Category: Development

Development

8 Actionable UX Tips You Should Know When Developing a Mobile App

on October 8, 2020

There is no denying that user experience (UX) is one reason a user is keeping your mobile app. Its usability and intuitiveness (or the lack thereof) can make people decide whether an app is worth their time or not.

Thus, it is safe to say that the more usable your mobile app is, the higher the user engagement. This could lead to enhanced user retention, and fewer uninstalls. 

That said, we will walk you through the eight actionable UX tips you should keep in mind when creating a mobile application: 

Keep the target users in mind

Who are your mobile app’s target users? The people you want to serve and most likely use your app?

If you have no idea who your end-users are, you might be setting yourself up for failure. 

At Sytian App Developer Philippines, we always tell our clients about the importance of keeping the target users in mind.

And we are not just talking about demographics here. It is also essential to understand why they would need your app.

For instance, your users would want a mobile payment app that lets them pay their bills, make bank transactions, and buy groceries. That way, they won’t be switching from one app to another. 

Knowing who your target users are and what they need are some of the most important aspects to keep in mind when developing your mobile app. 

Incorporate micro-interactions

Famous social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook have capitalized on micro-interactions. And because of their popularity, it makes sense if you follow suit. 

Make your micro-interactions as seamless as possible to enhance your mobile app’s usability. 

Doing so will generate more engagement and more interactive experience for your users. This usually involves getting notifications, sharing on social media accounts, or communicating feedback. 

Just make sure that your mobile app’s interface is optimized for smaller screens. 

Choose your colors wisely

It would be ideal to pick a color scheme that has fewer colors to decrease visual saturation. 

Pick a maximum of three colors, and make sure that it’s consistent with your app’s design.

As much as possible, try to stay away from colors that are too vibrant as it can disturb your users’ eyes, causing them to disengage. Choose warmer colors instead, and pick colors that provoke certain emotions from the users. 

Great search function

Users download your app with different goals in mind. Others may want to buy something, while some would like to know more information. 

A good app should have excellent navigation, which helps ease the user search. If they found it hard to get useful links, your users will likely leave your app and uninstall it. 

Provide users with advanced search features or an in-app search to make it fast and easy. It will boost the usability of your app, as well.

Keep it simple

You might have heard of the Keep It Simple Stupid (KISS) model. That’s because it is an integral part of UX and User Interface (UI) design, especially if you are designing an app.

After all, mobile app users prefer simplicity, ease of use, and intuitiveness. Something that can make them understand how your app words at a glance.

That said, stay away from using flashy elements when designing your mobile app. Keep it simple, instead, and optimize your images if needed.

Lessen user input

You should also stay away from asking too much information from your mobile app users.

If you require users to sign in, only ask what’s necessary, like name, email address, and mobile number. You can also opt to let users sign in via their Google or Facebook accounts. That way, they can sign in with ease.

Any unnecessary data and long forms can turn off many users, causing them to uninstall your app.

Prompt error notifications

If something goes wrong with the app, you must immediately notify your user about the error. Identify what the error is and what the user should do next. 

The last thing that you want to happen is for them to be stuck navigating your app. If they feel like they’re wasting their time, your users will likely leave and uninstall your app. 

Display valuable push notifications

Push notifications are a great way to boost your mobile’s user retention. Nonetheless, you should not send notifications to your users willy-nilly. 

For one, it is vital to let your users choose what kind of notifications he’d like to receive. And only send valuable notifications.

Using our previous example, a mobile payment app user might want to receive a notification when his bill is due.

When done right, push notifications can keep your users engaged.

When designing a mobile app, it would be best to consider your end-users and their needs. Doing so can help you create a simple and intuitive design. And this can help you boost user retention and decrease your uninstall rate.

DevelopmentInsightsMartechProductsSaaS

How Small Businesses Use Mobile Apps

on September 30, 2020

Mobile phones are everywhere, which has made staying in touch easier and has simplified many daily tasks. As technology grows, our lives become richer. Through filters, we are better photographers (and models). With voice assistants, we all have our very own robot secretary. Just about any fact-related argument can be settled anywhere by opening the encyclopedia, we carry around in our pockets. We don’t need a notepad and pen as long as we have our phone. For modest monthly fees, we can access vast libraries of music, movies, and television shows.

Mobile technology is great for our personal lives, but it’s great for our business lives, too, as you’ll see below. 

Time Saving Apps

One of the greatest conveniences of mobile app technology is saving time. To see what we mean, just look at how apps have changed something as ubiquitous as banking. Whereas a business owner (or manager) once had to drive to the bank with an uncomfortably large amount of cash and wait in line for the business teller, the majority of payments are now handled electronically. Checks can be deposited by snapping a photo. Mobile banking apps can save bundles of time.

