Increase Responses to Emails

Emails have become on of the best mediums and communication services. From introductions to pitches and proposals, chances are that your initial impression with someone will often be through this medium. Despite the importance of this system, few really take the time to learn it well in order to get better results.So a couple tips that might help you in the long run:

1. Always state what it is that you want in the very first line in the email. No one has time to read through all the other garbage before you get to the point.

2. Write and rewrite the subject. For obvious reasons.

3. Check who the message is going to. This is another one that sounds obvious but is something that nearly everyone is guilty of. Email providers make things easy these days by having an auto-complete feature that will tag your frequent contacts. However, it's easy for things to be sent to the wrong recipient. Then, there's always the people who forget about the difference between "reply" and "reply all."

4.  Read twice, send once. There's an old carpentry adage that says, "Measure twice, cut once." It was intended to prevent costly and unnecessary mistakes. In the world of business communication, it can cost you the chance to make a good impression or even have your email address flagged for spam. Use a spellcheck. Check your links. If it's an important email, surely it warrants a second read.

Second Screens

According to consumer data, the ratio of screens to computers that are bought exceed 1 which means that there are lot of people that have more than once screen for their computer. To be honest, there are some advantages to that such as being able to separate things while still seeing them at the same time. Some might say that it can get distracting but I find it great to be able to separate all the internet fax and email. Now throw this idea into TV watching or game playing and things get ugly in such a way where reasonable people start thinking that the sun might actually rise in the west. Enter the belief that second-screen technology stimulates audiences to behave in new and exciting ways -- that grabbing their phone or tablet while the TV is on makes them do things they've never done before. Researchers noticed. Suddenly, in-depth reports on second-screen behavior breathlessly concluded that people often do two things at once! That got everyone stirred up, even though the critical cause-and-effect part was missing. We've been here before.

Who Wants a Smartwatch?

Do you feel like life would be so much better with a smartwatch? Is it something that you cannot live without? Samsung and Sony have devices out, and Qualcomm has one coming before the holidays. Apple is believed to be making one, and a new report says Google is developing one, too. Why the big push for smartwatches? It’s not coming from consumers. Rather, it’s a product in search of a market – and an expensive one at that. Samsung and Sony executives say they’ve designed their watches to give people ready access to information they would normally check on their phones, reducing the need to constantly pull out the phones. I think that the smartwatch is a solution looking for a problem where there is none. Do you really want to use phone services on the little gadget on your wrist? It will be more of a burden than anything and most people have no problem pulling out their phones to check things on it. Not to mention the distractions that it would bring while driving because it would be right there in the field of view and more tempting than ever to look at it. Any thoughts?

Gifts

When was the last time you were able to give someone your complete attention without the distraction of some sort of device or phone service? Seriously. Being present is perhaps the rarest, most valuable gift you can give someone today. We tend to privilege whomever or whatever is happening virtually rather than the individuals in our physical midst, despite the significance of the body in forming bonds and communicating most effectively. Opting out of our immediate context has become an epidemic. A few remedies: Engage in a game of phone stacking next time you're out with friends. And being a so called business professional does not excuse you from not being able to shut your phone off. You need to be able to take care of business beforehand and just say no to whoever feels that they are important enough to wake you up in the middle of the night or interrupt your dinner with your family.

Energy Efficiency

The USB is used mostly everywhere. You use it to store data, charge your gadgets, and transfer data. The Economist has written a lengthy report about the potential of USB cables to deliver an energy-efficient alternative to standard power cords once the new USB Power Delivery (PD) standard is ready for primetime next year. USB PD will give USB cables a major power boost of up to 100 watts and will let users power their laptops, low-voltage LED lightbulbs and even some internet phone systems. What makes USB PD such a potential game-changer, writes The Economist, is that it can “carry direct current and also data,” meaning that it “can help set priorities between devices that are providing power and those that are consuming it,” which should go a long way toward consuming power more efficiently. The first USB PD devices are expected to trickle into the market in 2014, although the technology likely won’t be widely adopted in consumer electronics until 2015.

Skype: Look Me in the Eye

When I use the internet phone system, Skype, it is always slightly grating that even though you can see the other person you can never truly look them in the eye. Apparently, this is a pet peeve of other people as well. A group of students and scientists at the Computer Graphics Laboratory ETH Zurich have created a relatively inexpensive way to maintain eye contact during Skype chats. There are two main components to the system: A software program and a Microsoft Kinect movement sensor. As you talk via Skype, the Kinect will keep tabs on your face (and anyone else in the camera’s view), specifically tracking 66 different points as they move around in real time. The software then goes to work, altering the transmitted image to make it look like you’re staring at the camera when you’re really looking at the screen instead. Not everyone has a Kinect, of course, so the research team is trying to see if they can come up with a way to make their software work with the cameras you already have on your devices. They’re also working toward creating a Skype plug-in so we can all enjoy the results of their academic research.

Mobile Devices: A New Era

Connected intelligence in mobile devices will be the next major force behind mobile innovation, and it appears that the mobile industry sees this vision and is preparing to drive it in this direction. The PC innovation part started in the mid-1970s and we are approaching the 42nd year of this cycle. During that time, PCs, tablets and smartphones have been created and the backbone technology has been laid to drive even greater innovation. He expects that the next big wave will come with connected intelligence devices using IP networks and new wireless technologies that will, in context, drive a whole new ranges of products and services, as we have seen with IP telephony and cloud services. That is the connected part. As for the intelligence, data will be collected and stored (if it isn't already) and then that information will be used deliver more custom experience and innovation to different people. The last 10 years, especially, have given us the underlying technology in wireless connectivity, low-voltage processors, HD touchscreens and device innovation that really sets us up for what will be the next major phase of mobile.