We wish you a Merry Christmas and a successful 2016!

The Ashampoo blog joins the Christmas celebration and wishes you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

For once, you find me slightly saddened: The Christmas party is over and I have nothing scandalous to report. The party raged on until 6 in the morning without noteworthy incidents - shame!
Quite the opposite, we are now experiencing something we rarely notice in the busy beehive that is Ashampoo - peace and quiet. Little by little, colleagues are taking their well-deserved Christmas leave, cookies are left untouched (unthinkable under normal circumstances) and the steps in the corridors become gentler and gentler. The email inbox, usually under constant fire, now fills with Christmas greetings from our translators, partners and customers alike. Sometimes, an hour goes by before we receive a new message - unbelievable.

For once, you find me slightly saddened: The Christmas party is over and I have nothing scandalous to report. The party raged on until 6 in the morning without noteworthy incidents - shame!
Quite the opposite, we are now experiencing something we rarely notice in the busy beehive that is Ashampoo - peace and quiet. Little by little, colleagues are taking their well-deserved Christmas leave, cookies are left untouched (unthinkable under normal circumstances) and the steps in the corridors become gentler and gentler. The email inbox, usually under constant fire, now fills with Christmas greetings from our translators, partners and customers alike. Sometimes, an hour goes by before we receive a new message - unbelievable.


The scratching game

Scratch? Sounds weird but Ashampoo will tackle this problem as professionally as always.

Whenever we hold special offers you always get to see the final result only. 
But you may be missing out on the occasional anecdote and *the tried and tested Ashampoo decision making process.*

Whenever we hold special offers you always get to see the final result only.
But you may be missing out on the occasional anecdote and the tried and tested Ashampoo decision making process.


The shocking confessions of very young programmers - confession no. 4 will surprise you!

How curiosity turned into a million dollar business. Curious? Read on.

No, the confession won't shock you, our programmers *just aren't that bad* at least as far as I know. I'll let you know when that changes. Still, the headline is piquing our curiosity and may lead to a **most annoying phenomenon**.

No, the confession won't shock you, our programmers just aren't that bad at least as far as I know. I'll let you know when that changes. Still, the headline is piquing our curiosity and may lead to a most annoying phenomenon.


The struggle for survival

Ads are annoying but getting rid of them may turn the Internet into a wasteland.

Possibly everyone uses free, ad-based services on the Internet. Whether it's email, sports results or current news, nearly every free offer relies on ads for financing. This shouldn't be a problem, it's simple give-and-take and no-one would offer a service out of charity alone. But that's just pure theory as long as an essential element is missing: **common sense**. In this case that means a *reasonable dose of advertising*.

Possibly everyone uses free, ad-based services on the Internet. Whether it's email, sports results or current news, nearly every free offer relies on ads for financing. This shouldn't be a problem, it's simple give-and-take and no-one would offer a service out of charity alone. But that's just pure theory as long as an essential element is missing: common sense. In this case that means a reasonable dose of advertising.


A face only a mother can love

Photo editing is cosmetic surgery without scars which makes it especially enticing. Read on to learn how to find out when you've gone too far!

Do you consider yourself vain? I don't. We're supposed to age gracefully, live in harmony with ourselves and not be vain as that would be foolish we're taught from early on.
But looking at profile pictures in social networks I can't help but wonder how all of these people can look so pretty darn perfect. How can my neighbor that rather resembles Martin Luther suddenly ooze *the glamor of Sharon Stone*? What happened to the impressing double chin of my former work mate? And where did the wrinkles of my former training supervisor go? Looking at my own pictures I get the distinct feeling that something has changed.

Do you consider yourself vain? I don't. We're supposed to age gracefully, live in harmony with ourselves and not be vain as that would be foolish we're taught from early on.
But looking at profile pictures in social networks I can't help but wonder how all of these people can look so pretty darn perfect. How can my neighbor that rather resembles Martin Luther suddenly ooze the glamor of Sharon Stone? What happened to the impressing double chin of my former work mate? And where did the wrinkles of my former training supervisor go? Looking at my own pictures I get the distinct feeling that something has changed.


No good deed goes unpunished

Helping others with PC issues is a noble thing to do but there's a downside.

I recently saw a woman get interviewed on TV about her son-in-law. What kind of a person he was, if they were getting along and whether she approved of her daughter's choice. After an agonizingly long pause she remarked:**"Well, he knows his way around computers. That can come in handy."** That's the good thing about knowing your way around computers. At least *you can make yourself useful* every once in a while, forget about character. Computer specialists are the unsung heroes even if all they do is reboot a machine, terminate a process or perform a Flash update. Savor these moments because there's a (incredibly annoying) downside to all of this!

