20 Best Websites To Download Free EBooks

20 Best Websites To Download Free EBooks

We understand that reading is the simplest way for human to derive and constructing meaning in order to gain a particular knowledge from a source. This tendency has been digitized when books evolve into digital media equivalent – E-Books.

It would be nice if we’re able to download free e-book and take it with us. That’s why we’ve again crawled deep into the Internet to compile this list of 20 places to download free e-books for your use. Full list after jump.

E-BOOKS

1. FreeBookSpot is an online source of free ebooks download with4485 FREE E-BOOKS in 96 categories which up to 71,97 GB.
   You can search and download free books in categories like scientific, engineering, programming, fiction and many other books. No registration is required to download free e-books.
   

4eBooks

1. 4eBooks has a huge collection of computer programming ebooks. Each downloadable ebook has a short review with a description. You can find over thousand of free ebooks in every computer programming field like .Net, Actionscript, Ajax, Apache and etc.
   

Free-eBooks

1. Free-eBooks is an online source for free ebook downloads, ebook resources and ebook authors. Besides free ebooks, you also download free magazines or submit your own ebook.
   You need to become a Free-EBooks.Net member to access their library. Registration is free.
   

ManyBooks

1. ManyBooks provides free ebooks for your PDA, iPod or eBook Reader. You can randomly browse for a ebook through the most popular titles, recommendations or recent reviews for visitors. There are 21,282 eBooks available here and they’re all free!
   

GetFreeEBooks

1. GetFreeEBooks is a free ebooks site where you can download free books totally free. All the ebooks within the site are legal downloadable free ebooks.
   

FreeComputerBooks

1. FreeComputerBooks consists of a huge collection of free online Computer, Programming, Mathematics, Technical Books, Lecture Notes and Tutorials. It is very well categorized by topics, with 12 top level categories, and over 150 sub-categories.
   

FreeTechBooks

1. FreeTechBooks lists free online computer science, engineering and programming books, textbooks and lecture notes, all of which are legally and freely available over the Internet. ThroughoutFreeTechBooks, other terms are used to refer to a book, such asebook, text, document, monogram or notes.
   

Scribd

1. Scribd, the online document sharing site which supports Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF and other popular formats. You can download a document or embed it in your blog or web page.
   

Globusz

1. Globusz is a unique ePublishing house, specializing in free eBook downloads. They also provide an excellent Star Rating Showcase for new and evolving authors.
   

KnowFree

1. KnowFree is a web portal where users are able to exchange freely e-books, video training and other materials for educational purposes and self-practice.
   

OnlineFreeEBooks

1. OnlineFreeEBooks provides links to various ebooks (mostly in pdf) spanning in 9 big categories which are: Automotive Ebooks, Business Ebooks, Engineering Ebooks, Gadget Ebooks, Hardware Ebooks, Health & Medical Ebooks, Hobbies Ebooks, Programming & Technology Ebooks, Sport & Martial Art Ebooks.
   

MemoWare

1. MemoWare has a unique collection of thousands of documents (databases, literature, maps, technical references, lists, etc.) specially formatted to be easily added to your PalmOS device, Pocket PC, Windows CE, EPOC, Symbian or other handheld device.
   

BluePortal

1. 

OnlineComputerBooks

1. OnlineComputerBooks contains details about free computer books, free ebooks, free online books and sample chapters related to Information Technology, Computer Science, Internet, Business, Marketing, Maths, Physics and Science which are provided by publishers or authors.
   

SnipFiles

1. SnipFiles offers you free ebooks and software legally by brought or attained PLR, resale or master rights to all the products on their page.

BookYards

1. BookYards is a web portal in which books, education materials, information, and content will be freely to anyone who has an internet connection.

