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More AI-generated content isn’t the answer. This guide outlines how to balance scale with authenticity to create content audiences actually value. The post The 5-Pillar Framework For AI Content That Audiences Actually Trust appeared first on Search Engine Journal. View the full article

At first, he appeared in the top corner of a multi-slide TikTok post. Then he was spotted demurely relaxing in a lawn chair on a livestream. Finally, on March 30, Apple’s new mascot, nicknamed “Finder Guy,” made his debut—and the internet has instantly become enamored with him. Finder Guy appeared as part of the rollout for Apple’s MacBook Neo, a colorful, affordable laptop marketed to younger consumers. For the Neo campaign, Apple introduced an entirely new TikTok brand persona on March 4, clearly making a play to capture Gen Z and Gen Alpha viewers by combining trending aesthetics with Apple’s high-design point of view. Popular videos have included a brain-tingling clip of an Apple-branded blush, a vibey throwback to a 1984 ad, and a goofy original song. But some eagle-eyed fans quickly became fixated on another element of the TikTok relaunch: a cute little mascot modeled after the Mac Finder icon. Why everyone loves Finder Guy Finder Guy is an adorably chunky, dual-toned blue creature with a rounded head and a perpetual smile. Apple is being fairly tight-lipped about him; he hasn’t been officially announced or acknowledged by the company. “Finder Guy” isn’t even his real name, just a moniker coined by the internet. The company declined to comment on his design to Fast Company. Still, it’s fairly obvious why Apple decided to double down on the mascot. After getting mere glimpses of him in those initial TikTok slides and livestream, Apple fans were already singing his praises. LinkedIn thinkpieces were written about his cherubic qualities. Blog posts were made about his mysterious origins. Independent designers were compelled to create mock-ups of him wearing slouchy sweaters. He was called “a baby,” “cute,” and “adorable” in almost every corner of the internet. Ryan Benson, cofounder of the creative agency Loudmouth, which helps brands figure out how to capture attention online, says there are a few key reasons why Finder Guy has charmed so many. Like the MacBook Neo itself, Finder Guy taps into Gen Z and Gen Alpha’s yearning for a bygone tech era when Frutiger Aero aesthetics (a retro-futuristic style characterized by bubbly motifs and bright colors) coexisted with serious software developments—in other words, when Apple’s brand felt a little bit more fun. “I think they’re adjusting to meet their consumer,” Benson says. “Cute content with cute things for a generation that appreciates aesthetics.” Finder Guy’s squat build and angelic features mimic blind box characters like Smiski, Sonny Angel, and Labubu that have become an obsession for many young consumers. One fan even orchestrated an April Fool’s prank to convince his followers that Apple was creating Finder Guy blind boxes. “It’s so simple, cute, and self-explanatory that it just begs to be remixed, edited, and have fan art made of it,” Benson explains. “I want Apple with their whimsy turned up to 11” Beyond the knee-jerk appeal of its cutesy design, Finder Guy feels reminiscent of a ’90s tech moment that’s become an aesthetic fascination for young shoppers. Think Apple’s colorful G3 iMac cases, Tamagotchis, and Clippy: For those who didn’t experience this exciting era firsthand, its hardware outputs seem like relics of a time when new tech wasn’t just sleek and functional but also adventurous and even silly. “For many of these consumers, Apple was in their Metal Square era as opposed to what they’re exploring now,” Benson says. Finder Guy, he explains, feels like a callback to retro “clear Mac shells and colorful accessories”—a far cry from the clean minimalism that young shoppers traditionally associate with Apple. That feeling has been echoed in the subreddit r/mac, where a March 31 post with more than 2,000 upvotes is dedicated to discussing users’ thoughts on Finder Guy. “I like it,” one commenter wrote, adding, “With the more colourful devices, the short films on their Youtube, the mascot . . . I like that new art direction they are going for. Making Apple more ‘fun’ again. The sterile, clean aesthetic got a bit old imo.” Another responded, “Whimsy. I want Apple with their whimsy turned up to 11!” It seems like many of Apple’s young customers agree. View the full article

Managers are rushing to deploy AI for efficiency gains. Employees have to figure out how to make it work—and that’s sometimes harder than it seems. Half of organizations piloted general-purpose AI tools last year, according to MIT research. But adoption and readiness aren’t the same thing. According to Rumman Chowdhury, former U.S. Science Envoy for AI and CEO and cofounder of Humane Intelligence, the burden is likely to fall on workers. “There’s a lot of FOMO among C-suites and high-level execs on pressure to build AI, and then they’re also incentivized to pretend like it works really well,” she says. “If and when it doesn’t, the responsibility is on the employee who had no say in whether or not this technology was adopted and used, or even often what it was used for.” For many employees, particularly those who don’t have a technical background, the promise of AI-driven efficiency comes with a catch: Useful output often requires time and effort that doesn’t always get counted. The gap between what these tools are supposed to do and what it actually takes to make them work has become its own job. Companies are figuring out whether the fix is better training or more realistic expectations around what these tools can deliver. For now, employees are absorbing the additional labor involved in prompting AI and double-checking its outputs. “PhD-level experts in your pocket”? Kellie Romack, chief digital information officer at enterprise software company ServiceNow, suggests managing AI is a hands-on effort. During a recent session with one of the company’s AI tools, she caught the model making a basic math error. “I wrote back and said, I think your math is wrong,” she recalled. “It wrote back to me and said, ‘Oh, you’re right. I do have it wrong.’” Romack gave it a thumbs-down and flagged it for her team’s feedback loop. The cleanup that follows is a cost organizations don’t always account for. “There may be efficiencies of production,” Chowdhury says. “And then if you scratch beneath the surface, some of this employee frustration is like, yeah, it’s producing stuff—and then I have to spend three hours going through every citation and making sure it’s not a hallucination.” A January 2026 Workday study of 3,200 employees found that over a third of time saved through AI is offset by rework, which the report calls an “AI tax on productivity.” Most leaders, the report finds, are focused on gross efficiency, or how much time AI saves. That metric doesn’t account for rework, and when it does, the net value of AI is often lower than expected. Net value, which the report defines as “time saved minus time lost,” is what shows whether AI is improving how work gets done. The only way to capture AI’s return is to move beyond hours saved and account for outcomes achieved, the report says. The problem is the AI industry oversold what these tools could do, Chowdhury says, pointing to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s claim last year that users would have a “team of PhD-level experts in your pocket.” The result has been frustration among both employees and managers: What was promoted as transformative has turned out to be far more uneven. “These technologies are simultaneously capable and not capable, and that’s what’s weird about it,” she says. “People who are the furthest removed from AI—the imagery they have in their head is this magical sentient being. And then they’re frustrated because . . . this isn’t a magical sentient being.” The difference, she adds, tends to be greatest among those with the least experience using the tools. The training gap A 2024 study by University of Texas at Austin researchers Min Kyung Lee and Angie Zhang included a workshop with 39 primarily knowledge workers from 26 countries—with follow-up interviews conducted separately with some participants. When workers received AI training, the majority described it as superficial. One participant recounted a colleague who used ChatGPT to generate a list of publications and didn’t realize the titles had been invented by the AI. The consequences of using AI without proper training or context can be serious. Zhang recalled one participant who worked at a labor standards organization that had to fire a junior employee after their AI-assisted work repeatedly fell short. The employee kept turning to generative AI to draft labor standards, producing work that drew on standards the participant had never come across or had no bearing on the task. (The organization had not formally adopted AI but some employees had begun using it anyway.) Some companies are trying to get ahead of the problem. IBM Consulting requires every employee to acquire a foundational generative AI badge, covering not just how to use the tools, but what they can and can’t do, says Tess Rock, associate partner for global finance transformation at IBM Consulting. But training alone isn’t enough. What matters more is leaders who can clearly define how and where AI should be used, she says. Without that, even well-trained employees get frustrated. “There needs to be that leadership mandate, operating model, governance-type decisions to be made, versus kind of having a population of frustrated practitioners trying to leverage this,” Rock says. IBM Consulting is treating AI adoption like any other business discipline. It involves two-week sprints where teams pitch an AI idea with an ROI case, build it, and scale what works. What doesn’t prove value gets cut. Working with one client, Rock’s team identified more than 200 potential AI use cases, then measured each against ROI. Half were cut immediately. The top 10 ended up driving 80% of the total value. “Focus on those areas that are going to drive impact, and invest there,” she says. Making it work Part of what makes the AI management burden so hard to address is that workers’ frustration runs deeper than the tools, Chowdhury says. Employees weren’t asked whether they wanted the tools in the first place. That puts middle managers in a difficult spot, caught between executives wanting to accelerate AI rollouts and employees pushing back. Her advice: Don’t just push harder. Try to understand what’s actually behind the resistance. “The majority of the fear is that people think that ultimately management wants to replace them,” she says. “And it’s a valid fear.” For Rock, a key question is how organizations think about AI and productivity. Too often the focus is on how much time individual employees save writing emails faster or summarizing meetings. She argues that’s the wrong unit of measurement. “That to me is pennies on the dollar,” she says. “When people talk about productivity, it’s less about Tess Rock as an individual being more productive and [more], how do you fundamentally set up your organization to be more productive?” View the full article

When we talk about travel apps, we typically talk about the types of tools that help you organize your itineraries, find worthwhile stops along your way, or maybe even just find flights (and/or fuel!) in the first place. Those types of tools are important—but there’s another travel resource I recently ran into that might be even more invaluable. It’s a free website that gives you unprecedented insight into exactly how much turbulence you can expect on any given flight, before you take off—as well as what the wind and overall weather conditions may mean for your odds of an on-time (or, if you’re lucky, maybe even early) arrival. Trust me: This is one you’ll absolutely want to pack away for the future. This tip originally appeared in the free Cool Tools newsletter from The Intelligence. Get the next issue in your inbox and get ready to discover all sorts of awesome tech treasures! Your helpful eye on the sky The next time you’re about to fly the not-so-friendly skies, take a moment to pull up a website called Turbli​ before you take off. ➜ Turbli is a free site that shows you exactly how much turbulence you’re likely to encounter on different parts of any specific flight you’re taking. (It’s also an incredibly fun name to say, as an extra little bonus. Seriously—try it out loud: Turbli. Turbli. Turbli!) Turbli relies on the same data sources that actual airline pilots use—from advanced weather models provided by places like the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.K. Met Office. It instantly analyzes all that info and spits back a plain-English summary and simple illustration showing you what to expect. Particularly with plane turbulence growing more frequent and severe​ as of late, having that knowledge ahead of time can make a meaningful difference in your flight experience. ⌚ It couldn’t be much easier to use, either. We’re talkin’ roughly 20 seconds of time for any flight lookup. ✅ All you do is pull up the Turbli website​ in any browser, on any device you’re using—then put your departure and arrival city into the box on the center of the screen and tell it if you’re leaving today or tomorrow. Turbli will then show you a list of specific flights scheduled for the path and date you selected. Once you’ve selected your flight, you’ll see your turbulence forecast along with other relevant weather-related info. Odds are, that’ll tell you everything you need to know. But if you want to dive in deeper, note the little “Maps” option at the top-right of those boxes. Clicking or tapping that will take you to a live, interactive map that’ll give you even more visuals into your upcoming flight conditions. Turbli has a detailed FAQ page​ that explains all of its forecasts, including exactly what different types of turbulence are likely to feel like in practice. (Long story short: Light turbulence is nothing, moderate makes for a bumpy flight, moderate/severe is gonna give you that roller coaster feeling but still be no actual cause for concern, and severe is likely to be quite intense but still perfectly safe as far as what modern aircrafts are designed to handle.) Turbli does require an active internet connection to operate, as you’d expect—but other than that, there’s not much to it in terms of planning. Just pull up the site, put in your flight info, and start your next flying journey with full knowledge of what’s ahead and no sudden surprises. Turbli is entirely web-based,​ so it’ll work in any browser and on any device you’re using—no downloads required. It’s completely free and the passion project of a single weather-obsessed engineer. The site does accept donations​, and its creator also ​sells a related book​—but you never have to pay anything or make any purchases to use it. The site doesn’t require any sign-ins or request any manner of personal info. Treat yourself to all sorts of brain-boosting goodies like this with the free Cool Tools newsletter—starting with an instant introduction to an incredible audio app that’ll tune up your days in truly delightful ways. View the full article

