Disrupt NYC 2012 begins in approximately 12 hours (tickets here).

But it’s been two years since Soluto, the software that will make your computer simply run better, took home the Disrupt Cup at the TC Disrupt NYC Battlefield in 2010. The company entered the competition with a total of $7.8 million, and after walking away with the $50,000 round, secured another $10.2 million in Series B from Index Ventures for a total of $18 million in funding under their belts.

It’s been a wild ride, starting with about 400 users as the then-stealth company stepped on stage, and only a few days later they were dealing with hundreds of thousands of users. In fact, CEO and co-founder Tomer Dvir said that the platform almost had trouble dealing with all the data being sent back by the flood of new users.

But, in his own words, “Disrupt is one of the best ways to release.”

Here’s the interview I had with Mr. Dvir in its entirety:

TechCrunch: What was it like to launch your product on stage at Disrupt?

Soluto: The amazing part was that we had about 400 users when we launched. It took a really long time to develop the product because it’s complicated and hardcore. It’s something that sits deep inside the OS. That 400 users was mostly friends and family and people we asked to install the product.

But just one minute after we came off the stage we turned it on, and suddenly were bombarded with quantities of users we couldn’t imagine before that. It was way beyond anything we were prepared for. It’s not just jumping into deep waters, it’s being pulled down into the deep water.

We weren’t really ready for that. We thought we were, but reality struck and we realized we had never learned to scale before. The challenge with our system is that every user’s machine starts sending us data. We were flooded with way more data than we had imagined. We knew that coming to Disrupt would get us some traction, and we expected maybe tens of thousands of users.

It ended up being around 50 times more than that.

It was a pretty awesome experience, launching on stage at Disrupt. We went from being with less than 1,000 users to several hundreds of thousands in a matter of days or maybe a week. We went from being nameless — no one knew what we were doing — to being known. We felt like stars at the show. People got connected to the idea, to the vision.

TechCrunch: You guys obviously won at Disrupt. It’s been two years, so what’s happened since, and how did Disrupt shape the past two years of your company history?

Soluto: I guess we learned what it means to be a company. Without Disrupt, it would have been the same growth but much, much slower. We might have gotten press here or there, but suddenly Disrupt was like a leap. A shortcut. I can’t even estimate how much time and money it would have taken to get to that state as quickly as we did.

Our biggest challenge since then has been scaling. We had to understand how to grow and not gradually, because on Day One it was already crazy.

We wanted to grow the company and get the right people. We got some amazing support, kept developing, and kept progressing and re-writing stuff.

We also had to learn how to answer reporters. We had to accelerate all processes in a company including growing our talent. We were around 20 people at launch, and now we’re at 50 employees.

Outside of the technical part, it was the first touch of the company with the press and blogosphere. The New York Times approached us. Everyone was suddenly approaching us. On Day One we were swimming with the big fish, and dealing with the press was just another thing we had to learn quickly.

TechCrunch: Do you think that winning Disrupt made it easier for you to get funded and/or bring in new talent?

Soluto: Winning or participating won’t get you funded, but it gets you the exposure you need to get there. If you have a good company you can get funded, but Disrupt works as a good foot in the door because you aren’t so nameless. VC’s meet a thousand companies a year, and after launching or winning at Disrupt you become one of the more interesting hundred or fifty, instead of just one of thousands.

TechCrunch: It seems that launching your product on a stage at a huge conference like Disrupt might be a little intimidating. Were you worried or do you think it served the company well?

Soluto: It may not fit everyone, but it was an awesome experience for us. There are several advantages.

The first is that you have a concrete deadline. It’s a good thing for a company to have something you can’t move. You can always move PR and even a TechCrunch post, but Disrupt is a freaking competition which people are trying to get into and people have bought tickets to. It’s going to happen no matter what, so you need to be ready on time.

In terms of timing, we came close to being able to release a product a few months before Disrupt and then we heard about the conference and it all aligned. It was perfect.

I don’t know if I would postpone a release for three months if it wasn’t the perfect opportunity.

Getting an on-stage launch also sends a company into the extreme. It forces you to be ready for an unexpected amount of users.

There’s also the advice you’re getting. Having Marissa Mayer and Michael Arrington see your product and give feedback, and sometimes tear it apart, it only pushes the entire company to get some awesome results on time.

It’s one of the best ways to release, I can’t think of anything to compare.

TechCrunch: I find the Battlefield to be intensely emotional. Obviously a lot of good came out of it for Soluto, but how did you feel up there on stage?

Soluto: All of us are going to remember it as a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It took two and a half years to release the product. Working so long and putting it out into the world in a single day is an amazing experience.

TechCrunch: Care to share any user/download numbers with us?

Soluto: Well, currently we have two products. The original product was a local download, and since launch we’ve hit 3 million downloads. We’re not sharing numbers around our web product right now, but it’s been only four and a half months and we’re definitely impressed with the numbers. We’ve really had no paid marketing, ads, or PR, so we’re certainly pleased.

TechCrunch: What advice would you give to people about to present their products at Disrupt NYC 2012?

Soluto: Acknowledge that you’re sitting in front of senior people that see good and bad companies. You have to be humble. You’re listening to people who have a shallow view of the product, but they have instincts and insights, so you must be in listening mode.

Don’t think you have all the answers. It’s fine if you don’t. Try to give your insight but really, really listen and see if there’s something they might say which is smart. Some of the smartest people around are the ones who listen.

We saw many companies present before us and they were looking for fast answers. We thought about that and felt that it wasn’t the way. Listen, be open, and make sure they understand the service and product that you’ve shown and then it’s up to you to think about the different angles.

Disrupt NYC is set to be one of our biggest shows yet, with returns from Michael Arrington and MG Siegler, along with a variety of big names like Marissa Mayer, Sarah Tavel, Fred Wilson, and David Lee and more. It’s going to be huge.

If you’re interested in checking out Disrupt and/or the Hackathon yourself, tickets are still on sale here and info on the Hackathon can be found here. Companies who want to join the Battleground can apply for the last remaining spots in Startup Alley. You can find the full agenda here.

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I’m not here to tell you which marketing firm to use. Rather, I’d like to offer you some pointers on what to look for when hiring a marketing firm. I believe the search starts with you. Ask yourself some foundational questions to get a handle on what you are looking for.

Those questions include:

• Who is your target audience?
• Where are they geographically?
• Where and how do they access information?
• What do you hope to achieve?

Now give some thought to what kind of marketing help you need. This can change as your business changes. You may start in one place and then realize you need other things.

For example, starting with branding makes sense. Once you have your brand identity you may be ready for help with advertising or PR. So, what do you need right now? This is a critical question because not all marketing firms are created equal. Some specialize and some are generalists. Some excel in certain areas and others offer a combination of services:

• Branding:  logo design, business cards, literature, and web design.
• Social Marketing:  Facebook Fan Pages, LinkedIn business pages, Twitter accounts, Pinterest, and overall social marketing plans and execution.
• Advertising: print, radio, TV, billboards, or internet ads.
• Public relations: press releases, event coverage, securing interviews on TV, radio, or internet radio, and gaining exposure for product launches, grand openings, anniversaries.

