Tag Archives: Tips

Facebook Goes Dark Mode
Tech news

Facebook Goes Dark Mode

 

Facebook has introduced Dark mode; it was announced on May 8th. It’s available on the desktop web browser version of Facebook. Probably the biggest change to the way Facebook looks in its 16 years of being online.

What is Dark mode?

Dark mode is a visual theme where most of your screen is a dark colour (usually black) with the text being a brighter colour (usually white). Think of it as the opposite of how most screens display information as black text on a white background. The black text on a white background is similar to how books and newspapers are printed. But when you are looking at a screen for long periods of time it’s easier on your eyes to have the majority of the screen dark and only have the text be the part that is emitting light. It’s similar to the way that the old console like MS-DOS or a shell like on Linux operates.

Dark mode is great if you get sore eyes or headaches from looking at screens.

Facebook said, “Enjoy lower brightness, alongside contrast and vibrancy, with dark mode. It minimizes screen glare for use in low light, wherever you are”.

If you are running Android 10 you can change Android to dark mode in settings and then you can have the Facebook mobile app run in dark mode.

History of Dark Mode

Dark mode is not a modern invention. Originally computers had character-based user interfaces, not graphical ones, and the majority of them were light text on dark backgrounds. Some people may remember in the 1980s, the green CRT screens (or Amber ones) of the Apple ][ computers, Microbees and IBM PCs. The Dick Smith VZ-200 had an undocumented dark mode if you knew how to turn it on. The Workbench of the Commodore Amiga also used a dark mode theme by default, although the background was blue and it wasn’t very dark blue, the text was white.

After using dark themes for many years software makers moved over to light themes. It looked new and fresh. Now after over 35 years of light mode, we are seeing a trend back to dark mode. Will it last 35 years before we all go back to light mode? Probably not.

Dark mode theme has been available on software development tools for many years. Darcula theme on the Android Studio IDE and Microsoft Visual Studio Code editor are good examples. Lately, it has become a trend in web and app development. Android version 10 has a dark mode setting to affect all apps that support that theme. Google announced in May 2020 that it would be rolling out a dark mode for the Google search app across Android and IOS devices within a week. Have a look in the More | Settings area for Theme to give it a try when it’s available.

How to turn on Facebook Dark Mode for desktop web browser version?

Facebook is rolling out a new desktop web browser version. Not everyone has it yet as it is being introduced in stages. When they give you the new version, sometime soon, you’ll be able to turn dark mode on by clicking on your profile picture in the top/right of the screen and turn on the button for dark mode.

Using dark mode can save power and conserve battery life if you are using a screen where individual pixels emit light. Like in an OLED display. But, if you use an LCD screen where the light is emitted from the backplane and not by individual pixels then there is no real advantage for your battery life. It’s just easier on your eyes and looks cool.

life hacks
Life Hacks, Tips and Tricks

25 Best life hacks for your gadgets

I found this today and thought it was worth sharing. In the video, you will find lots of ways to create stands for phones and tablets using everyday items, like a paper clip! You’ll find ways to increase privacy when using computers, ways to recycle old tech waste into useful, unique looking items. You’ll even find ways to make geek techno jewellery for next to nothing.

There’s a bunch of innovative ways to keep cable clutter under control and look great too.

You’ll find lots of little tricks that make life easier. You’ll find inexpensive ways to fix tech items. Saving you big $$$’s.

There’s also a whole load of tips for photography using your smartphone. There’s even a way to turn your phone into a microscope using nothing but a single drop of water!

Enjoy,

 

Geoff Williams

 

Mobile App Development Tutorials

Tips For Getting Started With Podcast Marketing

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Podcast marketing offers multiple opportunities to build brand awareness by conveying information via audio files. Podcasts are an affordable option to share marketing messages to the masses while developing consumer confidence in your brand.

Several podcast marketing techniques can be used. Business owners can produce product infomercials; develop a personalized Internet radio show; share interviews with industry experts; or provide sales training seminars. The possibilities are endless.

Every business can benefit from publishing audio podcasts. Those who produce content on a regular basis can develop a loyal following of listeners who eagerly share podcasts with others.

Producing podcasts is a relatively easy process, but those who desire professional quality may find it beneficial to work with a production company. Companies can save time, money, and frustration by working with audio experts. Additionally, companies don’t have to purchase recording equipment or audio editing software.

