camera digital samsung why the Galaxy S5’s display is better

We already knew that the display on the Samsung Galaxy S5 is outstanding, both from our own hands-on time with the device and from the glowing assessment published by the experts at DisplayMate.
Now Samsung tries to hammer the point home with a post detailing some of the technical specifications of the Super AMOLED display of the Galaxy S5.
The company explains how the adaptive mode on the Galaxy S5 enables it to quickly change settings like brightness and contrast levels in order to reduce glare and maintain the screen usable even in bright daylight. According to Samsung, the S5 is able to output an Ambient Color Gamut (the set of colors discernible on the screen) that’s 1.6 times higher than an LCD display.

Another trick in the Galaxy S5’s book is the ability to change the white balance of the display in response to variations in ambient light. When using a device under colored light, your eyes tend to tint whites in the complementary color, e.g. blue light will make whites yellowish. As you can see in the GIF below, the S5 can change white balance to reduce the effect, thus delivering a better experience when reading or browsing the web.

Samsung goes on to tout the wide color gamut of its latest Super AMOLED screen, claiming its 1.4 larger than on TFT LCD (70% compared to 97%), as well as contrast levels, 77 times higher than on TFT LCD (1,300:1 compared 100,000:1).
These numbers look impressive on paper, but the picture is not as clear as Samsung paints it to be. There are many variants of LCD screens, and some, such as those on the Xperia Z2 (with its vibrancy boosting quantum dots) and the HTC One (M8) definitely give the Galaxy S5 a run for its money. So do make sure to check for yourself before buying a device – even a few minutes with a phone can help you make a decision you won’t regret later.

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Bloggers: 6 Free Editing Tools For Better Writing

Editor’s note: This is a contributed post by Issa Mirandilla, who writes about freelancing, writing, marketing, careers, personal finance and other business-related topics. Give her a nudge on Twitter or visit her website here.

After hours of researching facts and figures, organizing your notes like crazy, and hammering away at your keyboard, you’re finally done with your killer blog post. Congratulations for making it that far. Not all blog post ideas get turned into working drafts. Now, all you have to do is edit. That might take anywhere from a few minutes to an hour, depending on the quality of your draft.

Seems like a lot of work, eh? That’s not really an issue if blogging is nothing more than a hobby to you. But when your entire livelihood depends on your ability to churn out posts on a daily basis, spending too much time polishing each post is impractical and dangerous to your business.

Of course, quality isn’t something you should sacrifice, no matter how clogged up your blogging schedule is. To solve this dilemma, you can either hire an editor to clean up your work, or purchase editing software online.

But then, in those cases, there’s no real guarantee that you’ll get what you pay for. So what’s a blogger who’s strapped for time and cash to do? Why, use these free editing tools available online, of course!

Recommended Reading: Capture Your Readers! 8 Tips To Writing Engaging Blog Posts

1. After the Deadline

After the Deadline (AtD) doesn’t just flag and give suggestions for your spelling, grammar, and style. It also concisely explains the reasons behind the corrections given. That means that the longer you use AtD, the better a blogger you become!

According to the developers, AtD can:

• Recommend the right word 90 percent of the time;
• Detect approximately 1,500 misused words;
• Help you write clearly and concisely using thousands of rules in "Plain English" style
• Use statistics to find exceptions to grammar rules.

AtD is available as a plugin, add-on, or extension for platforms like WordPress, bbPress, Firefox, Google Chrome, OpenOffice.org Writer, and the IntenseDebate comment system.

2. ProWritingAid

Like AtD, ProWritingAid not only tells you what to improve, but also how to improve. It has the ability to generate a detailed analysis on overused words, sentence length, writing style, plagiarism, clichés, redundancies, "sticky" sentences, consistency, and the like.

Although you need to download the Premium version to enjoy all of its features, ProWritingAid’s free version is enough for most types of blog posts.

3. EditMinion

Don’t let the site’s inelegant design fool you. EditMinion takes only a few seconds to check your work for the usual signs of weak writing, like adverbs, overuse of "said", passive voice, ending with prepositions, tricky homonyms and more.

EditMinion generates a report card for your reference, and allows you to add "hashtags" for easier editing. As of this writing, though, the site is still in Beta stage, so use it with care!

4. HemingwayApp

Ever wish you had Hemingway’s terse yet punchy writing style? Well, your wish can come true now, thanks to the brilliant minds behind HemingwayApp. Here, your copy will be assessed based on readability, number of adverbs, number of complex words, and number of times you use the passive voice.

The app also detects spelling errors, although it’s not much help in the grammar department. In case you need to use it offline, a desktop version of the app is also available for $5.

5. WordCounter

Whether you want to check for keyword frequency, or you just have a tendency to be repetitive with words, WordCounter.com is the answer. As its name suggests, WordCounter counts and ranks words according to frequency. The apps is great for reducing redundancy and/or repetitive writing in your copy.

You can also include "small" words, use only root words, and adjust the number of words listed by the app. You can use this primarily as an analysis tool, checking your drafts as you keep honing them to perfection.

6. ClicheFinder

Do cliches drive you crazy? If "Yes", ClicheFinder might be a godsend for you. Just paste your post in the space provided, click the "Find Clichés" button, and presto! Every cringe-worthy phrase will be highlighted in red. You can either rewrite these phrases to make them sound simpler and fresher, or toss them into the back-burner like the blights on language that they are (har har)!

If you experience the message "Unhandled Exception: An unhandled exception was thrown by the application," don’t be alarmed. It’s possible that your text doesn’t contain any clichés at all, so the system’s going all wonky on you.

Wrap Up

Naturally, all these programs have their pros and cons. Tools are only as good as the people who use them, and these six editing tools for bloggers are no different. It’s still up to you to decide whether their suggestions/corrections to your blog post are worth it or not. In any case, here’s to effective and efficient editing!

Do you know other free, downloadable, and/or safe editing programs for bloggers that haven’t been featured here? Share them in the comments section!

