Going to the doctor’s office can be trying at the best of times, but in the middle of a global pandemic, it can be downright dangerous. Thanks to smartphones and the internet, you can now access medical professionals at a distance, get the help you need and even have prescriptions delivered. These are some of the best telehealth apps today, and all of them accept several insurance providers.

1. Teladoc (Android & iOS)

Teladoc offers several types of care. Most people will likely use their general medical services that let you consult with a doctor or pediatrician 24/7 for non-emergency conditions.

Teladoc also offers primary care services, including scheduled visits by a doctor for checkups, mental health services, specialist opinions, and general wellness.

Teladoc states that “Many health plans and employers provide Teladoc as part of their benefits when it comes to insurance.” The costs of its various services depending on your specific benefits through your insurance provider.

2. MDLIVE (Android & iOS)

MDLIVE provides instant access to board-certified doctors and licensed therapists. After consulting with a physician, you can even be prescribed medication. There are three main types of care, each with its own price range. These are urgent care, behavioral care, and dermatology.

Urgent care includes conditions such as UTIs, ear pain, allergies, colds, flu, and so on. Behavioral care includes most types of mental health conditions, and dermatology covers basically everything related to your skin, including evaluation of suspicious moles.

MDLIVE says it supports most insurance plans but that users can quickly check if they qualify by simply creating an account and entering their details.

3. Doctor On Demand (Android & iOS)

Doctor on Demand bills itself as “total virtual care” and offers urgent care, behavioral care, preventative care, and chronic treatment. They are partnered with many different health plans, including most of the major names. There’s a good chance that your current insurance already includes Doctor on Demand as a benefit, albeit rebranded in some cases.

4. LiveHealth Online (Android & iOS)

LiveHealth offers general medical care, allergy treatment, and mental health. Their mental health offerings cover both psychological and psychiatric treatments. Visits cost at most $59, but if your insurance covers part or all of this, it can be much cheaper. Some employers also have agreements with LiveHealth, so it may be worth checking if yours does.

LiveHealth is particularly notable for offering online therapy from licensed psychologists or having a psychiatrist on-call who can prescribe medications such as antidepressants.

The way LiveHealth is set up, you’ll see how much a visit will cost you before committing to it. So if your insurance or employer will cover a portion of the cost, you’ll only see the amount you’ll actually be paying.

The costs of consultations don’t change based on time, so 24/7, on weekends and holidays, you pay a flat rate. It’s also worth noting that you can speak to a Spanish-speaking doctor, but your device’s settings must be set to Spanish to get the right version of the app, and those doctors are only available during certain hours.

5. Healthtap (Android & iOS)

Healthtap advertises itself as the most affordable virtual primary care provider, and its out-of-pocket prices seem very reasonable. Thankfully they also accept various insurance providers, so your copay will be even less and perhaps even zero!

Healthtap puts particular emphasis on health issues that are specific to men or women, as well as sexual health issues. However, it is a general virtual health provider and caters to children’s health and general chronic conditions.

One notable feature of Healthtap is Healthtap AI. This is a symptom checker trained by the diagnostic knowledge of real doctors and can help you narrow down your problem or let you know if you have something more serious that requires professional attention.

6. Plushcare (Android & iOS)

Plushcare boasts a user base of over 300,000 users and is available across the US. Plushcare hires its physicians from the top 50 medical schools, and of course, they are all board-certified to legally practice medicine.

One interesting wrinkle in Plushcare’s service is their promise that if their online doctor cannot treat you, the session will be free. That’s pretty confident, but treatments happen in 97% of first visits by their own estimates.

Plushcare accepts most major insurance providers and says that most insured users have a copay of around $25. However, uninsured users pay less for a virtual visit than in-person visits usually cost.

Another nice feature is that they have an insurance checker, so you can quickly find out if you’re covered.

7. Amwell (Android & iOS)

Amwell offers on-demand or scheduled primary care for urgent issues such as respiratory infections, diarrhea, flu, pink eye, and so on. However, they also offer mental health services that include depression and anxiety treatment, bereavement, trauma, couple’s therapy, and even divorce counselling. 

This makes Amwell an attractive service for those facing these particular life challenges. On the psychiatric side of things,  you can get help with serious conditions that may require medication in addition to therapy, such as eating disorders, PTSD, and psychosis.

Amwell also has wellness services that include nutrition advice for weight control, allergies, hypertension, pregnancy diets, and help with planning meals for your children. Mothers can also benefit from Amwell’s lactation consulting, where your concerns or problems with breastfeeding can receive attention.

Unlike some other virtual providers, there can be quite a difference in charges for the different types of services. An urgent care consultation costs $79, but an initial psychiatric assessment costs $269 (with $90 for follow-ups). These are the prices without insurance, and Amwell lets you put your insurance information into their app to see what your rates will be in advance. Just be aware that you won’t have a flat co-pay rate. 

8. Zocdoc (Android & iOS)

Zocdoc is a little different from the other virtual providers on this list because they aren’t laser-focused on virtual care only. Zocdoc lets you find doctors in your area, see information about them to decide who you want to see, and then either book an in-person visit or schedule a video call with them.

Another neat feature is that you can scan your insurance card, and Zocdoc will show you a list of doctors that work with your insurance. So it really can help you find a doctor you’re covered for quickly, even when you physically want to visit one.

Additionally, you can filter doctors according to your symptoms and only see ones that match the problem you’re likely to have. Zocdoc is not a virtual care provider but an intermediary that quickly matches your insurance and health needs with the right people.

The Doctor Is In!

Telehealth used to be nothing but a pipedream, but with widespread smartphone ownership and broadband, it’s never been easier to get the medical care you need at any time, no matter where you are.

There’s something unique about war movies. They involve so many elements that people love in a film. Things like survival, companionship, action, and so much more.

War movies usually contain a lot of violence and other things that children shouldn’t watch, so if you’re looking to binge on any of the following free war movies, make sure the children are soundly in bed. Then pop some popcorn, and get ready to be entertained by explosions, intrigue, and edge-of-your-seat action.

Note: Some of the “free” war movies in the list below do require either an Amazon Prime or Netflix subscription to watch. Others are genuinely available for free on services like Tubi or Peacock. They aren’t all the latest releases, but still entertaining.

1. The Outpost (2020)

• Director: Rod Lurie
• Lead Actors: Scott Eastwood, Caleb Landry Jones, Orlando Bloom
• Duration: 2h 3m
• Rating: R
• IMDB Rating: 6.8/10

This movie portrays the true story of the 2009 Battle of Kamdesh in Afghanistan. The film culminates when over 300 Taliban attacked the encampment in a surprise assault. Only 54 U.S. troops had to defend against and survive the attack.

Where to Watch: Netflix

2. Ghost of War (2020)

• Director: Eric Bress
• Lead Actors: Brenton Thwaites, Kyle Gallner, Alan Ritchson
• Duration: 1hr 34m
• Rating: R
• IMDB Rating: 5.6/10

If you love horror as much as you love war movies, you’ll enjoy Ghost of War. Five American soldiers are ordered to occupy a French Chateau during WWII. What should have been a fairly straightforward assignment turns into a nightmare when the soldiers realize that something supernatural is already in residence in the mansion with them.

Where to Watch: Netflix

3. Mine (2016)

• Director: Fabio Guaglione, Fabio Resinaro
• Lead Actors: Armie Hammer, Annabelle Wallis, Tom Cullen
• Duration: 1h 46m
• Rating: Not Rated
• IMDB Rating: 5.9/10

Marine sniper Sergeant Mike Stevens must locate and take out the leader of a terrorist cell in North Africa. One wrong move lands him with his left foot on an active mine in the middle of the desert. Stevens must use his marine training and wits to survive for 52 hours until the next convoy arrives. However, the heat, thirst, and hunger are not the most difficult challenges he faces. His mind is.

Where to Watch: Fubo, Tubi, Redbox, Crackle, Vudu    

4. The Siege of Jadotville (2016)

• Director: Richie Smyth
• Lead Actors: Jamie Dornan, Jason O’ Mara, Danny Sapani
• Duration: 1h 48m
• Rating: TV-MA
• IMDB Rating: 7.2/10

This movie tells the true story of a group of Irish peacekeepers in the Congo who are assigned to protect the residents of Jadotville during the start of a local civil war. Caught in the middle of the firefight with Katangese and mercenary troops, the Irish soldiers must stand their ground and survive with little supplies and limited weapons.

Where to Watch: Netflix 

5. Journey’s End (2018)

• Director: Saul Dibb
• Lead Actors: Paul Bettany, Sam Claflin, Stephen Graham
• Duration: 1h 47m
• Rating: R
• IMDB Rating: 6.7/10

Journey’s End tells the tale of a company of British soldiers along the Western Front in April of 1918. The company, led by veteran Captain Stanhope, now an alcoholic and war-weary, must prepare for an upcoming assault against German forces. 2nd Lieutenant Raligh joins the line fresh out of training, only to learn that the Stanhope he knew back at school is no longer the same man. 

Where to Watch: Amazon Prime, Vudu, Tubi, Kanopy    

6. The Monuments Men (2014)

• Director: George Clooney
• Lead Actors: George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray
• Duration: 1h 58m
• Rating: PG-13
• IMDB Rating: 6.1/10

This movie tells the remarkable true story of a WWII platoon created by FDR to rescue art from Nazi forces. What’s most surprising about this story is that this platoon was made up of museum curators and art historians. These regular citizens accepted their mission to locate and capture mountains of precious artifacts that the world would otherwise lose forever if the Nazis succeed in destroying it all.

Where to Watch: Tubi 

7. T-34 (2020)

• Director: Aleksey Sidorov
• Lead Actors: Alexander Petrov, Irina Starshenbaum, Viktor Dobronravov
• Duration: 2h 19m
• Rating: TV-14
• IMDB Rating: 6.7/10

T-34 may very well be one of the best tank movies of all time. Lieutenant Ivushkin, held in captivity by German forces, puts together a crew of fellow prisoners and plans a daring escape using an old T-34 tank. The Germans plan to use the crew and the unarmed T-34 tank as target practice during training exercises. Little do they know that Ivushkin has managed to arm the tank and plans to bust out using it.

Where to Watch: Amazon Prime, Vudu, Pluto TV  

8. The Yellow Birds (2018)

• Director: Alexandre Moors
• Lead Actors: Alden Ehrenreich, Tye Sheridan, Mikey Collins
• Duration: 1h 34m
• Rating: R
• IMDB Rating: 5.7/10

Yellow Birds tells the story of John Bartle and his efforts to stay alive during his time in the Iraq War. The movie isn’t all war and action. After the war, it also follows him as he tries to deal with the psychological aftermath once he returns home to Virginia.

Where to Watch: Tubi

9. Company of Heroes (2013)

• Director: Don Michael Paul
• Lead Actors: Tom Sizemore, Alastair Mackenzie, Chad Michael Collins
• Duration: 1h 40m
• Rating: R
• IMDB Rating: 5.1/10

Lost behind enemy lines during WWII in the Battle of the Bulge, a company of U.S. soldiers discovers that Hitler is developing a super bomb. The story tells how they attempt to race deeper into Nazi Germany to recover the defecting German scientist in charge of developing the bomb and bring him back into Allied hands. 

Where to Watch: Tubi

10. Air Strike (2018)

• Director: Xiao Feng
• Lead Actors: Ye Liu, Bruce Willis, Song Seung-heon
• Duration: 1h 36m
• Rating: R
• IMDB Rating: 3.2/10

Featuring Bruce Willis as a U.S. Colonel in charge of training Chinese soldiers to defend Chongquing from Japanese Air Force attacks. The story takes place in 1940 and presents little-known history to audiences. While this movie is ranked lowly by IMDB and other critics, war movie fans will appreciate the firefights and action throughout this film.

Where to Watch: Netflix

11. Defiance (2008)

• Director: Edward Zwick
• Lead Actors: Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, Jamie Bell
• Duration: 2h 17m
• Rating: R
• IMDB Rating: 7.2/10

During WWII, the Bielski brothers and fellow fleeing Polish Jews hid and survived in the deep forests of German-occupied Eastern Europe. This movie details how they not only survived but also gathered weapons and defended themselves against threats from both the German forces and also the Soviets who had little sympathy or concern for the escapees.

Where to Watch: Netflix

12. Tears of the Sun (2003)

• Director: Antoine Fuqua
• Lead Actors: Bruce Willis, Cole Hauser, Monica Bellucci
• Duration: 2h 1m
• Rating: R
• IMDB Rating: 6.6/10

Tears of the Sun tells the story of an elite Navy SEAL squadron headed by Lieutenant A.K. Waters. Their mission has nothing to do with the Nigerian conflict waging around them – they are only supposed to retrieve Dr. Lena Kendricks of Doctors Without Borders. But the group must defy their orders to protect a group of refugees the doctor is tending to. So the Navy SEALs take the villagers through the jungle as they continue to be attacked by rebel forces.

Where to Watch: Netflix

13. Danger Close (2018)

• Director: Kriv Stenders
• Lead Actors: Travis Fimmel, Toby Blome, Alexander England
• Duration: 1h 58m
• Rating: R
• IMDB Rating: 6.8/10

Danger Close is one of the most nail-biting tails based around the Vietnam war. It tells about the actual experiences of Australian and New Zealand soldiers attempting to defend an area of Long Tan on August 18, 1966. As supplies run low and a North Vietnamese force of 2,500 encircles them, these soldiers must maintain their will to survive against overwhelming odds. The Battle of Long Tan is considered one of the most violent engagements of the war, with an ending that will leave you stunned.

