As a freelancer, you set your own schedule and even have the luxury of working in your pajamas. Plus, you avoid the distractions of a typical office, like a loud colleague or a watchful boss.

Yet, freelancing can sometimes feel isolating. It’s easy to find yourself confined at home for days, reaching out to friends online just for some human connection. This is where co-working becomes valuable.

Understanding Co-Working

Co-working seamlessly blends independence with collaboration. This setup involves renting a workspace in an office shared with others who are similarly self-employed or working on diverse projects.

While everyone works independently, you’re in close proximity to others, fostering a dynamic and collaborative environment. You have the freedom to come and go as you please, without direct oversight from a boss, yet you benefit from a refreshing change of scenery and casual interactions.

The Benefits of Co-Working

Co-working helps alleviate the loneliness of solo work. Here are three key advantages that make co-working appealing:

Inspiration

Imagine being holed up like Jack Nicholson’s character in “The Shining,” who famously unraveled while isolated in a remote hotel. Co-working offers an escape from the confines of your home, providing fresh perspectives and the chance to bounce ideas off others – turning them from mere colleagues into potential clients or collaborators.

Reduced Distractions

Working from home isn’t for everyone. External noises, household duties, or simple distractions can hinder productivity. Co-working spaces offer a structured environment similar to traditional offices, where you can focus on your tasks with fewer interruptions. They provide the professional setting needed to stay on track with deadlines.

Each co-working space is unique, and some even extend beyond traditional office setups into cafes or other informal settings, offering a lively and varied working atmosphere.

Networking Opportunities

Co-workers hail from various industries and professions. The person next to you might just be your next client or a valuable contact. Remember to network actively, sharing business cards and engaging with peers who could help propel your freelance career forward.

Interested in a Co-Working Space?

For a comprehensive guide on co-working, visit the Coworking Wiki. This resource allows you to explore co-working spaces in your area, engage with community blogs, and even learn how to start your own co-working space.

Before diving into co-working, consider these essential questions:

Setting Rules and Expectations

It’s crucial for all co-workers to discuss and agree on rules to ensure the space meets everyone’s needs. Consider these points:

• Are phone calls allowed, or is the space kept quiet?
• What are the acceptable noise levels?
• What amenities and facilities are available?
• Does the co-working space operate 24/7, or are there fixed hours?

Tax Benefits of Co-Working Spaces

Obtaining a tax deduction for co-working space expenses is possible but depends on several factors. Consulting an accountant is advisable. Considerations include:

• If the co-working location changes frequently, securing a tax write-off can be challenging. However, phone bills could qualify if the usage is business-related.
• If the co-working takes place in a fixed location, it may qualify as an office, allowing for deductions on expenses like phone bills and office rent.

Costs Associated with Co-Working Spaces

While co-working spaces offer many benefits, they come at a cost. Freelancers must weigh the affordability of various co-working options against their budgets and needs.

Conclusion

Co-working is tailored for freelancers and has become a popular urban practice. This model offers flexibility in when and where to work, albeit with some limitations. This flexibility can lead to higher job satisfaction and better quality of work, benefiting both freelancers and their clients.

The post Freelancing and Co-Working: A Perfect Blend for Modern Professionals appeared first on Hongkiat.

Here’s how you enable it.

1. Go to the Play Store or the App Store and download the Microsoft Authenticator app to your Android/iOS device of choice.
2. Register your Microsoft account to the Authenticator. If done correctly, it should appear on your list of accounts.

   

3. Upon entering your username into a Microsoft service’s login page, you’ll be brought to a password screen. You’ll notice a "Use an app instead" option located right below the "Forgotten my password" option. Click on it to use Phone Sign-In instead.
4. Once you’ve clicked on the "Use an app instead" option, a prompt will be sent to your phone asking for your approval. Tap on approve to login.

