In this post, we are featuring the best travel apps to help you explore Thailand. Take a look at the list, and if you have your own recommendations, we’ll be glad to hear about them in the comments section below.

Facebook Messenger

Chat and commuication.

Facebook Messenger is one of the most popular chat and messaging apps amongst the locals. Anyone with a Facebook account can use it to video/ voice call or chat with friends.

iOS Android

LINE

Chat and communication.

Line is the most popular messaging app amongst the Thais. You can make voice calls and video calls and send and receive text, video, or audio messages.

iOS Android

Grab

Ride-hailing and food delivery service.

The Grab app is great when it comes to Thailand. It provides a safe, convenient, and affordable way to navigate the country’s bustling cities and popular tourist destinations.

iOS Android

Bolt

Ride-hailing service.

Bolt is an alternative to Grab for getting around, with features such as fare estimates, real-time driver tracking, and in-app payments.

iOS Android

InDriver

Ride-hailing service.

inDriver provides a different ride experience where riders and drivers can mutually bargain on the ride’s fare.

iOS Android

Google Maps

Maps, directions, and navigation.

One of the best maps and navigation apps, Google Maps is a great app for travelers to Thailand. Being free and easy, it is ideal for tourists.

iOS Android

Wongnai

Restaurant information and reservation.

Wongnai app provides travelers a way to discover and explore local restaurants, attractions, and activities, as well as to make reservations and read reviews from other users.

iOS Android

Foodpanda

Food delivery.

If you are lazy to hit the streets of Bangkok or other cities for good, Foodpanda can be a great alternative to get the food right to your door.

iOS Android

The post Must-Have Travel Apps for Exploring Thailand appeared first on Hongkiat.

If you’re planning to travel to China soon, look at the list of must-have travel apps that would come in handy in different situations. From food delivery apps to offline maps, there is everything you might need for a comfortable trip to China. Take a look.

Wechat

Chat and communication.

Essential for communication during your stay in China, it allows users to connect with locals easily, make payments, and access various services.

iOS Android

Mei Tuan

Ride-hailing service.

Primarily known for its food delivery services, this app also offers ride-hailing services in China.

iOS Android

Baidu Map

Maps, directions, and navigation.

This is a highly-recommended app when traveling within China. It provides accurate location information, real-time traffic updates, and public transportation guidance.

iOS Android

Dianping

Restaurant information and reservation.

This app offers user-generated reviews, ratings, and discount coupons for thousands of dining options.

iOS Android

Mei Tuan

Food delivery.

An indispensable app for food delivery when traveling to China, it provides a wide range of dining options and quick, reliable delivery services.

iOS Android

Sherpa Delivery

Food delivery.

One of the top-rated food delivery apps amongst ex-pats and tourists.

iOS Android

The post Must-Have Travel Apps for Exploring China appeared first on Hongkiat.

Here is a list of must-have travel apps that anyone visiting the Philippines would find useful. Unless you want to lose your way in the streets or get lost in translation, having these apps is a must. Let’s take a look at the full list.

Facebook Messenger

Chat and communication.

Facebook has more than 80 million users in the Philippines, so it’s no surprise the locals widely use its Messenger app.

iOS Android

WhatsApp

Chat and communication.

And if there’s another messaging app that rivals Messenger in the Philippines, it has to be WhatsApp.

iOS Android

Grab

Ride-hailing and food delivery service.

Grab is both a popular ride-hailing and food-delivery app in the Philippines.

iOS Android

Angkas

Ride-hailing service.

Angkas is a ride-hailing app in the Philippines that provides motorcycle taxis, a convenient way to navigate, especially through traffic-heavy areas.

iOS Android

Google Maps

Maps, directions, and navigation.

Google Maps provides accurate directions, real-time traffic updates, and information about local businesses and attractions.

iOS Android

Waze

Maps, directions, and navigation.

The Waze app is another useful tool when traveling and navigating around the Philippines.

iOS Android

Windy

Weather forcast.

Windy provides real-time weather forecasts, radar maps, and detailed weather information.

iOS Android

Foodpanda

Food delivery.

Foodpanda is more commonly used when it comes to food delivery in the Philippines when compared to Grab.

iOS Android

The post Must-Have Travel Apps for Exploring The Philippines appeared first on Hongkiat.

Check out the following list of must-have mobile apps for exploring Korea and see if there’s something you would find interesting.

LINE

Chat and communication.

The Line app can be a helpful chatting tool for travelers in Korea. It also offers helpful information on local events and attractions through its Discover feature.

iOS Android

KakaoTalk

Chat and communication.

KakaoTalk is one of the most popular chatting apps in Korea. It is also a great app to stay connected with locals and other travelers while traveling in the country.

iOS Android

Telegram

Chat and communication.

Telegram provides secure and reliable chat and communication services, something one especially needs when it comes to traveling.

iOS Android

Kakao T

Ride-hailing service.

Kakao T provides transportation information, taxi services, and navigation services.

iOS Android

Naver Map

Maps, directions, and navigation.

Naver Map is great for travelers when it comes to navigating Korea. It provides accurate and detailed maps, directions, and real-time traffic information.

iOS Android

Kakao Map

Maps, directions, and navigation.

Like Naver Map, KakaoMap is yet another great map tool to have when traveling in Korea.

iOS Android

Mango Plate

Restaurant information and reservation.

Mango Plate is a popular restaurant recommendation and review app that can help you discover great places to eat while traveling in Korea.

iOS Android

Yogiyo

Food delivery.

Yogiyo is a food delivery app that offers a wide variety of food options and convenient delivery service; ideal for travelers looking for a quick and easy meal.

iOS Android

Shuttle Delivery

Food delivery.

Shuttle Delivery is a popular app in Korea that provides food, grocery, and other types of delivery services, making it a useful tool for travelers who want to have food or other items delivered to their accommodations.

iOS Android

The post Must-Have Travel Apps for Exploring South Korea appeared first on Hongkiat.

Fortunately, there are many apps to help you make the most of your stay in Indonesia. Just browse through the following list, and you’ll find everything needed to make your trip amazing.

WhatsApp

Chat and communication.

WhatsApp is widely used amongst the locals; a great way to communicate in Indonesia without incurring high data charges when traveling.

iOS Android

LINE

Chat and communication.

A popular chatting app, particularly among younger generations.

iOS Android

Grab

Ride-hailing and food delivery service.

Grab is a reliable and convenient app for ride-hailing, offering options for cars, motorbikes, and even taxis. It is also often used in Indonesia for food delivery services.

iOS Android

Gojek

Ride-hailing service.

Gojek provides not only transportation options but also food delivery, shopping, and other services in major cities of Indonesia. While it is mainly used for ride-hailing, it also offers a vast range of dining options, from street food to high-end restaurants and grocery shopping services.

iOS Android

Google Maps

Maps, directions, and navigation.

The most reliable maps app, Google Maps, provides accurate location information, real-time traffic updates, and public transportation guidance.

iOS Android

Waze

Maps, directions, and navigation.

Real-time traffic updates and alternative routes to avoid congestion.

iOS Android

Shopee Food

Food delivery.

Shopee Food is a fast-growing food delivery app that has recently gained much traction. You can order and get your food delivered anywhere in the big cities of Vietnam.

iOS Android

The post Must-Have Travel Apps for Exploring Indonesia appeared first on Hongkiat.

However, here’s the reality of the situation, life won’t change much if we stick to the same old lifestyles, making the same, unchanging decisions and the same, stubborn mistakes. If you’re serious about making the upcoming next year a better year, here are some suggestions we want to share with you to help you get there.

