Why we need web analytics?

I think we all know analytics is important.  That’s probably why it gets installed in the first place.  Website analytics tracks visitor behavior on your website so you can see how many prospects visited your website and then which pages they visited.  Think of analytics like your report card.  When you log in and view the historical data, you’ll see whether your online marketing is passing or failing.

For example, if you look at organic traffic over the past year and it looks more like a ski slope falling gradually from left to right, then you know your SEO is not working.   That means you’re actually losing traffic month after month despite your investments.  On the flip side, if the graph is trending steeply upward from left to right, then things are lookin’ good.  But that’s just traffic.

I’m sure you are well aware that traffic does not equal sales.  That’s why Google Analytics also has a nifty section called “Conversions” or “Goals” where you can define key actions on your website.  For example, you can set up a Conversion to measure how many prospects complete a contact form.  Or if you have an e-commerce website, then you can measure every sale and even see revenue data within Google Analytics.

There’s a ton of data and it can be sliced and diced in many different ways to help you make better decisions about your marketing.  That’s the whole point here.  Rather than invest in SEO, social media, email marketing, advertising, and pray that it’s all “working,” you can actually measure the results of each marketing channel.

What Data Should You Monitor?

The answer to this question really depends on your business. However, every business should monitor some basic metrics.

The first question you’ll want to answer is, “Where is my traffic coming from?”  Is it from SEO, paid advertising, a referral partner, social media, or some other source?  To answer that question, use the Channels report in Google Analytics.  The Channels report is within the Acquisition section on the left navigation and that report will break down all of your traffic by channel.  For many businesses this will be an eye opener.  One of my clients was shocked when she saw how much more traffic was coming in organically compared to the advertising traffic.  Sometimes your gut is wrong about where your traffic is coming from.

The second question is, “Which traffic source is driving leads and sales?“  This is much harder to answer depending on your type of business.  If you have an eCommerce website, then make sure you or your webmaster get e-commerce analytics set up properly.  That will allow you to run reports to see exactly how much revenue you’re generating from each of your marketing channels.  Go back to the Channels report and you’ll see the Conversions per Channel on the far right.

However, many businesses convert sales offline, so it’s not possible to automatically report on revenue as with an e-commerce website.  The solution is to set up Conversions, or Goals, like I mentioned above.  A Conversion can be when a prospect completes a contact form, requests a coupon, or maybe when she requests a demo.  Again, the exact conversion will depend on your sales process.  The idea is to track a key step in your sales cycle so you can then see which Channel is driving more leads and sales.

As Peter Drucker, known for inventing modern business management, said: “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.”

And with that in mind, I’ll leave you with a famous Joe Paterno quote, “Today, you’re either going to get better or you’re going to get worse, but you’re not going to stay the same.  So which is it going to be?”

The Google

Google is finding more and more ways to integrate itself into nearly every aspect of our lives.

Google has the largest search engine in the world, biggest video platform (YouTube), biggest web browser (Chrome), most-used email service (Gmail,) and the largest mobile operating system (Android).

What that all means is that Google essentially knows everything about us - be that what we search for, what ads we click on, what we write about, what we watch, and what apps we like.

Google's moonshot projects - like Google Glass and driverless cars - are merely the next steps in Google's quest to become a total knowledge company. Google's driverless cars mean the company will know your driving habits and where you like to go. With Glass, people can access information in real-time without having to check a phone.

Google's recent acquisitions hint that it's about to go even further. It's moving toward knowing everything about us - not just in the online world, but also in the offline world.

Google's motto has long been "Don't be evil." By and large, it has kept its word.

But with the number of resources and data it has, envisioning what Google could do with of its army of robots, drones, and satellites can be somewhat terrifying.

Meanwhile, the National Security Association has access to all of the information we freely give Google, albeit not with Google's permission. In order to make government spying more difficult,Google has since announced that it plans to encrypt all Gmail messages while they're in transit.

Google is doing its best to assure people that their data is secure, but in reality, the U.S. government still has access to your communications on Google's servers.

