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LinkedIn study finds B2B marketers are overwhelmed with AI, though two-thirds are integrating it into their workflows. The post LinkedIn Report: AI Overwhelms 72% Of B2B Marketers appeared first on Search Engine Journal. View the full article

Remarks come hours after first high-level talks between Washington and Moscow since its invasionView the full article

Regulator’s rules are part of a broader effort to rein in the power of largest fund managersView the full article

A painting by street artist Banksy with an environmental message and an estimate of up to 5 million pounds ($6.3 million) is going up for auction, with some of the proceeds helping victims of the Los Angeles wildfires. Sotheby’s auction house said Tuesday that “Crude Oil (Vettriano)” is being sold in London next month from the collection of Mark Hoppus, bassist with California skate-punk band Blink-182, who sees Banksy as a kindred spirit. Hoppus said he was drawn to the subversion, humor and intelligence of Banksy’s work and the similarities between “skateboarding, punk rock and art.” “I feel like street art and punk rock have the same core,” Hoppus said. “The left-out and overlooked making their own reality. … Just go make art. It’s the same spirit. And I’ve loved art and especially street art ever since realizing that.” “Crude Oil (Vettriano)” is part of a 2005 series of works in which Banksy put a satirical spin on famous paintings — withering Vincent van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” and smashing the diner window in Edward Hopper’s “Nighthawks.” The artist said his aim was to show that “the real damage done to our environment is not done by graffiti writers and drunken teenagers, but by big business.” The work going under the hammer is based on “The Singing Butler,” a painting by Scottish artist Jack Vettriano showing a couple in evening dress dancing on a beach as servants proffer sheltering umbrellas. Banksy has added a sinking oil liner and two figures lugging a barrel of toxic waste. “We loved this painting since the moment we saw it,” said Hoppus, who bought the artwork with his wife, Skye Everly, in 2011. He said the painting – “unmistakably Banksy, but different” – has hung in the family’s homes in London and Los Angeles. Hoppus said he would use the proceeds of the sale to buy work by upcoming artists. Some will go to the California Fire Foundation, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and Cedars Sinai Hematology Oncology Research. Banksy, who has never confirmed his full identity, began his career spray-painting buildings in Bristol, England, and has become one of the world’s best-known artists. His mischievous and often satirical images include two male police officers kissing, armed riot police with yellow smiley faces and a chimpanzee with a sign bearing the words, “Laugh now, but one day I’ll be in charge.” Several of his works have sold for multiple millions at auction. The record is almost 18.6 million pounds ($25.4 million at the time) paid at Sotheby’s in October 2021 for “Love is in the Bin” – an image of a girl with a balloon that partially self-destructed during an auction three years earlier thanks to a shredder hidden in the frame. “Crude Oil (Vettriano)” is on display at Sotheby’s in New York until Thursday and in London Feb. 26-March 4. —Jill Lawless, Associated Press View the full article

Roasted vegetables are one of the simple pleasures in life. There's barely any preparation, their unique flavors become sweet and concentrated, and you're rewarded with a symphony of textures—crispy, chewy, juicy, and fluffy. It’s a great example of food that can actually be healthy and taste delicious, and you don’t have to be a trained chef to make them perfectly. The key is: Don’t complicate it. I have the most success using this simple treatment. Two things signal roasted veggie perfection: charred spots and wrinkles. While these might be descriptors for something “ugly,” don’t be fooled. The well-browned areas signal delicious complexity of flavor, due to the Maillard reaction, and the wrinkles signal the veggie in question expanded with steam while cooking through, and now has a soft interior and crispy exterior. All you need is high heat, a bit of oil, and a generous sprinkle of salt. I usually assemble a mélange of three to five different veggies on one sheet pan, but you can certainly roast just a single type of vegetable instead. Trim and prepare your vegetables If you're using broccoli, maybe you cut the florets from the woody stalk. If you've chosen tomatoes or small pepper, then maybe you halve them or you leave them whole. The most important thing to do is keep the size consistent so all of the pieces cook at the same rate. I like to roast big chunky vegetables, so I’ll prepare them to be inch-and-a-half rounds or hunks. Add fat and salt Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann I put all of the vegetables in a large mixing bowl, and drizzle about a tablespoon of neutral cooking oil over them (canola or corn oil is fine). Toss about a half teaspoon of salt into the bowl. Using your hands, start to toss the vegetables, scooping the bottom ones up to the top. Every time you scoop, squish and rub the veggie pieces to make sure everything is well coated in oil and salt. Roast the veggies Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann Dump the contents of the bowl onto a foil-lined or unlined baking sheet. The arrangement doesn’t matter too much, but if I have any veggies with a skin—like halved potatoes or zucchini—I arrange them skin-side down so they’re less likely to stick to the pan. Pop the pan into a 400°F oven. Depending on the vegetable and its size, they’ll roast for 10 to 40 minutes. For large cuts, root vegetables, mushrooms, or squash, cook them for an initial 20 minutes. Then give the pan a shake, check on things, and bake for another 10 to 20 minutes, or until you’re satisfied with the color. Timing differs, but there's wiggle roomWhen timing roasted vegetables, practice makes perfect. Green beans might only take 12 minutes while broccoli needs a bit longer, and cauliflower longer still. When in doubt, just stick around and don’t be afraid to check their status, especially with root vegetables. You can always slice a tester to make sure it’s cooked through. Let the vegetables cool on the pan out of the oven for five to 10 minutes. This gives them time to deflate and emit some steam which will help loosen any stuck ones from the pan. Arrange them on your plates and serve. If you’re wondering whether it’s possible to roast vegetables in an air fryer, it is, and you should. It’s the same preparation method, but keep in mind that you’re limited by the size of your air fryer—you might have to work in batches if you’re cooking for a large group. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. I teach a handful of cycling classes every week, and after each one, I grab a spray bottle of cleaner and a paper towel from the back of the studio and give my stationary bike a wipe-down. It only makes sense: The whole point of being on it is to get all sweaty and gross, and it's inevitable some of that sweat will wind up on the bike. I have no idea what's in the bottle of cleaner, as I trust the gym's cleaning team to provide me with the right tools to keep the equipment in good shape. But when it comes to my Peloton at home, I am the cleaning team, which means I have to be much more on top of things. Here's what I've learned about how to clean every part of the machine after four years of ownership. Clean your Peloton after every rideFirst, keep a microfiber cloth or roll of Clorox wipes nearby so as soon as you dismount, you can wipe down your seat and handlebars. There isn't a ton of space on the bike itself to hang a cloth, and it's my duty as a spin teacher to gently suggest you not hang it off your handlebar when you ride, lest you go to grab the bar, accidentally yank the towel off, and lose your grip. (I don't let people in my classes cover their handlebars with sweat towels for this reason.) I keep a jumbo roll of pre-moistened Clorox wipes on hand and use those on the metal components, seat, and handlebars as soon as I finish a session. It works great. If you own a Peloton, you're probably already tired of spending extra money to buy accessories for it, but consider picking up a simple peel-and-stick hook for a nearby wall or even a shoe hanger designed to dangle off the bike itself and stashing your microfiber cloth there for easy post-ride access. Whether it makes more sense for you to use a rag or wipes, as long as you're wiping it down after each session, you're doing enough to keep it from getting too grimy between more serious cleanings. Do an occasional deeper cleanAbout once a month, I dampen a rag and use a dot of dish soap, then wipe down the whole bike, minus any of the electrical components, including the outlet cord powering the bike and the wires connected to the screen (which I just wipe down with a dry microfiber cloth). Scrub the base, wheels, various adjuster handles, and everything else, then go back over it with a dry cloth. Peloton's website suggests using baby wipes for this, but a damp towel works just as well. Notably, I tried to move my seat the other night and found that my adjuster handle was stuck. There could be two causes: It's been way too long since I cleaned it and that thing got sticky and nasty or I used too wet of a rag last time and it got gummy with dried soap. Either way, that's not good for the bike I spent so much on, nor is it good for me to have to deal with. Today, I cleaned it with a damp—but not soaked—soapy cloth, making sure to get in every nook and cranny. Then, I went over it with a dry cloth to make sure no soap remained behind. Wipe in all the nooks and crannies, like the adjustor handles. Credit: Lindsey Ellefson Take care with the screenTo clean the screen, Peloton recommends first holding down the red button on top until it powers down, then using an ammonia-free cleaner designed for use on LCD, plasma, or other flatscreen, and wiping with a microfiber cloth. Windex is a suitable option, and that's what I use once a month, or when the screen is visibly covered in dust, dry sweat, or whatever else. When powered off, the screen is incredibly reflective and difficult to photograph, so forgive me, but in the photo below you can see the improvement made with just one pass of Windex. A little before-and-after action with the Windex Credit: Lindsey Ellefson Other Peloton cleaning recommendationsIf you're feeling uneasy about using your existing cleaning products on the bike, consider investing in some designed for use on workout equipment. Wipex comes recommended by users on Reddit and is an affordable option that can ease your worries about what you're slopping all over your $1,500 device. During your monthly-or-so deeper clean, don't forget about the mat you have probably placed under the machine—wipe that down with a damp rag and a dab of dish soap or the Wipex cloths too. Finally, you should also be cleaning and deodorizing your shoes. Because the Peloton has no straps that enable you to wear regular athletic shoes, like most bikes at studios do, you have to ride using specialty cycling shoes. That's an annoying added expense, but it can also cause some stink, since those shoes are only used for sweaty activities and never get to leave the house and feel a nice breeze. Wipe down the exterior with your Wipex, Clorox, or soapy cloth, but to deodorize the interior, sprinkle some baking soda and leave them overnight before vacuuming and wiping it out. Full disclosure: I don't do that because I leave mine clipped to the pedals at all times and irrationally hate clipping and unclipping them. As a result, they're always hanging upside-down when not in use, so baking soda will fall right out. I spray the interior of mine with a mix of half vinegar, half water, then let them air dry for a day. It works great. Spritz the inside of your cycling shoes to keep them odor-free, please. Credit: Lindsey Ellefson View the full article

