Top Free Software Picks: System Maintenance Utilities

• By Eric Griffith, www.pcmag.com
• View Original
• January 29th, 2014

When you use a computer every day, you get a feel for its abilities, rhythms, and idiosyncrasies. So it always comes as a bit of a surprise when—after months or years of use—the device that previously zipped along like a puppy on speed seems to have slowed, now a geriatric hound no longer interested in chasing the ball.

There are a lot of reasons this happens. After all, when you start the computer the first time, it doesn't have much to do but boot up and glow at you. The minute you install some software, you've started the slowdown process. You fill the hard drive and use more precious RAM until the eventual corruption of the operating system, especially in the Windows registry, where all the instructions and settings used by everything on the computer are stored.

Of course, there are other reasons computers slow down; it could be simply trying to run too many programs at startup. Malware is also a big problem, so be sure you have the best antivirus solutions on hand. You may also have massive downloads happening on your system (or elsewhere on a network) that slows things to a crawl. Be aware of network usage of things like BitTorrent or streaming video.

It's also possible your old hardware simply isn't up to snuff when the time comes to running the latest software. The occasional full reinstallation of the OS might fix the issue, but there's a reason people upgrade things like RAM, hard drives, and entire computers every few years: new software gets better and better partly because it's written to work with the latest and greatest components.

We've focused here on PC slowdowns that you can fix. Most of these are problems for Windows users, but we found a couple of helpers for Mac OS X users, too. There are lots of great paid utilities out there, but don't forego the free utilities galore that help you clean up and speed up the computer. Regular system maintenance will go a long way to eking out many more years of use from your PC, so check out your options in the next few pages.

Consumers care about packaging almost as much as the brand

• By Steve Kazanjian, qz.com
• View Original
• January 18th, 2014

Your hair feels luxurious just looking at it. PRNewsFoto/Kerastase Paris

Steve Kazanjian is the vice president of global creative for MeadWestvaco, a global packaging solutions company.

In the United States, there is a growing divide in the median household income and the thickness of the American paper towel. As middle class consumers tighten their wallets, consumer brands have introduced value-priced versions of industry standards with names like “simple” and “basic.” But companies are still betting on premium products, “everyday luxury” in new household cleaners, shampoos and nutrition that cost 30-50% more.

Dubbed the “democratization of luxury,” by research firm Mintel, a new group of consumers is treating themselves in small ways by going premium on extra thick paper towels, moisturizer with anti-aging serum, and pomegranate juice instead of orange juice.

Product companies are investing in both the aesthetic and functional aspects of their packaging as a way to convey the premium luxury experience. In fact, when it comes to what’s important for overall satisfaction with a product, consumers rank packaging almost equal to the brand, according to MWV’s Packaging Matters study.

Often overlooked by brand managers, packaging can play a major role in “nonconscious priming,” the sensory and environmental factors that give consumers emotional cues on the context and “premiumness” of their experience. Lighting and scent in a hotel lobby, for example, can cue a visitor as to whether they’re about to find 600-thread-count sheets on their bed or a continental breakfast in the lobby when they wake up. The same is true for everyday products. How is it that we know artisan potato crisps are more premium than regular potato chips or that Kerastase shampoo is more high-end than Pantene? Other than cost and shelf placement, how do consumers rank a product’s premiumness and align it with their values to decide on a purchase?

• Shelf appeal: One way brands cue consumers on the premiumness of their purchase is through the shelf appeal of packaging. More than likely, those artisan crisps are in a matte finish package (instead of a bright glossy one) and the high-end shampoo is in a brushed plastic basin (instead of a shiny squirt top bottle). Visual cues like muted colors, matte finishes, and artisanal materials (like raffia) can communicate premium options. But we are still enchanted by shiny objects: Mintel calls gloss black the “workhorse of luxury packaging,” (see Chanel and Prada—skincare and fragrance lines especially) citing its use alongside photorealistic imagery as a common method of premium positioning. This is also happening in the gourmet packaged foods category.
• Function over form: Another way brands communicate everyday luxury is through the structural elements of packaging. According to MWV’s consumer satisfaction study, consumers are most focused on these functional aspects of packaging, such as maintaining freshness, portability, and ease of opening. Beyond meeting consumer expectations for function, these aspects can complete a brand promise of luxury. A sturdy handle, an easy-to-open bottle or the pressure of the dispenser can all contribute to an image of quality craftsmanship and luxury.
• “Sounds good:” Sensory aspects of packaging are important, too. In an article about using sound to convey luxury, Wall Street Journal reporter Ellen Byron suggested, “the small sounds consumer products make—whether a snap, click, rustle or pop—can be memorable and deeply satisfying, often suggesting luxury, freshness, effectiveness or security.” In the beverage category, Snapple has perfected the auditory seal of quality with its signature click top cap.
• The magic touch: The sense of touch has long represented luxury—the softness of cashmere, the smoothness of Italian leather, the sturdiness of fine furniture. In the fragrance industry, MWV is focused on enhancing the consumer experience through the spray. Consumers have told us that the spray experience—the atomization, how the fragrance touches their skin, the sound—can elevate their perception of luxury and strengthen their emotional connection to a brand.