To obtain the highest rate of exposure, audio podcasts should be uploaded to a variety of podcasting directories. It is important to research directories to determine which are most appropriate for the chosen demographic market. It is pointless to upload audio files to podcast directories that do not attract an audience interested in products and services being promoted.

Podcasts should also be published via company websites and blogs. Business owners often promote newly published podcasts via their home page and create a secondary web page to archive previously recorded podcasts.

A good marketing strategy is to include a download link for each podcast, along with options to share via social media outlets such as Twitter and Facebook. Listeners should be able to easily access audio podcasts via different mediums. Common mediums include iPods, MP3 players, and desktop and laptop computers.

Listeners often subscribe to podcasting services which provide instant notification when new podcasts are published by their favorite podcasters. Some service providers automatically download new podcasts to subscribers’ chosen delivery medium. This is beneficial to business owners because it eliminates the need to contact subscribers each time a new podcast is published.

Podcast marketing offers an affordable and effective venue for developing customer relationships. However, podcasters should be mindful of the wants and needs of listeners. When podcasters fall short of subscribers expectations they will quickly lose potential clients.

Many businesses prefer to enlist help from an online marketing company to help with production and distribution of podcasts. These professionals can write compelling content; edit previously recorded podcasts; provide assistance throughout the project; take charge of entire marketing campaigns; and track results to determine return on investment.

It is strongly recommended to develop a podcast marketing plan prior to producing audio files. This can aid in defining strategies required to achieve desired results. The Internet is a good source for learning how to implement podcasting strategies and conduct market research.

One podcast marketing strategy that can yield quality results is developing a series of podcasts that build upon the last. Another option is to produce a weekly Internet radio show.

The key to success is consistently providing beneficial or entertaining information and avoid being overly sales-pitchy. Instead, focus on developing good customer relations to build credibility and trust through podcast marketing.

Podcast marketing offers companies numerous opportunities to share marketing messages and product information. At Online Marketing DNA, we help companies learn how to capitalize on the power of podcasting. Learn how to implement this marketing strategy by visiting us at www.OnlineMarketingDNA.com.

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Mobile App Development Tutorials

Tips For Getting Started With Freestyle Snowboarding

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If you’re just starting to think about freestyle snowboarding and snowboard tricks, you may be thinking that there’s a lot to learn, a lot to think about. The prospect of trying out the snowboard park can be daunting also. But don’t worry, the freestyle aspect of snowboarding adds a lot of fun. There are many things for you to learn, to practice, to challenge yourself and to get stoked on when you stomp them. It’s also a great way to have fun and ride with your friends, as you progress together and push each other to improve.

And so how should you get going?

Right in the beginning, there is the query of which techniques to start off with. What do the different trick names really mean, whats the many various trick terminology? And whats the ideal strategy to learn? Is it best to just try things out for yourself? To imagine how it should be done and go for it? Or, is it better to get some kind of coaching, perhaps in a snowboard camp, a private lesson, or some video coaching? Can you learn new snowboard tricks online?

These are all good questions, and they need answering. A combination of learning approaches will always be good. However, if you’re progressing well with new tricks, you’re landing them how you’d like to, friends are telling you that they look good, there’s no need to spend additional money on tuition. After all, snowboarding isn’t cheap. If your own intuition is bringing results. Keep doing it.

If you start to stagnate, get stuck on the “next level” of tricks, that’s the time to think about getting some guidance from someone else.

Looking at some trick terminology, start by making sure you understand the difference between frontside and backside spins. You’ll need this when talking about tricks, but it will also help you to understand the different variations of tricks that are available. The concept of counter-rotation is also important – look that up!

When it comes to training, off the hill, real fitness is likely to assist you in just about all elements of your shredding. Physically and mentally youre going to be able to shred for a bit longer, which means far more practice and therefore more time to develop. A related topic, whenever working on your freestyle, it’s worth considering some of the protective gear that is available for snowboarders.

The most obvious choice is a snowboard helmet. Rails and boxes are solid, having edges and corners to make them even more unsafe. And obviously, large snowboard booters in the snowboard park produce an environment inside which you may get damaged, fairly badly. Safety is important, and staying safe will help you to snowboard more, to snowboard for longer. And that’s what we all want, because snowboarding is a lot of fun.