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Why It's Better to Fail as Quickly as Possible

Most of us don't like to admit when we've failed and put it off as long as possible. Google X's Rapid Evaluation head Rich DeVaul explains why this costs money, time, and ultimately hinders progress.

When we fail, we learn things that can be applied to our next endeavor and, more importantly, we learn what just doesn't work. Wasting time trying to force an unsuccessful idea rather than moving on to a new one makes things harder on everyone. DeVaul explains:

The process of innovation is messy. It's expensive, it's uncertain. Even with Google X and the resources we have here, we can only afford to pursue some small number of these moonshots at a time. We have a process that we call rapid evaluation. So, the way we do that is we try to fail quickly... Ultimately, if we can get to a no quickly on an idea, that's almost as good as getting to a yes.

Most of us don't have the resources of Google's pet moonshot lab, nor do we have the security of knowing that failure won't result in losing our job. For that reason, we may be more hesitant to admit or accept when our ideas fail. Still, admitting you built a bad boat is better than going down with it.

Watch How Google X Employees Deal With Failure | Fast Company

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Why Eating Seasonally and Locally Is Better for You (and Your Wallet)

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Health experts and chefs both often say you should eat "seasonally," or include foods in your diet that are grown at the same time of the year you eat them. For example, that means squash in the summer and fall, and artichokes in the spring. Eating seasonally is important, and carries benefits to your health, the planet, and your wallet. Here are some of them.

At first glance, eating seasonally may seem simple—you eat foods that are "in season," or being grown and harvested at the time of the year when you buy and cook them. That's true, but there's more to it than just being a trendy food movement. There are real benefits to eating foods that are available at their peak right now.

You Can Save a Ton of Money and Eat Better, Healthier Food

Perhaps the biggest tangible benefit of eating seasonally is that you'll save money on food. When you buy what's in season, you buy food that's at the peak of its supply, and costs less to farmers and distribution companies to harvest and get to your grocery store. It may seem like common sense, but it's one of those things many of us ignore when we're shopping.

However, the best consequence of eating seasonally is that you get the best tasting, healthiest food available. The same reasons that keep the cost of seasonal food down also drive its quality up: The food is grown closer to you so it doesn't spoil on its trip, it's harvested at the peak of its season (although there's no real guarantee that it's picked at the peak of freshness), and sold during its season, before it spoils. Ideally, this means you're getting fruits and vegetables that haven't had time to lose their flavor or their health benefits by sitting in a shipping container for a trip across the ocean.

The inverse is true for foods that are out of season. They have to be shipped from around the world to get to you, usually picked before the peak of their flavor in order to survive the long trip (or be allowed to mature while they travel) to your local grocery store. As a result, they're much more expensive because of the time, the distance, and the sheer number of people involved with getting those food items to you that need to be paid.

You End Up Supporting Local, More Sustainable Farmers

Some of these factors can be compounded if you also buy local as well as seasonal. Just because you buy seasonal doesn't mean that a huge food distribution company won't harvest early and keep your food in a warehouse for awhile. You'll definitely get better food for less money, but there's no guarantee you'll get food at the peak of freshness, flavor, or nutrition.

If you buy locally, you'll have a better chance at getting foods that are seasonal, fresh, and support local farmers and businesses in your community. Shop at a nearby farmer's market or food co-op, or support a local farm by signing up for a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) project (or other fresh food delivery service.) Many of those farms and businesses also likely offer organic or sustainable options if you're looking for them. You may wind up spending more to put your money where your taste buds (or personal ethics) are, but it may be a tradeoff that's worthwhile to you in the long run.

You Get a Wider Variety of Foods in Your Diet

A pleasant side-effect of eating what's in season is that you get a broader variety of foods in your diet. Those foods can broaden your palate, for one, but they may also expose you to dishes and ingredients you may not have otherwise explored, and while it doesn't go for every location, it can also help you eat a more well-rounded and balanced diet as well.

Many of us do this by default to a certain degree—in the spring and summer we eat berries and stonefruit, then as summer turns to fall we turn our attention to apples, pumpkins, and squash. Part of that is because they're ingrained in our culture, but also because they're seasonal and plentiful. Expanding your horizons a little more can open the door to way more delicious food that you can get and prepare cheaply.

How to Tell What's "In Season" Near You

If you're not familiar with what's "seasonal" where you live, it's not too difficult to find out. Take a quick glance around the produce section of your grocery store. Pay attention to the way prices are trending. Have you noticed that berries, peaches, nectarines, and other stonefruit get really expensive at the end of fall? Or that the ones that are available just don't look as good as the ones during the spring? That's a good indicator. Also, if you notice there's an abundance of something specific, and they're on sale (like potatoes in fall, for example,) that's another good indicator.

Still, your eyes—and stock levels at grocery stores—can deceive you. The Cleveland Clinic has a guide to seasonal eating here that's worth a read for more information, and if you live in the United States or Canada, this map from Eat Well Guide lets you click on your location to see what's in season at what times of the year. This chart is a good visual guide, as is The Leon Chart, both of which we've shared before. Finally, previously mentioned Eat the Seasons is another good reference for all-things seasonal, no matter where you live.

Don't Go Overboard

Eating seasonally isn't a new idea, even though it sounds trendy. Michael Pollan discussed the idea in his book The Omnivore's Dilemma several years ago. Before global transportation was as speedy and commonplace as it is today, eating seasonally and locally were just things everyone did. No one assumed you could get peaches in the winter, or chestnuts in the summer. Those things were part of enjoying that season.

Still, like any food movement, don't go overboard with it. There are great benefits, but as soon as your food movement becomes a banner you march under, you lose sight of the benefits. If you can get apples year round and you love apples, enjoy them. If you doctor suggests you get more leafy greens in your diet and kale or collards are out of season but in stock at the store, don't turn them down just to say you're "eating seasonally." That's silly. Just be mindful that you'll spend more in the process and there may be a seasonal or local alternative that's just as good, and good for you.

