Blog

The June edition of The Brentwood Insider is live and now available on their website. This monthly newsletter is a in depth calendar of local events provided to the citizens of Brentwood and the tenants of the Sand Creek Business Center to keep them current on what is taking place in the East Bay. The newsletter has coupons for local stores, articles about a local businesses, and provides useful information on events and opportunities that are available to the public and fun for the whole family.

If you have an event that you would like listed on The Brentwood Insider email us at newsletter@thebrentwoodinsider.com with the details including the date, time, location, and the necessary information to get people to your event. They’re here to serve our community and to be a good neighbor. You can also contact The Brentwood Insider through their website submission form found here www.thebrentwoodinsider.com/contact.php.

CleanEase is a revolutionary new family of green cleaning products that are safe, all-natural, and completely non-toxic. CleanEase is delivered to you with less fuel, and leaves you with less waste.

San Francisco, CA June 2, 2010 – Jason Franco, President of JVF Consulting, LLC announced the launch of the CleanEase custom website. The new ecommerce website focuses on their earth friendly cleaning products that are powerful, but still safe enough for everyday family use. This unique product line has been recognized as a 100% green product in the United States, and has been approved as a green product by all 28 countries in the European Union (EU).

CleanEase is a new line of commercial grade green cleaning products that come in tablet form. The green cleaning tabs are made from non-toxic, environmentally friendly ingredients that dissolve easily in your own water. This efficient method gives you the greenest and most effective cleaning you've ever experienced.

"The possibilities for this product line are now more versatile through the use of their new custom ecommerce website.", says Jason Franco, President of JVF Consulting. " The World Wide Web is the perfect way to communicate and market the major transformation green cleaning has gone through.”

The CleanEase website has many products for you to choose from with detailed information in order to best select the appropriate product. Their contact information is also easily accessible for visitors with remaining questions or concerns. Providing visitors with the information they’re looking for will help turn them into customers. CleanEase is also looking for new distributors. Distributing CleanEase is one of the best things you can do for your business, your customers, and your world.

About CleanEase:
For over 16 years CleanEase been in the cleaning product industry. They do everything in their power to make their products powerful, and easy to use. Today, they still do all of their own production, from manufacturing to packaging. This enables them to always deliver on time while maintaining unbeatable quality. For more information visit www.cleanease.com.

Contact:
Jason Franco
JVF Consulting, LLC
(925) 479-9768
http://www.jvfconsulting.com

They say curiosity killed the cat, well after stumbling upon this website I’ve been extremely curious what’s going to happen when the timer runs out? Does anyone know anything about this website? If I find out anything I’ll be sure to keep you posted. The Next Generation Wedding Industry website can be found at www.nextgenweddingindustry.com

 

Pho Saigon Vietnamese Cuisine is the premier noodle house for Dublin, CA. Their restaurant offers delicious low-calorie soups served hot & fresh.

San Francisco, CA May 24, 2010 – Jason Franco, President of JVF Consulting, LLC announced the launch of the Pho Saigon Vietnamese Cuisine website. The new restaurant themed website recreates the atmosphere of their establishment with a clean high definition photo of their noodle dish. Visitors can easily view and print the menu in order to make phone in orders and quick dining decisions. Their business hours are clearly located on the homepage along with a Google map for easy driving directions. Giving people the information they’re looking for will help turn website visitors into customers.

“Web 2.0 technology is revolutionizing the restaurants market themselves on the World Wide Web.” stated Jason Franco, President of JVF Consulting, LLC. ""The new custom website will attract all kinds of new customers in search of the best Pho in the East Bay Area.”

The purpose of the Pho Saigon Vietnamese Cuisine website was to get new customers in the door. With this in mind, JVF Consulting  created a rich, user-friendly interface that can be accessed by handheld devices. This way the customer knows what to expect when they arrive, and more importantly, they will know how to get there.

