While 2017 had its share of fascinating games across different platforms, 2018 is not without some great additions. There are plenty of games that you can find these days and play without paying anything. MOBAs or Multiplayer Online Battle Arenas have managed to spawn a whole new genre and are some of the best games to try. But wich ones? As mentioned above, there is a lot to choose from. However, some of the most interesting games that you should play this year are mentioned below:

dota 2

This game has more than 13 million monthly players and is considered a popular MOBA. This game requires players to show discreet thinking and must perform actions such as killing their creeps to prevent their opponents from harvesting gold or delivering items to each other on the battlefield using a “courier” instead of returning to base. The world finals of this game get multi-million dollar prizes. You can download this game for free and start playing right away.

League of Legends

This is perhaps one of the most popular games in the world right now and has approximately 100 million unique players on a monthly basis. This doesn’t even include the eSports elements that are also growing in popularity. In fact, this game has especially become synonymous with the MOBA genre. There are over 130 playable champions with various game modes and maps that help keep the game exciting and fresh year after year.

Sampler

This is one of the newer games in this category and is the work of Epic Games, the company that released Gears of War and the Unreal Engine. It’s one of the most graphically impressive games out there right now and everything from the attack animations to the environments is highly detailed. In this game a third person perspective is used, but the mechanics remain the same as in all the others; it’s all about destroying towers, pushing lanes and destroying the enemy base while using cards to upgrade your skills and level up.

blacksmith

If you are interested in taking on the likes of Zeus and Thor, then the best MOBA for you is Smite. The game features a wide range of deities facing off against each other in a three-lane arena. A third-person perspective is also used in this game, much like Paragon, which can make it difficult for you to stay aware of your surroundings. However, the different viewing angles allow you to implement movements that could not have been done otherwise. For example, Thor can launch himself into the sky and fly down and smash his enemies with his hammer.

heroes of the storm

This was the first MOBA-style game and has expanded a lot since its introduction as Blizzard continues to introduce new heroes to their lineup, as well as using characters from their other games. But it has no items and players just improve their skills as they level up. There are also several maps that add some flavor to the game.

In 2001, Apple Inc. launched 21st century portable media players under the iPod brand. The new iPod lineup features iPod classic with hard drive, iPod touch with touchscreen, iPod nano with video display, and iPod shuffle without display. Apart from them, the classic iPod range includes iPod mini and iPod photo.

These digital music players can be used as external data storage devices, but their capabilities vary by model. Music is transferred to the device with the help of iTunes software from Apple Inc. One can store music collection and also play, vibrate or split music from CD with this software. In addition to that, photos, games, videos, and calendars can also be transferred to iPods that support such functions. Apple iPods are easy to use.

The iPod has made history by selling 110 million units worldwide since September 2007. Apple CEO Steve Jobs decided to develop a portable music device that was easy to use. He assembled his team of hardware and software engineers and released the product on October 23, 2001. This digital device used to have a 5GB hard drive capable of storing at least 1,000 songs. Apple took the support of Portal Player and Pixo to develop this product. Later, Apple continued to develop refined versions of the iPod.

iPods have the ability to display many audio file formats like MP3, Protected AAC, Audible Audiobook, etc. while file formats like JPEG, BMP, GIF, TIFF, and PNG can be viewed with iPod photo. Similarly, upgraded versions of iPods can play most advanced file formats. Although Apple does not support Microsoft’s WMA format, a converter for the Windows version of iTunes is provided. When an iPod is associated with a computer, music libraries or playlists are automatically or manually synced with iTunes. 5G iPods come with a click wheel to control the volume and 5 buttons used to play, stop and go to the next track etc.

In order to provide songs for iPods, Apple launched an iTunes store that can be accessed through iTunes. The rate per song varies from country to country. The buyer can buy as many songs as he wants and enjoy the protected content. This store was very successful immediately after its launch and then Apple released videos for sale also in 2006. Purchased songs were downloaded with additional encryption of AAC format as FairPlay DRM system. Later, DRM was released to stop the manufacture of pirated CDs.

In 2007, Apple lowered its fees for iTunes Plus songs and also for DRM-encoded tracks. Since the iPod doesn’t play songs from its rival’s DRM technologies, it has limited its user to the iTunes Store only. With this, Apple made limited profit, but then allows you to play music from online stores such as eMusic or Amie Street. In 2007, Apple launched the iTunes WiFi Music Store which allows the user to download songs from their iPhone or iPod. Media downloaded from iTunes stores are transferred from iPods to computer with the help of software called iTunes 7 or higher.

