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We may earn a commission from links on this page. Most people won't be able to tell the difference in visual quality between a QLED and OLED TV at a glance, but the difference in price is immediately obvious. The truth is, if you get a good QLED TV, most people will be happy with the picture quality and be happy to pocket the price difference. If you think that applies to you, I think this QLED from TCL is a about as good a choice as it gets. The TCL QM7 is a Quantum Dot Mini Light Emitting Diode (QD Mini-LED) QLED TV, meaning TCL combines QD and Mini-LED tech to improve picture quality with more realistic colors, better contrast, and higher brightness. The QM7 also supports most HDR formats that most people want and is a great TV for gamers. Perhaps the best part is how affordable this TV is for how good it is. TCL sent me a 65-inch QM7 for me to review. After testing it for a while, I can recommend this TV to anyone who wants a solid, budget QLED TV without the premium perks and prices of TVs like TCL's QM8 or OLEDs. Display Technology: QD Mini-LED and QLED, Resolution: 4K, Refresh Rate: 144 Hz. TCL 55-Inch QM7 QLED 4K Smart QD-Mini LED TV $497.00 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg Shop Now Shop Now $497.00 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg Display Technology: QD Mini-LED and QLED, Resolution: 4K, Refresh Rate: 144 Hz. TCL 65-Inch QM7 QLED 4K Smart QD-Mini LED TV $698.00 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg Shop Now Shop Now $698.00 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg Display Technology: QD Mini-LED and QLED, Resolution: 4K, Refresh Rate: 144 Hz. TCL 75-Inch QM7 QLED 4K Smart QD-Mini LED TV $897.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $997.99 Save $100.00 Shop Now Shop Now $897.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $997.99 Save $100.00 Display Technology: QD Mini-LED and QLED, Resolution: 4K, Refresh Rate: 144 Hz. TCL 85-Inch QM7 QLED 4K Smart QD-Mini LED TV $1,397.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $1,999.99 Save $602.00 Shop Now Shop Now $1,397.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $1,999.99 Save $602.00 Display Technology: QD Mini-LED and QLED, Resolution: 4K, Refresh Rate: 144 Hz. TCL 98-Inch QM7 QLED 4K Smart QD-Mini LED TV $2,299.99 at Amazon Shop Now Shop Now $2,299.99 at Amazon SEE 2 MORE TCL QM7 pros, cons, and specsSpecsType: QLED with QD-Mini LED technology Dimming Zones: Up to 1,240 local dimming zones Brightness: Up to 2,400 nits peak brightness Ports: 4 HDMI inputs (One 4K/144Hz, one 4K/120Hz, one 4K/60Hz, and one eARC/ARC with 4K/60Hz), 2 USB ports (one USB 3.0 and one USB 2.0), 1 Ethernet port, 1 Digital Audio Optical output, 1 Antenna/cable input, 1 RF Input, 1 Headphone output, 1 AV Input (Composite Video + L&R Audio In) Screen Size and Weight: 55-inch model: 28.9 lbs (13.1 kg), 65-inch model: 45.9 lbs (20.8 kg), 75-inch model: 63.1 lbs (28.6 kg), 85-inch model: 81.6 lbs (37 kg), 98-inch model: 130.1 lbs (59 kg) Resolution: 4K Ultra HD (3840 x 2160 pixels) HDR Support: HDR ULTRA with Dolby Vision IQ, HDR10+, HDR10, and HLG Input Lag: Low input lag, enhanced by features like Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM) and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, providing a responsive gaming experience. Refresh Rate: 120Hz native panel refresh rate, supporting up to 144Hz Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) Contrast: Enhanced contrast with 1,240 local dimming zones, delivering deep blacks and bright whites Voice Assistant: Built-in Google Assistant; also compatible with Amazon Alexa and Apple HomeKit Operating System: Google TV ProsBright with up to 2,400 nits Strong contrast makes colors pop Hands-free Google Assistant Support for most HDR formats Support for Apple AirPlay, Google Cast, Alexa, and Apple HomeKit Native 120Hz and support VRR up to 144Hz ConsColors are saturated out of the box Plastic build feels cheap Stand is wobbly (but you can just mount it) TCL QM7 first impressionsThe QM7 didn't make a good impression out of the box. The plastic build quality was poor and felt cheap and weak. However, as you will read on, this is mainly where TCL made cuts to give such a good value TV. I would much rather have TV companies make cuts on the build than on the specs, ports, formats, or picture quality. Once my TV was set up, none of the physical aspects of the TV mattered. Credit: Daniel Oropeza Design The ports on the QM7. Credit: Daniel Oropeza Thin bezels give this TV a very modern look. The ports on the QM7 are well thought out and will make gamers happy. You have four HDMI ports, two of which are HDMI 2.1, and one of those can handle 4K at 144Hz. Neither of these two is the eARC port, letting you hook up a soundbar without taking one of the good HDMI ports. Good job TCL. The "Ultra-Bass" subwoofer from Onkyo on the back of the TV. Credit: Daniel Oropeza The stand on the QM7 is in the center, with a 3.5-inch gap to place a soundbar. However, I felt the stand was too wobbly, so I opted to mount the TV using a standard VESA bracket for my bedroom. I personally recommend getting a soundbar if you value proper audio. The "Ultra-Bass" subwoofer from Onkyo on the back of the TV looks cool, but it was nothing more than a gimmick. I could not hear any difference in audio, much less in bass, compared to any other TV. Controller of the QM7. Credit: Daniel Oropeza I really like the controller, with an auto-sense backlight that came in pretty handy when I was looking for the controller in pitch darkness. Image Image looks great on a scene from 'Lost.' Credit: Daniel Oropeza The two main things that stood out from the image when I first watched the QM7 were the contrast and brightness. The contrast is powerful, with a native contrast of 8,264;1 and getting up to 66,900: 1, which is better than most non-OLED TVs. Deep blacks look very good, even when next to bright highlights. This is due to the high amount of local dimming zones (1,240 to be exact), which is impressive given the price of this TV. Credit: Daniel Oropeza This TV is also very bright, hitting up to 2,400 nits of peak brightness. This makes it a great TV for a bright living room or a bedroom with a lot of natural light, which is the case in my bedroom. The highlights in dark scenes really stand out in HDR content, and since it supports HDR10+ and Dolby Vision, I could not think of a better way to put this to the test than by re-watching the darkest episode I could think of, "The Long Night" from Game of Thrones (season 8, episode 3) on Max, which streams in 4K and with Dolby Vision. Dark scene from Game of Thrones where you can see detail in the caves. Credit: Daniel Oropeza I was blown away by how much detail I picked up with the QM7 that I missed the first time I watched the episode. With the QM7 I could see details in caves and fight scenes that I never saw before. Even during the darkest scenes, I could make out what was happening on the screen. There was barely any blooming on the scenes with fire or bright highlights against dark backgrounds (even the subtitles looked good). Credit: Daniel Oropeza The image isn't perfect though, since some black and shadow images do look over-bright (you can fix a lot of this in the settings with the right adjustments though). But overall, it does a great job in most cases, especially in HDR content. Since this is still a VA panel, it does lose some detail and color saturation at certain viewing angles, but it's not terrible. I could still enjoy the details, colors, and brightness sitting from the most extreme angles. Credit: Daniel Oropeza The reflection can be problematic, but mostly when I was watching dark scenes and I had my overhead fan light on and the windows open during the brightest time of the day. When I switched over to bright scenes with the same amount of bright light in my room, the glare was barely noticeable. Credit: Daniel Oropeza FeaturesTCL is one of the TV brands that isn't loyal to one specific HDR format, so you get to enjoy all of them (if that TV offers them). The QM7 offers HDR ULTRA with Dolby Vision IQ, HDR10+, HDR10, and HLG, covering most of the formats used in premium streaming app subscriptions these days. The HDR Ultra with Dolby Vision IQ adjusts the brightness of the light in your room, which can be a cool feature for those who are sensitive to brightness, but I personally don't enjoy it, so I turned it off. Google TVThe hands-free Google Assistant is responsive and works better than my aging Google Home. Because this is a Google TV, it is compatible with Google Cast, but it's always great to see it supports others like Apple AirPlay, Alexa, and Apple HomeKit. Credit: Daniel Oropeza The Google TV OS is snappy and easy on the eyes. It also comes with many free channels through TCL TV and live Google TV Freeplay. You won't find the latest shows or movies playing, mainly reruns or local live TV, but it's free. GamingThe Xbox Series X/S is the only console that does Dolby Vision (for now), so your results may vary, but my experience was one of the best ones I've had. Using the 4K and 120Hz refresh rate (you can do 144Hz if your computer supports it) in game mode picture setting was beautiful (remember you'll need an Ultra High-Speed HDMI to do this). The colors are radiant, the movements smooth, and the input lag isn't noticeable (6 milliseconds). My only qualm is with the sound delay. When playing games like Halo Infinite or Call of Duty: Black Ops, there is a noticeable delay when shots are fired and when the sound is heard. This can likely be fixed if you hook up a soundbar and adjust the audio delay settings, but I didn't see an option to adjust this with the TVs built-in speakers. Credit: Daniel Oropeza I enjoy having the "information" button on the remote, which shows me if I am actually gaming with the Game Master setting on, the resolution, refresh rate, UHD and FreeSync, and the HDR format (Dolby Vision in my case). You can see what it looks like in the image above. Bottom line Credit: Daniel Oropeza The QM7 is an incredible QLED TV with great value for the money. It is incredibly bright reaching highs of up to 2,400 nits, has a powerful contrast that makes colors pop while keeping deep darks, and very minimal blooming. The up to 1,240 local dimming zones make this TV one of the best value options for picture quality for non-OLEDs. Watching movies or shows is great with HDR support from the most used formats for streaming media. With four HDMI ports all of which can get 4k, and one of which can support VRR and up to 144Hz (separate from the eARC), gamers have plenty of ports to use multiple consoles or products at once. If you're willing to look past the cheap plastic build and wobbly stand (mount it and forget it) this is an incredible budget QLED for the money. You can find the 65-inch for under $700, making it a very competitive TV in the mid-tier TV market. View the full article