Determine what you need right now. You may also want to think about your marketing needs along a continuum – what you need now, a few months from now, next year. This can help you when you are interviewing potential firms.

One of the most critical parts of finding marketing help is doing your research. There are so many companies in this space. Finding the right one(s) takes a commitment of time and energy on your part.

A good deal of marketing is subjective. They may be considered one of the greatest firms in town, but if you don’t like their design or end product, they aren’t right for you.

Explore the following:

1. Type of firm: do you want a firm that specializes in the type of marketing help you need right now or would you prefer a firm that covers a variety of marketing methods?

2. Do you want a firm that has expertise in your industry or is that not an issue for you?

3. Does their location matter to you? Would you prefer a firm that is local?

4. What is your budget? Is it realistic for what you need? How does that limit the prospective marketing firm pool?

5. Method value: what is their viewpoint on the various marketing methods ? For example, if you want to gain national exposure and believe that gaining interviews on internet radio is a good marketing venue for you, does the firm you are looking at share your belief? AND, do they have that expertise?

Now that you know what you are looking for it’s time to interview potential candidates. Find 3-5 companies that look like they fit your needs. Develop a list of questions you can ask to divine whether they really are the right match for you. Those questions include asking for samples of their work, asking for links to sites they’ve created if you are looking for web design, and how they manage their clients.

If you are looking for help with search engine optimization or search engine marketing, ask them how they handle this for their clients. You’ll find some companies that haven’t really gained a grip on how to help companies with today’s page rankings. The more you know, the better off you’ll be.

Interview some of their clients. Ask about timeliness and follow through. How long have they been in business? How long have they been doing the kind of marketing you need? Remember that a lot of firms have had to adapt to the new landscape. Some have done this well and others, not so much. By asking specific, pointed questions you can find out how skilled they are, and therefore, how well they’ll be able to deliver what you need.

Example: I have an associate who needed an e-commerce website. She had very specific needs and was quite clear about what they were. She met a web designer at a networking event who told her they could do the job. She didn’t take the time to ask her questions, or research the sites they’d done for other clients. She just hired them. Not only did they have trouble delivering the end product, but their communication was lacking. They didn’t understand some of the basic things she asked for. By the time she realized they were the wrong firm, she’d invested months with them. Those were months she was without her e-commerce website.

And by all means, trust your gut! If you don’t feel like they are strong with their answers, or there’s something about their work that just doesn’t sit right with you, walk away. You don’t have to be able to quantify the feeling. Just the fact that you have it is reason enough to look elsewhere.

Finding the right marketing help is something that takes time, energy, and research. You have to learn some things about the industry so you can identify the good firms. Anyone can tell a good story and do a good sales job. What you want to know is how well can they deliver on what you need. Marketing is a field that is changing quickly.

Marketing firms need to stay ahead of the curve, adapt to the new environment, and share their level of expertise honestly with their prospects. You, as the prospect, need to be able to discern who is doing that, and who isn’t.

Searching Photo via Shutterstock

From Small Business Trends

Pointers on Hiring a Marketing Firm for Your Small Business

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There are so many digital tools for your job search, but what about services that give you the edge when you’re ready to close the deal? Even after you’ve found the perfect position and impressed your potential employer, there is still a major step you must take before you celebrate your new job — providing references.

Sure, you may have appeared stellar on paper and charming in person, but a potential employer is going to want a coworker or superior to corroborate your professional track record and your stated skills. And no matter how prepared you are to give the names and contact information for those who can vouch for you, it always becomes a scramble.

“For the job seekers, a reference check is a black box — you don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes and anything can go wrong,” says Terefic Founder and CEO Emmanuel Toutain.

Terefic wants to change that. Instead of hustling for the right contact information to give your potential employer or sending out frantic emails to everyone you’ve ever worked with to find a reference that will work, Terefic’s platform puts the timetable in your hands. Simply fill out your profile and request a reference via email from former managers, employers and coworkers. Then, your references will fill out a given list of questions from Terefic and send it back to your profile. The written references are on your profile but they remain confidential — you are only able to see a ratings system that gauges how descriptive each reference is compared to the total number you’ve stockpiled.

“We’re bringing references into the Internet age,” Toutain explains. “The employer doesn’t have to play phone-tag anymore, and the job seekers don’t risk losing the job because of a bad phone call.”

Toutain says he started Terefic when he tried unsuccessfully to help an international intern get a reference for good work at his company. With no manager willing to commit to the time constraints of providing a live voice on behalf of a former employee overseas, Toutain felt compelled to give a written reference to the intern that spoke on his performance. However, he says he was concerned that companies would be skeptical of the reference and not accept it.

“For my intern, it would have meant the world,” Toutain says. “I had a good intention, but it wasn’t very practical.”

As a result, Terefic is all about personal privacy and security for both the users and their potential employers. Toutain says that job seekers can feel good about knowing their reference information is safely handed over to potential employers, and employers can trust in Terefic for authentic references that aren’t influenced by public visibility. The service has only been around for about a month, but Toutain says that the company has experienced positive feedback from users and employers.

“For HR people, they find it beneficial — reference-checking is a painful process,” Toutain explains. “And the job seekers like the idea. A lot of people are looking for jobs and anything that can help is best to have, so the feedback and the reactions have been positive.”

Toutain says the company’s philosophy is to aid those looking to find employment, and he’s ready to tailor the service to serve that priority. He adds that his service comes before money, and that the overall goal of the company is to give job seekers an advantage over the competition.

“I sincerely believe that our site can make a positive difference for the job-seekers,” Toutain says. “A good reference can carry a lot of weight in the hiring decision.”

Would you use Terefic in your job toolbox? Let us know in the comments.

Social Media Job Listings

Every week we post a list of social media and web job opportunities. While we publish a huge range of job listings, we’ve selected some of the top social media job opportunities from the past two weeks to get you started. Happy hunting!

• Vice President of Business Development at Attention in New York City
• Sr. Art Director U.S. at Digitas in Boston
• SEM Specialist at DrChrono in Mountain View, Calif.

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(This is a preview of the article from Android Advices Click on the Title to read the entire entry.)

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Great marketing strategies never go out of style for a reason – because they WORK.  Word of mouth is one of those strategies.  It doesn’t cost a fortune and it works like crazy.  Then, when you add the latest social media tools, you have word-of-mouth marketing on steroids.

Enter Andy Sernovitz (@sernovitz) , the leader of SocialMedia.org, the community for social media leaders at the world’s greatest brands and WordofMouth.org, where marketers and entrepreneurs learn to be great at word of mouth marketing.  Andy taught word of mouth marketing at Northwestern University (home of the great marketing guru Philip Kotler for all you die-hard marketing enthusiasts) and he also taught internet entrepreneurship at the Wharton School of Business.  Whew – that was a mouthful.  To this mix, get ready to add Word of Mouth MarketingL How Smart Companies Get People Talking.

