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Have you ever been scrolling along, minding your own business, when an ad suddenly hijacks your page with a full-screen warning about a computer virus or account insecurity? These are invariably scams, but to the untrained eye, they could look like a genuine pop-up from a firewall. That’s why Microsoft Edge is using AI to help users spot when someone’s trying to frighten them into downloading malware or giving up sensitive information. Available now to all users via a preview, the browser’s new “Scareware blocker” is an AI-based tool for dismissing and navigating away from these troublesome interruptions. While Edge’s built-in Defender SmartScreen tool already blocks known scams, the idea is for Scareware blocker to help address new threats. The tool uses a local AI model to detect when your browser enters full screen mode, a staple of scareware pop-ups, and then examines what you’re looking at to see if it resembles a scam. It’s been trained on “thousands of sample scams that the scam-fighting community shared” with Microsoft, and supposedly doesn’t save images or send them to the cloud at any point. While users can manually hold the ESC key to exit full screen mode at any point, the model will do this for you, taking a screenshot of the site and moving you over to a page that warns you that it looks suspicious. You’ll then have the option to either close the page or continue. In addition to helping protect users susceptible to scams, Scareware blocker also sets out to reduce some of the panic of coming across one of these ads, as they’ll often also play loud noises and hide the mouse cursor. By quickly closing them out and taking you to a warning page, the feature aims to help you regain your senses. Credit: Microsoft While I have encountered these ads before, I wasn’t able to summon one up while trying to test out the feature, but it’s easy enough to enable. Simply navigate to Settings > Privacy Search and Services and scroll down a bit until you see the Scareware blocker toggle. Switch it on, and you’ll be prepared the next time a scammer tries to scare you into selling yourself out. If you don’t see the toggle, it’s possible you might need to update Edge (in Settings > About Microsoft Edge) or restart the browser. View the full article

While soft skills are critical, project managers can't ignore technical expertise. Whether you're working at a startup or a large enterprise, this guide breaks down which tech skills matter most and how to build future-proof PM capabilities. The post Do Project Managers Really Need Technical Skills? appeared first on The Digital Project Manager. View the full article

Following a cryptocurrency scandal in December 2024, Haliey Welch (aka Hawk Tuah girl) seemed to drop off the map. Months later, she’s opening up about what really happened. The trouble started when Welch, who rose to fame after a viral street interview moment last summer, announced she would be releasing her own cryptocurrency memecoin called $HAWK late last year. The token was publicized heavily and quickly rose to a $490 million market cap when launched on December 4. It tanked just as quickly, and its value plunged $440 million in just 20 minutes. Now, more than two months later, we finally have an explanation. “How this idea got brought to me, it was supposed to be a ‘long-term coin,’” Welch explained to Richard Bengtson (better known as Banks), founder of the e-sports brand FaZe Clan, on a leaked episode of Welch’s podcast Talk Tuah. (The leaked episode was first reported by Dexerto.) Welch claimed a “friend of a friend” came up with the idea. Welch, who didn’t know much about crypto, trusted his plan—and that, she said, turned out to be her “biggest mistake.” Welch recalled this mutual friend acted “a little weird” on the token launch day. At launch, only 3% of the token supply was made available for trading, while 17% was allocated to “presale investors.” These early investors collectively raised $2.8 million for their share, but two-thirds quickly cashed out, selling off their holdings for an immediate profit. “I feel really bad for all the people that got affected by it,” Welch said through tears. “And it just didn’t go the way I planned.” At the time of the scandal, Bengtson urged Welch to fire her team, calling the token an outright “scam.” Now, he is again making that same demand—but for an entirely different reason. On February 6, 2025, Bengtson revealed on X that he had agreed to appear as a special guest on Welch’s comeback episode under strict conditions, which included “not allowing markets to be manipulated by leaking this episode’s existence before a resolution was found” and “finding a real solution regarding the money she made, where that should go, and what to do with the $HAWK project moving forward.” So in an attempt to hear Haliey Welch’s side of the Crypto scam story, I agreed to do her first podcast back. I had heavy stipulations including; 1) Not allowing markets to be manipulated by leaking this episodes existence before a resolution was found. 2) Her team finding… pic.twitter.com/X3TW5nZmtR — FaZe Banks (@Banks) February 6, 2025 But according to Bengtson, someone from Welch’s team “leaked or inside-traded the token,” causing him to call off the episode on the spot. Yesterday, however, the episode was “randomly” leaked. Though it was quickly taken down, Bengtson wrote, “The price of $HAWK is pumping and they completely fucking fumbled the bag, yet again.” After calling, again, for Welch to fire her team, he added: “Poor girl, it’s a wonder how she found herself in this position in the first place.” 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. The Apple community has been finding their lost keys since 2021 with the AirTag, but Tile has been helping both Android and Apple users locate their missing devices since 2013. Over a decade later, their latest tracker (after being acquired by Life360), the Tile Mate, is just $16.95 (originally $27.99) for a single tracker, $33.99 (originally $44.99) for a two-pack, and $55.99 (originally $79.99) for a four-pack, the lowest prices, according to price-tracking tools. If you're an Android user, this is a good opportunity to stock up. (If you're an Apple user, you can use Tiles, but you're better off waiting for the AirTags to drop to $19 to stock up, or get the 4-pack for $69.99 right now; they're much better than Tile's tracker.) Batteries: Yes, Number of Batteries: 1 Lithium Metal Battery, Material: Plastic Tile by Life360 Mate 2024 Bluetooth Tracker (1-Pack) $16.95 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $27.99 Save $11.04 Get Deal Get Deal $16.95 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $27.99 Save $11.04 Batteries: Yes, Number of Batteries: 2 Lithium Metal Battery, Material: Plastic Tile by Life360 Mate (2024) Bluetooth Tracker, Keys Finder and Item Locator for Keys, Bags and More. Phone Finder. Both iOS and Android Compatible. 2-Pack (Black/White) $33.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $44.99 Save $11.00 Get Deal Get Deal $33.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $44.99 Save $11.00 Batteries: Yes, Number of Batteries: 4 Lithium Metal Battery, Material: Plastic Tile by Life360 Mate (2024) Bluetooth Tracker, Keys Finder and Item Locator for Keys, Bags and More. Phone Finder. Both iOS and Android Compatible. 4-Pack (Black) $55.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $79.99 Save $24.00 Get Deal Get Deal $55.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $79.99 Save $24.00 SEE 0 MORE The concept of Tile trackers is the same as AirTags and their usefulness extends to your creativity. Most people use them to find purses, keys, and travel bags, but you can use them to train your dog or as a device to know if people are near a specific spot you want to keep tabs on. (Anyone else want to keep tabs on their abandoned cabin in the woods?) Once the Tile tracker is outside of Bluetooth range (up to 350 feet in direct line-of-sight conditions, but PCMag's review says it realistically gets about 30 feet), the device uses the Tile community of about 20 million people (according to Tile) to update the location of the tracker by using their phone's Bluetooth. (Apple's community is much larger, with about a billion users, according to Apple). The back of the Tile Mate has a QR code that people can scan to notify you when they find it. There is a sealed battery inside that is not replaceable that Tile says will last about three years. There is an optional premium subscription that starts at $2.99 per month for more features, if you're interested in that. View the full article

