Bojan is a young tech enthusiast, graduated Banker, who said NO to 9 to 5, took a risk and fired his boss in order to develop his business online. His blog Alpha Efficiency offers tons of free tech tips and mind hacks on how to get more done, save yourself some time and check it out. Get a hold of him on Twitter or Facebook.

My history with computers is pretty long.

It all started once my father came back home from the USA, where he assembled his first PC from various components.

He was a tech enthusiast, which made a permanent impact on my life and a choice of my career. I still remember we had a 2×86 PC, when I was two. We kept that computer until I was four.

I remember playing tetris on the computer, and games like Arkanoid.

To be honest, at the time I was never interested in Macintosh computers.

My father had and still has a belief that Macintosh computers are overpriced and don’t allow you the compatibility PC’s have.

I was following his belief system religiously, up until last year.

I was sold on Timothy Ferris idea of a remote workplace, and my PC laptop just didn’t cut it anymore with its battery life.

I was trying to find something that was more reliable in terms of battery life. I was going through forums and I saw that Mac laptops were best in that regard.

Another important factor was that I could install Windows on it.

I was really happy that I was buying a laptop that outlast myself. I opened it, straight in the store. I left my old laptop at home, so I started working right in the store where I bought it. At the time there was a pressing issue I had to deal with right away.

“Ok, this baby can run Chrome, I don’t have time to install Windows right now,” I thought to myself.

When I got home I was very busy and wasn’t thinking about Windows, and I wanted to see what the new operating system offered.

At that moment I was hooked for good. I never installed Windows later.

The design of the operating system prevailed.

I was amazed at how everything worked the way I wanted it to. Everything was pretty and flawless. Later that day, my friend showed me how to use Spaces and multi-touch gestures.

That’s when the bomb went off in my head, and I knew I didn’t have the need for Windows anymore.

Every time I looked at it at my desktop, I felt as if something was missing. What I had was better.

Now let’s be honest, there isn’t anything you can do on Mac, that you can’t do on PC. And vice versa. But on the other hand, whatever you do on a Mac is FASTER and smoother, than it is on the PC.

The look and feel that I get from Mac, tremendously impacts me and my working environment. The massive advantage of Mac users over any PC user is the relaxed feel that you get while using the machine. That’s what I feel.

When you are a creative individual, your working environment impacts your results.

And the very layout we see and operate in, determines the quality of the results that we put out!

Following the quality user experience from my conversion, I really enjoyed how well all Apple devices connected. I already owned a smartphone at that point, but I felt as if the integration between the devices was lacking. I had to find services that would make my phone work with other devices in my house.

Not to mention, in the months to come, I pulled the plug and got other Apple devices as well. The sync is art. Simple.

Apple has a content rich platform that works exceptionally well throughout all devices. iCloud to Apple is like the Holy Ghost to Christianity. It’s the invisible hand that causes all of your devices to work flawlessly together.

But in the end, beside all the flashy details, I think the biggest reason why I converted to Apple is the fact that it allows me to focus on work at hand, resulting in an insane increase of my productivity.

From a perspective of someone who was a PC user for entire of his life, I can safely say, that this is something better. If you are a creative individual who’s work involves one of the following areas…

• Writing
• Graphical design
• Audio Editing
• Video Editing
• and especially Blogger

…I can safely say, that a Mac is your perfect match.

Sun on Wall photo by Lozula of Finding the Universe.

I think it’s amazing that my garage door opens by itself. I mean, all I have to do is push a button and it magically lifts itself. No hoists, no pulleys, no rope. It’s sitting on a track and a motor filled to the brim with electricity does all the work for me.

No longer are small messages wired via telegram. I simply pick up a 2 inch by 4 inch iPhone, slam my fat fingers across a few buttons, and I’m instantly talking to my best friend who lives in Australia. Thousands of miles away. I’ve become so accustomed to the phenomena, in fact, I get upset and angry when I’m disconnected.

Cyberspace. A consensual hallucination experienced daily by billions of legitimate operators, in every nation, by children being taught mathematical concepts. - William Gibson

If its a preference, there’s no need for a razor blade in the morning. Simply switch on the electric razor, and a man’s face is ready to go.

