Google Earth allows you to explore the world right at the tip of your fingers, at your own comfort.
Google Earth is the three-dimensional planetary browser that shows our entire planet (well, minus a few top-secret military bases) in satellite imagery and aerial photos. It should not be confused with Google Maps, as these are two separate software.
Google Earth allows you to discover hundreds of 3D places without leaving the comfort of your seat. It’s like having a virtual tour of places you want to visit; whether you’re feeling nostalgic about seeing your hometown or simply wanted to explore where you want to travel next, Google Earth can get the whole world in your hands.
How Does Google Earth Collect Images?
The images you see on Google Earth are collected over time from providers and platforms. You can see images in street view, aerial and 3D. However, these images are not in real time, so it is not possible to see live changes.
Some images show a single acquisition date, while some show a range of dates taken over days or months. If you are looking to find more information about when the image was collected, it is best to contact the original image providers as Google is not able to provide more information about the images aside from what it currently shows.
How Often Does Google Earth Update?
According to the Google Earth blog, Google Earth updates about once a month. However, this doesn’t mean that every image is updated once a month – far from it. In fact, the average map data is between one and three years old.
What Does Google Earth Update?
Ah, there’s the rub. If you’re anxiously awaiting an update to your home town, don’t assume it will come around in Google’s next set of changes. Google does not update the entire map in each go. Instead, they update pieces of the map. When we say pieces, we mean small pieces. A single Google Earth update might contain a handful of cities or states. When Google releases an update, they also release a KLM file that outlines the updated regions in red, thereby letting everyone know what’s been changed and what’s still waiting on a refresher.
Why Doesn’t Google Earth Update Continuously?
As we’ve already mentioned, Google Earth uses a combination of satellite images and aerial photographs. Both of these take time and aerial photographs in particular are expensive to acquire. Google would have to have hired pilots traversing the globe all of the time to keep up with potential changes.
Instead, Google opts for a compromise. They strive to keep each area of the globe within 3 years of age. Although, they are likely to target high-density population areas more frequently. So if you’re town had an update last year and you’re still waiting to see the new stadium that was built in the past 6 months, you might be waiting a while.
Will Google Earth Update Imagery Upon Request?
Unless you’re a governing body of some kind that has compiled its own package of aerial images to share with Google, they are unlikely to heed a request for an update. Google has a system in place for keeping the images as current as reasonably possible. If they entertained every request, they’re schedule would crumble. That being said, if you’re disappointed with your Google Earth view and are hungry for more up to date data, it’s possible there is more up to date data available and you’re just not looking at it.
This may sound strange, but check “historical” imagery to catch some more recent shots. Google doesn’t always put the most up to date imagery in the main part of the app. Sometimes they put slightly older images in the main part and put the up to date images in historical imagery. Sometimes slightly older images are considered more accurate as in the case of post-Katrina New Orleans. Google had updated the city right after the disaster. They later restored images of the city from before the disaster. These images were considered more “accurate” as the city had since started rebuilding and the devastation shown just after the floods was actually a less useful depiction than prior images. Of course, Google changed the images back after some backlash, but their principle stands. Always check historical images for something more up to date.
Over the last decade, mechanical keyboards have become more popular for gamers and writers moved to wireless technology, keyboards—especially mechanical keyboards—have largely remained wired affairs.
When you’re shopping for any keyboard, it’s important to look at the design, style, and appearance, the switch style used for typing, and the price tag associated with the hardware.
With wireless keyboards, you also have to consider the battery life of the unit, how responsive the wireless technology is between the keyboard and your computer, and of course, whether it’s worth the increase in price over traditional keyboards. So allow us to break it down for you in one simple, easy-to-follow guide. These are the best wireless mechanical keyboards available in 2020.
If you’re an avid user of Instagram, you may wonder “Is there a way to see who views my Instagram posts?” Do you want to know who has been checking out your Instagram stories? Do you think you might have a stalker on Instagram? Do you want to see which posts work best for your audience by seeing who is visiting your Instagram feed the most so you can cater your stories to them?
You’ll be happy to know that you can see who has been looking at your Instagram, and this TechJunkie tutorial will show you how!
Can You See Who Looks At Your Instagram?
Unless someone is commenting, liking, or sharing your posts there is no way to tell who is viewing your posts within Instagram. Adding to this, there is no way to see who is viewing your profile unless they try to connect with you.
Instagram does not track who is viewing what content, nor do they track how often someone visits a profile or watches an Instagram story. Similar to Facebook, you won’t be able to see WHO views your profile and posted content.
Though some might think this would be a little intrusive on people’s privacy, others would find this type of feature immensely helpful. Instagram tries to balance privacy and freedom for all users.
This means that you have the option to set your account to private, block users, and remove unwanted followers while giving others the freedom to anonymously browse content.
Even without seeing who is viewing your content and profile, there are a few ways to gain insight into certain features of the application.
Can You See Who Views Your Instagram Story?
While you can’t see who views your profile or posts, you can see who watches your Instagram Stories.
All you need to do is navigate to your Story, which you can do by clicking your profile icon at the top left of your screen. Once you open your Story, swipe up and you’ll be able to see how many people have watched your story and who these users are. You can scroll down to see all the people who have viewed your Story.
While this only applies to Stories, it can give you a decent idea of who is paying attention to your posts.
If you’re wondering who is viewing your story multiple times there is a theory about this. Instagram has provided no official word about how they order the viewers on the list we’ve discussed above. This theory states that those who appear at the top are those who have viewed your content the most.
Instagram uses algorithms to connect you with content that appeals to your interests giving this theory some plausibility, but it hasn’t been proven.
Making a Private Instagram Account
If you’re concerned about someone who’s obsessively checking your content on Instagram, you can limit these unwelcome views by changing your settings to a more private mode. Doing this will limit who can see your Instagram profile and any posts, comments, or updates.
By visiting the settings on Instagram you can toggle the privacy setting to “Private.” This means that your content is only available for viewing to your followers – the ones you’ve accepted as trusted viewers.
Although this doesn’t help you understand who your viewers are on Instagram, it does give you the freedom to keep your content secure.
Seeing Who Follows You On Instagram
Another insightful tool you have is checking who is following your Instagram account. Although this doesn’t let you know who is viewing your profile or posts the most, this will let you know who is able to see your content if your account is set to private.
To check your Instagram followers:
Tap on the profile icon located in the bottom right-hand corner of the app
At the top of this page tap ‘Following’
Scroll through the list to see who is following your account
If you’d like to remove someone simply tap “Remove” next to their username, tap remove again to confirm. If you have privacy concerns, this is another way to ensure those viewing your Instagram content are doing so with your permission and trust.
Instagram Business Account Reporting
Instagram provides some analytic tools to business accounts to help them identify audiences and better promote their company or products on Instagram. Similar to individual accounts, this does not tell you WHO is viewing your account. This tool is used to help you understand how well your business account is doing, not give you insight into specific Instagram users’ activity.
A business account will let you know how many views you’re Instagram account is getting. If you’d like to migrate to a business account, we have the details here:
Open Instagram and select the Menu in the upper right
Tap Settings
Then tap Account
Tap Switch to Professional Account
Follow the prompts to complete your Instagram Professional set up
Instagram may or may not verify your business before switching your account. They may check it and only let you switch if you have a business email. Feedback is mixed with some switchers saying their account was changed overnight with no checks and others saying they received an email at their business address telling them the account had been switched.
Wait at least seven days for data to accumulate within your Instagram account. Then:
Look at the top of your Instagram profile at the views counter.
Select that counter to see when most people visited.
Select Insights and Audience
Look at Followers to see what time of day the most people visited your Instagram.
Select a post you uploaded after you converted to a professional (business) account.
Check the small bookmark icon to see how many people screenshotted it.
Using Third-Party Apps To See Who Views Your Instagram The Most
You may wonder if there are third-party application that provides insight into your Instagram viewers. We have explored several apps that make these claims and ultimately it seems that the risk is greater than any possible benefit.
Third-party applications are downloads on your phone, computer, or tablet that gain access to your personal and private information. This can lead to hacks and malware.
Some applications want you to provide your Instagram login rather than just linking your account. Linking allows third-party apps to access certain datapoints from your account.
Others request you give your password to it to allow it to access the same data. It stands to reason that you should never, ever provide your Instagram password to any app, however good it says it is.
Since the shutdown of Putlocker, you may be looking for a new online site to stream movies. With so many available, which are the best ones? We’ve compiled a list of streaming sites that are available and allow you to stream the movies you love for free.
In this article, we’ll go over 11 great, secure, and reliable alternatives to Putlocker for streaming movies and TV shows online.
Alternatives to Putlocker: Websites
Here are our picks for the best online alternatives to Putlocker.
Popcorn Time
Popcorn Time is one of those streaming services that have survived the times. The developers have worked tirelessly to ensure that Popcorn Time is a seamless, bug-free experience.
This website is also in the form of a downloadable application which is a major advantage for Popcorn Time.
Offering free tv shows and movies, you can use an Amazon Firestick, Android device, or computer to stream content on Popcorn Time. With a user-friendly interface and wide selection of content, Popcorn Time is a great place to start if you’re new to online streaming content.
We love this service because of the newly released content. If you’re looking for straight-to-DVD or blockbuster titles, Popcorn Time won’t disappoint.
Popcornflix
If you love old movies Popcornflix is the site for you! Viewing on the website or as a downloadable app, Popcornflix gives you instant access to hundreds of great movies for free. We love Popcornflix because you don’t have to create an account, visit the website and start watching.
It’s simple to use and offers great content. As an alternative to Putlocker, Popcornflix offers great content across multiple platforms.
Solar Movie
Solar Movie is another well-regarded streaming site. The site is clean, fast, and easy to use. It doesn’t have the slickest interface in the world, but it makes short work of finding movies and TV shows to watch. Both have their own category, and there is also a useful search function should you need it.
Streaming is seamless, too. Highlight a title, and a popup appears, select “Watch,” and a new screen shows with the title front and center. As long as your internet connection is sufficiently fast to handle the quality, Solar Movie streams flawlessly.
FMovies
FMovies is a lot like Solar Movie but has a slick interface. It also seems to contain many more Hollywood titles and mainstream TV shows. The categorization is better at FMovies, and the overall browsing experience is better.
To play a movie or TV show, click one to be taken to the movie page. The movie should begin playing automatically. Based on our experience, after selecting a title; a pop-up may appear. Leave it be for a moment and the content will begin to play without you having to do anything else.
123Movies
123Movies has been around for a while, and it’s wildly popular. For its ease of use and great quality, 123Movies is one of our favorites. The website itself is slick and easy to use. It has the usual category selections, and you can even filter by country if you are looking for a foreign film. The collection is extensive and covers most new releases.
Selection is simple: Find a title, select it, and it takes you to its page. The movie will play automatically or after a quick prompt. Media loads smoothly, buffers quickly, and offers HD playback without any fuss.
LosMovies
LosMovies is another popular online streaming site that you might enjoy. Featuring content that new and old, you’ll be excited to know that LosMovies also has a downloadable application.
With a simple and user-friendly interface, you can select from their movie list or filter by the first letter. There’s even a filter for subtitles saving a little extra time looking for the perfect movie. LosMovies doesn’t ask for any personal information and you won’t have to create an account. All in all, this is a great Putlocker alternative.
Alternatives to Putlocker: Apps
If you don’t want to use your browser for movies and TV, you can also use a standalone app on your PC, smartphone, or tablet. In this section, I’ll introduce a few apps that work well for watching movies and shows.
Popcorn Time
The app is available for Android, Windows, Linux, and Mac, and you can download it here. Install the app, find a title, select it, and it plays.
Showbox
Showbox is the Android fork of an older (now dead) app called Moviebox. The idea is the same as all the other apps and services in this article: streaming movies and TV shows at no charge. Showbox requires downloading an APK on your phone, as the official app stores do not support it. You can get the Android version here.
PlayBox HD
PlayBox HD is another alternative that runs on both iPhones and Androids. It works just like Showbox and has a lot of HD content. PlayBox HD has a clean and straightforward UI design, and it streams quickly and without buffering on a good WiFi connection.
Crackle
Crackle is a bit different than most of the sites and apps here; it’s owned by Sony and presents only licensed content, so you don’t need to worry about a VPN. Everything on Crackle is a good quality video, and the app lets you do things like save your favorites and create playlists. Crackle has a clean and straightforward UI, and you can search and sort the shows and movies you want to watch.
Stremio
Stremio, like Sony’s Crackle, is an entirely legitimate service that takes your streams from Amazon, iTunes, Netflix, etc., and collects them all in one place for your convenience. Stremio offers versions for Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, and Android.
The UI looks like most of the other movie apps we’ve discussed and will also work with movies and show video files you already have stored locally.
How Do You Stream Safely?
If you plan to use your Internet connection to download or stream any content for which you are not 100% sure about the copyright status, you should install and run virtual private network (VPN) software.
A correctly-configured VPN essentially makes you anonymous online. It blocks your ISP from being able to tell that you are downloading potentially illegal content.
Some or all of these services or apps may host copyrighted material without the permission of the owners. Any site which either hosts or links to copyrighted material for which it lacks distribution rights are subject to getting taken down by copyright enforcers.
Also, your ISP (Internet Service Provider) may identify that you are streaming copyrighted material, and there could be legal or financial consequences for doing so. TechJunkie assumes no responsibility or liability for the way anyone uses the information presented in this article, which we provide for informational purposes only.
Note that these sites and apps sometimes move from host to host; if you click on a link and find a dead or unresponsive page, try Googling the app or site name to find its latest location.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Isn’t there a new Putlocker APK?
– There certainly is! The APK can be found online but not in the App Store or Google Play Store. Simply follow this link.
Q. Why do I need a VPN?
– A Virtual Private Network keeps your streaming content secure. This means that your internet service provider and others will be unable to track the websites that you visit, including those for streaming movies.
Q. I got a warning when accessing Popcorn Time, is it safe?
– While it’s better to err on the side of caution, many users have stated they have received a warning when accessing Popcorn Time. If this happens you can take safety precautions or use another one of the great online streaming alternatives listed above.
Offering some of the most affordable printers on the market, Brother devices are known for their liability. But as with any other printer, using them may sometimes cause seemingly inexplicable issues.
One such problem is having your printer constantly going offline. Even if you set everything up properly, this issue can occur for a number of reasons. Luckily, there are solutions to help you resolve them.
Reasons for the Offline Status
When trying to print something, it can get annoying if your printer is in the offline mode. This is especially true if you have an important meeting scheduled and can’t print out your talking points.
An offline printer will essentially prevent you from printing anything. Not until you figure out why this happened and how to resolve it. In the sections below you can find some of the common reasons for printers going offline. In addition, you’ll find solutions to help get your printer back online.
1. Dynamic IP Address
One of the most common problems when using a network printer is the constant change of IP address. This happens when your printer uses the default port settings. This will make it work with dynamic IP addresses rather than the static one.
To resolve this issue, follow the steps below:
Click the Windows logo at the lower left corner of your screen.
Start typing “Control Panel” on your keyboard and the Control Panel icon will appear. Click it.
Go to “Devices and Printers”.
Here you should see your printer’s icon. Right-click it.
Select “Printer Properties” from the menu. Make sure you don’t click the usual “Properties” option found at the bottom of the menu.
Click the “Ports” tab.
Here you should see one of the ports checked. This is the one your printer is currently using. It’s usually the “Standard TCP/IP Port”.
Select that port. Of course, make sure you don’t uncheck it.
Now click the “Configure Port…” button.
In the fields “Port Name” and “Printer Name or IP Address” you should enter the IP address your computer uses on this network.
Before you save these settings, just make sure that the “SNMP Status Enabled” option is not checked. This one is known to cause certain issues with Brother printers, so it’s best not to use it.
With all that done, now you can click the “OK” button to confirm your changes.
If you’re not sure how to check what your IP address is, you can do it this way:
Press the Windows button and type “Network”.
From the results list choose “View Your Network Properties”.
Your current network properties will appear.
The entry “IPv4 Address” shows your IP address you can use for the printer as well.
If the dynamic IP address was the issue, this should definitely provide a solution, allowing you to use your Brother printer again.
2. Print Offline in Windows
Another reason for your printer not being online is the “Use Printer Offline” feature in Microsoft Windows 10. This feature allows you to prepare your documents for printing, regardless of whether your printer is available at the moment or not. Although this looks like a useful thing to have, it actually causes a bunch of issues.
Fortunately, sorting these issues is really simple.
Open the “Devices and Printers” menu as described in the previous section.
Right-click your printer’s icon.
Click “See what’s printing”.
Select the “Printer” tab from the top menu.
Uncheck the “Use Printer Offline” option.
This should hopefully bring your printer back online.
3. Antiviruses and Firewalls
You might be the type of person who takes their computer’s security seriously. Unfortunately, certain communications between a computer and printer could appear as a threat. That’s when your antivirus or firewall decides to block off this communication rather than risk the security of your system.
To make sure your antivirus or firewall software isn’t to blame, simply turn them off. If you do so, it’s important to double-check that they aren’t continuing to run in the background.
If your printer still appears offline after this, then it’s almost definitely something else.
4. Driver Issues
Another common occurrence is faulty printer drivers. This issue usually appears when your operating system receives a fresh update. Sometimes, the update just doesn’t handle that specific driver very well. Of course, regardless of these updates, the driver itself may have a faulty code that prevents you from using your printer.
To install the fresh driver for your printer, go to the Brother Support page and download drivers for your printer. Before you proceed with the driver installation, make sure you’ve uninstalled the drivers you’re currently using. To do so, follow the steps below:
Click the Windows button, type “Device Manager”, and hit Enter.
Double-click “Imaging devices” to expand this section.
Right-click the name of your printer.
Click “Uninstall device”.
When asked, make sure you also confirm to delete the current drivers as well.
Once that’s done, follow the instructions on Brother Support website on how to install the new drivers.
Keeping Your Printer Online
Hopefully, one of these solutions solved your issue with the offline Brother printer. If none of them helped, it’s best to contact their customer support to get the right advice. Of course, whatever the issue is, you’ll eventually manage to get your printer back online.
Have you succeeded in getting your printer online? Which of the options worked for you? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Queueing podcasts and songs is handy for creating a playlist you’d like to revisit. But enqueued audio files may quickly pile up and detract from your listening experience.
The silver lining is that you can easily clear the Spotify queue on your iPhone and Android devices. And since you’re using the app UI, the method for both operating systems is the same.
In this write-up, you’ll also learn how to remove surplus songs and podcasts if you use Spotify on your desktop.
Clearing the Spotify Queue on Your iPhone
This action is a walk in the park on your mobile device, but there is a catch. Spotify doesn’t allow you to get rid of the entire queue in one tap. That is, you need to remove each item individually.
Step 1
Launch Spotify and play a podcast or a song. The playback controls and the album artwork should be displayed on the screen.
Then, you need to tap the queue icon. It’s located at the bottom right of the screen and looks like a hamburger icon, with a play button in the upper left corner.
Step 2
Once inside the queue, tap the circle in front of each song you’d like to remove. Afterward, tap the large “REMOVE” button at the bottom of the screen. And voila, you got rid of some enqueued items.
Important Note:
Even though there’s no single “Clear All” button, you can bulk remove audio files from the queue. Just tap on the circle in front of each item and then hit “REMOVE”.
There might be a confirmation pop-up and you tap “REMOVE” or “OK” to finalize the action.
Clearing the Spotify Queue on Your Computer
Unlike the mobile Spotify app, the one on your computer allows you to clear the entire queue in a single click.
Step 1
Launch the app on your PC or Mac, then click the queue icon. It’s located at the bottom right of the screen and looks the same as previously described.
Step 2
Click the “Clear” button above the enqueued songs to remove them from the list. Again, a pop-up might appear to confirm your action.
Things to Know
When you clear the entire queue via the desktop app, the “Clear” button disappears from the menu. And there’s also no button when your queue is empty.
You can also clear individual items from the desktop app. Select and right-click on the song or podcast you wish to remove and choose “Remove from Queue” in the pop-up menu.
How to Add Tracks to the Queue?
Adding tracks to your queue is super simple, and the method isn’t that different on the desktop and mobile apps.
iOS and Android
On your mobile device, you need to see the track that will play next. Hit the “Now Playing” option at the bottom of the app window. Select the queue icon and tap the More menu for more actions. When inside the menu, hit the queue icon again to “Add to Queue”.
Notes:
The More menu icon looks a bit different on Android and iOS. For Android devices, it’s three vertical dots. On iOS, the dots are horizontal.
If you’re using your iPad, for example, you should know that the album cover appears in the side menu. Aside from that, the UI is the same and you use the same actions to add or remove tracks from the queue.
Desktop App
Click the queue icon at the bottom right of the screen. To add an item to the queue, right-click on the song or podcast and select “Add to Queue. If you choose to include an entire album, Spotify enqueues all the songs in order of appearance.
How to Reorder Enqueued Tracks?
Again, the action is straightforward and it follows a similar logic on the mobile and desktop Spotify app.
On your smartphone, hit and hold the hamburger icon that’s next to the track. Now you should be able to lift the track and drop it to the desired position.
Desktop users should click and hold the item they want to reposition, then drop the track to a new position. To remind you, the tracks are under “Next Up” in the “Play Queue” menu.
Moving Tracks from Queue to Playlist
If you particularly like an enqueued song, there are two ways to move it from the queue and into the playlist.
Choose a track, right-click on it, and select “Add to Playlist”. Then, you need to select the playlist name and you’re good to go. This applies to the desktop app and Spotify also allows you to reposition multiple items into a playlist.
If on the mobile app, tap the More menu and choose the same action. On a desktop, you can also just drag and drop tracks into a playlist. This requires you to preview the full Spotify window.
Create a Party Queue
The Spotify UI is well laid out and intuitive, therefore you’re always a tap or two away from removing items from the queue. The fact that there’s no option to remove all tracks from the mobile app might be annoying. But this might change with a future update.
Which songs have you been queueing lately? Is there an album you particularly like? Drop us a comment below and share your preferences with the rest of the community.
At first glance, Telegram may seem like a simple messaging app. But users know that it’s so much more than that. With great features being added all the time, there’s always something new to love about Telegram. For instance, the latest big update added chat folders to help us organize our conversations.
In this article, we’ll show you how to make folders in Telegram and much more besides.
What Are Telegram Folders?
Many people use Telegram both for work and chatting with their friends. After a while, you end up having lots of chats and joining lots of groups. All of which can be somewhat confusing.
Telegram may be the first messaging app to offer a solution to this problem – chat folders. You’ll now be able to organize your conversations, and find and browse specific chats much faster.
You can create folders for different types of conversations. After the update, most people created two separate folders – one for work and one for friends and family. That way, you can have better control over your conversations. It also helps you separate your personal and professional life.
Also, you can create a specific folder for group conversations or channels. This can be a great help if you have kids, and communicate with their teachers or fellow parents through Telegram.
Of course, it’s up to you to organize your conversations the way you like. These are just suggestions we thought you may find useful.
How to Create a Folder?
You now know what Telegram folders are and how to use them. It’s time to show you how to create the folders themselves. Here’s what you have to do:
Open the Telegram app.
Tap the three lines in the top left corner of the screen.
Enter the Settings.
Scroll down and tap on Folders.
Tap on the Plus sign to create a new folder.
There you have it! You’ve just created a new folder. Now you have to customize it.
Write the Folder name.
Tap on Add chats and select the conversations you’d like to add to this folder.
