Departments Career Watch Don Tennant The former Computerworld editor in chief and co-author of the New York Times bestseller Spy the Lie discusses the art of detecting lying. How good is the average person at detecting lies? Not very good at all, and there are a lot of reasons for that. For starters, we have a natural inclination to want to believe each other, because branding someone as a liar is pretty heavy stuff. Another obstacle is that we all have biases that have a huge impact on whether or not we believe people. You can't magically get rid of your biases when you speak with someone, but the methodology we present in the book enables you to manage them so you don't have to think about them in a deception-detection encounter. And there are a lot of behavioral myths that people tend to rely on when they try to distinguish truthfulness from deception. For example, it seems to be almost universally accepted that poor eye contact is an indicator of deception. But the fact is, eye contact is a very individualistic behavior that makes it very unreliable as a deceptive indicator. How can we be better at spotting when someone is lying? By adopting a systematic approach that takes the guesswork out of the equation and filters out extraneous information so you don't have to process it. That includes ignoring truthful behavior. It seems rather paradoxical that you need to ignore truthfulness in order to uncover the truth, but it's an essential element of our methodology, which is a stimulus/response approach that has its roots in the polygraph experience. A polygraph detects physiological responses to a stimulus, the stimulus being a yes-or-no question. Our methodology examines verbal and nonverbal indicators exhibited in timely, direct response to a question. That way, you're able to prevent yourself from being influenced by information that may well be truthful but doesn't directly respond to the question. It also enables you to filter out what are called “global” behaviors, like body positioning and general nervous tension, the cause of which you can only guess at. How should techniques like watching for “tells” be employed in the workplace? With the understanding that nothing in our book, or any other book, will make you a human lie detector, because there's no such thing. When you employ our methodology to spot deceptive behaviors in a situation where you're, say, interviewing a job candidate, speaking with an employee about unacceptable behavior or listening to the boss talk about the organization's financial performance at a company meeting, if you spot deceptive behavior, think of it as a heads up that the situation warrants further attention, rather than as a “Book him, Danno” moment. Could someone read your book and erase all the tells from their conversational schtick? Nope. The methodology we're sharing can make you a whole lot better at detecting deception, but it doesn't make you any better at all at executing deception. As we explain in the book, you can certainly identify ways to try to avoid waving a red flag. But in any given encounter, there is so much conflicting information to process, and so many behavioral elements to consider, that your brain simply can't keep track of them all. You may be able to avoid exhibiting one deceptive behavior, but others will trip you up every time. We've found that our brains tend to do what they do, and we just follow along. — JAMIE ECKLE
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Mobile platforms working across multiple devices
Cover Story A VIRTUAL DESKTOP IN THE CLOUD BY BILL CLAYBROOK Developing mobile applications for the cloud can be tricky work. here's how to choose a platform and decide if your back-end systems are up to the task. What's expanding at the same blistering pace as your company's mobile workforce? How about the demands those users are making for a software experience that rivals the one they get on a desktop? For many companies, a private cloud is the answer. But if you decide to power your mobile workers centrally with a private cloud, your mobile applications need to be developed with that infrastructure in mind. Several factors are in play here, especially if you want applications that can work on all mobile devices, desktops and notebooks. What is required to get existing applications to work with mobile devices when the apps are running remotely on a cloud? How do you resolve the problem of fitting data from an application designed for the desktop onto the smaller mobile device screen? Should you develop for mobile devices first, and port to desktops and laptops later? Tony Iams, an analyst at Ideas International, an IT research firm, says it's important to determine what part of the application's state — the code and/or the data itself — is being moved up to the cloud from the mobile device. “Moving state to the cloud gives you back- end manageability benefits because you do not have to maintain that state on the mobile device,” he says. In other words, all changes or application updates are made centrally. Mobile cloud computing means that the processing of applications — and the storage and retrieval of data — is performed by a cloud- based infrastructure. It results in a total cost of ownership savings because IT staffers don't need to update individual devices — the client software environment is running on a server in the cloud, and changes made there show up on every client. From the user's point of view, there is a convenience benefit, too, because you can now get to your desktop — a virtual desktop in the cloud — no matter where you are, through a browser on a mobile device. “You always have the same desktop environment no matter what remote device you are using,” says Iams. Because there are different types of users and different types of devices, you have to be ready to support multiple versions of your apps. This means being prepared to support different screen sizes and devices made by multiple manufacturers. Get a mobile platform One way to ease the task of providing application support for multiple types of remote devices is with a mobile platform, says Jeff Deacon, director of corporate strategy at Verizon Business. A mobile platform is the software between the mobile device and the app and the data. It runs on the cloud and does some tasks specifically for mobile devices, such as converting data into a user-friendly format and making sure everything fits well on the screen. It also has an authentication mechanism that reaches all the way to the device, so the device can be wiped remotely if it is lost or stolen. With a mobile platform, back-office applications are isolated from unauthorized users who might back into the applications via Multiprotocol Label Switching. The platform secures the mobile device and then does the conversion. These mobile platforms are more formally called mobile enterprise application platforms (MEAP). They allow you to deploy mobile apps across a variety of devices without having to implement an app for a specific device. They also allow you to selectively run applications natively on the device in cases where it's important to take advantage of key features of the device or when it would be difficult to emulate native functionality on a server in the cloud. This is one of the directions that the market is moving toward, but MEAP tools are in the early adoption stage and most enterprises still don't know much about them. Deacon says Verizon uses a multitenant system, the Sybase Unwired Platform, to reduce the complexity of developing mobile apps and deploying them across a variety of devices and back-end enterprise servers. Other MEAP or MEAP-like platforms include WebMobi, AMPchroma from Antenna Software, Agentry Mobile Platform from Syclo and Appcelerator Titanium. Mobile apps come in one of two forms: those native to a specific device, and those accessed through a browser (also known as mobile Web apps). A