November 2022 - Page 10 of 11 - BOLLYWOOD SURKHIYAN

10 Key Steps to Turn Your Mobile App Idea Into Reality

Many people and companies are coming up with new mobile app ideas to make it big in their field. They either want to reach a new audience or better serve their existing customers.However, people are relatively unaware of the steps or process needed to turn a mobile app idea into reality. Due to lack of ability and information among startups and established companies, most of them don’t know how to go about shaping the app idea.

I have helped several companies build their mobile app. Here are the 10 key steps I have followed in my 6 years of experience. I believe that my list can help anyone from any industry get their mobile app idea turned into reality.

Step 1: Write down your feature list

Conceptualize your idea begins by taking some notes. Before doing anything, you should write whatever comes to your mind. Writing down the feature list on a piece of paper helps you focus on your idea and expand on it. I recommend writing your idea several times and in many ways. This list also will be helpful when you are discussing with your co-founders, designers, investors or developers; they all are going to ask for it. Note that you should have them sign an NDA before you share your feature list. Your feature list should be clean and easy to understand. Also make sure it has popular and unique features, which will play the major role in success of your product.

Step 2: Do the market research

After writing your strong list of features, you want to do market research to find the competition, trends and market needs. Make sure there are no similar apps in the market. If there are, find out their reviews, ratings, feedback, and what is missing in them. Add features in your app that would make it unique and more attractive to the audience. After doing market research, you should update your feature list.

Step 3: Identify the users/audience

It is very important to find who would use your app and who the audience would be for your product. Your users are from a particular industry, gender, region, age group, existing customers, income group, specific profession, or any other group. Once you identify some demographics about the audience, you can find out what people from these demographics prefer or like. Knowing your audience helps you re-engineer your app and the features in it to cater to them. Your whole project moves around user engagement. You can also conduct focus group studies to find out what your audience may like or dislike. Your audience will decide your product’s success, and this insight from focus study can go a long way in defining product success.

Step 4: Identify the monetization strategy

Making money is the biggest reward and energizes for your idea. You can make money from your app idea in several ways: subscription fee, in-app buy, in-app ads, user data, sponsorship. You want to know which one works for your app, audience and market. Launching a paid app does not work these days, but you can make the app free with in-app purchase option for more functions. In-app ads are also losing their shine these days due to user experience. Having user data is becoming a big monetization technique, as you can use it to make indirect money. You can find sponsorship for the app; this works for an app with a social mission. It is important for you to select 1 or 2 techniques that would give you good return on investment.

Step 5: Create a rough sketch/wire frame

You may not have done it before, or may not know how to do it. However, the rough sketch or wire frame helps you define the concept and refine the requirements of your product. You can draw a rough sketch using paper and pencil, while a wire frame can be created using online tools. When you start doing the sketch/wire frame, you will be able to polish your app idea and features list further. Also, this helps you decide the proper navigation of the application. You don’t need technical skills for this step, but you need to have a common-sense understanding of how navigation works. Your wire frames, along with your feature list, will create very good specifications for you to build the mobile app.

Step 6: Approach local mobile app developers and get estimates

Once you have your first version of the feature list and wire frame, you want to start identifying vendors who can build your mobile app in a high-quality, cost-effective way. You should search for local vendors and some global vendors and reach out to them. Once you shortlist 5 to 6 good vendors, have them sign the NDA and send them the project details. A good vendor should check your details and ask you lots of questions. You should make sure to answer them in detail so that your idea is fully communicated. A good vendor should also be able to give you some suggestions to improve your idea. You should get proposals from multiple vendors, with time and cost for development, and compare them. You should check the vendors on past performance, process, price, time, testimonial and their eagerness to work for you. Finally, you should be able to select one vendor and start working with them.

Step 7: Complete the UI/UX

Once you have selected the company, you should work with them to create the UI/UX of the app. You should have them first create the detailed wire frame of the application so that you can visualize each screen, function and flow of the application. After review, you can decide to add or remove features. Once the wire frame is complete, you want them to create the visual design of the application. It should give the color, theme, fonts and visual appeal for your idea. This step will give you a near-final picture of what your mobile app would look like and how it would flow. After completing it, have your vendor reevaluate the development plan, time and cost. If the first estimate of time/cost has increased, get more funding or cut some of the features. You want to pay the right value to your mobile app developer.

