This insightful web surfing tip is written by ForeSite Insight guest blogger, Thomas Clifford…

Thomas Clifford is a Fast Company “Expert Blogger,” speaker, three-time co-author for the “Age of Conversation” book series and an award-winning multimedia producer. Tom is passionate about speaking, writing and helping organizations use digital media to communicate with a personal touch.

In 2010 and 2009, Tom was awarded Hartford Business Journal’s Strateg-e Award for “Best Use of Blogs.” Many of Tom’s articles and his highly popular LinkedIn article can be found on his blog. You can follow Tom on Twitter at @ThomasClifford.

How Anyone Can Turbo-Charge Their Web Reading Experience

Would you rather drive to the newsstand to get your news?
Or would you rather get your news delivered to your doorstep?

What a ridiculous question, right?
Now let me ask you one more question.

Would you like to waste your time everyday clicking to your favorite websites just to see what’s new? Or would you rather subscribe to your favorite website and have all updates delivered directly to your computer screen– without you ever going to the website?

Hmm. That’s a no-brainer, right?

So how is it possible to read your favorite updated web articles without ever going to the website?

You simply subscribe to the website using RSS.

What is RSS?
RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. Sounds kinda techie but trust me, it’s not.

Think of RSS as being “Really Super Simple.” RSS is like a waterfall: it’s a running stream of content.

RSS allows content to be syndicated on the Internet. The RSS “feed” is just a stream of that site’s content. Most blogs and sites have feeds you can subscribe to.

How does RSS change your web reading experience?
You know how you keep going back to some of your favorite sites and blogs to see if anything is new?

Click. Nothing new.
Click. Nothing new.
Click. Nothing new.

If you keep going back and nothing is new, it kinda stinks. You feel like you’re wasting a bunch of your precious time.

You won’t be wasting your time anymore when you start reading the feed

When you read the feed, your favorite site’s content is delivered right to your computer screen.

How does RSS work?
RSS updates are read through an RSS reader. Google Reader is by far the most popular Reader and it’s free. Once your Google Reader is registered, you simply subscribe to your favorite site’s feed using the “Add a Subscription” feature. Easy-as-pie, huh?

When you want to read what’s new, you don’t go to 10, 20 or 30 sites. You just read all the updates in your Google Reader.

How do you know if a site has a feed?
You can usually tell if a site or blog has a feed by the icon where the URL address is located.  Here are some common logos for RSS:

PC users can click on the big orange icon with two semicircles on the page. This lets you subscribe to the site’s feed just like you’re bookmarking the site. Instead of bookmarking the website address, you’re now bookmarking the site’s feed.

Mac users using Safari can click the blue RSS icon to the right of the URL. When you see the feed, click the + icon to the left of the URL. Then, bookmark it in a folder.

How does RSS change your reading experience on the web?
There are four big changes you’ll discover when reading from feeds:
1.    You’ll save a ton of time by surfing less.
2.    You’ll never miss any updates from your favorite sites.
3.    You can sometimes unsubscribe from many email updates from the sites you subscribed to.
4.    You can quickly scan the headlines to see if you want to read more- all the headlines are listed in a row.

Once you start reading the feeds, you’ll never go back to surfing and wasting gobs of time trying to keep up with all your favorite sites.

What’s the difference between a feed and email updates?
The difference between a feed and email updates depends on each individual site.

When a site publishes content, you’ll pick it up through your Reader. Some sites also give you the option to subscribe to their content by email instead. That’s all well and good.

But there is one thing to keep in mind.

Some sites offer additional content to their email subscribers like monthly newsletters, etc. that are not published on the site. This means you won’t read about any updates that are promoted only through email– if you cancel their email update option.

Does this sound a bit too technical?
Trust me- it’s not. Really.

For example
Can you bookmark your favorite website? Then you can subscribe to your favorite websites using RSS. Using RSS is simply bookmarking a website’s feed rather than the website’s website address.

If you’d rather have information delivered to your doorstep instead of surfing around trying to keep up with everything, consider reading the feed.

Reading a feed will put hours of time back where it belongs: in your hands.