mobile Web app is usually built with HTML (today this would be with HTML5), Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and JavaScript. Style sheets provide the look and formatting for documents written in a markup language such as HTML5. A native mobile app, on the other hand, is built specifically for a particular device and its operating system. Mobile Web apps have an advantage over native mobile apps because they offer cross-platform compatibility; on the downside, mobile Web apps aren't always able to take advantage of the latest technology on a specific device. Kamesh Pemmaraju, an analyst at Sand Hill Group, says that in addition to MEAPs, hybrid approaches that make use of HTML5 are emerging as away to develop mobile applications with cross-platform capabilities. Hybrid application development blends the native and mobile Web app approaches. With a hybrid mobile app, most of the user interface — or even the entire thing — is in a browser window with a native app wrapped around it to provide access to native device features not available with the browser. To a user, a hybrid app looks like a native app. But to developers, there's a big difference. Rather than rewriting the entire mobile app for each mobile device, some of the code is written in HTML5, CSS and JavaScript and then reused across different devices. Dealing with Speed and Access One of the downsides of the mobile cloud model is that users can experience latency and intermittent access problems when they try to use applications that reside in the cloud, says Deacon. But this isn't a big problem for many of the applications that businesspeople use in the field. The applications that experience latency problems are usually ones that involve voice and video; they aren't the typical enterprise tools that are designed for reading email or querying databases. “While latency and intermittent access may be bothersome, it is not that big of a deal for many users,” Deacon says. Eric Miller, senior vice president of IT and CIO at Erie Insurance, has had some problems with intermittent access in corporate mobile applications, primarily those used by claims adjusters. For example, one application collects information in the field and executes store and forward routines, but that process can be interrupted if the connection is lost. “We have to be able to interact, and have good functionality and almost seamless interconnectivity once connected,” Miller says. HTML5 can help with intermittent access issues by using something referred to as on-device caching. This feature allows data to be stored offline on the remote device for further processing, reducing the problems created by interruptions in mobile connectivity. The net result of on-device caching is that fewer round-trips are required between the remote device and the mobile cloud server, allowing apps to run effectively on the mobile device even when mobile connectivity is discontinued. One of the best examples of the use of on-device caching is with Google Maps for Android. Map data is preloaded on the remote device for those areas where the user transmits most often, ensuring continuity of use even if the satellite signal is lost. Check the Back End Generally speaking, enterprise clouds are up to the task of handling mobile applications, says Bernard Golden, CEO of consultancy HyperStratus. If you have some sort of cloud-based infrastructure that already has virtualization and automation, you should be able to add services like identity management to handle mobile devices, he says. "Part of your IT strategy should be to extend your core services,” like identity access management, so the services can be used by any application running on any device, he says. “In effect, you need to create APIs that can be called by applications, no matter what form factor they are running on.” The APIs need to be in mobile-ready formats that can be used by both mobile developers — internal and third party — and the apps they create. The goal is not to approach this as, “I need to build a custom extension for the iPad,” Golden says. “The iPad is just one device. There will be dozens, so you need application APIs and components that are portable.” API-as-a-service vendors — including Layer 7 Technolo gies, Apigee and Apiary — can help here, because they offer API management tools. These tools can be implemented in the mobile cloud. Some customers have novel approaches to this issue. Mohawk Fine Papers, for instance, is using the cloud itself as an integration platform. Richard Peltz, CIO at real estate investment service Marcus & Millichap, says his company doesn't build its own mobile apps. It has outsourced this task to AT&T, because AT&T already has the expertise, he explains. Down the road, Peltz sees Oracle and other companies providing portals — private or public —where users with the right credentials can access customized apps that are rendered automatically to various devices, including mobile devices. Marcus & Millichap is currently implementing a content management system (CMS) developed by SiteCore that will automatically render to any mobile device, eliminating the need for Marcus & Millichap to write device-specific native apps, as it has done until now. The company expects to complete the CMS deployment by early 2013 in its VMware-based private cloud, at which point the corporate website as well as the intranet will migrate to the new CMS platform. End users will manage the content. Think Mobile First Miller says Erie Insurance thinks mobile first for all of its applications and then ports them to PCs when possible and when it makes sense. Erie is moving strongly toward the use of mobile devices, so developing for mobile first is a good strategy, he says. But that strategy does present challenges. A mobile device generally has much less memory, processing power and other resources than a PC does, meaning mobile developers face design constraints that aren't present in other platforms. In addition, mobile apps are often designed to take advantage of hardware features on mobile devices that may not be readily available on PCs. Miller says that one of the questions that Erie's usability group has to wrestle with is, “Do we build a Web portal that adapts itself based on the device that is coming into it, or is it a specific app?” Most mobile app use at Erie involves submitting data to a back-end application that just collects it. The company has only a few back-end applications that let mobile users access data and then send the data out to the user's device and maybe store it there temporarily. Data downloaded to a mobile device is encrypted and a certificate is downloaded to the device that authenticates the user. Some service providers, such as Google, already offer mobile cloud services, which are accessed through a browser running on a smart-phone or tablet. But most mobile apps are downloaded from a vendor's app store and run in native mode on the device. This requires a separate development effort for each type of mobile device. A mobile cloud infrastructure enables users to work directly from the cloud, viewing the client interface through their device browsers. But the use of a mobile cloud doesn't eliminate the need for in-house development. Each app still has to be developed; the difference is that only one development project is required to build an app that can be accessed by many kinds of devices. New development tools, including HTML5, help with those efforts. And though there are still some smartphones that don't support HTML5, it's only a matter of time before all of them do. As more and more mobile apps and data are stored in the cloud and run on cloud servers, it's likely that less powerful, less expensive smartphones will begin to hit the market and gain acceptance among users. Stay tuned. Claybrook is an analyst with more than 30 years’ experience in the IT industry. He can be reached at bclaybrook@comcast.net.
