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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

One of Donald Trump’s first acts as president was to sign an executive order attacking birthright citizenship. While several judges have moved to block the order, Trump’s anti-immigrant push is continuing—from allowing immigration officials to conduct arrests at schools and places of worship to training local law officers to interrogate and detain immigrants in their custody. However, Deirdre Schifeling, chief policy and advocacy officer at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), points out that local government resistance as well as individuals fighting back against anti-immigrant policies are showing results. “We’re seeing this in Chicago, where Trump is suing the government for not helping enough,” she says. Here are five ways to fight anti-immigration policies: 1. Contact government officials, particularly local ones Politicians are moved by public opinion. Apply pressure by continually calling and emailing your representatives. “The most effective way to change immigration policy is to contact members of Congress and express your opposition to anti-immigrant policies,” Oleg Nekritin, an attorney at the Law Offices of Robert J. DeGroot, said via email. And don’t neglect local officials. Schifeling points out that cities and states cannot be forced to assist with mass deportation by the federal government. While they can’t obstruct the federal government, they can choose not to help. Schifeling recommends asking local leaders to pass sanctuary city or state laws, which means they won’t use their resources to help the federal immigration authorities, as well as laws that prevent city data from being used to deport immigrants. She also recommends asking school boards to issue guidance to schools asking them not to track student immigration status and not to share it if they do have the status. 2. Educate yourself Learn what’s going on in your community vis a vis the law. Schifeling recommends attending a “Know Your Rights” workshop so people can understand what their and their neighbors’ rights are if they’re faced with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials. In addition, the more people who understand the law, the more people there are who can educate others in their community, as well as bear witness when ICE raids happen and try to help prevent unlawful actions. For example, if ICE doesn’t have a warrant, you don’t have to let them in. “We’re hearing from the Trump administration that communities are very educated and this as a top obstacle for carrying out their mass deportations,” Schifeling says. “It’s confirmation that know-your-rights outreach is working.” 3. Donate While organizations such as the ACLU are looking to expand and appreciate donations, donating to local legal service organizations and immigrant advocacy groups can also be powerful. These smaller groups are on the frontlines in the fight to protect immigrants but often lack the resources of their larger counterparts. Elizabeth Sweet, executive director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, notes that smaller organizations often struggle to get funding since they may not have brand-name recognition or even the ability to hire marketing teams. Yet often, it’s local organizations that best understand the needs of the immigrant community, says Sweet, “and can be the most responsive.” In addition, consider donating to immigrant bond funds. “Helping people bond out of immigration detention is going to be really important to give them a chance to find an attorney to represent them in their deportation cases,” said Tara Tidwell Cullen, director of communications at the National Immigrant Justice Center, in an email. 4. Volunteer Volunteering can take many different forms. Schifeling at the ACLU recommends getting trained in Know Your Rights, so if a raid happens in the community, volunteers can show up and distribute Know Your Rights cards printed in multiple languages. Organizations may also need volunteers to help people fill out citizenship paperwork or register to vote. Small organizations often also need professional skills since they don’t have the budget to retain large staffs. Legal service organizations depend on volunteer attorneys, while in general, nonprofits need expertise with fundraising, finance, marketing, and website management. Check with your local organizations to see which of your skills might be a good fit. 5. Verify information before you share it Last, but not least, in your desire to help, make sure you’re not inadvertently spreading misinformation. Immigrant communities are already living in fear. If you have information, make sure it’s coming from a credible source before sharing it. “We’re hearing so many rumors flying around, sometimes from folks who want to be helpful,” Sweet says. “But when someone says, ‘ICE is here and they are going to take action in this community,’ it’s really scaring people who are already scared.” 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

