Tech Stories

LEJI #VirtualReality Headset is cheap, but is it good enough to be a gaming device

2016-08-20T03:21:00.001-07:00

#LEJI #VirtualReality Headset is cheap, but is it good enough to be a gaming device?

LeJi

#LEJI #VirtualReality Headset is cheap, but is it good enough to be a gaming device?

2016-08-20T02:50:00.001-07:00

#LEJI #VirtualReality Headset is cheap, but is it good enough to be a gaming device?

https://www.iwearvr.net/collections/leji

LeJi

Cheeky Lions Steal GoPro

2016-03-19T10:48:00.001-07:00

A PRIDE of cheeky lions decided to get their 15 minutes of fame by stealing a GoPro. Lions from the Avoca pride at Makanyi Lodge in Timbavati Game Reserve, South Africa, nonchalantly strolled up to the camera - before one of the cats decided to put the camera in its jaws. Photographer Massimo Da Silva placed his GoPro camera near the majestic animals hoping to capture some unique footage, however it did not go according to plan. Hoping to outsmart the lions, Massimo attached his camera set-up to a length of fishing nylon for a quick retrieval - but failed to account for their quick reflexes. Massimo was left shocked when the two big cat burglars easily took the GoPro to the rest of their pride.

Download any Windows Version from Microsoft Site

2015-12-26T06:43:00.000-08:00

There new way to downloaded any version of windows you needed from Official link of Microsoft , If you interested pls follow following steps

Go To Tech bench

Then Click F12 from you Keyboard , Then Chose Console

Then past Cod from from here

Then Press Enter from Your Keyboard

You should found all version of windows 7,8,10... as below image

and you can downloaded any one of them

How To Directly Download a Windows 10 ISO from Microsoft ?

2015-12-23T09:34:00.000-08:00

To Directly Download a Windows 10 ISO from Microsoft Tech Bench follow these 4 steps below

First : Go To Tech Bench

Second : Select the edition of Windows 10 you want, and click/tap on Confirm (see screenshot below)

Third : Select the product language of Windows 10 you want, and click/tap on Confirm. (see screenshot below)

Fourth : 4. Click/tap on the 32-bit Download or 64-bit Download button for what ISO version you want. (see screenshot below)

This is complete offline installer and standalone setup for Windows 10 ISO.

25 oDesk Cover Letter Samples

2014-12-09T06:32:00.001-08:00

SAMPLE #1 DATA ENTRY

Hello Sir,

I am writing in response to your advertisement for a “Data Entry Assistant & SEO Good English”. After carefully reviewing the experience requirements of the job description, I feel that I am a suitable match for the job. I’ve held several data entry positions that entail inputting customer requests, inquire, and tracking codes of products I also perform administrative duties including copying and faxing documents, answering telephones, transferring data, web research and reports to immediate supervisor.

I feel that I can add professionalism and accuracy to your current team of professionals. With extensive experience supporting all levels of a department and working directly with external vendors, I take direction well and can complete a heavy workload and complete projects under minimal supervision. If you feel there is a mutual interest, I would welcome the opportunity to meet with you to learn more about your company, the requirements of the position, and how my qualifications would be a good fit.

Thank you in advance for your time and consideration.

I look forward to Hiring from you soon.

Your Name Here

SAMPLE #2 GRAPHIC DESIGNS

Dear Sir,

This is Your Name Here from India, I'm a professional graphics designer. I have 4 Years experience in graphics design. I have a site where I a website where I publish various graphics design tutorial.

I have excellent experience in logo and banner design. I can create high quality design in a few time.

I have confident that I will do your work very well. I hope you would like my work and you will give me a good feedback which is very important for my future carrier in odesk.

Here I attached some of my logo and banner design projects. Hope you would like those. If you want to see more sample of my work you can visit my site-www.photoshoprain.com.

I'm available in Skype, G.talk, YM or MSN for chat.

Thanks and Regards

Your Name Here

SAMPLE #3 ECOMMERCE

Hi,

Let me introduce me as a hard working data entry professional willing to go that extra mile to achieve the targets set forth. I have excel- lent English skills and proficiency in E-commerce site navigation. I hope would be the right candidate for the current position with you.

Awaiting an affirmative response from your end.

Thanks and Regards,

Your Name goes here

SAMPLE #4 WEB DEVELOPERS

Dear Hiring Manager,

I'm a Web Developer, and I'm very interested in your job post “ Put The Job Title Here”

I have recently worked for a US Company as a team leader, where my responsibilities included developing there basic Web Layout platform.

I have consistently delivered projects on time and under budget, which has earned me the role of team lead on a number of recent projects, as you'll see in my work history. I believe my skills would be ideal for your project.

A number of my projects are in my oDesk portfolio. My work for xyz.com, in which I transferred a complicated Javascript app to the cloud, is very similar to your position.

I am available to chat by IM, email or Skype, and would be happy to set up a convenient time to discuss the application you're moving and some ideas about the safest way to get it into the cloud.

I will be available 15 hours per week for this position.

Regards,

John Smith

SAMPLE # 5 Administrative Assistant,

Hi,

This is Your Name from City and Country. I am confident; I can take up your project and do it with perfection. I have excellent experience in web research, phone research, list building, message retrieving/submission, and mailings. I

may be new to odesk.com with one positive feedback and one ongoing project over 100 hrs. I am sure, I would be an ideal virtual assistant to accomplish your requirements. I will be available on part time basis, you decide the time, and I am there with uninterrupted Internet connection.

I have work experience as Administrative Assistant, handling All Business related matters. Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate adverse decisions and differing opinions in a positive, professional manner. Courteous, trustworthy, loyal and respectful. Having sound knowledge of computer applications, software installations, PC Troubleshooting, solutions providing for software maintenance and updates.

Please try me, I will be a handy candidate on long term basis.

I look forward to Hiring from you soon.

Your Name Here

SAMPLE # 6 Executive Office Assistant.

I am a stay-at-home mom and have been searching for online jobs to do while my daughter is in school. I have

worked in the administrative field for 5 years and have a diploma in Executive Office Assistant.

I have excellent communication skills and English is my first language. I also enjoy typing and researching websites.

I am available at any time during the week and my peak hours would be Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning

from 8:30 am – 11:30 am.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Your Name goes here

SAMPLE # 7 website data entry

Dear Sir,

I have experience in website data entry other task easily and having ability to give back to you fine results. I am a student of MBA (Banking & Finance).

I always prefer part time jobs. I have good history on oDesk. Hope so you will hire me for this position for better results.

Looking forward to work with you.

Thanks,

Your Name goes here

SAMPLE # 8 Executive Office Assistant

To whom it may concern,

I am a stay-at-home mom and have been searching for online jobs to do while my daughter is in school. I have worked in the administrative field for 5 years and have a diploma in Executive Office Assistant. I have excellent communication skills and English is my first language.

I also enjoy typing and researching websites. I am available at any time during the week and my peak hours would be Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning from 8:30 am – 11:30 am.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Your Name goes here

SAMPLE # 9 E-commerce

Hi,

Let me introduce me as a hard working data entry professional willing to go that extra mile to achieve the targets set forth. I have excellent English skills and proficiency in E-commerce site navigation.

I hope would be the right candidate for the current position with you.

Awaiting an affirmative response from your end.

Thanks and Regards,

Your Name goes here

SAMPLE # 10 Data Entry Assistant & SEO

Dear Manager,

If you feel there is a mutual interest, I would welcome the opportunity to meet with you to learn more about your company, the requirements of the position, and how my qualifications would be a good fit. Thank you in advance for your time and consideration.

I look forward to Hiring from you soon.

Your Name

SAMPLE # 11 web research

Hi,

I may be new to odesk.com with one positive feedback and one ongoing project over 100 hrs.

I am sure, I would be an ideal virtual assistant to accomplish your requirements. I will be available on part time basis, you decide the time, and I am there with uninterrupted Internet connection. I have work experience as Administrative Assistant, handling All Business related matters.

Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate adverse decisions and differing opinions in a positive, professional manner. Courteous, trustworthy, loyal and respectful.

Having sound knowledge of computer applications, software installations, PC Troubleshooting, solutions providing for software maintenance and updates.

Please try me, I will be a handy candidate on long term basis.

I look forward to Hiring from you soon.

Your Name

SAMPLE # 12 Web Research

Hello there,

It is my great honor to apply for this vacant job. I am very hardworking and can work effectively as fast as I can. I have excellent skills in Data Entry, Web Research and Microsoft Office and I have enough experience with different kinds of tasks as you can see in my "Work History", most of the time I gave my clients a great results.

