A survey of 600 companies by Vanson Bourne this year found that only about half are using mobile apps to enage their employees. A little less are using them to interact with their customers.

This is not good news, considering the fact the app developers are creating many new technological solutions and will continue to do so. The mobile market is also growing, thanks to increasingly more powerful devices such as smart phones and pads. Eventually, the workforce may not ever use anything as large and cumbersome as a desktop and even laptops may be on the way out.

Outdated operating systems that are slow and crash too often, in addition to having security issues need not be unreasonably supported in the coming years. Some of these new apps may eventually become indispensable, rather than auxilliary add-ons.

Three major union presidents, James Hoffa (Teamsters), Joseph Hansen (Food and Commercial Workers), and D. Taylor (Unite Here) recently wrote a tough letter to Democratic Congressional leaders. They said, "Right now, unless you and the Obama Administration enact an equitable fix, the ACA will shatter not only our hard-earned health benefits, but destroy the foundation of the 40 hour work week that is the backbone of the American middle class." (Source: Wall Street Journal)

As with all things Obamacare, it's complicated. The uniion leaders are arguing about all workers, but mostly, they are very concerned about the benefits of their union member workers. On the one hand, they are drawing attention to the many business owners are reducing their number of full-time workers that they would have to provide healthcare benefits. “The unintended consequences of the ACA are severe. Perverse incentives are causing nightmare scenarios. First, the law creates an incentive for employers to keep employees’ work hours below 30 hours a week. Numerous employers have begun to cut workers’ hours to avoid this obligation, and many of them are doing so openly. The impact is two-fold: fewer hours means less pay while also losing our current health benefits.” (Source: Forbes)

They go on.