A new artificial intelligence company from one of the cofounders of OpenAI is quickly becoming one of the most highly valued AI firms in an increasingly crowded marketplace. Ilya Sutskever’s Safe Superintelligence (SSI) is in the process of raising in excess of $1 billion with a valuation topping $30 billion. Bloomberg reports San Francisco-based Greenoaks Capital Partners is leading the deal and plans to invest $500 million itself. Greenoaks did not reply to a request for comment about the investment. $30 billion might be well short of the $340 billion valuation OpenAI boasts, but it’s still well above many others in the space, including Perplexity, which has a $9 billion valuation. The new figure is significantly higher than SSI’s $5 billion valuation in its last round, held this past September, when it raised $1 billion from investors including Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz. SSI was founded by Ilya Sutskever, Daniel Gross, and Daniel Levy last June, just one month after Sutskever departed OpenAI. Very little is known about the company so far, aside from its stated goal of building . . . well, a “safe superintelligent” AI system. The company does not yet have a product on the market. “We approach safety and capabilities in tandem as technical problems to be solved through revolutionary engineering and scientific breakthroughs,” the company’s website reads. “We plan to advance capabilities as fast as possible while making sure our safety always remains ahead. . . . We have started the world’s first straight-shot SSI lab, with one goal and one product: a safe superintelligence.” Ilya Sutskever, born in Russia but raised in Jerusalem, studied with AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton, who has warned about the dangers of AI. A short stint at Google led to his meeting and ultimately working with cofounders Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, and Elon Musk, on the organization that would become OpenAI. (Musk would later call Sutskever the “linchpin” to OpenAI’s success.) Sutskever was one of the board members who led the push to remove Altman from the CEO role at OpenAI for a short period at the end of 2023. Sutskever and Altman reportedly clashed over the pace at which generative AI is being commercialized. Days after helping orchestrate the coup, Sutskever reversed course, signing onto an employee letter demanding Altman’s return and expressing regret for his “participation in the board’s actions.” He was removed from the board after Altman returned. (Sutskever isn’t the only OpenAI alum working on his own AI project. On Tuesday, former chief technology officer Mira Murati officially announced Thinking Machines Lab, her AI startup.) When Sutskever left OpenAI, he posted on X that he was working on a new project “that is very personally meaningful to me about which I will share details in due time.” Even with the subsequent announcement about SSI’s creation last June, those details remain scant. SSI and Sutskever have dropped a few hints, however, saying that they plan on creating a single product with one focus and one goal. And SSI has made it clear that it plans to ignore pressure from markets or investors to release its product. “Our singular focus means no distraction by management overhead or product cycles, and our business model means safety, security, and progress are all insulated from short-term commercial pressures,” the website reads. Sutskever is widely respected as one of the world’s top AI researchers, which makes this possible funding round less surprising (even if the company’s valuation is higher than expected). Despite that, he has eschewed the spotlight for much of his career, not doing many interviews, but speaking about AI’s potential for both good and bad when he does. “AI is a great thing. It will solve all the problems that we have today. It will solve unemployment . . . disease . . . poverty,” he said in a documentary titled, iHuman, from filmmaker Tonje Hessen Schei, which came out in 2020. “But it will also create new problems,” Sutskever continued. “The problem of fake news is going to be a million times worse. Cyberattacks will become much more extreme. We will have totally automated AI weapons. I think AI has the potential to create infinitely stable dictatorships.” View the full article

The government guarantor saw close to 25% of probationary employees cut. View the full article

Thinking Machines Lab, an AI startup founded by former OpenAI Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati, has tapped about 30 leading researchers and engineers from competitors such as OpenAI, Meta and Mistral, it said in a blog post on Tuesday. The team — roughly two-thirds of which comprises former OpenAI employees — includes Barret Zoph, a prominent researcher who left the ChatGPT maker on the same day as Murati in late September. Zoph will serve as the startup’s technology chief. OpenAI co-founder John Schulman is the startup’s chief scientist. Schulman left OpenAI for rival Anthropic in August, citing wanting to “focus on AI alignment”. AI alignment refers to a process of encoding human values into AI models to make them safer and more reliable — a key focus for Murati’s startup. Murati is among a growing list of former OpenAI executives, who are responsible for the launch of startups such as Anthropic and Safe Superintelligence. She is raising funds from venture capitalists for her new artificial intelligence startup, Reuters had reported in October. “While current systems excel at programming and mathematics, we’re building AI that can adapt to the full spectrum of human expertise and enable a broader spectrum of applications,” the startup said. The company plans to enable external research on alignment by sharing code, datasets, and model specifications, it said. After Murati joined OpenAI in June 2018, she frequently appeared alongside CEO Sam Altman as the public face of the ChatGPT maker. Her abrupt resignation had marked another high-profile exit from the company as it undergoes major governance structure changes. Prior to OpenAI, she had worked at augmented reality startup Leap Motion and Tesla. —Krystal Hu and Arsheeya Bajwa, Reuters View the full article

After OpenAI, Perplexity AI is joining the "deep research" bandwagon. And it's doing it in a fairly interesting way. Following in the footsteps of DeepSeek's "reasoning" model, Perplexity is the first major AI provider that's offering a Deep Research feature for free users, too. By comparison, OpenAI's Deep Research feature is only available in the $200/month Pro subscription. Deep Research is an upcoming AI feature that takes a bit of time, but performs dozens of related searches, goes over hundreds of resources, and uses a reasoning model to logic out each prompt in a step-by-step process. You can get similar results from tools like Copilot's "Think Deeper" feature, sure, but what sets Deep Research apart is that it puts all of the info it's collected together into a comprehensive, white paper style report. Deep Research is free for all logged-in users, though you're limited to just five queries a day. But if you're paying for Perplexity Pro (which costs $20/month or $200/year), you get up to 500 queries a month. OpenAI's Deep Research feature is limited to 100 queries a month for now. Although, it's not an apples-to-apples comparison. ChatGPT's Deep Research feature takes a lot of time. Up to 20 minutes. It asks follow up questions, shows all the complex steps involved in its process, and spits out a very long report at then end. Perplexity's Deep Research feature is kind of a lite version of that. You get a response in 2-4 minutes, so your results will naturally rely more in searching the web and data collation than deep interpretation on the part of the AI. OpenAI is using its upcoming o3 reasoning model for Deep Research, but Perplexity hasn't mentioned any details about the model it's using. Credit: Perplexity In Humanity's Last Exam, a commonly used AI benchmark consisting of over 3,000 questions across a number of topics, Perplexity's Deep Research scored a 21.1% on accuracy, which is much higher than DeepSeek R1 (8.6%), and Gemini (7.2%). OpenAI's Deep Research still has the lead with a 26.6% completion score, but a silver medal is respectable here given the tool's much lower barrier to entry. So, how does this change how you might use Perplexity? So far, AI chatbots have been all about multiple prompts. You ask a question and prompt again and again to get to detailed answers. But with Deep Research, you can ask a single question and be done with it. The more specific and verbose your prompt, the better the bot's research and report will be, but the AI can now give you pages of info in response to much less prompting. And once your report is generated, you can download it as a PDF. Credit: Perplexity Over on its blog, Perplexity has highlighted multiple examples of the kind of difference Deep Research can make. Where the default model might givee an overview with bullet-point answers, Deep Research will instead come back with multiple paragraphs, detailed reports, and more expanded formatting. View the full article

