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Microsoft's Bing scored some points in predicting the outcome of several events in 2014, which included FIFA World Cup, US Elections, and the Scottish independence vote, and now has also resorted to its crystal ball to pinpoint what technology to expect in 2015.

Bing predicts, analyses search and social signals, among others to uncover emerging trends that it expects to break in the coming year.

Bing's predictions for technology in 2015 includes: Wearables, Digital Personal Assistants (like Cortana), Home Automation, Virtual Reality and 3D printing.

The predictions consider things like search intent and contextual understanding to distinguish the difference between what is truly a trend versus something that's just a buzz.

Microsoft is harping on earlier successes to pitch itself against Google as the go-to destination for predictive technology. And may perhaps, establish Bing Predicts in the space following more successful outcomes.

Bing Predicts: What Technology to Expect in 2015?

Insights for Office is Microsoft's newest enhancement added to Office Online, which includes online versions of Word, PowerPoint, Excel, OneNote, and Outlook, plus access to your calendar, People contacts, and OneDrive cloud storage.

It avails Office users on any modern browser, ability to highlight a word or phrase, right-click it, and search for more information on those specific terms.

Microsoft has provided several options, including copy and paste, and the ability to add a hyperlink. With the new addition, Insights bring up a right-hand sidebar that offer up information from Bing Snapshot, Wikipedia, Image Search on Bing.com, and more.

Albeit, Insights is still an online-only feature for now, some of its improvements might migrate to Office 365.

Microsoft, however is yet to add it to its Office 365 roadmap, but as the company is poised into positioning all derivative of Office (both, Office Online and Office 365 or its standalone software), may eventually collapse the versions into a unified experience.

Microsoft: Insights for Office gets smarter Context

Sway is a free way to publish and share content, as a simple content creator for documents that can be shared online. Sway preview debuted in October as the latest free Office app, and is still an invite-only service.

Sway allows you to import images from your PC, Twitter, Facebook, or a variety of other sources, including images from the Creative Commons repository on Bing.com and use them to illustrate your stories. It equally makes it easy to start building layouts that look professional.

It's intuitive, and keep track of what you’re writing, and will pre-populate relevant images when it's time to look for an image.

There's a critical limitation, however, akin to Microsoft's norm, printing is not enabled for Sway and may limit its effectiveness in some circles.

You can sign up for an invitation at Sway.com to try out the service before launch date.

Microsoft Sway: Shareable Content Creator of the Future?

Now, picture the usual Christmas holiday's scenario, carol-singing, hot chocolate and ice skating are all things that get us into the spirit of the season. Google is currently planning a new way to deck the halls: with code.

Madewithcode.com, a program to inspire millions of girls to try coding, launched by Google earlier in the year is getting the girls to use the introductory programming language, Blockly to animate the lights of the state and trees that will decorate President’s Park, one of America’s 401 national parks and home to the White House, through the holiday season.

Albeit, the tradition of the tree lighting ceremony dates back to 1923 when President Calvin Coolidge lit the first fir tree outside the White House, this is the first year kids from across the country will be in control of the state and territory holiday tree lights.

The lights will debut at the 92nd annual National Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony, which will be live-streamed by the White House today, December 4 and aired on PBS nationwide throughout December in partnership with the National Park Foundation and National Park Service.

Google reimagine the Holidays Made with Code

The Web is dynamic - right from the kind of code you use to build your website to the aesthetic design you adopt, there's a lot that needs updating from time to time. Keeping a website up to date is an essential part of maintaining its popularity. Not only do you need to ensure that it's always functional, but you need to keep an eye on its level of appeal and ability to attract newcomers.

Right here, we'd consider a few things you can do to keep your site up to date.

Check your SSL certificate

Security is becoming an increasingly important issue for web users. After a number of large scale hacks and leaks in recent months, there's good reason for the average web user to be careful.

SSL certificates are a great way for users to stay safe online and a great way for website owners to prove that their site is safe. By using an SSL checker you can ensure your certificate is up to date and this will help to provide piece of mind for your online visitors.

Use the latest code

As browsers are changing and getting updated, and the languages they read are changing, it equally affects how your website is presented to visitors. It's a good idea to ensure you're using the most up to date codes to ensure that your site displays as good as possible; regardless of what browser your visitors are using.

Keep it mobile-friendly

As smartphones adoption is increasing, also too amount of web traffic coming through mobile devices. The result of this is that there is a greater demand for mobile-friendly web design.

Whether your website design is a dynamic mobile-friendly or you implemented a dedicated mobile version, it's all up to you, but mobile visitors need to be catered for one way or another.

Use fresh content

It's not just functionality that you need to keep an eye on when you're looking to get your website up to date,  fresh content is, of course, hugely important. Fresh content is essential if you're looking to attract regular traffic to your site. It is also needed to lure previous visitors back time and time again.

Coding, Mobile and SSL Check: Tips for keeping a business website up to date

Microsoft unveiled its next generation operating system, Windows 10, against the expected numbering continuum - skipping 9 to 10, with supposed integration of the new OS across desktop and mobile platforms, as well as Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

Even as analysts have predicted the future Internet as "an evolving convergent Internet of things and services that is available anywhere, anytime as part of an all-pervasive socioeconomic fabric, made up of converged services, and shared data", Windows 10 represents a whole new generation of technology in that aspect.

Windows 10 will deliver the right experience on the right device at the right time, and it will be the most comprehensive platform ever, stated Terry Myerson, VP of the OS group at Microsoft.

Microsoft's biggest challenge, however is likely to be in developing an entirely converged desktop-to-mobile cum everything-else platform as related to integrating the experience and functionality of applications between desktop and mobile platforms.

The company have planned a converged application platform for developers, across all devices, with a unified application store. But, given the claim that a unified operating system can operate any application across any device; the user experience may be anything but seamless.

For now, what is sure is that Microsoft is keen to create a consistent user experience across every device.

Windows 10 "technical preview" will allow PC users to experiment with new, and carried-over Windows functions, and submit feedback/suggestions before Microsoft commits to a specific release date. You can join the Windows Insider Program to download the Windows 10 Technical Preview and try out features like the new Start menu, multiple desktops, snap enhancements, and others.

