USB Gadgets – USB bear and food

Now that USB flash drives are cheap and common producers clearly need to get creative to compete. Here are a couple great ideas for storage with a more personal touch:

USB Bear


Stuff this cuddly USB bear with 1GB of photos, music or documents.

Blue USB fortune cookie


I have to admit this is the first blue fortune cookie I’ve ever seen, but imagine how many fortunes you could fit in this USB fortune cookie

USB Hamburger


Also from the freshly baked line the USB Hamburger may not be a half-pound burger, but it is a 2GB drive!

Of course none of these beat the USB Humping Dog but you can’t store files on that (and let’s face it, it might not quite be appropriate for that executive board meeting.)

Thanks to Don for the USB bear.

Smart Phones & Cell Service: Prepare for Internet Everywhere

There’s a lot of buzz around smartphones right now. With falling prices and service improvements it’s becoming clear that cellular providers will beat municipal Wi-Fi in all but a few areas.

That’s the idea I explored in my recent article for Internet Evolution.

At the same time, smart phones like the iPhone have crossed over from being business tools to consumer products. Indeed, they are quickly becoming the mobile device of choice.

And why not? More than just phones with PDA functionality, these devices have now become full-fledged platforms. Web browsing, chat, email, and games are their core competencies, and applications for them are just getting more interesting from there.

Read my full article for more of my thoughts on how these new devices and services will shape our lives in the near future.

Hiring happy people

A Pret creationAlex over at PositiveSharing.com always has great tips and info on being happy at work, but this article on hiring happy people at the British based company Pret A Manger particularly caught my attention.

Alex pulled just the right quote from this article from The Insider blog:

“You can’t hire someone who can make sandwiches and teach them to be happy,” says Jay, “So we hire happy people and teach them to make sandwiches”

This may seem like an oversimplification, but it’s true! I’ve always felt when hiring that you are much better interviewing the person first, then worry about their skills. I’ve seen folks with more experience than I come in to a job and have a negative impact on those around them and I’ve seen folks with practically no experience come in and do wonderfully.

The full interview with Pret’s Head of Communication Jay Chapman has some fantastic content and is well worth the read. sandwich

The Olympics

Well, the Summer Olympics ended last weekend and now I remember why they only happen every 4 years. It’s been fun to watch some of the worlds best compete and break records, but after more than two weeks of it I’ve had enough.

Not to miss a beat, The Onion reported last week “Michael Phelps Returns To His Tank At Sea World“.

ORLANDO—Fourteen-time Olympic gold medalist and SeaWorld main attraction Michael Phelps returned to his seven-million-gallon water tank Wednesday to resume his normal schedule of performing in six shows a day for marine park crowds every day of the week.

Gotta love The Onion!