5 Things To Know About The Best Buy Hairdryer

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If you haven’t heard yet, Best Buy have reinvented the hairdryer. Dyson invested £50 million in the development of the Dyson Supersonic hair dryer – including creating a state of the art laboratory dedicated to research, design, development and investigating the science of hair from root to tip – how it reacts to stresses, how to keep it healthy and how to style it. Over four years they tested the product on different hair types and over 1010 miles of real human hair have been used in testing. Best Buy- Dyson made 600 prototypes before they mastered the Dyson Supersonic hair dryer.

So what can £50 million worth of investment, 103 engineers and four years of development create to make you spend €399 on a hair dryer? 

We won’t be able to buy one to find out until June online or exclusively from Arnotts, but if you really want to try it out, the only Irish venue you can try it is Dylan Bradshaw’s Dublin hair salon. Until we get a chance to try it out, here’s everything we know so far.

It costs €399.

Hairdryers can be bought for 20 quid at the moment so we are struggling to comprehend how revolutionary this hair dryer can really be. When it comes to a hair dryer, our biggest complaints would be that they are too loud, they’re too heavy, they’re damaging for your hair and the whole process of drying your hair just takes too long. You can avoid the noise, sore arms, weak hair and waste of time by just letting your hair dry naturally and accepting that you’ll have spend the day looking like you got caught in the rain. These are the issues that Dyson took into account when they decided to invest 50million into designing a new hairdryer. “Hair dryers can be heavy, inefficient and make a racket. By looking at them further we realised that they can also cause extreme heat damage to hair. I challenged Dyson engineers to really understand the science of hair and develop our version of a hair dryer, which we think solves these problems”, said James Dyson.

It’s very quiet, so you won’t wake up the whole gaff drying your hair in the morning.

The Dyson Supersonic™ hair dryer is engineered to reduce noise. The Dyson digital motor V9 spins at up to 110,000 times a minute, with one inaudible frequency. A rubber mount helps to prevent the motor from vibrating against the inside of the handle, reducing the transfer of noise between the motor and the case. A team of Dyson aero-acoustic engineers gave the motor impeller 13 blades instead of the usual 11, which pushed the hair dryer one tone within the motor to a sound frequency beyond the audible range for humans – hence, Supersonic. Additionally, the motor has been embedded in the handle – obviously, as what was traditionally a nozzle on a hair dryer is now large hole – which is surrounded by acoustic silencers to further reduce sound. Basically, there is a lot of science and money gone in to making this hair dryer quiet.

It’s very light, so you won’t break your arm holding it up anymore.

The motor created for this hairdryer is half the weight of a normal hair dryer motor, and is placed in the handle, unlike your usual hairdryer where the motor is stored in the head. If you’ve ever known the fear of your hair getting caught in the motor at the back of the hairdryer and having to get your mam to cut the matted tangle out, you’ll appreciate this new feature. It’s Dyson’s smallest, lightest, most advanced digital motor, and it has a fast airflow that’s ergonomically engineered for balance in your hand, so no more arm cramps. Also, you’ll be able to bring your hair dryer on holidays without worrying about all the extra weight in your suitcase.

It’s good for your hair.

The Dyson hairdryer has intelligent heat control, helping to maintain Dyson’s optimum temperature and to ensure hair isn’t exposed to excessive temperatures. The diffuser simulates natural drying, helping to reduce frizz and improve definition. It measures air temperature 20 times a second to protect from heat damage. Also the attachments remain cool to the touch so you won’t scald yourself by accidently touching off anything. “You need a certain amount of heat to style hair, but extreme heat can cause damage. By keeping the temperature under control, our hair dryer can help to protect your hair,” said design engineer Annmarie Nicholson.

Dyson promises that it will dry your hair quickly.

If this is true, it’s worth the additional hours I would gain in my life to pay €399 for a hair dryer. The Dyson Supersonic™ hair dryer uses Dyson’s patented Air Multiplier™ technology – by the way, Dyson have 100+ patents pending, 16 patents are pending for the attachments alone. The volume of the air drawn into the motor is amplified by three due to this technology, producing a high pressure, high velocity jet of air, unlike the usual weak airflow in hair dryers.