Windows 10: Convergence of the Desktop and Mobile platforms



In this age of information technology, there are people that only work on Mac computers and others that feel more comfortable on the Windows server, even though information is not easily shared between these two systems.

While some others feel somewhat comfortable using both of the computers, it becomes hectic when employees or students need to flip back and forth between the systems.

And to solve the issue, iRAPP allows users to remote their desktop between both servers, with the information between the two servers intact, so people can cut down from using two computers. It doesn't stop there, you can also access all the information that you need for work on your iPad, iPhone, and Android products.

The whiteboard video above better explain how it works. Now you can feel comfortable using the computer and server that you're used to while accessing the information that normally cannot be accessed on that particular desktop computers.

Whiteboard Video: Remotely access files on Mac from Windows PC using iRAPP

The Service Worker is an in-browser proxy that gives you the power to script what happened before going to the network, and what happens after you're back from the network. It ensures a website is responsive, that it is always available and speeds up delivery of Web content by reducing the amount of back-and-forth communication between a browser and a server.

It is a generic entry point for event-driven background processing in the Web Platform that is extensible by other specifications. It works through the provision of a browser-based offline processing capacity, allowing a website to store documents, and other resources.

The draft specifying how Service Workers should be implemented in browsers, co-edited by Google Engineer Alex Russell and Jungkee Song of Samsung Electronics, describes a method that enables applications to take advantage of persistent background processing, including hooks to enable bootstrapping of web applications while offline.

A Web page is treated like a desktop application, with a shell stored locally to serve as the initial user interface if a site is offline, then a Service Worker provides the user with cached pages, or other information and functionality to peruse until access is restored.

The service will be coming to Google Chrome later in the year, while Mozilla is also planning to implement Service Workers for Firefox.

Enter Service Workers: No more Offline sites?

Apple's new payment system, Apple Pay, brings Near Field Communications (NFC) - the technology behind swipe-free terminals, allowing instant payment by just tapping the terminal with your credit card instead of swiping and waiting for payment to the mobile device.

NFC is a set of standards for mobile devices to establish radio communication with each other by bringing them into close proximity, usually no more than a few centimeters.

Albeit, NFC isn't a new mobile technology, Apple's Watch, iPhone 6 or 6 Plus brings the secure element and the NFC chipset, as core hardware. And Apple is the first vendor to support this new payment system.

Apple Pay initializes a connection to the payment network or issuing bank associated with your card, which then provides a Device Account Number, known as tokenization.

Tokenization, as a security structure, replaces a sensitive piece of data (credit card number) with a random data that has the same formatting. It is handled by the payment network, which encrypts the credit card number, sends it back for the token, and provides that to the merchant to keep for things like refunds or customer tracking.

Unlike Google Wallet, in which Google stores your card on its own servers and mediates and records all transactions with the payment networks. Apple doesn’t store a user's card locally, neither does it track your transactions, and your privacy is protected.

While, Apple Pay is certainly not the first mobile payment system, Apple is poised to shake things in the mobile payment scene, for some obvious reasons.

Apple Pay: Swipeless Mobile payment using NFC technology

With more and more African companies taking their business online, the race is now on to conquer new markets - but as only 6% of individual Africans are online, the market within the continent itself is limited. Reaching out to connect with customers globally is the smart strategy for businesses looking to expand and really fulfill their potential. Globally, customers are also willing to pay more and are more willing to make quick decisions. So what do you need to know to reach them?

Understanding global markets

Before you can expect to start selling in a foreign market, you’ll need to understand it first. This means not only studying economic data but also getting a feel for a country culturally. Social media is a great tool for doing this, allowing you to observe the way potential customers in your sector talk to each other regarding purchases. You can also use it to acquire business contacts in the areas where you hope to expand, so that you'll have somebody to go to with your questions. Remember that every national market is different, so take your time in selecting those that are the best fit for your business.

Mobile marketing

One big difference between different international markets is the number of people using mobile devices. As this is a growing trend, it’s really essential to have a mobile-friendly website. This also increases the importance of search engine optimization (SEO), because if you’re not ranked high on SERP in any given search, mobile users are not going to visit your site.

Social media

Effective use of social media is not only important for reaching a mass audience, it’s also important because of the way it lets you engage directly with prospective customers. This means you can talk to them in the personal, friendly manner of a traditional shopkeeper, not like an aloof and inhuman corporation. Much like the strategy that proved so successful for the Jubilee Alliance in last year’s Kenyan election, this builds loyalty and helps to generate good word of mouth publicity. Social networks like Facebook are the best way to reach customers in most countries, but Twitter too has a good degree of international penetration.

Getting involved

One of the most effective ways to help your business grow internationally is by getting involved in community and social initiatives that raise your personal profile, as well as by engaging with others who will speak well of you and your business as their own careers take off. If you look at the bio of Tunde Folawiyo, for instance, you will see how his work to help build the next generation of young African leaders has helped him to increase his visibility and make an impression on major international players.

Breaking into global markets can be tough if you don’t have the right connections, so make an effort to use social networking personally wherever you can, both internationally and within Africa. As the likes of Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu and Farai Gundan have shown, getting to know the right people can give you the leverage you need to get your business noticed worldwide.

How African entrepreneurs are using the Internet to reach a global audience

Now, If you're not familiar with Snapchat, the notorious photo messaging application, that allow users to take photos and send to friends that self-destruct, ChitChat trails same formula. The formula is effective in that sometimes you won't necessarily want your friends' kitty photos to clog your already limited phone or SD memory.

ChitChat messages are deleted once you've heard them, and listening to messages just requires one quick tap on a friend's profile to access them.

The app works by allowing you to enter your mobile numbers, which acts as an ID, which then looks up your Address Book to connect you with family and friends already on the platform. And you can send messages to multiple contacts at once.

It brings a new perspective to voice messaging by rethinking how we connect individually and as a group.

ChitChat at the moment is available for iOS only, and hopefully, an Android version is not too far away. Meanwhile, iOS users can download ChitChat for free from the iTunes app store.

