Now Attensa for Outlook syncs with your mobile phone or PDA.

The new version of Attensa for Outlook is designed for business users on the move and provides easy to use, secure tools that help you track and monitor constantly changing business information without having to search or request it.

It's easy to get started with Attensa Mobile and the  new version of Attensa for Outlook

Step 1 - Open an Attensa Online account

Step 2 - Sign into Attensa mobile using your web browser on your mobile phone. Just type http://mobile.attensa.com into your mobile phone's web browser

Step 3 - You can add or remove feeds with either the Attensa Toolbar or Attensa for Outlook. 

Step 4 - Start reading your feeds on your phone. To save time and cut through information overload, Attensa Mobile only displays feeds with unread articles.

You can download the new version of Attensa for Outlook here. If you own Attensa for Outlook it will automatically update to the new version. Here's a rundown on what you can do with Attensa for Outlook 1.2.

• Access feeds anywhere - in Outlook, Online and on Mobile Devices
• Safe and Secure Subscriptions to Internal and External RSS feeds
• Easy to Use & Easy to Read
• Publish to Blogs and Forward Articles as Easily as Sending and Email
• Easy to Configure
• Powerful automated search tools
• Create, Import and Export Custom Reading Lists
• Update and Delete Articles on a Defined Schedule
• Keep Feeds and Articles Organized with Tagging and Categories
• Easy to Support
• Create custom style sheets that match corporate brand standards.

With the introduction of version 1.2 we are raising the price for Attensa for Outlook to $30.00 but we are extending the $20.00 price to the Attensa community for a limited time.

Go here to purchase Attensa for Outlook and use the promo-code - mobilerules

David Berlind asks if "more is actually less" when it comes to the horsepower corporate PCs will need to run Vista.

And Gartner advises that about half of corporate PCs aren't equipped to run all the features of Windows Vista, and companies should gradually deploy the upcoming operating system on new computers, rather than take the more costly alternative of upgrading older ones.

Gartner advises companies to replace notebooks every three years and desktops every four years. Given that most companies will take at least 18 months from the time Vista ships for planning and testing, by the time they're ready to deploy it, the useful life left on 2006 PCs would be about 17% on laptops and 37.5% on notebooks.

With Attensa for Outlook companies can take advantage of the RSS features promised in Vista and Outlook 12 today without the expense of upgrading hardware to support Vista.

In his recent Fortune Magazine article, "How I Work", Bill Gates talks up the emergence of what he calls "the digital workstyle."  Mr. Gates is living what most of us can only dream about: the paperless desk. Even with his sophisticated use of hardware and software - he talks about the challenges of information overload and information underload. "Staying focused is one issue; that's the problem with information overload. The other problem is information underload. Being flooded with information doesn't mean we have the right information or that we're in touch with the right people."

Interestingly, there was no mention of enterprise RSS in the Fortune piece. Attensa is working to help companies manage feeds in the same way other technologies manage email, instant messaging, etc. So, while their e-mail is being filtered, flagged and funneled, Attensa's RRS for the enterprise will update and prioritize to get "the right information" from or to "the right people" at "the right time."

The Spring issue of the MIT Sloan Management Review has a terrific overview of how blogs, wikis and group messaging software are defining Enterprise 2.0 - Enterprise 2.0: The Dawn of Emergent Collaboration.

The author, Andrew P McAfee, an associate professor with the Technology and Operations Management Unit at Harvard Business School, coins a new acronym -- SLATES (search, links, authoring, tags, extensions and signals) to describe the tools and communication patterns that are essential to building highly collaborative environments that can drive productivity to new levels.

You can buy a copy of the report here.

Attensa for Outlook includes the features that top the must-list for business class RSS readers necessary to track and monitor the signals

• persistent search tools
• easy to use tagging, auto-feed detection and preview
• ability to handle secure feeds
• one click blog publishing

So Scoble's new guest blogger, "Bubba" posted about information overload today. The shocking information though was that one of his solutions was to "stop using an RSS reader." Wow! Here is an excerpt...

