New Zealand jobseekers disapprove of social media vetting

Employers in New Zealand are using social media profile as part of the hiring process. Is this the way employers are hiring in the future?

http://www.humanresourcesonline.net/news/21246

Ballmer Bites Back, Disses the iPad

Ladies and gentlemen, step up to the ring: We’ve got a good old-fashioned Microsoft-Apple battle a-brewin’.

In one corner, you have Steve Jobs, the turtleneck-loving, porn-hating Apple CEO who says the “post-PC era” is upon us.

In the other, you have Steve Ballmer, the “developers!”-chanting, fancy-dancing Microsoft boss who likens Jobs’ vision of technology to an elitist fantasy.

This week, the two forces indirectly clashed onstage at The Wall Street Journal’s D8 conference in Southern California. And, suffice it to say, some colorful comments ensued — comments that, depending upon whose side you believe, could foreshadow some interesting things for the future of business computing. After all, as conventional wisdom goes, Apple has a legacy of downplaying the business market that Microsoft has courted for 30 years.

Steve vs. Steve: PCs, iPads, and the Future of Computing

First, the background: The Microsoft-Apple argument started when Jobs took the stage at D8 on Tuesday. Speaking with the Journal’s Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher, Jobs delivered the sure-to-be-eternally-quoted line: “PCs are going to be like trucks.”

(It’s safe to say he didn’t mean they’d be powerful and reliable — you know, “like a rock.”)

Jobs went on to elaborate, suggesting that PCs would always be around but would eventually be used only by “one out of ‘x’ people” — leaving it up to you to fill in the ominous variable.

“This transformation’s going to make some people uneasy,” Jobs said. “People from the PC world.”

Ballmer’s D8 Rebuttal

Fast-forward to Thursday, when Steve Ballmer got his turn up on the D8 stage. Ballmer contradicted Jobs’ remarks, declaring that the age of the PC was anything but over.

“I think people are going to be using PCs in greater and greater numbers for many years to come,” he said. “There may be a reason why they call them ‘Mack Trucks,’ but Windows machines are not going to be trucks — they’re not.”

Ballmer went on to knock the idea of owning a different device for every purpose — say, an iPad for the road, an iPhone for the pocket, and an iMac for the home — suggesting that such a concept might seem realistic within the “bubble” of a tech conference but would never prove feasible for the majority of consumers.

“I think there will exist a general purpose device that does everything you want, because I don’t think the whole world’s going to be able to afford five devices per person,” Ballmer said.

Finally, Microsoft’s main man directly dissed the iPad, saying the famed tablet itself was merely a “different form factor of PC” — and proceeding to take a jab at its practical uses.

“A guy tried to take notes on one in a meeting with me yesterday. That was fun,” Ballmer quipped. “The meeting didn’t go real fast.”

The Battle in the Business World

When it comes to mobile tech and business, both Ballmer and Jobs may soon be battling a common enemy. Apple’s iPad is sure to face stiff competition from the soon-to-hit onslaught of Android-based tablets, which will offer corporate decision-makers far more options in terms of both hardware and carriers (not to mention far fewer restrictions in terms of content and applications). The iPad, after all, is more geared for consuming than creating content. A true mobile road warrior needs a device that’s built for the latter.

For Microsoft, with its thus-far-tablet-free shelves, the bigger threat may be Google’s upcoming Chrome OS. The operating system, set to debut sometime in the fourth quarter of this year, will bring a lightweight, open source alternative to netbooks and potentially desktop PCs as well. And if Google’s able to get businesses on-board with its cloud-driven vision, Microsoft may be in for another serious fight.

For now, though, it looks like it’s tech’s oldest feud that’s taking center stage yet again. Ah, nostalgia.

Opportunities in Asia – itsReal

Check out my new Asian Opportunities Site APLINK.Asia

It is young and evolving – ICT, Media, Government, Virtual Worlds and Social Media – also JOBS

drop by: http://aplink.asia

it is free an 8GB iPod Nano from Recruit.net – itsReal

Since introducing Recruit.net into Singapore, the traffic to the Singapore section of recruit.net has exploded, the job market is vibrant and many Singaporeans are finding their dream jobs – why, because when you search the extensive and always current  job opportunities  found on recruit.net you have the search power not found elsewhere, the google like approach to search but with the precision targeting only for jobs.

if you found that dream job, recruit.net want to hear from you and it could get you a free 8GB iPod Nano

Check out what you need to do to get LUCKY again ! Contest closes March 9th 2008

The Watch – TOP 10 virtual worlds in the news – Courtesy MVJ – itsReal

About MVJ…

The Metaverse Journal is a site devoted to bringing an Australian perspective to virtual worlds. Launched in November 2006, we believe that virtual worlds at the very least may bring a new approach to internet-based interaction, and we want to cover their evolution. Virtual worlds may provide some of society’s biggest opportunities and greatest challenges in coming years – it’s an area worth keeping informed about.

Lowell Cremorne – Editor in Chief

February, 2008

1. The Washington Post – Spies’ Battleground Turns Virtual. “U.S. intelligence officials are cautioning that popular Internet services that enable computer users to adopt cartoon-like personas in three-dimensional online spaces also are creating security vulnerabilities by opening novel ways for terrorists and criminals to move money, organize and conduct corporate espionage Ex-Spies-Corporate-Work Jan-08 ”.

