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5 Things to Consider Before Hiring an App Developer
With well over 30 thousand apps being submitted to both the iOS and Android stores each month, there is a lot of competition out there. One of the best ways to stand out in this sea of options is to be creative, efficient, and, above all, have an app that works and delivers a consistently valuable experience. To achieve any of this, you need a competent app developer on your side.
To find the right developer and get your project off the ground, there are many things to consider. Most of the planning process needs to be out of the way before you even start looking for a developer. The clearer your vision, the easier this process will be.
What Do You Expect to Get from Your App?
App revenue in 2016 was over 88 billion via app stores and in-app advertising. Is this the route you want to take? Do you want more sales for your products? Do you want to inform your customers? Offer free content and information to improve the image and status of your brand? Whatever your goals are, make sure you can clearly communicate them in simple terms. This is the starting point of creating the concept for your app. Once you know what you want the app to achieve, you can determine what features you need to produce these results.
What Sort of Timeline are You Working With?
How long do you have to release your app? Is there an event or holiday that you want to align the release with? Do you have a hard timeline or is your schedule more flexible? These are the basic questions you need to answer.
Once you know when you would like to release your app, you should consider if you could publish a basic version of the app now and then release updates over time. This can help you launch faster and avoid compatibility issues over time. It can also help you set more realistic development goals.
What’s Your Budget?
Know your initial budget. If it’s not enough to get you to your ideal app, there are ways to work around this. First, you may be able to ask potential developers if they could recommend a more streamlined version of your app for a first release and a plan to add more features over time. This may even allow you to afford a more experienced app developer and will show you how willing a specific developer will be to work with you long term.
What Platforms Do You Need to Develop For?
Not all developers can develop for every platform. If you need an iOS app and an Android app, it’s best to choose a developer who can create both for you from the start. If, however, you need an app for iOS app development alone, don’t hesitate to go with a specialist.
Track Record, Portfolio, or Past Projects
If you know exactly what you want and have a flexible development timeline, working with a beginner that has more knowledge than professional experience isn’t necessarily a bad thing. However, they should have some proof of skill.
When you begin interviewing any developer, ask for a sample of their work before anything else. And make sure that you can attribute this project to that developer. Ask them about this project- What were the challenges? What makes it unique? Why was it created for a given client or as a sample? The more in-depth and honest their answers are, the more trustworthy the developer.
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How Blockchain Could Revolutionize the Auto Industry
Cryptocurrencies are quickly cementing their role as the next big thing in technology, becoming more common and emerging from their reputation as being used for illicit, black market transactions. The automotive industry is increasingly embracing this new technology, bringing what’s known as blockchain into industry lexicon.
What is Blockchain, Exactly?
Simply put, blockchain is a public digital ledger that allows information to be distributed but not copied and stored across multiple channels. Information can be stored securely without risk of hacking or theft. This new technology can, among other things, record financial transactions, decrease odometer fraud, monitor self-driving cars and weed out fraudulent auto parts.
How Blockchain is Changing the Auto Industry
The blockchain is an emerging technology and we don’t fully understand everything it can do. Blockchain has the potential to revolutionize the way we do things and act as a new internet of sorts. This recent development brings with it whole new ways of doing things. For the burgeoning automotive industry, where growth is happening faster than they can keep up, blockchain may be the answer.
Self-Driving Cars
Through blockchain, cars may develop the ability to communicate among themselves, using machine learning to better understand their surroundings. This could mean that cars could essentially predict traffic congestion, as well as finding ways to improve safety and reliability.
Improved Security
Our current internet and data systems constantly put our personal data in peril. Blockchain technology sets out to change that. If you’re trying to sell a vehicle, for example, blockchain could set up a contract that would have to be put through properly before it could take effect. Blockchain can also eliminate the problem of the odometer rollback. This would greatly reduce the risk of fraud, essentially preventing sellers from being scammed.
Insurance
Blockchain could be instrumental in speeding up the entire insurance claims process while improving security at the same time. It could also make the creation of peer-to-peer policies possible. For those who are not eligible for traditional insurance policies, they can still share the risk, this time though, among their peers, making them self-insured.
Another possibility is usage-based insurance. Blockchain could measure this automatically, without relying on driver reporting.
