Thanks to the Internet, most 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 many music-streaming services to pick from. This can be very beneficial as people always have access to their music, if they have access to the Internet.

If you are curious as to the differences in these services, we have highlighted a few below.

Pandora: Pandora is very popular because of its simple user interface. After navigating to the website, you are able to input a song or artist you want to hear and Pandora will create a “radio” station based on that information. This is a great way to learn about new artists with similar sounds. The stations that Pandora creates are easily personalized as well. If Pandora chooses an artist that you don’t like, you can select the thumbs down symbol on the song. Pandora allows for further customization by allowing you to “seed” your station with different artists. While you can tune in to Pandora without creating an account, it is crucial if you want to save your personalized stations.

Grooveshark: Grooveshark is a lot like Pandora in that it generates a “radio” station based on your musical tastes. However, you can also enjoy entire albums on Grooveshark and create playlists. One distinctive feature of Grooveshark is the ability to upload your own music to the Grooveshark database if you can’t find what you are searching for. This is a smart and simple method for Grooveshark to grow its library.

Rhapsody: Rhapsody has remained fairly popular because of its huge database of music. It has more then 14 million songs. Unfortunately, while many of the services we have talked about offer a free version, Rhapsody does not. It is $10 a month for unlimited music.

Spotify: Spotify is a Swedish music-streaming service which was launched in 2008. It has rapidly grown to one of the most well-known and widely used services out there. People like the flexibility of Spotify. When you search for an artist, you can listen to a complete album or choose to use the radio function and Spotify will find similar artists for you to enjoy. Another advantage of Spotify is that you can 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 developed the Kinect for Windows that all changed. The Kinect is a gesture and voice-sensing device that was originally developed for the Xbox gaming console.

Not surprisingly, a version of the Kinect works with Windows-operated PCs. So shortly after this new version was launched in February, companies started devising creative, out-of-the-box uses for it.

Innovative Uses for the Kinect

Earlier this year the Chief Marketing Manager for Nissan North America created a virtual tour of the Pathfinder’s interior at the Chicago Auto Show. The only thing that was actually displayed was the outer shell of the Pathfinder, but individuals could see the improved interior on a large screen by using the Kinect.

Microsoft is motivating companies to find different uses for the Kinect and even cooperating with them to create applications for it. This is an excellent move on their part, as it not only encourages inventiveness but it also puts a Microsoft product at the center of the creative development. One company that has worked with Microsoft in this way is Boeing. They’ve used the Kinect to build virtual tours of their jets. Another unique use of the Kinect was discovered by a hospital in Canada. They are utilizing the Kinect’s gesture-recognition to swipe through CT scans. This greatly decreases, if not eradicates, the possibility of spreading germs because you don’t have to touch the computer.

Kinect: A Solid Hit

The Kinect is a huge hit for Microsoft. Last year the device helped turn the Xbox 360 into the year’s best-selling gaming console. The fact is, Microsoft has sold more than 18 million Kinect devices since November of 2010. It makes sense then, that a version created specifically for Windows would be a hit, too.

The Kinect has numerous uses outside of what it was initially developed for. Microsoft actually designed something that is not only useful, but regarded as cool. This transformation in attitude toward Microsoft could help the company in lots of ways.

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These days, whenever you post an open position on the Internet, a huge selection of people reply. Many of these people are eligible candidates for the job, so you call them in for an interview. But how do you sift through them and find the truly innovative and enthusiastic people? Since the interview is basically all you can go on, your interview questions are important.

If you hold the traditional job interview, asking the same boring questions, chances are you won’t be able to tell the top candidates from the so-so ones. That’s why it’s important 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 create any processes that increased efficiency? Did they help their employers save money, if so, how?

One of the most common questions to ask a candidate concerns their strengths and weaknesses. Avoid asking them to list these; almost everyone has 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 answers you get to these types of questions will assist you to gauge the actual inventiveness of the person you are interviewing.

Another method you could use to gauge creativity is to give them a task to execute. Something simple, for example have them write their ideas about what their ideal work environment would be like. Or they could brainstorm services and products for a company of your choosing. You could keep it light and fun; the goal is to get a snapshot of their brainstorming abilities, and imagination.

Today’s job market is such that it’s probable that many skilled people will apply to your open position. So, in order to sift through these applicants and find the most creative and inventive individuals, change your interview tactics to hone in on these traits.