Step 8: Get the app developed and tested

Have your app developer start building the app for you. They should be able to send you the app (in progress) every week and you should be able to test and give them feedback. It is very essential for you to QA the app as they develop it, as this helps you control the quality, cost and timeline, and learn whether the mobile app needs some tweaks. You can involve your friends in the testing as well. If you come up with new sets of features during the development, discuss those with your app developer and get the time and cost estimate. If it fits your budget, get it done right away. If not, wait for the next phase.

Step 9: Launch the app and market it

Once you are satisfied with the app, launch it in the iTunes App Store and Google Play Store. You should also start marketing the app. Get some consulting from experts on app marketing. You can also do self-marketing. Start on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, as this is an easy way to spread the word about the app. You should also reach out to reporters and bloggers who may be interested in your app and write about it. A press release on free sites or a paid site can be very handy. If you have more in your budget, you can hire a PR or app marketing company.

Step 10: Gather market response and prepare for the next phase

After the first launch and marketing, you can collect user data, market response and demand. If you receive a good response, you can plan the next phase for the app. Repeat Step 1 through 9 for the next phase. This time, you should be able do them a lot faster and more efficiently. If the app is not received well in the market, find out what is hampering growth and have a plan of action.

The App That’s Selling You

I just spent a week in lovely Costa Rica. My family and I swam, sailed, snorkeled, communed with wildlife and parasailed high above the Pacific Ocean.

We didn’t see any Pokémon. That’s because, unlike much of the rest of humanity, we weren’t looking for any using the app that’s taken the world by storm: Pokémon Go.

Surprisingly, my preteen daughter didn’t object to our Pokémon-free existence. To my great satisfaction, she appears to enjoy more cerebral pursuits… mostly.

But even if she’d begged me, I’d have refused to cave in. No Pokémon Go for us. That’s because I don’t fancy turning my family into tradable data points… and neither should you.

Unfortunately, Pokémon Go is the least of our worries in this respect…

Pokémon Go: The Product Is YOU

Old-timers like me remember actually paying for software. Remember upgrading to a new version of Windows or Microsoft Office every year or so? In those days, getting complex applications for free, like those available for today’s smartphones, was unthinkable.

That’s because, up until about five years ago, the software itself was the product from which developers made their profit. It was no different from selling cars, refrigerators or any other complex manufactured product.

No more. I still pay a nominal fee every year to “subscribe” to updates of some software products, but many that I use daily come completely free.

It’s not that they’re cheap to develop – quite the opposite. Today’s software is orders of magnitude more complex and powerful than the stuff for which we used to pay hundreds of dollars.

That’s because today’s software isn’t the revenue-generating part of the business model. It’s not the main thing being sold for profit.

You are.

Beware Geeks Bearing Gifts

Over the past few years, I’ve warned repeatedly that hacking is only one part of the digital-age threat. Less obvious – and more insidious – is the process by which you are turned into a commodity to be traded for profit by the companies whose products you use.

The best-known examples are big online outfits like Google and social networks like Facebook. Both provide their user-facing services for free. Both, however, spend most of their efforts not on improving those services, but on harvesting information about you that can be sold to the highest bidder.

My favorite example is the poor fellow who searched Google for “pancreatic cancer” and started seeing online ads for funeral homes. Another is the father who received a mailer from some company with the words “DAUGHTER KILLED IN CAR ACCIDENT” printed on the envelope. Some idiot had misconfigured the marketing algorithm, and the targeting criteria were being printed on thousands of mailers.

Google and Facebook (and many others) started out making money by selling microtargeted online ads to third parties like those funeral homes. But they quickly learned that they could make even more money by selling the data that advertisers use to do that microtargeting. Precise figures are hard to find, but given that marketing companies report 200% to 300% increases in revenue using such data, it’s safe to say that the big data harvesters are coining it by selling you to them.

Pokémon Go takes this one step further. It doesn’t have any adverts at all. To the user, it appears completely ad-free. But advertisers will still be paying to get at those users… in a much more dangerous way.

Boldly Going Where No App Has Gone Before

Pokémon Go has been downloaded 20 million times in the U.S. It’s just rolled out in Asia and Europe. Nintendo’s stock price has soared by more than 50% in two weeks. Pokémon Go has already overtaken Twitter in daily active users and is even closing in on Facebook.