Your CRM (customer relationship management) platform is the center of all workflows involving customers for your organization. That’s because it holds all contact information for your customers as well as conversations you’ve had with them, marketing campaigns targeting them, and more. But the troves of data in your CRM come from multiple sources, leading to a disjointed system, unnecessarily time-consuming workflows, and missed opportunities. That’s where CRM integration comes in. What is CRM integration? CRM integration is a process that connects your CRM to other tools in your stack. Typically, this will be done through a third-party CRM system integration. Dozens of specialized tools exist on the market to make this happen. That being said, many CRM tools have built-in integrations — often called “native integrations” — that connect them with tools they naturally work well with. Examples of tools to integrate with CRMs While some workflows can benefit from just about any integration, here are some of the most common tools integrated with CRM software: Contact management tools, like Google Contacts and Outlook. Marketing tools, like Mailchimp and Pipedrive. Project management tools, like Asana and ClickUp. Support ticket management tools, like ServiceNow and Zendesk. The benefits of CRM integration Integrating multiple systems comes with serious benefits, and this is especially true of CRM integrations. Here are some benefits you shouldn’t ignore. All customer data in one place This is the single most important benefit of integrating your CRM system with the rest of your stack. Whether it’s contact information, customer interactions, sales deal status, customer-facing teams are used to patching information together to get their work done. But with the right integrations, they can work from a single platform with all the customer data they need. Workflow automation One of the main challenges of many support, sales, and marketing workflows is the abundance of manual work involved. No matter how many dedicated tools you use, teams will have to manually enter or transform data at some point. With data integration, you can automate many — if not all of these actions — allowing teams to dedicate their time to more mission-critical tasks. Saving on licenses Many organizations find themselves overpaying for software licenses so customer service teams, salespeople, and marketers can have access to all the data they need. Duplicate licenses, upgraded plans, and dormant accounts can all cause problems for your bottom line and your IT teams. A CRM integration platform can eliminate the need for these licenses, since data that would otherwise be trapped in a tool only marginally useful for some teams is now available everywhere it’s needed. Want to know more about why you should integrate your CRM? Check out Unito’s free 15 Ways to Integrate Salesforce in Real-Time ebook, which covers this in detail. 3 reasons you need a CRM integration While CRM integration comes with some serious benefits, you might not necessarily be convinced that it’s needed in your organization. After all, choosing, deploying, and maintaining these integrations costs both time and money, and you need to make both of these count. Here are some three processes where your organization can immediately benefit from CRA integration. Sales-to-delivery handoff Quick delivery after closing a sale is essential to customer satisfaction, whether you’re shipping retail products or implementing complex software solutions. For some organizations, the handoff from sales to delivery is as simple as your customer going through an online checkout page. For others, it involves input from multiple teams, complex workflows, and significant lead-up times. Complicating things further, those teams might use their own tools, making maintaining a smooth data flow from your CRM more challenging. The right integration can streamline this process, giving teams responsible for delivery the data they need faster, and getting your product or service to the customer promptly. Building campaigns and marketing initiatives Marketing initiatives live on data. The more marketers know about customers and prospects, the more they can fine-tune their campaigns, and the more efficient every marketing dollar becomes. But many of these campaigns are marred by dozens of spreadsheets — some of them out of date. With a fully integrated CRM, marketers can both get customer data in all the other tools they rely on and check in on your CRM when needed, knowing the data in it is fully up to date. Sales enablement Sales enablement describes any process through which another team assists salespeople in prospecting, meeting with prospects, and closing sales. That might include the marketing team producing collateral to answer common sales questions, customer support sitting on a sales call to answer technical questions, or even experts like lawyers and software developers addressing objections from potential prospects. Typically, sales enablement requests are processed through email, chat apps, and meetings. Sales enablement resources, for their part, are kept in disparate systems, like a Google Drive folder, an out-of-date database, or a spreadsheet. This makes requests though to follow up on and complete, while resources might get duplicated or lost. Your CRM integration can both centralize requests in a way that’s easy to track and keep resources close at hand for all your salespeople. Want an in-depth look at how a CRM integration can improve these workflows? Get Unito’s free 15 Ways to Integrate Salesforce in Real-Time ebook, which covers this in detail. 4 options for CRM integration Knowing you need a CRM integration is all well and good, but with so many options on the market, what should you go with? Let’s break down some of the most popular options out there. Automation Zapier is a popular option for pushing CRM data to other tools, though its automations can be limited. Many CRM integration options are one-way automation platforms, meaning they use if-this-then-that logic to push data to and from your CRM. For example, if a new deal is created in your CRM, then a follow-up task is created in a project management tool to gather information about the prospect or create sales enablement content as needed. These solutions are relatively simple to set up, though their capabilities are equally simple unless someone in your organization has the technical skill (and the time) to build more complex automations and maintain them. Examples of these tools Zapier IFTTT Outfunnel Native integrations HubSpot’s Data Sync allows HubSpot users to sync data from deals, contacts, and more with other tools without using a third-party app. Gone are the days when CRM software was treated like a walled garden. Nearly all CRM platforms now have native integrations, which allow users to break data silos without adding new tools to their stack. For some tools, these integrations are only available at higher price points — often targeting enterprise users — while others provide them at every price point. Your experience with native integrations can vary broadly depending on the tool you use, since some are only simple automations for pushing data in one direction, while others allow you to build even the most complex workflows. The one thing they all have in common? You can use them without leaving your CRM. Examples HubSpot’s Data Sync Salesforce Mulesoft iPaaS Tray.io is a popular option for organizations that have the resources to build tailor-made integrations for their needs, whether that be internally or by hiring a third party. An iPaaS (short for integration platform as a service) is a tool that allows organizations to build complex workflows to automate just about any aspect of their work. It’s one of the more technical options in this list, requiring some level of technical skill to set up and maintain. But if you have the resources, you can automate just about any workflow that involves your CRM system. Examples Mulesoft Workato Tray.io 2-way sync Unito has the deepest two-way integrations for CRM software, marketing tools, software development platforms, and more. A 2-way sync solution works differently than most of the other options on this list. Instead of creating point-to-point automation, these platforms build two-way relationships between work items in your CRM system (think cases, tickets, or deals) and items in other tools (like tasks, issues, or cards) to maintain absolute data accuracy across tools. Unlike automations, a 2-way sync automatically updates fields in both tools as you work, meaning you’ll always have the most up-to-date data. Unito is one of the most popular tools in this category for CRM software, project management tools, software development platforms, and more. That’s due to its easy setup, its low maintenance requirements, and its quick deployment window — not to mention great customer support. Curious to see what Unito can do for your CRMs? Book a demo with our team View the full article

President Donald Trump’s administration has ordered all federal departments and agencies to provide lists of employees who are underperforming, as it seeks to shrink the workforce and awaits a court ruling related to its deferred resignation offers. A memo sent by the Office of Personnel Management on Thursday directs the agencies to submit names of every employee who has received less than a “fully successful” performance rating in the past three years and to note whether the workers have been on performance plans. The memo, which was viewed by The Associated Press, also emphasized that the agencies report any obstacles to making sure they have “the ability to swiftly terminate poor performing employees who cannot or will not improve.” The memo seeks the employee’s name, job title, pay plan and other details, as well as whether that employee is “under or successfully completed a performance improvement plan within the last 12 months.” The office also is asking if an agency has proposed or issued a decision in such cases, and whether any action is being appealed or challenged, as well as any outcome. The data is due by March 7. Charles Ezell, the acting director of OPM who sent the memo, wrote that the office is developing new performance metrics for evaluating the federal workforce, a standard that “aligns with the priorities and standards in the President’s recent Executive Orders.” To assist the office, Ezell wrote that all agencies should submit data regarding their performance management plans and policies, including those contained in collective bargaining agreements. So far, 65,000 federal workers have opted into the deferred resignation program, according to a White House official who wasn’t authorized to disclose the latest figures and spoke on condition of anonymity. The program is being challenged in court, and a federal judge scheduled a hearing for Monday afternoon to consider arguments over whether the plan can proceed. –Rian Witte, Associated Press Associated Press writer Chris Megerian contributed to this report. View the full article

Google's John Mueller offers advice on dealing with indexed URLs that shouldn't be indexed The post Google’s Advice on Fixing Unwanted Indexed URLs appeared first on Search Engine Journal. View the full article

Telehealth company Hims & Hers Health is fighting back after the drug industry’s main lobbying group called out its first Super Bowl ad as “misleading” and in potential violation of marketing rules. The ad is a one-minute spot set to Childish Gambino’s “This is America,” which admonishes the U.S.’s “broken” weight-loss business and instead offers up its “affordable, doctor-trusted” copycat weight-loss drugs. The lobbying group, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, said Thursday the ad was “a clear violation” of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and “misrepresents the safety and efficacy of their knockoff GLP-1 medicines.” Hims & Hers, which includes a brief disclaimer in the ad that the compounded drugs aren’t FDA approved, said the pushback from the industry meant its ad had clearly struck a chord. “We’ve called out the system and now the system is asking that our ad get taken down,” a spokesperson says. “This is a blatant attempt to shut down an ad that calls them out.” The telehealth firm operates on the idea that consumers who can’t afford, or balk at, the hundreds or thousands of dollars required to get weight-loss medications such as Wegovy, will pay Hims & Hers for less expensive, compounded versions of those medications. The compounded versions also serve as a way to increase access to weight-loss drugs in a time of steep shortages. To be sure, compounded drugs aren’t the same as generic drugs. They’re not approved by the FDA, so compounded drugs don’t require the same rigorous testing that is required for brand-name drugmakers. They’re often criticized due to their risk for potential contamination. But companies that sell compounded medicines say they offer high-quality drugs. Hims & Hers said that its “commercial aims to highlight why the U.S. is in an obesity crisis, while showcasing that Hims & Hers is committed to being part of easing the strain the weight-loss drug shortage is placing on the millions of Americans who have obesity and are looking for help.” Hims & Hers stock jumped more than 11% on Friday following the pushback. As of Friday afternoon, shares were up nearly 8%. The company declined to comment on the bump, as it’s in a quiet period ahead of releasing its earnings report. View the full article

Amazon has agreed to pay nearly $4 million to settle charges that the e-commerce company subsidized its labor costs by taking tips its delivery drivers received from customers, District of Columbia Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb said Friday. The settlement came four years after Amazon forked over $61.7 million to resolve a complaint the Federal Trade Commission brought over similar accusations. In 2022, the office of D.C.’s attorney general at the time followed up with a lawsuit alleging Amazon violated the District’s consumer protection laws by misleading residents about how tips paid digitally were used. According to the lawsuit, the affected drivers were part of Amazon’s Flex business, which allows people to deliver Amazon packages with their own cars. D.C.’s lawsuit said that after launching the program in 2015, the company represented to consumers that all tips added during check-out for Amazon Flex orders would go to drivers. But both the District and the FTC alleged that Amazon changed its payment model in late 2016 to lower its costs but did not disclose the switch to either customers or drivers. In particular, the FTC’s previous complaint alleged the company algorithmically reduced its own wages for drivers in different locations using data it collected about average tips in a specific area. Amazon then used the tips to make up the difference between its new base pay and the $18-$25 per hour it had promised drivers, the complaint said. The FTC said Amazon didn’t stop taking the tips until 2019, when the company found out about the agency’s investigation into the issue. Amazon has denied the allegations and did not admit to wrongdoing as part of the settlement announced Friday. “Like any successful program, Amazon Flex has evolved over time, and this lawsuit relates to a practice we changed more than five years ago,” Amazon spokesperson Steve Kelly said in a statement. Under the terms of the settlement, the company will pay $2.45 million in penalties plus $1.5 million in legal fees. It must also disclose on its website and app how tips impact driver earnings. View the full article

