6 Ways to Make Mom’s Life Easier

By

-

May 21, 2020

Life can at times be challenging, especially with kids around and as a mother, you should never be ashamed to take some shortcuts at times, if it will make your life easier. Through experimentation, we went out and researched six of the best strategies that any mom can apply to ease their life.

Some of the strategies are random while others are obvious, but all in all, it’s best to share the techniques considering that life with kids could be chaotic.

1. Having a Laundry Bag

Consider a scenario where you have four boys; this means you have too much laundry, and it would be a great hassle having to clean their clothes separately as opposed to washing them together. The entire house can be a mess with your four boys; hence you should consider purchasing a laundry sorter that has four bins; where you can place each kids’ clothes in a separate compartment. Besides laundry, you will need to clean the entire house and what better way to do it than with the best home cleaning products. Experts at www.clean4happy.com often advise moms to review the home cleaning products and personal care products before purchasing so that you get the right information and make smart purchases; after all, you don’t want detergents that might react with your kids’ skin. You must be objective when picking the products to use when cleaning your kid’s clothes.

2. A non-contact Thermometer

With the kids playing around the house, and the current flu or cold season, you should consider purchasing a non-contact forehead thermometer, since you can’t chase them around to get their temperature. Most moms often confess that getting an oral thermometer into their kids’ mouth is a hustle while others can’t tolerate having a thermometer under their armpit for a while. With the non-contact thermometer, you can inspect whether any of your kids have a fever then take necessary action.

3. Give the Kids Chores and offer Rewards

Well, to have an easier time in the house, it would be advisable to offer the kids some chores then award them with some goodies after completion. They might fail to perfect the job, but the best part is that they would have learnt how to tackle the chores and in the meantime, they would have at least participated. Sometimes, you can offer them some snacks while on other occasions, consider raising their allowance; this way chores will be entertaining, and you will be amazed at how neat the laundry and kitchen will be. Besides, paying your kids to handle some duties will teach them to appreciate the value of money when they are still young.

4. Hire either a Retiree or a Teenager

Consider hiring either a retiree or a teenager to take your kids to school or to handle some simple house chores when you are away. You must, however, select a responsible caretaker to eliminate the possibility of cases. There have been numerous cases of child assault from reckless caretakers; therefore, you should often interrogate your kids and inquire whether the caretaker tortures them when you are not around.

5. Use Necessary Apps When buying Grocery

When going out for shopping, your kids could be an obstacle, because you always have to keep an eye out. Taking them out for shopping is healthy since they learn how to purchase things and they also get to know the value of money; however, you know how troublesome they could get and, in some cases, you might fail to purchase the items that took you there. Consider using a grocery shopping application that will deliver all the goods at your doorstep, and will help save a lot of time and money. You know how kids love impulse buying, and how it could harm your budget; online buying is the way to go.

6. Purchase Birthday Presents in Advance

Well, purchasing birthday gifts before time will help in saving time and money. In case you spot birthday presents on offer, consider buying several items that will help the last-minute purchase to the closest shop. Visit that local toy store and have them wrap all the goods well in advance, then hide all the gifts in your closet. Just in case you forget about their birth date, you will be on the safe side.

Being a mom is the greatest duty anyone would want to be handed to them. It is a great duty, but you must always be there for your kids. Consider employing the above hacks and watch how motherhood will be exciting.

Are Free VPNs Reliable?

By

Billy Voss

-

May 20, 2020

Best-Free-VPN-2020 — Source: trustedreviews

VPNs, or Virtual Private Networks, are programs that are installed on any device that has an Internet connection to achieve safe navigation of all the dangers that can be found on the web.

It is estimated that around one-fifth of Internet users have ever used a VPN (like Tuxler VPN or others), for different reasons. In general, they are more common among the younger population, although statistics are increasing as the level of education of users improves.

Next, we will briefly analyze the use given to VPNs and according to that, we will study the pros and cons of using a free service.

The Uses of a VPN

According to most of the statistics and market studies we have been able to consult, the main reason for installing a VPN is to unlock multimedia content. Virtual content platforms such as Netflix are the main cause that drives users to install this type of software on their devices, despite their constant efforts to avoid it.

In fact, this company has embarked on a fruitless crusade to prevent the use of VPNs by its customers, forcing developers to find new ways to avoid detection and driving a new technological revolution in the world of online privacy.

However, the uses of a VPN are not limited to unlocking content. Security, which should be a top priority, is unfortunately near the bottom of the list.

Among the main reasons is the use of social networks, websites, and new internet services in general.

Other major drivers of VPN use are censorship and judicial or political persecution. While this factor is not present in many parts of the world, sadly millions of people have to hide their identity in order to express themselves or get information in countries where there is not complete freedom of expression.

Last but not least, many users resort to virtual private networks to download torrents or any kind of P2P services, communicate with relatives and loved ones abroad, or access news agencies in other countries.

The use of VPN on mobile devices has grown exponentially in recent years, responding to an obvious need, as we increasingly use smartphones and tablets, we are simultaneously introducing a large amount of sensitive information.

The False Promises of Free VPN

When reading the dangers of unprotected browsing and the multiple uses that can be made of a VPN, as well as proxy services, there is no doubt that many people may be inclined to hire these services for free.

Among the priorities of many Internet users when looking for a VPN, savings and economy are often above others such as the possibility of customization, encryption systems, available languages, or customer service.

But the truth is that paying attention to the economic aspect more than these other aspects we mentioned is a very common mistake that can turn out to be very expensive in the long run. Below, you will see why installing a free VPNs like these ones can be truly beneficial.

The best premium VPN services are distinguished, among other things, by their ability to protect and hide your browsing without having to keep any records of your web activities. In fact many of them claim that they do not even monitor their customers’ use of their own software, correctly advertising it as an advantage.

That’s why the most reliable VPNs are those that don’t restrict the number of devices that can use this service. This is the exact opposite of what free VPNs do. It is known and easily verified by the number of complaints they receive year after year, that these types of companies control in detail what the users who install their programs do.

However, the worst thing is not that they keep and collect information, but what they do with that data: they sell it to the highest bidder or allow interested third parties to use it for commercial purposes.

