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Friday, March 28, 2014

Dynamic facade "Kiefer technic showroom"


Dynamic facade "Kiefer technic showroom"

Windows XP End of Support Guide Microsoft support for Windows XP ends on April 8th, 2014


Microsoft support for Windows XP officially ends on April 8th, 2014. Are you ready to see this venerable client OS ride off into the sunset?
If you're facing a migration off of Windows XP, read our handy guide for some tips and tricks on how to make it a successful transition. ...
Microsoft support for Windows XP ends on April 8th, 2014. Are you ready for the end? This helpful guide should help you survive the transition.

The April 8th, 2014 end of support deadline for Windows XP is rapidly approaching. As I’m writing this, Net Market Share is reporting that Windows XP in the month of February, 2014, still had a sizable 29.53% share of the overall desktop PC market. While most everyone reading this would agree that Windows XP is long overdue for replacement, the reasons why some IT departments aren’t upgrading to Windows XP are many and varied.

Windows XP was officially released on October 25th, 2001. That makes Windows XP more than 12 years old, and Microsoft is keen to get customers — both business users and consumers — off of Windows XP and migrated on to newer OSes, so much so that it's currently offering a $100 rebate to consumers who have Windows XP and purchase a new PC running Windows 8.1 from a Microsoft retail or online store. Microsoft has also launched a website for the computing masses that tells them if they're running Windows XP called  AmIRunningXP.com. The fact that Microsoft even needs a website designed to tell users what OS the PC they're sitting in front of is running underscores the immense marketing and communication challenges Microsoft has to surmount in order to get consumers migrated off of Windows XP.
In order to provide some additional information on the topic I’ve decided to put together a guide that serves as a resource for the Windows XP end of support deadline, and what that means for Petri IT Knowledgebase readers. I'll be updating this article with new links and information over time, so bookmark this page and check back often for updates.  

What is Windows XP end of support?

This is the date that Microsoft has selected when all technical support and security patches for Windows XP will end. After this date, Windows XP won't be supported unless you enter into a custom support agreement (CSA) with Microsoft to cover the gap between your migration off of Windows XP and onto a newer OS. A CSA requires a premier services agreement, and a post by a Microsoft employee on TechNet mentioned that a CSA could provide "...critical security updates, technical assistance and continued support for the product after April 8th." A story by The Register indicated that the support cost for a CSA could be as high as $200 per machine running Windows XP, and Petri It Knowledgebase Contributing Editor Aidan Finn says that "...the Irish government HSE (health service) and the UK NHS (national health service) have signed agreements. As far as I know [those agreements] start at $1 million and go up from there." So in a nutshell, a CSA would likely be considered only by the largest enterprises who are migrating from Windows XP to a newer OS and whose migration extends past the April 8th, 2014 deadline.

When does Windows XP support end?

On April 8th, 2014. It’s also important to note that Office 2003 support ends on the same date. While Microsoft has announced that is will extend anti-malware protection for Windows XP, the message is clear: Microsoft will no longer be supporting Windows XP, which means that bugs, glitches, and other vulnerabilities will remain perpetually unfixed.

Why is Microsoft so eager to get people off Windows XP?

There are several reasons that Microsoft wants people to migrate off Windows XP, but the biggest is that Windows XP is more than 12 years old, and vast improvements have been made over the years in OS design and development. Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8.1 all offer significant upgrades over Windows XP, particularly in the areas of OS security and performance. More cynical system administrators and some critics have pointed to Microsoft’s struggles with Windows 8.1 adoption among both enterprises and consumers, and see Microsoft’s desire to get people to migrate onto their latest client OS in more financial terms. While I personally favor the first reason, there’s no doubt that Microsoft is also seeing Windows XP end of support as a chance to boost the fortunes of Windows 8.1. 
 

Does this mean Windows XP will stop working on April 8th, 2014?

Windows XP will continue to function normally after the end of support date, although there does seem to be a fair amount of mis-information on the Internet about this. For example, Google search volumes for "Windows XP end of life" outnumber "Windows XP end of support" by a fair amount.

Will Windows XP still get security updates?

Microsoft has said that Windows XP will no longer be updated or patched, and that includes security updates. That said, Microsoft has extended anti-malware protection for Windows XP up to July 14, 2015. And see my note about CSA agreements with Microsoft earlier in this post.