Title photo by doug88888, milolovitch69, and Stockproject1. Photos by andrea_44, Natalie Maynor, Curt Gibbs, Anthony Albright, and Ian Ransley.

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Ask an Expert: All About Getting Better Sleep

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Insomnia can be very frustrating and we've all been through it—staring at the ceiling in the middle of the night, hoping to catch a few winks before the dim blue light of dawn shows up. Luckily there are ways to improve your sleep. At soon-to-launch startup Casper, co-founders Philip Krim and Neil Parikh have been hard at work testing quantifiable sleep products to find out what makes for a better night's sleep. With Philip's entrepreneurial acumen and Neil's background in robotics with NASA (among other things), the duo hope to help people engineer their slumber. Have a question about sleep or the lack thereof? Philip and Neil will be here for the next hour so ask away.

The Q&A is now over. Thanks for your great questions!

Have an expert you'd like to see participate? Email us.

Illustration by Kar (Shutterstock).

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The HTC One M8 is better than the Galaxy S5, just ask HTC

In a bit of slightly weird staff training, HTC has produced a training manual that outlines five reasons why the HTC One M8 is better than the Samsung Galaxy S5. We can probably think of half a dozen more, but the document certainly points out some pretty obvious points that any salesman should make. Still, we're getting kinda tired of all the Samsung-bashing becoming part of everyone else's training and advertising material.  

I think the One M8 is better than the Galaxy S5, so does HTC. What do you think? / © AndroidPIT

With the Galaxy S5 getting an earlier announcement but slower launch compared to the HTC One's same-day availability, the S5 was always going to be delivering up a bit of time for competitors to figure out clever ways to tear it down before it even went on sale. The M8 showed up and was pretty much perfect from day one, but that still hasn't stopped the flailing smartphone maker from slinging a little more mud at its main rival. You may remember there were even S5 digs in HTC's launch event. At the very least I can commend Samsung for simply presenting its own device.

HTC's advertising sucks, and they're clearly not above taking pot shots at Samsung in their training material either. / © htcsource

Metal beats plastic

A lot of people have always kind of believed this, but there's a lot to be said about plastic phones too. I'm not much of a fan of the cheap shiny plastic on previous Samsung models (or the Band-Aid look of the S5), but the nice rubbery feel of devices like the S5 and Nexus 5 are very nice indeed, and plastic absorbs shocks better and is much lighter than metal. Still, when it comes to showing off about premium build quality though, it's hard to ignore a metal unibody. And there's no denying that HTC have destroyed Samsung in the design stakes, even if both phones look an awful lot like their predecessors.

Build material is totally up to personal preference, but HTC surely has Samsung beat on design. / © AndroidPIT

BoomSound speakers

Agreed. The Galaxy S5 has some pretty nifty speakers on board but there's very few devices in Android Land that can come close to the original One's speakers, let alone the improved ones found on the One M8. According to the training material, the new stereo speakers are 25% louder than the previous One's speakers. Plus, they're up front and they sound exceptional.

The BoomSound Speakers on the One M7 were great, but they're 25% better on the One M8. / © AndroidPIT

Faster access and use

Ok, I'm not much of a fan of the new TouchWiz, and I've never minded Sense as much as some have, but comparing manufacturer skins is like comparing football teams: if you don't like the other no one is going to convince you otherwise, so I'll leave that choice to personal preference. HTC at least believe that beyond UI preferences, their motion gestures for accessing the new M8 with a double tap or swipe trumps the Galaxy S5, which needs to be woken the usual way (and I agree with them).

I think I prefer Samsung's power saving mode, but the HTC has great motion controls. / © AndroidPIT

Duo Camera

Ok, the Duo Camera has a few limitations, but it's still an exceptional shooter. That being said, the Galaxy S5 is probably the better camera (in my opinion). HTC obviously push the UFocus post-focusing capabilities of the One M8 in the training material, which is indeed miles better than the selective focus found on the S5. Still, it's not perfect on the One M8 either. The M8 also has a full manual mode, real-time preview, HDR, user-saved presets and a few other gimmicks, while the Galaxy S5 has insanely fast auto-focus, 4K video, slow motion and so on. As far as post-focusing goes HTC is right, but on other fronts I'm not so sure.

I'm not so sure the One M8's camera is better, but post-focusing certainly is. / © AndroidPIT

HTC Advantage

Yep, that's a clear winner too. The HTC Advantage will get you some nice premium service for your premium feeling device, so if you happen to break that lovely big screen HTC will replace that bad boy free of charge for the first six months you own it. After that you better have learned how to handle it a little more securely. Currently only supported in the US, you can expect HTC Advantage to come to Europe by year's end if the costs involved are not so astronomical it would bankrupt HTC globally. I for one, hope that this is a service very few of you ever need to use.

The HTC Advantage is certainly a nice offering from HTC. / © HTC/Andrey Arkusha/Shutterstock/AndroidPIT

So there you have it, the five HTC-sponsored reasons the One M8 is better than the Galaxy S5. As I mentioned, I could easily come up with a few more, but on this list I only really agree with four, and that metal beats plastic one is bound to irritate fans of lighter, more resilient plastic. At least three of them though are without doubt better than the S5. Let's see how long it takes for a list of 5 reasons (or 8?) the Galaxy S5 is better than the One M8 to appear.

Which device do you prefer? What are your favorite features of each flagship?

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"It Is Far Better to Have More Time Than Money"

It's easy to spend months saving up money for vacations, but as traveler Kevin Kelly reminds us, money's not as important as we think. Time is the commodity we should be watching.

Money can buy you all kinds of luxuries that make a vacation easier, but it can also cause you to miss out on all types of things. Kelly explains:

Here is what I learned from 40 years of traveling: Of the two modes, it is far better to have more time than money.

When you have abundant time you can get closer to core of a place. You can hang around and see what really happens. You can meet a wider variety of people. You can slow down until the hour that the secret vault is opened. You have enough time to learn some new words, to understand what the real prices are, to wait out the weather, to get to that place that takes a week in a jeep.

