Tech Archives - Page 2 of 3

May 14, 2018 by Greg Underwood

Beginners Guide to Smart Products for the Home

If you’re ready to take your home to the next level with smart products, we’ve got the guide for you! Read on to learn everything a beginner needs to know to create the ultimate smart home.

Moving into a new home is a big step for anybody. There’s furniture, paint colors, and all the little things that you accumulate along the way, like scotch tape and thermometers.

But one of the things that people don’t really think about is all the smart products and new technology that can really enhance your living space.

Technology has made such crazy advancements that nowadays, the best smart home devices are just a few clicks away. But how do you know which ones to choose?

Let’s talk about that.

Smart Products and You

It can be hard to navigate all of the technological devices for your home, but getting the right ones for you can really make your home a convenient and modern place to be.

There are devices for almost every aspect of your life, from your phone to your thermostat, and even smart fridges. Thanks to in-home devices like Google home and Alexa, you can tell an AI device to play music or read off a recipe when your hands are messy.

The help technology can offer is limitless. It even extends to security and safety. Alarms and camera footage can go straight to your phone via an app. You can automatically feed your dog or cat with the push of a button from miles away.

Whatever your needs are, technology can be there for you. And the best smart home devices are only getting smarter. The question now is: what can add to your life, and what will just clutter it further?

Choosing Your Devices

The first step is to look at your lifestyle. Do you have hefty to-do lists and grocery lists? Maybe a fridge with a built-in smart screen will help you get your affairs in order.

Do you have lots of friends over and want to have music on demand? An in-home AI device can connect to your streaming music service and play a song with a verbal request.

Once you get an idea of which devices might serve you best, you can go online and look at reviews. Really get a feel for the product you are looking at and try to envision your life using it.

Does it already feel easier? Great! You are now ready to go shopping. Have a budget at the ready, and be sure to check the warranties on all your new gadgets. Be sure to read all the instruction manuals and use them well.

Enjoying Your Gadgets

Now that your home is smart product stocked, you can sit back and let it take over a good amount of the work for you. Be sure to keep them all updated, and if you need it, keep in touch with others who use them on forums for help and additional info.

We hope you enjoy your new and improved smart home. For more information, be sure to check us out here.

May 8, 2018 by Greg Underwood

Should You Get Rid of Cable TV in 2018?

Ditching cable TV can save your household hundreds of dollars this year. Check out this article to discover if you should get rid of cable TV in 2018.

Last year, nearly 5 million Americans canceled their cable or satellite subscription. Researchers predict that over 80 million US adults won’t use traditional pay-TV services by 2021.

Believe it or not, high costs aren’t the main reason why most people choose to get rid of cable.

In fact, surveys show that the majority of cord-cutters want to do it because they prefer streaming services.

Do you feel tempted to get rid of your cable TV subscription soon? Read on to find out whether you should go through with it.

Why You Should Get Rid of Cable

Cost isn’t the primary concern for most people who ditch cable. However, it still bothers many cable TV customers.

It’s not difficult to understand why, when the average cable bill is over $100 per month. You end up wasting a large chunk of money on hundreds of channels you’ll never even tune in to watch.

Don’t forget about pesky TV commercials too. On average, there are about 16 minutes of commercials per hour of cable TV. If you have a DVR, you’re probably already used to fast-forwarding past them anyway, but you can save yourself more time by getting rid of cable for good.

Another reason to move on from traditional pay-TV services is that you have many alternatives.

These include Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Netflix, just to name a few. Even YouTube, a free platform, has endless hours of live and pre-recorded content you can enjoy.

The Negatives of Dropping Cable

While Cutting The Cord offers many perks, it’s not the right choice for everyone.

If you make the switch to streaming, you’ll have to become accustomed to delays. Streaming platforms don’t list episodes same day they air on cable TV. It will take some time for them to become available.

Getting rid of cable could present some problems for sports fans, especially those that follow teams in other markets. But a digital TV antenna might mitigate this issue if you’re a fan of a local team. Plus, some sports leagues offer individual streaming packages.