When I get a craving for warm bread, no fire needs stoking. The toaster does that work for me.

For much of my life, paper maps haven’t been necessary. We literally have tools floating in space helping accomplish that task for us. That’s right, I’m talking about satellites. GPS. Global positioning systems. They’re connected to my iPhone’s Map application, my in-car GPS, and often the car itself. All I do is tell Siri where I’d like to go, and she quickly provides the fastest route via step-by-step directions. It’s like magic. It is magic.

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. - Arthur C. Clarke

My food is kept at a perfect temperature in my freezer and refrigerator. Because of this incredible technology, I can eat whatever food whenever I want. Any time of the year. We don’t wait for seasons or the harvest any longer.

Microsoft Outlook destroyed the Rolodex.

Memories are stored for a lifetime because of technology. Digital cameras allow us to capture any event in life. In times past, one would have to sit for hours as a portrait was hand-drawn. Imagine going through such a process. Now it’s point and shoot.

We jet across entire oceans in a matter of hours, and find ways to be anxious about our jet-lag. Travel by airplane is possible. And not only do we travel by airplane, but we’ve even been to the moon. Thousands of miles away into space. Isn’t it incredible?

I can record my voice on an audio recorder smaller than the palm of my hand and upload for millions to hear.

I’m in awe of technology.

Are you grateful for technology? Are you in awe of its power and prowess? What are your favorite pieces of technology? Do you remember your life without certain pieces of technology? What piece of technology has been the most revolutionary in your life?

Speck iPhone cases are superb.

A few months ago I purchased a new iPhone 4S (after making the jump from being a long-term BlackBerry patron), and also grabbed a Burton Speck case to go along with it.

You’ll see the model of the Speck case I chose, above.

Here are a few benefits to the case I’ve noticed, after using it intimately for some time (my phone is my business, in my palm).

• The case is easily removal. I’m able to clean the phone on a routine basis without feeling a wave of anxiety, knowing I’ll have to remove some obnoxious case.
• After dropping my iPhone dozens of times, I’ve never had the Speck case pop open or break. It’s ousted concrete, carpet, asphalt, bowling floors, and cafeterias.
• What can I say? The style is perfect and it makes me look cool.

I’ve become well accustomed to the question, “What kind of case is that, Christian?”

People notice Speck cases, and I’m a sold customer for life.

There are new leaked pictures of the iPad 3 which is slated to be announced in early March.

The pictures, and information which came with them were leaked by a Chinese website and are believed to be legit.

This information appears to confirm many of the rumors about the new tablet having an updated processor, 4G capability and an improved Retina display among other advancements.

Full details about what was learned from this leaked source can be found here.

Number of People Who Own Smartphones Is Rising

While this will come as a surprise to almost none, the number of people who own smartphones continues to go up month after month.

A new survey released shows that one factor which comes in to play more than others about who is getting smartphones is age.

An estimated 66% of Americans who are between 24 and 35 own a smartphone.

This statistic is even more impressive when considered with the fact that this is across all income ranges.

Full details of the survey are available here.

Will A Spike in Gas Prices Affect Your Business?

One of the biggest stories in the business world this week is the spike up in oil prices after Iran stops exporting crude oil to some European countries.

The price of oil goes up over $105 per barrel even though Iran is a relatively small supplier to Europe or the United States.

Much of the price change is based on uncertainty caused by this move.

Most analysts predict the price of gas will follow over the next few days and then go up significantly.

More information is available here.

While every major cell phone company wants to be able to sell the iPhone due to its amazing popularity, it may not always be the best option for some companies.

Sprint, which recently started selling the iPhone on its network, reported its largest quarterly loss in three years last quarter.

This is attributed by many to be because of the subsidizing of the cost of the phone to new customers.

That is, of course, in addition to the $15.5 Billion dollar commitment to Apple to buy phones over the next four years.

The news is not all bad for sprint though, they signed up 161,000 new customers which they hope will help them return to profitability in the coming years.

Read more about the situation here.

List Of 12 Greenest Cars of 2012 Released

The top 12 “green cars” of 2012 has been released by the American Council for and Energy Efficient Economy.

Most of these cars are relying not only on their small size but also the rapidly advancing technological improvements of both the batteries and many other advancements.

