Mobility and Employees

When you deploy VoIP for more than just cost savings you get something else - flexibility. This means many things, such as flexibility in location, flexibility in device, and even flexibility in communication method; between text, video, and phone. For example, think about installing a VoIP application on a smartphone, so that when using the Internet, your company’s phone network can be accessed by using the employee’s username and password. Now employees can check in with the office to see who is online, who is on the phone, whether there are any missed calls or awaiting messages. Most importantly, your mobile phone can now reach and be reached by the company’s network because of the communication applications. Once you have access to the network, you can look up co-workers in the directory and ring them right from your mobile. Since you’re calling from the company’s VoIP solution, the recipient’s caller ID will show your desk phone extension, not your mobile phone number. As such, wherever you are, callers just need to use one number to reach you.

Less Comprehension

While the reading of paper books declines, the reading of e-books is skyrocketing. Except for when people are playing Candy Crush or Word With Friends. Since this is just the beginning of the ebook era, people still do not know what types of effects the digital content has on the mind versus the paper versions of the books or textbooks. There is plenty of application development to enhance the learning and understand experience but it seems that people did just fine with paper books and highlighters. There was a recent study done that showed how comprehension goes down when things are read on a screen. Here are some things that you can do to help that. Material you'll need to really know, like school work, office work, fantasy football statistics, etc, stick to reading these things on actual paper. And if you read material on your phone that you're really going to need to know, slow down, pay extra attention & stop driving. Even better? Read the material twice.

Biohacker

Tim Cannon is a software developer from Pittsburgh and one of the developers at Grindhouse Wetware, a firm dedicated to "augmenting humanity using safe, affordable, open source technology," according to the group's website. As they explain it, "Computers are hardware. Apps are software. Humans are wetware." The device Cannon had inserted into his arm is a Circadia 1.0, a battery-powered implant that can record data from Cannon's body and transmit it to his Android mobile device. Some are referring to biohacking as the next wave in evolution. "I think that's the trend, and where we're heading," Cannon sees future refinements as being able to do more than just passively transmit information. "I think that our environment should listen more accurately and more intuitively to what's happening in our body," Cannon told Motherboard. "So if, for example, I've had a stressful day, the Circadia will communicate that to my house and will prepare a nice relaxing atmosphere for when I get home: dim the lights, draw a hot bath."

Ads in Gmail

Google is currently rolling out a new version of Gmail for Android, claiming that it’s all about aesthetic improvements and minor interface tweaks. But Android Police dove into the code and found several references to ads, which until now have only been found on the desktop version of Gmail. It’s unclear what the ads would look like, or when they would actually show up, though the code does hint at a way for users to save ads they like as messages within their inboxes. I am not quite sure what the application developers were thinking at the time because having ads is obnoxious to begin with. Having them while you are trying to read through emails is just downright frustrating. The idea that Google would try to make money from Gmail’s mobile apps isn’t surprising, but with limited screen real estate, the risk of overly intrusive ads is higher. Hopefully Google can figure out how to implement ads without enraging its users.

HR: Where is the H in it?

If you are in the market for a job, you know what I am talking about. This is past the horrible experience that you have with phone service interviews. According to the Society for Human Resource Management (or SHRM) website, an HR generalist role typically includes things like creating policies and procedures; maintaining regulatory compliance, and; the administration of payroll, benefits and employee records. When you boil it down, the bulk of work that falls into HR is aimed at keeping your current, former and prospective employees from suing the company. Said differently, HR is all about risk reduction. And somebody please explain to me what the hell a "career pathing program" is. I'm not diminishing the importance of this work. A mature business must do all of these things well. Just like a mature business needs to maintain accurate and organized accounting records. But the skills and mindset of someone who thinks all day long about creating and following rules does not fit the mindset required to succeed in recruitin. The sad truth is that the "H" in HR has been missing for some time. In fact companies are nothing more than a collection of people organized around a shared set of strategies, principles, products and customers. Not processes.

Extending Deadlines

If deadlines are extended, the consequences are usually not in the most favorable condition. One of the reasons as to why extending deadlines does not equal better work is that we lose motivation to work on the project or issue. Whenever you push back a deadline, you are increasing the distance once again between you and the finish line. Now more urgent goals will loom large and your original goal will languish in the back of your mind. Another issue that arises is that we tend to procrastinate which means that the deadline extension would in effect be utterly useless. If that software development project would have another deadline, most of us would stop working as hard on it and end up finishing at the very end anyway. Also, we are terrible judges of how long things will take. First, we routinely fail to consider our own past experiences while planning. As any professor can tell you, most college seniors, after four straight years of paper-writing, still can't seem to figure out how long it will take them to write a 10-page paper. The solutions? Set smaller deadlines and spell out what you have to do and how long you think it will take.

