Free Apps That Can Save Your Money

It is estimated that 96% of the world’s population (7.1 billion) or 6.8 billion are mobile users, according to the February 2013 report of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). This represents a 13.3% increase over the 6.0 billion of 2011 and higher by 25.9% than the 5.4 billion subscribers in 2010. There was also an increase on time spent by the average US mobile user from 2 hrs and 38 minutes daily in March of 2013 to 2 hrs and 42 minutes daily as of March of 2014 as reported by Flurry news.

In addition to the huge number of mobile users, there is also the sheer number of mobile applications available on various App stores. From the  iTunes App store alone, downloaded Apps reached50 billion for the Month of May in 2013. And out of the 2 hrs and 42 minutes time spent on mobile devices, 86%of them were spent on downloaded Apps, a clear evidence of how Apps have dominated the mobile world.

In general, mobile Apps are supposed to make life easier. There are business Apps that literally put your business in your pocket. There are also apps that revolutionize learning and Apps for pure pleasure and leisure such as Apps to download music,movies and games, Apps to connect with friends  and more. What adds to the universal acceptance of Apps is the availability of free Apps, some of which make saving money easy.

Let’s look at these money saving free Apps:

* Pic2shop, MySuperList & Idealo

These are barcode readers or scanners that allow you to compare prices of what you need and get them at the cheapest price from a specific retailer. These Apps usually have an extensive database of products from a multitude of local and online retailers.

Pic2Shop is the pioneer barcode scanner and is one of the few Apps that can read barcodes even without autofocus on all Android and iPhone models. Meanwhile, MySuperlist has added features that allow you to enjoy cash backs and set price alerts.

* Spendometer

This is one of the best free mobile Apps for saving money. It’s a brilliant budgeting App that makes daily cash management easy and simple. You can create a budget, input your spending and generate a spending report on it. The Spendometer can also generate the data on how much cash is on hand and how much has already been spent on a weekly or monthly basis. All you need to do is input all your spending and Spendometer will do the rest.

* Skype

Skype save you on phone bills. It is a free App that allows you to send a message or make a call, even a video call for free. You can even send photos of any size to friends, family and associates without paying an exorbitant fee For Multi-Media Messaging Services. And you can do all these wherever you are or whenever you want to as long as there is an Internet connection.

* Livingsocial

Livingsocial offers huge discounts on vacations, gyms, spas, restaurants, live performances and events and more in your area as well as in the whole of Australia. Daily discount deals are available and you can buy directly using your mobile device. You can enjoy an active social life at very little cost with Livingsocial.

Conclusion

We have mentioned a few apps only, there are many apps but they're are all not free of charge. If you know any other apps that will save your money let us know by commenting on this post.

How to Save Money Each Month – 76 Easy Things You Can Do Right Now

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What Security Professionals Can Learn From The 5-Year Old Xbox Hacker

Sometimes news of poor security hits and it sends the whole web-o-sphere into panic. Heartbleed was an example of one such story. Other times, one can't help but to get a laugh out of weak security. A story that hit last week worth a laugh involved an Xbox account being hacked not by a teenager with a lot of time on his hands, not by a world class hacker or cyber criminals, but by a five year old kid who wanted to play some games he didn't have access to.

Shortly after Christmas last year, the child's parents caught him playing games on the Xbox that he shouldn't have been able to play, having somehow hacked his father's account to buy any game he pleased.

When asked how he broke into the account, the method used turned out to be... well, kind of ridiculous. He had tried guessing a password to his father's account. When that didn't work, he was taken to a password verification screen where... he hit the space-bar a bunch of times and logged in.

Interestingly, Microsoft actually offers a $10,000 bounty to hackers who can crack their system. Given that this seems to have been more of a fluke than a targeted hack, the family didn't get to reap the rewards, but it's kind of funny that educated, technical-minded hackers looking for backdoors and weak points have nothing on a little kid who really wants to play Minecraft.

