Windows Phone 8 – Must Have Apps

The race to find the best mobile operating system is heating up. With the evolution of the app ecosystem, people have begin to list the apps available before choosing the OS suitable for them. For now, Blackberry is the one that it's lagging behind every other since it was a late comer, launching just months back. But, there are yet to release platforms such as the Ubuntu mobile OS, Jolla Sailfish and even the one from the browser giant, Firefox OS.

Today, we take a look at some of the best apps available for the Windows Phone 8 platform:

1.) Photofunia:

These days, photo editing apps are taking the front seat. Photofunia is one such app that equips you to add different kinds of effects to your memories.

2.) WhatsApp:

Instant messaging has been to a different level with this brilliant app. Whatapp allows you to share Photos, Videos, Audio and even Contact info with your beloved friends and family. The app is equipped with a huge lot of emoticons which aid you to express your reactions clearly.

3.) GoogleSearch & Maps:

The services offered by Google are always inevitable. The quality of their service is so great that cannot be expressed in words. Though there is Bing search pre-installed, people can have a taste of Google with the simply built Google Search app. It is similar in the case of maps, Nokia maps (rebranded later as Here Maps) is just superb, especially for the Indian customers. But Google search is something special. It even provides you with live features such as the traffic details and also the travel routes more precisely. Even though Google’s official Maps app is not yet available for the platform, “Gmaps” comes with all the features that Google could offer.

4.) Twitter:

As you know, Twitter let's you find the trending news on the web. This app for Windows Phone is so beautifully crafted to even display real time search results, tweets, share photos and more. You can even create a twitter account if you don't have one.

5.) Skydrive:

The future is the cloud and so the Skydrive from Microsoft does the same. It lets you store any kind of file from your PC or mobile on theorem cloud servers and lets you seamlessly access your files at the time of need from any device. What's more? Microsoft even provides free extra storage space for its Windows Phone users.

Some of the other notable apps are:

• Soundhound.
• Metrotube.
• Wikipedia (Voted as the best App in Nokia Lumia Contest).
• Flashlight-X (Pro version also available).
• Weave reader (The best news aggregator).
• Toolbox plus.

Author Bio:

Varun A P, is the owner of TechPix, a Technology blog and also 1st year student of a prestigious institution in Coimbatore, TamilNadu. Check out his post on Four Best News Readers for Android.

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What To Consider When Choosing Cloud Backups

Every computer expert will tell you to backup early and often. However, sometimes there is insufficient space to backup and store all the data. Accidents happen and one loses data in a hard drive crash, which can be catastrophic when one is in the middle of a vital assignment. Sometimes your computer is stolen or the office burns down. We never really know what life has got in store for us, which is why data storage is crucial.

Cloud Backups:

Cloud backup is the name for data and information being stored in a secure data centre via internet. These data centres could be in any remote location in the world. Cloud storage takes away some of the stress about storage away from the individual who no longer needs to overprotect the device in which the data is stored. With cloud backups, the data is protected from accidental or intentional damage. Several issues come into play when considering the use of cloud backups. It is important to know how the service works, its limitation and its effects on the running of your enterprise.

Protect Against Leaks:

Among the major concerns for most organisations is data security. Data protection is absolutely paramount for individuals and, in the case of businesses, data leaks can have very serious repercussions indeed. For example, leaked customer contacts from a database could spammed with unnecessary mails or credit information used for other forms of cyber crimes. Files should be heavily encrypted before leaving the onsite storage. Encryption should be at least 256 bit or higher. Always ensure the service provider states their security policy before you begin to consider engaging their services in storing your data.

Know Your Limits:

Most of the service providers limit the sizes of data they can store by price; so your storage allowance depends on how much you pay. When deciding your cloud backup plan, take into consideration the size of your data and the quantity that is generated at a particular period of time. Check whether your provider can increase the available space if needed and at what cost. Some providers will limit the size of individual files, so be wary of such restrictions especially if you store large files such as videos.

A few service providers will limit the amount of data that can be uploaded or downloaded at any given time. Most of them will not. However, it is vital to know their policy so as to avoid the risk of being unable to access your information as quickly as possible in cases of damage to onsite storage. Initial uploads sometimes take quite some time. This is partly due to bandwidth limitation and partly due to the size of uploading files.