Moreover, because they are free, the investment in new technologies they make is often very low and insufficient, and this makes them easy targets and vulnerable to attacks by hackers who can easily breach their defenses, even if these free VPNs have no bad intentions.

Challenges of VPN services

Another challenge to improve is the balance between productivity and safety. This is certainly a debate that has always been present: choose more safety but lower performance or opt for higher performance but without safety? It is a reality that if we navigate through a VPN service, no matter how good it is, we will lose some performance. That is, in short, a pending improvement that will have to come in the future.

It is also worth mentioning that VPNs sometimes fall short for mobile devices. They were developed to use a protocol that requires a lot of resources in the configuration. When it comes to mobile devices, this can be a major problem, since it takes a while to connect to the VPN every time we change the network. That is, the VPN is interrupted and you have to reconnect. Even many mobile applications do not support these tools.

A final challenge is a workload. VPNs today are not designed for today’s workplace ecosystem, where multiple users connect remotely. In many cases, access is restricted to administrators.

Should you use a free VPN service?

Upon reading this article, you probably feel a little lost and are not sure whether you should pay for this service or continue using the free version. Because of this, we are going to list some reasons why a free VPN service is a good idea. However, keep in mind that its features are restricted meaning that if you want to be able to use them, you will have to pay for them.

As we have already mentioned, the most frequent reason why people opt for free service is that it allows them to avoid geographic restriction. As you know, many streaming services are not available all around the world, so, with the help of VPN people can easily gain access to them and watch their favorite content.

In addition, your data will be protected. This doesn’t mean that you are completely safe, but a free VPN can protect all your private information when using a public Wi-Fi connection. Yes, we know, one should always avoid these, but sometimes you simply don’t have a choice.

Even though we have already listed a number of reasons why people opt for VPN services in the first place, we believe that these two benefits might be more than enough reason for you to continue using the free version. Naturally, if you need some additional features that are not available to you, then you should investigate the best program and buy it.

6 Reasons Why a Good Web Design is Important for Your Business

By

Gordan Himerdooff

-

May 20, 2020

Creating a business out of scratch is not an easy task. There are a lot of elements that require your attention and a person needs to invest a lot of hard work. Promotion is just one of them. An owner needs to come up with a strategy, create a relationship with an audience, and constantly attract new ones. Having a responsive, user-friendly, and properly designed website is going to take you a long way. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance for you to have it. So, it is not a surprise to see that a lot of prominent businesses are willing to spend a significant amount of money to have their website design done properly.

Some are even considering it as the most important element of every online business. Even though making a website is not hard these days due to the numerous open-source tools that can help you with it, hiring a professional who can improve its functionality and can polish to an exceptional level. If you are interested in hiring a professional, you can have a look at Vudu. At some times, the benefits that can be acquired with a properly designed website can seem uncertain and this is a task that requires a lot of investment. Is it really worth it? Most certainly, yes. This was the reason we’ve decided to provide you with several reasons having a good web design is crucial for your business.

1. The First Impression

When a potential client visits your website for the first time, this image about your business will play a major role in his future actions. You need to know that your business will be judged on in a matter of seconds. This is the right time for you to make a positive impact on the targeted audience. This is the reason you need to polish your website and make it look exceptionally good before you launch it. In case your site doesn’t look as good, it will have a negative effect on your customer’s opinion, you can be sure of that. Having a well-designed site will surely have a positive impact on potential customer’s opinions about your business as of the whole. This is a fine line that either brings you a new customer or it leads it to your competition.

2. Navigation is much Easier

Navigating through a website is probably the most important thing about it. By having a proper web design, your potential customers will be able to access all of the pages in a matter of seconds and pretty easily. At the same time, customers will be able to take a look at every page that they have an interest in without any struggles. This is important because people are not so patient when it comes to surfing through the internet. According to several studies, pages that take 3 seconds to load are abandoned by 42% of visitors. So, you should definitely avoid having a website that is hard to navigate through and that takes a lot of the time to respond.

3. Branding

Having a badly-designed website will have a negative effect on the company’s brand. At the same time, you can be sure that it will drive potential customers away. On the contrary, having a website that’s properly done will surely help you to improve the business’s branding. Remember, a website is a medium that connects business and clients, so you should keep it clean and polished in order to make a successful conversion.

4. Conversion Increase

When a business has a properly-made website, getting new conversions becomes much easier. The reasons are that every well-made website is going to use all of the elements at its disposal to attract some new, potential customers, and increase the conversion rate at the same time. Just imagine you are in the shoes of your customers and ask yourself if you would acquire from your website. This is highly important because, according to Statista, e-commerce activities increased by 21.3% last year. So, you see that website has a pivotal role in making a business successful.

5. Visual Content

As you know, websites are a visual thing and many people are going to be attracted by the design. You should understand that this is something that you definitely depend on. Therefore, you should invest money into having the best web design possible. At the same time, selling abstract services and products could be really bad for your business down the road. Customers like to read about the specifications of the service or product. However, it is essential to provide certain illustrations in order for them to have a full image before their eyes.

6. Lifetime Clients

You will agree with us when we say that all of the companies are looking to expand, right? Well, in order for them to expand, it is necessary to have an audience loyal to your brand. This is definitely not an easy task, especially if the business owner applies some bad tactics. This is the moment when web design comes to the stage. As a website owner, you will be able to see which customers are the most active on your website, both in terms of visits and conversion. Therefore, you should do your best at keeping these clients active, by introducing some rewards, recognitions, vouchers, or gifts. There are a plethora of things you can do. There is one especially handy thing when it comes to having a lifetime clientele. They will be able to market the brand completely independently from you. This will both bring you new clients and will reduce the money you would invest in the marketing.

The Bottom Line

Now you know why you should have a properly-designed website in order to make your business successful. Without any doubt, you will need to make a significant investment before you get to reap the benefits. There are two key elements that you need in order to make your website successful, hard work and patience. As we said earlier, the website is a digital face of your business and you need to make it fresh and functional in order to have a successful business.

