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misterivy · 1 year ago

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In MEMORY of RUTGER HAUER on his BIRTHDAY - (January 23, 1944 - July 19, 2019)

Career years: 1969 - his death

Born Rutger Oelsen Hauer, Dutch actor. In 1999, he was named by the Dutch public as the Best Dutch Actor of the Century.

Hauer's career began in 1969 with the title role in the Dutch television series Floris and surged with his leading role in Turkish Delight (1973), which in 1999 was named the Best Dutch Film of the Century. After gaining international recognition with Soldier of Orange (1977) and Spetters (1980), he moved into American films such as Nighthawks (1981) and Blade Runner (1982), starring in the latter as self-aware replicant Roy Batty. His performance in Blade Runner led to roles in The Osterman Weekend (1983), Ladyhawke (1985), The Hitcher (1986), The Legend of the Holy Drinker (1988), and Blind Fury (1989), among other films.

From the 1990s on, Hauer moved into low-budget films, and supporting roles in major films like Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992), Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002), Batman Begins (2005), Sin City (2005), and The Rite (2011). Hauer also became well known for his work in commercials. Towards the end of his career, he made a return to Dutch cinema, and won the 2012 Rembrandt Award for Best Actor in recognition of his lead role in The Heineken Kidnapping (2011).

Hauer supported environmentalist causes and was a member of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. He also founded the Rutger Hauer Starfish Association, an AIDS awareness organization. He was made a knight in the Order of the Netherlands Lion in 2013.

Early life -

Hauer was born in Breukelen, in the Province of Utrecht, while the Netherlands was under German occupation during World War II. He stated in a 1981 interview, "I was born in the middle of the war, and I think for that reason I have deep roots in pacifism. Violence frightens me." His parents were Teunke (née Mellema) and Arend Hauer, both actors who operated an acting school in nearby Amsterdam. He had three sisters. According to Hauer, his parents were more interested in their art than their children. He did not have a close relationship with his father, and writer Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema later became a father figure to Hauer after they met during the filming of Soldier of Orange.

Hauer attended a Rudolf Steiner school, as his parents wanted him to develop his creativity. At the age of 15, he left school to join the Dutch merchant navy. He spent a year travelling the world aboard a freighter, but was unable to become a captain due to his colourblindness. Returning home, he worked odd jobs while finishing his high school diploma at night. He then entered the Academy for Theater and Dance in Amsterdam for acting classes, but soon dropped out to join the Royal Netherlands Army. He received training as a combat medic, but left the service after a few months as he opposed the use of deadly weapons. He subsequently returned to acting school and graduated in 1967.

Career:

Early works -

Hauer had his first acting role at the age of 11, as Eurysakes in the play Ajax. After graduating from the Academy for Theater and Dance, he became a stage actor with the Toneelgroep Noorder Compagnie. Hauer made his screen debut in 1969 when Paul Verhoeven cast him in the lead role of the television series Floris, a Dutch medieval action drama. The role made him famous in his native country, and Hauer reprised his role for the 1975 German remake Floris von Rosemund.

Hauer's career changed course when Verhoeven cast him in Turkish Delight (1973), which received an Oscar nomination for best foreign-language film. The film found box office favour abroad and at home, and Hauer looked to appear in more international films. Within two years, Hauer made his English-language debut in the British film The Wilby Conspiracy (1975). Set in South Africa, the film was an action-drama with a focus on apartheid. Hauer's supporting role, however, was barely noticed in Hollywood, and he returned to Dutch films for several years. During this period, he made Katie Tippel (1975) and worked again with Verhoeven on Soldier of Orange (1977), and Spetters (1980). These two films paired Hauer with fellow Dutch actor Jeroen Krabbé. At the 1981 Netherlands Film Festival, Hauer received the Golden Calf for Best Actor for his overall body of work.

American breakthrough -

Hauer made his American debut in the Sylvester Stallone film Nighthawks (1981) as a psychopathic and cold-blooded terrorist named Wulfgar. With his sights set on a long-term career in Hollywood, Hauer worked with an accent coach in the early 1980s to develop a convincing American accent. Unafraid of controversial roles, he portrayed Albert Speer in the 1982 American Broadcasting Company production Inside the Third Reich. The same year, Hauer appeared in arguably his most famous and acclaimed role as the eccentric and violent but sympathetic antihero Roy Batty in Ridley Scott's 1982 science fiction thriller Blade Runner, in which he delivered the famous tears in rain monologue. Hauer composed parts of the monologue the evening prior to filming, "cutting away swathes of the original script before adding the speech’s poignant final line". He went on to play the adventurer courting Theresa Russell in Eureka (1983), investigative reporter opposite John Hurt in The Osterman Weekend (1983), hardened mercenary Martin in Flesh & Blood (1985), and knight paired with Michelle Pfeiffer in Ladyhawke (1985).

He appeared in The Hitcher (1986), in which he played a mysterious hitchhiker tormenting a lone motorist and murdering anyone in his way. He received the 1987 Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the television film Escape from Sobibor. At the height of Hauer's fame, he was set to be cast as RoboCop (1987), but Verhoeven, the film's director, considered his frame as too large to move comfortably in the character's suit. Also in 1987, Hauer starred as Nick Randall in Wanted: Dead or Alive as the descendant of the character played by Steve McQueen in the television series of the same name.

In 1988, he played a homeless man in Ermanno Olmi's The Legend of the Holy Drinker. This performance won Hauer the Best Actor award at the 1989 Seattle International Film Festival. Hauer was chosen to portray a blind martial artist superhero in Phillip Noyce's action film Blind Fury (1989). He initially struggled with the implausibility of the character, but learned to "unfocus my eyes, to react to smells and sounds" after meeting with blind judo practitioner Lynn Manning during his research for the role. Hauer returned to science fiction in 1989 with The Blood of Heroes, in which he played a gladiator in a post-apocalyptic world.

Commercials and later roles -

By the 1990s, Hauer was well known for his humorous Guinness commercials as well as his screen roles, which had increasingly involved low-budget films, such as Split Second (1992); The Beans of Egypt, Maine (1994); Omega Doom (1996) and New World Disorder (1999). In 1992, he appeared in the horror-comedy film Buffy the Vampire Slayer as the main antagonist vampire Lothos. He also appeared in the Kylie Minogue music video "On a Night Like This" (2000). During this time, Hauer acted in several British, Canadian and American television productions, including Amelia Earhart: The Final Flight (1994) as Earhart's navigator Fred Noonan, Fatherland (1994), Hostile Waters (1997), The Call of the Wild: Dog of the Yukon (1997), Merlin (1998), The 10th Kingdom (2000), Smallville (2003), Alias (2003), and Salem's Lot (2004).

Hauer played an assassin in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2003), a villainous cardinal with influential power in Sin City (2005) and a devious corporate executive running Wayne Enterprises in Batman Begins (2005). Also in 2005, he played the title role in Patrick Lussier's film Dracula III: Legacy. Seven years later, he portrayed the vampire hunter Abraham Van Helsing in Dario Argento's Dracula 3D. Hauer hosted the British reality television documentary Shock Treatment in 2005, and featured in Goal II: Living the Dream (2007) as Real Madrid coach Rudi Van der Merwe. He also recorded voice-overs for the British advertising campaign for the Danish butter brand Lurpak.

In 2008, Hauer received the Golden Calf Culture Prize for his contributions to Dutch cinema. The award recognised his work as an actor as well as his efforts to aid the development of young filmmakers and actors, through initiatives such as the Rutger Hauer Film Factory. In 2009, his role in avant-garde filmmaker Cyrus Frisch's Dazzle received positive reviews; it was described in Dutch press as "the most relevant Dutch film of the year". The same year, Hauer starred in the title role of Barbarossa, an Italian film directed by Renzo Martinelli. In April 2010, he was cast in the live action adaptation of the short and fictitious Grindhouse trailer Hobo with a Shotgun (2011). Hauer played Freddie Heineken in The Heineken Kidnapping (2011), for which he received the 2012 Rembrandt Award for Best Actor. Also in 2011, Hauer appeared in the supernatural horror film The Rite as an undertaker named Istvan, the protagonist's father.

From 2013 to 2014, Hauer featured as Niall Brigant in HBO's True Blood. In 2015, he starred as Ravn in The Last Kingdom and as Kingsley in Galavant. In 2016, he joined the film jury for ShortCutz Amsterdam, an annual film festival promoting short films in Amsterdam. Hauer voiced the role of Daniel Lazarski in the 2017 video game Observer, set in post-apocalyptic Poland. Lazarski is a member of a special elite police unit that can hack into minds and interact with memories within. Hauer also provided the voice of Xehanort in the 2019 video game Kingdom Hearts III, replacing the late Leonard Nimoy and was himself replaced by Christopher Lloyd following his death.

Personal life -

Hauer was married twice:

Hauer and his first wife, Heidi Merz, produced Hauer’s only child, Aysha Hauer (born 1966). An actress, she gave birth to Hauer's grandson in 1987.

Hauer was with his second wife, Ineke ten Cate, from 1968, and they married in a private ceremony on 22 November 1985. Cate was the daughter of Laurens ten Cate, the editor-in-chief of the Friesland-based newspaper Leeuwarder Courant.

Although born in Utrecht, Hauer had strong links to Friesland. He once stated in an interview with the Algemeen Dagblad that he "needed to feel the Frisian clay under his feet".

Hauer was an environmentalist. He supported the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and was a member of its board of advisors. He also established an AIDS awareness organization called the Rutger Hauer Starfish Association.

In April 2007, he published his autobiography, All Those Moments: Stories of Heroes, Villains, Replicants, and Blade Runners (co-written with Patrick Quinlan), in which he discussed many of his acting roles. Proceeds from the book go to the Rutger Hauer Starfish Association.

Death -

Hauer died at his home in Beetsterzwaag, following a short illness. He was 75 years old. A private funeral service was held on 24 July. On 23 January 2020, which would have been Hauer's 76th birthday, a ceremony was held in Beetsterzwaag in his honour. Attendees included Sharon Stone, Miranda Richardson, Diederik van Rooijen, and Prince Pieter-Christiaan of Orange-Nassau, van Vollenhoven.

