Filtration - An Effective Water Treatment Alternative

When it comes to drinking water, it is always better to be safe than sorry. It is very important to ensure that the water you are drinking is safe to prevent water borne diseases and other ailments caused due to ingestion of chemicals. You will be shocked to know the various ways in which your regular tap water gets contaminated with chemicals and pollutants before it reaches your kitchen.

Why should drinking water be treated?

The pollutants in water include hundreds of substances that range from heavy metals like mercury and lead to pesticides and herbicides from agricultural run-offs. Industrial wastes and chemicals from other sources can also make its way into dams, bores and drinking water pipes. These contaminants when present in water are more readily absorbed in our body than those present in food.Additionally, drinking water sources can also be breeding ground for microbes that can cause water borne illnesses. Thepollutantscan create serious health hazards and affect the vital organs of our body. There are various techniques to treat water at home or office and filtration is one of the most effective ways to eliminate the impurities.

Filter your drinking water

The authorities treat the tap water with chlorine to make it safe for drinking. The chlorine added, however, can be hazardous to health. The chlorine reacts with certain compounds in water that leads to formation of by-products that can affect your health. The effect of these harmful compounds on our health depends upon the duration and dosage of their consumption.Water filter can remove dangerous substances like chlorine and pesticides, which other treatment techniques may not efficiently eliminate.

Advantages of filtration

Tastes better

Many people shift to bottled water just because they do not prefer the taste of tap water. Addition of chlorine may alter the taste of tap water. Likewise, hard water has a slight metallic aftertaste and this is not desired by many. Additionally, high iron or magnesium content can also give tap water a metallic taste. Rusted pipes and presence of chemicals like hydrogen sulphide, potassium permanganate and hydrogen peroxide can also make the water less than desirable to drink. Using filters at home and office can help you get rid of these undesirable taste and odour concerns.

Healthier

Apart from making your drinking water less than satisfying in taste, contaminants can also cause serious health concerns. As already mentioned, pesticides can affect vital organs of the body like liver, heart and lungs. There are many other unregulated contaminants in water that can put your health at-risk.

Filtration can eliminate pesticides, heavy metals and other harmful compounds that other treatment techniques do not remove.  Filters also remove excessive salt while allowing trace minerals to pass through. The retention of trace minerals makes filtered water healthier.

Cost effective

Believe it or not, installing Zip drinking water filters a filtration system at your home or office is cheaper than buying bottled water. You have to bear the initial cost of installing the filtration system but the expenditure towards drinking water drastically reduces after the installation of filter. Therefore, water filer system like Zip hot and cold water dispenser water can be considered more of an investment than expenditure. Also, filtered water can keep your kitchen appliances and utensils free from rust and scale marks.

Filtration - An Effective Water Treatment Alternative

How To Start Your First Company With A Cell Phone

When you start a company, there’s a lot to keep in mind. You have contacts you need to talk to, documents you have to have on hand, and more. Did you know that you can run your company from your cell phone? Here are some of the best ways to do just that.

Keep Notes on Everything

Image via Flickr by Graham Smith

From business meetings to ideas for your business, you’re going to need to make a lot of notes. You can easily do this on your cell phone. Use an app such as Evernote to keep track of all your notes. This app can also keep your scanned-in documents, in addition to tracking and categorizing a mountain of information. It has apps on every device and browser available, and it synchs your information between them. This means that you’ll always have these things on hand when you need them.

Store Documents and Share Them

Dropbox is perfect for keeping and sharing documents over a variety of devices. You can view and update documents from your phone. There are even links to your documents that you can give to others, so they can view the documents without having a Dropbox account. This is a huge benefit for anyone starting a business with a business partner.

Keep up on Social Media

It’s important to keep up your social media presence when starting a business. If you’re on the go a lot, this can get difficult. However, with your cell phone, you can easily post social media updates wherever you are. On top of that, you can comment on other posts, respond to messages, and more.

Stay in Touch with Employees

From talking to colleagues to employees, you need to be able to stay in touch. Sometimes it’s easiest to send a quick instant message. Having BBM for Android smartphones is a great way to ensure that you stay in touch with everyone in your network. You can send a message quickly, and you’ll get instant updates on your phone, no matter where you are. The app is cross-platform so whether you use BYOD with BlackBerry or any other platform, you should be covered.

Travel Smartly

Image via Flickr by Steven Straiton

Many business owners find that they have to travel for their business. If you need to travel, use your phone to find you the best deals. From flights to hotel bookings, and even great food deals on the go, your cell phone will have a variety of apps such as Kayak and Groupon that can help you get good deals no matter where you’re planning to travel.

Track Your New Company’s Cashflow

There are a lot of ways that you can keep track of finances on your phone. One option is your bank’s app. This will allow you to make transfers, keep track of balances, and more. In addition, there are many finance apps that will help you keep track of the company’s finances. Consider options such as Mint or MobiAccounts. These will help you track the money coming in and going out, set up alerts for bills and more. Plus, you can even run reports on the income and expenses for the company.

Using your cell phone for a new company is a great way to make sure that the company keeps running at all times. The company has needs, even when you’re on the go, and you need to stay on top of them. Because of this, the apps on your phone can help you stay on top of it all.

How To Start Your First Company With A Cell Phone

Social Media Marketing in Ireland

What is your current social media strategy, and how can you find a way to bolster the image of your company? Social media—including popular sites like Facebook and Twitter—is a great way to attract new customers to your business, and can be a valuable part of your marketing strategy. According to Irish Opinions™ research in Ireland, the majority of people access their social media account at least 5 or more times per day. Of the group surveyed, most people primarily access their social media account through their laptops; however, there is pronounced growth in the percentage of people accessing social media from their mobile devices. In light of this information, many marketers are turning to social media and mobile optimization to bring in new leads.

One Surprising Benefit of Facebook: Word-of-Mouth

A great component of social media is that it gives you a chance to spread the company information through word-of-mouth, but on a much broader scale. Try offering unique irish surveys that will peak the interest of your customers, and get them to share it with others. Surveys give your organization a great opportunity to learn about the customers and find out what drives them to buy your items.

TIME[1] Business reports that social media adds increased power to word-of-mouth marketing, since “a single happy customer can reach thousands of other potential customers,” rather than just a handful of other people.

Quality Posting

Creating interesting and engaging content is key to getting news and status updates shared with others. One way to create engaging content is to tailor it towards a specific audience. Irish Opinions research shows that women are 58% likely to check on their social media account while at work, meaning women are a key target audience for most companies generating content on social media platforms. The gender difference is even more pronounced on sites like Pinterest, where 72 percent of users are female[2]. Knowing this information can narrow down the playing field for many companies seeking to connect with their niche audience.

In addition to creating quality, engaging, and targeted content, business owners must update their content regularly. Content should always remain professional and reflective of the business as a whole, however. As noted by one Forbes[3] writer, “if you wouldn’t want that particular thought or contribution forever associated with your [company] name, don’t post it.”

Customer Service

It is vital to use your social media accounts to listen to and interact with customers. This can also prove to be a useful marketing tactic. Posting responses to both customer compliments and customer concerns will do wonders for customer engagement, according to The Guardian[4]. Engaging with customers who are responding positively to your business can encourage loyalty and build a more personal connection, while responding to customer complaints can help boost the perception of strong customer service.

