The 6 best action cam videos you'll ever watch

TechRadar: All latest feeds The 6 best action cam videos you'll ever watch

The action cam videos you just have to watch

Action cams can capture videos that other cameras can't. Their wide-angle lenses and lightweight bodies mean they can clip onto helmets, chest harnesses, and sports equipment to produce dramatic point-of-view shots, allowing viewers to get inside the heads of the elite athletes that use them.

As the quality of action cams has increased, so has the imagination of those using them. We've moved from grainy footage of a skier slowly carving down a slope to clips with high production values, booming background music, slick edits, and - most importantly - original ideas.

In honour of the raised standards, we've pulled together six of the best action camera videos ever shot.

From free-running from zombies across rooftops, to ski jumping over the whirling blades of a helicopter, these clips are nothing short of jaw-dropping - we recommend settling down somewhere to watch with a cup of coffee, and some paper towels ready for when you spit some of it out.

• Think we've missed one? Post your favourite action cam video in the comment section below.

Parkour with Zombies

When you think of zombies, you think of slowly shuffling creatures, arms outstretched, moaning deeply. You don't think of parkour.

But when the developers behind 2015 video game Dying Light announced their zombies were going to be fast and agile, it provided the perfect source material for filmmakers Ampsiound.

At the request of the developers, the parkour fanatics made this three-minute video of a zombie chase from the point of view of a survivor. Naturally, an action cam was the perfect fit for the project.

Ampisound's Scott Bass tells TechRadar that choosing the location, as well as preparing costumes and makeup for the zombies, took a month alone.

Most of the shots took just one or two attempts, he says – impressive considering the choreography of the moves, and the timing of the actors.

"I basically structured the film in a way that allows us to have a few 'jump scare' moments, some scary parkour itself and then finally wrap up with a realistic and intense ending," he says.

What really makes this video great is the sound – the anxious breathing of the protagonist, the gargled screams of the zombies, and the insistent music. It's genuinely tense.

Channel: Ampisound

Insane skiing freestyle

In the third of a trilogy of progressively more insane videos, world-renowned freestyle skier Candide Thevoux pulls a 360 over the spinning blades of a helicopter, lands double backflips, smashes through the windows of a mountainside barn, and hijacks a horse – all without leaving his skies.

Sharp editing, including slo-mo and seamless transitions, completes the package - it's one of those videos that feels like it's a collection of James Bond-style scenes all placed together in one long movie.

In short, 'One of those days for Candide Thevoux' is up there with the best skiing videos you'll ever see.

Channel: Candide Thevoux

Wingsuit flying through a 2 metre cave

Flying in a wingsuit takes serious guts. When you're hurtling through canyons and over treetops at more than 100mph, one small mistake will very likely mean serious injury – or worse.

But in 2014, Uli Emanuele took it to the next level. He base jumped with his wingsuit off of a mountain in Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland, aiming to pass through a cave little more than two metres wide that jutted out of the hillside.

Insane? Maybe. Make sure you're not somewhere that yelping will be a problem when you watch this though... it's tough viewing.

Channel: GoPro

Climbing a skyscraper with no safety equipment

Get ready for sweaty palms just watching this. When daredevil climber James Kingston – famous for climbing landmarks like Wembley stadium and the Eiffel Tower with no safety equipment – says something is "mental", you perk up and listen.

In this video, Kingston climbs a 101-storey skyscraper – Marina 101 in Dubai – as the sun rises in the distance.

The video picks up Kingston as he reaches the top floor. It's nearly 500m above ground – but that's not high enough for him. Prepare to have your heart in your mouth as Kingston, chatting casually all the while, scales a huge, nearly vertical crane that is slick with grease, the Dubai skyline fanning out in the distance.

Channel: James Kingston

Man vs Tube: Running against the London Underground

Do you think you could outrun the London Underground? That was the burning question that drove YouTube channel Epic Challenges to stage the capital's ultimate man vs machine race.

The theory is simple: a man is on the tube with a chum. The doors open. He sprints off, the train pulls out of the station and the race is on to see who can get to the next station first.

The stage is the stretch of road between Mansion House and Cannon street, a popular section of the English capital's streets, on the Circle Line. 380 metres, 75 steps, two ticket barriers, one tube stop. It comes down to the wire.

Channel: Epic Challenges

Felix Baumgartner's world record freefall up close

In 2012, Felix Baumgartner took a balloon ride up to the edge of space – and jumped. On his descent he broke several world records, and became the first man to break the sound barrier in freefall, reaching an eye-watering speed of 833.9mph.

