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Tools to Maximize Campaign Returns

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This article was written by Ted Dhanik

If you want your campaigns to bring you the maximum return, you need to enlist the help of a few tools designed for competitive research. From tracking code to competitive research tools, if you’re not enlisting help, you’re costing yourself time and money. You can get a lot more done, helping your display advertising campaigns grow into new niches, if you know what to look for.

Tracking Code

Google Analytics is the code most sites use, but it’s not the only one. There are trackers built into the ad networks you use, or you could assign your own parameters to your URLs. These parameters are important because they help you identify which campaigns have the highest likelihood for success. Analytics is powerful because of the events feature, which can help you track intangible objects on your home page. You can find out how customers react to your video or audio, pinpointing exactly where they hit play or pause.

Keyword Tools

There are several tools for keyword research. Google offers a free one, as does Bing, but you will need an account with their advertising services to use it. Free tools make keyword suggestions, and still more tools will actually analyze what your competition is bidding on. If you know which keywords are hot, you can use those terms on less-competitive banner advertising networks to net big conversions at a lower cost.

Banner Research

The standard search tool is your best friend here, but there are a lot of ways to find offers that are working. You can check with affiliate networks to see which banners are top performers, or review popular websites like CNN or MSN Money to see which offers run in the margins. Then you can use those banners as a starting point, or design your own based on what you see.

Bio: Ted Dhanik is a sales and marketing professional with fifteen years in digital media. Having helped large brands like MySpace, Ted Dhanik knows how to effectively utilize display advertising. Find more tips on display advertising when you visit Ted Dhanik online.

How to Set the Default Font in LibreOffice Writer

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If you don’t want to pay for your word processor, as you might have to do with Microsoft Word, LibreOffice turns out to be just as good.

 

In fact, for most people, it works out to be an excellent substitute in the process!

 

For example, being able to change fonts can prove to be as simple in Microsoft Word as it is in LibreOffice.

 

However, it can be difficult to figure out how to change the default font in LibreOffice so as to prevent having to change the font every time you open a new document.

 

So, firstly, you’ll have to open LibreOffice Writer and select Tools>Options so as to open the dialog box. While you might see a ‘Fonts’ option in the LibreOffice section, ignore that and open the LibreOffice Writer option instead.

 

Once you expand the LibreOffice Writer section, look for Basic Fonts (Western) and select it.

 

The larger right-hand pane will consist of five default fonts for different types of text and from which you’ll have to look for ‘Default’. Not only can you change the Font type but also the font size as well, thanks to options available from two pull-down menus for each.

 

Once you make the changes, you’ll notice that this change is made to three of the other font settings as well except the Heading font type. Feel free to make changes to each of these default fonts include the one under the Heading section.

 

Last but not the least, ensure you do not check ‘Current document only’ before you hit ‘OK’.

2 Ways You Can Read .epub Books Using a Browser

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There are a number of reasons why some people prefer reading e-books in the .epub format, thanks to Digital Rights Management.

It’s common knowledge that the only books that you can find in an unprotected format are old ones since very few e-tailers offer unprotected .epub books.

However, if you do wish to read books in this digital format, then you can do so in your browser itself.

One way to do is to use Google Play Books which has been designed to read its own protected content. However, you can also read .epub books using this Google service as well.

For starters, you’ll need a Google account – a Gmail or YouTube account will do. Go to the Google Play books site and upload books that you already have on your PC. Once the upload is complete, you will find it in the My Books section.

There’s only one problem though: You can’t take these books with you anywhere but will need an internet connection in order to read them. Although, it will be fair to say that these books will be synced across a number of devices.

If you do use Firefox, another option includes installing the EPUBReader add-on. Once this is done, then all you have to do is drag an .epub reader and the book will be loaded immediately without any fuss whatsoever.

Best part: you can use this add-on to look for and download books from a number of sites such as Feedbooks.com and Archive.org as well as Gutenberg. Not only that: you can read them offline.

That said, there aren’t any good add-ons for Chrome and Internet Explorer worth recommending.

