Adobe Photoshop CS5
Major Enhancements / Workflow Improvements / New Tools & Intelligent Tweaks
with Tutorial Recommendations
Early fall, 2010
Bookmark this page for future reference.
When an Adobe Photoshop update hits the streets, we are all curious as to what’s new and how can these features help me creatively while speeding up production if I’m on the line for deadlines—and is it worth the price?
With Photoshop CS5, Adobe’s programmers have been busy coding new tools, listening to user’s requests, and reworking a number of its previously manual processes into automated functions—which are best guesses that are often ideal. This version also provides exciting new brushes and tools for painters, photo retouchers, and photographers who want to repurpose their images and portraits into respectable paintings.
GOING NATIVE: 64-BIT SAVVY
Taking advantage of Apple Computer's Cocoa technology over its now fading Carbon technology, Adobe has finally brought Photoshop CS5 for the Mac up to speed so that it runs natively in 64-bit mode; Windows went 64-bit in the last version of the program.
The practical effect of 64-bit for Photoshop CS5 means that you may experience a speed bump in your image processing—that is if you’re primarily working with big documents like high-resolution photographs or panoramas composed of different images, or other documents that contain large amounts of data.
With large files, processing can be up to ten times faster when you take advantage of higher addressable RAM amounts—limited only by what your hardware accommodates. To experience that speed bump you'll need more than 4 GB of RAM as well as both a 64-bit processor and 64-bit operating system.
The reason for the potential speed bump when you're processing large files is that 64-bit is no longer limited to 4 GB of RAM—as was the case in the previous 32-bit only versions of Photoshop. Now, when you’re working with large amounts of image data, Photoshop can address additional RAM if you've got it, thereby increasing processing speed.
If you're working on a file with a small amount of data like an image for the web you may not experience a noticeable increase in processing speed. Note also that you do have the option of running both Mac and Windows Photoshop CS5 in either a 32-bit or 64-bit environment. There may be times when you want to run Photoshop in 32-bit mode. For example, you may need to use a plug-in that's 32-bit only—like some Photoshop filters, including the Variations command. If, for example, I want to use my Canon scanner plug-in (a 32-bit plug-in only) from within Photoshop CS5, I need to launch Photoshop in 32-bit mode.
WITHOUT A TRACE: CONTENT AWARE FILL
Among the most impressive and useful new features in Photoshop CS5 is Content-Aware Fill.
After some twenty years in the marketplace, Photoshop has become synonymous with image manipulation. Removing unwanted elements from an image has always been possible, albeit sometimes tedious, with the previous version of Photoshop using the available tools like the Healing brushes, the Clone tool or the Patch tool.
Now, with Photoshop CS5, the clean removal of unwanted photo elements has never been this easy or effective. With Content-Aware Fill’s new and amazing sophisticated technology, the selected image element is automatically replaced with details that match the surrounding lighting, tone, and noise so that it looks like the content never existed—and you were never there. Even large complex subjects can be erased seamlessly.
Using any of the Photoshop Selection tools or features, you can select the object to be removed, and then replace the selected area with synthesized details from the area surrounding the active selection, simply by activating the Content-Aware option in the Fill dialog box, which is on by default. Selections don’t have to be precise for Content-Aware Fill to work properly; in fact, sometimes a loose or rough selection is more effective in matching the nearby surroundings, as trial and error teaches.
You can also use Content-Aware Fill with the Spot Healing Brush. In this mode, the Content-Aware setting, which you select from the options panel, with the Spot Healing brush changes the way the tool fills in the areas you paint. This retouching approach is designed to account more fully for the structure and detail of the image elements that surround the painted area; this capability provides a near-invisible result when you remove unwanted objects like power lines in a landscape photo.
With Content-Aware Fill, good photos that might have been hampered by dogged extraneous elements and doomed to the reject bin can now be professionally cleaned up quickly and easily.
DEGHOST IN THE MACHINE: HDR PRO
With previous versions of Photoshop, the high dynamic range (HDR) feature allowed you to transcend the capture capabilities of your SLR camera by combining bracketed images for a composite image in a wider range—and as big as 32-bits. Photoshop CS5 improves upon HDR merging and processing with a new Merge to HDR dialog box that provides automatic or manual adjustment power to create superior HDR imaging: fully textured photorealistic photos or dramatic scenes with a surreal effect.
Through an enhanced interface, HDR Pro offers extensive controls for improved image processing. New algorithms enable more accurate alignment of source your files. Also, the addition of a remove “ghosting” option is yet another major improvement—this command removes movement (blur caused by moving subjects) in any one of the images used to assemble the HDR composite image.
The de-ghosting system automatically gives priority to the content of one source image over the others in problem areas. Or, you can override the auto feature and manually select the base image to use.
For times when you don’t have multiple bracketed source files, you have the option of selecting the HDR Toning feature that can simulate the look of an HDR-processed image from a single photo. HDR Toning allows you to mimic the tone-mapping results of HDR PRO, which relies on a high dynamic range of at least three bracketed (varying exposures) photos.
PAINTING: MIXING IT UP
Photoshop is an indispensible tool for photographers, digital retouchers, and artists too, most especially when it comes to having precise printing control over one’s work. While previous versions of Photoshop had a basic Brush tool, the new brush tools and enhancements in CS5 deserve our attention for simulating painting effects, and having fun.
With a Mixer Brush, which includes a new mechanism for blending colors, and Bristle Tips for more naturalistic brush strokes, Photoshop CS5 redefines the possibilities in the way you paint. Corel Painter users will immediately recognize how much the CS5 brush options have been improved.
The Mixer Brush lets you define multiple colors on a single tip, and then mix and blend them with the underlying hues on your canvas—similar to working on a canvas already wet with paint. You can achieve creative results that match or even rival traditional painting media. Mixer Brush settings provide extensive control over the wetness of the canvas, the load rate to add paint to the brush, the mixing rate between brush and canvas colors, and whether the brush is refilled, cleaned, or both after each paint brushstroke.
You can use the versatile Mixture Brush to create a photo-painting where colors, shape, and form are lifted from an underlying photograph—and you don't need to be a painter to achieve a remarkable painterly look.
Note: there is no dedicated mixer palette panel like you’ll find in Corel Painter; you can, however, work around this by mixing colors on a separate layer.
Bristle Qualities define key bristle properties such as shape, length, stiffness, thickness, angle, and spacing, which affect how the color is laid on the image as you paint. The Bristle Brush Preview feature provides a visual representation of these changes, and you can save your tip configurations for future use, allowing you to build a customized collection of Bristle Tips to experiment with when using Photoshop brush tools.
The new brushes have so many features, it’s not always apparent or discoverable as to how they function, or where options can be found and tweaked—you will need to drill down into menus for best results—and that hidden handshake.
If you intend on seriously working with CS5’s new brushes, I strongly recommend investing in an in-depth lynda.com tutorial on the subject by maestro John Derry, who is deeply intimate with both Corel Painter and Photoshop. He’ll save you eons of time by teaching you the ropes; he'll give you tips for setting up the Touch Ring on your Wacom Intous4 pen tablet; and John will also explain why it’s better to save a new brush as a tool, not a brush. Note: see my article: Wacom Intous4 Professional pen tablet: Innovative Game Changer.
HUD COLOR PICKER
Being able to select colors on the fly helps avoid distractions by not interrupting the workflow at hand.
Fortunately, there’s the new HUD Color Picker in Photoshop CS5; this feature is a new way of selecting colors. HUD stands for Heads-up Display, which, in this case, means an element that only appears when you invoke it.
The HUD Color Picker allows you to quickly choose color from within the context of the image. You can focus on the work without having to move to a separate panel or separate color picker when you want to change colors. You also have the option of going old school by choosing the traditional color picker, which you access by clicking on the familiar Foreground color box in the toolbar.
Your fingers with have to do a digital keyboard cha-cha to invoke both the HUD Color Picker and, if necessary, the hues bar. You’ll get the hang of soon enough, as the color panel seems to dim away.
CAMERA RAW 6
If you’ve worked in a low light environment, you most likely had to increase your ISO (digital film speed) in order to capture the shot; you also found out that high ISO can introduce grainy digital noise into a photo. In the past, Adobe Camera Raw addressed that problem with two noise reduction controls, one for luminance noise and one for color noise. But the challenge with those noise reduction controls was to reduce color noise without causing the image to lose detail and become color-desaturated.
In Camera Raw 6, Adobe has focused on improving those two aspects of noise reduction. The new Color and Luminance Detail sliders offer more control over your image. Sharpening in Adobe Camera Raw 6 has also been improved, especially for a high-frequency image with lots of fine-tuned detail.
Another new feature in Camera Raw 6 allows you to add natural film style grain to a photo. The new Grain sliders are stored in the Effects tab. In the past, adding grain was something that you could do from within Photoshop using a combination of filters, features, and secret handshakes. Now you have direct control over grain in one convenient place.
Grain can be used to add a vintage or an historical feel to a photo, particularly a black and white or sepia toned photo. Another reason to add grain is to simulate a particular grainy traditional film stock from back in the day.
If you applied noise reduction that made a photo look unnaturally smooth, then adding a little grain can restore the lost texture to the photo.
LENS CORRECTION FILTER
Lens correction has been neatly and effectively revamped for Photoshop CS5.
Depending upon the lens you use on your SLR camera, you may get lens-related errors, such as geometric distortion (barreling or pin cushioning), lateral chromatic aberration (color fringing along areas of high contrast), or vignetting (darkened edges).
The Lens Correction filter in CS5 does its best to make these common corrections for you automatically (Auto Correction); there are of course sliders for manual adjustments, as found in the previous Photoshop version. Instead of hiding out in the Distort submenu, the Lens Correction filter is now more prominently placed under the top level of the Filters menu.
Under the hood, the Photoshop’s Lens Profile feature tries to make the most accurate correction by best matching the camera with the lens used. If you don’t see an exact match for your lens, you can set up certain search parameters (camera and lens type) and Lens Profile will search online for a matched profile. If no precise match is found, you have the option of tweaking the image with the manual controls.
If the Search Online button is grayed out, Lens Profiler could not figure out the camera make (lens mount) or the lens model from the input image EXIF metadata. To find the camera and the lens used, Lens Profile relies on EXIF stored data found with most SLR digital cameras today; point and shoot or phone cameras may not contain EXIF data.
Note: It’s more important for proper lens correction that Lens Profile gets the lens right than the specific camera model.
The built-in zoom Nikkor lens on my Nikon Coolpix 5400 is F=5.8-24mm. The nearest Lens Profile came to matching my lens is F=6-24mm with the Coolpix P6000, which is also the wrong camera model. Still, the lens correction looks pretty good; and I can always click on the custom tab to make any necessary manual adjustments. Although my camera registers EXIF metadata, the lens profile correction plug-in couldn’t figure out what type of lens, which meant that the Search Online button (designed to find your specific lens if available on the Adobe list) was grayed out.
Note: You might also want to check out Adobe’s Lens Profile Creator, which is presently (early fall, 2010) still in a prerelease state; you can download the utility from Adobe Labs here:
Not all the improvements in CS5 are big-ticket items. Among the numerous smaller improvements that Adobe has added to Photoshop CS5 are enhancements to some of Photoshop’s tools. Here are several examples:
The Crop tool has acquired a new grid, which is useful for framing and drawing the viewer’s attention to a pleasing composition. Once you’ve made your crop, the Options Bar will reflect that the new Crop Guide Overlay, which is selected to Rule of Thirds, is on by default. For centuries, artists have been positioning the most important elements in an image in eye-friendly areas using Rule of Thirds by design or intuition.
In previous versions of Photoshop, you had to use the ruler (the Measure Tool) to find something in the image that should be straight—horizontally or vertically. Then you had to use the Arbitrary command to set things straight, that is, of course, if you knew where this hidden handshake was hidden: Image menu > Rotate Canvas > Arbitrary.
With CS5, once you use the Ruler tool to drag along an area that should be straight, simply click the Straighten button in the Options bar to rotate and crop the photo. Done!
The Zoom tool also sports Scrubby Zoom, a new option in Photoshop CS5.
Scrubby Zoom is enabled by default, as indicated in the Options bar. You can come into the image and pinpoint exactly the area that you want to zoom into by clicking in that area and dragging to the right—this Zoom enhancement lets you get to the area of interest quickly. Then, clicking and dragging to the left will zoom you back out. You also have the option of using the Zoom tool as with previous versions.
Note: Scrubby Zoom is enabled in 64-bit mode, and not in 32-bit mode.
The venerable Eyedropper tool hasn’t been left out in the cold, either.
Moving the Eyedropper tool over part of an image and clicking invokes the new color-sampling ring. The Options Bar for the Eyedropper tool will reflect that Show Sampling Ring is checked.
The outer grey ring is simply a neutral color to help you see the colors that are selected in the inner ring; the inner ring is divided into two pieces. The bottom half of the inner ring represents the last color used in the foreground color box in the toolbar while the top part of the inner color ring represents the current color being sampled with the Eyedropper. I use the Eyedropper often to choose colors. Now that task has been improved.
Here are another two very handy embellishments in Photoshop CS5.
1) AUTO-SELECT PARAMETER
If you often change adjustment parameters using text fields or the targeted adjustment tool, you can now maximize your efficiency by automatically selecting these items by default.
Auto-Select Parameter is available via the Adjustments panel flyout menu. It puts keyboard focus on the first field (numerical value) in an adjustment layer. You no longer have to click onto a text field in the panel before you can start typing in numbers.
Note: At any time, you can put keyboard focus onto the first field in the Adjustments panel by hitting Shift-Return (Mac) or Shift-Enter (Windows) on the keyboard.
2) CLOSE ALL FEATURE
Here’s yet another handy timesaver if you’re accustomed to working with many multiple windows inside of Photoshop; you can now close them all in one simple step. In the past, when you selected the familiar Close all command, you were asked if you wanted to save changes or not for each open document. The new Close all command dialog box has an Apply to All option, which you can check; so, now whether you want to save your changes for each file, or not, you click once and you are done, my friend.
DRAG AND DROP
You can now drag and drop a file directly from your operating system into an open document in Photoshop to create a new layer—a feature that users have been requesting for some time.
Dropped documents come into Photoshop as a placed images, as indicated by the bounding box with the diagonal lines. As a placed image, you have an opportunity to transform it (reposition or scale) before committing the image to a new layer. Note that once you commit the image to a layer, the image comes in as a Smart Object layer.
Smart Objects preserve an image’s source content with all its original characteristics, enabling you to perform nondestructive editing (transformation and most effects) to the layer.
If you’re working with files that have many layers, it’s not uncommon to end up with a number of empty layers in the stack. Trying to find them all can be tedious. New in CS5, you can now quickly delete all empty layers by going up to the File menu, and going down to Scripts and over to Delete All Empty Layers. Gone!
LAYER OPACITY / LAYER MASK
With CS5, you can now vary the Opacity or the Fill of more than one layer at a time. After selecting two or more layers, try dragging on the Opacity slider, and you can see that the content of the selected layers has changed opacity with a single operation.
Another layer improvement involves making a layer mask. You can now use the transparency in a layer to create a layer mask. With this transparent layer selected, go up to the Layer menu and down to layer mask where you’ll find a new option: From Transparency. You no longer have to go the extra step of first making a selection of the transparency and then creating the layer mask to get the same effect.
You can now manage your content more efficiently with the new and updated features in Bridge CS5 software—which has evolved over the years from a so-so feature to an integral app for managing your media and digital assets. The Bridge star of this release is a brand-new feature: the Mini Bridge, a panelized version of Bridge that provides instant image access and management capabilities from within Photoshop CS5.
With Mini Bridge you can access some of the same file browsing and file management functions as you can in the standalone application Adobe Bridge CS5, included with Photoshop, most of the standalone CS5 software, and the Creative Suite 5 editions.
The advantage of using Mini Bridge is this: since the Mini Bridge panel window is inside of Photoshop, you no longer have to move back and forth between Photoshop and Bridge itself, which is a separate program, to manage your image files.
Since Mini Bridge is powered by Adobe Bridge, Mini Bridge takes advantage of memory allocated to Adobe Bridge rather than to Photoshop, freeing up memory for other tasks.
Although Mini Bridge is powerful, it can’t do everything that Adobe Bridge can, like create new folders, labels, and ratings. However, any change you make from within Adobe Bridge is immediately and conveniently updated in Mini Bridge. We can look forward to Mini Bridge evolving in future releases.
The Workspace Switcher has replaced the Workspace menu in the Application Bar in Photoshop CS5, which is similar to the switcher in Bridge and other programs. You can use the Workspace Switcher to quickly switch between combinations of panel locations, menus and sets of keyboard shortcuts, as you could with the previous Workspace menu.
The Workspace Switcher (above the Options bar) ships with new preset task-based Workspaces: Design, Painting, Photography, 3D, Motion and one for What’s New in CS5. The default Workspace is the Essentials Workspace with its accompanying panel setup, which is a basic starter set, or jumping off point in developing your own panel configuration.
Having dedicated, task-specific workspaces that mimic your individual workflow increases productivity by hiding the features you don’t use while exposing the ones you do. New Live Workspaces auto-save any changes you make to a task-specific workspace, so that if you switch to a different workspace and then back again during an editing session, your panels remain exactly where you left them. Sweet!
PIN ME UP: PUPPET WARP
Adobe After Effects users are already familiar with the warping and reshaping capabilities of the Puppet tool, which is now available as Puppet Warp, a new feature in Photoshop CS5.
While warping and transforming elements in an image is not a new concept, Puppet Warp in CS5 greatly simplifies the process. Puppet Warp is more intuitive, less awkward, and can form more realistic results than with Photoshop’s Transform commands.
By pushing and pulling elements in an image with appropriately placed digital push pins over a mesh overlay that can be toggled off for clarity, Puppet Warp allows you to precisely reposition any element within a Photoshop document by simply clicking and dragging. The Puppet Warp feature can be applied to graphic images, photographs, a Type layer, Vector shapes, and even to layer masks and Vector masks.
ENHANCEMENTS: PHOTOSHOP CS5 EXTENDED ONLY
You can now bring your 3D creations to life with Adobe Repoussé, another new feature currently exclusive to Photoshop CS5 Extended.
Repoussé is a new research system for the interactive enhancement of 2D art with 3D geometry. With Adobe Repoussé you can now easily convert 2D artwork into 3D objects and then create depth by altering the extrusion properties of the 3D model. You can, for example, extrude text to create logos and 3D artwork for use in websites, video frames, or layouts.
You can select materials from the library of included presets, download additional materials by choosing 3D > Browse 3D Content, create your own, or even edit existing materials to customize them for your needs (in the materials section of the 3D panel). You alter the look of your 3D model by manipulating its key extrusion properties: depth, scale, bend, shear, twist, or inflate, located in the Repoussé dialog box.
It’s easy to test a variety of looks for your 3D models; the idea is to extrude designs by adding different materials or textures to their surfaces—which can often require intensive computer processing power. The Repoussé dialog box and the Materials section of the 3D panel both contain options for applying a single material to all surfaces. These control centers also enable you to choose different treatments for individual sections and surfaces of your models for enhanced realism.
Adobe has done what any company strives for with their products: they made a good thing better. If you’re a professional, and that includes painters, there’s nothing to think about: get Adobe Photoshop CS5: it’s reliable and inventive by design. If you’re a Corel Painter user, you will want to experiment with all the new and enhanced painting tools in CS5.
You are in the end also known for your tools.»
Photoshop CS5 Extended ships with most of Adobe’s design and creative suites; also available separately:
Photoshop CS5 Extended: US$999 buy; from US$349 upgrade
Photoshop CS5: US$699 buy; from US$199 upgrade
GETTING TO KNOW ADOBE PHOTOSHOP CS5
There is no question that Adobe Photoshop is a marvelous tool used by professionals worldwide; in fact, a whole industry in digital manipulation has developed around this workhorse of an app.
To get the most out Photoshop, whether youíre experienced or an eager neophyte, you must master the program's inner workings, which are not always apparent—or discoverable.
One of the best investments you can make is to educate yourself. With consistently high-end produced presentations, A-list instructors, and an extensive library of in-depth software courses, lynda.com continues its mission as one of the best educational values in online-based tutorials.
Lynda.com offers a truly incredible learning experience that is both fun and affordable. Downloadable exercise file are now included in a $37.50 monthly premium plan.
You will find many Photoshop tutorial lessons by various experts who will elevate your skill while stimulating your creativity. For starters, and a comprehensive look into Photoshop, Deke McClelland, with his unbridled enthusiasm, walks you through the program’s features with insights, humor, and depth of knowledge. Deke practically channels the spirits of Photoshop. He also shares some secret Photoshop handshakes that will improve your productivity. Now you know, too.
Also recommend and not limited to are Jan Kabili and Chris Orwig, and, of course, as previously mentioned, John Derry for his suberb tips on both understanding and using the new brushes in Photoshop CS5.
There's no doubt that training videos are unsurpassed for illustrating application features and how to use them. There are also times when I simply want to look up how a tool works or how to achieve a certain effect. I always have a handy reference book or two that covers my favorite apps. In this case, I heartily recommned these two titles from O’Reilly Media—a premiere publisher of titles on software and code.
Photoshop CS5 One-on-One by Deke McClelland
A great starter companion to Deke’s lynda.com Photoshop CS5 Fundamentals tutorials is his Photoshop CS5 One-on-One book. Deke's tutorial book is project based—that is, you'll have a finished design at the end of each lesson. You can work along with him by watching free videos and downloading excercise files from O'Reilly.
You also get a bonus for buying the book: a free 7-day trial subscription to lynda.com where you'll have access to Photoshop tutorials plus thousands of other training videos.
Join him on a one-on-one creative journey to learn Photoshop by doing the work. Deke knows how to pace his lessons.
Photoshop CS5: The Missing Manual by Lesa Snider
If you feel overwhelmed at the thought of attempting to learn Photoshop, then let me allay your fears. Fortunately, we have the missing manual that sports simple to comprehend concepts presented with both humor and clarity. The book is in color with graphics that pop. All the excercise files and other elements are availble as free downloads. You also get a 45-day free online edition of the book, which can be very handy.
Photoshop CS5: The Missing Manual isn't only for beginners. As Lesa Snider knows her stuff, pros will learn a lot, too. Also, the book makes its points with a conversational style sans any heady technical jargon to get in the way.