Making social media an integral part of your marketing campaign can do wonders for your brand recognition. Reaching out to customers through sites like Twitter and Facebook, updating content regularly, and making efforts to target your key demographic are all excellent ways to keep your social media strategy going strong. Remember to track your progress and feedback—in terms of content participants, Facebook “likes,” retweets, shared content, etc.—and alter your approach where needed.

This article has been written by a third party. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Research Now or its Irish Opinions™ panel. The statistics referred to in this article were collected from pre-screener questions directed to members of Research Now’s Irish Opinions panel during June 2013. The information is presented without warranty, express or implied.

[1] TIME Business, business.time.com.

2 Huffington Post, www.huffingtonpost.com.

3 Forbes, www.forbes.com.

4 The Guardian, www.theguardian.com.

Social Media Marketing in Ireland

Great Management Software Essential To Any Small & Growing Business

Management software is essential to all businesses, and small yet flourishing businesses are definitely no exception. Investing in good software will increase organization and order within your company, leading to decreased costs and increased profits. Here are some excellent management software essential for any small and growing businesses.

QuickBooks Pro 2013

As your business grows, handling finances will probably become more and more time-intensive and energy-consuming. Purchase QuickBooks Pro 2013, a software that will allow you to manage your business’s finances with relative ease.

For those who are inexperienced when it comes to finances, QuickBooks Pro 2013 offers many tutorials that will teach you and provide you with tips on anything finance-related when it comes to your business.

Basically, despite no education or experience in finance, you will be able to handle the financial aspect of your business like a professional.

Microsoft Office Home and Business 2013

This software is a definite must for anyone who wants to have a successful business. Microsoft Office Home and Business 2013 is actually a package of tools necessary for running a business.

It includes Word for business documents, Excel for business charts and spreadsheets, PowerPoint for your business presentation needs, OneNote for organization of business notes and info, and Outlook to serve as your email and digital calendar as well. Microsoft Office Home and Business 2013 can come in the form of a physical CD, or you can purchase the online download for cheaper.

Business Plan Pro Complete v 12

It is literally never too late to create a business plan for your company. Whether you’re looking to create a business plan, or work on your existing one, Business Plan Pro Complete v 12 is the software for you.

Creating a business plan without the help of software tends to be difficult because you’re constantly having to consult books, professionals, and the Internet for info. Business Plan Pro Complete v 12 solves this issue by giving you all the information you need to create an amazing plan that won’t fail to set your business in the right direction.

This software gives you advice along with examples as it guides you through the creation of your business plan with easy-to-understand instructions. It also will check the formatting and content of your business plan to get rid of any errors. Also, you have the opportunity to look at the business plans of thousands of other companies to see how other successful business owners put their plans together.

Microsoft Visio Standard 2010

For business projects, it’s great to have a visual, so you and your employees know what the end result should look like. With Microsoft Visio Standard 2010, you won’t have trouble creating professional business diagrams. There are also plenty of templates for those of you who don’t want to have to start from scratch.

Despite some of these software being on the pricy side, you can consider them a solid investment and a worthwhile one, too. By using the software listed above, you can have peace of mind knowing that your business won’t fail due to bad management.

Sally writes for Milestone Consulting the P6 training and enterprise project management specialists.

Great Management Software Essential To Any Small & Growing Business

3 Interview Questions for Hiring Great Customer Service Reps

Unlike several other jobs, interviews for customer service representatives are focused more around behavioral analysis. In this particular arena, it is important to note one point and that is the interviewer will usually be focused on testing the patience level of the applicant, empathy, communication skills, and ability to deal with people.

Customer service departments analyse retention rates and it is very much essential for HR teams and business owners to make sure that the call centres or customer service departments are staffed with representatives of highest calibre.

Some of the interview questions are designed for customer service reps to understand customer service role in organization. Few are designed to target special scenarios, which even experienced customer service reps find tricky to answer.

Here are some non-exhaustive questions that the interviewer is likely to ask the applicant about the roles based on customer service.

1) Tell me about your dedication towards helping the customer

It is one of the common questions that employers ask. And, they expect the applicants to narrate their experience summary and explain how they handle customers in tough conditions. Experience summary includes explaining your capability of dealing with unhappy customers and helping them solve their issues in a diplomatic way. By answering the customer queries in a successful way, the interviewer confirms that the applicant is pretty strong in logical reasoning and dealing with irate customers.

2) How to deal with an unhappy or annoyed customer

In customer service role, you may repeatedly come across irate customers every now and then. Dealing with angry customers is not a cake-walk for customer service representatives. During the interview, the interviewer needs the right kind of answer from your side and he will analyse your patience level too.

In this particular job role, patience is one of the most prized commodities. People, who lose their cool too soon, won’t really survive in customer service industry for longer duration.

Whenever you come across this question, you should be able to show a glimpse of your patience in front of the interviewer and convince him that you can deal with all the irate customers in this world!

3) How Do Your Prioritize Your Daily Schedules and Customer Complaints?

Here, the interviewer expects the applicant to be good in managing time. Customer service role is pretty busy and the job role of the service representative is fast-paced. Time management is the key role here to manage customer requests and daily schedules.

Dealing with Overstress

In the customer service role, there may be a bad day for you when there will be number of requests from different customers. It is left to employees to take the request and resolve them duly. The interviewer analyses the answers received from job-seekers and looks into sense of time management from the applicant.

On the Whole

Finally, to make the judgement, the hiring manager attempts to listen to applicant’s answers and assess his/her interpersonal skills, and ability to stay calm in tense situations.

If you are a UK resident and looking for customer service jobs Leeds, you can visit Randstad.co.uk

3 Interview Questions for Hiring Great Customer Service Reps

How to Prepare for a Windows Cloud Server Migration

From time to time, an organization may need to migrate the contents of a Windows cloud server to a new cluster. This typically occurs when technicians need to repair or upgrade equipment. The basic goal of a migration is to copy files from one server to another, yet the need for data synchronization greatly complicates this process and increases downtime. You can achieve the best results by taking a variety of steps to get ready for a server migration and here we’ll outline some suggestions on how to prepare for an efficient and stress-free migration.

Know the procedure

It’s crucial to understand how the migration process works before you begin to prepare for it. In the first step, the current cloud server copies all its files to the new server while allowing users to add or change data. The next step synchronizes the servers by copying files that users updated during the initial stage. To prevent further changes, the server denies access to other computers while it performs this task. The new server then takes over after the synchronization ends. This entire process takes approximately 15 minutes, but its duration varies depending on the file sizes and quantity.

Save time with data optimization

To expedite the migration process, search the Windows cloud server for unnecessary data to delete or archive. Many servers contain old log, cache and session files you may not need to transfer, and the migration process will also take less time if you delete unneeded database entries. To limit downtime, it’s particularly important to minimize the length of the synchronization stage. Look for ways to reduce the number of data updates that occur during the first step, and try to prevent any changes to very large files.

Configure log rotation

Strive to enact policies that will help prepare your cloud server for a migration at any time. Configure the system to rotate logs weekly, daily or when they reach a certain size. The optimal frequency depends on how many computers connect to the server. An access log increases by at least 100 bytes for each request, according to the Apache Software Foundation. The copy and synchronization stages will take much longer if the system never archives its logs, and most programs don’t rotate them by default.

