What is Google: Solve for X

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There are a variety of problems these days; Global warming, poverty, Illiteracy, debt crises, these are only a few. Google has decided to give solving these problems a shot and created the “Solve for X” initiative. This project brings together some of Google’s greatest minds and asks them to creatively tackle some of the most perplexing global issues. The hope is that the “Solve for X” brain trust will develop revolutionary solutions using current technologies in a way previously unthought-of.

Tackling the biggest global issues

Of course, it’s not all that simple. The “Solve for X” brain trust will be taking on problems that have long befuddled world leaders. Nevertheless, the individuals behind this project are nothing if not eager. They are saying the work taking place here is akin to the innovative thinking that was required to send humans to the moon. On the “Solve for X” website, Google talks about it this way: “This combination of things—a huge problem to solve, a radical solution for solving it and the breakthrough technology to make it happen—is the essence of a moonshot.”

Tackling water scarcity

Last month Mashable.com ran a story on the “Solve for X” project. Mashable cited the account of an individual who participated in a “Solve for X” retreat. He said they were focused on the issue of water scarcity. What solutions did they come up with on this retreat? One involved forward osmosis with recycled ammonium salts. It’s fine if you do not know what that means, luckily the people at “Solve for X” do.

The need for technology brain trusts

“Solve for X” may not create any real, practical, solutions for the world’s problems nevertheless the brain trust idea certainly has possibilities. Technology has, and can, alter the world for the better; we merely need outside the box thinking to come up with ideas. So we shall see if “Solve for X” comes up with progressive purposes of technologies we currently have.

Encouraging Creativity in the Workplace

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Do your employees express their ideas and opinions? Do they come to you with ways to increase efficiency or new revolutionary marketing ideas?

If not, then you might be operating a workplace in which employee creativity is being squelched. These days a lack of creativity in your company can condemn your firm to second-tier status. It may even steer your company out of business.

Two heads are better then one right? Well what about a whole organization? Cultivating creativity means you have many individuals thinking of new ways to market your products and services, boost workflow effectiveness, and enhance overall productivity. This can consequently mean saving the company money.

One of the best ways to encourage fresh thinking is to just listen to your employees when they present new ideas. Most employees are nervous when approaching their superiors with new concepts, especially when it’s an idea that falls “outside of the box.” So make sure you give them an open forum to present their ideas and give them the respect to listen closely to them. One more way is to ask your employees, if you are trying to think of a way to improve the company’s blog, or products, send out an email asking for ideas. Not all of your employee’s ideas will wow you, but, so as not to single anyone out, listen to them all.

If you presume that your employees do not have good ideas, then you may be missing out. In addition, not listening to them, or dismissing ideas will motivate your employees to do the bare minimum. You will end up with a group of people working for the weekend.

To truly inspire creativity, reward those employees who do come up with strong ideas. This could mean paying a small bonus to those employees whose ideas you use. It could mean praising employees in company newsletters or memos. It could even mean an in-person “thank you.”

Many people want a job that allows them to be creative. It stimulates their minds and prevents boring redundancy. Many employees also have ideas on how to improve their place of business; they just haven’t voiced them to you. So encourage them to let you know what they think. It doesn’t mean that the way you have been doing things is bad; it just means that they may have ideas that you many not have thought of. Regardless, you and your business will reap the benefits of their creativity and your employees will be happier for it.

What is Pinterest, and Why You Should Care

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Are you just becoming familiar with the idea of social media? Well here comes another that’s growing in popularity: Pinterest. One thing that is different about Pinterest is that it focuses less on updates about the day-to-day and more on the interests of the users. This encourages creativity among its user base.

But that doesn’t explain what it is. The meaning is inside the name. Pinterest is a combination of the words “pin” and “interest”. Within your account you have “pinboards,” similar to bulletin boards. You can make these public or not, and then “pin” images of stuff you have an interest in onto these and make notes about these images.

Creating Pinterest Categories

For example, you could make the category convertibles. You can then paste any images you find online of the new Volkswagen Beetle convertible, along with a link to the page where you found them. You could also attach any photos of convertibles that you took yourself as well as add notes to these images. You can then share these pinboards with other Pinterest users.

The Social Part of Pinterest

While Pinterest has a different approach to social media, its main objective is still social interaction. You can elect to follow as many people as you want as well as only follow the pinboards you’re interested in. Say someone has a collection of local restaurants; you can follow that, while choosing not to follow her collection of “all things cute.”

Joining Pinterest

The main challenge with Pinterest is getting an account: you have to be invited to sign up. You can request an invitation straight from Pinterest when you visit the site, however it is uncertain how long you must wait to receive an invite using this method. It is far more reliable to seek out friends or acquaintances that are already using Pinterest. You can then have them invite you to the site through e-mail, Facebook, or Twitter.

