Pure Storage interview: The changing market in cloud storage
Data is becoming increasingly important across the world, to the point where it drives major decisions to ensure businesses stay up to date with the ever-changing digital world. On the plus side, most businesses have this data readily accessible. However, using the best cloud storage services to manage and look after this information comes with its own unique challenges.
To uncover the best ways for businesses to maximise their data use and reduce infrastructure management costs, we spoke with Cathy Southwick, the Chief Information Storage Officer of Pure Storage.
What have been some of the biggest changes in the storage industry over the past 10 years?
In the past decade, the storage landscape has seen various large-scale changes. First, organisations began to move to all-flash solutions. Currently, over 70 percent of businesses use flash for important production environments. In my opinion, there have been a few key things that have occurred in this field over the last decade.
All-flash storage: The most important moment for flash came about in 2014 when the industry moved from disk-dominated storage to new all-flash products. But flash storage continues to become more affordable, which means that we can expect it to grow in popularity among enterprises and as the foundation for cloud storage—including for public, SaaS, and internal options.
Storage-as-a-service: With Storage-as-a-Service, the versatility and power of leading data storage solutions can be harnessed by any data center across the world, regardless of how they store information and what sort of information is stored.
How do you ensure you stay focused as a company on your goals?
Our company is up there with the best in the industry because we’re always trying to improve. Rather than moving along at the same speed as many of our competitors, we regularly bring new ideas to the table. By combining this with a new customer-centric business model and modern technology we’ve been able to accelerate our growth.
By being one of the first to act, we’ve benefited immensely. Data-related challenges continue to evolve, and our modern approach allows us to implement the most appropriate solutions at the best times. We dedicate a huge 18 percent of our company revenue to the development and research of new products to ensure we remain an industry leader in the data storage field.
How important has the relationship with your customers been in helping Pure Storage grow?
Customer relationships have been a crucial part of our development. Our customer-oriented values remain as strong as ever now, a decade after Pure Storage was founded. Our commitment to driving innovation shows this, as our cutting-edge solutions are being implemented across the world to solve problems and transform the digital landscape. Additionally, it’s reflected in our excellent Net Promoter Score (NPS), where we have been in the top 1 percent of all B2B companies for the past four years.
How do you see the storage market changing in the next 10 years?
If you ask me, flash storage is going to continue to advance over the coming years. There are a few important milestones that still need to be reached, which will contribute to the advancement of flash technology globally.
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Organisations are improving the way they consume data centre infrastructure
Dell Technologies delivers on as-a-Service with APEX data storage services
However, the technology isn’t the be all and end all here. It’s also important to keep the customer experience in mind, maintaining the choice and versatility that the industry has become used to. In general, businesses today expect IT to come in a flexible package, with resources that can be used anywhere, by any application or environment.
This is one of the reasons why Pure Storage is currently prioritising the growth of our Storage-as-a-Service portfolio. We were the first and, currently, we remain the only company that provides a single subscription with clear flexibility between various on-prem and cloud storage solutions. Because of this, we believe that our second decade in business will see continued growth in the field as we work to move and update traditional storage to fit the modern digital landscape.
What is one piece of advice you would give entrepreneurs starting a business today?
There’s plenty of advice I could give, but it’s absolutely crucial to ensure that you never ignore consumer knowledge. The needs of different customers are different, and they can change extremely quickly.
Understanding a customer today doesn’t necessarily mean that you will still understand them in the future. Ensure that you continue to network with various business professionals and remain up to date with technological developments. Doing this will help you understand just what the customer is looking for, what the current main challenges are, and what the main areas of concern are.
Further reading
We interviewed a series of other cloud storage companies about their successes, biggest challenges, and plans for the future, including Zoolz and pCloud.
10 Best Chrome Extensions That Are Perfect for Everyone
Are you a great Chrome user? That’s nice to hear. But first, consider whether or not there are any essential Chrome extensions you are currently missing from your browsing life, so here we’re going to share with you 10 Best Chrome Extensions That Are Perfect for Everyone. So Let’s Start.
1. LastPass
When you have too several passwords to remember, LastPass remembers them for you.
This chrome extension is an easy way to save you time and increase security. It’s a single password manager that will log you into all of your accounts. you simply ought to bear in mind one word: your LastPass password to log in to all or any your accounts.
Features
Save usernames and passwords and LastPasswill log you in automatically.
Fill the forms quickly to save your addresses, credit card numbers and more.
2. MozBar
MozBar is an SEO toolbar extension that makes it easy for you to analyze your web pages’ SEO while you surf. You can customize your search so that you see data for a particular region or for all regions. You get data such as website and domain authority and link profile. The status column tells you whether there are any no-followed links to the page.You can also compare link metrics. There is a pro version of MozBar, too.
3. Grammerly
Grammarly is a real-time grammar checking and spelling tool for online writing. It checks spelling, grammar, and punctuation as you type, and has a dictionary feature that suggests related words. if you use mobile phones for writing than Grammerly also have a mobile keyboard app.
4. VidlQ
VidIQ is a SaaS product and Chrome Extension that makes it easier to manage and optimize your YouTube channels. It keeps you informed about your channel’s performance with real-time analytics and powerful insights.
Features
Learn more about insights and statistics beyond YouTube Analytics
Find great videos with the Trending tab.
You can check out any video’s YouTube rankings and see how your own video is doing on the charts.
Keep track the history of the keyword to determine when a keyword is rising or down in popularity over time.
Quickly find out which videos are performing the best on YouTube right now.
Let this tool suggest keywords for you to use in your title, description and tags.
5. ColorZilla
ColorZilla is a browser extension that allows you to find out the exact color of any object in your web browser. This is especially useful when you want to match elements on your page to the color of an image.
Features
Advanced Color Picker (similar to Photoshop’s)
Ultimate CSS Gradient Generator
The “Webpage Color Analyzer” site helps you determine the palette of colors used in a particular website.
Palette Viewer with 7 pre-installed palettes
Eyedropper – sample the color of any pixel on the page
Color History of recently picked colors
Displays some info about the element, including the tag name, class, id and size.