1. Set New Year Resolutions

It’s time to lock yourself in a quiet room and really put down on paper what you really want to achieve the next year. Write them into a list, be as detailed as possible with what you want to achieve. Then, divide them into categories e.g. personal life versus career.

Next, ask yourself – why you want to achieve these resolutions? What is the strong reason behind that line of resolution? What is the drive behind them? What makes you commit? And finally, detail your plans to achieve them.

Explore the plans you have, the timeline you will allow yourself to progress in, and split your goals into short-term, long-term types then give each one a deadline and stick to them.

2. Regain Control of Time

If you want to build a better lifestyle but find that you don’t have the time to do so, something has got to give. This calls for a need for some smart time management and time planning. Here are some suggestions to reclaim some of your time that is lost in time-zapping activities.

Activities like running through the channels on your TV and settling on none even after going through hundreds of channels.

Do you really need to check Facebook that often, or surf on the tablet, then the smartphone, then your laptop and back to smartphone throughout the day?

Is the time spent gossiping about your colleagues necessary to your social life?

You get the idea.

Try to relocate more of those spent hours on constructive work or rest. Spend quality time with your family, get out of the city, unplug from the Internet and just enjoy the company of your spouse, your kids (they will grow up very fast) or the favorite people in your life.

3. Expand Your Comfort Zone

If the year in, year out you find yourself ending up on each New Year’s Eve without a change in your life, career, self-value or relationships then perhaps you should consider stepping out of your comfort zone and take up new challenges.

New Friends

One way to do so is to find new friends and meet new people, the kind that can help you expand your social networks (offline!) The thing with old friends is once you are comfortable enough being in their presence, you don’t think about working hard to win their approval or to make yourself more likable.

New friends, they keep you on your toes, and with each new friend comes new ideas, opportunities, and collaborations that could work in your favor.

New Hobbies

You deserve new hobbies, and we suggest three kinds that will help you make your next year a fruitful one:

• Reading – Read more books, they are vessels of knowledge, passed on from one man to another, from a mother to her child, from a master to his apprentice. It doesn’t matter what you read about — money management, leadership, cooking, or arts and crafts. Reading is always the best learning tool to bridge the wise and reward those always in pursuit of higher knowledge.

• Exercise – Run, brisk walk, pull weights, jog, stretch, swim, do yoga or play a sport with friends. It is never a wasted purpose to invest in your health. And while we’re on the subject, perhaps it’s time to start eating the right foods to go with your new health plans.
• Charity – Charity starts at home but don’t let it die there. Don’t think of doing charity work as a chore, sometimes it’s as simple as helping out a stranger in need without expecting anything in return. Give the cashier loose change, give free coaching to kids in school, donate your old books to your local library, etc.

4. Find a Mentor

Regardless of which field or industry you are in, nothing beats instruction manuals, blog guides, books and lectures better than a stand-in teacher, or more precisely a mentor. Trying to find a mentor who:

• Has a wealth of learnable (transferable) experience.
• Succeeds in their selected field.
• And, is willing to share their trade secrets and advice with you.

Hitting the Jackpot

If you do find one, can it and listen to them. Absorb their teachings like a sponge, and don’t let misplaced arrogance rob your future of the experience. And be open to the idea that you can have more than one mentor in your life. In fact, the greats learn from the best and some of them keep really good company.

Plus, even they never start from scratch.

5. Take Action

This is the hardest part to carry out. Have your gameplan in hand? Now think about the reasons why you want to make next year a better year. Pinpoint the core to your resolve, your willpower. Remind yourself every day about your reason and purpose and let your passion lead you to take action, one day at a time.

Be consistent and persistent. Gaining momentum is important but once you have cultured your new actions into a daily habit, it is easier to maintain it or keep at it. If you don’t like to think or plan much, then let’s cut the long story short: Just do it.

The post How to Make Next Year Better? appeared first on Hongkiat.

Don’t get me wrong, smartphones and tablets are wonderful devices, but the way most of us use them willy nilly without regard for those around us is troubling.

Here’s a list of 10 things that you really shouldn’t do with your mobile devices in public. From listening to music loudly in public to using your smartphone in the cinema and quite a few things in between, this list is a catalog of some of the things you and I really shouldn’t be doing with our smartphones.

None of us are perfect, and I’m guilty of some of these as well, but what is life if not a process of gradual self-improvement?

1. Don’t blast music or play games loudly in public

There are precious few things more annoying in life than trying to have a meal at a restaurant and having the people at the next table over listening to music loudly using their mobile devices.

Sure, it’s great that we can now carry around a lot of music with us, but nobody is interested in how much you love Adele and want to listen to her music while eating. Neither is anyone interested in how highly you’re scoring on Angry Birds or Candy Crush Saga or whatever.

If you really have to listen to music or need audio in whatever game you’re playing, please do the world a favor and get a pair of headphones or earphones.

Not only will it stop the people around you from getting very annoyed, but it’ll probably also give you better audio quality and let you listen to the finer details in whatever you’re listening to. It’s a win-win situation.

2. Don’t record performances with your mobile device

That may seem like I’m painting with a bit of a wide brush, so let me clarify: you’re not the only person in attendance who paid for tickets, so please don’t take it upon yourself to block the view of others by hoisting your huge tablet or smartphone up into the air to record the performance.Not only are you blocking someone else’s view, it’s also a pretty big distraction that can, and will, adversely impact other people’s enjoyment of the show.

And, really, what is it that you’re trying to achieve by recording the show? If you absolutely have to record, say if a family member is involved in the performance, try and find an angle a bit off to the side that won’t block other audience members.

If it’s just some concert or other, just refrain: unless you’re using really good equipment, your videos will probably turn out really poor, and nobody really cares about low-quality videos. Leave the documentation to the experts, and enjoy the show with your own eyes and ears.

3. Don’t prioritize smartphone over your friends

Just because you get a notification on your device saying that you have a new message or email doesn’t mean that you immediately have to answer it.

If you’re expecting something important, sure, excuse yourself while you reply to the message or email, and do it quickly. If not, just leave the messages for later and focus on the here and now. You’re with people you care for, aren’t you?

Snubbing your colleagues, friends or, even worse, date to reply to a text message or send an email is really poor form, and is very disrespectful to the people you’re with.If they’ve made the effort to disconnect from their digital lives for a moment in order to spend time with you — no matter the reason — then the least you could do is do the same.

And, no, don’t even try to reply a text under the table: it’s even more annoying and disrespectful.

4. Don’t tweet and drive (or walk)

Okay, you might be able to get away with scrolling through your Twitter or Facebook newsfeeds while walking if you’re particularly good at multitasking, but honestly, I’d just recommend that you not do it, as you can quickly lose track of your surroundings, bump into people and possibly even step into traffic.

Driving is a whole other matter, of course, and I don’t think there’s any reasonable justification for doing that while driving. It’s not really a sign of poor etiquette as it is just an incredibly dangerous thing to do.

If it’s really that important, there’s no harm in pulling to the side of the road — if you’re driving — or taking advantage of some shade to reply to text messages, or tweets, or take a call.

If it’s not important enough for that, then it can wait. Focus on the task at hand, and get to your tweets or messages when it’s safe to do so. You’re not that pressed for time, are you?

5. Don’t use your smartphone in the cinema

People have been complaining about this forever, but it really doesn’t look like it’s going to stop. Not only do people still talk on the phone during movies, but we now get people who text endlessly — without switching their phone to silent, no less — through the entirety of a film and people who spend half the film staring at their smartphone looking up some obscure factoid or bombarding social media with their thoughts on the film.