Video games joins hand with power plays
Get Your Game On Power Play Five fun video games that can improve your health The Feel-Good Benefits Exergames—physical games like those you play on Wii—help you burn calories and promote cognitive stimulation, studies in Games for Health Journal find. Strategy games are brain boosters, too: Games that require complex problem solving can stimulate your brain more than simple puzzles, says Debra Lieberman of the University of California, Santa Barbara. Video games can also strengthen friendships, since you connect with fellow players as you’re blasting bad guys. So what other health benefits may exist? Since 2007 the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has doled out $8.25 million to examine video games’ effects on everything from diabetes management to driving. —Reported by Laura Daily and Christina Downs Games You’ve Gotta Try Minecraft (Xbox 360; $27*) Build structures out of blocks in this self-paced strategy game—just finish before monsters close in. Sports Champions 2 (PlayStation 3; $30; available October 30) Increase your agility while playing virtual versions of sports like tennis, archery and skiing. Wii Sports Resort (Wii; $40) Up your energy level with bowling and basketball, then get social and host a tournament with friends. Alien Attack (Mac and PC; free via games.aarp.org) Test your eyesight and your reflexes as you maneuver a spaceship from left to right and open fire on invaders. Draw Something (iPhone and Android smartphones; $3 for ad-free version) One player draws an object; the other guesses what it is.
Healthy diet fights against bacterial and viral diseases
Health Eat Well, Stay Well Nutrition Five surprising immune-building foods that’ll keep you strong all winter BY JULIA MARANAN PHOTOGRAPH BY TED MORRISON Lean beef It’s full of iron and zinc, two nutrients that help protect against infection by bacteria, viruses and parasites, according to Joan Salge Blake, R.D., clinical associate professor of nutrition at Boston University. Plus, beef is an excellent source of the antioxidant selenium (antioxidants defend and repair immune cells). Choose lean beef, and limit portions to 3 ounces. Legumes Like beef, beans and peas are good sources of immune-boosting iron and zinc, but they’re also loaded with vitamin B 6 , which helps create infection-fighting white blood cells called lymphocytes. You can double the amount of iron you absorb from legumes by combining them with as little as 25 mg of vitamin C—the amount in ¼ cup of broccoli, says Salge Blake. Mushrooms Asian mushrooms—including shiitake and oyster mushrooms—contain beta-glucans, carbohydrates that can spur production of virus-attacking white blood cells, a study in the European Journal of Applied Physiology found. White button mushrooms are rich sources of selenium and riboflavin (vitamin B 2 ), which help ward off bacterial infections. Pumpkin This seasonal favorite is full of beta-carotene, which your body converts into vitamin A—and that helps create white blood cells to fight infection. Animal studies suggest vitamin A may also enhance your body’s response to the flu vaccine. Both pumpkin pulp and seeds protect against infection. Wild salmon It’s a fine source of vitamin D, which your immune system needs to kill harmful bacteria and viruses, says John S. Adams, M.D., professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California–Los Angeles. Eat fish at least twice a week. CHEW ON THIS STIMULATE GOOD EATING HABITS By Brian Wansink, Ph.D. Some foods can make you skinny—even if you don’t eat them. In a study conducted by the Cornell Food and Brand Lab involving more than 700 cafeteria diners, the mere presence of healthier items such as bananas led about a third of participants to select healthier lunches—even if they didn’t choose a banana. So-called trigger foods seemed to remind diners to eat more nutritious fare. So next time you’re trying to lose weight, put a bowl of fruit or vegetables on the table; it might help you to say no to the fries. OTHER TOP SOURCES OF… ZINC Oysters, wheat germ IRON Poultry, spinach, tofu VITAMIN B 6 Chicken, potatoes, bananas, chickpeas ATTENTION, ALL COOKS! Find recipes that use ingredients that keep you healthy at aarp.org/immune-boosting-recipes.
Step by step guide to manage seniors
Features YOUR LOVED ONE'S NEXT MOVE: A STARTER KIT by Tina Adler How to Know When It's Time Sometimes an elder's need for help is sudden and obvious. More often, though, it becomes apparent gradually, experts say. So how will you know? Watch for changes in your loved one's behavior, such as ignoring favorite hobbies, missing dates with friends, or forgetting to pay bills. Not every change means danger, but when a shift happens, it's important to understand why, says Claudia Fine, an executive at Senior-Bridge, a geriatric-care management company. So snoop, Fine advises. Tag along to your loved one's doctors’ appointments and ask questions. Once you understand the person's situation, you can help develop plans, says Peter Notarstefano, director of home- and community-based services at LeadingAge, an association for aging-services organizations. Although you may not see yourself as a “caregiver,” that's the term for anyone who looks after a person who needs assistance with daily tasks. AARP's Caregiving Resource Center-aarp.org/caregivers—can help. Staying at Home Keeping a loved one in their house, or yours, can be challenging if they need daily help with some tasks. Thankfully, there are services to make it easier. • Adult day facilities offer meals, activities, companionship, and some medical care. One popular program for frail people is the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE). It's free for those who qualify for Medicaid; others pay about $3,000 a month. • Service programs such as Senior Corps send volunteers age 55 or older to visit elderly individuals at home and provide companionship. • Occupational therapists can evaluate a home and its resident and recommend grab bars and other changes to improve safety. They also help clients develop strength and skills, such as balance, so they can manage more of their daily activities. Studies show that visits from an OT help older people stay in their homes longer. • If you and your family member want to live near each other but not in the same house, you can now rent a fully equipped, backyard mini-apartment that attaches to your home's utilities. Some of these so-called assisted living structures come with monitoring systems. • Assistive-technology companies have products that can ensure your relative is safe. SimplyHome (simplyhome-cmi.com) offers monitoring equipment such as motion sensors and GPS watches, and QuietCare (careinnovations.com) has a motion-sensor system that can learn a person's daily patterns and send alerts when there is a significant change. • In some areas nonprofit support networks called Villages help older residents stay in their homes. Volunteers perform some everyday tasks, and the Villages also arrange for discounted services, from plumbing to nursing care. Annual membership fees are usually $300 to $500. To see if there's a Village near you, visit vtvnetwork.org. HOW TO FIND CARE 1 Your local Area Agency on Aging(AAA) has info on living options near you and government services to which your relative may be entitled. Visit n4a.org for help locating your AAA. 2 SNAPforSeniors, a for-profit network of health care providers, lists residential facilities on its website, snapforseniors.com. 3 The National Association for Home Care & Hospice website, nahc.org, lists home-care agencies in your area. 4 LeadingAge, which represents 5,400 not-for-profit senior residences, has a housing-locator service on its website, leadingage.org. 5 Medicare's website, medicare.gov, offers a ranking of local nursing homes and home-health agencies. 