All Activity

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

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

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

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

Castigating companies for ‘profiteering’ is nonsensical and unhelpful rhetoric View the full article

When you start crafting, having the right supplies makes a significant difference in your projects. Crucial tools like high-quality scissors and a glue gun can improve your efficiency and precision. Furthermore, versatile items such as craft mats and acrylic paints allow for a wide range of creative possibilities. Comprehending what supplies work best for your needs can streamline your crafting experience. Let’s explore the must-have items that can raise your projects and simplify your crafting expedition. Key Takeaways Invest in essential tools like mini sanders and rotary cutters for precision and smooth finishes on various crafting projects. Stock up on versatile adhesives such as Mod Podge and a cordless glue gun for quick and effective bonding. Use durable crafting surfaces like craft mats and quality canvases to protect your workspace and enhance project outcomes. Incorporate various paint supplies, including acrylic and chalk paints, to add color and character to your creations. Explore online resources and tutorials for fresh crafting inspiration and skill development to enhance your crafting journey. Essential Tools for Every Crafter When you commence your crafting expedition, having the right tools at your disposal can greatly improve your experience and results. A mini sander is crucial for achieving smooth finishes on your projects, whereas a rotary cutter guarantees precision when cutting through multiple fabric layers. For intricate designs, Exacto or crafting knives are fundamental, as they allow for detailed cutting. Don’t overlook high-quality scissors, especially those from Fiskars, known for their sharpness and durability across various materials. Finally, needle nose pliers are indispensable for grasping and manipulating small items in your creations. You can find these crucial tools, alongside card making supplies wholesale and paper craft supplies online, making it easy to stock up on everything you need for your crafting expedition. Versatile Adhesives and Fasteners Finding the right adhesives and fasteners can make a significant difference in the success of your crafting projects. Here are some crucial options to contemplate: Mod Podge: This versatile adhesive is perfect for various applications, especially the MATTE version, which provides a non-glossy finish ideal for crafts. Sure Bonder Glue Gun: Its cordless design allows for quick bonding, making it a favorite for fast-paced projects. Double-sided tape: This adhesive offers a clean way to adhere paper and lightweight materials without leaving visible marks. For additional stability, think about using zip ties, which are especially effective in securing pieces together. If you’re working with wholesale ribbon and mesh, having these adhesives and fasteners on hand will guarantee your projects are both neat and durable. Must-Have Craft Mats and Surfaces A reliable craft mat or surface is a crucial component of any crafting toolkit, helping to safeguard your work area from damage during providing a suitable foundation for various projects. These mats are durable, easy to clean, and vital for maintaining a tidy workspace. Whereas craft paper can be a budget-friendly alternative, it’s less durable and may require frequent replacement. Furthermore, consider using wood cut-outs for embellishing your projects or creating unique designs. For painting and mixed media, quality canvases from retailers like Hobby Lobby and Blick Materials are recommended. Craft Surface Key Features Craft Mats Durable, easy to clean Craft Paper Budget-friendly, less durable Quality Canvases Ideal for painting Top Paint Supplies for Creative Projects Regarding paint supplies for your creative projects, choosing the right types of paint and brushes is essential for achieving the desired outcome. Acrylic paints from brands like DecoArt and Apple Barrel offer versatility for various artistic endeavors, whereas chip brushes in 1-inch and 2-inch sizes, along with specialized art brushes, help you achieve different techniques and details. Essential Paint Types Comprehending the various types of paint available can greatly improve your crafting experience, as each type serves distinct purposes and techniques. Here are three crucial paint types you should consider: Acrylic Paint: This versatile option is favored for its quick-drying properties and a wide range of colors, making it ideal for various crafting projects. Chalk Paint: Popular for creating a matte finish, chalk paint is commonly used in furniture upcycling and home décor projects, providing a rustic touch. Watercolor Paint: Perfect for delicate art techniques, watercolor paint allows for soft washes and blending effects, making it suitable for both beginners and experienced artists. Recommended Brush Options Choosing the right brushes can greatly improve your painting projects, as different brush types cater to various techniques and effects. For versatile crafting, consider chip paint brushes in 1-inch and 2-inch sizes; they’re perfect for applying paint quickly and efficiently. If you need precision, art brush packs come in various shapes and sizes, ideal for intricate detailing. Sponge brushes are an affordable choice for creating unique effects, though they may not suit every project. When using chalk paint, popular brands like Waverly and Folk Art provide a matte finish that works well on multiple surfaces. Moreover, acrylic paints from brands such as DecoArt, Apple Barrel, and Craftsmart deliver lively, durable artwork, making them crucial tools for your creative endeavors. Fabrics and Textiles for DIY Enthusiasts Exploring the domain of fabrics and textiles can greatly improve your DIY projects, as each type serves unique purposes and styles. Here are some key fabrics to evaluate: Cotton: Ideal for various projects, cotton is versatile, easy to work with, and available in numerous patterns, including seasonal designs. Burlap: This sturdy fabric adds texture and rustic charm to home décor, making it perfect for wreaths or table runners. Felt: Great for beginners, felt is available in lively colors and is excellent for creating ornaments, appliqués, and soft toys. Moreover, repurposing old fabrics like t-shirts or sheets not only saves money but promotes sustainability. With access to diverse fabric types, you can truly evoke your creativity in your crafting endeavors. Organization