How To: Upgrade a Wall Outlet to USB Functionality

Are there ever enough outlets? With the evergrowing array of gadgets that find their way into our home (Pads, Tabs, Fires, iPhones, and Nexuses) it seems like the answer is a resounding "No!" Maybe it's time to give that outlet a reboot with some USB functionality. Read on and we'll show you how.

It's 2012 and although there aren't flying cars as the movies predicted, we do at least have some choices when it comes to USB Wall Outlets.

You can literally go Plug 'n Play with the Wall Plate Charger from RCA

Perhaps you're a minimalist though, and the amount that the RCA plug sticks out from the wall is buggin'. Then you can go with one of these built-in options:

Fastmac's U-Socket

OWC's Power2U

As any DIY minimalist knows though, going sleek and smooth usually equals 4x the time and effort (give or take a few x's). So before you're buying one of the built-in options you may want to do a little research and check the depth of your electrical junction box depth. Why oh why? Because these USB wall plates have got some serious back. Below is a comparison of regular outlet (left) against a USB wall outlet from Fastmac (right).

FYI the one from OWC isn't any skinnier.

To pack in that extra bulk you're junction box is going to need to have a volume of around 20 cu. inches. Or about 3" deep for a single-gang switch. It's likely an older home will be outfitted with much slimmer junction boxes and is probably not suited for this job. You're certainly welcome to try, but that task will likely require fitting in a new junction box and doing some drywall patching. Assuming that's more trouble than most will be willing to undertake, we're just going to show you how to do it in the event your junction box does have enough area.

Here's how to do it:

1. Find an outlet you want to replace. Don't do this for GFCI outlets with a button, as these USB outlets do not have GFCI functionality built-in.
2. Cut off power to the room(s) you're replacing the sockets in via the main circuit breaker panel.
3. Unscrew the existing wall plate and remove.
4. Unscrew the electrical outlet from the junction box.
5. Take note of how your socket is connected. Try snapping pics with your phone and drawing a diagram.


6. Remove the power wires from the existing electrical outlet


7. Our Fastmac USB outlet just has one neutral wire terminal. So if you had a middle-of-run wired outlet (pictured to the right in image above), you're going to have to combine the two wires into one. The kit supplies a knot and extra wire for this




8. Attach the wires to the new USB electrical outlet. Don't forget the ground.




9. Push back in the wires and screw the new USB outlet into the junction box. Likely a very tight and snug fit.


10. Turn back on the power and look for the polarity mismatch indicator. If it's glowing something is wrong with the wiring. Go back and try to fix.


11. If the indicator is not glowing then you should be set. Turn back off the power and screw in the wall plate cover.


12. Clean up and turn back on power when done.

Voila! It's a cool trick if you get it working right. We tricked out our guest room, master bedroom (by the nightstands where sleeping gadgets lie), and an outlet by our living room couch for guests. All outlets shown here also pack enough current to charge the iPad as well. So if you're power charging options at home are feeling sparse, grab one of these and more power to ya!

Other USB and Outlet Upgrades:
5 Ways to Battle the "Not Enough Outlets" Problem
Our Favorite Lazy Tech Accessory? A USB Extender
Six USB & Power Grommets for the Desk and Kitchen
How To Swap a Two-Prong for a Three-Prong Outlet
Socket to Them: Identifying Outlets of the World

Source: http://www.pinterest.com/offsite/?token=745-815&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.apartmenttherapy.com%2Fhow-to-give-your-wall-outlet-a-usb-upgrade-165394%3Futm_source%3Dfeedburner%26amp%3Butm_medium%3Dfeed%26amp%3Butm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Bapartmenttherapy%252Fmain%2B%2528AT%2BChannel%253A%2BMain%2529%26amp%3Butm_content%3DGoogle%2BReader&pin=10414642859954529

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Galaxy S4 hidden features, tips, tricks and hacks

The Samsung Galaxy S4 has so many features it's almost ridiculous, so many in fact that half of them you probably don't even use and the other half you've probably forgotten about or never even knew they existed. Here we've got a nice little collection of ten hidden features, tips, tricks and even a hack or two to get even more out of one of the best smartphones around.