Shares of Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) surged over 10% on Tuesday on the news that rivals Broadcom and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) are in talks to divide the ailing American chipmaker’s business into two parts, according to the Wall Street Journal. Fast Company reached out to Intel for comment but a spokesperson didn’t immediately return our request. Once the largest semiconductor company in the world, Intel is now struggling to turn around its business after the chip-manufacturing giant’s shares lost 59.60% last year due, in part, to missing out on the generative artificial intelligence boom. According to the Journal report, Broadcom is interested in Intel’s chip-design and marketing business, if it finds someone to partner with Intel’s manufacturing business. TSMC signaled interest in investing in and studying Intel’s chip plants, potentially as one of several investors. The two companies are in separate, preliminary talks with Intel. Shares in TSMC (NYSE:TSM) were down more than 1% at the time of this writing in midday trading, while Broadcom stock (NASDAQ:AVGO) was down about 3%, after both fell substantially on the market’s open. Splitting up Intel would have been unthinkable in its heyday when it dominated the processing business, but the split is in line with recent industry trends toward either manufacturing or designing chips. And Intel has had quite a fall from grace. In November, after 25 years, the company lost its spot in the Dow Jones Industrial Average to Nvidia. News of the talks comes after the Trump administration signaled it would safeguard American chip technologies at France’s AI Action Summit in Paris about a week ago, and the White House has been involved with aspects of the talks between Intel and TSMC over Intel’s factories, according to the Journal. View the full article

Shares of Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) surged over 10% on Tuesday on the news rivals Broadcom and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) are are in talks to divide the ailing American chipmaker’s business into two parts, according to the Wall Street Journal. Fast Company reached out to Intel for comment but a spokesperson didn’t immediately return our request. Once the largest semiconductor company in the world, Intel is now struggling to turn around its business after the chip-manufacturing giant’s shares lost 59.60% last year, due to in part to missing out on the generative artificial intelligence boom. According to the Journal report, Broadcom is interested in Intel’s chip-design and marketing business, if it finds someone to partner with Intel’s manufacturing business. TSMC signaled interest in investing in and studying Intel’s chip plants, potentially as one of several investors. The two companies are in separate, preliminary talks with Intel, and haven’t signed deals. Shares in TSMC (NYSE:TSM) were down over 1% at the time of this writing in midday trading, while Broadcom stock (NASDAQ:AVGO) was down about 3%, after both fell substantially on the market’s open. Splitting up Intel would have been unthinkable in its heyday, when it dominated the processing business, but the split is in line with recent industry trends toward either manufacturing or designing chips. And Intel has had quite a fall from grace. After 25 years, the company recently lost its spot in the Dow Jones Industrial Average to Nvidia in November. News of the talks comes after the Trump administration signaled it would safeguard American chip technologies at France’s AI Action Summit in Paris about a week ago, and the White House has been involved with aspects of the talks between Intel and TSMC over Intel’s factories, according to the Journal. 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

A new “Advanced Plans” section within Google Ads’ Reach Planner tool was spotted by digital marketing expert Brent Neale. The big picture. The tool represents Google’s continued push toward automated campaign optimization, offering AI-driven recommendations for budget allocation. How it works. Advanced Plans suggests a mix of ad types based on advertisers’ goals, creating specific plans for both conversion creation and capture. Why we care. The feature could help advertisers more effectively allocate their budgets across different ad types based on specific conversion goals. Between the lines. This appears to be part of Google’s broader strategy to simplify campaign planning while leveraging its machine learning capabilities. What’s next. The feature appears to be in testing, suggesting Google may be gathering feedback before a wider rollout. Bottom line. If successful, Advanced Plans could streamline the campaign planning process for advertisers while potentially improving conversion outcomes. 