Supply Chain
Blockchain would make all OEM auto parts traceable, with their location housed in a single location. This would reduce the need to track down parts as well as cutting down on knockoff auto parts. Parts would be immediately authenticated, ensuring that they are genuine.
While these technologies are still a ways off from becoming widely adopted, the automotive industry is readily embracing these new ideas. The blockchain is set to revolutionize the way the auto industry does business, and it may just change the entire world.
If you are looking at ways to embrace automation in your business, a chain conveyor is a good way to get started. Contact Ultimation Technologies to learn more.
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Is Nanofluidic Computing the Next Big Thing in the World of Technology?
Quite possibly, if researchers over at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have anything to do with it. By simulating the trapping of ions in graphene while floating in a saline solution, the team has demonstrated how computational operations can be carried out. Using this same method, the researchers are confident it could be used in other applications such as energy storage, water filtration, or sensor technology.
Scientists have long considered the possibility of using some kind of liquid medium for computing and various methods have been proposed. But this particular approach is more advantageous as would need very little material in which to work and its soft components could easily mold to custom shapes find within the body. The NIST team’s approach is also much simpler than earlier proposals.
“Previous devices were much more elaborate and complex,” says NIST theorist Alex Smolyanitsky. “What this ion-trapping approach achieves is conceptual simplicity. In addition, the same exact device can act as both a transistor and a memory device — all you have to do is switch the input and output. This is a feature that comes directly from ion trapping.”
The simulations created by the NIST team focused on using a small sheet of graphene 5.5 x 6.4 nanometers (nm) in size with a minimum of one small hole that’s lined with oxygen atoms. In the simulations, the graphene was submerged in a solution of potassium chloride and water. As a result, the pores of the graphene sheet trapped the positively charged potassium ions.
The researchers found that by trapping a single potassium ion in each pore, prevented any extra loose ions penetrating through the graphene. They also found that this trapping and penetrating activity can be altered by applying varying voltage levels across the membrane creating logic operations with 0s 1s in the process.
Ions that are trapped in pores create a kind of electrical barrier around the membrane. Very close by, this electric field gives the ion the energy boost it needs to pass through, which is around 30 millivolts (mV). The membrane effectively turns off any penetration when voltages of less than 150 mV are applied across the membrane. When voltages of 300 mV or more are applied, membrane penetration is switched on. The more the voltage increases, the more likely it is that trapped ions will become lost due to the weakened electrical barrier.
The NIST simulations also revealed that the trapping of ions depends on the voltage that’s applied across the graphene sheet. When salt concentrations are low, the conductivity of the membrane coincides with that of low trapped ion occupancy and when salt concentrations are high, the membrane coincides with that of a high trapped ion occupancy. If a low voltage (denoted as 0) is applied with the corresponding level of salt, the pores of the membrane are filled up with trapped ions and it’s almost nonconductive. When a high voltage (denoted as 1) is applied fewer ions are trapped and the membrane becomes highly conductive.
Even the slightest variation in voltage applied to the membrane results in a fairly big change in either the charge or current of the membrane, suggesting that it may be possible to carry out sensitive switching. As a result, this would create somewhere to store information and help transistors carry out complex logic operations in the world of nanofluidic computing.
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Open Source vs. Proprietary Security Software
By 2021, cybercrime damages are projected to cost around $6 trillion annually, according to the Cyber Security Ventures website. This means that cyber threats are bound to keep on growing with time and only the most prepaid organizations will survive. However, cybersecurity solutions do not come free, according to online slots portal SlotsAdviser.
For firms that would like to walk the less cost-effective path, then investing in open source log management software will provide them with the solution they need. The question is whether open source security software is as profitable as needed, or will they be giving up a big part of their security? In order to make the right investment decisions, IT leaders need to weigh between both options and determine the best way forward.
Here is a short comparison between both options to help you decide on the better one:
Why Work With Open Source Security Software?
There are more benefits of using open source software than just the reduction in cost. Since you can customize source code, you can change the functionality of the security software to fit your needs. For instance, in case the software has a specific iis error log that it fails to display, then you can make the necessary changes.
On the other hand, open source software doesn’t come with licensing or activation requirements. Such software also allows you some freedom in that you are not bound to the policies of the software vendors. Unlike in proprietary software, you will not have to worry about looking for other software to use once the vendor’s business fails since communities of developers run the most open source software.
