Don't blow that teleconference

Don't blow that teleconference I'm on teleconferences several times a day. They're either great, or a mess. Some people don't know how to start one; other times there's no one in charge of moving the call forward or there's no agenda. Sometimes you don't know who is on the call. Save yourselves! Here is a great set of guidelines to help ensure you don't have a botched call. They cover everything from freeconferencecall.com (my fav) to how to prep and behave on calls. They even include this key advice: "An audible toilet flush is never acceptable, so if you feel you must take a bio-break during the call without missing a single comment, make sure your BlueTooth headset and mute button are functioning." (james f. kraus)

Webworker daily
I’m on teleconferences several times a day. They’re either great, or a mess. Some people don’t know how to start one; other times there’s no one in charge of moving the call forward or there’s no agenda. Sometimes you don’t know who is on the call. Save yourselves! Here is a great set of guidelines to help ensure you don’t have a botched call. They cover everything from freeconferencecall.com (my fav) to how to prep and behave on calls. They even include this key advice: ‘‘An audible toilet flush is never acceptable, so if you feel you must take a bio-break during the call without missing a single comment, make sure your BlueTooth headset and mute button are functioning.’’

Slate

Painful but necessary

Paul Boutin says that after playing around with Vista and Office for the last few weeks, he can condense his thoughts into one sentence: "Upgrading to Vista is mostly painless but not necessary, while upgrading to Office 2007 is painful but inevitable." While we were all inundated by the Vista launch, Boutin notes that Office is Microsoft's real monopoly. Is there anyone out there who doesn't use some combination of Word, Excel, Powerpoint, or Outlook? Because they changed everything in this release of office, he calls it "the most annoying computer upgrade since Windows 95."

Kevin Maney's blog

Wii trumps PS3?

Kevin Maney says it turns out that simple really is better -- that is, if you go by the recent profit numbers for Sony and Nintendo, as reported by The New York Times. Apparently the Nintendo Wii is doing much better than the Sony PS3. "It seems folks would rather have something interactive than something really pretty and rich, graphics-wise." I can vouch for that; in my household Wii rules.

Missing Links blog

Prayer over IP

Can't make it to the Holy Land ? An Israeli start-up called POIP (Pray Over Internet Protocol) makes it possible for you to broadcast your prayers over the Internet. The company sells phone cards that allow you to record your prayers in your own voice and send them via Internet phone and webcam speakers to places like the Western Wall or the Sea of Galilee. The company chairman says it's a better deal than a lottery ticket. "It's just $5 or $10, and you get eternal life."

37signals blog

Spoon vs. jackhammer

Among other things, 37signals makes easy-to-use Web-based software for project management, chat, and calendars. On its popular blog they claim that people are always asking them "How do you get so much done with such a small team?" To which they answer that pouring tons of money, resources, and people into a problem "is like using a jackhammer to break out of jail." Instead, 37signals says, they put a few smart people on a problem, embrace constraints, don't try to solve the wrong problems, focus on precision, and take time to get things right. So instead of using a jackhammer to break out of jail, they use a spoon.

CNET

Nicktropolis

Tomorrow Nickelodeon will launch Nicktropolis, a virtual world aimed at 6- to 14-year-olds. Kids can go there to play games, watch TV, and interact with animated characters like SpongeBob. Kids choose and personalize an avatar, with various hairstyles and clothing. They can also create a 3D room and decorate it with items bought with Nick points. It's Second Life for kids; with SpongeBob and pals, it's bound to take off.

Scoble Show

Intel's Special K

Intel says it's fabricating chips that will put them two years ahead of the competition. How? They are getting rid of "silicon dioxide dielectrics." Robert Scoble knows that regular people have no idea what that means. That's why he's created a video to give you a peek into Intel's new 45-nanometer chips, which use High-K dialectrics. The net-net? These new processors generate less heat, take less power, and have more transistors, bringing you 20 percent more performance.