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By Kieron James
02 Apr 18
We’re delighted to unveil our brand new website. The team has been working really hard over the last six or seven months in the run up to today's launch - a total re-architecture of the Wonderful website. We’re introducing many new features and an improved user interface for charities, donors and fundraisers.
Here are just some of our shiny new bells and whistles:
The new site has been given a complete design refresh and is built on a highly scalable platform. If you’re into geeky stuff, it makes full use of latest web development technologies and is deployed on Amazon Web Services (AWS) - a service used to power modern applications and large enterprise businesses such as British Gas, Channel 4, Financial Times, Hertz, ITV, Netflix, Sage, Spotify, Unilever and many more.
AWS scales with demand ensuring that at peaks times it is capable of processing donations from thousands of concurrent users, scaling back at less busy times to reduce costs borne by our partners.
Page load is rapid by design, using a modern stateless architecture that serves small data packages on demand. This makes the platform and website highly efficient across devices - from smartphone and tablet to laptop or desktop computer. Powerful indexing and search tools allow visitors to locate content quickly and intuitively, whilst offering the Wonderful team a detailed view of current fundraising data trends.
Wonderful 2.0 is a marriage of elegant design and smart technology, designed to ensure that fee-free fundraising is efficient and fun for charities, donors and fundraisers. As you may sense, we’re very proud!
We have streamlined the sign-up process, making it much easier for people to get their fundraising underway. We took the decision to ditch social login - and it’s one we feel was right following recent media stories. However, we have enhanced (and will continue to do so) features associated with social sharing to promote fundraising campaigns and encourage higher levels of sponsorship.
Fundraising pages have been completely re-designed so that key information and calls to action - including the all-important Sponsor button - take centre stage. We’ve added a snazzy new totaliser and we also display amounts raised with and without Gift Aid.
We’ve introduced the ability to upload personal cover images or stream YouTube videos from fundraising pages, along with individual profile pictures. Fundraisers can not only provide a background story for their campaigns, but also offer regular updates to their supporters directly on their fundraising pages.
The admin interface is also greatly improved, allowing fundraisers to edit current fundraising pages, view past campaigns and monitor their own donations to other people’s fundraising pages.
The biggest change for charities is our new charity admin area which allows charity administrators to edit public profile pages, add cover images to their pages, upload logos and create their own appeal pages.
Appeal pages work in a similar way to individuals’ fundraising pages but instead of being created by a fundraiser taking part in an event to raise money on behalf of the charity, appeal pages are created by charities themselves.
They are designed for charities to use for specific appeals and they supplement the re-introduction of our Donate now button, prominently placed on a charity’s public profile page and allowing charities to receive fee-free Gift Aided donations directly via the Wonderful website.
Our monthly statements and direct payment of funds raised into charity’s bank accounts remain, along with a .csv file detailing all Gift Aid eligible donations.
In the coming weeks, we’ll also be introducing new tools for corporate sponsors - we like to call them our Wonderful Partners. These will allow partners to target and monitor the funding they provide to Wonderful. We rely upon our partners to keep our service completely free of charge to charities, fundraisers and donors. If efficient and impactful use of its Corporate Social Responsibility budget is something your organisation values, please do get in touch.
The new site has been rigorously tested, but as with any significant update, there may be things we have missed (though we hope not, of course). If you encounter any issues with the service, or you’d like to offer general feedback, we’d love to hear from you. Please contact us via the Wonderful Helpdesk.