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. You've probably heard of Sonos smart speakers and soundbars. They're one of the best in the market for audio quality and simple user experience. But unless you're in the weeds of tech audio, you probably missed their debut in the headphone space with the Sonos Ace, which was released last summer. You can get the Sonos Ace for $349 (originally $449), the lowest price they've been according to price tracking tools. Sonos Ace $349.00 at Amazon $449.00 Save $100.00 Get Deal Get Deal $349.00 at Amazon $449.00 Save $100.00 The Sonos Ace are soft, comfortable, and adaptable to different head sizes, thanks to their plastic design. You actually get buttons to control the headphones, which I personally consider a huge plus. The battery life is impressive, with about 30 hours with either the Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) or Aware Mode settings active or about 40 hours with both of those off. The Bluetooth multipoint connectivity means you can connect up to two devices at once and switch seamlessly between them. The headphones perform well, according to PCMag's "excellent" review. The sound is balanced with an EQ adjuster in the app, and the ANC and Aware Mode are top-tier, competing with the best headphones in the market. Unfortunately, the Sonos Ace aren't wifi-enabled, meaning you can't stream media into them like you can with Sonos speakers. However, you can connect to Sonos speakers through Bluetooth and listen to your media that way (if you own Sonos speakers). At their current price, the Sonos Ace are competitive with the best headphones for Apple users, the AirPods Max, and the best headphones for Android users, Sony's WH-1000XM5. If you care about transparency mode or have Sonos speakers are home, the Sonos Ace is your best choice. Otherwise, consider the AirPods Max or the WH-1000XM5. View the full article

Parents across the U.S. should soon be able to determine how much lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury are in the food they feed their babies, thanks to a California law, the first of its kind, that took effect this year. As of January 1, 2025, every company that sells baby food products in California is required to test for these four heavy metals every month. That comes five years after a congressional report warned about the presence of dangerously high levels of lead and other heavy metals in baby food. Every baby food product packaged in jars, pouches, tubs, and boxes sold in California must carry a QR code on its label that consumers can scan to check the most recent heavy metal readings, although many are not yet complying. Because companies seldom package products for a single state, parents and caregivers across the country will be able to scan these QR codes or go online to the companies’ websites and see the results. I am a pharmacist researcher who has studied heavy metals in mineral supplements, dietary supplements, and baby food for several years. My research highlights how prevalent these toxic agents are in everyday products such as baby food. I believe the new California law offers a solid first step in giving people the ability to limit the intake of these substances. How do heavy metals get into foods? Soil naturally contains heavy metals. The earth formed as a hot molten mass. As it cooled, heavier elements settled into its center regions, called the mantle and core. Volcanic eruptions in certain areas have brought these heavy metals to the surface over time. The volcanic rock erodes to form heavy metal-laden soil, contaminating nearby water supplies. Another major source of soil contamination is the exhaust from fossil fuels, and in particular leaded gasoline. Some synthetic fertilizers contribute, too. Heavy metals in the soil can pass into foods via several routes. Plants that yield foods such as sweet potatoes and carrots, apples, cinnamon, rice, and plant-based protein powder are especially good at extracting them from contaminated soil. Sometimes the contamination happens after harvesting. For example, local water that contains heavy metals is often used to rinse debris and bugs off natural products, such as leaves used to make a widely used supplement called kratom. When the water evaporates, the heavy metals are retained on the surface. Sometimes drying products in the open air, such as cacao beans for dark chocolate, allows dust laden with heavy metals to stick to their surface. Producers can reduce heavy metal contamination in food in several ways, which range from modestly to very effectively. First, they can reserve more contaminated areas for growing crops that are less prone to taking in heavy metals from the soil, such as peppers, beans, squash, melons, and cucumbers, and conversely grow more susceptible crops in less-contaminated areas. They can also dry plants on uncontaminated soil and filter heavy metals out of water before washing produce. Producers are starting to use genetic engineering and crossbreeding to create susceptible plants that take up fewer heavy metals through their roots, but this approach is still in its early stages. Sweet potatoes and other root vegetables are especially susceptible to absorbing heavy metals from soil. [Photo: Hui Sang/Unsplash] How much is too much? Although there is no entirely safe level of chronic heavy metal ingestion, heavy metals are all around us and are impossible to avoid entirely. In January 2025, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration released its first-ever guidance for manufacturers that sets limits on the amount of lead that baby food can contain. But the FDA guidance does not require companies to adhere to the limits. In that guidance, the FDA suggested a limit of 10 parts per billion of lead for baby foods that contain