Tools to Keep You Sorted When you’re crafting, having the right organization tools can make all the difference in maintaining an efficient workspace. Storage bins are crucial for organizing your craft supplies and tools, ensuring your area remains tidy and improving productivity. Using labels can expedite the identification of various supplies, making it easier to find exactly what you need during projects. A tool caddy is a practical solution for keeping frequently used tools within reach, so you minimize time spent searching. Designating a crafting station elevates your experience, providing an organized area for your projects. Furthermore, drawer organizers help keep small supplies sorted and accessible, preventing clutter and ensuring everything is easy to find when you need it. Cleaning Supplies for Easy Maintenance Maintaining a clean and organized workspace is crucial for any crafter, as it not only enhances productivity but also prolongs the life of your tools and materials. To keep your crafting area tidy, consider these must-have cleaning supplies: Wet Wipes/Baby Wipes: Versatile for quick clean-ups, they’re perfect for handling spills and sticky surfaces during crafting sessions. Rubbing Alcohol: Ideal for removing adhesive residue from tools, it helps maintain their pristine condition for future projects. Paintbrush Cleaner: A dedicated cleaner prevents paint build-up, guaranteeing your brushes last longer and apply smoothly. With these supplies, you’ll guarantee a clean workspace, making your crafting experience more enjoyable and efficient. Beads and Embellishments to Enhance Your Crafts Incorporating beads and embellishments into your crafts can greatly improve the visual appeal and uniqueness of your projects. Wood beads are an affordable option available in bulk from online retailers like Amazon, making them perfect for various crafting ideas. Sequins can add a sparkling touch, available in a wide range of colors and sizes to suit your creative needs. Buttons, offered in diverse styles and materials, allow you to personalize and uplift handmade items or garments. Ribbons from sources like DecoExchange and Dollar Tree provide decorative finishes that can complement your designs beautifully. Finally, charms come in numerous designs, enabling you to create unique gifts or keepsakes that reflect your personal style. Seasonal Supplies for Festive Creations As you prepare for various celebrations throughout the year, seasonal supplies play a crucial role in crafting festive creations. These materials not only assist you in creating stunning decorations but also simplify the crafting process. Here are three key seasonal supplies to take into account: Holiday Decorations: Items like ornaments or garlands can instantly enhance your festive projects. Themed Fabrics: Fabrics featuring seasonal patterns allow you to create unique table runners or festive attire. Specialty Paints: Use paints in seasonal colors to add personalized touches to your crafts. Project Inspiration to Spark Your Imagination To ignite your creativity, exploring various project inspirations can lead you to new crafting adventures. Start by plunging into online tutorials and craft blogs that provide step-by-step guidance, making it easy to follow along. Social media platforms like Pinterest and Instagram are furthermore invaluable resources, filled with visuals that showcase innovative techniques and projects. Joining online crafting communities allows you to share your work and receive feedback during discovering inspiration from fellow crafters. Consider investing in seasonal craft kits available online; these kits come with all necessary materials and instructions for themed projects, simplifying your crafting process. In addition, browse project books that compile various techniques and ideas, catering to both beginners and experienced crafters alike. Frequently Asked Questions What Is the Hottest Selling Craft Item? The hottest selling craft item right now is the 8.25 Spell Book with Eyeballs, which is USB energized and priced at $8.60, down from $10.75. This unique item captures attention with its whimsical design and functionality, making it a popular choice among crafters. Seasonal supplies, like holiday decorations, likewise trend during festive times, but the Spell Book stands out for its creativity and appeal, driving significant sales. What Supplies Do I Need for Crafting? To start crafting, you’ll need fundamental supplies like a mini sander for smoothing edges, a rotary cutter for precise cuts, and high-quality scissors for detailed work. Adhesives such as Mod Podge and a cordless glue gun are vital for sticking materials together. A craft mat protects your surface, as acrylic paints and brushes allow for lively designs. Finally, organization tools like storage bins and labels help keep your workspace tidy and efficient. What Is the Most Profitable Craft to Make and Sell? The most profitable craft to make and sell often includes handmade jewelry or home decor items. Personalized jewelry, like bracelets, can yield high margins, selling for two to three times the material cost. Similarly, custom home decor, such as unique wreaths, attracts premium prices. Seasonal crafts likewise generate significant profits because of their limited availability. Furthermore, DIY kits combine convenience with creativity, appealing to customers and providing substantial profit potential when marketed effectively. Is Michaels or Hobby Lobby Better for Crafts? When deciding between Michaels and Hobby Lobby for crafts, consider your specific needs. Michaels offers a broader selection of seasonal supplies and convenient online shopping options, including same-day delivery. On the other hand, Hobby Lobby is known for competitive pricing and frequent sales, making it ideal for bulk purchases. If you’re additionally interested in home décor, Hobby Lobby’s extensive range might appeal to you. In the end, your choice depends on what supplies or services matter most to you. Conclusion In conclusion, equipping yourself with these ten crucial crafting supplies can greatly improve your creative projects. By investing in tools like high-quality scissors, a versatile glue gun, and crafting mats, you’ll streamline your crafting process and achieve better results. Furthermore, having proper storage bins and a selection of paints and embellishments will keep your workspace organized and inspire new ideas. With these supplies on hand, you’ll be well-prepared to tackle a variety of crafting endeavors effectively. Image via Google Gemini This article, "10 Must-Have Crafting Supplies You Can Buy Online" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