I received an advanced review copy and couldn’t wait to dig in because this is one of these books that I would buy without blinking an eye because it’s also got a forward by Seth Godin (@ThisIsSethsBlog) and an Afterword by Guy Kawasaki (@guykawasaki).  It’s like getting three great marketing minds in one book!  Who could resist?

What makes Word of Mouth Marketing Worth Reading?

Every time I receive a book (especially one on a topic I’m nuts about) I ask myself three questions:

1. What sets it apart from the myriad other books on the same topic?
2. Who will get the most out of this book?
3. What will they get out of this book that will make their business more profitable?

Hopefully, my telling you this doesn’t make my future reviews predictable, rather my intent is to let you know that I read all of these books with a critical eye for usefulness and practicality.

With that in mind, let’s get to answering these questions for you.

What’s Word of Mouth Marketing Got that other Word of Mouth Marketing Books Don’t?

For starters Word of Mouth Marketing is written by a subject matter expert who happens to be a great writer.  This is a big plus in my book.  Sernovitz has both practical and academic experience on the topic and does a brilliant job of balancing his knowledge and experience with good writing that you will understand and implement without too much effort.

Rounded corners.  I know this seems silly to bring out in a book review and might only be relevant to those of you who purchase the book in physical form.  But the first thing I noticed is that it had rounded corners and a cover with texture.  When you open the book, you’ll notice that there are wonderfully engaging and interesting design elements sprinkled throughout the content.  I’m mentioning this because it proves some of the philosophy in word of mouth marketing – give them something to talk about.

Fresh ideas from the best word of mouth marketing campaigns.  Don’t underestimate the power of fresh inspiration.  Because Sernovitz has been the CEO of GasPedal, a word of mouth marketing company and created the Word of Mouth Marketing Association, you can just imagine the connections and access that he has to the most successful word of mouth marketing programs and examples.  My review copy didn’t have an index in the back so I can’t be sure that I’m correct on this – but I was THRILLED to see that Zappos and Apple and the several other over-used examples of great campaigns were NOT included in this book.  Instead, you’ll find examples of companies and campaigns that might surprise you such as Dell and Microsoft MVPs.

Who Will Get the Most out of Word of Mouth Marketing?

Entrepreneurs, solo-preneurs, and micro-business owners will get THE MOST out of this book.  The biggest challenge for you guys is that the book will throw case studies and examples at you and YOU will have to work out the details to implement them.

My recommendation is to keep a running list of ideas that you’d like to implement.  Then when you’re done with the book, go through the ideas and choose the top 3 that interest you the most.

Then for each of those top three, take about an hour to plan exactly what you would do, what has to be done and who you will need to help you put the strategy in place.  Once you’ve finished that, pick the one you can implement the quickest, easiest and cheapest way possible.  If you just pick any of them and jump in – you will struggle or implement poorly and fail.  That isn’t the author’s intention.

Marketing and product managers at larger organizations will enjoy the ideas and case studies.  But you guys might struggle with getting some of the ideas through the approval process.  I think the weeding-out and strategizing process I describe above is a good exercise for you as well.  Your management team or board of directors is open to great marketing, but you will have to map out the process, the strategies, the resources, costs and outcomes that you’re going to track.

What are YOU Going to Get Out of Word of Mouth Marketing That Will Make You Money?

This book doesn’t just have case studies and ideas – it has checklists and plan outlines that will help you get your thinking in order.  Not only that, but I’d recommend that you check out the additional resource web sites that Sernovitz includes such as: Word Of Mouth and Damn I Wish.   Both of these sites are loaded with the latest thinking and ideas on word of mouth marketing.

What’s Missing That Would Blow The Roof Off Your Experience?

This isn’t really one of my questions, but it’s becoming something that I look for and notice when it’s missing in a book or an article – what’s missing that would blow the roof off my experience?  Well, an index would be nice so that I can quickly find all the companies they listed and mentioned throughout the book.

This is getting really picky on my part.  But I’m being THIS picky because there is SO MUCH great stuff in here, I don’t want anyone to fail at implementing any of these strategies.  Maybe this would be a workbook or a course or something.  I would love to have even MORE focus and hand holding on actually creating a word of mouth strategy.  I’m thinking about getting people off of the LARGEST hump that they will encounter – getting started.  I’m sure that when you read these ideas, you will get inspired and excited, but you won’t know HOW to begin or WHAT to do first.  That’s what was missing for me.

Grab This Book And Go!

I don’t know about you – but this is a book I’m going to hang on to and keep close at hand.  My hardest decision right now is whether or not to grab the kindle/digital version to keep on my mobile devices in case I want to refer to it to generate new and creative ideas.

If you’re going to have a word of mouth marketing book for 2012 – this is the one to choose.

From Small Business Trends

Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking

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This guest post is by Sean Davis of SDavisMedia.com.

Blogs do not produce income. Simply writing and publishing content does not increase your bank account balance.

The idea that money is a direct result of blogging is a myth that the best bloggers have dismissed, but most choose to treat it as a law of the blogosphere.

What a shame.

Many new bloggers will jump out of their online careers just as quickly as they jumped into them when they realize that it’s not enough to simply create content.

There is, however, another goal for creating content. It’s not until you understand this goal that you will know how to make money from your blog.

The goal of blogging is not to earn money. It’s to earn attention—the attention of those who will, in turn, provide the revenue you’re looking for.

Why you need to focus on attention

“If you build it, they will come.” We can argue all day about whether this is true or not. No matter what, though, we should all agree that just because people come to your blog doesn’t mean that they will buy your product, sign up for your email list, click your advertisement links, or whatever it is you need them to do in order to produce income.

As a personal testimony, I created an infographic about four months ago that seemed to be pretty popular on the internet for a day or two. The blog I published it on was only about three months old, and the infographic brought me over 1,000 visitors in one day. For some, that’s nothing. For me, it was the attention I had been dreaming about.

Take a wild guess at how many email subscribers I earned from that infographic.

If you guessed zero, you’re wrong!

The answer is actually one. One lonely person out of over a thousand visitors signed up to my free newsletter, which, by the way, offered a free gift for those who signed up.

This is when I learned that blogs have the power to bring attention, however, it’s what you do with that attention that matters most.

Introducing Monroe’s Motivated Sequence

If you’ve ever taken a college-level language course or a speech or communications class, chances are you’ve been introduced to the art of persuasion.

Simply put, in the business world, whether it be brick and mortar or internet marketing, you have to know how to persuade people to take action—especially when they are visiting your blog.

Almost a century ago, Alan Monroe of Purdue University introduced a persuasion method that takes the human mind through a natural cycle of establishing a need, developing a solution to satisfy that need, and then becoming enthusiastic about implementing that solution.