Microsoft has fixed the hack, so don't bother trying to score some free games. In the future, a few tips that security professionals might want to keep in mind:

• Don't Just Rely on Professionals

A professional coder is thinking from a professional perspective. They're not looking for dumb hacks that any five year old kid could employ, they're looking for, well, a challenge. When you put a $10,000 bounty on finding security flaws, hackers are looking for a ten thousand dollar hack.

• Keep a Five Year Old on the Payroll

Child labor laws probably won't allow this, but rewarding children and casual gamers who can hack the system with free games or whatever prizes are appropriate to your website or gaming service wouldn't be a bad idea. You never know who's going to discover your weak points, so extending bounties to anyone who can find them can help to bring these weaknesses to light in the future.

• Double Verification Can be Annoying, but Necessary

We might not like typing our credit card number in for every single purchase, but adding an extra security wall after login, at least where money is involved, can help to prevent unauthorized payments, so that even if someone can hack your Xbox Live or Steam account, they won't necessarily be able to make purchases in your name.

"Sometimes security science may seem like it's more, well, art than science," said Jason Hope, tech expert (https://medium.com/@jasonhope) "but with a rigorous approach to developing and testing systems for passwords, verification and online signatures, it's not impossible to build a rock-solid security setup." The five year old hacker doesn't get to keep all the games he bought, but if he keeps at it, he may one day land a job as a professional White Hat hacker. Companies like Sony and Facebook are known to hire professional hackers on a part time and full time basis in order to explore their security systems' flaws and offer tips to improve their verification processes.

Fortunately, it doesn't seem as if the hack has been discovered prior to now, as nobody seems to be coming forward with stories of having their accounts hijacked with the spacebar hack. Most of all, the whole affair has just been a little embarrassing for Microsoft, who generally has a better track record than this when it comes to online security.

In the aftermath of this, it's easy to imagine hundreds of gamers trying similar hacks on the PlayStation Network, Steam and Xbox Live in hopes of scoring a bounty, or at least a few games.

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How To Fix Bad Image Quality in Blogger

I have been with this issue for a longtime but I never minded it, I thought Google automatically compress the images that are being uploaded to picasa web album via blogger and images from Google plus. This is something we do not notice or we don't care but it looks really ugly when some cover images are in bad quality.

So fixing is not big deal, all you got to do is make sure you are logged into your Google account that you use Blogger, then go to your Google + profile( example : +Mohamed Shimran ) from the left sidebar menu select settings , in settings page scroll down until you reach Photos and Videos :

Now you can see a sub section name Auto Enhance, that's the option/feature that reduces your image quality. In default it is set to Normal so just tick off then your changes will be saved automatically.

Congratulations, now your problem has been solved. Please leave your comments and share this useful article on your social networks.

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How to Send a Fax the Oldschool Way

There are a few daily tasks at work that most of us try to avoid like the plague. One of the biggest offenders is the dreaded fax machine. What should be simple, is always an endless nightmare.

Well no worries! This sarcastic infographic takes you step by step through the grueling task of fighting with the fax machine just to send a measly signature form to a client a few cities over, poking fun at all of the headaches that occur along the way. From unhelpful tech support to paper jams and exploding toner, we’ve seen it all when it comes to conventional fax.

Luckily, step number five will finally give you all the answers you’ve been looking for - the online fax. In this final step you will do away with the bulky equipment, limiting landlines, and endless paper cuts, and switch over to the simple yet ever so effective online fax.

This infographic is brought to you by FindAFax.com.

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Tread Carefully When Choosing A Content Management Solution For Your Business

Planning a company’s website strategy can be a tough. If you’re trying to decide on a content management system as the foundation to your organisation’s online presence, you’ve probably trawled through many possible options.

So what features are important? What CMS is right for your needs? Here’s some ideas to point you in the right direction:

What Are Your Goals?
How much content are you going to be publishing? What is the strategy for getting that content in front of your potential customers? If you’re leaving publication in the hands of your staff, then you need to consider ease of use. If you’re employing an outside company to help you, you need to consider the industry standard options. Once you’ve picked a CMS, you’re going to find it a real headache to change course if the feature set doesn’t allow for future expansion, or doesn’t offer the ease of use you require from day one.