I have fast internet connection at home, have my own pc to use anytime and have own space to work. I can work fulltime and will focus to this project. I can follow instructions very well and will deliver the project on time.

It is a pleasure if ever you will message me for an interview. I can work as soon as possible.

Thanks and more power.

SAMPLE # 13 Google Advanced Search Operator

Hi,

I am Ivan Roy from Philippines. I have 3 years experience as Google Advanced Search Operator, Reviews, Web2.0 Profile, Data Typist and Link Builder. I would like to offer my service to your project as social bookmarker and I have attached here my previous work.

I believe to myself that I can do the job very well. I am hard worker and I am careful, paying close attention to detail.

I am fast learner and have excellent manual dexterity. I do the job carefully and follow instruction well.

Please feel free to contact me for any questions.

Thanks & Regards,

Mr. Khan

SAMPLE # 14 MIX

Hi,

I am a good fit for this Job “Put The Title Here” I have lots of experience in this sector.

I have worked for many Client before on other platforms.

I am available 20+ Hrs Per Week

Thanks

Kim Kapwan

SAMPLE # 15 SeNuke

Dear Hiring Manager,

Sir I have a latest version of SeNuke X 2.5.8, fully featured Activated, Currently i am working on 3 SeNuke X projects you may please see in my profile

I am Honest, Hardworking and fast learner.

And if you give me a chance i can be a good help to your company.

If I can provide you with any further information on my background and qualifications, please let me know.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you for your consideration.

Waiting for you Kind Response….

Thanks & Regards,(Your name )

SAMPLE # 16 Search Engine Optimization

Dear Hiring Manager,

I am Expert in White Hat Search Engine Optimization (SEO),

I have 5+Years of Experience in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Online Marketing, Link Building ETC…… I feel that I am an exact match for this position after thoroughly reviewing the job description,required qualifications, and preferences. I can get your site in Google top ten results.

I have huge collection of high pr sites for back linking and link wheeling,I will use google most recently updated algorithm’s strategy.

Waiting for you Kind Response….

Regards,

(Your Name)

SAMPLE # 17 SEO

Hi,

The best way to increase your website presence on first page of Google, Bing, and Yahoo engine’s first page is to optimize it with specific keywords. I have proven results of such type of achievements for various websites (Sample file is attached for your info).

I will create following types of back links for the purpose:

1. Profile backlinks

2. Forum backinks

3. Social bookmarking

4. Blog comments on related blogs

5. Directory submission

If you have any query please let me know, I will be happy to serve you.

Warm regards,

(Your Name)

SAMPLE # 18 SEO

Hello,

I am a professional SEO worker on oDesk and done many of projects successfully. I have over two years experience in this job and know various kinds of link building process. Please check the attached file.

Sample Of Previous work :

Website : http://www.healthyheartdiet.info/

Keyword : http://www.healthyheartdiet.info/

Running Work :

Website : http://www.homefronttaxloans.com/

Keywords : Property Tax Loan and Property Tax Loans

Website : http://motorbiketyre.com/

Keyword : Motorcycle Tire Review I have more sample if you need i can provide you,

Thank you

XYZ

SAMPLE # 19 SEO

Hello,

I am a professional SEO worker on Odesk and done many of projects. have vast experience in this job and know various kinds of link building process. Please check the attached file.

Sample Of Previous work :

Website : http://www.xyz.com

Keyword : xyz

Running Work :

Website : http://www.abc.com/

Keywords : ABC Property Tax Loan and Property Tax Loans

I have more sample if you need i can provide you,

Thank you

SAMPLE # 20 SEO/SMM/SEM

Hello,

I’m working as an SEO/SMM/SEM expert and providing Online Marketing services from past 6 years. I specialize in Off Page and On Page Search Engine Optimization and have worked successfully with clients around the globe.

I have attached SEO portfolio of websites on which I had worked in past. Please find the attachment.

Since I have started working a new web development and marketing company E3S (Eureka Smart Software Solutions) my account on oDesk does not have history though I have successfully done search engine optimization for various clients using various tools and techniques. Some of the prominent projects that I have worked on in the past are given below -

• Hague Expat Housing (http://hague-expat-housing.com) – keyword optimization and page rank improvement. Achieved first page listing for Hague Expat Flats and Hague Expat Housing Agency. Also managed the PPC campaign for the same.

• Damai Bungalows (http://www.damaibungalows.com) – Did off page and on page optimization (including generating of Meta tags). Keyword optimization was also done for the website. Achieved first page ranking on Google, Yahoo and Bing for “Sumatra surf holiday” and “surf camps Sumatra” amongst other keywords.

• House and Land Package Center (http://www.houseandlandpackagecentre.com.au) – One of the most challenging keywords for which the website was to be optimized for. Achieved first page ranking on Google.com.au for the following phrases “house and land packages perth”, “house and land packages Brisbane” and “investment properties perth”.

Looking forward to get Hired ASAP

Thanks

Joy Sharma

SAMPLE # 21 SEO

Dear Hiring Manager

A link building system that will push your site to the 1st page. I am an expert in manual link building project and I am highly interested to work for you for this project.I am very much familiar with High Page Rank Do Follow link building as I have been doing it for some of my customers on a regular and fixed basis. I can follow your instruction exactly.

I will provide you complete report in excel sheet with directory website url, e-mail, password and submission confirmation link etc….

I do high page rank DO follow link building for Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM)of your website or blog, so that it gets Google HIGHER PAGE RANK, ALEXA Lower Website RANK and better Search Engine Ranking Postion (SERP).

I can write keyword optimized Search Engine Friendly META TITLE, Meta Tag, Meta Description and Rich Content for Website or Blog.

So i know how to analyze your keywords and make anchor text with HTML, BB code and Wiki Code with keywords for better SEO advantage. I will research analyze and make your anchor text with the best suitable keywords for better search engine optimization.

A number of my projects are in my oDesk portfolio is very similar to your position. As you’ll see in my work history. I believe my skills would be ideal for your project. I am available to chat by email or Skype, and would be happy to set up a convenient time to discuss the

application you’re moving and some ideas about the safest way to get it into the cloud.I will be available 40 hours full time per week for this position.

May i therefore and hope that u would be kindly grant me and give me one chance then you can check me easily.

Waiting to work for you.

Thanks

Ron Williams

SAMPLE # 22 SMM

Hello,

I’m working as an SMM expert and providing Online Marketing services.

I have attached SMM portfolio on which I had worked in past.

I have achieved good results for my previous clients

Client Reference available.

Thanks

Jimmy Cutter

SAMPLE # 23 web-research

Dear hiring manager,

Thank you for this wonderful opportunity.

Your job post has caught my attention because I'm a web-research addict and I’m considering your job post for me with the required capabilities. I have excellent experience in web research, data mining, extracting email address and other related contact information of any business and personals, searching in Google, Bing and Yahoo search engines.

I use some secret and useful search engine keywords tricks in order to extract the exact and required information.

I have excellent experience in managing the extracted data in MS Excel, MS Work, Google Docs, Google Spreadsheet, Google Document and other related applications. I believe my capabilities would be perfect for your project.

I can complete this job within the necessary period. I have years of encounter in this work and can offer you my past taste work. I will be offering you with all my effort and capabilities.

“Moving ahead, I can dedicate 30 hours/week for your job, and my daily hours are negotiable. I’m very empowered to offer my services for your job. Please you can get in touch with me instantly to discuss this place further.”

I am mostly online at Yahoo Messenger, Google Talk and Skype. We can discuss there in details, if you are interested. I wish you'd give me this chance.

Regards,

Muhammad Ahmed

SAMPLE # 24 web-research

Dear Sir,

Today I have found this job post in oDesk, and I’m very interested in your job post involving these skills. I have good experience in data entry, web research, Google documents and MS Office. My typing speed is more than 50 words per minute. I believe my skills would be ideal for your project. I can complete this job within the required time period.

“Moving forward, I can dedicate 30 hours/week for your job, and my daily hours are negotiable. I’m very excited to offer my services for your job. Please feel free to contact me directly to discuss this position further.”

I am mostly online on yahoo messenger and skype. We can discuss there in details in a quick way, if you are interested.

Regards,

SAMPLE # 25 web & SEO analyzer

Good day sir,

I have checked everything on your post and i'm appetent to let you know that i've expertness and commercial experience in this category with excellent feedback .I've been professionally engaged as web & SEO analyzer, web developing, web content writer . Hire me and get your job done perfectly ,honestly and in trusted way.