I recently saw a woman get interviewed on TV about her son-in-law. What kind of a person he was, if they were getting along and whether she approved of her daughter's choice. After an agonizingly long pause she remarked:&quot;Well, he knows his way around computers. That can come in handy.&quot; That's the good thing about knowing your way around computers. At least you can make yourself useful every once in a while, forget about character. Computer specialists are the unsung heroes even if all they do is reboot a machine, terminate a process or perform a Flash update. Savor these moments because there's a (incredibly annoying) downside to all of this!


The biodiversity of social networks

It's quite easy to figure out what type of person you're dealing with!

*Do you like humans?* Every human? Kudos to anyone who can answer yes to both questions! A friend of mine postulated that 50% of humanity is made up of disgruntled individuals, an extreme view, admittedly. But it's feasible, especially when you take a closer look at social networks. What was originally a meeting place for nerds has become a representative cross-section of our society, pros and cons notwithstanding. Still, it's quite easy to figure out what type of person you're dealing with....

Do you like humans? Every human? Kudos to anyone who can answer yes to both questions! A friend of mine postulated that 50% of humanity is made up of disgruntled individuals, an extreme view, admittedly. But it's feasible, especially when you take a closer look at social networks. What was originally a meeting place for nerds has become a representative cross-section of our society, pros and cons notwithstanding. Still, it's quite easy to figure out what type of person you're dealing with....


Amazon - the truth behind the ads

Often, the more an offer is advertised the less clear it becomes what it is all about. With Amazon Prime, it is even more difficult as the name is used for a bundle of different services. What’s in it for you?

Often, the more an offer is advertised *the less clear it becomes what it is all about*. With Amazon Prime, it is even more difficult as the name is used for a bundle of different services. Amazon is bundling products that originally were meant to be separate. "Prime Instant Video" and free premium shipping seem to be the two most important aspects. But what exactly do they mean and is Amazon Prime really worth $99 a year?

Often, the more an offer is advertised the less clear it becomes what it is all about. With Amazon Prime, it is even more difficult as the name is used for a bundle of different services. Amazon is bundling products that originally were meant to be separate. &quot;Prime Instant Video&quot; and free premium shipping seem to be the two most important aspects. But what exactly do they mean and is Amazon Prime really worth $99 a year?


Now what, Facebook?

Life’s not all fun and games with Facebook. Find out what drives even experienced Internet veterans nuts here.

I do like Facebook. You stay in touch with nice people, share in their lives, meet long lost school mates and learn all the latest gossip about your town. Yes, there are embarrassing extroverts in gruesome poses but, in all honesty: *There's an element of comedy even in their crude displays.* Things take a turn for the worse when not so nice guys use Facebook to go off about anything that doesn't fit into their concept of the world. To prevent this and put an early stop to virtual mobs, Facebook has come up with community guidelines. They basically state that we should all be nice to each other and (important!) should not show too much naked skin. Too bad that doesn't work.

I do like Facebook. You stay in touch with nice people, share in their lives, meet long lost school mates and learn all the latest gossip about your town. Yes, there are embarrassing extroverts in gruesome poses but, in all honesty: There's an element of comedy even in their crude displays. Things take a turn for the worse when not so nice guys use Facebook to go off about anything that doesn't fit into their concept of the world. To prevent this and put an early stop to virtual mobs, Facebook has come up with community guidelines. They basically state that we should all be nice to each other and (important!) should not show too much naked skin. Too bad that doesn't work.


The button that destroys your PC

As children, we learn from adults. The dawn of the computer age brought a lot of change and reversed that role for many of us. Since I make a living off software and writing about software, I am a welcome guest in the homes of many elderly PC users. That's usually not a problem, they have taught me about the world some 30 years ago so I should gladly return the favor in today's world of computers. *I should ...*

But there are **two mysterious phenomena** that remain inexplicable to me. Two whimsical conditions that keep *intelligent human beings* from sending off an email or burning a CD...

As children, we learn from adults. The dawn of the computer age brought a lot of change and reversed that role for many of us. Since I make a living off software and writing about software, I am a welcome guest in the homes of many elderly PC users. That's usually not a problem, they have taught me about the world some 30 years ago so I should gladly return the favor in today's world of computers. I should ...
But there are two mysterious phenomena that remain inexplicable to me. Two whimsical conditions that keep intelligent human beings from sending off an email or burning a CD...


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