Category Archives: Tips and Tricks

Top 10 Study Apps for College Students

Posted on by Pauline Emerson
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The burden of college life is hard. Students barely have time for anything else except studying and often get exhausted with an extensive academic load. Luckily, today, scholars have plenty of tools that can simplify their lives while making them more productive.

Using various mobile applications for a simpler life and higher productivity is a smart solution for a modern student. This way, you can have all the needed materials and tools right at your fingertips. Most importantly, the majority of helpful software and applications are free of charge or, at least, affordable. Thus, everyone can get needed help without going bankrupt.

In this article, we have compiled the most convenient and handy apps that students need to have in their toolkit. Let’s dive in!

Colorful notebooks and felt-tip pens with cellphone and laptop on cream background Free Photo

Top Apps College Students Need

If you are looking for simple ways to study easier and get more progress, some of the best solutions are right in your pocket! Today, there are plenty of applications that make learning convenient, fun, and much more effective.

What are the best tools to use? We have picked some of the best options for you.

EssayPro

One of the biggest challenges of a modern scholar is coping with tons of different assignments and papers. Sometimes, students just can’t handle a large academic load satisfactorily, so they start seeking help. That’s when Essay Pro comes in handy. This is an online service where scholars of all academic levels can obtain assistance from professional writers.

Here, you can order papers on all topics and subjects. Besides, the service often offers nice discounts on purchase essays, so if you ever feel like you aren’t cutting it yourself, don’t hesitate to ask for professional help!

Alarmy

Most students struggle with the problem of getting out of bad on time. Young people tend to study (or party) all night long and then oversleep their classes.

To get rid of this issue once and forever, use Alarmy! This is a free application available for iOS and Android devices. The app is fully customizable. For example, you can set a math problem that has to be solved to turn off the alarm. It is one of the best options a student can find!

iTunes U

If you own an iOS device, then you must download iTunes U! This is a great application that stores thousands of free lessons, learning materials, videos, audio files, lectures, and much more!

One of the most significant benefits of this app is that teachers can integrate their classrooms into iTunes U. This will give students the possibility to access all materials right from their phones.

Brainscape

Looking for an effective way to study for your exams? Then Brainscape is your best bet! The application uses a unique flashcard technology to make studying simple and more effective.

This tool is free, and it contains lots of pre-installed sets of flashcards for different subjects. Also, every user can create one’s cards.

Brainscape also has some extra handy features like progress tracker and collaboration mode. It is available for iOS and Android users.

Scholly

Are you seeking suitable scholarships? It becomes almost effortless with the help of the free Scholly app developed for Android and iOS devices. This tool helps students find scholarships they are eligible for faster. You can track the applications sent, manage deadlines, and even access helpful resources that share tips on how to win money for college.

Chegg

What is one of the biggest concerns of every college student? We bet finances are. Quite many young people don’t have any sources of income, which is why they have to grab every money-saving opportunity that comes along.

If this is something you are interested in, try Chegg – a free app that allows you to rent and buy textbooks,  get help with homework, hire a tutor, and more!

BenchPrep Companion

Getting ready for important exams and tests is always a challenging and stressful process. However, with the help of BenchPrep Companion, test preparation becomes simple, fun, and, most importantly, effective! The application is available for iOS and Android.

Duolingo

Knowing foreign languages always looks good on a resume, and there is no better time for learning a few than the college years.  One of the best assistants in learning a foreign language is Duolingo – a free application for iOS and Android.

This app helps users learn how to write, read, and speak other languages. The main reason why we love it is that it is very user-friendly and turns learning into a fun game.

Khan Academy

Self-learning is vital for every student, and there is no better tool for effective learning than Khan Academy. This is a free application that offers lots of tuition-free courses, lectures, study materials, and much more! Definitely a must-have app for everyone.

CliffsNotes 

Our last app on this list is very handy for college students! This is a free application that allows users to access plenty of study guides right from their smartphones. With the help of CliffsNotes Study Guides, learners of all fields can discover lots of quizzes, study materials, cram plans, summaries, and more!

Friends having fun at their graduation Free Photo

Final Words

It is customary to think that the only way to reach real progress in learning is to work as hard, and as much as you can. Most people believe that such enormous efforts pay off with success. This is true to a certain extent. However, to reach real results, you should work smarter, not harder!

Therefore, if there is any chance to simplify your life and studying process – be sure not to miss this opportunity! Hopefully, this list of student apps will help each of you create your own college first aid kit!