It doesn’t stop with banking. If you travel for business, there are apps to help you manage business flights, hotel reservations, car rentals, taxis, rideshare services, and dinner reservations. Business travel, like personal travel, is made easier through review apps like Tripadvisor.

Metrics-at-a-Glance Apps

Whether you’re in the back of rideshare, flying in a plane, or waking up in the morning, you can now pull up a snapshot view of a variety of business metrics thanks to mobile app technology. You can most likely monitor your website analytics software, access your CRM, and whip up sales reports with a mobile app. NachoNacho provides a list of CRM tools at a reduced cost.

Physical Plant Management Apps

Many security alarm companies now offer mobile apps so that you can wait until you’re out of the building to set the alarm. If you have security cameras, chances are you can access live (and stored) footage from an app. There are apps to manage smart thermostats and apps to turn the lights on and off. 

Office Equipment Apps

Modern office equipment, such as printers and copiers, often comes with a bundled app. For example, Xerox commercial printers can be managed with the Mobile Link app. You can use your phone’s built-in camera to scan documents, manipulate PDFS, and send just about anything you want to the printer.

Cloud Storage Apps

If you use Dropbox, Google Drive, or another cloud storage platform to access electronic apps, you can download a mobile app to help you access and manage those files. This is especially convenient when you want to send a file with your mobile email app.

Social Media Apps

We typically think of social media apps as something for personal use, but you can just as easily manage your business accounts with a mobile device. It’s a good idea to always double-check which account you’re posting to; it can be amusing to accidentally post something for work to your personal account, but the reverse can be damaging. Facebook offers a separate app to manage business pages, but with Instagram, you simply switch between accounts in the same app.

Communication Apps

Typically we think of office communication platforms like phone, fax, and email. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, however, many business owners have discovered other useful technologies. Teams can–and do–hold video chat meetings with Zoom, Skype, and Google Hangouts, helping to eliminate the need for physical contact. Many office suites provide real-time collaboration features, improving productivity, and further eliminating the need for a physical office.

Asset Tracking Apps

No matter what industry you are working in, a significant amount of work is now done off-premise by employees working remotely, in the field, or simply in a different location. An asset tracking mobile app enables teams who are handling company equipment in the field to easily update information through their smartphones or tablets. They can scan equipment labels to quickly check items in and out, make maintenance requests, reserve equipment, and much more for simplified off-premise operations. Meanwhile, all this activity gets logged into the central system so the organization has visibility into the field operations.

 

 

DevelopmentInsightsMartechSaaS

6 Ways to Convert Customers on Social Media Apps

on September 29, 2020

In the old days, marketing for a small business was a relatively straightforward affair. You could choose between limited options in print, radio, and television advertising. Maybe you could also consider a billboard or banner somewhere out in the community. These strategies had existed for decades, so they felt familiar and easy. 

Then the internet came along and changed everything. Suddenly, the world of advertising became incredibly complex. Now there are so many options available that it’s hard to know where to begin. 

To avoid becoming overwhelmed, think of internet advertising as an opportunity rather than a burden. With social media apps, you have the ability to reach out to customers like never before. This is especially true if you utilize these platforms correctly. Take these tips into account as you exploit the wonderful opportunities out there to build your customer base.

Download the Apps and Use Them

Your social media marketing should be coherent and sustained. If all you do is throw a hodgepodge of information at potential customers, it’s unlikely that any of it will stick. Think long and hard about a marketing strategy that you can employ for months. Choose a goal and then develop a line of consistent messaging to support your objectives. This way, consumers will come to recognize your brand through the messaging they regularly encounter.

One of the best pieces of advice for any social media account manager is to download the apps, create personal accounts, follow people (and brands) who interest you, and get into the habit of spending some time on the app every day. You’ll learn a ton just by observing what other people are doing, and by having the apps on your smartphone, you’ll be more likely to use them frequently enough to learn something.

Use Hashtags to Your Advantage

Most social media platforms–whether you use the mobile app or web version–allow you to use hashtags to direct content. This is a free and easy way to reach out to certain groups of people. For example, if you’re hoping to target soccer fans during the big game, ending a tweet with “#WorldCupFinal” is a great way to target a specific audience. Mastering the hashtag game will make you a more skilled digital marketer.

Build Followers with Ad Campaigns

If you market on social media apps without choosing a specific target audience, you’re doing nothing more than blowing trumpets into the void. One of the principal benefits of social media is that it allows businesses to target the people who are most likely to be interested in their products. Instagram shows ads to people based on the types of accounts and hashtags they follow. Since Facebook users provide a lot more personal information, you can narrow down ads on that platform with incredible precision. Either way, running ads is a great way to get more followers.