How Nursery Rhymes Can Help With Your Child’s Early Literacy

By

Дмитра Врачарић

-

May 20, 2020

One of the most common and popular things that parents do for their children is to read nursery rhymes to them and teach them how to read them as well. Nursery rhymes aren’t just small cute little passages, as there are plenty of advantages towards reading these that can help with your child’s early literacy and having them read and write at a much higher level earlier than other children. Nothing special has to be done with how you read the nursery rhymes either, simply engaging your child with them is enough to get their brain rolling and developing. Here are some ways that nursery rhymes can help with your child’s early literacy.

They Are Short and Sweet

Nursery rhymes are fantastic for early literacy due to their length. Have you ever read a nursery rhyme that was longer than several minutes? The answer to that question is most likely no. As stated by the experts at LyricsReg.com, this is what makes nursery rhymes so great for a child’s early literacy skills. Because they are so short and down to the point, your child can give enough focus to it to understand what is going on and learn the words that are being used. Science has shown that an adult’s attention span is fairly short, now imagine the attention span of a young child whose brain is just developing. They will only be able to handle a short bit of information and knowledge, and for that reason, nursery rhymes work well for them. They will very easily be able to remember the intro, middle, and the end of the rhyme and connect the story. Because you no longer have to memorize and remember nursery rhymes with websites like this, it opens up plenty of options for what rhymes to read to your child next. Remember not to overwhelm them with too much and give their brain time to digest everything that has been read. Nursery rhymes are great for early literacy because they are short and sweet and allow your child to remain fully focused on them.

They Teach Early Sentence Structure

When teaching someone a new subject or topic, the last thing that you want to do is introduce them to the difficult concepts first. What people don’t understand is that we work as teachers for our children in regards to the English language. The best way to teach them how to form sentences is to do so in a very basic way. Nursery rhymes are great for this as sentences are very short and down to the point. Think of the nursery rhyme Jack and Jill for example. The first sentence is extremely simple and contains only what is necessary for a sentence. Jack and Jill went up the hill. The sentence is broken down into a subject (Jack and Jill), a verb (went), and an object (up the hill). The sentence does not contain any extra words and it allows the child to easily learn what it takes for a sentence to be made. If you look through any of the nursery rhymes, you will find that they all follow a similar style of writing, allowing you to read any of them to your children. Soon, you will find them forming rudimentary sentences using the knowledge they have gained from these nursery rhymes. Always remember that we learn to walk before we learn to run and the same should apply with how we teach English sentence structure. Nursery rhymes are great as they teach your child how to form sentences at an early age.

Rhymes Help with Pronunciation

Nursery rhymes contain a ton of rhymes that make the sentences flow right off of the tongue. As your child begins to hear these rhymes, they will start to associate them with the words and learn basic phonetic pronunciation. Once again think of the nursery rhyme Jack and Jill. The first two lines consist of the words, Jill and Hill. At first, your child will just hear these two words and be amused at how close they sound to each other. As they hear the rhyme more and more and see the words written down, they will notice the shapes of these words. They might not be old enough to understand letters and the alphabet, however, they will notice that both of these words look the same except for one letter. As they then start to learn the alphabet and the sounds that these words make, they will gain a head start on pronunciation as they can begin to apply the knowledge they used beforehand. These rhymes are patterns within the story itself and your child will recognize it and use it to learn other words. Nursery rhymes are great for early literacy due to the large number of rhymes that occur within them.

Nursery Rhymes Make Reading Fun

Finally, when teaching your child anything, the most important thing is that they are actively engaged and enjoying what they do. Nursery rhymes are great as they are specifically made for a child to enjoy. You will find your child wanting to read these rhymes by themselves and also asking you to read to them before bed as they will enjoy the sounds of the rhymes as well as the stories and the images that they create. This is what makes a nursery rhyme perfect. They teach your child without them knowing that they are learning something new. Nursery rhymes are great for early literacy as they make reading fun and enjoyable for them.

Nursery rhymes will always exist in our society as they have proven to be a great literacy tool for children looking to read and write. Their fun nature mixed with their short sentences and short overall length makes them a perfect tool to help develop their vocabulary. The other amazing thing is that there are hundreds, if not thousands of nursery rhymes available online that you can find and read to your child whenever they want to hear one. What is your child’s favorite rhyme?

Distribute Your Content Through Bulk Disc Duplication

By

Дмитра Врачарић

-

May 20, 2020

Why-You-Should-Hire-A-Pro-for-Your-CD-Duplicating — Source: tapscape

Media duplication is no longer a tedious, long and monotonous process as it was years back, thanks to automation. Technology has benefited the duplication process making it possible to produce thousands of copies within a short period.

Tools of Disc Duplication

There is a wide variety of tools involved in copying and sharing data, digital media, and content in general. CDs are the most traditional ones among the methods used in the market today. Marketing content such as video games, interactive presentations, and software are effectively distributed via CDs. However, many people prefer DVDs as they store about six times more data due to their big storage space.

USB flash drives serve the same role but have more benefits like the option to remove and rewrite content, their compact size, and a flash memory. These work well for people who are keen on visual data and images.

Speed

When considering your content duplication media, speed is a crucial factor. The turnaround time of the project, amount of data, or the discs needed for publication is another essential factor when considering duplication tools. Always think of speed, as you may need to increase duplication to meet the deadline.

Duplication Device

Classic Memories is equipped with the most efficient and modern devices to produce exceptional quality Blu-rays, DVDs, and CDs through the duplication process. Click here to check out their services, making them an ideal choice for bulk duplication of Blu-rays, DVDs, and CDs. Creating and printing custom labels comes as an optional service for those who need it.

Classic Memories will walk you through the process and advise on the best option that suits your needs and project.

Reasons Why Discs are still being duplicated

Discs are duplicated for projects where many people may need to see the content and act on the same. Disc duplication in such cases is the best option to obtain many copies when you need to distribute a portable, tangible copy that everyone can take with them.

Another reason that warrants discs duplication is when you need to present content to a group of people in the original form. Discs cannot be edited, which makes them ideal to use when pitching for business or jobs, to share events like a memorial service or similar intimate or sensitive events.