We welcome your comment at ideas@qz.com.

Start your days with the latest intelligence on the new global economy with theQuartz Daily Brief. Follow us on Twitter @qz. Read more at qz.com.

15 Great Pieces Of Life Advice That Never Get Old

• By Max Nisen, www.businessinsider.in
• View Original

Nathalie Kosciusko Morizet via flickr --

The great benefit of living with, working for, or being related to people who have experienced more of life than you have is picking their brain for advice.

The most effective people learn from their own mistakes, and make a significant effort to learn from other people's errors as well.

A recent Quora thread asked users for the best advice they've ever gotten.

Here are a few of the greatest excerpts, lightly edited for clarity:

Never say "but."

"A very smart woman I worked with once told me that if I eliminated the word 'but' from my professional vocabulary, I'd find greater acceptance for my ideas, and greater cooperation from my team members... The word 'but' negates everything that precedes it, and you cast a negative spin on anything you say when you use it... 'But' is exclusive and isolating; 'and' is inclusive and welcoming." -Quora user Marsha Browne

You never get anything unless you ask.

"It was a professor in my university, but I believe its origin is from somebody famous: If you don't ask, the answer is always 'no'." -Quora user Joe Yasman

Think before you complain.

"Don't complain. I think it was phrased as something like, 'Do you ever listen to someone complaining and think, This is a great conversation!?' Being negative doesn't help others, and it doesn't help you." -Quora userSteve Carnagua

Time is the one thing you never get back.

"A mentor I had some years ago told me that time is the one thing that you can never get back. If you look at it as an asset, you can donate it, spend it, or waste it. Whatever you do with it, it is gone once it passes." -Quora user Karen Meyer

Attitude is more important than talent.

Attitude helps you solve problems talent cannot. Attitude helps you navigate through problem talent hides." -Quora user Vamsi Uppala

Quality is always greater than quantity.

"If you're going to do something, do it well enough to avoid doing it the second time. Going back to do something the second time is a time-waster if you knew it can be done right the first time. Even writing this post, I'm putting in my best effort into editing it, explaining it, and making it easy and enjoyable to read - to avoid going back and fixing any grammatical errors." -Quora user Dennis Do

Be reliable.

"Do what you say you're going to do." -Quora user Blake Alexander

Do the right thing.

"Advice from Charlie Munger (not proffered personally): The safest way to try to get what you want is to try to deserve what you want." -Quora userJosh Tarasoff

Slow down.

"When I was in my 20s I worked as a waiter at a very popular restaurant. I found it very difficult to keep up with the orders and, consequently, my tips were very low.

One of the very experienced servers took me aside and she said, 'Slow down and take longer steps. You'll feel more relaxed and your customers will see that and trust you.'

If you slow down, you have time to think and plan better. Taking longer steps means more than just how you move through a space. It's about looking ahead and covering more ground, encompassing more than just the task at hand." -Quora user Gordon Bennet

Everyone ends up in the same place.

"'At the end of the game, the king and the pawn go back in the same box.' -Italian Proverb

When you really think about this, in the end we all end up the same. You can't take your money and fame with you after you die." -Quora userFelix Wong

Time is not money. It's better.

"Always choose time over money. Contrary to what people say, time is not money. Time is much much more than money. At the end of your life, it's guaranteed you will be out of time and more than likely out of money as well, if you didn't value time." -Quora user Navin Uttam

Don't worry what other people think.

"Stop being so self-conscious because absolutely nobody is paying any attention to you anyway - they are only paying attention to themselves." -Quora user Michael Wolfe

You can't truly control anything but how well you do things.

"To find happiness in life's tasks, invest in the process (which you can control), not in the outcome (which is largely out of your control)." -Quora user Mark Hurley

Listen.

"God gave you two ears and one mouth; use them proportionally." -Quora user Derrick Mayfield

Take risks when you can.