Thanks to a tight market, sky-high prices, and elevated interest rates, the path to home ownership is more littered with obstacles than ever, but buying property remains a key goal for most Americans—nearly 70% of us still consider it part of the American Dream. But as much as you might think you want it, it's important to weigh all the financial and emotional factors that go into buying a huge. While it sounds impossible, considering the size of the commitment, it's surprisingly easy to get so focused on the anxiety of never being able to find the right house that you buy the wrong house for the wrong reasons. If you don’t want to wind up with a money pit or a house that simply doesn’t serve your needs (or your budget), it’s essential to take a step back from the brink and really examine your reasons for buying a particular property. If it’s one of the five listed below, you should reconsider. The viewSome homes offer spectacular views—of nature, of a city skyline, or maybe the ocean. But buying a home for the view it offers is generally a bad idea, for several reasons: Cost. Homes that offer attractive views almost always come at a premium, meaning you’ll spend more for the same amount of house you could buy in the same area without the spectacular view. And some views come with even more additional costs, like a house with an ocean view that comes with a flood insurance premium. Impermanence. While some views are unlikely to change, you often can’t guarantee that someone won’t build something to obstruct your view in the future, or that other changes to the environment around your house won’t conspire to ruin your view. Imperfections. Amazing views can be distracting—if you focus too much on the incredible skyline, you might overlook other problems with the home or things that aren’t going to work with your lifestyle just so you have a nice view while sipping coffee in the morning. Because “it’s time”It’s easy to compare yourself to other people around your age, and if those folks are all buying houses, you might feel pressure to catch up. Or maybe you suddenly realize you’re the only person in your group of friends who’s still renting. Or just you’ve more or less arbitrarily made home ownership a box to check on your list of accomplishments. But buying a house before you’re financially and emotionally ready for it can be a disaster. Buying a house isn’t just about coming up with a down payment and calculating a monthly mortgage—there are a lot of financial factors you need to consider, including whether you’re ready to make hard choices if find yourself facing an unexpected repair bill. You’ll also need to think about your readiness to tackle the truly endless home maintenance tasks a home requires—or to pay someone else to do them for you. To save on rentIt used to be a golden rule: Paying a mortgage is cheaper than renting—or, if it’s about the same cost, at least you’re not throwing money into a hole every month, but building equity in an investment. The equity part is true enough—your mortgage buys you more and more direct ownership of your property, while rent merely buys you one more month living in that space. But thanks to elevated prices and higher interest rates, the cost part isn’t true anymore, generally speaking: While you might find a specific house in a specific area that’s cheaper to buy than the local rents (particular if it's in a larger city with a hot rental market), nationwide averages show that renting is cheaper than home ownership, and will probably stay that way for the immediate future. Plus, there are those pesky insurance and maintenance costs, as well. If you’re buying a house because you think it will save you money, forget it. You're betting on the neighborhood to improveHomes in neighborhoods with a lack of services, high crime rates, or lots of unmaintained houses are generally cheaper, and if you have reason to believe that robust improvements are coming to the area, it can be tempting to buy low and then celebrate as your property values rise and rise. The problem with this plan, of course, is that nothing is guaranteed: Whether it’s business investment, a government-sponsored redevelopment plan, or you think you see the signs of simple gentrification, any number of factors—canceled contracts, local elections, stalled construction projects, a faltering economy—can change the course of events and leave you holding the bag. Relying on a neighborhood turnaround also comes with plenty of other downsides: Time. Until your hoped-for revitalization comes to pass, you’ll be living in a crappy area and dealing with all the associated downsides, which might include higher crime, nastier neighbors, and worse schools. Taxes. If your property values go up, so do your taxes (eventually). Fewer options. If your life takes a turn you might have trouble selling that house or finding reliable renters due to its location. And if it’s cheap to buy, your equity in it will be relatively low until things pick up (if they pick up), meaning you’ll have limited resources for improvements and repairs. It’s a fixer-upperIf you’re buying a house because it’s a “fixer-upper” at a bargain price, think twice. If you have experience in home renovation and construction and you have a solid plan for renovating the place, that’s one thing. But if you’re buying a run-down place with a vague idea that you’ll fix it up over time, there are a lot of reasons to hesitate: The unknowns. You really have no idea how bad that house is, why it’s been priced so attractively, and how much it will really cost to fix up until you get in there and start opening walls and floors. Your budget? Fiction until you actually see the wiring, plumbing, foundation, and other essential aspects of the house. Living in a construction zone. Whole-house renovations can take as long as a year to complete, and that’s if you’re working nonstop and don’t encounter any soul-chilling problems once you dig into the property. If you’re going to do it piecemeal, the renovation could stretch on for years, and you’ll be dealing with dust in your cereal bowl and splinters everywhere during the entire experience. Price uncertainty. You can buy a cheap house and put quality work into it, but that doesn’t mean the market will cooperate and raise your home’s value enough for you to get the return on that investment you’re hoping for. Keep in mind that the money you spend fixing up a house is part of the total cost of ownership; if you buy a bargain for $200,000 and spend $100,000 fixing it, you really spent $300,000 on that house—not counting mortgage interest, insurance premiums, and other incidental costs. Adding it all up can transform a bargain into a non-bargain pretty fast. Only you can decide if buying a house is the right move—but if your reasons appear anywhere above, you owe it toy ourself to think again. View the full article

