Happy Birthday to the Segway

What do you think of when you hear the name Segway? If you’re like many out there, “tech failure” pops into your head. Dean Kamen’s invention of the Segway PT scooter was speculated to revolutionize personal transportation. The Segway was meant to usher in a new era of errand running and puttering around town.

That hasn't happened. However, Segways are still around. In fact, Segway celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2011, and it's not completely uncommon to see the devices zipping along downtown sidewalks. That's a rather amazing feat for a tech "failure."

How do they work though? Below we’ll examine the tech powering the Segway.

Powering the Segway


Each Segway PT is powered by electric motors which are, in turn, fueled by phosphate-based lithium-ion batteries. Segway owners can charge these batteries by plugging their Segways into common household electrical sockets. The device doesn't fall over thanks to its two computers loaded with proprietary software, pair of tilt sensors, and five gyroscopic sensors.

Making the Segway Move

Users play a role in making the Segway work too. When riders need to go forward, they move a control bar away from themselves. When they want to move backwards, they move the same control bar closer to their body. The Segway notices a change in its balance point and adjusts the velocity to keep its riders balanced.  To steer, riders tilt a handlebar in the direction in which they want to move. Today's Segway PT can move up to 12.5 miles an hour. It functions best, obviously, in communities that feature lots of sidewalks and other areas where the Segway can properly motor.

Lowered Expectations

Experts touted that the Segway would become a bigger deal that Internet. Clearly the device did not live up to that level of hype!

Of course, we all know what happened. The Segway looked odd, and people looked strange riding it. Which was enough to prevent the Segway from taking off as its promoters anticipated.

Manage Projects with Ease

The the probability is good that you, as a small business owner, are juggling many projects at once, and the chances are equally high in this era of virtual workers that several freelancers and consultants spread throughout the country are working on these projects. It can be challenging to monitor the progress of these projects, and it can be equally tricky to assign new tasks, share important documents, and request updates from these far-flung workers.

Project management solutions

Luckily, for small businesses, there are quite a few project management solutions.  These tools will provide assistance to keep projects on track, and employees and clients connected. Here are a few of the top rated project management tools available:

Basecamp

This well-known project management tool has gained popularity as it is just one tool that allows businesses to manage projects, assign tasks, communicate with employees, and more. It’s truly a one-stop shop! It even allows clients to observe and comment on their project. In addition to schedule meetings and calendar events, which ensures you keep all relevant parties on the same page.

Quickbase

From the makers of Inuit, Quickbase is pretty comparable to Basecamp with its ability to serve both large and small businesses. It provides a simple and easy to use interface.

Huddle

Huddle offers more opportunities for those businesses trying to find a more creative tool.  It is renowned for its live-conferencing feature.  Huddle assists in keeping your creative team in touch at the click of a button.

Deskaway

Deskaway permits you to keep clients and employees up to date by using snapshots of a project’s progression. It has the functionality to create and post blogs determined by individual projects as well as keep in touch about important updates easily.

Project management tools are consistently getting updates and new options are becoming available.  Each of these project management tools can give you ways to strengthen your business’ ability to maintain organization and create a great experience for your clients. Keep your eye out for the tool that will best suit your business’ needs.

The Paperless Office: Fact or Fiction?

We've been hearing about the paperless office for what seems like years now, yet most office buildings today still depend upon fax machines, copiers, and forests worth of paper documents. Is the paperless office just like the personal jet pack? Long promised but never delivered? The simple answer? No. The world is still moving toward paperless offices. It's just taking longer than some would like.

The advantages of paper

As great as it would be to have everything in digital format, paper remains useful. The main reason it’s still around is that paper is portable. You can easily scribble a note and slip it into your pocket. Even the most eco-friendly offices still find uses for paper. If you’re an editor, you know how hard it is to edit a digital copy. A lot of people prefer to proofread important documents in hard-copy format. Frequently it's easier to spot errors when the file is printed out.  

Less paper than ever


Most offices today rely less on paper than they ever have, and that's no myth. Employees do the majority of their writing with word-processing programs. Rather than sending written notes to one another, they send communications through e-mail and instant messages. Marketing campaigns are created and stored on computers. Meeting notes are typed in tablets. Meeting agendas are written not on sticky notes but on smart phones. Just think of how far offices have come in just the last decade. Paper, though not obsolete, is no longer king.

The future


Clearly the future of the office is using less and less paper, but will it ever be truly paperless? Will notepads and sticky notes go the way of the milkman? Possibly. Let’s look at the milkman: some still prefer to have their milk hand-delivered to their homes, but the majority of us just pop out to the store and pick some up when we want it.

