[gbh]

OK Team Refresh Crack Monkeys.

Basically, with this service you can monitor web pages for content change and get emailed/SMS'd when a change occurs.

I use it savagely and can highly recommend for any devious uses you might have in mind.

www.pointnorthnetworks.com

Have a read. It works...VERY WELL.

If you decide to sign up, enter "SKUNKWORKS" as your coupon code and you will receive a further 5% discount off the life of your account.


The system is highly configurable and advanced but for the average punter, monitoring content change with an email and SMS alert should be sufficient.
You can also do cool stuff like show uptime stats of the pages you monitor etc like this:

monitor.pointnorthnetworks.com/pubgrp?uid=06E68DFD-DDD5-4BC5-990E-A1E8C115FECF&showicons=1

Support "if required" is fantastic.


This message is brought to you by Global Skunkworks and the Letter "N"

[corblimeylimey]

Have you used this for previous Banksy LA prints? and did it work so well you got what you wanted?

The monitoring frequency is every 5 minutes, and although my email checks every minute there is sometimes a delay, could be 10 minutes or more, so it's handy but if I don't find out for 10 minutes all the Banksy's could be gone (at least the signed ones)

Just been looking into it, there is a fee 30 day trial (sounds good to me) worth a shot, if it works I'll owe you big time gbh.

[gbh]

not for LA prints but for a couple of releases, yes.
and yes.

re the monitor interval, I'm sure you could pay more and get smaller increments.

Anyway, just set it up to SMS or SMS and email at the same time, that way you don't have suffer the email delay you mentioned.

Or get set up on an exchange server which pushes the email to you the second it is received, you don't need to poll like POP3 clients.

At worst, this will drastically increase your odds without you turning into a rabid speed freak wildly refreshing with f5 for 72 hours straight.

[corblimeylimey]

Thanks gbh, I'm using the Mac widget to monitor a number of sites / pages but it requires me clicking the scroll ball on my mouse every now and then to check manually, I wish it would do what this does and check for me every minute and report back with an alarm or something.

[taktheride]

corblimeylimey said:

Thanks gbh, I'm using the Mac widget to monitor a number of sites / pages but it requires me clicking the scroll ball on my mouse every now and then to check manually, I wish it would do what this does and check for me every minute and report back with an alarm or something.

What widget is that?

[johnas]

that'll be this one:

for all the Mac users here. You may be interested in this wee widget for your dashboard:

www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/networking_security/websitewidget.html

it basically lets you know of ANY changes to websites. Just type the relevant POW url address in and everytime you open dashboard, it'll let you know if there's been changes by glowing red

[ABC]

Thats interesting to post these. There are a few out there for free which Im sure many will know, some refresh every minute!!
The problem with telling the forum is you have just narrowed you chances of getting one as more and more will be using them!!.

[johnas]

abcollings said:

Thats interesting to post these. There are a few out there for free which Im sure many will know, some refresh every minute!!
The problem with telling the forum is you have just narrowed you chances of getting one as more and more will be using them!!.

that widget was already on threads and i've always been told i'm too honest for my own good!

[corblimeylimey]

Yeah the widget thing isn't perfect, it's for macs only for starters, and you need to check it, but it may help keep an eye on many sites / pages at once.

[dmandpenfold]

I suppose there's two ways to look at it;

1-If it's discussed too much everyone jumps on the software bandwagon and it makes it more and more difficult to pick up prints:'(.....however..

2-On the other hand everyone including the scalpers is catching on to it and to stand a chance you have to jump on the same bandwagon...'you gotta be in it to win it'....

The sad thing is that it is well known for ticket scalpers to use online scripts for things like concerts and book out a pile of tickets in a block preventing the ordinary punters getting a decent look in...the same can be translated to watching for new prints..

mentioned it before 'it's a sad state of affairs', but if that's what it takes to stay in with a chance then... .

see the offer on NW's forum from thomas, he's been doing the right thing and offering prints he spotted and picked up at cost to genuine purchasers (a Black Mona for anyone who fancies it). The other way is to put it in your basket then release it after a quick notice to the forum, seen this happen a few times too.. i guess it's about helping each other out.

sorry that was long winded

[johnas]

dmandpenfold said:

I suppose there's two ways to look at it;

1-If it's discussed too much everyone jumps on the software bandwagon and it makes it more and more difficult to pick up prints:'(.....however..

2-On the other hand everyone including the scalpers is catching on to it and to stand a chance you have to jump on the same bandwagon...'you gotta be in it to win it'....

