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Cloud Engineers are using artificial intelligence (AI) more than any other profession in 2025, according to a new study by ZapCap. The report evaluated AI engagement across industries by analyzing Google search volume, professional AI usage rates, and the number of AI-focused courses available on one educational platform. These factors were combined into a weighted AI usage score, with Cloud Engineers earning a perfect 100. The field recorded 32 million monthly Google searches for AI-related tools, the highest among all professions examined. In addition, 70% of Cloud Engineers are actively using AI tools, supported by access to 27 specialized courses. ZapCap’s study suggests this high level of interest and education access reflects a strong integration of AI into the cloud engineering workflow. Software Engineers follow closely behind, with a 97% AI usage rate—the highest in the study—and 53 dedicated courses available. Despite generating just 3.3 million monthly searches, their overall AI usage score reached 99. Data Scientists ranked third, with 76% of professionals using AI tools and 52 courses available. Monthly search interest reached 403,000, contributing to a final AI usage score of 82. Customer Support Specialists came in fourth, with 29 million Google searches—the second-highest volume in the study—and a 74% AI usage rate. However, they only have access to two courses on the educational platform analyzed. Despite this, their high usage and search interest resulted in an AI usage score of 80. Social Media Managers ranked fifth. With 82% of professionals using AI daily and over 9 million monthly searches, the field is embracing AI to enhance digital engagement. Their access to 22 relevant courses contributed to a usage score of 74. Marketing Specialists took sixth place. They demonstrated an 80% AI usage rate and generated 700,000 searches per month for AI tools. Educational platforms offer 18 courses tailored to marketers, yielding a usage score of 59. Graphic Designers placed seventh in the ranking. The profession saw 3 million monthly searches and a high AI usage rate of 83%, but had only two AI-focused courses available. This limited access impacted their AI usage score, which came in at 52. Copywriters and Content Writers followed closely with an 85% usage rate and 1.1 million searches per month. Like Graphic Designers, they also have access to just two specialized courses. Their AI usage score was calculated at 50. Financial Analysts and Cybersecurity Analysts were among the lowest-ranking professions. Financial Analysts had a 58% AI usage rate and 12 courses available, earning a usage score of 42. Cybersecurity Analysts ranked last with 64% usage, the lowest search interest at 141,000 monthly searches, and only seven courses available. Their overall AI usage score was 41. “While fields like Cloud Engineering and Software Development are already deeply integrated with AI, others are just beginning to harness its full potential,” says Jessica Bui, spokesperson for ZapCap. “The high search volume from Customer Support and the strong AI adoption among Copywriters show a transformative shift across industries. Professionals must master AI tools to remain relevant in a job market where technological proficiency is no longer optional but essential for career survival.” The full study, including methodology and detailed metrics, is available through ZapCap. Image: Envato This article, "Cloud Engineers Lead in AI Adoption, New ZapCap Study Finds" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Cloud Engineers are using artificial intelligence (AI) more than any other profession in 2025, according to a new study by ZapCap. The report evaluated AI engagement across industries by analyzing Google search volume, professional AI usage rates, and the number of AI-focused courses available on one educational platform. These factors were combined into a weighted AI usage score, with Cloud Engineers earning a perfect 100. The field recorded 32 million monthly Google searches for AI-related tools, the highest among all professions examined. In addition, 70% of Cloud Engineers are actively using AI tools, supported by access to 27 specialized courses. ZapCap’s study suggests this high level of interest and education access reflects a strong integration of AI into the cloud engineering workflow. Software Engineers follow closely behind, with a 97% AI usage rate—the highest in the study—and 53 dedicated courses available. Despite generating just 3.3 million monthly searches, their overall AI usage score reached 99. Data Scientists ranked third, with 76% of professionals using AI tools and 52 courses available. Monthly search interest reached 403,000, contributing to a final AI usage score of 82. Customer Support Specialists came in fourth, with 29 million Google searches—the second-highest volume in the study—and a 74% AI usage rate. However, they only have access to two courses on the educational platform analyzed. Despite this, their high usage and search interest resulted in an AI usage score of 80. Social Media Managers ranked fifth. With 82% of professionals using AI daily and over 9 million monthly searches, the field is embracing AI to enhance digital engagement. Their access to 22 relevant courses contributed to a usage score of 74. Marketing Specialists took sixth place. They demonstrated an 80% AI usage rate and generated 700,000 searches per month for AI tools. Educational platforms offer 18 courses tailored to marketers, yielding a usage score of 59. Graphic Designers placed seventh in the ranking. The profession saw 3 million monthly searches and a high AI usage rate of 83%, but had only two AI-focused courses available. This limited access impacted their AI usage score, which came in at 52. Copywriters and Content Writers followed closely with an 85% usage rate and 1.1 million searches per month. Like Graphic Designers, they also have access to just two specialized courses. Their AI usage score was calculated at 50. Financial Analysts and Cybersecurity Analysts were among the lowest-ranking professions. Financial Analysts had a 58% AI usage rate and 12 courses available, earning a usage score of 42. Cybersecurity Analysts ranked last with 64% usage, the lowest search interest at 141,000 monthly searches, and only seven courses available. Their overall AI usage score was 41. “While fields like Cloud Engineering and Software Development are already deeply integrated with AI, others are just beginning to harness its full potential,” says Jessica Bui, spokesperson for ZapCap. “The high search volume from Customer Support and the strong AI adoption among Copywriters show a transformative shift across industries. Professionals must master AI tools to remain relevant in a job market where technological proficiency is no longer optional but essential for career survival.” The full study, including methodology and detailed metrics, is available through ZapCap. Image: Envato This article, "Cloud Engineers Lead in AI Adoption, New ZapCap Study Finds" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. A good air fryer doesn’t need to have a ton of bells and whistles. For the most part, the convection heating function is highly effective in both cheap and pricey models. So if you have few demands like I do—just make the food hot and crispy—then you’ll enjoy a reliable basket-style air fryer that consistently churns out crunchy snacks and roasts meats without asking for too much from you. The Instant Vortex is a great pick for that, and it's on sale right now during Amazon's Big Spring Sale. Instant Vortex 5.7-Quart 4-in-1 Air Fryer (Black) $83.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $139.99 Save $56.00 Get Deal Get Deal $83.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $139.99 Save $56.00 While I’ve reviewed a few different air fryers (read here for my best overall air fryer suggestion), the Instant Vortex is actually my go-to air fryer for daily use and it’s 40% off right now. This particular model of the Instant Vortex has a 5.75-quart capacity which has allowed me—someone who’s constantly testing out bizarre recipes in the air fryer—to flourish. I’ve made cheesecakes in this air fryer, a number of pies and even blind baked some crusts, not to mention normal dinner stuff, like roasting whole pork tenderloin, and game day snacks like biscuit cheese balls. You can (and should) check out my full review of the Instant Vortex here, but what makes this air fryer so versatile is that even with the unit's overall compact size, you still have plenty of depth to work with in the basket. Not only does this allow for plenty of air flow to help food cook more evenly, but you have the head room to roast and bake taller items too. The control panel is easy to navigate with a twist knob so you can increase and decrease time and temperature, and the Vortex gives you a helpful nudge to flip your food halfway through the cooking time. This handy air fryer is also lighter and more compact than the toaster oven variety, which makes it ideal for those in smaller kitchens or situations where you don’t want the air fryer living on the counter top. For $83.99, down from its usual $139.99, you’re looking at a great bargain for an air fryer that won’t let you down, day in and day out. The Best Amazon Spring Sale Deals You Can Get Now Apple AirPods Pro 2 Wireless Earbuds — $169.99 (List Price $249.00) Ecobee Smart Thermostat Enhanced — $169.00 (List Price $189.99) soundcore by Anker Q30 Hybrid Active Noise Cancelling Headphones with Multiple Modes, Hi-Res Sound, Custom EQ via App, 40H Playtime, Comfortable Fit, Bluetooth Headphones, Multipoint Connection — $55.99 (List Price $79.99) Blink Mini 2 (White, 2-Pack) — $37.99 (List Price $69.99) 2024 Apple iPad mini A17 Pro chip, Built for Apple Intelligence, Wi-Fi 128GB - Blue — $399.00 (List Price $499.00) Apple Watch Series 10 (GPS, 42mm, Black, S/M 130-180mm, Sports Band) — $299.00 (List Price $399.00) Sonos Era 100 Wireless Speaker - White — $199.00 (List Price $249.00) Fire TV Stick 4K Max Streaming Player With Remote (2023 Model) — $39.99 (List Price $59.99) Fitbit Inspire 3 Health & Fitness Tracker (Midnight Zen/Black) — $69.95 (List Price $99.95) Roku Express 4K+ HDR Streamer with Voice Remote — $29.85 (List Price $39.99) Deals are selected by our commerce team View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. If you need a sturdy watch to meet all your athletic and adventurous needs, good news: You can save big right now on the LTE Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra. The watch is currently 39% off during Amazon's Big Spring Sale. Normally priced at $649.99, the current discount brings the smartwatch down to $396.94. This is as low a price as this watch ever gets, according to price-tracking tools. Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra $394.00 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $649.99 Save $255.99 Get Deal Get Deal $394.00 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $649.99 Save $255.99 Samsung announced the Galaxy Watch Ultra last summer, marketing it as competition for the Apple Watch Ultra—with an emphasis on outdoor and exercise features. And as Lifehacker's deals expert Daniel Oropeza explains, the Galaxy Watch Ultra does in fact excel in those areas above other watches. The watch is built to weather tough conditions. It's made out of Grade 4 titanium, and has an IP68 water- and dust-resistant rating. You can also take it up high altitudes (up to 9,000 meters), and it can withstand up to 10ATM of pressure (about 330 feet underwater). There's also a built-in siren option, which you can set to go off in case of emergencies. And since this watch uses LTE, you don't rely on wifi or Bluetooth for a satellite signal. And yes, you can take calls on it. Another huge perk: battery power. If you don't use any power-saving modes, it'll last 60 hours, but it can go up to 100 hours if you're conservative. However, if you're not looking for a rugged (read: big) smartwatch, then the biggest downside is that the Galaxy Ultra only comes in one size, 47mm. The 1.47-inch Super AMOLED display is brighter than previous Samsung AMOLED smartwatches. Shopping for tech? Lifehacker can help you make the right decision. Browse our tech reviews and head-to-head comparisons for everything from laptops and smartwatches to e-bikes and home gyms. Subscribe to our deals newsletter, Add to Cart, for the best sales sent to your inbox, or browse our best-of lists directly on Amazon, including: The Best Over-Ear Headphones The Best Wireless Earbuds The Best Adjustable Dumbbell Sets The Best Projectors View the full article

Congressional fiscal watchdog’s forecasts come after Moody’s warned on the country’s public finances this weekView the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Garmin is now offering a $6.99/month subscription called Connect+ that provides “premium features,” including AI, on top of what you already get for free with the Garmin Connect app. So far, nothing is being paywalled, but it feels like the end of an era. Garmin watches were some of the last few wearables where you pay for a device and then all of its features are free to use forever. (The hardware has impressively long lifespans, too.) I signed up for Connect+ to see what’s inside, so let’s take a look. Subscription detailsThe new Connect+ subscription costs $6.99/month or $69.99/year. It only adds features on top of what you already get with the Garmin Connect app; no existing features are being paywalled. Garmin did tease that “premium enhancements may be made to existing features,” leading users to speculate that any new features that come down the line may be limited to paid members. Garmin is in the habit of adding new features pretty frequently, and often enables them even on older watches. In the past year alone, we’ve gotten strength coaching, a new type of run coaching, and the ability to detect your lactate threshold heart rate without a chest strap—all things that just appeared on my watch or in my app one day. I wouldn’t expect watch firmware updates to be affected—this is a premium subscription for the phone app—but I have to wonder if there will be fewer of those new app feature rollouts for free users going forward. Connect+ is not Garmin’s first subscription offering, by the way. They have long offered a slate of services for various special purposes, including hiking and hunting maps, marine charts, search and rescue insurance, dog tracking, kids’ smartwatch tracking, and more. But this is definitely Garmin’s first foray into a premium subscription for health and fitness features, in the same vein as, say, Fitbit. Garmin says the Connect+ subscription will come with: Active Intelligence (an AI analysis of your activities; this requires opt-in) Enhanced LiveTrack (also available with an Outdoor Maps+ subscription), allowing you to text contacts when you start an activity, or set up a public tracking page Live Activity, which lets you follow a workout from your phone and not just your watch A new Performance Dashboard on the web with new charts and comparison features Social features, including double points on badges and the ability to earn badges from anywhere in the world (some badges are only available in certain locations). Immediately upon signing up for Connect+, I noticed a little yellow star on the corner of my profile pic on the app. Extra training guidance if you’re following a Garmin Coach program What you get with Live Activity Screenshots of a live activity on the home screen, editing sets and reps, and what you see when you do a treadmill workout. Credit: Beth Skwarecki Until now, a workout you do on your Garmin watch stays on your Garmin watch, at least until you finish the activity. At that point, it syncs to your phone, where you can view and edit the details. But with Live Activity, you can now use the Garmin Connect app while you’re doing an activity on your watch. That’s especially useful for strength workouts, which previously required you to edit weights and reps through an awkward interface on the watch after each set. To test this out, I did a few quick workouts on my Garmin Forerunner 265S. One was a mini workout of kettlebell swings and sit-ups that I created on the app, and sent to the watch. I started the workout on my watch. Nothing happened on the phone—I might have expected a notification—but when I opened the Garmin Connect app on my phone, there was a tile on the home screen for a Live Activity. I tapped it, and there was the same workout I was doing on the watch. I could see my heart rate, the time elapsed, and which exercise I was supposed to be doing. I didn’t see the promised exercise videos right away, but it turns out you need to swipe left on the heart rate graph. There you can see an exercise video (or a rest timer, if appropriate). Swipe again, and you’ll see your heart rate zone. The bottom half of the screen shows your stats in progress, including your reps, sets, heart rate, and a timer. Importantly, if you’ve turned off rep counting or weight editing on your phone (because they’re so annoying in normal use), you’ll want to turn them back on for this. The watch counted my kettlebell swings, and at the end of each set prompted me to edit my reps and weight. This editing screen came up on both the watch and my phone, and of course it was easier to edit that information from the phone. With Live Activity, you can do the following from the watch or phone: Pause or unpause the workout Edit reps or weight in a strength workout Advance to the next set (strength), or start a new lap (in activities like running) View stats like your heart rate, time elapsed, reps, pace, and so on But only the watch can do the following: Start the workout Finish and save the workout Create custom data screens Live Activity definitely improves the usability of the watch for strength workouts. I don’t entirely see the point for running workouts, but maybe there’s a use case I haven’t thought of yet. What’s in the Performance Dashboard Four of the charts I can view in my Performance Dashboard Credit: Beth Skwarecki/Garmin One of Garmin’s better-kept secrets is its web dashboard. You can log in here and view all your activities and data—essentially a web view of everything that’s in the app. The Performance Dashboard is a new item in the sidebar of the web dashboard. To set it up: Mouse over the black sidebar at the left side of the screen. Select Performance Dashboard, which I see as the last blue item, just under Reports. Click Add dashboard, and choose whether you want a running, cycling, multisport, or custom dashboard. (You can have more than one.) Some of the charts on the performance dashboard are also available from the free Reports tool, although Reports will only show you one chart at a time. The Performance Dashboard is definitely a better tool if you’re looking to really nerd out about your data. For example, I can get a simple report from the Reports tool that shows my running mileage over the past six months. It gives me a bar chart with one bar per month. The Performance Dashboard, on the other hand, can give me a bar for each week, and I can select a custom timeframe instead of just selecting one of a few options. There are also more options for types of data you can view. Do you know how your watch will ask you at the end of each run how hard it felt? You can now see that on a graph called “perceived effort over time.” What you get with Active IntelligenceThere’s good news here for people who want AI in everything, and for those of us whose reaction is “oh god, not here too” (this meme sums up my personal stance). The AI (“active intelligence”) is the one feature of Connect+ that requires you to opt in, even after you have subscribed to the whole package. But I did it, dear readers. I opted in for you, so I could let you know what the AI can actually tell you about your training—and whether it’s any better than Strava’s notoriously clueless AI. Unfortunately, there’s not much to say at the moment. My home screen “insight” (which you can turn off, by the way, even with AI enabled) at first just told me to check back later. My recent runs don’t have any AI commentary attached. Garmin says that “As customers use Garmin Connect+ more, the insights will become more tailored to them and their goals.” As I was finishing up this article, I noticed that I now have a home screen insight. It tells me that I achieved 255 intensity minutes this week, exceeding my goal of 150. (I guess I set a goal for that at some point? OK.) Then it tells me consistency is good (not wrong) and gives a few sentences of encouragement. The AI feature is labeled as a “beta,” with a thumbs up/thumbs down icon that lets me rate the insight I just read. I can say that it’s interesting, not interesting, or “report a concern” if it’s inaccurate, discouraging, or poorly written. (You can also give a custom response.) I’ll keep an eye on these notes and report back as the AI gets to know me better. Garmin asks your permission to train its AI on your dataTo turn on the AI features, you need to click through an agreement where you allow the AI to access your training and health data (so that it can run its analyses). This also allows your data to be used as training data for the AI. I asked Garmin if this means that the AI is only trained on people who opt-in. A spokesperson confirmed: “We only train with data from users who have consented.” The existing model was trained on users who previously granted permission for their data to be used for product improvements. Garmin has a brief AI transparency policy here. You can revoke permission at any time in your Connect+ settings, which will also turn off your access to AI features. View the full article