We’re in the middle of the extended Easter holiday weekend, which usually sees millions of Americans taking long road trips to visit family or just get away. But this year, these trips will probably be more costly—at least at the pump. Still, there are steps you can take while driving to save fuel and reduce your overall gas bill. Why are gas prices rising? According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline passed the $4 threshold this week. That’s a price not seen since August 2022, and one that is more than $1 per gallon more expensive than just over a month earlier. What is causing these price increases? If you’ve read a newspaper or watched the news in the past month, you can probably guess: The President’s war with Iran, which has led to nearly complete disruption of oil shipments through the geographically critical Strait of Hormuz, upending global oil supply chains, and leading to a spike in oil prices of more than 50% over the past month. As gas is refined from oil, any price increases in crude will eventually (and, usually, quickly) filter down to you at the pumps. How long oil prices will stay high depends on how long the war with Iran drags on—something the average driver has no control over. However, there are three surprising moves you can make to help conserve gas in your tank and keep your fuel costs down. 1. Drive slower Yes, driving slower really does use less fuel, according to the American Automobile Association. That’s why, in addition to the safety advantages, the AAA and other transportation experts advise drivers to adhere to the speed limits posted. But why does driving slower save gas? The AAA says that it comes down to aerodynamic friction. “On the highway, aerodynamic drag causes fuel economy to drop off significantly as speeds increase above 50 mph,” the organization notes. If you are having trouble slowing down, it may help, mentally, to put a price on your excess speed. The US Department of Energy (DOE) says that for every 5 miles per hour driven over 50 MPH, it’s “like paying an additional $0.27 per gallon for gas.” 2. Shut off the AC Now that Spring has arrived, temperatures will begin to rise, which means more people will turn on their air conditioners while behind the wheel. But using your AC is a great way to burn your gas. If you’re cost-conscious about fuel prices, the AAA recommends minimizing your air conditioning use. Instead, try rolling down your windows. At first, this might seem counterintuitive: We imagine that pushing air into the car may increase drag, which burns more fuel, but the AAA says that any additional drag still uses less fuel than the AC. “Even at highway speeds, open windows have less effect on fuel economy than the engine power required to operate the air conditioning compressor,” the club notes. As for why the AC uses fuel, Kelley Blue Book explains that your car’s AC unit is powered by the alternator, which runs on gasoline. The vehicle valuation company says that AC use can reduce your car’s fuel efficiency by as much as 10%. 3. Jettison the excess weight The more something weighs, the more energy it needs to move from one point to the next. So the more extra stuff you have weighing down your vehicle, the more quickly you’ll burn through the gas in your tank. This is why both the AAA and the Department of Energy recommend that you remove unnecessary objects from your vehicle. And yes, every little bit of weight removed does help increase your fuel efficiency. As the DOE notes, “An extra 100 pounds in your vehicle could reduce your MPG by about 1%,” with smaller cars affected more than larger ones. The DOE says that for every 100 pounds of weight you remove from your car, you can expect fuel savings of about 4 cents per gallon. View the full article

An author and freelance journalist has admitted to using AI to help him write a book review for The New York Times. Alex Preston’s review of Jean-Baptiste Andrea’s novel Watching Over Her, published by The New York Times in January 2026, draws phrases and full paragraphs from Christobel Kent’s review in The Guardian. The “error” was brought to light by a reader, who alerted The New York Times to the similarities. Preston told The Guardian he is “hugely embarassed” and “made a huge mistake.” The Times promptly dropped Preston, calling his “reliance on A.I. and his use of unattributed work by another writer” a “clear violation of the Times’s standards.” An editor’s note now precedes the review online, advising readers of the issue and providing a link to the Guardian review. Preston’s apology to The Guardian raises more questions than it resolves. The portion quoted online seems to speak more to the issue of unattributed work than his use of AI. It reads: “I made a serious mistake in using an AI tool on a draft review I had written, and I failed to identify and remove overlapping language from another review that the AI dropped in.” This implies that if he had removed the “overlapping” language, the issue would have been avoided. As a literary critic and scholar, I believe the deeper question isn’t whether or not critics should do more to hide their use of AI—but the ethics of using it at all. Why AI can’t do criticism The role of the critic isn’t to summarize or repackage art, but to actively participate in a conversation about it. “Good criticism thrives in the complexity of its environment,” writes critic Jane Howard, who is also The Conversation’s Arts + Culture editor. “Each review sits in conversation with every other review of a piece of art, with every other review the critic has written.” In other words, the critic is in conversation with both the artist and the audience. The critic’s emotional and intellectual engagement with art—and their translation and communication of meaning—is intrinsic to their role as mediator. That role is deeply human. Perhaps information can be outsourced, but emotional engagement can’t. Nor can an individual perspective, filtered through one human’s reading, viewing, listening, and experiences. Art and AI controversies There are valid arguments outlining the functional uses of AI, and warning against significant climate repercussions. But there is also an escalating concern around the intrusion of AI into creative expression. Last month, author Mia Ballard was accused of using AI to write her horror novel, Shy Girl. It was withdrawn from publication in the U.K. and canceled from scheduled publication in the U.S. after “readers on platforms such as Goodreads and Reddit had questioned whether sections of the text bore hallmarks of AI-generated prose,” according to The Guardian. In 2023, German artist Boris Eldagsen sparked controversy when he revealed that his prize-winning photograph The Electrician was AI-generated. In 2025, Tilly Norwood, the first fully AI-generated “actress” ignited debate around whether so-called synthetic actors were a tool for creative expression or a threat to human creators. In 2025, writers were “horrified” to discover that their work had been pirated by Meta to train AI systems. If the question that underlies these examples is “What is the role of art?” this latest debacle adds “And what is the responsibility of the critic?” Breaking a pact Art criticism in Australia is what Howard describes as a “niche within a niche.” The sector is unbearably small, so most critics have an additional day job and are in close professional and personal proximity to the artists whose work they review. Some critics of the critics, such as writer Gideon Haigh, have suggested this has led to a culture of what literary academic Emmett Stinson called “too-nice” criticism. But I would argue generosity is fundamental to public-facing criticism—and that the critic reviewing in the public sphere has a responsibility to writers and readers. The writer might safely assume that when we’re publishing a review that surmises their book’s successes and failings against its ambition, we have, at the very least, taken the time to read and carefully consider their work, and our own response to it. This unspoken pact is broken when the writer begins to use AI—particularly when a professional reviewer like Preston seems to outsource his assessment to it. Such fiascos point to a disturbing future where readers’ opportunities to build community and develop empathy through engagement with literature is outsourced entirely to AI. Australian literature academic Julieanne Lamond has said, “When we write reviews we have to do it ‘naked’—as individual readers, with a public to judge our judgments.” In other words, we sit at the middle of a pact between the writer of a book and their potential readers. Criticism can be literature Done well, criticism is literature. As Australian author, playwright, and critic Leslie Rees argued in 1946, good literary criticism is a “real and creative service to literature.” Popular criticism, written for the general public and published as journalism, might sit on a different playing field from scholarly criticism. But its obligation to readers—to convey real and honest opinions about books and bring readers into a conversation about literature—is no less significant. There is a shared obligation to be honest, and surely this honesty extends to a transparency about AI use. French professor and essayist Phillipe Lejeune, best known for his work on autobiography, used the term the autobiographical pact to describe the relationship between the writer of a memoir and the reader. That is, the reader accepts what the memoirist says as truth, based on the writer’s acknowledgments of their own biases and subjectivity. We might transfer a similar pact to the reviewer and their reader. Should the reader not be able to trust that the review they’re reading is the critic’s own? Hannah Bowman, a literary agent from Liza Dawson Associates, recently described mistrust as the book industry’s greatest peril: “It’s essential for all parties in the publishing process to have transparency and clarity in conversations about how AI tools are being used by any party, especially in the creative process.” In failing to disclose his use of AI, Preston has not only embarrassed himself but also broken the trust of his readers. Bec Kavanagh is a senior tutor in publishing and creative writing at the University of Melbourne. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. View the full article

The nail is six inches long. Sharpened to a surgical point. Mounted on a hydraulic press behind plate glass. The press drops slowly enough that you can count your own heartbeat between the moment it touches the battery cell and the moment it punctures the casing. I am standing in BYD’s visitor center in Shenzhen, February 2026, shoulder to shoulder with executives from one of Europe’s largest industrial conglomerates. Nobody speaks. Two batteries sit side by side. The first is a standard ternary nickel-cobalt-manganese cell, the kind of chemistry that once powered most of the world’s electric vehicles. The nail breaks the surface. Half a second passes. Then a guttural whoomp hits the air, and the cell detonates into thermal runaway. Flames lick upward. The thermal camera overhead floods white: surface temperature past 500°C. Black smoke rolls against the glass. The executive next to me steps back and touches his collarbone. That kind of cell had been mounted beneath the passenger seat of a car. In 2012, a speeding Nissan GT-R slammed into a BYD e6 taxi in Shenzhen. The battery ruptured. Fire consumed the cabin. Three passengers died. The public backlash was severe. BYD’s stock dropped. Nail Test Wang Chuanfu, BYD’s CEO, barely slept for weeks. Three passengers, all in their twenties. His chemistry. His cell. His company’s name on the casing. He had not built it to kill anyone, but it had. He pulled his engineers together with one question: What is the mechanism by which this cell fails, and how do we make that physically impossible? That question would consume eight years of R&D. A lab burned during the process. The team lost equipment, prototypes, months of iteration. What they did not lose was the data. They rebuilt. They ran the test again. And again. Hundreds of times. Each failed cell was, as one engineer put it, “a treasure for the research staff”: a lesson in physics waiting to be read. The technician resets the press. The second cell is longer, thinner. A pale rectangle 960 millimeters long, just 13.5 millimeters thick. Roughly the proportions of a sword blade. BYD’s Blade Battery. Lithium iron phosphate, in a geometry that changes everything. The nail descends. Punctures. Nothing happens. No smoke. No spark. The thermal camera stays cool blue: 30 to 60 °C. You could rest your hand on the surface. Around me, several visitors are writing in their notebooks. Fast. The Blade Battery was born from grief. It was engineered by people who had watched their own lab burn, and who decided, with a resolve that borders on the religious, that it would never happen again. The New York Times; I walked into this building expecting to see electric cars. I walked out understanding why the global auto industry is running out of time to respond. The Orphan’s Wager To understand what I saw, you have to rewind three decades, to a country and a company that looked nothing like this. Wang Chuanfu was born in 1966 in a village outside Wuhu, Anhui province, one of the poorest regions in eastern China. His father was a carpenter who made furniture and coffins. Wang was the youngest of eight. His father died when Wang was in primary school. His mother followed a few years later. By fifteen, both his parents were gone. His older brother and sister-in-law, themselves barely scraping by, made a decision: the boy would stay in school. Every other sibling had dropped out to work. Wang