Category Archive : Technology

Discounted gift cards are an excellent gift because they allow you to buy exactly what you want. But, many do not take full advantage of this. Either they buy something frivolous because the card is like “found money” after all, or they don’t use it at all. It then becomes part of the billions of unspent dollars that go unused on these cards each year.

Here are three tips to get the most out of shopping with these types of cards.

Store for sale: If you get discounted gift cards for your birthday, graduation, or other special occasion, spread them out as long as possible. The best way to do this is to buy on sale. If you’ve been eyeing those designer heels that are out of your budget, grab them during the end-of-season clearance sale.

You may even get lucky in a two-for-one sale! Using your cards in this way will make the gift much more than pointless splurge.

Buy what you need: How many times have you put off buying something because it just wasn’t in the budget? It happens to all of us.

If you’ve been lucky enough to receive discounted gift cards from friends and family, now’s the perfect time to sit down, make a list of items you need but can’t afford, and do some smart shopping. For example, does your wardrobe need an update? Do you need to do some home repairs? Does your car require any maintenance?

There are discounted gift cards for just about every need you have. And, many of them serve multiple purposes. For example, Walmart gift cards can be used for auto, home, and wardrobe needs.

However, taking the time to assess where your greatest needs lie will make your cheap gift cards money well spent. And, since you’re essentially spending your friends and family’s hard-earned money, this pays tribute to their generosity.

Buy what someone else needs: Many of us would like to be more charitable, but we struggle to make ends meet. Discounted gift cards are the vehicle for giving the most you can to someone less fortunate than yourself.

Just because discount gift cards are in the money doesn’t mean they should be used frivolously. These three tips will help you spend them wisely, getting the most value out of them.

Log on to ABC Gift Cards for a wide range of discounted gift cards from reputable merchants.

If you are going to do business online in any way, you must have a PayPal account. You must have one so that people can pay you without problems. You must have one so that you can refund money or pay people you owe. Using PayPal as a payment processor is more convenient and easier, as well as being much more secure overall. In fact, it can be that extra level of protection you need for yourself.

Whether you are a person who is selling all your old baseball cards and hockey equipment or a person who makes your money being a freelance writer, it is important to have a good way to get people to pay you and that is where things can get a little complicated. You don’t want to deal with checks and other types of payments from strangers. You never want to give these people your banking information and ask them to wire the money to you unless you’re sick of cash and good credit. The payment arrives in your PayPal account and all they need is your email address; you do not need to exchange any personal information to protect your identity and privacy.

Sometimes you’ll need to give people a refund or maybe you just want to buy a few items yourself. Giving out your credit card or banking information online can be tricky, even on sites that claim to have Iron Glad protection features. There is never a guarantee that your stuff will never be stolen; things happen all the time, with the best security. Using PayPal is safer and more secure, and on top of that, it’s much faster to do. You can simply click the PayPal button at the end of your transaction, review your order, then accept it and you’re done. He never entered a number of any kind and never had to risk any personal information.

Setting up a PayPal account doesn’t take long and can protect you from fraud and scams, especially if you’re buying or selling internationally.

Each week brings another series of headlines about the heavy blows that will soon befall the energy sector…

“The ‘Death Spiral’ of the Oil Crash” is coming soon…

And… “Oil prices may never recover.”

Pretty soon, it seems, we’ll all be ditching our gas-powered cars and trucks for Tesla knockoffs. The sluggish US economy and the growing number of wind and solar power installations around the world will supposedly finish the job.

Boom! Oil is “the new coal.”

Do not believe it. In fact, we may be entering a new golden age for oil investment, all thanks to a certain country in Asia with a five-letter name…

If you want to know which economy will have the biggest single impact on the world oil price, and why we will continue to view the oil sector as an important part of any investment strategy, all you have to do is look at what is happening. In India.