ChatGPT maker OpenAI said on Thursday that Texas will be the “flagship” data center site in the Stargate project it is building with SoftBank. Around 16 states have indicated interest in building data centers for Stargate, an OpenAI executive said on a conference call. Stargate plans to invest up to $500 billion to help the United States stay ahead of China and other competitors in the global AI race. In January, President Donald Trump announced the private sector investment initiative to fund AI infrastructure, aiming to outpace rival nations in this critical business technology. Stargate will build data centers and create more than 100,000 jobs in the United States, Trump said. These companies, along with other equity backers of Stargate, have committed $100 billion for immediate deployment, with the remaining investment expected to occur over the next four years. The initial data centers for the project are already under construction in Texas, Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison had said then. —Juby Babu, Akash Sriram, and Anna Tong, Reuters View the full article

There's a lot of advice out there for proper password management: Each of your passwords should be strong and unique; use a secure manager to store your passwords; use two-factor authentication (2FA) to add an extra layer of security to your accounts. But there's another piece of advice that is held in the same regard as the others: Change your passwords often—perhaps once every three months. This habit is so emphasized, many companies and organizations will make you change your passwords multiple times a year in the name of security. The thing is, in all likelihood, this isn't actually doing anything to help your security. This idea that changing your passwords multiple times a year is a cornerstone of your security, might be engrained in some of you. After all, it's not new advice. As PCMag examined, the practice goes back a long time: When security experts write about passwords, they often write about changing passwords, too. It's just the way the advice has been presented. But that's likely because it's anticipating and responding to bad security habits. Good passwords don't (usually) need to be changed Changing your passwords really only makes sense when your passwords are compromised. After all, if no one knows your password, why change it? Still, passwords are cracked all the time. As such, it might seem logical to frequently switch yours up: You never know which of your passwords could be guessed, right? So might as well keep those bad actors on their toes. But let's take a step back: There's no reason any of your passwords should be guessable. If a hacker is able to guess your password, it's a bad password, and you shouldn't have been using it in the first place. I'll take it a step further, and say none of your passwords should be crackable by a computer, either—at least, not on a timeline where it matters. A good password, meaning one that is both strong and unique, is inherently uncrackable. It should be long, varied, and not in use on any other account. It shouldn't matter if the companies that control one of your accounts is breached, because this password is different than that one. You can use a tool like Bitwarden's password tester to see how long different passwords take a computer to crack. "Lifehacker" takes eight seconds to crack. "Lifehackerdaughtcalm" takes centuries. If your password is strong and unique, and takes longer than a human lifetime to theoretically crack, there's no need to change that password in three months time. There's no need to change that password in a year. There's no need to change that password period—unless you're presented with an actual threat. When to change your passwordI'm not saying you should never change your password. You should definitely change it if other people know about it. Most often, that happens when the company that holds your account has a data breach. Let's say AT&T has a mega breach, and authentication data from users is leaked onto the dark web. In that case, you should change your password ASAP. In an event like this, the company in question will probably tell you to do as much, and may even offer you extra perks to make up for the inconvenience of having your data leaked. Of course, data breaches aren't the only times good passwords are discovered. Malware is another threat to look out for. If you fall for a phishing scam, for example, and download malware to your computer, it may monitor and steal your passwords to your sensitive accounts. Or, you may be tricked into opening a fake version of a website you have an account for, typing your username and password into that site, and presto: password compromised. In these cases, your strong and unique password has fallen, so yes, it's time to change it. But barring an actual reason to do so, you don't need to bother with switching it up. To be clear, you're not hurting your security by changing your passwords. In fact, you might not even have a choice, if your company or organization requires you to change your password every so often. But so long as all of your passwords are strong and unique, and none of them are compromised, you're just giving yourself more work without any real gains. Security tips that won't waste your timeWant some real security gains? Store all those strong and unique passwords in a secure password manager. That way, you only need to remember one strong and unique password—the master key to your password manager. In addition, use two-factor authentication (2FA) whenever possible. 2FA requires a trusted device for secondary authentication after providing the correct password. That way, even if a bad actor knows your password, they won't be able to break in without access to your trusted device. (Just prioritize an authenticator app or security key over SMS authentication.) If it's an option for your accounts, you may want to explore passkeys over passwords, too. Passkeys effectively combine the convenience of passwords with the security of 2FA: They generate a key on your trusted device, which is required when signing into a site. That way, there's no password to steal. As long as you authenticate yourself on the device—say, through Face ID or a PIN—you're in. As long as you make sure each of your accounts is secure using these steps, and you're aware of any data breaches, there's no reason to worry about changing your passwords every three months. Stay secure out there. View the full article

