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10

Comcast’s $10 internet plan opens up to all low-income and disabled Americans

by Loknath Das August 7, 2019

written by Loknath Das

Closeup of colored computer network cables connected to a switch

Low-income families face the same issues the luckier among us do when it comes to getting broadband: few options and fewer still that are affordable. Comcast, though simultaneously the source of many of these issues, has a good program for anyone facing financial hardship, and several new groups now qualify for $10 connectivity.

The “Internet Essentials” program has for several years now offered cheap internet to the economically disadvantaged and other groups who need a helping hand. It has connected some two million households so far and may connect plenty more under the new, expanded eligibility options the company just announced.

Essentially if you’re the beneficiary of any of a bunch of financial aid programs from the government, or are disabled, or a low-income household, you’re eligible. You can apply here for free.

Previously you were eligible under a dozen or so of those programs, but today Comcast announced that the following groups are newly able to take advantage of the program:

Persons with disabilities
Seniors on Medicaid
All low-income adults (defined as 38% above the poverty line in your area)

That last one probably makes a lot of people eligible who might not have participated in one of the other programs, like the National School Lunch Program or Section 8 housing. If you’re low income, get on in there.

In case you’re not quite sure of your exact income, you’re also welcome if you take part in any of the following assistance programs:

Medicaid
National School Lunch Program (NSLP, free and reduced-price lunch)
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP or food stamps)
HUD housing assistance and Section 8
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (welfare)
Supplemental Security Income (social security)
Head Start or Early Head Start
Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
Tribal assistance (TTANF and FDPIR)
Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
VA pension

Any of these should qualify you for $10 (plus applicable taxes and fees — probably a couple bucks) broadband. You also can apply for a $150 computer, but I’m not sure I’d recommend whatever they’re selling. Cheap laptops are pretty easy to find, so ask around before you go in on Comcast’s house brand.

Just to make sure expectations are in line with reality here, this is a 5-megabit connection, meaning it doesn’t really even qualify as “broadband” under current definitions. But you’ll be able to stream music, play games, do most web stuff and watch YouTube perfectly fine. Just be ready to buffer a bit if you want to watch Netflix in HD. There’s also a 1-terabyte data cap, so 4K all day probably isn’t a good idea.

Good on Comcast for offering this (and rare it is the company deserves kudos). It’s more comprehensive than other low-income connection options from AT&T, Cox and so on, though if they’re the monopoly in your area, you might not have a choice. At least the programs exist — there’s a pretty good list here. Be sure to ask your provider if they have one before you decide to pay full price.

[“source=techcrunch”]

August 7, 2019 0 comment

Tech Update

Windows 10 May 2019 Update release date & new features

by Loknath Das April 16, 2019

written by Loknath Das

windows 10 april 2019 update 19h1

By now you’ve probably got the October 2018 update on all your PCs and laptops which run Windows 10, but what’s coming next? Well, Microsoft has two updates planned for 2019, one in the first half of the year and another in the second half. Don’t expect any big changes, though, as this next update is all about refinements and improvements to the interface to make Windows 10 easier and nicer to use.

Windows 10 May 2019 Update release date

Along with everyone else, we thought this would be called the April 2019 Update, but because Microsoft has decided to do extended beta testing it has pushed the release back a few weeks so the official name is the May 2019 Update. The codename is 19H1, rather than the expected Redstone 6, but it’s no secret that Microsoft’s roadmap is for twice yearly updates to Windows 10, so it makes sense.

There’s still no exact date when the update will be available, so keep this page bookmarked as we’ll update it when there’s new information.

One big change is that – based on user feedback (i.e. people not liking big updates being forced upon them) – Microsoft is putting the decision on when to update in your hands. You’ll also be able to pause updates in all versions of Windows 10 for up to 35 days.

Windows 10 May 2019 Update

Windows 10 May 2019 Update new features

There aren’t really any major new features in this update. The much-vaunted Sets, a new way to group apps that you want to keep together, seems to have been quietly dropped. The changes are mostly quality-of-life tweaks, such as the ability to customise the shortcuts in Action Centre instead of being redirected to the Settings app. Also, when this version of Windows 10 is installed fresh or arrives on, say, a brand new laptop, the Start menu is simplified with fewer tiles and now offers the ability to unpin whole groups.

It’s still in beta, but you can already try out the May 2019 Update! Just sign up to the Windows Insider Program, join the Fast Ring (which receives updates more frequently) and then in the Settings app click on Update & Seciruty > Windows Insider Programme > Get started. From the menu pick ‘Skip ahead to the next version of Windows’.

Windows 10 Insider Programme

Naturally, you won’t want to run these beta versions of Windows 10 on a computer you rely on since bugs are common and it is intended only for testing, not general use.