There are actually five steps to this sequence:

1. Attention: The first step is to gain the attention of the target audience. You can do this with a story, a thought provoking question, or anything that makes the audience stop what they’re doing with curiosity and focus.
2. Need: This is where you explain to the target audience what their need is. This can be an obvious, well-known need, or a need that you create on the spot. Often, a need is established by giving an extreme example of some unfortunate event that should never happen again.
3. Satisfaction: Now that your target audience understands the need, it’s time for you to fly in like Superman and save the day. Provide a solution to erase that need and prevent the aforementioned unfortunate event from ever happening again.
4. Visualization: Tell your target audience exactly how your solution can be implemented and how it will solve the problem. Also, tell them how things will progress (that is, get worse) if your solution is ignored. This is where you would provide proof—preferably a previous instance in which your solution was implemented—that convinces your audience that your solution will work. Politicians do this a lot when referencing what other nations have (or have not) done, and why it is important that we make the same (or different) decisions.
5. Action: Get the target audience involved. You’ve already explained to them what the need is, how to satisfy that need, and what things will be like for them once the need is satisfied. Now, you have to convince them that they play an important role in making that change happen. In other words, you introduce an action that they can take to implement your solution.

If you take a step back and thoroughly observe TV commercials, political campaigns, sales pages, etc., you will notice that the most persuasive ones follow this sequence. Why? Because it was developed to follow your own natural thought patterns.

It was developed on the basis of human nature.

How to use this persuasion technique on your blog

What if you could use Monroe’s Motivated Sequence in every area of your blog?

From the content you produce, to your blog’s unique design, you can follow the steps in the sequence to lead your readers down a path that causes them to take action.

Derek Halpern of SocialTriggers.com enlightened me a few weeks ago on why he doesn’t write the typical “17 Things You Can Do To Blah Blah Blah” articles on his blog.

He said that he encourages the reader to focus on one action to take with each of his articles. As a result, his readers leave his blog with something they can actually implement instead of a list of options—something that’s been shown to be less effective at prompting action, by the way.

Considering Derek builds email lists like crazy, it’s safe to say that he understands human psychology and what makes people tick online.

Does he use Monroe’s Motivated Sequence? I don’t know. But imagine the results you could produce, article by article, if you focused each one of them on one specific action to take, as Derek does, and you used Monroe’s Motivated Sequence to do so.

Are the ideas flowing yet? I hope so.

Remember: blogs don’t earn money. Blogs earn attention. Once you have attention, which is nothing more than a visit to your blog, you have to know how to guide the visitor down a path that leads them to an action you’d like them to take.

Whatever your goals for your blog, you can start using Monroe’s Motivated Sequence right now. Simply break something you want your visitors to do down to one single action, and then follow the steps of the sequence.

Take a few moments to think about communications you encounter every day and how they follow this sequence. And imagine the possibilities for your blog if you can master this technique.

Sean Davis is an internet entrepreneur dedicated to constant growth and helping others. Check Sean out at SDavisMedia.com and follow him on Twitter @SDavisMedia.

Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger

Use Monroe’s Motivated Sequence to Call Your Readers to Action

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As much as we’re familiar with mobile device torture tests, they’re normally inflicted by us or otherwise not-so-voluntary. Nokia, however, has stepped up to the plate and doled out the abuse to the Lumia 900 itself with a hammer and nail, all based on a wager that the Windows Phone’s use of Gorilla Glass would hold up to Sonim-level punishment. The company’s Chris Ruble and Mike Meyers (not that Mike Myers) used a Lumia 710 as a dry run before an on-camera demo that not only saw the 900 assaulted with the hammer, but used as a blunt instrument itself — all without a crack or scratch. We imagine that other toughened-glass phones would survive the hit, and there’s every possibility that smacking the polycarbonate plastic would leave more than a scuff mark. Nokia’s test still proves that its pride and joy can withstand more than just a casual roughing up, and you can see the slightly cringe-inducing test in the video below.

Continue reading Nokia uses Lumia 900 as a hammer in a torture test, makes us wince (video)

Nokia uses Lumia 900 as a hammer in a torture test, makes us wince (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 20 May 2012 04:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Let’s face it: right now, the head nods and other rudimentary controls of Google’s Project Glass are mostly useful for looking good, sharing photos and not much else. A US patent application submitted last September and just now published, however, raises the possibility of more sophisticated control coming from your hands. A ring, a bracelet or a even a fake fingernail with an infrared-reflective layer would serve as a gesture control marker for a receiver on heads-up display glasses. Having this extra control would give the glasses-mounted computing room to grow by learning gestures, and it could even depend on multiple ornaments for more sophisticated commands — at least, if you don’t mind looking like a very nerdy Liberace. We can imagine the headaches a hand-based method might cause for very enthusiastic talkers, among other possible hiccups, so don’t be surprised if Project Glass goes without any kind of ring input. That said, we suspect that Sauron would approve.

Google patent application could give Project Glass one true ring controller to rule them all originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 May 2012 12:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s safe to say that anticipation is high for the upcoming Windows 8 Release Preview, which will become available in the first week of June. While we’re still curious to see if Microsoft can better integrate the desktop and Metro environments of its latest operating system, the company has now revealed a significant change to the desktop portion of Windows 8 — a completely restyled visual appearance. As you might remember from the Consumer Preview, window borders and widgets featured a simplified and subdued look in comparison to the glass-like materials of Aero, which Microsoft now calls “dated and cheesy.” With the latest refresh, however, the company has pushed its modernistic philosophy even further to reveal a spartan (yet functional) interface that draws less attention to the chrome elements and allows the user to focus more on content.

Microsoft’s latest reveal was made as part of a larger, retrospective look at its development of Windows and the evolution of the operating system. At every step, the company states that its emphasis has been on the overall “learnability” of the environment. As such, Microsoft claims that it’s making great strides to ensure that consumers may quickly get up to speed with the latest OS, and hints that it has a number of reveals yet to be seen. In its very next breath, however, it also emphasized people’s ability to adapt and move forward, which suggests the number of changes might not be as concilatory as some might’ve hoped. Regardless, we’ll know for sure what Microsoft has in store in just a few weeks.

Kiss Aero goodbye: Latest Windows 8 build reveals minimalistic desktop UI originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 May 2012 19:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/18/microsoft-reveals-new-windows-8-desktop-ui/

Someone in my Google+ circle previously posted a video of a user interface for tablets that made me want to throw my tablet in a box until I could have it. The design managed to pack more information on to the home screen in a much better style that turned many heads across the web.

Teknision, the company behind that tablet UI that I fell in love with, is hoping people will be just as excited as it tries to deliver a better home screen for Android tablets. Teknision is seeking $50,000 through a Kickstarter campaign so it can offer its Chameleon launcher as an Android 3.2+ app in Google Play.

Chameleon is a customizable, widget-filled home screen replacement app that fits a user’s needs based on the time of day or location. In the morning, it’s full of tweets and breaking news that get you caught up on current events; at the office, it’s a quick-look at your calendar and emails to keep you focused on work; in the evening, it has guides for entertainment. Chameleon presents a different view, along with certain groups of apps you’re likely to launch, based on the content and features that users define as relevant to a given situation. And should you need to access a different dashboard outside of its intended setting – like your work view while at home – just swipe left or right.

