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Quick Start and Set up with Device dramatically simplifies setting up new Apple devices
Receiving a new iPhone or iPad as a gift is a wonderful thing, but setting up a new device has historically been a chore. Manually pairing accessories, joining Wi-Fi networks, remembering which password goes with which account, and the ever-increasing steps required to actually use your shiny new toy make up the worst first world problems.
The good news is Apple has acknowledged this pain point and created a dramatically simpler way to pair or upgrade new products including iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple TV, and AirPods.
9to5Toys Lunch Break: Amazon Networking Gold Box from $22, Logitech K400 Keyboard $18, Nike 25% off sale, more
Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications. more…
iMac Pro available for in-store pickup today at certain Best Buy locations
Apple’s iMac Pro has begun arriving early for some customers who ordered it quickly, but it’s still not yet available for in-store pick up at Apple retail locations. Certain Best Buy locations, however, show the iMac Pro as being in stock for in-store pickup today. more…
AAPL drops as analysts predict reduced iPhone X demand next quarter
Apple’s stock price has seen a sharp drop this morning on the first day of trading since Christmas Day, and a new report on tepid iPhone X demand going into next year is to blame. Analysts are adjusting their forecasts on iPhone X shipments at the start of 2018 based on demand largely being fulfilled during the holiday quarter, and the $999-$1149 price may be the cause.
Apple launches its Boxing Day iTunes sale with album deals in Canada
As it does every year, Apple is helping you spend those holiday gift cards you’ve received by again joining in on the Boxing Day deals today. The company is highlighting a featured section in the Canadian iTunes store offering a selection of new and popular albums for under $7.
10 Free Templates Every Small Business Needs in 2018
Owning or working for a small business can be extremely rewarding.
You have a good view of the business operations, your work is visible, and you have an opportunity to make a big impact during the company’s critical growth years.
But then there are the less glamorous aspects — from tight budgets and limited resources to lack of direction and leadership — that can really start to weigh on you.
It would be nice if someone would throw you a bone every now and then, right?
That’s why we took some time to round up 10 completely free templates that you can lean on to streamline your workflow, save time, and get more done.
10 Free Templates Every Small Business Needs in 2018
1) Professional Bio Templates
Let’s face it: Writing about yourself can feel, well, awkward.
The good news is we’ve created 40+ fill-in-the-blank bio templates that you can use to put together an impressive, professional narrative that you’ll want to share.
Use these professional bio templates to give your team page a refresh. We recommended collaborating with a couple of colleagues you work closely with as you fill these out to ensure you’re speaking to all of your awesome skills.
2) Invoice Templates
For larger businesses, investing in paid invoicing software is a good way to keep your payments organized, but for small to mid-sized businesses, paying for a solution isn’t always an option.
If you’re looking for a cost-free way to stay on top of your billing, check out these free invoice templates for Microsoft Word. These invoice templates come in different colors and styles, so you can pick one that best suits your business.
*Bonus* We also just launched a free invoice template generator that allows you to create professional invoice PDFs in just a few clicks. Check it out here.
3) Company Newsletter Template
Want to keep your contacts and customers engaged and informed about your business? Try sending a monthly company newsletter.
This clean and concise template makes it easy for you to plug in things like updates, accomplishments, awards, and upcoming events to share with your community.
You can also adapt this template to use internally for an employee newsletter featuring new hires, promotions, culture events, and changes in existing policies.
4) Employee Timecard Template
Keeping tabs on employee hours is a really important part of running a business. Aside from ensuring your employees get paid (and get paid on time), having a log of hours can also help to resolve conflicts, evaluate employee engagement, and plan quotes in service-based industries.
With the help of this timecard template, you can keep all of your employee hours organized by week, month, and year. And don’t worry about busting out that calculator: the template takes care of totaling each line for you.
5) Business Letterhead Templates
An on-brand letterhead, while it may seem like a small detail, can go a long way when it comes to establishing credibility and trust through written communications.
In many cases, your letterhead serves as a first impression to potential customers, so you want to make sure it represents your business well. Additionally, your letterhead typically houses valuable contact details, so you’ll want to convey that information in a really clear and concise way.

6) Email Templates
Think about how much time you spending crafting emails on any given day. One hour? Two hours? More than five hours?
Aware that email can be a serious time suck, we created 15 email marketing templates to simplify all of your marketing and sales needs — from PR and blogging outreach to customer reference emails.
These fill-in-the-blank templates are especially helpful when it comes to reducing the time you spend on emails that you’re sending on a repeat basis.
7) Meeting Agenda Template
We’ve all been in our fair share of meetings that have gone off the rails. But unproductive meetings suck up valuable time that could be better spent on impactful projects.
To keep things on track, try using a simple meeting agenda template.
Fill out this template a few days ahead of your meeting and send it out to all of the participants. Doing this in advance will give folks time to prepare for the meeting accordingly — and ultimately eliminate any confusion.
8) Infographic Templates
When you work at a small company, design resources can be hard to come by. But that doesn’t mean your content creation efforts need to suffer as a result.