While the app is free, users can make in-app purchases like lures to attract Pokémon to your location or “cages” to keep them in. However, the game is about to unleash one of the most potent advertising campaigns in digital history… all by selling frighteningly detailed information about its users.

For example, the app will soon offer “sponsored locations” to paying partners. Geotargeting and geofencing technology will allow advertisers to target specific buildings and match that to signals from mobile devices. Advertisers will know exactly where you are and serve ads based on your precise location – just like that infamous shopping-mall scene from Minority Report.

By paying Pokémon Go’s developers a big fee, a brand like McDonald’s (whose logo has already been spotted in Pokémon Go’s code) will be able to turn its stores into desirable locations in the Pokémon virtual universe. That will draw players to those locations, where they will be tempted to buy stuff “IRL” – in real life. Advertisers will be charged on a “cost per visit” basis, similar to the “cost per click” Google charges advertisers.

Gotta Catch ‘Em All

Initial reports that Pokémon Go harvests detailed Google account information, like the contents of emails, seem to have been incorrect.

But the app’s owners don’t need that stuff. They’re going for something bigger. They want to know your location at all times so they can sell that information to the highest bidder.

Justice Louis Brandeis once defined privacy as “the right to be let alone.” If that’s what you want, it’s up to you to ensure it happens.

6 Benefits of Customized Web Application Development

A web application is a client-server computer program that is stored on a remote server and delivered through the internet via a web browser.

Some common web apps you’ve probably worked with include Google Docs, Pixlr, Evernote, Trello, and Netflix. Essentially, a web app is an online computer program that can help you perform a function, rather than just take in information.

If you’re a business, having a customized web application can not only benefit your employees, but can benefit your customers. Here are six benefits of a customized web application:

It’s Tailor Made

A web application made for your business by a web development company will be exactly what you need to solve your problems. The application will be created to serve the specific purpose you need it for, and you can rest assured your application will be able to handle all your business’ requirements.

It’s Scalable

Sure, off the shelf software may address most of your business’ needs, however it’s not as scalable as something custom built. Having a custom web app developed will guarantee that your application can grow as your business does, and you won’t be forced to switch to a more expensive program or worry about costly license purchases.

It’s Safe.

Most online hacking comes from hackers being knowledgeable of weak points in commonly used software, which can put a big target on your business if you use one of those softwares. To hack a custom coded application would take much more time and effort to learn the program, so it will be a less attractive target.

It’s Adaptable.

If your business already uses a few other softwares, it’s no problem to create your custom web app to flow seamlessly with them. Unlike utilizing multiple off the shelf solutions which often will not work together efficiently, a custom web app can be created with your other preferred softwares in mind, ensuring a higher productivity and easy workflow.

It’s Consistently Maintained.

When you use a commercial software, you’re forced to count on that software development company to keep your software running. If the company shuts down or if they decide to no longer maintain that app, you’ll be forced to switch softwares, which can be an unexpected expense for your business.

You Can Save Money Over Time.

Of course, having a custom web app built isn’t necessarily cheaper than using something off the shelf, but over time it can save you a great deal of money. You won’t have to pay for licensing packages or purchase extra hardware, because your application can be built to work with your existing hardware. You’ll also own your application, so you won’t have to pay to use it (only for maintenance).

Top Ten Business Management Apps

Efficiently managing your employees and keeping them focused and on task can be hard work. Several programs exist to increase productivity and maximise profit. They can automate the most time-costly processes involved in running a business. These applications are the best ten of the bunch in my opinion.

1. Tree.io

Tree.io is in my opinion the best new business management software out there. It combines a powerful project management tool with functional sales and CRM tools, plus a superb personalised support service that empowers your support staff. The project management section is incredibly easy to use. You can create milestones to give your employees something to work towards, move tasks between projects with a few clicks and your employees can log time worked on each specific task. I really cant recommend Tree.io highly enough. Its like Basecamp, Salesforce and Helpdeskpilot rolled into one!

Tree.io is free indefinitely for up to 3 users so it’s perfect for small businesses or startups. Their pro plan allows unlimited users and is £9 per user per month.

2. GoogleDocs

GoogleDocs is the perfect way to manage and share your business documents. All your documents, spreadsheets, presentations and reports can be uploaded from your desktop within minutes and viewed and edited by the members of your team. It even has support for mobile devices so you can access your documents on the move. GoogleDocs is invaluble for businesses who need to share their documents instantly between employees, clients and suppliers.

