June 3, 2008, Vol. 2, Issue 12

People are starting to slow down and think about vacations. But not us! We’re scouring the web for the latest tools and sites to help you do your job better. Okay, who are we kidding? We ARE thinking about vacation. But ours is not until July 10th so we’re trying our best to focus. Here goes…

The Entertainment Market

Someone asked us today about DVRs, televisions, and broadband penetration in homes. Who hasn’t heard the question? And while stats come out now and again, here’s a great report from The Motion Picture Industry of American called US Entertainment Industry Market Statistics that shows long term trends and even some great media usage charts. I bet you can use these numbers! And check out their other free reports…about theaters, piracy and more.

Intermezzo

25.jpg If you’re anything like us, all of your pictures are on your computer, which can be great and not so great. I mean, resizing, formats. What a pain! Not anymore. Check Web Resizer. Great system. You’ll love it.

Tapped out.

Now that Get Smart is coming out, we’ve been thinking about spy devices. Okay, not really. But we did find this cool piece of software that has some really legitimate uses! EasyVoipRecorder is a program which records VOIP softphones conversations.

With this tool, you can record and store Skype, Gtalk (Google Talk), VoipCheap, Freecall and other Voip conversations (see site for full list). Why? Well, glad you asked.

You might be doing a podcast and are recording an interview. You might be doing telephone research and need to have it transcribed. You might be a writer and need to record a conversation to refer back to quotes.

Whatever you do, make sure it’s legal and that the recordee knows the deal.

Real-Time Stock Quotes for the Masses

No, we’re not calling you a mass! Just want to let you know that real-time quotes are now available online through Google, CNBC, and The Wall Street Journal. These sites launched real-time quotes on their web sites, with no registration required. NASDAQ Last Sale, a new service from the stock exchange makes it possible. Yahoo has signed a deal with BATS Trading to launch its own service – coming soon.

Sure, you could already get real-time quotes if you had an account with an online brokerage like E*Trade or Ameritrade. But now, everyone can eliminate that 15-20 minute delay for quotes.

Is this world great, or what?

Stump the Researcher

A loyal reader asks: I keep hearing about Millennials, Gen Y and Echo Boomers. The topic of the day seems to be how the work force is shifting to make way for these new corporate arrivals. Why is this suddenly such a big issue? Why all the hype?

Well, even researchers bring in experts sometimes. So without further ado, here is the answer submitted by generational theory expert, Jessie Newburn.

Gotta run

We’re off to the pool. I mean a meeting.