Tag Archives: Internet

U.S. Business Travelers Miss Their Connection

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Research of 1,000 U.S. business travelers from InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) reveals staying in touch with home is top priority

· Lack of Internet access biggest stress for travelers

· Communicating with family the top way to de-stress when away from home

There really is no place like home, unless it is a hotel that offers free Internet connection according to new research from IHG which has found that being able to connect online with family and friends is now the top priority for U.S. business travelers.

The research polled 1,000 business travelers nationwide and was commissioned to mark this month’s launch of IHG’s renamed loyalty program, IHG® Rewards Club. It reveals that not being able to contact home due to lack of Internet connection is now the biggest travel headache for people away on business, cited by 48% of travelers in the U.S. as their biggest stress factor, ahead of noisy location (41%) and difficult transportation links (38%).

IHG set out to better to understand hotel guests’ priorities while traveling and is now the first and only hotel group to offer free Internet access globally to all its loyalty program members. This new benefit started with Elite members at the beginning of July and will roll out to all members starting in 2014, whether they are staying the night at one of IHG’s nine brand hotels, or coming in for a coffee or impromptu meeting.

Other top-line findings in the U.S. underline the importance of Internet access:

· 62% of those surveyed said that Internet was the most important additional facility in their hotel room above a TV (20%); mini-fridge (5%), landline phone (4%), bath tub (3%) and mini bar (1%).

· Logging onto the Internet in their room when they first arrive topped the list of things that help travelers feel most at home, while staying at a hotel (25%), above unpacking (20%), taking a shower (10%) or turning on the TV (6%)

More than half (55%) of travelers say that they would prefer to communicate with people back home over the Internet rather than using the phone.

· Almost half of business travelers (47%) surveyed cited connecting with family at home as the best way to de-stress at the end of a working day.

· 83% said that free Internet would make them happier whilst travelling away for business.

· And, more than two thirds of respondents, (69%), would be very unhappy traveling if they had no way of connecting with loved ones back home.

Relationship expert and Dating Doctor, David Coleman explains:

“Long distance relationships are difficult to successfully maintain. When we are separated from people we love or care for, we begin to physically miss their presence – their warmth, smile, touch, or facial expressions. Just hearing a voice on the phone is no longer sufficient for the modern business traveler, we need the comfort of being able to connect and see our loved ones. We need to be able to send an e-mail to our significant other to say we are thinking of them; be able to share a laugh with our children before they run off to school, and be able to stay connected to our friends back home. Being able to seamlessly and regularly connect with our loved ones is crucial, now more than ever, in maintaining strong remote relationships.”

5 Tips To Keep Your Computer Secure

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slipup1) Have an antivirus. You will need antivirus software. This is the best thing you can do for your computer. It will block viruses and stop you losing all of your data, or having your identity stolen through your data on your computer. Make sure your antivirus is scheduled to download updates and does a daily scan of your computer.

2) Keep your hard drive clean. There is software you can download to do this. Check out Cleaner. Also try and keep your digital life tidy. Go through your computer and delete things you do not need anymore. You can run a disk cleanup to remove temporary, unnecessary files. You can also run disk defragment about once a month. You do not need to overdo it.  Remember to empty the trash too.

3) Be careful what you download. If you are unsure then do not download anything. If someone sends you a link with nothing else in the body of the email, or just a link on Twitter or Facebook, then do not click on it. They have probably been hacked and the link will not be genuine. Be aware that the link will be designed to get you to click on it. For example it might say ‘check out this funny picture of you’. Don’t believe it and don’t click.

4) Use a secure website brower. I am a Mac person and use Firefox (you can also use Firefox on a PC) or Safari. For windows Google Chrome or Internet Explorer.

5) Set up a Firewall. Firewalls control the information that goes in and out of your computer. This is essential for keeping out hackers. They also prevent Malware. PCs and Macs come with a basic Firewall installed so make sure it is turned on.

And finally….

Have a good, strong password.

What do you do to protect your computer and make it secure?

 

 

Who To Notify When You Move House

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Moving house is stressful at the best of times, so here is Frost’s guide to who to notify when you move.

Friends and Family.

TV Licence.
Your TV licence only covers you at your current address and won’t move with you automatically. Update it at tvlicensing.co.uk or by post.

Driving Licence.
Update it online at direct.gov.uk. Your Vehicle Registration documents will have to be returned to the DVLA. They will then send you a new one with your updated details.

