Shine brings its female-focused self-care app to Android

Shine, one of the many apps capitalizing on the growing self-care trend, has now brought its app used by 3 million people to Android devices. Originally launched as a simple messaging bot that doled out life advice and motivation, Shine has grown over the years to become a larger self-help platform aimed largely at the millennial crowd – and in particular, millennial women.

As of Shine’s $5 million Series A round last April, the app’s user base was 70 percent female, and 88 percent were under the age of 35.

Since then, it has added another million to its then 2 million users. That growth came despite Shine having missed the mark at times, as with its failed life-coaching subscription product that never emerged from testing.

Today, Shine’s focus is on personal growth, motivational messaging, and other self-improvement topics, which are delivered by way of both text and audio. Through short-form audio, users can get help across a number of areas, including things like productivity, mindfulness, focus, stress and anxiety, burn out, acceptance, self-care for online dating, creativity, forgiveness, work frustrations, and more.

The app also sends daily motivational texts based on research-backed materials that help users better understand the topic at hand. These are presented in a more casual style – almost like it’s a friend chatting with you.

Shine now monetizes through a Premium subscription that offers expanded access to Shine’s audio talks and challenges, as well as additional features like offline listening and the ability to save favorite texts. This is either $4.50/month if you pay the $53.99 annual fee at once, or $9.99 per month. That’s roughly in line with what some meditation apps charge – for instance, the top meditation app Calm is $59.99 per year. And it’s cheaper than Headspace, which is $95.88 annually, by comparison.

Shine had said last year that one of its plans for its Series A was to build out the Android experience as nearly half its customers were accessing Shine on Android devices. In those cases they were using the texting service due to the lack of an official app.

On iOS, Shine is fairly popular in its category. It has jumped to become the No. 16 “Health & Fitness” app in the U.S., following the Christmas holiday – a time of the year when people get serious about wellness and self-care. However, it’s only the No. 86 ranked app on the “Health & Fitness” Top Grossing chart, which puts it far behind other wellness apps including meditation apps like Calm, weight loss apps like Lose It!, and workout apps like the No. 1 app, Sweat from Kayla Itsnes.

Given the app stores’ larger shift to subscriptions over paid downloads in recent years, it will be interesting to see how many apps the average consumer will actually pay for through the subscription model – and to what extent more niche apps like Shine will be sustainable in the long term, as a result.

Shine is a free download on Google Play.

 

 

 

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The Roku Channel adds premium subscriptions alongside its free content

The Roku Channel – Roku’s home to free, ad-supported content like movies, TV, sports and news – is expanding to include subscriptions. Essentially Roku’s own take on Amazon’s Prime Video Channels, users can now opt to add on some 25 premium video subscriptions within the Roku Channel, centralizing their access to streaming services in one destination that will become more personalized over time.

At launch, consumers will be able to opt to add-on subscriptions from premium networks including Showtime, Starz, EPIX, CuriosityStream, Noggin, Baeble Music, CollegeHumor’s Dropout, Hopster, Magnolia Selects, FitFusion, Smithsonian Channel Plus, Tastemade, Viewster Anime, The Great Courses Signature Collection, MHz Choice, and others.

Offering a centralized place to subscribe to paid content is a fairly significant change for Roku’s platform where, historically, viewers would download and add apps (“channels,” in Roku’s lingo) to their Roku homepage for each service they wanted to watch. Some of those channels require subscriptions, like Netflix and Hulu, while others offer free content.

Roku in fall 2017 began to aggregate the free content from the various channels across its platform in its own Roku Channel, and combined that with content it licensed directly from studios. The Roku Channel initially featured free, ad-supported movies, giving Roku a way to further grow its advertising revenues.

Over the past year, The Roku Channel expanded to include news, sports, TV shows and other entertainment offerings both from traditional studios and digital networks. This pushed the channel to become one of the top five most-watched across the Roku platform.

Now, instead of being only a home to free content, The Roku Channel is working with video partners to offer an alternative way to watch their programming.

“We’ve been focused on ad-supported content and will continue to have a very robust offering there. But there’s lots of great content that’s available only in subscription services,” explained Roku’s Vice President of Programming, Rob Holmes, as to why Roku wanted to introduce paid subscriptions. “We also wanted to try to improve the user experience in a lot of the same way that we did with the launch of The Roku Channel around ad-supported content,” he said. 

