Before RSS, Web surfers could just browse and google for news, opinions, and hacks. Since RSS feed readers became popular, only the highest volume blogs get personal syndication. Small bloggers are getting no RSS Traffic and minimal browsing traffic. RSS is killing bloggers, so bloggers ask, “what can be done for us underdogs?” Jason Calacanis of AOL and Engadget.com once stated that a secret of successful blogging is “fresh and frequent blog postings.” So readers subscribe to only the most frequently updated and well known blogs RSS feeds leaving for-the-love-of-journalism-bloggers “under the syndication radar.” Simply due to low posting volume, the vast majority of key bloggers get little to no readership. The founders of ZNITCH.com made it their mission to level the playing field and expose non-celebrity bloggers using what they call, “the opposite of RSS.”

Microsoft released Internet Explorer 7 on Wednesday, the first major upgrade to its Web browser since 2001 with new features aimed at preventing online fraud and improving ease of use. Microsoft’s IE remains the most widely-used software to surf the Web, but the long gap between major releases allowed for the emergence of the company’s most formidable browser competitor since it vanquished the once-dominant Netscape.

For the first time in a long time, eWEEK Labs can say that Microsoft has significantly improved its flagship browser, closing the gap between IE and its rivals. During tests, eWeek found IE 7 to be a major upgrade over recent versions of IE–and one that finally adds many of the features and capabilities that Web users have come to expect from current-generation Web browsers such as Firefox and Opera.

Palm is confident it can hold its own with the likes of BlackBerry maker Research In Motion in the race to expand the traditional corporate market for wireless email devices into the consumer realm, a Palm executive said on Wednesday. Palm launched its answer to RIM’s consumer-aimed and multimedia-heavy BlackBerry Pearl last week with the unveiling of its Treo 680. Like the Pearl, the 680 also has a host of multimedia features and is sleek in its design, as manufacturers move away from larger, bulkier handsets.

More than one in eight U.S. adults finds it hard to stay away from the Internet for several days at a time and about one in 11 tries to hide his or her online habit, according to a study released on Tuesday. The study by researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine in California found one in 8 adults admitted they needed to spend less time online, saying this showed “problematic Internet use” is present in a sizable portion of the population.

The MOE (mobile office extension) securely mounts a laptop or other electronics into a vehicle, while still being easily removable. Many companies and professionals rely on leased or personal vehicles; and most leasing plans do not allow installation and mounting of hardware. The MOE eliminates such problems by installing and removing without hardware and the need for tools. The MOE quickly transports between vehicles and stows easily in a laptop bag. The MOE and laptop combination can bring all the functionality of your office workstation, while having the added benefit of adding GPS / entertainment systems to almost any vehicle. The MOE can also be used as a lap-table while on a plane, van , car-pool and provide a stable and insulated work surface. The MOE can be an integrated tool for almost any professional today.

Palm announced the availability of the Treo 700wx smartphone running Windows Mobile 5.0, adding a Palm EvDO product to Telecom New Zealand’s product offerings. The Treo 700wx combines a great mobile phone, comprising all the functionality and ease of use for which Treo smartphones are known, with the power and security of Windows Mobile favored by many businesses. Today’s announcement marks the availability of Telecom New Zealand’s first Windows Mobile Treo smartphone.

IE7 is available now. Good luck, everyone!

The computer industry is still working on the paperless office, but new short-range wireless technologies on tap for next year could at last bring about the cable-free desktop. The PC and consumer electronics industries have been talking up Certified Wireless USB (Universal Serial Bus) links as a replacement for those tried-and-true USB cables connecting the PC to everything from iPods to keyboards. Delays, unfortunately, have plagued more than a few companies trying to make this a reality. But by the end of this year, the products that rid your desktop of that tangle of wires should finally start hitting the market.

The Palm Treo 700wx smartphone running Windows Mobile 5.0 is now available on Bell Canada’s high-speed mobile network. The Treo 700wx combines all the functionality and ease of use for which Treo smartphones are known, with the power and security of Windows Mobile favored by many businesses. Today’s announcement marks the availability of the first Windows Mobile-based Treo smartphone on the Bell Canada high-speed mobile network, giving its customer base more choices and complementing the Treo 650 smartphone running on the Palm OS platform.