Where to Watch: Hulu, Amazon Prime

14. Hyena Road (2016)

• Director: Paul Gross
• Lead Actors: Rossif Sutherland, Allan Hawco, David Richmond-Peck
• Duration: 2h
• Rating: R
• IMDB Rating: 6.5/10

This 2015 Canadian film covers the true story of a Canadian task force attempting to defend the construction of the Hyena road being built by Canadian combat engineers. The film details how Taliban forces sought to hunt down the Canadian soldiers, how locals double-crossed the troops and the violent encounters that happened along the way. 

Where to Watch: Tubi, Vudu, Amazon Prime, Pluto TV   

15. To End All Wars (2001)

• Director: David L. Cunningham
• Lead Actors: Robert Carlyle, Kiefer Sutherland, Ciarán McMenamin
• Duration: 1h 57m
• Rating: R
• IMDB Rating: 7.0/10

During World War II, the Japanese used Allied POWs to build a railroad through the Burmese jungle. This film details the psychological torture the POWs endured and how they managed to stay alive while maintaining their humanity and hope. This dramatic film will force you to think about complicated questions around morality, pride, and revenge.

Where to Watch: Tubi, Peacock TV, Amazon Prime  

16. The Trench (1999)

• Director: William Boyd
• Lead Actors: Paul Nicholls, Daniel Craig, Julian Rhind-Tutt
• Duration: 1h 38m
• Rating: Not Rated
• IMDB Rating: 6.0/10

One of the greatest WWI trench warfare movies, this film details the days in British trenches during the buildup to the battle of the Somme in 1916. 

Where to Watch: Pluto TV, Tubi, Amazon Prime  

17. Battle for Sevastopol (2015)

• Director: Sergey Mokritskiy
• Lead Actors: Yuliya Peresild, Evgeniy Tsyganov, Oleg Vasilkov
• Duration: 1h 50m
• Rating: Not Rated
• IMDB Rating: 7.1/10

This movie details the fantastic true story of student Lyudmila Pavlichenko who enlisted in the Russian army in 1941. She proves herself as a skilled sniper, which the German HIgh Command soon recognizes as a threat that needs to be eliminated. She survives the war, but not without serious injury first. She travels to the United States and meets with Eleanor Roosevelt before speaking to the American public to gain approval for a second front. 

Where to Watch: Tubi, Amazon Prime 

Watching War Movies for Free

It isn’t always easy to find good war movies for free, but hopefully the list above will provide war movie buffs with plenty of entertainment. Throughout these plots, you’ll find drama, horror, action, and even love stories. You might also consider searching through old public domain movies for more fabulous finds.

Do you know of any other great free war movies you can watch online? Share your favorites in the comments section below.

The idea of earning money by simply running an algorithm on your computer is appealing. There was a time when hobbyists used their gaming PCs to mine Bitcoin and make some cash on the side, but things are more complicated now.

The effort required to mine one cryptocurrency unit rises with every new coin added into circulation. This can make mining older currencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum unprofitable without dedicated server farms.

So which cryptocurrency should a hobbyist mine? Are there any altcoins that are profitable to mine with a home computer? Let’s find out.

What Is Cryptocurrency Mining?

The way cryptocurrencies work is a bit weird. Cryptocurrencies are entirely digital instead of being tied to a real-world physical asset or guaranteed by a central bank. This poses an issue: how do you keep people from endlessly copying it?

That is where the blockchain comes in. Each “block” is a record of ownership and transactions, secured using cryptographic encryption. Obviously, someone needs to expend their computing power performing the necessary mathematical operations every time a transaction takes place on the network, which is precisely what mining entails.

Cryptocurrency mining is the process of performing the Proof-of-Work (PoW) for a cryptocurrency’s blockchain, verifying transactions taking place on it. Miners are rewarded for their efforts by newly minted coins, adding more currency into circulation.

How Do You Mine Cryptocurrency?

If making money was as easy as just firing up an app on your computer, everyone would be doing it. While straightforward, the process isn’t as easy to get into or as rewarding as many think.

Here are the steps to start mining cryptocurrency yourself.

Get a Powerful Crypto Mining Machine

The first thing you need to mine cryptocurrency is a powerful machine to handle the advanced algorithms. Theoretically, any computer will do, but if it can solve them fast enough, the process will not be profitable.

Ideally, you want an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) machine. These boards are specialized for solving crypto hashing problems and offer the best performance. The problem: they are expensive. Only large companies running crypto mining farms can afford them, making this approach useless to a hobbyist miner.

The second best thing is a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit). High-end discrete graphics cards from Nvidia can do a decent job crunching numbers, giving you a fighting chance in mining some cryptocurrencies. This is partly why the prices of video cards have gone up in recent years, as enthusiasts build mining rigs using GPUs.

Choose the Right Coin

All cryptocurrencies, by their very definition, are minable. That being said, not every coin will be profitable to mine with home equipment.

What you need are coins with modern algorithms that discourage ASIC usage and are suited for GPUs. Such cryptocurrencies are viable to mine without an extraordinary investment and give you a decent return.

Setup the Mining Software

Once you have a machine to mine with and a coin selected, you need good mining software. Most of these applications are free and open-source, meaning that you don’t need to spend anything here.

These applications mostly differ in their user interfaces and hardware compatibility, so feel free to try them out before settling on the one you like.

Grab a Crypto Wallet

Mining gives you coins, but you also need a crypto wallet to hold them. Technically, you don’t need a wallet, only an address, but managing your funds is easier with a cryptocurrency wallet app. Like any digital wallet, you can send and receive crypto or make payments using the app. 

Join a Mining Pool

Suppose you are trying to brute-force a number lock with a four-digit passcode. You will eventually find the correct answer by entering all numbers between 0 and 9999. As you might expect, this is a long and tedious process. Cryptocurrency mining works a bit like this.

Crypto miners race to find the correct hash in a given range, with coins being rewarded to the one who finds it. The thing is, the chances of a home computer stumbling upon the correct hash by itself are pretty low.

So crypto miners form pools. The workload is evenly split between the members, allowing the solution to be found far more quickly and reliably. The rewards are equally spread among the members, giving everyone a consistent income quickly.

If you are looking to mine crypto seriously, you should first join a large online pool. 

Start Mining

And that’s it. You can now run the mining software and start making money. Make sure to calculate your profitability, taking into account power costs and the value of the coins mined. Shift to a better cryptocurrency if you find your profits dipping and stay ahead of the curve.

The Best Cryptocurrencies to Mine

What you are looking for in a cryptocurrency to mine is a good rate of return, an algorithm that is ASIC resistant, and sufficient stability to make it safe to invest your time and effort into. These are the best coins that match these criteria.

1. RavenCoin (RVN)

A fork of Bitcoin with a more decentralized mining algorithm, RavenCoin is one of the best choices for new crypto miners. The block time is only one minute, and the rewards are much higher than you would get by mining Bitcoin. Although it is relatively new (launched in 2018), it has already climbed the charts to become one of the most profitable altcoins to mine.

2. Zcash (ZEC)

Zcash is one of the leading ASIC-resistant cryptocurrencies. Its mining algorithm has been tweaked to discourage commercial mining, allowing individuals to use their GPUs to mine the coin. This, along with its privacy-focused features, makes Zcash a great cryptocurrency to mine.

3. Dogecoin (DOGE)

What started as a meme coin has gone on to become a highly popular cryptocurrency with a pretty good ROI. Moreover, since it uses the Scrypt protocol, it is ASIC resistant and can be successfully mined with a GPU. We would recommend new crypto miners try mining DOGE to maximize their profits.

4. Grin (GRIN)

There are plenty of privacy-focused altcoins out there, but most are not built to last. For a cryptocurrency to remain relevant years in the future, it must be able to scale effectively. GRiN aims to do just that. It guarantees transaction privacy and a lightweight protocol that can keep scaling through incredible growth. Better yet, the Cuckoo cycle ensures that the mining is ASIC resistant.

5. MonaCoin (MONA)

Another meme coin that has made it big, MonaCoin is a popular cryptocurrency of Japan. While not as widespread as Bitcoin or Ethereum, MonaCoin is nevertheless a stable coin with great potential. It is one of the easier coins to mine, making it a favorite of hobbyists looking to earn some crypto with their GPUs.

6. Vertcoin (VTC)

There is probably no better coin to mine using a GPU than Vertcoin. Not only is the cryptocurrency ASIC resistant, but it has two mining Networks specially tailored for GPU mining. Nvidia and AMD graphic cards are well supported, creating the easiest crypto mining route for enthusiasts.

Which Cryptocurrency Should You Start Mining?

The question of which cryptocurrency you should choose to mine depends entirely on your rig and its capabilities. For example, some coins are easier to mine with a GPU, while others require an ASIC to be profitable.

You should go with a cryptocurrency whose mining algorithm is a good match for your hardware besides having an excellent ROI (Return on investment).

Everyone is familiar with the concept of ordering food for pickup, but the convenience doesn’t stop there. The pandemic changed the way people approach shopping, and many more services can now be ordered online to save you time. 

When you’re short of time (or you just want to avoid going into crowded stores, especially around the holiday season), check out these surprising items you can order online to save yourself time.

Video Games at GameStop

No, we don’t mean ordering online for delivery to your home. You can actually browse your local GameStop’s inventory through the website or the mobile app and order games for in-store pickup. It’s an easy way to skip the process of searching through the store to ensure they have a title in stock.

Once you order it, the employees will gather your order and have it ready and waiting for you when you walk in. Just show proof of purchase (or pay if you haven’t already) and you can be in and out in under thirty seconds.

Girl Scout Cookies

Who doesn’t love Girl Scout cookies? Through GirlScouts.org, you can find booths near you or simply order online. There’s even an app you can download to help you better locate the nearest source of Thin Mints for when you have those emergency cravings that nothing else will fill. 

Unfortunately, this trick only works when Girl Scout cookies are in season. The good news is that the website will tell you exactly how many days remain until you begin ordering Girl Scout Cookies. Think of it as a Thin Mint countdown timer, if you will.

Propane Tanks

If you’ve ever grilled up hotdogs and hamburgers on a propane grill, then you know the tanks aren’t the lightest things to carry. If you struggle to pick them up or you just don’t like the idea of carrying a propane tank in your car, good news: you can order them online.

Services like Cynch will deliver a propane tank directly to your home and take the old ones to be refilled. It’s an easy way to get tanks when you need them without putting in all of the elbow grease yourself. 

Fast Food

What can make fast food even faster? Not waiting for it to be prepared at the drive through. Almost all of the main fast food restaurants (McDonalds, Burger King, etc.) have mobile apps you can download and use to place an order for pickup at your local store. In fact, many offer rewards and discounts for doing so.

The team begins preparing the food as soon as you order it. After this, you just swing through the drive thru and pick up your food. No waiting required, and no chance that someone will misunderstand your order since you specify every detail of it in the app.

Clothing

Few things in the world require as much time as shopping for clothes. Browsing the racks, trying on different sizes, and then making a decision can feel like it takes ages. The good news is that if you know what size you wear and what you’re looking for, you can order clothes for free pickup in Macy’s.

All you have to do is buy online and then you can pick up the clothes at your local store. It takes a lot of the stress out of the experience and lets you get in and out of the store fast — a major benefit, especially at this time of year.

Groceries

At the height of the pandemic, many people were afraid to go into stores. Walmart, Publix, Kroger, and many other big-box stores opened up online ordering. You can order your groceries online and a team member will bring them to the front of the store for curbside pickup. 

If you’re on a budget, shopping for groceries online is a lifesaver. It helps you avoid impulse purchases if you’re hungry and lets you get in and out of the store quickly. The downside is that if you’re buying produce, you can’t choose the best pieces for yourself — you have to trust the team member will find the best ones for you. 

Christmas Trees

If you find yourself in need of a Christmas tree, but your vehicle is too small to transport it, CityTreeDelivery.com can help. This service delivers Fraser Fir trees right to your door, and has been doing so since 2009.

The downside is that they only service the Chicago area, but it’s still a great way to buy a real Christmas tree without the mess and struggle of transporting it yourself. You can also buy accessories like a tree stand, wreathes, candles, and more. Maybe there’s a similar Christmas tree delivery service near you? 

Massages

In a time when most people work from home, your neck and shoulders probably suffer from all the time you spend in front of a computer. While going out for a massage might seem extravagant, proper treatment can be beneficial in reducing pain levels and even helping you sleep better.

Soothe is a service that connects you with licensed, professional massage therapists that will come directly to your home. You can receive a world-class massage in the comfort of your own home, from someone that knows how to best untangle the knots in your muscles.

Alcohol

Whether you forgot to grab a bottle or two of wine before a gathering or you need something to cook with, you don’t have to pile into the car to go to the liquor store. You can have alcohol delivered right to your home through Drizly. 

The service is currently somewhat limited and only serves a few cities that include Boston, Chicago, NYC, Dallas, Washington D.C., and several others. When you place an order, Drizly will deliver your favorite beer, wine, or liquor straight to your front door without the need to make a run to the store. Oh, and Drizly promises to deliver within an hour.

If you’re looking to save time, do a search to find out what you can order online. You might be surprised at the options that are open to you. Just be careful that the website you’re ordering from is legitimate and that you aren’t accidentally giving away personal information. 

An essential tool for many digital artists is altering the opacity of brushes or other tools. This can help achieve specific effects or keep brush strokes light to build on them quickly. If you’re using the iPad art program Procreate, you’ll definitely want to know how to change opacity levels so you can get the most out of the app. 

There are actually multiple ways you can change opacity in Procreate, depending on how you try to use it. In this article, we’ll explain how opacity works in the program, as well as the different ways you can change and use it. 

How To Change Opacity for Tools

When you start up Procreate and open a project, you’ll see a few different toolbars with some features. For changing opacity in Procreate, you’ll most want to pay attention to the sidebar on the left of the screen. Also, select the tool you want to use, as you can separately set opacity levels for the brush tool, smudge tool, or eraser.

Here’s how to change opacity using the slider. 