Access All Areas?

Consider whether the service provider allows you to access your files from other computers other than your basic computer. Web enabled access is convenient as one can access their files from any internet enabled device by logging into the providers website. You could download that bill, spreadsheet or statement way from office or home. If you would like to have automatic file upgrades, check whether the provider has software that monitors file changes. Otherwise, you would be forced to manually back up your files.

Final Considerations:

Where none catastrophic data losses are involved, it is often easier to restore data from a local storage in comparison to a cloud backup, so it is worth remembering this when assessing your cloud backup requirement. Another thing to bear in mind, especially if you pay per gigabyte or monthly, is reduplication services. Reduplication minimises the amount of data being stored because where similar files exist, it indicates the specific location of the data, rather than performing a double backup of your data. Overall it is clear that, wherever possible, it is prudent to have an online backup solution in place. It might cost more but in the long term it could save your business.

Author Bio:

This article on cloud backups was written on behalf of Securstore who offer many online backup solutions for businesses and individuals.

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Ways To Avoid A Catastrophe With Computer Support

Anyone who owns a computer these days at some point will probably need to find and engage a computer support service. Computer issues can occur randomly, when it suddenly freezes, slows down to a snail's pace or will not turn on at all.

Computer Support:

Computer support comes in many forms. Some professionals deal primarily with repair, while others offer maintenance plans. Other kinds of computer support can involve receiving advice on choosing and purchasing systems while also seeing that they are updated and properly maintained.

Choosing Customer Support Services:

There are numerous companies available that provide computer support services. For the average computer or small business owner, this can present a challenge when it comes to choosing the right one for their particular needs. Unfortunately, there are a number of rogue firms that are seeking to capitalize on the technical ignorance of consumers. However, following the below tips can make it easier to choose a service that will provide what is needed and eliminate some of the headaches that can occur by dealing with a computer support firm that is unsuitable.

Local or Corporate:

The best way to avoid computer problems is to engage a computer support company that will ensure that the system is properly maintained. However, choosing a firm for that purpose can be daunting. There are advantages to hiring a local company or professional above the big box companies that include:

1. Higher levels of availability.
2. More accountability for services.
3. Better pricing structures.
4. In home repair services save time and money.

Because a smaller firm relies heavily upon repeat business, they are usually more likely to value their customers. In this way, they make a great effort to ensure that customers are pleased with their services, often more than a larger firm.

Qualifications:

Regardless of whom is chosen as the computer support firm, ensure that their qualifications are clear. Look for reviews and ask for customer referrals. Any reputable professional should be able to provide this. If not, this could be a sign that either they lack experience or have had issues about their services in the past.
Check forums, review sites, the BBB and use the search engines. Ensure that no cautionary tales exist about their service caliber and that they have sufficient experience to handle your particular requirements.
Ensure that the professional to be hired offers a guarantee and that you understand the parameters of the guarantee.

       For example, if there is a timeline, ask what happens if the time period is exceeded by just a few days. A reputable shop will accommodate and cover repairs that fall slightly outside of the service guarantee period.

Costs:

One of the most important aspects of ensuring that no mishaps occur with regard to computer support services is to have a budget in mind. Research the services you are interested in for your area so that you have some idea of what to expect. Otherwise, a price quote may easily exceed what your business is able to comfortably pay.

There are literally millions of issues that can occur through the lifecycle of a computer. Much of the time, it makes more sense to have the system maintained by a computer support professional on a regular basis, rather than risk the need for repair.

Even still, repairs also become necessary. In those cases, having an affiliation with a professional ahead of time will mean less downtime for the business. Keeping in mind that downtime costs revenue, the investment made in computer support services is well worth the expense.

Author Bio:

Tony is a managed it services Austin tech. When he's not working on making sure computers don't take over the world and cause caos, he's fishing over at the Guadalupe river just south of Austin, TX.

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What is Cloud Computing

You may have heard the term “Cloud computing” and wondered what it meant. Savvy IT professionals are aware that cloud computing refers to a system of servers that gives people access to computer services over a network, such as the Internet.

