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How to Improve Education at Home During COVID

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How to Improve Education at Home During COVID

The image source is Pexels.

The education sector was one of the badly affected sectors by the COVID-19 pandemic. It led to the closure of schools around the globe, rendering more than one billion students out of school. But despite the negative effect it has had on the education sector, it has opened a new world of opportunities for education at home. Students are continuing to learn through various means, even though they cannot physically attend classes. Online learning has proven to be a huge success this past year, as more and more students and schools continue to embrace it. Here are five ways to improve education at home during the pandemic.

Make it a routine

The fastest way to master a habit is to incorporate it into your daily routine. Learning at home may be a new concept to many students. Therefore it is likely to take a while for them to adjust to it. Parents can help their children learn easier by incorporating online classes as part of their kids’ routines while they’re at home. Set aside a few hours, say 2-3 hours, each day, in which the student can do all forms of learning. Schools and teachers can discuss and organize timetables that are flexible enough to fit every student’s schedule. Since technology adoption in adjusting to learning at home has been a success, most schools will likely retain this form of teaching even after the pandemic. Therefore, the sooner parents and children adjust to this new normal, the better for them.

Sensitize caregivers on online education

In line with the point discussed above, it is also essential to inform guardians, babysitters, and parents on the basics of online learning. Learning at home can be quite a hassle, especially if the environment is not as conducive. The schools should inform parents of when and how the classes will take place so that they can provide their children with the peaceful environment they need to study. Younger students may require help setting up different devices for their online classes. Therefore, their guardians must understand how to set them up to assist. Adjusting to education at home can be challenging, but when everyone is contributing to the change, it makes the process much better.

Encourage participation from the child

Just attending classes and taking notes may seem like enough effort from the student’s side, but it won’t make much difference if they are not actively engaging in the classes. Teachers should ask questions and direct students to talk and engage during the classes actively, and parents should encourage their children to participate actively. When this much effort is applied, adjusting will come naturally, enabling the student to embrace education at home as the new form of learning. It will also jog the student’s minds and improve their critical thinking skills. Education at home has so many benefits for the student when they actively participate.

Keep in touch with the child’s education facility

Aside from setting aside a few hours for learning every day, parents should also show interest in their children’s learning. You can guide them on using the different gadgets required, such as laptops and microphones, and also keep tabs with the school to be able to notify them of any inconvenience, such as power outages. Understanding different learning aids such as online IDE is crucial for guardians as well as students so that they(guardians) can be able to assist their children in case of any problems. Maintaining communication with the respective schools will help smoothen the transition from physical to online classes too.

Create a ‘Study zone’ to tune the mind

Another way to improve education at home may be to improve the physical environment. The student’s surroundings play a significant role in how they process information, and different learning environments can impact the attention span of a child. Set aside a room for the child to study in silence, away from the distractions of family and friends. A conducive environment where they can be alone with the teacher and their fellow students on a zoom call will allow the child to focus entirely on the class in session. This improves their attention span, and they’re more likely to retain information and participate actively during the class. Compared to learning in a public space such as the living room, the child will gain more knowledge away from everyday distractions.

Conclusion

Education at home is essential during this period, as it gives the students a purpose to look forward to even as the world recovers from the chaos. These tips will enable you and your child/students to transition smoothly into the future of learning, which is online education.

How Long Does It Take To Get 1 Bitcoin in 2021?

How long does it actually take to get 1 bitcoin? This question occurs as a primary thought in anyone’s mind who decides to step forward and become a part of this world. This is why most people are left dumbfounded when they fail to answer this question. Simply put, it takes around 10 minutes for a typical bitcoin transaction to occur. Therefore, it is important for one to know that, while being the most lucrative financial opportunity in the world, even bitcoin needs some time. However, there are various factors that have a profound impact on the total time it takes for the transaction to occur. In this blog, we will explain how long it takes to get 1 bitcoin and what are the factors that have an impact on it: 

Understanding The Basics

Ever since the inception of cryptocurrency back in 2008, its existence has left everyone baffled but at the same time, cryptocurrencies are building at the same pace. Simply put, all the cryptocurrencies are pretty much similar to blockchain technology when it comes to their structure. Because blockchain is chanted as the most secure form of making transactions on this planet, most people applaud it. However, when you decide to convert 1 bitcoin to Satoshi, you will be shocked to know that the value is at an all-time high. We also were invited by Bitpay for their exchange launch in India.