How many computers are still running Windows XP?

As stated earlier, data from Net Market Share indicates there were more than 29% of PCs throughout the world still running  various editions of the Windows XP operating system in February 2014. The Register has reported that more than 500 million PCs are still running Windows XP, which is worrisome from a global IT security perspective.

Why aren’t people migrating off Windows XP?

There are many reasons why some consumers and businesses haven’t migrated off of Windows XP, and I’ll list some of them below.
  • Existing PCs are too old to run newer OSes
  • Limited IT budget for upgrade
  • Limited budget for user training for Windows 8.1
  • Have business-critical applications that require Windows XP and/or Internet Explorer 6
  • Windows XP meets their existing IT needs

What are the risks of sticking with Windows XP?

In operating system terms, Windows XP is a dinosaur. It was designed in an era when smartphones, tablets, streaming media, and many modern technological conveniences simply didn't exist. Even the world wide web was less then a decade old when Windows XP arrived on the scene, so Windows XP simply wasn't designed to take full advantage of all those advancements. Perhaps most importantly, Windows XP will no longer be patched or updated. In the words of Tim Rains, director of Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing Group, running "...Windows XP when the product is obsolete (after support ends), will increase the risk of technology being affected by cybercriminals attempting to do harm." Rains makes a compelling argument on the security front for consumers and admins alike to get off of Windows XP onto a newer OS. Petri contributor Richard Hicks has put together a nice summary of the new security features in Windows 8.1 for those interested in moving to that OS, and even Windows 7 offers a vast improvement over Windows XP on the security front.
 

How do I upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7?

We’ve published a number of how-to articles that cover the upgrade process from Windows XP to Windows 7, so I’ll refer you to the articles listed below.

How do I migrate from Windows XP to Windows 8?

We’re working on a number of articles that show how you can upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 8.1, and we’ll be posting them here soon. 

If I’m unable to migrate off of Windows XP, what are my options?

As mentioned previously, Windows XP will still continue to work normally after the end of support date passes. I’ve written a separate article that offers some tips and advice on what to do if you’ve decided to stick with Windows XP. Have any questions about Windows XP end of support you'd like us to answer in this article, or would like to comment on why you're not migrating off Windows XP? Feel free to add a comment to this blog post or reach out to me on Twitter or Google+ (see below for contact details).

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Thursday, March 27, 2014

Hotels Play Finders Keepers with Lost Smartphones and Laptops

Did you lose a laptop or smartphone at the hotel? It's theirs now, and the data too. http://bit.ly/1fj38MA

Did you lose a laptop or smartphone at the hotel? It's theirs now, and the data too.

Hotels Play Finders Keepers with Lost Smartphones and Laptops

Security professionals are human, no different from anybody else. They're just as likely to check out of a hotel without remembering a smartphone charging in the bathroom, or a laptop in the closet. What happens to those abandoned devices? After the recent RSA Conference in San Francisco, Darren Leroux, Senior Director of Product Marketing at WinMagic, decided to find out.

Finders Keepers
After the attendees had scattered to their homes around the world, Leroux called 33 hotels in the area to ask about their policies regarding lost devices. He also asked whether any RSA attendees had left devices behind. Over half of those who responded reported a "finders keepers" policy. After allowing a reasonable time for the owner to lay claim, they eventually hand over the device to the person who found it.

Another quarter reported a policy of donating unclaimed devices to charity. On a positive note, none of the hotels noticed more lost devices than normal during the conference. You can read Leroux's full blog post here.
Losers Weepers
So you lost your laptop at a conference. It probably belonged to the company anyway. You may get a reprimand, but you probably won't have to pay for it. No problem, right?

Actually, there's a big problem, possibly a huge problem, because whoever gets your laptop gets all the data that's on it. Leroux reported that exactly one of the surveyed hotels reported a policy of erasing the contents of a found device before handing it over.
I'm sure most businesses require user accounts on company-owned laptops to be password-protected. However, an employee who has administrator privilege can easily set up automatic login. If you've done that for convenience, you've totally handed over your data to the finder. Even if your account is password-protected, your data is still at risk.
If it was a personal device or laptop you lost, you're on the hook for the replacement cost. You may not have lost corporate secrets, but having some stranger paw through your personal information is creepy. Identity theft? Yeah, that could happen.