Maersk Line will launch its Remote Container Management service on July 24, 2017, providing customers with visibility of a refrigerated container’s location, temperature and atmospheric conditions during transit.
According to Maersk, RCM experts will also manage the container remotely or through notifications to local technicians if a hands-on fix is required.
“RCM has the capabilities that our customers have wanted from us for a very long time,” said Vincent Clerc, chief commercial officer of Maersk Line. “It is going to insert an unprecedented level of visibility and reliability into their supply chains that will make their business better. The old days of waiting, hoping and reacting are over. Our customers can now monitor and make decisions about their supply chain as their cargo moves, as well as use the data to study and improve their entire supply chain. Particularly for our customers with very sensitive, higher value refrigerated cargo, RCM significantly raises the total value proposition of refrigerated container trade.”
Each of Maersk’s 270,000 reefers contains GPS technology, a modem and a SIM card, enabling location, temperature, humidity and power status readings to be continuously collected and stored. That information is transmitted by satellites on 400 of Maersk Line’s owned and chartered vessels to customers and RCM global support teams.
If the container malfunctions and local technicians are unable to fix it, RCM’s automatic notifications will give customers time to notify their affected customers and plan alternatives such as unloading the container at an earlier port for a discounted sale.
In the first six months of 2017, RCM has already identified more than 4,500 incorrect temperature settings on customers’ reefers.
“Our customers have always wanted to know where their products are and if they are being properly cared for from the very beginning to when their customer receives them,” said Anne Sophie Zerlang, head of reefers at Maersk Line. “Now with RCM, they will always know. We expect we will see an increase in our traditional perishable reefer volumes like agriculture as a result of RCM, but also new opportunities in sectors like pharmaceuticals where there is also a need for the kind of supply chain integrity RCM provides. As we receive feedback and learn more from our customers, we will look for ways to improve and expand the value of RCM.”


