The digital age has revolutionized the way in which we live our lives, but sadly it has also revolutionized crime. There’s now a hack attack every 39 seconds, 300,000 new types of malware are created every day and the average cost of data breaches is estimated to reach $150 dollars this year. Cybercrime is now classified as one of the single biggest threats to businesses and individuals and so whether you use IT for work or just at home for pleasure, here are 5 ways in which you can improve your security.
Educate yourself
The first thing you should do to protect yourself against cybercrime is to educate yourself, your family and your co-workers on the most common types of cyber-threats and how to avoid them. Burying your head in the sand when it comes to data security and cyber-terrorism makes you an easy target for hackers, so start doing some research into the ways that hackers can gain access to your information so that you can then begin putting measures in place to block them.
Bring in an expert It’s safe to say that not all computer users really understand how the devices they use work, and that’s ok so long as you realize when it’s time to cut your losses and to bring in the professionals so that they can advise you on how best to stay safe online. On a personal level, you can pop into any computer store and ask for advice on computer security, in fact, Apple offers free security seminars, or if you’re a business then reach out to an IT company that offers security consultancy services tailored for corporate needs.
Don’t ignore updates Those requests to update that keep appearing on the side of your screen may be irritating but they’re actually trying to keep you safe. Most updates released contain fixes to bugs or errors that make it easier for hackers to gain access to your computer, so by ignoring them, you’re leaving your defenses weakened. With more than 300,000 types of malware created every day, it’s no wonder that computers need to update so frequently in order to keep up. So the next time your computer asks to update click yes and then go and make yourself a cup of coffee.
Take passwords seriously People have gotten sloppy with passwords over recent years and it’s leaving them, their personal information and their employers open to attack. It may be annoying trying to remember different passwords but having the same password for every system is a bad idea, as is using common words such as family names, dates of birth or the name of your pet. Try to create passwords from random letters, numbers, and symbols or make them acronyms of something you’ll remember.
Create an incident response plan Finally, if the worst comes to the worst and you do experience a data breach then you need to have an incident response plan in place to minimize the damage. IT consultants are best placed to help you create a response plan but at the very least you should know who the issue is escalated to and who is responsible for guiding your actions.
A product design degree is designed to give you the theoretical knowledge and background skill you need to be able to create new and innovative products. The degree is popular with those who like science, maths, and engineering but who also enjoy art and design and are popular with both men and women from a variety of backgrounds.
What can you do with a degree in product design?
A product design degree can be used in a few different ways including directly and indirectly. Direct use of a product design degree can see graduates going into roles such as CAD technicians, exhibition designers, furniture designers, product designers and other more specific areas of design across a variety of industries. Indirectly, a product design degree is valued and useful for careers in advertising, engineering, graphic design, and media alongside a variety of other jobs that view product design degrees as an example of a candidate’s ability to think creatively but also critically.
What experience do you need?
A degree in product design is a great first step to getting into a creative role but usually, it is more effective when paired with some form of experience. Experience is often seen as a chicken or egg style situation, after all, how can you gain a job to get experience without experience? Well, in product design a few things to consider include asking local designers in your area who work in the sector you are interested in if you can shadow them or complete a placement with them – this kind of work is often unpaid, but some designers may be willing to pay a small wage for your help.
Alternatively, another way to show experience without getting a job is to apply for a product or industrial design competition which will allow you to showcase your work and skill and will prove valuable for helping you to build up your portfolio of work. Finally, keep an eye out for entry-level job positions often posted on graduate job sites, these job postings are searching specifically for graduates and so often understand that applicants will have limited experience.
Consider a Master’s
Although there is a range of direct and indirect applications for a product design degree another option is always to go back into education to get a Masters. A Master’s degree can help you to stand out from the crowd and to gain more advanced positions regardless of your lack of experience. To find out more about a Masters in product design, click here.
Where to look for jobs
Once you have a rough idea of what industry you want to go into and the role you would like then the next thing to do is to start job hunting. Although you can always search for jobs easily online via job boards it’s often best to look through companies recruitment pages directly. Especially if you know who you want to be working for, applying directly through the companies website can make you stand out from other candidates.
Buying a new car is both exciting and stressful. It is a very big purchase and it is vital that you make the right decisions early on, or you may end up paying for them when you are a few miles down the road.