Bad Habits
Last month I spoke with Leroux at the RSA Conference concerning another survey. Briefly, the survey showed that employees who don't take care of security at home carry those lax habits into the workplace.

What to do? Well, WinMagic does have a line of products aimed at securing sensitive information. Whole drive encryption combined with enforced backups can also work. And with an antitheft tool like LoJack for Laptops you can remotely wipe data from a lost laptop, and maybe even recover it.
LoJack for Laptops can help protect your personal laptop, too. You might also consider moving your important documents to the cloud and protecting them with a cloud encryption tool like DataLocker SkyCrypt. Data Discover 7.5 will scour your laptop for exposed personal information and help you encrypt, delete, or redact it.

Smartphones Too
Smartphones are even easier to lose than laptops, of course. According to our Mobile Security Analyst Max Eddy, Google's free Android Device Manager is a great product; Bitdefender Anti-Theft is our Editors' Choice in this category. Many general purpose mobile security packages, including those from Bitdefender and Avast include powerful antitheft components.

Got an iOS device? You already have built-in protection of Find My iPhone, but you have to activate it or it won't help. And security enhancements in iOS 7 let you keep the device locked to your account even after a wipe.
People aren't perfect. Laptops (and smartphones) do get lost. But with a little preparation you can ensure that the loss of a device doesn't cause a data disaster.

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

How A 34-Year-Old With No Experience In Food Science Convinced Investors To Give Him $30 Million To Make Eggs Obsolete

How A 34-Year-Old With No Experience In Food Science Convinced Investors To Give Him $30 Million To Make Eggs Obsolete
Jay Yarow

Josh Tetrick Headshot
Josh Tetrick Headshot

Hampton Creek

Hampton Creek, a startup that's creating plant-based alternatives to eggs, announced $23 million in funding last month.

That brings the total funding to $30 million from investors. Asia's richest man, Li-Ka Shing, is an investor. As is the world's richest man, Bill Gates. It also has investment from Yahoo founder Jerry Yang, Khosla Ventures, and the Founders Fund.

Today, the company announced that its egg-free mayo is being sold in Costco in Colorado.

The man behind the company is 34-year-old Josh Tetrick. This is his first big company.

Prior to founding Hampton Creek, he was working for the U.N. in sub-Saharan Africa. He says he felt frustrated by his work because it was slow moving, and at times corrupt.

He was talking about his work with his best friend one day. His friend could hear his frustration. Together, they started talking about what Tetrick could do instead. Eventually, they ended up talking about the egg industry. From there, they landed on the idea of using plants to replace eggs.

Tetrick started reaching out to friends and friends of friends. Eventually he hooked up with some chefs to make a proof of concept. From there, he raised a seed round of funding. Then, he started hiring biochemists and food scientists. In a year and a half he had figured out how to make mayo and cookie dough that didn't need eggs.

When he went to raise $23 million last year, he used the following pitch deck. We got him on the phone to explain the deck, and run through the pitch that landed him millions.

Here's how a first-time entrepreneur got the richest men in the world to open their wallets.
 

Click here to see the Hampton Creek pitch deck »


How To Get Email Addresses From Visitors And Increase Conversion Rate

How to get email addresses 

How To Get Email Addresses From Visitors And Increase Conversion Rate

 You’ve worked hard on your blog and learned how to carefully create content that caters to your visitor’s wants and needs.
You’ve planned and targeted your advertising so that you have the best reach possible, and now your blog is getting a ton of traffic.
Despite all of that great blog traffic, nobody is buying your products.
What happened?
How do you convert blog visitors into followers and buyers?

Content May be King, but Information is Supreme
Think about your own web surfing habits.
How many websites does Google bring up when you are searching for a topic? You could be looking at tens of thousands to millions of individual websites. Each one of them tends to blur into the other, after a while.
How do you make sure that you are seen and remembered by your visitors? And, more importantly, how do you turn them into potential customers?
Successful online business owners know that being aware of who visits their website is where the money can be found. If you know who is visiting you and taking advantage of the info found on your blog, you can create products and offers that are tailored to them and their needs.

