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...by the inmates...for the inmates...
Monday, April 19, 2004Lookout - A Real Search Function For Outlook
If you have not tried Lookout, you should. I've used it for several weeks and can describe it in one word. Sweeeet. If you think the search feature in Outlook sucks, then try Lookout. There are good reasons why some refer to Lookout as "Google For Outlook." By the way, if you do not think Outlook's search feature
Lookout updated - two new features.
The Lookout search add-in for Outlook that I''ve been raving about has just been updated. As might be expected, this new release addresses bugs discovered in the prior beta release but also adds two new features. My favorite is that Lookout now remembers the sort order you establish in the Search Results window (I generally like to sort by the "To" field initially). If you have Lookout installed, it should automatically notify you that there's an update available and offer to fetch it for you. The new version will then be active after you restart Outlook.
We finally released 0.89 yesterday! This release is mainly a bug fix release - ironing out some of the leftover problems from 0.88.
The big bug fix is to correct the indexer problem when in "update mode" where it would fail repeatedly on a lot of folders. Thanks for bearing with us while we ironed that out!
There are also a few new features to try out. The biggest feature is the updated search results. Search results now grow to 5000 results (by default, you can increase it) and are still blazingly fast. We also persist the sort order selected in the Search window so that you don't need to continually resort with each search.[Marc's Outlook on Productivity]
Possible Radio UserLand Replacements
Hoping for a Radio UserLand upgrade, or at least some more bug fixes. UserLand is, correctly, focusing on their larger-income product, but the lack of basic features such as "post to the past" is still problematic. Yes, I know about the Radio Kit, but using it to post to the past breaks all permalinks. Thankfully, nobody links to this site, so that isn't as painful as it could be. Right...
CMS Matrix Doubled. The CMS Matrix has announced that it's doubled the number of content management systems listed, and is looking for more submissions. To quote: The CMS Matrix has doubled the number of CMS' that it contains in only 2 months. We... [Column Two]
Saturday, April 17, 20046 Degrees of Scoble
This Scobleizer entry led me to several more RSS subscriptions. I obviously already follow the Scobleizer, which resulted in my earlier subscription to the weblog of his Senior V.P. Eric Rudder. Eric may not post often, considering the considerable demands on his time, but he "gets it" in a big way. Today I discover Lenn Pryor, Scoble's boss. Subscribed. From one of Lenn's posts, I found another member of Lenn's staff and Scoble teammate, Jeff Sandquist. Subscribed. RSS Rocks!
Lenn and the team recently launched Channel 9, a multi-tool attempt to humanize Microsoft through video, blogs, wikis, et al. I have not had the time to examine the site in any detail, but it is an interesting experiment. I picture the Microsoft legal team "cocked and locked" waiting for someone to screw up. No stress...
I was listening to the BloggerCon webcasts earlier. Channel9 has come up a couple of times as an example of corporate/customer interactions that are done right. It's nice to hear that Lenn is getting appreciation too.
I am so fortunate to be working for Lenn. And we both owe a lot to the execs above us: Vic Gundotra, Sanjay Parthasarathy, Eric Rudder (did you notice that Eric is active in Channel9?) and Steve Ballmer. These are the executives who aren't getting the credit for weblogging and Channel9 at Microsoft, but who deserve it. It's not easy taking a "we need to communicate better with our customers" stance at Microsoft. Remember, just a few years ago this was the company that tried to close down its MVP program.
Lots of times our executives are seen as bad guys. But, these four are the ones who are egging us on to do more for our customers. Eric Rudder said so when I nailed him in the parking lot.
Everytime you hear "Channel9 rocks" you should think of those guys.
They are putting their careers on the line to make Microsoft a more open, friendly, informative, and transparent place and I, for one, greatly appreciate that. When I say I love Microsoft, a whole lot of that love is due to these guys' attitude toward customers and people in general.
Is it hyperbole to say that careers are on the line? Absolutely not. Weblogging/corporate transparency is still an experiment in our society. How many other large companies have more than 100 webloggers? Ask yourself: why not? Because corporate openess is very risky. It requires taking an attitude of "hire great people and let them do their work." Not many corporations are willing to do that.
I'm very proud to work for a company that is becoming more open and transparent right before your eyes. Thanks Steve, Eric, Sanjay, Vic, and Lenn.
[Scobleizer: Microsoft Geek Blogger]
Wednesday, April 07, 2004SiteCatalyst Software Upgrade
SiteCatalyst 10 Unveiled ... customer segmentation through real-time data without preplanning ... feature builds customized reports that reflect the activity of a specified visitor set, providing users the ability to review historical data on newly defined segments... [ClickZ]
Monday, April 05, 2004WebTrends Software Upgrade
WebTrends 7 Improves Usability ... Excel "SmartReports" can be scheduled and delivered across multiple departments ... all the new versions of WebTrends ... include Visual Analytics, a diagram system that acts as an alternative to complex reporting and tables. All the versions also include the new "Scenario Analysis" feature that allows users to create in-depth reporting of customized groups... [ClickZ]
ClickTracks Software Upgrade
ClickTracks Releases 5.0 ... "The ClickTracks Way" is among the new features added to the 5.0 versions of entry-level ClickTracks Analyzer and ClickTracks Professional. It is a context-sensitive, in-program mechanism designed to guide users through the comprehensive metrics system, while helping marketers interpret the data... [ClickZ]