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How to Take a Conference Call Without Driving Everyone Else Crazy

Posted on July 12, 2012 by StevenTorresRamos

You would think that with so many video conferences and conference calls happening in offices around the world every day, we’d all have this down pat by now. Oh no, we don’t: conference calls are some of the most annoying and stressful things your job may make you do. Here’s how you can make them a little better, both for yourself and for everyone else on the line.

If you’re lucky and get to telecommute from time to time, you really know this pain. You have to sit on endless conference calls, or deal with colleagues in conference rooms on speakerphones just to keep up with what’s going on. Video calls aren’t much better—they can drag on too, and then you have to be presentable when you join them—or deal with other people who really aren’t. Here are some ways you can be the change you want to see, and make those virtual meetings more tolerable for everyone involved.

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Lifehacker Pack for Mac: Our List of the Best Free Mac Apps

Posted on July 12, 2012 by StevenTorresRamos

Finding excellent free software for your Mac is increasingly tough. In our fourth annual Lifehacker Pack for Mac, we’re highlighting the best free downloads for better productivity, communication, media management, and more.

The Lifehacker Pack is a yearly snapshot of our favorite, must-have applications for each of our favorite platforms. If you’re curious to see how things have changed this year, here’s last year’s Lifehacker Pack for Mac. For our always-updating directory of all the best apps, be sure to bookmark ourMac App Directory.

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Microsoft advises nuking Windows Gadgets after security hole discovery, we mourn our stock widgets — Engadget

Posted on July 12, 2012 by StevenTorresRamos

Whether you see Windows Vista and Windows 7 Gadgets as handy tools or a blight upon a pristine desktop, you might want to shut them off for safety’s sake. Mickey Shkatov and Toby Kohlenberg have found that the desktop widgets’ web-based code have flaws that would allow malicious Gadgets, or even hijacked legitimate Gadgets, to compromise a PC without having to go through the usual avenues of attack. Microsoft’s short-term answer to the vulnerability is a drastic one, though: a stopgap patch disables Gadgets entirely, leaving just a barren desktop in its wake. There’s no word on a Gadget-friendly solution arriving before Kohlenberg and Shkatov present at the Black Hat Conference on July 26th, but we suspect Microsoft’s ultimate answer is to move everyone to Windows 8, where Gadgets aren’t even an option. We understand the importance of preventing breaches, of course — we’re just disappointed that we’ll have to forgo miniature stock tickers and weather forecasts a little sooner than expected.

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Scientists Now Know Why You Toss and Turn at Night—And It Could Save Lives

Posted on July 12, 2012 by StevenTorresRamos

Ever kicked your partner as you sleep? By studying rats, University of Toronto scientists have discovered what exactly it is that makes our eyes move and our bodies paralyzed while we slumber, and why some people can’t stay still. And it could help them find ways to overcome REM sleep disorders, tooth grinding, narcolepsy, and other snooze-related ailments.

To solve the question, researchers monitored electrical activity in the faces of rats as they snored. They found that they only way to stop sleep paralysis was to block off two different types of receptors, trumping the earlier hypothesis that just one needed to be barricaded. When they starved the rodents brains of these signals, their muscles were active, meaning they work as a team, running interference on the wires in our skulls that let us move freely.

While it’s an interesting finding on its own, it could have some larger implications—around 80 percent of people who have some kind of REM disorder end up developing some kind of neurodegenerative disease like Parkinson’s. And this could help them head the more serious issues off at the pass while they’re still just a problem of flailing around at night and waking up groggy in the morning. [Futurity]

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New York starts turning payphones into free Wi-fi hotspots — Tech News and Analysis

Posted on July 12, 2012 by StevenTorresRamos

Payphones, those relics of the pre-cellphone era, may just get a new lease on life in New York. The city is testing a pilot program in which it installs free Wi-Fi on select payphone kiosks.

The hotspots are initially coming to ten payphones in three of the boroughs and will be open to the public to access for free. You can see a list of sites here. Users just agree to the terms, visit the city’s tourism website and then they’re up and running. Currently, there are no ads on the service, but there could be in the future.