Why Not Invest In Open Source Software
It can be tough to get in touch with the support staff of such software. This means that circumventing hurdles might be left to your internal IT staff and you will have to focus on the best tech support practices for end-user gratification. On the other hand, vulnerabilities are easier to find in such software since the software is typically exposed to the world.
In case the vulnerabilities are found by spiteful individuals before the developing community identifies them, it will expose you to cybersecurity risks. While the software might be free or less costly, the developers tend to make money in the form of ads which can be annoying at times.
Why Use Proprietary Software
The primary benefit of the proprietary software is that companies tend to offer multiple application features under one vendor. As an added advantage, you will also enjoy support throughout your time using the security software in the line of updates and troubleshooting. Since the software vendors own the source code, your organizations will not deal with the programming of the code, which can be a time saver for most organizations.
As for the scope of the software, most security software vendors tend to offer software that can reach a wide scope from small businesses to enterprises. Some even offer the luxury of integrating their software with common business IT systems to improve its effectiveness.
Why You Might Think Twice About It
The downside of software vendors being a one-stop shop for all the security needs is that you will have to rely on them completely. In some cases, the products that you get from them can be bulky and include more features than you need. This is a waste of your investment and resources.
Switching between software solutions is also tough. While it will mean starting over and investing in the necessary infrastructure, it will also call for employee training which can also be costly. In most cases, the initial financial commitment will be regarded as a waste.
Conclusion
The standoff between open source and proprietary software simply depends on the needs of your organization. If cost is a big issue, then walking the open source path will be wise. On the flip side, proprietary software will be great enough for organizations looking for convenience.
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How Taking Music Lessons Can Improve Your Language Skills
A recent MIT study has revealed that taking piano lessons as a youngster can, in fact, help children to better distinguish between different pitches. Being able to distinguish sounds in such as way translates into an improvement in being able to better discriminate between spoken words.
“The children didn’t differ in the broader cognitive measures, but they did show some improvements in word discrimination, particularly for consonants. The piano group showed the best improvement there,” confirms Robert Desimone, senior author of the paper and director of MIT’s McGovern Institute for Brain Research and the senior author of the paper.
Results from the study were published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences just last month. The findings suggest that having music tuition is quite possibly more beneficial for a child than having extra reading lessons. This supports previous research carried out that has shown how musicians tend to perform better than nonmusicians when it comes to tasks such as rapid auditory processing, separating speech from background noise, and reading comprehension.
But the MIT study added a little more to the equation as they wanted a more strict study that involved randomly picking children to receive music lessons and measuring how well they performed. This study was carried out in a school in Beijing and involved 74 children who were divided into three groups: those that received extra reading tuition 45-minutes per week; those who received 45-minute piano lessons; and those that had neither. All children were aged between 4 and 5 years old, speaking Mandarin as their native language.
After just six months, those children who received piano lessons had a much better ability to discriminate words based on differences in vowels, consonant, or tone than those who had extra reading lessons. Both performed better than those children that had neither. It was also found that those in the piano group had a better response to tones of a different pitch than the others, suggesting that a greater sensitivity to pitch is what helped these same children discriminate between different words.
When it came to the children’s IQ, working memory, and attention the researchers found no real differences between the three groups. This suggests that while the piano lessons did improve the children’s ability to distinguish between different tones and words, there was no real effect on their overall cognitive function.
“This study answers the question in the affirmative, with an elegant design that directly compares the effect of music and language instruction on children,” says Aniruddh Patel, a professor of psychology at Tufts University. “The work specifically relates behavioral improvements in speech perception to the neural impact of musical training, which has both theoretical and real-world significance.”
Desimone is hopeful the findings will be used to help convince schools to promote music lessons, not abolish them. “There are positive benefits to piano education in young kids, and it looks like for recognizing differences between sounds including speech sounds, it’s better than extra reading,” he says. The next move for Desimone is to take a deeper look into the neurological changes brought about by music by performing EEG tests before and after some intense music tuition to see how the brain activity alters.
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Using Video Recorders To Help In Business Growth
Technology nowadays plays a huge role in business growth. It is really difficult to handle all the tasks that are needed as you grow any brand. You have to think about various different things so everything that you can do in order to make the job simpler is appreciated. This is exactly where a video recorder steps in to help much more than what some business managers think.
