Google Agrees Privacy Policy Changes With Data Watchdog

It is after the pressure put on Google by the UK Information commissioner’s office (ICO) that they have decided to rewrite their privacy policy.

Following this similar reviews are being conducted around Europe, where the firm must make it easier for its users to get to know how and for what the data is collected and used and need to submit a two year review which is the outcome of an investigation done by the regulators. It has come to the attention of the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) that the personal data collected from the web services and products of Google are being too unclear. The outcome of this, made Google plan to implement the same with other European regulators.

The process involved in the inquiry: 

It all triggered off when the Mountain View company started being noticed by the regulator and its continental counterparts following their controversial policy which was updated on March 2012 that pooled 70 existing documents. This was later also joined by other data regulators who form the European Article 29 Data Protection Working Party. The investigation held made Google not only to agree, but also ensure that the accessibility to the privacy policy is easy as well as to redesign their account setting features in such a way that it allows the users to find its controls more easily.

Appeal: 

Apart from these clarifications, the company will also have to provide information pertaining to the anonymous identifiers, which are similar to that of cookies. Google has been given time till 30 June 2015 to put into practice all the changes and according to the rumors the company will be rolling out a single policy across the EU with the aim of satisfying each and every regulators who has opened the investigations. Google has also dropped the appeals related to these investigations which are being undertaken by the Spanish and French watchdogs.

According to Steve Eckersley, the ICO's head of enforcement, this step which has been taken will mark a very important step towards a long standing investigation and also the extended dialogue. He also added, while their investigation summarized that this case has not brought out any substantial distress and damage to the consumers, it is still very important for the organizations to accurately understand the influence of their actions and the need to meet and comply with the requirements of the data protection law. According to the spokesperson of Google, the company is very happy that the ICO has finally decided to close and put an end to the investigation. Google has agreed that they need to make improvements in their privacy policy and vowed to continue to work constructively along with the commissioner and the team in the near future.

As the result of closing this investigation, the company will not be fined for any of their actions in the United kingdom, this is completely opposite to the fine and penalties imposed on the company in France and span.

Few Tricks Every Android User Should Know

Most of the phones with the android system in the market are very easy to use but there are some easy tricks, which can be used for making these phones, not only efficient but more enjoyable as well. Android being an open platform gives lot of opportunities for customization. Apart from personalizing the phones, these tricks can be used to keep the phones neat and can be practiced for keeping them organized. This will allow plenty of battery to survive all day long.

Google: 

Google is one such application, which is more like a personal assistant. User’s have to open the Google app, click on get Google now and fill all the necessary preferences. To get personalized notifications from Google, you need to tell the app about your favorite sports team, stocks among others. Google can be given direction about the Google Maps transportation in the user’s preferred mode.

Make use of lock screens and launchers replacements: 

Not everybody can stare at the same weather widget every day. Google play store now provides the user with changing interfaces for the android phones.

Power saving mode: 

User should turn on the power saving mode on their phones by going to the setting menu. Some of the android phones also have the option of higher-level battery-saving mode. Unfortunately, not all the phones have battery saving mode option.

Always keep an extra battery: 

Always remember, the battery can die anytime and it is not possible to be beside a store. If your android phone has the option of replaceable back, then you can keep an extra battery that can be used when required.

Google Chrome: 

Using Google chrome to login to the Google account will allow the users to carry over all their bookmarks and preferences automatically.

Create folders for apps: 

Users can divide all their apps into different folders and keep it organized. This not only reduces the time to search for application but also minimizes the clutter from the screen. To create a folder, you need to press and hold on any app and you will get an option to create folder on the top left hand side. Some of the phones have the option to dragging and dropping one app on another to create folders. This is the perfect example for iOS.

Third party keyboard: 

Users now have the option to choose different types of keyboard and they do not have to be restricted to the Google standard keyboard. Google play store provide plenty of option, one such app is the Swype, which allow the users to swipe between the letters rather than type.

Bandwidth management: 

One can cut down on the amount of the data usage but turning on Reduce Data Usage in the Google Chrome. This will ensure that all the unnecessary whitespace is removed and large images are reduced to a smaller size.

Google Authenticator: 

Google account can be verified through this app. Through this app, the user has to enter the security code apart from the login password to access the account. This allows no stranger act on your phone.

6 Ways Online Technology Can Create a Residual Income for Small Businesses

Some small businesses are overly dependant on local customer sales in order to remain open. Often times, a loss of a high-volume client can cause one of these establishments to close down. This happens a lot in rural areas where the foot traffic of local consumerism is very low. However, there are ways that technology can be used to help create a residual income to keep the doors of a brick-and-mortar business open to the public. The best part about these methods is that most do not require a huge investment in order to begin.

Website Ad Revenues 

Building a website is easy. It's the maintenance and constant vigilance to create a successful site that can be stressful. However, ad revenue through your website could bring in a bit of money depending on how popular your site and business niche is. People such as Bob Parsons of Godaddy have made a great deal of money by developing a site that sells domain names and hosting. With proper marketing, your site could be a success as well.

eCommerce Income 

Operating an eCommerce site may be something your business could get into depending on its structure. If you own an ice cream shop, you may not be able to sell scoops of ice cream on a waffle cone online. However, you could sell ice cream accessories and home kits. Nearly any business can break into eCommerce giving you access to a much wider market than what is available locally.

App Development 

Many developers create apps to use on smart devices and have made large amounts of money. This will depend on your skills as a developer and what kinds of apps you want to create. Of course you can hire a developer to create the apps for your business. Just keep in mind that it will take a decent amount of marketing and advertising in order to get people to download and install the software.