Handily, Baumgartner was wired with several GoPros. Even if you watched the jump live (and let's be honest, who didn't?), it's worth seeing it from his perspective, as he struggles to control a violent spin early in his descent.

Channel: GoPro

http://www.techradar.com/us/news/photography-video-capture/the-6-best-action-cam-videos-you-ll-ever-watch-1321355?src=rss&attr=all

Sent with Reeder

Brief message sent from a mobile device

You're saying it wrong! How to pronounce Bay Area landmarks, streets and towns

Bay Area News You're saying it wrong! How to pronounce Bay Area landmarks, streets and towns

Many local proper nouns, including Gough Street, Arguello and San Rafael, have certain pronunciations that Bay Area newbies commonly stumble over. Others, such as Guernville, have unique ways longtime natives say them just for fun. And then there are the ones like "Junipero Serra" or "Valencia" that are hotly debated among locals.

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/How-to-pronounce-Bay-Area-landmarks-streets-and-7287451.php

Sent with Reeder

Brief message sent from a mobile device

5 good alternatives to Google Docs

TechRadar: All latest feeds 5 good alternatives to Google Docs

Introduction

The go-to cloud application these days is Google Docs. Many office workers rely on it in the same way we rely on fossil fuels and Starbucks. Yet, you might wonder if there is something you're missing if you choose a different cloud suite for documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. There are always options, and some of the alternatives are powerful and innovative.

Interestingly, one of the trends with knowledge workers is to move away from the traditional cloud document editing suite that includes a presentation tool and a spreadsheet. Apps are becoming more focused on specific tasks – for example, using Evernote for writing notes shared between teams and then creating full business docs in a different app.

"Many clients we work with are shifting from just wanting a standard 'office suite' to looking at more modern alternatives," says Alan Lepofsky, the Vice President and Principal Analyst for the Future of Work at Constellation Research. "For example, Microsoft is making some good progress with Sway. IBM is getting people to create content with IBM Watson Analytics, similar to the 'personal business intelligence' available from Tableau."

Still, workers often need the basic suite, and the following alternatives provide a solid platform for completing business plans, generating sales charts, and creating slideshows.

• Also check out: Microsoft Office 2016 vs Office 365 vs Office Online

1. ONLYOFFICE

It's possible you have not heard of this document editing suite, which shares many of the same features as Google Docs. ONLYOFFICE is designed for team collaboration and has modules for word processing, spreadsheets, and slideshows plus additional modules for CRM, project management, and email.

One of the most interesting differentiators is that, when teams collaborate on a document, there are two modes. Fast mode shows all changes instantly from any user. However, another mode allows users to make changes but not have them appear until he or she selects to save them, offering some degree of confidentiality.

Lepofsky had not heard of this app but says it is important to evaluate Google Docs to see if it integrates with current systems – for example, the email app and cloud storage systems you use.

2. Dropbox Paper

This little-known alternative to Google Docs integrates into the Dropbox storage service and apps. It's not as well-known because Dropbox intends to move far beyond storage into business applications, and this is a first foray into that market.

The biggest difference between Dropbox Paper and Google Docs, other than the Dropbox integration, is that Paper lets you integrate code snippets as a team and edit them. It might be a 'light' tool for now without the extensive templates of Microsoft Office or the integration with other apps in the Zoho suite, but it does work well with the Dropbox storage service that's so popular with office workers these days.

Importantly, it shows Dropbox is heading in a new direction to become an office productivity tool that helps teams complete projects. "Many people want lightweight note-taking which is where Evernote, OneNote, Box Notes, Google Keep, and DropBox Paper come in," says Lepofsky.

3. Zoho Writer

A well-established Google Docs alternative, Zoho Writer (and the entire Zoho suite of cloud-enabled products) provide a completely different ecosystem, one that has nothing to do with Google. Zoho has tools for email, marketing, CRM, helpdesk, finance, and much more.

Zoho Writer is the bread-and-butter app for knowledge workers. It has three modes for working – one that is for individual doc writing, one for team-based collaboration and review, and one that is for getting docs ready for distribution. (A fourth 'reader' mode removes most features to make documents easier to read on the screen.)

When collaborating, Writer has additional features beyond what you see in Google Docs. For example, you can make parts of a document available for collaboration and lock down other sections. Then, you can close down a document for any additional team editing.

Zoho Writer also has 350 fonts included. The doc review process is more advanced than Google Docs – you can search through and filter comments, send them via a link, and respond to comments using email instead of visiting the document. "What I like about Zoho is that their content creation tools are part of a larger platform of applications, including things like task management and CRM," says Lepofsky.