About Pho Saigon Vietnamese Cuisine:
Pho Saigon Vietnamese Cuisine uses only the freshest and highest quality ingredients in all of their entrees. They offer delicious, naturally flavored, low-calorie soups that are affordable and appetizing. With many choices of meat and seafood, they can accommodate anyone. Pho Saigon foods are always presented in a quick, courteous and professional manor. Their menu consists of the following categories: Appetizers, Beef Noodle Soup, Chicken Noodle Soup, Rice Noodles, Combo Seafood, Egg Noodle Soups, Vermicelli’s, and Rice Plates. For more information visit www.phosaigonca.com.

Contact:
Jason Franco
JVF Consulting, LLC
(925) 479-9768
http://www.jvfconsulting.com

It seems like everyone nowadays has an iPhone or iPod Touch that they use to access their emails. As it turns out, one of the most popular questions we have from our clients now is “How do I setup my email account on my iPhone?” This can be confusing for new iPhone owners, so we came up with these simple steps to get you up and running.

At JVF Consulting we rely on Liquid Web for our hosting, so the steps we follow are specific to their requirements. If you do not use Liquid Web for your email routing, the following settings may not work for you, so beware.

1. If you're setting up an email account for the first time on your iPhone touch the Settings icon on the home screen. Next select Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Accounts and choose Add Account....

2. To setup your POP3 email account choose Other.

3. Select Add Mail Account under the Mail section.

4. Fill in your name, email address and password. Then click Save.

5. You will then be promted to enter your email account information. First select the POP button at the very top of your screen.

6.  Next, continue entering your email account information.
    * Incoming Mail Server

      Host Name: mail.####.com (Be sure to replace #### with your domain name.)
      User Name: username+####.com (Be sure to use a “+” sign where the @ symbol would be.)
      Password: Enter your current case sensitive password.

    * Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP)
      Host Name: mail.####.com (Be sure to replace #### with your domain name.)
      User Name: username+####.com (Be sure to use a “+” sign where the @ symbol would be.)
      Password: Enter your current case sensitive password.

When complete, press Save.

Step 7. Your iPhone will then verify your account information. During this process you will get a "Secure Connection Failed" error stating the smtp certificate is not valid. Press Continue to proceed.

Step 8. Next you will see another "Secure Connection Failed" error stating the certificate is not valid. Press Continue to proceed.

Step 9. Upon successful completion you will be taken back to the Mail Settings screen. You should now have a fully configured POP email account on your Apple iPhone.

A few months ago I wrote an article about the UCEProtect network spam list and how their practices are extortion.

Well today, we’ve ran across another problem with UCEProtect! While troubleshooting a clients bounced email message, I ran a test for blacklist listings using MXToolBox.

Everything came back clean, except for one, backscatterer.org. This is a new one to us, so we did a little investigation. Visiting their website was déjà vu, it reminded us of the UCEProtect website, and as it turns out, they’re one of the same. Visiting their contact page you will see “BACKSCATTERER.ORG is run by the UCEPROTECT-Network”.

As it turns out Backscatterer is NOT a blacklist, It's a Sender Callout Abuser list! Nobody should be blocking mail based solely on data from a backscatter list. The only thing any mail administrator should do with this list is to use it when determining whether to flag a message as possible spam.

Since our clients mail recipient is using Backscatterer as a blacklist, we need our IP address removed. To have our IP address removed they want us to pay 50.00 € Euro's (EUR) to process our request and remove our IP. That's almost $67 dollars! This is totally unacceptable, and just as illegal as UCEProtect! The only other way to have your IP address removed is to wait 4 weeks after the last abusive action.

When visiting the Backscatterer contact page you can see just how professional the company really is.

“There should be no need to contact us:
We have heard all possible excuses why people think they can not stop their systems backscatter or doing sender callouts. If you have chosen to be a lazy or selfish netcitizen letting your system backscatter or doing sender callouts you perfectly match listingcriterias. Your recipients and we are tired of all the fake bounces, misdirected autoresponders and verify calls wasting our resources, and therfore you got blocked.

OUR BLOCKLIST - OUR RULES. NO ONE GETS A FREE RIDE HERE.

We don't make exceptions to our list, so it is futile and a waste of your time to contact us and ask for delisting.”

These statements make their company sound like a complete scam, how could a professional organization perpetuate such a business model? Why would any professional company associate themselves with Backscatterer?

