LANrm Technologies Blog

The Internet has changed the way we get our news, watch movies, and pay our bills. It’s little wonder, then, that it has also changed the way we listen to music. Today, the web is home to many top music-streaming services – online services that allow users to listen to their favorite music on their laptops, desktops, and mobile devices.

But which music-streaming services are the best? Below are a few recommendations:

Pandora: Pandora has been around awhile, and it is very widely used. It’s easy to see why: it is simple. After navigating to the website, enter the name of a song or artist you like and Pandora will create a radio station based upon that information. It chooses songs by artists with a similar sound. As you tune in to your station you can click 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 further customize it. You can tune in to Pandora without creating an account but in order to save your stations, you must create an account.

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

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

Spotify: Spotify is a Swedish music-streaming service that 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 whole 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 can create your own playlists and share them with other users if you so choose.

It’s been a little while since Windows was regarded as cool but the Kinect may change all that. The Kinect is a voice and motion-sensing device that was originally designed as a feature for the Xbox gaming system.

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

Innovative Uses for the Kinect

For instance, at the Chicago Auto Show a few months ago, the chief marketing manager for Nissan North America used Kinect for Windows to generate a virtual tour of the Pathfinder’s upgraded interior. This proved particularly beneficial because the marketing manager only had the Pathfinder’s empty shell to exhibit at the Auto Show. A large screen powered by Kinect showed visitors precisely what they’d be seeing if they were actually sitting within the finished body of the new Pathfinder. The screen, for instance, displayed the car’s dual moon roofs and many other features.

Microsoft is motivating companies to find different uses for the Kinect and even cooperating with them to develop applications for it. This is a good move on their part, as it not only promotes ingenuity but it also puts a Microsoft product at the heart of the creative development. One company that has worked with Microsoft in this way is Boeing. They have used the Kinect to create virtual tours of their jets. Another exciting use of the Kinect was discovered by a medical center in Canada. They are using the Kinect’s gesture-recognition to swipe through CT scans. This greatly decreases, if not removes, the possibility of spreading germs since you don’t have to touch the computer.

Kinect: A Solid Hit

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

It may seem hard to believe, but Windows and its creator may have actually found something that’s not only useful, but cool, which can do nothing but good for their reputation.

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

It’s crucial that you create a job interview strategy that pin points what you’re in search of in an employee. If you ask the same cookie cutter questions that everyone else does, you will get cookie cutter answers.

Ask the Right Questions

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

One of the most common things to ask a candidate concerns their strengths and weaknesses. Avoid asking them to list these; most people 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 gauge the actual ingenuity of the person you are evaluating.

Another simple way to gauge a prospective employee’s creativity is to ask them to carry out a task. For instance, you could ask them to brainstorm ideas for an ad campaign, or write a short essay about their ideal workplace. Whatever it is, it is something your interviewee will not expect and it will give you a snapshot of their creativity.

Employers have an edge in today’s job market. They can choose from among some of the top job seekers available, but to find the best people, employers have to first alter the way they conduct their job interviews.

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

The End of Business Travel?

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

During a videoconference, individuals from across the globe sign on, say their hellos, and get to the business at hand. The amount of brainstorming is usually limited because people worry about the stability of their connections or succumb to the distractions of the offices in which they sit.

The Benefits of Face-to-Face Time

Face-to-face interactions are more personal and allow conversation to develop easily. Meetings may go longer if this happens, but the benefits of it can be excellent. New ideas come from the creative evolution of conversation. While it’s true that every meeting may not become 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 doubtful that business travel will disappearaltogether. However, in today’s economy, many businesses just can’t afford to send their sales people away each and every time the need to meet a customer. For this reason, developments in videoconferencing are necessary but the benefits of in-person meetings are so great that the savvy business owner will not abandon them for videoconferencing all together.

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Doesn’t it feel like we should currently have jetpacks? Teleporters? Or meals in capsule form? We already have some amazing technology, like tablets, which are small computers that we can carry around. We can take advantage of the GPS in our cars to find the way around town. We can post an update to our social media sites and reach countless people at once.

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

Building a Better Battery

Batteries power nearly all of our technology, particularly as we move into a more mobile world. As a result, the more limited our batteries are, the more limitations we have technologically. They are an integral part of our technology, so we need to focus on enhancing them before we can really make leaps in technology. Fortunately, researchers at Chicago’s Northwestern University are developing a more efficient lithium-ion battery, which we discussed in a blog post last week. This could solve this constraint in the next few years.