If you don’t know who your visitors are, you are leaving money on the table.
You need to collect email addresses from them.
This is where you need a traffic game plan.
Why do you spend time and money trying to get people to visit your website?
You drive traffic to your website to find new customers and followers.
There is no point in driving traffic to your website, if you don’t have a way to make sure they will come back.

Here’s the truth:
If you are spending time driving traffic to your blog, without having a clear plan to collect email addresses, you are wasting time and losing money.
When a visitor lands on your blog, what do you want them to do?
Do you tell them?
Most people will gladly do as you ask, but they have to know what you want first. They are blog readers, not mind readers.
You want their information, specifically their email address. The email address is key. Name and email is even better, but without the email the name is useless.
You want them to tell you how to get in touch with them, so that they can be first to hear about your new blog posts, webinars, and special deals.
Marketers spend millions every year trying to gather this data, so that they can make sales projections and advertising campaigns. It can be very expensive to get this information, but incredibly worthwhile.
We’ll tell you how to get it for free.

The Traffic Game Plan

Get Their Email Before They Leave Your Site!
That is your whole game plan, right there. You want to learn how to get email addresses for every person who visits your blog.
Here’s why:

• It’s easier to contact them when you have something valuable to offer. Instead of having to purchase ad space or post anywhere and everywhere, you have an interested list of people who want to hear from you. They have specifically said that you CAN send them updates, sales and special events.

• It builds trust. As you send specially curated information and offers to your list, they will begin to trust you and the items you recommend. They will become customers and recommend you and your products to their family, friends and co-workers.

• It builds your business. If you want to make money online, you need to create a laser-focused list. The larger your list, the more people that you can sell to.
A large email list also provides gravitas to your business and makes you more appealing for connecting with other businesses. It will provide you with more opportunities for promotion to other people’s lists and ultimately grow your business.
But in order to do that, you’ll have to have a traffic game plan that navigates your visitors to a page where they can give you their email address.

Why is it so important to get email addresses in addition to social media followers?
Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are great for gaining and growing your audience and for getting traffic. It’s just as important to have those followers, for social proof of your success and popularity, but an email address gives you a targeted way to reach them with special offers and items that need quick action.
You are also able to contact your email list anytime you wish, and can be certain that it won’t be lost in the social media chatter.

But how do I get email addresses from casual visitors?
Sounds too easy, right?
How do you convince people to give you their email address? Most people only give them out if absolutely necessary, since they don’t want their inbox to be flooded with spam and emails about things they don’t care about.
First and foremost, tell them exactly how you will use the information. If you will send them weekly emails and special announcements, tell them. If you will send things out daily, and lend your list to others, you must let them know that as well.
Surprise spam after signing up for an email list is a trust killer. It’s made me unsubscribe from people who were offering good information, but couldn’t trust them to do what they said they were going to do.
If they can’t trust you with their email address, how can they trust you with their money?
Once you have determined and stated how you will use their information, then you can sweeten the pot with a special offer.

Here is how to get email addresses:
• Offer a free gift in exchange for signing up for your email list. You can learn how to set up killer lead gen forms or use a pop-up on your website. Keep in mind that there are many different items that you can offer as a freebie.
However, you need to make sure that the item has a real value to your visitor. If they see how you can help them, they are more likely to reach out to you when it’s time to make a purchase. Here are a few popular items:
• A special report or whitepaper on a certain segment of your business, such as “The Top 5 Ways That >blank< Do Wrong…” Keep the title pithy and intriguing, and make sure that the report offers real, solid information and is not just a sales pitch.
• A video lecture of you teaching on your subject. Make the video short and informative.
• An interview with a top expert in your field. If you are writing blogs, you are most likely interviewing people for content. Record both audio and video, and repurpose them as bonuses and gifts.

• A download that will help your visitor do their business. A slide template, images that they can use, or recipes are just a few items that could be offered.

• Access to an online resource. Setting up a private Facebook group or membership site that offers information and fellowship is a great gift. Just keep it truly helpful and draw people to you through your great advice and information.