"On deciding whether to step off my career track in my mid-20s to live abroad for a year: 'You have the rest of your life to work. You'll be working for 40 years. I don't know why we were in such a hurry when we were young.' I took the year off." -Quora user Deborah 

An Open Letter From Dylan Farrow

• By Dylan Farrow, mobile.nytimes.com
• View Original
• February 1st, 2014

Dylan FarrowPhoto by: Frances Silver

(A note from Nicholas Kristof: In 1993, accusations that Woody Allen had abused his adoptive daughter, Dylan Farrow, filled the headlines, part of a sensational story about the celebrity split between Allen and his girlfriend, Mia Farrow. This is a case that has been written about endlessly, but this is the first time that Dylan Farrow herself has written about it in public. It’s important to note that Woody Allen was never prosecuted in this case and has consistently denied wrongdoing; he deserves the presumption of innocence. So why publish an account of an old case on my blog? Partly because the Golden Globe lifetime achievement award to Allen ignited a debate about the propriety of the award. Partly because the root issue here isn’t celebrity but sex abuse. And partly because countless people on all sides have written passionately about these events, but we haven’t fully heard from the young woman who was at the heart of them. I’ve written a column about this, but it’s time for the world to hear Dylan’s story in her own words.)

What’s your favorite Woody Allen movie? Before you answer, you should know: when I was seven years old, Woody Allen took me by the hand and led me into a dim, closet-like attic on the second floor of our house. He told me to lay on my stomach and play with my brother’s electric train set. Then he sexually assaulted me. He talked to me while he did it, whispering that I was a good girl, that this was our secret, promising that we’d go to Paris and I’d be a star in his movies. I remember staring at that toy train, focusing on it as it traveled in its circle around the attic. To this day, I find it difficult to look at toy trains.

For as long as I could remember, my father had been doing things to me that I didn’t like. I didn’t like how often he would take me away from my mom, siblings and friends to be alone with him. I didn’t like it when he would stick his thumb in my mouth. I didn’t like it when I had to get in bed with him under the sheets when he was in his underwear. I didn’t like it when he would place his head in my naked lap and breathe in and breathe out. I would hide under beds or lock myself in the bathroom to avoid these encounters, but he always found me. These things happened so often, so routinely, so skillfully hidden from a mother that would have protected me had she known, that I thought it was normal. I thought this was how fathers doted on their daughters. But what he did to me in the attic felt different. I couldn’t keep the secret anymore.

When I asked my mother if her dad did to her what Woody Allen did to me, I honestly did not know the answer. I also didn’t know the firestorm it would trigger. I didn’t know that my father would use his sexual relationship with my sister to cover up the abuse he inflicted on me. I didn’t know that he would accuse my mother of planting the abuse in my head and call her a liar for defending me. I didn’t know that I would be made to recount my story over and over again, to doctor after doctor, pushed to see if I’d admit I was lying as part of a legal battle I couldn’t possibly understand. At one point, my mother sat me down and told me that I wouldn’t be in trouble if I was lying – that I could take it all back. I couldn’t. It was all true. But sexual abuse claims against the powerful stall more easily. There were experts willing to attack my credibility. There were doctors willing to gaslight an abused child.

After a custody hearing denied my father visitation rights, my mother declined to pursue criminal charges, despite findings of probable cause by the State of Connecticut – due to, in the words of the prosecutor, the fragility of the “child victim.” Woody Allen was never convicted of any crime. That he got away with what he did to me haunted me as I grew up. I was stricken with guilt that I had allowed him to be near other little girls. I was terrified of being touched by men. I developed an eating disorder. I began cutting myself. That torment was made worse by Hollywood. All but a precious few (my heroes) turned a blind eye. Most found it easier to accept the ambiguity, to say, “who can say what happened,” to pretend that nothing was wrong. Actors praised him at awards shows. Networks put him on TV. Critics put him in magazines. Each time I saw my abuser’s face – on a poster, on a t-shirt, on television – I could only hide my panic until I found a place to be alone and fall apart.

Last week, Woody Allen was nominated for his latest Oscar. But this time, I refuse to fall apart. For so long, Woody Allen’s acceptance silenced me. It felt like a personal rebuke, like the awards and accolades were a way to tell me to shut up and go away. But the survivors of sexual abuse who have reached out to me – to support me and to share their fears of coming forward, of being called a liar, of being told their memories aren’t their memories – have given me a reason to not be silent, if only so others know that they don’t have to be silent either.

