Obviously, there will have to be a point when we stop building websites to work in IE6. I know many who have already dropped the browser and are telling their clients to upgrade to a newer version of IE.

According to the latest stats by W3Schools IE6 is currently being used by 4% for December 2010. Hopefully the time will come soon when people will just upgrade to a later version of IE.

Take a look at these images and see if they are moving. Each picture seems to move but they are not really.

The financial services firm’s name will appear on players’ shirts in cup matches, including European club competitions, FA Cup and League Cup.

Spurs signed a deal with IT firm Autonomy Corporation last month for its brand to appear on shirts during Premier League matches.

The dual shirt sponsorship strategy, the first employed by a Premier League club, is set to boost Spurs’ commercial revenues.

The club has so far declined to disclose the value of the two-year deal with Investec.

However, the Autonomy deal was said to be worth about £20m over two years, already a significant improvement on the £8.5m per year previous sponsor online casino Mansion paid to have its name on shirts during matches played in all competitions.

Sponsorship experts have said that the strategy offers partners a route to a specific market because of the popularity of English and European club football globally.

Investec, which already sponsors the autumn rugby union internationals at Twickenham and horse racing’s Derby Festival, says that the deal will help increase its “brand awareness through the immense reach of domestic and European cup football”.

The new cup shirt will be worn for the first time during the first leg of the club’s Champions League qualifying tie against Young Boys in Switzerland tonight (17 August).

The home shirt with the Investec logo will also be released for retail sale.

Critics have previously said that the dual sponsorship strategy is simply a cynical ploy to boost shirt sales.

In fact, Google has been drawing a great deal of criticism, and general observation this week regarding its increasing “Bingness”. A very large percentage of the articles written this week about Google’s new image search, not only make comparisons to Bing, but mention it in the title.

Some question why Google is trying to become more like Bing, while it already controls a much larger part of the search market. Others think the changes are for the better. After all, it’s not like Google has changed its algorithm to match Bing’s.

Still, “It seems that almost every time that Google makes an improvement in its aesthetic appeal, it looks more and more like Bing, notes  Converseon’s Mike Moran. “Remember the short-lived attempt to customize the Google home page recently which has since been removed?”

You can get up to a thousand images in one scrolling page, and the pages will have page numbers so you can keep track of where you are. This has been a feature lacking from Bing’s image search (though it does at least display a number for the range currently displayed…such as 377-416 of 6,400,000 results).

Google is also providing larger thumbnail previews on the results page, with a hover pane that appears when you mouse over a thumbnail. This includes more info and other features like “similar images.”

“Once you click on an image, you’re taken to a new landing page that displays a large image in context, with the website it’s hosted on visible right behind it,” explains Google Images Product Manager Nate Smith. “Click anywhere outside the image, and you’re right in the original page where you can learn more about the source and context.”

Finally, you can use Page Up/ Page Down to scroll through pages quickly.

Some webmasters have taken issue with Google’s new image search design, complaining that it puts their ads further away from being clicked. “The main issue from a webmaster perspective, as noted in WebmasterWorld, is that when you click on an image, it doesn’t take you to the site,” writes Barry Schwartz at Search Engine Roundtable. “Instead, it keeps you on Google, overlays the image in large format on top of your grayed out web site.”

“So any ads on your site won’t be clickable after the first click from Google. Users are instructed to either go back, click on the web site with the image or click on the actual image source file,” he explains. “I should note that clicking anywhere on the background web site will take you to that web site.”

Remember, the new design did come with a new ad format too. The format is called (appropriately) Image Search Ads.
“These ads appear only on Google Images, and they let you include a thumbnail image alongside your lines of text,” explains Google Images Product Manager Nate Smith. “We hope they’re a useful way to reach folks who are specifically looking for images.”

Advertisers can review specific performance metrics for their ads on Google Images. They are priced the same as standard AdWords ads with cost-per-click pricing. More on these here.
As far as Google’s recent design choices, it is pretty clear that Bing has had some kind of influence on them. The question is whether or not this is a good thing.