There aren’t many people who look forward to going on business trips. They’re an inconvenience and expensive for the organization. Business travelers often feel rushed, which leads to lack of sleep and poor dietary habits, which exacerbates stress. Not to mention dealing with Airports and long-term parking. Therefore, many businesses decide to use videoconferencing as much as possible. But do you think that business travel is on its way out? Will Videoconferencing replace it completely?

The End of Business Travel?

But is this really what business people and their employers should want? Perhaps not. Videoconferencing may never take the place of face-to-face meetings in the business world as the best ideas usually pop up during these in-person meetings. Think about the difference between how videoconferencing and in-person meetings tend to work.

When people around the world 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 big role in videoconferencing; this is partially due to the worry that their connection may fail. Also, there are lots of distractions within the individual’s office that can make fluid conversation tough.

The Benefits of Face-to-Face Time

Face-to-face interactions tend to be more personal and allow conversation to evolve easily. Meetings may last longer should this happen, but the benefits of it can be great. New ideas come from the creative evolution of conversation. While it’s true that every meeting may not turn into a positive brainstorming session, it can be a great opportunity to develop interpersonal relationships in the office.

Business Travel is Here to Stay

Humans are a social species. Due to this, it’s unlikely that business travel will disappear altogether. However, in today’s economy, many businesses just can’t afford to send their sales people away every time the need to meet a client. For this reason, developments in videoconferencing are necessary but the advantages of in-person meetings are so great that the savvy business owner will not abandon them for videoconferencing all together.

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Remember enjoying sci-fi movies as a child and thinking we would have jetpacks sooner or later? Or teleporters? We don’t have these technologies yet but we do have many impressive technologies that seem straight out of a sci-fi movie. Our cars can direct us around a city, via GPS. We can carry tablet computers around with us that hold our data. And we can communicate with associates all over the world at the push of a button.

So, with all of this technology, why don’t we have jet packs yet? What issues are keeping us from making these technological leaps?

Building a Better Battery

First, there is battery power. To put it simply, the batteries powering our smartphones and tablets have to be recharged too frequently. A more powerful battery will permit us to run our gadgets for weeks at a time and then charge them again within minutes. This battery doesn’t exist yet. However, it might 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 has to do with access. Simply put, 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 customers with access to high-speed wireless Internet, but this is largely a mirage. The majority of humans do not have easy access to the web. Until this occurs, we’ll be needlessly limiting the advancement of technology. The more minds that are linked on the Web, the higher the odds are of reaching the next tech breakthrough.

The Business of New Tech

Last but not least there is the bureaucracy. Business matters, like patent laws, can impede technological progress. Individuals and businesses that come up with revolutionary things have to first traverse these waters. But if government regulations are clear and simple to understand, it could prevent some of this.

Even though there are a few things that are holding technology back, it is still advancing at a rapid pace. Maybe we will finally get hover boards when battery technology catches up to our imaginations.

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

These alternatives are not quite as dynamic as Photoshop but they offer enough of the elements to be beneficial to the small business owner. This is a list of three that make photo-manipulation easy, without straining the wallet.

GIMP

GIMP is very easy to use and possesses most of the features from Photoshop that a business owner might need to create marketing material. The beauty of GIMP is that it’s absolutely free!

Paint.NET

Did you ever use MSPiant? It came with your Windows operating system and was very basic. Paint.NET is its successor and is considerably more powerful then its forerunner. One fantastic aspect for designers is an unlimited undo button. Paint.NET is a free program; the only negative regarding it is that it only works on Windows machines.

Picnik

Picnik is fast, free, and easy to use. It works on the Mac, Windows, and Linux operating systems and you don’t have to download files to use it. It has some unique special effects as well, making it a well liked photo-editing program.

In the end, if you are looking for a program that lets you create professional marketing material, it is not necessary to spend a lot. These programs will let you accomplish this task at no cost.

Your smartphone is incredible. It can steer 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 will play your favorite song at the touch of a button. But it can’t do any of this if its battery is dead.

A Better Battery on the Way?

Thankfully, a better battery might soon be on the way, due to the work of a team of engineers at Chicago’s Northwestern University. A recent story reports that researchers at this Big 10 university are trying to create a battery that lasts longer and can recharge itself within minutes. Smartphone users around the world ought to be thankful.

What they are concentrating on is a new lithium-ion battery that has more then 10 times the life of present batteries. Furthermore, after a year of operation, which the researchers estimate to be about 150 charges, these new lithium-ion batteries would remain 5 times more effective then today’s lithium-ion batteries.