The sad thing is that it is well known for ticket scalpers to use online scripts for things like concerts and book out a pile of tickets in a block preventing the ordinary punters getting a decent look in...the same can be translated to watching for new prints..

mentioned it before 'it's a sad state of affairs', but if that's what it takes to stay in with a chance then... .

see the offer on NW's forum from thomas, he's been doing the right thing and offering prints he spotted and picked up at cost to genuine purchasers (a Black Mona for anyone who fancies it). The other way is to put it in your basket then release it after a quick notice to the forum, seen this happen a few times too.. i guess it's about helping each other out.

sorry that was long winded

good points raised... i guess it's a double edged sword really

i only posted the widget first time round coz I thought it would be useful to the board... i never really thought about all the lurkers that tap all the info here for their own gain or the fact that it may result in missing out on a print myself...

[dmandpenfold]

use and abuse...damn those lurkers

[daz205]

it seems to be a classic catch 22 i`ve seen posts on here that have let me get a print i`ve been after but i`ve also noticed that when the post go up letting you know, the sites in question slow down or melt. there are blaggers that watch this site and jump on the band wagon, the high sales of baby moll on ebay after a few on here purchased them i think show that. i now have a way that checks sites for me after reading others posts to give me a chance but i have chosen not tell everyone what it is. i think with the current climate its safe to assume its each for there own on new releases but if you trust people or know people then there is no harm in sharing knowlage to help the true collectors. how to do this is an other question though

[pezlow]

Ok - does anyone know of any web based offerings like GBH's that offer free website monitoring. I have found one but it only checks every day which is obviously not much good for us. I have also been told about the software based offerings but for obvious reasons can't run these on my work computer. Any help very gratefully appreciated

[benya]

why dont you delete this thread............

1000 people monitoring POW website is just going to cause havok when any print is released

My thoughts anyway

[Curley]

benya said:

why dont you delete this thread............

1000 people monitoring POW website is just going to cause havok when any print is released

My thoughts anyway

Way too late....
It was mayhem before and this will make no difference to team refresh

[reados]

you have still got to be sat in front of your computer all day, or get to one.

I went out for half an hour checked my widget and it glowed red, meaning something had changed, and i still missed out.

[stillborncrisps]

The other thing is that if you get 1000s of people all setting up monitoring software pointing to POW's site and pinging it every 60 seconds the POW servers are gonna begin to meltdown again even on normal days, let alone on a day when prints are released.

[dmandpenfold]

Difficult to prevent the website watching software pinging a site, maybe the best way around is for the art sellers to return to the old fashioned way of taking orders, ie via email or phone, at least that would slow up the stampede a little and discourage some. First come, first served basis. I know it's far from ideal but so is the present situation.

[Backpack Punk]

johnas said:

that'll be this one:



it basically lets you know of ANY changes to websites. Just type the relevant POW url address in and everytime you open dashboard, it'll let you know if there's been changes by glowing red

What if P.O.W. changes the URL for the prints, I know they monitor these boards and I can see them doing something like that to even the feild and bypass all the software out there.

[ABC]

They sure could, it wouldnt be hard to do

[gbh]

backpackpunk said:

johnas said:

that'll be this one:



it basically lets you know of ANY changes to websites. Just type the relevant POW url address in and everytime you open dashboard, it'll let you know if there's been changes by glowing red

What if P.O.W. changes the URL for the prints, I know they monitor these boards and I can see them doing something like that to even the feild and bypass all the software out there.

you control the url that the service monitors.
If POW changes, you change change your settings

[corblimeylimey]

The free trail thing didn't work, they never got back to me.

[stillborncrisps]

gbh said:

backpackpunk said:

What if P.O.W. changes the URL for the prints, I know they monitor these boards and I can see them doing something like that to even the feild and bypass all the software out there.

you control the url that the service monitors.
If POW changes, you change change your settings

If POW creates a new URL you won't know (unless you manually look) coz the page you were monitoring won't have changed.

I rekon POW will end up doing something this. Or like Flags they'll come up with a completely new way of releasing the next print that's not gonna be web based.

[finsburyparkranger]

I think half should be offered as rewards for acts of kindness towards humanity. Like modern day knighthoods for the alternative great and good. And the other half could be given out in an international treasure hunt.

[corblimeylimey]

finsburyparkranger said:

I think half should be offered as rewards for acts of kindness towards humanity. Like modern day knighthoods for the alternative great and good. And the other half could be given out in an international treasure hunt.

LOL

[dmandpenfold]

..then we'd end up with a 'cash for prints' scandal involving Lordy Levy, a moustache and some guatamalan dwarves..

[corblimeylimey]

Let's face it we're gonna have to be very lucky to get our mitts on one of the new LA prints, and even luckier for a signed, they're gonna sell out in a minute or so. It's a case of being on the computer at the right time, acting fast and hoping the POW website doesn't collapse.

[®at]

Ive got a shedload of longhaul flights coming up in the next few weeks and you can bet your ass as soon as I turn my phone on, I will get an sms saying its on sale. Law of sod

[monochrome]

this website should renamed 'we're here to assist getting signed banksys......... before anyone else, this includes all those mongs who are only interested in getting there first so that we can simply list them on ebay and make £3,000 without breaking sweat'.

f-u-c-k-i-n-g OBSESSED!