To use GoogleDocs you need to create a Google Account. This is completely free of charge and gives you access to all of Googles other services like Gmail, GoogleTalk etc.

3. Solar Accounts

Solar Accounts is a simple, easy to use accounting software for small businesses or self employed individuals. It features double-entry bookkeeping, transaction history, customisable invoices and instant access to your financial records.

You can get Solar Accounts for free for a 60 day trial period but after that you have to pay a one-time fee of £124.99 to continue using it.

4. agreeAdate

agreeAdate is a really useful program for organising meetings, conference calls, appointments, staff interviews and more. You can quickly and easily find when people are free and then schedule a meeting or appointment that is convenient for everyone.

Registering for agreeAdate is completely free. With the free membership you can plan events for up to 10 people. If you need to create events for more people you can upgrade to a premium account for $3.99 or $7.99.

5. Toggl

Toggl is a helpful time-tracking app that supports live tracking or the timesheet approach, depending on how you run your business. Designed for large or small teams, Toggl lets you assign different rates to each team member or each product or client. With support for mobiles and multiple languages, Toggl is invaluable for businesses that want to keep track of every minute.

However, you don’t get all this stuff for free; Toggl’s prices range from $5 a month for 1 user to $79 a month for max 40 users.

6. GoToMeeting

GoToMeeting is a tool that enables you to host an online conference for up to 15 people at a time. Using this app you can share your screen with all the attendees, hand over keyboard control to another attendee, and change who’s screen is being shared.

GoToMeeting is free for a 30 day trial period and after this it costs £29 a month.

7. SageOne Accounts

SageOne Accounts is online accounting software like Solar Accounts but you don’t have to download anything. With SageOne Accounts you can view an instant snapshot of your businesses performance, automatically keep on top of VAT and keep all your customers and suppliers in one place. SageOne also features a 24/7 telephone helpline in case you get stuck and you can access it anywhere with an internet connection.

SageOne is free for 30 days and costs £10 per month after that.

8. NetSuite

NetSuite is a business management software that’s been around for a while, hence some of its features are a little dated. With NetSuite you can manage your businesses finances, customer relations and ecommerce from one program. It’s designed for large businesses and corporations and has a price to match: $1,188.00!

9. Mozy

Mozy is an online backup service that allows you to keep all your files safe even if your office explodes. You can select the files you want backed up and Mozy will archive them either in bulk as you sleep, or in real-time as the files are modified. Your information is kept secure with military-grade encryption and strict security policies.

Mozy costs £3.99 per month for a desktop and £6.99 per month for a server.

10. Vyew

Vyew is an online collaboration program that lets you work together with colleagues all over the world in real time. Vyew gives you a simple whiteboard where you can share ideas, upload documents for discussion or even share your desktop.

Vyew is totally free for up to 10 live participants, but if you register for $9.95 a month you get rid of the adverts and you also get a host of additional features such as VoIP and multiple meetings.

Major Benefits and Key Challenges of Android Development

Powerful Android applications make a difference in the world. As more than 84 percent of all the Smart Phones use Android OS, there are great opportunities for developers of Android applications, making it possible for you to find a skilled android developer in any part of the world. Having said that, here is an in depth look at the major benefits and key challenges of android development to help you choose the best platform for your business app development.

Major Benefits:

Android development is cost effective

Android is open source, therefore developers can create any number of rich applications, without any recurring license fees. On the other hand, an easy SDK creation does not require more resources. You can also go for any number of revisions in the application, as there are free modification programs available, which further bring the cost down.

Inter application integration

With Android being an open source platform, it is more suitable for all sorts of inter application integration. Even if you want to merge or cross-promote the various programs together, Android is the most suitable program to use, as the technology itself is perfect for any kind of connection between dissimilar software.

Graphics support

Android offers extensive support for 2D and 3D graphics, which helps companies to attract users to its mobile applications. Using high-quality graphics is crucial for the success of any mobile application.

Less skill is required

Android programs are basically written in Java. A developer with a working knowledge of Java and good experience in this programming type can easily get Android application up and running with relative ease.