ChitChat - Short Voice Messages that Self-Destruct?

Apple has acknowledged that hackers actually broke into accounts of several celebrities to steal personal photos that have been posted online, while blaming the breach on the intruders' ability to figure out passwords, thereby bypassing other safeguards.

The company, however maintains that none of the cases investigated has resulted from any breach in any of its systems including iCloud or Find my iPhone.

The compromise which led to private photos and videos of celebrities, including Jennifer Lawrence and Kate Upton, been released on internet meme site 4chan, has again called to point that not even Apple, with its acclaimed security systems is hack-proof. Apple's iCloud, which is widely used by iPhone and iPad owners to store personal photos, may have thereby suffered a massive security lapse.

In a statement, the company advised users to switch to stronger passwords and enable two-step authentication in the aftermath of the hacking attacks.

HackApp had posted a proof of concept exploit for an iCloud flaw the day before the attack, with the "iBrute" vulnerability flooding the Find My iPhone website, resulting Apple to now lockout its online accounts after five unsuccessful password attempts.

Apple iCloud hack Aftermath

Yahoo User Interface library (YUI) is a JavaScript library, prepackaged with collection of useful features that web programmers can include on their sites for easy graphics, sliders or drag-and-drop actions. But, as large JavaScript is no longer favored by developers and YUI receiving less attention from the community, hence discontinuation of the project became expedient.

Yahoo formally killed YUI last Friday, according to the company blog, while reiterating the mission to continue to deliver the best next-generation presentation technologies with an initial focus on internal developers.

YUI releases will likely be few and far between, and will only contain targeted fixes that are absolutely critical to Yahoo properties, stated Julien Lecomte, engineering director for Yahoo Presentation Technologies.

Yahoo is definitely not killing its Web programming ambitions, and are eager to continue working with the external front-end community to share and learn together.

Web Programming: Yahoo discontinues YUI Project

Twitter is reported to be working on an e-commerce initiative that will allow users to purchase items direct from a tweet according to sources at Re/code. The initiative which is supposedly powered by Stripe, an online payment service facilitator, integrates a "buy" button into tweets making the social network a ready-made e-commerce hub for users to market their products and services.

The company is set to unveil "buy button" below tweets; and on clicking on the button, users are able to enter in payment and possibly shipping information without leaving Twitter’s platform.

Twitter as a marketplace will give the currently struggling company, a solid revenue stream, leveraging on its massive pool of informed users. Twitter and Stripe representatives, however have declined to comment about the initiative, but strong indications support the report.

Albeit, other web service companies have been leveraging on Twitter for e-commerce, like Amazon which allow users to add items to their Amazon shopping cart by replying to a tweet of a product link with #AmazonCart hashtag, it won't be surprising if Twitter join the bandwagon.

Twitter Marketplace: Get ready to Buy direct from a Tweet!

The African e-commerce landscape is really an interesting one, even as McKinsey, a global consulting company, had recently published a report on the role of Internet in Africa. The company predicted that the e-commerce market in Africa will grow to about $75 billion by 2025.

Analysts pinpointed the process of enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty by improving the usability, ease of use, and pleasure provided in the interaction between the customer and the product as main area of challenge for e-commerce business in Africa.

Initially, e-commerce ventures in East Africa used to focus on the affluent and the diaspora customers, with payment by credit cards, mostly in the gifting industry - but, the trend is fast giving way with innovative approach such as payment via mobile money. And lately, payment in e-commerce in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda are mostly in mobile money, such as M-Pesa, rather than credit cards (which have only 10% penetration in Kenya, for instance).

Trends like "Buy online / Pay offline", for people who need to see the product first before spending their money has given rise to free classified ad spaces, with offers like Post free ads in Tanzania making a success story.

E-commerce as utility providers (electricity, telcos) and government services (taxes, fines, benefits) are equally seizing the mobile money opportunity. And subsequently, making mobile money as a preferred way to pay for goods and services more popular.

African E-commerce: Emerging Trends to Watch in 2014

Smartphones are pretty popular nowadays, so too the risks associated with carrying mobile devices. You may have paid only $150 for your latest smartphone, but if you had to replace that device before you became eligible for a subsidy from your carrier, it could cost you more than $500. That's why it pays to ensure your device is protected against damages.

Exofab team spent hours on the drawing board trying to find the most effective and non-intrusive way to protect a mobile device.

The company prides itself as leading developer & manufacturer of specially designed “guards” for device protection with the use of innovative materials. After trial and error they found that a thin guard made of Smart materials will offer the same level of protection a regular case would.

Perhaps, unsatisfied with how regular mobile phone cases made our most prized possessions look like, "we searched for other alternative ways of protecting them", the company stated.

Exofab is proud to offer innovative products that provide extreme Scratch - Impact - Drop protection without sacrificing safety or appearance. Check out the company's new generation of guards that make fat and bulky mobile phone cases obsolete for iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy S5 now.

What you need to Protect your Mobile Devices against damage?

The iconic social network, Pinterest has added a new feature that allow users to send direct messages or pins to one another. The direct messaging makes it easier for users to have a good old fashioned conversation about those Pins that interests them, and also works for group communication.

When organizing a camping trip with friends - you can try sending Pins to the whole gang so as to figure out stuffs like where to go and what to bring along.

Pinterest averages over two million pins every day, now you’ll be able to reply with a direct message or send a Pin back. And the notifications addition helps pull up the conversation when you need a reminder.

The company hopes to help users swap creative ideas and share best discoveries with each other according to the official blog.You can learn more about sending and replying to Pins here.

Pinterest getting Pinteresting with direct Messaging

The Browser market share is always changing, and there are plenty of sources for global browser stats, however, the most divergent methods are user-based or hit-based. Simple illustration, if you have a small website and 5 different users visit one day all with different browsers. Each has a 20% share. But if 4 of them just look at one page, and the 5th user looks at 10 pages, then the user-based stats are still the same at 20%, but the hit-based stats have changed radically in favor of that guy looking at 10 pages.

Whilst, Internet Explorer 10 directly trails the path of IE9, these improved IE versions are taking the top slots with IE11 solidly in first, at least in many regional stats.