Construction delivery methods matter. They are the means by which a construction project gets from idea to completion. That’s a long and complicated journey in construction project management, which is why knowing the best construction delivery method is so important. You can’t reach the end of your project if you’re not sure of the steps to get there, and construction delivery methods outline those steps. Before we look at the various construction delivery methods, we need to first make sure we’re clear on what a construction delivery method is. We’ll then explore how to choose the right construction delivery method for your organization and project. Finally, we’ll describe some of the more popular construction delivery methods and how construction project management software can help deliver success no matter which construction delivery method you choose. What Is a Construction Project Delivery Method? A construction delivery method is a procedure by which a construction project goes from initiation to close. It’s a system for organizing and financing the design, construction, operations and maintenance services for the build on which you’re working, be it in a structure or facility. It’s a legal agreement, like a contract, that’s between different parties involved in the construction project. There isn’t just one construction delivery method. There are many different types, from design-bid-build, design-build and construction manager at risk to integrated project delivery, job order contracting and public-private partnerships. These are only the most popular construction delivery methods, which we’ll detail in a moment. While there are others, we don’t focus on them because they’re more niche or less used in the industry. These other methods could be worth researching if the ones we highlight aren’t a good fit for your company and work. Whichever construction delivery method you choose, you’re going to need construction project management software to get the most out of it. ProjectManager is project management software with the features you need to deliver your construction project successfully through every phase of its lifecycle. Our robust Gantt charts help you organize tasks, plan resources and costs, link dependencies, filter for the critical path and set a baseline to monitor project variance and keep your construction project on track. Get started with ProjectManager today for free. /wp-content/uploads/2022/07/construction-gantt-resources-costs-150-CTA-BUTTON-1.jpgProjectManager’s Gantt chart helps plan, schedule and track construction projects. Learn more 10 Types of Construction Project Delivery Methods There are many factors to consider when deciding on the construction delivery method that’s best for the project. To make the right choice, you need to know the various construction delivery methods and what they mean. Some will be ideal while others will be easy to dismiss. To know which is right for you and the construction project, it’s imperative to understand the most common construction delivery methods. 1. Design-Bid-Build (DBB) Design-bid-build or DBB is the sequence of phases in this construction delivery method. It’s also called traditional as it’s the most common. It starts with the selection of an architect who designs the project. This is done before the owner selects a general contractor, which is done through the submission of bids. The last phase is the building of the project. This construction delivery method consists of two contracts, one for the design and the other for the construction. This construction delivery method is not only common but usually less costly, at least up front. Owners have time to offer feedback about the design before construction begins. At this point, it’s easier and less expensive to make those changes. The drawback of DBB is that there’s no collaboration between design and construction, which can lead to issues. There might be material or technical problems with the design that the general contractor wants to resolve before construction. Design-Bid-Build Pros Allows for competitive bidding which can lead to lower costs The owner has significantly more control over the design process as they contract directly with the architect The roles and responsibilities of the architect and contractor are clearly defined Design-Bid-Build Cons The sequential nature of DBB can result in a longer project timeline The separation between design and construction can lead to disputes between the contractor and the architect Less collaboration between the design and the construction teams can lead to less innovative solutions 2. Design-Build (DB) Gaining popularity is the design-build or DB construction delivery method. It’s more straightforward for owners and tends to reduce risk. However, owners have less input on design, construction management and trade partners than in other construction delivery methods. That’s because, in this method, the design and construction are handled by one firm, so the owner only needs one contract for architecture, engineering and construction. That doesn’t mean the design and construction firm have carte blanche. Performance requirements are specified by the owner in the contract. That will lead to fewer change orders as the design construction firm will be in close collaboration, saving costs, speeding up the delivery of the project and avoiding potential litigation. The owner is still giving up a great deal of control in this construction delivery method. The onerous is on the owner to do the research when selecting the firm to make sure they’re a good fit and detailing what they want in the contract. Design-Build Pros The integration of design and construction phases can significantly reduce the overall project timeline The design-builder assumes responsibility for both construction and design which reduces the owner’s risk The owner has a single point of contact for the whole project which simplifies communication and management Design-Build Cons The owner is working with a single entity that handles design and construction, meaning they have less direct control over the design process There may be less competition among contractors because design and construction are bundled, potentially leading to higher costs The owner needs to have a high level of trust in the design builder’s capabilities in both construction and design 3. Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) This construction delivery method is popular when owners need a firm deadline and a definite price for the project’s completion. The construction manager is like a consultant to the owner during the design phase of the project. The construction manager selects the subcontractors for the job and accepts the risk of meeting the deadline and pricing. The owner, in return, sets a guaranteed maximum price (GMP), which is like a fixed payment. The owner has two contracts, one with the designer and the other with the construction manager. The owner works directly with the designer in construction manager at risk or CM at risk, also known as CMAR. The owner gets the perspective of the builder to establish costs early in the project, improving the chance of faster delivery. However, the owner isn’t without risk exposure. They can be liable for the completeness, accuracy and details of the design plan. There’s also the possibility of conflict between the designer and the construction manager, which can lead to delays, more costs and even litigation. Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) Pros As the construction manager is brought on board early, they’re able to provide input on cost estimation, scheduling and more The CM becomes an integral part of the team which fosters a more collaborative environment When the CM is more involved with pre-construction and construction, there’s a smoother transition between project phases The shared risk model incentivizes the CM to proactively address and mitigate risk Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) Cons The dual role that the CM plays can create a potential conflict of interest as they may prioritize their financial interests over the owner’s best interest The owner has less control over subcontractor selection compared to design-bid-build There are complex contractual relationships which can create a complex contractural landscape /wp-content/uploads/2025/01/2025-construction-ebook-banner-ad.jpg 4. Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) New and gaining traction is integrated project delivery or IPD. It’s all about teamwork and collaboration. The goal of this construction delivery method is to share liability, responsibility, risk and reward among construction stakeholders. It’s often used in lean construction management to reduce waste and costs. In this method, the owner, designer and general manager are all obligated under one contract. Before the construction breaks ground, the owner can provide input to those involved in the job. The owner offers incentives for the design and construction teams, aligns goals and, in so doing, increases the likelihood of success. Collaboration tools are important to keep everyone communicating. This method has yet to fully establish itself and, therefore, can be expensive. There are also a lot of stakeholders, which means getting the contract right is time-consuming. Integrated Project Delivery Pros IPD fosters a highly collaborative environment where all stakeholders are involved in making decisions from the outset IPD encourages team members to share ideas on finding innovative solutions which leads to more efficient designs Involving stakeholders early on can help identify and eliminate waste in the design and construction processes Integrated Project Delivery Cons It can be more complex to implement and manage than traditional project delivery methods as it requires a high level of commitment IPD requires a high level of trust and collaboration between all project participants Higher upfront costs due to the need for team development, collaborative workshops and more intensive communication 5. Job Order Contracting (JOC) This can be considered a subset of integrated project delivery, especially when dealing with repair, renovation, maintenance, sustainability and even small new construction jobs. Each contract uses a unit price book to set the price for each job and this is done across a multi-year umbrella contract. A unit price book is a detailed and defined scope of work and estimate of costs for the job based on labor, materials and equipment costs. This type of construction delivery method is somewhat of a niche product, but valuable in that it can lead to cost reductions, improved schedule performance and client satisfaction. The problem with using a unit price book is that once approved if prices fluctuate, the construction will be more costly. If you’re not paying attention to detail, you could find yourself in trouble. Job Order Contracting Pros Reduces the time and administrative burden associated with traditional procurement methods Streamlines procurement processes and reduces administrative overhead, leading to significant cost savings for owners Fosters long-term relationships between owners and contractors which leads to better communication, trust and understanding Job Order Contracting Cons May lead to overall cost savings, but the unit prices for individual tasks may be higher than if they were bid out separately Owners may become overly reliant on their JOC contractor over time, potentially limiting innovation and competition May not be the ideal approach for large, complex projects with unique design requirements 6. Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) As the name implies, this construction delivery method is a cooperative arrangement between a public and private entity. The public entity is usually the owner, while the private entity is usually the designer, builder and financier, though they may be also responsible for operations and maintenance. This provides better infrastructure as each participant does what they do best. There’s often faster delivery and the return on investment (ROI) can be greater. However, the risk for the private entities in this partnership can increase the cost to the public entity. If there are only a limited number of private entities and a small field of bidders, that reduced competition leads to less cost-effective partnering. Profits vary depending on the risk. Public-Private Partnerships Pros Allows governments to access the private sector’s specialized construction expertise which leads to higher-quality construction Private sector companies often incentivized to complete projects on time and on budget May provide access to private capital for large-scale construction projects Public-Private Partnerships Cons Typically comes at a higher cost as private companies need to generate a profit, potentially leading to higher overall costs in the long run Construction contracts can be complex and disputes can arise between the public and private sector There may be a lack of transparency, especially in terms of financial arrangements and subcontractor selection 7. Turnkey Project Delivery In this construction delivery method, a single contractor or firm takes on all responsibility for all aspects of the construction project. This includes everything from the initial design and engineering to the final construction and handover. As the name suggests, the client or owner simply needs to “turn the key” to a fully operational facility when the project is completed. It entails a single point of contact for the entire project and end-to-end service. The project is delivered to a state that’s ready for immediate use. Turnkey Project Delivery Pros Coordinating with only one entity helps reduce the complexity of managing multiple contracts and contractors Often involve fixed-price contracts to provide greater cost certainty from the outset Reduced risk as the contractor assumes a greater share of the project risk as they are responsible for all project aspects Turnkey Project Delivery Cons It may be difficult or expensive to make changes to the project scope or design when the contract is signed The initial price may be higher than other traditional construction project delivery methods There may be less input on the design process as the contractor has more autonomy 8. Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) This is a project finance and delivery model typically used for large-scale infrastructure projects. It’s a public-private partnership (PPP) where a private company is granted the right to build, operate and transfer the project. Ultimately, the project is transferred to the government or public entity at the end of the concession period. Think of this construction delivery method as a temporary lease-to-own situation for a major piece of infrastructure. It’s ideal for projects that need a large investment and have the potential to generate revenue. Pros The private sector is usually more efficient at project execution, shortening the timeline The private sector’s focus on innovation and efficiency can result in better project outcomes There’s a higher focus on operational risks and they are transferred to the private sector Cons Disputes may arise between the public and private sectors on topics like risk allocation, cost overruns and performance standards Governments may have less control over the project versus traditional project procurement The contracts can be complex and need to be negotiated and managed carefully /wp-content/uploads/2024/03/RFP-template-featured-image.jpg Get your free RFP Template Use this free RFP Template for Word to manage your projects better. Download Word File 9. Engineer-Procure-Construct (EPC) This common project delivery method is used in industries like energy, oil and gas. It’s used for large-scale and complex projects. They’re characterized by a single contractor taking responsibility for all project phases, from the initial design and engineering to the procurement of materials and equipment. In many cases, EPC contracts are fixed-price or lump sum, so the contractor agrees to deliver the project for a pre-determined price. If there are variations, they need to be managed carefully. Pros The owner only needs to manage one contract which streamlines project administration The fixed-price nature of most EPC contracts offers more cost certainty for the owner The integrated approach helps streamline the project and can potentially lead to faster completion Cons The owner has less control over the design and construction process versus other delivery methods Disputes may arise if the scope of work isn’t clearly defined or if there are disagreements about performance Changes in project scope can be difficult and expensive when the contract is signed 10. Construction Management Multi-Prime (CMMP) This is more of a unique construction project delivery method; it’s about giving the owner more control and trying to save costs as they take on the role of the general contractor. Instead of hiring a general contractor to manage the project, the owner directly hires multiple prime contractors for different aspects. This could include separate contracts for roofing, plumbing, HVAC, electrical work, concrete, etc. In some cases, the owner may hire a construction manager to oversee and coordinate these prime contractors. Pros The owner has direct control over choosing and managing each trade contractor, choosing the best fit for each job Helps the owner save money as they are negotiating directly with the trades The owner may get competitive bids from multiple contractors for each trade which can potentially reduce costs Cons The owner takes on a significant administrative load and manages multiple contracts and schedules The owner assumes more risk as they are responsible for the project’s overall coordination and success Best suited for owners with expertise with significant construction knowledge How to Choose a Construction Delivery Method With so many construction delivery methods to choose from, how do you know the one that’s right for you? First, you must know what you’re building and why. But that’s only the start. You need more details in order to better choose a construction delivery method. To help guide you, look at the project budget, design, risks, schedule and owner’s expertise. 1. Make a Construction Budget One of the more important parts of the project to settle on is the construction budget, so you’ll want to establish this as quickly as possible. You’ll also want to bring the design and construction team into the conversation to get their feedback on how realistic the budget you’ve come up with actually is. Don’t forget to add some financial wiggle room to handle change orders that will inevitably come up during the build. Naturally, software costs will be part of the budget. Remember, these tools, including resource management tools, are upfront costs but are instrumental in reducing costs and speeding up the delivery of your project. 2. Create Architectural Drawings and Construction Documentation It’s not enough to have a clear picture of what the structure you’re building looks like. You must also take into account the functionality of your building and create detailed architectural drawings and construction documentation. Is there a flow to your floor plan? Is the plan more innovative than functional? This is the point where you have to check your ambition against reality. It’s all well and good to have a complex design, but not if it’s going to interfere with the electrical system, plumbing or any other essential system. Related: 8 Free Excel Construction Templates 3. Identify Potential Risks Another consideration is construction risk. If there are too many risks, then the cost of the project could skyrocket and the whole endeavor could fail. Before you choose a construction delivery method, a thorough risk evaluation must be done long before committing to a project. Don’t neglect liability. For example, who will be responsible for design problems that result in dangerous situations on the job site and after construction is completed? The construction delivery methods need to be examined for liability and other risk factors. 4. Make a Construction Schedule Then there’s your construction schedule. Having an accurate schedule is important, and schedule and project costs are closely linked. If you accelerate the schedule, costs will rise. You need to think about the timeline necessary to meet your expected schedule and costs. Do owners want you to fast-track the project before the completion of all construction drawings and documents? Is the schedule too ambitious, which leads to overrun and unhappy stakeholders? All of these variables will lead you to one construction delivery method over another. The last piece in this puzzle is the owner. The owner can have a big impact on your project and the construction delivery method depending on their familiarity with construction and the job type. Are they used to working at this size and scope? Do they have the staff to oversee all of the processes involved? Owners can cause costly bottlenecks that lead to delays, so they must be a good fit for a successful project. The level of expertise might not make or break a project, but it will help you determine the right construction delivery method for the job. Request for Proposal (RFP) Template Choosing a project delivery method is one of most important things you’ll need to do before receiving, selecting and evaluating bids or project proposals from contractors. Then once you’re ready, you can use this free request for proposal template to gather all the information you need from bidders so you don’t miss any important details. /wp-content/uploads/2024/03/RFP-Template-screenshot-1600x820.png We offer a variety of free construction project management templates for Excel you can use to manage all aspects of your construction project. ProjectManager Helps With Construction Project Delivery Those are just some of the more common construction delivery methods, but all of them are improved by using project management software. ProjectManager is online construction project management software that connects all parties with real-time communication to facilitate collaboration. When you’re all working together on the same updated data, project success greatly improves. Use the Tool You Want Not only that, but designers, construction companies and owners aren’t always using the same tools, which is why we have multiple project views. Owners can look at calendars to make sure that milestones are being met. The general contractor can use interactive Gantt charts to organize tasks on a timeline and manage resource costs. Crews on site can check off tasks on robust list views that show the percentage complete while designers can visually track workflows on robust kanban boards. All views are updated simultaneously with real-time data so everyone is working with the same data. /wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Construction-Light-Mode-Calendar-150-1-1600x859.jpg Work Better Together Yes, multiple project views are all updated together, but our online software also means that everyone in every team can connect whether they’re in the office, on-site or working remotely. We have unlimited file storage, which means all your construction documents and drawers are in a centralized hub that can be accessed by everyone. All files can be easily shared and teams can even comment at the task level or tag someone not assigned to that task and bring them into the conversation. Users get email notifications to keep them updated on changes, but there are also in-app alerts so you don’t have to leave the tool. Our collaborative platform connects everyone regardless of which construction delivery method you use. /wp-content/uploads/2024/04/kanban-light-mode-manufacturing-order-process-150-zoom-collaboration-1600x786.png Our software can help plan, monitor and report on every phase of the construction project to keep everyone informed. Real-time dashboards give you a high-level view of six project metrics in easy-to-read graphs and charts. The data is collected, calculated and displayed automatically—there’s no setup like with lightweight tools. You can dive deeper into the data with customizable reports on status, cost, time and more, which can be shared with stakeholders to keep them updated. We’re your one-stop for all construction needs. ProjectManager is award-winning construction software that can help you manage projects no matter which construction delivery method is right for you. Our real-time data means better collaboration and we have the features you need to control every aspect of the build, from initiation to closure. Get started with ProjectManager today for free. The post 10 Construction Project Delivery Methods with Pros & Cons appeared first on ProjectManager. View the full article