Linux kernel

Android is based on Linux kernel, which means that the basic features of Android are very similar to those of Linux kernel. Based on Linux, Android gives a very secure and stable platform, ensuring an obstacle free and smooth environment where applications can perform their best.

The key challenges

UI development

As the OEM’s (Original Equipment Manufacturers) produce their own user interfaces, which are quite different from each other, it is sometimes a problem for the developer to handle this variation in UI’s.

Performance

Factors such as GUI (graphical user interface) and memory and power use affect the performance of an application. During application development, the developer must take into account the problem of resource utilization and distribute the resources optimally to all the applications that need them.

Security

With the widespread use of Android smart phones, there is also a need to protect these devices from malicious attacks aiming to steal critical information such as usernames and passwords. The data in transit and data at rest both need to be protected against any unauthorized access.

Backward compatibility

As Android is known for its frequent updates, it is important for the developer to ensure backward compatibility in his application developments. It is necessary to ensure that the developed application runs smooth not only on the updated version, but also on the previous versions of the Android API.

It is time for business owners to start thinking beyond regular app ideas, such as email and calendar, as they are too basic to utilize an Android developer’s full potential. While the business owners struggle with their creativity and lack of ideas, there is no shortage of talent in the Android developer community. Use your potential to come up with a challenging idea, and give it a chance. No matter how bizarre it may seem at first glance.

What Are The Best Android Apps For Students?

The strength of Android lies in its apps, and these days, there is almost an app for every activity. One can find millions of apps in the Google Play Store, ranging from media, tools, shopping, to simple housekeeping. And as most of our daily necessity and activity get mingled with these tons of digital apps, we cannot afford to get unhooked from our precious Android device. For the past few years, even a student’s life is metamorphosing into a lot easier, safer, and more fun holding the hands of these android apps. Following are some of the best android apps helping out the students in their daily activities from waking up in the morning to taking notes.

Taking Notes

Nowadays, it is hard to find a school or college student who doesn’t use a mobile or tablet. Students, usually carry these gadgets along with them wherever they go. In that case, the digital note-taking applications like Google Keep, OneNote, Evernote, FiiNote, etc., have become the most convenient way of taking notes, and are growing fast in popularity among the students.

Capturing the Lecture

Even a few years back, while attending a lecture or seminar, a student had no choice but writing down all the important information on the notepad. And now, there is some useful and terrific lecture recording apps out there, helping out the students to record the whole lecture. So, stay tuned with the advanced best Android apps like Lecture Recordings, Audio Recorder, Easy Voice Recorder, etc.

Revision

In this era of advanced technology, the revision app seemed to be the big business of high possibility. Because of the Android applications, the students now consider revising the lesson as a fun-like activity, rather than a tiresome burden. Gozimo, Quizlet, My Study Life, Quick Recall, etc. are some of the leading best Android apps for revision.

Student Planner Apps

The student planner android apps are rising at the pedestal of popularity, helping out the students in organizing their activity, sending alerts and reminders regarding their lesson, homework, exam, and such other things. Student Planner, Student Schedule, My Study Life are some of the reputable and popular student planner apps that come with a timetable.

If you have a simultaneous and fast internet connection, and an Android device, then your student life will be a phase of fun and excitement rather than full of worries. All you need to stay tuned for the latest Android applications.

Slime Designer Shops: The Modern Lemonade Stands for Kids

We all passed by lemonade stands growing up, set up either in front of supermarkets, or malls, or around the corner from our homes. Kids were entrepreneurs-in-training while proud moms and dads were looking over their shoulders to see how they performed trying to make the sale. It was supposed to teach youngsters the valuable lessons for making a sale and earning a profit. Yeah, you are in business!

Although occasionally you’d still see the familiar stands, in our days kids are interested in more exotic lines of business, apps, computer games and… slimes, yes slimes! My 12-year-old has taken over an entire closet which she transformed into a storage vault with add-on shelves to store endless plastic containers of various sizes, all filled with all kinds of regular and other exotic colors of… slime. With these come supplies of “cotton candy” and numerous other artificial jewelry like emblems and stuff to imitate cactus, Boba drink balls, “crystal waters’, “pizza heart”, “cactus cereal”, “fruit salad”, even “Winnie the Pooh” or poopsie slime surprise unicorn, whatever! I am like speechless, I feel like I’ve been thrown inside a super slime simulator. Of course any respectful business would have the appropriate video de slime collection, hence her endless time of videotaping everything on the iPhone. Finished products are in plastic jars so deliciously looking that many times I found myself grabbing one of them from the kitchen counter to eat, only realizing the last minute this thing can really kill you if eaten!