"The email provider can still see the message," Seth Schoen, a senior technologist with privacy group Electronic Frontier Foundation, told Investor's Business Daily. "They're just encrypting it when it's going over the Internet, not when the message is in their own system."

The only way to achieve true security would be for Google to encrypt your email to the extent that only you could decrypt and read it. But because Google needs to see what we're talking about in order to serve up ads, it seems unlikely that Google would offer full encryption. The scary part is that there's only so much Google can do to prevent the government from requesting and accessing its data.

Creative Ways to Sell your software

1. Use a reliable cloud hosting service instead of managing everything in-house. Why spend the time and money on building and maintaining your infrastructure when you can host in the cloud? "In just a few hours, a hosting provider can provision dedicated servers and cloud servers for you, and your business will be up and running with limited cost and risk," explains Emil Sayegh, the CEO and president of Codero Hosting, a provider of dedicated, managed and cloud hosting services

Other benefits of hosting your software in the cloud: "You can do all your testing and development in their data center and then deploy into production," he says. "Once in production, if the load increases or decreases you can scale your infrastructure on demand without owning a single piece of equipment, or worrying about server maintenance and upkeep."

2. Beta test. "To sell software online it's important to get feedback before investing too many resources into the development of your site or product," says Phil Sharp, senior marketing manager, UserTesting.com. "Mock up the simplest version of what you're offering, get it in front of people and get their brutally honest feedback. This will help you improve your product early and save you thousands of dollars down the road."

3. Offer a free trial. Especially if you are "a small, unknown company, you need to provide something to help potential customers see that your product is not a scam, and it will work for them," says Kelly Wilkerson, cofounder, Decipher Media, which offers desktop solutions for managing iPhone data. "Slightly over half of the 'Buy' button presses on our Web page come through the 'Register' button within our trial software, rather than our regular product page on the site. Testimonials help. Software safety badges help. But nothing helps as much as a free trial."

4. Consider a freemium model. "Another option is to offer freemium versions of your software--free access to basic features with the option to access premium features for an upgrade cost," says Michelle Nerlinger, director of Marketing at SafeNet, a data protection provider. "It's a smart up-sell path that can encourage paid licenses." Adds Ryan Connors, the marketing manager at Apptegic, a customer engagement solution provider, "By breaking down the barriers to adoption, you'll find people more eager and willing to try out your software and service."

5. Show customers you understand their pain. "Whether it's telling stories to highlight how your software makes life easier, or alleviating fearful or cautious emotions that come with a potentially substantial investment by providing valuable information, creating human connections around your product is a powerful way to stand out against the competition," says Seth Lieberman, the CEO of SnapApp, a marketing platform for creating interactive content to drive leads and engagement.

6. Include product feature/benefit comparison tables. Including "product feature and benefit comparison tables, which that show your product in the best light, is essential," says David Howard, a principle at marketing firm Consultiq. "They summarize in an easy to read format the tradeoffs that a buyer has to consider in the purchase cycle. So long as you have a competitive offering, there's no reason to be afraid to do this."5. Show customers you understand their pain. "Whether it's telling stories to highlight how your software makes life easier, or alleviating fearful or cautious emotions that come with a potentially substantial investment by providing valuable information, creating human connections around your product is a powerful way to stand out against the competition," says Seth Lieberman, the CEO of SnapApp, a marketing platform for creating interactive content to drive leads and engagement.

7. Solicit independent third-party reviews. "Anyone can tell you their products are worth buying, so it is best to have an honest third party referral," says Jennifer Borun, senior marketing director, GoingOn Networks, a developer of social collaboration and communication solutions for higher education. "Encouraging your customers to tell their story of why they selected your product and how it meets their challenge is the best way to get your message out and sell your product. You can capture these stories in case studies, an interactive online forum or blog postings."

In addition, "try to get a well-respected publication to test your solution/offering," suggests Allan Thorvaldsen, CEO,Panorama9, a cloud-based IT management platform. "This will validate your product (if it is any good) and generate traffic towards your Website for no cost."