India, with a population of 1.3 billion and a growth trend of gross domestic product (GDP) that is now rising at a faster rate than China (7.5% vs. 6.9% in 2015), is still in the early stages of a massive love affair with crude. . And considering that you need to import around 80% of what you consume, it’s a love story that literally grows month by month.

In September, oil imports increased by almost 12% compared to the levels of the previous year. The same was true in August (up 9%) when the country posted a record of nearly 19 million metric tons of crude, the equivalent of nearly 4.5 million barrels per day. By comparison, China, with a more developed economy and almost 1.4 billion people, imports about 6 million barrels a day.

As the International Energy Agency (IEA) recently noted: “India is replacing China as the main growth market for oil.”

At the current rate, the country is on track to increase annual imports by 7% for the second time in a row, having doubled its crude oil imports in a decade.

What is driving all the demand?

It’s a familiar story: a small but rising middle class (now making up about a fifth of India’s population, demographers say, but expected to rise to more than 40% by 2030).

And new cars. Lots and lots of new cars.

In 2015, passenger car sales rose nearly 10% to more than 2 million units, the fastest pace in five years. One of India’s largest automakers, Maruti Suzuki, recently predicted that annual sales would reach 5 million a year by the end of this decade.

Keep in mind that this is all taking place against a backdrop where the IEA, in its World Energy Investment 2016 report, said that current oil wells around the world are being depleted at an average of about 9% per year. Discoveries of new oil reserves are “falling to levels not seen in the last 60 years.”

Of course, it’s important to ask whether EV sales could become a bigger factor and perhaps drain India’s growing demand for oil.

The answer, I’m sure, is yes. But when is anyone’s guess. like india economic times He pointed out, the country has 400 million people without access to reliable electricity. And even in major cities, blackouts have been common due to a lack of investment in India’s power grid in previous decades. Without reliable power, even the fastest-charging, long-range electric car or motorcycle is useless.

The situation is beginning to change in India, but it will take decades. Meanwhile, oil remains the only practical game in town for investors and as a foundation for India’s rapidly developing economy.

“What’s in a name? That thing we call rose

By any other word it would smell just as sweet.”

In this famous quote from Act II of Romeo and Juliet, Juliet tells Romeo that a name is an artificial and meaningless convention, and the fact that he is a Montague and she is a Capulet (families at war) means nothing to their love. .

However, there is some strong evidence from the UK’s Cranfield University, and elsewhere, that the name a project is given has a marked impact on the behavior and motivation of the people involved. It may surprise you, but the name you give your Intranet Project could well be the most important decision you make in the early stages of mobilization.

The direct approach

There’s an argument in favor of naming your intranet project the – wait for it – “Intranet Project”! Often the so-called “secret squirrel” names (where one has to find out what the Banana Project is all about) only serve to create an unnecessary air of mystique (suitable only for secret M&A projects). They can also be divisive, separating ‘people in the know’ from people outside the project’s immediate audience.

The functional approach

A functional name focuses on what the intranet does (eg search, find, access). This enjoys the same benefits as the direct approach, but it gives one a bit more poetic license. What about names like “Project Connect” or “Project Gateway”, which serve to point out the basic “must have” requirements for the project?

The conceptual approach

There is a problem with direct or functional approaches; Cranfield’s research has shown that people on projects tend to be highly influenced in their actions by the name of the project itself. If you call your project the Intranet project, it’s a working intranet (ie technology) that you’ll get. If his ambition was something much more visionary, like a whole new way of working for his people, he’s likely to be disappointed!

The conceptual name points to what is achieved by the functionality, rather than the functionality itself. For example, if your company name is BigCo and your goal is to get everyone in the company working together, you might call the project “OneBigCo Project” or “Unity Project.” For the goal of new ways of working mentioned above, you could use “Project Future Workplace”.

