Zoho Help Desk Software For Customer Support

Zoho Help Desk Software is one of the best Software for the management solutions of your organizations.It gives you the complete ability for managing the customer support activities, assigning the work, tracking the work, giving the help desk tickets, and you can even set up the custom alerts. It is a web based help desk software which lets you to access the complete data from any corner of the world. As It is a web based software there is no need to install the software on any computer. This can make your organization to cut-down the installation charges and other maintenance costs.

Zoho is full of Features which can be easily accessed due it’s simple user interference.

Here are some features of the Zoho Support software

Here are main features that you can access on Zoho Help Desk Software:

• Helpdesk Automation
• Using this feature you can automate any work on your Help Desk Software. Just like time based actions, Sending Alerts, Creating custom tasks, updating the fields, and you can also use the macros for making the automated works.
• Helpdesk Ticket Management
• Using this feature you can create the web forms. And you use this feature to assign the requests from your customer service software  to your agents. You also use this feature to handle the mail traffic to your support agents, And you can use this even for Billing purpose.
• Customer Self-service Portal

This feature plays vital role in improving the support to your customers. This feature lets you login from secure pages into your dashboard to support your customers and this wonderful software is not priced so high so.

This software is offered is three plans

They are

Professional:-

12$/agent per one month

Enterprise:-

25$/month/ per one month

And FREE ACCOUNT for ever (with some restrictions)

And you can completely customize the Zoho Desk Supporting Software. Like customizing the templates, page layouts, delete and add the tabs.

And still there are some more features in Zoho Help Desk Software which can’t be found on other Desk Supporting Softwares.

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5 Best iOS Apps For Your iPhone/iPod

Whether you are interested in music programs, high quality games or social media, there are thousands of applications in the Apple official store. There is always something appropriate to entertain or inform you, as long as you have the patience to search through the applications. New programs show up on a regular basis, so deciding on a definitive champion is almost impossible. People have different preferences and necessities, so your favourite application might be useless to someone else.

SoundTracking

How many times have you listened to a song for the first time and loved it instantly? You usually try to remember some of the lyrics, so you can find its name over the Internet. With SoundTracking, you no longer have to play this annoying game. The application gives you the possibility to identify the author and title of the song you are playing. Other than that, you may also share the respective song with your friends in various social networks. The song does not necessarily have to be on your gadget. You may just as well hear it in a club or on a friend's device.

iMuscle

iMuscle can be described as your personal fitness trainer. The application can easily measure the heartbeat and determine whether or not you are too agitated. At the same time, it can tell you how many calories you have just burnt throughout your workout session. As long as you follow the instructions, the measurement is very precise. The application is just as useful if you need some new ideas, since there are almost 500 different exercises. The 3D views give you the chance to better understand what muscles you have to work on.

Spotify

Spotify was first released in Europe. It hit America about three years later, but it was definitely worth the wait. The service brings in a few sophisticated streaming options. You gain access to thousands of music files, but you are also free to share them through your favourite social networks. The application is available for a monthly fee and seems to be the most appropriate option for those who are tired of what they can find on iTunes.

Pinterest

Pinterest is extremely popular and gives you the possibility to establish and manage your own virtual blog. The bulletin board can be public or private and allows you to share opinions and thoughts about anything you can think of. Your followers can then comment on your posts or images. The application has a minimalist design and a facile interface.

Procreate

Whether you are bored at school or you simply love painting, Procreate is the most advanced painting application. The interface is user friendly and very easy to use. You can paint whatever goes through your mind in real time. There are numerous options at your disposal, so even a professional can find this application to be very entertaining.

Conclusion

All in all, the thousands of applications available to Apple users can seem overwhelming at the first view. Making a good decision depends on reviews and charts. The market is continuously improving, so do not forget to check out the latest applications every once in a while.

Guest Post by Sai krishna who is a tech and gadgets enthusiast. He works for musicmagpie.co.uk, visit the web site if you are wondering where you can selliPod

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5 Tips for Effectively Managing a Virtual Team

It was once believed that in order to be efficiently cooperative and productive, team members would have to be located and working in the same room together. This is, of course, no longer the case. The advent of technology, software and online tools has allowed managers and project leaders to effectively work and collaborate with a team in the virtual world. No matter how a virtual team communicates, or even what continent they're on, a team should be understanding of project goals, objectives, and should be able to get just as much done as if they were sitting side by side each other.

It's the responsibility of the project manager to ensure everyone is focused and meeting deadlines accordingly. But because creating a virtual team is so new, it can be confusing, and even a hassle when it comes to effectively managing and guiding the team members. And, because of the constant flow and always-changing aspects that go into a continuous business project, it makes management that much more of a burden.

Here are five proven and effective techniques a project manager can implement to better manage a virtual team.