- This event has passed.
May Technical Meeting – Metrology in CT Imaging
May 19 @ 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM EDT
I hope everyone is staying healthy and safe! I would like to extend an invitation to our first WEBEX meeting hosted by the Rockford Stateline ASNT Section. It will be a joint meeting with Rockford Stateline, Chicago and Houston ASNT Sections. This meeting is free of charge and attendees can earn points for recertification.
To be eligible for recertification points, you will need to participate for the entire portion of the technical meeting. In order to earn credit, we ask for a specific item:
When you log into the WebEx meeting, identify yourself using your first and last name, as recorded with ASNT and a dash and a three letter abbreviation for your section.
Examples: Joel Mohnacky – RFD
James Kretzler – PIT
From this, a meeting report with your name and email will be generated. Contact your chair and request validation for your points. Your chair will email you with a confirmation of attendance and you can print that email as objective evidence for your files for recertification.
For the May Technical Meeting: this will take place at 6:30pm EDT (5:30pm CDT) on May 19th. Use the WEBEX link provided. Joel Mohnacky with Rockford Stateline Section will open the meeting at 6:15 EDT (5:15 CDT) to allow time to resolve any connectivity issues.
This meeting presenter will be: Dana Begun, Ph.D from Waygate Technologies.
Metrology in CT Imaging
The advancement of 3D printing and additive technologies has led to growing demand for new measurement strategies. In order to meet the new challenges in the manufacturing industry, industrial CT has become a critical tool for inspections requiring metrological rigor.
Here we will explore the basics of metrology by CT and a discussion of the major factors that influence the metrological performance. Furthermore, we will discuss the challenges that arise when using a CT system for Geometric Dimensioning & Tolerance (GD&T) projects and present the technical solutions that are necessary to make CT measurements accurate and precise.
Brief Bio on the Speaker:
Dana Begun is an applications engineer at Waygate Technologies specializing in CT and X-ray imaging. She holds a dual Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in Biomedical Engineering and Anthropology. Following a post-doctoral fellowship at the Mayo Clinic, she joined the Waygate applications team in 2018. She has 13 years of experience with radiographic technology. In addition to her role at Waygate, she is a member of ASNT and ASTM. Dana has also recently taken on the role of instructor for the 40-hour CT course through the Baker Hughes Inspection Academy.
Please plan to join us for this unique presentation and meeting format.
To connect to the Web Conference:
Click here: for presentation and phone options
To connect by phone only call: (866) 657-9737 and Access Code 4759
Hope you can attend the WEBEX meeting!
Please note that the timing of this event is posted in Eastern Daylight Time.


- A new robotic framework that brings modernity into robotic application
- Dataflow Oriented Robotics Architecture
- Making robotic applications fast and simple!
Lesson 1（Mon,11.6）: Motivation and Basic Usage
Lesson 2（Wed,11.8）: Advanced features and how to contribute
Lesson 3（Fri,11.10）: On data format
Lesson 4（Mon,11.13）: On writing command line interface and tokio runtime
Lesson 5（Wed,11.15）: On writing a Python extension
Lesson 6（Fri,11.17）: On writing shared library
Lesson 7（Mon,11.20）: On distributed tracing, metrics, logs and Opentelemetry
Lesson 8（Wed,11.22）: On Zero Copy optimization and benchmark
Lesson 9（Fri,11.24）: On writing a custom serializer and deserializer
Lesson 10（Mon,11.27）: On writing custom Shared Memory server, TCP Stream
Lesson 11（Wed,11.29）: On Async runtime and CPU-bound task
Lesson 12（Fri,12.1）: Recap, planned features, questions, etc
Philipp Oppermann is a freelance Rust developer from Germany. He is interested in operating systems, embedded, and open-source software in general. His best-known project is the "Writing an OS in Rust" blog, which builds a basic x86 OS from scratch. Apart from dora-rs, he contributes to the x86_64, bootloader, and volatile crates, and is the main editor of the regular "This Month in Rust OSDev" newsletter.
Xavier Tao is a French software engineer developing practical open source ML/IA solutions. One previous project is Wonnx, a webGPU-based ONNX inference run-time fully written in Rust, which allows it to be available on internet browsers and natively on computers. Xavier is currently fully invested in the dora-rs robotic framework project. Dora-rs aims to make building robots fast and easy.
Time: 20:00pm UTC/GMT +8.00
Date: 2023.11.6 - 12.1
备注：Dora-rs Online Course Learners 微信学习交流群


Akeeba Backup Tutorial
The Akeeba Backup Component is a 3rd party extension that is an invaluable tool for maintaining the security of your website.
While you always want to believe that your site is safe from damage, server failures, bad components and hackers can paint a different picture. It's vitally important to have a backup plan for your site just in case something happens and you need to restore it.
1. Download the component
Download Akeeba Backup from the developer's website.
2. Install the component on your site
(see Installing Joomla Extensions tutorial for instructions)
3. Select Akeeba Backup from the components menu (figure 1).
4. Backup your site
From the main Akeeba control panel, click the Backup now button to backup your site (figure 2). If your system is not configured properly to store the backup, you may get an error at this point. Check the Akeeba Support Forum for information on how to configure the component properly.
From the backup screen, click the Backup Now button on the right to start the backup process (figure 3).
The system will then begin to backup your site. It gives you progress updates throughout the process (figure 4). If you encounter any errors at this point, check the Akeeba Support Forum for assistance.
5. Download the backup file
Once the backup is done, click the "administer backup files" button to download the backed up file (figure 5). It's important to download the file onto your computer. Having the backup on the server will do you no good if something happens to the server. Downloading it to your computer gives you an extra copy.
6. Restoring from your Akeeba Backup


The first of its kind. We were founded with the BlueSparrow project. It was our birth token, now to become our native token to BlueBit. Now our users and growing community have access to a state-of-the-art crypto platform.
With our community-focused team, we are listening to your needs and offering you more ways to earn. We're constantly adding new features and earning opportunities.
Both new and experienced traders will benefit from a lower fee structure and enhanced security at BlueBit, which allows them to trade all cryptocurrencies.
The dashboards will be fully customizable by the users so they will have all the information at their fingertips. It's critical for us to provide a streamlined, user-friendly experience that makes your trade execution process easier.
The newest global exchange is launching with an already-backed strong community, and compelling charity projects built into and currently being carried out through BlueSparrow.
Are you ready to start your BlueBit adventure?
Registration is quick and easy.
With our BlueBit app, you can also trade on the go. Download it from the app store or click here
Join our mailing list or Telegram to have all the news in real-time.


In the previous post, I outlined 3 easy ways to make sure your computer is safe and protected. While I could probably put together a list of 50 ways you can protect yourself, the 3 in the previous post and the 4 listed in this post are super important and will go a long ways to keep your machine safe and working properly.
- Never Click On Links In Emails From Unfamiliar Senders – Even if you find something tempting and really want to see what it is, resist that temptation and simply delete the file(s). You can also block suspicious senders so you never have to deal with them again. Even attachments sent by people you know can be corrupted through no fault of the sender. Scan everything before you open it.
- Enable Your Firewalls – Firewalls help block bad guys from having access to your devices, but you may need to go into your system’s settings to make sure this form of protection is enabled. Some programs will need your permission to bypass the firewall, but be very careful about what you let through. Also, revoke permission when you no longer use that program and keep track of who’s who and what’s what – it will become confusing if you don’t stay up to date with the info.
- Use Protective Settings On Your Browser(s) – Browsers allow you to set privacy and security levels, ranging from minimum to maximum. Set them to their highest levels, then test drive the browser to ensure you can still access what you need. If your favorite sites tell you they don’t work at the higher security and privacy levels, tweak them until you have the end-user experience you’re looking for, without enabling the hackers, malware, viruses and ad junk you don’t want.
- Be Very Selective With What You Download – You might think you’re simply downloading a great ebook, but if you’re not careful, it could come with malware. Right click all files after you download and run a security scan on them. Teach everyone in your household to be smart with downloads, too. Children or unsuspecting users may innocently allow a virus in believing it’s just a harmless download.
Don’t ever take chances with the security of your devices. Once a device is compromised, it can be quite difficult to fix it. Identity theft is constantly rising and that’s something you never want to go through.
Unfortunately for most people, Microsoft Windows computers are more susceptible to becoming infected. When this happens, it usually makes the computer unable to perform basic tasks. One such file that tends to become corrupted is the Desktop Windows Manager. This file does exactly what you would think it does – it allows you to manage your desktop and view what is going on. Another name for the file or process is dwm.exe. Because this file is so well-known and important on your system, malicious attackers can target this file and cause a variety of issues for you.
If you do experience troubles with the dwm file, you should do whatever you can to fix it as quickly as possible. Another file many users have mentioned issues with is the msmpeng.exe virus. To mitigate your risk, scan your computer often!


