Unless you manufacture them yourself, you need to find a reliable supplier who produces a good product that you can count on as you get your work done. These cables are the foundation of your network, after all.

So how do you find a fiber optic cable supplier that you can count on? A quick search will give you all sorts of potential suppliers, complete with their own price ranges, but how much it costs isn’t always indicative of the quality of what you’re getting. With that in mind, let’s take a look at what you need to remember to choose the right cable supplier.

1. Quality is King

Your first qualifier is clearly the quality of the product. Price doesn’t always mean quality, but it is true that low-cost cables tend to be low-quality as well. We recommend checking reviews on the products, learn what other people are saying.

Check Reviews

Most vendors will be open to leaving reviews online, good and bad. Don’t hesitate to search through other online vendors and read what customers say there. Find out what people say across multiple websites, then see how satisfied people are. While this isn’t going to cover everyone or everything, and there’s a chance not all of those comments are accurate, it can be a useful starting point or reference.

Get a Sample

Getting your hands on a sample is also a good idea. A small order, if you can spare the cash for it, lets you get a piece that you can run through whatever tests you need to be done. Everything from testing its durability to checking if it can handle your needs.

2. Consider the Prices

Price is a factor. Whenever you buy anything, including fiber optics, the price will be something you need to consider. One thing to recall is that the price of these cables is higher than others. Comparing the cost of fiber optic cable to other cables is a fool’s endeavor.

To better evaluate the pricing that you’re seeing, consider the length. A typical fiber optic cable will be priced according to length, with a minimum of three meters per purchase, but larger projects will need a lot more than that. When shopping around for a supplier, take a moment to check the price of cable per meter and compare.

3. After-Sales Support

You also want a supplier that provides good customer service and technical support, because you are going to need both at one point or another. Check if the company provides multiple ways to contact them and that these are all viable methods.

Make some inquiries before you buy anything bigger than a sample. Inquire about things like general issues, technical details, and any concerns you might have. Take the opportunity to check out the level of service they provide, testing their after-sales systems and demeanor. You don’t want to buy anything and find yourself stuck with poor after-sales service when something goes wrong.

4. The Warranty Coverage

You can trust the product, but you should still take a good look at the warranty and the terms it covers just in case. The warranty will vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, with some only covering your purchase for a few weeks while others willing to process refunds for months after the invoice date. In general, for this type of cable, you’re looking at a year or two.

The longer the warranty period, the more reliable the product will generally be. This is because no company wants to spend more money after a sale than absolutely necessary. If they offer a two-year guarantee (or a lifetime one, which will be highly unusual), that means they are very confident in the quality of their products.

5. The Reputation

You should also consider the reputation of the supplier. If you intend to make the purchase online, this is almost as important as every other factor you might consider.

Find “Character References”

Check information via a search. Look at their social media accounts. See what people are saying when talking about the company itself, along with its policies and products. See their website, check for any current news or activities since an active site is usually a good indicator the company isn’t dead or a fraud, though not always. Perform the due diligence and check if the potential supplier has been outed as a scam before.

Go With Your Gut

This part is harder to check on an objective level, since sometimes the information you find may not be definitive. All you might find is some questionable data that makes you feel uneasy. If you don’t feel good about making a deal with a company, it is perhaps best that you move on to a different supplier.

Conclusion

Having the right fiber optic cables for your project is important, and that begins with finding a good supplier. Fortunately, despite being a tech-related product, the process of finding suppliers doesn’t involve understanding too much tech jargon. Just keep in mind the basics on finding sellers you can trust and you’ll find someone you can count on.

The post Top 5 Tips for Choosing Your Fiber Optic Supplier appeared first on Blogsolute.

The event is happening on 2nd and 3rd March 2013 at Mumbai, comprising a slot for 70 attendees across India with expert bloggers as speakers and others as learners.

I will be talking about Content Publishing and Monetization of Blogs. In simple words, my talk will include how to organize and deliver content, audience behavior and Making money out of it.