1. Set Objectives

Create and communicate to the team each of their individual roles and responsibilities. Ensure each one knows what the other team member is responsible for, and make sure they know and realize whose job effects whose, and why. Communicate clearly to the team members each of their daily, weekly, bi-weekly and monthly goals.

2. Establish Rules and Expectations

Even before the day the project is initiated, a few common ground rules should be clearly laid out for the team members. This is especially true for virtual teams, since it's easy to veer off track and become unproductive. Establish what is expected of each member and the team as a whole, and what the quality of each task should look like. Conveying the importance of status reports, establishing scheduled work hours, lunch break hours, and conference call times are essential to the short and long-term success of a virtual team.

3. Be Specific

Be thorough in explaining every aspect of what's required. Make sure everyone knows the exact time that content and tasks should be delivered. Sticking to a holistic approach and reminding the team of deadlines the day before they're due is not only risky, but it compromises the task's deliverability and quality.

4. Constant Communication

It's vital for the project manager to communicate with his or her team constantly. Leaving someone in the dark can end up being catastrophic for the project. And although the virtual team manager should have a direct and clear channel of open communication for the team, it's important to stay away from micromanagement. Trust the team to make the right decisions, and allow teams a way to communicate with each other, if and when necessary.

5. Use the Right Tools

It's pointless to create or be in charge of a virtual team when the right technology is not in place. Technology is the anchor to any proactive and communicative virtual team, and it's important to choose the right one. Sure, conference calls, webinar meetings, and instant messaging tools are great for making sure everyone is on track and going in the right direction, but they lack in reliability. How sure is the project leader that his or her team is doing what they're supposed to? When deadlines need to be met, and productivity is a must, there should be nothing left to chance. One of the most cost-effective and reliable pieces of software currently out there is My Team Monitor.

My Team Monitor is bar none, one of the best tools for the overall productivity of a virtual team. When active, the software records a team members working hours, letting the project leader know whose being productive and whose slacking behind. A team member's screenshots can be taken, and even key strokes and mouse clicks can be followed. This makes it easier to reward productivity and discover underlying problems. No matter the location of the virtual team and its members, and no matter the type of project it pertains to, My Team Monitor allows for peace of mind, and the simple transparency that a team leader needs when managing a virtual team.

Neil Bachand has extensive experience with virtual team management. Neil enjoys sharing his expertise and insight on software blogs. Learn more about managing a virtual team at My Team Monitor.

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An Exciting New Frontier: Cloud Engineering

Cloud computing delivers a set of hardware and software computing resources over the Internet or any other network. These configurable resources include networks, servers, applications, services and storage, and are presented to users as a single on-demand service. The systematic application of multiple engineering disciplines to develop, operate and maintain cloud computing systems is called cloud engineering. This originated as a concept in 2007 but it was formally introduced in 2009. The main cloud engineering disciplines are discussed below; each of them takes commercialization, governance and standardization into consideration while designing the cloud system to provide the final business solution.

Software: Software engineering is the most fundamental discipline for cloud services; it gives users remote access to application software and databases while the application platform and complex infrastructure is managed by the cloud provider. The established design, development, integration and deployment processes of software engineering now need be applied to distributed computing.

Information: Data that was stored onsite in traditional business models is now stored on remote cloud servers and potentially distributed across data centers. The cloud system provider has to properly analyze how to take the existing data of an organization and build it into the cloud. This data needs proper integration while interfacing with other systems. The user also needs charting tools and dashboards to monitor and analyze their data.

Performance: Software engineering will take care of functional business requirements, but performance engineering is needed to meet the non-functional requirements. The network, tools and resources of the cloud service must demonstrate an optimized system performance, conform to service level agreements and ensure availability and scalability.

Security: Since cloud-based services, applications and tools are delivered over the Internet, they need to be monitored and tested to meet high security standards with robust password, network and storage policies put in place. The cloud system developed through software engineering principles is thoroughly analyzed and designed for reliability. Security aspects include preventing unauthorized access, and stability and sustainability in case of natural disasters. It also involves the secure process of migration from traditional platforms to the new cloud, in particular, interoperability and portability.

Risk: Many sectors like finance and health have strict regulatory requirements. With externally controlled infrastructure in cloud computing, the user shares accountability with the service provider. The governance, risk and compliance policies need to be updated accordingly. The organization should include the right to regularly audit the cloud provider in the contract and demand a disaster recovery plan from the cloud provider. When developing the cloud solution, they need to analyze the new shared operating business model and identify the new risks that virtualization, widespread storage or data and resource sharing bring, such as service load balancing and data latency. Identity management is necessary to control user access to applications on the cloud. Proper architectural design, thorough testing and automation are some of the risk mitigation strategies.

Web: Cloud computing uses the web or the Internet as its platform. Like any web-based system, Service-oriented architecture (SOA) and other web engineering processes needs to be kept in mind while designing and implementing the cloud-based solution.

