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Showing posts from January, 2014

Historical Findings in Astronomy

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Taking a look at the history of astronomy will allow us to understand the many advances made and give us the knowledge we need to further explore the universe. The Babylonians were amongst the earliest astronomers in the 17th century B.C. and recorded the motion of the planets in the sky. Their discoveries paved the way for future generations to learn more about the universe. Galileo (1564-1642) invented telescopes that allowed him to get a better picture of what makes up the night sky. Sir William Herschel discovered the planet Uranus and several moons around other gas giants. Over time, scientists have been also able to develop technology that has changed the belief of a geocentric universe to the heliocentric model it is today. The Hubble Space Telescope and the Kepler Project are two other major undertakings that continue to shape our view of space. Take a look at the following infographic to learn more about astronomy over the years. Created by Labroots , the leading social netwo

Top 10 Tips for Online Shopping Security

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Just as fun as it can be to shop online, it can equally be risky at times. Not because you might just end up ordering the wrong size (thank god to the fact that there�s always an exchange window and you can courier it back) but because there are some safety issues that you need to keep in mind while swapping that plastic card of yours. With a dramatic increase in numbers of online purchasing portals, online flick stores, shopping windows, etc. it is becoming more and more crucial to keep a watch on where exactly you are stashing your card numbers in. There are scammers flopping in the online world like never before. So it helps to keep an eye before you decide to lay your hands on that beautiful dress or shoe you just spotted on the screen. Here we lay down few safety procedures which once you ensure will make your experience equivalent to one that you have while visiting your nearest mart for picking stuff up. 1) Your computing environment should be very secured Almost a no-brainer y

Difficulties In Importing Console Games to Mobile Operating Systems

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Game consoles are built with only one goal in mind, and that is to create an awesome gaming experience for gamers. Serious gamers are mostly to be found playing console games and the rest almost exclusively use personal computers to play games. In the past, if one wished for a portable gaming device, then their options were limited to portable game consoles such as the Nintendo DS or Sony�s PSP. However, smartphones and tablets have been steadily gaining ground as gaming platforms due to their portability, ubiquity, increasing processing power, better and bigger screens and an army of developers with the requisite skills to create games for the various mobile devices like the Android and Windows Phones. Of course, iPhone app development is included in the mix . This means that you as a game developer/publisher have to decide which platform/s to target first when creating your game. If you, however, decide to target the console market, you would probably want to �transfer� or por

Worst Rank-Destroying SEO Mistakes

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World of SEO is full of do-it-yourself experts, who only have a very basic grasp of what actually goes into a potentially successful campaign . If you believe that you belong to this category, you should know about some common, and potentially, very serious mistakes that are easy to avoid, but that could otherwise lead not only to all of your effort being completely futile, but actually cause the site that you are working on to be deindexed. Choosing Inadequate Hosting Naturally, if you intend on working on an already existing website, the owner may not be willing to change their hosting, but if you are considering optimizing a website that hasn�t been built yet, you should carefully consider your hosting options. The provider has to be able to offer support for all the scripts and tools that your site will need, as well as afford you with enough resources so that the site doesn�t freeze as soon as your traffic spikes for the first time. Likewise, you need to make sure that you are no

Which Gaming Platform is Really the Cheapest?

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The price differential between gaming PCs, the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4 is something that is hotly debated, and as this infographic shows, there are far more things to think about than just the up-front cost of the console. Which games platform really is the best long term investment? The Xbox One may be expensive out of the box, and have a monthly fee for online play, but Xbox One gamers get Kinect included in the cost of the console, and they get free games every month with Xbox Live Gold - games that they can keep even if they unsubscribe from the service. In contrast, PS4 gamers pay less for their console up front, and aren't obliged to subscribe to PS+. The PS+ service also includes free games, but you'd better play them while you're still subscribed, because if you cancel the subscription you lose access to the games. PC gamers pay the most to "buy in" to gaming, but they enjoy better performance. PC gamers have had super-high resolution games running

Kids And Texting - 3 Dangers They May Face

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Many of my friends communicate with their children via text message. It�s easy for the kids to send a quick message from school or when they are at a friend�s house to update so their parents know what they are up to. In my generation, you didn�t need a cell phone when you were in middle school or high school, but now with families having busy schedules, it almost has become a necessity. Keeping in contact with your kids is the biggest benefit of text messaging. You can see an example of how text messaging was a lifeline to this parent whose child was on lockdown during the Arapaho shooting. Without his child having a cell phone, he would have been in the dark if his child was okay. Despite some obvious benefits, there are some drawbacks to allowing your kids access to text messaging as well. Here are just 4 dangers that they may face when they have a cell phone and send texts. Cyber Bullying It seems like everyday that you turn on the news there is a new story about kids getting bul