Cars can be a massive money pit. Buy the wrong one and you will end up having to pay out repeatedly to maintain it. On top of that, you will have all of the running costs to factor into your decision. While you may be taken by the sleek design, superior road holding, and powerful engine, sadly the reality of car ownership often comes down to running costs.
Here are a few tips to help you make the right financial decision when it comes to buying your new car.
Should You Buy New Or Used?
There is no right or wrong answer to this question. The fact of the matter is that the car that you choose has to be right for you, whether you buy it brand new off the lot, used from a car dealership, or second-hand from a private seller. Aside from the obvious differences in price between new and used, here are pros and cons to every choice.
New cars can be paid for with a range of financing options. Some of these arrangements will mean that you never own the car, you are just leasing it. This is useful if you want a more expensive car as the monthly payments can be more manageable. You can often get finance on used cars from a car dealer, however, when buying straight from a private seller, you will need to find the cash to pay upfront.
New cars are covered by manufacturers warranty. This means that any major problems will be covered when you first buy the vehicle. Used cars obviously don’t have this luxury, and if anything ever goes with your second-hand car, then you will end up having to pay to get it fixed.
Check Out Insurance Costs Before You Commit
Before you buy your car, make sure that you check out the cost of insurance. Check out a range of different providers. Be sure and look into pay-per-mile insurance to see if this is a cost-effective method of paying for your cover.
Often, insurance costs can be quite prohibitive. The price of cover may make the car that you are looking for out of your price range. Knowing how much you can expect paying before you buy will stop you from getting a car that you can’t afford to run.
Take The Car For A Spin
Taking the car you choose for a spin is important. How the car feels when it drives is important information that you need to pay attention to. If you are looking at a used car, driving the car on a variety of roads and performing a number of maneuvers may be necessary to alert you to any issues that may be red flags.
Are you running a social media campaign as part of the marketing for your business? If so, then you do need to think about how to get the most out of this option. There are a few possibilities to consider here. If you take this advice you’ll find that your potential grows dramatically.
One of the best options when building a social media campaign is to work to ensure that it is as diverse as possible. You can start by thinking about running your campaign across different networks and changing the content so that it matches or provides the best results. However, the content that you offer should also be different. You should be providing blogs, quick updates, links, videos, images, and infographics. It’s important that any content that you do add matches the level of quality that your customers expect. So, if you are adding a video to your feed, make sure that it was created using a professional video production company.
Follow the 80:20 Rule
A lot of business owners will make a mistake and believe that social media should be used for pure promotion. However, this is not the case and the reality is that if you do this you will be limiting the power or potential of your campaign. Instead, you need to ensure that you follow the 80:20 rule here. This is simple to understand. 20% of the content you produce should be pure promotion. The rest should provide value to your customers and followers. By doing this, you can ensure that your social media is a valuable resource. You can also set yourself up as an expert that customers can trust. This is always going to provide great benefits to you. Some business marketers would even suggest that it’s more 90:10.
Use Your Followers
Another great way to use social media is to ensure that you are able to get the most out of your followers. It’s possible to use the followers you have and guarantee that they are going to be able to push up your campaign. You can do this by taking complete advantage of user-generated content. When followers create content that could be beneficial to your campaign, remember to retweet or share the content. This could be as simple as a positive review from your customer. Remember, other clients, are more likely to trust their word then direct marketing from your business. If you are struggling to get user-generated content, you can set up promotions and challenges to encourage them to engage. You can also engage with them directly by opening up conversations. This is a great way to get to know the followers and customers of your business.
We hope you love these ideas and look forward to incorporating them into your own social networking marketing campaign. Remember, social media is a powerful tool for any business. You just need to make sure that you are using it the right way to gain the best results.
Technology moves so fast and one area where you can see a visible change is in display technology. Compare a modern TV to one that is just 5 years old and you will see a huge difference in the quality of the picture and the depth of the color. It seems like new technologies are being developed all the time and the quality will just keep getting better. It’s not just about quality either, there are also advancements in things like energy efficiency and portability too.
Over the last few years, TV makers, in particular, moved away from simply focusing on picture quality and starting adding new features like 3D and creating smart TVs that can run apps like Netflix. But 3D didn’t really catch on and smart TVs now come as standard, which means that companies are starting to look for new ways to revolutionize display technology. These are some of the latest innovations that are likely to have a big impact in the coming years.
