Be Likeable: Life Will Thank You

No one wants to be the Scrooge of the work place but sometimes circumstances can leave you in that position where you are just plain bitter. If it is the job or your boss, think about moving on. Most of the time we do not realize that people do not like us because of the way we are so we respond to that attitude. Change your attitude first and then your peers might do the same. Consider it trailblazing in your name. You can even come up with a mobile application for it. Empathy is one of the best life skills to have. It means that you do not necessarily has to agree with the other person but be aware of their situation and put yourself in their shoes. This requires a listening ear, find it and quick. Also, be reliable and cultivate that reputation for consistency. This will win many battles for you. If you cannot fulfill part of the responsibilities, let the client know because an unavoidable hiccup is forgivable; blatant misjudgment or deception is not. Lastly, have integrity and do the right thing when no one else is watching, stand up for what you believe in and have the courage to speak up. This does not come overnight but working on it will get you one step closer each day.

Work Life Balance...Or Something Like it

We work in constantly-on type of world. You better be able to answer those emails and internet fax as well as juggle several business application development projects. It seems like there is no time for you. There are several tricks that might help in that department. You can workout at work. Just grab a change of clothes and a jumprope or your bodyweight will suffice. If you are worried about what people in the office will say, just tell them to look up the benefits of exercise in the workplace. If you live and die by your calender and watch, remember to schedule some "me" time so that in the end you are more productive and work harder in the time when you are actually supposed to be working. Lastly, get up early. If you would rather sleep, just hit the snooze button but there are some benefits to starting the day just the way you want to, namely spending time on yourself first thing in the morning before the hectic-ness of the day hits you.

Tattoos for Passwords

On Tuesday, Motorola Mobility released a video showing off its latest smartphone accessory. Not quite a tattoo, in the permanent sense, the item is actually an adhesive bandage equipped with near-field communication technology. According to a post on the company's blog, the average person takes 2.3 seconds to unlock his or her phone. This happens usually 39 times a day. Developers at Motorola apparently believe people find this so tedious and exhausting that they’re willing to wear a sticker that lets them simply tap their phone to their wrist to unlock and access it. The digital tattoos are about the size of a coin and should last five days before they need to be replaced. According to VivaLnk, the company that makes the adhesives, each one can withstand showers and intense workouts without detaching or losing functionality. A pack of 10 replacements can be purchased online for $10. Personally I think we can save ourselves some cash and spend those 2.3 seconds unlocking our phone services.

Car or Bike?

For some, its is not really a choice because the commute is much longer. But what if you could take your bike? I mean it would save you a lot of money on gas (don't get me started on gas prices) and you will be able to get some exercise. There is a key holder called Keymoment. The wall-mounted keyholder has two hooks, one for your bike key, one for your car key. If you grab the bike key, you’re out the door and on your way. If you grab the car key, the machine drops the bike key on the floor, forcing you to stoop down and pick it up. At that point, you have both keys in your hand–effectively giving you a second chance to weigh your options. This type of technology innovation and software development is using inconvenience to call attention to the bigger question at hand. Of course it enables the user to circumvent the mechanism because we do not want to be biking in the rain and sometimes it is just not convenient to take the bike instead of the car.

Retail Shopping

It is going to look a lot different in the coming years. First of all, we can technically live right from our homes without every leaving because anything and everything we need can be ordered online. For those of us who cannot bare the thought of ordering clothes online without trying them on first, there is even news for you. Think of this experience for a second:

Your body is scanned and the data file is private. It's your exact body on that exact day. You put on your VR goggles, and appear in a virtual store. Zero time to get there.You enter YOUR personal clothing store. Everything in this store is your exact size. Everything fits. The store has every designer and every design on the planet. Your friend, who you called a few minutes ago, joins you via their VR headset, and he or she sees everything you see. The experience is social and fun. You voice what you're looking for. You can ask an AI advisor (online and listening) for help. Presto, a fashion show materializes before your very eyes. Every model walking down the runway looks like you and is wearing a different combination of clothing. When you see an outfit you like, you just point and instantly, your virtual self is wearing it. No frustration of getting undressed or dressed. Mirrors all around allow you to see your virtual self from every angle. As you move in real life, your virtual reflection the mirror moves in exact sync. It feels and looks just like you are looking at yourself in the mirror.

This is going past of shopping with mobile applications and things like social media. Do you think that it will catch on and if so, how soon?

Your Moods

Your outlook on life can be changed simply by your posture. You know how you can spot a very confident or shy person just by reading their body language. Well the reverse is true as well. If you try to stand taller and take up more room even when doing a video conference, you will see a change in the attitude towards your surroundings. The same is also true for people that drive large cars, they seem to have more confidence on the road and might be a bit more brash than others. Another factor that affects your moods and outlook is the weather. Everyone loves a sunny day but it can impair your judgement. Nothing can go wrong on those sunny days, right? Well, as it turns out, there are other colors on the spectrum that do freaky things to your brain: Being exposed to green can apparently make you more creative. So much for being in control of your moods despite your surrounding. There needs to be a way to take advantage of these little quirks.

Customized Computing

Does it sometimes seems like the computing these days knows a little too much about you? Is it really possible that we can all be reduced down to an algorithm? That is a rather disturbing thought. The other day when I picked up my phone, it seemed like that my day was planned to the minute. Even the news is very much customized. Your phone is constantly gathering what the app developing ones call signals. These could be your commuting habits, which the phone can glean from its internal GPS, often within a few feet. Your phone could also gather your meetings, your future trips, your friends and family, your favorite sports team, the type of news you usually read and even things like your heart rate. Things really get interesting when the apps that gather these signals start to be predictive. When that happens, your phone can start anticipating your needs, interests and habits and give you relevant information, apps and even coupons and ads.