You may want to impress your boss because you want a promotion, or a raise, or you simply want to differentiate yourself from the crowd. Regardless of the purpose, the initial question is how?

Well, you could use Excel. Excel is an extremely powerful program; there is a lot to master. We are not going to go over everything you can do with Excel here, but you will learn a few ways to improve your efficiency and maybe get some attention as well.

• Hiding Information: You might wonder why you may wish to hide particular information in a spreadsheet. Well, suppose the spreadsheet containing all your data about the company also has everyone’s salary. That is confidential information that you don’t want to divulge at the meeting. Simple hide the column or row by clicking the related number or letter to highlight it, then right-click on that highlighted row or column and select the Hide option in the popup menu. You may then Unhide the row or column in the same manner when the meeting has ended.
• Timestamping: You are able to attach a fixed date and time — which will never change — to your Excel spreadsheets thanks to your computer’s “Ctrl” key. To put a fixed date into a spreadsheet cell, hold Ctrl as you press your computer’s semicolon key. To put the present time into a cell, hold down your computer’s Ctrl and Shift keys while pressing the semicolon.
• A Better-Looking Spreadsheet: Perk up your spreadsheet with the use of Excel’s Themes option. This is located at the top on the Excel Ribbon. This feature provides you with a large variety of color schemes and fonts, or you could create your own and apply it to your spreadsheet.
• Tracking Trends: This is only applicable for those who have a more current version of Excel. The feature is called Sparklines and with it you can create charts that relate trends in the information in your spreadsheet. One way this can be used is to easily and quickly see how many software bundles your company’s salespeople sold in the first quarter of 2011.
• Conditional Formatting: This feature allows formatting only in cells that meet the requirements that you decide on. For example you could decided to have any dollar amount over 1,000 be a particular color.

Technology is ever changing, and cyber-criminals will be ever adapting to it. Recently, MIT’s Technology Review published an article regarding technology security threats that we must be aware if in 2012. As many of us spend a significant amount of time online, being conscious of these threats can help safeguard vital data.

Stolen, Spoofed Certificates

The biggest problem that the Technology Review article dealt with is the growing quantity of stolen or spoofed certificates. As the article reports, every time you connect to a site, like your bank’s website, your traffic is encrypted using a “certificate” that the site uses to prove to your web browser that it can be trusted. In 2011, though, cyber-criminals had the ability to spoof or steal several of these certificates. This can help them steal user data or install malicious software on their computers.

A Common Security Mechanism in Trouble?

Sites use certificates as a security measure more than any other means. If they are no longer perceived as trustworthy it may affect everyone, from the consumer, to the large company that is responsible for protecting your information.

Another common security concern is what is termed “Hacktivism”. Cyber-criminals see this as activism through hacking, hence the name. Groups like Anonymous and LulzSec target large businesses that they think are guilty of wrongdoing. They also target companies to demonstrate the susceptibility and weakness of them. Technology Review thinks that groups like these will continue “hacktivism” for a long time.

Home Automation

The growing popularity of home automation also presents security risks in 2012. As Technology Review writes, a growing number of automation systems link security systems, thermostats, lights, as well as the locks to homes’ front doors to the web. Imagine the damage that hackers can do if they break into these systems.

Can you imagine life minus the computer? It wasn’t that long ago that we didn’t have them, yet today we carry them around inside our purses in the form of smartphones.

How did our culture go from no computers to having so much access to them in such a short time? George Dyson, a science historian, asks this question in his book, Turing’s Cathedral.

Dyson has a distinctive vantage point that makes him an ideal author for this book. He’s the son of a top scientist, Freeman Dyson and, consequently, has spent much of his years at the Princeton Institute for Advanced Studies. The Institute was home to the globe’s most accomplished scientific minds – included Einstein’s – while they were in the middle of building and operating the first digital computers with the guidance of scientist Josh von Neumann.

