These days, even before you get the chance of completing a word, there will be hundreds of mobile apps that roll out regarding that subject. Few years ago, did you, even in your vaguest of thoughts, ever imagine that few years down the line you would have something called a â??smart phoneâ? in your hand, and that very smart phone would literally be able to help you out with something as far-fetched as landscape design? Yes, thatâ??s how amazingly insane smart phones and mobile apps can get. Thereâ??s an app for almost anything and everything your mind can conceive. Likewise, here are four great apps for the landscape architect in you.
Landscaping Design Ideas (Available on Android)
Do you happen to be clueless about doing up or decorating your landscape at home or at your workplace? If yes, this is the ultimate app you should be looking for! Landscaping Design Ideas is an incredible app that offers you galleries of striking landscaping ideas, designs and decorations. This simple app literally covers all the vital aspects of your garden or exterior landscape, such as the front yard, back yard, pathway, swimming pool, garden decorations such as waterfalls, rock garden, flowers, lawns, creeper plants and much more! Moreover, this easy-to-use app also allows you to save and share images that you find interesting.
Landscaperâ??s Companion (Available on Android and iOS)
As the name suggests, Landscaperâ??s Companion is a brilliant app that without a doubt proves to be the perfect companion for all landscapers and gardeners. The app provides you with an extremely handy reference catalog or resourceful database of over 20,000 plants, along with general information, common names and scientific names, plant culture, as well as images. Besides, it lets you search for plants that will grow well in your zone. The app also lets you run a search on the basis of plant size, water and sunlight requirements, plant color, and so on. You can further go on to scribble down your own personal notes, save the plant lists, as well as your personal plant photos!
 Garden Design Mag (Available on iOS)
Thanks to this wonderful app, you now have access to a digital version of your favorite gardening magazine, Garden Design. Garden Design Mag gives you a rather creative and inspirational source for garden and home ideas. Via this app, you can quickly scan through news articles on gardening, horticulture, landscape and home design. It also gives you amazing tips and advice on aspects such as how to make your garden and outdoor space perfect for entertainment and recreation, cooking with home-grown ingredients, basic tips for amateur gardeners and so on.
OG Planting Planner (Available on Android and iOS)
When it comes to planting a garden, OG Planting Planner is one cracking app that will come in handier than anything else. This amazing app literally helps you plan and plant your garden in the best possible way. Once you are done selecting the plants that you wish to grow, the app further helps you determine as to when would be the best time to start planting your seeds indoors and the outdoors â?? all this, based on the frost dates for your GPS location. OG Planting Planner also gives you information on weather, sunrise and sunset times, as well as moon phases for all those into biodynamic gardening. All in all, OG Planting Planner is a remarkable app that covers a wide range of vegetables, flowers and herbs, and gives you the best possible access to resources and information on garden management.
Anything and everything that you ever wanted to know about gardening and landscape design â?? these were four incredible apps that know it all, and wonâ??t let you down.
This guest post is by Robert Blunt, a landscape design architect. He uses guest posting to share his knowledge and opinions about technology and apps. His day job is at Space Landscape Designs, a company that specializes in garden design projects.
Image courtesy of artur84 / freedigitalphotos.net
Todayâ??s economic climate has rendered several industries and the professionals who work in them virtually obsolete.
No matter your profession, you, or a close acquaintance, have been affected by the volatile economic swings that have taken devastating tolls on industries vulnerable to unpredictable market performances.
There are, however, industries that are virtually â??recession-proof.â? These industries predictably and consistently â??hold their ownâ? in tumultuous economies. Regardless the economic state, they repeatedly post high performances and employment gains in the upper tier of the economic â??food chain.â? Examples include medical arts, social and protective services, and industrial maintenance. But of all the industries that have demonstrated a remarkable ability to survive even the most unstable economic climates, none could be any more robust than Information Technology (IT). Offering a broad array of support functions, there are countless opportunities available in the IT field.