Here are your next three steps:
1. Check out this quick tour of Google Reader and get your Reader active.
http://www.google.com/intl/en/googlereader/tour.html

2. Go to a favorite website and bookmark the feed.

3. Continue to bookmark a few more feeds on other sites.

Kick back and watch all your updates be delivered right to your doorstep.

This three part series is written by ForeSite Insight guest blogger, Thomas Clifford…

Thomas Clifford is a Fast Company “Expert Blogger,” speaker, three-time co-author for the “Age of Conversation” book series and an award-winning multimedia producer. Tom is passionate about speaking, writing and helping organizations use digital media to communicate with a personal touch.

In 2010 and 2009, Tom was awarded Hartford Business Journal’s Strateg-e Award for “Best Use of Blogs.” Many of Tom’s articles and his highly popular LinkedIn article can be found on his blog. You can follow Tom on Twitter at @ThomasClifford.

Social Media Isn’t for Business. Yeah, Right. Pt 3

Let’s say your heart wants to dive into social media.
But then your brain steps in and says, “Whoa Nellie! Not so fast!”

Your heart is saying one thing.
Your brain is saying something else.

Your brain is telling you people don’t care what you have to say.

Hmmm.

Ever send out a proposal solving a client’s headache?
Check.
Ever give some helpful advice to someone on the phone?
Check.
Ever tell your colleagues over lunch how you’ve solved certain challenges over lunch?
Check.
Ever share your ideas in a presentation?
Check.

Well, then, look what we have here
Two things:
1.    Looks like you do have something to share with others, and;
2.    There are people eager to hear what you have to say.

We learned in the first article how an egg timer and nine minutes a day empowers you to understand how the social media landscape works. And in article two, we debunked the idea that social media doesn’t work.

So what’s the third social media misconception?
The third misconception is thinking that you have nothing valuable to say. And if you think that you have nothing valuable to say, then it’s only natural to think that no one would care about what you say.

Misconception #3: “No one cares about what I say”
Hang on, partner! You really think no one cares about your ideas? Um, how about your customers? You have customers for a reason, right? And what about the times you spoke to a group? Or were interviewed by a newspaper or trade journal?

Fact: You, and only you, have a unique perspective. You see, do and hear things like no one else.

That brings us to a turning point.

Why do we think we have nothing to say?
Fear. That’s right, fear. What kinds of fear?
1.    Fear of writing.
2.    Fear of feedback.
3.    Fear of trying something new.

Let’s tackle these fears one at a time
1. Fear of writing.
Ever email a client with ideas? Ever write a proposal? Ever write a brief presentation?
If you answered yes to even one of these, guess what? You can write. Heck, Twitter only allows 140 characters. You certainly can share some neat ideas in a sentence or two, right?

Have a Linkedin profile? Great, you can share your ideas in a Group you belong to or update your status in approximately 140 characters, just like Twitter. And if you expand into blogging, you can share lengthier articles where you can really dig into an idea.

2. Fear of negative feedback
Fear of negative feedback is a natural feeling, too. Positive feedback, of course, isn’t usually an issue. But negative feedback? That’s our real fear. We wonder: What will someone think? What will they say? Trust me– you want feedback in social media. Why? Because you can turn that feedback into new ideas or new insights to share. Think of it this way. If everyone contributes ideas that are one-way ideas, um, how boring will that be? So welcome feedback. Most feedback isn’t negative. It’s more likely to be ideas we missed or angles we didn’t cover; the feedback actually expands the conversation into new areas. Feedback is the fuel to keep your fires going.

3. Fear of trying something new.
Remember first using email? Now it’s a no-brainer. Remember first using your new cell phone? Yup. Now it’s a no-brainer, too. The same is true with getting your ideas out to people through social media. That’s why the first article stressed starting out in social media by closely watching others. Observe what works, what you like and don’t like. Observing others erases the “newness” factor so you feel more comfortable starting off.

But even when the newness factor is erased, you might still have a voice in your head.

What’s that voice in your head telling you?
You might have that little voice in your head wondering how to get started.
Try this little experiment. It’s part of your 9-minute social media routine, anyway.

Start a conversation somewhere. Get on Twitter, search for your area of interest and comment. If Twitter isn’t for you, try LinkedIn. Just share one small idea on a topic you’re passionate about, then see what happens. Do it again the next day. And the next day. Don’t be too surprised to find people hungry for more of what you have to share.