Email Conversion Service for Microsoft Outlook

Posted on by Hillary Walker
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Nowadays, you won’t find people who don’t use any email services. Email still remains the most popular way to communicate in business environment and on labor market as well.   Although, there are hundreds of messengers, social networks and other apps for communicating Email is undoubtedly the safest and simplest way to share and exchange any type of data you want to.

Why do people choose Outlook? Outlook is one of the world’s first webmail services which has been founded in 1996 as Hotmail. Generally, Outlook is suite of webmail, contacts, tasks, and calendaring services from Microsoft. For sure, if your first email was Gmail or Yahoo you don’t have to just forget about all the files or messages that are there. At this very point you should know how to do Email Conversion for Microsoft Outlook. You can do it on outlooktransfer.com because it’s easy and fast in terms of transferring data. The licenses provided by this software will make sure that all files have been transferred correctly and safely.

Email Conversion for Microsoft Outlook

The software GlexSoft offers will allow you to transfer the data from various formats used by Windows and Mac email clients. GlexSoft software is capable to extract files even from rare unsupported email services by exporting to one of supported formats. Such as:

  • EML
  • MBOX (MBX)
  • MSF
  • MSG

In fact, the GlexSoft can even extract files for investigations or backup purposes. So if you have any type of format files that you need to transfer or export we can assure you that GlexSoft can help you with that. If you don’t trust us then just try if for free at first. You’ll never know if you don’t try – especially since we offer an amazing price/ quality ratio.

What About Price?

The price system is very clear and easy. For 1GB of data conversion you will need to pay $1 (not mentioning general fee of $4.95 used for payment process). Let’s say you want to convert 10GB (which is really a lot) of data in that case the price will be $14.95, 20GB will cost you $24.45 and so on.

GlexSoft has packages for one year, such as: Home, Business, Technical. The price is starting from $19.95. These packages will last a year, after that you are going to have to purchase a new one. We suggest you to read about all of the packages and to choose the one which is the most appropriate for you.

Let us make all conversion to MS Outlook for you with almost 100% accuracy. You don’t need to worry about it anymore. Learn about GlexSoft services so you won’t need to transfer files from one client to another by yourself.

How To Protect Your Laptop While Traveling

Posted on by Steve Jones
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There are multiple aspects to keeping a laptop safe. It does you little good to encrypt your laptop against malware if you conduct actions which leave it wide open to thieves, and vice versa. Here are a few tips to help keep your device safe and your trip relaxed.

Your laptop is probably the most expensive thing on you when you are traveling, and yet it is incredibly fragile. Few things can ruin a vacation faster than losing your laptop to theft, viruses, or other threats, especially if you are in an area on the globe where you may be unable to easily obtain a new one.

Get a New, Padded Laptop Backpack

A good laptop backpack is a major first step towards protecting your laptop from bumps, falls, water, and other damaging things. PC Magazine has a list of good backpacks, though you can check Amazon or any office or electronics store in the area.

When you are selecting a backpack, prioritize checking its padding above anything else. The backpack should have a rigid frame, and if it does not you can add backpack armor to make it sturdy. Also look for multiple compartments so that you can store just the laptop in a single compartment instead of squishing it alongside clothes and wires and other things. Go for functionality over style, as the only people you will end up attracting with a cool backpack are thieves. 

Note that you should try to get a backpack instead of a briefcase or messenger bag. A briefcase is a clear sign to unsavory individuals that something valuable is inside, and is easier to rip away from you than a properly secured backpack. It is also easy to carry a backpack on a long hike instead of awkwardly shifting a messenger bag from shoulder to shoulder.

Stay Alert

If you leave your laptop unattended in a public space for a minute or two to use the bathroom, you may as well kiss it goodbye. Laptops are prime candidates for thieves, whether it is for the value of the data in the laptop or for the device itself. And while you can lock your computer or even put a cable lock around it to deter thieves, your best weapon against them is constant vigilance.

Take your laptop with you wherever you go, instead of leaving it in the hotel. But also keep it out of sight when you can. Keep it in a backpack, or cover it with a jacket. The less people know where your laptop, the less likely anything bad will happen to it.

Backup your Data

You should be regularly backing up your data already, but it is important to do a full backup right before you go on a trip. Store all of your important data on an external hard drive or in the cloud so that you do not lose any critical data on top of losing your computer. Create a log of passwords outside the computer so that anyone who gains access cannot access personal records.