How Can A Video Recorder Help The Business?
There is a clear misunderstanding about what screen recorder programs are good for. Most business managers think that the software is only used by professional gamers that stream video content. The belief appears because this is the industry that mostly used such software in the past. However, businesses from all around the world understand how useful video content is for their operation.
You can use video recorders in order to help the business in various different ways. This includes:
- Recording webinars to then upload to YouTube.
- Recording videos to then offer to those that signup for a newsletter.
- Recording live training sessions for future viewing.
- Recording business meetings.
Many other possible uses can be highlighted.
Choosing A Screen Recorder
Because technology evolved at a huge pace in the past few months, we now have access to interesting opportunities that can be used. However, since we are talking about business users, we have to highlight the fact that technical knowledge is usually limited. This is why software like Movavi Screen Capture Studio is normally recommended. The program allows the business user to quickly record any computer screen but this is not why it is preferred.
When you choose this program you also gain access to a really good video editor. It is really easy to end up with a lot of video content that you are not actually going to need in the future. If you have access to a program that also allows you to edit content it needs to be considered. You basically record the desired content and you then simply remove parts that you do not need. You can even add subtitles if you want to.
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Trade Seriously Even in Demo Accounts
The world of trading has gotten bigger and more people are coming to Forex. They are investing money and opening demo accounts and trading in them. When you are trading in the demo, you will feel you are the happiest person. There is no money involved and you can place as many trades as you want. The traders start taking it as fun.
There are many people who think they will only trade in the demo because they can never money in live markets. They do not know making money in Forex is not hard, it will take some preparation and practice and a good strategy that can be easily developed if you trade in demo accounts seriously. This article will tell you why you need to practice as if you are in the live industry.
Mastering your trading skills
The number of active Singaporean traders is rising at an exponential rate. Brokers like Saxo is offering a high-quality trading environment to their clients which allows them to make a huge profit even with a small amount of initial capital. But without having the right skill and proper training it’s really hard to establish yourself in the professional trading network. You should also have a strong willpower to learn by reading books and articles.
Many people often say a demo trading account doesn’t help at all. But in reality, this is the only place where you can learn trading CFDs without losing any real money. Consider this as your unique opportunity and try to make a consistent profit in demo accounts. Winning should become your habit but don’t forget losing trades will always be a part of this profession.
Your demo trading style is shifted into the live trading
You may not know this but how you are trading in demo accounts gets shifted in your live account. Even if you do not want it, you make the same mistakes unknowingly. This is the mentality that affects our performance. This is why this trading needs to be taken seriously. Keep your focus on the game and you will find there are many strategies. Not all of the strategies will work out for you and that is why the demo accounts are for. Keep on practicing till you find the best strategy and trade like live trading.
Do not overtrade because it will get transferred to live to trade. Place trades that you are certain and will give you money. Your demo trading style should be healthy and it should not contain rush decisions. Planning and preparation are how you will place your trades. Trade in the dummy account the way you want to see yourself placing trades in a live account. If you develop an unhealthy style like overtrading, big position sizing, it will get transferred into your live trading.
It is the only place where mistakes can be rectified
There is no other industry where people are given the chance to practice their trading. The stock markets also do not give this opportunity that Forex is giving. If you want the flaws to be rectified, trade seriously it does. If there are mistakes in live trade, there is no chance but demo gives you chance and that is infinite. Use them wisely, rectify your flaws and trade on live markets. This is a practice session where you can improve and make yourself a better trader and more professional to make a profit.
It shortens your time to make your dream come true
Do you dream that you will become a professional trader? If it is your dream, the dummy trades can make you achieve it. Develop and practice as long as you want and it will shorten your mistakes and also your time to achieve your goal. The making of profit depends on how well you have prepared yourself. Prepare well and you can get success in short times. If you do not prepare it will take a long time to make a consistent profit in this business.
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How to Remain Secure In a Remote Workplace
In today’s fast-paced business world, remote work is quickly gaining traction. In fact, 50% of the US workforce is expected to work remotely by 2020, according to Forbes. While most managers will be more than willing to embrace remote work, IT leaders are typically skeptical of it at first.
