The World According to Tim Skipper

Buy UK Domain Names

Tim Skipper — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 07:42:56 +0000

I’ve spent the past few days finally adding the domain name registration system to our IntoNET Technology website. I say finally as I’ve been meaning to do this for a long while!

We’ve been selling domain names for getting on for 10 years, but along with our managed web hosting offering it’s mainly been B2B and through personal recommendation, rather than a shotgun open-to-the-public approach.

However from the Domain Names page on our web site you can now the check availability of and purchase UK domain names directly off the site. It integrates nicely with the NOMINET Domain Availability Checker service and NOCHEX for payment. I’m really pleased with the end result.

As with most things, I’ve written it using C# and the .NET Framework 4.0. I have a nice class library for integrating the NOMINET DAC, which I may package up and sell to other NOMINET Members.

Here’s the link: Buy UK Domain Names from £4.30 per year

Flying the SR-71 Blackbird: on a Secret Operational Mission

Tim Skipper — Tue, 31 May 2011 08:04:41 +0000

Following a recent birthday trip to the Imperial War Musueam Duxford, see my Flickr pics here, my fascination with the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird was rekindled. I thought I’d see what books I could find on the subject, and settled on buying “Flying the SR-71 Blackbird: on a Secret Operational Mission” by Col. Rich Graham.

This is a very technical book, with explanations about how the SR-71 Blackbird and the airmen were prepared for missions, a complete run through of all the check-lists and every single control in the cockpit, along with many tales and stories concerning the secret missions themselves.

Don’t let the technical nature of this book put you off th ough, it’s very well written and easy for a layman to understand. I can’t put it down!

I bought the Amazon Kindle version, which I’m reading on my Apple iPad2 using the excellent Kindle application.

Amazon hardback link
Amazon Kindle link

Follow the BBC Apprentice Candidates on Twitter

Tim Skipper — Wed, 11 May 2011 07:14:15 +0000

On Tuesday 11th May 2011 series 7 of the BBCs hit show The Apprentice hit our screens once again. I love this show, it polarises opinions and makes you shout and laugh at the TV in equal proportion. I’m looking forward to the rest of the series.

I’m a big fan of live Tweeting through TV shows like this, it adds another dimension to the experience. With this in mind I’ve compiled a Twitter List of all the BBC Apprentice candidates I can find, including Lord Sugar and Nick Hewer.

Follow my BBC Apprentice Twitter list to keep up with the commentary.

Incidentally, if you’ve not read Lord Sugar’s autobiography “What You See Is What You Get” then I highly recommend it.

Here’s the complete list of BBC Apprentice accounts on Twitter that I have. Please comment you find any missing!

Offical BBC Apprentice feed
Lord Sugar
Nick Hewer
Bridge Cafe

Joanna Riley
Elizabeth Locke
Shibby
Howard Ebison
Alex Epstein
Raleigh Addington
Noorul
Christopher Farrell
Ruth Badger
Debra Barr
Laura Moore
Michelle Dewberry
Raef Bjayou
Philip PantsMan
Kate Walsh
Claire Young
Chris Bates
Kimberly Davis
Sandeesh Samra
Lee McQueen
Katie Hopkins
Paloma Vivanco
Jamie Lester
Stuart Baggs
James McQuillan
Ben Clarke
James Max
Mona Lewis

Driving Whilst Blind

Tim Skipper — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 11:46:13 +0000

So last night I was driving home along the A140 when I noticed in my mirrors that an Ambulance was fast approaching. So I slow up and pull left as far as possible. Only the 4×4 behind me is in a world of his own and is now right up my chuff and over towards the white line looking to overtake.

Now the Ambulance is right up his chuff with its blues and twos going – and he still hasn’t noticed! Finally the penny drops and he swerves into the hedge.

What the hell is wrong with these people?!

2011 UK Census – Please Answer the Religion Question

Tim Skipper — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 09:26:44 +0000

The question on religion in the 2011 UK Census is optional, yet it’s an important one as it will be used to guide government spending on such things as faith schools and other religions organisations.

If you are not religious, then please tick the “No religion” box. This website explains it much better than I can.

Do the right thing, for all our sakes.

Facebook Newsfeed Settings Are Restricting Your Visibility

Tim Skipper — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 08:39:31 +0000

Since the new Facebook profiles came into effect there has been a subtle yet important change to the way in which Facebook makes your wall posts, and those of your friends visible to each other.

You may have noticed that you’re only seeing a smallish selection of your friend’s posts, and without you realising, many of your friends may not be seeing yours.

The new profile default newsfeed setting is set to show only posts from people you have recently interacted with, or interact the most with. This could be as little as the past couple of weeks or so. So for both business and personal Facebook pages you could be missing out on a lot of potential page views.

There is a simple fix, thankfully!

Scroll down to the bottom of your wall, and click on the “Edit options” link. Then simple change the Show posts from selection to All of your friends and pages.

Done! I hope you find this useful. Perhaps if you do you would consider liking my company Facebook page: IntoNET Technology Ltd or Following me on Twitter.

Check an EU VAT number

Tim Skipper — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 09:24:20 +0000

I’ve created a free tool on our company web site that allows you to check any EU VAT number and confirm that it is valid, and where available, obtain the name and address associated with it.

It’s available here: http://www.intonet-technology.co.uk/tools/CheckAUKVATNumber

Synching Outlook Mailboxes with iPhone and iPad mobile devices

Tim Skipper — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 07:25:10 +0000

I’ve been thinking about moving my email to a proper Microsoft Exchange server for some while now. I read my emails from a desktop PC, two laptops, an Apple iPhone 3GS and now an Apple iPad.

The desktop PC in my office is the Master, where all the mail is downloaded to and removed from the server into Microsoft Outlook 2007, with all the other laptops and mobile devices just downloading new mail. It means when I read and delete mail during the day, I have to clean it up on my main PC as well. It’s a pain in the butt.

So I finally took the plunge and signed up for a Microsoft Exchange hosted account with 1and1. It took about 5 minutes to configure and since it supports Microsoft ActiveSync, all my mobile devices and Outlook mailboxes are completely in sync all of the time. If I delete or read mail on one, a few seconds later it’s marked as read or deleted on all the others.

I wish I had done this months ago!

Make Money Selling Our Lingerie

Tim Skipper — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 13:45:17 +0000

I’m opening up my lingerie business to home workers seeking an opportunity to make money through commission based sales of our fabulous Shirley of Hollywood range of lingerie, corsets, bustiers, chemises and gowns.

If you’re familiar with the ubiquitous Avon round, then it’s a similar kind of thing. We provide you with catalogues and electronic media and can handle all the shipping direct to your customers if required.

This lingerie affiliate program pays 20% commission on all sales!

To find out more visit the earn commission page on our lingerie web site.

The Science of ReTweets

Tim Skipper — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 13:56:23 +0000

I just read a fascinating article on The Science of ReTweets, by Dan Zarella on mashable.com. Dan breaks down what makes some Twitter Tweets more ReTweetable than others. It’s a really interesting insight into the minds of Twitterers, and I believe is very useful information for anyone considering Twitter as a marketing tool.

Check it out.