Three disc formats for duplication: CDs, DVDs, Blu-rays

CDs Duplication: This process involves copying content to blank CD-R media. CD duplication favors projects with fast turn around and short runs.

Blu-ray Disc duplication: These are the latest generation of discs and come with a massive capacity of about 25GB single layer, and 50 GB dual-layer. It allows two times the video resolution of DVD videos.

DVD duplication: is similar to CD. DVDs are either DVD-5, which is a single layer disc with a capacity of 4.7 GB, or DVD-9 format that is a dual-layer disc with a capacity of 8.5 GB capacity.

Occasions for Disc Duplication

Graduation events: While students and their loved ones make a point top to attend graduation events, many wish to relive this day over and over again. Most schools and colleges capture this milestone as video and share with their Graduates and family members. These events are among those that require content distribution through bulk disc duplication.

Theater performances: You will never get enough of watching theater performances that you or your loved ones participated. Whether you are viewing it to improve on the next performance, or to simply remember the events, it is always best for everyone to have a copy. To get the many copies for distribution among all participants, duplication of the content is crucial.

Public Service Announcements for corporations on discs: When announcements concerning public service are made, it is wise for stakeholders to keep copies of the declaration for future reference. This also helps to have preserve the statement in its original state, without distortion that can mislead people in the future. Depending on the number of corporations, and people concerned, bulk disc duplication is needed for such events.

DJs music demo on discs: To demonstrate their outstanding skills, DJs produce disc duplicates of their work to give to potential clients as demos when pitching for business.

Original movie projects on discs (Not commercial): Many people create their own videos for the purpose of submitting to film festival competitions, or for viewing in local movie theaters. Bulk disc duplication is needed in these cases so the content can quickly be distributed.

Why You Need a Professional to Handle the Job

Though duplicating your own discs is tempting, using a professional for bulk disc duplication is the best approach towards the task. Here are some of the reasons to engage an expert:

Time-Saving

If you are in the music industry and trying to establish yourself, marketing and meeting with people consumes considerable time. Find a company that boasts of vast experience, which enables them to handle time-consuming things like bulk disc duplication as you focus on your business growth and bonding with loved ones.

Save Money

Most DIY solutions suggest that you always save money. This, however, does not apply to disc duplication. Hiring a professional to handle the job will save you money you may have spent on acquiring commercial equipment needed to duplicate the content. Since service providers in the field buy Blu-rays, DVDs, CDs and disc cases in bulk, you may be able to get a bulk discount for your duplication needs.

Less mistakes and high-quality output

Since you are an amateur, you have high chances to make mistakes like damaging the Blu-ray/DVD/CD content. These errors may occur as a result of the wrong program choice that forces you to start again. Professionals, on the other hand, are aware of the possible errors, and are keen on every detail. Experts also invest in sophisticated equipment like the latest printers that print high-quality disc labels.

Conclusion

Find experts in duplication of optical media like Blu-rays, DVDs, and CD discs. All you need to do is fill your duplication request of CDs, DVDs, or Blu-ray discs for birthday parties, reunions, mitzvahs, or weddings and sit back and wait for your high quality finished product to be returned to you. It couldn’t be any easier!

6 Reasons to Keep a Cat

By

Дмитра Врачарић

-

May 20, 2020

Everybody knows (even dog owners, deep down!) that cats are the best pets in the world. Our feline friends have been loyal companions to humans for thousands of years and a loveable cat can make a great addition to any home or family. The number of pet cats globally is estimated to be somewhere between 200 and 400 million, and for many of those cats’ owners, their life would not be complete without their pet. If you are planning on getting a pet and aren’t yet sure what kind of pet to get, this article is a guide to 6 reasons to keep a cat.

1. Cats are relatively cheap

Cats are a lot smaller than most dog breeds so this means that they require less food, fewer toys, fewer trips to the groomers, fewer treats, and a lot less grooming products. Cat food is generally very affordable, though it is worth noting that there are cats who have special dietary requirements. Cats with allergies are relatively common and they require special hypoallergenic cat food. There are many options available so if you are inexperienced with raising a cat who has allergies, it can be a little difficult to know which one to buy. Fortunately, there are some great resources online and we found these detailed reviews of the best hypoallergenic cat foods on the market. It can be very sad to see your cat struggling with an allergy, but special food and medicine can make them healthy and happy again. Cats can have allergies to all sorts of things, but there are a variety of options for every cat allergy.

2. Cats are versatile

Cats are quite happy in a lot of different living arrangements and so make a great pet no matter what kind of home you have. It doesn’t matter if you live in an apartment or a house, quite often cats will be perfectly happy and will find a way to enjoy their new territory. Cats who live in an apartment and are indoor can have just as fulfilling a life as a cat that has a house or a garden. Things like cat trees, lots of toys, snuggly blankets and even having lots of windows to look out of means that indoor cats get just as much out of life as cats in houses. If you do have a house with a garden, your cat can go outside and play alone quite happily and one great idea is to install a cat flap so that your cat can come and go as it pleases.

3. Cats are low maintenance

We all know that cats have quite an ego, which perhaps makes you think that cats will be high maintenance but this is not the case. Cats groom themselves, you don’t need to take them out for walks regularly unless you have an indoor cat that is house trained. Cats are quite happy to be left alone for most of the day while you are out at work and can entertain themselves. Unlike dogs, cats don’t require training for basic things like sitting, staying, and behaving themselves and once they have been litter trained, they very rarely go to the bathroom anywhere that they are not supposed to. Cats are incredibly self-reliant and mostly they just want to sit on your lap or snuggle up with you.

4. Cats are so fun

Cats can be incredibly playful and it is a wonderful experience to play with a cat. It is usually a common misconception that cats are loners, that they only like their own company, and don’t like being around people. Cats are certainly happy in their own company but they do love human affection and when they are in a playful mood, you can have such a great time with them. You can play with cats using toys, laser toys, and even with special apps on your iPad or tablet. Every cat has its unique personality and whilst they may be a little shy when you first get them, they become incredibly loving and affectionate after you form a bond with them.