When you enter the Folders section, you’ll see some suggested folders. If you want to add one of those folders, just tap on the Add sign next to their names. For example, Telegram suggests that users make an “Unread Folder”. By creating this folder, you’ll never miss a message as all new messages will be stored there until you read them.
It’s up to you whether you’ll use them or create a new one. You can create as many folders as you want; there’s no limit.
How to Remove Chat from a Folder?
Of course, you can always add new chats to a folder, but you can also remove conversations too. Here’s what you have to do:
Open the Telegram app.
Tap the three lines in the top left corner.
Enter the Settings.
Scroll down and tap on Folders.
Enter the folder you wish to change.
You can then tap on Add Chat or Remove Chat, depending on what you want to do.
Type the name of the chat.
Finally, once again, tap on Add or Remove.
That’s all there is to it! Your priorities change with time, as may the people you chat with the most. That’s why Telegram allows you to update your folders to get the most out of them.
Archived Folders
With the latest update, you’ll automatically get archived folders. You can use them for conversations that are no longer active but you don’t want to delete.
Moving chats to the archive has never been easier. All you have to do is swipe the conversation from right to left, and it’ll be archived.
If you receive a new message in the archived chat, it’ll automatically be moved from archived to active conversations. You can disable this feature by muting the conversation. That way, it’ll stay in archived chats unless you decide to move it. Bear in mind that this means you won’t be notified when you receive a new message in that chat.
I Don’t Have Folders
If you can’t find this option on your Telegram app, don’t worry. The feature was only introduced at the end of March, which means it may take a while until it reaches all users. Some users received it automatically, while others had to update their apps.
If you haven’t updated Telegram recently, now’s the time to do so. You’ll probably be able to use folders, as well as some other exciting features, after the update. We don’t want to reveal all, but there are some new emojis you’ll love.
If you still don’t see folders, there may be another explanation. Telegram introduced folders to help people with lots of chats to organize. If you use Telegram just to chat with a friend or two, it may assume that you don’t need this feature. When your chat list becomes longer, this feature will then be available.
Pin a Chat
Telegram has gone the extra mile when it comes to organization. It’s now possible to pin one or more chats to the top of your app. You can pin the conversations that you often use, so you won’t have to scroll down every time you want to write something.
Alternatively, you can pin chats containing important information. Even if these chats are no longer active, you’ll have the information handy. This can be very helpful, especially when it comes to your job.
Organization Is Everything
Organizing our stuff is essential, both on- and offline. Hopefully, the latest Telegram update will help you organize your conversations. We love how useful it is. Hopefully, other apps will follow suit soon.
Have you already tried out Telegram folders? What do you think about them? Let us know in the comments section below.
Pixlr allows you to create professional-looking photos with just a couple of clicks. There are a lot of tutorials online showing you how to use Pixlr to edit your photos. However, not many mention changing the color of your text.
Don’t worry. It’s not difficult at all! In this article, we’ll show you how to change text color and format your texts like a pro.
Before You Start
Since you’re here, you probably know how to add text on any picture on Pixlr. However, in case you’re not sure how to do so, we’re going to explain that as well.
Open the photo you want to use.
Go to the menu on the left side of the screen.
Click on Add text.
You’ll then see a new field where you can enter your text. Under that, there should be a couple of other fields that allow you to customize your text.
Changing Text Color
When you’ve entered the text, take a look at smaller fields under the text itself. That’s where you customize it. You’ll see a field named Color. The default color is usually black, but you can change it to any color you want. All you have to do is click on that field to get a selection of colors to choose from.
Pixlr will automatically offer you the most popular text colors, such as red, green, or blue.
Click on a small color palette sign, and you’ll get to see a variety of colors. Move your cursor through the palette until you find a color you like. Of course, you can try out various colors to see what they look like.
When you find the perfect color, click on OK. There you have it! You’ve just saved your new text color.
Customizing Your Text
For great results, you can customize your text in a couple of clicks.
If you look under your text, you’ll see fields such as Font, Size, and Style.
First of all, you should choose the size of your text. You can select one of the dimensions from the drop-down menu, or you can enter a number.
When it comes to the font, there’s a variety of options. You can choose from standard fonts that can be found in most other programs. But that’s not all! Some unique Pixlr fonts can make your text stand out from the rest.
Finally, don’t forget the style of the text. As with many other apps, you can choose from regular, bold, or italics, depending on the desired effect.
How to Use Gradients?
In the first part, we’ve talked about changing text color. But what if you’re bored with monochrome text and want more colors? We’ve got you covered!
Of course, you can separate your writing in more sections and then change the color of every segment. You can even separate it word by word. But there’s something even better than that! Pixlr allows you to use beautiful gradients that will make your text stylish and professional.
Here’s how to apply them:
Open the Layer menu and rasterize the layer containing your text.
Open the Edit menu and click on Pixels.
Select the Gradient tool from the toolbar.
Select one or multiple colors from the menu.
Before you apply a gradient, you can check what it will look like. You’ll see a small preview image in the top right corner of your screen. If you don’t like the color you’ve chosen, you can always select another option. Pixlr allows you to play with colors and express your creativity.
When you open the Gradient tool, you’ll see you a choice of essential colors and combinations. You’ll find that many creative patterns may look great in your text.
Feel free to experiment with these gradients and patterns. Use them to give that final touch to your design. Even if you make a mistake, you can always revert your text to neutral.
Layer Styles
Color is essential, but the style is important as well! You can style your text to create the effect you want. The same color can have a completely different effect, depending on the style. Here’s what we mean by style.
While your text is still selected, open the Layer styles from the upper toolbar. You’ll see various options you can choose from. From different types of shades to glow.
For example, you can select the opacity of your text, and use inner or outer glow. It may sound like a small detail, but it can completely transform your design.
Try using inner and then outer glow on, let’s say, the green text. You’ll be amazed by the difference it makes.
Of course, it’s up to you to decide whether you’re going to use special effects or not. It depends on the type of design you’re working on, as well as on your taste.
The Power of Colors
Some people focus only on the message of their text, completely ignoring the colors. That’s a huge mistake as the colors can be very powerful. They can not only change the way the text looks, but they have the power to change the way we perceive it. Think about it the next time you select a color.
We hope you found our guide useful. Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
Some stats show that videos are more popular on social media than images and text combined. It’s no wonder that more and more video-only apps are gradually winning over the social media world. Apps like TikTok and Triller.
TikTok is more about making funny videos. Triller, however, can turn your life into the music video you always wanted. Choose your favorite song and start directing! But before you begin, you may wonder if Triller is free to use. You’ll find out in this article.
Can You Use Triller for Free?
Yes, you can. The Triller app is free to download for iOS devices and Android smartphones. Just visit the App Store or the Google Play Store to get the app. As soon as it’s installed, you can start filming and creating unique videos.
Why Is There a Wallet If It’s Free?
You do have a wallet in your Triller account. You can use it to buy gold and store gifts you receive from followers. You can also check your gold balance any time. Gold is a currency that can be exchanged for gems. When you get enough gold, and therefore gems, they can be exchanged for real money.
Note that only verified content creators can earn gems. But how do you do this? When you’re a verified content creator, your fans have the option of donating gold to show their support. According to Triller developers, the goal was to help influencers make a living as they dedicate their time and resources to creating great content.
How to Download Triller to an iOS Device
To download the Triller app to your iPhone or iPad, do the following:
Locate the App Store on your home screen and tap to open.
Type in Triller in the search bar at the bottom or browse through the apps and categories.
Select the app from the results and tap on Get.
Choose Install.
When the download and installation are over, tap the app icon to launch it.
How to Download Triller to an Android
If you’re an Android user, here’s how to download Triller:
Choose the Play Store from the home screen.
Enter Triller in the search bar at the top. You can also browse through categories.
From the search results, select Triller.
Tap on Install.
When the download and installation are finished, tap on Open to use the app.
What Can You Do on Triller?
Plenty of fun stuff. Triller is undoubtedly one of the most interesting video-making platforms around. It lets you create exciting and unique content suitable for sharing on social media. For example, you can join numerous challenges that require not only video editing but also dancing skills. With many cool filters and effects, you can create pro videos in just a few minutes.
Here are a couple of cool things you can do with Triller:
1. Add Filters
If you want to add a filter to your filming, tap the two circles at the top of your screen before you start recording a video. You can also record a video first and then choose a suitable filter. Tap the thumbnail that you want to apply the filter to, and then pick a filter to make the video even better.
2. Make Vlogs
Vlogs are viral nowadays, so why not try making one on your own? You can use the first video to tell your followers a story and then film a couple of back-up videos to mix with the main one, thus creating an exciting documentary.
3. Join Challenges
Fun Triller challenges allow you to create a unique video, by following the instructions. Most challenges use a specific hashtag so you can see all the participating videos. You may even win an award for the best video within a challenge. Many brands use this fun feature for marketing and raising brand awareness.
How to Create a Video on Triller
To make a video on Triller, follow these simple steps:
Launch the app on your mobile device.
Tap the first plus button on the home screen.
You begin your project by selecting a song you want to accompany your video. You can choose a featured song or search for one by using the search bar at the top.
Mark the part of the song you want to use in the video.
Choose your front or back camera to film a video.
Take a few videos to make sure you’ll be able to make the most of it.
After you tap on Make Triller video, you’ll see all your takes blended into one.
You can now edit your video and later share it on your social media accounts. Don’t forget to save it on your phone too!
Become a Creator with Triller
Thanks to a simple interface and straightforward features, Triller has become very popular in a short space of time. The app lets you show your artistic side and create spectacular videos. What’s more – it’s free! And not only is it free, but you can also turn it into a source of income. If you create outstanding and original videos that gain a loyal audience and make you an influencer, Triller lets you exchange gems for real cash.
Have you already downloaded Triller? What’s the first feature you’re going to try out? Let us know in the comments section below.
If you’ve spent a while on TikTok, you might have noticed that the small crown icon that used to be on some users’ profiles has now disappeared.
That’s because these crowns have been replaced with verified checkmarks, like Twitter. TikTok’s crowns were simply relics from the days of Musical.ly and have since been done away with.
If you’re an avid TikTok user and creator, you might be wondering how to get one of these verified checkmarks yourself. If so, we’ve got you covered.
Let’s take a look at how to get a verified checkmark on Twitter.
Where Did the Crown Go?
Months after acquiring rival platform Musical.ly, TikTok finally replaced the crown with a brand-new verified checkmark.
If TikTok is the first social network you’ve joined—and considering the app’s younger demographics, that’s entirely possible—the crown may have left you confused, leaving you without an understanding of why it’s on some profiles and not others.
On social platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, certain users have blue check marks next to their names on profiles. Whether it’s a celebrity, a band, or a news network, these platforms will place a blue checkmark next to specific pages to prove the accounts are real.
Now that TikTok has replaced their crowns with an actual verification status, crowns no longer apply. Much like other social networks, TikTok now marks users with a standard verified checkmark.
What Replaced Crowns?
Instead of crowns, you’ll now find two different versions of verification on TikTok. The first is probably out of reach for you: verified user. This is the standard checkmark that we’ve seen on most other social networks, and it’s mostly reserved for celebrities to ensure they aren’t being impersonated. You’ll find this label on some accounts, but for the most famous users on TikTok, you’ll find something new entirely.
Instead of giving all accounts a verified badge, TikTok has begun giving popular users that once had crowns badges that read “Popular User.” This puts these users in a class above that of the standard TikTok-er, while also making it clear that the person isn’t a celebrity in the broader sense of the world.
In this case, TikTok continues to do something different than a service like Twitter, where verified users range from celebrities to journalists to everything in between. TikTok doesn’t necessarily lower the standard of being an authenticated user; it just means that there’s now a difference between celebrities and influencers on the platform.
How Do I Get Verified in TikTok?
Typically, verified users fall into one of three categories:
The user is immensely popular on the site, serving as a content creator that makes a big mark on TikTok’s platform in one way or another.
The user is someone of note, including actual pop stars and musicians that happen to be on the platform.
They have been chosen by the staff and support team at TikTok as someone who requires verification or as someone who has shown their dedication to creating content of note on the site.
To gain verification on TikTok, you’ll want to work towards gaining followers and popularity, but that isn’t the end-all-be-all of winning that checkmark.
Here are three tips for becoming verified on TikTok.
Work hard to create good content
TikTok is young enough still that almost anyone can make their way out of the shadows to become the next TikTok hit, with videos regularly featured on the main feed within the app. All you need is some talent and a lot of hard work.
What do we mean by this?
Simple: users on TikTok are always looking for new content to follow. Thanks to the average length of a TikTok video being pretty short, it’s no surprise that users are always hungry for more content.
So what does that mean from you?
If you’re willing to learn the basics and advanced steps of creating a TikTok video that shines among the rest, and you do this consistently for a long enough period, you’re bound to start getting noticed.
Of course, there’s always a way to speed up getting noticed, and for that, we jump to step two.
Follow users to gain more followers
We have an article available here for you to check out on how to gain more fans in TikTok, but the short version is this: once you have content that is not just respectable but also showcases your talents in the best way possible, you can use the app’s follow feature to get noticed by new users.
We suggest making ten powerful TikTok clips. Make them your best work possible, and don’t be afraid to try something new or go outside the box.
Once you’ve done that, you can start using the app’s headlining page to find new users. Refresh your feed and start looking for new clips posted from famous, and possibly already-crowned TikTok users. Then, look through the comments on those videos to find accounts of people who enjoy the content posted from that user.
When you’ve found a comment posted recently, click on the account to add that profile to your followed list. When the user receives a notification that you’ve followed them, many will be inclined to check out your page, and since you have several great TikTok clips already posted on your account, you’re likely to get a follow back.
Not everyone is going to follow you back. The primary key here is not to get discouraged, and to stick with it the best you can. TikTok users are often hungry for new content and new creators. If your clips are good and you keep using this strategy to gain new followers, you’ll start receiving a following in no time.
Use the right gear—and the right songs
If you’re having problems attracting a group of followers, make sure your TikTok videos are the best they can be.
Start by checking out where you’re filming. Look around your surroundings and ensure that you have a beautiful backdrop, be it outside or in your house. If you’re filming in your room, make sure to tidy things up. No one wants to watch a video that takes place within a messy bedroom.
If you don’t have someone around to hold your phone, that’s okay. Instead, you might want to check out one of the many smartphone tripods available on Amazon. Most of them are universal and cost just $10 to $15 to purchase for your smartphone, like this one right here.
Likewise, you want to make sure you’re using the correct songs in your videos. If you browse through the main feed inside of TikTok, you’ll probably notice a lot of repeats of songs and clips. Don’t be afraid to use those same audio clips in your videos; by using popular media, you put yourself one step forward on the way to accomplishing your goal.
Additionally, you can look through the search menu and browse the Billboard Hot 100 to find songs that are currently popular.
I Found a Site Says They Can Get Me Verified — Can They?
The short answer is no.
There’s no site on the web today that can gift you verification on TikTok, despite several sites listed on Google’s search results that say otherwise. The truth is that, like verification on Twitter or Instagram, only TikTok staff and support teams can grant a crown to a profile they deem worthy or necessary to prevent fake listings.
Moreover, these websites are often phishing schemes designed to get you to hand over your login information. This, of course, can lead to your account being compromised and you losing access to all of your content.
As such, you should be sure to avoid any websites or users that say they can help you get verified on TikTok.
Final Thoughts
Verification allows TikTok to highlight some of its best content creators on the platform, with most of these users uploading at least once a day and often being featured on the front page of the platform.
While it can take some time to build your audience and get verified, you can greatly increase your chances by working hard and creating high-quality content.
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BECIL Previous Papers with Answers Pdf available here. So, candidates can download the old BECIL Question Papers for free of cost. Aspirants can also get Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Ltd Old Papers @ www.becil.com for the better exam preparation.
Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Ltd Question Papers
You will find the entire details of the Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Ltd syllabus and exam pattern here. On this page, we have enclosed the links for BECIL Model Papers with Solutions for free download. Hence, applied candidates can freely download those papers to boost up their preparation. All the Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Ltd Exam Papers are given in pdf format. Therefore, you can download the Last Year Papers in just single click.
Interested candidates who have applied for the BECIL can find all the model question papers provided here. Check them and download them for free for BECIL exam 2020. This will help you to prepare well for the exam and score good marks. We have provided a list of previous year question papers for you to start practising. It will also help you to understand the structure of the exam, all the important topics, types of questions asked and other details that are important from the BECIL exam point of view. For more details, read the sections in this article. You can also visit the official portal of the BECIL Limited for more details.
The Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Ltd will select the applicants for the Program Coordinator Posts on the basis of their performance in the written test. A huge number of candidates have applied for this recruitment, therefore the competition is very high. So, applicants must perform well in the examination. For thorough preparation, candidates must solve the BECIL Solved Question Papers. These papers are very helpful for getting more marks in the exam. For the perfect preparation, candidates must prepare each and every topic in the prescribed syllabus. By referring to the syllabus and exam pattern, the applicants will know which topics to study for the examination. Here, we have updated the BECIL Syllabus pdf link. Hence, download the syllabus and prepare for all the topics. After overall preparation, solve BECIL Sample Papers for analyzing your performance.
BECIL Old Question Papers & Exam Pattern 2020
The candidates who applied for the BECIL Notification can download the BECIL Previous Question Papers from the attached links. These exam papers play a vital role in exam preparation and help to improve your problem-solving skills. By solving various numbers of Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Ltd Old Papers, you will understand which questions to answer first and last. So that you can manage time and can answer all the questions in the time limit. The exam will be an online written examination. The subjects that the candidates need to prepare for are Proficiency in Computers, Report writing and communication skills, Rural development Topics, General Awareness, and English. This will be conducted for 75 marks. After the written examination, an interview will be conducted. The interview will be conducted for 25 marks. The total marks for the BECIL Program Coordinator selection process will be for 100 marks. Get the entire details below.
BECIL Exam Pattern for Programme Coordinator:
Subject Name
Exam Type
Marks
Proficiency in Computers
Online Written Examination
75
Report writing and communication skills
Rural development Topics
General Awareness
English
Interview
25
Free Download BECIL Exam Solved Question Papers PDF
The applicants can get the BECIL Exam Papers from the enclosed free downloading links. These old question papers are given only for the purpose of reference. Hence, aspirants who downloaded the BECIL Previous Papers must utilize those papers for practising and to test their capability. For any information regarding the Program Coordinator test, check the official site www.becil.com. Get all the previous papers below. You can also get the BECIL Syllabus on our website.
Get Subject Wise BECIL Previous Papers Here
Name of the Subject
Previous Papers
BECIL Programme Coordinator Sample Question Papers with Keys
Gauhati High Court Previous Papers with Answers Pdf available here. So, candidates can download the old Gauhati High Court Question Papers for free of cost. Aspirants can also get Gauhati High Court Old Papers @ www.ghconline.gov.in for the better exam preparation.
Gauhati High Court Question Papers
You will find the entire details of the Gauhati High Court and exam pattern here. On this page, we have enclosed the links for Gauhati High Court Model Papers with Solutions for free download. Hence, applied candidates can freely download those papers to boost up their preparation. All the Gauhati High Court Exam Papers are given in pdf format. Therefore, you can download the Last Year Papers in just single click.
Interested candidates who have applied for the Gauhati High Court can find all the model question papers provided here. Check them and download them for free for Gauhati High Court exam 2020. This will help you to prepare well for the exam and score good marks. We have provided a list of previous year question papers for you to start practising. It will also help you to understand the structure of the exam, all the important topics, types of questions asked and other details that are important from the Gauhati High Court exam point of view. For more details, read the sections in this article. You can also visit the official portal of the Gauhati High Court Limited for more details.
Gauhati High Court Previous Papers | www.ghconline.gov.in
Gauhati High Court Model Papers | Gauhati High Court Syllabus
The Gauhati High Court will select the applicants for the Teacher Posts on the basis of their performance in the written test. A huge number of candidates have applied for this recruitment, therefore the competition is very high. So, applicants must perform well in the examination. For thorough preparation, candidates must solve the Gauhati High Court Solved Question Papers. These papers are very helpful for getting more marks in the exam. For the perfect preparation, candidates must prepare each and every topic in the prescribed syllabus. By referring to the syllabus and exam pattern, the applicants will know which topics to study for the examination. Here, we have updated the Gauhati High Court Syllabus pdf link. Hence, download the syllabus and prepare for all the topics. After overall preparation, solve Gauhati High Court Sample Papers for analyzing your performance.
Gauhati High Court Old Question Papers & Exam Pattern 2020
The candidates who applied for the Gauhati High Court Notification can download the Gauhati High Court Previous Question Papers from the attached links. These exam papers play a vital role in exam preparation and help to improve your problem-solving skills. By solving various numbers of Gauhati High Court Old Papers, you will understand which questions to answer first and last. So that you can manage time and can answer all the questions in the time limit. The exam would be of multiple-choice questions. The subjects that the candidates will have to prepare for are General Knowledge, Computer Knowledge, General English, General Aptitude and Assamese. The total marks for this GHC exam will be 120 marks. The duration of the exam will be for 2 hours. Get the entire details below.
Gauhati High Court:
Subject Name
Total Marks
Time Duration
General Knowledge
30
2 Hours
Computer Knowledge
General English
50
General Aptitude
20
Assamese
20
Total
120 Marks
Free Download Gauhati High Court Exam Solved Question Papers PDF
The applicants can get the Gauhati High Court Exam Papers from the enclosed free downloading links. These old question papers are given only for the purpose of reference. Hence, aspirants who downloaded the Gauhati High Court Previous Papers must utilize those papers for practising and to test their capability. For any information regarding the LDA, Copyist and Typist, check the official site www.ghconline.gov.in. Get all the previous papers below. You can also get the Gauhati High Court Syllabus on our website.
Get Subject Wise Gauhati High Court Previous Papers Here
Assam Judicial Service Previous Papers pdf for Grade I, II & III vacancy are given on our page. Aspirants who applied for the Gauhati High Court Judicial Services recruitment can find the exam question paper on our page. Also, check the complete exam pattern details and exam date 2020 in the sections following. Aspirants can find the direct link for previous year question papers in the article below. Interested can visit the official website @ www.ghconline.gov.in for more details.
Assam Judicial Services Question Papers
Hay!!! Hello, applicants of Assam judicial services grade 1, 2, 3 vacancies. Here is the Assam Judicial Services preliminary, mains exam previous year question paper. The free downloading links of last 5 years Judicial Services grade 1, 2, 3 examinations are given on our page. Hence, go through the page and check the exam pattern for both preliminary and mains exams. later, find the direct link and download the Assam Judicial Services question papers pdf.
Guwahati High Court announces the Judicial Services Grade 1, 2, & 3 vacancies every year. Aspirants from various regions like Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram & Arunachal Pradesh applies for the vacancies. Hence, for those candidates who are preparing for the Assam JS Examination 2020. We have given the Judicial Services exam previous year papers download link here. Check the overview of latest Assam judicial services and start your preparation.
Gauhati High Court Grade III Old Question Papers @ www.ghconline.gov.in
The Guwahati High Court has given the official exam date for the AJS exam date as 6th & 7th March 2020. Hence, the candidates who are provisionally shortlisted for the written examination can go through our page and find the exam pattern details. Also. download the previous year question papers pdf from the link given below.
The candidates who applied need to appear for the preliminary and mains examinations. The candidates who qualify in the preliminary examination are allowed to attend for the mains examination. However, check the exam pattern details for the Assam JS Grade 3 exam below and start your preparation today. Knowledge of exam pattern is helpful for the applicants in improving the understanding levels. Also. helps while referring the previous question papers. Aspirants with knowledge on exam pattern can analyze the question paper in the main exam easily. This also helps with the time management in the prelims and mains examinations.