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We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. If you're in the market for a budget-friendly Apple Watch, the SE 2nd Gen is currently $80 off during Amazon's Big Spring Sale. Normally priced at $299, the current discount brings the smartwatch down 27% to $219. This is as low a price as this watch ever gets, according to price-tracking tools. Apple currently sells three Apple Watch models: the Series 10, Ultra 2, and second-generation SE. The SE line comes with the smallest size option and bare minimum specs, making it the go-to budget option for most smartwatch wearers. Its aluminum body packs a 1,000 nit display, a battery that’s advertised to hold up to an 18-hour charge, the S8 chip (powering features like Siri and Find my iPhone), and an optical heart rate monitor. You’ll get water resistance up to a 164 feet depth, and for a $50 up-charge, you can add in the ability to connect a cellular plan. For more details, check Apple’s site. Apple Watch SE (2nd Gen) $219.00 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $299.00 Save $80.00 Get Deal Get Deal $219.00 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $299.00 Save $80.00 Lifehacker's associate tech editor Michelle Ehrhardt confirms that the SE line has all the essentials you need. So, if you prefer a small, lightweight device with a minimal interface, now is the time to snag yourself the 2nd Gen SE. If you're looking for the something with a few more bells and whistles, but without sacrificing comfort and convenience, the Series 10 is 25% right now and is the best option for most people. Shopping for tech? Lifehacker can help you make the right decision. Browse our tech reviews and head-to-head comparisons for everything from laptops and smartwatches to e-bikes and home gyms. Subscribe to our deals newsletter, Add to Cart, for the best sales sent to your inbox, or browse our best-of lists directly on Amazon, including: The Best Over-Ear Headphones The Best Wireless Earbuds The Best Adjustable Dumbbell Sets The Best Projectors View the full article

The differences and similarities with Global Crossing are worth examiningView the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. While you might assume that thieves would prefer to find less visible, less public ways of breaking into your house, your front door and entryway are actually prime targets for anyone who wants inside without your permission—more than a third of burglars use the front door when gaining entry to a home. If you want to sleep a little better at night, securing your home's entryway is a good first step. Even if you have a security system in place, stopping a home invasion from taking place at all is a much better outcome. Doing just a few of these things will make it a lot harder for anyone to break into your home and compromise your property and your safety. Select a front door made of a secure materialYour first step towards securing your entryway is the door itself. A solid-core wood door provides decent security, but an upgrade to a steel door will make it even more difficult for a would-be home invader to cut, kick, or break the door itself. Aluminum or fiberglass are also solid choices to increase the security of your door, though they’re also generally more expensive. Whatever material your front door is made of, you can enhance its security by installing a metal security door, which is like a storm door that adds an extra lockable barrier over your front door, making it even less likely that someone can gain access without your permission. Reinforce the door's frameIf you can’t install a security door, you can still add some security to your existing door by reinforcing the frame. The locks on your door (and the door itself) will only be as good as the frame the door is attached to—the best lock in the world will be useless if one well-placed kick will crack the frame. You can purchase simple kits like this one that will reinforce your door frame and make it a lot more difficult to kick or pry the weak points on your door—the hinges and jamb. Typically made from steel, these plates stiffen the existing frame material and deflect tools away from weak spots. Reconsider those decorative glass windowsEntryways with a lot of glass are popular because they let in natural light, but if your front door has a lot of glass inserts or sidelights (the narrow areas on either side), that’s a huge security risk because glass is so easily broken (see any film or TV show depicting a burglary, ever). Reducing or eliminating glass in your entryway is an easy way to increase security simply because it removes the weak point. If you can’t remove the glass (or simply don’t want to sacrifice the light), you can replace it with security glass. If that’s too expensive, you can also install a security window film. Security films won’t necessarily stop a determined thief from smashing their way into your home, but they can slow them down and make the job more challenging, increasing the chances they’ll give up before gaining entry. Upgrade your locksJust as your door locks will only be optimally effective if your door frame is hardened, your door will only be secure if you use a high-quality lock with an appropriate security grade. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) applies a grade of 1 to 3 to all locks that describes their security level—Grade 1 is the best. Installing Grade 1 locks (make sure they actually have the official ANSI seal on them) will give you the best security for your front door. Adding a deadbolt to the door is an easy way to make it more difficult for someone to break in. A single-cylinder deadbolt (with keyed entry on the outside and a thumbturn on the inside) are best for residential doors, because needing to use a key on the interior will make it a lot harder to get out in an emergency. Upgrade hardwareAnother way to make your entryway more secure is to do some small upgrades to the door’s other hardware—the hinges and strike plate: Deeper screws. Most screws supplied with door hinges will be about 1 to 2.25 inches long. That’s certainly sufficient, but a deeper screw will be more difficult to tear out, increasing the overall strength of the door. Replacing your hinge screws with 3-inch (or deeper) is a cheap, simple way to make the entryway more secure. Just be sure to check that there’s enough depth to handle the longer screws, and that the screws won’t interfere with nearby windows or wiring in the walls. Hinge bolts. Hinge bolts install between the door hinges (see them in action here) and make it difficult for someone to lift the door off the frame even if they manage to push the pins out of the hinges. These are mainly useful if your door swings outward (most residential doors swing inward) but certainly can’t hurt, especially as they’re cheap and easy to install. Strike box. The strike plate is the strip of metal where the bolt and latch from the door connects with the frame. It’s typically just a flat piece that doesn’t provide much by way of reinforcement, so installing a strike box instead is a good idea. A strike box inserts into the hole drilled for the latch or bolt and helps absorb and spread any impact from an attempt to break the door frame. Rework your landscaping for maximum visibilityA simple way to enhance the security of your entryway is to clear away landscaping that hides your front door from the street. While privacy is always nice, if you have a lot of lush landscaping around your front door it could be an opportunity for someone to work on your door unobserved. This combined with plenty of light at night will make even the most determined thief think twice about assaulting your door. Get rid of that spare key in the front yardEven if you make your front door a marvel of strength and security, it means nothing if you leave a spare key under the doormat—or hidden in one of those obvious fake rocks. Everyone needs some spare keys seeded around their lives to prevent being locked out of their own home, but be thoughtful about where those keys are. A trusted neighbor or nearby friend (or relative) or tucked in a desk at your job are good ideas. Don’t hide the key anywhere near the door, however, as it’s too easy for a cursory check to turn it up. Of course, going keyless with a smart lock is another option that removes the possibility of losing your key—though it still might be a good idea for someone you trust who lives nearby to have the code in case you ever need someone to get into your house. View the full article

