E-commerce: Give A Thought On It

Online retailing is becoming an increasingly important part of the economy. It seems that once the shopping frenzy has commenced, consumers don't want a little thing like being at work stop them. They evidently continue the madness from the confines of their workplace using their office computer and, increasingly their mobile devices.

It may be hard to believe today, especially if you under 30, but there was considerable doubt about the viability of online retailing when the web first kicked off in earnest in 1994. That was the year that the government lifted rules that barred the commercial use of the internet. It kicked off an era that is known at the dot com boom, where are remarkable amount of new business's started up to take advantage of the web as a new business platform. Suddenly, everything you could imagine was being offered online, from toys to shoes, from cars to homes.

Currently, online purchases represent about 8% of all retail sales in the United States. That doesn't sound like much, until you consider the trend and the enormity of the US market. In the first 10 years of internet commercialization online sales grew from almost nothing to $117 billion dollars. By 2011 sales had reached $253 billion, and this period includes the worst recession in a generation and weak economic recovery. That's about $840 per year for each man, woman and child in the nation!

As technology improves the online experience, the growth of e-Commerce as a portion of the economy will increase. However, criminals and fraudsters already view it as a "target rich" environment. Internet schemes and scams already abound that spread malware, steal personal information and commit fraud. The more business is done online, the more criminals will be present online.

Commercial web site operators need to be increasingly proactive to ensure their customers have a safe shopping experience, free of malware and fraud. Consumers need to be proactive themselves; examining each site they visit for indications, such as SSL and trust mark logos, that the site is what it portends to be.

Fastest one is 4G

The kind of speed that we can expect from the 4G network will be anything between 5 Mbit/second to 100 Mbit/second, depending on the kind of 4G network your service provider will offer you. The upper limit of this speed is hard to pin down and state accurately, since it depends heavily on a bunch of external factors. The infrastructure that is put in place by the service provider will play the biggest role. It is this very infrastructure that will take some amount of time to put into place, so we cannot expect the best possible results from 4G network just as yet. To get a clearer picture we must remember that the 3G network took almost a decade to get into place completely.

The major service providers in the United States at present are AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile. Each of them now offers their own variant of 4G connectivity, but many people claim that these are not true 4G networks. The fact of the matter is that 4G connectivity will fall into place gradually, and not overnight. Here are the different variants of 4G network available.

HSPA+: T-Mobile provides this form of 4G Internet speed, and they say it has rolled out to almost 100 cities in the US. Download speeds can run up to 42 Mbit/second here.

WiMAX: This service is provided by Sprint, and it offers download speeds of almost 100 Mbit/second. The next level of WiMAX will apparently reach as high as 1 Gbits/second. Currently, 71 cities can enjoy this service.

LTE: Also known as Long Term Evolution, this service is provided by AT&T and Verizon. Right now 40 cities can enjoy speeds of around 100 Mbit/second, but this is perhaps the network with the most potential.

Right now 4G connectivity is just something to brag about, and it is also pretty expensive. It is only a matter of time till the prices fall though, and for the network to be widely available to one and all. Once you realize how fast 4G actually is, you will not want to go back to the comparatively slower 3G mobile phones network. You will even get the option to use 4G Internet cards to access this network pretty soon.

Android Phones Magic

Do you know Android literally means a mechanical man!? And if we talk about Android, its magic is there in all over the world now. Even famous companies are encouraging their employees to use Android based phones. In very recent news, Facebook want their employees to switch to Android.

Android phones are the recent fad and craze that has taken over the mobile phone buyers. These phones are better known as smart phones using android technology with innumerable features and applications. Android mobiles are now the most commonly preferred mobile devices using cutting edge and advanced technology. It has proved to be a sought after phone segment world over with its attractive application downloading facility. Android itself is primarily an operating system based on Linux. This system was first developed by Google employee Andy Rubin and its growing popularity has only lead to increased membership number.