More recently I've tried two ways dealing with info overload. Ones I never thought I'd try.

The first was un-subscribing from almost all e-newsletters, internal microsoft distribution lists, and setting up very strict email rules that filter away other sources of bulk mail. I went from a lot of mail, to very little mail. This was cool because I found myself walking around my office more, having more face to face conversations and just generally connecting with people at a deeper level. On the flip side, I was the last to know about things like the new google calendar launch. But, I still found out about it relatively quickly - the day it launched. The interesting thing was that I my "virtual" relationships actually got better because I had (made?) the time to really engage people that weren't geographically co-located with me.

The other method was to stop using an rss reader. I know this is like blasphemy here on Scoble's blog and I'm kind of scared to admit it. My logic was that I my brain would only remember a handful of sites and thus regulate how much time I spent absorbing information. The weird thing is that it actually works pretty much like un-subscribing from bulk email sources. The really important stuff found its way to me anyway (like bootcamp) and I spent more time out in the world.

"Scared to admit it!" Bubba says! This reminds me of my mother! She still won't use ATM machines and consistent with that bizarre fact she refuses to get a computer or even use free email. No digital camera either. She doesn't like technology (her words) - however the cordless phone and fax machine did make the cut. That said, she has also cut down on information overload because she gets no e-mail. None. She has never gotten one e-mail message! She has an hour or day that most of us don't have as we sort through email, and now, RSS subscriptions. But sheesh, she's a 70 year old artist, so I can get it if she doesn't want the noise. Bubba needs to learn to adapt besides dumping his RSS reader

People in business will find RSS inescapable to effectively do their job in the future. And accordingly, they will require tools for efficiently handling "information overload" that is the unfortunate byproduct of this innovation we now call RSS. It's just like email all over again with numerous positives and negatives but at least this time there's no spam.

Tags: Scoble, Information Overload, Attensa

Attensa is partnering with Six Apart on the Business Blogging Seminar series. Six Apart makes world-class blogging software, including Movable Type and TypePad. Their tools have helped 75% of Fortune 500 companies start blogging and allowed these them to minimize their technological overhead.

Together we'll be talking about how combining the power or blogs and RSS can

• improve customer loyalty
• turn customers into an extended sales force
• help you save money on marketing
• position your company as a thought leader
• improve internal and external communication practices
• get the right information -- to the right people -- at the right time

Speakers include:

• Anil Dash: Chief Evangelist, Six Apart
• D.L. Byron: Blog Business Summit  / Boeing Case Study
• Brian Mulvaney, Director of RSS Platform Marketing, Attensa

The first seminar is in  San Franciso on April 20th  and it's sold out! Look for upcoming seminars in New York and LA

With Charlie Wood's Spanning Salesforce sales professionals can subscribe to personalized, secure RSS feeds and keep on top of theri most important information-including leads, opportunities, contacts, activities, and documents-on your PC, Mac, or mobile device.

Here's the Salesforce.com AppExchange listing and Charlie gives a great introduction to how it all works here.

You need an RSS reader that supports secure feeds. For Outlook users Spanning Partners recommends Attensa for Outlook 1.1 (thanks Charlie) Spanning Salesforce lets you track your new and updated information in Salesforce.com using RSS using RSS. And since Spanning Salesforce doesn't require adminsistrative privleges, any individual can sign up.

When information is added or changed in your Salesforce.com account, you'll see it reflected in your Spanning Salesforce feeds. If a new lead is assigned to you, you'll see it in the My Unread Leads feed. As leads become opportunities, you'll be able to track changes in your pipeline. If you're responsible for customer support, you'll be notified of case and escalation assignments.

Plus, as new documents are uploaded you'll get not only a notification but also the ability to download any new document with one click. In fact, with your RSS reader properly configured, new documents will be automatically downloaded as they become available.

