Smh.com.au – Gabriel Catalano®

Hands on: Asus Zenbook

Ultrabooks are the PC world’s latest attempt to wrestle back more of the portability market from tablets. In a nutshell, ultrabooks aim to deliver the grunt of a notebook within the petitie frame of a netbook – following in the footsteps of Apple’s MacBook Air.

Two weeks ago I took a look at the Toshiba Satellite Z830, a 13.3-inch ultrabook that’s packed with features but hampered by the somewhat cramped keyboard. Today I’m sitting down with an Asus Zenbook, which is available in four models; a choice of 11.6-inch or 13.3-inch displays sporting Core i5 or i7 processors. I’m looking at the 11.6-inch Zenbook UX21E RY008V with the Core i7 powerplant.

Asus Zenbook.

Asus’ Zenbook struggles to strike a harmonious balance between portability and usability.

Key to being happy may not be in genes but in your choices

Working shorter hours did not necessarily lead to happiness, but working a lot more or less than they wanted made people very unhappy.

“It appears that prioritising success and material goals is actually harmful to life satisfaction,” Professor Headey wrote in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Partner choice played a big role. Women were less happy if their partner did not prioritise family goals than if they had no partner, and people with a neurotic partner were far less happy over time. They never got used to their partner’s negative emotions, either – even after 20 years of marriage there was no decline in the effects on their happiness.

Doing exercise and being a healthy weight were beneficial, and obesity was strongly linked to unhappiness, particularly for women.

Professor Headey did not know why many people continued to prioritise goals which did not seem to make them happy. «I think people don’t often sit down and think about what really makes them happy, and then try to do more of that.”

Amy Corderoy | http://www.smh.com.au

Happiness … It’s a choice.

The sad sacks and Eeyores of the world are not doomed to gloom forever, according to new research that shows happiness is not dictated by genes.

Instead it found your choice of partner and life goals drastically affect your satisfaction with life – overturning the popular theory that happiness is largely decided by personality traits moulded early in life and genetic factors.

Up until now much research had seemed to show even extreme events such as becoming disabled or winning the lottery had little effect on people’s happiness, and studies of twins strongly linked happiness to genetics.

But in reality, over the course of their life about 40 per cent of people experienced large changes in their levels of happiness, said the study leader, Bruce Headey, an associate professor at the Melbourne Institute at Melbourne University.

The study, the first to track happiness over a long period, followed 60,000 Germans for up to 25 years. Continuar leyendo «Key to being happy may not be in genes but in your choices»

Launch your dream career in ‘retirement’

So while it might not be possible to completely stop work at 55 (an age when many women would like to retire, Fitzhardinge says), at least she might be able to reduce her hours at work and transition into a role that excites her. Fitzhardinge says often these roles aren’t as lucrative as the salaries women have enjoyed earlier in their career, but they provide a top-up to income into retirement, and can be merged with lifestyle as much as possible.

As part of this strategy, Fitzhardinge works with women to add skills development into their financial plan so they can begin to build the skills they will need in their new ‘passion’ career.

For many of us dreams of retirement include visions of finally having the time to do all those things we’ve never had the time to do. But did you ever imagine your ‘retirement’ planning might include a way to finally embark on a business idea you are passionate about?

Linda Fitzhardinge is an empowerment coach at the organisation Women Building Wealth. She gives women financial advice and encourages them to take an holistic approach to their health, wealth and spirit – and says all three elements are closely inter-related.

Fitzhardinge says there are times when she has met with a client to discuss her retirement plans and the session has ended in tears because dreams do not align with financial reality.

But instead of focussing on the negatives of such a realisation, Fitzhardinge has been working with older women to draw out their ideas for earning income from ideas they are passionate about. Continuar leyendo «Launch your dream career in ‘retirement’»

Beer goggles put rosy tint on Fossies

The Australian Securities Exchange has shown mercy to some of the mangiest dogs on the market, by offering them free euthanasia on Monday. Yesterday the ASX provided a list of companies that had failed to pay their annual listing fees and are set to be delisted. Among them is the Bill Ireland-headed Mariner Corporation, whose shares have dipped 99.6 per cent since their 2007 peak.

Mariner conveniently suspended its shares from trading on Friday »pending an announcement in due course regarding a proposed business and capital restructuring». It is unclear if the »restructuring» just related to being delisted.