Also consider backing up your data while you are on the trip itself. If you have created any documents or files on the trip, store them on a CD or USB drive in your hotel at the end of the day and put those things in a secure place.

Use a VPN instead of public Wi-Fi

Sitting in a café in some foreign land and connecting to the Internet may seem like the epitome of how globalization brings us together, but doing anything on a public Wi-Fi can be extremely dangerous. The problem is that as CSO Online describes, hackers can easily position themselves between yourself and the connection point. This gives them access to any data you send out, such as your email passwords, business data, and credit card data. Even if you are just logging into some internet forum or checking sports scores, they can use any information to deduce personal information about you. Furthermore, hackers can also send data back and infect your computer with malware.

Consequently, you should be looking to connect online as little as possible. If you are in a situation where you absolutely must connect, use a trustworthy VPN which will encrypt your data. If you are not sure what a VPN is, cooltechzone has an excellent guide on what they are and how to set one up.

A VPN enables you to create a secure and safe pathway for you to send and also receive data. This is encrypted and allows you to unblock restricted sites such as Netflix, BBC iPlayer etc. The team at VPN Geeks has a nice article explaining exactly how a VPN works. 

Note that a VPN will not make your data completely hackproof. But the hacker will likely not want to make the effort when there are other computers sending unencrypted data. Your company should provide you with a VPN you can use when traveling abroad. Also make sure to turn wi-fi off when not using it, as the computer is still transmitting data when it is on.

Should You Leave Your Laptop at Home?

Your laptop will face numerous threats when traveling that it will never have to deal with if you leave it at home. So maybe you should not take your laptop at all.

This is especially true if you are on vacation. You are traveling to see the world and explore new sights, not stay hooked to the Internet like you are on most days. And even if you want to stay connected to some degree, Trip Savvy points out that a tablet or phone can serve just as well for someone just on vacation. The only major reason to bring a laptop along is if you may have to work when traveling.

If you really, truly, absolutely must bring a computer along, consider bringing in a cheaper laptop. Do you still have that old, slow, dying laptop lying around which you replaced with your brand new device? Take the old one instead. You may be frustrated with longer loading times, but you will not have to be looking over your shoulder all the time out of fear of losing or damaging it.

How Adware Affects Your Computer

Posted on by Shawn Abraham
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While on your Computer or mobile device, you notice an annoying pop-up advertisement, and regardless of how often you close it, it keeps reappearing. Chances are its Adware.

Adware is short for advertisement and Software. It is an advertising-supported Software. It is the name given to programs that are designed to display advertisements on your Computer, redirect your search to advertising websites, and collect data about you. For example, it receives a history of sites the user visits, and this sends this information back to the ad company. The information collected is often used to deliver custom advertisements to you.

Adware is a financially supported Software, and most times, developers bundle them with other files that you’ve downloaded. They might be malicious in nature so you must run a scan using Adware Removal tool. Sometimes they are not harmful, but they have the potential to be, and users see them as an invasion of privacy and distraction.

How Adware is Installed

Are you in a situation where specific advertisements keep showing up on your Computer, whether in any of your browsers or sites you’ve never seen ads before? If you answer ‘yes’ to this question, your system might be affected by Adware that injects ads into websites as you browse.

Aside from getting rid of Adware; a big question you might be asking is how did it get there initially?

Adware overtime has been responsible for many successful and prevalent programs including AOL instant messenger, Endora and many more. A method in which Adware can get into your system is when you download a free program. Other times, producers of software bundler pay for ads to appear when you search for specific Software. These adverts lead you to download a software bundler instead of the free, neat Software you were hoping for, leaving you with many ad injections.

Another method which is as well insidious occurs when you’re visiting a website. It doesn’t matter if it’s a trusted site or a sketchy one. Whichever way, your device can be infected with Adware. This way takes advantage of the vulnerability of your browser. The Adware burrows in, start collecting information, redirects you to malicious sites and pop up more advertisement.

How Adware affects your Computer

Sometimes, adware fall under the category of malicious software ‘malware.’ Adware is often harmless, but are now used in bad manners to exploit your system. Below are ways Adware can affect your Computer.

Slows down your Computer

The first warning of malicious Adware is the deterioration in your Computer’s performance. Adware has a reputation of engaging resources and in turn, hurting performance and speed.  Adware runs continuously in the background without your knowledge and uses valuable resources such as memory processor speed.

