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Mostly Everything

Must-Know Tips for New Rideshare Drivers

The holiday season is the perfect time to start participating in the gig economy by becoming a rideshare driver.

The holidays are a bustling time when people are out and about shopping, going to parties and just participating in a variety of holiday events, and they might need the services of a rideshare app like Uber or Lyft more than ever before.

Maybe your decision to start working as a rideshare driver isn’t just about the timing of the holidays, but you might have made it a goal in 2018 to earn extra income. There are also good opportunities to earn sign-on bonuses and use promo codes with rideshare companies right now, which is, of course, an incentive for a lot of new drivers.

Regardless of your reasons, what should you know as a new rideshare driver as we head into 2018?

Learn About the Passenger Experience

While you might both end up in the car together, the driver experience and passenger experience can be very different.

As a driver, it’s important to learn about the passenger experience, including how the app works on their end. You might want to take some rides as a passenger, so you can put yourself in their shoes and determine how to get the best rating by giving them the best experience.

For example, different passengers are going to have different levels of interest in conversation. Learn how to gauge this and how to meet their expectations.

Start Out During Slow Times

When you’re just starting as a rideshare driver, you don’t necessarily want to dive in during the busiest times.

Instead, it can be better to start when things are slow, for example, mid-morning on a weekday. This gives you the opportunity to get a feel for things, without getting too overwhelmed.

Contrary to what you might believe, it can be a fast-paced environment, and it’s important to ease yourself into it.

Once you get used to what it’s like, you can start driving during busiest times. If you’re going to be driving part-time, going after the busiest prime times is best.

Don’t Chase Surges

Surge pricing can be lucrative for drivers, but if you see one come up on your map and you’re not already there, don’t try to chase it.

These surge times last for a few minutes, so it’s likely to be over by the time you get there, and you’ve wasted your time.

Get a Phone Mount

Before you do your first ride, make sure you have a high-quality phone mount and put your phone near your eye level. You don’t want to be constantly looking down at your phone because it can be dangerous and you’re also likely to get lower ratings from your passengers.

While you’re at it, you should also get a 2 amp charger, because while you’re using your app, you’re going to be draining a lot of your battery.

Finally, make sure you have logistical things in place before driving, including rideshare insurance, and have a way to track your mileage and expenses.

Categories
Geek

How to Restore Deleted Data from Hard Drive

Not everybody has the same opinion about the importance of data backup. Keeping the exact same data in two or more different devices is a form redundancy indeed, but a necessary one. In this case, redundancy is more than being superfluous because it does serve a useful purpose. A computer, or more specifically a hard drive, is not invulnerable to damages. The operating system can also crash anytime, preventing you from accessing files or data. The same thing can happen to a tablet, smartphone, and even digital camera; basically any device which utilizes some sort memory card such as hard drive, flash drive, microSD, and miniSD requires data backup as precautionary measure in the event the system malfunction or the device simply breaks.

Losing data from your computer is a terrifying stipulation. Regardless of your professions, chances are you keep important pieces of information in the device; even students make and save assignments on laptops. Some of the most common causes of losing data are accidental deletion and errors in the operating system. Assuming you have a backup, either in the cloud or another computer, there is nothing to worry about since you can still access the data anytime. Without a backup, you need recovery software.

There is a good number of free data recovery software available for download, but some of them are older versions incompatible with newer operating systems. Pay attention to the details of the software before you download and install. Once installed and opened, the software will ask what files you want to restore such as documents, images, videos, photos, programs, and so on. It probably also allows you to choose specific hard drive partition or original location of the deleted data.

If you have never been in this kind of situation before, you may want to try data recovery software free version first instead of spending money on premium version. Even with a free version, you will most likely find all the options you need for examples file types, destination folder, quick scan, deep scan, and preview. As long as you follow the instructions and there is no mechanical damage to the hard drive, the software should find the data. Another thing to mention is that it is not recommended to restore the files to the original folder/directory.

A crash in the operating system requires more complicated procedures. Because the operating system does not allow you to install new software, you cannot recover files using the aforementioned method. The easiest solution is to remove the hard drive and connect it to another computer. You can also try to repair the system by doing fresh install or insert bootable disc; if you are working on a Mac, it is possible to connect two computers with firewire cable.

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Mostly Everything

5 tips to to make your home renovation go smoothly

Renovating your house can be a very stressful process that requires both physical and mental energy, as well as a lot of time. From minor changes to bigger plans, it is always very stressful to change your house and redecorate whether you’re doing it for the first time or whether you have done it before. There are many ways to make this process smoother and easier to manage, whether you are renovating your family house or your studio flat. By following these 5 easy tips you will make the process of house renovation much simpler and relaxing:

  1. Invest in good and even expensive materials

Investing in quality materials will add value to your house and make it much more desirable. If there is something you should not save money on, that is materials, whether these are for your furniture, walls or flooring. The investments in more expensive and longer lasting materials will definitely pay off.