E-commerce group anticipates $2.1bn blow to revenues from an ‘unusually large’ hit from strong dollarView the full article

On a GAAP basis, Intercontinental Exchange's mortgage business has lost money for nine quarters, but a metric that includes Black Knight makes it profitable. View the full article

A bipartisan duo in the the U.S. House is proposing legislation to ban the Chinese artificial intelligence app DeepSeek from federal devices, similar to the policy already in place for the popular social media platform TikTok. Reps. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., and Darin LaHood, R-Ill., on Thursday introduced the “No DeepSeek on Government Devices Act,” which would ban federal employees from using the Chinese AI app on government-owned electronics. They cited the Chinese government’s ability to use the app for surveillance and misinformation as reasons to keep it away from federal networks. “The Chinese Communist Party has made it abundantly clear that it will exploit any tool at its disposal to undermine our national security, spew harmful disinformation, and collect data on Americans,” Gottheimer said in a statement. “We simply can’t risk the CCP infiltrating the devices of our government officials and jeopardizing our national security.” The proposal comes after the Chinese software company in December published an AI model that performed at a competitive level with models developed by American firms like OpenAI, Meta, Alphabet and others. DeepSeek purported to develop the model at a fraction of the cost of its American counterparts. A January research paper about DeepSeek’s capabilities raised alarm bells and prompted debates among policymakers and leading Silicon Valley financiers and technologists. The churn over AI is coming at a moment of heightened competition between the U.S. and China in a range of areas, including technological innovation. The U.S. has levied tariffs on Chinese goods, restricted Chinese tech firms like Huawei from being used in government systems and banned the export of state of the art microchips thought to be needed to develop the highest end AI models. Last year, Congress and then-President Joe Biden approved a divestment of the popular social media platform TikTok from its Chinese parent company or face a ban across the U.S.; that policy is now on hold. President Donald Trump, who originally proposed a ban of the app in his first term, signed an executive order last month extending a window for a long term solution before the legally required ban takes effect. In 2023, Biden banned TikTok from federal-issued devices. “The technology race with the Chinese Communist Party is not one the United States can afford to lose,” LaHood said in a statement. “This commonsense, bipartisan piece of legislation will ban the app from federal workers’ phones while closing backdoor operations the company seeks to exploit for access. It is critical that Congress safeguard Americans’ data and continue to ensure American leadership in AI.” The bill would single out DeepSeek and any AI application developed by its parent company, the hedge fund High-Flyer, as subject to the ban. The legislation includes exceptions for national security and research purposes that would allow federal employers to study DeepSeek. Some lawmakers wish to go further. A bill proposed last week by Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., would bar the import of export of any AI technology from China writ large, citing national security concerns. Several countries have moved to ban DeepSeek’s AI chat bot, either entirely or on government devices, citing security concerns. Last month, Italy’s data protection authority blocked access to the application in a move it said would protect users’ data and announced an investigation into the companies behind the chatbot. Taiwan announced this week that it banned government departments from using Deepseek’s AI. South Korea’s industry ministry has also temporarily blocked employee access to the app. This week Australia announced that it banned DeepSeek from government systems and devices. In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott issued an order banning both DeepSeek and RedNote—a Chinese TikTok alternative—from the state’s government-issued devices. —Matt Brown, Associated Press Associated Press writer Sarah Parvini contributed reporting. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Groceries are damn expensive now, even the basics. Honk if you walked out of the supermarket with one measly bag of food that cost $50. Food shopping is one of those instances where I get mad about it (nothing will stop me from complaining into the void), but in the end, I have to find a way to cook smarter. Here are some of the strategies I use to maximize the money I spend at the grocery store, along with a few of my favorite budget-friendly recipes that are anything but boring. Make proteins work for your budgetThough eating meat will make your grocery bill climb quickly, you don’t need to go without. I eat a variety of proteins and I think that's the key to both decreasing my spending and keeping meals interesting. When buying meat, I recommend dividing it into smaller quantities, so you can use one item—say, a bag of shrimp or a pound of ground turkey—for three to five different meals. Then use the accompanying ingredients to bulk it up. The following recipes include seafood, meat, and plant-based options. All of the recipes are scaled for two servings, so divide or multiply the measurements as needed. Red lentil slow cooker grazing soup Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann Lentils and chickpeas are the heroes in this comforting and satisfying soup. They're full of fiber which you can thank for that full-belly feeling, but equally as pleasant is their low price tag. A pound of dried lentils will only run you a couple bucks (if that) and you'll have plenty leftover to use in other soups. This slow cooker soup is always welcome in my house because you can leave it to cook and stay warm on the counter, so whenever you walk by, you graze on it a little. Ingredients: ½ onion, minced 2 waxy, medium-sized potatoes, cubed ¾ cup chopped carrots ¾ cup dry red lentils 2 cups lacinato kale, de-stemmed and roughly chopped 4 cups chicken broth ½ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon MSG ¼ teaspoon garlic powder ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper powder 2 teaspoons lemon juice 1 can organic chickpeas (optional), not drained 1. In true lazy slow cooker soup fashion, dump all of the ingredients, except the lemon juice and the can of chickpeas, into the cooker. 2. Cook the soup for 2 hours on high heat, stirring occasionally. Click the cooker over to the warm setting for the rest of the day. Just before eating your first bowl, stir in the lemon juice. 