Runtastic's New App Goes Straight For the Abs..!

You may be familiar with Runtastic's workout app that's primarily geared toward running. It's one of the most advanced running apps out there, with interval training and all kinds of metrics. But today the company is shifting its focus away from your legs and honing in on your mid-section.

Runtastic Six Pack is, as you'd suspect, dedicated to carving out your abs from underneath their nacho-induced padding. It's, essentially, a training program that features a course of pre-defined workouts and a pair of animated avatars to guide you through it. You can start from the easiest one and then build yourself up over the course of a ten week program. The workouts are typically about 15 minutes and the app tells you which days to work and which days to take off.

The workouts themselves are fairly easy to follow. A clear voice tells you which exercise to do, gives you a few seconds to prep, then counts the reps out loud for you (going off timing, not the accelerometer). When you finish a set, it'll give you a 30 second break before moving you on to the next exercise. While that's happening you can watch your animated avatar plough through the exercises as you to. They never slow down or break a sweat, though, which you may find somewhat demoralizing. The app tracks your progress as you go, assuming you complete all of the exercises, because it's not watching you and counting (unlike Runtastic's push-ups app).

Here's a video of the app in action, which you may enjoy, particularly if you like ripped dudes with pierced nipples.

We've spent a little time messing around with Six Pack and we have mixed feelings about it. Our biggest criticism is that there is no guidance whatsoever with regards to form. Even a little tip like, "Make sure your lower back stays flat on the floor," can mean the different between a good workout and an injury. Yeah, you can watch the avatars, but there are small but important details like that which are easy to miss.

Criticism number tw Only the first level of training-which includes about ten exercises-is free. If you want to move on to intermediate and advanced (and unlock the other 40 exercises), it's going to cost you five bucks, which is pretty steep. And, lastly, the beginner level starts out pretty hard and fast. The first thing you do is 26 slow sit-ups, followed by 30 seconds of rest, then another slow 26. Not everybody can do that.

That said, it's a pretty good workout, and I'm sure if you stuck with it for ten weeks you'd see some results. Just remember that revealing your abs has more to do with diet than with any other factor. It's not a fun fact, it's just a fact. You can download Runtastic's Six Pack for iOS or Android right now.

Source : http://www.gizmodo.in/software/Runtastics-New-App-Goes-Straight-For-the-Abs/articleshow/23988768.cms

How to Create a Clearer Separation Between Each Email in Your Message List in Outlook 2013

If you have a long list of emails and you’re having difficulty distinguishing among the individual emails in your list, you can select a grid line style to display between each of the emails. This can improve the visibility of each email in your list.

To change this setting, first make sure the Mail module is active. If not, click the Mail link at the bottom of the Outlook window. Then, click the View tab.

Click View Settings in the Current View section of the View tab.

On the Advanced View Settings dialog box, click Other Settings.

Select an option from the Grid line style drop-down list in the Grid Lines and Group Headings section of the Other Settings dialog box.

NOTE: You can also choose not to separate emails by day by selecting the Show items in Groups check box so there is NO check mark in the box.

Click OK.

Click OK on the Advanced View Settings dialog box to close it.

Your chosen grid line style should display as separators between each email in your list.

Notice that when you select an email, a dotted line displays around the email. That can be another way to distinguish an email from others, as well. If you have the Reading Pane turned off (in the Layout section of the View tab), it does no harm to select an email to call it out in the list.

Source : http://www.howtogeek.com/173201/how-to-create-a-clearer-separation-between-each-email-in-your-message-list-in-outlook-2013/

Double-Tap the iPhone's Time Picker to Switch Minute Increments..!

By default when you're making a new event the iPhone lets you set the time in five-minute increments, but if you want to get a bit more granular, Finer Things in Tech points out you can simply double-tap the time picker to one-minute increments.

When you're in an app like Calendar, just double-tap the time picker and it'll change between one minute and five minute increments, which should prove helpful for all those very specific meetings you have planned throughout the day.

Source : http://www.lifehacker.co.in/others/Double-Tap-the-iPhones-Time-Picker-to-Switch-Minute-Increments/articleshow/23996237.cms

Twitter's New Experiment Sends You Direct Messages About Breaking News

All of your favorite bloggers are on Twitter constantly because it's the fastest way to find out about breaking news. That's our secret. A new experimental Twitter account, @eventparrot, leverages the plethora of news organizations blasting out breaking bits to the world, 140 characters at a time.

Event Parrot works much like the @magicrecsaccount that recommends tweets and Twitter accounts to its followers through direct messages. Though we haven't actually gotten a breaking news DM from Event Parrot yet,TechCrunch and others have, and it appears that the tweets it sends out come from accounts like@cnnbrk, which are specifically focused on getting news out to the world as quickly as possible.

