A look at the favorites to be Microsoft’s next CEO

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Who’s next in line to serve as chief executive officer of Microsoft? Obviously, no one really knows. But PCWorld writer Mark Hachman recently took a crack at figuring out which tech bigwigs are the most likely to become the next CEO of the tech giant. Here are a few of his thoughts.

The insider

Stephen Elop tops Hachman’s list mainly due to the 49-year-old’s insider knowledge of Microsoft and the way the company works. Elop has spent a lot of his career at Microsoft, joining the company’s business division in 2008 and then moving onto its Office group and Microsoft Dynamics. He has since left the company and transferred to Nokia, where, starting in 2010 he started serving as that company’s executive vice president of devices and services.

The pro

Hachman points to 68-year-old Alan Mulally as a favorite for the key Microsoft post. This engineer worked at Boeing for 37 years, eventually becoming chief executive officer of Boeing Commercial Airlines. He joined Ford as its president in 2006, and received praise for leading the automaker through the economic downturn while refusing government bailout dollars. He is, however, nearly 70, and some ponder whether that will hurt his chances.

The hotshot

The 46-year-old Tony Bates also merits attention, according to Hachman. Bates forged a successful career at Cisco, eventually rising to a post in which he oversaw thousands of employees as SVP in charge of enterprise, commercial and small business. He is now at Skype, serving as its CEO beginning in 2010. His priority there has been to expand VoIP technology in to the world of business.

Video games that are more work than fun

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Don’t get plenty of work time on the job? You’re in luck. The video-gaming world is filled with games that seem more like work than fun. So have a look at these games highlighted in a recent PCWorld story if you’re looking to bring a little more work in your after-office hours.

Running a city

No argument here that managing a city isn’t hard work. And thanks to the classic SimCity video game, you, too, can experience the frustrations and long hours of managing a metropolis. And you won’t even need to run for mayor to make it happen. As PCWorld says, succeeding in SimCity takes long hours. You need to plan housing developments, open shopping centers, lay roads and collect taxes. While you’re doing this? The residents of your city will probably hate you.

World of Warcraft

World of Warcraft is another hugely popular game. It’s also one that involves lots of work. As PCWorld says, you will need to pick a career, follow orders and do it over and over again. Everyone in World of Warcraft has a job to perform. And if you don’t do yours? You will never earn enough points for the genuine fun stuff in the game.

The mundane real world…in video-game format

Cart Life is that most unusual game that enables you to relive all of the stress and dull routine of daily life, but now you’re calling it a game. In Cart Life, you can play either as a single mom working as a barista, a flustered newsstand operator or a hectic baker. None of the options are enjoyable, and each requires you to balance daily necessitates with making enough money to earn the rent and pay the bills each month.

Amazon setting up Sunday deliveries

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Don’t be surprised to see your mailman appear with an Amazon package this Sunday…if you reside in one of three key cities: New York, Los Angeles or London. The online retail giant recently announced plans that it will deliver packages on Sundays during the holiday season in these cities, according to a story on the TechCrunch Web site.

Holiday business

Amazon did this in part to handle the holiday crunch season. The online retailer has become an increasingly important part of the holiday shopping season, and there are no signs that this trend will lessen this season. Besides, what’s easier than locating all your holiday gifts online and then scheduling them for delivery while relaxing in front of your own computer?

Not all qualify

As TechCrunch reports, though, not all customers will are eligble for Amazon’s Sunday deliveries, even if they happen to live in New York, London or Los Angeles. That’s because this service is only available to Amazon Prime members. The Prime program is a form of preferred customer subscription service. It costs $79 per year to be a Prime member.

More roll-outs?

If you don’t live in New York, Los Angeles or London, don’t worry. This is merely a pilot program for Amazon. The company has plans to bring the Sunday-deliver program to other markets — including cities such as Dallas, Houston and New Orleans — in 2014.

Getting the most out of iOS7

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Apple unveiled its latest version of iOS7 for its iPad and iPhone devices. The tech press has covered the new operating system in detail. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t tricks and tips that you can’t learn to make your iOS7 experience better. Fortunately, Entrepreneur magazine just recently wrote a story talking about several iOS7 tricks that’ll make your mobile experience better.