Today, I consider myself lucky. I am happily married. I have the support of my amazing brothers and sisters. I have a mother who found within herself a well of fortitude that saved us from the chaos a predator brought into our home.

But others are still scared, vulnerable, and struggling for the courage to tell the truth. The message that Hollywood sends matters for them.

What if it had been your child, Cate Blanchett? Louis CK? Alec Baldwin? What if it had been you, Emma Stone? Or you, Scarlett Johansson? You knew me when I was a little girl, Diane Keaton. Have you forgotten me?

Woody Allen is a living testament to the way our society fails the survivors of sexual assault and abuse.

So imagine your seven-year-old daughter being led into an attic by Woody Allen. Imagine she spends a lifetime stricken with nausea at the mention of his name. Imagine a world that celebrates her tormenter.

Are you imagining that? Now, what’s your favorite Woody Allen movie?

© 2014 The New York Times Company.

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The Only Interview Question That Matters BY Lou Adler

• By Lou Adler, www.inc.com
• View Original
• February 1st, 2014

Advertisement

Last week, LinkedIn announced to the world that I've been in the recruiting industry for 36 years. During that time, I've written a number of books about talent challenges and opportunities, but one thing continues to surprise me: More than 90 percent of hiring managers think they're good interviewers, yet rarely do they reach unanimous hiring decisions with other 90 percenters in the same room evaluating the same candidate.

This realization led me on a quest to find the one interview question that would yield universal agreement from hiring managers. It took 10 years of trial and error, but I eventually found it. Here's it is:

What single project or task would you consider your most significant accomplishment in your career to date?

To see why this simple question is so powerful, imagine you're the candidate and I've just asked you this question. What accomplishment would you select?

Then imagine that over the course of the next 15-20 minutes I asked you the following follow-up questions. How would you respond?

• Can you give me a detailed overview of the accomplishment?
• Tell me about the company, your title, your position, your role, and the team involved.
• What were the actual results achieved?
• When did it take place and how long did the project take?
• Why were you chosen?
• What were the 3-4 biggest challenges you faced and how did you deal with them?
• Where did you go the extra mile or take the initiative?
• Walk me through the plan, how you managed it, and its measured success.
• Describe the environment and resources.
• Explain your manager's style and whether you liked it.
• What were the technical skills needed to accomplish the objective and how were they used?
• What were some of the biggest mistakes you made?
• What aspects of the project did you truly enjoy?
• What aspects did you not especially care about and how did you handle them?
• Give examples of how you managed and influenced others.
• How did you change and grow as a person?
• What you would do differently if you could do it again?
• What type of formal recognition did your receive?

With an accomplishment big enough, and answers detailed enough to fill 20 minutes, this one line of questioning can tell an interviewer everything he or she needs to know about a candidate. The insight gained is remarkable. But the real secret ingredient is not the question; that's just a setup. The most important elements are the details underlying the accomplishment. This is what real interviewing is about -- delving into the details.

Don't spend time asking clever interview questions; instead, spend time learning to get the answer to just this one question. Then ask it again and begin to connect the dots. After you hire a few people this way, you'll also call it the most important interview question of all time.

Last updated: Feb 1, 2014

LOU ADLER is the CEO of The Adler Group, a consulting firm helping companies implement performance-based hiring. His latest book, The Essential Guide for Hiring & Getting Hired (Workbench, 2013), covers the performance-based process described in this article in more depth. Lou is one of LinkedIn’s top 20 Influencers, has appeared on Fox News and is frequently quoted in Business Insider, The Wall Street Journal and recruiting industry trade publications around the world.

@LouA

The 5 most common career mistakes

• m.theweek.com

I've posted about the top five career regrets but what are the most common career mistakes people make?

To shed light on individual behavior during job changes, we conducted a survey of over 400 search consultants from more than 50 industries in mid-2008. The respondents, 67 percent of whom had more than 10 years of experience and 70 percent of whom recruited stars at the senior-executive level or higher, were asked to specify the most common mistakes individuals make when contemplating a job change and the reasons for such mistakes. Also, over 500 C-level executives were interviewed from more than 40 countries in late 2008 about their experiences managing their own human capital. Finally, we posed similar questions to the heads of human resources at 15 multinational companies in mid-2009. [Chasing Stars: The Myth of Talent and the Portability of Performance]

The job-change mistakes most frequently identified by recruiters were (1) doing inadequate research; (2) being swayed excessively by money; (3) moving "from" rather than "to"; (4) overestimating oneself; and (5) thinking short term.