Council Tax.
Tell your local council when you move out, and when you move into your new home. That way you will be billed correctly.

Mail.
You can get your mail redirected online at royalmail.com or by going to your local post office. It takes five working days so give the appropriate notice.

Doctor and Dentist
Search for practices near you new home by going to NHS.uk and entering your post code. You will have to register with the new practice

Financial Service Provider.
Banks.
Building societies.
Store Card companies.
Insurance companies.
Savings and investments.
Pension company.
Credit card company.
Do this as soon as possible. You don’t want your financial details going to strangers.

Magazine and other subscriptions.
Let them know as soon as possible. They usually need a month’s notice.

Utility Provider
Water
Gas
Electricity
Phone (and mobile phone)
Request a final bill before you move and tell them the date. Take a reading from your old home before you leave and at your new one when you move in. Just in case.

Cable/Internet providers.
If you are sticking with your provider let them know your new address straight away to minimise disruptions to your service.

Electoral register
You will need to register to vote in your new area. Go to aboutmyvote.co.uk and print off a form. Fill it in and send it to your local electoral registration office.

Finally, make sure you have signed the contract for your new home before changing things. Just in case things go wrong.

Mike Jagger: “I spend too much time on Facebook”.

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Mike Jagger has revealed that he is addicted to social networking.

In an interview with USA Today, the legendary singer admitted that he spends too much time on Facebook and not enough time making music.

“I spend way too much time on the computer and not enough time playing the guitar. There’s an underlying problem of this screen life taking over all of your life,” he said.

“It’s easy to keep in touch with people, some of whom I wish I’d never kept in touch with. But there they are on Facebook! You can spend a lot of time on that when you should be doing something else.”

The Rolling Stone star is also on Twitter, but admitted that he doesn’t update the account himself, adding: “But, really, who does?”

Jagger said that a rumoured 2012 tour by the Rolling Stones is “not on the table”. He is focusing on Superheavy, the group he started with Dave Stewart, Damien Marley and Joss Stone.

UN Says Cutting Off Your Internet Could Breach Human Rights

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Frank La Rue, the UN Rapporteur for the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of expression, has argued that removing somebody’s internet access deprives them of a basic right.

Mr La Rue presented his report, ‘on global access of the internet as a medium for freedom of expression, to the UN Human Rights Council this week.

In his report Mr La Rue condemned certain proposed and existing government legislation. In particular he singled out the UK’s Digital Economy Act which has a provision to restrict or remove internet access from those breaking copyright laws. His report was particularly concerned with ‘a centralised on/off control over the internet. He said, removing somebody’s internet access is to deprive them of a key component for the basic human right of freedom of expression.

The report comes in the wake of the e-G8 summit in Paris where Mr Sarkozy led discussions on proposals to regulate the internet. Governments worldwide have become increasingly fearful of the power of the internet, particularly in the wake of the Arab spring.

In his opening speech Sarkozy said, ‘the world you represent is not a parallel universe where legal and moral rules and more generally all the basic rules that govern society in democratic countries do not apply.’

But many internet entrepreneurs including Google chairman Eric Schmidt warned governments against attempts at legislation arguing, ‘technology will move faster than governments’.

Sarkozy has faced severe criticism for a recent internet law (the HADOPI law) which he has pushed forward. The law (to be enforced by a new government agency) could see those suspected of illegal file sharing brought before a judge.

Could these new government agencies precipitate a major government crackdown on the internet? While Mr La Rue’s report will be welcomed by many, it will take more than UN reports to ensure the freedom of the internet.

earlier post

eBay offering 50 free listings per month to sellers

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Frost has learned after this article went to press that Ebay is only offering American’s 50 free listings a month. The UK has been left out. Very disappointing.

eBay have announced new pricing introductions which will see all eBay sellers being offered 50 free item listings per month. The online auction site hopes to tempt back sellers following competitor site Amazon’s introduction of their marketplace area.

Summary of changes to eBay seller fees:

  • 50 free listing’s per month
  • Free ‘Buy it now’ option to auction listings
  • Reducing Final Value Fee rates (for stores and fixed price listings only)
  • The Final Value Fee will be increased to include postage and packaging charges also

The updated Final Value Fee structure takes effect for non-store sellers on April 19, 2011, and for Store and Fixed Price sellers on July 6, 2011.