8. Offer a money-back guarantee. "Studies have shown that a trusted and well-presented money back guarantee can actually increase sales by up to 40 percent," says Stephen Dodd, CEO ofOfficeTime.net, a developer of time tracking software. As for how long the guarantee should be for, Dodd suggests 120 days, which is what OfficeTime.net offers customers.

"A short guarantee makes it more likely the customer will take you up on it," Doddsays. "They feel a time pressure to cash in the guarantee before it's too late. With a long guarantee, the customer feels they have more time to make up their mind." Moreover, he says, "the longer the customer spends using your app, the more time they have to get to know you and fall in love with what you've created--and the less likely they will request a refund."

9. Include a phone number, in addition to an email address, on your Website. "By adding our phone number to our Website, we increased sales and not calls," says John Hurley, the cofounder of the business class file sharing service SmartFile. "Sure an email is easier to administer, but showing people you have a phone number gives potential customers a sense of comfort knowing that you are a real business."

TECHNOLOGY and INNOVATION MANAGEMENT

TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION

Technological change is a combination of two activities invention and innovation. Invention is the development of a new idea that has useful applications. Innovation is a more complex term, referring to how an invention is brought into commercial usage. The distinction between the two is very important. As an example, Henry Ford did not invent the automobile; companies in Europe such as Daimler were producing cars well before Ford founded his company. Henry Ford instead focused on the innovation of automobiles, creating a method (mass production) by which cars could be manufactured and distributed cheaply to a large number of customers.

The practice of technology management and the development of technology strategy require an understanding of the different forms of innovation and the features of each form.

• Incremental innovations exploit the potential of established designs, and often reinforce the dominance of established firms. They improve the existing functional capabilities of a technology by means of small-scale improvements in the technology's value, adding attributes such as performance, safety, quality, and cost.
• Generational or next-generation technology innovations are incremental innovations that lead to the creation of a new but not radically different system.
• Radical innovations introduce new concepts that depart significantly from past practices and help create products or processes based on a different set of engineering or scientific principles and often open up entirely new markets and potential applications. They provide new functional capabilities unavailable in previous versions of the product or service. More specifically related to business, radical innovation has been defined as "the commercialization of new products and technologies that have strong impact on the market, in terms of offering wholly new benefits, and the firm, in terms of its ability to create new businesses." (O'Connor and Ayers)
• Architectural innovations serve to extend the radical-incremental classification of innovation and introduce the notion of changes in the way in which the components of a product or system are linked together.

There are two important steps required to properly manage corporate innovation. First is to correctly identify a project as a new product vs. a technological innovation, so a proper development process can be used (the first may be a more traditional stage-gate process; the second should be more cyclical and iterative). Second, managers need to identify what category an innovation falls under, since each type of innovation has its own challenges. In the aircraft industry, for example, an improvement in the construction of a wing is an incremental innovation. Such a new technology can be introduced relatively easily and integrated with existing products. An example of a generational innovation is the introduction of the Boeing 777, a new class of aircraft different from previous models. While similar in appearance to the 767 and its predecessor, the 777 introduced a whole new set of technologies and capabilities, requiring tremendous investment by Boeing and its business partners. A radical innovation in aircraft was the introduction of the jet engine, which completely changed the performance of aircraft compared to propeller-driven airplanes. Finally, the concept of a flying machine as envisioned by the Wright Brothers exemplifies an architectural innovation. Prior to the Wright brothers, the concept of mechanical flight had been invented and discussed. The Wright brothers actually developed and demonstrated a design that made human flight a reality.

INNOVATION MANAGEMENT

Invention is an activity often identified with a single engineer or scientist working alone in a laboratory until he or she happens upon an idea that will change the world, like the light bulb. In reality, industrial invention, at least since the time of Edison, has involved many people working together in a collaborative setting to create new technology. Innovation requires an even broader set of people, including manufacturing engineers, marketing and sales managers, investors and financial managers, and business strategists. The methods for organizing this set of people to bring a new idea from the laboratory to the marketplace form the basis of the discipline of innovation management.