Looking forward to get started ASAP

Thanks

Robin Hawk

TIPS & TRICKS

* Make sure that each cover letter you send on oDesk, is personalize and specific, to each job, that you are applying for.

* Never copy and paste your cover letters contents, as every project is different, and needs, to be tailored, to it’s own requirements.

* Never Provide Email ID / Skype ID or any other Contact Info (This is Against oDesk Policy)

* Keep your cover letter short in length; four short paragraphs, are more than enough to get your

message across.

* Avoid boring them to death with an essay, this will turn them off, from hiring you.

* Every single line in your oDesk cover letter should be written in a way, that will provide the

employer an incentive to hire you.

* Show a high level of enthusiasm that you are accessible, prepared, and ready, to start working with

them.

Wish You All The Success At oDesk

Additional Questions and Answers of oDesk Job Application

2014-12-07T00:12:00.001-08:00

1. What past project or job have you had that is most like this one and why?

Ans: According to your job requirements, I have done many projects like yours. For more details you can check my portfolio, profiles and employment history where you will find the similar projects like your desire one.

2. Do you have suggestions to make this project run successfully?

Ans: Sure I have suggestions for you in this project. According to my concept, the updated strategy and proper methods can make this project successful. And surely I will make this project successful.

3. Which part of this project do you think will take the most time?

Ans: According to your job details, I have years of experiences in both fields. And I always use the updated techniques and win the competition. I have a strong belief that I would be able to make this project successful within short time.

4. Have you taken any oDesk tests and done well on them that you think are relevant to this job?

Ans: Yes I have taken oDesk Skill Tests and I have done well. You can check my tests area. Default system of odesk tests is a good method of justify oneself. And yes I appreciate it as well as I did well in here.

5. How much time do you think it will take to accomplish the task for google results ?

Ans: Competition is everywhere. Always want to be ranked in google. But failing in this competition is problematic. And I know this problem. The problem is the so called workers do not use the updated methods where I always hit the iron when it is hot. That’s why I can assure you that I will be able to do it in short times than the rest (2+ or 3+ months)

6. What part of this project most appeals to you?

Ans: Here the two parts of this project appeal me very much, one is that all the requirements are in favor of me and the second one is I like do do these kind of job. These kind of project and job give me mental satisfaction.

7. Why do you think you are a good fit for this particular project?

Ans: I think I am a good fit for this job because I have all the qualities that you are looking for. Experience is the golden factor in this project where you find in me at least 3+ years of working experiences over all the factors in your project.

8. Do you have any questions about the job description?

Ans: Your arrangement of the job description is fully understandable and I have understood it very well. Still I have no questions about your job description. If I need any information latter, I must convey you and discuss with you in a friendly circumstances.

9. Which of the required job skills do you feel you are strongest at?

Ans: I have carefully read your job description and I have more than 3 years of working experience in both of your required skills. And I am strongest at all of your required qualities. Hope I will be the perfect worker for you in this project.

10. What SEO jobs have you done in the past?

Ans: I have successfully completed many seo projects before, you can see my employment history and portfolio projects. I hope I will also be successful in this project. You can undoubtedly hire me.

11. How much time will you need to work on this project to see results and how will you spend your time working on this project?

Ans: I have a strong belief that I would be able to make this project successful within short time. I will spend my time working on this project hourly with white hat updated method and make it successful.

12. Have you done high quality back-linking before? if so what sites do you use?

Ans: Sure I have done high PR back-inkling before and ranked many sites. You can check my employment history and portfolio. (You can also include some links here)

13. Why should i chose you over the other 100 that have applied for this Job?

Ans: This is a good point you have asked. Here you will found many so called worker who do not know how to work. I am totally different from them. I have a long term plan to work in here, that’s why I am here with all qualities and experiences. I am here not to cheat you rather help you.

14. What challenging part of this job are you most experienced in?

Ans: Everything is now becoming challenging, If one has to win he or she should have the proper knowledge of the present situation. And I am most experienced in this factor. Hope I will make your project successful.

15. Who have you worked with that has yielded quick results. What was the cost to client to receive positive results?

Ans: I have successfully completed many projects. You can see my portfolio and employment history. And I took the relevant cost, I never ask for high price.

16. Tell me how you would go about increasing my rankings for my website?

Ans: Ranking a website on some certain keywords are now very difficult. But if one has relevant ideas and skills about the search engines’ logarithm, he/she must win this competition. According to that I will first make your site search engine friendly then I will make it popular to others and increase its rank.

17. Why did you apply to this particular job?

Ans: Applying for this particular job would allow me to practice my skills and knowledge. It will be the start of a growing career and maybe a secured tenure where I can staisfy my needs as a person, a citizen and employee of something worth aiming for..

10 best free Android apps

2014-11-08T09:09:00.000-08:00

It's no secret that your shiny, powerful top-of-the-line Android smartphone or tablet is only as useful as the apps it runs. That's why it comes with plenty of apps built in, from a browser and text messenger to music player, calendar, email and much more.

While those apps cover the basics, most users want to do even more. That's why Google Play has more than 1.3 million apps you can download that let you do just about anything.

I know plenty of your read that number and thought of the hours it will take to find some good apps. Not to mention the expense!

It doesn't have to be overwhelming, or expensive, because I'm about to tell you the 10 best free Android apps. These will help you get the most out of your gadget without draining your bank account.

1. BATTERY DOCTOR

Does it seem like your phone or tablet's battery always dies at the most inconvenient time? It's downright frustrating, and it's happened to all of us. That's why the newly updated and redesigned Battery Doctor is such a handy tool to have.

Sure, these handy tips and tricks to save battery life help, but to pull them off, you need to know what's hogging the power.

Not only does it tell you how much juice your gadget has left, it offers dozens of power-saving tips and tricks, too. For example, it monitors your phone to see which apps are burning up your battery life. That makes it easy to get rid of or turn off power-hogging apps you don't need or use.

2. RETAILMENOT

Whether it's from coupons or promo codes, I love saving money. The RetailMeNot site is a great place to grab promo codes and now you can take the savings wherever you go with the RetailMeNot app.

It has coupons for over 130,000 physical and online stores, including grocery stores. You can save and store coupons for later, and share the savings with your friends through social media.

3. CHROME

Google Chrome is one of the Web's favorite browsers. You would think that Android gadgets would come with it by default since they're both made by the same company.

They don't, but you can still switch from Android's default browser to the Chrome app. It not only loads pages fast, it compresses data while browsing, can sync tabs with Chrome on your other gadgets and includes other handy features like voice search and gesture control. There's even incognito mode for private browsing.

4. FACEBOOK MESSENGER

In case you haven't heard, Facebook recently announced that messaging will no longer be available in the Facebook app. In order to use the messenger feature, users now need to download the standalone Facebook Messenger app.

Facebook is marketing the new Messenger app as "free texting from Facebook" and the app does look a lot like basic text messaging with some added features. You can message any of your Facebook friends using a Wi-Fi connection or your data plan.

The app also lets you send picture and video messages, similar to other mobile messaging services. One of the coolest new features, though, is its calling capabilities, which lets you actually call your Facebook friends all over the world for free using your Wi-Fi connection. That's really handy if you are overseas.

5. FLIPBOARD

Imagine being able to collect all the news, articles and feeds you read online into one gorgeous reader app. That's exactly what Flipboard allows you to do.

You can read your Facebook and Twitter streams, publications like Rolling Stone and The New York Times, and even Instapaper and Readability. This is one of the most popular and award-winning apps available.

6. KINDLE

Not everyone wants to spend money on an e-reader when they already have a computer, smartphone and/or tablet. That's fine because you don't actually need a Kindle to read e-books.

Just load up the Kindle app on your Android tablet or smartphone and the entire Amazon e-book marketplace is available. Even better, you can load the app on multiple gadgets. So when you switch from a tablet to a desktop, or your Kindle to a smartphone, you never lose your place. The Kindle app even transfers annotations and highlights you've made.

7. GOOGLE TRANSLATE

One of the biggest obstacles to travel is the language barrier. I've often wished for the universal translator from Star Trek. Amazingly, we're almost there.

The free Google Translate app can translate 80 languages. That covers the Americas, the Caribbean, Europe, much of Asia, major African dialects, the Middle East and even countries in the South Pacific like Indonesia.

The app is very versatile. You can speak, type or hand write a phrase and then choose the language to translate to. The app does require an Internet connection, so if you are traveling abroad, make sure you have a working data plan or a Wi-Fi connection. Find free Wi-Fi anywhere with this cool app.