6 Geriatric-care managers are certified professionals who can help with all aspects of caring for older adults. For more information visit caremanager.org. Getting Your Loved One On Board • Ease into it If possible, provide help bit by bit, “in spoonfuls and not buckets,” recommends Susan Johnson, former owner of Care Management Associates. For example, start by offering to hire someone for a task your relative doesn't like, such as cleaning house. • Set a time line Try presenting care, in whatever form, as something to try out for a little while. • Make your relative the boss Describe care providers as “assistants” to show that your loved one is still in charge. • Tweak your language Frame help in the way that will most appeal to your relative. Maybe it's a deserved luxury; maybe it's something recommended by a trusted doctor or friend. • Don't command Include your loved one in any decisions, and avoid telling her what she “needs to do”; this usually triggers resistance, warns Linda Fodrini-Johnson, executive director of Eldercare Services. • Seek answers If your relative is reluctant to accept care, try to figure out why, says Jackie Lapidus, executive director of Care Management Associates. Your relative may be assuming one scenario while you're imagining another. • Turn the tables Remind your loved one that by accepting help, he is easing your fears and making your life less stressful. Checking for Quality People fare better when they live near what's dear to them— friends, family, congregation. But once you find a facility in the right spot, make sure it's a good one. To begin evaluating a residential facility, schedule a tour. Quiz the manager on how the facility addresses a resident's specific and changing needs. Then make unscheduled visits. Ask residents what they enjoy about the community and what goes on during the day. Will your relative fit in? Most states license residential facilities. To discover your state's licensing requirements, start with the department of health. If it's home health care you're seeking, look for an agency that hires its own employees, rather than using independent contractors, says Paul Hogan, chairman of Home Instead Senior Care and coauthor of Stages of Senior Care: Your Step-by-Step Guide to Making the Best Decisions. Make sure a supervisor occasionally visits your relative's home to see how everything is going, says Hogan. And don't expect a perfect match the first time. If you have concerns, tell the care provider and possibly the management, too. When hiring in-home care, patience and perseverance pay. For both residential facilities and home health care, ask about accreditation, a credential awarded by one of several private agencies. Also consider these two websites, both of which rank nursing homes based on Medicare inspection data: Caregiverlist Inc. (caregiverlist.com) and the Medicare and Medicaid Nursing Home Compare guide (medicare.gov/nhcompare). WHAT IT COSTS (AND WHO CAN HELP) The going rates for assisted living vary from state to state. For information on the rates in your state, visit longtermcare.gov. Nationwide, the average annual cost of a private room at a skilled nursing facility is $90,155. At an assisted living facility (ALF), it's $39,528. The average hourly rate for home health aides is $22. That's a lot of money, but some programs will help pay it. 1 Medicare pays for short-term care after an injury or surgery. It does not cover long-term care. 2 Medicaid helps people with a low income and few assets pay for nursing facilities and some assisted living and in-home care. 3 Some states offer financial assistance for low-income residents to live in an ALF. Ask your Area Agency on Aging. 4 The Department of Veterans Affairs offers certain veterans and their spouses long-term-care benefits. For information visit va.gov/geriatrics. 5 A reverse mortgage might provide income to pay for care. For info, visit aarp.org/revmort. 6 The National Council on Aging helps you find government aid. Visit benefitscheckup.org.
Debt management and collection agencies
Money Dusting Off Old Debt Liz Weston | MY TWO CENTS ▪ Dear Liz: A collection agency just called about a credit card debt I failed to pay—more than 20 years ago! The agency is offering a repayment plan. Should I take it? You should always pay your debts, right? But in the case of a long-unpaid debt, doing the right thing ethically can cause problems legally. That's because every state has statutes of limitations on debt, typically from 3 to 10 years. These statutes limit how long a creditor or collection agency can sue to reclaim the money. Collectors can buy “out of statute” debts for pennies on the dollar from credit card issuers, cell phone firms, and other companies, so anything they squeeze out of a borrower is almost pure profit. And they often won't tell you you're not legally obligated to pay. In many states, making a small payment on an old debt will restart the statute of limitations and allow a creditor to sue. That can lead to trashed credit and wage garnishment. In a new twist, collection agencies partner with banks to offer credit cards to people with troubled credit histories. If you snap up the card, you might not realize you're also agreeing to pay the old debt, which has been added to the card's balance. In 2010 Monterey County Bank paid a $3 million settlement without admitting or denying wrongdoing after the FDIC accused it of helping a debt collector revive expired debts with deceptive card offers. With the economy improving and borrowers looking for fresh starts, these collection efforts are on the rise. But don't take the bait: Tell the collection agency—in writing—to stop contacting you. Owe? No! > What if it's not your debt? Collectors often contact the wrong person, since old debts tend to be poorly documented. That won't stop them from suing you, though. So fight back. Send a letter by certified mail, return receipt requested, telling the collection agency that you don't owe the debt and to stop contacting you. If the collector files a lawsuit, don't ignore it. You'll get the case dismissed if you can prove it's not your debt. The National Association of Consumer Advocates (at naca.net) can help you find an attorney. BE A BETTER Monitor your credit reports to ensure collectors don't post old debts there. File complaints about debt collectors by calling 877-382-4357 or visiting the FTC website (ftc.gov), and contact your state attorney general's office. Search for your state's statute of limitations on debt at bankrate.com.