   

Curiously enough, this feature is not available on the Microsoft Authenticator app for Windows 10 Mobile devices. Microsoft has mentioned that they’ve prioritized pushing out this feature for both iOS and Android devices. As such, those who own Windows 10 phones will need to wait until Microsoft rolls out the feature to the platform.

As far as security is concerned, Microsoft claims that the phone sign-in feature is easier and safer than the regular two-step verification and password system. While it is too early to tell if Microsoft’s claims can be backed up, I would personally give them the benefit of the doubt.

Finally, in the event that you don’t have access to your device when you’re signing into a Microsoft service, you’ll still have the option to manually login to the service with your password.

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So how did Google improve upon the emoji search? By using the power of doodles! Now, when you access Gboard’s emoji tab, you’ll be able to see a handwriting icon located inside the emoji search box.

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Tapping on it will open up a blank space in which you’ll be able to draw an image of the emoji you’re looking for. As you doodle on the space, Gboard will publish a list of emojis that may fit the image that you’re currently doodling. Once the emoji you want appears, all you need to do is tap on it to add it to your message.

Doodle-powered emoji search aside, Gboard for Android has also received improvements in other areas as well. For those who frequently text messages to others, Google has implemented a feature called phrase suggestions to Gboard.

Powered by machine learning, this system will allow Gboard to suggest phrases that would connect naturally with the sentence that is currently being constructed.

Finally, Google has made the keyboard’s search functionality a lot more useful as it can now showcase multiple results. In addition to that, Gboard can now launch the necessary app or service depending on the search result that you’ve selected. For example, if you were to select a YouTube video, Gboard would automatically boot up the YouTube app.

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Facebook is well aware of the echo chambers that a large portion of its user base has built, which is why the company is rolling out a feature called Latest Conversation that could help negate some of the problems that stem from an echo chamber.

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Currently being rolled out to Facebook users around the world, Latest Conversation is a feature that can be found by searching for certain topics using Facebook’s own search bar. Prior to the introduction of Latest Conversation, when a user wanted to search for a specific topic on Facebook, the results would show news stories as well as posts made by the user’s friends.

Once Latest Conversation goes live, not only will the user be able to see news stories and postings from their friends, they would also be able to see posts made by complete strangers about the topic.

Apart from being able to view the posts of complete strangers, the Latest Conversation feature will also come with a tracker that updates in real time, allowing you to see just how many people are talking about the subject matter at hand.

Additionally, conversations will also be updated constantly, with new posts being added to the top of the list, essentially turning the feature into a Twitter-like Timeline.

Interesting though Latest Conversations is, I highly doubt that this feature is enough to break the echo chambers that many of Facebook users have developed. My main gripe with this feature is that it’s only visible when you’re searching for a particular topic, so those who do not do so will never stumble across the opinions of others.

Skepticism aside, the addition of this feature does show that Facebook is looking to undo the damage that it caused when the company first decided to optimize the user’s News Feed to only show posts that the user is interested in. While it is still too early to tell if Latest Conversation will be an effective tool, it is a step in the right direction for Facebook.

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As the name may clue you in, Pocket Sense is a security app that detects when your phone has been removed from your pockets. Upon being removed from the pocket, the phone would proceed to blare out an alarm, all the while vibrating non-stop. The only way the alarm and vibration can be deactivated is by unlocking the phone itself.

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Besides detecting if your phone has been removed from your pocket, Pocket Sense also comes with two other modes called Charge Sense and Motion Sense. The former will sound the alarm when your phone gets removed from the charger, while the latter will cause the alarm to go off when the phone has been moved.

While most of Pocket Sense’s settings are pretty straightforward, one setting in particular is pretty interesting. Should you wish to do so, you can choose to delay the activation of the alarm by a few seconds. This setting will be useful for those who wish to keep the app’s security system activated at all times.

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The post Never Lose Your Phone Again With This Alarm-Triggering App appeared first on Hongkiat.

Developed by the Italian arm of Samsung, Wemogee is a chat app that is made to help people with aphasia communicate. What is aphasia, you ask? Aphasia is a complex neurological disorder that is triggered by injury to the Broca and Wernicke areas of the brain.

