Journal

Digital pen use has evolved from cheap interface navigator to professional application enabler, but still has a few convenience gaps.

Digital pen use has evolved from cheap interface navigator to professional application enabler, but still has a few convenience gaps.

Many of the latest trends in computing interaction have been ripped straight from the pages of science fiction. Our devices are offering voice-driven conversations with agents that ask follow-ups and gestures that allow us to manipulate mixed-reality objects without having to touch a surface. However, Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 and the release of Windows 10 Anniversary Edition have again brought to the fore an input method that has little association with Captain Kirk or Minority Report hero John Anderton—the pen.

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New software allows PC users to transform their machines into a 360-degree virtual world with lots of promising possibilities.

New software allows PC users to transform their machines into a 360-degree virtual world with lots of promising possibilities.

When you think of virtual reality, chances are something entertainment-oriented pops into your mind, like watching a movie or playing a video game. But there’s a company that wants to bring VR to a place you might not expect it: your office.

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For decades, scientists have been studying the role of nature and nurture in producing Olympic athletes.

For decades, scientists have been studying the role of nature and nurture in producing Olympic athletes.

Gymnast Simone Biles’s signature move: Two backflips in the air, with straight legs, and a blind landing after an extra little half-twist.

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The best speakers don’t have a canned formula for kicking off their talks, but they do understand these five principles.

The best speakers don’t have a canned formula for kicking off their talks, but they do understand these five principles.

Looking for the “Call me Ishmael” of your next presentation? Or just scouring past TED Talks for inspiration? You may not need to. The most powerful public speakers don’t start off each of their talks with a straightforward formula—that’s what keeps them so dynamic. Instead, there are a few key principles to keep in mind for building an opening that will catch and hold your audience’s attention. Here are five of them.

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You don’t have to hit up tons of networking events outside your office in order to build relationships and learn new things.

You don’t have to hit up tons of networking events outside your office in order to build relationships and learn new things.

When I was younger, I watched a lot of television that made me think my career would be nothing but a competition against my future colleagues. We’d all fight for pay raises, promotions, and the right to be considered the apple of our boss’s eye.

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This week’s top stories may help you earn a raise no matter where you work, and might even make you consider a move to the weed sector.

This week’s top stories may help you earn a raise no matter where you work, and might even make you consider a move to the weed sector.

This week’s top stories may help remote workers earn their due, give you an insider’s look at the marijuana startup scene, and help you stick to your points when you’ve only got a few minutes for your next presentation.

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Getting defensive when someone criticizes your work shows that you care, but it can block forward progress. Do this instead.

Getting defensive when someone criticizes your work shows that you care, but it can block forward progress. Do this instead.

Whatever your profession, chances are your ego gets in the way sometimes. I’ve led design firms and coached creative professionals on how to bargain for better pay. And I’ve repeatedly seen people’s egos swing from one extreme to the next—getting inflated in one moment and deflated in another.

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Self-affirmations may feel corny and strained, but these four statements can help remind you how prepared you really are.

Self-affirmations may feel corny and strained, but these four statements can help remind you how prepared you really are.

You’re hours away from that big presentation you’re scheduled to give, and you’re feeling anxious. Jittery. Your palms are already sweaty. The familiar recommendation to just take a deep breath may not quite cut it—and might actually hurt your delivery. So what can you do instead?

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Amid the glitz and glitter of Las Vegas, the Pentagon’s secretive research arm held a competition setting bots against each other.

Amid the glitz and glitter of Las Vegas, the Pentagon’s secretive research arm held a competition setting bots against each other.

In a massive conference room at a hacker conference inside a hotel with a giant Eiffel Tower on top, celebrity astrophysicist Hakeem Oluseyi is taking on an unusual gig: hosting a real-time cybersecurity contest where automated bots compete instead of humans. The room is packed with thousands of onlookers because DARPA—the Pentagon’s highly secretive Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency—wants private industry to develop autonomous cybersecurity tools to do things humans can’t or won’t. At the DARPA Cyber Grand Challenge, millions of dollars in prize money is being given away to contestants who range from wonky university researchers to employees of some of the world’s biggest defense contractors.

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At first, these Buffer dads planned to take only a week off when their kids were born. Here’s what they learned by spending more time away.

At first, these Buffer dads planned to take only a week off when their kids were born. Here’s what they learned by spending more time away.

Around the world, fathers are increasingly being offered the same or similar leave as mothers (though in the U.S., it is typically unpaid time). In many cases, tech is leading the way. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently took two of the four months of paid leave Facebook allows.

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