Hasta La Gadget!

If you happen to stay in France and earn a living there, then you might be familiar with the following. They happen to have a 35 hour work week (do bear in mind that the 35-hour working week happens to be a measure that was first adopted in France back in February 2000, under the watch of Prime Minister Lionel Jospin’s Plural Left government. The 35 hours happen to be the legal standard limit, where working more than that would be overtime) as well as up to six weeks of paid vacation (well, for the luckiest of them, but certainly not most), now how does that sound to those overworked worker drones out there?

Still, French workers continue to get contacted by the office for work related stuff even when they have already clocked out, which is something that most of us would think to be pretty normal these days.

I guess they do it differently in France, where a deal that was signed by tech industry employers and several unions in that part of Europe would mean the law forbids companies affected to contact employees electronically once their work day is done with.

Needless to say, the worker groups are more than happy to hear about this particular news, but since there are always two sides to a coin, you can be sure that there will be some unhappy people around, too.

Considering how France happens to have a large digital sector, not to mention being plagued by bureaucracy being a major complaint among critics, this latest labor-friendly law would certainly place employers at a disadvantage. I guess this is where being as efficient as possible in the office itself would be the key to keeping everyone happy.

France: Companies Not Allowed To Contact Employees Electronically After Work Day Is Over , original content from Ubergizmo, Filed in Computers, email, france,

Microsoft must be busy reorganizing their stuff, considering how they have already stopped official support for the Windows XP operating system and its Office 2003 suite, not to mention closing the door on a service on its Bing Travel site, too. Apparently, this flight price prediction tool is no longer an option on the site. Bummer. According to a Microsoft spokesperson, this decision to shut down the flight price prediction tool was “a business decision to focus resources on areas where we feel there are the greatest opportunities to serve travel needs.”

I suppose the future is really unchartered territory, whether you are in possession of a palantir or not, since one can never be able to tell what is going to be a hit or not. After all, I am quite sure that Microsoft must have had grand plans for forking out a rumored $115 million for Farecast in 2008, which is the company that provided the technology required for such a tool.

The whole premise of the flight price prediction tool is to check out if a particular airline flight that one intends to hop on down the road would increase or decrease in price. Oren Etzioni, the original founder of Farecast, was not too happy to hear of this closure by Microsoft, where he thinks that this happens to be one of the “most distinctive features of Bing.” For those who are looking for alternatives, there is always Kayak.

Bing Flight Price Predictor Shuts Down , original content from Ubergizmo, Filed in Computers, bing, Microsoft,

YouTube is chock full of falling domino videos, but Numberphile’s Matt Parker may have trumped them all with a complicated 10,000 domino setup that just so happens to function as a very crude computer. How is such a thing even possible? This primer video explains the basics.

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Habey USA has just launched a Kickstarter campaign in order to raise funds for the HIO Wallpad. Just what is the HIO Wallpad all about? It happens to be a way where one is able to completely connect and control your whole home or office via a solitary centralized easy-to-install unit. It will run on the latest generation Freescale ARM processor, where this Android powered Wallpad would also be universally compatible with a range of different control and home automation applications.

Sporting an open architecture design, the HIO Wallpad would enable one to code their own software and develop one’s own hardware in order to control just about anything. Both data and power have been consolidated into a single port with Power over Ethernet. This would enable the HIO Wallpad with power and network connectivity to make use of only one standard Ethernet cable. You will find the HIO Wallpad accompanied by a 3.5″ LCD touchscreen display that will function as a control panel interface, while the future will see community developers design, develop, and create various screen sizes for the Wallpad.

Being based on the HIO Project’s HIoTX form factor, the HIO Wallpad can fit within a standard 2-Gang Box in a jiffy, hence making the installation process a no-brainer. You can opt to use the HIO Wallpad as a standalone home automation system, although the future might see more applications provided by the open architecture community.

HIO Wallpad Kickstarter Campaign Launched , original content from Ubergizmo, Filed in Computers, crowdfunding,

Today marks the day we bid farewell to the 12 and a half year old Windows XP, and other than such a milestone in Microsoft’s stable of operating systems, we are also treated to the Windows 8.1 Update 1 that has been made available to the masses. Do bear in mind that the features found in Windows 8.1 Update 1 are not revolutionary on their own, but for those who make use of a keyboard and a mouse (instead of using the operating system in tablet mode only), this particular update would be a huge boost to the platform’s functionality.

Those who are keen to see their respective hardware system get a bump to Windows 8.1 Update 1 will be able to download it via Windows Update, where the relevant download links for Windows 8.1 Update x86 can be found here: KB2919355, KB2919442, KB2932046, KB2937592, KB2938439, and KB2949621-v2 (Windows Server 2012 R2 only).

If you are looking for the download links for Windows 8.1 Update x64, they are KB2919355, KB2919442, KB2932046, KB2937592, KB2938439, and KB2949621-v2 (Windows Server 2012 R2 only).

Those who are rocking to Windows 8.1 Update ARM can get their updates here: KB2919355, KB2919442, KB2932046, KB2937592, and KB2938439. Do expect the updates to make an appearance on Windows Update from approximately 10AM PST onward.

Windows 8.1 Update 1 Available For Download , original content from Ubergizmo, Filed in Computers, Microsoft, Windows,