8. YELP

Yelp is a handy user-generated guide to local restaurants and attractions. With theYelp app, you can read reviews no matter where you are. There are more than 50 million reviews on businesses across the entire world!

Find businesses based on distance from you, price, neighborhood, or what's open. Read customer reviews and download daily deals. Make restaurant reservations through OpenTable, right from the app.

9. PAPERKARMA

This app claims to get rid of your junk mail and - surprisingly - it actually works.

Whenever you receive mail you don't want, simply open PaperKarma on your smartphone and take a picture of the junk mail. The app contacts the sender for you and removes your name from its mailing list. It's really that easy.

10. POCKET

There are so many informative articles on the Web, you definitely don't have time to read them all. Coming back later usually doesn't work. It's easy to forget where you saw a certain article.

Pocket, formerly known as Read It Later, is the perfect solution. It's an add-on that allows you to save articles to read later on your computer, smartphone, tablet or e-reader.

From here on out, if you find something you want to come back to, you can save it to Pocket to read later.

10 best free Apple apps

2014-11-08T09:03:00.000-08:00

Apple has plenty of built-in apps in its iPhones and iPads that make your life easier, but if you take a quick visit to the iTunes App Store, you know there's more fun to be had.

But which apps should you get? Back in June, Apple announced that there are now 1.2 million apps available for download in the App Store. That's a lot of information to sift through, but it isn't the only obstacle.

You also don't want to break the bank filling up on apps. Fortunately, while there are a handful of expensive apps in the App Store, I'm a fan of the saying "the best things in life are free," and there are plenty of free apps to be had.

In other words, I've got you covered. I know what you want and what you need at the best price possible - free. From photo editors to fun games and useful resources, here are the 10 best apps you have to have on your Apple gadget.

1. PHOTOSHOP

The word "Photoshop" is synonymous with photo editing. So much so, that it's basically a verb now. The cost and complexity of the software made it impractical for many average users - that is until Adobe made Photoshop Express a free app.

The app brings what you would expect from Photoshop: Strong photo editing capabilities paired with easy sharing. What are you waiting for? Click here to get started with Photoshop Express.

Note: These apps might require to play around with them a bit before you get the hang of it, but once you learn, you'll be happy you put in the time and effort.

2. 5-0 RADIO POLICE SCANNER

Want to know what's really going on in your town? A police scanner can do the trick, but you don't need any extra hardware.

5-0 Radio Police Scanner is one of the most popular downloads in the App Store. It's been in the top 100 most downloaded apps since 2009 and has more than 20 million users.

That's because it's loaded with emergency and ham radio feeds from around the world. You can browse feeds by country, state or city, and save or share your favorites. This app includes a handy reference guide for police, EMS, fire and military codes so you know what's going on.

3. SHAZAM

We've all been there. There's a song playing in a restaurant and you just can't remember the name of it, or who sings it. You can ask your friends, but what if they don't know the answer either?

It's time to pull out Shazam, a must-have app for music lovers. Instead of asking friends, or typing in easily misunderstood lyrics to Google, simply hold your phone up to the music source and tap Tag. Shazam will then identify the name of the song, its artist and the name of the album. Wow!

Note: Apple has a habit of turning popular apps into features. With that in mind,Apple could be integrating Shazam software into the newest version of Siri as well as in an upcoming version of iTunes, making Shazam a built-in app much like Flashlight and Maps.

4. GOOGLE TRANSLATE

One of the biggest obstacles to travel is the language barrier. I've often wished for the universal translator from Star Trek. Amazingly, we're almost there.

5. MEDSCAPE FROM WEBMD

Your health isn't something to take lightly. Maybe you can't sleep at night, have a persistent stomach ache, or have a cough that won’t go away. You want to make sure it isn't anything serious, so grab the Medscape app from WebMD.

Unlike most symptom-checking services, Medscape is a resource for doctors, nurses, med students and other medical professionals around the country. Medscape gives you access to the latest medical news, important journal articles, FDA announcements and more.

You can look up drugs and their dosing information, use medical calculators and information on health plans. Its database contains information on more than 4,400 diseases and more than 600 drugs in its drug reference center. Better yet, this information has been authored, reviewed and edited by experts in their respective fields.

Note: This app does not replace the diagnosis or opinion of a real doctor. Find a good doctor in your area using this app.

6. KINDLE

Not everyone wants to spend money on an e-reader when they already have a computer, smartphone and/or tablet. That's fine because you don't actually need a Kindle to read e-books.

Just load up the Kindle app on your iPhone or iPad and the entire Amazon e-book marketplace is available. Even better, you can load the app on multiple gadgets. So when you switch from a tablet to a desktop, or your Kindle to a smartphone, you never lose your place. The Kindle app even transfers annotations and highlights you've made.

7. YELP

I love going out and exploring. I often travel for work and when I want to find a great place to eat, shop, relax or explore, one of the services I use is Yelp. It's is a handy user-generated guide to local restaurants and attractions. With the Yelp app, you can read reviews no matter where you are. There are more than 50 million reviews on businesses across the entire world!

Find businesses based on distance from you, price, neighborhood, or what's open. Read customer reviews and download daily deals. Make restaurant reservations through OpenTable, right from the app.

8. BATTERY DOCTOR

Sure, these handy tips and tricks to save battery life help, but to pull them off, you need to know what's hogging the power.

9. FLEKSY

If you have a hard time with the conventional smartphone keyboard, this may be the app for you.

Fleksy replaces your phone's regular keyboard and gives you much more room for error than the standard keyboards. Just type in the words and swipe to the right to add a space. It's that simple!

To change a word or punctuation, just swipe down. If you want to add punctuation, swipe right again after a space.

Fleksy even has the option to become invisible. You can still type on the invisible keyboard and watch Fleksy predict your message. It's not magic, but it will certainly look like it. You have to try it to believe it!

10. BONUS: MORE GAMES THAN YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH

We all love playing games on our gadgets. It's so easy to get addicted (click here to find out why) but finding the perfect game sometimes takes a little digging. Some of the most popular games in the App Store include the Angry Birds series, Candy Crush and 2048, but there's more.

Family Feud is fun for the whole family, Elevate is a fun brain game that exercises your brain, or you can try out 100 Balls, Match the Dots, and Piano Tiles. All have sat at #1 on the iTunes charts, so you know they must be fun.

Want even more fun and addicting games to play? Be sure to check out my app center for more fun games than you can shake a stick at.

5 steps to keep your accounts safe from hackers and scammers

2014-11-08T08:42:00.001-08:00

Despite the flood of hacks and data breaches at retailers, restaurants, health-care providers and online companies this year - Home Depot, Target, Subway, Adobe and eBay are just a handful - the one safe haven was the banks. Unlike other companies, banks have had a long history of keeping bad guys away from our money and personal data.

Unfortunately, that's no longer something we can take for granted. JPMorgan Chase customers recently discovered this when the financial giant admitted that hackers stole information on 80 million customers, including checking and savings account details. Even worse, the hack was going on for two months before JPMorgan even noticed anything was amiss. That's not very comforting.

There's no way for you to prevent a data breach from occurring at a company that has your business. You can, however, make sure your accounts are secure from other forms of attack

1. LOCK DOWN YOUR PASSWORD

Good password security is one of the easiest methods to protect your account from hackers.

A strong password - 8 or more characters with upper-case characters, lower-case characters, numbers and symbols in a random order - is very hard for hackers to break. Click here to learn how to create a password like this that's still easy to remember.

Of course, you need to create a unique password for every account. That way, if a hacker gets one of your passwords in a data breach, they can't immediately get into your other accounts.

While you're making your passwords strong, don't forget to beef up your security questions, too. A strong password is worthless if a hacker can answer your security question after a quick trip to Facebook.

2. SECURE YOUR CONNECTION

When logging in a sensitive account, the best place to do it is at home. I'm assuming here that you've followed my other security tips about securing your network andmaking sure your computer doesn't have a data-stealing virus.

Of course, in an emergency you might need to connect to a sensitive account on the go. For banking, best to use your bank's app and a cellular connection.

If you have to use Wi-Fi, add extra security with a Virtual Private Network. This creates a secure, encrypted link with a third-party server and you access your sites through that link.

It's an extra level of protection that hackers shouldn't be able to crack. On a laptop,CyberGhost is a good option. For a tablet or smartphone, check out Hotspot Shield VPN or avast! SecureLine VPN.

Know that VPNs do slow down your Internet speed. Turn them off for streaming videos or general browsing.

3. SET UP ACCOUNT ALERTS

Many banks will automatically send you text alerts when purchases or withdrawals on your card exceed an amount that you specify. Click here to learn more about setting up text alerts. Check your credit cards and other accounts for similar options.