Money is an attempt to buy time, but it rarely is able to buy any of the above. When we don't have time we use money to try to get us to the secret door on time, or we use it avoid needing to know the real prices, or we use money to have someone explain to us what is really going on. Money can get us close, but not all the way.

This idea isn't anything new, but it's still a healthy reminder that sometimes it's best to just go on vacation without worrying about affording luxuries.

More time is better than more money. | Kevin Kelly via Shawn Blanc

Photo by David~O.

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The 5 reasons One (M8) is better than the Galaxy S5, according to HTC

In a rare coincidence, HTC and Samsung are releasing their hero devices in the US almost at the same time. While HTC pulled off a quick release of the One M8, it was only available on Verizon initially, meaning that customers of AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint had to wait until yesterday to join in the fun. Meanwhile, Samsung is releasing the Galaxy S5 today across all US carriers, as well as in 124 other countries.

With these two beasts unleashed at the same time, we have a true deathmatch between the One (M8) and the Galaxy S5. Samsung has the superior spending power when it comes to marketing, but HTC isn’t standing still either.

According to alleged marketing training materials uncovered by HTC Source, HTC is betting on the following five features to convince buyers of the superiority of the M8.

1. Metal beats plastic – HTC specifically name calls Samsung for the plastic build of the Galaxy, contrasting it with the “stunning design” of the M8.

2. BoomSound – HTC touts the virtues of the M8’s speakers, and it’s easy to see why. BoomSound was loud and clear on the M7, and it’s even better on the new One M8.

3. Fast access – you can wake up the M8 by double tapping or swiping on the screen. The Galaxy S5 lacks this feature.

4. Duo Camera – the depth sensor on the back of the M8 lets it distinguish between foreground and background, allowing you to apply selective focus and other effects. The Galaxy S5 has a similar feature, though it’s not as powerful at the M8’s.

5. HTC Advantage – for the finale, HTC throws in Advantage, its extended warranty program that gives you one-time screen replacement in the first six months of ownership, guaranteed 2-year Android upgrades, and more.

Here’s the doc (which could also be a promotional leaflet, from the looks of it) if you want to read it for yourself.

And, if you want a more neutral take on M8 vs Galaxy S5, here’s our fresh comparison video.

So, what it’s gonna be? HTC One (M8) or Samsung Galaxy S5?

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Galaxy S5 goes on sale today: 14 things you need to know

Be a Higher Negotiator with These Three Rules 2014

Be a Higher Negotiator with These Three Rules 2014

Negotiations are tough, however even when the concept of negotiating scares you a bit, you do not have to be a professional to get what you want. Scientific American factors to three easy, research backed suggestions that may enable you to get what you want.

Scientific American spoke with law professor and author Russell Korobkin to come up with three simple rules for negotiation:

1. Be fair. "Good negotiators should always think about how they can show the proposal they're making is fair to both parties," Korobkin says. "Fairness" does not have one exact definition, but social psychology studies suggest that an offer people consider fair is one that is similar to what other people in the same situation are getting, consistent with market prices or terms, or on par with a similar transaction you have made in the past...


2. Strike a power pose. Psychologists have found that expansive, open postures ("high-power poses") make people feel more powerful and confident during stressful situations such as interviews or negotiations, whereas closed, curled-in positions ("low-power poses") do the opposite...


3. Aim high. Really high. Business research shows that people with more aggressive (but still realistic) goals—say, getting a 20 percent raise at work versus a 5 percent bump—end up doing better in negotiations. "One big reason for that is that people who have more aggressive goals make more aggressive first offers," Korobkin says. "Where you start has a lot to do with where you end up." This is called the "anchoring effect..."

Of course, it's about more than just those tips, you'll need some tactics too. We've got you covered there as well. Head over to Scientific American for more detailed explanations of the above tips.

How to Be a Higher Negotiator | Scientific American

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Writted by: totor

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Add a Sternum Strap to Any Backpack for Better Support

There are plenty of well designed backpacks out there, with excellent padding and wide shoulder straps—but many don't have sternum straps. Luckily, you can add one cheaply and get better support from your bag.

My Belkin business backpack is still serving me well after four years. However, when it was full, I found myself getting severe shoulder strain. This was because it's natural motion was to pull back on my shoulders rather than down on them.

If this sounds like your backpack, there's a solution: buy a third party sternum strap and add it yourself. These straps are an integral part of most camping backpacks, but unfortunately not for the packs you'd wear about town. There are a bunch of different ones on Amazon, and they come pretty cheaply.

Fitting the strap to your backpack can be done in a simple, three step process:

1. Depending on the straps you get, you may need to unfasten the shoulder straps on your backpack (I did for my Daysack strap). If you've already got them at the perfect length, I recommend putting a stitch of colored thread on your strap so you can save the sweet spot.
2. Slot each sternum strap on to the respective shoulder strap and fasten your shoulder straps in place.
3. Put on the backpack and fasten the sternum strap. Slide it up to the most comfortable level, and then adjust the tightness of the strap and tie it off.

This was the best modification I ever made to my business pack. The only annoyance is that the straps slide down to the bottom of the shoulder straps after the pack is taken off, so you'll have to pull them up every time you put it back on. However, compared to the back strain it used to cause me this is no trouble at all.

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Get Better Sleep and Improve Digestion with This 30-Second Yoga Move

Yoga can be great for relaxation, in addition to improving your overall health and well-being. This one move is an instant de-stresser, great for doing right before bed.

It's called "Reclined Twist." You relax in the pose while holding your bent leg towards the opposite side. The video above shows a variation of the pose, where your knee is upright; in the traditional pose, your knees are stacked over each other and against the floor, as this (much longer) video demonstrates.

You can lie in it for ten deep breaths on each side or for ten minutes, if you wish.

As Bottom Line Publications points out:

This simple twist releases tension in the spine, hips and back, which can interfere with a good night's sleep. The deep breathing helps you wind down, allowing you to release worries.