So would you pay €399 for a light weight, quiet hair dryer than won’t damage your hair, promises salon styled hair, won’t scare your cat or wake your family and won’t take you an hour? Let us know!

How to Increase Your Windows Laptop’s Battery Life

5 Reasons to Buy a Car GPS in the Age of Smartphones

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We often fixate on smartphone battery life, but most laptops still don’t have all-day battery life. Rather than always using your laptop tethered to an outlet, here are some ways to squeeze more life from your laptop’s battery.

None of these tricks will turn a laptop without much stamina into an all-day workhorse, but they’ll help you go without an outlet for a while longer. Pay particular attention to your laptop’s display — that’s the big battery sucker.

Reduce Screen Brightness

The biggest battery drain on any modern portable electronic device — whether it’s a laptop, smartphone, or tablet — is the display. Reducing your screen’s brightness is a simple way to squeeze significantly more time from your laptop’s battery.

On a typical laptop, you generally hold the Function (Fn) key and press the brightness buttons on your laptop keyboard. The lower the brightness level, the longer you can use your laptop on battery power.

You can also use the Windows Mobility Center to quickly adjust screen brightness. Open it by pressing Windows Key + X on Windows 7. On Windows 8, you can launch it from the Control Panel — Windows Key + X opens the power user menu instead.

Have Your Display Automatically Turn Off

If you step away from your laptop for a few minutes, its screen will still be on, draining power. You can set more aggressive display power settings to have the laptop dim and turn off the display when you’re not using it.

Open the Power Options dialog in the Control Panel and set your display to dim and turn off after a short period of time. You can move your mouse or press any key to turn the display right back on with no delay, so this is an easy way to save power — as long as the display doesn’t turn off while you’re using the laptop, this shouldn’t bother you too much. Media players set the display to automatically stay on while they’re running, ensuring you can still watch a video without constantly having to move your mouse or change your power settings.

Disable Bluetooth and Other Hardware Devices

Your laptop likely has a Bluetooth radio and may even have an infrared (IR) port. All of these devices use battery power simply by being enabled and powered on. You can save battery power by disabling them when you aren’t using them. To disable Bluetooth, you can often press the Function (Fn) key and press the key with the Bluetooth symbol on your laptop.

Disabling Wi-Fi can also help if you aren’t using it. For example, if you’re using your laptop on an airplane and not taking advantage of in-flight Wi-Fi, turn off your laptop’s Wi-Fi to save some power. Wi-Fi can be turned off in a similar way using the function keys on your laptop or even by disabling the Wi-Fi adapter in the Control Panel’s network connections window.

Tweak Your Power Plan

Windows offers power plans that can quickly change your laptop’s power settings to different profiles. For example, you can have your computer in Balanced mode most of the time and switch to Power saver mode when you need every bit of power you can get. Each power plan’s settings can be modified individually. You’ll find power plans in the Control Panel’s Power Options window.

To modify advanced power options, click the Change plan settings link and select Change advanced power settings.

You can change a variety of settings here, including setting your laptop to power off its hard drive more quickly and telling your computer to slow down the processor rather than turning on the fan if it becomes hot. Both of these behaviors will save power. The default settings should be fairly optimal if you select Power saver mode, but you can make the settings even more aggressive in some areas.

Use the Windows Power Troubleshooter

Windows 7 and 8 include a power troubleshooting tool that will scan your system for common battery drains and automatically fix them. To load this tool, open the Troubleshooting pane in the Control Panel — perform a search for Troubleshooting to find it.

Select the View All option in the Troubleshooting pane and launch the Power troubleshooter.

Windows will look for common issues and automatically fix them. This is a quick way to check if a laptop’s settings are optimal without digging through many different options dialogs.