As much as having a remote team means better employee retention rates, they expose the company’s data to cybersecurity risks. This is mainly because it is tougher to control how remote employees use company data than it is to control the in-house workforce. For your organization to excel in embracing a remote workforce, you need to take security as a priority.
Here are a few ways to make working with a remote team secure:
Use Secure Connections; Employees could be working from anywhere between their homes and a coffee shop when working remotely. In case they are using free Wi-Fi to access company applications, then it might be easy for hackers to gain access to your details by simply spying on the employees. For instance, an employee who opens your mini remote control software on a public network to access files on their work computer will easily lead hackers to the files within the computer.
As such, it is vital to encourage employees to use a company-governed VPN every time they try to access your company’s IT assets. Additionally, it is also wise to assess whether the devices used to access the network have all the necessary patches installed to avoid leaks.
Consider Using Cloud-Based Solutions
Using cloud-based solutions is a great option when running virtual teams. First, it allows employees from different geographical areas to have access to the latest version of company data at the same time. Second, it is much easier for hackers to access company data that is confined to employee devices than it is to hack into a company’s cloud-based accounts.
Furthermore, it is much easier to completely lose company data when it is confined to the devices of employees. With cloud storage, the data can be backed up in real time. This also gives the organization enough control over the data were the employee to leave the company abruptly.
Control the Use of Company Devices
In case you provide employees with devices for them to use, it is wise to have a strong mobile device management policy. The policy should vividly state that employees should never use work devices for personal purposes such as accessing personal emails as this increases the scope of cybersecurity risk. As for the security software on these devices, ensure that they are always on the latest versions for optimal security.
Since you cannot always rely on your remote team to update the software, you should offer automatic updates to the devices. In case you choose to walk the BYOD path, then committing to strategies that will help increase the security of your data is vital. For instance, containerization can help keep company data safe if an employee’s device is stolen or gets lost.
Limit Employee Access
While you might trust the employee with your company data, there is no telling the kind of people they are always around. As a result, limiting their access to company data will help minimize the risk of data breaches. You can achieve this through privileged access control.
This way, employees will only access data that is relevant to what they are doing at the moment. Additionally, data access should only be offered on a need-to-know basis. Remote employees working in the finance department shouldn’t have access to IT-related data.
Conclusion; Employees are one of the most vulnerable parts of your organization when it comes to security threats. Embracing remote work only calls for more stress on your security strategies. Consider the tips above to keep your organization safe from a data breach.
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Future Trends for Online Gaming
If you love online gaming, chances are you can’t wait to see what the future has in store. With millions of dollars being poured into an already booming industry that’s grown exponentially in the last couple of years, we can say with absolute certainty that exciting times lay ahead. Whether your game of choice is online poker or a first-person shooter, here’s what trends you can look forward to in online gaming.
Casino games
We’ve been saying it for years, but in terms of online gambling, in the next few years, we expect to see virtual reality really kick things up a notch. Not only will expensive hardware drop down to more affordable levels and make things more accessible, but both Oculus and Valve Corporation is releasing new games that make use of VR technology, taking things more mainstream. Introducing VR to the online casino world will obviously mean a more immersive experience, which will encourage more participation and therefore, more competition. Currently, live casino games are mostly the arena of the high rollers, but as more players join the party, it won’t be necessary to compete against the big boys to enjoy the experience.
Branded slots
If slot games are your online gaming choice, expect to see the arrival of far more branded games. We’re talking Game of Thrones, Indiana Jones, Westworld – anything that’s a recognised and well-loved brand is likely to be given the slot game treatment in the not too distant future.
Multiplayer and social features
Moving forward we expect tech companies to continue encouraging more social interaction and multiplayer options. While once the world of online gaming seemed to be reserved for the socially-awkward, now many are starting to recognise the potential for meeting and interacting with like-minded individuals while you play…whether that’s around the online poker table, or while you explore dystopian landscapes, taking out rabid zombies.
eSports goes mobile
Up until this point, eSports has been strictly the domain of desktop and console users, which makes it tricky to play on the go. As smartphones continue to improve, we anticipate a move to taking eSports mobile. Also, we believe there will be significant growth in fans of eSports – who want to watch their favorite players and eSports teams compete. Therefore, we expect to see a rise in streaming of mobile games, and therefore soaring popularity of eSport games that specifically appeal to spectators– after all, what is sport without the cheering crowds!