S Anand

New features in Picasa Beta

New in Picasa‘s beta:

  • geotagging (place photos on the map)
  • search by colour (find photos with red and yellow)
  • hide pictures: that’s useful, sometimes…
  • upload to Google video and to Picasa Web
  • FTP your photos

A ringtone adults cannot hear

Frequency chart by age

Teenagers use it in classes, to avoid detection by teachers. Shopkeepers use the same technology to drive away rowdy teenagers, by creating a loud sound that doesn’t affect adults.

This works because adults gradually lose the ability to hear high-pitched sounds. (via NY Times)

Why your boss is overpaid

Why your boss is overpaid.

The ugly truth is that your boss is probably overpaid–and it’s for your benefit, not his. We work our socks off in underpaying jobs in the hope that one day we’ll win the rat race and become overpaid fat cats ourselves. Economists call this “tournament theory.”

The second, and more counterintuitive, prediction of tournament theory is that the more luck is involved in work, the larger the pay gaps should be between the winners and the losers. If Jack’s promotion is 90% luck and 10% effort, Jack may be inclined to goof off–unless, of course, the rewards for promotion are absolutely astronomical. And they sometimes are.

Finally, tournament theory also helps to explain why insiders, not outsiders, get cushy jobs. You thought it was all about the old-boy network, but in fact, the logical reason for promoting insiders is clear: These jobs are designed to keep your workforce motivated.