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AI inspires strong feelings. Some love it, some hate it, few are indifferent. But, usually, AI's biggest proponents are the companies that make and sell the tech. You expect OpenAI to tout ChatGPT's benefits, or Google to talk-up how useful Gemini is. For a company like these to say that their AI tools are nothing but a plaything would be a ludicrous concept—and yet, that's apparently what Microsoft did. As reported by TechCrunch, Microsoft's terms of service for Copilot aren't too laudatory of the AI tech or its capabilities. The policy, which was last updated on October 24, 2025, says the following: “Copilot is for entertainment purposes only...It can make mistakes, and it may not work as intended. Don’t rely on Copilot for important advice. Use Copilot at your own risk.” To be fair, most—if not all—AI companies put a warning like this on their tools. You'll see it with ChatGPT and Gemini, urging you to exercise caution when using AI for, well, anything. The tech is not perfect, and may quite literally make things up. As such, the alerts are there to remind you that the results you get may not be accurate—and if you're using the tech for something important, you should probably check the bot's work yourself. But the noteworthy thing here is that first line: "Copilot is for entertainment purposes only." That's pretty rich, considering the fact the company has not only infused most of its apps and services (as well as Windows itself) with Copilot features, but it actively advertises Copilot as a tool for work. Copilot is a part of the entire Microsoft 365 worksuite now—to say that a "core" element to apps like PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams is just "entertainment" undermines Microsoft's sales pitch (while emboldening its critics). It also comes at the same time the company is removing what it calls "unnecessary" Copilot features from its products. To be fair, Microsoft is not standing by this description. In a comment to PCMag, a company rep shared that Microsoft will be updating "legacy language." The full quote reads: "The ‘entertainment purposes’ phrasing is legacy language from when Copilot originally launched as a search companion service in Bing. As the product has evolved, that language is no longer reflective of how Copilot is used today and will be altered with our next update." Generative AI features were definitely more entertainment focused that productivity focused following ChatGPT's launch in late 2022 (I tested the chatbot by asking it to write me stories and poems). But the AI race has been in full swing for about three years at this point: Copilot is no longer a companion to Bing; it's one of the major AI tools out there. For Microsoft to not catch this "legacy language" is a bit emblematic of the company as a whole at this point. Microsoft wants users to take its AI tech seriously, but it’s overlooking the little details that actually matter to those users. What we’re left with is not a clean, well-optimized version of Windows, but one stuffed with AI features few actually wanted—features that are, apparently, for entertainment purposes only. View the full article

In the first twenty-four hours of the war with Iran, the United States struck a thousand targets. By the end of the week, the total exceeded three thousand — twice as many as in the “shock and awe” phase of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, according to Pete Hegseth. This unprecedented number of strikes was made possible by artificial intelligence. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) insists that humans remain in the loop on every targeting decision, and that the AI is there to help them to make “smarter decisions faster.” But exactly what role humans can play when the systems are operating at this pace is unclear. Israel’s use of AI-enabled targeting in its war on Hamas may offer some insights. An investigation last year reported that the Israeli military had deployed an AI system called Lavender to identify suspected militants in Gaza. The official line is that all targeting decisions involved human assessment. But according to one of Lavender’s operators, as the humans involved came to trust the system, they limited their own checks to nothing more than confirming that the target was a male. “I would invest 20 seconds for each target,” the operator said. “I had zero added-value as a human, apart from being a stamp of approval. It saved a lot of time.” The same pattern has already taken hold in business. In 2023, ProPublica revealed that Cigna, one of America’s largest health insurers, had deployed an algorithm to flag claims for denial. Its physicians, who were legally required to exercise their clinical judgment, signed off on the algorithm’s decisions in batches, spending an average of 1.2 seconds on each case. One doctor denied more than 60,000 claims in a single month. “We literally click and submit,” a former Cigna doctor said. “It takes all of 10 seconds to do 50 at a time.” Twenty seconds to approve a strike; 1.2 seconds to deny a claim. The human is in the loop. Humanity is not. Difficulty by Design The novelist Milan Kundera writes of the terrifying weight of being confronted with the enduring seriousness of our actions. But while lightness might seem attractive in the face of this impossibly heavy burden, it is ultimately unbearable. Disconnection from the weightiness of our decisions deprives them of substance, of meaning. Some things are important enough that we ought to feel their weight. It ought to take time to decide to kill a person or deny a healthcare claim. It ought to be difficult to figure out which buildings to bomb. AI makes those decisions quicker and easier – but some decisions ought to be hard. And when AI lifts the weight, when it takes away the burden of making decisions about who lives and who dies, this is not progress. This is moral degradation. AI promises to lift the burden of difficult and cognitively demanding work — it makes the work lighter. In many domains, that is genuine progress. But some things are important enough that we ought to feel their weight. It ought to take time to decide to kill a person or deny a healthcare claim. It ought to be difficult to figure out which buildings to bomb. In such decisions, the difficulty serves a function — it is a feature, not a bug. It is a mechanism that forces institutions to reckon with what they are doing. And when AI removes that weight, the institution doesn’t become more efficient. It becomes numb. If the human in the loop is spending mere seconds on each decision, then the question of whether the system is autonomous or human-supervised becomes largely semantic. We need to insist on humanity in the loop as well. In cases like these, the human must be allowed to be human, even if that means they are slower, less accurate, and less efficient. That is the cost we pay for something absolutely necessary: We need the human to feel the weight of the decisions they are making, because difficulty creates the friction that makes people pause, question, and push back. Institutional Culture When hard decisions become easy, the institution itself changes. People stop questioning because there is nothing that feels worth questioning — the system has already decided and the human’s role is to confirm. Dissent drops because dissent requires friction, and friction has been engineered out. Accountability is undermined because everyone knows that it’s the computer that’s making the decisions. The Cigna physician who denied 60,000 claims in a month was not cruel. They had been placed in a system where denying a claim required no more effort than clicking a button. The system did something more insidious than corrupt their judgment — it made it unnecessary. That is why the Cigna case is not a story about a single bad actor. Rather, it is a story about what happens to any institution that systematically engineers the weight out of its hardest decisions. The Cost of Hollowing Out Accountability Hollowed-out accountability has a cost that shows up in three places for businesses. First, liability. An algorithm cannot be sued, fired, or held responsible for its errors. The organization that deployed it can. Rubber-stamp oversight is not a legal gray area — it is a liability waiting for lawyers to mobilize. Second, institutional fragility. When humans stop genuinely engaging with decisions, they stop learning from them. When the machine always seems to get things right, no one develops the kind of judgment needed to determine when it is actually wrong. Organizations that optimize humans out of their decision loops become dependent on systems they no longer fully understand. And this leads to brittleness in precisely the moments that demand resilience. Third, trust. Customers, employees, and regulators may want to know whether an AI made a decision. But they will definitely want to know if anyone is truly responsible for it. The answer, in too many organizations, is no, and that answer has deep consequences for the organization’s relationships with those it is answerable to. The Weight Test Before using AI to make any decision process easier, leaders should ask four questions: 1. What institutional behaviors does the current difficulty of this decision produce — e.g., scrutiny, escalation, dissent — and what is the cost of losing them? 2. If something goes wrong, can we identify someone who wrestled with the decision — or only someone who clicked approve? 3. How would we know if the humans in this process have become rubber stamps? What would we measure, and are we measuring it? 4. If the people affected by this decision learned exactly how it was made and how long the human spent on it, would the institution be comfortable defending that process in public? These questions won’t appear in any AI vendor’s implementation checklist. That is precisely why they matter. Conclusion We are told that AI liberates us — from drudgery, from slow processes, from the burden of hard decisions. And often it does. But not every burden is a problem to be solved. Sometimes, the burdens are the point. The weight a commander should feel before authorizing a strike, the effort a physician expends before denying care — these are not inefficiencies to be optimized away. They are the mechanisms that keep institutions honest about the power they exercise. Of course, organizations that engineer that weight away will be faster and lighter. For a while, it may even appear like they are winning. But these organizations will also be the ones that discover, too late, that the difficulty was the price of being the one who decides — and the moment an organization stops paying it, it has no business deciding at all. View the full article

If you rank your own product #1 in “best of” listicles, it’s not just a search-quality issue — it may violate FTC rules that took effect in October 2024. Driving the news. As Lily Ray noted on LinkedIn, the FTC’s Consumer Review Rule (16 CFR Part 465) prohibits several deceptive practices tied to reviews and testimonials, including: Presenting company-controlled content as independent reviews. Publishing reviews of products or services never actually used. Attributing reviews to people who didn’t write them. Penalties can reach up to $53,088 per violation, and each page may count separately. Ray also shared a reference table she generated with the help of Claude: Why now. “Best X” and “Top 10 Y” listicles have surged as a GEO tactic over the past couple of years. These pages often perform well in search and increasingly influence AI-generated answers. The backstory. Before the rule was formalized, Ray said at least one company faced legal action for publishing hundreds of “best of” pages that: Ranked its own services #1. Included fabricated competitor reviews. Used fake reviews on third-party platforms. The Better Business Bureau later censured the company for unsubstantiated claims. What’s happening. Many modern listicles follow a similar pattern: A brand publishes a “best tools” list. Includes competitors it hasn’t tested. Uses subjective or invented scoring systems. Ranks itself #1. These listicles may imply independence or firsthand evaluation when neither exists. The nuance. You can publish comparison content that includes your own product. However, based on FTC guidance, risk increases when: You imply objectivity, but promote your own product. You present reviews not based on real experience. You fail to clearly disclose material relationships. What Google is saying. Google is aware of the low-quality listicle trend. In a statement to The Verge, a Google spokesperson said the company applies protections against manipulation in Search and Gemini, and reiterated its guidance: create content for people and ensure it’s understandable to search systems. Why we care. What has worked as a visibility tactic may carry risk on two fronts — regulators and a potential Google Search algorithm change. That means this popular GEO tactic could decline quickly as its effectiveness drops. Caveat. I’m not a lawyer. Consult your own legal counsel if you’re concerned about using this tactic. View the full article

This week NASA is making us proud. In a time of escalating war and strife, at least a part of humanity still remembers what progress looks like. The post Breaking: Artemis 2’s four astronauts & ‘Integrity’ capsule become the most remote Wi-Fi & WiGig users in history appeared first on Wi-Fi NOW Global. View the full article