Getting ready for the switch

Set aside some time for a few last steps directly before you begin the migration process. To limit the size of files that change during the first stage, force the logs to rotate and lock the databases. A less desirable option is to disable write access, but if you do so, allow users to continue reading database content. Also, clear all session and cache files that applications have generated. If you need to transfer email data, Microsoft recommends that you save time by excluding spam and trash folders.

Although it may take hours to prepare for a Windows cloud server migration, these efforts are sure to pay off. A short period of downtime will minimize any losses in productivity and revenue while allowing you to get up to speed with your new server quickly and efficiently. The migration process provides a good opportunity to free up wasted disk space as well, and archiving logs and data files on a regular basis will make it easier for you to retrieve any necessary information. Databases also function more efficiently when they contain fewer records. By following the steps here, your migration will ensure that your company is operating from a secure and up-to-date infrastructure, so establishing a process for making it as seamless as possible will save you time and stress when repairs or upgrades need to be done.

How to Prepare for a Windows Cloud Server Migration

6 Tips for Starting a New Business

With unemployment in many states still at a double digit level, many people are exploring the idea of starting a business of their own.  While some people are born entrepreneurs, it is not for everyone and here are a few things you should consider before going all-in and spending a lot of your cash in starting a business.

 

Do You Have The Commitment It Requires?

First, you need to take a long, hard look in the mirror at yourself.  Do you have what it takes to work the long hours it may take for some time just to get a business off the ground?  Do you have the administrative skills to organize yourself and others?  Can you regulate your time effectively?

 

What Structure Will You Decide On?

If you get past the initial stage, next you’ll want to decide the structure of your business.  There are a number of choices including partnership, limited liability company or LLP, or sole trader.  Each of these choices involves different legal and tax obligations, and different company registration services.

 

What Skills Do You Bring To The Table?

Before you embark on starting a new business, you should take account of what your key skills, and key weaknesses are.   Those who are successful in starting a new business know what their true strengths are as well as their most glaring weaknesses.  Do not be afraid to consult with family and friends and ask them what their opinion is.

 

How Will You Fund The Business?

If one were to look at the statistics behind why most small businesses fail, and many in the first year of operation, the most common reason is a failure to understand cash flows, which results in a business running out of money.  Take a good amount of time and be rather conservative when determining just how much funding your business is going to require.  Also, be very aware of and stay on top of cash flows.

 

Who Is Your Competition?

One of the very worst things you can do when starting a new business is to underestimate the competition.  Take some time to research who the competition is, how they operate, and what their strengths and weaknesses are.  Determine what value you can bring to the market by starting a new business of your own and what core niche of the market you will target.  Also, make sure there is a market out there for your individual service or product.  Be sure you have something to offer that is original and offers the customer real value.

 

Develop A Long And Short-Term Business Plan

Though many people discount them, you will find most people who have been successful at starting a new business develop a three and five-year business plan that details where they want to be at that point in the life of the business.  Just the process of putting thoughts onto paper can help to organize your thoughts and if you plan to seek outside funding, or are considering adding a partner, this is a must.

 

Once you have completed this process, explore the company registration services appropriate for your business and get ready to roll up our sleeves and get to work.

Author Resource:

Want to Start a company in Singapore? Please refer to Singaporecompanyregistration.com.sg website.

And if you need a website design, visit gtecwebmarketing.com.sg

6 Tips for Starting a New Business

Finding Place To Buy Police Scanners For Sale

Radio scanning is a unique hobby that you don’t hear about a lot anymore. Radio scanning is the searching of different radio frequencies for different communications. Radios can only be tuned to one frequency at a time, so “scanning” is the rapid changing of radio frequencies in search of something worth listening to. The “seek” function found on some car radios is somewhat like a rudimentary scanning function in that it rapidly runs through channels looking for one that is playing something comprehensible, so most people have some experience with it whether they know it or not.

 

Scanning is a fun hobby for people that like to know what is going on in their area. Most radio communications come from police and emergency response teams. In fact, aside from hobbyists, most of the people that use radio scanners are off-duty emergency personnel. Different kind of scanners exist for different kinds of signals, and different scanners exist at different price points. More expensive scanners can generally store more frequencies to check, and can check frequencies more quickly, sometimes hundreds in a single second.

If you are curious about what goes on in the airwaves of your area and would like to get into radio scanning, look online. You can find reviews for different kinds of scanners, and information about scanning techniques. For instance, if you would like to primarily listen to police broadcasts, you can find police scanners for sale at BearCatWarehouse.com, as well as information about them. As with many hobbies, radio scanning has only gotten more engaging with the advent of the web, so don’t be afraid to do some research.

Finding Place To Buy Police Scanners For Sale

7 Ways to Get Free Wireless Internet Access

Wireless internet is one of the best things technology inventions; not only can you access the internet on your laptop, tablet computer and Smartphone without the need for sometimes irritating cables, but you can also enjoy the internet at high speeds.

While there are a lot of cheap wireless broadband internet providers today, the reality is that there are millions of people who want free internet access but can’t pay for it for one reason or the other. Good news is that you don’t need to be rich to use the wireless internet. In fact, you can still get wireless internet for free without having a cent. This article shares 7 ways to do this:

1. “Discover” Hidden Networks

A great way to enjoy free wireless internet access is by searching for hidden networks to connect to; you’re probably wondering, how you can connect to them if they’re hidden.

The default wireless network detector on most computers isn’t going to be sufficient; you can install software like NetStumbler on your PC or iStumbler on your Mac. Both applications are free and they’ll help you find all necessary details about available wireless networks you won’t have found with the default wireless detector that came with your computer.

2. Your Smartphone

Another smart way to get free wireless internet is by using the wireless feature of your Smartphone.

Most mobile service providers will probably give you free internet with your mobile subscription or it might be part of your mobile package; however, by paying again for internet on your PC you are not making the best of this.

You can get free wireless internet by turning your mobile phone into a “hotspot.” In other words, this will automatically send wireless signals from your mobile phone using the internet package that comes with your mobile subscription.

While you’ve already paid for this, you’re still saving money you would have otherwise paid for internet on your PC so I think it’s safe to say you’re getting free wireless internet.

3. Coffee Shops

Whether it is your local coffee shop or a big coffee shop like Starbucks, there are probably a lot of coffee shops around you where you can get free Wi-Fi access.

Also, Starbucks seems to be everywhere in most developed countries so getting free Wi-Fi can be as simple as driving to the coffee shop.

If you’re a loyal Starbucks customer, you can get as much as 2 hours of free wireless internet access every day.

4. Fast Food Restaurants

 

Just like coffee shops, fast food restaurants will also often provide you with free wireless internet access. This is often the case if you’re dining out at a big fast food restaurant like McDonalds.

5. Leverage Other People’s Effort

Just as you’re looking for ways and places to get free wireless internet access, there are millions of people who have in the past wanted the same and have gotten this. A lot of these people are willing to share their findings with you, as a result making it easy to find relevant wireless networks to connect to.

For example, We-Fi  is a service with millions of users who have found over 150 million wireless hotspots all around the world; it’s free to install on your computer or mobile devices and you can easily access millions of hotspots found by other users. Majority of these networks will allow you to connect for free and you’ll often be able to choose which network to connect to depending on your preference.

6. Get a Wireless Extender

In most cases, the problem isn’t that there are no free wireless networks available but the problem is that you can’t find them. This is often as a result of the limited capability of most in-built wireless adaptors that come with most computers.

