We all know that fast food is not good for us, but who knew that it could be good for the environment? That’s right! Some fast food chains are going green!

We have all heard about McDonald’s trying to use their leftover grease for fuel, but there are more fast food chains that are taking the green movement one step further. Some fast food chains are even beginning to install solar panels on their restaurants in hopes to improve the environment.

Chipotle Mexican Grill is the leader in this new trend. They are planning to install solar panels in 75 of their stores. Solar panels have already been added to 13 stores, and when finished, it has been estimated that Chipotle will reduce the amount of CO2 emissions by 41 million pounds a year!

A Burger King in Waghäusel, Germany, has also gone green. By switching to solar lighting, heating, and cooling systems, this one Burger King has also cut down on CO2 emissions by 120 metric tons, and now covers 1/3 of their electric bills by solar power.

Word has gotten around, and it is becoming a popular trend. Solar panels for homeowners are no longer the only type in demand.  Restaurant owners are becoming more willing to give up the $15,000-$20,000 on installing solar panels and having their normal maintenance workers receive solar panel installer training.  It is expensive to get the panels installed, but in the long run the amount of money that is being saved in energy costs is well worth the money. Not only are they saving money, but with the green movement in full force, restaurant owners who have switched to solar energy realize that it’s better for business. People feel better about eating out at a place that not only serves good food, but is working towards saving the planet. It’s a good sales pitch.

More and more restaurants are realizing the benefits, and the trend is on the rise. This gives people the opportunity to take away a little bit of the guilt of eating at fast food restaurants. It may not be too healthy for you, but by choosing the restaurants that are using solar panels, you are contributing to saving the planet instead. Be on the lookout, it might not be too long before you will be seeing fast food chains near you utilizing solar panels.

The Latest Trend: Restaurants Now Utilizing Solar Power is a post from: Pub In The Park

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Against the odds, the internet continues to grow at an astounding rate. Many companies have multiple sites, promoting not just divisions of their business, but specific products, services, or even marketing campaigns . Individuals can also have countless websites to express different interests, hobbies, and media. What all the best sites have in common isn’t cutting edge graphics, entertaining videos, or even witty text. The common denominator of every success website is usability.

Understanding the importance of Website Usability is critical to designing and executing a quality website. After all, visitors aren’t going to return again and again to a site that is hard to use or even broken. They want sites that work — and that means sites that work for them. A website needs to have intuitive navigation as well as elements that speak to the customers needs and desires, not what the c-suite thinks customer should want and need.

This is why companies are no longer relying on market research to determine what should to into a site. They are also analyzing usability studies and designing sites that will capture — and keep — the attention of customers. Most important, they are conducting extensive usability tests while the site is still in beta . This is the only way to make sure the site works for the end users. Companies can take the data from the tests and make corrections, improvements, or even enhancements based on user research.

The top companies on the web know that going live with a site that hasn’t been adequately tested and tweaked and tested again is just throwing money down the drain.

Website Usability is More Important Than You Think is a post from: Pub In The Park

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Whatever reason you have for needing to rent or lease a laptop — and there are a multitude of reasons that people do so — there are few things to keep in mind as you decide what company to rent from and what laptop model to get.

The first thing to consider is whether you want to rent from a local store or find a company online. Online stores may have deeper discounts and even offer better technology. Local stores give you the ability to test a laptop before taking it home and to get quick and easy repairs and exchanges if something goes wrong. Be sure with online companies to check how much shipping charges will be, in both directions. That may significantly impact the final cost of your rental.

Make sure you get insurance for any laptop rentals . This is especially important if you are renting or leasing multiple laptops for your business. You don’t want to be liable for the carelessness of your employees nor for the sometimes unavoidable theft or accident that is truly no one’s fault.

Lastly, know ahead of time what you will need the laptop to do. Don’t assume that every laptop rental comes with the latest operating system or the exact office suite you use. Have an idea of the memory, processing speed and other features you require as well as the software you will need to run before you start looking for a rental computer.