Teknision plans to release Chameleon to Google Play in September, but it wants to raise $50,000 through Kickstarter so it can transition Chameleon from prototype to full-fledged product. Backers who pledge at least $5 will gain access to Chameleon in August, and provide a boost to their home screen. Get more information on rewards and frequently asked questions at the Chameleon Kickstarter page.

Related Stories

• Amazon has won the Android tablet war – Kindle Fire has 54% of U.S. market share
• Sony delivers Android 4.0 to Tablet S, offers $50 rebate to new customers
• Google may work with 5 OEM partners to create multiple Nexus devices running Jelly Bean

Read Original Story:

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Someone in my Google+ circle previously posted a video of a user interface for tablets that made me want to throw my tablet in a box until I could have it. The design managed to pack more information on to the home screen in a much better style that turned many heads across the web.

Teknision, the company behind that tablet UI that I fell in love with, is hoping people will be just as excited as it tries to deliver a better home screen for Android tablets. Teknision is seeking $50,000 through a Kickstarter campaign so it can offer its Chameleon launcher as an Android 3.2+ app in Google Play.

Chameleon is a customizable, widget-filled home screen replacement app that fits a user’s needs based on the time of day or location. In the morning, it’s full of tweets and breaking news that get you caught up on current events; at the office, it’s a quick-look at your calendar and emails to keep you focused on work; in the evening, it has guides for entertainment. Chameleon presents a different view, along with certain groups of apps you’re likely to launch, based on the content and features that users define as relevant to a given situation. And should you need to access a different dashboard outside of its intended setting – like your work view while at home – just swipe left or right.

Teknision plans to release Chameleon to Google Play in September, but it wants to raise $50,000 through Kickstarter so it can transition Chameleon from prototype to full-fledged product. Backers who pledge at least $5 will gain access to Chameleon in August, and provide a boost to their home screen. Get more information on rewards and frequently asked questions at the Chameleon Kickstarter page.

Related Stories

• Amazon has won the Android tablet war – Kindle Fire has 54% of U.S. market share
• Sony delivers Android 4.0 to Tablet S, offers $50 rebate to new customers
• Google may work with 5 OEM partners to create multiple Nexus devices running Jelly Bean

Read Original Story:

http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/30428658/0/androinica~Chameleon-is-the-best-looking-Android-tablet-UI-weve-seen-yet-and-its-seeking-backers-on-Kickstarter/

We live in a time-shifting world. DVR’s play TV shows whenever we want, music is streamed on-demand, and reading apps allow us to bookmark articles to peruse at our pace. But which is the best app? Which reading queue app reigns supreme when comparing Instapaper, Readability, Pocket (formerly Read It Later), and Pulse? Good question.

Androinica.com has reviewed most of these apps previously, but all have been updated since then. Below is a look at the top apps that allow users to bookmark articles and have them formatted for easy reading on mobile devices. Compatibility and performance may vary across devices, but a comparison chart below compares major features. Disagree with the findings or think an app was left out? Let us know in the comments section below.

Papermill (Instapaper)

Instapaper ranks among one of the highest-rated reading queue apps, but its creator is shamelessly anti-Android and refuses to support the OS. Papermill steps in to support Instapaper with a great grey, blue, and white design. (Users can switch to a dark mode or adjust text size.) Papermill imports a user’s Instapaper list and can filter according to Likes and items that have been archived. Content is available offline, and an article can be opened in a browser. Users can set a download limit (10-100) and a time of day when to automatically sync with Instapaper.

The downside of Papermill is that it requires an Instapaper subscription. It’s tough to warrant the $3.99 purchase when one considers you’ll have to consider spending a $1 per month to continue using it. Sure, it’s only a buck, but it’s still a buck more than you’ll pay to the other apps. The only reason to buy Papermill is if you love Instapaper and need support on Android, because this is the best-looking Android Instapaper app around.

Pulse

Pulse is known more as a stylized reader for RSS feeds and pre-programmed channels built around interests or subjects. However, people often fail to realize that the app actually has a built-in component that can import a reading list saved from the desktop. Connecting the app to a Pulse.me account allows the user to click a bookmarklet in their browser and automatically add articles to a special section of the app that organizes a queue according to date. Interestingly enough, it even can import from Instapaper, Pocket, Readability, or Evernote. Users can mark items as favorites, share to other apps, and adjust the text size or look of the basic design.

The downside of Pulse is that it lacks the intricate filters and tags available in the other reading apps – it’s a last come, first displayed list. The reason to favor this option is that it’s an all-encompassing app. Pulse can display your saved feeds, popular trending articles, and your personalized queue. No, it’s not as customizable as the other apps, but it offers a centralized solution that the other apps mentioned here don’t have. If you want all your reading in one place, this is your app

Pocket

Pocket was Read It Later, a desktop and mobile app that specialized in earmarking articles to be read at a later time, formatting the articles to only have the important text and photos. The app has been rebranded to Pocket with a much better design that shows thumbnails and headlines as you browse. And unlike the other app, Pocket is prepared to import articles and photos or videos, as well as let users filter according to category. (You can also browse by tags or search to locate an article.) Pocket also does a great job of importing from other apps, so you can save pretty much anything.

The downside of Pocket is that the design, while absolutely beautiful on a phone, needs a little bit of touching up on large-screen tablets. Formatting in the navigation was a little off and images are downsized, but the app does an overall decent job and it’s still compatible with tablets. This is the app to use if you are as likely to bookmark a YouTube or Vimeo video as you are an article at your favorite news site.

Readability

When it comes to customization and style, Readability earns high marks. The app has great light and dark themes, as well as a beautiful set of. Readability makes it easy to browse through a queue, favorites, and archives, and it has the best desktop adding mechanism of any app. Users can click a bookmarklet, browser icon, or use a keyboard shortcut to add a current page to the queue. It’s also great for switching between the stripped-down content view or going to the full web version. The “Read It Now” option especially comes in handy when looking to remove unnecessary content on a mobile device.

The downside is that Readability has experienced some stability and consistency issues on some device models. Crashes and sluggishness have been reported, and updates have yet to completely address these issues for everyone. The app has done well to limit the polling frequency for updating the reading list, but it needs more options to control how often it searches for new items.

Readability is best for users who love the desktop service and fall in love with the instant “Read Now” feature and desktop features. Try the app and if it works well on your device, this may be the best option.

And the winner is….

Click image to see full-size

As always, we stress that what works for one person doesn’t work for everyone. Try out all these options and see what works best for you. For my money, I’d have to say that the best is Pocket. I’m a sucker for a good design, and Pocket can compete with any app in that regard. Throw in better handling of multimedia, solid sharing and intents functions, and a free price tag, and Pocket stands out as the benchmark reading service for which all others should aspire to beat.

Related Stories

• CoPilot GPS offers free directions and POI search in offline map. Turn-by-turn navigation sold separately.
• Android Apps Alert #96: Wake Up, Have Fun, and Remember Later edition
• Pair comes to Android so lovebirds and mushy couples can get 1-on-1 socializing

Read Original Story:

http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/30440115/0/androinica~Best-Reading-List-Apps-for-Android-Pocket-vs-Readability-vs-Papermill-vs-Pulse/

We live in a time-shifting world. DVR’s play TV shows whenever we want, music is streamed on-demand, and reading apps allow us to bookmark articles to peruse at our pace. But which is the best app? Which reading queue app reigns supreme when comparing Instapaper, Readability, Pocket (formerly Read It Later), and Pulse? Good question.

