Much of the technology we use on a daily basis seems like it was from a science fiction movie a few years ago. Think about it, tablets, smartphones, e-readers, every one of these technologies changed the way we operate on a daily basis. So what is next step in the world of technology? Ben Kunz, a writer for Bloomberg Businessweek, predicts that holograms are on their way.

Apple and holograms

Will our Apple devices soon display dynamic holograms? If you are having problems picturing what this would be like, imagine technology akin to what Robert Downey Jr.’s character utilized in the movie The Avengers. Kunz’s prediction is not simply a guess; he has based it on recent acquisitions and patents from Apple. Not only this, but Apple has to stay ahead of the competition, which is intense, in the tablet world.

Apple’s plans

How it could work: With forward-facing cameras that track the position of the viewers’ eyes and a screen that projects beams of light at different angles a hologram might be created. This hologram would also be very realistic as a result of different angles created by the various beams of light. The viewer could look at it from every direction and it would maintain its visual integrity.

The future of 3D?

The one thing that Apple is going to have to contend with if they opt to introduce 3D technology and/or holograms to their devices is that 3D tech has yet to inspire the imaginations of consumers. Sales have been slow for 3D TV’s and Nintendo’s 3DS handheld game system which doesn’t even require glasses. So what makes Apple think it will do this with success? Apple has had a history of taking ideas and making them better. Look what they did with the mouse. They took Xerox’s idea, made it better, and it sold like hotcakes. But only time will tell if Apple will find the right execution of 3D and/or hologram technology to excite and entice consumers.

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Windows 8 has already made a splash in the tech world. The new operating system from Microsoft looks vastly different than any system that came before. The reviews so far have been mostly kind. And as a business owner, you’re all set to upgrade to the new system. You just hope the move goes smoothly. Thankfully, you can follow a number of strategies, covered in a recent post on the Smallbiz Technology website, to ensure that your move to Windows 8 is a painless one relatively.

Do the Research

The first thing you’ll want to check before upgrading may seem obvious. Make sure your computer can run efficiently on Windows 8. A machine must have the following requirements to be able to run Windows 8: 1GB of RAM, 16GB of hard-drive space, and a 1GHz processor. These are the same requirements as Windows 7. So if you are already running Windows 7, there’s no need to check.

Backups

There are many reasons why having a secure backup of your essential documents a very good idea. But particularly before you begin an upgrade it is crucial. You could store your info in an external hard drive but if you feel that this can be too costly or you simply have too much data to move easily, you can opt for a private cloud service. Many managed service providers (MSPs) offer these types of services. This will ensure that your essential data is secured if something goes wrong during the upgrade.

Setup utility

Microsoft provides a setup utility that searches your computer to tell you whether or not it will support Windows 8. If the computers are using XP, this can be particularly important as Microsoft will stop providing support for XP in 2014. If you are moving to Windows 8 you are going to need to reinstall your software and drivers. Hopefully you have kept all of the installation disks. This may seem like an overwhelming task, but the added features of Windows 8 could increase your efficiency enough to make it worth it. Just be sure that you follow the steps above before attempting the upgrade yourself.

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You have used Google for years, and you understand how to use it, right? You generally find what you are looking for, right? Maybe not, there are numerous tricks you can utilize to make your Googling skills more advantageous and efficient. After learning about some of these trick in articles from the How-To Geek website and the Atlantic we decided to share the few we found to be helpful.

Operators are key

If you are hoping to find very specific information through a Google search, operators are the best way to find what you are looking for. The example that the How-To Geek site used is as follows. Say a user hopes to find stories only published by the New York Times relating to college test scores. That is very specific and seems like it would take a lot of digging. Not if you utilize operators. By inserting the operator “site:” in front of the words “nytimes.com,” Google will only search in that site. Then by adding quotation marks around exact phrases they are looking for, in this case “test scores,” Google will search for that specific phrase only. If the user desires to add a date range, they can add 2008..2010 and it will narrow the search further.

Google Scholar

Google Scholar is another easy way to narrow search results. It prompts Google to only search academic and scholarly work, which could be great for research papers. To do this you can employ operators. For example, if you are searching for a paper written by Dr. Breit about the evolution of coding languages, you would input the operator “author:” in front of “Breit” followed by the phrase “evolution of coding languages” into Google Scholar.

Control F

“Control F” is a way to search within your search results. For example, perhaps you are searching for a new outfit to wear to a holiday party. After searching for “party dress” you can hold control on your keyboard and click “F.” A small search bar will pop up in the top or bottom of your screen and in it you can search your results by typing “pink” or “long” to help you narrow your search.

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Sometimes things that were created to make your work easier can actually create problems. The thing that comes to my mind is autocomplete in text messages. But another huge one is the autocomplete function in Apple’s mail app. This can easily cause you to send emails to unintended parties. This occurs if you are entering an email address into the “to” field and it has the first couple letters as an address in your address book, it will autocomplete that address for you. This may be helpful, but it may cause problems as well.

Autocomplete embarrassments

Obviously, if you do not double check the “to” field before sending the email it might go to the wrong person. You may say, but I don’t have that many people I email. Well, you may not realize that you may have a number of old contacts in your address book that you never email. Brian Sawyer discussed this problem on the O’Reilly Answers website. This issue may cause you to send a crucial business email to someone you never speak to, and you may never even know it.  The person you meant to send it to won’t ever receive it and an email containing sensitive information could be read by the wrong person.

Removing autocomplete email addresses

Luckily, if you have pinpointed what emails are often being autocompleted, you can eliminate them if you would like. Here is how: In Mail, click the “Window” tab. After picking “Previous Recipients,” search for the email address that you want to get rid of. Highlight it and click “Remove From List.” It’s that easy.

Monitoring is key

Removing an address doesn’t guarantee that it won’t return to your address book. Even collaborating with a person on a Google Doc will add the address to your address book. So, the simplest way to ensure that these confusions don’t happen in the future is to make sure you check your address book, and check the “to” field before clicking “Send.”

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