3. If you notice your soup is running low and you don’t want the party to end, stir in the can of chickpeas with its liquid. Air-fried tofu with beet saladAir fried tofu is experiencing major popularity in my household these days. I like to use this recipe for coating firm tofu in nutritional yeast and air frying it until crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. The beet salad is a simple preparation and always leaves me convinced I should be eating more beets. Ingredients: ¼ red onion, thinly sliced 3 tablespoons white vinegar 1 teaspoon sugar ½ teaspoon salt 1 container firm tofu, drained Neutral oil to coat Nutritional yeast to coat Sprinkle of salt 1-8 ounce pack steamed and peeled beets, quartered 3 cups of spring mix (or any salad greens) 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil Gefen Ready-to-eat Beets A handy 3-pack of ready-to-eat beets $13.79 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg Shop Now Shop Now $13.79 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg 1. Add the sliced onion to a deep salad bowl along with the vinegar, sugar, and salt. Mix it around to coat the onion and let it “pickle” in the liquid while you prepare the meal. 2. Slice the drained tofu into four thick planks. Dab them dry with a paper towel. Spray or drizzle a neutral oil to coat the tofu and sprinkle them with salt. Pour nutritional yeast onto a plate and press the tofu into it until completely coated. Air fry the planks at 400°F for 10 to 15 minutes, or until crispy on the outside. 3. Add the beets and spring mix to the bowl of onions and toss with the olive oil until coated. Plate the crispy tofu alongside the salad and serve. Khao Tom Goong (Thai shrimp and rice soup)This soup is great for any time of day, so don’t hesitate, even if it’s 8 in the morning. I’ll buy a pound of raw, deveined frozen shrimp from Trader Joe’s for about $12 and use it for several meals, including this one. It’s filling, satisfying, and you can use leftover rice to keep the preparation quick. Ingredients: 1 teaspoon cooking oil 1 clove garlic, chopped 8 raw, tail-on deveined shrimp, thawed (if frozen) Pinch salt Dash fish sauce 1 cup chicken broth (or any broth) 1 cup rice, cooked Garnish with chopped cilantro, fried garlic, and sliced ginger 1. Heat the oil in a medium pot with the garlic on low heat. Once the garlic starts to gently sizzle, add the shrimp. Sprinkle in the salt as you flip the shrimp. After a minute or so, when the shrimp is halfway cooked, add a dash of fish sauce and the broth. 2. Add in the rice and allow the soup to come up to a simmer for two minutes. Serve the soup topped with plenty of fried garlic, cilantro, and ginger. Cold ramen noodle salad Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann This noodle-y salad feels like a fun treat, makes enough for two servings, and will leave you with veggies to spare and use for other meals. The instant noodles are quick to cook and add necessary bulk so you walk away from the table satiated. Thinly sliced veggies bring in the nutrients, while the bright and flavorful dressing brings the whole dish to life. While you'll see asparagus in my recipe, it's more important to use seasonal veggies to keep the cost down. You can always rely on carrots, bell peppers, scallions, or snow peas to be affordable and available year-round. Feel free to swap out the noodles for a couple servings of cooked and drained pasta or a cup of cooked, warm rice. Ingredients: 1 pack ramen noodles, boiled and drained Drizzle of neutral oil for the ramen noodles 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar ½ tablespoon white balsamic vinegar 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil ½ teaspoon salt ½ English cucumber, smashed and cut into 1-inch chunks ¼ red bell pepper, sliced 2 asparagus spears, sliced (optional) 5-10 sugar snap peas, sliced Cooked chicken breast slices or a handful of cooked shrimp (optional) 1. Toss the drained ramen noodles with a drizzle of oil to keep them from sticking in a clump. Chill the noodles in the fridge. 2. In a serving bowl, combine the vinegars, sesame oil, and salt. Add the cucumber, pepper, asparagus, and snap peas. Toss. Add the chilled ramen noodles and toss until thoroughly combined. Serve and top with sliced chicken. Frozen dumplings and broccoliThis recipe is barely a recipe. Besides adding sauce to the broccoli, it’s pretty much exactly what it sounds like: dumplings and broccoli. Somehow, I find it to be a meal I always look forward to. It’s vital that you use frozen dumplings you actually like. Once again, I frequent Trader Joe’s for the affordable frozen gyoza, but if you can, I recommend stopping by an Asian supermarket for well-priced, delicious dumplings. Ingredients: 1-16 ounce bag frozen pork gyoza (substitute any filling) 2 cups fresh broccoli florets 2 tablespoons Bachan’s Original Japanese Barbecue Sauce (substitute soy sauce) Bachan's Original Japanese Barbecue Sauce This flavorful condiment delivers tons of umami to any meal. $7.98 at Walmart $8.49 Save $0.51 Shop Now Shop Now $7.98 at Walmart $8.49 Save $0.51 1. Place a steamer basket in a large pot with a half-inch of water in the bottom. Add the frozen dumplings to the steamer and cover the pot with a lid. Steam the dumplings over medium heat for five minutes. 2. Open the pot and dump the broccoli florets over the dumplings and replace the lid. Steam the contents for another five minutes. The broccoli should be cooked but slightly crunchy, and the dumplings will be cooked through. Toss the broccoli with the sauce (or leave it on the side for dipping). Plate the dumplings with the broccoli on the side. Pantry pastaWhen you’re looking for a recipe that sticks to your ribs without breaking the budget, pasta is a reliable ally. This is a simple recipe where any protein can substitute in, and the “sauce” is butter. You can use any bean to pair with your pasta, but I use peas here because I always have them in the freezer. If you’re looking for a red sauce pasta idea, try my dairy-free vodka sauce recipe. Ingredients: Cooking oil to coat the pot 8 ounces ground turkey 1 shallot (or quarter-onion), minced 2 cloves of garlic, minced ½ teaspoon salt 4 mushrooms, chopped ⅓ cup frozen peas ½ teaspoon garlic powder 4 ounces any pasta, boiled (I like rigatoni for this) 2 tablespoons salted butter 1. Add oil to a medium pot, enough to coat the bottom, and heat it over medium-low. Add the ground turkey and break it apart into small hunks while it cooks. When it’s halfway cooked through, add the shallot, garlic, salt, and mushrooms. 2. Cook the mixture until the shallot has softened and the mushrooms are plump. Add the peas and garlic powder. Stir and allow the peas to heat through. Add the cooked pasta with a spoonful of the pasta water, turn off the heat and add the butter. Toss gently until the butter melts. Serve in bowls. Hot chicken sausage and veggiesAs I mentioned earlier, I find it easier to stretch protein when it’s presented in smaller bits. It’s more of a mind game, and I play it on myself. Serving a three-ounce steak will look meager on the plate, but chop it up and mix it with things and you’ve got a hearty helping. You can use any sausage you like, but I like chicken sausage for this because it doesn’t feel as heavy as pork. Ingredients: Cooking oil to coat the pan 2 links of pre-cooked chicken sausage 1 medium onion, peeled and sliced 1 red bell pepper, deseeded and sliced 4 mushrooms ½ teaspoon garlic powder ½ teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon hot sauce ½ tablespoon soy sauce 1 cup cooked rice Aidells Smoked Chicken Sausage, Garlic & Gruyere Cheese, 4 Ct Fully cooked, hardwood smoked sausages. $4.98 at Walmart $0.00 Save 0.00 Shop Now Shop Now $4.98 at Walmart $0.00 Save 0.00 1. Slice the sausages in half lengthwise. Then cut them across into half-inch wide chunks. Peel and slice the onion into strips. Deseed the pepper and cut it into strips about the same size as the onion. Quarter the mushrooms. 2. Coat the bottom of a medium pot with a neutral cooking oil. Heat it over medium-low heat and add the sausage pieces and veggies. Sauté everything until the onions begin to sweat and soften. Add the garlic powder and salt, and stir to incorporate. Stir in the hot sauce and soy sauce to coat. Serve the hot chicken and veggies over rice. View the full article