Innovation traditionally has been viewed as a linear process, which involves several stages in sequence: research, development, manufacturing, marketing, and ultimately, reaching the customer.

In each step, a group of employees take the idea as it is passed to them from the previous stage, modify it to accomplish a specific function, and pass it on to the next stage. Each team involved in the process has a clear function. Researchers are responsible for creating a working demonstration of the technology, developers and engineers turn it into something that can be produced, manufacturing engineers actually turn out the product, and marketers sell it to customers.

This linear model of innovation has proven to be a misconception of the process, however. For example, problems during the manufacturing process may require researchers to go back and change the technology to facilitate production. The technology may reach the marketing stage, only to turn out to be something no one wants to buy. Technology cannot be handed off between stages like a baton in a relay race. In any case, managing innovation in a sequential process would take a very long time, especially if each stage needs to perfect the technology before it can move on to the next stage. Some models simply add on to the linear stage-gate development approach, adding R&D discovery or planning phases to the front end of the process.

An alternative to the linear model of innovation was offered by the expanded, chain-linked model of innovation. This model captures the interactions between the different stages of innovation in a more complete fashion. Some of the important aspects of innovation highlighted by this model are:

• Technologies can move both forwards and backwards in the process, for example going back to the lab if further development is needed.
• Downstream stages (such as marketing) can be consulted for input at earlier stages (such as design and test).
• Scientific research and engineering knowledge contributes to every stage in the innovation process.
• Most firms create technology platforms, which are generic architectures that become the basis for a variety of technology-based products and services.
• The knowledge and skills needed for innovation are developed by communities of practitioners, not by individuals, and many of those communities exist outside of a particular firm (for example, in universities).
• Users of technology can be an important source of ideas for improvements or even new innovations with substantial market potential.

While the chain-linked model of innovation is more difficult to comprehend and analyze than the linear model, it is ultimately more rewarding as it tracks more closely to the way that innovations actually progress on their way from the laboratory to the marketplace.

Another innovation process suggested was new technology exploitation (NTE), as suggested by Bigwood, which resides somewhere between new product development and "pure science." He defined NTE as "the testing of novel technical approaches specifically aimed at achieving a pre-defined result (target performance, cost reduction, etc)." It is an iterative process, allowing for the more cyclical learning process of scientific discovery, but clearly working toward tangible goals and benefits.

Another technology management process, Strategic Technology Roadmapping (TRM) was discussed by Rachel Wells et al in Research Technology Management. Technology road mapping is both a process and a communication. TRM aims to "integrate technology issues considerations with the strategic business context, to identify those technologies that have the greatest potential to meet business goals, and to accelerate the transfer of technology into products." TRM makes use of visual aids to show links between R&D programs, capability targets, and requirements. It also seeks to help coordinate technology plans at a strategic level, and to help senior managers make better technology investment decisions. It also helps to manage conflicts between technology "push" and market "pull," which are discussed in more detail below.

Skills to become an android developer

1. JAVA

Java is the language that underpins all Android development. For those who have gained most of their coding experience in languages like JavaScript and Ruby, there can be a learning curve when picking up Java for the first time. Java, like JavaScript and Ruby, is object-oriented, but it is also stricter about the way it handles data types.Developers have to be much more thoughtful with their code, defining the types of data their applications plan to work with, and more carefully allocating scarce memory resources. “You can’t afford to have ambiguity in a mobile environment, and Java makes sure that there’s no confusion about what each component of your application is trying to do,” says James Traver, a seasoned Android developer who now teaches the Web Development Immersive at GA. “You end up writing less code, but your code is more elegant and precise.”

2. UNDERSTANDING OF XML

XML was created as a standard way to encode data for internet-based applications. It is a structured markup language, sharing many features in common with HTML – you may recognize the angled brackets, the <opening> and </closing> tag types, and the deep nesting of elements. In short, it allows information to be passed between devices in a way that can be understood consistently. In the Android world, developers use XML to create layouts that serve as the foundational UI definition for Android applications. Developers can also write Java code that modifies layout elements once the application is already running, in the same way that web developers use JavaScript to modify the elements in their website at runtime, but mastering the basics of XML is an important skill for Android developers.

