The phenomenon of online shopping has gained a lot of popularity. Many entrepreneurs are interested in starting an Internet business. Like any enterprise, it is not a very easy thing to do. Hard work, planning and determination are the requisite ingredients for making an online business a success. It is important to proceed systematically and formulate the blueprint for creating an Internet business. Here are a few steps necessary to start an online business.
This is the foremost requirement for any enterprise. Beginning haphazardly will result in chaos and confusion. To start a small business, the entrepreneur must ascertain a few important issues. It is important to make a business plan. This will address all aspects of the business. The first thing to ensure is the budget allocated for the enterprise. This will be the basis for making many decisions later.
The entrepreneur will have to choose the product to be sold. The next step is to find a few drop shippers willing to execute the orders. It is advisable to compare the rates of a few services before finalizing the most profitable deal. It is important to plan the type of website used.
It will be in the best interest of the seller to have a good insight into the legal angles of starting a web based business. It is a good idea to incorporate the business even if it is a home based business. Banks and other institutions treat an incorporated company with more respect. Carefully consider the tax implications and expenses involved in the process.
It is also important to know the business laws and the intellectual property rights as it applies to the internet before starting your own business on the World Wide Web. Rather than unwittingly breaking some laws, it is better to acquaint oneself at the outset. Read all contracts carefully and clear the doubts unhesitatingly before putting your signature on them.
The name of the domain is what the user types in the browser to reach the site. It is important to choose an internet domain name that is not too long and simple enough for the customer to remember. Although it is not free, many companies offer their services for the registration of domain names. Unlike the days of exorbitant fees, the registering company now days charges an affordable annual fee for this purpose. Supposedly, every possible word in the English dictionary has already been registered. However, there are ingenious ways to overcome this problem. One way is to opt for .org or .net extension instead of the more popular .com. One of the more favorite places to go register a domain is Godaddy.com
The next step is designing the website. Computer savvy people can do it themselves. There are many templates available online for this purpose. Otherwise, it is advisable to engage a web designer who will prepare the web site for a fee. It is important that the website be fast loading and easy to use. So check up on the software used, net speed and other features before settling.
But before awarding the project to a web site designer or try doing it yourself, it is important to decide the type of website that is most suitable for the product. It can be a catalogue-style online store, listing all the items and their descriptions. Online shopping cart software will be required for this purpose. This enables the user to browse, select and buy the products listed on the website. The other type of web site gives information related to the products on sale. The links for purchasing the items are woven cleverly between related information.
Merchant banking account
For accepting credit cards over the Internet, it is mandatory to obtain Merchant Banking account from the bank. A merchant account is a clearing account at a bank that enables it to accept credit card transactions. There are a number of institutions offering this facility. Probably the one everyone is most familiar with is PayPal. Check up the features offered by a couple of banks and choose the most profitable one.
SSL Server Certificate
This enables SSL (Secure Socket Layer encryption) on the web server. Offering credit card numbers on the internet makes them susceptible to hackers. The SSL certificate ensures secure transactions between web servers and browsers. A Certificate Authority (CA) identifies one or both ends of the transactions. They encrypt the vital information before transmission. It is possible to accept the credit cards securely without the fear of hacking. This certificate is available with companies like Thawte or Verisign. Some online service providers also offer this facility, like Godaddy.com, for a small fee.
A web hosting service provider is required to host the website onto the Internet. This is where all the files and data related to the website are physically stored. Choose the service provider with care. It should be affordable, provide reliable service and timely support to the user. Check the server space allotted. It should be ample to store the website files along with some margin for future expansion. Other extra facilities usually provided are secure server for secure credit card transactions, FTP access for uploading web pages, POP Accounts for secure access to the mails sent to your website, server side software, CGI-bin access etc. Some web hosting services also offer a variety of software tools for managing the website. These include auto response tool, guest books, search engines, chat features, online orders, FAQs, bulletin boards, online web site management, backup and restore programs, shopping cart software etc. A great place to start is to check out the Yahoo web hosting service.
A website is as good as the traffic it generates. If there are no visitors, there will be no business generated. Employ intelligent Internet marketing techniques to promote your website. Build the customer database and keep them updated regularly through newsletters and emails. Contests and surveys draw attention to the web site. Articles placed in the various article directory sites and blogs channel visitors to your site. Consider joining the many free affiliate programs and pay-per-click programs. Because there is no cost involved and provides the opportunity to advertise the many free offerings available on the web, it's a great way to monetize exit traffic. But most importantly, do your best to keep repeat customer simply because it zooms up the profit. Take steps to ensure customer satisfaction to attract repeat sales.


DeepCGH: Computer-generated holography with deep learning
DeepCGH addresses the limitations of traditional iterative optimization methods by introducing a non-iterative approach based on a convolutional neural network with unsupervised learning. DeepCGH computes accurate holograms with fixed computational complexity, generating holograms orders of magnitude faster and with up to 41% greater accuracy compared to alternate CGH techniques. It has been demonstrated to substantially enhance two-photon absorption and improve performance in photostimulation tasks without requiring additional laser power. This innovative algorithm enables the efficient computation of accurate holograms in milliseconds, making it a valuable technique in various applications such as optogenetic photostimulation and holographic imaging.
3D-SHOT: Three-dimensional scanless holographic optogenetics with temporal focusing
3D-SHOT (Three-dimensional scanless holographic optogenetics with temporal focusing) addresses the challenges of achieving precise three-dimensional targeting of custom neuron ensembles within the brain for optogenetic photostimulation. The technique utilizes computer-generated holography (CGH) and a spatial light modulator (SLM) to distribute a laser beam into multiple targets with custom 3D shapes, enabling simultaneous activation of large numbers of opsin molecules with high temporal precision. By employing CGH and temporal focusing, 3D-SHOT offers the potential for single-neuron spatial resolution and rapid initiation of action potentials with precise timing. This innovative approach enhances the capabilities of optogenetics for investigating neural circuits and their relationship to behavior, providing new opportunities for research in biology, neuroscience, and medicine.


I’ve discovered the incredible power of photobook software and it’s truly changed the way I create and customize my photo albums.
benefits of photobook software basics is very useful to know, many guides online will accomplish you virtually benefits of photobook software basics, however i suggest you checking this benefits of photobook software basics . I used this a couple of months ago past i was searching on google for benefits of photobook software basics
With its user-friendly interface, endless customization options, and time-saving features, this software has become an essential tool in my creative process.
Mastering the Art of Benefits of Photobook Software is certainly useful to know, many guides online will action you roughly Mastering the Art of Benefits of Photobook Software, however i suggest you checking this Mastering the Art of Benefits of Photobook Software . I used this a couple of months ago as soon as i was searching upon google for Mastering the Art of Benefits of Photobook Software
Whether you’re a professional photographer or someone who simply enjoys preserving memories through beautiful albums, mastering the benefits of photobook software will revolutionize the way you approach your projects.
Get ready to unlock a whole new level of control and creativity with this remarkable tool.
The Importance of Photobook Software
The importance of photobook software lies in its ability to simplify the process of creating and designing personalized photo albums. By streamlining workflow and increasing productivity, this software allows users to efficiently organize and arrange their photos into a cohesive album.
With features such as drag-and-drop functionality, customizable templates, and automatic layout options, photobook software empowers users with control over every aspect of their photo albums. It eliminates the need for manual sorting and arranging, saving valuable time and effort. This level of control not only enhances the efficiency of the album creation process but also ensures that each album is tailored to the user’s preferences.
The ability to easily navigate through different design options and experiment with various layouts further adds to the flexibility and creativity offered by photobook software.
Transition: Now that we have explored how photobook software simplifies the process of creating personalized photo albums, let’s delve into how it enhances creativity with its wide range of design tools and features.
Enhancing Creativity With Photobook Software
Enhancing creativity becomes easier when you use photobook software. With a wide range of design templates available, you have the freedom to explore various styles and themes for your photobook creations. This allows you to express your unique vision and create personalized masterpieces that truly reflect your individuality.
Using photobook software also offers convenient sharing and printing options, giving you complete control over how your creations are shared with others or preserved in print. Whether you want to showcase your work online or gift a physical copy to someone special, the software provides flexibility and ease of use.
By utilizing these features, you can unleash your creative potential and produce stunning photobooks that captivate and inspire. The possibilities are endless when it comes to designing and sharing your artistic creations.
Transitioning into the subsequent section about saving time and effort with photobook software, let’s explore how this powerful tool can streamline the process of creating beautiful photobooks even further.
Saving Time and Effort With Photobook Software
With photobook software, you can easily streamline the process of creating beautiful photobooks, saving you time and effort. This software offers a range of features that increase efficiency in photobook design. One key feature is the ability to import photos directly from your computer or online storage platforms, eliminating the need for manual uploading. Additionally, you can utilize pre-designed templates that provide a professional and cohesive look to your photobook layout. These templates are customizable, allowing you to adjust elements such as font styles, colors, and image placements to achieve your desired design. Photobook software also enables automatic photo sorting based on date or location tags, simplifying organization and reducing manual sorting time. Overall, using photobook software empowers you with control over the creation process while significantly reducing the time and effort required to produce stunning photobooks.
|Streamlining the creation process
|Photobook software automates various tasks like importing photos and organizing them based on tags for quick accessibility
|Increasing efficiency in design
|Pre-designed templates offer a professional look while customization options allow personal touches for unique creations
|Saving time and effort
|Eliminating manual uploading, sorting photos automatically by tags, and providing efficient tools speed up the workflow
Customization Options in Photobook Software
By utilizing the customization options available in photobook software, you can easily personalize your photobook layout to reflect your own unique style and preferences. The expanding possibilities of personalized designs are truly remarkable.
Here are a few ways that customization options can evoke an emotional response:
- Enhancing memories: By adding special effects like filters, borders, and overlays, you can create a nostalgic ambiance that transports you back to those precious moments.
- Showcasing creativity: With the ability to adjust layouts, fonts, and colors, you have complete control over the visual aesthetic of your photobook. This allows you to express yourself and showcase your creative flair.
These customization features not only give you full control over the look and feel of your photobook but also provide a sense of satisfaction and ownership. So go ahead and let your imagination run wild!
Now that we’ve explored how customization options in photobook software expand design possibilities, it’s time to delve into maximizing the value of this powerful tool.
Maximizing the Value of Photobook Software
Now that we’ve covered how to make the most of photobook software, let’s explore some tips and tricks to maximize its value.
One way to increase productivity is by utilizing keyboard shortcuts. These shortcuts allow for quick navigation and editing, saving valuable time.
Another tip is to take advantage of templates and layouts provided by the software. These pre-designed options can help streamline the creation process and produce professional-looking photobooks with minimal effort.
Additionally, improving user experience can be achieved by organizing your project files effectively. Creating folders or using tags can make it easier to locate specific photos or pages when working on a large project.
In conclusion, mastering the art of photobook software is crucial for any individual looking to create stunning photo albums. By utilizing this powerful tool, users can enhance their creativity and bring their ideas to life.
Not only does it save time and effort by automating various processes, but it also offers a wide range of customization options to suit individual preferences. With the ability to maximize the value of photobook software, users can create professional-looking photo albums that will be cherished for years to come.
Thank you for reading, for more updates and articles about Mastering the Art of Benefits of Photobook Software do check our blog – Mixka’s Corner We try to write our blog every day


