The Phone Interview Cheat Sheet: Tips for Success

Hunting for a job? You’ll need to stay prepared for interviews conducted over both voice and video calls. These are quite common as a precursor to, and sometimes a replacement for, a face-to-face interview.

Phone-based interviews can be just as nerve-wracking as in-person interviews. So, do the same rules apply to both? Yes and no. You’ll find a few areas of overlap, but phone interviews also come with a few unique advantages and challenges.

The good news is that if you’re gearing up for a voice- or video-based interview, the cheat sheet below can help you prepare well for it.

The cheat sheet covers the prep work involved, common questions you can expect, and other essentials you need to know about for a successful interview.

FREE DOWNLOAD: This cheat sheet is available as a downloadable PDF from our distribution partner, TradePub. You will have to complete a short form to access it for the first time only. Download Phone Interview Essentials.

The Phone Interview Cheat Sheet

Tips
Advantages of a Phone Interview
■ You can participate from the comfort of your home or from anywhere else in the world.
■ You can schedule the interview in advance and this flexibility can win you extra points.
■ You can give more descriptive answers.
■ You can cover up gaps in your resume by explaining the reasons behind them.
■ You can showcase your verbal communication skills if body language is an issue.
■ You can have relevant facts and figures handy and refer to them while giving the interview.
Pre-Interview Prep: Do Your Research
■ Record a professional voicemail message as soon as you submit your resumes as calls can come at the worst possible times.
■ Make a list of your strengths and weaknesses.
■ Review the job advertisement and match your skills to the requirements asked for.
■ Research key facts about the company and the projects they are involved in. For e.g., place in the industry, future outlook, news/press, product, culture.
■ List examples and projects you can use to demonstrate how you fit the profile.
■ Print and organize this information alphabetically for each position you have applied for.
■ Prepare answers to common questions the interviewer may ask.
■ Write your elevator pitch: what you have done in the past, what you are doing now, and what you would like to be doing in the future.
■ Keep your CV and an alphabetized dossier of companies you have applied to next to your phone or computer.
■ Learn more about your interviewer so you can put a face and personality behind the voice.
■ Prepare your answers to commonly asked interview questions and visualize your response in detail. (Refer to the last section of this PDF for a few interview questions you can expect.)
Pre-Interview Prep: Set Your Environment
■ Find a quiet room that allows you to give an interview without any disturbances.
■ Optimize the room temperature and light so you can be comfortable during the interview.
■ Find a comfortable chair and desk to use.
■ Inform your family ahead of time about the interview to ensure no one interrupts you.
■ Drink plenty of water and keep more close by.
■ Switch off all push notifications on your phone.
■ Charge your phone and keep your charger handy.
■ Use a good set of noise-cancelling headphones.
■ Have a pen and paper available to take notes and a calendar to schedule any follow-up interviews.
■ Dress professionally for the interview.
■ Visualize any obstacles or interruptions (for e.g., call drops) and your ideal response to manage them.
■ Rehearse a simulated interview with someone and practice answers.
The Interview
■ Mind your posture and avoid slouching.
■ Do not eat, drink, or smoke during the interview.
■ Beware of sounding overfamiliar. Refer to the other person by their surname unless told to do otherwise.
■ Do not interrupt the interviewer.
■ Let the interviewer do most of the talking.
■ When it is your turn, be brief and factual.
■ Avoid "Yes" and "No" answers. Elaborate on your skill sets and experiences.
■ Do not hem and haw while answering as it indicates indecisiveness.
■ Sound enthusiastic with your answers.
■ Pause, think, and give your answers clearly.
■ Avoid clichéd responses.
■ Be honest about any unexpected distractions.
■ Take quick notes or record the conversation so you can refer to it later for the face-to-face interview, if there’s one.
■ Once the interview concludes, ask what the next step will be in the process.
■ Seek permission to follow up for information or queries.
■ Ensure that you have the right contact details and the correct spelling and pronunciation of the interviewer's name.
The Follow-Up
■ Ask when and how you can follow up.
■ When you don't hear back, it's ideal to send an email a week after the phone interview.
■ Send a thank-you email.
Common Questions to Prep For
■ Can you tell me a little about yourself?
■ Can you walk me through your life?
■ Why do you want this job?
■ Why do you want to work at this company?
■ What do you know about our company/and the position you are applying for?
■ Why did you leave (or are leaving) your last position?
■ Tell us about your current job role.
■ Are you willing to relocate or travel?
■ What applicable experiences or skills do you have?
■ Why do you think you are the best person for the job?
■ Why is there a work gap in your resume? (If there is...)
■ What is your greatest weakness?
■ What are some of your greatest strengths?
■ What are your career goals?
■ Tell me about a successful project you have completed.
■ How do you handle difficult situations? Give us an example.
■ What are your salary expectations?
■ When can you start with us?
■ Do you have any questions for us?

Ace That Phone Interview

Looking for more resources to help you land your next gig? Explore these mock interview websites and these sites that can help you impress potential employers. Also, pay attention to these essential job interview tips.

Read the full article: The Phone Interview Cheat Sheet: Tips for Success

Read Full Article

Download Excel For Dummies 2019 For FREE (Worth $30!)

If you’re looking for an ebook that covers all the fundamental techniques to master Microsoft Excel, this is it.

Unlock the FREE "Essential Excel Formulas" cheat sheet now!

This will sign you up to our newsletter

Enter your Email

Read our privacy policy

This newly updated edition of Excel For Dummies will teach you how to create, edit, format, and print your own worksheets. You’ll then progress to charting, creating data lists, and even performing data analysis.

By improving your knowledge of how to use Excel, you’ll build the toolkit to become more effective at everything from financial reporting and project management, to data analysis and forecasting.

Download This Ebook For Free

Each chapter in the book stands alone, meaning you can dive into the relevant section whenever you need guidance with your own projects. These sections will explain what each feature is good for, and how to most efficiently use these features to get the results you require.

By working your way through this ebook, you will:

• Get to know the new Excel interface inside-out.
• Become a pro at this popular spreadsheet and data analysis tool.
• Find time-tested and trusted advice from bestselling author and expert Greg Harvey.
• Use Excel to streamline your processes and make your work life easier than ever before.