Conclusion:

Cloud engineering is bringing about a huge technology shift in the IT world as mode businesses are moving toward cloud computing. It offers the advantages of automatic software updates through central hosting, operational cost savings and transferred infrastructural risks to the cloud provider. Proper application of the various disciplines in cloud engineering ensures a secure, reliable cloud solution to meet any business need.

Jessie Brannen is a tech researcher that focuses on the latest developments in cloud computing. Her articles mainly appear on tech websites. Visit the link to find out more about ProfitBricks'cloud computing software company and the services they offer.

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Three Free CAD Programs for Engineers and Designers

If you’re an engineer or a designer you know that some of the most important trade tools don’t come cheap.  Software programs in engineering are often readily available for free or for cheap online, but those programs using the CAD or Computer Aided Drafting technology are much harder to come by.  The possible reason for this is because creating a quality, industry-accepted, and versatile CAD product is so complicated.

There are, however, three free programs that use CAD and available for download.  These programs aren't cheap “layout design” knockoff versions of CAD – they are legitimate quality products developed by some of the major designers who sell commercial 3D CAD software.  The motivation for offering these great products for free is the hope that the user will decide to purchase the commercial software after trying out the free version.  Fortunately the companies offering these products aren't offering substandard snippets of a program to hook you.  The programs are actually really good quality.

The first free program is called IronCAD Compose.

Pluses:  this program allows the user to import files from other CAD programs for editing, 3D composites, rendering, and even animation. 

Minuses:  while it is a great program, it requires you to already have access to CAD files.

IronCAD Compose is specifically useful for the creation and presentation of 3D models that can be used as a sales piece or used within your own organization for training or partnering.  A drawing, for example, can be produced by one person and passed on to another who can then use the program to explore the assembly or product. 

The catch to the IronCAD Compose “free” deal is that it takes existing drawings and makes them viewable, editable, and printable, but the design aspect of the program is not accessible.  There are other aspects of the program that aren’t accessible using the free version with the hopes that the user will choose to purchase it after seeing all that it has to offer.  As a standalone product, however, IronCAD Compose is still a quality product.

The second free program is called AutoCAD Inventor Fusion. 

Pluses:  this program is offered by Autodesk – one of the leaders in CAD programs.  This program uses cutting edge technology and is being offered free of charge to draw interest from Autodesk’s current client base as well as its competitors’. 

Minuses:  this program is only free for a short period of time and also requires the user to have access to 3D CAD program files.  Inventor Fusion essentially takes 3D CAD files from a wide variety of formats and, in an incredibly user-friendly way, turns them into models to be used in planning and engineering.

The third free program is called Sold Edge

2D Drafting and is offered by Siemens and it is a solid good-quality 2D CAD program that is most useful in situations where a 3D model isn’t required.  Solid Edge has been an industry leader in mechanical drawing since it was developed by the space program in the 60’s.  Currently Siemens interests lie in selling 3D CAD programs.   They offer the 2D program for free hoping to gain the loyalty of users who would be paying competitors for similar programs.  Solid Edge is everything a designer or engineer would expect from a 2D drafting program.  It is compliant with a number of industry drafting standards and is compatible with other 2D and 3D CAD programs.

If you’re interested in trying out these great products follow the links below.  There is no better opportunity to get your hands on some quality CAD programs than now.

For IronCAD Compose visit: www.ironcad.com

For Inventor Fusion visit:  http://labs.autodesk.com/

For Solid Edge visit: www.siemens.com/plm

Guest Post by Dan Greene of http://www.globalcad.co.uk/.

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3 Things to Consider When Choosing a Broadband Provider for Your Home Office

There are a number of things you should consider when you are setting up your small home office, and one of those things is your broadband Internet connection. You need one that is reliable, fast and reasonably priced. Here are the things you should consider when picking a broadband provider.

Reliability

When it comes to a home office broadband service, the most important concern is reliability -- does it work? A small home office is unlikely to have the budget to compensate for the lost sales that occur during online absences. Few small businesses can afford to lose money thanks to an unreliable broadband service, especially if technical assistance is un-comprehensive or absent. Ideally the broadband provider should have technicians available 24 hours a day. If your connection should fail, and if technical assistance is not available, you would start to experience considerable problems. If you need urgent restoration of your broadband connection, a poor provider may make you wait 3-4 days.

Price

There are offers and promotions that the small home office should take into account. These offers are the ones aimed at businesses, which means they cost more, but in general, they offer more assistance on dedicated channels. They attend to your needs more thoroughly and endeavour to solve your problems more quickly.

They will often offer more technical features too. Whether you have selected a provider or if you simply have a list of candidates, you should know if you will need to download more often than you upload -- or the other way around. If you are planning to send out bulk emails, or multiple emails with large files attached, then you are going to upload more than you download. If you have several computers in your home office, and they are being used every day by your staff -- then you are probably going to download more than you will upload. Once you are aware of whether you are going to be a big uploader or a big downloader, you will be able to pick an appropriate broadband provider. It will also enable you to pick a price plan that is going to suit your needs and your business.