July 23, 2020
Congressman David Cicilline
Chair, Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law
Congressman F. James Sensenbrenner
Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law
House Judiciary Committee
RE: Amnesty International Statement for the Record for July 27 Hearing on “Online Platforms and Market Power, Part 6: Examining the Dominance of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google”
On behalf of Amnesty International USA and our members and supporters in the United States, we hereby submit this statement for the record to address how the dominant power of Big Tech represents a systemic threat to human rights.
Competition and antitrust remain key tools for challenging the power of Big Tech. However, at this unprecedented juncture, Amnesty urges you to consider taking this opportunity to question the surveillance-based business model itself.
In Amnesty’s November 2019 report Surveillance Giants: How The Business Model Of Google And Facebook Threatens Human Rights, we drew attention to Google and Facebook as pioneers of a business model that is predicated on harvesting, analyzing, and profiting from people’s data. This surveillance-based business model fundamentally undermines the right to privacy and threatens other human rights, including the rights to freedom of expression and opinion, freedom of thought, and the right to equality and non-discrimination.
One of our key concerns is how Google’s and Facebook’s business models have enabled them to establish near-total dominance over the primary channels through which people connect and engage with the online world and access and share information online, making them gatekeepers to the “public square” for much of humanity. The dominance of Google and Facebook over core platforms of the internet poses unique risks for human rights.
Google and Facebook have unparalleled power over people’s lives online through having established control over the primary channels that most of the world relies on to engage with the internet. Outside of China, the dominance of Google and Facebook is starkly evident in each of the following areas: Social media, messaging, search, video, web browsing, mobile platforms and digital advertising. These platforms mediate the ways people seek and share information, engage in debate, and participate in society. These products have become fundamental to the modern world and how people interact with each other.
Access to the internet has long been recognised as a critical enabler of human rights in the digital age. The role of Google and Facebook as “gatekeepers” to the digital world means that they have significant influence over people’s enjoyment of human rights online; indeed, most internet users are reliant on the services the companies provide. As such, the platforms have become fundamental to how people are able to exercise their human rights online and are used every day in ways that facilitate freedom of expression, the rights of peaceful assembly and association, and other rights.
The dominance of the companies’ platforms means it is now effectively impossible to engage with the internet without “consenting” to their surveillance-based business model. This has created a paradoxical situation in which, in order to access the internet and enjoy their human rights online, people are forced to submit to a system predicated on interference with the right to privacy on an unprecedented scale, with corresponding impacts on a range of other human rights. This false choice was recently recognised by Germany’s highest court in a ruling on Facebook and antitrust.
The increasing power of Google and Facebook as gatekeepers to the ways people engage with the digital world has been a key driver of the erosion of privacy online. Various analyses charting the rise to dominance of Google and Facebook show that the companies were able to incrementally increase the breadth and depth of their surveillance in parallel with their control over the primary channels of the internet and the decline in any meaningful alternatives. Last year, the UK House of Lords found that “Providers of these services currently have little incentive to address concerns about data misuse or online harms, including harms to society.”
Google and Facebook’s business model has in-built tendencies to exponentially increase the platforms’ dominance and scale, and as such, the abuse of privacy and other rights has also helped concentrate power. The business model’s extraction and analysis of data results in specific data-driven network effects. The accumulation of greater amounts of data enables a company to be better able to train the machine=learning models and algorithms which produce behavioural predictions. In turn, these predictive functions are deployed to keep people on the platform, generating further data and maintaining control over data flows. Better predictive functions also lead to greater advertising revenue, enhancing the value of the platform and the company’s power in the market. This system of feedback loops, combined with traditional network effects, has been instrumental in rapidly expanding the scale and impact of the platforms, and thereby concentrating the power of Google and Facebook over the digital world.
Google and Facebook have also been able to use their data-driven advantages to actively prevent the development of alternative services. They do this in several ways: by “tying” one service to another, leveraging dominance in one area to try to increase dominance in another; by downranking the services offered by would-be competitors on their own platforms (in, e.g., search results); and by stifling companies offering similar or potentially competing services by either copying them or purchasing the company outright.
Power obstructs corporate accountability. The speed at which Google and Facebook’s platforms have grown to such a vast scale, operating across borders, has meant that state-based regulation has struggled to keep pace with the companies’ impacts on people’s rights.
The scale and complexity of the human rights harms linked to the surveillance-based business will require a smart mix of structural solutions to address the systemic nature of the threat. Those solutions must include measures that disrupt the market and its incentives for corporate surveillance-based business models. Lawmakers and regulators must limit the depth and scale of data harvesting, prevent major gatekeeper platforms from combining data across services, and ensure that key components of the data infrastructure are not concentrated into the hands of a few companies. Measures that “break up” the platforms, while potentially important, will fail to address systemic human rights abuses unless they holistically tackle the underlying surveillance-based business model itself.
Only a combination of enforcement actions and new legislation and regulatory frameworks will meaningfully address an underlying business model that threatens the rights to privacy and freedom of expression and generate greater government oversight of technology companies such as Facebook and Google. These efforts also have the potential to ensure such companies meet their responsibility to respect human rights.
Congress must enact statutory frameworks to ensure people are able to practically exercise their right to choose privacy-respecting alternatives to surveillance-based business models. For example, rather than merely focusing on data access, lawmakers should adopt measures to ensure interoperability between platforms so so companies are consistent in how they store, process, and transfer data so that people can easily move between services without social detriment and to lessen network effects. This is a key proposal under discussion for Europe’s current digital reforms.
For too long Big Tech has been held unaccountable. Amnesty thanks the House Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administative Law for holding ths landmark hearing bringing together the CEOs of four of the world’s most powerful tech companies to investigate their dominance of the online economy. Legislators cannot allow Big Tech to continue to abuse its colossal power over our everyday lives. Congress must ensure that public digital space is reclaimed from a powerful and unaccountable few and demand that it is accessible to all, with respect for human rights at its core.
These companies testifying before the Subcommittee have a responsibility to respect our human rights, including the right to privacy, wherever and however they operate. To make sure they fulfil that responsibility, we need effective government regulation to set stricter limits on the kind of data these firms collect, what inferences can be drawn from that data and how that data is used to target and influence us by third parties, including advertisers. Governments are required under international human rights law to protect our rights against abuse by companies. Crucially, that also means challenging the dominance of the platforms through regulatory tools including, but not limited to, antitrust measures.
In this light, Amnesty International calls on the Subcommittee to support the enactment of legislation to:
- Ensure that access to and use of essential digital services and infrastructure – including those provided by Google and Facebook – are not made conditional on interference with the right to privacy. This means guaranteeing people a right not to be tracked by advertisers and other third parties;
- Prevent companies from making access to their services conditional on individuals “consenting” to the collection, processing or sharing of their personal data for marketing or advertising;
- Enact measures that will enable consumers to choose privacy-respecting alternatives to surveillance-based business models.
For further information, please contact Michael Kleinman, Director of Amnesty International’s Silicon Valley Initiative, at [email protected], and Charanya Krishnaswami, Amnesty’s Americas Advocacy Director, at [email protected].
Director, Silicon Valley Initiative
Americas Advocacy Director
 Amnesty International, “Surveillance Giants: How the Business Model of Google and Facebook Threatens Human Rights,” Nov. 2019, https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/pol30/1404/2019/en/.
 Frank La Rue, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Report to the Human Rights Council, 16 May 2011, UN Doc A/HRC/17/27,
 New York Times, Facebook Loses Antitrust Decision in Germany Over Data Collection, 23 June 2020 https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/23/technology/facebook-antitrust-germany.html,
 See for example Zuboff, 2018; Dina Srinivasan, The Antitrust Case Against Facebook: A Monopolist’s Journey Towards Pervasive Surveillance in Spite of Consumers’ Preference for Privacy, 16 Berkeley Bus. L.J. 39, 2019,
 UK House of Lords Select Committee on Communications, Regulating in a Digital World, March 2019, para 45,
 Joint letter to European Commission’s Executive Vice-President Vestager, Call to include interoperability provisions as part of the Digital Services Act, 6 July 2020 https://www.eff.org/document/letter-vestager-interoperability


