The world around us

Continuing on from my previous post, here’s another way to improve productivity. Springwise reports that Jott is a service that transcribes spoken messages into text and email them to you. All you have to do is to sign up with them with your phone number and email id, then when you need to jot something down, call their toll free number and say ‘me’ to send the message to yourself or the name of the person that you need the message sent to. You can leave messages of up to 30 seconds and thats it. Jott will transcribe what you spoke into a mail that will be delivered to the destination that you specified. Most times, this process only takes a few minutes, but in peak times, it can take up to 20 minutes. The entire service is free, but members will be given a choice at a later time to select between a free version with ads or a premium ad-free version for a fee. The service is currently only available in the US and Canada.

The service is deceptively simple, and lends itself to countless applications. It can be used to leave notes to oneself, from a reminder to buy a carton of milk, to capturing a brilliant idea. Or to draft emails, memos, or the next chapter of a novel while driving home from work. Lawyers and doctors, accustomed to speaking their correspondence and notes, can dictate on the fly.

The Internet is a great place for finding tools and tips on improving productivity and increasing knowledge. There are innumerable online learning courses available, but all are obviously not created equal. Resource Bridge is one of the leaders in eLearning programs that are customized to suit your exact needs, from refreshing components before client meets, or practice sessions for accounting staff in a simulated setting. One only becomes perfect with practice and using Resource Bridge, one need not worry about making mistakes in front of clients. The concept of eLearning has also made it possible for many more people to even access it, as there is no need to physically travel oneself. Resource Bridge has an "Instructor Element" that customizes eLearning solutions specifically for you and your requirements. The learning material can even be customized to train employees of a specific geographic area or culture.

Each culture has it’s own terminology and ways of conducting business and as we become more of a globalized econony, we need to be aware of how others conduct business. The Toyota Production System or lean manufacturing is one such philosophy that works to continuously improve processes and to eliminate waste is widely followed in Japan. Gembutsu is one such lean manufacturing consultant that uses a hands-on approach to implement improvements right from the shop floor.

A company can only be successful once it knows about such systems and is able to adapt to them. Gembutsu has completed consulting work for companies in Europe, Japan and North America, working in several languages and is known to be an expert when it comes to lean manufacturing. Using their expertise, they are able to transform traditional manufacturers into lean money making machines.  

So, what do you do when you iPod breaks down? As the number of people with iPods increase, so do the number of faulty and broken down iPods, but you need not worry if your iPod goes kaput, as there are lots of options to fix, replace and even sell it. Springwise reports that Buymybrokenipod.com is the latest in a series of iPod related service sites, and this one will pay you for your broken or unused iPods. All you have to do is to select the kind of condition it is in and if you accept the instant quote, you just need to send it to them and you will be paid in 24 hrs of its receipt via PayPal. Other options for unused or broken iPods are exchanging, selling parts or refurbishing them at sites such as Podswap or iRepair.

The iPods are usually sold in bulk to small businesses who fix them for a living, replacing cracked screens, expired batteries and dead hard-drives, and reselling them to consumers. Generally, iPods received by buymybrokenipod.com are in good condition. The company takes pride in extending the lives of dead or used iPods, and keeping them out of landfills.