Technology Archives - A Million Lives

February 23, 2019 by Greg Underwood

Major Impact Of Technology In Our World Today

Do you ever wonder about how the internet, mobile phones, and television has shaped the lives of people and how the three of them has played a significant role in our world today? Or do you even think about how phones, internet, and television evolved as the years go by? I am sure that there are certain points in your life that you have studied about it in school, read it in a book, saw it on search engines, talked about it with friends or family, and a lot more.

The development and advancement in technology have evolved and continues to change the lives of people for decades. It has helped transform the industry and the economy of each country. The development of technology has simply changed each of our lives because we grew along with it and got used to it. Nowadays, will you be able to live without technology? think about it.

Ways Technology Changed Our Lives

The discovery of hundreds to thousands of utility devices that are functional such as the smartphone was made possible by modern technology. The revolutions in technology made people’s lives a lot faster, better, easier and more fun than it was before. In the United States of America, there are telecommunications such as Suddenlink that specializes in high-speed internet, television, and broadband phone. This just proves that even companies can greatly influence the world and contribute to it one day at a time.

In terms of communication, technology in the modern world really had an influence that is very satisfying and impressive. In addition to this, technology in the digital world has also changed and improved and is now called media. Billions of people across the globe or half of the world’s population rather are engaged and are active on the web.

Access To Television

Millions of people are thankful for the innovation of televisions. The television offers good quality kind of entertainment, informational and educational programs, reality programs, events and news, fun and interactive programs, and more. It was solely made for informing and exciting families and individuals all over the world. Today, a television consists of a wide assortment of options because of the cable and shows can easily be watched during the day or late at night.

Through the use of television, children can learn more about events regarding history and scientific inventions or anything that is related to science. Aside from that, teenagers and adults can watch tv shows about romance, crime, and documentaries. Men can easily watch and be updated about their favorite sports while women can now easily cook any dish that they would like to cook because of cooking programs.

Most importantly, news reports and informative news usually reach millions to billions of viewers each day and this is where we all get to be informed about positive and negative events around the world.

The Rise Of Phones

Mobile technology truly changed our lives, specifically millennials. Advancements in phones have made it easier for us to get news, communicate with loved ones from afar, entertain ourselves by playing games, accomplish tasks, get updated, medical and healthcare purposes, and hundreds of benefits that are significant to us. Everything is just a few taps away nowadays.

Cell phones gave us the ability to do different tasks or by simply multitasking. It also helped us with the way that we perform our tasks every single day.

Impact Of the Internet

Social media is very phenomenal. Technology and science continue to evolve, and the result of this is the changes in our lifestyle. The rise of social media and the amount of information that is shared on a daily basis on social media is surprisingly astounding because millions to billions of people are very active on social media and applications such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Additionally, the first internet connections were established back in 1950. Afterward, it grew, developed and became a powerful World Wide Web. In our rapidly growing industry today, we are now able to find our basic necessities and luxurious wants on the internet. The internet is where you will find all the information that you need. The dependence of people on the internet is very high and its role is expected to even flourish more as we step towards the future.

August 29, 2018 by Greg Underwood

5 Pros and Cons of the Chord Mojo

When you want to experience great sound, the Chord Mojo is a delightful find. There are some pros and cons that you need to look at when it comes to this product. I’ll let you decide whether the $500+ falls under the pros or the cons list, but most people find this to be a very reasonable price for such a cool new toy for audiophiles. Let’s go on to look at five pros and cons of the Chord Mojo.

Pros of Chord Mojo

1. Great Bitrate for the Price

The Mojo has one of the best bitrates for the price and can play digital audio of up to 768kHz. Many people describe CD audio as proper and if that is true, the Mojo can 17x that.

2. Full & Tight Bass Content

Getting full, clean bass all the way down to the sub frequency isn’t always easy, but Mojo can do it. There is a lot of sizzle display in the top frequencies, and it is never harsh. Even audios that challenge any system can’t embarrass this product.

3. Great Build Quality

While some people are not big fans of the way the Mojo looks, the build is of high quality. The sturdy Mojo is not too light or too heavy, and if you can fit a full deck of playing cards in your pocket, you can fit the Mojo. Hold the power button for two seconds to turn it on, and it will flash to let you know you’re good to go.

Cons of Chord Mojo

4. Questionable Support

There are some reports of support being less than responsive when it comes to Chord Mojo. Others say that they have received great support. Hearing about lack of support leaves you with a question in your mind as to whether you’ll get a response or not. Some resale sites will offer support on their products, so if you bought it through a retailer, you could always ask them for help.

5. Not the Best When USB Connected to the Phone

While this is a con for Mojo, this is true for many other products as well, so you might not be able to find what you want in this case. If this isn’t important to you, you may not see this point as a con.

Why DAC Amps Are Important

If you aren’t sure why you would want to use a DAC, here are some things that you need to know.

DACs are a quick way to clean up your sound. If you are experiencing sound that is less than what you would like, give DACs a try and see how much difference you can tell. While it is true that there have been many advancements in technology and the DAC in your computer is much better than those of 5 or 10 years ago, many audiophiles can tell the difference in the sound and are not impressed. If you can hear the difference, it is worth putting out the extra money to get the sound that you want.

You may not see yourself as an audio superstar, but even those of you that aren’t as fanatical about sound will be able to appreciate the difference that you hear if you add the Mojo to your list of sound toys.

How Do DACs Work?

Understanding how DACs work makes it easier for you to put out hundreds of dollars to invest in them. If you don’t understand what they do, you might not want to put out the kind of money it takes to get the best DAC available for your needs.

Sounds that we hear in music most often begin in an analog domain. Sounds like people talking or a dog barking are included. These sounds are captured and digitized which is the first point of entering the digital domain through the analog-to-digital conversion.

You can think of digitizing audio like freezing the audio picture. Digital audio quality is measured in bitrate which represents the amount of data captured per unit of time. When the bitrate is higher, this means it is denser in detail. The denser it is in detail, the higher the perceived audio quality.

The quality of conversion that takes place depends on the quality of the DAC chipset. While higher resolution files do sound better than lower ones, the DAC chipset is what makes the difference. The processing power of the DAC chip determines things like the transient clarity stereo width and more.

While you don’t have to go for the highest end product on the market, you would be able to tell the difference between a $50 converter and a $500 converter. Even if you weren’t an audiophile, you could tell the difference in the quality. If you’ve put money into amazing speakers and headphones, you need to get a good DAC to do them justice.

Conclusion

When you are researching the Chord Mojo, you will see a lot of good reviews, but there are some reviews that are not in love with the Mojo. The best thing that you can do is decide what you want out of your DAC so that you don’t get distracted by reviews from people that might not appreciate the product. Knowing what you are trying to achieve will allow you to take in the information and process it as necessary to make the right decision for your sound experience.

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.

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!