The most reputable and commonly cited source, NetMarketShare has the following results (February 2014):

NetMarketShare:

  1. Internet Explorer: 58.19%
  2. Mozilla Firefox: 17.68%
  3. Google Chrome: 16.84%
  4. Safari: 5.67%
  5. Opera: 1.23%
Ironically, the NetMarketShare stats has IE8 as the number one IE version at 22%, which is supported by the fact that some regions like China, with qazillions of users, have many users still stuck on very old Microsoft operating systems with older versions of Internet Explorer.

Browser Wars: Desktop Browser Usage Trend for First Quarter 2014

Microsoft's support for Windows XP ended on April 8, leaving out the aged OS access to future security updates. And Oracle announced that it too will stop providing official support for Windows XP, with rumors claiming that the upcoming security update for Java 7 and future releases might not work on Windows XP.

The company has dispelled the rumors that the upcoming security update for Java 7 and those it will release in the future might not work on Windows XP.

Oracle maintains that all versions of Java that were supported prior to the Microsoft de-support announcement will continue to work on Windows XP according to a blog post. Even as the next security updates for Java 7 is scheduled for Tuesday and will fix 20 security issues which could be exploited remotely without authentication, Windows XP users may still continue to use Java 7 updates at their own risk, but support will only be provided against Microsoft Windows releases Windows Vista or later.

The point remains that Oracle can no longer provide complete guarantees for Java on Windows XP, since the OS is no longer updated by Microsoft.

The company, however have strongly recommend that users upgrade to a newer version of Windows that is still supported by Microsoft in order to maintain a stable and secure environment.

Why is Java no longer supported on Windows XP?

Microsoft announced a milestone in its effort to strengthen encryption across its networks and services by the introduction of Transport Layer Security encryption (TLS) for its webmail services, including Outlook.com, Live.com, and MSN homepage. What this means for users is that when you send email, its encrypted and thus better protected as it travels between Microsoft and other email providers. However, this requires that the other email service provider also have TLS support.

In addition to the availability of TLS, Outlook.com has also enabled Perfect Forward Secrecy (PFS) encryption support for sending and receiving mail between email providers, making it more difficult for attackers to decrypt connections.

Matt Thomlinson, VP, Microsoft Trustworthy Computing Security, announced in a blog post on the company's comprehensive engineering effort to strengthen encryption across its networks and services with the goal to provide even greater protection for data across all Microsoft services.

Also, Microsoft Cloud computing service, OneDrive now has PFS encryption support enabled as well. OneDrive customers now automatically get forward secrecy when accessing OneDrive online (https://onedrive.live.com), or via the OneDrive mobile application and sync clients.

As with Outlook.com’s email transfer, this makes it more difficult for attackers to decrypt connections between their systems and OneDrive.

Outlook.com gets Transport Layer Security (TLS) encryption for both outbound and inbound email

Google, while at the on-going annual developer-focused conference in San Francisco, California (Google I/O), gave an early preview of the next-generation Android (Android L). And as part of a larger ploy to tie Chromebooks and Android devices closer together, the company outlined planned authentication by a secondary device, which allows you bypass your phone or tablet’s lock screen (though, optional).

If, for instance you open your Chromebook with your Android device in your pocket, the laptop will automatically unlock and sign into your Google account, without password required.

And, while your smartphone is tied to your Chromebook, you’ll receive notifications about incoming phone calls and be able to see your text messages right on the laptop. Google is also working to bring top Android apps to Chromebooks, where they’d be launched straight from the Chrome launcher.

Sundar Pichai, the head of both Chrome and Android, at the event showed off Android versions of Evernote, Flipboard, and Vine running on a Chromebook; with a demonstration by a Google employee using his Chromebook’s webcam to snap a selfie while using Vine’s Android port.

As Google provides the ported apps underlying access to device APIs, the software can even interact with the laptop hardware. And all the data is automatically synced to the cloud and available on all devices.

Finally, Android and Chrome convergence within Sight?

The days of Katy Perry on a billboard, her piercing, Photoshop-enhanced blue eyes urging you to buy her fragrance, are numbered. Brands are shifting their budgets to digital, and online influencers who're the new blogging, tweeting billboards. When surfing through their blogs during your coffee break, you’re moved to leaving comments on their posts. You know who we’re talking about in your Twitter and/or Instagram feeds, you’re following someone who is your kind of cool – in a way, you’ve handpicked your brand ambassadors.

One of the biggest misconceptions about influencers, by brands and followers alike, is that they just got lucky. The reality is that cultivating influence is an art, and building a following online is hard work.

There’s no such thing as an accidental influencer. Social media is a fickle friend with a short memory. Even if you unwittingly start trending, or spark a meme, if you’re not quick to capitalize on your 15 minutes of Internet fame, that initial rush of follows, likes and shares will soon dwindle.

Take the grumpy cat – or rather Grumpy Cat™ – a meme that started doing the rounds in 2012 after a photo of the cantankerous feline was posted to Reddit. Her owner, Tabatha Bundesen, seized the opportunity, quit her day job and a million-dollar industry was born. Now Grumpy Cat is on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter and makes personal appearances at Comic Con. Brands are scrambling to work with an Internet sensation…that’s a cat. While every influencer’s formula of success is different, these digital trendsetters do have some things in common. Webfluential, the global influencer marketing service, shares some of the secrets of successful influencers:

1. They have a personal brand

Call it a look and feel, a sense of style, a manner of tweeting, or even just a vibe – influencers create and cultivate a brand of their own.

2. They have mastered their tools

Ask any of the top-tier igers (Instagramers) what editing apps they use: they’ll tick off Camera+, Snapseed, and more. Video blogging requires a deft hand with filming equipment and editing. Then there is Wordpress and its thousands of plugins for bloggers. An artist is only as good as his tools.

3. They have disciplined posting habits

The best influencers use tracking tools to see WHEN is the best time to post WHAT type of content on WHICH platform. They have content plans, posting schedules and spend evenings and weekends uploading ahead of the time if they have busy day jobs.