2. CNN Money – Pointing The Way To New Web Worlds. “You can sling from one Web to another in business these days. The so-called Web 2.0 technologies that gave birth to consumer blogs, social networks and other ways to offer product advice are weaving their way into the corporate world”.

3. CNET – Teen virtual world goes Hollywood. “Habbo, a virtual world for teens, signed a deal with the William Morris Agency, one of Hollywood’s oldest and largest talent agencies. As part of the deal, WMA will promote its celebrity sports and entertainment clients within the digital world and help Habbo forge new promotional partnerships in Hollywood”.

4. ClickZ – MinyanLand Virtual World Aims to Teach Kids Finance. “Teaching kids financial responsibility can be fun and advertisers should come along for the ride, say the creators of MinyanLand, a virtual world for kids. Launched January 30, MinyanLand is the result of the National Council on Economic Education, financial infotainment company Minyanville and family site network Kaboose, coming together to try and educate children in grades three to six about the importance of financial responsibility and thrifty spending. Unlike several other virtual worlds targeting the kids market, including Disney’s Club Penguin, Minyanland does not require a subscription fee to participate, according to Kevin Wassong, president of Minyanville”.

5. ABC Science (Australia) – Bionic lens spies virtual world. “Engineers say they have combined a flexible contact lens with an imprinted electronic circuit and lights for the first time. The ‘bionic’ lens could give wearers a new look at the world by superimposing computerised images onto their natural view. Such virtual displays could be useful to drivers and pilots, who could have route, weather or vehicle status information overlaid onto their vision. Video game players could immerse themselves in a virtual world without restricting their range of motion”.

6. CNN – For online addicts, relationships float between real, virtual worlds. “Think of online video game addiction and what probably comes to mind is a socially awkward adolescent. But teens are not the only ones who get addicted. Consider Zach Elliott, who lives in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, is in his mid-40s, and plays Final Fantasy XI, an online role-playing game. About three years ago, he says, “there were people in my real life that sort of vanished into this game, and I followed them into it””.

7. FOX Business – Multiverse Unveils Virtual Times Square. “The Multiverse Network, Inc., the company building the leading network of 3D virtual worlds, today unveiled Virtual Times Square, a true-to-life digital recreation of one of the world’s most famous metropolitan environments”.

8. CIO.com – Companies Explore Virtual Worlds As Collaboration Tools. “For emergency responders working along Interstate 95, accidents aren’t a game; they’re a way of life (and death). So it seemed odd to a group of firefighters, cops and medics when researchers from the University of Maryland suggested it use a virtual world to collaborate on training for rollovers, multicar pileups and life-threatening injuries”.

9. TrainingZone.co.uk – View to a Kill: Training in Virtual Worlds. “Learning and training are likely to be the ‘killer application’ for computer-generated 3D worlds such as Second Life, delegates heard at the Learning Technologies event in London last week. Capgemini consultant Marco Tippmer made the claim during a session on the hype and realities of the latest training technology. We have been here before, he admitted, during the ‘virtual reality 1.0′ bust in the early 1990s, when lack of sufficient computing power undermined expectations surrounding touch-sensitive gloves and immersive 3D headsets”.

10. ZDNet UK – Nortel: Virtual worlds may replace the office. “Nortel Networks is looking to the next generation of employees to shape the workplace of tomorrow, and high on its agenda is exploring the role of Web 2.0 technologies and virtual worlds such as Linden Lab’s Second Life”.

That’s all Folks – Recruit.net Creative Feedback Challenge is Closed – itsReal

Now it’s over to the Judges…so for now over to some Looney friends…..

That’s all Folks !

Recruit.net continues to expand, moves in on New Zealand – itsReal

Over 30,000 New Zealand Jobs from Hundreds of Websites in a Single Search: http://NewZealand.recruit.net
New Zealand joins the Asia Pacific Recruit.net network, which lists over 3million jobs
Auckland, New Zealand December 10, 2007 – Recruit.net announced today the launch of a new search engine for New Zealand jobs. In one simple search, the service gives job seekers free access to over 30,000 job opportunities from numerous websites in New Zealand.
Launched in 2006, Recruit.net is the leading search engine for jobs in Asia Pacific, with over 3 million job listings from across the region, including Singapore, Malaysia Japan, India, Australia, China and now New Zealand.
Applauding the announcement on the expansion into the New Zealand market, leading search consultant and HR blogger Mr Steven Kempton stated, “I believe Recruit.net adds a real difference to the NZ job board marketplace. The ability to truly search from one site provides several valuable tools for candidates. “It’s a real winner for candidates but it’s also very positive for employers who can now be confident that it doesn’t matter which board they advertise on it’s possible for candidates to find that job through Recruit.net. You’ll automatically have more coverage for your job without doing a thing or paying a cent.”

Recruit.net uses proprietary technology to provide the most comprehensive, relevant and fresh job search site in New Zealand that includes job listings from numerous websites, newspapers, recruitment agencies, associations, and companies directly.

Recruit.net Expansion

clipped from www.techcrunch.com Hong Kong based Recruit.net, a job search engine we first wrote about in May, is expanding, and they’re still not interested in the United States. Recruit.net launched into Malaysia in September and will launch a New Zealand portal this week. Coming soon are sites for Vietnam and the Philippines in the first quarter of 2008. The company already provides sites for Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan and Singapore.