1. On the left-hand sidebar, use the bottom-most slider. 

2. Tap and hold on the slider. Drag it downwards to decrease opacity levels or upward to increase them. 

3. Now, use the tool you have selected on the canvas screen to see how its opacity has changed. You can make adjustments as needed whenever you want by going back to the slider. 

You can also change the opacity level for any brush in Procreate separately. There are a few different options in brush settings for altering opacity. Here, we’ll focus on a couple of the main options. 

1. Tap on the Brush tool, find the brush you want to use and tap on it. 

2. In the brush settings, go to Properties. 

3. Near the bottom, you’ll see options for Maximum Opacity and Minimum Opacity. First, you’ll need to change Minimum Opacity, the lowest opacity the brush can reach according to how much pressure you apply with your pencil. 

4. Now, you can change the Maximum Opacity, which is the maximum level of opacity the brush can reach overall. You can make both the minimum and maximum opacity levels the same if you don’t want the pressure to make a difference in this way. 

In the brush settings, you can also go to the Apple Pencil setting to change opacity even more:

1. Under Apple Pencil, go to Opacity under Pressure. 

2. Altering opacity here will change the opacity levels according to how much pressure is applied when using the brush. 

As far as pressure goes, the middle of the brush stroke in the preview is where the most pressure is applied, and the ends show where less pressure is applied. 

How To Change Opacity for Layers

There may be situations where you want to change the opacity of an entire layer. This can be a quick way to add an effect, or if you’re sketching, it can help you do line work over an initial sketch. 

1. Open the Layers menu in the top-right corner with the icon of two overlapping squares. 

2. Select the layer you want to change the opacity of and tap it with two fingers. 

3. The Layers menu will close, and you’ll see a blue bar at the top labeled Opacity. Slide a finger left or right to change the opacity levels of the layer. 

4. Alternatively, you can tap on the N in your chosen layer in the menu, and the Opacity slider will appear. 

Make sure you only have one layer selected before tapping, as you can’t change the opacity of more than one layer at a time. 

Tips for Using Opacity

Like with other Procreate tools, there are endless possibilities for utilizing opacity in your projects. Whether you’re sketching, painting, or jotting down ideas, opacity can add another layer of depth.

Add More Realism

If you’re trying to add in special effects such as smoke, fog, or shadows, opacity can help you get a more realistic result. Try using low opacity brushes to draw or paint these effects, or draw them in a single layer and lower the layer’s opacity as you see fit. 

Trace Over Lines or Photos

One of the most helpful opacity uses is line work and tracing. For example, if you use Procreate to illustrate, it’s easy to sketch out a drawing on one layer and lower the opacity so you can make cleaner lines over it on another layer. 

Also, if you want to trace something specific, or you’re learning how to draw and want to practice on a reference picture, you can import a photo into Procreate on a layer and then lower that layer’s opacity so it’s easy to see your brush strokes over it. 

Build Up Colors

Painting in Procreate can be improved by using opacity correctly. It allows you to use brushes lightly to build colors up into darker values when trying to portray light and shadow. 

Blend Colors

Opacity can also help in blending colors. Simply lower the opacity of the brush you’re using with the color you want to blend with, and use it in light strokes to achieve this effect. 

Changing Opacity in Procreate for Ultimate Creativity

You’ll find that using opacity becomes an indispensable tool in your artwork after you’ve mastered it. It’s useful for various reasons, and once you understand your way around it in Procreate, it’ll be easy to incorporate it into whatever art you’re working on. 

BYOD or Bring Your Own Device cellular plans let you use the device of your choice with a SIM-only offer. These plans offer financial and flexibility benefits, but before you grab that irresistible deal, you should know what those benefits are and, more importantly, what potential drawbacks you might experience.

The BYOD Cellular Plan Defined

A BYOD plan is essentially precisely what the name says. You already have a phone from another contract, or you’re going to buy a handset outright, so you don’t need a phone from the service provider. You’ll simply receive a SIM linked to your contract and put it into your current device.

BYOD Plans Are Cheaper Month-to-Month

Since your monthly payment does not include the installment for a handset, a BYOD plan will cost less each month than one that offers the same data and talk time but also includes a phone.

BYOD Plans Can Be Easy to Get Out Of

Since you aren’t also paying off a subsidized phone, a BYOD plan can easily be canceled. Some BYOD plan providers don’t even offer a long-term contract. So you can get contract data and voice rates but still cancel your plan whenever you like without penalty. For example, Jolt Mobile’s plans only last 30-days at a time.

BYOD Can Be More Expensive Overall

While the monthly cost of a BYOD plan is cheaper than one with a handset, if you’re buying a handset outright, you may end up paying more for it than going the installment route.

Mobile carriers get fantastic bulk deals on handsets, and if you add up the handset installments, you may end up paying less for a phone than its cash price. You may also get bundled accessories that work out to less than they cost in a store for cash. Before going the BYOD route, do the math and see which option has the higher total cost.

You Need an Unlocked Phone

In some countries, including the USA, mobile phones can be locked to specific carriers, which won’t work with anyone else. If you want to use a BYOD plan, you either need a phone that’s already locked to the carrier of your choice, a phone that’s unlocked, or you have to get your phone unlocked by the carrier or a third-party service provider. 

It can cost money to unlock a handset, so you’ll need to consider that cost. One of the reasons subsidized phones on carrier plans work out cheaper is that they are locked. An unlocked phone bought through a store such as Amazon generally attracts a higher price, even if the phones themselves are physically identical.

The good news is that it’s sometimes possible to unlock your phone with free unlock codes, but there’s no guarantee that this will be possible for your specific handset.

You Can Keep Your Phone When Switching Providers

Assuming that you have an unlocked phone or have the option to unlock your phone, going for a BYOD contract when switching from one provider to the next can be a significant advantage. You don’t have to go through the trouble of moving all your data to a new phone, and of course, you save the costs of buying an entirely new handset when the one you’ve already got works just fine.

Changing from one provider to another if your contract has ended is relatively painless, but if you’re mid-contract, then an early cancellation can come with pretty steep costs. For one thing, you’ll have to pay the balance on your current handset, and there may be other penalties. Carefully read through your plan’s contract to see what the terms are for early cancellation.

Mobile providers sometimes offer to cover the cost of your early contract cancellation as an incentive to switch but read the fine print carefully to see whether you aren’t locking yourself into a long-term deal with even harsher penalties.

Your Phone Needs the Right Network Compatibility

In the US, there are two main types of mobile providers: GSM and CDMA. Both of these mobile network types are being phased out rapidly, but you may still find that the phone you currently have is incompatible with the network you want to use.

The simplest solution is to get in touch with the BYOD contract provider and ask them whether the phone you want to use is compatible with their network. If not, you’ll either have to purchase a new handset or go with a non-BYOD plan.

Some providers may have a self-service BYOD eligibility tool where you can check if your existing phone will work or not.

No Aftermarket Device Support

If you bring your device to the contract, then you are also entirely responsible for that device. Your BYOD provider is under no obligation to provide technical support for the handset. You also have to provide your device insurance against theft and damage. If your device is still under warranty, you’ll also have to handle the process of a warranty return or repair yourself, along with whomever you bought the phone from.

It’s worth considering these additional costs and whether getting a normal phone contract with a handset that may include insurance and support in the price. 

Some Providers Offer Handset Trade-Ins

If you have a handset that won’t do the job for your new network, but you don’t want to pay the total amount for a new phone, you may have the opportunity to take advantage of a trade-in offer. Assuming that your current handset is paid off and in an acceptable condition, the new provider might discount a compatible handset. While this won’t necessarily save you as much money as a BYOD plan, it could still be less expensive than getting a new handset outright. However, do a little research and check whether you couldn’t get more money for your current phone by selling it privately.

Who Offers BYOD?

It seems that almost everyone has some form of BYOD or BYOP (Bring Your Own Phone) plan on offer, but there’s one significant difference between providers you should be aware of.

There are three major carriers in the USA: AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile US, and Verizon. These are the companies that actually own and operate the physical cellular infrastructure of the mobile network. All three of the major providers in the USA offer BYOD plans.

In addition to these mainline carriers, there are also MVNOs or Mobile Virtual Network Operators. These are companies that don’t own any network infrastructure but run their own plans on the hardware of major operators.

BYOD offerings among MVNOs vary, but the vast majority do offer this type of plan. Some MVNOs, such as Jolt Mobile or Airvoice Wireless, only offer BYOD plans. At the time of writing, major MVNOs who don’t provide any BYOD options include:

• Assurance Wireless
• CREDO Mobile
• Lively (formerly GreatCall)
• Karma Mobility
• SafetyNet Wireless

The mobile provider market is constantly in flux, especially for MVNOs who may come and go much more quickly than large carriers. So it’s always best simply to check a provider’s website for BYOD plans.

Cash used to be king, but most of us have wallets devoid of paper and coins these days. Instead, more and more customers are paying digitally, ditching even magnetic stripe and chip cards in the process. This is the digital payment service era, and the time is right to embrace the one that fits your needs.

What Is a Digital Payment Service?

Digital Payment Services are fairly self-explanatory. In essence, any service that allows you to pay digitally for goods and services to businesses and individuals without cash, cheques, debit cards, or credit cards falls into this category.

They can still be linked to your bank account or credit card, but these payment methods are never exposed to whomever you’re paying. Some digital payment services allow you to pay for things in-person using a smartphone or a smartwatch.

What Should a Digital Payment Service Do?

Ideally, the digital payment service of your choice should let you pay for things online and in-person at a retailer. You may also want a way to give money to friends and family easily, without having to wait for bank transfers or deal with cash from ATMs. A way to make joint payments (such as splitting a restaurant bill) can also be an important feature.

Apart from being convenient, a digital payment service has to be secure! Many of these services are attractive for online payments because they don’t expose your bank or credit card details to anyone. They also tend to have protection policies in place that will pay your money back if you’re the victim of fraud. Vendors who use these payment platforms are incentivized to do honest business, or they run the risk of being kicked out.

The third important thing these services should offer is wide acceptance. If you can’t confidently leave your cash and cards at home in the knowledge that you can pay with your service, it’s not helping! Since tap-and-pay terminals are now so common, services that offer NFC (near-field communication) payment generally have this requirement sewn-up

How Mobile Device Payments Work

There are several ways to use a digital payment service. Today, most smartphones and smartwatches have NFC capabilities, the same technology used by tap-and-pay cards. With a digital payment service set up, you need to tap your device on a payment terminal, usually after entering a pin or performing a biometric verification.

When doing app-to-app transactions with someone, you’ll use an internet connection to transfer money, so you don’t have to be in the same location. Some services can also use QR codes for payment. For example, there will be a QR code on display in the store; you’ll use the payment app to scan the QR code, enter an amount, and complete the payment.

The Best Digital Payment Services

Which digital payment services work the best for you will largely depend on where in the world you live. The list of selected payment services below is chosen from a US perspective, and US readers will find they are widely accepted and convenient.

Apple Pay

Apple Pay is a digital payment service integrated into most Apple devices. You can use an iPhone or Apple Watch to tap-and-pay in stores, and you can pay for things online on sites that support it. For example, Airbnb supports Apple Pay, and you can use FaceID or TouchID on an iPhone or Mac to verify your purchase. Apple Pay is made even more powerful thanks to Apple’s own in-house credit card, which is fully integrated with Apple Pay.

Google Pay

Google pay is a great solution for Android users looking for an Apple Pay competitor.  It offers a very similar set of features and lets you pay for in-store items at a tap-and-pay terminal, on websites, and within the Google Play store.

Samsung Pay

Samsung Pay is Samsung’s in-house digital payment solution that works with Galaxy phones as far back as the Galaxy Note 5 from 2015. It also works with a selection of Samsung smartwatches, but it’s not as comprehensive a list as the phone models.

Some Galaxy phones (such as the Note 10+) feature a magnetic swipe simulator, so they’ll work with card terminals that don’t have tap-and-pay. Unfortunately, that feature has been removed with newer phone models such as the Galaxy S21.

Samsung Pay is an excellent service if you’re already using a compatible device, but you won’t find websites that offer it. Also, if you want to send money to another Samsung Pay user who isn’t a business, both of you need to apply for and have a Samsung debit card, which severely limits how useful the feature is.

PayPal

PayPal is probably the most well-known online digital payment service. It’s the company that made the idea of having an intermediary between your credit card and online stores popular in the first place.

While PayPal has become one of the best places to pay for things or to get paid, you may not know that you can also pay for things using PayPal in-store. Although this is achieved using the PayPal app and a QR code put up by the business owner. It’s not nearly as convenient or universal as tap-and-pay, but it’s an excellent addition if you’re already a PayPal user and know a few places in your neighborhood that offer it.

PayPal does make it easy to send money to family and friends, who can then spend it directly online or withdraw it to a linked bank account.

Cash App

Cash App is a financial service that makes working with digital payments much easier than actual cash. First and foremost, it makes it easy and fast to move money between friends and family, as long as they all have the Cash App. You can get a virtual debit card linked to your app account balance and withdraw money to your bank account.

While Cash App does not offer a way to tap-and-pay in a store, their virtual debit card does work with Apple Pay, so you can use money other people send you on Cash App at a terminal in this way.

Venmo

Venmo is a digital payment service owned by PayPal, focusing on moving money between individuals. You can order a physical card for use in-store or pay using a QR code at stores that support it. Users can transfer money from Venmo to a bank account if they need to.

Digital Payments are the Future

Cash will still be around for a while yet, but digital payment services are putting a dent in the use of physical money, thanks to their speed and convenience. Combined with the increased use of cryptocurrencies, there may come a day when the only place you’ll see coins and banknotes is in a museum!

With dwindling attention spans and an increasingly hectic lifestyle, microblogging has come into vogue. If you are looking to get into microblogging yourself, this is just the guide for you. 