  1. Restore your old furniture

Make your old furniture look brand new and more beautiful than ever by restoring it. Furniture restoration doesn’t have to be a stressful process: there are many people who offer amazing restoration services for competitive prices and you could even consider purchasing DIY products to do it yourself! But if your furniture is antique or expensive, definitely call an expert to do the work.

  1. Do a lot of preparation work

You can’t just decide you want to renovate your house and then simply do it the next day. Planning ahead is fundamental in order to achieve a good renovation for your house. Take all the time you need to think about what you want to change, what you want to restore and all of the details that you will need before starting the actual renovation works. This will not only save you precious time, but lots of money, too.

  1. Buy new kitchen products

A good kitchen is synonym with a good house. It is one of the main things potential buyers will look at when they look at your renovated house, so make sure all of the kitchen appliances you own are brand new, or at least, brand new looking. Consider buying new appliances that will make it look good and alive, such as a Vitamix blender or a new fridge.

  1. Make sure you are using the right tools

If you have decided to renovate your house on your own, you will have to make sure that you are using the right tools for each project. Using the wrong tools can permanently damage your house and its furniture, destroying the project you were working on and delaying your renovation plan. Always research each tool and its functions before using it.

 

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Mostly Everything Press

First Time Dog Owner? 5 Things You Need To Know

No matter if you are young or old, getting a dog for the first time can be exciting as well as overwhelming. There is so much to learn and do with your new pet. Before picking up your pooch, it is a good idea to do a lot of research so that you know what to expect.

You already know that you need to pick up dog dishes, a dog bed, food, and toys of course. But food and fun aren’t all you need to think about. There is so much more to owning a dog. You may also want to pick up a book on how to properly train your new pet.

Read Your Dog’s Body Language

When you get your new dog home, spend some time just watching him and learn how he reacts to new things and people. Knowing your dog’s body language will go a long way to helping you learn what stresses your dog out enough to react in a visible way. Also know that interpreting these signals from your dog can come with a learning curve, but as you get to know your pet it will become easier.

Be Consistent With Training

When you are trying to train your dog, it is important to stay consistent. Your dog will never learn proper behavior if sometimes something is okay, while other times it’s not. For example, if you want your dog to learn not to get on the couch, then you should never allow him on the couch. He’ll get confused with the mixed signals otherwise.

Also, when it comes to training, make it fun for both you and your pet. If you don’t you’ll stop before your dog has learned anything, and your dog will get frustrated and act out even more. Dogs get bored just like humans do, and they have even less of an attention span. So, with that in mind keep training sessions to maybe 30 minutes or so a day.

Socialize Your Dog

It is vitally important to socialize your dog as early as possible. Socializing means introducing your dog to as many people, places, and things in a positive manner as you can. This way they don’t freak out when new people come over, or they have to go somewhere, such as the vet. It is also a good idea to get them used to other dogs. If possible, take them to a dog park as often as you can.

Giving Your Dog Exercise

Take your dog for a good, long walk at least once a day. It will do both you and your pet a world of good. This is especially true when your dog is a puppy. They have a lot of energy pent up in their little bodies and they need a safe way to expend it. Also, different breeds need different levels of activity. Do some research on your dog’s breed so you know how much exercise and stimulation they need.

Giving Them Supplements

You may want to think about giving your dog supplements if they become too anxious while you are away, or when they are in an unavoidable stressful situation. AHO offers CBD oil for dogs that can help keep them calm and relax them when they are stressed. It has been shown that CBD oil can be beneficial for both dogs and cats to help soothe them and gives other great benefits as well, such as relieving allergies and arthritis, seizures, and skin problems.

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Best of Geek

Tronsmart: Because not all fast chargers are created equal

I’ve been traveling this past month for work. Media trips allow for a lot of refreshers especially in the tech scene. October found me immersed with the next generation of bloggers in BKK for Cherry Mobile while November flew me across the pond to Israel for an immersion with the local startup scene. The BKK trip had an unexpected surprise with a Tronsmart travel pack which included a 4-port wall charger and 10,000 mAh battery pack.

My gosh I had no idea charging technology has evolved like this. Both devices come with charging tech called Volt IQ and Qualcomm Quick Charge 3 which are safer and inherently faster ways for charging gadgets. The former detects what type of service you have and adjusts the wattage for maximum charging possible while the latter works best with other Qualcomm Snapdragon powered phones (4x faster charging)!!

FACEBOOK: Tronsmart Philippines
Tronsmart products are available at SM San Lazaro, SM Southmall as well as all Urbanize and Elecom stores.