Project managers, rejoice! Zoho just introduced an application to usher in a bright new future for what you do. On March 11, 2025, Zoho revealed its new unified AI-driven project management platform Projects Plus. “Zoho Projects Plus is basically a collaboration of hybrid project management,” explained Zoho senior evangelist Aarthi Elizabeth. “One is your traditional projects and the other is your agile methodologies.” “It then brings in data analytics as well,” Elizabeth added. For many businesses, this constitutes a game changer. Think about the possibilities. Zoho’s current Projects software sees greatest use amongst businesses in construction, manufacturing, banking, financial services, insurance and IT services. And the new Projects Plus application – which can be used on its own or with the earlier software – works not just for enterprise businesses but for small businesses too. In fact, Elizabeth points out a majority of current users of Zoho projects software are small to medium sized businesses. Building a Foundation with Projects Plus Say you run a construction company. You just won a major contract – perhaps for a school or medical building. Congratulations! Now you need to get down to work. Completing the project on time and on budget means keeping track of a small army of contractors all responsible for a small piece of the puzzle of your completed building. You need to oversee the work of plumbing, HVAC, electrical, framing and masonry contractors and likely many many more. Suppose your flooring contractor runs into delays. This may hold up other contractors too, putting you behind schedule. Or suppose your excavation contractor encounters hard rock or clay at the job site rather than the loose sandy soil expected, likely driving up that part of the budget. Certainly you built additional time into your construction schedule in case of delays and contingency funds into your budget for such added costs. But unexpected delays and costs remain just that – unexpected. Suppose you had a tool that could alleviate some of the guesswork. Making the Best of Uncertainty Or imagine you operate a light manufacturing business. You create plastic garbage and recycling bags in an industrial park in Northeastern Pennsylvania but have suppliers all over the world. For example, your plastic extruders and blow film machines come from Taipei, Taiwan as well as any parts you need to repair them. Your polyethylene pellets used in making the bags come from a plant outside Houston, TX. The bag making machines themselves created to cut your plastic film into your final product come from Guangzhou, China. Finally, the dyes and additives used in the plastic making process come from a manufacturer in Neenah, WI. Obviously, to keep producing your bags to satisfy your customers’ needs, you must keep control of all these sources – and probably more. You need to watch if costs increase from domestic suppliers. And you need to monitor whether import taxes and shipping costs impact materials and equipment from suppliers overseas. You also need to track inventory of your raw materials so you know when to order more – allowing time for shipping. And you require an organized maintenance system for your machinery so you can anticipate problems instead of being surprised. One Platform to Rule Them All Enter Zoho Projects Plus. While a traditional project management software might have once been sufficient, today’s project managers need something extra. “The role of data in project management has become more critical than ever and that brings us to Projects Plus,” said Elizabeth. According to Zoho, over the past 15 years data usage by project management teams increased by at least 100 times. And the company expects that to speed up as project managers become more and more reliant on AI. This puts project managers on the frontier of a massive change in the way businesses get things done. It signals a shift from intuition based decision making to data driven decision making. This in turn requires a strong data management platform with integrated AI solutions. Imagine you work as a project manager for an IT services company charged with installing patient records software at a large number of hospitals and related medical offices connected to a large regional health network. You know from experience roughly how long it takes your technicians to install the software. But suppose the team runs into unexpected trouble. Drop the ball and you run the risk of not hitting installation deadlines outlined in your company’s contract. By contrast, a data driven platform with AI solutions stands a far better chance of estimating project completion times based on an average of past performance. And your company could rely on this estimate with a far greater confidence of accuracy. This represents the shift to a more data driven project management in general. So what makes Zoho Projects Plus so unique? Glad you asked? Platform Pillars of Projects Plus Zoho’s new Projects Plus comes with some important platform pillars to help organizations understand what the application can do. Data Democratization for All! First, the software provides data democratization. What does this mean? “Our aim is to make data accessible to everyone on the project team, and not just data engineers and analysts,” explained Elizabeth. Suppose you work as a loan officer at a regional bank. You notice that a certain kind of loan the bank offers seems to often go into default. But you need to be sure your experience isn’t just anecdotal before reporting your insight. You need not contact IT to have them pull data from past loans. A dashboard allows you to see the rate of default by type of loan across the company. Now you see whether the defaults represent a few isolated incidents or a troubling trend. Contextual Generative AI for Smarter Decisions Second, Zoho Projects Plus offers an important AI component. “We have added contextual generative AI with which you can generate content and leverage conversational AI to make smarter decisions,” said Elizabeth. Imagine the insurance company you work for puts you in charge of managing rollout of a new product you never offered before. Use contextual generative AI to evaluate data on the new product and then generate possible risks associated with it – as well as strategies to mitigate that risk. Hybrid Project Management for Traditional and Agile Third, Zoho Project Plus offers hybrid project management. “Enterprises across verticals can make use of our unified hybrid project management which is a user-friendly platform which brings traditional and agile methodologies together,” said Elizabeth. Imagine you head the marketing department for a large ecommerce website. Your team uses agile methodology when doing project management for ongoing campaigns. You do this so your team can quickly tweak and make changes to campaigns even while underway based on customer feedback. Meanwhile, the product management department uses a more linear and methodical approach. New products are carefully planned and then rolled out when ready for customer consumption. This makes a more traditional project management approach a better fit. Still, both departments must talk to one another. It helps the product management department to hear customer feedback. And it helps the marketing department to know the release schedule for new products so they can develop new marketing campaigns to promote them. “And they can also leverage the broader Zoho ecosystem to scale their businesses as they expand horizontally and vertically, “ Elizabeth added. Collaborative Work Management to Bring Your Team Together Fourth, Zoho Projects Plus creates a collaborative project management environment where innovation thrives. “Our collaborative work management capabilities reduce the gap between remote teams making them more productive through content collaboration, communication and automation,” said Elizabeth. Say your hypothetical construction company falls behind on your project. Your excavation contractor discovers hard rock at the site. Or torrential rains delay his or her work for days. Now masonry, framing, plumbing, electrical and a whole host of other contractors are behind as well. Contractors all on the same platform keep each other apprised of delays to avoid lots of needless team meetings. This collaboration also minimizes the cost of workers being onsite when no work can be done. Now, imagine a marketing company with a social media team in the Philippines, a video production house in New York City, and copywriters in London, UK, and Bucharest, Romania. Coordinating a huge campaign with video, blog articles and social media components becomes easier when teams are on one platform. They share information – and digital assets needed for the campaign – quickly. And other teams can easily see the progress of tasks completed and deadlines met. The Cycle of Life Take a look at how Zoho Products Plus takes your team through the entire lifecycle of a project. It begins with ideation then moves on to research and development and right on through to production. Imagine a software company creating and designing applications for the fintech industry. Your team starts with collaboration. Your sales team receives feedback from customers that they need a solution to automate approvals of online loan requests. Jump On Forums Your sales team jumps on the Forums section within Projects Plus. Members of your software development, operations, and user experience teams join them to discuss clients’ needs. Teams discuss what customers need this new application to do. They discuss what it should look like and how it should operate. Finally, they talk about how long it will take to develop and what teams will need to be involved. Share on Wiki Now, you need to build a knowledge base. The Wiki feature within Projects Plus allows you to share research and ideas with all the teams working on the project – and with clients if need be. It allows for shared knowledge and quick feedback so all parties remain on the same page. Roll Up Your Sleeves with Tasks and Milestones You’ve done some brainstorming, completed some research and gotten feedback from clients. You know which way you’re headed. Your team now begins the research and development process on Tasks and Milestones. Go ahead and break your project down. Assign tasks to the appropriate teams and set deadlines. Use Timesheet to Boost Productivity Anyone who works on projects knows setting deadlines does not guarantee success. Perhaps one team takes too long on their part of the project holding others back. Perhaps another team gets bogged down in research and needs some nudging. Using the Timesheets feature in Zoho Projects Plus allows you to track progress, look for ways to increase efficiency and eliminate bottlenecks. Log and Resolve Problems with BugTracker Bugs remain an unfortunate reality in software development. Maybe your new software stalls in the middle of the loan approval process. Maybe it approves loans without going through the proper steps. Either problem upsets clients and sends your team back to the drawing board. But with the Bug Tracker feature in Zoho Products Plus, you log every glitch, every hic cup. You make sure all are resolved before your shiny new application rolls out to clients. Zia is also a Part of the Mix All of these features, and more, work hand in hand with Zoho’s AI assistant, Zia. Bring documentation for a task into Projects Plus for your team to discuss and Zia will summarize it and rephrase it for better understanding. “But that’s a very small way to use it,” says Elizabeth. So what’s a bigger way? Well, if you bring all your data for the task into Projects Plus, analytics dashboards are created. You then use Zia to pull data across these dashboards. Then sit back and watch the AI create insights you can use. You can also ask Zia questions about the project which it can answer using the data you’ve added in. Zoho Leaves Competitors in the Dust Not many other software