I have always had people ask, “how can I import the auto-fill email addresses in Outlook?” Usually, this question arises after the previous installation is gone, and the only backup is a PST file. 

Microsoft offers this solution:

1. On the computer with the saved AutoComplete names, go to drive:\Documents and Settings\user name\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook.
2. Right-click profile name.nk2, and then click Copy.

    

   Tip  You can copy the file to removable media, such as a floppy disk or a CD, and then copy the file to the correct location on the other computer. Or you can attach the file to an e-mail message and send the message to yourself. On the new computer, open the attachment in Outlook, and then save it to the correct location.

    

3. On the computer where you want to populate the AutoComplete feature, copy the file to drive:\Documents and Settings\user name\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook.
4. If the Outlook user profile name is different on the computer where you are moving the .nk2 file, you must rename the file with the same Outlook user profile name after you copy it to the correct folder. For example, if you move Kim Akers.nk2 from the original computer with an Outlook user profile name of Kim Akers, and you copy the Kim Akers.nk2 file to the new computer, you must rename it with the Outlook profile name being used on the new computer.
5. When prompted about replacing the existing file, click Yes.
6. Open Outlook to view changes

The days of searching through reams of newspaper print for stories that are applicable to our lives are in their twilight.  RSS feeds (aka blogs) and Google Alerts change the way that valuable information is delivered.  In this segment, I would like to specifically deal with Google Alerts and how they can change our information flow. 

For several years, I have used Google Alerts to comb the Internet for specific topics, and basically I thought of the alerts as a little geek secret.  However, when I heard a popular talk show host discussing Google Alerts the other day, I realized the pervasiveness and utility of this tool and kicked myself for not sharing.

Basically, you can think of Google Alerts like an “always on” Google Search.  Without being technical, as soon as Google becomes aware of a web page that is pertinent to your specific search criteria, you are sent an email with the link(s) to the applicable pages.  For example, I have an Alert for (“Internet real estate marketing”), and whenever web pages/blogs are posted on the Internet that fall under that criteria, I am sent an email with links to those pages.  To keep from receiving hundreds of emails, I set the alert to only send me one email a day (at most), but you can also set the alert to work in real time. 

If you are watching a specific market carefully, Sevierville, for example, you can set a Google Alert to (“sevierville, tn real estate development”), and if your scope is even narrower you can tailor your terms (“bearden tn retail”).  Of course, if you are watching global trends you can expand your search criteria (“baby boomer second home”).

Of course, you may still want to pick up the newspaper from time to time (for old time’s sake), but embracing this technology is like hiring a personal research assistant (for FREE!) to keep you abreast of your hot-button items.

When I started subscribing to RSS feeds I had an annoying system service/program, SharpReader. Generally, it was a decent program–with a pain in the ass installation. It certainly didn’t help me in first year Torts class because it was popping RSS alerts every 15 seconds. I only read a few feeds at the time, but Instapundit was one of them hence the problem with paying attention.

After a brief fling with newsgator, I decided to try out Bloglines and have been with it ever since. I have always used a topical organization of my feeds, but over time my subs grew and now with 91 feeds and more than 2000 unread articles on a regular basis, I need a different solution.

In response, I have decided to have 3 categories: (1) Daily, (2) Weekend, and (3) Leisure. In my daily subs, I am going to include subscriptions that are relevant to my daily life such as Future of Real Estate Marketing, News, Seth, Friends, Family, and for the difficult decision Engadget or Gizmodo.  Then for my weekend subs I will put my pleasure reads, and for my leisure subs, I will add the remainder of my subscriptions.

I am curious whether others have found better ways to organize their feeds.  Please comment.