With snowboarding tricks and freestyle, theres a good deal for you to think about and work on! Consider this page on Snowboard Tricks written by the author of the afterbang snowboarding blog. It covers most of the things that you need to know for freestyle. And pay attention to the snowboard addiction coaching, they are fantastic!

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Mobile App Development Tutorials

Get Adobe Elements Software Tips With Step By Step Tutorials

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Adobe Photoshop Elements doesn’t just have one single interface and is capable of launching the program in several different modes. There a selection of different modes on Elements for different requirements like organizing photos, the full edit mode, the quick fix, and you can even produce your own photo album books.

Should you have the Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 version you may have seen some interesting features including email, burning to CD or DVD, and the uncluttered interface makes everything so more simplified, especially if you need to move images round the screen.

Quick Fix Guide Mode: The quick mode enables you to make very basic alterations to your images as you can alter the following; Lighting, colour, sharpen, and you also have the options to do a smart fix. Elements also gives you an auto fix button which can be found on the right hand side. Another way to access the adjustments buttons is through the Enhance menu.

Auto fixing is perfect for complete elements newbies if you’re looking for a quick photo fix. Check out these six great editing tools and features.

1) Just hit the “Reset Button” on the after picture, if your editing changes are not going to plan. 2) To view the before and after photos you will find a drop down button which says “View” in the lower left hand corner, . 3) The tool box is located on the left hand side of the view screen. 4) You are able to zoom in from your photo here and a zoom button is located in the lower left hand corner. 5) On the right hand side of the screen you will find the time saving auto tab buttons. 6) The quick mode feature allows the option of using sliders, which you will find very useful.

The full edit mode provides the necessary tools to change any of your photo images. The majority of the tools and commands are to be found in the palettes.

The palettes are used for managing your layers and applying effects to your images. By default the layers and effects palette are displayed automatically. If you wish you can also open more by choosing from the windows menu, which can be found at the top. Another really cool feature for the palettes is they float, so you can have them where you like. Once you have brought your image up, you’ll find below the main image window your images that you have opened.

Did you find this article useful? Would you like to watch FREE Photoshop Elements Tutorials ? Well now you can by watching this free sample Adobe Elements Tutorial …what are you waiting for?

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Mobile App Development Tutorials

Tips For Getting Started With Breastfeeding

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It cannot be emphasized enough that breast milk is the best source of nutrition you can give to your baby. A complete food source specially formulated for your baby, breast milk contains all the nutrients (there is at least 400), hormones and antibodies your baby needs for optimal development. Despite many attempts to mimic breast milk, no formula has ever succeeded to replicate all the benefits that breast milk provides.

As your baby grows, your breast milk will change to suit whichever stage of development your baby is at. Your breast milk is tailored for your baby and your baby alone – no formula can boast such claims. Aside from the brain building, infection fighting benefits of breast milk, breastfeeding also helps to nurture a special bond between you and your baby. The skin-to-skin contact, cuddling and holding involved during breastfeeding is an important part of a baby’s development that is not only beneficial to baby but to you as well.

Okay, so we know that breastfeeding is beneficial to you and your baby, but how does one get started?

Ideally, you should begin breastfeeding your baby as soon as possible after delivery. Let your doctor know about your decision to breastfeed your baby and ample opportunity can be arranged for you to nurse your baby while you are still in the delivery room. This first nursing session is one of the most important sessions because a baby’s root reflex (the urge to suckle) is strongest right at birth and begins to diminish the longer you wait.

At this stage, your breasts are producing a substance known as colostrum that contains important antibodies that help protect your baby from infections and to line your baby’s intestines to prepare them to receive full milk. Colostrum will continue to be produced for the first 3-5 days after delivery before the breast begins to produce mature milk.

Breastfeeding for the first time can be quite a challenge and it is important to get as much support as possible. If you aren’t sure how to go about it, get help from the hospital’s lactation consultant, or a good friend or family member who has breastfed a baby before. Having the right support can sometimes make the different between mothers who persist with breastfeeding and those that eventually give up. Remember that breastfeeding is an art that will require a lot of patience and practice.

If your baby has trouble finding or staying on your nipple, don’t panic. Remember that there are two inexperienced individuals in the picture – you and your baby – and you both need time to adjust to one another and develop a nursing relationship. It is important to learn how to get a correct latch, position yourself comfortably and to break the suction when you need to. Make sure you have learned these three things before you leave the hospital.

