I recently asked a few people who read my blog how they stay updated and nearly all said that they just checked back occasionally.

I know RSS sounds like an awfully technical term but it's really a way to receive updates about website content without having to visit the website so you can decide whether or not to visit the website.

You'll see to the right of this website there is a little orange icon thingy underneath the calendar which actually points to this url:

http://blog.keithpatton.com/SyndicationService.asmx/GetRss 

Now, this will return code for an RSS reader to turn it into readable bulletins for you, so all you need is an RSS Reader..

Google Reader is supposed to be good:

http://www.google.com/reader/view/

Or you can cast your net wider there are quite a few out there and mostly free as well.

http://www.google.co.nz/search?hl=en&q=rss+readers&btnG=Google+Search&meta=

And there you have it, i'm addicted to feeds as you can see below, and spend half an hour digesting tech and sport news every morning before i've got on the bus! I used to view a lot more, but you have to be selective;)

My feeds in Outlook 2007...

Now, let me state up front i am no LAMP or Firefox bigot. For better or worse i am an MS fan, already having converted my household to Vista and OneCare. However...having used IE7 since the early betas i'm afraid to say that Firefox is by far the most usable, quicker browser. Although my evidence is anecdotal (i work and consult with many other developers,project managers, business analysts who all for the most part corroborate my theory), IE 7 is confusing on a very basic level..

OK, i have a widescreen, so these screenshots look worse than on a normal monitor. But hey, wasn't Vista developed with widescreen in mind (sidebar gadgetry etc.)? Anyway, i've marked the key web navigation elements in red below. Note how in IE 7 the back and forward buttons are standalone, but if you want to Stop or Refresh the page you have to go to the right of the address bar. And if you want to go home, you have to go underneath to the tab level, mmm.

I won't even mention the fact that MS broke all previous design and decided to hide the menu navigation. OK, you can show it, but then it doesn't appear where you would expect it at the top, but strangely nestled between the address bar level and the tab level. It just looks well, awkward...

All this would be almost forgivable if like most MS applications you could tinker with the menus, but lo and behold for some strange reason you can't do diddly except hide and show things, the position of everything is fixed, damn!

IE7

Contrast this with Firefox, which places all the key navigation elements right next to each other, and logicall places the menu bar at the top were it belongs. You can drag stuff about levels and the whole experience (particularly on a widescreen) is so much more pleasant.

Firefox

Political correctness gone mad if you ask me...

http://www.nbr.co.nz/home/column_article.asp?id=17394&cid=4&cname=Business+Today

ok, not goign too bad now with the driving. general driving getting pretty good, but my maneovures are still not 100%. i reckon another 2 or 3 and i'll be ready for the big test, have to do it before my 35th birthday!!