#rutger hauer #dutch #actor #blade runner #the hitcher

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mariacallous · 2 years ago

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For thousands of Ukrainians, Mark Hamill is the voice of the air raids. The first notice of an incoming attack is an ear-splitting whoop-whoop coming out of cell phone speakers, followed by the voice of the Star Wars actor in full Jedi Knight tones. “Air raid alert. Proceed to the nearest shelter,” he says. “Don’t be careless. Your overconfidence is your weakness.” In mid-May, following a few months of quiet in the skies over Kyiv, Russia restarted its almost nightly bombardments of cruise missiles and kamikaze drones. After a week of alerts, the novelty of “May the Force be with you” sounding asynchronously from a dozen phones in the air raid shelter wore off, and it was hard not to start blaming Hamill personally for the attacks.

The air alert app was developed by a home security company, Ajax Systems, on the second day of the war, in a process that epitomizes the scrappiness, flexibility, and back-of-the-envelope creativity that have allowed Ukraine to, at times, run its war effort like a startup, under the guidance of its 32-year-old vice prime minister, Mykhailo Fedorov.

On February 25, 2022, as fighter jets dueled low over Kyiv, Ajax’s chief marketing officer, Valentine Hrytsenko, was driving west out of the capital, helping to oversee the evacuation of the company’s manufacturing facilities, when his phone rang. It was the CEO of an IT outsourcing company, who wanted to know if Ajax had any experience with Apple’s critical alert function, which allows governments or emergency services to send alerts to users. The municipal air raid sirens were, in Hrytsenko’s words, “very old-style pieces of shit,” built during the Soviet Union, and often couldn’t be heard. People were already cobbling together their own mutual alert systems using Telegram, but these depended on volunteers finding out when raids were incoming and posting to public groups, making them unreliable and insecure.

From his car, Hrytsenko called Valeriya Ionan, the deputy minister of digital transformation, whom he knew from years working with the ministry on tech sector projects. She, in turn, connected him to several local “digital transformation officers”—government officials installed by Fedorov’s ministry in each region of Ukraine, with a brief to find tech solutions to bureaucratic problems. Together, they figured out how the air raid system actually worked: An official in a bunker would get a call from the military, and they would press a button to fire up the sirens. Ajax’s engineers built them another button, and an app. Within a week, the beta version was live. By March, the whole country was covered. “I think this would be impossible in other countries,” Hrytsenko says. “Just imagine, on the second day of the war, I message the deputy minister. We’re talking for five minutes and they give us the green light.”

When he came into government five years ago, Fedorov promised his newly formed Ministry of Digital Transformation would create “tangible products that change the lives of people,” by making the government entrepreneurial and responsive to the needs of the population. The process is working exactly as Fedorov envisioned. The products aren't quite what he had in mind.

Fedorov is tall and broad with wide schoolboyish features and close-cropped salt-and-pepper hair. Almost always seen dressed in a hoodie and jeans, he looks like a movie star unsuccessfully geeking up for a role. When we meet, he’s just come offstage after headlining a press conference to launch a new digital education initiative. In keeping with the government’s carefully curated image, it’s a slick affair, with strip lights and hi-def screens, celebrity cameos, and a Google executive giving a speech via video call. It’s held in a five-star hotel near the Dnipro riverside but, as a concession to the ever-present threat of airstrikes, it’s taking place in the underground parking lot. The gloom and the neon and the youthful crowd in sneakers and branded sportswear gives the whole thing a kind of subversive glamor.

It’s not a packed room, but Fedorov is the main draw. Since the invasion began, he’s been one of the Ukrainian government’s most visible figures at home and abroad, more so even than the minister of defense, and second only to President Zelenksyy. Which makes sense. This has been a war fought in parallel in cyberspace, with information operations from all parties, diplomacy done at small scale on platforms, and relentless news flow, stories of hope and horror leveraged—and exploited—for gain on both sides. It’s one where, oddly for an active conflict, digital marketing, social media campaigning, crowdfunding, and bootstrapping have been vital skills. That is Fedorov’s world.

Within days of the invasion, the ministry had launched an appeal for donations: Fedorov tweeted out the government’s crypto wallet addresses, raising millions of dollars by the end of the first week. By May, the ministry had turned this into United24, a one-click ecommerce-style platform where anyone with a credit card, Paypal account, or crypto wallet could contribute to the war effort. Superficially simple, it was a radical move for any government—let alone a government at war—to open up its state finances and military supply chain to donations from the public. “But the world hasn’t seen such a huge, full-scale invasion, broadcast live, 24-7,” Fedorov says, speaking through an interpreter. “If we’d waited for people to donate through the organizations that already exist, they’d have got to Ukraine’s needs very slowly, or not at all.”

Since the start of the war, United24 has raised a reported $350 million to buy drones, rebuild homes, and fund demining operations. It has attracted celebrity endorsements from Hamill to Barbra Streisand to Imagine Dragons, helping to keep the conflict in the public consciousness around the world by giving ordinary people an opportunity to feel like they’re participating in Ukraine’s struggle for survival—something Fedorov says is more important than the money. “The same way the president talks to people abroad by broadcasts or on stage, this is the same way United24 speaks to regular people,” he says. “The main point of United24 is not fundraising itself, but keeping people around the world aware of what is going on in Ukraine.”

The initiative, and the projects that have spun out of it over the first 500 days of the war, have also been a vindication of Fedorov and Zelenskyy’s peacetime vision for the Ukrainian state. Since taking power in 2019, their administration has been trying to rewire the country’s bureaucracy, running parts of the government like a startup, communicating with and delivering services to citizens directly through their smartphones. They have nurtured their relationships with the local and global technology sectors, presenting themselves as an open, transparent and tech-forward nation, contiguous with the European Union and the democratic world they want to be part of, and whose support they now depend on.

Nothing could have prepared them for the total war that Russia launched in 2022. But Fedorov has been able to mobilize an extraordinary coalition of volunteers, entrepreneurs, engineers, hackers, and funders who have been able to move fast and build things, to innovate under fire to keep soldiers fighting and civilians safe—to get smarter. To win.

Until 2019, Fedorov was a little-known figure in Ukraine. His first foray into politics was as student mayor of his hometown of Zaporizhzhia. In 2013, as a 23-year-old, he founded a digital marketing company called SMMStudio, specializing in Facebook and Instagram ads for small businesses. One of its clients was a TV production company, Kvartal 95, founded by a comedian called Volodymyr Zelenskyy whose biggest hit was a political comedy, Servant of the People—in which a schoolteacher is unexpectedly elected president on the back of a viral video. Zelenskyy’s political party, also named Servant of the People, was spun out of Kvartal 95 in 2018. Fedorov signed on as an adviser.

In 2019, Servant of the People ran an extraordinary insurgent campaign for the presidency. The Ukrainian electorate was desperate for change, four years into a slow-burning war with Russian proxies in the Donbass region in the east, and exhausted with the crony politics of the post-Soviet era. Zelenskyy’s pitch was a new kind of politics: consensual, based on listening to the people and taking advice from experts, and decoupled from the oligopolies that corrupted administrations and slowed economic and social progress. Challenging those vested interests meant cutting the party off from the oligarchs’ financial resources, so they had to fight smart.

Fedorov ran the campaign’s digital strategy. He used Facebook, Instagram, and Telegram to sidestep the mainstream media and talk directly to a young, very online population. On Facebook, Zelenskyy crowdsourced policy ideas and asked for nominations for his cabinet. While TV was still a more important medium for the electorate at large, Zelenskyy’s campaign was at times able to dictate the news agenda online, driving viral stories that then made their way onto mainstream channels. They micro-targeted demographics that could be mobilized to vote on individual issues, with categories from “lawyers” to “mothers on maternity leave” to “men under 35 who drive for Uber.” With a full-time team of just eight people, Fedorov’s unit used social media to mobilize hundreds of thousands of volunteers, coordinated through a hub on Telegram.

Zelenskyy won the election in the second round against the incumbent, Petro Poroshenko, with nearly 75 percent of the vote. At 28 years old, Fedorov was appointed to head the newly formed Ministry of Digital Transformation, with the brief of digitizing the Ukrainian state. The new government had inherited a Soviet-era bureaucracy that had been hijacked by oligarchs, manipulated by Russia, and was corrupt at many levels. In 2019 the country ranked 126th out of 180 countries on Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index, a common benchmark. By bringing services and government processes online, the administration hoped they could create a more transparent state, where corruption couldn’t fester in dark corners. “A computer has no friends or godfathers, and doesn’t take bribes,” Zelenskyy said at a Ministry of Digital Transformation summit in 2021.

The ministry’s flagship project was Diia, a “state in a smartphone” app, launched to the public in 2020. The system stored users’ official documents, including driver’s licenses and vehicle registration documents, and let them access online a growing list of government services, from tax filings to the issuance of marriage certificates. Ukraine became one of the first countries worldwide to give digital ID documents the same status as physical ones. Initially met with skepticism by a public used to governments overpromising and underdelivering, it’s now been downloaded onto 19 million smartphones and offers around 120 different government services.

“We wanted to build something that Ukrainians abroad would brag about when they went overseas,” Fedorov says, knowing full well that they already do. In its early days, Ukraine’s plans to digitize the state were often compared to Estonia, the small Baltic state that has become synonymous with e-government. This year, Ukraine is exporting Diia to Estonia, which is white-labeling the service for its own citizens.

Diia wasn’t just about building a practical tool, it was a way to change the perception of the Ukrainian government at home and abroad. Under Fedorov, the ministry was very visibly run like a startup. Its minister dresses and speaks like a tech founder, and the ministry has cultivated an air of accessibility and openness to experimentation. It has positioned itself at the center of the country’s booming tech sector, facilitating, investing, and supporting. In 2020, it launched a new “virtual free zone,” Diia City, offering tax breaks and other incentives for tech companies. The ministry has been a cheerleader internationally, with Fedorov himself conducting state-to-company diplomacy to build links between the government and Big Tech. A few months before the full-scale invasion, in late 2021, Fedorov was in Silicon Valley, pitching Ukraine to the US tech sector. On Facebook, he shared a picture from his meeting with Apple CEO Tim Cook, posting effusive praise for the “most efficient manager in the world.”

In peacetime, it’s easy to look at these initiatives with a cynical eye as the branding exercises of a country competing for a slice of the global tech dollar. Eastern Europe and Central Asia are densely populated with former Soviet states trying to reorient their economies toward services; what country doesn’t have a putative tech hub? But when the full-scale war finally began, this groundwork meant that Ukraine had a leadership with enormous experience of running asymmetrical digital campaigning; it had immediate access to a network of innovative and highly motivated engineers and tech entrepreneurs; and it had direct lines into a number of powerful global companies.