I find it also helps with achiness in the shoulders and neck (especially if you turn your head to the opposite side of the bent knee), and Yoga Journal says it can help cure a sluggish digestion (by wringing out your insides, I guess) and low energy. Don't worry, though. It's not too energizing and might help you catch more zzz's.

Beginner Yoga Positions: Reclining Twist Yoga Poses | YouTube

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Use the "Gas or Brake" Method to Make Better Spending Decisions

When it comes to saving for the future, we all know we should, but getting in the mindset of doing it is the real trick. Finance blog Early Retirement Extreme offers a mental test for all spending decisions: will this press the accelerator towards your financial goals, or the brakes?

It's one thing for us to view our financial decisions as a worthwhile indulgence. It's another to assume that, because we've socked $20 away this month, that all of our other purchases are valid because, "Well, I saved!" To get a perspective on what's really getting in your way, Early Retirement Extreme offers a simple analogy:

A very simple way to think about personal finance, and this is really all you need to learn, is to think of yourself as driving a car towards a destination. Let's assume the car is an automatic. Then it will have an accelerator and a brake. For every action, you take, you have to stop and consider this: If I do this; if I engage in this activity am I pressing the accelerator or the brake?

...To get ahead, you must either press the accelerator harder or ease on the brake. Apparently lots of people are not fully aware of just how hard they're flooring the brake. Therefore try this exercise. Every time you touch something, ask yourself whether this item has accelerated your income or whether it has decreased your savings.

Of course, we all have to hit the brakes sometimes. However, if you can count $1,000 worth of braking decisions every month versus $100 worth of acceleration, it may be time to re-evaluate your priorities.

The real reason it is so easy/hard to get ahead | Early Retirement Extreme via Rockstar Finance

Photo by Tim.

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How Can I Help My Kids Develop Better Social Skills?

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Dear Lifehacker,
I want my kids to grow into happy, well-adjusted adults. When it comes to social skills, though, I'm at a loss. One of my kids seems lonely yet disinterested in others, while the other is the terror of the schoolyard. What can I do to help them develop the social skills they need for life?

Signed,
Pensive Parent

Dear Pensive,
It's great that you're interested in your children's social development, since it will be a critical part of their success and happiness as they get older—even more important than their academic skills or intelligence. (Also, no one wants to be that parent who's raised "Mean Girls"-like bullies.) You have a chance now to greatly influence your kids' social intelligence and teach them things even we awkward adults are still perfecting, like how to build friendships and deal with rejection. They're important lessons we all keep learning, and the sooner we start, the better.

The Social Skills All Kids Need to Learn

It seems like some kids (or people of any age) are more naturally socially adept than others—you know, the kind of people others gravitate to and for whom making friends comes easily. Don't worry if your children don't fit that mold or aren't winning any popularity contests. Like any other skill, social skills can be learned, and, besides that, "being social" or outgoing isn't the end goal in itself.

What is important, however, is that kids are able to form meaningful bonds with others, can empathize and interact with others appropriately, and have the skills to adapt in uncomfortable situations. Unfortunately, as the University of Memphis points out:

Many students do not know how to handle interpersonal social situations that involve following directions, holding a proper conversation, listening, giving compliments, proper behavior during transition times, teasing, bullying, or just "hanging out" with friends.

Those are basic skills we want all kids to be able to have. Depending on your children's ages, they might also need more specific social skills.

Skills for Preschool and Elementary School Kids

Vanderbilt University found the top 10 social skills kids need to succeed in school, based on surveys of 8,000 elementary teachers and two decades of classroom research, are:

• Listen to others
• Follow the steps
• Follow the rules
• Ignore distractions
• Ask for help
• Take turns when you talk
• Get along with others
• Stay calm with others
• Be responsible for your behavior
• Do nice things for others

These might seem like social skills promoted just to turn out "nice girls and boys" who earn the "gets along with others" check on their report cards, but they're fundamental behaviors that help kids succeed (not just survive) in a world that emphasizes social norms. The goal isn't just to make them cooperative, but to hone their social GPS so they can both advocate for themselves and care for others. (Heck, we probably all know a few adults who could stand to learn many of these skills too.)

Social Skills for Pre-Teens and Teens

Older kids, in middle school and high school, have more complex social skills to learn, thanks to growing peer pressure and that simply awkward period called adolescence. It's a time when they're becoming more independent, but everyone's forming cliques; when they're making big decisions about who they are and what they want to be, but also might start to care a bit too much about what others think.

During those rocky years, adolescents can learn to be more emotionally intelligent, author James Windell says, if they learn to:

• Set personal goals
• Identify and change self-defeating behaviors
• Be assertive about his or her needs
• Have feelings for others
• Handle anger constructively
• Resolve conflicts peacefully

It's easy to say a toddler should learn how to follow directions or a young adult should know how to be assertive; it's another to know how to best help them do that. So let's look at a few strategies.

Model Social Skills

The first place we learn social skills, of course, is at home, and what we do as parents is more important than what we say. As All I Really Needed to Learn in Kindergarten author Robert Fulghum says, "Don't worry that children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you."

Modeling positive social skills includes showing confidence ourselves when we relate to others, being friendly to strangers, offering to help others, and also treating our kids with respect (no matter how much they might be pulling at our last straw). Dr. Laura Markham writes on Aha! Parenting:

Teach your child that people are important. All parents have to choose their battles, so put up with messiness and dawdling if you must, but teach your child consideration for others. Model it for him early on, praise it, help him brainstorm to solve peer problems, and don't let your child intentionally or unintentionally disrespect another person. It you can't confront it as it happens without embarrassing your child, be sure to talk about it later. As kids get older, you may need to be very explicit about insisting that they acknowledge adults in their presence, as well as other kids. Often preteens and young adolescents need to be reminded of this, and to be given coaching on how to handle interactions that feel awkward to them.