One sector of the IT industry that continues to experience remarkable growth and popularity is IT Security. IT Security Specialists’ primary focal point includes technical, or â??cyberâ? security; one of the most â??mission-criticalâ? functions the industry can offer. IT Security Specialists ensure that sensitive data is secured in the safest manner possible. They protect networked environments. They investigate and resolve breaches against computer systems and data warehouses. They research viruses and other harmful elements that pose significant threats to technical hardware, services, and networks. Their value is priceless; as long as we continue to be a technology-driven society, there will be a need to protect our nation’s technical infrastructure.
Which Industries Rely on IT Security Specialists?
Banking
The banking industry relies heavily on IT Security Specialists. With the sheer volume of sensitive financial transactions processed on a daily basis, the need to protect the systems that process, transmit, and house their data is unfathomable. Banks deal with a tremendous amount of sensitive data, including the financial histories of major businesses, account details, and credit/debit transactions. Protecting our nation’s financial interests will continue to be a top priority and rewarding career option.
Law Enforcement
Law enforcement agencies have a great need of securing their data processing systems. Information such as arrest records, warrants, and court proceedings could be severely compromised without the presence of high-level data security systems and the specialists maintaining those systems. IT Security Specialists working in Law Enforcement protect large volumes of sensitive data and data processing peripherals, and enjoy careers working in various levels of law enforcement, including court systems, local or state police agencies, prison systems, and investigation firms. As we continue to deploy technical advances in crime fighting systems, the need for highly qualified specialists to maintain the security and integrity of those systems will always be great.
Medical
The medical industry has a tremendous need for IT Security Specialists. With the strict enforcement of HIPAA guidelines and regulations, along with the need to provide the most secure storage and safekeeping of sensitive medical records and documents, the need has never been greater to secure the health records of medical professionals and the patients they serve. Even a tiny breach of the computing systems and networks that process, transmit, or store medical information could have far-reaching consequences and implications. Specialists securing data in the medical industry can be found working in many different facets of the industry, including hospitals and clinics, laboratories, battery maintenance, and pharmacies.
Darryl Gunderson is a freelance tech blogger.
Image courtesy of stockimages / freedigitalphotos.net
We are all familiar with the popular technology of our time. Things such as smartphones, the internet and cars are all things that were developed over a period of time and have changed the way we live our lives on a daily basis. But what of the things that never made it that far?
For every piece of tech that you use daily there are dozens more that went out with a whimper without really making the impact that was expected.
So what happened to these failed devices? Why did they fail in the first place? Was it due to a lack of tech PR and marketing or just simply because the idea wasnâ??t that great in the first place? Letâ??s take a look.
Microsoft SPOTâ??
Â
Â
You may be forgiven for thinking that everything Bill Gateâ??s touches turns to gold but it seems that his Midas touch didnâ??t quite have the desired effect on this piece of technology. Microsoftâ??s plan was to install this Small Personal Object Technology (SPOT) into many of the household items that we rely on every day in order to make then even more helpful.
The product range included coffee makers that could tell you the weather and smart alarm clocks but never really got going. Microsoft sure gave the product enough tech PR; it was just quickly usurped by smartphones.
The Cat Translator â??
Â
Â
This Japanese invention was supposed to finally bridge the gap between feline and human communications but sadly it missed its mark by more than a whisker. I know what youâ??re thinking; why on earth did this never catch on? Well it might have had something to do with the fact that they priced it at 7095 yen which is around £50. Either that or the fact that itâ??s clearly the work of a disillusioned, crazy cat lady. But if the Furby can mount a comeback then why not this little beauty?
The Hovercraft â??
Â
Â
Now you might be thinking â??hang on a minute; hovercrafts are greatâ?? and to a certain extent you would be right but what if I told you that the only public hovercraft in use today takes you from Portsmouth to the Isle Of Wight. Iâ??ve taken that journey and trust me, youâ??ll want to stay on the island rather than take the return trip on the hovercraft; and thatâ??s saying something. If youâ??re thinking of doing a bit of tech PR on behalf of the hovercraft then perhaps you should try riding one first.