Anyhow, here are the main new features you can expect from the May 2019 Update.

Light theme

There’s a new light mode which makes the Start menu, Taskbar and other windows a white colour and lends them a modern, airy feel.

Windows 10 April 2019 Update

Your Phone

As shown above and below, you can mirror your Android phone’s screen to your Windows 10 laptop or PC and use your keyboard and mouse to control apps and type more easily.

Windows 10 April 2019 Update

Sign-in

The login screen features new Acrylic blur effects, but it’s the actual sign-in settings which have seen the biggest changes. In the Settings app you’ll see a cleaner, less-confusing interface for choosing how you log in, including Hello Face, Hello Fingerprint and Hello PIN.

Windows 10 April 2019 Update

Cortana & Search

Cortana and search are going their separate ways. This means you can enable or disable the Cortana icon and search box independent from each other and have only the features you want on the Taskbar.

Windows 10 April 2019 Update

[“source=techadvisor”]

April 16, 2019 0 comment

Blogging

10 Common Blogging Fails to Acknowledge and Avoid

by Loknath Das April 8, 2019

written by Loknath Das

Image result for 10 Common Blogging Fails to Acknowledge and Avoid To say that we’re in a state of content shock would be an understatement.

The term, coined by keynote speaker and social media expert Mark Schaefer, refers to the exponential publication of content compared against our stagnant and limited ability to consume it. Put another way, today there’s more content than ever, but we still have the same 24 hours a day to split up and make time for it. Our available time does not grow with this increase in content.

So what’s a content creator to do?

To be sure, low-quality content is a waste of time. If you can’t provide a unique perspective with value, don’t bother.

To figure out how to create quality content that accomplishes your specific goals, it helps to know what not to do

Here are the top 10 things most content creators do wrong when it comes to blogging:

#1: They Start Without a Clear Focus

If you start each blog writing session with a blank page, you’re doing it wrong.

Top content creators flesh out their ideas before they ever put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard).

Here are two ways you can log and marinate ideas before writing your next blog post:

- Create a process for capturing ideas before you need them. This process should incorporate tools you already use—unless you’re just getting started and are looking for recommendations. I use Evernote and Trello to capture and organize ideas as I get them.
- Create an outline before starting your first draft. An outline helps you structure your eventual final product without the pressure of perfection. Use the time you spend outlining to grab any statistics and quotes you’ll need to support your final piece so that your first draft doesn’t require the use of the internet (and can thus be distraction-free).

#2: They Worry About SEO to the Detriment of Their Human Reader

Content written for SEO is useless if it fails to account for the ultimate end-user: a human.

Although it may seem like you have to compromise; you don’t. With the right technique, there is a way to find balance—especially as Google’s algorithm gets more sophisticated.

Learn more about how to write for both humans and computers.

#3: They Don’t Think about SEO Until After Drafting an Article

One of the keys to bridging the gap between humans and computers is incorporating a target keyword (and semantic keywords) into your article naturally. It’s a lot harder to do this if you wait to do keyword research until after the article has been written. Instead, start your article already knowing what keywords you need to use.

Using a WordPress SEO plugin like Yoast ensures that you follow on-page SEO best practices as soon as you’ve decided on a keyword and start writing.

#4: They Use “I” More than “You

Most bloggers need to do a better job of putting themselves in the shoes of their target audience. Defining customer personas is one way to get in the right mindset but it doesn’t necessarily need to be this complicated.

The easiest way to make sure your blog has the right focus? Pay attention to how often you use words like “I” versus “you” in your writing. After all, if it’s all about you, what’s their reason for paying attention?

To dig deeper into what your target reader is interested in, use analytics tools (like Google Analytics) to dig through past content performance. Determine which topics have the most readers and best engagement (using metrics like time on page) and create more content like this.

#5: They Don’t Optimize for Social Sharing

It helps to be thinking about content promotion as you’re writing content so that you can highlight interesting stats, quotes, or takeaways that seem like social media gold.

Of course, the bigger crime is failing to optimize content for social sharing at all. When you publish a new blog post, you’ve really only done half the work (or less) to ensure it’s success. Use tools like Missinglettr and Social Warfare to help each piece reach further on social media.

The bare minimum should also include:

A compelling meta title and meta description
Click to Tweet callouts
A call to action at the end to share the article, engage in the comments or get in touch with your business

#6: They’re Too Much in Their Own Heads to Ever Publish

For all the content that the general public has access to, there are plenty of articles that are technically completed but never published.

The beauty of running a blog? It’s not a newspaper, unchangeable once printed.

With blogging, you can always make changes later, as you find opportunities to improve your content. And you should update content frequently—it can help your Google rankings.

So just hit publish, already.

