How to Improve Productivity for Your Business

You can increase your business' productivity by making just a few small changes in how you think about your business. An answering service, for example, can improve the productivity and profitability of your business. By taking the burden of answering calls off of your team, you can free up their time so that they can spend more time with customers, clients or patients. Other steps to improving productivity in your office or small business include documenting systems and common procedures, delegating tasks, improving training and listening to customers and staff.

Five Tips for Improving Business Productivity

1. Use an answering service to screen and direct calls. An answering service can help you screen and direct important calls 24/7. Instead of letting an impersonal voice mail system receive the call, a personal answering service functions as an intelligent extension of your business. You won't have to check your voice mail periodically but can instead rely upon a trained virtual phone 'assistant' to screen your calls and forward any urgent messages to you, while simultaneously providing a personal response to customer inquiries. In today's automated world, personal interactions with an answering service representative are a mark of distinction and differentiation for the small business, one which your customers are likely to remember positively.

2. Document systems. Most businesses excel at reinventing the wheel. A great deal of time and money is wasted recreating processes and procedures that have already proven effective in your business. Whether it's a system to order office supplies or update your company's website, having written systems, processes and procedures can greatly improve productivity. Just make sure that your entire staff knows where to find the documented systems and processes, or else your team will continue to spend fruitless hours trying to figure out how to find a service technician for the photocopier, request a new office chair, book car service for the CEO or whatever other systems are needed.

3. Delegate tasks. How much of your day is spent answering emails, responding to customer inquiries, or filing papers? Delegate, delegate, delegate! To determine which tasks you can delegate, note your daily tasks and what takes up the most time. If it is a repetitive task, and one which does not require your particular unique skill set, it may be a perfect task to delegate to another employee. If you don't have someone with enough time to tackle the task, consider hiring a virtual assistant for tasks that can be completed online, or an answering service to handle phone calls. Freeing up your time from completing tedious and repetitive tasks enables you to work on more interesting, creating and challenging projects - hopefully those that will add more income to your business' bottom line.

4. Improve training. Productive and profitable workplaces train their employees in the tasks expected of them. Make sure your employees are trained to do their jobs. This may include training on the use of computer systems, training on how you want your telephones answered or customers greeted, or product-specific training so that they're well versed on the intricacies of what your business sells. A productive, profitable business is one in which the entire team is on the same page and able to convey consist information to customers, and that starts with training.

5. Listen and learn. Productivity means saving time, but it can also mean improving your overall business. Your team may have suggestions - listen and learn from them. Solicit their input into areas to improve productivity.

With these five tips, you can start today to improve your business' productivity, and potentially, its profitability, too.

Sylviane Herzog is the Director and writer of Concorde Answering Service which has offices in Los Angeles, CA.

Japan planning to broadcast streaming video 4K HEVC / H.265

Japan has tested broadcasting 4K streaming programs. 4K TVs are starting to appear in stores, but the 4K may not really take off in public until TV shows are available in 4K. For now, the 4K contents are very rare. Sony has announced this summer a Media Player 4K FMP-X1 containing 10 hits Hollywood 4K preinstalled and a service this fall to rent or buy movies via internet 4K Video Unlimited. Sony also announced that his future PS4 would be able to read HEVC/H.265 videos. Yet the consumer electronics manufacturers have not started to offer 4K TV models so for and even after the announcements of last year. The proposed Sony 84-inch 4K TV price is set at $ 25,000 and the prices seem to go down a little more realistic levels. Whatever (digital satellite, terrestrial, cable, or via the Internet by IP) be the broadcasting system, the bandwidth is a major problem with ultra-high resolution images with a resolution 4K or even 8K (7680 x 4320 pixels). Just to 4K, with a four times greater than high definition "standard" size, current technologies encoding are no longer valid. Five minutes 8K uncompressed video can occupy 1TB of storage space. At the beginning of the year, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has approved the MPEG-H HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding), also known under the name of H.265. It offers more effective than the current four times H.264 compression, reducing bandwidth by half without degrading the image more than that does in MPEG-2 H.264 system.

 The TV channels around the world seem to look more and more like a business model that would see the broadcasts through the Net instead, or in addition, a radio broadcast. The current flows internet connections are unable to display 4K video in real time. But streaming solutions of these programs are being put in place. Telco Japanese leading company conducted tests on 4K video streams streamed via the Internet, using an encoding HEVC/H.265 end to end. The set-top box to the user unpacks the videos before posting them on a 4K TV. Japan also announced it would be the first country to offer 4K satellite images in 2014 for the World Cup football. Another piece in the puzzle of the dissemination of high definition TV programs that is taking place gradually, NHK, very present on the front of the high definition 4K or 8K, Japan called Super Hi-Vision, presented an 8K encoder developed with Mitsubishi. It uses a parallel architecture to achieve compress images quickly enough. It divides each frame into 17 bands of 7680 x 256 pixels to compress more efficiently. The area at the juncture of two bands is used by both (they share information-speed and direction-for animated objects) to avoid image degradation in border areas. The decoder works in real time at 60 Hz. The two companies are working on a new faster version, 120 Hz, the rate of the "Super Hi-Vision" Japanese. Japan in July 2014 begin broadcasting NHK 4K, and from 2016 to 8K. At first, the broadcast will take place via satellite. The side of the portable terminal as the HVEC/H.265 codec begins to point the tip of his nose. Earlier this year, NTT Docomo announced a HEVC software solution for its Android Smartphones. The CPU of Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 also decompresses video H.265. The Samsung Galaxy S4 is capable of displaying HEVC/H.265 videos.

