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Many things are replaced by electronics and machinery for our convenience. However, in 2012, why is the majority of people still using the traditional form of payment-cash. In the past few years, there were a few developers, who were interested in this topic, began to explore and brainstorm a variety of creative ideas of payment for the convenience everyday consumers. These determined developers may not have created new methods, but they have provided us with options that we may consider depending on our positions: people buying or selling products, or exchanging funds. For each category, mobile apps and online websites were recommended. Since we have easy access to our cell phones, it is not difficult to complete our payment tax with ease. As a result, it is not necessary to carry around cash or credit cards too often when going out to.    For example, Google Wallet is relatively efficient since it supports most or all major credit cards and can be used to pay for restaurant or shop purchases. Microsoft Wallet (similar to Google Wallet) is also another option for those who do have Android phones since Google Wallet is available to only a few Android phones.     

Reaching your work goals may look like a daunting task at first. With careful planning and implementation of right strategies, you can step up the career ladder quicker than you thought of. Here are few tips on how to get promoted at work quickly:



Continue learning

Learning is a lifelong process. To grow in your career, it is imperative that you keep accumulating knowledge across industries' trends, challenges and insights. Staying updated about your domain knowledge enables you to tackle challenges at work more efficiently and higher your chances of getting noticed by employers.

Lead when required

To take charge in a work environment doesn't always require you to be in a top position. You can assume a leadership role when circumstances demands at workplace. Exhibit your leadership skills while solving a critical problem at work by effectively communicating, motivating and working in coordination with other team members. Also start taking responsibilities a level in advance to show that you are ready for the next role.

Give your best

When you give your best in your work, you stay visible for your passion and performance. If you want to add more value to your work, then go t

Over the past few years, the iphone has become much more popular.  It's thin, light and efficient design has attracted many users. However, despite the improvements made to the phone over the years it still remains rather fragile.  Our society has become so reliant on technology, yet our day to day life is very hazardous to these delicate electronics.  Every day, people drop, kick, and spill on their iphones and end up with a broken phone.  You'd think because of this constant issue iPhones would be made sturdier so that it can make it through the day, however, in the last year 30% of iphone users have damaged their phone.  Iphones come at such high prices.  We expect that when we buy one, we have not only bought a phone that can meet our daily expectations, but one that can also last through the day.  Hopefully, this is an improvement that we will see on the new iPhone5.   I think that as great as the new iPhone features are, they should also be focusing on making it last, because if the phone breaks what good are the new features?  My sister had dropped her iphone a couple of times and part of the screen had cracked.  However, despite the damage she had still had to use and rely on this old, cracked phone for a few more months until she could get it replaced, due to the costs of getting it repaired. It had caused her some problems and I'm sure many other iphone users have encountered this issue.  I don't think the goal is to make it easier or cheaper to repair iphones, but rather make it so that less people need repairs.

ow that we're coming into the final stretch before the iPhone 4S is released, photos, videos and even a few benchmarks have begun to trickle online by people who have received their shipments ahead of October 14. Earlier today we were treated to a nice video by Stuff.tv that demonstrated a few of Siri's many abilities out in real world conditions - currency exchanges, temperatures and alarms setups. Now we have a much more thorough video from one lucky YouTube user that features the depth of Siri's knowledge along with a few oddball questions for good measure. Conclusion? Siri is looking more and more impressive by the day.

till not convinced that BlackBerry Messenger for Android is real and possibly showing up next week at BlackBerry DevCon? Let us whet your appetite with a few more images.

Last week a source at Research In Motion (RIM) reached out to us with some images of what they claimed to be BBM for Android.  Said source read the comments on that post and decided to come back with a few more images to explain some of what you were seeing.  These new pictures show off threaded messaging as well as the ability to customize your fonts.  According to what the anonymous source tells us, you'll also be able to change the size as you want for easy reading. All of the accounts shown in the images are test accounts, so don't be thrown by that part.

Kodak, let us admit, is doomed. Founded over a century ago, it has dominated film for as long as film has existed, but now that film is on the verge of ceasing to exist, they have very little to dominate. They're short on cash and while they deny plans to file for bankruptcy, many question whether they will have the luxury of choice a few years from now.

Kodak, let us admit, is doomed. Founded over a century ago, it has dominated film for as long as film has existed, but now that film is on the verge of ceasing to exist, they have very little to dominate. They're short on cash and while they deny plans to file for bankruptcy, many question whether they will have the luxury of choice a few years from now.