The sound quality on the iPod can be improved with the equalizer, but keep in mind that high volume can cause bass distortion. The use of hardware in iPods such as microcontrollers, batteries, audio chips, etc. it depends exclusively on the version of the iPods. Upgraded iPods are available with more advanced technology. These days many accessories for iPods are marketed not only by Apple but also by other parties. These accessories can allow a user to have FM radio tuners, wired remote controls, etc.

iPods have also marked their importance in the field of education, since they allow the user to download information, lesson plans, etc. Apple is continually working to bring updated versions of iPods.

Very good friends. This concept is simple, easy to understand, and a must for any online entrepreneur trying to make money online.

Include in your daily routine MOTIVATE DAILY. Sorry I had to yell. It is that important.

Many of us get into internet marketing because we think we have found the perfect niche that fits our interest. We watched some videos and read some articles that got us excited, only to fizzle out not more than a week later. It happens when that initial adrenaline wears off. It’s natural. It happens to all of us. You must not be discouraged. It’s all part of the process and it’s what will set you apart from the rest of the pack. It’s what will put you in a league with the big boys before you know it.

So in this sense… I guess I have presented the problem, now let me solve it for you. The following are my top 5 ways to stay motivated:

Top 5 ways to motivate yourself:

#5 Music

Everyone has those songs that cheer them up. You probably have them on your iPod for when you work out or go for a run. The songs are generally upbeat, tell an amazing story, and get your blood flowing no matter what horribly mundane task you’re working on. Everyone is different when it comes to music in this category. For me, I am easy to please. I prefer music that has a lot of bass. Usually upbeat lyrics, drum beats, a bit of electronic techno. My favorite Pandora station to keep you motivated is ‘David Guetta’. I rarely have to skip a song, as most help me get things done while keeping a good beat on my headphones.

Spotify can be a great way to see what your friends use to stay motivated. Spotify allows you to share playlists. I look at my friend’s playlist all the time and gather songs that I probably should have listened to a long time ago.

#4 Exercise

Most people have trouble motivating themselves to exercise. I don’t expect you to be any different. But I do want you to see it from a different angle. Use exercise as a way to motivate yourself to be productive.

We all know the feeling that exercise can give us. For me, it’s a sense of accomplishment, a feeling that I just did that. It changes my attitude and perspective for the rest of the day. My job is really simple.

I run about a mile and a half, stopping at my pivot point, doing push-ups, jumping jacks, kicks, sit-ups, lunges, all in rotation until I’m too tired to do more. Then I run back. As I run backwards, I try to go faster than the pace I was using to get there.

I run my main job for various reasons. First, it helps me clear my mind, focus on what I’m doing… try not to stop running. When my mind clears like that, it opens my mind to new thoughts or renewed thoughts on the subject that matters most to me at the time. If I get blocked by writers or designers… I run.

The rush of testosterone and adrenaline in the body is also a great benefit. It helps me feel like a million bucks and gives me a lot of motivation for whatever task I set out to do next.

#3 Have a rich mindset

The rich don’t go around feeling sorry for themselves. They got rich doing a lot of things right. And I’m willing to bet the one thing they didn’t do was waste their time and pass up opportunities to do serious work. You can not fear success. Take your determination and push and push yourself towards your goal. See the small victories and take advantage of them. Own those moments and use them to propel you forward.

#2 Stop procrastination

get up and make it happen. Procrastination helps no one, especially yourself. Delay breaks, delay your bullshit excuse for not doing the work you set out to do. Being an online entrepreneur, an online business manager, whatever you want to call it, comes with ZERO tolerance for procrastination. Procrastination sucks, and everyone who does it is in the same boat. Don’t be a nobody. Be somebody, and that starts with telling Procrastination to go home. This is a place to work.

#1 Stay goal oriented

What is your goal?

…

..

..

Great! How do you get there? You make smaller goals to reach your big goal. If you haven’t already… GET STARTED!

Go get a pen and a piece of paper right now. Write these things.

…

..

…

I’m waiting…

..

..

..

Great! Now, make it your personal goal to cross things off this list every day. AND DO IT.