Bids were due last week for the portfolio of so-called jumbo mortgages from US homeowners with relatively high credit scores. View the full article

While prices and mortgage rates are having an effect on consumers, homeownership is still more affordable than renting in much of the country, new research found. View the full article

The cost of childcare has been climbing precipitously for the past decade, with some families spending about a quarter of their yearly income—or more—on those expenses. As federal funding and pandemic-era relief has disappeared, many providers have struggled to keep their doors open, making it even more difficult for families to find affordable care. By federal standards, families should only be spending 7% of their annual income on childcare. A new analysis by the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) finds that as of 2025, the average family would need to earn at least $180,000 annually to comfortably afford the national cost of infant care, which is around $12,655. (Childcare costs tend to be steepest for infants and children under the age of two.) In states with a higher cost of living, such as California and New York, the annual income required to ensure that childcare is affordable is upwards of $250,000. The NWLC analysis indicates that, based on the affordability standard set by the Department of Health and Human Services, childcare is out of reach for families in every state across the U.S. In South Dakota, a state where the cost of care is below the average, a family’s annual income would still need to be nearly $98,000; on the other end is a region like Washington, D.C., where families need to earn $330,000 annually to easily afford the cost of care for one child. Childcare advocates have long argued that it’s impossible to address the affordability crisis without public investment and additional federal funding, given the high labor costs associated with this care. Many centers already operate with tight margins, as evidenced by the challenges some providers are currently facing after President Trump’s proposed funding freeze—which has since been rescinded—derailed payments for those in the Head Start program, which subsidizes childcare costs for low income families. Some providers have reportedly been unable to pay staff and were forced to temporarily close their doors, and according to the National Head Start Association, nearly 20,000 children and families could be impacted if those programs continue to be unable to access funding. Given Trump’s track record, it’s also possible that childcare providers and parents may have to contend with further cuts to federal programs that help support low-income families—rather than the additional funding that the childcare industry sorely needs. View the full article

LG Electronics USA is recalling half a million electric ranges that have been involved in at least 28 fires, resulting in numerous injuries and a few pet deaths. But instead of issuing a refund or replacement, the home appliance maker is sending customers warning label stickers. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) posted an alert on Thursday that it received at least 86 reports of “unintentional activation of the front-mounted knobs” leading to “at least five fires,” which “caused extensive property damage totaling over $340,000” as well as burns and eight minor injuries, with three fires resulting in pet deaths. According to the announcement, customers and their pets can accidentally activate the front-mounted knobs on LG Slide-In Ranges and Freestanding Ranges, potentially causing fires. In response, LG is encouraging consumers to use the ranges’ “Lock Out” or “Control Lock” features, which “[lock] the cooktop . . . from being turned on even when the knob is turned, reducing the risk of accidental activation,” according to a statement from the company. “I’d like to clarify that this is not the usual kind of CPSC ‘recall,’ because the affected products have a proven safety feature built in,” John Taylor, senior vice president of LG Electronics USA Inc., told Fast Company in a statement. Consumers can find detailed instructions for using the Lock Out/Control Lock features at LGcares.com. Where were the ranges sold? According to the CPSC, the ranges were sold from 2015 to January 2025, for between $1,400 and $2,650, at the following stores: Best Buy Costco The Home Depot Lowe’s In addition, the recall notes the ranges were sold at other appliance stores nationwide and online at LG.com. The model and serial numbers of the affected products are listed here. LG told Fast Company on Friday that for 10 of the 11 models listed, only those units manufactured through 2023, as indicated by serial number, are affected. All units of model LDE4413 are affected. (The serial numbers can be found inside the oven door or storage drawer located on the bottom of the oven.) What should I do if I think my range was recalled? Consumers should contact LG through the company’s website for a free warning label and placement instructions, and use the Lock Out/Control Lock function on the range control panel to disable heating elements when the range is not in use. Here’s LG’s instructional video on how to use the Lock Out/Control Lock features. Consumers should also keep children and pets away from the knobs and check the range knobs to ensure they are off before leaving the house or going to bed, and should not leave objects on the range when it’s not in use. View the full article

Kickoff for the Super Bowl LIX matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles is set for 6:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, Feb. 9. Fox is broadcasting the game live from Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, so anyone with a cable or broadcast TV subscription (or an OTA antenna) can view the game via Fox, Fox Deportes, or Telemundo. If you don't have cable, you can still stream the game to your computer, mobile device, or smart TV—even if you're outside the U.S. Here's how. Where to stream Super Bowl LIX in the U.S.Fox-owned Tubi is streaming Super Bowl LIX for free in the U.S. and Canada. The platform supports a wide range of streaming devices and smart TVs as well as Android, iOS, and web browsers, so you can watch from (almost) anywhere, including on your laptop or mobile device. The game will also be available in 4K on Roku, Fire TV, Android TV, and Apple TV. You have to create a Tubi account and be logged in at game time, no credit card required. Alternatively, Fox is available to many U.S. viewers via live TV streaming services like DirectTV Stream, FuboTV, Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, and Sling TV. If you're not already a subscriber, most of these platforms offer limited free trials, so you can sign up to watch the game and cancel before you are actually billed. While not free, you can also watch the game using the Fox Sports app (if you pay for Fox via cable, satellite, or live TV streaming) or through the NFL+ app (with a $7 subscription) on mobile. Where to stream Super Bowl LIX outside the U.S. The NFL has a full list of international broadcasts for Super Bowl LIX audiences located outside the U.S. An NFL Game Pass will get you full coverage via DAZN in any country except the U.S. and China. DAZN is available on most game consoles, smart TVs, and streaming sticks, as well as mobile devices, and prices vary by country. The game will also be available on ESPN in many countries and on local sports networks in select areas. For example, UK viewers can stream the game for free on ITV1 (or with a subscription to Sky Sports), and Australian fans can tune in on 7mate and 7plus. How to use a VPN to watch Super Bowl LIXIf you have a streaming subscription (or want to watch via one of the free options) but are in an area where that service is blocked, you can use a VPN to connect back to the country where broadcast rights are available. We've got a list of the best free VPNs, which let you select IP addresses in specific locations so you can stream content even when you're abroad. View the full article