The war didn’t come s a surprise. Intelligence agencies had been warning for months that the huge buildup of Russian troops on Ukraine’s borders wasn’t a bluff. Fedorov’s ministry had been on a war footing since November 2021, working to harden national infrastructure against cyberattacks.

When the invasion began, the ministry went on the offensive, mobilizing the local tech community and using a weaponized version of its 2019 electoral playbook. Fedorov promoted a Telegram channel, the “IT Army of Ukraine,” which gathered volunteers from across the country and all over the world to hack Russian targets. Admins post targets on the channel—Russian banks, ministries, and public infrastructure—and the digital militias go after them. The channel now has more than 180,000 subscribers, who have claimed responsibility for hacks of the Moscow Stock Exchange and media outlets TASS and Kommersant. They got into radio stations in Moscow and broadcast air raid alerts, shut down the ticketing systems of Russian railway networks, and took the country’s product authentication system offline, causing chaos in its commercial supply chains.

At the same time, Fedorov, the ministry, and members of the tech community were pulling strings in Silicon Valley, mobilizing support for a “digital blockade” of Russia. On February 25, Fedorov wrote to YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos asking them to block access to their services in Russia. He asked Meta to shut down Facebook and Instagram for Russian users. He reconnected with Tim Cook at Apple, asking the company to stop selling products and services to Russia. “We need your support—in 2022, modern technology is perhaps the best answer to the tanks, multiple rocket launchers … and missiles,” the letter read.

The ministry had friends in America who helped spread the word, like Denys Gurak, a Ukrainian venture capitalist based in Connecticut. “I knew lobbyists, and I knew journalists, so I started picking up the phone and calling just everybody, asking, ‘Who can you connect me with?’ So we could start shaming Big Tech that they’re not doing anything,” Gurak says. Some of the Ukrainian demands were wildly improbable—there was a campaign to get Russia disconnected from GPS. “In the minds of Ukrainians, that totally made sense,” Gurak says. “If you ask any Ukrainian back then what had to be done in tech, they would say, ‘Just fuck them all,’ [cut them off] from GPS from the internet, from Swift.”

Gurak and others didn’t just target CEOs of tech companies, but employees at those companies too, urging them to pressure their bosses to act. When Zelenskyy and Fedorov wrote to executives, including Meta’s president of global affairs, Nick Clegg, and COO Sheryl Sandberg, asking them for assistance, Gurak helped make sure the emails “leaked” to The Ink, a newsletter read by tens of thousands of tech workers.

It’s hard to say whether these interventions directly resulted in what the companies did next. Netflix was already under pressure from new laws in Russia that would have restricted the content of its shows and compelled it to broadcast propaganda. Meta had been publicly dismantling Russian disinformation operations on Instagram and Facebook for years, leading to intense criticism from the Kremlin. Apple’s exports to Russia were inevitably going to be hit by looming sanctions. But nevertheless, they acted. Netflix, which had roughly a million customers in Russia, suspended its service there in March, closing it fully in May. YouTube blocked access to Russian state-affiliated channels worldwide. Apple halted all sales in Russia. Amazon gave Ukraine access to secure cloud storage to keep its government functioning, reduced fees for Ukrainian businesses selling on its platforms, and donated millions of dollars' worth of humanitarian and educational supplies. Facebook blocked some Russian state media from using its platforms in Europe, and changed a policy that blocked users if they called for the deaths of Russian and Belarusian presidents Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko. In response, Russia banned both platforms for “Russophobia” in March. In October, Russia declared Meta an “extremist organization.”

These are tech companies that have often studiously avoided taking overt political stances, at times dancing on a razor’s edge between neutrality and complicity in autocratic countries. Taking sides in a war between two sovereign nations feels more profound than simple commercial calculation. At the launch event in Kyiv where I met Fedorov, a Google executive gave a gushing presentation on videoconference, in front of a yellow wall that echoed the Ukrainian flag. A couple of months earlier, I saw Fedorov give a video address to a Google for Startups event in Warsaw. Wearing military green, he described the tech sector as an “economic front line” in the war with Russia. The support in the room was unambiguous. “When the invasion began, we had personal connections to these companies,” Fedorov says. “They knew who we are, what we look like, what our values are and our mission is.”

Of all Fedorov’s callouts to the tech world, the most tactically significant was probably his February 26 tweet to Elon Musk: “While you try to colonize Mars—Russia try to occupy Ukraine! While your rockets successfully land from space—Russian rockets attack Ukrainian civil people! We ask you to provide Ukraine with Starlink stations,” Fedorov wrote. “Starlink service is now active in Ukraine. More terminals en route,” Musk shot back.

It could be argued that this was a fantastic marketing opportunity for Musk’s company—Starlink being a solution in search of a problem—but the devices have at times proved decisive. The satellite broadband service has been used by frontline troops to communicate with one another when other networks go down, and to fly drones for surveillance and artillery targeting. Starlinks have kept government agencies and health care facilities online despite Russia’s routine targeting of power and communications infrastructure. When, in February 2023, Starlink said it was restricting Ukraine’s military use of the system, there was an outcry. (Although true to form in a Musk company, there was apparently little follow-through, and Ukrainian users said they experienced no meaningful disruption to their service.)

When asked about the early days of the war, what Fedorov reaches for isn’t the big picture, but the details—the small changes to processes that made the state more nimble. They figured out how to securely send training materials to military volunteers. They changed the law on cloud storage for government data to make it harder for the Russians to take out vital systems. They tweaked financial infrastructure to make sure donations from the global public went straight into transparent national accounting systems. United24, a platform where you can donate bitcoin to buy drones to kill Russian soldiers, has a banner saying it’s audited by Deloitte, one of the Big Four global accounting firms.

These things must have felt small and needlessly bureaucratic during the opening days of an existential conflict, in which government business was being conducted from bunkers and leading political figures were reportedly being targeted for assassination by the Russians. But they mattered, Fedorov says, because the administration couldn’t afford to be anything less than performatively incorruptible. “It was a test [set] by the president,” Fedorov says. “Make all this happen fast, but also keep the bureaucracy in place.”

Fedorov’s ministry was able to use that solid base of bureaucracy to bypass the military’s slow procurement processes, taking in money and buying drones and other high-tech gear from whoever could get it into the field quickly. “United24 shows how many unnecessary chains there were in this decisionmaking, and how it could be streamlined or optimized,” he says. In practice, what that meant was they could buy things that soldiers wanted, but the army’s procedures wouldn’t let them have. “Procedures work like anchors,” says Alexander Stepura, founder and CEO of Skyeton, a Ukrainian drone manufacturer. “The guys on the front line, they don't think about procedures.”

In a farmer’s field an hour’s drive outside of Kyiv, a man in combat fatigues kneels in the dust like a supplicant, one arm raised to the heavens, holding a quadcopter on his outstretched palm. A few meters away, two of his comrades take cover behind a concrete pylon, watched over by an instructor in aviator sunglasses. After a long wait—long enough for the kneeling soldier to have to get up and stretch his legs—the drone’s propellers start to spin. It lifts slowly from his hand, then zips away, heading for a distant tree line.

The team of three—pilot, navigator, and catcher—are learning how to launch their drones (the instructors call them “birds”) and bring them safely home in a low diagonal line that’s hard for the enemy to track. The rule of thumb is you have 30 seconds in the open before someone spots you and the mortar bombs start to fall. “Priority number one is for soldiers to survive,” the instructor, who spoke on condition of anonymity, says. The second is to get the drones back intact, since it’s getting harder and harder to get hold of the Chinese-made DJI models that were ubiquitous in the early days of the war.

These fields, strung with electrical cables and dotted with smallholdings, are where Ukraine’s “Army of Drones” trains. Over the past year, hundreds of Ukrainians have come here to learn to fly unmanned aerial vehicles in defense of their homeland, being taught how to surveil enemy lines, spot targets for artillery, and drop explosives on Russian vehicles. There’s an informality to the operation—at the battery charging station a spaniel belonging to one of the instructors barges between the trainees’ legs—but the trainers have honed their skills in combat, and many of their students go from the school directly back to the lines.

The Ukrainian army’s use of drones in the early days of the war was another master class in tech innovation. Ordinary soldiers collaborated with engineers and programmers working out of living rooms and office spaces to bootstrap a weapons program that helped drive Russia’s armored columns back from the edge of Kyiv, often using drones costing a few hundred dollars apiece to destroy millions of dollars’ worth of high-tech military gear. Since then, the enemy has begun to develop countermeasures, so the Army of Drones has had to adapt and refine its tactics and its gear. “If you want to win, you have to be smarter,�� the unit’s lead instructor, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, says. “And the only way to get smarter is to learn.”

Many of Ukraine’s innovations in drone warfare were made in sheds, offices, small industrial premises, and in the trenches themselves. Soldiers jury-rigged drones to carry grenades or mortar bombs; engineers and designers helped refine the systems, 3D-printing harnesses that used, for example, light-activated mechanisms that could be fitted to the underside of DJI Mavic drones, turning the UAV’s auxiliary lights into a trigger. But the country also had a sizable aerospace industry clustered in Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Lviv, which naturally pivoted to meet the threat of obliteration. Skyeton was part of it. Founded in 2006 as a maker of light aircraft, it’s been making UAVs for close to a decade, selling long-range surveillance drones to coast guards and police forces in Asia and Africa. One of its drones was put to work in Botswana, protecting the last remaining black rhino from poachers.

Converting its products for military use wasn’t straightforward. They needed to be adapted to fly without GNSS or GPS signals, and to be resistant to electronic warfare. Their software needed to be rewritten to identify military targets. “A lot of engineers in Ukraine are obsessed with fighting the enemy, so you just say ‘We need you guys’ and they come to the company and help,” says Skyeton CEO Stepura. They quickly built a new system that could fly without satellite navigation and took it to the military—who turned them down because it hadn’t been through testing, a process that typically takes two to three years in peacetime. The Army of Drones said yes straight away, and Skyeton’s drones headed to the front, where they’re still flying.

Stepura, and others I spoke to, are convinced that this approach has given Ukraine an edge. This is a war between competing technologies, he says. “Today, we have in this test field in Ukraine everything that was developed around the world. And it turns out, it doesn’t work.”