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 as if every public library, bookstore, and cafe’ provides its clientele with access to high-speed wireless Internet, but this is mostly a mirage. The majority of humans don’t have quick access to the web. Until this occurs, we’ll be unnecessarily limiting the growth of technology. The more minds that are connected on the Web, the better the odds are of reaching the next tech breakthrough.

The Business of New Tech

Last but not least there is the red tape. Business matters, like patent laws, can hamper technological progress. Individuals and companies that develop innovative things have to first traverse these waters. But if government regulations are clear and easy to comprehend, it could reduce some of this.

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

Adobe Photoshop is a fantastic photo manipulation tool. With it, businesses can produce professional looking marketing materials fairly easily. The largest problem with Photoshop is the price. A person looking to buy it can spend more then $600 for newer versions. This is not feasible for many small business owners, and they probably don’t require all of the features that a $600 photo-editing program comes with. Luckily, there are many alternatives to Photoshop that are affordable or free.

These programs may not contain all the components 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 pick of many a cost-conscious designer. That is 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 is a unexpectedly 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 well on Mac, Windows, and Linux operating systems. This program has some really fun effects such as blurring, darkening, and lightening images. It’s probably the most popular free editing programs, as you don’t have to download files to use it.

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

Have you ever needed your smartphone only to find that the battery has died and you are nowhere near an outlet? It’s annoying, but in a few years, it could be a thing of the past.

A Better Battery on the Way?

A team of engineers at Chicago’s Northwestern University may have found a way to make a battery that lasts longer and charges itself in a few minutes, rather then overnight. This story reports on these research efforts. This is great news for smartphone users everywhere.

Northwestern’s researchers have found a way to lengthen the charge of lithium-ion batteries by more then 10 times the present 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 effective than batteries right now.

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 charge itself in just 15 minutes. This is excellent 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: According to 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 upon fossil fuels.

Batteries Powering Technological Change

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

Google is the household name with regards to searching the Web. However, it may not be the best search engine out there. Microsoft launched Bing, a competitor, in 2009 and it shouldn’t 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 may get more information about your search results then you do from Google. There’s 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 so that you can easily navigate to past pages if needed. This feature can be toggled off and on.

Bing Goes Beyond Search Results

When you search in Bing, you get more then just search results. Bing pulls up images, and videos that are associated with your search. While Google has this feature, Bing makes the navigation a little more user friendly. Another helpful feature is what they call Farecast Technology. This is part of the Bing Travel site and it allows users to find the cheapest airfare easily.

Bing Video Search Shines

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

These are a few reasons why Bing shouldn’t be overlooked. Google may be the current king of search engines, but Bing has a lot to deliver surfers of the Web.

Cloud computing is very popular these days. The cloud is basically a group of remote servers where people can store and access their information. People can store music, powerful programs, and essential files in the cloud. As information stored in the cloud isn’t stored on personal computers this saves tons of computer memory. The result of this is that people gain access to more data without having to waste space on their computer, which could slow it down.

Not All Clouds are the Same

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

To provide a hybrid cloud, an organization may store some of their client’s more critical or current data in-house and store older, archived, and less crucial files in the public cloud. They may also use the public cloud to store very large programs and keep sensitive data in-house.

The Hybrid Cloud Approach Makes Sense

The hybrid cloud is a good way for businesses to both cut costs and save space. It takes advantage of the less costly public cloud while insuring that highly sensitive data is protected.

Because of this it’s no surprise that the hybrid cloud is so widely used. Businesses these days have too much data to store on their own servers but they don’t want the security risk that can come with the public cloud. Using the hybrid cloud they can keep space in their systems free while protecting their data.

Remote working has become more prevalent 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 advantages for the employer and the employee. Remote workers are often more productive, and they’re less of a drain on the company resources. For example, you don’t need to have office space and furniture for remote works. And the advantage of adjusting their schedule to fit their life is a big plus for the employee.

Remote Worker Challenges

A major concern for many managers when deciding to have remote workers is, how do you monitor their work? How do you know that they’re actually working rather than just watching movies all day?

One easy way to monitor the amount of work being completed by remote workers is to set sensible goals that they must hit. This puts the emphasis on the end result and keeps the manager from worrying about it, so long as the goals are being met. This also gives the employee flexibility to work within the hours they are most effective.

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 doing 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 specific tasks. Some employers may prefer 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

Working remotely demands personal discipline and good time-management skills. People who are chronic procrastinators may not work best remotely. If employees aren’t hitting deadlines, or are delivering sub-par work then off-site working doesn’t have to be a permanent privilege. For remote working to be successful there has to be trust between the employee and the employer. To preserve this trust the employee needs to hit their deadlines and the employer needs to be focused on the results.