The Online Books Page

1. The Online Books Page is a Listing over 30,000 free books on the Web.

AskSam Ebooks

1. AskSam Ebooks has a collection of free e-books like Shakespeare, and assorted legal & governmental texts.

Baen Free Library

1. 
   Baen Free Library is an online library of downloadable science fiction novels.

eBookLobby

1. Free ebooks in eBookLobby are divided into different categories. Categorys range from business, art, computing and education. Select the category appropriate to the e-book you’re looking for.
   

Other Free eBook Resources

1. PlanetPDF – A small collection of classic novels all in PDF format.
2. DailyLit – Read books online by daily email and RSS feed.
3. Wikibooks – Wikibooks is a Wikimedia community for creating a free library of educational textbooks that anyone can edit.
4. Dwalin – Free novels in text format.
5. Project Gutenberg – Free ebooks from producers.
6. Adobe Free eBooks – In Adobe’s Free eBooks area, you can download, unlock, and read electronic books on your personal computer or reading device.
7. Alive & Free – A page of links to some recent books from living authors available free online.
8. Franklin – Thousands of free titles in text and HTML file formats.
9. Read Easily – An ebook online library which has been designed to provide you an adaptive reading experience!
10. PDFbooks – This new site offers around 4,700 downloadable public domain e-books.
11. Witguides – An online source for a wide range of useful e-books that are completely free with no need to sign-up or buy anything.
12. Diesel eBooks -Offer free ebooks formatted for both Microsoft Reader and Mobipocket.
13. Free eBook Miners –
    Free eBooks for your education, research or amusement.
14. Planet eBook –
    Free classic literature to download and share.
15. e-Library – Plenty of free ebooks available for download.
16. BookBoon – Provides free ebooks for students and travelers in PDF format. No registration is required.

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Top 10 Free Email Services

Looking for a free email service? You can be picky.

Your chosen email service will reward you with plenty of—possibly unlimited—storage, effective spam filtering, a fast and productive web interface, access in desktop as well as mobile email programs, and more.

PS: Looking for free email, you may also be interested in

1.  Gmail

Gmail is the Google approach to email and chat. Practically unlimited free online storage allows you to collect all your messages, and Gmail's simple but very smart interface lets you find them precisely and see them in context without effort. POP and powerful IMAP access bring Gmail to any email program or device.
Gmail puts contextual advertising next to the emails you read.

2.  Zoho Mail

Zoho Mail is a solid email service with ample storage, POP and IMAP access, some integration with instant messaging and online office suites.
Aimed at professional users, Zoho Mail could be even more helpful organizing mail, identifying key messages and contacts, and sending oft-used replies.

3.  Yandex.Mail

Yandex.Mail offers a full, rich and usable email experience with powerful web access, mobile apps, POP as well as IMAP access and unlimited storage.
Functions such as message templates, reminders, e-cards and keyboard shortcuts help handle mail with efficiency and fun in Yandex.Mail; still, its rules could be more versatile, text snippets would support templates, and Yandex.Mail could function as a full we-based IMAP client.

4.  Outlook.com

Outlook.com serves free email with practically unlimited storage accessible on the web with a rich and helpful interface or using IMAP, POP and Exchange ActiveSync in email programs on desktop and mobile device.
Outlook.com could offer more help with composing in addition to organizing mail, though.

5.  AIM Mail

AIM Mail, AOL's free web-based email service, shines with unlimited online storage, very good spam protection and a rich, easy to use interface.
Unfortunately, AIM Mail lacks a bit in productivity (no labels, smart folders and message threading), but makes up for some of that with very functional IMAP (as well as POP) access.

6.  iCloud Mail

iCloud Mail is a free email service from Apple with ample storage, IMAP access and an elegantly functional web application.
That interface at icloud.com does not offer labels or other more advanced tools for productivity and for organizing mail, though, and does not support accessing other email accounts. POP access to iCloud Mail is missing, too.

7.  Yahoo! Mail

Yahoo! Mail is your ubiquitous email program on the web, Windows 8 and mobile devices with unlimited storage, SMS texting, social networking and instant messaging to boot.
While Yahoo! Mail is generally a joy to use, free-form labeling and smart folders would be nice, and the spam filter could catch junk even more effectively.

