How To Slash Your Bills In One Hour

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If you’re looking for ways to save money and make your income go further, you need to take some action. Making some quick and easy changes to your spending could help you free up some money and finally help you reach your savings goals – no more scraping by until your next payday.

Want to know how you could slash your bills in one hour? Take a look at these useful tips.

Photo by Sora Khan on Unsplash

Cut down on your insurance

Cutting down on your insurance premium is one quick and simple way to reduce your outgoings. All it takes is a few minutes to find a new deal. Sometimes, you might not need your insurance to be as comprehensive as it is, especially for an older vehicle. It’s worth taking a look at some specialist quotes for the type of vehicle you have, such as a van or motorbike to help you find the right deal. You can find out more, here. Compare quotes regularly to make sure you’re always getting the best deal!

Switch energy providers

Energy providers all want your business and are therefore likely to offer a competitive deal. If you’ve been with the same provider for a long time, it’s worth seeing if other providers will offer you a better rate on your energy consumption. Many providers will also give you an incentive such as a cash reward or gift vouchers for switching over, so it’s worth trying if you think you could be paying too much each month. Check out some cheap energy deals to help you get started.

Find a cheaper phone contract

A mobile phone can be a major expense, and there are always better deals to be found if you’re smart. Buying the phone outright (or with 0% interest) and getting a sim-only deal could be one way of reducing your phone bill, stopping you from paying over the odds for a phone. This way, you won’t be tied into a 24-month contract either, allowing you to benefit from a new release sooner, while being able to sell your old phone for a worthy sum.

Cut the expenses you don’t need

It’s easy to waste your money each month on things you don’t need. Are you a member of a gin club? Or maybe you have a gym membership that you barely use? Look through your monthly statement and work out if there are some expenses you can simply cut out of your life. It’s fascinating to see how much people spent on Netflix during lockdown, and could be a bit of a wakeup call if you are one of the people who barely used it! 

By taking a little time out of your day, you could easily save some money on your bills and bring your monthly spending down. Simple changes can make a big difference, helping you save £100s more over the course of a year. Set yourself a challenge and see how much you could save in one hour!

Tech In The Drive: How It Can Pass Time

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A lot more people are taking their cars on longer trips. Whether they’re just using them to visit more places, or using them for one long holiday journey, they can get a bit boring. There are ways you can make them better. Ways to make the drive more comfortable for you and for any of your family or passengers. These products and solutions have become far more popular recently. Coronavirus is the reason. Where people would usually take a trip or holiday abroad, they’re now staying home in their own country and using their personal vehicle to get them around. Things don’t look like they’ll change either. Second spikes are springing up over the world and stopping people doing what they usually would during summer. Driving is fine for the main, yet it is a little riskier than a plane and there’s a little more to it than taking a few stops in service stations when considering a long journey. Especially if you’re going on a trip carrying a trailer or caravan with you. These tips can give you a helping hand on your way to a successful trip and maybe a constantly better drive in all.

Driving At Night?

Night driving is usually harder than driving during the day. The reason being you simply can’t see as much. Of course, if you’re out on a longer drive you need to get the usual things done. The oil changed, tyres swapped if the tread has gone and maybe a wheel alignment for smoother driving. However, there are certain things which can help you during a night drive. There are night vision systems which can sit nicely on the dash and give a great view of the road ahead, usually up to around 1000ft depending on the product you go for. This helps on a long journey, but it also helps if you are regularly driving at night. You need to keep your eyes on that as well as the road, but if you’re going places with little light it can really help you out. Driving at night is tough enough, but remember, nothing beats tiredness, so try to get a coffee when you can or swap drivers. Or, call it a night and check into a roadside hotel. Remember, check your front and brake lights before you head off too.

Entertainment System

There’s nothing more annoying or off putting than bored children in the back seat…it’s fair enough if they’ve got nothing to do for a long trip. You can get around this. Portable DVD players are a thing of the past now. Especially when a kid can use a phone connected to the internet and watch whatever they want. But data is expensive. While they’re streaming away it can end up costing you a fortune. However, you can get wifi for your car these days. A bubble of wifi which plugs into your car outlet and allows you and your family to use it as you go. Much better than using data and certainly something for kids to enjoy. They can enjoy games on their phone, stream videos and use social media without you having to worry. Tech can fail though, so be sure to chuck some magazines in the car to keep them entertained, especially if you’re going to be in the car for a longer period of time. 

