Friday, December 30, 2011

2011: What Happened With the Tech World

The year 2011 has been eventful for the world of technology. There were new revolutionary products and technologies that were embraced quickly and there were others that were not able to sustain the interest of the markets for long. All the major brand names in the world of technology came up with something or the other to attract the markets and to keep up the names of their brands. 2011 saw smartphones becoming a lot more popular than they previously were.

Microsoft, the biggest name in the information technology industry came up with a few noticeable developments this year. After the tiff with Bing, Nokia and Microsoft entered a strategic alliance in February that would make Windows Phone 7 Nokia's primary smartphone platform. Then, Google officially launched Google Cloud Connect for Microsoft Office in February, a tool that lets users simultaneously edit any Office document via the cloud. Also Internet Explorer 9 was launched which was downloaded 2.35 million times. Then Microsoft went and acquired Skype for a whopping $8.5 Billion. Also Microsoft Office 365 was launched and Windows 8 was revealed.

Android was also seen climbing the charts of popularity this year and is now one of the most favorite mobile OS available. The year 2011 saw almost 4 versions from Android- Honeycomb 3.0, Honeycomb 3.1, Honeycomb 3.2 and Ice Cream Sandwich. All the versions had something new and exciting to add to the previous one.

Another big news of 2011 was the iOS 5. Apple came out with a new operating system for all its devices which was appreciated right from the beginning. The highlights of the new features include: Non-obstructive Notifications, Newsstand, Deep Twitter Integration, Safari Improvements, Reminders, More Camera features, New Keyboard and much more.

Google on the other hand ventured in the social media industry and came up with Google +, a new social media site that became an instant hit. It also introduced the Google Brand Pages that helped people come closer to the brand names that people love most.

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Transfer your Domain Name

Are you fed up with the management of your current registrant and willing to move your domain name to other registrant? Good news for you, you can now transfer your domain name from the management of your current registrar to another registrar. The process appears to be complicated but it is not so. There are few conditions that users have to follow prior to transfer of the domain name.

The very first condition is that the domain name should be more than 60 days old. If you have just registered a new domain, you will have to wait for 60 days to transfer to a new registrar till the domain is unlocked. By default, registrars lock domains. Before transferring to a new registrar, you will have to unlock the domain with your current service provider. If your domain is almost up for renewal, you’ll need to renew with your existing registrar. If you pay for registration privacy services, this may mean you need to cancel those services before initiating a transfer.

There are a few steps that you should follow to move your domain name. Here we are taking an example of godaddy.com. First of all login to your GoDaddy account and head to the "Domain Management" section. This will redirect you to a page that lets you to manage your various domain names. Next to listed domains, there are various icons that allow users to access certain domain features. Hover over the "lock" icon to see the status of your domain. If you domain is locked, follow the next step.

Domain names are locked by registrars by default so that evil parties can't transfer a domain out from under the real owner. However, in order to transfer a domain to a new registrar, you must first unlock the domain. Uncheck the box next to "lock domains" and select OK. After unlocking your domain, the next step is to get the authorization code to bring to your new registrars. Click on the domain name you want to transfer and on the "Domain Details" page, scroll to where it says "Authorization Code: Send by Email." Select this option and then check your email account for an authorization code from GoDaddy. You can now give this information to your new registrar. Get ready to move your domain name.

Source: http://mashable.com/2011/12/29/how-to-move-your-domain-name-account/#403994-Get-Your-Authorization-Code

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

YouTube Slam- Vote To Discover the Best Video!!

YouTube has become one of the most preferred video sharing portals. It is much loved by youth of today. YouTube is one of the products of Google and has always been in news for adding new and latest features. Google again come up with a new feature to YouTube named YouTube Slam. It is an interactive video-discovery tool that randomly spits out two videos at time for one-on-one battles. Viewers voting will decide which videos is winner. The one-on-one video sessions can be watched in five different sets: Comedy, Cute, Music, Bizarre, and Dance. The ‘video duels ‘can settle down which videos are more entertaining than others. Victorious videos will be presented on the category's leaderboard, and users can subscribe to slam channels to see the week's top vote getters in each and every category.