Taken from an original article in Web Pro News.

Although there is some way to go until the final release, the beta is considered to be stable and safe enough for daily use.

Mozilla is aiming to engage up to 4 million users in an interactive process to shape the final release. Feedback opportunities are prominent in the user interface, with users encouraged to submit their thoughts to the developers.

The popular browser is undergoing many changes, both visible and under the hood. The Windows release has seen the most apparent refinements, with tabs moved above the address bar as well as a single Firefox button to replace the menu bar.

Universal changes include a Smart Location bar, updated add-ons manager, replacement of the bookmarks bar with a bookmarks button, support for high definition WebM video, extra privacy protection and crash protection against media plug ins.

For web developers, the main feature to embrace is the new HTML5 parser – which has full support for drag and drop, audio, video, file handling, and in-line SVG and MathML support.

Taking the beta for a spin, one enhancement is immediately apparent – the speed. Taking a leaf from the book of Chrome, the rendering of web pages is instantaneous and video sites such as YouTube load up in record time.

The beta does not include all the intended features of the final release – the Mac and Linux releases have yet to adopt the new menu layout and the synchronisation and privacy controls features are yet to be seen. Mozilla claims that it is going to squeeze even more speed from the engine for the final release later in the year.

Taken from an original article by Sebastian E Payne

Google has launched the latest beta of its Chrome web browser. This release includes bookmark sync.

"For those of you who use several computers — for example, a laptop at work and a desktop at home — you’ve asked for a way to keep your Google Chrome bookmarks in sync across multiple computers," explains Google.

"Today’s new beta release allows you to do just that! You can keep your Google Chrome bookmarks synchronized and up-to-date across the multiple computers you use, without needing to manually recreate your bookmarks every time you use a different computer."

"Once you’ve activated Google Chrome bookmark sync on each of your computers, any changes you make to your bookmarks will appear on all synced computers in just a few second (For those of you who are curious, this bit of magic is made possible by the same XMPP-based servers that power Google Talk)," the company says.

Google also says that this version is faster. Specifically, Chrome’s performance has improved by 30%, based on Mozilla’s Dromeao DOM Core tests. That is compared to the most recent stable release. It’s actually improved by as much as 400% since the first stable release.

Taken from an original article by Chris Crum

You sit down to write an article then you hit a stumbling block,
what should you write about?
The post really has to be relevant to your business but you also want to make it interesting to other people, to keep visitors coming back to see what you have written.

After doing research into your article and then writing the blog entry, you reflect on how long the process has taken. You then begin to think “have I really this amount of time to take out of my working day?” If not how many times am I going to blog each week, when for a while it could only be a few people looking at what I have written.

But having said that, there are many benefits to be gained from writing a blog.

We know all to well how time consuming writing and managing our blog is but don’t just take our word for it. Here are some thoughts from Adam Parker, he suggests you consider the following five questions before launching into the serious time investment of writing a blog.

Here are some thoughts from Adam Parker, he suggests you consider the following five factors before launching into the serious time investment of writing a blog.

Do you enjoy writing?

This might sound obvious but it’s crucial. If you find writing a real chore then blogging probably isn’t for you. Personally I have gained a lot of pleasure from it, which is perhaps surprising given my accountancy background!

Do you enjoy reading?

Perhaps less obvious, but in actual fact this is even more important and should be where you start before you put pen to virtual paper. You are about to embark on a conversation in a community and so listening to what other people are saying is vital to ensure that you are being relevant and also because like conversations in the real world you may find great opportunities to develop ideas.

Have you got something interesting to say?

One reason I haven’t posted too many times is that I have tried to limit my posts to when I had something I thought was genuinely worth saying. Around one in three of my posts have actually required a significant investment in time for research and analysis that can be measured in days in some cases. But unsurprisingly it is these posts which have ended up receiving the highest readership. No pain, no gain.

