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As a startup founder of three years myself, I can relate to how legal housekeeping can be messy. Once a year, I have our own lawyers go through and do an audit of all of our legal paperwork (which costs a couple thousand dollars to be extremely thorough, but it’s worth it). Luckily, there are now many ways to easily manage and track all of your legal, financial, and HR documents via third-party sites that specialize in these management proceedings. I wrote a blog post about this awhile back titled “5 Ways to Save Time Dealing With Documents” which highlights certain sites that can be very beneficial depending on what paperwork you’d like to track or manage. They are as follows:1. GroupDocsGroupDocs is a new, comprehensive online service for document creation and management. It has multiple features, including a viewer for reading documents in your browser, an electronic signature service, an online document converter, a document assembly service, a feature for comparing different versions of a document, and an annotation feature. An individual plan is $10 per month for limited storage and 500 documents, while a group plan for up to 9 people is $19 per user per month. Based on the number of features and pricing, GroupDoc is a good-value purchase for a small business. As you’ll see below, GroupDocs can be cheaper than a service that offers only one such feature.2. signNowWhen you’re closing a deal and need to get documents signed, the last thing you need is a slow turnaround due to fax machine problems or the postal service. The solution is to use an electronic signature service such as signNow, which is one of the most popular e-signature companies in the world. This service allows you to email your documents to the person whose signature you need. Next, the recipient undergoes a simply e-signing process, and then signNow alerts you when the process is completed. Finally, signNow electronically stores the documents, which are accessible at any time. As a result, you can easily track the progress of the signature process and create an audit trail of your documents. The “Professional” plan is recommended for sole proprietors and freelancers, and costs $180 per year ($15 per month) for up to 50 requested signatures per month. The “Workgroup” plan is geared towards teams and businesses, and it costs $240 per user per year ($20 per month per user), for unlimited requested signatures.3. signNowsignNow is another e-signature service. Similar to signNow, signNow allows you to upload a PDF file, MS Word file or web application document. Next, you can edit the document, such as by adding initials boxes or tabs, and then email them out for signatures. Once recipients e-sign the document, signNow notifies you and archives the document. signNow offers low rates for these services: a 1-person annual plan with unlimited document sending costs $11 per month. An annual plan for 10 senders with unlimited document sending costs only $39 per month.4. ExariExari is a document assembly and contract management service that assists in automating high-volume business documents, such as sales agreements or NDAs. First, the document assembly service allows authors to create automated document templates. No technical knowledge is required; most authors are business analysts and lawyers. Authors have a variety of options for customizing documents, such as fill-in-the-blank fields, optional clauses, and dynamic updating of topic headings. They also can add questions that the end user must answer. Once you send out the document, the user answers the questionnaire, and Exari uses that data to customize the document. Next, the contract management feature allows you to store and track both the templates and the signed documents. Pricing is based on the size and scope of your planned implementation, so visit their website for more information.5. FillanyPDFIt’s a hassle having to print out PDF forms in order to complete them. Fortunately, FillanyPDF is a service that allows you to edit, fill out and send any PDFs, while entirely online. This “Fill & Sign” plan costs $5 per month, or $50 per year. If you subscribe to the “Professional” plan, you can also create fillable PDFs using your own documents. With this service, any PDF, JPG or GIF file becomes fillable when you upload it to the site. You can modify a form using white-out, redaction and drawing tools. Then, you can email a link to your users, who can fill out and e-sign your form on the website. FillanyPDF also allows you to track who filled out your forms, and no downloads are necessary to access these services.  The “Professional” plan costs $49 per month, or $490 per year.Switching firms can be a hassle. As a former startup attorney, I have a bit of advice about finding the right attorney for your business: it’s best to focus on the specific attorney you’ll be working with. He or she should have a solid understanding of the ins and outs of your business industry, a deep knowledge of the legal issues your startup may face, and previous work experience with startups to ensure a quality and efficient work product. This is absolutely key when matching our startup clients at UpCounsel to attorneys on our platform who can perform their legal work and hash out their legal projects in a timely manner. We also allow clients to store any and all of their legal documents directly on UpCounsel so they don’t have to go searching in alternative places for the correct paperwork. It’s proven to be a free and lightweight way to store legal documents that our clients love. Here's what it looks like:As I’ve mentioned, it’s more important to find the right attorney as opposed to the right law firm. And seeing as you’re a startup, our own startup clients typically save an average of 50-60% on their legal work, since the attorneys don't include overhead fees (a.k.a. the fees included for doing business with the firm itself) in their invoices.Hope this gives you a deeper look into what other sites and services are out there. If you have any questions or would like more information on how best to handle your legal housekeeping/ attorney matters, feel free to signNow out to me directly. As a former startup attorney at Latham & Watkins, I’d be happy to give you some guidance.