If you read Turing’s Cathedral it may surprise you at just how much chance was involved in the creation of the machines that let to computers. The book not only highlights the creation of the computer but also the personalities involved at the Princeton Institute. They weren’t always on the same page but were able to create the first digital computer regardless.

Genius or not, people are still people, and when working closely on a single project there are bound to be rivalries and disagreements that happen. Turing’s Cathedral lays these things open, showing the humanity of the scientist that created the first computer.It wasn’t just the personal disputes that needed to be put aside to make this project productive; there were also ethical issues involved. The work that went into the creation of the computer walked hand in hand with the U.S. nuclear weapons project.

You may think that history books are dry reads and a history of computers has to be crammed with technical jargon. Turing’s Cathedral does not fit that image at all. Anyone who uses a computer will find this book intriguing. Which is an awful lot of people nowadays.

New vehicles such as the Ford Edge, Lincoln MKX, and the Audi A6 allow passengers to connect to the Internet from the front seat. These Internet connections over Wi-Fi or 3G networks allow motorists to enjoy streaming video, audio, spoken text messages, and current traffic information. We generally view tech advancements as a positive. But connectivity in the car begs an important question: Is this the best thing?

Challenges of the Connected Car

People get distracted when they text or chat on their phones while driving. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration states that 80 percent of traffic accidents include driver inattention within 3 seconds of the crash. So, if basic cell phone use is a distraction imagine what it would be like if someone is video Skyping with their best friend while driving or watching that funny Super Bowl commercial.

Does Tech Distract Drivers?

Clearly drivers ought to focus on driving, and several things like eating, talking on their phone, even talking to a companion inside the car can be a distraction. These distractions can result in serious accidents. This reason is in part why the very idea of having more connected cars doesn’t automatically make people jump for joy.

Browsing the Web Inside Your Car

Regardless of how we feel concerning this, unless laws are put into place preventing it, people will soon have the ability to stream YouTube videos, Google an answer to a question, and correspond via social media sites in their cars. Maybe the next phase should be to improve self-driving aspects to cars; but perhapsthat would remove us even more to the world around us.

As we said before, we usually consider advancements in technology as a positive thing, however, the possible negative effects that connected cars could have make us stop and think. While having these tech features in our cars improves enjoyment on the road it’s vital that they don’t become a disruption to the driver.

You hear the term “nanotechnology,” and what do you think of? Sci-fi, maybe robots, something along those lines? The truth is, nanotechnology is making life easier for all of us. At its core, nanotechnology is the science of working with matter on an atomic and molecular scale. The hope is that scientists can use nanotechnology to create new materials and products that boast an array of purposes.

The practical side of nanotechnology

As an example, Science Daily ran a feature story about scientists creating a way to use nanotechnology to lessen the level of friction in car engines and machines. If this technology becomes widespread, it can help extend the lives of machines and engines and enable them to operate more efficiently. Based on the Science Daily story, a team of scientists created tiny polymer particles that were dispersed in automobile engine base oils. When tested under conditions that simulated those present in car engines, these tiny particles were found to have an exceptional capability to reduce friction.

More efficient motors

The story noted that even when these particles were dispersed at a low concentration, they boasted more potent friction-reducing abilities than the friction reducing additives used by many industries today. The scientists found that these particles, measuring just nanometers in size, made it possible to reduce friction by 55 percent more than additives currently can. Expect more discoveries such as this in the future. The field of nanotechnology keeps growing. It’s growing so quickly, in fact, that the United States recently released a national strategy for ensuring that environmental, health, and safety research needs are identified and addressed in the field.

The emerging world of nanotechnology

If you believe, then, that nanotechnology is only good for Hollywood special effects blockbusters; simply take a close look at your car’s engine. One day, nanotechnology may leave you with an engine that consumes less gas. That, of course, can give you a fatter wallet, and you’ll be able to thank nanotechnology for this.

We all know there are big problems in the world today; debt crises, illiteracy, global warming, are only a few. Google has assembled a team to think of radical ideas to find answers to the world’s biggest problems, and they call the initiative “Solve for X“.