Auto copy picked colors to clipboard
Get colors of dynamic hover elements
Pick colors from Flash objects
Pick colors at any zoom level
6. Honey
Honey is a chrome extension with which you save each product from the website and notify it when it is available at low price it’s one among the highest extensions for Chrome that finds coupon codes whenever you look online.
Features
Best for finding exclusive prices on Amazon.
A free reward program called Honey Gold.
Searches and filters the simplest value fitting your demand.
Instant notifications.
7. GMass: Powerful Chrome Extension for Gmail Marketers
GMass (or Gmail Mass) permits users to compose and send mass emails using Gmail. it is a great tool as a result of you’ll use it as a replacement for a third-party email sending platform. you will love GMass to spice up your emailing functionality on the platform.
8. Notion Web Clipper: Chrome Extension for Geeks
It’s a Chrome extension for geeks that enables you to highlight and save what you see on the web.
It’s been designed by Notion, that could be a Google space different that helps groups craft higher ideas and collaborate effectively.
Features
Save anything online with just one click
Use it on any device
Organize your saved clips quickly
Tag, share and comment on the clips
If you are someone who works online, you need to surf the internet to get your business done. And often there is no time to read or analyze something. But it’s important that you do it. Notion Web Clipper will help you with that.
9. WhatFont: Chrome Extension for identifying Any Site Fonts
WhatFont is a Chrome extension that allows web designers to easily identify and compare different fonts on a page. The first time you use it on any page, WhatFont will copy the selected page.It Uses this page to find out what fonts are present and generate an image that shows all those fonts in different sizes. Besides the apparent websites like Google or Amazon, you’ll conjointly use it on sites wherever embedded fonts ar used.
Similar Web is an SEO add on for both Chrome and Firefox.It allows you to check web site traffic and key metrics for any web site, as well as engagement rate, traffic ranking, keyword ranking, and traffic source. this is often a good tool if you are looking to seek out new and effective SEO ways similarly as analyze trends across the web.
Features
Discover keyword trends
Know fresh keywords
Get benefit from the real traffic insights
Analyze engagement metrics
Explore unique visitors data
Analyze your industry’s category
Use month to date data
How to Install chrome Extension in Android
I know everyone knows how to install extension in pc but most of people don’t know how to install it in android phone so i will show you how to install it in android
1. Download Kiwi browser from Play Store and then Open it.
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2. Tap the three dots at the top right corner and select Extension.
3. Click on (+From Store) to access chrome web store or simple search chrome web store and access it.
4. Once you found an extension click on add to chrome a message will pop-up asking if you wish to confirm your choice. Hit OK to install the extension in the Kiwi browser.
5. To manage extensions on the browser, tap the three dots in the upper right corner. Then select Extensions to access a catalog of installed extensions that you can disable, update or remove with just a few clicks.
Your Chrome extensions should install on Android, but there’s no guarantee all of them will work. Because Google Chrome Extensions are not optimized for Android devices.
Final Saying
We hope this list of 10 best chrome extensions that is perfect for everyone will help you in picking the right Chrome Extensions. We have selected the extensions after matching their features to the needs of different categories of people. Also which extension you like the most let me know in the comment section
Most Frequently Asked Questions About Email Marketing
1. Why is email marketing important?
Email is the marketing tool that helps you create a seamless, connected, frictionless buyer journey. More importantly, email marketing allows you to build relationships with prospects, customers, and past customers. It’s your chance to speak to them right in their inbox, at a time that suits them. Along with the right message, email can become one of your most powerful marketing channels.
2. What is benefits of email marketing?
Email marketing is best way for creating long term relationship with your clients, and increasing sales in our company.
Benefits of email marketing for bussiness:
Better brand recognition
Statistics of what works best
More sales
Targeted audience
More traffic to your products/services/newsletter
Build credibility
Most bussinesses are using email marketing and making tons of money with email marketing.
3. What is the simplest day and time to send my marketing emails?
Again, the answer to this question varies from company to company. And again, testing is the way to find out what works best. Typically, weekends and mornings seem to be times when multiple emails are opened, but since your audience may have different habits, it’s best to experiment and then use your data to decide.
4. Which metrics should I be looking at?
The two most important metrics for email marketing are open rate and click-through rate. If your emails aren’t opened, subscribers will never see your full marketing message, and if they open them but don’t click through to your site, your emails won’t convert.
5. How do I write a decent subject line?
The best subject lines are short and to the point, accurately describing the content of the email, but also catchy and intriguing, so the reader wants to know more. Once Again, this is the perfect place for A/B testing, to see what types of subject lines work best with your audience. Your call to action should be clear and simple. It should be somewhere at the top of your email for those who haven’t finished reading the entire email, then repeated at the end for those reading all the way through. It should state exactly what you want subscribers to do, for example “Click here to download the premium theme for free.
6. Is email marketing still effective?
Email marketing is one of the most effective ways for a business to reach its customers directly. Think about it. You don’t post something on your site hoping people will visit it. You don’t even post something on a social media page and hope fans see it. You’re sending something straight to each person’s inbox, where they’ll definitely see it! Even if they don’t open it, they’ll still see your subject line and business name every time you send an email, so you’re still communicating directly with your audience.
7. However do I grow my email subscribers list? Should i buy an email list or build it myself?
Buying an email list is waste of time & money. These email accounts are unverified and not interested in your brand. The mailing list is useless if your subscribers do not open your emails. There are different ways to grow your mailing list.
Give them a free ebook and host it on a landing page where they have to enter the email to download the file and also create a forum page on your website, asks your visitors what questions they might have about your business, and collects email addresses to follow up with them.
8. How do I prevent audience from unsubscribing?
If the subject line of the email is irrelevant to customers, they will ignore it multiple times. But, if it keeps repeating, they are intercepted and unsubscribed from your emails. So, send relevant emails for the benefit of the customer. Don’t send emails that often only focus on sales, offers and discounts.
Submit information about your business and offers so you can connect with customers. You can also update them on recent trends in your industry. The basic role of an email is first and foremost to connect with customers, get the most out of this tool.