Paper will likely end up exactly the same. As we turn to business solutions such as the cloud, smartphones, and computers for invoicing, writing and spreadsheets, there will always be people that prefer the physical  feel of pen and paper.

Lesser-Known iPhone Tricks

iPhones do a lot more than make calls! We can easily stream movies and TV shows, update our social sites, and listen to music. They can even give us direction to places we wish to go. It appears as though the only thing they can’t do is the dishes. There is a lot you know your iPhone can do, but we wanted to share some timesaving tricks you may have been unaware of.

Saving Time

Say you need to type a quick email or report and you'd rather not rely on the fairly small on-screen keyboard that makes it very easy to type an "F" when you intended to hit the "D." The editors at Macworld, in a recent online feature, have a suggestion: If you're browsing in Safari—before tapping on the address bar, an action that immediately brings up your on-screen keyboard—rotate your iPhone to a horizontal position. If you tap the address bar now, your on-screen keyboard will also appear in horizontal mode. It will be larger, making it simpler for people with sluggish fingers to tap out those emails without filling them with typos. The editors at Macworld also offer a timesaving tip for making phone calls. If you're browsing in Safari and you happen upon the phone number of that hotel at which you need to make a reservation, just tap the onscreen number. Your iPhone will automatically dial it for you.

More Efficient Typing

Apple itself offers several tips for getting more out of your iPhone. If you are typing with the on-screen keyboard, try tapping the space bar twice at the end of a sentence. Your iPhone will instantly include a period and then capitalize the next word you type. If you wish to spice up your message with special characters, just touch and hold a letter for a couple of seconds. As you do this, an array of special characters will show up. You can then easily insert these symbols into your message.


Quick Printing, Personalized Entertainment


If you own an AirPrint-enabled printer, you can print documents, emails, as well as Web pages from your iPhone. To print an email message, tap the Reply icon and then select “Print” and your phone will send the message to your printer. For a Web page, touch the “Action” icon and select “Print.”

For you music lovers out there, you may create a music playlist on the go. Access the iPod app, tap the “Playlists” icon select the “Add Playlist” icon. Relabel your playlist and add any video or song on your phone by merely touching it.

Touchscreen Technology: How does it Work?

It's something we already take for granted: when we touch an icon on the screens of our electronic devices, we expect something to happen. And not just anything, either; we anticipate our gadgets to do exactly what we'd like it to do, when we want it done, and all at the touch of a fingertip. It was not too far back that touchscreen technology was a source of wonder. Nowadays, touchscreen technology is a given for most of the latest gizmos—everything from tablet computers to GPS units.

But how do touchscreens work? What's the technology behind them? Because there are various sorts of touchscreen the answer isn’t that simple. Here we will explain just a few.

Resistive touchscreens

This is the most common form of touchscreen technology. Resistive touchscreens are coated with an electrically conductive layer. Your fingertip changes the electrical current when you touch it. This delivers a message to the device’s controller telling it what action you need to perform. This technology is more affordable than other touchscreen technologies and also less sensitive.

Surface wave touchscreen

This kind of touchscreen is popular as well. It relies on ultrasonic waves that pass over the touchscreen. When you touch the panel, you essentially alter the wave. Depending on how and where it is changed, specific information is given to the device's controller to relay what action to preform.

Capacitive touchscreens

Capacitive touchscreens most often have the sharpest image quality. Devices using this technology are coated with a material that sends an electrical current across the screen. As the human body is electrical, whenever you touch the screen, you absorb some of the electric current which disrupts the flow across the device. Just as with the other types of touchscreen, the disruption sends information to the device’s controller. The device then performs the action that you requested, at the touch of a fingertip.

Fortunately, to enjoy touchscreen technology you don’t have to have a deep understanding of it. And you don’t have to be an engineer to realize this technology will become more popular, not less.

Digital Currency in a Digital World

These days it appears as though everything is going digital. Will currency follow suit? It may seem far-fetched to imagine that currency could go completely digital. However, people already rely greatly on credit cards and online auto-payments to pay their bills. Gas stations, parking meters, as well as vending machines take plastic now and many people don’t carry cash any longer. So we might not be that far off from ditching paper money after all.

The Bitcoin revolution?

Some consumers have been using an actual digital currency since 2009, Bitcoin. Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer digital currency that users across the globe can use to purchase products and services. The open-source program behind Bitcoin is considered impossible to hack, so that reduces many security concerns.