The new tool taps into Intercontinental Exchange's AllRegs database, which contains over a million pages of guidelines from various sources. View the full article

Do sweet and salty foods taste good to you? Is your sleep maybe not the best? Do you have some belly fat? The answer to these questions is probably yes, because you are human, but that’s not important right now! TikTok influencers would like you to consider another possibility: that your cortisol is too high, and that you should buy their supplements (link in bio!) to control it. Then you’ll be relaxed at night and energetic in the morning, you’ll enjoy the taste of kale, and—most importantly—you’ll become thin and beautiful. This cortisol dysregulation idea has become a sort of mega-phenomenon, absorbing the power and anxieties of anything it touches. If you look up cortisol on TikTok, you’ll find weight loss tips, sleep hygiene tips, massage techniques, and more. You’ll be served videos not only on cortisol, but also on gut issues, mood issues, healing from trauma, smoothie recipes, menstrual cycle syncing, when you should and shouldn’t use caffeine, and just about any other health issue a woman might search for. (Sorry, men—most of this content isn't for you. Yet.) Scroll those videos long enough, and you’ll see a claim about any symptom or inconvenience you’ve ever experienced. It’s all due to your high cortisol, they say. What is cortisol, anyway?Stepping away from TikTok-land for a moment to talk about actual physiology, cortisol is a hormone that we produce from our adrenal glands, which sit on top of our kidneys. The adrenal glands most famously produce epinephrine, which you might recognize as the “fight or flight” hormone we call adrenaline. (In the United States, epinephrine is the medical name. Both words refer to the same thing: ad + renal is the Latin way you say “on top of the kidneys,” and epi + nephro is the same in Greek.) Besides epinephrine/adrenaline, the adrenal gland also produces hormones that regulate water and electrolyte balance, and small amounts of sex hormones. And—relevant to our topic today—they also produce cortisol. Where epinephrine is involved in momentary “fight or flight” reactions, cortisol is the hormone that helps us deal with stress in the longer term, like days to weeks or longer. Your cortisol levels increase when you’re sick, pregnant, severely dehydrated, recovering from surgery, or your body is otherwise dealing with major stress. And these cortisol levels should go up—this is a good thing! People who don’t produce enough cortisol in these situations can experience an adrenal crisis, which can be deadly. In other words, cortisol helps our bodies respond appropriately to stress, especially serious, life-threatening physical stress. If you’ve ever taken a glucocorticoid medication (with a name like cortisone, prednisone, or dexamethasone), or used hydrocortisone cream on a rash, those are all variations of cortisol. There are medical conditions where your body doesn’t make enough cortisol, like Addison’s disease, and medical conditions where your body makes too much, like Cushing’s disease. Both of these are issues to discuss with your doctor, not your friendly local TikToker, but more about those in a bit. What people say about cortisol on social mediaWe’ve covered some of the claims about cortisol above, but to give you a few more examples, here are some of the things healthfluencers say are signs that your cortisol is too high: Waking up between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. at night Being tired in the morning and “wired” or overthinking at night Craving sweet and/or salty foods Having belly fat or love handles (“cortisol belly”) Round face (“moon face”) Cognitive difficulties like “brain fog” or trouble making decisions Feeling anxious or irritable Acne Swelling or fluid in the face, belly, or other areas Gut issues (any kind) Feeling shaky due to (presumed) high blood sugar What “high cortisol” symptoms actually meanIn reality, these symptoms aren’t specific enough to point to elevated cortisol, or to anything else, really. Some of these are common and minor enough that probably everybody experiences them sometimes; who doesn’t crave candy? I find it especially interesting that these symptoms are trendy among women who promote weight loss tips or who search for weight loss tips. If you’re dieting all the time, you might have a lot of these symptoms! Being low on energy (calories) is associated with poor sleep, brain fog, gut issues, feeling irritable, feeling lightheaded or shaky due to low blood sugar—and, for many people, obsessing over whatever fat they have, be it a small or large amount. Others could signal serious medical issues if they are severe enough. For example, you might think you have a “moon face” if your normal face shape is round; that’s not actually a problem. But if your face has always been thin and then becomes round over the span of a few months or years, that’s a textbook symptom of Cushing syndrome; you should go see an endocrinologist. This is “adrenal fatigue” all over againThe “high cortisol” branding for these symptoms is new, but it seems to have evolved from the exact opposite. About five years ago, adrenal fatigue was the bugbear of the day. Remember when Gwyneth Paltrow launched a vitamin packet specifically to address it? The idea behind adrenal fatigue was that your body is so stressed it has burned out and stopped producing stress hormones; the symptoms include fatigue, weight gain, and cravings for salt and sugar. Sound familiar? Adrenal fatigue has been thoroughly debunked by scientists; the symptoms don’t even match the supposed cause. On the other hand, those symptoms do match—sort of—with high cortisol. Somewhat hilariously, there are TikToks that call “adrenal fatigue” another name for “high cortisol,” which is nonsensical; both can't be true. But the high-cortisol myth collects other myths as it goes, so it seamlessly absorbed this one, too. Another phrase that’s now used, both by medical professionals and (perhaps more often) by TikTokers who are making shit up, is “HPA axis dysfunction.” Those letters refer to three parts of your body that are involved in regulating cortisol levels: The hypothalamus (H) is a part of your brain that can produce corticotropin-releasing hormone, or CRH, which signals the pituitary. The pituitary (P) gland sits just below the hypothalamus, and when it receives CRH, it produces adrenocorticotropic hormone, or ACTH, to signal the cortisol-producing portion of the adrenal gland. The adrenal (A) gland releases cortisol in response to ACTH. High cortisol causes the hypothalamus and pituitary to stop making, or to make less of, their respective cortisol-triggering hormones. If something in this system were to get screwed up—one of the components not properly responding to its signals, perhaps—that would be a problem. “HPA axis dysfunction” is an umbrella term (not a specific diagnosis) for ways that this can go wrong. On TikTok, though, it’s sometimes used as a drop-in replacement for “adrenal fatigue.” What influencers say causes high cortisolInfluencers are much bigger on spotting symptoms of high cortisol than they are at explaining why we all have this supposed hormone dysfunction. Still, there are a few scapegoats. Since cortisol is often described (legitimately) as a stress hormone, the TikTok hormone gurus seem to assume that it affects everybody who feels stressed or leads a busy life—which is basically all of us. Caffeine is also mentioned in some of these social media posts, but there isn’t any strong evidence to suggest that your morning coffee is messing with your hormones. Where the fearmongering really goes off the rails, though, is in implicating exercise. Longtime Lifehacker readers will remember when I covered the popular TikTok myth that HIIT (interval training) and lifting weights increase your cortisol and make you fat, while Pilates keeps you lean. (This is not true.) Please indulge me while I quote myself: "Cortisol levels in the blood are elevated after high intensity exercise, but these levels return to normal within an hour. We also adapt pretty quickly to high intensity exercise, as exercise physiologist John Hough points out here: Work from his research group showed that after 11 days of high-intensity cycling, those transient cortisol spikes got a lot lower. (Other research backs this up.) In other words, we get better at handling physiological stress the more practice we get—which any athlete or trainer could have told you. The cortisol release that’s triggered by exercise is just not considered to be a significant factor in weight gain, when you talk to actual endocrinologists (hormone specialists) or scientists who study exercise or metabolism." There’s another myth connected to this one: the idea that, if you ovulate and menstruate (as many women who aren’t on hormonal birth control do), that intense exercise during certain phases of your cycle will increase your cortisol to extreme levels and cause the symptoms previously discussed. This is not true either. What actually causes high cortisolHere’s where we’ll make a brief stop in reality-land: There are medical conditions that cause high cortisol levels in the body, and these can be serious and even life-threatening. Keep in mind that cortisol is a hormone that is supposed to rise in response to stress; levels are two to four times higher than normal during pregnancy, for example. It also rises and falls each day, typically peaking in the morning around the time we wake up; it’s lowest at night. (The size of this fluctuation, and even whether you have it, varies considerably from person to person. Don’t trust a naturopath or chiropractor who wants to diagnose you with high cortisol based solely on a measurement of this curve.) So, slightly elevated cortisol as a result of normal life stresses is not usually a medical issue. But abnormally elevated cortisol is. Here’s a great example that shows both what the TikToks get right and what they get wrong. Bridget Houser, profiled in the Washington Post’s medical mysteries series, experienced headaches, anxiety, thinning hair, and a tendency toward weight gain that she managed by exercising more. Her face became round. Several doctors suggested her symptoms might be due to stress from her impending (or, as the symptoms continued, recent) wedding. Ultimately, she turned out to have cancer—a tumor in her lung was sending out ACTH, a hormone that normally is a signal from the pituitary gland (located in your head, under your brain) that adjusts levels of cortisol in the body. Rogue cancer cells can sometimes butt into that hormonal conversation, and that’s what happened to Houser. After she got surgery to remove the tumor, her cortisol levels subsided and her symptoms went away. There are other conditions besides cancer that can cause similar symptoms, but they occur under extreme stress. This review article lists several scenarios where pathologically high cortisol has been observed, including: alcohol use disorder late stage chronic kidney disease major depression, anxiety, and some other mental health diagnoses If you think you have high cortisol, to the point where it’s affecting your health, please go see a real doctor. How to lower your cortisol, according to TikTokUnscrupulous influencers, having convinced you that you have a health problem, have no shortage of answers for you. Most of these answers end up putting money in their pocket: There are dozens if not hundreds of “adrenal support” supplements out there, which TikTokers with affiliate codes will happily sell you. You can also part with your money by purchasing courses on specific types of massage or meditation, like EFT tapping (you tap on “meridian points” on your body while focusing on negative emotions) or “trauma-releasing” floor exercises. Influencers are always happy to pick you up on the “food is medicine” bandwagon, so there are plenty of video clips showing foods you should or should not eat, and “adrenal cocktails” you can mix up and drink every morning. Among the supplements you "should" take are plenty of ordinary vitamins (specific B vitamins, sometimes) and recommendations to take supplements with adaptogens like ashwagandha. There is no solid research connecting these recommendations with adrenal health, but eating veggies and protein are good for us anyway. If TikTok tells you to eat more kale, you may not need to, but it won’t necessarily hurt. Along the same lines, social media posts will call out sleep disturbances as a symptom of high cortisol, and then recommend basic sleep hygiene steps as a supposed treatment for high cortisol. Cortisol is an unnecessary middleman here, whether it’s actually involved or not; if your sleep sucks, you should try to sleep better. I’ll just add that if your sleep still sucks after setting up a no-phone bedtime routine and taking morning walks in the sunshine, maybe you should ask your doctor about getting evaluated for sleep apnea. Why you should not listen to TikTok about how to lower your cortisolAccording to TikTok, high cortisol is so significant that you must fix it, and fixing it will change your life; but it’s also minor enough that you don’t need to seek medical care for it, and you can fix it yourself. Those two ideas don’t really fit together. That combination gets dangerous when real medical issues are involved—imagine if Bridget Houser, the woman with cancer, had taken to TikTok to diagnose and treat herself. Or to take another example, there’s a corner of TikTok where women tell each other that your husband’s “short fuse” is really a sign of high cortisol. I’m sorry, but if your husband has anger management issues, the type of help you need is not a video instructing you on what supplements to tell him to take. Ultimately, if you think you have symptoms of high cortisol, it’s important that you consider how severe your symptoms are—and act accordingly. If you feel stressed and think you might benefit from some yoga or an “adrenal cocktail” of orange juice and coconut water, be my guest. Maybe it will help, and if not, no harm, no foul. On the other hand, if you’re having symptoms that are seriously affecting your life and your health, see a real doctor. An endocrinologist can diagnose hormonal problems, but you might have better luck starting with your symptoms instead of guessing at the cause. For example, if you often wake up in the night and feel groggy in the morning, you might want to consider talking to a sleep specialist. One last note: If you’re scrolling TikTok and think you might have a problem with your hormones, there are plenty of “hormone balance coaches” who will offer to take you under their wing and order a bunch of expensive tests to figure out what’s going on. This is not the same as going to a doctor who actually knows what they are doing. These hormone coaches may order the wrong kinds of tests, and usually do not have access to the types of tests used in medical diagnosis of hormone issues. Please go see a real doctor. View the full article

