We have entered the age of on the go computing. But Google wants to take it a step further. You might have heard of their Project Glass initiative, which many people call Google glasses. These resemble futuristic sci-fi glasses, and take being constantly connected to the next level.

A Computer Above Your Eyes

The famed Google augmented reality glasses allow users to read email messages, access online maps, take pictures, record video, and video chat with friends and family members – all without the use of their hands.

A Stream of Useful Information

These Google glasses are activated using voice commands. Simply by speaking out loud, “where is the nearest bus stop” the glasses will access a map and lead you to your destination.

This video, produced by Google, gives you a glimpse of what wearing these augmented reality glasses might be like. The video shows a man making plans throughout his day, without having to trouble with a hand held device. As he heads to meet a friend the glasses tell him that the subway is suspended then maps out walking directions for him to follow. The video shows that these glasses can act as a personal assistant who stays one step ahead and makes your life run more easily.

An Unobtrusive Technology?

Supposedly Project Glass isn’t designed to bombard users with an unending stream of technology. It’s actually designed to make it easier for them to access the technology they want when they want it. For example, a user may wish to take a picture of his girlfriend standing on a bridge over the Chicago River. As opposed to fumbling around for his camera or smartphone, he just presses a button on his Google glasses to snap the shot.

Another issue that has been brought up is the potential for being bombarded with advertisements. There are a few entertaining spoof videos on YouTube regarding this. Whatever the future of Project Glass may be, one thing is for sure. This technology has a lot of possibilities.

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People and businesses regularly use Gmail these days. This makes sense, as it is easy to use, free, and Google makes good products. If you use Gmail, you are probably not using it to its full potential. Gmail has several tools that make it easy to keep your email well organized. We have outlined a few below and if you need instructions on how to implement these tools, follow the links.

Label your messages: Labeling your emails is an easy way to keep your inbox tidy. This feature lets you add brightly colored labels for specific people or certain topics. For instance, you can create an “Urgent” label and apply it to messages that you must take care of immediately. Or, if you get a lot of email from your friends that you want to read later, you can create a blue label titled “friends.” This will permit you to scan your inbox and more quickly address the messages you need to.

Free up space with archiving: Do you like to keep your inbox clear of emails, but you can’t delete ones you have read because you might need them? Rather than make a bunch of different files you can easily archive old emails. Archiving emails sends them to an “All Mail” folder so they don’t clutter up your inbox but you can easily still access them when needed.

Add a signature: Tired of typing your name, phone number, and email address at the end of each of your Gmail messages? Why not create an email signature? Gmail lets you save signatures that you can then simply drop into the base of your messages. This is a wonderful time saver for anyone who writes dozens of email messages during an average day.

Filter your incoming messages: Gmail also lets you create filters that can automatically label, archive, delete, or forward specific incoming messages. By selecting the “Filter messages like this” option from Gmail’s “More” drop-down menu, you are able to tell Gmail to automatically apply the “Job Search” label to any messages that include the words resume, apply, career or job. You can tell Gmail to automatically send all messages with the words “hotel,” “car rental,” or “reservation” to your Gmail “Vacation” folder.

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a technology that enables people to make phone calls over the Internet. It can be very beneficial for businesses of any size because it is very cost-effective. Businesses that use VoIP can frequently save between 30 and 50 percent on their phone bills.

Many businesses, large and small, are still struggling and are looking to cut costs anyway they can. So, the question is; are businesses embracing VoIP as an obvious way to save money or are they reluctant to get rid of their trusty old landline?

A Move Toward VoIP?

A recent study says that businesses have not turned to VoIP technology as much as you’d think. Nevertheless, the same study also says that this is apparently changing. According to research from Heavy Reading, about 31 percent of installed business lines in North America were VoIP-based in 2011. What’s promising, though, is that Heavy Reading anticipates that this figure will increase to 66.6 percent by 2015. Heavy Reading also anticipates that by 2015 just 33.5 percent of business lines will consist of traditional circuit-switch versions.

Businesses are Switching to VoIP

The study indicates, then, that companies will do a complete flip-flop by 2015. Today, after all, classic circuit-switch phone lines make up 68 percent of business lines in North America. Are these numbers to be believed? Are businesses willing to make such a dramatic shift? Even if you are less optimistic than the researchers at Heavy Reading, it’s difficult to deny that businesses will turn more frequently to VoIP technology in the coming years.

A Bright Future for VoIP and Business

VoIP technology provides voice communication that is as clear and dependable as traditional landlines. Let’s also keep in mind that it can be significantly cheaper. Upper management may be slow to make the move but the great thing about VoIP, is that employees will not have to get used to anything new. Phones work just like they do with a landline. So you if think VoIP is a passing fad, think again.

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Many of us get our entertainment, news, and pay our bills online. So, it’s not a big surprise that we access our music over the Internet as well. Many individuals subscribe to on-line music-streaming services that are either free or cost money. The advantages are many. People don’t have to transfer their music files onto different devices and they can listen to it anywhere they have access to the Internet.

If you are curious as to the differences in these services, we have highlighted a number below.

Pandora: Pandora is very widely used because of its simple user interface. After navigating to the website, you can input a song or artist you want 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 select the thumbs down symbol on the song. Pandora allows for further customization by allowing you to “seed” your station with various artists. While you can listen to Pandora without creating an account, it is crucial if you want to save your personalized stations.