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Those affected by aphasia often suffer from difficulties relating to the production, comprehension and expression of speech.

The way Wemogee works is pretty straightforward: users will be able to chat with each other by selecting one of the more than 140 phrases that can be currently found in the app.

These phrases are depicted as emojis in Aphasic Mode, as well as a standard text in Non-Aphasic Mode. To make finding a particular phrase easier, all of the phrases have been sorted into six different categories.

On its own, Wemogee proves to be a rather easy to use chat app. The selection of phrases is large enough to carry out a simple conversation between two people. However, at the time of writing, Wemogee suffers from a weird bug that prevents the user from receiving an authorization SMS.

Seeing as an authorization SMS is needed to start using Wemogee, and so, not being able to receive said SMS means that you won’t be able to use it at all.

Wemogee is now available for download on the Android Play Store. The app will also make its way to the Apple App Store sometime soon.

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The post Wemogee – Chat App Based Purely on Emojis appeared first on Hongkiat.

Effective immediately, Android Spotify users will now be able to see additional information about a song on two of Spotify’s curated playlists. These two playlists are Behind the Lyrics: Hip Hop and Today’s Top Hits.

Upon playing a song from either of these playlists, users will be able to gain access to an additional panel hidden behind the music’s album art. This hidden panel will rotate between the lyrics that are being sung at the moment, fun facts about the track itself, as well the artist’s personal stories.

The best part about Behind the Lyrics is that it is available for all Spotify users, meaning you won’t need a Spotify Premium account to gain access to it.

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From this point forward, if someone were to use Google to search for a claim that was made by an individual or a press outlet, Google’s search engine would place the authenticated news article as the first thing that appears on the search results. The search result will also display information such as the person who made the claim in the first place.

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Assisting Google in this endeavour are third party fact checking outfits and organizations such as Snopes and PolitiFact. Google will also be adding more parties into its fact checking system as time goes on, but those interested in do so must pass through a series of stringent checks before their input will be recognized.

Useful though Google’s fact checking system may be, do keep in mind that it is not perfect. As most of Google’s fact checkers operate from the United States, it isn’t too surprising that this system would be limited in its efficiency when it comes to news reported from other parts of the world.

Also, considering the fact that there are over a hundred parties involved in the fact checking process, it is possible that a consensus can’t be formed over the authenticity of some stories. Nevertheless, this system is a good start for Google’s war on fake news.

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Once the Google app has been updated, Google app users will be able to see a number of shortcuts just under the search box. Tapping on the arrow located right next to the shortcuts will bring up the entire list of shortcuts, all of them classified under different categories.

On top of shortcuts that gives you relevant information, Google will also be adding shortcuts to some games like solitaire, tic-tac-toe, and roll a die.

While most of the shortcuts will be made available on both iOS and Android platforms, the Android platform will receive some additional shortcuts that are exclusive to the platform. Some of these shortcuts includes:

• Translate
• Nearby Attractions
• Flights
• Hotels
• Internet Speed Test
• Currency Converter, and more.

Tappable shortcuts are now available in the United States. Google has made no mention about when it would be made available internationally, but we believe that those living outside the U.S. will also be getting these features eventually.

Also, do note that these shortcuts will not be made available on the desktop web version of Google.

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The app in question is called Supersonic, and it is described as a voice messaging app. At first glance, Supersonic appears identical to many other messaging apps such as WhatsApp.

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However, the thing that differentiates Supersonic from other messaging app is the lack of a keyboard, opting instead for voice input.

In order to use Supersonic, the user must hold down the mic button and speak. The app would then transcribe what you’ve said into a text message, complete with emojis. And just in case the transcription makes no sense, Supersonic will also include the original audio message with it, although said audio message will disappear once it’s heard.

