Nokia Kinetic Concept Phone: Release Date and Specs Not Yet on this Earth

The mobile phones of today’s generation are more high tech and offer various options to mobile consumers and well accompanied by great features as well. It is not so surprising that the mobile world has been filled with a lot of amazing phones that can do a lot of things, which seems to be impossible before.

Lots of new concepts have been incorporated in the latest mobile phone releases that basically give mobile consumers more convenience and a great mobile experience. One of these concepts is that of the Nokia Kinetic.

Magical, spontaneous and undirected, these may be the three words, which perfectly describe Nokia Kinetic. The NokiaKinetic is a mobile phone that appears to be simply delightful to use. It makes activities such as receiving a call, text message, e-mail or alarm a more fun experience by turning digital information into kinetic movement.

The concept of coming up with Nokia Kinetic is simply amazing. And this amazing concept came from British designerJeremy Innes-Hopkins. The Nokia Kinetic comes with an electromagnet located within the base of the phone, which enables the shifting of its weight that causes the phone to stand up and do some playful movements.

Aside from its prominent base which is seen to be the most captivating feature of the Nokia Kinetic, it also very exciting to use. With a gentle tap, it can dismiss a call or cancel an alarm. With this action, the phone will now return to standby mode. Another interesting thing in this Nokia Kinetic is that it can gradually sit up upright upon the arrival of a new message or incoming call to notify its owner. It really sounds amazing isn’t it?

Basically, the Nokia Kinetic is just a product concept and apparently, there is only a slim chance that some of its ideas will be used in a future Nokia product. However, this concept only shows that more mobile phone designers continue to strive harder and come up with something new to offer. It only justifies a lot of future development in mobile devices. We can also say that at this age and time mobile phones has been man’s newest best friend.

This may not be the first that a mobile designer could have; surely lots of new and unique ideas will still be coming up in the future. Let’s just wait and see if the Nokia Kinetic will be put into reality one of these days.

IT leadership challenges and solutions

Takeaway: Information Technology management can be a hard job. This Article provides you with a look at some personnel-related challenges and how you might mitigate them.

Let’s face it, managing a herd of IT pros isn’t always the easiest thing in the world. Between tight work schedules, short deadlines, egos, and life in general, there are a lot of ways that the apple cart can get knocked over. Although I’m far from being a perfect manager, here’s how I try to handle specific situations as they arise. This method is effective if the team members are mature. If the team is made up of younger, inexperienced members then a list of possible activities should be available for them and guide them through the options. When the team is involved with the decision making, the members are empowered and more likely to participate. This will lighten up the load of management.

IT pros don’t always punch a clock

The challenge: Typical management challenge, but with some added twists. Many, if not most, IT pros are exempt, meaning that they don’t get paid by the hour. They are paid to get a job done, not to do routine line work. In addition, many IT pros tend to have to work at odd hours to accomplish maintenance tasks and upgrades that can’t be done during business hours. Further, just like many human beings, life sometimes gets in the way of IT pros, and they need to occasionally juggle a bunch of both professional and personal priorities. This can lead to absenteeism or odd working hours or requests to work from home at times.

My take: So what? To me, as long as the job is getting done, I don’t care where the person is working from or when they’re doing it as long as their long-term situation doesn’t lead to degraded work performance. I routinely allow the people who can to work from home when life throws them a curveball. I also tend to be relatively generous when it comes to vacation approvals and requests to adjust hours when necessary. The reason is simple: When I’ve had to ask a member of my staff to make an adjustment for the College’s benefit, they almost always step up, even if it presents some difficulty for them. The least that I can do is to return the favor. It’s a give-and-take that simply needs to be respected.

As much as I hate to say it, there does need to be some oversight to make sure that flexibility isn’t abused in a way that reduces overall productivity.

 The solution: Be flexible. Trust, but verify.

My staff needs to be in the know

 The challenge: Ensuring that staff knows everything reasonable in order to help them do their jobs better.

The very best team building game should foster interest and awareness in ethical organizations. Concepts such as fair trade, sustainability, corporate social responsibility and the likes should be tackled during the activities. Most people don’t have the least idea what these concepts stand for. Team activities and discussions should make these principles clear to people and make social responsibility more pronounced than by just reading the theory behind it.
This is also true for the company’s mission statement. People would savor a new mission statement when they know more about it. Discussions should make it clear what it means instead of it just a bunch of words written by someone at the head office.

 With the exception of the stuff that I really can’t talk about, I don’t hide things from my staff, whether it’s good news or bad news. For example, if we were in a situation in which enrollment numbers were showing weakness, I’d step up and tell my staff. To me, having that kind of information helps them to frame their own decisions, and there might be some great ideas for mitigation from the group.