Androinica.com has reviewed most of these apps previously, but all have been updated since then. Below is a look at the top apps that allow users to bookmark articles and have them formatted for easy reading on mobile devices. Compatibility and performance may vary across devices, but a comparison chart below compares major features. Disagree with the findings or think an app was left out? Let us know in the comments section below.

Papermill (Instapaper)

Instapaper ranks among one of the highest-rated reading queue apps, but its creator is shamelessly anti-Android and refuses to support the OS. Papermill steps in to support Instapaper with a great grey, blue, and white design. (Users can switch to a dark mode or adjust text size.) Papermill imports a user’s Instapaper list and can filter according to Likes and items that have been archived. Content is available offline, and an article can be opened in a browser. Users can set a download limit (10-100) and a time of day when to automatically sync with Instapaper.

The downside of Papermill is that it requires an Instapaper subscription. It’s tough to warrant the $3.99 purchase when one considers you’ll have to consider spending a $1 per month to continue using it. Sure, it’s only a buck, but it’s still a buck more than you’ll pay to the other apps. The only reason to buy Papermill is if you love Instapaper and need support on Android, because this is the best-looking Android Instapaper app around.

Pulse

Pulse is known more as a stylized reader for RSS feeds and pre-programmed channels built around interests or subjects. However, people often fail to realize that the app actually has a built-in component that can import a reading list saved from the desktop. Connecting the app to a Pulse.me account allows the user to click a bookmarklet in their browser and automatically add articles to a special section of the app that organizes a queue according to date. Interestingly enough, it even can import from Instapaper, Pocket, Readability, or Evernote. Users can mark items as favorites, share to other apps, and adjust the text size or look of the basic design.

The downside of Pulse is that it lacks the intricate filters and tags available in the other reading apps – it’s a last come, first displayed list. The reason to favor this option is that it’s an all-encompassing app. Pulse can display your saved feeds, popular trending articles, and your personalized queue. No, it’s not as customizable as the other apps, but it offers a centralized solution that the other apps mentioned here don’t have. If you want all your reading in one place, this is your app

Pocket

Pocket was Read It Later, a desktop and mobile app that specialized in earmarking articles to be read at a later time, formatting the articles to only have the important text and photos. The app has been rebranded to Pocket with a much better design that shows thumbnails and headlines as you browse. And unlike the other app, Pocket is prepared to import articles and photos or videos, as well as let users filter according to category. (You can also browse by tags or search to locate an article.) Pocket also does a great job of importing from other apps, so you can save pretty much anything.

The downside of Pocket is that the design, while absolutely beautiful on a phone, needs a little bit of touching up on large-screen tablets. Formatting in the navigation was a little off and images are downsized, but the app does an overall decent job and it’s still compatible with tablets. This is the app to use if you are as likely to bookmark a YouTube or Vimeo video as you are an article at your favorite news site.

Readability

When it comes to customization and style, Readability earns high marks. The app has great light and dark themes, as well as a beautiful set of. Readability makes it easy to browse through a queue, favorites, and archives, and it has the best desktop adding mechanism of any app. Users can click a bookmarklet, browser icon, or use a keyboard shortcut to add a current page to the queue. It’s also great for switching between the stripped-down content view or going to the full web version. The “Read It Now” option especially comes in handy when looking to remove unnecessary content on a mobile device.

The downside is that Readability has experienced some stability and consistency issues on some device models. Crashes and sluggishness have been reported, and updates have yet to completely address these issues for everyone. The app has done well to limit the polling frequency for updating the reading list, but it needs more options to control how often it searches for new items.

Readability is best for users who love the desktop service and fall in love with the instant “Read Now” feature and desktop features. Try the app and if it works well on your device, this may be the best option.

And the winner is….

Click image to see full-size

As always, we stress that what works for one person doesn’t work for everyone. Try out all these options and see what works best for you. For my money, I’d have to say that the best is Pocket. I’m a sucker for a good design, and Pocket can compete with any app in that regard. Throw in better handling of multimedia, solid sharing and intents functions, and a free price tag, and Pocket stands out as the benchmark reading service for which all others should aspire to beat.

Related Stories

• CoPilot GPS offers free directions and POI search in offline map. Turn-by-turn navigation sold separately.
• Android Apps Alert #96: Wake Up, Have Fun, and Remember Later edition
• Pair comes to Android so lovebirds and mushy couples can get 1-on-1 socializing

Read Original Story:

http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/30440115/0/androinica~Best-Reading-List-Apps-for-Android-Pocket-vs-Readability-vs-Papermill-vs-Pulse/

I’ve often overlooked ugly Android apps because they performed well enough. But as time passed and more apps emerged that are just as pretty as they are functional, it’s become hard to put up with apps that aren’t easy on the eyes. Solid Explorer has found that balance between beauty and power to quickly become my favorite Android file explorer, and it’s not even out of beta yet.

Solid Explorer is an Android 2.2+ app that looks incredible. The app features a white-to-gray gradient design with great icons and sensible menus that put the cluttered look of other apps to shame. There’s even a dark theme that looks just as good, and the ability to view by list, grid, or detailed list or grid. The interface then makes it easy to filter, organize, bookmark, or search to quickly locate items. And if you need to move a file, wait until you get a look at two-panel browsing.

Aside from the looks of Solid Explorer, the features are also beautiful. The app can read ZIP, TAR, and RAR archives, as well as create ZIP or TAR archives from the files stored on an Android device. Users can even connect the app to their box or Dropbox cloud storage. That makes it easy to manage files directly from Solid Explorer, enabling things like cut, copy, rename, delete, and open files.

Solid Explorer is still in beta, but its feature set is rock solid. The app is available for free in Google Play. Here are just a few more features supported, as well as quick video demonstration:

• Two independent panels for browsing
• Drag and Drop inside and between panels
• FTP, SFTP and SMB/CIFS clients
• File sharing via FTP
• Root access (file rooted devices)
• Indexed search, also available from the system (search for files from the Google Search widget/app)

Related Stories

• Flipboard for Android leaks and is available for download; here’s what it looks like
• Google Tasks Incredible is a gesture-based to-do list that’s like Clear for Android [Video App Reviews]
• Best Reading List Apps for Android: Pocket vs. Readability vs. Papermill vs. Pulse

Read Original Story:

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‘He who is contented is rich.’ ~Lao Tzu

Post written by Leo Babauta.

There has been little in my life that has made as much an impact as learning to be content — with my life, where I am, what I’m doing, what I have, who I’m with, who I am.

This little trick changes everything.