9. What is the difference between a cold email and a spam email?
Cold emails are mostly sales emails that are sent with content align to the needs of the recipient. It is usually personalized and includes a business perspective. However, it is still an unsolicited email. And all unsolicited emails are marked as SPAM.
Regularly receiving this type of unsolicited email in your users’ inboxes, chances are your emails will soon be diverted to spam or junk folders. The most important thing to prevent this from happening is to respect your recipients’ choice to opt-out of receiving emails from you. You can add the links to easily unsubscribe. You must be familiar with the CAN-SPAM Act and its regulations.
10. Where can I find email template?
Almost all email campaign tools provide you with ready-made templates. Whether you use MailChimp or Pardot, you’ll get several email templates ready to use.
However, if you want to create a template from scratch, you can do so.Most of email campaign tools have option to paste the HTML code of your own design.
11. What email marketing trend will help marketers succeed in 2022?
Is it a trend to listen to and get to know your customers? I think people realize how bad it feels for a brand or a company to obsess over themselves without knowing their customers personal needs. People who listen empathetically and then provide value based on what they learn will win.
You can approach email marketing in different ways. We have compiled a list of most frequently asked questions to help you understand how to get started, what constraints you need to keep in mind, and what future development you will need, we don’t have 100% answers to every situation and there’s always a chance you will have something new and different to deal with as you market your own business.
The best apps to share files have played a pivotal role in businesses worldwide since the COVID-19 pandemic started. These platforms are often the best cloud storage solutions too, and file sharing facilities are particularly important to the best cloud storage for business.
File sharing has a big impact on staff and employee interactions and overall efficiency, and given that so many now work from home full- or part-time, cross-collaboration between homes and offices is more important than ever. In this vein, it’s absolutely key for any business to utilise a service that safely, securely, quickly, and easily handles remote data transfers at a high level and frequency.
In our guide below, we reviewed, evaluated, and ranked the best apps to share files, to help you or your business to identify and choose the right file-sharing solution for your needs.
The 3 best apps to share files securely available
Egnyte: top-level security and synchronisation (opens in new tab) Egnyte’s business-focussed platform offers scalable pricing and enterprise-level security, as well as desktop syncing and integration with Microsoft Outlook. It’s the best file-sharing app for businesses looking to secure their file transfers.
SpiderOak: zero-knowledge, encrypted file-sharing SpiderOak’s zero-knowledge architecture ensures that even the provider cannot access your data, and this makes it a top choice. Other tools include backup and restore process encryption, while an accessible interface gives it a user-friendly boost.
pCloud: scalable, secure cloud storage (opens in new tab) pCloud is the best choice for security, as all business accounts come with end-to-end encryption on an unlimited number of files. Competitive plans include 1TB per user, and users can be added or removed as necessary, with a straightforward app and great file sharing enabling link sharing and custom access privileges.
Lowest-priced plan: £16.35 a month per employee (Business)
Free tier/trial: 15 days
Security specialty: MFA
Operating systems: iOS, Android, macOS, Windows
REASONS TO BUY
Intuitive web app
Perfect for businesses
REASONS TO AVOID
No options for individuals
Egnyte pitches itself as a business-only platform, and it excels in fulfilling this brief. Its scalable pricing system (opens in new tab) starts at £16.35 a month per employee for 1TB of online support, before jumping up to Enterprise Lite and Enterprise levels that require contacting sales.
What it lacks in editing functionality, it makes up for in enterprise-level security, desktop syncing, and Microsoft Outlook integration. A gold standard choice for businesses of all kinds.
Read our comprehensive Egnyte review (opens in new tab).
SpiderOak has long had a “No Knowledge” approach to data management, meaning that it can’t access any of your information. Other strengths include encryption during the backup and restore processes and an incredibly accessible interface design.
SpiderOak has a few obvious weaknesses. The mobile app, for example, can be buggy, and there is no way to edit a document at the same time as someone else.
Operating systems: iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, Linux
REASONS TO BUY
Generous pricing
Additional encryption available
REASONS TO AVOID
pCloud’s security capabilities are impressive, but can be expanded further for £4.99 a month to include encryption during transfers.
Its pricing structure (opens in new tab) is also impressive, offering a generous 10GB for free, 500GB for £4.99 a month, or 500GB for a one-off fee of £175. If utilised for long enough, the latter deal could be incredibly cost effective. Collaborators beware though, pCloud has one main weakness—a dearth of any real-time editing options.
Read our comprehensive pCloud review (opens in new tab).
Dropbox
(Image credit: Dropbox)
The cloud platform’s app is reliable and simply designed
SPECIFICATIONS
Lowest-priced plan: £7.99 (Plus)
Free tier/trial: 2GB
Security speciality: File splitting during encryption
Operating systems: iOS, Android, Linux, macOS, Windows
REASONS TO BUY
Attractive user interface
Different tiers depending on your needs
REASONS TO AVOID
Some security blind-spots
Dropbox has a strong security capability, utilising 256-bit encryption when files aren’t in transit, as well as SSL/TSL transfer tunnels when they are. This is encouraging, as the sleek file-sharing platform has previously come under criticism for its data privacy. Of some concern, for example, is how they reserve the right to view any data on their servers.
Dropbox makes up for these doubts in other areas, however. Its mobile app and interface are intuitive and attractive, and a selection of pricing levels (opens in new tab) allows you to only pay for the file space you really need.
Dropbox’s rival has ample space and good security features
SPECIFICATIONS
Lowest-priced plan: £8 a month (Personal Pro)
Free tier/trial: 10GB
Security speciality: 2FA
Operating systems: iOS, Android, macOS, Windows
REASONS TO BUY
Third-party integrations
Excellent security
REASONS TO AVOID
Slightly confusing design
Can be expensive
Box has been around for a while, and has had time to add to its features and functionality. Integrating it with your macOS, for example, is easy���it appears alongside other folders in the Finder. It also one-ups Dropbox with end-to-end encryption and more space on its free tier.