Also, you shouldn’t ditch cable just yet if your wifi is unreliable. The last thing you want to see is the video buffering when you’re trying to clear your mind and destress by watching your favorite show.

You’ll need about 5 Mbps to watch HD videos and at least 25 Mbps for 4k streaming. However, you’ll likely need even more if other devices in the house hog up your bandwidth.

Making Your Final Decision

All in all, if you own a smart TV, have decent wifi, and want to save some money each month, it’s a good idea to get rid of cable.

Keep in mind that many streaming platforms have exclusive shows and movies. That said, subscribing to several streaming services at once won’t cost you anywhere near as much as a decent cable TV package.

Dropping cable is a smart money decision in the long-run, but are you ready to learn how to make more? If so, be sure to head over to the money section of our blog!

April 20, 2018 by Greg Underwood

The Growing Role of Artificial Intelligence in Commerce

(Image Credit: taaee / 123RF Stock Photo)

Although artificial intelligence (AI) has been around for a few decades now, many people still don’t fully understand it. The most basic definition of AI is that it’s a branch of computer science. The primary goal of AI developers is to create technology with the intellectual capacity of humans. When operating at peak, AI-based machines can mimic and learn human-level intelligence.

Currently, AI developers look to human reasoning as a guide and create systems based on human intelligence. With a narrow AI system, the machine can only complete tasks that a human has programmed it to do. The goal is to adopt a more general AI system that can mimic human reasoning.

The Relationship Between AI and Supply Chain Distribution

Making a supply chain more efficient is the overarching goal of all managers. AI helps them do just that. One example is the transportation of products to the warehouse. This typically requires paying a driver wages and benefits as well as giving him or her adequate rest breaks during the day. With an autonomous vehicle powered by AI, a company can transport and deliver its products without the need for a driver. This is just one common example of how supply chains across the country have benefited greatly from AI.

AI and the American Workplace

AI has become commonplace in the workforce over the past several years as the costs to design and implement it continue to drop. Improvements in technology have also played a large role, giving developers the ability to program machines to make complex decisions. This automation of complex decision-making represents perhaps the biggest opportunity in the future of artificial intelligence.

Many jobs in the manufacturing industry have disappeared due to automation. This is not just in the United States, but Chinese factories as well. However, managers who intend to replace workers with robots don’t simply intend to let those workers go. They prefer to retrain them to complete higher-level tasks such as maintenance, programming, or design. These same managers also hope to create AI-enabled machines that go beyond task automation to the development of new business processes altogether.

Machine vision is another recent use of AI. This machine has cameras attached that have several times the sensitivity of the human eye. This enables it to spot manufacturing defects that a person would miss due to their microscopic nature. The machine learned to do this by first viewing a small sample of images, learning their patterns, and automatically detecting small issues with circuit boards and other manufacturing parts.

Robots Can’t Show Initiative

For all its promise of making things better, cheaper, and faster, machines powered with AI can never decide to start a project or how to respond to changes in customer preferences. These tasks will always require the input of a human. However, it won’t be long until AI becomes a part of the entire journey of most products from initial development to delivery to the end user.

April 18, 2018 by Greg Underwood

Why You Should Encourage Customer Reviews of Your App and How to Do It

Customer reviews are powerful. Although they may not seem like a big deal on the surface, they can actually do a lot to increase the success of your app.

Customer reviews can:

Promote the positive aspects of your app
Provide insight from real users about what the app can do
Improve your ranking on Google
Build trust among existing and potential users

Reviews can also be great because you have to do very little work. Unlike marketing that requires extensive planning and quite a bit of writing, existing users do all the work by writing the reviews for you!

However, that doesn’t mean getting those reviews is easy, especially if you’re looking for positive reviews. The majority of people who are passionate enough to leave a review don’t usually have good things to say.

So, how do you get people to leave positive reviews so you can reap all those benefits?

Use In-App Referrals

The first step to getting existing users to leave a review is to make it as easy as possible. In order to do that, BuildFire suggests using an in-app referral program.

This tactic is extremely important because it’s the only way you’re going to get a substantial number of positive reviews. It enables users to leave a review right in the app without having to get on a computer or search the app store in order to leave a review.