When you enter The Roku Channel, you’ll be able to explore the premium subscription content before making a decision as to whether or not you want to sign up. That’s a better experience than offered by some subscription apps today, where you’re presented only with a splash screen that directs you to sign up to see the content or offer a very limited view of their programming.

If you choose to subscribe to a premium network via the Roku Channel, you can use the payment card that’s already on file with Roku. Basically, you click a button and then confirm the subscription (in case you clicked by accidentally sitting on the remote), and then you’re signed up.

This method makes it easier to add and remove subscriptions, for those who follow individual shows and want to turn their subscription on and off, timed with the release of new seasons.

The subscriptions also support 7-day free trials, trial expiration reminders, and are billed together on a single statement from Roku monthly.

Also of note, when you subscribe to networks through the Roku Channel, you’ll no longer have to download the network’s standalone Roku app to watch. Instead, your subscriptions will get their own area inside The Roku Channel, making it more of a one-stop shop for your streaming services.

The networks will be shown both in The Roku Channel’s homepage, and they’ll each get their own tab in the channel, too.

In fact, you currently cannot choose to watch in the network’s standalone Roku app, we understand. Over time, some networks will offer authentication for Roku Channel subscribers, but that’s not the case at launch.

Of course, this begs the question – if you can’t authenticate with the network provider, does that mean you won’t be able to watch the channel’s content, except on a Roku device?

As it turns out, you can.

 

Alongside the launch of channel subscriptions, The Roku Channel’s mobile app is being updated to support video playback. That means you can watch The Roku Channel content, including subscriptions, on your smartphone or tablet, as well as on the web, and on your TV.

Over time, Roku’s plan is to better personalize your subscriptions and recommendations. That means the shows you actively watch will be presented in the front of the queue, and Roku will be able to recommend content across services, based on viewing behavior.

Roku says it will add more partners to The Roku Channel over time. However, many providers will not participate because they want to own the experience, end-to-end with their customers. They also may not want to share a cut of subscription revenue with Roku, as is required today to be promoted as a subscription add-on within The Roku Channel.

For the time being, Roku doesn’t plan on expanding from premium subscriptions to offer some sort of core package of subscription programming the way live TV services like Sling TV or YouTube TV now do.

“I think where we are today is really focused on these à la carte subscriptions,” Holmes said. “Ultimately, from a user standpoint, there’s a lot of value in being able to pick and choose exactly what you want to sign up for – without having to sign up for one of these base packages to start with. That’s how we think about it today.”

Support for subscriptions will begin to roll out to The Roku Channel starting later this month and will complete the phased rollout by early 2019. The new mobile app will launch in late January, as well.

 

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Reminders

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How to Enter the BIOS on Your Computer

Many roads lead to the BIOS. A simple keystroke at the right moment, while the system is booting, will get you into the BIOS. If you have a newer Windows computer, maybe one that came with UEFI BIOS, you can enter the BIOS even more easily. To save you the guesswork, we have compiled all the different ways how you can enter the BIOS.

Note: Inside the BIOS you can change many basic computer settings, like the boot order, system time and date, or enabled hardware components. That’s why the BIOS (basic input/output system) is also known as “Setup”.

How to Get Into the UEFI BIOS

Newer computers just boot too fast. Thus newer versions of Windows feature an easier way to access the BIOS, but you first have to boot into Windows.

How to Enter the BIOS on Windows 10

Go to Settings (Windows + I) > Update & Security > Recovery and under Advanced startup click Restart now. Note that this will actually restart your computer.

When you restart using advanced startup, you’ll first get to choose your boot options. On the screen that comes up, go to Troubleshoot > Advanced options > UEFI Firmware Settings and click Restart, which will boot straight into your UEFI BIOS from Windows 10.

How to Enter the BIOS on Windows 8 or 8.1

We have previously dedicated an entire article on how to access the BIOS in Windows 8.

To summarize: Open the Charms bar, for example by pressing the key combination Windows + C, click the Settings icon, and select Change PC settings in the bottom right. Within PC Settings, navigate to the General tab and click Restart now under the Advanced startup header.

