The Internet has changed the way we get our news, watch movies, and pay our bills. It’s not surprising, then, that it has also changed the way we listen to music. Today, the web is home to several top music-streaming services – online services that permit users to listen to their favorite music on their laptops, desktops, and mobile devices.

But which music-streaming services are the best? Here are some suggestions:

Pandora: Pandora is hardly a surprise choice, but there is a reason this music-streaming service remains popular: It is not difficult to use and it can quickly expose users to new music that they may not experience otherwise. The thought behind Pandora is simple: After logging onto the service, type in the name of a favorite artist, say “David Bowie.” Pandora will then play songs by Bowie and it will play songs from similar artists. This gives you a taste of other tunes that you might also like.

Grooveshark: This streaming service is very similar to Pandora, in that it creates a personalized “radio” station determined by your musical tastes. You do not have to create an account to listen to Grooveshark, or to build your own playlists. However, in order to save your information, you will need to create one. One benefit to Grooveshark is basically that you are able to enjoy whole albums instead of a station you created. One of the more interesting features of Grooveshark is that users can add their own music if the Grooveshark database doesn’t have what they are hunting for.

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

Spotify: Spotify was introduced in 2008, and since then it has expanded into one of the most widely known and used music-streaming services. Spotify is very easy to use and, like Grooveshark, users can listen to entire albums or decide to use the radio function.  One thing that people love about Spotify is its integration with Facebook. By using the Spotify app, it keeps a running list of the songs you have heard on Facebook. Furthermore, users can see what their Facebook friends are presently listening to on a real-time feed. This is great for those who are in search of new music if one of their friends has similar tastes.

It’s been some time since Windows was thought to be cool but the Kinect may change all that. The Kinect is a voice and motion-sensing device that was initially designed as a feature for the Xbox gaming console.

A version of the device also works with Windows-operated PCs, and almost immediately after its launch in February, people started identifying 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 interesting 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 encouraging companies to find different uses for the Kinect and even cooperating with them to build applications for it. This is a great move on their part, as it not only promotes creativity 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 create virtual tours of their jets. Another interesting use of the Kinect was discovered by a hospital in Canada. They are using the Kinect’s gesture-recognition to swipe through CT scans. This greatly lowers, if not eradicates, the chance of spreading germs as 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 video gaming console, and they have the Kinect to thank for that. Since November of 2010 Microsoft has sold over 18 million Kinect devices.

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

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When you sift through the possible candidates for the position you’re hiring for, you want to find the super stars. You want to find the most creative, enthusiastic, and inspired people you can. But you are only able to find out who fits the bill through an interview. And if you don’t ask the correct questions you may misjudge your candidates.

It’s vital 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 are going to get cookie cutter answers.

Ask the Right Questions

A common approach to the job interview is to inquire about past positions the individual held. What their obligations were, etc. These are not the most effective questions as you only end up receiving information that could be easily read from their resume. This doesn’t help you much if you’re looking for specific characteristics. Consider asking them how they improved their positions, were there any processes that they changed, or ways in which they saved their company money.

Another typical interview question is to ask about the individual’s strengths and weaknesses. Almost everyone has a canned response to this, as they know it will probably be asked in an interview. Instead ask them to tell you what they add to the culture of a company, what do they do in tense situations, or what are some ways they keep themselves satisfied at their jobs. These answers will clue you in to the temperament of the person you are interviewing, and if they will fit in with your company and the position.

Another method you could use to measure creativity is to give them a task to perform. Something simple, for example have them write their ideas about what their ideal workplace would be like. Or they could brainstorm products and services 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 qualified 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 are an inconvenience and expensive for the organization. Business travelers often feel hurried, which results in lack of sleep and poor dietary habits, which exacerbates stress. Not to mention dealing with Airports and long-term parking. Because of this, many businesses decide to use videoconferencing whenever possible. But do you think that business travel is on its way out? Will Videoconferencing replace it altogether?

The End of Business Travel?

But is this really what business people and their employers should want? Maybe not. Videoconferencing may never replace face-to-face meetings in the business world since the best ideas usually pop up during these in-person meetings. Evaluate the difference between how videoconferencing and in-person meetings tend to work.

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

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 chit chat and they might end with attendees trading office stories. Again, this is good. Often, the best business ideas arise from these moments of off-topic discussion.

Business Travel is Here to Stay

While many businesses turn toward videoconferencing because of the cost and simplicity of it, it is doubtful that business travel will disappear altogether. When we develop business relationships, just like any relationships, we want to meet face-to-face because we are a social species. The advantages of face-to-face meetings are enough that savvy business owners won’t eliminate business travel completely.

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How many kids grew up waiting for the day when humans would travel the globe with individual jet packs strapped to their backs? How many imagined full meals that come in capsule form or teleporters? Those technologies haven’t happened. Yet, in the last twenty years alone, we have 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 can instantly send text messages to our friends and due to GPS, we never have to get lost while driving again.