#7: They Exist in a Bubble

People may not be forthcoming about what they think unless you’re proactive about asking for their opinion. As you build a following, be sure to tap members for their opinions. You don’t necessarily know what people think about your content unless you ask them directly.

#8: They Don’t Have Measurable Goals

…Which usually also means that they don’t have a long-term plan. Without goals or plans, it’s hard to find purpose—which can eventually hurt your motivation and your ability to keep your blog going.

How do you know your blog is successful unless you’ve first defined your most important key performance indicators (KPIs)?

#9: Their Content Isn’t Unique

This is not to say that it’s copied—more so that it’s so similar to what’s already out there that it’s boring.

Here are a few ways to write something worth reading:

Get controversial
Share your opinion
Take a new stance
Challenge the status quo

#10. Their Formatting Hurts Readability

Whitespace, bullet points, and short paragraphs. Did you notice how I broke up this topic in a way that kept you reading and scrolling?

If you instead present readers with blocks of text, it won’t matter how good that text actually is. If someone feels frustrated with the reading experience, they will give up on it.

Final Thoughts: 10 Common Blogging Fails to Acknowledge and Avoid

With the right approach, your blog content can go from boring and unreadable to the type of marketing asset that accomplishes goals.

What would you add to this list of common failures by most content creators? Drop Janeene a note to [email protected]

Janeene High is the owner of Results Driven Marketing, a 100% women-owned business headquartered in Wynnewood, PA with an office in Philadelphia, PA. Janeene and her team have been helping customers increase qualified traffic to their websites by using the latest SEO strategies. If you or your business looking to be found by more people that need your services, contact RDM or give Janeene a call 215-393-8700.

[“source=tapinto”]

April 8, 2019 0 comment

Online Marketing

10 marketers share their top predictions for marketing in 2019

by Loknath Das January 16, 2019

written by Loknath Das

We reached out to some top influencers and leaders in digital marketing and asked for their perspectives. What are their top predictions for marketing in 2019? What are current trends and challenges in the industry? Looking forward to rest of year, what do they anticipate will happen?

They shared their views and predictions for marketing in the coming year, including insights on the role of artificial intelligence in marketing, voice search, content marketing, and aligning sales and marketing.

10 predictions for marketing in 2019

1. Deepened understanding of audience and customers

“The only long-term way to stay competitive in marketing is to continue to deepen your understanding of your audience and customers.

There is a wide range of tactics available to do this including qualitative user research, surveys, web user session recording, split testing, and analytics.

One of the reasons that artificial intelligence (AI) is coming to the foreground in marketing is that it can extract more subtle patterns about your customers out of the mountain of data that you are collecting.

Expect more of this, but never forget that the best companies combine all of the approaches to relentlessly focus on the needs and desires of their online users.”

— Tim Ash, CEO of SiteTuners, international keynote speaker

2. Customer experience will continue to differentiate the best from the rest

“Customer experience will be one of the key differentiators among brands and email marketers will begin to call upon the three pillars of Customer Experience Email Marketing: helpfulness, personalization, and customer focus.

By using these three pillars, marketers will be delivering emails that are more valuable and appealing to the consumer, because they will have the consumer at the very heart of them.”

— Kath Pay, Holistic Email Marketing, Founder & CEO

3. More focus on trust and transparency

“Trust is fundamental, people buy from people they trust.

And that trust is being eroded; fake news, Facebook defending its privacy practices and Google+ shutting due to data leaks.

The call for businesses to increase transparency and government to act is set to grow. The US Department of Commerce has already started looking at the issue.

In email, consumers are looking for personalized relevant experiences. Our email addiction consumer report found 35% of consumers welcome offers and products based on their previous purchases.

But more trust and transparency is needed for consumers to happily share their data, the data enabling the marketing experiences they desire.”

— Tim Watson, Email Marketing Consultant, Zettasphere

4. Email marketers will use the power of AI to automate, personalize, and create content

“Artificial Intelligence is slowly being a part of different marketing channels in form of chatbots and dynamic websites.

Email marketing is catching up with innovations such as smarter email automation workflows, personalization in the subject line & email copy using AI.

Although AI in emails is not strong enough to handle email campaigns by itself without involving an email marketer in the mix, it surely does reduce the workload for an email marketer.

What needs to be seen is how email marketers will utilize the power of AI in the coming future.”

— Kevin George, Head of Marketing and Branding at Email Monks

5. Brands will co-create content with users

“The blog, the how-to videos, the infographics… They’re all good, but they’re table stakes now.

Buyers continue to deflect and reject advertising and direct their affection toward what’s real and genuine.

And media consumers have and always will continue to love a good story. Put these ideas together and watch out for big ideas brands come up with to invite customers to do their marketing with them.

I don’t have the perfect name for this marketing trend I see blossoming.

