= What is StupidZombie? THIS APPLICATION IS NOT LONGER BEING MANTAINED! == Why use it? Because It solves a common problem StupidZombie is an OpenSource tool that can be used to ‘ping’ several directories to notify about a blog update, but without the need of running it from a webpage (like Blogger or Wordpress). You can run StupidZombie from a cron job or using webstart, the choice is yours. == It is better than the competition? How StupidZombie is better? * StupidZombie offers the ability to ping several Hispanic ping directories like VeneBlogs, Blogalaxia, Bitacoras as well more mainstream services like Technorati, Yahoo, Weblogs. * Right now web based pingers are free but that could change (like ad based). Also they could collect user information (who you are, what you ping). StupidZombie will be always be free and there are no privacy issues (you can check the code, you run the code on your computer not a external server). * The program will support other languages than English (next release will be Spanish) while most of them only support English * You only need to download the application once, no need to visit several websites to ping other directories. Also the create tag functionality works offline. * Privacy is assured. No spamming, the blog data is kept locally on your machine. You can also export your settings in case you need a backup. * Can be executed periodically from Cron, Autosys. You cannot do that with any of the other websites. * Can be extended. Because is Open-Source you can see the code, and you can add more functionality. All these websites are closed source! == Is Open source (and it matters to you if you are a developer) Stupid Zombie is an open source project. It is a tool written in the Java language that aims to help bloggers with common tasks such as pinging directories ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ping_(blogging])) after a post is written without visiting an external web site. It can also help the user write html “tags” so search engines can categorize their post more accurately ([http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/techbeat/archives/2005/02/the_future_of_b.html]). == Who uses StupidZombie? === Scenario 1 – blogger visitor Jim is a 17 year old high school student living in Pahrump, Nevada. He has been using the Internet for about 10 years, but has never really blogged before. Lately his interest in blogging has changed and is now looking for something to help him with his blog about his life in a small town near Area 51. Searching the Internet he comes across Stupid Zombie. Curious about the name he goes to the site. He immediately likes the fun atmosphere and easy to understand content. After he few moments at the site he understands how Stupid Zombie can help him with his new interest in blogging and what a Open source program is. He then downloads the program. Follows the easy directions and installs the program. === Scenario 2 – Open Source Tools visitor Sven is a 23 year college student in the Netherlands. He is considered tech savvy. He is passionate about using open source programs, and sharing with others the benefits that open source projects offer. One night he stumbles upon Stupid Zombie from an open source projects listing. He visits the site. Within moments he understands what Stupid Zombie does. He realizes that this could be a really cool tool that might help him improve his own blog, “TundraDeathKittie.” He quickly checks the hardware/software/platform requirements, satisfied, he downloads the Stupid Zombie Program. He then installs the program and tries it out. He returns a few days later to post how much he likes and proceeds to the support page. He finds a banner he likes and then updates his websites on the web with the Stupid Zombie animated banner, encouraging others to go checkout the Stupid Zombie website/program. === Scenario 3 – Developer looking to support an Open source program Jennifer is a 28 year old programmer for ByteSize Industries, in San Francisco, California. She loves to challenge herself with various programming projects that she doesn’t have to commit to for long periods of time. One day while taking a break from some freelance work, she comes across a name that makes her curious, “Stupid Zombie.” She visits the site. She really likes the fun, bright atmosphere. She also likes zombies. She quickly understands the benefits of this program for bloggers. She downloads the program. She recognizes what open source is, because she likes the idea of the program and the fun atmosphere of the site she signs up for a weekend of coding. === Scenario 4 - It doesn't matter, you want to use a tool that is easy to use and just works! Yes. You want zero complications setting a tool and want to keep using it regardless of your blogging platform (Blogger, Typepad, Wordpress) or your level or technical expertise (casual blogger or expert hacker). StupidZombie has something to offer to you.