Simply put, it is the line of code that keeps the block stored and encrypted over time. As of now, there are over 21 million bitcoins that have already been created through the mining process. Therefore, there’s a huge difference between the processing time for each of the transactions, which varies from 10 minutes to days, depending on various factors. If you don’t know, Satoshi Nakamoto, along with his team of experts came up with bitcoin a few years back. Therefore, when creators of bitcoin decided to jump on the bandwagon, they had to come up with something lucrative for everyone to know. 

Although bitcoin mining is much similar to the other elements, still there’s a lot of difference as to how everything is extracted. It is a simple process that improves the security mechanism. Therefore, once done, miners are provided with bitcoins as a part of their contribution, which is based on proof of work. 

Simply put, bitcoin mining is not rocket science at all. However, it can be a little frustrating at times when the payoff is skeptical. Bear in mind, when you’re going through bitcoin mining, you’re going to take up complex challenges with mining hardware. This helps to store information in blocks. Therefore, once you come across the mining process, every new transaction is recorded and also verified at the same time. Once you discover the block, you will eventually be rewarded for your effort. This might take little time, especially if you don’t have hands-on experience of doing it before. 

How Fast Can Bitcoin Mining Be?

Simply put, it is hard to come up with a defined time frame when mining bitcoin is concerned. After all, it takes a lot of time for things to happen the right way. However, even if we have to bring up the best-case scenario, it shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes to process 1 bitcoin. This doesn’t seem much but is typical for an ideal situation. This is impossible for a lot of miners, who are trying to learn the craft for the first time. For your information, it takes around 30 miners to mine 1 bitcoin. Furthermore, this setup isn’t as economical as you think. Once the electricity cost and the hardware have been deducted, you will be left with one-tenth of a single bitcoin. 

With the conventional setups out there, it might cost around $73000 to look for one bitcoin. This means one needs to be patient enough when diving full throttle in this industry. Furthermore, the speed of mining isn’t in direct proportion with the cost. It depends on the hardware and software being used as well. The total speed is reliant on the type of device that you’re using. However, now it is fair enough to say that the speed of mining one bitcoin is much better than what it was initially. 

What Internet Startups Should Consider in 2020

At this time of year, many plans for the year 2020 are racing through your mind. You’re determined to make your fledgling internet startup succeed. There’s no better time than now to design the strategies that’ll guide your startup throughout next year and beyond.

As an entrepreneur, you’re wondering what aspects of your business deserve the most focus. This post examines seven aspects and trends every internet startup should consider in 2020.

1. Leverage Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence has permeated almost every area of existence. It’s a vast branch of computer science, a transformational technology that remains greatly underutilized. At this time, it’s critical to ponder how you might put this capability to work for your startup.

Internet startups that will find creative ways to leverage AI will have a serious advantage over the competition. Think of areas in your business that could benefit from this technology.

Why not involve AI in decision-making, for example? The idea is to discover new ways to harness AI’s limitless potential. Aim to streamline your processes and boost your efficiency.

Increase your productivity. About 54 percent of executives report increased productivity after incorporating AI solutions into their processes, according to PWC. AI is also helping startups all over the world stay ahead of their competitors.

2. Get More Out Of Big Data

Big data often overwhelms businesses by its sheer vastness. But big data conceals extremely important patterns and trends. Only through laser-focused analysis can you pinpoint these patterns and trends.

You’re likely collecting an enormous amount of data each day. But are you extracting from that data valuable insights that can help you fine-tune your processes? Odds are you’re not. A recent survey revealed that 43 percent of businesses derive little benefit from their data.

Businesses are generating data at an unprecedented rate. According to Forbes, the year 2020 will see a whopping 4,300 percent increase in data production. Consider this prediction as an opportunity to amass valuable information and insights that propel your entity forward.

Fortunately, AI is many times more powerful, accurate, and efficient than traditional analytics software. In the coming year, give adequate attention to predictive and behavioral analytics. Abandon by-the-gut decision-making in favor of quantitative decision-making.

3. Improve Your Cash Flow

Cash is king, they say. Naturally, though, startups don’t have much money. They must watch every dollar. They must find new ways to improve cash flow. For without cash, you have no business.

Do you have any ideas for freeing up more cash? Find better suppliers that’ll give you a longer debtor’s collection period. Buy materials in bulk to qualify for discounts. Increase your cash sales.  