Chuanfu would be the family’s one bet. He studied metallurgical physical chemistry. Earned a master’s at Beijing’s General Research Institute for Nonferrous Metals. By twenty-six, he was the youngest department head the institute had ever appointed. He published research on rechargeable batteries at a time when rechargeable batteries were an exotic Japanese monopoly. Sanyo. Sony. Panasonic. Their clean-room production lines cost hundreds of millions of dollars. The capital barrier alone would have stopped most people from even thinking about it. YouTube Wang was not most people. He quit his government post. His colleagues thought he was insane. The stable salary, the title, the thing a family sacrifices everything to secure. For what? But his cousin loaned him the startup capital. On November 18, 1994, a team of roughly twenty people gathered in a three-story building in a newly built industrial zone in Shenzhen. Registered capital: 4.5 million yuan. Workers ate in a narrow passage between a factory building and a kitchen; when there weren’t enough tables, they squatted to eat. The dorm was seven stories high. The rooms had no hot water. Company name BYD: “Build Your Dreams.” At the time, it sounded aspirational to the point of comedy. Human + Fixture = Robot Japanese battery lines were fully automated. One production line cost 25 to 30 million yuan. Wang had a budget of three million. He couldn’t afford a single machine. So he sat down and asked a question: What, exactly, does each machine do? The answer: a machine picks something up, positions it precisely, and puts it down. Over and over. The precision comes from the jig, not the arm. If you design a jig that holds the component in exactly the right position, a human hand can do the rest. He wrote an equation on whiteboards across the factory floor: Human + Fixture = Robot His engineers broke the automated process down into dozens of steps. For each step, they built a custom jig that constrained the worker’s motion to the same tolerance the machine would achieve. The cost: one tenth of the Japanese line. The quality: comparable. And in 1990s China, labor was the one input that was functionally unlimited. By the late 1990s, BYD was mass-producing lithium-ion batteries. The international price was eight to ten US dollars per cell. BYD sold theirs for three. Wang traveled personally to Beijing University, Tsinghua, and his alma mater, Central South, to recruit PhD students. By 1998, BYD’s research institute had over two hundred researchers working with equipment that cost more than some of his production lines. He told his team: “Technology is king. Innovation is the foundation.” He meant it literally. The Auditors and the Spoons In 2000, Motorola was looking for a new battery supplier in China. Wang Chuanfu had been preparing for exactly this moment. The audit team arrived at BYD. They stayed nearly half a year. Six people. Supplier quality engineers, or SQEs, paid to crawl through a factory and rebuild it to Motorola spec. Wang held daily meetings with his team to discuss what the auditors had found, how BYD would meet each standard, how to go beyond it. One, a Singaporean who had worked inside Motorola’s own plants, said he was stunned by the speed of improvement. A problem identified on day one had a root-cause analysis by day two and a permanent fix by day three. Japanese and Korean suppliers, he said, took weeks. The Motorola auditors handed Wang a book. Hundreds of pages. The QSR manual: Quality System Requirements. Wang had it translated overnight and shoved into every supervisor’s hands. BYD swallowed the whole thing. Promotions required a green belt, statistical process control, and FMEA—failure mode and effects analysis. And the 8D discipline came with hard clocks: twenty-four hours for a first response, forty-eight for containment, five days for root cause. Before long, BYD won Motorola’s “Best Supplier” award. It was on par with the Japanese giants. Then Nokia came to visit. Their team was appalled. Electrode material was being ladled out of vats with kitchen spoons. Workers in rubber gloves operated machines that looked like repurposed sewing equipment. Some visitors refused to believe quality products could emerge from such conditions. But the data were the data. Nokia sent batteries to its testing facility in Finland. Japanese manufacturers achieved roughly 300 charge-discharge cycles before their cells degraded. BYD’s hand-built cells delivered over 1,000. Nokia placed the order. Behind that gap between how BYD looked and what BYD could do was a methodology that bordered on institutional religion. When defective cells appeared, Wang asked: “Have you found the root cause?” If yes: “Can you reproduce it?” Then the demand: “Make one hundred cells with exactly the same defect. If you can reproduce the failure one hundred times, identically, then and only then have you understood the mechanism.” That practice, reproducing failure on purpose until the physics revealed itself, became the bedrock of BYD’s entire operation. Wang’s own desk, for years, was covered with dismantled battery cells, their innards pinned open like specimens in a biology lab. The most important capability BYD ever built was not a battery. It was the ability to learn from customers who were more sophisticated than they were, more quickly than anyone thought possible, and then convert those lessons into permanent institutional knowledge. That ability is available to you, too. You do not need a clean room. You just need the willingness to be the least impressive person in the room and study everything the room teaches you. Climbing the Disruption Ladder Clayton Christensen described how disruptive companies enter markets at the bottom, aiming at customers the incumbents don’t care about. Then they improve. Relentlessly. Until one day they are eating the incumbent’s lunch at the high end. The incumbent never sees it coming because, at every decision point, they made the rational choice. BYD didn’t climb one ladder in one market. It built a new ladder, rung by rung, across multiple industries. And each rung was invisible to the people it would eventually surpass. Phone batteries were the first rung. E-bikes and scooters were the second. Municipal bus fleets were the third, and the most punishing: stop-start cycles all day, extreme temperatures, drivers who are not gentle, passengers who overload them, sixteen-hour service days. Those buses ran London’s double-decker routes. They climbed the Andes. They survived winters in Helsinki. Every bus that made it through Manchester or Bogotá was a data point. By 2017, Shenzhen became the first major city on earth to operate an entirely electric bus fleet: over 16,000 vehicles, the majority BYD. Commercial delivery vans were the fourth rung. Then passenger cars. Then hypercars. Each rung was boring. Each rung was unglamorous. Each rung gave BYD capabilities that no competitor possessed in combination. The Innovator’s Dilemma At every stage, Western incumbents had the opportunity to respond. At every stage, they made the rational decision not to. Consider the view from Detroit or Munich in 2010. Your engineers tell you electric vehicles are a decade away. Your margins on combustion SUVs are fat. A Chinese company nobody has heard of just launched a plug-in hybrid that sold four hundred units. Ignoring BYD is the correct decision. Christensen called this the “asymmetry of motivation.” The incumbent has every reason to keep doing what it’s doing. The disruptor has every reason to keep climbing. By the time the curves cross, it is too late. Your competitors’ rational decisions are your greatest advantage. If you are building something disruptive, stop worrying about whether the incumbents will copy you. They won’t. Not because they’re stupid. Because they’re rational. Their rationality is your runway. 496.22 Kilometers per Hour Back in the showroom. I am standing in front of a car that looks like someone crossbred a Lamborghini with a spacecraft. Low. Wide. Menacingly sleek. The Yangwang U9. On September 14, 2025, at Germany’s ATP track at Papenburg, driver Marc Basseng pushed it to 496.22 km/h (308 miles per hour). Independently measured. The fastest production car ever clocked on Earth. In 2011, Elon Musk was asked on Bloomberg whether BYD could ever rival Tesla. He burst out laughing. “Have you seen their car?” he said. The answer to Musk’s question is now 496.22 kilometers per hour. Between 2010 and 2020, China’s electric vehicle boom looked like a gold rush. Nearly 500 companies rushed in. Subsidies were generous. Capital was cheap. Everyone had a slide deck. Most are now gone. Byton—backed by Tencent and Foxconn, led by ex-BMW and ex-Nissan executives—raised more than $1.2 billion. It never delivered a car to paying customers. And in 2019, one of the darkest years in BYD’s history, net profit was a mere 1.6 billion RMB. Subsidies had been slashed. The stock was languishing. Early sedans had been dismissed as taxi-grade. Plasticky interiors, forgettable design, the kind of car you rode in but never chose. Wang’s response? Invest 5.6 billion in R&D. More than three times the profit, poured back into research. Technology is king. Innovation is the foundation. Then COVID hit. China needed 50 million face masks per day and could produce barely 20 million. The bottleneck was meltblown fabric, the electrostatically charged layer that makes an N95 an N95. Without it, a mask is just cloth. BYD had never made a single mask. Wang called it the Battle of a Hundred Regiments, a deliberate echo of a famous wartime campaign. Engineers were pulled from 15 divisions — battery, electronics, automotive, molds, precision manufacturing. Each unit got a production target. This was the reflex, drilled over decades. If you understand the physics of a process, you can build anything at scale. In three days, teams reverse-engineered a mask line from first principles: servo systems, ultrasonic welding, tension control, inline inspection. Two groups were told to race. Five million masks a day each. The losers would buy dinner. By April, BYD was producing 100 million masks per day. Equipment designed in-house. Tooling built in-house. Packaging automated in-house. The critics noted that some early batches failed FDA certification and were returned by foreign buyers. The speed came at a cost. But the underlying capability was real. From zero to the largest mask manufacturer on earth. I tell this story not because it’s about masks. What BYD demonstrated was the reflex: break the problem into physics, build the tooling, iterate at inhuman speed, then scale. “One is one; two is two; you have it or you don’t; it works or it doesn’t.” Wang would tell his engineers. That discipline of sticking to principled thinking is how you get through obstacles. Swimming, Flying, Dancing Back in the visitor’s center. The demonstrations kept coming. The Yangwang U8 is an SUV the size of a Land Rover. When its sensors detect water rising past the door sills, the vehicle seals itself. Air suspension rises to maximum height. The drivetrain switches modes. And then it floats. The four-wheel motors spin slowly, like paddle wheels, propelling the two-ton vehicle across water at three kilometers per hour. I asked the guide why BYD built a floating car. His answer: “We asked ourselves what would kill our customers. Floods kill people. So we built a car that floats.” BYD Yangwang U8 floating Then a DJI drone launched from a roof-mounted hangar, filming the vehicle in 4K while tracking it at highway speed. When the battery ran low, it returned and docked itself for recharging. Next a U9 rolled to the center of an open lot and, on command, lifted all four wheels off the ground. It hovered, bounced, and settled back. In footage shown alongside, the same car hit spike strips at 120 km/h and launched itself over them. In another clip, a wheel was physically removed. The car kept driving on three legs. In a marketing video, passengers applied eyeliner while the car crossed rough terrain. Their eyeliner did not smudge. Underpinning all of it: each wheel has its own motor controlled by its own inverter, running on BYD’s own chips, coordinated by BYD’s own software. The company that had made phone batteries had now designed the chip, built the motor, written the software, and manufactured the car. All under one roof. When I looked around the room, several of the European executives had stopped writing. They were just staring. In 2024, BYD invested 54.2 billion RMB in R&D. Its global workforce reached one million. Over 110,000 work in research and development. That is not a department. That is a city of engineers. What the Nail Teaches Us I have replayed that nail test in my head many times since leaving Shenzhen. The nail does not care about your brand heritage. It does not care about your stock price, your celebrity endorsements, or how many decades your founding family has been in the automobile business. The nail cares only about the chemistry of the cell it is about to puncture. Either the cell catches fire, or it does not. Physics does not negotiate. BYD did not decide one morning to build the fastest car on Earth. First, it built phone batteries. Then E-bike packs. Bus systems. Delivery vans. Passenger cars. Hypercars. Each rung taught something the previous rung could not. There was no quantum leap. Only the next rung. And Wang’s deepest insight had nothing to do with batteries. It was about knowledge. If you cannot reproduce a defect one hundred times, identically, you do not understand the mechanism. Do not settle for a plausible explanation. Demand a reproducible one. The difference between the two is the difference between an organization that keeps making the same mistake and one that never makes the same mistake twice. The cell that did not catch fire is not exciting. Nobody films a TikTok about lithium iron phosphate chemistry. But it is the foundation upon which everything else—the floating SUV, the 496 km/h hypercar, the 100 million masks—was built. Every career has its Blade Battery. The part nobody photographs. The part everything else sits on. What is yours? In 2011, Elon Musk asked: “Have you seen their car?” I have now. The next time I feel the pull to skip the fundamentals, I will think about the nail. The cell that caught fire and the cell that didn’t. Nail Test And I will ask myself: which one am I building? —Howard Yu If you enjoyed this article and it brought you clarity, could I ask a quick favor? Subscribe now. It’s free and takes just seconds to sign up. You’ll join 15,000+ ambitious managers and CEOs receiving exclusive, research-backed insights delivered straight to their inboxes. Let’s keep you one inch ahead. This article originally appeared on Fast Company’s sister website, Inc.com. Inc. is the voice of the American entrepreneur. We inspire, inform, and document the most fascinating people in business: the risk-takers, the innovators, and the ultra-driven go-getters that represent the most dynamic force in the American economy. View the full article