InteliData Money Clip â??
Â
Â
Tired of carrying around all those heavy credit cards and bank notes? Well this invention would have been perfect or you. The people at InteliData thought it would be a great idea if people could carry around all their payment details on a kind of classic 90s floppy disk, but the people soon told InteliData that this wasnâ??t the case. Nowadays we have things like PayPal which are a lot better but sadly not quite as retro.
Boiled Egg Squarer â??
Â
Â
This is probably the daftest and most pointless piece of tech on the list but it has made it through sheer audacity alone. I donâ??t know about you but Iâ??m fed up of my eggs always being round; even when you fry or poach them the pesky things still stay circular in shape. Well not any more (or at least that would be the case if this device had of caught on) as this piece of amazing engineering allows you to create a square hard-boiled egg. As for why it didnâ??t take oeuf; Iâ??m not egg-sactly sure.
Featured images:
Chris Mayhew likes to keep up with the latest technology and is taking a look back on some pieces of tech that never really made it to the mainstream. He is working for marketing agency Eclat who enjoiy fruitful partnerships with many tech based clients.
Augmented reality has not reached its potential yet.
This technology can be successfully used for entertainment, educational and marketing purposes. Augmented reality apps would explore your horizon and blur the line between real and imaginative. This sophisticated technology is now available on your iPhone, iPad or Android phone. Great graphics and sound effects would transform your reality in a very unusual way.
Below you will find a list of most useful augmented reality apps for your mobile device:
Stella Artois â?? Le Bar Guide
This amazing bar guide app would help you in locating the closest bar in the area. Stella Artois created a great app for bar hoppers in the UK, US and Canada. If youâ??re new in town and have no idea where to go this evening, use this augmented reality app to navigate around the local bar scene. The app would also provide you with bar reviews and ratings. When youâ??re ready to go home, use the app to find the closest taxi station or get taxi number.
Google Sky Map for Android
A keen astronomer would appreciate this app like no one else. Even if you know nothing about astronomy you would enjoy using it to identify any constellation you see in the night sky. The app would use your phone camera to recognize the stars and constellations in the sky. Even if you want to learn more about astronomy, printed astronomy maps are very complicated to memorize. The app would use your GPS to identify the exact location of your device in order to calculate the angle and estimate the stars above you. You can choose to see only stars or planets.
WorkSnug
This app is perfect for internet addicts as it provides you with the list of all Wi-Fi hotspots in the neighborhood. Sometimes you simply need to connect to any free Wi-Fi network just to send an urgent email. The app would identify all the closest coffee shops, co-working spaces and libraries in your area. You would rediscover your city with the app and find places that youâ??ve never seen before.
Simply use your camera to identify your location and the app would do the rest. It would point you to the right direction with several Wi-Fi options in San Francisco, London, Madrid, Berlin, New York, Barcelona and other cities.
AugMeasure app
This app would help you identify the short-distance measurements. Take a picture of an object and use the app to estimate its size in centimeters or inches. Sometimes you simply need to know the exact the right measurements of an object and cannot estimate it on your own.
Wikitude World Browser
Wikitude Browser would allow you to travel the world with comfort. It would give you any necessary information (Youtube videos, Wikipedia articles, ATMs, Tweets and much more) about historical places around you. Use your camera to explore the surroundings; you can also search for something specific in the neighborhood, for example search for a particular restaurant. You can even share your favorite places with your friends.
Guest post by contributing author, Breton, working together with mVOICE, the leading provider of hosted voip services.
The Mojito is a drink that originated back in 1586 when Sir Francis Drake was sailing off the coast of Havana deciding whether or not to attack and take the Aztec gold rumored to be stored in Havanaâ??s royal treasury.
He didnâ??t sack Havana, but during this time, crew member Richard Drake invented a cocktail which he named the Draque to honor the captain. Many ports were introduced to this drink as Captain Drake and his corsairs plundered cities in the New World, under orders of Queen Elizabeth I.