Text info

Sometimes you don’t just want to read a text message. Occasionally you want to know exactly when that text message got there. With the new mobile version of iOS7, this can be done easily. As the Entrepreneur story reveals, you merely have to swipe your finger from right to left on your device’s text screen. This will retrieve the exact time at which your friends, family members and co-workers sent you the text message.

Multi-functional

iOS7’s compass app is a pretty neat tool, especially if you have no idea of whether you’re heading west or east. But do you know that you can transform the compass into a leveling tool? Entrepreneur does. Just open your compass app and swipe to the very next screen. This will show a leveling tool, so that you can use your iPhone or iPad to find out if that shelf you are hanging is actually level.

Spotlight

Wish to search for a particular app, text message or e-mail? You can. But in iOS7, this function is no longer called search. Now, it’s known as “spotlight.” But no matter, it’s still a powerful way to find just about anything. You can use “spotlight” to search for specific videos, files, apps, contacts, e-mails or texts.

Apple still leads list of innovative companies

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Apple’s critics have been frustrated with the company lately, blasting it for failing to come out with any innovative products since the death of founder Steve Jobs. But a recent feature story by Entrepreneur provides evidence that the criticism might be misplaced. As stated by the story, Boston Consulting Group recently ranked Apple first on its annual list of the most innovative companies. This is the ninth straight year that Apple has nabbed this honor.

A competitive world?

Apple’s rivals are no slouches, either, in terms of innovation. According to Boston Consulting’s list, Samsung, arguably Apple’s biggest competitor these days, ranked second on the list. That’s up from 26th just last year, according to the Entrepreneur story. And Google is a solid third on the list.

It’s a tech world

Samsung, Apple and Google, of course, aren’t the only tech firms that earned top spots on Boston Consulting’s list this year. And that’s not unusual: Tech companies tend to dominate the innovation list. This year, for example, Microsoft grabbed the fourth spot while IBM pulled in a strong sixth-place ranking. Amazon was right behind at number seven, while Sony landed the 11th spot.

The future?

The list is an significant one. As Entrepreneur notes in its story, the cliché “innovate or die” is a cliché for a reason: It’s true. The United States operates in an information economy. Companies that aren’t continuously reinventing themselves and offering innovative new products will find it hard to succeed these days.

Getting the most out of iOS7

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You probably know by now that Apple has unveiled its newest operating system for iPads and iPhones, iOS7. The industry technology press has fully covered the new mobile operating system. But there are still plenty of tricks that you might now know. And these tricks, as a recent story highlighting them by Entrepreneur says, can make Apple’s operating system all the more fun to use.

More texting info

Do you ever need to know when somebody sent you that important text message? This is easy to uncover with iOS7. Just swipe from right to left on your screen’s list of text messages. When you do, you will see the exact time that a text message came over.

Not just a compass

You probably are aware that the mobile version of iOS7 includes its own compass app, a handy tool if you’re lost, no doubt. But are you aware that you can also use this app to ensure that bedroom shelf you’re hanging is level? That’s correct: The compass app also doubles as a level. Just swipe over one screen after you’ve opened the compass app and your level will show up.

Better search

Need to search for a particular app, text message or e-mail? You can. But in iOS7, this function isn’t called search. Now, it’s known as “spotlight.” But no matter, it’s still the best way to find almost anything. You can use “spotlight” to search for specific videos, files, apps, contacts, e-mails or texts.

Boost your tech efficiency with these tips

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Is your small business struggling to compete in today’s tough marketplace? Some straightforward technology tips might help. The TechnologySchools.org Web site recently took a look at some easy technology moves that could help small business owners operate their companies more efficiently. If you need a competitive edge these days, following these tips might be your best move.

The right passwords

The first tip from TechnologySchools might seem obvious: You have to rely on the right passwords to safeguard your business’ computers and the data you store on them. This means selecting passwords you can remember but that hackers won’t be able to guess. TechnologySchools states that the strongest passwords are more than eight characters long, include upper- and lowercase letters, and have numbers and symbols.