4. Quip

This relatively new and powerful team collaboration cloud application works like a mash-up between Slack and Microsoft Office. Instead of relying on email as the primary form of collaboration between team members, Quip uses threaded discussions that take place within the app itself. Inline chats are a major part of what makes this such a useful tool for knowledge workers who need to work as a team. There are also wikis for knowledge sharing and task management tools.

The app further differentiates itself by having a full document versioning history and desktop apps for Mac and Windows. "Quip brings together content creation and communication via chat and they are blurring the boundaries between documents and spreadsheets," says Lepofsky. "Instead, you can simply insert a spreadsheet into a page."

5. Microsoft Office Online

It's strange to think that Microsoft Office might be merely an alternative to Google Docs. This powerhouse has been around for decades, and many Microsoft-centric companies rely on it exclusively. However, it's not as well-regarded as a cloud-enabled suite. Many companies use the desktop versions of Office and not the online versions.

That said, the cloud-based options compete directly with Google Docs in that there are iPad and Android versions available, they show (in real-time) who is editing a document and the changes being made, and yet have all of the power of the desktop apps including a massive template library.

"Microsoft Office is not the 'old office suite' many people think of," says Lepofsky. "They have integrated Office 365, Yammer and Skype, introduced Sway and Planner, and enable people to discover content in Delve."

http://www.techradar.com/us/news/software/business-software/5-good-alternatives-to-google-docs-1320684?src=rss&attr=all

Sent with Reeder

Brief message sent from a mobile device

How to maintain your Mac's storage

TechRadar: All latest feeds How to maintain your Mac's storage

Managing Mac storage

Storage just stores, but to keep retrieval reliable it needs to be cared for. Over the long term, files progressively get messier and require periodic tidying. While managing what's stored is an important first step in maintaining storage, that isn't our focus here.

Instead, we'll concentrate on managing how your files are stored and maintaining the storage medium itself, whether it's a hard disk, solid-state drive (SSD), or a combination.

You can, of course, keep most of your files and their backups in remote cloud storage, but the cost of leaving others to do your maintenance is high, and you're reliant on its availability.

• How to fix Mac OS X annoyances

Our overriding concerns are performance and reliability. Left untended, hard disks can become progressively slower to access, and impact on a Mac's performance in use. This is becoming increasingly controversial: at one time many users believed that if they did not defragment (defrag) the files on their drives every month or so, everything would grind to a halt.

Improvements in disk systems and the changing demands of OS X now make this a questionable practice, provided that sufficient free space is kept to allow the ready creation and use of cache and other temporary files.

OS X also performs its own background defragmentation when possible, and old ways of forcing it to happen have become more difficult. If you try to clone your startup disk to an external drive and back again – formerly an effective way to consolidate free space – the result may not start up at all.

Only if your startup volume is a hard disk, and you're certain its performance has fallen due to fragmentation on it, should you consider trying to defragment it yourself.

• How to Make a Mac OS X Recovery Disk

Deal with different mediums

Ultimately, all storage systems develop sporadic errors and may fail catastrophically. Planning for those events is the basis for keeping backups, and determines the storage medium used for them. If you could happily see all your stored documents and files blown away at an instant, you do not need a backup, but most of us need good and extensive fallbacks, for which Time Machine running to an external drive is usually ideal.

As far as maintenance is concerned, there are now four main types of local storage: hard disks; SSDs; Fusion Drives, which incorporate both a hard disk and an SSD working together in a Core Storage Logical Volume Group; and network-attached storage (NAS).

A hard disk spins platters coated with magnetic materials inside a sealed enclosure, and is consequently liable to mechanical and electrical failure, and to data corruption. It undergoes maximum stress when being spun up from rest, so tends to last longer when left spinning constantly. It is also sensitive to high temperatures, and a disk running hot is more likely to fail.

Though more usually used as single units, multiple hard disks can also be installed in larger enclosures to be used individually (JBOD) or in concert as a RAID array. RAID used to be a specialist pursuit, but is increasingly common. It is not an instant solution, as there are different levels with performance and robustness trade-offs.

Many people find RAID 5 across four hard disks is an ideal compromise, as it allows one of the disks to fail without any loss of data. Simple mirroring, RAID 1, provides redundancy but may impair performance, especially when implemented in software.

Hardware RAID implementations are more robust and faster than software RAID, but also more costly. Hard disks usually fail once their warranty period has expired, commonly after four or more years. Those from the same batch tend to fail around the same time, so it's worth sourcing from different batches when building an array, or two could fail in a short period.

Hard disks older than about five years can last longer, but are worth replacing before failure. SMART monitoring (Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology) aims to detect early warning signs of failure, and you should always take steps to replace a hard disk with a worrying status before complete failure occurs.

