Author: Mars Salazar Page 25 of 29

Marianne is Nixplay's Web Content Editor. Her hobbies include exploring new places, playing table tennis, and cuddling puppies. Send her a message at marianne.salazar@nixplay.com.

The 5 Most Beautiful Campuses In The USA

By Mars Salazar

On September 18, 2018

In Lifestyle

The United States has a wide range of university campuses, a lot of which are described as prestigious and regal. But which among these beautiful campuses take the crown when it comes to being picture-perfect?

Although views and aesthetics shouldn’t play a role in deciding where you earn your degree, wouldn’t it be a nice bonus to know you’re going to one of the prettiest campuses in the USA? Read on for our top 5, and share with us your thoughts!

1. The University of Colorado Boulder, Colorado

University of Colorado Boulder, Colorado

This campus owes its picturesque beauty to its location, which is right at the foot of the famous Rocky Mountains. Colorado Boulder marries a fine educational institution with a plethora of national parks and forests, which attract weary city dwellers from all over the world.

2. Berry College, Georgia

Berry College, Georgia

Berry College is located in the midst of a vast 27,000-acre empire of lakes, fields, fountains, forests, and gothic-style architecture. This makes it a favorite of adventurous students, as well as Hollywood film studios that want to shoot at one of the most beautiful campuses in the USA.

3. Bryn Mawr College, Pennsylvania

Bryn Mawr College, Pennsylvania

This private liberal arts college was historically a women-only school, with its gothic architecture serving as the inspiration for later Ivy League institutions to come, such as Princeton. Both sexes can now enjoy the 135-acre campus, which is regarded as one of the country’s most influential.

4. The University of Hawaii at Mānoa, Hawaii

University of Hawaii-Mānoa Campus

Due to the weather in the Pacific, the Mānoa campus of the University of Hawaii is often depicted with a rainbow framing it across the sky. This campus is certainly unique compared to others on this list, being situated amidst lush flowers and palm trees while remaining a stone’s throw away from some of the world’s most famous beaches.

5. Stanford University, California

Stanford University, California

Although Stanford is mostly known for its academic excellence, it is also renowned for being one of the most beautiful campuses in the USA. The Stanford Memorial Church acts as the university’s “architectural crown jewel”, while the university buildings are located within vast acres of gardens, avenues, and flowers.

Although you should ideally be looking for the best and most reputable campuses in the USA, wouldn’t it be nice to visit one which is a little more Instagram-ready than its competitors? Don’t forget to take lots of photos during your campus visit, and display them on your Nixplay Frame! If you missed our Back To School sale, don’t worry: We’ve got a Secret Sale, just for you. Get your Nixplay Frame now!

Mars Salazar

Marianne is Nixplay’s Web Content Editor. Her hobbies include exploring new places, playing table tennis, and cuddling puppies. Send her a message at marianne.salazar@nixplay.com.

4 Ways To Smartly Digitize And Organize Your Photos

By Mars Salazar

On September 6, 2018

In Photography

Nixplay has partnered with the Association of Personal Photo Organizers (APPO) for the Save Your Photos initiative, a public service outreach campaign that teaches individuals how they can preserve life’s irreplaceable photos, videos, and documents in case of an unforeseen accident or disaster. Visit the Save Your Photos website for more information.

In this day and age, there’s simply no more reason to lose your old photos. With new technology debuting on a daily basis, future-proofing your photos has never been easier. You can also display all your images on a Nixplay Frame so you’ll always have your memories at your fingertips.

However, many people put off organizing their photos because, in the grand scheme of things, a messy photo collection seems like a trivial problem. That is, until *knock on wood* you become affected by an unforeseen disaster or accident that renders all your irreplaceable images unusable. Only then will you regret not creating backups of your photo collection sooner.

To help you start making sense of your photos, here are four things you can do to make the task easier.

1. Only keep what truly matters.

Be intentional about the images you want to store for keeps. These photos need not always mark important milestones–even images that capture everyday life can be kept, as long as they elicit certain memories or tug at your heartstrings. Screenshots, duplicate shots, photos of receipts or documents, silly selfies–you don’t have to archive these.