Monitor the Performance of Your Ads

Social media companies allow you to track the performance of your ads. Take advantage of this service regularly. When you see that your ads are producing engagement, you’ll know that your marketing strategy is working. If your ads aren’t getting clicks for weeks on end, you’ll learn that it’s time to switch tactics. And this is a topic for a whole new article, but there are even apps to help you manage your social media ad campaigns.

Use a Chatbot on the Facebook Messenger App

The gold standard for any marketing campaign is a personal interaction with potential clients. In a perfect world, we’d all have plenty of time to chat with individuals in public parks and message people on social media. Unfortunately, this is not logistically possible. With a Facebook Messenger bot, however, you can replicate the feel of a personal conversation without actually having to be present yourself. Your bot can instantly answer questions when people contact you using Facebook’s Messenger app.

Be Persistent

Marketing on social media apps is never a “one and done” sort of game. Hardly anybody will engage with your ad the very first time they see it. It takes patience and repetition to break into the consciousness of your potential customer base. Don’t give up when social media ad campaigns fail to bring immediate results. It’s with continual campaigns and slight changes in tactics that you’ll eventually find a strategy that works. 
Finally, remember that Facebook and Instagram aren’t the only social media apps out there. The marketing landscape is more diverse than ever, providing the types of opportunities advertisers used to dream of. Use the tips above to perfect your marketing on social media apps. The results will prove how successful these strategies are.

DevelopmentInsightsMartechProductsSaaS

Top Technologies Driving Laboratory Efficiency and Accuracy Forward

on September 21, 2020

For decades, clinical laboratories have played a significant role in advancing patient care within the nation’s healthcare system. Through effective testing processes, clinical laboratorians generate accurate results that support doctors and other medical experts in making appropriate diagnoses and treatment plans for their patients. As new diseases, strains, and the global spread of life-threatening illnesses increase, rapid testing and diagnosis become more apparent.

Laboratories around the world have stepped up to the challenge by adopting technologies that enable them to work more efficiently to support the growing demand for improved diagnostics and patient care. Continue reading to learn more about technological trends in clinical laboratories.

Cloud Technology

The adoption of cloud technology in clinical laboratories has worked to streamline lab processes, create controlled environments, and disseminate information in real-time. Advanced lab equipment comes with features that automatically record testing data and store it in the cloud allowing technicians, scientists, and other associated parties to access pertinent medical information quickly. 

Assisting scientists and technicians in maintaining a controlled environment, the integration of cloud technology in advanced lab equipment immediately alerts teams when issues arise in the testing or experimental stages. Such alerts provide teams with the support they need to accurately monitor and adjust processes as necessary to generate accurate results.

 Modern laboratories are also adopting cloud based test equipment tracking solutions to gain visibility into their disposable and non-disposable items ranging from expensive testing equipment to instruments and disposables such as laboratory reagents. This software helps ensure reliable reservations of equipment required for testing and enables timely preventive maintenance and calibrations to make sure everything is always in top-notch condition. Also, alerts can be set for important events such as expiring equipment leases or low stock levels of materials so testing cycles are not stretched out due to such shortages.

Lastly, cloud technology features allow scientists to share information in real-time with project contributors from virtually anywhere. The data can be accessed remotely, making it easier to collaborate with other employees and laboratories for improved productivity. 

Improved Equipment Designs

New technologies have enabled designers to create more efficient lab equipment compact in size with advanced capabilities for more efficient lab and testing processes. Microfluidic cell sorting, for example, can be done on a compact system, performing various functions, and helps to eliminate the need for traditional flow cytometry lab setups with simple, easy to use technology. Such innovations save laboratories money, time, and space.

Automation

The use of lab equipment to automate testing and experimental processes have been an ongoing practice for most clinical labs. As technology continues to advance, current equipment designs include features and automation tools that save time and improve efficiency in laboratory processes. The use of automation in laboratories reduces the need for manual tasks previously performed by lab technicians eliminating many daunting and repetitive steps in experimental studies resulting in authentic results in record time. Scientists and technicians are now able to focus their attention on critically analyzing data. 

Sustainability

As the general public becomes increasingly concerned about the environment, industries across the board have taken great strides to do their part to reduce their carbon footprint. Realizing the extensive amount of energy used to operate labs, scientists and lab workers have begun utilizing resources that support a more eco-friendly and sustainable work environment. 

Many laboratories reduced their carbon footprint by improving their recycling efforts by properly and safely disposing of used supplies, equipment, and containers. Consequently, in purchasing recycled materials for experiments, testing, and lab processes, laboratories have also been able to save a significant amount of money. 