Want to download your free copy? Simply click here to download Excel For Dummies 2019 from TradePub. You will have to complete a short form to access the ebook, but it’s well worth it!

Note: this free offer expires 18 Feb 2020.

Read the full article: Download Excel For Dummies 2019 For FREE (Worth $30!)

Read Full Article

Why your next TV needs ‘filmmaker mode’

TVs this year will ship with a new feature called “filmmaker mode,” but unlike the last dozen things the display industry has tried to foist on consumers, this one actually matters. It doesn’t magically turn your living room into a movie theater, but it’s an important step in that direction.

This new setting arose out of concerns among filmmakers (hence the name) that users were getting a sub-par viewing experience of the media that creators had so painstakingly composed.

The average TV these days is actually quite a quality piece of kit compared to a few years back. But few ever leave their default settings. This was beginning to be a problem, explained LG’s director of special projects, Neil Robinson, who helped define the filmmaker mode specification and execute it on the company’s displays.

“When people take TVs out of the box, they play with the settings for maybe five minutes, if you’re lucky,” he said. “So filmmakers wanted a way to drive awareness that you should have the settings configured in this particular way.”

In the past they’ve taken to social media and other platforms to mention this sort of thing, but it’s hard to say how effective a call to action is, even when it’s Tom Cruise and Chris McQuarrie begging you:

I’m taking a quick break from filming to tell you the best way to watch Mission: Impossible Fallout (or any movie you love) at home. pic.twitter.com/oW2eTm1IUA

— Tom Cruise (@TomCruise) December 4, 2018

While very few people really need to tweak the gamma or adjust individual color levels, there are a couple settings that are absolutely crucial for a film or show to look the way it’s intended. The most important are ones that fit under the general term “motion processing.”

These settings have a variety of fancy-sounding names, like “game mode,” “motion smoothing,” “truemotion,” and such like, and they are on by default on many TVs. What they do differs from model to model, but it amounts to taking content at, say, 24 frames per second, and converting it to content at, say, 120 frames per second.

Generally this means inventing the images that come between the 24 actual frames — so if a person’s hand is at point A in one frame of a movie and point C in the next, motion processing will create a point B to go in between — or B, X, Y, Z, and dozens more if necessary.

This is bad for several reasons:

First, it produces a smoothness of motion that lies somewhere between real life and film, giving an uncanny look to motion-processed imagery that people often say reminds them of bad daytime TV shot on video — which is why people call it the “soap opera effect.”

Second, some of these algorithms are better than others, and some media is more compatible than the rest (sports broadcasts, for instance). While at best they produce the soap opera effect, at worst they can produce weird visual artifacts that can distract even the least sensitive viewer.

And third, it’s an aesthetic affront to the creators of the content, who usually crafted it very deliberately, choosing this shot, this frame rate, this shutter speed, this take, this movement, and so on with purpose and a careful eye. It’s one thing if your TV has the colors a little too warm or the shadows overbright — quite another to create new frames entirely with dubious effect.

So filmmakers, and in particular cinematographers, whose work crafting the look of the movie is most affected by these settings, began petitioning TV companies to either turn motion processing off by default or create some kind of easily accessible method for users to disable it themselves.

Ironically, the option already existed on some displays. “Many manufacturers already had something like this,” said Robinson. But with different names, different locations within the settings, and different exact effects, no user could really be sure what these various modes actually did. LG’s was “Technicolor Expert Mode.” Does that sound like something the average consumer would be inclined to turn on? I like messing with settings, and I’d probably keep away from it.

So the movement was more about standardization than reinvention. With a single name, icon, and prominent placement instead of being buried in a sub-menu somewhere, this is something people may actually see and use.

Not that there was no back-and-forth on the specification itself. For one thing, filmmaker mode also lowers the peak brightness of the TV to a relatively dark 100 nits — at a time when high brightness, daylight visibility, and contrast ratio are specs manufacturers want to show off.

The reason for this is, very simply, to make people turn off the lights.

There’s very little anyone in the production of a movie can do to control your living room setup or how you actually watch the film. But restricting your TV to certain levels of brightness does have the effect of making people want to dim the lights and sit right in front. Do you want to watch movies in broad daylight, with the shadows pumped up so bright they look grey? Feel free, but don’t imagine that’s what the creators consider ideal conditions.

Photo: Chris Ryan / Getty Images

“As long as you view in a room that’s not overly bright, I’d say you’re getting very close to what the filmmakers saw in grading,” said Robinson. Filmmaker mode’s color controls are a rather loose, he noted, but you’ll get the correct aspect ratio, white balance, no motion processing, and generally no weird surprises from not delving deep enough in the settings.

The full list of changes can be summarized as follows:

• Maintain source frame rate and aspect ratio (no stretched or sped up imagery)
• Motion processing off (no smoothing)
• Peak brightness reduced (keeps shadows dark — this may change with HDR content)
• Sharpening and noise reduction off (standard items with dubious benefit)
• Other “image enhancements” off (non-standard items with dubious benefit)
• White point at D65/6500K (prevents colors from looking too warm or cool)

All this, however, relies on people being aware of the mode and choosing to switch to it. Exactly how that will work depends on several factors. The ideal option is probably a filmmaker mode button right on the clicker, which is at least theoretically the plan.

The alternative is a content specification — as opposed to a display one — that allows TVs to automatically enter filmmaker mode when a piece of media requests it to. But this requires content providers to take advantage of the APIs that make the automatic switching possible, so don’t count on it.

And of course this has its own difficulties, including privacy concerns — do you really want your shows to tell your devices what to do and when? So a middle road where the TV prompts the user to “Show this content in filmmaker mode? Yes/No” and automatic fallback to the previous settings afterwards might be the best option.

There are other improvements that can be pursued to make home viewing more like the theater, but as Robinson pointed out, there are simply fundamental differences between LCD and OLED displays and the projectors used in theaters — and even then there are major differences between projectors. But that’s a whole other story.

At the very least, the mode as planned represents a wedge that content purists (it has a whiff of derogation but they may embrace the term) can widen over time. Getting the average user to turn off motion processing is the first and perhaps most important step — everything after that is incremental improvement.