The main aim to introduce YouTube Slam is that the viewers can encounter the content they might not otherwise see while browsing the site. YouTube defines Slam as a platform to find out brilliant amateur singers or artists, the most delightful clips and the craziest videos on YouTube. Users can also test and check that how often they choose videos that turn out to be most adorable and craziest. They will get points for choosing winners and can compare their insight spirit or tone to that of other players by testing out their weekly counts.

So get ready to watch pairs of videos and vote for your favorite. Scores of videos totally based on your votes. Start voting today and be the first to discover the best videos on YouTube! This feature is expected to take the interaction with the users to a new level and give the users to do something other than just watch videos and comment on them.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Custom CMS: What and Why


A proper and efficient CMS means a website that is well maintained and functions flawlessly. With the ever increasing competition, there is little or no scope for error. One has to take care of every little detail in order to deliver unhindered services and ensure users’ satisfaction. Content Management Systems are a great way to manage your website and keep the track of all the changes that are required.

The CMS that you use for your website can either be either custom or the readymade templates. Most content management systems are free, open source software that is included automatically with your web hosting plan. But in recent times the trend of custom CMS has been catching up fast with all the benefits that it has to offer.

With a custom CMS you can update the content of your website time and again to keep it fresh and interesting without much hassle. Deciding a custom CMS web designing budget at the early stage of development in the highly competitive online industry can fetch you good results in the long run. Custom CMS is more beneficial as it can adapt to any kind of page layout or design. Custom CMS allows you to do a lot more than just changing the text and the graphics. You can add pages, delete pages, reorganize the navigation etc. You can also change the titles, tags and descriptions of the pages with optimization point of view. And you can do all this as and when required without much trouble.

With Custom SMS you can bring all the changes that would be best for your website. You can make the images flash or not as required by the nature of your website. The most coveted feature of any custom CMS is by far the ability to manage several web sites simultaneously. Having a custom content management system will also give you the ability to create web site that are unparalleled by your competition. As a web developer too, the best way to keep your client happy is to use a custom CMS.

Friday, December 9, 2011

Content Marketing- Using it Effectively

The design and the graphics of a website may attract people to visit a website and stay there for a while. But what makes people stick around a website is the content that the website offers. The information provided, the facts stated etc. is what makes the viewer’s stay on the website. The term Content Marketing has been recently developed according to which delivering high-quality, relevant and valuable information to prospects and customers would drive profitable consumer action. Content marketing has benefits in terms of retaining reader attention and improving brand loyalty.

To develop content that is noteworthy, there are a few things that need to be considered -

First, you need to determine the organizational goals and work according to them it is best to have goals that are measurable and that have a deadline. Next, you need to figure out the target audience and develop content keeping them in consideration. This means researching everything about the audience to whom you will be delivering your content. Then develop your content in a way that you tell them exactly what they want/need to hear.

Content Marketing can be broadly classified into three categories: Long-form, Short-form and Conversational-form. The Long-form includes blog posts, articles and press releases. Short-form includes tweets, Facebook and LinkedIn status updates and graphics. Conversations and sharing includes participating in and driving conversations through blog commenting, link sharing and comments on videos. You can choose the kind of Content or the combination of the three depending on your website’s nature and needs.

Before anything else, make sure that the content on the website is unique, relevant and original. Also the grammar and spellings need to be checked and double checked. No one likes to read shoddily written sentences and bad spellings. Also, it puts the credibility of the website into a shadow. The reader today can easily understand the difference between information and ruthless marketing. Try to incorporate the information in a subtle manner that is delightful to read. Also, it would be beneficial to implement SEO friendly content since the very beginning to get better Search Engine rankings for your website.