 

No SatNav? No problem

Lots of cars come equipped with sat nav these days. They vary in quality and longevity, but for the main they do the job. If you haven’t got one of these then the likelihood is that you’ll be using your phone. It’s a fine substitute, and in a lot of cases the road data will be more up to date than the car sat nav. The issue here is that the battery will drain pretty quickly. While you can use a corded charger, it sometimes can be a little annoying when wires are all over the place and you’re trying to focus on driving. To get around this you can use a wireless phone charger. One that can keep your phone full of charge as you’re driving and using it for satellite navigation. This way you won’t be worried about your phone cutting out and being left in navigational limbo, neither will you have to worry about wires getting all over the place. It’s a great bit of kit which can easily boost your phone when you’re in the car. It can also keep your hands free too. 

4 Technologies That Will Impact Driving in the Future

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The automobile industry is breaking boundaries with emerging technologies. While a lot of innovations have already revolutionised modern cars, the world still expects more high-tech vehicles to be launched in the not too distant future. Every small technological improvement is paving the way for the exciting future that awaits the next generation of vehicles. Here are the top technological innovations that are poised to transform the car-manufacturing industry and to drive as a whole.

1. Autonomous (self-driving) cars

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The idea of driverless cars is not science fiction – it’s a reality that can be seen even in today’s world. This possibility has been fostered by the invention of smarter sensors, laser technology, digital cameras, and radar. Google has been spearheading the autonomous vehicle efforts for some time now. Thankfully, Google is not alone. More automakers such as Nissan and Tesla are joining the race to self-driving cars. 

In the US, states such as California and Nevada, legislators have enacted laws to allow the testing of driverless cars on the road. The driverless cars of today are actually semi-driverless — there is always a standby driver to override the automatic driving mode in cases of emergency. Unfortunately, the transition to self-driving cars has faced catastrophic setbacks. For example, in 2018, Uber’s self-driving car knocked down and killed a woman in Arizona. This happened because the software failed to recognise the pedestrian. In the coming years, technological advancements will see driverless cars take full control of the steering wheel while drivers take their breaks. Cutting edge technology will allow automatic driving cars to avoid collisions, control cruise, park safely and follow routes.  Car owners can use different policy options to cover their electric cars for extra protection.

2. High-range electric vehicles

At the moment, electric vehicles are available for sale. But they are more expensive than hybrid and gasoline-powered vehicles. The huge price tags on electric vehicles are as a result of battery costs. Until Li-ion battery prices are affordable, electric vehicles will continue to cost several thousands of dollars. 

Fortunately, some researchers have taken the challenge of searching for substitute materials, and ways to improve the efficiency of Li-ion batteries. When this dream is accomplished, electric vehicles will cost less. Elon Musk and his Tesla auto company, are building charging stations across the United States. The Tesla Model S electric vehicle is one of the popular sustainable luxury vehicles which owe its existence to advanced technology.

3. Flying cars

Believe it or not, the concept of flying cars is not a modern-day invention. It’s an old idea that goes back to 1917 when a hopping car known as the Curtiss Autoplane took the automobile industry by storm. Since then, sci-fi and fantasy movies have been popularising flying cars.  Although they are yet to take off from the driveways, companies like Terrafugia have demonstrated the possibility that a helicopter-car combo may just be a few years away. 

4. AR-enabled dashboards

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Car dashboards will also change with time as technology speeds up. Augmented reality (AR) promises to bring interactive dashboard screens to capture scenes from the external environment. All in all, this will improve the comfort and riding experience of vehicle occupants.

Indeed, as long as technology advances, the future looks bright for the automobile industry.

 

 

Escape Room At Home – How Does It Work?

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During quarantine, you may have found yourself getting seriously bored. Being housebound for months on end has been challenging, both physically and mentally, for everyone. The new normal has taken its toll, and we have all been forced to slow down, take a break, and stay indoors. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we see the world and has made everyone feel grateful for what they took for granted before. We are reaching the end of these quarantines now, and will emerge with a sense of reawakening to all the opportunities that are in store!