Changes in iOS 7 Beta 3

Apple released recently the third beta version of iOS 7. Still reserved for developers, this new version includes a lot of new, both in the interface functions. From version to version, Apple refines the interface of its new mobile system, but did not alter the main new iOS 7. Moreover, the icons that have been talked about as they have not changed; the new features of this third beta are much more subtle and related policies or levels of transparency.  On the Lock screen, the status bar has been slightly enlarged and the information at the top of the screen is slightly larger. However, the arrows at the top and bottom are still present, although they are often problematic. Once unlocked iPhone, we note that the files have a transparent background as before. It's subtle, but the background is easier to see the screen on the back as before with the third beta.

Moreover, Apple has also changed the font here and there. In the Weather app; same principle is followed and in the Notification Center; the screen that displays your day right with a smaller font.
iOS 7 is having slightly thicker fonts from now. This is evident in the list of options here as in Mail or in the list of notifications. The new basic policy iOS 7 is coarser than before. When an application is being downloaded, it is no longer entitled to the right bar of iOS 6. Apple's new system now has a dark first round, which is becoming increasingly transparent as and when loading and installation. When the operation is complete, the icon appears completely. Among the subtle changes that can be noted, Spotlight now appears in a slip and not a transparent effect. It also identifies some losses: the effect of transparency in key calculator (it has always been in the Phone application) or the animated for charging in the status bar icon.


The Music application evolves in small steps with new icons at the bottom and adjustments elsewhere in the positioning of text or icons. The song playing is now indicated by an icon that symbolizes the music going with a three-bar graphic. The biggest innovation, however, is probably the return of stars that can record their songs. Totally absent from the previous two betas, they make a remarkable comeback. To view them, just a tap on the song name and it is replaced with the traditional five locations that can record the song in question. iOS 7 Beta 3 is equally capable of displaying notes already present than to put new.

Alongside music, Apple has a priority to fix bugs Podcasts and application work properly now. With this beta, you must again activate synchronization with iCloud keychain. Apple states that the function is not compatible with previous betas, or with OS X 10.9 DP2. About this feature, iOS 7 now proposes to add a credit card from the Safari settings. To activate the bunch iCloud requires a security code. We can now record a credit card in the settings of Safari. On the month view, calendar iOS reappears when one day a bubble is composed of at least one appointment. The bubble does not vary depending on the timing involved, or the number of events, so that the information is not really useful.

In the Contacts view, the search box is permanently displayed at the top of the list. It is convenient to search for a particular contact without having to go top of the screen. This revised view is also present in the phone application. The tablets are also entitled to some adjustments with the third beta. The mini iPad benefits most from this third beta. On the other hand it is now fine fonts are best suited to its non-Retina display. Another significant innovation is the best small tablet displays applications that have not been optimized for the iPad. Specifically, the text is not as pixilated, if not Retina, obviously. On the iPad, iOS beta 7 seems to finally gain both in terms of speed and stability. That makes sense; Apple began with the iPhone, before looking at the tablet. Siri is entitled to new voices: no big changes, but they are more pleasing to the ear with the third beta. Recall iOS 7 lets you choose between a male voice and one female. The voice assistant also gained some speed with this beta.

The keyboard has been slightly modified with iOS 7 Beta 3. When it is present, it cannot display the control center which usually with a slip from the bottom shows. This change is useful to use the drag gesture of the "123" button to get a number or special character quickly. The keyboard has also been changed in mobile Safari. The key that was used to add a "Uk" next to the space bar no longer displays one point. It takes a tap maintained to quickly complete a domain name, but this change also captures simply points within domain names. This is undoubtedly more convenient, especially the space bar has more space. About Safari, the browser finds a full screen on the iPhone mode. In landscape mode, both scroll bars disappear when leaving any room for the content. Based on early returns, iOS 7 is faster on the iPhone 4 and even though it is still not as smooth as with iOS 6, users of this model can apparently finally enjoy every day.

MacBook Air in 2013

The good news is that all models of Macbook Air are having same processor and they have a 11 or 13 inch screen. Hence deciding how to select a MacBook Air is little bit confusing here we are going to give you some to choose a best suited model for you.The four models of MacBook Air 2013 differ only in the size of the screen and the amount of storage and all of them have the same processor (Intel Core i5-4250U 1.3GHz) and the same graphics chip (the Intel HD Graphics 5000). Hence it is not possible to choose one model over the other based on performance, and all are all the same in this regard. This parameter has nevertheless lost importance over the years. The MacBook Air has always been powerful enough for most everyday tasks like web browsing or office. For several generations, they may even face more intensive tasks: many users logically make MacBook Air their primary system. Of course, a MacBook Air will never be a gamer machine, but the new graphics chip allows them to run more than games from iOS or older titles. Of course, a MacBook Air will never be a graphics workstation, but it does not have major problems with Aperture or Lightroom on the ground. And of course, a MacBook Air is always a great "digital typewriter." If however you are looking for maximum power in a small footprint, take a look at the processor option. Core i5 is then replaced by a Core i7-4650U 1.7GHz able to climb to 3.3 GHz peak and therefore face Xcode, larger photos in Aperture or even footage in FCP X. For the first time, this option offers the good qualities of the MacBook Air: the price-performance ratio remains the same (12% more expensive, you get a machine 12% faster) and autonomy remains excellent.


