Control Your House From Your Smartphone With Revolv for iOS

Control your house with home Revolv

As futuristic as it may still sound, syncing up your home’s appliances and controlling them with your mobile device is science fact, not science fiction. Several products are on the market, but a new one stands out because it not only links up your whole house, Revolv works in unison with your existing automated systems.

In July, Revolv (revolv.com), a Colorado company incubated out of the startup accelerator TechStars, announced pre-sales for Smart Home Solution, which makes your entertainment system, wireless lighting, automated locks, and thermostat all accessible and controllable via your iPhone or iPad.

Home Revolv

For a one-time fee of $299 you get a Wi-Fi hub and access to Revolv’s cloud service. You don’t need an ethernet cable to link up. Just take the hub home and plug it into an outlet. It automatically connects to your Wi-Fi network and discovers all the wireless gadgets you’ve already installed in your home. You can manually add extras, and then turn appliances on or off from your mobile device. Revolv is only available for Apple products, but Android compatibility is on the way.

So what can you do with your new toy? Automate daily routines, like turning on appliances at set times, or use the service’s GPS proximity and sensor triggers to automatically activate your devices. Revolv knows when you’re close to your home because it tracks your geo-radius to the house. But, for once, being tracked may actually help you: You can program relaxing music to play before you step through the door — or set the oven to pre-heat so you can get a jump-start on dinner.

You can also mix and match devices and brands, so don’t worry if you have different products, like Sonos wireless speakers or Belkin’s WeMo home automation system. The only feature needed for a device to communicate with Revolv is wireless capability.

This functionality is what makes Revolv stand out from other home automation options already on the market. Many autonomous systems, while tying together appliances, don’t work together.

Mike Soucie, Revolv’s co-founder, says the idea was driven by peoples’ desire to have more control over their home, and the products in them. “Revolv isn’t trying to make the hardware business obsolete.” He says “he wants to simplify things and bring the power of the web to everyday life, a term sometimes described as the “internet of things.”

“What’s been holding back the market so long is there hasn’t been a point product,” he says, referring to an automation device that can take the lead in both affordability and efficiency.

For Revolv to be successful, the functionality has to be simple, says Soucie.

“If it’s consumer-based it has to be easy to use from the out-of the-box setup,” he says.

Would you use a home automation system? How much would you pay? Tell us in the comments on our Facebook fun page.

Control Your House From Your Smartphone With Revolv for iOS | The Red Elephant

Trusteer Rapport The Global Leader in Endpoint Cybercrime Prevention

Even if you have a great Antivirus and Firewall you can be get infected!

Hundreds of organizations and millions of end users rely on Trusteer Rapport to protect their web applications, computers and mobile devices from online threats.

Trusteer Rapport is security software designed to protect confidential data besides your Antivirus andFirewall, such as account credentials, from being stolen by malicious software (malware) and via phishing. To achieve this goal, the software first includes anti-phishing measures to protect against misdirection and attempts to prevent malicious screen scraping. The software is compatible with Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X and can be downloaded free of charge. Financial institutions offer the software free of charge with a view to making online banking safer for customers.

Trusteer is an IBM company

Trusteer is a Boston-based computer security company, responsible for the development of the Trusteer Rapport endpoint security software, Trusteer Pinpoint for clientless fraud prevention, malware detection, and account takeover detection, Trusteer Mobile, a mobile devices security solution, and and Trusteer Apex for the protection of enterprises against advanced malware attacks and data breaches. On August 15, 2013, it was announced that Trusteer would be acquired by IBM for around $1 billion.

Trusteer’s portfolio of products blocks online threats by combining multi-layer security software with real-time intelligence to achieve sustainable protection against malware, phishing attacks and to support regulatory compliance requirements. Trusteer’s malware research team analyzes information received from over 30,000,000 user endpoints and hundreds of organizations using Trusteer solutions to protect web applications, computers and mobile devices from online threats.

Why Trusteer Rapport?