If like most people, you’ve been bored out of your mind during the lockdown, you might have started planning everything you want to do once it’s over. The classic activities all seem new – going to the movies, to museums, bars, and theatres – and have fresh new appeal. There are more contemporary activities, however, which are being developed and improved upon by the day. For example, VR, which stands for Virtual Reality, is becoming an ever-popular activity for young groups of friends looking for a thrill. Why watch an action movie when you can be inside one?

Escape Rooms

One activity that has become ever-popular in recent years is the escape room. Escape rooms have a very simple premise: you and your group are locked in a room within a studio, with challenges you have to figure out as a team, in order to escape. Usually, the time limit is one hour, and at the end of the hour, you have either failed to escape or succeeded as a team!

What Are Escape Rooms?

Similarly to a group VR experience, escape rooms are best completed in small groups of four or five. Here is how an escape room works, step by step. 

  • The Backstory

Escape rooms always come with a theme and a backstory. This means that you will be presented with a situation that you are placed into, and which corresponds to the theme of the room and the clues you need to escape! The room is designed as a site from any geographical location or time period. It could be a disused train station during World War II, a pirate ship, a bank vault, or something totally different!

  • The End Goal

Not only does the backstory let you be imaginative and get into the game, but it also helps with the solution to the game. Most of the time, your goal in the game is just to escape. Usually, though, the stakes are pretty high. Just like the backstory, you are presented with a unique purpose for escaping the room. You might be having to pull off a heist of stolen treasure; save a man’s life in the nick of time; or save your own lives from the threat of danger. The goal is always the same: to escape. But the stakes of the game, what makes you motivated to escape, come along with the backstory of the escape room’s theme.

  • The Clues. 

Once you have the backstory and a goal in mind, you must work as a team to crack the clues laid out in the room. Escape room creators set up difficult, well-hidden clues in the room which help you to figure out how to escape. It could be a hidden note, a cryptic riddle, or something else entirely. Working together to crack these clues is the only way to escape.

When the adrenaline runs high, people often argue and turn on each other! This can lead to high-intensity arguments and debates, and you and your friends’ true colors are bound to shine through. Who dares enter the adrenaline lair?

  • The Time Limit

Most of the time, escape rooms have a time limit of one hour. This means that the pressure is on to crack the clues, and every single minute counts. Some people have formed escape room teams among their friends who attempt to crack the clues and escape within record time. Most companies have leaderboards that document how well you and your friends have done, depending on the number of minutes it took to escape!

Staying Safe: Home Escape Rooms

If you are still concerned about the COVID-19 pandemic, and you want to stay safe by remaining at home, there’s a solution. You can now complete an escape room at home with a new starter pack that sets up an escape room wherever you are. Here is how it works!

Setup!

In your group, whether it be family, friends, or housemates, you nominate a games maser. This person lays the clues out in the room and is the head of the operation. They do not help you escape the room, unless you request hints, as is the case in an actual escape room!

Play. 

Once you start the time, you’re off. Of course, you aren’t actually locked inside the room in your own home, but the challenge remains the same. You must crack the code and escape from the room before the time is up. 

Timings.

You can submit your escape time to the company and be in with a chance of winning a free expansion pack!

How Many Scenarios Are There?

In the starter pack, there are three totally unique escape rooms to play at home. After you have completed these, the expansion packs are available, with new escape rooms being developed all the time!

Why Choose an Escape Room At Home?

Depending on where you live in the world, the effects of COVID-19 are still everywhere. Many people, particularly those with health conditions, are not keen to start life again just because things are re-opening. If you identify with this feeling, then helping yourself have fun, laugh, and play games at home is even more important than ever.

With the help of technology, contemporary gaming techniques, and development, you can have an awesome escape room experience without having to exit your four walls!

Stop Gaming Boredom by Speeding up your Slow PC

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Waiting for a PC to start up can be frustrating to say the least. You may even find yourself being bored at the weekend because you feel as though you just have nothing to do and that you also can’t play the games you want. If this sounds like you then you have nothing to worry about, it’s easier than ever for you to speed up your PC if you follow this guide.