“We think these changes will really improve the marketplace for both buyers and sellers. We’re listening to our customers. We’re trying to understand their needs.” – Vice President Todd Lutwak

eBay’s changes to the feedback system have supposedly contributed heavily to the dwindling number of users on the site. Allowing buyers to leave anonymous feedback has left the system open to abuse and sellers are finding it hard to sell with some claiming to have been victims of sabotage by competitors. The loss of choice is increasing prices of items on the bidding site and buyers are looking elsewhere.

The changes seem to give with one hand and take with the other but will hopefully go some way to apease both sides of customers and buyers.

Turn on, Log in, Drop out – Internet Addiction Disorder

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An addiction for the 21st century is causing increasing numbers of desperate parents to seek help for their teenage children.

Internet Addiction Disorder, or IAD, is now as much of a real addiction as drugs and alcohol, according to the renowned Priory Clinic in Roehampton, south west London.

The disorder can lead to mood swings, compulsive lying, loss of interest in studies and a breakdown in real-life relationships, as surfers spend time using and abusing chatrooms, multi-user games such as EverQuest, and social networking sites like Facebook.

Speaking back in 2008, Richard Renson, then Addiction Therapist at The Priory, said: “In some families, money can be tight. Both parents work and children often come back home alone and go straight on to the computer. It becomes a routine and that routine becomes very hard to break.

“It’s lack of communication with another solid human being. Some people say when they’re gaming online, they’ve got thousands of friends, but it’s not communication and emotional involvement. It’s avoidance behaviour.

“One of the hardest things to manage is our emotional world and if you’ve not got any role models and are only using computer-based information, it’s not going to be solid, concrete or useful.”

Two years on, there are currently no statistics outlining the number of UK addicts, but with Facebook and Twitter usage continuing to amass large numbers of followers, the problem is increasing.

Mr Renson estimated at the time that as many as 20 per cent of Priory patients were chronically affected by internet and computer-based addiction.

However, critics argue potential sufferers only use the internet as a medium to fuel other cravings and that internet addiction itself is not a true condition.

Mr Renson firmly believed this was not the case: “There’s more and more evidence to show that it is,” he said.

“We can sensationalise it, but any action a human being takes that is detrimental to their well-being, and seems a repetition, can be classed as an addiction.”

He added: “Evidence also shows there are ‘hot-spots’ in the brain that remain when somebody stops using the computer. It’s exactly the same as when using a substance.”

An addict, speaking to The Times in March, said: “The social thing was something I always had trouble with. It was a lot easier to socialise and make friends online than it was in real life.”

However, treatment is not as simple as stopping use. Instead, it can be a slow and difficult process, requiring considerable after-care.

The key, according to Mr Renson, is tackling the underlying problems that lead to the compulsion.

“If you start off with abstaining from that substance or behaviour, you get to the bottom of how you feel,’ he said. “You can learn how to manage the emotions you probably thought were too hard to manage initially.

“When you’re not intoxicated, inebriated or doing something that avoids feeling, you can start to make sense of it and see that it isn’t so tough.

“But abstinence is quite a tall order. When you take away a behaviour that people have seen as addictive, it can be quite troublesome. People relapse unless you’ve got a support network around you.”

The cure though, can be prohibitively expensive. It costs approximately £20,000 for a 28-day programme at The Priory, although medical insurance may cover certain cases.

“It may sound like quite a lot of money,” said Mr Renson. “But you can’t put a price on a person’s quality of life. If you can give somebody back their life, it’s money well spent.

“We’re doing quite a lot of education around general compulsive behaviour and addictions,” he added.

“For better or for worse, The Priory has a reputation for treating the rich and the famous, but we have a social conscience.

“We want people to experience the world and the beauties of it. You can’t do that if you’re sitting at a computer.”

Google Scribe wrote this for me {Technology}

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Google labs have been busy building their new toys so that us lot can spend more time doing fun stuff. Their latest offering is Google Scribe. Scribe automatically completes text so that you don’t have to. Sort of like the text prediction feature on mobile phones.
This entire article has been written entirely using Google Scribe which ironically enough, never suggests itself.

This probably reflects why the article has no structure and feels slightly out of character. Great fun tool if you’re stuck for words or if there’s something on the tip of your tongue. It does’t know as much slang or grammar as our writers yet so I won’t be replacing them anytime soon.

If you have a go then let us know what random sentences you get in the comments section.

[Google Scribe]