IDEAS shared have the power to expand perspectives, change thinking, and move lives. Here are two ideas for the curious mind to engage with: I. Jonah Sachs on the expert’s trap: “While expertise can make us enormously efficient at playing an established game, it can also make us slower to realize when the game has changed and less able to respond to those changes. Our expert’s mind, so used to moving quickly and efficiently, tries to fit new information into old boxes so it can use its rapid processing power. ‘Oh, that’s just a new flavor of an old problem,’ our expert brain says. Too often it’s not. After all, most of the problems we face in a world of rapid change have little in common with a two-dimensional chessboard with rules that never change.” Source: Unsafe Thinking: How to be Nimble and Bold When You Need It Most II. Robert Pirsig on egotistical endeavors: “When you try to climb a mountain to prove how big you are, you almost never make it. And even if you do it’s a hollow victory. In order to sustain the victory you have to prove your self again and again in some other way, and again and again and again, driven forever to fill a false image, haunted by the fear that the image is not true and someone will find out.” Source: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance * * * Look for these ideas every Thursday on the Leading Blog. Find more ideas on the LeadingThoughts index. * * * Follow us on Instagram and X for additional leadership and personal development ideas. View the full article

Some 10,000 grocery store workers across the greater Denver area went on strike Thursday, claiming unfair and illegal negotiating practices by King Soopers while their union has been negotiating a new contract with the store chain. Striking workers at 77 King Soopers stores in Denver and its suburbs, plus those in nearby Boulder and Louisville, Colorado, urged customers not to cross picket lines that began taking shape before dawn. “Stand together. Stay strong,” United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Local 7 President Kim Cordova wrote union members in a Monday letter announcing the strike. UFCW Local 7 members voted by 96% last week to authorize the unfair labor practices strike. King Soopers, a chain owned by Kroger, with 121 stores in Colorado and Wyoming, has been negotiating a new contract since October. The current contract expired in January. Stores with striking workers will remain open under a curtailed schedule that starts an hour later and closes two hours earlier than usual each day, King Soopers spokesperson Jessica Trowbridge said by email. Cordova accused the company of flying workers in from out of state to staff stores. Locations in northern and southern Colorado and Cheyenne, Wyoming — where workers are not on strike — will remain open during their usual hours, Trowbridge wrote. The union alleges King Soopers illegally interrogated and surveilled union members, refused to provide information needed for contract negotiations, threatened union members with discipline for clothes and buttons expressing union support, and insisted on using $8 million in retiree health benefit funds to cover pay increases. King Soopers denies all of the allegations, saying in a statement Friday it has acted in full compliance with the law and its collective bargaining obligations. Management has gone to “great lengths” to share all relevant data with the union, is committed to fair and lawful negotiations and disputes the union’s claim that it would “gut” the retiree health benefit funds. “We want to be clear — the Union’s call for a strike is not about wages, health care, or pensions. It is based on allegations we believe lack merit,” King Soopers President Joe Kelley said in the statement. The strike will force customers to pay higher prices at competing stores and stores with nonunion workers, Kelley added. The strike follows several recent threatened and implemented labor union actions in the U.S. Last week, the Teamsters union and Costco reached a tentative contract agreement to avert a strike. At Utah’s Park City ski resort, the biggest in the U.S., some 200 union ski patrollers ended an almost two-week strike Jan. 9 after reaching an agreement with resort owner Vail Resorts for higher pay including raises for senior ski patrollers. Labor unions have secured other meaningful employer concessions in recent months following strikes by Boeing factory workers, dockworkers at East and Gulf coast ports, video game performers, and hotel and casino workers on the Las Vegas Strip. —Mead Gruver, Associated Press View the full article

One of Apple's best recent features is iPhone mirroring, which lets you control an iPhone from a Mac. Scrcpy is a free application for Linux, Windows, and macOS that does the same thing: It allows you to control your Android phone from a window on your computer. This application takes a bit to set up—it launches from the terminal or command prompt, for one thing, and it only works if you enable developer mode on your Android phone. Once you set it up, though, you can control your Android's screen from your computer, or even turn on a virtual screen so you can launch applications while your phone is off. To get started, you will need to install Scrcpy (which is just "screen copy" without the vowels). The simplest way to do this is by using a package manager like Homebrew on the Mac or Scoop for Windows. Linux users can use whatever package manager came with their distribution. Using a package manager is recommended because it will also install all dependencies, which is to say it will install all of the tools and drivers you need to use in order to get the application working. If you don't have a package manager, or just prefer not using one, you can download the latest release and try to run it directly. There are instructions for Linux, macOS, and Windows on the Github page. This is going to be the harder option, though. You will need to ensure all dependencies are installed, so check the documentation for more details. As always, be careful where you download the application. Do not download Scrcpy from a third party website—stick to either a package manager mentioned in the documentation or download it from the official Github page. After installing, you need to enable USB debugging on your phone, which requires enabling developer mode. To start, head to Settings > About phone and tap the Build Number until you see a message that say You are now a developer. This will open a new sub-menu under System called Developer options. Open that and turn on USB Debugging. You should now see a message about the feature when you plug in your phone. Credit: Justin Pot Plug your phone into your computer and you can start controlling your Android. The simplest way to get started it to simply type scrcp in the command prompt or terminal—this will take control of your phone. You can even open the camera app and point it at your screen to create an extremely confusing screenshot, if you want. Apple doesn't let you use the camera while mirroring an iPhone. This app does what Appledon't. Credit: Justin Pot If this doesn't work, there are a number of things you can check. The first is whether you installed all dependencies. The simplest way to solve this is to use a package manager instead of installing directly. On Windows, you might not have the correct drivers installed, or you might not have enabled USB debugging. Check the official FAQ for more details. By default, you get an exact recreation of what's currently on your phone, but it doesn't have to be that way. For example: You can have a virtual display for your phone on your computer, allowing you to run Android apps while your phone's screen is turned off. Just type scrcpy --new-display=1920x1080 and you're off and running. This is great if there are Android games you want to play on your computer. If you just want to use your computer's mouse and keyboard to control your phone, but not see the display on your screen, you can do that with scrcpy --otg and you can do that. There's a lot more you can do, though. I'd highly recommend digging into the documentation to learn about that. I promise it's fun. View the full article

Google is reportedly testing a new search feature named “AI Mode.” AI Mode in Google seems like a new way to search by asking more open-ended and exploratory questions, with the option to follow up. What is AI Mode. AI Mode is described as “Search intelligently research[ing] for you – organizing information into easy-to-digest breakdowns with links to explore content across the web,” according to a leaked email obtained by 9to5Google. AI Mode is more for open-ended and exploratory questions that may not be served well by what we see today from the Google Search results. This includes queries that ask Google Search for advice and comparisons, as well as exchanges that allow for follow-up questions. It uses Gemini 2.0, according to the details. What it looks like. Here is a screenshot obtained by 9to5Google: Types of queries. Here is a list of the types of queries AI Mode is good at answering: “How many boxes of spaghetti should I buy to feed 6 adults and 10 children, and have enough for seconds?” “Compare wool, down, and synthetic jackets in terms of insulation, water resistance, and durability” “What do I need to get started with aquascaping?” Follow-up: “What are some nearby stores to buy supplies?” More. We first learned about hints of AI Mode back in early December with through an Android APK finding, in the code of the app. Android Authority than shared some screenshots of AI Mode buttons. I do wonder if the AI Overview comparison view is part of this or not. Why we care. AI Mode might be coming to the Google Search apps and maybe somehow directly to Google Search. This may impact how people consume search results and ultimately click to your site. These AI Overviews are already having a very negative impact on click-through rates from Google to your site. Will AI Mode make it even worse? View the full article