tools in the space currently offer the range of features available through Zoho Projects Plus – without combining several applications. The platform also includes Zoho’s trademark privacy and security features. Zoho also offers integration with a boatload of outside apps including Google’s Sheets, Drive, Calendar, Chrome and Analytics, a number of Microsoft applications and much, much more. Zoho offers flexible pay as you go pricing for Projects Plus starting at $15 per user per month, annually. For more on the pricing plan look here. Conclusion The focus on data driven decisions now dominates the world of project management – and with good reason. Teams using data in the process from ideation to project completion see an increase in efficiency and are quicker to identify bottlenecks. The introduction of AI features allows teams to get a more holistic view of projects by pulling together data from many sources. Zoho’s Projects Plus leads the charge in this new campaign. And businesses reap the rewards of this innovation in better efficiency and better results. Learn more about Zoho Projects Plus and the whole Zoho ecosystem today! This article, "Zoho Projects Plus Changes the Game in Project Management" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Project managers, rejoice! Zoho just introduced an application to usher in a bright new future for what you do. On March 11, 2025, Zoho revealed its new unified AI-driven project management platform Projects Plus. “Zoho Projects Plus is basically a collaboration of hybrid project management,” explained Zoho senior evangelist Aarthi Elizabeth. “One is your traditional projects and the other is your agile methodologies.” “It then brings in data analytics as well,” Elizabeth added. For many businesses, this constitutes a game changer. Think about the possibilities. Zoho’s current Projects software sees greatest use amongst businesses in construction, manufacturing, banking, financial services, insurance and IT services. And the new Projects Plus application – which can be used on its own or with the earlier software – works not just for enterprise businesses but for small businesses too. In fact, Elizabeth points out a majority of current users of Zoho projects software are small to medium sized businesses. Building a Foundation with Projects Plus Say you run a construction company. You just won a major contract – perhaps for a school or medical building. Congratulations! Now you need to get down to work. Completing the project on time and on budget means keeping track of a small army of contractors all responsible for a small piece of the puzzle of your completed building. You need to oversee the work of plumbing, HVAC, electrical, framing and masonry contractors and likely many many more. Suppose your flooring contractor runs into delays. This may hold up other contractors too, putting you behind schedule. Or suppose your excavation contractor encounters hard rock or clay at the job site rather than the loose sandy soil expected, likely driving up that part of the budget. Certainly you built additional time into your construction schedule in case of delays and contingency funds into your budget for such added costs. But unexpected delays and costs remain just that – unexpected. Suppose you had a tool that could alleviate some of the guesswork. Making the Best of Uncertainty Or imagine you operate a light manufacturing business. You create plastic garbage and recycling bags in an industrial park in Northeastern Pennsylvania but have suppliers all over the world. For example, your plastic extruders and blow film machines come from Taipei, Taiwan as well as any parts you need to repair them. Your polyethylene pellets used in making the bags come from a plant outside Houston, TX. The bag making machines themselves created to cut your plastic film into your final product come from Guangzhou, China. Finally, the dyes and additives used in the plastic making process come from a manufacturer in Neenah, WI. Obviously, to keep producing your bags to satisfy your customers’ needs, you must keep control of all these sources – and probably more. You need to watch if costs increase from domestic suppliers. And you need to monitor whether import taxes and shipping costs impact materials and equipment from suppliers overseas. You also need to track inventory of your raw materials so you know when to order more – allowing time for shipping. And you require an organized maintenance system for your machinery so you can anticipate problems instead of being surprised. One Platform to Rule Them All Enter Zoho Projects Plus. While a traditional project management software might have once been sufficient, today’s project managers need something extra. “The role of data in project management has become more critical than ever and that brings us to Projects Plus,” said Elizabeth. According to Zoho, over the past 15 years data usage by project management teams increased by at least 100 times. And the company expects that to speed up as project managers become more and more reliant on AI. This puts project managers on the frontier of a massive change in the way businesses get things done. It signals a shift from intuition based decision making to data driven decision making. This in turn requires a strong data management platform with integrated AI solutions. Imagine you work as a project manager for an IT services company charged with installing patient records software at a large number of hospitals and related medical offices connected to a large regional health network. You know from experience roughly how long it takes your technicians to install the software. But suppose the team runs into unexpected trouble. Drop the ball and you run the risk of not hitting installation deadlines outlined in your company’s contract. By contrast, a data driven platform with AI solutions stands a far better chance of estimating project completion times based on an average of past performance. And your company could rely on this estimate with a far greater confidence of accuracy. This represents the shift to a more data driven project management in general. So what makes Zoho Projects Plus so unique? Glad you asked? Platform Pillars of Projects Plus Zoho’s new Projects Plus comes with some important platform pillars to help organizations understand what the application can do. Data Democratization for All! First, the software provides data democratization. What does this mean? “Our aim is to make data accessible to everyone on the project team, and not just data engineers and analysts,” explained Elizabeth. Suppose you work as a loan officer at a regional bank. You notice that a certain kind of loan the bank offers seems to often go into default. But you need to be sure your experience isn’t just anecdotal before reporting your insight. You need not contact IT to have them pull data from past loans. A dashboard allows you to see the rate of default by type of loan across the company. Now you see whether the defaults represent a few isolated incidents or a troubling trend. Contextual Generative AI for Smarter Decisions Second, Zoho Projects Plus offers an important AI component. “We have added contextual generative AI with which you can generate content and leverage conversational AI to make smarter decisions,” said Elizabeth. Imagine the insurance company you work for puts you in charge of managing rollout of a new product you never offered before. Use contextual generative AI to evaluate data on the new product and then generate possible risks associated with it – as well as strategies to mitigate that risk. Hybrid Project Management for Traditional and Agile Third, Zoho Project Plus offers hybrid project management. “Enterprises across verticals can make use of our unified hybrid project management which is a user-friendly platform which brings traditional and agile methodologies together,” said Elizabeth. Imagine you head the marketing department for a large ecommerce website. Your team uses agile methodology when doing project management for ongoing campaigns. You do this so your team can quickly tweak and make changes to campaigns even while underway based on customer feedback. Meanwhile, the product management department uses a more linear and methodical approach. New products are carefully planned and then rolled out when ready for customer consumption. This makes a more traditional project management approach a better fit. Still, both departments must talk to one another. It helps the product management department to hear customer feedback. And it helps the marketing department to know the release schedule for new products so they can develop new marketing campaigns to promote them. “And they can also leverage the broader Zoho ecosystem to scale their businesses as they expand horizontally and vertically, “ Elizabeth added. Collaborative Work Management to Bring Your Team Together Fourth, Zoho Projects Plus creates a collaborative project management environment where innovation thrives. “Our collaborative work management capabilities reduce the gap between remote teams making them more productive through content collaboration, communication and automation,” said Elizabeth. Say your hypothetical construction company falls behind on your project. Your excavation contractor discovers hard rock at the site. Or torrential rains delay his or her work for days. Now masonry, framing, plumbing, electrical and a whole host of other contractors are behind as well. Contractors all on the same platform keep each other apprised of delays to avoid lots of needless team meetings. This collaboration also minimizes the cost of workers being onsite when no work can be done. Now, imagine a marketing company with a social media team in the Philippines, a video production house in New York City, and copywriters in London, UK, and Bucharest, Romania. Coordinating a huge campaign with video, blog articles and social media components becomes easier when teams are on one platform. They share information – and digital assets needed for the campaign – quickly. And other teams can easily see the progress of tasks completed and deadlines met. The Cycle of Life Take a look at how Zoho Products Plus takes your team through the entire lifecycle of a project. It begins with ideation then moves on to research and development and right on through to production. Imagine a software company creating and designing applications for the fintech industry. Your team starts with collaboration. Your sales team receives feedback from customers that they need a solution to automate approvals of online loan requests. Jump