So which TVs will have filmmaker mode? It’s unclear. LG, Vizio, and Panasonic have all committed to bringing models out with the feature, and it’s even possible it could be added to older models with a software update (but don’t count on it). Sony is a holdout for now. No one is sure exactly which models will have filmmaker mode available, so just cast an eye over the spec list of you’re thinking of getting and, if you’ll take my advice, don’t buy a TV without it.

Read Full Article

This Week in Apps: Chinese giants take on Google Play, Iowa caucus disaster, TikTok’s power over App Store charts

Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the Extra Crunch series that recaps the latest OS news, the applications they support and the money that flows through it all.

The app industry is as hot as ever with a record 204 billion downloads in 2019 and $120 billion in consumer spending in 2019, according to App Annie’s recently released “State of Mobile” annual report. People are now spending 3 hours and 40 minutes per day using apps, rivaling TV. Apps aren’t just a way to pass idle hours — they’re a big business. In 2019, mobile-first companies had a combined $544 billion valuation, 6.5x higher than those without a mobile focus.

In this Extra Crunch series, we help you keep up with the latest news from the world of apps, delivered on a weekly basis.

This week, we look at the app making headlines for causing a disaster in Iowa, TikTok’s power to move apps up the charts, all the news from Apple’s new betas, the plan from Chinese mobile giants to take on Google Play, subscription scams, plus app trends and other news.

Headlines

Iowa’s caucus app was a disaster

A smartphone app really screwed things up in Iowa. The app, built by Shadow Inc., was designed to help the Iowa Democratic Party tabulate votes from the caucuses. But instead of helping, the app failed, causing a massive delay of almost an entire day. According to The New York Times, the app was quickly put together in just the past two months — and wasn’t properly tested.

Read Full Article

A Better Way to Embed PDF Documents in Web Pages

How do you embed a PDF document into your website for inline viewing? One popular option is that you upload the PDF file to an online storage service, something like Google Drive or Microsoft’s OneDrive, make the file public and then copy-paste the IFRAME code provided by these services to quickly embed the document in any website.

Here’s a sample PDF embed code for Google Drive that works across all browsers.

  <iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no"
     width="640" height="480"
     src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/<<FILE_ID>>/preview">
  </iframe>

This is the most common method for embedding PDFs - it is simple, it just works but the downside is that you have no control over how the PDF files are presented in your web pages.

If you prefer to offer a more customized and immersive reading experience for PDFs in your website, check out the new Adobe View SDK. This is part of the Adobe Document Cloud platform but doesn’t cost a penny.

Here are some unique features that make this PDF embed solution stand out:

• You can add annotation tools inside the PDF viewer. Anyone can annotate the embedded PDF and download the modified file.
• If you have embedded a lengthy document with multiple pages, readers can use the thumbnail view to quickly jump to any page.
• The PDF viewer can be customized to hide options for downloading and printing PDF files.
• There’s built-in analytics so you know how many people saw your PDF file and how they interacted with the document.
• And my favorite feature of ViewSDK is the inline embed mode. Let me explain that in detail.

Display PDF Pages Inline like Images and Videos

In Inline Mode, and this is unique to Adobe View SDK, all pages of the embedded PDF document are displayed at once so your site visitors do not have to scroll another document with the parent web page. The PDF controls are hidden from the user and the PDF pages blend with images and other HTML content on your web page.

To learn more, check this live demo - here the PDF document contains 7 pages but all are displayed at once like one long web page thus offering smooth navigation.

How to Embed PDFs with the Adobe View SDK

It does take a few extra steps to use the View SDK. Go to adobe.io and create a new set of credentials for your website. Please note that credentials are valid for one domain only so if you have multiple websites, you’d need a different set of credentials for them.

Next, open the playground and generate the embed code. You need to replace the clientId with your set of credentials. The url in the sample code should point to the location of your PDF file.

<div id="adobe-dc-view" style="width: 800px;"></div>
<script src="https://documentcloud.adobe.com/view-sdk/main.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript">
    document.addEventListener("adobe_dc_view_sdk.ready", function () {
        var adobeDCView = new AdobeDC.View({
            clientId: "<<YOUR_CLIENT_ID>>",
            divId: "adobe-dc-view"
        });
        adobeDCView.previewFile({
            content: { location: { url: "<<PDF Location>>" } },
            metaData: { fileName: "<<PDF File Name>>" }
        }, {
            embedMode: "IN_LINE",
            showDownloadPDF: false,
            showPrintPDF: false
        });
    });
</script>

Check out the official docs and the code repository for more samples.

5 Excellent Free Lessons to Learn the Basics of Photography

We are carrying phones with five cameras built into them. But having more cameras isn’t going to make your photos better. To shoot good pictures, try these free lessons to learn the basics of photography.

These resources dive into what anyone needs to know before taking up photography as a hobby. There are a couple of interactive apps that show how changing settings can alter a photo and a full-fledged university-level course.

1. Photography Fundamentals: A Basic Interactive Short Course

What’s the difference between DSLR cameras and smartphone cameras? Why do professionals take much better pictures than you, even with the same phone? Photography Fundamentals is an interactive course that explains the basics of photography.

The scrolling course works well on phones as well as computers. It will explain a topic in simple language with visual aids. For example, there are short videos to demonstrate a topic. And there are pictures with sliding bars for a before-after effect of any technique.

At the end of any topic, you’ll get a short quiz. Answer it correctly to show you’ve understood that subject and get access to the next topic. Right now, the course talks about aperture, shutter speed, lenses, and editing.

2. Anton Gorlin: Definitive Guide to Photography Composition

Ask any photographer what you should learn first, and you’ll get the same answer: composition. When they say a picture tells a thousand words, it means the picture has a story in it. Much like you carefully pick the right words and put them in the right order while writing a story, you need to carefully compose the visual elements of a photograph.

You’ll find plenty of explanations and guides for photography composition on the internet, and Anton Gorlin’s definitive guide is among the best. It is easily accessible for a beginner, explaining the major rules of composition without getting too technical.

For each explanation, Gorlin provides photographs to illustrate his point. Items like Breathing Space and Visual Storytelling aren’t easy to understand if not shown through accompanying pictures. It’s a lengthy guide, so give yourself some time to read it and understand it.

Meanwhile, also check out Gorlin’s handy set of photography cheat sheets. These printable guides concisely explain best photography practices.