Surveillance drones like Boeing’s ScanEagle, previously billed as best-in-class, were too heavy, too slow to deploy, and too easy for the Russians to spot, he says. So the Army of Drones has gone for war-as-product-development, beta testing with “end users,” getting feedback, refining, picking winners. “The Army of Drones, all the time they communicate with end users, they collect information,” Stepura says. “They continue to invest into those companies that provide the product [about] which they've received good feedback.”

It’s easy to see Fedorov’s fingerprints on this approach. The deputy prime minister is taciturn, factual in his answers. (He’s far more expressive on Twitter.) But he’s at his most enthusiastic when he recounts a recent visit to a base on the front line near Zaporizhzhia. “The base is like an underground—actually underground—IT company. Everything is on screens with satellite connections, drone videos,” he says, with evident satisfaction. “The way people look and the way people talk, it’s just an IT company. A year ago, before the invasion, you wouldn’t see that.”

When I mention my meeting with Fedorov to Stepura, he beams. “He’s really good,” he says. “He’s really good. He’s a champion.” He might well be happy. The war, terrible as it’s been, has also been good for business. Skyeton has gone from 60 employees to 160. The drone industry is booming. A consensus estimate among half a dozen people I spoke with in the sector is that there are now around 100 viable military drone startups in Ukraine.

With the first, desperate phase of the war over, and the front line settling into more of a dynamic equilibrium, the Ministry of Digital Transformation wants to turn this startup arms business into a bona fide military-industrial complex. In April, the ministry, working with the military, launched Brave1, a “defense-tech” cluster to incubate promising technology that can first be deployed on the battlefield in Ukraine, and then be sold to customers overseas. In early June, the same fields where I watched new recruits learn the basics on DJI Mavics hosted a competition between 11 drone startups, who flew their birds in dogfights and over simulated trenches, watched over by Fedorov and an army general. The winner gets a chance at a contract with the military.

“The defense forces and the startup communities are different worlds,” Nataliia Kushnerska, Brave1’s project lead, says. “In this project, everybody receives what they need. The general staff and Ministry of Defense receive really great solutions they can actually use. The Ministry of the Economy receives a growing ecosystem, an industry that you could use to recover the country.”

It’s been a balmy spring in Kyiv. Café crowds spill out onto street-side tables. Couples walk their dogs under the blossoms in the city’s sprawling parks and botanic gardens, and teenagers use the front steps of the opera house as a skate ramp. From 500 days’ distance, the desperate, brutal defense of the capital last year has slipped into memory. What’s replaced it is a strange new normal. Restaurants advertise their bunkers alongside their menus. On train station platforms, men and women in uniform wait with duffel bags and bunches of flowers—returning from or heading to the front. During the day the skies are clear of planes, an odd absence for a capital city. At night, there are the sirens: Mark Hamill on repeat. When I left, the counteroffensive was due to happen any day. Here and there people dropped hints—supplies they’d been asked to find, mysterious trips to the southeast. It began in June, with Ukrainian forces inching forward once more.

Victory isn’t assured, and there are many sacrifices yet to come. But there is now space—psychological, emotional, and economic—to think about what comes next. Before I left Kyiv, I spoke to Tymofiy Mylovanov, a former government minister and now president of the Kyiv School of Economics, who is known for his unfiltered political analysis. I asked him why this young government had defied the expectations of many pundits, who expected their anti-corruption drives and grand plans for digitization to founder, and for them to crumble before Russia’s onslaught. “Because people weren’t paying attention to the details,” Mylovanov says. Of Fedorov, he says simply: “He’s the future.”

The war has provided proof of concept not just for drones, or the tech sector, but for a government that was idealistic and untested—even for Ukraine, as a nation whose borders, sovereignty, and identity have been undermined for decades.

Brave1 is a small way for Ukraine to look forward, to turn the disaster it’s living through into a chance to build something new. The incubator isn’t hosted in an imposing military building staffed by men in fatigues, but in the Unit City tech hub in Kyiv, with beanbags, third-wave coffee stands, and trampolines built into the courtyard. It’s emblematic of the startup-ization of the war effort, but also of the way that the war has become background noise in many cases. Its moments are still shocking, but day to day there’s a need to just get on with business.

The war is always there—Fedorov still had to present his education project in the basement, not the ballroom—but it’s been integrated into the workflow. In March, Fedorov was promoted and given an expanded brief as deputy prime minister for innovation, education, science, and technology. He’s pushing the Diia app into new places. It now hosts courses to help Ukrainians retrain in tech, and motivational lectures from sports stars and celebrities. Ukrainians can use it to watch and vote in the Eurovision Song Contest. And they can use it to listen to emergency radio broadcasts, to store their evacuation documents, to apply for funds if their homes are destroyed, even to report the movements of Russian troops to a chatbot.

Speaking as he does, like a tech worker, Fedorov says these are exactly the kind of life-changing, tangible products he promised to create, all incremental progress that adds up to a new way of governing. Small acts of political radicalism delivered online. “Government as a service,” as he puts it. He’s rolling out changes to the education system. He’s reforming the statistical service. The dull things that don’t make headlines. Ordinary things that need to be done alongside the extraordinary ones. “The world keeps going,” he says. “While Ukraine fights for freedom.”

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crawlxpert01 · 9 days ago

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A Comprehensive Guide to Scraping DoorDash Restaurant and Menu Data

Introduction

Absolutely! Data is everything; it matters to any food delivery business that is trying to optimize price, look into customer preferences, and be aware of market trends. Web Scraping DoorDash restaurant Data allows one to bring his business a step closer to extracting valuable information from the platform, an invaluable competitor in the food delivery space.

This is going to be your complete guide walkthrough over DoorDash Menu Data Scraping, how to efficiently Scrape DoorDash Food Delivery Data, and the tools required to scrape DoorDash Restaurant Data successfully.

Why Scrape DoorDash Restaurant and Menu Data?

Market Research & Competitive Analysis: Gaining insights into competitor pricing, popular dishes, and restaurant performance helps businesses refine their strategies.

Restaurant Performance Evaluation: DoorDash Restaurant Data Analysis allows businesses to monitor ratings, customer reviews, and service efficiency.

Menu Optimization & Price Monitoring: Tracking menu prices and dish popularity helps restaurants and food aggregators optimize their offerings.

Customer Sentiment & Review Analysis: Scraping DoorDash reviews provides businesses with insights into customer preferences and dining trends.

Delivery Time & Logistics Insights: Analyzing delivery estimates, peak hours, and order fulfillment data can improve logistics and delivery efficiency.

Legal Considerations of DoorDash Data Scraping

Before proceeding, it is crucial to consider the legal and ethical aspects of web scraping.

Key Considerations:

Respect DoorDash’s Robots.txt File – Always check and comply with their web scraping policies.

Avoid Overloading Servers – Use rate-limiting techniques to avoid excessive requests.

Ensure Ethical Data Use – Extracted data should be used for legitimate business intelligence and analytics.

Setting Up Your DoorDash Data Scraping Environment

To successfully Scrape DoorDash Food Delivery Data, you need the right tools and frameworks.

1. Programming Languages

Python – The most commonly used language for web scraping.

JavaScript (Node.js) – Effective for handling dynamic pages.

2. Web Scraping Libraries

BeautifulSoup – For extracting HTML data from static pages.

Scrapy – A powerful web crawling framework.

Selenium – Used for scraping dynamic JavaScript-rendered content.

Puppeteer – A headless browser tool for interacting with complex pages.

3. Data Storage & Processing

CSV/Excel – For small-scale data storage and analysis.

MySQL/PostgreSQL – For managing large datasets.

MongoDB – NoSQL storage for flexible data handling.

Step-by-Step Guide to Scraping DoorDash Restaurant and Menu Data

Step 1: Understanding DoorDash’s Website Structure

DoorDash loads data dynamically using AJAX, requiring network request analysis using Developer Tools.

Step 2: Identify Key Data Points

Restaurant name, location, and rating

Menu items, pricing, and availability

Delivery time estimates

Customer reviews and sentiments

Step 3: Extract Data Using Python

Using BeautifulSoup for Static Dataimport requests from bs4 import BeautifulSoup url = "https://www.doordash.com/restaurants" headers = {"User-Agent": "Mozilla/5.0"} response = requests.get(url, headers=headers) soup = BeautifulSoup(response.text, "html.parser") restaurants = soup.find_all("div", class_="restaurant-name") for restaurant in restaurants: print(restaurant.text)

Using Selenium for Dynamic Contentfrom selenium import webdriver from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By from selenium.webdriver.chrome.service import Service service = Service("path_to_chromedriver") driver = webdriver.Chrome(service=service) driver.get("https://www.doordash.com") restaurants = driver.find_elements(By.CLASS_NAME, "restaurant-name") for restaurant in restaurants: print(restaurant.text) driver.quit()

Step 4: Handling Anti-Scraping Measures

Use rotating proxies (ScraperAPI, BrightData).

Implement headless browsing with Puppeteer or Selenium.

Randomize user agents and request headers.

Step 5: Store and Analyze the Data

Convert extracted data into CSV or store it in a database for advanced analysis.import pandas as pd data = {"Restaurant": ["ABC Cafe", "XYZ Diner"], "Rating": [4.5, 4.2]} df = pd.DataFrame(data) df.to_csv("doordash_data.csv", index=False)

Analyzing Scraped DoorDash Data

1. Price Comparison & Market Analysis

Compare menu prices across different restaurants to identify trends and pricing strategies.

2. Customer Reviews Sentiment Analysis

Utilize NLP to analyze customer feedback and satisfaction.from textblob import TextBlob review = "The delivery was fast and the food was great!" sentiment = TextBlob(review).sentiment.polarity print("Sentiment Score:", sentiment)

3. Delivery Time Optimization

Analyze delivery time patterns to improve efficiency.

Challenges & Solutions in DoorDash Data Scraping

ChallengeSolutionDynamic Content LoadingUse Selenium or PuppeteerCAPTCHA RestrictionsUse CAPTCHA-solving servicesIP BlockingImplement rotating proxiesData Structure ChangesRegularly update scraping scripts

Ethical Considerations & Best Practices

Follow robots.txt guidelines to respect DoorDash’s policies.

Implement rate-limiting to prevent excessive server requests.

Avoid using data for fraudulent or unethical purposes.