YouTube introduces the ability to promote Shorts videos, letting channels get short-form content in front of more viewers. The post YouTube Lets Channels Boost Shorts Videos appeared first on Search Engine Journal. View the full article

Lumio, a newly launched company specializing in AI-driven solutions for professional services firms, aims to transform how elite practitioners navigate commercial and strategic challenges. Founded by legal industry veterans, Lumio introduces AI-powered bionic teaming to enhance decision-making, business development, and firm leadership in a rapidly evolving market. The legal industry faces increasing competition and volatile demand, with traditional operating models struggling to keep pace. While firms have invested billions in modernization, partners remain underserved in core business functions such as client insights and strategic decision-making. Lumio’s AI-driven solutions seek to fill this gap by offering real-time commercial enablement tailored to the legal sector. “Our mission is to equip knowledge workers and professional service firms—starting with high-performing law firm partners—with the insights, creativity, and tools they need to excel,” said Jason Marty, Co-Founder and CEO of Lumio. “Generative AI represents a seismic shift in how professional services operate, and the first firms to achieve responsible, strategic AI workforce integration will enjoy a durable advantage. By embedding cutting-edge technology with deep industry expertise, Lumio helps elite professionals work smarter, grow faster, and lead with confidence in an era of accelerating change.” Lumio’s AI solutions are designed to go beyond workflow automation, providing domain-specific intelligence that enhances how professionals think, decide, and act in competitive markets. Key Benefits of Lumio’s AI Solutions Market Insights for Decision Support – AI-driven analysis to refine competitive strategy and business positioning. Sustainable Revenue Growth – Guidance on pricing, client relationships, and selling strategies. Real-Time, Personalized Assistance – AI solutions that adapt to a firm’s culture and evolving business needs. Rather than focusing AI applications on legal task automation, Lumio aims to leverage AI for firm-wide strategic leadership and business growth. “Many seek to leverage generative AI against the tasks of core legal work,” said Ed Sohn, Co-Founder, Chief Product Officer and General Counsel of Lumio. “At Lumio, we focus instead on harnessing AI’s intelligence and scale across the work of commercial and organizational leadership, especially to lead strategy and growth for complex firms in a complex time. Our teams of expert AI agents will also possess real command in navigating the modern, high-performing legal workplace. Lumio’s AI agents can finally create intuitive experiences for elite lawyers in demanding environments, unlocking new levels of human accomplishment.” Lumio’s AI agents are designed to navigate high-performing legal environments and enhance the leadership capacity of elite lawyers, ensuring strategic growth and improved firm performance. This article, "Lumio Launches to Bring AI-Powered Business Enablement to Professional Services" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Lumio, a newly launched company specializing in AI-driven solutions for professional services firms, aims to transform how elite practitioners navigate commercial and strategic challenges. Founded by legal industry veterans, Lumio introduces AI-powered bionic teaming to enhance decision-making, business development, and firm leadership in a rapidly evolving market. The legal industry faces increasing competition and volatile demand, with traditional operating models struggling to keep pace. While firms have invested billions in modernization, partners remain underserved in core business functions such as client insights and strategic decision-making. Lumio’s AI-driven solutions seek to fill this gap by offering real-time commercial enablement tailored to the legal sector. “Our mission is to equip knowledge workers and professional service firms—starting with high-performing law firm partners—with the insights, creativity, and tools they need to excel,” said Jason Marty, Co-Founder and CEO of Lumio. “Generative AI represents a seismic shift in how professional services operate, and the first firms to achieve responsible, strategic AI workforce integration will enjoy a durable advantage. By embedding cutting-edge technology with deep industry expertise, Lumio helps elite professionals work smarter, grow faster, and lead with confidence in an era of accelerating change.” Lumio’s AI solutions are designed to go beyond workflow automation, providing domain-specific intelligence that enhances how professionals think, decide, and act in competitive markets. Key Benefits of Lumio’s AI Solutions Market Insights for Decision Support – AI-driven analysis to refine competitive strategy and business positioning. Sustainable Revenue Growth – Guidance on pricing, client relationships, and selling strategies. Real-Time, Personalized Assistance – AI solutions that adapt to a firm’s culture and evolving business needs. Rather than focusing AI applications on legal task automation, Lumio aims to leverage AI for firm-wide strategic leadership and business growth. “Many seek to leverage generative AI against the tasks of core legal work,” said Ed Sohn, Co-Founder, Chief Product Officer and General Counsel of Lumio. “At Lumio, we focus instead on harnessing AI’s intelligence and scale across the work of commercial and organizational leadership, especially to lead strategy and growth for complex firms in a complex time. Our teams of expert AI agents will also possess real command in navigating the modern, high-performing legal workplace. Lumio’s AI agents can finally create intuitive experiences for elite lawyers in demanding environments, unlocking new levels of human accomplishment.” Lumio’s AI agents are designed to navigate high-performing legal environments and enhance the leadership capacity of elite lawyers, ensuring strategic growth and improved firm performance. This article, "Lumio Launches to Bring AI-Powered Business Enablement to Professional Services" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. The Powerbeats Pro 2 are a new set of headphones with a really interesting feature—Apple says they can measure your heart rate during workouts. Huge if true—imagine if you could leave your watch at home (or not bother to buy one in the first place) and still get a heart rate reading to go with your workout. But that's only going to be a useful feature if the data is reasonably accurate. I was curious how good a reading they can actually get from your ears, so I compared the Powerbeats Pro 2 to a traditional chest strap, and to the Apple Watch for good measure. So how do these headphones stack up against those established methods? Not well, I’m afraid. Not well at all. Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 $249.00 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg Shop Now Shop Now $249.00 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg My first hint that the heart rate functionality may be a bit underwhelming was that Apple says on their support page for the Powerbeats Pro 2 that “If you’re wearing an Apple Watch during your workout…the Apple Watch heart rate monitor data is prioritized,” suggesting that the headphones’ heart rate data isn’t as good as the Apple Watch’s heart rate data, and they know it. Okay, so, maybe the headphones’ data is slightly less accurate, or slightly less reliable. But how much less? I’ve been doing heart rate comparisons whenever I review or compare devices, wearing a chest strap alongside the device I’m testing and seeing whether the device can keep up. For some examples, see my reviews of the Coros Pace 3 for a watch with an impressively accurate heart rate sensor, and of Whoop for one that tries hard to keep up, but doesn’t always succeed. So I ran the same type of test for the Powerbeats Pro 2, and got some surprising data—that is, when I could get the headphones to pair and the “compatible” apps to play nice. The bottom line: These aren’t going to replace a heart rate monitor for serious athletes, and probably aren’t even good enough for casual use for anyone who wants to track their heart rate. But take a look at my results and see for yourself. The little black window next to the ear tip is the heart rate sensor. Credit: Beth Skwarecki How I tested the Powerbeats Pro 2’s heart rate functionalityI took these headphones for several runs, some outdoors and some on a treadmill. I tried a variety of apps, but most of the data you see below is from tests done with Runna on iPhone (iPhone 12 Mini) and Strava on Android (Pixel 9). Outdoors, it was cold, and I wore a buff over my ears. Indoors, I was in a busy public gym, with nothing on my ears but the Powerbeats Pro 2. I did the same mini workout for each test, except where noted. This was: Two minutes warmup (if on a treadmill, this was a jog at 5-6 mph) Five rounds of one minute running (7.0 mph) followed by one minute walking (3.0 mph) No cooldown—I typically rested or walked while reviewing my results and setting up the next test. (Quiz for those following my fitness coverage: is this a SIT or a HIIT workout? Answer key here.) I chose this interval workout because intervals do the best job of showing the performance of a heart rate sensor. If I just did a steady run, you’d expect a more or less steady line, and we’d be quibbling over whether the line is a little more (or less) wobbly than it’s supposed to be. But when my actual heart rate surges up and drops down repeatedly, it’s easy to see when a sensor lags behind, or doesn’t quite reach the peak, or stays consistently too high or too low compared to the chest strap. A chest strap, by the way, is as close as you can get to a gold standard for heart rate field tests like this. I used my trusty Coospo paired to a Garmin 265S. For each of the graphs below, the data from both devices was collected at the same time. The software used to make the graphs is DC Rainmaker's analyzer. The heart rate data was often inaccurate or just plain uselessTesting a heart rate feature on a device is usually simple: I record a workout on the new device, compare to the readings I get from a heart rate chest strap, and report here on how it did its job. But testing the Powerbeats Pro 2 was more like solving a mystery. I believe I’ve figured out what the heck is going on here, and it’s not good news. The first time I took the headphones out for testing, with the iPhone app Runna, I got laughably poor readings—two or three data points each, instead of the hundreds that should have been