The Army may ditch fitness tests for unfit, 'ponytail-wearing' hackers

It's a truth, often forgotten, that no-one can be perfect at everything. We may laud Justin Timberlake's musical, dancing and acting ability, but he's probably a terrible plumber. It's a problem that the Army is beginning to understand, since the sort of people who can successfully fight in a cyber war are more likely to be bad at assault courses, climbing ropes and carrying heavy objects. It's with this in mind that Lt. Gen. Robert Brown, head of the Combined Arms Center at Fort Leavenworth, says that the US Army may relax its fitness requirements for digital soldiers.

Speaking at the New America Foundation, the Telegraph reports that the officer said that the best cyber soldiers "are not natural candidates for a military career." He went on to add, delightfully, that these teens "grew up on Google and wear ponytails," and they're probably listening to some of that gosh-darn it loud rock and roll music, too. Of course, this is an off-hand remark from a single officer, although it's a sentiment that's been uttered before, most recently by Maj. Gen. Allen Batschelet in October. Still, it looks as if all those hours of Uplink may just get you out of having to do the regulation 100 pushups, 100 sit-ups and 2-mile run.

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Source: The Telegraph

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Develop Emotional Intelligence by Learning How You Sound to Others

Sometimes what we say doesn't go over very well, regardless of our intent. There's a difference between what we mean when we say something and how it comes across to other people. Learning that difference is an important aspect of becoming emotionally intelligent.

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Why sitting will kill you (and what to do about it)

If you work anywhere in or around technology, chances are you've either witnessed or are a member of the standing-desk craze, the natural offshoot of the increasing medical research suggesting sitting in your Herman Miller Aeron chair will actually kill you faster than smoking. But standing's the tip of the iceberg. Treadmill desks, work-walking, whatever you want to call it -- more and more people aren't just standing while they work; they're clocking in 10 slow miles a day on the job. With treadmill desks popping up everywhere from home offices to the cube farms of Google to the open newsrooms of The New York Times, the definition of what it means to be "at work" is changing more than ever before.

WHAT'S WRONG WITH A CHAIR?

The move to standing and treadmill desks has a lot less to do with what they are than what they aren't: They're not sitting down. The past few years have been rife with "Sitting Kills You" articles, with everyone from Time to the Harvard Business Review weighing in. There have been books highlighting the many evils of sitting, from NASA doctors and obesity specialists and regular old self-help gurus alike. Reasonable people can (and do ) disagree about just how terrible it is to spend eight to 10 hours a day on your butt, but virtually nobody in the medical community thinks sitting all the time is a good idea.

Some of the science is obvious: When you sit, you burn far fewer calories than when you do just about anything else but sleep. Even if you stand stock-still, standing burns about 50 more calories per hour than sitting in front of your computer. If you're walking on a treadmill, you'll burn even more calories. Given the epidemic of obesity in the United States, the anything-but-sitting crowd has solid science to start with.

But there's growing evidence that sitting has more nefarious health impacts as well. A 2012 study suggests that excessive inactivity is responsible for 6 percent of all cardiac disease, but also 7 percent of all type 2 diabetes, 10 percent of breast and colon cancers and 9 percent of all premature mortality. That's right: Sitting too much may actually make you more likely to die from virtually any disease, not just get fat. A very recent study by the British Journal of Sports Medicine goes so far as to suggest that avoiding sedentary work could actual lengthen your telomeres, preventing the symptoms of aging on a cellular level. In short, the more time you spend being active, the more likely you are to remain youthful-looking.

THE STANDING DESK

The earliest response from health-concerned desk workers was simply to stop sitting. Walk through any modern office, and you'll likely find at least one person who's perched their laptop on top of a FedEx box. Unfortunately, just standing can cause problems of its own if you aren't careful. The past 20 years has seen a huge focus on ergonomics in the workplace, in no small part because the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has made a big deal about it, and companies have recognized that their employees are more productive when they aren't in pain from doing their jobs.