I am typing this answer from a Mid-2012 15″ Retina Display Macbook pro. This laptop since the time it was bought has seldom seen a day it was not switched on and used for 10 hours or more.Never has it felt slow or sluggish or needed an OS reinstall. It has received a major software update every single year that has made the laptop progressively better. When needed, I am able to use Parallels to boot into windows and have it work as well as it does on a Windows laptop. Same holds for Linux too. It has survived more than a few falls and a fair share of abuse.Apple for its part has,Replaced the entire screen when I had a single dead pixelReplaced the entire top case, when I felt the shift key was slightly looseReplaced the entire screen again when there was a recall for potential issue with the anti reflective coatingReplaced the GPU, 4 years after purchase, based on a recallThe only work I paid for was a battery replacement last month after thousands of battery cycles. This constituted replacing the entire top case again, along with a new keyboard and trackpad for a very reasonable $200.While they were at replacing the battery, because the technician felt the ports did not align perfectly (Probably due to a fall that I caused earlier in its life) and he also replaced the entire logic board on the 6 year old laptop, essentially transforming it into a nearly new laptop again.The 6+ year old laptop now functions like new, has a battery backup of 7+ hours and just had the latest Mojave beta installed on it.In contrast to this, a Lenovo - Windows signature laptop that I purchased from a Windows store around the same time, was screwed up when updating form windows 7 to 8. The issue was because of a driver file that was supposed to manage a hybrid HDD and SSD. The store could not help me or replace the computer. I eventually had to spend several weekends fixing it myself. The laptop lasted another year and half before it completely died.To avoid this being brushed aside as a one off case of good fortune with my Macbook pro, let me also add that my business has about 40 computers, with a fair share of both Mac and Windows computers. We have everything ranging from Mac mini’s, iMacs, Macbook Air’s and Macbook Pro’s. They date all the way back to 2012 and the only issue they have ever faced is needing to replace a faulty hard drive in one of the iMacs. On the contrary, the windows laptops and desktops we have used haven’t fared so well and have an average replacement time of 2.5 years.I have also owned 16+ phones over the past 7 years and that includes every generation of iPhone starting from the iPhone 3gs, to the iPhone X that I use now. I have also tried a variety of android phones; usually at least one from each generation and other phones like a windows phone and a blackberry. I have an old iPhone 5 and 5S still lying around, that work pretty well. In fact the 5S is getting the iOS 12 update, almost 5 years after its release. Anytime I have had an issue with an iPhone, it simply involves walking into the apple store and walking out with a replacement device. I cant recall even a single instance where I had to leave the phone and come back later. My Samsung and Sony phones on the other hand have had me ship the phone out for repairs and have made me wait a minimum of 2 weeks to get it back.I also own an iPad (Apple even replaced one of the iPads that I dropped and broke within about a month of purchase, with a new one, simply because they could), Apple watch and airpods. My iPad air has been working flawlessly now for about 4 years and my watch for 3 years or so. The airpods have survived multiple drops and even a short washing cycle.I can’t think of any other brand that has given me the consistent reliability that apple has demonstrated with it’s products, almost across its entire product line. I have also not seen any other brand even come close to offering the quality of service that I have received from Apple over the years.In addition to this, almost every person I know in my personal or professional life, including my own parents have never turned back to an Andriod phone or a windows laptop after being introduced to an iPhone or a Mac. The most commonly cited reason for not turning back is ‘ease of use’. Personally, I am a tech enthusiast and love tinkering around with both hardware and software. I can find my way around most electronic devices very well and even with that background, I do find Apple products to be consistently better designed from a user experience perspective and will certainly prefer and pick an Apple device when I want something that simply works well. I imagine this difference in UX would be even more acute for a less tech savvy user.My experience with apple clearly suggests this; Sure, I may have paid more upfront for some of the Apple products that I have purchased over the years, compared to alternatives. But, when you consider the full cost of ownership, such comparisons become almost meaningless with Apple being the clear winner in terms of cost and most other factors you compare them on, such as performance, user experience or support.While there are several genuine criticisms that stand against Apple and its products, many that you hear on a daily basis such as Apple being expensive, come from people who have never owned or consistently used an Apple product. If you are trying to decide if an apple device is worth it, it would be far more prudent just to try one yourself or at least rely on the collective opinions of people who have used both Apple products and non Apple alternativesPS: Before being labelled an Apple fanboy, let me add that I was a windows only person for the first 21 years of my life. I am a software engineer and a tech enthusiast who loves good technology products irrespective of its brand. Despite what I have said about Apple above, I also own and use Windows laptops, desktops, tablets (Both Windows and other Os’s), Computers running Linux, Game Consoles, Electronics from other manufacturers such as Tv’s, Projectors, Monitors and so on. All devices have been paid for out of my own pocket and there is very little incentive for me to favor Apple, except based on my own purchase and ownership experiences.Edit: Adding a picture as I am seeing comments and messages questioning the authenticity of the answer. Hope this settles it.