3. Bastards Book of Photography: Open Source Guide to Photography

Dan Nguyen says you don’t need a high-end camera, fancy equipment, or Photoshop skills. A good photographer should know how to work with light, have a natural curiosity for the visual medium, and be willing to learn and practice. If that sounds like you, you’ll love The Bastards Book of Photography.

The idea of the digital book is to depend as little on external equipment and post-processing as possible. Nguyen teaches you to make the best use of light in any situation while keeping the language as simple as possible. In the process, you’ll learn how to use a camera’s manual settings to find the best way to light any scene.

Naturally, he focuses on exposure in different settings, and that’s the heart. But the book is thoughtfully put together for every aspect, with Nguyen explaining what he means with his own photographs. You won’t get jargon and techniques in this. Instead, he tells you the best practices he himself uses, and how they help.

4. Photoskop: Interactive Player to Learn Camera Settings

Photography experts keep talking about how you need to understand and manipulate the manual settings on a camera. But even if you know the technicalities, how exactly do you figure out what’s the best setting? Photoskop is an interactive guide to learn the best shot.

You’re given a photo. You can change aperture, shutter speed, ISO, white balance, and focal length through a menu. Each change affects how the picture looks. Every time you change any setting, the photo gets new speech bubbles that explain what is wrong or right about the change. And that’s the key to understanding these settings.

Photoskop has 15 different lessons for the common types of photos you’ll click: portraits, close-ups, low-light shots, landscapes, action, sunrises, and sunsets, etc. Go through the guide for each and pay attention to every bubble to understand how to manipulate camera settings.

5. Marc Levoy’s Lectures: Free 11-Week Stanford Course

Marc Levoy taught a course on digital photography at Stanford University for 6 years. He then turned it into an 18-lecture series for Google and put the whole thing online for free. While you won’t get an academic certification, this is perhaps the best free university-level course on digital photography.

Levoy divides the 11-week course into introduction, how digital cameras work, ‘photos, pixels, and bits’, interregnum, color and lighting, and image processing. Follow the schedule to watch a video each week, download the lecture slides, and do the optional coursework. There are two recommended textbooks for further reading, which you’ll have to buy or try to get free textbooks online.

Levoy also has a few Adobe Flash applets to demonstrate certain concepts and techniques. Now Flash player is pretty much obsolete and several browsers don’t even support it anymore, but if you can securely check out the applets, they’re worth the effort.

Best Online Photography Courses

Levoy’s lectures are only one set among the many photography courses available on the internet. In the age of online education, there is a variety of other courses to choose from, both paid and free.

Some are made by communities, like Reddit’s Photoclass, and some are hosted by acclaimed photographers like Annie Liebovitz. To make your choices easier, we rounded up the best online photography courses for beginners.

Read the full article: 5 Excellent Free Lessons to Learn the Basics of Photography

Read Full Article

How to Build a Basic Web Crawler to Pull Information From a Website

Programs that read information from websites, or web crawlers, have all kinds of useful applications. You can scrape for stock information, sports scores, text from a Twitter account, or pull prices from shopping websites.

Writing these web crawling programs is easier than you might think. Python has a great library for writing scripts that extract information from websites. Let’s look at how to create a web crawler using Scrapy.

Installing Scrapy

Scrapy is a Python library that was created to scrape the web and build web crawlers. It is fast, simple, and can navigate through multiple web pages without much effort.

Scrapy is available through the Pip Installs Python (PIP) library, here’s a refresher on how to install PIP on Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Using a Python Virtual Environment is preferred because it will allow you to install Scrapy in a virtual directory that leaves your system files alone. Scrapy’s documentation recommends doing this to get the best results.

Create a directory and initialize a virtual environment.

mkdir crawler
cd crawler
virtualenv venv
. venv/bin/activate

You can now install Scrapy into that directory using a PIP command.

pip install scrapy

A quick check to make sure Scrapy is installed properly

scrapy
# prints
Scrapy 1.4.0 - no active project

Usage:
  scrapy <command> [options] [args]

Available commands:
  bench         Run quick benchmark test
  fetch         Fetch a URL using the Scrapy downloader
  genspider     Generate new spider using pre-defined templates
  runspider     Run a self-contained spider (without creating a project)
...

How to Build a Web Crawler

Now that the environment is ready you can start building the web crawler. Let’s scrape some information from a Wikipedia page on batteries: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battery_(electricity).

The first step to write a crawler is defining a Python class that extends from Scrapy.Spider. This gives you access to all the functions and features in Scrapy. Let’s call this class spider1.

A spider class needs a few pieces of information:

• a name for identifying the spider
• a start_urls variable containing a list of URLs to crawl from  (the Wikipedia URL will be the example in this tutorial)
• a parse() method which is used to process the webpage to extract information

import scrapy

class spider1(scrapy.Spider):
    name = 'Wikipedia'
    start_urls = ['https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battery_(electricity)']

    def parse(self, response):
        pass

A quick test to make sure everything is running properly.

scrapy runspider spider1.py
# prints
2017-11-23 09:09:21 [scrapy.utils.log] INFO: Scrapy 1.4.0 started (bot: scrapybot)
2017-11-23 09:09:21 [scrapy.utils.log] INFO: Overridden settings: {'SPIDER_LOADER_WARN_ONLY': True}
2017-11-23 09:09:21 [scrapy.middleware] INFO: Enabled extensions:
['scrapy.extensions.memusage.MemoryUsage',
 'scrapy.extensions.logstats.LogStats',
...

Turning Off Logging

Running Scrapy with this class prints log information that won’t help you right now. Let’s make it simple by removing this excess log information. Use a warning statement by adding code to the beginning of the file.

import logging
logging.getLogger('scrapy').setLevel(logging.WARNING)

Now when you run the script again, the log information will not print.

Using the Chrome Inspector

Everything on a web page is stored in HTML elements. The elements are arranged in the Document Object Model (DOM). Understanding the DOM is critical to getting the most out of your web crawler. A web crawler searches through all of the HTML elements on a page to find information, so knowing how they’re arranged is important.

Google Chrome has tools that help you find HTML elements faster. You can locate the HTML for any element you see on the web page using the inspector.

• Navigate to a page in Chrome
• Place the mouse on the element you would like to view
• Right-click and select Inspect from the menu

These steps will open the developer console with the Elements tab selected. At the bottom of the console, you will see a tree of elements. This tree is how you will get information for your script.