8.  Mail.com and GMX Mail

Mail.com and GMX Mail are reliable email services filtered well of spam and viruses whose unlimited online storage you can use with a rich web interface and mobile apps. POP and iMAP access are available as a paid add-on.
More and smarter ways to organize mail could be nice.

9.  Inbox.com

Inbox.com not only gives you 5 GB to store your mail online but also a highly polished, fast and functional way to access it via either the web (including speedy search, free-form labels and reading mail by conversation) or through POP in your email program.
Unfortunately, IMAP access is not supported by Inbox.com, and its tools for organizing mail could be improved with smart or self-teaching folders.

10.  My Way Mail

My Way Mail is a clean, fast and fun (though not particularly advanced) free email service.
It lacks secure messaging and other advanced, non-essential features, though.

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Simple Ways To Increase Your AdSense Earnings

As a blogger, finding ways to monetize your blog is usually a top priority. Of course, blogging can be a pastime that you enjoy and do for fun; however, earning extra money is never a bad thing. During your quest to earn more from your blog, you’ve probably dabbled with Google AdSense. You’ve generated the ad units, placed them on your site… and watched the profits trickle in.

Yes, Google AdSense is simple and easy to use. However, like any program, there’s room for improvement. In fact, there are simple optimizations that you can start today to increase your AdSense earnings by earning more clicks and optimizing so your ads are more eye-catching.

Know Before You Start

Like any other program, Google AdSense has strict guidelines pertaining to certain actions. Knowing these from the beginning can save trouble later on.

Behaviors Prohibited By Google Adsense Include:

• Tricking viewers into clicking on your ads – placing images next to ads, offering compensation for searches or for clicks and so on.
• Telling people to click on your ads – writing about the ad in the text and asking readers to click, using any “Click Here” language or imagery next to an AdSense ad and other methods.
• Clicking on your own ads.
• Traffic sources must be valid – publishers cannot participate in “paid-to-click” programs to drive traffic.

It’s critical to become familiar with AdSense’s guidelines before you start to understand the limits that exist. In certain situations, breaking the rules is grounds for a lifetime ban from the program; this is obviously the last thing you want!

Also important to note is the idea that what works for one blogger might not work for you. It’s great to read success stories and tips on how to succeed, but how those steps play out on your on blog cannot be predicted in advance. Take the time to monitor your activity on a regular basis and to track what’s working and what’s not. Experiment with different optimizations until you find the right combination for your blog. Like any revenue-earning endeavor, making AdSense work for you will take time; however, in the end it will be well worth the effort.

Once you understand these ideas, you’re ready to get started. Check out the following strategies for increasing your AdSense earnings, starting today.

1. Experiment With Ad Sizes

According to Google, wider ads tend to perform better than tall ads; they are more reader-friendly because of the fact that they allow readers to read more without having to skip lines as frequently. Wider ads lead to a more consistent reading pattern and, therefore, a higher click rate.

The sizes found to be most effective by Google are the 160×600 wide skyscraper, the 336×280 large rectangle, the 300×250 medium rectangle and the 728×90 leaderboard. But to see how using these plays out, there’s no better place to look than the sorts of viral websites you see popping up in your Facebook feed, such as IFLScience, shown above. These sites experiment regularly with ad placements and sizes, trying something new on a regular basis. This leads to a higher potential click-through rate over time. Take a look at your blog to find out where you could incorporate a wide ad and start there.

2. Place Your Ads Where They Are Most Likely To Be Seen and Clicked

When are ads most likely to attract attention? When they are near something that a user is likely to click on anyway. User’s eyes follow the mouse or the finger. When one of your readers is going to click on something anyway, an ad near that location is likely to draw their attention.