It is also beneficial if you allow them to leave a flexible review. Don’t require reviewers to leave a comment. Instead, require them to give their star rating and make the comment optional. Not everyone has the time or the interest to leave a long, informative review!

Prompt Users to Leave a Review

Users are more interested in using the app. They aren’t wondering how they can get other people to download the app. That’s your job!

If you want people to leave a review, you have to let them know that’s exactly what you want them to do. Many review programs allow you to prompt users at various times, asking them to provide their feedback. They are much more likely to leave you a review if you ask than if they have to seek out the ability to leave you a review on their own.

Just be careful about when you prompt users to leave a review. Skip the prompt that pops up every time the app opens. Instead, wait until the app has been launched and the user is finished with a task. That provides them with a better user experience, which in turn will increase their chances of leaving you a positive review.

Give Them a Reason to Want to Recommend Your App

The previous two tips are extremely important if you want people to leave reviews, but you have to remember that the quality of those reviews matters. It’s a waste of time if you badger people into leaving bad reviews!

That means you have to focus on giving users reasons to recommend your app, which in turn means you have to build an app that’s amazing enough that people want to recommend it.

That means:

Providing a simple user experience
Creating intuitive controls
Designing an appealing app appearance
Providing regular updates

You should also plan to provide customer service as well. Whether it’s answering emails or responding to questions and concerns on social media, you want users to feel like you’re taking care of them so they will share their experience with others.

Don’t Incentivize Your Reviews

One tip you may have heard about before is the strategy of incentivizing your apps. That means encouraging them to leave a review by giving them a gift card or more of something that can be found in the app, like coins.

This is a bad idea. First, you are more likely to get inaccurate reviews this way. People will just click through the review screen to get to the end so they can get their reward.

Second, search engines and app stores are beginning to punish app developers that provide incentives to leave a review. If Google, for instance, discovers your app is incentivizing its reviews, you could fall drastically in the rankings.

It’s definitely worth your time to get reviews for your app! Make it easy for users to leave a review and give them a good reason for wanting to do it and you can reap all the benefits that come along with an app that’s well-loved and well-reviewed.

April 2, 2018 by Greg Underwood

Your Guide to the Best Bluetooth Wireless Speakers

Woman is connecting her smartphone with wireless speaker while being outdoor.

Are you looking for bluetooth wireless speakers? Here are the best speakers on the market. Read this guide before buying speakers.

It was during the last decade when wireless speakers were a luxury only the fortunate were enjoying. Shopping for a good Bluetooth speaker today will bring you hundreds of results on an Amazon search.

Unlike the boomboxes of the 80s and 90s, you won’t be wearing your new speaker on your shoulders; there’s a good chance your purchase may even fit in your pocket!

Obviously, size is not a concern with today’s speakers and neither is volume (even the least expensive option is plenty loud). While these are great characteristics to have, they highlight many other key aspects of your decision. Don’t go shopping without having your priorities in check.

Spend Within Your Budget, Not Outside Your Budget

With so many options available, you do not need to feel pressured into buying one particular speaker or brand. A Bose speaker is a lovely purchase, but if your budget doesn’t meet their price tag, that’s okay! You still have great choices available.

In September of 2017, our friends over at Headphones Addict made a list of their 10 favorite outdoor Bluetooth speakers. The list is extensive, detailing out awesome buying info, but one of the best aspects of their list is the different price tiers they showcase for you!

Good Battery Life Is Always a Plus

It’s tough enough just to keep up with the needs of a phone battery, and that’s something you use every day. This is a product you will use less often, and the last thing you want to occur is a dead battery at the start of your use.

Read Customer Reviews for Wireless Speakers

Take advantage of the internet and see what others have decided to mention about the same Bluetooth speaker you’re prospecting. Perhaps it has a great price and impressive battery life, but the sound quality is subpar and its range is pitiful. That’s not a purchase you need to make if you’re not okay with those characteristics.

Reviews are there to specifically help you gain the insight you weren’t going to have otherwise.

Our tech pieces are written to give you new info on a variety of topics, but a real review from a real product owner is the best advice you can find when you’re considering a purchase.