The closest I can get is “user generated content.”

However, I believe what we’ll see more of going forward is truly interesting content forms co-created with enthusiastic customers. Reality TV struck gold. Social media struck gold.

A golden approach in 2019 and beyond is reality media.”

— Barry Feldman, CEO Feldman Creative

6. Precision marketing will become more common

“Precision marketing is a concept you’re going to hear more and more about in 2019.

What is it? It’s the ability of marketers to hyper-target prospects based on their behaviors, their desires, and their previous purchases.

If you use marketing automation, you’re using a form of precision marketing. But true precision marketing goes even deeper than that.

A full-on precision marketing campaign uses information about previous purchases to hyper-targeted ads to individuals and then allows you to calculate a return-on-investment on an ad-by-ad basis.

Keep an eye out for precision marketing – it may be something new to you today, but tomorrow, you’ll be talking about it and using it on a regular basis.”

— Jamie Turner, author, speaker, and CEO of 60SecondMarketer.com

7. The line between sales and marketing teams will continue to blur

“In 2019, sales and marketing departments must become more closely aligned; with the impetus of social selling / digital sales transformation.

Marketing pros must become sales experts and modern sellers must become marketers.

I definitely see the line between the two departments continuing to blur, if not disappearing altogether. If marketing is to have a future, they must adjust and align.”

— Viveka von Rosen, Chief Visibility Officer & Co-founder at Vengreso

8. Product-led growth will be a cost-effective alternative to emails and PPC to build trust

“The trend around product-led growth has been on the rise in 2018 and will continue to grow for 2019.

With PPC channels getting more competitive and expensive all the time, and more traditional channels like email becoming saturated, product-led is the most cost-effective way to build trust with and convert skeptical buyers.”

— Alex Theuma, CEO, SaaStock

9. More organizations will reach customers via their beliefs and cultural DNA

“In an era where it’s harder than ever to break through, and every little thing can breed controversy, some companies are gaining attention (and customers) by leaning IN to delicate situations.

REI closing their doors on Black Friday and asking consumers to #optoutside.

Nike embraced Colin Kaepernick’s role in the fight against policy brutality.

And even Salesforce stood in favor of a business tax to help combat San Francisco’s homelessness program.

We’re seeing more and more organizations using their beliefs and cultural DNA to galvanize a portion of their potential customer base.

While these moves turn off some consumers (witness people burning Nike gear after the Kaepernick ad debuted), they also increase kinship between like-minded customers and the company. And when kinship is greatly diminished, or significantly increased, it often manifests in social media chatter.

One way to create customer conversations in social media and beyond is to develop and implement a sustained word of mouth strategy rooted in company operations, like DoubleTree Hotels and their free cookie gifted at check-in.

The other way is to take a stand. We’re going to see more of both approaches in 2019 and beyond, because they dramatically increase reach at comparatively low cost.”

— Jay Baer, Entrepreneur, Marketer, Member, Professional Speaking Hall of Fame

10. Less content marketing, more time off technology?

“Content marketing is at its peak right now. Where everybody is on the internet creating videos, doing podcasts, writing bite-sized blogs and what not.

So, we are approaching a stage of content overload and more people are now taking more time off technology than ever.

It will be interesting to see how businesses will engage their prospects in 2019 to address this challenge.”

[“source=clickz”]

January 16, 2019 0 comment

Online Marketing

10 Reasons why your business is starving for digital marketing

by Loknath Das October 30, 2018

written by Loknath Das

PlayStation VR

Digital marketing has become a dominant part of marketing activities and the people who know about its importance will never count it out as an additional expense or activity because it is in the modern world the core of your business and without it, the competitors will never let you survive in the market.

Your business activities should be present online in a reputable manner and people should know what work you are doing and what is the nature of your business. The more people know about you and your company the more your business will grow and develop a goodwill in the market. For this, you have to take benefits out of the new age technologies which are easily accessible and very common in use and the utilization of the internet in this department is essential. So, there are many reasons to apply digital marketing in your business and we are here to discuss 10 from it which are as follows:

1. Monitoring

Physically marketing the product is not that easy for an entrepreneur but digital marketing is a lot easier to monitor as it is just a few clicks away. You can watch its activities online regardless of who is working on it whether these tasks are assigned to your own employees or you have outsourced these tasks to an agency.

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Monitoring Now, this activity is crucial because you can measure your benefits in numbers and compare whether a certain digital activity is beneficial for your business or it is just an additional expense which is being incurred for no reason.

2. Easy access of public

These days people are not fond of reaching outside and perform market research physically and judge a certain product to opt from which company. They rather want to research online and want their product on their doorstep. They will know almost everything about your company if you post your business activities online in a detailed manner and you can attract people by posting different offers which many people cannot refuse.