Additive Manufacturing - Industrial 3D Printing
3ERP provides a range of high-quality 3D printing (additive manufacturing) services, including FDM, SLA, SLS and SLM. This allows for the 3D printing of plastics and metals, and provides options for both prototyping and production.
3D printing is a great way to create one-off parts or small batches, and can be used to create complex geometries that could not be realised using traditional manufacturing processes.
Advantages of 3D Printing
There are many benefits for 3D printing, especially if you know how to optimize your product design to take advantage of them. Benefits include:
1. Metal 3D printing is done in a confined space, allowing complex geometric shapes and precise interior features
2. Fast design to minimize material waste
3. Multiple identical parts can be built on one platform at a time, greatly increasing productivity
What is 3D Printing?
Metal 3D printing service is a 3D printing process called Direct Metal Laser Melting (DMLM). This additive manufacturing process uses a high-powered laser to melt and fuse successive layers of powdered metal into three-dimensional solid parts. The advantage is that the more complex or feature rich the component, the more economical the process becomes.
There are several kinds of 3D printer, some of which are used to print plastic parts, others to print parts made from metal or other materials. While these various 3D printing technologies are diverse, they have certain features in common.
Review All 3D Printing Services And Materials That We Offer
Metal 3D Printing Process
- Modeling. Generally speaking, 3D modeling is to build a 3D model with 3D data through 3D production software.
- Slice. Slicing is essentially cutting your 3D model into pieces and designing the path for printing
- 3D printing, post-processing. Start the 3D printer. After the 3D printer finishes its work, take out the object and do the post-processing. For example, when printing some dangling structures, a supporting structure should be raised before printing the upper part of the dangling structure. Therefore, the redundant support in this part needs to be removed and post-processed.


INTERACTIVE DISPLAY SYSTEM
The interactive touchscreen LCD monitor delivers innovation to the world of business and education. This affordable solution simply enhances your visual communications by transforming presentations, training sessions, or classroom lectures into creative and interactive experiences.Read More
INFORMATION DISPLAY PANEL - SINGLE PANEL
Professional LCD monitors are perfect for retail settings, waiting rooms and other business locations that need to grab the attention of viewers for a new level of engagement.
INFORMATION DISPLAY PANEL - VIDEO WALL
Ultra-slim bezel that gives you the flexibility to build video walls with the dimensions to grace virtually any commercial or public space. Whether installed in a shopping mall, hotel, control room, transport hub, or conference hall, a bank of these monitors will convey your message with overwhelming style and precision.


This new user interface offers an intuitive way to browse the Internet using an infra-red remote control handset - bringing the power of the internet to your armchair.
Browsing the Internet is now as easy as accessing Teletext, with added functionality and the choice of using number selection or the coloured keys.
BT Telesurfer runs on a standard 486 PC with Windows 3.1, and can be incorporated into any Internet capable TV or set top box.
It's features include:
- clear display on a standard TV
- automatic reformatting of standard Internet pages
- flexible user interface - item selection via coloured keys or numbers
- text enlargement facility
Contact: Nick Edwards at BT for more information


Welcome to Cbits Softwares PVT. LTD.
Cbits Softwares Pvt.Ltd. started with an aspiration to take on challenges and solve various aspects of client’s business. We aim to serve as a single-stop solution for all your IT requirements across business software, website development, digital marketing, and IT consultancy. We also partner with consultancy companies to execute a part or whole of offshore support on different projects. All our offerings are backed by our premium corporate training services (as needed) to help you build high-quality teams that will be ready for deployment without any additional training.
Cbits Softwares Pvt.Ltd. also provides corporate training services to help you build a world-class team for your in-house projects. Our trainers are equipped with robust industry experience, and are focused on a pattern of training that delivers tangible results quickly so that your team can deliver their best without any additional on-the-job instruction. IT Off shoring services offered by Cbits Softwares Pvt.Ltd. provide complementary strengths to execute an offshore project. With our prompt turnaround time, intense code quality checks and competitive pricing structure, we will execute every project with precision and ensure maximum client satisfaction.


Wheel Announces Integration with GoodRx to Help Millions of Patients Follow Treatment Plans & Save on Medication
AUSTIN, Texas, Dec. 15, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Wheel, the digital health company putting great care within everyone's reach, today announced a new integration with GoodRx, America's digital resource for healthcare, to help people save on their prescription costs and follow their treatment plans. Now Wheel clients and their millions of patients can seamlessly access discounts on medications at more than 70,000 pharmacies nationwide.
One-third of US residents have trouble paying their medical bills and turn to their physicians for help navigating the costs and insurance coverage. However, a recent survey from JAMA Network shows that few physicians are able to accurately estimate out-of-pocket costs. Through this integration, Wheel and GoodRx are providing clinicians with greater confidence that their patients will be able to start and stay on their medication.
GoodRx's coupon price API processes over 200 billion pricing data points every day to provide consumers with access to lower prices on their medication. Through this integration, once a clinician prescribes a treatment plan, companies built on Wheel's white-labeled virtual care platform will be able to seamlessly offer their patients a GoodRx coupon for their medication at their preferred pharmacy.
"We're excited to partner with GoodRx and make it easier and less expensive for people to follow their treatment plans," said Wheel CEO and founder Michelle Davey. "Our goal is to provide companies with all the tools they need to build a great virtual care service for their patients. This partnership is another example of how we're driving down the cost of care and improving health outcomes at scale."
"Reaching patients at the point of care is crucial to ensuring they will be able to afford the medications they are prescribed," said GoodRx co-CEO and co-founder Doug Hirsch. "By partnering with Wheel, GoodRx prices will be integrated into the platform so patients will be able to access lower prices on their medications at the pharmacy of their choosing."
Wheel's virtual care platform and nationwide clinician network make it easy for companies to build telehealth services — whether they're looking to scale nationwide, expand their treatment areas, offer 24/7 care coverage, or now provide direct cost savings to their patients. For those interested in partnering with Wheel, please visit wheel.com/companies
Wheel is a digital health company putting great care within everyone's reach. Wheel provides companies and clinicians with everything they need to deliver care virtually. Today Wheel powers virtual primary care and behavioral health services for the most forward-thinking organizations in healthcare today — including publicly-traded digital health companies, tech companies, labs, and retailers. To learn more about Wheel, visit wheel.com.
GoodRx is America's digital resource for healthcare. Our technology delivers strong savings, trusted information and access to care to make healthcare affordable and convenient for all Americans. Since 2011, we have helped consumers save over $35 billion from pharmacy retail price and are one of the most downloaded medical apps over the past decade.


Bundle U-verse® TV & Internet
|✓||Access up to 470 channels|
|✓||Speeds up to 45 Mbps available|
|✓||HD ready DVR/Receiver included|
|✓||FREE TV Installation|
$59/mo*for 12 months with 1 year term
Other chargers apply
U-verse TV, Internet & Phone
For 24 mos, w/1 yr term
Other charges apply.
✓ Access to 140 channels ✓ Downstream speeds up to 6 Mbps ✓ HD ready DVR/Receiver included ✓ Bonus $100 Visa® Reward Card†!
AT&T Internet + Voice Unlimited
for 12 mos.
with 1 yr term*
✓ Bundle services and save ✓ Downstream speeds up to 3Mbps ✓ Unlimited Calling in the U.S., U.S. Territories and Canada ✓ Save $26/mo for 12 months
Mon-Fri: 7am - 1am EST • Sat & Sun: 7am - 11pm EST
Why Bundle with AT&T?
There are plenty of reasons to bundle!
|✓||Get great savings for buying services together|
|✓||Combine all payments together under one bill|
|✓||Get all of AT&T's digital services at once|
|✓||Make your TV, Internet and phone work together|
AT&T U-verse bundles make life easier
AT&T U-verse bundles combine the best of three great services: TV, Internet and Home Phone to save you money. With low prices, clear pictures and sounds, and high speeds, AT&T plans are the best in the home digital services industry.
Watch TV through AT&T
AT&T U-verse uses computer networking and great fiber optic technology to bring you the most advanced digital TV you've ever seen. And the High Speed Internet and Digital Phone service comes along the same fiber optic network. The U-verse bundles have the best of everything, including price. AT&T bundles give you the best products at the lowest prices.
When you sign up for a U-verse bundle and get AT&T U-verse TV, you'll be getting a DVR that allows you to record four different shows at once. And the storage on that DVR is more than enough. Consider recording up to 233 hours of regular content or even 65 hours of high definition TV. Your family will also like the fact that you can record and play back your recorded shows from any room in your house. And that includes shows you paused in one room, that you can then pick up in another room.
AT&T U-verse bundles make life faster
AT&T U-verse High Speed Internet offers several different speeds to AT&T customers, including the Pro (3 Mbps), Elite (6 Mbps), Max (12 Mbps), Max Plus (18 Mbps), Max Turbo (24 Mbps) and finally Power (45Mbps). All of these are powerful enough to allow you to surf the Internet, share photos with friends and family, download music and keep in touch with people on social networks and email. Elite and Max are better for watching video clips and taking online meetings. But Max Plus and Max Turbo are necessary to download movies and large files, along with online gaming and video chat. Power is ideal for faster downloading of HD movies & multi-power gaming.
Make the right call with AT&T Phone Internet TV
Of course, you'll also get the best Digital Home Phone service that you've come to expect from AT&T U-verse Voice. The clarity is unmatched and you'll never underappreciate the convenience of Digital Home Phone service. You can even use the phone number and home phones that you already have - or you can get new ones from AT&T.
Bundling your digital services together with AT&T U-verse makes sense on many levels, including your wallet.