fruits, vegetables, meats, or combinations of those items, with or without grains. Yogurts, custards, and puddings should have the same cutoff, according to the agency. Root vegetables and dry infant cereals, meanwhile, should contain less than 20 parts per billion of lead. The FDA regulations don’t apply to some products babies frequently consume, such as formula, teething crackers, and other snacks. The agency has not defined firm limits for the consumption of other heavy metals, but its campaign against heavy metals in baby food, called Closer to Zero, reflects that a lower dose is better. That campaign also laid out plans to propose limits for other heavy metals such as arsenic and mercury. Modestly exceeding the agency’s recommended dosage for lead or arsenic a few times a month is unlikely to have noticeable negative health effects. However, chronically ingesting too much lead or inorganic arsenic can negatively affect childhood health, including cognitive development, and can cause softening of bones. How California’s QR codes can help parents and other caregivers It’s unclear how many products consistently exceed these recommendations. A study by Consumer Reports in 2018 found that 33 of 50 products had concerning levels of at least one heavy metal. In 2023, researchers repeated testing on seven of the failing products and found that heavy metal levels were now lower in three, the same in one, and slightly higher in three. Because these tests assess products bought and tested at one specific time, they may not reflect the average heavy metal content in the same product over the entire year. These levels can vary over time if the manufacturer sources ingredients from different parts of the country or the world at different times of the year. That’s where California’s new law can help. The law requires manufacturers to gather and divulge real-time information on heavy metal contamination monthly. By scanning a QR code on a box of Gerber Teether Snacks or a jar of Beech Nut Naturals sweet potato puree, parents and caregivers can call up test results on a smartphone and learn how much lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury were found in those specific products manufactured recently. These test results can also be accessed by entering a product’s name or batch number on the manufacturer’s website. Slow rollout In an investigation by Consumer Reports and a child advocacy group called Unleaded Kids, only four companies out of 28 were fully in compliance with the California law as of early this year. Some noncompliant companies had developed no infrastructure, some had developed websites but no heavy metal information was logged in, and some had information but required consumers to enter batch numbers to access results, without the required QR codes on the product packaging. The law requires companies to provide this information for foods produced after Jan. 1, 2025, with no provisions for extensions, and the major producers agreed to comply not only for California residents but to provide the results nationwide. California enforces noncompliance by embargoing misbranded baby food products, issuing penalties, and suspending or revoking registrations and licenses. When companies’ testing and reporting systems are fully up and running, a quick scan at the grocery store will allow consumers to adapt their purchases to minimize infants’ exposures to heavy metals. Initially, parents and caregivers may find it overwhelming to decide between one chicken and rice product that is higher in lead but lower in arsenic than a competitor’s product, for example. However, they may also encounter instances where one baby food product clearly contains less of three heavy metals and only slightly more for the fourth heavy metal than a comparable product from a different manufacturer. That information can more clearly inform their choice. Regardless of the readings, health experts advise parents and caregivers not to eliminate all root vegetables, apples, and rice but instead to feed babies a wide variety of foods. C. Michael White is a distinguished professor of pharmacy practice at the University of Connecticut. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. If you like the idea of running errands or going for a jog without lugging your phone around, the Apple Watch Series 7 (GPS + Cellular) is down to $249.99 on Woot. That’s a $500 discount on its original $749 price tag, but the deal is only live for two days or until it sells out. If you’re an Amazon Prime member, you get free standard shipping, while others will have to pay $6 (keep in mind that Woot won’t ship to Alaska, Hawaii, PO boxes, or APO addresses). Now, if you’re wondering why you should care about the cellular version over the regular GPS model, it's because it doesn’t need to be tethered to your iPhone to have a connection. You can take calls, reply to messages, stream Apple Music, and use Apple Pay without having your phone nearby. That’s especially useful if you like to run without your phone or leave it behind while at the gym. PCMag called the Series 7 the “Best Smartwatch of the Year 2021” and gave it an Editor's Choice award when it launched, thanks to its larger display (meaning bigger buttons, a full