To make the best of wireless networks around you, you might want to try getting a wireless extender; not only will this increase the range of the networks you can find and access but you’ll also find the signals you get to be stronger.

7. Libraries around You

Another way to get free wireless internet is by visiting your public library; most libraries will not only allow you to read available books but they’ll also have a wireless network you can use to surf the internet. Look for libraries around you to see which ones allow you to access the internet for free.

Joseph is a broadband internet writer for Woosh.com

7 Ways to Get Free Wireless Internet Access

10 Police Departments With The Most Twitter Followers

Law enforcement officers across the U.S. have implemented social media as tool in their crime fighting efforts. Police departments often have their own accounts and maintain active pages on sites like Facebook and Twitter. Officers use these sites to obtain information about victims or presumed suspects of a crime, and also to share information with members of their communities.

In April 2013, BrightPlanet conducted a study on the use of Twitter among the nation’s police departments. They identified 772 active Twitter accounts run by state and local law enforcement units, resulting in a grand total of more than 115,000 unique tweets. The study also revealed that these 772 police departments had nearly three million combined Twitter followers. Check out the list below to see which 10 have the the most active accounts, and the largest number of followers.

10. Portland Police Department

• Handle: @PortlandPolice


• Followers: 16,127


• Bio: Sworn to Protect. Dedicated to Serve. Portland, Oregon, USA. Call 911 for Emergencies / 823-3333 for Non-Emergencies

9. Dallas Police Department

• Handle: @DallasPD


• Followers: 18,892


• Bio: Tweets will be followed by the initials of the Public Information Officer tweeting. THIS ACCT IS NOT MONITORED ON A 24 HOUR BASIS. FOR EMERGENCY CALL 9-1-1.

8. Philadelphia Police Department

• Handle: @PhillyPolice


• Followers: 21,499


• Bio: The official Twitter account for the Philadelphia Police Department. Account not monitored 24/7, if you have an emergency please call 911.

7. DC Police Department

• Handle: @DCPoliceDept


• Followers: 22,573


• Bio: MPD’s Official Twitter feed provides updates on ongoing incidents and upcoming events. Please call 911 to request police response.

6. Kansas City Police

• Handle: @kcpolice


• Followers: 22,591


• Bio: Our mission: To protect and serve with professionalism, honor and integrity.

5. New Jersey State Police

• Handle: @NJSP


• Followers: 26,057


• Bio: NJ State Police Public Information. For further info on any updates, call 609-882-2000 X6513 or after hours X7833

4. Baltimore Police Department

• Handle: @BaltimorePolice


• Followers: 35,620


• Bio: Official twitter feed of the Baltimore Police Department. This account is not monitored 24/7. Dial 911 to report crimes.

3. Seattle Police Department

• Handle: @SeattlePD


• Followers: 37,400


• Bio: Seattle Police news/events. Call 911 to report emergencies. Site is not monitored 24/7. Comments, list of followers subject to public disclosure (RCW 42.56).

2. Massachusetts State Police

• Handle: @MassStatePolice


• Followers: 70,174


• Bio: Official Twitter feed of the Massachusetts State Police. Please call 911 if you have an emergency.

1. Boston Police Department

• Handle: @Boston_Police


• Followers: 277,446


• Bio: Tweeting BPD News and real time emergency notifications.

As you can see, the Boston Police Department has a significantly larger Twitter following than the other nine departments on the list. The reason for this, according to the study, is that @Boston_Police account followers increased by 514% after the Boston Marathon Bombings. Twitter users, both local and national, looked to the police department’s account in order to stay informed and up-to-date about the manhunt that was going on at the time.

People are inclined to turn to social media after tragic crimes, like the Boston Marathon bombings, because platforms like Twitter allow for the dissemination of pertinent information in real time. Police can provide the public with information about criminals, or the status of a criminal investigation. This process is quicker and more efficient than the traditional route of having to wait to for a press conference or news article to come out. The number of police departments who maintain active social media accounts is only expected to grow in the future.

Jennifer Whitmore is a blogger from San Antonio, TX. She specializes in writing about law enforcement and the ways officers use social media to fight crime and keep the public informed. 

10 Police Departments With The Most Twitter Followers

Top Gadgets That Will Make Your Everyday Life Chores That Bit Easier

Some technical gadgets promise to make life more efficient, but they actually facilitate information overload. However, there are many innovations that save time, money, and headaches in one’s personal and professional life. Here are the top five time-saving gadgets that make chores almost fun.

#1 Robotic Lawn Mower

The Swedish based company Husqvarna has developed a no emission robotic lawn mower. It features sensors used to determine cutting paths, automatic shut off controls, and should anything trigger a shut down in operations the robot sends a text to the owner’s phone. The electronic robotic lawn mower is quiet, durable, and ruggedly designed to brave even the Scandinavian weather. The makers of the robotic lawn mower patterned its operating model after the iRobot Roomba vacuum cleaner. In fact, iRobot was developing a robotic lawn mower, but Husqvarna beat them to the market with their original electric, robotic lawn mower.

#2 Professional Grade Blender

Professional blenders like Vitamix and Blendtec save residential cooks much time in the kitchen because these appliance multi task as food processors, smoothie makers, food mills, and even heats the soups it helps create. These blenders also make ice cream, fruit sorbet, and nut butters. It’s commercial grade design is durable and easy to clean.

#3 iRobot Looj 330 Gutter Cleaner

Do it yourself types have another reason to rejoice because iRobot has made cleaning gutters safer with its recent robotic gutter cleaner innovation. The makers of the Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner designed a robot that when set in place blasts away dirt, leaves, and debris from gutters. The product’s brushes effectively scrub the gutters saving homeowners time, money, and risk of accidental injury.

#4 Hi Resolution Wand Scanner

This completely portable, cord free scanner is perfect for capturing household paper based bills, photos, and even business paperwork. Operators save scanned images on the scanner’s memory card, and they later download saved data to a computer hard disk or external drive. The 10 inch scanning wonder weighs less than one half of a pound, and it quickly and easily scans and saves images.

#5 3-D Printer

Worry about forgotten household items is almost a thing of the past; there is no need to wait for mail orders or trips to a store when one manufactures items at home with a 3-D printer. While the technology surrounding the printer is not new, it is mature enough to justify lower prices making it affordable for the average consumer. The 3-D printer hardware borrowed from the world of engineering and manufacturing is now widely available to the public, and developers daily create new application software needed to manufacturer various items. Developers of the controversial 3-D printing system tout the machine’s ability to produce everything from a plastic cup to a working gun.

Conclusion

The gadgets described above demonstrate the positive impacts that technology has on nearly all industries. These gadgets save time and for busy professionals that often equates to monetary savings as well.

There is not much that Isaac does not know about technology. In his spare time Isaac enjoys writing articles for companies such as Team 24.

Top Gadgets That Will Make Your Everyday Life Chores That Bit Easier

Should Traditional SEO Be Ignored For New Businesses?

For the last decade or so SEO has been the backbone of a lot of new businesses. Scour the search engine results pages for any term and you’ll most likely come across countless optimised pages from companies who are looking to generate as much business as possible through online means.