The funny thing about being a parent is it forces you out of your shell and can help you become a better person through analyzing your own behaviors and attitudes. In a great article summarizing research on children's social skills, Auburn University professors Jacquelyn Mize and Ellen Abell write:

Parents of these socially competent children endorse interpretations of social events that encourage resilient, constructive attitudes (Mize, Pettit, Lindsey, & Laird, 1993). Rather than making a statement such as, "That's a really mean kid!" they may say something like, "Gosh, maybe he's having a hard day." They make constructive attributions such as, "Sometimes kids just want to play by themselves," rather than expressing a sentiment like, 'They're not very nice if they won't let you play." These parents avoid defeatist comments such as "Maybe they don't like you," and offer instead suggestions like, "Maybe they don't want to play that, but there might be something else they think is fun." Such positive, constructive statements encourage children to take an optimistic view of others and themselves as play partners. They reflect an upbeat, resilient attitude toward social setbacks and the belief that social situations can be improved with effort and positive behavior.

Don't Label Shy Kids

If your kids are naturally shy or feel insecure, try not to label them as such or try to force them out of their shyness. Instead, if your child is socially anxious, Dr. Markham recommends empathy and a problem-solving approach:

Don't label your child as shy. Instead, acknowledge his feelings and point out that he can overcome his fears. For instance, "Sometimes it takes you awhile to warm up in a new situation. Remember Billy's birthday party, how you held my hand all through the games? But by the end, you were having lots of fun with the other kids."

Teach your child effective strategies for dealing with shyness. The general rule of thumb is to accept the nervousness that comes up as a part of normal life that affects most people, reassure yourself that you're ok anyway, and focus on others rather than yourself. For instance, remind your child that she doesn't have to be interesting, just interested, and teach her to ask other kids questions and listen to their answers. Brainstorm with her how she might handle a situation that makes her nervous.

Another reason not to label young people as shy is it could become a self-fulfilling prophecy. I was told I was shy as a child, when really I think I was just naturally quiet and introverted. Having that label, though, led to me feeling tense and anxious during social situations—true shyness, which often starts out as a reinforced habit.

Give Plenty of Opportunities to Practice Social Behaviors

Kids learn social skills first from you, but then to a large degree from their peers. The more chances kids have to interact with others, the better.

That means supporting and encouraging kids' friendships—even if it means you become Dad Taxi Service or have to spend playdate time, as Louis CK laments, with kids and parents you couldn't care less about.

Kids also will learn crucial skills from simply playing with you. According to Dr. Mize and Dr. Abell, the research suggests that children whose parents frequently play with them have more advanced social skills and get along better with their peers. It's especially true if you play with them on their level, following their lead and in a "peer-like" way:

Children benefit from this type of play for several reasons. From balanced, responsive play with a parent, children may learn many of the skills commonly displayed by the socially competent preschoolers described earlier. In addition, when parents are responsive to children's play ideas, children may come to feel that they are good, effective play partners and thus are eager to play with peers. Finally, fun, balanced parent-child play may instill that positive outlook toward others that makes children look forward to play opportunities with people outside the family.

Parenting Science has a few social skill activities you can do with your kids (school-aged and teens) based on research—and they're actually fun games like charades.

Relax

All that said, chances are your kids are learning positive social skills the way most of us do, simply as we go along and through trial and error. Don't worry or try to intervene too much unless there are serious signs of social trouble (for example, if your kid's teacher warns of discipline problems). Most kids are insensitive (or even unkind) or socially clumsy sometimes.

Here are some signs that your child might need more social coaching (from you and/or teachers):

• Lacks at least one or two close mutual friends
• Has trouble losing or winning gracefully
• Doesn't show empathy when others are hurt or rejected
• Acts bossy or insists on own way a lot
• Can't seem to start or maintain a conversation
• Uses a louder voice than most children
• Seems constantly ignored or victimized by other children or constantly teases or annoys other children

In those cases, you'll want to take a more active approach to helping your kids with their "interpersonal skills." Otherwise, just keep playing with your kids, being a model of social grace, and helping them build their relationships.

Love,
Lifehacker

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CitusDB Releases An Open-Source PostgreSQL Tool That Promises Better Database Performance

CitusDB, a database analytics startup that is hoping to take on big boys like Oracle, today announced the release of CSTORE, a columnar store extension for PostgreSQL. The open-source tool, which the company says is the first for PostgreSQL, is available for a free download starting today.

“Columnar stores bring notable benefits for analytic workloads where data is loaded in batches,” said the company in a blog post. That means that companies using this tool could get much better database performance. How much better? CitusDB claims a 2x increase in query times and a data read reduction time of 10x. What’s more, company CEO Umur Cubukcu said in an email that faster analytics queries through advanced optimizations and ~3x compression could drive down storage costs.

“The column store is available on both single node (all standard PostgreSQL users) and scale-out PostgreSQL (CitusDB) for petabyte scale analytics,” Cubukcu explained. The latter is designed to work with the core CitusDB product, but users can download the new tool and use it as they see fit.

Cubukcu says overall this tool offers a couple of advantages. First, users can work with row-based and column-based tables together in the same database based on their usage patterns, he explained to me. And second: ”This builds on Citus Data’s approach of merging the reliable enterprise features of PostgreSQL with the scalability of Hadoop; offering big data analytics customers worldwide a simple and powerful analytics database.”

In fact, CitusDB announced version 3.0 of its core product at the end of February.

The company emerged in 2011 from Y Combinator and released version 1.0 of the product in June 2012. Alex Williams described the company’s February 2013 release for TechCrunch this way: “CitusDB is based on Google Dremel, a real-time analytics database that has surpassed Hadoop’s analysis capabilities. The difference is in its parallel-computing capabilities and SQL-like functionality. Do a query across petabytes of data over thousands of servers and the results come back in real-time.”

CitusDB has received $1.65 million in funding to date from investors, including Data Collective, Bullpen Capital, SV Angel, Trinity Ventures and leading angels. Customers cross verticals including ad technology, e-commerce, retail, security and mobile analytics.

