The first service pack (SP1) for Microsoft Office 2003 was released today. Microsoft said the update contains significant security enhancements, in addition to stability and performance improvements. Some of the fixes included with SP1 have been previously released as separate updates. This service pack combines them into one update. Best installation option: visit Office Update […]
‘Bandwagon’ media blogs at US Democratic convention
CNN and the BBC are two of the international broadcast media who have embraced blogging in a big way as part of their news coverage of the US Democratic National Convention (DNC) this week. Both broadcasters have blogs on their websites with frequent comment from journalists covering the event. This is an excellent move by […]
Dinner with Bill Gates
Fascinating article by Jeff Maurone, a Microsoft employee and blogger, describing an evening and dinner with Bill Gates. “About twenty minutes into the event Bill casually descended the stairs from the personal side of the home: no fanfare, no introduction, just the Chief Software Architect. Instantly there started a massive migration from around the lawn […]
Blogging and business moving mainstream
Reuters reported today that “the growth in the number of blogs, and those who read them, continues to attract attention from business leaders … as a means of enhancing companies’ communication more directly with employees, partners and customers.” They couldn’t have said it better or more succintly! In their report, Reuters quote an IBM executive […]
SpamNet: best protection against spam
For the past year, I’ve been using Cloudmark SpamNet to filter my email against spam. It works as a plug-in with Outlook and Outlook Express. In my experience with it installed with Outlook 2003, nothing beats it in its capability to not only kill spam email before it gets to your inbox but also its […]
Google IPO site online
Google began taking bids on Friday for the public auction process it will use to sell as much as $3.3 billion worth of shares for its planned public offering in mid-August. Google IPO site online / CNET News.com Google IPO prospectus
It’s now NevOn Typepad
So I made the move – exported all posts from the blog on Blog*Spot, imported into this blog. Easy to do, thanks to the clear guidance in the Typepad help system. The old blog will stay live, with a re-directer to this blog. I’ll get to that bit in the next day or so.
Voters from the 51st US state – we want you!
If you’re an American abroad, in The Netherlands in particular, here’s some helpful advice on voting in the upcoming US elections. From Expatica. Voters from the 51st US state – we want you!
Tough times for PeopleSoft
Things are not looking good for PeopleSoft. Since acquiring fellow enterprise software vendor JD Edwards in 2003, PeopleSoft have been emboiled in a bitter defence against aquisitive Oracle. Last week, PeopleSoft reported a fall of 70% in revenues. According to a report by CNET, customer complaints are throwing doubt on PeopleSoft’s handling of its merger […]
‘Wiki’ may alter how employees work together
“What’s a wiki?” is a question I’ve had a few times in the past few weeks from some colleagues who are just beginning to pay closer attention to blogs, etc. This article in the Wall Street Journal last week answers that question pretty well (better than I did) and has a good focus on what […]
Defining a corporate blog
If you visit any of the blogs run by people in the communication business, you’ll find increasing numbers of articles and discussion on corporate blogging: blogs by companies and other organizations. Much discussion is taking place on why and how to do it (including this lively topic, A Very Brief look at Blogging for the […]
BBC wants top political blogs
BBC News Online is looking for political blogs, preferably with a UK focus. “We are looking for lively, thought-provoking sites that stimulate genuine debate, rather than just pushing a particular narrow viewpoint or agenda, but all suggestions are welcome,” they said. The BBC plans to feature as many as possible over the next few weeks. […]
Stating the benefits of blogs
Research on political blogging from The Hansard Society in the UK published last month includes some conclusions that will be no surprise to anyone who has worked on a plan for a blog that needs to state some of the measurable benefits of embarking on that blog. Hansard’s research concluded thus – – Blogging has […]
Doom 3 leaked over p2p networks
Highly-anticipated first-person blast-’em-up Doom 3 has already been released by piracy groups over the internet, according to a report by The Inquirer today. According to an ISO-piracy news site, theisonews.com, the game is available for download over various p2p networks, and gives details on how to install the cracked game. The Inquirer: Doom 3 leaked […]
Death by PowerPoint for CEO
When the day comes that a board of directors fires a CEO because of a PowerPoint, it will send a very clear signal about what is at stake these days when anyone gives a presentation. According to a report in the Financial Times, via Cliff Atkinson’s beyond bullets blog, that day already arrived for one […]
Microsoft leads corporate blogging
With all the ongoing disussison about corporate blogging – who is, who isn’t and who should be – let’s recognize Microsoft’s lead as the world’s biggest blogging company (probably), meaning the company with the most employees blogging. Various numbers are flying about, but it’s likely that between 600-700 employees are now blogging publicly. That’s really […]
Porn blogs ahead of the curve
When I had my blog on BlogSpot, one thing I noticed each time I posted an article and checked in the listing of updated blogs (yep, I used to do that after every post!) was the amazing numbers of blogs with names like ‘sexy Zeta-Jones pics’ or ‘Britney’s secret honeymoon blog’ and similar. Just loads […]
Business-focused blogs in The Netherlands
In my daily travels through the blogosphere, I’ve not had a great deal of luck in finding good business-focused blogs here in The Netherlands with which I can connect and get some conversations going. In my specific areas of interest – business communication and technology – I was beginning to think that maybe I’m the […]
Making the EU relevant
Now here’s a communication challenge – explain the proposed European constitution to anyone you know. That’s just what the European Commission would like every citizen of the EU to do. The constitution will affect 25 countries comprising 450 million people who speak over 30 different languages and dialects. Given the general lack of interest in […]
Blog Wars Episode 1
A report this morning from Reuters says that Microsoft is launching a blogging service in Japan on a trial basis, and aims to have one million users in the first year. That sets things up for a major clash with blog services leaders like Blogger who offers free blog hosting. Blogger is owned by Google, […]