When you start crafting, having the right supplies makes a significant difference in your projects. Crucial tools like high-quality scissors and a glue gun can improve your efficiency and precision. Furthermore, versatile items such as craft mats and acrylic paints allow for a wide range of creative possibilities. Comprehending what supplies work best for your needs can streamline your crafting experience. Let’s explore the must-have items that can raise your projects and simplify your crafting expedition. Key Takeaways Invest in essential tools like mini sanders and rotary cutters for precision and smooth finishes on various crafting projects. Stock up on versatile adhesives such as Mod Podge and a cordless glue gun for quick and effective bonding. Use durable crafting surfaces like craft mats and quality canvases to protect your workspace and enhance project outcomes. Incorporate various paint supplies, including acrylic and chalk paints, to add color and character to your creations. Explore online resources and tutorials for fresh crafting inspiration and skill development to enhance your crafting journey. Essential Tools for Every Crafter When you commence your crafting expedition, having the right tools at your disposal can greatly improve your experience and results. A mini sander is crucial for achieving smooth finishes on your projects, whereas a rotary cutter guarantees precision when cutting through multiple fabric layers. For intricate designs, Exacto or crafting knives are fundamental, as they allow for detailed cutting. Don’t overlook high-quality scissors, especially those from Fiskars, known for their sharpness and durability across various materials. Finally, needle nose pliers are indispensable for grasping and manipulating small items in your creations. You can find these crucial tools, alongside card making supplies wholesale and paper craft supplies online, making it easy to stock up on everything you need for your crafting expedition. Versatile Adhesives and Fasteners Finding the right adhesives and fasteners can make a significant difference in the success of your crafting projects. Here are some crucial options to contemplate: Mod Podge: This versatile adhesive is perfect for various applications, especially the MATTE version, which provides a non-glossy finish ideal for crafts. Sure Bonder Glue Gun: Its cordless design allows for quick bonding, making it a favorite for fast-paced projects. Double-sided tape: This adhesive offers a clean way to adhere paper and lightweight materials without leaving visible marks. For additional stability, think about using zip ties, which are especially effective in securing pieces together. If you’re working with wholesale ribbon and mesh, having these adhesives and fasteners on hand will guarantee your projects are both neat and durable. Must-Have Craft Mats and Surfaces A reliable craft mat or surface is a crucial component of any crafting toolkit, helping to safeguard your work area from damage during providing a suitable foundation for various projects. These mats are durable, easy to clean, and vital for maintaining a tidy workspace. Whereas craft paper can be a budget-friendly alternative, it’s less durable and may require frequent replacement. Furthermore, consider using wood cut-outs for embellishing your projects or creating unique designs. For painting and mixed media, quality canvases from retailers like Hobby Lobby and Blick Materials are recommended. Craft Surface Key Features Craft Mats Durable, easy to clean Craft Paper Budget-friendly, less durable Quality Canvases Ideal for painting Top Paint Supplies for Creative Projects Regarding paint supplies for your creative projects, choosing the right types of paint and brushes is essential for achieving the desired outcome. Acrylic paints from brands like DecoArt and Apple Barrel offer versatility for various artistic endeavors, whereas chip brushes in 1-inch and 2-inch sizes, along with specialized art brushes, help you achieve different techniques and details. Essential Paint Types Comprehending the various types of paint available can greatly improve your crafting experience, as each type serves distinct purposes and techniques. Here are three crucial paint types you should consider: Acrylic Paint: This versatile option is favored for its quick-drying properties and a wide range of colors, making it ideal for various crafting projects. Chalk Paint: Popular for creating a matte finish, chalk paint is commonly used in furniture upcycling and home décor projects, providing a rustic touch. Watercolor Paint: Perfect for delicate art techniques, watercolor paint allows for soft washes and blending effects, making it suitable for both beginners and experienced artists. Recommended Brush Options Choosing the right brushes can greatly improve your painting projects, as different brush types cater to various techniques and effects. For versatile crafting, consider chip paint brushes in 1-inch and 2-inch sizes; they’re perfect for applying paint quickly and efficiently. If you need precision, art brush packs come in various shapes and sizes, ideal for intricate detailing. Sponge brushes are an affordable choice for creating unique effects, though they may not suit every project. When using chalk paint, popular brands like Waverly and Folk Art provide a matte finish that works well on multiple surfaces. Moreover, acrylic paints from brands such as DecoArt, Apple Barrel, and Craftsmart deliver lively, durable artwork, making them crucial tools for your creative endeavors. Fabrics and Textiles for DIY Enthusiasts Exploring the domain of fabrics and textiles can greatly improve your DIY projects, as each type serves unique purposes and styles. Here are some key fabrics to evaluate: Cotton: Ideal for various projects, cotton is versatile, easy to work with, and available in numerous patterns, including seasonal designs. Burlap: This sturdy fabric adds texture and rustic charm to home décor, making it perfect for wreaths or table runners. Felt: Great for beginners, felt is available in lively colors and is excellent for creating ornaments, appliqués, and soft toys. Moreover, repurposing old fabrics like t-shirts or sheets not only saves money but promotes sustainability. With access to diverse fabric types, you can truly evoke your creativity in your crafting endeavors. Organization Tools to Keep You Sorted When you’re crafting, having the right organization tools can make all the difference in maintaining an efficient workspace. Storage bins