Unfortunately, many non-EEA nationals living in Germany need a visa to travel to the UK as a Schengen visa or German residency permit doesn’t allow entry to the UK. In this answer, I will try to explain the process of getting a Visa (tourist) for non-EEA nationals living in Germany.SEE ALSO: https://thehonest.blog/uk-visit-...Do I need a UK Visa?Before you visit the UK, the most important question you should ask is: Do I need a Visa? You can check if you need a UK Visa here: https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa/yFollow the simple steps:Select your countrySelect the intention for your visit to the UK. For example, if you want to visit the UK as a tourist, select “Tourism”Select if you will be traveling with or visiting either your partner or a family member in the UK. If you are traveling with or visiting either your partner or a family member in the UK, you will be asked to select if you have an article 10 residence card.What is an article 10 residence card? Read HereAfter following the above steps, you will be shown if you need a visa or not. In case if you need a visa, you will also be informed of the exact visa type you will need.UK Standard Visitor visaThis type of visa is valid for:visiting the UK on holidayto see your family and friends,do business (for example, conference, meeting, etc; but you CANNOT do paid or unpaid work),take part in sports or creative events, orreceive private medical treatment.Study for up to 30 days (as far as it is not the main reason for your visit)It is valid for up to 6 months from the date of issue and costs £93 (as of Sept. 2018), excluding User pay fee (£59) and fees for any selected Value added services at TLScontact. The last time I applied for a UK standard visitor visa (July 2018), I paid €176 including User pay fee and an additional €30 for express courier return (value-added service).UK Visa type: Standard VisitorFees (as of Sept 2018): Visa Fee: £93, User pay fee: £59Validity: Up to 6 months (multi-entry)Earliest you can apply: 3 months before the intended date of travelAverage processing time: 2~3 weeks (maybe longer during the rush season)Visa centers in Germany: Düsseldorf, Munich, BerlinHow to apply?Go to https://www.visa4uk.fco.gov.uk/h... and create an account (if you don’t have one already; otherwise log in to your existing account).Login into your visa4uk account and select: “Apply for myself” – if you are applying for yourself “Apply for someone else” – if you are applying for a family member or a friendFill in the form that appears. Make sure you fill in all the details as mentioned in your passport and other supporting documents. You may see a notification that says “Please note there is an additional fee…”. This refers to the User Pay fee mentioned above.Select the visa type, that was suggested by https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa/yNote the reference number starting with “GWF”. It will be needed later on.Now select “Create application”Now select “go to application” and fill in all the details thoroughly.Sign the declaration (Electronic Signature)Book an appointment (You will have to select a location from Düsseldorf, Munich or Berlin). In my experience, Düsseldorf has the fastest processing time. You can check the visa processing times here: https://visa-processingtimes.hom...Pay the visa fee (~ €176 in Aug 2018). There are many options to pay the visa fee like PayPal, Master/Visa cards, Maestro cards, etc. Note: If you want to withdraw your application, you may only get a full refund of visa fee if you cancel the appointment and submit a written request at least 5 days before your scheduled appointment.Once the payment is successful, go to https://uk.tlscontact.com/de/dus...Select the same location from step 8 at TLScontact website.Click register (if you don’t already have an account). Otherwise login into your existing account.Click “Add an applicant” (Blue button at bottom of the page).Enter the GWF number from “step 5”, all other details as mentioned in your passport.If you select the return courier service, it will cost you €30 in addition. If you don’t select this service, you will have to come back to the visa center to pick up your passport after the visa is issued (or rejected). I would highly recommend this service if you don’t live near one of the visa centers.A list of Required Documents is mentioned here: UK visit visa for Non-EEA nationals living in Germany - The Honest BlogVisa appointmentYou and every who is applying with you (friends/family) have to be present in person.Carry all required documents in original (to be on the safer side) and a photocopy (A4 size). In case you forget to get a photocopy, most visa centers have a photocopying machine (but they charge as much as 50 cents per copy).Arrive at the visa appointment location 15 minutes in advance.Don’t carry too much luggage or any dangerous items – your bags will be checked before allowing you to enter in.In case if you have opted for courier return for your passport, you may be asked to fill an additional form confirming the return address.Once your name / GWF number is called, you have to submit all the documents followed by biometrics (fingerprints and photo will be taken). Note: There are no British officials present at the time of document collection. There will be no formal visa interview. You will not be asked any questions (only document collection). The TLScontact representatives will blindly collect the documents you provide them. They will not tell you if something is missing or is extra. It is your duty to make sure you provide all the documents you want to be considered for your visa process (There is no harm in providing an extra document, but failing to provide even a single required document can result in a rejection). Note: Make sure you have don’t have any tattoos (like Henna) on your fingers that will hamper them from obtaining fingerprints.TLScontact will retain your current passport and copy of all the documents. You will be given a TLScontact