We can already compute on the go, due to our tablet computers and smartphones. Nonetheless, Google isn’t content. The online search giant is in the middle of testing its Project Glass project, what you most likely think of as Google glasses. Maybe you’ve seen coverage of Project Glass in the New York Times. You might even have seen the many photos of smiling folks wearing what looks like futuristic wrap-around Star Trek glasses.

A Computer Above Your Eyes

These augmented reality glasses are hands off and allow users to share images, make phone calls, and do anything that they can do with their smartphones. The only real distinction is that their field of vision is the “screen”.

A Stream of Useful Information

These Google glasses are activated using voice commands. By simply speaking out loud, “where is the nearest bus stop” the glasses will access a map and lead you to your destination.

This video, produced by Google, gives you a glimpse of what wearing these augmented reality glasses could be like. The video shows a man making plans throughout his day, without having to trouble with a hand held device. As he heads to meet a friend the glasses alert him that the subway is suspended then maps out walking directions for him to follow. The video demonstrates that these glasses can act as a personal assistant who stays one step ahead and makes your life run more easily.

An Unobtrusive Technology?

Supposedly Project Glass isn’t designed to bombard users with an unending stream of technology. It’s actually meant to make it easier for them to access the technology they want when they want it. For instance, a user might want to take a picture of his girlfriend standing on a bridge over the Chicago River. As opposed to fumbling around for his camera or smartphone, he just presses a button on his Google glasses to snap the shot.

Another concern a lot of people have is that Project Glass could be used as an advertising platform; pulling up ads for businesses that are related to the one you are physically in. You can search on YouTube for Project Glass parodies and find some fairly humorous ones.  But whatever you think the future of Project Glass is, this technology has opened a world of possibilities.

>

Many people use Gmail nowadays, and that is no surprise. It’s simple to use, free, and Google knows how to make a good product. If you use Gmail you may possibly not be using it to its full potential. It has some remarkable tools included in it that make it easy for you to organize your email. Below is an explanation of some of those tools and links to pages that show you how to make use of them.

Label your messages: Is your email inbox packed with messages from friends, co-workers, bosses, and family members? It can prove challenging to keep track of these messages. Luckily, Gmail allows you to add brightly colored labels to your messages which helps organize your inbox. For instance, you can slap a red “Urgent” label to all messages that you must address quickly. You can put a blue “Vacation” label on emails relating to hotel reservations, car rentals, and other vacation-planning activities. If you’re performing a job search, emails from possible employees and networking contacts might include a purple “Job search” label.

Free up space with archiving: Do you enjoy having a clean inbox but have a lot of emails that you don’t wish to delete? By archiving messages in Gmail you can move them to an “All Mail” folder to get them out of the way. You can access them anytime this way but they won’t be cluttering your inbox.

Add a signature: Adding an email signature saves an incredible amount of time because every time you send an email you don’t need to retype your name and contact information. Gmail lets you create a signature and automatically puts it into the bottom of every email you send.

Filter your incoming messages: Gmail also lets you create filters that can automatically label, archive, delete, or forward specific incoming messages. By selecting the “Filter messages like this” option from Gmail’s “More” drop-down menu, you are able to tell Gmail to automatically apply the “Job Search” label to any messages that include the words resume, apply, career or job. You can tell Gmail to instantly send all messages with the words “hotel,” “car rental,” or “reservation” to your Gmail “Vacation” folder.

Do you know what VoIP is? VoIP is short for Voice over Internet Protocol, and it is a technology that enables people to make calls via the Internet rather then use a traditional landline. VoIP is very affordable and can save businesses, of any size, between 30 and 50 percent on their phone expenses.

Businesses today, of course, are still struggling through the nation’s sluggish economy. Many are running on tight budgets with skeleton staffs. Today’s businesses, then, can use any form of savings they can find. The cut in phone costs that VoIP provides would seem to be an easy avenue for savings. But are businesses actually embracing VoIP technology? Are they using it to slash their yearly costs?

A Move Toward VoIP?

A recent study says that businesses have not turned to VoIP technology as much as you’d think. Even so, the same study also says that this is apparently changing. According to research from Heavy Reading, about 31 percent of installed business lines in North America were VoIP-based in 2011. What’s promising, though, is that Heavy Reading anticipates that this figure will increase to 66.6 percent by 2015. Heavy Reading also predicts that by 2015 just 33.5 percent of business lines will consist of traditional circuit-switch versions.