However, OS X only supports status monitoring for internal and Thunderbolt drives; USB or FireWire drives can only be monitored by installing third-party extensions.

Disk Utility provides only basic monitoring, and more thorough checking requires a third-party tool such as DriveDx.

Good status is no guarantee a disk won't fail in the next instant, just a statement that the chances are very low.

Modern storage types

SSDs have no moving parts, but their memory chips can be written to a set number of times before they start to fail. In practice, that limit is beyond the life of most people's Macs. However, it's wise to avoid actions that write more to an SSD than is strictly needed, and defragmenting one is pointless and wasteful.

Ensure the TRIM feature is active; it allows the blocks used by deleted data to be reset to a fresh state, and improves performance. It's enabled for Apple's flash storage by default; for other SSDs, the maker should disclose whether it's handled in hardware; if not, the command

sudo trimforce enable

in OS X 10.10.4 or higher enables OS X's software implementation for third-party flash storage. Fusion Drives, fitted by Apple in iMacs and Mac minis, need care for the hard disk component, but OS X should keep them working efficiently. Many third-party apps do not yet work fully with them, so disaster recovery can be tricky.

Networked storage normally uses one or more hard disks but must be managed through its own software, which often has very limited maintenance facilities. Apple's Time Capsules are managed using AirPort Utility, which lacks manual check and repair commands. So, you can do little to care for them, and failure is usually fatal.

End of life

Storage has a life cycle which must be planned for from the outset. Careful choice rather than impulse buying will meet your needs better. Now that OS X supports huge volume sizes, there are few benefits to partitioning large drives into several smaller volumes, although Time Machine backups are best given their own volume to guarantee their size and life.

When drives fail or are replaced, ensure no one else can recover data from them: use Disk Utility to erase and overwrite them mulitply if you can spare the time. It's generally thought that the more cycles you can manage, the less likely it is anyone will be able to recover data.

Finally, use a sledgehammer to render a drive physically unusable before disposing of it.

How to spring-clean your Mac's storage

1. Do the housekeeping

Before tackling anything else, use a tool like DaisyDisk, in conjunction with using Finder to browse the folders where you normally store work, to clear out temporary files and folders, duplicates, and any other large files that you no longer need.

2. Check SMART status

Inspect the SMART status and other drive health indicators of each of your drives using a specialist tool such as DriveDx. This app also supports monitoring the status of USB and FireWire drives – which Disk Utility doesn't – if you install the extension provided for that.

3. Run a surface scan

If you notice a hard drive is accumulating errors or bad blocks, consider performing a physical check of the medium, including a surface scan. You'll need a third-party utility such as Drive Genius to do this, and scans take hours.

4. Make any necessary repairs

Run Disk Utility's First Aid command on each drive to check and repair it. This is usually better with the drive unmounted first, so you're best checking your startup disk by restarting your Mac in its Recovery system (hold Command+R at the startup sound), if it needs repair.

5. Test backup retrieval

There's no point making backups if they don't work, leaving you unable to access files in them. Open Time Machine, or your preferred backup utility, and verify that you can browse your backups and recover a couple of files from them. Some tools can verify their backups.

6. Archive important files

Finally, archive important documents onto removable storage media. For optical discs, you can use Finder's Burn command or the likes of Toast Burn (from the Mac App Store) or Burn. Keep one set of all essential work off-site in case disaster strikes.

• Enjoyed this article? Get more tutorials, guides, and tips on how to get the most from your Apple devices inside MacFormat. Take advantage of an exclusive offer in our sampler today.

http://www.techradar.com/us/how-to/computing/how-to-maintain-your-mac-s-storage-1322125?src=rss&attr=all

Sent with Reeder

Brief message sent from a mobile device

Getting the Most Out of Office 365: Driving User Adoption

Petri IT Knowledgebase Getting the Most Out of Office 365: Driving User Adoption

 

Technology is constantly changing and improving, but that doesn't mean that users are keeping up. Frequently businesses struggle to keep their employees updated and on the most up-to-date software and services. Transitioning to Office 365 presents a new hurdle that many employees have a hard time overcoming. When people get to work, they usually just want to do their job and not fuss with the tools, and when the IT department keeps changing the tools, work becomes frustrating.

On the other side of the equation, the IT department needs to continue to provide their company with the tools they need to keep up with the changing world with respect to productivity and security. New paradigms like BYOD, mobility, and the cloud push companies to adopt new technologies, such as SharePoint, OneDrive for Business, and Skype for Business. These new tools solve problems, but require the users to adapt as well, which can be the hard part.