Apart from my talk, the topics comprised in this 2-day workshop are:

• WordPress Basics
• Custom Designing of WordPress Themes
• CSS Hacks
• Optimization of blogs with Responsive layouts
• Plugin Analyses
• SEO and SEM strategies

Why Should I Attend?

If you are among the ones who always wanted to start a blog but couldn’t do it because of lack of guidance; then, here’s a chance to learn and get it started at the event itself.

One thing different I found about this event from others is that, they are aiming to produce blog on the spot itself. So, it is a good opportunity to get learning on 1-to-1 basis.

For those, who are already aware of blogging and want to expand it can also come and take advantage of advanced techniques like Monetizing, Design Hacks and more.

If not for anything, then you can always come just to meet me.

Let’s catch-up there, book your seat now at Blogathon.co

You can always refer to Blogging guide to get an initial idea.

The post Blogathon 2013: India’s First Blogging Workshop appeared first on Blogsolute.

However the majority of buyers are still loyal to the conventional Brick and Mortar stores. The main reason being the fact that physical stores cater for the ‘touch and feel’ desire of shoppers.

Indian buyers want to not only see what they are buying but also get to touch and feel it, before deciding whether or not to make a purchase.

Their high preference to brick and mortar stores is further brought about by digital trial rooms available in these stores. Most if not all physical stores in India have trail rooms, where buyers can actually try the items they’d like to purchase before paying any money.

Until recently, online stores have not been meeting this ‘touch and feel’ need of Indian buyers. The experience has been just the opposite:

• Buyers can’t hold or feel what they are buying.
• There wasn’t a way to try on what they’d like to buy before paying for it.
• There were many cases of items being returned.
• This was making online shopping both a disappointing and time-wasting experience for buyers.

The end result was Indian people could not see the benefits of online shopping compared to shopping from offline retailers.

Recent Changes by Online Stores

After a long time of being the underdog to offline retailers, many online stores are starting to understand what Indian buyers want. A good number of Indian online stores have now come up with ways to give buyers a similar experience to offline stores, becoming more competitive.

1. Myntra.com

Myntra is one of the largest online stores in India that sells clothing. Just this year, the company introduced a virtual dressing room called the ‘Style Studio’. Style Studio is meant to give buyers the opportunity of ‘trying on’ what they want to buy online and see how it looks on them, before going ahead with the transaction.

With this feature, you can dress an image of yourself with the product you want to buy. You only need to turn on your webcam; upload a photo, click on the product and you will get to see how the product will look like on you.

The feature additionally enables buyers to share their looks on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter, so that their friends can comment and give their opinion on the best outfits and clothes for them. Friends can simply rate your looks, allowing you to get different opinions on what you should buy.

The site further provides helpful tips on the latest and most fashionable outfits on the market today.

2. Zovi.com

Zovi is yet another online Indian store that has introduced a virtual trial room called the ‘Zovi Eye’. The feature works much the same as Myntra’s ‘Style Studio’, where you use your webcam to try t-shirts, trousers, jeans, dresses, pullovers, shoes and jackets on yourself, and therefore making a better decision on what to buy. Just like Myntra, you can also share the looks on social media sites and rate your friends looks, too.

Apparently since the company started using this feature, it has experienced over 20% sales increases. However, issuing regular zovi coupons to its customers have also contributed to this increase in sales.

3. Lenskart.com

Lenskart is one of the leading eyewear websites in India. Lenskart has introduced a ‘Virtual Mirror’ feature through which you can try on their glasses and contact lenses of different shapes, sizes and colors.

The company has voiced its intentions of extending the use of this feature to other product lines, such as watches and jewelry, in the near future.

4. Yebhi.com

Yebhi is known for its ‘Try and Buy’ feature. With this feature, the company allows buyers to try on their apparels and shoes at delivery and only pay for them if they meet their expectations. If the buyer is not satisfied with the item, he or she can simply return it and seek a replacement without incurring any additional fees or expenses.