For most of modern financial history, retail investors were treated as background noise. Institutions moved the market. Hedge funds set the tone. Analysts shaped narratives. Individual investors followed. That era is over. Retail investors made up 35% of the market in April 2025, an all-time high. According to a 2024 report, almost 80% of the market is high-frequency algorithmic trading. Combine these numbers, and it is theoretically possible that all of the market could be trading a popular stock on social media that gets quickly amplified upwards by momentum trading algorithms. This is not a trend. It is a structural shift. And it is quietly reshaping how markets function. THE MEME STOCK ERA WAS ONLY THE BEGINNING The rise of retail influence is often framed through the GameStop and AMC lens. Those trades were loud, chaotic, and impossible to ignore. They introduced a new market force, proving that coordinated retail capital could overwhelm even the most sophisticated institutional positioning. But that moment was only the spark. What followed has been far more important. Retail investors did not disappear when the short squeezes ended. They evolved. Today’s retail investor is not simply chasing volatility. They are researching, modeling, tracking sentiment, and identifying long term winners. They are forming conviction around emerging technologies and future-facing companies long before traditional valuation frameworks can properly price them. Tesla is a perfect example. For years, analysts dismissed it as overvalued. Retail investors saw something different. They saw autonomy, energy infrastructure, and a complete rethinking of transportation. Palantir followed a similar path. Institutional skepticism gave way only after retail investors had already built massive long-term positions based on belief in the company’s data platform and government scale. In both cases, retail did not follow Wall Street. Wall Street followed retail. RETAIL IS NOW THE FIRST MOVER What makes this era different is speed. Information now travels instantly, research is distributed globally, and sentiment forms in real time. When retail conviction builds, it builds fast. Across platforms, like mine—Prospero.ai—that tracks options flows, sentiment data, institutional positioning, and retail engagement, a clear pattern is emerging. We are seeing that retail is no longer late to the trade. In many cases, they are early. Increasingly, they are looking for trusted signal sources to help validate conviction in a market moving at internet speed. THE AMPLIFICATION EFFECT This market dynamic has increasingly been discussed across financial media. I have discussed it myself on national financial media outlets including Schwab Network, Yahoo Finance, Morningstar, Benzinga, Forbes, CNN, and of course Fast Company. But there is recent data from those appearances that has not yet been publicly discussed. At first, the implications were easy to dismiss. Markets move for many reasons, and no serious investor would argue that a single voice can move price action on its own. But the deeper the data was examined, the clearer it became that influence is now shaping real-time sentiment in a measurable way. Let me give two clear examples. On December 2, I spoke at The Modern Investor Summit in London, one of the largest retail investor conferences globally. I shared that AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) was my top 2026 stock pick. This satellite company based in Midland, Texas, is building the first network capable of streaming 5G voice, text, and video directly to everyday smartphones without additional hardware. The company has already secured commercial partnerships with AT&T, Verizon, Vodafone, Rakuten, and the United States government. At the time of the conference, ASTS had fallen more than 50% from its October highs. But on the event day, the stock surged more than 30%. The rally faded over the following week and the stock resumed its decline. Then something interesting happened. On December 17, ASTS sharply reversed, beginning a powerful run. That run followed a live interview I gave on Schwab Network, where I again stated that ASTS was our top 2026 stock pick based on its fundamentals and signal strength. Over the next month, the stock climbed 87.15%. During that same interview, I discussed Centrus Energy (LEU), our second ranked 2026 pick. LEU had just completed a 20% pullback. It bottomed on December 17. The trading day after the interview, and in the next month, the stock rose 49.73%. Could this be a coincidence? Possibly. But we can verify that every major public appearance now generates immediate spikes in online discussion, social distribution, and retail engagement. We consistently see follow-on interest build within hours, not weeks. This is what modern attention-driven market dynamics look like. Retail investors move fast. They share information instantly. When conviction forms, capital follows. In a market where retail now represents more than a third of all inflows, attention has become leverage. And that is a structural change Wall Street is still learning to price in. This is not just about trust I’ve earned with retail investors, although that helps. This is about the market shifts. Not only is more capital deployed by retail, but in 2022 42% of hedge funds used social media data and 65% said they expected to use it in 2023. It is hard to get clear isolated numbers on social after that, but most observers would agree the trend is clear: Retail investors are accelerating their impact. Even now, talking heads rarely care about how accessible their investment thesis is to everyday people. But the rewards are larger now and growing for people who can simplify ideas and share data points that are easy to understand and apply. A MARKET THAT IS BEING REWRITTEN We live in a world where retail traders are moving markets more than any time in history. This is not a passing cycle. It is the result of technology, access, and transparency converging. The tools once reserved for hedge funds are now in individuals’ hands. Data that once took days to reach the public now moves in seconds. And the next generation of investors is comfortable making decisions based on forward-looking narratives rather than backward-looking balance sheets. This is how paradigm shifts happen. The market is no longer a closed system controlled by a small group of gatekeepers. It is becoming a living network shaped by millions of independent thinkers acting together. Retail investors are leading, not just participating, and the smartest institutions are already adapting. In the next decade of investing, the real edge will not come from having more capital. It will come from understanding the crowd. George Kailas is CEO of Prospero.ai. View the full article

Effective communication is essential for enhancing collaboration within teams. By implementing activities like Virtual Coffee Chats and the Blind Drawing Challenge, you can encourage casual interactions and promote active listening. Furthermore, addressing challenges through The Elephant in the Room creates a safe space for dialogue. Engaging in the Barter Puzzle encourages negotiation skills, whereas collaborative storytelling with Once Upon a Time boosts communication abilities. These strategies can markedly strengthen team dynamics and productivity. Want to explore how each activity works? Key Takeaways Virtual Coffee Chats foster casual conversations, enhancing team trust and camaraderie in remote or hybrid environments. Blind Drawing Challenge improves communication skills through a fun exercise where participants describe and draw images without visual aids. The Elephant in the Room encourages anonymous sharing of challenges, promoting openness and constructive problem-solving within teams. Barter Puzzle enhances collaboration as teams negotiate and trade puzzle pieces, emphasizing effective communication and collective effort. Once Upon a Time boosts creativity and active listening through collaborative storytelling, addressing work-related themes and strengthening team bonds. Virtual Coffee Chats Virtual coffee chats serve as an effective strategy for enhancing team communication, especially in remote or hybrid work settings. These informal gatherings encourage natural conversations among team members, nurturing trust and camaraderie. By utilizing platforms like CoffeePals, you can randomly pair employees, promoting connections that mightn’t happen in typical work environments. To stimulate engaging discussions, consider using light prompts, such as asking participants to share their most energizing moments from the past week. Scheduling these chats weekly or biweekly creates a consistent opportunity for interaction, which is essential for maintaining engagement and communication within dispersed teams. Furthermore, incorporating communication games for adults during these chats can help break the ice and deepen relationships. In the end, these virtual coffee chats greatly improve team cohesion and morale, contributing to a more connected and productive workplace. Blind Drawing Challenge Building on the informal connections established through virtual coffee chats, the Blind Drawing Challenge offers a unique way to improve team communication. This engaging activity boosts your listening skills and clarity by having one person describe an image as another draws it without seeing the reference. You can conduct this exercise in both virtual and in-person settings, making it versatile for teams of various sizes. By restricting clarifying questions and peeking, the challenge increases difficulty, compelling you to focus on precise instructions and active listening. For remote teams, utilizing virtual whiteboards like Miro or FigJam can facilitate collaboration, in spite of physical distance. This activity not only encourages vital communication skills but also promotes teamwork. It can lead to meaningful discussions about the challenges of conveying ideas clearly, in the end strengthening your team’s overall communication and collaboration abilities, making it an effective choice among communication skills activities. The Elephant in the Room Addressing difficult topics can greatly improve team dynamics, and the Elephant in the Room activity serves as a strong tool for this purpose. This exercise allows team members to anonymously share challenges that may impact collaboration, nurturing a culture of openness. By encouraging respectful discussions around sensitive issues, you boost psychological safety and enable constructive problem-solving. Here are some key benefits of this activity: Promotes honest dialogue among team members Builds resilience and adaptability within the team Strengthens interpersonal relationships and trust Identifies actionable solutions through facilitated discussions Implementing this among your communication skills activities for adults can lead to stronger team cohesion and a commitment to continuous improvement. Barter Puzzle The Barter Puzzle activity is an engaging way to improve team communication and collaboration, typically involving 6 to 12 participants. In this exercise, each team receives puzzle pieces that belong to other teams, requiring effective communication and strategic trading to complete their own puzzles first. This setup emphasizes collaboration and negotiation skills, as teams must articulate their needs clearly to achieve a shared goal. By designating a “negotiator,” you can streamline communication and guarantee that the trading of puzzle pieces is organized and efficient. This activity stands out among communication games for work, as it not only improves problem-solving abilities but additionally cultivates trust and camaraderie among team members through collective effort. As teams work together, they gain insights into the importance of collaboration, which can translate into improved dynamics in your workplace. Once Upon a Time Once you immerse yourself in the “Once Upon a Time” activity, you’ll find it serves as an effective tool for enhancing team communication and creativity. This engaging communication game allows team members to collaboratively build a story, starting with a single sentence. Each participant adds to the narrative, which not merely sparks creativity but also cultivates teamwork. Benefits of the “Once Upon a Time” activity include: Versatility: Suitable for any group size and can be done in-person or virtually. Relevance: Incorporate work-related themes to address real challenges in a fun way. Active Listening: Participants must pay attention and think quickly, improving communication skills. Engagement: The unpredictable story development encourages spontaneity, making it enjoyable and strengthening team bonds. Frequently Asked Questions How to Enhance Collaboration and Communication as a Team? To improve collaboration and communication as a team, start by establishing regular check-ins, which keep everyone aligned on goals and progress. Encourage open dialogue through activities like brainstorming sessions, where team members can share ideas freely. Incorporate team-building exercises that promote problem-solving skills, such as Escape Rooms. Furthermore, leverage technology for virtual meetings to maintain engagement, and guarantee that all voices are heard, nurturing an inclusive environment that strengthens collaboration. What Are the 7 C’s of Communication Activities? The 7 C’s of communication are Clear, Concise, Concrete, Correct, Considerate, Complete, and Courteous. Each principle plays a crucial role in guaranteeing effective communication. You should aim for clarity to avoid misinterpretations, be concise to respect others’ time, and provide concrete examples to improve comprehension. Being correct guarantees accuracy, whereas consideration promotes respect. Finally, complete communication delivers all necessary information, and courteous interactions build positive relationships, fundamental for teamwork. What Are the 5 C’s of Collaboration? The 5 C’s of collaboration are Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Critical Thinking, and Conflict Resolution. Communication guarantees clear dialogue among team members. Collaboration nurtures unity by working toward shared goals. Creativity promotes innovative solutions through diverse perspectives. Critical Thinking involves analyzing information for informed decision-making. Finally, Conflict Resolution equips teams with strategies for addressing disagreements constructively. Together, these components improve team dynamics and overall effectiveness, allowing teams to navigate challenges more efficiently. What Are the 3 C’s of Communication Collaboration? The 3 C’s of communication collaboration are Clarity, Conciseness, and Constructiveness. Clarity guarantees your messages are understood, minimizing misunderstandings. Conciseness keeps your communication brief, allowing team members to quickly grasp key points and take action. Constructiveness focuses on giving positive feedback and solutions, creating a supportive environment that advances teamwork and problem-solving. Conclusion Incorporating these five vital communication activities can greatly improve collaboration within your team. Virtual Coffee Chats create informal connections, whereas the Blind Drawing Challenge encourages creativity through listening. The Elephant in the Room promotes open discussions about challenges, nurturing psychological safety. Engaging in the Barter Puzzle boosts negotiation skills and teamwork, and Once Upon a Time builds communication through storytelling. By integrating these activities, you can strengthen relationships and create a more cohesive and effective team environment. Image via Google Gemini This article, "5 Essential Team Communication Activities to Enhance Collaboration" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

What’s behind a new wave of apps in the Apple App store? It’s probably two words: vibe coding. Apple’s App Store was flooded with 235,800 new apps in the first quarter of this year—an increase of 84% over the same time last year, according to new data published by The Information—after steady declines of 48% from 2016 to 2024. That builds on a trend from last year, in which developers created a whopping 600,000 new apps, leaving people wondering what is behind the big push. It turns out—perhaps not surprisingly, with artificial intelligence tools making it easier to create an app more quickly—that there’s more apps flooding into Apple’s App store. What’s this have to do with vibe coding? “Vibe coding” is using generative artificial intelligence to write code, which is how developers write computer programs. Andrej Karpathy, co-founder of OpenAI, coined the term last February, explaining on X, “there’s a new kind of coding I call ‘vibe coding’, where you fully give in to the vibes, embrace exponentials, and forget that the code even exists. It’s possible because the LLMs (e.g. Cursor Composer w Sonnet) are getting too good.” Today, Anthropic’s Claude Code is an industry favorite for creating vibe coded apps. However, that doesn’t mean Apple is welcoming all vibe coding apps into its store. Citing security concerns, Apple has been cracking down on AI apps, even blocking Replit. And it’s removed Anything, an AI-app builder that says it will “turn your words into mobile apps, sites, tools, and products—built with code,” which was pulled from the App Store on March 30, returned on April 3, and is gone again today, according to Apple Insider. The apps still have to go through Apple’s review process, where it screens for malware, privacy violations and apps that access sensitive data like your camera, contacts, or location without permission—one reason consumers trust Apple and the iPhone, according to CNBC. Apple tells Fast Company that while it is excited to see developers joining the program, submitting new apps, and delivering performance and bug updates faster than ever before, it does have guidelines clearly outlined in App Review Guideline 2.5.2, which state: “Apps should be self-contained in their bundles, and may not read or write data outside the designated container area, nor may they download, install, or execute code which introduces or changes features or functionality of the app, including other apps. Educational apps designed to teach, develop, or allow students to test executable code may, in limited circumstances, download code provided that such code is not used for other purposes. Such apps must make the source code provided by the app completely viewable and editable by the user.” On average, Apple tells Fast Company its App Review team consistently processes 90% of app submissions within 48 hours, and over the last 12 weeks alone, the team has processed over 200,000 app submissions a week, while maintaining an average review time of 1.5 days. View the full article