In Windows 8.1, the steps are slightly different. Within PC Settings navigate to the Update and Recovery tab, then go to Recovery, and finally click Restart now under Advanced startup.

Alternatively, hold the Shift key while you click Restart in the Shut Down menu.

The computer will restart into boot options, which include the UEFI BIOS. Like on Windows 10, go to Troubleshoot > Advanced options > UEFI Firmware Settings and click Restart to boot into your BIOS.

How to Access the BIOS on an Older PC

If you’re still using Windows 7 or an earlier Windows version, you’ll have to employ the traditional way of entering the BIOS, i.e. wait for the right moment and hit the right key.

What Is the Right Moment to Enter the BIOS?

The right moment is sometime between powering on the computer and before the operating system is launching. The window is so narrow because the BIOS essentially only initializes your hardware, before handing over to the bootloader, which boots the operating system. Once the operating system is starting up, often indicated by the display of the respective logo, you missed the moment.

You might see a message that indicates the right moment. It most likely says something like “Press <Del> to Enter Setup”, meaning it also reveals which key to press.

In the absence of such a message, the right moment generally is when you see manufacturer logos, prior to the booting of the operating system. And the easiest way to not miss the time when you can enter the BIOS is to press the right key even before you power on the computer and hold it until the BIOS comes up. If that doesn’t work, you’re not pressing the right key or something is broken.

What Is the Right Key to Enter Setup?

As you already gathered, it depends on your hardware. More specifically, it depends on the motherboard the BIOS is located on.

Common keys to enter the BIOS are F1, F2, F10, Delete, Esc, as well as key combinations like Ctrl + Alt + Esc or Ctrl + Alt + Delete, although those are more common on older machines. Also note that a key like F10 might actually launch something else, like the boot menu. The exact key or key combination depends on your computer manufacturer and model.

You can proceed with trial and error until you find the right key, press multiple different keys at once and get lucky or consult the list below.

Acer BIOS Keys

The most common keys to enter Setup on Acer hardware are F2 and Delete.

On older computers, try F1 or the key combination Ctrl + Alt + Esc.

If your computer features an ACER BIOS, you can restore the BIOS to bootable settings by pressing and holding the F10 key. Once you hear two beeps, settings have been restored.

Asus BIOS Keys

As with Acer, the most common key is F2.

Depending on your model, it might also be the Delete or Insert key, and less commonly F10.

Dell BIOS Keys

On a newer Dell computer, try the F2 key while you see the Dell logo.

Alternatively, try F1, Delete, F12, or even F3.

Older models might use Ctrl + Alt + Enter or Delete or Fn + Esc or Fn + F1.

HP BIOS Keys

Keys most commonly used on HP machines to enter setup include F10 and Esc.

On some HP computers F1, F2, F6, or F11 will open the gates to the BIOS.

On HP Tablet PCs F10 or F12 will get you into the BIOS.

HP has compiled information on its BIOS here.

Lenovo BIOS Keys

The F1 or F2 key should get you into the BIOS.

Older hardware might require the key combination Ctrl + Alt + F3 or Ctrl + Alt + Insert key or Fn + F1.

If you have a ThinkPad, consult this Lenovo resource: how to access the BIOS on a ThinkPad.

MSI BIOS Keys

If you know that your computer is using an MSI motherboard, then the key to trigger the BIOS most likely is the Delete key. You might even notice a message saying “Press Del to enter SETUP”.

On some MSI motherboard models, the key to access the BIOS will be F2.

Sony BIOS Keys

On a Sony VAIO, F2 or F3 will get you into the BIOS, but you can also try F1.

If your VAIO has an ASSIST key, try to press and hold it while you power on the laptop. This also works if your Sony VAIO came with Windows 8.

Toshiba BIOS Keys

Your best bet is the F2 key.

Other candidates include F1 and Esc.

On the Toshiba Equium, F12 will enter the BIOS.

Toshiba also has more detailed instructions on how to access the BIOS.

Others

Unfortunately, there is very little consistency. Neither do computer manufacturers always use the same motherboard manufacturer nor do motherboard manufacturers consistently define the same key for entering the BIOS. If you want a definite answer on which keys to press to enter Setup, you have to search for the exact model of your computer’s motherboard.