Extracting the Title

Let’s get the script to do some work for us; A simple crawl to get the title text of the web page.

Start the script by adding some code to the parse() method that extracts the title.

...
    def parse(self, response):
        print response.css('h1#firstHeading::text').extract()
...

The response argument supports a method called CSS() that selects elements from the page using the location you provide.

In this example, the element is h1.firstHeading. Adding ::text to the script is what gives you the text content of the element. Finally, the extract() method returns the selected element.

Running this script in Scrapy prints the title in text form.

[u'Battery (electricity)']

Finding the Description

Now that we’ve scraped the title text let’s do more with the script. The crawler is going to find the first paragraph after the title and extract this information.

Here’s the element tree in the Chrome Developer Console:

div#mw-content-text>div>p

The right arrow (>) indicates a parent-child relationship between the elements.

This location will return all of the p elements matched, which includes the entire description. To get the first p element you can write this code:

response.css('div#mw-content-text>div>p')[0]

Just like the title, you add CSS extractor ::text to get the text content of the element.

response.css('div#mw-content-text>div>p')[0].css('::text')

The final expression uses extract() to return the list. You can use the Python join() function to join the list once all the crawling is complete.

    def parse(self, response):
        print ''.join(response.css('div#mw-content-text>div>p')[0].css('::text').extract())

The result is the first paragraph of the text!

An electric battery is a device consisting of one or more electrochemical cells with external connections provided to power electrical devices such as flashlights, smartphones, and electric cars.[1] When a battery is supplying electric power, its positive terminal is
...

Collecting JSON Data

Scrapy can extract information in text form, which is useful. Scrapy also lets you view the data JavaScript Object Notation (JSON). JSON is a neat way to organize information and is widely used in web development. JSON works pretty nicely with Python as well.

When you need to collect data as JSON, you can use the yield statement built into Scrapy.

Here’s a new version of the script using a yield statement. Instead of getting the first p element in text format, this will grab all of the p elements and organize it in JSON format.

...
    def parse(self, response):
        for e in response.css('div#mw-content-text>div>p'):
            yield { 'para' : ''.join(e.css('::text').extract()).strip() }
...

You can now run the spider by specifying an output JSON file:

scrapy runspider spider3.py -o joe.json

The script will now print all of the p elements.

[
{"para": "An electric battery is a device consisting of one or more electrochemical cells with external connections provided to power electrical devices such as flashlights, smartphones, and electric cars.[1] When a battery is supplying electric power, its positive terminal is the cathode and its negative terminal is the anode.[2] The terminal marked negative is the source of electrons that when connected to an external circuit will flow and deliver energy to an external device. When a battery is connected to an external circuit, electrolytes are able to move as ions within, allowing the chemical reactions to be completed at the separate terminals and so deliver energy to the external circuit. It is the movement of those ions within the battery which allows current to flow out of the battery to perform work.[3] Historically the term \"battery\" specifically referred to a device composed of multiple cells, however the usage has evolved additionally to include devices composed of a single cell.[4]"},
{"para": "Primary (single-use or \"disposable\") batteries are used once and discarded; the electrode materials are irreversibly changed during discharge. Common examples are the alkaline battery used for flashlights and a multitude of portable electronic devices. Secondary (rechargeable) batteries can be discharged and recharged multiple
...

Scraping Multiple Elements

So far the web crawler has scraped the title and one kind of an element from the page. Scrapy can also extract information from different types of elements in one script.

Let’s extract top IMDb Box Office hits for a weekend. This information is pulled from http://www.imdb.com/chart/boxoffice, in a table with rows for each metric.

The parse() method can extract more than one field from the row. Using the Chrome Developer Tools you can find the elements nested inside the table.

...
    def parse(self, response):
        for e in response.css('div#boxoffice>table>tbody>tr'):
            yield {
                'title': ''.join(e.css('td.titleColumn>a::text').extract()).strip(),
                'weekend': ''.join(e.css('td.ratingColumn')[0].css('::text').extract()).strip(),
                'gross': ''.join(e.css('td.ratingColumn')[1].css('span.secondaryInfo::text').extract()).strip(),
                'weeks': ''.join(e.css('td.weeksColumn::text').extract()).strip(),
                'image': e.css('td.posterColumn img::attr(src)').extract_first(),
            }
...

The image selector specifies that img is a descendant of td.posterColumn. To extract the right attribute, use the expression ::attr(src).

Running the spider returns JSON:

[
{"gross": "$93.8M", "weeks": "1", "weekend": "$93.8M", "image": "https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BYWVhZjZkYTItOGIwYS00NmRkLWJlYjctMWM0ZjFmMDU4ZjEzXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTMxODk2OTU@._V1_UY67_CR0,0,45,67_AL_.jpg", "title": "Justice League"},
{"gross": "$27.5M", "weeks": "1", "weekend": "$27.5M", "image": "https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BYjFhOWY0OTgtNDkzMC00YWJkLTk1NGEtYWUxNjhmMmQ5ZjYyXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjMxOTE0ODA@._V1_UX45_CR0,0,45,67_AL_.jpg", "title": "Wonder"},
{"gross": "$247.3M", "weeks": "3", "weekend": "$21.7M", "image": "https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMjMyNDkzMzI1OF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwODcxODg5MjI@._V1_UY67_CR0,0,45,67_AL_.jpg", "title": "Thor: Ragnarok"},
...
]

More Web Scrapers and Bots

Scrapy is a detailed library that can do just about any kind of web crawling that you ask it to. When it comes to finding information in HTML elements, combined with the support of Python, it’s hard to beat. Whether you’re building a web crawler or learning about the basics of web scraping the only limit is how much you’re willing to learn.

If you’re looking for more ways to build crawlers or bots you can try to build Twitter and Instagram bots using Python. Python can build some amazing things in web development, so it’s worth going beyond web crawlers when exploring this language.

Read the full article: How to Build a Basic Web Crawler to Pull Information From a Website

Read Full Article

The Best YouTube Channels for Self-Improvement and Motivation

In the quest for self-improvement, you’ll often find yourself in need of inspiration. Self-help books used to be everybody’s go-to resource, but these days, you can get the best motivation from YouTube channels instead.