As far as I’m concerned, going to a cinema is about an immersive, all-encompassing experience. This is cheapened by spending half of the movie’s running time staring at your mobile device.

Not only are you not enjoying the film to the fullest, but you’re also probably annoying the people around you with the off-putting glow of light coming from your smartphone or tablet. Next time, try keeping your smartphone in your pocket and pay attention to the film: old school, I know, but who knows, you might actually enjoy it.

6. Don’t poke your nose into friends’ photos and apps

This is happening way too often: you hand your smartphone to a friend for some reason or another, and they immediately start swiping through your photo gallery and, god forbid, maybe even decide to open up your Facebook. I really don’t know why people do this, but if you’re one of these people: please stop.

I know, we’re probably constantly being monitored by some government agency or another, but that isn’t an excuse to abuse someone’s trust in you by digging through their messages or photos.

The only thing worse than taking advantage of that sort of situation is just not asking in the first place. The former situation is rude, but poking your nose into someone’s personal data without permission is just borderline unforgivable. Sure, "sharing is caring" and all that, but sharing requires consent, remember? If you have a burning question that you need answering, why not just ask your friend straight up?

7. Don’t hog public charging stations

I know, public charging stations are there to be used, but they’re not there for you to hog and charge your phone up to the brim. You’re not the only person with crappy battery life, so do take into consideration the fact that there are other people who also need to charge their phones.

Unless you’re going to be on the road for a long while, you’re probably going to be able to charge your device when you get to your destination, so all you really need is to charge your device up just enough to get you to wherever you need to go.

Here in Malaysia, it’s all too common to have some of the outlets at these stations not work, so it’s even more important that you not hog the working outlets and let everyone charge their devices up.

And if you still have a reasonable amount of battery life left, just let others — who may have more pressing needs for battery life — charge their devices instead.

8. Don’t take photos indiscriminately

Sure, smartphones have made photography incredibly convenient, but that’s all the more reason to learn to use discretion when taking photos and videos.

You’re not the paparazzi, do you really need to take photos of anything and everything you see? No, not really. Unless your life is really all that interesting, and it probably isn’t, there’s really no reason for you to keep snapping photos endlessly. This applies double when you’re out and about with other people.

If you’re having dinner, don’t kill the mood by pulling your phone out to snap a ton of photos of your and everyone else’s meal. And if you’re at an event or at a party, please exercise discretion and don’t just snap, upload and tag anything and everything you see. As quaint as this may seem, not everyone wants their every move broadcast onto social media, you know.

9. Don’t hold up the line at a restaurant

Picture this: you’re standing in line at a Starbucks, waiting to order, but the line is moving incredibly slow for some reason. You peek past the people in front of you and you see someone busy checking their smartphone, or maybe on the phone when they’re supposed to be ordering. This is, as you can imagine, really rude.

Not only does it slow everyone else down, but it also disrespects the staff that are serving customers and taking orders.

It really doesn’t matter what you’re doing: answering an email, replying a text or, god forbid, Instagramming the restaurant menu. You can, and should, set all that aside; make your order and move aside to let the person next in line make their order. Reply that text once you’re seated, and if you just have to Instagram that menu, do it when there’s a lull in the number of customers.

This applies to most lines, really, but it’s really annoying when it happens at restaurants.

10. Don’t shout into your smartphone

Okay, this is a gripe that’s been around forever, but it’s particularly pertinent in this day and age: the microphones we get on smartphones these days are so much better than what we used to get back in the earlier days of mobile phones, with all manner of fancy noise-canceling technologies, and network coverage is also a lot better too.

Unless you happen to be taking calls in the middle of a warzone, there’s no real reason to shout when you’re on the phone these days.

Shouting is really annoying, and makes you come across as more than a bit inconsiderate. Not only will the person on the other end have his or her ears blown off, but your loud voice will also annoy and potentially even disrupt the people around you.

Turn the volume down a little bit, it’ll help in the long run.

The post Mobile Etiquette: 10 Sins That Annoy Everyone appeared first on Hongkiat.

Seeing how important this is, countless volumes were written about different methodologies of learning a language. Nowadays, in the hyperconnected world that we live in, these language-learning methods might be more relevant than ever.

While knowing a new language was always important, never before did it have so much practical use. Today, you can download materials in your target language, access their section of the internet, and effortlessly get in touch with the target language’s native speakers. All of this was made possible through present-day technology.

It doesn’t stop there. You see, this technology can also be leveraged in order to help one adopt a new language more efficiently. Through language-learning apps, translation apps, online courses, simulations, etc., one’s ability to adopt a new language has been drastically enhanced. With all of these factors in mind, here’s what the future of language learning might hold.

Better understanding of the learning process and learning difficulties

The truth is that there was never before more data available than it is today. This means that a capable AI-backed algorithm has access to countless examples of language learners (of all proficiency levels). This makes any conclusions made through analysis more relevant and consequential.

There are a couple of methods that were always known to facilitate the language learning process. Nowadays, with the proper leverage of technology, this can be drastically improved.

For instance, talking to native speakers and being in an opportunity where the use of the target language is necessary were difficult to achieve. With the widespread use of the internet, this is no longer so.

Second, having intrinsic motivation and objectives for learning the target language was always key to one’s success when learning the language. Never before was it more likely for one to relocate, start an overseas business, or find a long-distance partner. This covers the matter of motivation.

Being exposed to language in various formats was also a key bottleneck. Sure, you had your grammar book, but this didn’t emulate a real-life situation.

Even if you had a recording of a few spoken phrases, they were pronounced clinically accurate, without odd pronunciations, common grammar errors, or being uttered by people with speech impediments.

While this may sound like a good thing, it did nothing to prepare you for a realistic scenario. Nowadays, the availability of different materials (even YouTube videos in the target language) can diversify your learning experience.

Machine Learning and NLP

For a while now, there have been extensive efforts to teach human language to an algorithm. In the past several years, we’ve all noticed that AI has a much easier time grasping previously abstract concepts like context (in some of the most advanced cases, even complex figures of speech). All of this was only possible through the help of semantic AI technology, which helps the program understand the meaning of the word, not just analyze its etymology.

Another massive stride was made in the field of voice recognition. Now, the algorithm can recognize sounds far more accurately and distinguish words based on the context, one’s geographical location, etc.

A crucial part of machine learning in terms of language learning is also referred to as Natural Language Processing (NLP). On its own, a natural language is a form of data. However, in its nature, it greatly differs from data in a traditional sense.

Moreover, in a digital environment, the written word alone comes in so many different formats. Menus are differently structured from web pages; social media posts are differently worded from emails. All of this adds to the complexity of the context, seeing as how now you have one more factor to count into consideration.

Language Learning Apps

The next thing you need to understand is the importance of language learning apps. The reason why these apps are so great is that it provides the language learner with a lesson or a learning session on-demand. It’s like having a private tutor wherever you go.

One of the biggest problems with traditional learning was the fact that there was a presumption that you won’t have a dictionary on you in a real-life scenario where the target language is required. This is no longer the case. You can simply retake an app-based lesson or consult your in-app vocabulary on spot.

This gives a completely different approach to the situation at hand. Even professional translators are heavily dependent on translation apps, so why would ordinary language users be held to different standards?

The results of these apps alone are quite staggering. Namely, those who studied just six hours in the app increased at least one sublevel (almost 69% of them).

Moreover, 75% of those who studied for at least 15 hours improved, as well. Of course, you have the full freedom of spreading your sessions in whatever way you see fit (or taking it all in one go if your phone’s battery allows it).