are crucial for organizing your craft supplies and tools, ensuring your area remains tidy and improving productivity. Using labels can expedite the identification of various supplies, making it easier to find exactly what you need during projects. A tool caddy is a practical solution for keeping frequently used tools within reach, so you minimize time spent searching. Designating a crafting station elevates your experience, providing an organized area for your projects. Furthermore, drawer organizers help keep small supplies sorted and accessible, preventing clutter and ensuring everything is easy to find when you need it. Cleaning Supplies for Easy Maintenance Maintaining a clean and organized workspace is crucial for any crafter, as it not only enhances productivity but also prolongs the life of your tools and materials. To keep your crafting area tidy, consider these must-have cleaning supplies: Wet Wipes/Baby Wipes: Versatile for quick clean-ups, they’re perfect for handling spills and sticky surfaces during crafting sessions. Rubbing Alcohol: Ideal for removing adhesive residue from tools, it helps maintain their pristine condition for future projects. Paintbrush Cleaner: A dedicated cleaner prevents paint build-up, guaranteeing your brushes last longer and apply smoothly. With these supplies, you’ll guarantee a clean workspace, making your crafting experience more enjoyable and efficient. Beads and Embellishments to Enhance Your Crafts Incorporating beads and embellishments into your crafts can greatly improve the visual appeal and uniqueness of your projects. Wood beads are an affordable option available in bulk from online retailers like Amazon, making them perfect for various crafting ideas. Sequins can add a sparkling touch, available in a wide range of colors and sizes to suit your creative needs. Buttons, offered in diverse styles and materials, allow you to personalize and uplift handmade items or garments. Ribbons from sources like DecoExchange and Dollar Tree provide decorative finishes that can complement your designs beautifully. Finally, charms come in numerous designs, enabling you to create unique gifts or keepsakes that reflect your personal style. Seasonal Supplies for Festive Creations As you prepare for various celebrations throughout the year, seasonal supplies play a crucial role in crafting festive creations. These materials not only assist you in creating stunning decorations but also simplify the crafting process. Here are three key seasonal supplies to take into account: Holiday Decorations: Items like ornaments or garlands can instantly enhance your festive projects. Themed Fabrics: Fabrics featuring seasonal patterns allow you to create unique table runners or festive attire. Specialty Paints: Use paints in seasonal colors to add personalized touches to your crafts. Project Inspiration to Spark Your Imagination To ignite your creativity, exploring various project inspirations can lead you to new crafting adventures. Start by plunging into online tutorials and craft blogs that provide step-by-step guidance, making it easy to follow along. Social media platforms like Pinterest and Instagram are furthermore invaluable resources, filled with visuals that showcase innovative techniques and projects. Joining online crafting communities allows you to share your work and receive feedback during discovering inspiration from fellow crafters. Consider investing in seasonal craft kits available online; these kits come with all necessary materials and instructions for themed projects, simplifying your crafting process. In addition, browse project books that compile various techniques and ideas, catering to both beginners and experienced crafters alike. Frequently Asked Questions What Is the Hottest Selling Craft Item? The hottest selling craft item right now is the 8.25 Spell Book with Eyeballs, which is USB energized and priced at $8.60, down from $10.75. This unique item captures attention with its whimsical design and functionality, making it a popular choice among crafters. Seasonal supplies, like holiday decorations, likewise trend during festive times, but the Spell Book stands out for its creativity and appeal, driving significant sales. What Supplies Do I Need for Crafting? To start crafting, you’ll need fundamental supplies like a mini sander for smoothing edges, a rotary cutter for precise cuts, and high-quality scissors for detailed work. Adhesives such as Mod Podge and a cordless glue gun are vital for sticking materials together. A craft mat protects your surface, as acrylic paints and brushes allow for lively designs. Finally, organization tools like storage bins and labels help keep your workspace tidy and efficient. What Is the Most Profitable Craft to Make and Sell? The most profitable craft to make and sell often includes handmade jewelry or home decor items. Personalized jewelry, like bracelets, can yield high margins, selling for two to three times the material cost. Similarly, custom home decor, such as unique wreaths, attracts premium prices. Seasonal crafts likewise generate significant profits because of their limited availability. Furthermore, DIY kits combine convenience with creativity, appealing to customers and providing substantial profit potential when marketed effectively. Is Michaels or Hobby Lobby Better for Crafts? When deciding between Michaels and Hobby Lobby for crafts, consider your specific needs. Michaels offers a broader selection of seasonal supplies and convenient online shopping options, including same-day delivery. On the other hand, Hobby Lobby is known for competitive pricing and frequent sales, making it ideal for bulk purchases. If you’re additionally interested in home décor, Hobby Lobby’s extensive range might appeal to you. In the end, your choice depends on what supplies or services matter most to you. Conclusion In conclusion, equipping yourself with these ten crucial crafting supplies can greatly improve your creative projects. By investing in tools like high-quality scissors, a versatile glue gun, and crafting mats, you’ll streamline your crafting process and achieve better results. Furthermore, having proper storage bins and a selection of paints and embellishments will keep your workspace organized and inspire new ideas. With these supplies on hand, you’ll be well-prepared to tackle a variety of crafting endeavors effectively. Image via Google Gemini This article, "10 Must-Have Crafting Supplies You Can Buy Online" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