Tackling the biggest global issues

Of course, it’s not that simple. The “Solve for X” brain trust will be tackling issues that have long confused world leaders. However, the folks behind this project are nothing if not enthusiastic. They are saying the work taking place here is comparable to the progressive thinking that was needed to send humans to the moon. On the “Solve for X” website, Google describes it this way: “This combination of things—a huge problem to solve, a radical solution for solving it and the breakthrough technology to make it happen—is the essence of a moonshot.”

Tackling water scarcity

An article regarding the “Solve for X” project appeared on Mashable.com a few weeks ago. Mashable reported the account of an individual who took part in a “Solve for X” retreat. He explained the minds involved discussed the issue of global water scarcity. What kinds of solutions do you think this brain trust came up with? How about forward osmosis with recycled ammonium salts. While we might not be clear about what this means, the people at “Solve for X” do.

The need for technology brain trusts

Whether “Solve for X” does produce any real solutions for the globe’s biggest problems, the brain trust idea is unquestionably one with value. Technology has the facility to change the world for good. Yes, new tech entertains us. It can make it easier for us to enjoy our music, watch movies, and read our favorite magazines. But technology can do much more. Perhaps brain trusts like “Solve for X” will help us truly tap the potential of technology.

Do your employees communicate their ideas and thoughts? Do they come to you with ways to increase efficiency or new revolutionary marketing ideas?

If the answer is no, the creativity of your employees may be stifled. Today’s business world is very competitive, so if your company lacks creativity and innovation, it could put you at a disadvantage.

Creative employees frequently come up with critical ideas for better promoting your products, enhancing the functionality of the company website, bettering production efficiencies, and shaving dollars off your monthly costs. However, employees won’t exercise their creativity if you do not first inspire them to do so.

The best way to promote creativity is to actually encourage your employees to come up with new ideas and then to listen closely to these ideas when employees bring them to you. Send out an email blast asking employees for ideas to improve your company’s products or services. Post a notice on the bulletin board asking for suggestions on how to improve the company blog or increase its customer-approval ratings. Then, when employees answer these calls, meet with them—even if it’s during a quick phone call—to examine their ideas. You don’t have to implement all employee ideas, obviously, but to show respect, you should listen to them all.

Dismissing an idea before you have heard it or not giving it your full awareness will discourage your employees and defeat your purpose. Instead of having a bunch of innovative thinkers working for you, you may find yourself with a group of people just going through the motions for their paychecks.

You could also use a good old fashioned reward system to get your team’s wheels turning. This could be a bonus to people whose ideas you implement or it could simply mean giving them some honest praise.

By nature, people are creative; it’s part of being human. We all have independent thoughts and ideas. That being said, even if employees don’t express it, many have ideas and thoughts on how to improve their jobs. Many employers don’t encourage creativity and this is an untapped resource. So be sure to encourage creativity among your team—the rewards will surprise you.

Tired of social media? Ignoring it all together? Well, jump on the bandwagon, because it’s not going away! In fact a new site recently popped up that is rising in popularity: Pinterest. Pinterest is a little different than sites like Facebook and Twitter, because it focuses purely on the interests of the users. This encourages creativity by allowing you to share your interests with other people rather than just posting updates about your day-to-day life.

But what is it all about? The name of the website is a hint. Pinterest is a combination of the words “pin” and “interest”. Once you have a Pinterest account you literally create “pinboards” and “pin” images of stuff you like or have an interest in, resulting in a collage of your tastes.

Creating Pinterest Categories

Creating categories will help you organize your account and allow individuals to decide what in your account they want to concentrate on. You can decide to share all of your pinboards with other users or only a couple. You can not only make notes about the images you pin to your pinboard, but you can also add links to sites where you found the images.

The Social Part of Pinterest

Just like Facebook and Twitter, you can choose to follow coworkers and friends. You do not have to follow all of a friend’s collections; for instance, you can elect to follow only their collection of art, while choosing not to follow the restaurants they like in their area.