Assam Judicial Service Previous Question Papers & Answers Pdf
In this section, aspirants can find the direct link for the Assam Judicial Services Grade 1, 2, and 3 examinations previous question papers. Candidates can download the pdf from the link given below. As the papers are given by the Guwahati High Court officials. Candidate can download the paper for free of cost and start preparation.
We advise the applicants who starting their preparation to check the complete exam pattern and syllabus details. As the syllabus gives an overview of the scheme of question paper, one can easily understand the questions while referring the previous year question papers. However, here is the direct link for the Assam Judicial Services Grade 1, 2, 3 Examinations.
Last 5 Years Gauhati HC Judicial Services Exam Question Papers
TNCSC Admit Card 2020 – The TamilNadu Civil Supplies Corporation recruitment board will release the TNCSC Various Exam Hall Ticket. There are many applicants have applied for the various TNCSC Exam and waiting for the TNCSC Admit Card. Through this article, applicants will get the complete details of the TNCSC Exam date, Post Name, Number of vacancies, and the direct download link of TNCSC Admit Card 2020.
TNCSC Assistant Admit Card – Overview
The TamilNadu Civil Services yet to release the TNCSC Assistant Hall Ticket. Therefore the board has released the planned to conduct the TNSCS Assistant Exam in May 2020. Hence the applied aspirants must download the TNCSC Call Letter from the below-given link before the exam schedule. The below-given table contains all detailed information of TNCSC Assistant Exam. Moreover, the candidates who have applied for the respective exam are only allowed to download the TNCSC Assistant Call Letter from the below-given link.
Details presented on TamilNadu Civil Supplies Corporation Admit Card
The TamilNadu Civil Supplies Corporation Hall ticket is an important document for the exam. So the applied aspirants need to check and ensure the below-listed information should be presented on the Admit Card. For the correction contact the official support by clicking here.
Student Name
The venue of the Exam Centre
Date & Time of the Test
Reporting Time to the Exam Hall
Gender (Male/ Female)
Roll Number
Duration of the Test
Space for Invigilator's Signature
Registration Number
Space for Applicant's Signature
Name of the Exam Conducting Board
Photograph of the Student
Applicant's Date of Birth
Name of the exam
Important Guidelines for the Exam Takers
Full Name of the Applicant
Examination Centre Code
Required Documents Along with TNCSC Hall Ticket
To write TNCSC Exam applicants need to carry any one of the original government id proof along with their TNCSC Exam Hall Ticket. It avoids doorsteps duplications and helps the supervisor to complete the verifications process easily. Those candidates who failed to carry are not allowed to enter the exam hall. Below listed few documents are allowed to carry for the examination.
Aadhar Card
Voters ID
Driving License
Passport
College/School Identity Card
Pan Card
Steps to Download the TNCSC Call Letter
The Admit Card will be released by the respective board online. To download the TNCSC Exam Hall Ticket applicants need to provide the required details appeared on the screen. By following the below-given steps, the applicants can easily download their TNCSC Assistant Exam Hall Ticket from the official website.
Visit the official website through the below link.
Find the tab called important links
Click and find the Admit Card with Post Name
Click the respective link and give the required details appeared on the screen
Log in to this page.
Enter the required details and verify the presented details are correct
After that save and proceed to download the TNCSC Exam Hall Ticket
Take the necessary print outs and carry for the examination
Important Links to download TNCSC Exam Admit Card
The given are the important links to check download the TamilNadu Civil Supplier Corporation Call Letter from the official website. It will get activated only when the board has released the Admit Card it’s the official website. Make the frequent visit of this page to download the TNCSC Assistant Exam Admit Card before the exam schedule. Also, candidates can check our TNCSC Assistant Engineer Syllabus for the exam preparation from the below table.
GMCH Syllabus 2020 can be downloaded for free here in pdf format. You can find the entire GMCH Syllabus and exam pattern on our website. Get details of education qualification, selection process, etc on the official website of Government Medical College & Hospital Chandigarh @ www.gmch.gov.in. All the latest updates of the GMCH exam pattern have been given here for the aspirants who have applied for the Senior Resident, Junior Resident, Demonstrator, Central Casualty Services, Medical Officer, Emergency Medical Officer Post Posts and are looking for study materials. The candidates will be selected by a written test conducted by the GMCH officials. You can also get the GMCH Previous Papers direct link on our page. So what are you waiting for? Download the GMCH syllabus and exam pattern along with previous papers and start preparing.
Government Medical College & Hospital Chandigarh Syllabus 2020
GMCH Syllabus is updated here for aspirants to download for free of cost. Know the recently updated Government Medical College & Hospital Chandigarh Syllabus along with Exam Pattern Details. We have offered the Syllabus details to make the candidate's work easy without wasting the time by searching for unwanted topics. Refer to the suggested details and do the necessary steps for your preparation.
GMCH Exam Syllabus Details
Name of the Organization
Government Medical College & Hospital Chandigarh (GMCH)
Name of the Post
Senior Resident, Junior Resident, Demonstrator, Central Casualty Services, Medical Officer, Emergency Medical Officer Post Posts
The exam Pattern may help the candidate at the time of preparation. You can also check the GMCH Notification for more details. The application details have been given in detail. The GMCH Chandigarh exam will be of an objective type. The subjects that the candidates should prepare for are Quantitative Aptitude, General English, Logical reasoning, General Awareness, Mathematics and Concerned subjects related questions. The GMCH Syllabus and Exam Pattern have been provided on this page. Meanwhile, the applied candidates need to follow the Test Pattern and Syllabus we update on this page.
Examination Type
Name of the Subject
Objective Type Questions
Quantitative Aptitude
General English
Logical Reasoning
General Awareness
Concerned Subjects
Mathematics
Download GMCH Syllabus 2020
The GMCH Syllabus is the major part of the test preparation. Candidates can find out the topics covered in the written exam with the help of the syllabus given. You can also download the GMCH Syllabus PDF from the link below.
Gauhati High Court Syllabus 2020 is available for the candidates who are searching for it. Download the GHC LDA, Copyist, and Typist Syllabus Pdf along with the Exam Pattern. Check Gauhati High Court LDA, Copyist and Typist Exam Syllabus, Scheme of the Examination, Exam Dates, Timings, etc. @ ghconline.gov.in.
Are you searching for the Guwahati High Court LDA, Copyist, and Typist Syllabus? Don’t Worry!! You’re in the Right Place. Here we have given the complete details of the GHC Syllabus and Exam Pattern for LDA, Copyist and Typist Exam. Candidates can also download the Gauhati High Court Syllabus and Exam Pattern through the direct link given below. Applicants who have applied for the Gauhati High Court Recruitment Notification they have start preparation as soon as possible because there is huge competition for the latest vacancies in Assam. Applied people can also find the GHC LDA Syllabus and Exam Pattern on the Official Website.
Gauhati High Court Syllabus updated here for aspirants to download at free of cost. Know the recently updated Gauhati High Court Syllabus along with Exam Pattern Details. We have offered the Syllabus details to make the candidate's work easy without wasting the time by searching for unwanted topics. Refer to the suggested details and do the necessary steps for your preparation.
Candidates who have applied for GHC Jobs they are shortlisted for LDA, Copyist and Typist Posts based on their performance in the following
Written Test
Gauhati High Court LDA, Copyist, and Typist Exam Pattern 2020
The exam Pattern may help the candidate at the time of preparation. You can also check the Gauhati High Court Notification for more details. The application details have been given in detail. The subjects included will be General Knowledge, Computer Knowledge, General English, General Aptitude and Assamese related questions. The total marks of the exam will be 120 marks. The exam will be conducted for 2 Hours. The exam will be of multiple-choice questions. The Gauhati High Court Syllabus and Exam Pattern have been provided on this page. Meanwhile, the applied candidates need to follow the Test Pattern and Syllabus we update on this page.
Are you searching for the Guwahati High Court Judicial Assistant Syllabus? Don’t Worry you’re in the Right Place. Here we have given the Complete details of GHC Syllabus and Exam Pattern Judicial Asst Exam. Candidates can also Download the Gauhati High Court Syllabus and Exam Pattern through the direct link given below. Applicants who have applied for the Gauhati High Court Judicial Assistant Recruitment Notification they have start preparation as soon as possible because there is huge competition for the Latest Vacancies in Assam. Applied people can also find the GHC Judicial Asst Syllabus and Exam Pattern at the Official Website. Here we also provided the Judicial Asst Exam details like Exam dates, Timings, Exam Centres, etc.
According to the Latest Employment News, Gauhati High Court has recently released the recruitment notification to fill up 16 vacancies of the Judicial Assistant Posts. Candidates who are searching for Latest Govt Jobs can utilize this Notification. People who want to know more details regarding the Gauhati High Court Judicial Asst Recruitment 2019 Notification check on our website.
Gauhati High Court Judicial Assistant Exam Syllabus 2019
NFL Recruitment 2020: Download Application Form for 52 Experienced Professionals in Uttar Pradesh @ www.nationalfertilizers.com!! The National Fertilizers Limited has published the NFL Notification. There are 52 vacancies in this notification. The officials are hiring for the posts of Experienced Professionals. Qualified candidates are invited to apply offline for these NFL posts. Candidates can start to apply offline from 29th April 2020. The last date to apply for NFL Recruitment is 27th May 2020. Selected candidates will be placed in Uttar Pradesh.
National Fertilizers Limited Recruitment 2020-21
Interested candidates can get all the details about NFL jobs below. Here you will get all the information about the vacancy, salary, age limit, education qualification and other details. This information is taken from the official National Fertilizers Limited notification. Interested candidates can also refer to the official notification for more information. Once the candidate has confirmed eligibility, they can proceed to apply online. To start applying, click on the NFL apply online link. Follow the steps given below to make sure your application is not rejected. To know more about the National Fertilizers Limited, visit the official website @www.nationalfertilizers.com or click on the website link below.
51 – Mobile Forensic Expert, Crypto Analysts, Cloud Forensics Expert and Others
About National Fertilizers Limited (NFL):
The NFL, a company registered in the "A" and "Mini Ratna" (Class I) companies, headquartered in New Delhi, was formed on August 23, 1974. Its head office is located in NOIDA (U.P.). It has an authorized capital of Rs. 1000 million rupees and a paid capital of Rs. 490.58 crore, including 74.71% of the government of India and 25.29% held by financial institutions and others. The vision of the company is "to be a leading Indian fertilizer company and beyond with a commitment to all interested parties" and a mission of other products and services; continually striving to maintain the highest standards of quality, safety, ethics, professionalism and energy saving, in order to preserve the ecology and optimize performance for the stakeholders. The NFL has five factories based on ammonia-urea gas, namely.
Nangal and Bathinda factories in Punjab, Panipat factory in Haryana and two factories in Vijaipur in Guna district, Madhya Pradesh. The Panipat, Bathinda and Nangal mills were refurbished to convert the raw material from fuel oil to natural gas, an environmentally friendly fuel in 2012-13 / 2013-14. The company's Vijaipur plants were also renovated to save energy and improve capacity in 2012-13, bringing its total annual capacity from 20.66 TML to 17.29 TML, an increase of 20%. Currently, the company has a total annual installed capacity of 35.68 TML (revalued capacity of 32.31 TML) and is the second-largest producer of urea in the country with a share of about 16% of total urea production. country. The company has a biofertilizer plant in Vijaipur with a capacity of 600 tonnes of solid and liquid biofertilizers to produce three strains of biofertilizers. PSB, Rhizobium, and Azotobacter are produced.
Are you looking for some truly fresh marketing strategies? Tired of the same old same old? Here are three marketing strategies you likely never though of before.
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Faux leather is also known as imitation, synthetic, or artificial leather. It has a similar appearance to natural leather, but faux leather items typically consist of a fabric base with a polyurethane coating. This composition means that faux leather will inevitably peel and crack over time, in which case there are different methods you can use to repair it. With a few leather repair supplies and the right techniques, you can restore most faux leather items to prolong their usability, though they won't last forever.
[Edit]Covering Peeling or Cracking with Leather Paint
Peel off all the loose pieces of the faux leather. Use your fingers to pull off any loose flaps of the faux leather that are sticking up from the item. Stop when you can't peel any more off.[1]
You can use a blunt-edged object, such as a butter knife, to help you peel up and scrape away the loose bits of faux leather if it is difficult to do with just your fingers.
This method works for all types of faux leather items that are peeling or cracking including furniture, clothing, and accessories. Keep in mind that it will likely only temporarily restore the appearance of the faux leather and it won't make it look brand new. You will eventually be better off replacing the item.
Wipe down the peeled section and surrounding area with a leather wipe. Open up a can of leather wipes and pull out a single wipe. Rub it all over the spot you just peeled and the surrounding faux leather to clean the surface for painting.[2]
Leather wipes are specifically formulated for cleaning leather and work well on faux leather, but you could also use a different kind of gentle cleaning wipe, such as a baby wipe.
Choose an appropriately-colored acrylic leather paint. Select a color of acrylic leather paint that closely matches the color of your faux leather item. Acrylic leather paint is available online, at craft stores, and at leather supply shops.[3]
If you can't find the right color of acrylic leather paint, you can mix multiple colors together to make a color that closely matches the faux leather.
Brush on the leather paint horizontally using a small paintbrush. Pour a bit of your chosen paint out into a plastic cup and dip a small paintbrush, like the kind used for art, into the cup to get some paint on it. Spread the paint over the peeled area in long horizontal strokes.[4]
If there are different sections of faux leather of varying sizes that you want to repair, it can be helpful to have several small paint brushes of different sizes to paint smaller and larger damaged areas.
Let the paint dry for at least 30 minutes. Wait 30 minutes and then gently poke the painted area with a fingertip to see if it is dry to the touch. Let it dry longer if it is still sticky until it feels totally dry.[5]
You can use a hair dryer to speed up the drying process if you want. Set it to medium heat and hold it about away from the painted surface, then move it slowly back and forth across the painted patch until it is dry.
Paint on additional coats until you are happy with the finish. Use your paint brush to apply more coats of the same color. Allow each coat to dry before applying the next one.[6]
Pay special attention to certain areas that might require more paint to blend the repaired area in, such as around the edges where the paint meets the existing faux leather and any spots near seams.
Add a clear acrylic finisher top coat to seal the paint job. Choose a matte, glossy, or semi-gloss clear acrylic finisher based on how shiny the existing faux leather is. Use a clean paint brush to apply the clear acrylic finished over the entire painted area and the surrounding edges using long horizontal strokes.[7]
Don't worry if the acrylic finisher looks white when you first apply it as it will dry on clear.
Watch out for any runs or droplets as you go and wipe them up with your paintbrush.
Let the item dry overnight before you use it. Leave the item alone until the next day so the top coat has plenty of time to cure. Make sure that nobody else uses the item if it is something communal like a sofa.[8]
Remember that your faux leather will not look perfect when you examine it up close, but from a distance it will look much better than before when it was peeling and ugly.
Put on a pair of latex gloves. Use a pair of well-fitted latex gloves like the kind doctors wear. This will protect your skin from getting stained but allow you to use your fingertips to effectively apply the dye.[9]
This method works best for small damaged areas where the faux leather is just starting to peel or crack.
Choose an appropriate color of leather repair dye. Pick out a dye color that closely matches the color of the faux leather item you want to repair. Leather repair dye is available online or at leather repair shops.[10]
You can use leather repair dye to color exposed fabric that the faux leather has peeled away from as well as to stick loose pieces of the faux leather back down.
Shake up the bottle and cover the damaged area with dye. Ensure that the cap is on tightly, then shake the bottle up and down to mix the dye. Open up the cap on the bottle of dye and tilt it upside down over the peeling or cracking area. Squeeze out enough drops of dye to cover the exposed material underneath the faux leather.[11]
The dye will absorb into the fabric, so go ahead and apply it generously. You don't need to worry about putting too much.
Work the dye underneath any loose pieces of faux leather. Use a fingertip to carefully lift up any loose flaps of peeling faux leather. Spread the dye around underneath the flaps so it soaks into all the exposed fabric underneath and gets on the undersides of the flaps.[12]
Apply more dye as needed while you do this until there is enough to get it all over the damaged area and the color of the exposed fabric looks dark enough.
Press the loose pieces of faux leather down into the wet dye with your fingers. Carefully poke all loose flaps of faux leather back down against the dyed fabric with your fingertip. Rub them gently towards the center of the damaged area to smooth them out.[13]
The leather repair dye also acts as an adhesive, so the loose flaps will be stuck down once the dye dries.
If you purchased a leather dye repair kit, you can also use any application tools that came with the kit to help press down and smooth out the loose flaps of faux leather.[14]
Dry the repaired area with a hair dryer. Turn on a hair dryer to medium heat and hold it about away from the repaired area. Wiggle it back and forth over the wet dye for a few minutes until it is dry to the touch.[15]
You can also use a heat gun to dry the dye if you have one available.
If you don't have anything to speed up the drying process, the leather dye will take 1-2 hours to dry on its own.
Touch up the repaired area with additional dye if needed. Inspect the spot you repaired after it is dry. Add more dye if you want to darken it or if there are still loose flaps of faux leather sticking up that you want to smooth out.[16]
You can repeat the process of drying the dyed area with a hair dryer and touching it up as many times as you want to until you are happy with the results.
Let the repaired faux leather dry overnight. Wait until the next day before touching the repaired area or using the item. This will give the dye plenty of time to cure and ensure that the loose pieces of faux leather are strongly adhered to the fabric underneath.[17]
Purchase an appropriately-colored leather or vinyl repair kit. Leather and vinyl repair kits come with colored patches, sandpaper, a cleaning solution, at least 1 patch, and adhesive. Buy one that has a patch that closely matches the color of your damaged faux leather item.[18]
These kits are commonly marketed for repairing leather and faux leather furniture and car seats. They are available online, at a home improvement center, or from a leather or auto supply shop.
You can use this type of kit to fix tears, rips, and holes in your faux leather items.
Rub the area inside the tear with the supplied sandpaper. Sand down the damaged area, being careful not to sand the intact faux leather around the tear, to remove oils and fibers. Try to get the damaged area as smooth as possible so the patch will adhere well.[19]
If your kit did not come with sandpaper, use your own fine-grit sandpaper, such as 120-grit.
Wipe the area down with a soft cloth and the supplied cleaning solution. Pour some of the kit's cleaning solution onto a soft, clean cloth. Rub down the area inside the tear that you just sanded, as well as the surrounding faux leather, to remove any dirt and residue.[20]
If the kit did not provide you with a cleaning solution, you can use rubbing alcohol to clean the damaged area.
Cut away any flaps of faux leather around the tear using sharp scissors. Trim off any pieces of faux leather that are jagged, pointing upwards, or overhanging the tear. This will tidy up the tear so that the patch blends in better.[21]
You can use a sharp utility knife or boxcutter to do this as well.
Trim the kit's patch to be slightly bigger than the tear. Use a pair of sharp scissors to trim a piece of the repair kits patch to the shape of the area you want to patch, making it slightly bigger. This will allow you to stick down the surrounding faux leather on top of the patch to seal the tear.[22]
Some kits might have multiple patches, in which case you can choose from different colors to get the closest possible match.
Squeeze the provided adhesive around under the edges of the tear. Carefully lift up the edges around the tear and squeeze some adhesive underneath. Use any provided tools, such as a little plastic spatula, to spread the adhesive around.[23]
Be careful not to get any adhesive onto the good faux leather around the tear. If you do, carefully scrape it off using the edge of an old card before it dries.
Press the patch down firmly inside the tear. Slip the patch into the torn area and center it so it is underneath the surrounding faux leather edges. Press and hold it in place for the recommended amount of time, according to your repair kit's instructions.[24]
If the tear is very tiny, like a thin slit from a knife, you don't necessarily have to use the patch. You can skip to the next step and try glueing down the surrounding faux leather to seal up the tear.
Glue the edges of the surrounding faux leather down to the patch. Apply another thin bead of the provided adhesive underneath the edges of faux leather around the patched tear. Press the edges down firmly and smoothly so that they stick around the patch.[25]
If you couldn't find a patch in a color that closely matches your faux leather item, you can paint over it with leather paint or use leather dye to color it. Some kits might even come with different colorants you can apply on top of the patch.
Heading out to woods for a weekend can be a fun diversion from a routine weekend. A successful trip involves planning out the goods and clothing you need to carry. Carry fewer supplies if you don't have access to a vehicle or plan on walking a lot. When you get to the woods, choose your camping spot carefully. Secure your tent and other supplies so you can have a relaxing time in nature.
Pack a tent that will stand up to the weather. A sturdy camping tent is the quintessential element of most camping trips. For woodland camping, you need something waterproof. Look for a tent with an attached rainfly and vents you can open to facilitate air circulation.[1]
Most tents designed for camping in the woods are 3-season tents, which means they can be used in all seasons except for winter.
If you do plan on camping in the winter, get a 4-season or winter shelter. These tents are heavier and more durable to compensate for tougher conditions.
Get a lighter tent if you plan on walking a lot. Keeping your tent lightweight is important if you need to carry it around for long distances. Smaller tents are lighter but typically house only 1 or 2 campers. Look for tents with lightweight aluminum poles. Tents with few zippers or storage spaces also save on weight.[2]
You can also lighten your load a little by leaving your tent stakes behind and securing the tent to natural features such as rocks, roots, or trees.
If you plan on car camping, which means driving to a campsite, bringing a heavy luxury tent isn't a problem.
You may be able to go without a tent, such as if you are camping in an RV or plan on sleeping outdoors in the open air.
Get a waterproof tarp to keep your tent dry. Rain is a possibility when you're in the woods, and a good tarp can provide some protection from it. You can often string up a tarp between the trees to drive water away from your campsite. Another option is to place a tarp underneath your tent in order to prevent moisture from leaking inside. Whatever you do, bring at least 1 tarp if you plan on camping outdoors.[3]
You can order tarps online or find them at most home improvement stores. Be sure to get rope or stakes if you plan on hanging a tarp.
Choose an insulated sleeping bag to keep yourself warm. Similar to tents, a variety of sleeping bags exist to cater to different camping experiences. A 3-season sleeping bag is suitable for most trips. Many sleeping bags are made out of synthetic materials, which makes them warm and durable. However, synthetic bags take up more space, which may be an issue as you pack.[4]
Bags filled with down feathers are warmer and can be a better option during cold nights. You can get a bag with water-resistant down, which is cheaper and not as insulating as traditional goose down.
If you camp a lot in the summer or winter, look for bags specifically for those seasons. Summer bags are lighter and more ventilated, while winter bags are heavier and more insulated.
Pick a lightweight backpack to carry your camping gear. Your choice of backpack determines how much gear you can carry. Backpacks themselves can feel quite weighty, so select yours carefully. Consider how long you plan on camping, what you need to bring, and how much you can carry.[5]
Like tents, bags have different weights. Packs with few pouches, zippers, and fabrics will be the lightest. You should test packs by wearing them to make sure they feel comfortable to you.
An overnight pack is good for a 1 or 2-day trip. Weekend packs are useful for trips 2 to 3 days long. Multiday and extended-trip packs can hold supplies for longer trips.
If you are able to make use of a vehicle, getting a great backpack is less important. Consider how far you plan on walking and what you need to carry after you park.
If you're camping with other people, you can split up the gear between multiple bags.
Bring at least 1 change of clothing. Spare clothing is very useful when you get caught out in the rain. It also helps when you're sweating through warm weather. When 1 set of clothing gets wet, you can switch to your backup set while your original outfit begins to dry. Arrange your outfits before you leave and make room for them in your pack.[6]
Many people make the mistake of packing too much clothing. At a minimum, you need 2 outfits. Bring more if you would like, but make sure you can carry it.