Many companies across the world are asking their employees to use tools they do not understand to do the same job. It is common for new tools to be avoided and the old way kept alive. Some of the modern productivity tools can be used with little change, like using the OneDrive for Business sync client to save documents to the cloud. More difficult hurdles are teaching users how to navigate SharePoint and how to save files for later access quickly.

So what is an effective way to train your employees so they can easily adopt more of the functionality offered by Office 365? First, you need to understand how your employees work, because that can change perspective on determining what tools are worth their time. Teach everyone a few core tools and highlight how they make work easier.

Delve UI

Sponsored

Change has to do with learning; when a product is overly complex or tedious learning can get too frustrating. Begin training with simple, easy-to-learn products rather than more complex ones. Details like sharing management are important, but that might not be the wisest first pick to kick off discussions.

Sometimes it is not obvious which products are easy to learn. Take Delve for example, it is an odd product when compared to the Office programs, but is easy to describe as a search engine for SharePoint and OneDrive for Business, and it can favorite documents you want to get back to. Many users may be missing the ability to search across all company documents visible to them and not even know that such a tool is possible. Delve's searching ability makes it great for finding more learning resources like company videos posted on Office 365 Video.

Encouraging users to start their work with Delve leads them to save their documents in OneDrive for Business. Once users are comfortable finding and creating content on OneDrive more and more of Office 365 becomes useful. Cloud hosted documents can be accessed via mobile devices for editing and sharing.

Sponsored

Transitioning users to the cloud takes time. People need time to learn and become comfortable with their new tools before they begin investing their time and effort. When arriving at work, the top priority needs to be accomplishing your job, every tool should be focused on that goal. If the cloud does not save time or money today, then keep looking, but many wait to move your users. Communication with users on how they are using new tools should shape what tools are adopted more widely, but be careful not to let technology stand in the way of productivity.

The post Getting the Most Out of Office 365: Driving User Adoption appeared first on Petri.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Petri/~3/ZIF6E6M-mfM/getting-the-most-out-of-office-365-driving-user-adoption

Sent with Reeder

Aron

Brief message sent from a handheld device.

Windows 10 Forced Upgrade

I’m starting to hear about more and more people getting caught in the Windows 10 forced upgrade.  Microsoft does provide a group policy object to allow you to not upgrade to Windows 10 on domain-member computers (though it still has the annoying little icon in the system tray saying the administrator has blocked it).

 

Personal computers that aren’t joined to a Windows domain may be getting the virtually forced upgrade.  So far, this seems to be the best tool from an extremely credible individual for blocking it.  https://www.grc.com/never10.htm  Steve Gibson is highly respected in the technology community and I wouldn’t hesitate to use it, in fact I will be trying it in a couple of hours on a friend’s personal Windows 7 computer that started going down that path.  I’ll do it on my personal Windows 7 computer at home too.  So far I’ve just been able to hit the x in the upper corner each time I used it (not often, admittedly).

Content management systems: A business buyer's guide

TechRadar: All latest feeds Content management systems: A business buyer's guide

Introduction and CMS questions

Note: Our CMS business buyer's guide has been fully updated. This feature was first published in November 2012.

Content is still king when it comes to developing your services and products. Content, though, can be created in many forms. From websites to eBooks, what's needed to ensure all these assets are working as hard as they can for your company is a way to manage them efficiently. That's where a comprehensive CMS (Content Management System) comes into its own.

There are a number of CMS options to choose from – each aimed at a particular type of content:

Website CMS

• WordPress
• Kentico
• Drupal
• Joomla
• Umbraco
• Episerver
• Magento

Digital publishing

• PugPig
• Woodwing
• PageSuite

Digital Asset Management (DAM)

• AssetBank
• Adobe Experience Manager
• WebDAM

All of these CMS's have easy to use interfaces that are ideal for helping your business manage the content it produces. WordPress is arguably the leader in this field, as it has been evolving for several years and remains completely free to use.

Other options can be more suited if you have specific needs, for example, Magento is ideal if you have an e-commerce enabled website, as the CMS includes specialist tools to make creating new content for your online store fast and easy to achieve. There are many systems to help you manage digital publications for in-bound marketing, and lastly if you have masses of images, text, video and graphics, a DAM can be a godsend.

When choosing a CMS ask yourself these questions:

How sophisticated is your content?

Large e-commerce websites or a simple blog can both be managed with a CMS. It's important to audit your precise needs now and what these may be in the future. The CMS you choose should offer the tools your business needs now, and allow a level of expansion.

How much can you afford?

WordPress is free, but is this the best CMS for your business? Many of the leading e-commerce CMS platforms are hosted and subscription-based. Look closely at the features on offer for the various levels of subscription the CMS boasts, and then match these to your business needs.