Dressing for Success Can Help Your Career More Then You Think

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It’s not an easy task to get a job these days. So when you do get called for a job interview you’ll want to make the best impression. There is one simple method of doing this: dress for it.

Does that surprise you? Despite our increasingly casual world, what you wear at the office can affect your job prospects and overall career!

So, follow this easy rule for any job interview: err on the side of overdressed. Even when the company you happen to be interviewing for has a relaxed work environment, if you show up in jeans and a sweatshirt you’ll make a bad first impression. Dressing up demonstrates that you respect the interviewer and take the position you’re interviewing for seriously.

In the workplace you should still think about the clothing you wear. Even in a casual place you can continue to look sharp. Should you just grab yesterday’s jeans off the floor and run out the door you won’t be noticed. People that put more thought into their style stand out from their peers, which is never a bad thing if your boss is looking to promote someone!

It goes without saying that looking good is not a substitute for being a good worker. Actions will always speak louder than appearance. That said, standing out because you are a great employee AND a smart dresser isn’t a bad thing!

Expand Your Twitter: 7 Interesting People to Follow

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So now you are on Twitter, and you follow your friends and family, but you are sick and tired of learning about the latest restaurant your sister went to. You want to hear more interesting and worldly information.

Well, lucky for you, almost everyone has a Twitter now.  This includes celebrities, scientists, entrepreneurs, and legislators and you can follow them and hear what they have to say.

Here are 7 of the more interesting folks who you should be following on Twitter:

  1. Conan O’Brien: This talk-show host is really a master of the absurd. His posts are always witty and clever. So if you’re wanting to follow someone that will give you a mid-day chuckle, follow @ConanOBrien. Also, he doesn’t promote his show through his tweets.
  2. Marissa Mayer: You might not know Marissa Mayer, but if you love technology, she’s worth a follow. Mayer is the first female engineer at Google. If you want some interesting tidbits about Google and a look at the life of a tech expert, follow @Marissamayer.
  3. Mike Massimino: Follow @Astro_Mike, if you’d like to get the inside scoop about NASA. Mike Massimino is an astronaut who recent made an appearance on The Big Bang Theory, which he then tweeted about.
  4. Rainn Wilson: You may know Rainn better from the character of Dwight Schrute on the popular Tv series The Office. What you probably don’t know is that his Twitter feed is as entertaining as the show. Follow him @Rainnwilson.
  5. Ryan Penagos: Are you a comic book fan? If so, you should follow @Agent_M. Penagos. This is Ryan Penagos’ Twitter; he is the editorial director of Marvel Comics. He’s a busy Tweeter, updating his followers about his favorite comics and new video games that are coming out.
  6. Barack Obama: You can get a peek at the daily life of the Commander in Chief @BarackObama.
  7. Bill Gates: You may not like Microsoft Windows, but you should still check out the Twitter feed of Bill Gates. The man has made an undeniable impact in the tech world. And today, he and his wife are devoting their time to important charitable causes.

Windows Phone – Transforming Microsoft

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Microsoft is everywhere; their products are used throughout the world. And, Bill Gates, Microsoft’s chief, is among the most widely known names in the field of technology. That said, Microsoft is missing one thing, it has never had a “cool” image. But the launch of Windows Phone, Microsoft’s new smartphone software, may alter our opinion.

Microsoft has long fought an industry reputation as a sort of stodgy dullard. There is a decent list of unsuccessful Microsoft products. Remember the Zune music player? Perhaps not. What about the Kin phone? That flop has long vanished from the minds of most consumers.

That said, Microsoft’s Windows Phone software has captured some interest. The Windows Phone has been received well by both critics and consumers.

Windows Phone attracts praise for its easy to use interface, and its fresh look. Users have easier access to social networks the in the past, the tiles on the home screen come to life when friends update their Twitter of Facebook keeping users up-to-date.

Even with all of these features and praise Windows Phone has not been the biggest seller. This is perhaps because of the phones that come equipped with the OS. Many individuals believe these phones are dull and wireless services providers are still pushing the iPhone and Android in a big way.

The Windows Phone could, however, represent a change for Microsoft. Perhaps this is just the beginning of a line of chic, hip products from them.

Saying Goodbye to the Mouse

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We’ve already had a taste of mouse-free computing. Touchscreens on our smartphones and tablets allow us to search the Internet, compose e-mail messages, send texts, and stream movies, all without using a mouse. So what on earth do you think this will lead us to in the future? How will we interact with our computers in the coming decades? Once we ditch the mouse, what comes next?

Gesture sensing

Gesture sensing is something most gamers understand. The PlayStation and Wii both make use of this technology. By using a wireless remote you can control the game using only body movements. This technology has not been perfected or widely applied to computing but think about the possibilities. Perhaps in the foreseeable future we will boot our computer by putting on a sensor bracelet and each and every little gesture we make will perform a task on our computer!