Here are a few more easy-as-pie ideas:
•    Begin commenting on blogs in your industry
•    Ask to write a short article for someone in your industry
•    Answer industry-related questions on LinkedIn’s “Answers” forum
•    Open a free Twitter account and start tweeting

Bottom line?
•    People do care about your ideas.
•    Fear of sharing your ideas is a natural feeling but once examined, quickly falls apart.
•    If you have customers, you have an audience.
•    Don’t have customers yet because you’re just starting out? Your ideas and insights can turn passive readers into paying customers.

Now it’s your turn
So go ahead and turn that helping phone call into a short status update on your LinkedIn profile. Your audience is waiting, remember?

To read guest blogger Thomas Clifford’s first part of this three part series, click here.  To read the second part of this three part series, click here.

This three part series is written by ForeSite Insight guest blogger, Thomas Clifford…

Thomas Clifford is a Fast Company “Expert Blogger,” speaker, three-time co-author for the “Age of Conversation” book series and an award-winning multimedia producer. Tom is passionate about speaking, writing and helping organizations use digital media to communicate with a personal touch.

In 2010 and 2009, Tom was awarded Hartford Business Journal’s Strateg-e Award for “Best Use of Blogs.” Many of Tom’s articles and his highly popular LinkedIn article can be found on his blog. You can follow Tom on Twitter at @ThomasClifford.

Social Media Isn’t for Business. Yeah, Right. Pt 2

Social media doesn’t work.
Yeah, right.
Don’t tell Gary Vaynerchuk.
Gary, the wine guy phenomenon, wrote a NY Times Bestselling book based on his social media success.

Social media doesn’t work.
Shhh.
Don’t tell David Meerman Scott.
David, a popular marketing strategist, wrote one of the most downloaded e-Books ever and now consults worldwide.

Social media doesn’t work.
Um.
Better not tell Steve Woodruff.
Steve, a distinguished marketing and training consultant, is wicked busy creating endless business opportunities with social media.

What’s their secret?
There is no secret. They just didn’t have any misconceptions about using social media.

Not having any misconceptions about using social media lets these people do two things:
1. Make time to use social media; and
2. Learn to use social media.

That’s it. See? There is no secret.

We learned in the first article that while everyone is running around saying there’s no time for social media, we do, in fact, have time for social media.

Now it’s time to tackle the second misconception. What’s the second misconception?

Misconception #2: “Social media doesn’t work”
Why do we think social media doesn’t work? We think social media doesn’t work because we don’t understand it.

We don’t’ understand social media because of a thing called the “law of first knowledge.” The “law of first knowledge” states: we believe what we first learn.

Well, if we first learned that social media is a fad and has no long-term value, guess what? We’ll continue to believe that social media is a fad and has no long-term value. That becomes our truth.

How do we change our “truth” about social media?
To change our “truth” about social media, we have to begin asking ourselves, “What do we mean by “it doesn’t work?”

How are you measuring “work?”
• In dollars?
• In meeting new people?
• In creating a community that spreads our message?
• In generating new ideas for future projects?
• In creating referrals?
• In creating value for your customers by answering their questions?

Which one is best for you? Every business is different. If you know someone using social media for business purposes, you can begin by asking them. If not, define it yourself. Once you define what “works” means, you begin realizing that social media does work.

How can we tell if our social media efforts are working?
You can tell if your efforts are working because you can measure them against your goals. Easy, huh?

Don’t know what to measure?
If you don’t know what to measure, especially if you’re new to social media, there’s nothing better than a real life example.

Take a look at Impactiviti
Impactiviti is owned by Steve Woodruff. One of Steve’s main business goals is to increase the size of his network. How does he do that? He does it by increasing his networking opportunities. Enter: social media.

Steve uses multiple social media channels (industry blog, LinkedIn communities, Twitter, e-newsletters) to create a network of clients and vendor and partners.

This network is used to gather and make recommendations on “best fit” vendors for various training and marketing needs, dramatically reducing the inefficiencies of new business development (on the vendor side) and vetting potential suppliers (on the client side).