Let’s take a look at my life before contentedness:

I was addicted to junk food and fast food, and overweight and unhealthy. I bought too many things on impulse, owned too much clutter, and was deeply in debt and struggling to make it to the next payday. I was unhappy with who I was, wanted desperately to change, tried a thousand different programs and books. I was always worried I was missing out on exciting things, and wanted so much to be out doing the fun things everyone else was doing. I was always changing the way I did things, because it seemed everyone else had a better system or tools. I strove to meet goals, because they would get me to a better life.

And as I learned to be content, here was what changed:

I learned to be happy with healthier food, with less food, and my health improved and waistline shrunk. I relied on a good book, spending time with people I loved, going for a nice run … and my debt began to be reduced as I learned I didn’t need to spend money to enjoy myself. I learned to be happier with who I was, and what I was doing, and so no longer needed self-improvement books and programs, no longer needed to try all kinds of new systems and tools. I became happy with myself, with those around me, and with what I had — and so didn’t need to strive to change everything. Letting go of goals helped me to simplify things so I had less to worry about, less to do.

That’s just the start. There is no way to account for the tremendous change that happens when you learn to accept who you are, when you tell yourself you are perfect just as you are, when you love yourself and everything about yourself. You stop criticizing yourself, you are happier, you are a better person to be around, and you can now help others and work without the insecurities you had before.

This is not a magical state, and doesn’t require any new tools or books. It’s simple, and I’ll share what has worked for me.

Learning to Be Content

If you are in a bad place in your life, and are unhappy with everything about it (job, relationship, yourself, house, habits, etc.), it can be a miserable thing. But here’s something interesting: it can also be a happy thing.

I’ve been in situations where you might think things were bad, and sometimes I was very unhappy, and other times I was happy. The difference wasn’t in the external circumstances, but in my mindset — I learned to appreciate what I had, instead of focusing on the things I didn’t have or didn’t like. I was grateful for my health, for the people in my life, for having food and being alive.

If you can learn to develop the right mindset, you can be happy now, without changing anything else. You don’t need to wait until you’ve changed everything and made your life perfect before you’re happy — you have everything you need to be happy right now.

The mindset of waiting for happiness is a never-ending cycle. You get a better job (yay!) and then immediately start thinking about what your next promotion will be. You get a nicer house and immediately start looking at how nice your neighbors’ houses are, or the faults in the house you have. You try to change your spouse or kids, and if that works (good luck), you’ll find other things about them that need to be changed. It keeps going, until you die.

Instead, learn that you can be content now, without any external changes. Here’s how to start:

1. Take a moment to be grateful for something. What in your life is amazing? Even if everything seems to suck, there must be one good thing. It might simply be that you have beauty somewhere nearby, or that you are alive, or that your kids are healthy. Find something, and give thanks for that.
2. Catch yourself thinking, “This sucks.” It’s amazing how often people think this thought. “This sucks!” “My co-worker is the worst — he sucks!” “My wife doesn’t understand me — this suuucks!” It might be in different words, but if you catch yourself thinking something like that, pause. Reverse the thinking. Find a way to be thankful for the situation. “My wife is a caring and sweet person — maybe I should give her a hug.” “My co-worker might be annoying sometimes, but he has a good heart, and maybe I should get to know him better.” “My room might be messy but at least I have a roof over my head.”
3. Find the little things that can give you simple joys. What do you need to be happy? I love simple things, like taking a walk, spending time with a loved one, reading a book, eating some berries, drinking tea. These cost very little, and require very little, and can make me very happy. Find the simple things that give you similar happiness, and focus on those rather than what you don’t have.
4. Find the things about yourself that you’re happy with. We tend to criticize ourselves easily, but what if we turned it around and asked, “What do I do right? What am I good at? What is loveable about me?” Make a list. Start to focus on these things rather than what you’re unhappy with.
5. Do the same with others in your life. Instead of criticizing them, ask yourself, “What is good about this person? What do I love about them?” Make a list, and focus on these things above all else.
6. Assume that you, others, and life are perfect. You are great, and don’t need improvement. You aren’t a piece of clay that must be shaped and molded into something better — you are already perfect. Other people are also just as perfect, and don’t need improvement. You just need to appreciate them for who they are. The moment we are living in is not a stepping stone to something better — it is exactly wonderful, and we have already arrived at the perfect moment.

The Contented Life

It might be useful to look at what life would be like if you learned to be content:

1. Self image. We compare ourselves with the images in our head of perfection — movie stars, models in magazines, other people who seem to have it all together — and we can never measure up to those perfect images. But those images are not real. They are an imagined ideal. Even the beautiful people have bad hair days and feel flabby, and if you take away their photoshopped and heavily-made-up façade, you see that they are every bit as human as you are. Even the people who seem successful, living exciting lives — they have the same self-doubts you have. So if they don’t live up to this ideal image, why should you? And even if they did (which they don’t), why would you need to? When we let go of this image of perfection, we realize that we are already exactly who we should be. And then, all our need for self-improvement, and all the activity and effort and pain that implies, fades away. We are happy with ourselves, and nothing else is needed.
2. Relationships. If you are content with yourself, you are more likely to be a good friend, partner, parent. You are more likely to be happy and friendly and loving, more likely to be as accepting of others as you are of yourself. Relationships improve, especially when others learn to be content with themselves, from your example.
3. Health. Much of our culture’s unhealthiness comes from unhappiness — eating junk food to give ourselves comfort and relieve stress, not exercising because we think we can’t (because we have a bad self-image), being glued online because we think we might miss something if we turn off the computer or iPhone. When you realize that you aren’t missing anything, and you don’t need junk food to be happy, and you are good enough to exercise, you can slowly return to health.
4. Possessions. The overload of possessions in our lives comes from unhappiness — we buy things because we think they’ll give us comfort, coolness, happiness, security, an exciting life. When we become content with ourselves and our lives, we realize none of that is necessary, and we can start getting rid of these extraneous crutches.
5. Busy-ness. Much of our busy-ness comes from fear that we should be doing more, that we might be missing out, that we aren’t enough already. But we are enough, and we don’t need more, and we aren’t missing out. So we can let go of a lot of unnecessary activity, and just focus on doing what we love, and give ourselves the space to enjoy a contented life.

This is all just a few scratches on the surface of a contented life, but it gives you a picture of what might be. And the truth is, once you learn the simple trick of contentedness, it’s really a picture of what already is. You just need to let go of the fears, and see what is already here.

‘Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.’ ~Lao Tzu

Read Original Story:

http://zenhabits.net/contented/

(This is a preview of the article from Android Advices Click on the Title to read the entire entry.)

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(This is a preview of the article from Android Advices Click on the Title to read the entire entry.)

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(This is a preview of the article from Android Advices Click on the Title to read the entire entry.)

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There’s a way for you to fly first class for free over and over again.

The best part? It doesn’t require incredible negotiation skills or dumb luck. Anyone can do it.

Let me tell you everything you need to know so you can decide if this powerful travel strategy is right for you.

How to Fly for Free

A few years back, I started searching for the best ways to travel for cheap. I wanted to get out and see the world … or at least the United States.

What I ended up finding were a small group of people that were booking free flights over and over again with a strategy that was the complete opposite of what most people do.