An intentionally bad “conservative girl” makeup technique is taking the internet by storm. In the wake of the 2024 election and Donald Trump’s inauguration, an unflattering take on Republican women’s makeup style has quickly gained traction online. One of the first videos to go viral was posted by TikTok creator Suzanne Lambert back in November. It has since received five million views. In the video Lambert says, “I noticed that all of the Republican girlies in my comments do their makeup the exact same, gorgeous way, so I thought that I would try do it myself.” According to Lambert, the “conservative girl” look is defined by thick, clumpy mascara, mismatched and cakey foundation, poorly lined and half-filled lips, and a final touch of smudged, cracked-crayon black eyeliner. “We really want our makeup to cling to any dry spots and accentuate any texture,” Lambert says in the video, which is set to Gretchen Wilson’s song “Redneck Woman.” “It’s giving drained, it’s giving dusty,” she adds. While the look may ruffle some feathers, for others, it’s spot on. “This got uncanny the moment you put on the blush,” one person commented. “I think this just reverse psychology taught me how to do makeup.” The “conservative girl” makeup trend continues to snowball online. “Turning myself into a republican in honor of Trump saving TikTok,” one creator posted last month, following a similar-style tutorial. “Turning myself into my republican self in an alternative universe,” posted another. On the surface, it’s just makeup, but scratch a little deeper and this trend highlights a country divided across generational lines. Exit polls show that 53% of female voters backed former Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, while 45% supported Republican candidate Donald Trump. Among young women, Harris led by 18 points. If older Republican women won’t take political advice from their Gen Z counterparts, maybe they could still take a few makeup tips. 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. Two TVs are better than one, especially when you only had to pay for one of them. Best Buy is currently offering a free 40-inch Samsung Class 5 Series LED Full HD Smart Tizen TV (a value of $249.99) when you buy one of three massive Samsung TVs. Here are your three options, followed by a quick description of each to help you determine which is best for you. Resolution: 4K (2160p), Screen Size: 85 inches, Display Type: LED, Backlight Type: Direct Lit 85” Samsung DU7200 Series Crystal UHD 4K Smart Tizen TV (2024) $799.99 at Best Buy $1,099.99 Save $300.00 Get Deal Get Deal $799.99 at Best Buy $1,099.99 Save $300.00 Resolution: 4K (2160p), Screen Size: 85 inches, Display Type: LED, Backlight Type: Edge Lit 85” Samsung DU8000 Series Crystal UHD Smart Tizen TV (2024) $1,099.99 at Best Buy $1,499.99 Save $400.00 Get Deal Get Deal $1,099.99 at Best Buy $1,499.99 Save $400.00 Resolution: 4K (2160p), Screen Size: 98 inches, Display Type: LED, Backlight Type: Direct Lit 98” Samsung DU9000 Series Crystal UHD Smart Tizen TV (2024) $1,999.99 at Best Buy $3,499.99 Save $1,500.00 Get Deal Get Deal $1,999.99 at Best Buy $3,499.99 Save $1,500.00 SEE 0 MORE Getting an 85-inch TV is not for everyone, of course. Do you have enough space on the wall? Does the room have a lot of natural light? What about glare? Do you watch TV mostly during the day? If the TV will be in a room with relatively little natural light, any of these TVs should do the trick. If it's going to go in a brighter room, the DU7200 and DU8000 might struggle. Keep in mind both of these are entry-level LED TVs—their viewing angles will also not be great, but since they're so large, this won't be much of a problem. The DU9000 is a much better TV with a 120Hz refresh rate and Motion Xcelerator, making it great for video games or action movies. But not everyone will have the space or budget for it. All three TVs have the Samsung Tizen OS, which gives you access to live channels, games, and streaming services. The free Samsung smart TV is from 2019, so you might notice the thick bezels, but it's free, so who's complaining? View the full article

Delinquencies are higher in one sector but overall pretax operating income is at a multi-decade high and adding to profit from originations. View the full article

Wall Street bank’s move to retain top staff comes after sweeping shake-up to lift profitabilityView the full article

Roblox shares dropped as much as 20% on Thursday after the gaming company reported disappointing fourth quarter results in bookings and daily active user figures, creating fear that the growth in the gaming platform is slowing after years of progress. Roblox reported bookings of $1.36 billion for the fourth quarter, missing the expected $1.37 billion that was predicted by analysts polled by LSEG. Daily active users fell to 85.3 million in the fourth quarter, compared with 88.9 million in the third quarter. Hours totaled on the platform also fell in the fourth quarter, to 18.7 billion from 20.7 billion in the previous quarter. The company did report revenue up 32% year-over-year, and a 21% year-over-year growth in bookings. But despite the fact that Roblox is set to achieve its third consecutive year of around 20% growth in bookings, the gaming platform’s fourth quarter report left investors disappointed with its modest projections falling below estimates. Roblox forecasted annual bookings between $5.20 billion and $5.30 billion, with the midpoint slightly below market expectations of $5.27 billion. The company reported a consolidated net loss of $221.1 million in Q4, and a full year net loss of $940.6 million. As a response to these challenges, the gaming service plans to develop enhancements to its platform and bring them to the market in a timely manner, according to a press release from the company. In the earnings release, CEO David Baszucki said, “As we aim to support 10% of the global gaming content market, we’ll continue investing in our virtual economy, app performance, and AI-powered discovery and safety, empowering creators and enhancing the user experience.” Roblox said in a letter to shareholders that it expected first-half growth to be stronger than second-half growth. The company noted that it is “working diligently on several initiatives” that can increase growth in the back half of 2025. View the full article