Where do your users click? On social buttons? On share buttons? On your navigation? These would all be ideal locations for AdSense ads. Viral Nova is one site taking advantage of location by placing ads below their navigation and social buttons. Because they have an active social following, they understand that these ads are more likely to draw attention than something hidden further down the page. Placing lacing ads above the fold eliminates the possibility of losing clicks simply because users never scroll down. Up top and near something likely to be clicked is best.

3. Remember: Solid Content Boosts Advertising Potential

If the content you create doesn’t attract visitors, the best ad placement and size in the world won’t make a difference. Personal blogs about family life don’t attract advertisers. Who are you trying to reach? What interests them? What stories or information do you have to share?

If you’re able to sustain an audience around a shared interest – such as cooking, like The Kitchn, or classic cars, like CJ Pony Parts – your ads will benefit from the continuity. Google AdSense ads arecontextual, which means that Google’s robots skim your content to determine what it’s about, and then place ads that suit that theme. If your blog follows a consistent theme, and you build an audience around that topic, your ads are more likely to be relevant to your readers. This makes them more likely to click, and you more likely to earn more money from your audience.

As you can see in the screenshot of TheKitchn above, their ads are contextual – one is for blenders and the other is for recipe recommendations. This is super relevant to their typical audience, and also relevant to me. (I spend WAY too much time reading food blogs.)

By the way, that “half page” ad size is one that Google describes as “one of the fastest growing sizes by impressions,” and it appeals to publishers who want to visually stun their audience.

4. Make Sure Your Ads’ Design Meshes With Your Site While Standing Out

It sounds counterintuitive. However, an ad should mesh with the overall theme of your blog. Something that feels unnatural or that overly sticks out will get glossed over because of ad blindness. At the same time, ads should stand out enough to get noticed.

Look for ways to blend the borders of your ads with the background of your page and to use complementary colors to your advantage. PaleOMG does a great job integrating their ads by using ad text colors that matches the blog’s text and even using a similar font to the one used in the ad. Look at the research that’s been done and experiment on your own blog.

5. Pick a Theme That Is Designed for Adsense

Certain WordPress themes are designed specifically to optimize potential AdSense earnings. These templates take the guessw

ork out of AdSense and provide for serious potential from the start. Based around research, sites like Cleverpedia use themes designed to enhance AdSense earnings. If well-known sites with high traffic use AdSense-optimized templates, there’s no reason that you shouldn’t as well.

AdSense doesn’t have to be a puzzle that’s impossible to put together. Start with a little research and put the steps above into action today. Don’t be afraid to mix it up and try something new when you’re not seeing results. Over time, your earnings will increase and your AdSense experience will be a successful, revenue-generating endeavor.

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Tips for Beautiful Sticker Design

While there appears to be a wealth of information online documenting the design process for business cards, leaflets, flyers, etc., sticker design is something that very rarely gets discussed.
Because of this, it seems that most businesses tend not to make use of promotional stickers in their marketing efforts; this is a huge shame, as stickers have such a huge amount of potential, especially when it comes to getting the word out about your brand.
However, for a sticker to be able to make such an impact, it needs to be well designed, beautiful, and most importantly, it must appeal to your target demographic. But the question is: what makes a beautiful sticker design?
We sifted through countless promotional stickers online – some good, some bad – looking for the answer, and decided to round up a list attributes that we felt were responsible for making the beautiful ones, well, beautiful.
Here are a few tips for Beautiful Sticker Design:
#1 – Keep it Colourful
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Typically, you want your sticker to be seen my as many people as possible and ideally, from as far away as possible too.
The reason for this is simple: the more people that see your sticker, the more brand awareness you’re going to build.
Perhaps the simplest way to do this is by making wise use of colour, and in particular, bright colours.
Bright colours will stand out much more than dull colours (obviously), especially from a distance. So, even if your brand isn’t generally the most colourful of brands, or if you don’t typically use bright colours across most of your companies branding, it might be worth considering doing so when designing your stickers.