checklist (Example below) and sent a confirmation email as well.This is the end of the visa application procedure. Note: There are some paid value-added services that allow you to apply and keep hold of your passport during the decision making process. You will have to submit the passport at a later point in time for visa stamping.Normally, after 2-3 weeks you will receive a notification email that your passport is ready for collection. You can track the progress of your visa on TLScontact website.Passport collectionIf you have opted for express courier return, you will receive your passport by courier (Usually it is sent by DHL express. You have to be present at home to collect it as a signature is needed. It is not delivered to neighbors or Packstation).If you have opted for express courier return, you will need to go the visa application center with the following documents to collect your passport (once you receive a confirmation that the passport is ready for collection):TLScontact checklist.Original and photocopy of a Photo-ID (for example: Driving license or Aufenthaltstitel).If collected by someone else, they will need original Authorisation form and representative’s valid photo ID document (copy & original) in addition to the above two documents.If collecting for a minor, a copy of the birth certificate is required.

4 essential productivity tools to run your sales organizationIn the modern day and age, every sales division has no choice but to make use of the productivity tools that are on the market. The Wolf of Wallstreet days of taking the yellow pages and randomly dialing people up are long gone.“Sales is a numbers game”Sales will always remain a numbers game, but thanks to new technology and more specific the rise of Saas companies, it has become a “Smart” numbers game.Calling 100,000 people at random will (assuming your product doesn’t totally blow) get you a certain number of customers. If this random dialing would get you a 1% conversion, you would have made 1000 sales. Yippee!If however, these 100,000 people weren’t randomly picked, but specifically chosen within the ideal target audience of your startup/company. The conversion would easily be 10x higher, meaning you would only have to call up 1 tenth of people to get to the same result.This is the reason that a lot of startups are driving massive amounts of sales while having a sales force that is literally 1/20th of what the big players in their segment are using. By having the necessity to work lean, these startups make full use of productivity tools, and that’s what it is about. In order to have a competitive edge, your sales people need to work as “smart” as possible, by outsourcing frivolous tasks to these specific tools.Here are 5 essential productivity tools that will help your sales organization play a smarter game.Lead generating toolLinkedin has done a great job by introducing the Sales Navigator tool, making it easier than ever before to find and manage the people that would be most interested in buying your product. You can create lists of leads within your target audience and then download them to your computer.Pricing: 1 month free trial ($59/month afterwards)Inbound marketing softwareHubspot is an inbound marketing software platform that helps companies attract visitors, convert leads, and close customers.It is useful to create forms and CTAs that track, score and nurtures leads. If you were able to attract people to your website, you should put in the extra effort to reel them in as a customer.Pricing: 1 month free trialMeeting and call scheduling toolHaving your sales force working smart, means they spend the least amount of time on frivolous activities such as scheduling their calls or meetings.Plann3r is an AI driven smart scheduling tool that takes into account calendar data combined with time zones and location in order to schedule your calls and meetings at the ideal moment.It is extremely handy for international calls, group meetings or if your salespeople are on the road going from meeting to meeting.Pricing: Freemium model; indefinite free tier and a $2.5/user/month paid tier with premium options.CRM systemOnce you have found the people that you want to sell to, you will need a so-called CRM system to keep track of them. A CRM system holds all the information of all past (and even foreseen) communications with your customers and leads.There are established brands like Salesforce or Oracle who have a large variety of tools that you can add onto their CRM. But there are also a lot of starting players that are worth looking into. An example would be Salesflare that uses among other things AI (artificial intelligence) to enhance your selling process.Pricing: Oracle/Salesforce (from $25/Users/Month); Sales flare (Free 14 days trial and then $30/Users/month)signNowsignNow provides an electronic signature platform, making it possible to close and sign deals completely online. Your sales force will be able to close faster and focus their energy straight towards the next deal.Pricing: Free Trial;$10/User/MonthTLDR; Using these four tools would increase your sales process as follows:Generating inbound leads with Hubspot: Outbound with Linkedin Sales NavigatorAutomatically scheduling meetings with them with Plann3rClosing the deal faster with signNowThis blogpost was originally posted (by myself) here. More tips to be as productive as you can in sales can be found here.Hope it helps!Cheers

