Tag: Asad Siddiqui

  • 5 products of this decade that transformed the tech world

    5 products of this decade that transformed the tech world

    The year 2020 is almost here, marking the end of this dacade, but it surely brought a lot of new technology and gadgets which range from latest mobile applications to mobile phones, computers to smart devices, and much more in the internet of things.

    But not every product that is created in the past ten years has the same impact on the society. It takes some serious innovation and cultural adoption to really change the tech world.

    We have listed here a few tech innovations that truly changed tech and were hailed as the most revolutionary products this in this decade.

    WhatsApp:

    Launched in November 2009, WhatsApp is a social media messaging platform that is owned by Facebook and its impact on society was significant enough to be mentioned here.

    WhatsApp specializes in cross-platform messaging, it is a free service that lets users message one another seamlessly between mobile and desktop devices. It is known for its enhanced privacy features, like end-to-end encryption, and its free audio and video international calling services.

    Apple iPad:

    When Steve Jobs first revealed the iPad in early 2010, many wondered whether there was a room for a product that was bigger than a smartphone, but lighter than (and more limited in features than) a laptop.

    Apple originally designed this new device to occupy a new product category between the iPod touch/iPhone and the Mac and by late 2012, over 100 million iPad devices had been sold worldwide and around 71 million iPads were sold in 2013 alone.

    It runs the same version of operating system as the iPod touch and iPhone. Similarly, the iPad devices are compatible with the vast majority of mobile applications written for the iPhone and iPod touch as well.

    Uber:

    Launched in 2012, ther ride-hailing service Uber has become the most recognized alternative to the traditional taxi services around the world. The service is available in over 700 cities including around the world including Pakistan, and this number is set to increase even more.

    This service allows its users to order a cab from a mobile application by just mentioning the pickup and drop-off locations.

    However, with expansion the problems in the service also increased. Wired has reported that the company’s relationship with its drivers is fraught and the company also refuses to classify its drivers as employees. Moreover, it is has also been criticized for skimping on driver background checks.

    Apple iPhone 4S:

    The original iPhone was launched in 2007 and it was one of the most influential events of our modern era. But the launch of the iPhone 4S in October 2011, was the big game-changer for Apple company’s business.

    Its new design and being the first iPhone mobile device to boast a front-facing selfie camera with the launch of FaceTime and Apple’s video chat service, the device captured the market in an instance.

    Oculus Rift:

    Oculus Rift is a virtual reality headset, designed to connect to a high-powered PC to enable advanced computations and graphics rendering. The original prototype of this device was created in 2011 by the (then) 18-year-old Palmer Luckey in his parents’ garage in Long Beach, California.

    But what captured the comsumers’ interest was the launch of an HD (high-definition) version of the device in 2012. Later, in the fall of 2012, the company raised over two million dollars through its kickstarter crowdfunding campaign which is significantly higher that the $250,000 the startup sough.

    Oculus Rift’s constellation positioning technology uses gaze tracking and IR LED sensors to identify the user’s position while interacting with the virtual environment. It allows users to move freely within their physical environment, where they can sit, stand, walk, turn, duck and dodge as they desire.

  • Why practicing mindfulness is important

    One of the most misunderstood concepts of modernity is ‘Multitasking.’ Multitasking at our jobs and social media interactions have reduced our ability to retain focus on one thing at a time. 

    However, if we introduce the practice of mindfulness in our lives – one can not only rejuvenate the complex networking of neurons of our brain but the abilities like concentration, time-management, and stress management can also be improved to phenomenal extend. 

    Here are some easy mindfulness exercises which you should consider to add in your daily life:

    STOP

    When you’re in a stressful moment, a popular mindfulness exercise called S.T.O.P. can be helpful. 

    • Stop. Just take a momentary pause, no matter what you’re doing. 
    • Take a breath. Feel the sensation of your breathing, which brings you back to the present moment. 
    • Observe. Acknowledge what is happening, for good or bad, inside you or out. Just note it. 
    • Proceed. Having briefly checked in with the present moment, continue with whatever it was you were doing. 

    PRACTICE MINDFULNESS DURING MEETINGS 

    Another very useful technique that can be practiced in group forms is by practicing it in the office with your colleagues. Meetings can be wastage of time when people aren’t listening. Here is how you can introduce mindfulness in your office meetings:

    • No phones or computers allowed at meetings, whenever possible. 
    • If you need a note taker, have one person act as secretary and circulate the notes afterward. 
    • Give uninterrupted opportunities to speak to people in the meeting. 

    Mindfulness works; that is why from Google to General Mills, they have started teaching mindfulness in their offices. You should do it as well. 

  • Unemployed? Here are the reasons why

    Unemployed? Here are the reasons why

    Being unemployed is never easy – on the person, his family or on the society as a whole. Here is what you need to do to get viable employment. 

    To get a job and then to sustain it, a candidate must possess two types of skills: hard skills and soft skills. Hard skills are basically the primary talents one can have like engineering, programming, designing, and so on so forth. On the other hand, soft skills are those that let you manage yourself and people around effectively; some examples are social skills, communication skills, emotional intelligence, time management and so on.

    A person who has both will have better employment opportunities. So what one should do to learn both, especially, if you cannot afford to go expensive university, or you do not have enough time due to personal reasons? 

    Edx.org is a platform created by the world best universities from where you can take many online courses for free. These courses are ranging from computer sciences to creative skills like graphics designing or content creation. There are hundreds of other courses that you can take to polish your hard and soft skills. 

    Be
    mindful of one thing that to grow professionally – you have to develop the
    habit of learning. As a famous American author Alvin Toffler rightly said:

    “Illiterate
    of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who
    cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”

    So 2020 is not far away – be comfortable with your anxieties, fears and above all uncertainties. Perhaps, millennials do not have many options to escape this reality. 

  • Pakistanis to face reduction in salaries in 2020: report

    The salaries across Pakistan are expected to record a substantial decrease this year due to rising inflation and depreciation of the Pakistani rupee, according to a report released on Tuesday by mobility consultancy ECA International.

    According to the details, the Salary Trend Report published by the group contends that the average real salary increase in Pakistan is expected to be negative, and employees will likely be worse off than they were last year. Lee Quane, Regional Director Asia at ECA International, has surmised these trends.

    Lee explained, “The average real salary increase in Pakistan is forecast to be -3.0%, meaning that employees will be worse off than they were last year. Despite the nominal increase staying at a relatively high 10.0%, inflation has shot up as the rupee has depreciated.”

    He also said that the Inflation in Pakistan is forecast to reach 13.0% in 2020, exceeding the nominal increase and leaving workers out of pocket compared to 2019.

    However, the same is not true for other Asia-Pacific countries, especially neighbor and arch-rival India. 

    According to the report, India topped the table for average real salary increases in Asia, but now also tops the table globally for 2020. The average real salary increase is set to be 5.4% for workers in India, which is four times the rise expected in Hong Kong. 

    “Salaries in India are set to rise significantly, with the 5.4% increase almost four times as high as the expected increase in Hong Kong. Despite inflation rising slightly from 2019 and the economy slowing slightly, though workers can still expect more increases” said Quane. 

    Workers in China are set to see a real salary increase of 3.6% in 2020, while UK workers will receive a lower real salary increase in 2020 as compared to the previous year.

    Overall, the global average salary increase stands at 1.4% and the Asia-Pacific average increase is 3.2%.