Are you only going to talk about yourself?

While perfectly reasonable to some extent, I mean this is your blog after all; talking about yourself all the time in any situation is unlikely to maintain people’s interest – unless you are a celebrity. Try and limit the occasions you talk about business, and when you do, try and ensure they are still likely to be of some value to your community. A quick search confirms that I have mentioned RealWire in less than a third of my posts and only a handful are specifically related to us. Otherwise your subscriber figure may never rise much above friends and family.

Will you stick at it?

The benefits I stated at the beginning are unlikely to start to accrue for quite a while. For a long time you might feel like you are just talking to yourself and in this may in fact be true! Continuing to put the effort in when no one seems to be listening is potentially discouraging. But stick at it and you should find that your blog becomes a valuable addition to your online public relations activity. Remember it’s a marathon not a sprint.

Taken from an original article by Adam Parker.

Having said all this, the conclusions from this article are, having a blog is good as Google and other search engines visit your site more regulary as you have updated content. But do please remember if you are new to blogging you might find it easier to start of small, don’t try for the multi-blogging entries each day, go for once a week and then build up to daily entries.

The deals mark an end to the exclusive UK arrangement between O2 and the US technology firm, which has been in place since 2007.

Vodafone says users can register an interest online, with the handsets becoming available to customers from early 2010.

Orange said its customers would be able to buy the phone "later this year" but did not specify a date or pricing.

Vodafone is one of the biggest mobile operators in the world with an estimated 300 million customers world wide, making it the second largest carrier after China Mobile.

The agreement sees both Orange and Vodafone selling both the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS.

A spokesperson for Vodafone said the firm was "delighted" at securing an agreement with Apple and that the phone was going to be primarily for existing Vodafone customers.

This is a different model from that adopted by O2, which used the iPhone as an incentive to attract new customers.

Exclusivity

O2 has offered the handset in the UK since its launch in 2007. In February, it said it had sold more than one million of the handsets.

The launch of the latest iPhone 3GS in June significantly boosted sales, with many stores running out of stock.

The phone has also allowed the firm to win subscribers from other networks, according to analysts.

Dave McQueen, principal analyst at Informa Telecoms and Media told BBC News said that the smartphones – which have the ability to surf the web and send e-mail – has put a burden on the O2 network.

"IPhone users to tend to use data quite extensively – perhaps more than anticipated," he said.

O2 will continue to sell the handset in Britain, alongside iPhone rival the Palm Pre.

The Palm phone, described by some as an "iPhone killer", will be available exclusively to O2 from 16 October.

O2 said that it always knew that its exclusive deal was for "a limited period of time".

In countries where exclusive deals still persist, such as the US, some customers choose to "unlock" their phones using third party software so they work on an unlicensed network.

However, Apple has warned that the practice can cause "irreparable" damage to a handset and has engaged in a game of cat-and-mouse, releasing periodic software updates which prevent unlocked phones from working correctly.

This story was taken from an original article first published on BBC Technology news.

IT outsourcing is more popular in 2009 than it has ever been. Many companies are choosing to…..

outsource to an IT provider, rather than maintain an IT department. But how do you choose a reliable supplier? If you aren’t an IT fanatic yourself, how do you know whether your systems are up to scratch or not? Whether you’re being given appropriate advice? Or whether you’re getting value for money?

In Gartner’s 2009 outsourcing study, it was reported that many companies are developing outsourcing strategies to help them through tough times, but that organisations need to regularly assess their service levels and contract terms to achieve greatest return on investment. Allie Young, Vice President of Gartner, explains: “The well-educated buyer and provider will have the advantage. The potential for outsourcing to address immediate cost pressures as well as long-term recovery goals will be unprecedented… Many organizations that are not outsourcing will consider or move aggressively to outsource their IT or business processes to focus on their core business.”

What to ask your prospective suppliers

Once you’ve decided that you want to outsource, ensuring that you ask questions of the companies you approach based around the following 10 subjects should give you a headstart.