The new tool is available on GitHub starting today and they are hoping the community will help build on this and add new features to it over time.

Image by Flickr user tec_estromberg under a CC BY 2.0 license

Get better performance from your HTC One (M8)

Anthony Muzonzini 2014-04-02T19:27:23Z18 hours ago

Anthony Muzonzini

Currently living out in the East Coast. When not on the AndroidPIT grind you can usually find me turning up or play footie.

HTC was recently caught cheating on the benchmark tests for the latest HTC One M8 and as a result has admitted that it artificially boosts the performance of its handset when running recognized benchmarking applications. They have defended the practice though by claiming that it is something that users may actually want.

The HTC One M8/ © AndroidPIT

Benchmark results for the device which were based on the Asian market variant showed the device sitting above its rivals, the Samsung Galaxy S5 and the Sony Xperia Z2. Research conducted by others however suggests that the real world performance of the device may not be so lofty.

HTC recently spoke to CNET and said that the device actually looks for benchmark applications and boosts the performance of the device above the level that is available to regular applications. They justified this by saying that this is something that users take advantage of when using their phones daily.

"For those with a need for speed, we've provided a simple way to unleash this [traditionally benchmark-only] power by introducing a new high performance mode in the developer settings that can be enabled and disabled manually."

The successor to the HTC One has been said to be an evolutionary device rather than an revolutionary one. Aside from the obvious differences like the improved dual camera and the larger screen size, the device almost looks like its predecessor. The upgraded components under the hood promised a significant boost to the phone’s performance though.

If you want to access the HTC One M8’s high performance mode you have to follow these steps:

• Go to settings
• Then tap on about
• Then go to software information
• Then tap on more
• Then tap on build number seven times
• This allows you to unlock the developer options. Here select the tick box next to high performance to activate it.

What do you make of this whole story? Please leave your comments below and we will get back to you.

Source: Expert Reviews

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Make Better Decisions by Pausing Just a Fraction of a Second

S

It's usually wise to take time to deliberate before you make decisions, but did you know that even the briefest of pauses—in milliseconds—can stop you from making errors in everyday life?

That's the news from recent research reported by Psych Central. In the first experiment, the volunteers were shown randomly moving dots on a monitor and had to judge as quickly or as accurately as possible which way the dots were moving overall. In the second, they had to do the same, except they were given between 17 and 500 milliseconds to respond.

The researchers likened the experiment to real-world situations like driving, when you often have to make split-second decisions. They found it takes only about 120 milliseconds for the brain to shift focus and block out distractions, and concluded that even the slightest pauses can improve decision making.

Pausing is a good strategy for becoming a better parent as well as making big financial decisions. It turns out, you might not even have to wait very long at all.

Slight Delay Can Make for Better Decisions | Psych Central

Photo by asthenop.

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8 things that make the Samsung Galaxy S5 better than the iPhone 5S

The danger of an article trying to compare an Android flagship smartphone to Apple’s top of the range iPhone is that it can very easily start a flame war. It is almost a sure recipe guaranteed to provoke name calling and accusations of “fanboy.” However, I am prepared to take the risk and let the facts speak for themselves. All the top smartphones from all the major companies, including Apple, are good. That is why they can sell millions and millions of them.

But the Galaxy S5 does have some very interesting features and when you compare them to those in the iPhone 5S you do get the feeling that the iPhone range is slowly but surely slipping behind.

So here are eight things that make the Samsung Galaxy S5 better than the iPhone 5S.

1. Water resistance

The Galaxy S5 is waterproof, the iPhone 5S isn’t. You can drop both of them into some water and if you get the iPhone out quick enough it might survive, but the Samsung has IP67 certification making it resistant to sweat, rain, liquids, sand, and dust.

There is also that little thing called 4K video.

2. Camera

The camera on the Galaxy S5 not only takes 16 megapixel photos (compared to the iPhone’s 8 megapixels), it comes with a selective focus mode that allows you to focus on what’s important by blurring the background and accentuating the main subject. For those into photography, this means that the Galaxy S5 can mimic shallow-depth-of-field shots. But that isn’t all. The Galaxy S5 can also show live previews of HDR shots and there is also that little thing called 4K video!

3. SD card slot

The Samsung Galaxy S5 has an SD card slot. Both Apple and Samsung recognize the need for lots of internal storage and there is even a 64GB version of the iPhone 5S, which is quite cool. But the thing is that the Galaxy S5 includes an micro SD card slot which means you can pop in a memory card and add up to 128GB more storage to your phone.

4. Private mode and kids mode

To help protect your data and protect those who have access to your phone, the Galaxy S5 comes with  a “private mode”, that locks your photos and data so that they can only be seen by you, and a ”kids mode” which is designed to limit what apps and videos children can access.

5. Ultra power saving mode

Almost every phone user (even feature phone users) knows what it is like when your device runs out of battery at the wrong moment. The Samsung Galaxy S5 has an Ultra Power Saving Mode which switches the screen to monochrome when the battery level is getting low. It also shuts down non-essential services while leaving the ability to make and receive calls as well as to send and receive SMS messages. Samsung says that a Galaxy S5 on just 10% power can last up to 24 hours on standby in Ultra Power Saving Mode.

6. Replaceable battery

Unlike the iPhone 5S, the Galaxy S5 has a user replaceable battery which means you can pop it out and insert a spare (fully charged) battery to give you full power again. Also if your phone’s battery is starting to show signs of wear and doesn’t hold its charge as well (not something you would expect during the first years of owning the phone, but something that could happen later), you can just buy a new battery and replace the old one. You can’t do that with an iPhone.

7. Super AMOLED

I won’t mention the difference in display sizes (as someone will surely say they love the small screen on their iPhone 5s), but I will mention that the Galaxy S5 uses a Super AMOLED display and features Local Contrast Enhancement tech that enables the display to adapt and change according to different light conditions. Too much light, no problem, the Galaxy S5 optimizes the display for the best picture.