Paperless Office

For decades now, commentators have been calling for the death of paper. A Businessweek article from 1975 proclaimed that, by 1990, nearly all business records would be strictly electronic. And yet, 38 years later, printing remains big business. There have been some major changes as far as paper use goes. Part of that is thanks to internet faxing services as well as email, not to mention mobile technology. The widespread adoption of tablets, and other ultra-portable computers like Ultrabooks may be fueling the shift. Although email is nothing new, the ability to pull up electronic documents on a computer that weighs less than a pound and easily fits in a briefcase, is. Moreover, the increasing popularity of cloud storage solutions like Google Drive and Dropbox make sharing electronic files easier than ever before.

Future of the Internet

What will it mean for the world and the economy if millions more people will have access to the internet? Jared Cohen had recently co-authored a book that talks about the impacts of the digital age. One of the biggest things that he stressed was that there should not be as big of a debate about whether technology and application development is good or bad but how it will affect the world because the fact that millions of people are going to be connecting to the internet is not going to change anytime soon. Another part of the discussion is that there will be no delete button and parents need to talk to their kids and start early about the importance of online privacy and security. Greatly put but the author, "technology will make revolutions start happening faster, but it'll make them harder to finish. Technology can't create leaders and cause institutions to appear." Just something to mull over as you are browsing the web.

Technology Changing the World

Obviously, this goes without saying but technology is tackling some of the biggest problems and diseases that have plagued the world, especially in third world countries. Today, cell phone usage in Africa is commonplace, with more than 10.7 million mobile phones in Senegal alone. Mobile technologies and other communication services are empowering those who were once isolated and transforming the ways they communicate. While 75 percent of the world has access to a mobile phone, smartphones make up only 15 percent of the global market. biNu is a platform that allows those with feature phones to have a smartphone-like experience through cloud-based apps and services, providing them with immediate access to email, news, books, health information and social features. That means the world's information library is available through not only smartphones, but also conventional mobile phones. Children are able to read books they could not afford and have access to educational information they otherwise would not. Access to information is also giving people the means to have more control over their circumstances.

Feature Phone Sales Dropping

For the first time feature phone sales are not outpacing the smartphones. In the second quarter of 2013, approximately 225 million smartphones were sold worldwide – an increase of 46.5% over sales figures for Q2 2012. Sales of dumbphones, meanwhile, slumped 21% to 210 million. Much of the smartphone growth comes from overseas – the Asia Pacific region, to be specific. Another piece of interesting news in the Gartner report: Four out of every five smartphones in the world now run a version of the Android operating system. This is likely because Apple phones are indicators of wealth – less-affluent people worldwide simply can’t afford to pay $650 for an iPhone when Android phones sell at a fraction of the price. What type of OS and phone services do you have? I always thought that I never needed a smartphone but then I ended up getting one because of the great deal that was offered. Now I really do not know what I would do without it. Though I do have to admit that I spend too much time on games and internet phone services.

Cable and Phones

Most people have cable and that cable is most likely bundled with phone services and probably internet as well. As far as being able to understand the billing and the changes from month to month, you almost need a degree in billing which in itself is another language. As of late, the cable prices have been outrageous and continue to increase. Those price hikes are at the core of a recent slew of major disputes between cable companies and broadcasters. Consumers have to be able to draw the line somewhere, especially when the cable bill is about $270 a month on average. Cable is really the perfect lightning rod for consumer dissatisfaction. It's the biggest part of your bill and the most consistent rate increase. Plus it's tougher to replace your cell phone or Internet provider than it is to find an alternative for pay-TV, which faces a long list of semi-competitors: Netflix, Hulu, Amazon and many more. Are you one of those dissatisfied customers ready to cut the cord.

Personalities

Have you ever been quick to judge someone as a certain personality and then realize how utterly wrong you were? Of course you have. We have all been there. This is why it is important to take into account all kinda of characteristics before making the leap to trusting or relying on them. Partners are supposed to be professional. If you need some help spotting these people, here are some pointers. First of all, you can have your laid back person and it always seems like there is an excessive amount of them. So yes, not all of them are truly so called laid back. Truth is that most of these people have some form of panic disorder and the reality of existing in certain situations becomes insurmountable without some chemical help. They have issues using phone services let alone face to face interactions. In short, they are far from laid back. Anyone who has ever worked in an office knows there are certain people who believe having absolutely no sense of humor makes them appear smart, more serious, and good at that job. Unfortunately, it is quite the opposite.