5. Cats are more environmentally friendly than dogs

When we think about the carbon footprint of raising animals, we are usually concerned with the environmental impact of cattle and other agricultural animals. But it is also important to consider the environmental impact of raising animals. Cats are a great pet for environmentally conscious people because cats have a much smaller carbon footprint than dogs. This mostly comes down to how much food they eat as well as the kinds of food that they eat. Cat food is made up of lots of different things and tends to be far more environmentally friendlier than dog food. Furthermore, cats eat far less than dogs and so just the amount of food that needs to be produced to feed a cat is significantly less.

6. Cats can keep your home free from pests

Cats absolutely love to hunt and a pet cat is a great way to keep your home free from mice, bugs, or other pests. If you live in the countryside where there are many little critters who find their way into your house, your cat will spend hours joyfully eradicating them. Likewise, in the city, many unpleasant things can get into like cockroaches or even rats, but your cat will act as an excellent deterrent. The only downside of a cat’s hunting habits is when they decide to bring you a gift. There is nothing worse than your cat jumping up into your lap to proudly present you with a dead bird or spider that they caught just for you.

Cats are such wonderful animals and make a fantastic pet for any person or family. Cats are excellent companions and are incredibly affectionate when there is a strong bond with their owner. Cats are very easy pets to look after and are suitable for every kind of home and living arrangement. If you are considering getting a pet cat, you could not make a better choice for a pet. These are just six of the reasons to keep a cat, but there are many, many more.

5 Useful Tools for Preserving Your Online Family Memories

By

Billy Voss

-

May 20, 2020

Everyone shares pictures and videos of themselves and their family members online. We think that those files are safe and secure forever, but what happens if you want to delete your account or if something happens to it? In cases like that, all of your precious memories may get lost forever.

There are a lot of ways you can save your files without going through too much trouble. Here we are going to talk about the most useful tools and best ways to make sure that all of your pictures and videos are saved on another device.

1. Bulk Download

Do you know that you can download all the photos you’ve shared on Instagram or Facebook at once? There are many tools that can help you do that without having to do it manually. It is said that most people have more than 1000 photos on Instagram, and no one wants to bother to download them one by one. But what happens if you want to take a break from social media or if something happens to your account? Everything you’ve ever shared would be lost, so you better save all those files as soon as possible.

Find the best tool for you and download all of them at once. You can do these things both on your phone and your computer. Most of these tools are free for use, so the only thing you’d need to do is enter your username/handle. If the application or tool is requiring you to sign in, you will be able to download the images even if you have a private profile. If signing in is not required, then you have to set your profile up on public until everything gets downloaded.

If you decide to use an app that requires you to enter your user name and password, make sure it is a trusted one with good ratings, so you don’t end up being a victim of a scam or a hack.

Best Tools:

Tab Save
Bulk Download Images
Fotobounce

2. Cloud Services

Probably the best tool to use to save your memories is to use cloud services. There are a lot of different types available for you and you can set your phone or computer to automatically save a copy of the photos, videos, or documents on the cloud.

You can also do that manually and save only things that you think are worthy enough. The reason why you may want to manually do that is that we tend to take too many pictures of one thing. So, remember having 1000 selfies with the same pose there, and not having the storage to capture a precious moment. Or you can regularly check the cloud and see if there are things that should be deleted.

One important thing you need to remember is that most of these services are free, up to a point. If you want storage up to one or 3 GB, then you can use one of your choosing. But, if you want more space, then you will need to get the premium versions that vary depending on the size you want.

Always use trusted services and never enter your bank account information, or store personal photos in a place that you are not sure about.

Best Tools:

Dropbox
iCloud
Google Drive

3. Download Videos

Sometimes we want to download an old video we’ve posted a long, long time ago. Some social media networks allow us to download it directly from our page, but others don’t have that option.

If you want to save yourself a lot of time you can use websites like HQVideos.net. The only thing you need to do is find the URL of the video you want to download and to paste it in the bar on the website. You can, later on, choose the quality and the video will be saved to your computer.

One of the great things about tools like these is that you can download videos from any profile or account as long as they are not set to private. If the profile is private, the site cannot access the content and does not have permission to download it. Remember this next time you find a cool video you don’t want to forget, or when you stumble upon a precious memory you’ve almost lost.

Best Tools:

HQVideos
CatchTube
One-Click Video Downloader

4. Check the settings

We are all active on social media, we take pictures and record videos using the SM app, without using our phone’s camera. If you don’t change the settings in the application, all of your content will stay in the app without getting saved on your phone.

We know that live streams and stories are disappearing after a certain amount of time, and even though you can later access them, it is harder to download them like that.

The first thing you should do if you want to preserve your memories is to go to the settings of the application (no matter if it is TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, or any other social media you might be using) and open the settings. When you go to your content or account, you can choose the options, whether you want all of the things you post to be automatically saved on your phone or if you want to do it manually.

If you don’t want to bother downloading everything manually, then choose the auto option and everything you post will be saved on your phone.

5. Get everything sorted out

When was the last time you’ve checked how many pictures or videos you have? If you are like most people, that number can be tens of thousands. We have phones with so much storage that we forget how many pictures and videos we take daily.

Some of these things are shared online and some are for our eyes only. If you want to save all the precious data, then you need to make a plan and organize things.

Start by transferring all of them to your computer, see what should be saved and what can be deleted. After you’ve checked all the data, sort it in different folders, and make copies of it on the cloud, or use an external hard drive to make sure that nothing will happen to the files.

You can do the same with the pictures you have on your social media profiles. Download all of them, sort them out, and save a copy of them in a second location.

Best Tools:

Smart Pix Manager
CyberLink PhotoDirector 10 Ultra
Zoner Photo Studio

There are a lot of ways to preserve your online memories, you just have to find the right tool for you that will give you all the needed features. Some people want to save videos only, others want their pictures, while the rest of the users, want to save everything they’ve ever posted. Don’t forget to read the reviews for the tool and your files will be all safe and secure.