The original recipe for the Draque called for aguardiente (Spanish for burning water, an early type of hard liquor), sugar, fresh lime, and mint. It was considered medicinal, and was even consumed to prevent cholera, among other ailments.
The Bacardi Connection
Don Facundo Bacardi Masso was born in Sitges, Spain in 1814, and later followed his older brothers to Cuba to work in their general store. By 1844, he had saved up enough money to open a shop of his own. A series of events including an earthquake, a cholera epidemic, and a global slump in sugar drove his business into the ground. That is when he began to refine the distillation process to produce a better rum. By 1862, he and his partners acquired a distillery and Bacardi rum was born.
At this time, aguardiente was replaced by Bacardi rum and the name of the cocktail was changed to Mojito (pronounced mo-HEE-toe). The word Mojito is derived from the African word â??mojoâ? meaning to place a little spell. When Ernest Hemingway and his wife Martha purchased a home just outside Havana, he was a regular at a bar called La Bodeguita del Medio, where the Mojito became one of his favorite drinks. You can still see his handwriting on the wall where he wrote, â??Mi mojito en la Bodeguita.â?
The Modern Mojito
More recently the drink became popular after James Bond drank one in Die Another Day, and was again featured in the movie Miami Vice. It is very similar to the Mint Julep, which is made with bourbon instead of rum. Both are wonderful drinks for hot summer evenings. It is also a great aperitif, to prime the palate before dinner.
There are many variations to the recipe for Mojitos, but to recreate a simple authentic version at home, follow this recipe:
Ingredients:
1 tsp superfine sugar
2 oz fresh lime juice
4 mint leaves
2 oz light rum
2 oz club soda
1 sprig of mint for garnish
Instructions:
In a tall collins glass, muddle the sugar, mint leaves, and lime juice. Add crushed ice, rum, and club soda. Stir and garnish with the mint sprig.
Superfine sugar must not be confused with powdered sugar, which has cornstarch added. You can make your own superfine sugar by grinding it in a food processor. Another option is to use simple syrup instead of sugar. Some people even make a mint syrup by combining several mint leaves with equal parts sugar and water, bringing it to a boil to dissolve the sugar and then letting it steep before straining out the mint.
L Evans is an event planner for weddings and latin american honeymoon activities. She comes from a catering background and delights in sharing her expertise when it comes to tropical experiences and cuisine.
Image courtesy of creativedoxfoto / freedigitalphotos.net
No matter what type of business you run, you will need to rely on software solutions for a number of your business operations.
That means that even business owners who know nothing about technology, and who run businesses that have nothing to do with technology, must work very closely with technology. If this sounds like you and you recognize your company’s need for software development, then it is only understandable that you should consider hiring an outsider to do the job. However, it is important that you first thoroughly examine both sides of this option. Here are the pros and cons of outsourcing your company’s software development:
Pros:
Hiring new employees. Outsourcing is a very simplified solution to the ages-old problem of how to manage a variety of business operations that aren’t necessarily central to the business purpose. For example, if you run a catering business, then it probably doesn’t make a lot of sense to go through the long and tedious process of hiring an on-site software developer.
Shopping for contractors on a global scale. When you outsource a job as important as software development, it is imperative that you shop around for high quality professionals who can provide for you exactly what your business wants and needs. By outsourcing, you open up a door to a world of possibilities–literally. That means that when you spend your money on software development (which is quite a hefty expenditure), you can make informed decisions when it comes to choosing the best fit for the job.
Cons:
Loss of managerial control. It goes without saying that when you outsource any aspect of your business operations, you lose managerial control of that aspect. It simply is not possible to stand over the shoulder of a software developer who is hundreds of miles away.
Confidential company information. When you hire a contractor to develop software for your business, it is likely that you will have to provide sensitive information about your business if you want software that is customized to your business (and isn’t that the point?). This clearly puts your business in a vulnerable position if you are harboring trade secrets that your business success relies on.