Keep The Room Cool

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IT maintenance is not just about making sure your computer’s software is up to date and it doesn’t also just mean making sure everything is plugged in and plugged in right. Also, IT it is certainly not just turning thing off and on again. There’s a lot of technical know how needed in IT maintenance but one major part of it is cooling. We all know computers run at certain temperatures and as they keep working they start getting hotter. It is key to make sure that computers and servers are kept at cool optimum temperatures because not only does this mean they won’t break down, but also means they will work more efficient and faster. But how does one do that? It’s not all about making sure your computer has a lot of built-in fans, sometimes a little outside interference is needed.

The computer room air conditioner is something that stays on all the time and works particularly hard. The A/C unit in the computer room has to work to make sure the room is kept cold to the point when we feel that it’s to cold all while combatting the heat emitted by the computers and servers. For this application, industrial air conditioning might be needed. An A/C unit that is built ougher and stronger may be the right thing for your computer room. Given its more powerful components, industrial air conditioning will keep the room cold using less effort, saving power, electricity, and money.

What is a PVD System?

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A PVD system helps industries mass produce products that would have been impossible less than a century ago.

A PVD system is used to deposit thin films of material onto a substrate. Using this technique, it is possible to evaporate metals and other materials, and use some of their properties to enhance another material. We see this a lot in semiconductors, where special metals are applied to a circuit board to achieve connectivity, but the process is used in other household products as well.

PVD is a common process and industries use it to make everything from eye glass lenses to solar cells. The automotive industry uses it to coat engines, which can dramatically increase the lifespan of a car by making its moving parts less prone to abrasion. You also see PVD systems at work when you notice the reflective coating of a headlamp, or even street signs.

The biggest advantage that PVD brings to the process is the ability to evaporate materials at room temperatures. Using the car example, if a manufacturer wants to build a headlamp with reflective coating, an ion beam sputter deposition process can lower the temperature in production so the material is deposited without damaging the plastics used in the construction of the headlamp.

The process saves time and the environment. If a piece that needs to be metalized is made of plastic, companies will typically have more than one plant to do it. The first factory makes the product, and the second factory metalizes it. With PVD systems, the process is seamless and the work takes less time to produce a finish product.

3 Programs to Solve Wifi Issues

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Despite the technology surrounding network management software and routers, connecting to Wi-Fi has become easier than ever.

However, there’s no doubt that there still aren’t issues involved with Wi-fi such such as poor signals,  slow speeds and a lack of hotspots and so on and so forth.

That said, here are 2 programs that can help you with these common Wi-fi issues:

#1: Speed Test

A poor internet connection might occur for a number of reasons but one major one includes your ISP offering less-than-advertised broadband speeds. For this, use Speedtest.net by Ookla that helps you test the speeds quicker.

You can collect a lot of data by using this app: what kind of speeds you get at various times of the day or even if that slow Netflix streaming speed is the problem or not.

This app isn’t just available via the web. There are Android, Windows Phone and iOS versions too that can help you test speeds too.

#2: MyPublicWifi

While there are a number of reasons why only one device can connect to the internet, there are a number of apps that can fix this problem sooner. One such app is Connectify that comes in both the free and paid forms.

Yet another more effective app involves MyPublicWifi which is free and very simple to use. All you have to do is run the application by right-clicking on the desktop shortcut while selecting ‘Run as administrator’. Also, make sure you change the password to a stronger one because the default version is weak.

2 Built-in Features in Windows That Can Improve Productivity

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Productivity can always be maximized, no matter much space you might have. For example, even if one has two monitors, there’s always the desire to get one more.

And since there are only so many monitors you can get, thanks to monetary constraints, there are other ways to maximize the space that is already at your disposal.

That said, here are 2 features that can help you do so, and are already built into Windows:

#1: Modern snap

The newest way to share desktop space in Windows 8 is Snap. This version is very different from the Windows 7 desktop snap which will let you display two modern apps or the desktop and a modern app simultaneously.

This version has improved dramatically in Windows 8.1 due to new sizing options since it first appeared in Windows 8.

All you have to do is move your pointer to the lower right corner of your screen to where the Start button is. Don’t click but move your cursor upward so that a sidebar open with all your current apps are displayed.

#2: Windows 7-Style Desktop Snap

Modern Snap might be useful if you want a number of apps open while you work but it won’t work if you want to view two desktop apps simultaneously. For this, you’ll have to use the desktop version of Snap.