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

Building a Better Battery

Batteries power most of our technology, particularly as we move into a more mobile world. For that reason, the more limited our batteries are, the more limitations we have technologically. They are a fundamental part of our technology, so we need to concentrate on improving them before we can really make leaps in technology. Thankfully, researchers at Chicago’s Northwestern University are creating a more powerful lithium-ion battery, which we discussed in a blog post last week. This could solve this limitation in the next few years.

Improving Internet Access

The second limiting factor is related to access. Basically, not enough of the world’s population has access to high-speed Internet access. It may well seem like every public library, bookstore, and cafe’ provides its patrons with use of 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 happens, we’ll be needlessly limiting the growth of technology. The more minds that are linked on the Web, the better the possibilities 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 businesses that develop innovative things have to first navigate these waters. But if government regulations are clear and simple to comprehend, it could prevent some of this.

The great news is that none of these limitations can truly stop technology from improving. 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 create professional looking marketing materials quite easily. The greatest issue 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 equipped with. Fortunately, there are many alternatives to Photoshop that are inexpensive or free.

Certainly, these programs are not as robust as Photoshop. But they have adequate photo-editing features for small business owners to effortlessly create professional looking material. Below is a list of the top free photo-manipulation programs currently available.

GIMP

GIMP, which stands for GNU image manipulation program, is the pick of many a cost-conscious designer. That’s because this free program contains 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’s a virtual twin of Photoshop’s.

Paint.NET

Do you recall MSPaint? It came standard with the Windows operating system. Paint.NET is its successor and is a very powerful and free photo editor. It includes its own special effects and an limitless undo; this is perfect for people who want to play around with the effects. The one negative of this program is that it only works with Windows.

Picnik

Picnik has turned into a popular free photo editor for several reasons. First, it works on the Mac, Windows, and Linux operating systems. Secondly, users aren’t required to download any files to their computers to use the program. The program is also recognized for its speed. It’s simple and easy to learn the fundamentals of cropping, resizing, and rotating photos. It is not difficult, too, to add special effects and turn blurry, dark images into clear, light ones.

Business owners needn’t let Photoshop’s high cost keep them from inserting professionally edited photos into their marketing materials. With just a small amount of online hunting, even the most frugal of business owners can get a wonderful alternative.

The more we rely on mobile devices the more we rely on one small technology. Batteries. Have you ever reached for your smartphone to look something up or to get directions and found that it has died? Well, in a few years, that could be something you don’t have to worry about.

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 minutes, instead of overnight. This story reports on these research efforts. This is good news for smartphone users everywhere.

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

A Charged Battery for a Week

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

Batteries Powering Technological Change

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

When looking at online search engines, Google remains king. Microsoft isn’t happy with this. That’s why the company launched Bing in 2009, its own search engine and a direct competitor with Google. Since then, Bing has gone the way of most Google-search competitors: It’s mostly an afterthought when computer users need to search the web. Most searchers still rely on Google for this task. However, that does not mean that Bing offers nothing for computer users. The fact is, Microsoft did a lot right with Bing, and the search engine provides plenty of exciting features that users shouldn’t disregard.

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 in need of. There is also 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

Another big plus with Bing is that it doesn’t just bring up search results. It also brings up relevant videos, music, and images. Although this is a feature of Google as well, Bing makes it easier to use, as the categories are right beneath the search bar. Bing beats Google for travel searches too. They use something called Farecast Technology in the Bing Travel site; it lets users find the cheapest flights quickly and 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 resolution they’d prefer. Users can start their videos simply 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 offer surfers of the Web.

Cloud computing has undoubtedly caught on. People can access data that is stored in the cloud—databases located far 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 conserves 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 operating speed of home computers.

Not All Clouds are the Same

However, that is not all that you should understand about the cloud. You have the public cloud, which is the one most of us use, the private cloud, and the hybrid cloud. The hybrid cloud, as the name suggests, is a combination of using both the public and private cloud.

For a business to provide a hybrid cloud, they store a client’s most confidential data on their in-house private cloud, and data that needs less defense on a public cloud. For example, archived files and large software programs.

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. In other words, the hybrid cloud provides businesses with security, cost-savings, and efficiency.

Because of this it’s no surprise that the hybrid cloud is so popular. Businesses today 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. Utilizing the hybrid cloud they are able to keep space in their systems free while safeguarding 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 benefits for the employer and the employee. Remote workers are often more productive, and they’re less of a drain on the company resources. For instance, you don’t have to have office space and furniture for remote works. And the advantage 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 volume of work they do? How do they know they are really working and not simply playing games on their computer all day long?

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. In the end, employees are the only ones who know when they work most effectively, even if it is from midnight to 4am.

Setting Remote Worker Deadlines

Employers might tell their remote workers that they must turn in a certain amount of work every Wednesday and Friday. This will make sure that remote employees are doing 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 specific tasks. Some employers may choose 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

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