Not what we'd call a "standing desk"

When you make the move to a standing desk, how you set up your space is even more important than it was when you were sitting. Fundamentally, all the same things that you agonized over in setting up your sitting desk need to be carried over -- screens at eye level, work surfaces not too low and not too high. To cater to getting things just right, there's now an entire industry ready to sell you adjustable desks, floor mats and accessories.

Standing works great for some people, but for many, it's actually just too exhausting (and for folks with heart conditions, it has actual medical risks). Recent studies suggest the best position to work from is whatever one you're not doing right now -- constantly changing your posture is as important as just "not sitting all day." As such, desks with easily adjustable heights are becoming the new normal.

The sit-stand desk is quickly becoming a standard in ergonomics-obsessed offices, and a Cornell study backs up the concept. The study says that giving people the option of changing their positions multiple times a day yields the most relief from any kind of workplace discomfort.

THE WALKING OPTION

If standing up is better than sitting, it seems logical that walking around would be even better, right? It's hardly a brand-new idea; we first reported on the concept in 2005. "Work-walking" or "tread-desking" is the latest experiment with changing how we think about desk jobs. At its simplest, a treadmill desk is just a standing desk with a treadmill underneath it. Practically speaking, however, it's a little more complicated and a lot harder to fudge. Most cheap treadmills (read: less than $1,000) are ill-suited for long periods of low-speed walking, and most treadmills designed for running have bars and control panels where you'd ideally want your computer.

The TrekDesk

The slickest solution is to buy a treadmill/desk combo designed for the workplace, which generally feature slow but heavy duty motors and detached control panels you can stick off to the side. They provide highly adjustable work surfaces and well-padded arm rests. They also cost upwards of four grand.

For those of us operating in reality, however, finding just the right desk setup can be tricky. Getting the height of the work surface exactly right is critical, because you're not only typing and using a mouse, you're resting your forearms on the desk surface for stability. This leads to interesting ergonomic issues beyond the simple "what height?" question a standing worker faces.

MY EXPERIENCE WORK-WALKING

My own experience with treadmill desking is fairly recent, but has been positive. I opted, like I imagine most folks do, to modify an existing treadmill -- a SOLE F80 you can find at pretty much any chain sporting goods store. It had the benefit of horizontal hand rails that are easy to hack a desk surface on to, so I spent several days with different risers getting my typing height just so (in my case, the enormous box from Steve Jackson's OGRE reprint did the job nicely). My computer monitor is hanging on the wall in front of the treadmill. I like the flexibility of being able to jog for a while when I need to think something through, and I like being able to vary the incline I'm walking at -- two things you can't do with a dedicated desk-treadmill.

As an experience, tread-working is challenging at first, but I've found it a lot less boring than standing all day. Even at a very slow 1-1.5 MPH pace, I'm logging about 10 miles of travel a day, and after a few days of adjustment, actually find myself less fatigued than I do sitting or standing. I'm a pretty competitive person, and I like the fact that I've launched to the top of the daily community leaderboards with my fitness tracker of choice (a Jawbone Up24).

In terms of focus, I started off not even trying to type while walking, just using the treadmill for a few hours a day of research and media consumption. Lately, however, I'm doing essentially all of my work (including this article) while moving slowly forward, like a hamster on a wheel. I find that I am far less likely to be distracted by random cat pictures on the internet or feel the need to check Twitter once my feet are moving.

There are some tasks that take some adjustment or which just don't work well. I need to make sure I slow way down for phone calls or I find myself running out of breath. Fine mouse control (say, for picture editing) is pretty challenging, although browsing and typing are fine. And forget about competitive League of Legends -- unless you don't need much accuracy, mouse-and-keyboard gaming remains a chair-bound experience, although anything with a controller is fair game.

Over the course of an average day, I probably spend six to seven hours walking, one to two hours standing, and one to two hours sitting. It's a compromise that's worked well for me.