Whether they are hybrids, pure electric cars or even running on natural gas – these 12 cars promise to give great insight into the future of green transportation.

One surprise is that the Chevy Volt is not anywhere on the list despite its popularity and virtually zero emissions.

More information, including the full list, can be found here.

VeriSign filed reports to the SEC yesterday which included information about the company getting hacked several times in 2010 where the hackers were able to get information about several large companies.

VeriSign is the company that is responsible for sending all traffic to the right places for .com and .net web addresses.

Many people are concerned about the fact that it took over a year to report these breaches and that they were not immediately reported to the affected companies.

Fortunately the DNS servers were not breached, which could have resulted in significantly more data being stolen.

Does this situation make you fearful in regards to internet security? Do you feel helpless? What do you believe companies like VeriSign need to be doing in order to protect against future security problems and weaknesses?

Privacy & Phones Scare Facebook

Since Facebook recently filed for their IPO – a lot of reports and paperwork have gone public about the company.

In high interest, is what high level Facebook management fears about the future of the company.

Some were not surprising at all – such as how to balance privacy with ease of use for the users.

Some concerns were not as well known such as the fear that if users stop using PCs (or MACs) as their primary internet browsing and switch to phones and tablets it will be harder to profit from the advertising.

There is no shortage of information on this company being released in the last few days and more details can be found here.

Can you “get rich quick” from building mobile apps?

A new instructional report was released from Mashable which shows some concerns new app designers have going forward.

With the explosion of new apps for the apple or android devices, a huge new industry has been built but it is not the get rich quick scheme many hoped it would be.

Learn about potential problems and pitfalls with mobile app design here.

If you know me well, you know that sled dogs are one of my passions.

Having been involved with the sport of dog sledding since I was a young boy, I have a fond love for the sport.

I have three huskies. Kia, Keeva & Cabo.

We also have a chihuahua named Chiquita. She’s the official ”Hollingsworth Huskies” kennel mascot. During the winter months you’ll often find my brothers and I training the dogs and enjoying the cold of the Sierra Nevada mountains.

For the sled dog community, I thought I’d publish a list of currently available domain names revolving around the topic.

There’s a gold mine of available domains below if you wanted to start a sled dog blog or racing kennel website. 