Over the last few years things have altered somewhat though and traditional SEO is no longer the powerhouse it used to be. Of course, it still plays a massive role for a lot of companies, but the emergence of social media and other avenues means that things have changed somewhat. When you consider the costs involved in optimising a website, it’s really no surprise to see that a lot of new companies have decided not to bother in outsourcing a specialist SEO provider.

However, while less emphasis might be placed on traditional SEO techniques, if you can focus on other issues a lot of your rankings will take care of themselves. While the title of this post indicates that ignoring traditional SEO might be an option, that’s not truly the case and a lot of companies are looking to influence it from an indirect perspective. We’ll now look at several ways you can do this…

Social Media

Whether it’s Twitter, Facebook or Google+, if you can build an online brand for your business you will most likely boost your search engine rankings. There is constant speculation that Google is going to consider social media metrics, meaning that if you can get yours in order from the start you may stand a good chance of satisfying one of the ranking requirements in the future.

As well as the above, you will create opportunities for backlinks. Whether it’s via your business attracting attention from similar enterprises, or a special offer capturing eager users, social media will provide the opportunity to build relationships that should ultimately transpire to backlinks.

All of the above means that as well as building your social brand that should help you keep existing customers, social media should also help you build links and subsequently boost your rankings.

Offline Marketing

Some will call it dated, others will appreciate that offline marketing does exist and you should use it to your advantage wherever possible. A detailed breakdown of all of the offline methods and techniques is beyond the scope of this article, but the basic idea is to get your brand out to other local businesses and local publications as much as you can.

For example, if you were to arrange an interview with your local newspaper, this would most likely result in the piece appearing on their website. A backlink would subsequently be created, while there’s every chance that the quotes will be reused on other sites to generate even more backlinks. Therefore, consider every offline marketing method and carefully think if there are any ways to creatively net a backlink out of it.

Local SEO

While the focus of this article is to highlight the potential of specifically avoiding traditional SEO techniques and allowing matters to take care of themselves, local SEO is a completely different issue. This has progressed phenomenally over the past couple of years and by merely registering yourself as a business with Google, your company has every chance of being included in the top selection of local search results for specific terms. For example, if you were a Suffolk marketing company who was registered as a business with Google, you would automatically be considered for the local positions for any marketing phrase related to Suffolk.

Unfortunately, it’s seldom as easy as that and a little SEO is usually required to net the top spots. However, by simply registering yourself as a business you will most likely catch the eye of some firms and even if you only get added to a niche directory for your troubles, it’s still a backlink that didn’t arise through an expensive and traditional SEO service.

Should Traditional SEO Be Ignored For New Businesses?

3 big data questions for PR pros to ask their CMOs

As consumers become increasingly involved in building brands and influencing the opinions and purchase decisions of the people in their networks, savvy PR pros understand the importance of hyper-targeted messaging. To stay afloat in the data-heavy digital age, you need to understand the basics of big data analytics and personalize messaging to resonate with end users — and their friends.

A new free resource, “Be a Big Data Marketing Hero,” can help you get up to speed on the basics of big data analytics to find out how the right consumer data can improve your messaging strategy.

If you’re a PR pro with sights on more effective messaging, ask your CMO or data analysts these three questions to benefit from your company’s big data analytics:

What metrics are generating sales or achieving other core goals for the company?

Knowing what KPIs (key performance indicators) matter most to the bottom line or your overall company performance can help you develop a focused PR strategy. What moves the dial for your business? Is it traffic to your blog, volume of social shares, customer satisfaction, redemption of mobile discounts or some other metric? Whatever it is, be sure to prioritize that activity with your communications and monitor your performance against that metric.

Who can extract sales and financial data to reveal desired changes in customer behavior?

Gathering customer data from other teams in your company is an often-overlooked way to improve your public outreach. “All companies, even the smallest, produce an incredible amount of data just by doing everyday business,” explains Gary Schwebach, a founding principal of G & S Research. “Marketing, sales and financial data — including customer comments and complaints, shipping costs, purchasing activity and accounts payable — are viable sources of valuable data that can help you better understand your customers and market as well as your own business needs.”

Are monitoring tools available for tracking social media activity and integrating the information?

If the best current option in your PR management toolkit is Google Alerts, ask for a budget to use paid services for mining social media data. If approved, be sure to spend some time assembling the results of your tracking into a single report to present to your team and the entire organization. Cross-departmental reporting can help other teams understand how your business is perceived in the market. It may also reveal new information sources to further improve your PR work.

Today’s most successful companies are taking advantage of consumer data to carefully target the most likely consumers with information that leads to brand loyalty and greater profitability. The PR teams of these innovative companies are big data heroes.

3 big data questions for PR pros to ask their CMOs

Three Myths That You Need to Debunk About Web Hosting Service

Web hosting is very important for online businesses. It is a great way of making your site popular on the internet and increasing the number of visits your site receives on average. Without a web hosting service to help you out, it can be extremely difficult to manage your website online. You would need to give it a lot of time and money. But if you employ a web host provider, consider half of your worries gone as a web host provider makes sure your online business receives the attention it deserves and that you reach out to your potential customers. However some people don’t trust web hosting companies or consider it unimportant to make a website for their businesses. They have their own reason for not entrusting their business to a host provider, but not all of them are practical. Here are some of the common myths related to web hosting.

Myth#1: No need for a website:

Some people believe that running an online business or developing a website for their business is a nuisance and that they are better off without it. This is the kind of thinking that most traditional people support who distrusts all technological advances. Others who think their business is too small to have a website can also be seen arguing against the concept of hiring a host provider to take care of your online business. The truth is that no matter how small your business, you always need a website to make it popular among people. A website can develop a professional image for your brand and also make sure that you stay ahead of your rivals. You can reach out to millions of people through your website and keep them updated with new offers and deals. So the concept that websites are only for huge businesses or that online stores are useless holds no ground. You can have a website and use it to your advantage even if you run a small bakery.

Myth#2: Keeping a website is a pain:

People who don’t know much about running a website think that it is very difficult to build a website and to keep it running. The truth is; sure you face some difficulty if you are new to it, but it’s not an impossible task. There are thousands of people who run their businesses through the internet and they like you don’t have a degree in computer sciences. So you don’t need to be trained to be able to run a website. Nowadays anyone can make a website with a little help from the pre-designed templates and a few help video lessons. Even if you are new to this, in a matter of few days you will feel really confident about running your own website. With software like CMS, you can even manage the content on your site efficiently. So if you think building a website is for tech experts, you need to discard that thought right now.

Myth#3 Web hosting is a waste of money:

Several small business owners think that they can’t spare enough money to hire a host provider. They already have too little to keep their store running and therefore can’t spend much on running an online store. Yes, it is true that hiring a good web hosting service requires money and if you go for cheap services you will probably end up losing more money than you make, but an online store that is managed well can eventually increase your earnings considerably. Nowadays nobody wants to visit stores when they can buy everything on the internet. Besides, if you look carefully, you can always find affordable services offered by many web hosting companies. Some companies charge as little as five dollars per month and help you develop a successful online store. Therefore, if you think that web hosting is not worth spending your money on, you need to think again. You can get decent web hosting services at an affordable cost anywhere. And it’s a great way of expanding your business as well.

Above mentioned are some of the common misconceptions people have regarding web hosting services and websites. If you are one of those people, you need to change the way you think this instant! Creating a website is easier than you think and can prove to be more beneficial than you ever dreamed of. Even if you don’t completely agree with this notion, it’s definitely worth at least a shot.