3. Economical

Economical If you compare marketing physically and digitally you will know that the digital marketing agency greatly reduces the expense incurred in marketing activities and the work procedure is not hectic at all. However, you need to be proactive online to develop business in an orderly manner. It helps a lot in making a budget for marketing activities and will ultimately have a good effect on your income because of the reduction in expense as you digitally market your company and products.

4. Mobile Phones

Almost everyone in this world own a mobile phone which they use for research, social networking, browsing, and many other activities and they are always online with their phones and in this scenario digital marketing lets you reach them instantly with the help of emails, advertisements, Google apps, SMS, social media sites or blogs etc. People tend to use the internet on mobile phones more than they use on PCs or laptops.

5. Feedback

Posting your business online helps you a great deal because you can also be advised from people in a discussion platform that what changes should be made to improve your business or what more activities can be added to the list to develop a unique reputation in the market. The common individuals are the ones who buy your product it is he who can sincerely advise which will be helpful for you and him as well.

6. Visual Experience

Visual Content You can also upload promotional photos and video clips on your website or blog and draw a great deal of attention from people which can really boost your viewership and sales. This is becoming very common in the market and almost every well-mannered company advertise their products visually.

7. Content writing

Writing good and attractive thoughts and your positive point of view and experience can also attract many people and this is how people are made brand conscious as they develop a trust on your company and they even tend to buy your product even at the times of recession.

8. Traditional Marketing

Many people think that if you digitally market your product then you cannot keep the old traditional marketing in business which not true. If your company is famous online then it will definitely help in marketing your product physically as well. People will have interest in your banner ads, newspaper ads etc.

9. Connection with customers

Customer Connection In digital marketing, you can provide personal attention to your customers through live chat or emails because people like talking about products before purchasing it at different platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram etc. This builds a trust and a healthy relationship with customers and they like to refer your company to other people too.

10. Competitors

To be in the competition you have to adopt modern techniques to market your product and digital marketing is the hub of those techniques and these days no business can survive in the market without it. You have to analyze successful businessmen on what they are doing and hence making a big difference between you and them. Almost every entrepreneur is extracting benefits out of digital marketing and if you do not keep up with this need then you will be thrown out from the competition.

There are too many reasons which cannot be denied by any business owner that digital marketing is essential for any business whether its selling a product or service and it also helps to know our customers and their needs and you can launch products according to their need and if it really helps them then you’re in for the competition in the market.

It is a faster and quicker approach and as compared to the traditional marketing strategies it is very cost-effective as well. Over the years, many new technologies have been introduced for digital marketing and more techniques will be introduced within a short span of time and every business would have to keep up with modern technologies to ensure their business security and flourish freely in the market.

[“source=TimeOFIndia”]

October 30, 2018 0 comment

Tech Update

Microsoft Removes ‘Sets’ App Tabs Feature From Latest Windows 10 Insider Preview

by Loknath Das June 28, 2018

written by Loknath Das

Microsoft Removes 'Sets' App Tabs Feature From Latest Windows 10 Insider Preview

HIGHLIGHTS

Sets feature is not present in the latest Windows 10 Insider Preview
Microsoft has claimed that taking Sets offline will help make it “great”
The feature is reportedly not coming to the next Windows 10 update

Months after its emergence for Windows Insiders, Microsoft has now decided to temporarily remove its Sets feature, which allowed users to improve their work flow by grouping relevant apps into a single window with app tabs. The feature, which was originally conceived to bring a tabs integration within apps such as Microsoft Office and Edge, has been removed from the latest Windows 10 Insider Preview. The removal is claimed to help make the feature “great” in the future. Also, it is reported that the Redmond giant is not in plans to bring Sets to the next major Windows 10 update later this year. The initial feedback through early testers will help the company bring some improvements to the visual design of the feature and make it better to enhance workflow before making it public. However, there isn’t any specific timeline on its comeback at least for Windows Insiders.

“Starting with this build, we’re taking Sets offline to continue making it great,” said Microsoft’s Head of Windows Insider Program Dona Sarkar and Senior Program Manager Brandon LeBlanc in a joint blog post while announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 17704. “Based on your feedback, some of the things we’re focusing on include improvements to the visual design and continuing to better integrate Office and Microsoft Edge into Sets to enhance workflow. If you have been testing Sets, you will no longer see it as of today’s build, however, Sets will return in a future WIP flight.”

As Sarkar and LeBlanc stated, the comeback of Sets is confirmed. But notwithstanding, The Verge reports citing sources familiar with the development that the tabs integration will not be a part of the next major Windows 10 update. This suggests that Microsoft is tweaking the experience that debuted with Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 17063 back in December last year. In March, Microsoft also expanded Sets for Windows Insiders who have opted into the Skip Ahead ring and brought the tabs integration to Mail, Calendar, OneNote, and MSN News. There were also new dedicated keyboard shortcuts to switch to the new tab, go back to the previous tab, open a new tab, or to close the current tab.