Monday, December 5, 2011

Latest with Facebook

Facebook, still holding strong the number one position, has been introducing new features to keep offering something new to its users. The latest from Facebook is the introduction of the Sponsored Stories in the news feed. This feature would be available in the web version of the website from January 2012. 2008 was the last time that ads were shown in the news feed. The ads that would be shown would be marked ‘Sponsored’ and a rate limit will ensure that users can see only one Sponsored Story in the news feed per day. "You will only see Sponsored Stories in your news feed about your friends or people you are connected to," Annie Ta, Facebook spokesperson, said. They'll also be of the same size and treatment as other stories in News Feed.

Another feature that Facebook has worked on is the “Subscribe” button for websites. The plugin will let visitors to a web site click on the button to begin following all of the news from a journalist, celebrity, public figure, politician, celebrity they want to follow on Facebook. In practice, the Subscribe button will act very much like Twitter’s Follow button does for websites. With the subscribe button, the users can keep track of the activities by their favorite celebrities and other public figures.

Yet another change and that too a drastic one is that of the introduction of the Facebook Timeline- ultra-illustrative, chronological listing of posts, photos, shared links, check-ins, and more. The Timeline lets the viewers go through all the activities of the person since the time they joined Facebook. Though the privacy of the posts are being questioned, but Facebook is devising ways of letting the users choose what is to be shown and what not. There are a number of ways you can personalize your Timeline so it highlights the posts, pictures and events you cherish most.

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Google+ Brand Pages- The Place To Be

Google+ is a fairly new name in the social media world. But it is catching up fast and is now being seen as an effective marketing tool. The Brand Page from Google+ brings some new opportunities in marketing and building an effective online presence. The biggest brands of the world are playing around with the Google Brand pages already. Names like Angry Birds, Burberry, H&M, Macy’s, Pepsi, Toyota and scores of others are making use of the Google Brand Pages to get in touch with and stay in contact with their fans. They are Google’s response to Facebook fan pages.

At first there was a slight confusion and people were seeing the Google Brand Pages same as the Google + profiles. But Google has made clear the difference. They say that the Pages can’t add people to circles unless someone adds a Google+ Page to their circles or mentions (using the + or @ before the name) the page. Also Pages are for entities; profiles are for people. The Google Brand Pages are public by default, whereas the profiles are not. The Pages also have a +1 button which makes them different from the profiles. And lastly Pages can’t +1 other pages, play games, share to extended circles, receive notifications via email, text, or Google+ bar, or hangout on mobile devices.

The Google Brand Pages are also great from the SEO point of view. Various parts of the Google+ personal profile can be customized based on the data you enter in specific fields. The Google pages give you plenty of opportunities for personal branding. The ‘Hangout’ feature is what makes the Google pages different from the Facebook pages. And this feature can be effectively used for better promotion and interaction with the customer base. You can remove the unwanted tabs from your page and can simplify it. By using the Brand Pages effectively you can definitely make better your contact with your clients and the public.

Monday, November 28, 2011

What and Why? Appcelerator Titanium

Appcelerator Titanium development is an open source development platform. Titanium assists you in the construction of native mobile, desktop and tablet applications by means of present web skills like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Python, Ruby, PHP, etc.

There are numerous methods and techniques to create applications, mainly the iPhone and Android. You can generate a widget JavaScript in your Safari browser as well. Appcelerator is a four-year-old corporation that launched the Titanium suite of products in March 2010. It hastens the development of native applications on mobile and desktop platforms.

There are two types of tools of titanium accessible. One is Titanium Mobile which facilitates the development of native Android, iPhone, iPad and such applications. Another is Titanium Desktop which facilitates the development of applications for Windows, Linux, and OSX platforms. Desktop applications have modified operating system specific UI, database access, receive notifications, offline functionality, and play multimedia.

Titanium makes use of a simple directory and file structure to bring about JavaScript (.js) files that are executed by the Titanium Developer product to create the native projects for Objective C and Java. A developer, who is using Titanium, will certainly not have to understand Objective-C nor Java. Though, in practice, knowledge of these languages is useful for configuration and debugging. It offers integrated support for popular AJAX and JavaScript frameworks. It also provides cloud-based services for packing, evaluating and allocating applications generated through the Titanium platform.

