Friday, November 09, 2012

More Proof That Treating Employees Like Humans And Not Machines Is Good For Business

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/why-you-should-treat-employees-well-2012-11

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How much effort and feeling employees put into their job  is one of the most important things for a company. When everybody's engaged and works hard rather than just punching a clock, companies succeed.

A new study from found that companies that use new style, "sustainable" engagement practices have operating margins of 27.4 percent compared to 14.3 percent for those that use old school methods that focus on the company's goals, and 9.9 percent for companies that ignore engagement. 

That's a huge difference in efficiency and productivity. 

Here are three of the things that the most engaging companies focused on:

Healthy work environments

Stress is a great motivator, but it has a dark side in a high pressure economy. Organizations that that have leadership that shows a sincere interest in employee well being, actively manage and ask about work loads, hire enough people to get the job done instead of working a few to the bone, are open and clear about goals and expectations, provide flexible schedules, and actively intervene when they see high stress levels were the most successful. 

There's a literal component to this too, companies that focus on providing a physically comfortable environment that supports things like a good diet and exercise see a boost as well. 

A high standard for leaders 

Companies need to evaluate managers on how they interact with their employees as well as on financial performance. The most engaging managers designed tasks for workers unique skill sets, followed through on! their w ords and commitments, are respectful, and spend a great deal of time coaching and improving employees.

Focus on image and company goals 

Employees pay attention to the external image of the company. They're more engaged when the company is publicly respected, shows honesty and integrity, and acts in a way that's consistent with the core values workers are taught. Also important is having leadership that puts effort into making employees aware of how they specifically factor into the companies image and goals. 

Here's the breakdown of how these new management practices impact performance: 

Engagement

Read the full study here

NOW READ: Four Ways To Keep Employees From Losing Motivation

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Netduino Plus 2 offers four times the speed, full round of futureproofing (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/08/netduino-plus-2-offers-four-times-the-speed/

Netduino Plus 2 offers four times the speed, full round of futureproofing video

The original Netduino Plus was a welcome alternative for Arduino developers that had its limits -- even networking was almost a step too far. Secret Labs doesn't want any of us to bump our heads on the ceiling with its just-launched Netduino Plus 2. The networkable, .NET-friendly developer board runs a four times faster 168MHz processor with double the RAM (over 100KB) and six times as much code space (384KB) as its two-year-old ancestor. Having so much headroom lets the team build common OneWire and Time Server code into the firmware; Secret Labs reckons that there's enough space that the Plus 2 can easily grow over time. The ports are just as ready for the future with four serial ports, software control of any add-on shields (including Rev C Arduino shields) and a new header that lets programmers debug both managed and truly native code at once. If the upgrade is sufficiently tempting, project builders just need to spend $60 today to enjoy some newfound freedom.

Continue reading Netduino Plus 2 offers four times the speed, full round of futureproofing (video)

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Netduino Plus 2 offers four times the speed, full round of futureproofing (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Nov 2012 20:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hitachi intros UltraVision LED TVs with Roku-ready HDMI, freshens Value TVs and sound bars for the fall

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/09/hitachi-intros-ultravision-led-tvs-with-roku-friendly-hdmi/

Hitachi intros UltraVision LED TVs with Rokufriendly streaming, freshens Value TVs and sound bars for the fall

Although Hitachi was one of the first in line to promise support for Roku Streaming Sticks through MHL, it didn't have much more to say without the TVs to back up the claim. The second half of the puzzle is complete now that the company's fall TV revision is underway. Snag its new UltraVision UltraThin S606 TV in its one of its 42-, 46- or 55-inch sizes and you can discreetly (if optionally) hide the equivalent of a full Roku box in one of the HDMI inputs. The S606 sits strictly in the mid-range, however. Its 120Hz, edge-LED LCD design is superceded by the W806, which comes only in 48- and 55-inch sizes while carrying 3D, IPTV support and WiFi. Those who can get by on 60Hz refresh rates can opt for the Value line, where the H306 and S406 offer 720p in 29- and 32-inch dimensions; a third H316 line brings 1080p to those same sizes while adding a 39-inch panel. Hitachi hasn't said whether stores are stocking the TVs today, but it sees pricing ranging from $329 in the smaller Value sets to $1,399 for the largest W806 variant.