Ensure compliance with data privacy regulations (GDPR, CCPA).

Conclusion

DoorDash Data Scraping is competent enough to provide an insight for market research, pricing analysis, and customer sentiment tracking. With the right means, methodologies, and ethical guidelines, an organization can use Scrape DoorDash Food Delivery Data to drive data-based decisions.

For automated and efficient extraction of DoorDash food data, one can rely on CrawlXpert, a reliable web scraping solution provider.

Are you ready to extract DoorDash data? Start crawling now using the best provided by CrawlXpert!

Know More : https://www.crawlxpert.com/blog/scraping-doordash-restaurant-and-menu-data

#ScrapeDoorDashRestaurant #DoorDashDataScraping #ScrapingDoorDashRestaurant #ScrapedDoorDashData

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liquidwebdevelopers · 12 days ago

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Shopify Optimization Services: Boost Speed, Conversions & Sales

Why Shopify Optimization Matters

Your Shopify store's performance directly impacts revenue. Studies show that 53% of mobile users abandon sites that take over 3 seconds to load, every 1-second delay reduces conversions by 7%, and optimized stores typically see 2-3X higher conversion rates. Professional Shopify optimization services fix these issues systematically to maximize your store's potential.

Core Shopify Optimization Services

1. Speed Optimization

Our technical experts analyze and improve every aspect of your store's performance:

Theme and code refactoring to remove bloat and minify assets

Advanced image optimization, including WebP conversion and lazy loading

Comprehensive app performance audit to identify and fix slowdowns

Global CDN implementation for faster content delivery worldwide

Shopify Plus hosting consultation for enterprise stores

2. Conversion Rate Optimization

We implement data-driven improvements across your store.

Strategic A/B testing of headlines, CTAs, and design elements

Checkout flow optimization to reduce steps and increase completion

Mobile-first UX enhancements for thumb-friendly navigation

Trust signal implementation, including security badges and review displays

3. SEO Optimization

Our holistic approach improves both technical and content SEO.

Deep technical fixes, including structured data and canonical tags

Keyword-optimized product descriptions and blog content

Strategic internal linking for better search engine crawlability

Core Web Vitals optimization for better search rankings

4. Advanced Functionality

We build custom solutions to enhance user experience.

AJAX cart implementation for seamless adding

Predictive search with intelligent suggestions

Sophisticated product filtering systems

Immersive AR/3D product visualization tools

Our Proven Optimization Process

Comprehensive Audit—We conduct a 360-degree examination of your store's speed, SEO, conversions, and UX.

Strategic Planning—Our team identifies quick wins and long-term improvements based on potential revenue impact.

Expert Implementation—Certified Shopify developers and marketers work together to execute optimizations.

Rigorous Testing—We validate all changes with before/after performance metrics.

Ongoing Monitoring—Monthly check-ins ensure sustained high performance.

Typical Optimization Results

Stores using our optimization services typically achieve:

50-70% faster page load times (often reducing from 4+ seconds to under 2)

60-90% improvement in conversion rates

30-50% reduction in mobile bounce rates

Significant increases in pages per session and average order value

When to Consider Professional Optimization

Your store likely needs professional optimization if:

Loading speed exceeds 2.5 seconds on mobile.

Conversion rates are below 2%.

Mobile bounce rates are above 50%.

SEO rankings have plateaued or declined.

You're preparing for high-traffic sales events.

Optimization Service Tiers

Essential Optimization ($500 one-time)

Comprehensive store audit report

10 high-impact optimization fixes

Basic speed and SEO improvements

Growth Accelerator ($1,500 one-time)

Full technical and conversion audit

25+ strategic optimizations

Advanced functionality implementations

30-day performance monitoring

Enterprise Solution (Custom Pricing)

Unlimited optimizations

Dedicated developer team

Continuous A/B testing

Quarterly re-optimization

Get Started With Optimization

Free Store Audit—Receive instant recommendations.

Strategy Session—Prioritize fixes based on your goals.

Optimization Phase—Our team implements improvements.

Results Tracking—Measure your improved KPIs.

Most stores see ROI within 30-60 days through increased conversions and reduced ad spend waste. Let's discuss how we can optimize your Shopify store for maximum performance.

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codingbitrecords · 18 days ago

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Build website using CodeIgniter MVC

We are a team of skilled and passionate developers offering professional web development services using PHP and the powerful CodeIgniter framework based on the MVC (Model-View-Controller) architecture.

🔹 Core Technologies We Use

PHP – Robust server-side scripting language

CodeIgniter (CI 3 & 4) – Lightweight MVC framework for fast development

MySQL / MariaDB – Reliable relational databases

HTML, CSS, JavaScript – For clean, responsive front-end design

AJAX, jQuery, Bootstrap, Tailwind – To enhance UI/UX

🧠 Our Development Approach

Requirement Analysis – We listen and understand your goals

Clean Architecture (MVC) – Structured, scalable code

Agile Development – You get regular updates

Responsive Design – Works flawlessly on mobile & desktop

Testing & Optimization – For speed, security, and usability

📞 Phone Number: +91 9511803947 📧 Email Address: [email protected]

#PHP #CodeIgniter #CodeIgniter4 #PHPMVC #CodeIgniterDeveloper #CodeIgniterFramework #PHPCoding #PHPWebDevelopment

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wpbot-pro · 24 days ago

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Top 6 Knowledge Base Plugins for Creating a WordPress Help Center (2025)

In today’s digital world, customers expect fast, 24/7 access to support — and they prefer solving problems on their own before reaching out to a live agent. This shift in user behavior has made self-service help centers a must-have for businesses of all sizes.

If your website runs on WordPress, you’re in luck. There are several powerful knowledge base plugins that make it easy to create an organized, user-friendly help center. Whether you’re a SaaS business, an online store, or a service provider, the right plugin can save your support team time and improve customer satisfaction.

Here’s a detailed breakdown of the top 6 knowledge base plugins for WordPress in 2025 — including their features, pros, cons, and best use cases.

1. KBx – AI-Powered Support System

Best For: Businesses that want an all-in-one solution with AI chatbot support.

KBx is a complete support platform designed specifically for WordPress. It combines a knowledge base, FAQ, glossary, live chat, and AI chatbot powered by ChatGPT and Dialogflow — all in one plugin.

Key Features:

Unified knowledge base, FAQ, and glossary system

AI chatbot powered by OpenAI’s ChatGPT & Google Dialogflow

Live chat and ticketing (Pro version)

Conversational Forms add-on for dynamic user input

Multi-language and RTL support

Customization tools for brand alignment

Why Choose KBx?

✅ Excellent for automation and scalability

✅ Reduces support volume significantly

✅ Offers both self-service and live support options

✅ Ideal for businesses needing global support

Ideal for: Businesses looking for a hybrid support system with both AI and self-service documentation.

2. BetterDocs

Best For: Startups and growing websites looking for flexibility and performance.

BetterDocs is a popular knowledge base plugin that offers a sleek interface and a variety of customization options. It’s ideal for teams that want full control over the design and organization of their help center.

Key Features:

Instant AJAX search suggestions

Multiple templates and layout options

Analytics dashboard to track performance

Integration with Elementor, Gutenberg, and more

Floating table of contents widget

Pros:

Free version available

Easy integration with page builders

Powerful analytics and user insights

Cons:

❌ Slight learning curve for beginners

Ideal for: Content-heavy sites and teams using Elementor or other page builders.

3. Echo Knowledge Base

Best For: Small businesses and service providers.

Echo KB takes a modular approach, making it easy to set up and scale. It supports multiple layout styles, structured categories, and custom article URLs.

Key Features:

Multiple display templates (tabs, lists, categories)

Built-in feedback and search analytics

Custom slugs and metadata

Beginner-friendly interface

Pros:

Affordable pricing tiers

Clean interface for users and admins

Flexible content organization

Cons:

❌ Limited customization in free version

Ideal for: Teams that want a no-fuss, functional knowledge base.

4. weDocs

Best For: Freelancers, developers, and small teams on a budget.

weDocs is a lightweight and open-source plugin that focuses on simplicity. While it doesn’t include AI or advanced analytics, it’s perfect for those who just need to document processes and guides clearly.

Key Features:

Drag-and-drop doc reordering

Clean, minimalist front-end design

Simple article organization

Pros:

Completely free

Developer-friendly

Lightweight and fast

Cons:

❌ Lacks advanced features like live search and feedback tools

Ideal for: Developers or projects where minimalism and speed are priorities.

5. WPHelpere

Best For: SaaS businesses and multilingual websites.

WPHelpere is a premium plugin that combines FAQs, documentation, and knowledge base features into one powerful tool. It also supports RTL languages and WPML integration for global reach.

Key Features:

Multiple content types: FAQ, Docs, KB

Instant AJAX live search

Article voting and feedback system

Shortcodes and layout flexibility

Pros:

Multilingual support

Built for speed and customization

Great for product documentation

Cons:

❌ No free version

Ideal for: SaaS products with international users or complex support documentation.

6. Heroic Knowledge Base

Best For: Businesses seeking a polished, premium support solution.

Heroic KB is a premium-only plugin that focuses entirely on delivering a clean and effective knowledge base experience. With instant live search, analytics, and beautiful templates, it’s built for professional help centers.

Key Features:

Real-time article suggestions while typing

Built-in analytics to monitor performance

Drag-and-drop content ordering

Article feedback (thumbs up/down)

SEO-optimized structure

Pros:

Fast and responsive

Easy to use

Seamless WordPress theme integration

Cons:

❌ Premium-only; starts at $149/year

Ideal for: Companies that want a dedicated, polished help center out of the box.

How to Choose the Right Plugin

Not sure which plugin is right for you? Ask yourself:

Do you want a free or premium solution? Free tools like weDocs and BetterDocs (Free) are great starters. Premium tools offer more polish and power.

Need AI or chatbot support? Go for KBx — it’s the most complete AI-driven option on the list.

Do you use a page builder like Elementor or Gutenberg? BetterDocs integrates seamlessly.

Need multilingual or RTL support? Choose WPHelpere or KBx.

Scaling your support content over time? Look for plugins with analytics, categorization, and customization.

Final Thoughts

Building a WordPress knowledge base or help center is one of the smartest moves you can make for your business. It reduces support costs, increases customer satisfaction, and gives your users instant access to the answers they need.