In today’s world, technology is becoming increasingly important in virtually every industry. For some businesses, such as those in the medical and pharmaceutical fields, it is essential to have secure and reliable technology. One such technology is the cleanroom laptop. A cleanroom laptop can provide businesses with a secure and reliable way to store and access data, as well as a way to protect sensitive materials from dust and other contaminants. In this blog post, we will explore the benefits of using a cleanroom laptop and how it can help businesses in demanding environments.
What is a Cleanroom Laptop?
A cleanroom laptop is a specialized laptop designed to be used in cleanrooms, which are environments that are kept free from dust and other contaminants. Cleanroom laptops are designed with special features and materials that make them suitable for use in cleanroom environments. These features include dust-proof construction, anti-static materials, and air-filtered cooling systems.
Benefits of Using a Cleanroom Laptop
Using a cleanroom laptop in your business can provide a number of benefits. Some of these benefits include:
- Secure Data Storage: A cleanroom laptop can provide a secure way to store and access data in a cleanroom environment. This can help keep sensitive information safe from dust and other contaminants.
- Reliability: Cleanroom laptops are designed to be reliable and durable. This means that they can withstand the rigors of a cleanroom environment, such as dust and other contaminants, and still be able to function properly.
- Cost Savings: Cleanroom laptops can save businesses money in the long run by reducing the need for costly repairs and replacements.
Considerations Before Buying
Before you invest in a cleanroom laptop, there are a few things to consider. Some of these considerations include:
- Purpose: Think about why you need a cleanroom laptop and what you will be using it for. This will help you determine the type of laptop that is best suited for your needs.
- Budget: Cleanroom laptops can be expensive, so it’s important to set a budget before you start shopping. This will help you narrow down your options and find the right laptop for your needs.
Cleanroom laptops can provide businesses with a secure and reliable way to store and access data, as well as protect sensitive materials from dust and other contaminants. If you are looking for reliable IT solutions for demanding environments, It for demanding enviroments can help. We offer a wide range of IT products and services, from cleanroom laptops to server racks, to help businesses in any industry. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you.


An inverter when used in the context of motor speed control can also be known as a variable frequency drive (VFD). It essentially generates a varying frequency three phase AC voltage to effect a change in the speed of a motor. It achieves this by converting the incoming power supply into a DC voltage and then generating a three phase AC voltage from this DC supply. The development of electronics since the manufacture of the first semiconductors has seen the speed and processing power increase enormously which has made it possible to, not only digitally synthesise the required AC frequency for any given speed of the motor but to also analyse the motor current and rotor position.
Why is it called an inverter?
The term inverter only relates to the final part of the VFD's electronic architecture, the part that converts DC voltage to AC. There is no clear technical reason for the use of the term 'inverter' as it is generally believed to refer to the inversion of the early mechanical process of converting AC voltage to DC, sometimes referred to as an 'inverting converter'.