Now let’s suppose you want both Google Chrome and Microsoft Word open on desktop. All you have to do is open Word and tap the Windows key + the left arrow so as to resize the program to take up the left half of your screen. For Chrome, all you have to do is tap Windows key + right arrow so as to move the browser to the right end of your screen.

How to Remove Toolbars From Your Browser

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Even if it is 2014, here are still a number of issues (related to the web) that might trouble us here and now.

For example, if you download an app such as Vuze, Skype or even AVG, it’s only a matter of time until they will add a few toolbars to your computer or even change the default home page and browser.

So, here’s how you clear up the mess caused by toolbars:

#1: Internet Explorer

Even if this browser will not let a toolbar run automatically, this can happen especially when you’re hardly paying any attention. But to make sure you get rid of them, click on the cog in the upper right-hand corner and select Manage Add-Ons. You’ll see a new window open with the toolbars installed. Highlight the ones you don’t like and click the Disable button.

#2: Google Chrome

With Google planning to ban all toolbars by June this year, it’s pretty clear that this browser prefers browsers ever lesser than the other two. But just in case you install a toolbar, all you have to do is select the menu icon at the top-right hand corner. Select Extensions in the left-hand navigation column. Scroll down until you find the toolbar you are looking for and uncheck the Enabled checkbox or even click the trash icon.

#3: Mozilla Firefox

It’s even more difficult to accidentally enable a toolbar in Firefox but it does happen. So, for this, click on the orange button at the top right corner of your screen and select Add-ons. In the navigation column that opens on the left-hand side, select Extensions. Find the toolbar that you would like to remove and click Disable. Make sure you restart your browser as soon as you have disabled all toolbars that you would like to.

Is Someone Looking Around Your Gmail Account? Here’s How You Can Find Out…

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Almost everyone’s Gmail account has some sensitive information be it pictures that you’d like to keep private, emails from family members and friends or even account information of the numerous services that you use.

But what if someone has been looking around? Can you find out who it is?

Yes, Google has provided its users with tools just to do this.

For starters, go to the bottom of our screen after opening your Gmail account, to the link that says ‘Details’. It is located at the lower-right corner of your screen, to be exact.

When you click this link, you’ll find out the last 10 times someone logged into your account, how they accessed it (browser, email app etc.), when they did as well as the IP address.

So, once you review this list, and find something suspicious, you can change your email password immediately.

Another method that has become popular is the two-factor authentication method. Activate this for your Google account, and enjoy another layer of protection as a result.

As for knowing your IP address, there’s no need to feel bad if you do not know what your IP address is. All you have to do is visit the website WhatismyIP.com at locations where you use your computer the most.

This could be at home, work or even that coffee shop that you visit regularly. Another thing to do is to check for your IP address when you are connecting to a new network. Storing all these IP addresses in a text document will come in handy later.

4 Windows Features That Can Be Replaced with Free (and better) Alternatives

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There’s no doubt that Windows has a number of built-in features that are great and a number of them that aren’t up to the mark.

Thankfully, there are a number of free alternatives that can be used to replace the ones that aren’t so great.

So, here is a list of 4 Windows features that can replaced with better ones:

#1: Search

While Search in Windows 8 is fast and well-integrated with the Start Screen. Unfortunately, it can’t find documents or executables. Which means that you will have to look for these files using File Explorer search. Instead, try using a search utility called “Everything”.

#2: File Transfer

One of the simplest things that you can do in Windows 7 is carry out file transfers. However, it’s just as frustrating too because they take like forever. So instead of wasting an afternoon transferring files, try using a utility such as TeraCopy which will move your files faster and will avoid failed transfers too.

#3: Screenshots

By pressing Win-PrtScn, one can easily get a screenshot in Windows 8. However, what must you do if you need a number of screenshots in the process?

Truth be told, there are a number of options that are available to help you with this simple task. But most experts recommend Greenshot that allows you to do a number of things with the screenshots taken.

#4: Notepad

If there’s a reason why people use Notepad, it is for its simplicity. Doesn’t it make sense to use Word if you wanted something more complex. In other words, more features? This is where Notepad++ comes in. Some of these include spell check, edit a number of files at once as well as a customizable user interface.