In terms of cost, hiring a private language tutor for 15 one-hour classes would be quite expensive. These apps, however, either come completely free of charge or have a low basic monthly fee/subscription.

To further demonstrate the rising popularity of this industry, it’s important to mention that Duolingo (the biggest name in the market) went public on the NASDAQ in 2021.

Enhancing Multilingual Sentence (EMU) Embedding

This concept is one of the key postulates of semantics. Sometimes, you’re faced with a decision whether to keep the meaning of the phrase (semantics) or stay true to the form. This is especially troublesome when it comes to translating idioms.

This is where EMU can be incredibly useful. You see, the semantic classifier (one of the EMU components) can identify ground-truth labels and assign broader context based on them. This allows it to predict the language used in any given context.

The other two elements of EMU are a multilingual encoder (the only way this method could work across multiple languages) and a language discriminator. The language discriminator is simply there to distinguish between these two languages.

During the formative stages of the platform, efforts were made to try and “confuse” the discriminator as much as possible. The end result is a much higher resilience of the platform to such tactics.

As an end result, EMU’s multilingualism has reached its pinnacle when it comes to interpreting, translating, and distinguishing between sentences that are not exact parallels.

In Conclusion

In the end, the ability of machines to understand human language in a way that’s similar to how humans understand it could be a major breakthrough.

A platform of this kind would be able to offer on-demand information on the semantics of any word, phrase, sentence, or text. As such, it would solve the miscommunication and translation problem right away.

Moreover, the fact that we’re living in a hyperconnected world means that there has never before been such an incentive to learn other languages. Sure, English is the lingua franca of the internet, but there are still huge chunks of the digital world that are in various other languages. Learning new languages would unlock these (currently obscure) parts to new users.

The post What Is the Future of Language Learning? appeared first on Hongkiat.

If you’re heading out to get a tree to decorate and brighten the spirit in your home but want to do something unique and outstanding this year, we’re here to help.

We’ve compiled a list of very interesting, out of the ordinary, simply dashing Christmas trees from all over, to give you some ideas. Some are made of cans, sushi, CD shards, beer bottles, teddy bears and well, we don’t want to spoil the surprise (but do check out this list until the very last item)!

#1 – Moutain Dew Cans Christmas Tree @Mountain Dew Tree

#2 – Pure Gold Christmas Tree @Today

#3 – Glass Christmas Tree @Laura Bielecki

#4 – Wine Cork Christmas Tree @Pinterest

#5 – Bookshelf Improvisation Christmas Tree @Juniper Books

#6 – Ribbons Christmas Tree @WhipperBerry

#7 – Mirrored Christmas Tree @Michael Johansson

#8 – Balloon Christmas Tree @Milk Magazine

#9 – Recycled Paper Craft Christmas Tree @Interior Provisions

#10 – Sushi Christmas Tree @Walyou

#11 – LED Christmas Tree @ZedoMax

#12 – CD & Cassette Christmas Tree @Gadget Review

#13 – The Rocks Christmas Tree @The Rocks

#14 – PAC-MAN Christmas Tree @Favim

#15 – Mobile Phone Christmas Tree @VeryVietnam

#16 – Hubcaps Christmas Tree @Worleygig

#17 – Steel Christmas Tree @PBase

#18 – Heineken Beer Bottles Christmas Tree @Oddity Central

#19 – Teddy Bear Christmas Tree @Sparklette

#20 – Christmas Tree In Beirut @LA Times

#21 – Swarovski Crystal Christmas Tree @Luxuo

#22 – Christmas Tree In Madrid @Enric Archivell

#23 – Christmas Tree In Varna @Panoramio

#24 – Christmas Tree In Brazil @CBS News

#25 – Hillside Christmas Tree @CatholicVote

#26 – Illuminated Building Christmas Tree In Tokyo @The Telegraph

#27 – Christmas Tree In Germany @LA Times

#28 – LEGO Christmas Tree @The Verge

#29 – Sprite Bottle Christmas Tree @Demilked

#30 – Traffic Light Christmas Tree @William Warby

The post 30 Unconventional Christmas Trees You Haven’t Seen Before appeared first on Hongkiat.

At least, that’s what the common notion of Christmas is to most of us. But in some parts of the world, you may find strange and bizarre traditions and customs that would raise an eyebrow or two.

Here are some of the strange things people around the world do for Christmas in the name of celebration.

1. Go Bananas With Christmas (India)

In India, only about 2.3% of the population are Christians, but because of the large population they have, we are talking about 25 million people here! Christians here celebrate Christmas with midnight mass and gift-giving like the rest of the world, but with the absence of fir trees or pine trees to decorate, they usually made do with banana trees and mango trees instead.

(Image Source: Tom Elliot)

That means instead of Christmas pine trees lining up celebrating households, you’ll find brightly lit, well-decorated Christmas banana or mango trees on the streets. They even use the leaves of those trees to decorate their houses.

2. Toss Your Shoes and Get Hitched (Czech Republic)

If you don’t want to celebrate another Christmas single, then try this: stand with your back to the door and throw a shoe over your shoulders on Christmas day! If the shoe lands with the toe pointing to the door, congratulations, you’re going to get married soon! There’s no clue as to how long before you meet your prince charming, though.

3. Kentucky Fried Christmas (Japan)

No kidding – just like how Christmas turkey is a must on Christmas, for the Japanese, it’s the Colonel’s Chicken. Since the beginning of this marketing campaign four decades ago, KFC has been associated with Christmas in the minds of the Japanese for generations, a tradition passed on from parent to child in spite of its commercialized beginnings.

(Image Source: katjamueller)

More than 240,000 barrels of chicken will be sold during Christmas, five to ten times its normal monthly sales. "In Japan, Christmas equals KFC."

4. Christmas Cakes (Japan)

Another Christmas food associated with Japan is the Christmas cake. These sponge cakes with whipped cream, chocolate and strawberries on top are ordered months in advance and are eaten on Christmas Eve. Any cake that is not sold after the 25th is unwanted.

(Image Source: Make Do & Mend)

For the same reason, single Japanese women over the age of 25 used to be called Christmas Cakes (yikes!).

5. A Christmas of Remembrance (Finland)

Families in Finland usually visit the graves of their ancestors and relatives on Christmas Eve to light candles in memory of the deceased. Even those who don’t have their kin’s graves nearby visit cemeteries to place candles in honor of their family members buried elsewhere. Hence, on Christmas eve, cemeteries would be lit up with candles presenting a beautiful sight.

(Image Source: Huffington Post)

Food will also be left on tables and family members leave their beds to sleep on the floor to give the dead a nice meal and a place to rest when they visit.

6. Skating your Way to Christmas (Venezuela)

In the capital city, Caracas, before young children go to bed on Christmas Eve, they tie one end of a string to their big toe, leaving the other end outside their bedroom window. The fun part of the Christmas celebration is on the day of the "Early Morning Mass".

(Image Source: Mike Hartz)

Streets were closed off to cars until 8 a.m. for people to roller-skate to the service, and they customarily proceeded to tug on any of the strings they saw hanging.

7. Let the Goat Live Until Christmas (Sweden)

In 1966, a 13-meter tall goat figure made of straw was erected in the town square of Gavle. At the stroke of midnight on Christmas Eve, the goat went up in flames.

But the town never stopped building it year after year, and vandals never stopped trying to burn the goat down! By 2011, the goat had already been burned down 25 times. The burning of the Gavle goat happened so often that bookmakers began taking bets for the survival of the goat in 1988.

(Image Source: Nicole)

Just to be clear, the town doesn’t want the goat to be burned down; in fact, In 2001, an American tourist served time in jail and was fined for successfully doing so.

