Review: OS X Mountian Lion – Part 3: My Impressions

So I’ve used OS X Mountain Lion for almost a week now and my impressions of it are very good. It’s not any faster, but Apple didn’t say it would be. So that’s fine. Having said that it feels like Apple spent a lot more time and effort than they did with Lion to make it feel polished. And to boot, it’s fixed a couple of annoying bugs that I had with Lion. For example, VNC connectivity under Lion quite frankly sucked. It had some serious problems in terms of VNC clients connecting to a computer that have been well documented. Those have thankfully been fixed. Finally, Mountain Lion hasn’t broken any of my apps. Thus this is a no brainier upgrade. If you’re running Lion, upgrade today. That’s right, don’t bother waiting for the bug fixes to appear. Don’t bother being conservative. Join the three million or so people who have already upgraded. You’ll be glad you did.

Microsoft, the bar has been set pretty high. Let’s see if your Windows 8 OS is up to the challenge.

Surprise! If Your Employer Gave You A Smartphone, You Work More

Good Technology who makes security products and push e-mail services for smartphones did a study that I just tripped over today. The study states that if your employer supplied you with a smartphone, you fully expect to be working more:

In a survey of US working adults sponsored by Good Technology, more than 80 percent of people continue working when they have left the office – for an average of seven extra hours each week – almost another full day of work. That’s a total of close to 30 hours a month or 365 extra hours every year. They’re also using their cell phones to mix work and their personal life in ways never seen before.

Here are the key stats:

• 68 percent of people check their work emails before 8 a.m.
• The average American first checks their phone around 7:09 a.m.
• 50 percent check their work email while still in bed
• The work day is growing – 40 percent still do work email after 10 p.m.
• 69 percent will not go to sleep without checking their work email
• 57 percent check work emails on family outings
• 38 percent routinely check work emails while at the dinner table

Here’s the problem that I see with this trend. First, you’re not being paid for this extra work. Second, there’s no line between work and life. Both of which are problematic. Sure these devices can help you to be more productive, but at the same time there have to be limits. Employers need to set limits to the use of these devices. They cannot expect workers to be available simply because they hand out these devices.

What do you think? Are employers taking advantage of their workforce by giving them smartphones? Do workers have to better manage their work life balance? Does something extreme like changes to the laws that govern labor have to be done? Post a comment and share your thoughts.