Thanks to the Internet, lots of people pay their bills, seek out entertainment, and get their news on-line. So it is not shocking that music streaming is as popular as it is. Many people stream their music and there are a variety of music-streaming services to pick from. This is very advantageous as people always have access to their music, if they have access to the Internet.

So we thought we would share with you some information about a few of the more common streaming services:

Pandora: Pandora has been around awhile, and it is very popular. It’s clear to see why: it is simple. After navigating to the website, type in the name of a song or artist you enjoy and Pandora will create a radio station based upon that information. It chooses songs by artists with a similar sound. As you listen to your station you can select the thumbs up or thumbs down symbol on the songs and Pandora will customize your station based on this new information. Moreover, you can “seed” you station with different artists to even further customize it. You can listen to Pandora without setting up an account but in order to save your stations, you have to create an account.

Grooveshark: Grooveshark is a lot like Pandora. But you can also build your own playlists manually, all without creating an account. However, people who want to save their play lists will have to sign up for a free account. Like Pandora, Grooveshark also provides suggestions for songs that you might like based upon your past musical choices. Grooveshark also has an interesting feature: You can improve the service’s database of music by adding your own favorite songs and artists if you cannot find them in Grooveshark’s current collection.

Rhapsody: Rhapsody’s appeal is based on its huge database of music: more the 14 million songs. Sadly, this service is not free, it is $10 a month for unlimited music.

Spotify: Spotify is a Swedish music-streaming service which was launched in 2008. It has quickly grown to one of the most recognized and widely used services out there. People like the versatility of Spotify. When you search for an artist, you can listen to an entire album or decide to use the radio function and Spotify will find similar artists for you to enjoy. Another benefit of Spotify is that you may create your own playlists and share them with other users if you so choose.

When was the last time we saw a Windows product which captured the essence of “cool”? Before recently it had been some time, but when Microsoft came up with Kinect for Windows that all changed. The Kinect is a motion and voice-sensing device that was initially developed for the Xbox gaming console.

A version of the device also works with Windows-operated PCs, and shortly after its launch in February, people started discovering innovative ways to use it.

Innovative Uses for the Kinect

At the Chicago Auto Show the Chief Marketing Manager for Nissan North America used the Kinect in an intriguing way, by creating a virtual tour of the enhanced interior of the Pathfinder. This worked out well as they only had the outer shell of the Pathfinder to physically display. Using the Kinect, participants could actually “see” what the interior looked liked.

Microsoft is cooperating with companies to create applications for the Kinect. This not only supports ingenuity but it puts the Kinect at the center of many of the most recent innovations. One example of a company that is working closely with Microsoft in this way is Boeing. Boeing used the Kinect to create virtual tours of its jets. Another example is a hospital in Canada. They’re using the Kinect’s gesture-recognition capability to swipe through CT scans. This reduces the danger of getting germs on their hands from a keyboard or mouse.

Kinect: A Solid Hit

Microsoft hit a home run when they invented the Kinect. The Xbox 360 was last year’s best-selling video gaming console, and they have the Kinect to thank for that. Since November of 2010 Microsoft has sold more than 18 million Kinect devices.

The excitement around the Kinect and its many uses can only boost Microsoft’s reputation. They may be on their way to moving into the “cool” tech company category.

>

There are plenty of people searching for jobs today. However, as an employer, you’re not trying to find just anyone. You would like to hire the best, most imaginative employees to work at your business. You recognize that your company is only as strong as your workers. How do you hire the best people? It all begins with the interview.

If you hold the traditional job interview, asking the same dull questions, the odds are you won’t be able to tell the top applicants from the so-so ones. That’s why it is critical to craft a unique job interview strategy.

Ask the Right Questions

Rather then asking people what their previous positions were, ask them how they positively impacted their positions at their previous employers. Did they develop any processes that improved efficiency? Did they help their employers cut costs, if so, how?

One of the most common questions to ask a candidate concerns their strengths and weaknesses. Try to avoid asking them to list these; most of us have predetermined answers. Instead ask them what they bring to the culture of a company, or ask them what they do to make their job more satisfying. The responses you get to these types of questions will help you to gauge the actual inventiveness of the person you are evaluating.

If you truly want to see which of your candidates are the most innovative, give them a simple task to perform. It doesn’t have to be complex; you can ask them to write an essay explaining how they would approach their job if hired. You could ask them to write down their ideas on what their perfect workspace would look like. Ask them to think of new names for company services or products. Basically, ask them anything that will get their creative juices flowing.

Employers have an advantage in today’s job market. They can select from among some of the top job seekers available, but to find the best people, employers have to first change the way they carry out their job interviews.

Traveling for business is not fun. We are typically rushed, we don’t eat correctly, and we have to endure the hassle of airports and long-term parking. It is not surprising that numerous companies opt toward videoconferencing instead of traveling. As videoconferencing technology improves, many people wonder if business traveling may become a thing of the past.

The End of Business Travel?

Do we want to strive for the extinction of business travel? Perhaps not, think about the differences between in-person meeting and videoconferencing.