Raising Cane’s CEO Todd Graves could go without veggies in his to-go box. More specifically, his go-to Cane’s order includes the box combo, extra toast and extra sauce—and no slaw, he said in a TikTok last month. The fast food executive admitted he’s not a fan of coleslaw, adding “that’s why you can trade it out,” in Joe Bonham’s “Financial Flex” social media series. His reasoning for including the shredded salad: “I wanted a vegetable component to the meal, and coleslaw is a Southern thing.” As the post went viral, one user asked the exec to swap the coleslaw for mac and cheese. Others pleaded to keep the coleslaw on the menu. Customers who order the Box Combo get four chicken fingers, crinkle-cut fries, Cane’s sauce, a piece of toast, coleslaw, and a drink. “I appreciate a CEO who can admit he doesn’t like something from their restaurants,” said another comment on the TikTok post. The viral CEO’s unapologetic distaste for the coleslaw arrives at a time when fast food customers are paying close attention to how company execs promote their products—err—food. We have all seen the miniature bite McDonald’s CEO and chairman Chris Kempczinski took out of the Big Arch burger. What followed was “burgergate”: fast food CEOs like Burger King and Wendy’s creating cringe-worthy knockoff content, and audiences turning on the pile-on brands, leaving the original video as the victor. Amid the social media mockfest, the customers in the drive-thru are the ultimate decision makers. In 1996, Graves established the chicken-finger joint at 24 years old, and the brand has since become the third-most-popular chicken restaurant based on sales. (Chick-fil-A and Popeyes top the podium.) As Gen Z and millennial customers steer away from chains like Chipotle, Cava, and Sweetgreen due to inflation, high housing costs, and flat-income growth, restaurants like Cane’s and Dave’s Hot Chicken have experienced greater sales and traffic growth. Over the last 10 years, the fast food restaurant has grown from a $350 million company to a $5.1 billion in system sales in 2024. At the onset, Raising Cane’s only sold chicken fingers and made boxes fresh to order. It still has a limited selection, compared to other fast food giants, which helps with efficiency, and it uses no heat lamps or microwaves in the chain’s kitchens. They also do not offer limited-time menu offers or discounts, unlike the all-too-familiar McDonald’s Big Arch burger. Whether or not Graves will come around to coleslaw remains to be seen. View the full article

You have probably noticed that you have times during your day when you’re locked in and feel like you’re working at your peak and other times when your mind isn’t keeping up with everything that needs to be done. Some of that may reflect your circadian cycles. If you’re a morning person, you may arrive at work in the morning raring to go, but if you’re a night person, it may take you a while to get warmed up. A big influence on your cognitive effectiveness is fatigue that can build up over the course of the day. A lot of work on ego depletion suggests that the more difficult mental work you do in a day, the harder it can be to continue to do that work later. In some sense, your ability to control your thinking and actions is a limited resource that needs to recharge periodically. One of the big depleters of this resource is decision fatigue. Decisions are complicated. You have to identify a set of options, weigh the possibilities, and ultimately select one. Even if the particular decision isn’t highly consequential, if you put in effort on those choices you may find that you reach a point in the day where you start choosing more arbitrarily. This fatigue can be a particular problem when you are called upon to make important decisions at work or in your personal life. Luckily, there are a few things you can do to minimize the impact of decision fatigue. Master the effort-accuracy tradeoff One problem many people struggle with is that they put more effort into all kinds of tasks than is really required. We all know that the more time we spend on things, the more likely we are to create a good outcome. The trick is to try to match the amount of effort to the quality that is required. In decision making work, that is called the effort-accuracy tradeoff. If you’re buying a new car, you should probably spend a lot of time reading reviews, test driving, getting estimates of reliability, and thinking through the ways you’ll use the car. The choice matters, because cars are expensive, and there are real consequences to choosing the wrong one. If you’re buying a candy bar, though, you don’t need to deliberate much. Even a sub-optimal candy experience is still a pretty good experience in life, so you can’t go too far wrong if you don’t pick the idea. The problem with putting too much effort in on decisions is that you’re tapping that potentially limited resource in ways that may lead to a negative impact when you are faced with something important you need to address. Try making a few of your inconsequential decisions with less thinking. If you’re still happy with the outcomes, then you can continue to choose a less effortful path in the future. In addition, try to build more habits. Habits are actions you take that directly associate the situation with the action. That bypasses the need to make a decision at all. When you act habitually, your behavior may become routine and predictable, but you also don’t have to engage in effortful decisions on things for which your habits would suffice. Measure twice, cut once When you find yourself getting depleted, give yourself leeway to defer a final decision when possible. Do some of the work associated with the choice. Start evaluating the alternatives. Begin to form a set of preferences. Just don’t pull the trigger. Instead, sleep on it. Put the work aside overnight and come back to the decision context when you’re fresh. Look over the work you did one more time. If you’re still happy with the preferences you formed the previous day, then move forward. But, recognize that when you see things with fresh eyes (and a fresh brain), you may notice things you didn’t see before. One place where this becomes particularly important is when there is an aspect of the decision that requires more investigation. If you are starting to feel decision fatigue, then you may convince yourself that looking into this aspect of the choice isn’t really that important. That is your brain’s way of telling you it is tired and doesn’t want you to do the work. When you look at it again in the morning, you may be more willing to put in that extra effort, which is often important in complex choices. Choose for a friend One reason why decisions are effortful is that they often have important consequences for you. If you choose to engage with a particular client or to take on a specific project, then it is going to shape your work life for some time to come. Big decision points in your career can affect your happiness with your path. As a result, the decisions also take an emotional toll. Chances are, though, you may feel much less emotionally burdened talking to a friend who is making the same decision. You might even enjoy helping a friend or colleague think through a career change or a significant business decision. Indeed, there is some research suggesting that helping other people make decisions leads to less decision fatigue than making choices for yourself. There is no reason why you can’t take the perspective that you’re choosing for someone else when working through complex decisions of your own. Imagine that your job is to give advice to a friend going through the situation. How does that change the way you feel about the work you need to do to engage with the decision? Try that strategy when you’re feeling particularly overwhelmed by a choice you’re facing. View the full article

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This comment section is open for any non-work-related discussion you’d like to have with other readers, by popular demand. Here are the rules for the weekend posts. Book recommendation of the week: Whidbey, by T Kira Madden. Three women connected to one man navigate the aftermath of sexual assault. (Amazon, Bookshop) * I earn a commission if you use those links. The post weekend open thread – April 4-5, 2026 appeared first on Ask a Manager. View the full article

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We may earn a commission from links on this page. This morning, upstart smart glasses company Even Realities launched Even Hub, an open app store and developer platform for its G2 line of display style smart glasses. This could be the first salvo in a war between open- and closed-platform display smart glasses. On one side is Meta. The Goliath of the smart glasses market has thus far taken a completely closed approached to its newish Display glasses: Meta decides what your smart glasses can do and determines what apps you can access. The David to Meta's Goliath is Even Realities, a boutique tech company that just launched a storefront with over 50 apps made by third-party developers, so users can decide for themselves what to install and what to ignore. Meta Ray-Ban Display $799.00 at Best Buy Get Deal Get Deal $799.00 at Best Buy While the market for AR-style smart glasses with displays is currently limited to tech heads and early adopters, if the HUD-style glasses catch on (and both companies maintain their current strategies) the winner could determine how much control users will have over their augmented futures. Competing strategies for display-style smart glassesIn terms of total market share, Meta and Even Realities aren't in the same universe. Meta's market capitalization is approximately $1.47 trillion, and its line of Ray-Ban and Oakley smart glasses make up about 82% of the smart glasses market. Even Realities is worth an estimated $10 million and its $3.3 million in annual revenue is less than one percent of the total smart glasses market. But within the niche of display-integrated glasses, the two companies are peers: estimates for 2025-2026 suggest that Meta has sold around 20,000 of its high end, Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses, while Even Realities profits suggest the company has moved between 10,000 and 25,000 pairs of its G2 glasses. Even Realities G2 $599.00 at Even Realities Get Deal Get Deal $599.00 at Even Realities The two companies are taking very different approaches to selling "glasses with a HUD." Meta's Display spectacles are priced at $799, and designed to do everything its popular non-display glasses do, with the addition of a full-color, high quality video, and a distinctive, Ray-Ban look. Even Realities' $599 G2 glasses don't have an onboard camera or audio, and the mono-color display is housed in a very discreet frame that no one will suspect is anything but a "normal" pair of specs. They're designed to be fashionable, functional, everyday glasses that can also project a map in front of your eyes or help you con bartenders when you need them to. Here's a review of the last generation of Even Realities glasses for more info. The most important divide between these companies might prove to be their approach to software. All technology is on a continuum between "open" and "closed," and Meta's smart glasses have, so far, been far into the restricted part of the spectrum. You get a highly curated experience, with Meta acting as the arbiter of what is installed on your face computer, whether you're rocking Display glasses or Ray-Ban Metas. You don't download apps, you toggle "experiences" on and off. You can choose to disable or enable Apple Music, but you can't choose to listen to music on a new platform developed by a third party. You can't delete core features you don't want. Even something as basic as changing the wake-up words for the AI is off-limits; it's "Hey, Meta," or it's nothing. Even Realities approach is semi-open, like Apple's App store. It's not the "anything goes" approach of Linux, but you can peruse Even Realities' library of approved apps and choose whether or not you need an in-glasses EPUB Reader, a Chess game, or a charge indicator for your Tesla. Even Realities lets you remove even core features you don't use on its glasses too. Speculating about Meta's future smart glasses plansIt's worth noting that Meta isn't fundamentally opposed to third-party development. The company's Meta Horizon Store for the Quest line of VR headsets is a massive, vibrant marketplace with everything from high-end games to tiny, janky tools on offer, and the company shut down much of its first-party VR development, while pledging to continue supporting indie devs. So it's possible/probable that Meta is waiting for the hardware to mature before opening a more open store for its glasses, or just adding a "Display" section to the existing Horizon Store. Open isn't necessarily betterWhile the knee-jerk reaction might be to conclude that the choice offered by an open system is more desirable than a closed one, that hasn't always been the case in the tech world. Nintendo dominated video games in the 1980s by maintaining strict quality controls over games released on its NES, and few kids wanted the more "open" competing systems. Adobe's Flash dominated everything the "open web" had to offer in the early 2000s, only dying when another relatively closed system, Apple's iPhone, refused to support it. Speaking of Apple, its iOS devices account for 63% of the American smart phone market, while the nearest competitor, the more open Android, is perpetually second. Time, as they say, will tell whether consumers prefer a curated experience, a modular, open one, or even want glasses with a HUD at all. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. The Apple Vision Pro is a beast of a machine. By putting an M5 chip under the hood—a 3-nanometer processor with a 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU, and 16-core Neural Engine— Apple leapfrogged the M3 and M4 entirely, putting more raw power on your face than most people have on their desks. But like any high-performance machine, you have to tune it up and drive it right to get the most out of what's under the hood. Whether you've had yours since launch or just unboxed it, these ten hacks will help you get more out of your Apple Vision Pro. Some are simple adjustments, some are deeper dives, but all of them are worth your time. Access the Vision Pro's "hidden" settingsApple's going for a specific aesthetic with the Vision Pro UI, so there aren't as many things to customize in the "settings" menu as you might like, but there are a lot of useful adjustments buried in the Accessibility menu. These settings are designed for users with dexterity, visual, or hearing impairments, but anyone might prefer a zoom feature or an modification to the click speed of the digital crown. Here's what I've changed in my Vision Pro's via the accessibility menu: Bold Text Increase Contrast Reduced Motion (Reduces the movement of user interface elements) Set it so saying "shh" turns down the volume. You might be interested in the same settings, or others presented here, so take a peek into the Accessibility menu to see what works for you. Pro tip: You can triple-click the digital crown to toggle accessibility features on and off instantly. Control your smart home with spatial widgetsThe latest update to VisionOS added spatial widgets so you can pin information in places it makes the most sense—e.g. put a timer next to your stove for cooking, or the weather and news right by the front door. But if you have any Matter-compatible smart home devices, you can take widgets to the next level with Apple Home. This app lets you pin controls for things like your air conditioner and lighting wherever you like, so you can stick the "night mode" button above your bed and turn everything off with a click when the day is over. If you want to take it further, download Widgetsmith and customize the appearance of smart home controls. Once you pin a widget, it will stay there until you move it or delete it, even when you restart. Use "connect to server" for unlimited storageWith visionOS, you can connect to a local server on your network, like your PC or Mac, or cloud storage providers, and access files without saving them to your headset. It's a great way to work with large files without filling up your Vision Pro's storage—especially if you opted for the base 256GB. To set it up, you need to allow sharing on the remote computer, then go to "Files" within the Vision Pro, enter your server's host name or network address, then choose "Connect." Depending on the server, you can connect as a guest, or you can enter your username and password, and you're good to go. Use settings and mirroring to securely share the Vision Pro experience One of the biggest downsides to AR and VR is the inability to say "take a look at this!" and show your friend. The Apple Vision Pro's Guest User mode isn't quite that, but it's at least an easy and quick way to hand around your headset. Here's how it works: Go to Control Center. Pinch "Guest User." Hand your headset over and the Vision Pro will run a quick set-up and calibration, then open on what you were looking at, while protecting your private data. When you put the headset back on, your original calibration will return. If you don't want to fully share your headset, you can still share your view. AirPlay Mirroring lets others see what you're seeing on their phones or other devices. You can beam your view to any nearby iPad, Mac, or AirPlay-compatible TV that shares a wifi network with your Vision Pro. Here's how it works: On your headset, go to Control Center and select the "Mirror My View" icon (it looks like two overlapping squares). You should see a list of any compatible devices on your network. Choose the one you want to stream to. If you don't see a device, you may need to turn on AirPlay Receiver (found in System Settings > General > AirDrop & Handoff on macOS and within the Apple Vision Pro app on iOS). Use "Gaussian splats" to create 3D virtual spaces you can walk around inOne of the standout features of the Vision Pro is the device's ability to instantly upscale and alter existing 2D photos into spatial 3D images. You just open the photo gallery, select a picture, and click the "spatial" and/or immersion icons and it instantly gives your pics depth. But that's only the first level of the 3D you can achieve. Third-party apps like Spatial Media Toolkit and Spatial Video Studio let you control parameters like depth intensity, crop for the best 3D effect, and save in formats that can be viewed outside of the Vision Pro. That includes anaglyph, so you can view pictures with those old 3D glasses; side-by-side 3D, so you can view them on VR headsets or 3D TVs; and "wiggle" videos that can be viewed by anyone by moving their device slightly, like so: Credit: Stephen Johnson But if you want to go even deeper, the Apple Vision Pro is an amazing tool for viewing and creating Gaussian splats. This cutting edge tech creates 3D models by stretching, rotating, and positioning millions of tiny, colored, and transparent 3D "blobs" (Gaussians). While spatial photos add AI-assisted depth, "splats" allow you to capture 3D versions of real objects, save them, and walk around them. You can also scan a 3D space and walk around inside it. Gaussian splats capture lighting really well, but add a weird, surreal "blobbiness" to physical objects (the tech isn't fully in place). But the lighting and reflections are evocative in a way that's hard to describe. Gaussian splats of familiar places feel like walking into hazy memories. If your parents had this, you could hang out in a digital replica of your childhood bedroom. If you scan your own children with this, you'll have weird, blobby digital child who will never grow up. It's not super hard to do, either. You can use an app like Scaniverse or Polycam on your phone to scan a room or object in different ways, then you can export it to your Vision Pro and experience it in 3D through the same apps on your Vision Pro. Bonus: Polycam lets you explore captures from users all over the world, including large-scale scans of things like cathedrals. Use your Vision Pro as a gaming deviceGaming has never been the focus of the Vision Pro—a shame, since it's such a powerful machine—but that seems to be changing. The most recent update to visionOS 26.4 introduced NVIDIA CloudXR 6.0, a native streaming framework that allows the headset to act as more of a monitor, while another computer handles the number crunching. The first high-profile games playable through the new framework are iRacing and X-Plane 12. I don't have a PC, so I wasn't able to test this one out, but here are the the instructions from NVIDIA on how to get it going. You aren't totally locked out of a high-end gaming if you're Mac user, though. visionOS now supports NVIDIA GeForce NOW so you can stream games directly from NVIDIA's data centers. The bad news: it's going to cost a subscription fee for the best stuff. Here's how it works: Pair a Bluetooth game controller to your Apple Vision Pro. Open Safari on your Vision Pro and go to play.geforcenow.com. You should be able to play any games you own on Steam that are also on NVIDIA's platform. The free subscription gives you hour blocks of playtime after waiting in the queue. If you spring for the "Ultimate tier subscription" for $19.99 a month, you get to the front of the line, and you'll unlock the Vision Pro’s 4K/90 FPS cloud mode, which gives you better performance than most consoles without a single wire. Those are the official gaming options. If you want to be a hacker and walk outside Apple's cultivated garden, you can play streamed OpenVR games from your gaming computer to your Vision Pro with ALVR. But it's not for the faint-of-heart. Running ALVR requires specific network and software configurations, and a measure of technical knowledge. If you want to give it a shot, here are the official instructions for setting up the app on your PC. Keep Vision Pro awake with a post-it noteThis hack takes no technical ability at all, and it's adorably janky. The Apple Vision Pro is designed to go into a sleep mode the moment you take it off, but if there's some reason you'd rather the display stay on, you can defeat the auto-sleep sensors with a simple Post-it note. Slide it over your eye while the headset is off, then you can keep your headset on while it's supposed to be sleeping, like so: Credit: Stephen Johnson This actually has some uses. VisionOS often pauses active tasks like file transfers when it's sleeping, so if you're transferring a huge file, this could keep it going while you're headset-less. Also: if you're running something with a delicate connection, like ALVR mentioned above, this would theoretically make it more likely you keep your connection. Use physical buttons to force quit if your Vision Pro is unresponsiveIf a Vision Pro app becomes unresponsive, you can force quit with the physical buttons. Unlike clicking the "X" to close out an app, force quitting kills the process that's running completely. Here's how it works: Press and hold both the digital crown and the top button. Wait for the menu of open apps to appear. Click the app you want to kill. Create an ultrawide virtual display for your MacBookYou can turn your MacBook into a wrap-around workstation with infinite screen real estate, and it's crazy easy: Make sure your computer and Vision Pro are both on the same network, and that both have bluetooth and keychains enabled. Then just look at your open MacBook while wearing the headset. A "Connect" button will float above the screen. Pinch it, and you'll have a virtual screen that can be huge. You can expand to a 32:9 panoramic display that wraps around you. You get the equivalent of two 5K monitors side-by-side while sitting at a coffee shop or on a plane. So cool. Hunt for hidden easter eggs in Vision Pro environmentsThe Vision Pro's environments are way more than static backdrops. They're highly detailed, animated vision and soundscapes filled with small details and, supposedly, mysterious rare encounters. There's a kind of mythology about some of these events, because they're hard to capture, so anyone can say they saw or heard anything—like a roadrunner in White Sands or gunshots or Bigfoot in Mount Hood. Those are dubious, but there are some confirmed, or at least plausible, environment easter eggs that suggest you might find something: Haleakalā: if you yell loud enough in this environment, you can hear an echo. This one is confirmed. Mount Hood (Dynamic Weather): If it is raining in your actual physical location, the Mount Hood environment will often mirror those conditions. Users have reported seeing subtle raindrops hitting the "glass" of their open app windows as well. Keynote's hidden environment: If you open the "Keynote" app in your Vision Pro and open a presentation, one of your options will be "rehearse." You'll have two choice, a boardroom and a theater. The theater is an exact replica of the Steve Jobs Theater. This is confirmed too. View the full article

‘Project Walleye’ lenders would be first to fund both construction and powerView the full article

When a fake wedding announcement featuring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson popped up in a late-year print issue The Boston Globe, it looked like a star-studded romcom was underway. But “The Drama,” indie studio A24’s latest film, has stirred controversy, and most audiences don’t know what its about. The film’s trailers, the first of which was dropped just a day after the wedding announcement, revealed a somewhat vague plot line—Zendaya and Pattinson play Emma and Charlie, a couple grappling with the aftermaths of a confession as they ready for their wedding. Speculation on the film’s big twist ignited a flurry of conspiracies and theories online, ranging from mere cheating to violent crimes “What the fuck did she do that made the whole fucking movie change,” a user commented on the YouTube trailer. But as more information on the movie’s plot unfolded, controversy followed. In March—weeks leading up to the film’s April 3 release—gun reform activist and the father of a victim of the 1999 Columbine High School massacre, Tom Mauser, spoke out against the upcoming movie. It turns out in the movie, Emma, while playing a game where friends admit to the worst thing they’ve ever done, admits to planning a school shooting but never going through with it—a twist that have left many, like Mauser, concerned over how the film deals with such a delicate subject matter. “After finding out what Emma’s secret is I don’t think I’ll watch it. I feel like it’s trying to justify something really bad. Like I personally would break things off if it were my relationship,” a user said on Reddit, reacting to the revelation. Another user added, “Honestly, I was really excited for this movie but after finding out about the twist and seeing that one of the Columbine parents condemned it…I don’t know… It feels wrong? I guess that is the point of the movie but it does make me a bit more hesitant to see it.” It’s not just Mauser who has spoken out about the film. “The way this film has been marketed is deeply misaligned with the reality it engages. We expect better from A24 and the artists behind it,” the non-profit gun control organization shared on Instagram. The organization was originally founded by teen survivors of the 2018 Parkland shooting in Florida. And while some online argue the film might serve as a bridge into a necessary conversation around mental health and gun reform, others are still skeptical. “The reason A24 doesn’t want you to know what Emma did is because there’s a good chance you won’t want to watch “The Drama” at all if you know,” Odie Henderson, the Globe’s film critic, said in his review. “Adding insult to injury, the repercussions of Emma’s actions are handled so distastefully, and in such an insensitive manner, that you’ll wonder what the hell the studio was thinking when it based its entire campaign on this repugnant, tasteless surprise,” he added. “I guess there truly is no such thing as bad publicity.” View the full article