Speed

The great thing about broadband speed for a small home office is that the Internet usage is only going to be split between a few computers (usually only one). This means that you will not have to purchase a router to ensure that all the PCs feel the same benefit. It also means that you will not need to invest in a very high bandwidth. The Internet usage of one (or a small few) PC is going to be too intermittent to genuinely feel the benefit of a bulkier bandwidth.

Conclusion

You should check out the offers and promotions that broadband providers offer businesses, because you are more likely to find a service package that suits you. Forget about bandwidth (speed) in your home office and simply go with an average speed. You can always upgrade to a faster speed of broadband at a later date if you find you have trouble. Finally, you should ensure that your broadband provider is reliable and has 24-hour technical support.

Author Bio: 

Edd Dawson has extensive experience as a broadband technician. He likes to demystify broadband topics on various blogs. Visit www.broadband.co.uk to find the best deal for your area.

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“It’s Just Email”: Misconceptions About BYOD Risks

“Off to the gym after work!” A quote from a celebrity or philosopher. A snapshot of the snow falling outside your office window. These are just some of the things you might post to your Facebook page from your mobile device while you’re at work. Or maybe you send a tweet about the latest celebrity scandal or forward an interesting article to your mom using your work email. On the surface, you might think these posts are completely innocuous. And speaking content-wise, you might be right. An Instagram photo of a snowy scene doesn’t present any inherent risks — unless of course, your company is the intended victim of a targeted attack and a cybercriminal is monitoring your activity, looking for a means to gain access to your company’s network.

The consumerization of IT — allowing employees to use their own devices for work functions — brings with it a host of security concerns that must be addressed. Because, as Trend Micro reports, many employers are shifting to a bring-your-own-device (BYOD) environment in an effort to increase productivity and follow current trends — it’s important for IT departments (and employees) to understand what such a shift means in terms of security and avoid common misconceptions that often lead to security issues.

How Criminals Use Mobile Devices to Access Data

With smartphones and tablets enabled to perform almost any task that a computer can, employees are using their mobile devices to do everything from check email to produce quotes for customers. Mobile devices serve both as on-the-go storage devices, full of contacts and proprietary information, and a means of access to a corporate network.

The simplest way that criminals can access corporate networks and steal data is by getting their hands on the device. Every day, hundreds of mobile devices are lost or stolen. In some cases, the theft is deliberate, but in others, criminals just get lucky. Loss and theft is a definite concern among IT security professionals, but the greater security risk comes from the phone itself. Viruses, malware and madware specifically targeted to mobile devices are becoming increasingly common. Employee devices may become inadvertently infected with this harmful software via a malicious app or by the user opening an email or instant message on their phone. The app works in the background, collecting data such as contact lists, calls made and messages sent, or by monitoring logins to the company network.

When a criminal accesses the company network via a cloud-based service or an employee’s password-protected access, he can then cull information and data from the internal servers and transfer it to an external server — often before anyone notices that there is a problem.

Protecting Devices Requires a Plan

Although many companies mistakenly believe that accessing email — or other company networks — via mobile devices without safeguards isn’t really dangerous, just as many organizations mistakenly believe that protecting their network is difficult or impossible.

Securing your data in the BYOD environment requires a two-pronged approach: a comprehensive mobile-device-management (MDM) protocol coupled with data-protection solutions that limit access to the network without proper authentication and regularly audit the network for unauthorized or unusual access.

As part of the MDM plan, employees need to let go of the notion that they maintain full control of the devices they use for work. The best security plans allow for a certain amount of freedom — obviously, employees will be using their devices for personal reasons — with restrictions and safeguards. Acceptable-use policies, for example, may govern which websites or apps an employee can access with a work device, and remote locking or wiping capabilities will be employed when the device is lost or stolen or after a certain number of failed log-in attempts.

Understanding the realities of the BYOD environment and taking necessary precautions will save businesses time, money and public relations’ nightmares. Employees need to understand that the freedom to use their preferred device comes with some responsibilities and limitations — and that their email (and social media and app use) does make a difference and needs to be protected.

About the Author: Betsy Woodman covers social media, technology and the BYOD revolution for several blogs and websites. Betsy relies on Trend Micro products for all her security needs. 

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Tower Defense Games: From Atari to the iPad

Tower defense has been a popular game genre for decades. In this article, we'll present a fascinating rundown on the history of the tower defense game, from Atari's Rampart, to the ever-popular Plants vs Zombies and Angry Birds. We'll also discuss the new games coming out soon for tower defense game enthusiasts.