A proper latch at the start should not be painful. However, nursing during the early days can cause your nipples to feel raw. This sensitivity will eventually subside – but be prepared for it to last a couple of weeks. Applying a barrier cream like Bepanthen after each nursing can help to lessen the sensitivity. Because of this initial tenderness, it can be difficult to tell if the pain is from an improper latch. If you aren’t sure, check with the lactation consultant. With a proper latch, the baby’s mouth should cover most of the areola (the darkened skin).

If your baby hasn’t gotten a proper latch, break the suction and start again. It is important to ensure that your baby learns how to latch properly and not to continue nursing if your baby has latched on poorly. If allowed to continue, your baby will develop a bad habit of latching on poorly which is not only painful for you in the long run but makes feeding time more inefficient for your baby.

During the first few days, you should nurse frequently because the more often you nurse, the more quickly your mature milk will come in and the more milk you will produce. A good practice to adopt is to breastfeed for 10-15 minutes per breast at least 8 – 10 times a day. If for, any reason, you are not able to nurse your baby, you can help encourage your breasts to produce more milk by applying a breast pump to it. One recommendation is to use an electric pump on the lowest setting for as long as you would otherwise nurse your baby.

Crying during the early days is often a sign of hunger and it is important to feed your baby before he or she starts crying. Sometimes this may mean waking up your baby to begin breastfeeding. You may also find that your baby falls asleep easily during feeding. Jaundiced babies, especially, tend to be very lethargic and often don’t wake up for feeds. They especially need to be woken up to feed because breast milk helps them to excrete bilirubin (which is the breakdown product of red blood cells that causes jaundice). A good guide to follow is to wake your baby up if it has been four hours since the last feed.

Shen-Li is a stay-at-home-mum dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in parenting. She has a formal educational background and former work experience in healthcare. If you enjoyed this article, visit her blog Babylicious and follow her as she learns how to raise a happy, confident and successful person.

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Mobile App Development Tutorials

Home Recording Studio Tips: Learn How to Record Songs at Home

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Almost all aspiring recording artists dream to achieve professional, affordable recording at home without having an engineering degree. You too can record songs easy, cheaply with great sounds as long as you understand the rules of recording professional quality sound at home.

If you wonder if it is possible to make professional sounding recordings at home, the answer is yes to this question. Indeed, you can record professional sound at home without spending a fortune.

Sound, on its journey to recording software, requires a simple pathway to follow which is free of obstructions. In the absence of this pathway, it will be extremely prone to injury which would result in sudden loss of fidelity and quality. Nobody aims to get amateurish, thin and distorted sound before it even arrives to the recording software.

There are 3 simple ingredients for successful home recording:

The use of correct, affordable and simple external input device. Generally it is not recommended to use a built-in computer sound card and give in to the temptation to make your source sound travel through multiple effects units before it reaches to the recording software.
The knowledge of capturing and retaining healthy sound. The primary goal should be to keep the sound clean going on. This is the most important element for getting sound quality.
The use of easy recording software.

Pre-planning of the recording process, or in other words, letting your song take shape in your head before you start to record your song, will be helpful in achieving your home recording goals.

During recording songs, you need to decide on what your home recording really need. What moods are intended and how can we make the instruments to support these moods? With successful pre-planning, the song will be appropriately dressed for the weather outside which is the mood of the song. This step requires some imagining the instrumentation, style of performance and some decisions on the desired mood for the song.

Knowing what you want will help you serve your song well and effectively. Because you can start recording fast when you manage to remove thousands of unnecessary possibilities from the table. The remaining of the procedure right after you cleared the road ahead will be a fun and very simple to do recording session. This is the time when you can hear the song in your head.

In home recording studio, the source sound can be altered in many unexpected ways because most probably the recording takes place in a room which was not specifically designed for audio recording. At this point it is vital to take control of the things which we can; such as setting the volume input properly.

For more information about the best resource on home recording studio, visit my site to download the best product to record songs online instantly.

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Relaxation Music

Meditation and Yoga Tips

There are many ways to improve the quality of your life, but one that you may not have thought of is that of meditation.  Some don’t believe it can offer them benefits but there is one thing that meditation and yoga can definitely provide to you:  the ability to relax.