Studies have shown that napping improves both cognitive performance and physical brain health, so it’s no surprise that it also means a brief nap translates to a boost in productivity on the job. That explains why nearly half of workers in the U.S. sleep during work hours—and a third admit to literally sleeping on the job. Our employers, however, haven’t gotten the memo, and being caught sleeping on the job can put you in a tricky situation. If you’re stuck between nodding off in meetings or being fired when you’re discovered sprawled under your desk, you need a napping strategy at work. Here’s your guide to sawing some logs on the clock (without getting caught). Before we get into strategy, though, the first rule of napping on the job is to educate yourself: Know yourself. Do you snore? Talk in your sleep? Kick like a mule while dreaming that you are, somehow, a mule? You need to know your weaknesses before going into sleep battle. You can have the perfect napping hideaway and ruin everything if you snore like a cartoon dog. Then take steps to mitigate the problem. Know how to nap. You might think napping is a skill we’re all just born with. Wrong! There’s a science to napping: Napping 20-30 minutes can avoid grogginess when you wake up, because your brain hasn’t shifted into a deeper sleep cycle. If you sleep longer than that, you’ll need to commit to a 90-minute nap (or longer) to feel refreshed instead of like a time traveler uncertain what century you’ve arrived in. The lesson is, bring your phone to your napping cave and set an alarm (but put it in Do Not Disturb mode first to avoid interruptions). If you can’t risk an alarm, ask a coworker to wake you up, or try a variation of Salvadore Dali’s “slumber with a key” method, where you nap in a chair holding something in your hand that will make noise when dropped. When you fall asleep, your muscles will relax and the sound of the item dropping will snap you out of it. The caffeine hack. If you’re napping because you lose focus in the afternoon, consider adding caffeine to your nap ritual. It sounds counter-intuitive, but drinking coffee or some other caffeinated beverage right before you take a short nap (20 minutes or less) results in a bigger boost. This works because it takes the body roughly 20 minutes to absorb that caffeine, so you wake up just as it’s hitting you. Now that you have some basic physical stuff nailed down, you just need to figure out where you can grab a power nap without getting fired. Strategies for napping at workIf your employer isn’t keen on paying you to sleep (even for half an hour), you’ll need to find a way to nod off without being noticed. The key is not being noticed while you’re napping, so you need to scout locations. Depending on the specifics of your job, you have a few options: Nap in your car. If you drive to your job every day and can slip out unnoticed, leave a pillow and blanket in the back seat and enjoy a peaceful nap. Bonus: Your car will muffle ambient noise—it’ll actually be pretty peaceful in there. Unused conference rooms. If your office has conference rooms that aren’t in use all the time, reserving one (or just slipping in) for mysterious calls can work well. If the conference room is out of the way, you might be able to just duck in for half an hour. If they’re a bit more exposed, you can try setting the scene: Record an actual phone call or meeting and play it back along with a video of keyboard typing so that anyone passing by will think you’re in an actual meeting. Alternatively, take your chances and put your head down on the table, then pretend you were waiting for someone who didn’t show up for the meeting. Empty offices. Alternatively, unoccupied offices are also great napping spots, unless you’re in one of those super modern offices with glass walls everywhere. Just be sure no one is going to walk in on you. Your desk. This is the riskiest move you can make, and it won’t work unless you have some decent privacy. If your desk is turned away from everyone’s field of vision, you might be able to slip underneath for a nap—but if you get caught you can’t play it off as if you just sort of nodded off, so you’d better be certain no one’s going to walk around to check on something. If you’re going to try the under-the-desk method and you’re in an office with a door, you could set up an intruder alert by placing something on the door handle that will drop when it’s turned. This could at least give you a few seconds to compose yourself and pretend you’re on the floor searching for something or plugging something in. View the full article