Grooveshark: Grooveshark is a lot like Pandora. But you can also build 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 provides recommendations for songs that you might like based on your past musical selections. Grooveshark also has an interesting feature: You can help build the service’s database of music by adding your own favorite songs and artists if you can’t find them in Grooveshark’s existing collection.

Rhapsody: Rhapsody has remained fairly popular due to 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 one of the most widely known music-streaming services out there. After its release in 2008, it expanded rapidly. Spotify has a user friendly interface. You can enjoy entire albums, decide to create a “radio” station based on your tastes, or create playlists that you can share with other Spotify users. This is attractive to people who enjoy the nostalgia of creating mix tapes. Many people love Spotify’s integration with Facebook. By utilizing the Facebook app, Spotify creates a running list of what you are playing day by day. You can also see what your Facebook friends are listening too, in real-time.

When was the last time we saw a Windows product which captured the essence of “cool”? Before recently it had been a while, but when Microsoft created the Kinect for Windows that all changed. The Kinect is a motion and voice-sensing device that was initially developed for the Xbox gaming console.

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

Innovative Uses for the Kinect

Earlier this year the Chief Marketing Manager for Nissan North America created a virtual tour of the Pathfinder’s interior at the Chicago Auto Show. The only thing that was actually displayed was the outer shell of the Pathfinder, but participants could see the improved interior on a large screen using the Kinect.

Microsoft is cooperating with companies to produce applications for the Kinect. This not only motivates ingenuity but it puts the Kinect at the center of some 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 medical facility in Canada. They’re using the Kinect’s gesture-recognition capability to swipe through CT scans. This eliminates the possibility of getting germs on their hands from a keyboard or mouse.

Kinect: A Solid Hit

When Microsoft came up with the Kinect for Windows they hit a home run. Last year the Xbox 360 was the best selling video game console. In fact, since November 2010, more then 18 million Kinect devices have been sold. This is definitely changing the way that the consumer views Microsoft products.

The Kinect has numerous uses outside of what it was originally developed for. Microsoft actually developed something which is not only useful, but viewed as cool. This change in attitude toward Microsoft could help the company in lots of ways.

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These days, whenever you post an open position on the Internet, hundreds of people respond. 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 enthusiastic people? Since the interview is in essence all you can go on, your interview questions are essential.

If you hold the conventional job interview, asking the same boring questions, the odds are you won’t be able to tell the top applicants from the so-so ones. That’s why it’s important to craft a unique job interview strategy.

Ask the Right Questions

Rather then asking people what their past 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 save money, if so, how?

One of the most typical things to ask a candidate concerns their strengths and weaknesses. Avoid asking them to list these; almost everyone has 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 answers you get to these types of questions will help you gauge the actual ingenuity of the person you are interviewing.

Another simple way to measure 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 brief essay about their ideal work environment. Whatever it is, it is something your interviewee will not expect and it will give you a snapshot of their creativity.

Today’s job market is such that it’s probable that many skilled 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.

Traveling for business is not fun. We’re typically rushed, we don’t eat well, and we have to endure the hassle of airports and long-term parking. It is not surprising that numerous companies opt toward videoconferencing rather then 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 a thing that we ought to strive for in business? Is it a good thing if videoconferencing replaces face-to-face meetings completely? Perhaps not, think about the differences between meetings that are face-to-face versus videoconferencing.

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

The Benefits of Face-to-Face Time

At in-person meetings, however, agendas have a way of falling by the wayside, and that’s a good thing. Meetings may start only after a couple of minutes of personal chatter and they might end with attendees swapping 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

Yes, business travel is an inconvenience and videoconferencing is a convenience. However, there are times when meeting face-to-face is the best option for generating the most imaginative business solutions. Because of this, don’t expect savvy business executives to ever completely replace business travel with videoconferencing.

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

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

Building a Better Battery

As we move into a more mobile world, batteries grow in importance. They are a foundation of our technological world nowadays. Thus, if we are limited by their power, and capability to hold a charge, the technology that utilizes them is also limited. For example, you wouldn’t want your jet pack to loose its charge in flight. Recently, researchers at Chicago’s Northwestern University discovered 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 hit the market, we will likely notice a increase in technological advancements.

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 use of high-speed wireless Internet, but this is largely 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 greater the possibilities are of reaching the next tech breakthrough.

The Business of New Tech

Finally, there’s the business end of things. Technological progress is stunted by arcane things such as patent law. Businesses take their time releasing new gadgets and services because they must first traverse a minefield of laws and government regulations. These laws are essential. However, they should be clear and easy to grasp so new technology isn’t bottled up needlessly.

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

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Adobe Photoshop is an incredible tool. It lets organizations edit the images they need to produce professional-looking brochures, pamphlets, and marketing materials. The problem is that Photoshop is far from inexpensive. A quick online scan will show that newer versions of this image-editing program can run higher then $600. For small business owners on a budget, this program isn’t feasible. This doesn’t mean, however, that these small business owners don’t have photo-editing options. In fact, businesses can choose from a number of alternatives that are not only cheaper but are actually free.

These alternatives are not quite as dynamic as Photoshop but they provide enough of the elements to be useful to the small business owner. Here is a list of three that make photo-manipulation easy, without straining the wallet.

GIMP

GIMP, which stands for GNU image manipulation program, is the choice of many a cost-conscious designer. That is because this free program contains many of the most important features 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’s 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 full of 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 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.

Business owners needn’t let Photoshop’s high price keep them from inserting professionally edited photos into their marketing materials. With only a little bit of online hunting, even the most frugal of business owners will find the perfect alternative.