great deal if you want to blow up your images and have large prints made. 10.2 MP will allow the quality of your prints to remain consistent even if you blow up a print as large as 20×30 inches.

5. Compact size: The D3000 will definitely not weigh you down the camera body is both lightweight and compact, fitting easily and comfortably into your hand. This is a great feature for beginners who often get intimidated by chunky, complicated equipment.

6. In-camera photo editing: This feature will save you a little time if you like to edit and print your images at home. You can get the basic photo editing done beforehand using the D3000, which allows you to get rid of red eye, trim photos and use a soft filter. The cool thing is you won’t lose your original photo if you don’t want to the camera will save the edited copy of your photo separately. It’s not wow-your-socks-off amazing, but it’s definitely helpful.

7. Multiple Modes: I already elaborated on the guide mode, but the mode dial also has lots of other modes that help you take low-light shots, sports action photos, close-ups, portraits and landscape photos.

8. Fast, continuous shoot: The D3000 can capture 3 frames per second. This is useful if you find yourself about to capture an emerging moment that can be lost in a matter of seconds.

9. Active D-Lighting: The D3000 takes a teensy bit of time before the shot “takes” to improve contrasts in a picture if you use Active D-Lighting. This helps get rid of pesky shadows and overwhelming glares and gives images a more balanced look. You can turn it off if you don’t like it, because sometimes this feature messes up what you’re trying to do with photos.

10. Leaving in “noise”: The D3000 doesn’t get rid of “noise” random color speckles at higher sensitivities, e.g., long exposures, leaving the images free to keep fine detail instead of automatically reducing them. You can do a lot of cool long exposure shots for a low-end camera because the camera isn’t constantly correcting what you’re trying to do.

By-line:
This guest post is contributed by Roger Elmore.

100 Writing Mistakes To Avoid In English

We all know how important communication skill is in this corporate world. Without good communication skill it is hard to get a job, even though the candidate is good in his field. So communication is the key.

In online world as well as offline world, it is important to write without making silly spelling mistakes, usage mistakes and grammar mistakes. For a blogger its important to make sure what he is trying to convey is properly reaching his readers. And most importantly, if you have a online service then good communication skills, proper error free writing skills are crucial. Your prospects must understand what you are trying to convey them.

Couple of weeks ago I came across a ebook titled “100 Writing Mistakes To Avoid”, on Daniel’s DailyWritingTips.com

The Book Covers:
Small Introduction.
Spelling Mistakes To Avoid.
Usage Mistakes To Avoid.
Grammar Mistakes To Avoid.
Punctuation Mistakes To Avoid.

Here is one sample excerpt from the ebook:

less/fewer:

INCORRECT: This box contains less fire crackers.
CORRECT: This box contains fewer fire crackers.

Less is used with uncounted nouns: less soup, less intelligence, less forage.
Fewer is used with countable nouns: fewer voters, fewer apples, fewer commercials.

Unlike other English grammar books which are lengthy(takes a lot of time to read) and complex to understand, “100 Writing Mistakes To Avoid” is simple, straightforward and concentrates on just 100 important writing mistakes, avoiding which we can instantly improve our writing.

Author of the ebook:
Born in Chicago, Maeve Maddox has lived, studied, and taught English in the United States, France, and the U.K. Her educational qualifications include a B.A. (Hons) in English from the University of London, and a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. She is also a published author of both fiction and non-fiction.

If you want to learn basic English Grammar first, then have a look at DailyWritingTips.com and signup for their blog’s RSS update and receive “Basic English Grammar” ebook for free. Also grab “100 Writing Mistakes To Avoid” ebook soon, as the price of the book will be raised to ~~$19.99~~ $9.99 after 1000 people have purchase it. Now the cost of the ebook is $9.99, and its a steal at this price. Kindle Edition is available only for $11.99.

Amemeber: All In One Solution For All Your Online Selling

I have seen many plugins that cost from a range of $95 to $800 that are used for creating membership sites, or some sort of sites that allow accepting payments.

Every other software script is built to solve any one particular problem. That is good, if someone has only one problem to solve and has a lot of money to spend!

But what if you want to create a membership site and also sell your ebook on the same site. And you have multiple income streems and you don’t want to depend on a third party website service to accept payment for you and then send it to your paypal a/c.

Amember is the solution. It doesn’t cost you a whole lot,.. its a great script which costs ( ~~$199.95~~ ) $179.95 – for single domain license. You will also get a license key for installing this script on your local machine(local host — wamp, mamp, xamp ).

There are various plugin’s which support integration of amember with WordPress, vBulletine, phpList etc. Below is a complete list.

