Stop Offering Career Ladders. Start Offering Career Portfolios. | Harvard Business Review

August 18, 2022August 16, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The past two and a half years have been a giant lesson in workplace flux. In any given week, month, or quarter, a new and often disruptive change emerges to knock leaders and organizations sideways. Regardless of whether or not a recession is on the horizon or the employer-employee power balance shifts, whipsawing change is here to stay. How can companies help talent thrive — at work and in life — regardless of what the future portends?

Employees today are fed up. People are antsy for something better (and sometimes, simply new). They want to be seen, valued, and listened to. They want equity, dignity, security, balance, flexibility, and autonomy. They expect opportunities for growth, learning, meaningful contribution, and fulfillment. This may sound like a lot, but if we’re striving to help them reach their full potential and leave the world a better place, it’s actually pretty modest.

How Much Should Your SMB Budget for Cybersecurity? | business.com

August 17, 2022August 16, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Cybersecurity is important for businesses small and large. Here’s what you need to secure your network and devices, and how much to budget for it.

With national news and anecdotes regularly featuring stories of cyberattacks on businesses of all sizes, small businesses are planning their budgets with cybersecurity in mind. While implementing effective cybersecurity policies is more important than ever before, it’s important to understand the risks you face and whether you are doing enough to protect yourselves.

Like many core business functions, cybersecurity often requires a monetary investment and therefore needs space in your budget. The need for cybersecurity isn’t going away anytime soon. In fact, cybersecurity is actually becoming more and more relevant for small businesses. That’s why it’s important to consider cybersecurity as a financial priority in 2021 and beyond. This article will discuss what you need to know about budgeting for cybersecurity, including the following:

What is spatial audio? Apple’s 3D sound feature fully explained | Digital Trends

August 17, 2022August 16, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

At WWDC 2021 (Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference), Apple officially added support for spatial audio with Dolby Atmos for Apple Music. It quickly became a popular format among consumers, too: Apple estimates that by February 2022, playback of spatial audio tracks had quadrupled from just a few months prior as people experimented with the format. But what exactly is spatial audio? How is it different from (or the same as) Dolby Atmos? And what kind of audio equipment do you need to listen to it?

There’s a lot of ground to cover, and some of it is a bit technical, but we’re going to break it all down in easy-to-understand terms. You’ll be a spatial audio expert in minutes, and you’ll know exactly how to access this growing trend in movie and music streaming.

How To Boost Productivity Among Employees | The Startup Magazine

August 16, 2022August 15, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Every business owner knows that their employees are the most precious asset of their company. This is why it is important to keep employees motivated to ensure high levels of employee engagement and productivity. This can also promote a positive work culture and help organizations retain their workforce and recruit the best talent in the industry.

In this article, we highlight some excellent employee productivity ideas to boost the productivity of your employees and enhance their everyday performance.

Track Employee Activity

Whether your employees are working remotely or in the office, making use of an employee tracking app is a fantastic way to track employee activity and monitor how they utilize their time at work. This can promote accountability and transparency and ensure that employees spend their time productively.

It can also provide useful insights regarding how different employees and teams function, which can be useful when giving feedback and discussing ways to improve work performance and reduce any possible bottlenecks at work.

‘Starbucks fired me for being three minutes late’ | BBC News

August 16, 2022August 15, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Staff at roughly 220 Starbucks stores across the US have voted to unionize, making unexpectedly successful inroads at the popular chain of coffee shops. But the movement is facing a precarious moment, as the economy slows and the company mounts a furious response.

Joselyn Chuquillanqui had worked for Starbucks for nearly seven years when the company fired her last month.

She had been waiting for the decision. Though she liked her job as a barista, which gave her flexibility to care for her young niece, this winter the 28-year-old had tried to rally her co-workers in New York to join a labour union, frustrated by the company’s stance on sick leave during the pandemic.

The Top New Android 13 Features and How to Install It | WIRED

August 15, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

ANDROID 13 IS the latest version of Google’s mobile operating system (internally code-named Tiramisu for all you dessert fans), and as usual, it brings a bunch of new features and upgrades to Android phones and tablets. We’ve been playing around with it for a few months, and we’ve found that it’s more evolution than revolution, compared to Android 12. Don’t expect any groundbreaking changes.

It’s available for some Android phones now and will continue to roll out to others over the coming months. We’ve rounded up many of the top new features here, along with instructions on how to download it yourself.

Inflation Affecting Business | Getentrepreneurial.com

August 12, 2022August 11, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

In order for a business to succeed, it’s important for its owners to understand the factors that can impact their bottom line. One of these key factors is inflation. The Federal Reserve targets an annual inflation rate of 2%. However, the rate is currently at 8.6%. Inflation is a result of the broader economic trends at play in the market. In this article, we’ll explore how inflation affects businesses and what owners can do to mitigate its impact. Let’s dive in!

Motion-controlled flashlight pushes to be most user-friendly out there | New Atlas

August 11, 2022August 10, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The Darkfade looks more like an electric shaver than a typical flashlight, and that’s because it’s built to be unlike other flashlights out there. With a fresh shape and an easier interface for finding just the right brightness, the new torch looks to be something of a Flashlight 2.0. Hold it comfortably in your hand or clip it to your pack strap and get just the right amount of light exactly where it’s needed.

Designer, maker, YouTuber and Kickstarter Giaco Di Muro created the Darkfade out of discontent with the flashlight status quo. Among his gripes was a less-than-comfortable grip position that involves constantly bending your wrist down just to point light straight ahead. A right-angle flashlight, on the other hand, ends up requiring an upward tilt of the wrist. So Di Muro found a comfortable medium, creating a 45-degree head that allows for a more ergonomic position, keeping the wrist relaxed while the beam is directed forward.

Battery percentage returns to some iPhones (but it’s different) | Mashable

August 11, 2022August 10, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

A long time ago, before the notch came along to adorn the top of their displays, Apple’s iPhones had the ability to show battery percentage in the status bar. When enabled, you’d see the battery icon showing you, roughly, the current state of your device’s battery charge, and next to it was the exact percentage you have left.

With the iPhone X, Apple killed this feature, presumably as the status bar got significantly smaller with the advent of the notch. You could still see the battery percentage, but you had to swipe down from the upper right corner for it to show up.

August 2022 Sturgeon Moon date and time | Live Science

August 9, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

As summer slips into autumn and nights begin to grow longer, the final supermoon of the year will make a big splash Thursday (Aug.t 11).

Nicknamed the “Sturgeon Moon,” August’s full moon peaks around 9:36 p.m. EDT on Thursday (0136 a.m. GMT on Friday), – although the moon will appear bright and full on Wednesday and Friday night (Aug. 10 and Aug. 12) as well.

Most publications consider this a supermoon, meaning the full moon occurs while the moon is nearest its closest point to Earth, also known as perigee, during the current orbit. The Sturgeon Moon will appear within 90% of perigee, making it a supermoon by most scientific definitions. (Some publications put specific distance or time constraints on supermoons, meaning the Sturgeon Moon may not fit the bill for every publication.) Supermoons can appear larger and up to 16% brighter in the sky than the average full moon, according to timeanddate.com.