Future of Mobile Applications

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At the end of the year 2013, Google and Apple still remain the two prominent and strongest players in the mobile application development industry. The recent report of WSJ states that both of these mobile giants have more than 700,000 applications in their bucket and the rate is growing very fast. The report also explains that both these players have sued the technological sophistication very deliberately, as applications have gone beyond the circle of mobile only. There are now devices of Tablet PC, mobiles, gaming devices and recent television sets which these companies are eyeing on. But if we give a closer look then we cans see that the turnover rate of application from users� download and usage point of view is very little in comparison to rate of production. The rate of iPhone apps that get some market exposure and prominence is 6% while that of Google is 9%. Therefore, if 1000 apps are produced every single month, then only 60- 90 apps are able to generate revenue while the oth

Four Years in Jail For Using Facebook

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In August 2011 the UK was plagued by riots following a protest in Tottenham after the death of a local man. Thousands of people in London boroughs and in cities and towns across the UK were involved in the riots, which were alternatively dubbed the �BlackBerry riots� as people were using mobile devices and social media to organize groups of rioters. As of the 15th August, more than 3,000 people had been arrested, more than 1,000 of which were charged. Included in this figure were two males in their twenties, who set up an event on Facebook, called �Smash Down in Northwich Town� for the night of August 8th. Following a court appearance, the pair were sentenced to four years in jail for seeking to take advantage of crime elsewhere in the country, invoking fear and anticipated violence in the local vicinity. Whilst this is an extreme case of social media being taken seriously by the law, it does highlight the important role that it plays in our lives today. You only need to send a total

Reinventing Reading through eBook Apps

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E-book readers and tablets have pushed book publishing into revolutionary directions. New developments include software that allows users to create end read interactive books. Do not confuse digital interactive books with eBooks. Both formats are quite different. There is a distinction between eBooks and apps, which is not always clear to both consumers and publishers. Applications are often based on Android software or an iOS mobile operating system that was developed by Apple Inc, whereas eBooks are printed documents packaged in a specific format, like Mobipocket or the EPUB format, which is short for electronic publication. Enhanced eBooks (ePUB3) books are also competing for the attention of avid readers. What makes them different? eBooks first appeared on devices like the Kindle. They have few interaction capabilities. You can search for content, flip the pages, change the font size to improve readability, and highlight words to get a definition from the dictionary, but that is a

Biggest Names And Their Biggest Games

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Despite the vast world of gaming on all types of platforms, there are only a handful of developers who are leading the way when it comes to the hardware and the games being released. There is a stunning amount of money being made by these companies, driving the gaming industry forward at a record pace. From the Xbox 360 to the WiiU, there is no doubt that the technology being put into game development will not slow down any time soon. At this time, the average United States home has at least one gaming platform while the majority have two gaming units in operation. Additionally, these game players are pouring a record $20.7 billion dollars into gaming on a yearly basis. The major players in this industry are releasing top games such as the Call of Duty series, Madden NFL installments, and physical games such as Just Dance 4. These games are moving units in numbers that stretch into the millions, encouraging future releases and the expansion of such noted franchises. EA Electronic Arts

How To Increase The Internet Speed in PC

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Are you slaving yourself to that PC in exchange of a completed coursework? Or are you catching after an oncoming deadline? The more urgent the nature of work, the higher your expectations is for that internet connection. And when it fails to deliver, there�s no telling how worse it could be. The slow net scenario Now, at an era largely characterised by instant gratification, the sight of a loading icon � the circling arrow or the bar of green � could inspire automatic groans. Nobody wants them, unless this slow net thing is epidemic in your neighbourhood. What are the causes of this slow internet connection? About.com�s �Internet for Beginners� has identified at least thirteen (13) causes . Poor hardware Incorrect router configuration Leeching internet users Un-upgraded NIC Spyware/malware infection Downloads ISP�s routing signals Outdated DNS Full browser memory cache Devices disrupt signals Old PC Open windows Unattended dialog box Take keen note these 13 represents the differen

E-learning: Taking Responsibility For Your Own Education

It isn�t always easy for some students to finish, or even start, their higher education. After all, family obligations, work, and life can get in the way. Luckily, technology and e-Learning are now making it possible, and a little easier, to take responsibility for your own education and earn the degree you always wanted. Taking your Education in Your Own Hands In the past, it was only possible to take coursework in traditional classrooms. However, the demands from many students� full-time jobs kept a lot of non-traditional students from being able to make it to class. As a result, their grades suffered and some students were even accused of being irresponsible, despite the fact that they were trying to care for their families and themselves in the only way they could at the time. When it comes to eLearning, however, online classes offer the flexibility to learn and take courses in a different way. You can now take your education in your own hands. Students who wouldn�t have been abl