Increase Bandwidth Usage

Adware does this by downloading unwanted stuff. When you authorize the download of Software, new Software is downloaded and installed simultaneously. Many adware programs enter into your Computer unknowingly. These programs invade your Computer and run in your Computer’s background, eating up bandwidth. If you notice a constant use of your internet, but you can’t find any program regularly using this bandwidth on your Computer. It is likely Adware.

Make Computing Experience Worse

Adware is an annoyance to most computer users. For the majority of people, the primary problem with Adware is its ability to display advertisements in a pop-up form whenever it wants. These adverts grab your attention, and if you click on them, they install Software on your system without your permission. These installed Software keeps displaying adverts related to whatever you have clicked before. This pop up over a user’s work can plague the user.

Costs Money

Shopping is now a lot easier with the availability of online stores. The idea that one can buy anything from the comfort of their home is soothing. Right products, reasonable prices, and new offers/discounts are some of those things that make online shopping attractive. However, there are dangers associated with online shopping. Adware throws fake advertisements for an online store at a user. These ads are illegitimate, and most times, they offer a ridiculously low price of an item or a service that is hard to pass up on. Once a user clicks on it, a malicious user can steal their info (credit card info, for example).

Invades Privacy

Another negative side is an invasion of privacy. Some adware programs can download and install spyware. These programs can capture user personal information, and they send confidential information to advertisers or criminals. Additionally, they can collect browsing history and send it to ad managers.

How to Get Rid of Adware

Look out for suspicious/unknown name in installed programs and remove it.

As discussed earlier, most pop-up ads install a program on your Computer. Though not as a general rule, you’ll need to check for malicious programs to remove it.

Navigate your way to the programs screen and scroll through the list of currently installed programs. Look for recently installed unknown programs, any other unwanted or unknown program and uninstall from your Computer.

Depending on what application has installed the adware infection, the program may have a different name on your Computer. If you cannot find any unwanted or unknown programs on your Computer, then you can proceed with this next step.

Look out for suspicious/unknown name in installed browser extensions and remove it.

Adware generally bombards web browsers with ads. An important step is to look out for unknown extension and uninstall it.

Besides, you can reset Internet Explorer settings or other browsers to return them to the state they were in on the first installation on your PC. This reset feature fixes many issues while saving essential information like bookmarks, passwords, web form auto-fill information, browsing history, and open tabs.

Install MalwareFox

As easy as the above steps look like, things are not completely easy in most cases. There are situations in which these programs might be hiding deep in system setting and prove challenging to remove.

In cases like this, it is reasonable to scan the system with adware removal tool like MalwareFox. MalwareFox performs deep cleaning, detects, and cleans Adware; removing annoying ads, toolbar, and search in a click.

Additionally, MalwareFox restores performance by deleting adware infections which engages resources. With this method, there’s a gain of lost power of the computer system.

7 Best Android Learning Apps

Posted on by Sabrina Goldstein
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As your child grows, they’ll need your help in school less. Part of this is from independence and learning more. The other part is knowing where to find high school and college homework help. One useful tool for students is learning apps, which focus on teaching them how to do problems instead of just providing answers. Here are seven of the best apps for Android users. These are perfect for students, as well as adult learners who want to refresh on something or learn something new.

1. Khan’s Academy

Khan’s Academy has versions for children and adults. It has over 10,000 lessons and is completely free to use. Many of its subjects are more common, which is great for struggling students or adults who want to brush up on lessons. Some of the areas it covers include math, science, physics, English, economics, and others.

2. DuoLingo

DuoLingo is perfect for anyone trying to learn a second (or third) language. The app is full of fun games that make learning vocabulary easy and enjoyable. According to the designers, spending 34 hours on this app teaches as much as a semester in school. Currently, there are over a dozen languages offered such as Spanish, German, Chinese, Japanese, and French.

3. Amazon Kindle

Amazon Kindle is not just for entertainment reading. It is also full of reference guides and books on any topic students can think of. This can be useful if they are researching a topic or need extra information on a subject. As an added benefit, students can buy textbooks. This means they do not have to lug their book home every night.

4. Coursera

Coursera is its own online school. It is best for older students who need extra help or adult learners. There are more than 1,000 different courses available, each of them with video content, access to reading material, and lectures. At the end of each course, a certificate of completion is given to students.