Cloud computing is taking off because organizations are realizing the many benefits it provides, including saving money on hardware and software, lowering the burden on IT department personnel and enabling companies to back up their vital data safely and securely.

In fact, cloud computing services are expected to generate almost 14 million jobs across the world by 2015, with many of these jobs coming from small-to-medium sized businesses, according to the IDC report “Cloud Computing’s Role in Job Creation.” What’s more, cloud computing could produce up to $1.1 trillion in revenue every year by 2015.

Remote Backups and Disaster Recovery:

If your company does not routinely make offsite backups of its vital data, what will you do in the face of a catastrophic hard drive crash? While prudent managers will at least set up extra servers to back up data locally, it’s important to maintain offsite backups as well, in case of a natural disaster, extended power failure, theft or other problems.

Cloud computing makes it easy to make multiple backup copies of your data, which you can then access via the Internet to recover information during a disaster.

While your competitors are struggling to regain power and reconstruct their databases, you can quickly restore your important files by accessing them via the cloud. Even if you have to evacuate the premises, such as during a severe weather event, your employees can use laptops or smart phones to access data via the cloud from a hotel, coffee shop or their office at home, thanks to cloud computing.

Save Money on Software and IT Services:

Organizations find that they can save money on software and IT services by taking advantage of cloud computing services. For example, instead of purchasing expensive licenses for a suite of office applications or a particular database program for your entire workforce, you can use software as a service (SaaS) on an as-needed basis. The software is always available via the cloud, and your employees access it through a standard web browser.

Your IT department won’t have to worry about updating software or applying security patches, as the cloud computing service provider’s IT department will take care of this task for you.

You can also purchase access to encrypted server storage space from a cloud services provider whenever you need it. Virtual Private Server (VPS) hosting helps companies save money, as they don’t need to try to plan ahead and purchase additional server space for local use.

Access Data While on the Go:

Does your organization rely on travelling sales people and marketing specialists to drum up new business? If so, these employees are going to be on the road quite frequently. Instead of trying to bring copies of all necessary files with them on their laptops, they can access your company’s data securely via cloud computing.

When a salesperson develops a lead, he can input the data on his device while out in the field, and the information will be instantly accessible to everyone in your organization’s headquarters via the cloud.

Imagine updating important documents that everyone in your company needs to access quickly and reliably. For example, have you changed the terms of your standard contracts? Your legal department can put the updated files in the cloud so that employee will always be able to access the latest versions.

After examining the benefits of cloud computing, many people will want to consider implementing it for their own organizations. Whether you use cloud computing just to keep safe backups in an offsite location or rely on it for fast and reliable access to inexpensive software as a service, this technology is designed to make your organization work more efficiently and save your money. Cloud computing can give you a boost over your competitors, and that’s reason enough to begin implementing it to some degree at your firm.

Author Bio:

Matt Smith is a Dell employee who writes to help raise awareness on the topic of Cloud Computing and other network management subjects.

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Do You Really Know How Far Your Goods Will Travel When You Order Online?

License: Creative Commons image source

The Age of the Internet:

The internet has had a dramatic effect on the way most of us choose and buy a wide variety of products. Just a few years ago, our preferred method of shopping is likely to have been to pay a visit to our local shops, or, if we were looking to make a special purchase, probably to venture into a nearby city, or to an out-of-town shopping centre, where the biggest outlets with the widest choice of products could be found.

That idea has been strongly challenged in recent times, as most of us become ever-more accustomed to looking for what we want to buy online. For major purchases especially, we are happy to scour the internet to find the cheapest prices available.

But how many people, when they do this, give much thought to where the websites on which they find the best prices are run from, and therefore, how far their goods will have to travel to reach them when they finally click on that 'Buy Now' button.

My guess would be very few. We have become so intent on tracking down the best possible price for the precise product we want, that little thought is given to how it will eventually reach us after we take that split-second decision to make a purchase from a particular website.

