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Basic checklist for user interface and experience

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Designing the user interface is now more important than ever and is one of the most critical roles in a web design team. Following is a basic checklist for user interface and user experience design of a website.

The first and foremost factor is to ensure that the team is happy with the design. If the product fail to excite the team behind the execution, then it would not create an impression in the market. Therefore, the product needs a team that believes in the choices they made.

Sometimes nothing will appear on screen, due to no search results, or lack of entries in the table. Therefore, you need to model out your blank states and then create UI to handle those moments.

You also need to account for every possible error state and then create a workflow that prevents that from happening. You cannot expect your users to figure out how a system works. You must help your user through the entire web browsing experience.

Whenever possible, for example when something is loading, you must show some animation that shows progress to the user that could help them know the exact time the loading is expected to finish.

Always use real data in your designs and ensure to test a dummy of the website with at least five potential end users. This will help to eradicate any glitches, before moving to a design phase.

Article by Rack Alley. You can host your website and other applications on tier one infrastructure with LA colocation of your own hardware or rented systems.


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How to Shop for a Video Wall System for Your Mission Critical Center

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Summary: Budget shopping for new equipment doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg.

Running a command center requires allocating the necessary funds towards a functional video all to ensure data is being streamed and the operators have a quality system they can work with. This article discusses how you can shop for video wall equipment without using your entire budget.

Choose Features Your Operators Need

One of the most important aspects of creating a video wall system is figuring out what features are needed. First off, you’ll want to consult with the supervisor or manager that’s running the command center to break down a list of equipment that’s needed. Without the proper equipment, it’s nearly impossible for the operators to do their job.

However, when it comes down to it, it would be wise not to spend more than what is actually needed for your operations center workstations. Be sure to allocate your money towards equipment that you operators actually need, as oppose to it being a luxury. Remember, if it’s not helping your business, then you could be overspending.

Improving Other Areas of Your Command Center

If you have a set budget that you’re working with, you’ll want to consider the other aspects of your command center as well. Take the time to look at your budget, figure out what you’re willing to spend, and determine whether other areas of the center require an upgrade.

As a matter of fact, you may not even blow through our budget and still be able to increase your command center’s efficiency by making small upgrades here and there. Experts recommend creating a checklist to see what needs to be upgraded around your center. This way, you’ll have a shopping list that you can always trim down – depending on what’s necessary.

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Google Assistant rolls out to all recent Android devices

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Article written by Menlo Software

Google unveiled its new conversational assistant last year during the launch of its new Pixel phone. At the time, the assistant was launched as an exclusive to the Pixel, Home and its chat app Allo. Now Google is making the assistant available to anyone with an Android 6 or Android 7 based smartphone.

Most industry watchers did not expect the Google Assistant to be made publicly available to phones from other vendors so quickly. It was meant as a unique selling proposition for its Pixel line of smartphones. However, due in large part to the sudden increase in devices with Amazon’s Alexa, Google has been forced to change plans.

At CES 2017, Vendors announced Alexa support for smartphones, refrigerators, home appliances and even cars. The sudden spate of Alexa announcements caught everyone, including Google off-guard. These announcements meant that unless Google Assistant were made available, Alexa would be everywhere. Also, Alexa is open to third party developers. As a result, it has thousands of skills that users can apply to the device.

However, it is still not too late for Google.  It can push an update that activates the assistant on the Google application overnight. By leveraging its presence on Android, it can add more than a hundred million devices to its user base overnight. It would not be surprising to see several hundred million users by the end of the year.

This does pose a problem for its Pixel 2 smartphone, which will not have the assistant as an exclusive to boost sales.

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Tesla Model S is now the third fastest car in the world with new 100 kwh battery

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Article written by Expert Fortran

Good news for new and existing owners of the Tesla Model S. As the company announced on Tuesday, there is a new 100 kwh battery pack upgrade that will make the Model S the third fastest car in the world.

The car can now accelerate from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 2.5 seconds in its famous Ludicrous speed mode says the company, rather than 2.8 seconds thanks to a new, but long-rumored 100-kilowatt battery that will also let the car travel farther, up to 315 miles, on a single charge. The Model X will take 2.9 seconds to go from 0-60 with the new battery pack.

The range issue has been one of the biggest obstacles and this will solve one of the biggest problems for people considering the switch to a Tesla.

“Range anxiety has long been one of the biggest obstacles for the adoption of electric cars,” said Jessica Caldwell, executive director of industry analysis at Edmunds.

Existing owners of the Model S and X will be able to pay an upgrade fee of $20,000 to get the  100 kwh battery upgrade. Owners awaiting delivery will have a smaller $10,000 fee have the upgrade before delivery.

The Model S P100D will start at $134,500, and the Model X 100D will start at $135,500.

Tesla said in its statement that upcoming Model 3 sedan vehicles, expected to sell for $35,000, will have the 100-kilowatt battery.

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The top four challengers for suppliers in E-commerce

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Article provided by Javier Loya, CEO of OTC Global Holdings. 

Every supplier wants to expand so that the Increasing sales increases can power growth, which in turn leads to more expansion. However, as good as growth is for an organization, it is only a boon if the company prepares for some of the challenges that come with more retailers and buyers. Let’s look at some of the challenges suppliers face when adding new clients:

Multiple requirements from retailers

It is fair to say that no two retailers will have the same requirement. The processes, expectations, and requirements will vary from each client. The issue is bigger if you handle drop shipping, where different customers of different clients will each have different requirements. The operational and mental overhead is immense. The only way to get around the issue to have an understanding of their requirements in advance, so everyone is prepared.

Managing inventory

Maintain transparency of your inventory with your customers. With technology like EDI, orders come in every second and customers expect the items to ship out the same day. Update the client with your inventory and keep them in the loop for any changes. Also, take seasonal requirements and other trends into account when maintaining inventory.

Scaling

As soon as you establish a relationship with a new retailer, don’t expose your entire catalog. Present only a certain amount of your catalog and scale up the availability as you and the client become comfortable with the systems and processes. Failing to ramp up gradually can result in overwhelmed systems and staff.

Javier Loya is the Co-CEO of OTC Global Holdings (OTCGH), an independent interdealer brokerage.  He is also the founder and owner of Choice Energy Management.

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How to access content blocked on your network

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As the recent crisis in Sri Lanka revealed, a country or authority can block any content at will. Even if censorship does not exist in your country, there might come a time when the courts or legal authority authorize the blocking of a site or online service for commercial or copyright issues. Fortunately, there are a few ways that we can get around blocks of that nature:

VPN

The most common and obvious solution is to get a VPN service that connects you to the network in another country. There are hundreds of VPN services and applications that allow you to connect to their nodes in various countries. The paid services are better as some of the free VPN hosts are possible scams and security concerns.

Proxy

A cheaper, and less obvious method is to use one of the many web traffic proxies online. A proxy uses a computer in another location to fetch your web requests. The only issue is that proxy services will not allow you to use other services like streaming, and downloads. You can also set up your own proxy server, but you will need to pay for a virtual private server online.

DNS

Another common issue is that networks block traffic to certain domains by hijacking DNS requests. Getting around this is a little harder because it involves one of two options: 1) set up and run your own DNS server, or 2) set manual entries for the sites that you want to access in your host’s file.

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