Rampart - First Tower Defense Game

TD games are one of the earliest strategy-based games dating back to 1983. A familiar classic that pioneered the tower defense genre is Rampart by Atari. Rampart is an arcade game that merges the puzzle and shoot 'em up genres. As it's widely ported, it has versions for most modern systems. In this game, you as the player have to defend a set of castles by alternately shooting and attacking enemies, and repairing damages to the castle within a time limit. To survive and gain victory, you have to protect and maintain your territory throughout the game. Involving strategic actions of attacking and repairing, the game quickly gained popularity worldwide.

As the game became a phenomenal success, it became ported into a number of gaming platforms such as Super NES, Game Boy, Gamecube, Xbox, PlayStation 2, and most recently PlayStation Network which offers multiplayer action.

It was originally released in 1990, and it was the first ever popular tower defense game. Atari is considered by many gaming enthusiasts as one of the key ideas behind the creation of Final Fantasy and Fort Condor. The first wave of hit tower defense games include Star Craft, Final Fantasy, War Craft and Age of Empire. By the new millenium, TD games started to appear in user-created maps for games like Starcraft, Warcraft III and Age of Empires II.

Introduction of Adoble Flash to Games

The advent of Adobe Flash has brought forth significant changes to the tower defense gaming experience. Independent game developers used Adobe Flash to enrich graphics and speed. They created stand-alone TD browser games leading to the influential launch of Desktop Tower Defense in 2007. Over the last few years, there have been hundreds of new themes and gameplay variations including medieval and space settings. There have also been child-friendly game versions such as those games where players protect a picnic from ants or pop balloons. In late 2007, Protector was released, and it was ranked as one of the best TD games that offered classes and specialization upgrades.

In 2008, mobile phone versions of various games were also introduced online. Some of the most outstanding games which have taken the gaming world by storm are Plants vs Zombies, Gem Craft, Protector, Immortal Defense and most recently, Angry Birds.

Plants vs Zombies is a thrilling and addictive zombie-themed tower defense game. It was originally developed by PopCap Games for Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows. The gameplay involves a homeowner placing different kinds of plants and fungi to stop the zombies from eating the resident's brain. It was first released on 2009, and upon massive success, it became available on iOS, Android, Xbox, Nintendo and PlayStation. The game received much critical acclaim from players and critics.

Another well-liked TD game is Angry Birds. The original version of the game was released on iOS in 2009. The game has been widely popular because of its unique combination of addictive gameplay, comical design and affordable price. It's now available on gaming consoles as well as PCs. With a staggering total of one billion downloads among all platforms, the game has been considered as the largest mobile app success today.

Different Versions of Tower Defense Games

After 2008, a lot of game consoles started to make their own versions of various tower defense games. Xbox 360 made a version of Defense Grid; PlayStation did versions on two games named Pixel Junk Monster and Savage Moon; Nintendo DS released a hand-held version of games called Lock's Quest and Ninja Town. Today, there are numerous mobile phone tower defense games available in the market.

Upcoming Tower Defense Games to be Released in 2013

The popular zombie-themed TD game Plants vs Zombies has an upcoming sequel, Plants vs Zombies 2, which will be released in late spring of 2013. Other games that you should watch out for next year are Sentinel 4: Dark Star which is currently being developed by Origin8 for Android and iOS devices, Nightmare Guardians which is set to arrive on tablets, and Lovers in Dangerous Spacetime which is going to be introduced in both PC and Mac.

Ryan Thomsen has been extensively involved in game development. He enjoys sharing his tips and insights on various games blogs. Visit www.free-games.net for more games.

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Best Android Apps for Bloggers

I still remember the day when I got Internet connection in my home. The first thing that I searched for, was 'How to Make Money Online'. It's been quite time of mine being an Internet addict, and yes, I feel proud to say that I am making money online by blogging. Do you also join the queue of bloggers with me? If this is so, then you might be familiar that 'Smart Work' is a big demand of blogging world.

Do you know that your Android device can work as a great blogging tool for you. Thumbs down, if you did not know it earlier. Just go to Google Play and you will find tens of thousands of apps, designed to help bloggers. I have picked up the 5 best out of them and sharing the list of same here.

WordPress

Just tell me, which blogging platform do you use? WordPress, right? If yes is the answer coming from your side, then you must download the official Android WordPress app. Though it can't work as a platform for complete blogging, but still, you can do the basic blogging tasks on your Android device, by using this app. The basic tasks include post editing, title saving, comments approval or rejection etc. Moreover, you need not to pay even a single penny to use this app.

Blogger

Google's blogging platform 'Blogger' is preferred over WordPress by many bloggers, and for such bloggers, Android 'Blogger' app is must. Talking about its features, one can perform almost the same blogging tasks, that he/she can with WordPress Android app. Like WordPress app, this one is also free to download.

Fliptoast

In blogging, one comes across other bloggers in blogosphere and makes friendly relations with them. Well, this is also very important, and as a blogger, you must stay active on social networking websites. Though there are separate official apps by every social networking site, but better to get all-in-one. Fliptoast is the solution to it. You can stay connected with happenings in your Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn accounts, at same instance, by using this app on your Android device. The simple and intuitive user interface of the app enables it to shine at the top in its category.