There's also something called two-step verification, or two-factor authentication, offered by many online accounts. This is great. In order to log in from an unfamiliar device or location, you need a password and a code from a separate email account or smartphone text.

Click here for instructions on setting up two-step verification for Microsoft, Facebook, Google and other online accounts. It takes just a few minutes and can save you a bunch of time and hassles.

While on the subject of two-factor authentication, some banks now feature an embedded chip that generates a new pass code for every use. Ask your financial institution if it offers cards with Chip Authentication Program (CAP) or Dynamic Passcode Authentication (DPA) technology. They don't advertise this. You have to know to ask.

4. AVOID PHISHING SCAMS

Even if a hacker doesn't get your credit card information or account number, they usually get the next best thing: Your name and email address.

That's exactly what they need to launch a phishing attack. A popular type of phishing attack is a fake email claiming to be from a real company that asks you to click on a link or download an attachment.

Thanks to data breaches, hackers know exactly what companies you use. You might get an email claiming to be from JPMorgan Chase telling you that your account has a problem and you need to click a link or download a file for more details. Click here to learn the warning signs of a phishing email so you aren't fooled.

Of course, the link will take you to a malicious site disguised as a Chase page, or the email attachment will contain a data-stealing virus. Either way, hackers can get your username and password, or other sensitive information.

Remember, no legitimate company will ask you to click a link or download an email attachment to update your account details.

5. BE VIGILANT

The best way to make sure your online banking account, or any other account, stays safe is to pay attention. Catching small problems early can prevent hackers from making bigger ones later. Here's why.

In the cybercriminal world there's a term, "fullz." A fullz is all the information a thief needs to assume the identity of someone else and apply for credit under their name.

When hackers get your fullz, they often group it with fullz from other people and sell the whole package online. Click here to learn more about fullz and how they're bought and sold.

After buying a fullz, a criminal will test the waters. They place a few small-scale purchases using your account details. If you don't take any action, they continue making small purchases until they've earned the amount they paid for your "fullz" and then some.

Finally, the criminal will max out your card or drain your account without a second thought. How do you stop this? Watch your accounts. If you notice a strange transaction, immediately call your bank or credit card company. Better to err on the side of caution.

Google Inbox: 7 Reasons To Say Yes

2014-11-08T08:35:00.000-08:00

Email remains the Internet's killer app. But while it's indispensable, it's also indefensible, as anyone who gets a large number of email messages will attest. Email is broken. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that our capacity to deal with incoming communication has not scaled to match the volume of email many Internet users now receive.

Social media notifications, commercial confirmation messages, and promotional offers deserve some of the blame.

Regardless, there's a point at which incoming email messages overwhelm the recipient. And while that number is different for different people -- 50 a day, 100 a day, or whatever -- the end result is the same: Email triage, which leaves many messages unanswered. So much for the communication age.

Google wants to improve the email experience. Two weeks ago, the company introduced a new approach to email management called Inbox. It won't reduce the number of messages you get but it can help make them more manageable.

Inbox currently is available by invitation only. If you've been fortunate enough to receive an invitation, you might find there's a lot to like.

Appearance

Inbox has a more attractive layout than Gmail. It just looks better. Shallow though that might sound, it improves the user experience. Gmail offers limited control of the white space between email rows; Inbox offers a design that's both more spacious, more colorful, and better organized. It's more reassuring to look at and its design conveys information about messages more effectively than the utilitarian Gmail layout.

Bundles

Inbox takes certain types of messages and bundles them for you. Gmail did this through its message category tags -- Primary, Social, Promotions, Updates, Forums -- but Inbox handles this better. It does this by adding Bundles into the main email list rather than having them exist as distinct, parallel lists in different tabs.

Labels

Part of the visual appeal of Inbox comes from colorful circular labels that appear to the left of messages. The labels show either the picture of the sender -- if that person is in your contacts -- or the first letter of the sender's first name. It's effective design because it draws the eye and immediately provides an easily scanned, visually distinct cue to identify other messages from the same sender that reside elsewhere in Inbox.

Graphics

Gmail provides some visual distinction in its message list to make messages easier to act on. For example, it will display the words "view reservation" in emailed reservation confirmations from restaurants. Inbox takes this further by showing a graphic, the restaurant name, reservation time, and links to "view reservation" and "view map." It also makes attached documents easier to access, by presenting them in a side-scrolling list, a far more efficient way to view files than opening each message individually to drill down to attachments.

Snooze

With the Snooze option, Inbox offers the ability to send messages to email purgatory, where they're out of sight and out of mind until the specified time. When the snooze timer expires, banished messages reappear. It's an ideal tool for procrastinators. If you need access to messages in the invisible snooze folder, you have to search for keywords in the slumbering email to retrieve it; there's no snooze folder to visit.

Pins

Pins are the opposite of Snooze: Pinning a message makes it immediately accessible in the Pinned view, which has its own dedicated toggle button at the top of Inbox. Pinning provides a way to immediately see just a chosen set of messages. The Gmail equivalent is checking the star beside listed messages and then viewing "Starred" messages. The primary difference is that Pinned messages cannot be removed with Inbox's Sweep command.

Reminders

As an alternative to emailing yourself as a reminder to do something, Inbox has added Reminders. Reminders appear in your message queue like email messages, making them visible by virtue of being unavoidable -- in a separate folder, application, or view, they might be missed. They can be snoozed, pinned, and marked like other messages. But they don't actually pass through email servers.

With these tools, Inbox shows that the email experience can be improved and Google is likely to keep trying to improve the experience further. But it's important to consider that Inbox's convenience has some privacy consequences: Google's assumption here is that people want to keep email forever. Inbox's way of getting rid of email is to sweep it away, out of sight, but not to delete it. It's a philosophy shared by Gmail: When you sell cloud storage, you don't encourage people to use less of it by deleting their messages.

While there's certainly something to be said for saving every email message and having it be accessible with a search query, there are also good reasons to get rid of email. Inbox, of course, supports message deletion if the user makes that choice. But there's no option to automate message deletion after a set period of time or to maintain a set storage footprint. Perhaps in version 2.0.

Getting started with Bookmark Manager for Chrome

2014-11-08T08:28:00.001-08:00

Remember Google Stars? This is Google's new bookmark manager that brings Material design to your desktop browser.

Back in May, Google was testing a new bookmark feature it called Stars. Unfortunately, the feature didn't go public, except for one -- probably unintentional -- day on the Chrome Web Store.

Now Google is offering a similar feature to Stars, called Bookmark Manager. Before you start using it, you'll need to a check a couple of Chrome settings. Here's how:

Setup

Step 1: Make sure you are on Chrome version 38 or later by going to Menu > About. If not, perform the required update.

Step 2: Check that Chrome sync is enabled to access the new features. Click this link for more information on how to set up Chrome sync.

Step 3: Install the new Bookmark Manager extension from the Chrome Web Store. This will replace your current bookmark manager.

Once installed, the new Bookmark Manager can be accessed the same way as the older one by going to the Chrome menu > Bookmarks > Bookmark Manager orCtrl/Cmd+Shift+O.

Features

Now that you're setup, here's the highlights from the new features:

Saving a link

This process is still the same, but with one new cool feature. After you adjust the title, description, URL, and folder, you also pick a picture from the site to represent your bookmark. Additionally, if Google thinks a particular folder is a good place for the link, it will be suggested to you.

Searching your stash

The new search ability can look at the content of the actual page, not just the title, description, and URL that you have saved. That will definitely make finding bookmarks easier!

Organization

Bookmarks can be organized by topic automatically, but you can also organize them yourself (as seen in the top image above) just like like the old bookmark manager allowed.

Sharing

When creating a new folder in your bookmarks, you can choose to make it Private or Public. This way you can share a collection of bookmarks with friends, family, or even students.

Bonus

Existing bookmarks will get a facelift with images and the information card style entry.

Should you decide that this new bookmark interface isn't for you, reverting is easy. Just go to Menu > More tools > Extensions and click the trash icon next to Bookmark Manager to remove it from Chrome.

What do you think of the look and features in the new Bookmark Manager? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

More Ways to Control What You See in Your News Feed on facebook

2014-11-08T08:18:00.000-08:00

Users will be able to more easily hide people from their News Feed

News Feed is where you go to catch up on what’s happening with your friends and find the content that matters to you.

What you do in News Feed helps determine what you see in News Feed. You decide who you want to connect to, and what Pages and public figures you want to follow.

Starting today, there will be more ways for you to control and give feedback on your News Feed.