8. A Spidey Christmas (Ukraine)

Instead of glittering ornaments and tinsel, Ukrainian Christmas trees are covered with an artificial spiders and cobwebs. Why the eccentric taste in spiders? According to the local folklore, there was a poor woman who could not afford to decorate their Christmas tree.

But the next morning, her children woke up to see the tree covered with webs and when the first light of Christmas morning touched the web threads, they turned into gold and silver, and the family was never left for wanting again. Hence, it is believed that seeing a spider web on Christmas morning brings luck.

(Image Source: Robin L. D. Rees)

9. The Christmas Sauna (Finland)

Most Finnish families have their own sauna because it’s believed that a sauna ‘elf’ lives in there to protect it and to make sure people behave themselves. And every Christmas Eve, people would head to their sauna, strip to their toes, and enjoy a nice, good soak naked. After sunset, though, the place is for the spirits of dead ancestors.

(Image Source: Destination 360)

10. Don’t Stuff It in My Socks (Philippines)

Christmas is huge in the Philippines since 80% of the population are Christians. Celebrations last all the way to January. Children will leave their brightly polished shoes and freshly washed socks on the window sills for the Three Kings to leave gifts in when they pass through their houses at night. The "Feast of the Three Kings" marks the end of the Christmas celebrations.

11. Pudding & Wishes (Britain)

The Christmas pudding is served on Christmas Day, but the traditions we’re looking at have to do with how it is made. Every member of the family (especially the kids) is to stir the mix clockwise while making a wish.

(Image Source: 99holidays)

Earlier traditions include putting a coin in the mix, which brings wealth to whoever finds it in their serving. Other additions include a ring for luck in marriage and a thimble for good luck in life.

12. Santa’s own Postal Code – H0H 0H0

Where do you send your letters to Santa to? The North Pole? Santa’s workshop? Actually Santa has his own postal code, H0H 0H0 (with zeros instead of the letter ‘o’) and it’s in Canada where postal codes are alphanumeric. Letters – the kind that bypasses parents – used to end up undelivered because there was no centralized address for Kris Kringle.

(Image source: The Big Red Box)

But for the past 30 years, Canada Post volunteers (in the thousands) had been helping Santa reply to a million letters (every year!) from children around the world in different languages, including Braille.

The post 12 Strange Christmas Customs You Probably Don’t Know appeared first on Hongkiat.

So, in this article, I share a bunch of tips about how you can efficiently declutter and manage your digital space.

1. Don’t cram the work into a single day

Don’t take your digital spacelightly, it can be as messed up as a basement storage. So, before trotting into the business of tidying up, take a bird’s-eye view of whatever it is that you want to declutter or organize.

Whether it’s an email inbox or the Downloads folder, avoid underestimating the amount of work to be done and the time you will need.

If you have enough free time to wrap up all the work in a day – that’s great, otherwise, take it slow instead of jam-packing everything into a single session as that will do more harm than good.

2. Label or file emails using filters

For every email that’s from someone you often receive emails from, such as colleagues or utility companies, create an appropriate filter to label, or file it automatically, for instance into “Work” or “Bills”.

This keeps your emails organized and when you have to view a set of related emails, say you want to see all the bills you have received in a month, you can simply search for the appropriate label. All email services and apps come with filter settings (Gmail, Yahoo, iCloud, Microsoft Outlook).

3. Let the browser ask where to save downloads

In your browser, enable the option that allows you to choose where to save a downloaded file (Chrome, Firefox, Opera, IE) if it isn’t already enabled. Any time you’re downloading a file, instead of letting it go directly to the Downloads folder, create a relevant subfolder and save it there.

If you’re downloading files related to a project, add the name of the project to the new folder. This way, whenever you need a file (or a group of related files) and you don’t remember its name, at least you know where it can be found.

Deleting files from the Downloads folder is also easier this way. When you’re done with a project or if you just don’t need a certain set of related files anymore, you can just delete its folder.

4. Don’t delete files, archive them

In the name of decluttering, you don’t have to delete every file that isn’t needed at the moment. If they’re partially downloaded or temporary files or such, delete them. If they can be used later, organize them accordingly.

With many options such as cloud storage, external hard disk, etc., you can save files without worrying about running out of memory.

5. Sort by date while organizing

Sort all your files by date first, before going through the bunch. Chances are you will find the files created or downloaded on the same day belong to a same project/category, which makes organizing them easier.

6. Employ quick search for mobile apps

If you have too many apps on your phone (and your phone is still handling it well) you might need a quick search feature to find and open apps (look for quick search apps in Google Play).

When you have too many apps, no amount of organization is going to make looking for an app in the sea of apps easier than a quick search. Don’t bother creating folders if each folder will still hold a plethora of apps. If you have Siri or Ok Google enabled you can also use those to launch apps.

7. Organize apps by color

In case you have a small number of apps on your phone, and by small, I mean a number of apps that can fill one or two home screens, and you want them to be a bit more organized to easier find them, sort them by color.

If you don’t want to spend time sorting those colors precisely, just separate the icons according to warm and cool colors, and give each a home screen of its own.

8. Make use of symbols and emojis

Long redundant words for folder names or labels can also add visual clutter sometimes. Use emojis and symbols where applicable to shrink the names.

9. Disconnect unnecessary services

In all the email and social accounts you hold, look for any setting that will list all services or apps connected to that account. If you find a service or app that you no longer use disconnect it from your account.

This can reduce unwanted emails, notifications, and ads and protect your account details from third-party apps you no longer need. Have a look at the following links to look for connected app settings in Google, Yahoo, Facebook, and Twitter.

10. Don’t use calendars for to-dos and notes

Using calendars to stay organized is great and almost all calendars have the options add events, to-do items, and notes to a day. If anything needs to be done on a certain day it’s an event and should be marked so in the calendar.

To-do items, however, vary each day and should be reviewed on a daily basis. Separating calendars from to-do items and notes gives a less overwhelming and crowded overview of your time.

11. Don’t download files to archive

Instead of downloading files to your computer for the purpose of archiving, open your cloud storage and save it there. If your cloud storage application comes with an option to save files directly via URLs use that, or try browser extensions or third-party services that will let you do the same.

12. Don’t subscribe, get feeds

Don’t subscribe to emails from websites, instead, choose to get feeds. There are plenty of RSS reader services, such as Feedly, that will keep you up-to-date with the content of websites you want to get informed about regularly.

13. Rent or stream instead of buying or downloading

Don’t download movies, songs, e-books and such if you are not sure they are the classics that you will be returning to very often. This saves space and keeps your library more manageable.

14. Store in-process files, not exports

If you have planned to archive (store) a file and that file has an in-process file, for example, a Word file of a PDF exported from it, or a Photoshop file of a PNG image exported from it, save the in-process file and not the final product (unless you will be needing those exports quite often).

This ensures that every time you need the final version, you get the most up-to-date export out of your in-process files, all while saving some space on your hard drive.

15. Assign a procrastination window

Let’s be honest, no amount of sermon can stop some from checking Facebook and Twitter while working.

If you’re going be procrastinating on social media open those accounts in a separate browser window and keep your “working” window free from distractions, making it easier for your eyes to lock down on a tab when you need it.

Bonus: you have to close just one window and it closes all your social media pages.

16. Plan your backups and storage

It’s a good thing to have an off-device storage, but just at how many places? With a multitude of cloud and external storages available, it’s easy to get disorganized that way, too: some files in Dropbox, some in Google Drive, some in Amazon, some on pen drives… you get the gist.