As American astronauts fly to the moon for the first time in 50 years, the test flight has gone off without a hitch, almost. Happily, this time around, the “Houston, we’ve had a problem” moment came with much lower stakes than Apollo 13’s oxygen leak. NASA’s Artemis II is the first crewed mission featuring a proper toilet – a major upgrade from the Apollo-era days of astronauts chasing runaway bodily emissions in zero gravity. Historically, waste capture was handled by a crude system of plastic bags attached to spacesuits, a headache for astronauts already contending with the many life-threatening challenges of space travel. So far, the high tech toilet has come with some problems of its own. Toilet troubles Shortly after launching, a blinking fault light signaled that the toilet was acting up. That problem caused the space loo to be closed for repairs during the mission’s first six hours, a short interval of time but long enough to force at least one astronaut to resort to relieving themselves the old-fashioned way, into a bag connected to a funnel. In a press conference last week, Artemis flight director Judd Frieling explained that the toilet didn’t have the right amount of water in its dispenser to keep the pump wet enough to work. “Once we figured out that we didn’t put enough water in, we put more in there, [and] made sure… the pump was primed, and then the toilet came right back up.” Self-described “space plumber” Christina Koch, one of the four Artemis II astronauts, implemented the fix. “The Artemis II crew, working closely with mission control in Houston, were able to restore the Orion spacecraft’s toilet to normal operations following the proximity operations demonstration,” NASA’s Joseph Zakrzewski wrote in a mission update on Thursday. The waste management system caused problems again by Saturday, when it wasn’t able to successfully vent collected waste into space. Frieling told reporters over the weekend that the issue was likely caused by frozen urine blocking the line. To help thaw the line, mission control decided to rotate the Orion so the frozen zone faced the sun, a solution that partially unclogged it. That freed the space toilet up for solid waste, but astronauts were still directed to pee into a backup system known as the Collapsible Contingency Urinal (CCU) until around midnight when the line was fully cleared out. “You are go for all types of use of the toilet,” NASA’s Jacki Mahaffey told the crew around midnight on Saturday night. The Collapsable Contingency Urinal (CCU) now being used on Artemis 2 after a toilet malfunction. Essentially an open container (reusable, sealable, and drainable) that controls the urine-air interface using capillary forces like my Space Cup does coffee. When you are in cislunar… pic.twitter.com/LsQLYYxXcK — Don Pettit (@astro_Pettit) April 4, 2026 Boldly going on the Orion In 2020, NASA introduced the Universal Waste Management System (UWMS), a space commode that offers astronauts an approximation of a normal terrestrial toilet. The International Space Station got its own high-tech toilet upgrade that year on a resupply mission, but the technology remained untested on spacecraft like the Orion, which just set the record for the greatest distance humans have ever traveled from Earth. If curiosity is killing you, the crew offered a “live look” outside the Orion as crewmembers executed a wastewater dump around the 9 minute mark of the Artemis II’s day three highlights video on YouTube. Artemis II Mission Management Team, NASA’s Space Launch System Program Manager John Honeycutt addressed the intense curiosity in the unfolding space toilet drama during a Sunday press event. “I think the fixation on the toilet is kind of human nature,” he said. “Everybody knows how important that is to us here on Earth. And it’s harder to manage in space.” View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. A smart thermostat is a key part of keeping any smart home comfortable, but it's important to invest in the home's safety, too. The Ecobee Comfort and Security Bundle combines the best of both worlds, and right now, it’s 28% off at $244.99 (originally $339.98) on Amazon. Ecobee Comfort and Security Bundle $244.99 at Amazon $339.98 Save $94.99 Get Deal Get Deal $244.99 at Amazon $339.98 Save $94.99 This bundle includes the Ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium, along with door and window sensors that double as motion and occupancy detectors, sending alerts when a door or window is opened. When combined with an Ecobee Smart Security subscription, these sensors can detect unexpected movements while your home is armed. You can also place them near valuables for added peace of mind. The thermostat itself tracks both occupancy and temperature in different rooms, using smart tech to prioritize the spaces you’re actually using. It also learns your schedule and automatically adjusts the temperature, making it ideal for people who don’t want to constantly fiddle with settings. Unlike cheaper smart thermostats, it tracks indoor air quality and uses the data to send you alerts and filter reminders. This bundle works with Alexa, Apple HomeKit, and Google Assistant, giving you control via voice, touchscreen, or the Ecobee app. The upfront cost is higher due to multiple devices and features, so if all you need is a basic thermostat with scheduling or remote control, this might be overkill (the same logic applies to smaller apartments and condos, which might not need multi-room sensors). Additionally, some security features, such as monitoring and video storage, require a recurring paid subscription. Still, if you’re looking for more than just a thermostat, the Ecobee Comfort and Security Bundle is a major smart home upgrade that’s particularly useful for larger homes or those with multiple floors, and a great entry point for building a smart home ecosystem. Our Best Editor-Vetted Tech Deals Right Now Apple AirPods Pro 3 Noise Cancelling Heart Rate Wireless Earbuds — $224.00 (List Price $249.00) Apple iPad 11" 128GB A16 WiFi Tablet (Blue, 2025) — $299.99 (List Price $349.00) Samsung Galaxy Tab A11+ 128GB Wi-Fi 11" Tablet (Gray) — $209.99 (List Price $249.99) Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 42mm, S/M Black Sport Band) — $329.00 (List Price $399.00) Sony WH-1000XM5 — $248.00 (List Price $399.99) Deals are selected by our commerce team View the full article

Over the weekend, Mario, Luigi, Bowser, and the rest of Nintendo’s iconic crew traipsed around the solar system and smashed their way to the top of the box office in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. It’s the latest sign that Hollywood and moviegoers have changed their tune on video game adaptations. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (a sequel to 2023’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie) opened on April 8, just in time for the lead-up to Easter weekend. According to studio estimates cited by CNBC, the Illumination and Nintendo co-production earned $130.9 million over the weekend and $190.1 million in its first five days in North American theaters. Tack on an estimated $182.4 million from overseas markets, and the film grossed around $372.5 million worldwide. It was a head-turning initial run that qualifies as the biggest box office debut since Avatar: Fire and Ash opened in 2025, and the second biggest for a movie based on a video game, trailing only The Super Mario Bros. Movie. More broadly, it’s another example in a recent series of financially lucrative video game movies—and it shows that the subgenre might be officially getting a box office redemption arc. An uphill battle for video game adaptations Less than a decade ago, video-game-to-movie adaptations were considered a gamble at best and a surefire road to fan disappointment at worst. Around the late 2010s, plenty of studios had tried their hands at a video game movie, but no one had seemed to quite turn the genre into a winning formula, despite its obvious potential for mining recognizable IP. Several memorable box office flops had soured audiences on the concept, including 1993’s catastrophic live-action Super Mario Bros., the total bomb that was 2005’s Alone in the Dark, and 2016’s lackluster Assassin’s Creed. Other attempts, like 2016’s Warcraft, saw middling success in North American markets but stronger showings overseas. Box office hits like 2001’s Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and 2016’s The Angry Birds Movie were rare successes in a sea of underperforming brethren. One 2017 article in the Guardian addressed the elephant in the room head-on: “Movie adaptations of video games are still mostly terrible,” its headline read. “Why has no one cracked the code?” For every Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and The Angry Birds Movie there were an equal number of big flops, the story argued. “Studios clearly feel that the international box office returns are enough to justify the investment [but] they are all hoping to be the lucky winner to crack the code and become the next superhero-like genre to break out and generate billions of dollars,” Paul Dergarabedian, a senior media analyst at Comscore, explained in the piece. “[It] just hasn’t happened, yet.” In recent years, that long-awaited breakout moment appears to have arrived. The great video game movie Renaissance Looking back, the first sign was 2019’s Pokémon Detective Pikachu. The film, starring a live-action Ryan Reynolds alongside an animated Pikachu, grossed about $433 million worldwide during its run in theaters, earning the spot as the largest video game movie debut of all time up until that point. For both studios and theaters, the movie served as proof that it was possible to successfully adapt beloved video game IP into something that both kids and parents would be interested in watching. Since then, it seems, the floodgates have officially opened. Sonic the Hedgehog has gotten three movie adaptations from 2020 to 2023, each of which was a major financial success. In 2023, The Super Mario Bros. Movie made more than $375 million around the world during its opening weekend and netted a whopping $1.36 billion after its full run. Most recently, in 2025, A Minecraft Movie not only scored nearly $1 billion worldwide, but also captured the cultural zeitgeist through a series of meme-able moments that turned every screening into a new marketing opportunity. Now, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie seems poised to be the next video-game-to-movie success story. Already, its broken box office records in 2026 and helped AMC to notch one of its most lucrative weekends of all time. “It’s exactly the kind of broad, crowd-pleasing release that brings people into theatres,” Adam Aron, AMC’s CEO, said of the film in a statement to ABC News. In 2017, Dergarabedian predicted that the video game film genre would need a “consistent string of hits” to justify it as a true blockbuster genre. And in 2026, that threshold is finally within reach. That’s not to say that all of these films will be critically acclaimed—A Minecraft Movie and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie both have sub-50% ratings on Rotten Tomatoes, for example—but when it comes to butts in seats, video game IP is paying off for Hollywood at last. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Apple announced new products in March, including the new MacBook Air with the M5 chip. This MacBook comes in the 13-inch and 15-inch size, and with other upgrades to the hardware. If you're interested in the new MacBook, Amazon is the place to buy: It's the only major retailer offering both sizes with a $150 discount. The 13-inch MacBook Air is $949.99 ($1,099), and the 15-inch MacBook Air is $,1149.99 (originally $1,299). Built for AI, 13.6-inch Liquid Retina Display, 16GB Unified Memory, 512GB SSD, 12MP Center Stage Camera, Touch ID, Wi-Fi 7 Apple 2026 MacBook Air 13-inch Laptop with M5 chip $949.99 at Amazon $1,099.00 Save $149.01 Get Deal Get Deal $949.99 at Amazon $1,099.00 Save $149.01 Built for AI, 15.3-inch Liquid Retina Display, 16GB Unified Memory, 512GB SSD, 12MP Center Stage Camera, Touch ID, Wi-Fi 7 Apple 2026 MacBook Air 15-inch Laptop with M5 chip $1,149.99 at Amazon $1,299.00 Save $149.01 Get Deal Get Deal $1,149.99 at Amazon $1,299.00 Save $149.01 SEE -1 MORE The M5 MacBook Air is tempting, starting at $949.99, but you shouldn't be swayed if you already own an M4; the rest of the laptop is virtually the same. Of course, the basic starting model doubles the storage to 512GB, which is nice and only $100 more than the listing price when the M4 was released. But considering the $150 discount, this is a great option for someone upgrading from the M2, M1, or getting their first MacBook. The M5 chip is powerful and makes the performance much smoother, according to Mashable's review. The aluminum design is as good as you'd expect from Apple's most popular portable laptop, keeping it lightweight and thin. It comes with a Liquid Retina display, Touch ID, a 12MP Center Stage Camera, and Magic Keyboard. The speakers continue to be excellent, despite their small size. The real question here is whether to go for the older M4 MacBook Air or pay for the newer M5 chip. Both are incredible laptops and likely have more power than you'll realistically need, so if you're getting money from your emergency fund to pay for the MacBook, go with the M4, but if money isn't an issue, the M5 will outlive the M4 for a few years, and the hardware upgrades are always welcome. Considering the price difference between them isn't that much, the M5 is currently a better deal. Our Best Editor-Vetted Tech Deals Right Now Apple AirPods Pro 3 Noise Cancelling Heart Rate Wireless Earbuds — $224.00 (List Price $249.00) Apple iPad 11" 128GB A16 WiFi Tablet (Blue, 2025) — $299.99 (List Price $349.00) Samsung Galaxy Tab A11+ 128GB Wi-Fi 11" Tablet (Gray) — $209.99 (List Price $249.99) Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 42mm, S/M Black Sport Band) — $329.00 (List Price $399.00) Sony WH-1000XM5 — $248.00 (List Price $399.99) Deals are selected by our commerce team View the full article