I like this quote from Paul Greenberg, CRM guru and author of CRM at the speed of light..."any Salesforce user...would be stupid to be without."

A recent Global Trends Survey, conducted by powerhouse global consultancy Monitor Group, identified the top 8 trends that business leaders should be focused on in the next 2-5 years. 

It was no surprise to us here at Attensa to learn that the issue that rose to near the top of the survey list is "Info overload - extracting meaning from the noise." The Survey's respondents are clearly Attensa "simpatico." RSS for the enterprise is going to change the way we work forever. Global business leaders are waking up to the fact that massive amounts of irrelevant information are flooding the desktops of their workforce, cutting into time and productivity. As we've been saying to all who will listen "... there is an immediate and  clear need for companies and individuals to have the ability to quickly and easily sift through the information clutter, and receive prioritized, automatically updated, highly relevant information delivered straight to their desktop. This will translate to a more knowledgeable workforce with the time to focus on the "real work," that pays the bills, as well as better employee learning opportunities, project management abilities, organizational skills, etc.

For those interested in the issues that survey respondents thought were more critical than information overload here are the top 8:

 Global Trends Survey

1. China's emergence - threats and opportunities2. Energy looms larger
3. Baby boom demographics (management and markets)   
4. Info overload--extracting meaning from the noise   
5. Connected, for better and worse (digital security)
6. Compete? Or collaborate? (A new source of advantage)
7. The reinvented organization--a revolution in how things get done
8. Design--the last best differentiator

Attensa Online is up and running and users can log into their accounts.

We have completed the installation of new hardware that increases storage capacity five fold and adds redundant systems for back-up of subscriptions and articles. We have also implemented a more efficient file allocation system.

If feeds are missing, export your OPML file from Attensa for Outlook or other source and import it into Attensa Online. After you export your OPML file, go to Attensa Online and select the tool icon and the import button.

If you are using Attensa Online with the Attensa Toolbar for Internet Explorer or Firefox. You can find your OPML file in C:\Documents and Settings\Your Windows User Name\Application Data\Attensa

Our support team is ready and willing to help any customers get up and running again.

We'd be the first to admit we didn't handle this perfectly. We should have done a better job keeping our customers up to speed on our status. It's difficult to predict service resortation times when you are in the thick of diagnosis and problem solving. We are continuously working to improve our performance and give you the user experience you deserve.

We appreciate your patience. Thank you.

Doubled server capacity to more efficiently distribute feeds and articles to subscribers.

Added even more storage.

They are working through the night.

Look for an update tomorrow morning.

Last week TechCrunch posted a comprehensive comparison of online RSS readers put together by Frank Gruber The State of Online Feed Readers. We we're feeling our oats when we read this about Attensa Online:

"Up and Coming Readers"

Attensa, a Portland-based company, offers a reader that has a very professional and clean interface. While lacking many features the rest of the pack has, it pulls feeds up very quickly. In talking with Matthew Bookspan, Attensa’s Director of Product, I learned Attensa will be launching a new and improved version of the web-based reader that should fare better on the comparison chart. Additionally, Attensa will soon offer a mobile-enabled view of its reader, rendering nicely in handheld devices or cell phones.

We walked a little taller when we saw Attensa Online's overall rating a 3.5 out of a possible 5 - ahead of stalwart industry players: Newsgator, Pluck and Bloglines.

Just when we were approaching cocky, Attensa Online crashed as if on cue to remind us that recognition is a double-edged sword.

Here's what we are doing about it.

First, please accept our apologies for the interruption in service and availability of Attensa Online.

We are significantly increasing capacity to keep up with growth. Last week we installed new hardware that will quadruple our storage space.

We are updating and rebuilding user subscription files so you won’t lose your subscriptions and articles.

The Attensa Online team is working diligently to get Attensa Online up and running and improve the system for the long haul.

We appreciate your support and your patience while we work to make Attensa Online deliver the performance you expect and the user experience you deserve.

We will keep you apprised of the status of Attensa Online as we move forward.