I said “hey lill lady, what’s you doing with all these stuff”? In the beginning the answer was: “I am making them to give away to my friends”. OK, no big deal. But after a while, when I realized I am spending some bucks on the monthly basis for these stuff, I said “what’s up”? To which she replied: “Oh, I started a slime company, I am going into slime business”. I said, “ok, like how”? Well, wouldn’t you know, she had a… website already at this business outfit called Etsy (never heard of it). I said why not Amazon or Google? She said those cost money, Etsy is very-very cheap.

I said, ok lemme see your website. Boom: bit.ly/CosmaSlimes. I said wow, how old are you again? I said, Oceana, I am very impressed! You know, at your age, I didn’t even think they were computers out yet, or they were the size of this closet, but you, out of your lap top doing all this, impressive! I got a “duh” response. Before I even questioned her about her “traffic” and stuff, she says: “I have 3 sales already”. I am thinking – Get out! You mean I don’t have to spend all that money for your college? Yeah, I can finally buy that Ferrari! She says, not so fast dad, it’s only $27 something. Yeah, but pumpkin, if you can make 3 sales, you can make 30, then 3,000, then 3 million, the sky is the limit! Ok, you get the point. I already feel like the time I got reincarnated as a slime!

The important lesson from all this is that she is learning about business, marketing, marketing analytics, profits-loss, etc. On top of this, she is learning about how to optimize her website traffic, about coordinating activities that can direct traffic to her site. She learned that me writing this article will further direct traffic to her website as I am referencing her link here and throwing high traffic key words I picked up from Google Insights all over it.

I am thinking, what is the potential for this person to succeed in business? I emphasize to her it is all up to her, it all depends on the effort she puts in, the energy and enthusiasm, discipline and willingness to listen and learn and apply her learnings to her business. Some of these learnings will spill over to her everyday life and relationships.

In the end, one thing is for sure: you can learn a lot by learning how to make slime: learn about, success and failure, about family and life itself. Good luck little girl. Glad to see you really like lemonade as well.

Signed: Your dad – who loves you baby?

Home Computing in "The Cloud"

The trends lead me to believe the computing we do at home will soon predominately reside “in The Cloud.” This means the applications we use and rely on everyday are not on our computer at home but in an application out on the Internet and accessed by your browser.

Move Yourself To “The Cloud”

Many folks have already made the move. Here are some of the typical things others have done and what you can do to make the switch yourself:

Use Google Docs as your basic productivity tools. Not only are they very effective and free tools, but they are on-line and available wherever you go (docs.google.com). You don’t need to buy Microsoft Office or even download the free Open Office at OpenOffice.org. I find that on my six year old PC, Google Docs will launch an application (e.g., Documents, Spreadsheet, GMail, etc.) in The Cloud faster than I can launch a Microsoft Office product (e.g., Word, Excel, Outlook, etc.) on my PC. Also, there is freedom in not being tied to that one PC sitting someplace where you can’t always get to it. A notebook works pretty well in this regard, but what happens when that notebook breaks or it goes missing? It kind of feels the same as when you lose your wallet or your keys. It does not feel good at all. With home computing in The Cloud, it is a problem to lose your equipment, but little of what you had been working on is lost.
Use Mint.com, Quickenonline.com or other online financial tracking programs. First, they are currently free. That is one big advantage. They are not as good, in my opinion, as an installed program such as Quicken, at least not yet. However, if you are doing nothing other than wanting to track your current balances to ensure your cash flow is positive (i.e., not overspending), then these look like great tools.
Use Facebook, LinkedIn or other social networking sites. These sites provide a powerful place to manage your social and professional life. This includes keeping in touch with family and friends and showing your photos, to staying networked with business associates and looking for that next big opportunity.
Get your news from CNN.com, USAToday.com or get more focused news of interest from more specialized sites. For example, I pour through consumerist.com and pcmag.com for practical information I can use every day.

Access “The Cloud” From Anywhere

Because I’ve moved much of my mainstream computing to The Cloud, I find I can access it from just about any PC and from my mobile phone. Having my Cloud in my phone, which can browse the Internet, is a phenomenal tool. If the Palm Pre or the iPhone were to work with my wireless service provider, I would upgrade and give up my trusty Motorola A1200.