For everyone asking questions on WES. Steps for WES ECA evaluation for Canada Immigration purpose, important points and some more info.(a lot of info, so going to be a long post) Before you start just check following things: 1. Website: World Education Services Canada: International Credential Evaluation [ https://www.wes.org/ca/ ] Please please go through the website and make yourself familiar with navigation. You will get most of your answers there. Don't start asking questions before going through information posted on website. Its for your own good to get first hand information before listening to other people. ***Always make sure you are on Canada website not USA one. you can see that on top right corner of Website where a flag is listed with country name or in website address with "/ca" listed in address.*** 2. Degree equivalency tool Degree Equivalency Tool [ https://applications.wes.org/ca/degree-equivalency-tool/ ] WES has free tool to check equivalency of your degree to Canadian degree. Don't rely completely on this as the final assessment always depends on the actual evaluation but it will give you an idea and a head start. If your degree is not listed there it doesn't mean it wont be equivalent to anything, you will get to know that in real assessment. ***If you are not sure after using the tool, if your degree/college will be valid for ECA through WES try to email/ WES to check or ask if anyone had same degree evaluated before. That might help you little bit in the case where your degree/ college is not valid and save you some money, you can check other designated organizations for your ECA then.*** 3. Required Documents Required Documents - World Education Services [ https://www.wes.org/ca/required-documents/ ] Check what documents you need for your evaluation here. If you don't have those in hand just start collecting those. Get your transcripts from your university or any other document listed as per your education. You can also ask your university if they can mail your transcripts directly to WES, you can use "Academic records request form" given on website for this. Check if your University needs their own form filled too for releasing your documents.(do this after you get your WES reference number as you will need that in case you are giving the address of WES to university for mailing your transcripts, In case you are taking your transcripts yourself for mailing, you can get reference number later too). ***Make sure your transcripts are valid. Transcripts must show: all subjects taken, grades received for each subject, and for each year you were in the program. Semester wise transcripts are not valid for evaluation. Transcripts should be sealed and signed with a stamp from university.*** ***If your University does not give subject-wise Transcript, Ask if you can get all your mark sheets attested from University, and they will sign and stamp all photocopies and put them in one envelope and seal them with stamp like transcripts. That is mostly called document verification in University.*** 4. Check how will you pay your fees. Credit card/ Money order/ Western Union or in case any other option listed in instructions. Check it out. Fee is approximately $225-$230(including taxes) in Canadian currency. Rest depends on what additional services you chose for delivery etc. Cheapest courier option is $7. ECA - World Education Services [ https://www.wes.org/ca/evaluations-and-fees/eca/ ] Next steps: 1. Create a WES account. World Education Services Canada: International Credential Evaluation [ https://www.wes.org/ca/#get-started ] Click "Apply now", then click on "Canada", Then "ECA application for IRCC" and proceed with further steps. ***Make sure you choose ECA application for IRCC not the other option.*** Fill up your details in all pages very carefully and correctly. You will have to provide a recipient address, give your address there. When you will proceed it will automatically generate "Recipient 2" as IRCC. Don't worry about that one, it is used for electronic delivery of your records to IRCC when you put your WES report number while filling your express entry profile. 2. Pay your fees 3. Reference number will be generated.(This will be used in all your communications with WES) ***Once you submit your profile and reference number is generated you cannot edit your information so do not be in haste, check carefully and then submit.*** ***Your reference number is not ECA report number. You can't use it in Express entry profile. It is only used for communication with WES. When your evaluation is completed and you get your ECA report it will have your ECA number which you will mention in Express Entry application.*** 4. Read all instructions on what documents to send and at which address. *** Put your reference number on all your transcript envelops(at an empty space, not on the seal or signature or anywhere on flaps) and backside of your degree photocopies. I will suggest using a pencil not a pen for that as sometimes pen ink leaks through paper.*** ***You can put all your documents in one big/ master envelope and send to WES. No need to mail everything separately. Make sure again to put your reference number with WES address on the packet.*** ***Do not send any original document to WES unless asked specifically with instructions that they will return it after evaluation.*** 5. you can check status of your application by logging in your WES account. It will show once they have received your documents, your evaluation report will take up to 20 days after your documents are received. Be patient. ***If you are using tracking with your courier and it shows your documents delivered but WES account doesn't show received don't panic. It takes up to a week for WES to update receiving of documents.*** 6. Once your evaluation is completed you most probably will receive an email. You can find pdf copy of your report by logging in your WES account. ***Check your report that everything is correctly mentioned.*** ***No need to wait for hard copy of your report for Express entry if you have got pdf version in your account. It is same and have your report number on it which you can use for express entry profile.*** ***Your ECA is valid for 5 years.*** Note: Do not ask any question if you have not read entire post. If the information is already posted here just check it out. I am no expert but will try to answer any question which I haven't answered here if and only I am sure about that. Will also edit the post and add the point. If I have posted anything wrong feel free to mention and I will edit the post. Good Luck. Cheers.