Multi-touch technology

Multi-touch technology is the one other interactive innovation that is being employed in a few common devices, namely, tablets, e-readers, and smartphones. This technology allows users to tap icons to open program, pinch or extend their fingers to zoom or minimize the pictures on their screens. Because this is a relatively new technology it’s still being refined. How do you think this will be utilized down the road to allow us easier navigation around our computers?

Voice recognition

This technology has been with us for quite a while but has had lots of kinks. As these get resolved, it will continue to gain popularity. This technology allows people to simply speak commands to their computer to complete them. The most prevalent vendor for vocal recognition software is Dragon NaturallySpeaking. Once this technology is refined the possibilities for its use in computing are endless.

While there are lots of ways computing can be improved through hands free navigation technologies. It’s likely we will not see the tried and true mouse disappear for a long time.

Smartphone Charging Pads: Analysis

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You use your smartphone to buy movie tickets, download your favorite songs, and make online reservations at the new French restaurant. However, if your smartphone battery dies, you can not do any of this. And let’s be honest, charging your smartphone the old-fashioned way is a drag. You must plug your charger into an outlet leaving it connected long enough to give it a sufficient amount of power.

But now there is an easier solution to charge your device: a smartphone charging pad.

Charge your phone wirelessly

These flat pads permit users to charge their devices wirelessly. Giving us relief from twisted cords. Another advantage is that many devices can be charged at the same time; and not just smartphone but tablets and iPods too!

Have you ever thought about how these work? They use electro-magnetic induction charging to generate a magnetic field that provides power to the batteries of your smartphones, tablets, as well as other electronic devices.

Charge pads a technology in progress

Though these charging pads could make our lives easier they aren’t as popular as you would think. Mainly this is because of their cost; they are often as pricey as the devices they charge.

Additionally, they take up space. For people hoping to save space and reduce mess, this negates their purpose.

An improving wireless world

The good news is that technology is always improving, especially in the field of wireless products. It will not be too long before the market is dotted with companies providing new and improved charge pads. And you can bet that these new pads will get rid of the price and space problems that so far have kept these devices from becoming must-have items.

Windows 7: How to be More Productive

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Windows 7 has numerous features which makes it a great improvement over prior systems. However, like most things, if you are unaware of all these features you could be missing out.

By mastering a few simple tricks, you can get the most out of Windows 7.

  • If you want to move images to outside disks, you can now achieve this quickly with Windows 7. The operating system allows you to burn ISO images onto CDs or DVDs. To do this, you simply have to double-click on the ISO image, tell Windows 7 the drive that holds your blank disc, and click on the “burn” option. Windows 7 will do the rest.
  • Discovering issues and repairing them is also simple with Windows 7. To do this select the “Control Panel” and choose the “troubleshooting” option. This will give you access to a number of wizards that look for and fix common OS issues. For example cleaning up adware and removing clutter.
  • Installing too much cumbersome software will slow your system down. You can prevent this by using the AppLocker feature. This enables you to pre-approve specific programs for installation. Which inhibits any non-preapproved software from being downloaded.
  • Another great feature is its power efficiency service. This allows you to monitor just how much power your laptop is using. This is often helpful if you’re working remotely and have no access to a power source.

Know More About WordPress

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It’s time to put a popular misconception to rest: “isn’t WordPress only a blogging platform?” While this used to be the case, according to an article by Tech Crunch, around 22% of newly published websites are built on WordPress. What’s more impressive, one of the most popular publishers is using WordPress as their platform.

Here are 7 things you should know about WordPress:

  1. With WordPress you don’t have to rebuild your pages every time you want to update your site. Updating your content is quick and simple, as WordPress has dynamic page generation.
  2. You can get a subdomain for free! After you register with WordPress to obtain a free site, it is simple to name your free subdomain like this: www.yourname.wordpress.org.
  3. The ‘Famous 5 minute install’. For those who have already purchased and are hosting your domain someplace else, WordPress can be installed quickly and easily. And have no anxiety – coding is not necessary.
  4. Are there minimum requirements? Yes, if you’re hosting your own website outside of WordPress, there are a few requirements to take into account. To obtain the appropriate support down the road, you will have to be sure you have the correct MySQL and PHP versions on your server.
  5. There are scores of great looking templates (known as “themes”) available from different sources on the Internet. Many are free, some are not. In either case, finding the right design for your website is easy and quick.
  6. Managing your web site, posts, media, and all other materials in WordPress can be achieved easily through their user-friendly dashboard. You can even manage multiple users!
  7. WordPress is e-commerce friendly. There are tons of plugins developed by users to enable you to advertise, review, as well as sell products. This means you don’t need to find other payment systems or other add-ons, they can be found readily within the WordPress community.