As convenient as the internet is, when big tech companies chase endless growth, that can mean bloat. Nowadays, it feels like every company wants to lure me into an algorithm trap, convince me to use their AI services, or try to make me pay a premium to browse like I used to. One of my favorite tools for fighting back against these trends is Tapestry. It's a timeline app for iPhone and iPad that lets you combine multiple feeds from blogs, YouTube, podcasts, and social media, then view them in chronological order, with a beautiful interface. Essentially, you can use it to make your own curated version of (nearly) the entire internet. Tapestry is designed by The Iconfactory, which also developed the excellent (but now-defunct) Twitter client Twitteriffic. What is a timeline app?Timeline apps are a new genre of app that lets you take back control from big tech's algorithms and decide what you want to see and when you want to see it. These apps allow you to create your own personalized timelines with posts from multiple websites. You could use these apps to follow a blog you like, a YouTuber you enjoy, and even a subreddit or social media feed that you like seeing. It's like using an RSS reader, but with support for content from many more types of sources. Making the most of Tapestry on your iPhoneInstalling Tapestry will start you off with a very useful sign-up flow. This shows you a list of various recommended feeds you can add to your timeline with just one tap, which allows you to populate the app in record time. If you're big on customization, you can also skip the recommendations and manually add your feeds to the app by going to the Settings tab and tapping the Add Feed button. After that, you can just paste the URL of the website, YouTube channel, podcast, or Mastodon/Bluesky account you want to follow, and Tapestry will look for the feed and add it to your timeline. There's a bit more than that going on in the back end, but Tapestry's Feed Finder feature is pretty good at locating and loading feeds for you from a simple URL. Once your feeds are added, you'll be able to view them all in a neat, chronological timeline. The app's free tier is quite generous. It allows you to add multiple feeds and follow them all on one infinite scrolling timeline. If you like a post, tap the flag icon below the post to mark it (aka bookmark it) or use the share button to send it to your friends or social media accounts. Without a subscription, Tapestry will show you ads in your timeline. However, these are some of the least intrusive ads I've come across. They follow the design language of the app, and most of the ads I saw were either asking me to add a feed to Tapestry or to install another app. The app is beautifully designed and reminds me a lot about the best of Twitteriffic. A unified timeline can easily get very messy, very fast, but Tapestry handles this well by color-coding posts from various sources and prominently displaying a logo for each feed. It picked up the logos of two newsletters I loaded, too, which is a very nice touch. You can customize this experience by going to the Appearance settings page within the app, where you can change the font and the length of post previews. This lets you make your timeline look neater, and you can make it even better by tapping the three-lines icon in the bottom-left corner of the timeline. That lets you choose different sizes for each post— I find the collapsed view is best for quickly browsing, but the expanded view is better for skimming through newsletters. Credit: Pranay Parab Each post in your timeline is truncated by default, and even the expanded view only shows a few paragraphs at most. However, you can tap the Read More button on any post to read it in full in a new page. This view is free of ads and clutter, loads quickly, and the background retains the color scheme Tapestry assigned to it on your timeline. Tapestry also has two types of filters to help you clean up your feeds—muffles and mutes. Muffles will collapse posts containing specific keywords and are useful when you want to avoid spoilers from a new movie or TV show. Mutes will hide posts containing certain keywords entirely—great for blocking politics, sports, or other subjects from your feed, as an example. The biggest limitation of Tapestry's free tier is that it lets you add just the one timeline. You do have access to certain timeline filters that let you view marked posts, only posts from today, or posts from a single feed at a time. However, if you want to create more than one timeline, you're going to have to upgrade to the paid tier, which costs $2/month or $20/year. There's also a one-time lifetime unlock option at $80, in case you want to avoid subscriptions. Once upgraded, you'll no longer see ads and you can create as many timelines as you like. I've used this to separate social media feeds, newsletters, and other types of feeds, but the good news is that you can craft a timeline to suit your needs. Some people would prefer to combine posts from Bluesky and Mastodon into one chronological feed, and Tapestry allows you to do that, too. One of my biggest complaints about Bluesky is that it doesn't save your reading position, which means that it refreshes to the top of the feed whenever I open the app. I like it when apps remember where I stopped reading and then allow me to scroll to catch up on all the posts that came after the last one I read. Tapestry shows you a nice counter in the top-right corner, which says how many posts are above what you're reading, and it remembers where I paused scrolling. This is great for timeline completionists like me, and I've been using Tapestry to read my Bluesky feed in chronological order, and to follow a few accounts from Bluesky. Credit: Pranay Parab Note that you can't use Tapestry to post anything to social media, to like posts, repost, or interact with them directly. You can tap a button to open the post in the site it's hosted on, and interact with it there. Still, Tapestry is great for creating a timeline and reading, watching videos, or listening to podcasts. This app lets you listen to entire podcast episodes without leaving it if you like, and it also loads YouTube videos in the company's own player. It's a fairly seamless experience if you want to follow a few of your favorite creators. You're going to enjoy Tapestry the most if you're careful about the feeds you add. If you add a high-volume news feed, it could drown out low-frequency feeds, but if you find the right balance, it could become your own cozy corner of the web. The Iconfactory has delivered a very polished app considering it's just version 1.0 at this point. I'm excited to see where Tapestry goes and I hope that it heads to desktop at some point, too. At the moment, there aren't too many timeline apps that do the job that Tapestry does. The best alternative I've come across is Reeder, which is another beautifully designed timeline app with a similar feature set and pricing model. Ideally, you'll try both apps and decide which one works best for you, and I suspect the decision will come down to which design language you like more. Tapestry's bright and colorful design appeals to me, while others may prefer Reeder's subtler tones and animations. View the full article

Meta is expanding its AI-powered advertising tools to help businesses get better results from their campaigns, with early tests showing significant cost reductions and performance improvements. Details. Meta is rolling out these new features: A streamlined Advantage+ campaign setup that automatically applies AI optimizations to sales, app, and leads campaigns — removing the need for marketers to choose between manual or automated campaigns New Advantage+ leads campaigns specifically designed to help advertisers find high-quality leads more efficiently. Early tests show a 10% lower cost per qualified lead compared to campaigns without these AI features An expanded opportunity score system that gives advertisers a 0-100 rating on their campaign setup and provides actionable recommendations for improvement Why we care. Meta is essentially democratizing its most advanced AI tools that were previously limited to specific campaign types, meaning you can now get the same powerful optimization features across all your campaigns (sales, app, and leads) without having to manually configure them. Also the new streamlined setup removes the complexity of choosing between manual and automated campaigns, making it easier for you to leverage Meta’s best-performing AI features, regarldess of skill level. The big picture. The company’s Advantage+ suite has become increasingly popular among marketers, with its shopping campaigns growing 70% year over year in Q4, according to Meta. What’s next. Meta plans to integrate these features into Ads Manager later this year, combining AI optimizations with personalized campaign recommendations. Between the lines. The move represents Meta’s continued push to automate and simplify its advertising platform while maintaining performance, as the company faces increasing competition in the digital ad space. View the full article

