Facebook is testing Graph Search on mobile devices, hinting that a full rollout is coming soon
Facebook launched Graph Search on the Web browser as a way for people to query their social graph to find out what people are sharing about a particular topic, and now the social network is testing the feature on mobile devices.
The Verge reports that some users have already seen the changes over the weekend, such as Mashable reporter Seth Fiegerman.
Just got Graph Search on the Facebook app pic.twitter.com/NPXhWUgKtK
— Seth Fiegerman (@sfiegerman) February 1, 2014
Graph Search takes a user’s exact query like “TV shows watched by doctors,” and delivers an answer via a large search bar at the top of a user’s profile page — which means you can better search for others with similar interests. Bringing Graph Search to mobile devices will also help Facebook get an even clearer barometer of things people are interested in to help determine what’s trending.
➤ Facebook is testing Graph Search for mobile devices [The Verge]
Thumbnail image via Spencer E Holtaway/ Flickr
Apple is said to be exploring alternative power-charging methods for its much-speculated iWatch
More light has been shed on Apple’s much-speculated efforts to develop a smartwatch – the New York Times reports that the company is testing various alternative power-charging methods for its wearable device as it seeks to overcome the limitations imposed by battery life.
The NYT says that one of the methods Apple has been testing is to charge the battery wirelessly with magnetic induction — noting that this would be similar to technology already used for some Nokia smartphones, which can be charged via a charging ‘plate’ that creates a magnetic field using an electrical current.
Another possible method Apple is reportedly exploring is to add a solar-charging layer to the curved glass screen that the watch is expected to have, thus powering the device in daylight. The NYT notes that in July, Apple got a patent for a flexible battery that could “easily couple with a flexible solar panel layer.”
Apple is also experimenting with the idea of charging a watch’s battery through movement, which means a person’s arm swinging could trigger a tiny charging station that powers the device, according to a 2009 patent.
It has been known for a while that Apple would be unveiling an iWatch — it has filed paperwork for the trademark in several countries like Japan, Mexico, and Taiwan. However, Apple has reportedly hit a few snags while developing its much-anticipated wearable device, including challenges with the screen technology, battery problems, and possible manufacturing bumps.
➤ Building a Better Battery [New York Times]
See also – What to expect from Apple in 2014: A new product category and the beginnings of convergence
Concept Image Credit: Ciccarese Design, ADR Studio
How to make friends, coworkers, and team members feel good about themselves
David Spinks is the cofounder of Feast: Helping busy people build a habit of cooking at home. He also cofounded CMX Summit, TheCommunityManager
Want to make friends and build a strong network?
Want to be the person that people want to spend time with?
Want to earn someone’s trust and respect?
Want to be that manager that everyone loves and enjoys working with?
There are a few people I’ve met in my life that I have a deep respect for, more so than anyone else I’ve met. They’ve proven their ability to do all of those things above time and time again. Everyone loves them, they’re incredibly successful and they just seem to live a good life.
Some time ago I noticed there’s something very consistent about what makes them all so successful and well thought of.
They make other people feel really good about themselves.
Every chance they get, whether with friends, strangers, in public, in private, whatever… they make you feel awesome.
There are a number of ways that I’ve seen them work their magic. Some are simple and very obvious. Others take a little more work and aren’t so obvious.
1. Compliment people even if it feels awkward
The simplest most obvious thing you can do it compliment them.
Complimenting can feel awkward and take some willpower sometimes. I catch myself wanting to compliment people but then feeling embarrassed and just keeping it to myself.
I learned from watching these people who are really good at complimenting how effective it can be.
If you like someone’s shoes, you think they’re funny, you respect them… anything good, tell them! By keeping it to yourself you’re missing an opportunity to make someone else feel really good about themselves. That in turn will make you feel good for making them feel good. And your relationship will strengthen.
Take Action: Think about someone you know and care for. What’s one thing you like about them? Have you ever told them that? What’s stopping you from texting it to them right now or telling it to them next time you see them?
2. Make other people successful
This one is harder but more powerful.
I haven’t been so great at this in my career. I remember the first time I was put in a managerial position, this concept didn’t even cross my mind. Instead of focusing on making others successful, I thought they were there to make me and the company successful.
It was a shallow understanding and one that resulted in a brilliant failure, but a memorable lesson.
I’ve tried to adjust my thinking to a new idea: I work for everyone else in my life. My job, is to make them successful. If I can do that, we all win.
Take Action: Look at your to-do list for the next week. Look at each item and think about who it’s helping. Is it making someone else successful or just you? Are there other things you can add in there that will make someone else successful?