The abstract approach

The abstract approach deals with how the project makes people feel. For example, “Project Bliss” (for happiness), “Project Wizard” (for magic) or “Project Pulse” (for fast rhythm). Although a world usually fails to capture all that you are trying to achieve with an Intranet Portal, this approach can be very effective (particularly where it is counter-cultural).

if all else fails

Nothing caught you so far? Well there’s no way to save you, then! I guess there are always the standard fallback options: Greek or Roman god names, planet names, bird names, and dance names. These have the added value that if you generate tracking projects in a sequence, you have logical tracking project titles out of the box. By the way, “Project Mercury” would be my recommendation for planets or gods (since Mercury was the Roman god of communications).

For more ideas on project names, why not take a look at my presentation in Chapter 10 of my Free Intranet Portal Guide.

You’ve probably already heard a lot about pay-per-click advertising and how it can help you improve your online visibility while driving tons of traffic to your website.

So it stands to reason that when your business is on the brink of growth, the time is right to get involved with paid search advertising and take your customer targeting to the next level.

The first thing that comes to mind when you consider PPC is Google AdWords. As the biggest player in the paid advertising market, it’s no surprise that Google AdWords is the largest and most popular PPC advertising channel in the world.

However, we recommend that you do not rush to invest in AdWords without any foresight. Just because it’s the world’s preferred advertising platform doesn’t mean it’s also the best option for your business. You may want to try other platforms, particularly Bing Ads, which certainly has a smaller market share but can serve the same purpose as AdWords at lower costs, especially if you’re on a budget.

This brings us directly to the comparison between Google AdWords and Bing Ads as advertising platforms.

The prelude: the two most important giants of search engine advertising

As a business owner or consumer, you’re probably more familiar with Google AdWords than Bing Ads. There is no denying the fact that AdWords continues to be the preferred choice among Internet advertisers and businesses for providing access to a broader audience of potential consumers and generating a great return on investment.

But before you dismiss Bing Ads as a viable ad channel, it’s worth learning the key differences between the two platforms that make one better than the other. Let’s distinguish both platforms using key performance metrics, which will help you make an informed decision for your advertising project.

Cost per click and ad position

It turns out that the lack of competition and low popularity of Bing Ads gives advertisers a competitive advantage over AdWords. Bing Ads’ smaller advertiser base creates better opportunities for your ad to appear in better positions, making the platform a lucrative option for budget-conscious advertisers.

However, remember that AdWords still has a higher search volume and more potential customers clicking on your ads.

Conversion and click-through rate (CTR)

CTR is a metric that determines ad rank and cost per click. The higher your CTR, the better your ranking and the less you pay. Studies have shown that advertisers are more likely to get lower costs per conversion or leads on Bing than on AdWords.

Interface and Management

Another important factor particularly considerable for PPC beginners is the interface. When it comes to setting up and managing ad campaigns, Google AdWords still outperforms Bing with a wide range of ad extensions and features that make it easy to target, set up, and optimize.

traffic quality

When it comes to search volume and audience size, Google simply dominates Bing ads. Google is more powerful and has a broader reach and therefore attracts more traffic.

However, it is important to note that not all markets are created equal. Google may have a larger market share, but there are some markets where Bing can offer advertisers better opportunities to increase traffic, conversions, and sales. So it depends on the advertiser’s target audience whether AdWords or Bing would be a better channel to drive traffic to your website.

So who wins the battle?

While there’s no doubt that Bing Ads is still a loser for Google AdWords, we can’t get past the fact that Bing’s market share is steadily increasing and the platform is making leaps and bounds in the areas where AdWords struggles.

Both advertising platforms focus on effective customer targeting, but depending on your industry, budget, competition, demographics, and specific goals, one platform may work better for your business than the other.

We recommend that you allocate some of your advertising budget to Bing Ads marketing or vice versa and see which platform works best for you.

Additionally, you can invest in professional PPC advertising services to ensure the success of your internet advertising venture. A professional service provider can help you get maximum ROI by running custom PPC ad campaigns to meet your specific advertising goals. You get to work with a dedicated team who work closely with you to understand your industry, needs and market, as well as advise you on which ad platform will benefit your business the most and how you can get started with PPC advertising from scratch.