“A recent test of best-of-breed anti-virus vendors and Web browser anti-phishing filters revealed that more than half of active malware and phishing threats on the Internet go undetected, with an average detection rate of 37 percent for malware and 42 percent for phishing.” Cyveillance, February 2009

Recent malware is capable of stealing your login credentials to online banking, brokerage, shopping, ecommerce, email, and social networking websites. Even if the site is deemed “secure”, fraudsters can use your online account to execute unauthorized transactions, place orders, send emails, and much more.

Trusteer Rapport works standalone or alongside any desktop security solution. It hides your login credentials and web communication from any type of malware and prevents unauthorized access to your accounts. You should use Rapport even if your computer runs the most updated antivirus solution.

How Trusteer Works?

When you browse to a website in Internet Explorer, Firefox or Google Chrome, the Trusteer Rapport icon appears in or near the browser’s address bar.

The icon is green when Rapport is protecting your communication with the website:

And the icon is grey when the communication is not protected:

Rapport comes preconfigured to protect certain websites which are working directly with Trusteer to give their valued customers the best protection possible.

Of course, you should have Rapport protect you on all websites where you login or where you can read or send sensitive information.

To activate Rapport protection, browse to the website, click the grey Rapport icon, and then click the “Protect this Website” button.

Trusteer recommends you activate Rapport protection on any websites where you are sending your online identity.

On protected websites you can click the green Rapport icon for more information about the forms of protection provided by Rapport for that website.

Trusteer Rapport The Global Leader in Endpoint Cybercrime Prevention | The Red Elephant

Apple Reveals iPhone 5S

iPhone 5S

Apple unveiled the next-generation iPhone at its headquarters in Cupertino, Calif. on Tuesday. The iPhone 5S — revealed alongside a low-cost iPhone model, the iPhone 5C — keeps the same overall physical design as the previous-generation iPhone 5, but it also has a number of upgrades.

Calling it the most “forward-looking” iPhone it’s ever launched, Apple equipped the iPhone 5S to run 64-bit apps (all previous models ran at 32 bits) thanks to a new processor: the Apple A7. It packs more than 1 billion transistors into a 102mm chip. Apple has re-engineered all the built-in apps — such as Mail, Calendar and iPod — for 64-bit architectures.

Apple says the new chip makes the iPhone 5S five times faster than the iPhone 5 and 56 timesthan the original iPhone. The A7 chip supports OpenGL 3.0/ES Version 3.0 for console-level 64-bit graphics. The upcoming Infinity Blade III will be one of the first games to take advantage of the upgrade to deliver improved graphics.

The iPhone 5S introduces a CoreMotion API for developers — consolidating sensor data from the accelerometer, gyroscope and compass — powered by a co-processor called the M7. Apple says it’s “optimized for contextual awareness,” such as when the user is in a moving vehicle.

Apple says the system will empower a new generation of health and fitness apps.

One of the major additions to the hardware is a fingerprint sensor in the home button, which enables a feature called TouchID. The iPhone 5S scans the fingertip of the person pressing the button, eliminating the need for a lock code. TouchID also means the end of the repeated ritual of entering your Apple ID password every time you download a new app.

The fingerprint sensor, which has a protective layer of durable sapphire crystal, can store multiple fingerprints and read them from any orientation. They all reside, encrypted, on the A7 chip.

iPhone 5S with Major Camera Improvements

The iPhone’s camera is also improved with new sensors that have 15% more area. The Apple-designed lens has five elements with an f/2.2 aperture. The larger sensor translates into bigger pixels that are backed by upgraded image-processing software that automatically sets white balance and exposure level in a dynamic, local tone map of the image.

As predicted, the camera is equipped with a dual-LED flash. The two LEDs have different color temperatures, illuminating a scene with warm and cold light to draw out more natural color. The iPhone’s camera also now includes a burst mode that snaps 10 still pictures in one second with automatic image stabilization. (Panorama photos go up to 28 megapixels.)

Finally, the iPhone 4S camera is capable of capturing HD video at 120 frames per second (fps). The video camera also has a slow-motion mode.

Gold!

