1. OptinMonster OptinMonster is the most popular conversion rate optimization software. It allows you to convert abandoning website visitors into email subscribers. If you want to grow your email list, then this is a must have WordPress plugin in 2017. Read these  case studies  to see how much success other businesses are having by using OptinMonster. 2. WPForms As a business owner, allowing your customers to contact you should be your top priority. WPForms is the most beginner friendly contact form plugin for WordPress. This drag & drop online form builder allows you to easily create contact forms, email subscription forms, order forms, payment forms, and other type of online forms with just a few clicks. We use it on WPBeginner and all of our other sites. There’s a free  WPForms Lite version  available for those who are looking for a simple solution. If you want more advanced features, then get the Pro version. Use this  WPForms coupon ...

Laravel V5.4.29 is now released and available. This is a maintenance release but it includes two new Blade Directives, a  --force  option on some of the “make” commands, and more. New @auth and @guest Directives The @auth directive allows you to simplify the check to see if a user is logged in. For example, in the past you might use: @ if (Auth::check()) You are logged in. @ endif Now with the @auth directive, this can be simplified to: @ auth You are logged in. @endauth It also supports the Guard to use as the first parameter: @ auth (' admin ') You are logged in through admin guard @endauth The other new directive is @guest which is the inverse: @ guest Welcome Guest @endauth v5.4.29 Complete Changelog Added Added  ManagesFrequencies::twiceMonthly()  method ( #19874 ) Added  RouteCollection::getRoutesByName()  method ( #19901 ) Added  $expiresAt  parameter to  CallbackEvent::withoutOverlapping() ( #19...

MySQL Connector/Net 8.0.8 is the fifth development release that expands cross-platform support to Linux and macOS when using Microsoft’s .NET Core framework. Now, .NET developers can use the X DevAPI with .NET Core and Entity Framework Core (EF Core) 1.0 to create server applications that run on Windows, Linux and macOS. We are very excited about this change and really look forward to your feedback on it! MySQL Connector/Net 8.0.8 is also the seventh development release of MySQL Connector/Net to add support for the new X DevAPI. The X DevAPI enables application developers to write code that combines the strengths of the relational and document models using a modern, NoSQL-like syntax that does not assume previous experience writing traditional SQL. To learn more about how to write applications using the X DevAPI, see http://dev.mysql.com/doc/x-devapi-userguide/en/index.html . For more information about how the X DevAPI is implemented in Connector/Net, see http://dev.mysql.com/doc...

New computational tool automates design of telescoping structures that provide compact storage and rapid deployment. Shown here: a complex telescoping lizard expands to many times its original volume, serving as a stress test of the method. Credit: Chris Yu/Carnegie Mellon University A new tool for computational design allows users to turn any 3D shape into a collapsible telescoping structure. New mathematical methods developed by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University capture the complex and diverse properties of such structures, which are valuable for a variety of applications in 3D fabrication and robotics—particularly where mechanisms must be compact in size and easily deployable. The research, "Computational Design of Telescoping Structures," led by Carnegie Mellon Professors Stelian Coros and Keenan Crane and PhD student Christopher Yu, will be presented at the annual SIGGRAPH conference, 30 July to 3 August in Los Angeles. The conference each year spotlights the...