aMember Pro ($179.95 for lifetime license with 6 months of free updates)
WordPress plugin (Free lifetime subscription)
“One-Time download” plugin ($30.00 for 6 months)
4Images plugin ($40.00 for 6 months)
@Mail integration ($60.00 for 6 months)
CopperMine plugin ($40.00 for 6 months)
Dokeos plugin ($40.00 for lifetime subscription)
DruPal plugin ($40.00 for 6 months)
Expression Engine plugin ($40.00 for 6 months)
FusionBB ($40.00 for lifetime subscription)
I-Rater plugin ($40.00 for 6 months)
Incremental content plugin ($60.00 for lifetime subscription)
Invision Board Plugin ($40.00 for 6 months)
Joomla plugin ($40.00 for 6 months)
ListMail plugin ($40.00 for 6 months)
MamboServer plugin ($40.00 for 6 months)
OpenRealty plugin ($70.00 for 6 months)
OsCommerce ($40.00 for lifetime subscription)
PerlDesk plugin ($20.00 for lifetime subscription)
Phorum plugin ($40.00 for lifetime subscription)
PhotoPost integration ($40.00 for 6 months)
SMF plugin ($40.00 for 6 months)
Serendipity plugin ($40.00 for lifetime subscription)
Vanilla Integration ($40.00 for lifetime subscription)
WowBB plugin ($40.00 for 6 months)
XOOPS plugin ($40.00 for 6 months)
e107 CMS plugin ($40.00 for 6 months)
phpBB3 plugin ($40.00 for 6 months)
phpFox plugin ($40.00 for lifetime subscription)
phpList Integration ($40.00 for lifetime subscription)
phpNuke Plugin ($40.00 for 6 months) details
phpWebSite plugin ($40.00 for lifetime subscription)
punBB plugin ($40.00 for 6 months)
vBulletin3 plugin ($40.00 for 6 months)
Facebook integration gate (new)

Some of these plugin’s cost $30 or $40 and the license in for lifetime. But WordPress integration plugin is free and its licensing is also for lifetime.

If you ever decide to sell something online make sure you check out amember, you will surly love it and save a lot of money in the long run of your business. See it as a good investment.

I wanted to explained how to install the script, but I advice you not to try this yourself. If you run into problem it will be difficult to analyse the root cause for the problem and solving it may take a lot of your valuable time. The good news is, you need not spend in hiring a professional to install it for you. In fact, once you purchase amember software you will get a one time free installation service.

Some of the things to know:
1. Security: Amember is a secure software for accepting money online. But I still recommend not to use this to accept credit card payments if you are on a shared hosting. If you are serious about your business then go for a dedicated server.
2. Troubleshooting: When you run into trouble with your script, contact amember support team directly. I had a minor issuse with my php.ini and Alex from amember sorted out the problem very quickly. And with all those email exchanges I had with the staff, I feel that their support staff is technically very strong.

Amember For Membership Sites:
Recently I setup a membership site for one of my clients and used amember and wordpress alone to create a very good, simple to navigate and maintain membership site.

You can run membership sites with recurring payments and also sites where you have multiple levels of memberships like: Silver, Gold, Platinum membership etc.

Basically I had installed WordPress two times. One in the root and the other in a directory called members. The root WordPress is like anyother WordPress powered blog. Its intended to be a public blog. Another WordPress installation was protected using amember and the access was allowed only to registered members. Its so simple and easy with amember.

Affiliate System To Boost Your Sales/Bussiness:
Amember also has a built-in affiliate system, which doesn’t seem to be as powerful as the dedicated affiliate system software out there. But it does its main job properly, that is, tracking the incoming affiliate traffic, setting the cookie and assigning the commission. What I would love to see is a graphical stats(pie chart, bar chart in the stats for visual representation) and some option to convert any link on the website into a affiliate code.
For example, people should be allowed to link to news letter page instead of sales letter page using their affiliate code. There are manual ways to do that of course, but a automated tool would help.
What I like the most about amember affiliate system is, we can assign affiliate code automatically to everyone who is signed up as a member(we can enable or disable this option easily in the admin area).

On the administrator side of affiliate system, it does a lot of great job. It has option to set first month affiliate payment percentage and percentage for rest of the month etc – we can even set subsequent months payment to null. This model is very helpful where members pay monthly fees and affiliate get commission for each of the payment their referrals make in the subsequent months.

Members area of amember:
In members area, members will have the option to manage their news letter subscription, there is a news letter archieve page, and affiliate statistics(that is the number of clicks, conversion etc).

With all these nice experience with amember, at one place I was stuck-up and felt like a stupid myself! That is, when I forgot my admin panel password and there was no way to recover it 🙁
I think amember purposefully have not included a option for password recovery for admin panel(other members who have signed up for your service have option for password recovery. Its only in the login page of admin panel that doesn’t have a password recovery option.)

That’s just a lesson for rest of you, don’t forget your admin panel password – you will be in trouble!

Things I like about amember:
1. Costs less.
2. It has a super easy DB backup system.
3. Integrates with a lot of open source scripts.
4. Has a lot of payment options. Including the popular PayPal.
5. Sophisticated mailing system(You can integrate it with aweber using plugin. But it works just fine even without aweber.)
6. Simple affiliate system.
7. Free installation(very important!)
8. Report import/export option.
9. DB repair option.
10. Recurring billing.
11. Good Support.
12. Active forum.
13. Good Documentation about all the features and options.
14. Members area user interface is very simple, easy to understand and get use to.
15. 30 days free trial.(very important)

What I don’t like and want to be improved:
1. Not so pleasing user interface in admin side.
2. Would like to have visual representation of stats in affiliate system.

Server Requirement:
PHP 4.3.0 or later
MySQL 3.22 or later
Unix/Linux hosting

Before you purchase any membership software or any other software for selling your products, go ahead and download the free trial of amember and try it. Remember, you get a 30 days free trial of amember.

Update: Alex informed me that, there is a nice tool to recover admin password. Here is the link aMember CP login/password.
It can be reset using this tool: FixAdmin