A new concept, referred to as open labs have also become an increasingly popular method for laboratories looking to reduce their carbon footprint. With technological resources like compact equipment, cloud technology, and automation features, sharing space, equipment, and data amongst other labs cuts down on waste while saving money. 

The investment in more efficient lab equipment has also improved sustainability within the industry. Newer models require less energy to operate without compromising the accuracy of results. 
At a time when the world is in the middle of what could be the worst threat to public health in history, clinical laboratories are needed in the fight. From increased testing and rapid results to the development of vaccinations and treatment options, scientists and lab techs around the world will ultimately save humanity. As such, laboratories need to continue to adopt technology trends such as those described above to deliver the most accurate results as quickly as possible.

DevelopmentInsightsSaaS

How to Compare Server Hosts for Enterprise Companies

on September 21, 2020

Understanding the differences in the types
of server hosts can help enterprise companies to know how to best proceed.
People have many hosting opportunities, and they should understand what each
one offers and how it will have an impact on their website. People should
choose their hosts carefully. Every company has different needs for capacity,
usage, and security, so you’ll need to analyze your needs and the feature of
different hosting solutions to ensure you are set up for current needs and
future growth.

What Features Should an Enterprise
Company Have?

First, it should have security because a hosting company offers nothing to an enterprise if it can’t protect its data and confidential information. This will keep your data protected. You should look for a hosting company that uses a multi-layered approach because in this way, even if cyber criminals can get through the first layer of security, they will have to break multiple layers to get inside.

A good hosting company should also offer good support 365 days a year, 7 days a week, and 24 hours a day. If they can’t provide solid support all the time and your website goes down, it can mean a huge loss in business especially if the web host isn’t providing you with the much-needed guidance. In this way, too, you never have to waste your time on IT issues.

Pros/Cons of Server Hosts

Let’s have a look at the pros and cons of dedicated server hosting to better understand them:

Pros

  • Higher security
  • Faster speeds and upload time
  • Extra storage options
  • Total control over the server
  • Run the software and utilities that you want

Cons

  • More expensive than shared hosting
  • Harder to do problem resolution and diagnostics
  • Prior knowledge required to administer the server

Why Do Enterprise Companies Need Server
Hosts?

Having a dependable server cluster is essential to continuing your business. You want to continue to operate successfully, and this is one of the best ways that you can continue without interruption. When you have a strong and depend on a server cluster, they can ensure that your website stays online so that you never have problems with getting a steady stream of business. As businesses continue to grow into a full-blown enterprise, the needs grow for bandwidth, customer service, CPU, and security, and they have to stay proactive. Don’t let yourself fall behind.

Security Benefits for Enterprise
Companies

The bigger you get, the larger of a target that you will have painted on your back. More and more cyber criminals will become aware of your presence, and if they see you as easy meat, they will take what they can from your hard work. A good server cluster will give you the additional security that is required of enterprise businesses and make it that much harder for hackers to do what they will with your company. Don’t give anyone the key to your business. Joe Joe Oesterling, Chief Technology Officer at Liquid Web describes one server cluster environment as, “private cloud hosting solution is a single-tenant environment. A single organization can take advantage of a cluster of servers in a private cloud environment and use the combined resources to fit their needs.”

With each hosting plan, you should also take
the time to understand the limitations of each one. In this way, you can figure
out what hosting plan will serve your needs best.

DevelopmentInsightsSaaS

5 Apps to Help with Children Homeschooling

on September 17, 2020

Even before stay-at-home policies and social distancing, the paradigm of modern education was changing. The rise in popularity of the flipped classroom was seen as an opportunity for children to be more involved in their education at home, giving parents the chance to be a part of that process.

Services like Google Classroom, Moodle, and Edmodo have been growing in popularity as schools keep moving towards the notion of the flexible classroom. That is, a class shouldn’t be bound to a physical place nor a specific time but rather be part of a continuous process that can happen anyplace and anytime.

Other schools have hired the services of software development companies, like BairesDev, to make proprietary apps for parents and kids alike. The perks of having an app custom-made to help a school schedule classes, share information, keep track of grades, and keep parents informed are too many to summarize in a single article.

It’s a well-known fact that flexible classrooms with the help of parents can be extremely nourishing to a children’s education. Not only are you spending time with your kid, but you are giving them the personal support that a teacher with dozens of students might not be able to give them.

Having said that, we know that partial or full-time homeschooling is very demanding, especially for parents who are just getting on the homeschooling train. Fortunately, there are hundreds of apps out there designed to help you and your kid get the best out of homeschooling. These are 5 apps that will help you and your kid study from home. 