Apple is injecting a little more color into its flagship phone as well. The iPhone 5S will be available in white, black and now champagne gold, marking a change from previous generations, which were available only in white and black.

Battery life is rated as follows: 10 hours 3G talk, 8 hours 3G browsing, 10 hours LTE or Wi-Fi browsing, 10 hours video playback, 40 hours music playback and 250 hours standby.

The iPhone 5S has virtually the exact same shape as the iPhone 5, at 4.87 x 2.31 x 0.3 inches, and it weighs 3.95 ounces.

Surprisingly, the iPhone 5S does not support 802.11ac Wi-Fi, a “forward-looking” feature of the Samsung Galaxy S4 and other Android smartphones.

The iPhone 5S is actually the seventh iPhone model Apple has ever unveiled. It keeps with Apple’s general pattern of altering the design of the iPhone once every two years — the last big physical change coming in last year’s iPhone 5.

Although the iPhone 5S and 5C replace the iPhone 5, Apple will continue to sell the iPhone 4S — albeit with just one storage option, 8GB.

Rumors have swirled around the iPhone 5S for the past year. Although competition in the smartphone space has heated up considerably in that time, Apple kept to its annual schedule of releasing the new iPhone in the fall. The big question is: Will consumers still buy Apple’s signature product as they used to?

Correction: This article originally reported a pre-order date for the iPhone 5S, but Apple has not yet announced one for that model.

Apple Reveals iPhone 5S | The Red Elephant

12 SEO Tips And Trends To Get Ready For Fall

SEO is getting increasingly harder, but the wins are going to be longer lasting if you can get them.

With fall fast approaching, it is time to put on our SEO white hats and review current SEO tips and trends for the upcoming season. SEO or search engine optimization is in constant refinement and those that play by the rules with white hat techniques and strategies and stay on top of emerging trends will have a better chance of reaching their optimization goals.

SEO Tips and Trends Check List

While Google’s goal has been to eliminate spam and enhance the user’s experience by providing better content, here is a list of things to check for the fourth quarter.