Steve’s entire business model is founded on a trusted network approach. While his current business is focused on pharmaceuticals, Steve’s approach is spreading into other areas of his business. Social media tools have been instrumental in creating and growing this network.

Oh, yeah. Steve’s business went from zero at start-up to self-sustaining with a six-figure income in 2 years.

Social media works
It just takes an open mind to see possibilities you didn’t see before. Start by setting a small goal. Gradually increase the size of your goal. Hey, you never know. You, too, just might be sitting on a best selling book, e-Book or a huge network opportunity.

The last article will address the third social media misconception: Who cares what I have to say?

To read part one of this three part series is written by ForeSite Insight guest blogger, Thomas Clifford, click here.

This three part series is written by ForeSite Insight guest blogger, Thomas Clifford…

Thomas Clifford is a Fast Company “Expert Blogger,” speaker, three-time co-author for the “Age of Conversation” book series and an award-winning multimedia producer. Tom is passionate about speaking, writing and helping organizations use digital media to communicate with a personal touch.

In 2010 and 2009, Tom was awarded Hartford Business Journal’s Strateg-e Award for “Best Use of Blogs.” Many of Tom’s articles and his highly popular LinkedIn article can be found on his blog. You can follow Tom on Twitter at @ThomasClifford.

Social Media Isn’t for Business. Yeah, Right. Pt 1

Ever feel totally out of it?
Like when everyone sees the latest blockbuster- except you?
You figure, hey, it’s not for you.

Is that how you’re feeling about this social media thing, too?
That it’s not for you? Or your business?
You figure, hey, it’s just a fad.

Um, your competition doesn’t think it’s a fad.

There are three misconceptions about social media:
1) You don’t have the time for it;
2) It doesn’t work; and
3) You think you have nothing to say.

Um, guess what?
1) You do have time for it.
2) Social media does work.
3) You have an audience eagerly waiting to hear from you.

Think I’m crazy?
Hang on. In this article we’ll cover #1: you think you have no time for social media. The next two articles will cover #2 and #3. I’m going to show you why these are misconceptions. Not only that, you’re going to see how you can get started with social media in just a few minutes a day.

OK, ready? Let’s start crushing these pesky misconceptions.

But first…

Why is holding on to misconceptions a problem?
Holding on to misconceptions is a problem because they can prevent us from growing and reaching our personal and professional goals. Perceptions give us direction. Perceptions are like our personal GPS system.

Sometimes our personal GPS system goes “ka-put!”
And a GPS system that goes “ka-put” won’t lead you to your destination.
Holding onto your “misconceptions” won’t lead you to your destination, either.

How can we begin correcting these misconceptions, especially with social media?
We begin by educating ourselves.

How do we educate ourselves about social media without buying books and spending gobs of time on-line? Simple. Begin by watching what others do. Learn by observation.

Let’s talk about the first misconception.

Misconception #1: “I don’t have time”
I know what you’re thinking: “If I’m going to do this social media thing, it’ll take me hours a day. It’s just not worth it.” With everyone talking about LinkedIn , Twitter, blogging, Facebook and yada, yada, yada, it’s no wonder we think we don’t have the time!

Fact: All you need is nine minutes a day (um, getting an egg-timer helps).
You read that right. Nine minutes a day.

Assuming you’re registered on at least one social media site, set your timer for nine minutes and just begin exploring. You don’t have to participate and get all crazy posting things here and there- just look. Observe what others are doing. Spend a few minutes studying how things are happening. Don’t judge– just observe.

We can learn to use social media just by watching how others use social media
When you’re on LinkedIn, Twitter or looking at professional blogs, ask yourself:

• What do you see that resonates with you?
• What works?
• What doesn’t?
• Can you strike up a conversation with someone by leaving comments?
• How are people in your industry using these tools?
• Can you see any patterns?
• How would you do it differently?

You’ll learn what you need to become an active participant in social media just by spending nine minutes a day and observing how things work. After a few weeks of just observing, you’ll have more confidence when you’re ready to dive in the pool.

It’s easy to spend all day with social media
Of course, that’s not really practical, is it? If you’re really interested in learning how social media works in general and for your business, the best way to start learning is by watching.

Nine minutes a day. That’s it.

So it’s time to find that egg timer. You do have an egg timer, right?