As you can see, there is a lot to think about when it comes to deciding whether or not to outsource your company’s software development. Before you make that all important decision–and especially before you put any of your money into a software development project–consider all of these pros and cons of outsourcing so you can be sure you are making the right choice for your business.
About the Author:Â Blossom Hamelin is a software developer who works with small businesses. She recommends you get started now if you want to find a company you can trust to finish your project from start to finish – looking at local contractors and larger groups like SmartBear.
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / freedigitalphotos.net
Life as a DJ may seem like an easy gig, but it’s not. It requires skill, talent and hard work. Strong interpersonal abilities, a strong business sense, and technological mastery are also key to life as a DJ. And, of course, you need to love music.
DJs (the term is short for “disk jockey”) are people who play recorded music for live audiences. This can be done over the air or in person.
Of course, hitting “play” is only one small part of the job. DJs match beats, mix tracks, and distort sounds to create seamless music listeners can dance to. And good DJs know how to interact with an audience, becoming a part of the entertainment. Life as a DJ is more complicated than it may appear.
Life as a DJ: The Basics
If you plan to live life as a DJ, you’ll first need to know what sort of DJ you hope to be. Do you want to be the kind who draws large crowds to concerts and raves? Or do you have more realistic goals, working as a wedding or party DJ, for example?
The next step in living life as a DJ is acquiring equipment. If you work a large-scale gig, this may be provided for you, but many private settings require that you bring your own. Expect to buy CD players or turntables, a microphone, a laptop, speakers, mixers, and headphones. You may also want to get specialized software for mixing and music selection.
To get a feel for life as a DJ, spend some time observing and hanging out around your favorite DJs. Get advice from them and a sense of how they interact with audiences. How do they manage them? What are their mixing techniques?
Life as a DJ: The Skills You’ll Need
Life as a DJ requires some basic artistic and technical skills. Most important is mixing. Specifically, for many DJ gigs you’ll need to know how to beatmatch, which is the technique of moving from one song to the next seamlessly, without skipping beats. Mixing can be done before a performance or on the fly.
To live life as a DJ you’ll also need to become a musical expert. Immerse yourself in every popular music genre, from progressive and techno to house and hip-hop. You’ll need to know more about music than everyone you know.
Life as a DJ: The First Gig
You’ll probably have to smart small as a DJ. Very small. As in small private parties for low fees or dead weeknights at bars and clubs. Even weddings and bar mitzvahs may take a few steps up. Whatever you do, hold onto your day job for the time being.
No two audiences are the same in life as a DJ, and they all have different tastes. Slow songs are big at weddings, for example, while more complicated DJ techniques are called for at raves and parties.
Building life as a DJ isn’t easy, but it can certainly be rewarding. Top earners can become wealthy (though they’re few and far between). But the most important thing to real DJs is the music, and the skill required to master it.
Carter is a professional writer who covers many different topics. One area he covers is the area of music, events, and even dj services. When it comes to writing about djs, he writes on being a dj and how to hire a Dallas dj.
Image courtesy of moggara12 / freedigitalphotos.net
It is normal for police to arrest people who have been driving drunk or something similar that they routinely arrest people for, because everyone knows you should not drink and drive. It’s not normal if a boy gets arrested for sneaking a peek at his Christmas gift.
These 5 unusually weird criminal arrest cases will leave you shocked after reading them.
Deaf man gets arrested for sign language taunts
You might think deaf people have it easy when dealing with the cops. This is not necessarily true when you know how to swear in sign language. Balraj Gill is a 31 year old man who knows plenty of bad words in sign language. He might have wished he did not when the police did not take it lightly. He plead guilty without much resistance, too. The bad thing about it is that the police actually had to go to a translator and they told the police that he had said multiple bad words to them. He just caught a bad break that day to have translators in the area. So even though you are deaf, you are not immune to the police task force.
Taunting by fart
If you thought that taunting policemen and policewomen was bad by sign language, how about by fart. Jose Cruz was being fingerprinted and he let one rip and waved it on to a police officer nearby. The bad thing about that is that the police officer he waved the fart on to was preparing a breath test machine for use.