So, plan your off-device storage in advance. It’s good to separate work and personal files. For work, you may want to choose a storage method that is primarily used in your workplace.

Choose a storage system that is versatile, which makes sharing or transferring files to other systems easy. At times, physical storage is mandatory, for instance a boot CD. In these cases do some real-world organization.

17. Save passwords before using

There are many password management apps available online, or if you’re old-school get a notebook to jot down all the passwords. Hence, managing passwords won’t be an issue if every time you sign up for a new account you remember to note down the password and account information into your master password vault.

If you’re forgetful about this try to develop the habit of saving your password first in your vault and then create the account. In this way, you will have all your accounts’ info and passwords organized in your vault without fail.

But, if for some reason you can’t access your password vault and you can’t postpone the account creation until you do, set a reminder to add the password and the account information to the vault.

18. Check if mobile sites are equally good as apps

These days, a lot of websites are highly optimized for mobile users, so much so, that some of them are just as good as their mobile app counterpart. So, if you find a service that is easy to use and fast enough in the mobile browser just as much as its mobile app equivalent remove the app from your phone and start using the site.

19. Separate email IDs

If you have a website or if you are part of a corporation, chances are you have a corresponding work email. But, if that’s not the case you should create one. A separate email for work and personal use is pretty neat.

It helps manage your emails better; less spam will interfere with your work emails because you will give away your personal email for subscriptions and such.

If you are a social media enthusiast an email ID just for your social accounts is not a bad idea either.

20. Use more gadgets, get more space

If offline storage of songs, videos, e-books and photos in your phone is important and you are often running out of memory, why not try using separate gadgets for separate reasons?

This tip is probably not suitable for those who don’t like to carry extra baggage around. However, if it’s not this might be the best solution for you: a music player, an e-reader, a camera, a mini video player, or a hybrid of some of these.

You can also store your files in external hard drives that work with your mobile phone (via ports, adapters, or WiFi), and store and use files from there.

21. No files on desktop screen

I understand that desktop space is there for quick access of files you’re working on, and I also really have nothing against a desktop screen covered with files and apps, for as long it works for you.

But, if the desktop screen is one of your problematical digital spaces, then my advice would be to not save anything on the desktop.

Same as for mobile apps, don’t bother creating subfolders or arranging icons by some system. There’s a huge visible difference when you see files on a desktop screen and inside a folder.

On the desktop, it’s too visual and distracting, while in a folder, it’s less visual, more text based, and hence a bit easier to process.

22. Streamline your phone contacts

Do not let the contact app of your phone be your contacts archive, too. Store contacts in your computer—go ahead and store as many as you want in there and keep them for as long as you want and add all the details that you can think of to them.

But in your phone, keep only relevant, recent, and required contacts. This will automatically streamline the contacts appearing in your mobile apps and you won’t get unnecessary account recommendations.

23. Try creating a new social media account

I would recommend the usual drill of unfollowing accounts you no longer want to see updates from and reconfiguring your notification, privacy and ad settings in social media accounts to tame them, but for some, this is easier said than done.

If your social media is overwhelmingly hard to deal with you can start anew; it’s a practical solution. You can either create a new account, befriend your friends/followers from old account little by little and then when you’re satisfied, delete your old account.

Or, delete your account first, wait until it’s erased from the social media server and sign up with the same username. But whether it’s a new account or an old one, regular maintenance of feed is important.

24. Organize photos in chronological order

I am not completely against on-device storage of photos. If you often browse through old photos or if you are that person who keeps photo-slideshow desktop wallpaper you should keep your photos on your device and purge files for space somewhere else.

Although, irrespective of where you store your photos, there is only one right way to organize them, only one—chronological.

Photos are associated with memories which in turn are associated with time, so make sure you create folders for all photos from individual events, then put all event folders into a folder named after a month or a year. The final (most upper level) folder should always be a year.

25. Think thrice before installing anything

I know that if you have too many applications you can always “uninstall” them and I do recommend using an uninstaller app that cleans up all the leftover files from a software. But in most cases, files will be left behind after an uninstallation. It’s not much to worry about but over time (years, that is) they, too, can add up.

If you are tech-savvy then snoop around for leftover files and clear them manually (which is better than what many apps can do IMO) but if you are uncomfortable with that then avoid unnecessary installations in the first place, especially on mobile phones.

26. Try built-in apps first

Even though I said having a good uninstaller would be nice, in most cases, I would say first use applications that are already available in your operating system.

Almost all OSs come with disk and memory clean-up utilities; use them to clear temporary files and cache. Also, all OSs, including mobile ones, have apps that list running services in your device, use them to stop unwanted background services and free up RAM.

27. Tone down on productivity apps

Here’s my hundredth disclaimer; I do not claim that all the productivity apps out there are unnecessary, in fact, so many options in the market make it easier for us to find something that’s almost exclusively bespoke for us.

But, if you are using too many productivity apps you are rather being productive in trying to be productive than actually being productive.

One calendar and one to-do list will do. Don’t do both offline and online (unless off-line planning is therapeutic for you), use either one and stick to it religiously.

28. Get help

If you read this far into this post you do have the patience to make a successful decluttering coup.

Someone who is a bit messier with their offline space will most likely be the same in their digital space. And in reality, both organized and disorganized people are living happily today, so a digital organization rampage is not yet in every self-proclaimed disorganized person’s schedule.

But, when a certain threshold of disorganization is crossed it can cause stress, and that disorganization will reflect in every aspect of your life, including digital.

So, just as you would at times ask for someone’s help in real-space organization, do the digital decluttering with someone, too. I’m sure an unfollowing spree in Facebook with your IRL friends will be refreshing.

The post 28 Tips for Digital Decluttering and Organization appeared first on Hongkiat.

In celebration of this, I’ve collected 20 photographs that convey the tender feelings of love shared between lovebirds, young and old. May these photos inspire you to fall in love all over again this Valentine’s day and to cherish those in your life, for better or for worse.

When you have eyes for no one else.

Image Source: Just Wedding

Savor the little moments together.

Image Source: Upworthy

The love between Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward is the stuff of love stories.

Image Source: The Red List

Can you tell that they were newly engaged?

Image Source: Truly Charlee

Chemistry between Natalie Wood and her co-star Steve McQueen.

Image Source: Smushnoses

Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall look as affectionate as ever on their wedding day.

Image Source: The National Vintage Wedding Fair

Haman and Wan demonstrate what it’s like when you’re wrapped up in your own little world.

Image Source: Amy Oliver Weddings

A couple shares a tender moment that you can feel from this capture.

Image Source: My Modern Met

Singer Lorde and James Lowe chills in comfort and in love.

Image Source: E Online

Giavanna and David’s happiness is evident through their smiles.

Image Source: Jena Cumbo

Before William and Kate, there was Elizabeth and Phillip.

Image Source: Huffington Post Canada

Even against the norms of society, love can blossom – Pearl Bailley and Louise Bellson, both famous names in the Jazz scene.

Image Source: Explore PA History

Love is in the air. And in the mountains.

Image Source: Huffington Post

Johnny and Blue, the first American Korean War Bride share a loving moment, proving that love is truly a universal language.

Image Source: Time

This presidential power couple know that a little time alone every now and then keeps the love going strong.

Image Source: News One

From HONY, this new relationship was captioned: “I was like: ‘So are we a thing?’. And he was like: ‘I don’t know. Are we?’ "

Image Source: Humans Of New York

There is a reason why veils are an important part of a wedding.

Image Source: Two Mann

Gen-Y may be hooking up through technology but the way Selena and Conor look here, that’s pretty much love IRL.