1) Company Size

How many engineers does the company have? How many full-time members of staff? Where are all these staff members based? Do they sub-contract or outsource any work? If so, what? If they are a very small company or a one-man band, what happens in the event of a crisis at another client’s premises? Do they arrange cover if they are sick or on holiday?

2) Payment Structure

What exactly is it that you are paying for? Are you entitled to unlimited support or do you pay per unit? Are there any extra/hidden charges?

3) Response Times

Will you receive guaranteed response times in the event of an IT issue? What hours of the day can you call them?

4) Network Safety

Will your network be monitored 24/7? If your website or email goes down in the middle of the night or at the weekend, will anyone know about it? Or be able to help?

5) Other Clients

Do you get the feeling the supplier understands your business? Do they have any other clients in your industry?

6) Accreditations

What accreditations does your supplier have?

7) Points of Contact

Who will they be? Will you be given access to a dedicated account manager as part of your contract? Have you met him or her and do you trust them?

Stability

How long has the supplier been in business? Are they financially stable?

9) Value Added Services

What services does the supplier offer in addition to the ones you are in talks about? Network design? Bespoke software development? Disaster recovery and security consultancy? Who are their clients for these extra services?

10) References

Will you be offered the chance to speak to any of their existing clients to find out first-hand about the services they provide?

CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management. It is a piece of software that allows people from within (and outside) an organisation to get a view of customer profiles, buying patterns and other useful customer-centric information. Its’ primary purpose is to facilitate a better understanding of the organisations’ customers’ from the products or services that they purchase, the main contacts within the customer base to trends and preferences.

In simple terms, CRM software computerises the process of gaining and a retaining a customer, selling to them, and tracking the ongoing relationship with them.

The future of CRM

CRM is here to stay because of the many benefits that such a system can deliver.

If anything, the use of CRM is set to expand especially with the onset of better mobile technologies (3G) and the use of Personal Digital Assistants (PDA’s). More specific CRM software is being developed so than rather taking a ‘one size fits all’ approach there are different solutions according to market types and size of companies. Naturally the demands of a lawyers’ practice is vastly different to a manufacturer of motor components and the needs a small garage differs to that of a multi national company split over many locations.

Why CRM?

The purpose of CRM is to be able to track a customer’s lifecycle; from the initial lead (or source of contact) through to the sale and thereafter for support, services and future sales.

An integrated CRM system eliminates the need for keeping information about a customer in several places. Tracking a customer’s lifecycle in a potentially haphazard or disorganised way may lead to poor sales results because leads are not followed up promptly, up and cross-selling can be difficult, and customer loyalty can decrease if support requests or complaints are not dealt with in a satisfactory way. A good example is when a sales person speaks with or meets a potential client, the information gained and the actions agreed upon are entered into the CRM system to remind individuals when specific dates or milestones have been reached or when action is required.

As a result, companies are likely to achieve greater revenues and margins through improved processes.

Benefits of CRM

- CRM helps your organisation get a better insight into the behaviour of customers’, such as when they typically buy, what they buy, discounts offered and so forth.

- It will help you improve your customer service because it allows individuals, whether sales technical or support personnel, to have access to all the correct information required to deliver a good service.

- It allows users to maximise sales opportunities because they can spot potential trends early on, allowing them to ‘cross-sell’ other products and services and ‘up-sell’ existing products, as well as improve closing rates.

- It helps you to profile customers’ in order to analyse particular market sectors.

- It will allow senior personnel to gain a better view of sales activities.

- It allows both sales and service departments to see the status of a sale, an outstanding service call, or a complaint that needs to be resolved.

- It enables sales management to track performance by individuals according to the number of leads received and generated, how long it takes them to close a sale and the average order value per sale.

- It can also be used to help determine a company’s marketing strategy.

Taken from an orginal article by Ben Weiner
Ben Weiner is CEO for Conjungo.