When people across the globe sign on to a videoconference, they generally introduce themselves quickly, if required, and then dive into the goal at hand. Brainstorming does not often play a large role in videoconferencing; this is partially due to the worry that the connection may fail. As well, there are many distractions within the individual’s office that can make fluid conversationtough.

The Benefits of Face-to-Face Time

At in-person meetings, though, agendas have a way of falling by the wayside, and that’s a good thing. Meetings may start only after a few minutes of personal chatter and they may end with attendees trading office stories. Again, this is good. Often, the best business ideas arise from these moments of off-topic conversation.

Business Travel is Here to Stay

Yes, business travel is a hassle and videoconferencing is a convenience. However, there are times when meeting face-to-face is the best option for generating the most imaginative business solutions. For this reason, don’t expect savvy business executives to ever completely replace business travel with videoconferencing.

How many kids grew up anticipating the day when humans would travel the earth with individual jet packs strapped to their backs? How many dreamt of full meals that come in tablet form or teleporters? Those technologies haven’t happened. Even so, in the last twenty years alone, we’ve seen enough new tech to fill an early 1990s science-fiction flick. With tablet computers we can carry all the computing power of a bulky desktop computer in our hands. With smartphones we are able to instantly send text messages to our friends and thanks to GPS, we never have to get lost while driving again.

So, why don’t we have teleporters and hovercrafts? What is preventing us from taking these leaps in technology?

Building a Better Battery

First, there is battery power. To put it simply, the batteries running our smartphones and tablets have to be recharged too often. A more powerful battery will permit us to run our gadgets for weeks at a time and charge them again in just minutes. This battery does not exist yet. However, it may be coming: researchers at Chicago’s Northwestern University are designing a far more powerful lithium-ion battery. If their prototype becomes commercially viable, it will likely be a game-changer.

Improving Internet Access

The second limiting factor is related to access. Basically, not enough of the world’s population can access high-speed Internet access. It might seem like every public library, bookstore, and cafe’ provides its patrons with access to high-speed wireless Internet, but this is mostly a mirage. The vast majority of humans do not have easy access to the web. Until this occurs, we’ll be unnecessarily limiting the advancement of technology. The more minds that are connected on the Web, the higher the odds are of reaching the next tech breakthrough.

The Business of New Tech

Finally, there is the business end of things. Technological progress is slowed by arcane matters such as patent law. Businesses take their time launching new gadgets and services because they must first navigate a minefield of laws and government regulations. These laws are necessary. However, they must be clear and easy to understand so new technology isn’t bottled up needlessly.

The great news is that none of these restrictions can truly stop technology from improving. Just think ahead to the holiday season of 2020. Who knows what innovations will be waiting for us.

Adobe Photoshop is an amazing tool. It lets business owners edit the images they need to produce professional-looking brochures, pamphlets, and marketing materials. However, Photoshop is far from inexpensive. A quick online scan will show that newer versions of this image-editing program can run higher then $600. For small business owners on a budget, this program isn’t practical. This doesn’t mean, however, that these small business owners do not have photo-editing options. In fact, businesses can pick from a number of alternatives that are not only cheaper but are actually free.

These programs might not contain all the elements that Photoshop boasts, but they have more than enough photo-editing features for most small business owners. Here are three of the highest quality free photo-editing programs now available:

GIMP

GIMP, which stands for GNU image manipulation program, is the choice of many a cost-conscious designer. That’s because this free program contains many of the most important attributes of Photoshop. The GIMP website even offers a version of the program—cleverly named GIMPShop—that features a screen layout that is a virtual twin of Photoshop’s.

Paint.NET

Remember that old MSPaint program that came with your Windows program? Paint.NET is the successor to this, and it’s a remarkably powerful—and free—photo editor. Paint.NET comes with its own special effects, an unlimited undo (a nice feature for those designers who are far from perfect), and an online forum packed with users who aren’t shy about sharing their favorite tips and strategies for using this program. The only negative of Paint.NET? It only works with Windows-based systems.

Picnik

Picnik is a free program that works on Mac, Windows, and Linux operating systems. This program has some really fun effects such as blurring, darkening, and lightening images. It’s one of the most popular free editing programs, as you don’t have to download files to use it.

There is no need to purchase the expensive Photoshop program to produce professional looking pamphlets. For the small business owner on a budget, any of these programs will do the trick while keeping standards high.

Your smartphone is wonderful. It can guide you to that trendy new fusion restaurant if you’re lost. It can play your favorite sitcom as you go to work on the train. It can play your favorite song at the touch of a button. However it can’t do any of this if its battery is dead.

A Better Battery on the Way?

Engineers at Chicago’s Northwestern University have been working on advancements in battery technology and may have found a way to make batteries charge in minutes and last significantly longer.

Northwestern’s researchers have found a way to lengthen the charge of lithium-ion batteries by more then 10 times the current lithium-ion battery life. They’re even boasting that after 150 charges, which they believe represents about a year of operation, the new lithium-ion battery will be 5 times more efficient than batteries currently.