Reseller Accounts 

Many services online host reseller accounts allowing you to make a bit of money by leasing those services out. An example of this is when web hosting companies offer you space and bandwidth to resell to local or online customers for any price you wish. For computer-based businesses, this could be a sensible idea as you could help people set up websites using WordPress or Joomla for instant activity for low monthly payments.

Browser Apps 

Much like mobile apps, those that operate on browsers can help create a residual income through subscription fees. This may take extensive website programming knowledge, but it could be lucrative depending on the idea. Again, hiring a developer to assist can help get the application operational. Examples of these kinds of ideas are apps such as Quickbooks Online and many others.

Informational Videos 

Video content is growing online at an incredible rate. By creating informational videos on sites such as YouTube, you could make money through ad displays. However, entertaining and engaging videos may be more difficult to produce than your realize. The flip side of this is that a video could go viral turning your company into a quick success if the video is produced correctly.

While some of these may require a bit more work and increasing knowledge of technological advancements, they can be used to help stabilize income when sales are low or a major client moves away. By keeping costs as low as possible through efficiency and expanding the capabilities of the business to include some of these methods, it may be possible for the small business to continue thriving.

Once $399 A Year, Google Earth Pro Is Now Free

Recently Google has announced that now onwards Google Earth Pro will be available in free, as earlier it was available in $399/year. We all know that Google Earth is one of the geospatial software applications, which displays a virtual globe that has an ability to capture and analyze almost all of the geographical data. Google Earth was comes in existence when in 2004 Google was acquired CIA funded Keyhole Inc, under the brand name of Keyhole the application was known as the Earth Viewer 3D, whereas; in October 2011 Google Earth desktop client has recorded the billions download.

Difference between Google Earth and Google Earth Pro: 

If you will use the free version of Google Earth and Google Earth Pro, so you will find the several differences, as free in free version you can only print the screen resolution images and in Google Earth Pro you will be free to use premium high resolution photos.

In free version of Google Earth you need to manually geo-locate the any GIS (geographic information system) images, but in Google Earth Pro you will find them automatically and free version of Google Earth will allow you to import image files, which are up-to the max texture size, whereas; Google Earth Pro provides SIO (Super Image Overlays), which are more than the any max texture size. Google Earth and Google Earth Pro use the same imagery, however Google Earth Pro offers many additional tools, which are very helpful for any business such as; to create animation movies and to measure the areas of circles or polygons. Google Earth Pro will help you to ma the multiple points in one sitting and it will let you to access the graphic, demographic and traffic data layers.

From past 10 years, businesses, researchers, scientists, individuals and hobbyists are using the Google Earth Pro in all over the world for different purposes such as; to place the solar panels on rooftops and more. Google Earth Pro has many easy to use feature, which offer the detail imagery of Google Earth with the advantage of additional tools, which help to measure 3D buildings and to print high resolution images for reports, presentations and to record HD movies of virtual flights in all over the world, stated by the Stafford Marquardt, Product manager of Google Earth Pro.

For U.S. you can find the most compelling data in Google Earth Pro for example you can find the demographic information in reference to age, gender education, employment status and income for the current year and as well as for the five-year projected and these data can be more useful to conduct the marketing research.

It will be better deal for users as pro version offers additional features such as; it is capable to print the images with the resolution of 4,800 x 3,200, which offer the standard version that maxes out at 1,000 x 1,000. It is for sure that some users will enjoy this new offer because all you need to sign up for a key to use Google Earth Pro, whereas; existing Pro users need not to do anything and no longer they will have to pay the charges.

Some Common Misconceptions about Mobile Device Batteries

Technological advancement has not restricted the mindset of humans pertaining to the myth of mobile batteries. We are so much concerned about the battery life that we are ready to spend enough to get hands on a phone, which will ensure a couple of days of usage. There are devices that have claimed to have a battery life extended for weeks as in case of Amazon Kindle. Mobile phone users have very specific and unique ideas about keeping their mobile batteries working for a long time. However, on the other side, not everything pertaining to the batteries can be simply trusted. So let us read about some of the misconceptions pertaining to the battery that we use every day:

1. Memory power of battery: 

Not true at all. People often think that they need to train their phone battery to perform to its complete potential and uses most of the charge. They will drain the battery power out and keep on charging it regularly. They believed that any percentage near 50% is good and the phone does not need charging.

2. Other company brand chargers spoil the battery: 

Even though there are some off brand, chargers that are not optimal but they do not do any damage to the battery. As long as the charger is working, they will allow the battery to operate properly. You can certainly opt for an off brand charger from the market made for your device as a replacement with the only drawback that it will not give you the same 15 minutes= 8 hours usage.

3. Overnight charge damages battery: 

Most of the phones are now smart enough to analyze when the battery is fully charged and it will automatically stop charging. Instead of keeping the phone to charge overnight, charge the battery when it is between 40-80% for optimum battery life.

4. Don’t use phone when on charge: 

People often believe that using phone while charging will have negative impact on the batter life of the phone. This is only true in case if you are using any off brand low quality charger.

5. Battery is damaged if phone is turned off: 

It is not true but if you keep your phone turned off for long time, the battery is drained. In android devices rebooting the phone will bring back the functionality of the phone.

6. Charge the phone full before using it: 

Smartphone batteries perform the best when charged between 40-80%, so if you have a new phone, you should be able to use it immediately without charging it.

7. Extend life by putting in freezer: 

Li-Ion batteries are affected by heat and cold hence room temperature is the best. Cold is an enemy and hot is not required for smartphones devices. Always store phone where there is ventilation, you might get moisture but will avoid overheating of the device and battery.

8. Using internet uses lot of battery: 

Only the games drain the battery power. Games should be played with less brightness, but if the phone is on charging then you can keep the brightness on. Viewing videos through You-tube and other graphics-intensive can certainly drain the battery power.