Author bio:

This article about common myths related to web hosting services was written by Mark Todd who is an experienced webmaster and writes many articles for iPage Review. He runs his own web hosting company and provides his services to numerous reputable businesses.

Three Myths That You Need to Debunk About Web Hosting Service

Personalize your case with the custom leather products

Since the Stone Age, humans are using the leather for different aspects of the work.  In fact, it is hard to recognize the proper year when the leather came into existence.

Nevertheless, of its existence it is still benefitting usin different forms of day-to-day accessories. The most common accessories, which we use, are of leather.  Indeed, of stating, the Accessories that we carry during the work like Bags, portfolios, mobile cases, and other is of leather. Apart from these, the scabbards, slips, Rifle, Belts and shoes, are also the most common accessory, which we use in our personnel life also use the same material.

When we talk about the leather, the products are innumerable. It is hard to point out a single person remains untouched with any leather product.  If you think as untruth then in common we often extortionate the money over the luxury and smart devices; we also wind up the other accessory like the covers and cases; but why is it so! The reason for winding the extra accessories along with the devices is in the fact that it too needs the luxury and comfort to sheath and protection purpose.  It would not be wrong if we state that, the tech-devices include notebooks, mobile, laptops, iPods and cameras.

In order to prevent the elegant devices from scratch and other external damage we purchase the custom leather products like cases, by doing so we assure of the protection to the precious and valuable asset.

Using the leather cases for the devices has numeral advantages. Firstly, it adds the value to classy look to the devices. Moreover, it ensures as the guard. Secondly, the leather cases have quite high resistive strength.   It is not important to mention that the cases can be for notebook, mp3/mp4 players and for the tablets too. Apart from the cases, we also look for the swanky and chunky exterior. Therefore, to present the device in a lucid way, we opt for different color, texture and design to fit on to the sizes.  If you really check on the latest designs then the leather covers are fashionable and fangled.

To enjoy the custom leather goods, the manufactures offer the customized size and style for the elegant look.  Looking deeply over the market, there are plenty of options, which seems sometimes as to be overwhelmed.  To purchase the appreciate case for the smart devices; look on the latest trends along with good brands. Though we all know that, the leather products can range from low to sky-high price; but it is worthy to use.

Moreover, if you want to customize the look then be creative. You can add text or add image as per the choice.  If you cannot customize it then some of the manufacturers and shop offer you the personalized customizable designs in the cases to gratify the feel of the user. Go and pampers your employees it today from good vendors without wasting a single moment.

Personalize your case with the custom leather products

Technology-Based Interventions: Could Geeks Really Save the Day?

Technology-based interventions are on the rise because people like to turn to tablets and smartphones when they have questions or need help. For instance, when you have a medical question, you probably search the Internet for an answer before consulting with a doctor.

Because of this lifestyle, there are now technology-based interventions for all sorts of things, such as early education, depression, drug and alcohol abuse, and many mental disorders. Technology may not be able to solve everything, but take a look at some of the problems it can.

Technology-Based Interventions for Early Education Skills

Image via Flickr by Joel8x

Children placed in a classroom with 30 other students rarely get one-on-one instruction from their teachers. This means it’s common for students to get behind in their reading and math skills at an early age. Luckily, several technology-based intervention systems are helping students stay on grade-level. Many school districts buy interactive computer programs to give students the help they need. Parents can also buy intervention systems to make sure their children learn good reading and math skills.

Technology-Based Interventions for Depression

People get depressed for all sorts of reasons, such as financial problems, caring for elderly parents, juggling too many things, etc. Not surprisingly, technology-based interventions have been brought in to try to treat depression.

One study from the Department of Psychiatry and Behavior Sciences at the University of Miami, School of Medicine shows that people who are depressed because of their caregiver status show improvement after six months of technology-based family therapy. There are countless other studies that show the effectiveness of technology in treating depression.

Technology-Based Interventions for Drug and Alcohol Abuse

Image via Flickr by d o l f i

People who have problems with drug or alcohol abuse typically seek help from rehab centers or psychiatrists to overcome their addictions. Some rehab centers take a more holistic addiction treatment route than others, but technology-based interventions are also becoming more and more common.

In general, technology-based programs are better at drug and alcohol abuse prevention. However, Dr. Marsch, from the Dartmouth Psychiatric Research Center says, “Using technology can improve substance abuse prevention and treatment in a way that is cost effective and increases reach to new target audiences, including the many people with substance use disorders who are not in treatment.” This means people who cannot afford rehab centers can still get help through technology.

Technology-Based Interventions for Mental Disorders

There are all sorts of mental disorders, such as bi-polar disease, schizophrenia, autism, and just slow mental development. Technology-based interventions are helping people with mental disorders function in society at a higher level than ever before. This is because the treatment programs are highly focused on the skills that people with certain disorders lack.

The Australian National University Centre for Mental Health Research analyzed several mental health studies that used technology-based interventions. They concluded that more research was necessary, but many patients did see behavioral improvement.

As you can see, technology-based interventions are improving people’s health and lives. Do you know of any other interventions? Leave a comment below.

Technology-Based Interventions: Could Geeks Really Save the Day?

Benefit from the Wide Range of PosiRank’s SEO Automated Services

At Posirank, you can create your free account to have a look around all our services, selecting which, you can manage every SEO activity for your clients, without having to involve a lot of labor.

Here is a look at what we offer at Posirank:

Link Building/ Contextual Promotions

Contextual link building is actually one of the building blocks of SEO, as with the help of it, search engine determines the mere value of any particular website versus its competitors. Although Google Penguin and Panda have changed a lot of ways through which SEO was done in the past, however building high quality contextual backlinks is still the key to a successful SEO campaign. You can enjoy high quality links built for your client’s website with the help of PosiRank’s contextual promotion services.

Our contextual promotion service is comprised of the following activities:

-       Professional Press Release Distribution at the Enterprise Level

-       Featured Publication on Web 2.0 sites with Social Media Marketing

-       Professional and 100% Unique Article Writing from US Writers

-       Blogging and Guest Blogging (currently under process)

All of the services have the option of automatic reporting and a complete detailed report is also available against all the activities for the complete satisfaction of your clients.

3 Tiered Promotion of Your Site

The three tiered promotion has emerged as a winner amongst all the SEO techniques, especially after Google’s Penguin, Panda and several other updates, spoiled the party for avid link builders. The three tier building helps to create natural links, (simulating the effects of a blog post that becomes viral all over the internet, and is therefore linked to and from various high quality blogging and social networking sites). All this helps in accumulation of link juice which is then, sent to your client’s site. There are two stages involved in our three tier promotion process.

Stage 1: Aztec

Stage 1 includes the following activities:

 

Tier 1: 5 Web 2.0 authority sites and Social Bookmarks (100)

Tier 2: 12-20 Web 2.0 Blogs of PR4 and above, 100+ Article Submissions, 100-125 Web 2.0 Blogs (PR1+) & 5,000 Supportive Backlinks for Traffic/Reinforcement. The 2^nd tier is powered with the help of our SmartMention Technology.