2. Scan old photos in batches.

A lot of families have at least a dozen albums of printed photos, most likely with no digital backup, gathering dust in a corner of their homes. Just looking at those albums and imagining the gargantuan task of scanning the images one by one can make even the most patient of people sigh in despair. Make it less of a chore by doing just two or three albums at a time. Better yet, divide the albums between the different members of your family so you can accomplish the task faster.

3. Arrange them by date.

Don’t just dump your images in one folder. Sure, it’s easy, but this makes it difficult should you need to dig up a specific photo. After scanning or uploading your photos, make it a point to immediately sort them according to the event or time period during which they were taken.

4. Get in touch with a Photo Organizer.

Photo Organizers help people curate and safeguard their photo collections so future generations can access, share, and enjoy them. Get in touch with the Association of Personal Photo Organizers (APPO), whose members can, in addition to helping you organize and digitize your photos and videos, also help you create photo albums, restore old images, and do research about your family history, among other invaluable services.

Join Nixplay and APPO in commemorating Save Your Photos Month! Visit www.saveyourphotos.org for more information.

Mars Salazar

Marianne is Nixplay’s Web Content Editor. Her hobbies include exploring new places, playing table tennis, and cuddling puppies. Send her a message at marianne.salazar@nixplay.com.

nixplay digital frame dorm room must-haves nixplay seed 8"

8 Simple Things That Can Make Your Dorm Room More Homey

By Mars Salazar

On September 2, 2018

In Home & Interiors

For teenagers, there are few things more exciting than entering college. Meeting new people, attending interesting classes, finding lifelong mentors who can bring out the best in them—these are all amazing experiences that can encourage good habits and build character.

And if they’re attending college far away from home, the chance to stay in a dorm is another opportunity they shouldn’t miss. Aside from fostering independence and camaraderie, being able to decorate your own nook is also a great chance to flex those creativity muscles. That said, here are some items that can make any dorm room feel like home.

1. Clean bed sheets and fluffy pillows

Nothing beats collapsing on a cozy bed after a long day of classes and meetings. Plus points for freshly laundered sheets!

2. An area rug

Placing a small rug in the dorm helps a lot in making the room feel more like home. For dormers with roommates, make sure you all agree on the rug’s design so it doesn’t clash with their own decor.

3. Photos of loved ones back home

Displaying pictures of friends and family helps a lot in easing homesickness. Better yet, get a Nixplay Seed 8″ Wi-Fi Cloud Frame—it can display hundreds of photos in vivid HD, plus it’s small enough for any desk or bedside.

The Nixplay Seed 8″ also comes in four colors, so it won’t clash with the rest of the room. Get it at up to 30% off, only until September 14!

4. Cozy room scents

Scents can evoke certain feelings or trigger certain memories. A reed diffuser or a room spray in your favorite scent—lavender, freshly baked cookies, whatever floats your boat—will instantly make your dorm feel more like home.

5. Plants

A low-maintenance plant, like a succulent or a snake plant, adds some color and livens up your space. A plant also has a lot of benefits: They’re natural dehumidifiers and stress relievers, they can make you more responsible, and, as any grade schooler can tell you, release oxygen and help you breathe better.

6. Your own lamp

Some dorm rooms have really bad lighting, making them not the best place for all-nighters. Bringing your own lamp is a quick fix for this. Get a portable one that you can take from your desk to your bed easily.

7. A first aid kit

And we’re not talking about those pre-packed first aid kits you can get in a store (though they’re useful to have!). You know your body better than anyone else, so stock up on medicine and supplies you know you’ll use often.

8. Extension cords

Watching a movie or Skyping in bed are both great ways to unwind after a long day at school. These activities, however, can drain your gadget’s juice, and the “low battery” sign easily puts a damper on your “me time.” Since most dorm rooms have limited power outlets (which are usually located in the most inconvenient, impractical places), an extension cord can be a lifesaver.