Wear clothing made from a quick-drying fabric. Nothing is worse than wearing a cotton T-shirt and denim jeans drenched in rain and sweat. The best fabrics for camping are synthetics, such as nylon and polyester, and some natural materials, such as fleece and merino wool. These fabrics all wick away water and dry more quickly than cotton clothing. Try to choose clothing that fits you well but leaves a little space for air to circulate.[7]
Regular clothing, including jeans, shorts, and cotton shirts, are okay to bring if you have room, can keep dry, and don't plan on walking much.
Nylon and polyester are synthetic fabrics and are a little cheaper than merino wool.
Bring a warm fleece or wool jacket for cold weather. Factor in cold weather and dipping temperatures at night. Jackets with fleece or wool linings are light, so they are easy to carry. Select a jacket that fits snugly on your body but doesn't restrict your ability to move and breathe.[8]
Regular jackets are bulky and often dry poorly when soaked. Specialty jackets are important for camping, especially if you plan on walking a lot.
Be sure to check the weather before you leave. You may be able to risk leaving the jacket at home.
Include a rain jacket to stay dry in bad weather. Look for jackets that are both waterproof and breathable. These jackets feel lighter and less oppressive than regular rain jackets. Water-resistant gear is available, but it is only meant to shield you from light rains over a short amount of time.[9]
Some items, including ponchos, are okay to use in a stationary camp. These options are cheaper but can easily break.
Consider investing in waterproof clothing if you plan on being around water a lot, such as while on a boat.
Wear a bandana, wide hat, or other sun protection. Take into account how long you will be exposed to the sun so you don't get any nasty burns. Cover your head with a bandana or wear a wide-brimmed hat to protect the top of your head. You will likely want sunglasses as well to shield your eyes.[10]
You definitely need these items while you are out in the daytime. They are important even when the skies are overcast.
Select a pair of hiking boots that support your ankles. Hiking boots may not seem important for camping in the woods, but a good pair of shoes can protect you from ankle injuries. Hiking shoes, which look similar to regular tennis shoes, are great options for day trips. Choose a pair that feel snug but give your toes a little room to move around.[11]
Hiking shoes or boots are a must if you plan on walking around, especially if you're around rocks or slippery areas. They hold up better to the moisture and give more traction on difficult walking surfaces than regular shoes.
Day hiking boots are a sturdier footwear option that's useful for short hikes and carrying light loads. Backpacking boots give you extra support when you are on long trips and carrying heavier loads.
Bring a portable stove to cook your food. You can purchase a portable burner to cook up food on the go. Some stoves run on propane, but others use wood or charcoal, so bring some fuel as well. Take matches as well in case you need them to activate the stove.[12]
You can also cook over a campfire. Try bringing along a cooking grate and lay it over your fire pit.
Bring a pot, knife, and other utensils. If you pack lightly, you don't need to take a lot of these supplies. Most portable ovens are small, so you end up cooking everything in a single pot. You will need a sharp knife in order to cut food, open cans, and perform other handy tasks around camp. Bring a few forks and spoons to help you cook and eat.[13]
Plastic utensils and paper plates are acceptable if you're not isolated in the woods. For backpacking trips, these items are an issue since they aren't reusable and you may not find a place to throw them away.
Choose prepared foods you can eat on the go. Peanut butter, granola bars, nuts, jerky, and dried fruits all require little to no preparation. When you don't have time to cook or are unable to because of a storm, you will have these snacks to tide you over. These foods don't take up much space and won't expire during your trip.[14]
If you have access to a vehicle, you can still bring a cooler with meat, beverages, and other goodies.
Bring along canteens filled with water. Take reusable canteens that you can keep filled at all times. Plastic water bottles are fine, but keep in mind that they can be heavy and you may not be able to dispose of used bottles right away. If you're on the go, a gravity filter will allow you to purify water wherever you camp.[15]
If you're going to an established campground, find out where the water taps are so you can access them at all times.
If you think you may not have access to clean water, bring water purification tablets so you can sterilize water from a natural source.[16]
Keep a first-aid kit ready in case of emergencies. Pack your first-aid kit with a list of emergency phone numbers and any medications you need. Bandages, a needle, scissors, and antiseptic wipes are a few useful supplies to include in the kit. You may wish to include duct tape, which can be used in a multitude of ways around camp.[17]
For instance, you can set a broken bone by making a splint out of clothing, branches, and duct tape.
Also, consider bringing a satellite phone so you can always call for help during an emergency.
Bring along some entertainment to keep you busy. Keeping yourself entertained is up to you, but a pack of cards can go a long way. Electronics usually aren't an option out in the woods, so use your time to relax. Read books, tell stories, or observe wildlife.[18]
Consider what your needs are. If you plan on walking a lot, you might not be able to bring along a lot of games or activities.
If fishing is legal near your campground, you might bring along fishing supplies, for example.
Use insect repellent and sunscreen to protect yourself. Bugs and bright sunlight are common in the woods, so don't let them ruin your trip. Make use of these products at least once a day to protect your skin. Increase their effectiveness by wearing covering clothing and taking shelter in your tent.[19]
Choose a broad spectrum sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 30. Try to reapply the sunscreen at least every 2 hours, or more often if you're getting wet or sweaty.[20]
Spray an insect repellent containing DEET or picaridin on your clothing and exposed skin to protect you from mosquitoes, ticks, and other biting pests.[21]
Choose a spot away from hills. When camping, the best spots are ones where you won't wake up in a puddle of rainwater. Look for flat pieces of ground that are above nearby slopes. If you camp near a slope, water may run down it and gather underneath your tent. If possible, look for marked spots or clearings where other people have camped before.[22]
While you can dig out the soil to guide water away from you, this is frowned upon in many camping areas. Avoid the trouble by choosing your spot carefully.
Pitch your tent on level ground. Whether you camp in a tent or an RV, the ground needs to be as flat as possible. Most commercial sites are situated on ideal spots, but if you're out in the wilderness on your own, search around for a decent spot. Level ground feels more comfortable to lie on and you can rest easy knowing water won't rush towards your tent.[23]
Stake your tent carefully. Plant the stakes firmly in the ground and tether your tent to them with strong rope.
Position a waterproof tarp underneath your tent. Your tent should rest completely on the tarp in order to seal out water. Fold the tarp so that it doesn't protrude out from under the tent. If it sticks out at all, water can get on top of it and leak into your tent.[24]
Another way to lay down a tarp is to put it inside the tent. Tuck the edges up over the tent's frame so water can't get on top of the tarp.
Build a fire pit to start a fire. Clear the wood and other debris from an area about away from your tent. Dig a hole in the ground about the size of the fire you desire, then surround it with rocks. Stack smaller branches over bigger ones in the hole, then light the bigger branches to start your fire![25]
To put out the fire, smother it with dirt or water. You can push the tinder around with a large stick to make sure it is out. You shouldn't feel any heat coming off the tinder when you move your hands towards it.
A good campfire is useful for cold nights or cooking out in the open, but it isn't always necessary. If you have a portable stove in the middle of summer, you may wish to skip building a separate fire pit.
Be cautious when starting fires. Always keep an eye on the fire and put it out before you return to your tent or leave the area.
Drink plenty of water while you camp. Many woodland campgrounds have taps you can access to keep yourself hydrated. If a tap isn't available, pop open bottles of water or purify your own water by setting up a gravity filter. Dehydration is a risk, especially during hikes, so keep your canteens filled.[26]
Symptoms of dehydration include headaches, dry mouth, dizziness, and fatigue. If you are dehydrated, drink water as soon as possible and consider going to a doctor immediately.
Boiling water does help, but it may not purify it enough to make it completely safe to drink. For the best results, bring a portable filter.
Move food waste away from your campground. Hungry animals may show up when you least expect them. Always clean your campground after you eat, disposing of or storing your waste. Keep all of your cooking supplies at the edge of your area, far from your tent. Lock food away in a bear-proof cooler to discourage theft.[27]
Avoid cooking fragrant foods like bacon or fish, if possible, since these are most likely to attract wild animals.
One way to protect your food is to suspend a bear-proof cooler from a dark rope tied to a tree branch. Animals may give up quickly if they can't reach the food.
Scare away bears and other wild animals if they find your camp. Wild animals can be a problem in the woods, especially bears and wolves. Encountering these creatures may be a scary thought, but they are mostly harmless. If you see them, do not approach them. Stay back and make loud noises, such as by talking, yelling, and banging items together, to scare the animal off.[28]
Bear attacks are relatively rare, but you should still know how to deal with them. If a bear growls or looks defensive, stand still. If it charges, lie down and play dead.
Clean up your camping area before you leave. Leave your campsite as you found it! Make sure your campfire is out first. Then, collect all of your gear and waste. Avoid leaving trash like food tins or plastic bottles lying around. Keep the land pristine so the next camper can enjoy it too.[29]
Sometimes you may have to bite the bullet and carry trash with you until you find a place to throw it away.
Clear out your fire pit if you dug one and fill it with dirt again. Avoid burying trash in it.
Research your campground so you know what to expect. Find out where you can set up your tent, what amenities are nearby, and what animals are in the area.
Camp with other people! You can trade stories and keep each other entertained.
Be respectful of other campers. Many people go camping to get away. They may not appreciate loud music or other distractions.
Camping with a vehicle is a lot different than backpacking. You have a lot more storage space and can carry heavier supplies.
Remember the golden rule, which is "Leave the campground the way you found it." Pick up after yourself!
This wikiHow teaches you how to sell and trade-in a textbook on Amazon. You can either trade-in the textbook to Amazon for their offered amount of gift credits or list the book at your own price. However, if you decide to list the book instead of trading-in, you might get more money.
Research the trade-in price you can expect. Click ☰ > Books & Audible > Sell Us Your Books. Then enter the ISBN, title, or author of your textbook to find a listing.
If you can't find a listing, your textbook is probably not accepted for trade-in by Amazon. You'll need to create your own listing and sell your book as an independent seller.
Remember, you can only trade-in a textbook to Amazon if it's in good condition. That means there are no marks or writing in the book (no highlighting), it's blemish-free (no significant damage to binding, cover, and pages), and it comes with all its companion items (if the book mentions a companion CD, that CD needs to be with it for Amazon to accept the trade-in).[1]
Prepare the textbook for trade-in. Make sure all the companion materials are with your book; gently clean the covers of the book to remove any debris like dirt or scuff marks.
Click to select or to answer all the questions. This will rule out if your book is in the condition required to trade-in with Amazon. If you answer "Yes" to questions 2-4 or "No" to question 1, you aren't able to trade-in your book and must list it as an independent seller.
Click the box next to "I have verified that the ISBN is correct." After you answer the above questions about the condition of your book, you'll see the ISBN of the listed book appear. Check that it matches the textbook you want to trade-in and click the box to fill it.
You can usually find the ISBN on the back cover of your book above the black and white bar code that is scanned at the store.
You will also see the current trade-in value listed in green here.
Click and log in. You'll see the "Continue" button at the bottom of the screen once you've checked the ISBN box.
Log in if prompted.
Click under the appropriate return shipping address. If you have multiple addresses on file, you'll see them all listed here. Select the address that Amazon can use for your shipping label and if your trade-in is not acceptable.
Confirm your trade-in. Check your return address, shipping method (usually drop-off at a UPS location), the textbook you are trading-in, and how much you are getting.
If you want to add another item to your trade-in, you can search the ISBN, title, or author of the book in the search bar under your current trade-in labeled "Search for more items to trade-in." You can only trade-in items up to $1,800 in one order.[2]
Click . You'll be redirected to a confirmation page that your shipping labels are on the way and your trade-in credit will apply once Amazon receives and accepts the textbook(s).
You can view the status of your trade-in, like whether it's still shipping or accepted at the warehouse, from your trade-in account.
Research how much your book sells for. Click ☰ > Books & Audible > Textbooks, then enter the ISBN, title, or author of your book to see the current listings.
You'll want to check out the current prices, descriptions, and titles for your own listing.
Prepare the textbook for listing. Make sure all the companion materials are with your book (if you have them); gently clean the covers of the book to remove any debris like dirt or scuff marks.
Photograph the book. Your listing allows for 6 pictures, so you'll want to make sure you display relevant pictures that will help sell the book.
Take pictures of any damaged areas so buyers know what they are getting for the money they are paying.
Use bright, natural lighting instead of low or indoor lighting in front of a simple background for the best pictures. Your textbook can easily get lost in a cluttered background.
You can photograph or scan key pages as well as any companion material if it helps sell the book.
Search for your book. Similar to researching your book before selling it, go to ☰ > Books & Audible > Textbooks, then enter the ISBN, title, or author of your book. Click another textbook in the listing that's similar to yours.
Click . You'll see this on the left side of the page, under the cover image of the book and its ISBN-13 and ISBN-10.
Sign in or create an Amazon Seller account. If you have to create an Amazon Seller account, you may need to verify your identity and some personal information before continuing. For more information, you can read the guide on How to Start Selling on Amazon.
Describe your textbook. Since you clicked a similar item to sell with, most of the details for the listing will be generated. You'll be able to describe the condition of your textbook as New - Used/Acceptable.
New is just like it sounds -- new, unused, probably still in any shrink wrap or the original packaging.
Used - Like New can apply to any lightly-used book that was hardly touched. For example, if you took off the packaging and thumbed through the pages occasionally, but did not leave any creases or marks, you might have a textbook in New - Like New condition.
Used - Very Good indicates the textbook might have a few minor cosmetic defects like marks, scuffs, cuts, bends, and wear on the cover, spine, pages, and/or dust cover. The textbook could also be missing its companion bundled media.
Used - Good indicates that the book is intact (with or without a dust cover), with signs of wear, especially on the spine. There could also be some highlights and marks on the pages as well as a sticker on the cover similar to "From the library of…" The textbook could also be missing its companion bundled media.
Used - Acceptable indicates the pages may have some highlighting, notes, marks, and/or water damage, but the text should still be readable. The outside of the textbook will show wear, cuts, bends, scuffs, and marks, and the dust cover may be missing.[3]
List your book. After you've followed the on-screen instructions to describe your textbook, you'll see a confirmation page of your listing.
Once your listing is posted, potential buyers may message you to ask a question. You can access these communications in your Amazon Seller Central dashboard (https://sellercentral.amazon.com/).
Amazon allows you to print shipping labels from your own printer to make shipping faster. If you're trading-in your textbook, you have 7 days to ship the textbook once the trade-in order is submitted. If you're selling as an independent seller, you can set the shipping options and any additional costs on the listing's page.
To avoid water damage while shipping, you should wrap your book in a plastic bag before putting it in an appropriately-sized box or envelope.[4]
Place the oatmeal in a big bowl then add your water. Let the oatmeal sit for 30 minutes or leave it overnight.[1]
Dump the oatmeal into a blender. Blend the oats on high for 1 minute.[2]
Once done blending use a sieve to get rid of the left over pieces of oatmeal. Place the sieve over a large bowl and pour the oat milk in slowly. Keep doing this until there is no more oatmeal left inside the milk.[3]
Whisk in the vanilla extract, agave, and cinnamon. This step is optional but it adds flavour to the milk so it's not bland.
Pour the oat milk into an empty container then store it in the fridge.[4]
Done. Use the oat milk like regular milk. You can add it in your cereal, coffee, tea, and when you're baking.[5]
Automobile liability insurance is financial protection for a driver who, while operating a vehicle, harms someone else or their property. It only covers injuries or damages to third parties and their property, not to the driver.
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Auditing evidence is information collected to review a company's financial transactions, internal control practices, and other items needed for an audit.
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Whether dealing with the economic effects of COVID-19 or simply trying to expand your business, a Small Business Administration (SBA) loan can help. Get details and learn how to apply here.
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The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act is a $2 trillion package of measures introduced in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A common size financial statement allows for easy analysis between companies or between periods for a company. It displays all items as percentages of a common base figure rather than as absolute numerical figures.
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The internet makes it easier than ever for scammers to trick people into giving away their money and personal information. These are the scams to avoid.
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A swap ratio is the ratio at which an acquiring company offers its own shares in exchange for the target company's shares during a merger or acquisition.
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Follow these steps to set up a general ledger accounting system in Excel. A small business can use Excel as a substitute for expensive accounting software.
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A company can have positive cash flow while reporting negative net income. Depreciation, sale of an asset, and accrued expenses can all impact cash flow and net income differently.
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A company might issue a dividend to investors in the form of cash dividends or stock dividends. Each type of issue impacts the firm'ss balance sheet differently.
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Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz on why COVID-19 will create more income inequality and a backlash against globalization once the health crisis has passed.
A lifetime payout annuity is a type of retirement investment that pays out a portion of the underlying portfolio of assets for the life of the investor.
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Investing in gold has never been easier than it is today. Check out this article to learn more about gold ETFs and other ways that you can add gold to your portfolio.
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Bengaluru: India could see more deaths due to hunger than from the pandemic if it continues to remain in lockdown to halt the spread of Covid-19, according to Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy. The country must accept the coronavirus as the new normal, and facilitate the return-to-work of able-bodied while protecting the most vulnerable, Murthy said."What is important for us to understand is that India cannot continue in this situation for too long. Because at some point of time, deaths due to hunger will far outweigh deaths due to coronavirus," he told business leaders at a webinar on Wednesday.India's mortality rate of 0.25-0.5% of total positive cases was very low compared with the developed countries, he said.So far, India has been able to flatten the curve — or reduce the spread of the virus — in most places due to the lockdown, which has been extended till May 3. More than 31,000 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in India so far, of which 1,008 have died since the first reported infection on January 30.Murthy said India sees over 9 million deaths annually due to various reasons, of which a quarter are due to pollution, since the country is the one of the most polluted in the world. "When you look at 9 million people dying naturally, and when you compare it with the death of 1,000 people in past two months, obviously it is not as much as a panic we think it is," he said.Murthy said around 190 million Indians are employed either in the informal (unorganised) sector or are self-employed, and a significant part of this population is likely to have lost its livelihood due to the lockdown. More will lose their livelihoods "if this continues for long".Murthy was addressing a virtual audience of entrepreneurs and industry executives at the 'ET Unwired — Reimagining Business' event.'Tax Collections will be Impacted'Murthy said most businesses have lost 15-20% of their revenues, and this would have a bearing on the government's tax and GST collections.The International Monetary Fund has estimated India's GDP growth to slow down to 1.9% this year, from 4.5% last year, he said.Murthy said India's testing rates are still low, and while there are global efforts to develop a vaccine against the virus, it is still not clear whether it will be adaptable for Indian genes. "We Indians must accept that coronavirus is the new normal," he said, while urging Indian entrepreneurs to step up innovation to halt the virulent spread of the pandemic.He expressed surprise that no Indian entrepreneur has so far come out with a robust testing mechanism to match the finger-prick test devised by the Chinese that helped raise testing rates in that country. "If such a test was developed and sold at a reasonable price, it will help. I have not seen an Indian entrepreneur come out with something like this," he said.LOWER MORTALITY RATEWhile younger people may carry the virus and be asymptomatic, Murthy pointed to the lower mortality rate in India being due to genetic conditions of Indians, the warm weather or widespread BCG vaccination, while calling for research to identify this phenomenon.Elders and those with health issues should be made to follow social distancing and wear protective clothing to ensure safety. "In such a complex situation, the best thing we should do is to assume the new normal. Live with the coronavirus, we should start what we were doing before corona," Murthy said. "We should protect the most vulnerable".Murthy, among the founders of the National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom), called on the software lobby group to conduct a controlled experiment through its members to get people to office by following safety protocols and share the data with the government."Instead of one shift, make it three shifts, so that people are dispersed and follow social distancing," he said.DATA-DRIVEN APPROACHMurthy called for a data-driven approach to the experiment, using mathematical modelling and statistical analysis, and providing inputs to the government so it can take decisions based on data and "not emotions".Nasscom said it is already adopting a data-driven strategy in its efforts to get more people back to office."We have recommended staggered opening of offices with 10-15% people. Not all of them come at the same time. Practice social distancing and monitor how it works. Gradually keep increasing the numbers (in office). We are taking a data-driven approach," said Sangeeta Gupta, chief strategy officer at Nasscom. "What we would want the government to do is work out a return-to-office strategy. It is beneficial for the industry and the country."Highlighting that there are opportunities for the Indian IT sector due to the pandemic, Murthy said companies globally would look to cut costs and invest in technology, and domestic companies should work hard to deliver services and grow their business.
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is looking to raise the 15% ceiling on promoter shareholding in private sector lenders as part of new rules that are being drawn up, said people with knowledge of the matter. Voting rights will however be capped at 15-20%, they said.The move to balance ownership and control comes as some private sector banks have sought a relaxation in licensing norms, citing the regulator's recent decision on Kotak Mahindra Bank. The RBI didn't respond to queries. "The central bank has been reworking the shareholding norms to ensure parity among all players," said one of the persons. "The new rules were in the works but delayed due to the Covid-induced lockdown, and might be issued in a few weeks."In January, the RBI allowed Uday Kotak, Asia's richest banker, to hold a 26% stake in Kotak Mahindra Bank as long as the lender didn't raise capital through a share sale. The promoter's voting rights were restricted to 15% from April. The rules also stipulated that Uday Kotak will not be allowed to top up his stake if it falls below 26%.The bank recently announced a fundraising plan of nearly Rs 7,500 crore that will allow Uday Kotak to bring down his stake by a percentage point. Kotak has time until September to prune his 30% holding to 26%.Immediately after the Kotak decision, IndusInd Bank's promoters, the Hinduja brothers, wrote to the RBI early March, seeking nod to raise their stake to 26%, citing the relaxation granted to Kotak. 75462081Bandhan BankThe bank has not received any official communication yet from the regulator on this subject.In October 2018, Bandhan Bank was barred from opening branches and the salary of chief executive officer Chandra Shekhar Ghosh was frozen as the promoter entity hadn't pruned its stake to the required level. Despite a merger with Gruh Finance aimed at meeting the norm, Bandhan Financial Holdings still owns more than 60%. The lender hasn't announced any fundraising plans to dilute the promoter stake. Restrictions on the bank and its chief were, however, recently lifted. "Banks are presently on different sets of licensing norms and after the relaxation given to a few, it is imperative that RBI creates one set of norms to be followed by all," said an official aware of the process. "There is one set of rules that Kotak is following, while Bandhan promoters look in no hurry to comply with their licensing rules. In a bailout move, State Bank has been allowed to hold more than 48% in Yes Bank, while Prem Watsa owns a majority stake in Catholic Syrian Bank. All of this sends confusing signals to the industry on licensing norms, and that needs to be fixed."RBI's 2015 licensing rules require the promoter of a private bank to reduce the holding to 40% within three years, 20% within 10 years and 15% within 15 years of operations starting.The rules previously allowed promoters to hold 49% but the regulator pushed for diversified ownership after the collapse of the Global Trust Bank. RBI approval is required for a holding of 10% and more in a bank.