Khan Academy

Perks

  • Free
  • Hundreds of courses
  • Shares projects with companies like Google and Pixar

Khan academy is almost a no-brainer in this list. It began in 2008 as a non-profit organization and has steadily become one of the leading projects in homeschooling, offering hundreds of classes for kids of all ages.

Every class is based on the K12 curriculum and uses a fairly straightforward process. The student first watches a YouTube video that teaches about a certain subject and then goes to the app or website for supplementary material such as practice exercises or skill tracking. 

Khan academy is not a substitute for actual schooling, but as an additional tool for your kid to complement their regular classes, it’s an invaluable asset.

Evernote

Perks

  • Basic accounts are free to use
  • Available in all platforms
  • Cloud-based saves

Yes, we are kind of cheating by putting Evernote on this list, but hear us out. It’s one of the best multi-platform cloud-based note-taking apps on the market. Your kid can take notes on a Windows PC and then check them out on their iPad, iPhone, or Android device at any time. 

What truly elevates Evernote from other note-taking apps is its versatility. With the web clipper, you can take snapshots of web pages and put them directly in your notes, you can upload images, scan documents, save and search PDFs, and it can even read handwriting if you want to save your handwritten notes.  

The only downside is that free accounts have limited storage, so you might have to end up deleting your old notes after a while.

Mathboard

Perks

  • Intuitive
  • Available in all platforms
  • For kindergarteners to middle schoolers

Mathboard is the app we wished we had back when we were children. This highly customizable teaching tool is perfect to teach math skills to children of all ages. At its most basic, Mathboard is a problem-solving book, but once you scratch below the surface, it’s one of the most amicable ways to learn math.

Mathboard stimulates creative thinking by providing multiple answer styles and a scratchboard area where the student can try to solve the problem by hand. Its best feature is the Problem Solver option, which helps your kid whenever they are stuck on a difficult problem by displaying a step-by-step solution, thus teaching the student how to solve it.

Edplus

Perks

  • Fun interface
  • Continuously expanding
  • Tik-Tok like videos to keep students engaged

Edplus is half a learning tool and half a quiz app. Such a mischievous approach tempts students into engaging by creating that “just one more reward” feel. You begin with some basic questions to farm coins which you can then use to unlock other subjects. The more you answer the more quizzes you have access to.

Edplus has quizzes about language, science, math, religion, hobbies, and weird but interesting subjects that should keep your kid stuck to their screen learning in a fun way.

Rivet

Perks

  • AI-based tools
  • Hundreds of books
  • Gamified activities

How can books stay relevant in a world where everything is trying to win over our attention? By becoming even more interesting than they already are. With a library of over 3000 books, Rivet has a book for every kid out there. 

Rivet is an enhanced-reading app, specifically aimed at teaching kids how to read as well as helping them develop a love for books. It’s simple to use, and it has a lot of functionalities for both teachers and parents to help kids with their learning.

One of Rivet’s strongest features is that it has activities, games, and other tools to enhance the students reading experience, as well as a learning tool that helps them learn new words and pronunciations. And the page tracking feature is perfect to keep track of the progress of your children. 

And there you have them. 5 apps that will help you homeschool your kids, each with a different approach. While you may benefit from using any of them, combining them can provide you with the best results. Be sure to try them!

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How to Set up a Print Server on Linux

on September 17, 2020

After years of working as a support technician, I can tell you one of the most frustrating pieces of technology out there is the printer. When they work, they are an indispensable tool in the office. When they don’t work (as it often happens), they are a never-ending point of frustration.

This is especially true when your printer is attached to a Windows machine that can cause any number of problems, without rhyme or reason. Getting that shared printer back up and running can take some time. Or you might wind up having to call in support. 
To make matters worse, printer problems don’t just plague end users. This almost universal bone of contention causes problems for every level of the user, even all the way up to JavaScript developers, like those at BairesDev.

Fortunately, there’s a way for your business to avoid the headaches brought about by sharing printers from desktop machines. That solution is to deploy a Linux printer server. Once you have such a server up and running, you’ll find it will serve you without fail (so long as the hardware and your network don’t become a problem).

Outside of reliability, the fact that you’ll be using open source means the only cost for you is the hardware. 

Requirements

First off, you need to have a printer that supports Linux. At one point in time, this was a challenge that caused many users to avoid the Linux print server. But that’s all in the past. Today, it’s fairly easy to have a Linux printer. To find out what printers are supported by Linux, check out the OpenPrinting site. 

With your supported printer at the ready, you’ll need to make sure it’s connected to your Linux server. 