The prime purpose of Sets is to group similar apps and tasks under one roof and offer tabs for each screen, similar to how tabs work in a Web browser. Initially, Microsoft announced that the feature will work with apps including Microsoft Edge, OneNote, and Microsoft Word and frequent Web destinations such as YouTube, Facebook, and Spotify. It also debuted on Office 365 to help users even sync their app tabs across devices and scroll down the tab page to see the recently opened Office documents.

That being said, while Sets is a great example of how multitasking can be uplifted on computing devices, Microsoft hasn’t planned its public appearance yet.

[“Source-gadgets.ndtv”]

June 28, 2018 0 comment

Gadgets News

Windows 10 Won’t Get Fresh Features in Next Update Due to Blue Screen of Death Issues

by Loknath Das April 19, 2018

written by Loknath Das

Windows 10 Won't Get Fresh Features in Next Update Due to Blue Screen of Death Issues

HIGHLIGHTS

Microsoft is set to fix Blue Screen of Death issues through new update
This delays the arrival of fresh features
The new update has initially been provided to Windows Insiders

Instead of providing a host of fresh features, Microsoft has decided to fix a bunch of reliability issues through its new Windows 10 update. The latest move comes days after the anticipation of the next major Windows 10 update codenamed Redstone 4 that was internally due on April 10 and was likely to arrive as the Spring Creators Update. It has been found that the company transformed its original decision to mainly avoid Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) issues that could be triggered through the bugs hidden under the existing Windows build.

The new Windows build, which comes in the form of Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 17134 (RS4), is initially available to Windows Insiders in the Fast ring. According to The Verge, citing people familiar with the development, the same build has been marked as the final version of the next major Windows 10 update. This highlights that the company is not in favour of bringing feature-rich update this time.

Microsoft’s Dona Sarkar defines the reason for the new move. “As Build 17133 progressed through the rings, we discovered some reliability issues we wanted to fix. In certain cases, these reliability issues could have led to a higher percentage of (BSOD) on PCs for example,” writes Sarkar, who heads the Windows Insider Program at Microsoft, in a blog post.

Microsoft hasn’t specified any details about the issues that have the potential to bring BSOD issues. Also, it is so far unclear that whether the new update will debut as the Spring Creators Update.

Some of the key features that the next major Windows 10 update was expected to bring include the addition of Timeline, HDR support, and some interface-level changes through Fluent Design tweaks. As per the recent Windows 10 Insider Preview, Microsoft is also in plans to bring an extended range of Sets to let users add tabs to File Explorer, Notepad, Command Prompt, and PowerShell. This is expected to debut on Redstone 5 build that will come later this year.

Microsoft is expected to detail Redstone 5 features at its Build conference in May. The developer-focused conference will also likely to detail Windows ML that is was recently released as a dedicated artificial intelligence (AI) platform.

[“Source-gadgets.ndtv”]

April 19, 2018 0 comment

Online Marketing

Here’s a digital marketing playbook — and it’s yours for under $10

by Loknath Das February 17, 2018

written by Loknath Das

Here’s a digital marketing playbook — and it’s yours for under $10

Did you know nearly 3 billion people around the world are social media users? According to stats from We Are Social, that’s a number quickly approaching 40 percent of the Earth’s population. Beyond air and water, there may be nothing else that touches more humans on this planet.

With mind-blowing figures like those, it’s almost malpractice at this point not to have a well-constructed, finely-tuned social media marketing plan for any business or cause. Thankfully, you’ll have the background to put that plan into motion with the Complete Digital Marketing Course, available right now for just $9 (over 90 percent off) from TNW Deals.

This may look like one course, but the package is really 12 courses in one. As you work through the modules, each examines a different facet of marketing fundamentals, including methods for research as well as the best use of the latest online tools to assemble a web campaign that succeeds by all metrics.

This course will teach you everything you need to know to build and grow an online brand to profitability. Along the way, you’ll use WordPress to create effective websites, email marketing and copywriting, employ ad servers and ad networks like Google Adwords and understand Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to maximize the reach of your brand message.

You’ll also take a focused look at each of the most popular social media venues, including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and more, charting what works — and what doesn’t work — on each to best reach your intended audience.

Whether you want to get a business rolling or just market yourself as the digital man (or woman) with all the answers, this course is a roadmap to those answers.

With this limited time deal, you can get his intensive marketing training (a $200 value) for less than $10.