Mumbai: India is on the cliff 's edge of an imminent downgrade by Moody's and an outlook change by Fitch to negative in the backdrop of coronavirus outbreak and lockdowns that have derailed fiscal discipline and are biting into growth, said Japan-headquartered Nomura in a research note.There is increasing risk that Moody's could downgrade India to Baa3 'stable' from Baa2 'negative', bringing it on par with S&P and Fitch, both of which rate India at BBB-, the brokerage said. Fitch could also change outlook on India to negative due to deteriorating debt dynamics and its assessment that India has a poor fiscal track record."India's Achilles heel on ratings remains its parlous state of fiscal affairs. A potential spike in its general government debt from around 70% of GDP to around 75-80% of GDP may possibly trigger a reassessment of ratings, particularly for Moody's," said Nomura.India currently has a sovereign rating of BBB- with a stable outlook from S&P and Fitch — a grade above the junk category. Moody's rates it at Baa2 and it had changed outlook on India to negative last year.Nomura said a ratings downgrade to sub-investment grade could dent prospects for India bond flows in the medium term. There are limited implications for the rupee from a Moody's downgrade but there is a risk from a shift to negative outlook by the other two rating agencies."There is a moderate likelihood of an increased interest rate burden adding to the pressure of a ratings downgrade of the fiscal sub-category. In addition, potential recapitalisation of the banking sector in the eventuality that banks' non-performing assets once again become unsustainably high adds to the contingent liabilities burden, which could have a negative impact," said Nomura.Fitch Ratings on Tuesday said India's sovereign rating could come under pressure if there is further deterioration in fiscal outlook as a result of lower growth or fiscal easing.FISCAL RISKSFY21 promises to be a year of stiff fiscal headwinds for India, and the targeted central government's fiscal deficit of 3.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) looks increasingly ambitious, said Nomura. It said the fiscal deficit target is heavily reliant on an aggressive disinvestment and non-tax revenue target, and GDP growth will plummet this year with real GDP growth likely to contract around 0.4% year on year in FY21."The central government's fiscal deficit will rise to around 5.1% of GDP in FY21, with considerable upside risk, depending on the quantum of forthcoming fiscal support. With states' budgets combined, the consolidated fiscal deficit will expand to around 9.5-10% of GDP, close to record highs in the recent past," said Nomura.
Bengaluru-based Strides Pharma Science said it has started exports of Favipiravir, which has shown to be effective in reducing recovery time in Covid-19 patients. In an interview with Divya Rajagopal, Strides Pharma's CEO R Ananthanarayanan, shared the company's plan for the drug's India launch and the other medicines being developed for Covid-19. Edited excerpts:Which countries have prescribed this drug ?It started getting used in Japan. They used it in China too. The GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries reached out to us early on through their treatment regimen programme.What about India supply?Our focus is ensuring that we are able to get approvals for all the necessary studies and data in India. We will be able to provide the drug once the Indian approvals come through. This is our main bottleneck now.Would you be looking for fast-track approval?We are hoping that happens, and we are working closely with the drug regulator. Data applications are being put together to send across to them, including the global data. We are confident we will get the approval as the government task force has given this drug favourable rating along with Tocilizumab.What kind of clinical trial protocol would you need in India?We are working with regulators to use the product on patients based on data from Japan and China, and parallelly generate data for India, as every single patient who gets cured faster will make a big difference for the country.Will this drug be given to people with mild to severe symptoms?We don't know if it is for mild symptoms yet, but moderate, definitely. The drug breaks the genome sequence in the middle part where the virus proliferation happens. When this happens the recovery is faster. In moderate conditions this has shown good results.Any other drugs that you are working on for Covid-19? What about Remdesivir?We are continuing to evaluate this landscape, so yes, we are looking at other products. Is Remdesivir something that we looked at as part of our ARV programme? The answer is, yes. The government might have to look at something like compulsory licensing for the drug, but it is too early to talk about that. When the hurdle and bridge needs to be crossed, it can be crossed then.
NEW DELHI: Following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's repeated push to the AYUSH ministry guidelines, which suggest a range of home remedies to boost immunity, many states have started mass distribution of Ayurvedic medicines and homeopathy immunity boosters.Many states are also administering the recommended concoctions and medicines to patients in government quarantine facilities with mild symptoms, those who are recovering from Covid-19 and also to their asymptomatic contacts.Deputy director, AYUSH department in Madhya Pradesh, PC Sharma, told ET that the state has already started mass distribution of Ayurvedic products such as Sanshamani Vati and Anutel and packets of Trikatu, Also, nearly 700 patients quarantined in the severely-hit areas of Bhopal, Indore and Ujjain are being given Arogya-20, a concoction prepared by the state AYUSH department, with essential herbs twice a day, to boost immunity.In Tamil Nadu, under the Arogyam campaign, nearly one lakh families living in containment zones are being given the herbal concoctions kabasura kudineer and nilavembu kudineer. Director of Indian Medicine and Homeopathy, S Ganesan, said the "siddha concoctions" were given to 13 lakh people in several districts of the state, especially to the primary and secondary contacts of Covid-19 patients. "Now, we have started the distribution in Chennai. We have also recommended these combinations to the central team which visited us," he said.Meanwhile, Karnataka has started house-to-house drive to spread awareness about AYUSH ministry guidelines. The department officials in the state are distributing Ayurvedic combinations of Sanshamani Vati and Ashwagandha, homeopathy medicine arsenic album and two Unani medicines to primary and secondary contacts in red zones. The department has already sought permission to administer Ayurvedic immunity boosters to patients in quarantine centres, according to an official. "Depending on official data and some inferences, we know where Ayurveda is popular in coastal areas. In Muslim areas, we are distributing Unani medicines," an official said.Punjab has already written to the Centre for procuring some of the Ayurvedic medicines recommended by the AYUSH ministry. ET has learnt that the state has also sought permission for some of these medicines to be used for treating contacts of Covid-19 patients.Rajasthan's secretary to the department of Ayurveda and Indian System of Medicine, Gayatri Rathore, said state pharmacies have come up with sachets of a traditional Ayurvedic concoction which has been distributed to over 15 lakh people, including frontline workers and police personnel. "There are also instructions given about the dosage. We are also telling people not to be complacent with immunity boosters, as social distancing and hand washing are important."The Rajasthan government has roped in more than 6,000 AYUSH doctors and compounders to assist the medical staff engaged in combating the pandemic. It has also allowed administering of AYUSH medicines to contacts of Covid-19 patients, in consultation with respective medical officer of the area. The state has also given permission to district officials to procure AYUSH medicines from local outlets, if there is a need.Delhi AYUSH department head RK Manchanda said, "Ayurvedic and homeopathic medicines are being given to those who are coming to AYUSH medical centres with mild symptoms and also to some patients in containment zones who don't have severe symptoms. We are focusing on an integrated approach and also looking at how our ancient wisdom can be validated in the context of contemporary realities."The Delhi government has also started a "happiness therapy" course comprising yoga and breathing exercises in some of its quarantine facilities.Gujarat started administering ayurvedic medicines to asymptomatic patients in the hotspots of Ahmedabad. "The government has also distributed ayurvedic medicines to over 1.26 crore people in Gujarat," said an official.Telangana AYUSH medical officer N Lingaraju said, "Unani decoction, chyawanprash and arsenic album are being given to primary and secondary contacts." Ayurveda and homeopathy colleges and institutions have been transformed into isolation wards. "If the symptoms are extreme and the tests are positive, then we are sending patients to other hospitals. For those who are being sent to home quarantine, after being tested negative, we are prescribing a list of traditional immunity boosters."Earlier this month, the AYUSH ministry had sent out a new advisory to states suggesting "add-on traditional medicine interventions to conventional care". It had also urged the consumption of 'chyawanprash' in the morning and "herbal tea" or decoction made of tulsi, cinnamon, black pepper, dry ginger and milk with turmeric. The advisory also suggested the intake of the anti-malarial ayurvedic drug, AYUSH 64, developed by the ministry.
ET Intelligence Group: After the lockdown ends, or is partially lifted, equity market investors would continue to be guided by five developments across companies and sectors:1. NON-DISCRETIONARY CONSUMPTION OFFERING GROWTH VISIBILITYPersonal care services, footfall-dependent businesses, luxury or non-urgent products, travel, seasonal products and services, entertainment and eating out will continue to be impacted and the Street is likely to avoid such businesses. On the other hand, companies that are able to better leverage technology — edtech, healthcare and logistics — and those that are able to grab new opportunities, like adding hand sanitisers as a product , may be preferred.2. WELL-CAPITALISED BUSINESSESThe Street would prefer companies that have money to not only stay liquid but also to remain solvent. "Covid vagaries will reveal the quality of funds available to companies — whether they have 'real' cash in hand that is well deployed in real liquid instruments or doubtful assets," said Milind Sarwate, an independent director on the board of several Indian companies. "Companies that have been functioning like pass-through vehicles or in-house bankers to weaker group firms will be exposed and lose value," he said. It will be a test for lenders, too, in terms of quality of exposure.3. ABILITY TO PAY DIVIDENDSWhen growth is difficult to achieve, investors scout for dividend-paying companies. Stocks such as ITC and Britannia surged after the companies announced higher dividends just before the lockdown.When the Nifty lost nearly a fourth of its value in March, fund managers picked up stocks of companies with fairly good dividend yield, among other things. According to G Chokkalingam, founder of Equinomics Research & Advisory, investors would prefer shares with a dividend yield of 5-10% in the near term.4. AGILITY IN FORGING DEALSThe Street tends to reward the ability to forge growth-oriented deals despite the lockdown. Reliance Industries managed to strike a mega deal with Facebook regarding its Jio business during the lockdown. Similarly, pharma firms are securing drug approvals and launching them in the US. FMCG firms forged quick partnerships with delivery and logistics players to overcome distribution challenges.5. SHORT-TERM THE NEW LONG-TERM"Clearly, the Street will look at investing in businesses that will survive in the near term, even as the virus spreads amid the threat of a relapse and the absence of a vaccine," said Chokkalingam. The investment style is likely to be short-term active trading instead of long-term passive investing. Several factors, like liquidity issues in the domestic financial markets, crude oil prices, and lockdown extensions across countries are lending volatility to the stock markets, pushing investors to have a short-term horizon.
Mumbai: In the staid world of debt funds, they were the equivalent of Savile Row suits – until last week. Since Franklin Templeton abruptly pulled the plug on six debt schemes, the money under management at Mumbai's high-yielding credit risk funds has shrunk by about a fifth in just three working days.Pronounced outliers in the debt basket, credit risk funds yielded significantly higher returns than normal debt funds because of their bets on higher-risk bonds. In times of stress, however, the risks appear to have outweighed rewards, upending the riskiest end of the debt market.Data by industry body AMFI showed that assets under management (AUM) of credit risk funds fell to Rs 39,510 crore on April 28 from Rs 48,576 crore on April 23, when Franklin Templeton made its surprise winding-up announcement after trading had long ended that day in a locked down Mumbai. The AUM decline factors in both the impact of redemptions and shrinkage in net asset value of units.To be sure, AUM in this category fell from Rs 79,640 crore in April 2019 to Rs 55,380 crore in March this year, indicating a gradual waning of investor appeal. The credit risk fund category accounts for about 5 per cent of the debt mutual fund assets of Rs 11.48 lakh crore.75462348"There is flight to safety and investors do not want to take any risk. Since the credit risk category carries the maximum risk, savers are moving to safer categories, like overnight or liquid funds," said Gajendra Kothari, founder, Etica Wealth.To ensure the fall is not precipitous, the central bank offered mutual funds a Rs 50,000-crore lifeline earlier this week. But that might not help fund houses much because the quality of residual paper now held by them wouldn't qualify the rating-threshold test at the banks supplying the money as the fund houses have sold the best quality paper they had.Financial advisers are also being rather circumspect in the current environment, where capital protection has assumed greater significance than capital appreciation. "In a weakening economic environment, investors should not take risk in debt funds and stay away from credit funds," said the product head at a wealth management firm.
BENGALURU | MUMBAI: Indian IT services companies may reduce dependence on subcontractors to control costs, as the Covid-19 pandemic threatens to slow new deal flow and pressure margins. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys, Wipro and Mindtree said subcontracting costs are expected to fall in the coming months. On average, subcontracting forms about 10-15% of total employee cost.In the last few years, subcontracting costs had spiked as IT firms looked beyond in-house talent for new-age technical skills. "We will be reducing dependency on contractors to some extent to optimise it (cost). Lateral hiring will be done for specific skills in a limited manner and we also continue to build talent within the organisation," Milind Lakkad, Global Head, Human Resources at TCS, told ET.Subcontracting costs made up for 13% of total employee cost (a sum of internal employees and subcontracting costs) at TCS last financial year. At Wipro and Infosys, it formed about 22% and 12% respectively, during the same period. Subcontracting costs accounted for about 11% of total employee costs at Mindtree last financial year. 75462190Wipro's Chief HR head Saurabh Govil said the company was evaluating the complete supply chain of employees, including hiring, bench and subcontractors. "We have a fairly large contractor population who are doing work for us. About 10-11% of our billable population is the subcontracted population and we will look to replace those people with our existing employees…," Govil told ET.Infosys' CFO Nilanjan Roy, during a post-earnings call with analysts, said subcontracting will be one of the ways to optimise costs. "Our ongoing strategic cost optimisation levers around automation, pyramid rationalisation, subcontractors will, of course, continue as in the earlier years. We are confident that our proximity to our clients and our superior talent engine will enable us to weather this storm," Roy said.
The key to IELTS Writing Task 2 success is to use the right tips, techniques and give the examiner exactly what they want in your writing task 2 essay.
IELTS WRITING
In the IELTS writing test, there are 2 writing tasks on both the categories of IELTS that is General Training Test and the Academic Test. Writing task 1 on general training test is the letter writing to a family member, friend, manager and so on. Writing task 1 in an academic test is to describe or illustrate a chart, graph, table and so on. Writing task 2 of both the academic or general training test is writing an essay. In this post, you will find everything you need to maximize your IELTS Writing Task 2 score, including:
Use the question to help you organize your answer.
Check the general topic of the question, usually, a problem, a point of view or a statement with two opposing views.
Check how many parts there are to the question.
Make a brief plan. Use the focus points in the question.
Plan to write about four/five paragraphs. Keep this writing structure in mind:
Introduction:The introduction should tell the examiner what the rest of the essay is about and also answer the question directly. This tells the examiner that you know what you are doing straight away and helps you write your main body paragraphs.
Supporting Paragraphs: This is where you give the examiner more detail. You do this by stating your main points and supporting these with explanations and relevant examples.
Conclusion: Here you provide a summary of what you have already said in the rest of the essay.
• Make very brief notes about what you are going to write for each paragraph – one idea for each paragraph is enough. • Aim to write around 270 words. • Work out how many lines 250 words are in your handwriting, e.g. if you write about ten words per line, then you will need to produce at least 25 lines. • Spend no more than five minutes analyzing the question and planning.
IELTS Writing Recent Actual Test (Task 2) 2020 with Sample Answers (Ebook)
$37 $18
IELTS Writing Task 2 Actual Tests & Sample Answers written by IELTS teachers aims to help IELTS candidates perform at their best on the big day.
3. Analyzing the essay questions and understanding the rubric
Prepare for understanding the questions in Task 2 by looking at the various books available.
Familiarize yourself with the basic structure of the essay question and the rubric.
The essay question usually contains a statement that describes a general situation followed by specific points to write about.
The general statement can present a problem, e.g. Stress in modern life is increasing. This may then be followed by questions like What do you think are the main causes of this? What possible solutions can you suggest? Your answer should then be organized around the main causes and then the suggested solutions. In each, you case you need to give reasons and support with examples.
Remember that you also need to give your opinion.
The organization of the question shows you the organization of your essay. Do not try to contradict it or to be overly clever.
Try to analyze questions by concentrating first on the organizing or words [causes, effects, solutions, etc] that are contained in the question.
Make lists of the common words used.
If you are asked to give your opinion about a point of view, the common instructions used are: To what extent do you agree [or disagree]? How far do you agree [or disagree]? What is your opinion? Note that these may be combined with questions about causes etc.
Note that when you are asked just “To what extent do you agree?” It means that you can disagree!
4. How to write the introduction
Keep the introduction short.
Write no more than two or three sentences – about 30 words.
Connect your introduction and title. Write a general statement relating to the topic.
Then write a sentence which contains the parts of the questions you are asked about: … factors contributing to... etc.
Where you can, use synonyms to rephrase the question.
Cross out any notes in the plan you made.
Ignore what other people are doing in the examination room.
Remember that quality is better than quantity. Do not panic if other people are writing more than you.
5. How to write a supporting paragraph
Write in stages.
To connect the paragraph to the introduction, write a statement with a focus word, e.g. The main cause/factor is … Alternatively, you can just state the cause or begin to explain the situation.
As a rough guide, write about 75/80 words for each paragraph – about 7/8 lines if you write 10 words per line.
Mark this on the answer sheet and write towards this mark. Repeat this for the subsequent paragraphs.
As you write, use a pencil, but try not to rub out corrections or changes, as this wastes a lot of time. You also stop the thread of your writing. Cross out any changes with one line. Write above if you have space. Only rub out the text you want to change if you don’t have space to write above.
6. How to organize a supporting paragraph
Improve your organization and you will make fewer mistakes. You then have more time to concentrate on grammar, vocabulary, and spelling.
Have an aim of how much you want to write for each paragraph.
For 75/80 words, aim to write about four to seven sentences of varying length.
Make sure each paragraph is connected with the previous one, as you are marked according to how you organize each paragraph.
You only need to use a limited range of sentence/clause types to write effectively. Here is a list of the most common types of sentences and clauses you can use to guide you as you write:
These types of sentences/clauses fit together in common combinations. For example, what would you write after a measure sentence? You could write a result or a reasonable sentence.
Think about how you can combine two or more within sentences and as separate sentences. Don’t think about grammar or vocabulary. Think about an idea and then what functions you would need to explain and support it.
As you write a paragraph, it will tend to move from general to specific.
7. How to speed up your writing and make it more flexible
Start your paragraph with a general statement and then support and explain it.
Make sure that you do not write a series of general statements.
When you start to write, develop your main idea by asking yourself questions to guide you. Use the list of functions above. For example:
– What is my focus statement? The main measure is … – What do I mean by this? By this I mean .. – What is the result of this? This will… – Can I give a specific result? First of all, it will… – Can I give a general example? For example at the moment, … – Can I give a specific example? However, … could. .
8. How you combine them is up to you, as long as they make sense.
Practice combining the functions in different ways.
Widen the range of sentence types that you use. For example, think of sentences in pairs. Then think what would come after the second function in the pair and so on. Practice this until it becomes fluid and automatic technique.
The more organized you are in your writing, the more fluent and flexible you will be. So make sure you know and can use a wide range of connections and functions.
The more organized you are, the fewer mistakes you will make. If you do not have to think about the organization of a question in the exam, you will be able to concentrate on avoiding repetition and expressing your ideas.
Mark out the end of each paragraph before you write an essay and aim for that point. It helps you to focus your ideas and stops you from rambling.
Revise efficiently. Take a blank sheet and then write down everything you know about a specific aspect of Writing Task 2: what you know about introductions; what common sentence functions you use; what common connecting words and phrases you know for but, and, so, etc. This will show you what you know and what you don’t know. It will help you organize your thoughts and increase your confidence and hence your speed.
Above all know yourself, your strengths and your limitations and your common mistakes. Then push your limitations and correct your mistakes.
9. Common mini sequences of functions
As you become more confident you can build these sequences and as you write and learn to combine in whatever way suits you.
measure/result/reason; general example; specific example
condition (if/unless); result; real example
problem; cause; solution; reason; general and specific example
opinion; explanation; reason; general example; specific example; my opinion
Try and think about these sequences without writing them down. Try to combine and recombine.
Developing your flexibility helps develop the fluency in connecting text and prevents over-generalizing.
The following checklists are only guidelines and can be adapted in many different ways. You can combine the information in endless different ways.
You can take parts from one checklist and add them to another.
10. How to express your opinion
There are many ways to express your opinion. If you find it difficult, use the frame below to check and guide.
Practice writing your own statements of opinion. Then practice supporting them. Use reasons, results, explanation, contrast, effect, condition, etc.
Each time you write a sentence, qualify what you have said.
11. How to link your sentences
Below are common words and phrases you know, but which you often forget to use when linking your writing. Check how they are used.
Match the expressions below with the function checklist.
While practicing for the exam, try to use these expressions.
Before you write and before the exam read through the expressions again.
Avoid overusing connecting words, especially too many additional words.
Revision tip: On a blank sheet of paper, write addition, comparison, etc. at the top of the page and then list the words you remember. Check against the list on page 39.
a. Addition
Adverbs: moreover, what is more, furthermore, further, in addition.(to that), additionally, likewise, similarly, besides, equally, as well as, also, on top of that
Conjunctions: and, which/that/whose, etc. for explanation/adding additional information
b. Comparison
Use conjunctions, like while/whilst/whereas/but
Use linkers: however/in contrast/ by comparison/ meanwhile/, on the other hand,
Focus on one thing:
As regards/with regard to/regarding/in the case of/as for (Noun), Subject + Verb…
When it comes to……., it/they…….
c. Condition
Conjunctions: if, unless, whether, on condition that, provided that supposing, as/so long as, otherwise
d. Examples
Adverbs: for example, for instance, such as, as, like
Expressions: take … for example, a (very) good example/the best example, in many countries/every year/now/in the past, etc.
e. Reason/Cause
Conjunctions: because, as, since, for
-ing (present)… knowing I’d be late,…
-ed (past)… warned about the problem …
f. Concession and contrast
Adverbs: however, nevertheless, though, even so, but, (and) yet
Conjunctions: although, even though, though, while
Prepositions: despite/in spite of (the fact that)
g. Result
Adverbs: as a result, as a consequence, consequently, accordingly, therefore, so, on that account, for that reason
Conjunctions: and, so, so that, so + adjective that
Other forms: -ing, which … this will…
h. Manner
Conjunctions: as, as if
i. Time
Conjunctions: as, as soon as, after, before, since, until when, whenever
j. Purpose
Adverbs: so
Conjunctions: so, so that, to, in order (not) to, in order that, so as (not) to
k. Making generalizations
Adverbs: Generally speaking, overall, on the whole, in general, by and large
l. Conclusion
Adverbs: hence, thus, therefore, consequently
Explanation: by this I mean, which, this
Practice making your own checklists.
12. General writing hints
Writing in English follows some basic principles:
The basic pattern of an English sentence is: Subject/Verb/Object.
The connecting and reference words generally come at the beginning of the sentences and/or clauses: words like moreover/he/they/such/this/these/another measure is, etc.
English sentences are organized around the principle of old and new information.
The reference words refer to the old information and the new idea in the sentence is generally at the end. For example, An old man entered a shop. The shop had a wide range of food. The food… Sometimes the structure is reversed for emphasis. Compare: Another measure is educating the general public, (old/new information) with: Educating the general public is another measure, (new/old information). The impersonal phrase: There is/are, is used to introduce new ideas: There will be many implications if this policy is introduced.
Always check your work as you write. Look backward as well as forwards.
Remember what you bring to the writing when you do the exam. Your mind is not a blank sheet!
13. Checking your writing efficiently
Read this section before and after you write and keep it in mind.
Leave yourself 3-5 minutes to check your writing.
Be aware of the mistakes you usually make and look out for these. It can make a difference between a score band!
As it is difficult to check for all mistakes at one time, check for one type of mistake at a time.
Check your spelling first. Scan the text backward rather than forwards. Alternatively scan at random, jumping from one paragraph to another. You will see mistakes quicker as you are not engaging with meaning, but looking at word pictures. You may not spot all the mistakes, but you will get quite a few.
Scan quickly the beginning of each sentence and the beginning of each paragraph. Check if the linking words, the reference words or synonyms you use are correct.
Check the verbs – tense? singular/plural agreement? the correct form of the verb?
Check that your connecting linking words are correct and that you have not repeated any of them.