there. Was it Runna’s fault? The headband I wore over my ears on that cold day? Or are the headphones really that bad? Powerbeats Pro 2 in orange, chest strap heart rate monitor (for reference) in black. Credit: Beth Skwarecki For comparison, I did another interval run with the Runna app but using a Series 10 Apple Watch as the sensor. Apple Watches have always had pretty good heart rate sensors, and you can see the drastic difference here. (The Apple Watch is in red.) Apple Watch in red, chest strap heart rate monitor (for reference) in black. Credit: Beth Skwarecki Strangely, one of my tests that day—on an Android phone, with the headphones paired to the Strava app—saw the heart rate trace meander aimlessly, and then suddenly snap on to the true data for the second half of the workout. OK, so the headphones can report a correct heart rate, but when and how? And why don’t they do it more often? More research was needed. The next day, I took the headphones to a gym to use the treadmill (meaning that there was no ear covering for the rest of my tests). With the headphones paired to an app on a phone in front of me, and my Garmin on my wrist, I could compare the two mid-run and clearly see that the headphones were just not doing their job in the heart rate department. The headphones would often report a heart rate that was far higher than what the watch was showing, often by 10 beats or more. (The worst I noticed was a 34-beat difference, where the headphones reported 168 while the chest strap was reading 134.) Sorry for the blurry photos, but this is a representative sample of what I saw while I was running. Heart rate is the bottom number on the watch. Credit: Beth Skwarecki I had to choose between sound quality and accurate heart rate readingsI gave this mystery a good long think. I thought about all the factors that may have influenced the readings. I checked out other reviews of the Powerbeats Pro 2, and saw that, while they were also disappointed in its performance, they got more usable heart rate graphs than I did. What could be going wrong? In the settings for the Powerbeats Pro 2, I noticed something—an “ear tip fit test.” I had already selected the rubbery ear tips that fit my ears the best (XS), so I didn’t think I needed this. But I did the test, and the app told me that I needed to adjust something, either the ear tips or the position of the headphones in my ears. I finally got a good seal by angling the headphones a lot further forward than I would have expected. The marketing photos typically show people with the ear hooks right in front of their ears, nearly vertical, but mine had to be pointing forward at least at a 45-degree angle for Apple to give me the all-clear. Maybe fit was the answer to my mystery. So I hit the gym again. Left: results of the fit test telling me I had a good seal. Right: instructions to wear the headphones in a way that did not give me a good seal. Credit: Beth Skwarecki (Fun fact: the fit test requires a quiet environment. I wanted to do the fit test immediately before my run, so I started it while standing on the treadmill at the gym. I got an error message saying my environment was too noisy. Oh well. I did my best to get the headphones in the same position as when I had done the test, and I made sure that it felt and sounded like I was getting a good seal.) Left: the results of the fit test, which felt and sounded great. Right: the only position I could find that got me good heart rate data (and terrible sound quality) Credit: Beth Skwarecki It turns out that fit was the answer, but not the way I expected. I ran with the ear hooks in their approved position, and got terrible readings. Often 20-30 beats too high, and occasionally the headphones would fail to send data to the app they were paired to, leaving a blank “- -” in the space where heart rate was supposed to appear. And then I had an idea. What if I deliberately fit the headphones as badly as possible? I cranked them backward so the ear hooks were vertical. The sound got tinny, the active noise canceling did nothing, and they kind of hurt. I could hear the guy on the treadmill next to me breathing and messing with his phone. You know, the stuff that you wear headphones to block out. But my heart rate data? It was nearly perfect. Top: wearing the headphones as recommended by the ear tip fit test. Bottom: wearing the headphones with ear hooks vertical and sound quality terrible. In both graphs, orange is the Powerbeats Pro 2 and black is the chest strap reading used for reference. Credit: Beth Skwarecki I did a few more tests in each headphone position, and confirmed that—whether I paired them to an Android running Strava or an iPhone using Runna—I had the choice of two experiences: Uncomfortable fit, tinny music, poor audio seal, but good heart rate data Good seal, comfortable fit, music sounds great, sounds of the gym are blocked out—but useless heart rate data I’m not sure if this is a “me” problem or an “everyone” problem. Maybe I have weird ears. But even if so, I can’t be the only one with weird ears. Will you, dear reader, find that you pay $249 for a pair of headphones only to find one of their touted features is unusable? I can’t tell you the odds, but I can tell you they’re much greater than zero. Oh, and you’ll have a green light shining from your ears How you'll look in dim light. Credit: Beth Skwarecki The first night I had the headphones, I used them in the evening while I was doing my nightly wind-down routine of playing word games while listening to music. (Yes, I use my phone in bed. Sleep experts, you may disapprove.) My husband was trying to sleep next to me, and I became aware of a bright green light somewhere in the room. Was it coming from some device of his? It sure wasn’t anything of mine. Then I realized: It must be coming from my ears. (He looked over and groggily confirmed.) As with other photoplesmythographic devices, these things measure heart rate by shining a green light through your skin and measuring how much gets reflected back. This can be used to give a (theoretically) fairly accurate reading of your heart rate. That’s why the back of your smartwatch glows green from time to time, and why even the Oura ring (generations 3 onward) shines at you when you’re trying to sleep. (I miss the Oura gen 2’s decision to use non-visible infrared light, but those days are in the past. Sigh.) To confirm, I went to the Settings app on my iPhone, selected the Powerbeats Pro, and switched off heart rate sensing. The room went dark. I turned heart rate sensing back on. Green light again. I turned the sensing back off for the night, and then the next day was perplexed at why I couldn’t get the heart rate feature working before I realized, duh, I turned it off. How to use the heart rate feature on iPhone Ironically for an Apple product, the heart rate feature is less accessible on an iPhone than it is on Android. The headphones pair nicely, and you get a dedicated section for them in the main Settings app, which is where you can adjust their noise-canceling or transparency mode, try the fit test, or turn heart rate monitoring on or off. But when it comes to actually using the heart rate feature during a workout, you need to use one of seven "partner apps." A reviewer's guide from Apple lists these as: Nike Run Club, Runna, Ladder, Slopes, Open (a meditation app), Peloton, and YaoYao (a jump rope app). Notably, there are no "just track a run" apps in this list—no Strava, for example—so even my testing was tricky. Nike Run Club is free, but doesn't export files that include heart rate data. Peloton is a paid app, and I couldn't find a way to export data without an active subscription (paid members may be able to export to Strava). Runna is paid, but I was able to use the "free run" feature on a free trial. Ladder is a paid workout app. Slopes is for skiing—and admittedly I didn't try that one. Open is a meditation app, and I couldn't find any way to use it as a replacement for a workout app. Apple says that the data from your Powerbeats Pro 2 will end up in the Apple Health app, but it's not in any usable format like a graph of heart rate from your workout. Heart rate data as shown in the Apple Health app. The data next to a bluetooth symbol is from the Powerbeats Pro 2. I think. Credit: Beth Skwarecki The above is what you'll see if you go into Apple Health, then Heart Rate, then Show All Data. All right, how do you actually turn this on? Here's what I did. Pair the Powerbeats Pro 2 to your phone using the instructions that came with them. (You'll open the case, headphones still inside, near your phone. Then just follow the prompts.) Make sure the heart rate sensor is on (it is by default). Go into the Health app, then Heart Rate, then Data Sources and Access. Make sure your chosen app has access to read heart rate data. Do a workout from one of those partner apps (Runna, etc). How to use the heart rate feature on AndroidAndroid users, this is an easier one for you, and you have a much broader choice of apps. You can use any app that can connect to a bluetooth heart rate monitor, like Strava, or Wahoo, or Polar Beat. (I used Strava for my testing.) Pair the headphones as you would any Bluetooth headphones Download the Beats app if desired—I did this first, but it didn't seem to be necessary to pair the sound or heart rate. Go into your chosen app—say, Strava. Tap whatever icon or menu allows you to connect to a heart rate sensor. Double click and hold the "b" button on your headphones (either side works). So that's click, release, then click and hold. The Powerbeats Pro 2 should show up as an available heart rate sensor. Select it, and then go ahead and do your workout. The bottom line: Don’t rely on the Powerbeats Pro 2 for accurate heart rate dataIf you train by heart rate in any kind of serious way, do not bother with this feature. Sometimes it may not work (as in my initial tests with Runna). Sometimes it may show that your heart rate is 15, 20, even 34(!) beats higher than it really is. Sometimes it may be correct, or close to correct—but if you don’t know when a heart rate sensor is correct and when it’s way off, what good is it? This isn’t just a small difference, either. If the headphones were a few beats off here and there, I wouldn’t worry about it. But these 20+ beat discrepancies are enough to make you think you’re in zone 4 when you’re actually in zone 2 or 3. That’s enough to throw off your workout, and if this data ends up being used for a VO2max calculation, it will give you a wildly inaccurate idea of your cardio fitness. The heart rate data from the Powerbeats Pro 2 is just not good enough to do the job it’s trying to do. Which is sad! I wish this could work! But, alas, it does not. View the full article