Most important, reduce overhead. Ensure everyone turns off their computer and other office equipment after work. Open those blinds during the day so you can let in sufficient natural light, saving on electricity. Use recycled paper.

In addition, stop hiring on a permanent basis. At least, hire fewer permanent employees in 2020. One way to fill positions without substantially growing your wage bill is to start using freelancers.

4. Find Reliable Freelancers

Hiring the right person for the job has always been a challenging task. It gets even more challenging when you’re a startup. Maintaining full-time workers is very expensive. Things get worse when those workers turn out to be considerably less productive than you’d imagined.

But have you considered hiring freelancers? Freelancers rarely call in sick. In addition, they’re typically highly motivated individuals. The good news is that every business can find a freelancer whose rates are in their range. What’s more, freelancers tend to be seasoned professionals. They work efficiently and professionally, delivering more and better results faster. Aim to have a mix of hardworking permanent employees and highly competent, result-oriented freelancers.

5. Learn From Past Mistakes

Hidden in every mistake is a gem of wisdom, knowledge that accelerates growth. What hiring mistakes did you make in the past, and what lessons did you learn?

Maybe it’s time to build a more heterogeneous team. Perhaps you should elevate more women to top-level management. Or, maybe you should start cultivating better relations with your employees, managers, suppliers, and even competitors. Resolve to make the most of your past mistakes.

6. Know Your Customers Better

You likely use your recipient’s name in email marketing campaigns. That’s commendable, but you should do more in 2020. Subject existing customer data and behavior to more thorough scrutiny and more extensive analysis.

Dive deeper into customers’ transactional and purchase histories. Develop a complete understanding of your customers and their specific needs. At that point, you’ll easily offer them precise content that sufficiently addresses their pain points.

7. Zealously Guard Your Customer Data

Cybercrime is worsening everywhere, even in the internet startup world. So, shield vulnerable systems with proven anti-virus software. Also, strengthen and update your operational procedures and security policies.

In addition, keep cardholder data protected using highly effective security protocols and impregnable cryptography. Install measures that quickly identify security vulnerabilities. Most important, implement automated solutions that enable your startup to thwart cyberattacks.

Final Thoughts

The year 2020 is just around the corner. Start readying your startup for it. Embrace emerging technologies, particularly AI. Get more out of big data. Build a leaner organization. Cut expenses and improve cash flow. Finally, protect customer data with utmost diligence. Hopefully, it’ll be a great year for your business. 

 

Top 7 Tech and Software Investments Small Businesses Need to Check Out

If you are a small business owner, then you know how important it is to make each investment count — no matter how small. From keeping your online transaction software safe and making sure your private customer data is secure, nothing is more important than the tech and software investments you make. If you are looking to make smart tech choices for your small business, you need to be mindful of your budget and finances. So, check out these seven tips that could save you time and money — now and in the future.

Hire a Website Developer

It’s important to admit that you don’t know what you don’t know. Unless you are in the business of selling web design, then it’s likely that you could use a professional to help showcase your business online. Although finding someone to design a website is important, it’s important to hire the right web developers. You need someone that understands the technologies and can build a beautiful, robust, and secure online presence for your company.

Store in the Cloud

Whether you work from home, an office, or a warehouse, storing important data in the cloud can be a smart tech investment for time management. Instead of searching through filing cabinets and stacks of paperwork for client information, proposals, drafts, or past invoices, you can type in a few keywords and have digital copies of your files appear in seconds. Plus, you can access this information — securely — from any location that has internet access. Cloud storage is an important aspect of any data loss prevention plan.

Utilize Project Management Tools

Even if you have a few employees — or if you are a one-man-show — time management tools can help you make the best use of your day and keep you from having to play catch up at night. Best of all, many of these web-based tools are free for individuals. You can use Asana to manage projects with vendors and contractors, Trello to organize and prioritize your day-to-day and Basecamp to communicate with employees on the go.

Purchase HR Software

Human resources is a complex creature for companies of any size, but that is especially true for small businesses without a dedicated HR team. That’s why the right kind of HR software can not only help you manage employees better, but it can also stay compliant with state and federal labor laws. Look for one that helps you manage benefits, payroll, and the entire employee lifecycle, from hiring to termination.

Outsource an IT Professional

Don’t waste precious hours of your own time trying to solve a technical issue when you can have a professional handle your IT woes. Keep an IT professional on retainer, hire a part-time tech employee or bring in a college student or intern to keep your tech afloat. That will give you the time you need to focus on satisfying clients and building your brand, instead of trying to figure out why a printer won’t work or reviving a down server.