Buying Online creates convenience:

From the buyer's point of view, shopping online breaks new boundaries in convenience, because it means we can compare products for all the criteria which we can possibly consider when we buy, and then look for the outlet which offers the product we find best meets our needs at the lowest possible price. And yet, when we do this, apart from exceptional occasions when a website will publish its full registered address, most of us will give little or no thought to where our goods will be shipped from, and therefore the task which lies ahead for the delivery company which will ensure that those goods, ordered in a fraction of a second, in turn reach us safely and in the shortest time possible.

This convenience is, of course, a compelling reason why so many of us now choose to shop for many of the things we buy online. But conversely, businesses of course are always looking out for locations from where they can operate while incurring the lowest possible overheads.

As a result, a company can have as many 'shop fronts' as possible, yet its online operation could equally be run from relatively unassuming premises, well away from the locations of these prestigious shop windows. Companies which already have large-scale premises which are used for storage of their products before they are sent out to their stores may, therefore, have a strong advantage over purely web-based companies when it comes to operating the online arm of their business.

But in truth, the motivation for shopping online is so strongly skewed towards seeking out the lowest possible price for the products that we want to buy, that the vast majority of shoppers won't care whether their goods are picked off the shelves of a posh flagship store, or come from a dingy warehouse operated from an industrial estate – provided they reach them safely, and in a reasonable time-frame.

Author Bio:

Guest blog contributed by Lauren Belfield, a parcel delivery expert working for MyHermes.

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How To Identify Legitimate Home Based Business Opportunities?

Home based business opportunities and franchise opportunities are at a hike.  The increasing demand of work for less pay is making more and more to opt for independent sources of income that would allow them to learn while on the job or out of job. As there are many options of home based businesses it is important to identify a valid and trust worthy source that would be 100% risk free.

Here are Few tips to help identify a legitimate home based business opportunity:

• Businesses that are started through experiential learning are certainly worth listening to.  As they are real life people who have faced real time situations, they would be able to provide a platform that is not overwhelming and is definitely promising.
• Sharing of information that would help a person focus on home based business in a general sense is another way of assessing the validity of the business. If a particular business is focused on only promoting themselves the results would remain the same. Some businesses however link their service with an aim to empower people with knowledge on finding the right resources.
• Provide flexible options of working part-time or offer trail opportunities can be trusted.  As they are confident about their services they provide a time for the new entrant without overpowering their idea of being a part of this highly rewarding business line.
• Businesses that extend support in terms of helping through the start up process and providing constant guidance would be a legitimate source of a home based business opportunity.
• Social presence of the business is another aspect that can help to understand their stance in the market and their ranking among the competitors. The higher they are ranked the better are the prospects of earning. 
• Reviews and testimonials are other sources of information that not only inspire but also provide an insight into the way the entire business operates. As most that have become successful do leave a note behind, it helps as a great boost for those who are contemplating about choosing the home based business opportunity.
• Discussion forums, video lectures and data sharing are a few other facilities that home based business providers extend for the benefit of the entrant.
• A website is also a way of analyzing the impact the business has when compared to other opportunities. The website should have constant updates with valid information that would support the business that is being promoted.
• Discussing various options to choose from that have a higher pay out through forums and blogs would also help in analyzing the best home based business opportunities.
• Training material in support to the product or service is another way of checking the validity of the business opportunity.  If the business is investing in training someone they aim to experience a result oriented business.
• There are many helpful websites that provide a review on each of the legitimate home based business opportunities and their success ratio.  This would also provide an insight into the benefit that one can make if a particular online opportunity is taken up.

Author Bio:

Claudia Martinez is an expert content writer who writes for several blogs and websites including business and home based business blogs.

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Identifying Your Target Audience

Before I begin creating a content strategy or analysing the existing content in a website, I try to get as clear as I can about who is in my target audience. If you're thinking that your website should appeal to everyone in the entire world, you haven't narrowed things down enough yet. Trying to reach everyone is not only impossible, it can make it a lot harder to reach the people who matter most.

If you work for a big company or an organisation, you probably want to start this process by talking with people in the marketing department, the sales team, customer support; these folks have thought a lot about the audience. But if you are working with a smaller company, you may need to do some of this research yourself and help identify the best audience to target with the content you are going to create.