Decide How Important Water Resistance is to You

Where do you intend to take your new wireless speaker? If it’s going to live indoors and away from water, this is not a feature you’ll need. If you’re planning on taking this speaker everywhere you go and that includes the beach or the pool, you’ll need to take this feature seriously.

Today’s selection can provide splash resistance all the way through being fully submerged for minutes at a time, allowing you plenty of solid options.

Buy With Your Lifestyle In Mind

Having so many choices can be a burden at times, but this is not one of those moments. Take your pick from the litter when seeking out the best wireless speakers to fit your lifestyle, and don’t settle for anything less than the right one.

Our blog is full of the tips and tricks you’re looking for while trying to enjoy your life in a busy world. If there’s something you can’t find in them, let us know and we’ll sort that out. In the meantime, use what we’ve written here to help you play more music to fill your days!

March 28, 2018 by Greg Underwood

Clear Your Mind Using Technology

We’ve all been in the situation before where we want to wind down but we aren’t sure how. Sometimes we just want to get away and read a book or take a nice bubble bath, but there are other times where we want to engage our brains a bit and actually do something rather than nothing. What options do we have when we want to unwind but we aren’t sure what to do? Technology is a great way to get some downtime in, and here are just a handful of ways you can make it work for you!

Playing Games Online

Believe it or not playing games online can be a great way to destress and earn money too. We are all aware of some games like World of Warcraft at one time offering real money for different things like selling kitted out accounts or for farming gold but for those of us who don’t have the hours to put in what are our options? Betting sites are a great way to make some money online without having to do much aside from playing games. With many sites also offering free spins or no deposit play you can play without any risk on your part on a number of sites as well. Don’t forget that you can often qualify for welcome bonuses as well!

Watching Your Favourite Shows

With the advent of the likes of Netflix and Amazon’s own TV and film studio now more than ever there are a whole host of fantastic options for TV and film online that are not just streamable but that you can watch again and again. Depending on your region you may be able to catch episodes of some of your favourite shows on Youtube as well – just type the name into the search bar with “full episodes” and away you go. Youtube is great for potentially older shows that have a following but that newer companies like Netflix won’t stock. So what better time than to catch up on your favourite 90’s flicks and shows?

Doing Quizzes

There are a few popular websites you can access on your phone or laptop that offer fun time-killing quizzes to take. Not all are time-killers though, and some are actually great ways to test your knowledge or memory and can quiz you on things like world capitals, countries of the world or even just basic trivia about your favourite TV shows and films. Check out the likes of sporcle.com for a couple of great examples of quizzes you can do in your spare time.

Browsing

Of course everyone’s favourite thing to do is to just chill out at the end of the day with a good old browse of Facebook, Instagram or the like. Of course it’s easy to get lost in the many posts and shares of social media but it can be a great way to wind down when you get to chat to friends from afar over a virtual glass of bubbly.

So how do you like to wind down at the end of the day? Do any of these appeal to you? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

February 12, 2018 by Greg Underwood

Keep up to date with Internet Security

Internet security is becoming more and more important, as cybercriminals find ever-more ingenious ways to access our data and accounts. You may think you are already protected, but as threats change over time, so does the recommendations on the best way to stay secure, so it’s worth checking you are doing everything you can to keep yourself safe online.

Stop anyone getting in

Anti-virus software is still essential for basic security. It may not be a guarantee against attacks, but it will deal with any existing malware and virus threats and will take care of pretty much everything for you, with only the newest and most ingenious codes getting past your defenses. Password security is another oldie, but goodie, and the more complex and unpredictable your password is the harder it will be to crack. Websites are increasingly requiring better passwords with longer strings of characters containing upper and lower-case letters, numbers and special characters. If you are hopeless at remembering passwords, use a password manager service rather than writing your security information down. You can also use lock-down security measures like two-step authentication, where the website you are accessing sends you a code via your cell phone that you must enter onto the screen. The technology for this is evolving too, with external key devices and pre-set cell phone key authentication methods now available. Biometrics are finally starting to make their presence felt, and are a sound way to stop anyone except yourself accessing your devices.