The usual gripes:Get rid of the ever growing administrative bureaucratic workload, taking up much of our precious time we should better spend on our patients.  All parameters we have to fill in have never even been proven to correlate with any outcome or other efficacy parameter, seemingly chosen at random by some non doc bureaucrat behind a desk, changing all the time before the last had been properly evaluated, so we can't show them that what they ask us to do is pure nonsense.Insurance companies and hospital administrators mainly interested in having all the i's dotted and t's crossed, they don't give a fig about the patient as long as it doesn't cost them, "a dead patient is a cheap patient", docs not being seen as helpers, but as people who generate costs for both the hospital and insurance companies.  Since in The Netherlands the hospital (including the fees for the docs!) is paid a lump sum budget for all contracted work the coming year, made up of pay per diagnosis (kind of US diagnosis related groups DRG payment system) time how many of that diagnosis you expect to treat, we can't do anything outside the DRG because that the hospital would have to fund by themselves, they get nothing extra from the insurance companies, having two DRGs opened at the same time usually isn't allowed so one isn't paid (often just paying the cheapest).  And those DRG are only paid by the insurance companies when they're closed, that is when treatment is finished or a year has passed.  And insurance companies a few years ago has stopped paying the hospital advances to finance their running costs.  And oh, most Dutch docs wouldn't know about this.Pig headed people thinking they without having any medical education some by consulting Doctor Google (or hearing rumors) claiming all kind of not useful nor necessary things costing money, in the name of patient participation, patient autonomy, which I both welcome, but not this way.  This results in medical costs rising, and us docs blamed for it.  People experience higher health insurance premiums as a kind of income tax, because it is compulsory, so very unpopular, especially when an election is nearing (no Presidential election, we have a King, but for Parliament and after usually very difficult coalition talks a coalition government).Not in The Netherlands: it deeply disturbs me that in some rich countries like the USA people can't afford health insurance so can't afford halfway decent, let alone optimal, health care.

(I started to answer a very short answer and ended up with a long entry. I hope you find it useful.)As Richard Tuisk said, it depends a lot on where you are from. However, let me tell you what my experience has been so far in Estonia, what I think it is good and what I would see as a downside of living here. Of course, I need to qualify my answer by saying that I am Latin American, but also have lived in four other countries (including the US where I went to college).A quick introduction: Estonia is a small country located in the Baltic Sea next to Russia and Latvia and very close to Finland. It is part of the European Union. The area of the country is roughly the same as Switzerland or as Maryland and Massachussets combined. There is about 1.3 million people living here which means it is not densely populated. The country is essentially flat, except in the south where you find the highest point at 318 meters (1043 ft). The main city and where I live in is Tallinn. The population is about 400,000 people. Tartu is the second city with about 100,000 people and all the rest of towns are smaller than that.Immigration systemIf you are European, moving here is no problem as you enjoy all the benefits of any country within the European Union. If you are not European, the main reasons people immigrate here is to work which would guarantee a working visa or if you are married to an Estonian citizen which allows you to apply for a visa as long as you have enough funds to live here.Overall, the process to get a short-term visa is straight forward. Obtaining a long-term visa is more complicated as you have to speak the language at a relatively high level. Obtaining a citizenship requires that you give up your own citizenship.JobsAlthough Estonia suffered also during the 2008 crisis, there is enough jobs in areas of business and technology for people to move here. One of the problems Estonia faces is that it does not have enough people to fill all jobs in IT areas as I hear.There is a few big companies who recruit people from abroad, but if you don't speak the local language, your opportunities are reduced to the IT area (I work for Skype which originated here in Estonia which was acquired by Microsoft in 2011). You can see a list of notable companies here: List of companies of EstoniaSocial interactionEstonians tend to be reserved in comparison to other Europeans. I suggest to foreigners who come here to be aware of differences so they are not taken by surprise. Some examples of faux pas I have encountered:Using smalltalk in a conversation.Saying good morning when coming to office or good bye when leaving.Smiling with no reason (I have to accept that this could be awkward in Northern Europe and some parts of the US, but it is totally normal in Mediterranean or Latin American environments).Being noisy. People love their quiet here.However, it is totally Ok to try to make a conversation in English especially with young people. I am learning Estonian and try to use the language when I can, but in some occasions (say, at the pharmacy), I need to switch to English and have never found anyone being annoyed by that.The exception to all of this is if you meet young people. They tend to be more open and curious (especially women). I am speaking about more casual environments such as a cafe or a restaurant, but a bit less at work. Another obvious exception is if you are in a touristy area (such as the Old Town in Tallinn), but this should go without saying.It is totally Ok to be in a group of people and be totally silent. For example, you can have lunch or share a cab with Estonians