If you tend to make other mistakes, like misusing the articles, study them and look for them in particular.
Practice so that you can do these all at the same time while going through the text from the beginning.
14. Practice and Band 9.0 Sample Essay
Some people believe that a crime is a result of social problems and poverty, others think that crime is a result of a bad person's nature. Discuss both views and give your opinion
BAND 9.0 SAMPLE ANSWER
Many people consider that innate characteristics are responsible for the fact that some people choose to turn to a career of crime. However, I would argue that crime is a consequence of social issues and poverty.
There is a belief that a person's nature determines whether or not they become a criminal. Firstly, they argue that an individual who is cruel turns to crime more easily than a kind person. For instance, a child bullying other boys or girls at school may turn into a violent criminal in the future. Secondly, bad characteristics such as laziness or selfishness could also breed future offenders, who seek to acquire easy money without working for it. A number of youngsters choose to steal from others, instead of working hard to make an honest living. These are strong reasons for thinking that those who have an inborn bad nature are more likely to break the law.
Nevertheless, it seems to me that social issues and poverty are the main causes of crime. There are many problems in society which might lead to an increase in the crime rate. For example, unemployment pushes people into resorting to crime because they simply cannot find a job. As a consequence, the number of offenders has climbed in many countries over recent decades. Another reason is that, more broadly, poverty, in general, leads to a rise in crime. If people do not have enough money to make ends meet, they will be tempted to pursue illegal activities just to support themselves and their families.
In conclusion, while a number of people think that a person’s nature is the primary cause of crimes, I would argue that they are the results of social issues and poverty.
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IELTS Tips and Tricks
Things to be remembered before you attend the IELTS test
You have to focus more on your weaknesses so that you can overcome that. It should not affect your performance on the test day.
You need to go through practice and preparation before attending the IELTS examination. Or you can hire a practitioner who will help you to prepare a study plan.
The total exam timings will be 2 hours 45 minutes. Therefore you need to check previously whether you can work under a time pressure.
Check the official website of IELTS where you will get the books, videos for reference.
Make a study plan before you start preparing for the exam, based on your strengths and weaknesses.
IELTS writing format
The candidates are given 40 minutes to complete the 250 words essay question. The essay has to be divided into 4 sections, the first paragraph should be an introduction, the middle 2 paragraphs should be the bodies of the essay and the last paragraph should be the conclusion. The essay writing is included in both Academic as well as general training test.
Tips for IELTS writing
You have to make sure that your handwriting is neat and tidy.
Try to attempt writing task 2 first, as it contributes more score for your writing test.
Do not use spoken English for your test while writing.
Tips for IELTS Writing Task 1
You have to write 3-4 paragraphs, containing 150 words in your essay.
In the first paragraph, you need to paraphrase the question like the table shows, the graph shows, the chart shows and so on.
Avoid using the word Below while describing a chart, graph or table.
There should be a proper usage of verbs, adverbs, adjectives, nouns and so on as the grammar is also checked while you write the illustration.
The conclusion is not necessary, but if you want the sentence to be looked complete then you can add a conclusion.
Do not forget to use punctuation or check your spellings in order to make your essay more accurate.
Tips for IELTS writing task 2
Write about 250 words.
Plan your supporting points so that you do not miss out on the topic.
All the issues in the essay have to be covered.
More focus has to be on the issues than on the general topics.
You should have the relevant points which support the essay.
IELTS essay writing tips
You need to understand the issue in the question, see if it is problem, solution or a discussion. Try to avoid writing an essay on a general topic and write it based on the issues.
You need to jot down the ideas that come to your mind while looking at the issue in the essay.
If you Practice and Prepare for the IELTS exam you can score high band, there are lot of web pages where you get many ebooks, video tutorials through which you can improve your vocabulary. You need to keep in mind that the IELTS exam is not about knowledge but, it is about testing your language skills.
You can also write the essay based on your opinion, for example, if you get any issue in the essay you can pin down your opinion on solving that issue.
As the essay writing will have only 40 minutes, you need to practice to manage your time before appearing for the IELTS writing test. Do not take more than 5 minutes to prepare for essay and try to complete the essay before 2 or 3 minutes so that there is time for proofreading,
Advanced Vocabulary for IELTS 7.0 +: MEDICAL AND HEALTH ISSUES – Practice Exercises and Answer Key
MEDICAL AND HEALTH ISSUES (Part 2)
Word Association
(a) Complete the following exercise by linking each adjective (Column A) to the noun with which it collocates (Column B). If in doubt, the strongest collocation should be selected.
Column A
Answer
Column B
(a) allergic
(b) infectious
(c) malignant
(d) clinical
(e) general
(f) digestive
(g) cardiac
(h) surgical
(i) biological
(j) critical
(k) congenital
(1) post-operative
(m) terminal
(n) bipolar
(i) tumour
(ii) trial
(iii) anaesthetic
(iv) procedure
(v) clock
(vi) condition
(vii) disorder
(viii) arrest
(ix) system
(x) illness
(xi) consultation
(xii) disease
(xiii) reaction
(xiv) disorder
(b) Now match the collocations with their definitions:
Collocation
Definition
a mental condition characterised by extremes of happiness and sadness
a condition that will result in death no matter what
an extremely serious state of health that is immediately life threatening
a medical operation that involves making incisions into the body
a condition whereby the heart stops functioning
the part of the body that processes the food we eat
a drug administered to a patient which puts them to sleep
the progression of time in a woman from puberty to menopause
an illness which can be passed from one person to another
an aggressive form of cancer that will spread around the body
when the immune system responds in a harmful way to exposure to something
a way of testing a new form of medicine or treatment on human subjects
a health problem present at and from birth
a meeting with a doctor after having undergone surgery
(c) Complete the following paragraph using some of the collocations above. Use each collocation once only:
Coming to Terms with Cancer
The prognosis was not good; I may not have had a(n) terminal illness, but the cancer was at an advanced stage and had spread to the lymph nodes. All this I learned at a rather intense __________ I had with my doctor following the excision of the lump on my throat for biopsy. The doctor had assured me the lump was probably benign, so, as you can probably imagine, it came as quite a shock to learn that I had a(n)_______________ , and that the cancer had already spread. As if that wasn't traumatic enough, I then had to prepare myself for another _____________ the doctor would perform the very next day – he said it couldn't wait. I would be put under ____________ again and would be out for about one hour. I would feel very groggy for a good two hours after waking up. ‘Why not try chemo?' I asked him. Turns out I have a history of ____________ to this form of treatment in my family – it nearly killed my uncle. Apparently, chemo would do more harm than good where my body is concerned.
At the moment my head is all over the place. The last few days have been a lot to take in. And the situation is complicated by the fact that my partner and I were planning to have a baby. That will have to be postponed indefinitely. But, the thing is, I'm 33 now and my ___________ is ticking. Will I ever be able to have a child?
IELTS Speaking Actual tests Jan - May 2020 with suggested answers- Ebook
$80 $18
IELTS Speaking Actual Tests & Suggested Answers written by IELTS teachers aims to help IELTS candidates perform at their best on the big day.
Do people like being a police officer in your country?
I guess this profession is still popular because being a police officer puts you in a position of authority. I don't know whether it pays well, but I don't ever see police officers complain about their salary so it must be OK.
What qualities should a police officer have?
Police officers should be upright. They should care about fellow citizens and strive to uphold justice and equality. And I can't stress this enough: they should go after bad people instead of regular people.
Why some people prefer to be a lawyer?
People generally think of lawyers as intelligent. Being a lawyer usually comes with a high salary and practicing law gives people the knowledge and resources to protect themselves legally.
Do you think that people in your country obey the law all the time?
No, certainly not. Many crimes are reported on newspapers and television. They appear very frequently. In fact, I see them every week. Traffic violations, sexual harassment and school violence have been on the news recently.
IELTS Listening Practice Test for IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training Test takers
SECTION 1
Questions 1-2
Choose the correct answer A, B, C or D.
1. Thieves often target students’ homes because students
A. are often at classes. B. often have high-value, portable items. C. are wealthier than other young people. D. don’t usually lock campus accommodation.
2. If personal items are lost, destroyed or damaged, the insurance company will usually
A. allow the student to buy a similar replacement item at the current cost B. give the student the sum of money the item originally cost. C. give the student a fixed amount. D. get the money from the thief.
Questions 3-6
Decide whether the following are insured for up to.
A. £150 B. £250 C. £600 D. £2000 E. £3000
3. a computer
4. two musical instruments
5. ten computer games
6. three suits
Questions 7-10
Complete the following sentences using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.
7. Academic ________________ are insured up to £5000.
8. The ___________________ is valid until the end of June.
9. The insurance company has a 24 _________________________.
10. The insurance company’s office is usually open until ______________________.
SECTION 2
Questions 11-14
Answer the following questions using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS OR NUMBERS for each.
11. What percentage of the students are mature?
12. What percentage of the students are from abroad?
13. How are the suburbs described?
14. How many students does the university have?
Questions 15-17
Complete the following sentences using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each gap.
15. Newtown is England's __________________ city.
16. The ____________________ is at Salt Lane.
17. A relatively high proportion of students decide to ______________________ in Newtown after graduating.
Questions 18-20
Complete the notes on using the university accommodation services using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.
18. The university accommodation services office is in the _________________________.
19. The university accommodation services have a ______________________ that students can look through online.
20. The website also has responses to ________________________.
SECTION 3
Questions 21-25
Complete the notes about what makes a good teacher using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each gap.
good communicator with interesting 21 ________________________.
knows students doesn’t 22________________ at primary/secondary levels
knows subject at both 23 ______________ level
takes students step by step honest and 24______________________
honest and 24 ______________________
clothes- 25 __________________
Questions 26-30
Complete the notes about what makes a good student using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each gap.
active-e.g. asks questions to aid understanding or for 26___________________ motivated – has goals
disciplined-good behavior and maintains 27_-reviews and previews
finds reasons to do things rather than reasons not to do things realizes learning is not always linear and/or immediate
doesn’t 28_with more experience of life/education
doesn’t 29____.teachers for his/her own faults-accepts suggestions
make sutdying 30 _____________________
SECTION 4
Questions 31-32
Complete the following sentences using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS.
31. The lecturer says that an essay is like_to a specific question.
32. A key thing for lecturers to consider when they mark an essay is whether it is
Questions 33-36
Complete the notes on the words used in the essay title using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.
Implications
ideas following on from the 33_______________ for rising divorce
Phenomenon
refers to rising divorce
different explanations
suggests that various 34 _______________ have thought of different reasons for the phenomenon.
critically analyze
35 _______________ of a theorv, a policy, research, an argument
36 ______________
a term which limits the subject to a place
the last 20 years
a term which limits the subject to a time
Questions 37-40
Decide which student or students (A, B or C) would do or write the following.
37. Look at divorce statistics.
38. Assess the views of sociologists.
39. Use interviews to gather information.
40. Consider the effects of divorce on children.
Answer keys:
Section 1, Questions 1~10
1. B
2. A
3. D
4. C
5. C
6. B
7. (course) fees
8. special introductory rate
9. hour help line
10. 5 (o’clock)
Section 2, Questions 11-20
11. 13%
12. 9%
13. leafy
14. 28000
15. greenest
16. third campus
17. live and work
18. Student Union Building
19. private housing database
20. frequently asked questions
Section 3, Questions 27-30
21. voice
22. make friends
23. current and previous
24. patient
25. dress(es) tidily
26. confirmation
27. study routine
28. criticise teachers
29. blame
30. enjoyable
Section 4. Questions 31-40
31. an extended answer
32. relevant
33. explanations
34. analysts
35. assess the value
36. Western countries
37. A, C
38. C
39. B
40. A
BONUS EXERCISE: GAP-FILLING
The texts below are transcript for your IELTS Listening Practice Test. To make the most out of this transcript, we removed some words from the texts and replaced with spaces. You have to fill each space with the missing word by listening to the audio for this IELTS listening practice test.
You should say: what the goal is how easy or difficult you think it will be to reach this goal how you plan to achieve this goal and explain why this is one of your goals.
BAND 9.0 SAMPLE ANSWER:
One of my goals in the near future is to improve my proficiency in Japanese. Actually, I have been studying Japanese for two months; therefore, I can just hold some simple conversations about daily life. There are various reasons why I want to study this language.
IELTS Speaking Actual tests Jan - May 2020 with suggested answers- Ebook
$80 $18
IELTS Speaking Actual Tests & Suggested Answers written by IELTS teachers aims to help IELTS candidates perform at their best on the big day.
Firstly, I am keen on Japanese culture, which is so incredibly unique and diverse. By learning Japanese, I can know more about traditions there. Secondly, I have always longed to work for a Japanese company. Since people in Japan are organized and hard-working, collaborating with them gives me a good chance to improve myself. That‟s why I really want to master this language. To achieve this goal, I am taking a Japanese course with a native teacher who gives me the best methods to study Japanese effectively. Besides, I am trying to practice speaking Japanese with my friends and watch as many Japanese films as possible, so that my level of Japanese can be improved considerably. I hope that soon I will have a good command of Japanese and I am sure that I will remain motivated to achieve my goal.
VOCABULARY
hold conversations: [expression] have conversations Example: It is impossible to hold conversations in that place – it is too noisy ! keen on: [adjective] very interested in an idea or activity Example: My parents are very keen on visiting my uncle in the US. diverse: [adjective] very different and varied. Example: New York is a big city with people from diverse cultures. longed to: [phrasal verb] wanted to do something very much. Example: It is just a dream, but I have always longed to be a famous musician. master: [verb] learn or understand something completely. Example: In many jobs we have to master new techniques, such as computer skills. have a command of: [expression] have an ability to do or use something – especially a language. Example: You must have a good command of English in order to pass the IELTS exam.
8. In the car, there is a_____________and a torch.
9. The registration number of the car is_______________
10. The car uses a______________ locking system.
SECTION 2
Questions 11-14
Answer the following questions using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.
11. How did the traveller hear about New York?
12. How many times had the traveller flown by plane?
13. What surprised the traveller about New York’s airport?
14. What happened in London?
Questions 15-17
Complete the following sentences using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.
15. The traveller liked the different kinds of______________________
16. Things that the traveller didn’t like in New York were the_____________________
17. From the flat, the traveller could see the___________________
Questions 18-20
Choose the correct answer or answers from A-D.
18. The traveller found New Yorkers to be
A. kind. B. rude. C. pushy. D. helpful.
19. Which people showed the traveller around New York?
A. Her friend. B. Her friends. C. Her friends’ neighbours. D. Strangers.
20. What events did the traveller see?
A. A chess tournament. B. The Feast of San Gennaro. C. The Annual African American Day Parade. D. Richmond County Fair.
SECTION 3
Questions 21-24
Complete the notes on how to teach kina esthetic learners using only ONE word for each gap.
21. Cestures-especially_____________ones.
22. Spell out words in the_____________.
23. Put_______________on board and students label it.
24. Students______________out words and others guess them.
Questions 25-27
Complete the following sentences about visual learners using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.
25. Flash cards can be different colours according to the____________________.
26. Students can____________________words In texts and ask their partners for meanings.
27. Lastly, Tina points out that____________________can be used.
Questions 28-30
Complete the summary on auditory learners using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each gap.
Students listen to a 28_________________and draw what they hear or the teacher could describe a picture and the teacher and students can see whose picture was closest to the original.
Each student gets a flash card and holds up their card when the 29__________ is used in a song, poem or story. Students add a sentence to a story, including the word on their flash card.
The teacher gives the students lyrics with some words replaced by 30____________ words. Students listen to the song and make corrections.
SECTION 4
Questions 37-33
Complete the following sentences according to the information given by the tutor. Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.
31. Note taking improves your ability to________________on what the speaker says.
32. Note taking allows you to get a_________________of the material being presented.
33. There are many ways of taking notes, but they must allow you to________________ contained in them and connect them together.
Questions 34-38
Complete the following notes according to the information given by the tutor. Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.
Title of lecture: Write it down 34__________________
Direct signal For example 35______________you get this down."
Indirect signal Pausing. Speaking slowly, loudly. Using stress.
Repetition 30________________and add new information.
Book recommendation Tutor usually 37________________reading whole book.
General advice Avoid repetition 38________________obvious points. Summarize important ideas.
Questions 39-40
Complete the following notes on recommended books. Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS.
Title
Author
Suggested unit
39____________
Tony Lynch
6 and 12
Learning to Study in English
Brian Heaton and Don Dunmore
40________________
Answer keys:
Section 1, Questions 1-10
1. medium 2. 17 3. 31.05 4. insurance 5. Browne 6. Hectrix Electronics 7. Unit2/Two 8. first aid kit 9. K758 SMD 10. central
Section 2, Questions 11-20
11. (from) friends 12. none/never/0 13. lot of foreigners 14. (they) changed planes 15. buildings and monuments 16. crowds (and) (bad) weather 17. ocean 18. IN EITHER ORDER A, D 19. C 20. IN EITHER ORDER B, D
Section 3, Questions 21-30
21. finger 22. air 23. poster 24. act 25. part(s) of speech 26. highlight 27. spider diagrams 28. dictation 29. word or phrase 30. rhyming
Section 4, Questions 31-40
31. concentrate 32. deeper understanding 33. reproduce the ideas 34. in full 35. Make sure 36. Go back 37. doesn’t suggest 38. Omit 39. Study Listening 40. IN EITHER ORDER 5,10
BONUS EXERCISE: GAP-FILLING
The texts below are transcript for your IELTS Listening Practice Test. To make the most out of this transcript, we removed some words from the texts and replaced with spaces. You have to fill each space with the missing word by listening to the audio for this IELTS listening practice test.
What is your full name? Can I see your ID? Where are you from? Do you work or study? What do you do?
Do you like animals?
Yes, of course! I was raised by animal lovers, so I have definitely inherited that trait. I believe that all living things are connected, so we should respect and love animals. I think it's incredible that pets like dogs for example are incredibly loyal and never fail to be excited and wag (move back and forth) their tails when you come home even if you've only been gone for 30 minutes.
IELTS Speaking Actual tests Jan - May 2020 with suggested answers- Ebook
$80 $18
IELTS Speaking Actual Tests & Suggested Answers written by IELTS teachers aims to help IELTS candidates perform at their best on the big day.
What is your favorite animal?
Ever since I was a child, I've had a fascination with whales. I think they are absolutely majestic (amazing, beautiful) creatures. I know that they are intelligent creatures that speak their own languages and are very family-oriented which makes me love and respect them. Furthermore, I think especially orcas are just gorgeous with their smooth, black bodies and white circles around their eyes. I've always dreamt of going whale- watching!
Did you have any pets when you were a child?
Since my mother was an animal lover, our house was full of pets! I used to have geckos (a type of lizard), hermit crabs, 2 cats, and 2 dogs. The most special animal I ever had was my cat named Blackie. I still remember his plump (fat), round body and his short little legs. Actually, he acted more like a dog than a cat. He was amazingly affectionate and loving.
Do many people in your country keep a pet at home?
Having pets is definitely a trend nowadays. Although cats and dogs have always been popular, people are now expanding their horizons. For example, mini pigs are becoming more common in homes. It's said that they act like dogs. Apart from this, more exotic (not average; from a different area of the world) creatures are ending up as pets, such as boas, squirrels, chinchillas, tarantulas, etc. In my opinion, I think these animals belong (should be) outdoors!
Is there anything being polluted in your hometown?
Absolutely. As the industry and economy are on the rise (increasing), more and more factories are showing up, causing air pollution. Moreover, as people's salaries have increased, more people can afford their own personal vehicles, which worsens this problem. Furthermore, there is waste dumped (thrown into) in the bodies of water, causing water pollution. Lastly, as there are many new construction projects and traffic jams, noise pollution is also on the rise.
What are the common types of pollutions in the countryside?
As many of the factories are built in rural areas, they are a cause of air pollution in the countryside. Moreover, the use of pesticides (chemicals to keep bugs and animals away from plants) and chemical fertilizers (chemicals added to make soil stronger) in farming does not help this problem. Furthermore, some people dispose of their personal waste into bodies of water, causing water pollution.
Have you ever done anything to help the environment?
I could definitely do more! However, I think that small actions do count. I always carry my trash home with me to throw away if there isn't a public garbage bin available. I would feel so guilty blatantly littering! Moreover, I choose to ride my bicycle or walk when transportation isn’t needed. Lastly, I opt (choose) to not get a plastic bag when they are unnecessary in stores.
Part 2 – Describe an old person who is interesting
You should say:
who this person is
how you know this person
what you do with this person
and why you think this person is interesting
Band 9 Sample Answer
I would like to talk about my grandfather. I've always looked up to him (respected), as he has traveled the entire world on a low budget. Actually, as I’m now an avid (regular) traveler too, I feel that he planted some seeds in my head about this, since the rest of my family isn’t very fond of (like) travel.
To give you some more background, my grandfather and I have always had a close relationship. He always used to go out of his way (inconvenience himself to help me) to come visit me when I was a child. I remember he used to come pick me up from school pretty often as well. As I would sit in the backseat, he would tell me stories about his life and travels. Moreover, he was a history major, so he would always fill me in (tell me about) with facts about the world. If it weren't for him, I would have never known about the history of these countries at such a young age. Although I don't see him as often anymore, we always like to exchange travel photography, stories, and discuss history with one another.
I find him really interesting because he has traveled to 111 countries and counting at 81 years old. Furthermore, he has traveled to places that aren't the typical tourist destinations, which shows how adventurous he is. Even though his body is aging, his mind is still sharp and full of knowledge about many worldly topics. Furthermore, he has a unique sense of humor which makes time with him enjoyable. All in all, there aren’t many people like my grandfather so I treasure (value) him.
Part 3
Are there any similarities between the old & young generation?
Is there anything the young people can learn from the elderly?
What can the young people can teach the elderly?
Are the elderly willing to learn from the young generation?
Improve Your IELTS Reading Skills by Sam McCarter & Norman Whitby
Description:
“Improve your IELTS Skills” is aimed at students between bands 4.5 and 7.5. The series has three preparation courses, Academic Reading, Academic Writing, and Listening and Speaking. The courses develop language, skills and test techniques to help students achieve a higher IELTS score. The three books in the series may be used together as a complete course or may be used to target specific skills. Or they may be used separately to supplement other coursebooks.
Key Features:
10 topic-based units with exercises and examples to develop reading skills for the exam.
Ideal for self-study and in class, with technique boxes, step-by-step instructions and a clear answer key, key points on how to do academic reading tasks; reading passages; plus a practice test with exam-style questions.
The exercises in the book are on task-based approach. So IELTS candidates can find it easier to understand and apply techniques and guidance on them.
IELTS Reading Recent Actual Tests Jan-May 2020 with Answers- Ebook
$80 $18
IELTS Reading Actual Tests & Suggested Answers written by IELTS teachers aims to help IELTS candidates perform at their best on the big day.