Do you need high levels of security?

If your content management system will handle materials that relate to personal customer details, the CMS you choose should offer high levels of security to keep this information safe from attack. And think about who in your business will have access to the CMS. Strong password authentication could be needed to ensure internal security across your business when the CMS is being used.

What level of support do you need?

Using a CMS to just update a blog your business maintains probably won't need detailed support. However, if your CMS is driving a large e-commerce site, prompt technical support may be needed when things go wrong. In this situation, look closely at the support clause on the SLA (Service Level Agreement) your business has with the CMS vendor.

Will you need to use plugins or extensions?

One of the reasons WordPress has become the world's most popular CMS is because of the thousands of plugins available that enable new features to be added with just a few clicks of the mouse. Look closely at a plugin you want to use and if your site will rely on this, consider whether it will continue to be supported and updated.

Does your team need access to the CMS?

One of the great things about all CMS offerings is the flexibility that they boast. Once the system is set up anyone can access it. Your business needs to ensure it has policies for who can use the CMS and processes to ensure content is generated within your business policy guidelines. This will avoid any content you didn't authorise becoming available to your customers.

Content creation

Content creation

Having a CMS makes the management of the content you produce efficient, but you still need to think about how to create high-quality compelling and engaging content that you use with the CMS you have chosen. The main components of great content include:

1. Search engine optimisation (SEO)

Google loves content, so the ability to have search engine optimisation included in the CMS makes sense. It will also save you money compared to the costs of employing an SEO expert.

Most SEO is achieved by linking the content with keywords and key phrases and with content tags into multiple sections of your site. For example, a page might be tagged as news, but it could also be tagged as a feature, and the keywords are likely to be things that describe what the content is about.

2. Connecting to social media

After SEO the next best way to use your CMS to communicate your content to customers and readers is by using social media. The CMS you choose should make it straightforward to link the content you have created to the leading social media networks including Twitter and Facebook.

Don't forget LinkedIn if you are a B2B company, and networks such as Pinterest, YouTube and Instagram to communicate image-based content. Making the link to social media within your CMS usually means installing plugins. The power of these features is that you create your content once, and then push details out to the social media networks often by simply ticking a box on your CMS.

3. Analytics and your CMS

How do you know how well your CMS is performing? It's great that you can now create world-class content quickly, and shout about this across social media, but knowing who is reading your content is powerful information to have.

Using Google Analytics in association with your CMS is a great and free way to analyse the content you are creating. The information you gain can then feed back to your content creation teams to help them improve future content.

Conclusion

Having the right CMS for your business is now vital. Content is often the most precious component of your business that supports many products and services, as well as forming the foundation of your company's marketing activities.

The future of CMS is more multi-channel applications, where content is created and then used across a number of outlets from web to mobile. Your CMS should boast multi-channel features to ensure your content reaches the right people, at the right time, and in the right format.

• 10 things you need to know to build a small business website

http://www.techradar.com/us/news/software/business-software/content-management-systems-a-business-buyer-s-guide-1109207?src=rss&attr=all

Sent with Reeder

Aron

Brief message sent from a handheld device.

How to beat a browser hijacker

TechRadar: All latest feeds How to beat a browser hijacker

Browser hijacking is fast becoming an all-too-common scenario. But how do you know if your browser has been hijacked?

Maybe your internet browser isn't behaving as it should; perhaps your homepage is different (and you've never seen it before). Also, Windows might seem generally slow, or perhaps you get an error encouraging you to download software you never asked for.

Or perhaps your search engine has been changed and you're redirected to different websites. You might notice web pages are slow to load, and you're getting browser toolbars you don't recognise or advertisements are popping up multiple times.

• The Best Free Popup Blocker Software of 2015: Clear Up Your Browser Now

If any of the above is happening to you, you have experienced what is known as a browser hijack. This means changes have been made to your browser without your permission. Often this is done sneakily as part of the installation process for an application you downloaded because you thought it was legitimate (this is called piggybacking).

It could well be you agreed to the extra download as part of the terms and conditions. Sometimes it can be browser plugins or add-ons that cause this problem.

What causes a browser hijack?

The browser hijacker software was probably spyware, either designed to track personal data or adware that regularly pops up dubious advertisements. If you did install something, it might have offered you the option to decline the install, but it could have been displayed in a way that was deliberately confusing (after all, they want you to download the software).

Or you could have unwittingly visited an untrustworthy website. Usually your browser's address bar will warn you in red if this is the case and your usual search engine (such as Google or Bing) would also probably have warned you too, but it still happens.