Eat healthy for less
Try to avoid antibiotic fed meat, fertilizer rich apples, bgh injected cow milk. Buy in bulk seasonal food and then throw the rotten ones and even then you would have 25% discount. Buy from cooperative farms, make your own bread, hire a farmer to raise a cow for you by pooling funds, spend $800 in advance for season and enjoy produce at cost of 25$ per week.
Money Eat Healthy for Less BY REBEKAH DENN ILLUSTRATIONS BY JASON M. PARK How to buy the best food without supersizing your bill ▪ Linda Watson enjoys organic strawberries and asparagus quiche. The 56-year-old author of Wildly Affordable Organic shops nearly every week at a farmers’ market near her Raleigh, North Carolina, home. Her food budget for a full day's worth of meals? Less than $5. Watson's economical eats defy the elitist aura around foodie buzzwords like organic, local, and sustainable. It's true that pesticide-free peaches and grass-fed filets mignons don't come cheap. But home cooks who shop smart can eat more “clean” foods— those that are better for their health and for the environment— without running up a huge bill. “You don't have to be snooty,” says Watson. “You don't have to use fiddlehead ferns.” (She prefers snap peas to these wild-harvested ferns, which easily run $20 per pound.) Advocates for locally produced food, or “locavores,” argue that cheap food is no bargain if you add the costs of obesity, diabetes, and other dietrelated maladies. “We are paying way more for drugs and medical care than we used to, and less for food, and that is not a coincidence,” says Erin Barnett, director of LocalHarvest, which connects consumers to small farms. Going locavore can cost less than you think. Here's how to save and still satisfy a taste for the good stuff. ▪ Make a beeline for the bulk bins Even at high-end natural grocers like Whole Foods Market, you can find deals on spices, grains, beans, and pasta. A Washington State store, for example, sells organic bay leaves for $1.75 per ounce in bulk, compared with $42.78 per ounce for a small jar. ▪ Rely on the range Staples can be made for less money and effort than you'd guess. Jennifer Reese chronicles the cost-to-hassle ratio in her book Make the Bread, Buy the Butter. Homemade hummus involves little more than turning on the blender, she says, and costs 85 cents per cup, compared with up to $4.45 per cup for national brands. And baked goods? “Never buy muffins at Starbucks. It's pennies on the dollar if you bake from scratch,” says Reese. ▪ Buy part of the farm When you have a community-supported agriculture (CSA) subscription, farmers deliver a weekly selection, or “share,” from their current harvests to pickup points nearby. Paying up front for a season's worth of produce can run roughly $400 to $800, but that works out to a reasonable $20 to $40 per week, and you'll expand your culinary horizons. To find a CSA, visit LocalHarvest.org. ▪ Waste not, store a lot If you're tossing half of your CSA produce, you're not saving money. To use food efficiently and avoid restaurant and takeout meals (which account for about 43 percent of the average American's food expenditures, according to the USDA), take up “batch cooking”: preparing big quantities to stock your freezer with meals. Preserve what you can't use quickly. Websites like FoodinJars.com offer reliable recipes for quick small-batch canning. ▪ Scout for the cheapest store Prices vary widely from store to store within a region. One reliable source of cheap produce: Asian markets. You aren't likely to find organics, but you can score amazing deals on greens like bok choy or Chinese broccoli. ▪ Stay seasonal Farmers’ markets get a bad rap as expensive, but produce is often cheaper there than at supermarkets. The trick is to buy during seasonal peaks—the first strawberries cost far more than the later glut. Buy in bulk for a discount, and don't fear bruised fruit. “You won't be able to use every bite, but often you'll get it at 25 percent or less of original cost,” Watson says. ▪ Join a cow pool Organic, grass-fed beef is better for you and the planet, but at $25 per pound or more, it can be tough on your wallet. Carnivores with freezer space and friends can try “cow pooling”: You arrange for farmers to provide a butchered and wrapped beast, nose to tail, and then split it up. “Every cut averages out to $5 to $6 per pound,” says Lynne Curry, author of Pure Beef. She also recommends “penny-wise” cuts such as sirloin tip and skirt steak. ▪ Eat lower on the food chain Eggs are a far cheaper protein than meat, and vegetarian meals are low-cost and nutritious. Organizers of the Meatless Monday movement, who advocate forgoing meat one day a week, estimate the strategy can save families $80 to $100 per month. ▪ Grow your own Herbs are money savers in kitchen gardens, especially perennials like rosemary and oregano. You can avoid the organic markup for berries by raising them clean at home; loose-leaf lettuces and greens like kale and chard sprout new leaves after they're trimmed, providing a season-long salad. ▪ Go wild Wild edibles like huckleberries and morels are free for the taking—if you know what you're doing. For those who don't, parks departments offer foraging classes, and author Steve Brill created a Wild Edibles smartphone app. Newbie mushroom hunters should connect with a club (find one via the North American Mycological Association: namyco.org). Two-time James Beard Award winner Rebekah Denn regularly contributes to The Seattle Times and Sunset magazine.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Build cool product and sell
Inc. : How Chobani Founder Built a $600 Million Yogurt Empire
People go to turkey and Greece and come back saying we love the yogurt. Then, why do Americans have to settle for the sweet yogurt. Buy small plant by using SBA loan and start with few people. Find out right people that are critical to business and bring them in. Take small orders and go to next step of modernization of machinery slowly. Look out for minute details lie painting walls to change culture. Ask already hired to bring in new people. you will need story to convince SBA to grant loan.