Reaching and achieving small goals is one of the most rewarding things you can do as your own boss. I personally bought myself a whiteboard that I put right next to my monitors. Every time I lose focus, I look at the list of things I need to do to reach my overall goal. And I make one of them. This is a constantly evolving list. It grows every day. I keep the old little goals I’ve already achieved on the board with a check mark, just so I can see how amazing I am. I did those things, and I have much more to do. But, when I break it down into little goals, it seems incredible that by doing this little thing, I’m eventually going to check off that big box in the corner. My ultimate goal.

The complete guide to learning WordPress

Learning WordPress can be a very long road for an inexperienced programmer. This guide can help you go from being a programming illiterate to a freelance billionaire programmer. It is intended as an overview of the steps required to become a proficient WordPress developer. This guide can help both the experienced and the inexperienced get familiar with WordPress.

Don’t believe the myths

When learning any field of programming (yes, you will have to learn), there are a lot of myths that come with it. Much of this is hype from click bait articles preying on the ignorant. So I’m just going to expose the three most persistent myths I see today:

• No, you CANNOT learn to code in 24 hours. Or a week. Or a month. In order to learn the entire world of programming, you must first become an immortal being with a clear schedule. He can learn some of the basics in 24 hours, but he’ll never finish learning new programming skills (unless he’s lazy).
• At the opposite end of the scale is a myth that says you must be a genius gifted with the incredible powers of mathematics. There is nothing further from the truth. You’d be surprised how many potato heads one has to deal with in the field and how little actual math you’ll use.
• Perhaps my favorite: there is no point in learning to program when there are tools to make websites. This is the most aggravating because it is the most difficult to explain. But in a nutshell, the question “why do I need to learn to code, if I have a WordPress theme?” can be answered with the following question “where would themes come from if there were no programmers”. The same with web development tools. There are no tools on planet earth that can write more tools except programmers. Furthermore, any tool that exists or will exist comes with severe limitations. But that’s a longer topic.

Yes, you have to learn the basics of programming.

Once again, you scream “Why do I need to learn programming? It’s WordPress!”. I believe that the more you learn about WordPress, the more you will learn how limited it is.

Here is the secret. WordPress is a platform, not a web development tool. Which means that a lot of the heavy lifting still requires you to flex your brain a bit and code. Here are some problems you can run into if you don’t learn programming beforehand:

• My theme is amazing! But I hate the style of the widgets in the footer.
• I want to create a membership site and I need x functionality, but there is no plugin.
• I want to create a membership site, but my plugins conflict.
• Turns out the theme I bought has a big problem and I honestly think the theme developer is dead.

What would you do in these situations if you didn’t know how to program?

Now please learn the basics of programming.

Before you start on your path to learning HTML and CSS, you should take a moment and relax so I can throw a syllabus at your head.

The things you will need to learn, before returning, are the following:

• HTML: The building blocks of your website’s interface (the screen). Personal Tip: Common mistakes can be corrected with a firm understanding of inline, inline – block, and block-level elements, as well as a firm understanding of relative versus absolute positioning.
• CSS: This is the secret sauce of your website. Imagine your HTML is a paint-by-numbers grid, and CSS is the paint. All websites use CSS.
• PHP: This is the black box of the website. No one sees it except you. It is what actually creates all the functionality, thinks and delivers the content of your website. This is what true “programming” is. Learn it.
• MySQL: Databases are where everything on your website is stored. You will need to learn how to safely interact with the database with PHP. Look for parameterized queries.

Once you get back from all that. we can start diving into the basics of WordPress. Something optional to learn is javascript. It’s something that’s great for animations or even delivering content to a user without them having to refresh a page. There may also be a time when you need to fix or update some javascript created by another developer.

Configure WordPress

There are a couple of ways to install WordPress on your website. The easiest is through your cPanel account. There is usually a program in your cPanel that will install WordPress for you. For example, QuickInstall has a one-click install for WordPress. Another way is to download the WordPress source files and upload them to your server via FTP.

After installing WordPress, you’ll want to login to your WordPress site to set things up. There are many guides on how to set up your WordPress site through the backend, but the basics you’ll need to learn are as follows:

• Install your site’s theme: Even if you plan to create your own theme, it’s a good idea to set up someone else’s theme to base your work on. This will serve as a great starting point for your website.
• Get familiar with plugins – they are easy to install and will provide most of the functionality of your website.
• Menus: Learn where they are and how to set them. You can create menus that can be used anywhere on your website.
• Widgets – Widgets should not be confused with plugins. Widgets are user interface elements (like a Twitter feed), while plugins are groups of files that can potentially make radical changes to the functionality of your sites.
• Learn the difference between pages and posts. These things have very distinct and separate purposes.