Use smart systems

Make sure your software is up to date so that any security upgrades are active. Software companies release patches or new versions of their programs as soon as they can combat a new threat, so you need to update your system to protect yourself fully. New security threats are proving more difficult to detect as the malware is using familiar code to bypass the anti-virus software, so don’t take any chances – apply your patch as soon as you get it. Proxy servers can be useful in certain situations, for example, you can set them to block known malicious sites and provide encryption services, particularly useful for businesses. Using a proxy can also keep your IP address and location private, making your Internet use more anonymous. You can find out about proxy servers at tech specialist sites like White Summary, but make sure using a proxy is right for your circumstances as they do have their own pitfalls.

Keep up to date on security developments and be aware of new threats to your system and how they are transmitted. Backing-up your files may be boring, but it is essential. A few minutes taking care of this every day could mean you will avoid the possibility of losing everything on your hard drive, should you suffer an attack. Ransomware is being more widely used, where the criminal takes control of your computer system remotely and threatens to delete all your files unless your transfer money to them. If everything is backed up, you do not need to worry, as their threat is pointless – even if they wipe the computer you have all the files on a remote hard drive or secure cloud storage so that you can restore everything very easily.

February 1, 2018 by Greg Underwood

Artificial Intelligence’s Transformative Impact on the Business World

Disruption from artificial intelligence has arrived, but some business leaders are unsure about the best way to embrace and leverage this technology to gain best the results. Unfortunately, those who ignore AI are at risk of being left behind by the ones who are already using the technology for innovation.

Analyst firm Tractica predicts that the annual growth from AI enterprise software will skyrocket from $644 million in 2016 to almost $39 billion by 2025. Services related to this industry could reach nearly $150 billion over the same period. So, what exactly is AI and how might this technology impact the business world?

What is AI and Why It Matters for Our Future

The term artificial intelligence was conceived in 1955 by Dartmouth math professor John McCarthy who later organized a conference on the topic. Economist Herbert Simon predicted in 1957 that a machine would beat humans at chess within a decade (it took 40 years). While AI has come a long way since the term was coined, there is still some distance to travel on this journey of machine learning.

AI and machine learning are now so common in the business world and our daily lives that most of us interact with it without realizing it. Rather than becoming a replacement for human ingenuity and knowledge, AI has become more of a support tool that allows humans to produce more and make better decisions.

How AI Will Be a Catalyst for Changes in the Business World

Some companies are already making use of AI while others just have plans to do so. A 2017 MITSloan Management report on Reshaping Business With Artificial Intelligence revealed that 85% of companies believe AI will provide them with a competitive advantage. That being said, less than 39% of companies have any sort of AI strategy in place.

Some of the ways that businesses are already making use of AI today include:

Uber’s team of developers uses machine learningto drive its mapping and mobile app development.
Travel site Expedia reports that its core services were built using machine learning, which also helps the company detect fraud.
Ocado is using a combination of cloud APIs and Google’s open source TensorFlow machine learning tools to support its AI projects, including a process to deal with service-related emails.

How AI is Changing How Job Roles Are Defined

Many people make the mistake of believing that AI is only going to impact the manufacturing sector. The point of AI isn’t necessarily to replace jobs, although this may happen, but to take the burden of some tasks away so that we are freed up to be more productive elsewhere.

Take sales, for example. A salesperson is only as productive as the time that they are permitted to devote to the art of selling. Everything involved in the sales process has value, such as lead generation and follow-up, but the one thing that a salesperson can’t and shouldn’t eliminate is the personal attention that they give prospects.

AI is now being used extensively in sales to identify prospects, prioritize emails, handle scheduling, and even electronically communicate with others. AI can also analyze past deals to determine what works as well as what doesn’t so that a salesperson is spending their work time as efficiently and productive as possible.

Artificial intelligence already impacts many aspects of business and our daily lives. Over the next several years, the advances in AI innovation are going to create a shift in the way that we work and conduct business. Aside from delivering greater efficiencies in business, AI has the potential to give those who embrace it a competitive edge in their chosen market.

January 23, 2018 by Greg Underwood

Is Movavi Screen Recorder For Mac A Program You Want To Use?