4. They get to know their audience

Influencers also know WHO is following them, and WHY. They immerse themselves in the interests of their audience and use their platforms to find out more – like creating engaging conversations via their Facebook page to ask: “What would you like to see more of?”

5. They interact

Followers want more than anything to be acknowledged. Taking a moment of your time to reply with a “Tx” will buy you invaluable goodwill.

6. They track their numbers

Any serious blogger uses Google Analytics to measure pageviews and unique visitors (which Webfluential has custom-built into its platform to monitor influencers signed to its service). An influencer might modestly say, “I have around 12 000 Twitter followers”, but they’ll know down to the exact number.

7. They know their worth

An established influencer is not shy about attaching a value to the amount of time it takes to create content, and build and maintain a following. They have a rate card, be it for website advertising, sponsored posts, taking part in campaigns and/or personal appearances. Some even have a minimum prize value, in order to conduct giveaways via their various online platforms.

8. They stick to their niche

If a brand approaches a well-known food blogger with a free trip to New York for a smartphone launch, not only has that brand not done their homework, but also chances are that the influencer will turn them down. The best influencers know their niche, are choosy about the brands they associate with, and won’t risk alienating their hard-won followers for a freebie.

Influencer marketing is a relatively new concept, and one of the two biggest challenges hardworking influencers face are credibility and measurability. Webfluential solves both these dilemmas, and provides a third element: opportunity, connecting influencers with brands in the right niche, at the right rate.

8 Secrets of Successful Influencers

PayPal, is arguably the worlds biggest online payment processor, performing payment processing for online vendors, auction sites, and other commercial users, for which it charges a fee. It's owned by Ebay and offers an email-based payment method that is an alternative to credit card transactions, though users can also use credit cards on the platform.

PayPal, originally was unavailable in Nigeria, owing to cancellation of its service citing increasing fraudulent activities emanating from Nigeria on the payment platform.

Now, PayPal announced entering 10 new countries this week, including Nigeria, according to Reuters. And have gone ahead to launch the services on Tuesday. While, consumers in Nigeria, with over 50 million users and Africa's largest population, will be able to make payments through PayPal.

Albeit, PayPal account is not a bank account, it's generally connected to bank account or credit card so that funds can move back and forth through the platform. With PayPal's low fees, flexible payment options, and strong user base, local businesses can benefit by offering PayPal as another buying option.

Integrating PayPal into your Web site, only requires you can choose between Express Checkout (better integration but more difficult) or Standard Checkout (uses simple HTML code). And as an add-on option, you can accept payment via Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express.

Alternatively, you can bill customers via email, you don't need a Web site to send your customers bills through PayPal – they receive an email payment request that prompts them to click and pay.

However, PayPal accounts holders in the newly enlisted countries can only send money for now. You can’t receive payments directly with your PayPal account, but we hope the limitation will be lifted soon to avail local businesses the full possibilities and flexibility PayPal payment has come to be known.

How local businesses can benefit from PayPal's availability in Nigeria

Lenovo is a Chinese brand comprising the mobile and computing technologies and innovations. Lenovo is a monster of mobile technologies with a wide range of simple smart solutions and has been rapidly increasing in market share. The popularity of the Lenovo brand is conditioned with key factors of innovations, quality and usability.

Through extensive research on users preferences and modern trends, the brand offers various series of mobile devices with the name ranges A, K, S, and P, with each of them combining a specific set of features to match the modern technological era.

Lenovo A series devices are the best entry level gadgets in the world of smartphones featuring the simplest but sufficient set of features for users to experience more of a smart device for less. The Dual SIM solution will enable a user to benefit from best tariffs and rates for mobile services.

And one of the hottest A series solutions by the brand is the simple but powerful Lenovo A820 featuring 4.5”IPS HD display with about 320pxls per inch for clear and vivid visual experience and running Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean operating system, although unofficial alternative ROMs exist using various Android OS versions. A quad core mobile processor with 1.2GHz and added with 1Gb RAM. Impressive camera solution will enable a user to take HD pics with 8MP camera letting more light into the focus to improve the low light shooting.
Lenovo A820








The best of K series by Lenovo mobiles is K900 being extra powerful but still refined gadget for extra mobile drive. The device is encased in durable metal casing. This device is indeed something different featuring dual core processor of extra power 2.0GHz and 2Gb RAM for effortless multitasking of the most power demanding apps and processes. Full HD 5.5” screen with Corning Gorilla Glass which will introduce users into the world of the super clear viewing and extra high definition gaming. Front 2MP and rare 13MP wide angle cameras are best options to capture and share your life in the greatest details with a single motion.
Lenovo K900


The Lenovo S series smartphones are rich in additional features and perform ultimate set of options a user can ever desire from a modern smart gadget. One of the most wanted products of Lenovo S series products is Lenovo S920 being an ultimate platform to upsize your entertainment. The thinnest case of 7.9mm hides quad core powerful heart at 1.2GHz frequency of every core. S920 will impress you with 5.3 IPS wide angle viewing display, smart camera software, powerful data transferring engine. It is a rather durable device ensuring up to 25 hours of active device using and up to 20 stand-by days durability.
Lenovo S920


While, the P series smartphones from Lenovo brand guarantee epic talk time with extra powerful processors giving a user ultimate productivity and super durability from gaming to work and back. Lenovo P780 employs a record breaking accumulator under the case hood. A quad core processor of 1.2GHz each core, 4000mAH battery and super resolution camera of 8MP will sufficiently add to the user experience.
Lenovo P780


Flosmall.com is a certified mobile store offering the hottest solutions from Lenovo brand at the lowest market prices.

The Best Android smartphones on Lenovo series

Microsoft on Tuesday issued security fixes for its service offerings, including: Internet Explorer (IE) browser, Windows, Office and Live Meeting, Lync; whilst most were rated critical, with the remainder as barely important in severity. However, Windows 8.1 users (who did not install the Windows 8.1 Update) failed to download  Patch Tuesday updates.

Windows 8.1 operating system without the Spring Update, failed to automatically download the patches via Windows Update, as well for users with system set to manually select which patches to install, who didn't even get the notification for patch Tuesday updates.