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The economy continues to falter and as a result, many companies are still being forced to cut back on staff. Lots of people are re-entering the job market and wondering what to do. Rapidly evolving technology is changing not only how people do business, but the very nature of business itself. Jumping on the technology bandwagon is probably a good idea for those looking for a new career.

Anyone with an interest in computers and a head for software code may want to consider training to work on smart phone and related technology. All those iPhone and Android users have a bottomless hunger for apps — applications that run on the phones and help them be more productive, more organized, more fun. Android developers are part of the wave of programmers who are creating those apps.

Some of the skills necessary for app developers include object oriented programming , HCI, Flash animation and design, and a knowledge of web design standards. It’s also important to understand usability and media optimization. If someone has some of those skills or just an interest in learning, there are programs available that provide training and orientation on Android and other operating systems as well as the skills necessary to develop applications.

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When you come upon a site or page online that you would like to either share with a friend or read again in the future, the best way to save the site is by creating online bookmarks . Marking the site as a ‘favorite’ on your computer is one way to bookmark, but if your computer breaks down or you get a new computer, you’ve lost all your ‘favorite’ sites. Even if you access multiple computers or other devices, you probably won’t have the same bookmarks on each computer.

There is a better way to bookmark your ‘favorites’ than relying on your computers operating system: social bookmarking sites. These sites allow you to set-up an account and organize your favorite sites any way you wish such as by keywords, key phases or subject matter. Then your bookmarks can easily be accessed and shared, even if your computer is broken or you purchased a new computer, no matter where you are, you’ll always be able to log-on to the social bookmarking site and access all your bookmarks. Not only will you be able to access you favorite websites, so will others who belong to the social networking site; people with the same interests as you will undoubtedly checkout all the sites you’ve marked and vice-versa, you’ll be able to access other peoples bookmarked sites as well. You can browse through other people’s content that reflects your interests. Social bookmarking sites are a great way to build knowledge sharing connections. You can even share your links with a short message to make them more personal as well.

All in all, social bookmarking is essentially a wonderful feature that makes life fun while on the web and it allows you to keep track of all those interesting websites and pages that you’ve come across in your daily online stroll.

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In the world of innovations, it’s impossible to keep up with all the new gadgets that are available. Any airplane ride will very likely introduce one to all sorts of wonderful new inventions, when the in-flight magazines are opened and daydreaming begins. They all seem to induce a quiet sense of excited longing, wondering about the possibilities of a life lived where innovation rules the hearth. But the plane always lands, and half the great ideas are brushed away under the mental rug, and new thoughts take their place.

There’s a common wisdom that says, if one really wants to buy something, to wait 48 hours . If the thought is still there, then it’s probably something worth having. With the iPad, this isn’t a tough thing to consider. Most anyone who’s been close to one has started to consider what it would be like. They invoke images of hanging out in coffee houses, doing more than a laptop could, and with a small machine.

This kind of appeal has been very positive for the iPad developers who are constantly looking for new ways to make them serve the needs of the users. Innovation here did not stop at its invention, and its invention seems to have been the perfect vehicle for further innovations.

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The Wii claims to be the gaming center for every generation, but the truth is that before the Wii it was the average, every day computer that held that title. Even though the computer has not generally advertised itself as a gaming device, it has a sharp advantage over any of the consoles out right now, and that is the fact that free or cheap game software is oftentimes one click away and there is no need to spend hundreds of dollars in games to have a decent collection. If a game has gotten old, a person can either surf on to another website or they can take it off their computer and reinstall it another time. If there is a large enough hard drive, that may not even be the easiest solution, some people can just leave the game on the computer as long as they need to.

Another benefit of this is that most computers are portable these days which means that the games can go on the road with you. This doesn’t just apply to the games for teenagers and kids either. There are games that many people love to play on a computer including solitaire, minesweeper, and on some computers there is even pinball. All of this makes it fairly clear that the computer really is the gaming system for all generations.

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