Quickly Unfollow and re-follow people, Pages and Groups

News Feed settings will now show a list of the top people, Pages and Groups that you’ve seen in your News Feed over the past week. You can choose to sort by people, Pages or Groups posts, or see an overall summary. Unfollow any friend, Page or Group if you don’t want to see their stories in your News Feed. You can also see who you’ve unfollowed in the past and can choose to re-follow them at anytime.

New ways to give feedback about your News Feed

If you see a story you’re not interested in or don’t want to see, you can tap the arrow in the top right of that story to hide it. Starting today, when you hide a story you’ll have the option to ask to see less from that person or Page.

If you choose to see less, you are then given the option to unfollow them if you don’t want to see any of their stories in your News Feed. You can always visit News Feed settings to see everything you’ve unfollowed and have the option to re-follow them.

News Feed settings will be available starting today on desktop and mobile. The new options for giving feedback about your News Feed will be available today on desktop, and coming to mobile in the coming weeks.

11 Reasons Why Your Website Doesn't Sell

2014-11-07T14:05:00.000-08:00

A well-designed website organically grows a company's business and reinforces branding.

A study by Nielsen Norman Group found that users stay on a website for an average of 10 to 20 seconds. Visitors hang around longer only if they find something worthwhile during those initial glances. For a business, every second counts.

Several factors may strip a website of value. Here are 11 problems that affect a site’s presentation alongside fixes to immediately apply to help drive greater user engagement and better traffic.

1. Low-quality visuals.

Many have written about the power of visuals in communication. A 1986 study by the University of Minnesota's Management Information Systems Research Center with 3M support found presentations using visual aids 43 percent more convincing. A website’s potential can be held back by the inclusion of low-quality visuals.

Marketing expert Govind Agarwal recommends having high-quality photos to grab viewers’ attention, increase social shares and even boost overall SEO if pictures are tagged appropriately. Labnol.org offers a list of places for finding free professional images.

2. Lack of reviews or testimonials.

If its website does not have testimonials, a business is missing out on an easy and effective marketing tool. Customers are discriminating. Merely telling them of the strength of product or service is not enough anymore. Testimonials can help create trust for a company's offerings and quell concerns customers might have about making a purchase. Derek Gehl, CEO of the Internet Marketing Center, has shared guide to using testimonials and choosing ones that are suit an audience.

3. Lacking color savvy.

Another factor that might cause weak sales on a company site is its color scheme. Much research is being done on visual information that's hue-related. Many entrepreneurs probably already understand theimportance of branding. A powerful brand sets the company apart from the competition and makes the business instantly recognizable to consumers. But it can lose credibility with users if its website is adorned with an unimpressive color scheme.

For a crash course on color theory, referenceSmashing Magazine’s in-depth guide. Determine what the company's brand should convey to customers and be sure the website has an appropriate color scheme to match.

4. Outdated information.

Scroll down to the bottom of a webpage to where a copyright date is listed. Is it still recent? According toSmall Business Trends, a website appearance that looks out of date is an instant turnoff to customers.

Clients want to see that a company has put in effort to stay current. This includes regularly adding new content and refreshing existing copy.

5. Hard to find.

The best website in the world is useless if no one can find it. An entrepreneur need not know much about search engine optimization to develop pages that are easily discoverable by search engines and consumers. Gwen Moran has recommended a strong domain name, carefully optimized page titles to accurately reflect the content inside and using keywords effectively.

6. Not being mobile friendly.

A business website may resemble a work of art when opened on a desktop computer, but if it does not display well or function on a mobile device, the company will lose out on a growing segment of the online audience. Shopify, a leading ecommerce platform, looked at data from more than 100,000 websites that use its platform and found that slightly more than 50 percent of shopping is being done via mobile. To ensure that a website is mobile responsive, check these actionable tips.

7. Difficulty in finding contact information.

Ever needed assistance in a store just when all the sales associates seem to have disappeared? In retail, that should never be the case. Online, it shouldn’t be either. If a customer has a question or needs help, the site's contact information should be easy to find. Being available on demand, such as via live chat, can also help a business better engage customers, reduce costs and boost sales.

8. Misdirected focus.

Customers want their experience on a business website to be focused on them. This means including sections that answer their questions and address their needs. An easy fix is including a frequently asked questions, or FAQ, page. The Content Marketing Institute recommends highlighting top questions, with timely answers and making the archive searchable. When possible, simplify the user experience by making answers accessible within one click. Customers want fast, helpful information.

9. Requiring sign-ups first

Forcing users to sign up on a company site before they can access can deter engagement. It puts an artificial hurdle between customers and the company's products. According to user-experience blog UX Movement, aggressive sign-up forms make readers hesitant to divulge personal information for fear of receiving spam. In many cases, consumers assume the value they'll receive won’t be worth the price they pay in sharing an email address. Make each visit count and do not corner users into doing anything they're not comfortable doing.

10. Audio or video the autoplays.

One way to surely annoy a site’s visitors is to set audio and video on pages to autoplay. In an editorial,Troy Dreier, senior associate editor of StreamingMedia.com, wrote, “Sites are overusing autoplay, and it reflects badly on the whole online video industry.” Unfortunately, publishers, desperate for revenue, are still happy to deliver autoplay ads. To minimize disruptions to the reader experience, limit a clip to five seconds or less or offer a pause or stop button if it runs longer.

11. Painfully slow load times.

Digital audiences are impatient. Even if a website is filled with incredibly captivating media, it may experience high bounce rates if pages take too long to load for readers. Visitors highly value their time, so build a fast website that caters to their needs at lightning speed. Compressing images and large files is an easy way to guarantee quicker load times. Use a tool like Smush.it to shrink files and optimize a site’s performance.

5 Interesting Ways to Use Skype

2014-11-07T13:56:00.001-08:00

Skype does more than give you a free way to talk online. In fact, Skype has plenty of handy features that can help you manage your small business no matter where you are or what technology you use. We've collected the best kept secrets to help you harness the power of Skype for your small business.

Skype: Anytime, Anywhere, Any Device

Skype is a universal application, and it runs on just about any operating system and device you can imagine: PC, Mac and Linux; desktops and laptops, tablets, phones, smart TVs and even the Xbox. Skype doesn’t cost anything to download and use, although some add-on features will cost you.

Additionally, in many situations you can use Skype without anyone knowing it. As far as the people you are talking to are concerned, you could be in your office at your desk when you are, in fact, sitting on the beach on the other side of the world.

5 Things You Didn't Know Skype Could Do

1. Cutting Small Business Phone Costs

Skype-to-Skype calls are free, but they require pre-planning because you and the person you're talking to each have to use Skype. However, if you buy Skype Credit or sign up for a Skype subscription service, you can use Skype to call both landline and mobile phones anywhere in the world—and still cut small business phone costs in the process..

Even in your own country, the per-minute cost for a Skype call is typically much less than your telephone provider would charge. And, if you're sunning yourself on the beach in a foreign climate you'll find Skype usually costs a whole lot less than the price your telco charges for international roaming. Learn more aboutSkype rates and payment options.

2. Training Online with Skype

Skype is a great tool for online training. Skype calls can combine audio with video and let you see the other person on the call. And if you have access to a video camera, they can see you too. Up to 10 people can participate at once, and this service is currently available for a range of devices (including desktops, laptops, Xbox, and tablets) with mobile support coming soon.

You can also share screens using Skype, which lets you see the other person's screen, and you can even operate their screen using your mouse. This makes Skype handy for providing (and receiving) technical help, and for collaborative and training purposes. If you need to share files, click the plus symbol on the screen, and you can upload a file to share with all participants.

3. Send a SMS Text Without a Phone

Even if you aren't using a mobile phone you can send an SMS text to anyone via Skype. This feature also comes in handy if your phone's keypad is too small for you to type comfortably; use Skype to type a message with your computer's keyboard. You'll need some Skype Credit, as this is a for-fee feature.

Launch Skype, and click the Call button. From the flag dropdown list, select the country that you want to SMS and type the local number in that country. Instead of clicking to make a phone call, click the SMS button and type your SMS message. The cost of the message appears underneath the message line—click to send the message when you're done.

4. Look Like a Local

Skype makes it easy for you to have a presence in another country via a local Skype number. If you have clients in the UK, for example, you can buy a UK number through Skype. Give that number to your clients so they can call a UK number at UK call rates to talk to you. When they call you, the call will come to your Skype account. If being connected to Skype 24/7 isn't convenient you can use Skype call forwarding to send all calls to your mobile or landline.