Let your Galaxy S4 really pop with our tips and tricks! / © AndroidPIT

Disable S Voice to get faster Home button response

Not sure if you know this, but the double press of the Home key to bring up S Voice actually has a built in delay. This means if you press it once to go back to the Home screen it'll actually lag a little in case you were planning on double pressing. If you disable double press to access S Voice, you'll get a faster return to the Home Screen. Just go into S Voice, hit the menu soft key, Settings, and uncheck ''Open via the Home key'' box.

Swipe contacts to call or text

When you're in your Contacts, instead of tapping a contact and selecting the action to perform from their contact profile, you can simply swipe left or right to call or text them instantly. The best thing is you can change your mind: if you start to swipe to the right to call someone, then realize they are at work you just swipe back to the left and you'll get a text window instead. There's no speed requirement either, so if you're a little slow-witted, you can pause mid-swipe, figure out which option is best and then continue with the appropriate swipe.

From Contacts, just swipe right to call and left to text. You can even change your mind halfway. / © AndroidPIT

Access Hidden Settings

This is achieved by using a brilliant app called Note 2 Hidden Settings. Yes, it's for the Note 2 but it works on many other Samsung devices too. It simply puts a user interface over the top of a bunch of hidden CSC files so you can change them easily. The only thing is your S4 needs to be rooted for it to work. Some of the great things you can do include managing the various irritating sounds the S4 makes, like disabling the camera shutter sound and more. The app isn't guaranteed to work on every device so please don't ask me to fix it if it doesn't work for you!

An XDA Developer wrote this little gem of an app to reveal Samsung's hidden settings. / © AndroidPIT/SteinApps

Note 2 Hidden SettingsINSTALL

DIY wireless charging

Listen up tight asses! You can make your own DIY wireless charger for the Galaxy S4 without needing to spend a small fortune on Samsung's official Qi-equipped back panel and charging platter. There's not much to this hack, other than buying a cheaper Qi-rear cover and popping the guts out and inserting them into your S4 rear cover. All in all it'll cost you about $25 and brings a little handcraft to your smartphone. Check the video out below from HackinTech to see what you'll need and how simple it is to make your own wireless charging back panel.

Link to Video

Use the IR blaster to control your TV

This is an old feature that a lot of people still don't seem to use. Just go to the WatchON app, set up your country and service provider (if you want a TV guide as well) and add the remote widget to your Quick Settings menu or even your lock screen so you can control your television, set top box or DVR from the comfort of your smartphone. You can track your favorite shows, set reminders and even get suggestions from WatchON about shows you might like. Definitely an underused feature.

The TV remote is one of the best but least-used S4 features. It can even live on your lock screen. / © AndroidPIT

Take photos and control alarms with your voice

An oft-forgotten feature of Samsung's voice control is the ability to take photos or control your alarm clock with your voice. Everyone remembers you can control incoming calls and Samsung's ChatON service verbally, but saying ''cheese'' to snap a picture is a great way to avoid camera shake when you take selfies. Likewise, simply saying ''snooze'' from under your pillow to stop that infernal alarm clock is a godsend. You can of course also control your music playback this way too. Just go into your Settings menu at the bottom of the My Device tab you'll see the Voice Control switch. Tapping on it once enabled will open the various settings for each voice control feature.

Ditch TouchWiz for KitKat

Not every Samsung owner is a fan of TouchWiz, but you don't need to root your phone to get rid of it. Plus, there's plenty of great aspects of TouchWiz that other ROMs don't have. By installing an alternative launcher you can keep the good parts of TouchWiz (like the Quick Settings) but get a much nicer launcher flavor, like KitKat. There's two KitKat launchers I can recommend, both available in the Play Store, both called KitKat Launcher. There's different options and setting sin both, so which you prefer is largely up to you, but there's transparent system bars, KitKat app drawer, Google Now home screen, and even the elusive App Ops feature that Google have now removed from KitKat for everyone else.