Some of them explain psychological concepts while others pump you up with motivational speeches. Whatever you need for your personal development journey, you can get it from the best self-help YouTube channels below.

1. TEDx Talks

Total Number of Subscribers: 22.8+ Million

From social change to social media, TED Talks cover just about everything. You can find a vast range of videos about self-help on this international YouTube channel. The presenters sprinkle personal anecdotes into every lesson to ground their teachings in reality.

Check out My Philosophy for a Happy Life or The Art of Letting Go to get started.

2. Be Inspired

Total Number of Subscribers: 6.27+ Million

The title of this channel says it all. There’s a range of inspirational talks, aimed to motivate you into action. Check out videos like Never Lazy Again, Start Your Day Right, and Winner’s Mindset for a sample of what’s on offer.

The sleek, uniform style of Be Inspired makes it one of the best YouTube channels for reliable motivation.

3. School of Life

Total Number of Subscribers: 5.24+ Million

Education shouldn’t stop when you leave school. This YouTube channel devotes itself to providing continued lessons on all important parts of life. Learn about relationships, social philosophy, self-help, and more.

Check out these videos about battling anxiety, helping people around you, or simplifying your life.

4. Big Think

Total Number of Subscribers: 2.7+ Million

Big Think is all about spreading interesting ideas from big thinkers. Listen to experts like Michael Puett, Bill Nye, and Neil deGrasse Tyson give insight into ideas that expand your mind and make it easy to live a better life.

Here are some top choices we picked out for you:

• Build Mental Models to Enhance Your Focus
• Your Most Powerful Negotiation Tool: The Illusion of Control
• Ethan Hawke’s Productivity Lesson: Set Simple Goals

5. Team Fearless

Total Number of Subscribers: 2.45+ Million

This YouTube channel has some of the best motivational videos for getting pumped. Watch everything from three-minute motivational bursts to 20-minute speeches. You can even find playlists of self-development music.

Why not use that motivation to set yourself self-improvement challenges?

6. Matt D’Avella

Total Number of Subscribers: 2.33+ Million

Matt D’Avella is a minimalist filmmaker. His YouTube channel is full of videos to help grasp control and improve your life. As you’d expect from a filmmaker, each video is beautifully shot and edited, making it a joy to watch D’Avella’s work.

Learn how to stop procrastinating, make your habits stick, or wake up at the same time every day. D’Avella also has a series of 30-day experiments that are well worth a watch.

7. Improvement Pill

Total Number of Subscribers: 1.96+ Million

Improvement Pill releases animated lessons designed to help you improve your life in all sorts of different ways. Work on breaking addictions, overcoming fear, and getting yourself motivated. These videos are consistently under 10 minutes, making them easy to squeeze into a busy schedule.

You can follow a range of different courses written by Improvement Pill, or dive into one-off lessons instead.

8. Thomas Frank

Total Number of Subscribers: 1.73+ Million

Once upon a time, this YouTube channel went by the name CollegeInfoGeek. Now rebranded, Thomas Frank is still dedicated to creating the best self-help YouTube videos around.

Among other things, Frank teaches about study techniques, habit tracking, and productive routines. His YouTube videos have everything you need for positive change.

9. Motivation Madness

Total Number of Subscribers: 1.43+ Million

Motivation Madness uploads hours of inspirational speeches from successful figures. Watch them to find out why the one percent succeed or learn the right mindset for inner happiness.

Many of these speeches, like Denzel Washington’s life advice, are from graduation ceremonies. But you can take lessons from these videos wherever you are in life.

10. Fight Mediocrity

Total Number of Subscribers: 1.16+ Million

Most of us don’t have time to read all the best self-improvement books out there:

• Thinking, Fast and Slow
• Learned Optimism
• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

These books are likely to stay on your reading list forever. But Fight Mediocrity creates animated summaries so you can get the gist in minutes.

Alongside popular book summaries, there are also speeches from inspirational figures like Elon Musk or Arnold Schwarzenegger.

11. Absolute Motivation

Total Number of Subscribers: 1.08+ Million

Absolute Motivation lives up to its name, providing a seemingly endless source of motivational YouTube videos. There are some real gems here, like Psychology of the Great, What It All Means, and Why You’re Not Happy.

Do yourself a favor and think about the message after each video. If you need motivation in ten minutes or less, this one of the best YouTube channels around.

12. ET the Hip Hop Preacher

Total Number of Subscribers: 995,000+

Eric Thomas is a motivational speaker, educator, preacher, podcaster, and entrepreneur. His motivational YouTube videos can help you develop the mindset you need for effective self-help.

If you don’t mind Thomas’s faith-inspired perspective on personal development, this channel is a great resource. Particularly popular videos include You Owe You or Affirm Your Goals.

13. Actualized.org

Total Number of Subscribers: 931,000+

Many of the videos from Actualized.org are nearly an hour long, like One Simple Rule for Acing Life, Lifestyle Minimalism, and The Power of Letting Go. You may want to split them up into shorter sections, but they’re worth making time for.

This YouTube channel seeks to help you master your psychology and improve your life. It covers a wide variety of personal development concepts (with a dose of profanity thrown in for good measure).

14. InnerLight Media

Total Number of Subscribers: 288,000+

Thanks to an ever-increasing supply of motivational videos, this YouTube channel always has something for you to watch. Especially if you need a boost of inspiration.

Check out videos that prompt you to be more kind, find a better direction in life, and accept the person you are. Some of them are cheesy, but those ones usually work the best!

Get Inspired!

Working on your self-improvement should be far easier with the videos on these channels. You can find an endless supply of self-help lessons or motivational speeches on YouTube.

But you don’t need to stick to YouTube for self-help.

Whether you want to learn how to handle finances, weave creativity into your life, or find a healthy relationship, there are plenty of no-nonsense life advice sites designed to help you with all that as well.

Read the full article: The Best YouTube Channels for Self-Improvement and Motivation

Read Full Article

5 Ways to Generate a List of All Installed Programs in Windows

You’ve probably installed many programs over time on your Windows PC and might not remember all of them. Let’s look at multiple ways to get a list of installed programs in Windows 10.

Unlock the FREE "Ultimate Windows Keyboard Shortcuts" cheat sheet now!

This will sign you up to our newsletter

Enter your Email

Read our privacy policy

You can refer to this list of installed programs when you set up a new PC or reinstall Windows 10 and know what programs to install.