Protecting your passwords

Once you’ve generated solid passwords, don’t make the mistake of simply writing them on a scrap of paper or saving them in a doc. If you do, your passwords could end up in the hands of the wrong person. Preferably, rely on storage sites such as DashLane or LastPass to maintain your passwords in easy reach of you but protected from hackers.

Keep your computer fast

You won’t be nearly as productive with a slower computer. Fortunately, TechnologySchools provides advice for speeding up even older machines. On a monthly basis you should delete programs you don’t use, drop old files, defragment the hard drive and carry out a registry scan to identify damaged or corrupted files that you can then delete.

Why Dropbox might become your default photo-sharing site

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Dropbox has a new goal: It hopes to be your go-to site for sharing and keeping photos. And, as TechCrunch writer Matthew Panzarino writes in a recent story, a new app gets Dropbox even closer to that prize. Dropbox apps for the Mac now automatically find, upload and prepare links for screenshots that you create on your computer.

Niche?

It’s true that a small group of users rely heavily enough on screenshots to make this app worthwhile. Journalists, app developers and heavy Twitter users are three such groups. But, as Panzarino writes, that’s not the point: The app is simply one more bit of evidence that Dropbox has its sights focused on being the top photo-sharing solution.

A future of ease?

This can make life easier for you, mind you. Wouldn’t it be simple to have Dropbox detect that photo you just took on your smartphone and then upload it automatically to your Dropbox account? That day might not be far away.

The future

Will Dropbox succeed in its mission to become the cloud’s go-to site for storing photos? That’s debatable. There are many competitors now, and plenty more will surely pop up. But Dropbox has already earned raves from its present users. It’s not difficult to imagine a time when Dropbox becomes the default photo-sharing service in the cloud.

Facebook’s new Graph Search: An uh-oh moment for users?

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Will Facebook’s more advanced Graph Search — which is getting tested on select users now — uncover some embarrassing remarks regarding your sister-in-law that you’d rather the whole world not read again? Or how about that pic from your friend’s bachelor party which you now wish you had never taken? As TechCrunch writer Josh Constine says, it just may.

A powerful new search

Facebook recently rolled out its new Graph Search to a small number of U.S. users who read in English. Which means that people can search your former posts by status updates, comments, photo captions, notes and check-ins. This makes it easy to search your friends and family members for specific comments or photos. But, is there a downside to this advanced new Graph Search?

The erosion of privacy

This might be good news for users searching for specific posts from family members or friends. But it could retrieve some embarrassments for users, too. After all, it’s now extremely easy for users to find posts that you wrote when you were a younger, and probably less wise, person.

Obscurity is gone?

There was a time when, Constine writes, you had privacy by obscurity: Not many people would comb through the many hundreds of posts you’ve made over time. Those days, though, seem to be gone. After all, users who have access to your post can now easily dig through your past using Graph Search. And this may not be such a positive thing, depending on your past.

What a deal! Google offering Quickoffice for free

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You probably want to view Microsoft Office documents with your Android phone or tablet. But the apps than enable you to make it happen aren’t cheap. Well, not any more. As MSPmentor writer CJ Arlotta says, Google is now offering its Quickoffice app – which enables you to view and edit Office documents on Android devices – for free.

A way into Microsoft Office?

The Quickoffice app was previously available only to Google Apps for Business users. That’s now changed, with everyone able to get the app free of charge. The app will allow users to read and edit Office documents on anything from their iPads to their Android-fueled smartphones.

Free stuff

Arlotta’s story quotes a Google vice president who states that Google made the move because consumers like free stuff. That’s true. But it’s difficult to believe that this is Google’s only reason behind making Quickoffice free. Some wonder if the move is Google’s move toward attempting to plunge into the lucrative Microsoft Office business.

Your opportunity

Getting Quickoffice Light is easy: Simply visit either the App store or the Google Play store. Then you can download the app free of charge. To start using the program, though, you will need to either sign in or create a new Google account.