when no one is speaking, but there is no awkwardness on it. Another thing is that people do not demonstrate much through their expressions which is one of the difficult things to deal with for me. Remember, I come from a country where you smile or frown or show your teeth if you want someone to understand you clearly.When having a conversation with an Estonian, you should say what you mean and mean what you say (remember what I said about smalltalk?). For example, if you ask "how are you?" to an Estonian, do it only if (a) you really want to know how the other person is, and (b) don't ask it if you don't know the person well. I value that Estonians take your word at face value and you should do the same with them.One word of advice is that Estonians can be very critical of others, but they are mainly critical of themselves. Someone told me once that complaining is a national sport, and I have to agree with that. In other words, when they tell you that something is truly bad here in this country, you have to take it with a grain of salt.Because of this, you should also expect that people are straight forward with you. In some cases, this borders on rudeness if I measure by my home country's standards, but here is totally Ok. I have seen a few foreigners getting shocked by that, but you get used to it. In other words, they are not politically correct (this I like very much).Also, because people are economical with the language, you shouldn't expect what I would call, a "warm" communication most of the time. As a latin person, I need to say and hear things on a beautiful way, but this doesn't happen here much. It is different when you start to get to know locals.Which brings me to the last point. It takes a while before you break the ice with an Estonian, but it is worth waiting. I have had the chance to establish a closer link with some locals outside my wife's family and I find an honesty and sincerity that I haven't seen in other places. If you get to that point, congratulations, as you have made it through this journey. By this time, you should also be an expert on sharing saunas with people you don't know (and yes, naked) and have had your share of vodka.Quality of life, services, infrastructureWhen compared to other places where I have lived, I have to say that Estonia still doesn't signNow the level of living in Germany or the US, but it is getting closer by the day. However, I would say that Estonia is already at the level that I would call it first-world country in most aspects.Infrastructure and services need some improvement, but they provide the minimum level of service. For example, if you don't have a car, you can use public transportation everywhere even if buses, trains or trams are sometimes old. Roads in Tallinn are Ok, even if you find potholes in some places. Services such as schools and hospitals are public which means that there is always a waiting list. If you need to visit a specialist doctor, you have to wait. On the other hand, the wait is not as bad as in third-world countries (like where I come from). Also, those services are basically free. The downside is that there is almost no private service, and even the ones there are rely partially on the public health system for some aspects.I have had two children born here and had no complaints about the process. In fact, I felt that everything was very professional and that they always try to do their best. However, when I spoke with Estonians, some of them were very surprised that I spoke highly of the hospital system. I guess it's up to my personal point of view in this case.Taxes are low. Personal income tax is 21% flat for everyone. If you live here and your visa allows it, you can create your own start-up in no time which is prevalent among young people in IT.By the way, unemployment was at 8% at the end of Q3 in 2013. I am no economist, but I understand that this is still considered high. However, it came down from 10.2% at the end of 2012.Food, shoppingEstonia has the typical supermarkets like any other European country. There is also local markets, but you probably need to speak Estonian or Russian. Typical food you find are potatoes, wheat-like grains, oats and so on. Pork meat and fish are eaten often here, but beef is not yet too common. Vegetables and fruits tend to be expensive. I miss having international food though. There is one supermarket in town (Stockmann) that carries some international products, but it is very expensive. I was used to visiting Oriental-type shops in Ireland and Germany, but there is none here that I know of.There is a few shopping centres, but the variety is not wide. I am in favor of buying local to support businesses here, but in many cases, we end up buying from abroad because of the lack of options or because we would have to wait for too long. For example, my wife and I love movies (yeah, still buying old-fashioned DVDs), but there is no shop that fills our expectations. Because of that, we buy everything from Amazon.ActivitiesIf you love nature, you are in luck. There is a lot of natural areas in the country and they are a short drive away. There is plenty of sea shores, forests, rivers and lakes. In the Summer you can do hiking, camping, canoeing and you can add cross country skiing in the Winter. Estonians love nature in general.If you are a city person (like myself), then that's another story. There is a few theatres, cinemas, galleries and so on, but everything is limited. Tallinn itself has the most interesting activities in the center. There is plenty of good restaurants though.Cinemas show the popular movies like everywhere else and you can find some artsy type of cinemas for alternative movies. No movie is dubbed here, but they usually carry subtitles in both Estonian and Russian.What is impressive about this countryThere is a few good things that I haven't seen outside Estonia. The first one is the electronic system prevalent in this country. When you are a foreigner and get your Estonian ID, you are also getting your electronic identity. With that, you can file taxes online, access