Use “The Cloud” But Backup Your Critical Data

Do keep backups of your data, especially data you need to access your sites on the web.

For passwords I use Password Safe which is free from sourceforge.net. This way I have all my passwords in one place. Consequently, I also have all those key sites I access in this same place. (This, I discovered, was very handy when I changed my e-mail account recently.) I backup the password file everyday to The Cloud using IDrive.com. I also do a monthly backup of the password file to a USB drive which I keep stored in a fire safe.

Be Secure In “The Cloud”

The scariest part of moving to the Cloud deals with the protection of your privacy and with security of your information. I admit this still worries me a bit. Can I really trust Google? Or how about trusting QuickenOnline.com with my financial data? We hear about data breaches every day. Some hacker broke in and stole personal information from thousands of customers. I have been notified more than once that this has happened at a company with which I do business. I have free credit monitoring right now due to a recent incident at an investment company.

I have also been called by my bank asking about charges made to my credit card. They turned out to be fraudulent and the bank removed the charges from my account. What was interesting is that I had just downloaded my most recent bank transactions into Quicken. I did not see these fraudulent charges. I immediately did another download of my bank transactions. There they were, along with transactions reversing the charges. My bank had detected and responded very quickly to these illegitimate activities.

My confidence in reasonable security in The Cloud is based upon my doing business over the Internet since the early 1990s when the Internet opened to commercial sites. The examples with my bank and with my investment company have helped reassure me that they are proactively trying to minimize the risk of loss. There is no guarantee of security. However, it is not obvious that your risk of loss is any greater in The Cloud than it is anywhere else.

“The Cloud” Is Here And Advertising Will Pay For It

I do believe that what we know as personal computing is moving into The Cloud. In the near future we will have much less reliance on a single piece of equipment loaded down with lots of pricey software, much of which we will never use.

Of course, like the broadcast media for decades, this Cloud is driven by advertising. So just as we once watched TV for free, before cable, and still listen to radio for free, it looks like we are going to a personal computing Cloud paid for by advertising. The personal computer will be needed to access The Cloud, but your software applications and information will be in The Cloud and not on your personal computer.

Project The Right Image–Starting With Your Email Address

Email addresses are just as important today as toll-free numbers were in the past.

Why? I would rather call 1-800-FLOWERS than 1-800-476-8874, for two reasons. First, it’s easier to remember. Second, and more importantly, the text version tells me that the company has put more of an effort into setting up their business. I think the same is true of email addresses. I would sooner email sales@flowers.com than flowers@rogers.com or flowers691@hotmail.com.

Many of you are still using rogers.com, sympatico.com, hotmail.com, and yahoo.ca addresses. My guess is that you’re doing so because you think you need a website in order to have your own domain name. Good news–this is not the case! Thanks to services provided by several companies, you can have your domain name and eat it too. (Ok, I know that was lame, but I’m sure you get the idea.)

While there are many ways to get a custom domain name (www.yourdomainname.com) without having a website, I’ll focus on two companies that, together, allow you to do this for about $10 a year. One you probably haven’t heard of: Godaddy. The other, I can say with absolute certainty, you have: Google. Need more than one email addresses? No problem. That same $10 dollars gets you up to 50 email addresses.

Now you’re probably asking: how do I do this?

Step 1: Visit http://www.godaddy.com and search for a domain name that suits you and your business. When you’ve found one, it costs roughly $10 per year to “own your piece of the internet” by registering the name. If you register the name for a longer period, you can save some money. If you’re looking to get a .ca domain name instead of a .com, email me and I’ll point you in the right direction.

Step 2: Visit http://www.google.com/a/ and sign up–for free–for Google Apps for Your Domain. Google Apps provides you with 50 email accounts for your domain name. You can access these email accounts using Google’s Gmail online interface, or you can use any email application on your PC or Mac. You can also set up a customizable start page, private-labelled Google Calendar, and Google Page Creator for your domain. This last one allows you to create a simple web page for your domain using a what-you-see-is-what-you-get design tool.

Did I mention all this will only cost you $10 A YEAR? You no longer have an excuse to use anything but your custom domain name email addresses.