Microsoft Windows 8.1 Spring Update, which was released in April makes Metro truly PC-friendly, by dynamically adjusting its interface, allowing differentiation between PC and tablets.

Albeit, most Windows users failed to receive the Windows 8.1 Update when it was released, owing to changing their system default option to install Windows updates automatically. if you chose not to install the update, well, you'd probably be more at risk lurking in the dark?

Windows 8.1 users failed to get Updates, Why?

Before now, it's not possible to tend to your YouTube channel without being tethered to your computer, but with the upcoming YouTube’s creators app, commonly used channel management tools will be available on the mobile devices.

YouTube announced that it was working on a new way to ease funding for its video creators, along with a new app for video publishers.

According to the company, fundraising campaigns by users had always come around off the platform. And though, users have had success with crowd-funding campaigns, it wants to let fans donate to their favorite video channels directly through YouTube.

The new additions are expected in the coming months, whilst these new features are the latest in a series of changes aimed at improving the experience for video creators, YouTube maintains that improvement on its comment management system, and a new way to allow users to make money on the cover song video is paramount.

YouTube’s Creator App to bring management tools to the smartphone

Webfluenti.al (also rendered as Webfluential) is a platform that links social media influencers with brands and PR agencies to promote campaigns, by tracking and analyzing traffic data from social media accounts. It aims to create new relationships between customers and brands through social media influence.

The special algorithm employed by Webfluential is able to distinguish real followers from fake ones, and through factoring web statistics and other metrics, can identify each influencer's true reach, relevance and resonance.

Webfluential classify influencers into dynamic "leagues" which advertisers can then select from based on their budgets and campaign goals.

Webfluential's ultimate aim is to become a leader at connecting advertisers with "influencers" and by helping brands identify influential users that are best matched for their marketing campaigns, meet Africa’s need for regulation and standard for its fledging online marketing space.

Webfluenti.al - Analytical data for best Marketing insight

Adblock Plus (ABP) is an ad blocking extension for Mozilla Firefox (including Firefox for mobile), Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Opera and Safari web browsers. Mozilla, within the week issued warnings that the memory consumption of Adblock Plus can be considerably high in some scenarios, even sucking up to gigabytes of memory from PCs using its Firefox browser.

Albeit, the amount of memory consumed may well increase no matter which browser you use, though Mozilla seems to be only one on the look out.

Instance given, PC running Firefox without AdBlock consumed 194MB of memory. Whilst 417MB was the case with AdBlock on. And in another test, memory usage jumped from 370MB to a whopping 1,960MB with the AdBlock plugin enabled.

Nicholas Nethercote, a developer for Mozilla, in a blog post appealed on ABP authors to work with them to reduce this overhead. In the meantime, it’s worth keeping these measurements in mind, particularly, if you hear people complaining about Firefox’s memory usage.

Adblock Plus: Mozilla warns on Memory issue on PCs using Firefox browser

Snapchat, the notorious photo messaging application, allow users to take photos, record videos, add text and drawings, and send them to a controlled list of recipients, with the unique ability to set a time limit for how long recipients can view their Snaps (sent photographs and videos).

Snapchat as at May 2014, noted that its app users were sending 700 million photos and videos per day, while Snapchat Stories content were being viewed 500 million times per day.

Whilst Snapchat has been very successful on the Android and iPhone platform, until now it’s not been possible to use Snapchat on a PC. Saver for Snapchat (PC) is the ideal application for you if you’re looking to use Snapchat on your Windows computer.

Saver for Snapchat makes it possible for users to use Snapchat on their computer, while allowing you to edit, view or save pictures your Snapchat friends send you, thus ensuring no time expiry - and stop Snapchat from deleting your treasured photos from your friends.

Now, you can save all of the photos and video that’s sent to you on Snapchat, no leads or messing about with your phone and the fun part, its easy and absolutely free.

Saver for Snapchat (PC) lets you use Snapchat on Windows computer

Google on Tuesday unveiled Classroom, a free tool that integrates Google Docs, Drive, and Gmail so that teachers can assign and collect homework electronically, communicate with students in and out of class, and organize their curriculum. It helps teachers create and organize assignments quickly, provide feedback efficiently, and communicate with their classes with ease.

Classroom was designed hand-in-hand with teachers to help them save time, keep classes organized, and improve communication with students.

It is based on the principle that educational tools should be simple and easy to use, and is designed to give teachers more time to teach and students more time to learn, according to Zach Yeske, Classroom product Manager in a blog post.

The rolling out of Classroom, however will commence in September to all schools that use Google Apps for Education.

Meanwhile, Google is testing the new tool with several universities and colleges and now, teachers and professors alike have been invited to give the tool a spin, by registering for free on: https://classroom.google.com/signup.

Google integrates Docs, Drive and Gmail in Classroom

Most popular websites have been circumventing users privacy settings by deliberately restoring previously deleted HTTP cookies using local storage outside the control of the browser. And the persistent tracking of users has taken a new dimension with the latest web tracking technologies, albeit, evading browser privacy settings.

Yahoo has openly in a blog post admitted that henceforth it will not honor "Do Not Track" requests made by a user's browser. But rather, it will actively attempt to track users' interactions with its site and contents for better personalized experience.

Personalized experience, on the other hand, is invariably "Personalized ads" and it means Yahoo can now tailor ads based on user's interests, gender, location and most probably income level.

And for those users who sees the tracking as exploitative, and wish to manage their privacy on Yahoo while benefiting from a personalized web experience, are advised to tailor their online experience through the variety of privacy tools accessible on Yahoo Privacy Center.

While those seeking for a routing tool to help protect their privacy online, Ghostery, a plug-in for Chrome, will be handy to protect you from third party sites.

Yahoo's "Personalized Experience" Replaces "Do Not Track"?

Snapchat, the innovative instant photo-sharing app, has announced new feature "Chat", which lets users to start text conversation simply by swiping right on a friend’s name in the Snapchat inbox. The new feature allows live video sharing – and face-to-face chat for users who are both online, while notifying you when a friend is active in your Chat so that you can give each other your full attention.

According to the company blog post, Snapchat was missing an important part of conversation: presence, knowing you have the full attention of your friend while you’re chatting.