If your company collects or processes any data from individuals who live in the European Union (EU), then you’ll need to hire the services of a data protection officer. This person will ensure that your business follows the rules and guidelines laid out by the General Data Protection Regulation, which requires businesses to protect and safeguard any personal information they may collect. The officer will train employees on how to safely process data and teach them how to stay in compliance with GDPR rules, as well as conduct safety audits.

Explore the Dropshipping Model

Are you running an e-commerce company but have yet to see the kinds of profits you were hoping for? Consider switching to the dropshipping model. In this kind of e-commerce transaction, you don’t actually store and ship the items you sell — a third-party does all that. You can save time and money but not having to manage your own inventory, package items, and ship purchases when you use a dropshipping model for your e-commerce business.

Survey Customer Feedback

Understanding your customers’ needs is the most effective way to earn a loyal, repeat customer. While the savvy small business owner can make a few successful assumptions, assuming you know what your customers want and need can be dangerous. There are many free online survey tools you can use to solicit the kind of honest and anonymous customer feedback that helps you improve the service you provide.

Making smart tech investments is a great way to elevate your small business to another level. You can save yourself time and money, all while improving your customer’s experience.

Xnspy Review: Monitoring Software for Mobiles and Tablets

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You will come across plenty of phone monitoring software. But when you plan to get one, you will see that only a few of them would provide you with the right mix of features, price, compatibility, and performance. One of them is Xnspy which is designed to efficiently monitor both Android and iOS devices. After installing it on a device, you can view its text messages, call logs, web browsing history, locations, instant messenger chats, emails, and a lot more.

Xnspy – Who can use it?

Owing to Xnspy’s diverse monitoring features, it has become popular amongst parents to stay atop on their children’s digital activities. Similarly, employers are also using it to watch their employees closely.

Using this app is quite simple, but you need to make sure that Xnspy is compatible with the phone you wish to use it on. That is not an issue as the monitoring app is perfectly compatible with both Android and iOS. Apart from this, you need to have physical access to the Android phone you want to monitor. As for an iPhone, having only the iCloud credentials would work.

How does Xnspy work?

As said earlier, you need to install Xnspy on the phone you want to monitor, and if it is an iPhone, the app will sync with the cloud. Now, many apps claim to monitor Android phones for free or without the requirement of the physical installation. Do NOT fall for it, as it doesn’t work that way. So far, no technology lets you monitor an Android device remotely without the installation.

Xnspy collects the data from the phone and sends it to the online dashboard allowing you to view it whenever. The app requires internet to send the data from the device to the dashboard. But, even if there is no internet connection, the app does not stop recording. Xnspy is one of the few monitoring apps to support offline tracking. Then, as soon as the phone connects to the internet, it transfers the recorded data to the online dashboard.

Compatibility

Here is a compatibility chart for the app:

Android iPhone (No Jailbreak)
4.x, 5.x, 6.x, 7.x & 8.x 6.x, 7.x, 8.x up to 12.0.1

 

Installation

The installation process is fairly simple, and you will get all the necessary guidance via email. The email will have the URL for app download, activation code, and your web account credentials.

For the non-tech savvy people, Xnspy offers assistance through remote installation support for Android users. Using TeamViewer, the remote team would install the app on your target device. But you would still need physical access to the phone. There are plenty of how-to guides and video tutorials on the website to help you with the installation. It is barely a 10-minute process.

You will be ready to access the dashboard after 24 hours as the app requires some time to gather all the data after installation.

Online Dashboard 

You can either use the dashboard app or https://cp.xnspy.com/ to access your web account. The dashboard serves as a control panel for the app. The app features a simple and user-friendly interface ensuring ease of use for all.

The moment you log into the app, a graph would display on the screen. It will show you the different activities so, you can easily review the text message, calls, and location activities.

A menu on the left side of the dashboard has different categories. Clicking on each of them assists you in easy navigation through the app and phone activities.

Features

Xnspy offers an impressive blend of basic and advanced monitoring features so that different users with varying monitoring needs could easily benefit from it.

Basic monitoring features

  • You can access all the text messages,including the sent and received ones.
  • You can monitor the call logsand see the call history, which includes incoming, outgoing, and missed calls. Xnspy also has a phone call history analysis feature so you can see the Top 5 callers and see their duration as well.