You see, most people know that you can book a free flight by using frequent flyer miles. And if you have enough frequent flyer miles, then you can even fly first class for free. Of course, the only problem is that it’s really hard to accumulate a lot of miles by flying.

Luckily, there is a way to get hundreds of thousands of frequent flyer miles without flying at all.

This travel strategy is a special process called “credit card churning” and here’s how it works…

The credit card industry is extremely competitive. As a result, many credit card companies are willing to offer you huge frequent flyer mile bonuses if you sign up for their card.

This strategy works so well for getting frequent flyer miles that a group of people called credit card “churners” have used it to earn more than 1 million frequent flyer miles in a year. They apply for card after card and churn through as many applications as possible. Then, they spend the minimum amount needed to get the bonus (for example, $1,000 in 3 months) and move on to the next card. Some people routinely have over 15 credit cards on rotation!

The good news is that credit card bonuses work just as well for normal people like you and me. By simply getting 1 or 2 new cards, you can get enough frequent flyer miles for multiple round–trip flights.

There is no need to go crazy and get 15+ new cards. Of course, if you did, then you could literally earn enough miles to fly around the world multiple times.

Regardless of how many cards you’re comfortable with getting, these frequent flyer mile bonuses are the best way to fly for free because you can use frequent flyer miles to book flights anywhere and at anytime. For example, I used frequent flyer miles to book a free flight to Costa Rica last December, which is during the “high season” down there.

Where to Get Started

Many credit card churners get their information from a variety of blogs, forums, and websites. Thankfully, there are services that can do all of that research for you.

A great one to start with is The Credit Card Fly. It’s a free email newsletter that sends you a short weekly update of the best credit card deals for earning frequent flyer miles, free hotel stays, and rewards points.

Once you know the deals to apply for, the 3–step process looks like this:

1. Apply for a new credit card that has a big frequent flyer mile bonus.
2. If necessary, spend the minimum amount to get the bonus. Many cards have no spending requirement.
3. Redeem your miles and fly anywhere.

Does this Hurt Your Credit Score?

Applying for new credit cards actually helps your score in one way and hurts it in another. Let me explain…

When you apply for a new credit card there is an inquiry on your account. New credit inquiries usually drop your score by a few points, but new inquiries only make up 10% of your overall credit score so the drop is small.

On the flip side, when you get a new credit card this also increases your overall credit limit and this will probably help your credit utilization ratio.

For example, let’s say that before your new card you were spending $2,000 and your total credit limit was $10,000. In this case, your credit utilization ratio was 20% ($2,000/$10,000). Then you get a new card and let’s say your credit limit raises to $15,000. Remember, your spending habits should be about the same because you’re only spending the minimum needed to get your frequent flyer miles. So now your credit utilization ratio is only 13% ($2,000/$15,000).

This is a good thing. A lower credit utilization ratio helps your credit score. For this reason, many credit card churners actually see their score increase over time. Many churners have 10 or more credit cards and still hold excellent credit scores in the 780 to 800 range.

How to Know if This Will Work for You

As a rule of thumb, your credit score should be 700 or above if you’re thinking about following this credit card travel rewards strategy.

And if you’re planning on applying for a bunch of cards to get tons of frequent flyer miles, then you should probably have a credit score above 720.

No matter what your score is, this strategy will only work if you pay your balance in full each month and carry no debt on your new cards. It doesn’t matter how good your history is, if you get a new credit card and start piling on debt, then your credit score will suffer and this travel strategy is useless.

If you have the discipline to pay your balance in full each month, then you’re ready to hit the skies.

(Photo credit: Passenger Windows on Plane via Shutterstock)

Read Original Story:

http://feeds.lifehack.org/~r/LifeHack/~3/nqRtEA0egVM/how-to-fly-first-class-for-free.html

I had a relapse a couple of weeks back. After full bore sobriety from all things productivity porn, I couldn’t help myself any longer. When I see an update to a “GTD” app or see something new online that looks like it can be a “GTD” app, I get the itch to try it out. What pulls us to do this?

I’ve tried everything from simple paper, pencil and a paper filing system to the robust yet complicated systems like OmniFocus and even Microsoft Project. I’ve found that the more complicated the tool tends to be, the more I end up tweaking it and entering into the “cool thing to do on a Saturday afternoon” type of mentality that Dave Allen speaks of. Everything looks great about my system when I’m tweaking, but when I’m in the “heat of battle” on Monday morning, how will it stand up?

I’ve found a couple of things about these productivity tools over the past 5 or 6 years that I want to let you in on.

Productivity tools suck when they use you

The problem with super complicated productivity tools is that they tend to only work when you work them. If you let them lay stagnant for any period of time and have set up reminders, due dates, and notifications, there will come the day when all of the little “boops and beeps” will repel rather than attract you.

Have you opened up a digital productivity tool and been overwhelmed by the tasks that you have assigned to yourself? Couldn’t believe how many tasks had due dates that didn’t really matter if they were due? If so, then you have been used by your productivity tool.

It’s a dirty feeling. I know.

The worst thing is that if you don’t do something drastic, even as drastic as erasing all tasks and projects from the tool, your time enjoying the use of the productivity tool will soon come to an end. You will probably end up resenting it.

If you spend more time organizing than doing

The reason that your tools end up using you is that you probably tend to spend more time organizing your work than actually doing your work. I know that is the case with myself.

I love OmniFocus. It’s probably one of the best productivity apps around, but you can really get down in the weeds with it. And when you do, you will find yourself making decisions about how to organize tasks in a more “intuitive manner” and trying to figure out which GTD contexts better suit you as a human.

All of these tools tell us they are made for getting stuff done, but don’t let their robustness fool you. If you are a “tinkerer” or someone that likes to organize things into their proper “buckets”, complex tools will be your own productivity’s kryptonite.

Completely simple tools aren’t the answer

If you think that paper and pencil is the answer, think again. While the benefits of paper are many (and we sure have talked about that a lot here at Lifehack) it lacks in important things like sorting, rearranging, filtering and alerting.

Rather than throw the baby out with the bathwater, try to find a tool that doesn’t get in your way and use you while still having support for your large amounts of tasks, priorities, and deadlines.

How to get unstuck

The easiest and most straight-forward way to get unstuck from the wrath of complicated productivity tools is to start fresh. That’s right. Start over.

If you have any decent productivity tool you will be able to easily export or save your current data and start with a clean slate. This is the only way that I have found to take control of a complicated system that has gone stagnant and to get myself unstuck and doing the right things again.

When you are setting up your system, make sure to not get too particular about naming conventions, tagging, etc. Also, try really hard not to set “fake due dates” for your projects. After that, instead of thinking of the 20 ways your productivity tool could be better, starting working and checking items off your lists.

Remember, your productivity tools are only as good as you keep them. If they are a dumping ground and not current, your productivity will suffer.

Read Original Story:

http://feeds.lifehack.org/~r/LifeHack/~3/YcB8HfwgiHw/why-complicated-productivity-tools-will-get-you-stuck.html