Google & Virgin announce Virgle, Inc.

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) and Virgin Group today announced the launch of Virgle Inc., a jointly owned and operated venture dedicated to the establishment of a human settlement on Mars.

"Some people are calling Virgle an 'interplanetary Noah's Ark,'" said Virgin Group President and Founder Sir Richard Branson, who conceived the new venture. "I'm one of them. It's a potentially remarkable business, but more than that, it's a glorious adventure. For me, Virgle evokes the spirit of explorers such as Christopher Columbus and Marco Polo, who set sail looking for the New World. I do hope we'll be a bit more efficient about actually finding it, though."

The Virgle 100 Year Plan's milestones will include Virgle Pioneer selection (2008-2010), the first manned journey to Mars (2016), a Virgle Inc. initial public offering to capitalize on the first manned journey to Mars (2016), the founding of the first permanent Martian municipality, Virgle City (2050), and the achievement of a truly self-sustaining Martian civilization with a population exceeding 100,000 (2108).

“Virgle is the ultimate application of a principle we’ve always believed at Google: that you can do well by doing good,” said Google co-founder Larry Page, who plans to share leadership of the new Martian civilization with Branson and Google co-founder Sergey Brin.

"We feel that ensuring the survival of the human race by helping it colonize a new planet is both a moral good in and of itself and also the most likely method of ensuring the survival of our best – okay, fine, only -- base of web search volume and advertising inventory,” Page added. “So, you know, it's, like, win-win."

The original contingent of Virgle Pioneers will be selected by numerous criteria, including an online questionnaire, video submission, personal accomplishments, expertise in scientific, artistic, sociological and/or political fields of endeavor, and inadequate Google and Virgin personal performance reviews.


About Google Inc.
Google's innovative search technologies connect millions of people around the world with information every day. Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google today is a top Web property in all major global markets. Google's targeted advertising program provides businesses of all sizes with measurable results, while enhancing the overall Web experience for users. Google is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.google.com.


About the Virgin Group
Virgin, a leading branded venture capital organisation, is one of the world's most recognised and respected brands. Conceived in 1970 by Sir Richard Branson, the Virgin Group has gone on to grow very successful businesses in sectors ranging from mobile telephony to transportation, travel, financial services, leisure, music, holidays, publishing and retailing. Virgin has created more than 200 branded companies worldwide, employing approximately 50,000 people, in 29 countries. Revenues around the world in 2007 exceeded £11.5 billion (approx. US$23 billion).

For more information, visit www.google.com/virgle

Tips When Buying Gas

Today I came across an interesting article regarding the gas industry. Take a few minutes to read these following tips that could save you some extra money each week.

Only buy or fill up your car or truck in the early morning when the ground temperature is still cold. Remember that all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground. The colder the ground the more dense the gasoline, when it gets warmer gasoline expands, so buying in the afternoon or in the evening....your gallon is not exactly a gallon. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and the temperature of the gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, ethanol and other petroleum products plays an important role. A 1-degree rise in temperature is a big deal for this business. But the service stations do not have temperature compensation at the pumps.

When you're filling up do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to a fast mode. If you look you will see that the trigger has three (3) stages: low, middle, and high. In slow mode you should be pumping on low speed, thereby minimizing the vapors that are created while you are pumping. All hoses at the pump have a vapor return. If you are pumping on the fast rate, some of the liquid that goes to your tank becomes vapor. Those vapors are being sucked up and back into the underground storage tank so you're getting less worth for your money.

One of the most important tips is to fill up when your gas tank is HALF FULL or HALF EMPTY. The reason for this is, the more gas you have in your tank the less air occupying its empty space. Gasoline evaporates faster than you can imagine. Gasoline storage tanks have an internal floating roof. This roof serves as zero clearance between the gas and the atmosphere, so it minimizes the evaporation. Unlike service stations, here where I work, every truck that we load is temperature compensated so that every gallon is actually the exact amount.

Another reminder, if there is a gasoline truck pumping into the storage tanks when you stop to buy gas, DO NOT fill up --most likely the gasoline is being stirred up as the gas is being delivered, and you might pick up some of the dirt that normally settles on the bottom.

Phyllis Pierino
Independent Sales Representative

Benefits Of A Professional Website

The web is one of the most effective and cheapest methods of advertising available. For about the same cost of a small one time newspaper ad, a company can have a 4 or 5 page web site, open 24 hours a day with the potential to reach millions of people. Potential customers can obtain product information when they want it, not when a business is open. Many people will turn to a business that supplied them with product information when they needed it, which in many cases is outside normal trading hours.

