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As baby boomers take up retirement and leave voids in senior positions in organizations to be filled, the Gen-X, Gen-Y and Gen-Z put themselves up on the plate for the picking.
Some organizations believe that these groups of generations have observable characteristics that their generation are accustomed to adhere to, portray and adopt in their way of life at work. For instance, Gen-X are considered the best workers, Gen-Y are the most passionate and Gen-Z are the most connected. Each have their very own strengths and weaknesses, as portrayed by this infographic.
Created by NextGeneration Recruitment, the infographic summarizes how different the three generations are in terms of education level, qualifications, key characteristics or skills, and working motto. Do you agree about what is said about your generation?
Shorthand and Longhand – one is concise and the other precise. One came to existence out of the want for brevity, while the other stands firm to preserve clarity. Either way, they have their purposes, pros and cons, so to speak.
This post will shine some light on both CSS shorthand notations and longhand notations, while concluding which is best to use for which situation.
What is Shorthand Property?
Shorthand property is a property that takes the values for other sets of CSS properties. For example, we can assign a value for border-width, border-style and border-color using the border property alone.
With this, we don’t have to declare individual property values separately (which is redundant, time- and space-consuming). It also resets the left-out properties in the declaration, something which can be taken advantage of.
How does it work?
Like previously mentioned, we write a set of other property values in shorthand, the order doesn’t matter if all the property values in the shorthand are of a different kind like in border. For properties with similar kinds of values like margin, order does matter. When in doubt, remember clockwise!
Now, what if we miss a property or two in the declaration? In the above example, let’s say we ignored border-style.
border: 1px blue;
We won"t be able to see the borders anymore, not because the shorthand property didn"t work but because the border-style which we left out, got the default value none. This is how that shorthand property got rendered.
border: 1px none blue;
Now let’s drop the 1px for border-width and keep the other two:
border: solid blue;
We"ll be able to see the borders, only with a thicker width and that"s because the border-width property got the default value medium.
border: medium solid blue;
This concludes it for us that when a property value is left out in a shorthand declaration, that property takes on its default value (even if it has to override any previous value assigned for the same).
If there is border-width: 1px; for an element somewhere before border: solid blue; for the same, the border width is going to be medium (the default value), not 1px.
Another thing worth mentioning is that we cannot use values like inherit, initialorunset, which are available for all the CSS properties, in shorthand notation. If we use those, the browser won"t be able to know exactly which property that value is supposed to represent in the shorthand – the entire declaration will be dropped.
The all property
There is one CSS shorthand property that can set the value for all CSS properties. CSS-wide values inherit, initial and unset are applicable to all of the properties and hence these are the only values accepted by the all property.
div all: initial
This will make the div element ditch ALL of the CSS property values it had, and reset the default value in each of them.
⚠ Warning
Let’s not misuse the all property. The need for it may arise only in very rare circumstances, when we are not able to touch any previous CSS code of an element that we wish to apply this property to.
Note: CSS property color takes hexadecimal value with shorthand notation if the two numbers of hex value in every color channel is the same. For example, background: #445599; is same as background: #459;.
What is longhand property?
The individual properties that can be included in a shorthand property are called longhand properties. Some examples are; background-image, margin-left, animation-duration, etc.
Why should we use it?
Even though shorthand alternatives are handy, they do have a disadvantage. Remember in the beginning we saw how shorthand overrides any left out properties with their default values? This can be a problem if the reset isn’t desired.
Take the font shorthand property for example. Let’s use it in the h4 element (which has a default browser style font-weight:bold)
font: 20px "courier new";
In the above shorthand code, no value is there for the font-weight property, hence the font-weight:bold(browser default style) will be overridden by the default value font-weight:normal causing the h4 element to lose its bold style, which may not has been intended.
So, for the above example simple two longhand properties, font-size and font-family are perfect.
Also, using shorthand for assigning only one or two property values is not very useful. Why give the browser extra work to interpret every single property (including the left out ones) in the shorthand, when only one is needed to work?
Production aside, during development stage, some developers (especially beginners) may find using longhand notation a lot easier to work with than shorthand for better readability and clarity.
Conclusion
Nowadays with the possibility of fast coding (with the help of tools like Emmet) and minification, a high reliability on shorthand is not needed, but at the same time, it is a lot logical to type margin:0;. The context in which we prefer our CSS notations will vary and all we have to do is figure out what notation will works best for us and when.
For anyone surfing the Internet, personal safety and security is one of the most important things at the back of their heads. For instance, we know better than to make transactions via mobile devices or when connected to an unsecured public hotspot, or to click on a suspicious-looking link.