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For example, you can see from the screenshot of their website (above) that Disqus isn’t the most colourful of brands.
Sure, they utilise red and blue in small quantities on their website, but the predominant colour of the website (and the Disqus commenting platform that is embedded on websites/blogs) is white.
However, when they created promotional stickers to increase brand awareness, you can see from the image above that they opted to use bright blue and red as the two primary colours for the stickers.
Why? Because they’re going to command more attention than white, especially from a distance.
If your brand isn’t particularly colourful like the Disqus brand, you can use the same trick. Simply take any existing brand colours and use them in abundance on your stickers. If your existing brand colours happen to be quite dull, use slightly more colourful versions of the same colours; it’ll keep things on brand, while increasing the visibility of your stickers.

#2 – Keep it (Really) Simple




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As most stickers tend to be quite small in size, you typically don’t have much space to work with when creating your design.
Because of this, you need to keep things really simple; otherwise you’ll just confuse people with a cluttered design, and your sticker won’t create the intended impact.
The “I [camera] New York” stickers (pictured above) offer a great example of how simplicity can work in your favour. These stickers are nothing more than a play on the “I <3 New York” branding and are exceptionally simplistic.
However, it’s this simplicity that makes the stickers so eye-catching. There are no unnecessary photos/illustrations of the Empire State Building or Statue of Liberty to detract from the message; they’re just simple and to the point, the way stickers should be.


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These Envato stickers are another great example of how simplicity can work well.
Envato run a number of websites that sell website themes, graphic design templates, code snippets, and so forth, but you’d never guess from the sticker design itself (at least not unless you were aware of Envato in the first place).
However, the simplicity actually works in their favour, as the absence of information leads to a sense of curiosity (i.e. “what is that weird green and black sticker all about?”), and gets a person talking about their brand.
#3 – Keep Text to a Minimum




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Following on from the previous point regarding simplicity, it’s also important to keep text to a minimum when designing your stickers.
While copious amounts of text might be necessary when creating a leaflet, flyer, or brochure, the aim of a sticker is to capture people’s attention and build brand awareness, not explain the ins and outs of your brand/product/service.
Therefore, your sticker should include the minimum amount of text necessary to get the message across.
In some cases, this might even be no text at all.
If you take a look at the sticker above – for Linux – you’ll see that nothing, apart from the brand logo, is used. There’s no brand name, no slogan, nothing.
The reason for this is simple: the target demographic for Linux will already likely be aware of what that icon represents; they don’t need any text to explain it to them.
Plus, these stickers are likely to be used predominantly by those familiar with Linux who wish to “fly the flag” for the operating system, and let their friends know that they’re part of the Linux club, so to speak.





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In other cases, a little more text might be needed, as demonstrated by these stickers for the International Start-up Festival.
You can see that the stickers not only give the name of the event, but also the date on which it will take place.
This allows people to get a general sense of what event is all about (i.e. start-ups), and whether or not they’re likely to be able to attend, within seconds of glancing at the sticker.
Remember, the stickers job isn’t to give people all of the information about a product/service/brand/event, but to simply introduce them to it. So, if a person see’s the sticker, likes the sound of the event, and also believes they may be able to attend, he/she can simply look-up more information online.

#4 – Keep Placement Locations in Mind
Although this differs from business to business (depending on the nature of your product service and your target demographic), there are likely to be certain places that your stickers are most likely to end up.
If you take the Linux stickers featured in the previous point, for example, chances are that they will end up being stuck to peoples’ computers, laptops, laptop cases, and so forth.
Most computers and laptops are similar colours: black, grey, or possibly white.
You’ll notice that no matter which one of these colours the persons computer happens to be, the sticker will always stand out, mainly due to the contrasting yellow colour.


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If you take a look at the stickers above – which are also for a particular version of Linux – you’ll notice that when placed on a black, grey or white computer/laptop case, the design would be much more likely to blend-in and therefore, wouldn’t create much of an impact.
This is because there would be very little contrast between the colour of the stickers and the colour of the computer case.
So, you can see why it might make sense to keep in mind the placement location(s) of your stickers during the design process, as by doing so, you can design the stickers for maximum contrast.