5.  PhotoMath

PhotoMath works with your phone’s camera. It is useful for students or parents. Simply take a picture of the problem and wait for the explanation and answer. The major benefit comes from the explanation since it walks students through the steps toward a solution.

6. Wolfram Alpha

This is a more advanced app that might benefit high school or college students. It can be used for all types of information and works as a calculator. Some subjects covered include data analysis, physics, mathematics, engineering, geography, weather, astronomy, and more.

7. LinkedIn Learning

While this will not help the average student, this is a great app for adult professional learning. It is free to use and covers job skills. This could even benefit students considering their first job. Some topics covered include office skills and creative skills.

Parents and tutors are not students’ only options for assignment help. Learning apps for Android users are a great alternative for help. The best apps will guide students in finding the answer rather than doing the work for them. This ensures they are prepared come test time while providing the extra help they need to succeed.

12 Awesome Resources For Developers On App Marketing

Posted on by Nora Mork
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Developers often dislike marketers. The reasons for that are often quite simple – they had a bad previous experience where the marketer didn’t understand their product enough and oversold it. This only brings poor results and no one is happy.

However, this also comes from the fact that app developers don’t really understand marketing well enough. It has a different approach to the app – marketers are focused on users and what would work for them even though they might not always understand what it takes to make it happen.

This means that app developers, aware of what they can do, should try to learn the basics of marketing in order to market the app themselves or have a better relationship with their marketer. Here are some useful resources to begin with:

Gamasutra

″This resource covers game development and the business of making and marketing games in general. In various sections you can find many useful tips on app development, marketing and crowdfunding.

They have a lot of posts and the community posts often as well. Some of the most quality posts come from established game developers but there are also a lot of useful tips from amateurs that can help you with all elements of app development”, – says a content marketer at UK Writings and State of Writing, Sarah Gilles.

Relate – The Digital Mag For Marketers

This app used to be called Appboy but they rebranded and published a great resource for people looking for marketing tips on various elements like deep linking, retention and much more.

People with experience share posts here and they share their personal tips an stories which is great.

Apptweak Blog

This blog is set on publishing fun, thorough and entertaining content on marketing and promotion. Here, you can learn everything you need to know about ASO, beta testing and much more.

Mobile Marketer Blog

This is always a great read because they often do case studies and conduct various research experiments to bring you the best conclusions and information they can. They serve a large market of big companies but also small businesses just starting out as well.

You’ll be able to find a lot of great data here.

The App Guy Podcast

″This is a fun podcast which offers a lot of useful information on all aspects of app marketing. There are a lot of episodes and you can hear from app entrepreneurs, startup founders and so on. People really love it and have found it useful in the past”, – says Tina Gruber, an app marketer from Simple Grad and Academized.

App Savvy – Ken Yarmosh

App Savvy is an amazing book dedicated to all app marketers out there. Ken really dedicates his time to elaborate the subject and bring it closer to the reader. This book may be a bit old but its still timeless.

Touch Arcade

This is a forum dedicated to game developers and helping them solve their issues. Here, a lot of experienced people and amateurs alike post their tips and advice in order to help others create a better marketing campaign for their apps.

Tune Blog

This blog is publishing great content from industry experts on several areas, making it one of the most helpful blogs out there for app developers.

Appentive Blog

Appentive makes a point out of creating valuable pieces for their readers. “They cover a wide range of topics but you will most likely be able to find anything you need on this blog” comments April Cordero, a tech writer at Let’s go and learn and Student Writing Services.

Fiksu Webinars

These webinars can help you learn amazing things about app marketing and it’s especially good because you can ask questions at the end of the webinar and get all of that extra information that you need.

iPhoneDevSDK

This is an amazing blog and a great place to exchange some information and tips between independent developers. There are interesting debates and insights from time to time.

Arkenea

This is a mobile app development company that offers a blog on app development and design, app marketing and so on. There are also interviews with successful people from the app and startup industries.

Find The Best Way To Market Your App

Marketing can be difficult and seem terrifying but it becomes much easier once you learn how to do it properly. Who better to market your app than yourself? You know what you can do and what is possible, so learn the basics and dive a bit deeper into the specifics. Hopefully, these resources can help.

How to sync Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+ to Outlook

Posted on by Wayland Bruns
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Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+ are the newest additions to the Wide World of Phablets. The Edge+ is the first Phablet phone to feature the curved edges which can show information while the phone is turned.