Mars Salazar

Marianne is Nixplay’s Web Content Editor. Her hobbies include exploring new places, playing table tennis, and cuddling puppies. Send her a message at marianne.salazar@nixplay.com.

nixplay digital frame video 5 makaala military family

Staying Together With A Nixplay Frame

By Mars Salazar

On August 30, 2018

In Customer Testimonials

When you’re stationed in a different country for several years, you miss so many holidays and milestones. The separation was especially difficult for Makaala, a Navy Submarine Officer previously stationed in Bahrain, and his wife Lisa.

Each time Makaala left, he worried that his daughters, particularly two-year-old Kate, would not be able to recognize him the next time he comes home. This is a common problem of military families, and Makaala and his wife were determined to overcome it.

Back then, their two older daughters, Avery and Sydney, would look at a framed photo of Makaala each night before they went to bed. With Kate growing up, a Nixplay Frame made it easier for the family to cope with the distance.

“Because of our Nixplay Frame, Kate never skipped a beat when her daddy came home because she was constantly seeing his pictures,” shares Lisa.

Watch this video to learn why every military family should have a Nixplay Frame.

Mars Salazar

Marianne is Nixplay’s Web Content Editor. Her hobbies include exploring new places, playing table tennis, and cuddling puppies. Send her a message at marianne.salazar@nixplay.com.

Use a Nixplay Cloud Photo Frame as a Private Social Network for your Family

The Easiest Way To Create A Private Social Network For Your Family

By Mars Salazar

On August 24, 2018

In Customer Testimonials

Bigger is sometimes better, and this rings true for family. The bigger your clan is, the more love there is to go around.

However, working out how to keeping in touch can be a challenge if you’re in a big family. After a while, you find it difficult to keep track of who lives where, who does what, and which kid belongs to whom. It’s confusing, sure, but it’s all part and parcel of belonging to a large, happy clan.

This was certainly the case for Chris Hansen, who lives in Colorado but has family in Ohio, Minnesota, Utah, and Arizona.

“Since our family is so big, you can almost lose touch if you’re not on social media or not visiting on Christmas,” he says.

After exploring several options, the Hansens decided to get Nixplay frames, which offered an easy and convenient way to share photos in real time and gave them the opportunity to try family networking in a unique way.

“We settled on Nixplay because of the cloud function, where we could send it straight from our phones,” says Chris. “We really can share everything and not have to worry about [our photos being] out on the internet for everybody. It’s kind of like your own family’s internal social network.”

Get inspired by how the Hansens use their frames in this video:

How To Share Photos Privately

With a Nixplay Wi-Fi Cloud Photo Frame, you can view, display and share photos with family and create your own private social network. We understand how important safety and security is online, which is why we want to give you some quick tips on how to share photos privately.

You can share photos and videos from your cloud photo frame in three ways.

Email

Establishing a secure private social network is made easy when each member of your family has his or her own Nixplay email address.

Your family can email photos to your frame by attaching them to a new email message, and sending it to your personal @mynixplay.com email.

To add photos in an email to a photo playlist, you can enter ‘pl: playlist name’ in the subject line.

When the photo has been delivered to your account, it will automatically be stored in the online ‘Albums’ section.

Online

You can share photos with your family directly from your Nixplay account online by adding photos to an album and creating a playlist for your frame.

You can add photos to your album from:

Your local drive
Facebook
Google Photos
Instagram
Dropbox
Flickr
Verizon Cloud
Received emails
Your mobile phone camera and camera roll
Your friends

Use the ‘send to a friend’ option to share photos privately and safely.

Using The Nixplay App

Family networking is made simple with the Nixplay app. All you need to do is download the app from the Apple App Store or from Google Play, and you’re ready to get started.

Once you have created an account and logged in, simply select the ‘Send Photos’ option from the home screen.

You can also add captions when sharing photos from your phone’s photo library, as well as send your photos and videos to different playlists.

At Nixplay, we want to give everyone the chance to share photos with family without the hassle—or the worry!

Check out our selection of digital frames to find the cloud photo frame that suits your family, and take your memories one step further by creating your own private social network.

Mars Salazar

Marianne is Nixplay’s Web Content Editor. Her hobbies include exploring new places, playing table tennis, and cuddling puppies. Send her a message at marianne.salazar@nixplay.com.