What is microblogging? How do you write one? Which are some good platforms for it? We will be answering all of these questions in this article.

What Is Microblogging?

Simply put, microblogging is a more concise form of blogging. While traditional blogs can – and do – take thousands of words to give a detailed view of a topic, microblogs are supposed to be brief.

Exact word limitations depend on the platform in use, but a single post usually doesn’t extend beyond a couple of paragraphs at most. The idea isn’t to take a deep dive but to write something short and shareable.

Naturally, this limit on the size of content gives rise to the inclusion of multimedia. Microblogging makes generous use of images and videos, with some platforms being almost exclusively dedicated to multimedia blogs.

What Are the Best Platforms for Microblogging?

Traditional blogging takes place on all sorts of platforms, from third-party networks like Facebook and Medium to private blogs built using WordPress or Wix. When it comes to microblogging, however, the list of good options is far smaller. Here are the four best platforms for microblogging.

1. Twitter

Twitter is perhaps the most restrictive, and yet the most popular microblogging platform out there. With just 280 characters permitted in a post, GIFs and videos are commonly included.

The platform specializes in catchy statements that can grab the audience’s attention – either by being relatable or contentious. The small character limit also means that it takes very little time to put out a tweet (which is what a post on Twitter is called), making it popular among celebrities and netizens alike.

Twitter is ideal for sharing your thoughts aloud or keeping abreast of trends. Many businesses use it to share updates about their products, making it an important tool for community building. With a good tweeting strategy, it can be easy to amass followers quickly.

2. Tumblr

Technically, Tumblr isn’t that different from Twitter. The primary difference is the type of community involved with it.

Where Twitter is a hotbed of short and snappy one-liners with little to no context, Tumblr is a breeding ground for creative ideas. Greatly favored by artists, the content skews toward visuals more than text, though of course, written blogs are popular too.

In fact, Tumblr doesn’t come with a character limit. You can write blog posts ranging into thousands of words if you like, including any number of images or links in it. While this might seem counterintuitive for a microblogging site, a majority of posts don’t really go that far.

For the most part, Tumblr is the microblogging site for photos and artwork, where creatives can share their works and create a fan following.

3. Instagram

Instagram? Isn’t the app only for sharing images and videos?

Well, yes and no. While photos are the focus of the platform, users can also include lengthy text captions along with each post. Besides, microblogging is about sharing your thoughts briefly, whether with words or images.

Instagram’s strength is its large and vibrant community, growing stronger by the day. In a world where everyone carries a digital camera integrated into their smartphone, a platform focused on pictures and videos is a clear winner.

Whether it is showing off a hobby or just practicing your photography skills, Instagram can be a great microblogging platform for visual posts. Keep in mind though that Instagram can only be used on mobile apps, as there are no desktop clients for Mac or Windows. You can only view posts on PC using workarounds.

4. Linkedin

You may know Linkedin as a social media platform for professionals, but it is much more than that. You can use status updates to share short posts containing photos and links or publish whole articles on the platform.

While Linkedin may not boast numbers as large as any of the more mainstream microblogging platforms, it offers a more active community. The network of students and professionals is far more receptive to more meaningful blogs than on platforms like Twitter.

Better yet, expanding your reach on Linkedin through microblogs helps grow your connections, boosting your chances of finding your next employer (or employee).

How To Get Started With Microblogging

As with any form of social media outreach, you must first identify your goals and your target audience. If you are an artist looking to showcase your skills, for example, visually focused platforms like Tumblr or Instagram are more suited for you.

On the other hand, if all you want is to shoot off short posts that don’t take up too much effort to write, then Twitter is the platform for you. It also happens to be the most popular platform out there, so you will find plenty of people to connect with.

And remember, microblogging works differently from traditional blogs. It is not just about being shorter – you also have to be more engaging. Frequency is especially important, with some microblogs posting multiple times a day. Make liberal use of images and video clips as well to catch attention.

The Game Boy Advance was one of Nintendo’s most successful handheld consoles. With graphics more advanced than the celebrated SNES and marquee titles like Pokemon FireRed, the GBA became the fastest-selling gaming console upon release.

But like all console devices, it was ultimately supplanted by newer options, leaving your old game cartridges gathering dust in the attic. Even if you copy the ROM files to your computer’s memory, it cannot play the games, as the GBA’s hardware works in a completely different manner.

You need an emulator. A GBA emulator is an application that can create a virtual Game Boy Advance device on your PC, allowing you to play GBA games using your keyboard as a joystick. There are other options for games like Pokemon, but the official games only work using this method. Here’s a list of the best GBA emulators for PCs to get you started.

1. mGBA – Best Overall

Not that long ago, the title of best GBA emulator would go to Visual Boy Advance or perhaps No$GBA. After all, those emulators have been around for a long time and can run most games out there.

But their very age also poses a problem. Over time, development on those projects has either stalled or slowed down considerably. While any game run on them will probably work, you might get minor fidelity issues or even graphical glitches. To say nothing about not being optimized for modern processors.

That’s where mGBA shines. A relative newcomer to GBA emulation, it has quickly become popular due to its incredible performance and beautiful reproduction of the handheld console. It’s also easy to use and is in active development, with new features being added every few months.

2. No$GBA – Best Easy-to-use

No$GBA is as simple as emulators come. There is no need for tinkering with the settings too much, and there are no fancy options you have to enable. Just fire up the app and start gaming.

A great feature of No$GBA is its multiplayer functionality. You can even run multiple instances of the same game on your PC, assigning different controls to play it alongside a friend (or trade Pokemon with yourself). While other leading emulators have also replicated this feature, No$GBA’s implementation remains one of the easiest to use.

In addition, it’s one of the few GBA emulators capable of running even Nintendo DS games. Yes, you can play NDS games on the same emulator you use to play your GBA ROMs without changing your control scheme or finding a new emulator.

3. Visual Boy Advance – Best Features

Visual Boy Advance is one of the most well-known and oldest GBA emulators. Many will recommend it as the best GBA emulator on the market, and for a good reason: its list of features is second to none.

Its long development life cycle has allowed the emulator to add advanced features not found in other alternatives – joystick support, GameShark cheat codes, etc. There’s also an incredible level of customization offered. From DirectSound to various graphical filters, there are a surprisingly large number of advanced settings available.

The only problem is that development on Visual Boy Advance halted in 2004. This means there’s no up-to-date official version anymore. Many forks of the source code have emerged, with the most prominent being Visual Boy Advance-M, but it is known to run into issues on some systems.

4. Boycott Advance – Best MacOS

Mac users always get the short end of the stick when it comes to gaming. PC games do not launch for the system, but even most emulators do not support the macOS.

Fortunately, GBA emulation has enough options that you can find one for Mac as well. Boycott Advance is a streamlined emulator for GBA games that works well on the macOS, allowing you to play your favorite titles on your Macbook.

Even though the emulator is somewhat new to the scene, its list of features is quite comprehensive. Joystick support, audio effects, optimization for modern processors – you’ll find everything you expect from a GBA emulator.

5. BizHawk – Best TAS

Tool-Assisted Speedruns (TAS) are among the most common reasons for playing old GBA games on a PC. After all, these games are often designed for kids and are too easy to play. Speedrunning adds an element of challenge to these retro titles, and tool-assisted speedruns are a fun puzzle-solving exercise.

And Bizhawk is the emulator of choice for speedrunners. This is because, in addition to simply emulating the games, it also offers useful features like rewinding and input recording. With Bizhawk, speedrunners can create tool-assisted speed runs that blaze through a game using pre-recorded inputs. You can even write Lua or C# scripts that play a game through code.

Interestingly enough, Bizhawk isn’t just a GBA emulator. It emulates many retro gaming systems, using “cores” of other emulation projects. For example, Bizhawk uses mGBA as the core for emulating GBA games, which gives it a similar level of accuracy and reliability. 

6. RetroArch – Best Multi-Platform

If you’re a retro gaming enthusiast, chances are that you will not be content with GBA titles alone. There are plenty of other consoles with iconic games that defined the era. It is possible to play all of them on your PC with emulators.

Usually, this would involve installing a bunch of different emulators for the various consoles and learning their respective interfaces. But with a universal frontend like Retroarch, you can make this way easier.

Retroarch uses cores adopted from other emulators to run the games, packing it all up in a streamlined interface that is a breeze to navigate. Constantly updated and packed with features, Retroarch is the best way to emulate multiple retro consoles on your PC.

And the best part? It not only runs on Windows but also on Mac and even Linux.

7. Higan – Best Accuracy

Handheld consoles like the Game Boy Advance have completely different hardware than a PC. This is precisely why you can’t just copy the games to your computer and play them.

Emulators work by creating a virtual version of the console, which can then run the ROM files normally. However, this emulation process isn’t wholly accurate.

While most emulators will run the games just fine, they won’t give you the authentic experience. For example, the colors will appear a bit different, the sounds are a bit odd, and that sort of thing.

That is where Higan comes in. It is a multi-system emulator developed to accurately recreate the original experience instead of just making it playable. Be it GBA or SNES, you won’t get a more correct emulation than with Higan.

On the flip side, it can be complicated to use, so it isn’t recommended for beginners to the emulation scene.

Which GBA Emulator Should You Play On?

All of the emulators on this list can run most GBA games smoothly. They differ only in their feature set and user interfaces.

If you want a no-frills emulator that plays smoothly and accurately, mGBA is your app. For those looking for a bevy of advanced features developed over the years, try Visual Boy Advance Instead.

Then there are the multi-system emulators. No$GBA, RetroArch, Higan, and BizHawk are all capable of emulating multiple consoles, including GBA. Which one to go with depends on your familiarity with emulators and the user interface you prefer.

So what are you waiting for? Go grab a ROM, choose an emulator, and start playing those childhood favorites on your PC.

Nowadays, computers are part of the classroom because they make learning easier and more fun. Online schooling is also becoming more and more popular, partially thanks to the pandemic, so kids need access to a computer. Before you jump in to buy an expensive tool, you need to make an important decision: Chromebook or laptop?

The Chromebook vs. laptop debate has been ongoing since Chromebooks hit the shelves in 2011. That said, there are major differences between the two devices that you need to take into account. In this article, we’re going to compare Chromebooks to laptops to help you decide what’s best for your kids.

What Is a Chromebook?

In a world dominated by Windows laptops and Macs, the Chromebook is often overlooked. Some people compare it unfairly without realizing that the Chromebook has its own part to play. For example, if all you’re looking at is hardware, you can stop right here because traditional laptops are superior due to heavy-duty configurations for gaming and software development. Chromebooks aren’t meant to replace laptops.

A Chromebook is a lightweight computer that runs on Google’s Chrome operating system. The main interface is the Chrome browser. However, you can also install various apps, like word processors, and use them offline. 

The Chromebook is primarily meant for browsing and light work. This makes the Chromebook ideal for researching and studying, especially while on a budget.

Which Device Is More Affordable?

Chromebooks are also on the light side when it comes to the internals. Local storage is comparable to what we have in smartphones and tablets and the processors are much weaker than what we find in traditional laptops. This alone makes Chromebooks considerably cheaper than Windows and macOS laptops.

Since kids don’t usually take good care of their devices, you should probably spend as little money as possible.  Fortunately, you can find a wide range of Chromebooks in the $150-$300 range and they’re all good enough for learning and doing schoolwork.

You can also find budget-friendly Windows-based laptops starting at around $400, but they’re usually really bad performance-wise. Windows is a robust operating system that requires more hardware power than a Chromebook. Chromebooks win by far when it comes to affordable prices. This is one of the reasons why schools that are low on funds invest in Chromebooks for their students.

Portability

Laptops and Chromebooks are portable devices. That much is obvious. However, Chromebooks are even smaller and lighter than most laptops. Kids would have a much easier time carrying a Chromebook everywhere.

Chromebooks are thin devices, mainly because of less hardware and smaller screens. You can compare them to a MacBook Air and they’re still a bit smaller and lighter.  Many of them also rely on passive cooling, so they don’t have internal fans. This makes them a lot lighter than typical laptops.

Battery Life

If your kids take online classes or if they can use computers during class, you’ll want a device with a lot of battery power. Access to a power outlet can be limited, especially if there’s a whole room of kids with laptops.

A typical laptop has enough battery power for several hours, depending on how intensive the tasks are. However, it might not last through a busy day at school or a Netflix marathon with friends. On the other hand, Chromebooks are famously energy-efficient.

As mentioned earlier, Chromebooks have less hardware and processing power than Windows or macOS laptops. This isn’t a disadvantage for most kids. Having less powerful hardware means the device requires significantly less energy. Many Chromebooks can run on battery power for more than 10 hours.

Ease of Use

A user-friendly tool allows kids to focus on the class, homework, or entertainment. This is especially the case for young children who are about to receive their first computer.

Windows and macOS laptops are fairly complex. There are countless distracting programs, features, and customization options that will confuse kids. This also means that a lot of things can go wrong if messing with the wrong settings or files. This isn’t the case with Chromebooks.

The Chrome OS is incredibly simple. There aren’t many apps and games that come with a Chromebook, so kids can’t be easily distracted. The device is built primarily for browsing, learning, and word processing. This allows kids to familiarize themselves with the virtual environment in no time and focus their attention on things that matter.

Security

Kids tend to click on anything that attracts their attention. They rarely pay attention to malicious links or suspicious image sources, so they click away only to download viruses and bloatware. Sometimes Windows Defender will protect the laptop, but other times you’ll have to clean the system. Fortunately, this isn’t likely to happen if your kids are using a Chromebook.

First of all, Chrome OS is highly secure simply because it’s not a popular operating system YET. Viruses aren’t made to target this platform that often because it’s not worth it for the hacker. Secondly, being developed by Google means that you need to sync the Chromebook to your Google account. As a result, your data is encrypted and can’t be easily stolen even if the device is infected.