These free infographic templates can be used by designers and non-designers alike to create quality inforgraphics right in PowerPoint or Illustrator.
Use these infographic templates to visualize your latest research report, create a shareable blog post, or promote a piece of gated content on social media.
9) Social Graphic Templates
With the help of these Canva templates, you can create stunning social media images for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and more.
These templates are designed to meet the dimension requirements for each network, so you can spend less time hunting down accurate aspect ratios and more time boosting your social media engagement.

10) Small Team Status Board Template
If you’re working on a really small team — let’s say 1-10 people — you might find this status board template useful.
The template provides a column for each member of your team where they can add high-level status updates. This can be updated daily, weekly, or monthly to keep everyone on the same page about priorities, progress, and opportunities for collaboration.
Not to mention, the handy color-coding system allows you to determine the current standing of the task (good, needs attention, waiting on someone, etc.) at a quick glance.
Save Time in 2018
So there you have it: 10 incredibly useful business templates that will help you save time and hit the ground running next year.
Can you think of any other templates you lean on for support? Share them with us on Twitter @HubSpot.
6 Instagram Hacks for Better Instagram Stories
Want to learn about some hidden Instagram Stories tools? Wondering how to change pen sizes, color-match text, and more? In this article, you’ll discover six Instagram tricks for enhancing Instagram stories that will engage your audience. #1: Customize Font Colors To add text to your Instagram stories, tap the Aa icon in the top-right corner […]
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– Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle
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Amazon Alexa and Google Home top App Store charts on Christmas Day, implies smart speakers were popular holiday gifts
The App Store charts always provide some interesting nuggets of information on Christmas Day and other big holidays as you can see the sudden influx of app downloads.
This year, the Alexa app for Amazon Echo smart speakers topped App Store free charts, hitting the #1 in a few regions, with Google Home also charting in the top ten. Smart speakers were a hot holiday shopping item this year for sure.
Logic Pros: What’s new in iOS & Mac music production this week
This is the place to catch up on all the biggest product announcements, hardware, apps, synths, Logic/GarageBand instruments and so much more in the world of iOS and Mac music production. This week, Audio Damage releases the new and improved Filterstation2 plug-in for Mac and soon for iOS, we review IK’s latest iRig Keys I/O hybrid MIDI controller, Korg brings the new ARP Odyssey soft synth to its Legacy Collection for Mac, and much more below.
This week’s top stories: Apple admits to slowing older iPhones, upgraded AirPods coming in 2018, and more
In this week’s top stories: Apple confirms that it slows down older iPhones, the iMac Pro starts arriving to customers, drone footage shows Apple Park starting to live up to its name, and more. Read on for all of this week’s top stories and videos… more…
Google continues poaching Apple engineers as it ramps up work on in-house chip development
A recent report from The Information details Google’s efforts to grow its chip development efforts, which in turn is costing Apple some considerable talent. The report explains that Google has hired several key chip engineers from Apple, including well-regarded chip designer John Bruno…
Apple hit with sanctions in the FTC’s case against Qualcomm
As its legal battle with Apple drags on, Qualcomm also is also in the middle of battling the Federal Trade Commission in a separate case. Making things all the more complicated, a judge on Friday ordered sanctions against Apple in the FTC’s case against Qualcomm…
Last-minute iTunes Gift Card deals include $100 for $85 w/ email delivery at Amazon
Christmas is nearly upon us, and the opportunities for last-minute gifts are dwindling. Thankfully, Amazon has you covered with a $100 iTunes Gift Card for $85 with email delivery when promo code ITUNES15 is applied during checkout. You’ll be able to save 15% on your next purchase in the App Store or on movies, TV shows and more. Email delivery makes it easy to cross those remaining names off your holiday shopping list.
Facebook Engagement Bait News Feed Updates, New Fonts for Instagram Stories
Welcome to this week’s edition of the Social Media Marketing Talk Show, a news show for marketers who want to stay on the leading edge of social media. On this week’s Social Media Marketing Talk Show with Erik Fisher and Kim Reynolds, we explore the Facebook “engagement bait” news feed updates, new fonts for Instagram […]
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– Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle
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Filmic Pro 6.4 brings AirPods microphone support & new detailed audio meter
Filmic Pro‘s latest 6.4 update brings support for Bluetooth microphones, new UI features for the iPhone X, and a new ‘Auto Shutter’ feature. We’ve covered Filmic Pro in the past and shown off just how great the application can be in your filmmaking arsenal.
more…
9to5Toys Lunch Break: Fantastical 2 for iOS $3, Philips Hue Smart Bulbs 2 for $24, Parrot AR.Drone $50, more
Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications. more…
Amazon expands Echo multi-room audio feature w/ support for Spotify
Amazon announced today that it is expanding multi-room music playback with Echo devices with support for Spotify. The feature was originally announced back in August, but with limited support from music streaming services…
Report: Apple’s cash to remain near $270B after repatriation and increased share buyback/dividends
A recent report from Loup Venture’s Gene Muster shares predictions on Apple’s finances in light of the new tax bill that congress passed this week, which President Trump just signed this morning.