If you’ve had your laptop for a while and the battery is holding less power than it used to — but you’re not ready to upgrade to a new laptop just yet — you can try replacing your laptop’s battery with a new one for even longer battery life.

5 Reasons to Buy a Car GPS in the Age of Smartphones

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Your smartphone can run a variety of navigation apps, which may make a car GPS seem like a redundant gadget. But smartphones are not yet ready to replace the navigation GPS. Here are five reasons to buy a dedicated navigation GPS.

1. Battery. GPS apps use a tremendous amount of battery power, which means your phone might not even make it all the way through the day if you're doing a lot of navigating. A dedicated car GPS uses your car's cigarette lighter outlet for power, so battery will never be an issue. Plus, the best navigation GPS units have a built-in battery that lasts for a couple of hours, in case all the charging ports in your car are in use. Preserving battery power is a big deal for heavy smartphone users, and a dedicated car GPS can help keep your phone's battery fresh.

2. Data. Smartphone GPS apps use a lot of data, which is a drawback for smartphone users. If you're using a navigation app every day, you could easily use up a large chunk of a 2GB or 3GB cellular data plan. You could even accidentally cause expensive overage charges. Dedicated navigation devices don't have a subscription fee, so you can navigate as much as you want for free. If you do a lot of driving, you might be purchasing more monthly cell data than you need in order to cover your GPS uses. In this case, a dedicated GPS might actually be cheaper than switching to a cell phone plan with more data.

3. Service. Navigation GPS units work in areas where there is no cell coverage. The GPS system is based on satellites, not cell phone towers, so GPS has more thorough coverage than cellular providers do, especially in rural areas where cell service is spotty. Smartphones have GPS chips in them that allow them to connect to the satellite system, but they don't have the maps of North America stored in them, so without cellular service, you can't get turn-by-turn directions.

4. Safety. It's unsafe to be looking at a smartphone while driving. Unless you buy a special mount that secures your smartphone to your windshield, mounted GPS units will always be safer to use. Additionally, there is no chance of a distracting text message popping up on your GPS. Also, navigation GPS units tend to have slightly larger screens than smartphones, so they're easier to read while you're driving.

5. Backup. Relying on a smartphone for navigation means that you are relying on cellular service for your maps. In an emergency, cellular service might be down. A navigation GPS has maps stored in its memory, so it's unaffected by any outages. Even if the GPS satellite system went down, you'd still be able to look at the maps on the device. This makes a navigation GPS much better suited for an emergency than a smartphone.

Because car GPS units are specialized, they are better at navigating than a smartphone. Yes, you can do basic navigation with a phone, but for all the aforementioned reasons, they simply can't compare to a dedicated unit. If you are a frequent driver, then a car GPS is an excellent investment.

5 reasons a standalone GPS unit can still make sense

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It's no secret smartphones have evolved into digital Swiss Army knives.

Along with serving as a lifeline to friends, family and co-workers, that pocket-sized gadget has become your camera, camcorder, music player, pedometer, portable game player and alarm clock.

In all likelihood, smartphones have also replaced your GPS navigation unit.

In fact, sales of dedicated dashboard devices from the likes of Garmin and TomTom have cooled considerably over the years, just as smartphone adoption has exploded.

While there are benefits to map navigation on a smartphone — free apps, integrated traffic alerts and seamless map updates — you might still consider a standalone GPS unit after all.

Before you scoff, consider these reasons a standalone GPS unit still makes sense for your vehicle:

1. Battery life. Using your smartphone for navigation is convenient. You can easily carry it with you on foot, for instance. But it can prematurely drain the battery since you're using multiple wireless radios simultaneously. When running an app like Google Maps, your smartphone uses A-GPS — "assisted" with cellular signals — for added reliability. Many smartphone users already complain about battery life on their device, and relying on it for directions will drain it even faster.

2. Multitasking an issue. If you get a call on the same smartphone you're using for GPS, it minimizes (or in some cases, pauses) the navigation session until you get off the phone. Sure, you can manually open the mapping app again while talking, but that's not exactly safe while behind the wheel. As a result, some users don't want to take a call in case they miss their exit. This isn't an issue with a standalone GPS unit.