• Run a Contest. Tools like Contest Domination make it easy to run contests and share content with your audience and their friends. With the right prize, you can build excitement around your brand and build your list quickly and easily.
Announcing the winner during a live webinar or Google Hangout guarantees you an audience and further establishes you as an expert in your field. You can lead people to your landing page, where they can sign up for your free gift and mailing list.

• Do a Joint Venture. Joint venture webinars and promotions are great ways to introduce yourself and your brand to other lists. There are countless resources on JV’s, but basically you build relationships with other businesses, and you both agree to send an email to your lists, introducing the other person and their products.
This is another area where having a large list is a must. It makes you a far more attractive partner to potential joint ventures. This is for businesses that are further along.
The most important part is to make sure you are using a process that fits your brand and your customer. Remember, whatever you choose to offer your visitor, you must make it easy for them to understand the offer and to take advantage of it, speak to their needs.
A confused visitor will not opt-in and they will not buy from you.
You must tell them where to go and what to do.

And for that, you need a landing page.
Want to learn more about creating your traffic game plan, landing pages and get access to special tools to help you build traffic and increase sales using your blog?
Check out this informative video that blows it wide open.

Your Turn
Share a comment or question about this article below.

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Secrets To Starting A Blog That Makes Money



starting a blog to make money

Secrets To Starting A Blog That Makes Money

We’ve all heard stories of people making big bucks through blogging.
Cake Wrecks, People of Walmart, Digital Photography School, the Art of Manliness, and Grumpy Cat are just a few of the most popular blogs that bring in 5 and 6 figure incomes for their creators.
Starting a blog that makes money from scratch seems easy, right?
Write about something you enjoy, and then let the money pour in? It’s not quite that simple. In order to monetize your blog, you have to focus your mindset and your efforts.
What all of those blogs have in common is a niche audience. They chose the audience BEFORE they started the blog.
They focus on one particular subject, and ONLY one, and create engaging and informative content for that audience. It seems easy enough, but 90% of bloggers get that wrong.
If you can’t tell me in less than 10 seconds who your audience is and what their needs are, you don’t know your audience well enough.
If you don’t know your audience, you won’t be able to attract the right people to your blog and make money.
If you don’t attract the right people, you won’t sell anything.
Are you able to effectively and concisely answer the following three questions? Once you’ve answered these, you will be primed and ready to learn how to make a six figure income from your blog.
1) Do You Have a Narrow, Well-defined Niche?
Most blogs don’t make money because they try to appeal to everyone, and end up appealing to no one.
Knowing where to start a blog is just as important as longer-term planning. The very first key to starting a blog that makes money is to treat that blog like a business.
Take your business and specialize it.
By focusing on and appealing to a very narrow audience, there is a chance for deeper money-making relationships. Branch out when you’ve got money in the bank.
Every successful company started out with a narrow niche. Facebook, for example, started with the college market. The service rapidly grew because people loved the inter connectivity, but it began on the very small scale.
“The key to success is to be a one-trick pony, but you have to do that trick very, very well.”
When you are starting a blog that makes money, you have to specialize.
You have to repeatedly and consistently provide information that your audience really wants.
Specialization makes it easier to create content and discover your audience.
Let’s say that you want to write about gardening…
Gardening is a huge niche, you can talk about gardening tools, when to plant, flower types, herbs, vegetables, commercial industries, and anything else having to do with plants. Unless you quickly learn how to outsource and scale your content production, you’re going to be overwhelmed.
Narrow the focus..
Instead of the general field of gardening, think about the more specialized aspects that you can bring to the table.
Maybe you have a tiny apartment and have transformed it into a food production facility. This blog might look at irrigation and other challenges that you face when growing a garden in a tiny space.
From there, you have access to an audience who’s just like you. They might live in apartments or just tiny houses. They’d be interested to know what plants that you could grow in a tiny place. You might talk with them about microgreens or odd surfaces that are just perfect for gardening You might choose to create a book or an easy step by step kit that helps them grow indoors.
By focusing your attention, you will gain more readers and more satisfied followers along with potential buyers.
2) Do You Know Exactly Who Your Target Market Is?
So you have a niche for your blog, but do you know who your target is?
Who is this person? Are they male or female? What kind of jobs do they have? What do they value? What is their most urgent pain point- the thing that gives them the most trouble and keeps them from chasing their dreams?
Go deep and get detailed as you sketch this person out. Give them a name if it helps you to see them more clearly. Research and understand what motivates them.
If you truly know your audience, you will be able to give them what they want and what they need. An audience that knows they can trust you will purchase from you.
3) Do You Write Relevant Content that Attracts Your Target Market?
Super-niche blog topic? Done. Deep and full understanding of your audience and their needs and wants? Got that.
Perfect. Now, let’s move on to content creation.
If your content isn’t valuable to your readers, it shouldn’t be on your blog.
That’s it. Plain and simple.
But not really. Your content has to also:
• Establish you as an authority in your niche
• Attract your reader’s attention and invest them in your blog
• Prepare them to purchase your products