[“Source-thenextweb”]

February 17, 2018 0 comment

Blogging

10 Important Reasons to Work Seriously On Your Small Business Blog

by Loknath Das February 14, 2018

written by Loknath Das

10 Important Reasons to Work Seriously On Your Small Business Blog

How the heck do they do it?

You know who I’m talking about. I’m talking about those successful small business entrepreneurs who get tons of business and engagement online.

Sure, they hustle just as much as you do. They attend the same networking events. But there’s a difference.

They seem to have much more business than you do. They’re closing more deals. They’re generating more leads through their website.

So what’s the difference between you and them?

They’re probably blogging. They’re probably using their small business blog to build an online audience that is engaged with their brand.

If you’re a small business entrepreneur or solopreneur, you have probably heard of content marketing, right? No doubt you’ve heard of the importance of creating valuable content for your website. But maybe you haven’t taken that first step yet.

A small business blog is one of the most-used and effective content marketing tools at your disposal. Simply put, if you’re not blogging, you’re leaving money on the table.

Here’s some stats for you:

Marketers that use blogs get 67 percent more leads than those who don’t.
81 percent of U.S. online consumers trust information and advice from blogs.
Companies that blog have 97 percent more inbound links.
61 percent of U.S. online consumers have made a purchase based on recommendations from a blog.
60 percent of consumers feel more positive about a company after reading custom content on its site.

If you’re an entrepreneur, you need to consider how you’re connecting with your audience. Since you might not have the huge marketing budget of a mega-corporation, you will have to use other means to build and connect with your audience.

One of the best ways to do this is by blogging. It’s been shown to be highly effective at generating quality leads for your business.

Many business owners overlook the potential rewards that blogging can provide. But you’re a savvy entrepreneur, so you’re not going to make this mistake, are you?

This post is going to give you ten benefits that a small business blog can provide for your business. When you read through this post, you will learn various ways you can use your blog to generate more business, earn more credibility and make it easier for prospects to find you online.

Why You Should Have a Small Business Blog

1. Market Research

Having a blog with many articles allows you to more effectively understand what your audience really wants. From the back end of your site, you can spy on what pages people are viewing the most, and this gives you an idea of where their interest lies. When you know what types of content perform the best, you know what types of content to continue to create.

Also, you can use your blog to request feedback from your audience. If you have an engaged following, it’s very likely that they will be happy to answer the questions you have.

2. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

As you probably know, there’s not much of a point to having a killer website if nobody can find it. One of the biggest keys to getting more traffic is making sure that people will find your site when they use search engines. As a matter of fact, search engines are the no. 1 driver of traffic to content websites! SEO is something that you can’t ignore if you want to have a viable online presence.

The more relevant content you have on your website, the more likely it will be that you will rank for certain keywords. This is where a small business blog comes in. Consistently publishing high-quality content on your blog will do wonders for your search engine optimization efforts.

When you produce useful content, Google’s algorithms will rank your site higher. Over time, your site will make its way to the front page of search results. Not only that, but when people read high-quality content, they’re more likely to link back to it. Earning quality backlinks from other high-authority blogs will do wonders for your SEO efforts.

3. Customer Engagement

Engagement is immensely important for any online business. It’s not enough to just create great content. You also need to interact with your audience as much as you can. You can’t have any success by just talking at your audience. You need to have ongoing conversations with them. It will help you know your audience better. It will help your audience know you better.

That’s what you want.

If you enable comments on your small business blog, you can discuss topics and get feedback directly. This can tell you a lot about your customer base. Not only that. It shows your audience that you are interested in interacting with them. This will increase loyalty and help you form a deeper connection with your audience.

4. Communicating Your Mission

One of the most important components of effective branding is purpose. Connecting with your audience means embracing a unique brand perspective that can give your audience something they can connect with on an emotional level.

This is where blogging comes in.

Your blog is a place where you can communicate your brand purpose. This is important because establishing a strong brand is an important part of encouraging customer loyalty. When you communicate a brand purpose that goes beyond what you sell, it helps you stand out from your competition.

For example, if you are a business that sells vegan meat substitutes, you can express your brand’s purpose by posting animal welfare material on your site. This shows your audience that your company is focused on something more than just making money.

5. Communicating With Customers

If there’s something going on with your service — for example, there will be a planned outage or lack of availability — you don’t have to keep your clients in the dark. Having a centralized place to post announcements is extremely important because people don’t always read their email.

6. You Can Offer Promotional Material

A small business blog is also a great place to offer occasional promotions. If you already have an engaged audience that consumes your content, they will be able to see what discounts or promotions you are offering. It’s a great way to keep your customer base informed.

Sure, you can spread your coupons around Facebook, but it’s better to get into the habit of compelling your audience to visit you at your own site, especially if it’s an ecommerce site. Keep them coming back for more by posting your promotions on your blog.