One drawback is its slightly unclear layout, but that’s easily overcome after a few hours’ use, and its pricing (opens in new tab) is competitive.
Meagre free option, but Microsoft nails everything else
SPECIFICATIONS
Lowest-priced plan: £1.99 a month (OneDrive Standalone)
Free tier/trial: 5GB
Security speciality: Files individually encrypted
Operating systems: iOS, Android, macOS, Windows
REASONS TO BUY
Ideal for collaboration
Elegant mobile app
REASONS TO AVOID
macOS app needs work
Limited free storage
Microsoft was arguably slow off the mark to launch a file-sharing and cloud host, but it was worth the wait. The OneDrive mobile apps, for example, work seamlessly and are elegantly designed, while the desktop version makes files you didn’t even upload accessible.
All the editing and sharing options we’ve come to expect are available too, making teamwork easy. One disappointment for OneDrive is its macOS client app, which feels a touch clunky.
Operating systems: iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, Linux
REASONS TO BUY
REASONS TO AVOID
Only paid users can send files
Resilio gains many benefits from its use of the BitTorrent Protocol, such as enhanced transfer times and the ability for peer-to-peer communication—so long as you and the receiver are both online.
In terms of security, Resilio claims that it cannot access your data, and neither can third parties. The service also offers several one-off payment tiers (opens in new tab), including £48.96 and £81.65 for individual and family use respectively, and you can store as many files and as much data as you require.
How secure is cloud storage?
The best secure cloud storage provides leading security and encryption, even though it theoretically is not as secure as local storage. Stable and highly secure cloud storage for business in turn must give your sensitive and integral company data the utmost protection.
When looking for secure storage, ensure your chosen provider offers either end-to-end encryption or zero-knowledge architecture. Respectively, these mean services are either essentially hack-proof, or that not even their own employees are able to access your files, including even if law enforcement compels them or the form to do so.
If these aren’t an option, look for in-transit and at-rest encryption. In this case, your data is indecipherable even if a cybercriminal intercepted it from the provider. Storage as a service (StaaS) organisations provide their storage from highly-secure data centres, which are protected 24/7 by security features such as biometric entry authorisation and frequent auditing.
Finally, look for additional tools like 2FA, which offers you added security on top of what the providers have undertaken behind the scenes. It’s perfectly natural to have data security concerns, but the best cloud storage providers offer strong tools that are right on the cutting-edge.
What file-sharing features can cloud storage offer?
The majority of cloud storage providers offering business services are StaaS businesses, providing customers with collaborative tools and seamless digital workflows. These help to facilitate and grow collaboration and productivity across a business.
With hybrid working across remote and office-based staff now more entrenched in the modern business world, these elements are particularly important. These providers also utilise cloud sync technology, which allows edits to documents to be visible immediately across all connected devices and to all users with the requisite access.
In turn, such providers also offer important administrative features and tools, which cover access management and system usage auditing. Such tools can range from 2FA all the way to roles-based permissions.
When it comes to finding the best web hosting services, paid providers are always best for your needs. However, if you’re just starting with websites, you’ll be looking to any ways that you could defer costs until you have a solid turnover. Some small business owners in this situation turn to the best free web hosting for their first site – or are tempted to.
Is free web hosting good?
If you’re struggling with budgets, then the best free web hosting services can seem like an easy and perfect option. However, free web hosting isn’t as good as it might appear to be on the surface.
Should you try to choose a free web hosting service, remember that free hosts aren’t anywhere near as good as premium options. Generally speaking, you’ll have to deal with security vulnerabilities, poor performance, and limited features. You may also be faced with strict resource constraints, and you’ll likely be left to fix things yourself if anything goes wrong.
Should you have a strict budget, taking this route means dealing with its tight limitations, including a lack of reliability, limited disk space, and slow speeds. Most free web hosts aren’t actually free, with unusable hosting, a lack of security and management tools, and extremely poor customer service. You’ll almost certainly run into problems with many “free” hosts once you’ve signed up.
It can be hard to find decent free web hosting, and our advice is – if budget is an issue – to take a look at our guide to the best cheap web hosting. Here, you can see how you can save without going for free web hosting, as it usually cuts corners.
The 3 best web hosting services right now
We’ve outlined below our top three best web hosting services, which while not free do instead offer competitively-priced web hosting that’s secure, reliable, supported by hosting experts, and evidenced by strong performance figures.
Hostinger: best all-round web hosting service (opens in new tab) Hostinger is the best overall, VPS, and cloud hosting provider, with advanced tools, an excellent native control panel, and more. Premium Shared Hosting is exclusively available for £1.99 a month (opens in new tab), and includes 100 sites, 100GB SSD storage, and unlimited bandwidth and MySQL databases.
Cloudways: a top cloud hosting provider (opens in new tab) Cloudways offers flexible, powerful cloud hosting across customisable, pay-as-you-go plans. Benefits include managed hosting, free SSL certificates and site migrations, and more, with packages starting from £8.41 a month for 1GB RAM, 25GB storage, and 1TB bandwidth.
WP Engine: best hosting for WordPress (opens in new tab) WP Engine’s powerful managed WordPress hosting offers automated backups, integrated development, and more. High-level performance and leading tools are ideal for scalable, flexible sites, with its Startup package £24 a month for 10GB storage and 50GB bandwidth.
Below, we’ve tested a range of providers to find the best free web hosting services, as for many there will be little to no other option. Having identified available options that are worth your consideration, we’d also point out that many of these providers are designed to compel you to upgrade to a paid plan once you’ve hit their constraints.
What are the best free web hosting services?
InfinityFree and Byethost are recommended free hosts, especially if you’re looking for advanced features and generous server resources. Additionally, FreeHostingNoAds, FreeWebHostingArea, AwardSpace, FreeHosting.io, GoogieHost, FreeHostingEU, and HyperPHP are all options worth considering.
One particular free host worth highlighting is 000webhost, which is managed by Hostinger, an industry leader in the hosting space. Although it offers very limited storage and bandwidth, you can rest assured that it provides secure, reliable service.