More government-backed loans shifted out of forbearance, while the share of portfolio and private-label securities loans remained flat from December. View the full article

The traditional marketing funnel doesn’t reflect how users actually search and engage with content today—and it’s hurting your SEO. With access to more data than ever before, marketers now have a better framework for driving organic traffic: the spiderweb. By structuring your content strategy around interconnected, high-value pages, you can drive faster rankings, more organic traffic, and better user experiences. Join Think Spiderwebs, Not Funnels For Remarkable SEO Results with Ryan Brock to learn: Why traditional funnels waste organic traffic opportunities What Gartner and leading researchers say about the modern buyer’s journey How to shift your content strategy to improve rankings and engagement Don’t let outdated SEO strategies hold you back. Sign up today! View the full article

If you've never considered the Kindle Kids e-reader because of the label, you've been missing out on some sweet perks. The 16 GB Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Kids is $139.99 (originally $179.99), the lowest price it has ever been, according to price-tracking tools. Here's why this is a great deal for everyone, not just kids. Display type: 7" glare-free, Resolution: 300 ppi, Storage: 16 GB, Battery life: up to 12 weeks. Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Kids– Cyber City $139.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $179.99 Save $40.00 Get Deal Get Deal $139.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $179.99 Save $40.00 Display type: 7" glare-free, Resolution: 300 ppi, Storage: 16 GB, Battery life: up to 12 weeks. Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Kids- Starfish $139.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $179.99 Save $40.00 Get Deal Get Deal $139.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $179.99 Save $40.00 Display type: 7" glare-free, Resolution: 300 ppi, Storage: 16 GB, Battery life: up to 12 weeks. Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Kids– Diary of a Wimpy Kid $144.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $189.99 Save $45.00 Get Deal Get Deal $144.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $189.99 Save $45.00 SEE 0 MORE The kids' Kindle version includes a free case (about a $30 value), an ad-free experience ($20 value), six months of Amazon Kindle Kids + subscription ($36 value), and a two-year warranty (as opposed to the one-year warranty on the standard version). All that value for $20 less than the “adult” version is a no-brainer. The cases for these models are obviously tailored for kids, but it's hard to argue with free. The Amazon Kindle Kids + subscription will charge you automatically after the first six months, but you can cancel it beforehand. On these Kindle models, the kids’ mode feature is turned on by default. You can easily turn it off in the settings, but this will bring the ads back to the lock screen—the Kindle Kids also has some cool features even adults will appreciate, like the awards feature, as this video explains. With the six months of Amazon Kindle Kids + subscription, you can get unlimited access to thousands of kids' books, including all of the Harry Potter series. The Paperwhite Kindle is the same as the adults, in the sense that it's waterproof, has adjustable warm light, a 12-week battery, and Audible access through Bluetooth. You can read the full review of the 2024 Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Kids from PCMag here. If you still don't know which Kindle is best for you, check out our complete breakdown. View the full article