Another interesting security feature is sandboxing. Each app is sandboxed, so infections can’t spread from program to program. Add regular OS security updates on top of that and you have a nearly unbreakable device.

Overall, the Chromebook is the safest device for kids because getting it infected is a challenge even for them.

Parental Controls

All major operating systems come with parental control features. This includes all traditional laptops as well as Chromebooks. You can decide which websites your kids can access, keep track of how much time they spend online, what they do, and much more.

Chromebook vs. Laptop for Kids: How To Make the Right Choice

The Chromebook might seem like the best choice if you want a cheap plug-and-play computer for your kids, and it is in a lot of cases. However, you should consider a few external factors that aren’t directly connected to hardware, software, and features.

1. Age

The first thing you need to consider is the age or grade level. The needs of elementary school students are completely different from the needs of high school students.

Chromebooks lack complex features and many programs like Photoshop aren’t available. They’re not good for photo editing, but they’re great for browsing and doing simple homework without distractions.

Get a Chromebook as a first computer or for general schoolwork that doesn’t require demanding software.

2. Requirements

Whether you buy a Chromebook or a laptop, you need to think about your kids’ needs. Do they need a device to study, write and share assignments, and watch videos? A Chromebook is ideal in this case.

That said, if your kid is older and has already started programming, photo editing, or performing other demanding tasks, a laptop is recommended.

3. Budget

If you’re highly restricted by your budget and you simply can’t afford a decent laptop, just buy a Chromebook without even thinking about other factors. You have much better options for Chromebooks in the lower price ranges than for laptops.

So, did you decide what’s the best device for your kids? If you’re still not sure, here are the best budget laptops for kids and the best Chromebooks for kids.

Snapchat became popular as a way to socialize with people without leaving a permanent trail of information and without the public aspect of social media. However, if you choose, you can now make a public profile that makes it possible for other people to find you using a search. We’ll explain what a public profile is and how to create it in the Snapchat app.

What Is a Public Profile on Snapchat?

The traditional way to use Snapchat is by inviting a few close friends and then sharing text and multimedia content with only those friends.

However, social media platforms such as Instagram give content creators a chance to connect with their fans, show off their creativity, and share content using tools such as Snapchat’s Lens Studio.

A Snapchat public profile is a new feature that enables snapchatters to find you more easily. You can also share your public profile on other platforms, creating a place where people can see your content on Snapchat and get in touch.

The most important feature of a public account is having a separate list of subscribers and friends. You can send content to your public subscribers while having more intimate interactions with your friends. However, you don’t get notifications when new subscribers join, unlike Twitter.

The headline feature of a public profile is showcasing content such as Lenses and Stories. You can put your unique content front and center so that other Snapchat users can discover you through your work.

Eligibility Requirements for a Public Snapchat Profile

When Snapchat first announced public profiles, only verified creators could create public profiles. As testing with this initial group came to an end, the company has opened public profiles up to all Snapchat users, as long as they comply with a few requirements:

• Users must be at least 18 years old.
• Your account must be older than 24 hours.
• You need at least one friend who has accepted your friend request.
• You must adhere to the community guidelines.

Sticking to Community Guidelines

Public profiles are for people who want to promote their content, such as the art of music.

The fastest way to lose your public profile is to violate your community’s guidelines. Snapchat’s community guidelines aren’t a long read, so we encourage everyone considering a public profile to read them carefully and become familiar with acceptable conduct on the platform. In general, Snapchat prohibits:

• Explicit content.
• Harassment and bullying.
• Threats, violence, and harm.
• Fraud, deception, impersonation, and spreading false information.
• Any illegal content.
• Hate speech.

In other words, be nice and keep it clean.

Going Public vs. a Public Profile

In your Snapchat settings, under “Who can,” you can set sections such as “Contact Me” and “View My Story” as “Everyone,” which means that anyone who knows your user name can search for it and see your content.

While this might sound like having a public profile, it’s pretty different. Suppose you set your contact settings to “Everyone,” users still need to know your username, even if they don’t have to be your friend on Snapchat. You also won’t access a public profile’s special tools and functions.

While you can open up your Snapchat account and post your username somewhere people can find it, it’s a much less elegant solution. It means you may have to add people to your friends’ list who may be better suited to being subscribers.

The “See me in Quick Add” option differs from a public profile. It means that people who you may already know can see you in the Quick Add section.

Creating a Public Profile on Snapchat

Creating a public profile in Snapchat is quick and easy:

1. Open Snapchat.
2. Select your Bitmoji (profile icon) from the camera screen on the top left of the screen or tap on your Story Icon.
3. Scroll down and look for the Public Profile section under the Spotlight & Snap Map section.

4. Select Create Public Profile.

Follow the instructions and create the public profile to your liking.

If you want to edit your profile later:

1. Select your Bitmoji or Story icon.
2. Select your Public Profile Card.
3. Select Edit Profile.

Make changes to your profile, which will immediately reflect upon completion.

Note:  We had a problem finding the public profile creation section on our Android device. Despite our account meeting the eligibility requirements, the setting was unavailable. Logging in to the Snapchat app on iOS solved the issue. 

We could not find any information to explain this problem, but if you can’t find your public profile creation button despite knowing that you should be eligible, get in touch with Snapchat’s support.

Getting to Know Your Public Profile

Since the purpose of a public profile is to be seen and showcase your content and brand, it’s a good idea to have all bases covered by filling out your profile.

After tapping on your Bitmoji and selecting “My Public Profile,” you can choose to edit the profile and fill in the details that visitors will see when they find you.

At the top of the screen, you can upload a profile photo, which is separate from your Bitmoji and is akin to a profile picture on Facebook or Twitter.

Below the profile picture, you’ll see the Preview Profile button, which allows you to see what your public profile looks like to other snapchatters and highlights the subscribe button as others would see it.

Your profile information section gives you 150 characters for a brief “what you’re all about” description.

There’s a section to fill in your location information, but be mindful of your privacy.

The last option on this page is a public profile feature to make your subscriber count visible or invisible.

There are even more public profile options on your page. Simply select the gear icon in the top-right corner of the screen, and you’ll see a settings page with two main sections.

Under Public Profile Management, you can access the same Edit Profile page we just reviewed. Under Save a Story to Your Profile, you can easily access your Snaps or camera roll and create public stories.

The Share Profile section is of particular interest since this is the fastest and easiest way to share your Profile URL on other platforms or in private messages.

Getting Help and Information

The second section in the Profile Settings is called Access Support. Here you can use the Learn More section to access an FAQ and submit a support ticket if you need it.

Deleting Your Public Profile

If you decide that a public profile on Snapchat isn’t for you, it’s not hard to delete the profile. Note that this deletion is permanent and irreversible.

To delete your public profile:

1. From the camera screen, open Snapchat.
2. Select your Bitmoji.
3. Scroll down to Public Profiles.
4. Select your public profile.
5. Select the gear icon at the top right of the screen.
6. Select Delete Public Profile and then confirm after reading the warning.

If you want to create a new public profile in the future, you may. However, you won’t recover whatever subscriber count you had before. So be sure you really want to do it!

Getting in shape isn’t easy. It takes a lot of research, time, and long-term commitment. If you’ve been searching for fitness websites to get accurate health advice, then you know that there’s a whole lot of misinformation out there.

This misinformation is because so many companies online are trying to sell their health products, and not all are guaranteed to be based on sound science.

Whether you’re looking to eat better, looking for better ways to lose weight, or just how to live a healthier life, the following are the best fitness websites that you can trust for accurate information.

Best Dieting and Nutrition Websites

Don’t trust your health and fitness to bad advice from people on social media or websites that aren’t backed by science. The following fitness websites will provide you with accurate and evidenced information that you can trust.

1. Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

Eatright.org is a website published by The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. This academy was first founded in Cleveland, Ohio in 1917 and represents over 112,000 nutritional experts worldwide. 

The dietary information you find there can be trusted because the academy members are professionals throughout the nutritional industry, including experts in disease prevention and wellness. The academy even provides testimony at government hearings dealing with public health.

The only downside to this organization is that they do receive food industry funding, including from the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the Egg Nutrition Center. So when it comes to articles promoting eating products like these, take it with a grain of salt.

Top features:

• Includes website sections on Food, Health, and Fitness
• Contributions from credentialed health and medical experts
• Doesn’t promote any specific dietary plan, only healthy food choices
• Includes a section with healthy recipes

2. Nutrition.gov

The USDA provides its own nutritional website called Nutrition.gov. This website offers valuable science-based information about nutrition that you can depend on. This includes nutrient databases from the USDA, articles about food and diet, advice on preventing disease and illness, and even seasonal recipes.

Top features:

• Government-run and funded, so its motivation is to serve the public
• Expert Q&A section that helps clear up misinformation and confusion
• References to other government resources for more information
• An entire section devoted to healthy recipes

3. Harvard: The Nutrition Source

One of the best places to ensure that the nutritional information you’re getting is evidence-based is from an academic institution. This is exactly what you’ll get at The Nutrition Source, published by the School of Public Health at Harvard. For example, in its list of healthy protein sources, The Nutrition Source listed fish, poultry, beans, and nuts – not beef. This is a sign that major industries do not influence the resource.

Top features:

• Includes a downloadable Healthy Living Guide PDF that you can keep with you wherever you go
• Provides macro sections (carbohydrates, protein, fats) to help you make more educated food choices
• Includes an extensive recipes section

4. Center for Nutrition Studies

The Center for Nutrition Studies is a website created by Dr. Colin Campbell. Dr. Campbell is a celebrity amongst the Vegan community and is featured in many plant-based documentaries. His fame comes from his seminal research project, The China Study, which proved that animal proteins might represent one of the most significant risk factors in major diseases like cancer and diabetes.

Top features:

• Includes a Guide section with quick reference information on specific foods you should eat for optimal health
• Comprehensive plant-based recipe section
• Articles on major topics like disease, weight loss, and environment
• Includes a mini-course on how to eat a plant-based diet

Best Workout and Fitness Websites

How do you know the best ways to lose more fat without losing muscle? Is it better to lift weights or do cardio? Should you count calories? These are very hard questions to find accurate answers for on social media or many websites. 

Unfortunately, more people are trying to sell books or services rather than providing science-based information regarding fitness. The following websites can help.

5. Exercise Prescription on Internet (ExRx)

ExRx was founded in 1999 and today serves as a resource for valuable, dependable information for health and fitness experts, including sports coaches and fitness enthusiasts. ExRx stands for Exercise Prescription. It’s a resource that prescribes exercises for specific purposes like psychology, conditioning, weight loss, and more. 

Top features:

• Over 1900 exercises available in this extensive fitness library
• Fitness assessment calculators and workout templates
• A large library of well-researched fitness articles

6. VeryWell Fit

VeryWell Fit only appears like a regular fitness blog, but its dependability goes much deeper than that. The writers and editors there are all experts, including dietitians, nutritionists, personal trainers, even doctors. The library of articles totals over 6000. You’ll learn important information about fitness, healthy eating, and tips and tricks on losing weight.

Top features:

• Article topics cover fitness, healthy eating, and weight loss
• Tools section with calculators for calories, BMI and more
• Includes a review board with dietitians, personal trainers, and even yoga instructors

7. Livestrong

Livestrong.com is a well-known fitness website. The editorial staff includes a wide range of expertise, including journalists and data analysts who perform appropriate research for the article content. You can trust that the fitness and dietary advice and tips will be grounded in solid research.

Top features:

• A solid library of informative articles on nutrition, fitness, and weight loss
• Fitness challenges and 20-minute workout plans to get started quickly
• A Live Well section focused on promoting healthy living and avoiding disease
• A newsletter where you can get fitness and health tips in your email inbox

8. Bodybuilding.com

Bodybuilding.com is the premier website used by bodybuilding enthusiasts around the world. It offers fitness advice centered around weight lifting and building muscle. You’ll find articles, workout programs, and a full community of other bodybuilders who are working to achieve the same kind of progress and gains that you are.

Top features:

• Massive collection of articles centered around achieving optimal muscle growth
• Workout programs tailored to things like losing weight, gaining strength, or even competing in weightlifting competitions
• A community section with videos, forums, and social media groups you can join

Best Medical Health Websites

When you’re having strange symptoms, it can be scary. However, access to reliable health information can set your mind at ease and help you understand the potential causes. The following websites are some of the best medical health resources available online.

9. Mayo Clinic

You may know that the Mayo Clinic is a major medical center, but the clinic also provides a comprehensive website filled with valuable health information covering disease prevention, symptom research, and how to live a healthy lifestyle.

Most of the information you’ll be interested in can be found under the Health Information dropdown in the website menu. There you can learn about diseases, illness symptoms, medication, and tips on living a healthy lifestyle.

Top features: 

• Search for diseases or conditions by the first letter in its name
• Research any test or procedure your doctor might have ordered
• Crosscheck symptoms with potential causes
• Look up health information by life stages such as infants, teens, or aging

10. WebMD

WebMD is one of the most well-known medical resource sites on the web, for a good reason. The content at WebMD is unlike most other health-related websites. Many of the content contributors at the site are part of the medical community and certified medical experts. The site also has a Medical Editorial Board to ensure that all content is accurate and based on science.

Top features:

• An A-Z directory for every medical condition you may want to research
• A symptom-checker tool that lets you research potential illnesses related to your symptoms
• A collection of content on drugs and supplements to help you understand the benefits and side effects
• A Living Healthy section that weight loss, fitness and exercise, and even a collection of healthy recipes

11. MedlinePlus

The U.S. National Library of Medicine offers the public an important medical resource called MedlinePlus. It touts itself as the world’s most extensive medical library, and all information and resources are free.