For some people, they prefer to use VPN or a Virtual Private Network. A VPN is a technology that adds an extra layer of security while you browse the Internet. It creates safe tunnels that won’t be accessible by anyone but you. It also helps you cross boundaries or restrictions imposed by authorities (your employer, ISP or government), allowing you to access content from anywhere in the world.
To that end, we’ve compiled a list of the best free VPN services that will allow you to browse the Internet with less worry on your mind.
Hotspot Shield protects your online privacy, and lets you bypass Internet censorship and access any website or service. It secures your Internet sessions using HTTPS encryption and protects your personal information from hackers. Its malware protection and compression technologies can protect you from malicious websites and reduce the mobile data usage on your mobile devices.
Platforms supported: Windows, Mac OS, iOS, Android
Spotflux is the world’s most advanced VPN that works on all devices. It protects and enhances your Internet connection, and lets you use the web with total peace of mind. It performs millions of cloud-based real-time calculations, encrypts and compresses your mobile web traffic – thus reducing your mobile data costs and allowing you to browse the web securely, even on public Wi-Fi hotspots.
Platforms supported: Windows, Mac OS, iOS, Android
Psiphon lets you go beyond borders. It gets you past the borders of your campus, corporation or country, and lets you safely access censored knowledge and ideas in freedom-restricted countries. It’s a circumvention and online security tool that uses VPN, SSH and HTTP Proxy technologies for a complete, open and unrestricted access to the Internet.
Betternet provides an Internet with peace of mind – a web without hackers and blocked websites. It’s a totally free service that lets you access any website from any country. It allows you to surf the web anonymously without leaving a trace and protects your data from malicious attacks and interested parties such as hackers and government agencies.
Platforms supported: Firefox, Chrome, iOS, Android, Windows
CyberGhost VPN is one the most trusted secure VPN service online. It’s easy to install and provides you a safe and unrestricted browsing experience. It can unblock any content on the Internet for you even if you live in the most restricted part of the world. It offers top-notch security and anonymity without compromising your online privacy or slowing down your connection.
Platforms supported: Windows, Mac OS, Linux, iOS, Android
TunnelBear provides simple, private and free access to the global, unrestricted Internet. It offers 500 MB of free data usage per month that is enough for light browsing requirements. It lets you browse the web privately and experience the Internet without censorship and having to skip blocked websites. It can even block creepy trackers like ads, analytics, scripts, etc that tracks your moves on the Web.
Platforms supported: Windows, Mac OS, iOS, Android
SurfEasy VPN unblocks the Internet and secures your web connection. It lets you surf safely on any network with any device at any location, and allows you to enjoy any website without restrictions or censorship from any governing bodies. It offers you identity and privacy protection so that you leave no online marks, and even protects your web activities on public Wi-Fi hotspots and unsecured networks.
Platforms supported: Windows, Mac OS, iOS, Android
Hide.me makes you truly anonymous on the web by hiding your identity or location on the Internet. It encrypts your activities to protect you further from hackers and other malicious activists. It circumvents censorship and opens all locks on the Web so that you can browse websites without restrictions. You can also watch global TV from anywhere in the world at the fastest possible speeds.
FinchVPN is a feature packed and extremely reliable free VPN service. It offers an easy to use control panel and lots of VPN servers at different locations in the world. It save no logs and claims to encrypt everything – your activities, your sessions and your web connections.
Platforms supported: Windows, Mac OS, Linux, Android
proXPN protects your online freedom and privacy. It secures your Internet connection from being a victim of eavesdropping, and masks your identity and location from hacks and other malicious attacks. It relieves you from censorship from your college, corporation or government, and lets you access the Internet as is, with every website and content open to your fingertips.
ZenMate encrypts and secures your Internet connection to protect your internet privacy while browsing. It leaves no chance of compromising your data via tactics such as tracking, wiretapping, etc. by snooping bodies and malicious criminals. You can browse the web anonymously without leaving any traces and browsing any content of your wish, any website from anywhere in the world.
ZPN is a reliable and fast VPN service for everyone that encrypts your Internet connection for safe transactions and online activities. It offers free usage of 10 GB per month and claims to create no traffic logs, and act as a virtual firewall, making you completely anonymous on the Internet. You can confidently connect to public Wi-Fi hotspots securely without the fear of hackers and trackers.
SecurityKISS secures your Internet connection with its tunnels. It protects your privacy, ensures anonymity and bypass Internet restrictions posed by your ISP or country. It offers free usage of 300 MB per day which is sufficient for moderate Internet usage. It claims to offer high anonymity by logging only the minimum required information, and guarantees high speed by using data compression technology.