You could see the total number of calls during a certain period with a call-time activity punch card. The big dots denote extensive call activities, and smaller dots represent minor call activities.

  • Xnspy comes with a GPS location trackingfeature so you can know where the phone user has been throughout the day. Not only that, you can see the recent location history as well. The app lets you pair the geofencing feature with its GPS locating tracking. This way, you can create virtual boundaries when the phone user enters or exits a certain area and get immediate alerts. You can add these locations to the app’s Watchlist.
  • Xnspy lets you monitor the phone user’s web browsing historyeven if they delete it. Xnspy provides you with an analysis as well, so you can know the Top 10 most visited websites along with the number of times the phone user visited them.

Advanced monitoring features

  • Xnspy automatically records all the phone calls,and you can record the surroundings as well by sending a remote command that turns on the phone’s microphone.
  • Xnspy is among the few apps that let you monitor chats on all the popular instant messaging apps. Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Tinder, Skype, and Kik. You can also access the multimedia the user sends or receives through these apps.
  • There are plenty of remote functionsyou can perform with Xnspy such as blocking apps, locking the device, taking live screenshots, wiping off data, and shutting it down.
  • Xnspy’s Android keyloggerfeature lets you record the keystrokes on WhatsApp, Viber, Facebook, Facebook Messenger, and Skype.
  • The Wi-Fi logfeature lets you see the history of Wi-Fi connection the phone user connected to recently complete with time, date, and name of the connection.
  • You can access and even download the images/videos from the said phone. Also, Xnspy lets you view their routine and access their calendar entries.
  • Probably the best feature of the app, Xnspy’s Watchlist alertlets you set alerts on specific contacts, words, and locations, so you get information about only what you are interested in. Also, you can get alerts when the device owner changes the SIM card.

 

Customer Support

Now, coming to the customer support of Xnspy. Needless to say, the app ranks on top regarding its customer support as well. They have a 24/7 live chat support feature and an email support system. You will find someone to help you, no matter what issue you face regarding the app.

Price

This goes without saying that no monitoring app has been able to surpass the affordability of Xnspy. We can say this with certainty as we compared Xnspy’s price with other leading monitoring apps. Offering two editions, Basic and Monitoring, Xnspy caters to everyone’s monitoring needs, be it a watchful parent or cautious employee.

For those looking for basic monitoring features, Basic Edition works just fine. And if you need an advanced monitoring solution, then it is wise to go with the Premium edition.

Here is a price chart for both the editions:

XNSPY Basic Edition XNSPY Premium Edition
$4.99/month $7.49/month

 

Before moving on to the final verdict, let’s take a look at Xnspy’s pros and cons.

Pros

  • Seamless compatibility with Android and iPhone
  • User-friendly interface
  • A wide range of basic and advanced monitoring features
  • Remote installation support
  • Affordable price
  • Real-time location tracking
  • Watchlist alerts

Cons

  • No money guarantee
  • No remote access to the camera

The Verdict

Xnspy packs a punch with its monitoring features, affordable price, and seamless compatibility with both Android and iOS. Xnspy has garnered a reputation among the popular monitoring apps with its ease of use and efficient functionality. Anyone looking for a budget-friendly solution for their monitoring needs should try Xnspy.

High-Tech Parental Control Tips

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The world can be a big, scary place. And if you have children, it can feel even more dangerous. After all, you are responsible for their well-being. The tasks of protecting your children and teaching them how to be safe can be particularly daunting. How do you keep your children safe from all the bullies, cybercrime, accidents, and other day-to-day dangers that they are likely to face?

Photo by goodluz

Fortunately, technology is now available to help parents with such lessons. There are a number of tech-based tools out there to help you keep your kids safer, even when you’re not right there. Here are some of your options:

Parental Control Apps

You can’t always be at your child’s side to make sure they’re doing the right things when they’re online. But that doesn’t mean you can’t still be in control. On computers, cell phones, tablets and other electronic devices, you have the option of activating and customizing the parental controls. Through such controls, you can manage how long your child can be online, what types of content they are allowed to view, and what kinds of online purchases they are not allowed to make.

With cell phones specifically, parental controls come standard in the phone’s settings, making them easy to activate and personalize. They are fairly basic, but should cover essential online needs. If for any reason the parental controls you currently have available on a device don’t feel sufficient, you do have the option of purchasing third-party parental control apps. While you do have to pay for them, many of these apps offer even greater customization of controls, based on your specific needs.