Immigration and border security will be the likely focus of U.S.-Mexico relations under the new Trump administration. But there also is a growing water crisis along the U.S.–Mexico border that affects tens of millions of people on both sides, and it can only be managed if the two governments work together. Climate change is shrinking surface and groundwater supplies in the southwestern U.S. Higher air temperatures are increasing evaporation rates from rivers and streams and intensifying drought. Mexico is also experiencing multiyear droughts and heat waves. Growing water use is already overtaxing limited supplies from nearly all of the region’s cross-border rivers, streams and aquifers. Many of these sources are contaminated with agricultural pollutants, untreated waste and other substances, further reducing the usability of available water. As Texas-based scholars who study the legal and scientific aspects of water policy, we know that communities, farms and businesses in both countries rely on these scarce water supplies. In our view, water conditions on the border have changed so much that the current legal framework for managing them is inadequate. Unless both nations recognize this fact, we believe that water problems in the region are likely to worsen, and supplies may never recover to levels seen as recently as the 1950s. Although the U.S. and Mexico have moved to address these concerns by updating the 1944 water treaty, these steps are not long-term solutions. The Rio Grande flows south from Colorado and forms the 1,250-mile (2,000-kilometer) Texas-Mexico border. [Image: Kmusser/Wikimedia, CC BY-SA] Growing demand, shrinking supply The U.S.-Mexico border region is mostly arid, with water coming from a few rivers and an unknown amount of groundwater. The main rivers that cross the border are the Colorado and the Rio Grande – two of the most water-stressed systems in the world. The Colorado River provides water to more than 44 million people, including seven U.S. and two Mexican states, 29 Indian tribes and 5.5 million acres of farmland. Only about 10% of its total flow reaches Mexico. The river once emptied into the Gulf of California, but now so much water is withdrawn along its course that since the 1960s it typically peters out in the desert. The Rio Grande supplies water to roughly 15 million people, including 22 Indian tribes, three U.S. and four Mexican states and 2.8 million irrigated acres. It forms the 1,250-mile (2,000-kilometer) Texas-Mexico border, winding from El Paso in the west to the Gulf of Mexico in the east. Other rivers that cross the border include the Tijuana, San Pedro, Santa Cruz, New and Gila. These are all significantly smaller and have less economic impact than the Colorado and the Rio Grande. At least 28 aquifers – underground rock formations that contain water – also traverse the border. With a few exceptions, very little information on these shared resources exists. One thing that is known is that many of them are severely overtapped and contaminated. The Colorado River flows through seven U.S. states and crosses into Mexico at the Arizona-California border. [Image: USGS] Nonetheless, reliance on aquifers is growing as surface water supplies dwindle. Some 80% of groundwater used in the border region goes to agriculture. The rest is used by farmers and industries, such as automotive and appliance manufacturers. Over 10 million people in 30 cities and communities throughout the border region rely on groundwater for domestic use. Many communities, including Ciudad Juarez; the sister cities of Nogales in both Arizona and Sonora; and the sister cities of Columbus in New Mexico and Puerto Palomas in Chihuahua, get all or most of their fresh water from these aquifers. A booming region About 30 million people live within 100 miles (160 kilometers) of the border on both sides. Over the next 30 years, that figure is expected to double. Municipal and industrial water use throughout the region is also expected to increase. In Texas’ lower Rio Grande Valley, municipal use alone could more than double by 2040. At the same time, as climate change continues to worsen, scientists project that snowmelt will decrease and evaporation rates will increase. The Colorado River’s baseflow – the portion of its volume that comes from groundwater, rather than from rain and snow – may decline by nearly 30% in the next 30 years. Precipitation patterns across the region are projected to be uncertain and erratic for the foreseeable future. This trend will fuel more extreme weather events, such as droughts and floods, which could cause widespread harm to crops, industrial activity, human health and the environment. Further stress comes from growth and development. Both the Colorado River and Rio Grande are tainted by pollutants from agricultural, municipal and industrial sources. Cities on both sides of the border, especially on the Mexican side, have a long history of dumping untreated sewage into the Rio Grande. Of the 55 water treatment plants located along the border, 80% reported ongoing maintenance, capacity and operating problems as of 2019. Drought across the border region is already stoking domestic and bilateral tensions. Competing water users are struggling to meet their needs, and the U.S. and Mexico are straining to comply with treaty obligations for sharing water. Cross-border water politics Mexico and the United States manage water allocations in the border region mainly under two treaties: a 1906 agreement focused on the Upper Rio Grande Basin and a 1944 treaty covering the Colorado River and Lower Rio Grande. Under the 1906 treaty, the U.S. is obligated to deliver 60,000 acre-feet of water to Mexico where the Rio Grande reaches the border. This target may be reduced during droughts, which have occurred frequently in recent decades. An acre-foot is enough water to flood an acre of land 1 foot deep – about 325,000 gallons (1.2 million liters). Allocations under the 1944 treaty are more complicated. The U.S. is required to deliver 1.5 million acre-feet of Colorado River water to Mexico at the border – but as with the 1906 treaty, reductions are allowed in cases of extraordinary drought. Until the mid-2010s, the U.S. met its full obligation each year. Since then, however, regional drought and climate change have severely reduced the Colorado River’s flow, requiring substantial allocation reductions for both the U.S. and Mexico. In 2025, states in the U.S. section of the lower Colorado River basin will see a reduction of over 1 million acre-feet from prior years. Mexico’s allocation will decline by approximately 280,500 acre-feet under the 1944 treaty. This agreement provides each nation with designated fractions of flows from the Lower Rio Grande and specific tributaries. Regardless of water availability or climatic conditions, Mexico also is required to deliver to the U.S. a minimum of 1,750,000 acre-feet of water from six named tributaries, averaged over five-year cycles. If Mexico falls short in one cycle, it can make up the deficit in the next five-year cycle, but cannot delay repayment further. Since the 1990s, extraordinary droughts have caused Mexico to miss its delivery obligations three times. Although Mexico repaid its water debts in subsequent cycles, these shortfalls raised diplomatic tensions that led to last-minute negotiations and large-scale water transfers from Mexico to the U.S. Mexican farmers in Lower Rio Grande irrigation districts who had to shoulder these cuts felt betrayed. In 2020, they protested, confronting federal soldiers and temporarily seizing control of a dam. U.S. President Donald Trump and Mexican President Claudia Scheinbaum clearly appreciate the political and economic importance of the border region. But if water scarcity worsens, it could supplant other border priorities. In our view, the best way to prevent this would be for the two countries to recognize that conditions are deteriorating and update the existing cross-border governance regime so that it reflects today’s new water realities. Gabriel Eckstein is a professor of law at Texas A&M University. Rosario Sanchez is a senior research scientist at the Texas Water Resources Institute, Texas A&M University. 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. Chances are good that if you've ever owned an e-reader, it was one of the many varieties of the Amazon Kindle. But though the Kindle is the most ubiquitous e-reader, that doesn't mean it's the best—nor does it mean that other companies haven't bettered Amazon at the game it more or less invented. One of the most interesting competitors in the space is Onyx International, a Chinese company that has been producing innovative e-readers for more than a decade under the brand name Boox, often including new features (like color e-ink displays) years before Amazon brought them to the Kindle. Though Boox makes my own favorite e-book device (that would be the phone-shaped Boox Palma, which I'll recommend every time I get the chance), they've expanded well beyond the e-reader market, launching multiple lines of e-ink notebooks. You can think of these devices as a cross between a Kindle and an iPad—they've typically got those familiar greyscale screens, but can run apps and work with a stylus, like a full-fledged tablet. I recently reviewed the Boox Note Air 4C, the latest model of the company's color e-ink digital notebook, and came away very impressed: While the price might be a deterrent for some, it's a fabulous option for anyone looking for a device with a writeable, paper-like screen and enough features and processing power to serve as as a truly versatile productivity tool. For the past two weeks, I've been testing out Boox's newest release in the space, and I think I like it even better than the Note Air 4C, for one simple reason: As the name implies, the Boox Note Max is freaking huge, in a good way. BOOX Note Mac 13.3" E-Ink Notebook $649.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg Shop Now Shop Now $649.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg BOOX Note Max Keyboard Cover $169.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg Shop Now Shop Now $169.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg BOOX Note Max Magnetic Cover $50.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg Shop Now Shop Now $50.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg SEE 0 MORE A truly massive deviceI know they make big iPads, but the biggest tablet I'd used prior to the Note Max had a 10-inch screen. This 13.3-inch device feels much larger. It's like that math equation that proves you should always order the bigger pizza, because it turns out there is quite a big difference between a 16-inch pizza and an 18-inch pizza. The Note Max is roughly the size of my laptop screen, but holding it, it feels a lot bigger—but it's also super thin, which makes it feel truly high-end (as befitting the price tag, I suppose). The included stylus, with a 4096-level pressure sensitivity, is also on par with the Apple Pencil in terms of the writing experience and the solidness of the build. Credit: Joel Cunningham For most of the stuff you'll want to do with this device, you'll truly appreciate the extra real estate. Whether you're marking up a PDF, paging through a recipe book, reading manga, or using split screen to read a book and take notes at the same time, it's wonderful for everything to be so big (and I say that as someone who prefers to read on an e-read the size of an iPhone). The 13.3" Note Max (left) is significantly larger than the 10.3" Note Air 4C, not to mention the iPhone-sized Boox Palma. Credit: Joel Cunningham The screen is an HD E Ink Carta 1300 screen with a resolution of 3,200 x 2,400 pixels (300ppi) that delivers impressive clarity—text looks especially sharp even blown up, and images are crisp enough that you'll have no problem reading the tiny dialogue bubbles in your comic. The Carta 1300 is supposed to look brighter and whiter than older e-ink displays, but to be honest, if you asked me what color the screen is, I'd still say gray. And that brings me to the one big love-it-or-hate-it caveat with this device. There's no front light, for a reasonSince at least the release of the first Nook Glowlight, a front lit e-ink screen has been a standard feature for most every e-reader—certainly any pricier model. So why, then, does the Boox Note Max lack a front light? It has to do with Boox's intended use case for this device. This is a digital notebook aimed at a user with specific and relatively sophisticated needs: reading and editing documents, organizing their calendar, and, most importantly, taking written notes. It turns out that putting a front light on an e-ink tablet involves putting an additional layer between the display and the outer glass. That also means that when you use the stylus, the tip of your pen is that much farther from the surface you actually appear to be writing on. It doesn't affect performance that much, but the effect is certainly a little less smooth—or so I've ascertained from comparing the Note Max to the Note Air 4C I mentioned earlier. Taking notes or doodling on the latter delivers a good approximation of putting pen to paper, but the Note Max really perfects it. Eliminating that little bit of extra distance adds that much more verisimilitude to the experience, which in turn makes the device very satisfying to write on—kind of fun, even, though I assume the novelty will wear off. Apparently the lack of a front light also improves overall clarity, which is a good thing, because you'll need it if you are trying to use the Note Max in anything but direct light. I'm old enough to already need to crank the brightness on my laptop just to read it comfortably, and I had a little trouble with smaller print on the note max unless I was sitting in a fairly bright room. Is the tradeoff worth it? I think if you plan to take a lot of handwritten notes on it, yes—the improved writing experience and larger screen will serve you well. But if you really want that front light, the significantly smaller but still very capable Note Air 4C is probably a better choice. A dream digital note-taking deviceIf a device has been optimized to best serve as a digital notebook, then it had better perform well enough at those tasks—note-taking, marking up PDFs, linking files, working on- and offline—to justify the loss of a useful feature like a front light. And it's here that the Note Max truly excels. It has basically the same functionality as the Note Air 4C, but with a larger screen. Using the Notes app is effortless, and there are a lot of options to customize, from the type of virtual writing instrument you're using to the thickness of the lines. You can zoom into a PDF and move it around with little lag time. The split screen mode allows you to run any two apps side-by-side, so you can, for example, read an online article while taking notes on it at the same time. Credit: Joel Cunningham Though I haven't used the the Kindle Scribe, Amazon's flagship e-notebook, I have read many user reviews filled with complaints about the difficultly in getting files on and off the device. The Note Max solves for that by integrating with most of the major cloud services, like Google Drive and Dropbox. Importing and exporting PDFs, notes, and anything else you are working on is a matter of a few taps (and, OK, mastering the not always intuitive file structure). Credit: Joel Cunningham In short, if you are looking for a digital notebook that can handle any planning, research, and organizational tasks you can throw at it, this one is it. Be prepared for a learning curveConsidering the native Boox apps were likely developed in Chinese and localized for the English-language version, I'm all the more impressed at how straightforward they are to use (this definitely hasn't been the case with every app-in-translation I've used). That isn't to say it's simple, however. The fact is that the Note Max can do so much, that figuring out how to make it work best for you is going to take a lot of poking around, experimentation, and trial and error. Multiple times throughout my testing, I'd have to google how to accomplish a particular task, from opening a PDF in splitscreen mode to linking a website directly from a particular word in my notes or a PDF. On the plus side, I never encountered a need the Note Max wasn't capable of handling—the native notes apps are truly feature-packed, and built with power users in mind—but it took some work to figure them all out. If you're used to Apple hand-holding you through using one of its apps, you might get frustrated, but I think the robust tool set and customization options are worth the tradeoff. A lot more than just a digital notebookWhile the digital notebook capabilities are definitely the reason to pick up the Note Max, that's not to suggest it doesn't excel as an e-reader, for many of the same reasons I praised both the Palma and the Note Air 4C. Like those devices, the Note Max runs on a fairly basic version of Android 13 that allows you to access the Google Play Store out of the box. This means you can install basically any apps you want, and the format agnosticism is great if you've amassed a collection of e-books from different sources over the years—Kindle, Nook, Kobo, and more. A great device for reading books, manga, and black and white comicsThe massive screen is nice to read on if you're sitting comfortably, though I do think the device is heavy enough to make it impractical for reading in bed or while commuting. Still, the size is particularly nice if you want to read anything with a lot of graphical elements, like comics or manga. Credit: Joel Cunningham Granted, black-and-white-only display means it takes some fiddling with the settings to make color images more legible, and certainly something is going to be lost in the translation. But reading manga or other black and white comics is a real joy, thanks to the size and crisp resolution. Use any apps you like (with mixed results)The app store access doesn't limit you to just e-reading apps, and you can definitely use the Note Max to access your Gmail, use Google Docs, play games, and even watch videos. Like Boox's other signature devices, the Note Max includes multiple screen modes, from "Normal" to "Regal" to "A2" that control how quickly the e-ink display will refresh. More than that, you can set how often the screen will perform a full refresh on a per-app basis, which is a good option considering not all tasks will put the same demands on the hardware. Credit: Joel Cunningham High resolution modes will offer super crisp text and images, but you're likely to see a lot of ghosting (afterimages are visible after you change what's onscreen), making them best for relatively static tasks like reading a print e-book. The faster modes allow for faster scrolling and far less ghosting, which is a must when trying to scroll through a website or watch a video, but there's a tradeoff: You'll lose a lot of detail. In short, this means that while the Note Max can technically do anything you'd ask of your iPad short of making FaceTime calls, those experiences won't necessarily be all that satisfying. It's great for reading Reddit, but you probably don't want to use it to watch Netflix. A note about reliabilityTo be clear, I've experienced no hardware issues in my time testing this device. It has continued to perform as you would expect a new device to perform. That said, Boox devices aren't exactly known to receive much in the way of customer support, and if you have a problem with yours—say, you drop it and the screen breaks, or you experience an unexplained screen failure like those I've read about on Reddit—it's likely you'll be footing the bill for a repair. Unhappy customers have reported having little luck getting what they believed were faulty devices repaired under warranty, and mailing it in involves shipping to China. That said, if you purchase the device from Amazon, instead of directly from the company, you'll be covered under Amazon's typically generous return and exchange policies. The optional keyboard case is nice-looking but not quite there yetIf you buy the Boox Note Max direct from Onyx, it comes with a relatively basic magnetic cover (which you can also pick up separately from Amazon, if you're not comfortable ordering from a China-based company with questionable customer service reviews), but you can also pay another $170 for a case with a built-in keyboard. I got one of them to test out alongside the Note Max, and I would say that, like the tablet itself, it's not for everyone. One thing the keyboard case has going for it is build quality: With a faux-leather look, a weight that feels substantial if not heavy, a large trackpad, and a keyboard that feels roughly as comfortable to use as the one on my MacBook Air, it definitely has premium trappings. Just look at it: Credit: Joel Cunningham Unfortunately, it's not nearly as nice to actually use—but I think that's mostly down to the peculiarities of e-ink. You can open up the Notes app or an email window and start typing away, but the lag time between your input and the character appearing onscreen is...not short. It's very noticeable, and if you're an awkward touch-typer like me, it will mean a lot more typos. The trackpad also gave me some trouble; again, the culprit was lag time. You feel less like you're moving the cursor and more like you're dragging it along. This makes it surprisingly hard to do things like select from a drop-down menu or click a button. It's very pretty though, and I've read anecdotal reports suggesting it has continued to improve through subsequent rounds of software updates. The bottom lineAfter spending more than a week testing out the Boox Note Max, I feel like I'm only just starting to realize its potential. Its premium build quality and massive size in comparison to other digital notebooks make it a joy to read (and write!) on, but the complex array of features and settings are far from intuitive, and it will take some effort to fully grasp, let alone make work for you. That's not really a negative—all those options mean you can basically configure it how you like—but it does suggest to me that this is a device for power users. That is to say: If your needs include a lot of text editing and digital note-taking, you're going to love it. If they don't, it's probably more device than you really need. BOOX Note Max E-Ink Notebook $649.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg Shop Now Shop Now $649.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg Onyx Boox Note Max specsDisplay: 13.3" E Ink Carta Plus (Carta1300), 300 ppi CPU: 2.8Ghz Qualcomm Octacore processor RAM: 6GB Storage: 128GB Connectivity: Wi-Fi 5 (2.4/5GHz), Bluetooth 5.0 Lighting: None Operating system: Android 13 Battery/charging: 3,700 mAh via USB-C Size: 287.5 x 243 x 4.6 mm SD card support: None Weight: 615g View the full article