Business Texting

In the quiet ages, people in business would communicate using phone services with hardware at the office. These days, anybody can be a chatterbox anywhere and at any time. So why not small businesses too? RingCentral, Inc. is a leading cloud business phone system provider. Their solution lives on a cloud, with the core technology infrastructure and global network located in multiple secure data centers. They have just announced yet another feature - beginning in 2013, SMBs can connect with their customers with real time messaging. This is the industry’s first SMS for business phone systems. The feature will allow employees to call, fax and now text from their business number, on either iPhone or Android handsets. Americans 18-29 average nearly 88 text messages per day, compared to only 17 phone calls - the way we communicate, the way we do business is changing. Would you send a business text, or is that pushing it and not very professional?

Facebook Etiquette

With pretty much everyone on Facebook, we use it connect with people and share information. Sometimes, people make blunders on the website but unlike a social mistake made at the dinner table, it can be remembered forever. One of the first and foremost things to remember is to keep private conversations private. No one wants to hear any of your business and if the wrong people do hear something, there are consequences. Losing a job or family are some of them. There are other communication services that can be used for your conversations. Another problem that is related to the issue of sharing is spamming and sharing too much. No one likes spam in any medium, but to the person doing the posting, it might seem more like sharing something they love instead of spamming. And that makes this problem all too common: everyone on Facebook has at least one friend who’s always posting repetitive, uninteresting content. Lastly, there is something called a spellchecker. Use it.

More Women in Tech

Did you ever notice that most of the people that are in technology and computer science are mostly men? Of course you did, because it seems as though CEOs such as Meg Whitman and Marissa Mayer get much more publicity than if they were male. Google is getting more women to participate and make careers in male dominated technology fields. Some of the ways the Google is trying to close the gender gap is by getting younger women excited about technology fields and giving them the confidence they need to succeed in it. Google has worked to shine a spotlight on the accomplished women working in technology now, as well as the women who have done important work in the field throughout history. It's not just a matter of reaching out to young people. Women are getting into computer science later in life as returning professionals. And going back to college isn't the only way to learn programming or app development. Anyone can take classes on sites like Khan Academy, Codecademy and Coursera.

RingCentral Growing Bigger

One of the biggest partners of AB Soft is the IP telephony company, RingCentral. They offer some of the best deals on hosted internet phone services. One of the biggest advantages to the VoIP system is that it gives the business a professional online presence as well as improved communication and mobility. If you were to go with this internet phone company, you will be sure to have the best mobile application development behind the apps for the VoIP service. Another great feature that is offered is call forwarding which enables the employee to never miss another call and always stay in contact with the business. It is important to be available to stay ahead of the game. AB Soft will be able to tailor the applications to the needs and goals of any business. The apps are as unique as the business and help with efficiency and productivity. The new mobility will also enable the business to grow and thrive in the global market because more people will be able to work in the field.

VoIP Gadgets and Other Tech

IP telephony is not just an internet phone, it is a whole system that incorporates software, mobile application development, and a slew of gadgets and devices. A rather unique VoIP-related gadget is the Advanced Network Devices (AND) IP Clock, a Power over Ethernet synchronized clock, intercom, scrolling text display, two-way voice communicator and flashing strobe light system. It connects to your existing data, paging and notification network. The price tag is a bit on the hefty side, but for someone with expendable cash and a penchant for a clock that does just a little bit more, it’s quite a different twist to the traditional tried and true VoIP gadgets. When it comes to routers for internet phone services, you need to make sure that it is dependable and with a providers that offer 24/7 support and customer service. VoIP or IP phones come with many features built right in, such as conferencing facilities, call waiting, call forwarding, call transfer and caller ID. Using a VoIP phone allows you to make calls just using your computer microphone and speakers or headphones without anything too complicated or extravagant. The number of phone users in your office is one important consideration when it comes to deploying business VoIP. If you use IP phones, you can have more extensions than you can with only analog phones. Since IP phones plug into the LAN the same way your computer does, you don't need to run phone wires to each workstation at all.

Internet Phone Services with Apps

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) has long been the communication platform of choice for businesses looking to cut costs. But many companies are now examining new ways of connecting their remote employees to a VoIP system using iPhones, Android or BlackBerry devices. From home-based contact center agents to in-the-field salespeople, these workers need fast, secure and reliable access to a VoIP network in order to improve communications and drive revenue.AB Soft has been partnering with internet phone companies such as RingCentral to bring the small business owner exactly what they are looking for when it comes to communications. Being able to communicate with employees and clients is at the heart of the business and absolutely crucial to be successful and grow. Since more and more people are using smartphones, it seems like it would be a natural next step to use applications for VoIP services.