Hence, the introduction of "Chat" to notify users when a friend is online, allowing them to start live video chats with the press of a button. While, messages viewed by both you and your friend will be cleared – either of you can always tap or screenshot to save anything you’d like to keep.

The new service will be launching with Android and iOS, and is seen by analysts as most requested features by Snapchat users. Albeit, the new features are commonly offered by its competitors, these are the must-have features in order for Snapchat to retain its users, and also to acquire new ones.

Snapchat introduces video and instant messaging for iOS and Android

As access to the free flow of information on the web is increasingly critical, and online censorship becoming the order of the day in many conflict areas, tools to help those fighting for free expression around the world is now more than ever before most expedient. Psiphon's censorship circumvention tool gives you access to sites and web services that are blocked or otherwise unavailable through the normal service provider.

Whether it's to access sites that your provider is blocking, or to add a layer of protection when using open Wi-fi services, Psiphon is the best tool for accessing the open Internet.

The Psiphon's circumvention system uses a combination of secure communication and obfuscation technologies (VPN, SSH, and HTTP Proxy) to enable Internet users to securely bypass the content-filtering systems used by governments to impose extralegal censorship of the Internet. It works by the Android or Windows client connecting to servers run by Psiphon.

Psiphon utilizes multiple transport systems, so that if one protocol is blocked by a censor, it will automatically switch to an alternative mechanism.

It is specifically designed to support users in countries considered to be "enemies of the Internet". And it's an open source project, and the source code and design documents can be found on the project page.

Psiphon: Uncensored access to blocked Internet sites

Pinterest, the notorious virtual pin-board, has announced "Guided Search", a new mobile tool that taps into its massive user collection to bring the contents you’re really looking for right to the front page. Built primarily for mobile - iOS and Android, Guided Search will help users easily source for information , and also explore new frontiers on the iconic social network.

About 75 percent of Pinterest users comes via its mobile apps, stressing why a mobile-first search tool is essential to the visual pin-board’s future.

With Pinterest's ever-growing user-generated contents, it's become increasingly difficult to find what you're searching for, or useful contents amidst the massive pool of information. Therefore, the need for a search engine that's more about exploration and discovery on the social platform becomes pertinent.

The roll out of the new feature started last night for users on its mobile app, iOS and Android, while the possibility that it may land on the desktop platform remains high.

Guided Search: Pinterest's Content Discovery for Mobile

Dual SIM smartphones have been at the peak of popularity for the past few years and still the frenzy of the users about double SIM phones is ever growing. Dual SIM mobile phones offer the greatest advantages of getting the best tariffs of the leading mobile carriers as well as staying connected with two different phone numbers.

What are the major benefits of opting for mobile phones with double SIM (2 cards) solution except of course, cost advantage?

The comfort of using one handset instead of using two phones for every card is one aspect. As well as time effective solution as you need to take care only of one handset (charging, servicing, and installing additional apps). Dual SIM mobile phones give you a chance to store more contact information on two SIM cards which will be of great use for users keeping all contact information of their friends in phone contact list (for example: the popular smartphone Lenovo S920).

Moreover, double SIM handsets are the best solution for travelers who often visit areas of poor connectivity, as chances are rather low that both mobile carriers will have poor coverage in the region, thus you will still be connected with your dual SIM phone as one of the cards may still be available.

However opting for a double SIM mobile phone you should keep in mind some disadvantages such as: Low battery life - dual SIM smartphones commonly bite into battery life severely. So you should take care of a timely phone charging to keep in touch.

There is the idea that double SIM phones are poorly equipped and feature fewer options than single SIM mobile handsets. However experience has proven that every user can find an optimum dual SIM solution meeting all needs and fancies.

Why Choose Dual SIM Mobile Phones?

Google first introduced +Post ads to limited number of advertisers as a new way to amplify content and create conversations across the web. +Post ads differs from the conventional "social ads", instead of streaming ads within Google+, Google will run it across the web, including news portals, blogs or other webpages, allowing brands to reach a larger audience.

It let brands take a piece of their public Google+ content, like a photo or video, and turn it into an engagement ad that runs across the Google Display Network.

The conventional "social ads" as implemented on sites like Twitter and Facebook, usually tagged "sponsored" content, sandwiched between posts from friends are what users have become accustomed.

Now, users will soon start to see new ads that look like posts from Google+, but outside of the social network.

+Post ads have been made available to all advertisers who meet a minimum of 1,000 Google+ followers.

The +Post ads is kicking off with two new features - promoted Hangouts on Air and automatic post promotion - to help brands create compelling ad experiences and make it easier to extend the reach of their social content.

Google pushes +Post ads to all Advertisers

Heartbleed Bug is a vulnerability in the popular OpenSSL cryptographic software library underpinning major sections of the Web, which potentially exposes data supposedly encrypted from various sites. It allows stealing the information protected, under normal conditions, by the SSL/TLS encryption used to secure the Internet.

Robin Seggelmann, the coder, admitted that he "missed the necessary validation by an oversight."

The code in question was originally intended to enable a function called Heartbeat in OpenSSL's Transport Layer Security, which exchanges a packet of random data between your computer and a server to confirm they're connected.

Hackers, thereby can manipulate their computer to lie about how much data is in the original packet, allowing the server to give out the packet with data pulled from its memory before sending it back.

The Fixed OpenSSL has been released for Service providers and users to install the fix as it becomes available for the operating systems, networked appliances and software.

Heartbleed Bug: What You need to Know?

Microsoft has been strongly trailing the path of openness on the web, lately. And for no obscure reason, than the repeated success stories of the likes of Google with Android, proving beyond doubt that open platform has its great benefits.

And today, Microsoft took a rather foreseen step in opening up the source code of the Windows Library for JavaScript (WinJS) under the Apache 2.0 license as an Open Source project by MS Open Technologies, according to Windows blog.

WinJS is a JavaScript library that was first created for Windows 8 to enable first class, native-quality experiences in Windows Runtime apps using familiar web technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

WinJS becoming cross-platform means that web developers can now take advantage of high-quality controls and infrastructure to expand their reach beyond Windows to the web and non-Windows devices. Extending WinJS to other browsers and devices beyond Windows further extends their reach and allows them to bring the personality of Windows apps to the web without rewriting code or learning new skills.