This will give you enough ammo to set up a basic website. However, if you want something a little less basic, you’ll have to continue.

How is the content delivered to the user?

It’s helpful to know how WordPress takes your content and presents it to the end user.

If you’ve learned php, you probably know how a website is presented to the user. If not, and you’ve made it this far, you’re an embarrassing human being and deserve a death from a thousand cuts. It sounds silly, but it is very useful to know how the browser interprets the data and what is the purpose of PHP for content completion, how the website is compiled, etc.

Themes define how WordPress presents content to a user. They do this with php files that serve as templates to display certain parts of their website, like a blog post page or the header. They also include CSS and php files and can even provide functionality to a website.

I highly recommend learning what you’ll need to provide in your themes. There are also certain rules that you need to follow if WordPress is going to recognize your theme. However, the main parts will be: the header, the index page, the sidebar, the footer, functions.php, and the style sheet.

One more thing you may come across is page templates. Page templates are simply different ways to display any page on a site. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, search for “page template”, in fact, do it anyway.

Also learn about post types. Everything on your website is a post type, be it pages, posts, or attachments. A page template is a template for a certain post type. Learning about post types can clear up a lot of confusion down the road.

There are lists of all the global variables that WordPress provides, ranging from the content you provide to users to information about the visitors themselves. Don’t bother memorizing them, just refer to them as you go and familiarize yourself with the kind of global variables WordPress provides you with. If you can’t find them, you may need to add the functionality yourself, either as a plugin or simply in the function.php file. Global variables are essential in WordPress development.

accessories

Plugins allow you to add functionality to your website or others. Actually, there is a huge market for plugins for WordPress. It’s a great way to earn large amounts of cocaine and gain some reputation in the programming community.

Essentially, plugins are groups of files that alter or add functionality to websites. However, there are certain rules for setting your files to be read by WordPress.

It’s also important to learn when to add things to functions.php instead of creating a plugin.

Hooks: Actions and Filters

Hooks will allow you to “hook” one of your functions into WordPress, so that it runs at a specific time. If you don’t use hooks, many types of functionality would not be possible. Trust me when I say that learning what they are and how to use them will save your life and unlock a world of possibilities.

Make sure you learn the difference between the two and how to use them. This knowledge will allow you to greatly alter the functionality of WordPress and will greatly open doors for the functionality of your site.

Actions are hooks that allow you to execute a function when a certain WordPress event occurs. For example, when you create a post, you may want to update a value in your database.

Filters allow you to modify the data at certain times. When you set a filter, WordPress will pass data through it before completing a task. If WordPress is about to display a login error, you can choose to change or modify that error message before it is presented to the user. Maybe something like “Stay back, scammer, this is my grandmother’s heirloom!” or “I don’t want your dirty eyes looking at my website, you filthy redneck hacker!”

practice

Naturally, for everything to sink in, you have to practice. However, if you want to be like me starting out, you can find a small job online and jump in headfirst. The pressure should help him keep trying to learn. If you screw someone over, you can always direct it at me.

However, if you want to take the safer route, I suggest you do the following:

Rent a small shared hosting package (you can spend a few bucks a month), grab a theme and create a small blog website. (Make it something you’d like to use! In fact, use it!).

You can also use a local server on your computer, if you don’t feel like spending money and really don’t want to share your work with anyone.

When you have learned how to use WordPress, start another small site. However, this time be a bit more ambitious, and this time, try to put all the functionality yourself. If you’re confused about something, you can always copy someone else’s work and learn from them.

Congratulations!

If that seems like a lot. Is. WordPress is a much broader topic than many people initially assume. However, if you take one bite at a time, you will eventually learn everything you need to know when it comes to creating WordPress websites. It is a skill that is in high demand and does not require a degree. Keep connecting and you will see that it was worth it!

Hopefully this guide will help you become a solid WordPress developer.