In a machine learning course at Aalto University, a project involved researching the performance of two machine learning methods applied to a real-life problem. The project recieved a perfect grade of 5, but the model’s accuracy – 50% – was not satisfactory. What’s the appropriate reponse? Develop another, better model independently, document the process, and then share is to the provider of the dataset, Bird Co.
This project aims to understand customer behavior by predicting the demand for shared electric scooters in Helsinki and create a machine learning model with real-world applicability. My approach combines ride data with weather data and analyzes the combined data frame using machine learning methods and predicts demand based on the temporal features. The insights gained from this study have real-life value in guiding both fleet management strategies and administrative decisions in the micromobility sector as this study answers the question what factors affect customer behavior, and by how much; this can be used to ensure optimal scooter supply and predict revenue income. After this introductory section, Section 2 discusses the problem formulation, Section 3 explains two machine learning models applied to our problem, Section 4 displays the results of our study, Section 5 draws conclusions from the results, and references and the code are appended at the end of the project (editors note: the code is confidential, not included in this article).
2 Problem Formulation
The objective of the research is to predict electric scooter ride demand in the future on an hourly basis using historical ride data and their associated temporal features; date, weekday, time interval, temperature, and weather conditions. A secondary objective is to predict the demand with such accuracy, that the model would have real-world applicability, being linked to weather forecasts. This is a supervised learning task; a time series forecasting problem. The results of our research can be used to create a privately hosted machine learning model linked to weather forecasts, that will predict confidently the demand of electric scooters. These predictions can be applied to fleet management strategies, especially in designing shift times for workers with the end goal of ensuring optimal scooter supply to meet the predicted demand. These predictions can also be applied to administrative strategies; demand can be used for predicting revenue income, and operations can be adjusted accordingly.
2.2 Data Points, Features, and Labels
Every single datapoint represents an individual scooter ride completed during the timeframe. Our features are:
- Date – the specific day the ride took place (Categorical),
- Weekday – eq. Monday, Tuesday (Categorical),
- Time Interval – the specific 1-hour interval during which the ride commenced eq. 10:00-11:00, 11:00-12:00 (Categorical).
- Temperature – in Celsius (Continuous)
- Weather Conditions – Divided into four categories: clear, cloudy, thunder, rain (Categorical)
Ase our label we have:
- Ride Count for the Interval – the total number of rides that commenced during a specific 1-hour interval.
3.1 Dataset Overview and Preprocessing
One combined dataset is formed from ride data and weather data. The ride dataset is exclusively provided by Bird Co., a global micromobility company, storing shared electric scooter ride data over a span of three months from Helsinki, from 22.06.2023 to 20.09.2023. The dataset is expansive and extensive, offering insight into the behavioral patterns of shared electric scooter users of Helsinki. There are 220 769 data points, each of which represents a completed scooter ride. For each ride, the dataset stores information for ride id, start time, end time, ride distance, ride duration, and ride start and end coordinate.
The weather dataset is fetched from The Finnish Meteorological Institute’s open data service. The Finnish Meteorological Institute (fin. Ilmatieteenlaitos) is a government agency responsible for gathering and reporting weather data and forecasts in Finland, and they encourage developing applications using weather and oceanographic data through the open data web services. For this project, I created a Python program to fetch machine readable data from the Helsinki, Kaisaniemi weather station to match with the timeframe of our ride data. The dataset features a data point per 10-minute interval, and stores information for latitude and longitude of the weather station, timestamp, temperature, windspeed, and a SmartSymbol corresponding to the weather conditions.
Our preprocessing consisted of filtering out missing, incomplete, or unnecessary records from both datasets to maintain data integrity. For the ride data preprocessing included filtering out non-Helsinki rides or practically any rides where the start city was not Helsinki. The ride durations were cleaned by removing commas, filtering out rides shorter than 1 minute, and splitting the Start Time feature into three new features: Date, Weekday, and Time. Additionally, a Time-Interval feature was created to assign each ride to their respective time slot, unnecessary columns were dropped, and rides were grouped and counted. I grouped the data by ‘Date’, ‘Time_Interval’, and ‘Weekday’, then counted the number of rides in each unique combination of the group, further enabling to calculate the number of rides per time interval. For the weather data preprocessing included first converting the Unix time to match the timestamp in the ride data and converting the numerous possible SmartSymbols to a comprehendible weather condition.
3.2 Model Selection and Justification
For our study’s first method, we chose the Random Forest. The nature of the Random Forest machine learning method suited our dataset and project goals – Random Forest is an ensemble technique, functioning by creating a “forest” of decision trees, usually trained with the “bagging” method (GeeksForGeeks 2023). The predictions obtained from each decision tree are combined to obtain a final prediction, allowing the model to capture complex, non-linear relationships within the data effectively – our data likely doesn’t follow many linear patterns. Its hypothesis space is vast and flexible, offering the ability to navigate through the patterns and relationships in our unique dataset. The model is extremely capable of handling missing data, outliers, and noisy features (GeeksForGeeks 2023), and it provides insight into feature importance; essentially computing the relevance of the features for our problem.
For our second method, we chose XGBoost. Essentially, XGBoost is an optimized distributed gradient boosting library designed to be highly efficient, flexible, and portable (XGBoost Developers 2022). XGBoost claims to solve many data science problems in a fast and accurate way due to its use of a parallel tree boosting. The method has been known to win machine learning competitions due to its speed and performance – it handles various types of data and tends to work well out of the box. XGBoost also provides a built-in function to plot feature importance, which provides insights into which features are most influential in predicting the demand.
3.3 Loss Function Selection
From the list of allowed machine learning methods, it was advised to use the squared error, familiarly known as the mean squared error (MSE), for both of our models. MSE quantifies the difference between predicted and actual scooter ride counts. This choice is justified by MSE penalizing larger errors heavier than smaller ones due to its quadratic nature, furthermore, enabling our model to pay significant attention to outliers. This is crucial in our time series forecasting problem where sudden spikes or drops can have significant consequences. MSE is relevant to regression models, as it squares the differences, emphasizing the importance of each deviation to ensure our model aligns closely with actual values. It is also interpretable; the value of the squared error offers a clear indication of the model’s performance.
3.4 Model Validation Process
We split our dataset in chronological order, preventing the use of future data to predict past events.
- The training set is the earliest 70% of the data (~ 154 000 datapoints)
- The validation set contains 15% of the data immediately following the training set. (~
33 000 datapoints)
- The test set is the final 15% of the data, the most recent data. (~ 33 000 datapoints).
My choice to use a straightforward chronological split is due to the sequential nature of the data. Using techniques that would mix time points, such as k-fold cross-validation, could introduce inconsistencies. With the chron
4.1 Visualization: Random Forest (Left) vs. XGBoost (Right)
Figure 1. Scatterplot of how the model performs versus actual data. Training set (70%) on the left, Validation set (15%) in the middle, and Test set (15%) on the right. The closer the scatter points are to the dashed line; the better the model’s predictions are.
Figure 2. The feature importance graph provides a representation of the relative importance of each feature in predicting the target variable, the number of rides. The longer the bar, the more significant the feature is in making accurate predictions.
Figure 3. These scatter plots compare the actual and predicted number of rides against the two most significant features: time interval and temperature. Blue dots represent the actual data points; red dots indicate the model’s predictions. These graphs can indicate if there are any systematic deviations in predictions and highlight the variability in the data and the predictions.
Figure 4. A comparison table; a presentation of the performance metrics for the Random Forest and XGBoost. MSE, or mean squared error, provides a measure of the model’s accuracy in predicting the number of rides. MAE, or mean absolute error, represents the average magnitude of error in the number of ride predictions. R-squared is a statistical measure that indicates the proportion of the variance in the dependent variable (number of rides) that is predictable from the independent variables.
4.2 Results Breakdown
The R-squared values on the test set – 86.81% for Random Forest and 86.37% for XGBoost – indicate that each model explains a substantial portion of the variance in ride demand. These high R-squared values reflect a strong predictive ability, with both models closely aligning with the observed data. The Random Forest Regressor has a higher training set mean squared error (MSE, 423,54) compared to XGBoost (292,38), which indicates that XGBoost fits the training data better. However, the validation set MSE is higher for XGBoost (688,36) than for Random Forest (632,16), suggesting that XGBoost might be overfitting the training data slightly more than Random Forest, as it performs slightly worse on unseen validation data. The mean absolute error (MAE) was included to make the results more comprehensible; the mean absolute error displays the average number of rides the predictions are off the actual number of rides. The greater discrepancy between the training and validation MSE for the XGBoost model, in comparison to the Random Forest, suggests that XGBoost may be overfitting to the training data by learning its noise and idiosyncrasies; it performs less effectively on unseen data. Conversely, the Random Forest model demonstrates a smaller increase between training and validation MSE, indicating better generalization and a more robust performance against overfitting.
The comparative analysis of the feature importance plots from both Random Forest and XGBoost models reveals a distinction in how each model prioritizes the predictors. Specifically, the Random Forest model exhibits a preference for the time interval feature – as demonstrated in Figure 2 – indicating its significant role in predicting the number of rides. In contrast, the XGBoost model attributes more balanced importance across features, with temperature emerging as the most influential predictor. This difference underlines the different mechanisms by which each model processes the features to generate predictions.
The scatter plots – in Figure 3 – provide a visual comparison of how the Random Forest and XGBoost models predict the number of rides across different temperatures and time intervals – the two most important features for both models. From the plots, it appears that the XGBoost predictions are more dispersed throughout the range of actual values, suggesting that XGBoost is potentially more responsive to the underlying patterns in the data, including outliers. On the other hand, the Random Forest predictions seem more concentrated around the mean of the data, which indicates conservatism in predicting values that significantly deviate from the average, thereby potentially underestimating or overestimating in regions with higher variability.
4.3 The Final Chosen Model
XGBoost is chosen for its broad feature utilization and diverse prediction range, matching the dynamic nature of ride data. It’s even feature importance allocation signifies a comprehensive understanding of ride sharing factors – from weather to time intervals – essential for capturing demand extremes. Although XGBoost shows slightly higher training and validation errors than Random Forest, the marginal difference doesn’t imply severe overfitting, maintaining strong predictive capability. Furthermore, XGBoost’s superior test set performance suggests better real-world applicability – another key factor behind the choice, as real-world applicability was one of the main objectives of this research. Consequently, XGBoost stands out as a robust and adaptable model for ride-sharing demand forecasting, warranting its selection as the model of choice.
To conclude, this project sought to develop a machine learning model capable of forecasting the demand for shared electric scooters in Helsinki by using an extensive dataset provided by Bird Co. covering a period of three months of Summer 2023 ride data and comprising over 220000 data points. Through systematic data preprocessing and thoughtful feature engineering, the chosen models – Random Forest Regressor and XGBoost – were trained and evaluated, with the latter model proving to be the final chosen method. The results suggests that the XGBoost model handles non-linear patterns in the data, delivers predictions of demand with a great degree of accuracy, and thereby suggests there could be potential for practical application in managing and optimizing fleet management operations, as well as aiding administrative decision-making in Helsinki.
Both objectives of the research were met; the model was able to predict unseen data with a roughly 86% accuracy, showcasing strong potential for real-world implementation. The practical utility of this model lies in its potential integration with live weather forecasting, leveraging the same data sources from The Finnish Meteorological Institute. Such an application could enhance fleet management operations by allowing for dynamic, data-driven allocation of vehicles based on anticipated demand and pinpointing the optimal times for repair projects. When demand is predicted to be lower, it is an optimal time for vehicle maintenance and inbound logistics; conversely, when supply is well-matched to customer demand, higher satisfaction and service reliability are achieved. This predictive capability is not only a benefit for operational efficiency but can also serve as a tool for administrative decision-making, offering insights into expected revenue streams and enabling more informed economic strategies; the higher the predicted demand is, the higher incoming revenue.
Integrating weather forecasts to the model will obviously bring down the overall accuracy, as the weather forecasts are inaccurate themselves. However, to compensate this loss of accuracy with a real-world model, having a larger dataset for training the model – a data set spanning a longer timeframe – could be useful. This would enhance the model’s understanding of year- round demand fluctuation and reduce seasonal bias. Additionally, the model could be improved by integrating other relevant data sets, such as events in the city and public transportation disruptions, to provide a more comprehensive demand forecast. Investing in real-time data processing and analytics would enable dynamic model adjustments as new data becomes available, leading to more accurate, timely predictions. This would allow for a proactive approach to fleet management, contributing to a more efficient and responsive urban mobility system.
ChatGPT (2023). Used for researching reasons on which machine learning model to choose for our specific study. Note: The use of ChatGPT was allowed in project instructions. OpenAI.com. Available at: https://chat.openai.com/ [Accessed 21 Sep. 2023].
GeeksForGeeks (2019). Random Forest Regression in Python. [online] GeeksforGeeks.org. Available at: https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/random-forest-regression-in-python/ [Accessed 22 Sep. 2023].
Jung, A., 2022. Machine Learning: The Basics. Springer, Singapore.
Sigg, S. (2023). Lecture 2: Regression. In CS-C3240 – Machine Learning (D). Delivered on September 8, 2023.
XGBoost Developers (2022). XGBoost Documentation — xgboost 1.5.1 documentation. [online] xgboost.readthedocs.io. Available at: https://xgboost.readthedocs.io/en/stable/.
The code is confidential.