Top features:

• Research medical tests your doctor may have ordered for you
• Learn about any drugs you’ve been prescribed
• Access the medical encyclopedia for a wide array of medical information
• See the Healthy Recipe section for a library of wholesome recipes to improve your health

12. Psychology Today

Health isn’t all about physical health. You also need to focus on your mental health, and Psychology Today can help. Much of the content on this website is written by experienced psychologists and counselors dealing with mental health issues. 

Top features:

• Use the search feature to find a therapist near you
• Search for help using the menu to search for specific mental health conditions
• Use the Diagnosis Dictionary to find more information around your own specific diagnosis
• Browse thousands of articles covering a variety of important mental health issues most important to you

Fitness and Health Advice

Don’t trust your health to just any website. Social media “experts” are usually not experts at all. Instead, use the best health and fitness websites in this article to access accurate and evidence-based facts about the fitness and health issues that you’re most interested in. By focusing on sites run by experts, you can be sure you’re getting accurate information, and not getting misinformed.

If you have Google Analytics installed on your website, you have a very powerful tool available to perform user research around your website traffic.

In this article, you’ll learn some tips and tricks to use Google Analytics to perform user research. The results from this research will help you better understand your audience so you can craft your site content around what your visitors are most likely to be interested in.

How To Navigate to Google Analytics User Research

Visit Google Analytics and log in using your Google account. Visit the web property you’ve registered in Google Analytics. 

In the left navigation pane, expand the Audience section. This menu contains all of the User Research sections that we’ll cover in this guide. When you select Overview from this section, you’ll see a basic overview of your user traffic. 

This view lets you add “segments” to compare audiences. We’ll get to adding segments in the last section of this article.

If you scroll down to the bottom of this page you’ll see a list of demographics on the left that you can select from. As you choose these, you’ll see a ranking on the right showing the demographic breakdown of your site visitors.

These demographics include language, country, city, browser, operating system, service provider, operating system, service provider, and screen resolution. 

Exploring User Demographics

If you want to dig further into specific user demographics as part of your user research, scroll down the Audience menu, expand Demographics, and select Overview.

On this page you’ll see a basic visual overview of basic demographics — age and gender.

Under Demographics, you can select Age to see a breakdown of how many of your visitors are within certain age ranges.

This can be very helpful to see if your website appeals more to younger, middle-aged, or older audiences. The graph will also show how these trends have shifted over time.

You can also see a similar breakdown of males or females visiting your site by selecting Gender under Demographics.

How to Use Basic Demographics: By understanding the ages and gender that make up the largest segment of your visitor base, you can better fine-tune your content to appeal to the widest audience. It will also help you identify large areas where you may need to grow your audience as well.

Beyond basic demographics, other sections under Audience in Google Analytics let you dig into many more details about your visitors.

Exploring Your Visitor Interests

The next section under Audience called Interest gives you access to an amazing array of details about your visitors.

Thanks to cookies that are collected on the computers and mobile devices that your visitors use, Google has a lot of details about their interests. This information about your visitors is available in your Google Analytics account under the Interests section. 

If you select Overview, you can see all of your visitors’ interests organized by interest type. These types are organized as follows:

• Affinity Category (reach): Topics that users are more likely to be interested in learning about.
• In-Market Segment: Products and services that your visitors commonly research or purchase.
• Other Category: Somewhat more general views of what your visitors are interested in.

You can dive further into these interest categories by selecting these under Interests in Google Analytics. Select Affinity Categories to see how many users have visited your site who have these specific interests.

Select In-Market Segments to see how many users have visited your site who have researched or purchased specific products or types of products.

Select Other Categories to see how many users have visited your site who have a broader, more general set of interests.

How to Use Interests: Knowing your visitors’ interests is one of the most powerful ways to focus the content of your website toward topics that your readers will be most interested in. Affinity Categories are the best place to start if you run a blog or produce articles, but In-Market Segments might be better if you sell products with your website.

Your Visitors’ Geography

If you think it doesn’t matter where your visitors come from, think again. The internet is global, and if you can appeal to an audience beyond just the United States, you stand to attract a much larger audience.

There are several ways to analyze the impact of culture on your audience breakdown. To see where your site stands today, select Geo under Audience. Select Language under this menu.

This will show you the primary languages spoken by your visitors. This is largely based on their country of origin, among other factors collected by Google.

However, to see the actual countries your visitors are from, select Location.

At the top of the Location page, you’ll see a global heat map that shows you the volume of your visitors. Darker blue represents more visitors, lighter blue means fewer visitors, and no color means you don’t get any visitors from those countries.

Scroll down the page to see the actual list of countries along with the number of visits from those visitors over the time period you’ve selected.

How to use Location: It’s common to have English-speaking Americans as a primary audience. However, you can grow an audience from other countries by including mention of topics that people in other countries care about. For example, you may mention how access to certain services or products may be limited. Or provide visitors with tips on things like how to use a VPN to deal with geographic limitations online.

Your Visitors’ Technology

If you want your visitors to have the best possible experience on your site, you need to tailor the site design to the technology most of your visitors use.

Google Analytics gives you great insights into that technology. Under the Audience menu, select Technology to see this. You’ll see two options under this menu. Select Browser & OS to see the web browser and operating systems most of your visitors use.

Under this section, you’ll notice the Browser tab is selected first, and the number of visits you’ve received from visitors using certain browsers.

Select the Operating System tab to see the list of most common operating systems your visitors are using.

You’ll notice that there are also other tabs at the top that let you explore other things about your visitors’ technology.

• Screen resolution
• Screen colors (bit type)
• Flash version
• Java support (under Other)

If you select the Mobile menu in Google Analytics, you can also see the most common mobile devices your visitors use when they visit with their phone or tablet.

How to use Technology: Knowing the browser, OS, or mobile device most of your visitors use is a powerful way to make sure your site works well for the majority of those visitors. You can use this information to do site testing with the most common technologies your visitors use.

Other Useful User Research Metrics

There are a few other sections under Audience in Google Analytics for other metrics that can give you further insight into your audience.

If you select Users Flow, you’ll see an impressive visual that shows you how different user groups navigate your website. Select Country from the dropdown, and you’ll see how users from the United States, United Kingdom, and other countries click through the pages on your site.

You can also see this visual by selecting other demographic options like browser, language, and more.

Select Overview from the Audience menu and then select Add Segment at the top to include any additional demographics that you want to do comparisons on. 

For example, you may want to see the proportion of college-age visitors compared to overall visitors. If you enable College Age as a new segment, the visual at the top of the page will show a second line so you can see this comparison.

You can add additional segments to this view to compare additional demographic populations in your audience as well.

Doing Google Analytics User Research

As you can see, Google Analytics is a very powerful tool to do user research about your website visitors. This kind of insight can help you tailor your content and even your website design so that it appeals to a much larger audience. It can also help you to ensure that your site looks and feels perfect to the majority of visitors that frequent your website most often.

If you live in an area prone to wildfires or have a loved one who does, then the Google Maps wildfire tracking is a definite must. You can see where the fires are located, how widespread they are, and the amount of containment in place.

What’s nice about this Google Maps feature is that it’s available on the web and in the Google Maps mobile app. This allows you to keep up with the wildfires wherever you are. 

Google Maps Wildfire Tracking on the Web

Head to the Google Maps website to view the wildfire tracking in just a few steps. You can log into your Google account if you like, but it’s not required.

Search for a location or use your current one. Then, select the Layers icon on the bottom left of the screen. When it pops out with the options, choose More. 

This opens the Layers window with the Wildfires layer for you to pick. Once you select it, you’ll see a toggle at the bottom of the screen. This lets you know that you have the Wildfires layer turned on for the area.

Each reported wildfire is indicated by a red and white flame icon. Choose any of these icons to see additional information.

When you select a fire icon, this opens a panel on the left side. You can see when the last update for that spot was reported, the percentage of the fire contained, and the number of acres burned. If the wildfire has been named, you’ll see this as well.

You can close the panel using the X on the top right. Then, use the same actions you normally would to move about the map if you’d like to review other reported wildfires. 

To find out more about the feature from Google, use the Learn about fire areas link in the side panel.

Turn Off Wildfire Tracking on the Web

You can turn off the wildfire tracking if you have other business to attend to on Google Maps, like setting up a custom route for a trip or locating a family member. 

Use the toggle at the bottom to disable the feature and return to the original map view. The toggle box will then disappear after a few moments.

Alternatively, you can select the Layer icon to enable the feature and then deselect the Wildfires layer to turn it off.

Google Maps Wildfire Tracking in the Mobile App

If you’re on the go, you can review the Google Maps wildfire tracking on your mobile device. Open the Google Maps app on Android, iPhone, or iPad to get started. 

You can search for a location or use your current one. Then, tap the Layers icon on the top right below the search box on the main screen. Select the Wildfires layer to turn it on and tap the X to close the Layers window.

Like on the web, you can select a red and white flame icon to get further information about the fire. This opens a window on the bottom part of the screen with details of the last update, percentage contained, and number of acres burned. Swipe up slightly from the bottom to view all the information.

After you finish, swipe down to close the details about that fire and then select another to view its information if you wish. 

You can use your fingers to zoom by pinching inward or outward as you normally would in Google Maps.

Exit Wildfire Tracking in the Mobile App

Tap the arrow on the top left when you have tracked the wildfire. This returns you to the main Google Maps screen and turns off the Wildfires layer simultaneously.

Interested in how to use other features like this in Google Maps? Take a look at all the uses for Street View!

Kodi is an excellent way to enjoy multimedia content on your various devices. If you use an Amazon Fire TV Stick, you can install Kodi on your Stick and get access to loads of movies and music on your Stick-connected TV.

Unfortunately, Kodi isn’t available on the official Amazon Appstore, which means you have to use one of the workarounds to get the app up and running on your Stick.

Luckily, there are multiple ways to install Kodi on a Fire TV Stick, and we’ll show you those methods.

Install Kodi on Fire TV Stick Using the Stick Itself

One way to install Kodi on a Fire TV Stick is to use a download manager on the Stick to download and install Kodi. In this method, you enable sideloading on your Stick, download the Downloader app, and then use Downloader to install Kodi.

Enable Sideloading on Fire TV Stick

Amazon Fire TV Stick doesn’t allow you to install apps from outside the official Appstore by default. However, you can enable an option on your Stick to activate sideloading.

1. Head to Settings > My Fire TV > Developer Options on your Fire TV Stick.
2. Enable the option that says Apps from Unknown Sources.

3. Select Turn On in the prompt that appears to enable the option.

Get the Downloader App

You’ll need the Downloader app to download Kodi’s APK file on your Fire TV Stick, which you’ll then install on the Stick. Downloader is a free app that you can download from the Amazon Appstore.

1. Open the Amazon Appstore on your Fire TV Stick.
2. Access All Categories > Utilities on the Appstore.
3. Select Downloader from the list of apps on your screen.

4. Choose Get to download and install the free Downloader app on your Fire TV Stick.

Install the Kodi App for Fire TV Stick

Let’s now use Downloader to download Kodi and then install that app on your Fire TV Stick.

1. Launch the Downloader app on your Fire TV Stick.
2. Select the Enter a URL or Search Term field and type the following URL: kodi.tv/download. Then, select the Go button.
   

3. Choose Android on the Kodi’s site that opens. Then, select the ARMV7A (32BIT) version of the Kodi app. Downloader will start downloading the Kodi app.

4. Select Install when the app is downloaded, and then choose Install.

5. Kodi is now installed. To launch the newly installed app, select Open on your screen.

Later, you can access Kodi from your Stick’s app library.

Install Kodi on Fire TV Stick Using an Android Phone

Another way to get Kodi on a Fire TV Stick is to use an Android phone. In this method, you download Kodi on your phone and then use a free app to push Kodi to your Stick.

This procedure takes place over your Wi-Fi connection, so you don’t need any cables.

Find Fire TV Stick’s IP Address

You’ll need your Fire TV Stick’s IP address to establish a connection with your Stick from your Android phone. Here’s how to find that IP:

1. Head to Settings > My Fire TV > About > Network on your Fire TV Stick.
2. You’ll see your Fire TV Stick’s IP address under the IP Address header on the right of your screen. Note this IP address as you’ll need it in the below sections.

Download Kodi on Android

It’s time to download the Kodi app on your Android phone. You don’t have to install the app on your phone to add the app to your Stick.

1. Open a web browser on your Android phone and head to Kodi’s download page.
2. Select Android and then ARMV7A (32BIT) to download Kodi to your phone.
3. Save the Kodi APK file to a folder on your phone. You don’t have to open this downloaded file.

Push Kodi to Fire TV Stick

Using a free app called Apps2Fire, you’ll now push Kodi’s APK file from your phone over to your Fire TV Stick.

1. Open the Google Play Store on your Android phone and search for Apps2Fire.
2. Download and install the free Apps2Fire app on your phone. Then, launch the app.
3. Access the Setup tab in the app, enter your Fire TV Stick’s IP address, and tap Save. This will connect the app to your Fire TV Stick.

4. Tap the up-arrow icon at the top-right corner of the app.

5. Navigate to the folder where you downloaded the Kodi APK file, and select that file.
6. App2Fire will install Kodi on your Fire TV Stick.

Install Kodi on Fire TV Stick Using a Computer

To use your Windows, Mac, or Linux computer to install Kodi on your Fire TV Stick, you’ll need to first download ADB to your computer. You’ll then use an ADB command to install Kodi on your Stick.

Again, this method utilizes your Wi-Fi network, so you don’t need any cables.

Enable USB Debugging on Fire TV Stick

To allow ADB to work with your Fire TV Stick, you’ll have to toggle on ADB debugging on your Stick, as follows.

1. Navigate to Settings > My Fire TV > Developer Options on your Fire TV Stick.
2. Turn on the option that says ADB Debugging.