On July 16th, 1945, when the world’s first nuclear explosion shook the plains of New Mexico, J. Robert Oppenheimer, who led the project, quoted the Bhagavad Gita, “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.” And indeed, he had. The world was never truly the same after nuclear power became a reality. Today, however, we have lost that reverence for the power of technology. Instead of proceeding deliberately and with caution, we rush ahead. In his Techno-Optimist Manifesto, tech investor Marc Andreessen implied that AI regulation was a form of murder. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth punished Anthropic when it tried to impose limits on its own technology. Clearly, we’ve been here before and shown that we can meet the challenge. We contained the nuclear threat and put useful limits on the use of genomics, while still allowing the technology to develop. Yet when we’ve failed to heed warnings, as we did with financial engineering, we’ve paid a heavy price. That choice between recklessness and prudence, is what we have before us now. How We Put The Nuclear Genie Back In The Bottle The story of nuclear weapons didn’t start with Oppenheimer, not by a long shot. In fact, if we were going to attribute the Manhattan Project to a single person, it would probably be a Hungarian immigrant physicist named Leo Szilard, who was one of the first to conceive of the possibility of a nuclear chain reaction. In 1939, upon hearing of the discovery of nuclear fission in Germany he, along with fellow Hungarian émigré Eugene Wigner, decided that the authorities needed to be warned. Szilard then composed a letter warning of the possibility of a nuclear bomb. The letter was eventually signed by Albert Einstein and sent to President Roosevelt. That’s what led to the Manhattan Project that developed the nuclear bomb. Yet after the explosions at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, many of the scientists who worked to develop the bomb wanted to educate the public of its dangers. In 1955, the philosopher Bertrand Russell issued a manifesto signed by a number of scientific luminaries. This led to a series of conferences at Pugwash, Nova Scotia were convened to discuss different approaches to protect the world from weapons of mass destruction. These efforts involved far more than talk. They helped to shape the non-proliferation agenda and led to concrete achievements such as the Partial Test Ban Treaty. In fact, these contributions were so crucially important that the organizers of the Pugwash conferences were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1995, and they continue even today. Putting Limits On What We Do With The Code Of Life While the nuclear age started with a bang, the genetic age began with a simple article in the scientific journal Nature, written by two relatively unknown scientists named James Watson and Francis Crick. To the untrained eye, it seemed like a run-of-the-mill paper about the structure of an obscure molecule. Yet the final sentence belied an earthshaking insight. “It has not escaped our notice that the specific pairing we have postulated immediately suggests a possible copying mechanism for the genetic material.” It was one of those rare watershed moments when an entirely new branch of science arose from a single event. The field progressed quickly and, roughly 20 years later, a brilliant researcher named Paul Berg discovered that you could merge human DNA with that from other living things, creating new genetic material that didn’t exist in nature. Much like Oppenheimer, Berg understood that, due to his work, humanity stood on a precipice and it wasn’t quite clear where the edge was. He organized a conference at Asilomar State Beach in California to establish guidelines. Importantly, participation wasn’t limited to scientists. A wide swath of stakeholders were invited, including public officials, members of the media, and ethical specialists. The result, now known as the Berg Letter, called for a moratorium on the riskiest experiments until the dangers were better understood. These norms were respected for decades. Today, we’re undergoing another revolution in genomics and synthetic biology. New technologies, such as CRISPR and mRNA techniques, have opened up incredible possibilities, but also serious dangers. Yet here again, pioneers in the field like Jennifer Doudna are taking the lead in devising sensible guardrails and using the technology responsibly. Carol’s Journey In 2019, a Facebook researcher set up a fictitious account for “Carol Smith,” a politically conservative mother from Wilmington, North Carolina. Carol then liked a few mainstream, but conservative-leaning pages. Within days, Facebook’s algorithm sent her down a rabbit hole of QAnon conspiracies and white supremacist content. According to whistleblower complaints, top Facebook executives, including Mark Zuckerberg, were notified that their platform was radicalizing its users, but chose profits and growth over safety. This was not an isolated incident, but part of an established pattern of how Facebook does business. In 2016, Nobel Laureate Maria Ressa warned company leaders that Facebook was being exploited by bot networks to influence elections. The Wall Street Journal published a series of reports showing that the company knew that its product was harming its users, especially teenage girls, but took no action to mitigate the damage. More recently, a court of law confirmed the accusations and found the firm liable for damages. The contrast between Silicon Valley and other technological breakthroughs is startling. It was, after all, the nuclear scientists who alerted us to the dangers of nuclear energy, just as it was the biologists who raised the alarm about recombinant DNA. We’ve proved time and time again that technology can be contained and its dangers mitigated. Yet with massive profits at stake, Silicon Valley executives have shown that they are unwilling to do the same. It’s The Institutions, Stupid In 1945, Vannevar Bush published a long essay in The Atlantic entitled As We May Think, which envisioned a “memex,” a machine that sounded strikingly like the internet of today. He wrote: “Consider a future device … in which an individual stores all his books, records, and communications, and which is mechanized so that it may be consulted with exceeding speed and flexibility. It is an enlarged intimate supplement to his memory.” Yet in envisioning the future he saw both possibility and peril. He predicted much of what we use the Internet for today, including doctors being able to track down symptoms of obscure cases and lawyers being able to quickly retrieve relevant case law. Yet he also foresaw much of what we struggle with, such as information overload and the use of technology for war. Bush was, at the time, a figure something akin to Elon Musk, but if anything more prominent. An engineer of the highest order, he invented a proto-computer at MIT. He also co-founded the company Raytheon, oversaw the U.S. government scientific programs during World War II, including the development of the atomic bomb, radar, and penicillin. Yet probably more than anything else, he was a master at designing institutions. When the war was winding down, President Roosevelt asked him to deliver a report about how to continue America’s scientific prowess. That report, Science, The Endless Frontier, delivered to President Truman in 1945, laid out the basic architecture of programs, such as the National Science Foundation, that would transform the US into a technological superpower. To paraphrase James Carville, it’s the institutions, stupid. If we are going to seize the promise of AI and other cutting-edge areas such as quantum computing and synthetic biology, while minimizing the peril, we need structures to organize our collective will for the common good, or we will end up subjugating our will to the technologies we fail to govern. The choices made by those who came before shaped the world we live in today. The choices we make now will shape the world we leave behind. View the full article

A reader writes: I’d like advice for keeping your sanity when acting as someone’s PTO back-up. I had a former coworker who I was paired with for many of our responsibilities. When she took time off, she would set her Teams message to “do not disturb” for two days prior to going on PTO and two days after returning. This would add an extra four days to the time I had to cover for her because no one could get ahold of her and I was the default. However, when I took time off and she received a request for me, she would just tell them, “You will have to wait until Jane is back.” Nothing happened when I tried to talk my manager about it. A current coworker just puts my name down in his out of office message and doesn’t bother to give me a heads-up. I asked for that to stop and it hasn’t happened since. The last two weeks or so, I covered for another coworker who was out of the country for two weeks. He is a totally lovely person, and I was happy to do it for him. He did leave some big issues unresolved, which I had to push through while he was gone. Here is my issue with this: he is a director and has oversight for X, I am a manager and have oversight for Y, so I don’t know the ins and outs of X. The only thing in common is that the same vendor provides X and Y. Every single person who reached out while he was out expected the same level of knowledge, decision-making, and follow-up from me that he is able to provide. I did what I could, but it took so much time that my own work took a back seat. He is now back, but I am still dealing with follow-ups and fallout. My prior management always had expectations around what you could leave unfinished or having an “out of office” plan and limiting it to “urgent” issues only. My current manager does not. How do you set appropriate boundaries around being someone’s PTO coverage when management does not? Both with the person you are covering for and managing the expectations of those reaching out? I wrote back and asked, “When you say nothing happened when you tried to talk to your manager about the first coworker, what exactly did you say and what was her response?” When I talked to my manager, I explained what my coworker was doing and how it extended the PTO coverage beyond the actual days she was out of the office. I also explained that she didn’t reciprocate when I was out. My manager just said, “Oh, really?” I’m not sure if she said anything to the coworker, but nothing ever changed until I left for another position within the company. The coworker was somewhat of the “golden one” with management, so I am sure this just ended up that they didn’t want to rock the boat with her. Did you directly ask your manager for what you wanted — as in, “I’m going to let Jane know that I can cover for her on the days that she’s gone but not for the two days before she leaves and the two days after she’s back — okay with you?” Also, ideally before you went on your next vacation, you’d say to your boss, “Can you ensure Jane will cover for me while I’m gone? In the past she hasn’t, but my understanding is that we’re supposed to cover for each other.” If your manager gave you another vague response like “Oh, really?” you could say, “Yes. I haven’t been able to resolve it on my own, so could you talk to her about how coverage should be handled?” And if your manager’s stance was that Jane wasn’t doing anything wrong, then you might as well see how much room there was to do the same thing on your end — or at least the part about telling people they’d need to wait for Jane to return if they needed something particularly onerous. (This assumes you and Jane were in relatively comparable roles; it wouldn’t work if her work was more urgent to have covered than yours was.) With the coworker you covered for where people expected you to have the same level of knowledge as he did: when you’re covering for someone, it’s generally fine to say, when needed, “I don’t have all the context (or authority) on this that Maxwell does so he’ll need to handle it when he’s back” or, if it can’t wait, to escalate it to someone above you for help. It’s also okay to say, “I’m just covering for Maxwell while he’s out, so I can do X to keep this moving but Y will need to wait until he’s back.” If that isn’t enough for what the situation requires, you should loop in your boss to figure out how to proceed. It might be that much of your work really does need to take a back seat while you were covering for this colleague, but that should be a conversation you’re having with your boss if so. That would also mean that the next time Maxwell asks you to cover for him, you should explicitly cite what happened last time and ask for his help in keeping your coverage to essential items only. He might have no idea that happened, and before he leaves he might need to better set expectations with the people who are likely to contact him. In general, though, you’re right that it’s normal for workplaces to have expectations around what you can leave unfinished when you’re away and often to limit coverage to urgent issues only. If your manager expects that covering for an absent coworker means “you do 100% of their job, just like they would do it when they’re here,” that’s pretty ridiculous — it would mean that someone else would need to cover for you while you were covering for your coworker! But there’s a decent chance that you can manage this by being assertive with your coworker before they go on vacation about what you can and can’t handle and explicitly asking them to set the correct expectations with their contacts before they leave. If that doesn’t work, then the conversation to have with your boss is, “If I need to take over 100% of Jane’s work while she’s gone, then we’d need someone covering for me during that time! Assuming that’s not practical, and since I can’t fully cover both jobs at once, my plan is to prioritize XYZ and leave things like ABC until she’s back.” The post am I supposed to cover 100% of a coworker’s job when they’re out? appeared first on Ask a Manager. View the full article

Human-written content dominates Google’s top rankings, appearing in the No. 1 position 80% of the time versus just 9% for purely AI-generated pages, based on a Semrush analysis of 42,000 blog posts. The details. Semrush analyzed 20,000 keywords and their top 10 results, classifying content with an AI detector. Human-written pages outperformed AI and mixed content across all top 10 positions. The gap was widest at Position 1, where human content was 8x more likely to rank. AI content appeared more often lower on Page 1, nearly doubling from Positions 1 to 4. Yes, but. AI detection tools are widely known to be inconsistent and can misclassify human and AI-written content, creating some possible “fuzziness” in these classifications. Why we care. AI-generated content works, until it doesn’t. Yes, AI can help you rank, but this data suggests human insight still drives the best performance. For competitive queries, originality, expertise, and editorial judgment remain your unfair advantages. Perception vs. data. 72% of SEOs said AI content performs as well as or better than human content, yet ranking data showed a clear human advantage at the top. How teams use AI. No surprise, AI is widely adopted and often used in a hybrid approach: 87% of teams keep humans heavily involved in content creation. 64% use a human-led, AI-assisted workflow. AI is most common in research, drafting, and optimization. Use drops sharply for multimedia, localization, and higher-judgment tasks. What’s driving adoption. AI accelerates output, but doesn’t reliably improve it. 70% cite faster production as AI’s top benefit. Only 19% say it improves content quality. About the data: The analysis examined 42,000 blog pages from 200,000 URLs tied to 20,000 keywords, using GPTZero to classify content. It also includes a survey of 224 SEO professionals working in content and search. The study. Does AI content rank well in search? [Survey + Data study] View the full article

