Learning to “Think Outside the Box”

 

Martina McGowan

Don’t think outside the box;

think like there is no box!
Squeaky
Have you ever heard the saying, “Think outside the box?” Of course you have. It is a saying that has been thrown around in the workplace and in countless self-help books. Thinking outside of the box usually can often create unique solutions to the most unusual of problems, but it is not always as easy as it may sound. Every person is creative, but it can be difficult to tap into the creativity within you if their minds are constrained by the pressures of life, time, or judgments. For this reason, some people may have difficulty thinking outside the box since it involves going outside of their snug and comfortable comfort zone.
Stepping off the familiar path
Thinking outside of the box means that you are leaving the realm of familiarity by going beyond what you have established as your boundaries. When you do this, you will begin to unlock new ways of thinking and unique solutions to some of those nagging problems. Other people may look at your ideas with a certain amount of skepticism or disbelief, but this is usually because it is also outside of their comfort zones as well! But that is all okay, because you are a trailblazer.
So how do you go about leaving the familiar path and stepping outside of the box to think? You do it by expanding your comfort zone. Right now, you are trapped in a labyrinth of confined thinking. This is because each of us has been trained from a young age to think and act in a particular way. In reality, there isn’t only one way to think about things. There are countless ways and avenues for getting things done! This is precisely why you need to keep an open mind and remove all barriers.
You can learn how to develop the desire to be, think and act differently than everyone else, but it will require that you to do some things that you may feel uncomfortable doing. Like what, for example? Speaking up in a crowd, going against common wisdom, or asking questions that no one else is willing to ask. It may feel a bit unnerving at first, but it is indeed the only way to expand your comfort zone and learn to begin to see things in a new way.
Do you think that Albert Einstein or Alexander Graham Bell stuck to conventional wisdom? Of course not! They took their thinking to entirely new levels in order to discover theories and bring to life their inventions that have changed the course of the world.
The key lesson here is that if something does not work well, you need to remain open to thinking about it from another angle. Turn the page upside down if you have to! Always keep in mind that you can test and tweak things until it is just the right fit and feel. Do not beat yourself up if you make a mis-step, because mistakes and failures are necessary for significant growth and improvement.
Characteristics of thinking in a new way
There are certain characteristics associated with thinking outside the box.

• Listening to and making the time to evaluate new perspectives
• Thinking about and discussing topics with more substance
• Envisioning the value of far out ideas
• Always pushing to create new, improved ways of getting things done
• Always showing respect for the opinions and ideas of others

It may be a challenge in the beginning to see the world in a whole new way, but it is far from impossible. You need to remember that new ideas need to be nurtured and supported in order for them to flourish. By keeping these things in mind, you are well on your way to accepting the challenge to think and grow outside of the proverbial box.

Underwater Wi-Fi, coming soon to an ocean near you

Student researchers Zahed Hossain and Hovannes Kulhandjian test out the underwater Wi-Fi transmitter (University …

You’re underwater in the middle of the ocean taking in the breathtaking views. Naturally, you’re going to want to check in on Facebook.
Ok, that’s not technically in the works but a team of researchers have successfully tested an underwater wireless Internet network.

And as futuristic as that may sound, it actually would happen years after NASA successfully launched Internet access in space.
News.com.au reports that the University of Buffalo researchers say any underwater Wi-Fi network would be used for practical purposes, such as monitoring ocean life and for helping to give advance warning of tsunamis.

“A submerged wireless network will give us an unprecedented ability to collect and analyze data from our oceans in real time," Tommaso Melodia, an associate professor of electrical engineering at the University of Buffalo, and the project’s lead researcher, said in a statement. “Making this information available to anyone with a smartphone or computer, especially when a tsunami or other type of disaster occurs, could help save lives.”

In other words, your Instagram update will need to wait until you’re back in the boat.
However, creating an underwater Wi-Fi network will not be as easy as dropping a few 4G hotspots into the ocean. Radio waves to not effectively transmit underwater. In the study, Melodia and his team used sound waves to create the wireless signal.
Thanks to funding from the National Science Foundation, the researchers dropped two 40 pound sensors attached to buoy into Lake Erie. After converting the sound waves to radio waves, they were able to detect "a series of high-pitched chirps" which "ricocheted off a nearby concrete wall," according to the University of Buffalo professor.
Melodia says a future underwater network could be used for a wide range of activities, from helping law enforcement track drug traffickers to protecting the ocean’s inhabitants.