If Steam is one of your gaming apps of choice, then you might not typically spend too much time interacting with the program—you probably want to get straight to the gaming. Take a few minutes to dive into the settings and features on offer though, and there's a lot to explore. From remapping gamepad controls to launching games with custom restrictions applied, here's what's possible. (Note: The tips below are based on the current Steam client for the Windows desktop, but you should find comparable options on the other Steam apps too.) Run a privacy audit to prevent strangers from learning about your gaming habitsYou need to pay attention to your privacy on Steam as well as on every other app and platform you use. Specifically, you have a Steam profile that may or may not be revealing information about you to the world at large. Click Steam > Settings > Account and then Privacy Settings to run an audit and make any necessary changes. For example, your profile can include details of games you've bought and wishlisted, and the people you're friends with on the platform. Most details can be set to Public, Private, or Friends Only. There's also a setting for controlling who's allowed to leave comments on your profile. Create a "Steam Family" to share games with othersSteam comes with family sharing built in, so the games you've bought can be shared with up to five other people "in the same household" (which basically means using the same IP address, most of the time). To get started, open Steam > Settings > Family and then Create or Join a Steam Family. If you're the head of the family group, you'll need to give it a name and send out the invites, and from there you can manage who's allowed in the group. Multiple games from your library can be played at the same time, but two family members can't play the same game simultaneously. As well as giving your loved ones access to your games without having to pay for them, this is also an effective way of adding parental controls for your kids: You can set which games are available to which family members, and set up gameplay time limits too. Run commands to customize your gamesIf you right-click on a game in your Steam library and choose Properties > General, you'll come across a Launch options box that lets you add command line-style operators to the executable for your selected game. For those of you who've never come across a command line, we're talking about specific, additional instructions that tell the game to behave in a certain way or keep certain features enabled or disabled. They can help troubleshoot issues with a game as well as customize it to suit your requirements. The available options cover everything from forcing a windowed launch and skipping intros, to keeping voice chat logs and disabling GPU features. Compatibility varies by game, but you can find a comprehensive list here. You don't have to keep all your games in the same location. Credit: Lifehacker Add a drive to strategically move your games somewhere elseYou don't have to settle for keeping all of your games in the same place on your system. Maybe you have a faster SSD installed, for example, but space is limited on it: You can move a selection of games where speed is most important to this drive, and leave the rest where they are. First you need to create an alternative location on your system. Choose Steam > Settings > Storage, click on the drop-down menu at the top, then select Add Drive. With another location created, you can move a game in your library by right-clicking on it and selecting Properties > Installed Files. Choose Move install folder and you'll be able to pick another location. Limit download speeds to keep your internet running smoothlyYou don't necessarily want Steam downloading games and updates at the maximum rate every time, especially if you're trying to enjoy some high-quality 4K video streaming entertainment in the next room. Select Steam > Settings > Downloads and you get to a whole host of options for controlling how the program handles file transfers. Turn on the Limit download speed toggle switch, and you can set a ceiling in Kbps—handy for those times when you don't need your game updates as quickly as possible, and need your internet for other things. Switch to other servers when yours is acting upSpeaking of downloads and download speeds, by default Steam will connect you to the server closest to your location for your data transfers. Most of the time, this will give you the fastest upload and download speeds. That's not always guaranteed though: When your default region is particularly busy, you might find a connection further away gives you a faster speed. Head to Steam > Settings > Downloads and you'll find the Download region picker at the top. Use "Big Picture Mode" to navigate Steam with a gamepadAny Steam game that's gamepad-compatible will work without any fuss once you plug a controller in, but what about the Steam interface itself? Switching back and forth between gamepad and keyboard as you jump in and out of games isn't particularly convenient. The answer is to launch Steam in the Big Picture Mode designed for using Steam on a TV. Not only does this make the interface more straightforward and more suitable for larger screens, it also makes it very gamepad-friendly. From Steam > Settings, pick "Interface," then enable Start Steam in Big Picture Mode to use this interface by default. You can also switch in and out of Big Picture Mode via Alt+Enter, the menu button on your controller, or the Big Picture Mode icon in the top-right corner of the client interface (just to the left of the minimize button). Remapping the controller commands in Steam. Credit: Lifehacker Remap your gamepad controlsOn the topic of gamepads, if you right-click on any game in your library and choose Properties > Controller > Controller Configuration, you can override the default settings for how buttons and joysticks are used—or even get a gamepad working with a game that doesn't natively support one. That's not all: If you select Browse configs on the remap screen, you can use any of the configurations submitted by the Steam community for the game you've selected. A custom config might just give you the edge in your next gameplay session. Use "SteamDB" for insights into future Steam salesWhen it comes to external Steam resources you should absolutely check out, I'd like to point you to SteamDB—which, as its name suggests, is a database of every game currently available on Steam. Not only can you see new, popular, and trending games in the Steam catalog, you can also get updates on upcoming releases and the latest patches, and even do a quick calculation to figure out how much you've spent on Steam over the years. Perhaps most importantly of all, you can get predictions for when the next Steam sale will be (based on historical data), and dig into the details of current sales—in terms of discount amount, release date, genre, and so on. Use the FPS counter to monitor your PC's performanceSeeing frames–per-second performance in real time can help you make sure your gaming hardware is running as it should, and is also useful for diagnosing problems—if you think frames are being dropped, this will prove it. Steam comes with its own basic FPS display option: Pick Steam then Settings, then head to In Game. There's a Show performance monitor option here which lets you choose where your overlay goes on screen. The options further down on the same screen let you choose what else gets shown besides FPS: It's possible to have CPU, GPU, and RAM usage stats displayed as well. View the full article

Payroll processing fees are vital costs that businesses face to guarantee accurate employee compensation. These fees typically cover wage calculations, tax withholdings, and compliance with labor regulations. They can vary greatly based on the provider and the services included, often leading to unexpected expenses. Comprehending these fees is important for managing your budget effectively. But what specific factors influence these costs, and how can you minimize them? Key Takeaways Payroll processing fees cover employee wage calculations, tax withholdings, compliance, and year-end tax forms preparation. Costs typically range from $200 to $250 per employee annually, influenced by service provider and features chosen. Common pricing structures include monthly base fees with per-employee charges or per-pay cycle fees. Hidden fees may arise from additional services like direct deposit and tax filing, impacting total expenses. Understanding these fees aids businesses in budgeting and selecting suitable payroll services to meet their needs. Understanding Payroll Processing Fees When you’re managing a business, comprehending payroll processing fees is fundamental, as they represent significant costs associated with handling employee compensation. Payroll services cost can range from $200 to $250 per employee annually, depending on your chosen provider and the services they offer. Typically, these fees include calculations of wages, tax withholdings, compliance with regulations, and preparation of year-end tax forms. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpSiQ1y-I8E You might encounter common pricing structures like a monthly base fee plus a per-employee fee or a per-pay cycle charge based on the number of employees and payroll frequency. Furthermore, services such as direct deposit, automatic check signing, tax filing, and special reporting features can lead to hidden payroll processing fees. To understand how much does payroll cost, it’s imperative to evaluate these supplementary elements for accurate budgeting and financial planning. Mismanagement can lead to penalties, making clarity in these fees even more critical. What Do Payroll Processing Fees Cover? Grasping what payroll processing fees cover is vital for any business owner who wants to manage their finances effectively. These payroll services fees typically include the costs associated with calculating employee wages, managing tax withholdings, and ensuring compliance with payroll regulations. You’ll often encounter charges for additional services like year-end tax form preparation, including W-2s and 1099s, direct deposit processing, and check printing. Many payroll service providers charge a base fee, usually ranging from $200 to $250 per employee annually, along with per-payroll or per-employee charges that can vary based on service complexity. Additional costs may arise from features like automated payroll tax filing, customer support, and detailed reporting services. Grasping the full scope of payroll processing fees, including potential hidden charges, is vital for accurate budgeting and financial planning for your business. Factors Influencing Payroll Processing Fees Understanding payroll processing fees involves recognizing the various factors that can influence these costs. First and foremost, the total number of employees greatly impacts expenses, with average costs typically ranging from $200 to $250 per employee annually. Furthermore, the frequency of payroll cycles plays a role; more frequent payrolls, like weekly, usually lead to higher fees compared to biweekly or monthly processing. Required features and services contribute to the overall cost. Basic packages are typically less expensive, whereas extensive services, including tax filing and compliance tools, can raise the baseline price. Geographic location matters too, as differing state and local tax requirements can complicate payroll processing, adding to expenses. Finally, don’t overlook hidden fees, such as setup charges and customer support, which can further influence your total payroll processing costs, making a thorough review of service agreements crucial. Common Pricing Structures for Payroll Services Grasping common pricing structures for payroll services is vital for businesses looking to manage their payroll costs effectively. Various pricing models exist, and comprehending them can help you choose what suits your needs best. Here are three common structures: Per-month base fee plus per-employee fee: You pay a fixed monthly rate, plus an extra charge for each employee processed. Per-pay cycle fee: This involves a charge for every payroll run, along with a fee per employee, which can differ based on how often you run payroll. Annual fee structure: Some providers offer discounted rates for long-term commitments, which can lead to savings over time. It’s important to review all pricing details, as additional fees for services like tax filings, customer support, or year-end processing can greatly affect your overall costs. In-House Payroll vs. Outsourced Payroll Processing When deciding between in-house payroll and outsourced payroll processing, it’s essential to weigh the benefits and drawbacks of each approach. In-house payroll gives you control over your payroll functions, but it often requires significant time and expertise to navigate complex regulations and avoid costly errors. You might find this manageable if your business is smaller, where DIY options can be more cost-effective. On the other hand, outsourced payroll services typically charge fees based on a per-employee or per-payroll cycle model, which can range from $200 to $250 annually per employee. By outsourcing, you benefit from professional expertise, ensuring compliance with tax laws and minimizing risks associated with payroll errors. Ultimately, the choice often hinges on your business size; larger firms might save time and reduce risk by outsourcing, whereas smaller organizations might prefer handling payroll in-house. Furthermore, consider how payroll frequency impacts overall processing costs. Hidden Fees to Watch Out For When you choose a payroll processing service, it’s essential to be aware of hidden fees that can sneak into your budget. Setup and installation fees might hit you right at the start, and tax filing charges could surprise you later on if they aren’t included in your base plan. Moreover, if you require extra support or reporting, those costs can quickly add up, affecting your overall payroll expenses. Setup and Installation Fees Grasping setup and installation fees is important for businesses looking to adopt a new payroll system, as these costs can vary considerably based on the complexity of the setup. Typically ranging from $50 to several hundred dollars, these fees may cover: The initial configuration of payroll software Inputting employee data Customizing payroll settings to meet your specific needs Many payroll service providers mightn’t disclose these fees upfront. As a result, it’s necessary to request a detailed breakdown of all costs before you commit. Moreover, some providers offer promotional pricing that waives setup fees for new clients, so be sure to inquire about such deals to help reduce your initial expenses. Comprehending these fees is critical for accurate budgeting. Tax Filing Charges Tax filing charges can considerably impact your