Our pick of the best free web hosting services, compared:
InfinityFree is about as good as a free web hosting service gets. For a start, you get unlimited disk space, bandwidth, and subdomains. There are no forced ads on your website; InfinityFree states that it makes enough money from the ads on the control panel to support the service. It’s been around for over eight years, so you know that your site is unlikely to just disappear one day if the company goes bust.
InfinityFree also has a 99.9% uptime guarantee. We like that you can install over 400 applications through the Softaculous one-click script installer. This makes setting up a WordPress, Joomla, or Drupal site a breeze. InfinityFree even offers free DNS, SSL, and CloudFlare CDN support. As many paid hosts charge for these services, it’s impressive to see in a free host.
In our performance tests, load times were unimpressive but not terrible. But if your website takes off, you can easily upgrade to InfinityFree’s £5.77 a month Ultimate Premium plan for unlimited daily hits and faster server response times.
ByetHost
(Image credit: ByetHost)
A professional free host to get you started
SPECIFICATIONS
Disk space: 5GB
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Subdomains: 1
REASONS TO BUY
Unlimited bandwidth
24/7 support
Site builder with templates
REASONS TO AVOID
ByetHost is an Ohio-based web hosting company with shared hosting, virtual private servers, and dedicated servers. Its free plan is basically an introduction to its services (and you are encouraged to upgrade to a more powerful paid plan once you’ve set up your website). You get 5GB of disk space, unlimited bandwidth, and five email addresses.
Other features include unlimited MySQL databases, an online file manager, and Softaculous auto script installer. Support is good too, with a handy knowledge base, a busy community, and 24/7 tech support.
FreeHostingNoAds
(Image credit: FreeHostingNoAds)
A no-frills free hosting company
SPECIFICATIONS
Disk space: 1GB
Bandwidth: 5GB
Subdomains: Unlimited
REASONS TO BUY
Modern website design
Straightforward plans
99.9 percent uptime
REASONS TO AVOID
FreeHostingNoAds is a free hosting product from respected web hosting provider Runhosting. Its plan is relatively modest: 1GB of storage, 5GB of bandwidth, and free email.
We actually like these types of plans that are straightforward and don’t over-promise on a free service. You get a file manager, FTP support, a free app installer, and support for PHP. If you don’t want to code your website yourself, you can use the free website builder. As the name suggests, FreeHostingNoAds doesn’t put any forced ads on your website.
On the downside, the one-click installer only supports three applications, file size is limited to 15MB, and an SSL certificate costs £25.
FreeWebHostingArea
(Image credit: FreeWebHostingArea)
An old-school free host for programmers and web developers
SPECIFICATIONS
Disk space: 1.5GB
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Subdomains: 1
REASONS TO BUY
Automatic backups
Fast SSD hosting
99.8 percent uptime guarantee
REASONS TO AVOID
FreeWebHostingArea has been offering free web hosting since 2005, making it one of the longest-running free web hosts on the internet. It’s an interesting option because it’s run and maintained by volunteers. Your site will be deleted if it doesn’t get any visitors for a month.
With this plan, you get 1.5GB of web space, three MySQL databases, unlimited bandwidth, and automatic backups. That’s more than you get with some paid plans. But the ancient design of the FreeWebHostingArea website tells you that there are few creature comforts offered by this web host.
There’s no one-click installer or web-based drag-and-drop design interface, for example. Essentially, you should only choose this web host if you’re a seasoned web developer who knows how to use FTP, and how to set up web applications manually.
AwardSpace
(Image credit: AwardSpace)
A free web host with a 99.9 percent uptime guarantee
SPECIFICATIONS
Disk space: 1GB
Bandwidth: 5GB
Subdomains: 3
REASONS TO BUY
99.9 percent uptime
One-click installer
No ads
REASONS TO AVOID
AwardSpace is a web hosting provider that sells cloud hosting, VPS hosting, and dedicated servers. Its free web hosting plan is intended to get you interested. You get 1GB of disk space, 5GB of bandwidth a month, three subdomains, one MySQL database, and one email account. This is just about enough for a small personal website.
AwardSpace uses its own app installer called Zacky. With the free plan, you can only install WordPress, Joomla, or Grav. With a paid plan, however, you can use Zacky to install around 30 popular web applications. There’s also a drag-and-drop website builder, but on the free hosting plan, you’re restricted to creating a single-page website with it.
000Webhost
(Image credit: 000Webhost)
One of the longest-running free web hosting services
SPECIFICATIONS
Disk space: 300MB
Bandwidth: 3GB
Subdomains: 1
REASONS TO BUY
99 percent uptime guarantee
Cloudflare protection
REASONS TO AVOID
Poor security history
Web pages are watermarked
000Webhost is a product from Hostinger, one of the world’s largest web hosting companies. 000Webhost has been around for over a decade and has accumulated over 18 million users. Its free plan is quite limited—you only get 3GB of bandwidth per month, 300MB of disk space, and one subdomain.
Features like SSL certificates, backups, 24/7 support, and email accounts are only available on the paid plans. 000Webhost suffered a massive data breach in 2015, where millions of account details were stolen. Though steps have been made to shore up security, 000Webhost only barely makes our list, as it’s been usurped by more secure free services that have more features.
Learn more about Hostinger and its paid web hosting by reading our comprehensive Hostinger review.
FreeHosting.io
(Image credit: FreeHosting.io)
Unlimited disk space and bandwidth on a free plan
SPECIFICATIONS
Disk space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Subdomains: 3
REASONS TO BUY
cPanel support
Softaculous one-click install tool
REASONS TO AVOID
Poor customer support
Websites are often suspended for arbitrary reasons
FreeHosting.io has 10 years’ experience in web hosting. It’s easy to sign up for a free site and have it up and running in a matter of minutes. Freehosting.io’s free plan gives you unlimited bandwidth and disk space, three MySQL databases, and up to three subdomains.
Administration is done through cPanel, and you have a simple site builder for creating a website using a drag-and-drop interface. What’s exciting is the support for Softaculous, a tool that you can use to install a wide range of popular website software with just one click. There are over 400 scripts to install, from content management systems to project management tools.