Did You Manage to Enter Your BIOS?

If none of the keys mentioned above work, the issue might be your keyboard or rather the lack of keyboard drivers before the computer boots up. Try another keyboard and/or port. For example, if you’ve been using a USB keyboard, but your PC also has a PS/2 port, try a PS/2 keyboard instead.

Once you have access to the BIOS, you might want to reset your BIOS to default settings.

Read the full article: How to Enter the BIOS on Your Computer

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Scan and Manage Business Cards on Your Phone With ZipCards

10 Google Docs Tips That Take Seconds and Save You Time

Ever since “Google” became a verb we do a lot to make that the grammar for our online lives. We search with Google’s syntax, we live inside Gmail, and sometimes we get productive with Google Drive and its apps like Google Docs.

Of all the tools on Google Drive, Docs as the text editor is the first choice for everyday tasks. That’s why every Google Doc tip that saves time is like gold dust.

Here are ten tips that won’t take you more than a few seconds to learn.

Let’s start by launching Google Docs…

Go straight to Google Docs from the App Launcher when you’re signed in to other Google products. Click on the App Launcher and you’ll find Docs in the More section if it’s not visible in the default set of icons.

But did you know that there’s an even quicker way to launch the apps?

1. Use the .New URLs as Google Drive Shortcuts

Google has taken advantage of the .new top level domain to give us a few new shortcuts. Just type these into your browser to launch a new document, spreadsheet, slide, or form.

• http://doc.new: Open a new Google document
• http://sheets.new: Open a new Google Sheets spreadsheet
• http://deck.new: Open a new Google presentation
• http://site.new: Create a new Google sites website

Slight variations also seem to work. For instance, you can type “docs.new” instead of “doc.new” to open a document. Want to have quick access to these shortcuts? Just save them as browser bookmarks.

2. Quickly Search Google Drive

The Quick Access row on top of the Google Drive interface shows all recent files. It also suggests the ones you access you most often. Double click on any file to open it.

But you can also search for a specific file or folder in Google Drive or the Docs, Sheets, and Slides home screens by entering a word or phrase into the search box at the top. A dropdown will appear with suggested results and document types.

There’s also a little dropdown arrow next to the box which opens powerful filters for an in-depth quest.

• Type: Folders, documents, PDFs, Photos, PDFs etc.
• Owner: Anyone, Owned by me, Not owned by me, Owned by anyone, Specific person
• Location: Anywhere, My Drive, Shared with me.

Beyond this, you can use the filters in the dialog to further refine your search. For instance, Item name searches only for the title of the file. Picking one of the Follow up options will get you the files with action items assigned to you, or with suggestions in files you own.

Just like Google Search, you can use Boolean operators (e.g. “OR”) to expand the scope of your search.

To speed through the search, enter a phrase or an exact quote related to the file you want to open. Google Drive opens the document and highlights the search keyword you used.

Speed Tip: Press / (forward slash) to go to the Search box.

Google Support pages has the complete list of search options inside Google Drive. And don’t forget to search in the trash, too!

3. Get to “Hidden” Menu Commands Quicker

Google Docs is no different from any other office suite. It may be simpler than Microsoft Word, but the menu still packs a lot of commands. Press Alt + / to access the search feature for menus. Type in what you are looking for and presto—the feature opens up.

The menu search box is also a serendipitous way to discover other editing tools Google Docs has to offer. Note the link to Keyboard Shortcuts in the menu.

4. Use Google Keep With Google Docs

Google Keep is a nifty little tool for jotting down quick notes on the fly. One of the best Google Keep tricks is to use Google Keep to grab text in any photo and turn it into digital text. But did you know that with a single click you can create a Google Doc from a Google Keep note?

Thanks to this export, you can expand, edit, and polish your ideas on Google Docs. For students and writers, this seamlessness is a nice timesaving feature.

5. Visualize Words You Use Most With a Word Cloud

A word cloud is an interesting tool to visualize information. Writers, students, and academics can use word cloud or a tag cloud to get to the theme of a document quickly. Word clouds also help us see the words we use (or misuse) more often.