Tracking Devices

In addition to parental controls over usage, you also have the inherent ability to track your child’s cell phone location. Assuming your child has their phone with them all the time, this enables you to keep a virtual eye on your child, and make sure they are where they say they are. Just configure the location services on their phone, and you will have a good idea of where your child is, even if they’re out and about with their friends.

If your child doesn’t have a phone, or they aren’t always good about keeping it with them, you could also consider a tracking watch. These days, tracking watches for kids are GPS-enabled and waterproof, with all the high-tech touchscreen and WiFi functionality that modern kids and parents have come to expect. Best of all, they come in a range of styles and colors, which allows your child to make a modern fashion statement (and keep wearing it) at the same time you’re keeping track of where he or she is.

Online Public Records Searches

When it comes to your children spending time with adults you don’t know—or even the ones you do—it can’t hurt to make sure you actually have all the facts. Whether they’re the parents of your child’s friend that you’ve known for years, or a new neighbor who just moved in next door, a quick online check can help you verify if they’re hiding anything important—and even dangerous—from their past. One of the fastest and easiest ways to do that is with a specialized online public records search.

To start the search, just enter the full first and last name—and city and state, if you have them—of the adult you want to check. Once you’re sure you’ve found the right person, you have the option of looking more into their public records background. With this search, you can see if a person has any criminal records (ranging from just a traffic ticket up to arrests and jail records), if they are a reported sex offender, and other kinds of info. With that information in hand, you can then make an educated decision about whether or not your kids should be around them or not.

Photo by LightField Studios

Video Games

Yes, that’s right: video games. We’re not talking about first-person shooter style video games here, of course; those are not particularly helpful in terms of teaching about safety. But many kids’ safety organizations are using the same kinds of engaging plots and graphics and the invigorating action of popular video games and cartoons to grab kids’ attention and teach them about safety.

Using such an approach actually makes learning about safety fun and engaging. Your kids will be so entertained that won’t even know they’re actually learning something!

And these interactive pieces of media cover the gamut of safety topics. They are effective at teaching children about automotive safety, water safety, cyber security, and what they need to do in case of a fire, earthquake or other emergency. The list of safety topics literally goes on and on.

E-Books

With e-books and articles, you can give your kids the access to the electronic devices they want while teaching them about safety. (Helping them to improve their reading skills is just a nice little bonus.) Simply perform a general “children’s e-books” search online to get access to all kinds of downloads for Kindle, Nook, and other e-readers from multiple retailers and child safety sites.

These are just a few of the technological tools out there to help you keep your kids safe. They are designed to make your job as a parent a little easier, and the world a little less big and scary.

5 Benefits of Managed IT Services

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Businesses are choosing managed IT services because of the many advantages. Learn more about the benefits of managed IT services to see if it’s the right move. Are you tired of worrying whether your hardware and software are up to date? Or whether your data is properly backed up and secure? Well, get your business up-to-speed by outsourcing your IT to a managed IT service provider.

Managed IT services from a reputable provider guarantees that your business is in the hands of experienced and skilled professionals. These experts will maintain your networks, update your systems, and secure your data. They’ll also create backups, provide cloud hosting, and ensure your business is HIPAA compliant.

Here are the main benefits of managed IT services to help you see the light:

  1. Reduced IT Costs

One of the main benefits of managed IT services is that they’re more affordable than managing in-house IT staff. When you hire a managed IT service provider (MSP), you only pay a flat rate service fee per month as agreed in your contract. This ensures you have predictable monthly costs and makes budgeting easy.

With outsourced IT services, your firm will do away with the costs of running an in-house IT department. This includes the fees for hiring, training, and giving employee benefits to the staff. You’ll also do away with the capital expenditure necessary to set up an IT department. This includes the purchase of equipment, software, or even acquiring extra rental space.

  1. More Efficiency

Managed IT services will guarantee you less downtime, and that means more revenue for your business. A reputable managed IT service provider will not just help your firm to prevent tragedy. They’ll work to ensure your equipment and software is up to date, and make any necessary replacements to hardware that’s likely to fail operations.

Less downtime means your employees can work undisrupted and hence meet or exceed their revenue goals. Plus, your IT staff doesn’t have to spend countless hours fixing malfunctioning equipment instead of focusing on their core duties.