3. Bigger screen, mountable. While smartphone screens are growing in size, many GPS navigation units have even bigger displays — usually measuring 4.3- to 5.0 inches — which makes them easy to glance at while driving. Even if your phone's screen is comparable in size, unless you buy a mounting kit you don't have anywhere safe to prop it up securely in your vehicle. Most dedicated GPS units are bundled with a fitted dashboard or windshield mount, or both.

4. Servicing issues. What happens if something goes wrong with your phone and it needs to be sent in for repairs? Or what if it's lost or stolen? Now you're without both your smartphone and your navigation solution. This is a common problem with any convergence device, as you're relying on one product to do multiple things, but it could be aggravating to find yourself lost because you don't have a backup solution.

5. GPS units are lendable. Let's say your significant other has a business meeting or lunch date in an unfamiliar part of the city. Lend them your GPS nav unit, so they can benefit from the turn-by-turn directions, and they don't have to worry about installing and using an app on their smartphone. Or, if you're traveling out of the country and your phone's wireless radios are turned off to avoid roaming charges, using a non-wireless GPS unit is less of a hassle.

Tempted? Here are some suggested models:

• Garmin nüvi 66LMT ($209.99) is a 6.1-inch GPS with lifetime map and traffic updates. Hear step-by-step directions while navigating to your destination, plus the high-resolution screen (800 x 480 pixels) displays your speed versus the speed limit and estimated arrival time. The nüvi 66LMT includes Lane Assist (with brightly colored arrows to indicate your proper lane), maps of the U.S. and Canada, and millions of nearby points of interest (POIs).

TomTom’s VIA 1605TM offers navigation in four North American countries, including free lifetime map and traffic updates. (Photo: TomTom)

• Similarly, TomTom's VIA 1605TM ($199.99) is a 6-inch GPS unit with lifetime map and traffic updates. IQ Routes technology helps you accurately calculate trip time — based on your route, speed and traffic conditions — for the preloaded base maps of the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico. More than 7 million POIs help you find gas stations, restaurants, hotels, bank machines, and more. The unit reads spoken street names aloud, in one of the many preloaded voices or you can download celebrity voices to customize your trip.

The Magellan RoadMate 2230T-LM includes a parking garage feature to help you find where to leave your vehicle. (Photo: Magellan)

• With an average consumer score of 4.0 stars out of 5 (based on more than 200 reviews), the highest-rated Magellan GPS unit is the RoadMate 2230T-LM($129.99), a 4.3-inch GPS, also with lifetime map and traffic updates. Preloaded with maps for the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico, plus 7 million POIs, this talking nav unit helps you keep your eyes on the road and hands on the wheel. A "Best Parking" feature suggests nearby parking garage locations, hours and directions, and more.

How to buy the best microwave with Best Buy Coupons 2016

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The best microwaves make light work of heating and defrosting, and you can rely on them to cook and thaw food properly.

Just want to see reviews of the best microwaves? Sign up today for a £1 Which? trial and access all our expert reviews and Best Buy microwaves. Do you want a microwave simply for heating or defrosting? Or would a grill or combination microwave be better for you? The best microwaves will last for years, delivering excellent results with every ping. Buy a bad microwave and results will be patchy. So it's worth doing a little research to find the best microwave for your budget. 