Juggad, a creative way in india
Harvard Business Review: Why I Still Believe in India
Juggad helps Indians to solve problems like electricity, corruption, inflation, government intervention. In short, these help to setup new innovative businesses like laundry collection kiosks in india.
Apple, IBM, mathew effect and new startup
Harvard Business Review: Should You Gamble on Your Company's Leadership?
You need to match the capabilities of the person with that required for the solving of a problem. A leader need to be stubborn and flexible at same time. A company successful like apple need insider whom is known to be successful. A company like IBM back in bad times needs complete outsider. A startup require new unconventional entrepreneur to create next microsoft.
Zuck Facebook secrets revealed
VentureBeat: Zuckerberg admits: If I wasn’t the CEO of Facebook, I’d be at Microsoft
See the changing trend and when you see that people are getting somewhere like on Wikipedia or sharing information on local social network. Give a faster and better product with those features which are liked by people, which you can discard on the way. Observe people physiology to make products that they would like deep down. Always use money in those things which are critical like 89$ server in case of Facebook in start. Look out at the weakness of your competitor and make nit your strength. Use your network of friends, family and community to start a startup as initial customers. Keep look out on different languages and cultures to get new ideas. Visit entrepreneurs to see them first hand. Solve the problem with genuine solutions and hack the system in your benefit like acing the history exam with pictures and comments from friends, try to launch your product in most relevant market like Harvard graduates or school or colleges which are already using hacked version of something and give them a better product which they can't reject. Colleges are good places to find out next trends. Look at microsoft, google all used technologies that were first tested in colleges and then moved into business and then into main stream.
Fashion startup
Entrepreneur: Tech-Savvy and Fashion-Forward: A Look at Today's Stylish Startups
Fashion advisors are paid out of sale, people are intimated when sale on particular item turns on and in turn startup get a commission, people can design their on clothes.
Eye fi is wifi sd card
PCWorld: Xerox Mobile Scanner: A Versatile Companion for Business Travelers
Use eye fi card to enable device with wifi. Xerox mobile scanner converts paper sheet into scanned document in 10 second and store in the SD card and upon connection to internet send it to the server. Connection is established through android app.
How to complete your dream project
The 99%: Having Trouble Finishing Your Labor Of Love?
You need to be very considerate in completing your dream project. You should estimate the time required to complete the project, to keep you motivated tell your friends about progress through blog, let your future self write you email, make list of excuses and the answers to those excuses ans keep it handy. Think of the benefits, fame, money the project bring in to keep motivated.
Facebook fan engagement vs number of likes
PCWorld: What's a Facebook 'like' worth?
Ots the fan engagement that matters and not the number of likes that determine the sales.
Spruce up business using evernote
PCWorld: How to run your business in Evernote
Arrange employees as folders and stacks. Put images of receipts and inventory detail in the folders which are update able by other personal too. Keep detail of accounts and contacts.
Adapt with failures
Entrepreneur: How to Stop Over Thinking and Get Things Done
Instead of mourning over failure. Think of it as start and reiterate the lean plan. And always keep doing instead of keep thinking.
Search engine optimization
Entrepreneur: 5 Ways to Beat Your Competitors at SEO
always keep an eye on the back links of competitor and consistently update your SEO as your competitor and be on edge by keeping up to date on SEO talk. Look for what competitor has done right and what competitor has done wrong.
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Coaxing Serendipity: How Casual Get-Togethers Drive Innovation :: Tips :: 99U
Hitchens:
The Friday lunch began to simply "occur" in the mid-1970s, and persisted into the early 1980s, and is now cemented in place in several memoirs and biographies (most memorably Clive James's title North Face of Soho)... Between us, we were believed to "control" a lot of the reviewing space in London, and much envious and paranoid comment was made.
The establishment of informal "salons" or "circles" of artists or cultural creatives dates back to the Ancient Greeks and is a common feature of several touchstone cultural movements from impressionism to abstract expressionism to beat poetry. The free-flowing exchange of ideas in a social setting serves to encourage deeper thinking, challenge assumptions, and expand resources – crucial aspects of any creative career.
Furthermore, a consistent regular forum for discussion acts as a method to "coax serendipity" or encourage chance overlaps that lead to something exceptional: an idea that turns into a novel, the mention of a name that turns into a mentor, an acquaintance that becomes a star client.
A few tips on coaxing serendipity:
1. Gather the right people. Find a handful of thinkers but not necessarily friends. Ensure that a variety of disciplines are represented to allow for the emergence of new perspectives. Or, as Martin Amis cracked, "From now on, we should go on the basis of looks alone."
2. Don't dwell on making history. Do it for the love of the get-together, everything else is gravy. Hitchens writes, "There was never the intention or design that it become a 'set' or a 'circle,' and of course if there had been any such intention, the thing would have been abortive."
3. Keep the agenda loose and social. Better conversations occur when anything goes and there's no pressure to impress with your business savvy or career aspirations. Hitchens notes "the importance of word games and the long, exhaustive process that makes them both live and become worthwhile."
4. Establish consistency. Meeting frequently at a set time and location is the real secret to getting something out of any group. It also helps to have someone in charge regular attendance. In this case, Clive James "would often ring round to make sure there was a quorum."
5. Keep it ridiculous. As Hitchens remarks, the Friday Lunch was an "end-of-the-week clearinghouse for gossip and jokes." The conversation was literary and intellectual but also silly and lewd.