But FreeHosting.io is a smaller outfit that doesn’t have the proven track record of some of the other entries on this list. The FreeHosting.io support forum is full of customers complaining that their website has been suspended, seemingly without cause. We were unable to get a response from technical support on the issue, so we’d hesitate to put an important website on this host.
GoogieHost
(Image credit: GoogieHost)
Many features—if you can get a free account
SPECIFICATIONS
Disk space: 1GB
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Subdomains: Unlimited
REASONS TO BUY
cPanel hosting
1GB SSD storage
No ads
REASONS TO AVOID
GoogieHost is a free hosting company located in Lucknow, India. It’s been running for eight years and has over 200,000 users. That said, the service can feel a little sketchy, since it’s no coincidence that GoogieHost could be mistaken for GoogleHost.
The company’s website even states that it “ran into many problems” with Google because of this. GoogieHost has been re-tooled as a non-profit organisation, presumably to get around the legal issues of using such a similar name to Google.
But if you can look past all that, GoogieHost is quite an impressive free host. It has servers in the USA, UK, and New Zealand, and the company promises a 99.95 percent uptime. While it has its own control panel, you can also use the popular cPanel to manage your website.
Free plans get a massive 1GB of storage space—on fast SSDs, no less. You also get unlimited bandwidth, free subdomains, two MySQL databases, and free email. It even has a free website builder and Softaculous auto script installer.
Upon signing up for GoogieHost, you have to tell the team why you want a free account. We suspect that this is a way to weed out new members unlikely to want to upgrade to a premium account in the future.
FreeHostingEU
(Image credit: FreeHostingEU)
Ad-free hosting with severe limitations
SPECIFICATIONS
Disk space: 200MB
Bandwidth: 4TB
Subdomains: 5
REASONS TO BUY
Web-based email
No forced ads
REASONS TO AVOID
Limited disk space
Maximum file size of 15MB
FreeHostingEU has free web hosting, though the desire for you to upgrade to one of its paid hosting plans (from £4.14 a month) is clear. The free service has significant limitations: you can’t upload any file over 15MB in size, your disk space is restricted to a paltry 200MB, and you have a 4TB bandwidth limit. As you might expect, these limitations are removed when you pay for advanced hosting.
While there are installers for WordPress and Joomla on the free plan, you don’t get access to the rest of the installers without being on a paid plan. These include phpBB, Drupal, Elgg, MediaWiki, Moodle, and Zenphoto. Ecommerce tools like Zen Cart, osCommerce, and PrestaShop are also locked off behind the paywall.
FreeHostingEU is about as basic as you can get with free web hosting, and the limitations of the service will probably have you wanting to upgrade or look elsewhere.
HyperPHP
(Image credit: HyperPHP)
Ad-supported free plan
SPECIFICATIONS
Disk space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Subdomains: Unlimited
REASONS TO BUY
Unlimited disk space and bandwidth
cPanel administration
REASONS TO AVOID
Slow FTP
Forced ads on web pages
HyperPHP is a web hosting provider with a free plan that is well-specified, with “unlimited everything”—as long as you adhere to the terms and conditions of the service. You get cPanel administration, an online file manager, FTP access, and up to 400 MySQL databases.
There’s a drag-and-drop Site Builder tool, and with the Softaculous app installer, you can easily install over 400 popular web apps, including WordPress, phpBB, Dolphin, Geeklog, and pH7CMS. Unfortunately, on the free plan, PostgreSQL and webmail are not supported and obtrusive ads are injected into your web pages. Premium plans with no ads start at $4.99 a month.
How we test free web hosting
In order to test free web hosting, we create a new account with hosts we want to test. Then, we create a simple website with each host, with each site’s performance monitored using Uptime.com over a set period.
During this long-term monitoring period, we focus on the two main metrics, uptime and server response times. Additionally, we undertake short-term testing with Dotcom-tools and Bitcatcha, specifically to analyse page load speeds.
In order to comprehensively test every platform, we perform complete analyses of every aspect of a host’s service. This ranges from control panel and user interfaces to resources and security measures.
Further reading on web hosting and website builders
Once you’ve found the best website builder, and are looking for cheaper hosting, look into the best cheap web hosting (opens in new tab) for your next project, or even the best free web hosting if you’re on a tight budget. If you’re searching for hosting for a small business website, take a look at the best web hosting for small business (opens in new tab). . If you’re still unclear about why you need hosting, you can find out more in our article asking what is web hosting? (opens in new tab)
First one on the list is copy.ai. It is an AI based copy writer tool. Basically what a copywriter tool does is, it gives you content that you can post on your blog or video when you give it a few descriptions about the topic you want content on.So copy ai can help you write instagram captions gives you blog idea, product descriptions, facebook content, startup ideas, viral ideas, a lot of things it can do, you just make an account in this website, then select a tool and fill in the necessary description and the AI will generate content on what you ask for.
For tutorials go to their official Youtube channel .An awesome tool that is going to be really handy in the future.
Hotpot.ai offers a collection of AI tools for designers, as well as for anyone, it has an “AI picture restorer” which removes scratches ,and basically restores your old photo into amazing pictures and makes it look brand new.
Ai picture colorizer , turns your black and white photo into color. And there is a background remover tool, picture enlarger and a lot more for designers, check it out,and explore all the tools.
Deep-nostalgia became very popular on the internet when people started
making reaction videos of their parents reacting to animated pictures of their grandparents. So deep – nostalgia is a very cool app, that will animate any photo of a person.
So what makes it really cool is that fact that you can upload an old photo of your family and see them animate and living. Which is pretty cool and creepy at the same time if they are dead already.. Really amazing service from myheritage, I created a lot of cool animations with my old photos as well as with the photos of my grandparents.
Having a nice looking profile picture is really important if you want that professional feel in your socials. Whether in linkedin or twitter having a
distinct and catchy profile picture can make all the difference. So that’s where pfpmaker comes in. it a free online tool to create amazing professional profile pictures that fits you. It generates a lot of profile pictures and you can also make small changes to already created profile pictures if you want to,as well.