  1. Expands Your Expertise and Capacity

Working with a reputable and experienced MSP gives your business access to a larger professional team. It also lets you leverage the vast pool of resources owned by the MSP. A larger and more skilled team can help your business in more ways than one.

It ensures your business has 24/7 support, and brainstorming for solutions becomes faster. Plus, these teams encounter problems similar to those in your business all the time, so they know how to resolve them quickly. An in-house team will often struggle with new challenges.

  1. Provides Great Flexibility

As your business expands, your IT operations need to keep up. It can be challenging to do so with an in-house team because it means hiring more staff, getting more equipment, or renting out more office space. But with managed IT services, you can scale up your IT operations with a simple discussion with your provider.

  1. Allows You to Focus on Your Core Business

Although IT operations are crucial to your business, they shouldn’t take the bulk of your time. You need to focus more time on growing your business and leave IT stuff to professionals.

Managed IT services can free your time and let you focus on your product, services, and customer base – with full confidence that your IT services are in the right hands.

Benefits of Managed IT Services Are Immense

There are many more benefits of managed IT services. Consult a professional managed IT service provider today and experience the advantages for yourself.

Read on to find more topics related to technology, internet, and even bitcoin!

 

Understanding Online Slot Game Technical Terms to get an Edge

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Online slot games are incredibly popular all over the world, with the collection of slots at any given online casino being the main draw for most players. Whether you’re playing on the new Realme phone or through your computer, the first games you’ll see at an online casino will most probably be slot games. With most of the top online casinos boasting over 500 slots and some having over 1000 slots, it can be difficult for gamers to know which games they should play to make the most of their game time.

Rather than letting some fancy artwork or pop-culture brand catch your eye, you should look deeper into the game’s programming to find the best games. Here, we’ll be breaking down elements like RTP, volatility, variance, and progressive jackpots to give you a good understanding of slot games and what you should look out for when you play.

How does RTP work in slots?

RTP stands for ‘return to player’ and is shown as a percentage value. It signals the frequency with which the slot game pays out wins to its players. So, the larger the RTP percentage, the more money that gets paid out to the general player base. You will often find the RTP percentage in the description or down the sidebar of the slot game once you’ve loaded it up. Most regular video slots will have an RTP percentage in excess of 85 percent, but they rarely venture north of 96.5 percent.

Seasoned online slot players seek out games with higher-than-usual RTPs as it will, on average, pay out more than games with low RTP percentages. Some of the highest payout slot machines boast lofty RTPs ranging from 96.6 percent all the way to 97 percent. Many of these games are a little older in terms of release date but have been able to stick around at top online casinos because the RTP-chasing players keep coming back.

What is volatility and variance in slots?

Some say variance, some say volatility, but we’re talking about the same thing with both terms when it comes to slot games. The volatility of a slot game dictates how risky the game is on each play. A high volatility slot, on average, presents a lower chance of your play returning a win. However, with greater risk comes greater potential reward as high volatility slots will average less payout, but the payouts that do come will generally be of greater value to those from low- or medium-volatility slots.

So, you have to find a slot that suits your preferred style of spinning. If you like regular payout to top up your balance while vying for the big jackpot, consider a low-volatility slot. If you’ve got a healthy balance and are willing to try and wait it out for larger returns, opt for the high-volatility slots.

What’s the deal with progressive slot games?

While they play likes slots and look like slots, progressive slots are fundamentally different in one key way: the jackpot. Online progressive jackpot slot games see players all over the world log-in to spin for the win; from every bet placed, a little bit goes towards the ever-increasing jackpots. Eventually, a player will spin the right combination to, most likely, get into the bonus game and play for the huge jackpot. In regular slot games, there are designated jackpot maximums, but progressive slots can keep ticking up for months.

Microgaming is one of the most famous providers of slots and progressive slots in the world. In 2016, their title Mega Moolah paid out the largest ever mobile jackpot win at close to €8 million. Available across all devices, progressive jackpots offer a unique way to play for ever-increasing jackpots and have proven to be very popular with regular gamers.

There’s an ever-expanding ocean of slot games out there. If you want to gain an edge on the casino, find games with high RTP, high volatility, or go all-in and battle for a multi-million progressive jackpot.

Practical Advice for Raising Kids in the Digital Age

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If you ask parents what is the biggest challenge for them nowadays, they would tell you it is to do parenting in the digital age. There is no doubt that parents have become extremely worried about their kids due to their growing online and digital activities. Parents feel helpless in this regard but they have no idea how to do better parenting in this time and age. 