On Forums Your sales team jumps on the Forums section within Projects Plus. Members of your software development, operations, and user experience teams join them to discuss clients’ needs. Teams discuss what customers need this new application to do. They discuss what it should look like and how it should operate. Finally, they talk about how long it will take to develop and what teams will need to be involved. Share on Wiki Now, you need to build a knowledge base. The Wiki feature within Projects Plus allows you to share research and ideas with all the teams working on the project – and with clients if need be. It allows for shared knowledge and quick feedback so all parties remain on the same page. Roll Up Your Sleeves with Tasks and Milestones You’ve done some brainstorming, completed some research and gotten feedback from clients. You know which way you’re headed. Your team now begins the research and development process on Tasks and Milestones. Go ahead and break your project down. Assign tasks to the appropriate teams and set deadlines. Use Timesheet to Boost Productivity Anyone who works on projects knows setting deadlines does not guarantee success. Perhaps one team takes too long on their part of the project holding others back. Perhaps another team gets bogged down in research and needs some nudging. Using the Timesheets feature in Zoho Projects Plus allows you to track progress, look for ways to increase efficiency and eliminate bottlenecks. Log and Resolve Problems with BugTracker Bugs remain an unfortunate reality in software development. Maybe your new software stalls in the middle of the loan approval process. Maybe it approves loans without going through the proper steps. Either problem upsets clients and sends your team back to the drawing board. But with the Bug Tracker feature in Zoho Products Plus, you log every glitch, every hic cup. You make sure all are resolved before your shiny new application rolls out to clients. Zia is also a Part of the Mix All of these features, and more, work hand in hand with Zoho’s AI assistant, Zia. Bring documentation for a task into Projects Plus for your team to discuss and Zia will summarize it and rephrase it for better understanding. “But that’s a very small way to use it,” says Elizabeth. So what’s a bigger way? Well, if you bring all your data for the task into Projects Plus, analytics dashboards are created. You then use Zia to pull data across these dashboards. Then sit back and watch the AI create insights you can use. You can also ask Zia questions about the project which it can answer using the data you’ve added in. Zoho Leaves Competitors in the Dust Not many other software tools in the space currently offer the range of features available through Zoho Projects Plus – without combining several applications. The platform also includes Zoho’s trademark privacy and security features. Zoho also offers integration with a boatload of outside apps including Google’s Sheets, Drive, Calendar, Chrome and Analytics, a number of Microsoft applications and much, much more. Zoho offers flexible pay as you go pricing for Projects Plus starting at $15 per user per month, annually. For more on the pricing plan look here. Conclusion The focus on data driven decisions now dominates the world of project management – and with good reason. Teams using data in the process from ideation to project completion see an increase in efficiency and are quicker to identify bottlenecks. The introduction of AI features allows teams to get a more holistic view of projects by pulling together data from many sources. Zoho’s Projects Plus leads the charge in this new campaign. And businesses reap the rewards of this innovation in better efficiency and better results. Learn more about Zoho Projects Plus and the whole Zoho ecosystem today! This article, "Zoho Projects Plus Changes the Game in Project Management" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

The homeowner who filed the suit claims he now owes over $160,000 in fees on a second mortgage, which was discharged in 2007. View the full article

Brands such as Tesla that manufacture in the US and rely on domestically-produced parts stand to benefitView the full article

In rushing its fiscal fences, the Spring Statement risks otherwise well-meaning reform being botchedView the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. We might be living in the era of the PS5 Pro, but speaking from personal experience, the base PS5 is still plenty good enough for most people. There are no exclusive games for the upgrade yet (and there likely never will be), but one nice thing about its existence is that the original PS5 is now more likely to go on sale. Consider this week's discounts on both models of the PS5 Slim (sorry, that's what everyone calls it, Sony), which you can snag with a free copy of Astro Bot thrown in. They aren't technically a part of Amazon's Big Spring Sale, but the deals are undeniable. PlayStation®5 Digital Edition - ASTRO BOT Bundle $399.00 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg Get Deal Get Deal $399.00 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg Sony - PlayStation 5 Slim Console – ASTRO BOT Bundle - White $449.00 at Walmart $559.98 Save $110.98 Get Deal Get Deal $449.00 at Walmart $559.98 Save $110.98 SEE -1 MORE The PS5 Slim, despite being a little thinner and a little different looking than the launch model, has all the same capabilities as a non-Pro PS5, but in a sleeker format. There are two versions—one that only plays digital games and one that accepts physical discs—but for the most part, these models have replaced the launch version of the PS5 in stores, with the digital version usually going for $450 and the disc version most often priced at $500. During this sale, you can instead get a digital PS5 Slim for $399 and disc-based one for $449, and both models come with last year's The Game Awards-winning Astro Bot as an added bonus. Basically, these system deals would be great even without the free game. Add that in, and you're saving $110. The only caveat? Slim PS5 models require a special stand if you want to mount them vertically, although that stand is on sale right now as well. Shopping for tech? Lifehacker can help you make the right decision. Browse our tech reviews and head-to-head comparisons for everything from laptops and smartwatches to e-bikes and home gyms. Subscribe to our deals newsletter, Add to Cart, for the best sales sent to your inbox, or browse our best-of lists directly on Amazon, including: The Best Over-Ear Headphones The Best Wireless Earbuds The Best Adjustable Dumbbell Sets The Best Projectors View the full article

Uncertainty is ruling the markets that are used to set mortgage rates and as a result, they remained in the same tight range since the start of the month. View the full article

Latest draft sent to Kyiv steps up demands and offers no security guaranteesView the full article

Levies on some vehicles set to reach 40%-50% when combined with threatened reciprocal tariffsView the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. If you're in the market for a new Apple Watch, the Series 10 is currently $100 off during Amazon's Big Spring Sale. Normally priced at $399, the current discount brings the smartwatch down to just $299. This is as low a price as this watch ever gets, according to price-tracking tools. The Series 10 is a solid staple of the Apple smartwatch ecosystem. There are plenty of reasons that make this watch the best option for most people. It's smaller and lighter than previous models, and the screen is bigger, brighter, and faster than earlier series. Lifehacker's associate tech editor Michelle Ehrhardt even says it was the first Apple Watch model to actually tempt her to upgrade. Even if you aren't interested in features like, say, measuring how far below water you are up to 20 feet, the Series 10’s comfort alone might make it the best Apple Watch for you. If you're still wearing the more budget SE, this discount could be a perfect way to upgrade or replace your current wearable. Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt The bottom line is the Apple Watch Series 10 is still the same experience you’ve come to expect from an Apple Watch, but with a little more convenience and comfort than earlier models. You still have a square body, and aside from the dive sensors, the same fitness tracking. If you're already a loyal Apple Watch user looking for subtle but significant upgrades, this is a good time to snag a Series 10 at a more affordable price. Apple Watch Series 10 $299.00 at Walmart $399.00 Save $100.00 Get Deal Get Deal $299.00 at Walmart $399.00 Save $100.00 Shopping for tech? Lifehacker can help you make the right decision. Browse our tech reviews and head-to-head comparisons for everything from laptops and smartwatches to e-bikes and home gyms. Subscribe to our deals newsletter, Add to Cart, for the best sales sent to your inbox, or browse our best-of lists directly on Amazon, including: The Best Over-Ear Headphones The Best Wireless Earbuds The Best Adjustable Dumbbell Sets The Best Projectors View the full article

