Who are you?

There are plenty of stories, books, article, you name it out there about finding out who you are and your true identity. But the thing that a lot of people fail to mention is that you do not have to do it alone. What if the person you are with brings out the person that you really are? Kind of like making your beautiful colors stand out brighter and bringing out the best of you. I have heard it said that being away from someone can help you keep your identity. Doesn't that argument seem a bit flawed? We spend our life figuring things out and there are those lucky few people that get to do it with someone that fully completes them lets them be part of something bigger. It is not something that can be kept up through internet phones or anything like that. You have to actually be able to see the person and be with them. When I look at my other half, I am still in awe that I got to be one of those lucky ones.

Phones of the Future

Enter Fluid, a device concept by Brazilian designer Dinard da Mata. This smartwatch/smartphone reminds us of a slap bracelet from the 1990s. But with a flexible touchscreen, the gadget would certainly serve as more than just a hip fashion statement. There is also Paddle.Think of Paddle as the sort of Rubik’s Cube of smartphone designs. Created by a group at Hasselt University in Belgium, the project imagines a device without a distinctive shape, a “highly deformable” smartphone that can also take the form of a tablet, a ring, or other offbeat shapes. The physical design of this iPhone 6 concept may appear familiar, but the function is pretty far out there. Developed by SET Solution, this proposed version of Apple’s smartphone would pack projectors, providing for essentially three touchscreens when the device is placed on a table surface, as well as some really cool (and slightly unbelievable) 3D interaction with the main screen. People that are invested in software development also have a stake in the new phones that are being developed because the new medium and technology on which to development the business applications and mobile applications.

Get Up From That Chair!

New research published in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health reports that prolonged sitting puts people over 60 at a risk for disabilities. Elderly adults in this age group spend on average two-thirds of their days sedentary, which equates to about nine hours a day. The link between age and disability held even when researchers controlled for obesity, socioeconomic status, physical activity, and other health factors. The risks include being overweight, increased risk of heart attack, and just overall worse health. As a web developer, it might be hard to find time to get up and move. There are plenty of desks that enable you to stand and even exercise while you are working in the office or your home. With these types of studies constantly coming out, it might be time to consider all that sitting around we do either on the computer or using phone services. After you finish reading this post, please stand up.

Protect Digital Content

Walking the halls and halls of products at this year's International CES, you can find wearable technology, sensors, connected toys, connected cars, UHD TV's and so much more. But in addition to all the hardware, we're seeing many software solutions for the millions of us who regularly maintain blogs and websites: the content creators. There are some things to remember when creating digital content and it is important to know your rights.

1. You own the copyright to your photograph, recording, or written copy (including blog posts, marketing material, packaging copy, etc.) the instant it is created.

2. Register your copyrighted works to take full advantage of the legal protections offered to registered copyright owners (e.g., the ability to sue infringers).

3. "Fair Use" is not simply a general opinion of what is "fair" when it comes to using part of or the entire copyrighted work of another: It is a legally-defined exception that may or may not apply to your use of a copyrighted work, depending on multiple factors, regardless of how generously you attribute the original author.

4. Using the informal (TM) symbol is one way to assert common law rights in your trademark, even though your mark is not yet registered by the U.S Patent and Trademark Office.

5. Rather than selling all of the rights to your intellectual property outright, consider granting the other party a license to particular rights in order to create or extend the existing life of your IP's stream of income.

6. When considering a license, pay close attention to the language defining how, where and when the intellectual property can be used (e.g., is it exclusive?; can it be used on only one website or product?; is it for a renewable term?; etc.)

Bad Tech to Watch Out For

There’s a fine line between cheap and inexpensive, and it can be hard to tell the difference. Why buy a second piece of tech that you’ll probably forget at home? Became a phone photographer, and never look back. Camcorders have long been a part of our culture. For many years, people filmed just about every facet of daily life, generating what must be millions of miles of video tape showing family holiday get-togethers, trips to theme parks and graduation ceremonies. Move over, box of 8mm film — a box of videotapes needs some room. But just as cell phone cameras have been upgraded for still photos, their video quality has also improved remarkably over recent years especially with the introduction of many communication services. Speaking of gadgets that do double duty, back when GPS units first came to the market, they felt like the ultimate in James Bond wizardry. Here’s the thing: You probably already have one of these. No, I’m not talking about the in-dash GPS units that come as an option on your car (which are a huge waste of money). Actually, I mean that smartphone you check obsessively throughout the day. DVD players and name brand HDMI cables are also some old tech that is not worth buying.

Turn it Off

How you ever gone out with your friends and then barely said a word to each other because you were all so busy using different phone services and social networks? Instead of enjoying concerts that we paid big bucks for, we're spending the time looking through the tiny screens of our phones to capture blurry photographs that we'll later slap a Hefe filter on. Instead of catching up with an old friend over some coffee, we're plotting how to describe this moment in 140 characters for thousands of strangers to read. Our memories will be diluted to dissecting timelines on Facebook and I fear we'll just turn there to expose how we feel, how we really feel, instead of saying it out loud in person. Who do you honestly think is going to call you that is so important that they cannot wait? Maybe we need to be able to connect in other ways.

Getting the Most Out of Gmail

If you get a lot of invites in your email–whether they’re for social events or just plain old work meetings–it’s now easier than ever to add them directly to your Google calendar from an open email. Look for any dates or times in the email and you’ll see dashes appear under those words. Click the date and you’ll get a prompt asking if you want to “Add to Calendar.” ne of Google’s recent “improvements” to Gmail is customizable tabs which separate incoming email into categories; Primary, Social and Promotions. Primary is email sent specifically to you, or that you mark as important. Social is email from social networking sites like LinkedIn, Pinterest and Facebook. Promotions is where I find my Groupon emails and other newsletters that I subscribe to. More internet faxing companies should looking into this organizational structure so that it is much easier to sort through all of the important faxes and ignore the junk.