overall payroll processing costs, often catching businesses off guard. These fees can vary based on the complexity of your payroll needs, with some providers charging extra for state and federal tax filings beyond their base costs. Be aware that as your employee count increases, so do these fees, often leading to more complex processing requirements. It’s essential to clarify whether tax filing services are included in your initial pricing, as providers frequently charge separately for year-end forms like W-2s and 1099s. Furthermore, hidden fees may arise from amendments to previously submitted forms, adding unexpected costs. Regular audits of these charges can help you budget accurately and avoid surprises. Support and Reporting Costs As you manage your payroll processing costs, don’t overlook the potential expenses associated with support and reporting. These hidden fees can greatly impact your budget if you’re not aware of them beforehand. Consider the following: Support Costs: You may incur charges for customer service assistance beyond your basic service plan. Reporting Costs: Detailed payroll reports that exceed standard offerings often come with additional fees. Hidden Charges: Be cautious of costs for accessing historical payroll data or features like automatic paycheck signing. Estimating Your Payroll Processing Costs How do you accurately estimate your payroll processing costs? Start by considering the fees, which typically range from $200 to $250 per employee per year, influenced by the number of employees and how often you run payroll. Remember to factor in additional costs for services like tax filing and customer support, as these mightn’t be included in your base pricing. It’s essential to evaluate both direct costs, such as wages, benefits, and taxes, and indirect costs, including software and processing fees. The size of your business will greatly affect your overall expenses, with larger companies often facing higher per-employee fees, whereas smaller businesses may enjoy lower costs. Regular audits of your payroll processes can help uncover hidden fees and identify areas for cost savings, allowing for a more accurate budgeting approach toward your payroll expenses. Benefits of Using Payroll Processing Services Even though managing payroll in-house may seem straightforward, the benefits of using payroll processing services can greatly improve your business operations. By outsourcing your payroll, you can save time and reduce errors, allowing you to focus on core business activities. Here are some key advantages of payroll processing services: Cost Savings: You could save up to 50% compared to in-house payroll management because of streamlined operations and fewer administrative tasks. Compliance Support: These services help you navigate complex regulations, reducing the risk of penalties from payroll errors. Improved Employee Engagement: Many providers offer employee self-service portals, allowing your staff easy access to pay information, which boosts satisfaction. Incorporating payroll processing services into your business strategy can streamline operations, reduce risks, and improve employee morale, making it a worthwhile investment. Strategies for Reducing Payroll Processing Fees Whereas payroll processing services offer numerous advantages, managing costs associated with these services is equally important for maximizing their benefits. You can adopt several strategies to reduce payroll processing fees effectively. Consider utilizing DIY payroll software, which can save you up to 50% compared to traditional services. Bundling payroll with HR services often yields discounts as well as streamlining processes. Regularly reviewing and negotiating contracts with providers can uncover better pricing or additional features at no extra cost. Implementing electronic payment methods, like direct deposit, eliminates paper check costs, and moving to biweekly payroll cycles can greatly lower processing fees. Strategy Potential Savings Additional Benefits DIY Payroll Software Up to 50% Cost-effective for small firms Bundling Services Varies Streamlined administrative tasks Electronic Payments Variable Eliminates paper check costs The Role of Technology in Payroll Processing Technology considerably streamlines payroll processing by automating tasks and integrating with other business systems. This automation reduces human error and improves accuracy, whereas integration guarantees that payroll aligns seamlessly with HR and accounting functions. Automation of Payroll Tasks As businesses endeavor for efficiency, automating payroll tasks has become an essential strategy to streamline operations. With the right technology, you can markedly reduce the time spent on manual calculations and data entry, leading to substantial cost savings. Automated payroll software can: Calculate wages, taxes, and deductions accurately, minimizing human error. Enable features like direct deposit, automated tax filing, and real-time reporting. Cut administrative costs by up to 50%, allowing you to focus on growth. Integration With Business Systems Integrating payroll software with your existing business systems, such as HR and accounting platforms, can greatly boost the efficiency and accuracy of your payroll processing. By reducing manual data entry, you minimize errors, ensuring your payroll is correct. Automated systems streamline tasks like tax filings and compliance reporting, saving significant time and lightening the load on HR teams. With real-time data access, you can make immediate updates on payroll costs and employee status, enabling better decision-making and budget management. Features like employee self-service portals improve satisfaction by allowing staff to access their pay information easily. Choosing the Right Payroll Service Provider When selecting a payroll service provider, it’s crucial to understand the various pricing structures that can affect your overall expenses. Many providers charge a base fee plus per-employee costs, and additional services like tax filings can add to your bill. To make the best choice, consider these key factors: Features and Services: Make sure the provider offers functionalities that meet your specific business needs, as basic packages may lack critical capabilities. Transparent Pricing: Look for providers that disclose all costs upfront, avoiding hidden fees related to setup or customer support. Customer Support: Evaluate the level of support available; higher support can improve usability and impact overall costs. Additionally, assess how well the payroll system integrates with your existing business functions, as seamless integration can save you time and money as well as boost compliance. Frequently Asked Questions What Is a Payroll Processing Fee? A payroll processing fee is a charge imposed by payroll service providers for managing your employees’ wages, tax withholdings, and compliance with regulations. Typically, these fees range from $200 to $250 per employee annually. They can be structured as per-payroll charges, per-employee fees, or monthly flat rates. Be aware of potential hidden fees for additional services, as they can greatly affect your overall payroll costs. Comprehending these fees is crucial for effective budgeting. How Does Payroll Processing Work? Payroll processing involves several key steps. First, you collect and verify employee time records, often using a time tracking system. Then, you calculate gross wages, accounting for hours worked and any deductions. Next, you prepare paychecks or direct deposits and handle payroll tax filings. Finally, maintaining accurate financial records is crucial for compliance and reporting. Automating these processes with payroll software can minimize errors and guarantee timely payments to employees. What Is an Example of a Payroll Fee? One example of a payroll fee is the setup fee, which you incur when you first establish payroll services with a provider. This fee can vary based on the company and the complexity of your payroll needs. Furthermore, ongoing transaction fees may apply for each payroll cycle processed, which means you’ll pay a specific amount every time you run payroll. Comprehending these fees helps you budget accurately and avoid unexpected expenses. How Much Does ADP Charge for Payroll Processing? ADP typically charges around $150 per month for basic payroll processing services. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RYQj1TKyPU If you have more employees, the cost can increase by $2 to $10 per employee each month, depending on the service package you select. Additional features like tax filing and employee benefits administration may incur extra fees, greatly raising your total costs. It’s essential to review ADP’s detailed pricing breakdown to understand all potential expenses related to payroll processing. Conclusion Grasping payroll processing fees is crucial for managing your business’s financial health. These fees cover various services, including tax compliance and wage calculations, and can vary based on several factors. By evaluating your options, whether in-house or outsourced, and considering technology’s role, you can find a cost-effective solution. Implementing strategies to reduce these fees will improve your budget, ensuring you allocate resources efficiently as you maintain compliance with payroll regulations. Choose wisely to optimize your payroll processing experience. Image via Google Gemini This article, "What Are Payroll Processing Fees and How Do They Function?" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Payroll processing fees are vital costs that businesses face to guarantee accurate employee compensation. These fees typically cover wage calculations, tax withholdings, and compliance with labor regulations. They can vary greatly based on the provider and the services included, often leading to unexpected expenses. Comprehending these fees is important for managing your budget effectively. But what specific factors influence these costs, and how can you minimize them? Key Takeaways Payroll processing fees cover employee wage calculations, tax withholdings, compliance, and year-end tax forms preparation. Costs typically range from $200 to $250 per employee annually, influenced by service provider and features chosen. Common pricing structures include monthly base fees with per-employee charges or per-pay cycle fees. Hidden fees may arise from additional services like direct deposit and tax filing, impacting total expenses. Understanding these fees aids businesses in budgeting and selecting suitable payroll services to meet their needs. Understanding Payroll Processing Fees When you’re managing a business, comprehending payroll processing fees is fundamental, as they represent significant costs associated with handling employee compensation. Payroll services cost can range from $200 to $250 per employee annually, depending on your chosen provider and the services they offer. Typically, these fees include calculations of wages, tax withholdings, compliance with regulations, and preparation of year-end tax forms. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpSiQ1y-I8E You might encounter common pricing structures like a monthly base fee plus a per-employee fee or a per-pay cycle charge based on the number of employees and payroll frequency. Furthermore, services such as direct deposit, automatic check signing, tax filing, and special reporting features can lead to hidden payroll processing fees. To understand how much does payroll cost, it’s imperative to evaluate these supplementary elements for accurate budgeting and financial planning. Mismanagement can lead to penalties, making clarity in these fees even more critical. What Do Payroll Processing Fees Cover? Grasping what payroll processing fees cover is vital for any business owner who wants to manage their finances effectively. These payroll services fees typically include the costs associated with calculating employee wages, managing tax withholdings, and ensuring compliance with payroll regulations. You’ll often encounter charges for additional services like year-end tax form preparation, including W-2s and 1099s, direct deposit processing, and check printing. Many payroll service providers charge a base fee, usually ranging from $200 to $250 per employee annually, along with per-payroll or per-employee charges that can vary based on service complexity. Additional costs may arise from features like automated payroll tax filing, customer support, and detailed reporting services. Grasping the full scope of payroll processing fees, including potential hidden charges, is vital for accurate budgeting and financial planning for your business. Factors Influencing Payroll Processing Fees Understanding payroll processing fees involves recognizing the various factors that can influence these costs. First and foremost, the total number of employees greatly impacts expenses, with average costs typically ranging from $200 to $250 per employee annually. Furthermore, the frequency of payroll cycles plays a role; more frequent payrolls, like weekly, usually lead to higher fees compared to biweekly or monthly processing. Required features and services contribute to the overall cost. Basic packages are typically less expensive, whereas extensive services, including tax filing and compliance tools, can raise the baseline price. Geographic location matters too, as differing state and local tax requirements can complicate payroll processing, adding to expenses. Finally, don’t overlook hidden fees, such as setup charges and customer support, which can further influence your total payroll processing costs, making a thorough review of service agreements crucial. Common Pricing Structures for Payroll Services Grasping common pricing structures for payroll services is vital for businesses looking to manage their payroll costs effectively. Various pricing models exist, and comprehending them can help you choose what suits your needs best. Here are three common structures: Per-month base fee plus per-employee fee: You pay a fixed monthly rate, plus an extra charge for each employee processed. Per-pay cycle fee: This involves a charge for every payroll run, along with a fee per employee, which can differ based on how often you run payroll. Annual fee structure: Some providers offer discounted rates for long-term commitments, which can lead to savings over time. It’s important to review all pricing details, as additional fees for services like tax filings, customer support, or year-end processing can greatly affect