Decide On A Budget
Open source software will offer huge savings over a proprietary system. You’ll have a wider range of customisation options and the opportunity to tailor every detail to your own needs. Open source solutions like Wordpress also allow you to tap into a huge pool of developer options, as this type of open source solution is hugely popular with a massive user base. On the flip side, a paid-for enterprise solution will likely be less customisable and cost more in terms of both monthly outlay and technical development, but will come with very strong security features and dedicated support staff for more complex applications.

Check Out The Competition
If large corporate organisations are using a particular CMS with a high frequency, it’s a good sign it’s a safe option. You need to know that your solution will be supported for years to come and that it has an active user base, or you could be left in the dark if it falls out of favour with developers and designers.

Behind The Scenes
Before you dive in and sign up for a CMS, you need to understand that the hosting required may differ in terms of software requirements and ease of set up. Not every CMS will work with every type of programming language, especially where databases are concerned. You need to make some investigations about this before you enter into a long contract with your hosting company.

Can You Use The CMS For Marketing Campaigns?
CMS systems from companies like Siteglide feature complex and comprehensive tools for managing your marketing campaigns. For more information please refer to : http://www.siteglide.com. If you need the ability to send emails, monitor your results and manage secure areas and ecommerce, then you might be better signing up for a paid-for, enterprise style service.

Can You Migrate?
It shouldn’t be a huge issue, but it’s worth making some checks to determine if your current content can be easily migrated and organised on the new CMS. This could be a potential headache that leaves you with unacceptable amounts of downtime and chaos.

Choosing a CMS for your business is a process that requires some careful planning and consideration. Check the competition, weigh up the available options, and only make a decision after you’ve checked out all of the options.

Wendy Lin is a freelance writer who specialises in guest blogging. She is a CIO of 2 businesses and is also a watercolour painter.

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How Big Is The World In Pixels?

Everything we see around us is made up of thousands or even millions of pixels. Every pixel has its own address and is represented by tiny dots or squares of color.

The word pixel, which is short for picture element, is commonly thought to be the smallest component of a digital image. This is why camera quality is often measured in megapixels, or how many millions of pixels are in every photo the camera shoots. Together, the pixels make an original image and are the smallest component of a digital image. In fact, the very screen you are reading this on uses pixels to display this very sentence!

Have you ever wondered how many pixels high the Empire State Building is? How wide is the average billboard in pixels? How long is your toothbrush in pixels? How tall is the average man in pixels? This fun and informative infographic is sure to entertain the geek inside of you!

Infographic by : http://www.galaxyvisions.com/news/blog/infographic-the-world-in-pixels/

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Top 10 Best Virtual Life Games Like 'The Sims'

Did you enjoy “The SIMS”, but now looking for a new adventure wherein you can nurture and develop your own collection of virtual life forms?

No problem, check out our top ten list of virtual life games like the “The SIMS.”

1. Second Life
Second Life sees you establish a character or “resident” in an alternate reality and embark on a journey of self-discovery and role playing that brings with it limitless opportunity for creativity.

The game has its own economy centered on the Linden dollar (L$), and allows players to create and subsequently sell their own content through the use of an integrated 3D modeling tool.

L$ can even be converted in USD at a variable exchange rate, allowing truly committed players to actually make a small amount of money by playing the game.

2. IMVU

IMVU is essentially a massive social interactive site that allows users to create their own 3D avatar with their friends.

Multiple languages are supported allowing people from all over the world to chat in safety, as the site imposes controls and restrictions on interactions based on the players’ ages.

Again, you can create your own content within the game and sell it for IMVU credits, adding an economic aspect to the game as well.

3. Animal Crossing: City Folk
This game sees you take control of a 3D avatar and explore a digital world fully packed with real life activity simulations from bug catching to fossil collecting.

You can also decorate and improve your own home or visit the city to enjoy the theater or pamper your character.