Of course, Bitcoin is hardly a worldwide digital currency. For one thing, it is not legal tender. So most retailers, even in the online world, don't accept it, and there's no guarantee that Bitcoin won't simply disappear. Entrepreneurs may produce an alternative digital currency that proves more popular, and consumers could instead flock to that. This could render Bitcoin valueless.

The digital currency model

The advantages to moving away from paper-based currency are numerous. Apart from misplacing a gift card, it is not easy to lose digital currency.  You don’t have to worry (as much) about not having enough funds on you to cover an expense. Digital currency can also be more eco-friendly, since the need to replace damaged or outdated paper currency is removed.

Digital currency may also be more secure. For instance, if your cash-filled wallet is stolen, there is little chance you will get that money back. However, if a person steals a credit card, you can quickly cancel it to protect yourself from further theft and possibly get some of that money back. Likewise if someone were to steal your digital dollars, the digital trail would make it more likely that you could recover your funds.

Holdouts

It’s unlikely the change to an all-digital currency world will be met without a few strong objectors. There are still consumer luddites today that have never opened a line of credit with a credit card company, never used the banking system, and prefer to handle all purchases with cash. The future is always in flux and it will be interesting to see how both sides of the debate form their stance on the issue.

Creative Technology at The Tokyo Motor Show

The 2011 Tokyo Motor Show brought us some interesting and imaginative eco-friendly concept cars. With efficiency in mind, these companies pushed their creativity to the limit. Here are some of the most eccentric designs of 2011.

Volkswagen

Volkswagen

For those of us who like to rock and roll, Volkswagen presented their newest Beetle. They have made friends with Fender to bring a sound system to this car that is ready for the main stage. The system includes a 400W 10-channel amplifier, a subwoofer, and two sets of tweeters, one set in the front and one in the back.


Honda

This tiny electric car is called a “micro-commuter”. It’s only 98.4 inches long, 49.2 wide, and 56.3 tall and has a top speed of 37 mph. Like something from a video game, the driver sits in the center of the front seat operating the automobile with two joysticks. It carries three people and although it has a low max speed, its small size makes it perfect for driving around a dense city.

Daihatsu

Daihatsu brought the FC Sho Case to the table. The fuel cells in this car contain no rare earth metals, which make them cheaper to produce. There are LCD panels on its boxy sides that play relaxing wave patterns. While this is interesting, passengers must step over these high sides to enter the vehicle making this car not very friendly to the elderly or those with injuries.

Toyota and Yamaha

As people look for fuel-efficient ways to get around, we have seen the popularity of mopeds grow in the past years. Toyota partnered with Yamaha to take this one step further with their electric tricycle the EC-Miu. This scooter can be recharged at charging stations used by other electric vehicles and will be embedded with Wi-Fi capabilities. Talk about high-tech.

This year’s concepts at the Tokyo Motor Show were very green focused. Each year the designs unveiled at the show seem to get more imaginative. I can’t wait to see what they bring us next year.

Android Phone Tips

Android smartphones and Apple's iPhones are very different. Android phones are highly customizable. You can change everything from your Android phone's home screen to the way you download apps because Android is open source. The tips below will show you how easy it is to tailor your smartphone to your specific needs.

One-Touch Dialing
We all have people that we call regularly. With Android phones, you can set up one-touch dialing for those people. Simply press your finger on an open space on your screen until a menu opens. Then select the “Shortcuts” option. Chose Direct Dial and select the person you would like to set from your contacts. Now you can call that individual by pressing one button.

Saving Time Searching the Web
Your Android phone can be customized to include your most frequently visited Web sites on the home screen. This is done by pressing and holding the desired site in your browser's bookmarks. A list of options will pop up. Select the “Add Shortcut to Home” option. This will add the Web page to your phone's home page.

Organizing with Folders
Folders allow you to stay organized in your office, so why not on your Android phone? You can create folders for projects you are focusing on or essential documents so that you can easily access them. Doing this is easy! Simply press on a blank space on your phone's screen and when the list of options pops up, choose “Folders.” Then name your newly created folder and drag and drop your documents into it.

Phishing Scams: Tips On How to Save Yourself From Becoming Prey

One of the top cyber crimes, and the most profitable, are phishing scams.  Large corporations such as Sony have been compromised and accounts of these types of cyber crimes are being reported at a high rate.  Phishing scams are just as dangerous to small business owners as they are to large corporations.