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If you scroll through your old photos from the mid-2010s—the golden era of Snapchat—chances are a fair number of those pictures feature a dog filter or a flower crown. Now, nearly a decade later, one TikToker has now been struck by a unique dilemma. “Your daughter wants to see her baby pictures, but she was born in 2016,” user @themkidzmama3 posted in a video that has since gone viral. As the Adele’s 2015 hit “Hello” plays, a slideshow of her daughter’s baby photos flashes across the screen. Each photo uses a different filter, from the dog ears to a Sia wig. It’s undeniable: Her daughter is a product of the Snapchat filter era. There was a time when baby photos were professionally staged and displayed proudly in parents’ homes. But with smartphones and social media parents now have the ability to snap hundreds of photos a day (not all of them keepsake-worthy). The TikTok video gained over 26.5 million views, with other parents’ relating to Snapchat filters of that era. “There’s gonna be money in defiltering apps in the future,” one user wrote in the comments. “Kids nowadays won’t get photo albums, they’ll get an icloud folder,” another added. Following the virality of @themkidzmama3’s video, another mom jumped on the trend, showing off her daughter’s baby photos from the same era. “I have nothing to say for myself apart from I’m sorry my princess. A true victim of the Snapchat era,” she wrote in the caption of the video. Her slideshow includes a face-swap photo featuring mom-and-daughter and a picture with the ever-present flower crown. “The flower crown was a universal baby photo for 2016-2017,” one person wrote in the comments. Another confessed: “The amount of photos I have of my baby as a chicken nugget.” View the full article

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We may earn a commission from links on this page. Like any surface, a wood floor can get stained and dirty, but you have to be really careful with how you clean it. You shouldn't use harsh chemicals, whether your floor is sealed or unsealed, because you don't want to damage the wood itself, but that leaves you with fewer options. I tried two—well, three, but we'll get to that—simple techniques that didn't require any intense chemicals today and they both worked well. Remove stains from wood floors with vinegarFirst, I assessed the stains I was dealing with, which I noticed while cleaning under my couch earlier in the week. They appeared to be leftover from a project I did a while back involving glue, newspaper, and paint, so I had a big selection of stain types to test my methods on. In general, whether you're working on sealed or unsealed floors, you want to dab, not drench, your stain, so liquid doesn't seep into any cracks and cause damage underneath, which I kept in mind while I got to work with my first test: vinegar. If you're not sure whether your floor is sealed or unsealed, place a few drops of water on the surface. If they stay beaded up on top, it's likely sealed, but if they absorb quickly, it likely isn't. I am a renter in my home and wasn't here when this floor was put down, which means I don't know anything about it for sure, so checking that was important. If your floor is unsealed, try these steps with soap and water before moving on to vinegar if you have to, but since mine is sealed, I went straight to the cupboard staple. I mixed equal parts vinegar and warm water, then dabbed it up and down on the stains, pausing every few seconds to give the stain I was working on a good scrub with my rag. The dilution here is important, as pure vinegar can be too acidic and can break down sealant if it's too strong. It definitely took some time (and smelled bad, of course) but slowly, darker stains started to lift up. Once I'd removed them most of the way, I went in with a melamine sponge and they basically disappeared—and with them went the fear I'd need to make an emergency Target run to get something stronger. Remove harder stains with baking soda paste The problem on the left. Baking soda paste and vinegar on the right. Credit: Lindsey Ellefson A few stains seemed more deeply set-in, but I knew I didn't want to leave them drenched in vinegar and risk the integrity of the floor. For those, I made a paste by filling a small bowl halfway with water, then adding and stirring in baking soda until it was thick. I'm a fan of the abrasive quality of baking soda when used to clean, but also its lack of acidity. I left the paste on the stains for about 20 minutes, wiped it off, and proceeded with my melamine sponge. These, too, came right up. You shouldn't use this technique to clean the whole floor. It's just not necessary. The best uses for baking soda paste on wood floors are these: When a stain is really set in there and regular cleaning doesn't budge it When the stain is oily or greasy Bonus: Glue and squished sticky stuff get the hair dryerThose two methods worked really well and thankfully didn't require harsh chemicals or cause any damage to my floors, but at the end of my experiment, I was still left with some splotches. They were raised, not technically "stains," but they deserve inclusion here nonetheless. I'd been afraid that those were made up of glue, but now I was sure. I tried prying them up with a knife and got nowhere; they were stuck. I read up on what to do and found that most pros suggested I trek to the hardware store for professional adhesive remover. For under $15, you can definitely do that, but before I spent hard-earned money on a solution I needed to use just once, I had the idea to try something else for free. Two weeks ago, I wrote about how easily you can remove stickers from household goods by blasting them with a hair dryer. It couldn't hurt to give that a shot on the floor, right? I directed the heat at all four glue spots, one at a time, for about 45 seconds. Each one peeled up like magic, despite being very firmly attached just a minute prior. Beyond not having to spend $15 on a product that would then clutter up my cleaning shelf for years to come, I didn't have to apply anything harsh to the floor. For messes that are gelled, stuck, or otherwise squished onto your wood floor, try the hair dryer first. Overall wood floor stain-removing tipsWhichever method you try, do a spot test first in an inconspicuous place, like under a big piece of furniture. As mentioned, dab, don't drench, and avoid using anything really acidic or harsh, like acetone (which I was close to doing for the glue before reconsidering what a nightmare that could be for my sealant). If baking soda paste isn't quite abrasive enough, don't reach for anything too stiff to scrape at stains. Instead, opt for a semi-sturdy sponge or an old toothbrush. The goal here should be spot-treating only, too. Don't distribute your vinegar or baking soda paste any farther than you have to. Just keep it on the stain and dab up and down. When I finished up and had all my stains removed, I definitely had some crusty baking soda left over, as well as some suds from using the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Ultra Foamy, so the job didn't end there. I wiped the whole area down with some Fabuloso, the same as I would for normal cleaning, and then let it air dry. Unless you have great luck with the vinegar from the get-go, this isn't a quick process from spot testing to finishing, so make sure you allot enough time. View the full article

Google leads organic search with 94.8% traffic, but AI tools and smaller engines show growing competition. The post Google Market Share Slips, AI Referrals & Regional Search Engines Rise appeared first on Search Engine Journal. View the full article