If you log in at the right time you can also join in with real world celebrations like Easter or Christmas.

4. Desperate Housewives: The Game
A perfect crossover between The SIMS and the popular Desperate Housewives TV show, this game sees you take control of your character’s visual appearance and solve a number of mysteries / quests using tact, charm and intuition.

Adult themes are kept to a minimum such that younger gamers can enjoy the game as well.

5. Suburbia
Very clearly inspired by The SIMs, Suburbia is a Facebook game that sees you take control of a 2D individual and pilot him or her through the process of getting a job, improving their home and generally establishing a pleasant life.

A good balance must be struck between leisure and ambition, making for a well-rounded, engaging experience.

6. Virtual Families 2: Our Dream House
This game sees you adopt a tiny 2D character along with his or her family, and set about establishing an enjoyable, yet affordable and constructive existence for them.

Recreational expenditures must be balanced against the need to save for house repairs and general maintenance expenditures, giving an accurate reflection of real life priorities.

7. A World of Keflings
A World of Keflings sees you guide and develop a small clan of enthusiastic but tragically misguided and clueless little creatures through the processes of resource gathering and construction of living quarters.

The ultimate aim is to bring about the construction of a magnificent castle in which they can live and work safely, but along the way your little minions must acquire the right skill sets and raw materials, which takes time and effort.

8. SmallWorlds
This is another game that seeks to integrate the realms of social interaction and personal development / exploration. You control your own avatar and through the completion of various missions / quests, can boost her / his various attributes, but at the same time you can interact with other players and enjoy YouTube videos and /or Flickr photos.

9. Virtual Villagers (Series)
Your people flee their homes in the wake of a huge volcanic eruption that destroys them. Now you are tasked with helping them re-establish their way of life in a harsh, unforgiving island environment.

It’s up to you to strike a balance between developing the tribe’s housing, food and technology and combating the effects of various sicknesses / diseases, making for an engaging and rewarding challenge.

10. Disney City Girl
Quite obviously tailored towards a female gaming audience, this game sees you take control of an aspiring Fashionista and guide her from humble beginnings in a dingy basement to achieving dreams of stardom in New York City.

This is a great way to experiment with new looks and develop your own unique style without spending hundreds of dollars on real life clothes!

Are you excited to try any of these virtual life games like “The Sims? 

Let us know if you're using any of the games we have mentioned.

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I Forgot How To Instagram, a witty guide to Instagram?

New to Instagram? Have been using Instagram but suddenly forgot how to navigate completely as though you just woke up from a coma and had to relearn how to eat, talk, and Instagram? By now you've probably figured out that Instagram is a photo and video sharing social media site that a large amount of users are on. The second thing you have probably figured out is that you want to be a part of Instagram. That's no problem at all! Don't worry about a thing if you've forgotten how to Instagram. We're going to show you everything you need to know to get back on your feet and posting and scrolling through your favorite shots again so you can join the millions of users happily posting and viewing photos. Or you can check out A Beginner’s Guide To Instagram for more tips and info!

Sign Up For The Site
The first step to using any site is signing up for it so you can use it. Download the app to your smart phone whether iPhone or Android and get started registering your Instagram account. All accounts registered to the site are public when they start but you can change your account to private where only users that have been approved can follow you or view your photos. Go to the tab for "Profile" and click on Privacy, where you can keep photos private. Register your profile, edit your profile, and change your profile picture, and you're ready to get started!

Enable Push Notifications
Instagram offers its photo feed through apps instead of web so you may want to set up push notifications. You can set up notifications that alert you when someone comments or likes your photo, when you are mentioned in a comment, when your photo is on the Popular page, and when you are tagged in a photo. Go to Settings from your profile and select Push Notification Settings. You can configure preferences for the app by going to Settings and going to the Notification Center and find Instagram.