మోడీతో ట్విట్టర్ స్నేహానికి వైట్హౌస్ గుడ్బై చెప్పేసింది. మోడీ ట్విట్టర్ ఖాతాను వైట్హౌస్ అన్ఫాలో చేసేసింది. ఏప్రిల్ 10 నుంచి మోడీ ఖాతాను వైట్హౌస్ ఫాలో అవుతోంది. దాంతో వైట్హౌస్ ఫాలో అవుతున్న తొలి ప్రపంచస్థాయి నాయకుడు నరేంద్రమోడీ అన్న ప్రచారం జరిగింది. బీజేపీ శ్రేణులు దాన్ని చాలా గొప్పగా భావించాయి. మూడు వారాల క్రితం నుంచి మోడీ ట్విట్టర్ ఖాతాతో పాటు భారత రాష్ట్రపతి రామ్నాథ్ కోవింద్, అమెరికాలోని భారత్ ఎంబసీ ట్విట్టర్ హ్యాండిళ్లను కూడా […]
ఇన్నేళ్ల కెరీర్ లో నాగార్జున గ్యాప్స్ ఇచ్చిన దాఖలాలు చాలా తక్కువ. అప్పుడెప్పుడో ఆటోడ్రైవర్ లాంటి డిజాస్టర్ వచ్చినప్పుడు, ఆకాశవీధిలో లాంటి అట్టర్ ఫ్లాప్ వచ్చినప్పుడు, ఆఫీసర్ లాంటి డబుల్ డిజాస్టర్ వచ్చినప్పుడు మాత్రమే చిన్న చిన్న గ్యాప్స్ తీసుకున్నాడు. అలాంటి హీరో ఇప్పుడు మరోసారి గ్యాప్ తీసుకున్నాడు. ఇందులో రెండు రకాలున్నాయి. ఒకటి నాగార్జున కావాలని తీసుకున్న గ్యాప్ కాగా, రెండోది లాక్ డౌన్ వల్ల వచ్చిన గ్యాప్. ఏదైతేనేం నాగార్జున నుంచి మరో సినిమా […]
కరోనా మహమ్మారిని కట్టడి చేయడానికి దేశవ్యాప్తంగా లాక్ డౌన్ విధించారు. కేంద్ర ప్రభుత్వం ఒకే సారి లాక్డౌన్ ప్రకటించడంతో పొట్ట కూటి కోసం దేశంలోని పలు ప్రాంతాలకు వెళ్లిన వలస కార్మికులు, కూలీలు.. చదువు కోసం ఇతర రాష్ట్రాలకు వెళ్లిన విద్యార్థులతో పాటు పర్యాటకులు చిక్కుకొని పోయారు. గత నెల రోజులకు పైగా వీళ్లు సరైన తిండి, వసతి లేక ఊరుగాని ఊర్లో అష్టకష్టాలు పడుతున్నారు. ఇప్పుడు వీరిని స్వస్థలాలకు చేర్చడానికి కేంద్రం కొన్ని మార్గదర్శకాలు విడుదల […]
కేంద్ర ప్రభుత్వం లాక్డౌన్ నుంచి మరి కొన్ని మినహాయింపులు ఇవ్వడంతో ఏపీ సర్కార్ కూడా సరికొత్త మార్గదర్శకాలు విడుదల చేసింది. కరోనా వైరస్ తీవ్ర ప్రభావం చూపిస్తుండటంతో మార్చి 25 నుంచి దేశ వ్యాప్తంగా లాక్డౌన్ విధించారు. మొదటి నుంచి కేంద్ర ప్రభుత్వం ఆదేశానుసారం నడుస్తున్న ఏపీ ప్రభుత్వం తాజాగా కొన్ని మినహాయింపులు ప్రకటించింది. ఏప్రిల్ 27న ప్రధాని మోడీ నిర్వహించిన వీడియో కాన్ఫరెన్స్లో కొంత మంది సీఎంలు పలు మినహాయింపులు కోరారు. రాష్ట్రాల ఆర్థిక స్థితి […]
ఆర్ఎక్స్100 సక్సెస్ తర్వాత పూర్తిగా మహాసముద్రం ప్రాజెక్టుకే పరిమితమైపోయాడు దర్శకుడు అజయ్ భూపతి. అయితే ఏ హీరోకు కథ చెప్పినా అతడికి పని జరగలేదు. అలా దాదాపు ఏడాదిగా నలుగుతున్న ఈ ప్రాజెక్టు ఇప్పుడిప్పుడే ఓ కొలిక్కి వచ్చేలా కనిపిస్తోంది. మల్టీస్టారర్ కాన్సెప్ట్ తో రాబోతున్న మహాసముద్రంలో హీరోలు ఆల్ మోస్ట్ ఫిక్స్ అయ్యారు. ఈ సినిమాలో ఒక హీరోగా నటించడానికి శర్వానంద్ ఆల్రెడీ అంగీకరించాడు. ఇదే విషయాన్ని దర్శకుడు ఈమధ్య ప్రకటించాడు. ఇక మరో హీరోగా […]
రంగస్థలం తర్వాత లాంగ్ గ్యాప్ తీసుకున్నాడు సుకుమార్. ఎట్టకేలకు పుష్ప సినిమాతో మరోసారి ప్రేక్షకుల ముందుకు రాబోతున్నాడు. అయితే ఈ రెండేళ్ల గ్యాప్ లో సుకుమార్ ఏం చేశాడు.. కేవలం పుష్ప సినిమా కోసమే వర్క్ చేశాడా? దీనిపై చిన్నపాటి క్లారిటీ ఇచ్చాడు సుక్కూ. రంగస్థలం సినిమా తర్వాత తెలంగాణ సాయుధ పోరాటం మీద సినిమా చేయాలనుకున్నాడట సుకుమార్. ఆ మేరకు తెలంగాణ పోరాటానికి సంబంధించిన పుస్తకాలన్నీ తెప్పించుకొని చదివాడు. అంతేకాదు.. ఓ స్టోరీలైన్ కూడా రాసుకున్నాడు. […]
దాదాపు 2 రోజులుగా బాలయ్య-బోయపాటి సినిమాకు సంబంధించి చిన్నపాటి పుకారు నడిచింది. ఈ సినిమాలో ఓ కీలక పాత్ర కోసం ఏజెంట్ సాయిశ్రీనివాస్ ఆత్రేయ హీరో నవీన్ పొలిశెట్టిని తీసుకున్నారంటూ ప్రచారం జరిగింది. దీన్ని చాలామంది నిజం అనుకున్నారు కూడా. ఎందుకంటే తన సినిమాల్లో చిన్న చిన్న పాత్రలకు కూడా పెద్ద పెద్ద నటుల్ని తీసుకోవడం బోయపాటికి అలవాటు. గతంలో వచ్చిన లెజెండ్, వినయ విధేయ రామ, జయజానకినాయక సినిమాలు చూస్తే ఈ విషయం అర్థమౌతుంది. కాబట్టి […]
లాక్ డౌన్ తో థియేటర్లన్నీ మూతపడ్డంతో ఓటీటీకి డిమాండ్ పెరిగింది. థియేట్రికల్ రిలీజ్ తో సంబంధం లేకుండా అమెజాన్ ప్రైమ్, నెట్ ఫ్లిక్స్ లాంటి ఓటీటీ ఫ్లాట్ ఫామ్స్ కు తమ సినిమాలను ఇచ్చేందుకు చాలామంది నిర్మాతలు పావులు కదిపారు. కానీ పెద్ద సినిమాల విషయంలో ఆ దిశగా పురోగతి కనబరచలేదు. ఓవైపు ఇలా చర్చలు జరుగుతుండగానే ఓ సినిమా ఓటీటీలోకి వచ్చేసింది. దాని పేరు అమృతరామమ్. లెక్కప్రకారం ఈ సినిమాను ఉగాది కానుకగా మార్చి 25న […]
Tesla said it will reduce the price of its standard range Model 3 vehicle in China to meet the government’s new eligibility requirements for subsidies.
This marks the second time this year that the automaker has reduced the price. Several months ago, the base version of China-made Model 3 was lowered by 9%.
Tesla has to cut the price of the vehicle to continue to qualify for government rebates on electric vehicles. The Chinese government instituted new regulations that require prices below 300,000 yuan for electric vehicles to qualify for subsidies.
The base price of the standard range Model 3 made in China is 323,800 yuan, or $45,754 before subsidies.
The price reduction will go into effect tomorrow in China, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in a earnings call Wednesday. Musk, who didn’t provide a specific figure, said he is confident the vehicle will deliver a gross margin despite the reduction in price.
Tesla chief financial officer Zachary Kirkhorn added that the cost of vehicles produced at its Shanghai factory in the first quarter is already lower than the cost to produce the Model 3 in the United States. That margin should improve as the company improves its local supply chain in China. Tesla still ships some parts from the U.S. to build cars at its Shanghai factory.
Tesla is pushing back plans to produce and deliver its all-electric Class 8 truck until 2021, the company said in its quarter earnings report Wednesday. The move puts the Tesla Semi two years behind the automaker’s previous target.
“We are shifting our first Tesla Semi deliveries to 2021,” the company said without providing any more details.
The Tesla Semi was first unveiled in November 2017 in a splashy ceremony in Hawthorne, Calif. on the grounds of Tesla’s design studio and Musk’s other company, SpaceX . During the initial debut, Musk promised the truck would drive like its other passenger vehicles, the Model X, Model S and Model 3. The truck also boasted some eye-popping specs that included the ability to travel 500 miles on a single battery charge when fully loaded and driving 65 miles per hour.
While the company had interest from customers with companies like Walmart and Anheuser-Busch putting in pre-orders, the vehicle program wasn’t been able to meet the 2019 target.
Earlier this year in its fourth quarter earnings report, Tesla provided one of the first updates on the Tesla Semi in months, stating that it was “planning to produce limited volumes of Tesla Semi this year.”
Researchers at NYU have identified hundreds of groups of Instagram users, some with thousands of members, that systematically exchange likes and comments in order to game the service’s algorithms and boost visibility. In the process, they also trained machine learning agents to identify whether a post has been juiced in this way.
“Pods,” as they’ve been dubbed, straddle the line between real and fake engagement, making them tricky to detect or take action against. And while they used to be a niche threat (and still are compared with fake account and bot activity), the practice is growing in volume and efficacy.
Pods are easily found via searching online, and some are open to the public. The most common venue for them is Telegram, as it’s more or less secure and has no limit to the number of people who can be in a channel. Posts linked in the pod are liked and commented on by others in the group, with the effect of those posts being far more likely to be spread widely by Instagram’s recommendation algorithms, boosting organic engagement.
Reciprocity as a service
The practice of groups mutually liking one another’s posts is called reciprocity abuse, and social networks are well aware of it, having removed setups of this type before. But the practice has never been studied or characterized in detail, the team from NYU’s Tandon School of Engineering explained.
“In the past they’ve probably been focused more on automated threats, like giving credentials to someone to use, or things done by bots,” said lead author of the study Rachel Greenstadt. “We paid attention to this because it’s a growing problem, and it’s harder to take measures against.”
On a small scale it doesn’t sound too threatening, but the study found nearly 2 million posts that had been manipulated by this method, with more than 100,000 users taking part in pods. And that’s just the ones in English, found using publicly available data. The paper describing the research was published in the Proceedings of the World Wide Web Conference and can be read here.
Importantly, the reciprocal liking does more than inflate apparent engagement. Posts submitted to pods got large numbers of artificial likes and comments, yes, but that activity deceived Instagram’s algorithm into promoting them further, leading to much more engagement even on posts not submitted to the pod.
When contacted for comment, Instagram initially said that this activity “violates our policies and we have numerous measures in place to stop it,” and said that the researchers had not collaborated with the company on the research.
In fact the team was in contact with Instagram’s abuse team from early on in the project, and it seems clear from the study that whatever measures are in place have not, at least in this context, had the desired effect. I pointed this out to the representative and will update this post if I hear back with any more information.
“It’s a grey area”
But don’t reach for the pitchforks just yet — the fact is this kind of activity is remarkably hard to detect, because really it’s identical in many ways to a group of friends or like-minded users engaging with each others’ content in exactly the way Instagram would like. And really, even classifying the behavior as abuse isn’t so simple.
“It’s a grey area, and I think people on Instagram think of it as a grey area,” said Greenstadt. “Where does it end? If you write an article and post it on social media and send it to friends, and they like it, and they sometimes do that for you, are you part of a pod? The issue here is not necessarily that people are doing this, but how the algorithm should treat this action, in terms of amplifying or not amplifying that content.”
Obviously if people are doing it systematically with thousands of users and even charging for access (as some groups do), that amounts to abuse. But drawing the line isn’t easy.
More important is that the line can’t be drawn unless you first define the behavior, which the researchers did by carefully inspecting the differences in patterns of likes and comments on pod-boosted and ordinary posts.
“They have different linguistic signatures,” explained co-author Janith Weerasinghe. “What words they use, the timing patterns.”
As you might expect, strangers obligated to comment on posts they don’t actually care about tend to use generic language, saying things like “nice pic” or “wow” rather than more personal remarks. Some groups actually warn against this, Weerasinghe said, but not many.
The list of top words used reads, predictably, like the comment section on any popular post, though perhaps that speaks to a more general lack of expressiveness on Instagram than anything else:
But statistical analysis of thousands of such posts, both pod-powered and normal, showed a distinctly higher prevalence of “generic support” comments, often showing up in a predictable pattern.
This data was used to train a machine learning model, which when set loose on posts it had never seen, was able to identify posts given the pod treatment with as high as 90% accuracy. This could help surface other pods — and make no mistake, this is only a small sample of what’s out there.
“We got a pretty good sample for the time period of the easily accessible, easily findable pods,” said Greenstadt. “The big part of the ecosystem that we’re missing is pods that are smaller but more lucrative, that have to have a certain presence on social media already to join. We’re not influencers, so we couldn’t really measure that.”
The numbers of pods and the posts they manipulate has grown steadily over the last two years. About 7,000 posts were found during March of 2017. A year later that number had jumped to nearly 55,000. March of 2019 saw over 100,000, and the number continued to increase through the end of the study’s data. It’s safe to say that pods are now posting over 4,000 times a day — and each one is getting a large amount of engagement, both artificial and organic. Pods now have 900 users on average, and some had over 10,000.
You may be thinking: “If a handful of academics using publicly available APIs and Google could figure this out, why hasn’t Instagram?”
As mentioned before, it’s possible the teams there have simply not considered this to be a major threat and consequently have not created policies or tools to prevent it. Rules proscribing using a “third party app or service to generate fake likes, follows, or comments” arguably don’t apply to these pods, since in many ways they’re identical to perfectly legitimate networks of users (though Instagram clarified that it considers pods as violating the rule). And certainly the threat from fake accounts and bots is of a larger scale.
And while it’s possible that pods could be used as a venue for state-sponsored disinformation or other political purposes, the team didn’t notice anything happening along those lines (though they were not looking for it specifically). So for now the stakes are still relatively small.
That said, Instagram clearly has access to data that would help to define and detect this kind of behavior, and its policies and algorithms could be changed to accommodate it. No doubt the NYU researchers would love to help.
The global pandemic has tested the bounds of businesses across the world and transformed the way many of us live our lives. For those among us who are unable to leave our homes at all as COVID-19 virus rages, online retail and food services have been a kind of lifeline.
But as contact-free delivery becomes the norm, it can be easy to forgot all the people working to provide those services at risk to their health. And more often than not, employees are working for low wages or tips.
A number of protests have been organized at companies like Amazon and Instagram in the intervening weeks and months, but a wide-scale, cross-company event hasn't really surfaced. That could change on May 1, as employees mark the longstanding tradition of International Workers’ Day with a May Day general strike.
Material for the event has been circulating online, rebadged "Essential Workers' Day," as a nod to the exemptions to stay at home orders for retail and food delivery, among others. The event is framed as a combination strike and boycott, targeted at Amazon/Whole Foods, Instacart and Target/Shipt (as well as Walmart and FedEx, according to various sources).
Specific demands differ from employer to employer, but workers have broadly asked for essential health protections, sick leave and hazard pay as the pandemic has continued to wear on and profits have spiked for many providers.
Vice spoke to Christian Smalls, one of the organizers, the Staten Island Amazon employee who was fired after organizing a walkout at one of the company's fulfillment centers. "We formed an alliance between a bunch of different companies because we all have one common goal which is to save the lives of workers and communities," he told the site. "Right now isn't the time to open up the economy. Amazon is a breeding ground [for COVID] which is spreading right now through multiple facilities."
Amazon workers have been particularly vocal about the retail giant's response to the pandemic. In addition to Smalls, two other employees who were publicly critical of the company were fired by Amazon — though the company denied the direct link. Instacart employees have also organized boycotts and strikes, including one in late March.
"We remain singularly focused on the health and safety of the Instacart community. Our team has been diligently working to offer new policies, guidelines, product features, resources, increased bonuses, and personal protective equipment to ensure the health and safety of shoppers during this critical time," the company said in a statement. "We welcome all feedback from shoppers and we will continue to enhance their experience to ensure this important community is supported."
Other companies have previously issued similar statements regarding employment during the crisis. We've reached out to them for additional comment on the planned protests.
Update: An Amazon spokesperson offered TechCrunch the following statement,
While we respect people's right to express themselves, we object to the irresponsible actions of labor groups in spreading misinformation and making false claims about Amazon during this unprecedented health and economic crisis. The statements made are not supported by facts or representative of the majority of the 500,000 Amazon operations employees in the U.S. who are showing up to work to support their communities. What's true is that masks, temperature checks, hand sanitizer, increased time off, increased pay, and more are standard across our Amazon and Whole Food Market networks already. Our employees are doing incredible work for their communities every day, and we have invested heavily in their health and safety through increased safety measures and the procurement of millions of safety supplies and have invested nearly $700 million in increased pay. Working globally with our teams and third parties we have gone to extreme measures to understand and address this pandemic with more than 150 process changes to-date. We spend every day focused on what else Amazon can do to keep our people and communities safe and healthy.
The quarantine lockdown is driving a record number of users to Facebook’s products. On a conference call, CEO Mark Zuckerberg disclosed a number of new metrics highlighting a significant bump in Facebook usage during the broader quarantine lockdown.
In the past month, more than 3 billion internet users logged onto a Facebook service, including its central app, Instagram, Messenger or WhatsApp, Zuckerberg disclosed. This number constitutes roughly two-thirds of the world’s total internet users. This was a record for the platform, which reported average monthly active users of 2.60 billion in Q1.
The company’s communications tools saw major surges in the past several weeks, with Zuckerberg also disclosing more granular metrics that voice and video calling usage had doubled, views on Facebook and Instagram Live videos had doubled and the amount of time on group video calling had surged 1,000% in recent weeks.
The company predicted that usage would settle down once shelter-in-place was discontinued, though Zuckerberg highlighted opportunities Facebook could realize during the lockdown. “When the world changes quickly, people have new needs and that means that there are more things to build,” he said.
Facebook reported its Q1 earnings Wednesday, sharing they had earned revenues of $17.74 billion during the quarter. While the company shared that usage of certain services had surged, they also disclosed that the company had seen a “significant reduction” in the demand for ads at the end of the quarter, sharing that they had seen flat year-over-year growth in the first few weeks of April.
Tesla reported Wednesday that it earned $16 million and generated $5.985 billion in revenue in the first quarter, results buoyed by improved automotive margins and reductions in operating expenses.
Tesla’s first quarter earnings were lower than the fourth period as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted operations and dampened sales. But the company still managed to squeeze in a profit, its third consecutive quarter of profitability, despite the COVID-19-related disruption.
Tesla’s earnings report paints a complex financial picture. While it managed to eke out a GAAP profit, it also reported a negative free cash flow of $895 million in the first quarter. Tesla has previously targeted being free cash-flow positive for 2020.
Tesla’s profitability target was aided by a 13% reduction in operating expenses compared to first quarter 2019, and improved automotive margins. Tesla also cashed in more regulatory credits in the first quarter than it had in more than a year. Tesla includes revenue from credits in its automotive revenue.
Its automotive gross margins grew to 25.5% in the first quarter, up from 20.2% in the same period last year. Tesla includes regulatory credits in its automotive revenues, which figure into its gross margins. Regulatory credits in the first quarter were $354 million, a 64% increase from the first quarter of 2019. Revenue from credits dropped after the first quarter of last year, hovering between $111 million and $134 million, before popping again this latest quarter.
Tesla’s $5.985 billion in revenue was 19% lower than the fourth quarter when it generated $7.38 billion. However, its first quarter revenue is 32% higher than the $4.5 billion it generated in the same period last year.
Tesla earned $16 million, or 9 cents a share in the first quarter, 85% lower than the fourth period when it earned $105 million in net income, or 56 cents a diluted share. Tesla’s first quarter earnings were wildly ahead of the same period last year when it posted a $702 million loss.
When adjusted for one-time items, Tesla earned $227 million, or $1.24 a share in the first quarter of 2020.
The company reported that quarter-end cash and cash equivalents increased by $1.8 billion compared to the previous quarter to $8.1 billion. That increase was driven mainly by Tesla’s $2.3 billion capital raise in February.
The first quarter was full of milestones for Tesla. It was the first full quarter that its Shanghai factory was at volume production. It’s also the first quarter that the automaker began producing and delivering the Model Y.
Tesla remained committed to its earlier sales outlook for 2020 of hitting 500,000 vehicle deliveries, but stopped short of saying it could hit that goal. The company said it had the capacity installed to exceed 500,000 vehicle deliveries this year, despite announced production interruptions.
“For our US factories, it remains uncertain how quickly we and our suppliers will be able to ramp production after resuming operations. We are coordinating closely with each supplier and associated government,” the company said in its shareholder letter.
Tesla reported its first quarter earnings a day after CEO Elon Musk sent out a FREE AMERICA NOW tweet to his 33.4 million followers in response to the several Bay Area counties extending a stay-at-home order through the end of May. Tesla is headquartered in Palo Alto and its main factory, as well as several other related facilities, are located in Fremont, Calif. and are subject to the order.
The company suspended production at the factory March 24. It had planned to bring it back online May 4. The company’s other U.S. operations have also been temporarily shut down, including its factory in Sparks, Nev. and its solar facility in Buffalo, N.Y.
Earlier this month, Tesla reported that it delivered 88,400 vehicles in the first quarter, beating most analysts expectations despite a 21% decrease from the previous quarter as the COVID-19 pandemic put downward pressure on demand and created logistical challenges.
TikTok, the widely popular video sharing app developed by one of the world’s most valued startups (ByteDance), continues to grow rapidly despitesuspicion from the U.S. as more people look for ways to keep themselves entertained amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The global app and its Chinese version, called Douyin, have amassed over 2 billion downloads on Google Play Store and Apple's App Store, mobile insight firm Sensor Tower said Wednesday.
TikTok is the first app after Facebook's marquee app, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger to break past the 2 billion downloads figure since January 1 of 2014, a Sensor Tower official told TechCrunch. (Sensor Tower began its app analysis on that date.)
A number of apps from Google, the developer of Android, including Gmail and YouTube, have amassed over 5 billion downloads, but they ship pre-installed on most Android smartphones and tables.
TikTok's 2 billion download milestone, a key metric to assess an app's growth, comes five months after it surpassed 1.5 billion downloads.
In the quarter that ended on March 31, TikTok was downloaded 315 million times — the highest number of downloads for any app in a quarter and — surpassing its previous best of 205.7 million downloads in Q4 2018. Facebook's WhatsApp, the second most popular app by volume of downloads, amassed nearly 250 million downloads in Q1 this year, Sensor Tower told TechCrunch.
As the app gains popularity, it is also clocking more revenue. Users have spent about $456.7 million on TikTok to date, up from $175 million five months ago. Much of this spending — about 72.3% — has happened in China. Users in the United States have spent about $86.5 million on the app, making the nation the second most important market for TikTok from the revenue standpoint.
Craig Chapple, a strategist at Sensor Tower, said that not all the downloads are as organic as TikTok, which launched outside of China in 2017 and has engaged in a "large user acquisition campaign." But he attributed some of the surge in downloads to the COVID-19 outbreak that has driven more people than ever to look for new apps.