This article talks about how Facebook is wanting to improve their mobile aps and their HTML5. The article says how almost half of Facebook's users are on actively on mobile devices, and I am one of them. I barely have time to go on the computer anymore so I'm always on the Facebook app on my blackberry, so I think its great that they're trying to improve their aps and make it so that Facebook will be available on any kind of phone. It is so much more convenient to be able to use Facebook on your mobile device than on an actual desktop. Bret Taylor even predicts that a few years from now, almost every person at Facebook is going to be working on mobile, and I could see why he would say that.

Cellphones play a huge factor in our everyday life.  Everybody uses cellphones nowadays.  However, the real question is, when should a child receive a cellphone?  Rather, when should a parent give their a child a cellphone?  Everybody is different, so they have their own opinion as to when they are ready to receive a cellphone/give a cellphone.  A recent report shows that nearly half of the teens surveyed say they can't live longer than a week without their phones, and 36% said they check their phones at least every 10 minutes.  Of course, these habits don't develop within a day of course.  An American research market company polled parents on what they thought the most appropriate age for a child to receive their first cellphone.  Twenty-two percent of parents polled said they thought 10 was the right age, while 43% of the parents fell within the 10 to 12 age range.  I find this ridiculous, because not even I have my own cell phone, nor will I be receiving one in the near future.   In today's society, a phone is like a miniature computer that you can take anywhere with you.  Phones were originally used for making phone calls and giving parents feel a sense of security knowing they can contact their kids whenever and wherever.  However phones can also be a whole set of challenges to a parent.  It is an Internet-enabled device with few parental controls, which could be one challenge.  It might also give a child access to inappropriate apps, the less-than-wholesome intentions of other people, from bullying to worse.   As a child's age increases, there comes many other challenges such as sexting or texting while driving. Personally, I feel the only time one can be ready for a phone, is when they prove that they are mature enough to handle such responsibility.  But that's just my side of the story.

This article talks about our famous #firstworld problems jokes on Twitter and other Social Networking sites. They may seem funny to you, but DDB New York sees them as creating an online atmosphere of neither sensitivity nor awareness to deal with real social and worldwide problems. So DDB decided to team up with the non-profit organization called WATERisLIFE. Together they traveled to Haiti to film locals reading aloud a series of these "problems" to show how ridiculous they are in comparison to real problems that people face in third-world countries like Haiti. In addition to the video they tweeted some of the original authors of the #firstworld problems saying things like "I'm sorry you were awoken by your cleaning lady. I hope today is better" as well as a call to action to donate money to WATERisLIFE which helps create water solutions and rebuilding communities.  This article relates to eLifestyle and how those posts may be funny to us they can also be insensitive to real problems world-wide even though we don't always intend to be hurtful. This also relates because it shows how the internet can be such a positive or negative thing worldwide. In this case out of an insensitive tweet people were inspired to create awareness for bigger issues and a way to help through a video and a few tweets online.  I think this shows a positive side of the internet where people can take something and turn it into a way of helping people world-wide and getting word out faster and to more people all with the power of the internet.

This article states how the Kindle E-reader has evolved over the years, how Amazon has lowered its book prices so much so people would buy e-readers and book buyers would go to Amazon.com and get books instead of going to a book store, and how people try to destroy Amazon for almost having a monopoly of it. Many people like this because new Kindle E-readers cost from $69 to about $100 and many of their book cost from about $1 and up. Also Amazon helped self publishing authors sell their books. The Kindle E-reader has evolved from being a big electronic book with many books in it and having pages flipping crazy if your hand was in the place. Now it has evolved to be a slim e-reader with a brighter screen and having cheap books to buy and not as clunky. A few years ago Apple and five big publishing companies made a contract to stop Amazon from selling books so cheap. The publishing companies would only sell books on apple products. In April of this year the Department of Justice sued Apple and the five publishing companies to stop Apple from trying to get the monopoly on selling books on their products. It is portable computing because people know can have hundreds of books in a device the size of a small book and you don't need to keep buying bookshelves that take a lot of space and the books it has are cheap. It is very light and people can take it anywhere they want to. It is eLifestyle because you a many people in the bus or subway reading away on their e-reader comfortably without having a big book to carry. Many people use it because they can't carry that much weight.    