World Cup of Creativity: What Position Do You Play? :: Tips :: 99U
Leading the charge, forwards live for the glory of innovation – the big score. They are pro-risk, self-starters, who have little trouble making hard decisions. They’re not afraid to proceed full speed ahead, and risk everything for the sake of maximum return.
Typically, they will hone a specific skill set and become an expert in their field.Accordingly, forwards do best when empowered to use their full expertise and creativity to create something new and vital.
They are dynamic and mesmerizing, but often highly impatient. They don’t like to document the creation process, and they like even less being asked to repeat a star performance. Once a forward has solved a problem, his engagement drops off sharply. Change, new challenges, and a regular infusion of triumph (and the attendant praise) are what keep them going.
They are natural leaders, but cannot necessarily be counted on to stay around once the novelty of creating something new has worn off. Individuals of this type make great architects, creative directors, designers, developers, entrepreneurs, and “turnaround” CEOs.
Midfielders: The communicators.
Less interested in individual power and glory, the midfielder thrives on being in the thick of things. Midfielders act as information brokers and drive problem-solving through collaboration. They are excellent communicators with a versatile skill set that helps them easily move between and align different constituencies.
They are not usually trailblazers, but – once the way forward is clear – midfielders excel at developing workflow systems, pushing projects forward, and keeping them on track. They are particularly deft at managing numerous moving parts and the occasionally volatile emotions of a creative team.
Communicators that they are, midfielders can require a bit more face-time than either forwards or defenders. They are self-sustaining, but they do not like to work in isolation. Midfielders are also more risk-averse than forwards, and often need some prodding when it comes to taking an unorthodox or unpopular approach.
Midfielders typically make good producers, editors, curators, project managers, and strategists – or any other position that requires frequent back-and-forth and a flexible skill set.
Defenders: The maintainers.
This is the group that keeps things running smoothly. Whereas the forward likes invention and improvisation, defenders thrive in a regimented environment. Once a product or position has been created, defenders are great at slipping into a workflow and making sure that everything runs like clockwork.
Defenders love having a clear set of tasks that can be anticipated and managed. The weakness of this “routine” approach is that they can be baffled when a curveball comes their way. Clashes of opinion between out-of-the-box-thinking “forwards” and by-the-book-thinking “defenders” are a frequent occurrence in creative teams.
That said, maintenance can be a thankless job. While keeping the finances in order or ensuring that web content gets posted regularly is no small feat, it’s easy to overlook the accomplishments of the person tasked with making sure everything goes exactly as expected. Managers would do well to remember to praise defenders for their tireless work and reliability.
Defenders make excellent systems administrators, finance managers, production editors, copyeditors, and office managers.
The Thinking Mindset vs. The Doing Mindset: Pick One (And Only One) :: Tips :: 99U
Other days, though, you really want to get moving. You're antsy and you can't really focus on any one thought. Instead, you are most efficient if you are getting things done.It is no coincidence that the motivation to think and the motivation to act seem to strike us at different times. Research by psychologists Arie Kruglanski, Tory Higgins, and their colleagues suggests that we have two complementary motivational systems: the "thinking" system and the "doing" system - and we're generally only capable of using one at a time.
Think about how you best generate new ideas. Often, you "brainstorm" or try to come up with as many ideas as possible. That is called diverging and requires our thinking system. At other times, you need to evaluate those ideas and figure out which ones are best. That is called converging, and it requires the activation of the doing system.
Get some distance.
Physical and mental distance influence the way you think about things. When you are near to something, you think about it specifically, and you focus on the ways that you can interact with it. Being close to your work engages the doing system. When you are far from it, you think about it more conceptually. Distance engages the thinking system.
Your workplace environment is strongly associated with getting things done. In order to engage a thinking mindset, spend time working in another place. Change your environment, and you will change the way you think.
Stand up and move.
The modern workplace revolves around sitting. Most people have a primary workspace that involves a chair in front of a desk or table. This posture is great, because it allows us to work for long periods of time without causing bodily fatigue.
Additionally, the seated posture does not support many complex actions, so it reinforces the activation of a thinking mindset, especially thanks to years of schooling.
If you need to jumpstart your doing motivation, get moving. Stand up. Walk around your workspace. Put your ideas on sheets of paper and physically separate them in your space. Walk over to each idea and evaluate it separately. By getting up and moving, you shift yourself from a mode of deliberation to one of selection.
The proximity of a deadline can also activate different systems: the closer the deadline, the more your "doing" mindset is activated. As the decision point approaches, you will naturally feel an increased need to determine a course of action.
On the other hand, use tight deadlines with caution as a tight deadline will make you feel the pressure to complete a project and, despite your best intentions, you may engage your doing motivation and begin to evaluate options before exploring them fully. Remember that you are going to be best at diverging when you have the freedom to think without having to reach a quick decision.
Most importantly, get to know how you act when your thinking and doing mindsets are active. Use this self-awareness to guide you through situations where you need to develop creative solutions to new problems.
--
What do you think?
What do you do to encourage your "thinking" or "doing" mindsets?
--
How To Get Paid What You're Worth & Other Negotiation Tips :: Tips :: 99U
But if we skip a few minutes of haggling, we can leave some serious cash on the table and, more importantly, short-change our true value as creatives. One study found that negotiating a raise of $5,000 for your first salary can result in more than $600,000 in additional lifetime earnings.A Cautionary Tale
In 1912, Teddy Roosevelt's campaign printed three million pamphlets with his picture featured prominently. It was only after the pamphlets were printed that his staff noticed a small line of text that read "Moffett Studios - Chicago" under the picture. The campaign did not own the rights to the photo and licensing a photo for reprinting usually cost $1 per reprint.