Instapage Review – An Insight Into

If you are looking for an affiliate program that will give you the maximum revenue sharing, Instapage is the place to be. The company pays out up to 50% of revenue for every sale made through an affiliate link. There are many benefits to this program, including a reporting dashboard, which allows you to track shares and enrollment. The company also provides its affiliates with a special newsletter that is packed with valuable affiliate marketing information. Instapage has been the market leader in post-click optimization, allowing you to maximize your brand equity, and earn more profit with a high conversion rate and strong earnings per click.

The system allows you to combine content management, collaboration, and testing features in one place. It can even integrate with other business systems, including CRM and CMS. With all of these features, Instapage review is the perfect affiliate program to boost your profit many folds. If you are a tech whiz, you will find this platform a dream come true. This program has everything you need to be successful online, including the ability to personalise your digital space and integrate it with email marketing and CRM.

As an affiliate, you will need to promote Instapage and earn commissions if your referrals use it. However, you may want to check out the business plan, which costs $149 a month and includes a mobile-responsive builder and custom lead metadata. Aside from this, the enterprise plan has additional features that are not available with the free plan, such as AMP-compatible pages, 1:1 ad to page personalization, and real-time collaboration. You’ll also find articles answering frequently asked questions.

Instapage Review – An Insight Into the Instapage Affiliate Program

Instapage has built-in forms for landing page tool, and allows users to connect their forms with multiple integrations. This way, your visitors can download your offer right away. Instapage also backs up your leads. You can customise confirmation messages, and use the A/B testing tools. You’ll be able to make better decisions based on this data. You’ll be able to measure how effective your landing page is and how effective your marketing efforts are with the help of Instapage’s analytics.

Having your own landing page builder is vital for successful online marketing. Instapage allows you to do this without having to hire a developer or invest in expensive software. Plus, with Instapage, you’ll get to keep 100% of the profit. Its powerful features also make it possible to track conversion goals. You can even create microsites or product detail pages and use them as landing pages. If you want to increase sales with Instapage, it’s worth a try.

People today live in a world that relies heavily on electronics and gadgets to make our daily activities easier and faster. Most of us couldn’t imagine what our lives would be like without computers, cell phones, iPods, televisions, or electronic toys. Over the years, technology has continued to advance, improving the quality of life for people who use electronic gadgets and gadgets to make their lives more comfortable.

When we wake up in the morning, we are often greeted by our alarm clocks. How many people would be late for work if they had to rely on their internal body clocks to wake them up at the exact same time every weekend morning? Once up and out of bed, some people can enjoy a cup of coffee or espresso from the comfort of their own coffee maker in the kitchen. Others may go to the bathroom to start preparing for the day. This may include using a hair dryer or rollers to style your hair, or perhaps an iron to unwrinkle your clothes. In the meantime, people can catch up on the news of the day by watching their local news station on television. All this use of technology and electronics and they haven’t gone to work yet!

The list goes on and on. The advancement of technology has allowed us to enjoy our favorite music while exercising through the use of an MP3 player, heat our food in seconds with the convenience of microwaves, and even read our emails from anywhere in the world with the use of of smartphones. and laptops. This is just the tip of the iceberg. While most people understand that electronic devices and gadgets are important, they don’t take the time to really understand how much we use this type of technology in all aspects of life. Certain electronic devices and equipment have made medical procedures easier, not to mention simply possible. Life expectancy has increased with the advancement of technology and suffering has decreased due to the invention of medical equipment and technologies.

Whether it’s the coolest new GPS device to help you locate and get to your favorite vacation destination along with all the restaurants, shops, and gas stations in the area, or the newest sonar machine that can allow a doctor see any potential developmental problems with a mother’s unborn baby, technology and electronics mean more to us than we may realize. New products are being developed every day and the more people buy cool gadgets and electronics, the easier and more fun life will be!

Samsung has just released two of the most hyped phones of 2017, the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8 Plus. Not only are these the next-generation phones in the Android market, but they’re also an opportunity for Samsung’s biggest rival in the smartphone business, Apple. The iPhone has looked the same for three years in a row, while Samsung has iterated and improved its phones by leaps and bounds each year. So even before the new S8 and S8 Plus phones were released, the iPhone looked a bit dated. It’s not just the design, either. Samsung managed to make the S7 waterproof even with the 3.5mm headphone jack, while Apple’s claim that they had to get rid of the jack to give the iPhone 7 water resistance made it seem like Samsung had them outclassed in engineering. To make matters worse, Samsung’s new Galaxy flagships make even the iPhone’s design look dated. iPhones have never had the best screen-to-body ratios, with their huge chins and fronts on their phones, while Samsung has been working to reduce the bezels on its phones as much as possible for the past few years.

