14 Online Tools That Help Your Team Stay Connected, Productive, and Happy | Life Hack

October 26, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Being able to work remotely, or even build a company that’s remote, is not easy, but it’s possible today. Some of today’s most notable companies, including Basecamp, Buffer, Virgin, and WordPress are building companies with over 100+ employees all around the world. How did they do it?

They found the right ‘tools’. When your team members are living on opposite sides of the continent and in different time-zones, effective tools are vital to your team culture, productivity, and success. We’ve tested hundreds of online tools to maximize how we stay connected, productive, and happy. Here is a list of top 14 online tools that you will find useful for yourself and your team. The first four deal with connectivity while the last four help to make your team happier. The remaining six tolls help to increase your team’s productivity.

Study Shows That Artificial Intelligence Is Very Accurate in Predicting Trial Outcomes | Inc.com

October 26, 2016October 26, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Artificial intelligence robots have already acted like lawyers, helping 160,000 people escape fines from parking tickets. So it was only a matter of time before robots would also step into the role of judge.

As revealed in a study published Monday in the journal PeerJ Computer Science, a team of British and American researchers used an A.I. system to predict the outcomes of human rights trials. Of the 584 cases the system studied, it came to the same conclusion as the judges 79 percent of the time.

The cases dealt with Articles 3, 6, and 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which entail torture, right to a fair trial, and right to privacy, respectively. The texts of judgments from the European Court of Human Rights are neatly broken down into several sections, with one containing the facts of the case, another containing summaries of the parties’ arguments, etc., which makes them great candidates to be studied by machines.

How to Pick a Safe and Secure Money Transfer Service | CoolBusinessIdeas.com

October 26, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

It is now possible to send money to the Philippines in minutes,or to transfer money to other far off locales while sipping coffee in your pajamas. But staying safe and secure while doing so has become an increasing concern. Increasingly, the number of total losses from financial fraud continues to grow. Money transfers are an area where one can easily fall prey to scammers. Therefore, it is vital to choose a money transfer servicewith many safety measures in place.

Here are 5 security elements to look for in a money transfer service:

Can Science Save the Banana? | Live Science

October 25, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The banana is the world’s most popular fruit crop, with over 100 million metric tons produced annually in over 130 tropical and subtropical countries. Edible bananas are the result of a genetic accident in nature that created the seedless fruit we enjoy today. Virtually all the bananas sold across the Western world belong to the so-called Cavendish subgroup of the species and are genetically nearly identical. These bananas are sterile and dependent on propagation via cloning, either by using suckers and cuttings taken from the underground stem or through modern tissue culture.

In a Loud World, Be Bold or Be Lost, from Deloitte Digital | Adweek

October 25, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

It has never been harder for advertisers to keep someone’s attention.

It used to be that all we needed to worry about was a viewer getting up from the boobtube to go to the bathroom or grab a drink. But today’s brands compete against devices that contain a bottomless well of content from around the world. Even the slightest unwanted interruption can encourage them to look away from what we’re saying and toward Facebook. Or Twitter. Or Instagram. Or Snapchat. Or Jyk.

Okay, that last one doesn’t exist, but you freaked out for a second that you hadn’t heard about it, didn’t you? That’s the kind of world we’re living in.

Sunflare’s new ultra-thin solar “wallpaper” can stick to any surface | Inhabitat

October 24, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Imagine being able to tape thin, affordable solar cells anywhere: the top of a trailer, the side of a building, or the roof of your car. Sunflare‘s new solar technology could make that possible.

The Los Angeles-based startup has developed solar cells just a few micrometers thick that “can be secured to any surface with a special double-sided tape,” according to company founder Len Gao. The Los Angeles-based Sunflare team spent 16 years developing their ideal solar cell made with copper, indium, gallium, and selenide. The solar cells are said to be superior to traditional solar technologies in terms of weight and efficiency, generating 10 percent more power and weighing 65 percent more lightweight than other panels. Sunflare’s CIGS solar cells are affordable too, potentially costing as little as $1.07 per watt.

Source: Read More

Happy, Loyal Employees Need to Feel Trusted at Work | Business News Daily

October 24, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

What’s the secret to employee happiness and retention? According to new research, it’s as simple as trusting your team members.

A study from PayScale revealed that the more employees feel like their bosses trust them, the happier they are and the less likely they are to look for a new job.

The research found that 72 percent of workers who are able to act and make decisions on their own said they are satisfied in their jobs. Just 26 percent of employees who aren’t able to anything without being told first said they are similarly happy

This is Nintendo’s next gaming console, the Nintendo Switch | TechCrunch

October 21, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

After over a year of secrecy and wild rumors, here it is: Nintendo’s next home gaming system, the Nintendo Switch (previously codenamed the NX.)

Nintendo released this preview trailer this morning. Though they officially confirmed that they were working on a new console way back in March of 2015, this is the first glimpse they’ve actually released.

As rumored, the system appears to be something of a home console/portable console hybrid. You’ve got a controller that connects to your TV for home use — but slide off the controller’s sides and attach it to the portable display (which also appears to act as the console’s brain), and you’re playing the same title on the go.

Nintendo has been saying for a while that they expected their next console to ship in March 2017, and the end of this video confirms they’re still on track for that timeframe.