Having a professional website allows small businesses to compete with the larger corporations. It has a low cost of entry and allows any company to market at a global level. A website works around the clock with little effort to keep it running. A professional developer can analyze any existing promotional materials and integrate these elements into a coherent design for an authentic online web presence. This allows for a more custom marketing presence that can't be obtained by just using templates included with off-the-shelf software packages or online services.

Charles Sciascia
Lead Design / Founder
Webivate, Inc.

Key Components Of A Website

A strategic domain name, cascading style sheet design, and a search engine friendly website are three key components to a professionally designed business website. Once these elements are combined to form a business website, it is just a matter of time before the true benefits of having a website are revealed.

Everything from the latest news to celebrity gossip can be found on the internet. When people are looking for information they turn to the computer. The internet allows a business to display what they have to offer through text, images, flash presentations, and user interactive web sites.

A company can also setup online shopping carts that allow them to sell products online. Any business today that does not have a company website is looked at as incomplete. There are so many benefits a professional business website has to offer, it is hard to refuse.

Contact Webivate, Inc. to get started today!

Charles Sciascia
Lead Design / Founder
Webivate, Inc.

Importance Of CSS In Web Design

The importance of using CSS instead of standard HTML Markup language is endless.

Cascading style sheets offer the highest amount of customization, along with faster loading times and cross-browser compatibility. Cross-browser refers to the ability for a website, web application, HTML document or client-side script to support multiple web browsers. In lemans terms, a website designed in CSS will be displayed properly on different browsers, operating systems, and mobile devices. This is useful to any business that offers products or services to a wide variety of customers.

Fast loading times is another key component for any professional website. Although most users today use cable, DSL, or broadband, it is important that the customer doesn't wait. Since CSS uses about half the amount of text compared to a regular HTML document, the page is loaded much faster. This leaves room for higher quality images and other media solutions to be incorporated into the design.

However, even the most attractive, fast loading, and cross-browser compatible websites are not successful unless they can be found online.

Charles Sciascia
Lead Design / Founder
Webivate, Inc.

Internet’s Influence On Business

The World Wide Web was released to the public in the early 90's. It wasn't until 1996 that the usage of the word "Internet" became a commonplace for most people.

The Internet, sometimes called simply "the Net," is an international system of computer networks that allows users to send and receive information from other computers. This concept influenced many corporations to expand their services worldwide by developing an online presence through the implementation of a company website. It was only a matter of time before the Internet became a global marketplace for virtually everything. Investors and business owners began buying web space and hiring web designers to develop their online websites.

Having a professionally designed business website is an important component of success for any company doing business in society today. To find out more information about getting started with your own professional company website you can visit our website at Webivate.com.

Charles Sciascia
Lead Design / Founder
Webivate, Inc.

Factors Of A Professional Website

A professionally designed business website must be both aesthetically pleasing and encompass a strategically designed page layout. If the look and feel does not appeal to a potential customer, they are most likely going to leave, never to be seen again. It is important that the sites navigation structure is featured on every page of the website and is in a location that the user can easily identify. This allows customers to access the information they are looking for without becoming frustrated.

Today's professionals use third party web application software like Adobe Dreamweaver to achieve that professional look along with a structurally sound design. Template based layouts allow for complex navigation structures and advanced page features. Professional web designers also use the latest web markup language to produce fully customized website layouts.

Cascading Style Sheets, or CSS, are a series of instructions that specify how text should appear on a Web page. You can use CSS to set specific styles for text, borders, and other elements, and apply these styles to your entire Web site.

Charles Sciascia
Lead Design / Founder
Webivate, Inc.

Registering A New Domain Name

Your domain name is one of the most fundamental steps in the early developing stages of any website. A domain name is a unique name assigned to an IP Address that identifies an internet website. It can make or break the success of any company trying to establish an online presence. When choosing a domain name it is important to incorporate the company's brand name or key phrases that correspond to that business. This allows customers to easily access the company website directly or through any major search engine.

An efficient name is easy to remember and works well with TV and Radio advertising. The most common domains are ".com", ".net", and ".org". Competition for domain space is higher than ever since the average cost has dropped dramatically. The longer consumers wait to purchase their online web space, the more likely the domain name they want will already be taken. Competition is so high that every single 3-character ".com" domain name has already been registered.

If you are looking to purchase a domain name and create your own online website, contact Webivate, Inc. today to get started. We can help you register a domain, setup a professional website, and show you how to manage your website to help generate money through Google Adsense. To see if the domain name is available you can visit GoDaddy.com

Charles Sciascia
Lead Design / Founder
Webivate, Inc.