8. Heart rate monitor

The Samsung Galaxy S5 also includes a heart rate sensor, along with Samsung’s S Health app, and an infrared blaster so you can control your TV from your phone!

I will be the first to admit that the iPhone 5S added some cool innovations like 64-bit computing but at the moment the list above shows that really you can do more with the Galaxy S5.

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Why You May Be Better As An Employee Than A Manager

Whilst working in the finance sector, I came across plenty of highly talented individuals who were brilliant employees. They performed, delivered results and did highly acclaimed jobs in their projects. Some of them were even touted as the next manager or leader in the company. In fact, few even went on to become leaders and bosses in their respective fields.

Yet, surprisingly, many of these exceptional employees fail to become brilliant bosses even when they have reached the throne. I looked into this strange phenomenon to figure out why this happened.

There are actually a few reasons behind why some of us are better as an employee than as a manager. If you find yourself not performing as good as you should be once you reached management level, take a look at these signs to help you figure out what is wrong.

Recommended Reading: Manager Or Leader: Which Are You?

You are selfish

You are better suited as an employee than as a boss if you are selfish. If you don’t have enough enthusiasm or interest to worry about your colleagues or your subordinates, or if you don’t have the desire to be proactive about what is diminishing the performance of people you work with, you’re not managerial material.

Potential managers don’t just finish their own work, they help others complete their tasks as well. I see this in a colleague of mine who was remarkably gifted in completed his own tasks yet takes the time to ask others on what difficulties they faced, sometimes offering help, to get their job done.

He eventually went on to become a successful boss in a different company, simply because he felt for others and considered other’s tasks as his own. If this doesn’t sound like you, forget about becoming a manager.

Read Also: 8 Tips To Simplify Your Work Life

You Can’t tolerate other’s nonsense

You are better suited as an employee than as a boss if you have low tolerance for other people’s nonsense. Let me explain. You may find yourself working with a large group of people with many funny quirks and personalities, some good and fun, some bad and a plain nuisance. For the latter, what you want to do is to stay far, far away from them. That is okay if you are an employee.

But as a manager, you can’t avoid dealing with these sort of people. Even if you are tempted to punch them in the face, you have to keep yourself in check and tolerate their nonsense because they are there to work and you are there to make sure they deliver, with or without their nonsense.

You can’t run from your staff problems. In fact, you have to face them headlong and if you are a great manager, you can turn something terrible around and squeeze all the goodness out of them. Being a manager is sometimes a tough task, and highly compensated financially, simply because you have to do things you don’t want to.

Do you have listening skills?

Everyone loves to talk, but many experts have advise that if you want to be a manager, listening skills is an important skill to have as well. Many managers love to talk during interviews, meetings, presentations, sales pitches etc. Sometimes they never stop or allow others to do the talking instead. Employees are expected to talk, to sell their personal brand, to show that they are delivering the results required of them. They can never stop talking.

Good managers, though, are good listeners. They listen to their employees, bosses and clients, and pay attention to their grievances. They hear out the problems of the employees, try to read between the lines of what the boss’s requirements of the year is, and try to read their company clients for any signs of fishy business. All for the good of the company.

Read Also: Survive Office: 10 Tips For Moving Up Corporate Ladder

This also requires a lot of patience and problem-solving skills after amassing data from all quarters and figuring out the best next move for the team and/or company.

If you can’t read others

Like what was mentioned above, the ability to read others is a skill and crucial strength to have for a manager. A manager has to be able to read his employees, in order to efficiently manage them. Reading people helps you understand their mindset, their tastes and attitude. It also helps you determine which approach to use when trying to get them to perform better.

If a manager is able to read his employees like a book, he is more likely to be able to keep them under control. But it is a skill that takes tons of personal experience in dealing with past problematic employees. Human nature is harder to predict than statistical data. Are you up for it?

Read Also: Why You Should Shake Up The Interview Process (And How)

What if you are an introvert?

In my opinion, introverts are not made to be managers. A person who is too shy or afraid to speak his/her mind is going to let people walk all over them. If your managerial skills or leadership is challenged frequently, there is a chance you may lose the respect of others in the team. To have a manager lead a team that doesn’t respect his or her authority, is a recipe to a chaotic office atmosphere.

Read Also: 5 Characteristics Of A Positive Work Environment

Managers may not need to be extroverts, but they have to be able to exercise greater control on day-to-day affairs in the office. They have to come in to lead, to manage, or to deal with problems with courage, understanding and well-planned strategies. That said, not all things are rosy for the manager.

If you dread facing criticism

Some days will be better than others when you are a manager and during the worse days, criticism will creep in slowly but surely. It is hard to keep everyone happy. If you rule with a tight-fist and deliver results, your subordinates may not like you as much as your boss does. If you let your team members flourish in their work but fail to deliver the ROI required, then you’re still in hot soup.

However, the most important thing about dealing with criticism is – how you deal with criticism. Do you stick with your decision and let time show the company that you are right?

Read Also: How To Turn Criticism Into Inspiration

Or do you shrink from your original plan and take the safer route? Do you shy away from criticism and controversy to ensure that you and your team deliver conservative results year in, year out, or do you pump courage into your team to band together and weather the storm?

As an employee, you would love to have a manager who knows what he is doing, clearly. As a manager, there is no such safety net – you are the safety net.

Conclusion

Managers need to be made of hardened steel because they are accountable for everyone working at the office. It is a highly stressful and challenging job. You have to answer to a lot of things, some of them, beyond your control or your reach. And you will need to create strategies on the fly to fend off the incoming threat.

For many, a managers’ chair may be the ultimate goal but do consider the alternative. To live your dream job, you don’t necessarily have to be a manager.

If all you want to do is just that, your job, and dealing with the nasty side of people, company objectives, and keeping people happy is secondary or the total opposite of what you actually want to do with your life, then I promise you that you will be happier staying a non-managerial employee.

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