Next up? Misconception #2: Social Media Doesn’t Work

Most of you tech savvy business people out there have had a LinkedIn account for years, but have you been truly using it to increase your business opportunities? If you want to reap the benefits of a LinkedIn account, you need to commit to actively using it on a consistent basis. At the very least you should look at your profile every day to see to see who your contacts are networking with, and if there are more “People You May Know” listed in your profile. Remember, your contacts’ new contacts are now in your network, and the groups they have joined may be of interest to you.

If you’re interested in learning about some good LinkedIn practices that help you make the most of your profile and find great contacts quickly, download part one and two of our three part series.

Most of you tech savvy business people out there have had a LinkedIn account for years, but have you been truly using it to increase your business opportunities?

LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional online network with more than 45 million users representing 150 industries, and in case you’re wondering, the company itself is valued around $1 billion. Since September 2008, when the economic crisis hit, it has seen a 25% increase in the rate of sign-ups as concerned professionals look to keep their contacts up to date. That equates to approximately 1 million new users every two weeks. In terms of activity by those users, in the last two months there has been a 15% increase in the issuing of invitations to get people to join business networking circles and there has also been a 14% increase in the amount of recommendations made by users endorsing another member of LinkedIn.

The explosion of LinkedIn usage brings to mind the age old question of Quantity versus Quality.   Would you prefer to have 500 good contacts, or would you rather have 50 great contacts? The former may inflate your network statistics, but the latter may inflate your sales statistics. We can’t all be like Ron Bates, but do we want to be?

Who is Ron Bates you ask? With 44,000 direct contacts on LinkedIn, Ron has been referred to as “the most connected man on Earth.” In fact, I just tried to connect with Ron last night. I haven’t been accepted yet, but I did it for fun and I don’t expect any business to come from it. To effectively use LinkedIn to promote and grow your business you don’t need a ton of contacts, you just need a handful of great contacts that are in need of the services that your company offers and are interested in working with you or know others who would be.

If you’re hoping to reap the benefits of a LinkedIn account, you need to commit to actively using it on a consistent basis. At the very least you should look at your profile every day to see to see who your contacts are networking with, and if there are more “People You May Know” listed in your profile. Remember, your contacts’ new contacts are now in your network, and the groups they have joined may be of interest to you.

The bottom-line with LinkedIn is that people would much rather work with people who their friends and colleagues know and trust. To truly realize a return on the investment of time required by LinkedIn you need to increase your number of viable connections and thus increase your chances of getting more business. In order to make your profile more appealing you need to nurture it by being committed to completing at least one or two LinkedIn tasks every single day. Make a connection, join a group, or just enhance your profile. Be sure to track the traffic to your website and what percentage of it comes from LinkedIn.

There are many ways to establish sustainable relationships through LinkedIn.  Find out how to put the power of LinkedIn to work for your business by downloading part one of our three part series.

5 signs that it’s time for a web site redesign:

1.  Your site isn’t effective in helping you achieve your goals (more sales, brand recognition, community awareness, etc)

2.  Your site is no longer an accurate representative of who you are and what you offer.

3.  The site looks very dated.  Not sure about this?  Check out your competitor’s sites to see what you are up against.

4.  You don’t have a scalable web site that you can update with new content, add a blog or integrate easily with social media.

5.  Users have asked for features or made other suggestions for changes that cannot be accomplished with your current site.

Looking for specific recommendations for your web site?  Let our team of experts evaluate it!

A quick reminder for business owners that we’re nearing the deadline to purchase and install new hardware and software and qualify for the Section 179 deduction.

Please contact us ASAP at 1-866-GO-SITE if you need assistance with a quote for replacement equipment or assistance with installation.

The commercials are out, the advertising machine is hard at work and now that October 22nd has passed, Windows 7 is at our doorstep.

Having been a tinkerer of computers since modifying the config.sys file on my father’s 386 to play games, the new offering from Microsoft immediately intrigued me.  I decided to be an early adopter on my home machine, dutifully using the Windows 7 Beta and Release Candidate for roughly the past 6 months despite my general distaste for the Vista offering.