The ‘Try and Buy’ feature, however, does not apply to all products offered by Yebhi, so it’s important that you check and confirm that the item you want is offered under the ‘Try and Buy’ policy.

Conclusion

Many of the Indian online stores that have come up with Virtual Trial Rooms are quickly drawing the attention of buyers as, with virtual trial rooms, the buyer can try on many clothes, apparels and shoes quickly at the comfort of their homes.

The incorporation of the social media feature has also made it possible for buyers to make good selections and decisions on what to spend their money on, through the help of their friends and family on social media sites.

Essentially, there have been evident advantages resulting from these major technological changes made by online Indian stores. Shoppers are starting to develop trust for online sellers and many Indian people are beginning to show willingness to take the risk of buying items online. Nonetheless most online stores are, in addition, offering coupons, huge discounts, 30 day return policies and Cash on Delivery payment option as ways of attracting more buyers.

The post How Virtual Trial Rooms are Bringing ‘Touch and Feel’ to Online Shopping Sites appeared first on Blogsolute.

I installed Office 2013 Trial RTM Final version on 20th November (It is different from Preview version). So, just yesterday, software completed 60 days of residing on my Windows 8 Laptop.

The Yellow notification bar which always showed countdown now said that, Trial version has ended and Word cannot Edit files.

But, in reality, I was able to edit documents and even save them. No Problem at all in other products too like PowerPoint or Excel.

Next day, when I tried opening a document again, Office 2013 welcomes me with Activation wizard. It reads “If you choose not to activate this time, you may run the software for 30 more days before it becomes unlicensed.”

Still wondering, from where these extra 30 days came magically when it was supposed to stop working.

I remember how Office 15 Preview continued to work without any problems after showing similar notice on first run. Maybe, after 30 days, Office 2013 RTM will also continue working without activation or maybe not.. Let’s wait for 1 month more and I will update the article.

Just for experimenting, I tried activating MS Office 2013 over Internet, it throws an error (code: 0xC004C032) saying something went wrong.

And when I try clicking on Buy button, it opens Microsoft Office 2013 Preview product information page.

If you are trying to trick Microsoft activation process using any KMS activator or so, then let me tell you that it doesn’t work on Trial version downloaded from Microsoft Technet.

Download Microsoft 2013 Professional Plus Free and try fully functional version for more than 90 days!

Update 19 Feb 2013: Microsoft Office has finally stopped working. Not that it doesn’t open but editing document functionality has been disabled. You can still open any file in read mode only.

On the last day, MS Word 2013 greeted me saying: The Trial of Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2013 is expired. Editing in Word has been disabled.

Still, I was able to edit documents but next day it finally stopped and asked to enter Key or activate using Signing in account.

Looks like, I don’t have any option apart from buying the license.

The post What Happens When Microsoft Office 2013 Trial Ends appeared first on Blogsolute.

It lets you easily find people, discover places and interests and explore photos which was tough otherwise. Like, if I want to find “Restaurants I have been to” or “Photos of me at Shimla”. Just type in those phrases and results will be displayed directly.

Not just me but it can be expanded to my friends too. Like, type in “Friends from Delhi” or “Friends who like A. R. Rehman”. Yes, there is a way to access those things manually but Graph search will make it more easy without involving clicks and visit to several pages.

Comparing with Google or any Web Search

Facebook has taken more humanistic approach while designing Graph Search. Results that come up in Search for a given topic or keyword are direct answers instead of links. I made that statement just to make a clear difference between a web Search engines like Bing and Google who offer Links as result.

Also, the way of searching is more of like asking a question to a person and not computer/machine. If you want to find people who like Nature photography, you will have to type exactly the same phrase- “friends who like nature photography” and search will include profiles you are looking for.

On other hand, if you type “Nature Photography” in Google, answers will be somewhat technical like “what is nature photography”, “How it is done” and so on.