You pay for the Skype UK number and the cost of forwarding calls from Skype to your phone. If the impression of being "local" is important to your business, this option is easy to set up and fairly inexpensive. Skype numbers cost $5 per month for a 12 month subscription and per-minute call forwarding charges vary.Learn more about Skype's online numbers.

5. Call from Website

Place a Skype Button on your website or blog, and visitors can click it to call you or send you a message. These buttons offer a one-click way for customers or team members to contact you regardless of your location.

You can configure the button to let site visitors call you, message you, or both. Because they're calling your Skype number you can answer the call via Skype, or you can have the call forwarded to your mobile or landline. You can also have Skype answer the call—if you sign up for Skype voice mail. If you decide to use this service, remember to change your Skype settings; you must configure Skype to let you receive calls from people who aren't on your contact list. You make that change via the Skype Options in the Privacy Settings tab.

How to Make the Windows Taskbar Thumbnails Bigger (Without Software)

2014-11-07T13:32:00.000-08:00

When you hover your mouse pointer over a button in the taskbar, Windows shows you a preview of that window by default, but that preview is usually really small. Luckily with a quick registry hack, we can make those thumbnails bigger.

The great thing about this tip is that it doesn’t require downloading some shifty utility from some website that you probably shouldn’t trust. And once you’re done, the thumbnails will stop being tiny and actually be useful.

How to Change the Size of the Taskbar Thumbnails

Start by using WIN + R to open the Run dialog, type regedit.exe, hit enter, and then browse down through to the following registry key:


HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\

       Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Taskband

Once you are there, right-click on the right-hand side and choose New -> 32-bit DWORD, name it MinThumbSizePx and give it a Decimal value of 500 or less. This value will be in pixels, as you can imagine.

Once you’ve made this edit, you’ll need to restart Explorer, which can be done by logging out quickly, or using the secret method for restarting Explorer, by right-clicking on the Start Menu while holding down the CTRL + SHIFT keys. In Windows 7, you’ll need to do this on the Start Menu itself, while in Windows 8 or 10 you’ll do it on the Taskbar itself.

Once you’ve exited out of Explorer, your Taskbar will disappear, so use the CTRL + SHIFT + ESC keyboard combination to bring up Task Manager, go to File -> Run, and then type explorer and hit the Enter key.

Just like that, your taskbar thumbnails will be bigger. Although you could have just logged out and back in.

How to Create Custom Chrome Web App Shortcuts For Your Favorite Websites

2014-11-07T13:20:00.000-08:00

Google is now pushing Chrome packaged apps, but many Chrome apps are still shortcuts to websites. You can make your own custom web apps that function as shortcuts if the website you want isn’t available in the Chrome Web Store.

These Chrome web apps will also appear in the Chrome app launcher on Windows, Mac, Linux, and Chrome OS. You’ll be able to open them from the launcher and set them to always open as a window or pinned tab — you can’t do that with standard bookmarks.

This is different from creating taskbar and desktop shortcuts, allowing websites to run in their own windows. You can do that for any website.

Create a Custom Web App

To do this, we’ll essentially be creating the simplest kind of Chrome web app from scratch. All you really need is an icon and a web address.

First, create a new folder on your computer for your web app.

Next, create a new text file named manifest.json inside your new folder.

Open the manifest.json file in any text editor — Notepad, for example. Copy and paste the following text into it:

{

“manifest_version”: 2,

“name”: “Website Name“,

“description”: “Description of website“,

“version”: “1.0”,

“icons”: {

“128”: “128.png”

},

“app”: {

“urls”: [

"http://example.com/"

],

“launch”: {

“web_url”: “http://example.com/”

}

},

“permissions”: [

"unlimitedStorage",

"notifications"

]

}

Change the bolded parts of the example code, replacing the website’s name, description, and URLs. For example, if you wanted to launch How-To Geek, you’d fill in “How-To Geek” in the name field, enter any description you like, and use the URL http://howtogeek.com.

Next, find a 128×128 PNG image file that will be used as the website’s logo. If you don’t have an image that’s exactly the right size, you can crop and resize a larger image with an image editor like Paint.NET.

Save the image file with the name 128.png in the folder you created.

Finally, open Chrome’s extensions page at chrome://extensions/. Enable the Developer mode checkbox and click the Load unpacked extension button.

Browse to the folder you created and click OK — Chrome will install the web app you just created.

With the app installed, you can launch it from the new tab page, customize how it will open by right-clicking it, or launch it from the Chrome app launcher.

You can also click the Pack extension button to package the extension as a single installable .crx file. You can distribute this file to other people so they can install it, too.

Locally installed Chrome web apps and extensions won’t sync between your computers with Chrome Sync. To save time in the future, you may want to back up your web app folders or .crx files so you can easily install them on other computers.

The Quick and Ugly Way

You can also add custom shortcuts to your new tab page by dragging a bookmark from the bookmarks bar to the grid of icons.

Unfortunately, the large icon will be rather ugly, without a proper name or icon. This bookmark will function just like a standard bookmark app, but there’s no way to tweak it and make it look better.

Ideally, Google would extend the drag-and-drop functionality with a way to rename these custom shortcuts and easily assign better icons. For now, we’ll have to make do with the manual solution.

How To: Create a Facebook app shortcut

2014-11-06T01:42:00.001-08:00

The Facebook app is one of the most popular ones in Windows 8x, especially in tablets. With all of the latest tweaks, using the Windows Start screen is not the chore it used to be but some people still prefer using the desktop to reach their apps. If you are one of those people, you can create a shortcut for the app and then place it wherever you like, including the taskbar for quick and easy access. In case you had not realized already, the Facebook app is not included with Windows. You will have to go through the Store to download and install it first.

Go to your desktop, right click on an empty area and select New > Shortcut. Type or copy and paste in the following command in the first field:

explorer message-facebook-com:

Click on Next, give the shortcut an appropriate name and click on Finish. You are now free to customize the shortcut in any way you want and place it somewhere that is convenient for you.

How To: Use unauthorized Google Chrome extensions

2014-11-06T01:07:00.001-08:00

Since Google has decided to keep all unauthorized and unapproved Chrome extensions out of your browser, there was plenty of outrage from the tech community that likes to have choice in what they do which is obviously the appeal for a lot of Google products anyway. Still, the company stands its ground and there is indeed the very plausible defense that gullible and inexperienced users are protected much better this way.

As a result of these policies, installing an extension directly from a third-party website is no longer possible when using Chrome. Users instead have to download and install the extensions manually and I am here to show you how.

How to install third-party unapproved extensions in your Google Chrome

1. Go to the website that hosts the extension and download it in your computer.

2. Click on the menu (three-lined hamburger icon at the top right corner) in Chrome.

3. Select Tools or More Tools.

4. Select Extensions.

5. Find the .crx extension file you downloaded in step 1 and drag and drop it into the Extensions window in Chrome.

6. A window will pop up listing the permissions that the app requires and requesting your confirmation for its installation. Confirm your choice and the extension will be added.

How to install apps that require NPAPI plugin

1. Get yourself to the Chrome Extension Downloader website.

2. Click on the link that reads Click here to get our Chrome Extension to download them easily!

3. Install the extension like I showed you.

4. You are now free to download and install any extensions that require the NPAPI plugin and they will no longer give you an error.

Facebook's government user data requests up 24%

2014-11-04T23:41:00.001-08:00

Requests by governments for Facebook's user data are up by nearly a quarter in the first half of this year compared to the previous six months.

Global government requests were up by 24% to almost 35,000 in the first six months, the social media giant said.

The amount of Facebook content restricted because of local laws also rose about 19% in the same period.

News of the increase comes as Facebook fights its largest ever US court order to hand over data from 400 people.

Photographs, private messages and other information involving people in a benefit fraud trial were given to a New York court last year, but the request was only made public in August.

"We're aggressively pursuing an appeal to a higher court to invalidate these sweeping warrants and to force the government to return the data it has seized," the social media giant said in a blog on Tuesday.

The world's largest social network also said that they "scrutinize" every government request for legal sufficiency and "push back hard when we find deficiencies or are served with overly broad requests."

Privacy

Facebook has been under fire for its use of user data in recent years, fuelling online privacy concerns.

Last month, Facebook admitted that it would change the way it does research on users after a controversial experiment where it manipulated some users newsfeeds to affect their emotions.

Meanwhile, the tech giant has rolled out a series of features this year to help users protect their personal information.

In April, chief executive Mark Zuckerberg introduced new features that allowed users to limit the amount of personal information they share with third-party mobile apps.