Bad news, OpenClaw fans: Anthropic wants you to pay more to use its AI models. This wasn't something Anthropic necessarily announced, either; rather, the company started sending emails to affected users, letting them know they could no longer use their Claude Code subscription limits with third-party "harnesses," including—and most notabl—OpenClaw. Anthropic confirmed users could still connect to OpenClaw with their Claude account, but they'd have to pay more money in order to do so—including a "pay-as-you-go" option tacked onto the cost of the subscription. According to Anthropic, this policy change isn't without logic or reason. As highlighted by TechCrunch, Boris Cherny, head of Claude Code, explained on X that the company's subscriptions "weren't built for the usage patterns of these third-party tools," and that Anthropic is prioritizing customers who are using the company's first-party products and API. OpenClaw has had quite a ride. The tool, which was previously called Moltbot, and first called Clawdbot, is designed to be an agentic AI assistant you run locally on your devices. For many, that means running OpenClaw on a Mac mini designed for this one purpose. Unlike ChatGPT or Gemini, which has their own proprietary interfaces, you communicate with OpenClaw through any chat app of your choice. You can text OpenClaw in WhatsApp, Apple Messages, Microsoft Teams, whatever you want, to organize your email inbox, write code for a project, plan out your goals for the month, whatever it is you want your agent to do. But OpenClaw doesn't just...run. You need to power it with an AI model. In this case, users are relying on Anthropic's Claude—and, if they had a Claude Code subscription, they were simply tapping into that plan they already paid for. As you might expect, running agentic tasks through OpenClaw is extremely intensive, which pushed Anthropic to rethink how it was charging users. Interestingly, OpenClaw's founder, Peter Steinberger, joined OpenAI back in February—one of Anthropic's chief rivals. Steinberger said on X that he and OpenClaw board member Dave Morin "tried to talk sense into Anthropic, [but] best we managed was delaying this for a week." View the full article

When selecting the best software solutions for your small business, it’s crucial to take into account factors like pricing, integration capabilities, and functionality. Various tools cater to different needs, from accounting with Xero and QuickBooks to project management with Notion and Asana. As you explore these options, keep in mind the importance of effective communication tools like Slack. Comprehending these aspects can greatly influence your business operations and growth potential. What will suit your needs best? Key Takeaways Evaluate tools based on pricing, seeking options with free plans or trials to test functionality before commitment. Prioritize software that integrates seamlessly with existing systems to streamline workflows and reduce manual errors. Consider versatile all-in-one solutions like Notion for project management, CRM, and collaboration to simplify operations. Research user reviews on platforms like Capterra and G2 to gain insights on pricing and tool effectiveness. Choose tools that enhance communication within teams, such as HubSpot and Slack, to foster collaboration and productivity. How to Choose the Right Small Business Tools When you’re looking to choose the right tools for your small business, it’s essential to start by evaluating several key factors that can impact your decision. First, consider the pricing of various business apps software, ensuring they offer generous free plans or trials. This way, you can assess usability before committing and avoid expensive long-term costs as your business grows. Next, prioritize tools that integrate seamlessly with your existing systems; for example, HubSpot connects well with Slack, enhancing workflow efficiency. Versatility is another important factor; tools like Notion combine project management, CRM, and collaboration, reducing the number of small business apps you need to manage. Moreover, check third-party reviews on platforms like Capterra and G2 to filter out tools with negative feedback. Finally, think about long-term scalability to avoid systems that impose high costs as your business expands, ensuring you maintain operational efficiency. Pricing Pricing plays a vital role in selecting software solutions for small businesses, as it directly impacts your budget and operational efficiency. Start by prioritizing options that offer generous free plans or trials, allowing you to evaluate their usability without upfront costs. It’s important to reflect on long-term pricing structures, since tools with high fees as your business scales can lead to unexpected financial burdens. Look for software with tiered pricing models, which let you choose plans that fit your current size as well as providing the flexibility to upgrade as you grow. For home business computer software, analyze the overall value based on projected growth costs to guarantee alignment with future needs. Moreover, researching user reviews on platforms like Capterra and G2 can help you identify tools with fair pricing and strong value propositions, steering you away from options with mixed or negative feedback regarding costs. Integrations How can effective integrations transform your small business operations? Integrations allow your various software tools to connect seamlessly, improving data flow and reducing manual entry errors. By choosing tools with strong integration capabilities, you can save time and improve workflow without complicated setups. Consider these benefits of effective integrations: Improved Communication: Tools like HubSpot and Slack can boost team collaboration and streamline processes. Simplified Financial Management: Cloud-based accounting software, such as Xero and QuickBooks, offer native integrations with payment processors and project management tools, making finances easier to track. Enhanced Data Analytics: Detailed insights become available by merging data from different business functions, leading to better reporting and decision-making. Incorporating these integrations means working smarter, not harder, allowing you to focus on what truly matters—growing your business. Versatility Effective integrations set the stage for another important aspect of software solutions: versatility. Choosing versatile software like Notion or Slack allows you to consolidate multiple functions—project management, collaboration, and customer relationship management (CRM)—into one platform. This consolidation not only reduces costs but also minimizes the learning curve for employees, enhancing operational efficiency. Here’s a quick look at some versatile tools and their capabilities: Tool Functions Benefits Notion Project management, CRM Consolidation of tasks Slack Communication, alerts, client collaboration Streamlined communication HubSpot Marketing, sales, customer service Integrated data flow across teams Best Accounting Tools In relation to managing finances, selecting the right accounting tools is crucial for small businesses aiming to streamline their operations and maintain accurate records. Several software options cater to various needs, making it easier for you to find the right fit. Xero: Offers seamless integration, strong invoicing, expense tracking, and reporting capabilities, making it user-friendly. QuickBooks: A thorough solution ideal for industries needing detailed financial reporting with an intuitive dashboard for invoicing, expense tracking, and payroll management. MYOB: Features a user-friendly interface with built-in compliance support, allowing efficient management of invoicing, payroll, expense tracking, and inventory. Additionally, for those with simpler financial needs, Wave Accounting provides a free option for basic tasks like invoicing and expense tracking. As the market for small business accounting software grows, investing in the right tool can greatly improve your financial management efficiency. Best HR and Payroll Tools In regard to managing human resources and payroll, small businesses often find themselves overwhelmed by the intricacies of employee management. Payfit stands out as a leading HR and payroll tool that simplifies tracking employee salaries, benefits, and performance reviews with its user-friendly interface. It streamlines payroll processing and leave management, making it crucial for small businesses aiming to improve their HR operations. By automating these processes, Payfit considerably reduces administrative burdens, allowing you to focus more on growth and employee engagement. Moreover, Payfit offers responsive customer support to assist you with any inquiries, ensuring smooth HR management. Nonetheless, it’s important to mention that the tool has limited customizable reporting options, which some users view as a drawback. Best Working Capital Tools Managing human resources and payroll is just one piece of the puzzle for small businesses; ensuring adequate working capital is equally vital for maintaining operational efficiency and promoting growth. Tools like Defacto provide fast, flexible financing tailored for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). With an average approval time of just 27 seconds, you can quickly access funds. These solutions let you choose particular receivables or payables to finance, streamlining your financial management without the hassle of paperwork. An open credit line allows you to borrow as needed, helping you manage cash flow effectively. Seamless integration with existing bank and accounting systems simplifies your financial processes. Improved liquidity and operational flexibility can greatly support your business’s growth in competitive markets. Utilizing the right working capital tools can make a considerable difference in your operational success. Best Expense Management Tools When managing expenses, having the right tools can make a significant difference for your business. With options like Spendesk, you can utilize both virtual and physical cards, which provide real-time visibility into your company’s spending. Nonetheless, be prepared for some challenges in setup, as the platform’s complexity might require time for you and your team to adjust effectively. Virtual and Physical Cards Virtual and physical cards have become essential tools for small businesses aiming to streamline their expense management processes. Spendesk offers these cards particularly designed for employee spending, which helps manage corporate expenses efficiently and transparently. As the platform provides robust features, it may come with a learning curve and higher pricing, especially for cost-conscious small businesses. Real-time notifications keep you updated on spending. It simplifies reimbursements, ensuring all expenditures are accounted for. The setup may require initial training because of its complex workflows. Real-Time Expense Visibility Having real-time visibility into expenses is crucial for small businesses looking to maintain financial health and make informed decisions. Tools like Spendesk enable you to track corporate expenses effectively, offering both virtual and physical cards for employee spending. With instant notifications for transactions, you’ll always be aware of spending patterns. This platform provides thorough management of expenses and reimbursements, ensuring clarity in your financial activities. Nonetheless, it’s important to review Spendesk’s relatively high pricing, which may strain your budget. Users often experience a learning curve because of its complex setups. Feature Spendesk Card Options Virtual & Physical Notifications Instant Alerts Expense Management Thorough Pricing Higher for Small Biz Learning Curve Moderate Complex Setup Challenges Though many small businesses seek effective expense management tools, they often encounter significant challenges arising from complex setup processes. Tools like Spendesk offer extensive features, but their steep pricing and intricate workflows can create an intimidating learning curve. You might find that the complexity of integrating these tools with your existing accounting systems complicates real-time visibility into spending. Consider these common challenges: High Costs: Advanced expense management tools can be expensive, especially as your business grows and needs more features. Time-Consuming Training: Effective utilization often requires significant training investment. Administrative Burdens: The goal should be to minimize these burdens yet ensuring seamless integration for accurate financial tracking. Approach expense management tools with caution to avoid these pitfalls. Best Project Management Tools As businesses increasingly rely on effective project management tools to streamline operations, selecting the right software becomes crucial for enhancing team collaboration and productivity. Tools like Asana and Trello offer visual interfaces that help you organize tasks and track project progress, making them perfect for managing client work. Notion serves as an all-in-one solution, enabling you to monitor tasks, deadlines, and documentation in one place, improving communication and visibility. Integrated project management systems often feature time tracking and invoicing, which can greatly reduce administrative burdens. This is particularly important for small businesses juggling multiple projects. With the global project management software market projected to reach $6.68 billion by 2025, it’s clear these tools are becoming critical for successful project execution. Utilizing effective project management software can lead to a 20% increase in productivity, enhancing task organization and encouraging collaboration among your team members. Best Communication Tools Effective communication tools are fundamental for small businesses looking to improve collaboration and streamline interactions among team members. These tools not merely improve communication but likewise support real-time feedback and updates, which are critical for keeping projects on track. With the rise of remote work, having effective communication channels becomes imperative in maintaining engagement among distributed teams. Consider the following benefits of using communication tools: Seamless Interaction: Facilitate discussions through email, instant messaging, and video calls, allowing everyone to stay connected regardless of location. Integration Capabilities: Many platforms easily integrate with other business tools, streamlining workflows and reducing time spent switching between applications. Improved Team Relationships: Cultivate a connected work environment that boosts productivity and job satisfaction, creating stronger bonds among team members. Best All-in-One Tools With communication tools laying the groundwork for improved collaboration, small businesses can further boost their operations by utilizing all-in-one tools. Notion stands out as the best all-in-one tool for small businesses, offering a lightweight CRM, project management, and collaboration features, all within a generous free plan. You can customize workflows to meet your specific business needs, effectively managing deadlines, tasks, and data in one platform. Notion’s strong community support provides access to shared templates, tutorials, and helpful tips, enhancing your experience in spite of its learning curve. By integrating multiple functions into a single platform, Notion minimizes the number of tools you need, saving time and reducing costs associated with managing various systems. Moreover, it supports effective team collaboration through task tracking, notes, documentation, and communication features, making it ideal for various project management methodologies. This versatile tool can greatly streamline your business operations. Frequently Asked Questions What Is the Best Software to Manage a Small Business? To manage a small business effectively, you should consider software that addresses key operational areas. Thorough accounting tools, like QuickBooks and Xero, automate invoicing and track expenses, providing real-time financial insights. Furthermore, integrated platforms such as Zoho One streamline various functions, enhancing collaboration. For project management, tools like Asana and Trello help you prioritize tasks and improve team productivity. Cloud-based solutions as well provide scalability and mobile access, crucial for modern business needs. What Is the Best Operating System for a Small Business? The best operating system for your small business depends on your specific needs and workflow. Windows 10/11 is popular for its user-friendly interface and compatibility with crucial business applications. If you’re in creative fields, macOS offers strong multimedia capabilities. For a cost-effective, customizable option, consider Linux. If your business emphasizes remote work, cloud-based systems like Chrome OS are ideal for collaboration. Which CRM Is Best for Small Business? When considering which CRM is best for your small business, you’ll find several solid options. HubSpot CRM offers a forever free plan with fundamental features like contact management and email tracking. Salesforce Essentials provides a 14-day free trial and scalability as your business grows. Zoho CRM stands out with competitive pricing and customization, as Pipedrive focuses on user-friendly sales processes. Freshsales integrates communication tools, enhancing team efficiency. Evaluate these based on your specific needs and budget. What Software Do Businesses Use the Most? Businesses most commonly use a variety of software customized to their needs. Cloud-native solutions are preferred for their scalability, whereas accounting software, like QuickBooks and Xero, helps manage finances. Project management tools such as Asana and Trello improve collaboration and organization. Customer relationship management software, including HubSpot, aligns marketing and sales efforts. Furthermore, time tracking software is essential for accurate billing and resource management, reflecting the growing demand for efficiency in operations. Conclusion To conclude, selecting the right software solutions for your small business is essential for efficiency and growth. By considering factors such as pricing, integration capabilities, and functionality, you can find tools that align with your needs. Whether you’re looking for accounting, project management, or communication platforms, the right choices will improve your operations. Remember to take advantage of free trials or plans to guarantee the software meets your requirements before making a financial commitment. Image via Google Gemini and ArtSmart This article, "Best Software Solutions for Small Businesses" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