Fable 4 is the next installment in the high-fantasy choice-driven action RPG series developed by Playground Games and published by Xbox game studios. With its sights set on becoming one of the best RPGs out there, Fable 4 aims to carry the torch lit by Lionshead Studios’ original trilogy.
The last mainline Fable game, Fable 3, was released back in the mists of 2010 and featured a whimsical fantasy world underpinned by a sense of dark comedy. Beyond a pair of trailers, we’ve not had many details about the upcoming RPG. That said, the laugh-out-loud funny 2023 Summer Games Fest trailer featuring Richard Ayoade seemed to perfectly capture the irreverent drama that made the first three games so special.
Playground Games are far from unproven, having cut their teeth on the Forza Horizon series – some of the best racing games of recent years. Though this is quite a genre shift for the studio, Playground Games is hardly the first studio to try something different. Insomniac Games famously moved from jaunty adventure series Ratchet & Clank to a dramatic superhero thriller in the form of Marvel’s Spider-Man.
Should Playground Games be able to stick the landing, Fable 4 may well wind up amongst our list of the best Xbox Series X games released so far. Read on to find out more.
Fable 4: cut to the chase
What is it? The fourth installment in the mainline Fable franchise
When is it coming out? There’s no release date yet but don’t expect it soon
What can I play it on? TBC, butit’s an Xbox exclusive
Fable 4 release date and platforms
(Image credit: Microsoft)
Fable 4 just not currently have a release date. The earliest we’d expect it is early 2024, though 2025 could be more likely.
At the very least, Phil Spencer hinted during an IGN podcast that we’ll get it before The Elder Scrolls 6, though that game also doesn’t have a release date yet, and isn’t expected to land until sometime after Starfield’s release on September 6 2023.
We do, however, know the platforms we can expect Fable 4 to land on. As an Xbox exclusive, Fable 4 will release for Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S and PC, where it’ll be available on Xbox Game Pass from day one. It’s unknown if it’ll arrive on Xbox One consoles.
Fable 4 trailers
The latest trailer for Fable was released at the Xbox Games Showcase event that aired on June 12, 2023. It was another cinematic trailer, showing Richard Ayoade playing a humble purveyor of fruit and vegetables, as he bemoaned the antics of local fantasy heroes. It was a fun trailer, but one with a distinct lack of information or game mechanics. You can check it out below:
Right now, only two Fable trailers have been released: the world premiere announcement trailer, and the one shown off at Xbox Games Showcase 2023. When new trailers are shown off, this page will be updated. In the meantime, you can head to the official Xbox YouTube account to keep an eye out for new info.
Fable 4 gameplay
(Image credit: Playground Games)
While we’ve yet to see extended gameplay for Fable, there were some glimpses at it in the latest trailer. Sword combat was shown, with a warrior clashing swords with an enemy, before performing a sort of finishing move, throwing them to the ground.
Another shot of gameplay showed the main character throwing a fire bomb at a group of enemies. Unfortunately, this is all we’ve seen so far, alongside some in-engine cinematics. There are no details on just how much of an RPG Fable will be when it launches, or as to how the game will be set up story-wise. We’ll have to wait and see.
Fable 4 news
(Image credit: Microsoft)
Xbox re-reveals Fable Fable was finally re-revealed during the Xbox Games Showcase 2023 event. Not much was shown, but it’s clear that the game now has a strong tonal direction and vibe to it. Hopefully the next time we see the game, we’ll get a look at gameplay, and a bit more clarity on what the story is about.
This back to school 2023 season, parents are looking to save money on a new Mac or MacBook for their kids should take advantage of the Apple Education pricing. While you might find a deal or two on places like Amazon and Best Buy, deals on Apple products aren’t as good, but with Apple’s student pricing, not only are you guaranteed cheaper prices, but you might also get a gift card of up to $150, 20% off AppleCare+, and more.
That said, I also recommend checking out our back to school sales, whether you are looking for a better price on a Mac or want a Windows or Chromebook alternative.
Michelle Rae Uy, Reviews and Buying Guides Editor, Computing
The best MacBook for students is going to be the one that best serves their educational needs. It’s true that there aren’t as many choices in the MacBook family that budget-minded students can afford. At least not compared to what Windows have on offer. However, there are more than enough compelling options if you know where to look.
MacBooks are among the best laptops on the market. However, students, especially those in college, often need something affordable, and the best MacBook and Macs generally have a reputation for being expensive. However, there are ways around paying full price. First of all, Apple always offers discounts and promotions for students, especially during big sale events and this back to school 2023 season. There’s also the fact that slightly older models can go on sale at online retailers whenever new models are launched.
Now that you know the tricks to getting a MacBook that’s affordable enough for students, it’s just a matter of figuring out which model is right for your matriculating needs. A lot of it depends on what program of study a student is planning to pursue. And, we’re here to help.
We’ve tested and reviewed every single MacBook that hit the shelves, and our top picks of the best MacBook for students below should set you off the a good start. Take a look at our picks for every type of student, as well as the best MacBook deals available right now.
If you think a MacBook isn’t for you, you should check out the best Windows laptop for school, since there are literally hundreds of Windows laptops to choose from. Or if you don’t need anything as robust, one of the best Chromebooks for students might do the trick.
The best Mac back to school sales right now
The best MacBook for students 2023
(Image credit: Future)
The best MacBook for students overall
Specifications
CPU: Apple M2 chip with 8-core CPU
Graphics: Integrated 9-core – 10-core GPU
RAM: 8GB – 24GB unified memory
Screen: 13.6-inch (diagonal) 2560-by-1664 LED-backlit display with IPS technology
Storage: up to 2TB
Reasons to buy
+
Great new design
+
Very good performance
+
Long battery life
Reasons to avoid
–
More expensive than the previous model
–
New colors are a bit tame
While the MacBook Pros have the sheer performance suitable for power users and content creators, for the rest of us, there’s the MacBook Air (M2, 2022). That isn’t to say that it’s not powerful in its own right. On the contrary, we found its performance to be exceptional during testing, tackling 4K video editing and music production workflows fast and in silence (thanks to its fanless design). In some benchmark tests, its single-core performance is even on par with the MacBook Pro 13-inch (M2, 2022).