Interview With Vitaly Vanshelboim, Assistant United Nations Secretary General and Chief Executive of S3i (Sustainable Infrastructure Impact Investments)

By

Billy Voss

-

May 20, 2020

Vitaly-Vanshelboim_UNOPS — Source: sociable

All those interested in development have been watching with much interest the great debate about how developing countries can accelerate their pace on the largely unpaved road leading to the achievement of the SDGs. There are scores of individuals and entities pontificating on the subject matter but few are doing something practical and at scale. It was hard not to notice the strides made by UNOPS and S3I – what did we miss?

You reminded me of one of my favourite quote-producers Yogi Berra who once said: “You can observe a lot by just watching”. What we observed is that there was no shortage of committed and dedicated individuals and entities who over the years came up with excellent policy advice and guidance aimed at achieving the sustainable development goals by 2030. However, the public sector alone is woefully ill equipped to close the gap between the type of financing that is required (you can pick the estimate you like best but all of them go into tens of trillions of US dollars) and the current level of the official development assistance by all the donor countries combined which is just above US$ 150 billion per annum.

There is virtually no alternative to raising massive amounts of capital from the private sector. Conceptually, this is very clear but little has been done to move from high-level declarations and pronouncements to practical implementation. We decided to focus on what we know best which is getting our hands and other limbs sufficiently dirty to show results on the ground. Our expertise and mandate from the UN General Assembly are in infrastructure, procurement and project management.

UNOPS is the only UN agency that is fully self-financed and our working methods are very much akin to those of the private sector except we remain not-for-profit. Given our reputation for speed, flexibility, agility and trusting relationships with both grassroots and Governments around the world, we decided at UNOPS to test our mettle at structuring large-scale infrastructure deals.

A couple of months ago you got a new appointment by the UN Secretary General. The title of his Assistant and also Chief Executive of S3I (Sustainable Infrastructure Impact Investments) is quite colourful. What does that entail?

I suppose it represents a logical extension of what I’ve just mentioned. UN senior-most leadership is genuinely committed to advancing innovative ways of financing for development, and our S3I initiative allows for testing some of the conceptual work and channelling it into the practical domain. We chose to focus on just three infra sectors: affordable housing, renewable energy and health.

These are areas that are exceptionally important for any developing country, plus we understand them quite well and have the requisite skills to structure commercially viable deals and then scale them up. To give you some idea, in the domain of affordable housing, we have now signed deals with the Governments of five countries on three continents to build a minimum of 860,000 housing units. The gross development value of these projects exceeds US$40 billion and it’s just the beginning.

UNOPS is not a passive participant: in addition to helping structure the deals, we provide implementation support and share the risks by using some of our own hard-earned cash to take equity or debt positions in the deals. On top of showing some serious “skin in the game”, one of our most important contributions is our ability to promote UN values, instil transparency culture and bring sustainability and social impact to the forefront of the dialogue between participating Governments and institutional investors.

Your career in the UN started unusually early and you moved up the career ladder super-fast, how was that possible?

I guess sheer luck – you can’t go far without it. I was hired by the UN at 22 years of age in my home country of Ukraine, very soon after it became independent following the break-up of the Soviet Union. I was one of the first two local hires after UN opened its first office in Ukraine, and perforce was given a lot of responsibility. I probably did reasonably well at the time and my international career took off after I left Ukraine some five years later in 1997.

You’re recruiting for a number of positions in Helsinki, Finland and your full-page advertisement in Economist says: “Gamechangers wanted, bureaucrats need not apply”. Nice slogan but how is that possible in the UN or more broadly public sector environment where strict adherence to rigid rules is what’s expected of public servants?

I would not deny that this represents a true challenge. Indeed, there is a lot of pressure on public sector officials to avoid what can be seen as individual decision-making – it’s much safer to get a steering committee or task force to decide (or postpone deciding) collectively and thereby dilute individual accountability. The incentives are at times perverse and heavily discourage calculated risk taking and experimenting.

While we’re far from perfect on that count at UNOPS, I believe we found ways to try and test creative approaches to tackling daunting tasks. The entrepreneurial spirit at UNOPS and the culture of respecting and promoting innovation are very real. It should come as little surprise that UNOPS is the youngest agency in the UN system, by quite some margin, and young people have great opportunities to contribute and make a stellar career.

I guess one potential career risk is that we invest a lot of time and effort in getting exciting things done, often in trying circumstances, while we are not nearly as good at producing tons of paperwork to justify every little bit of action we had to take…oh and the real horror – we may make a few mistakes along the way and colleagues are not immediately ostracized for it. This is very cool environment for some people but definitely not for all.

OK, why selecting not-so-visible Finland as a base for S3I Office ? Is that their post-Nokia attempt to re-connect people?

I think stars just aligned the right way for all concerned. We did very extensive search for the best place to host S3I hub and many wonderful countries and cities were in the running. I can assure you that our final decision to go to Helsinki was not based on financials benefits. In fact UNOPS is in excellent financial health, following 14 consecutive years of operational profits.

We were persuaded by many intangibles of crucial importance, such as very high degree of political stability, enviable start-up and innovation culture, top rankings in all transparency and ease of doing business surveys, etc. I guess Finland having been the happiest country in the world in 2019 and the chance to meet Santa Claus in Lapland did not hurt either.

If roles got swapped and you had to be interviewed for a job, how would you describe yourself?

In one of my previous incarnations, I was running a small UN outfit that was selecting young professionals for the UN. We would travel from country to country and interview scores of aspiring young people. I probably interviewed thousands of candidates over the years and that experience helps you distinguish real from fake. While it’s been ages since I was interviewed for any job, I could surely use some of those tricks of the trade to confuse an interviewer and present myself as someone that I’m not.

I always tried to avoid interviews at all costs, and the few exceptions I made were unavoidable situations. The reality is: I’m a weird guy that still truly enjoys what he has been doing after almost 28 years with international organizations, and is at his best when told that this or that simply cannot be done – occasionally achieving the impossible or at least improbable is very appealing to me.

We noticed you have profiles on different social media platforms but you seem to never use them. What’s the point of having them?