Rocksol-IT GmbH (Kög 13, 6600 Reutte, Austria) as the data controller for the processing of your personal data is pleased about your visit on the websites of Rocksol-IT GmbH and thanks you for your interest in the company, its products and services. The protection of your privacy and your personal data is an important concern for us. In order to guarantee you the highest possible degree of transparency and security, this data protection declaration informs you, among other things, about the type, scope and purpose of the processing of personal data by Rocksol-IT GmbH.
Types of data processed
- Inventory data (e.g., personnel master data, names, addresses)
- Contact data (e.g., e-mail addresses, telephone numbers)
- Content data (e.g., text entries, photographs, videos)
- Usage data (e.g., websites visited, interest in content, access times)
- Meta/communication data (e.g., device information, IP addresses)
Categories of data subjects
Visitors and users of the online offer (hereinafter collectively also referred to as “users”).
Purpose of processing
- Provision of the online offer, its functions and contents
- Processing of service or product enquiries and orders
- Responding to requests for information and communicating with users
- To detect, prevent and investigate attacks on our website and to ensure a secure and stable Internet presence.
- Reach Measurement/Marketing
‘personal data’ means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (‘data subject’); an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person.
‘processing’ means any operation or set of operations which is performed on personal data or on sets of personal data, whether or not by automated means. The term reaches far and covers practically every handling of data.
‘profiling’ means any form of automated processing of personal data consisting of the use of personal data to evaluate certain personal aspects relating to a natural person, in particular to analyse or predict aspects concerning that natural person’s performance at work, economic situation, health, personal preferences, interests, reliability, behaviour, location or movements.
‘pseudonymisation’ means the processing of personal data in such a manner that the personal data can no longer be attributed to a specific data subject without the use of additional information, provided that such additional information is kept separately and is subject to technical and organisational measures to ensure that the personal data are not attributed to an identified or identifiable natural person.
‘controller’ means the natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which, alone or jointly with others, determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal data.
‘processor’ means a natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which processes personal data on behalf of the controller.
Applicable legal bases
For users from the scope of the general data protection regulation (GDPR), i.e. the EU and the EEC, the following legal basis for our data processing applies, if the legal basis is not mentioned in the data protection policy, in accordance with art. 13 GDPR:
The legal basis for obtaining consent is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a and Art. 7 GDPR;
The legal basis for the processing for the fulfilment of our services and the implementation of contractual measures as well as the answering of inquiries is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR;
The legal basis for the processing for the fulfilment of our legal obligations is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. c GDPR;
In the event that vital interests of the data subject or another natural person necessitate the processing of personal data, Art. 6 para. 1 lit. d GDPR serves as the legal basis.
The legal basis for the processing necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority entrusted to the controller is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. e GDPR.
The legal basis for the processing to safeguard our legitimate interests is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR.
The processing of data for purposes other than those for which they were collected is governed by the provisions of Art. 6 para. 4 GDPR.
The processing of special categories of data (pursuant to Art. 9 para. 1 GDPR) is governed by the provisions of Art. 9 para. 2 GDPR.
Data protection measures
We take appropriate technical and organisational measures in accordance with the legal requirements, taking into account the state of the art, the implementation costs and the type, scope, circumstances and purposes of the processing as well as the different probability of occurrence and severity of the risk to the rights and freedoms of natural persons, in order to ensure a level of protection appropriate to the risk.
Measures shall include, in particular, ensuring the confidentiality, integrity and availability of data by controlling physical access to, as well as the concerning access to, inputting, disclosure, securing and separation of data. In addition, we have established procedures to ensure the exercise of data subjects’ rights, deletion of data and reaction to data threats.
Furthermore, we take the protection of personal data into account already during the development or selection of hardware, software and processes, in accordance with the principle of data protection through technology design and privacy by default.
Personal data is processed by Rocksol-IT GmbH according to the principle of data minimization and is only accessible to persons in the relevant departments who have to process the data in order to fulfil their tasks. Insofar as we disclose data to other persons and companies (processors, jointly responsible persons or third parties) within the scope of our processing, transfer them to them or otherwise grant them access to the data, this shall only take place on the basis of legal permission (e.g. if a transfer of the data to third parties, such as payment service providers, is necessary for the fulfilment of the contract), users have consented, a legal obligation requires this or on the basis of our legitimate interests (e.g. when using agents, web hosts, etc.).
Insofar as we disclose, transmit or otherwise grant access to data to other companies of our group of companies, this is done in particular for administrative purposes as a legitimate interest and beyond that on a basis corresponding to the legal requirements.
Transfers of personal data to third countries
If we transmit data to recipients in countries outside the European Union or the European Economic Area, this will only take place if it is done to fulfil our (pre)contractual obligations, on the basis of your consent, a legal obligation or on the basis of our legitimate interests. Subject to express consent or contractually required transfer, we process or allow the data to be processed only in third countries with a recognised level of data protection, which includes US processors certified under the “Privacy Shield” or on the basis of special guarantees, such as a contractual obligation through so-called standard protection clauses of the EU Commission, the existence of certifications or binding internal data protection regulations (Art. 44 to 49 GDPR, information page of the EU Commission).
Rights of the data subject
Under applicable data protection law, under certain conditions you have a right to (i) be informed about your stored data, (ii) rectification, (iii) restrict processing, (iv) erasure/be forgotten, (v) data portability, (vi) revocation of your consent and (vii) objection.
To exercise these rights, please contact us using the contact details below.
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the competent supervisory authority in accordance with legal requirements.
Of course, you are also welcome to contact us directly at any time if you have any questions, comments or complaints in connection with this privacy statement.
Right of revocation
You have the right to withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future.
In addition, we also use temporary cookies to optimize user-friendliness, which are stored on your terminal device for a specified period of time. If you visit our site again in order to use our services, it is automatically recognized that you have already been with us and which inputs and settings you have made so that you do not have to enter them again.
The data processed by cookies are necessary for the mentioned purposes to safeguard our legitimate interests and those of third parties in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR. You can configure your browser settings according to your wishes and, for example, refuse the acceptance of third-party cookies or all cookies. Stored cookies can be deleted in the system settings of the browser. We would like to inform you that the exclusion of cookies may lead to functional limitations of this online service.
The data processed by us will be kept by us for as long as is necessary to provide the requested service to you. If Rocksol-IT GmbH no longer needs the personal data to comply with contractual or legal obligations, they will be deleted from our systems or anonymised accordingly so that identification is not possible, unless Rocksol-IT GmbH has to store the information, including your personal data, in order to comply with legal or official obligations to which it is subject.
If personal data are not deleted because they are required for other and legally permissible purposes, their processing will be restricted. This means that the data will be blocked and not processed for other purposes. This applies, for example, to data that must be stored for commercial or tax reasons.
Additionally, we process
- contract data (e.g. object of content, term, customer category)
- payment data (e.g. bank details, payment history)
of our customers, interested parties and business partners for the purpose of providing contractual services, service and customer care, marketing, advertising and market research.
TLS encryption with HTTPS
We use https to transmit data encrypted on the Internet (data protection through technology design Art. 25 para. 1 GDPR). Through the use of TLS (Transport Layer Security), an encryption protocol for secure data transmission on the Internet, we can ensure the protection of confidential data. You can recognize the use of this data transmission security by the small lock symbol in the top left corner of the browser address bar and the use of the https scheme (instead of http) as part of our Internet address.
Order processing in the online shop and customer account
In the course of order processing in our online shop, we process personal data of our customers in order to enable them to select and order the selected products and services, as well as their payment and delivery, or execution. The processing takes place for the purpose of providing contractual services within the scope of operating an online shop, billing, delivery and customer services. The processed data includes inventory data, communication data, contract data, payment data and the persons affected by the processing include our customers, interested parties and other business partners.
During processing, session cookies are used to capture products in the shopping cart and permanent cookies are used to retain the login status.
The processing is carried out to fulfil our services and to carry out contractual measures (e.g. carrying out order transactions) and insofar as it is legally prescribed (e.g. legally required archiving of business transactions for trade and tax purposes). The information marked as necessary is required for the justification and fulfilment of the contract. We only disclose the data to third parties within the scope of delivery, payment or within the scope of the statutory permits and obligations, and also if this is done on the basis of our legitimate interests (e.g. to legal and tax consultants, financial institutions, freight companies and authorities).
In order to be able to place orders via this offer, each customer must set up a password-protected customer account. This includes an overview of orders placed and active ordering processes.