DejaOffice for Outlook App is made for these large screen phones, giving a maximum of functionality.  Only DejaOffice offers:

* Contacts, Calendar, Tasks and Notes in one app, and you can link them together
* Category colors, use the same categories across all conduits.
* USB, Wi-FI and Cloud synchronization options
* Private records, view them only when you enter a pass code
* Onboard encryption.  Even if your phone is lost, your data is safe

Setup Guide for Samsung Galaxy Outlook sync

  1. Install CompanionLink on your PC. Click here to download it.
  2. On your Galaxy Phone, launch the Google Play Store. Search for DejaOffice and install it.
  3. Configure CompanionLink. Your configuration steps will depend on the sync option listed above that you choose.
    1. Setup guide: Galaxy S6 to Outlook USB sync
    2. Setup guide: Galaxy S6 to Outlook WiFi sync
    3. Recommended: Galaxy S6 to Outlook DejaCloud sync (automatic)
    4. Setup guide: Galaxy S6 to Outlook using a Google account
    5. With DejaCloud sync, the synchronization will begin automatically within a few minutes. If you selected USB, WiFi, or sync to Google, you need to click on the Sync button in CompanionLink on your PC to start the first sync.

Further help for Samsung Galaxy to Outlook sync

Call us at 503-243-3400 if you need further help. Support is free to everyone with a Galaxy S6 phone, regardless of whether you do or do not own a license to CompanionLink . You can also access our setup guides online. If you want an advanced configuration help, we offer a $49 RunStart package where our experts will log in to your PC and Galaxy S6 to configure the sync for you. This gives you the peace of mind that your Galaxy S6 to PC sync is fine-tuned to match your needs.

 

How to sync Outlook Color Categories to iPhone 6

Posted on by Rushang
6

Current iPhone Outlook sync options simply don’t work for business professionals using a PC. Apple ships iTunes and iCloud as two ways to sync Microsoft Outlook with iPhone and iPad. The problem is neither product supports sync of Outlook Categories.

Why are categories important on phones?

Business users who have hundreds of contact records, notes, and appointment details need a way to organize info for quick lookup. Organization is inherent in their PC Outlook database courtesy of the Color Categories feature. Each category has a name and color in Outlook. This offers quick sort and view options on the PC.

But what about the iPhone and iPad?

CompanionLink solves this problem by mapping Outlook Color Categories to iOS devices. This means business users can rely on color recognition to view data on their iPhone or iPad. They can sort and view the device’s contact list the same way they did on the PC. They can assign categories as they create new Notes or Tasks on the device. These new items will sync back to the correct Outlook Category on their PC.

CompanionLink supports Outlook Categories for Contacts, Calendar, Tasks, Notes, and Journal. Outlook calendar alarms, task alerts, and contact photos also sync to iPhone and iPad. Basically, you get everything iTunes and iCloud offers with support for additional Outlook data like Categories and Alarms. This is a perfect paid utility for business users who need to organize hundreds of Outlook records on their phone.

How Outlook categories on iPhone look

How Outlook Categories look on iPhone

You have two options to view Outlook categories on your iPhone: use our DejaOffice mobile app or use the phone’s Contacts app. There are pros/cons to each approach.

CompanionLink relies on our DejaOffice iPhone app to store Outlook data on the device. Our app is designed for a one-to-one map with Outlook fields, which is why we can handle more Outlook data than iPhone’s Contacts app.

If, however, you prefer to use iPhone’s Contact app, you have that option. Go to Settings > Sync > Sync to native iPhone Contacts. This will create and transfer DejaOffice Outlook Categories to the iPhone’s Contacts app as Groups. You can then use the Contacts app to view your rolodex by Group (which is Apple’s name for Category).

Click here for more information about Outlook iPhone sync.

Carrier Policies for Unlocking Devices

Posted on by Rushang
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Many people will be selling their current Android or iPhone device to make room (and cash) for the new iPhone and Android Phone. An unlocked unit will earn more money on sites like Gazelle that pay cash for your old phone or in the private market.

Here are links to the Device Unlock Policy for each major US carrier.

AT&T: click here.
T-Mobile: click here.
Sprint: click here.
Verizon: click here.
O2 (UK Carrier): click here.
Virgin Mobile (USA): click here.

