Your Boss Uses Social Media More Than You!
If you log on to your Facebook account while at work, you have now less reason to be apprehensive as researchers have found that top managers are the ones who use private social media most for personal purposes during working hours.
“It is very interesting that top executives, who are negative to private web-surfing during working hours, are the ones who surf the most for private purposes when at work,” said Cecilie Schou Andreassen from University of Bergen (UiB) in Norway.
This can be explained by the fact that top executives have longer working hours, and that work and leisure are much more integrated than it is for employees, the researchers said.
“It is likely that managers are worried about reductions in output and financial loss as a result of use of private social media among their employees,” Schou Andreassen added.
About 11,000 Norwegian employees participated in the study.
Google Offers Unlimited Storage For Businesses
Global search engine Google is offering unlimited storage, advanced audit reporting and new security controls for businesses through its new Drive service at $10 per month, the company said Thursday.
“As businesses want more control, security and visibility to check how files are shared, our new version of ‘Drive for Work’ offers unlimited storage for businesses at a nominal subscription,” the company’s Indian subsidiary said in a statement here.
As a cloud storage service, Google Drive allows users to store documents, photos, videos in one place and access documents to create, share and collaborate from anywhere online.
“Though a workplace is full of files that capture the best ideas and the most productive collaborations, they (files) are not useful if users are unable to access or share them effectively. The new Drive keeps all users’ work safe and makes it easy to share,” the statement noted.
About 190 million users worldwide use Google Drive at home, office, school and work. Global firms such as Crate & Barrel, Seagate and HP (Hewlett Packard) rely on Drive to work faster and collaborate better with their co-workers and customers.
With the new audit view, users can see activity like moving, deleting or sharing a file within or outside the company. The new application (tool) for search and discovery covers all content stored in Drive, including documents, sheets and slides.
“Every year companies create more data, adding megabytes, gigabytes and terabytes. We are taking bytes out of conversation. For $10/user/month, businesses get unlimited storage for their employees and can store files up to 5 TB (terabyte) in size, which no desktop or laptop has a hard drive big enough to store a file of that size,” the statement asserted.
For security, all files uploaded to Drive will be encrypted from a user’s device to the search engine’s platform and between the search engine’s data centres and its servers.
“Editing office files is a click away from Drive on a user’s computer, tablet or phone,a the statement added.
Users will also have access to productivity apps (applications) like documents, sheets, slides, sites and Hangouts, enabling them to collaborate in more ways.
Facebook Photo-Sharing App Slingshot Goes Global
The new photo and video sharing app that Facebook launched in the USfor Android and iOS users recently has now been made available for audiences anywhere, Slingshot announced in a blog post.
“Since we launched last week, we have heard from lots of people around the world who are excited to give Slingshot a try. Starting today, we are expanding our initial launch and making Slingshot available internationally!,” the post read.
The Facebook app that has already created a buzz does not require one to be on Facebook and users can simply sign up for the service with their mobile phone number and connect with friends in their phone’s contact list or Facebook friends, if they so want.
Seen as a move to increase the user involvement in the app, the shot-for-shot feature has, however, faced flak from some users and reviewers.
“The result is you and your friends constantly sharing uninteresting images purely to open each other’s initial pictures. In just a weekend of using Slingshot, I received far more images of blank walls and ceilings than duck faces and lunches,” Smartphone reviewer Brighthand wrote on its website.
“You can find Slingshot in app stores around the world for iPhone (iOS7) and Android (Jelly Bean and KitKat),” the blog post read.
Linkedin Unveils New App For Job Seekers
If you are a job seeker and a LinkedIn user, this app may just be for you.
“Whether you are actively on the hunt for a new gig or just keeping an eye out, this new app comes packed with the core LinkedIn features you have come to rely on to help manage your job search,” the company wrote in a blog post.
The app, called Job Search, promises to keep your search completely private and not shared with your network.
“The app is dedicated to helping members find, research, and apply for jobs on-the-go without the distractions of news, content, and other updates,” a LinkedIn spokesperson was quoted as saying.
The app includes job search filters like seniority level, industry and location, and both searches and individual jobs can be saved for a second look down the road, Mashable reported.
The new Job Search app for iOS is available in theUS only for now and can be downloaded from the Apple app store.
When Whatsapping Becomes A Secret!
Don’t want to let your friends know whether you have read their latest WhatsApp posting – especially ones who get angry soon?
Here is your guide to eliminate those timestamps.
If you are using an Apply iPhone, open the app and go to Settings > Chat settings > Advanced.
There, you can switch off the ‘Last Seen Timestamp’.
On Android smart phones, switch off your phone’s wi-fi and cellular connection, or just put in airplane mode.
Next, open WhatsApp to read, compose and send messages.
Close the app and turn on your phone’s connectivity again.
WhatsApp would sync with its servers and send your messages without time stamps.
Better, use an app not available in the Google Play store called Last Not Seen.
Launch it and you can choose from ‘Block Last Seen’.
You are set to enjoy WhatsApping as much as you want without letting anyone know how often you check messages!
Now, Sand-Based Batteries To Power Your Phone!
Believe it or not, using sand as the key material, researchers have created a lithium ion battery that can outperform the current industry standard by three times.
“This is the holy grail — a low cost, non-toxic, environmentally friendly way to produce high performance lithium ion battery anodes,” said Zachary Favors from University of California, Riverside in the US.
Currently graphite is used in battery anodes, and further improvements on graphite are not viable.
To make better batteries, researchers are focused on nano silicon, the size of a billionth of a metre, as a replacement for graphite. Nanoscale silicon, however, degrades quickly and is difficult to produce in a large quantity.
To get large quantities, Zachary used the most common source of silica, beach sand from a beach at Cedar Creek.
This pure silicate sand was purified, powdered and then ground with salt and magnesium. This mixture was heated to remove oxygen from the quartz, resulting in pure silicon.
The team was fortunate that the pure nano-silicon formed had a porous three-dimensional silicon sponge like consistency.
That porosity has proved to be the key to improving the performance of the batteries built with the nano-silicon.
The improved performance could mean expanding the expected lifespan of silicon-based batteries up to three times or more.
This better battery could power electric vehicles, cell phones or tablets.
The findings appeared in the journal Nature Scientific Reports.
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