Tier 3: 10,000 Supportive Backlinks for Traffic. The 3^rd tier is also powered by our SmartMention technology

Here is a graphical view of it:

Stage 2: Giza

Stage 2 contains the following activities:

Tier 1: 10 Web 2.0 Authority sites, Social Bookmarks (200) & 1 Professional Press Release

Tier 2: 12-20 Web 2.0 Blogs of PR4 and above, 150-200+ Article Submissions, 200-250+ Web 2.0 Blogs of PR1 and above & 10,000 Supportive Backlinks for Traffic. The 2^nd tier is powered with the help of our SmartMention Technology.

Tier 3: 20,000 Supportive Backlinks for Traffic and Reinforcement. The 3^rd tier is powered with the help of our SmartMention Technology.

Here is a graphical view of it:

Other services in contextual promotions include the following:

-       Social Bookmarking and Sharing

-       Listing on Local Business Pages

-       Topical Directory of High PR

-       Deep linking Directories

Social Media Promotions:

Social Media has surely become the blue eyed of Search engines, helping to increase website’s strength to a greater level. You can thus say that social signals make the entire website trustworthy and credible in the eyes of search engines.

Our Social Networking Strategy revolves around the following activities:

-       Facebook Likes and Shares

-       Twitter Followers and Tweets

-       Google + 1’s and Followers

Video Promotions and Content Creation Services

We also provide video creation and distribution services, targeting youtube and vimeo aggressively. Also full fledge content creation services are available, ranging from a 350 word article to a 1000 word article, as per your requirements.

So automate your whole work and avail all or any of the above mentioned services of Posirank to achieve your clients’ targets.

Christina Smith is an expert in Social Media Marketing. She has worked for various websites and has helped them by developing, fully functional social media strategies. She has also used www.PosiRank.com’s automated SEO services to compliment her social media marketing work and recommends it for all.

Benefit from the Wide Range of PosiRank’s SEO Automated Services

Why You Should Hire a Local Web Designer

A web-based business is a great solution to save money from the high cost brick and mortar based money making idea. With the website, you can simply promote your products and services online. You do not need to spend much for the marketing as the internet can spread information easily and quickly with one blink of an eye. It gets easier to find potential customers. You can reach them or they find your website faster. Of course, the next action they take will be determined by how professional your website look is. If it is not too impressive and convincing, they won’t have an idea to shop for products or services you offer. Otherwise, if your website is professionally designed, potential customers won’t be hesitated to make transactions.

So, do you know how to design a website? If you do not, you should hire the specialist to work on this project. If your current priority is saving the money as much as possible, you can hire a freelance website designing specialist. He can offer you lower cost of services than a big company does. It is also recommended to deal with the local professional like a freelance web designer Brisbane, if you live in this area. Are you wondering why?

• Communication problems can be avoided, especially the ones caused by different time zones. You can talk to the web designer face to face and consult things faster in direct meeting.


• The expert can visit your office and learn more about your business. It gives him a chance to find the most suitable solution you need at the most.


• Chances to obtain better technical support and training are available. Whenever you find problem, the professional is close at your reach.


• Both of you can have stronger commitment as the residents of the same area.

A website is an essential tool to show your online existence. People today access the internet to find information and shop for things. If you run a retail business, you can get higher number of customers by expanding the marketing on the World Wide Web. There are many things to do, however. Therefore, you need the expert’s help. If you live in Brisbane and want to have a professional website, you can contact John Connole. He is an educated and experienced website designer. He offers different services to provide the clients with a perfect website based on their needs. You can learn more about his profile and take a view of the portfolio by visiting Goodwebdesigner.com.au.

 

Why You Should Hire a Local Web Designer

Latest Technologies For Boosting Web Development Services

The Web, also known as the internet, has increasingly become so important that it is hard to live without. Most work has become much easier and more convenient. The web is a round-the-clock entity, hence the most beneficial platform for doing business across the world. People can interact and do business anywhere at any time. However, as population grows and web users increase in numbers, the internet experiences “traffic jams” that can delay data movement. Internet developers must continuously upgrade and come up with new versions of web development services that can handle the congestion, by offering faster and more efficient flow of communication bundles.

Cascading Style Sheet 3(CSS3)

This is an upgraded version of the old CSS. The old Cascading Style Sheet is also functional to some degree. However, with the increasing number of web users, the old CSS began to experience some limitations. The new CSS3 edition is comprised of major additional features that are more user-friendly and facilitate freer editing of opacity for various web pages. In contrast to the old CSS, one additional feature that the new CSS3 has is round shapes that are in every corner of the web page. These round shapes are also found in the border radius with fantastic display in colors and box shadows. This new technology allows the internet user to check transparency in many more web browsers. The old CSS was restricted to only some internet browsers.

The Quick Response Code (QRC)

This is a new and advanced web technology that is faster and more effective. Many internet developers nowadays prefer to use the QRC in mobile phone software applications. The QRC has a URL and the name of the business. It also has additional data that can be tailored to display specific things according to the work or business requirements. The advantage of QRC is that it has vast information with little physical effort, and it’s faster to execute tasks. This is why most business people online use the QRC to carry out their transactions.  The QRC looks like a bar code that can be scanned using the mobile QRC and get all the necessary data that you want in your product or business, and do so without much difficulty.

HTML5 Series

Internet developers that linked and created web pages using web design software, such as Dreamweaver, have now developed the more advanced HTML5 series. Much web development technology has seen a trend shift from Macromedia Flash to the more powerful HTML5. This is because Macromedia Flash is hard to implement, though it can also perform the work of HTML5. Flash tends to multiply the loading time on the web; hence a user waits longer before getting relevant data to his business. This wastes time, which is not a good idea in ecommerce, because clients can opt for another solution provider. Some search engines, like Google, cannot perform well with internet sites that take a longer time to execute or load. Something that Flash could not execute well on mobile phones applications was the display. HTML5 changed this for the better.

The Live-Streaming Effect

This is a new web technology used by many traders to make their companies extra powerful. Live streaming is used by internet developers to link businesses to clientele on media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Skype, and many others. This has made communication between friends and family members more comfortable, reliable, and above all, instant. You can chat with your friends from all corners of the world as if he or she is in the next room.

The internet acts as a superhighway of information running to and fro in every direction. For a business to transact well, without any delay, it is good to make sure the web is clog-free and data can flow easily. Many developers have not realized these new web developments in the marketplace, and still operate withhold and slow web technologies. It is good to visit software development firms online and get the latest web development tools for your business. This will increase efficiency and reduce time wasted. These new developments help you place and process customer orders faster and increase profitability. It will also help clients access your company information in a shorter amount of time.

Thomas White is an experienced web design consultant. In addition, he is a copywriter with a number of clients across the globe, such as Toronto-based website designers. His vast portfolio includes writing content for a variety of sites on personal finance, travel, technology, fitness and weight loss, and much more. He also advises business ventures on marketing strategies across different sectors.

Latest Technologies For Boosting Web Development Services

When Are Software Escrow Agreements Necessary?

As with all investments, it is important to consider how much risk you’re exposing yourself to when purchasing software that will become an essential component in your business operations. It’s also important to consider how you can minimise that risk. In dealings with software developers, escrow agreements may just be the best way to protect your investment and ensure a product has a future. But when is it necessary to use an escrow agreement and how will it protect your business? Here we take a quick look at when it’s best to enter into such an agreement.