The LG KS-500 is the new phone from LG, which has a cool design and is packed with amazing features. It hasn’t been released on the market yet, but it’s sure to make an explosive entrance once it’s available. The new phone from LG is a slider phone loaded with all the modern features a youngster is looking for. Once it is launched, LG will leave another mark in the field of mobile devices, giving its competitors stiff competition.

Characteristics:-

o Announced in October 2008, the LG KS-500 will soon be on the market. It comes in two versions; 2G GSM 900/1800/1900 and 3G HSDPA 900/2100.
o The data functions built into the LG KS-500 include GPRS class 12 (4+1/3+2/2+3/1+4 slots), HSCSD, EDGE class 11, 3G (HSDPA, 3.6 MBPS) Bluetooth v2.0 with a2dp and USB v2.0.
o A 3.15 MP main camera and a secondary video call camera option make the LG KS-500 a smart phone. In addition to these, a video camera option is also available.
o Messaging features include SMS, MMS, email and EMS. WAP 2.0/XHTML browser is included in the phone.
o The LG KS-500 comes only in black color and has an assistant global positioning system (GPS) support function that helps you find the right location.
o Modern smartphone functions include JAVA MIDP 2.0, MP3/WMA/RA/AAC/+ audio player, H.263/H.264/MPEG4/RV player. The LG KS-500 also has a voice memo and organizer.
o The LG KS-500 comes with a standard 900 mAh lithium-ion battery, which has a standby time of 300 hours and 4 hours of talk time.
o Games can be downloaded to the LG KS-500.
o The LG KS-500 comes with an internal memory of 100 MB, which can be expanded to 8 GB through the external MICRO SD card slot. In addition, it can also store 40 missed, received and dialed calls.
o Your photocall phone book can store an incredible 1000 entries.
o The LG KS-500 comes with a 256k TFT color screen and an optical touch panel option.
o Although the phone is packed with features, the LG KS-500 weighs only 106 grams.

The BB cream or Blemish Balm is one of the increasingly popular makeup bases. It actually has many qualities that many other skin care products have. It is popular because it can be used as a foundation, foundation, and is said to be good for the skin. It is a popular cream in Asia. There are many companies that make this cream and they focus on the different needs of the skin. There are some that are used for whitening, oil control, moisturizing, and more. There are different BB creams to suit different skin types. To learn more about it, continue reading to learn about its history and its current status in the market.

History

This type of cream was made in Germany. The country’s dermatologists gave it to patients who had laser skin surgery. The cream was used to help soothe and nourish the skin. On top of that, the scars were made invisible by the use of the cream. It then became popular among Korean celebrities. Since it became popular and widely used, Korea started investing its resources to develop the cream. Therefore, many cosmetic companies have their own type of cream. After coming to Korea, it then moved to other countries in Asia and became more popular in Europe and eventually the West.

BB cream foundation is different in that it glides on and appears sheer. The cream claims to help regenerate the skin and make it smooth. Most good BB creams have the ability to control acne. It can also hide blemishes and has pigments that can diminish redness. On top of that, it also acts as an SPF, has antioxidants, and also works as a moisturizer. One ingredient that the cream may contain is Abyssine, which is helpful in reducing irritation that UVB rays can cause. It may also contain Beta-Glucan that helps activate the immune system.

Missha BB Cream is known to be one of the most popular because it can be used by most of the public. It is known for its ability to provide cover and protection. It can also cover even skin and improve wrinkles. Missha’s BB Cream is popular with many beauticians. There were some complaints from the West that their BB Cream was not good or equal to the creams in Asia. However, Missha was found to be better or equivalent to Asian creams. The product is known for the way it blends nicely on the skin and provides coverage.