A campaign manager was tasked with calling the photo studio and negotiating a fair rate for the use of the image. Shrewdly, the campaign manager contacted the studio and simply asked how much it would cost use the picture, never revealing that the campaign had already printed millions of fliers using the photo. Without further inquiry, the studio quoted a price of $250, which the campaign promptly accepted.
Had Moffett Studios been savvy negotiators they would have taken the time to gather all of the information before offering $250 and proposed a much higher rate instead.
How To Become A Better Negotiator
While the Moffetts of the world might appear a little naive, oversights of this sort are extremely common: we often fail to consider the full impact of a deal in the long run.
To make sure you get a better deal, here are a few tips on mastering the dark art of negotiation:
---
1. Separate the person from their position. This is one of the primary points of the popular negotiation book Getting to Yes. When we argue over positions, our egos are attached to what we are proposing. Instead, focus on the other party's underlying interests. Find where interests overlap and work to develop solutions with the other party as a partner not as a combatant. An example from the book:
Consider the story of two men quarreling in a library. One wants the window open and the other wants it closed. They bicker back and forth about how much to leave it open: a crack, halfway, three quarters of the way. No solution satisfies them both.
Enter the librarian. She asks one why he wants the window open: "To get some fresh air." She asks the other why he wants it closed: "To avoid the draft." After thinking a minute, she opens wide a window in the next room, bringing in fresh air without a draft.
The librarian could not have invented the solution she did if she had focused only on the two men's stated positions of wanting the window open or closed. Instead she looked to their underlying interests of fresh air and no draft. This difference between positions and interests is crucial.
2. Money isn't the only factor in a negotiation. If we make it all about money, the negotiation only has one measure of success. In a 2001 Harvard Business Review article, Harvard professor James Sebenius advises us to recognize the other factors that may be less blank-or-white.
For example, when negotiating a project with a client, price isn't the only thing on the table. You can discuss deadlines, delivery methods, communication preferences and a host of other options. Give a little on deadlines, but propose a higher rate. The more variables you can negotiate, the higher the likelihood that both parties will feel like winners.
3. Practice your negotiating skills with a friend. Think back to the first time you drove a car. It was likely pulse-pounding affair that caused quite a bit of stress and maybe even embarrassment. But, as an adult, you can now hop in your car and drive to the store with barely any stress. So what happened? Practice made the difficult into the routine, and negotiation is no different.
Do you know that friend you have that can poke holes in any idea? Enlist him or her to enact all of the possible scenarios for a negotiation to help you prepare proper responses. If you've already made your mistakes in the (forgiving) company of friends, you can remain calm, cool and collected when it's game time. Personal finance author Ramit Sethi drops a ton of knowledge about negotiation on his site I Will Tech You To Be Rich, including this tip:
"The people around you matter. Practice matters," writes Sethi. "If we just become marginally better negotiators than we currently are, we can reap disproportionate rewards."
4. Never name the first number. It's accepted wisdom that naming the first number is bad negotiation form, but rarely do we see an exact script and reasoning for a stingy negotiation partner. Short story: the other party often has much more information than you do, so have phrases like "You are in a much better position to know how much I'm worth to you than I am" ready for use.
5. The First Number Named Has A Profound Impact of the Rest of the Conversation. The blog "You Are Not So Smart" tackles the psychology behind the phenomenon of naming the first number, or "anchoring." When we have to guess a number or price for which we have no previous information, we crave a "foundation" to base our guess on. Think of your perception of value when you discover a pair of shoes were "originally" $200 but are now "on sale" for $50.
It's one of the many reasons it pays to make the other party name the first number whenever possible: if you were to name a less favorable number it could "anchor" the conversation to your disadvantage.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Translation apps
Japan gets phone call translator
Real time translation of voice sampled at high rate and then translated in native language and finally syntheses in audio. 14 bill $ market per year is quite a big market and telephone and mobile operators and voip and text messaging services are looking forward to it. But, they will still take 3 years before finally you see them in scene
Diaspora coming back
Why would you leave the West for India?
The Indian culture is influenced by western culture and there is so much opportunity for people coming from abroad that its worthwhile to try innovation in emerging and growing market. Western education and lifestyle helping to carve new roads in India.
Leather garments
Bodices and leather trousers make a comeback
Trends for leather garments is coming back in Germany, when Germany make face economic crisis hit due to euro crisis.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Apple map and apple TV
VentureBeat: Apple’s CEO: Is the right Cook in the kitchen?
Operational, leadership and creativity are skills required to run apple. Making product perfect like iPod, iPad or iPhone before bringing to market was Steve's strategy but Tim bring in half cooked apps like apple app in market. Which may succeed.
Censorship on the web
VentureBeat: Data scientists develop tool to exterminate spammers and trolls
Launched a competition for designing best algorithm from machine learning and language processing that can find the censored world from social networks using big data and the paid 7000$ to the person who seceded in it.
Taxi service uber
VentureBeat: Amid criticism, Uber’s CEO fights back: ‘On bad days, I look at our revenue graph’
Lesser the numbers Of cabs in city more profitable will be the taxi service, lesser the time to arrive more will be the service used, lesser corrupt and regulated sector more will be growth, at peak hours more demand will result in high prices. Ultimately, lesser time to arrive at spot successful will be the service.
Peer to peer learning language
VentureBeat: Language-learning tool Busuu gains $5.6M and a boardmember from LastMinute.com
A free language learning tool in social network setting. People speaking different languages come together to learn each others language. Business language phrases learning tool are source of revenue. Daily 40000 new registrations are going on the platform.
UX design for startups: the age of user experience design | Feature | .net magazine
UX design for startups:the age of user experience design
In the first of a series of articles, UXPin CEO and seasoned UX designer Marcin Treder guides you through the fundamentals of user experience design
What is user experience design?
Users as the centre of UX design
C-P-S hypothesis
Lean canvas as a design tool