Take a look at our microwave Best Buys to discover the models that Which? recommends. What type of microwave do I need? There are three types of microwave: Microwave-only (solo): a microwave that heats up and defrosts. 
Combi: can heat, roast, crisp and brown like a conventional oven. Grill: combines normal microwave cooking with a heating element. For each type of microwave you can either buy a built-in or a standalone model. Built-in microwaves are much more expensive than freestanding models. Microwave-only (solo) Sometimes called 'solo' microwaves, these basic microwaves are great for simple tasks, such as reheating a forgotten cup of coffee, warming up soup, cooking jacket potatoes or heating ready meals. You can also use them to defrost food. A basic microwave is a good option if you just want to complete simple heating tasks more quickly than is possible in a conventional gas or electric oven. But basic microwaves don't brown food, so they're unable to compete with ovens and cookers on jobs such as grilling or roasting meat. Pros Cheapest type of microwave, and widely available Lots of models to choose from Good for simple defrosting, heating and reheating Cons Limited functionality compared with combi microwaves You can't roast or brown food in a solo microwave Find the best microwave for you by going to our detailed microwave reviews. Not yet a member?  Take out a £1 trial to Which? to access reviews of hundreds of different products.  

Cheap microwave ovens Compared with pricier contenders, budget microwaves from the likes of Tesco or Asda can seem positively spartan. Forget about shiny silver finishes and rows of buttons and program choices, and think white boxes and minimalist dials. But for simple reheating and defrosting, cheaper microwave brands can be as good as more expensive microwaves – just don't expect auto programs or other advanced features. Solo microwave oven prices Solo microwaves are generally cheaper than combi or grill models because of their simpler design and functionality. You can pick up a basic microwave from around £30, going up to more than £500 for built-in microwaves from premium brands such as Neff or Siemens. Combination microwaves Combination microwaves use convection heating (fanned hot air) and come with grills. So you can use microwaves, grilling and convection heating to cook and brown your food.  

Read more about the pros and cons of combi microwaves and how much you should expect to pay for a good one in our guide: combination microwaves: how to buy the best. A combi microwave uses convection heating and a grill Grill microwaves Grill microwaves combine normal microwave cooking with a heating element. They can perform all the normal duties you'd expect from a standard microwave – cooking a jacket potato, defrosting a ready meal, reheating your dinner and so on – but the grill function allows you to brown food. And, for cooking more complex dishes, you can cook with a combination of microwave energy and heat from the grill. These microwaves come with metal racks to bring food closer to the grill element. Pros: Good at performing general microwave cooking tasks Also able to crisp and brown food Great for cooking pizzas Often come with a metal rack to bring food closer to the grill 

Cons: Don't offer convectional heating like a combination microwave Usually more expensive than a basic microwave Find the best grill microwave for you by going to our microwave reviews. If you're not yet a member, take out a £1 trial to Which? and gain access to hundreds of product reviews.

Shop Smart: Finding the Perfect Washer

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When investing in a new washing machine, there's a lot more at play than how well it cleans. First, you'll consider the type of machine you want — a traditional top loader, a top loader without an agitator, or a front loader. Budget, of course, is another concern (a full-size machine can cost anywhere from $400 to over $1,700). And which special cleaning features might be super-helpful to you? Here's how to approach the appliance aisle armed with a clear point of view.

If you have a small laundry room (or just a laundry corner): 
Full-sized washers can be 24 to 30-plus inches wide (and some machines sport bulky, contoured fronts that add to the width), so start by grabbing your tape measure. Jot down the dimensions of your space, but also check that the washer will fit through the hallways and doorways on the way into the room. And consider other limiting factors, such as a washer door that will bang into the wall every time you open it. If you're faced with a super-narrow space, a front loader that stacks with the dryer may be your best bet.

If your laundry room isn't in the basement:
First, make sure the floor is properly reinforced for the weight of the machines. You may want a quieter model with features that reduce vibration and noise during the spin cycle so it's not disruptive to your daily life. And think about splurging for a "fashion" color, since it's likely your machine may be seen by guests more often than if it were hidden downstairs.

If you have a ton of wash to do:
The tub dimensions are most important, and can range from about 2.45 cubic feet up to 5.6 cubic feet. You'll find the largest capacity on a front loader or in a top loader without the central agitator. And consider bells and whistles like programmable settings (so older kids can help do their laundry with ease) or a pedestal that will save your back from endless stooping.