Image Source: Jena Cumbo

Someone who can make you laugh is definitely someone you want along for the ride.

Image Source: Huffington Post

In the end, this is the kind of love everyone is looking for.

Image Source: Lauren Fleishman

The post 20 Photos That Will Make You Fall In Love Again appeared first on Hongkiat.

If you don’t intend to have the traditional home design, the kind you fill up with creative or futuristic furniture, and fantasy-themed bedrooms, then perhaps these unconventional home designs may give you new ideas.

Ingenius architects and pretty talented interior designers have turned spaces, apartments & lofts as small as 240 square feet into compact yet cozy homes.

Most of them utilize ‘airspace’ or create multiple, moveable sections to transform an otherwise small living space into a full range (somewhat) multi-room home. These creations are sure to make you rethink home modeling.

Living Cube

The Living Cube looks like a modern twist to a bunk bed only instead of another bed, it has a nice clean storage compartment to house your TV, DVD or book collection and your clothes.

29 Square Meters Project

This entire apartment is only 29 square meters or roughly 312 square feet. The living room, kitchen and dining area are combined into one room while a huge bed area is built on an upper level 4.5ft high.

(Source)

Suspended Bedroom

Rather than use an uncomfortable sofa bed in this small flat, the owner decided to suspend his bed, allowing full use of the floor space. The stairway to the bed can also lead you out to the large skylight atop the rooftop garden.

Wooden Box Home

This is just the bedroom of a modern house with a bed and workdesk placed on top of ample storage shelves, a closet and the sink!

(Source)

Bed Under Stairs

Harry Potter wouldn’t mind this bed under the stairs. Instead of storing random junk under it, these designers put a queen sized bed in the cozy corner, complete with a reading light.

Tim Seggerman Loft

This Nakashima- (legendary woodworker and architect) inspired design was used to overhaul a single-room apartment in New York. Time Seggerman placed the sleeping area above the kitchen to fully utilize this 240 square foot apartment.

(Source)

Small Box House

It’s a tall house with strategically placed windows to make full use of natural light. The roof is upstairs while the kitchen and dining area is downstairs.

(Source)

Warehouse Loft

The long warehouse design allows for this loft to have a separated upper floor that was turned into a large bedroom and shower. Below, you’ll find an office with a living area and kitchen.

San Diego Cadres

Architect Nathan Lee Colkitt reworked this 750 square foot space to house a living space and his firm’s office. He sleeps upstairs and work downstairs.

(Source)

Slope House

This house was built on a steep mountain slope in the outskirts of Černín, Czech Republic. Top floor is a bedroom/library; at the bottom bunk beds and storage space. Both sandwich the living room and entrance to the home.

(Source)

Maxim Zhukov Loft

Russian designer Maxim Zhukov turned this 3-room loft space into an open-space home for both work and rest.

(Source)

The Cube Project

This place is literally a box, with an area of 3m x 4m and height of 3m. However, you will find in here a kitchen, fully functioning toilet, 2 seater sofa with coffee table and a bed for 2. It also features solar panels on the roof to power the entire cube.

Protohaus

This house is only 125 square feet, and is actually a trailer. The bed is suspended near the roof, making room for other home essentials below.

Puzzle Loft

The designer’s love for puzzles has given birth to the bedroom above the kitchen design, giving new meaning to breakfast in bed and sleeping in the kitchen.

(Source)

Zimmerman Garden Pavillion

The Zimmerman family turned architects and added a top floor for extra living space. All glass windows above glass doors provided ample light for the new floor.

(Source)

Videos For your Inspiration

Some creations are better depicted through video.

LifeEdited Apartment

It’s amazing how this tiny place can accommodate a dinner party of 12, 2 overnight guests in their own guest rooms, a home office and a mini home theater system. Makes you rethink what you can do with 420 square feet of space.

LEGO-Style Apartment

Most of the appliances and furniture in this apartment is hidden from sight to create a minimal look. The bed, fridge, sink, oven and storage are placed behind wooden doors and in their own individual sections.

Origami Apartment

The designers of this 400 square foot apartment had the idea of overlapping the different areas (bedroom, living room, kitchen) you would find in a typical home, hence the name Origami. The bed folds out of a big cabinet, while the cabinet doors act as a divider for the living room and as an office table.

DIY Micro Apartment

This engineer’s game is all about efficiency in small spaces. Using this 182 square feet space, he was able to create 8 different spaces including a kitchen, dining area, cafe/lounge, a sleeping area and a guest bed above the bathroom.

24 Room Shoebox Apartment

This architect turned his 344 square feet apartment to incorporate 24 different ‘rooms’ with sliding dividers and hidden storage. Walls move about to reveal kitchen appliances that are stored away when not in use. There’s even a guest bed (somewhere) in there too.

The post Home Design: 20 Creative Ways to Maximize Living Space appeared first on Hongkiat.

Tor itself can’t guarantee your privacy and security if you’re not concerned enough. It’s like carrying an umbrella. You can have it with you but there’s no protection from the rain if you don’t use it correctly. In the same manner, you need to know and understand Tor’s usage tips and guidelines to keep your privacy and security in complete control.

Fortunately, we have compiled a list of tips and tricks for using Tor to strictly protect your online communications. Keep on reading to learn how to better protect your digital identity and information using Tor.

1. Do use Tor

Anyone concerned about online privacy should never trust the people at the back of the Internet such as internet service providers, government agencies, web service providers, etc. Tor network is well known for providing online anonymity, and that’s the biggest reason why you should use it.

Tor can be used for any and all kind of sensitive browsing including, but not limited to, reporting abuse or corruption; serious business activities; inter-state or inter-country communications; publishing anonymous posts; sharing personal secrets with family and friends, etc.

2. Don’t use Windows

Windows is simply not the best choice of platform to use Tor in an attempt to improve one’s Internet privacy because of the security bugs and vulnerabilities present in the system may compromise your privacy, even when using Tor.

(Image source: whonix.org)

That is why you shouldn’t be browsing websites through Tor on Windows systems. You should consider running Tor-configured Linux systems such as Tails and Whonix, or you can set up Tor on any of your favorite Linux distribution.

3. Do Update your System

Tor client is simply a software which runs on top of your operating system. That means Tor is only as safe and secure as the system running the Tor client. You must regularly, or preferably daily, update Tor client, Tor-secured applications (browsers, instant messaging clients, email clients, etc.), and the operating system of your computer.

If an attacker is able to get hold of your computer’s operating system, then even running Tor can’t protect you or your digital communications. Always keep your system up-to-date for Tor usage.

4. Don’t use HTTP Websites

The Onion Router, as the name suggests, is only a traffic router and not a tool to encrypt the network traffic throughout the Internet. That means Tor anonymizes the origin of your network traffic and encrypts everything inside the Tor network, but it doesn’t encrypt your Internet traffic outside the network.

This implies that the exit nodes of the Tor network can read your Internet traffic if it’s in the form of plain unencrypted data. That is why you should always use end-to-end encryption such as SSL or TLS when doing sensitive online communications, and that requires you to use HTTPS websites.

You should also consider using add-ons such as HTTPS Everywhere to automatically switch to HTTPS-mode browsing for supported websites.

5. Do Encrypt your Data Storage

Tor does anonymize your Internet traffic’s origin location but it does nothing in securing your digital data on your computer. Security of your data on your system can only be achieved when the information is encrypted using strong cryptographic algorithms.

LUKS can be used to encrypt your data to protect you from various threats. LUKS offers a reasonably safe data protection on Linux systems while TrueCrypt also proves to be handy in protecting your data.