In 2012, Facebook had settled privacy charges with US authorities over a case that it had deceived users and forced them to share more personal information than they had intended.

In September, Google reported a 15% increase in the number of requests in the first half of this year compared to the prior six months, and a 150% rise in the last five years, from governments around the world to reveal user information for criminal investigations.

Microsoft partners with Dropbox for online file-sharing

2014-11-04T23:12:00.000-08:00

(Reuters) - Microsoft Corp said it teamed up with online file-sharing company Dropbox Inc to allow Office software users to manage and share files through Dropbox's website and mobile app.

Microsoft said the functionality would be included in the next updates to the Office mobile apps, to be rolled out in the next few weeks, and online accessibility would be available in the first half of 2015.

Microsoft already has a file-sharing service called OneDrive, but partnering with Dropbox will allow it to tap more than 200 million users of the Silicon Valley startup's services.

How To: Transfer You Photos From My iPhone to My PC?

2014-11-03T13:57:00.004-08:00

It’s easy to transfer photos from an iPhone to your PC. Once stored on your computer, you can view the pictures, print them, or store them for posterity. There are several ways to do this; we’ll explain two of the simplest methods.

Transfer photos from an iPhone to your computer for safekeeping. (biglike/iStock/Getty Images)

Step 1:

Connect your iPhone to the PC using your iPhone’s USB cable.

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Step 2:

After the phone connects (you might need to confirm a message that you “trust” your PC), open File Explorer or Windows Explorer, depending upon your version of Windows (and which is, put simply, just any file folder) on your computer.

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Download iPhone Transfer

Transfer iPhone Pictures to PC/Mac. Just 1 Step. Also Music Contact etc

ios-to-pc-mac.wondershare.net

Step 3:

In the Navigation pane on the left side of the file folder, click Computer. You should see your iPhone appear as a device listed in the Portable Devices section in the folder window.

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Step 4:

Double click the icon for your iPhone.

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Step 5:

You’ll see another icon for your phone’s internal storage. Double click that.

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Step 6:

Finally, you will see your phone’s photo folder, probably labeled DCIM. Double click.

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Step 7:

All of your photos are stored in subfolders. You can copy these folders to your computer’s hard drive, or open folders one at a time and only copy the images you want to keep on your PC.

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Mozilla Firefox – Download Methods and Also How to Setup On IOS, Android and PC

2014-11-03T13:48:00.002-08:00

Mozilla Firefox – Download Methods and Also How to Setup On IOS, Android and PC

Mozilla Firefox was introduced and accepted with open arms when it first launched. Since its release, it has grown to become one of the most used browsers, especially on PCs. It has overshadowed Internet Explorer and it is a great competition for Google Chrome and other leading browsers.

Features That Make Mozilla A Leading Option for Many

Easy To Customize

Mozilla Firefox offers users plenty of customization options. It is possible to have a personal homepage that can be accessed each time the browser is launched. With customization, users also get an array of search engines to use.

While the customization option does not come with too many features, it offers the most important ones and still remains easy to use for anyone.

Private Browsing Abilities

There are times when you do not want anyone else to trace your browsing history. Mozilla Firefox comes with an option for private browsing. When you use this browsing option, the browsing history is not recorded and will thus be unavailable as soon as you are done browsing.

The Add-Ons

Mozilla Firefox is one of the very few browsers that offer the widest range of add-ons to choose from. With the wide variety of add-ons, users have the option of choosing whichever they prefer to make their browsing even easier and more fun.

Security Features

Security is an important aspect to look at when it comes to browsing the internet. Mozilla Firefox offers immaculate and reliable security features for all users. Firefox comes with filters and protection mechanisms that ensure the user remains safe when browsing the net.

This way, Firefox will alert all users whenever they visit websites with malicious programs or sites that are not safe.

How to Setup Mozilla on Android

Downloading and installing Firefox on your Android device is quite easy:

Go to mozilla.org/mobile and tap once on the download button. Google Play will open the installation page for Mozilla Firefox installation.

Next, tap on the ‘install’ button and accept the permission for the download process to commence. Once this is done, downloading will begin.

After the process completes, tap on ‘open’ to start using the browser.

Close Google Play and access Mozilla app from your app collection whenever you need to use it.

Remember to update the Mozilla Firefox app whenever an update is available.

How to Setup Mozilla Firefox on PC

Before you start setting up and installing the Mozilla Firefox browser on your PC, it important to ensure that it meets all system requirements to run Mozilla Firefox.

Go to Firefox Download Page where you will find the latest version of Mozilla Firefox. You can go to the page using any browser.

You will find a green download link, click on it to download the Mozilla installer. This may take a few minutes, depending on your system’s speed.

Click on ‘run’ to start the installation process.

Follow the installation steps as offered by the wizard.

Once the process completes, click on ‘finish’ and close the installation window.

The Mozilla Firefox icon will appear on your desktop. Double click on it to start using it.

Mozilla Firefox For iOS

Unfortunately, it is still not possible to run the Mozilla Firefox browser on iOS devices. This is because iOS is not open source. Until iOS becomes open source, there is really no way of running Mozilla on the platform and there is no Mozilla for iOS.

Google updates Calendar with closer tie-in to Gmail

2014-11-03T13:40:00.002-08:00

Google designs new version of Calendar to act more like an assistant

Google today rolled out a new version of its Calendar app, connecting it more closely with Gmail and designing it to work more like a personal assistant.

"It takes a lot of work to stay on top of your schedule," wrote Ian Leader, a Google product manager in a blog post. "You have to manually enter that hotel or dinner reservation, then update it if your plans change. You have to hunt around for addresses and phone numbers, then add them to your events. And if you're on a mobile device, you might just give up on these kinds of tasks entirely."

Calendars, he added, should do a better job, especially on mobile devices, and that is what they focused on. Google said the update is its biggest to the Calendar app since it was launched. The app came out in beta in 2006 and was officially launched in 2009.

Google Calendar is a free time-management application.

One of the main updates to Calendar is a closer tie-in with Gmail, Google's free, cloud-based email service.

"Every time you book a flight, buy concert tickets, or make a hotel reservation, odds are you get an email with dates, times and other important details," Leader wrote. "But who has the time (or patience) to copy and paste all this into their calendar? In the new Calendar app these kinds of emails become events automatically, complete with things like flight numbers and check-in times."

He added that Calendar events from emails should stay updated in real time even if, for example, an email arrives stating that a flight has been delayed.

Since not all calendar items arrive in emails, the new version of Calendar will take note of your typical appointments and make suggestions as you begin typing.

For instance, if you usually go to yoga class with your friend Renee and you begin typing in y-o-g, then Calendar will suggest filling in the rest with Yoga with Renee, along with the date, time and place.

The new version of Calendar, available today, is designed to work on all Android 4.1+ devices. The app can be downloaded from Google Play.

Google said a version for the iPhone is in the works but did not give a release date.

Get Gmail 5.0 for Android right now

2014-11-03T13:31:00.000-08:00

Anticipating the Material makeover for one of Google's most beloved apps? The wait is over, and here's how to get a copy for your Android device.

The newest version of the Gmail app features auto-updating email threads, the ability to add accounts from other email providers and Exchange support. This means that you'll no longer need to use two separate apps to access your email.

Want to try it out? Luckily, Android Police has just acquired the Android package (APK) of Gmail 5.0, and has shared it on its APK Mirror Web site. This means you can get a copy of it now and don't have to wait for the update through Google Play.

The APK is signed by Google, which guarantees its authenticity.

Here's how to get started:

Setup

Grab a copy of Gmail 5.0 from APKMirror. Once the download finishes, tap the notification and then press the Install button. This APK is signed and authentic, meaning that it will upgrade the version of Gmail you currently have installed.

After the app introduction, you'll be prompted to sign in. You can use your current Gmail if you want to get into the app right away or you can add accounts from other providers. The new version of Gmail supports accounts from Yahoo, Outlook, AOL Mail and others that use IMAP/POP. However, these accounts will not use push notifications, and you'll be asked to set a sync interval.

If you add multiple accounts, you can switch between them by opening the left-hand slide-out menu and swiping across your profile banner. You can also tap the small arrow and choose an account from the list.

Exchange support

If you want to add Exchange support to your Gmail client, you'll need to download an additional APK.

If you installed Gmail 5.0 first, you may need to force stop your Gmail app in order for it to recognize the Exchange capabilities. This can be done by going to Settings > Applications > Gmail > Force stop.

After this, you'll be able to add your Exchange accounts just like the others above.

This new version is very similar to the last, save for the Material design and under-the-hood account support.