Whether you're a solopreneur or scaling a large support operation, the plugins listed above offer something for every use case and budget. Explore them, test demos, and invest in the one that fits your workflow best.

Your users will thank you.

This article was inspired by Create a Self-Service Help Center: 6 Best Knowledge Base Plugins for WordPress

#WordPress #HelpCenter #WPPlugins #SupportAutomatio #KnowledgeBase #AIChatbot

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actowizsolutions0 · 25 days ago

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Scrape Product Info, Images & Brand Data from E-commerce | Actowiz

Introduction

In today’s data-driven world, e-commerce product data scraping is a game-changer for businesses looking to stay competitive. Whether you're tracking prices, analyzing trends, or launching a comparison engine, access to clean and structured product data is essential. This article explores how Actowiz Solutions helps businesses scrape product information, images, and brand details from e-commerce websites with precision, scalability, and compliance.

Why Scraping E-commerce Product Data Matters

E-commerce platforms like Amazon, Walmart, Flipkart, and eBay host millions of products. For retailers, manufacturers, market analysts, and entrepreneurs, having access to this massive product data offers several advantages:

- Price Monitoring: Track competitors’ prices and adjust your pricing strategy in real-time.

- Product Intelligence: Gain insights into product listings, specs, availability, and user reviews.

- Brand Visibility: Analyze how different brands are performing across marketplaces.

- Trend Forecasting: Identify emerging products and customer preferences early.

- Catalog Management: Automate and update your own product listings with accurate data.

With Actowiz Solutions’ eCommerce data scraping services, companies can harness these insights at scale, enabling smarter decision-making across departments.

What Product Data Can Be Scraped?

When scraping an e-commerce website, here are the common data fields that can be extracted:

✅ Product Information

Product name/title

Description

Category hierarchy

Product specifications

SKU/Item ID

Price (Original/Discounted)

Availability/Stock status

Ratings & reviews

✅ Product Images

Thumbnail URLs

High-resolution images

Zoom-in versions

Alternate views or angle shots

✅ Brand Details

Brand name

Brand logo (if available)

Brand-specific product pages

Brand popularity metrics (ratings, number of listings)

By extracting this data from platforms like Amazon, Walmart, Target, Flipkart, Shopee, AliExpress, and more, Actowiz Solutions helps clients optimize product strategy and boost performance.

Challenges of Scraping E-commerce Sites

While the idea of gathering product data sounds simple, it presents several technical challenges:

Dynamic Content: Many e-commerce platforms load content using JavaScript or AJAX.

Anti-bot Mechanisms: Rate-limiting, captchas, IP blocking, and login requirements are common.

Frequent Layout Changes: E-commerce sites frequently update their front-end structure.

Pagination & Infinite Scroll: Handling product listings across pages requires precise navigation.

Image Extraction: Downloading, renaming, and storing image files efficiently can be resource-intensive.

To overcome these challenges, Actowiz Solutions utilizes advanced scraping infrastructure and intelligent algorithms to ensure high accuracy and efficiency.

Step-by-Step: How Actowiz Solutions Scrapes E-commerce Product Data

Let’s walk through the process that Actowiz Solutions follows to scrape and deliver clean, structured, and actionable e-commerce data:

1. Define Requirements

The first step involves understanding the client’s specific data needs:

Target websites

Product categories

Required data fields

Update frequency (daily, weekly, real-time)

Preferred data delivery formats (CSV, JSON, API)

2. Website Analysis & Strategy Design

Our technical team audits the website’s structure, dynamic loading patterns, pagination system, and anti-bot defenses to design a customized scraping strategy.

3. Crawler Development

We create dedicated web crawlers or bots using tools like Python, Scrapy, Playwright, or Puppeteer to extract product listings, details, and associated metadata.

4. Image Scraping & Storage

Our bots download product images, assign them appropriate filenames (using SKU or product title), and store them in cloud storage like AWS S3 or GDrive. Image URLs can also be returned in the dataset.

5. Brand Attribution

Products are mapped to brand names by parsing brand tags, logos, and using NLP-based classification. This helps clients build brand-level dashboards.

6. Data Cleansing & Validation

We apply validation rules, deduplication, and anomaly detection to ensure only accurate and up-to-date data is delivered.

7. Data Delivery

Data can be delivered via:

REST APIs

S3 buckets or FTP

Google Sheets/Excel

Dashboard integration

All data is made ready for ingestion into CRMs, ERPs, or BI tools.

Supported E-Commerce Platforms

Actowiz Solutions supports product data scraping from a wide range of international and regional e-commerce websites, including:

Amazon

Walmart

Target

eBay

AliExpress

Flipkart

BigCommerce

Magento

Rakuten

Etsy

Lazada

Wayfair

JD.com

Shopify-powered sites

Whether you're focused on electronics, fashion, grocery, automotive, or home décor, Actowiz can help you extract relevant product and brand data with precision.

Use Cases: How Businesses Use Scraped Product Data

Retailers

Compare prices across platforms to remain competitive and win the buy-box.

🧾 Price Aggregators

Fuel price comparison engines with fresh, accurate product listings.

📈 Market Analysts

Study trends across product categories and brands.

🎯 Brands

Monitor third-party sellers, counterfeit listings, or unauthorized resellers.

🛒 E-commerce Startups

Build initial catalogs quickly by extracting competitor data.

📦 Inventory Managers

Sync product stock and images with supplier portals.

Actowiz Solutions tailors the scraping strategy according to the use case and delivers the highest ROI on data investment.

Benefits of Choosing Actowiz Solutions

✅ Scalable Infrastructure

Scrape millions of products across multiple websites simultaneously.

✅ IP Rotation & Anti-Bot Handling

Bypass captchas, rate-limiting, and geolocation barriers with smart proxies and user-agent rotation.

✅ Near Real-Time Updates

Get fresh data updated daily or in real-time via APIs.

✅ Customization & Flexibility

Select your data points, target pages, and preferred delivery formats.

✅ Compliance-First Approach

We follow strict guidelines and ensure scraping methods respect site policies and data usage norms.

Security and Legal Considerations

Actowiz Solutions emphasizes ethical scraping practices and ensures compliance with data protection laws such as GDPR, CCPA, and local regulations. Additionally:

Only publicly available data is extracted.

No login-restricted or paywalled content is accessed without consent.

Clients are guided on proper usage and legal responsibility for the scraped data.

Frequently Asked Questions

❓ Can I scrape product images in high resolution?

Yes. Actowiz Solutions can extract multiple image formats, including zoomable HD product images and thumbnails.

❓ How frequently can data be updated?

Depending on the platform, we support real-time, hourly, daily, or weekly updates.

❓ Can I scrape multiple marketplaces at once?

Absolutely. We can design multi-site crawlers that collect and consolidate product data across platforms.

❓ Is scraped data compatible with Shopify or WooCommerce?

Yes, we can deliver plug-and-play formats for Shopify, Magento, WooCommerce, and more.

❓ What if a website structure changes?

We monitor site changes proactively and update crawlers to ensure uninterrupted data flow.

Final Thoughts

Scraping product data from e-commerce websites unlocks a new layer of market intelligence that fuels decision-making, automation, and competitive strategy. Whether it’s tracking competitor pricing, enriching your product catalog, or analyzing brand visibility — the possibilities are endless.

Actowiz Solutions brings deep expertise, powerful infrastructure, and a client-centric approach to help businesses extract product info, images, and brand data from e-commerce platforms effortlessly. Learn More

#ECommerceProductDataScrape #CustomizedScrapingStrategy #ProductDataScraping #ScrapingStrategy

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contactform7toanyapi · 1 month ago

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Top Ways to Send Form Data to Any REST API Instantly

In today's fast-paced digital landscape, businesses rely on real-time data to drive decisions, automate workflows, and stay competitive. One of the most common—and often overlooked—data entry points is the humble contact form. But what if you could instantly send that data to any REST API, CRM, or business tool without writing a single line of code?

In this guide, we'll break down the top ways to send form data to any REST API instantly, whether you're a marketer looking to sync leads with HubSpot, a developer integrating with a third-party service, or a startup founder automating lead routing.

Why Send Form Data to a REST API?

Forms are the gateway to lead capture, support tickets, user feedback, and countless other business operations. Traditionally, form submissions are emailed to inboxes or stored in local databases. But modern businesses need more than static email notifications—they need automation.

Benefits of Sending Form Data to an API:

✅ Instant lead routing to sales CRMs

✅ Real-time notifications in tools like Slack or Discord

✅ Dynamic updates to Google Sheets, Notion, or Airtable

✅ Task creation in platforms like Asana or Trello

✅ Workflow automation via Zapier, Make, or custom APIs

Now, let’s look at the top methods to make this happen.

1. Use a No-Code Tool Like ContactFormToAPI

If you want the fastest, most flexible way to connect a contact form to any REST API, tools like ContactFormToAPI are ideal.

How It Works:

Create an endpoint using the platform

Add a form or use your existing one (e.g., Contact Form 7, WPForms, Webflow)

Map form fields to the API request

Instantly POST data to any REST API with custom headers, tokens, or JSON payloads

Key Features:

No coding or backend setup required

Supports authentication, headers, and retries

Works with any form builder (WordPress, Framer, custom HTML, etc.)

Best For: Non-technical users, marketers, and teams needing fast setup.

2. Connect Your Form with Webhooks

Webhooks are the go-to option for real-time communication between your form and an API. Most modern form builders support webhooks.

How It Works:

Add a webhook URL to your form settings

When the form is submitted, the data is sent (usually via POST) to the API endpoint

Customize headers and payloads depending on the API spec

Supported By:

Contact Form 7 (with Flamingo or webhook add-ons)

Gravity Forms (via webhook add-on)

Typeform, Jotform, and others

Example Use Case:

Send new form submissions to a custom CRM endpoint or a third-party lead processing API.

Pros:

Native in many platforms

Flexible and fast

Secure (especially with token-based auth)

Cons:

Requires some technical knowledge to configure headers and payloads

Error handling and retry logic must be managed separately

3. Zapier or Make (Integromat) Integrations

Zapier and Make are automation platforms that bridge your form and any REST API using visual workflows.