Since there are so many brands that have their own creams, it is necessary to search through a wide range of them to find the one that best suits your skin. These come in a wide range of prices; and one can always find one at a reasonable price.

It seems like every week we hear about the release of a new phone. Faster this! That slimmer! It can get exhausting quickly, and if you’re not paying attention, the scenery can quickly change before you. Since the launch of the iPhone in 2007, thousands of new smartphones have been released, each iterating on what came before and adding new features along the way.

If you’ve been too busy with your life, you might be confused by the current state of the smartphone market. So with Christmas just around the corner and many Vodafone customers looking to upgrade their old phones, what are the best phones on the net for every budget?

Top of the range: iPhone 6s, Xperia Z5, Galaxy S6 Edge+

We’ve included three phones in this section, because when you spend money each month on a phone, you want to make sure it’s going to keep you happy for the next two years. After all, there’s nothing quite as annoying as buying a new phone and finding out it doesn’t work the way you’d like.

First up is the iPhone 6s and, well, it’s the latest iPhone. Available in 16, 32, and 64 GB flavors, as well as a larger Plus variant. While new features like ‘Force Touch’ are something of a gimmick right now, it doesn’t take away from the fact that this is the most capable iPhone yet. Powerful, slim, and with a great camera and screen, it’s a great phone. However, battery life is still a disappointment and if you don’t like iOS on any other Apple device, you won’t like it here either.

The Sony Xperia Z5 is a criminally underrated device. It’s completely waterproof with a beautiful design, and not to mention it’s blazing fast, has a great camera, two-day battery life, and a beautiful display. Its battery is sealed in line with that of the iPhone, but it comes with a micro-SD slot to expand its memory, so you’ll have plenty of space for all your music, photos, and videos. Don’t worry about a fingerprint reader either, because it has it.

Finally, there is the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+. His name may be a mouthful, but he’s a worthy contender. If you’re looking at the iPhone 6s Plus and wondering what its competition is, look no further. The Edge+ has perhaps the most beautiful design and build quality of any smartphone, a huge battery, an excellent camera, a good fingerprint reader, and great pacing. It also has a wild surround screen that features a number of clever tricks to impress your friends.

Mid-range: Xperia Z5 Compact

Our first pick for a mid-range phone is the Xperia Z5 Compact. We picked the Z5 as one of our higher-end picks, but don’t think the Compact is the inferior device. It has the same processor and camera and is just as beautiful and well built. In fact, the only change is its size (it has a 4.6″ screen that is very comfortable to use). So, if you want a smaller smartphone with great power, this is yours.

Budget: Moto G (2015)

Once upon a time, buying a good smartphone meant spending a lot of money. These days, however, you can spend a little and get a lot of what makes those expensive smartphones great. Our case in point is the Moto G. Made by (you guessed it) Motorola, the device has a 5″ HD screen, a beautiful 13 MP camera, a clean version of the latest version of Android, a fast processor, a water resistant and a great battery It doesn’t do everything previous phones do but if you want a budget smartphone then this phone will impress you like no other.

All twenty-somethings grew up with Nintendo and Super Nintendo. I still have my SNES and a friend of mine still plays Battletoads on his NES. Nintendo was the company that dominated the gaming industry in the early 90’s and nothing Sega introduced could beat it. The SNES had some classic games that are still played today and hailed as masterpieces. To name a few: Earthbound, Final Fantasy II and III, Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, Breath of Fire I and II, and Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (as you can see, I like my RPGs). Nintendo’s SNES left me very happy in the world of video games as a child; there was nothing better than coming home from elementary school, going with my dad to the blockbuster, and picking out a couple of games to play until the wee hours of the morning; Good times. So I became loyal to Nintendo and was looking forward to their next console.