Businesses are Switching to VoIP

The study implies, then, that companies will do a complete flip-flop by 2015. Today, after all, conventional circuit-switch phone lines make up 68 percent of business lines in North America. Are these numbers to be believed? Are businesses willing to make such a dramatic shift? Even if you’re less optimistic than the researchers at Heavy Reading, it’s difficult to deny that businesses will turn more frequently to VoIP technology in the coming years.

A Bright Future for VoIP and Business

VoIP technology provides voice communication that is as clear and dependable as traditional landlines. Let’s also keep in mind that it can be significantly cheaper. Upper management may be slow to make the move but the big plus with VoIP, is that employees will not have to get used to anything new. Phones work just like they do with a landline. So you if think VoIP is a passing fad, think again.

Corporate Network Services has become a partner of Digium VOIP phones so watch this space as we implement solutions for our clients.

>

The Internet has changed the way we get our news, watch movies, and pay our bills. It’s no surprise, then, that it has also changed the way we listen to music. Today, the web is home to quite a few top music-streaming services – online services that allow users to listen to their favorite music on their laptops, desktops, and mobile devices.

So we thought we would share with you some information about some of the more common streaming services:

Pandora: Pandora is very popular because of its simple user interface. After navigating to the website, you can input a song or artist you wish to hear and Pandora will create a “radio” station determined by that information. This is a wonderful way to learn about new artists with similar sounds. The stations that Pandora creates are easily customizable as well. If Pandora chooses an artist that you don’t like, you can select the thumbs down symbol on the song. Pandora permits further customization by allowing you to “seed” your station with various artists. While you can tune in to Pandora without creating an account, it is crucial if you want to save your customized stations.

Grooveshark: Grooveshark is a lot like Pandora in that it creates a “radio” station based on your musical tastes. However, you may also enjoy entire albums on Grooveshark and build playlists. One unique feature of Grooveshark is the power to upload your own music to the Grooveshark database if you cannot find what you are searching for. This is a smart and simple method for Grooveshark to grow its library.

Rhapsody: Rhapsody has stayed fairly popular due to its huge database of music. It has more then 14 million songs. Unfortunately, while many of the services we have talked about offer a free version, Rhapsody does not. It is $10 a month for unlimited music.

Spotify: Spotify was launched in 2008, and since then it has exploded into one of the most widely known and used music-streaming services. Spotify is very simple to use and, like Grooveshark, users can listen to entire albums or choose to use the radio function.  One thing that people love about Spotify is its integration with Facebook. By using the Spotify app, it keeps a running list of the songs you have heard on Facebook. Furthermore, users can see what their Facebook friends are presently listening to on a real-time feed. This is great for those who are in search of new music if one of their friends has similar tastes.

What’s your favorite on line service?

When was the last time we saw a Windows product which captured the essence of “cool”? Before recently it had been some time, but when Microsoft created the Kinect for Windows that all changed. The Kinect is a gesture and voice-sensing device that was initially developed for the Xbox gaming console.

A version of the device also works with Windows-operated PCs, and shortly after its launch in February, people started discovering innovative ways to use it.

Innovative Uses for the Kinect

For instance, at the Chicago Auto Show a few months ago, the chief marketing manager for Nissan North America used Kinect for Windows to generate a virtual tour of the Pathfinder’s upgraded interior. This proved particularly beneficial because the marketing manager only had the Pathfinder’s empty shell to show off at the Auto Show. A large screen powered by Kinect showed visitors exactly what they’d be viewing if they were actually sitting within the finished body of the new Pathfinder. The screen, for example, displayed the car’s dual moon roofs and several other features.

Microsoft is cooperating with companies to create applications for the Kinect. This not only encourages ingenuity but it puts the Kinect at the center of many of the most recent innovations. One example of a company that is working closely with Microsoft in this way is Boeing. Boeing used the Kinect to develop virtual tours of its jets. Another example is a medical facility in Canada. They’re using the Kinect’s gesture-recognition capability to swipe through CT scans. This eradicates the possibility of getting germs on their hands from a keyboard or mouse.

Kinect: A Solid Hit

Microsoft hit a home run when they invented the Kinect. The Xbox 360 was last year’s best-selling video gaming console, and they have the Kinect to thank for that. Since November of 2010 Microsoft has sold more than 18 million Kinect devices.

It may seem hard to believe, but Windows and its creator could have actually found something that’s not only useful, but cool, which can do nothing but good for their reputation.