How It Works:

Connect your form app as a trigger (e.g., Webflow form submitted)

Use HTTP modules in Zapier/Make to send the data to your desired REST API

Customize payloads, authentication, and error handling visually

Great For:

Teams already using Zapier for other automations

Integrating multiple services in a chain (e.g., form → CRM → Slack)

Pros:

Visual editor makes the setup easier

Supports delays, conditions, and filters

1000s of integrations built-in

Cons:

Monthly cost based on task volume

Latency (not always instant on free plans)

Less flexible than custom code or backend solutions

4. Use JavaScript Fetch/AJAX in the Front-End

If you're building your own form and want to send data instantly to an API, you can do it directly using JavaScript.

Sample Code:

CopyEdit

document.getElementById("myForm").addEventListener("submit", async function(e) {

e.preventDefault();

const formData = new FormData(this);

const data = Object.fromEntries(formData.entries());

const response = await fetch("https://api.example.com/leads", {

method: "POST",

headers: {

"Content-Type": "application/json",

"Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

body: JSON.stringify(data)

});

const result = await response.json();

console.log(result);

});

Pros:

Full control over how data is sent

Great for SPAs or static sites

Cons:

No fallback or retry logic

Exposes API keys unless properly protected

Not suitable for non-technical users

5. Build a Serverless Function or Backend Proxy

For more secure and robust form handling, use a serverless function (e.g., AWS Lambda, Vercel, Netlify Functions) or a backend API that proxies requests.

Flow:

Front-end form submits data to your serverless function

The function processes the data and calls the third-party REST API

You can log, sanitize, validate, and authenticate safely

Pros:

Secure: keeps tokens and logic server-side

Scalable and powerful

Supports retry and error handling

Cons:

Requires development time

Hosting knowledge needed

Use Case Example:

A startup that routes leads from multiple landing pages through a backend proxy to distribute them to various API endpoints based on rules.

6. Use Built-In API Integrations from Form Builders

Some advanced form builders include direct integrations with REST APIs or offer HTTP Request functionality.

Examples:

WPForms: With Webhooks or Zapier add-ons

Forminator (WPMU Dev): Built-in webhook support and API customization

Jotform: Can send submissions to any API endpoint via webhook

Best For: Users already using these platforms who don’t need additional tools

Final Thoughts

Sending form data to a REST API instantly doesn't have to be complicated. Whether you're a solo founder, growth marketer, or developer, there’s a method that fits your stack and your skill level.

If you're looking for the easiest and most flexible way to connect forms to any API, tools like ContactFormToAPI make it incredibly simple—no code, no backend, no hassle. With the right setup, your forms can become the starting point of fully automated, efficient business workflows.

#ContactForms #APIIntegration #AutomationTools

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nulledclubproblog · 1 month ago

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PHP Form Builder Nulled Script 6.0.4

Unlock Seamless Form Creation with PHP Form Builder Nulled Script Looking for a powerful yet easy-to-use solution to build web forms without writing endless lines of code? The PHP Form Builder Nulled Script is your go-to tool for creating professional-grade forms with speed and simplicity. Whether you’re a developer or a website owner, this tool is designed to make your life easier by simplifying the process of building responsive and dynamic forms for any purpose. What is PHP Form Builder Nulled Script? The PHP Form Builder Nulled Script is a robust, feature-rich script that allows you to generate custom web forms using PHP and Bootstrap frameworks. It eliminates the need for manual HTML coding, offering a drag-and-drop interface and an intuitive builder that streamlines form development. This nulled version gives you full access to all premium features for free, allowing you to experience its full potential without paying a dime. Technical Specifications Framework Compatibility: Bootstrap 3, 4, and 5 Language: PHP (compatible with PHP 7 and 8) Integration: MySQL, SMTP, Ajax, jQuery Validation: Built-in client and server-side validation Security: CSRF protection, XSS prevention, spam filters Outstanding Features and Benefits With the PHP Form Builder , you can create everything from simple contact forms to complex multi-step registration forms. Here are the top features that set it apart: Drag-and-Drop Builder: Build forms in minutes without writing a single line of HTML or CSS. Multi-Step Forms: Engage users with forms split into logical steps, increasing completion rates. Pre-Built Templates: Save time with dozens of ready-to-use templates tailored for different industries. Advanced Validation: Ensure data accuracy and prevent spam with real-time validations. AJAX Support: Seamless form submissions without page reloads enhance user experience. Email Integration: Configure SMTP to send form responses directly to your inbox. Why Choose PHP Form Builder Nulled Script? This nulled script delivers unmatched functionality and ease of use, empowering you to create forms that are not only functional but also visually appealing. Save time, reduce development costs, and improve user experience—all without compromising quality. Ideal Use Cases The PHP Form Builder Nulled Script is perfect for a wide range of applications: Contact forms for business websites Survey forms for market research Registration forms for events or memberships Quotation request forms for service providers Newsletter sign-ups with double opt-in support How to Install and Use Download: Get the nulled script from our website and extract the ZIP file. Upload: Upload the script files to your web server using FTP or cPanel. Configure: Edit the config.php file with your SMTP, database, and form settings. Build: Use the form builder interface to create your custom forms. Embed: Copy the generated form code and paste it into your website. That’s it—you’re ready to launch stunning forms with zero effort! Frequently Asked Questions Is this script safe to use? Yes, the PHP Form Builder Nulled Script comes with built-in security features such as CSRF tokens and spam protection mechanisms to keep your forms secure. Can I customize the form layout and design? Absolutely! The script offers full support for Bootstrap classes and custom CSS, allowing you to tailor the look and feel of your forms. Is there any limitation in the nulled version? No, this version gives you complete access to all premium features without restrictions. You get the same functionality as the original licensed version. Where can I find related tools? If you're looking for themes to match your newly built forms, check out the Porto NULLED theme—perfect for building fast, responsive websites. And for social media automation, don’t miss the powerful FS Poster NULLED Plugin, an ideal companion for scheduling and auto-sharing your content. Final Thoughts The PHP

Form Builder Nulled Script is a game-changer for anyone who needs to develop dynamic, responsive, and secure forms without the hassle of hand-coding. Whether you're managing a small business site or a large enterprise platform, this tool offers the flexibility and power you need—all available for free from our site. Download it today and start building smarter, faster, and better forms!

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billionviewsbllogpost · 1 month ago

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Laying Strong Foundations Across the GTA with Expert Post Hole Digging Services

When you need reliable and efficient post hole diggers in Ontario, look no further. Our specialized services provide professional post hole diggers for a variety of projects across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), including Whitby, Ajax, Pickering, and Scarborough, as well as the broader Ontario region including Oshawa. We understand the importance of accurate and sturdy post holes for fences, decks, signs, and more, and we're here to ensure your project starts on solid ground. Whether you're a homeowner in Whitby embarking on a new fencing project, a contractor in Ajax needing precise holes for deck supports, a landscaper in Pickering installing signage, or a developer in Scarborough requiring multiple holes for a large-scale build, access to dependable post hole diggers is essential. Our services extend throughout Ontario, ensuring that even projects in Oshawa benefit from our expertise and efficient equipment. Why Choose Professional Post Hole Diggers in the GTA and Ontario? Attempting to dig post holes manually can be time-consuming, physically demanding, and often results in inconsistent results. Professional post hole diggers utilize specialized equipment to create clean, accurately sized, and perfectly aligned holes quickly and efficiently. This saves you valuable time and effort, ensuring a strong and stable foundation for your construction projects, no matter if you're in Ajax, Whitby, Pickering, Scarborough, or anywhere else in Ontario, including Oshawa. Our Comprehensive Post Hole Digging Services Across the GTA and Ontario: We offer a range of post hole diggers services tailored to meet the diverse needs of our clients across the GTA and the wider Ontario area:

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Whether you're located in the heart of Scarborough, the growing suburbs of Ajax, the lakeside communities of Pickering or Whitby, or anywhere across Ontario, including the city of Oshawa, our post hole diggers are ready to provide the efficient and reliable service you need to get your project off to a strong start.

Contact us today for a quote and experience the ease and efficiency of professional post hole diggers in Ontario, including Oshawa, Whitby, Ajax, Pickering, and Scarborough! Let us help you lay the groundwork for your next successful project.

#Post Hole Diggers in Scarborough #Post Hole Diggers in Ajax #Post Hole Diggers in Pickering

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braininventoryusa · 1 month ago

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A Comprehensive Guide for AngularJS Web Application Developers

In the ever-evolving landscape of web development, businesses and developers continuously seek technologies that offer flexibility and performance. AngularJS stands out as one such powerful framework, especially when it comes to building single-page applications (SPAs) with rich user interfaces and seamless experiences.

This comprehensive guide aims to serve AngularJS web application developers, business owners, and tech enthusiasts by offering a deep dive into the essentials of AngularJS development, its benefits, best practices, and why partnering with a reliable AngularJS Development Company or a custom software development company in Indore can lead to success in digital ventures.

What is AngularJS?

AngularJS is an open-source JavaScript framework developed and maintained by Google. It is designed to make front-end development more intuitive and structured. With features such as two-way data binding, dependency injection, and MVC (Model-View-Controller) architecture, AngularJS simplifies complex coding tasks and enables developers to build responsive and interactive web applications.

From e-commerce platforms to enterprise dashboards, AngularJS is used by thousands of companies around the world. It remains popular in many markets, particularly among startups and medium-sized enterprises looking for Custom Mobile App Development.

Why AngularJS is Still Relevant in 2025

Despite the emergence of newer frameworks like Angular (the successor of AngularJS), React, and Vue, AngularJS still holds relevance in many ongoing projects. Here's why:

Legacy System Maintenance Many businesses still run critical applications built on AngularJS. Maintaining or upgrading these apps requires skilled AngularJS web application developers.

Cost-Effective for Small Projects For businesses with limited budgets, AngularJS offers a lightweight, quick-to-deploy framework with plenty of built-in functionalities.

Strong Community and Support AngularJS continues to have a large and active developer community that contributes to plugins, documentation, and forums.

Perfect for Prototyping and MVPs Startups looking for custom app developers often use AngularJS to rapidly prototype their ideas before scaling to larger frameworks.

Core Skills Required for AngularJS Web Application Developers

To become a proficient AngularJS developer, mastering certain technical and soft skills is essential. Here are some of the core competencies:

Technical Skills:

Proficiency in JavaScript, HTML, and CSS: Foundational for building any frontend application. Understanding of MVC Pattern: AngularJS heavily relies on this architecture for clean code separation.

RESTful APIs and AJAX: To enable server communication and dynamic content rendering.

Custom Directives and Services: Useful for creating reusable components and maintaining modularity.

