Author: knjohn

Signs It’s Time to Buy a New PC | businessnewsdaily.com

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When a computer begins to slow down or shows other signs the end is near, it’s tempting to start searching online for a replacement. However, there’s a lot to consider when you’re deciding whether to upgrade a PC, particularly in a business setting. The costs add up, especially when you’re adding multiple machines to your technology fleet, even a small one.

Questions like “How long do computers last?” and “What is the average laptop’s lifespan?” are usually top of mind when you weigh the pros and cons of buying new computers vs. managing a little bit longer before you take the financial plunge. Here are answers to common questions about the lifespan of business laptops and desktops, signs it might be time to purchase new hardware, and information about the costs involved.

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How summer camps are adapting to extreme heat events | Fast Company

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At the end of their weeklong sleepaway camp, a hush falls over the boisterous kids at YMCA’s Camp Kern as they prepare for a treasured annual tradition: after songs and skits around a bonfire, they write down their favorite memories on slips of paper. Most years, they toss them into the flames, and the ash that rises and then falls over their heads is meant to symbolize the joy they shared.

But this year, it was too hot for a bonfire.

Even as the sun went down, on a day when the high hit 92 degrees Fahrenheit (33 Celsius) with oppressive humidity, kids wiped the sweat from their foreheads, flocked to water coolers to refill bottles, and fanned themselves to try to get a breeze going. At the end of the night, they burned their memory notes in a small bucket.

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Why coffee prices could spike globally due to Vietnam’s drought | Fast Company

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Vietnamese coffee growers have been hit hard this year by the worst drought in nearly a decade, raising concerns about pricier espressos across the world, even as some farmers keep yields healthy with clever countermeasures.

Domestic forecasts for next season’s harvest in Vietnam, the world’s second-biggest coffee producer, remain grim.

The Mercantile Exchange of Vietnam (MVX) expects a 10-16% fall in output because of the extreme heat that hit the Central Highlands coffee region between March and early May, according to deputy head Nguyen Ngoc Quynh.

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How to Become a Better Business Owner | All Business

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By the time you realize that being an entrepreneur is a lifelong journey, you’ve already solidified a lot of the patterns and practices you use to run your business. In my mind, analyzing those habits and ways of doing business, and tweaking them where necessary, can help you improve, no matter how many times you’ve been around the block.

I have come up with four tips on how to become a better business owner, many of which rely on bringing more mindfulness into business. These tips aren’t about working more or making more money. In fact, they may seem to be quite the opposite. And yet, I’ve seen business owners not only become happier when they shift how they operate but also more financially successful.

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How to Reduce Digital Distraction at Work | All Business

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When it comes to technology, most of us are grateful for it. Computers make everything easier—from researching information to communicating with friends and colleagues—and even once basic devices like phones and cars are getting high-tech makeovers to do more, faster and better.

At the same time, there are critical drawbacks that occasionally prevent technology from working in our favor. When you lose your Internet connection, you’re practically helpless. When you do research, it’s easy to get distracted by peripheral tasks. When you’re online, you’re constantly getting messaged and distracted from your work. Ultimately, is technology increasing or decreasing our productivity?

The results are mixed. Online productivity statistics suggest that workers, on average, are only productive for a few hours on the computer during a typical eight-hour workday. Yet, at the same time, Internet access gives us more contact, more information, and greater speed—so those hours might be even more productive than a longer period of work just 20 years ago. The New York Times reports that our productivity has been increasing over the past few years, though at the low rate of just about 1 percent annually.

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Visa Relaunches SavingsEdge with New Offers for Small Businesses | Small Biz Trends

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Visa Inc. has announced the relaunch of its Visa SavingsEdge program, introducing new features designed to offer more value to small businesses in the U.S. and Canada. For over ten years, Visa SavingsEdge has helped eligible Small Business cardholders with savings and tools to aid their growth. The revamped program looks to support smarter spending and saving with a more dynamic platform and new offerings.