1. Review your content strategy: Make it a goal to create unique and valuable content for your blog and web pages. Some experts recommend, as a general guideline, that articles have 400 to 600 words. But, there is a growing consensus that more in depth articles of up to 1,000 words or more have increased value. By ensuring that your articles are unique, offer value and are of proper depth and detail, you will avoid Google’s low quality content or shallow content ding that the Panda algorithm update of 2011 addressed.
2. Review your titles: Title tags should be uniquely crafted with no more than 6-8 words and should not to exceed 70 characters. The most important keyword should be at the beginning of the title and keywords should not be repeated.
3. Review your description meta tags: Meta descriptions should not exceed 156 characters as Google will cut if off after it reaches that character length. Check each page’s meta description tag to be sure that they accurately describe the content of that page. Google may use the description tag to create the rich snippet or the few lines of text beneath the linked title in the search results.
4. Ensure that quality content is above the fold: Make sure that you have quality content above the fold on your web pages. “Above the fold” refers to the content of a web page that can be seen when you first open it on a computer without scrolling. Google rolled out the Page layout algorithm improvement in January of 2012 as part of the company’s ongoing effort to provide quality and relevant search results. Sites that are top heavy with ads felt the sting. To be certain that you website is not affected by this update, be sure that you are showing valuable information above the fold.
5. Utilize the power of Google Plus: Google Plus has become a major influence in getting web pages indexed almost immediately in Google’s search results. Rolled out in 2011, Google Plus is a must have tool in your SEO tool chest. If you have not set up an account, make it a priority.
6. Set up Google Authorship: After you have set up Google Plus, set up Google authorship and link it to your blog/articles. Google Authorship has significant SEO benefits including your photo being displayed in the search results. It also helps to inspire trust and confidence which may result in higher click through rates.
7. Prune unnatural or spammy links: Google’s Penguin algorithm roll out of 2012 was a shock wave felt worldwide. One of Penguin’s objectives is to identify and devalue sites that have too many low quality inbound links leading to your website. Those who had participated in link exchanges or purchased links felt the sting of Penguin’s wrath.Even if you have not taken part in these activities, it is a good idea to check the backlinks to your website. Using Google’s Webmaster Tools you can identify any links that look unnatural. We had one client’s site affected by another site that had been hacked. There were hundreds of unnatural links to the client’s site from the hacked website. A plan of action to remove unnatural links if you do discover them includes:
   1. Identifying them through Google Webmaster Tools
   2. Asking the website owner/webmaster to remove them, and
   3. If they will not remove them or request a payment to remove them, use Google’s disavow tool to disavow the entire domain name.
8. Encourage natural links: Encouraging natural links goes hand in hand with your content strategy. By focusing on creating unique and valuable content, you will be encouraging others to link to your website naturally. Content marketing rather than link building should be the goal.
9. Use Google Webmaster Tools: If you haven’t set up a Google Webmaster Tools account, make it a priority. Google’s Webmaster Tools offers a variety of important reports to help you identify areas of concern.
10. Google Local: If your business depends on search traffic from the local community, you will want to set up Google Local after you set up Google Plus. With Google’s Venice update in 2012, the search engine giant considers the physical location of a business and shows them in organic search results. Google reviews will show in the results along with the business name, phone number and physical address. The influence of Google Local on search results is expected to grow.
11. Responsive Design: If your website is not created with a responsive design, make it top priority. Google recommends a responsive design to enable your website to fit any screen size that the site is viewed in using the same URL, style sheets and HTML. “The search engines will give increasing weight to sites that can provide a good mobile platform experience to users.”
12. Social Media: At the June 2013 SMX Advanced Q&A session with Matt Cutts, Danny Sullivan, Search Engine Land’s founding editor asked Matt Cutts what the most overrated thing out there in SEO was. Matt responded, “Short-term social data. Longer-term, though, will be different.”As long-term social media data has been identified as an emerging influence by Google’s Distinguished Engineer, social media marketing interactions should continue to be implemented. By utilizing social media sites, you will be able to engage with users and ultimately drive traffic to your website. Determine the best social media sites where your potential audience is and foster engagement. Google Plus should be a top priority due to the SEO advantages.

12 SEO Tips And Trends To Get Ready For Fall | The Red Elephant

Facebook Vs. Google Plus: Which is Better For Marketers?

Google + or Facebook? Red or Blue?

Should You Invest Your Time and Energy in Facebook or Google Plus? Amongst my friends, the general perception is that Google+ isn’t worth bothering with.  “But all my friends are on Facebook!” is their battle cry. However, from a marketer and social media specialist’s point of view, Google Plus may well be a much better investment of time and energy than Facebook.  Here’s why:

• - Facebook is a Big, Disorganized Mess. Facebook doesn’t have the clean, linear functionality of Google+. The fonts are too small. It’s hard to find a group. Facebook Group pages aren’t well optimized for mobile. Ripples — the analytics for Google+ — is far easier to access, more intuitive, and richer in data than the native Facebook analytics.  Social reports on Google+ offer more data — such as conversion stats — which Facebook does not
  

  Is this true?
• - Google+ Offers Better Targeting of Specific Customer Segments.  Google Communities — the oft overlooked groups feature on Google+ — offers more organized access to various customer segments via communities. Google Hangouts can be used to directly represent brands by way of special events and can be of great use in activating fan communities.
• - Google+ Is Cheaper.  The story of George Takei and his experience with Edgerank illustrates what marketers have to face when dealing with Edgerank. Strictly from an ROI perspective, Google+ makes far more sense for a marketer to use.
• - Google+ Is Good SEO. Google rewards the +1s on Google posts with better organic SERP placement.
• - Google+ Offers Better Analytics. We find the influencer numbers in Ripples more insightful than the corresponding Reach metric in Facebook, and the visual guide is more engaging to us than the plain jane bar charts or the far too big CSV download of Facebook analytics.
• - Google Plus Offers Complete Integration With Other Google Services. This includes Maps, Shopping, Wallet, and Drive.
• - Google Plus is Less Intrusive With Its Ads. Because Google+ derives its ad revenue from referral traffic directly into normal Google search, the actual user interface itself is much cleaner and less cluttered than Facebook’s.