It's officially the end of an era for the Samsung Galaxy community: Samsung is discontinuing its messaging app. If you're a Samsung Messages user, the company says you should plan to migrate to Google Messages to "upgrade your messaging experience." This deprecation isn't taking effect immediately, however. According to Samsung's official end of service announcement, the company will discontinue Samsung Messages in July 2026. That means you still have roughly three months to keep using the app, if it happens to be your messaging client of choice. That said, the company is encouraging users to set Google Messages as their default messaging app today to "maintain a consistent messaging experience on Android." Samsung says the app will tell users when service will be discontinued. Samsung is really pushing Google Messages in this end-of-service announcement. The company touts the app's features, like Scam Detection, RCS messaging, AI features, and cross-platform connectivity, so you can pick up another Android device and keep chatting. To their credit, some of these features do make Google Messages the stronger messaging app compared to Samsung Messages—in particular, RCS support. Samsung Messages users are stuck with SMS chats, which limits conversations in terms of both security and functionality. SMS chats don't support high-resolution photo and video sharing, nor do they manage modern group chats well. Crucially, they aren't encrypted, which puts your conversations at risk. While not all RCS chats are encrypted, the ones that are protect your conversations from would-be attackers. It's not like this decision came totally out of the blue. If you've bought a new Samsung Galaxy device in recent years, you'll notice that Samsung Messages didn't come preinstalled. Instead, you had to seek it out and install it yourself from Samsung's Galaxy Store. Samsung says Galaxy S26 devices can't even download the app, and that following its deadline, no devices will be able to download the app. Also important to note for some users: Tizen OS watches (watches that were launched before Galaxy Watch4) can't run Google Messages. These watches will not be able to display full message conversations after July 2026. However, you'll still be able to read and send messages. You can keep using Samsung Messages after the deadlineNot everyone will need to move to Google Messages, however. If you're using an Android device running Android 11 or older, Samsung says you are not affected by this end of service. This will likely impact a small fraction of the Galaxy community, seeing as we're currently on Android 16 (or One UI 8, in Galaxy world). But if you do have an older Android device, you can keep using the app. In addition, Samsung outlines some specific situations where the app will continue to send messages—even on phones running Android 12 or newer. If you try to send a typical text, it won't go through. However, you will be able to send messages to emergency service numbers. If you text 911 on a Galaxy phone with Samsung Messages, it will work, according to Samsung. That makes sense—Samsung likely doesn't want to deal with a situation where someone tries to contact emergency services on its unsupported app and cannot get help. But what I find even more interesting is that Samsung Messages will also still work when texting emergency contacts. If you've defined someone as an emergency contact on your Galaxy, you'll be able to text them still. View the full article