A project management dashboard is one of the essential tools for delivering projects as planned. That’s because a project dashboard is a visual representation of key performance indicators (KPIs) that provide a high-level overview of key project metrics. For those not ready to upgrade to project management software, there’s an alternative: Excel dashboard templates. Dashboard templates are designed to track a variety of different metrics that provide vital data for project managers and their teams. We have free dashboard templates that will help track budget, workload, progress and more. Monitoring this allows project managers to determine if the project is on schedule and not overspending. If it is, adjustments can be made to get back on track before it impacts the success of the project. Download these Excel dashboard templates for free or sign up for a free 30-day trial of our software and see what real-time dashboards can do when managing a project, program or portfolio. We’ll talk more about that later, but first, let’s get to the Excel dashboard templates for free download. 1. Project Dashboard Template for Excel Excel dashboard templates are important for a high-level overview of the project. This free project dashboard template for Excel is an excellent choice. It allows project managers and their teams to monitor project progress on several different bar charts and pie charts. Four dashboards together paint a clear picture of the project and where it stands concerning where it should be in terms of the project plan. /wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Project-Dashboard-template-UPDATE.png There’s a pie chart that captures the project tasks. It makes it easy to see at a glance what percentage of the team’s tasks have been completed, are in progress, aren’t yet started or are overdue, as well as the total. A workload bar chart shows the resource allocation for the project team. It’s color-coded to show work in progress, not started and overdue. A task length chart shows duration and a cost chart helps track the actual cost against the budget for that period. All of this information is crucial to managing a project, but so is working efficiently. Excel dashboard templates are just not going to provide the efficiency that is built into project management software. ProjectManager is award-winning project and portfolio management software with real-time dashboards for either a project and multiple projects. Because our dashboard is online, it collects live data automatically, there’s no need to manually update a template. Our live dashboards provide a current overview of the project’s performance and progress, which allows project managers to quickly make adjustments if necessary to get the work back on track. Templates can’t do that. Get started with ProjectManager today for free. /wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Light-mode-portfolio-dashboard-CTA.pngProjectManager’s real-time dashboards are better than Excel dashboards. Learn more 2. KPI Dashboard Template for Excel But, again, not everyone is ready to upgrade to project management software with real-time data visualization. For those looking for Excel dashboard templates to help as a task tracker, download this free KPI dashboard template for Excel. This is a great tool for providing critical information as it monitors, analyzes and displays KPIs to better manage organizations and projects. /wp-content/uploads/2024/08/KPI-Dashboard-Template-Screenshot.png This Excel dashboard has even more charts and graphs to help track the project timeline, budget and more. There’s even a yearly profit and loss overview with two charts, one showing revenue over time and the other expenses. This will help keep organizations aware of whether they’re in the red or the black. That data is even broken further down to monthly revenue, quarterly revenue, monthly expenses and quarterly expenses. There’s also a chart capturing workload analysis and one for resource planning, among others. 3. Budget Dashboard Template for Excel One of the most important KPIs to track is cost. This free budget dashboard template for Excel is a robust breakdown of project costs essential for keeping track of the budget and delivering projects without suffering cost overruns. There’s also space to add the job number, customer name, job description and start and completion dates. This is certainly one of the Excel dashboard templates needed to keep track of budgets. /wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Budget-Dashboard-Template.png Beneath that are colorful pie charts that make this Excel spreadsheet easy to read and understand. For example, there’s one to show the planned costs against the actual costs, which helps project managers see if their current spending aligns with where the budget said they should be at this time. There are also pie charts for direct material costs, direct labor costs, direct equipment costs and overhead costs. A bar chart collects the total costs for an overview of the budget, which is another reason this Excel dashboard comes in handy when managing the budget. 4. Workload Dashboard Template for Excel We’ve mentioned workload a few times already, but for those who aren’t familiar with the term, workload refers to the total amount of work assigned to a team member or group within a project. It’s usually measured in hours or tasks. Keeping track of workload ensures that team members are working at capacity, but not overallocated to the point of suffering from burnout, which erodes morale. Therefore, this is one of the Excel dashboard templates that everyone needs. /wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Workload-Dashboard-Template.png The free workload dashboard template for Excel is made up of four bar charts. On the left side are color-coded monthly resource allocation charts that show each team member’s resource availability (hours per month) in black and current workload allocation (again in hours per month) in yellow. This provides a monthly overview of the team’s resource allocation and can help project managers to balance their workload. Workload can also help with tracking labor costs. The right side of the Excel dashboard shows labor costs by employee in a chart for each month they’re working on the project. 5. Task Tracker Dashboard Template for Excel Project managers use a task tracker to organize, prioritize and monitor the progress of individual tasks within a project. This free task tracker dashboard template for Excel is a centralized location to manage all project details and improve collaboration between team members while helping project managers know what needs to be done, who is responsible and when each task is due. /wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Task-Tracker-Dashboard-Template.png As Excel dashboard templates go, this one is another must-have. It is made up of a couple of charts and pie charts that are color-coded to make it easy to digest them easily and fast. There’s one for task priority levels, which has the status on the left column, which goes from very low to critical. There are also columns for count and percentage. There’s another, set up the same, only this tracks task status, from on hold to not started. This information is then translated to pie charts that visually show the percentage and color codes for those who prefer to get their information that way. Benefits of Using Excel Dashboard Templates We’ve been talking about the importance of Excel dashboard templates and why they’re beneficial to project managers and their teams. To reiterate and provide more detail, we’ve listed the benefits of using an Excel dashboard in project management below. Dashboards bring together various project data in a centralized location, which makes it easier to track and monitor progress across different aspects. Excel dashboards can be updated regularly to reflect close-to-real-time data, giving project managers an updated view of how the project is progressing. With data presented in an easily digestible format, project managers can quickly identify problems or areas that need attention and make informed decisions faster. Graphs and charts help simplify complex data, making it easier for stakeholders to understand and access the project status without needing to dive into raw data. Disadvantages of Using Excel Dashboard Templates While Excel dashboard templates can be useful, they’re not a perfect project management tool. We’ve already noted some ways they are inferior to project management software. Here are some general disadvantages. Many pre-designed templates have fixed structures, which might not suit every project’s unique needs. Customizing templates is time-consuming and challenging. As the project grows or becomes more complex, the template might not scale effectively, creating issues with handling large amounts of data, slow performance or clutterness. Excel dashboards rely heavily on manual data entry or data imports. If the data isn’t consistently updated or entered correctly, it can lead to inaccurate results, which could impact decision-making. Unless specifically designed with automation or integration features, Excel templates don’t typically pull real-time data from other sources, which could result in outdated information unless manually refreshed. ProjectManager Is a Better Project Tracking Tool Than Excel Dashboard Templates While Excel dashboard templates have a place in project management, it’s mostly a stepping stone to more sophisticated tools. Sure, try out these free dashboard templates and get a handle on how useful they are in monitoring project metrics to meet deadlines and stay on budget. But chances are frustration will settle in soon enough. After all, these are only static documents that must be manually updated and are poor collaboration tools. ProjectManager is award-winning project and portfolio management software with real-time project and portfolio management dashboards. But that’s only one feature of many to deliver successful projects. Multiple Project Planning and Scheduling Views Before one can track data, projects must be planned and tasks, resources and costs scheduled. Our software has multiple project views to do that and execute the work. Project managers prefer the robust Gantt charts that schedule tasks, resources and costs, but also link all four types of task dependencies to avoid delays and cost overruns. They can filter for the critical path rather than go through timely and complicated calculations. Then, once a baseline is set, progress and performance are tracked in real time. Plans are shared across the visual workflow of kanban boards and powerful task lists for teams to execute their work, while stakeholders can stay updated with the calendar view. /wp-content/uploads/2024/04/critical-path-light-mode-gantt-construction-1.png Robust Resource Management Features Many of the dashboards include workload, as does ours, but real project management software will have resource management tools, as well. As noted above, both human and nonhuman resources can be scheduled on the Gantt. When onboarding teams, project managers can set their availability according to PTO, vacation and global holidays, as well as skill sets, which makes assigning tasks easier. There’s a color-coded workload page to view resource allocation and balance team workload to keep everyone working at capacity. Our team page summarizes team activities, which can be filtered by priority, progress and more. Even our secure timesheets, which streamline payroll, also measure how far each team member has gotten in completing tasks. /wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Team-Light-2554x1372-1.png Of course, there’s more. Automated workflows with task approvals for quality control, version control, global search and unlimited file storage, email and in-app notifications and risk management tools. But first, try the free Excel dashboard templates, then take a free trial and join the successful teams at Avis, Nestle and Siemens who use our software to deliver successful projects. Get started with ProjectManager today for free. The post 5 Free Excel Dashboard Templates appeared first on ProjectManager. View the full article