The end result is that the cases of the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus are barely bigger than the screen. The incredible 18.5:9 ratio display can take a bit of getting used to and apps and the operating system will have to adjust to make the most of all the extra space. Making it even worse, however, is that the latest Galaxy phones make the iPhone 7 look old-fashioned and outdated, a huge insult to a company that not long ago sued Samsung for copying its design language.

Too much screen to use safely?

Which brings us to the original question posed at the beginning of this article. Do the new Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus have too much screen? When we say too much screen, we mean too much to use and carry around in your hand and pocket without the certainty that it will destroy phones if you drop it even once. Also, if you use one of the many designer Galaxy S8 cases or S8 Plus covers that are available online from sellers, are you screwing up the most important feature? There are already literally thousands of designer cases available online for the new phones, even though the phones aren’t yet available worldwide.

Case makers even allow people to create a custom case for the Samsung phone they can’t even buy yet, in most countries. Buyers of Samsung’s latest flagship phones will have to decide for themselves whether they want to live life on the edge or protect their very expensive new phones with a protective case.

Over the years, HTC has proven to be one of the leading manufacturers of smartphones. It is a brand that people trust because of its durability and use of the latest and greatest advances in mobile technology. These technological features are now being applied to the newest set of HTC phones coming off the company’s factory line.

One of the new phones is the HTC Sensation XE. The HTC Sensation XE is one of the best smartphones of its kind, packed with simple yet fantastic features that make your smartphone experience a little richer and more decadent than it is.

Get on-the-spot imaging with the HTC Sensation XE

Sometimes you miss the most important things in life because you blinked. The same can be said for your conventional smartphone or cell phone with a digital camera that seems to capture memories long after they happen. This means you end up with a lot of missed shots and precious memories that are lost forever.

However, with the new Sensation XE, you can say goodbye to those old days of delayed capture thanks to HTC Sensation XE’s instant capture camera. Now, you can take photos as the event or action is happening. That way, you won’t end up with a shot a second later than when you wanted to. Apart from that, you can also enjoy the benefit of not preparing for the shot. Just point and shoot to get the perfect shot with one click. With the instant capture camera offered by HTC Sensation XE, you’ll be able to capture and store those memorable images you’ve always wanted.

The HTC Sensation XE offers a richer Internet experience

Now when you think of HTC, you should think of a fuller, richer, and much better Internet experience than you can get from almost any other smartphone. Due to the high resolution screen, you can view images and text clearly and easily without any downtime. Also, you can take a look at many websites without any problem. You can seamlessly transition from one website to another, as if you were just using your trusty laptop or personal computer drive. But only this time, it’s a device that can fit in your pocket.

Now, you can go around and try various units here and there, but what you can be sure of is that HTC Sensation XE can meet your needs. Whether you want to watch the latest viral video on YouTube, keep up with your email, surf the web, or just want to take photos and videos on a rich, ideal screen, there’s no better way than to try the new HTC Sensation XE. It’s HTC’s latest offering that can give you what you want and what you need, all at the same time.

The last decade has seen entertainment shift from regular televisions to online streaming apps – our very own Catch-Up TV. This move has changed the way we watch TV shows by providing unlimited access to all of our entertainment needs.

Say no to downloading or recording:
Cloud streaming has made it possible to watch all your favorite shows for free with some apps or for a small monthly subscription fee in others. So the need to have a recorded copy or a digitally downloaded copy of everything has moved to cloud streaming, solving the problem of limited local storage.

The rise of “cord cutters”:
Cloud streaming apps have brought a new trend in media consumption with tech companies trying to appeal to the millions of “cord cutters”. The new generation has done away with cable for services that broadcast live TV channels over the Internet.

TV Update Services:
Catch-Up TV services allow you to watch TV programs after they air, without recording or downloading the program. Over the years, the quality of Catch-Up has evolved and today, 60% of the programs that air on national free-to-air channels are available to stream.

Streaming Movies and TV Shows
Certain streaming services cater to both movies and TV shows, such as; Netflix and Amazon Prime. They can be accessed on most smart TVs and will allow you to stream the HD content of your choice. However, with its better services and accessibility across all devices, Netflix seems to be winning the battlefield for both quality and availability. Hulu’s new live TV service and YouTube’s TV platform are now also entering the arena with their services.