Yoga is a great tool for both exercise and relaxation.  Both meditation and yoga have been shown to provide improvements for those that are in need of stress relief.  And, when you learn how to do them effectively, it takes minutes a day to wash away your stresses.

So, how does this fit into your lifestyle fitness plan?  It’s simple.  You need to spend ten minutes each day, usually before breakfast, quietly meditating or doing yoga.  Ten minutes per day is all that it takes to see significant improvement in your overall well being. 

When you take into account all the things that you are doing in the morning you may not think you have time.  But, again, invest the time for a couple of weeks and you are sure to see the improvements quickly and they will not be such a demanding time taker.

You can learn how to do either meditation or yoga (or both if you like) easily.  Some people are familiar with it enough that they can learn how to do is through at home study.  It’s often a better solution, though to learn with others through a professional. 

Get together with a friend and take a class at your local recreation center or your community college.  You’ll find that once you learn the technique you can do the process on your own, easily.

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Egis Toeb is The owner of www.body-building-guide.com. The site that share a lot of tips and information about how to gain muscle and weight loss

Listen to free previews of Zylascope’s Relaxation Music in our music store.

www.zylascope.com | Relaxaxtion Music

Electronic Music

Music Video Production Tips

1. Storyboard that bad boy, a music video, like a drama, should be planned, even scripted, before you shoot. Flying by the seat of your pants isn’t going to get you where you want to go. Do a little homework. Study music videos and performances featuring music of the same genre and note techniques that impress you. Try to figure out how and why the directors took the shots and made the cuts they did. You don’t have to duplicate what you see, but it won’t hurt to borrow some ideas from the pros.

2. Instruct the singer to sing properly – no half-hearted singing or, worse, miming. If they mumble or mime, it won’t look right when you lay the shots against the song, as the tension and movements of the face and body will not be consistent with the sound of the song. They must sing as if you were making a real recording.

3. Shoot plenty of angles, and make sure that most angles cover the entire song. If you do not shoot enough angles of the whole song, the final feel of your music video might be too slow.

4. One simple and good tip is having GREAT locations, obviously this can be dictated by budget, but sometimes a skyline view or a disused warehouse can give your music video production that big budget feel.

5. A very underrated tip is feeding your crew good food! This can be an easy and achievable way of really picking up everyone’s spirits halfway through a long shoot and getting the best out of them.

Those are my top tips on music video production; I hope they help you as much as they have me.

I’m Mark Wilson the Managing Director for London video production company Phink TV

www.phink.tv

www.twitter.com/phinktv

Related Music Production At Home Tips articles

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www.zylascope.com | Electronic Music

Electronic Music

Tips on Purchasing Electronic Music Online

There are many people around the world who are constantly trying to get their hands on new and exciting mixes, where electronic music is concerned, and this means that they need to find new ways of purchasing their favorite tracks, since land based stores often provide a rather limited number of new albums. If you do not want to have to wait for all of the latest mixes to arrive at your local music store, you can get your hands on them when you visit online retailers that offer some of the widest selection of electronic music in the industry. Purchasing online when compared to shopping at a local retailer is much simpler and it gives you the opportunity to pick and choose the specific tracks that you want.

A wide selection is imperative when you are picking an online store that sells electronic music, so make sure that you keep this in mind. Scan through a few sites before determining which one will suit your needs best and make sure that you focus your attentions on the genre that interests you most. If you enjoy electronic mixes, it will not help to pick a music store that sells a wide range of RnB music, so keep this in mind when you are making your decision.

One of the biggest benefits of purchasing electronic music online is the fact that you can download it directly to your computer, which means that you will get your hands on it immediately. Waiting for a CD to get shipped to your home can be very annoying, and you will not have to worry about this any longer; you simply need to purchase the tracks that you like most, pay for them, and you can start downloading them directly to your computer; nothing could be simpler than this.

If you do not want to download an entire CD, you can pick and choose the tracks that you want, which makes it easy to get your hands on the music that you enjoy without paying for songs that you do not like. Go through the selection of music on the site and listen to the tracks that you do not know; once you have done this you can determine which ones you are willing to pay for and which ones you would rather leave out. Those that are interested in electronic music won’t find an easier way to get their hands on it, as all it takes is a computer and an internet connection.

To learn more about electronic music, please visit us on our website.

Listen to free previews of Zylascope’s Electronic Music in our music store.

www.zylascope.com | Electronic Music