When selecting the best software solutions for your small business, it’s crucial to take into account factors like pricing, integration capabilities, and functionality. Various tools cater to different needs, from accounting with Xero and QuickBooks to project management with Notion and Asana. As you explore these options, keep in mind the importance of effective communication tools like Slack. Comprehending these aspects can greatly influence your business operations and growth potential. What will suit your needs best? Key Takeaways Evaluate tools based on pricing, seeking options with free plans or trials to test functionality before commitment. Prioritize software that integrates seamlessly with existing systems to streamline workflows and reduce manual errors. Consider versatile all-in-one solutions like Notion for project management, CRM, and collaboration to simplify operations. Research user reviews on platforms like Capterra and G2 to gain insights on pricing and tool effectiveness. Choose tools that enhance communication within teams, such as HubSpot and Slack, to foster collaboration and productivity. How to Choose the Right Small Business Tools When you’re looking to choose the right tools for your small business, it’s essential to start by evaluating several key factors that can impact your decision. First, consider the pricing of various business apps software, ensuring they offer generous free plans or trials. This way, you can assess usability before committing and avoid expensive long-term costs as your business grows. Next, prioritize tools that integrate seamlessly with your existing systems; for example, HubSpot connects well with Slack, enhancing workflow efficiency. Versatility is another important factor; tools like Notion combine project management, CRM, and collaboration, reducing the number of small business apps you need to manage. Moreover, check third-party reviews on platforms like Capterra and G2 to filter out tools with negative feedback. Finally, think about long-term scalability to avoid systems that impose high costs as your business expands, ensuring you maintain operational efficiency. Pricing Pricing plays a vital role in selecting software solutions for small businesses, as it directly impacts your budget and operational efficiency. Start by prioritizing options that offer generous free plans or trials, allowing you to evaluate their usability without upfront costs. It’s important to reflect on long-term pricing structures, since tools with high fees as your business scales can lead to unexpected financial burdens. Look for software with tiered pricing models, which let you choose plans that fit your current size as well as providing the flexibility to upgrade as you grow. For home business computer software, analyze the overall value based on projected growth costs to guarantee alignment with future needs. Moreover, researching user reviews on platforms like Capterra and G2 can help you identify tools with fair pricing and strong value propositions, steering you away from options with mixed or negative feedback regarding costs. Integrations How can effective integrations transform your small business operations? Integrations allow your various software tools to connect seamlessly, improving data flow and reducing manual entry errors. By choosing tools with strong integration capabilities, you can save time and improve workflow without complicated setups. Consider these benefits of effective integrations: Improved Communication: Tools like HubSpot and Slack can boost team collaboration and streamline processes. Simplified Financial Management: Cloud-based accounting software, such as Xero and QuickBooks, offer native integrations with payment processors and project management tools, making finances easier to track. Enhanced Data Analytics: Detailed insights become available by merging data from different business functions, leading to better reporting and decision-making. Incorporating these integrations means working smarter, not harder, allowing you to focus on what truly matters—growing your business. Versatility Effective integrations set the stage for another important aspect of software solutions: versatility. Choosing versatile software like Notion or Slack allows you to consolidate multiple functions—project management, collaboration, and customer relationship management (CRM)—into one platform. This consolidation not only reduces costs but also minimizes the learning curve for employees, enhancing operational efficiency. Here’s a quick look at some versatile tools and their capabilities: Tool Functions Benefits Notion Project management, CRM Consolidation of tasks Slack Communication, alerts, client collaboration Streamlined communication HubSpot Marketing, sales, customer service Integrated data flow across teams Best Accounting Tools In relation to managing finances, selecting the right accounting tools is crucial for small businesses aiming to streamline their operations and maintain accurate records. Several software options cater to various needs, making it easier for you to find the right fit. Xero: Offers seamless integration, strong invoicing, expense tracking, and reporting capabilities, making it user-friendly. QuickBooks: A thorough solution ideal for industries needing detailed financial reporting with an intuitive dashboard for invoicing, expense tracking, and payroll management. MYOB: Features a user-friendly interface with built-in compliance support, allowing efficient management of invoicing, payroll, expense tracking, and inventory. Additionally, for those with simpler financial needs, Wave Accounting provides a free option for basic tasks like invoicing and expense tracking. As the market for small business accounting software grows, investing in the right tool can greatly improve your financial management efficiency. Best HR and Payroll Tools In regard to managing human resources and payroll, small businesses often find themselves overwhelmed by the intricacies of employee management. Payfit stands out as a leading HR and payroll tool that simplifies tracking employee salaries, benefits, and performance reviews with its user-friendly interface. It streamlines payroll processing and leave management, making it crucial for small businesses aiming to improve their HR operations. By automating these processes, Payfit considerably reduces administrative burdens, allowing you to focus more on growth and employee engagement. Moreover, Payfit offers responsive customer support to assist you with any inquiries, ensuring smooth HR management. Nonetheless, it’s important to mention that the tool has limited customizable reporting options, which some users view as a drawback. Best Working Capital Tools Managing human resources and payroll is just one piece of the puzzle for small businesses; ensuring adequate working capital is equally vital for maintaining operational efficiency and promoting growth. Tools like Defacto provide fast, flexible financing tailored for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). With an average approval time of just 27 seconds, you can quickly access funds. These solutions let you choose particular receivables or payables to finance, streamlining your financial management without the hassle of paperwork. An open credit line allows you to borrow as needed, helping you manage cash flow effectively. Seamless integration with existing bank and accounting systems simplifies your financial processes. Improved liquidity and operational flexibility can greatly support your business’s growth in competitive markets. Utilizing the right working capital tools can make a considerable difference in your operational success. Best Expense Management Tools When managing expenses, having the right tools can make a significant difference for your business. With options like Spendesk, you can utilize both virtual and physical cards, which provide real-time visibility into your company’s spending. Nonetheless, be prepared for some challenges in setup, as the platform’s complexity might require time for you and your team to adjust effectively. Virtual and Physical Cards Virtual and physical cards have become essential tools for small businesses aiming to streamline their expense management processes. Spendesk offers these cards particularly designed for employee spending, which helps manage corporate expenses efficiently and transparently. As the platform provides robust features, it may come with a learning curve and higher pricing, especially for cost-conscious small businesses. Real-time notifications keep you updated on spending. It simplifies reimbursements, ensuring all expenditures are accounted for. The setup may require initial training because of its complex workflows. Real-Time Expense Visibility Having real-time visibility into expenses is crucial for small businesses looking to maintain financial health and make informed decisions. Tools like Spendesk enable you to track corporate expenses effectively, offering both virtual and physical cards for employee spending. With instant notifications for transactions, you’ll always be aware of spending patterns. This platform provides thorough management of expenses and reimbursements, ensuring clarity in your financial activities. Nonetheless, it’s important to review Spendesk’s relatively high pricing, which may strain your budget. Users often experience a learning curve because of its complex setups. Feature Spendesk Card Options Virtual & Physical Notifications Instant Alerts Expense Management Thorough Pricing Higher for Small Biz Learning Curve Moderate Complex Setup Challenges Though many small businesses seek effective expense management tools, they often encounter significant challenges arising from complex setup processes. Tools like Spendesk offer extensive features, but their steep pricing and intricate workflows can create an intimidating learning curve. You might find that the complexity of integrating these tools with your existing accounting systems complicates real-time visibility into spending. Consider these common challenges: High Costs: Advanced expense management tools can be expensive, especially as your business grows and needs more features. Time-Consuming Training: Effective utilization often requires significant training investment. Administrative Burdens: The goal should be to minimize these burdens yet ensuring seamless integration for accurate financial tracking. Approach expense management tools with caution to avoid these pitfalls. Best Project Management Tools As businesses increasingly rely on effective project management tools to streamline operations, selecting the right software becomes crucial for enhancing team collaboration and productivity. Tools like Asana and Trello offer visual interfaces that help you organize tasks and track project progress, making them perfect for managing client work. Notion serves as an all-in-one solution, enabling you to monitor tasks, deadlines, and documentation in one place, improving communication and visibility. Integrated project management systems often feature time tracking and invoicing, which can greatly reduce administrative burdens. This is particularly important for small businesses juggling multiple projects. With the global project management software market projected to reach $6.68 billion by 2025, it’s clear these tools are becoming critical for successful project execution. Utilizing effective project management software can lead to a 20% increase in productivity, enhancing task organization and encouraging collaboration among your team members. Best Communication Tools Effective communication tools are fundamental for small businesses looking to improve collaboration and streamline interactions among team members. These tools not merely improve communication but likewise support real-time feedback and updates, which are critical for keeping projects on track. With the rise of remote work, having effective communication channels becomes imperative in maintaining engagement among distributed teams. Consider the following benefits of using communication tools: Seamless Interaction: Facilitate discussions through email, instant messaging, and video calls, allowing everyone to stay connected regardless of location. Integration Capabilities: Many platforms easily integrate with other business tools, streamlining workflows and reducing time spent switching between applications. Improved Team Relationships: Cultivate a connected work environment that boosts productivity and job satisfaction, creating stronger bonds among team members. Best All-in-One Tools With communication tools laying the groundwork for improved collaboration, small businesses can further boost their operations by utilizing all-in-one tools. Notion stands out as the best all-in-one tool for small businesses, offering a lightweight CRM, project management, and collaboration features, all within a generous free plan. You can customize workflows to meet your specific business needs, effectively managing deadlines, tasks, and data in one platform. Notion’s strong community support provides access to shared templates, tutorials, and helpful tips, enhancing your experience in spite of its learning curve. By integrating multiple functions into a single platform, Notion minimizes the number of tools you need, saving time and reducing costs associated with managing various systems. Moreover, it supports effective team collaboration through task tracking, notes, documentation, and communication features, making it ideal for various project management methodologies. This versatile tool can greatly streamline your business operations. Frequently Asked Questions What Is the Best Software to Manage a Small Business? To manage a small business effectively, you should consider software that addresses key operational areas. Thorough accounting tools, like QuickBooks and Xero, automate invoicing and track expenses, providing real-time financial insights. Furthermore, integrated platforms such as Zoho One streamline various functions, enhancing collaboration. For project management, tools like Asana and Trello help you prioritize tasks and improve team productivity. Cloud-based solutions as well provide scalability and mobile access, crucial for modern business needs. What Is the Best Operating System for a Small Business? The best operating system for your small business depends on your specific needs and workflow. Windows 10/11 is popular for its user-friendly interface and compatibility with crucial business applications. If you’re in creative fields, macOS offers strong multimedia capabilities. For a cost-effective, customizable option, consider Linux. If your business emphasizes remote work, cloud-based systems like Chrome OS are ideal for collaboration. Which CRM Is Best for Small Business? When considering which CRM is best for your small business, you’ll find several solid options. HubSpot CRM offers a forever free plan with fundamental features like contact management and email tracking. Salesforce Essentials provides a 14-day free trial and scalability as your business grows. Zoho CRM stands out with competitive pricing and customization, as Pipedrive focuses on user-friendly sales processes. Freshsales integrates communication tools, enhancing team efficiency. Evaluate these based on your specific needs and budget. What Software Do Businesses Use the Most? Businesses most commonly use a variety of software customized to their needs. Cloud-native solutions are preferred for their scalability, whereas accounting software, like QuickBooks and Xero, helps manage finances. Project management tools such as Asana and Trello improve collaboration and organization. Customer relationship management software, including HubSpot, aligns marketing and sales efforts. Furthermore, time tracking software is essential for accurate billing and resource management, reflecting the growing demand for efficiency in operations. Conclusion To conclude, selecting the right software solutions for your small business is essential for efficiency and growth. By considering factors such as pricing, integration capabilities, and functionality, you can find tools that align with your needs. Whether you’re looking for accounting, project management, or communication platforms, the right choices will improve your operations. Remember to take advantage of free trials or plans to guarantee the software meets your requirements before making a financial commitment. Image via Google Gemini and ArtSmart This article, "Best Software Solutions for Small Businesses" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Iran on Monday rejected a 45-day ceasefire proposal and said it wants a permanent end to the war, even as Israel attacked a major gas field and U.S. President Donald The President’s ultimatum to open the Strait of Hormuz loomed. “We only accept an end of the war with guarantees that we won’t be attacked again,” Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour, head of Iran’s diplomatic mission in Cairo, told The Associated Press. He said Iran no longer trusts the The President administration after the U.S. bombed the Islamic Republic twice during previous rounds of talks. Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency said Tehran conveyed its response through Pakistan, a key mediator. And yet a regional official involved in talks said efforts had not collapsed. “We are still talking to both sides,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss closed-door diplomacy. Ferdousi Pour said Iranian and Omani officials were working on a mechanism for administrating the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s oil is shipped in peacetime. Iran’s grip on it has shaken the world economy. Tehran has refused to let U.S. and Israeli vessels through after they started the war on Feb. 28. Israel strikes massive gas field, and The President sets deadline Iran’s rejection came after Israel struck a key petrochemical plant in the South Pars natural gas field and killed two paramilitary Revolutionary Guard commanders. The gas field attack aimed at eliminating a major source of revenue for Iran, Israel said. The field, the world’s largest, is shared with Qatar. It is critical to electricity production, but the strike appeared to be separate from The President’s threats. An earlier Israeli attack on the field in March prompted Iran to target energy infrastructure in other Middle East countries, a major escalation. The President has warned Iran that the U.S. could set the country “back to the stone ages.” Word of Iran’s rejection of the ceasefire proposal came while The President addressed an Easter event on the White House lawn, and it was not clear whether he was aware. But he also was scheduled to hold a news conference later Monday. “If they don’t cry uncle, no bridges, no power plants, no anything,” The President said of Iran. “But they will.” He also threatened to go further. “If I had my choice, what would I like to do? Take the oil,” he said, suggesting it could be done easily, but “unfortunately the American people would like to see us come home.” Asked if Tuesday at 8 p.m. Washington time was his final deadline for Iran, The President replied simply, “Yeah.” Proposal had called for a 45-day ceasefire Egyptian, Pakistani, and Turkish mediators had sent Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff a proposal calling for a 45-day ceasefire and the strait’s reopening, two Mideast officials told the AP. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private negotiations. Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei earlier told journalists that “negotiations are entirely incompatible with ultimatums, crimes and threats of war crimes.” Former Iranian foreign minister Ali Akbar Velayatir urged Arab countries to discourage The President from striking power plants, warning the entire region would go “dark” if that happens. Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose to $109 in early Monday spot trading, about 50% higher than when the war started, then wavered. U.S. stocks mostly held steady. Israel threatens to ‘hunt’ Iranian officials Explosions boomed in Tehran, and low-flying jets could be heard for hours. The head of intelligence for Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, Maj. Gen. Majid Khademi, was killed, according to Iranian state media and Israel’s defense minister. Israel said it also killed the leader of the Revolutionary Guard’s undercover unit in its expeditionary Quds Force, Asghar Bakeri. “We will continue to hunt them down one by one,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said of top officials. Israel’s military later said it struck three Tehran airports overnight — Bahram, Mehrabad and Azmayesh — hitting dozens of helicopters and aircraft it said belonged to the Iranian Air Force. A Tehran resident said “constantly there is the sound of bombs, air defenses, drones,” speaking on condition of anonymity for her safety. Another resident said he takes sleeping pills to get through nightly bombardments, and said people worry about power, gas and water cuts. “Stop this war,” he said. Separately, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia activated air defenses to intercept Iranian missiles and drones. Tehran has kept up pressure on Gulf neighbors, including strikes against infrastructure like oil fields. In Israel, Iranian missiles hit the northern city of Haifa, where four people from one family were found dead in the rubble of a residential building. Airstrikes kill more than 25 across Iran Smoke rose near Tehran’s Azadi Square after an airstrike hit the grounds of the Sharif University of Technology. Multiple countries have sanctioned the university for its work with the military, particularly on Iran’s ballistic missile program. Iranian media reported damage to buildings and a nearby natural gas distribution site. The university is empty as the war forced schools into online classes. A strike near Eslamshar, southwest of Tehran, killed at least 15 people, authorities said. Five were killed in a residential area in Qom, and six were killed in strikes on other cities, the state-run IRAN daily newspaper reported. Three people were killed at a home in Tehran, state television reported. In Lebanon, where Israel has launched air attacks and a ground invasion that it says target the Iran-linked Hezbollah militia, an airstrike hit an apartment in Ain Saadeh, a predominately Christian town east of Beirut. It killed an official in the Lebanese Forces, a Christian political party strongly opposed to Hezbollah, his wife and another woman. “We had always felt safe here,” family friend Nadine Naameh said. More than 1,900 people have been killed in Iran since the war began, but the government has not updated the toll for days. More than 1,400 people have been killed in Lebanon and more than 1 million people have been displaced. Eleven Israeli soldiers have died there. In Gulf Arab states and the occupied West Bank, more than two dozen people have died, while 23 have been reported dead in Israel and 13 U.S. service members have been killed. —Jon Gambrell, Samy Magdy, Bassem Mroue, and Will Weissert, Associated Press Munir Ahmed, Isabel DeBre, Amir-Hussein Radjy, and Michelle L. Price contributed to this story. View the full article