Other dogs set to be put down have already been put into liquidation or administration. They include the once Phil Sullivan-headed City Pacific, Timbercorp, Great Southern and the chook and pig drug developer Chemeq.

A short-lived strata manager that is now in administration and receivership, TEYS Limited, is also on the delisting list.

Luckily, TEYS’s former managing director, Michael Teys, has set up a new business called TEYS Lawyers.

The address and phone number of the new business are the same as those for the one that is in administration and receivership.

Scott Rochfort

Ian Johnston … «Look what is happening.» Photo: John Shakespeare

The chief executive of Foster’s, Ian Johnston, seems rather encouraged by the booze group’s $464 million full-year loss.

»Last year, people were saying, ‘What’s happening at Foster’s?’ » Johnston remarked to a briefing of analysts yesterday.

»This year, it’s more like, ‘Look what is happening at Foster’s.»

Maybe those people are heavy drinkers.

The group’s Carlton United Brewery arm reported a 5 per cent rise in pre-tax profits to $904 million.

The soon-to-be demerged Treasury Wine Estates division reported a 27 per cent fall in pre-tax profits to $221 million – before write-downs of $1.3 billion. Continuar leyendo «Beer goggles put rosy tint on Fossies»

Rudd’s leadership hangs by a thread

Trade Minister Simon Crean has backed Mr Rudd, saying he wasn’t aware of any leadership challenge.

«I do not support any leadership challenge,» Mr Crean said.

«Any loose talk or idle speculation on this matter is counterproductive.

«I urge solidarity behind the leader. I support Kevin as the Leader.»

PHILLIP COOREY

Kevin Rudd‘s leadership is hanging by a thread after his support base vanished following a push to oust him led by Right factional operators in Victoria and South Australia.

He announced late tonight he would put his leadership to the vote in caucus tomorrow at 9am. He said the vote came after a request from his deputy, Julia Gillard.

Ms Gillard has growing support among the caucus of 115 MPs and senators and an increasing number of factions.

These included the National Right, the Victorian Left and most of the NSW Right, including its kingmaker Mark Arbib.

Tomorrow’s vote came after a dramatic night of meetings between party heavyweights. Right-wing powerbrokers spent the day counting numbers in an effort to encourage Ms Gillard to run. Continuar leyendo «Rudd’s leadership hangs by a thread»

Managing workplace conflict

Co-worker conflict is one of the most difficult forms of workplace stress and can be hard to resolve.

Kadie Black, an outreach coordinator for a kids agency, felt as if her co-worker didn’t carry her weight on a team project. Rather than confront her, she mentioned it to another colleague who repeated Black’s comments publicly. Friction soon permeated the workplace, making it uncomfortable for the two women to work together again.

We all know that conflicts in the workplace are unavoidable. But now, the number of conflicts are intensifying as workers do more with less and stress levels jump to an all-time high. More than half of all employees say they lost work time worrying about confrontation with a co-worker, according to a survey by researchers at the University of North Carolina.

Co-worker conflict can be hard to address. Photo: iStock

Co-worker conflict is one of the most difficult forms of workplace stress and can be hard to resolve.

The use of digital media comes at a price

A 21st century addiction … The digital world is having an effect on our brains. Photo: Illustration by Michael Mucci

If you’re tired and forgetful, and finding it hard to concentrate, log off the laptop and take a digital detox, says Dan Roberts.

As a writer, I spend a lot of my time glued to my computer screen: researching and pitching ideas, dealing with emails, keeping abreast of breaking news and, occasionally, even writing. While recently trying to launch an online magazine, my screen time increased still further and, unable to resist the temptation any longer, I also answered the call of Twitter. Setting aside BlackBerry time at evenings and weekends, I was devoting eight hours a day to digital media.

After a month, strange things started to happen. I found it difficult to concentrate on any given task for more than a few minutes. My mind felt scattered and my focus wandered from email to web page to tweet to email and back again.

DAN ROBERTS

A 21st century addiction … The digital world is having an effect on our brains. Photo: Illustration by Michael Mucci

If you’re tired and forgetful, and finding it hard to concentrate, log off the laptop and take a digital detox, says Dan Roberts.

The ultimate iPad – for $200,000

Golden delicious … The gold-plated iPad Stuart Hughes has for sale.

While Australians wait with twitchy fingers for their regular iPads to turn up, a British designer who caters for mega-rich geeks has unveiled his latest creation.