Platforms supported: Windows, Mac OS, Linux, iOS, Android
Hideman VPN offers anonymity and data encryption for your Internet sessions and activities. It offers free usage with connection and traffic restrictions, but is suitable for moderate usage such as browsing and light downloading. It tunnels your Internet traffic through various server locations in around 20 countries, thus making it hard for anyone to guess your true information.
Platforms supported: Windows, Mac OS, iOS, Android
ZenVPN offers a secure and uncensored Internet – a fast and affordable yet secure access to the web. It protects your identity and hides your web activities from interested parties like hackers and spying people or government bodies. It logs nothing about your traffic usage and thus, offers a complete privacy solution with no trackable history. Its free package comes with 250 MB per day traffic usage.
Platforms supported: Windows, Mac OS, iOS, Android
GetPrivate makes sure that all of your Internet connections go through secure tunnels and superfast servers located worldwide to provide a smooth and private Internet experience. It provides unlimited bandwidth for all your web surfing, and opens all censored content and websites for you.
Hole is not a usual VPN but a peer-to-peer VPN much like other P2P networks. It’s a community-powered service where users help each other to make content on the web accessible for all. It encrypts your data and routes your traffic through other nodes (peers) to provide superior anonymity. It can even stream torrents instantly and play videos directly without downloading.
Platforms supported: Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Windows, Mac OS, iOS, Android
Datho VPN lets you stay safe online and stop websites from tracking you. It protects your privacy by hiding your online traffic from potential attackers and unblocks restricted websites. It uses a shared IP address and keeps no logs to give you the highest level of anonymity. Its network consists of 70+ servers in 17 countries with unlimited P2P traffic allowance. Its free pack limits speed to 800 kbps.
Platforms supported: Windows, Mac OS, Linux, iOS, Android
VPN Defender provides a simple, secure and fast solution to protect your privacy and identity while online is challenging. It keeps you and your data safe from probable attackers and watchers. It encrypts all your data, yet provides a fast and unrestricted Internet that’s well-protected even on public Wi-Fi.
GoVPN lets you access the web your way – access any content, open restricted websites and watch region-restricted videos or TV shows from any country. It secures and hides your private data and online identity while browsing the Internet, and even encrypts your VoIP services. It claims to keep no logs of your browsing history, thus making you more anonymous!
Platforms supported: Windows, Mac OS, iOS, Android
WordPress started as a blogging tool, but has grown into a full-fledged content management system for web development. WordPress powers more than 24% of the Internet. Owing to this fact, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of WordPress themes available in the market.
Whenever I start using a WordPress theme, I find myself in a situation where I want to make a few changes to it. But if you make changes in a WordPress theme, then updating it to a new version is one hell of a job. For example, let’s suppose you started using the Twenty Fifteen theme provided by WordPress. You update style.css to change a few things. But then after a few months when theme developers pushed an update for Twenty Fifteen, you’ll be in a position where you could choose to update the theme and lose all your custom styling, or stay out-dated and get hacked, since sometimes theme updates contain security fixes.
Child Themes To The Rescue
This is where concept of Child Themes kick in. Let’s forget about WordPress for a moment. Let’s talk about parents and children. What do you know about children? Being a child, I am bound to get a few characteristics of my parents, but there will also be habits that are pretty unique. Which makes total sense. A child can have some or all traits of their parents with added unique traits of her own.
The concept of Child Themes is based on this fact, and during this entire series I will try to cover all the major aspects of WordPress and Child Themes. So, let’s begin with the first article, which serve as an introduction to child themes. Towards the end of this article, I’ll discuss some of the differences between a parent and a child theme.
Child Themes in WordPress
Normally, all the created WordPress themes are the base themes, or you call them Parent themes. Parent themes bear all the functionality and features which may or may not be inherited by a child theme.
Let me explain this concept with a simple example. Imagine that you are a chemist and you are running some experiment. You prepared a solution and you aim to test it further with different types of emulsions. Now, instead of using the entire solution all at once, you divide it into two or three equal parts with each part behaving as a parent. Now if you perform an experiment and it didn’t get the desired results, you will still have a duplicate parent which can be later used for another test. However, if you performed the test on the entire solution, then in case of failure, you may lose the original product (i.e. your parent theme). So, every time you experiment, you have the original parent which has all the features you need. These features can be used as a base while you can add a few unique features in the child which is what a child theme does. Still with me?