 Obviously, there are limits to how much I can really say sometimes, but I’ve never understood management that held back critical business metrics from the staff. Although I’m sure that no one wants their people to walk around constantly worried if things are a bit sour, potential solutions can come from many places.

 Of course, I don’t tell them everything. To do so would both bore them and be a complete waste of their time. So, the challenge is making sure they know what they need to know.

 The solution: Find a balance and stick to it, but most of all, make sure your people know what they need to know.

Policy isn’t always policy

 The challenge: Blind adherence to what is considered “policy” is akin to saying “I was just following orders.”

 I almost hate to use the word “policy” any more when, in fact, I believe that the term “guidelines” is much more meaningful. It’s obvious that some policies are and must be set in stone — fraud-related policies, for example. However, what most people consider to be policies, I look at as a standard operating procedure only when it makes business sense. For example, suppose you have an equipment-lending policy whereby staff members can borrow equipment for a work-related purpose. In order to provide the best possible support, you request 48 hours’ notice in order to pick up equipment. Nine times out of ten, that “policy” is probably perfectly adequate, but there is always that one request that comes in that makes your policy look really stupid.

Employers are considered socially irresponsible when they are apathetic to the concerns of workers who have partners or started their family young. Strong work commitments can put pressure not only on the employees but also on their families and partners. Big multinational corporations would require their employees to travel and stay away from home. Ethical socially responsible organizations must minimize these trips to not make things worse at home.
If possible, invite families and partners to company outings and team buildings to gain their loyalty and support. Companies should stay away from staff-only events. Employer’s liabilities from these types of situations are unclear but there are principles such as social responsibilities that are in play.

 In other words, if you allow people to hide behind a crazy policy as a way out of making a decision, you’re doing something wrong. I’ve seen it happen far too often, and the results are almost never positive, although the person that was able to hide behind a policy didn’t have to lift a finger.

 In some cases, an exception to “policy” needs to be made. IT staff members must feel comfortable making exceptions when it makes sense, and it’s up to you to let them know when it makes sense — in general — or at least be available if there really is a question. Obviously, if you’re providing exceptions for every instance, something is wrong; perhaps your policy is poor, your culture doesn’t lend itself to full adherence, or the IT staff is providing too many exceptions. That said, make sure your staff can and does make exceptions when it makes sense. Also make sure to understand that every exception requires additional time to handle it, but, sometimes, it’s simply the right thing to do.

 I will admit that I tend to err on the side of customer service — maybe too often. I want to make sure that we do our absolute best to serve, but at the same time, our guidelines are a function of available resources, so sticking a bit closer to guidelines when possible is helpful.

 The solution: Make sure your people know where they can and can’t make on-the-fly judgment calls. If they blow it, tell them, but don’t reprimand unless it becomes an ongoing issue.

 This one is, by far, the hardest for me.

Microsoft buying Skype for $8.5 Billion

The software giant, Microsoft has bought Skype for $8.5 billion, in all cash deal.

The agreement has now been approved by the boards of directors of both Microsoft and Skype.

Skype will become a new business division within Microsoft, and chief exec Tony Bates will assume the title of president of the Microsoft Skype Division, reporting directly to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.

Skype has been up for sale for some time. eBay and Silver Lake Partners, previous share holders of Skype have been getting nervous about the delayed initial public offering and have been pushing for a sale of Skype.

Facebook and Google were also in the list to acquire Skype, but Microsoft, though a late applicant, has now taken it.

Skype gives Microsoft a boost in the enterprise collaboration market, thanks to Skype’s voice, video and sharing capabilities, especially when competing with Cisco and Google.
It gives Microsoft a working relationship with carriers, many of them looking to partner with Skype as they start to transition to LTE-based networks.
It would give them a must-have application/service that can help with the adoption of the future versions of Windows Mobile operating system.
However, the biggest reason for Microsoft to buy Skype is Windows Phone 7 (Mobile OS) and Nokia. The software giant needs a competitive offering to Google Voice and Apple’s emerging communication platform, Facetime.
The purchase also provides Microsoft with a wealth of p2p and collaboration technology expertise and intellectual property, an increasingly important asset to have these days.
It also brings reach: Skype’s user base is comparable to that of Facebook in terms of size (more than 600 million registered users).

It may be pre-predictions but Microsoft has got one big tool in his hand now and surely the competitors must be thinking what is coming next? The integration of Skype in the later version of Windows will surely make Google and Facebook to feel the heat.

Whatsoever is the output, Microsoft seems to be back in the battle with Google Voice, while Facebook still stands at the other end.