It isn’t just its specs that saw an upgrade over its predecessor. Its battery life got a 5-hour uptick, giving it 16 hours of use on a single charge, while its screen is bigger and its design is better. We may not have gotten those full colors that the iMac 24-inch is sporting, but you’re getting a far more modern design here. It’s even thinner and smaller while offering a bigger screen size.
Just keep in mind that this is an expensive. If you’re on a tighter budget, then there are other cheaper options on this list.
Apple rolled out their much-talked-about M1 silicon chip that’s so far been a real game-changer. And, the first laptop to receive it is the company’s thinnest and lightest, putting it on the list of the most exciting Apple laptops of recent years.
The MacBook Air (M1, 2020) came impressively close to the performance of the more expensive 13-inch MacBook Pro (M1, 2020) during our testing, and despite its fanless design, we didn’t notice any major incidents of throttling. It also lasts around four hours longer than its predecessor.
Even with the launch of the new MacBook Air (M2, 2022), the M1 MacBook Air is still plenty powerful and also much less expensive, especially if you can get it on sale. Touting excellent performance alongside brilliant battery life while staying reasonably priced, the M1 MacBook Air is hands-down overall the best MacBook for students in 2022.
Screen: 13.3-inch 2560 x 1600 LED-backlit Retina display
Storage: 256GB – 2TB SSD
Dimensions (H x W x D): 30.41 x 21.24 x 1.56 cm
Reasons to buy
+
Huge battery life
+
Great performance
The MacBook Pro 13-inch (M1, 2020) may not have gotten a massive design overhaul, but what it lacks in that department, it makes up for big-time in performance and battery life. Thanks to Apple’s groundbreaking M1 chip, the 2020 MacBook Pro 13-inch delivers excellent performance and exceptional battery life.
Its performance is so impressive, in fact, that it can easily handle 4K – and even 8K – videos. It kept up admirably with Final Cut Pro, allowing us to scrub through the footage while showing a preview of the video at the same time. And, while it’s true that the MacBook Air (M1, 2020) is comparable in performance, the fact that the MacBook Pro 13-inch (M1, 2020) has fans means it can work harder and longer.
As for its battery life, it lasted 13 hours and 22 minutes during testing, offering users a 5-hour bump over its Intel counterpart. Whether you’re in high school or in college, this is the best MacBook for students if you’re looking for a powerful laptop that keeps things small and lightweight. This
CPU: Apple M2 Pro (10-core) – Apple M2 Max (12-core)
Graphics: Integrated 16-core GPU – 38‑core GPU
RAM: 16GB – 96GB unified memory
Storage: 512GB – 8TB SSD
Dimensions (W x D x H): 0.61 x 12.31 x 8.71 inches (1.55 x 31.26 x 22.12 cm)
Reasons to buy
+
New M2 Pro and M2 Max chips
+
Almost 20-hour battery life
+
Best screen on a laptop
Its 2021 predecessor may have been an almost perfect laptop, but the MacBook Pro 14-inch (2023) blows it out of the water in terms of power. It may have cemented the line’s status as the mobile workstation for content creators, but it’s also great for photography, film, and graphic design students with a more flexible budget.
During testing, it handled everything we threw at it from editing videos in 8K to recording numerous instruments at the same time and editing multi-track audio projects in Albeton Live 11. Meanwhile, its Liquid Retina XDR and mini-LED technology display delivered vibrant colors and rich, deep contrast, making our creative experience incredibly immersive.
It keeps the same design as the 2021 model, but given its solid build quality, it’s not necessarily a bad thing. It is eye-watering expensive, however, so only invest if you can justify the price with your demands and you won’t be forced into living off of instant noodles until you graduate.
The MacBook Pro is now its truest self with the launch of the MacBook Pro 14-inch (2021) and its 16-inch counterpart. Armed with the new M1 Pro and M1 Max, MacBook impresses with breathtaking power and equally breathtaking battery life – just what every professional needs and deserves.
It really shines when it comes to heavy duty professional-grade creative work, allowing us to create complex 3D scenes in Cinema 4D and to edit 8K video in Final Cut Pro seamlessly during testing. Apple then rounds it all out with its XDR display with 1600 nits of peak brightness and a wide color gamut. It’s one of the most impressive displays we’ve seen in a laptop.
There’s also an SD card slot, an HDMI port, and three Thunderbolt 4 ports, all of which can stay available thanks to MagSafe charging being back. It’s among the most expensive MacBook Pros ever launched, but it’s also certainly among the best.
Apple’s most affordable MacBook Pro with powerful internals
Specifications
CPU: Apple M2 with 8-core CPU
Graphics: Integrated 10-core GPU
RAM: 8GB – 24GB
Screen: 13.3-inch 2560 x 1600 display with P3 and True Tone technology
Storage: 256GB – 2TB SSD
Dimensions (H x W x D): 30.41 x 21.24 x 1.56 cm
Reasons to buy
+
M2 chip is a brilliant performer
+
Excellent battery life
+
Almost silent in use
Reasons to avoid
–
No new design
–
Still only two Thunderbolt ports
The Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch (M2, 2022) might not come with a new design update, which makes it look and feel a bit redundant, especially because the M1 version is pretty impressive in its own right. However, while there’s nothing exciting about its outside, Apple’s brand-new M2 chip certainly makes up for it in a massive way.
If you already have the M1 MacBook Pro 13-inch, this might not be worth an upgrade – unless, of course, you need a bit more power. In our tests, this 2022 model achieved better performance in both single and multi-core CPU tests. That means a noticeable boost in its multitasking capabilities, allowing users to open and utilize various applications open at once.
It also scored around twice as much as the Intel Core i7-1185G7-powered Surface Laptop 4, and lasted almost two hours longer than the M1 MacBook Pro 13-inch in our battery life test. That’s while keeping the same price tag as before.