Last week we watched as the space shuttle Atlantis took its last trip into space. This marks the end of the space shuttle program but if you look around your home or office you can observe proof of the impact the program has had on our lives. Thousands of technologies developed for the space shuttle program have been commercialized and implemented in a number of ways to improve our daily lives.

What do you think of when you imagine a business card? In general, you most likely think of a small stock-paper rectangle that has essential contact information printed on it and, probably, a logo. While this standard method has traditionally been an effective way to exchange business information, it's not entirely memorable.

The way companies are organized has changed as technology has grown. We often see companies reorganizing their teams into virtual teams, also called geographically dispersed teams (GDT). This allows people in different countries to collaborate on a single project.

It’s easy to get a feeling of deja vu these days.

Every week brings big news of another tech IPO. We hear about super-sized valuations for businesses that haven’t turned a profit. Sounds familiar doesn’t it? It has a certain late 1990s flavor.

We’ve all seen the odd black squares that are constantly being photographed by smartphone users. They’re called QR codes, an innovative re-imagining of barcode technology. Originally used for tracking parts in vehicle manufacturing, these codes are now used in a much broader context.

More and more important decisions are being made through e-mails, full conversations are being composed in text messages, and families separated by large distances are staying connected by video chatting. Technology has become a new language, one we are still learning to use effectively.

Hold on a second -- are tablets productivity boosters?

You’re not alone if you thought tablets were merely shiny toys for consuming media. Most of the television spots advertising these gadgets show game playing, video watching, and web surfing -- and not much in the way of work.

Have you noticed the steady decline of traditional spamming in the past few years? The lowered levels have come about because the Internet has developed along with current technologies to make the z a safer place, one that is more and more difficult for spammers to navigate.