Sandi Hardmeier has written some great tips for Bloggers on the Microsoft Website.  I just got it in in my RSS feed reader and thought that I would share.  To go to the article click here.

Right now is a good time to make sure your Microsoft Windows XP licenses are valid.  A couple of weeks ago Microsoft made its Windows Genuine Advantage mandatory.  WGA is software that checks the validity of Windows licensing.  If you have installed Windows on more than one computer or with a cracked validation key you will no longer be able to keep your software up to date.

I recently had a run in with WGA myself.  I went to the Microsoft website to download and install Windows Defender anti-spyware software.  I got an error message during the install claiming my copy of Windows was invalid.  I have a Compaq laptop with a COA on the bottom that I bought from a fellow student and thought I was in good shape.  However, after a closer inspection of my COA it turned out that I only had a license for Windows 2000 Pro.  The Microsoft support team was very helpful and courteous in helping me resolve this issue.

Also, on the subject of licensing, the new Windows server products do not connect to XP Home.  When planning migration to the newest Microsoft server platform, prepare to make sure all of your clients running XP Home are upgraded to XP Pro.  You will also need enough Client Access Licenses for each client to join the Windows domain.

I recently noticed that PC Club offers software that will allow users to run software from the Windows platform on the Linux platform.  I am curious to know how well that works.  If anyone has experience to share about this please leave a posting.

For more information on Windows Genuine Advantage click here.

More and more the Internet is being integrated into the traditional Media.  Many journalists from traditional mediums are BLOGers.  This gives them the advantage of interacting across great cultural divides.  I met two such journalists at a conference promoting their BLOGs.  It was a panel discussion about the Middle East and one was a panelist.  It is so exciting to see just how far the Internet has progressed since the first time I dialed in in 1994!

The first BLOGer, Shmuel Rosner, is Haaretz's chief U.S. correspondent.  Haaretz is an Israeli Newspaper.  Rosner reports out of Washington D.C.   Haaretz decided after deliberation to publish the BLOG in English, Rosner’s second language.  This is an excellent source of information about the Middle East and the opinions of its people.  To see Rosner’s BLOG, Rosner’s Domain, click here.

The second BLOGer is an Assistant Professor of Middle East History at the University of Oklahoma, Joshua Landis.  Mr. Landis spent a year in Syria studying Syrian Politics and History since 1918.  He battled slow Internet connections and repressive government regimes to share his thoughts with us while in Syria.  To view his Syria Comment BLOG click here.

Unfortunately Rosner’s Domain is lacking RSS feeds, so I won’t be able to add a headline page to Z~Web Online yet, but his newspaper, Haaretz Daily Newspaper is available through subscription, and will be added to the RSS search soon.  Syria Comment is available via Atom feeds so there is headline page for Z~Web USA users forthcoming.

Here is an article that appeared recently on MSNBC news online.  It contains some good, hard statistics that an Internet presence boosts sales even if the transaction does not take place online.  In this article Sean Makes the claim that the Internet is a valuable tool that shoppers are using to evaluate and choose the products even though the purchases are not made online.  I'm posting it in this BLOG because it contains some good figures that can be used by anyone needing to justify an Internet Presence.