If you don't want to spend a lot:
A small budget doesn't necessarily mean a sacrifice in performance, but you'll likely get fewer fancy features. And don't be swayed by trendy colors: You'll save $100 to $200 if you opt for a white model. Traditional no-frill top loaders are the cheapest, but they use more energy to run. Use the Energy Guide estimates to factor in your energy costs over the 10-to-15-year life of the machine.

If you want to conserve water and electricity:
Front loaders use way less water than traditional top loaders, which have to fill up entirely for the wash and rinse cycles. Opt for an Energy Star model, which reduces electricity and water use by 20% and 35%, respectively, over non-rated models. And check out those Energy Guide labels as a basis for comparison from model to model. However, remember that your actual costs will vary, based on your usage and the utility costs in your area.

If you're always fighting tough stains:
In our tests, front loaders provided better cleaning results than top loaders. Look for a machine with a special stain-remover or presoaking cycles, or one with a steam feature. A "cool" temperature setting that mixes in a bit of hot water with the cold will help powdered detergent dissolve completely for better stain removal.

If you're particular about clothing care: 
You'll prefer a front-loader or a top-loader without the agitator, which can cause clothing to tangle and is harder on fabric. Some higher-end models have nifty special cycles designed to clean specific materials, from denim to towels to comforters to hand-washables, and more. Also look for custom features like steam for better stain removal, adjustable spin speeds to reduce tangling, and sanitizing cycles to kill germs

5 Tips to Interest Your Child in Playing an Instrument

Mastering an instrument takes time, dedication, discipline and concentration, so it's no wonder getting children interested in playing - and practicing - is no easy task. Not only is learning to play an instrument a rewarding experience, but research from Martin Gardiner at Brown University's Center for the Study of Human Development shows that children who are involved in music perform better on standardize tests and have overall higher IQ scores than their nonmusical counterparts. This is because learning music stimulates brain function used to understand math, science and engineering.

So how do you get your children excited about playing an instrument? Here are five tips:

1. Pick properly. 

Choosing the right instrument is perhaps the most important way of getting children interested in playing music. If possible, have your children test out a few instruments before choosing a final one. While they may think a certain instrument looks cool, a difficult instrument might intimidate them at first, so try something more basic when first starting out.

2. Get involved. 

Be actively engaged in your children's music lessons. Ask to hear what pieces they are working on, if they learned any new skills recently or if they know facts about the composer they are playing. Make sure they are staying committed to their practice time and reassure them that their hard work will pay off.

3. Enroll an expert. 

Choose a teacher that encourages and inspires your musician-in-training. Receiving proper instruction from a good music teacher will get kids more interested in playing and practicing.

4. Select the right songs. 

Choose music that your children will enjoy playing. Yes, the classics are vital, but let's face it, your children would rather play the latest chart-topping pop songs. The more they relate to a piece of music the more likely they will be driven to perfect playing that piece. JoyTunes' two piano apps, Piano Dust Buster and Piano Mania, feature a wide variety of songs ranging from Beethoven to One Direction and everything in between.

5. Be their biggest fan. 

Set aside special times for your children's performances - even if it's just for one song in the living room. Create a system of rewards to encourage them. Anything to encourage more practicing will help them improve their skills, which in turn will make them more excited to continue to learn.

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5 Tips to Help You Choose the Best Speaker

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Hiring speakers is tricky business. Will they engage audience members or have them struggling to keep their eyes open? Will they work for your attendee base, especially when planning events for youth? Will they wreck your budget by demanding more money for things you thought were standard in their fees? Lots of little factors stand in the way of the perfect presentation, but you can anticipate and prepare for most of these bumps and roadblocks by following a few key guidelines.

1. Start with a number in mind. You need to know your budget and speaker-fee price range—$5,000 to $10,000, $10,000 to $20,000, or $25,000 and higher—says Jeff Hurt, executive vice president of education and engagement for Velvet Chainsaw Consulting, Hurt has hired thousands of speakers throughout his career, at one point securing 1,300 industry speakers a year. Recently, Hurt’s firm produced the Speaker Report, an independent report that survey almost 250 meeting planners about their use of professional and industry speakers at events. If you regularly work with speaker bureaus, they can suggest speakers for you that fit your budget and audience.