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Layout for iPad review | iMore.com – The #1 Site for iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Apple TV owners

Posted on July 12, 2012 by StevenTorresRamos

Layout is an iPad photography app that lets you create custom collages of your photos. I know what youre thinking — “another collage-making app? The App Store is flooded with them!” I thought the same thing when I saw that Layout was featured by Apple. Turns out that Layout was worthy of that feature with its ability to access all your photos from not only your Albums, but also Facebook, Flickr, and Instagram. Layout also has a unique approach to collage creation and includes a slew of photo editing tools that can be applied to each individual photo of your collage.

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The Three Questions Rule Keeps Negative Opinions in Check

Posted on July 10, 2012 by StevenTorresRamos

It’s easy to go with your gut reaction and quickly form a negative opinion about something. Sometimes that can even lead to a healthy argument. However, if you’re looking to think more critically about those opinions, blogger Dustin Curtis shares his technique of asking three questions before formulating a quick opinion.

The idea is pretty simple. Your gut lies sometimes and you shouldn’t always trust it. Curtis’ solution is to check himself before he forms an opinion:

I’ve started forcing myself to ask the other person at least three questions about their opinion. Forming those questions helps me think. Often, my gut negative opinion changes. Sometimes, the questions change the other person’s opinion. There is no downside.

The idea comes from Signal vs. Noise’s five minute rule, but has the added effect of getting you to actively participate and think critically. If you’re on a quest to become a model internet citizen, the three questions rule is good to keep in mind.

The Three Questions Rule | Dustin Curtis via @ockhamsbeard

Photo by Frederick Dennstedt.

Read entire article Via: The Three Questions Rule Keeps Negative Opinions in Check.

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How to Nail Your Follow Up Interview

Posted on July 10, 2012 by StevenTorresRamos

You nailed your first job interview and they’ve asked you to come for another. It’s a great feeling, but at the same time, it also means you have to go through that whole process again. Here’s how to nail that second interview and bring something new to the table.

The second job interview is typically all about getting to know you on both a personal and professional level. When you’re interviewed, your prospective employer wants to know if you can handle the details of the job, and if you’re going to fit in with the company in general. That’s really it. The second interview might be more relaxed and conversational, or more hectic with a full panel of people talking to you. Either way, your preperation and composure are the same.

Read entire Article via How to Nail Your Follow Up Interview.

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Lifehacker Pack for iPhone: Our List of the Best iPhone Apps

Posted on July 10, 2012 by StevenTorresRamos

The iPhone’s app selection is unparalleled, but it can be frustrating to sift through the thousands of options to find the best. For our third annual Lifehacker Pack for iPhone, we’re highlighting the apps that help you stay productive, connected, informed and entertained.

Looking for an app in a specific category? Use the links below to jump around.

Read entire Article via Lifehacker Pack for iPhone: Our List of the Best iPhone Apps.

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What to Never Eat at Fast Food Places, According to Fast Food Workers

Posted on July 10, 2012 by StevenTorresRamos

The oversimplified answer is to never eat fast food (even though it can be healthier than restaurant food sometimes), but if you ever do find yourself looking at a fast food menu, Reddit members have got your back. Fast food workers share the least healthy and most unsanitary food choices at their establishments.

Be prepared to be grossed out reading this thread, though. You’ll find examples like this to help you avoid eating fish filet sandwiches from Burger King:

When I was a young buck, I worked at Burger King. Here is how the oil rotation went. You had four vats of oil that you cooked fries in. And boy did you cook fries. Tons of them. After about 2 days worth, the oil got too dark for fries. So we switched it over to the ones for chicken. Since it was darker, it was ok. Then that goes on for a week. After a week of massive frying. The oil is black as motor oil. At that point, it’s switched to the Fish Filet vat. That’s the only thing you cook in that vat.

Other questionable food choices include Steak n Shake’s “Wisconsin Butter Burger” (which has a quarter stick of butter on it), McDonald’s sweet tea (made with a pound of sugar per gallon), and Tim Horton’s muffins (containing more fat than the doughnuts).

Read entire article via What to Never Eat at Fast Food Places, According to Fast Food Workers.