The screen size is now more than ever a key factor in choosing a MacBook Air, since all are of equal configuration, it is not quite the same thing with an 11-inch MacBook Air and a MacBook Air 13 inches. The 11-inch MacBook Air is obviously more mobile, smaller and lighter than 13 inches. Its screen has a higher than the MacBook Pro 13-inch (1366 x 768 px) definition, but its 16:9 aspect ratio is a bit narrow in height. It is a little less comfortable and first made for the road with eight hours of battery life. However, do not forget that you can connect a MacBook Air to an external display (Thunderbolt / DisplayPort or HDMI / DVI / VGA via adapter). The MacBook Air 13-inch is a little more traditional: a full size keyboard and trackpad are as comfortable as those of the MacBook Pro. And a screen 1440 x 900 pixel is defined as the 13-inch MacBook Pro! It is a machine and all terrain use. It actually takes the place of the iBook or MacBook in the role of the machine quite capable, but no frills, at a reasonable price and with exceptional battery life of 12 hours.

While most of the MacBook Pro and iMac come with 8 GB of RAM, the MacBook Air comes with 4 GB of RAM. Apple sells its very expensive RAM, but you have no choice but to buy from it: the MacBook Air RAM modules are welded. Maybe if your budget is limited, choose staffing memory than storage. The SSD MacBook Air anyway narrow and require the use of external storage, so as to make the most economical choice and more beneficial in the long term. Again, you can never increase the RAM of the MacBook Air, then you will have no trouble to change his cap SSD or to add an external drive. Some probably expect Apple may finally decide to build the MacBook Air with a Retina display. It is true that the integrated graphics solutions make anything possible today, but this time Apple has special autonomy (up) and the price (down). Furthermore, the Retina large screens still suffer from problems of production and quality that still differs a little MacBook Air.

More about Firefox 22

Mozilla has released the latest version of the popular browser which promises direct, real-time communications for voice, video and data. The controversial for blocking third-party cookies is once turned off. Externally there is nothing fresh to see in Firefox22. All new features are hidden under the hood. With Firefox 22, the developers have once again put together a comprehensive package, which is available to all users for immediate download. The main innovation of the new Firefox browser is the comprehensive support of WebRTC. This is a relatively new, open standard that will transform communications in the network sustainable. Specifically, WebRTC is composed of different interfaces, which allows the transmission of audio and video signals as well as the exchange of files between different browsers. The individual elements of the standards had been incorporated in previous versions of Mozilla but now it is activated as a full package in Firefox 22 for the first time. Besides Mozilla is also a pioneer in the development of Google WebRTC both Firefox and Chrome only supports this technology.

Both swapping files and Internet telephony are nothing new in Mozilla or Google. But instead, for example, specially having to install Skype for video chat, the chat with friends (theoretically) works on any PC that can be found on the Firefox or Chrome. To use the technique; yet still lacking the appropriate applications in most of the web browsers. While there are a number of sites in the network for testing the function - such as AppRTC for video calling - for everyday use which are not. With the Talkilla Mozilla though operates on a promising project for the integration of functions and user interface - however, this ambitious project is still at a very early stage of development.

Mozilla's announcement of third-party cookies from Firefox to disable 22 by default, made primarily in the advertising industry for abdominal pain. Despite heavy criticism from the industry Mozilla is sticking to the blockade of third-party cookies, but his plan must be delayed because of technical problems. To see the menu under Privacy, although the option to reject third party cookies always, after installing Firefox 22 but this is not automatically enabled. The third major new feature of Firefox 22 refers to the faster execution of JavaScript code and listens to the name OdinMonkey. Thanks to this optimization module, the calculation of complex pages will henceforth succeed much faster. To demonstrate the efficiency of the technique, Mozilla has made the 3D games famous Unreal Engine 3 packed in collaboration with Epic Games in the browser. In the future, should be implemented as well as graphically demanding games in Firefox. Check the speed of websites show the technical changes of Mozilla effect. Especially in heavy SunSpider JavaScript test makes the new version of Firefox in comparison to its predecessor a strong push forward. However, despite all efforts, Chrome remains the unchallenged speed Primus.

In addition to several new features for web developers Firefox gets 22 HiDPI support donated for web pages to be displayed more sharply on high-resolution screens. Using the newly added "Web Notifications" interface can now also display notifications like incoming e-mails in the Firefox browser. In the Add-ons Manager can henceforth manage the social services. Users with Mac OS X get your download progress in the dock icon appears at the top right.