Joining Pinterest

The main challenge with Pinterest is getting an account: you have to be invited to sign up. You can easily request an invite directly from Pinterest when you visit the site, but it’s uncertain how long you’ll have to wait to get an invitation using this method. It is much more reliable to seek out friends or acquaintances that are already using Pinterest. You can then ask them to invite you to the site through e-mail, Facebook, or Twitter.

Putting your best foot forward in life makes a difference, especially in the workplace. Hooking a career is much more difficult now then ever, so it is more vital than ever to dress for success.

That’s right. What you wear to the office and to job interviews still matters. Yes, a lot more people are telecommuting. More people are arriving to work in jeans and t-shirts. However, that does not mean that you should dress casually for an interview.

This simple rule will help where job interviews are concerned: Better to be overdressed then under-dressed. Even if the company you’re interviewing for says, “No need to dress up, we’re very casual here,” you should still wear proper business attire to your interview. Your clothing can show how serious you are about your career, and employers want someone who wants to grow with a company and takes their position seriously. In the event you dress for an interview in t-shirt and jeans, you’ve made a bad first impression, even if you blow everyone else out of the water with your qualifications.

Then you have the workplace itself. In the event you work in a casual environment, one in which formal business attire is not needed, it is possible to still dress for success. This might seem obvious, but always wear clean clothes. Resist the impulse to throw on last night’s jeans. Try to always consider the clothes you happen to be wearing, something that looks good, or is business casual clothes. Looking sharp sets you apart as a professional.

Of course, you still have to be a good worker. You can be the best-dressed person in the world, but it won’t help you if you don’t do your job well. All things being equal, the better-dressed employee will always make the better impression.

• Retina Display – The same crystal clear graphics that came out with the iPhone 4 are now available on the iPad.
• Quad-core GPU – The iPad will now have a quad-core graphics processing unit (GPU), power that all of these new app announcements will really be able to eat up!
• 4G LTE – The new iPad now will have 4G LTE support.  Now we just need to know if AT&T and Verizon will be supporting 4G LTE on the iPad, and what the price for data will be…
• Personal Hotspot – Another great feature for the iPad – we’ll now be able to use the iPad as a Wi-Fi hotspot!  This will again require carrier support.
• Better iSight Camera – The iSight camera – the one that you use to video chat with – will be a 5mp camera now instead of the less than 1mp camera it used to boast.  This will be a huge improvement in picture quality for Skype and Facetime calls – a very important feature with the Retina Display.
• Voice Dictation – While there won’t be a full blown Siri on your iPad, you can at least perform voice dictation with the microphone key on the keyboard.
• iLife and iWork – The full suites of iLife and iWork are now available on the iPad thanks to the addition of iPhoto.  You’re going to need more storage on the iPad if you plan on storing all of your photos on it.

The new iPad will be available on March 16th.

March 16th is when the iPad will be available, and pre-orders are being taken today.  The new iPad will feature the exact same price points – anywhere from $499 – $829 for an iPad depending on storage size and if it’s Wi-Fi Only or Wi-Fi and 4G.

I love the 4G feature, so that’s a no-brainer to make sure I can get onto the internet from anywhere – especially being an IT consultant.  The data plan for an iPad is month-to-month.  Because there’s no contract, you can turn it on and off as needed.  If you’re just not using it, save yourself the $15-30 a month and just turn it on when you need to.

Because of my wife’s massive iPhoto library on her Macbook, over 12GB, I am inclined to get a 32GB or 64GB just to have enough room for Apps, her existing photos, and all of the new photos (and movies) that will be taken over the next couple of years.

The iPad 2 (last year’s model) will still be available and will have a $100 price-break.  That’s a great buy for a small child, or somebody you don’t care for very much.  My vote – spend the extra $100 and get the best model available.

What iPad are you planning on buying?  Are you disappointed in the new features released?  Remember – iOS 6 will likely be announced with the new iPhone, when it’s been announced historically.  That’s when they’ll add all kinds of new software features to the iPad and iPhone.