WANT TO KNOW MORE?

While a quick Google search will turn up dozens of places trying to sell you standing and treadmill desk equipment, there are a few standout resources for the alternative-workspace curious. NotSitting.com is a one-man effort to review all the major options for both standers and walkers, and features great tips, whether you're going the DIY route or working with a budget. Ergotron, a company that definitely wants to sell you a desk, actually runs one of the best standing desk websites on the side, JustStand.org. It's worth checking out, just understand their baked-in agenda.

There are also innumerable accounts from folks who've made the switch from sitting to standing or walking, and they can be extremely helpful in deciding if you're ready to get on your feet. Here are a few of the best:

• ReadWrite.com on changes in productivity.


• One New Yorker writer's journey to walking at work.


• Mixed tread-desking experiences at the New York Times .

No matter how you decide to tackle the problem, one thing is clear: we all need to get out of the chair more than we probably do. Just imagine how many calories you could've burned reading this on a treadmill!

[Image credit: AP Photo/Michael Conroy (treadmill desk), Ulrich Baumgarten/Getty Images (asleep at desk), Endopack/Getty (stretching at desk), TrekDesk (treadmill desk alone) Robb Godshaw (YouTube)]

Filed under: Desktops, Household, Alt

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Send Your Kids to Bed Early New Year's Eve with This Netflix Countdown

When you have kids, New Year's Eve can be a tricky situation. This countdown from Netflix will let your kids celebrate without staying up way past their bed time.

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Top 10 Family Issues You Can Overcome

People don't always get along, even when they're in a romantic relationship or come from the same blood line. While family problems are often the source of comedies and dramas, in real life, we can tackle tricky issues and keep the peace. Here are 10 such issues.

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10 things you have to watch over the holidays

So you've got a few days off, and you're probably trapped with family to boot -- this calls for some serious binge-watching. Now is the perfect time to catch up on all of those movies and shows you couldn't make time for during the year. To help guide you through the plethora of options, we've compiled a list of the best stuff with a geeky bent you just have to watch. We've avoided some of the more well-known choices (but seriously, Interstellar is worth a shot while it's in theaters), and have instead focused on bringing to light some more obscure choices. They're not all family-friendly, but they're all worth your time.

And if you want more options after burning through these selections, check out my podcast the /Filmcast, where I review movies and TV every week.

Black Mirror

You've probably heard plenty about Black Mirror -- a British show that's like a mix of The Twilight Zone and techno-social commentary -- but until it came to Netflix earlier this month, it was tough to watch in the US. (Lucky DirecTV customers were able to watch it since last year, and they're also getting first dibs on Black Mirror's Christmas special today.) Now that it's easily accessible, I can't recommend Black Mirror enough. Created by Charlie Brooker, a former game reviewer turned media producer and cultural critic, the show tackles deep questions around our increasingly addictive relationship with technology. What would a society look like if it was driven entirely by game mechanics and reality television? What would like be like if we could record and revisit any memory? Black Mirror tackles these sorts of issues to their logical, and often horrifying, ends. And after watching it, you may never look at the black-screened objects in your pocket or living room the same again.

Where to watch: Netflix; DirecTV

Watch if you like: The Twilight Zone, The X-Files, The Outer Limits

Snowpiercer

This is a movie where the guy who plays Captain America (Chris Evans) goes on a bloody rampage across a socially stratified supertrain, which just happens to be traveling on an endless loop across a frozen post-apocalyptic world. If that doesn't scream "must watch!" to you, then I don't know what does. Snowpiercer is a comic-book film (based on the '70s French series Le Transperceneige) directed by Bong Joon-ho, one of the most intriguing South Korean filmmakers around. If your only experience with comic movie adaptations come from the Marvel or DC universe, you're in for a treat. It's filled with huge action set pieces and a tremendous Tilda Swinton performance. And while it doesn't quite stick the landing at the end, the journey is totally worth it.