Dictionary.com

The popular online dictionary, 'Dictionary.com' is having its official Android app, and it is must for every blogger as it may happen that you may not be familiar with the meaning of word that you are going to use in your blog post. That 'unknown' word for you can land up as poor quality of your post. So it's better to check the meaning, and the best way to do it is by using this app.

Google Analytics

Keep track of your website/blog's traffic while on the go, by using official Android Google Analytics app on your Android. You get all those features in this app, that you can find in Web version of Google Analytics.

Author Bio: 

This is a guest post by Harsha from Go Harsh! Tech blog. He is a web enthusiast and blogger. He writes reviews on new mobile phones, iPhones, Androids  and windows mobile phones. This article is written by him to list out the best blogger apps for android phones. He also helps newbies in understanding what is android phone , gadgets, & latest features on phones.

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How to Use 3D Modelling Software in Game Design

Although today's video and computer games have become increasingly complex, the software used to design them is more accessible than ever. To create a believable, engaging game you need to be able to create memorable characters and an interactive, 3-dimensional environment. This requires a storyline, original artwork, and the right technology to get the job done. With the help of 3D modelling software, you can start putting together these pieces of the puzzle to create your own games. It's helpful to take a closer look at how to use this complex software to start putting together your own virtual world on screen.

Getting Started

Before you choose the right software package to work with, you'll first want to do some basic brainstorming. How many characters will you need to create? Will they be similar in appearance or will you need to be able to create a wide range of creatures? Drafting a basic storyline and having some idea of what type of environments you will be creating can point you in the right direction towards choosing an animation program to suit your needs. More complex characters and storylines may require a professional set of tools like 3D studio max, while a basic game can be constructed with programs like DX Studio or 3D Rad. The best programs will offer you a variety of special effects, templates for creating characters, and adequate tutorials and support to get started. 

Creating Characters

One of the primary features of computer modelling software is its ability to create characters in a three-dimensional space onscreen. This allows you to create more lifelike creatures than you would with traditional animation techniques. Some programs will give you templates to work with, as well as wireframes that can be built on with anatomical features and realistic muscular materials. Shading and layering tools will help bring these features to life.

Special Effects and 3D Rendering

One of the most complex yet important aspects of 3D video game production is rendering. This refers to the process of translating the various mathematical codes that make up a 3D design into a final 2D image that still looks three-dimensional. For rendering to be successful, the whole scene has to have the right lighting, colour valuation, and texture in each pixel of the final 2D image. This can be incredibly time-consuming without the right 3D software, which speeds up the process by pre-storing lighting and texture information for greater accuracy. Many computer programs will automatically render as you are designing your game, but you may have to follow this step after your animation designs are complete.

Special effects and tools are also an important part of finalizing your images for the screen. Software toolkits let you work on specific textures, such as hair, fur, or cloth. You can then start building the environment around your characters with interactive objects and individual blades of grass. It's your work, so you can use these effects to your advantage. Particle effects allow you to control the movement of substances like snow or fire according to scripts or direct manipulators, which can also add to the realism of your scene.

With a combination of preliminary brainstorming, character development and shading, and final rendering, you can use today's animation software to bring your unique vision to life. 

Author Bio:
Martina writes for AutoDesk, a marketplace of 3D studio max experts and 3D Software that helps connect users .

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Apple iTune Launched in India

At last the wait has finished for the Indian fans of iPhones as iTunes stores are launched in India with other 52 countries. All iPhone users of India were waiting for the launch of iTune stores as this way through which proud owners of Apple devices can download or listen to music or video in a legal way. According to the official announcement made by the Apple, presently the iTune will offer list of around 20 million songs from which user can purchase any number of songs as per his / her choice. From a long time people of different countries were waiting for this service to be launched in their respective country.

According to the official release the prices of the songs will range from Rs 7 to Rs 12 per song which will have latest Bollywood albums and the whole album will cost from Rs 70 to Rs120 depending on the demand and popularity of the album. There are many options available in iTune like you can rent and download a movie, the cost of movie differs as per the version selected by the user, like high definition version will cost somewhere around Rs 490 and same movie in standard version will cost around Rs. 290. If user does not want to pay that much price then the same movie can be rented for Rs 120 for High definition version and Rs 8- for standard version.

This is really a good thing but if you look at the present Indian market where lot of websites are offering latest bollywood songs for free of cost, one might feel that iTunes will not get the response what they are used to get in other countries. It is true that the digital music industry is growing and the revenue share is increasing but, when you have plenty of sites or blogs that offers you latest songs free of cost then why one will go to buy it. However, the iPhones users have welcomed the launch of iTunes warmly. Apple need to think innovative ideas to lure its customer on this new platform and make it a hit in the country.

