Welcome to BenWoods.com

Welcome to BenWoods.com, the website for author, columnist and web developer Ben Woods. This site is home to my past and current attempts at combining humor and technology into a worthwhile read. If you have anything to add, or you just want to say hello, please use the contact form or email

Latest News

New U.S. government 'transparent' sites

July 02, 2009 - Where do your tax dollars go? What data is being collected in this country anyway? Previously, these were difficult questions to answer, but the new administration appears to be making headway toward real answers.

At USAspending.gov, site visitors can see who is receiving federal funds, what industries are benefiting the most from the dough and which contractors are winning contracts. At Data.gov, users can check out numerous types of data catalogs, in numerous formats as well.



Community website (like .comU) purchased by AOL

June 17, 2009 - I found out the other day through an internal company email that AOL has recently purchased two companies as part of its local strategy initiative. I was immensely surprised when checking out one of them, Patch, which is essentially a community-based website geared toward providing info with a small-town flavor. It's quite remarkable how similar this site is to .comU, the original website built by "The Developers."



Congrats Microsoft, you came up with a name ... now what?

May 29, 2009 - Bing, Microsoft's new search engine, is finally here. OK, well, as of May 29, 2009, it's not actually here yet. However, people are already raving over the name "Bing." It does have a nice ring to it, and it goes great with Crosby. But, what's in a name?



One thousand books

May 24, 2009 - I remember reading or hearing something a few years ago that said only 10 percent of all books published ever sell 1,000 copies or more. I cannot seem to find exact numbers anywhere, however, I found a boatload of other statistics on the Para Publishing website. The self-publishing numbers are pretty low ... only 3.4 percent of Xlibris copies have sold more than 500 copies, for example.



Book review: "Healthy Travel: Don't Travel Without It!" by Michael P. Zimring and Lisa Iannucci

May 23, 2009 - Traveling to new countries is a great opportunity to see customs and cultures that you may not find in your own backyard. While it can be an exhilarating experience, it can also turn into a problem when not properly prepared for the journey. To make sure you have everything you need, I would suggest reading "Healthy Travel: Don't Travel Without It!" by Michael P. Zimring and Lisa Iannucci.


• Show All News

Book News

The Developers

New U.S. government 'transparent' sites

July 02, 2009 - Where do your tax dollars go? What data is being collected in this country anyway? Previously, these were difficult questions to answer, but the new administration appears to be making headway toward real answers.

At USAspending.gov, site visitors can see who is receiving federal funds, what industries are benefiting the most from the dough and which contractors are winning contracts. At Data.gov, users can check out numerous types of data catalogs, in numerous formats as well.

Corporate Ties

One thousand books

May 24, 2009 - I remember reading or hearing something a few years ago that said only 10 percent of all books published ever sell 1,000 copies or more. I cannot seem to find exact numbers anywhere, however, I found a boatload of other statistics on the Para Publishing website. The self-publishing numbers are pretty low ... only 3.4 percent of Xlibris copies have sold more than 500 copies, for example.

Random Articles

Missing: the talking paper clip

February 13, 2007 - Microsoft Office 2007 is missing one minor annoyance, er, ingredient that everyone commonly refers to as "Clippy." Yes folks, I'm talking about the talking paper clip, which ranks up there with file f ...



First book excerpt available

September 01, 2004 - As you may or may not know, I'm in the process of writing a book. It was fun, but I'd like to finish it, get it published, sign some books and start working on the next one. In the meantime, I'm go ...



'The Developers' listed with major distributor

December 27, 2005 - Baker & Taylor, a book distributor with service centers located throughout the United States, is now listing "The Developers" for retail. For over 176 years ...



JavaScript can make your pages better

April 09, 2004 - In the beginning, the Internet gods created hypertext markup language. This language, known to you and me as HTML, was pretty much the sole programming possibility in the earliest development stages o ...



Another round of edits completed

March 13, 2008 - It helps tremendously to have the chance to work with an actual editor with any writing project ... especially a full-length novel. Patrick Coyle provided a lot of great feedback with "Polos to Ties," ...

• Home
• News
• My Books
• Authors
• Surveys
• About Me
• Photos
• Contact
• RSS