A child theme is a theme that inherits the functionality and styling of another theme, called the parent theme. Child themes are the recommended way of modifying an existing theme.
So basically, any theme can behave as a parent theme if it offers the ability of creating a child theme. Now, back to the situation we discussed earlier. If a child inherits features from a parent then what will happen in a case where the parent theme undergoes an update? The answer is simple: only your parent theme will change, while your modifications will stay the same in its Child Theme. So, if you want to keep up with your modifications and still enjoy the latest code base from your theme’s author, all you need to do is create a child theme instead of using the parent theme. We will discuss multiple methods to create a WP child theme in upcoming articles of this series.
Differences between Parent & Child Themes
Now let’s look at some of the differences between parent and child themes.
A child theme is related only to its parent theme. Which means that in terms of relevance no other theme bears connection with the child theme.
A child theme is dependent upon the parent theme. To make sure that your child works well, you need to install both the parent & the child theme and then activate the later.
Parent themes can exist as an independent unit since they are not dependant on any other theme.
Updates in the parent theme do not affect your modifications in the child theme.
Conclusion
So now you know a little about child themes. In the next post, we will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using a Child Theme in WordPress. I’d love to hear your thoughts about this series, so leave me a comment below if you have any questions or requests.
Ahmad Awais is a Full Stack WordPress Developer, WP Core Contributor, Front-end Fanatic and a Designer by night. He loves to create optimized but advanced workflows to produce cool pieces of Open Source software. Follow Ahmad at Twitter or subscribe to his blog.
To add to that pile, we have here an infographic by Modis which is trying to make a case for a tech-free vacation, the kind that can really help you recharge properly. Apart from that, it also carries a few tips you should follow should you take heed and decide to take a break from it all, for instance, letting people know you are going to be unreachable during your vacation period, before you take off.
And best of all, it mentions a few vacation spots (where it is is geographically impossible to stay connected to the Web) which can give you the silence and relaxation your body has been craving for, and so sorely deserve.
For anyone surfing the Internet, personal safety and security is one of the most important things at the back of their heads. For instance, we know better than to make transactions via mobile devices or when connected to an unsecured public hotspot, or to click on a suspicious-looking link.
For some people, they prefer to use VPN or a Virtual Private Network. A VPN is a technology that adds an extra layer of security while you browse the Internet. It creates safe tunnels that won’t be accessible by anyone but you. It also helps you cross boundaries or restrictions imposed by authorities (your employer, ISP or government), allowing you to access content from anywhere in the world.
To that end, we’ve compiled a list of the best free VPN services that will allow you to browse the Internet with less worry on your mind.
Hotspot Shield protects your online privacy, and lets you bypass Internet censorship and access any website or service. It secures your Internet sessions using HTTPS encryption and protects your personal information from hackers. Its malware protection and compression technologies can protect you from malicious websites and reduce the mobile data usage on your mobile devices.
Platforms supported: Windows, Mac OS, iOS, Android
Spotflux is the world’s most advanced VPN that works on all devices. It protects and enhances your Internet connection, and lets you use the web with total peace of mind. It performs millions of cloud-based real-time calculations, encrypts and compresses your mobile web traffic – thus reducing your mobile data costs and allowing you to browse the web securely, even on public Wi-Fi hotspots.
Platforms supported: Windows, Mac OS, iOS, Android
Psiphon lets you go beyond borders. It gets you past the borders of your campus, corporation or country, and lets you safely access censored knowledge and ideas in freedom-restricted countries. It’s a circumvention and online security tool that uses VPN, SSH and HTTP Proxy technologies for a complete, open and unrestricted access to the Internet.
Betternet provides an Internet with peace of mind – a web without hackers and blocked websites. It’s a totally free service that lets you access any website from any country. It allows you to surf the web anonymously without leaving a trace and protects your data from malicious attacks and interested parties such as hackers and government agencies.
Platforms supported: Firefox, Chrome, iOS, Android, Windows
CyberGhost VPN is one the most trusted secure VPN service online. It’s easy to install and provides you a safe and unrestricted browsing experience. It can unblock any content on the Internet for you even if you live in the most restricted part of the world. It offers top-notch security and anonymity without compromising your online privacy or slowing down your connection.
Platforms supported: Windows, Mac OS, Linux, iOS, Android
TunnelBear provides simple, private and free access to the global, unrestricted Internet. It offers 500 MB of free data usage per month that is enough for light browsing requirements. It lets you browse the web privately and experience the Internet without censorship and having to skip blocked websites. It can even block creepy trackers like ads, analytics, scripts, etc that tracks your moves on the Web.