Testing Frameworks: Familiarity with tools like Jasmine and Karma for unit testing.

Soft Skills:

Problem-solving and debugging

Effective communication for team collaboration

Time management and project handling

When you hire from a reputed AngularJS Development Company, you can expect developers to already possess these skill sets, ensuring high project quality and fast turnaround times.

Key Features of AngularJS

Here are some of the top features that make AngularJS a reliable choice for web application development:

1. Two-Way Data Binding

Changes in the UI automatically reflect in the underlying data model and vice versa. This reduces the boilerplate code developers have to write.

2. Dependency Injection

Services and dependencies are injected automatically by AngularJS, making the application more modular and testable.

3. Directives

Custom HTML elements and attributes can be created to add new functionality or manipulate the DOM easily.

4. Routing

With ngRoute or UI-Router, AngularJS allows developers to build single-page applications with multiple views.

5. Templates and Expressions

AngularJS extends HTML with dynamic template capabilities and powerful expressions for binding data to UI components.

Best Practices for AngularJS Web Development

For developers and companies offering custom software development in Indore, following best practices is essential to ensure efficiency and scalability. Here are some tips:

1. Keep Code Modular

Divide applications into small, manageable modules. This enhances code readability, reusability, and maintainability.

2. Use Component-Based Architecture

While AngularJS does not enforce components like newer frameworks, using directives and services smartly can mimic component-based design.

3. Optimize Performance

Minify JavaScript, remove unused dependencies, and use lazy loading to boost application performance.

4. Secure the Application

Use $sanitize for input sanitization, avoid direct DOM manipulations, and configure CORS policies properly.

5. Proper Documentation

Maintain clear documentation of modules, functions, and services, especially when working with teams or handing over projects.

The Role of AngularJS in Custom App Development in India

India has emerged as a global hub for software development, especially for startups and SMEs looking to outsource their development tasks. One of the key services offered is custom app development in India, which includes tailored AngularJS applications for diverse industries.

Whether it's fintech, e-commerce, healthcare, or education, AngularJS serves as a flexible framework that can adapt to different business requirements.

Here are some reasons businesses choose India:

Cost-effective services

Highly skilled developer pool

English-speaking teams

Strong IT infrastructure

Proven project delivery track records

Many Indian development companies specialize in AngularJS and offer full-stack development, UI/UX design services, testing, and post-launch support.

Why Hire a Custom Software Development Company in Indore?

Indore, a growing IT hub in Central India, is quickly becoming a go-to destination for outsourcing software projects. Here's why choosing a custom software development company in Indore is a strategic decision:

Talent Availability: Indore is home to several engineering and IT institutions, producing skilled AngularJS developers.

Affordable Pricing: Compared to metro cities, Indore offers more competitive pricing without compromising quality.

Growing IT Ecosystem: Many startups and established firms now operate in Indore, creating a thriving tech ecosystem.

High Client Retention Rate: Indore-based companies are known for strong customer relationships and timely project delivery.

If you’re seeking a partner for custom app development in the USA & India, collaborating with Indore-US-based firms can give you access to reliable talent and scalable services.

Future of AngularJS Development

While AngularJS itself is no longer receiving active updates from Google, it continues to be supported by many third-party developers and companies. For legacy systems or low-budget projects, AngularJS remains a practical choice. However, developers are also encouraged to learn Angular (2+) or other modern frameworks to stay ahead in the market.

Companies focusing on modernization often transition from AngularJS to newer stacks, but the expertise of AngularJS web application developers is still highly relevant for maintenance, support, and gradual migration strategies.

Conclusion

AngularJS is a time-tested framework that continues to play an important role in the development of responsive and robust web applications. Whether you are a business owner, a developer, or someone interested in web technology, understanding AngularJS fundamentals and industry best practices is vital.

For high-quality solutions, consider working with an experienced Brain Inventory or a custom software development company in the USA & Indore. They bring the expertise, resources, and cost-efficiency needed to turn your ideas into functional digital products.

If you are planning your next project and looking for reliable custom web & app development in India, AngularJS might still be the right tool in your tech stack, especially when paired with the right development team.

#AngularJS Development Company #AngularJS Web Development Company #AngularJS Development Services #Angularjs Web App Development

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crawlxpert01 · 13 days ago

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A Guide to Postmates Data Scraping for Market Research

Introduction

At this point, in what has become a very competitive market, food delivery is fully leveraging data-driven insights to fill any strategic decision rules of engagement in identifying what any business is offering. Postmates, which scrapes data, enables cooperations, researchers, and analysts to extract profitable restaurant listings, menu prices, customer reviews, and delivery times from these sources. This insight will be of great benefit in formulating pricing strategies, monitoring competition trends, and enhancing customer satisfaction levels.

This post will provide the best tools, techniques, legal issues, and challenges to discuss how to scrape the Postmates Food Delivery data effectively. It will give every person from a business owner to a data analyst and developer effective ways of extracting and analyzing Postmates data.

Why Scrape Postmates Data?

Market Research & Competitive Analysis – By extracting competitor data from Postmates, businesses can analyze pricing models, menu structures, and customer preferences.

Restaurant Performance Evaluation – Postmates Data Analysis helps restaurants assess their rankings, reviews, and overall customer satisfaction compared to competitors.

Menu Pricing Optimization – Understanding menu pricing across multiple restaurants allows businesses to adjust their own pricing strategies for better market positioning.

Customer Review & Sentiment Analysis – Scraping customer reviews can provide insights into consumer preferences, complaints, and trending menu items.

Delivery Time & Service Efficiency – Tracking estimated delivery times can help businesses optimize logistics and improve operational efficiency.

Legal & Ethical Considerations in Postmates Data Scraping

Before scraping data from Postmates, it is crucial to ensure compliance with legal and ethical guidelines.

Key Considerations:

Respect Postmates’ robots.txt File – Check Postmates’ terms of service to determine what content can be legally scraped.

Use Rate Limiting – Avoid overloading Postmates’ servers by controlling request frequency.

Ensure Compliance with Data Privacy Laws – Follow GDPR, CCPA, and other applicable regulations.

Use Data Responsibly – Ensure that extracted data is used ethically for business intelligence and market research.

Setting Up Your Web Scraping Environment

To efficiently Extract Postmates Data, you need the right tools and setup.

1. Programming Languages

Python – Preferred for web scraping due to its powerful libraries.

JavaScript (Node.js) – Useful for handling dynamic content loading.

2. Web Scraping Libraries

BeautifulSoup – Ideal for parsing static HTML data.

Scrapy – A robust web crawling framework.

Selenium – Best for interacting with JavaScript-rendered content.

Puppeteer – A headless browser tool for advanced scraping.

3. Data Storage & Processing

CSV/Excel – Suitable for small datasets.

MySQL/PostgreSQL – For handling structured, large-scale data.

MongoDB – NoSQL database for flexible data storage.

Step-by-Step Guide to Scraping Postmates Data

Step 1: Understanding Postmates’ Website Structure

Postmates loads its content dynamically through AJAX calls, meaning traditional scraping techniques may not be sufficient.

Step 2: Identifying Key Data Points

Restaurant names, locations, and ratings

Menu items, pricing, and special discounts

Estimated delivery times

Customer reviews and sentiment analysis

Step 3: Extracting Postmates Data Using Python

Using BeautifulSoup for Static Data Extraction: import requests from bs4 import BeautifulSoup url = "https://www.postmates.com" headers = {"User-Agent": "Mozilla/5.0"} response = requests.get(url, headers=headers) soup = BeautifulSoup(response.text, "html.parser") restaurants = soup.find_all("div", class_="restaurant-name") for restaurant in restaurants: print(restaurant.text)

Using Selenium for Dynamic Content: from selenium import webdriver from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By from selenium.webdriver.chrome.service import Service service = Service("path_to_chromedriver") driver = webdriver.Chrome(service=service) driver.get("https://www.postmates.com") restaurants = driver.find_elements(By.CLASS_NAME, "restaurant-name") for restaurant in restaurants: print(restaurant.text) driver.quit()

Step 4: Handling Anti-Scraping Measures

Postmates employs anti-scraping techniques, including CAPTCHAs and IP blocking. To bypass these measures:

Use rotating proxies (ScraperAPI, BrightData, etc.).

Implement headless browsing with Puppeteer or Selenium.

Randomize user agents and request headers to mimic human browsing behavior.

Step 5: Storing & Analyzing Postmates Data

Once extracted, store the data in a structured format for further analysis. import pandas as pd data = {"Restaurant": ["Burger Joint", "Sushi Palace"], "Rating": [4.6, 4.3]} df = pd.DataFrame(data) df.to_csv("postmates_data.csv", index=False)

Analyzing Postmates Data for Business Insights

1. Pricing Comparison & Market Trends

Compare menu prices and special deals to identify emerging market trends.

2. Customer Sentiment Analysis

Use NLP techniques to analyze customer feedback. from textblob import TextBlob review = "The delivery was quick, and the food was amazing!" sentiment = TextBlob(review).sentiment.polarity print("Sentiment Score:", sentiment)

3. Delivery Time Optimization

Analyze estimated delivery times to improve logistics and customer satisfaction.

Challenges & Solutions in Postmates Data Scraping

ChallengeSolutionDynamic Content LoadingUse Selenium or PuppeteerCAPTCHA RestrictionsUse CAPTCHA-solving servicesIP BlockingImplement rotating proxiesWebsite Structure ChangesRegularly update scraping scripts

Ethical Considerations & Best Practices

Follow robots.txt guidelines to respect Postmates’ scraping policies.

Use rate-limiting to avoid overloading servers.

Ensure compliance with GDPR, CCPA, and other data privacy regulations.

Leverage insights responsibly for business intelligence and market research.

Conclusion

Postmates Data Scraping curates vital statistics that point out the price variations, fulfillment preferences, and delivery efficiency across geographies. Those apt tools and ethical methodologies can aid any business to extract Postmates Data Efficiently for sharpening the edge over the competition.

For automated and scalable solutions to Postmates Extractor through web scraping technology, CrawlXpert provides one such reputable source.

Do you now get the point of unlocking market insights? Start scraping Postmates today with CrawlXpert's best tools and techniques!

Know More : https://www.crawlxpert.com/blog/postmates-data-scraping-for-market-research

#PostmatesDataScraping #ScrapePostmatesData #ScrapingPostmatesData

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