Zuckerberg explained that Facebook is based on three pillars (at least that is his idea to complete their social platform). The first of these is the Newsfeed which gives minute by minute update in our “Walls”, the second is the Timeline, you can count on our life and experiences with a chronological order and thus make more sense. And third pillar he called- Graph Search, which arises due to the need for simple and effective searches of the social network after their users grew to the point of overcoming billion number.

But makers of Facebook are very clear that the privacy of users must be a priority in any new release. Although, Graph Search searches within these 240 billion photos and billions of users and the content they’ve shared, this engine follows three basic rules before displaying the results:

• Each content type has its own audience, not everyone is interested in the content they share.
• Most content is not public.
• We can only search in content that has been shared with us.

Especially, the last rule makes clear to us that this is to facilitate social search among our contacts and pages of our interest, we can not use Graph Search to search other users’ private content simply because nothing appears in the results.

Where It may Fail?

Unlike the demonstration, your friends may not share each and everything about them on Facebook. I will just take few examples: Even if they have visited certain place, they won’t check in those places or even if they have found watching some TV show interesting recently, they never liked that page.

So, you will never get more information on topic you are looking for if you will never get to know those friends.

In short, it all depends on “what kind of” and “how many” your friends are.

One thing is sure that Mr. Zuckerberg knows how to use the gold mine of our data they have.

At the moment, it is only available in US but you can join the waiting list to try out new Graph Search on Facebook by going on this link: www.facebook.com/about/graphsearch

The post What is Facebook Graph Search Engine All About? appeared first on Blogsolute.

Fred says that he wanted to create a design that would improve the understanding and relationship between the user and the content. “Today, where the visual impact is crucial, the design of Facebook is not really showing essential information that people want to see in a way they want to see.”

The designer approached the platform from a user perspective and focused on specific and custom data while maintaining a visually appealing interface. Facebook has done a good job in this, for a long time, but we’re still not seeing the magnitude of what is possible within this powerful platform.

Fred believes that the design and development of social networking is based on the personal information on user profile. And that’s true because we are inundated with banners, advertisements including their digital signage, and other media based campaigns that disrupt user mindset.

Check out complete gallery.

When Will Official Facebook Windows 8 App Release?

At the moment, there are no known company plans to create its official application for Windows 8. Even though one of its major rivals in the world of social networking, Twitter has officially announced that it is developing its own application for the new system. There are was one app developed by Pearls Apps called “Facebook” in Windows 8 App store but looks like it is also removed now.

In Late 2012, conducted a Facebook and Windows 8 hackathon at their office. So, chances are that Microsoft is internally dealing with the social network, so that consumers can finally have an official Facebook application in Windows 8.

I just wish that Facebook should get inspired by this beautiful conceptual design while building an app for Windows 8 app Platform. I so loved it. Do you?

The post Facebook App For Windows 8: How Will FB Look Metro Style? appeared first on Blogsolute.

Advertised as Superphone, Ubuntu Phone is really a revolutionary product with a beautiful interface.

Don’t Confuse it with Ubuntu For Android

Ubuntu OS for phone is different from Ubuntu for Android project. Ubuntu for Android lets you access Ubuntu when Android device is connected to large screen. However, Ubuntu OS for Phones is a completely independent OS with which you can access Ubuntu even on small screen.

Ubuntu OS for Phones will be made compatible with Android Kernel and Drivers so, any device which runs Android should be able to run Ubuntu too. At the moment, Galaxy Nexus is said to be officially compatible to run Ubuntu Mobile OS. Same device was used to show demo and developers too will have to use the same when image is available for download.

Unlike Android, Ubuntu mobile OS apps will be based on HTML5 as well as Native code QT instead of relying on Java virtual machine. This should at least theoretically lead to faster performance on the same hardware as a Android installation.

Will it run Android Apps? No

What’s Different in Ubuntu Mobile OS

Interface is more of like a Desktop and not any mobile device.

Innovative thing about it is the Thumb gesture from all edges of the screen which has two benefits: 1. Keeps the screen clean and clutter-free and 2. enable users to find content and switch between apps faster. Left side swipe will let you choose new app to open from the launcher while right side swipe switches between open apps.