Much like many other chat services, Supersonic will let you hold one-on-one and group conversations. Unlike other chat services, Supersonic also has a "Lounge" area that users can join. Those who enter the Lounge will makes themselves visible to other people in the area, allowing them to strike up a conversation with complete strangers.

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The post Supersonic – Voice Messaging App by Google’s Area 120 appeared first on Hongkiat.

With this invisible reCAPTCHA system, Google will be utilizing machine learning and advanced risk analysis to identify if the individual browsing the website is a human or a bot. Assuming the system detects that you’re human, you’ll be able to browse the website unhindered.

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On the other hand, if you were to be flagged as suspicious, you’ll need to complete the standard CAPTCHA task and challenges before you’re allowed to continue browsing the website.

As for the tech behind this invisible reCAPTCHA system, Google is remaining intentionally vague as to how it all operates in order to prevent bot creators from figuring out how to circumvent the system.

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However, if you are running a macOS, those browser/client hopping problems can be solved with a single app called "Bumpr".

Available on the App Store for USD3.99, "Bumpr" is a utility app that opens a pop-up menu whenever you click on a web link or an email link that asks you which browser or email app you want to use.

To make "Bumpr" less of a mess to use, the app comes with some customizations that lets you smooth out the user experience. You can opt to choose the apps that appear on "Bumpr’s" pop up menu, you can make it so that the pop-up menu only appears when triggered by a keyboard shortcut, you can even choose to disable features that you don’t need as well.

"Bumpr" is a rather convenient app for those who downloaded multiple browsers and email clients just to do some very specific tasks. If manually opening browsers and email clients doesn’t appeal to you, then you should really give "Bumpr" a try.

The post Bumpr: Effortlessly Launch Preferred Browsers & Email Clients on Mac appeared first on Hongkiat.

Spotted by the folks over at Lifehacker, NOPE is an extension that functions as a "call-on-demand" button. To use this extension, all you need to do is to activate your phone number with the extension. Once done, clicking on the NOPE icon will cause you to receive a phone call from a New York-based number.

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What happens after is simple: you pretend said phone call is important and request for some privacy, and the people holding the conversation would leave you to your call. Once they’re gone, you can return to your work in peace.

The one requirement that NOPE has is that it’ll only work with a U.S.-based phone number, much like some other extensions that require a phone number to work. This means that the extension is unusable if you live outside of the States. For those who are able to use this extension though, we recommend using this extension in moderation, lest people discover your little tricks.

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If you’re one of the early ones who’ve managed to gain access to the feature, you’ll be able to find the City Guides feature through the Facebook app’s "More" menu. Through this feature, you’ll be able to select a city and gain some information about the city itself, on top of a list of friends that have visited the city you’re looking at.

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The biggest selling point that City Guides has lies in its "Suggestions" tab. From this tab, Facebook will compile a list of locations, ranging from restaurants to tourist attractions, that are popular there. Besides locations, Facebook will also list down any upcoming activities that will be held in the city as well.

If any of these locations or activities strike your fancy, Facebook has included a bookmark icon that lets you save these locations and/or activities into a simple list.

Handy though the feature may be, do note that City Guides appears to be focused on international cities at the moment. As such, the feature may prove useless if you’re planning to visit places that are located outside popular cities.

However, considering the fact that City Guides is very much a feature that is still in its infancy, this problem may be remedied over time.

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The post Plan a Trip to Any City With Facebook’s "City Guides" appeared first on Hongkiat.

Why you may ask? Because Google is rolling out an update to the Android Google app that will let you search for Google Drive files directly from the app itself.

Once the update goes live, all of the files and folders inside your Google Drive will be indexed via Firebase App Indexing.

With this system in place, you can launch the Google app and input your search parameters into the search box.

Once the search is completed, scroll over to the "In Apps" tab, and you’ll see all of the files that are relevant to the search. Tapping on the files will cause them to open in the appropriate app.

Unfortunately, Google made no mention of whether or not this feature will be coming to either iOS or even the Chrome browser, so it appears that the feature will be Android-only for now.

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