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Here is another example of this concept in action, this time for a consultancy company.
You can see from the example above that these stickers tended to end up in random outdoor locations in urban areas (i.e. cities).
You’ll notice that the colour green is typically in short supply in such locations and therefore, green was the perfect colour to choose for these stickers, as it ensures that they stand out from their surroundings.

#5 – Keep it “On Brand”

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Following the tips laid out above will all be in vein if you don’t also make sure to keep your sticker “on brand”.
While some stickers are created for purposes other than brand awareness, it still pays to ensure consistency between all branded marketing materials, and that includes stickers.
If you fail to keep your sticker on brand, you’ll fail before you even begin, as there’s virtually zero chance of building up any brand awareness for your company.
So, to keep things on brand, make sure to follow the same colour scheme as the rest of your marketing materials (at least roughly, although using slightly brighter variations of your brand colours can often work well), use the same typography, the same personality, and so forth.


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Here’s a great example from The Toy Store (above).
Notice the consistency between all of their branded products including envelopes, letterheads, business cards, and stickers.
The stickers utilise the same colour scheme and typography as the rest of the branded products, and vice-versa. They’re also colourful, eye-catching, simple (i.e. not loaded with information), and keep text to a minimum.

Conclusion
By following the tips laid out above, you should be well on your way to creating a beautiful sticker design on behalf of your company (or client).
While the rules aren’t set in stone – you may certainly struggle to create a design that fulfils all of the criteria – the tips are a great starting point for just about every sticker design project.
Remember that 99% of the time, the job of your sticker is to create brand awareness; so sticking to point #5 is especially important.

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Microsoft launches free, 90-day trial of Windows 10

Windows 10 Enterprise edition, but it gives you a chance to test-drive the new OS before deciding if you really want to upgrade from Windows 7 or 8.1. However, there are some key drawbacks.

Microsoft has rolled out a free evaluation version of Windows 10 Enterprise edition so you can play with it for 90 days if you're still on the fence about upgrading.

On Wednesday, Microsoft officially started pushing outWindows 10 as a free upgrade to Windows 7 and 8.1 users who reserved a copy. The upgrade is free for one year, so if you haven't yet installed it, you have plenty of time to decide whether or not to dive in. The upgrade naturally wipes out your existing installation of Windows 7 or 8.1, though you can roll back if for whatever reason you don't want to stick with Windows 10.

Another option, though, is to install the free 90-day trial of Windows 10 Enterprise edition to check out the new OS.

But if the Windows 10 upgrade itself is free, why would you need to bother with a free evaluation edition? Well, installing the trial version gives you three months to check out Windows 10. During that time, you can still maintain your current Windows 7 or 8.1 environment for your everyday tasks. But -- yes, there's always a but -- the Enterprise edition is geared for large businesses so it doesn't offer the same features you'll find in the Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro editions that Microsoft has been pushing out as a free upgrade.

The downsides? Most of the apps that come with Windows 10 Home and Pro aren't available in the Enterprise edition. So you won't find Mail, Calendar, People, Photos, Cortana or other apps. And the Windows app store isn't available either, so you can't download apps. But despite these limitations, the Enterprise edition at least gives you a taste of Windows 10.

So, how would you install the Windows 10 Enterprise trial edition and still maintain your existing Windows 7 or 8.1 environment if you're so inclined? Here, you have three options.

1) If you have a spare or test PC that's lying around not doing anything, you can install the Enterprise edition cleanly on that PC and use that to check out Windows 10.

2) If you have a PC with enough disk space, you can create a dual-boot setup. A dual-boot setup allows you to run more than one operating system on the same PC by storing them in separate partitions. When you turn on your PC, a boot menu appears, allowing you decide whether you want to launch Windows 10 or Windows 7 or 8.1. This CNET how-to article explains how to set up a dual-boot environment for Windows 7 and 8, but the process would be the same for Windows 10 and Windows 7 or 8.1. And this article from Microsoft specifically explains how to dual-boot Windows 10 with another version of Windows.