Sync Gmail Calendar and Tasks to the On My Mac account

Posted on by Rushang
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You can synchronize Google Calendar and Google Tasks to any On My Mac account in the Calendar app and Reminders app on Mac OS X.  The Mac has the ability to set up Google Calendar, but only as a separate account from the On My Mac account. With CompanionLink, you can fix this.

  1. Download CompanionLink for Mac. It’s available here.
  2. Configure it to sync with a free DejaCloud account.
    1. Tip: you can set up Auto Synchronization to make it automatic.
  3. From Advanced Settings, choose the Mac Calendar account and categories to sync.
  4. Log into the DejaCloud web portal and enable the Google Connector.
    1. Click Account Status.
    2. Click Connectors.
    3. Click Add Google Account. Enter your Google login information.

Here is a full setup guide for further details.

Your Google Calendar and Tasks data will now synchronize to the Mac Calendar account you specified in Step 3.

CompanionLink for Mac is free to use for 14 days. If you need uninterrupted synchronization, a one-time license costs just $49.95.

How to sync Nokia Lumia with Outlook – Cloud, USB

Posted on by Rushang
2

You have three popular options to sync Outlook with Windows Phone devices:

  1. Use a Microsoft Exchange Server or service.
  2. Use Hotmail Outlook Connector to sync to the Microsoft Cloud (for Outlook 2010 and below)
  3. Use CompanionLink to sync using a USB cable (works for Outlook 2013, 2010, 2007, 2003, and 2000)

Options 1 and 2 use the Microsoft cloud service; also known as a Microsoft account. Nokia has an FAQ article about how to set this up.

Options 3 gives you the security of a direct secure sync between PC and Lumia. Your contacts and calendar are not stored in anyone’s cloud. This offering rides CompanionLink’s core value that people and businesses should not be forced to store client contacts and notes, calendar meetings, and task and project lists in the cloud.

Yes, people should be able to choose if that’s something they want to do. The cloud is an option for those looking for convenience and integration of data across multiple devices. The cloud eliminates synchronization, which is a major step forward for convenience.

But what about people looking for data security? What about people who do not want their data hostage to some garage hacker across the world, or government agencies that mine data, or Search Engines like Google and Microsoft that scour your personal data and profit on it?  These people need a cloud opt-out switch.

CompanionLink offers this opt-out switch for those who want to restore data security.

How to set up PC Outlook 2013 from Office 365

Posted on by Rushang
1

Takeaways:
+ Office 365 offers both Cloud and PC Install options
+ Office 2013 PC Install is available to Office 365 subscriptions

When you purchase an Office 365 subscription, you automatically get a license to the Office 2013 PC Install software with Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.  This means you do not have to store your data in the Office 365 Cloud.  You can pay for an Office 365 subscription, download the Office 2013 PC Install, and set up your existing email provider instead of the Office 365 email account that Microsoft creates during sign-up.

Learn how to download Outlook 2013 PC Install from your Office 365 subscription: https://www.companionlink.com/secure-office365

CompanionLink now synchronizes Act!, GoldMine, and Salesforce CRM direct to both Office 365 Cloud accounts and Outlook 2013 PC Install. PC Outlook includes features not found yet in Office 365 Cloud such as calendar with linked contacts, notes, and better control over categories/groups.

Office 365 Pricing versus Office 2013 Pricing
Table: Pricing options – Office 365 subscription, Office 2013 one-time license

JUMP! needs the Cloud to jump-start new devices

Posted on by Rushang
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People using JUMP! will need an efficient way to move personal and business data from one device to another. A cloud-based data hub like Google (currently free, ad-supported), Outlook.com (currently free, ad-supported), or DejaCloud (currently free, no ads) is the answer because they enable calendar, address book, notes, and task lists to move from one device to another with just a username.  People who are averse to hosting data in the Cloud can opt for CompanionLink’s USB software to move their data.

Why JUMP! changes everything

On July 11, 2013, T-Mobile announced a radical change to how often people can upgrade devices.  Their JUMP! upgrade program allows existing customers to swap devices two times in 12 months for the same low price that new customers receive. For example, if you own an iPhone 5 and want to switch to a Samsung Galaxy S4, JUMP! allows this for the same price (currently $99 on T-Mobile’s website) that new customers receive. Essentially, you can trade-in for a new smartphone every 6 months for about $100.

Wow, talk about a game-changing move.

This raises the bar for other wireless carriers and reinforces how people yearn to consume new mobile hardware. With the pace of new devices increasing (Moore’s law on steroids), T-Mobile is simply offering a way for people to rent their device instead of owning it for  waiting archaically long (two years) to upgrade.