QWERTY keyboard for texting, and an easier-to-read interface) and fast charging capabilities, going from 0 to 80% in about 45 minutes (helpful if you use sleep tracking and don’t want to take it off for long). Of course, it's a couple of years old at this point (the Series 10 is the most recent generation), but the Series 7 is still a solid option if you don't care about having the absolutely newest tech available. The Series 7 also comes with an IP6X and WR50 rating, offering strong dust resistance for outdoor workouts and water resistance up to 50 meters (so you can wear it in the shower or take it poolside without worry). Additionally, this model comes with Apple’s limited one-year hardware warranty, which is a nice safety net. Like other Apple Watches, the Series 7 has a full set of health features including heart rate monitoring, ECG, blood oxygen tracking, always-on altimeter, and sleep tracking, among others. It also keeps an eye on your well-being, notifying you if it detects potentially harmful noise levels or irregular heart rhythms, plus fall detection—automatically dialing for help if you take a hard fall and don’t respond. That said, its battery life is around 18 hours, so you’ll need to charge it regularly, which isn’t great, but that’s the Apple Watch standard. If you want something that lasts multiple days, the Ultra models are better, but they cost a lot more. View the full article

The continent has been shocked by Trump’s antagonism but not yet jolted into action on defenceView the full article

Respondents tell us what they’re watching. Does it match what you’re seeing? By CPA Trendlines Research Go PRO for members-only access to more CPA Trendlines Research. View the full article

Respondents tell us what they’re watching. Does it match what you’re seeing? By CPA Trendlines Research Go PRO for members-only access to more CPA Trendlines Research. View the full article

Want more housing market stories from Lance Lambert’s ResiClub in your inbox? Subscribe to the ResiClub newsletter. Pandemic era adoption of work-from-home and hybrid work models has left many office spaces unused, triggering a surge in expired leases and vacant office buildings. Simultaneously, the residential housing market remains resilient, with the number of active homes for sale in January 2025 sitting 25% below the levels recorded in January 2019. It’d only make sense that many of these offices over time get converted into condos and apartments, right? To gain a comprehensive understanding of the current office-to-apartment conversions landscape, ResiClub turned to RentCafe, an arm of property management software giant Yardi Systems. Entering 2021, there were 12,100 office-to-apartment units in the U.S. conversion pipeline. Fast-forward to 2025, and that figure is now 70,700—an increase of 484% in just four years. “This significant increase highlights the evolving nature of America’s cities that are driven by shifts in living preferences and changes in work habits,” wrote RentCafe in its latest report. “As office spaces are reimagined to meet the demand for housing, it’s clear that adaptive reuse is playing a key role in reshaping urban landscapes.” According to RentCafe, the office-to-apartment unit pipeline (70,700) makes up 42% of the 169,000 units currently being converted from commercial properties into apartment units. It’s followed by hotel-to-apartment (22%), factory-to-apartment (11%), and warehouse-to-apartment (6%). The biggest chunk of this 70,700 office-to-apartment unit pipeline can be found in New York (8,310 units). Not too far behind is Washington, D.C. (6,533 units), Los Angeles (4,388 units), Chicago (3,606 units), and Dallas (2,752 units). From a big-picture perspective, the 70,700 office-to-residential conversion pipeline might not be as significant as it appears at first glance. Look no further than the project at 219 E. 42nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, near Grand Central Terminal. The former Pfizer headquarters will be transformed from a 10-story office building into a 29-story luxury multifamily development, bringing 1,600 housing units to market in 2027. This single conversion will be the biggest in New York City’s history and makes up 19% of New York City’s conversion pipeline and 2.3% of the U.S. conversion pipeline. The 291,000-square-foot office building will be about 540,000 square feet after the additional 19 stories are added to the structure. For perspective, there are about 95 million square feet of office real estate available for lease in New York City alone. Of the 55,339 office-to-apartments in some phase of development in January 2024, only 3,709 were completed by December, leaving 51,630 units that carried over into 2025, according to RentCafe’s report. Why aren’t there more office-to-apartment conversions right now? Commercial buildings may not be designed or constructed with residential living in mind. Converting office spaces into comfortable and functional apartments may require significant structural changes, such as adding windows or ventilation, or modifying floor plans. While office-to-apartment conversions can often be done faster, they often cost more than just building a new building. Big Picture: While the conversion of office spaces into residential units is gaining momentum, it still remains a small segment of the residential housing market. View the full article