"We could even use it to monitor fish and marine mammals, and find out how to best protect them from shipping traffic and other dangers," Melodia said. "An Internet underwater has so many possibilities
."Eric Pfeiffer

Review: Button location sets LG's G2 apart

YOUKYUNG LEE 

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The G2 and the G Pad 8.3, the flagship smartphone and tablet from LG Electronics Inc., are great mobile devices that have fantastic screens, top-end cameras and ample processing power.
But making an impressive device is not enough to stand apart from the crowd in the ultra-competitive mobile phone market, which probably pushed LG to make some bold design decisions in a bid to differentiate its G series from Samsung's Galaxy line and Apple's iPad mini.
For the G2, which was released last month in the U.S., LG moved the power and volume controls to the back of the phone. For the G Pad, which goes on sale in the U.S. next week, LG added a full HD screen, a rarity in 8-inch tablet computers.
While these design choices set the G2 and the G Pad apart from 'me too' devices trying to catch up with Samsung and Apple, they might also limit their appeal.
Not everyone will be pleased with having to change the basic habits of smartphone operation. They will scratch their heads looking for those buttons just like I did. The full HD screen display makes the G Pad a couple of hundred dollars more expensive than other 8-inch tablets.
It took a couple of days before my index finger ceased pressing a volume key when I intended to press a power key. But after that, I realized having a power button on the back makes it easier to use a big handset with one hand. The G2 has a 5.2-inch screen.
LG came up with a double-tap gesture to activate the phone. I found it easier and quicker than pressing a home button and then sliding to unlock as with my iPhone 4S. This double-tap to start also applies to the G Pad.

View gallery."

LG removed the physical home button on the front for the G2 and the G Pad. Instead, virtual buttons for back, home and menu actions appear when the screen is activated. I preferred these virtual buttons over physical ones because I could touch them with the same gesture and pressure I applied to the touchscreen. One downside of Samsung's Galaxy devices is that the touchscreen and the three buttons for home, back and menu options all need a different level of pressure to be activated.
LG's virtual buttons rotated with the screen when I tilted the G2 or the G Pad to a landscape mode. That made them easy to access when I watched a movie in the landscape mode with the G Pad. Removing the physical home button also gives the screen more space in the phone.
But the design elements that make the G2 and the G Pad different from rivals stopped there.
LG has packed the G2 with other features but many of them were no better than what is already available. For example, a feature called Task Slider allows multitasking by swiping the screen with three fingers to hide or reopen an application. But Android users are familiar with an extended press of the home button to bring up a list of applications in use, which is quick and more intuitive.
The G2 will be a great choice but only for people who don't mind re-learning how to use a smartphone. In the U.S., the G2 smartphone is available at $200 with a two-year contract or $600 without a contract from a carrier.

For people who are willing to pay a premium for the 8.3-inch tablet's full HD screen, the G Pad will also be a decent choice. While the U.S. price is yet to be announced, in South Korea the tablet is offered at 550,000 won ($515).

POLL: Young adults say technology can be dehumanizing

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Young boy using a computer

22 hours ago

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Millennials are tech-savvy young adults who grew up with smartphones and iPads, but many think technology makes people less human, according to a poll released on Thursday.
The survey of 12,000 people aged 18 and older in eight countries, commissioned by Intel Corporation, also showed that 18- to 24-year-olds want technology to be more personal and know their habits. Older women and those living in emerging markets are the most enthusiastic about the role technology can play in their lives, the findings showed.
Dr. Genevieve Bell, an anthropologist and research director at Intel Labs, said although the results of the survey that examined global attitudes towards technology innovation may indicate that young adults are rejecting technology, the findings could be more complicated.
"A different way to read this might be that millennials want technology to do more for them," she said in a statement.
Nearly 90 percent of young adults questioned in the poll admitted innovations in technology make life easier, but about 60 percent said people rely on it too much and that it can be dehumanizing.
Seventy percent said technology enhances their personal relationships and about half believe it will have a good impact on education, transportation and healthcare.
Women age 45 and older, and those living in emerging markets such as Brazil and India, are more enthusiastic about the impact technology could have on their lives.
In China, more than 70 percent of women said technology is not used enough.
"Women historically have become avid users of technology when that technology solves a problem, helps us organize our live and that of our families, as well as aids us in saving time and time shifting," Bell said.
The findings showed that Italians and Japanese held the most negative attitudes toward technology.
The survey, which was conducted in Brazil, China, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan and the United States from July 28 to August 15, has a margin of error of plus or minus 0.89 percentage points.

(Reporting by Patricia Reaney; Editing by Piya Sinha-Roy)

Microsoft releases Windows 8.1

Long-awaited upgrade released today addresses gripes with Windows 8

The Associated Press

Windows 8.1 is available for download starting today. New features include the return of the 'start' button, gesture controls and the ability to answer Skype calls from the lock screen. (The Associated Press)

• Download Windows 8.1 at Windows Store

(Note: CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external links.)