A Charged Battery for a Week

In the end, this new cell phone battery could stay charged for an entire week, despite all the apps we use daily. And the charging time? Below 15 minutes. That will sure make our lives easier, but more than this, this new battery technology may lead to smaller and more efficient batteries for electric cars.  This could in turn, have a dramatic effect on our reliance on fossil fuels.

Batteries Powering Technological Change

Advancements in battery technology are not something we usually pay attention to. But this one may have a massive positive affect our lives, and not just where convenience is concerned. This new lithium-ion battery may provide the key to a greater technological shift.

Google is the household name with regards to searching the Web. However, it might not be the best search engine out there. Microsoft unveiled Bing, a competitor, in 2009 and it should not be dismissed. Although many Internet users still use Google as their primary search engine, Bing has many features that make for a robust searching experience.

Taking Another Look at Bing

When searching on Bing you can get more information about your search results then you do from Google. There is a navigation panel on the left that features related searches; this can help you refine your search if you didn’t get the information you were looking for. There is also a “search history” navigation panel to help you easily navigate to past pages if needed. This feature can be toggled on and off.

Bing Goes Beyond Search Results

Bing also brings more than just search results. Say users search for websites about pop star Lady Gaga. Bing will also bring up Lady Gaga’s newest videos. For users looking for a flight out of town, Bing beats Google easily. The search engine utilizes something it calls Farecast Technology in its Bing Travel site. This allows users quickly locate the cheapest airfare to particular destinations.

Bing Video Search Shines

Bing stands apart from Google when it comes to searching for videos as well. Bing allows users to specify how long they would like videos to be, what resolution they want, and what screen size they’d prefer. Additionally, to get a preview of the video, users only need to hover their cursor over the video to play a part of it without clicking on it.

These are a few reasons why computer users should not overlook Bing. While Google is a household name, it’s not the only search engine available.

Cloud computing has undoubtedly caught on. People can access data that’s stored in the cloud—databases located far away from their own computer drives. They are able to store their favorite songs, access powerful word-processing programs, and send their business proposals to the cloud. This saves a lot of computer memory, as everything that’s kept in the cloud isn’t stored on a personal computer. The result is a faster computing experience, as less programs gum up the running speed of home computers.

Not All Clouds are the Same

However, not all clouds are the same. There is the public cloud, the one with which we are most familiarized. But then there’s the hybrid cloud too. As its name implies, the hybrid cloud is a combination of two different types of clouds, the public cloud and a private cloud.

The hybrid cloud typically works like this: A business provides some resources in-house. For instance, it may store current consumer data on its private in-house cloud. It may also store employee records, new marketing campaigns, and current proposals to new clients on its in-house storage. That same business, though, might store older, archived data on a public cloud service. This frees up space on the business’ servers, and permits its in-house computers to operate more efficiently.

The Hybrid Cloud Approach Makes Sense

The hybrid cloud is a great way for companies to both cut costs and save space. It takes advantage of the less expensive public cloud while guaranteeing that highly sensitive information is secured.

It’s not surprising that lots of businesses use the hybrid cloud. There is too much data storage needed today for a business to store it all and not bog down their systems. Additionally, in this competitive climate, companies need to ensure their sensitive data is safeguarded. The hybrid cloud is often the best way businesses can accomplish these two things.

Remote working has become more common in the business world today. This is possible as a result of advancements in technology; i.e. smartphones, tablets, and the growing number of public places that have WiFi. There can be many benefits for the employer and the employee. Remote workers are often more productive, and they are less of a drain on the company resources. For instance, you don’t need to have office space and furniture for remote works. And the benefit of adjusting their schedule to fit their life is a major plus for the employee.

Remote Worker Challenges

One worry that many employers have when deciding to hire remote workers is, how can they monitor the amount of work they do? How do they know they are truly working and not just playing games on their computer all day long?

One good way to monitor the amount of work being completed by remote workers is to set sensible goals that they must hit. This puts the focus on the results and keeps the manager from worrying about it, as long as the goals are being met. This also gives the employee flexibility to work inside the hours they are most fruitful.

Setting Remote Worker Deadlines

Employers might tell their remote workers that they have to turn in a specified amount of work every Wednesday and Friday. This makes sure that remote employees are carrying out their work. Employers might also schedule regular updates by phone, video chat, or through instant messaging, during which workers can explain how far along they are with certain tasks. Some employers may opt to require that their remote workers spend a minimum of one day a week, or two days a month, on site. This gives these workers face time with their managers, something that helps everyone stay focused on upcoming deadlines and goals.

Off-Site Not a Permanent Condition

Employers must remember, as well, that remote workers don’t have to stay that way. If employers find that their off-site workers are not meeting deadlines or are delivering sub-par work, they can require that these workers return to the office on a full-time basis. Trust continues to be the key component of a remote working relationship. Organisations must place some trust in their workers that they’ll finish their jobs on time. Workers must demonstrate that they are worthy of this trust by hitting their deadlines, delivering quality work, and responding quickly to phone calls or email messages.