A reader writes: I oversee a medium-sized department who are all required to be on-site, although we were remote for quite a while following the pandemic. My staff is pushing very hard for hybrid working, and while I am open to it, I have concerns. In the past, when that the majority of our team worked from home, some of the staff really excelled at it, while others were frankly awful. Literally, the staff who were excellent outperformed the worst by a factor of ten to one. Unfortunately, the lower performers didn’t always recognize that they were not being productive. The culture in my organization is very much one of equity, and I am trying to balance that with the knowledge that some staff just did not excel at working from home. If Andrew and Beth worked effectively from home, but Charles and Deanna did not, how can I be fair? I answer this question — and two others — over at Inc. today, where I’m revisiting letters that have been buried in the archives here from years ago (and sometimes updating/expanding my answers to them). You can read it here. Other questions I’m answering there today include: I wish my team had more diversity of ages I don’t want to talk to coworkers while they’re driving The post my team wants to work from home, but some of them are terrible at it appeared first on Ask a Manager. View the full article

As OpenAI and Anthropic move closer to their planned initial public offerings, more details about the finances of both artificial intelligence giants are starting to emerge. It was no secret these companies were bleeding cash, but seeing the actual numbers is still striking. Neither company has made its filings official. Both are in the process of recruiting investors and have recently closed funding rounds, which meant opening their books. The Wall Street Journal got a peek. According to internal estimates, OpenAI will not turn a profit until 2030, while Anthropic expects slight positive results this year, followed by another year of losses before staying in the green in 2028 and 2029. Spending on AI training will be staggering. In 2028, OpenAI projects spending $121 billion on computing power for its AI research. The estimate for 2029 is slightly higher, before AI model training costs dip back below $100 million in 2030. (This year, for perspective, the company expects to spend just over $25 billion on AI model training.) Anthropic’s totals are smaller but still climb steadily, surpassing $30 billion in 2029. These losses come despite an expected surge in revenue at both companies. OpenAI’s revenue is projected to nearly double annually, reaching roughly $275 billion in 2030. Anthropic expects to approach $150 billion in 2029. Anthropic’s projections include sales through cloud partners, something OpenAI does not emphasize to the same extent. As a result, Anthropic expects most of its income to come from enterprise customers. That channel is also key for OpenAI, but the company is betting heavily on consumer usage. It is still unclear how that revenue will break down between paid memberships, advertising, or other streams. (OpenAI projects roughly $150 billion in consumer revenue in 2030.) For now, OpenAI is effectively subsidizing free users as it pushes adoption. While not stated explicitly, the strategy is clear: build habit now, convert later. Loyal users are easier to turn into paying customers over time. Usage trends suggest the approach is gaining traction. Data from SimilarWeb shows AI platform visits rose 28.6% between January 2025 and January 2026. Users are also spending more time on these platforms, while referral traffic to external sites, which supply much of the underlying data, has plateaued. OpenAI’s lead remains significant. As of September 2025, ChatGPT accounted for roughly 79% of global generative AI web traffic, according to SimilarWeb. Google’s Gemini grew 157% between April and September 2025, reaching 1.1 billion monthly visits. Perplexity reached 170 million monthly visits, while Anthropic’s Claude saw 157 million. Corporate demand is rising alongside consumer usage. A December study from advisory firm Teneo found that 68% of CEOs plan to increase AI spending in 2026. So far, however, fewer than half of corporate AI projects have generated returns that exceed their costs. The race for users is driving the current arms race in AI, and the rapid cash burn that comes with it. It also helps explain why companies like OpenAI and Anthropic are pushing exchanges to adjust their rules. Nasdaq, it seems, is on board, saying it would allow newly listed companies (like OpenAI and SpaceX) to join its Nasdaq 100 index, which would make it easier for them to sell shares. View the full article

Hungary’s illiberal champion has benefited from the misjudgments and complacency of other leadersView the full article