The advent of Smart TV to support cloud streaming:
Smart TV gives you apps, all ready to access your Catch-Up TV; such as iPlayer, Amazon Instant Video, and Netflix. Some smart TVs provide access to 3D video streaming along with ultra-high-definition video streaming. They have blazed a trail to a whole new world of television viewing and entertainment by reducing your reliance on the broadcast schedules of your favorite shows.

Instant and mobile accessibility:
The best part of Catch-Up TV is that you can access your favorite content on all devices like; TV, computer, smartphone and tablet. The lineups that are most successful in streaming are dominated by youth-oriented shows, and mobile screens have become the most widely used device for online TV consumption.

Reduced expense:
Broadcast television has become immensely expensive and most of its content is wasteful. Cloud streaming gives us the option of having TV delivered on demand. It will provide us with better options and a varied selection of content to be consumed.

The future in the cloud:
The future holds more demanding Catch-Up TV service and our Smart TVs. We will want a service provider that can offer a wider range of services on TV or the Internet. Online access to TV shows is expected to increase and, hopefully, piracy to decrease. With live streaming entering the picture, the risk of spoilers also decreases.

Are you looking for a new mystery writer to read? Have you ever picked up an anthology and felt overwhelmed? There are useful sites on the web, but how do you filter them down to a manageable level? Some estimate that fifty new mystery titles arrive every month!

There are many ways to look at mysteries, loosely defined as a story with a character who solves a crime. You can take a historical approach and read only the classic writers of the Golden Age (approximately 1913-1941). You can sort by the gender of the main character or the gender of the writer. You can choose a period of history that you like and only read authors who write about that period. Or maybe it’s the setting that interests you: California and New York are common settings. You can certainly learn a lot about a country from the crime solvers who live and work there.

To start your approach, ask yourself what you like about mysteries. Is it the style? If you like the puzzle element, then perhaps the whodunit type is your answer. If you prefer a lot of gritty action, maybe the hardcore genre is more to your liking. Avoid violence and graphic sex by reading cozies. Although gory and graphic, forensic crime fighters are all the rage right now. You may have started with Sherlock Holmes and Nancy Drew and can’t resist a series that delves into the mysterious character of your favorite detective.

Perhaps one element that is often overlooked when selecting a good mystery is the quality of the writing. To do this, you can turn to the experts for a list of authors who have stood the test of time. Obviously, this list needed to be compiled and in the 1990s two “Top 100” books appeared to help you: one published by the British Crime Writers Association and the other published by the Mystery Writers of America (MWA). If you consider yourself a maverick and love supporting the underdog, consider They Died in Vain: Overlooked, Underrated, and Forgotten Mystery Novelsedited by Jim Huang.

If the older classics are no longer in your bookstore, try your local library. MWA, which began in 1945, awarded mystery writers an Edgar (for Edgar Allan Poe) the year after its organization. Award-winning authors are more likely to do a better job of writing. But don’t confuse best sellers with better writing. If you read enough mysteries, you’re sure to find big-name authors you don’t appreciate. What does Jane Austen have anyway? Even when you get hooked on a series, some of the books will be weaker than the rest, even if the author’s name is bigger than the book’s title.

Don’t be discouraged if you don’t like some award-winning mysteries. If they were written fifty years ago, the treatment of women and/or minorities may be offensive to you. You can always start with the winners or nominees for the latest mystery awards and work backwards by year. If you come across an author you like, hopefully you’ll be able to find more of their work. Along with the Edgar are the Agatha, Anthony, Macavity, Ellis Peters, Hammett, Barry, Dilys, Shamus and Nero Wolfe awards. Go to their respective websites for a full list of winners. In this way, you will have the certainty of modern writing and availability. There’s even a Lefty Award given by a group for the most humorous mystery.

Now go through the list of categories mentioned above and do some cross-referencing. If you prefer female writers, that eliminates many award winners and narrows your reading list. If you only want mysteries set in the West that narrows down your list even more. Of those, he can select series with a continuing character and he has now become an expert in his refined choice of mystery books. If all else fails, call a friend, who reads a lot of mysteries, for a recommendation. If book club catalogs list fifty new mystery titles every month, you’ve got a lot of work to do. I hope this gives you some clues on how to solve the mystery of choosing the right author.