When a hurricane or tornado starts to form, your local weather forecasters can quickly pull up maps tracking its movement and showing where it’s headed. But have you ever wondered where they get all that information? The forecasts can seem effortless, but behind the scenes, a vast network of satellites, airplanes, radar, computer models and weather analysts are providing access to the latest data—and warnings when necessary. This data comes from analysts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, known as NOAA, and its National Weather Service. Atmospheric scientists Christine Wiedinmyer and Kari Bowen, who is a former National Weather Service forecaster, explained NOAA’s central role in most U.S. weather forecasts. When people see a weather report on TV, what went on at NOAA to make that forecast possible? A lot of the weather information Americans rely on starts with real-time data collected by NOAA satellites, airplanes, weather balloons, radar, and maritime buoys, as well as weather stations around the world. All of that information goes into the agency’s computers, which process the data to begin defining what’s going on in different parts of the atmosphere. NOAA forecasters use computer models that simulate physics and the behavior of the atmosphere, along with their own experience and local knowledge, to start to paint a picture of the weather—what’s coming in a few minutes or hours or days. They also use that data to project seasonal conditions out over weeks or months. NOAA’s data comes from many sources to provide a more complete picture of developing climate and weather conditions. Communities and economies rely on that constantly updated information. [Chart: NOAA] When severe weather is on the way, the agency issues the official alerts you’ll see in the news and on your phone. All of this analysis happens before the information reaches private weather apps and TV stations. No matter who you are, you can freely access that data and the analyses. In fact, a large number of private companies use NOAA data to create fancy maps and other weather products that they sell. It would be extremely difficult to do all of that without NOAA. The agency operates a fleet of 18 satellites that are packed with instruments dedicated to observing weather phenomena essential to predicting the weather, from how hot the land surface is to the water content of the atmosphere. Some are geostationary satellites which sit high above different parts of the U.S. measuring weather conditions 24/7. Others orbit the planet. Many of these are operated as part of partnerships with NASA or the Air Force. Some private companies are starting to invest in satellites, but it would take an enormous amount of money to replicate the range of instrumentation and coverage that NOAA has in place. Satellites only last so long and take time to build, so NOAA is continually planning for the future, and using its technical expertise to develop new instruments and computer algorithms to interpret the data. NOAA’s low earth orbiting satellites circle the planet from pole to pole and across the equator 14 times a day to provide a full picture of the year twice a day. The agency also has geostationary satellites that provide continuous coverage over the U.S. [Chart: NOAA] Maritime buoys are another measuring system that would be difficult to replicate. Over 1,300 buoys across oceans around the world measure water temperature, wind, and wave height—all of which are essential for coastal warnings, as well as long-term forecasts. Weather observation has been around a long time. President Ulysses S. Grant created the first national weather service in the War Department in 1870. It became a civilian service in 1880 under the Department of Agriculture and is now in the Commerce Department. The information its scientists and technologists produce is essential for safety and also benefits people and industries in a lot of ways. Could a private company create forecasts on its own without NOAA data? It would be difficult for one company to provide comprehensive weather data in a reliable way that is also accessible to the entire public. Some companies might be able to launch their own satellite, but one satellite only gives you part of the picture. NOAA’s weather observation network has been around for a long time and collects data from points all over the U.S. and the oceans. Without that robust data, computer models and the broad network of forecasters and developers, forecasting also becomes less reliable. Analyzing that data is also complex. You’re not going to be able to take satellite data, run a model on a standard laptop and suddenly have a forecast. And there’s a question of whether a private company would want to take on the legal risk of being responsible for the nation’s forecasts and severe weather warnings. NOAA is taxpayer-funded, so it is a public good—its services provide safety and security for everyone, not just those who can pay for it. If weather data was only available at a price, one town might be able to afford the weather