My kids have been really into sea shanties lately (my family has eclectic musical tastes.) There are a surprisingly large number of modern shanties on YouTube and TikTok. But one historic song, The Wellermen, really spoke to me. Going down a rabbit hole of the song’s history, I learned that it was written in 1966 by a New Zealander. But the whaling classic was inspired by a much older song from 1820. Eventually, I found the lyrics to the original. But there was a problem–the words were cryptic and the melody was lost to the sands of time, making it impossible to sing. So, I decided to leverage today’s most powerful music-generating AI to bring it back. The result is a modern shanty that draws word for word on the 19th century original. Spoiler alert: it’s a banger. Here’s how I made it–and what I learned about the future of AI music. The rise of ShantyTok During the pandemic, sea shanties had an odd cultural moment. The trend was known as ShantyTok. Modern creators discovered centuries-old shanties, and started adapting them for young, streaming audiences. Shanties work surprisingly well on social media. They’re often simple, repetitive songs, designed to be sung communally. They’re dramatic. And they’re highly story-driven, which encourages listeners to stick around and listen to the whole thing, rather than swiping away. TikTok and Youtube’s algorithms love that kind of engagement. With their messages of struggle and resilience, shanties were also perfect for the Covid-addled moment. The result is that Shantytok yielded really fantastic modern renditions of ancient classics. Wellerman is a perfect example. Collected and put to music by the folk musician Neil Colquhoun in 1966, it was adapted by modern musician Nathan Evans and went viral on social media in 2021. The song tells the story of a ship’s captain and his crew, locked in a mortal, never-ending battle with an elusive and powerful whale. If that sounds a lot like the story of Moby Dick, that’s no coincidence. The website New Zealand Folk Song has an excellent history of Wellermen. Colquhoun apparently based his modern version on a historical 1820 whaling shanty that his schoolteacher wife found in an old book. That shanty, titled Mocha Dick, is way darker than Wellermen–the entire crew dies in this one, instead of simply pursuing a whale for all eternity. Mocha Dick is based on a real whale that reportedly drowned 100 men off the coast of Chile while evading capture, and the Smithsonian says that real-life whale inspired Melville’s iconic novel. When I finally found the lyrics to Mocha Dick on New Zealand Folk Song’s site, I was initially excited, and then disappointed. In its current form, the song is basically unsingable. The melody has been lost to history and the lyrics are tough to interpret–dark, lacking a discernible rhyme scheme, and filled with 19th century colloquialisms like “bully boys” and loads of references to very specific parts of whaling ships. I wanted to bring it back to life and sing it with my kids. So, I turned to AI to see if I could revive the song–and make it as much of an earworm as Wellerman. AI pirates To bring the shanty back from the dead, I turned to Suno, the most powerful music-generating AI on the market, plunking down $10 for a month of Pro access. I sing in a choir and can hold my own with a ukulele. But you can use Suno even if you have zero musical skill. Suno’s system adapts to whatever inputs you provide. You can give it something as simple as a written concept (“death metal lullaby” or “acapella Python-themed polka”) and it will spit out a fully-produced song, complete with vocals, instrumentation and cover art. But if you know more about music–or have source material to start from–the system is also happy to play Elton John to your Bernie Taupin, crafting music to match your lyrics or even remixing your original song. In my case, I pasted the exact, 1820 lyrics of Mocha Dick into Suno’s interface. I then specified that I wanted a “rousing sea shanty.” In less than a minute, it had produced four different song variants. Two were vocal-forward, Irish-inflected tunes that sounded fine, but not like anything special. I immediately fell in love with the third one, though. After a lilting start with a single, gravely voice, the song launches into a lively ballad, complete with multi-part vocal harmonies–all imagined by Suno’s generative AI. My kids think it sounds like a choir of pirates. I named it William of Tyre after the doomed ship in the original song, spun up a graphic with Google’s Nano Banana, and uploaded it to YouTube. Automated bangers There’s a lot to like, musically, about Suno’s creation. After its quiet and subdued start, the song slowly swells in intensity–with the pirate choir providing subtle vocal backing–until the doomed crew confront the white whale. At that climactic moment, the tempo suddenly quickens, echoing the speed and drama of the chase, before slowing and adopting a mournful tone as the fictional William of Tyre is ultimately sunk. There’s an odd lyrical section at the end of the original shanty in which the whale begins speaking directly to the crew. Suno does a terrific job making musical sense of this, bringing in multiple voices singing in a lower register with an almost monastic tone to suggest the voice of a massive, seafaring leviathan. Likewise–because the original shanty lacks the kind of catchy, repeating chorus you’d find in a modern song–Suno turns its single repeating line (“Blow my bully boys, blow”) into a powerful refrain that caps off each verse. The original lyrics also lack a clear ending–the song just kind of stops, and there isn’t even a final “Blow my bully boys!” to see us off. Again, Suno handles this musical ambiguity surprisingly well, finishing the piece with a series of shouted “OY OYs!” and a climactic drum solo. To be sure, there are problems. For no reason at all, Suno’s imagined singer pauses in the middle of the first “Bully boys” line. My best guess is that Suno saw a comma in the original lyrics, and interpreted it as a spot to randomly pause. The AI also makes mistakes that a human would probably catch. There’s a line about the “bow” of the ship. Anyone with rudimentary nautical knowledge would know how to pronounce that word in a ship-y context. But Suno makes it sound like the “bow” in “bow and arrow”. It’s a subtle mistake, but one that’s very telling of the song’s AI origins. The future of music? Despite its flaws, though, there’s a strange appeal to the song. I find myself listening to it again and again. So, is this good for the world of music, or not? Suno is already notorious in the music industry for flooding streaming platforms like Spotify with millions of songs that established musicians describe as “slop.” A coalition of these musicians have already launched a Say No to Suno campaign. And the RIAA has reportedly filed suit against the company over copyright allegations. I’m sure a real historical musicologist would listen to my AI-generated shanty and conclude that there’s nothing whatsoever authentic about it. But after listening to the song a lot, I’d be leery of dismissing it too quickly. Sure, the original shanty probably sounded a lot different when it was sung in the 1820s. There was likely no choir of pirates with electric instruments providing dramatic musical backing. Still, there’s something powerful about hearing the song’s original, historic lyrics set to music–even if that music is imagined by AI. Many lines in Mocha Dick made no sense to me when I simply read the lyrics. Hearing them performed gives them an emotional power and resonance I never thought I’d find in the two-century-old original. A line that reads “Come raise your hand/My bully boys/And swear you’ll not flinch or fear/While there’s a spar to keep afloat” doesn’t hit very hard when you first read it. But when it’s sung in a pleading yet resolute tone by overlapping, harmonizing voices (even imagined ones) you suddenly realize that the fictional crew knows the grim fate that awaits them as they confront the whale, yet chooses to proceed anyway. It completely changes the song. That’s the real power of platforms like Suno. Creating AI-powered bangers is nice. But the ability to breathe new life into a long-forgotten set of lyrics–and to create an emotional bridge across centuries of time–is an impactful one. Perhaps William of Tyre isn’t historically accurate or authentic to the original. But all music has a unique and magical ability to stir the soul, lending resonance and power to our frail, human words and struggles. As I learned from my experiment, that applies even if it’s written by a computer. View the full article