Selling your creativity on animals
You may think it’s cute to pierce your cats to look like rock stars. The police do not share your uniqueness qualities though. A woman was arrested for piercing her cats and then trying to sell them. She was trying to sell them as Gothic cats on the Internet. She did not know that it was wrong for cats because humans get pierced all the time.
Say cheese
You might think you are all that if you rob a bank and get away with it. For two Australians nicknamed “Dumb and Dumber”, this was not the case. The two made away with $170,000 in cash after robbing several banks with fake pistols. They took pictures of each other in a McDonald’s restroom with the cash in hand. After police found the photos a couple days after tracking the two down, they showed them to the bank tellers. They recognized them instantly because they were regular customers at the bank.
Boy gets arrested for peeking at a Christmas gift
The most unusual out of all of these is how a boy ended up getting arrested for trying to find out what he got this Christmas. His mother called police and told them what had happened. He was charged with petty larceny and his mother will make sure it does not happen again. If you thought your parents were strict, think again.
These 5 unusually weird criminal arrest cases will have you wanting more. If you do want more, just do a Google search for weird arrest cases. The Dumb and Dumber photos can be found here, http://www.oddee.com/_media/imgs/articles/a350_loot.jpg. These guys along with the rest of the cases would make a great rag tag team if you ever wanted to commit a dumb crime.
Christopher J. McCann is a practicing DUI lawyer at the law offices of Christopher J. McCann who was recently awarded his 6th SuperLawyers Magazine â??Rising Starâ? award. You can follow Chris tweets at @cjm_law_firm and active OC DUI blog.
Image courtesy of Sattva / freedigitalphotos.net
Sign makers usually have pretty straightforward intentions when they put up signs. Itâ??s typically understood that signs inform, direct or regulate the public. So when the meaning or purpose of a sign is unclear, there can sometimes be some confusion. Sometimes that effect spirals out of control, as in the case of the Boston Bomb Scare, which incited some public hysteria.
Boston Bomb Scare.
2007 was the year of the memorable misadventure of the Boston Bomb Scare. Mischief and mayhem was caused by a few simple LED sign boards depicting a simple cartoon character.
A passer-by walking down the street one day in Boston, Massachusetts, noticed an incongruous-looking sign, which did not seem to have any connection to any institution or establishment that he could see. Troubled, he brought the matter to the attention of the police. Alarmed, the police brought the matter to the bomb squad.
What troubled them were the signâ??s homemade appearance and exposed wiring and circuitry. Was the LED board an â??improvised explosive deviceâ?? This is what Boston officials worriedly pondered.
Police, fireman, explosive specialists surrounded the â??deviceâ??, with helicopters swarming overhead and news crews gave the public a live up-to-the-date report. Eventually, in a daring act of bravery, they blew up the troublesome item. But what was the source of this scourge?
A popular adult cartoon called Aqua Teen Hunger Force.
So as to market an upcoming film based on the cartoon, a marketing firm called Interference Inc., which specialised in guerilla marketing campaigns, made and put up the signs in several cities overnight, including Boston. Although it was only in Boston, and only a couple weeks later, that the signs made the headlines.
Apparently Boston officials werenâ??t fans of the show; otherwise a lot of shamefacedness might have been averted when the true nature of the signs came to light. The incident was largely lampooned as a â??hoaxâ??, although that was never the intention of the marketers. The city of Boston got their revenge by fining Cartoon network two million dollars. Oh, and they arrested the installers of the signs, because apparently itâ??s illegal to put up devices that may be mistaken as explosive in nature.
Bear in mind that this was of course during tense times, when the War on Terror seemed a legitimate crusade. And so their paranoia, if still somewhat amusing, is at least understandable.
And thatâ??s why you should always be careful with your signage installation. You can never be too sure how your audience will react.
Queenie Bates is a writer, wannabe-know-it-all, and avid consumer of reading material – the serious and not so serious.
Prev1...373839...100Next 
Page 38 of 100