3. Go back one screen, select About > Network, and note down IP Address from the right of your screen.

Download ADB and Kodi on Computer

Next up is downloading ADB and Kodi to your computer. You can perform these steps on Windows, Mac, and Linux computers. We’ll use Windows for the demonstration.

1. Open the ADB download site and download the toolkit to your computer. Then, extract the contents of the downloaded archive to a folder on your computer.
2. Launch the Kodi site and choose Android > ARMV7A (32BIT) to download Kodi’s APK to your computer. Move this APK file to the ADB folder.
3. Open the ADB folder, right-click anywhere blank, and choose Open in Windows Terminal.

4. Type the following command in the Command Prompt tab of Windows Terminal and press Enter: adb connect IP. Replace IP in this command with the actual IP address of your Fire TV Stick.

5. Your computer is now connected to your Fire TV Stick. Install the Kodi app by running the following command: adb install Kodi.apk. Replace Kodi.apk with the actual name of the Kodi app you’ve downloaded.

6. ADB will install Kodi on your Fire TV Stick.

Uninstall Kodi on Fire TV Stick

If you’ve had your good times with Kodi and you don’t need the app on your Fire TV Stick anymore, here’s how you uninstall the app:

1. Press and hold down the Home button on your Fire TV Stick remote.
2. Select Apps to view your apps library.

3. Highlight Kodi in the list and press the Menu button on your Fire TV Stick remote. This is the button with three horizontal lines on it
4. Select Uninstall from the menu that opens.

5. Choose Uninstall in the prompt that appears.

Kodi is now uninstalled on your Fire TV Stick.

Various Ways to Get Kodi on a Fire TV Stick

Kodi isn’t available on the official Amazon Appstore, but that shouldn’t keep you from using this amazing app on your device. Using one of the methods outlined above, you can quickly and easily sideload the Kodi app on your Stick, and get started on your entertainment journey. Enjoy!

If you’re on the hunt for some great free movies on YouTube for kids, there are plenty of options to choose from.

There are many specific channels on YouTube dedicated to providing great free movies that your kids will love. You may be tempted to seek out free movies anywhere other than YouTube, but you likely won’t find as many safe options.

1. Use Google Search

The easiest solution to find free movies on YouTube for kids is Google search. Just search for “YouTube movies for kids”, and you’ll see a featured bar at the top of search results listing free family-friendly movies on YouTube.

You can use the left or right scroll buttons to scan through all of the available movies, and then click on any of them to visit YouTube and watch them.

2. YouTube Movies

Visit YouTube Movies and scroll down the Browse tab to the Family and Animation sections. 

These categories include an excellent list of films your kids will love. You’ll see well-known movies like The Nightmare Before Christmas, Horse Dancer, The Secret of Nimh, and more.

Keep in mind that not all movies listed here are free. Look for Free with Ads under the movie listing for the ones you can watch at no cost. 

3. Popcornflix

You’ve probably heard of the Popcornflix movie app, but the service also offers free movies for kids on the Popcornflix Family Movies YouTube channel as well. 

On this channel you’ll find over 60 full-length feature films suitable for all ages. They aren’t all blockbuster films, but many do feature well-known actors. You’ll find action films, adventure, fantasy, comedies and more.

4. Peter Rabbit

If you read to your kids a lot, then they’re probably already very familiar with the much-loved character known as Peter Rabbit. If so, you’ll be happy to know that there’s an official Peter Rabbit channel on YouTube.

Most of the videos here are short films under 30 minutes, but you’ll also find a collection of Peter Rabbit specials over an hour. These videos are perfect entertainment for toddlers and small children, although even babies have been known to enjoy watching Peter’s antics as well!

5. Family Central

The Family Central YouTube channel is all about family movies, and you’ll find a lot of them here. 

These are somewhat lower-budget films with little-known actors, but still high quality and great entertainment for the whole family.

On this channel, you’ll find Christmas movies, animal movies, comedy, adventure, and more. These movies are suitable for all ages.  

6. BabyBus

If you have a somewhat younger audience in your home, you can’t go wrong with the BabyBus YouTube channel.

These are all centered around nursery rhymes, meaning that infants and toddlers will love these animated films.

You’ll find adorable animated characters, fun nursery rhymes, and storylines suitable for young children. They’ll learn important lessons while being entertained.

The videos in this channel range anywhere from 2 minutes all the way up to over an hour. Just choose the video of the length you’d like for your child and let the characters entertain your child for however long you need.

7. The Land Before Time

The movie The Land Before Time was first released in 1988. It followed the adventures of young dinosaurs and their families during their lives in the Great Valley.

Their story lives on in The Land Before Time YouTube channel. 

There you’ll find short films and full-length movies featuring all of the same characters kids of multiple generations have come to love.

In these movies your child will enjoy music, important life lessons, and of course many adventures. The collection is always growing with new videos added all the time.

8. Super Toons TV

If your child loves watching cartoons, they’ll love the Super Toons TV YouTube channel. You may not recognize any of the characters in these cartoons, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t high quality and entertaining.

These cartoons are suitable for any age. They include fun cartoon series including Booba, Antiks, Oddbods, and more. After watching a few different episodes your child is sure to discover a favorite series and will want to watch every episode.

9. Casper the Ghost

There are many classic cartoons that are still great for young children. Take advantage of all of those old cartoons by subscribing to the Casper the Ghost YouTube channel.

There, you’ll find a large collection filled with hours of adorable Casper the Ghost films. Most of these could be considered movies for kids since they’re an hour or more long. You’ll also find some clips that are shorter than an hour for those times when you just need to preoccupy your child with a cute cartoon for 30 minutes or so.

10. WB Kids

Warner Brothers (WB) Kids has a long-established reputation as the primary source for great cartoons. So it should come as no surprise that there’s a WB Kids channel on YouTube.

You’ll recognize many classic characters on WB like Bugs Bunny, Tom and Jerry, and Scooby-Doo. There may not be feature-length movies for kids on this channel, but there’s certainly lots of content that your kids will love.

WB Kids on YouTube offers a large variety of cartoons, mostly from the Looney Tunes classic cartoon series. In addition to the characters and cartoons mentioned above, you’ll also find a series of cartoons with Animaniacs and even Karaoke and music.

Most of these are under 10 minutes, but if you want to keep your kids occupied for a while, just play an entire playlist in this channel in order.

11. Kids Animation Movies

If your children love children’s movies created by companies like Pixar and Dreamworks, they’ll absolutely love the Kids Animation Movies YouTube channel. 

There is a catch with this channel. None of the films actually show the title of the movie you’re going to watch! So this channel filled with full-length animated movies is ideal if you just need a random film for your child to watch.

You can’t go wrong with any of the films in this channel. They’re all very popular animated films that not only your children will enjoy, but you will too.

12. ABC – All Babies Channel

To round up this list, it seems appropriate to mention the All Babies channel on YouTube. Even with all of the great free movies on YouTube for kids, it isn’t always easy to find content that’s age-appropriate for babies.

If you have an infant, you’ll love the All Babies Channel (ABC).

These are adorable videos that are sized appropriately for babies’ attention span. These movies aren’t quite movie length. The longest is roughly 30 minutes.

However, that’s just enough time to keep a baby’s attention. You’ll find topics like learning the alphabet, eating healthy, and learning all about animals.

You can be sure that your baby will not only be entertained, but will also learn something new that’s age-appropriate.

Remember, even though you’re keeping your kids on YouTube, if you’re letting them watch movies on your computer or laptop, always make sure to properly child proof your computer.

Being an Instagram influencer seems like one of the best jobs that you could have nowadays. You’d be making money while doing something you already spend hours on daily — posting and scrolling on Instagram. However, becoming an actual influencer on Instagram isn’t as easy as it may seem. 

Let’s break down what an influencer on Instagram is and what they do, as well as how you can become one.

What’s an Instagram Influencer?

Contrary to popular belief, working as an Instagram influencer is different from simply sharing content on Instagram. An influencer is a social media user who influences decisions that other people — their followers — make. An Instagram influencer is someone who’s made a reputation around a certain subject or “niche” on the platform. You can also say that an influencer is considered to be an expert in their niche or at the very least knowledgeable about it. 

As an influencer on Instagram, you have the power to change public opinion. If you have a small following of 1-2k users your influence on their opinions might seem insignificant. However, you have more personal contact with your followers than random advertisers, and your opinion on something would have more value and authority in their eyes. 

Do You Get Paid as an Influencer on Instagram? 

Instagram is considered the best influencer marketing platform by all major brands. The already established social media influencers also note that Instagram gives them the best engagement rates of all the platforms. So how much money can you make as an Instagram influencer?

The exact amount is impossible to calculate, as you are the one who sets the fees. Instagram influencers charge anything between $70 and $3000 per post. Don’t forget that you also have Instagram Stories, Reels, and IGTV — you can turn all of them into a source of income as well. 

How To Become an Influencer on Instagram

So you’ve decided to become an influencer on Instagram. Now you have to think about putting together your content on Instagram so that it has an impact on your community of followers and drives their behaviors. While every influencer’s path is different and unique to their own brand, you can start by following our easy guidelines. 

Choose Your Niche

Whether you already have a personal brand or not, the first thing you need to do is choose your niche on Instagram. A niche would be something you’re either passionate or knowledgeable about (or both). Is there something you’re good at? It could be anything from professional skiing to growing organic vegetables in your backyard. 

Your niche could also be a mix of things too. For example, if you’re an English teacher and a father of two, you can focus your posts around your knowledge in both spheres and then pick and mix your content.

Make an Attractive Instagram Profile 

The first thing new users that find you on Instagram will see is your profile’s appearance. If you already have an account on Instagram, make sure to tidy it up. Sometimes deleting your old account and creating a new one from scratch might be even easier. 

The things you want to focus on here are your bio and your feed. Your bio needs to be catchy but it should also tell your story. Think of a way to use those limited symbols, as well as emojis to showcase your expertise in the niche that you chose. 

*03_instagram bio*

When you start posting photos and videos, you need to take into account not only how they’ll look individually but also how they’ll appear in your feed. Choosing a particular style or a color scheme works well here.

Consistency Is Key

The next step is to set a posting schedule and stick to it. You might want to start posting every day or even multiple times a day straight away but in reality, it’s better to assess how much time and effort you’re willing to put into it first. Instagram algorithm values consistency. It’s better to set realistic goals and start slow rather than go big in the beginning and burn out quickly. 

Make Use of All Instagram Tools

Bear in mind that if you want to make it on Instagram as an influencer, you can’t just post photos. If you want to earn your followers’ trust, you need to share your stories and expertise with them, and you can do that through writing captions for your posts. 

On top of that, you can and should use all of the tools that Instagram offers for content makers: Instagram Stories, Reels, IGTV. All of them allow you to post different types of content on the same Instagram account, so that your followers are always engaged and come back for more. 

There are a few other things that you can do to bring more diversity into the content you post on Instagram. They include hosting contests and giveaways, using polls in Stories, using relevant hashtags that are popular in your niche, including a call-to-action in captions. 

Get a Professional Account to Monitor Your Analytics and Post Ads

You should switch your Instagram account from personal to professional as soon as you get serious about becoming an Instagram influencer. A professional account on Instagram allows you to do two important things: access your Instagram analytics and run ads. 

Using Instagram analytics, you can get to know your audience better by studying your follower demographics and the days and times when people visit your profile. Ads you can use to share promoted posts with users that don’t know about your account yet. Both features are crucial for getting better engagement on Instagram. 

Contact Relevant Brands and Influencers on Instagram 

This might be one of the most important steps and a final stage of making it on Instagram as an influencer. Once you’ve grown a sufficient following and engagement rate on Instagram, you can start monetizing your account. 

One way to do that is to find brands that are relevant to your niche and tag them in your posts to make them notice your account. It’s even better if you get featured on their Instagram accounts, as this gives you more exposure. You can also contact brands directly via DMs and offer collaboration. 

Contacting other influencers in your niche is another good strategy. Aside from exposure to new users, you can also get interesting collaboration deals out of it. 

Should You Focus All Your Energy on Instagram as an Influencer?

It seems like people simply spend more time on Instagram compared to other social media networks, and that’s something that you should keep in mind as a future influencer. However, you might reach a bigger audience if you use several different platforms simultaneously, for example, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

You can even go as far as to link your Instagram account to Facebook for automatic reposts. That way you won’t have to waste time on posting the same content on each network separately. 

Cloud computing is one of the hottest technology trends these days. From simple storage solutions to complete enterprise applications, a lot of computing is moving to the cloud.

But as our data is increasingly held in remote servers across the world, a question must be asked: is cloud computing really safe?

How exactly is your data held in cloud applications? Can it be accessed by others? What are the security risks of cloud computing? Here is a comprehensive overview.

Cloud Computing 101

Normally, your computer can only perform as well as its hardware lets it. If you want more storage or processing power, you have to upgrade your PC. But with the decreasing costs of internet connectivity came another option – the cloud.

The basic premise of cloud computing is quite simple. Instead of running complex programs and storing files on your machine, you run them on a remote server. This remote server is called the cloud and is responsible for providing you with computing resources through the network.

The most obvious examples of this are cloud storage services like Google Drive or Dropbox. These cloud applications give you a dedicated amount of storage that you can use to keep your own files. As this storage does not come from your PC, these files are safe even if your personal computer gets corrupted or breaks down.

Of course, that is just scratching the basics. Cloud services go much further than just remote storage, offering everything from web hosting to entirely remote applications. Services like Microsoft Azure and Amazon AWS are used by enterprises across the globe to run all kinds of computing applications.

The Advantages of Cloud Computing

There are many benefits of cloud computing vs traditional applications.

The primary advantage is redundancy. Data stored physically on a single personal device can be wiped out due to any technical issue, costing hours of work and important information. The cloud, on the other hand, uses multiple servers spread through various geographical locations making it virtually impossible for the data to just get lost.