In this case study, we went deep instead of broad. We focused on one question: why wasn’t a brand present in a single ChatGPT prompt across ~70 iterations? We chose one prompt: “What are the best hotels in New York City?” We analyzed mentions, citations, fanouts, and SERPs in Google and Bing. We also planned to analyze GPT memory, but it made no discernible difference to mentions, citations, or fanouts. What we did and what we found We chose NYC hotels because it’s a crowded, mature market with juggernauts and up-and-comers. We also have no connection to the NYC luxury hotel space — we intentionally picked an area where we could stay objective and learn from scratch. After running the prompt “what are the best hotels in New York City” 68 times, we identified which hotels appeared most consistently and which were nearly invisible. We chose the Baccarat Hotel as our “client” because it appeared only once (1.5% of the time), despite strong reviews and clear alignment with the prompt’s intent. We wanted to know why — and whether it could change that. Key findings: You can dominate query fanouts on Google SERPs and still underperform in ChatGPT brand mentions. Bing matters most. Ranking in Bing articles for fanouts aligns more directly with ChatGPT mentions — not just citations. In verticals dominated by third-party content, you face complex digital PR paths to increase visibility. Note: A full methodology breakdown appears in the appendix. Mentions of the Baccarat vs. the Fifth Avenue Hotel show just how wide the disparity in ChatGPT visibility can be The Baccarat Hotel appeared once in 68 trials (1.5%). Top performers were large luxury hotels like the Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown. ChatGPT also identified boutique hotels as a subcategory, generating a secondary list in its answers. Boutique hotels like the Baccarat are typically smaller and not part of large chains. Within this boutique subcategory, the Baccarat still underperformed. The Fifth Avenue Hotel, the top-performing boutique property, appeared 13 times, cited 20% of the time, versus the Baccarat’s 1.5%. Reputation can’t explain visibility disparities We first checked whether anything in the hotel’s history or reputation could explain the gap. As the chart below shows, nothing significant did: The Baccarat The Fifth AvenueYear Founded20152023Current Price$930$563Number of Google Reviews1.3k213Google Reviews Rating4.64.6Number of Expedia Reviews531201Expedia Reviews Rating9.49.6 Overall, the Baccarat has been around longer and has more reviews. On quality, the Fifth Avenue Hotel has no edge in Google reviews and only a slight edge in Expedia reviews. The only area where the Baccarat lags is price — but that’s unlikely the issue when The Ritz-Carlton, a consistent non-boutique winner, is listed at $1,100. Further reinforcing the Fifth Avenue’s underdog status: one of its most prominent Google results (rank 2) was a Wikipedia page for a different Fifth Avenue Hotel that closed in 1908, creating potential entity confusion similar to the two Danny Goodwins. If the Fifth Avenue Hotel had been the one missing, it would suggest a less established brand with entity confusion. But the opposite happened — it prevailed in ChatGPT. So what was the problem for the Baccarat Hotel? Winning Google SERPs for query fanouts doesn’t help, but winning Bing SERPs does When ChatGPT performs a web search, it sends a series of queries you can extract via Chrome DevTools. In this case study, examples included: [Best hotels in new york city] [Top rated luxury hotels in new york city recommendations] [Best hotels in nyc top luxury and boutique hotels new york] [Best luxury and boutique hotels in new york city recommendations reviews] [Best hotels in new york city nyc top hotels] [Top hotels in nyc luxury boutique best places to stay new york city] In total, we extracted 25 unique query fanouts. What we saw in the Google SERPs If we only looked at the articles dominating fanout SERPs in Google, we’d expect the Baccarat to narrowly outperform the Fifth Avenue in ChatGPT. That didn’t happen. In the table below, the Baccarat “wins” three of the top 10 most frequently appearing pages, while the Fifth Avenue Hotel “wins” two. The other five feature neither. A “win” means one of the following: Appearing when the other does not. Appearing higher on the page. Having more positive sentiment. The data: URLWho Wins?Noteshttps://www.forbestravelguide.com/destinations/new-york-city-new-yorkThe BaccaratThe Baccarat Hotel is #4 on the list, the Fifth Avenue Hotel is #13 and sits far below the foldhttps://www.mrandmrssmith.com/destinations/new-york-state/new-york/hotelsNeitherNeither Hotel appears on this listhttps://guide.michelin.com/us/en/article/travel/the-best-hotels-in-new-york-all-the-michelin-key-hotels-in-the-cityThe Fifth AvenueThe Baccarat is listed as a “one key” hotel, placing it at the bottom of the list. The Fifth Avenue Hotel is listed as a “two key” hotel, placing it in the middle of the list.https://youshouldgohere.com/2025/01/best-boutique-hotels-new-york-city/NeitherNeither Hotel appears on this listhttps://travel.usnews.com/hotels/new_york_ny/The BaccaratThe Baccarat #11 on the list, the Fifth Avenue Hotel #16https://luxlifelondon.com/best-hotels-manhattan-new-york-city/NeitherNeither appears on this listhttps://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g60763-New_York_City_New_York-Hotels.htmlNeitherNeither Hotel appears on this listhttps://www.lartisien.com/hotels/united-states/new-yorkThe BaccaratThe Baccarat is #5, the Fifth Avenue is #15https://www.cntraveler.com/gallery/readers-choice-awards-new-york-city-hotelsNeitherNeither Hotel appears on this listhttps://www.reddit.com/r/chubbytravel/comments/1n7jro1/which_luxe_hotels_are_people_loving_in_new_york/The Fifth AvenueBoth mentioned, but the Fifth Avenue much more positively What we saw in the Bing SERPs By contrast, looking only at the articles dominating fanout SERPs in Bing, we’d expect the Fifth Avenue to outperform the Baccarat in ChatGPT — and it did. In the table below, the Fifth Avenue “wins” five of the eight most frequently appearing URLs. Note: The table includes two fewer URLs because Bing SERPs were slightly less diverse for these fanouts. The data: URLWho Wins?Noteshttps://www.forbes.com/sites/forbes-personal-shopper/article/best-hotels-in-new-york-city/NeitherNeither appears on this listhttps://www.timeout.com/newyork/hotels/best-luxury-hotels-in-nycThe Fifth AvenueThe Fifth Avenue is #1, The Baccarat is #16https://robbreport.com/travel/hotels/lists/best-luxury-hotels-new-york-city-1237348563/The Fifth AvenueThe Fifth Avenue is #5 (but also wins the hero image/caption), the Baccarat is #11https://www.cntraveler.com/story/best-boutique-hotels-nycThe Fifth AvenueThe Fifth Avenue appears, the Baccarat does nothttps://www.travelandleisure.com/best-hotels-in-new-york-city-8612778The BaccaratThe Baccarat appears, the Fifth Avenue does nothttps://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g60763-zff12-New_York_City_New_York-Hotels.htmlThe Fifth AvenueThe Fifth Avenue appears, the Baccarat does nothttps://www.cntraveler.com/gallery/best-hotels-in-new-york-cityThe Fifth AvenueBoth are listed, but the Fifth Avenue is listed under “Our Top Picks”https://travel.usnews.com/hotels/new_york_ny/The BaccaratThe Baccarat is #11 on the list, the Fifth Avenue is #16 The connection between Bing visibility and brand mentions Bing rank strongly predicts ChatGPT citations — 87% align with Bing’s top results, Seer Interactive found. Our case study supports this and extends it. We examined the relationship between fanouts (Seer focused on prompts) and brand mentions. Example mention: “For a luxury boutique feel: listings like The Fifth Avenue Hotel or Crosby Street Hotel consistently make ‘top NYC’ lists from travel editors.” Mentions are often more valuable than citations. Most people won’t follow citations but will remember the top recommendation. There’s ongoing debate about whether fanouts shape ChatGPT’s answers and mentions, or simply support answers generated from training data. For example, Leigh McKenzie argued on LinkedIn: “The citations you see at the bottom? Those are surfaced after the answer is generated, not before. It’s post-hoc rationalization. The model didn’t choose your brand because it found your URL. It generated an answer based on what it already knows, then pointed to sources that support it.” By contrast, our data aligns with Beehiiv’s research, which suggests citations do shape mentions. Training data doesn’t appear to be the issue for the Baccarat. Compared to the Fifth Avenue, it’s older, has more reviews, and holds similarly high ratings across major platforms. What it lacks is strong presence in Bing results for fanouts and citations, which appears to lead to fewer mentions. A simple flow might look like this: Brand ranks in Bing → ChatGPT fanouts pull in Bing pages → ChatGPT synthesizes training and Bing data to generate mentions Coda: A tale of two Forbes articles, or why the details matter In this vertical, third parties like Forbes and Condé Nast control the space. Visibility depends on who mentions you, so you need a strong outreach strategy — not just updates to your own content. Our data shows that “targeting Forbes” isn’t specific enough. The top result surfaced in both Bing and ChatGPT was the same Forbes article. In Google, the most frequent fanout result was also a Forbes article — but a different one. Google’s article: https://www.forbestravelguide.com/destinations/new-york-city-new-york ChatGPT/Bing’s article: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbes-personal-shopper/article/best-hotels-in-new-york-city As we’ve seen, getting into Google’s Forbes article likely wouldn’t provide a meaningful boost. The Baccarat “won” in that piece. Getting into Bing’s Forbes article, where the Baccarat wasn’t mentioned, could make all the difference. This requires a highly surgical approach grounded in Bing data. Generalities won’t work; detail reigns supreme. Appendix: Methodology Model: We prompted GPT-5.2 Instant and manually extracted results. We didn’t use APIs within ChatGPT. Number of iterations: We ran the same prompt 68 times. Prompt: “What are the best hotels in New York City?” Settings: We tested three memory states: Saved memories off Saved memories on, using unrelated real user memories Saved memories on, with one memory about needing gluten-free travel accommodations For all trials, we turned off “reference chat history” to avoid interference across iterations. We expected differences based on memory settings but found none, so we treated all trials as a single dataset. What we extracted: All query fanouts. Full ChatGPT text output. Citations. Google SERPs for all fanouts. Bing SERPs for all fanouts. View the full article

Make sure that business development is part of your firm DNA. By Domenick J. Esposito 8 Steps to Great Go PRO for members-only access to more Dom Esposito. View the full article

Make sure that business development is part of your firm DNA. By Domenick J. Esposito 8 Steps to Great Go PRO for members-only access to more Dom Esposito. View the full article