Here’s a caveat: you don’t want to overdo this. While blogs can be great for offering promotions, it shouldn’t be used solely for this purpose. Most of your content should focus on offering informational value to your readers. If you only post promotional content, your audience will not continue to visit your blog.

7. Showing Your Human Side

People want to know that there are actual human beings behind the business that they buy from. Post some personal stories and talk to your customers through your blog.

This is an opportunity for you to let your personality shine through. When you’re writing blog posts, don’t smack your reader in the head with a bunch of “corporatespeak.” Nobody wants to read that. No really, they don’t!

It’s much better to write in an informal style that people can relate to. When it comes to blogging, it’s not just about what you say, it’s about how you say it.

8. You Can Become a Source of Value

The key to effective blogging is providing value. Nobody is going to read your content unless they get something out of it, right?

If you want to build influence, you have to be valuable. You can do this by providing helpful information to your readers through your blog.

Arjun Reddy, the founder of Super Baby, builds credibility with his website’s “resources” section by giving actionable tips to his visitors.

“Our visitors are parents who are looking for fun ways to help their children become smarter. The advice we give in our resources section is designed to provide helpful parenting tips for our readers.”

The reason Reddy is enjoying success is because he’s providing value up front. When you do this, you show your potential clients that you are valuable to them. That’s why content marketing works. When you’re creating content, you should be asking yourself what your reader is going to get out of that particular piece of content. Each piece of content should be designed to inform, educate, or entertain. If possible, you should do all three!

9. Networking!

When you have built an audience and gained some notoriety, it can attract other entrepreneurs to you. For an entrepreneur, networking is important, isn’t it?

If you’re able to grow your readership effectively, you will gain more credibility. This will attract other influencers in your niche. You never know who might be paying attention right?

This could lead to other opportunities for your business. You might be able to take advantage of the key relationships that you form through your small business blog.

10. Building Credibility

Having a small business blog gives you a presence in your niche. A blog is a record of quality value and experience that you are bringing to your audience. This will give you instant “street cred” when someone finds your content.

Lissette Palencia, CEO of Sleeping Angels has built a steady stream of clientele by using her blog to provide valuable information to her website’s visitors.

“As you can guess, when you run a nanny agency, your clients are parents who are concerned about the safety of their children. They want to do the research first. When they visit our website, they find tons of valuable information that helps them make the right decision for their family. Not only does it inform them, it makes them more comfortable with doing business us.”

This is essential for your business. Your blog is a tool that you can use to establish credibility in the minds of your potential clients. Prospects will read your content and gain value from it. Then, they will become far more willing to buy from you because you have already given them a significant benefit through your blog.

Conclusion

Here’s the thing. If you’re looking to expand your online presence, you need to be creating high-quality content on a consistent basis. A blog is one of the best ways to do this.

These are just a few reasons to keep a blog if you’re an entrepreneur, but there are much more. Just remember that anything that can bring value to your audience is something that you should consider adding to your business.

[“Source-smallbiztrends”]

February 14, 2018 0 comment

Gadgets News

HTC 10 Starts Receiving Android 8.0 Oreo Update

by Loknath Das January 14, 2018

written by Loknath Das

HTC 10 Starts Receiving Android 8.0 Oreo Update

HTC 10 has started receiving its Android 8.0 Oreo update. The new update is rolling out in batches as an over-the-air (OTA) package for unlocked units of the HTC 10. The Taiwanese company promised the release of the latest Android version for its 2016 flagship back in August alongside confirming the same experience for the HTC U11 and HTC U Ultra.

As spotted by folks at AndroidPolice, the Android Oreo update for the HTC 10 brings the software version 3.16.617.2. It includes Android 8.0 Oreo along with default features such as Instant Apps, new Quick Settings menu, Notification dots, Picture in Picture (PiP) mode, and Smart Autofill, among various others. The update is also expected to include the latest Android security patch.

The update can be expected to be made available in phases for all HTC 10 units. You can check its availability by going to Settings > About > Software updates. Or else, you can manually install the update by downloading the 1.8GB RUU package that is available on the official HTC site. The manual process will wipe the data on your device. Therefore, it is recommended to back up the data locally before beginning with the RUU.

Launched in April 2016, the HTC 10 was originally running Android 6.0 Marshmallow. It got an update to Android 7.0 Nougat in February last year that was debuted in 1.21GB size.

Importantly, the HTC 10 is not the only HTC smartphone to receive the official Android Oreo treatment. The company released the Oreo update for the HTC U11 in last November to upgrade the user experience on its flagship. The update brought the addition of VoWifi service that is initially available to Chunghwa Telecom subscribers in Taiwan. Further, it includes the November Android security patch.

[“source=gadgets.ndtv”]

January 14, 2018 0 comment