3) As as for that third option, you can set up a free virtual machine program in Windows 7 or 8.1. A virtual machine program lets you install and run Windows 10 in its own environment within Windows 7 or 8.1. There are two free virtual machine programs that you can download and install to create your VM environment. One is called VirtualBox and is made by Oracle; the other isVMware Player made by VMware. This article by CNET's Rick Broida explains how to set up a virtual machine using VirtualBox. This article by CNET's Tom McNamara covers similar ground. And this article by yours truly explains how to run Windows 8 in a virtual machine using either VirtualBox or VMware Player.

Instead of using the Windows 10 Technical Preview as explained in the above stories, you would use the new Windows 10 Enterprise 90-trial edition.

• To download the Windows 10 Enterprise 90-trial edition, go to Microsoft's TechNet Evaluation Center.
• Click the sign-in button to download Windows 10 Enterprise. Sign in with your Microsoft account credentials.
• Click the "Register to continue" button to register for the Windows 10 Enterprise edition.
• You then have to choose whether to download the 32-bit version or the 64-bit version. Unless you're using a very old computer, choose the 64-bit version.
• You then choose your language.
• You're then prompted to download the installation file, which is formatted as an ISO file you can copy to a USB drive or burn onto a DVD. Make sure the option to Save File is selected and then click OK.
• After the file has downloaded, you'll need a software program to copy the ISO file to a USB stick or to burn it onto a DVD. A good program for this is the freeWindows USB/DVD Download Tool. Download and install this program.
• As you run the program, you can then decide whether you want to copy the ISO file to a USB stick or burn it to a DVD. After you've completed the process, you can use the USB stick or DVD to install the Windows 10 Enterprise edition.

The basic installation steps are the same as outlined in the CNET articles mentioned previously. However, there is one step in installing the Windows 10 Enterprise edition that may be confusing.

At one point, the Enterprise edition asks if you want to join an Azure AD or join a domain. Unless you're actually using the Enterprise edition in a large organization, neither of those options would apply or make sense. You do have to choose one or the other, however, to get past this screen. Choose either option.

You're then asked to create a local account for Windows 10. Create a username and password, and Windows 10 will finally load. What if you want to use a Microsoft account for your Windows 10 trial version, so that you can sync it with the settings and options on your Windows 8.1 computer? No problem.

• Click the Start button and then click on Settings. At the Settings screen, click the category for Accounts.
• At the Accounts screen, make sure that the "Your account" setting is selected.
• On the right pane, click the option to Sign in with a Microsoft account instead.
• Type the username and password for your Microsoft account.
• At the next screen, decide if you want to create a PIN for logging in.
• At the "Your account" screen, click the link to Verify your identity on this PC.
• You'll receive a code on your mobile phone that you'll use to verify your identity.

Yes, the Windows 10 Enterprise trial edition does have several limitations and missing features compared with the Windows 10 Home and Pro editions. But it is free. And running it in a dual-boot or virtual machine setup means you don't have to wipe out your Windows 7 or 8.1 environment. So if you're game, it may just be worth checking out.

Update, 1:15 p.m. PT: Adds details on where and how to download Windows 10 Enterprise evaluation edition.

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12 iPhone Storage Tricks That Everyone Should Know

1. Find out which apps are hogging the most space.

Did you know you can see which apps are taking up the most space in just a couple of taps? Head to Settings > General > Usage, and then click Manage Storage. You'll then see the greediest apps and can figure out if any need deleting.

2. Delete apps you don't use.

On a related note, if you're one for downloading apps and games and getting bored after five minutes, make sure they're not still clogging up your phone's storage.

3. Be choosy with your music.

Be real — how many songs do you actually listen to regularly? Delete the ones that aren't in regular rotation by swiping right to left on any song, and consider downloading Spotify to listen to any music you want without hogging your phone's memory.