Mortgage rates rising nearly 40 basis points from early-year lows have pushed some buyers out of the market, even as inventory and affordability remain better than a year ago, ICE Mortgage Technology found. View the full article

JetBlue announced Monday plans to give its top-tier credit card a refresh, adding new travel credits, companion perks, and loyalty boosts as airlines and issuers keep escalating what “premium” actually means. The updates to the JetBlue Premier World Elite Mastercard, issued by Barclays, are set to roll out later this spring. The annual fee isn’t changing, remaining at $499 even as new benefits are added. Companion passes, but with a twist The headline addition is a companion pass benefit, a familiar perk that JetBlue is now bringing into the mix. Cardholders can earn a pass worth up to $500 after spending $15,000 in a calendar year, and a second one worth up to $1,500 after $75,000 in spend. Instead of discounting the ticket upfront, JetBlue applies the value as a statement credit after travel. That structure is notable. It keeps the booking experience simple while still delivering a high perceived value once the trip is done. That said, it also means if you don’t spend on the card, you’re not going to see the benefit—even if you paid that high annual fee. Making points more useful and status easier to reach JetBlue is also leaning further into the idea that a “travel card” should cover more than airfare. Cardmembers can now earn up to $300 in annual statement credits when booking hotels, rental cars, cruises, and other travel through the TrueBlue Travel portal. It’s the same play we’re seeing across the industry: move from flight perks to full-trip ecosystems. On the rewards side, JetBlue is boosting the value of its points with a 15% points rebate on award flights, including partner airlines. The card also now includes a 25-tile bonus each year, essentially giving users a running start toward Mosaic status. That matters, because status—not just points—is increasingly where the real differentiation lives. Lounges, but make them lifestyle The core perks are sticking around: free checked bags, anniversary bonus points, and Priority Pass access. JetBlue is also continuing to build out BlueHouse, its newer lounge concept that opened its first location at JFK late last year and is now heading to Boston. JetBlue is also pushing further into lifestyle territory with a new ClassPass partnership, offering up to 14 monthly credits for fitness and wellness experiences. The bigger play Taken together, the updates point to where airline credit cards are heading. Increasingly, we’re seeing that cards are no longer just about earning miles on flights. They’re becoming bundled products that mix travel perks, status acceleration, and everyday lifestyle benefits into a single ecosystem. “These Premier Card enhancements . . . build on our commitment to listen to customers and give them even more value with their card during travel and in everyday life,” said Ed Pouthier, JetBlue’s vice president of loyalty and personalization in a release announcing the update. For JetBlue, the move helps it stay competitive in a space where American Express, Chase, and Capital One are all pushing deeper into premium travel experiences. The new benefits are expected to launch later this spring. View the full article