I’m a Technology Advisor to the UN Secretary General High-level Panel on Digital Cooperation, and am interested in the intersections between technology ethics, geopolitics, governance, safety, and security. Previously, I was Project Assistant Professor at the Cyber Civilization Research Center at Keio University in Tokyo, Japan. I’m an Associate Fellow at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, the University of Cambridge, and Affiliate at the Center for Information Technology Policy, Princeton University. In addition, I chair the IEEE P7009 Standard on the Fail-Safe Design of Autonomous and Semi-Autonomous Systems working group and am a member of the Executive, Policy, and Outreach (which I previously chaired) committees of The IEEE Global Initiative on Ethics of Autonomous and Intelligent Systems. I also serve as a board trustee at the Seed Token Project.


Recon Instruments, an Intel company, is pleased to announce a partnership with FE Sports, Australia's premier sporting goods distributor. FE Sports will distribute Recon Jet, the world's most advanced smart eyewear for sports and high-intensity environments, across Australia and New Zealand, starting today.
FE Sports will also showcase Recon Jet at the Noosa Triathlon Multi Sport Festival in Queensland, Australia between October 28 and November 1.
"Australia is a hugely important market for us," said Tom Fowler, Head of Sales and Marketing at Recon Instruments. "Australian cyclists and triathletes are extremely passionate and compete at the highest levels. That's why we can't wait for them discover how Recon Jet can transform their training and propel them to the next level. We couldn't hope for a better partner than FE Sports to make that happen. Danny and his team have been amazing."
"We're incredibly excited by this partnership with Recon Instruments," said Danny Brkic, Senior VP of FE Sports. "It's not everyday you see a product like Recon Jet that can so completely revolutionise the way riders and triathletes train. There's just nothing else out there that makes it so painless and effortless to track all your key metrics while you're training. We're delighted to be able to bring this technology to Australia and New Zealand, starting with our demo at the Noosa triathlon this week."
Recon Jet is true sports eyewear that delivers metrics, maps, and other data on a high-contrast display positioned just below the athlete's right eye. With Jet, cyclists and runners train smarter and more effectively by instantly accessing the data they need without altering their posture or taking their eyes off the road.
Jet features a dual-core processor, a point-of-view camera, and the ability to display data from wirelessly connected smartphones as well as ANT+ and Bluetooth Smart fitness sensors. Jet's Android-based operating system and open SDK also allow third-party developers to create amazing new apps. Already, apps available from Recon's App Center enable Jet to control GoPro® cameras, provide real-time nutrition and hydration instructions, and enhance activities ranging from sailing to aviation. Jet's modular design also makes it easy to swap in optional accessory lenses and spare batteries on the go, allowing for prolonged use at any hour, in any weather.
Recon Jet is priced at $799 AUD in Australia and New Zealand. Availability through FE Sports will begin on October 28.


Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Email Marketing 101 - The Heartbeat of your Communications
Tags: Digital, Email Marketing, Lauren Opelt, Marketing, Brand Strategy
Email Marketing is one of the most, if not the most, powerful communication tool. According to Litmus, email marketing has the highest return on investment among digital marketing channels. And, believe it or not, people actually want to receive emails --
There are many aspects of email marketing that impact subscribers – from the creative content to programming to database management. We’ve compiled a few basic guidelines to follow that will ensure your email marketing programs are built on a solid foundation:
- Send relevant emails – If you don’t send relevant, timely emails, then it’s easy for subscribers to pass up viewing your marketing emails.
- Focus on the inbox view – The subject line, including the name and preview text is important because these are the first points of engagement determining whether or not the recipient chooses to open your email. Consider your preview text an opportunity for a second subject line.
- Include a simple, clear call-to-action – There is no point in sending an email communication without offering the recipient clear direction on next steps, whether it’s to read or learn more, buy or shop now, etc.
- Layout for mobile viewing – Responsive, modern programming techniques are the way to go, but it’s simple to consider mobile-friendly elements like larger text, buttons and a single-column layout even if these techniques can’t be incorporated.
- Consider the plain text view – Having an alternate, plain text view ensures the same important information will be communicated, no matter the device, especially with the on-set of new wearable technology (which only displays the plain text version).
- Create an easy to update preference center – Allow your subscribers the opportunity to update their name, email address and how frequently they would like to hear from you. Make sure it’s easy to opt-out in case they have a change of heart about receiving your emails.
- Personalize based on your subscribers – Focusing content on what makes each subscriber unique increases the likelihood of them opening the email and retaining loyal readers. Segmenting your database by varying interests is crucial because the varying content resonates differently with each subscriber’s needs.
- Optimize toward your company’s KPIs – Engagement rate has been a key metric in determining the success of an email campaign, but consider your overall company objectives and work toward creating emails that will help your organization to reach those goals. For additional metrics to consider, check out Hubspot’s blog on metrics email marketers should be tracking.
Ultimately, you should be working to create an email marketing program that creates loyalty and engagement among your subscribers, but these key rules of engagement apply across the board and should serve as a benchmark for implementing the essentials.
Stay tuned for “next level” email marketing and industry trends.


Bammedia are an award winning design agency based both in Dublin and Meath & Louth. We design and develop all our websites to have a strong and impactful online presence, in turn improving your business's sales and productivity. With almost 20 years experience in delivering design-led, functional websites, web solutions and web design in Dublin, Kildare, Navan and beyond, we are well equipped in delivering projects for SMEs and business of all sizes and from multiple industries.
We offer a host of web design related services, including brochure website design and custom website development, e-commerce solutions, website maintenance packages (for WordPress), SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), UI/UX frontend development, App Development, Digital Marketing, Email Newsletters and Website Hosting. The company's team of web design experts create bespoke websites that are both functional and visually appealing, and use the latest technologies to ensure that their clients' websites are fast, secure, and easy to use.
Bammedia specialise in both Webflow CMS and Shopify Ecommerce builds, but support other platforms too. With a commitment to quality and a proven track record of delivering successful projects, we have earned the trust of clients from a wide range of industries. Whether you're a small start-up or a large corporation, Bammedia can help you maximize your online presence and marketing goals.
Get in touch us today to learn how we can make your business shine online.
We've worked with some of Ireland's emerging businesses and local authority initiatives.


Bigasoft iTunes Converter for Mac can convert a variety video formats including AVI, MKV, MPEG, Xvid, DivX, H.264, 3GP, WMV, FLV, MOD, TOD, WTV, WebM, F4V, BIK, M4B, 720p, 1080p, 1080i HD, AVCHD to iTunes compatible video MP4, MOV, M4V and iTunes Music MP3, M4A, AAC, AIFF. So you can easily import AVI to iTunes, WMV to iTunes, FLV to iTunes, MKV to iTunes and more format video to iTunes on Mac OS X. Bigasoft iTunes Movie Converter Mac is powered with advanced features such as video crop, merge videos,and more. Bigasoft iTunes Video Converter for Mac presets high quality stand definition and HD definition video for various types of Apple devices including iPod, iPhone,iPad,Apple TV and more.
1. Preset ready quality video for Apple devices 2. Batch conversion 3. Easily trim, crop and merge videos 4. Provide smart video editor 5. Fast conversion 6. Easy-to-use 7. Supports multi-tasking, multi-core CPU processing and multithreading which accelerates the conversion 2X faster. 8. Provides multi-languages. 10. Highly compatible with Mac OS X 10.4(Tiger), 10.5(Leopard), 10.6(Snow Leopard), 10.7(OS X Lion) and 10.8(OS X Mountain Lion)
Bigasoft iTunes Video Converter is specially designed for Mac users. With Bigasoft iTunes Video Converter, you will never be worried that your videos cannot be synced to iPod/iPad/iPhone/Apple TV even if you can import them to iTunes!