Android phones are built with an integrated advanced technology which provides the required platform for various applications. Several programs can also be combined through such android platform. Many-a-times, mobile development companies use android as a platform to combine programs or promote them. These phones are the most coveted and much in demand phones of the current generation. These kinds of phones are known for their multi-tasking, user-friendliness and multi-functionality. They are mainly run by the customized graphics in the 2D and 3D library designed with the use of OpenGL ES 1.0.

What else you want in your phone? Android phones are built with an integrated advanced technology which provides the required platform for various applications. Several programs can also be combined through such android platform. Many-a-times, mobile development companies use android as a platform to combine programs or promote them. Android mobiles are designed to make tasks easier and enable it with proper security means for the sake of safety.

Are You Looking For iTunes Alternatives?

The iTunes software is one of the best iPod management applications. It can do many things such as playing audio and video files, syncing photos and other files to iPods and iPhones, offering the user access to iTunes online store, just to name a few. Though there are benefits of iTunes software, there are some users who might find its operation very confusing and difficult. In such situation, one might want to consider some iTunes alternatives.

Amarok

This is probably the best music management software that is favored by iPod users. It supports music management of a wide range of portable entertainment devices such as iPod, iriver, Creative MP3 players, and USB MP3 players. A good thing of Amarok is that it's absolutely free. It has an interface much similar to that of Apple iTunes.

SharePod

SharePod is a digital music management application which does much of the work of iTunes. You can use it right from the iPod, which makes it easy to access. You can add or delete files to and from the iPod, and even back up the iPod data easily.

CopyTrans Manager

This iTunes alternative is believed to be a fast and simple to use program. It deals with the management of audio and video files, podcasts, audio books, and even TV shows. The drag-drop functions makes it all the more simpler to use. Besides, this free application does not even require installation on the hard drive.

aTunes

aTunes has an interface very identical to that of iTunes. It has a variety of features for almost all portable devices; such as multiple playlist management, drag-drop function, CD ripping, tag editing, equalizer and karaoke, file normalization, file statistics, and Internet radio. Color themes also make the interface change its appearance.

Songbird

Songbird is compatible with versions of Windows and Mac OS. It offers a wide range of add-ons for the user to enjoy customizations. Its features include Last.fm radio support, full system scan for audio data, and so on. It can even give an option to play audio files present on web pages. Due to its impressive features, it is shipped along with Philips MP3 devices.

These are just a few of the best alternatives to iTunes. There are many other alternatives such as YamiPod, Mediamonkey, DoubleTwist, Rhythmbox, gtkpod, etc. Remember that features and specifications regarding iPod model compatibility may differ in the above mentioned software. Therefore, it is suggested to go through detailed specifications and reviews of these applications.

GPS Mobile Phone Tracking Apps

It’s time to be carefree just with the help of facilities provided by smartphone apps and software’s. Try any one of the below applications and rest easy about the whereabouts of your children, friends and family. You can easily track location and time information through space based satellite navigation system i.e. GPS with few best and absolutely free GPS mobile phone tracking software. Let me briefly review some of these free software programs that are made available online.

Buddyway

One of the most popular free GPS mobile tracking services is Buddyway. Once you register with the Buddyway website and install the associated application on your cell phone, it lets you record your movements through GPS tracking for free. You can save the path you take during travel for future reference using this software and even track your cell phone movement in real time. You can even add notes to your saved travel maps using this application. Try it out and decide for yourself!

Glympse

Another sleek free tracking software application is Glympse. You can track your movement, as well as share your whereabouts with people, once you register and install the Glympse mobile phone application, which has separate versions for Windows Mobile, Apple iPhone and Android phones, you can track your location on a map and let your friends know where you are. Your location can even be seen online on a computer, by friends logged into Glympse.

Google Latitude

If you want to track your cell phone or your child's cell phone, but it's not GPS enabled, you can still use Google Latitude to track it for free. Visit the Google Latitude webpage and install the software application on your phone. Sign in with your Google account and start tracking your cell phone online on Google maps. Try it out!

Not only is this feature really helpful in times of emergency when people go missing, but it also helps track down lost cell phones quite easily. Having personally used Google Latitude, I vouch for this online service more than any other, when it comes to tracking cell phone location. The best thing about the application is that it doesn't even need you to have a GPS enabled cell phone.