It remains to be seen if Twitter will turn Event Parrot into an "official" service, but in the mean time, why not give it a follow to see if you can beat us bloggers at the Internet.

Source : http://www.gizmodo.in/software/Twitters-New-Experiment-Sends-You-Direct-Messages-About-Breaking-News/articleshow/23921102.cms

Is It Bad to Stay at One Company for Very Long?

 Staying at the One Company Without Advancing Could Cost You

Most people change jobs for better opportunities: a higher salary, more benefits, and/or a better title with more challenging work. You can often get that in the same company through promotions, but in this era of raise freezes and "you're lucky you even have a job" mentality, advancement doesn't always happen and we might end up stagnant in the same position for years because of the job security.

Switching jobs may be the clearest way to get a higher salary and boost your future earning potential. Research suggests you could earn 18 to 20 percent more as an external hire than through moving up in a company via a promotion.

The other thing to consider is how old you are. In LearnVest's profiles of workers who have stayed put for many years, the financial advice site notes that salaries tend to hit their plateau when people are in their forties-and finding a new opportunity gets harder past the age of 45. That means if you're approaching forty, the next few years could be the best time to go for a higher paying, higher position job.

Finally, besides losing earning potential, not advancing can also affect how hiring managers look at you. LearnVest says:

There's a point at which staying too long at one job-around eight to 10 years-can raise questions about how a professional will adapt to a new environment.

Marketability Is More Important Than Time on the Job

There's no hard and fast "time cap" for when you, as an individual, should jump ship, however. Length of employment at previous jobs is only one part of your career picture. As long as you're advancing your skills, can show you are great at adapting to new situations, and keep building a solid professional network, there isn't a "too long" limit.

In fact, staying for ten years or more on a job can also be a positive thing, if you've gained seniority and leadership opportunities and have more say in the company. It might say to potential employers that you're dependable and loyal-two qualities employers love.

IT recruiter Joe Shelton says the key is to stay up-to-date [emphasis mine]:

I don't think there is a timeframe that is too long to stay in a job. The key is staying up to date in your area of expertise and networking with people in the field. I have seen job seekers that were let go after 20 years and where basically on an island in their fields and they had a really hard time finding a job. On the other end I have seen people who had been in their jobs over a decade who had stayed on top of changes and maintained a great professional network and found jobs really quickly. If you're happy at your job there is no reason to leave because you've been there too long, just make sure you are keeping yourself and your skills marketable.

Executive search consultant and executive resume writer Donna Svei of AvidCareerist adds [emphasis mine]:

The better question is probably how long is too long to work for the same boss. Every time you have a manager change you have a significant culture change you have to adapt to. If someone has been at the same company for more than seven years they should find a way to signal their adaptability on their resume. It might be mentioning their different reporting relationships, participation in a joint venture, leadership of, or participation in, a significant change initiative, etc. You need to show that you know how to enter a new culture and operate successfully in it.

Whether you're thinking of looking for a new job or not, it pays to continue your own learning and development and look for ways you can grow in your current work.

Job Hopping Might Even Be Okay

While we're on the subject, staying too short a time at one job also sometimes carries a stigma. As career expert Penelope Trunk notes, however, job hopping can actually be good for your career-to maintain your passion, build a network faster, keep challenges fresh, and find what it is you should be doing with your life. With more young people switching jobs every couple of years and more millennials getting into management and hiring positions, job hopping might not be as bad as it was once considered. (The average employee stays at a job for 4.4 years, but for younger workers, it's about half that, according to the Bureau of Labor Department.)

So how many jobs is considered too many by some recruiters? The answer, according to the Personal Branding Blog's Richard Kirby, may be "more than two jobs in the last five years or more than four in the last ten years." (Apparently, recruiters and hiring managers assign a sort of "employment date code" to job seekers' employment histories.)

Of course, this all depends on the culture of the company, your hiring manager's perspective, and what's normal for your industry. Shelton says:

As far as short job stints, you really don't want to have too many jobs that lasted less than a year, it throws up red flags. However, it all depends on the person you are talking to, some baby boomer managers think anything less than five years is job hopping. But as the Gen Yrs become managers, one to three years at one place isn't generally frowned upon.

In the end, when looking for a new job, the advice for job hoppers and long-time employees seems to be the same: Position and explain your career history in a way that sounds good to the company and puts you in the best light. If you have a series of short jobs, string them together to show your focus and accomplishments. If you've been loyal to one place, show how you've evolved and continue to keep growing. As with other job searching situations, it's all about the story you tell about your work.

Source: http://www.lifehacker.co.in/work/How-often-should-i-change-jobs-is-job-hopping-ok/articleshow/22525317.cms