So if your browser has been hijacked, what can you do about it? The main thing to do is not panic. Seriously. We know it can seem like all your data is at risk but it probably isn't. And in any case, if you are panicking about your data, it's likely you haven't got it backed up.

If not, you are not helping yourself! It goes without saying (but we'll say it anyway) – always back up your precious files, music, photos and videos. If you have continuous, cascading pop-up windows, then press [Ctrl]+[Alt]+[Del] on your keyboard.

Click on Task Manager, then click the Processes tab. Click Internet Explorer/Firefox/Chrome/Microsoft Edge (depending on which browser you use) and click 'End Process'. In older versions of Windows (like Windows 7) these are called things like IEXPLORE.EXE.

If there are multiple instances of your browser running, be sure to 'End Process' them all.

How to fix a browser hijack

The first thing to try is a System Restore, the method of 'rolling back' Windows. This will be especially useful as the software install should have given you a restore point to roll back to. But a restore point may not have been created or you simply might not know when the hijack happened.

Avoid rolling back too far as you may lose other applications from your computer (you will never lose files). One thing you can also try is to find the software within the 'Add/Remove Programs' list, in the Windows Control Panel.

It may or may not be present there. If it is, try and uninstall it. If you can't do a system restore or uninstall, you need to download legitimate software to scan and remove the software. We'd recommend Microsoft's own Malicious Software Removal Tool, Norton Power Eraser or the Kaspersky Virus Removal Tool.

Once you've run one of these packages, your problem will hopefully have been detected. Finally, you need to reset the settings in your browser to make sure any nasty extensions or rogue search engines have been removed, as well as your default search engine restored and your browser home page is what you want it to be.

In Internet Explorer's Tools menu, click 'Manage add-ons'. Under 'Toolbars and Extensions' if there are any mysterious ones, click them, then click 'Disable'.

If your search engine has been changed then under 'Add-on Types', select 'Search Providers'. Select a search engine, and click 'Set as default'. Select the unknown search engine, and click 'Remove and Close'. To remedy your homepage, go to the 'General' tab of 'Internet Options', under 'Home' page, and enter the address of your preferred page.

If you have Google Chrome, click the menu icon in the top right-hand corner and click 'Settings' and click 'Extensions'. In the 'Extensions' window, select the unknown extensions, and click the trash bin icon. In the 'Settings' window, under 'On startup', click 'Set pages'. Get rid of any mysterious settings. If your home screen has changed go to 'Appearance', select 'Show Home' button, and click 'Change'.

If your search engine has changed, then under 'Search', click 'Manage search engines'. Remove any you don't recognise.

Finally, if you have Firefox, click on the menu icon then 'Add-ons'. Select 'Extensions' and again delete any mysterious ones. In the 'Options' window, under 'General' tab, click 'Restore to Default'. Finally, in the main Firefox window, next to the address bar, click the down arrow and select 'Manage Search Engines'. In the 'Manage Search Engine List' window, select any unknown search engines and click 'Remove'.

Prevention is key and we'd recommend you install reputable anti-virus software. If you don't want to buy a security suite from Kaspersky, McAfee, Bitdefender or Norton, free antivirus options are available from Webroot, AVG and Microsoft in the form of Microsoft Security Essentials.

• How to protect Windows 10 from viruses for free

Thankfully these suites aren't like they used to be; they no longer slow your PC down like some of the software of old. They're all pretty lean, designed for a light touch on your system's resources. If you don't have one installed, now really is the time.

5 things you should ALWAYS do on the internet

1. Always check your browser address bar for any warnings about a non-reputable site's identity.

2. Always install reputable anti-virus software.

3. Always uncheck boxes during software installations if you're offered extra software to download.

4. Always keep your browser up to date and enable automatic Windows updates.

5. Configure your browser for a high-security level in Internet Options.

4 things you should NEVER do on the internet

1. Never click on an email attachment from someone you don't know.

2. Never be panicked into downloading something you don't want – just follow the steps we've covered here.

3. Never install freeware unless it comes from a reputable site, with positive user reviews.

4. Never give personal information to someone you don't know, even if requested by a bank or other financial organisation, the latter don't ask for personal details to be given online.

http://www.techradar.com/us/how-to/computing/how-to-beat-a-browser-hijacker-1321527?src=rss&attr=all

Sent with Reeder

Aron

Brief message sent from a handheld device.

Round up: Best free YouTube to MP3 converters 2016

TechRadar: All latest feeds Round up: Best free YouTube to MP3 converters 2016

Introduction

YouTube is a great site, packed with amazing content, and it's easy to spend hours just browsing from one video to another. But sometimes, when you're out and about, driving, maybe running, that's just not possible.

