The Internet has changed the way we get our news, watch movies, and pay our bills. It’s no surprise, then, that it has also changed the way we listen to music. Today, the web is home to quite a few 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? Here are some suggestions:

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

Grooveshark: Grooveshark is similar to Pandora. But you can also create your own playlists manually, all without creating an account. However, those that want to save their play lists will have to sign up for a free account. Like Pandora, Grooveshark also provides recommendations for songs that you might like based on 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 don’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 mentioned offer a free version, Rhapsody does not. It is $10 a month for unlimited music.

Spotify: Spotify is one of the most widely known music-streaming services out there. After its launch in 2008, it expanded rapidly. Spotify has a simple to use interface. You can listen to entire albums, choose to create a “radio” station based on your tastes, or create playlists that you can share with other Spotify users. This is attractive to individuals who enjoy the nostalgia of making mix tapes. A lot of people love Spotify’s integration with Facebook. By using the Facebook app, Spotify generates a running list of what you are enjoying day by day. You can also see what your Facebook friends are listening too, in real-time.

It’s been a little while since Windows was considered cool but the Kinect may change all that. The Kinect is a voice and motion-sensing device which 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 release in February, people started developing 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 create a virtual tour of the Pathfinder’s improved 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 just what they’d be viewing if they were actually sitting within the completed body of the new Pathfinder. The screen, for instance, displayed the car’s dual moon roofs and several other features.

Microsoft is cooperating with companies to develop applications for the Kinect. This not only encourages ingenuity but it puts the Kinect at the center of many of the most recent innovations. An example of a company that is working closely with Microsoft in this manner is Boeing. Boeing used the Kinect to make virtual tours of its jets. Another example is a healthcare facility in Canada. They are using the Kinect’s gesture-recognition capability to swipe through CT scans. This removes the possibility of getting germs on their hands from a keyboard or mouse.

Kinect: A Solid Hit

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

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

There are lots of people searching for jobs today. However, as an employer, you are not trying to find just anyone. You would like to hire the best, most creative employees to work at your business. You recognize that your company is only as strong as your workers. How do you hire the best people? It all starts with the interview.

Make sure that your interview questions solicit the data that will help you choose the individual with the attributes you want. If you use a cookie cutter approach to the interview, you are likely to get uninspired, 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 responsibilities were, etc. These are not the most beneficial questions as you only end up with information that may be easily read from their resume. This doesn’t help you much if you are looking for specific qualities. Consider asking them how they enhanced their positions, were there any processes that they changed, or ways in which they saved their company money.

Don’t ask candidates about their strengths and weaknesses. Too many people have memorized stock answers to these questions. Rather, ask them how they bring their unique personalities to their jobs. Ask them the things they do to make their jobs more interesting and fulfilling. Truly creative workers are able to tell you of new innovations they developed and new programs that they created, all in the effort of adding that imaginative spark to their positions.

Another method you could use to gauge creativity is to give them a task to execute. Something simple, for instance 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.

Employers have an edge in today’s job market. They can select from among some of the top job seekers available, but to get the best people, employers have to first change the way they carry out their job interviews.

Traveling for business is not fun. We’re frequently rushed, we don’t eat well, and we have to endure the hassle of airports and long-term parking. It is not surprising that many companies opt toward videoconferencing instead of traveling. As videoconferencing technology advances, many people wonder if business traveling could become a thing of the past.

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 because the best ideas normally 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 necessary, 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. Also, there are many distractions within the individual’s office that can make fluid conversation tricky.

The Benefits of Face-to-Face Time

Conversation evolves a lot more easily with in-person interactions. This is healthy, and as far as business is concerned, can be quite valuable. Having an impromptu brainstorming session can bring about ideas that can lead the company down a path that wasn’t previously anticipated. This is not to say that every face-to-face meeting becomes a game-changing brainstorming session. But if a meeting degenerates into story telling, this is an chance for co-workers to strengthen their interpersonal relationships and increase moral.

Business Travel is Here to Stay

While many companies turn toward videoconferencing because of the cost and simplicity of it, it is unlikely that business travel will disappear completely. 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 altogether.

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How many kids grew up awaiting the day when humans would travel the earth with individual jet packs strapped to their backs? How many imagined full meals that come in pill form or teleporters? Those technologies haven’t happened. However, in the last twenty years alone, we’ve 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, why don’t we have teleporters and hovercrafts? What is preventing us from taking these leaps in technology?

Building a Better Battery

As we move into a more mobile world, batteries grow in significance. They are a building block of our technological world nowadays. Consequently, if we are restricted by their power, and capacity to hold a charge, the technology which uses them is also limited. For instance, you wouldn’t want your jet pack to loose its charge in flight. Recently, researchers at Chicago’s Northwestern University found a way to make a much more powerful lithium-ion battery than the ones we have today. We explored this more thoroughly in a blog post last week. When these batteries finally enter the market, we will likely see a boom in technological advancements.