But it is something that we can control. Parents need to understand that they can deal with their kids and do better parenting if they follow the rules and advice from experts. A lot of people have written on how parents should go about controlling their teens nowadays and some of these points are being discussed below.

Better Communication

Communication is considered the key issue of why parents are unable to deal with their kids and do better parenting these days. Parents need to talk to their children, sit with them and discuss the important thing. Kids will feel happy and confident. Parents should encourage them to share their problems if they have any. Moreover, both the parents should keep eyes on the activities and routine of their children to better understand them.

Mentoring Your Kids

After communication, you will learn about your kids, the issues they have and what bothers them the most. Mentoring is an essential and integral part of parenting. Kids learn most of the things from their parents and are willing to accept what their parents tell them. That is why parents should become the mentors of their kids. Spend time with them and educate them about the important things that can make them responsible teens.

Monitoring Your Teens

When you do menitoring, it is important that you monitor your kids as well. This can be done by using the best parental control software. With the help of such an app, parents can track a phone, internet and social media activities of their children. They can then decide the relevant mentoring tips and steps in order to train their kids in better manners. Monitoring is common these days and it has helped many parents improve their kids’ habits.

Reducing Screen Time

The time spent by a person while using the smartphones amounts to screen time. Users of the phone can do anything; play games, watch movies or videos, use social media and dating apps and even more. Screen time should be reduced. The more time kids spend on phones, the more addicted they become to the screen. It is dangerous and has health issues for the users. Parents should set rules for screen time and kids should follow them.

Promoting Healthy Tech Habits

A lot of researchers and experts emphasize on healthy tech habits. What are healthy tech habits? Using the technology in a way that it has the least effects on you, your health and your privacy. For example, using smartphones in a safe way, browsing safely and not spending too much time with the devices. At the same time, you should maintain privacy and take care of your data. These habits are very good and should be adopted by the kids in order to let them become good young people.

Know Parenting Control Features

Apart from this, most of the cell phones nowadays have parental control features for the parents. Companies these days are taking steps to empower parents to control the use of the internet and devices of their kids. Parents should know these parental control options which are provided in settings. Using these options will be of great help to do good digital parenting nowadays.

Become Good Role Models

Lastly, parents should be the role models of their kids. They need to set examples for them. Kids do what they learn from their parents. That is experts put more focus on parents to adopt good and healthy habits to help their kids become the same.

Top Tips For Teaching PCB Design

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Have you been tasked with teaching a group of people how to design a PCB? Perhaps you are an electronics teacher, university tutor or are in charge of training in the workplace. Teaching someone how to design a PCB can be quite tricky but if you have the right tools at your disposal then you can succeed.

To help you, we have put together some top tips to get you started. Keep reading to find out more about this.

Do Your Research

If you are going to be teaching anyone how to design a PCB, you need to make sure that you know how these products work inside out. If you don’t have the knowledge, then you are going to struggle to present it in a way that your trainees understand. For this reason, we suggest spending some time doing research on PCBs and practising yourself. If you are an experienced designer, then it still won’t hurt to brush up on your knowledge.

Invest In Software

Our next tip for those who want to teach PCB design is to invest in the best possible software out there right now. You will need to have enough copies of the package for your entire class in order to let them experience what it is like to use advanced PCB design software.

The great thing about companies like Altium is that they can actually give discounts to those who are in education. This means that you can stretch your teaching budget a little more and still use the best software out there.

Follow Best Practices

In PCB design, best practices are very important and so we suggest that you figure out what these are before you start teaching. It is likely that your students will also have a look online at some guidance on their design projects and so you need to match what other people are saying about this type of project. There are many different best practices associated with this type of project so do your research and plan your lessons accordingly.

Be Patient

Our final tip for those who are going to be teaching PCB design is to be as patient as possible. If you think back to when you were first learning how these types of circuit boards work, you will remember that it was a little overwhelming. For this reason, you need to patient and allow your students to make some mistakes if they need to. This way, you can be sure that they get the best possible education.

Conclusion

Teaching printed circuit board design can be quite fun if you are interested in this type of electronic device. Make sure that you are following all of the tips that we have given you in this article if you want to make sure that you are approaching this task in the right way. Download the software, read up on the best practices and soon you’ll have a room full of experienced PCB designers.