The required information will be provided within the registration process. If users have terminated their customer account, their data will be deleted with regard to the customer account, except for their retention, which is necessary for commercial or tax reasons. The data in the customer account remain until its deletion with subsequent archiving in the case of a legal obligation or our legitimate interests (e.g. in the case of litigation). It is the responsibility of the users to secure their data before the end of the contract in the event of termination.
In the course of the registration and renewed registrations as well as use of our online services, Rocksol-IT GmbH stores the IP address and the time of the respective user action. The storage takes place on the basis of our legitimate interests, as well as to protect the users and our systems from misuse and other unauthorized use. The collected data will not be passed on to third parties, unless this is necessary to pursue our legal claims as a legitimate interest or there is a legal obligation to do so.
The deletion takes place after expiry of statutory warranty and other contractual rights or obligations (e.g., payment claims or performance obligations from contracts with customers), whereby the necessity of the storage of data is reviewed every three years; in the case of storage due to statutory archiving obligations, the deletion takes place insofar after their expiry.
Payment service provider
Via our online services you have the possibility to place orders or conclude contracts. Insofar as this is necessary for the fulfilment of the contract, data will also be transferred to external payment service providers or the credit institution commissioned with the handling of payments.
The basis for the use of external payment service providers to fulfil contracts is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b. GDPR and our legitimate interests pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f. GDPR in order to offer our users effective and secure payment options.
The data processed by the payment service providers includes inventory data, such as name and address, bank data, such as account numbers or credit card numbers, passwords and TANs, as well as contract, total and recipient details. The information is required for the execution of transactions, but the data entered is only processed and stored by the payment service providers. Rocksol-IT GmbH does not have access to account- or credit card-related information, but only to information for confirmation or negative disclosure of the payment transaction. Under certain circumstances, the data may be transmitted by the payment service provider to credit agencies. The purpose of this transmission is to check identity and creditworthiness. Please refer to the general terms and conditions and data protection information of the payment service providers.
Payment transactions are subject to the terms and conditions and data protection notices of the respective payment service providers, which can be accessed within the respective websites or transaction applications. We also refer to these for the purpose of further information and assertion of revocation, information and other rights affected.
You have the possibility to request information about our company, our products and activities or events via a contact form on our website, by telephone, e-mail or social media. When you contact us, the data you provide us with (title, first and last name, contact data, content of your enquiry and any other information provided by you) will be processed by us in order to answer your questions and process your request.
You are free to provide us with your data for your enquiry. However, if you do not provide us with this data, we may not be able to treat your request accordingly.
Data processing, as a result of contacting us, will be carried out in accordance with Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. b GDPR in order to process your enquiry. The user data can be stored in a customer relationship management system (“CRM system”) or comparable system.
The data will be kept as long as the contact with the person concerned exists and deleted if they are no longer necessary. We check the necessity every two years; furthermore, the legal archiving obligations apply.
You can subscribe to our newsletter and other mailings to receive information about the latest topics about our company, our services, events and other information material.
Required information is marked in the particular form. In addition to the e-mail address on some forms, the name is also required for sending the newsletter in order to address you personally in the newsletter.
In addition, the following data is collected during registration, IP address of the calling computer and date and time of registration. The collection of this data as part of the registration process serves to prevent misuse of the services or the e-mail address used.
The legal basis for the aforementioned data processing is Art. 6 para. 1 lit a GDPR. The use of the data for this purpose complies with the provisions of communications law, in particular Art. 107 TKG 2003.
We use IT and marketing service providers for the dispatch of the newsletter who only have access to personal data in accordance with our order and instructions in order to be able to provide the commissioned services.
The subscription to the newsletter and other mailings can be cancelled at any time. You have the option of refusing to receive future newsletters and e-mails electronically, free of charge and without any problems, at any time after they have been sent to you.
The data arising in this connection will be stored as long as you have subscribed to the newsletter and therefore until you revoke your consent.
Newsletter – success measurement
The newsletters contain a so-called “web-beacon”, i.e. a file the size of a pixel, which is retrieved from our server when the newsletter is opened or, if we use a dispatch service provider, from its server. Within the scope of this retrieval, technical information such as information about the browser and your system, as well as your IP address and time of retrieval are initially collected.
This information is used to technically improve the services on the basis of technical data or target groups and their reading behaviour on the basis of their retrieval locations (which can be determined with the help of the IP address) or access times. The statistical surveys also include determining whether the newsletters are opened, when they are opened and which links are clicked. For technical reasons, this information can be assigned to the individual newsletter recipients. It is, however, neither our intention nor, if used, that of the dispatch service provider to observe individual users. The evaluations serve us much more to recognise the reading habits of our users and to adapt our content to them or to send different content according to the interests of our users.
A separate revocation of the performance measurement is unfortunately not possible, in which case the entire newsletter subscription must be cancelled.
Hosting and E-Mail dispatch
The hosting services used by us serve the availability of the following services: Infrastructure and platform services, computing capacity, storage space and database services, e-mail dispatch, security services and technical maintenance services which we use for the purpose of operating this online service.
Here we, or our hosting provider, process inventory data, contact data, content data, contract data, usage data, meta data and communication data of customers, interested parties and visitors to this online service on the basis of our legitimate interests in the efficient and secure availability of this online service in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR in conjunction with Art. 28 GDPR (conclusion of an processor contract).
Collection of access data and log files
When using our website, our system automatically collects data and information from the computer system of the calling computer. The following data is collected automatically via log files:
- Websites that are called up by the user’s system via our website
- Websites from which the user’s system accesses our website
- Amount of data sent in bytes
- Notification of successful retrieval
- Browser type and version used
- Operating system of the user
- IP address
- Date and time of access
- Referrer URL (the previously visited page)
- The requesting provider
Rocksol-IT does not draw any conclusions about the data subject from these transmitted data. This data is used for technical reasons, in particular to ensure a secure and stable Internet presence, for example to detect, prevent and investigate attacks on our website. The storage of the IP address by the system is necessary to enable delivery of the website to the user’s computer. For this purpose, the IP address of the user must remain stored for the duration of the session. In addition, data is stored in log files to ensure the functionality of the website and to optimise the website.
Logfile information is stored for security reasons (e.g. to clarify misuse or fraud) for a maximum period of 7 days and then deleted. Data, the further storage of which is necessary for evidence purposes, are excluded from deletion until the respective incident has been finally clarified. This storage takes place on the legal basis of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f) GDPR. The collection of data for the provision of the website and the storage of data in log files is mandatory for the operation of the website. The user is therefore not entitled to object according to Art 21 GDPR. This data will not be passed on to other third parties for their own purposes without your consent.
For the operation and administration of the website, we use IT service providers who, in accordance with our instructions, may also have access to personal data in order to be able to provide the commissioned services.
Matomo (formerly PIWIK)
Our website uses a web analytics services provided by Matomo (www.matomo.org; formerly PIWIK). We use the Matomo cookie to collect information on the use of our website from our users including the website from which your accessing system comes to our website, the subsites, which are accessed via an accessing system on our website, the frequency and duration of your visit to our website, and your IP address. We will shorten your IP address to ensure that we cannot identify you personally. We will not use the collected information to compile user profiles or combine information on specific users. The purpose of processing is marketing and optimization of our websites. These purposes constitute our legitimate interests for processing of Personal Data using Matomo on the legal basis of Art. 6 para 1 lit.f) GDPR. Your Personal Data is deleted once the reasons we collected it for cease to apply. That is the case after 180 days.
You can object to the use of your information with effect for the future if you do not wish for your information to be collected and used with a simple mouse click.
If you click into the field below, a so-called opt-out-cookie will be set on your device which allows us to recognize that we may not collect information on your usage. Please note that if you delete cookies from your browser this may affect the opt-out-cookie.
We use the video service YouTube from YouTube, LLC, 901 Cherry Ave, San Bruno, CA 94066, USA on this page.
When you visit pages on our website that have YouTube videos integrated, data is transferred to YouTube, stored and evaluated. If you have a YouTube account and are logged in, this data is associated with your personal account and the data stored in it.
To find out what information Google collects and how we use it, please visit https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en.
On our website we use functions of the social media network LinkedIn of the company LinkedIn Corporation, 2029 Stierlin Court, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA.
On our website we use functions of the social media network XING of the company XING SE, Dammtorstraße 30, 20354 Hamburg, Germany.
You can reach us under the following contact details:


We are located in the S.F.V., seeking a qualified candidate to manage and maintain our I.T. system in a manufacturing environment to include operations, data security and support. Recognize and conduct ongoing review of strategy, architecture, processes and administration in order to recommend improvements to systems in place and management of systems in concert with company strategic development and goals.
Primary responsibilities to include:
- Maintain computer hardware, internal network, internet, WiFi access point, VPN, data server and firewall, etc.
- Administer electronic quality data records backup system for all networked software systems; preserve disaster recovery and back-up procedures and information security and control structures.
- Facilitate coordination and installation of system upgrades including hardware, software and peripherals.
- Troubleshoot computer related problems; ensure minimal downtime and optimal productivity.
- Manage and oversee computer network, workstations and software systems.
- Provide end user support
- Oversee information and data quality control and standards compliance.
- Ensure information security policies, standards and procedures are up-to-date.
- Bachelor’s degree in computer science, information technology or similar
- Minimum 4 years of hands-on experience as IT Administrator or equivalent
- Strong hardware experience i.e., ability to troubleshoot, build, diagnose and repair
- Advanced knowledge of Windows 10, Windows Server tech, TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP and network security.
- Database maintenance and system security
- Strong written and verbal communication skills
We provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.
This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.


The Print Killer Media Network websites are a conglomeration of websites owned and operated by tech CEO and political pundit Patrick Zarrelli. The websites range from media sites to online stores and the number of sites in the network is always changing as Zarrelli and his team launch new products and ventures, or cancel and close others. The base of the Network is Video God (videogod.com) a popular video blog that features cutting edge design, great content, and sharp witty commentary from writers all over the nation.
Currently, the Print Killer Media Network consists of Video God (videogod.com), our news and media site, IntelliChair (www.intellichair.com), our state-of-the-art motorized electric wheelchair store, and last but not least, Super Sexy Sex Toys (www.supersexysextoys.com), our super sexy and ultra discrete adult toy store.
At the Print Killer Media Network, we take pride in the modern Internet based media and do our best to keep the internet functioning on a high level for all users. That’s why we are so proud and happy about our teamwork with our sister company Dependable Website Management (www.dependablewebsitemanagement.com). When it comes to coding and custom web builds these guys are the absolute best in the business and we are so proud of all the hard work we have achieved together. If anyone out there is looking for a serious and professional web development company, then we highly recommend Dependable Website Management.
If you would like to advertise on the Print Killer Media Network, then we would be happy to have you. We offer two sizes of banner ads, a header banner, and a side banner. We also offer promoted posts and featured content of all kinds. We have a long-standing and great relationship with Google Adsense, so you can rest assured your ads will be shown next to some of the best fellow advertisers in the world, not to mention some of the best content the Internet has to offer! To get a custom advertising plan for your company call the Print Killer Media Network office today at 1 – (833) 447-3396.
If you need to get a hold of the Print Killer Media Network for some other reason, then first check our terms of service page above and make sure your question is not answered there. If this is a copyright issue and you want to send us a DMCA notice, then please contact our registered DMCA copyright agent, Lance A. Garrett (email@example.com), and he will be more than happy to assist you further. For all other corporate inquires, like sponsorship or partnership opportunities, please feel free to email our company CEO Patrick Zarrelli at (firstname.lastname@example.org).


The Creative Painter, an easy-to-use Windows program that lets kids have hours of fun painting pictures on their computer screens. Creative Painter is simple to learn and operate.
Kids can experiment with happy, kid-size graphics tools to create personalized works of art. Because it's easy for children to make very attractive pictures with Creative Painter, it encourages them to experiment and exercise their creativity.
Creative Painter 2006 is a free trial software application from the Other subcategory, part of the Games & Entertainment category.
The app is currently available in English and it was last updated on 2005-11-30. The program can be installed on Windows.
Creative Painter 2006 (version 2006) has a file size of 14.40 MB and is available for download from our website.
Just click the green Download button above to start. Until now the program was downloaded 168 times.
We already checked that the download link to be safe, however for your own protection we recommend that you scan the downloaded software with your antivirus.


This iPhone battery case is designed by JLW to improve the performance and battery life of your iPhone 11. Built for the avid iPhone user and extensive use, the JLW is excellent for traveling, work and on-the-go protection.
- Slim, lightweight and compact design for portability.
- Lightning input compatible, supports direct charging.
- Power LED indicator will indicate the level of power your battery case is currently charged.
- Doubles your iPhone battery power to keep you going throughout the day, essential for traveling, camping and business trips.
- Covered buttons for easy access to all ports, switches and buttons.
- 360° protection against every day wear such as scratches.
- Raised front bumper edges higher than phone screen to avoid contact with other surfaces.
- Brand : JLW.
- Battery Capacity: 5000mAh.
- Input (lightning): DC 5V-1.5A.
- Output Voltage: 5.0±0.25V/1.5A.
- Product material : TPU + PC.
- Battery Type : Grade A + Li-ion Polymer.
- Original lightning cable (can be used for data transfer for iOS and PC compatible devices such as Mac-books and Laptops to sync music and files to iTunes)


In 1939, the Government Code and Cipher School (GC&CS) was established at Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire, with just 180 people. By the end of 1944, Bletchley Park's employee population had grown to over 10,000. It was also home to two of the earliest 'super' computers.
The Bombe was designed by mathematician Alan Turing, now widely recognised as the father of computer science and AI. This electromechanical machine helped crack the impenetrable Enigma code. And Colossus, built by Max Newman, was the first programmable electronic computer. The size of an average living room, it had approximately the same computing power as today's desktop PCs.
The development of this technology, supported by many fine intellects, helped change the course of the war and laid the foundations for today's GCHQ, which came into being when GC&CS was disbanded after the war. Initially based in London, we relocated to Cheltenham in 1952.
We're proud of our heritage, but we constantly have to look to the future. We're working to stay ahead of the online criminals, computer hackers, terrorists, drug smugglers and any organised crime threatening the UK.
So, whichever role they're in, our people are true pioneers - developing new technologies and new solutions to help protect our nation. And as our world of work continues to evolve, so can yours.


LaunchMeNot is an application launcher which can automatically launch your favorite applications on startup and give you the option to cancel.
Ever needed to reboot after an unexpected crash at the most inconvenient time, then wait for multiple applications to load again on startup? LaunchMeNot lets you cancel launching, and can wait after each application. It can manage Windows entries and allow you to easily convert between startup locations.
LaunchMeNot is a free software application from the Automation Tools subcategory, part of the System Utilities category.
The app is currently available in English and it was last updated on 2010-02-19. The program can be installed on Win2000, Win7 x32, Win7 x64, WinOther, WinServer, WinVista, WinVista x64, WinXP, Other.
LaunchMeNot (version 1.10) has a file size of 908.91 KB and is available for download from our website.
Just click the green Download button above to start. Until now the program was downloaded 91 times.
We already checked that the download link to be safe, however for your own protection we recommend that you scan the downloaded software with your antivirus.


Project: illustrated book
Client: Becker & Mayer
A new look for a not so new universe. Most people of a certain age can relate to the Star Trek Universe – Becker & Mayer took on the mammoth task of re-creating the Stellar Cartography: Star Fleet Reference Library maps.
We used 3 digital imaging programs… Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator and Luxologies MODO 3D (now The Foundry).
Apart from the challenges of producing something uniquely different, one of my main issues was of digital file size. Layers and layers within the main Photoshop file meant it quickly built up to a 3.2GB file (that’s gigabyte not megabyte), so it needed a serious piece of hardware to be able to handle it. In fact, these files were so large that they had to be saved in a format that supported documents up to 300,000 pixels (PSB files).