Notification bar is similar to the one you see in Android devices. In addition, it boasts the Universal Search bar which will yield results from multiple sources. Ubuntu is apparently clever enough to determine which of the results are most likely be what you’re looking for.

For Whom it is

Looking at the Demo video, it can be concluded that Ubuntu Phone is mainly targeted at Enterprise. But, in the same video, CEO also says that- “Ubuntu’s appeal isn’t just limited to Linux enthusiasts and enterprises. Instead, We also see an opportunity in basic smartphones that are used for the phone, SMS, web and email, where Ubuntu outperforms thanks to its native core apps and stylish presentation.”

Release and Download

No matter, how good the device is, it needs a manufacturer for good hardware. There has been no news about the Manufacturer or Carrier support. One thing which is promised is, Ubuntu phones will be in market in late 2013 or early 2014.

Downloadable image however will be available for enthusiasts to try on existing Android devices as well for Developers in coming weeks.

How will it Affect Smartphone Market Scenario

Only a trailer of Ubuntu mobile OS is unveiled and people have gone crazy about it. I wonder what will happen when this device will be reality and available in market.

Ubuntu OS has potential to transform your smartphone into Computer. That’s where its USP lies. But the adoption will still be dependent on the development of apps and availability of Manufacturer and Operator.

Android and Apple iOS will get hurt a little but I have a strong feeling that Windows Phone 8 future maybe doomed even before its blooming season.

The post Ubuntu Mobile OS to Transform Smartphones into Desktop PC appeared first on Blogsolute.

So, you don’t have to open a Photo in Instagram and then share it on Twitter. It can now be done directly from Twitter mobile app.

How to give Instagram Effects to Photo in Twitter

It’s an usual way to adding image to tweet. Go to Compose and select image to be added. After choosing an image, Twitter now opens Photo editor instead of adding it directly.

This Photo editor has three option buttons at the bottom. Photo filters can be accessed from middle button.

There are eight Photo effects in total and you just have to slide photos to see preview of photos after applying effects. Click on the button and you can see all previews at once in grid view.

It also contains the automatic boost function, allowing automatically balance the light and colors of the photo. Last button has resize function which allows to zoom and crop the image to make it square, rather than rectangular.

All these effects have been developed from scratch by Twitter with the help of Aviary.

Though, Aviary SDK can provide more complex functions and effects to photo editor but Twitter restricted itself. Main motive of adding this feature to Twitter app is to quickly edit a photo and give effects to make it look impressive and cleverly hide the poor quality.

Is it an End of Instagram?

I am least interested in photography and hardly post photos on social web. Comparing Instagram with Twitter Photo Filter would be foolish because Instagram is a dedicated photo editing application and a publishing platform. Twitter is just giving a additional feature and doesn’t have enough filters. Also, if you talk about quality, Instagram effects are better any day.

This move by Twitter may pull some Instagram users who only want to apply filters regardless of quality. While the artistic ones will continue to use Instagram and build their portfolio along with sharing on Twitter. For them, Instagram is a platform to portray their art and even earn money.

And I think majority of users (which includes me) in former category are in majority. So, if this come true, it will be a big blow to Facebook who recently acquired Instagram for a million.

So, are you continuing with Instagram or will move to Twitter Filters?

Photo Filters are available in Twitter app for Android as of now and will soon be arriving on iOS. To get this feature, update Twitter app from Google Play store.

The post Twitter Mobile App Can Give Instagram Effects To Photos appeared first on Blogsolute.

According to an internal e-mail sent by PayPal India GM, PayPal is now authorised to offer domestic payment processing services in India, and that the solution can be offered for online, mobile, offline (PayPal Here), for all industries as permitted by law. (source – Medianama)

Current PayPal Restrictions in India

PayPal is available in India for both merchants and customers however, there are may restrictions placed by RBI.