• emushingblog.com
• sleddogssite.net
• esleddogs.com
• mysleddogblog.com
• sleddoginfo.com
• mysleddogs.net
• mysleddoginfo.com
• emushingspot.com
• mysleddogtips.net
• sleddognews.com
• thedogsledding.net
• mysleddogspot.net
• thesleddog.com
• sleddogsinfo.com
• esleddogspot.net
• esleddogsite.com
• sleddogsnews.net
• emushing.org
• mymushingsite.net
• esleddogsspot.com
• mushinginfo.org
• mushingsite.org
• mushingspot.com
• esleddog.org
• sleddogssite.org
• mushingnews.org
• sleddogsspot.net
• sleddogsnews.org
• mydogsledding.org
• esleddogsblog.net
• sleddogsite.net
• mymushingtips.net
• mushingblog.org
• esleddognews.org
• emushinginfo.org
• mushingtips.org
• mysleddogs.org
• esleddogblog.org
• esleddogsspot.org
• mysleddogsite.org
• mydogsledding.net
• emushing.net
• esleddogblog.com
• mymushingspot.org
• esleddogsnews.org
• mushingspot.org
• mymushing.org
• thesleddog.org
• esleddog.net
• themushing.org
• emushingnews.org
• mysleddognews.org
• emushingsite.net
• mysleddogsblog.org
• mymushingspot.com
• mymushingsite.org
• mushingsite.com
• sleddogspot.org
• sleddogsspot.org
• thesleddogs.net
• mysleddogsspot.org
• esleddogsinfo.org
• mysleddogtips.com
• esleddogsblog.org
• mymushingblog.org
• sleddoginfo.net
• sleddogstips.org
• sleddogsinfo.org
• sleddoginfo.org
• edogsledding.org
• emushingspot.org
• emushingtips.net
• emushingsite.com
• emushing.com
• emushingspot.net
• esleddogspot.org
• sleddogstips.com
• sleddogsspot.com
• mysleddogsinfo.com
• mymushingnews.net
• mushingblog.net
• sleddogtips.com
• thesleddog.net
• emushingnews.com
• esleddognews.com
• mushingblog.com
• emushinginfo.com
• edogsledding.com
• mymushingblog.com
• mushingtips.net
• mysleddogssite.com
• esleddogstips.com
• sleddogsblog.com
• mysleddoginfo.net
• mushingnews.com
• mysleddogsnews.com
• sleddogsite.com
• esleddogsblog.com
• themushing.net
• esleddog.com
• emushingblog.net
• esleddogssite.com
• mysleddogsinfo.org
• mysleddogspot.com
• mushinginfo.net
• mymushinginfo.net
• mysleddogsblog.com
• mysleddogsnews.org
• themushing.com
• esleddogs.net
• mushingsite.net
• emushingnews.net
• mysleddogsite.net
• sleddogsblog.net
• esleddogsnews.com
• esleddogblog.net
• mymushingblog.net
• esleddogsinfo.net
• mushingnews.net
• mysleddogs.com
• mymushingspot.net
• mushinginfo.com
• sleddogssite.com
• mydogsledding.com
• emushingtips.com
• esleddogstips.net
• mymushing.com
• thedogsledding.com
• esleddoginfo.com
• esleddogspot.com
• esleddogsspot.net
• mymushingsite.com
• esleddogtips.net
• mushingtips.com
• sleddogspot.com
• mysleddog.com
• mysleddogblog.net
• mysleddogsspot.com
• mysleddognews.com
• sleddogsinfo.net
• esleddogsite.net
• edogsledding.net
• mymushingtips.com
• esleddogssite.net
• mushingspot.net
• sleddogspot.net
• sleddognews.net
• mysleddog.net
• sleddogstips.net
• esleddogtips.com
• esleddognews.net
• thesleddogblog.com
• mysleddog.org
• thesleddogs.org
• sleddogsite.org
• esleddogsite.org
• esleddogtips.org
• sleddognews.org
• esleddoginfo.org
• esleddogstips.org
• emushingblog.org
• mymushingnews.org
• emushingsite.org
• thedogsledding.org
• mysleddogblog.org
• mymushinginfo.org
• esleddogs.org
• mymushingtips.org
• mysleddogtips.org
• mysleddoginfo.org
• mysleddogspot.org
• sleddogsblog.org
• emushingtips.org
• sleddogsnews.com
• esleddogssite.org
• mysleddogstips.com
• themushingspot.com
• mysleddogsnews.net
• esleddogsinfo.com
• mysleddogsinfo.net
• sleddogtips.net
• mysleddognews.net
• mymushinginfo.com
• esleddogsnews.net
• emushinginfo.net
• mysleddogsite.com
• mysleddogstips.net
• mysleddogstips.org
• thesleddogspot.com
• mymushing.net
• esleddoginfo.net
• mymushingnews.com
• mysleddogsblog.net
• mysleddogsspot.net
• sleddogtips.org
• mysleddogssite.net
• mysleddogssite.org
• themushingsite.com
• themushinginfo.com
• thesleddogsite.com

The above sled dog domains were available as of January 3rd, 2012.

Lee Downen is a blogger, tech investor, and espresso fanatic. He’s passionate about helping people create muses, which are low-time commitment, high-yield businesses, so they can design and live the life they want.

On occasion, people ask me how much time I spend on the blog and its social media. The answer: about four hours a week on average.

Then they respond, “That’s crazy! I spend 15-20 hours/week on my [xyz] site.”

How do I do it? I define and use technology in a way that allows for maximum productivity.

“Technology is any device that allows me to complete a task in the fastest, easiest, or most efficient way. Regardless of cool buttons and features, if it doesn’t fall under one of those three categories, I don’t use it.”

1. Schedule times to post and times to read

This goes for blogs, Twitter, Facebook, etc. Good writing is the result of discipline, and not of spontaneous ideas. This principle is not solely for bloggers; it goes for anybody that does PR for their site.

Figure out when your peak writing times are, and then plan to write during those periods. The cardinal mistake is trying to write your post and read others’. Don’t do it! You peruse a few quick links like “World’s smallest pony (pic)”, and before you know it, 30 minutes passed and you forgot what you were going to post.