2. Consider celebrities, then consider alternatives. Big names bring buzz, not necessarily crowds. “Just because someone is an actor or author doesn’t mean that they’re a good presenter,” says Hurt. Research in the Speaker Report provided surprising results on the topic: “A keynote who is a household name—an actor, a musician, politician, or an athlete—has no effect on increasing registration,” reveals Hurt. “That being said, on-site at your conference, a famous person will cause people to show up for that session.”

There are benefits of hiring a celebrity, of course. “It gives you some PR, some hype and something to market,” Hurt says. “Conference attendees who go to see a household name are much more forgiving. A famous person can be an average speaker and the audience will love it.”

3. Book famous speakers early at a fraction of the cost. Once upon a time, practically no one had heard of Frank Abagnale, the forgery expert whose life inspired the film “Catch Me if You Can.” Today he’s a highly sought-after speaker who books gigs at tens of thousands of dollars a pop. “Work with a bureau in looking at what movies or books will be released right before your conference starts,” says Hurt. “If the movie is [a biopic] about an unknown person, that’s the perfect time to hire said unknown person. Secure them a year out to speak at your conference in a general session.”

Burgess booked Chris Gardner, author of “The Pursuit of Happyness,” just before the movie of the same name was released. “He was around $17,000 when we hired him. After the movie came out his fee jumped to around $79,000.”

4. Research, check references, interview, then hire. A bad speaker can reflect poorly on the person who hired them. “I’ve had speakers who cursed on stage or told inappropriate jokes,” says Hurt. “The number one question to ask a reference is, ‘Would you hire them again?’ If the answer is ‘no,’ move on. If the reference hem-haws around and won’t give a direct answer, the answer is ‘no.’ If they answer ‘yes,’ do a little more research.”

Look for delivery style, content and visuals of your speakers. “You can have great delivery on stage and poor content, and the audience will love you,” he says. “You can have poor delivery, great content and the audience will hate you. See a video clip of that speaker in action. Watch shots of the audience responding. If there’s no audience footage, can you hear them laughing with the speaker or clapping?”

Hurt advocates taking a chance on rookie speakers, too. “I may place them in breakouts at first, but I’m always about new partnerships. Many times, speakers who you take a chance on, if they become successful later, will do favors for you because you gave them their start.”

5. Set your speaker up for success. Give speakers every possible advantage by outlining your expectations for the event and giving them background information on your organization. “Give them your audience demographics,” says Hurt. “I would [tell speakers], ‘I’ll consider you successful if you reach an 80 to 90 percent favorable rating with our attendees. If they walk out of the room talking about you, they want to stand in line and buy your book, if they’re enthralled with what you say and they say that it’s relevant—you’re successful.’”

Best Buy Coupons 20% OFF: 9 smart mobile security tips for safe online shopping

Look for coupon codes, Best Buy Coupons 20% OFF Entire Purchase plus Best Buy coupons 2016 for discounts on your purchases now. Get Best Buy Coupons 20% OFF , Save 20% OFF or More on All No-Contract Prepaid Phones, Exclusions, Terms and Conditions Apply!.

‘Tis the season to avoid the maddening holiday crowd

This holiday season, it’s estimated that 20.4 percent of UK shoppers will avoid battling the throngs of high street shoppers and choose to do their gift shopping on their own terms. How? They’re going to use their mobile devices.

With that in mind, we’re sharing nine savvy mobile security tips for safe online shopping on your handset or tablet. Standing in queue is so 2012....

1. Forget debit; always go credit or online payment service.

Purchasing gifts with your debit card may seem preferable to credit because you don’t have to worry about accruing nasty APR fees.

But credit card companies tend to provide more protection than banks, should your card fall into the wrong hands. (Credit card users can bypass interest charges if they pay off their shopping sprees within the billing period; this is usually 15 to 45 days.)