Table of Contents
I have used Mint Mobile for a while. Perhaps you are considering Mint Mobile Service or have set up questions. Hope the lessons learned and candid tips I shared here will help answer some if not all of your questions.
First of all, does Mint Mobile worth it?
Oh Yeah, absolutely. I switched to Mint Mobile a while back when AT&T started to charge an unlimited data plan for over sixty dollars a month plus fees and taxes. I am so happy I did. Mint Mobile uses the T-Mobile network, so the service is as good as T-Mobile, which is reliable. However, the price is so much more affordable. Mint Mobile still adopts a tiered usage-based pricing model. For instance, for 5 GB data usage a month, you pay as little as $15. For 15 GB of data usage a month, you pay as little as $20 a month when paying annually.
Nevertheless, coverage is a different question. T-Mobile network appears to have some coverage gaps here and there, check out the coverage map to make sure your area is covered.
What also makes the pricing competitive is the fees and tax component. Because Mint Mobile is an online-only service, their fees and taxes are significantly cheaper compared to traditional mobile service providers. For instance, traditional mobile service providers like AT&T may charge over $10 a month just for fees and taxes. The list of fees and taxes seems to be endless including administrative fees, State telecom relay service charges and telecommunications taxes, regulatory recovery charges, 911 surcharges, and other government fees and taxes, etc.
Last but not least Mint Mobile data plan allows users to provide hotspots. When AT&T forced customers to pay for an expensive unlimited data plan, they actually also take away the hotspot capabilities. Hotspot for me is very important, as I do the majority of my work through the laptop. When the WIFI is none or sporadic, I tend to use my cell phone’s hotspot to connect to my laptop.
How to Select a Preferred Mint Mobile Phone Number?
The Mint Mobile setup process is generally straightforward, they really make it easy to bring your own number from another provider. Also, eSIM is a game-changer. You can activate an eSIM as long as your phone supports it.
The real challenge I encountered is setting up a new phone number for my younger son. I was wondering – can I preview a list of phone numbers available for me to pick & choose? Well, the answer is No. Mint Mobile uses system-generated random phone numbers which you can’t preview beforehand.
However, I found out you CAN indeed choose a specific area code if you prefer. Mint Mobile will ask you during the setup process about the zip code. Be very mindful and do your research beforehand.
Take my example, I’d like to pick a Chicago number with a 312 area code. When I search zip codes with 312 area codes, many zip codes popped up. Naturally, I picked the zipcode that was on top of the search result, which turned out to be a mistake. When the phone number generated by the Mint Mobile system turned out to have a different area code, I was puzzled initially.
After a little bit of research, I discovered the zip code I provided actually includes three area codes, 312 is just one of the three. If I have the specific 312 area code, I’d better provide a zipcode that only includes this specific area code.
In conclusion, I am pleased with Mint Mobile’s service and wish I could have switched earlier. If you decide to switch too, consider using my Mint Mobile Referral Link. If you have specific questions about Mint Mobile, feel free to ask your questions below in the comment box, I promise I will share with you my honest opinions.


SoundStack stands out as the superior choice among podcast hosting platforms due to its comprehensive features and benefits that cater specifically to podcast networks like ours. Here’s why SoundStack excels
SoundStack offers robust data analytics that provide in-depth insights into listener behavior, demographics, and engagement. This level of data granularity empowers us to make informed decisions, refine content strategies, and target our marketing efforts effectively.
SoundStack facilitates streamlined monetization through dynamic ad insertion, sponsorship integration, and premium content offerings. This enables us to maximize the network’s and individual contributors’ revenue potential, ensuring sustainable growth.
As a podcast network, scalability is crucial. SoundStack’s infrastructure can seamlessly handle a growing library of podcasts, ensuring reliable hosting and distribution even as our network expands.
SoundStack’s user-friendly interface simplifies content management, enabling individual contributors to upload and schedule episodes effortlessly. This centralized platform minimizes administrative burdens and enhances efficiency.
With SoundStack’s audience segmentation and targeting features, we can tailor content and advertisements to specific listener groups. This precision allows us to provide relevant content to our diverse audience, enhancing engagement.
SoundStack integrates seamlessly with other tools and platforms, enhancing our workflow. This includes integration with ad networks, analytics platforms, and other podcasting tools that amplify our network’s capabilities. For example, you the integrated Headliner software is a perk of the Network.
SoundStack consistently updates its technology to align with industry trends and evolving listener preferences. This commitment to innovation ensures that our network remains relevant and competitive.
SoundStack offers a dedicated customer support team and live staff, far beyond what is offered by others in the form of chat and FAQ documents. Their understanding of the unique needs of podcasters, networks, and everything in between is an unparalleled strategic advantage. This white glove assistance is invaluable for troubleshooting, optimizing, and maximizing our platform utilization.
In essence, SoundStack’s comprehensive features, data-driven insights, monetization capabilities, distribution, and user-friendly interface make it the optimal choice for managing our podcasts, and network. By leveraging SoundStack, we can effectively nurture our network’s growth, engagement, and revenue generation, solidifying our position as a leader in the podcasting industry.


We are in the midst of a revolution. Digital technology is transforming every aspect of human lives, levelling the playing field and causing shifts in the balance of global power. Germany has sought to hijack and capitalise on this movement to the benefit of its manufacturing sector by labelling it ‘Industrie 4.0’ (Industry 4.0) and positioning itself as the world leader. While creating a focus for research and development (R&D) activities in larger Germany companies, its allimportant ‘Mittelstand’ or small and medium enterprises (SME) sector has been a bit slower to adopt the emerging technologies, and it is debatable whether Germany really is the global leader.
Suffice it to say that companies in all sectors and of all scales that most successfully embrace digitalisation are those that are likely to emerge as being leaders in competitiveness and profitability (the survivors). The oil and gas sector is no exception. Critical success factors in five years’ time could be quite different from those of today.
Industry 4.0 can be described as the integration of physical and cyber systems. It brings together several different technologies, each of which enhances operational and business effectiveness, but when put into a single, seamless system are revolutionary.
Why is it called Industry 4.0? Well, because it is seen by many as the fourth major industrial revolution.
INDUSTRY 1.0 (1760s) – Factory system with steam power – industrialisation and mechanical production
INDUSTRY 2.0 (1900s) – Mass production system with electricity – Taylorism and Fordism
INDUSTRY 3.0 (1970s) – Automated manufacturing with electronics – robotics and automation
INDUSTRY 4.0 (2010s) – Cyber-physical systems – total integration and autonomous manufacturing systems.
While the original focus of Industry 4.0 has been manufacturing, the oil and gas sector is also expected to be radically transformed. Uncertainty about future demand and low prices means that the industry is looking for cost savings, and Industry 4.0 can deliver. It is estimated that close to $1 trillion will be spent per year between 2016 and 2020 on Industry 4.0 (Infosys, 2018). Technology, in the form of shale oil and gas, has shaken up the sector in the past 10 years and Industry 4.0 will define it for the next 10. Technologies deployed in the Industry 4.0 system include:
• Big Data & Analytics
• Cloud Computing
• Artificial Intelligence
• Internet of Things and Smart Sensors
• Advanced Robotics (e.g., human/robots co-working)
• Additive Manufacturing
• Human-Machine Interface (often through mobile or head-up displays)
• Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality
Implementing any of these technologies will take you a step closer to Industry 4.0, but it is really the synthesis of a number of them, together with reconstituted vertical value chains (the life of a product extraction to end user) and your horizontal value chains (how you work with internal and external partners in doing business), that makes Industry 4.0. This might imply changing business models entirely.
An example from the manufacturing realm is Rolls Royce Aerospace, which shifted from selling jet engines to providing propulsion as a service to its airline customers through its ‘TotalCare’ offering. At any time, its ‘Airlines Aircraft Availability Centre’ is connected to and monitoring all Rolls Royce products, which it owns, deployed in aircraft around the world. Its ‘IntelligentEngine’ concept means that engines are constantly connected and aware. They can optimise fuel economy for weather and air traffic conditions in real time and if a fault occurs, before the aircraft even lands, maintenance services are mobilised at the destination. What about spare parts? In the future, they will be 3D- printed in high strength material as needed on-site. No spare parts logistics network will be necessary. The airline avoids maintenance downtime and Rolls Royce has an uninterrupted revenue stream from its product.
Conversion of vast quantities of data obtained from smart sensors on Internet of Things (IoT) connected equipment into something meaningful for business decision-making is one of the most challenging aspects of the journey to Industry 4.0. Big data and artificial intelligence-based data analytics are critical here.
Ultimate Industry 4.0 systems will be self-aware and self-healing. Automated diagnostics already exist and, in the not-so-distant future, equipment will become ‘self-healing’; automated maintenance and repair, possibly involving advanced robotics, will execute a repair without any human involvement. A leaking pipeline? It will be detected by sensors, diagnosed by autonomous monitoring drones and repaired by bots in minutes.
In the oil and gas sector, Industry 4.0 has relevance in the upstream, midstream and downstream. Upstream, improved analytics and 3D visualisation from seismic surveys will provide a more precise geological mapping; then autonomous drills will work at optimum drilling parameters, modulating sand water and chemicals to optimise drilling efficiency and well productivity. A fourth dimension can be added as the well goes into production, providing visualisation of the changes in oil and gas reserves over time. This is an example of the integration of the digital and physical domains — data on physical production is fed back into the digital model to simulate the impact on the well geology. Midstream, storage and transportation systems will be affected (BDO, 2018). This will include the use of smart, connected sensors to track and monitor shipments or detect pipeline leaks. Downstream, refineries and process plants will have smart sensors, feeding data to cloud-based analytics software, enhancing control of systems-optimised plant efficiency. Direct connection to customer management systems will ensure production and distribution closely matches demand. There will be fewer surprises since the analytics will not only be improving efficiency, but notifying the operators when and where maintenance is required.
Industry 4.0 can be implemented operationally through incremental improvements or strategically through significant capital upgrades. Both bring benefits but the incremental approach is lower-risk and less capital-intensive. This is not, however, a mere technology implementation — it must be led by somebody who understands entire organisation — really C-level executives (Infosys, 2018).
In Trinidad and Tobago, we are presented with an opportunity and a threat. If we embrace the technologyrich future of the industry and aggressively pursue emerging technologies, we can overcome some of the challenges of aging plant infrastructure and swing towards prolonged life through smart maintenance approaches. We can improve gas supply management and reduce costs at the plant level. If we hesitate, then our infrastructure, processes and products will become increasingly uncompetitive, we will face gas supply management challenges and we will struggle to compete in our energy sector commodities on the world stage. The global industry is moving on with the digitalising world. Will we bite the bullet, run ahead and win the prize?