Titanium applications are broadly divided into four parts. The HTML/ JavaScript/CSS code that makes up UI and the core application logic, The APIs that access native desktop/device functionality, or other modular functionality, The language – OS relationship that compiles web code into native application code, and the run-time shell for cross-platform distribution. The user can also develop applications for iOS and Android by using Titanium IDE.

Thursday, November 24, 2011

What to Expect from the iPhone 5?

Every time Apple decides to come up with a new product, the speculations precede the launch. The same is for the iPhone 5. Though it is being seen just as a refreshed version of iPhone 4S, there are of course fresh features to look forward to. Apple never reveals too much about its products before the actual launch but the leaks are inevitable. The latest that we had from Apple was the iOS 5. This is seen as exciting and promising a whole new level of digital experience. The iPhone 5 with iOS 5 together is sure to make ripples in the mobile phone world.

The user interface of the iOS 5 makes use of the concept of direct manipulation, using multi-touch gestures. The iPhone 5 is rumored to have more than 200 new features, making notable changes in the Notification System, iMessage and News Stand. It will also have the iCloud service, a higher resolution camera and a 4 inch screen size.

The iMessage is there against the BlackBerry Messenger. Almost like a chat service, this will allow iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad users to communicate for free. The iMessage feature has been integrated into the SMS/MMS application used originally on the iPhone models.

It is also expected that the iPhone 5 would support the iCloud services. With Cloud Computing gaining massive popularity, it would be an intelligent move by Apple to incorporate the feature in its latest device. If there, iCloud will make sharing and storing photos, apps, calendars and documents a lot easier.

Other than these there are improvements in the camera to be expected with it going 5 Mega Pixel. Also along with the regular rear camera there is to be a front facing camera to facilitate video chatting. The current iPhone has a 3.5 inch display and the new one is said to increase it to 4 inches.

Along with the rest another rumor that is floating in the market is that Apple might use the A6 or A7 processor for the new iPhone. How true this is is yet to be seen, but if true iPhone might be redefined.Thus with all the improvements iPhone 5 is all set to induce drool for the tech-lovers.

Friday, November 18, 2011

Online Shopping- Be On Safer Side

With the increasing number of mouse clicks on the online shopping portals, have you ever given a thought to the safety of your transactions and information? Next time before you spend money online, equip yourself with some safety tips. First of all know what you are buying. Read carefully the specifications, authenticity and pricing both online and offline. It is always advisable to go for well-known brands you trust as they always have product description listed on their official websites. Equally important is to know your merchant or seller; trusted vendors do mostly publish their information page publicly. In addition try to know about the vendor’s reputation by checking ratings, complaints reported against them and the feedback from other web sources. Still if you are not totally sure of making the transaction then write them an e-mail or contact the customer care.

You must read privacy policies of the merchant prior to shopping, as reading privacy policy is very important. You should know that how your personal information would be treated, always try providing minimum personal information. Cross checking on legal, shipping, warranty, and pricing is always advisable before you make the final click. For an example, let’s say that you go and buy a tablet pc online and the page says that it has to be shiped from abroad. You go ahead with the listed price and when the product arrives at your doorstep you are asked to shed additional bucks, As soon as you ask your seller for the reason he will hit back saying that these are the custom changes and as per the policy document are to be borne by you. So being cautious on seller’s policies is always recommended.

The most important aspect of shopping online is safeguarding your payment. Always use a trusted payment gateway, look for https sign on URL bar and an unbroken padlock on the webpage which ensures additional security. Among the payment options paying by credit card is always preferred because under federal laws you may chargeback for an unauthorized charge. In addition if your transaction is unsuccessful then the amount debited from your card may be re-credited before your statement date. And last but not the least keeps records of all transactions, receipts and confirmatory data.