The best option, however, is to go with an online payment service, like Paypal, that uses industry-leading technology to store and transmit your banking information.

2. Make it a habit: Capture your payment-confirmation window.

During your commute after work, you do a little holiday-gift browsing on your iPhone. You find the perfect prezzie – bacon-flavoured mouthwash – for that strange uncle of yours who harbours a dual affinity for processed pork products and oral hygiene.

Once you commit to buying and click the ‘purchase’ button, you receive a payment-confirmation window requesting you print a copy for your records. Not exactly doable if you’re on public transport.

Don’t solely rely on the merchant to email your receipt or for the site to save the transaction in your purchase history. The spike in holiday traffic taxes vendor systems and mistakes can happen.

If you don’t have the option to save the payment confirmation, take a screen capture of the window and email the file to yourself.

Not sure how to take a screenshot on your handset? Here's how you do it.

3. Never open retail emails on your mobile device.

During the holidays, your inbox runneth over with promotional emails boasting can’t-miss bargains. But don’t let commuter boredom force you into opening those messages. They could be phishing scams.

The gift-giving season attracts cyber swindlers who’d love nothing more than to steal your private data with a cleverly designed email.

Wait until you’re home and in front of your laptop or PC to open retail emails. Look for clues like spelling and grammatical errors and dodgy design work.

Just remember that once you open the email, clicking is forbidden. Instead, copy and paste each email link in a new browser window. This is a safe way to test the URL’s legitimacy.

Or, try this trick: Rest your cursor on top of each link in the email. A URL will pop up; if it doesn’t match the typed link, then the email is likely a phishing attempt and clicking should be avoided.

4. Remember to use mobile antivirus protection...

With mobile malware increasingly on the rise, antivirus protection shouldn’t be an afterthought.

Before you begin shopping, outfit your phone or tablet with mobile security software. Look for a product that scans apps for viruses and spyware, blocks shady websites, provides lost-device protection and offers automatic updates.

5. ...And don’t forget to update your browser app.

Always use the latest version of any of the major mobile browsers like Chrome, Safari, Firefox or Opera.

By keeping up with the latest browser updates, you’re taking advantage of built-in security features that protect you from malware. It’s as simple as keeping up with your app notifications.

6. Download shopping apps created by trusted developers

Of course safe online shopping is the goal, but the process should be convenient and save time, too.

Thankfully, many of the big-name merchants (like Amazon, eBay and Google) have created apps that allow you to compare prices, read reviews and choose the best bargains with a few slides of the finger.

A few suggestions:

• Download apps from the major marketplaces: Amazon, Google Play and iTunes.
• Read reviews, ratings and developer information to confirm the app’s authenticity.
• Scan previously installed and newly downloaded apps for viruses and spyware (give it a try here).

7. Stay away from public Wi-Fi.

Shopping online with your mobile device and away from home? Give public Wi-Fi a miss and stick to your 3G/4G mobile network.

(Although if you’re insistent on showing public hotspots who’s in charge, you could always outfit your handset or tablet with a VPN that encrypts your data.)

Should you be Christmas shopping from the comfort of your home, then be sure you’re on a WPA2-protected network with enabled encryption settings.

8. Look for the telltale security signs.

Just as you would with your laptop or PC, look for the secure sockets layer (SSL) or transport layer security (TLS) signs on the mobile sites you visit.

The SSL and TSL indicators could look like a tiny padlock or an ‘https’ in the URL window. They let you know that the site will protect the transmission of your private data.

Because handset screens are so small, these signifiers may not always be present. Work around this challenge by only visiting online merchants that you trust – via typing the URL into the address bar.

9. Beware of shoulder surfers and prying eyes.

As mobile security tips go, this advice is about as low-tech as you can get. But shoulder surfing can have grave consequences should a crafty thief get too close.

Protect your sensitive information from snoops lurking near by; shield your login credentials from sight.

Additionally, use an online payment service when making a purchase. This way your credit card stays in your wallet or purse where it belongs.