And yes, I use Google Apps for my email.

Voice Technology Is The Future – Google Assistant

Google recently demoed their Assistant to make a phone call to help book a haircut appointment. When the conversation was being heard, the discussion sounded just like two people talking together, while in fact online there wasn’t a live person, but an ‘AI powered Assistant’ that sounded pretty much like talking to a real person. Besides the “hmm” and “m-hmmm” that a live person would do when in a conversation, it ended up booking an appointment for the Customer who had called in.

Like some, of its ‘friends’ Siri, Cortana, Alexa, Google Assistant can also be used to help support a particular business process. The only upgrade that it had was using its Duplex Technology capability and perform a task with the same sounding effort as a human being. Here the test was to check if Google Assistant could be used to perform different tasks, something like book an appointment at a salon or restaurant however for a business there are a lot of things that will be considered, this also includes the Security Policies for using Robots to do a Human’s job.

Google Assistant is a virtual companion and is available on Android phones and tablets running Android 5.0 or higher, on iOS devices via a downloadable app, and on certain Chromebooks and home speaker products. With Android and other Google devices, Assistant can typically be summoned via a simple voice command or by pressing and holding the Home key on your device.

Below are some of the basic functions that can be performed simply by saying “OK Google..( and your query )”

Notes & Reminders

If you need to take down a note, one can simply open Assistant by saying “OK Google..” and say “make a note to self”. You can even opt to have the note sent as an email to your own address via Gmail. Google Assistant can act as your secretary and compile a list of reminders, to-do tasks, or notes and then send this list as an email. It can even send the list to multiple people or post it into apps like Slack, Evernote or Trello.

As an example Assistant can set a reminder for a specific time and day just by saying “OK Google… Remind me to call John on Monday at noon,” One can set recurring reminders by adding the word “every” into the spoken command ( e.g., “Remind me to check the inventory every Thursday at 1:00 ). In addition to Reminders, there is also a command “Remember that the meeting is at 4:00 every Thursday”

If you need to recall the information, one can just say, “OK Google..what did I tell you about..?” followed by the subject “the inventory” or whatever the case may be.

Calendar

You can create a calendar event by telling the Assistant “add to my calendar” followed by the event’s name, date and time. You can also ask Assistant something like “When’s my next appointment?” or “What’s on my calendar for next Monday?” Apple users can also link Assistant to their iPhone’s calendar by setting up Google’s IFTTT applet for integrating Apple Calendar with Google Home and then use the command “Add to my iOS calendar” followed by the event’s title, date, and time.

Communication & Messaging

If you need to make a phone call, Google Assistant can act as your operator. One can ask it to call any publicly listed business or any person in their contacts by specifying “mobile” or “work” and even include “on speakerphone” in case you need them all to be on a speakerphone.

Google Assistant can understand “OK Google..text..” followed by the contact’s name and the message. It will confirm if it got everything right and then ask if you want to send the message. Assistant makes it easy to find emails within Gmail too, simply ask it to “find my emails from” a particular contact or to “find my emails about” a specific subject, and it’ll pop up results.

The Assistant will also provide functionality to link LinkedIn to Assistant and then let you write a post speaking it aloud.

Functions & Settings For The Phone

Google Assistant can help get around your Android phone as well, for example, if you are instructing it to open any app or website or even ask it to search within an app. Something, like increasing or decreasing the volume of music playing, or completely asking the Assistant to mute the phone, can also be done hands-free.

Additional Useful Tools

One can get detailed information on traffic before they head out just by asking Assistant “what the traffic is like on the way to work” or “how long it’ll take to get to a location” and it will be able to tell you the distance and time that will be taken to reach the destination. Just like a human being, Google Assistant can occasionally get a little talkative too. If you want to get info from Assistant without having it talk out loud every time, one can either silence their phone’s media volume.

Ups & Downs

This voice-based technology is surely a game changer for not only individuals but even businesses alike. However, unlike any other technological innovation, this too has its ups & downs and adds in its own security risks. This will include chances of it being misused too, however, if there are restrictions implied towards its use for supporting businesses, it will need rigorous testing, and continuous innovation to make sure it is able to keep up with the security authentication and privacy policies to avoid any technical vulnerabilities affecting the consumer or business.

Originally Published on https://www.globaltechinsights.com/voice-technology-is-the-future-google-assistant/