3. ANDROID SDK

SDK stands for Software Development Kit, which, though it may conjure up images of a briefcase full of spy tools, is actually just a fancy name for a set of pre-packaged code. The Android SDKs are modules of Java code that give developers access to device functions like the camera and accelerometer. One key component of the Android SDK is a library called Gradle. Let’s say that you want to integrate Facebook with your app. You would download a code library (or SDK) from Facebook, and then tell Gradle that you’re using it, so that when your application compiles, your code stays well organized. New Android developers will spend much of their time discovering how the various SDKs for Android can be pieced together in different ways to put together an application. While this will take time, each Android SDK comes with many examples that can be found in the official documentation, making it easy to understand what each package does and how to plug it into your app.

4. ANDROID STUDIO

The integrated development environment (IDE) of choice for Android developers is called Android Studio. Android Studio is built on top of the well-respected IntelliJ IDE, and it comes with great out-of-the-box support for many of the most common Android SDKs. Android Studio also features many of the capabilities developers expect of a full-featured IDE. Code completion helps make auto-complete suggestions as you type. Code debuggers let you step through your code to identify the source of errors. There are even more advanced tools like memory and CPU monitors, helping developers make sure their code will maintain high performance on a mobile device. Android Studio is a must have for the Android developer.

5. APIS

As an Android developer, you’ll likely want to interact with many other services. For example, you may want to allow your users to access a calendar from a third party service, or check the stock market. Many companies offer APIs, and will tell you exactly how to query them for data in a consistent, secure way. While you’re free to interact with any existing API, Google also makes it very easy to connect to their own APIs from your Android app. For example, you can easily use Google APIs to monitor the location of your users, let them search for local places, and reference a map from within your application. You’ll want to get comfortable exploring the nuances of different APIs, and recognize that no two APIs are exactly alike.

6. DATABASES

If your app handles large amounts of data, most of it probably won’t live on your device at any given time. Instead, your app will likely interact with a database living outside of your phone. Cloud services like Firebase or Parse provide simple APIs to store data in the cloud and make it available across devices. These platforms also often provide Java libraries that you can plug into your app, making it easy to cache some of the data on the user’s device. This syncing of data between local storage and remote database is important if you want to let users use the app when they’re offline. Another way to store data locally is through Android’s built-in support for using SQL to interact with a SQLite database. However you choose to handle data in your application, you’ll need to explore and understand how databases work, and the ways to query that data and use it in your app.

7. MATERIAL DESIGN

In contrast to competitors like Apple, Google has not historically maintained a consistent design aesthetic across their products. In recent years, that has changed. Google has released a set of forward-thinking interface guidelines and standards called Material Design, that are being rolled out across all of their products. These standards include tips for how to layer various elements on the screen and use specific styles like drop shadows. You’ve probably seen Material Design in real life if you’ve used the new Google Drive app or the new Inbox by Gmail application on mobile. While not mandatory, Google recommends that Android developers use these guidelines as a foundation for their own user interfaces. The documentation online provides a great foundational understanding of Material Design principles.

After computer science Graduation

About the Computer Science Major

In the 2010-11 academic year, about 43,000 computer science degrees were granted of the total 1.7 million or so, bringing the computer science major in at around 2% of the total degrees granted.

Compensation for computer science graduates is, on average, higher than most other disciplines, with tech-related jobs paying around 9% more than other industries that graduates find themselves in. In addition, due to the nature of the work and the direct correlation between skills learned in school and applied, most computer science majors enter into an industry related to their field.

The computer science major at the University of Illinois has found that the average starting salaries for Bachelors of Science graduates is $68,650.

Skills Developed in the Computer Science Major

As a computer science major, you’ve likely spent more hours than you’d care to tabulate planted firmly in front of a computer monitor. You’ve written lines and lines of code only to have one comma ruin the entire script. It’s been frustrating at times, I’m sure, but also highly rewarding in the sense that you’ve now become familiar and fluent in programming languages, the foundational building blocks of software.