Behold the solid-gold iPad Supreme Edition, worth about $215,000, which gives you Wi-Fi, 3G, 64GB – and a whole lot more.

Encrusted with 25.5 carats of flawless diamonds, 53 of the gems «dwell beautifully in the solid 22ct Apple logo», seller Stuart Hughes said.

TIM CLARKE

Golden delicious ... The gold-plated iPad that is for sale by Stuart Hughes.

Golden delicious … The gold-plated iPad Stuart Hughes has for sale.

While Australians wait with twitchy fingers for their regular iPads to turn up, a British designer who caters for mega-rich geeks has unveiled his latest creation.

Behold the solid-gold iPad Supreme Edition, worth about $215,000, which gives you Wi-Fi, 3G, 64GB – and a whole lot more.

Encrusted with 25.5 carats of flawless diamonds, 53 of the gems «dwell beautifully in the solid 22ct Apple logo«, seller Stuart Hughes said.

// The rear and screen surround are made from a single piece of solid 22ct gold, weighing 2.1 kilograms.

«A magnificent combination of top-of-the-industry technology and unrivalled craftsmanship was involved in creating this masterpiece», is how the creation is described on Hughes’s website.

Only 10 of the units will be made.

The ultimate iPad follows some of Hughes’s other creations, which include the world’s most expensive phone – an iPhone reputedly worth more than $3 million.

watoday.com.au

Source: watoday.com.au

Flight test: Emirates A380 business class

Recline in a glossy walnut-panelled private suite in Emirates A380 business class.

Click for more photos
Photo: AFP

Flight test: Emirates A380

Recline in a glossy walnut-panelled private suite in Emirates A380 business class.

Aircraft Emirates A380.

Route Sydney to Dubai (A380); Dubai to Munich (Boeing 777-300).

Class Business on the A380 (seat 14A) and on the 777-300 (seat 8F). Continuar leyendo «Flight test: Emirates A380 business class»

Health claims for chocolate shot through the heart

Fans of Turkish or Greek coffee have now been warned that their boiled coffee contains more bad cholesterol-bearing oil than filtered Italian coffee varieties.

The brutal news was delivered yesterday by the Heart Foundation following a review of more than 100 international studies on antioxidants from the past decade.

The Heart Foundation’s national director of healthy weight, Susan Anderson, said the benefits of dark chocolate, coffee and red wine had been overstated, and the review was conducted following concern that these popular beliefs were misleading the community.

»The evidence is just not there in terms of prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease,» Ms Anderson said.

BRIDIE SMITH

Generic pic of glasses of red wine and party food.

Wishful thinking … That glass of red wine may not be as good for the ticker as previously thought.

YOU are not going to want to read this: chocolate cannot be relied upon as a source of antioxidants to boost cardiovascular health. But it gets worse: drinking coffee and red wine in the hope it will prevent heart disease doesn’t work either. Continuar leyendo «Health claims for chocolate shot through the heart»

Overtime linked with heart risk: study

After accounting for risk factors such as smoking, excessive weight and high cholesterol, doctors found that working between three and four hours of overtime each day was associated with a 60 per cent greater risk compared to those who did no overtime.

Those who worked overtime tended to be slightly younger than the non-overtime group, were more likely to be male than female, and were in a higher occupational grade.

: Image via Wikipedia

Study findings … Longer hours can raise the risk of heart problems.

People who work three hours or more of overtime per day run a 60 per cent higher risk of heart problems compared to those who work regular hours, a study published in the European Heart Journal said.

The findings came from a long-term research project into 6014 British civil servants aged 39-61, two-thirds of whom were men, and who had healthy hearts at the start of the probe in the early 1990s. Continuar leyendo «Overtime linked with heart risk: study»

Make LinkedIn help you find a job

There’s a lot you can do beyond the obvious.

From time-to-time after that I’d get invites and messages. Often I ignored them, or put them off for another day. Since Facebook seemed more fun, with its photos and games and fan pages, I spent much more time there, accumulating more than 200 «friends,» revising my bio several times, and posting my article links.

Then 10 months ago I started covering leadership and careers, and every career expert I interviewed, from coaches to headhunters to campus recruiters, told me that LinkedIn was an essential job search tool. Not only can you instantly get the word out to hundreds, if not thousands, of colleagues, bosses and potential employers about your latest accomplishments, ambitions and changes in employment status, but your LinkedIn profile can serve as a passive job magnet, since recruiters and hiring managers use the site as a gold mine for locating candidates.