If you are having mail delivery problems due to a backscatterer like us, you have our sympathy. We recommend not paying fees to anyone and addressing the matter with the mail administrators of the target mail server directly. We are sure they would be very interested to know that they are blocking legitimate mail based on a UCEPROTECT service.

AT JVF Consulting we recognize the effort of the list to inform mail server managers of any known RBL lists that contain their server names, but do not condone the use of it as a blacklist.

Brentwood must control its future, reduce crime, revitalize their economy and improve property values.  That’s why you should vote Yes on Measure F.

San Francisco, CA April 30, 2010 – Jason Franco, President of JVF Consulting, LLC announced the launch of the Put Brentwood In Control custom political website. The new website provides insight about Measure F and its effect on the community and its surrounding areas. Leaders in Brentwood brought forward Measure F in an attempt to respond to the concerns that voters had with 2005’s Measure L.

Measure F creates Brentwood’s own Urban Limit Line. This new growth control tool will allow Brentwood’s voters to decide where and if we allow development around the city’s border. Currently, these decisions are controlled by countywide voters and the Board of Supervisors. Local residents should decide, not outsiders nor nearby cities.

Through the use of the World Wide Web the new website is loaded with in-depth information about Measure F and explains the details about establishing zoning and an agreement defining City and land owner rights and obligations. Measure F will protect the City from unnecessary growth and also will prevent either Antioch or Oakley from encroaching on Brentwood.

"The launch of this website reinforces Brentwood’s position on measure F.” stated Jason Franco, President of JVF Consulting, LLC. “With a commitment to keeping their citizens current with information, Put Brentwood In Control is now the leading authority for Measure F.”

The Put Brentwood In Control website is powered by the cutting edge technology of JVF Amass, the best Content Management System on the market today. The website was also designed by the leader in custom website design, JVF Consulting, LLC. With the power of Amass CMS, Put Brentwood In Control is able to make revisions to their live custom website on the fly, all through a rich user-friendly interface.

Voters in Pittsburg and San Ramon have their own Urban Limit Lines. So do the voters of Antioch. In fact, Antioch’s Urban Limit Line is right next door to Brentwood. Antioch’s voters have the power to approve development plans and expand Antioch into the land between our two cities. This would impact us and we would have nothing to say about it. Measure F would put much of this land into Brentwood’s control.

About Put Brentwood in Control
Currently, outsiders control what happens around our borders. Brentwood residents only have a 5% say about what happens to the existing, countywide Urban Limit Line. Measure F gives Brentwood’s voters 100% control. Our neighbors and City Council know what’s best for Brentwood. We should decide, not them. For more information visit: www.putbrentwoodincontrol.com

Contact:
Jason Franco
JVF Consulting, LLC
(925) 479-9768
http://www.jvfconsulting.com

Designs is the premier source for high efficiency LED lamps for the home or office. Their energy efficient LED lamps come from quality designs.

San Francisco, CA April 30, 2010 – Jason Franco, President of JVF Consulting, LLC announced the launch of the Berryessa Designs ecommerce website. Designed by JVF Consulting, the new website allows Berryessa to manage their products while tracking sales through the use of Magento ecommerce. With a new flawless design their new website is capable of processing orders using Elavon as the payment gateway with a SSL certificate for 128-bit security. Every customer can be confident their information is kept private and secure while making their purchase.

Berryessa Designs shows off their products with high resolution photos which grab their visitors attention immediately. The carefully designed LED lighting fixtures showcase an easy to read product description along with a quick overview with additional details and specifications. The Add To Cart button creates a call to action that makes for an easy purchase for the end user.

"The launch of their custom website marks a new direction for Berryessa Designs.” stated Jason Franco, President of JVF Consulting, LLC. “This website reflects a commitment to being more attractive and accessible to a global audience of all ages and backgrounds.”

The Berryessa Designs website was constructed by the leader in custom website designs, JVF Consulting, LLC. Their mission to deliver safe, healthy, and energy efficient lighting products to their customers is now within reach. Thanks the power of Magento, Berryessa is able to add products and make revisions to their live website on the fly, all through a rich user-friendly administrator interface.