Small Software Developers

If you’re dealing with a small software developer that doesn’t offer the security of investment that a larger organisation would, it is often a good idea to look into escrow arrangements. A greater amount of software is now being developed by start-ups, entrepreneurial adventures and small businesses, many of which don’t necessarily have a secure future. If you are dealing with a small software developer and can’t be sure whether they’ll still be around in a year or two to offer support for their product, it is probably a good idea to look to a Source Code Escrow agreement.

Risky Investment

If you feel there is an unacceptable amount of risk in a transaction, you usually have one of two options. Either you can walk away and not invest in a potentially vital piece of software or you can spend money on a product that may make a loss. However, an escrow agreement provides businesses with a third option, that of minimising the risk. By holding the source code for future use, escrow agreements ensure that a piece of software can be continually developed, reducing the risk of purchasing a product that will soon be out of date.

Need To Ensure Control

Finally, escrow agreements are perfect for those businesses that need to ensure that they are in complete control of their affairs at all times. If you feel you need more information on the services offered by escrow agents or concerning the technicalities of such arrangements, you can click here.

 

When Are Software Escrow Agreements Necessary?

6 Cheapest 3D Players For Blu-Ray

The growing popularity of Blu ray technology is quite evident in the tech world these days. Almost every technological brand is coming up with one of their own Blu ray player to get the share from this newly created market. Although the prices of Blu ray systems are quite high, people still prefer to buy these systems just so they can enjoy the movies in the highest possible resolution, i.e. Blu ray quality.

Same goes with 3D industry. 3D TVs are quite expensive and can range anywhere from 2,000 USD to 4,000 USD. But users are able to buy 3D Blu ray systems that are greatly inexpensive when compared to the 3D TVs and still enjoy the 3D movies from the comfort of their home. The biggest advantage of having a Blu ray 3D player is that you don’t need to buy a 3D TV to watch 3D Movies now.

Most of the high end 3d video player range from 500-600 US, but some of the middle and low range players are also available for less than 300 USD. WI-Fi is one of the most desirable features of any Blu Ray player, and most of the low range players don’t offer the feature of WI-Fi, except for a few, which can be a great set back if you want to opt for such low-range Blu Ray players. Some people use PC software as well to run Blu Ray movies on PC such as: TotalMedia Theatre. However, below is a list of 5 of such comparatively cheaper 3D Blu ray players that provide great quality and complete features.

Totalmedia Theatre By Arcsoft

This is by far the best 3D players out there in the market right now. Therefore it definitely deserves to be mentioned before all others.

• Offers 15 Day Free Trial


• Price – 87.99 USD


• Awesome UI – Works flawlessly with Windows 8


• Plays almost all the media files available today


• Enjoy Best 3D effects and Graphics


• Allows downloading and sharing of videos online

Samsung BD-C5900

• Price – 130 USD – 236 USD


• Video Resolution – 1080 p / 24 p


• DVD up scaling feature – 1080 p


• Analog Output – 2.0


• HDMI Output – 7.1


• Supported Media – CD, DVD, Blu Ray


• HDMI – 1.4


• WI-Fi – Not Available


• Ethernet – Available


• Release Date – 2010, July

LG BX-580

• Price – 180 USD – 299 USD


• Video Resolution – 1080 p / 24 p


• DVD up scaling feature – 1080 p


• Analog Output – 2.0


• HDMI Output – 7.1


• Supported Media – CD, DVD, Blu Ray


• HDMI – 1.4


• WI-Fi – Not Available


• Ethernet – Available


• Release Date – 2010, May

Samsung BD-C6800

• Price – 160 USD – 249 USD


• Video Resolution – 1080 p / 24 p


• DVD up scaling feature – 1080 p


• Analog Output – 7.1


• HDMI Output – 7.1


• Supported Media – CD, DVD, Blu Ray


• HDMI – 1.4


• WI-Fi – Not Available


• Ethernet – Available


• Release Date – 2010, July

Sony BDP-S470

• Price – 130 USD to 199 USD


• Video Resolution – 1080 p / 24 p


• DVD up scaling feature – 1080 p


• Analog Output – 2.0


• HDMI Output – 7.1


• Supported Media – CD, DVD, Blu Ray


• HDMI – 1.3


• WI-Fi – Available


• Ethernet – Available

Release Date – 2010, Feb

Sony BDP-S570

• Price – 175 USD – 249 USD


• Video Resolution – 1080 p / 24 p


• DVD up scaling feature – 1080 p


• Analog Output – 2.0


• HDMI Output – 7.1


• Supported Media – CD, DVD, Blu Ray


• HDMI – 1.3


• WI-Fi – Not Available


• Ethernet – Available


• Release Date – 2010, Feb

Clark Jones is a freelance writer who has had extensive experience in developing codec’s for media player software. He has been using Arcsoft 3d player software to play 3d Movies

6 Cheapest 3D Players For Blu-Ray

How To Find Out High Quality Coal

Coal has a variety of uses, both domestic and industrial. High volumes of coal are used today in a variety of industries, the most notable being the power industry. In the United States, most of the electricity produced is generated through coal, by burning it and then heating water to produce steam. Coal is also used in chemical industries, metallurgical operations, smelting, and manufacturing as well. Coal is also used to produce Coke, which is an essential high carbon fuel in many industrial processes.

Different Grades of Coal

Coal is classified into different categories on the basis of its quality. High quality coal has a high carbon content while low quality coal has a low carbon content. The higher the carbon content, the better the coal will burn and the more heat it will produce.

The lowest quality of coal is peat, followed by lignite and sub-bituminous coal. Peat has a carbon content of less than 60%, lignite has a carbon content of between 60% and 70%, while sub bituminous coal has a carbon content of between 70 to 77%.

Bituminous coal and anthracite coal, on the other hand, are considered to be the high quality coal grades. Bituminous coal is of a lower quality than anthracite coal. It has a carbon content of anything between 77 to 87%. Coal with higher carbon content than that is anthracite coal.

High Quality Coal: Anthracite

Anthracite coal is the highest quality coal known to man. It has a carbon content of more than 87%, and generates the most amount of heat for an equal amount burned, compared to other types of coal. Anthracite coal is a suitable substitute for other types of fuel, such as oil and coke. It has a lot of demand in the chemical industry, as well as in the iron and steel manufacturing industries. Anthracite is also used to heat homes during winter.

Lehigh Anthracite

If you need coal for your business or for your manufacturing needs, consider buying from Lehigh Anthracite. Lehigh Anthracite operates an 8,000 acre mine in Pennsylvania. They have a large mining fleet as well as an efficient processing system, which allows them to make 300 tons of high-quality coal every hour. In a month, they make 50,000 tons of high quality anthracite coal on average.

Different Sizes

Lehigh Anthracite makes high quality coal in ten different sizes, from coal that is a fraction of an inch to coal that is the size of an egg (3”). They take custom orders as well- their production can be changed to suit your requirements.

No Boundaries

Lehigh Anthracite keeps a large inventory of great quality coal, of different sizes, at all times, which enables them to fulfill most orders in a small timeframe. Their efficient delivery system allows them to deliver coal to you, wherever you are, by train, by truck, or by sea. They can also deliver internationally.

Environmentally Sensitive

Lehigh Anthracite also believes that it has a responsibility to the environment. The Lehigh Anthracite operation is environmentally conscious. Any land that it mines will be restored to the way it was when possible.

How To Find Out High Quality Coal