Texting...The New Evil

Today, in news that will make you feel bad about your existence: Texting and tinkering with mobile devices, not to mention perfecting that Candy Crush score or playing on some other mobile application, for extended periods of time could make you die sooner, the doctors of the world say. As The Telegraph reports, the hunchback pose that people adopt while staring down at their devices is known to increase the risk of an early death in the elderly. Chiropractors are concerned that younger people—who spend between one and two hours on their phones a day—could be shaving years off their lives. The United Chiropractic Association say that Gollum-like posture can be just as threatening a health risk as obesity, citing studies that bad posture in older people is linked with a disease called hyperkyphosis. Colloquially known as “dowager’s hump,” this condition is often associated with heart problems. Apparently older folk with even the slightest hump are 1.4 times more likely to die than those without.

The Web Turns 25

Do you remember the first time you logged on? What was it like? We have been connected for years and the past 25 have gone by really fast. It is just hard to imagine a world before application and software development took center stage. With such a date, it is hard not to think about where the internet is headed these days. Some people are actually speculating that it might come crashing down among all the hacking and legal disputes. Although that is not likely, it is an extreme to think about that could one day be true. About two fifths of the world's population uses the internet. It goes a long way to show you how hungry man has been for information, I think it is somehow ingrained in us. Could you imagine being alive during the earlier parts of recorded history, where what was recorded was carefully constructed and informed to the masses (when they were even informed). With all this information being available, it gives humans the freedom to think critically.

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.