Where to watch: Netflix

Watch if you like: Brazil, 1984

The Legend of Korra

How do you top creating one of the best animated television series ever made? For Avatar: The Last Airbender creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, it was by crafting something even more subversive and mature in The Legend of Korra. Set 70 years after the end of the first series, Korra focuses on a new Avatar who must confront the challenges of being a spiritual leader in an industrial world where technology is evolving rapidly. Oh, and there's a ton of kick-ass action. It's as sharply written as its predecessor, especially when it comes to giving you villains you might actually care for. But since its core characters are young adults, rather than kids, it's also able to explore concepts like depression and the structure of societal power.

Where to watch: Seasons 1-2 included with Amazon Prime Video; iTunes

Watch if you like: Avatar, X-Men: The Animated Series, Batman: The Animated Series

The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness

If you've ever wondered what makes Hayao Miyazaki tick -- the director of anime classics like Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away -- this documentary is worth a watch. It offers a fascinating glimpse at the inner workings of Miyazaki's animation company, Studio Ghibli, as he rushed to complete The Wind Rises, his final film before retiring from features. (He says he still intends to "work until the day I day.") It helps if you're a fan of Miyazaki's film, of course, but Mami Sunada's documentary also serves as a fascinating exploration of single-minded creativity. Despite creating some of the most hopeful works of art ever made, you'd be surprised to learn that Miyazaki also has a startlingly pessimistic worldview. But that only makes him more fascinating.

Where to watch: iTunes, Amazon

Watch if you like: Jiro Dreams of Sushi, anything by Miyazaki

Under the Skin

Normally, I'd feel weird recommending a slow-moving, art-house oriented alien invasion film for the holidays. But Under the Skin is so startlingly unique that I can't help but mention it. The film stars Scarlett Johansson as a mysterious alien who roams the Scottish countryside in a van seeking out unsuspecting men (I won't spoil what happens to them). The twist? Many of those guys are random non-actors Johansson actually picked up while filming, all captured surreptitiously by tiny cameras embedded in her van. That authenticity, together with one of the strangest film scores in recent memory and what may be Johansson's strongest performance ever, makes for an unforgettable experience.

Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video; iTunes

Watch if you like: 2001, Invasion of the Body Snatchers

The Good Wife

Yes, The Good Wife! Sure it's a CBS drama, but it's also one of the best shows on television, and it's one of the few shows to truly understand technology. While it started out as a story about a woman trying to rebuild her life and legal career after being publicly humiliated by her cheating husband, it's evolved into something more. Who ever thought a courtroom drama could be as exciting as a story about a teacher-turned-drug kingpin? Creators Michelle and Robert King have a knack for working real-world stories into the show, and they're also clearly fascinated by tech. That's led to (surprisingly accurate) plots around Bitcoin, crowdsourced investigations on sites like Reddit and NSA surveillance.

Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video; Hulu Plus

Watch if you like: The Wire, Law & Order

Ping Pong

Think all anime is the same? Ping Pong, an adaptation of a popular manga, dares to prove you wrong. It's the story of two childhood friends who, in their own ways, journey to become the best ping pong players in the world. It's as much a story about friendship and personal fulfillment as it is about competition. Its hand-drawn animation style, surrealist tableaus and kinetic editing are downright exhilarating. As someone who's grown tired of digitally produced anime that inevitably looks the same, Ping Pong is a breath of fresh air. (Also, check out the 2002 live action adaptation of the same story.)

Where to watch: Youtube, Hulu Plus

Watch if you like: Friday Night Lights, Hajime no Ippo, Ping Pong Playa

The Interview

After all the drama around the release of Seth Rogen and James Franco's latest comedy, The Interview is finally available for you to watch online. I haven't seen the film yet (check back for a review tomorrow), but it's something I'd recommend watching if only to be well-informed about its landmark (and singularly strange) release story. It's the first big studio film to hit VOD before theaters, and even then it's only going to be screening at a few brave indie theaters. If it works out, this could be a release strategy that other studios adopt for mid-sized films. And really, you need to watch it for freedom. For America.