About Berryessa Designs
Based in the Silicon Valley of California, Berryessa Designs is a leading innovator and manufacturer of energy efficient lighting products. The firm was founded in 2009 by experienced electrical engineers well versed in power electronics and LEDs. Their motivation is to provide energy efficient products that improve our personal comfort, health and the health of our environment. Berryessa Designs firmly believes that quality products arise from quality designs. For more information visit: www.berryessadesigns.com

Contact:
Jason Franco
JVF Consulting, LLC
(925) 479-9768
http://www.jvfconsulting.com

Last week we deployed another successful Magento ecommerce website. To track the visitors we signed up for a free Google Analytics account, and then plugged their tracking code into the admin section of the Magento administrator area. When we applied the API, the site quickly confirmed that the tracking code was in place through the Google Analytics dashboard.

We then waited 48 hours, and then logged in to see how many visitors hit the site. Turns out that none of the visitors were being tracked! Using the error console within Firefox we reloaded the page, and found the problem instantly. Turns out the Magento coders totally messed up when creating their Google Analytics API. Take a look for yourself, here's the JavaScript they used:

    (function() {
        var ga = document.createElement('script');
        ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true;
        ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') +
        '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';
        (document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0] || 
        document.getElementsByTagName('body')[0]).appendChild(ga);
    })();

    _gaq.push(["_setAccount", "UA-XXXXXXXX-1"]);
    _gaq.push(["_trackPageview", "/"]);

This is how it should read:

var _gaq = _gaq || [];
_gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-XXXXXXXX-1']);
_gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);
(function() {
var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true;
ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') +
 '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';
(document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0] || 
document.getElementsByTagName('body')[0]).appendChild(ga);
})();

As you can see the Magento coders have it all out of order, and forgot the most important line of code that created the “_gaq” object:

var _gaq = _gaq || [];

We can only assume that this API is broken on all Magento builds! To fix this, remove the tracking code from the Magento Google API in the admin area, then use the JavaScript given to you by Google Analytics, and place it in the footer of your website. Whala! Your site is now tracking visitors appropriately with no errors in the error console.

Protecting bags and purses is now easier with BellaCaché™, an innovative manufacturer of accessory dust bags.

San Ramon, CA April 16, 2010 – Liz Boyd, President and Founder of BellaCaché™ announced themselves as a new player in the dust bag market. BellaCaché’s™ line expands on what the fashion world calls a purse dust bag. Available in three sizes, this unique product line protects and stores shoes, purses, tote bags, scarves, hats, boots, laptops, briefcases and any other accessory that needs added protection.
 
BellaCaché™ dust bags are 100% cotton which are essential for storing leather goods. Their unique identification tag makes it easy to identify the contents even when stacked high in a closet. BellaCaché™ bags can be stored horizontally or vertically on a closet shelf, stacked in a drawer, or put on hangers. The line's color palette includes neutrals and rich jewel-tones which appeal to all of their customers.
 
"The possibilities for this product line are greater than anyone has previously envisioned; it's for both men and women.", says Liz Boyd, President of BellaCaché™. "The patented and trademarked design offers stylish protection for all your fashion investments."
 
BellaCaché’s™ research found that more and more men and women are using the internet for their fashion shopping to find individual and unique products that they simply cannot find on the street. The strong demand for dust bags in the market today is not being satisfied. Research also found that it was not only difficult to find anything of quality, but also variety. The entire BellaCaché line is stylish, colorful, affordable, accessible, and with a unique identification tag, it sets itself apart from the rest. For more information visit the BellaCaché website www.bellacache.com.
 
About BellaCaché™:
BellaCaché™ was founded by Liz Boyd who was tired of digging through her closet trying to find one of her many purses, only to discover that when she finally found it, it was dusty and scratched! Puzzled to see there was currently no products available to protect these items, she developed her own! Known for her organizational skills she developed her unique identification tag which greatly increases the functionality. With a color palette that includes neutrals BellaCaché™ appeals to both men and women. Liz continues to explore the many uses of her product and encourages customers let her know how YOU use BellaCaché™ Dust Bags!
 
Contact:
Liz Boyd, President & Founder
BellaCaché™
(866) 817-0080
http://www.bellacache.com