A Charged Battery for a Week

Here’s the bottom line: The new cell phone battery could stay charged for over a week and then recharge itself in just 15 minutes. This is great news for you: It could mean that your iPod won’t run out of juice while you’re working the treadmill at the gym. But the new, better battery may have a far greater impact: Based on the Northwestern story, this new battery technology could result in smaller and more efficient batteries for electric cars. This could help the United States—and other countries—cut its reliance on fossil fuels.

Batteries Powering Technological Change

The new battery technology isn’t available yet for consumers, but the Northwestern researchers say that it could hit the market in three to five years. This is a big step. When we look at breakthroughs in technology, we tend to ignore the batteries that power our latest gadgets. Battery constraints are one of the factors holding back an even greater technology revolution. The hope is that the research done at Northwestern University can change this.

Google is the household name with regards to searching the Web. However, it may not be the best search engine out there. Microsoft introduced 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 numerous 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’s a navigation panel on the left that includes related searches; this can help you refine your search if you didn’t get the information you were looking for. Additionally there is a “search history” navigation panel to help you easily navigate to past pages if needed. This feature can be toggled off and on.

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 most current videos. For users hunting for a flight out of town, Bing beats Google easily. The search engine employs something it calls Farecast Technology in its Bing Travel site. This allows users quickly locate the least expensive airfare to specific destinations.

Bing Video Search Shines

Bing shines, too, when it comes to searching for videos. Before searching, users can tell Bing how long they would like their videos to be, what screen size they’d like them to be, and what resolution they’d prefer. Users can start their videos simply by hovering their cursors over a screen capture.

These are some reasons why computer users should not ignore Bing. While Google is a household name, it’s not the only search engine out there.

Cloud computing has become increasingly more common. A very basic definition of the cloud is: a group of remote servers where people can store and access their data. One benefit of using the cloud is that powerful programs and files may be stored at a remote location so they don’t use up memory on personal computers and slow down operating systems.

Not All Clouds are the Same

However; there are various kinds of clouds. There is the public cloud, the private cloud, and the hybrid cloud. Most of us use the public cloud, businesses that want to use cloud services to store very sensitive data can elect to use a private cloud, and the hybrid cloud is a combination of the two.

The hybrid cloud usually works like this: A business provides some resources in-house. For example, it may store latest consumer data on its private in-house cloud. It may also store employee files, 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 allows its in-house computers to perform more efficiently.

The Hybrid Cloud Approach Makes Sense

Taking a hybrid cloud approach to data storage permits businesses to take advantage of the space-saving benefits of the public cloud without also exposing their sensitive current data to third-party providers. To paraphrase, the hybrid cloud provides businesses with security, cost-savings, and efficiency.

It’s no wonder, then, that so many businesses today are moving toward a hybrid cloud approach. There is way too much data floating around today for smaller businesses to effectively store. At the same time, businesses in today’s competitive environment don’t want to expose company secrets and sensitive consumer data to either their competition or hackers. The hybrid cloud could allow businesses to accomplish both feats.

Thanks to improved technology, an increasing number of employees have the ability to complete most or all of their work from home. Smartphones, tablet computers, teleconferencing, and WiFi-equipped bookstores and coffee shops have made this achievable. This presents a huge advantage for employers: the more employees that work at home, the less money companies must spend. Many companies, for instance, don’t have assigned computers and desks for each of their workers because a lot of their workforce is working remotely. In addition, employees working remotely tend to be more productive; they are not wasting time and energy driving to work every day. And they are not exchanging office gossip in front of the water cooler when in the office.

Remote Worker Challenges

One worry that lots of employers have when deciding to hire remote workers is, how can they monitor the volume of work they do? How do they know they are really working and not simply playing games on their computer all day?

By setting reasonable deadlines employers can keep track of their remote workers successfully. This is a change in managerial strategy; it puts the focus on the goal rather then the amount of time that the employee works. Ultimately, employees are the only ones who know when they perform most optimally, even if it is from midnight to 4am.

Setting Remote Worker Deadlines

Employers might tell their remote workers that they have to turn in a certain amount of work every Wednesday and Friday. This will make sure that remote employees are carrying out their work. Employers may also schedule regular updates by phone, video chat, or through instant messaging, in which workers can explain how far along they are with particular 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 which helps everyone stay focused on upcoming deadlines and goals.

Off-Site Not a Permanent Condition

While many people may have the personal discipline and time management skills to effectively work remotely, some don’t. So, if an employee doesn’t work effectively remotely, and that has become obvious, remote working doesn’t have to stay permanent, it can easily be revoked. Ultimately, trust within the employee/employer relationship is one of the key components of a effective remote working relationship. The worker needs to preserve that trust by hitting deadlines and delivering top quality work.