The icons are better on the left but transparent system bars and App Ops are available on the right / © AndroidPIT

KK Launcher (KitKat Launcher)INSTALL

KitKat LauncherINSTALL

Home screen slider

Did you know that you don't need to swipe to switch between home screens? Just above the dedicated app shortcuts on the home screen is a little indicator that shows you which screen you're on in relation to the main home screen. Instead of swiping between home screens, you can simply slide your finger across this indicator to quickly and fluidly scroll through your various home screens which will be slightly minimized. You don't even need to hold your finger down first (although you can), just slide your finger along the indicator and it will bring up numbered screens for rapid navigation.

Once you start using the home screen slider, there's no going back to swiping between screens. / © AndroidPIT

Get more out of your camera

Did you know you can add a camera shortcut to your lock screen and connect your Samsung camera to your smartphone? To get the camera shortcut on your lock screen, go to Settings, My Device tab, Lock Screen, enable multiple lock screen widgets (if you have others already enabled), tap on lock screen widgets and flip the switch for Favorite apps or camera, then select Camera. Now, you can simply swipe to the left from your lock screen to launch the camera. To link your digital camera with your S4, download the Samsung Smart Camera app and you'll be able to launch Remote Viewfinder, AutoShare and MobileLink direct from your smartphone. The best thing is that when you're using your camera the app will automatically connect to your phone.

Link your Samsung camera with your S4 and get a lock screen camera shortcut. / © AndroidPIT

Samsung SMART CAMERA AppINSTALL

Exploit Samsung's secure boot

Some network providers provide Galaxy S4's with an unlocked bootloader, so you can easily flash whatever custom ROM you like. But AT&T (SGH-I337) and Verizon (SGH-I545) models have a locked bootloader. A little while back, a whiz by the name of Dan Rosenberg identified a critical weakness in Samsung's locking mechanism that allows custom, unsigned kernels and recovery images to be booted without the usually-required signature checks. It's all a bit technical, but if this has piqued your interest, head over to Dan's site to get the lowdown on how he figured it out and how to bypass the secure bootloader.

Flash custom ROMs, unsigned kernels and recovery images to get even more out of your S4. / © AndroidPIT

Source: http://www.androidpit.com/galaxy-s4-hidden-features-tips-tricks-and-hacks

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Forget the Filter: How to Captivate and Grow Your Instagram Audience

Between all the infographics, shared photos, videos, and snapchat selfies...it's safe to say our digital world thrives on consuming visual content.

With visual becoming a proven tool for audience engagment, it's important for brands to utilize the the trend to it's full potential.

This is especially true when it comes to popular social platforms such as Instagram, an app that to date publishes over 60 million images per day.

So how can your brand stay true to its image while setting itself apart from the content clutter?  

Forget the Filter

Ditch the filter presets! With photography applications such as VSCO cam, Afterlight, and Snapseed you can take your images to the next level with editing features that give you a broader range of creative control. 

Change your Perspective 

Grab the attention of your viewers by turning an empty space into a visual advantage. Find unique angles to display your product or highlight your exclusive point of view. 

Optimize for Engagement

So you've created a visual masterpiece, now how are you going to make sure it gets discovered? By creating clever copy that includes relevant photo tags, mentions, and a controlled amount of hashtags, you can push your image to the users that matter most: your audience. 

Apply distinctive features to your images, discover the ways to tell your branded content story, and the audience will follow
!

Source: http://socialmediatoday.com/deanna-baisden/2426516/forget-filter-how-captivate-and-grow-your-instagram-audience

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6 Lessons from the Most Popular Content Marketing Articles

Content marketing is a popular topic, to put it mildly. In the last 6 months there were over 4.4m social shares that linked to over 17,500 articles about content marketing. That is an average of 250 shares per post. Here we take a look behind the headline figures to see what lessons we can learn.

Most Shared Content Marketing Articles

So is anyone standing out as the boss of content marketing about, well,.content marketing? The most shared individual articles on content marketing over the last 6 months came from a variety of sources as shown below. Nobody’s dominating, as you can see:

The top 8 articles achieved between 6,900 and 22,000 shares each compared to the average of 250 shares per article.