Connecting To Social Accounts
Instagram can also be connected to your social accounts. It's possible to link up your Instagram to not only Twitter but Tumblr, Facebook, Foursquare, Tumblr, Flickr, and more. Go to Edit Sharing Settings in the Profile Tab to connect your social accounts and choose the network you want to connect it to. This way every time you post a photo you'll be able to share it on the networks you've enabled.

Posting Your Own Photos On Instagram
One of the great advantages of Instagram is that you can add a digital layer or photo filter over a standard photograph to give it a different look or just a polished, edited version. Filters can dull or brighten colors in the photo or go black and white or give it a sepia hued vintage feel. Click the button with the blue camera in the navigation panel's center and you can choose to take a photo or used an already saved one. For video, choose the Video Camera option to the right. In the lower left screen click the double-square button to post saved photos. Full size photos may have to be cropped. Three icons will appear that offer you 17 filters to add programmed effects to your photograph. Choose the best one for you and once you're done, click the green checkmark. You'll go the social sharing screen where you can add a caption, add hashtags and tag people. Choose the networks you want to share to and click Share Post and you have uploaded your first photo to Instagram! Enjoy your new found knowledge of Instagram and all the glorious photo sharing that comes with it!

Conclusion
You must know that you can view, comment, like and follow others in Instagram's official website. You can also try some other web apps like statigram and webstagram, they have some useful sorting features and they provide free stats everyday.

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Which Phone To Buy? The HTC One M8 Or The IPhone 5S?

Once upon a time, the choice between Android phones and Apple’s flagship product were clear cut: If you wanted a well made premium phone, you chose Apple.

That sounds harsh, and whilst Android fans have constantly pointed to the greater openness and customisation options of Google’s OS, the truth was that really good, well finished phones didn’t really exist. Sure, you could find something powerful, but there were few handsets that came anywhere near the build quality of an iPhone.

That’s started to change in recent years, and arguably the nicest looking Android phone of late was the the HTC One. This year, its replacement, the HTC M8 is good enough to directly challenge Apple’s iPhone 5C. Which is the best though?

The Outside Specs
Both phones are available in only 3 colours. These colours are all relatively similar. In addition, the bodies are both machined from metal. The comparison ends there though, and the iPhone is much smaller and lighter than the HTC M8, in the main, due to the iPhone’s much smaller screen size.

That’s not a criticism of either phone. It just depends on your preferences. Android is going large screen crazy, and for now at least, the iPhone is the handset for those who want to keep their device to a more one-handed, pocketable design.

If you ignore the size differences, these two phones are equally well made, although slightly different in design. The HTC is curvy and smooth, whilst the iPhone is angular and sharp.

Hardware
The smartphone war of specs has meant that in reality, once you start paying the top prices for a handset, the hardware is all so similar that it feels exactly the same in operation. You could argue all day about which phone is more powerful, but to be honest, both of these phones are as good as it gets in terms of cutting edge technology.

Even their screens are similar in quality, except for the fact that if you want to watch movies and play games, the HTC has a huge size advantage ver the iPhone. another HTC win comes in the Micro SD card slot, which means you can quickly and cheaply upgrade the phone’s storage capacity.

This could be a deal breaker in itself when you consider a pay-as-you-go iPhone with 64GB of internal memory costs a staggering £700! A micro SD card of similar volume will only cost a few month’s worth of iPhone insurance premiums in comparison.

Camera
When it comes to the camera, the iPhone is the clear winner. It’s better in daylight, low light and everything in between. The HTC does have some interesting effects though, and it’s a novel implementation of a smartphone camera.

Battery
The HTC does have a much larger battery than the iPhone, but it’s also a more power hungry phone to run. Expect both handsets to last an equal length of time.

Which Should You Buy?
If you watch movies or play games, the HTC is the better choice. The iPhone is quite overpriced for its size, despite packing in similar hardware specs. If you’re keen on keeping your phone size down, and you take a lot of photos, the iPhone is the better handset. Either way, you won’t be disappointed with either of these amazing smartphones.

Wendy Lin is a guest blogger and entrepreneur. She has spoken at many women's rights conferences and "women in the workplace" events.

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