It feels like every social media site now has a 'reply guy' problem. You'll post about something that you know your followers will get, but if the post goes any degree of viral, multiple random strangers will appear in the replies questioning all your decisions and putting you down for making a harmless quip or a minor error. Bluesky is now helping you do something to address this problem. The site's moderation tools are among the best I've seen on social media platforms and in its latest update (1.98), Bluesky is doubling down on its efforts to help you keep harassment at bay. You can now restrict replies to only your followers, which is another great tool to reduce the negative effects of going viral. How to restrict replies to followers only on Bluesky Credit: Pranay Parab There are two easy ways to restrict replies on Bluesky. One way is to open any of your posts on and click the Everybody can reply button next to the post date. This will open a small pop-up, where you can select Your followers and hit Save. In my experience, Bluesky's community has been pretty civil, but you can use this option in case your post gets a little too popular on the Discover feed and invites unwanted attention. Alternatively, you can go to a new settings page, also introduced with Bluesky 1.98, to automate setting your replies to followers only. To do this, click Settings in the left pane on Bluesky's desktop site (or on the app, tap the three-lines menu in the top-left and select Settings). Now, go to Moderation > Interaction settings and select your preferred defaults for all new posts. Even if you select a restrictive reply preferences here, you can always change it for individual posts, just in case you're open to inviting opinions from strangers on specific topics. Other Bluesky updates Credit: Pranay Parab The latest update also included a few search improvements. You can now go to any user's profile on Bluesky to search through their posts. This is an easy way to find a useful post from a specific person. For instance, you can visit my profile on Bluesky, hit the three-dots button in the top-right, and select Search posts. Use the search bar up top to look for "iPhone" or any other search term you like. You can do this for any profile on Bluesky. Other than this, there are minor improvements to Bluesky's search page, and the site's translation feature now supports Interlingua. View the full article

Owning a car is expensive—even new cars need tune-ups, regular maintenance, and occasional repair, and it all adds up (to an average of about $1,452 every year). Car warranties help mitigate those costs, but they typically only cover three years or up to 36,000 miles, which goes by pretty fast, considering most people drive about 15,000 miles per year. That drives people to look for ways to save money on car repairs, especially if the car is outside the warranty period. But are you sure your car is out of warranty? It’s possible that even if the official warranty has expired, your car is covered to some extent by what’s variously known as “policy adjustments,” “service campaigns,” or “good-will programs.” Whatever the official name, let’s call them what they really are: They’re “secret warranties,” and they could potentially save you a lot of money. What’s a secret warranty?A secret warranty comes into being when a car manufacturer realizes that a part or component in one of their car models is defective, usually due to unusually high failure rates or other problems. To manage the situation and protect themselves from liability, they will extend the warranty on that part, offering free replacement parts using new versions or discounts on service work. So what makes them secret? These warranty extensions aren’t official recalls—they’re voluntary programs from the manufacturer—so there’s actually no law that compels them to notify people. While vehicle owners are sometimes notified of these extended warranties, this is usually done by mail and many people simply don’t read the letters. Additionally, no effort is made to contact secondary owners who bought the vehicle pre-owned, and dealers rarely reach out to publicize free or discounted repairs. The Center for Auto Safety estimates that at any given time there are more than 500 secret warranties active from all the auto manufacturers combined. Each one represents repair and safety work you might be able to get at no cost or at a discounted rate—if you can find out about them. How to checkSecret warranties are typically communicated to dealers via what’s known as a technical service bulletin (TSB), which lets the dealer know that they can replace a part or perform some kind of service on specific models (sometimes even specific ranges of Vehicle Identification Numbers, or VINs) at a reduced rate or no cost. You can potentially find out about TSBs and secret warranties in three ways: State laws. While no federal law exists requiring the disclosure of secret warranties, five states have these laws on the books: California, Connecticut, Maryland, Virginia, and Wisconsin. These states require car dealerships to notify you when the warranty on your car is extended or otherwise modified. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) site. The NHTSA maintains a database of TSBs. You can enter your car’s information and see a list of “Manufacturer Communications.” These can be a chore to read through and understand, but it can be worth the trouble if you find out you can have your car serviced for free. For example, here’s a memo from Ford detailing an extended warranty on a range of Escape SUVs and Fusion sedans. One caveat: Just because there’s a TSB (or several) for your car’s make and model doesn’t mean there’s a secret warranty—they just indicate that a problem exists and the dealer has been given instructions on how to fix it. But having a copy of that communication from the manufacturer will help you find out from your dealer if there’s a secret warranty you can take advantage of. Call the dealer. Finally, you can try simply calling the dealer who sold you the car and ask. Have your VIN ready and ask them to check for warranty adjustments or extensions. Note that just like the original warranty, these “secret” warranties have deadlines. If you find out about them after their effective period has expired, you won’t be able to take advantage of them. View the full article

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager. A reader writes: Lately I’ve been subject to a technique by coworkers that I call “death by a thousand questions.” It goes something like this: Q: Hey, are we getting in the combination llama/alpaca wool? A: I don’t have a date yet, I’m hoping for the 20th. Q: So the 20th. A: It’s not confirmed. I’ll let you know as soon as I know. Q: Who needs to confirm it? A: The freight forwarder. Q: Well, haven’t they confirmed it before? A: Yes, and when they confirm it they will let me know. Q: Why can’t they confirm it now? A: I’m not sure, but they are a reliable company. Q: Is it their provider? A: I don’t know. Q: Is it their supplier? A: I don’t know. Q: Is the problem the llama wool or the alpaca wool? A: I don’t know. Q: Shouldn’t you know? A: There’s no problem that I am aware of. The company is not late. They said on or about the 20th. If it turns out it’s late, they’ll tell me then what the issue is. Q: So is the 21st considered late? A: What? Q: You said on or about the 20th. When do you get late? When do you start asking questions? A: I don’t know. We’ve never had issues with this company. Q: We need to get the date confirmed. A: I agree. It should happen this week. Q: When this week? A: Sometime this week? Is there an issue I need to know about? On or about the 20th is typical delivery time. Is there an emergency? Q: Don’t you think every delivery is important? I think the people relying on that wool think it’s important. A: I know it matters to people. As soon as I have confirmation, I’ll send it out. Q: You know the answer. You just don’t want to share it. I’ve also had email rounds like this. How do I shut this down without killing someone? What on earth is going on in your office that this is happening with multiple people? If it were a single person, I’d think it was just something about them — anxiety interfering with their work, maybe, or an excessive degree of rigidity/inability to deal with any ambiguity, or … well, I don’t know what. But something about them. But multiple people? And with that accusatory twist at the end (“you just don’t want to share it”)? That makes me very curious about the context this is happening in! For example, have there been ongoing issues with late deliveries or other problems, and has no one informed the people affected in a timely way or acted with enough urgency to resolve them? Have there been issues with you or your team hoarding info and not sharing it with people who would benefit from knowing it? Are there other trust issues in play — either trust in people’s competence or trust that everyone is working toward the same goal? If those issues aren’t in play on your team, are there other teams in the company where those have been issues, and so now the people you’re dealing with approach everything through that lens? Or, are they mirroring to you what they get from their own manager? Sometimes when someone works for a manager who micromanages the crap out of their work, they start passing that down the chain; they know their manager will be asking them these questions (“so the 20th? well, who needs to confirm it? well, when will that happen?”) so they try to get out ahead of it by asking you all that up-front. (Sometimes people realize this is dysfunctional but it’s the best way to survive with their boss, and other times they absorb that way of operating as the norm and don’t even realize it’s dysfunctional. Even more fun, sometimes those people then carry that habit with them to other jobs where it’s completely out of left field.) As for how to shut it down, a few options: 1. When you know you’re dealing with someone like this, try to give as much of the info as you can up-front. It’ll take more time initially but it’ll save you time in the long run by cutting out a lot of the back and forth. So for example: Q: Hey, are we getting in the combination llama/alpaca wool? A: I don’t have a firm date yet. I’m hoping for the 20th, but once it’s confirmed they’ll let me know. If it’s not the 20th, I expect it will be within a few days of that. This company is very reliable, but if there’s context on your end that I should be aware of, please let me know! 2. If you find yourself in the middle of one of these long back-and-forths, pause and say, “From your questions, it sounds like there might be special context around this delivery? What’s going on with this one — anything unusual I should factor in?” 3. If it happens repeatedly from the same person or the same team, address the pattern: “You have seemed very concerned about our deliveries lately, so I wanted to give you some big-picture info about how they work. We generally know the rough timeframe something is expected to arrive in, but the exact date isn’t confirmed until the week before. The companies we work with are very reliable, and their estimated dates are usually correct. Is anything going on on your end that’s causing worry about them?” (And if the problem is with multiple people on a team, you might have this conversation with their manager.) View the full article

With an accurate picture of resource demand, you'll be able to better meet your project deadlines, budgets, and scope requirements. Here's how to do resource demand planning, some expert best practices, and which tools to use. The post How To Do Resource Demand Planning: 5 Key Steps appeared first on The Digital Project Manager. View the full article

Thinking Machines Lab to focus on making artificial intelligence ‘more widely understood’View the full article