Who benefits the most from JUMP!

Business professionals and consumers who want to frequently upgrade devices or use the latest-and-greatest will love JUMP!. The plan allows them to “lease” devices instead of being locked into the ownership of one device every 24 months.

T-Mobile’s offer appears to be a win-win because customers get to switch phones at a low price while T-Mobile still carries customers for a 2-year term, which resets with every phone upgrade. History points to win-win situations sticking around for a long time, and changing the game.

Disposable devices just got one step closer to reality.

Sync Outlook with BlackBerry

Posted on by Rushang
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One question which remains unanswered for many business professionals who use Outlook and have a BlackBerry Z10 is “How do I sync Outlook with BlackBerry?” For Exchange Server users, this process is greatly simplified via ActiveSync. Exchange allows calendar, contacts and email to be directly integrated, with no additional software required.

But what of business oriented BB10 users who utilize Outlook without Exchange?

Sync Outlook with BlackBerry via USB or Cloud

CompanionLink offers two solutions for this scenario, as detailed below– Direct synchronization, and synchronization utilizing web-based services such as Gmail or Outlook.com.

  1. Directly sync Outlook with BlackBerry contacts, calendar, tasks, notes, and categories:
    1. Install CompanionLink for Outlook onto your Windows PC.
    2. Set the sync method to either DejaCloud wireless sync or Direct USB.
    3. Configure email directly on the BB10 device, with POP3 or IMAP.
  2. Sync Outlook to Gmail or Outlook.com, and then set up your BB10 accounts:
    1. Install CompanionLink for Outlook.
    2. Set CompanionLink to sync with either Google or Outlook.com, depending on which service you plan to use.
    3. Set up your BB10 device with your Gmail or Outlook.com account (Settings > Accounts > Email, Contacts, Calendar).

Why Direct Sync Between Outlook and BlackBerry is Preferable

CompanionLink recommends direct sync (solution 1 above), as solution 2 has the following drawbacks:

  1. Your Outlook data will be hosted on Google, a company that makes money from targeted advertising.
  2. Your data will not map one-to-one with fields offered in Google’s interface, possibly leading to data corruption.
  3. Your data may be altered every time Google changes their web-based system.

Detailed information regarding sync options with BlackBerry 10 devices and Outlook is available on CompanionLink’s BB10 webpage.

Must-know guide for moving from BlackBerry to iPhone

Posted on by Rushang
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This guide helps you move email, calendar, contacts, tasks, and notes from BlackBerry to an iOS device like iPhone or iPad

Email

iPhone’s email app supports the most popular email accounts – Exchange, IMAP, POP3, iCloud, Yahoo!, AOL, Hotmail, and Google/Gmail.  If you use an email service not listed above and need to find incoming/outgoing server details to set up IMAP, do a Google search for your service’s name followed by “IMAP settings”.

Contacts, calendar, tasks, and notes

You can use one free app to move all of this data.  CompanionLink has software that will sync your complete Outlook data with categories with iPhone.

Step 1: Use BlackBerry Desktop Software to backup your BlackBerry data to Microsoft Outlook.

Step 2: Download a free 14-day trial of CompanionLink for Outlook to your PC. Configure it to sync Outlook to iPhone using the CL Secure Hosted Wireless service. It’s completely free during the 14-day trial period. You will be prompted to buy if you wish to continue synchronizing after the trial expires. Licenses start at $14.95.

Step 3: Click the Sync button in CompanionLink and watch your Outlook data move to your iPhone.

Get it right the first time by hiring a professional to do it for you

CompanionLink offers a $49 service where a migration expert will log into your PC and move your data to your iPhone.  The service is called RunStart.

If you have any questions about moving to the iPhone platform, email us at sales@companionlink.com.

Disable Outlook Calendar alarms when syncing to Android or iPhone

Posted on by Rushang
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If your Calendar Events in Outlook have alarms, and you don’t want these alarms to drive you crazy on your phone, you can disable them.  There are two ways to disable Calendar alarms.

1. In the DejaOffice app, go to Settings > Alarm Settings.  Uncheck the box next to DejaOffice Alarms.

2. In CompanionLink, go to Advanced Settings > Calendar. Uncheck the box for syncing alarms.

Either option will ensure your Outlook Calendar alarms don’t ring on your phone.