1. List Installed Programs Using Registry and PowerShell

Querying the registry is an effective way of finding out all installed programs in Windows 10. You can use a combination of the registry and PowerShell to get a list of installed software.

To begin, download the Get-ProgramGet script from TechNet. Store it in C:\Windows\system32 (replace C with whatever your local directory is.)

Press Windows key + X and click Windows PowerShell (Admin), which we’re going to use to run the script.

It’s likely that your computer has a policy enabled to stop you running scripts, so let’s change that.

Input the following:

Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted

Press A to say Yes to All.

Next, input the following:

 . .\Get-RemoteProgram

Press R to Run once.

This will then output a list of programs installed on your local machine. Click and drag to highlight the list. You can then copy this into another program, like Notepad or Excel, to save the list.

2. List Installed Programs Using Settings

One way is to view all your installed programs is to look within Settings. This is a basic solution but is effective if you have concerns about using PowerShell.

Press Windows key + I to open Settings and click Apps. This will list all programs installed on your computer, along with the Windows Store apps that came pre-installed.

Use your Print Screen key to capture the list and paste the screenshot into another program like Paint. You will probably need to scroll down and take multiple screenshots. If this is the case, you might find it easier to paste each image into a word processor and save it as a single file.

3. List Installed Programs Using UninstallView

UninstallView is a program from NirSoft. While it can be used to uninstall programs, it’s also incredibly good at generating a reliable list of your installed programs.

Once downloaded, open the executable and it will show a list of your programs. Use the Options dropdown to toggle the appearance of Windows Apps, if you want them included.

Go to View > HTML Report – All Items to see an HTML export of the list. You can keep that file in the default location as per the address bar, or press Ctrl + S to save it somewhere else.

4. List Installed Programs Using CCleaner

CCleaner is a Windows program designed to free up space on your PC, though CCleaner has a questionable reputation nowadays. Nevertheless, it’s handy for a single use to generate a list of installed programs on your PC that can be saved to a text file.

Once installed, open CCleaner and click Tools on the left, then Uninstall.

Click the blue Save to text file button in the lower-right corner.

On the Save As dialog box, navigate to the folder where you want to save the installed programs list, enter a File name and click Save.

The list of installed programs includes the company, date installed, size, and version number for each program.

The text is tab-delimited, which makes it somewhat hard to read in a text editor. You can import the text from this file into Excel to make it easier to read.

Convert Your List of Programs Into an Excel Worksheet

Open Excel. Go to Open > Browse and change the dropdown next to File name to be All files. Then navigate to where you exported the text file and open it.

On the first screen of the Text Import Wizard dialog box, make sure Delimited is selected under Choose the file type that best describes your data. Click Next.

On the second screen, make sure Tab is checked under Delimiters.

Click Finish. Your list of programs is then imported into columns on a worksheet in Excel.

5. List Installed Programs Using Geek Uninstaller

Geek Uninstaller is a free, portable Windows program used to thoroughly uninstall programs, including all leftovers. The program will also forcefully remove stubborn or broken programs. You can use Geek Uninstaller to generate and save a list of installed programs on your PC.

Open the downloaded executable. A list of installed programs displays on the Geek Uninstaller main window.

To save this list to an HTML file, press Ctrl + S. On the Save As dialog box, navigate to the folder where you want to save the installed programs list, enter a File name and click Save.

The HTML file automatically opens in the default browser once it’s saved. The list includes the name and size of each program and the date on which the program was installed.

Press Ctrl + S to save the Installed Programs HTML page to a location you choose with a custom file name.

Geek Uninstaller also allows you to display a list of apps installed from the Windows Store. Go to View > Windows Store Apps. Note that this is a separate list to the other one—it does not combine them.

All the apps installed on your PC from the Windows Store display. You can export this list to an HTML file the same way you did for the list of regular Windows programs.

And while you’re using Geek Uninstaller, you should consider uninstalling unnecessary Windows programs and apps.

Move Your Programs Elsewhere

All of these techniques get you the same end result, so it’s just preference as to which one you want to use. If you don’t want to install anything, go with PowerShell, otherwise, a third-party app works nicely.

Now you know all the programs you have, perhaps you want to move them around. Check out our guide on how to move installed programs in Windows 10.

Read the full article: 5 Ways to Generate a List of All Installed Programs in Windows

Read Full Article

Google Maps Gets New Features to Explore

Google Maps is 15 years old, with Google having launched Maps all the way back in 2005. To celebrate the milestone, Google has updated Maps, with a new icon, a simplified user interface, and news of some new features coming over the next few months.

A Brief History of Google Maps

In February 2005, Google launched Google Maps. At the time, Google Maps was a web application, but was quickly transformed into an app for mobile devices as well. Which, given its usefulness as a tool for navigation, is where it came into its own.

Google Maps has evolved massively over the years, and Google has celebrated 15 years of Google Maps in a series of posts on The Keyword. This includes Sundar Pichai reflecting on the history of Google Maps, and Jen Fitzpatrick looking at the future of Google Maps.

There’s also a post detailing Google Maps’ new look and features.

New Google Maps Features to Explore

The first thing you’ll notice is the new icon. The section of a map with a pin sticking in it is gone, replaced by a simple pin-shaped icon decorated with the red, blue, yellow and green common to all Google apps. Making it much more recognizable as a Google app.

Once you open the app you’ll now see five tabs running across the bottom of the app. These are designed to keep everything you need at your fingertips. Saving you from having to dig through menus and submenus to find what you want.

The five tabs are Explore, Commute, Saved, Contribute, and Updates. Explore helps you explore areas, Commute lets you set up your commute, Saved collates all of your saved places, Contribute lets you share local knowledge, and Updates features trending spots.

Google is also teasing further updates due in the next few months. The first is a new set of features to help you plan your journeys on public transit. The second is an expansion to Live View, which offers augmented reality walking directions.

Here’s to Another 15 Years of Google Maps

Google Maps has been an absolute revelation. From helping us all navigate the world, whether by foot, automobile, or public transit, to showing us where to visit, eat, drink, and park, Google Maps is an essential tool for everyone. So, here’s to the next 15 years.

And if you’re interested in the tech powering the app, here’s how Google Maps works.