What Facebook offers that Google Plus didn’t?

The only advantage that Facebook offers at this time is numbers, but this advantage may be fleeting. Teens are fleeing Facebook for alternative services, and there is evidence that some of this demographic is fleeing Facebook for Google+. While the numbers may be in Google’s side for now, we find it more prudent to be on the side of growth. Marketers should still pay attention to Facebook, but if we were betters, we’d put money on G+ and Google Communities.

Facebook Vs. Google Plus: Which is Better For Marketers?

5 Quick Tips For Your Social Media Strategy

5 Quick Tips For Your Social Media Strategy

The following 5 quick tips for your social media strategy are an excerpt with minor edits from The Social Media Why: A Busy Professional’s Practical Guide to Using Social Media Including LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, Google+ and Blogs for Business by Crystal Washington.

Now that you have reviewed the top social media and social network options, decide which ones are best for you. You may feel, based on the practical applications, LinkedIn and YouTube would be the best suited for you. On the other hand, if you are looking for a new position, you may want to use LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. Make your decisions and move forward. You can always add another network later, should you choose.

Posting Frequency

Wondering how often you should post on each social network? While it varies by user and purpose, I would recommend the following to start off. Then adjust according to the amount of responses, comments, and clicks you receive.

LinkedIn – One time every one or two days, or link to your Twitter account if your Twitter postings would be appropriate for the strictly professional network.

Facebook – For your profile page, one to three times per day. If you have a business page or group, once every other day for those.

Twitter – Four to six times per day.

Blog – One to two times per week.

Social Media Strategy..? Stay Productive!

I’ll be the first to admit, falling into a social media black hole is something we all do. I’ve had more than my share of days when I’ve started off uber-productive only to find three hours have passed, and all I have to show for it is a gazillion interactions with Facebook friends, and many laughs. Want to become productive on social media? Here are my recommendations:

1. Make A Plan

Understand exactly who you would like to reach (your target markets) and design your brand in a way that will be attractive to this group. Do not simply post what you want people to read, post what they want to read. Make a conscious decision to post information that appeals to your target markets vs. what you want them to want.

2. Sign Up For Google Alerts And Visit Alltop

Google Alerts (www.google.com/alerts) will send you emails about specific topics you would like to post about. Simply type in the search words and set a new alert. Alltop (www.alltop.com) has hundreds of categories to choose from. Simply click on the link for your topic to instantly see top blog posts and articles you can share via social media.

3. Create A Posting

Calendar Use a blank calendar. Decide what you’re going to post on social media each day, and then fill in your calendar with your choices. Consider holidays, upcoming events, and other items that might influence your posting. You can also include your blog, if you’d like. Do this at least a month ahead of time.

4. Sign Up For Hootsuite

Hootsuite will allow you to update your social networks from one place. Additionally, you can schedule future posts on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

5. Buy A Kitchen Timer

Decide exactly how much time you will commit to social media each day. I suggest 10-20 minutes in the AM and maybe 10 in the PM. At whatever time allotted each day, set your egg timer for the correct amount of time. Then use that time to post, moderate, comment on others’ posts, photos, and so on.

With more than 200 million users, LinkedIn is the premier social networking site for both business professionals and owners. Most users know the value, but the problem is they don’t know where to start. Discover practical ways to leverage LinkedIn to increase efficiency, be discovered by influencers and create meaningful business relationships.

Here are some of the things that will be covered in this broadcast:

1. Identify your brand strategy and create your LinkedIn ritual
2. Discover how to use LinkedIn to save time in your normal tasks
3. Get found by decision makers and influencers by using keywords
4. Advanced Search- Discover how to find key people and connect
5. Power Posting- Learn how to post great content while saving time.

5 Quick Tips For Your Social Media Strategy | The Red Elephant