The majority of people that bought a TV in the last few years have a 4K TV, but even that technology is being rendered obsolete by OLED (organic light emitting diodes) and QLED (quantum dot LED) TVs. These TVs are already out there and available to buy, but they are incredibly expensive, so not many people have them. There is also a debate about which technology is better, with Samsung championing QLED and LG pushing for OLED. Both technologies promise improved color contrast and better picture, and they don’t require the use of a backlight like a traditional LCD TV as the diodes in both TVs emit their own light. At the moment, there isn’t much separating the two but QLED TVs have not reached their full potential so only time will tell which technology will come out on top.
Optical Bonding
Display technology isn’t just about TVs, it has a lot of applications in areas like aerospace, military, construction, and agriculture. This gives rise to the need for durable, practical displays, which is where optical bonding comes in. Optical bonding is a process that uses an optically clear adhesive to attach a lens or touch panel to the front of a screen. This allows for increased durability, better readability in sunlight, and a reduction in dust and condensation, so screens can be used in more difficult environments. This will allow for a lot more applications for display technology.
Foldable Screens
The biggest innovation in display technology right now has to be foldable screens. Smartphone manufacturers are always looking for ways to make our life easier and improve the way that our phones work, and for many of them, foldable screens are the next step. There are already a few phones with foldable screens on the market but this technology can be used for so much more. There is a lot of research going into flexible screens with the eventual end goals of creating screens that can simply be rolled up and carried around wherever you go, which could have a massive impact.
There is no way to know for sure what the future of display technology holds but it is likely that these innovations will have a big part to play.
You’ve just clicked on this article, so the odds are good that you’re a fan of craft beer, or marijuana, or both. You’ll be pleased to know that more and more brewers are beginning to experiment with “weed beer,” meaning beer suffused with cannabis. But that description is somewhat misleading. Currently, there are a couple variations of this budding fusion product: (1) “beer” with CBD and/or THC substituted for the alcohol, in which case you’re getting high from what amounts to a beer-flavored soft drink, and (2) real beer that has had cannabis terpenes added to it.
This article deals with the latter, a new constellation in the ever-expanding universe of craft beer.
What are terpenes?
Terpenes are organic hydrocarbons that, among many other things, lend weed its distinct aroma and flavor. In addition to cannabis, terpenes are found in a wide variety of plants and essential oils, including those derived from lemons and limes, pine needles, and lavender—all of which contain therapeutic properties. For instance, the essential oil of lavender is known to relieve anxiety, as well as effectively treat fungal infections and hair loss.
Cannabis contains particularly high levels of terpenes, which work together with cannabinoids and other compounds to both enhance your psychoactive experience and provide medicinal benefits. Said benefits range from pain and inflammation relief to treatment of serious conditions like epilepsy and cancer.
Terpenes extracted naturally from non-marijuana sources (from plants for example) are being mixed into ‘terpene blends’ – like those available at true-blue.co – to mimic the flavor, aroma, and therapeutic properties of individual strains (like Purple Haze or Pineapple Express). These can then be used to create new products like vape juice, edibles, CBD oil, and even beer.
How do terpenes make their way into beer?
Of all the terpenes present in cannabis (there are over 200), myrcene and limonene are the ones most commonly used in beer. Myrcene, known for its sedative effects, is the most abundant terpene in cannabis. Studies have suggested that myrcene may help to relax muscles and reduce pain and inflammation. Limonene, meanwhile, is found in various citrus fruits and used widely in perfumes, foods, solvents and medicines. It’s also a proven antidepressant with antioxidant and anticancer properties.
Here’s how it works. These and other selected terpenes are purchased from companies that extract cannabis oil from natural sources. Brewers then incorporate the terpenes into the brewing process by combining them with hops (which have their own terpenes). Some breweries choose to first break down the terpenes using solvents, while others introduce them directly into the “bitter wort,” or wort to which hops have already been added.
The result is a craft beer that contains hints of the fragrance and flavor of cannabis, but no THC. With that said, beer suffused with both terpenes and THC seems like the next logical step in this growing movement, considering the increasing support for federal legalization of cannabis in the US—including among lawmakers and leading presidential candidates.
One thing is certain: weed beer is here to stay. Next time you’re out and about, ask your bartender about any local terpene-infused brews. He just might have one on tap.
Recent Comments