This article touches on a very important topic about whether technology is helping the economy and job markets more or if it is in fact hurting it. The answer is they do both. The New York Times among others write that tech companies have created relatively few jobs compared to industries such as GM. However TechCrunch argues that technology has created a lot more indirect jobs due to technology. There are in fact new jobs created such as social media marketers online. Most of these jobs are part-time because they are online and connect employers and workers with no hassle. Their conclusion is that there are millions of jobs created with a high demand but an unprepared workforce. The jobs that are needed now are more technology based than ever before and our economy is moving so fast in that direction that some skills that were needed in the past are no longer needed now. Therefore people are losing jobs not because there are not enough jobs produced but because our job market is drastically changing.  Some companies are allowing people to step into job positions with just a bit of online training or courses. Startups like General assembly are creating programs that are accessible to everyone and helps address the needs of the labor market. The final verdict is we need better training tools to quickly acquire high demanded skills and help workers adapt to the change that technology brings to the labour market. This article relates to economics and eLifestyle mostly because it has to do with how our economy is growing from the jobs created by technology but also how our workers have to respond to this change. This article deals with the changes that the labour market is going through now and how the increase in technology is now changing our lives. Some of our old jobs are being replaced by new jobs that not enough people are qualified for, so certain careers are feeling a job decline making it seem like technology is replacing workers. But in fact these new tools a

In July EPEAT a environment organization that allow computers to be sold only if they can be recycled properly has stop Apple from selling the MacBooks because to make a longer battery life Apple glued the battery cell to the aluminum shell which makes it impossible to take it apart according to iFixit. IFixit said he couldn't take the battery cell out with spill any of the battery acid. A few days later Apple fixed the problem. Now EPEAT has now given Apple the certificate for the MacBook Air and there other laptops are still being tested and also fixed other of its devices. If EPEAT didn't test Apple laptops they could of caused many environmental problems. Also EPEAT is also testing other companies' laptops, tablets, etc. Apple should have tested if this would have happened and should have fixed it instead of selling their products with this problem.  

All of us either own a phone or want one, but which one is the right pick for you? Well your in luck because this article talks just about that. It compares the three operating systems that are making it big right now: Android, IOS, and Windows. In this comparison There are many discussions but in the end it comes down to a few points. First off all, there is the android. This system is making a huge impression even though the others have been around for longer. Overall this seems to be a phone who know more about technology and are really into customizing, and controlling their phone. Then there's is the iphone. This phone is popular with a large quantity of people and is famous for its app store. This phone is for those that want a simple phone that is used often for entertainment. Last but not least there is the Windows phone. Windows has been a computing big-shot for a long time and is growing even bigger with its new Windows 8 platform. Whats neat is that both the PC and the smartphone from windows will be running the same OS, which will really make things easier for those interested in connecting the 2 and etc. This phone is for those who are using windows and want their systems to connect, and for those who want a simple interface or those who often use Microsoft Office. In the end, all these systems are amazing and it's really up to your personal needs and preferences.

This post is about making videos viral. Currently, people have to work hard, be creative or create something different in order for it to be noticed on the internet. This parody predicts that it will no longer be the case in the future. The video promotes the company "Buyral" that can ensure that your video has a huge amount of views, (goes viral) without you even trying to make a good video. It seems ridiculous, but as Brian Barrett points out: like all good satire, it is perilously close to becoming a reality. Many times, a viral video goes viral because it is a great video. Can you imagine if anyone could just as easily give up a few bucks and have an internet smash? Some companies are already promoting videos on Youtube and other websites, buy you can clearly read the caption that says "Promoted." If this parody were a reality, you would have no way of knowing if it truly earned those views, or if somebody with no imagination paid a website to get his or her video views. I believe that this defeats the whole purpose of a video becoming viral, and it relates to eLifestyle because it would definately influence our daily lives. When people go on youtube and click on the "most viewed" section, they are expecting to find something that is worth their time. Furthermore, if someone is searching for a video, for instance, on making apple pie, the first video that will come up is the one with the most views. Instead of getting a video that earned the views, people will likely get an advertisement from a company that makes apple pies or such, that paid an amount of money to obtain those views.

Google, being the innovators and marketers that they are, are working on a new feature which will put Chrome ahead of the pack in the mobile browsing world. Google is using a new data compressing tool to make browsing faster and more reliable. The new technique involves forcing websites to be loaded to Google's proxies. Rather then having the user connect to the individual websites protocols, the user connects to Google's lighting fast server, allowing them to few the web page at a much faster rate. In addition, Google's servers will be made to compress the data of the website, allowing an even faster connection. The Opera browser has a similar feature to this called "Turbo" and it works in a similar way. However, Google may have the upper hand here, as Opera can't compete with Google's size, market, and staying power.