Read the full article: Google Maps Gets New Features to Explore

Read Full Article

5 Tips to Buy Safely on AliExpress and Avoid Frauds or Scams

It’s not always easy to stay safe while you’re shopping online. For every legitimate, reputable site, hundreds want to take your money and run for the hills, never to be seen or heard from again.

If you want to stay safe, it’s important to research the site you’re making your purchases on. Take AliExpress, for example. How does it protect buyers? Is it easy to avoid scams? How does the site handle disputes and refunds?

So, let’s dive into the world of AliExpress and answer some of those questions.

What Is AliExpress?

AliExpress is part of the Alibaba Group. The group is a Chinese eCommerce company that offers a variety of retail services to businesses and consumers around the world. In April 2016, it overtook Walmart to become the largest retailer in the world.

Alibaba launched its AliExpress subdivision in 2010. It’s an online-only company that sells mainly Chinese products. It functions more like eBay than Amazon; it’s a host platform that lets third-party companies sell their wares. It doesn’t sell products itself.

AliExpress is the most popular e-commerce site in Russia and is also widely used throughout Latin America.

1. Buying From AliExpress: Buyer Protections

Buying online comes with inherent risks. Unlike doing your shopping in a physical store, you can’t see the item prior to purchase.

This removes a significant part of the buying process. You can’t feel a product to test for build quality or check an electronic item to make sure all the features work as described.

If you’re buying a well-known brand, you can read online reviews or even head to shop to negate the problem.

But is AliExpress safe to use for purchases? After all, many of the cheap white-label Chinese products on AliExpress are not available in stores; you’re on your own. Normally, you will be making your decision solely based on the description and a few photos. It’s vital, therefore, that the site has a robust buyer protection policy.

Luckily, it does. The company offers two important guarantees:

1. A full refund if you don’t receive your order: if the item does not show up, or even if it does not arrive within the timescale the seller specifies, you can apply for a full refund. You will get a full refund within 15 days.
2. A full or partial refund if the item is not as described: if your purchase differs significantly from what you expected, you have two options. You can either return the item for a full refund or keep the item and receive a partial refund.

2. Resolving Disputes

Unfortunately, as with other eCommerce sites, getting a refund for a missing, defective, or incorrect item is not as simple as merely clicking a “Refund” button. There’s an entire dispute process you need to work through.

On AliExpress, the dispute process involves three steps:

First, you need to contact the seller and raise your issue directly with them. If you’re raising a dispute either before the order has been completed, or more than 15 days after completion, this is the only option open to you.

If you’re still in the pre-completion stage and the seller refuses to cooperate, you have to wait until the order is closed and raise the issue with AliExpress. Sadly, if you’re beyond the 15-day mark and the seller refuses to cooperate, you’re out of options.

Second, if you’re within the 15-day period and you’re not happy with the seller’s response, you can open a dispute ticket. This makes the process formal.

Third, if you’re unhappy with the formal discussions, you can escalate the issue to AliExpress. It will then act as a mediator between you and the seller to reach a resolution.

3. Finding a Reputable Seller: The Feedback Page

The easiest way to avoid using the refund and dispute channels is to find a reputable seller. It makes ordering from AliExpress much less worrisome. If thousands of satisfied customers have used the seller in the past, you’re far less likely to run into problems.

The most obvious way to check a seller is to look at their history. On any seller’s page, click the Feedback tab for a complete breakdown. To safely buy cheap tech from Chinese sites, checking seller feedback is essential.

Each seller has a Positive Feedback percentage and Feedback Score. The Feedback Score is the sum of all ratings, converted into points. Four- and five-star ratings are worth one point, three stars are worth zero, and one- and two-star ratings deduct one point.

Further down the page, you can see star ratings sub-divided into Item as Described, Communication, and Shipping Speed. For each sub-category, you can see whether the seller in question is above or below the site average.

Lastly, at the bottom of the page, you’ll see a historical look at their scores along with buyer comments.

4. Check Seller Guarantees

Sellers can also offer buyers specific safeguards. As a general rule, the more guarantees provided, the more confident you can be in your purchase. Again, it helps to make AliExpress a more reliable store.

Sellers offer guarantees on a per-item basis. Just because they offer lots of assurances on one product doesn’t mean the same assurances are replicated across their entire catalog. Make sure you do thorough research before you commit.

There are four different guarantees sellers can offer:

1. On-Time Delivery. The seller promises to provide a full refund if your purchase does not arrive by a pre-agreed time.
2. Returns and Refund. The seller promises to offer a full refund if the product is not as described
3. Domestic Returns. The seller has a warehouse in your country. You can send returns to it without needing to worry about shipping costs or customs fees.
4. Guaranteed Genuine. If you’re buying a big-ticket electronic item, this is one to look out for. It means the item has been verified as genuine by AliExpress itself.

To see which guarantees are provided for an individual item, check for the Buyer Protection information in the Quick Info part of the product page, or click the Seller Guarantees tab below the product image.

5. Be a Smart Shopper to Avoid Fraud

No matter how much security the site puts in place, you always need to take some responsibility for your own actions.

AliExpress offers some helpful hints to make sure you avoid fraudulent sales. Most of them are common sense, but it’s still prudent to recap some of them:

• If the price is too good to be true, it probably is. Sorry, but you’re not going to get the latest iPhone for $10. You’re probably buying an iPhone keyring instead. Check the small print.
• Never send money to a seller’s bank account. If a seller wants you to send money directly to them rather than through AliExpress, do not proceed. Sending money outside of AliExpress means the site will not cover you under its buyer protection policies.
• Do not confirm delivery before receiving the order. Never say you’ve received an item before it’s in your possession and you’ve thoroughly checked it for problems.

You should also make yourself aware of something called formjacking, anytime you’re shopping online. Check out exactly what formjacking is and how to avoid it if you’d like to learn more.

AliExpress Is Safe

Chinese products often have an unfair reputation for being cheap and poor quality. It’s not true. Many of the products on AliExpress are well made and available for a fraction of the cost of what you would pay for an equivalent item in the shops of North America or Europe.

If you’re a smart shopper, it is safe to shop on AliExpress. The site is no more dangerous than buying something off Amazon or eBay.

Read the full article: 5 Tips to Buy Safely on AliExpress and Avoid Frauds or Scams

Read Full Article