Platforms supported: Windows, Mac OS, iOS, Android
SurfEasy VPN unblocks the Internet and secures your web connection. It lets you surf safely on any network with any device at any location, and allows you to enjoy any website without restrictions or censorship from any governing bodies. It offers you identity and privacy protection so that you leave no online marks, and even protects your web activities on public Wi-Fi hotspots and unsecured networks.
Platforms supported: Windows, Mac OS, iOS, Android
Hide.me makes you truly anonymous on the web by hiding your identity or location on the Internet. It encrypts your activities to protect you further from hackers and other malicious activists. It circumvents censorship and opens all locks on the Web so that you can browse websites without restrictions. You can also watch global TV from anywhere in the world at the fastest possible speeds.
FinchVPN is a feature packed and extremely reliable free VPN service. It offers an easy to use control panel and lots of VPN servers at different locations in the world. It save no logs and claims to encrypt everything – your activities, your sessions and your web connections.
Platforms supported: Windows, Mac OS, Linux, Android
proXPN protects your online freedom and privacy. It secures your Internet connection from being a victim of eavesdropping, and masks your identity and location from hacks and other malicious attacks. It relieves you from censorship from your college, corporation or government, and lets you access the Internet as is, with every website and content open to your fingertips.
ZenMate encrypts and secures your Internet connection to protect your internet privacy while browsing. It leaves no chance of compromising your data via tactics such as tracking, wiretapping, etc. by snooping bodies and malicious criminals. You can browse the web anonymously without leaving any traces and browsing any content of your wish, any website from anywhere in the world.
ZPN is a reliable and fast VPN service for everyone that encrypts your Internet connection for safe transactions and online activities. It offers free usage of 10 GB per month and claims to create no traffic logs, and act as a virtual firewall, making you completely anonymous on the Internet. You can confidently connect to public Wi-Fi hotspots securely without the fear of hackers and trackers.
SecurityKISS secures your Internet connection with its tunnels. It protects your privacy, ensures anonymity and bypass Internet restrictions posed by your ISP or country. It offers free usage of 300 MB per day which is sufficient for moderate Internet usage. It claims to offer high anonymity by logging only the minimum required information, and guarantees high speed by using data compression technology.
Platforms supported: Windows, Mac OS, Linux, iOS, Android
Hideman VPN offers anonymity and data encryption for your Internet sessions and activities. It offers free usage with connection and traffic restrictions, but is suitable for moderate usage such as browsing and light downloading. It tunnels your Internet traffic through various server locations in around 20 countries, thus making it hard for anyone to guess your true information.
Platforms supported: Windows, Mac OS, iOS, Android
ZenVPN offers a secure and uncensored Internet – a fast and affordable yet secure access to the web. It protects your identity and hides your web activities from interested parties like hackers and spying people or government bodies. It logs nothing about your traffic usage and thus, offers a complete privacy solution with no trackable history. Its free package comes with 250 MB per day traffic usage.
Platforms supported: Windows, Mac OS, iOS, Android
GetPrivate makes sure that all of your Internet connections go through secure tunnels and superfast servers located worldwide to provide a smooth and private Internet experience. It provides unlimited bandwidth for all your web surfing, and opens all censored content and websites for you.
Hole is not a usual VPN but a peer-to-peer VPN much like other P2P networks. It’s a community-powered service where users help each other to make content on the web accessible for all. It encrypts your data and routes your traffic through other nodes (peers) to provide superior anonymity. It can even stream torrents instantly and play videos directly without downloading.
Platforms supported: Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Windows, Mac OS, iOS, Android
Datho VPN lets you stay safe online and stop websites from tracking you. It protects your privacy by hiding your online traffic from potential attackers and unblocks restricted websites. It uses a shared IP address and keeps no logs to give you the highest level of anonymity. Its network consists of 70+ servers in 17 countries with unlimited P2P traffic allowance. Its free pack limits speed to 800 kbps.
Platforms supported: Windows, Mac OS, Linux, iOS, Android
VPN Defender provides a simple, secure and fast solution to protect your privacy and identity while online is challenging. It keeps you and your data safe from probable attackers and watchers. It encrypts all your data, yet provides a fast and unrestricted Internet that’s well-protected even on public Wi-Fi.
GoVPN lets you access the web your way – access any content, open restricted websites and watch region-restricted videos or TV shows from any country. It secures and hides your private data and online identity while browsing the Internet, and even encrypts your VoIP services. It claims to keep no logs of your browsing history, thus making you more anonymous!
Platforms supported: Windows, Mac OS, iOS, Android