The solution? Download your favourite videos, maybe convert them to MP3, then burn them to CD or listen to them anywhere with your favourite music app.

There are websites that can help you do this, but they're often slow, packed with ads, and only able to download one file at a time.

Specialist YouTube to MP3 converters deliver much better results. They're easy to use, just paste your file URL and it's usually downloaded and converted with a single click.

The top programs add support for other video and music-sharing sites, and can download complete playlists as well as individual files, yet still won't cost you anything at all. Isn't freeware great?

YouTube Song Downloader 2016

Despite the name, YouTube Song Downloader isn't just another simple converter. It's a complete YouTube client with everything you need to find, hear and download your favourite tunes.

Smart search tool helps track down the songs you need, both individual tracks and entire albums.

If you're not sure whether you've found the right version, no problem - a built-in player means you can watch the video right now.

Once you're ready, single tracks can be downloaded with a click, or you can select multiple files and grab them all at once.

And if you're still not convinced, YouTube Song Downloader 2016 has another big advantage over most of the competition: it can download the source video, as well as a converted MP3.

The free edition does have ads, and a nag screen when you close the program, but they're not annoying, and upgrading for around £8 (about US$12, AU$16) will get you a version free of both.

Free YouTube to MP3 Converter

Video conversion tools can be complex, but Free YouTube to MP3 Converter shows they don't have to be that way. The program really couldn't be much easier to use.

Copy your source YouTube link to the clipboard, click 'Paste', and the video name, quality and a tiny thumbnail appear to confirm your choice.

Choose a different quality setting if you prefer, otherwise simply click 'Download' and wait as the video is downloaded and converted.

A progress bar keeps you up to date with what's happening, and once it's finished, there are buttons to play the MP3 or open its folder in Explorer.

The file even has its YouTube frame embedded as sort of 'cover art', which means you'll see it in Explorer's Preview pane, or when viewing a folder as icons.

All this is entirely free, but a US$29 per year (about £20, AU$40) premium subscription extends the package with playlist downloads, improved speed and quality, and no ads at all.

MediaHuman YouTube to MP3 Converter

At first glance, MediaHuman YouTube to MP3 Converter seems a little basic, limited, too short on features to be really useful. But start to explore and you might be surprised.

Choosing a file can be as easy as dragging and dropping the URL, for instance, or pasting it from the clipboard.

The program doesn't just fetch YouTube files: it also works with Vevo.com, Vimeo, DailyMotion, Soundcloud, Bandcamp & Hype Machine.

MP3 tag support enables entering the correct artist and album name from within the program, and you can start the download with a click.

That's good, but the real highlights are hidden away in a tiny toolbar. MediaHuman YouTube to MP3 Converter can also download entire playlists, use a 'speed limit' mode to prevent it hogging your bandwidth, add music to iTunes, or - for really big jobs - automatically sleep or shut down your PC when the downloads have finished.

4K YouTube to MP3

4K YouTube to MP3 is a straightforward converter which aims to download your chosen music with the absolute minimum of hassle.

The program works with individual videos, full YouTube playlists or channels (up to 25 videos in the free version), and accepts links from other sites including SoundCloud, Vimeo, Flickr and DailyMotion.

It's all very simple to use. Paste in a link and you don't have to consider options, or click a separate 'Download' button, as with some of the competition. 4K YouTube to MP3 just downloads and converts your files immediately.

But there's also real power here, when you need it. You're able to download files using multiple threads, for example, use your preferred quality settings, and choose from several output formats (MP3, M4A, OGG).

And if you're downloading a complete YouTube playlist, good news: M3U file generation means you can use that playlist in most media players immediately, no extra steps required.

Lacey

If you're tired of adware-infested 'freeware' then Lacey should appeal right away. There's no registration, no sneaky setup program, in fact no installer at all: just unzip the download and run Lacey.exe.

The program opens with a simple search box. Type the name of your favourite artist, a song, album, whatever you like, and matches are displayed in seconds.

Other tools do something similar, but Lacey stands out because it's not restricted to YouTube. If you can't find your track there, it's also able to search Baidu, BandCamp, MP3Fusion, VEVO, Vimeo, SoundCloud, XMusic.Me, and a lengthy list of other sites.

There's no detailed preview of your search results, and often all you'll see is the title, artist and duration. But if the program locates songs that others miss then you probably won't care much, and Lacey can download whatever you like in a couple of clicks.

Have we missed your favorite YouTube to MP3 converter? Let us know in the comments below.

http://www.techradar.com/us/news/software/best-free-youtube-to-mp3-converters-1321533?src=rss&attr=all

Sent with Reeder

Aron

Brief message sent from a handheld device.