These programming languages rely on logic. They’re systems, and they work according to a very specific set of rules. Understanding and being able to operate within these rules is a marketable skill of computer science majors. Similarly required and honed is an attention to detail necessary to most technology-related endevours. While modern technology, hardware, and software are incredible powerful tools on a number of different fronts, from graphics production to animation and sound engineering, their efficacy lies on a razor’s edge. They work because of well-versed computer scientists who understand that one misplaced digit can be disastrous in programming.

Most computer science majors require at least a few mathematics courses, if not higher-level advanced mathematics classes. Computer science courses often involve proofs, mathematics and logic. Most programming languages have associated mathematical concepts and formalism that must be deeply understood in order to program efficiently.

Related Valuable Job Skills for Computer Science Majors

While the fundamental concepts of computer science are mathematics and coding – disciplines not too often thought of as particularly “creative”, there is indeed a certain amount of creative thinking and ingenuity that is necessary to be a successful computer science major.

Entry Level Jobs Well-Suited for Computer Science Majors

Software Developer
Median Pay: $90,000
This is a fairly broad category of employment and is generally broken down into systems andapplication software development. Whether designing a new iOS or Android app, or working to create a powerful suite of business software to run on a PC, software developers program the electronics we use everyday. In essence, without software developers, computers would be little more than hunks of metal and plastic. Working in software development, a computer science major would be implementing the knowledge of programming languagein order to build software. The process often begins with flowcharts and design parameters before being coded either by the developers themselves or a dedicated programming staff.

Web Development
Median Pay: $82,000 
The ubiquitousness and reach of the internet is a given in today’s world. The Millennial generation has been found to spend almost 40 hours per week on the internet, a broader age range clocking in at around 30 hours per week. While we use it so often, many of us take for granted the websites we visit themselves as domains that are bought, designed, built, and maintained. Web developers are the engineers behind these processes, starting with theoretical concepts for potential websites, writing code to provide functionality, and employing the help of designers and layout specialists to create a finished product that will appeal to potentially millions of visitors per month. Computer science majors are usually the best candidates for these positions, due to their familiarity with the software tools involved, knowledge of programming languages such as HTML, and a general understanding of design principles. Even better, jobs in web development are often well-paying and growing faster than normal, making web development a sensible and potentially lucrative career path for those qualified and interested.

Technical Support & IT
Median Pay: $72,000
While computers are designed to be somewhat user-friendly, we’ve all been at that point where something has gone wrong and we just cannot figure it out. While – and this is some sage advice – Google is one of your best friends when it comes to solving computer-related issues, often troubleshooting electronic-related issues requires more than advice from a random forum post buried somewhere in Internet. Therein comes the sometimes under-appreciated but crucial role of those who work in Tech Support. Jobs in Tech Support and IT can range from small-scale businesses and personal support to positions in multinational corporations who would likely fall apart without a dedicated staff to make sure their computer systems are running smoothly. These positions will require knowledge of programming languages as well as an understanding of computer hardware and network systems.

Some Tricks every CS student should know

General Tricks

Windows hidden "god mode" folder Windows offers a centralized Control Panel for all of the OS settings, which makes it easy for users to tweak everything from desktop background to setting up a VPN. To enter this mode, create a new folder with this exact name (copy and paste it): God Mode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}. The folder icon will change to a Control Panel-style icon, and you will be able to jump in and change all kinds of settings. Note: Don't try this on Windows Vista 64-bit as it's known to cause a reboot loop.

Use Problem Steps Recorder This handy tool automatically records any mouse clicks and takes screenshots for you. If you need tech assistance with your computer, go to Run by typing Windows + R, and then type "psr." Use the tool and by the time you are finished, you can send this information, neatly compiled automatically, to the person helping you with the issue. It will make the process of finding the problem much easier for them, which means you will be able to get your system up and running faster.

Find/Delete large files wasting space A handy tool called WinDirStat (Windows Directory Statistics)can be used to easily find which files and folders are taking up the most space on your drive. From there, you can delete them and open up a ton of storage space.