Uninstall some Games

Whenever you buy a new PC, there is a high chance that there are tons of programs that are pre-installed on there. Old computers have a habit of accumulating games over time, and a lot of the time you will never end up using them. Some may even run in the background without you knowing and all of this will slow down your computer far more than you realise. If you want to remove these programs, then the only thing that you need to do is go to Start and then to Control Panel. When you have done this, you can then go to Programs and Features.

Delete Temporary Files

Whenever you use a browser such as Internet Explorer, your browsing history will stay on your PC. The same thing will happen whenever you install something. This is very similar to buying a new TV and then never throwing away the packaging. You can save some space if you get rid of the thing that you don’t need, so keep that in mind. If you want to free up space, then open up My Computer and then choose your main drive. You can then click on the Windows folder and then inside, you will see a folder called Temp. From there, you can then delete your temporary files.

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Solid State Drive

If your PC feels as though it takes a very long time to turn on, then your hard drive might be at fault. Typically, your hard drive will have a lot of moving components and this can mean that it takes a long time to fire up.  You shouldn’t need to worry about your drive if you play games online. If you want to play online games over downloadable games so you can free up your drive then why not play Thunderstruck 2?

Get More HDD Space

It doesn’t matter how much you try and keep your computer tidy because if your hard drive gets too full then this will almost certainly affect the speed of your computer. If you use your system for heavy tasks, such as recording video or media then there is a chance that your drive will get full before you know it. In this day and age, you can get mega storage drives that can give you access to terabytes of data, which is the equivalent of thousands of movies.

Get Way More Ram

Have you ever noticed that when you try and work a lot of applications at once, such as your email or even your internet, your computer struggles to flick between them? If this is the case, then there is a high chance that your RAM is to blame.

 

 

 

Pic Source - CCO Licence No matter what kind of computer you have and what you tend to use it for, there is always the possibility that something might go wrong with it. This is worth bearing in mind, as it is the kind of thing that can happen to anyone, and it’s good to know what you can do about it when it happens to you. In this article, we are going to take a look at some of the most common computer problems that can occur, and see what kind of solutions there might be to them which you can consider. Any of these might happen to anyone’s computer at any time, so they are worth being aware of if you want to look after your machine as well as possible. Too Slow If you find that your computer is far too slow these days, you are not alone. Computers do always slow down over time, that’s just how machines go, but if it is becoming a real problem then you need to think about what you are going to do about it. First of all, you should see whether you can improve things by removing background apps and services and getting rid of unnecessary ones for good. Then clear up some disk space. Then you can think about installing some RAM - it’s easier than you think - to see if that helps. All of that should add up to make a huge difference, so it’s a good idea to do it all or none of it. Crashes When the computer starts crashing all the time, that can be a much more serious problem, especially if you are not really sure why it is happening in the first place. Computer crashes can happen for many reasons, but if it is persistently occurring then you might want to think about having a professional take a look at it. Taking the computer to someone like Nerd2Go Laptop Repairs could help you to get to the bottom of it and fix it once and for all, so it’s a good idea to consider doing that. Otherwise, it could become worse over time and you might find that it then gets to a place beyond repair. That is not what you want to go for here, so it is best to have it looked at as soon as possible. Poor Battery Life For laptops, a common problem after you have had them a while is that the battery can quickly become drained. If this happens, you are going to want to consider the possibility of merely buying a new battery for the laptop. That should do it, but if not then it might be a case of something needing a repair, or that it is time for a new computer. All in all, you can’t really put up with a poor battery, so this is an essential thing to be aware of if you want to make the most of your laptop.