If thought in other way this may be just the start of a revolution, because competitors like Microsoft will not sit quite and let Apple grab the market so easily and we can definitely witness the music service of Microsoft launching soon. It has already around 30 million tracks and it will have some more alluring features by next year. So, that also will be nice when we have competition, we will get good service at better price.

Presently the only competitor of Apple iTune is Nokia Music store, which is presently offering around 5 millions songs to its user and it is also offering the service to Flipkart digital music store. If the sources are to be believed, then Nokia music store is getting over a million downloads per day on its music store. This should be good news for the Apple Company and like Nokia did, Apple should plan something like exclusive release of audio albums on their platforms. Recently Nokia had done same thing with Priyanka Chopra’s debut album, it was exclusively released on Nokia Music Store and this is the right way of grabbing the market share.

Author Bio:

This is a Guest article by Chandu blogger from India runs various tech blogs like http://techwaffy.com/

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The Importance of Data Cleansing for Your Organization’s Productivity

Data cleansing, also referred to as data scrubbing or simply data cleaning is described as a process through which a set of data is verified to be correct, accurate and up-to-date. This is a very important part of any business or organization, large or small, which relies on a large database. Whether you are using the database as a consumer mailing list, or it is simply a database that details your business operations and interactions with other businesses, no doubt a database is bound to carry redundant and obsolete records sooner or later. 

With specialized software and tools, and a dedicated team of experts, you can rest assured that your database can be cleansed to ensure it is accurate, up-to-date, and relevant. During the process of cleaning data, specialized tools are used to check entries for consistency and accuracy, and verified as correct, altered, updated, or deleted. The process also involves merging of multiple sets of data to ensure a seamless business operation.

Today more than ever before, so much emphasis is put on the quality of data that an organization uses. You cannot afford to have redundant or obsolete information in the competitive business environment that is characteristic of today. Staying on top of your business is vital for so many reasons, and one way to do it is through data cleansing.

Is data cleansing a do-it-yourself process?

Before looking at the main benefits of data cleansing, it is important to mention that the process is better left to experts. Unless you have the time to verify thousands of entries on your database to be correct, no doubt you need to leave it to the experts who have the time, tools and resources to do it. Generally, a reputable company will have an updated database of just about every niche, demographic, age group, region or nation you wish to target.

During the data cleansing process, your database will be matched with its exhaustive database to ensure that all entries in your database are up-to-date and accurate. Of course you do not have a list of millions of people across a specific demographic that you wish to target. Once data matching is complete, the next process entails the actual data cleaning process. This is where inaccurate and corrupt data is removed and replaced by latest data of each and every entry on your database. Don’t be surprised to have people who died several years ago still on your mailing list. 

Importance of data cleansing

1.      First and foremost, you will be able to maintain a good reputation of your organization. If you have ever received a letter with an incorrect mailing address, spelling mistake, or received the same letter two or three times, you know just how annoying this is. Put yourself in your consumer’s shoes and assume you are sending out information purportedly to the correct mailing address. For one, you will be wasting a lot of your advertisement money. Secondly, by annoying and irritating your target audience, you will end up thwarting any opportunity of them doing business with you. Why? Because you will have already created a negative first impression. Data cleaning will ensure you get rid of any possible error in your database that is likely to spoil your first impression. 

2.      Secondly, data cleansing will save you money and time because it is a total waste of valuable resources working with incorrect information. A very good example is when you have the same person on your system with different versions of the same name. This means you will be sending out similar information to the same person. Wouldn’t it be better to save yourself some time and effort and send to different people the same information than sending to one person the same information severally?

3.      With the latest technological advancements, you should be advised that redundant and corrupt data on your database can corrupt and cripple the entire database. Rather than lose all the information that you have and end up buying a mailing list, how about cleaning your existing database and ensuring it is updated? Talk about killing two birds with a single stone.

Conclusion

They say the first impression matters a lot. It would be the gravest mistake to make referring to a potential client by a wrong name several times just because the information you have on your database is incorrect. This can be the worst marketing campaign ever in the world. Taking your time to have your data cleansed by professionals means you will be guaranteed of the perfect mailing list and a database that you can rely on for all your future organization’s endeavours. 

Author Bio:
Guest Post by Steve. You can check his website on data cleansing services

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3 Tips for Managing Your Data Center

A data center helps in managing all core business functions. It may also be referred to as a server. Having this system in place, you will be able to handle any organizational information and store it in a central location. This article takes a look at some of the tips you may use in maintaining an efficient and stable data center for your business.

1) Make Your Business Growth an Ongoing Concern

With a data center in place, your business is assured of full time operation. This is because all applications and components are always available as and when needed. You will be able to have all your information within easy reach, which in turn boosts productivity. This translates to high reliability, which in turns improves customer satisfaction and ultimately leads to improved sales. A useful tip here would be to ensure that you put in place sufficient backup power supplies and network connections to mitigate any unforeseen emergencies such as power failure or server downtime.