Reduce the number of programs running at startup If your PC is taking too long to boot, it’s probably because you have far too many programs running at startup. Reducing this is easy, it will make your PC launch noticeably faster and lighter upon first load. To change the items running at startup, go to Run using the hotkey Windows key + R, and type "msconfig." A small window will appear (see the screenshot below), select the Startup tab. From here you will be able to turn off many startup programs, which can shave several seconds (or minutes) off your boot time. (Note Windows 8 has moved this functionality to the Task Manager). Try to make sure you research what you are turning off as some processes might be needed by third party programs or drivers you have installed.

Cloud backup important files If you’re working on a critical paper for school, work, or any other major project, make sure you are backing up the file not just locally. You can use services like Dropbox,Google Drive, or any of the other popular cloud storage solution which will do the legwork for you on the background. Of course, you can also throw the files on a thumb drive or external HDD just to be safe but backing up to the cloud can be done seamlessly which is twice the advantage.

Typing Tricks

Delete an entire word Instead of deleting a single letter, pressing CTRL + BKSP will delete the entire word behind the cursor. This makes deleting text quicker if you screw up a whole word.

Move Cursor to beginning of the next or previous word Moving the cursor around manually while typing is a great way to make your work take longer than it needs to. To speed of the process, move the cursor around with keyboard shortcuts. To move it to the beginning of the previous word, use CTRL + Left Arrow. To move it to the beginning of the next word, use CTRL + Right Arrow. In OS X you can accomplish the same using the Option key.

Making sub and superscript text If you need to make sub or superscript text (think exponents for superscript), press CTRL + = for subscript and CTRL + SHIFT + = for superscript.

Paste plain text of what was copied When you copy text from any source, programs will usually copy any formatting that comes with it. To paste this as plain text, press CTRL + Shift + V instead of the standard CTRL + V, and the system will paste unformatted text.
Note that many programs follow this parameter (Chrome, Firefox, etc.) but not all, particularly Microsoft programs like Word or Outlook. For those there's a few alternatives that go beyond copying and pasting in Notepad: 1) CTRL + ALT + V will show a 'paste special' dialog box. 2) CTRL + Spacebar will remove formatting in already pasted text. 3) Download Puretext and choose a hotkey to always paste plain text with it.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Copy only active window to clipboard Normally, the Print Screen key copies the entire display (or two displays if you got them), ALT + Print Screen only copies the currently active window to the clipboard. Whether taking a screenshot to diagnose a problem, or just because you want to show something to a friend, this will come in handy.

Fix those little mistakes Did you know you can undo almost any action? CTRL + Z is the ultimate hot key, and for sure you knew about it already, however note that undo doesn’t just apply to typing. If you accidentally delete or move a file, you can hit CTRL + Z to bring it right back to where it was. In Chrome and Firefox you can also undo closing a tab using CTRL + SHIFT + T.

Cycle through open windows Pressing ALT+TAB allows you to cycle through currently open windows. This makes switching back and forth between running processes quick and painless. If you want a more stylish method of cycling through open programs, Windows + TAB will do the job for you.

Interrupt all processes CTRL + ALT + Delete is one of the most common PC shortcuts, and one almost everyone is familiar with. The important thing to note is that it interrupts all processes, including the one that is bogging down your system, which can mean the difference between needing to restart or not.

Close the current program Typing ALT + F4 will close the program that is running. This is useful as it saves you time mousing over the "X" and clicking. People will often use this as a joke, telling you to press ALT + F4 to fix a problem. Don’t fall for it unless you want to close what you are doing.

Minimize all windows Sometimes you have a bunch of stuff running, and you want it all to go away so you can get to the desktop. Simply pressing Windows + D will minimize everything you have up, which will save you some time pressing the minimize button for each window. It should be noted that Windows + M offers similar functionality, but there is no undoing, so Windows + D is the more favorable approach.

Open the task manager directly If you want to bypass the interrupt that happens when pressing CTRL + ALT + DEL and jump right to the task manager, typing CTRL + Shift + ESC launches it directly.