6. Don’t use Tor Browser Bundle

Tor Browser Bundle should not be used to protect one’s online privacy and security. FBI’s recent takedown of Freedom Hosting (an anonymous web-hosting service running as a hidden service on the Tor network) was possible due to vulnerabilities in the Tor Browser Bundle.

That is why you shouldn’t use Tor Browser Bundle for browsing websites anonymously through Tor.

7. Do disable JavaScript, Flash and Java

Tor cannot protect your data with active content such as JavaScript, Adobe Flash, Java, QuickTime, ActiveX controls, VBScripts, etc. because these binary applications run with your user account’s privileges, and may access and share your data.

JavaScript is a powerful browser language which websites can use to track you in ways which is not possible to protect using Tor. Java and Adobe Flash run in virtual machines which may ignore your system’s configured proxy settings, and thus bypass Tor’s protection to share your data directly with the websites.

Moreover, they may also store cookies and site’s data separately from the browser and operating system, which may be hard to detect and delete. By disabling these technologies in your system using Tor, you can achieve a greater level of protection.

8. Don’t use P2P

P2P is unwanted in Tor network because it is simply not built for peer-to-peer file sharing. Exit nodes of the network are set up to block file sharing traffic. You abuse Tor network if you download torrents and it slows down other users’ browsing. Moreover, using Tor with BitTorrent is not secure and is a threat to your online anonymity.

Due to the insecure design of BitTorrent clients, using Tor with them doesn’t make you anonymous because those clients send your IP address directly to the tracker and other peers, thus compromising your anonymity.

9. Do delete Cookies and site’s Local Data

Tor does route your network traffic through many relays in order to protect you from traffic analysis. It hides your real identity from the websites using network packets to prevent them from gathering information about you. But websites may use workarounds such as cookies and local data storage to track your online activities, analyze your Internet usage, and detect your real identity.

That is why, you must always drop cookies and site local data while using Tor to protect your privacy. You can also consider using add-on such as Self-Destructing Cookies to automatically delete cookies.

10. Don’t use your Real Email

You should not use your real email on websites while using Tor. Tor is used to protect online privacy and hide real identity. How can you hide your real identity if you’re giving out your real email on the websites? It’s like going to a mask party but wearing your name tag on your costume.

If you’re really privacy-conscious and don’t want to leave your mark anywhere on the Internet while using Tor, then you must consider a virtual identity which includes no matching information from your original, real-world identity.

11. Don’t use Google

You should not use Google to search the Internet if you care for your privacy. Google is known for collecting information on users’ browsing and search data to facilitate the growth of its ads revenue.

You should consider using alternatives such as Startpage and DuckDuckGo. These services offer search results without logging your IP address and storing cookies on your computer. In simple words, these search engines are anonymity-compliant services, and that is why you should use them while using Tor instead of Google.

Final thoughts

Anonymity is not easy when everyone is after your privacy. Tor, in spite of many known vulnerabilities and weaknesses, is still the best tool we have to protect us from malicious people and organizations. Tor can protect your digital privacy and you can browse the Internet without revealing the real you!

Technology itself can’t simply protect you if you’re not willing to strictly follow the rules and comply with the regulations. Human error may disable your identity protection and reveal your information to the outside world. What good is the alarm and CCTV system in your home if you forget to turn it on?

You need to use Tor and duly comply with the usage rules to completely protect your online privacy. Just follow the above given Do’s and Don’ts of the Tor network for better personal security online.

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Below, we have compiled 20 awesome treehouses that really bring this notion to life. These magnificent structures will not only leave you speechless at how amazing they can look but will also make you wish that you had these beauties in your backyard when you were little.

Mirror Cube

Designed by Tham & Vinegard architects, the cube is covered in mirrors which reflects its surroundings. Sweden’s ‘invisible’ hotel room contains a large bed, bathroom, lounge and rooftop terrace to soak in the view.

The Sustainability Treehouse

This Sustainability Treehouse is located at the Summit Bechtel Reserve in West Virginia and it serves as a camp adventure site.

Design architect, Mithun created this treehouse to provide visitors with the opportunity to explore and understand the site and ecosystem on the different levels of the structure.

Roost Treehouse

It is designed to copy the natural curves found in nature. The purpose was to build a treehouse that could blend in with the surrounding forest. The treehouse is built using sustainable materials.

The design by Antony Gibbon looks like it came straight from Lothlorien (The Eleves’ forest home) in Lord of the Rings.

Yellow Treehouse Restaurant

Built on a 40 meter high redwood tree, this treehouse is found in the north of Auckland, New Zealand. Shaped like a cocoon around the tree, the restaurant as well as its path, is illuminated by warm-colored lights at night.

4Tree House

This tree house concept gives it the appearance of floating among the fir trees in Lake Muskoka, Ontario, Canada. It is constructed on the base of four existing trees, which resembles stilts. There are three levels in total with varying transparency, letting natural light in and out as much as possible.

Tea House Tetsu

Located in Hokuto, Japan, the treehouse is surrounded by purple and pink cherry blossom trees. It is built especially for enjoying the cherry blossoms in full bloom and its also serves as a tea house.

Horace Burgess’s Treehouse

Located in Crossville, Tennesse, the treehouse is 97 feet tall and it uses 6 trees as its base. It took over 14 years to build this massive treehouse!

Wilkinson Residence

Found in Portland, Oregon, this treehouse is built on a flag lot. The building was built to enhance the natural landscape as well as the flow of music.

Banyan Treehouse

This luxurious tree house which is made out of wood and glass is the perfect getaway from the busy life. It overlooks downtown Los Angeles and is built on the base of a large pine tree.

The Cocoon

Built by students from London’s Architectural Association, it is a giant wooden cocoon suspended between the trees. It was visualized to be a quite getaway where dwellers can sit and watch the sun set.

Free Spirit Spheres

Situated among the tall trees in the rainforest of Vancouver, Canada, these handmade tree house spheres are suspended in the air with winding ropes. The spheres are available for overnight rental.

Baumraum Treehouse

Designed by Baumraum, this treehouse can be found in Hechtel-Eksel, Belgium. It helps to close the gap between the economy and ecology. It is equipped with state-of-the-art eco facilities.

E’terra Samara Retreat

It is a five-star eco resort that consists of twelve treehouse villas. It is situated in Canada’s Bruce Peninsula forest. The treehouse is suspended and it appears as if it is hugging the tree.

Tree in the House

The structure is camouflaged amongst the trees in the mountainous city of Almaty in Kazakhstan. It is a transparent cylindrical volume with an empty core, where a towering tree rises from the space.

Tree Snake Houses

Located in Portugal, the structure gives an illusion of a snake gliding between the trees. The design uses materials that would blend in with its surroundings. The architects used a new technology which allows a weightless easy-carrying structure.

Hapuku Lodge and Tree Houses

Guests can choose to stay in two level family tree houses or a stand alone Olive suite apartment. Located on New Zealand’s south island, the lodge is near the top site for spotting whales and dolphins.

La Casa Del Arbol

This unique treehouse has a small swing set that soars high over the Ecuadorian city of Banos. Thrill seekers will sail 2,660 meters above sea level. It offers visitors a glimpse of the edge of the world.

UFO Hotel Room

The Swedish eco hotel has added a UFO shaped room to its collection. The lightweight structure is suspended in the trees and you can experience this for $625 a night.

Chewton Glen Treehouse Suites

It is situated high above the ground in Hampshire, England. These luxurious treehouses are in a natural forest setting. It is on stilts and gives a panoramic view of the forest.

The Enchanted Forest Treehouse

A three-story treehouse, probably the tallest treehouse in British Columbia, Canada.

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