Windows 7 is the smoothest and most stable Windows OS I have encountered.  Yes, this includes my time using the Beta build.  My machine crashed exactly zero times in the past half year running it.  This honestly surprised me.  For those wondering, I have not been one to back Microsoft products without question.  In fact, my first machine ran IBM’s OS/2.  This should help form the basis that I have put Windows 7 through a certain range of paces that match my normal home usage.

While this is not a scientific top to bottom view of the OS, it will help to highlight some of the main points that one may encounter when using the software.

Part 1:  Installation.

The installation experience has been improved with Windows 7.  The wizards are less clunky and the screens more informative than in previous iterations of Microsoft OS’s.  Even better, the entire process always had a feel of continued progress.  This is in stark contrast to some previous offerings, such as XP or even Server 2003 in which you may be staring at a “Loading Devices” screen for the better part of 30 minutes.

I intentionally decided to not scrub my machine’s OS partition prior to installation to see what my options would be.  I was happily surprised to see that Windows 7 recognized my previous installation and essentially quarantined it.  This previous installation could later be accessed easily through Windows Explorer by going to the Windows.old directory.  Given that my normal operating procedure in any OS load would be to move all of my important files, configs etc to a different drive before formatting the partition and starting from scratch, this feature is a great benefit.  How many people forget something when moving files around?  Now those files can be easily searched and any missing pieces found.  Further, if you have decided you don’t need the old files at all, simply delete them.

The overall slick feel of the installation instilled confidence that what I had been hearing about Windows 7:  “It is everything Vista should have been” may in fact be true.

Part 2:  Your new desktop

Admittedly, I never fully adopted Vista.  As such, some of the UI features that came from Vista into Windows 7 are essentially new to me.  Logging in for the first time, I was stunned at the desktop.  My graphics card had not changed, I had no more RAM and indeed these were my same monitors, yet wow!  The difference in the UI, especially for those moving from XP such as myself, is stunning.  Again, same exact hardware but I felt like I just traded in a jalopy for a Jaguar.  The visual treatments of the start bar, the icons, etc really work.  They are not over the top, but rather understated.  The result is a tremendously clean feel.

The start menu, now a larger round button, contains all the items you would expect.  In addition, the search feature right in line with the menu allows for quick access to programs for which you do not want to hunt.  For someone who grew up professionally using net commands, this ability to type is a benefit.  For those programs you use most often, you can choose to “pin” them to the start menu or to your taskbar.

Moving a bit more through the desktop, I found the greatest use out of the Library system.  Essentially one has sections within Windows Explorers called Libraries that are linked to such things as Documents, Pictures, Downloads, etc.  You are free to edit the existing ones or create your own.  These provide an easy mechanism for organization.  They are essentially a collection of folders that are contained under a single item.  They default to locations created by the OS, usually C:\Users\…  I tend to have my information on other drives, so historically I would eschew the use or move such items as “My Documents” to point to my preferred location.  Now, I can not only do that, but I can add in folders to include into the library.  If you wish to segregate items for a home machine, you could create folders within your documents library for all the users within the household.  Or for pictures, perhaps you have an area that you want to use as a scratch directory for edits and another that you want to make sure gets backed up.  With this facility, you can access all the pictures as necessary through the library while under the hood, you can have the different folders line up with whatever backup or security regime you desire.  This single point of entry for the most used items has been enjoyable and easy to use.

Part 3:  Performace, i.e. the “paces”

My home computer serves a myriad of purposes.  From planning out home improvements, to running CAD programs, playing video games to listening to music, it is a hub of both production and entertainment.  I find I usually need to be doing two things at once and as a computer nut I find I usually try to break things.  Now that I was suitably impressed by the look and feel of Windows 7, it  was time to try and break it.

Some machines, CPUs, and Operating Systems multi task better than others.  Years ago I was able to run X-wing in a window while listening to MP3s on my OS/2 machine while people around me couldn’t run two contiguous directory commands in Windows 95 without delays between the two windows.  I essentially recreated this test, just updated by 12 or so years.  The machine in question is powered  by a 3 GHz Core 2 Duo, 4GB RAM, a 512 MB ATi video card and a 500GB 7200RPM SATA Drive.