The TV builder's audio mix isn't being ignored with the refresh. Launching in tandem with the TVs, the HSB32B26 and HSB40B16 sound bars are designed to respectively match up with 32- and 40-inch TVs while delivering 3D sound processing and Apt-X Bluetooth audio. At $149 and $199, the sound bars are close enough in cost that we may onl! y need a measuring tape to settle any purchasing dilemmas once the hardware is in stores.

Continue reading Hitachi intros UltraVision LED TVs with Roku-ready HDMI, freshens Value TVs and sound bars for the fall

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Hitachi intros UltraVision LED TVs with Roku-ready HDMI, freshens Value TVs and sound bars for the fall originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Nov 2012 00:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Thursday, November 08, 2012

Intel launches 8-core Itanium 9500, teases Xeon E7-linked Kittson

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/08/intel-launches-8-core-itanium-9500-teases-xeon-e7-linked-kittson/

Intel launches Poulsonbased Itanium 9500, teases Xeon E7linked Kittson

Intel's Itanium processor launches are few and far between given that only so many need its specialized grunt, but that just makes any refresh so much larger -- and its new Itanium 9500 certainly exemplifies that kind of jump. The chip centers around much more up-to-date, 32-nanometer Poulson architecture that doubles the cores to eight, hikes the interconnect speeds and supports as much as 2TB of RAM for very (very, very) large tasks. With the help of an error-resistant buffer, Intel sees the 9500 being as much as 2.4 times faster as the Tukwila-era design it's replacing. The new Itanium also ramps the clock speeds to a relatively brisk 1.73GHz to 2.53GHz, although there will be definite costs for server builders wanting to move up: the shipping roster starts at $1,350 per chip in bulk and climbs to an eye-watering $4,650 for the fastest example.

Anyone worried that Poulson might be the end of the road for Intel's EPIC-based platform will also be glad to get a brief reminder that Itanium will soldier on. The next iteration, nicknamed Kittson, will be framed around a modular design that shares traces of silicon and the processor socket with the more familiar Xeon E7. Intel casts it as a pragmatic step that narrows its server-oriented processors down to a common motherboard and should be cheaper to! make. I t's likely that we'll have to be very patient for more details on Kittson knowing the long intervals between Itanium revamps, but fence-sitting IT pros may just be glad that they won't have to consider jumping ship for awhile yet.

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Intel launches 8-core Itanium 9500, teases Xeon E7-linked Kittson originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Nov 2012 18:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NVIDIA's revenue hits a record $1.20 billion for Q3 powered by Tegra 3 tablets, Kepler GPUs

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/08/nvidia-q3-2013-earnings/

NVIDIA's revenue hits a record $120 billion for Q3 powered by Tegra 3 tablets, Kepler GPUs

Just as it predicted, NVIDIA's earnings show revenue rose again in Q3, to a new record high of $1.20 billion, 15.3 percent higher than in Q2 up 12.9 percent from the same period last year. Its profits also grew accordingly, to $209.1 million, which should be no surprise thanks to its Tegra 3 chip's place at the heart of tablets including Google's Nexus 7 and Microsoft's Surface for Windows RT, with more arriving daily. The Consumer Products division that includes the Tegra family and other hardware had a 27.6 percent rise in revenue for the quarter. Despite predictions of a slumping PC market, its consumer GPU unit had revenue up 10 percent from last quarter as Kepler based products reached into lower price points and notebook revenue rose. Riding high, the company has decided to issue dividends to shareholders as well as extend its current stock repurchasing program. Hit the source links for the full breakdown, but so far NVIDIA's bets on the future of its chips in PCs and post-PC devices seem to be paying off.

Continue reading NVIDIA's revenue hits a record $1.20 billion for Q3 powered by Tegra 3 tablets, Kepler GPUs

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NVIDIA's revenue hits a record $1.20 billion for Q3 powered by Tegra 3 tablets, Kepler GPUs originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Nov 2012 19:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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