Close the current window/tab Stick of moving all the way to that X button? Press CTRL + W and the current window will close. (Don’t do it now, or you will miss the rest of the tricks!)

Bring up the system information window This is so much quicker than digging this out the traditional way... Just press Windows + Pause/Break and the System Information panel will be ready to go. This might be the only use for the Pause/Break key you will ever find, so enjoy it!

Better multiple monitor control There are several useful keyboard shortcuts for controlling open windows on multiple monitors. Pressing the Windows Key + Arrow Keys will cause a window to quickly snap to each side of either monitor. Alternatively, hitting Shift + Windows Key + Arrows will cause the window to jump to the other monitor. Lastly, pressing Windows + P will allow you to quickly set up a second display or projector.

Web Browsing Tricks

Automatically add www. and .com to a URL You can shave off a couple of seconds typing in a URL by simply click CTRL + Enter after you type the name of the site. Need .net instead of .com, press CTRL + Shift + Enter instead.

Jump to address bar There are a number of ways to jump right to the address bar from anywhere in browser. Pressing CTRL + L, F6, and ALT + D all accomplish this goal.

Bring back a closed tab We covered this already, but it's super useful. Accidentally closed a tab? Simply press CTRL + Shift + T to reopen the most recently closed tab and get back to what you were doing.

Use private browsing The uses for not having cookies and history saved are obvious for certain activities, you know, like shopping for gifts on a shared computer (of course!). Pressing CTRL + Shift + N will launch a new private in Chrome, CTRL + Shift + P will do it in Firefox and Internet Explorer.

Cycle through open tabs Pressing CTRL + TAB while in a browser will flip between each one. This can be much faster than moving the mouse and clicking on a tab. CTRL + NUM (1, 2, 3, 4, n..) will also take you to certain tab in that numeric order.

File Management Tricks

Rename a file quickly Right-clicking and selecting rename is not very efficient. Instead, simply press F2 while a file is selected to change its name. To alter the name of another file, type TAB without deselecting the current file.

Rename files sequentially in Windows You actually don’t need to download any programs to perform a batch file rename in Windows. Instead, you can select all the files you want to change, right-click the first one in the list, select rename (or use F2), and type in the name. This will automatically change all the other files with the same root name with a suffix: (1), (2), and so on.

Select multiple files using the keyboard To select a bunch of files using your keyboard, you can press Shift + down arrow to select a single file or Shift + Page Down to select a large group of files at one time.

Security Tips

Run programs on an infected PC Often times, malware will prevent a computer from running certain programs. Changing the name of the .exe file can often override this. If that doesn’t work, changing the extension to .com is another useful alternative, and the program will still be able to run in spite of the extension change.

Read installers Even major programs can install toolbars and other unwanted pieces of software during installation. Take a few seconds to read each step to make sure you are not agreeing to install something other than the program you were actually seeking. Far too often people just push next over and over, and end up with a browser covered in various search bars that just aren't needed. In the worst of scenarios, these can have nefarious intentions.

Lock your computer if you get up Sick of your "friends" going onto your computer at work or home and posting things on your Facebook/Twitter page on your behalf? It’s certainly an annoyance, but an easy one to prevent. Windows + L will lock your system right away, requiring a password (if you've set one) to log in again.

Program-Specific Tricks

Photoshop: Drag the marquee without losing the ability to size it The marquee tool is, at its most basic level, designed for selecting a part of an image. It’s used constantly in Photoshop, and there is a handy trick many users miss. While dragging it around, you can press space, which will allow you to size it while moving it. This saves time by letting your perform two key functions at the same time.

Steam: Move games to another drive or partition By default, Steam installs all games to the same HDD or partition, but what happens if that fills up? The solution: download Steamtool Library Manager. It makes it easy to move games to another hard drive without messing with the functionality of Steam.

VLC: Fix unsynced audio and subtitles In the popular media player VLC, if your audio loses sync with the video or subtitles, there is an easy way to fix this. Simply pressing J or K will move the audio forward or backwards. Similarly, to sync the subtitles you can press H or G.