I began by bringing up 3 different browsers:  Safari, IE and Chrome.  In Chrome I started pandora to stream music.  In IE I had the machine look for updates, and Safari I directed to Youtube, muting a longer video but letting it play.  I then opened up 2 instances of World of Warcraft, logging in two different characters.   To further tax the machine, I then decided to burn a Blu-ray.  With this happening, the music only skipped when I initially loaded up a new program, the Youtube ran cleanly and I was able to alt-tab between both instances of Wow and play without any framerate issues.  Looking through task manager I could see that none of the Cores on the CPU were spiked and there while there was  heavy RAM usage, it was not detrimental to any of the individual program.

I did this until the Blu-ray finished burning, at which point I ended the very unscientific test and checked to see if the data on the disc was good.  As it turns out, there were no errors.  Also, there were no errors in any Windows logs.  This same test, performed with the identical hardware on XP SP2 suffered from skips in both the video and audio playback.  The CPU usage ramped up much higher as well, peaking at 100% in some cases.  To its credit, the XP machine also did not have much issue with the instances of Wow.  As I mentioned however, these tests were not performed on the same build of hardware or similar machines, but actually on the same exact hardware.

While this is not a conclusive test of the sturdiness of the OS, it is a more practical application of the types of things that it can handle as part of normal usage.

Part 4:  Wait and see?

I looked at the opportunity to use Windows 7 as a way to ease concerns.  Machines will now be shipping with Windows 7 loaded, and for many, there is no comfort level with the new offering.  More than anything else, the experience of the last 6 months has shown that there is a lot less to fear than in the past.

Is there a learning curve?  Certainly.  However, and this is vitally important, the system is stable.  No lost files, no random crashes.  While everyone’s mileage may vary and no one can say that it is bug free and will never fail, the humble opinion of this blogger is that the benefits outweigh the risks.  For older machines that may not see the benefit of its resource handling, etc, then XP is probably still fine.
If you are in the market for a new machine, though, I would not turn away because of Windows 7.  So far I have no personal indication that there is a need to “wait for service pack 1″ before buying.  In fact, as I start shopping for my next laptop, you can bet that Windows 7 Ultimate will be one of the first choices I check off.

Have you ever Googled yourself or the company you work for?  Come on, you know you have!  It’s human nature to wonder what others are writing about you and the company you work for.  Before accepting your new position, didn’t you Google your new company to see if you could find any negative information?  Googling is an easy way to lose hours sorting through irrelevant web entries hoping to find the information you’re repeatedly looking for.  Valuable time and energy can be saved by using one of Google’s many convenient and useful tools, in this case, Google Alerts.

Google Alerts are emails or RSS feeds automatically sent to you when there are new Google search results for your specified terms.  After signing up using your GMail account on the Google Alerts homepage, you enter the search term, type of alert (search Google News, Google Groups, or the web), frequency of emails (daily, as it happens, or weekly), and your email address. Google Alerts sends you an email each time a new page for your chosen term makes it in the top twenty results on Google’s web search. You can set up alerts for as many as 1,000 search terms.  Google Alerts currently offers 6 variations of alerts - News, Web, Blogs, Comprehensive, Video and Groups.

• A News alert is an email aggregate of the latest news articles that contain the search terms of your choice and appear in the top ten results of your Google News search.

• A Web alert is an email aggregate of the latest web pages that contain the search terms of your choice and appear in the top twenty results of your Google Web search.

• A Blogs alert is an email aggregate of the latest blog posts that contain the search terms of your choice and appear in the top ten results of your Google Blog search.

• A Comprehensive alert is an aggregate of the latest results from multiple sources (News, Web and Blogs) into a single email to provide maximum coverage on the topic of your choice.

• A Video alert is an email aggregate of the latest videos that contain the search terms of your choice and appear in the top ten results of your Google Video search.

• A Groups alert is an email aggregate of new posts that contain the search terms of your choice and appear in the top fifty results of your Google Groups search.

Google Alerts’ many uses make them convenient and helpful in our daily personal lives including monitoring a developing news story, tracking medical advances, being aware of what is being written about family members, and even getting the latest on a celebrity or sports team.  But there are many professional reasons to harness the power of Google Alerts, find out how to put the power of Google Alerts to work for your business by downloading Ten Important Business Uses of Google Alert.