Common Computer Problems & Their Solutions

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Pic Source - CCO Licence No matter what kind of computer you have and what you tend to use it for, there is always the possibility that something might go wrong with it. This is worth bearing in mind, as it is the kind of thing that can happen to anyone, and it’s good to know what you can do about it when it happens to you. In this article, we are going to take a look at some of the most common computer problems that can occur, and see what kind of solutions there might be to them which you can consider. Any of these might happen to anyone’s computer at any time, so they are worth being aware of if you want to look after your machine as well as possible. Too Slow If you find that your computer is far too slow these days, you are not alone. Computers do always slow down over time, that’s just how machines go, but if it is becoming a real problem then you need to think about what you are going to do about it. First of all, you should see whether you can improve things by removing background apps and services and getting rid of unnecessary ones for good. Then clear up some disk space. Then you can think about installing some RAM - it’s easier than you think - to see if that helps. All of that should add up to make a huge difference, so it’s a good idea to do it all or none of it. Crashes When the computer starts crashing all the time, that can be a much more serious problem, especially if you are not really sure why it is happening in the first place. Computer crashes can happen for many reasons, but if it is persistently occurring then you might want to think about having a professional take a look at it. Taking the computer to someone like Nerd2Go Laptop Repairs could help you to get to the bottom of it and fix it once and for all, so it’s a good idea to consider doing that. Otherwise, it could become worse over time and you might find that it then gets to a place beyond repair. That is not what you want to go for here, so it is best to have it looked at as soon as possible. Poor Battery Life For laptops, a common problem after you have had them a while is that the battery can quickly become drained. If this happens, you are going to want to consider the possibility of merely buying a new battery for the laptop. That should do it, but if not then it might be a case of something needing a repair, or that it is time for a new computer. All in all, you can’t really put up with a poor battery, so this is an essential thing to be aware of if you want to make the most of your laptop.

No matter what kind of computer you have and what you tend to use it for, there is always the possibility that something might go wrong with it. This is worth bearing in mind, as it is the kind of thing that can happen to anyone, and it’s good to know what you can do about it when it happens to you. In this article, we are going to take a look at some of the most common computer problems that can occur, and see what kind of solutions there might be to them which you can consider. Any of these might happen to anyone’s computer at any time, so they are worth being aware of if you want to look after your machine as well as possible. 

Any of these might happen to anyone’s computer at any time, so they are worth being aware of if you want to look after your machine as well as possible. Of course, sometimes you aren’t able to fix these issues yourself and you, therefore, might need to take your computer to a repair shop. The main benefit of taking your equipment to a Sacramento laptop repair shop, or a repair shop wherever you are based, is that any issues can be quickly detected and repaired by professionals.

 

Too Slow

If you find that your computer is far too slow these days, you are not alone. Computers do always slow down over time, that’s just how machines go, but if it is becoming a real problem then you need to think about what you are going to do about it. First of all, you should see whether you can improve things by removing background apps and services and getting rid of unnecessary ones for good. Then clear up some disk space. Then you can think about installing some RAM – it’s easier than you think – to see if that helps. All of that should add up to make a huge difference, so it’s a good idea to do it all or none of it.

 

Crashes

When the computer starts crashing all the time, that can be a much more serious problem, especially if you are not really sure why it is happening in the first place. Computer crashes can happen for many reasons, but if it is persistently occurring then you might want to think about having a professional take a look at it. Taking the computer to someone like Nerd2Go Laptop Repairs could help you to get to the bottom of it and fix it once and for all, so it’s a good idea to consider doing that. Otherwise, it could become worse over time and you might find that it then gets to a place beyond repair. That is not what you want to go for here, so it is best to have it looked at as soon as possible.

Poor Battery Life

For laptops, a common problem after you have had them a while is that the battery can quickly become drained. If this happens, you are going to want to consider the possibility of merely buying a new battery for the laptop. That should do it, but if not then it might be a case of something needing a repair, or that it is time for a new computer. All in all, you can’t really put up with a poor battery, so this is an essential thing to be aware of if you want to make the most of your laptop.

Staying Sane While Working From Home

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There are some who have plenty of experience working from home who might’ve forgotten just how hard it can be to acclimate initially. However, there are plenty of new remote workers discovering precisely that. Here, we’re going to look at some of the tips and tools that can help you make that adjustment, working more happily, healthily, and efficiently from your own home.

 

Create a real workspace

If you don’t have your own space that’s dedicated solely to your work, then you’re going to have a lot of trouble indeed when it comes to getting the focus that you need. If you can create your own home office, that’s great. However, it doesn’t need to be a whole room. A single desk or corner of a room dedicated to your work will help you better separate your home and work life. Otherwise, the line between the two can blur, making it easier to get distracted.