Improving Internet Access

It may seem like most people are linked to the Internet, but this is a fallacy. Most of the world doesn’t have access to the Internet. Although this may not seem like it could hold back technological advancements, it does. The idea is that by limiting the number of people who can contribute to the interconnectedness the Internet provides, we are reducing the amount of people who can collaborate. Until the majority of people are connected, technological developments will not happen as fast as they could.

The Business of New Tech

Last but not least there is the red tape. Business matters, like patent laws, can slow down technological progress. Individuals and businesses that develop revolutionary things have to first traverse these waters. But if government regulations are clear and simple to comprehend, it could eliminate some of this.

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

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Businesses can use Adobe Photoshop to generate professional marketing material easily. It is a very robust program with many features so it’s no surprise that it can cost over $600, depending on the version. Many small business owners don’t want to spend this much, and they don’t require all the features that come with it. However, there are some alternatives to Photoshop that are low-cost or free.

These programs probably won’t contain all the elements that Photoshop boasts, but they have more than enough photo-editing features for the majority of small business owners. Here are three of the highest quality free photo-editing programs available today:

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.

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

A Better Battery on the Way?

Engineers at Chicago’s Northwestern University have been working on advancements in battery technology and may have discovered a way to make batteries charge in minutes and last significantly longer.

Northwestern’s researchers have found a way to increase the charge of lithium-ion batteries by more then 10 times the current lithium-ion battery life. They are 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 currently.

A Charged Battery for a Week

In the end, this new cell phone battery could stay charged for an entire 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 this, this new battery technology could lead to smaller and more efficient batteries for electric cars.  This could therefore, have a dramatic impact on our reliance on fossil fuels.

Batteries Powering Technological Change

The new battery technology isn’t available yet for consumers, however the Northwestern researchers say that it could hit the market in 3 to 5 years. This is a big step. When we look at developments in technology, we often forget about the batteries that power our latest gadgets. Battery limitations 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 might not be the best search engine out there. Microsoft launched Bing, a competitor, in 2009 and it shouldn’t be dismissed. While most 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 you search on Bing, you’ll get more information about your search results than you will get from Google. Bing’s results feature a left-hand navigation panel filled with Quick Tabs that allow users to focus their searches. There’s also a center row of search results which are grouped into logical categories. This makes it easier for users to find multimedia files or quick answers.

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 newest videos. For users searching for a flight out of town, Bing beats Google easily. The search engine incorporates something it calls Farecast Technology in its Bing Travel site. This lets users quickly locate the most affordable airfare to specific destinations.

Bing Video Search Shines

When you are searching for videos, Bing is ahead of the game. Users can specify their desired length, size, and resolution. One other impressive feature is that simply by hovering over a video, you can view a preview of it.

These are just some of the reasons why computer users should not be so quick to dismiss Bing. Yes, Google remains the go-to player with regards to search engines. But that doesn’t mean that it’s the only choice today.

Cloud computing is becoming 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 advantage of using the cloud is that powerful programs and files may be stored at a distant location so they don’t consume memory on personal computers and slow down operating systems.

Not All Clouds are the Same

However; there are different types of clouds. There is the public cloud, the private cloud, and the hybrid cloud. The majority of us use the public cloud, businesses that want to use cloud services to store very private data can choose to use a private cloud, and the hybrid cloud is a combination of the two.

The hybrid cloud typically works like this: A company provides some resources in-house. For instance, it might store current consumer data on its private in-house cloud. It might also store employee records, 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 permits its in-house computers to perform more efficiently.

The Hybrid Cloud Approach Makes Sense

This frees up space on the in-house servers while ensuring that certain information is highly safeguarded. The hybrid cloud is an excellent way to provide businesses with high security cloud services while decreasing costs and saving space.

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 can keep space in their systems free while safeguarding their data.

Thanks to improved technology, an increasing number of employees be capable of carry out 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 from home, the less money companies need to spend. Many companies, for instance, do not have assigned computers and desks for each of their workers as so much of their workforce is working remotely. In addition, employees working remotely are often more productive; they are not wasting time and energy commuting to work every day. And they’re not exchanging office gossip in front of the water cooler when in the office.

Remote Worker Challenges

A major concern for a lot of managers when deciding to have remote workers is, how can you monitor their work? How do you know that they’re actually working and not just watching movies all day?

Employers can deal with this predicament by setting realistic deadlines for their remote employees and expecting these workers to meet them. What should matter for employers is that work is done in timely manner. It shouldn’t matter if workers finish their tasks from midnight to four in the morning.

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 makes sure that remote employees are carrying out 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 certain tasks. Some employers may prefer to require that their remote workers spend at least 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. Individuals who are chronic procrastinators may not perform 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 has to 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.