In Google Docs, use the Tag Cloud Generator for any document that has 50 words or more. The free Google Drive add-on can be located and installed from Add-ons (menu) > Get Add-ons…

Access the add-on from the menu. The tag cloud is displayed on a small panel on the right. If you continue writing, use the blue Refresh Cloud button to generate the tag cloud again.

You can download the word cloud as an image. The cloud generator also works with Spreadsheets.

6. Search and Insert With a Click

With the Explore tool, you don’t need to leave the document you are working on to search for information. Opening a search in another browser tab is a time sink in itself.

Go to Tools > Explore.

The built-in Explore tool that helps you search, insert, and cite extra information in the Google Doc or Google Slide you’re working on. You can add and cite quotes with a click. Type in the subject for a quote or select a word from the document.

Citation formats followed are—MLA, APA, and Chicago. As you can see from the screenshot above, inserting quotes with the proper citation is just one part.

The tool can also be used to cite a variety of data—including statistical data in tables. The usage of the search options is self-explanatory—if some data is buried in your Google Drive, use the Drive filter to search for the information or the image search filter for the right illustrations.

7. Apply Formatting to Multiple Text Selections

The Paint format tool in Google Docs helps you replicate a specific format to any other part of the content. Select and format any text. Click the Paint Roller icon in your toolbar, and select the text to which you want to apply the formatting. The original format is “copied” to this second text.

But what if you want to format text located in multiple places in your document?

Simple—double click the Paint roller icon instead of the single-click. Highlight multiple text selections, and copy the same formatting to each selection.

8. Grab Royalty Free Images

Google Docs includes Google Image Search to help you quickly find and insert photos in your documents. The process is simple and intuitive.

Select Insert > Image or click the Image button in Docs toolbar.

Pick one from the following upload options:

• Upload from computer
• Search the web
• Drive
• Photos
• By URL
• Camera

When you select Search the web, Drive, or Photos, a drawer on right hand side of your screen will open up. You can also drag and drop images directly from drawer into your document.

Google specifies that the images are available for personal or commercial use only in Google Drive and must be used in accordance with their program policies.

Also: Any image inserted from the web e is saved in your document. Even if the original source file is removed from the web your document won’t show a blank placeholder.

9. Get Someone’s Attention in a Comment

Collaborative Google Docs are powered by comments. Google Docs has a quick way to tag persons individually so that they are notified about any comments you make on a document. Select the point in the document for the comment. Choose Insert > Comment. In the comment box, type an @ or + sign, then start typing the name of the person you want to notify.

Google Docs automatically picks the name from your Gmail contact list and informs them with an email. If the person doesn’t have direct access to the doc, you will have to set the permission level for the user.

10. Use Math Equation Shortcuts

Google Docs brings with it a very handy Equation editor. Go to Insert > Equation. You can not only create equations easily with the symbols, operators, variables, and arrows provided but also collaborate on them with your team members. Google Docs uses the LaTeX syntax.

The equation taskbar makes inserting symbols and math operations easier.

To start an equation, select New Equation. This creates a placeholder in your doc. Choose the symbols you want to use by simply hovering over them and then selecting the ones necessary.

Tip: To speed through the process, you can also use automation equation shortcuts.

For example, if you type “\alpha” in an equation followed by a space or a parenthesis, Google Docs will convert your typing to an alpha. You can easily add superscripts and subscripts by pressing the “^” and “_” keys, respectively. Enter “\frac” for fractions.

Google Support has the complete list of equation shortcuts.

Don’t Forget the Google Docs Keyboard Shortcuts

Google Docs keyboard shortcuts can be the ultimate timesaver—Hit Ctrl + / (forward slash) on your keyboard to display the massive list Google Drive has lined up for faster document management.

A lot of the Gmail navigational shortcuts and those for Drive are similar. Google Drive also allows you to create your own shortcuts.

Go to Tools > Preferences > Automatic Substitution.

You can use the fields to auto-insert regularly used words, email addresses, abbreviations, and even frequently misspelled words with their correct versions.

It’s also worthwhile to select Automatically detect links and Automatically detect lists in the Preferences dialog box.

Get Things Done With Google Docs

You can argue that the ultimate speed tip is to use Google Drive templates. When you dive down into the depths, every little feature can help you create professional looking documents with Google Docs. The right speed tip helps you do it that much faster.

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