 

Treat it like you’re going to work

If you’re working flexibly for the first time, it can be easy to take advantage of that flexibility and work in the most relaxed and lackadaisical manner possible. However, if you let your standards slacken too much, it can start to affect how engaged and motivated you really are with work. Visit Monday.com to make sure you’re managing a real work schedule, wake up in the mornings with time to get into work mode, and try dressing for work rather than sitting around in a dressing gown.

 

Streamline and automate what you can

What tasks are you in charge of while working remotely? If there’s anything repetitive or monotonous, then finding a way to streamline that work can make it a lot less taxing on you. If you’re in charge of compiling project briefs, press releases, or other documents, for instance, you can visit Templafy.com to take a look at a tool that could help you streamline the process of preparing and formatting documents. Otherwise, continuously doing the same kind of work day in and day out can really sap your motivation.

 

Stick in close communication with the team

Not having your co-workers around you, especially if you have good relationships with them, can be a major hurdle to those who are new to remote working. You can’t simply go to their desk and have a quick chat. As such, it’s important to look at tools that can keep you in close contact such as team collaboration software. Other tools like screen-sharing software can also drastically improve the way that you collaborate, making it much easier to share information that would allow you to check and comment on their work or provider support.

If you feel like working from home isn’t currently working, then try to have a think about what the problem is. If it’s a change in the home environment or schedule, then it’s on your to make it, but if you spot a tool that could make it easier, be sure to talk to your employer or team about it.

Wonderful Ways Technology Can Keep You Sane During This Lockdown

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This lockdown season is tough on us all, and being trapped at home or indoors all the time is not good for your mental well-being. This is why it is so important to do as much as possible to help make the most of the time you have. You should look at the things you can do to make the most of this lockdown period, and this is something to keep in mind moving forward. When you are trying to stay sane over the lockdown period, you need to make sure you have things to keep you occupied. 

Technology is our greatest friend these days, and it has opened so many doors for us that would not usually have been opened. So this is something you need to make the most of and try to utilise so you have the best possible lockdown experience. Try to do what you can to make the most of this, and look at some of the great ways technology can boost and improve your lockdown adventure. These are some of the key things to keep in mind that are going to help you this summer. 

 

Streaming Services to the Rescue

One of the biggest things you are finding people make the most of during this pandemic is the rise of streaming services. Prime Video, Disney+, and Netflix are more popular than ever, and this has given rise to the popularity of programmes like Tiger King, and many more. If you are trying to keep sane over this period, one of the best ways of doing this is the escapism that movies and TV shows provide you with. There are a lot of things that play a part in making lockdown more tolerable, and there is no question that streaming services are one of the best ways of being able to achieve this. Make sure you have at least one subscription, or access to at least one subscription and you can escape into the world of streaming, and while away the dull hours of this lockdown in style!

Zoom Meetings

Businesses are still trying to run, and this means many employees are working from home these days. This has led to a rise in the number of meetings that are occurring, and this is understandable when it comes to assessing the situation and thinking about what it takes to make the best of this. Zoom meetings are really important for communicating and keeping people appraised with what is going on. As a business owner, they allow you to stay in touch with your workers and let them know about developments in the company. These are secure meetings that can be carried out remotely, and they make up an important part of the lockdown process. 

Wi-Fi Lets You Work From Home

Wi-Fi is hugely important and has been a godsend during this lockdown as it has allowed businesses to continue running. People can use their wi-fi connection to work from home, even if it is at a more basic level. This is something that you need to make sure you focus on as much as possible. Having a strong and dependable internet connection makes a big difference, and this can allow you to enjoy some semblance of normalcy when it comes to living and working as you normally would. This is something you need to think about moving forward, and there are a lot of benefits to this during the lockdown process. 

Social Media Helps You Stay Connected

Social media is so important in general and has taken on another layer of importance during this lockdown period. You need to make sure you think about what it takes to stay in touch with friends and family. This is more important than ever and is something that you need to make sure you come up to help you look after your mental health and sanity. Make sure you think about what it takes to connect as well as you can with people moving forward. Social media has provided the ideal platform for you to be able to achieve this, and you need to ensure you try to make the most of it as much as you possibly can. 