When you need a screen recorder to use on your MAC computer you quickly figure out the number of available options is limited. There are simply less programs that are designed for use on MAC PCs than on Windows PCs. Thankfully, software makers did figure out that this is the case and some new programs appeared in the past few months. Unfortunately, many of them are pretty bad.

The good news is that a program that has been around for quite some time now is now getting some popularity. Movavi Screen Recorder for MAC (available here: http://www.movavi.com/mac-video-recorder/) is now being used by an increasing number of users. This is because of the quality that is offered at a price tag that is so much lower than most of the alternatives.

Some Facts Of Interest About Movavi Screen Recorder For Mac

The software offers many different features of high interest. Its core function is to properly record exactly what you want from your computer screen. All that you have to do is open the program and select the area of the screen that you want to record. Then, you click the Record Button and you start recording exactly what you want. This is just as simple as it sounds.

Besides the possibility to record screen areas, Movavi Screen Recorder For Mac shines because of many editing tools that are included. This helps to edit the video in a way that will be much more attractive for the viewer. Also, you can choose out of hundreds of export formats. That practically means that the video you record can be encoded in order to have proper playback settings on the desired gadget. If you want the video to play well on an iPad, you just choose the iPad setting. If you are interested in having the video for HD playback on your TV screen, just look at a higher quality format.

If you are interested in screen recording on a MAC PC, be sure that you consider this program. Download the free trial to test and be sure that this is the software for you.

December 15, 2017 by Greg Underwood

The Technical Side of Smartphone Recycling: More Than Meets the Eye

We are all aware that protecting the environment today will have a massive impact upon future generations. In the past, the concept of recycling was generally limited to items such as paper, glass and metals. The rise of the smartphone within our daily lives has slightly modified this observation. There are now countless ways to recycle these handy gadgets. Whether referring to the Google Pixel XL, the iPhone 6S or an older Samsung Galaxy, the average lifespan of a mobile phone is 4.7 years. Companies are willing to pay consumers cash in exchange for outdated models. However, the process of recycling itself is quite interesting and in order to appreciate such a unique approach, it is wise to examine the main steps that companies will employ.

Collection and Transportation

The first step obviously involves the collection of any older phones or those which have encountered unrecoverable damage. There are two main ways in which this can take place. The first involves taking the phone to a physical drop-off point such as a community centre. Companies will visit these locations on a regular basis and procure any unwanted devices.

The second option involves leveraging the power of the online community. There are many websites which offer consumers liquid cash for their phones. The phones are simply shipped to the middleman and once received, funds will be transferred into the desired account.

How Does Mobile Phone Recycling Work?

Once the smartphone has arrived at the recycling centre, several steps will need to take place before the act of recycling begins. First, the phones are physically sorted by employees. This is generally intended to remove any extraneous debris that may have inadvertently been included within the batch. This is the only process directly supervised by human contact.

The next step involves breaking down the phones into their core components through the use of mechanical devices such as shredders. In order to maximise the amount of recoverable materials, the pieces of the phone will be separated into several different categories such as:

Batteries
Plastics such as the outer casings
Display screens
Printed circuit boards
Any metals

This is still a rather crude initial step. The true magic involved with smartphone recycling is the ability to separate specific metals into their own categories. Many consumers will be surprised to learn that phones contain an appreciable amount of gold within their circuitry. While it is normally not economically viable to extract at home, the fact of the matter is that processing thousands of handsets per day will help to recover a sizeable portion of this metal. The same holds true for other materials such as silver, copper and rare-earth elements including rhodium.

Post-Extraction Processing

Once valuable metals and other materials have been removed and sorted, they tend to be shipped off to other processing plants. In fact, some of these plants could be located thousands of kilometres away from the initial recycling centre. Metals, plastics and other substances will all be melted down and subsequently sold to other firms. They can then be used in the creation of other products. So, the gold within your phone today could very well have existed within the handset of another consumer located on the other side of the world!

From the modern Google Pixel XL to a traditional push-button Nokia model, the importance of recycling cannot be minimised. If you are looking to help the environment while earning a bit of extra cash, consider this option before you upgrade.