your overall costs. In-House Payroll vs. Outsourced Payroll Processing When deciding between in-house payroll and outsourced payroll processing, it’s essential to weigh the benefits and drawbacks of each approach. In-house payroll gives you control over your payroll functions, but it often requires significant time and expertise to navigate complex regulations and avoid costly errors. You might find this manageable if your business is smaller, where DIY options can be more cost-effective. On the other hand, outsourced payroll services typically charge fees based on a per-employee or per-payroll cycle model, which can range from $200 to $250 annually per employee. By outsourcing, you benefit from professional expertise, ensuring compliance with tax laws and minimizing risks associated with payroll errors. Ultimately, the choice often hinges on your business size; larger firms might save time and reduce risk by outsourcing, whereas smaller organizations might prefer handling payroll in-house. Furthermore, consider how payroll frequency impacts overall processing costs. Hidden Fees to Watch Out For When you choose a payroll processing service, it’s essential to be aware of hidden fees that can sneak into your budget. Setup and installation fees might hit you right at the start, and tax filing charges could surprise you later on if they aren’t included in your base plan. Moreover, if you require extra support or reporting, those costs can quickly add up, affecting your overall payroll expenses. Setup and Installation Fees Grasping setup and installation fees is important for businesses looking to adopt a new payroll system, as these costs can vary considerably based on the complexity of the setup. Typically ranging from $50 to several hundred dollars, these fees may cover: The initial configuration of payroll software Inputting employee data Customizing payroll settings to meet your specific needs Many payroll service providers mightn’t disclose these fees upfront. As a result, it’s necessary to request a detailed breakdown of all costs before you commit. Moreover, some providers offer promotional pricing that waives setup fees for new clients, so be sure to inquire about such deals to help reduce your initial expenses. Comprehending these fees is critical for accurate budgeting. Tax Filing Charges Tax filing charges can considerably impact your overall payroll processing costs, often catching businesses off guard. These fees can vary based on the complexity of your payroll needs, with some providers charging extra for state and federal tax filings beyond their base costs. Be aware that as your employee count increases, so do these fees, often leading to more complex processing requirements. It’s essential to clarify whether tax filing services are included in your initial pricing, as providers frequently charge separately for year-end forms like W-2s and 1099s. Furthermore, hidden fees may arise from amendments to previously submitted forms, adding unexpected costs. Regular audits of these charges can help you budget accurately and avoid surprises. Support and Reporting Costs As you manage your payroll processing costs, don’t overlook the potential expenses associated with support and reporting. These hidden fees can greatly impact your budget if you’re not aware of them beforehand. Consider the following: Support Costs: You may incur charges for customer service assistance beyond your basic service plan. Reporting Costs: Detailed payroll reports that exceed standard offerings often come with additional fees. Hidden Charges: Be cautious of costs for accessing historical payroll data or features like automatic paycheck signing. Estimating Your Payroll Processing Costs How do you accurately estimate your payroll processing costs? Start by considering the fees, which typically range from $200 to $250 per employee per year, influenced by the number of employees and how often you run payroll. Remember to factor in additional costs for services like tax filing and customer support, as these mightn’t be included in your base pricing. It’s essential to evaluate both direct costs, such as wages, benefits, and taxes, and indirect costs, including software and processing fees. The size of your business will greatly affect your overall expenses, with larger companies often facing higher per-employee fees, whereas smaller businesses may enjoy lower costs. Regular audits of your payroll processes can help uncover hidden fees and identify areas for cost savings, allowing for a more accurate budgeting approach toward your payroll expenses. Benefits of Using Payroll Processing Services Even though managing payroll in-house may seem straightforward, the benefits of using payroll processing services can greatly improve your business operations. By outsourcing your payroll, you can save time and reduce errors, allowing you to focus on core business activities. Here are some key advantages of payroll processing services: Cost Savings: You could save up to 50% compared to in-house payroll management because of streamlined operations and fewer administrative tasks. Compliance Support: These services help you navigate complex regulations, reducing the risk of penalties from payroll errors. Improved Employee Engagement: Many providers offer employee self-service portals, allowing your staff easy access to pay information, which boosts satisfaction. Incorporating payroll processing services into your business strategy can streamline operations, reduce risks, and improve employee morale, making it a worthwhile investment. Strategies for Reducing Payroll Processing Fees Whereas payroll processing services offer numerous advantages, managing costs associated with these services is equally important for maximizing their benefits. You can adopt several strategies to reduce payroll processing fees effectively. Consider utilizing DIY payroll software, which can save you up to 50% compared to traditional services. Bundling payroll with HR services often yields discounts as well as streamlining processes. Regularly reviewing and negotiating contracts with providers can uncover better pricing or additional features at no extra cost. Implementing electronic payment methods, like direct deposit, eliminates paper check costs, and moving to biweekly payroll cycles can greatly lower processing fees. Strategy Potential Savings Additional Benefits DIY Payroll Software Up to 50% Cost-effective for small firms Bundling Services Varies Streamlined administrative tasks Electronic Payments Variable Eliminates paper check costs The Role of Technology in Payroll Processing Technology considerably streamlines payroll processing by automating tasks and integrating with other business systems. This automation reduces human error and improves accuracy, whereas integration guarantees that payroll aligns seamlessly with HR and accounting functions. Automation of Payroll Tasks As businesses endeavor for efficiency, automating payroll tasks has become an essential strategy to streamline operations. With the right technology, you can markedly reduce the time spent on manual calculations and data entry, leading to substantial cost savings. Automated payroll software can: Calculate wages, taxes, and deductions accurately, minimizing human error. Enable features like direct deposit, automated tax filing, and real-time reporting. Cut administrative costs by up to 50%, allowing you to focus on growth. Integration With Business Systems Integrating payroll software with your existing business systems, such as HR and accounting platforms, can greatly boost the efficiency and accuracy of your payroll processing. By reducing manual data entry, you minimize errors, ensuring your payroll is correct. Automated systems streamline tasks like tax filings and compliance reporting, saving significant time and lightening the load on HR teams. With real-time data access, you can make immediate updates on payroll costs and employee status, enabling better decision-making and budget management. Features like employee self-service portals improve satisfaction by allowing staff to access their pay information easily. Choosing the Right Payroll Service Provider When selecting a payroll service provider, it’s crucial to understand the various pricing structures that can affect your overall expenses. Many providers charge a base fee plus per-employee costs, and additional services like tax filings can add to your bill. To make the best choice, consider these key factors: Features and Services: Make sure the provider offers functionalities that meet your specific business needs, as basic packages may lack critical capabilities. Transparent Pricing: Look for providers that disclose all costs upfront, avoiding hidden fees related to setup or customer support. Customer Support: Evaluate the level of support available; higher support can improve usability and impact overall costs. Additionally, assess how well the payroll system integrates with your existing business functions, as seamless integration can save you time and money as well as boost compliance. Frequently Asked Questions What Is a Payroll Processing Fee? A payroll processing fee is a charge imposed by payroll service providers for managing your employees’ wages, tax withholdings, and compliance with regulations. Typically, these fees range from $200 to $250 per employee annually. They can be structured as per-payroll charges, per-employee fees, or monthly flat rates. Be aware of potential hidden fees for additional services, as they can greatly affect your overall payroll costs. Comprehending these fees is crucial for effective budgeting. How Does Payroll Processing Work? Payroll processing involves several key steps. First, you collect and verify employee time records, often using a time tracking system. Then, you calculate gross wages, accounting for hours worked and any deductions. Next, you prepare paychecks or direct deposits and handle payroll tax filings. Finally, maintaining accurate financial records is crucial for compliance and reporting. Automating these processes with payroll software can minimize errors and guarantee timely payments to employees. What Is an Example of a Payroll Fee? One example of a payroll fee is the setup fee, which you incur when you first establish payroll services with a provider. This fee can vary based on the company and the complexity of your payroll needs. Furthermore, ongoing transaction fees may apply for each payroll cycle processed, which means you’ll pay a specific amount every time you run payroll. Comprehending these fees helps you budget accurately and avoid unexpected expenses. How Much Does ADP Charge for Payroll Processing? ADP typically charges around $150 per month for basic payroll processing services. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RYQj1TKyPU If you have more employees, the cost can increase by $2 to $10 per employee each month, depending on the service package you select. Additional features like tax filing and employee benefits administration may incur extra fees, greatly raising your total costs. It’s essential to review ADP’s detailed pricing breakdown to understand all potential expenses related to payroll processing. Conclusion Grasping payroll processing fees is crucial for managing your business’s financial health. These fees cover various services, including tax compliance and wage calculations, and can vary based on several factors. By evaluating your options, whether in-house or outsourced, and considering technology’s role, you can find a cost-effective solution. Implementing strategies to reduce these fees will improve your budget, ensuring you allocate resources efficiently as you maintain compliance with payroll regulations. Choose wisely to optimize your payroll processing experience. Image via Google Gemini This article, "What Are Payroll Processing Fees and How Do They Function?" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Taking a call from the road has been a thing since the dawn of the car phone, but tech companies are still finding new and innovative ways to make escaping meetings impossible. While CarPlay and Android Auto have traditional phone calls baked into their functionality and support certain other calling apps, Google Meet has never been supported. If you have a work call you need to join while in the car, you either need to go through the potentially cumbersome steps of disconnecting your phone from the car and playing the call through the phone itself, or, if it's an option, have someone else take the wheel while you dial in. That's now changing—at least for those of us with iPhones. On Thursday, Google announced that Google Meet is now available on CarPlay. Of course, that integration now means you can take work calls while driving (audio only, of course), but Google Meet's CarPlay has some additional functionality as well. According to Google, you'll be able to view your upcoming schedule in the app and join meetings by tapping on them. That's obviously useful when trying to join specific meetings, but, like many CarPlay experiences, I wonder if there's a bit too much going on for an app that's designed to be used while driving. This is convenient, but I don't want to get into an accident because someone was reviewing their afternoon schedule. Credit: Google Nevertheless, Google Meet is now available to drivers, though Google is adamant that no video capabilities are present here. While your iPhone is connected to CarPlay, your camera will be disabled during Google Meet calls, and you won't be able to see any of the other callers' video feeds. The company says this feature is available for all Google Workspace customers, Workspace Individual subscribers, and users with Google Accounts for personal use. The most notable omission from this list of users includes those on Android. This is just another curious case of Google rolling out functionality in the iPhone version of its app before the OS it actually develops in-house. You would expect Android users to get this feature at the same time as iOS, if not earlier, but Google must have a reason. Maybe there are more Google Meet users on iOS than there are on Android, but whatever the reason, Android users will need to wait a bit longer to call into work meetings through Android Auto. Google Meet is the second big CarPlay announcement this week. OpenAI also announced ChatGPT support for CarPlay on Thursday, following changes to iOS 26.4 that open up support for AI chat apps. When I gave it a test drive, ChatGPT immediately hallucinated. View the full article