Tough question. By nature, I’m someone who likes to stay away from the limelight. The more invisible I am, the more comfortable it is for me. I’ve seen a few things over my career that spans three decades and probably have a few stories to share but I always kept them to myself. May be I should write a book when I retire…or maybe not. I use social media to keep myself informed of what colleagues are doing and have no urge to share what I’ve been up to. I find it slightly annoying when people post detailed stories as to what sandwich they ate for lunch or which song they were listening to when going to work. That said, I realize that in my new job I need to maintain some online presence, otherwise it may negatively affect S3I as visibility and track record are very essential for building relationships in the world of investments.

On a lighter note: your son Eric Vanshelboim is apparently doing well in professional tennis, what does that mean to you?

I’d like him as well as his older and younger brother to become the best they can be in their chosen field. All I can realistically do is offer a bit of generic advice on things like avoiding certain pitfalls and retaining self-confidence. Eric is only 18 so it’s impossible to tell how high he can climb in the rankings in the years to come. Tennis is probably the second most competitive truly global sport after football (soccer) and very few people can make a living out of it, but is always a good idea to pursue one’s dream. Eric’s last pro tournament got cancelled in India just hours before he was scheduled to play his quarterfinal in early March. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, all tennis tournaments got removed from the calendar from that point until at least mid-July. Nobody really knows what will happen when things go back to the new normal.

Staying on the subject of COVID-19, what are the immediate implications for the S3I activities and for yourself?

The impact has been quite profound. S3I is all about infrastructure meaning construction of assets. Due to the lockdown orders in all the countries where S3I currently operates, we were unable to build anything over the last two months. Instead we focussed on planning, sourcing new deals, recruiting new talent, and having impactful conversations with a variety of institutional investors. For me personally, it is quite odd that I can’t jump on the plane and go to the project site or similar. Prior to this, since 1992 my longest stretch of staying put in the same location was three weeks. Now, like most other people, I’m getting more used to various videoconferencing solutions, with occasional unintended consequences.

What is the next big frontier for S3I?

In the words of the iconic US inventor Charles Kettering: “Where there is an open mind, there will always be a frontier.” I misplaced my crystal ball long time ago so can only offer some semi-educated guesses. Infrastructure is always a long-haul game but even though S3I is technically in the concept-proofing phase until the end of 2024, I would like for this ground-breaking initiative to graduate much earlier, and become the shining example of how the lives of millions of people around the globe can be positively affected when enough ostensibly maddeningly insane people join forces and persist in toiling away despite opposition from an army of professional naysayers.

Planning to Travel Around the World? Here’s What You Need to Know

By

Дмитра Врачарић

-

May 19, 2020

Planning a trip around the world for the first time can be more challenging and overwhelming than you might think. With all the travel information out there, it can leave you wondering where to begin. Planning to travel around the world can be a daunting task. There are so many travel logistics that you need to factor in before you embark on your trip. Fortunately, this step-by-step guide will teach you about trip planning and in no time you’ll be off on your way. Here’s what you need to know when planning a trip around the world.

1. Decide Where You Want To Go

You need to be specific and pick a destination that will give you great rewards. Most people say that they want to travel without definitive places that they’d want to visit. Don’t just say it, mean it. Apply for a travel visa and get things going from there. When you have your goals set on a destination, it becomes easier to plan and commit.

2. Research the Costs

Researching your destination’s costs will help you estimate the amount of cash you need for your trip. Know how long you’ll be there and decide if you’ll stay in luxury hotels or if you will just backpack and hug the open road. Research the prices for restaurants, hostels, hotels, and attractions in your destination. This means that you need to be aware of the exchange rates on the places you intend to visit. If you find yourself in a desperate position, you can for more details check exchangerates.org.uk or visit the nearest currency exchange points to know how much your currency is worth in the foreign destination. Your trip will be more successful if you decide to visit destinations where your currency is of greater value. Failure to this, you’ll have to pay more on accommodation, food, and tour guides.

3. Stay Focused

If you’re traveling around the world for the first time, you can get discouraged and overwhelmed. This sometimes happens due to a lack of support from your family and friends. There are tons of ways to feed your desires when traveling. For starters, you need to keep your spirits high. Reading inspiring travel stories is one way to help you stay focused and inspired on your travels. You also need to remember your soul objective for traveling. If it’s to get away from a busy work schedule or you’ve just retired and need to travel to places you’ve always wanted to travel, then you need to remember these things and stick to them. Ideally, it’s important to set up a travel timeline that you can stick to. This will in a way help you to stay focused.

4. Start Saving

Now that you’ve researched the costs, the next thing is to start saving. To be able to save, list down your current expenses and the amount of money you’ll need when touring the world. This will help to determine all your travel expenses and what you need to cut back on. Most people spend a lot of money on small purchases when traveling. This is just one of the many things that can eat up into your travel money. If you must, then you need to have more than enough to get you going. If you’re struggling to save for your trip, then it’s high time you considered cutting your expenses and changing your spending habits. Alternatively, you may consider a holiday loan to get you sorted out. But then again, you’ll still have to repay the loan later on.

5. Check Out for Last-Minute Deals

You’re now prepared, inspired, and have already started saving money for your trip. The next thing is that you need to check if there are better travel deals before you buy your airline ticket or book a hotel. If you’re flexible with your destinations or dates, check out for deals you may have missed out on. Your destination may be Amsterdam, but maybe there are great deals to Paris at the same time. How about getting another destination with 50% off sailing trips, 70% off one week cruise, or a package deal half the price of your original destination? Sounds great, right?

6. Choose Your Restaurants and Accommodation Wisely

Before we even get to your accommodation, when did you last receive a travel vaccination? This question couldn’t have come at a better time. For instance, if you are planning to travel to a tropical country, you’ll need to be vaccinated against hepatitis A and typhoid. Now, the reason to include typhoid is that it will all depend on the water you drink and the level of hygiene in food preparation. So in a way, it’s crucial that you eat in hygienic environments. Most importantly, you’ll also need to relax. This means booking a comfortable hotel or alternatively, go for Airbnb. Airbnb could be exactly what you need. You’ll have enough space all for yourself and in addition to this, you’ll be able to prepare your own healthy meals. But then again, it will all depend on your budget and preferences.