This article demonstrates that the popularity of the Harlem Shake has urged people to get creative and think outside the box. A developer, Filippo Bigarella, has created an iOS tweak that essentially lets the icons on your springboard do the Harlem Shake. Harlem Shake videos have gone viral over the past few months and the most popular ones get millions of views a day. Since, many sports teams and popular YouTube channels have made parodies of the popular song. The closest viral video that this can be related to is the Gangnam Style video by Psy that currently has over 1.4 billion views. Although the Harlem Shake is popular now, soon enough it will be yesterday's news and some new video or song will be viral. This article relates to the elifestyle tag because the Harlem shake video has literally become a lifestyle for some people and parodies are sweeping the internet everyday. Overall, this is a pretty cool tweak that I would definitely use if I believed in jailbreaking.       

The OUYA Android powered gaming console started off as a Kickstarter exclusive, but will now be available to consumers on June 4 for $99. On Kickstarter, the OUYA was a huge success, raising over $8 million. It is basically an Android powered device that is capable of running console quality games. There has been much anticipation for the people who did not back the project on Kickstarter because no one knew that it would get this big and popular. When it hits the market, it will be sold at retailers such as Best Buy, GameStop, Target, and through OUYA's website. It will include the console, a controller and HDMI cables. I chose to use the economics tag because at just $99, this console is a steal compared to other consoles currently on the market. I believe that many people will pick this product up and OUYA may be able to compete with SONY and Microsoft in the next few years.

A recent survey has proven that the downloading of illegal music has decreased by 26 percent from 2011 to 2012. It seems that fewer people are illegally downloading music for three specific reasons. With the introduction of P2P music sites a few years ago, illegally downloaded music was becoming more and more common. Since, the music industry has responded very negatively trying to shut down these sites.A famous example was the shutting down of the huge P2P site and software, Limewire, after they were found guilty of copyright infringement. Limewire had millions of users that ripped off artists music millions of times and the record companies were not just going to stand there and watch. People are also not downloading illegal music as much because of the new music streaming services, such as Songza.  These sites stream music to many computers and devices free of charge for the listener to enjoy. The last reason that people are downloading illegal music less is because of the malware and spyware risks that downloading this music poses. You may think you are downloading your favourite techno song when really you are downloading a trojan virus that will steal all of your passwords and personal information. I think this is a sign that people are finally realizing that this is an immoral act and they are taking away money from the artists that make the songs. I personally have bought all of the songs I own and I rarely use the music streaming services. Hopefully by 2014, there will be no illegally downloaded music by anybody.

Social news website Reddit may soon have a feature where ads may be downvoted or upvoted, much like the content shared by users. This is one of few websites to currently have this approach with advertisements.  This is rather significant because if people are able to downvote advertisements that they feel are intrusive, ugly and downright annoying, and upvote advertisements that are funny, interesting and better, then we can see advertising companies change their tactics to make better ads for all of us. This can result in a win/win situation where companies generate real views on their ads and people are more inclined to buy their products, as opposed to being annoying by these companies and skipping over and trying to find ways around these ads by using extensions such as AdBlock.  If more websites use this feature then maybe people will start to like ads again, as they will see ads that they want to see, there may be a change in the advertising market where we will see an influx of more creative and interesting advertisements instead of the boring and tedious ones we mostly have today.

Game of Thrones, the fantasy series that came out of a series of novels written by George R. R. Martin and adapted by HBO has just recently aired its third season with a bunch of people watching it during its premiere. The bad news is that the amount of people pirating the show is more then half the amount of people who actually watched it on HBO. With the premiere having around 6.7 million viewers and the amount of pirate viewers at 4.4 million. These stats are quite impressive but HBO can expect a lot more views when it counts on-demand, DVR, online streams with a gross audience of 11.6 million viewers when counting non-live viewers. On the other hand, TorrentFreak claims that GoT has been the most-pirated show over the past year and that the pirated audience is growing even faster. A few hours after the first torrent of the show was uploaded, it had around 110,303 leechers and 52,786 seeders, a total of 163,088 people. This number actually broke the previous record with 144,663 peers for another show called "Heroes".