Let's dig in and analyze each.

Mistake 1: Doing inadequate research

Research isn't just a good idea before the interview.

It's necessary to understand whether the new company is someplace you're really going to be happy.

Job seekers often fail to "sufficiently [research] the field to know where they might make a good fit," one recruiter said. "They haven't taken stock of their strengths and weaknesses." …Recruiters repeatedly observed that people fail to request specific performance metrics, assuming that the job title sufficiently describes the job. Companies sometimes sweeten job titles to attract top talent — and new recruits at badly managed companies could find themselves in ill-defined jobs whose formal titles are meaningless. [Chasing Stars: The Myth of Talent and the Portability ofPerformance]

Mistake 2: Leaving for money

Because money is an easy measuring stick of success, people often ignoreless quantifiable metrics like fulfillment, respect, and good co-workers.

This leads to a bigger salary but less overall happiness.

Money is a scorecard, and people who lack awareness of their true priorities and success factors can be blinded by it. "[ Job seekers] get consumed by compensation and not by fit, so they keep moving, mistaking compensation for recognition, personal satisfaction, et cetera," one recruiter pointed out. "They don't take any time for introspection to understand why they are unhappy where they are." [Chasing Stars: The Myth of Talent and the Portability of Performance]

Mistake 3: Moving "from" rather than "to"

This is one of the most common career mistakes I've seen personally: Some people are so eager to escape where they're at, they don't pay much attention to where they're headed.

The third mistake identified by recruiters is allowing discontent in one's present position to build to the point that, as one recruiter put it, "instead of planning their career moves, they lurch from one crisis to the next." [Chasing Stars: The Myth of Talent and the Portability of Performance]

Mistake 4: Overestimating oneself

I've posted about overconfidence many times.

People often overestimate their ability to tackle challenges in a new role. Combined with Mistake #1, this can have devastating results.

They are "looking at the current company as being the problem and not acknowledging that they themselves may be a part of the problem," one recruiter said… An inflated self-image also leads job seekers to overestimate their capacity to cope in the new position. [Chasing Stars: The Myth of Talent and the Portability of Performance]

Mistake 5: Not taking a long-term perspective

We think of star employees as jumping around, taking bigger and better offers when it suits them.

Research shows A-players actually move to competitors lessfrequently.

Many stars recognize the value inherent in colleagues, context, and relationships and are smart enough to stick with a good thing.

Our finding that stars move to competitors less frequently than do non-stars (though they probably receive more overtures) suggests that those who have a record of performance to protect may be more cautious, at least in this respect, than those who are still on the ascent and possibly impatient to prove themselves. [Chasing Stars: The Myth of Talent and the Portability of Performance]

So what should you do?

Work for the best company you can.

Sounds obvious but it's not. As described above, people's most common career mistakes often involve being lured by salary, titles, or sheer impulsiveness.

Working for top firms makes it easier to become a star in the first place, and the longer people stay, the better they do.

When B-players move to A-level firms, they don't suffer a decrease in performance.

When A-players step down to B-firms, they have the biggest declines.

For ambitious professionals it clearly makes sense to affiliate with, and stick with, the highest-quality organizations. That it is far easier to achieve stardom in the first place at certain employers is an important observation with obvious applicability to individual careers. We also found that though longevity at an employer promotes better performance, the quality of the employer is very important when it comes to fostering first-rate performance. Furthermore, those who moved from lesser firms to superior firms were able to maintain their performance without penalty, while those who left the best firms suffered the greatest declines. Taken together, these findings strongly suggest that choosing an organization that offers high-quality colleagues and first-rate technical and supportive resources is of decisive importance in achieving and maintaining outstanding performance.[Chasing Stars: The Myth of Talent and the Portability of Performance]A

Can Men and Women Be Just Friends?

• By Carlin Flora, www.scientificamerican.com

Kate and Dan met on the job in Boston, when they were in their early 20s. He thought she was attractive; she thought he was an arrogant jerk. At a work party, it came out that both had lost a parent in recent years, and a mutual feeling of “you must really get me” washed over them. A few years later, when they both found themselves in New York and single, the friendship ramped way up, into multiple-phone-calls-per-day, soul-baring, belly-laughing territory.

It is that feeling that someone truly understands us that lends friendship its power to ward off existential loneliness. Kate and Dan share it, yet their brand of friendship is often seen as suspect—as less than pure and true. Friendships between people who could conceivably date come with built-in suspense for onlookers: Will they get together, or won't they?