Stay in Shape with an Apple Watch

Looking after your health and well-being is really important these days, and this is something you are going to need to work on over the lockdown season. So, you need to make sure you do as much possible to stay active and keep fit. Now, there are a lot of things that you can do to help you with this, and making use of an Apple Watch to stay in shape and track your health and fitness as much as possible. Make sure you focus on what you can do to improve your physical well-being moving forward, and this is something you should look to improve upon over this period of uncertainty. There are a lot of things that you need to keep in mind when looking to boost your fitness, and an Apple Watch is going to help massively with that.

Pass the Time By Online Gaming

Another excellent way of keeping busy and entertaining yourself by way of technology is to pass the time by online gaming. This is something you need to look at as soon as you can, and it’s something that you can do for free if you find the right games. You should also look at free bet options so you can indulge in a bit of online gambling as well. The world of gaming is so diverse and you can get online and take advantage of this by finding so many options for immersive gaming to help you pass the time this lockdown. You can use your laptop or PC, you might think about mobile gaming, or you could use consoles to enjoy a great gaming experience this lockdown. 

Shop for Essentials on Amazon

Make sure you look at things like online shopping that can be used to help you buy essentials and improve your quality of life in the process. This is something that you need to make sure you get sorted as much as possible, and Amazon is the perfect platform for finding what you need and ordering it in a fast and efficient manner. Just because we are facing a lockdown doesn’t mean that you stop needing things in your life, and this is what makes sites like this so important.

Use Houseparty to Have a Beer With Friends

You can still have a beer with your friends and chat, watch movies, or play games. The best way of doing this is to download the HouseParty app and have video chats. This is an app that allows for multiple video calls at the same time, allowing friends to congregate virtually, drink beer, and enjoy socialising like they used to, and all from the comfort of their own homes. 

As you can see, there are plenty of amazing things you can do that will help you keep you busy during this global pandemic. Technology has never been more important, and it is the perfect way of bringing us closer together, connecting us, and helping us to stay sane during this time. You have to keep busy and do things that are going to entertain and interest you. The more you can do to achieve this, the better it will be for you moving forward. If you have a family, you will also find it useful to get this right moving forward.

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Create The Perfect Gaming Room

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If you love to game, and you are hoping to make it even more of your life, then one of the first things you should think about doing is creating a proper gaming area in your home. No matter the size of your home or who you share it with, you should be able to do this, even if it is just a modest corner of a room. Of course, it would be better if you can do it with a whole room, and some of the suggestions here will assume that you are changing an entire room into a gaming den – but you can still take these suggestions on board for smaller projects. Let’s look at how to create the perfect gaming room in your home.

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Limiting Distractions

If you want it to really work as a gaming den, you need to make sure that you are limiting any distractions from outside the room as best as you can. Part of that might have to do with placement, which is why for some people they might choose to go for a man cave style space, or even something like a garden shed. However, even a bedroom or a spare room can be utilised in such a way that the distractions are kept to a minimum. You can even get soundproofing for walls which is very affordable and put that up – which also helps to keep you from distracting others in the house as well.

Another way to limit distractions is to be careful about the layout of the room, regarding any windows or doors. You don’t want to shut yourself in from the world entirely, but it is a good idea to think about whether the placement of the screen is going to be suitable considering where the windows and doors are. You don’t want to be distracted in the middle of an engrossing MMORPG, so this is really something to think about in the early stages of the design of your gaming room.

Creating Comfort

If you are going to sit in the gaming room for many hours each day, you need to make sure that you are going to be as comfortable as possible. Creating comfort in the room is something that you can do easily enough and in fact you have many options for how you are going to do this. For one thing, you might want to think about splashing out on a full gamer’s chair, which is likely going to be one of the more expensive things you will buy, but will also provide you with a lot of comfort. If you are keen to not overspend, however, you would be better off with something like a bean bag chair, which can be just as comfortable and yet won’t cost you a huge amount of money. If you look at some of the best bean bag chairs for gaming, you will see that there are actually many to choose from.