India, TikTok's largest international market, accounts for 30.3% of the app's downloads, according to Sensor Tower. The app has been downloaded 611 million times in the world's second largest internet market.
From a platform's standpoint, 75.5% of all of TikTok's downloads have occurred through Google Play Store. But the vast majority of spending has come from users on Apple's ecosystem ($435.3 million of $456 million).
TikTok’s parent firm ByteDance, which was valued at $75 billion two years ago, counts Bank of China, Bank of America, Barclays Bank, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, UBS, SoftBank Group, General Atlantic, and Sequoia Capital China among some of its investors.
If you think that action movies generally suffer from an excess of characterization, then “Extraction” is the movie for you.
Almost everything about the film that’s not an action scene is dealt with in a perfunctory way, starting from the sketchy characterization of our hero Tyler Rake (played by Chris Hemsworth) — he’s muscular, good at killing people, has a vague tragedy in his past … and that’s about it.
Yet we know more about Rake than virtually any other character in the film. There’s even less to say about the kidnapped son of a Mumbai drug lord (though actor Rudhraksh Jaiswal gives him an affecting vulnerability), or the rival drug lord responsible for the kidnapping, or the various soldiers/goons who either assist Rake in his rescue mission or (briefly, foolishly) try to stop him.
On the bright side, this minimalist approach to scripting leaves plenty of room for impressive action scenes, particularly a 12-minute chase that’s designed to look like it was shot in a single take. To be clear, the film is just as much a fantasy as any of the Marvel movies directed by brothers Anthony and Joe Russo (who took on writing and producing duties here), but the approach is very different, with a stunning brutality and kineticism.
Whether that’s enough to make for a satisfying film will probably differ from viewer to viewer. Among your Original Content podcast hosts, Darrell and Anthony had a good time, while Jordan was decidedly underwhelmed.
To decide whether “Extraction” is a movie for you, you can listen to our review in the player below, subscribe using Apple Podcasts or find us in your podcast player of choice. If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review on Apple. You can also send us feedback directly. (Or suggest shows and movies for us to review!)
And if you’d like to skip ahead, here’s how the episode breaks down: 0:00 Intro 0:20 “Extraction” review 18:31 “Extraction” spoiler discussion
I wrote about Joue back in January, right before the company participated in (and won) our CES pitch-off. The company was one of a handful of crowdfunded musical instrument startups at the show that were really worth getting excited about.
This week, the French startup is launch the campaign for Play, a more user-friendly version of the company's self-titled modular MIDI controller. As I noted in the earlier piece, the system operates similarly to Sensel's Morph system, with silicone pads that slip on top of a touch interface to mimic a variety of different instruments, including a drum pad, piano, guitar and an electronic musical interface.
The new version of the instrument aims to lower the bar with a connected mobile app that works as follows:
The instruments are gathered in a circle in the middle
The timeline shows successive musical events simply and clearly
The mixer lets you adjust the volume of each instrument
Recording is accessible directly from the Pads, for maximum reactivity
In addition to the companion iOS/Mac/Windows app, the Play is also more than $100 cheaper than its predecessor (at least it is currently on Joue's Kickstarter page). That price includes the board and five different silicone pads. It's a clever product and one designed for a broader audience than the original — which went over fairly well in its own right.
Unfortunately, the device won't be available while we're all still cooped up inside. It's currently projected to launch in October.
The company reported revenues of $2.374 billion, down 2% on a year ago, with earnings per share of $0.64 on a GAAP basis and $0.77 non-GAAP, on a continuing operations basis.
This was a mixed result. Analysts on average were expecting $2.38 billion in revenues on earnings per share of $0.72. Ebay itself was expecting sales of between $2.55 billion and $2.60 billion, with GAAP earnings per diluted share from continuing operations in the range of $0.50 – $0.53 and non-GAAP earnings per diluted share from continuing operations in the range of $0.70 – $0.73.
In other words, eBay missed on sales in terms of analyst average projections, beat their expectations on EPS, and beat both of its own internal targets.
At the time of writing, eBay’s stock was down 7 cents in after-hours trading.
“During these unprecedented times, I am extremely proud of how our team has come together to support one another, our buyers and sellers, our communities and the business,” said Scott Schenkel, eBay’s interim CEO, in the earnings statement. “As we look at Q1, I am pleased that we delivered on all of our commitments for the quarter, with key metrics such as Buyers, GMV and Revenue performing at or better than our expectations. Over the past several months, we have remained focused and clear-eyed about the strategic direction of the company and have driven substantial changes to position the business for sustainable and profitable long-term growth.”
“I appreciate the team’s hard work in the first quarter and their efforts to maintain focus amid so many factors affecting the business and the industry,” said Jamie Iannone, the new permanent CEO that it headhunted from Walmart, in a separate statement. “I’m thrilled to return to eBay this week as CEO and I look forward to building on the positive momentum in the business, continuing to evolve the Company’s strategy and maximizing value for our shareholders.”
As expected, the company — like other e-commerce giants — has seen a boost in buyer demand from the throngs of consumers who are currently being ordered to stay at home, but who still need to buy things, and specifically try to source items that they’re finding a challenge to find in more local stores. eBay noted that active buyers are up by 2% and now total 174 million global active buyers.
Despite that, however, gross merchandise volume (GMV, or total sales volume before any cuts are taken) was $21.3 billion, down 1% on an as-reported basis. We might assume that the decline might have been significantly steeper without the current climate, or that it has at least offset other kinds of declines.
Ebay is on a long-term plan to improve what it keeps from that GMV by way of implementing managed payments, which basically means that it’s handling the payment process for transactions itself.
This comes by way of a deal eBay struck with Adyen some time ago, which replaced a payments agreement it had with former subsidiary PayPal that became less lucrative after PayPal was divested during a previous activist investor tussle.
Managed payments is still a relatively small part of pie for eBay, accounting for a mere $3 billion of GMV for 32,000+ sellers. But it’s expanding, eBay said: it’s being turned on in the U.K., Canada and Australia in July.
Meanwhile, Marketplace — the main eBay business, that is — generated $2.1 billion of revenue, down 1%, while Classifieds saw $248 million of revenue, down 3%.
That Classifieds business is on the block as part of the company’s wider efforts to restructure. “eBay continues to explore potential value-creating alternatives for its Classifieds business, is holding active discussions with multiple parties, and anticipates having an update by the middle of the year,” the company noted.
The company also handed out $4.0 billion in share buybacks, repurchasing almost 98 million shares, part of a share repurchase plan that will be completed later this year.
However, even with those positives, there is a cloud hanging over many e-commerce businesses, even those that are seeing strong demand.
The reason for this is that the economy is very shaky right now, and we don’t fully know what the coming months will hold, in terms of public health, government rules on how we can move, whether we will have jobs and money to spend. And all of that is playing into how companies like eBay will perform under its new CEO and continuing pressure from its activist investors.
With all that in mind, Ebay also updated its guidance for the next quarter and reiterated figures for the full year. Q2, it expects, will have revenues of between $2.38 billion and $2.48 billion, with GAAP earnings per diluted share from continuing operations in the range of $0.50 – $0.57 and non-GAAP earnings per diluted share from continuing operations in the range of $0.73 – $0.80.
The full-year figures are unchanged at between $9.56 billion and $9.76 billion, with GAAP earnings per diluted share from continuing operations in the range of $2.20 – $2.30 and non-GAAP earnings per diluted share from continuing operations in the range of $3.00 – $3.10.
“Given the dynamic environment, we are not revising our full year revenue and EPS estimates,” the company notes. “This guidance reflects management’s expectations for operational performance and the impacts seen in both of our Marketplaces and Classifieds platforms to date, but given the uncertainty surrounding the extent and duration of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is difficult to predict what may result as shelter-in-place guidelines are eased and lifted and how global consumer demand, the effects of COVID-19 on the general economy, seller inventory and advertising spending may evolve over time.”
The coronavirus pandemic is significantly slowing the growth of Facebook’s ads business, but investors seem pleased with the company’s performance in Q1 after Facebook released its earnings report Wednesday.
The company beat Wall Street expectations on revenues, sharing that they had made $17.74 billion while falling short on earnings per share at $1.71. The company also shared that monthly active users had swollen to 2.6 billion users, beating expectations of 2.55 billion.
The company’s shares rose upwards of 10% after-hours following the report’s release.
While Facebook’s ad revenues in Q1 showcased 17% year-over-year growth, Facebook used its earnings announcements to hedge expectations for Q2. The digital ads market has taken a major hit in the past several weeks in light of the pandemic crisis. In its release, Facebook said they had seen a “a significant reduction in the demand for advertising, as well as a related decline in the pricing of our ads, over the last three weeks of the first quarter of 2020.”
The company said they would not be providing guidance for Q2 of full-year 2020, instead indicating that the first three weeks of April indicated flat year-over-year growth in the the company’s outsized ads business. Facebook’s ad revenues for Q4 2019 indicated 25% year-over-year growth by comparison.
Flat growth is far from the doomsday drop-off investors had feared may hit the digital ads market as cash-strapped businesses reeled in advertising budgets.
via Facebook Investor Relations
Facebook’s $17.44 billion in ad revenues makes up the lion’s share of its revenue growth, but the company’s “Other” segment of revenue, which includes various efforts, including its Portal and Oculus hardware business, grew 80% year-over-year to $297 million.
Today Microsoft reported its third-quarter, fiscal 2020 quarter earnings, the period of time corresponding to Q1 2020 on the regular calendar.
The technology giant generated $35 billion in revenue, up 15% from the year-ago period. That top line led to $13 billion in operating income (+25% YoY), and $10.8 billion in net income (+22% YoY). Microsoft saw $1.40 in earnings per share in the quarter.
Investors expected the company to report $1.26 in per-share profit off of revenue of $33.66 billion, according to Yahoo Finance. Right after reporting its results, Microsoft shares were up around 1.5%. The firm rallied 4.5% during regular trading hours on the back of a strong day of trading for technology equities.
Other headlines from the company’s earnings report include Azure (its AWS competitor) growing 59% from its year-ago result, 25% growth in Office 365 commercial incomes, LinkedIn top line growing 21% from the year-ago period and roughly flat results from its Xbox, search and Surface businesses.
However, calendar Q1 (Q3 F2020 for Microsoft) only included a portion of the world’s COVID-19 response. The results reflected that, with the company noting that “COVID-19 had minimal net impact” on revenue in the quarter, boosting cloud usage, lowering some advertising revenue from LinkedIn, raising gaming engagement and slowing search advertising top line. The balance of that appears to be largely a wash.
The company will talk more about the future on its earnings call, but the firm did warn in its own report that “the effects of COVID-19 may not be fully reflected in the financial results until future periods.”
Metrics
In case anyone else is interested in other metrics, we’ve collected the most interesting numbers from Microsoft’s earnings slides for your enjoyment. Here they are:
Q3 F2020 aggregate gross margin: 69%, +2% YoY
Q3 F2020 aggregate operating margin: 37%, +3% YoY
The company’s commercial bookings growth dropped sharply compared to preceding quarters; a portion of this was due to currency changes, which lowered growth in the category from 12% to 7% (YoY). The preceding lowest set of results since Q3 F2019 was that year’s Q4, which saw 22% growth (YoY) and 25% on a currency-adjusted basis.
Commercial cloud revenue at Microsoft as $13.3 billion in the quarter, up 39% YoY. Remember when Microsoft wanted to hit a $20 billion run rate for commercial cloud revenue? Good times.
LinkedIn got name-checked as a driver of rising operating expenses, which rose 10% to $11.1 billion; the only other category noted was cloud engineers. Which, to be clear, are expensive.
Microsoft returned $9.9 billion to shareholders in the quarter, and spent $3.9 billion on capital expenditures. (Why aren’t those flipped?)
And finally, operating cash flow at the company was $17.5 billion in the quarter. Chew on that, startups.
On the whole it was a good quarter for the company, which didn’t take too much damage from COVID-19. Of course, its outlook will matter quite a lot when we get it. For now, investors are content.
Users are reporting a subtle new feature in the latest developer version of iOS 13.5 that will make it easier to unlock your iPhone without having to take off your protective face mask.
Videos shared on Twitter by Robert Petersen and Guilherme Rambo show that Apple devices with Face ID will jump to the backup passcode-entry screen if it detects a mask. That’s not only helpful if you’re unlocking your phone dozens of times a day — which we all do — but it’s also helping to keep people safe by not forcing users to take off their masks, potentially exposing themselves to the virus.
Apple’s new Face ID unlock feature in iOS 13.5 beta (Source: Guilherme Rambo)
It’s not known if this feature will land in the final version of the software update. But one feature that will be included for sure is a new contact tracing API, built by Apple and Google in partnership, which lets national health authorities build apps that can help users privately and anonymously find out if they’ve been exposed to someone with coronavirus.
The COVID-19 testing picture in the U.S. is far from easy to understand, given the disparate agencies and public and private health organizations involved. Johns Hopkins, building on its excellent work developing COVID-19 case tracking and basic information resources, has developed a new hub called the COVID-19 Testing Insights Initiative that breaks down what kinds of tests are available, as well as where they’re being administered in the U.S., and in what volume.
The new hub offers answers to commonly asked questions like how COVID-19 is currently diagnosed, what the differences are between the two major types of tests used (molecular and serological) and what is required for testing in terms of both payment and qualifying symptoms/exposure risk.
Crucially, it also provides a state-by-state breakdown of how many tests have been performed, graphed against the total number of confirmed cases and the number of deaths in that state. They also provide a report on the weekly rate of change in positive tests across all states, showing whether there’s been an increase in the number of positive tests or a decrease on a week-over-week basis, and in either case, by how much.
Johns Hopkins notes that the data may not be consistent, as it’s being pulled from a number of publicly available sources, and it notes further that states themselves are not consistent. The school says it’s doing what it can to account for the irregularities that result from inconsistent reporting, but doesn’t want to misrepresent the data.
The overall picture of how many tests have been completed, as well as where and by whom, along with positive results, has been a topic of a lot of confusion and debate. The White House has consistently provided numbers that are out of sync with the reality in terms of numbers reported by states, particularly when it comes to test volume.
The Johns Hopkins hub provides likely the best source yet for a good snapshot of the current state of testing on a state-by-state basis, and the resource will be updated regularly with new info as it becomes available. Widespread testing is a key ingredient in any effective COVID-19 control measures, and this should act as a sort of report card to provide an indicator as to how well we’re doing on this front.
The NFL’s Thursday Night Football is returning to stream on Amazon. The companies announced today they’ve renewed their agreement, which will allow Amazon Prime Video to offer a live, digital stream of Thursday Night Football to a global audience through the 2022 season. This time around, the NFL and Amazon also announced a new deal allowing Amazon to exclusively stream one NFL game globally on Prime Video and Twitch for each of the next three seasons.
Amazon and the NFL have been partnered on streaming Thursday Night Football since 2017, initially with a one-year deal that was said to be valued at $50 million. The companies renewed that agreement in 2018 for two more years, valuing each season at $65 million (or $130 million in total).
The terms of this new deal weren’t disclosed, but an initial report from CNBC claims the deal price has been upped once again. That makes sense, of course, given the new agreement is not only arriving two years later but also now includes an exclusive game.
Over time, the audience for the NFL games has grown slightly. The 2019 Thursday Night Football games delivered an average audience of 15.4 million viewers across all properties (broadcast, cable and digital), up 4+% from the 2018 games.
Digital streams in 2019 surpassed an average minute audience of over 1 million, up 43% year-over-year (729K). This includes the streams across Prime Video, Twitch, NFL digital, FOX Sports digital and Verizon Media mobile properties. (Note: TechCrunch’s parent company is owned by Verizon).
Viewers will be able to stream the 11 Thursday Night Football games broadcast by FOX through the Prime Video and Twitch websites and apps across living room devices, mobile phones, tablets and PCs. That makes the games available to Amazon Prime’s more than 150 million worldwide users in over 200 countries and territories, Amazon notes.
But Amazon won’t be the only place to watch most of these games.
The games are also broadcast by FOX in Spanish on FOX Deportes, and will be simulcast on the NFL Network. This continues the league’s “Tri-Cast” strategy, which includes a combination of broadcast, cable and digital distribution.
Meanwhile, Amazon’s exclusively streamed game isn’t a Thursday Night Football game, but instead is a regular season game played on a Saturday in the second half of the season. This game will also be televised over-the-air in the participating teams’ home markets.
As before, the digital streams will include access to Amazon features like X-Ray and Next Gen Stats powered by AWS. Prime members can pick from either the FOX or FOX Deportes broadcast and from a range of alternative audio options exclusive to Prime Video.
Amazon and the NFL will also collaborate on additional content and fan viewing experiences around the game streams in the future.
“As our relationship has expanded, Amazon has become a trusted and valued partner of the NFL,” said Brian Rolapp, chief media and business officer for the NFL, in a statement. “Extending this partnership around Thursday Night Football continues our critical mission of delivering NFL games to as many fans in as many ways as possible both in the United States and around the world,” he added.
Juul is set to eliminate between 800 to 950 jobs, according to a new report from The Wall Street Journal. Those massive cuts would amount to around a third of the Bay Area vaping giant's entire workforce.
While the news comes amid a deluge of layoff reports, Juul's troubles are said not to be a direct result from the COVID-19 pandemic. Rather, they stem from larger ongoing problems. After all, it wouldn't be the first time the company has made a sizable cut to its staff — in October, it laid off around 650 people.
Juul wouldn't confirm the specifics of the news, but does appear to acknowledge some big changes are afoot, as the company looks to restructure after struggles. "As part of our ongoing reset, we are constantly evaluating our operations and the best way to position our company for the long term," it said in a statement. "We remain focused on earning the trust of our stakeholders to advance the potential for harm reduction for adult smokers while combating underage use." According to reports, some of that evaluation comes in the form of figuring just how many jobs to cut. Figures are likely to be somewhere between one-quarter and 40% of its staff. A final decision will arrive "in the coming weeks."
[W]e are continuing to evaluate our operations and the best way to position our company for the long term. We have made hard decisions over the last six months, and we still have hard decisions to make. You have my word that I will bring you all together when we have final decisions and details to announce.
Ongoing regulatory issues have become a major stumbling block for the company in recent years, along with a swift hit to sales. The company suffered a $1 billion loss last year — a steep drop after a rapid climb.
Edtech was long defined by stodgy sales cycles, sluggish adoption and splashy pitches to K-12 districts with tight budgets, but the COVID-19 pandemic turned that reputation on its head in short order.
Now, companies in the space are entering Q2 — traditionally a slower time reserved for product development and extra focus on existing clients — busier than ever. In this piece, we'll unpack some of the dollar signs indicating that edtech may be entering a new era.
Broader investor interest
A number of edtech founders who are not seeking venture capital have recently told me their inboxes are cluttered with notes from investors looking to chat.
It's a refreshing break from the usual fundraising doom-and-gloom we’ve been hearing about during this pandemic, but I want to note the nuance: We're seeing investors who have never been interested in edtech become bullish on the category as a whole. If these investors put their money where their mouths are, we'll start to see an uptick of venture funding sector-wide.
For EdSights, co-founded by sister duo Claudia and Carolina Recchi, doors are opening. Before COVID-19, they say they mainly attracted interest from opportunity investors and edtech investors. Now, they're talking to a number of VCs, none solely from edtech-focused funds.
GM said Wednesday that it will postpone its upcoming reveal of a GMC-branded electric Hummer due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Hummer EV debut, which was scheduled to occur May 20, is the latest automotive event to be delayed in recent months due to COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. The Geneva Motor Show and Cadillac’s Lyriq reveals were also canceled or postponed.
GM said it will reschedule the reveal and that development work on the GMC Hummer EV is “on track and undeterred.”
Earlier this year, GM announced it was bringing back the Hummer in a new electric form. Since the announcement, GM has teased the “super truck” in several videos, including a 30-second Super Bowl ad for the Hummer called "Quiet Revolution" that starred NBA phenom LeBron James.
GM hasn’t released the base price of the vehicle, although it has shared some specs, including that it will produce the equivalent of 1,000 horsepower, have a 0 to 60 mph acceleration of 3 seconds and 11,500 feet of torque.
The Hummer EV will be produced at its Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant in Michigan. GM previously announced plans to invest $2.2 billion into its Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant to produce all-electric trucks and SUVs, as well as a self-driving vehicle unveiled by its subsidiary Cruise. The automaker said at the time it will invest an additional $800 million in supplier tooling and other projects related to the launch of the new electric trucks.
Stripe and Shopify have transformed the face of commerce for small business users, yet when it comes to putting that cash somewhere, SMBs have found that the banking options aren’t quite as transformative.
Wise is a new challenger bank built specifically for small businesses. The startup is aiming to insert itself as an essential service in the small business repertoire by bundling banking with payment services powered by Stripe. Customers can receive payments, manage their cash and pay employees all via Wise’s app.
CEO Arjun Thyagarajan tells TechCrunch that his company has closed a $5.7 million seed round led by Base10 Partners . Abstract Ventures, Backend Capital, The Fund and Two Culture Capital also participated in the round.
While the advent of challenger banks has helped drive plenty of innovation on the consumer banking side, says Rexhi Dollaku, a principal at Base10 who led the Wise deal, “very little of that innovation has happened in the business banking context.”
Thyagarajan and his investors hope that the startup can keep churn low by embedding a wider scope of financial services products inside its core product, expanding beyond the traditional scope of banking features by offering functionality to power things like payroll and accounting.
Rather than plunging into direct customer sales, Wise is partnering with behemoth platforms like Shopify to onboard small businesses where they already are. “If you look at other [banking] options out there, they're going direct to the customer; what we've learned is that it is better to partner,” Thyagarajan says. “They're signing up inside these ecosystems so we want to partner with these ecosystems.”
The small team has already built up a customer base of 1,000 businesses. The average Wise customer has between 2-10 employees and is pulling in somewhere between $500,000 and $5 million in ARR, the company tells us. Bank accounts on Wise’s platform are FDIC-insured up to $250,000 through the startup’s partnership with banking partner BBVA USA.
While Thyagarajan says they’ve seen online spend increasing, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted plenty of Wise’s potential customers, and has pushed the company to stay flexible in the businesses they cater to. “I think a lot of industries are going to get accelerated and fast-forwarded,” he says. “The customers we want to cater to are rapidly modernizing.”
Alongside the funding announcement, the startup shared that Raghav Lal, a former general manager of Small Business at Visa, will be joining the startup as its president.
Chegg has confirmed its third data breach in the past three years.
The education tech giant, which last year acquired Thinkful for $80 million, said hackers stole 700 current and former employee records, including their names and Social Security numbers.
The company had more than 1,400 full-time employees at the start of the year.
Chegg said it enlisted an outside forensic firm — without naming the firm — and notified law enforcement of the breach.
A spokesperson for Chegg did not respond to a request for comment.
The education tech company has been beset by several security incidents. In 2018, hackers made off with 40 million customer records, forcing the company to reset user passwords. Then, almost exactly a year later, Chegg confirmed another data breach at Thinkful, which it had just acquired.
Just yesterday, a federal judge in Baltimore granted Chegg’s motion to force into arbitration a lawsuit stemming from the 2018 data breach.
At the time of writing, Chegg’s stock price was up by 2% in early afternoon trading in New York.
An earlier version of this report inaccurately described the Chegg-Thinkful acquisition. It was Chegg that acquired Thinkful for $80 million, not the other way around.
Govt task force lays out Rs 111-lakh-crore infra investment road map The task force under economic affairs secretary Atanu Chakraborty submitted its final report on the "national infrastructure pipeline" (NIP) to finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
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