2) Providing Data Security

A data center provides security for all information from both physical and logical threats. This ensures that no data is lost during operation. Since a data center is automated, there is a diminished chance for human error. Businesses automate repetitive, error prone administrative tasks using DCIM software packages. This helps an administrator tell at a glance which resources are assigned to which server, as well as the consumption rate of each resource. Improved security also means improved service to both internal and external end user. At the end of the day, data center security means accelerated service delivery and enhanced company profits by reducing the risks associated with new business developments.

3) Streamlined and Improved Data Storage

A data center offers more space for an organization's business operations; it does this by consolidating data and files to a central location. With a data center in place, a business only needs a few minutes to bring on a new server. Additionally, it is much easier to add new capabilities to help the business grow. It is important for staff to be able to keep up with the organizations expanding growth, and a data center provides this capability. An organization is able to share applications instantly, enhancing collaboration between companies, employees, management and customers. Data centers virtualize infrastructure, which makes more information available to those who seek it. With more information available, there is better decision making by all parties involved.

Having a data center for your business enables you grow by handling information in an efficient way, at the same time minimizing the risk for data loss through corruption. The cardinal rule of data storage is to back up all systems, as accidents are prone to occur. Information is at the heart of organizational growth, and businesses need to ensure that all information is appropriately stored and indexed. Lastly, ensure that data is encrypted as it moves from the servers to the hands of the employees or customers who may need it. You owe it to your business to get the support that a data center provides, which inevitably will account for company growth.

Written by Ted Romberg, an avid technology writer with a penchant for data protection. His articles appear on data security periodicals online. Visit On Ramp  for more data protection information.

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How to use the cloud to take your projects on the go

The cloud is not only one of the most effective ways of storing data outside one’s machines, which makes them the virtual equivalent of the modern self-storage facility. When one brings mobile phones into the picture, the cloud also becomes a perfect way of taking business projects “on the go,” so that in addition to being able to operate from any computer, one can operate even away from one. Some of the many ways of using the cloud thus are outlined below.

E-commerce

The Internet has become one of the most popular methods of shopping because of the ease by which transactions may be carried out and the absence of overhead costs as well as the broadening market sector.

Mobile cloud storage and other services

Mobile phones are in some ways more popular for cloud storage than desktop computers. This is partly because it is much easier to sync and share data on them. The companies that provide mobile cloud storage offer solutions of various kinds that enable their clients to store and organize files and documents. The Linux and other operating systems enable users to sync files without even having to move them.

Other mobile cloud solutions offered include device management and social networking. Mobile device management (MDM) involves protecting all the phones involved in the cloud network against breaches of security. The costs incurred by infrastructure and licensing and the amount of downtime can be greatly reduced with MDM. It is even possible to boot up the device remotely!

Social networking is a way for business owners to form their own online communities connected with their brands. Millions of “untapped” smartphone users can be connected in this way—again at a reduced cost.

The services described above are available from Celstra Enterprise Mobility, among other companies.

Mobile cloud apps

Engineers have developed thousands of cloud apps for mobile users, some of which are for general use and others of which are useful to a particular type of business.

Sugarsync

Sugarsync is one of the most valuable cloud storage services there are, even more so than DropBox, which one user feels has “stagnated.” Their backup services is also first rate.

Evernote and SpringPad

These two apps can be used to take notes, photographs and voice recordings, and sync them later. With both, the content may be accessed offline, but with SpringPad this service is free; Evernote charges a premium.

Google Drive

Google Drive is now the home of Google Docs, which for several years provided a way of storing documents. The user can also create his own Word and Spreadsheet documents with this application.

Mobeelizer

A business called Mobeelizer that makes it possible to synchronize all those apps so that they will automatically work offline. Such help is valuable if one needs to exchange data via a server solution or needs to connect the apps to an ERP system. You can sign up for their services on their website.

Using Google Cloud to back up an Android phone

The cloud—or at least Google Cloud—can also be used to back up phones that use the Android operating system. This is especially good news for the person who has to switch to a new type of smartphone and is bothered by the hassle involved in manually transferring all of his data from the old one to the new one. To perform the backup, you push the old phone’s home icon key, press "Settings” on the screen, pick “Privacy” and check “Back up my data.” If your goal is to have the backed up data “pushed” to the new phone the next time that you sign into your Google account, then also check “Automatic restore.” Then leave the settings menu and your data will be all backed up within a few minutes. From then on, all the data from your old phone—your passwords, your list of contacts, bookmarks and any apps installed there—will be available for use on the new device.


“On the go” cloud computing is the future of business.

Author Bio

Rosa Smith uses a virtual data center design from cloud-based virtual server hosting from ProfitBricks.com to help her international blog!

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