But creating comfort is about more than where you sit. You also want to generally make the room just much more comfortable however you can, which could include basically anything that might make it a bit more like a normal living room. Bear in mind that you might want to have your friends round to play with you – so having an armchair and a sofa too might be a good idea, so everyone can stay comfortable.

The Tech

The exciting part for most people is the tech setup, as this is where the actual magic happens. Most gamers would agree that a bigger television or screen is better, so that is probably the first thing to try and find. You can do that fairly inexpensively by looking into whether anyone in your local area is selling a screen second-hand. Often you can get hold of one for very little money that way. It doesn’t need to be anything fancy – anything with an HDMI slot or two and a big screen is likely going to be suitable.

You might also have a range of consoles, or a computer too, and you will need to find some kind of setup where you can easily switch between them all at will. That should be easy enough to do, but consider whether there is a particular console that you tend to use more than others. As long as you have thought about that, you should be able to create a much more enticing and enthralling gaming experience for yourself.

 

Add An Alarm Clock

You may not think that an alarm clock has a place in a gaming room, but hear me out! When you get into a new game, you can lose time. Haven’t we all been there where we’ve been playing The SIMS or checking out Wonga games and all of a sudden six hours are gone? It’s so easy to get wrapped up in the game you’re playing, and it’s a good thing as it means you’re invested and you’re having fun.

 

If you add an alarm clock, you’re imposing a limit on yourself so that you’re going to be able to get off the game. You probably don’t think you need one, but believe us when we say the rabbit hole of gaming is a deep one! If you plan to play for money, an alarm clock will jolt you out after an hour or so, and you will be able to put a limit on your spending this way, too. Don’t be afraid to get a nice loud one, or you can go one better and have Alexa tell you when it’s time to come off the games!

 

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China’s Car Market Recovered In March

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Economic predictions of doom and gloom are coming thick and fast. We have economists all over the world, from Nouriel Roubini to the big wigs at Goldman Sachs calling the coronavirus pandemic “the black swan of black swans” for economic output. A new Great Depression. The end of the world. But a glance over at the Chinese auto market reveals that the green shoots of recovery are emerging. 

The current lockdown has wrecked the auto sector in Europe and the US. People can’t leave their homes to buy cars. In the UK, for instance, manufacturers saw a 44 percent reduction in sales in March – the lowest level in over ten years.  In the US, the figure is around 50 percent. 

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Economists worry that the coronavirus pandemic is leading to an economic catastrophe from which we may not emerge – certainly not quickly. But there are positive reports coming out of China – which recently reopened its business – that things may improve soon once the lockdown comes to an end. 

Chinese dealerships report that they have seen a massive surge in demand since the CCP allowed people to leave their homes for non-essential reasons again. 

It points in the right direction. There are clear signs of business recovery in the country. And that should be a cause for celebration. 

The main fear was that shuttering economic activity for months at a time would put the car industry into cardiac arrest, causing a massive recession similar to the one that we saw in the 1930s. But it doesn’t appear like that will happen – at least not in China. The country’s authorities threw everything that they could at this crisis, including the kitchen sink, and it appears to be working. Shanghai factories are back online. And some experts predict that if things continue to improve at the rate that they were, the market could recover to pre-crisis levels by the middle of the summer. 

As for dealerships in the west, like Angus Mackinnon, the future isn’t so clear. Governments have stimulated their economies, like the Chinese. However, it is still not known whether we’re headed for a dual public health and financial crisis or not. 

If COVID-19 clears up by the middle of the summer – as some experts predict – and we don’t have a second wave, then we could be in the clear. Manufacturers could resume full-time production and then sell to a market buoyed by monetary stimulus. 

If, however, the lockdown drags on and we see people struggling to pay their bills because they can’t earn, then we’re in for a lot of pain. The structure of the car market might fundamentally change like it did in the financial crisis. And we could see production slow and businesses shuttering across the board. 

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Remember, the industry never really recovered from that event. And even before the current crisis hit, the industry was dealing with issues such as electrification and diesel emissions. It was clear that change was on the way. The coronavirus will no doubt accelerate it.