Is Social Media Just Another Bad Habit To Break ?

Facebook’s mission is to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected. People use Facebook to stay connected with friends and family, to discover what’s going on in the world, and to share and express what matters to them. That’s taken directly from their mission statement.
I no longer see this as true. Social networks and social media in general are a great tool for people to connect with friends and relatives but they’ve also become a convenient excuse not to do just that: connect.
Social media has turned a lot of us into a reflex-based automaton.

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‘Strategic realignment’ at HTC will leave 15 percent of the company’s employees jobless

With Q3 earning projections expected to be the worst in the company’s history, HTC is kicking off an internal realignment that will allow the company to focus on “profitable key areas of premium smartphones, virtual reality and connected lifestyle products.” While this means that HTC Vive and HTC’s upcoming wearables line are still on track, more than 2,000 of HTC’s employees will soon be looking for new jobs. HTC has not disclosed where the majority of the job cuts will be coming from, but we imagine front-line manufacturing positions will be the first to go as sales of HTC smartphone continue to drop.

While cutting 15 percent of its job force is a dramatic first step to get HTC back on track, the company will need to deliver a truly amazing flagship smartphone in 2016 if it wants to be taken seriously as a premium smartphone manufacturer. Cher Wang appears optimistic about HTC’s future, stating “this strategic realignment of our business will ensure that each product group has the right focus, the right resources and the right expertise.”

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Watch the Samsung Unpacked event live here

As most of you surely know, yet another Samsung Unpacked event is almost upon us. The show is set for 3PM GMT. But, just to eliminate any possible confusion, here is a nifty countdown timer:

var CDown = function() {
this.state=0;// if initialized
this.counts=[];// array holding countdown date objects and id to print to {d:new Date(2013,11,18,18,54,36), id:”countbox1″}
this.interval=null;// setInterval object
}

CDown.prototype = {
init: function(){
this.state=1;
var self=this;
this.interval=window.setInterval(function(){self.tick();}, 1000);
},
add: function(date,id){
this.counts.push({d:date,id:id});
this.tick();
if(this.state==0) this.init();
},
expire: function(idxs){
for(var x in idxs) {

var now = new Date();

if( ((now.getTime() – this.counts[idxs[x]].d.getTime()) / 60000) < 59 )
this.display(this.counts[idxs[x]], "Now!");
else
this.display(this.counts[idxs[x]], "Over");

this.counts.splice(idxs[x], 1);
}
},
format: function(r){
var out="";
if(r.d != 0){out += r.d +" "+((r.d==1)?"day":"days")+", ";}
if(r.h != 0){out += r.h +" "+((r.h==1)?"hour":"hours")+", ";}
out += r.m +" "+((r.m==1)?"min":"mins")+", ";
out += r.s +" "+((r.s==1)?"sec":"secs")+", ";

return out.substr(0,out.length-2);
},
math: function(work){
var y=w=d=h=m=s=ms=0;

ms=(""+((work%1000)+1000)).substr(1,3);
work=Math.floor(work/1000);//kill the "milliseconds" so just secs

y=Math.floor(work/31536000);//years (no leapyear support)
w=Math.floor(work/604800);//weeks
d=Math.floor(work/86400);//days
work=work%86400;

h=Math.floor(work/3600);//hours
work=work%3600;

m=Math.floor(work/60);//minutes
work=work%60;

s=Math.floor(work);//seconds

return {y:y,w:w,d:d,h:h,m:m,s:s,ms:ms};
},
tick: function(){
var now=(new Date()).getTime(),
expired=[],cnt=0,amount=0;

if(this.counts)
for(var idx=0,n=this.counts.length;…

from GSMArena.com – Latest articles http://ift.tt/1JeRcQf
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Death goes green: the eco-friendly funerals of the future


Death goes green: the eco-friendly funerals of the future
We’ve made innovations in how we live, but what about how we’re laid to rest? With the ever increasing environmental toll caused by traditional funerals, the growing modern burial movement seeks to find simpler, more graceful ways of returning to the earth; burying unembalmed bodies in biodegradable coffins or shrouds, putting QR codes on headstones, creating facilities for human composting in city centers.

August 13, 2015 at 09:37AM
via Digg http://ift.tt/1DKvIIM

These Are The Best Bluetooth Headsets You Can Buy

Not everyone needs a Bluetooth headset. But if you’re hopping on and off the phone throughout the day, or if you frequently—not that we recommend this—talk on the phone while driving, the $90 Plantronics Voyager Edge is the best Bluetooth headset for most people. After spending 20 hours on research and testing for this update, including real-world testing of 12 products, we’ve determined that the Voyager Edge is a top-notch headset with the right balance of stellar sound quality, long battery life, impressive Bluetooth range, and comfortable fit.
Who is this for?
A good mono (one-ear) Bluetooth headset is a great accessory if you speak on the phone frequently and want the convenience of having your hands free. It’s also an important item if you need to be sure that your voice sounds clear to the person on the other end, without too much wind or other background noise—a Bluetooth headset will make your voice sound much clearer, and be easier to understand, than using the speakerphone feature of your smartphone for hands-free calls.
How we tested

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