While getting a home you're thinking of buying inspected to make sure it's not harboring any hidden problems goes without saying, it's just as important to do a deep dive on the neighborhood you'll be moving into. But while you can look up crime stats and compare property values, how can you know if you’re going to personally vibe with the new surroundings? Here are seven strategies you can try in order to vibe-check your potential new neighborhood before signing a lease or taking out a mortgage. Walk the area instead of driving aroundWhether you’re a walker or you believe strongly in driving to the end of your driveway to collect the mail, a stroll through a prospective neighborhood is an effective way to gauge its overall feel. If you have a dog, taking it for a walk there is just as effective (and might make you feel more comfortable). Walking around will show you whether your neighborhood is buzzing with activity at all hours, or if it’s super quiet. You’ll get a feel for whether neighbors socialize a lot, or if they keep to themselves. This will let you know if the area matches your energy, or if you’ll be bored or irritated living there. Walking around also gives you the chance to run into residents and chat them up a little. Some casual conversation can reveal a lot about the character of the place, and whether people are happy living there or gritting their teeth every day. Hang around at different times of dayWalking is a good technique, but so is sitting. Take a drive to your new potential block at different hours of the day and just sit there for a little while and listen. Noise is one of the leading complaints people have about their neighbors, but it can be difficult to notice when you’re actively touring a home and engaged with a real estate agent. Sitting for a bit and listening will tell you whether the neighborhood is packed with barking dogs, screaming children, loud train tracks, blasting stereos, or vicious arguments. Try a short-term rentalIf you have the time and flexibility, look for a short-term rental in the neighborhood you're considering. A brief mini-vacation there will give you a day or two to see what everyday life might be like there. You'll also have the opportunity to find out how walkable it is, what the local stores and nightlife are like, even how easy it is to find street parking. If you can’t wait to get out of there after a few days, you'll know everything you need to about whether it's the spot for you. Preview the nightlifeWalking and staking out the neighborhood are effective ways to gauge the vibe, but make sure you include some weekend evenings on your schedule. A neighborhood that’s pin-drop quiet on a Monday morning might transform into an enormous block party on Friday night—which may or may not be what you’re looking for. If you can, check it out during a holiday as well—a neighborhood that has regular block parties or other social events to mark these occasions will have a very different vibe from a spot where everyone keeps to themselves. Even if you’re not going to be renting out a room, you might consider redirecting your nightlife to the new neighborhood for a few nights. Hit up some restaurants, bars, coffee shops, or other venues. These will be your go-to spots when you live there, so knowing whether they’re walkable, always crowded, incredibly noisy, or just not your tempo is valuable information. Check out the grocery storesThere is absolutely a hierarchy of grocery stores, so you should check out your options in your potential new neighborhood. High-end spots will be clean and well-stocked, with fresh produce but higher prices. Lower-end stores might not be a pleasant shopping experience, and might indicate a neighborhood on a downward spiral. And having no local options and being forced to drive to a big-box store—or having dollar stores and convenience stores as your only grocery option—might make living there a lot more difficult. Your feelings about the local grocery situation might depend on your lifestyle, but it’s worth it to make sure the stores match up with your expectations and needs, whatever they are. Test your commuteIf you’re going to be commuting to and from work, school, or some other location regularly, do a test run or two. Get to the prospective neighborhood a little early, start the clock, and start your commute from there. Whether driving or taking public transportation, this will be the best way to get a feel for whether your commute is about to get much, much more nightmarish, a lot easier, or not change in any way at all. Check the local calendarOne thing you should look at when vetting any neighborhood is any list of public events in the general area you can locate. Many communities have public websites with information about upcoming festivals, block parties, and community events like local theater productions. You can also check out the local chamber of commerce for event information. View the full article

Welcome to AI Decoded, Fast Company’s weekly newsletter that breaks down the most important news in the world of AI. You can sign up to receive this newsletter every week here. AI pioneer Illia Polosukhin offers a blockchain-flavored open-source enablement platform Illia Polosukhin, who coinvented the Transformer architecture at Google in 2017, is now launching a new company called Near AI. The company will offer services through a blockchain-powered platform that functions as a secure marketplace for open-source AI models and agents. Polosukhin is a strong advocate for transparent, open-source AI models, which he believes are the best way to promote responsible adoption in an equitable and safe manner. He’s deeply concerned about individuals’ data privacy and the data sovereignty of companies and countries in a world where just a few tech giants control the largest AI models and the vast amounts of data they collect. His vision is to empower many developers to build powerful models openly, while giving users more control over their data. The challenge, however, is that developers of open-source (or open-weight) models typically offer their work for free. This means they incur development costs without generating revenue—and must also worry about potential liability if someone later uses their models to cause harm. According to Polosukhin, some open-source developers are reluctant to host their models on Hugging Face due to the risk of weight leaks. Hosting models on their own server clusters shifts the burden of governance and compliance—especially regarding user data—entirely onto them. On the Near platform, which Polosukhin and his team have been developing since mid-2024, that burden is eliminated. “For developers it’s a very effective way for them to ship their models and agents because they don’t need to deal with all the GDPR compliance themselves for user data,” Polosukhin says. “We build a very simple hosting platform that does all that and they also get distribution.” He likens the Near platform to an app store—but for open-source models and agents. The platform leverages blockchain technology to create a decentralized network of users—including enterprises, independent developers, and researchers—around the world, Polosukhin explains. Each user must have the appropriate hardware configuration to join the network. Once connected, they can run encrypted versions of models locally and pay a fee per token to the model’s creator. User registration and payment coordination are handled on the blockchain. Users benefit by gaining access to models from verified developers on a trusted platform—one where neither Near nor the model creators can see the user data running through the models. For enterprises in regulated industries, this could be more appealing than sending sensitive data to a frontier model provider like OpenAI or Google, where privacy and security are less transparent. Between 2018 and 2022, the Near Foundation raised $650 million to build the Near protocol and platform. Now, Near AI—the newly formed company—will offer specialized services for developers and users on top of that platform. Don’t be surprised if Near AI raises a new funding round in the near future. With new Google and DeepSeek models, AI parity seems very real Remember when OpenAI’s Sam Altman said that other frontier model developers shouldn’t bother trying to catch up to OpenAI? What a difference a year makes. For a long time, OpenAI’s models enjoyed a comfortable performance lead over the competition—but that’s changed. Google, which had been slow to accelerate development of generative models that might someday exceed human intelligence, yesterday released a new reasoning model called Gemini 2.5 Pro Experimental that outperforms OpenAI’s best across several well-known benchmark tests. Gemini 2.5 Pro Experimental now leads in the math and science benchmarks Graduate-Level Google-Proof Q&A (GPQA) and the 2025 American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME). It also achieves a state-of-the-art score of 18.8% on Humanity’s Last Exam, a notoriously difficult test set designed to capture the human frontier of knowledge and reasoning. Google DeepMind leader Demis Hassabis says on X that Gemini 2.5 “reasons through its thoughts before responding, effectively mimicking how humans process thoughts.” “It approaches a problem gradually, refines potential solutions, and chooses the best one,” he says. The model’s standout features include native multimodality—it processes images, video, audio, and code as tokens—and the ability to hold vast amounts of information (up to a million tokens) in memory while reasoning through problems and selecting the best answer. The plot thickens. The Chinese AI lab DeepSeek has just released a new open-source model called DeepSeek-V3-0324, which improves on the earlier V3 model in reasoning, math, science, and coding. Anyone can download the model from Hugging Face and start developing their own models and apps with it. Developers can’t do the same with OpenAI’s and Google’s top models, which do not reveal their code, training data, or model weights. A year ago, most industry observers believed China was years behind U.S. AI companies in model performance; now, the gap is said to be just a few months. The takeaway is that state-of-the-art frontier models aren’t as precious or untouchable as they once were. That’s why OpenAI, Google, and others are racing to get consumers hooked on their chatbots, agents, and other applications as quickly as possible. Their main value is no longer in powering enterprise systems at premium prices via APIs—it’s in getting as many consumer users as possible into subscription plans, as AI becomes a bigger part of everyday work and life. Anthropic and Databricks team up to service enterprises in regulated industries Databricks and Anthropic are joining forces in a five-year partnership that will integrate Anthropic’s Claude AI models directly into the Databricks Data Intelligence Platform. As a result, Databricks’ more than 10,000 enterprise customers will be able to send their proprietary data through the most advanced Anthropic models within the AWS, Azure, or Google clouds. Many of Databricks’ customers are enterprises in regulated industries such as finance and healthcare, so being able to run advanced AI models on the same platform as their data storage is a major advantage. Databricks notes that its tools allow enterprises to create AI agents that not only understand their organizational data but can also reason about it using Anthropic’s Claude models. “They are the leading AI model out there and so getting that in front of our customers is really what all this is about,” says Databricks VP of generative AI Naveen Rao. “We want to give our customers the best AI capabilities to unlock the value of their data.” Databricks customers will have access to Anthropic by default within the Databricks cloud, eliminating the often-protracted process of adding a new vendor. The Anthropic fees will simply appear on their Databricks bill. Rao says the two companies will first focus on helping existing Databricks customers get the most out of the Anthropic models. They may then shift focus to attracting new enterprise clients with the combined strengths of Databricks’ data security and governance and Anthropic’s state-of-the-art intelligence and safety controls. “We meet customers all the time who have clarity on their model story but are looking for something in terms of their long-term data story, and I’m sure the opposite or the compliment is true on the Databricks side,” says Anthropic chief product officer Mike Krieger. “You’re often meeting a customer on some portion of their journey, and being able to help them fast-forward through some discovery on the other parts helps you show up well.” More AI coverage from Fast Company: The ‘living globe’ that can help drones fly without GPS This watchdog is tracking how AI firms are quietly backing off their safety pledges Otter’s new AI agents are built to boost sales and streamline meetings Will AI-generated anime reshape storytelling—or replace it? 