Small businesses are showing resilience despite economic concerns. According to the latest Visa Small Business Pulse survey, 77% of U.S. businesses expect revenue growth in 2024, mirroring their experience in 2023. This growth has improved the economic outlook, with 59% of surveyed U.S. small businesses optimistic about the economy’s future, up from 47% in 2023. To build on this momentum and support growth, 64% of small businesses plan to invest in cost-saving technology.

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Scammers Are Now Impersonating Small Businesses Online | Small Biz Trends

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A new type of scam is targeting small businesses and their customers. Copycats are using small business websites, videos, and social media posts to impersonate them, running online ads to attract customers and make their offerings seem legitimate. Then, they redirect users to a replicated version of the small business website where they can complete their “purchase.” Some might receive cheap knock-off versions of the products they thought they were getting, while others don’t receive anything. And all their ire is then directed to the actual small business who was impersonated.

The Wall Street Journal recently spoke to several small business owners who had been targeted by this type of attack.

For example, Ryan Dahlstrom, global director of digital commerce for Merino sock company Darn Tough Vermont, told the WSJ, “They’d find an old ad we had run, flip a 75% or 80% badge over that image, and throw it up as a sponsored ad or a sponsored post.”

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What Types of POS Systems Are There? | Business

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Across all industries, point-of-sale (POS) systems are a commonplace tool that helps businesses to efficiently process transactions and manage their day-to-day operations. POS options for businesses range from simple mobile payment processors to those that can manage large multi-location businesses. POS systems offer features that make running your business easier, plus those like loyalty programs and discounts make POS systems attractive to customers.

What is a POS system?

POS systems facilitate transactions, allowing customers to make a purchase and pay applicable sales tax. A POS is often thought of as an internal store terminal. However, virtual POS systems are often used for online shopping.

Top restaurant POS systems are replacing traditional cash registers quickly because of their convenience and ease of use. POS systems can also be mobile, which allows payment to be made where the customer is, such as at their table in a restaurant. POS tablets for restaurants are becoming popular in the food service industry to facilitate payment processing and inventory management.

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5 Warning Signs You Need to Outsource Your HR | Bussiness

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Your company’s human resources (HR) chief is responsible for many critical aspects of your workforce. They’re tasked with finding, hiring, training and assessing the performance of your employees. Your HR team is also responsible for developing an appealing culture and ensuring the company complies with all labor and employment laws. They may also oversee payroll. If you have unionized employees, HR is the liaison between your company and the union. To say that HR carries responsibility for your company’s success is an understatement.

What is HR outsourcing?

HR outsourcing is exactly what it sounds like. It is handing off some or all of your HR functions to a third party. This can be an alternative to hiring an internal HR department or used in tandem with an in-house HR professional who handles some of your HR responsibilities.

Outsourced HR services depend on the contract between the company and the provider. The client service agreement often asks the contractor to handle payroll by managing all withholdings and taxes. The HR company may also be in charge of releasing all W-2s to worksite employees. You may also use the outsourced service to manage employee benefits or retirement plans.

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Samsung S95D OLED TV review: the best bright-room OLED | Digital Trends

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I have never, in all my years as a tech reviewer, seen such intense feelings over a TV. That TV, of course, is the Samsung S95D QD-OLED — Samsung’s flagship OLED TV for 2024. We’ll get to the controversy and hoopla in a moment, but first things first: the Samsung S95D is one hell of a TV, one of the brightest — and definitely one of the best of the year.

Everyone who passed through the studio while I was working on this review was blown away by the S95D. All around, its picture is excellent. With or without the lights on its brightness capabilities excel, color accuracy is great and well-saturated, and its highlights just pop. It features Samsung’s One Connect box (that I’m a big fan of), which allows a single-cable connection to the TV to massively reduce cable clutter, and some respectable built-in sound for a TV with rear-firing speakers and eight bass transducers lining the back.

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