Small business owners are well aware of the day-to-day challenges posed by juggling multiple applications and tools. Each tool, while valuable in its own right, often operates in silos, creating inefficiencies and draining productivity. Luckily, Slack has rolled out an innovative solution: Slackbot, designed to seamlessly integrate these various applications into one unified platform. This revolutionary tool might be just what small business owners need to streamline operations and improve their workflows. With Slackbot, businesses can centralize all their communications, applications, and data, minimizing the need for excessive tab-switching and manual data entry. “Your meetings turn into finished work,” Slack touts as one of the key features, highlighting that Slackbot can automate tasks, adjusting to the specific contexts of individual conversations. Imagine conducting a meeting where Slackbot not only takes notes but also automatically assigns action items and updates relevant databases, all while you focus on discussion. One of the standout features of Slackbot is its ability to provide context that is tailored specifically to your business needs. In traditional AI tools, information tends to be generalized and disconnected from unique company insights. However, Slackbot cross-references live web data with your internal Slack conversations and documents. This means if you’re preparing for a meeting, you can quickly pull industry-specific trends or document briefs, negating the frantic last-minute searches that usually ensue. For small businesses trying to grow and manage customer relationships, Slackbot offers a new level of engagement by facilitating customer management directly within Slack, fully integrated with Salesforce. This capability allows business owners to track deals and activities in real time, making it all the more convenient to manage customer interactions in a fast-paced environment. A common pain point for small business owners is the administrative burden that follows meetings, such as logging notes or updating CRM systems. Slackbot addresses this by not only providing intelligent note-taking but also ensuring that all follow-up tasks are executed automatically. “You can say to Slackbot, ‘The Acme deal closed. Update the pipeline and log my notes,’” eliminating the hassle of navigating multiple applications. Regarding practical applications, Slackbot serves as the universal connector between various systems, easing the transition between apps like customer support and sales. For instance, if a customer service representative encounters an issue that involves both billing and shipping, they can simply alert Slackbot, which will immediately route the request to the appropriate personnel. This kind of seamless navigation is invaluable for small businesses where resources are often limited. Despite these advantages, some challenges might arise. Integrating a new tool like Slackbot requires a learning curve, especially for teams used to working cross-platform without a unified interface. Ensuring that staff are well-trained on how to leverage Slackbot’s capabilities will be crucial. Additionally, concerns surrounding data security may arise when using a centralized system to manage sensitive business information. It is important for owners to evaluate measures that Slack has in place for data protection. Furthermore, the reliance on AI could raise concerns about the potential for errors or misinterpretations, particularly in high-stakes conversations. While Slackbot is designed to provide contextual information and automate tasks, making sure that human checks are still in place will be crucial for maintaining the integrity of business operations. As Slackbot continues to evolve, it embodies a promising shift in how small businesses can optimize their operations, turning everyday tasks into more efficient processes. By consolidating various applications into one interface, businesses not only benefit from a streamlined workflow but also enhance collaboration across teams. “You no longer need to be a prompt engineer or a workflow builder to hit your deadlines,” emphasizes Slack, making this an attractive feature for small businesses looking to maximize efficiency. Small business owners should take note of Slackbot’s capabilities and consider how adopting this tool could transform their operations. The potential to automate routine tasks, enhance team collaboration, and create a more connected work environment offers a compelling advantage that could significantly improve productivity and customer satisfaction. For those interested in learning more about Slackbot and its features, you can read more in detail at the Slack Blog. Image via Google Gemini This article, "Slackbot Unites Apps and AI, Streamlining Work for Teams Everywhere" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Small business owners are well aware of the day-to-day challenges posed by juggling multiple applications and tools. Each tool, while valuable in its own right, often operates in silos, creating inefficiencies and draining productivity. Luckily, Slack has rolled out an innovative solution: Slackbot, designed to seamlessly integrate these various applications into one unified platform. This revolutionary tool might be just what small business owners need to streamline operations and improve their workflows. With Slackbot, businesses can centralize all their communications, applications, and data, minimizing the need for excessive tab-switching and manual data entry. “Your meetings turn into finished work,” Slack touts as one of the key features, highlighting that Slackbot can automate tasks, adjusting to the specific contexts of individual conversations. Imagine conducting a meeting where Slackbot not only takes notes but also automatically assigns action items and updates relevant databases, all while you focus on discussion. One of the standout features of Slackbot is its ability to provide context that is tailored specifically to your business needs. In traditional AI tools, information tends to be generalized and disconnected from unique company insights. However, Slackbot cross-references live web data with your internal Slack conversations and documents. This means if you’re preparing for a meeting, you can quickly pull industry-specific trends or document briefs, negating the frantic last-minute searches that usually ensue. For small businesses trying to grow and manage customer relationships, Slackbot offers a new level of engagement by facilitating customer management directly within Slack, fully integrated with Salesforce. This capability allows business owners to track deals and activities in real time, making it all the more convenient to manage customer interactions in a fast-paced environment. A common pain point for small business owners is the administrative burden that follows meetings, such as logging notes or updating CRM systems. Slackbot addresses this by not only providing intelligent note-taking but also ensuring that all follow-up tasks are executed automatically. “You can say to Slackbot, ‘The Acme deal closed. Update the pipeline and log my notes,’” eliminating the hassle of navigating multiple applications. Regarding practical applications, Slackbot serves as the universal connector between various systems, easing the transition between apps like customer support and sales. For instance, if a customer service representative encounters an issue that involves both billing and shipping, they can simply alert Slackbot, which will immediately route the request to the appropriate personnel. This kind of seamless navigation is invaluable for small businesses where resources are often limited. Despite these advantages, some challenges might arise. Integrating a new tool like Slackbot requires a learning curve, especially for teams used to working cross-platform without a unified interface. Ensuring that staff are well-trained on how to leverage Slackbot’s capabilities will be crucial. Additionally, concerns surrounding data security may arise when using a centralized system to manage sensitive business information. It is important for owners to evaluate measures that Slack has in place for data protection. Furthermore, the reliance on AI could raise concerns about the potential for errors or misinterpretations, particularly in high-stakes conversations. While Slackbot is designed to provide contextual information and automate tasks, making sure that human checks are still in place will be crucial for maintaining the integrity of business operations. As Slackbot continues to evolve, it embodies a promising shift in how small businesses can optimize their operations, turning everyday tasks into more efficient processes. By consolidating various applications into one interface, businesses not only benefit from a streamlined workflow but also enhance collaboration across teams. “You no longer need to be a prompt engineer or a workflow builder to hit your deadlines,” emphasizes Slack, making this an attractive feature for small businesses looking to maximize efficiency. Small business owners should take note of Slackbot’s capabilities and consider how adopting this tool could transform their operations. The potential to automate routine tasks, enhance team collaboration, and create a more connected work environment offers a compelling advantage that could significantly improve productivity and customer satisfaction. For those interested in learning more about Slackbot and its features, you can read more in detail at the Slack Blog. Image via Google Gemini This article, "Slackbot Unites Apps and AI, Streamlining Work for Teams Everywhere" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Monitors with rolling stands are undeniably a bit of a niche product - while they might not be as popular as standalone TVs and gaming monitors, they offer an added perk: flexibility. Designed to easily move from room to room while remaining stable, they free up desk space and eliminate the need for a media stand, and offer height adjustability, making them a smart choice for studios, small apartments, and even home gyms. Right now, the 32-inch Samsung Movingstyle M7 4K smart monitor with an adjustable rolling stand is down to a record-low price of $549.99 (originally $699.99). Samsung Movingstyle M7 32" 4K UHD Smart Monitor with Adjustable Rolling Stand $549.99 at Amazon $699.99 Save $150.00 Get Deal Get Deal $549.99 at Amazon $699.99 Save $150.00 The main appeal of this monitor is its mobility. It has a stable, rolling stand that lets you move it around with ease, making it ideal for work-from-home setups, hybrid TV use, or spaces where a traditional setup isn’t practical. It’s essentially an all-in-one smart display, complete with wifi, Bluetooth, a remote control, built-in apps, and Samsung’s Tizen OS, so you can stream content without needing a laptop or console. That said, it doesn’t have a touchscreen, so it won’t function like a large tablet. While it’s not an OLED, the 4K UHD image quality delivers solid contrast and sharpness for everyday use. It's not designed for gaming due to its 60Hz refresh rate, and its HDR performance is modest, but it does have an AI Picture Optimizer and AI upscaling to improve lower-resolution content, making it a good choice for watching TV or movies and as an extra monitor for work. It supports a USB-C for a single-cable setup and has a 13-foot power cord connected to the back of the monitor for placement flexibility. It may not match the performance of a dedicated high-end TV or monitor, but if you’re looking for a sturdy mobile monitor that prioritizes versatility, the Samsung Movingstyle M7 4K smart monitor delivers and is more affordable than similar models while packing in more features, especially at the current $150 discount. If you want top-of-the-line performance for gaming or creative work, however, you’ll probably be better off with a more traditional monitor. Our Best Editor-Vetted Tech Deals Right Now Apple AirPods Pro 3 Noise Cancelling Heart Rate Wireless Earbuds — $224.00 (List Price $249.00) Apple iPad 11" 128GB A16 WiFi Tablet (Blue, 2025) — $299.99 (List Price $349.00) Samsung Galaxy Tab A11+ 128GB Wi-Fi 11" Tablet (Gray) — $209.99 (List Price $249.99) Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 42mm, S/M Black Sport Band) — $329.00 (List Price $399.00) Sony WH-1000XM5 — $248.00 (List Price $399.99) Deals are selected by our commerce team View the full article

Fans of In-N-Out Burger have some good, or not-so-good, news to chew. The beloved chain’s closely-watched location tracker shows six new locations are on the way soon. But these locations won’t see the hamburger chain break ground in new states. While the Irvine, California-based company has been steadily expanding east in recent years, the locations marked as “opening soon” will only deepen its presence in six states: Colorado, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Tennessee. In-N-Out is opening a regional headquarters in Franklin, Tennessee and plans to relocate across the country from California by 2030. But it has yet to make it to the Atlantic Coast—and doesn’t seem to have any plans to do so soon.. During a July 2025 appearance on the Relatable podcast, In-N-Out owner Lynsi Snyder teased that, like Tennessee, other locations may be possible in the future thanks to its Texas-based distribution center—but squashed the hopes of fans in places like New York or Florida. “Florida has begged us, and we’re still saying no,” Snyder said at the time. “The East Coast states, we’re still saying no.” Despite the chain’s expansion, now with more than 400 locations, there’s still a novelty factor as it currently operates restaurants in only 10 states. By comparison, Shake Shack has nearly 700 locations in about three dozen states from coast to coast—with additional international locations. NEW IN-N-OUT LOCATIONS Some diners eager to get their hands on a Double-Double burger served “Animal Style” will get their fix soon—though the chain doesn’t specify exact timing on when the new locations will open. The new locations are slated for: Hillsboro, Oregon Las Vegas, Nevada Madison, Tennessee St. George, Utah Timnath, Colorado Vancouver, Washington The privately-held chain’s most-recent new store opening was in Buckeye, Arizona last week. View the full article

Microsoft’s AI assistant Copilot is integrated across the company’s products. It’s built into Windows 11, and recent features like Tasks and Pages are marketed as powerful tools for productivity. But one of Copilot’s Terms of Use just caught the internet’s attention for seeming to contradict that image of Copilot as a game-changer in the workplace, instead cautioning users that “Copilot is for entertainment purposes only.” “It can make mistakes, and it may not work as intended,” the statement continues, as written on Microsoft’s Copilot Terms of Use page. “Don’t rely on Copilot for important advice. Use Copilot at your own risk.” That language is a far cry from the way Copilot is typically presented to consumers. An ad for Copilot from April 2025 highlighted then-upcoming features like completing simple to-do lists on a user’s behalf, doing deep research on a given topic, and revising documents—uses that may be fun to mess around with, yes, but also have practical applications beyond the scope of “entertainment.” Social media sounds off When the Terms of Use page went viral, critics on social media were swift to pass judgment on Copilot and Microsoft. It’s never been kind to the company or its AI tools, unaffectionately dubbed “Microslop” in a trend earlier this year. This discourse is no exception, with some users wondering what Copilot’s entertainment-only clause means for the broader AI landscape. “The possibility of AI going out not with a bang, but with an ‘it was all just a silly toy, we swear’ after the legal department finally got through to them,” one user quipped. “A silly toy tens of thousands of employees have lost their jobs for,” another replied. But other users pointed out another line on that Terms of Use page, clarifying that the following terms don’t apply to Microsoft 365 Copilot apps, the Copilot tools specifically designed for professional work, unless otherwise noted. Instead, the terms apply to the standalone Copilot app and browser-based versions of Copilot, among others that are targeted at consumers rather than businesses. Still, given the number of different products under the Copilot umbrella, it might be tricky for Microsoft customers to know what does and doesn’t apply to their version of the AI companion. Reading the fine print Microsoft isn’t the only company telling users not to put full faith in its AI products. OpenAI’s warranty asks customers to agree that they “will not rely on output as a sole source of truth or factual information, or as a substitute for professional advice.” Anthropic warns users that they “should not rely on any Outputs or Actions without independently confirming their accuracy.” But Microsoft is the only major company to refer to its own tool as “for entertainment purposes only,” undercutting its potential business applications. That phrasing, though, is outdated, as a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement to Fast Company. “The ‘entertainment purposes’ phrasing is legacy language from when Copilot originally launched as a search companion service in Bing. As the product has evolved, that language is no longer reflective of how Copilot is used today and will be altered with our next update,” the spokesperson said. Copilot’s Terms of Use were last updated on October 24, 2025, so when the company will next revise the page (and what they’ll replace the controversial language with) remains to be seen. But in the meantime, social media is running with what it sees as confirmation that AI has been overimplemented in the workplace. “AI is ‘not for serious use’ and is for ‘entertainment purposes only,’” one user posted. “So get AI out of our healthcare and civil service systems, out of our military.” View the full article