The second big benefit is scalability. For enterprise applications, it can be very difficult to acquire more computing resources to handle extra load in traditional setups. It requires making an investment into more hardware capacity that would go unused most of the time.

With cloud computing, applications can request more resources as and when required, paying only for the capacity used. This makes running a scalable app very cost-efficient, not to mention easy to implement.

The Vulnerabilities of Cloud Computing

We have already seen the numerous advantages of cloud computing. From accessibility to redundancy, there are a lot of good points about using a cloud service. At the same time, however, there are a few drawbacks as well.

The principal concern is data security. As your data is held on a publicly accessible server, its security is not in your own hands. The company running the cloud service (and its servers) has complete control over your information.

In a way, it is more secure than a personal computer. A single hardware fault cannot jeopardize your entire data. But at the same time, it also exposes the information to outside threats. A hack that compromises the cloud servers can leak your personal data.

More concerningly, you need to trust the cloud service provider itself to respect your privacy. And in this age of Big Data, that is hardly a given. Tech giants have routinely come under fire for violating the privacy of user data they have access to, making it a risk to store important information on the cloud.

Then there are the security vulnerabilities even cloud services are exposed to. Like any web service, cloud computing can be subject to Distributed-Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks that cripple its capabilities. This forces the affected service to go offline, making your application unavailable for an unknown period of time.

Minimizing Risk

Okay, so cloud computing is potentially vulnerable. What then, is the solution? Should you stop using cloud services completely?

Of course not. For all the theoretical security risks inherent in cloud computing, it is practically one of the most secure forms of computing. Thanks to the redundancies put in place on cloud servers, there are very few points of failure.

Data loss or theft from a cloud service requires a catastrophe, instead of a spilled cup of tea that might spell the doom of the information stored on your laptop. It is usually also harder for hackers to break in, as cloud service providers tend to use better security measures than a PC.

Personal computers can also fall prey to ransomware attacks, which lock up your personal data and demand payment in cryptocurrencies to allow you access. Other malware can just corrupt all files outright, which makes cloud computing even more indispensable.

To improve your own data security, encryption can be used. For databases and cloud storage services, encrypt the data on your own system before uploading. For entire applications running off the cloud, try services that allow you to encrypt the information used. That way, even a hack or a data leak poses no risk to your private data. 

Is Cloud Computing Secure?

Asking if cloud computing is secure is like asking whether flights are a safe way to travel. Statistically speaking, it’s the safest form there is, though, of course, nothing is completely risk-free.

Cloud computing’s biggest security risks are posed not by hackers or technical faults, but rather by willful mismanagement. The nature of cloud servers makes it very difficult for hackers to get in, and virtually guarantees safety against hardware failures.

The only thing that can compromise data on the cloud is the service provider itself. And while tech giants like Google or Amazon have established themselves as trustworthy companies in this niche, putting all your eggs in one basket is never a good idea.

Simple measures like encrypting your data and trusting cloud service providers with a transparent privacy policy can help secure your files and other information from unwanted access. If you keep your eyes open, it’s easy to mitigate the security risks of cloud computing and enjoy its benefits.

TikTok is a worldwide phenomenon, a social media platform that gives creators the opportunity to make a living off their videos. If you have a creative mind, it seems like a dream come true. However, if you’re new to TikTok, figuring out the best times to post can be a little tricky.

If you want to get more likes and views on TikTok and grow your following quickly, make sure to follow our guidelines on the best times to post on TikTok. 

When To Post on TikTok: Things You Need to Keep in Mind

When you create a video that you think will “blow up,” your first instinct may be to post it immediately. If you’re looking for more engagement, you should fight that instinct and create a posting strategy for your content on TikTok. 

TikTok’s algorithm decides which videos will appear on the For You page based on repeat views and engagement. That means that to expand your audience, you need to make sure you’re posting your content when people are watching. You have to consider some factors when choosing the best time to post your videos on TikTok.

Where Is Your Audience Located?

One of the most essential facts that you have to consider is the time zone that your audience lives in. If you’re targeting users in your own region, that’s one thing. But if you want people from other parts of the world to see your videos, you need to plan the posting time accordingly. Of course, you can’t choose the perfect time for everyone worldwide, but you can find a compromise.

When Is Your Audience Awake?

The second important factor you need to keep in mind, or rather a question that you need to answer, is “what time is my audience awake?”. If your targeted audience is located in different time zones, you have to think about what time the users are awake in each place and plan your posting schedule accordingly. 

TikTok doesn’t have an option to schedule your videos, and there aren’t any third-party tools you could use for scheduling and posting on TikTok. That means you have to build your own posting schedule and stick to it if you want to grow your engagement on TikTok. 

What Are the Best Times to Post on TikTok?

The Influencer Marketing Hub conducted a study on over 100,000 posts and their engagement rates to find the best times to post on TikTok. 

In short, the best time to post on TikTok seems to be between 6am and 10am and 7pm and 10pm, and the best days to post are Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. All times in EST. 

If you’re wondering how many times you need to post on TikTok, it’s recommended to keep up the pace of 1-4 videos a day for best growth. However, it’s better to set realistic goals in the start: make a rule of posting 1 video per day but make sure to never miss it. 

It’s also not recommended to overdo it and post too many videos on your TikTok account at the same time. In that case, you risk splitting your audience and dividing their views instead of multiplying them. 

How To Check Your TikTok Account Analytics

Don’t know who your audience is? That’s easy to check. You can use the Analytics feature on TikTok to figure out your audience, where they’re from, and how your videos perform in different parts of the world. 

First of all, you need to convert your TikTok account into a Business one to access your account Analytics. The process is free and only takes a few clicks to complete. 

1. Open the TikTok app and go to your profile page.
2. Select Settings and privacy > Manage account. 
3. Under Account Control, select Switch to Business Account.

4. Choose a category and select Next to proceed. 

You’ll see a message confirming your switch to a business account. Now you can access more features on TikTok and connect with your viewers better. 

If you go back to Settings > Creator tools, you’ll now find your account Analytics there. The Analytics section is divided into four sub-sections: Overview, Content, Followers, and Live. 

You can use the Followers section to learn more about your audience. The two parameters to note are Top territories and Follower activity. Top territories is the section where you can learn about the distribution of your followers by territory. Once you know where your followers live, it’ll be easier to choose the best time for posting your content. This section is handy if you’re catering to a global audience from different time zones.

The Follower activity metric gives you the days of the week when your followers are most active on TikTok. It further breaks this info into specific hours when your audience is most active on the app. Remember that this data is presented in UTC (Coordinated Universal Time). 

Finally, you can use your account analytics to track your content’s performance. Pay close attention to the videos that performed best and worst, and see if you can find patterns there. All of these metrics should help you figure out the best times to post on TikTok. 

How To Find the Best Times to Post on TikTok for You

Compared to other social media platforms, TikTok is highly personalized. It means that if you want to really grow on TikTok, you’re going to have to figure out your own posting strategy and schedule your posts following your own personal stats. 

The best way to learn what works best is to experiment with different times of day and see which posting times drive your engagement rates most. 

Is Microsoft Outlook crashing intermittently when you open the app on your Windows computer? Does the app occasionally freeze and display a “Microsoft Outlook Not Responding” alert at random intervals?

In this tutorial, you’ll learn why Microsoft Outlook fails to respond in Windows and eight potential fixes to the problem.

1. Force Close and Reopen Outlook

Terminating Outlook in the Windows Task Manager might set things back in order.

1. Right-click the Start menu icon or press Windows key + X, and select Task Manager in the Quick Access menu.

Quick Tip: The Ctrl + Shift + Esc keyboard shortcut is a faster way to launch the Windows Task Manager.

2. Go to the “Processes” tab, select Microsoft Outlook, and select End task in the bottom-right corner.

If you don’t find Outlook in the “Processes” tab, go to the “Details” tab, select OUTLOOK.EXE, and select End task.

3. Select End process on the confirmation prompt.

Reopen Microsoft Outlook and check if the app works without freezing or crashing.

2. Run Outlook in Safe Mode

As mentioned earlier, Microsoft Outlook may not respond if some pre-installed or third-party add-ins are affecting its performance. Starting Outlook in Safe Mode will disable all add-ins and other customizations when you launch the app. That’ll help you determine if a broken or conflicting add-in is the reason why Outlook isn’t responding.

1. Press the Windows key + R to open the Run box.
2. Type or paste Outlook.exe /safe in the dialog box and select OK or press Enter.

If Windows fails to launch Outlook in Safe Mode via the Run box, use the keyboard shortcut instead. Press and hold the Ctrl key and select the Outlook app icon on the Desktop, Taskbar, or Start menu.

3. You’ll get a prompt asking you to confirm that you want to open Outlook in safe mode. Select Yes to proceed.

4. Choose Outlook in the “Profile Name” drop-down menu and select OK.

If Outlook works properly in safe mode, that tells you an add-in is responsible for the “Microsoft Outlook (Not Responding)” error. The next thing to do is to disable all add-ins and restart Outlook.

5. Select File on the menu bar.

6. Select Options (or More > Options) at the bottom of the left sidebar.

7. Go to the Add-ins page, select COM Add-ins in the “Manage” drop-down menu, and select Go.

8. Uncheck all add-ins in the “Add-ins available” section and select OK.

Close and reopen Outlook, re-enable the disabled add-ins one after another to determine the bad/broken add-in responsible for crashing Outlook.

9. Return to Outlook’s Add-ins page (see step #7), and check the add-in you want to enable, and select OK.

Close and reopen Outlook and repeat step #8 for all built-in or third-party add-ins on the list. If Outlook freezes and displays the “Microsoft Outlook Not Responding” alert after enabling an add-in, that tells you the source of the problem. Reopen Outlook in safe mode, disable the add-in, and launch Outlook again.

3. Update Outlook

Outlook may occasionally go unresponsive on your PC if the version installed on your PC is outdated or bug-ridden. Connect your computer to the internet and follow these steps:

1. Open Outlook and select File on the menu bar.

2. Select Office Account on the sidebar.

3. Select the Update Options drop-down button.

4. Select Update Now.

That’ll launch the Microsoft Office Click-to-Run Client. The tool will update Outlook if there’s a new version of the app. Otherwise, it’ll display a “You’re up to date!” alert if you have the latest Outlook version installed on your PC.

Close the update client and try the next troubleshooting solution if the “Microsoft Outlook Not Responding” issue persists.

4. Run the Outlook Advanced Diagnostics Tool

Microsoft has an automated diagnostics tool that fixes issues with Outlook and other Office or Windows applications. Download the setup file, install the tool on your PC, and follow the steps below. One more thing: make sure your PC is connected to the internet.

1. Open the Start menu, type microsoft support in the search bar, and open select Run as administrator in the “Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant” menu.

2. Select Outlook and select Next.

3. Select the problems that best describe the issue with Outlook on your PC—Outlook won’t start, Outlook stops responding or freezes, or Outlook keeps crashing with a message ‘Microsoft Outlook has stopped working”. Select Next to proceed.

4. Choose Yes and select Next if you’re running the diagnostics tool on the affected computer.

5. Select your Microsoft account or select Use another account to sign in with a different account.

Wait for the tool to diagnose Outlook on your computer and follow the recommendations. Try other troubleshooting steps below if Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant don’t fix the problem.

5. Reduce Outlook’s Data File

Your Outlook inbox (and data) grows bigger as you send and receive more emails. Outlook will take longer open emails and execute other tasks if its data file becomes corrupt or too large. Outlook may even crash or occasionally fail to respond during usage.

Interestingly, Microsoft lets users manually compact or reduce the size of the Outlook data file without having to delete messages and folders.

1. Open Outlook, select File on the menu bar, select the Account Settings drop-down option, and select Account Settings.

2. Go to the Data Files tab, select a data file you want to reduce/compress, and select Settings.

3. Head to the Advanced tab and select Outlook Data File Settings.

4. Select Compact Now and select OK when Outlook is done compressing the data file.

Close and reopen Outlook and monitor the app’s performance. Repair the Outlook app if this doesn’t fix the “Microsoft Outlook Not Responding” glitch.

6. Repair Outlook

Repairing Outlook may resolve issues causing the app to malfunction when sending or reading emails in your inbox. You can repair Outlook from the Windows Settings app or via the Control Panel.

Go to Settings > Apps > Apps & features, select the menu icon next to Microsoft Outlook, and select Modify.

To repair Outlook from the Control Panel, open the Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features, select Microsoft Outlook, and select Change on the menu bar.

Choose how you want to repair Outlook and select Repair.

Quick Repair is a self-repair process that scans for file corruption and replaces any damaged file with fresh copies available locally on your computer. It’s fast and requires no internet connection.

Online repair, on the other hand, uninstalls Outlook from your PC and reinstalls a fresh copy from Microsoft servers. The operation requires an internet connection. Plus, it also takes a longer time to reach completion.

We recommend running a Quick Repair first. If the problem persists, re-open the repair tool and select the Online Repair option instead.

7. Restart Your Computer

Doing this will refresh Windows, close programs conflicting with Outlook, and fix other issues causing Outlook to malfunction. Make sure you close all apps before restarting your PC, so you don’t lose any unsaved work.

Press the Windows key or Start menu icon, select the Power icon, and select Restart.

8. Update Your Computer

Windows Updates sometimes ship with updates for Microsoft Outlook and other Office apps. These updates fix issues that prevent Outlook from opening or running correctly in Windows.

If you have a Windows 11 computer, open the Settings app, select Windows Updates on the sidebar, and install or resume any available update.

To install Windows Updates in Windows 10, go to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update and select Check for updates.

Stabilize Outlook in Windows

Some reports suggest that third-party antivirus software can interfere with Outlook’s performance in Windows. If Outlook still crashes after trying these fixes, disable or uninstall your antivirus tool. Contact Microsoft Office Support if the problem persists.