Enter Nintendo 64; everyone had high hopes for it: it was a 64-bit processor, had more color than the Playstation, and its use of cartridges meant no load times. It seemed like the best system at the time and games like Zelda: Ocarina of Time that accompanied the release gave players a good feeling about its longevity. I had an N64 and one thing that was noticeably noticeable was the lack of RPGs. I was envious of seeing my Playstation-owning friends enjoying their copies of Final Fantasy VII, Legend of Dragoon, and Chrono Trigger while I ran around like a dwarf kid with a lock on Quest 64. The quality of the games has dropped tremendously since the SNES. to the N64 and soon lost all faith in Nintendo.

Since Nintendo had gone under when it came to having complex, compelling games, I could save my money and refrain from buying Nintendo’s next system, Dolphin, (cough) excuse me, GameCube, which belonged in the home appliance section of Sears. While I was happy with my PS2, the only games I wanted to play on the GameCube were Zelda games. While I never owned a GameCube, I kept up with all the consoles and there was always a quality that the GameCube lacked that the Xbox and PS2 had; It’s hard to explain, but it seemed like the GameCube games were created as an afterthought or to follow the success of another game on a different console. Games like Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes and Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles bore the names of famous franchises, but did little to deepen gameplay and character development.

When the Wii came out, I was tired of giving Nintendo the benefit of the doubt. The graphics were comparable to the Dreamcast, and the motion-sensing capabilities didn’t seem ready to be commercialized at a consumer level. And the games, the games still didn’t have the impact that the SNES did. Why does Nintendo insist on turning its back on the people who did it today? I don’t even consider the Wii to be a gaming console, with games like Cooking Mama and Wii Fit, it has carved out a unique niche that caters to seniors and girl scouts. But there’s nothing I can do about the drastic turnaround Nintendo has taken away from its core demographic, except take comfort in the knowledge that while people are getting “Wiitis” in the form of carpal tunnel, I’m playing a masterpiece like Metal Gear Solid 4. o Elder Scrolls: Oblivion.

There is a big difference between the test patterns and formats of the IELTS and PTE academic test. But there are certain notable similarities. First of all, both are standardized language tests that are carried out to assess the language skills of potential candidates who are willing to pursue a career abroad. To check if the candidates will be able to survive in the new academic environment where English will be the only means of instruction and communication. Both tests pave the way for the candidate to follow his dreams and fulfill his academic tasks. The concept or idea behind the realization of these tests is one.

The next similarity we can state is that both tests follow the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) standard scale scores while stating the scores or bands and therefore the scores and bands are accepted in many countries of the world. world as part of eligibility. criteria for education or immigration. These tests enjoy wide acceptance around the world due to the standard.

Another similarity that we can notice is in the written part of both tests. For example, IELTS writing task 2 is quite similar to the writing essay in the PTE academic test. Both tasks expect candidates to write an essay on the given topic with a slight change to the word limit. In IELTS essay writing task 2, the word limit will be 250-280 words for writing on sheets of paper, while in the PTE-A writing section, the essay writing word limit will be 200 to 300 words and the candidate must write it in the system. The evaluation criteria for both tasks will be similar in that the candidates’ task response, grammatical range and accuracy, lexical resource and content are evaluated and taken into account when scoring.

Another similarity is in the reading of part of both tests. There are multiple-choice questions in both tests in which candidates must choose the correct options based on the information provided in the text. The approach to answering these types of questions is similar on both tests. That is, a candidate has to skim and scan the text to find possible and appropriate answers. The same strategy works for both tests in this question type.

Some elements in the listening part of both tests have some similarities. How to fill in notes in IELTS listening is similar to filling in the blanks in the listening part of PTE Academic. Here too the approach will be the same. Listen to the recording and find the correct answers. Similarly, IELTS writing for academics task 1, i.e. writing a report, is similar to the image description question type in the academic speaking part of PTE. The only difference is the time limit and the response format. The concept is the same, that is, sharing the main points of the given image, which could be a graph, an image, a diagram, a table or a map. The similarities mentioned above are discussed only to clear up the confusion in the minds of the candidates. So go through them thoroughly to have a better understanding.