So, how do you make this magic content?
There are certain types of content that do all of the above, and do it effectively.
• Result Oriented Stories: Everyone loves to hear about people’s lives changing for the better. Share with your tribe the real, concrete ways that you, your product or your service has improved someone’s life, performance, health or finances.
This does two things for your audience: builds trust and develops social proof.
• Controversy: There’s always something going on, that people are looking for more data and more opinions on. Within your niche, take a stand on those issues.
Not only will your content get attention, but you will gain status as an expert, simply for giving an opinion. There are a lot of opinions out there about how to start a blog that makes money, and some people think my ways are completely wrong. I think that they’re wrong, as I’m making quite a comfortable living off this blog.
• Research Articles: People are overloaded with information. There are so many different voices, telling so many different things, and so many different places to hear details and figures that may or may not matter.
If you can help them sort through the clutter with a clearly written and fairly balanced article, your readers will trust your judgment and your recommendations when it comes time to make a purchase.
• Topical Content: Tie your blog’s niche to things that are happening in society at large. News stories, movies and TV, celebrities, current events and internet memes are just a few items that you can relate to your content.
Why should you do this?
Current readers will enjoy the content and share it with friends and family, adding social media buzz to your blog. In addition, it will rank higher on search engines and bring new traffic.
Make sure, though, that the timely news content won’t offend large groups of people. It might cause publicity problems to, say, make light of natural disasters and war.
4) Do You Promote YOUR Content to Bring Traffic to YOUR Blogs?
Great content doesn’t read itself, and potential followers can’t read your blog if they can’t find it. This is one of the key stumbling blocks between starting a blog and starting a blog that makes money.
You need to promote your content to get as many people as possible to your page. The more people who see your page, the more potential buyers you have for your products and services.
All too often, bloggers will work so hard on their content and then just post it, assuming that people will just be drawn by the quality of it. The world doesn’t work that way.
To generate the kind of traffic you want, you need to learn how to promote your blog.
“But, I don’t have a lot of money for advertising!”
I gotcha..
Here are FIVE low-cost ways to promote your content online:
• Social Media: Your followers are already on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Plus, Instagram and Pinterest. Let them know that you have new content to read and share with friends, family and colleagues.
Not into the idea of spending all day posting updates? Use HootSuite to plan posts in advance, or hire a virtual assistant to take care of those details for you.
• Bookmarking Sites: Sites like Digg and StumbleUpon reach millions of people every day, who are looking for specific topics. Submit your posts and you can reach a whole new and different crowd with every submission.
WordPress users can take advantage of plugins, like Only Wire and Add To Any, that automatically send new content to multiple bookmarking sites the very instant that it’s published.
• Email: You have carefully cultivated an email list of people who want to hear from YOU! Why not oblige them by sending out an email with new articles and requests for feedback, topics to write about, and names of people they would like for you to interview. You don’t need to send out anything fancy, just something simple on a regular basis.
• Forum and Blog Commenting: You are an expert, so take your knowledge out into the field. Visit blogs related to your niche and leave informative comments on articles, with a link back to your post. Make sure you say something worthwhile, otherwise people may dismiss you as a spammer.
• RSS Feed Syndication: RSS directories take content from all over the internet and make it available in one easy to access place for readers. Submit your blog feed to hundreds of RSS directories, and instantly gain new visitors.
When you focus on your niche and really pay attention to their needs, you can create a six figure income just from blogging!
Your Turn:
Is there anything that I’ve missed? Do you have some easy ways of promotion that I’ve not talked about? Tell me in the comments!