4. Optimize your phone storage.

iOS 8 gives you the ability to store lower resolution "optimized" versions of photos and videos on your iPhone, while uploading the full resolution versions to your iCloud account. Simply go to Settings > Photos & camera > Optimize phone storage, and you'll never have to panic-delete photos again.

5. Delete those zillions of texts.

Sentimental types, brace yourselves. You're not helping anyone by hoarding all those texts on your phone. In iOS 8, you can change your settings to automatically delete read texts after a month (instead of the auto setting "forever"), which will prevent iMessage causing you storage woes in the future.

6. Back up your photos and documents.

Whether you upload your content directly onto your laptop via a USB, or use an app like Dropbox to store it online, getting your photos, videos and documents OFF your phone is the undisputed fastest way to up your storage.

7. Don't keep both photos when using HDR.

If you use HDR mode to capture better photos, be aware that it is automatically set to save both versions of the image. Go to Settings > Photos & Camera and deselect Keep Normal Photo to make sure you're not doubling up on the same snaps.

8. Clear your browser history.

Yes, it's a bit annoying to have to log into your regular sites again, but you'd be amazed at how much memory your browser history takes up. Simply head to Settings > Safari > and tap on Clear Cookies.

9. Stop saving your Instagrams automatically.

If you're a frequent Instagrammer, you might be surprised by how much space your duplicated Instagram snaps are taking up. Go into your settings and make sure you switch the "Save Original Photo" toggle to off.

10. Delete played podcasts .

We know you're STILL struggling to get over the end of Serial, but the podcasts you've already listened to are hogging up valuable space. To only keep the podcasts you've not listened to yet, open the Podcasts app and go to Settings > Episodes to keep > All unplayed.

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How to Waterproof Your Phone — Or Fix It After It Takes a Dip

Accidental "pocket washes" and dreaded "toilet bowl slips" have long been the banes of a phone owner's existence. More and more sealants are hitting the market, which are supposed to help prevent liquid damage — but do their claims really hold water? Our experts at The Good Housekeeping Institute tested two promising options: Liquipel ($60, liquipel.com), a mail-in service, and Impervious ($30,invisiblewaterproofing.com), a DIY spray, to see how well they kept our cells safe.

What We Found

Both phones worked after tests that simulated light H2O exposure (soft rainfall, a spill mopped up quickly). But neither survived the equivalent of hard, continuous rain (the Liquipel phone lasted a bit longer before blacking out). Liquipel claims to help with spills, rain, and accidental immersion (say, in the toilet), but not to prevent damage if the phone is underwater for a while. Impervious claims to protect a phone submerged in up to one meter, but only if you've taken it apart and sprayed the internal circuitry first, which we opted not to do, since this can void a phone's warranty.

The Bottom Line

Both can offer protection against minor spills and light rain, but if your device stays submerged longer than a minute or so, it's likely sunk. Bona fide waterproof phones exist, but can be pricey, and waterproof cases are an option if you don't mind a bulky design. Otherwise, if phone meets pool, follow our instructions below.

How to Rescue a Waterlogged Phone

Whoops! If the worst happened, don't panic. If your phone blacks out, don't turn it on. And even if it's still "working," turn it off immediately.

The Pro Fix:

Try TekDry.com. For $50, they'll work magic (there's a 75% success rate if the phone arrives within two days and hasn't been plugged in); if they can't fix it, you don't pay.

DIY Steps:

1. Dry it ASAP. If it was briefly submerged or lightly soaked, dry the phone, battery, battery casing, and SIM card with an absorbent cloth.

2. Bag it. Place phone and removable parts (battery, SIM card) in a sealed bag of absorbent material (uncooked rice, cereal, silica packs) and set in a warm spot.

3. Wait. Have patience – give it 24 hours before you remove your phone from its safe haven and try to turn it on again.

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