• Domestic (India to India) Fund Transfer cannot be done.
• You cannot receive more than $3000 per transaction.
• PayPal Funds cannot be used for any purchase online.
• PAN Card and Bank account is mandatory to get verified. (Verify PayPal account without Credit Card)
• Funds in PayPal account are automatically withdrawn to Bank account next day.
• Credit Card is necessary if you want to use PayPal as payment option on any merchant site. (Easy Approval Credit Cards for Bloggers, Freelancers in India)

Benefit to Indian Merchants And Freelancers

For Merchants with a target customer base as India has to opt for NEFT (Bank Transfer) or implement a Payment gateway on their website like CCAvenue to accept payments. This is because domestic transfers are only possible only through banks at the moment.

NEFT is more of a manual/laborious thing whereas installing payment gateway is a pricy affair. On the other hand, implementing PayPal payments on webpage is as simple as adding a banner and moreover Free.

If you have opened up a small e-commerce store (planning to sell items as small as ebooks) or provide online consultancy/web services, PayPal would make things easy. Yes, it will be possible to accept payments as you used to receive in 2010.

What Isn’t Clear?

As per the news, domestic payments in India via PayPal is approved. One thing isn’t clear whether a customer will be able to use funds in PayPal for transaction or credit card will be necessary.

Also, the date when domestic PayPal transfer in India will come to take effect isn’t mentioned. When Medianama asked PayPal about it, they neither confirmed nor denied the news.

Benefit To Customers

Indian customer is now flooded with payment options and people are now more used to Internet Banking. Domestic transfer using PayPal will be a real improvement if they allow use of funds in PayPal for transaction. Otherwise, we can directly use Credit Cards on Payment gateway.

It will be interesting to see when PayPal opens office in India and ties up with banks in India to give competition to existing payments gateways and other mobile money transfer platforms.

The post PayPal Funds Transfer Within India Soon With Domestic Payment Approval appeared first on Blogsolute.

SMS in Gmail isn’t exactly new feature. I mean some of you may have already enabled it from Labs but used to get an error that mobile carriers is not supported. But now, Gmail welcomes you with “Free SMS in Gmail” pop up giving the list of mobile networks supported in India and 50 other countries.

In India, it supports Aircel, IDEA, Loop Mobile, MTS, Reliance, Tata DoCoMo, Tata Indicom, Vodafone (Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Gujarat, A.P, Bihar, W.B. & A & N, Assam, N.E. circles only). I am still wondering why the giants like Airtel and BSNL aren’t in the list.

How To Send SMS From Gmail

There are two ways to send SMS from Gmail:

1. Enter the phone number in the text box which reads “Search, chat..” and Gmail offers an option to send SMS to that number. You may have to assign a contact to that number before sending.
   
2. If phone number is already associated with any contact. This is generally seen in the Google accounts associated with Android phones where contacts have phone numbers. In this case, open the chat window and click on More on upper-right corner of chat box and click “Send SMS”.
   

Things You Should Know About SMS in Gmail

1. 50 SMS Credits or 50 SMS are free initially in every account. After that, you will have to buy credits.
2. If you send a reply message, your SMS credit is increased by five.
3. Each account has unique phone number.
4. If you receive SMS from someone, you can reply to that number and person will receive that message in conversation.
5. Person from any country can send Free SMS to any country from Gmail. (check the supported mobile operators)
6. If you receive an unwanted SMS message from Gmail Chat, you can block future messages from the sender. Just reply to the message with the word ‘BLOCK’.

SMS From Gmail on Phone

This is how it appears when you receive SMS from Gmail contact. Phone number is different (not related with the user). Email ID of the contact is shown in email followed by the message sent.

As you can notice, the number from which SMS is received is a general/regular number not premium one. So, sending reply to this one will charge normally.

That is indeed a nice move by Gmail but I am waiting for the day when Gmail will introduce Email alerts via SMS. That is more important because Data connection may not be available all the time and some people check mails often.

The post Send SMS From Gmail For Free In India And Internationally appeared first on Blogsolute.