How Dirty is Your Keyboard

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I have been working in an office for the better part of ten years now; and one thing that I know for sure is that if my keyboard could talk, the stories it would tell will scare even the most die-hard Stephen King fan. I am not a very social person you see, and the one thing I really like to do is to get lunch and eat it right here, on my desk. Now that may be convenient for me, but as you may have already guessed, most of the food falls directly on my keyboard, behind the desk and on my chair. I must have eaten at least 90% of my meals this way, imagine all the food residue lying everywhere. If you are like me, then you know exactly what I am talking about. Just turn your own keyboard upside down and start shaking it like a toaster. Right off the bat, you will see remnants of your last 5 meals, plus some older ones. I know that this concept might not be appealing to you, but trust me when I say that if you make a much deeper analysis using some modern forensic equipment, you can even

Cloud Computing Types

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Even though cloud computing is becoming increasingly popular solution for businesses and individuals alike, and even though a lot of people are using it in some form, quite often without even being aware of that, there are still a lot of those who are only superficially acquainted with the term. Cloud computing has been with us for a while, and during that time, several distinct types of clouds have been formulated, so this article will try and summarize the most important points regarding each of them. Public Public clouds are perhaps the most common type of this service out there and one that is most accessible and convenient for individual users, which is not to say that business can�t make great use of them. Any kind of cloud service that is offered from a single provider to numerous users, with hardware and software being owned by the provider can be considered a public cloud. In this kind of setup you are simply renting the services or resources, without having any kind of contr

How to Resolve Connectivity Issues in Windows 8

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Sometimes it isn't always clear what is wrong with your computer when you can't connect to the internet, and Windows can be a little less than helpful by offering to search the internet to find a solution (who wouldn't want to know what genius added that option to the connectivity troubleshooting page?). However, in most cases a little bit of understanding as to what your computer is actually trying to tell you can help you to solve the problem; or at the very least identify the problem so that you know who needs to solve it. There are three primary issues that could be causing your problems; your internet service provider, your connection hardware (hub, modem, router, Ethernet cable etc.) or your computer itself. Identifying where the problem is located is the first step, so try a little self-diagnosis first. This is particularly import with Windows 8, as many have experienced problems with the connectivity on this operating system and sometimes it is just a case of the s

26 Tips For A Blogger - Learn From My Journal

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It would be much more, but I thought that at least this time I'll try to limit myself only to 26 tips for bloggers. Tips that I find useful and which can help you in your development as a blogger, increase traffic, online visibility, and blog monetization. I write these tips as a result of my attempt to form some bloggers over time, so I could see some of the problems faced during the blog development. Tips for a beginning blogger 1)  Content is more important than design. Do not base your blog on a catchy design, if you have good content, interesting, attractive. And that can be learned. 2)  How often do you write? Make a schedule and stick to it (it should be at least 2 times a week. More than two articles per week to keep up than to write one every day for 10 days, then disappear the next two months. Readers will notice your disappearance. 3)  Do not ask the other bloggers for backlinks if you have not published anything on the website. It bothers me when I receive such request

Google Zoo - Predictions for future Google SEO updates

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2013 has been a major year for Google updates and there�s no question that it�s been unlucky for some, with Google Penguin 1, 2 and 2.1 all focusing on penalties for sites that Google consider spamy, whether it�s having automated on-page content, or building links solely for the purpose of SEO. No-one predicted quite how hard Google would strike or how many different types of link they would label as 'Bad'. Amongst the types of link that were hardest hit were: Automated paid links (in December 2013 Google announced that they had found a way to identify links from a major backlink network, with other link networks expected to be penalised in 2014). Mass article submissions (submitting the same article to multiple article sites). Foreign language links with English anchor texts or vice versa (for an effective way to do multilingual SEO, visit www.indigoextra.com/multilingual-seo ). The attached Google Zoo infographic has some more predictions for 2014. If it�s right, then anyo

How People Can Protect Themselves

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Companies, government and medical institutions should know what to do to protect their business assets, customers and employees. Some data breaches take place after the physical theft of electronic equipment. Businesses should install security measures such as cameras, to record break-ins. Security alarms can scare off thieves who want to gain access to personal or financial information. Business owners can also use the Kensington lock port located on desktop and laptop computers and physically secure them to desks with a strong cable. Businesses, employees and customers can protect their personal data, such as credit card account numbers, Social Security numbers and bank routing numbers, by encrypting them. Wireless networks are vulnerable to a theft technique called �wardriving.� Hackers drive through business areas, using a laptop to scan for wireless networks that are not password-protected. These unprotected networks allow the hacker to break into the network, looking for medical