You’ll also need to have a Linux server available. I’ll be demonstrating with Ubuntu Server 18.04, as that’s one of the most user-friendly Linux server distributions on the market. Do note, however, that Ubuntu Server 18.04 installs without a GUI, so you’ll be working from the command line.

Finally, you’ll need a user with sudo privileges.

And that it’s. Let’s get to work.

Installing the CUPS printer server software

The first thing to take care of is the installation of the CUPS printer server software. CUPS stands for Common Unix Printer Server and has been around for some time. 

To install CUPS, log into your Ubuntu server and issue the command:

sudo apt-get install cups -y

Once the installation completes, you’ll need to start the CUPS daemon and configure it to start at boot (otherwise you’ll have to start it manually anytime the server goes down). To start the CUPS daemon, issue the command:

sudo systemctl start cups

 To enable the CUPS daemon at boot, issue the command:

sudo systemctl enable cups

Configuring CUPS

With CUPS installed, it’s time to configure it. Only a few quick changes need to be made within the configuration file. To open that file for editing, issue the command:

sudo nano /etc/cups/cupsd.conf

The first change you need to make is the line:

Browsing Off

Change that to:

Browsing On

Next, you need to configure CUPS so that the web-based manager is accessible from within your Local Area Network (LAN). Look for the line:

Listen localhost:631

Change that line to:

Port 631

For our next trick, you’ll have to make sure that CUPS is listening on all network interfaces. Look for the following section:

<Location />

  Order allow, deny

</Location>

Change that to:

<Location />

  Order allow, deny

  Allow @LOCAL

</Location>

Finally, you’ll want to add access to the CUPS web-based admin console. Look for the section:

<Location /admin>

  Order allow, deny

</Location>

Change that to:

<Location /admin>

  AuthType Default

  Require valid-user

  Order allow, deny

  Allow @LOCAL

</Location>

If you do opt to make the web-based admin console available, you might want to lock it down to allow only a specific user. To do this, you would change the line:

Require valid-user

to

Require user @SYSTEM

Save and close the cupsd.conf file. Restart the CUPS daemon with the command:

sudo systemctl restart cups

If you opted to lock down the admin console to a specific user, you’ll want to create that user with the command:

sudo useradd -g lpadmin cupsadmin

Set the new user’s password with the command:

sudo passwd cupsadmin

With that configuration, you can point a browser to https://SERVERIP/admin (where SERVERIP is the IP address of the machine hosting CUPS). You will be prompted to log in with the cupsadmin user and the password you set above.

Share the printer via Bonjour and IPP protocols

You’ll want to make sure your printer is visible to your LAN via Bonjour (for macOS desktops) and IPP (for most other desktops). To make this work, you’ll need to install the avahi daemon with the command:

sudo apt install avahi-daemon -y

Once installed, start and enable the daemon with the commands:

sudo systemctl start avahi-daemon

sudo systemctl enable avahi-daemon

Open the firewall

If you happen to have the UFW firewall enabled on the Server, allow Bonjour and IPP printer traffic through with the command:

sudo ufw all 5353/udp

Connecting your printer

At this point, everything is ready for desktops to connect. How you connect the desktop to the printer server will depend on which desktop you are using. For example, with Pop!_OS Linux, I can go to Settings > Printers, and (as long as the necessary drivers are installed) the new printer will automatically appear (Figure 1).

Figure 1

Our printer on the CUPS printer server is now available for connection.

Conclusion

And that’s all there is to set up a reliable Linux printer server. The only hiccup you will run across is if you have entities outside of your LAN (such as third-party JavaScript development companies). To allow those groups to use the printers connected to the server, you’ll need to employ a VPN. Otherwise, your printer server is ready and should serve you without fail.

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Explaining why Fintech Industry Needs Blockchain with Use Cases

on September 15, 2020

Blockchain technology has emerged as one of the most popular data technologies that revolutionized the way data is stored, protected, and shared in modern organizations. This decentralized data management system uses complex cryptographic protection and stores data in decentralized blocks to prevent all kinds of tampering efforts. Blockchain follows a ‘write-only’ protocol that allows only adding data and disallows any changes, deleting or tampering data. 

 

Since the fintech industry is highly data-driven and data security plays a key role in the fintech apps’ success, Blockchain has become widely popular for solving many data security concerns of banking and financial firms. As CTO of Cerdonis Technologies LLC, Paul Osborne pointed out, “Emerging economies with an increasing volume of banking and non-banking investment and transactions are direct beneficiaries of Blockchain.”

 

Here are some of the credible use cases of Blockchain in the fintech sector. 