The Internet Crime Complaint Center (partners with the FBI) and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C) have reported more than 300,000 cases of online phishing scams and other Internet related crimes.

To give you a better understanding as to why your small business is of great worth to a cyber criminal, let's take a look at what phishing is exactly. 

What is phishing?

Phishing is a serious problem, but the term can be a bit unclear. It is the act of illegally trying to acquire private information such as passwords, credit card account numbers, banking account information, usernames, or social security numbers.  Phishing is accomplished by creating fake logos, email addresses, authentic looking official websites, and phone numbers.  Victims are then under the illusion that it is official business and are compelled to give out their private information, which in turn can be used to steal their identity.  Small businesses often suffer from phishing, as the goal is to gain access to their customer's private information such as credit card account numbers.

Examples of small business phishing scams


There are many models of small business phishing scams.  For example, bogus emails have been sent to thousands of smaller businesses that are highly authentic looking from the IRS and even including the IRS logo.  These emails explain that they must fill out tax forms or W-4 forms and return these forms by fax.  Many business owners trust this information was sent by the IRS and fear that they will be audited if they do not do what the email said was requested of them.

At the official website, IRS.gov, the IRS states that it will not initiate contact through email. So, never click on a link claiming to be from them!

Your company email can be a target

Company emails are easy access for thieves.  They can target an individual by sending him or her an email that looks genuine, however when they open it, it can release a virus or malware infecting the entire network.  The thieves will then have access to employee’s private information and company data.

Phone phishing

Phone phishing refers to fraudulent phone calls where thieves pose as banks and request the victim to “verify” account numbers over the phone in order to steal confidential information.

How to protect your business against phishing


Visiting the Anti-Phishing Work Group will give you wise advice to shield your business against phishing scams and gives you beneficial information on how to avoid becoming a victim. Some of their advice follows, such as:

  • Make sure your employees are aware of what phishing scams are, and are cautious when reading and responding to suspicious emails.  Always err on the side of caution.  Instead of clicking a link, open another browser window and go to the official website.
  • Never give out company financial information such as bank routing numbers to an inquiry made via email.  Your bank does not need you to confirm your account information...they already have that. An email like that even if it has your bank's logo is a fake. Make it a habit to check your accounts regularly for suspicious charges and withdrawals.
  • Make sure every computer used has up-to-date virus and malware protection.  Schedule regular full system scans.  Never download "anti-virus" software from an unknown entity. It's better to stick with trusted brands.

The best way to protect oneself and colleagues from these scams is to be aware of the methods one can use to identify a scam and stay on top of the latest news on the issue.

Business and Telecommuting

Isaac Asimov once said, “The only constant is change.” This is not only true in life, but in business as well. One trend that has changed recently is the popularity of telecommuting. Even though many individuals have differing opinions concerning this, it has not been around long enough, on a big enough scale, to see its true impact on business. Some of the common question business owners ask themselves when deciding if allowing employees to telecommute are, “Will it make the employees more productive, happier, lonelier, disconnected, or more connected? Will telecommuting negatively or positively affect the company culture?” It’s a tough decision, and like most tough decisions, there isn’t one answer that works for everyone.

This study shows there could be wonderful benefits to telecommuting.  Below we’ve laid out some pros and cons:


Pros

  • Telecommuters work longer hours, as they aren’t wasting time travelling.
  • Telecommuting employees are generally less stressed.
  • Telecommuters are happier, as they have more freedom to manage work time with their family lives. Having the freedom to pick up the kids, or work during their prime productiveness time, even if it’s midnight, can be a relief to the traditional structured nine-to-five
  • Telecommuters are often more productive.
  • Telecommuting encourages self-reliance and problem solving, and develops time management skills.
  • Telecommuting also gives employers more freedom to hire skilled individuals minus the cost of moving them across the globe.
  • Telecommuting can save the employee and employer money.

Consthe other side of the coin

  • Telecommuting can lead to burnout and resentment of the company if they work too much.
  • Telecommuters often complain of being isolated and feeling lonely or depressed from lack of socialization.
  • Poor time management skills may lead to a lack of productivity
  • Telecommuting can lead to a break down in communication due to distance.
  • Telecommuting can require a little more time than normal to set up a home office.

At the end of the day, successful telecommuting takes strong time management skills from the employee, strong communication lines between the manager and the employees, and lastly managers must have a strong understanding of the responsibilities of their employees and the time it takes them to complete the tasks. As we move deeper into this technological age, we see that people enjoy independent working more and more. So will telecommuting be the future of business or is it just a trend? What do you think?