2. Monitor your online usuage

The bigger your site grows, the easier it becomes to be sucked into pointlessly checking how many followers, likes, or emails you have. Once again, have allotted time for all of these tasks.

To keep yourself honest (and productive), tools like RescueTime are great at telling you just how much time you actually spend on specific websites.

3. Ask yourself, “Is it the best way?”

Digital technology is great when properly used. How else can you let thousands of people know what you ate for breakfast, or set up a page where people can donate to classrooms that have kids who are struggling to read?

But, on the other hand, some people use technology for tasks that could easily be done without it. Take mind mapping for example. The software out there is great, but honestly I can draw a mind map with a pen and paper in two minutes.

So when you’ve spent 20 minutes trying to set up or configure a piece of technology/software, just ask yourself, “Is this the best way?”

Here’s a super-short clip of me talking about how I use technology.

Odds and Ends

Most of the gadgets we filmed were edited out or just a blur in a camera pan, so here are a few of the goodies that I showed at home:

• HTC Desire
• 13″ MacBook Pro (I don’t use a desktop at home because you can’t “close” a desktop screen for closure and work-life separation)
• Square card reader
• TI-84 Plus Silver Edition Graphing Calculator for business and calculus class
• RescueTime for managing online usuage
• Xbox 360 for Netflix, ESPN U, and of course, Call of Duty.

WebGuru India has been a pioneer in the field of website design and flash design services since 2005. We have written and published numerous articles on logo design, graphic design, web development and SEO and internet marketing.

There was a time when the website designers made websites keeping in mind compatibility with Internet Explorer- the web browser that comes bundled with Microsoft Windows. They did not have much choice for website designing either. IE became the dominant browser in the late 1990s and dominated the market for a few more years owing to Microsoft’s aggressive promotion and marketing strategies. The rival browsers were not strong enough to take on IE and they did not enjoy the backing of a software behemoth either.

However, things changed drastically after 2005-06. Firefox emerged on the horizon and in 2008 Google Chrome made a powerful entry in web browser segment. The sheer speed and functionality of these browsers gave Microsoft enough reason to worry and its developers went back to the drawing board to revamp IE.

The Birth of IE7 & IE9

The result, IE7, was an improvement on the sluggish and buggy IE6 by a margin but it was still not good enough to thwart the march of the rivals. IE 8, its successor was another big improvement but its market share did not grow phenomenally either. With a large section of users switching loyalty to Google and Mozilla candidates, Microsoft realized the need for an overhaul in browser development. The result was IE 9 which was touted as the next best thing by the company in web development and browsing.

The web developers have agreed that IE9 is a much faster and feature rich browser but they have doubts on its ability to cater to the need of modern website design. This is because the web design industry has been going through significant turmoil and changes in recent times. Several new standards have been embraced by the web designers that are not fully compatible with IE9.

Microsoft boasted of the hardware acceleration capacity of IE9 before its release which takes advantage of the GPU in a PC to display complex graphics and web animations. This can help the online gamers for sure but for business websites this feature remains a glorified calculator.

IE9 Doesn’t Support Windows XP

The number of users sticking to the 10 year old OS, Windows XP is not insignificant! After the failure of Windows Vista a lot of Windows users decided to stick with the old OS and many of them are unlikely to upgrade in near future. Sadly, in its attempt to make IE9 future ready, Microsoft dropped support for XP. Therefore, making a website compatible with IE 9 is equivalent to largely ignoring the people who use Windows XP. In fact, the number of Windows XP users worldwide is more than the Vista and Win 7 users combined. This is what a website design company should consider while making websites that leverage exclusive features in IE9.

The major caveat of IE9 is undoubtedly its lackluster support for CSS3. A web design company that makes use of CSS3 for dynamic website development will find several compatibility issues with IE9. This is where the rival browsers have left IE9 behind by a large margin.

In conclusion.

Despite the brouhaha made by Microsoft about IE9 being a ‘modern’ browser, it falls short on several counts from a web designer’s perspective.

The CSS 3 incompatibility issues may thwart its success as a web development platform.