 

Blockchain-Powered Global Payments

 

 

The principal reason for the blockchain-powered payments to be tremendously secure is the personal cryptocurrency keys that every user can use for carrying out transactions. Moreover, Blockchain coming with a ‘write-only’ protocol doesn’t allow overwriting the transactions, and any changes brought to the transactions can only be facilitated with everyone’s consent. Any change is shared and distributed across the network in actual time to make sure that all the participants remain completely informed. 

 

Blockchain allows registering and evaluating every transaction so that there can be no scope of tampering transaction data. No wonder, leading Fintech companies around the world are increasingly embracing Blockchain for safeguarding payment. The best thing about Blockchain is that no longer global payments involving multiple currencies need traditional money transfer solutions.

 

Peer to Peer (P2P) Payments

 

A bulk portion of the international transactions belongs to the Peer to Peer (P2P) category involving considerable amounts of transaction fees for sending and receiving money. Apart from being exposed to risks from third-party platforms, such transactions end up adding more transaction costs that individuals and small businesses need to bear. 

 

Apart from the huge additional transaction cost that people and businesses need to bear around the world, the traditional international P2P payments also get delayed at various instances. Blockchain can offer a comprehensive and conclusive solution to all these and can ensure more streamlined transactions involving less cost. No wonder cryptocurrency-based money transfers are already becoming popular, and several players emerged in this sector, OkCoin, BitPesa, Ripple, Sentbe, etc. 

 

Reducing the Risks of Stock Market Manipulation 

 

Investors in various parts of the world are also relying more on advanced technologies for decision making. Blockchain is increasingly becoming a great technology choice in the equity investment segment for streamlining investments, improving efficiencies, and extending the market reach. 

 

Apart from helping with enhanced efficiency, Blockchain is also reducing the dark manipulations that big players in the stock market often practice. Lowering transaction costs is another major benefit of using Blockchain for the stock market. 

 

Credit Scoring and Rating 

 

Credit scoring and rating is an integral part of the evaluation of people’s creditworthiness. These days thanks to Blockchain, Fintech companies can even carry out such evaluating processes for populations still not covered under banking credit products. While evaluating precise credit scores is crucial to safeguard banking and non-banking credits from non-payment risks, Blockchain-based credit scoring can be used to make such scoring and rating more accurate.  

 

Maintaining Regulatory Compliance 

 

 

In the financial industry, the need for regulatory compliance plays a key role, and this is where Blockchain can play a great role. FinTech companies are facilitating regulatory compliance by using the latest technologies like Blockchain. Thanks to blockchain technology and its completely tamper-proof way of safeguarding data across distributed networks, it can play a great role in helping banks and financial institutions to remain in sync with industry regulations while dealing with the regulatory complexities efficiently.  

 

By maintaining multiple copies of transactions that constantly get evaluated, Blockchain based compliance platforms literally make it impossible for the firms to breach compliance. 

 

Minimizing the Identity Theft 

 

For the past several years, issues corresponding to identity theft and digital frauds are steadily increasing in the financial sector. This is why know-your-customer processes and anti-money laundering measures have become important for the banking and financial sectors. On the other hand, banks and financial firms still rely heavily on paperwork. Paper-based customer documents are finding it difficult to compete with digitally equipped banks and firms in terms of efficiency and data risk. This is where the role of Blockchain technology became important. 

 

By implementing a blockchain-based system, the fintech companies can streamline the entire process in which the customer has to evaluate their identity just once. The entire process of identity verification can be completely tamper-proof and free of a security risk as several blocks of data across the network will store the same document, and any change will be shared and distributed across the network in real-time. 

 

Blockchain-Based Reward and Loyalty Systems 

 

Besides securing data and streamlining processes in fintech firms, blockchain technology can also play a crucial role in making the customer rewards and loyalty systems more streamlined. Thanks to blockchain technology, businesses can utilize a multitude of less expensive loyalty programs and customize them as per different customer needs and preferences. Most importantly, Blockchain allows tracking the impact and traction of each and every reward program separately. 

 

Conclusion

 

Blockchain has started to play a key role in the scheme of things for all financial firms. From security to streamlining processes to data transfer and sharing, Blockchain’s huge positive impact in the Fintech industry is likely to continue in the years to come. 

DevelopmentInsightsSEO

15 of the Most Effective SEO Tips for Beginners

on September 11, 2020

As a beginner, you need to realize that there is no other golden opportunity to improve the website rankings in the popular search engines like Google or Yahoo other than SEO service. Of course, there are many options available to achieve better rankings, but guest post service provider helps you to design a reliable framework for your website that is 100% safe and secure!!

 

Important SEO tips for beginners

 

1. Page title and descriptions:

 

When it comes to any content, page titles are very important aspects to consider. It is an impression that helps you to grab the attention of the visitors. Be short and informative…!!!

