Comment Re:It kinda is (Score 1) 357
Yeah, but I don't blame you. They don't even show up in the Forbes 100. Typos abound today!
Comment Gallup Polls (Score 1) 1359
Pastafarians are under represented in these polls, so no wonder it's pretty skewed towards the book burning crowd.
Comment It kinda is (Score 1) 357
Even from a company like Ireland or Canada, there are quotas. The quotas change from year to year (by country) based upon greater need. It's a logistical nightmare that pays terribly because it can cost you quite a bit of money in government paper pushing just for a chance to get on a list only to not get the spot.
Xbox Second Screen Announced 125
kodiaktau writes "Microsoft has announced a feature called SmartGlass that provides a new set of features when viewing media on mobile or PC devices. Sources say that it will provide context focused advertising/product placement as well as metadata about the media you are currently viewing. Additionally the interface allows you to store viewing data and share between your desktop and mobile devices to continue viewing content between devices. From the article: 'SmartGlass also allows you to view the web on an Xbox 360 using Internet Explorer. The tablet or phone becomes the keyboard and you can easily browse web pages without having a physical keyboard in the living room.'"
Submission + - Do Headphones Help or Hurt Productivity?
Hugh Pickens writes writes: "Derek Thompson writes that there is an excellent chance that right now you are wearing, or within arm's reach of, a pair of headphones or earbuds. To visit a modern office place is to walk into a room with a dozen songs playing simultaneously but to hear none of them and in survey after survey, office workers report with confidence that music makes us happier, better at concentrating, and more productive. But science says we're full of it writes Thompson. "Listening to music hurts our ability to recall other stimuli, and any pop song — loud or soft — reduces overall performance for both extraverts and introverts." So if headphones are so bad for productivity, why do so many people at work have headphones? The answer is that personal music creates a shield both for listeners and for those walking around us says Thompson. "I am here, but I am separate. In a wreck of people and activity, two plastic pieces connected by a wire create an aura of privacy." We assume that people wearing them are busy or oblivious, so now people wear them to appear busy or oblivious — even without music. Wearing soundless headphones is now a common solution to productivity blocks. "If music evolved as a social glue for the species — as a way to make groups and keep them together — headphones allow music to be enjoyed friendlessly — as a way to savor our privacy, in heightened solitude," concludes Thompson. "In a crowded world, real estate is the ultimate scarce resource, and a headphone is a small invisible fence around our minds — making space, creating separation, helping us listen to ourselves.""