I figured I would draw on my expert sources for advice on how to best polish up my LinkedIn profile and do whatever I could to make the most of the service. Then I’d offer my experience to you, my readers, as a kind of how-to guide. If I can do it, anyone can.

As a journalist, I was lucky enough to be able to start by talking to a LinkedIn staffer, career expert and spokeswoman Krista Canfield, who spent two patient hours with me on the phone, walking me through LinkedIn’s most essential steps. I quickly discovered that the site’s tools are so deep and rich that I ought to write more than one article about how to use it.

SUSAN ADAMS, FORBES.COM

Call me old-fashioned. At age 51, I still struggle with, and sometimes resist, 21st-century technology. When I first started getting invitations to connect on LinkedIn a few years ago, I winced. Do I have to do this, I wondered. But I begrudgingly spent a hasty five minutes clicking through one of those invitation e-mails and filling out some basic information about myself. Then I left the site.

Online networking…Tips on how to get the most out of LinkedIn.
Photo: Michel O’Sullivan

Online networking. Continuar leyendo «Make LinkedIn help you find a job»

What’s to love about LinkedIn?

Of all the business-oriented networks, LinkedIn – now with 23 million users globally – has a commanding lead. (Its arguably closest competitor is Plaxo, with 20 million users.) If you want to stay connected with the people you know and spark professional relationships with those you don’t, LinkedIn does the trick. But it also has its irritations.

First, the perks. LinkedIn is a huge time-saver. Forget Google; within minutes, LinkedIn can rustle up loads of potential customers, vendors and talented hires in relevant industries and disciplines.

LinkedIn also gives companies more marketing horsepower. They can promote products or services, as well as direct other LinkedIn users to specific representatives for questions concerning topics like sales and technical support.

MELANIE LINDNER, FORBES.COM

In the Internet age, keeping pace means cultivating contacts at a mean clip. Hence the big news at LinkedIn, the online social network aimed at working professionals: On Wednesday LinkedIn announced that it nabbed $US53 million in venture funding from the likes of Bain Capital, Greylock Partners and Sequoia Capital, setting the company’s valuation at a juicy $US1 billion. Continuar leyendo «What’s to love about LinkedIn?»

How to negotiate a better salary – even now

TARA WEISS, FORBES.COM

David Hoffman, the chief executive officer of the executive search firm DHR, in Chicago, recalls a client who was recently offered $100,000 less than he felt he deserved for a job. Instead of jumping at the offer because of the tough job market, the candidate, together with Hoffman, negotiated and managed to meet the company in the middle. They described the candidate’s unique fit for the job and the difficulty he’d have with his relocation to a more expensive city. They got the employer to boost the offer by $50,000.

Negotiating a pay rise in a tough job market can usually be done, as long as they want you in the first place.

TARA WEISS, FORBES.COM

David Hoffman, the chief executive officer of the executive search firm DHR, in Chicago, recalls a client who was recently offered $100,000 less than he felt he deserved for a job. Instead of jumping at the offer because of the tough job market, the candidate, together with Hoffman, negotiated and managed to meet the company in the middle. They described the candidate’s unique fit for the job and the difficulty he’d have with his relocation to a more expensive city. They got the employer to boost the offer by $50,000.

Negotiating a pay rise in a tough job market can usually be done, as long as they want you in the first place. Continuar leyendo «How to negotiate a better salary – even now»

Kiss your workload goodbye

Research shows 90 per cent of managers drown in the classic time wasters such as meetings, dealing with crises, mediating disputes and micro-managing instead of delegating, outsourcing or ignoring them altogether.
Heike Bruch and Sumantra Ghoshal’s research in the Harvard Business Review found only 10 per cent of managers spent time on work that had a long-term benefit to the business.

KATH LOCKETT

Research shows 90 per cent of managers drown in the classic time wasters such as meetings, dealing with crises, mediating disputes and micro-managing instead of delegating, outsourcing or ignoring them altogether.
Heike Bruch and Sumantra Ghoshal‘s research in the Harvard Business Review found only 10 per cent of managers spent time on work that had a long-term benefit to the business.

Continuar leyendo «Kiss your workload goodbye»