3. Shine the spotlight on other people
Make sure credit is given where it’s due every chance you get. This is another thing I haven’t been so great at in the past. Turns out I’m decent at finding spotlights and I haven’t always thought about pointing it at the people around me.
There’s a difference between internal and external recognition as well. Just because you’re very grateful and tell the person that all the time, that won’t have the same effect as recognition in the public eye. If you can give them both, that’s ideal.
Take action: Look at your Twitter feed. When was the last time you bragged about someone else? When was the last time you put the spotlight on someone else? Who can you tweet about right now to put the spotlight on them?
If you focus on those three things, you’ll make people feel good about themselves. When they win, you win.
Image credit: Shutterstock/Everett Collection
You probably already know the trick for changing the signs on a bunch of cells. But if not, here it is:
- Type -1 into an unused cell on your worksheet
- Copy that cell
- Select the cells whose sign you want to change
- Paste Special – Multiply
I do this quite a bit. Recently when I had to enter a pretty long list of numbers, most of which were negative, I decided to enter them with their sign reversed (for ease of entry) and employ this technique. Then I thought that it was just too much work. So I wrote a macro. It doesn’t do exactly what the Copy – Paste Special – Multiply trick does, but arguably does it better.
Private Const msFORMST As String = "=("
Sub ChangeSign()
Dim rCell As Range
gclsAppEvents.AddLog "^+n", "ChangeSign"
If TypeName(Selection) = "Range" Then
For Each rCell In Selection.Cells
If CellCanChangeSign(rCell) Then
If rCell.HasFormula Then
If CellFormulaHasSignChange(rCell) Then
rCell.Formula = RemoveFormulaSignChange(rCell.Formula)
Else
rCell.Formula = Replace(rCell.Formula, "=", msFORMST, 1, 1) & msFORMADD
End If
ElseIf IsNumeric(rCell.Value) Then
rCell.Value = -rCell.Value
End If
End If
Next rCell
End If
End Sub
Function CellCanChangeSign(rCell As Range) As Boolean
CellCanChangeSign = rCell.Address = rCell.MergeArea.Cells(1).Address And Not IsEmpty(rCell.Value)
End Function
Function CellFormulaHasSignChange(rCell As Range) As Boolean
CellFormulaHasSignChange = Left$(rCell.Formula, Len(msFORMST)) = msFORMST _
And _
Right$(rCell.Formula, Len(msFORMADD)) = msFORMADD
End Function
Function RemoveFormulaSignChange(ByVal sFormula As String) As String
Dim sReturn As String
sReturn = Left$(sFormula, Len(sFormula) – Len(msFORMADD)) ‘remove last characters
sReturn = Replace$(sReturn, msFORMST, "=", 1, 1) ‘remove first paren
RemoveFormulaSignChange = sReturn
End Function
ChangeSign
is the entry point procedure and is called with Ctrl+Shift+n (more on what AddLog is in a later post). After it determines that there is a range selected (and not a shape, for example), it calls CellCanChangeSign
to make sure it’s OK to move forward. In CellCanChangeSign
I try to deal with merged cells. I don’t use merged cells a ton, so I can never remember how to avoid problems in VBA when dealing with them. I decided that if the cell was the first cell in the merge area, that was good enough. If the cell isn’t merged, its MergeArea is equal to itself, so this would still return True. Also, I don’t want to do anything to empty cells so I make sure that’s not the case.
Once I verify that the cell is good to go, I treat cells with formulas different than cells with values. When you use Paste Special – Multiply, Excel takes whatever formula you have and changes the formula to multiply by -1. For example, =SUM(F6:F14)
becomes =(SUM(F6:F14))*-1
. I’m not sure why it doesn’t negate the formula with -(formula), but it doesn’t. I made mine match what Excel does.
One problem with changing the signs of formulas is that if you do it twice, then =SUM(F6:F14)
becomes =((SUM(F6:F14))*-1)*-1
. Of course what else could it do. It’s a multiplying operation, not a toggle. I tried to make mine a toggle at least where I could. If you monkey with the formula between operations, you may get multiple multiplications, but if you just run the code twice it will remove what it did. I’ve tested this nearly a half dozen times, so I’m sure it’s rock solid.
CellFormulaHasSignChange
checks that "=("
is at the start of the formula and ")*-1"
is at the end. If they are then [cci]RemoveFormulaSignChange[cci] removes them and sets the formula back to its original.
For cells with numbers and not formula, the Value is simply negated.