7. Stay Safe While Traveling

Your safety is of the utmost importance when touring the world. One thing to note is that not all places you intend to visit will be safe for you. The thing is, most fraud cases will happen when you’re away from home. Before you embark on the tour around the world, it’s crucial that you know your destinations in great depth. This means conducting extensive research regarding the safest neighborhoods, reading crime rate statistics, reading traveler reviews, and having the right emergency numbers to contact during an emergency.

Now that you have got everything in place, enjoy your trip and have fun. It is perfectly normal to feel nervous and be anxious while embarking on an amazing adventure for the first time. Every traveler experiences this when traveling around the world. To enjoy this trip of a lifetime, follow your instincts, and trust your planning.

No matter how long your travel may be, the above tips will help you to stay organized and motivated. You’ll be in a better position to manage your finances while traveling, stay healthy, and most importantly, enjoy the world.

Why Do You Need Corporate Service Providers?

By

Daniela Meyer

-

May 19, 2020

switchingCSP — Source: financebusinesspartners

‘What do corporate service providers do?’ This is a question thrown around quite a lot in the business society.

Especially in Hong Kong where there are more than a hundred thousand companies, you may have heard of many firms telling that they have been availing services from corporate service providers.

So, what is the benefit in that? What do the companies hiring corporate service providers get better than the firms that don’t?

In this article, we look at everything that you need to know about corporate service providers; about what they are, and how they can help you.

What are Corporate Service Providers?

Corporate service providers are companies that provide their knowledge, technology, and expertise to assist other companies to operate. This could be in various sectors like incorporation, accounting, taxation, human resources, legal department and many more.

The range of services of a corporate service provider is strictly dependent on their proficiency. Some may only provide accounting, while others can give you tax services. There are some companies like 3E Accounting that take the concept into a whole new level; they help their clients with Virtual Office, Software Solutions, Work Permits and Visas, Business Trust, IT and Design, etc.

What are the Benefits of Hiring a Corporate Service Provider in Hong Kong?

They Register Your Business

Establishing and registering a company can be especially cumbersome for foreign investors in Hong Kong. There are a lot of registration constraints and rules to take care of.

When you work with a corporate service provider, they help you understand every kind of business that is available in Hong Kong. All you need to do is provide them with your requirements and necessary documents, and they will register your company for you.

They Provide Secretarial Services

Every company needs to hire a secretary in Hong Kong during the time of incorporation. Additionally, it can be expensive for startups to hire their own secretary because company secretarial is one aspect where there should be no compromise on the person’s knowledge and activeness.

The above reasons make secretarial services imperial in Hong Kong. Corporate service providers outsource their expertise, and hiring a secretary from them means you will have a lot of experience and it will be inexpensive for you as you will not have to give out employee contracts and benefits.

Virtual Office

Terms like ‘Home Based Jobs’ and ‘Work from Home’ are becoming increasingly popular these days. After all, many companies have found that letting employees work from home helps them feel free and bolsters creativity, which leads to the improvement of the quality of work.

Anyway, companies will need infrastructures and facilities like phone call forwarding, a secure online server where employees can work and communicate, etc. to make work from home a possibility. Corporate service providers provide those facilities to their clients.

Also, in Hong Kong, having a registered address is a must to run a company. Some service providers can also have virtual registered address services in their pamphlets.

They Can Take Care of Bookkeeping and Accounting

Bookkeeping and accounting are different terms, and corporate service providers will do both for you.

Bookkeeping means simply keeping a note and record of the company’s revenue, expenses, profits, loss, etc., and accounting refers to using the bookkeeping data to find ways to increase sales.

A plus point in this aspect is that owners of Corporate service provider companies are mostly Chartered Accountants. Additionally, they can also do the annual mandatory financial audits for your company in Hong Kong.

Work Permits and Visas

Some corporate service providers assistance for Entry for Investment, and Employment visas. Also, for the people who come to Hong Kong, the service providers can assist with Permanent Residence and Dependent Visas. Remember, they have experts that can help you craft the perfect application with everything that the government wants to know from you. Thus, they will maximize your chances.

Taxation Services

Hong Kong has one of the lowest tax rates in the world, but at the same time, the region is strict about taxes. Not filing your tax properly may bring serious consequences.

Your company and its members will have to pay various taxes like profits tax, salaries tax, property tax, stamp duty, import tax (only for tobacco, hydrocarbon oil, methyl alcohol, and alcoholic beverages), and many more.

At the same time, Hong Kong provides various incentives that help minimize the tax you pay to your government.

Corporate Service Providers make sure that you pay all your tax, but simultaneously also ensure you file minimum taxes.

Legal Assistance

Legal professionals are some of the most important team members of a corporate service provider. They help you from the moment you start registering your company; they provide you consultancy regarding certificates and documents you need, licenses, etc. Also, they will oversee legal issues that may arise from time to time like Trademark Registration, Personal Data Protection, Disputes Resolution, Wealth Management, etc.

Human Resource and Payroll Assistance

Corporate Service provider’s Human Resource Services can consist of employee handbooks, drafting of employment contracts, HR grants consulting, Human Resource Recruiting Service, Payroll Management, etc. Such service companies will make sure that you fulfil all your responsibilities towards your employees, and they are happy while working in your office.

IT Equipment and Services

The world business is run by tech, and it is not different in Hong Kong. You will need services like Website Design, Logo Design, Domain/Hosting, IT Security Testing, Cyber Risk Management, SEO, Internet Marketing, Social Media Marketing, and many more.

Furthermore, we can’t forget the software you will need for various purposes like accounting and bookkeeping, payroll, etc.

Corporate Service Providers have all the latest innovations you will need to keep running your company.

Bottom line

The thing is that even if Hong Kong is a great place to run a business, the competition is tough in almost every sector. So, you will need knowledgeable people working in your company. On the other hand, hiring extraordinary employees or buying the best equipment may be difficult for startups, but both of them are important for a company’s success. A corporate service provider helps in such cases, making sure you get all the resources you need at a price you can afford.