The Joint Acquisition Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear (CBRN) Knowledge System (JACKS) is the web based Department of Defense (DoD) knowledge management system for information related to the acquisition and support of CBRN defense products.
JACKS was established by the Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical and Biological Defense (JPEO-CBD) to serve the Warfighting and Homeland Security communities as an effective and powerful resource in quickly accessing CBRN defense product acquisition and support information.
With its easy to use interface and joint perspective, JACKS is the single starting point to navigate across a variety of systems while streamlining control and access of CBRN information. JACKS will continue to evolve and improve, bringing reliable CBRN Defense information into one easily used and accessible location.
Regardless of service, functional name or department area JACKS, serving as the doorway to the wealth of the information supporting CBRN Defense, is intended to be the System of Choice.
Please click link here to access Jacks website:
JACKS (limited access).
HOT ITEM!! CBRN Community News - New CBRN-IRC Email Address:The email address for the JPEO-CBD Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear-Information Resource Center (CBRN-IRC) changed to CBRN.IRC@us.army.mil, effective 16 September 2011. The former email address of CBRN @conus.army.mil will be decommissioned 17 OCT 2011.
Last updated: 10/5/2011 3:34:54 PM


Present Your Power with Dr. Tracy Timberlake
Dr. Tracy Timberlake Biography
Dr. Tracy Timberlake is a Digital Business Strategist and Founder of PLATFORM.
It all began with a camera and a dream! And now, with over 47,000 social media followers across platforms, 2.8 million video views and a multiple 6-figure business, Dr. Tracy Timberlake can proudly say she has created a digital empire encouraging and empowering others to do the same. She teaches entrepreneurs not only how to start an online business, but how to build platform and be the EXPERT in their industry by sharing your message via social media.
She got her start in the online world as a YouTube Lifestyle Vlogger turned Video Strategist. But that was not enough! She wanted to know if online success was replicable. Is it transferrable? Is it systematic? So, she took time out of life to study online entrepreneurship like it was her business.
A pioneer and industry expert in the field of entrepreneurship, Dr. TT has uncovered a secret to successful digital strategy, proven by over 11,000 hours of work, thousands of pages of research, hundreds of women studied, dozens interviewed, and one very lengthy dissertation!
She has worked with brands such as Herbal Essence, Marc Jacobs, and Cosmopolitan Magazine. She has been featured in the Huffington Post, Entrepreneur Magazine, The Miami Herald, and dozens of radio shows and podcasts across the globe. If you are ready to build an online platform using the power of social, then Dr. TT is your person!


I am 22 years old, I am from Barcelona and I graduated in the BSc in Data Science and Engineering at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) in Barcelona, Spain. I am a Research MSc student at Mila Québec & at University of Montréal since Fall 2022. I have joined the Robotics and Embodied AI Lab (REAL) under supervision of Professor Glen Berseth.
My research interests are primarily focused on reinforcement learning and deep learning. I rely on a solid basis in the mathematical foundations of algebra, calculus, optimization, information theory and machine learning. My long-term research goal is to develop AI systems that sense complex environments and approach learning processes in an efficient and generalised manner like we humans do (e.g. embodied AI systems like robots in the real world or agents in videogames adopting intelligent behaviours by taking advantage of vision and language processing).


LUISS Business School’s Master in Big Data Management, developed in partnership with Oracle, provides young professionals with the skills to be at the forefront of modern Business Analytics technique and to become accomplished Data Scientist.
The MaBDA programme prepares students to work effectively with heterogeneous, real-world data, training them to become experts in extracting useful insights for business. It provides a unique blend of information technology, mathematical, analytical, and managerial skills. The master features a project-based approach to learning and encourages the pragmatic application of a variety of different tools and methods to solve complex problems.
Mastering the modern business analytics technique
Becoming a data scientist
Managing and analysing heterogeneous, real-world data
Working with different tools and methods to solve complex problems
Oracle is shifting the complexity from IT, moving it out of the enterprise by engineering hardware and software to work together—in the cloud and in the data centre. Oracle is one of the largest and most innovative computer technology corporation, with more than 400,000 clients in more than 145 countries around the world. By eliminating complexity and simplifying IT, Oracle enables its customers to accelerate innovation and create added value for their clients. Today, companies use data to model and control processes and run the business. This torrent of new data offers an opportunity to gain unprecedented insight and quickly test new ideas. It also provides the power to fundamentally change business operations.
There is a growing demand for professionals trained to collect data and to use analytics tools to drive business decisions. At the same time, there is a short supply of data scientists in the global job market. The gap between demand and supply of skills is accelerating. While it poses serious challenges for recruiters, it offers enviable opportunity for professionals who have the right skills and training.
Graduates obtain a variety of skills required for a career in predictive analytics, including the ability to analyze large datasets and to develop modeling solutions for decision support. Students also gain a good understanding of the fundamental principles of marketing, finance, customer relationship management along with communication skills to present results to a non-technical business audience.
The Oracle stack for building Big Data and Advanced Analytics solutions (from the Big Data Appliance to Hadoop and the Oracle RDBMS passing thru Oracle Data Integrator, Endeca Information Discovery, Essbase, etc.) will constitute an important part of the MaBDA learning experience
LUISS Educational Model
For Years, LUISS has played a key role in Italy’s economic development and cultural evolution. LUISS has trained world-class leaders sensitive to the values of the market culture and the rules of a modern democracy, and has made important contributions in the fields of Economics, Management, Law and Political Science. LUISS provides a state-of-the art model for advanced education and pursues academic excellence. Our mission is to offer the best education and services to our students. We respond to the needs of the global market and emerging professions and our teaching methods and styles are in line with the best international universities.
BACHELOR AND MASTER’S DEGREE in economics, statistics, engineering, information systems, mathematics or related fields
BASIC KNOWLEDGE OF COMPUTER PROGRAMMING
Participants are admitted to the programme based on the admission test outcome, academic record and professional experience. The admission test evaluates the applicants’ skills, personal motivation and potential. The admission tests consists of:
English Test (applicants with high TOEFL/IELTS score may be exempted from the English test)
Logics Test (applicants with high GMAT/GRE scores may be exempted from the logics test)
The MaBDA is a 12-month programme of intensive training, designed to develop the necessary and unique set of skills required for a successful career in the world of big data and business analytics. The programme is composed of 8 months lecture basedand 4 months of Field Project.
Information management concepts
Linux and VM Laboratory
Introduction to Data Management: RDBMS and Hadoop
Introduction to R and Python
Introduction to statistics for data scientist
Information collection and transformation technology
Advanced programming with R
Corporate and buinsess strategy
Financial economics and analytics
The Field Project represents an opportunity for students aiming to achieve the skills acquired throughout the course. It is an essential part of the training programme.
The Field Project can take several forms:
Company-Project work: students are coached by a company tutor during the development of tasks related to specific business scopes.
Entrepreneurial Project: students develop a business plan supported by the Faculty.
Research Project: on specific subjects in agreement with the Faculty.


Judging Magistrate and Bankruptcy Judges
Starting today, Ravel’s Judge Analytics now covers magistrate and bankruptcy judges. We are proud to be the first to offer data analytics about these judges, providing unique new insights into how and why they’ve ruled.
In just the past six months, we have expanded our Judge Analytics to cover all federal judges, all state appellate judges, and now magistrate and bankruptcy judges. This extensive and deep data analytics coverage of both federal and state judges is unparalleled. Our rapid expansion is made possible by our extraordinary team of engineers, data scientists, and lawyers, and the best-in-class data processing engine and algorithms at the core of our application.
The analytics and insights we offer for these judges is more robust than ever. Powered by natural language processing, machine learning, and data science, Ravel’s Judge Analytics enable lawyers to research judges in dramatically faster, more effective ways than conventional tools allow. For example, lawyers can instantly sort through an individual judge’s decisions to find those that deal only with certain types of motions or topics or have a particular outcome. At the same time, Ravel’s pattern-spotting technology identifies the language a judge has used in the past, as well as the other judges they find influential and the cases and courts they consider most important.
With these tools, lawyers are drafting better arguments, making better client pitches, avoiding nasty surprises, and saving hours of research time. Contact us to learn more about Judge Analytics and how it is being used by many of the country’s leading lawyers and firms.


By Farrell Clancy | 08/01/2012
Summer wrap up: Volume 6 of the Innoprise Insider, our monthly customer communication newsletter for our Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) users is now available. In this issue, we introduce our newest Application Consultant, announce our NPS winners, introduce User Group Forums, and provide a quick wrap up of the 2012 Innoprise User Group meeting.
Do you have a topic suggestion? Something to share? An idea for us? Email email@example.com.