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Survey: No need to be in the office to work

"Honey, I'm going to the office," is a remark we may not hear as much if more people have their way.

Three out of five workers around the world said they don't need to be in the office to be productive, according to a study out yesterday from Cisco. The "Cisco Connected World Report" collected the results of two surveys that questioned both IT and non-IT professionals about mobile work habits.

The belief that people can work just fine from home or on the road was especially pervasive in Asia and Latin America. Around … Read more

Google TV is live

  Links from Tuesday's episode of Loaded: Barnes & Noble's PubIt Amazon lets you purchase inside Facebook Google TV is live Virgin Mobile announces no-contract Android phone Skype and FringOut say hello to Android

B&N's PubIt self-publishing platform goes live

Back in May, Barnes & Noble announced that it would be launching a self-publishing platform, and now its PubIt service has officially gone live. The new DIY publishing option allows independent publishers and self-publishing writers to distribute their works digitally through BN.com and Barnes & Noble's eBookstore.

The new service will compete with Amazon's pioneering Digital Text Platform (DTP), which many writers have turned to for distributing their works to the Kindle and other devices that run the Kindle Reader software. Sony, too, has a DYI option for its Reader Store, and Apple is now allowing self-publishers … Read more

Going corporate: Chrome getting admin-friendly

Chrome, like Android, got its start as a technology geared for individuals, not companies. And just as Google updated Android with features such as Microsoft Exchange support, Chrome is being refashioned for a broader world of corporate use.

The results of the work can be seen at Google's Chrome administrative information site. The site includes quick-start guides for administrators, policy templates for setting group permissions, and a list of tweakable settings that can be enforced through policies.

For example, administrators can use the settings to prohibit use of particular plug-ins, set the home page, disable synchronization services, and set … Read more

Better streaming audio and a unique puzzle game: iPhone apps of the week

As most people know, the thing about buying anything in the computer and gadget world is that you run the risk of your item becoming obsolete after the next revision. People often complain about Apple in this way (first-generation iPhone, anyone?), but it's mostly true across the board: with advances in technology coming so rapidly these days, the neat gadget you got this year will probably be mainstream by next year. It's just the nature of the tech business.

Even though I was armed with knowledge of the "early adopter" phenomenon well before I bought my iPad, it still hurt to read rumors over at AppleInsider saying a refresh of the iPad complete with a front-facing camera might be coming sooner rather than later. Sure, I have the ability to use FaceTime on my iPhone 4, but all that screen real estate is certainly going to make video calls better on the iPad. Much better.

So, here's your chance, readers! Go ahead and gloat--you made the right choice and waited. You didn't fall prey to the keynote for the "magical" device and now you're in the perfect position to get a better version. Congratulations! Now, try not to be too hard on me.

This week's apps include an streaming-audio app with a slick interface, and a fun and addictive puzzle game that will test your math skills.… Read more

IT job seekers tapping into social media

Like a lot of job seekers, IT pros are using social media sites to network and market themselves. But many are concerned about content on their profiles hurting their job searches.

Among the IT professionals surveyed for Technisource's "August 2010 Social Media Use Report," 41 percent said they've used social media sites as part of their search for work. Out of those, 85 percent have mainly used LinkedIn. Further, 32 percent received a career opportunity through a social network, with most of those offers coming through LinkedIn.

Thirty-five percent of the people surveyed said most of … Read more

Cardboard 'Move-it' makes for instant box trolley

Designer David Graham has created a kit called Move-it that transforms any cardboard box into a trolley. This lets the user easily move large packages (up to 44 pounds) even without a dedicated trolley.

The kit is quite simple, with handle and wheel parts that stick onto the box. The adhesive is secure but easily removable so the parts (including the wheel, axle, and chassis) can be reused or recycled. The system is designed to hold up on wet pavement. Watch the video below to see how it works.

In some places, retailers give out flimsy trolleys to those who … Read more

The public cloud: Friend or foe for storage vendors?

Last year, storage vendors were all about cloud. They saw major-league opportunities in the private, public, hybrid, and federated versions. No cloud was too big or too small. In fact, because clouds were "infinitely scalable," there was no limit to the number of yotta bytes they could sell.

Storage users and data center storage administrators in particular were decidedly more sanguine. You say cloud is a new services delivery model? Hey storage vendors, where have you been lately? We've been all about services delivery for some time now. Tell us something about cloud we don't know. … Read more

Microsoft's Seadragon goes social with Zoom.it

Microsoft Live Labs' Seadragon project now doubles as a social image host.

The technology, which allows large images to be loaded and scaled at high speeds while zooming and panning, powers a new media sharing and exploring service called Zoom.it.

Zoom.it can take any hosted image on the Web and place it within the company's Deep Zoom interface, allowing for large and complex images or graphics to fit in small spaces without a loss in quality or need for extra room.

The process of getting an image onto the service is as simple as pasting in a … Read more