Where to watch: Youtube, Google Play, Xbox Video

Watch if you like: Anything by the Rogen/Judd Apatow crowd

Selfie

Okay, I know the title is awful, but Selfie is actually a genuinely funny and sweet show that also does a great job of exploring our unhealthy obsession with social media. It's Pygmalion with Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter in supporting roles. And really, how can you not love the dynamic duo of Karen Gillan and John Cho? The show was cancelled by ABC, but the unaired episodes are now available on Hulu Plus. It's worth a shot even if romantic comedies aren't really your thing.

Where to watch: Hulu Plus

Watch if you like: New Girl, How I Met Your Mother, Scrubs, To laugh

The Comeback

I haven't seen this show yet, but the internet (and Engadget's feature editor Joseph Volpe) just can't get enough of it. After airing and getting cancelled a decade ago, HBO just brought back the series for another season where Lisa Kudrow's sitcom persona stand-in, Valerie Cherish, is once again struggling for relevancy. As our features guru puts it:

To say that the show, which intelligently mocked the burgeoning reality TV phenomenon of the early aughts, was ahead of its time is somewhat of an understatement. The concept of "must-see schadenfreude TV" hadn't really taken hold of America until after HBO gave the show the axe in late 2005. In the ensuing years, we not only embraced unscripted programming (as reality TV is officially called), but we also accepted it as legitimate entertainment and minted a new breed of celebrity.

Honorable mentions

Here are a few other things the Engadget staff would like to recommend:

• Fireplace for Your Home (Netflix): Naturally.


• The Knick (Cinemax): Soderbergh's period hospital show is all about technological progress.


• Please Like Me (Amazon Prime Video)


• Portlandia (Netflix): Catch up for the new season starting next month!


• Jane the Virgin (Hulu Plus, CW): This Americanized telenovela is surprisingly sweet, funny and sharply written.

[Photo credits: Top: Black Mirror, Channel 4; The Good Wife, CBS; Selfie, ABC]

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The Best of 2014 Movies, Books, Music and More: A List of Year-End Lists

What were the best movies of 2014? What 2014 TV shows should you catch up on? What were 2014's biggest songs? And why trust just one outlet for answers when you can try all of them?

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Disney Research's trippy tale of immortality is ready to watch

We didn't expect Disney Research to have one of the more inventive uses of YouTube's crazy frame-rate capabilities, but here we are. The outfit's released its trippy Lucid Dreams of Gabriel short via Google's video wing and, despite it being around four months late, the filmmaking techniques are impressive in their finished form. As a quick refresher, the clip combines novel computational shutters, multiple frame rates within the same shot and high-dynamic range tone mapping to achieve its surreal look. But, in the context of a short film they distract from the story (however hippie-dippy it may be) and make Gabriel seem more like a tech demo than an actual, structured narrative; the tricks do more to call attention to themselves than they do support the action onscreen.

It's still worth checking out, though, if only to see what's possible when a director and team wants to push the limits of what movies are capable of. We've embedded the video below, just be sure to select 720p48 or 1080p48 as your resolution and you should be good to go -- maybe you should grab some special butter ahead of time to fully appreciate it, though.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

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Source: Stitch Kingdom, YouTube

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BitLit Offers Free and Cheap Ebooks If You Own the Physical Copy

Android/iOS: Paper books are awesome, but sometimes there's no beating the portability of an ebook on your phone or tablet. If you have a physical book you'd love to read on the go, BitLit may be able to get you an ebook version for free—all you need to do is take a photo.

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What It Really Takes to be a Professional Programmer

There's a lot more to professional programming than writing code. From working with a team to solve problems to version control, you won't make it to the major leagues without a toolkit of other critical skills. We asked you, and some other professional developers, what those skills are, and here's what we learned.

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