Either way, the tips and suggestions in this article are designed to help you appreciate why getting as specific as you can about your audience, can help ensure that your content is effective and well received by the right people. Here are a few of the characteristics to consider as you define your target audience. The first one is demographics. That's a big word that represents many things to many people, but it's generally used to mean things like gender, race, age, mobility--whether somebody is in a wheelchair or they are a marathon runner--economic status, employment status, location--meaning where they live, if it's an urban or rural setting-- those kinds of things.

As you identify your target audience, you may also want to consider some more specific elements, like language requirements, what education level or reading level they are likely to have, whether they've ever used a computer before or they are very experienced with computers. If you are developing a website for people who are gamers, for example, you can probably assume a high level of experience-- other audiences, maybe not so much. Similarly, computer equipment and bandwidth can affect not only usability issues, but what kind of content you create, whether you can have multimedia and other formats. So all of that comes into identifying how you decide what kind of content, things like what reading level you're going to write for, what formats to use, again, whether you are going to use video or animations.

Does your audience have the bandwidth to support that? And again what languages to use, what cultural references and things like that. So the more specific you get on that demographic information, the more you identify what kind of audience, the more informed you are as you start to make decisions like these. For example, if I'm designing a website for veterinarians I would probably use far more sophisticated vocabulary than I would use for pet owners. I will give you an example of that at the end.

But before I do, the more specific you can get about your audience, the better. So what else can we learn about our example pet owners? Again, much of it comes down to asking the right questions. Are the customers of big commercial ranchers with herds and pigs and cows, or are they city dwellers, more likely to have companion pets such as cats, dogs, fish and birds? Also consider what you might know about your own community and do some research on what other people know about your community. If our example was in Silicon Valley, California, you'd probably know you are in the heart of the dotcom world, and you could probably assume that most of your audience was computer savvy and had relatively high bandwidth.

If you were on Miami Beach in South Florida, a little research might reveal that most people who live on South Beach live in high-rise condos, and most of those condos restrict their residents to pets that weigh no more than thirty pounds. That kind of detail can help you determine, for example, that you might want more content about small dogs than big ones. As you research your audience keep asking yourself, what makes my visitors different from everyone else in the world? Some designers go so far as to create what they call user personas. User personas give specific examples of what key customer types might be like. Having a specific user persona with a name and a back story can help you humanise demographics.

So for example, we might create Michaela, a 10-year-old girl who has her first puppy and can't wait to train it to do tricks. But even then, remember that we might be marketing to her parents more than to her. Other user personas might be someone like George, a small business owner who dotes on his white cockatoo that he keeps in his office. Creating user personas can be fun, but I have to warn you: as helpful as it can be to personify your audience, creating user personas can become a distraction all by itself. If you are working on a pet site and you find yourself imagining what paint colours your customers might choose for their dining room, you're probably getting a little too specific with your user personas.

As a content strategist, you should know that lots of marketing people, user interface designers, and others love creating user personas. And many writers find it extremely helpful to have a specific person in mind as they write. Just don't get too bogged down at this stage in the process. Ultimately, I recommend you define at least the basic characteristics of your audience and you use those to guide the content development. For our pet site example, let's assume we've done some research. We've interviewed a few people, we've studied the demographics of our neighbourhood, and we've come up with the following.

Our audience is made up of urban professionals. We don't have to get more specific than that, but we could. Our target language is going to be English. We may want to change that in the future, but for now, that's what we've identified. We are going to assume most of them have at least some college education, based on where they live, that they are relatively computer savvy, and that they are most likely visiting our website on a desktop computer, although increasingly we're seeing traffic on smart phones and tablets, and that will also influence some of our content development.

Sometimes you need to target very specific content to something like a smart phone. Once we agree that our website is for urban pet owners and not veterinarians for example, then we can start to agree that we should use simpler vocabulary, not big fancy scientific terms.

Author Bio:

Sadhiv Mahandru has been involved in online marketing for over a decade covering PPC, Affiliate Marketing, SEO, Content Creation and also creating effective websites. Providing SEO & Web Design and offering these services throughout the UK. You can also learn more about Internet Marketing and SEO by reading my own blog which is updated frequently.

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