Ok, so what does this tell us? We see a number of lessons for content marketers looking to extend the reach and impact of their content.

Where Should We Share? Everywhere

The most shared posts were shared widely across networks for example the top four all had significant shares on Twitter, Facebook and Google Plus. Interestingly other articles had more Twitter shares but the top three all had a good balance of shares across all the four main networks. They all had over 2,000 shares on Google Plus for example.

If we look across all content shares for content marketing we can see that most shares took place on Twitter.

However, it is clear the other networks have significant potential.  The article from the Content Marketing Institute for example had a very high number of Twitter shares but was unusual in hardly being shared at all on other networks. It would suggest little effort was spent promoting this post on other networks. However, the analysis would suggest that such content can appeal across all four of the main networks and hence it is worth investing in each channel.

Lesson 1 - Share across the top four networks

LinkedIn had the lowest level of shares of the four main networks but there is evidence that content is increasingly being shared on LinkedIn, and this will increase with the relatively new blogging platform.  There are a number of cases where content was shared more on LinkedIn than on other networks. For example the last post in the list above and the post below, both received as many shares on LinkedIn as the the other networks combined.

The recent decision by LinkedIn to allow members to publish content on the platform will increase its popularity with content marketers. Thus the potential of Linkedin as a publishing and distribution platform must be taken seriously. It will be interesting to observe whether certain types of content become more shared on LinkedIn as the blogging platform matures.

Lesson 2 - LinkedIn has significant potential as a distribution channel

The infographic from CopyBlogger was the only content item to have a significant number of Pinterest shares with 1,169 shares. As a general observation we have seen few infographics that relate directly to content marketing. But infographics are the content type with the highest average number of shares as we can see from the breakdown of the 17,000 posts by content type below.

So are content marketing experts not taking their own medicine and creating enough infographics?

Lesson 3 - Explore infographic options and share on Pinterest

The Importance of Authors

Successful content  is created by authors who have reputation and authority. It’s a virtuous circle: create insightful content, share it effectively, build a reputation, and your content will continue to be amplified through your networks (if you stay relevant and consistently insightful). If you find a useful piece of content by an author, searching for other content by that author may uncover other very relevant content. The second article on our list of most shared content marketing articles was by Courtney Seiter. Using a BuzzSumo author search I can see all the most shared content authored by Courtney shown below.

As you can see, Courtney’s articles are consistently highly shared. If you want to be like her, read her headlines and see what gets shared. The first two articles here are the same content, just a different headline and site. Varying your headline style and the focus of your article can help you see what works on different sites and networks. That’s another article though.

Lesson 4: Look for other content by the well shared authors to see what works for them

Most Shared Content Sites

Most shares about content marketing linked to content from Social Media Today. The top three most shared content domains over the last 6 months were:

• 560,902  Social Media Today
• 449,312  Copyblogger
• 315,276  Content Marketing Institute

The most shared top domains across all the five main social networks were as follows:

There is a relationship as you might expect between the number of articles published and the total number of shares a domain receives. Social Media Today for example published more articles on content marketing than Copyblogger and this accounts in part for the higher total shares. However, whilst SMT had the highest number of total shares on Twitter, Copyblogger had the higher average shares per article.

Lesson 5 - Track what the big sites are writing about content marketing and where they are having success

More Followers Does Not Mean More Shares

What is interesting is the differences in shares between the networks. The details for Social Media Today and Copyblogger are below as an example. We can see that Social Media Today has far more shares on Twitter and LinkedIn but less on Facebook and significantly less on Google+.

The number of shares on each network does not appear to have a direct relationship to the number of followers the publisher has on that network. For example, Copyblogger content received many more Google+ shares despite having only a third as many followers, 11,700 followers compared to SMT’s 35,000. This would suggest the degree of active promotion on a network and the quality of post can outweigh factors such as the number of followers.

Lesson 6 - Active promotion of content is important across all networks and potentially successful even where you have few followers

Source: http://socialmediatoday.com/steve-rayson/2423416/6-lessons-most-popular-content-marketing-articles

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