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In 1983, six businessmen got together and opened the first Hooters restaurant in Clearwater, Florida. Hooters of America LLC quickly became a restaurant chain success story. With its scantily clad servers and signature breaded wings, the chain sells sex appeal in addition to food—or as one of the company’s mottos puts it: “You can sell the sizzle, but you have to deliver the steak.” It inspired a niche restaurant genre called “breastaurants,” with eateries such as the Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery and Twin Peaks replicating Hooters’ busty business model. A decade ago, business was booming for breastaurant chains, with these companies experiencing record sales growth. Today it’s a different story. Declining sales, rising costs and a large debt burden of approximately US$300 million have threatened Hooters’ long-term outlook. In summer 2024, the chain closed over 40 of its restaurants across the U.S. In February 2025, Bloomberg reported that the company was on the verge of filing for bankruptcy. Hooters isn’t necessarily going away for good. But it’s certainly looking like there will be fewer opportunities for women to work as “Hooters Girls”—and for customers to ogle at them. As a psychologist, I was originally interested in studying servers at breastaurants because I could sense an interesting dynamic at play. On the one hand, it can feel good to be complimented for your looks. On the other hand, I also wondered whether constantly being critiqued might eventually wear these servers down. So my research team and I decided to study what it was like to work in places like Hooters. In a series of studies, here’s what we found. Concocting a male fantasyland More so than most restaurants, managers at breastaurants like Hooters seek to strictly regulate how their employees look and act. For one of our studies, we interviewed 11 women who worked in breastaurants. Several of them said that they were told to be “camera ready” at all times. One described being given a booklet with exacting standards outlining her expected appearance, down to “nails, hair, makeup, brushing your teeth, wearing deodorant.” She had to promise to stay the same weight and height, wear makeup every shift, and not change her hairstyle. Beyond a carefully constructed physical appearance, the servers relayed that they were also expected to be confident, cheerful, charming, outgoing, and emotionally steeled. They were instructed to make male customers feel special, to be their “personal cheerleaders,” as one interviewee put it, and to never challenge them. Suffice it say, these demands can be unrealistic—and many of the servers we interviewed described becoming emotionally drained and eventually souring on the role. ‘The girls are a dime a dozen’ It probably won’t come as a surprise that Hooters servers often encounter lewd remarks, sexual advances, and other forms of sexual harassment from customers. But because their managers often tolerate this behavior from customers, it created the added burden of what psychologists call “double-binds”—situations where contradictory messages make it impossible to respond properly. For example, say a regular customer who’s a generous tipper decides to proposition a server. Now she’s in a predicament. She’s been instructed to make customers feel special. And he’s already left a big tip, in addition to being a regular. But she also feels creeped out, and his advances make her feel worthless. Should she push back? You might assume that managers, aware that their scantily clad employees would be more likely to face harassment, would try to set boundaries and throw out customers who treated servers poorly. But we found that waitresses at breastaurants have less support from both management and their coworkers than servers at other restaurants. “Unfortunately, the girls are a dime a dozen, and that’s how they’re treated,” a former server and corporate trainer at a breastaurant explained. The lack of coworker support might also come as a surprise. Rather than standing in solidarity, the servers tended to compete for favoritism, better shifts and raises from their bosses. Gossiping, name-calling, and scapegoating were commonplace. The psychological toll My research team also wanted to learn more about the specific emotional and psychological costs of working in these types of environments. Psychologists Barbara Fredrickson and Tomi-Ann Robert have found that mental health problems that disproportionately affect women often coincide with sexual objectification. So we weren’t surprised to find that servers working in sexually objectifying restaurant environments, such as Hooters and Twin Peaks, reported more symptoms of depression, anxiety, and disordered eating than those working in other restaurants. In addition, they wanted to be thinner, were more likely to monitor their weight and appearance, and were more dissatisfied with their bodies. Hooters didn’t reply to a request for comment on this story. Why are women drawn to the job? Given our findings, you might wonder why any women would choose to work in places like Hooters in the first place. The women we interviewed said that they sought work in breastaurants to make more money and have more flexibility. A number of servers in one of our studies noted that they could make more money this way than waitressing at a regular restaurant or in other “real” jobs. For example, one of the servers we interviewed used to work at a more run-of-the-mill restaurant. “It was OK, I made OK money,” she told us. “But working at Hooters . . . I’ve walked out with hundreds of dollars in one shift.” All the women we interviewed were in college or were mothers. So they enjoyed the high degree of flexibility in their work schedule that breastaurants provided. Finally, several of them had previously experienced objectification while growing up, or they’d participated in activities centered on physical appearance, such as beauty pageants and cheerleading. This likely contributed to their decision to work at a Hooters or one of its competitors: They’d been objectified as adolescents, and so they found themselves drawn to these kinds of setting as adults. Even so, our research suggests that the financial rewards and flexibility of working in breastaurants probably aren’t worth the potential psychological costs. Dawn Szymanski is a professor of psychology at the University of Tennessee. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. View the full article

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We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Roborock is the maker of many fine robot vacuums (and vacuum/mop combos). They are so fine, in fact, that even when they're on sale, as many of them have been for the past few days during Amazon's Big Spring Sale, they can cost you several hundred dollars. One Roborock vacuum-and-mop combo, however, is really discounted right now: The Q7 Max is $189.99 (Amazon lists its regular price as $299.99 and the Roborock website shows the original price as a whopping $599.99). The Roborock Q7 Max specs Roborock Q7 Max Robot Vacuum and Mop So, what do you get for $189.99? The Q7 Max comes with 4,200Pa of suction, which is modest but powerful. (Some Roborocks ratchet the suction power up to 10,000Pa, but if you're dealing with a standard amount of household dust, this should suffice.) This device also vacuums and mops simultaneously, saving time and effort. Like other models, you get 30 adjustable water flow levels, which means you can customize what the robot does based on your own preferences and flooring materials. It's not self-cleaning when it's in its dock, so you will need to empty the dust and water tanks periodically. One of the key selling points of this brand's vacuums is its Lidar navigation, which enables the vacuums to create 3D maps of your space over time. From there, the machine will figure out the most efficient cleaning route and learn to avoid obstacles. It detects stairs, automatically returns to its charging dock when it needs to, and comes with a feature that allows you to lock it in using the mobile app so your kids and pets can't mess with it. It'll run for up to 180 minutes on one charge and can cover over 3,200 square feet in that time. This model uses a rubber brush that stays low to the floor to pick up dirt and hair, both from flat surfaces and out of crevices. All that being said, it only runs on 2.4G wifi, so don't try to connect it to anything heavier-duty. The Best Amazon Spring Sale Deals You Can Get Now Apple AirPods Pro 2 Wireless Earbuds — $169.99 (List Price $249.00) Ecobee Smart Thermostat Enhanced — $169.00 (List Price $189.99) soundcore by Anker Q30 Hybrid Active Noise Cancelling Headphones with Multiple Modes, Hi-Res Sound, Custom EQ via App, 40H Playtime, Comfortable Fit, Bluetooth Headphones, Multipoint Connection — $55.99 (List Price $79.99) Blink Mini 2 (White, 2-Pack) — $37.99 (List Price $69.99) 2024 Apple iPad mini A17 Pro chip, Built for Apple Intelligence, Wi-Fi 128GB - Blue — $399.00 (List Price $499.00) Apple Watch Series 10 (GPS, 42mm, Black, S/M 130-180mm, Sports Band) — $299.00 (List Price $399.00) Sonos Era 100 Wireless Speaker - White — $199.00 (List Price $249.00) Fire TV Stick 4K Max Streaming Player With Remote (2023 Model) — $39.99 (List Price $59.99) Fitbit Inspire 3 Health & Fitness Tracker (Midnight Zen/Black) — $69.95 (List Price $99.95) Roku Express 4K+ HDR Streamer with Voice Remote — $29.85 (List Price $39.99) Deals are selected by our commerce team View the full article