The new WinJS is now live, give it a try by going to the Try WinJS site in your favorite browser, view and edit code, and check out the results.

Microsoft finally Opens up WinJS as Open-source Software

Twitter has announced new mobile features which includes: photo tagging, which lets you tag the people in your photo; the other is the ability to include up to four photos in a Tweet. And also share a series of photos that automatically create a collage.

Additionally, both photo-tagging and Tweets with multiple photos will display in Embedded Tweets.

The ability to upload multiple photos started to roll out yesterday on iPhone, and is coming soon to Android and twitter.com. Meanwhile, Twitter users have been availed control on who can tag them in a new section in the security and privacy settings.

Albeit, Twitter's social networking model was not built around photos, it has gone ahead to adapt to what users wanted. Whether you’re on iPhone, Android or twitter.com, you can now view Tweets with multiple photos.

Twitter adds new Mobile Photo-sharing features

Google has tightened its web-mail encryption by eliminating HTTPS opt-out option, citing the need to protect users from government cyber-spying. Gmail has supported HTTPS since its debut, and while in 2010, Google made HTTPS the default option for all users.

Starting Thursday, Gmail will always use an HTTPS connection when you check or send email, according to the official Google blog.

That means that no one can intercept your messages as they go back and forth between your device and Gmail’s servers, irrespective of whether you're using public WiFi or logging in from public computer, phone or tablet.

Additionally, every email message you send or receive, is encrypted while moving internally. This ensures that your messages are safe not only when they move between your device and Gmail's servers, but also as they move between Google's data centers.

The move is seen as Google's effort to ensure that Gmail users does not fall victim to governments' surveillance that's reported to be on the rise. The security boost from using HTTPS, however may sacrifice performance by increasing latency to a certain degree as noted earlier by Google.

HTTPS-only and 99.978 percent availability for Gmail

Google has launched add-on support for Docs and Sheets to better compete with Microsoft Office, according to Google Drive blog post on Tuesday. The plug-in support enables Google Docs and Sheets apps to tap into third-party plug-ins.

Google intends to tap into third-party development tools to give its Docs and Sheets additional features compared to Microsoft Office.

The add-ons support bring new tools created by Google's developer partners to give users even more features in their documents and spreadsheets. And there are several template tools as well as a Sheets plug-in to tap into Google Analytics data.

To browse through add-ons for Docs and Sheets, select Get add-ons in the Add-ons menu of any open document or spreadsheet. Once an add-on is installed, it will become available across all of your documents or spreadsheets.

Google brings Add-on Support to Docs and Sheets

Microsoft's revamped cloud storage for business offering, OneDrive for Business, is a re-branding of SkyDrive Pro, to provide file sync, share, collaboration and storage for businesses. The company announced the new pricing and licensing details for OneDrive for Business during the company's SharePoint 2014 conference in Las Vegas on Monday.

OneDrive for Business (formerly SkyDrive Pro) has come to serve as a personal online cloud-storage for enterprise customers. 

With OneDrive for Business you can collaborate with others in real time right from within Office and edit documents from virtually anywhere through a web browser in real time. it’s the place where people can store, sync, and share their work files across multiple devices with ease and security.

OneDrive for Business, comes bundled with new features and capabilities, including increased file sizes, higher storage limits, mobile apps (Office Mobile for iPhone and Android, and native OneDrive for Business app for iOS), and improved user experiences.

It's also available in (and included with) most Office 365 and SharePoint Online plans at no additional cost.

Microsoft OneDrive: What You need to Know

Microsoft announced the rolling out of Skype for Outlook.com to users in April 2013, and now have gone ahead to bring full HD video calling capabilities to the messaging tool which is officially rolling out to users throughout the world.

The Outlook.com integration also includes the voice calls and instant messaging capabilities for which Skype is famous.

Skype for Outlook.com is integrated with the online version of Microsoft’s People app and it automatically imports your Skype contacts so they’ll be available to you on Outlook.com. And once you've downloaded the plugin, then proceed to link your Skype account to Microsoft account to take advantage of the inbox calling functionality.

Simply by hovering your mouse over a contact's profile picture or the blank contact icon at the top of the message pane, and then selecting the phone or video calling icon and your Skype call will start. Alternatively, click on the messaging icon on the far right side of the Outlook.com interface.

Skype for Outlook.com Gets HD Video Support



The rise of Android is phenomenal, and it's amazing to see how the three major smartphone platforms: Android, iOS, and BlackBerry have evolved over the last couple of years. Android is an operating system based on the Linux kernel, and designed primarily for touchscreen mobile gadgets such as smartphones and tablet devices.

Google acquired Android back in 2005, and from a point of near-obscurity has gone to more than 250 million product activations per year. Google has turned a no-name operating system into the world's most popular smartphone platform.

So, what's the magic, you may ask? Lots of smart marketing efforts, and then, a bit of luck and the fact that competition (aside from Apple) was pretty passive. Below is a comprehensive Infographic on the remarkable rise of Android brought to you by Flosmall online mobile shop.

The Rise of Android

INFOGRAPHIC: The Rise of Android

Google's effort to tighten the screws on third-party add-ons, which commenced July 2012, when it first required that add-ons be moved to the Chrome Web Store, has finally been realized with the release of Chrome version 33. Chrome 33 automatically throws a “kill switch” on extensions that had been installed from sources other than the Chrome Web Store.

The company has termed it a “hard-disable,” or one that prevents the user from re-enabling the add-on, although, with some exceptions.

Add-ons installed via its enterprise policies (acquiring the rights to established add-ons already in the Chrome Web Store) or by developers from their websites or software can avoid the automatic “hard disable” according to Google.

While extensions that had been installed locally or by businesses internally must be published to the Chrome Web Store. And businesses can opt to hide their extensions on the store from the public or continue to use group policies to offer the add-ons to their workforce from their own servers.

Chrome 33 cuts-off Add-ons in the Windows browser

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