 

2. Post blog that visitors love to read & share:

 

Nothing would bring vast changes to the rankings of the website other than the guest blog. You need to provide great content to drive high traffic rates and engage more audiences. With the help of guest post outreach, you can promote the brand worldwide!

 

3. Keyword research:

 

 

 As a beginner, you need to perform more studies on keyword research to make the site appear on the first page of the search results.

 

4. Improve on-page elements:

 

Of course, on-page elements might be small, but you to concentrate on the elements like title, header tags, etc to have a great impact on your website’s page. 

 

5. Identify and fix SEO issues:

 

Identifying and fixing any SEO issues will help you to run the website smoothly. 

 

6. Improve page loading speed:

 

SEO helps you to load the page of your website much faster and make your site appear on the first page in the search results. 

 

7. Make use of social media platform:

 

When you are ready to use social media platforms, you can find a massive audience reach and high traffic rates to your niche. 

 

8. Understand the importance of Anchor Text:

 

With the help of anchor text, you can influence the website that you are linking to and you can grab the attention of the visitors much faster. 

 

9. Link building:

 

Link building is the most imperative aspect of SEO. You need to build a link that is relevant to your niche to strike skyrocket hit on your business. 

 

10. Make your site mobile friendly:

 

If you do not provide a smooth browsing experience for your site, then it may decrease your website rankings and so it is essential SEO tips for beginners to enhance the user experience. 

 

11. Content marketing:

 

 

Content marketing is an important aspect of SEO. When you offer great content, sure visitors will help you to promote the website. 

 

12. Stay updated:

 

  One of the most important SEO tactics to consider for beginners is to discover and post updated content on your site to generate organic traffic rates. 

 

13. Keep your eyes on your competitors:

 

 It is always important to keep your eyes on your competitor’s website so that you can come to know what type of services they are providing. 

 

14. Image optimization:

 

Make use of attractive images to enhance the user-experience and focus on page load speed as well.

 

15. Verify your external links:

 

External links are significant for SEO. All of these SEO tips help you to verify that your SEO tactics remain efficient and successful.

 

This was an introduction about SEO, but there are a lot more details to work on when you dive in. If you need professional help, you can always get in touch with SEO experts. They will provide you with detailed information or offer their services.

DevelopmentInsightsMartechProductsSaaS

Text Message Archiving: One of The Best Ways to Improve Litigation Preparedness

on September 9, 2020

There are several reasons why organizations should record text messages or SMS, and capture other mobile content, including voice calls and emails. The main purpose is to stay compliant with data preservation regulations imposed by the government. Archiving in advance using sophisticated tools and software can save your time and money in eDiscovery to recover data in its original form and context.

eDiscovery or electronic discovery is the process by which electronically stored information (ESI) gets requested, located, and produced with the primary intent of being used in a lawsuit as evidence. It can also be used as part of a Freedom of Information Act request or for government investigations.

Prevent Evidence Spoliation with Text Message Record

Electronic data is believed to be very specific. This is not just because it is in an intangible form and of transient quality, but also because it is accompanied with highly useful metadata. This refers to the device that was used to send the text message, the time and date sent, and the contents of the message.

Such a text message record can play a vital role in evidence. It is not viable to take screenshots of every single SMS sent. It requires archiving software to preserve document metadata and to make it available through a vast volume of organizational information.

Remember, electronic data is easily susceptible to spoliation because of its intangible nature. You cannot expect all your employees to have the same phone they do now after a year or so. In addition, there is always the risk of losing data when a particular mobile device gets damaged or messages get accidentally deleted.

You could lose vast amounts of information that could have a major impact on the outcome of your litigation case and eDiscovery process. Many organizations have improved the way they deal with eDiscovery requests by establishing best practices. You can better cope with an ESI request by investing in a tried and tested litigation preparedness archiving software.

In fact, the right kind of tool could cut down your time to respond by one-third.

Text Archiving Allows for Better Organization

There is a reason why successful lawyers come prepared with organized files. This is to reduce the risk of missing something that could be vital to the legal proceedings. Without archiving your organizational text messages, you risk leaving everything unorganized. No internal, incoming, or outgoing text messages will be captured.

However, with the right text message archiving solution, you could ensure that every text message is not only captured but indexed and made searchable. There are various software solutions that could pack the archived information into long-term storage and allow for easy access whenever you require.

You can have access to a well-indexed and searchable archive when you receive an EIS request. Depending on the software you choose, you may also gain access to the metadata of those message records in addition to the information contained within them.

This way you can easily search for all relevant records on the basis of context and retrieve whatever is required at a fraction of the time. 

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