Build a Modern Computer from First Principles: Nand to Tetris Part II (project-centered course)
In this project–centered course you will build a modern software hierarchy, designed to enable the translation and execution of object–based, high–level languages on a bare–bone computer hardware platform. In particular, you will implement a virtual machine and a compiler for a simple, Java–like programming language, and you will develop a basic operating system that closes gaps between the high–level language and the underlying hardware platform. In the process, you will gain a deep, hands–on understanding of numerous topics in applied computer science, e.g. stack processing, parsing, code generation, and classical algorithms and data structures for memory management, vector graphics, input–output handling, and various other topics that lie at the very core of every modern computer system. This is a self–contained course: all the knowledge necessary to succeed in the course and build the various systems will be given as part of the learning experience. The only prerequisite is knowledge of programming at the level acquired in introduction to computer science courses. All the software tools and materials that are necessary to complete the course will be supplied freely after you enrol in the course. This course is accompanied by the textbook “The Elements of Computing Systems” (Nisan and Schocken, MIT Press). While …
Courses : 2
Specification: Build a Modern Computer from First Principles: Nand to Tetris Part II (project-centered course)
46 reviews for Build a Modern Computer from First Principles: Nand to Tetris Part II (project-centered course)
Add a review Cancel reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
The best introduction of computer science course forever, I will recommend it to others. Thanks.
Max H –
Almost perfect. But writing the compiler and the operating system took me far more than the projected 10 hours. IMHO, part II should be split into two, and a few more words and guides on how to structure a compiler would be preferable. Also, I think that the programming assignments touch project dimensions, so mentioning version control systems might be a good advise. Nevertheless, and without a doubt, a fantastic course given by one of the most ambitious and relentless instructors with great teaching skills and dedication to the topic.
Shuhei K –
This course is life changing, yet the toughest course I’ve ever taken.
Luis G C –
It’s the most amazing course that i’ve ever taken. Thanks Noam and Shimon for your work. I eagerly await the continuation of the course.
Ernesto P –
Excellent course on understanding the fundamental pillars of how computer software works. Great lectures are clear and concise, so much so you can finish the course without using the textbook. Fun and challenging.
Just as the first part of the course the second course is equally interesting. So much information to learn from this course yet taught in a very student friendly, intuitive and interactive way. Doing the programming exercises makes this course even more exciting. Check it out!
Jun Z –
Great Course! The course becomes so hard for me since week 4 when we started developing compiler. Each assignment I spent 5 hours watching videos and making notes, 10 hours coding, and 10+hours debugging. My feeling: It turns out that although it is: time consuming (I am a master student in environmental management with a full course schedule, projects for week 4,5,6 made me postpone to this section) and mentally challenging (I am not well educated on software design and algorithms so I spent a lot of time debugging my code, fail, edit, fail, edit,..) However, the sense of accomplishment when I finally got 100 for each project (almost) is incomparable, unique, and unparalleled. Love this course! Suggestion Hope we could redesign the week 4,5,6. The workload exponentially increased and reached the maximum in week 5. My strategy was postponing and postponing until I got time to work the assignment out. I hope we could reestimate the workload (maybe separate week 5, 6 into two weeks, perspectively. The videos are 3+ hours long:)) In the end, love this course. Shimon and Noam are excellent instructors, their teaching style is very enlightening, the slide animation is great for illustrating processes clearly.
Aung H –
actually greatest course ever!
Tough, Boring but useful
Marcel S –
This is by far one of the best online courses I have completed. Thumbs up, it was well worth my time and it will definitely help me on my never ending journey of becoming a better software developer.
Qiang K –
This is the life changing course!
Mark V M –
This was a great course which tied together so many loose ends for me. E.g., I knew that OO languages would add a hidden “this” parameter, that compiling would get rid of symbols, that malloc worked with a heap, but now I REALLY know how all that works.
Stephen H –
Great course! Cannot imagine how can I build in two weeks the whole compiling software that translates an OO language down to machine code! Although the part II needs more work than part I, it is still manageable and equally inspiring!
Liudmila N –
Very well structured, you learn a lot, primarily by doing, which is the best learning. The project where you program in Jack is in my opinion unnecessary, and the OS part is just a bag of random stuff, but overall, one of the best courses out there.
James T –
Absolutely phenomenal. One of the best and most instructive courses I’ve taken. This provided a much deeper understanding of computer internals than I’d previously had, and I’m shocked by how much ground was covered in this course. It took a lot of work, and while it is listed as ‘beginner’, I imagine it would be quite challenging to complete without having any experience programming.
Steven G –
This is a brilliant and very challenging project oriented course. Even as a IT professional doing this course for fun the workload can be very demanding. Be prepared to work hard and for long hours to get through this course. But the tremendous feeling of accomplishment at the end makes it all worthwhile. I have not felt this way since my undergraduate days. Thank you for reigniting my passion.
Joe K –
Thank you so much Shimon Schocken!! Part two was tough, but it was very helpful.
TANGELLA L –
James M –
Overall, it’s an excellent course covering a lot of concepts, definitely the best online course I have done so far. The latter weeks are quite overloaded though, I think it might be better as a slightly longer course, with an additional week focussing on the VM language and the use/history of the stack and heap distinction.
Andrii D –
One of the best computer science courses I ever had. You start understand how actually things like heap, stack, etc. works.
Roshan B –
I’m a 13 year old 8th Grader from California. I loved this course and learned a lot! Thank you Mr.Schocken for putting together such a wonderful course! It was a thrill to finish the course finally!
Benedek R –
It was a bit superficial. Homework helped to practice the basics. I prefer more detailed and more deep lectures.
Ross M –
Challenging but rewarding. About a year ago I started mucking about with code with the aim of becoming a web developing. I started with front end and could get away with knowing next to nothing about how computers actually worked and the big software picture. As my interest grew however I quickly became dispirited because I just didn’t know enough about what was really going on. Now I no longer feel like a fraud teaching myself code. This course was everything I was looking for. My only criticism would be the last project. My implementation of the operating system classes passed the tests however it turned out I had let in some really stupid bugs which the tests didn’t pick up. This led to easily the most frustrating part of the course as I then discovered most of my classes were incompatible. After the best part of another’s weeks work, and several submissions later, I got full marks on the final project. That being said it is probably very difficult to test everything as the classes leave a lot open in terms of implementation. Thanks a lot. It was a great course.
David S –
As great as the first part, although far more demanding.
Brian C –
If it’s not the absolute hardest course you’ve taken, it’ll be one of the hardest courses you’ve taken. The workload is staggering. At an Ivy League University you’ll have an entire semester + winter break to write a compiler. Here you’ll have three weeks. Buckle down & get ready to work hard.
Andrei P –
Great course! Together with part1, it goes through how a computer does what it does, but in a simple way. That is not to say it’s not valuable, it was very cool to see how things work behind the scenes and how they did all that! Best course I’ve done!
Serjey G I –
Shriharsh M –
What an effort by the teachers! Such complex concepts simplified for a large and varied target audience. I thoroughly enjoyed doing the exercises for this course. I am eager to take up the part 3 whenever it comes out.
Piotr L –
Great, highly recommended.
Chris P –
Excellent, challenging course. Learned way more than I expected!
Graeme G –
This course has been brilliant. I expected to learn a lot, but I got so much more out of this. Its incredible to see such a powerful machine coming out of such a simple design a true mark of elegance.
bao b –
Understand computer is difficult, but this course can help you on this point.
Guillermo S C C –
The best course ever.
Cheng H –
Best ever computer science course I’ve taken. Though it takes me 7 months to complete both parts, it really worth it!
George K O –
A true gem!
I feel that I reviewed more deeply a bunch of courses taught at my university . Thank you.
Benjamin W –
The second part of an extremely rewarding course by instructors who have clearly put a great amount of thought and effort into its design. If you already feel quite comfortable with compilers and operating systems (for instance, you’ve previously implemented your own compiler from scratch), then maybe it suffices only to take the first part of nand2tetris as a course in computer architecture. If not, then I would highly recommend taking the second part in addition to the first as an introduction to these subjects (part 2 should probably not be taken without part 1 since the software hierarchy developed in part 2, particularly the virtual machine, is designed to run on the specialized architecture introduced in part 1). However, note that part 2 is signficantly more work (at least 2 3 times as much) as part 1. Note also that part 2 requires familiarity with a programming language; if you wish to have your assignments graded by the auto grader, then this language should come from the list of supported languages. At the time of this writing (September 2019), the auto grader supports the following languages: C, C++, C#, Elixir, Erlang, Go, Haskell, Java, Lua, Node.js, Perl, PHP, Python 2.7, Python 3, Ruby, Rust, Scala, Swift. One thing to note about this course is that it is not the result of combining ordinary courses on compiler construction and operating systems and many of the standard topics taught in these courses are not touched upon at all. Rather, the nand2tetris philosophy is one of “learn by doing”. This means that, while the lectures do give very clear explanations of what it is you are trying to accomplish, as well as examples of how parts or cases of your problem can be solved, you ultimately have to come up with your own solutions. In the end, your solutions may not be optimal or very elegant, but you will gain a very confident understanding of the details. I believe this makes nand2tetris part 2 an excellent course to take prior to a formal course on compilers or operatings systems.
Arun C –
What a fabulous journey the second part was! It was exhilarating to finish off with the operating system. In many years of professional software development, I did not have as much fun as I had in six weeks in this course. Hats off to both Noam Nisan and Shimon Schoken for having conceived, developed, and presented this course in such a nice manner. I did not receive any feedback for the peer graded assignment, which is sort off sad. While I can guess what might have been the reason for the grade given to me, feedback is very useful; I hope Coursera/the instructors can allow access to feedback in the future. I wish part 2 of the book was also available on the web.
Pavneet S T –
Very difficult and rewarding course
Eugene O –
Thanks for the course! I came from the first part and really glad I took it. Though, OS part is pretty difficult. I was forced to look up some hints on the internet for more implementation details.
Chen A –
After 2 years, i still didnt find something so interesting like this.
Julie L –
Incredible course. Thank you.
Li P –
Course materials and project assignment are well organized, demanding but also motivating. I felt so lucky to have taken both of the courses and really enjoyed them! Thanks!
Liming J –