information necessary to protect its residents, while a smaller town or a rural area across the state might not. If you’re in a tornado-prone area or coastal zone, that information can be the difference between life or death. Is climate data and research into the changing climate important for forecasts? The Earth’s systems—its land, water, and the atmosphere—are changing, and we have to be able to assess how those changes will impact weather tomorrow, in two weeks and far into the future. Rising global temperatures affect weather patterns. Dryness can fuel wildfires. Forecasts have to take the changing climate into account to be accurate, no matter who is creating the forecast. Drought is an example. The dryness of the Earth controls how much water gets exchanged with the atmosphere to form clouds and rainfall. To have an accurate weather prediction, we need to know how dry things are at the surface and how that has changed over time. That requires long-term climate information. NOAA doesn’t do all of this by itself—who else is involved? NOAA partners with private sector, academia, nonprofits, and many others around the world to ensure that everyone has the best information to produce the most robust weather forecasts. Private weather companies and media also play important roles in getting those forecasts and alerts out more widely to the public. A lot of businesses rely on accuracy from NOAA’s weather data and forecasts: aviation, energy companies, insurance, even modern tractors’ precision farming equipment. The agency’s long-range forecasts are essential for managing state reservoirs to ensure enough water is saved and to avoid flooding. The government agency can be held accountable in a way private businesses are not because it answers to Congress. So, the data is trustworthy, accessible and developed with the goal to protect public safety and property for everyone. Could the same be said if only for-profit companies were producing that data? Christine Wiedinmyer is an associate director for science at CIRES at the University of Colorado Boulder. Kari Bowen is an atmospheric scientist and program manager at CIRES at the University of Colorado Boulder. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. View the full article

After five long years, Apple TV has made it to Android phones and tablets, bringing a polished and Apple-like interface to every Android device out there. You can finally binge-watch Severance on your Samsung smartphone (as you very much should), and if you're like me, you might actually prefer it there than on iPhone. The Apple TV app for Android, it turns out, is a stripped down version of the TV app from iPhone and iPad, not including content from partner streaming services or the ability to buy or rent movies. But it's this stripped down approach that actually makes the Android app better than the iPhone counterpart, at least in my opinion. In the language of Dieter Rams, "good design is as little design as possible". When you open the Apple TV app on Android, the Apple TV+ tab is the default option, showing your Apple TV+ queue and top TV shows and movies right up top. The only other content option is Apple's MLS sports streaming add-on, which gets its own distinct tab, too. On the iPhone and iPad, meanwhile, the TV app is actually much bigger than just Apple TV+. It carries subscription add-ons for different services like Disney+, Prime Video, Starz, Hulu, Peacock, and more. Plus, you can also use the app to rent or buy movies. This means that when you open the Apple TV app, you might be greeted by a banner for a new movie you've been wanting to see, thinking it's been added to Apple TV+ for free. However, clicking in will greet you with a big buy button, instead. Because Apple TV's interface is incredibly simple and there's no sections dividing up services (save for Apple's own), that can get confusing fast. Credit: Khamosh Pathak Compare that to Android, where the Apple TV app still carries the same design language, same polished interface, and the same minimal media player, but just feels better to use because there are no distractions and no hoops to jump through. On the iPhone or iPad app, I've come to dread the extra step of navigating to the dedicated Apple TV+ tab before I look for streaming content. On Android, that's already the default. Android also has a dedicated Downloads tab, while on the iOS and iPadOS app, you first have to switch to the Library tab to see your Downloads. Everything takes an extra step on the iPhone app. I sincerely hope that Apple is inspired by this feedback and works on making the iPhone app simpler, but given the nature of the product and all the things that the app does, it might be better to make the Apple TV+ app a separate entity by itself, kind of like the Apple TV app on Android. The Apple TV app on Android comes with a one-week free trial for Apple TV+, and then it's the same $9.99/month subscription as elsewhere. While the app is quite feature-rich, it does lack the Cast feature, so you can't just stream content to a TV via your Android smartphone. Aside from that, though, everything I need is here, including my watch list, offline downloads and picture-in-picture. View the full article