information about property, bank accounts, mobiles, whatever services you need. When you get your local ID number, you automatically get a local e-mail address at the eesti.ee domain that you can redirect to your personal account. With that, you never miss an official communication (such as whenever is time to file your taxes).That ID has also legal validity and you can sign documents electronically anywhere in the world. For example, if you apply to get a car leasing, you don't have to show up at the bank necessarily. They send you some forms, you put your ID card in your computer reader, sign the document electronically, and send it back and that's it. It is the equivalent of putting your signature on paper in front of the bank official or lawyer. Estonian citizens and permanent residents are even allowed to vote online with their ID.A second impressive area is bureaucracy: it is a well-oiled machine. One recurrent example is taxes. You get the notification that your taxes are ready to file, you login to the tax office site, sign in, check that they have the correct information that they have collected from your company, employer and so on, sign with your ID card, and that's it. It might take as little as five minutes. My wife and I file jointly, so it takes us much longer: twenty minutes (and that's because we always forget to do one crucial step so we are delayed).The government doesn't even use paper for their minister meetings. They file everything electronically which is made available so you can follow up agendas, minutes and whatever happens there.You want to open your own company? It might take literally twenty minutes to do that too. All of this thanks to the frictionless bureaucratic system they have here. You want to park? Send a text to the number 1902 with your plate number and where you are parking and it will be charged to your mobile.One more impressive part: internet. Besides having decent speeds, there is practically free access points everywhere through the country. I personally have witnessed free available working access points in national parks and public beaches. You can read this article that talks about this (read the date: 2005!): Estonia sets shining Wi-Fi exampleIn my case, I don't use access points much because I have a decent LTE connection with my mobile. Mobile companies have good coverage and relatively good service. I remember that when we got our internet when we moved here, it took only one day to install it. When I measured the effective speed a few months later out of curiosity, it was 50 Mbps. Not bad.The downsidesAs anywhere else, there is a few things that you need to be aware of that could be difficult to adapt to.The first part for me is the social interaction which tends to be dry and quiet. I mentioned that above, so not much more to say here.Another one is the weather. In Winter, the sun might rise at 9:30 in the morning and set at 3 in the afternoon. That's just about six hours of sunlight. If you add that it is cloudy most of the time during the Winter, then you realise how dark it might be. As counterposition, Summers are amazing (up to 20 hours of sunlight and clear skies easily).Winters are relatively long. It gets cold around the end of October and stays that way until around April. It varies from year to year, but sometimes the temperature drops to -30 degrees Celsius (-22 F). Life rarely stops here because of the cold or snow though. I have taken the bus at -30 degrees Celsius. It makes for an interesting ride.One more problem for a foreigner to live here is that you feel a bit isolated from the world. Flights are available mainly to neighbouring countries plus Germany, UK and the Netherlands. If you are from another country, you always need to make connections which makes it longer and more expensive to go back home.Last, if you are from a big city, you might find even Tallinn a bit provincial. It is changing as of late though. On the other hand, there is some positive things out of this too: less crime and virtually no traffic jam as I know it (I live 20 km. from work and make it in 30 minutes on a good day and 45 on a bad one).If you are thinking to move here, I definitely recommend this place.

Approximately once every 10 minutes since January 3, 2009 at 18:15:05 UTC, one miner in the world has found/will find a valid Bitcoin block that meets the current difficulty requirements. When that happens, the block reward and the transaction fees will be distributed to the wallet(s) configured by that miner in that block. These two sources make up all of a miner’s income.Block rewards are the only way that new Bitcoins are min[t]ed. The block reward started at 50 BTC/block and halves every 210,000 blocks. This is why the current block reward is 12.5 BTC/block as of Sept 2017.Transaction fees for a block are the sum of the fees paid for all new transactions included in that block. For example, I might send you .5 BTC and specify a fee of .00004 BTC as incentive for miners to include that transaction in their block. The first miner to include that transaction in an accepted block will then earn that .00004 BTC in addition to the block reward and fees from other included transactions.Early on, transaction fees were a negligible source of miner income since there were very few transactions and the block reward was high. However, as the block reward diminishes and the number of transactions grows this trend will reverse and block rewards will become negligible and transaction fees will dominate earnings.Mining pools are another layer on top of this. Instead of the reward and fees going to a single miner, they instead have a number of miners pooling their efforts and splitting the rewards based on that pool's rules. In this way, if it would normally take you 10,000 years on average to find a block by yourself, you can instead join a mining pool and get small fractions of a block reward regularly based on your mining contribution and the pool's rules.Compare that to solo mining without a mining pool, where until you find a valid block you won't get a single Satoshi.