Author: Staff (Page 60 of 62)

HP EliteBook 2740p Touch-Enabled Convertible Tablet

March 18, 2010 / Staff

HP has unveiled its first multi-touch tablet for business users with the HP EliteBook 2740 p. The laptop, which is convertible into a tablet, weighs only 3.8 pounds and has two optional displays. You can either choose a 12.1 inch diagonal 1280×800 LED display or an outdoor view display for use in natural light with low reflection and high contrast.

HP’s tablet is equipped with an Intel Core i7 or i5 processor and optional vPro management technology. It also offers Intel HD integrated graphics, up to 8GB of DDR3 memory, up to 320GB of hard drive space or up to 160GB of solid state drive storage, and an external DVD burner as an option.

The 2740p also incorporates a 2MP web camera, microphone, stereo speakers, a keyboard that is resistant to spills, two pointing devices (touchpad and pointstick), 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, the optional HP un2420 EV-DO/HSPA mobile broadband module, Ethernet LAN, a 56k modem, three USB ports, ExpressCard and Secure Digital slots, Firewire and a VGA port.

HP confirms that the EliteBook meets the military standards for (MIL-STD 810G) vibration, dust, humidity, altitude and temperatures. The optional HP 2740 Ultra-Slim Expansion Base can be used as a dock for the notebook to connect with peripherals without needing to plug and unplug. This expansion base includes a DVD+/-RW drive, and an eSATA port, allowing for connection to an external RAID array, HDD and optical drives.

Since battery life is important for business users, you can opt for a six cell Li-ion prismatic battery with a battery life of five hours. You can combine this battery with a HP 2700 Ultra-Slim Battery and the total battery life will increase to 11 hours.

HP EliteBook 2740p, which runs on Windows 7.0, should be available in the US next month at a starting price of $1599.

Your Business

For-profit college scams

March 13, 2010 / Staff

You need to read this article from The New York Times if you’re considering going to a trade school or for-profit college.

One fast-growing American industry has become a conspicuous beneficiary of the recession: for-profit colleges and trade schools.
At institutions that train students for careers in areas like health care, computers and food service, enrollments are soaring as people anxious about weak job prospects borrow aggressively to pay tuition exceeding $30,000 a year.
But the profits have come at substantial taxpayer expense while often delivering dubious benefits to students, according to academics and advocates for greater oversight of financial aid. Critics say many schools exaggerate the value of their degree programs, selling young people on dreams of middle-class wages while setting them up for default on untenable debts, low-wage work and a struggle to avoid poverty. And the schools are harvesting growing federal student aid dollars, including Pell grants awarded to low-income students.

The article goes on to quote a woman who left her job with one of these schools as she became concerned with deceptive recruiting tactics.

It’s stunning to me that these schools are charging $20,000 to $30,000 per year. Unfortunately, it’s another example of good intentions gone bad and the fact that Congress is bought and sold every day. We want to help kids and adults pay for school to improve themselves and find a career, but with all that money comes a new industry that preys on people looking for a new option in life.

Be careful so you don’t end up in a situation where you’re loaded up with debt that you can’t pay back.

One option we should consider is limiting financial aid from the government to public colleges, non-profit schools and accredited private schools.

Your Education

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CrunchBoard – Technology jobs at TechCrunch

February 13, 2010 / Staff

TechCrunch, the popular technology blog, also has a job board. We stumbled onto CrunchBoard surfing the web and it seems to have many excellent opportunities posted. Naturally, employers want access to TechCrunch’s huge and devoted audience. We saw all sorts of premium jobs listed, from business development, research engineer, software developer, product management and more.

There are tons of jobs boards out there, so there’s no shortage of sites to explore. But, if you want to get the most from your time, targeted jobs boards like this one can be a great tool.

Your Career

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The lost generation?

January 10, 2010 / Staff

BusinessWeek recently had an interesting article on the challenges facing young people in this economy. Many of them just can’t land jobs.

Bright, eager—and unwanted. While unemployment is ravaging just about every part of the global workforce, the most enduring harm is being done to young people who can’t grab onto the first rung of the career ladder.
Affected are a range of young people, from high school dropouts, to college grads, to newly minted lawyers and MBAs across the developed world from Britain to Japan. One indication: In the U.S., the unemployment rate for 16- to 24-year-olds has climbed to more than 18%, from 13% a year ago.
For people just starting their careers, the damage may be deep and long-lasting, potentially creating a kind of “lost generation.” Studies suggest that an extended period of youthful joblessness can significantly depress lifetime income as people get stuck in jobs that are beneath their capabilities, or come to be seen by employers as damaged goods.
Equally important, employers are likely to suffer from the scarring of a generation.

This danger of “scarring” seems real, but if you find yourself in this group you have to be proactive and NOT let this hurt you. That may sound easy, as options are now clearly limited. However, on the other hand, the dire condition of the economy can also be used to alter your perceptions of what you need at this time in your life. Many graduates expected to get a high-paying job immediately upon graduation, and now many of those job aren’t available. Yet is that what you really need RIGHT NOW?

In many cases the answer is no. Maybe you can now consider a cool internship that pays little but offers an incredible experience. Perhaps you can take a much-needed break and go on that backpacking trip that you dreamed of doing after college. This of course depends on your funds, though the cost of travel has plummeted.

Alternatively, you can be aggressive about doing something entrepreneurial or contracting out services online.

We know if sucks out there, but you have to make the best of the situation you’re facing. Get motivated, and good things will happen!

Your Career, Your Education, Your Network

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Tough jobs report for December

January 9, 2010 / Staff

While the pace of job losses has declined dramatically, we haven’t turned the corner yet.

The job market remained in a deep funk in December, according to a government report Friday showing that employers view the economic recovery as too weak and too fragile to begin hiring again on any large scale.
The pace of layoffs has slowed sharply in recent months, but businesses still cut 85,000 net jobs in December, the Labor Department said. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 10 percent, but economists suspect this is only because hundreds of thousands of frustrated workers stopped looking for jobs.

The key is that the trend in is the right direction. The recovery is going to be a little choppy, but hopefully the trend continues in the right direction. If you’re unemployed, the key is to continue being persistent. Don’t give up!

Your Business, Your Career

Labor Department layoffs unemployment rate