Words via email can be taken out of context, and something can be lost with a phone call as well since a great deal of communication is nonverbal. Some of my co-workers are seasoned remote workers, but for others, remote work is still a bit of a new thing. Taking regular, scheduled breaks will keep you sharp.
Some people find that their creativity peaks when they change locations. For example, you might work at home in the morning for a bit, then head to a co-working space or a library, and end up in a cafe in the afternoon. Try different locations and see what works best for you. Do you get easily distracted? The world will keep turning if you go offline for a bit. PS: if these are not enough, in we wrote an article documenting an extra 19 ways we kept our team productive and focused.
Regular full-time or part-time employees who work remotely because the company allows, encourages, or requires it. Although freelancers and contractors are more common in the remote work world, the list of partly- or fully-virtual companies is growing especially in tech.
In any case, the following techniques can help you find remote work no matter which category you fall into. Search remote job sites. There are a number of websites where remote companies advertise job listings. Here are three good ones:. These websites are great because they tell you which companies use at least some remote workers.
Network with people at co-working spaces. After all, remote workers know and work with other remote workers. Join online forums dedicated to your field Facebook groups, LinkedIn, Reddit.
Yes, all forums have a few trolls, but there are also many hard-working professionals who want to help each other chase their dreams. Wanna join us? Would you believe that we managed to get every discipline equally excited about a single OKR?
In fact, the planet-watching Voyager spacecraft are controlled remotely and they are presently 20 billion kilometres away. It takes 20 hours for instructions to travel from Earth to the spacecraft but we can do it — using a remote.
Read more: Curious Kids: How do x-rays see inside you? I will explain what those words mean. The communications channel is what connects the remote to the device you want to control like a TV. It could be light such as infra-red light , sound or radio waves sometimes called electromagnetic waves. The human eye cannot see infra-red light or radio waves.
TVs tend to use infrared light as it is low cost, easy to build, and suitable for a short distance like in a lounge room. Radio waves are usually used for long distance situations, or for outdoors, and can even travel through objects.
Many game consoles like the XBox and PlayStation use low power radio waves like Bluetooth, which is a type of radio wave system. This is great for games as it does not need line of sight. It will still work even if you bounce around the room, or dive behind the couch with your controller. Some codes tell the TV volume to go up, others tell it to go down, or change channel. These patterns have been predetermined so that the TV will understand the remote. We'll learn about these remotes in the next section.
If you own a smartphone, such as an iPhone or BlackBerry, you may soon be able to use it as a universal remote. A company called Melloware has already developed a two-application suite that allows you to use your iPhone to control your PC's Window Media Center from across the room [source: Biggs ]. PC-programmable remotes allow you to type in the model numbers of your electronic devices and program how you want to use the remote.
All of the required programming commands are then downloaded to your remote through a USB cable. If you have a universal remote that's PC-programmable, it likely has an RS interface that allows your computer to "talk with" and control your remote by way of a serial port or USB port. WiFi-enabled remotes are some of the newest universal remotes available. These allow you to bypass your cable provider to find out what's playing on TV by using your WiFi network.
It transmits the latest sports stats and news updates onto a small LCD screen on your remote. These screens are usually located at the top of the remote and are roughly 2 inches by 4 inches 5 by 10 cm. Some LCD touch screens even allow you to decide which "virtual buttons" you want on your remote and how you want them displayed.
But if virtual buttons aren't your thing, there are other LCD remotes that come with physical buttons. Radio frequency remotes use radio frequency waves to operate electronics that are blocked by obstacles like cabinets or walls. For example, if you're in the kitchen and want to turn on your home-entertainment system in the living room through the adjoining wall, an RF-capable remote could be used to control infrared electronics in the next room.
The universal remote broadcasts an RF signal command to an RF extender in the same room as your programmed electronics. The extender then beams out the same command at an infrared wavelength that your electronics can detect. As individual home-entertainment systems and electronic device setups differ from one person to the next, so, too, will the commands that you program into your universal remote.
Your original manufacturer's remote will have a booklet that contains all the programming commands you need, and these will work with your universal remote as well. And many remote control commands have also been posted online at sites like Remotecodelist.
One great thing about many universal remotes is that they can be programmed with macros, which enable you to program several commands into one button. For example, you can program a macro that turns on both your TV and satellite dish with a single press of a button.
The instruction manual that comes with your universal remote will contain a list of macro functions for your remote that can be programmed or downloaded from the universal remote developer's Web site. Now that we've surveyed the introductory issues pertaining to universal remotes, we'll take a look at some of their advantages and disadvantages in the next section.
If the prospect of punching in all those commands and setting up all the macros is too daunting, there are professional installers that will program your universal remote for you.
But be warned, the price can be pretty steep [source: InstallerNet ]. While universal remotes have their advantages -- remote consolidation, macro commands, glow-in-the-dark features -- they can also be a real chore to set up.
Before you purchase a universal remote, you may want to examine what you hope to get out of the purchase. Are you looking to simplify your remote control programming but don't know where to start? If so, you may not want to buy a complicated remote with lots of features that can be accessed only by scrolling through multiple menu options. A simple, inexpensive multibrand remote could be a good choice for you.
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