Microsoft released its long-awaited Windows 8.1 upgrade as a free download starting today. It addresses some of the gripes people have had with Windows 8, the dramatically different operating system that attempts to bridge the divide between tablets and PCs.
Windows 8.1 still features the dual worlds that Windows 8 created when it came out last October. On one hand, it features a touch-enabled tile interface resembling what's found in tablet computers. On the other, there's the old desktop mode where the keyboard and mouse still reign. The update adds some new finger- and gesture-friendly shortcuts for touch-based apps, while restoring some respect for the desktop mode that a billion PC users have become accustomed to.
The release comes as sales of traditional desktop and laptop computers continue to decline because consumers are spending money instead on the latest smartphones and tablets. It also comes at a time of transition for Microsoft as the Redmond, Wash., company focuses on devices and services, not just software. Earlier this month, Microsoft struck a deal to acquire Nokia's phone business and patent rights for more than $7 billion. Microsoft is also searching for a new CEO to replace Steven A. Ballmer, who announced last month that he plans to retire within the next year.
The Window 8.1 update is free for current owners of Windows 8. It's available starting at 7 a.m. ET Thursday in New York, which corresponds to the start of Friday in New Zealand. Simply go to the Windows Store app to find it. It may take a few hours for updates to reach everyone. Computers with Windows 8.1 already installed will go on sale Friday local time. That's also when people will be able to buy stand-alone copies of Windows 8.1.
The changes range from the cosmetic to improved functionality:

Restoring respect for the desktop

• Start me up: The Start button is back in desktop mode, although not the way it was before Windows 8 came along. In Windows 7 and before, a click on Start would have brought up programs and important folders in a list. Now, one tap on Start flips you back to the new tile interface, where you can click or tap tiles to open programs. A long press brings up crucial settings such as the Control Panel.
• Boot to desktop: You can now start up the machine in desktop mode, bypassing the tiles for a short time. That removes some of the headache for companies that want to use Windows 8 but don't want to buy a touch-screen monitor for every employee.

Touch and gesture updates

• Onscreen keyboard swipes: The onscreen keyboard now includes the ability to type numbers or punctuation marks by swiping up or away from certain keys on the standard "QWERTY" layout, eliminating the need to toggle between numeric and alphabetic layouts. You can also select from suggested words mid-stream using side swipes and taps on the virtual spacebar.
• Gesture-enabled apps: You can now wave in the air in front of the front-facing camera to get a response. For example, in the new app Bing Food & Drink, a right-to-left wave in "Hands Free Mode" flips through pages of a recipe.
• Quicker tile organizing: You can tap and hold Windows tiles with your finger to move them. Another couple taps will allow you to resize them in one of four sizes. In the previous version, you had to go back to the mouse or touchpad and right-click on tiles to do this, and you were limited to two sizes.
• Easier apps access: Finding all your apps takes just a swipe up on your start screen, as long as you don't do it from beyond the bottom edge. Before, you had to swipe up from the bottom edge, then tap on the All Apps button.

Small conveniences

• Automatic updates: Apps update in the background, replacing the constant reminders to go to the Windows Store to update the apps yourself.
• Smaller tablets: Windows 8.1 now has a home screen that looks good in portrait mode on screens measuring 7 inches to 8 inches diagonally.
• Lock screen access: You can now answer Skype calls or take photos from the lock screen without having to log in. Just swipe down. You can also set other apps like Twitter to send notifications when the screen is locked.

Functional changes

• Better multitasking: In Windows 8.1, you can run up to four apps at once side by side, double the previous amount, though you need a large, high-resolution monitor to do so (On their own, Microsoft's Surface tablets are not big enough for more than two). You can resize panes using a slider that moves side to side, instead of being limited to one larger window and one slender one. This is still not as capable as Windows 7 or in desktop mode, where you can open dozens of items in windows that can be resized horizontally, vertically and diagonally. And many app makers have yet to adapt, meaning some apps still appear as a thin sliver, even if you want them to take up half the screen.
• Global search: Typing while on the tile-based start screen will pull up multiple search results — if applicable — from your computer, the Web and the Windows app store. If you're searching for a musician, you'll see a list of popular songs you can play using Xbox Music, and if it's someone famous (like President Barack Obama) you'll see biographical details, videos and other information. Before, you had to choose where to search: in apps, settings, computer files or on the Internet.
• Email update: The standard-issue Mail app now has a "power pane" on left-hand side with folders for updates from social networks like Facebook, messages from favorite contacts and newsletters. Some of these features work only with Microsoft accounts such as Hotmail and Outlook.com, though. A new "sweep" command deletes multiple messages with a couple taps.
• Better browsing: No longer are you limited to 10 open tabs in the tile version of Internet Explorer. Before, Web pages automatically closed without prompts when you try to open more. You can open as many as you want now. Better yet, you can have two different websites displayed side by side, the way you've long been able to before Windows 8 came along.

Fun stuff

• Xbox music refresh: The music streaming app now optimizes playback over discovery with a layout that has more lists and smaller photos. It also adds the ability to create playlists from any website with a couple taps. When on a website featuring artists, swipe in from the right edge and tap the Share button followed by the Music button. It will create a song playlist based on those artists, which you can then stream for free.
• Picture editing: A picture editor with pre-set effects comes with the update, allowing for photo touchups, cropping, contrast changes and other features.
• Xbox One integration: You can pick up where you left off if you start playing a video purchased on Xbox Video on a tablet and then watch the rest on Microsoft's upcoming game console, Xbox One.