When most of your processes pass through multiple software tools and generate tons of data, software integration becomes essential. But unless you’re already well-versed in these platforms, even a simple Google search can be enough to get overwhelmed. Between automations, iPaaS, iSaaS, WFM, where should you start? With a little bit of know-how, choosing the right software integration doesn’t have to be any more complicated than any other tool. Here’s a full guide to get you started. In this article What is software integration? Common options for software integration Software integration examples A software integration checklist What is software integration? Software integration takes two disparate systems and makes them work as one. This essentially builds a bridge between tools that shatters data silos. Integrated systems allow teams to get the information they need no matter which platform they work from. Some tools have built-in options for software integration, though they’ll usually only give you a limited amount of data from another tool — and you often can’t do much with the data once it’s been sent over. Software integration can also be known as system integration or data integration, referring to the tools being integrated or the data being pushed back and forth. You’ll often need a third-party application to connect two other tools. Some of these applications can be set up pretty easily by providing your credentials for the tools you’re trying to connect. Others need some significant technical setup, usually done by a dedicated IT team. So how do you find the right tool for you? 8 common options for software integration Software and data integration is a massive market, with options including iPaaS, iSaaS, workflow management, and two-way sync. Before covering these options, let’s break down a simple way to compare them without diving into their more technical differences. It’s called the integration triangle. The integration triangle has three points: ease, breadth, and depth. Here’s what they mean: Ease: How easy is this software integration to set up? Do you need coding knowledge or other technical skills? How easy is it to troubleshoot? Breadth: How many integrations does this platform support? Does it just integrate one type of tool or does it cover more? Depth: How much can the integration platform do? Can it sync just about any type of data available in a single tool or just a few fields? Does it push data in one direction or both? Some teams need an easy integration that everyone can set up and use, while others will want something that can only be deployed by an IT department but creates a true seamlessness between tools. To help you determine the kind of integration that suits your organization, you’ll find a breakdown some of the most popular categories below, along with their advantages and disadvantages. Native (or built-in) software integration Most software tools you’re using already have built-in integrations that let you pair them with data sources that naturally complement them. There’s no consistency around how deep these integrations are since they’re all built by different teams for completely different purposes. The only thing they all have in common? You can use them from your tool without too much setup time. Sometimes it’s just a matter of hitting a few buttons and giving your credentials for the tool you want to integrate with. Even when there’s a bit more setup required, you’ll rarely need any technical skills. If you don’t have any data integration capability in your tool stack, this is a good place to start. Advantages Usually available at no extra cost. Simple to set up. Covers the most relevant integrations. Disadvantages Doesn’t cover as many integrations as other options. Limited depth compared to other integrations. Examples Quickbooks automatically connects with tools like PayPal, Square, and Etsy. Slack Apps add tools like Asana, Google Drive, and Zoom to your Slack channels. Zoom has native integrations with calendar apps like Google Calendar, chat apps like Microsoft Teams, and cloud storage platforms like Google Drive. Ease: High Breadth: Low Depth: Low Automation An automation platform builds simple, one-way relationships between tools that automate simple actions. Most use trigger-based logic to do this. You pick a specific trigger that kicks off the automation and the action that automation will carry out. For example, you could set up an automation that triggers when a task is created in your project management tool and sends specific data from that task to a database in another tool. Usually, anyone can set up these simple automations without much technical skills, which makes them an attractive option. Advantages Easy to set up, even without technical skills. Usually covers a huge range of integrations. Depending on the platform, can be relatively inexpensive. Disadvantages Usually only supports a few fields. Typically only pushes data in one direction. Examples Zapier is one of the most popular options, with integrations for project management tools, spreadsheets, and more. IFTTT supports smart home services and physical devices on top of software tools. Ease: High Breadth: High Depth: Low Two-way sync These tools create a two-way relationship between platforms to send data back and forth. That means you could pair a project management tool with a customer service platform, for example, and pull customer data from support tickets for use in your projects, with updates in both the contact and ticket being reflected in the other tool. Automations and other software integration solutions can replicate this in a way, though this usually requires a significant amount of work and frequent troubleshooting. A two-way sync is the best way to move data between two tools and keep it up to date. Advantages The easiest way to get a true two-way sync between platforms. Supports more fields than automation solutions and similar tools. Simple setup. Disadvantages Doesn’t support as many integrations as other options. Less customizable than more technical solutions. Examples Unito is a two-way sync solution for project management tools, spreadsheets, contact management tools, and more. Whalesync is another example of a two-way sync solution, with most of its integrations supporting databases, spreadsheets, and CRMs. Ease: High Breadth: Low Depth: High iPaaS (Integration Platform as a Service) An iPaaS is a cloud-based platform that’s meant to be your one-stop shop for integrating pretty much all your software tools in one place. You typically need some level of technical ability to use these, since the onus is on you to build, deploy, and troubleshoot integrations. With the right support, an iPaaS can solve essentially all your integration needs with a single tool. Advantages Fully customizable. Support more integrations than most other methods. Disadvantages Significant technical knowledge is required. Troubleshooting can be a pain. Examples Tray.io is an AI-ready iPaaS for email clients, project management tools, cloud storage platforms, and more. Workato lets you build, deploy, and scale AI-powered automations across your entire organization. Ease: Low Breadth: High Depth: High RPA (Robotic Process Automation) Where other software integration platforms actually build pathways for tools to communicate with each other, RPA takes a different approach. RPA lets users essentially create software bots that can copy human actions across tools, allowing even the most complex workflows to be captured and replicated. It’s the closest thing to having people work across multiple tools without forcing all that manual work on actual people. Advantages Can take complex actions across any number of tools. Not limited to a specific number of integrations since it’s essentially recording human actions. Disadvantages Simple changes in tool interfaces or processes can break automations. Not as scaleable as other methods. Examples UiPath combines AI and RPA to automate mundane work enterprise-wide. Automation Anywhere lets users automate the impossible with AI agents. Ease: High Breadth: High Depth: Low iSaaS (Integration Software as a Service) An iSaaS solution is a lot like iPaaS: a single platform for integrating your tools. The main difference is in the level of complexity involved in using the tool. With iPaaS, users need to have at least some basic level of technical skills to set up an integration. With iSaaS, just about anyone in the organization can quickly integrate their tools. Users can simply log into a single platform, connect their other tools, and build integrations essentially the same way every time. Advantages Easier to use than many other integration methods. Often more affordable than solutions aimed at larger organizations, like iPaaS, WFM, and BPM. Disadvantages Doesn’t always offer the same depth of integration as other platforms. Doesn’t have as many integration options. Examples Exalate is an iSaaS with integrations for Jira, ServiceNow, Azure DevOps, and more. Front is another iSaaS option with a focus on customer support tools. Ease: High Breadth: Low Depth: High WFM (Workflow Management) A workflow is a sequence of tasks — either performed by humans or software — performed repeatedly to accomplish a specific goal. A workflow management platform allows you to automate essentially this entire sequence. Where other integration platforms might focus exclusively on shipping data back and forth or automating specific tasks, workflow management platforms streamline the workflow as a whole. Advantages Can quickly automate sequences of tasks that would take much more work with other solutions. More scaleable than other platforms. Disadvantages Not suited to all use cases. Can be overkill for some teams. Examples IBM’s Engineery Workflow Management tool. Oracle from Netsuite. Ease: Low Breadth: High Depth: High BPM (Business Process Management) Where workflow management tools automate sequences of tasks, BPM handles the larger, more unwieldy processes that keep your organization running. If tasks make up workflows, workflows make up business processes. Consequently, BPM tools are usually massive suites of software, deployed by technically adept professionals — often with the support of a team at the company providing the tool. They’re powerful tools with deep, complex functionality, and you’ll need the budget to match. Advantages Unparalleled depth of integration. Support for more tools than other methods. Disadvantages Nearly impossible to deploy without a significant level of technical skills, often needing third-party support to do so. Priced for enterprise-sized businesses, meaning this isn’t an option for most organizations. Examples Decisions, a rules-based intelligent process automation platform. Nintex, which allows teams to identify, analyze, and automate their business processes. Ease: Low Breadth: High Depth: High 5 software and system integration examples You know the tools at your disposal, now let’s cover a few common integration scenarios. Collaborating across project management tools: Some projects require input from multiple teams, like marketing, customer support, and sales, but these teams rarely use the same tools. With integrated systems, you can streamline these projects and hit all your milestones. Syncing contacts between databases: Customers, prospects, partners, and even employees are represented by contacts in CRM tools like Salesforce or platforms like Google Contacts and Outlook. But actual contact information might be scattered across multiple tools, leaving salespeople and customer support chasing phone numbers and email addresses. Data integration can centralize all that information. Reconciling financial accounts: Reconciliation matches transactions in accounting software with secondary evidence. Small businesses with only a few sales a day can manage this manually, but multinationals need software integration to centralize data and automate as much of this process as possible. Kicking off workflows from your chat app: Many tasks and projects start as a conversation in Slack or Teams, but kicking them off involves manually copying information over and manually creating tasks in your project management tool. With software integration, you can go from just talking about a project to kicking it off faster. Populating marketing tools with data: Marketers rely on data to gauge how well their campaigns are doing and plan their next initiative. However, that data is scattered across various reporting tools, spreadsheets, or databases. Integrating these separate systems is essential to getting it all in one place. The software integration process Convinced you need software integration but not sure how to deploy it at your organization? Here’s a simple checklist you can follow. You’ll find a deeper explanation of each step below. ☐ Assess software integration needs ☐ Evaluate integration options ☐ Compare integration tools ☐ Check compatibility ☐ Determine level of technical support needed ☐ Run a pilot project ☐ Review pilot results ☐ Deploy integration Assess software integration needs Don’t just run out and grab the first integration tool you find and deploy it immediately. Find out which workflows, tasks, or processes you need to integrate to get a sense of the sort of integration solution you’ll need. Then, make a list of all the tools you’ll need integrations for to make this happen. Finally, see which teams will see their work impacted by this integration. Evaluate integration options Before you start looking at individual software integration tools, you need to make sure you’re looking at the right options. If you’re an enterprise-sized business with hundreds of employees, you probably won’t want an automation platform. Similarly, a small business shouldn’t be looking at BPM or WFM tools. Eliminate categories that don’t make sense for your organization. Compare integration tools Once you’ve picked the right category of software integration platform, then you can start comparing individual tools. Should you be using Zapier or IFTTT? Unito or Exalate? To find the best tool for you, you’ll want to compare these factors: Price: You don’t necessarily want to go for the cheapest solution, but you’ll want to get more value for the price. Number of integrations: If you only have limited integration needs, you won’t want to go for a solution with more breadth. Ease of use: Even within a category, there can be significant variance in how easy one tool is to set up compared to another. Not sure where to start? Check out some of our integration comparisons. Check compatibility Does the integration platform you’re looking at even support the tools you need to integrate? This is the bare minimum for an integration tool, but you’ll also want to see if it can integrate other tools in your stack as you start getting used to it. Determine level of technical support needed Some integration tools are almost impossible to deploy across your organization without specialized third-party help while others can be used by just about anyone without technical skills. While the latter might be preferable for some organizations, you might want more centralized control with integration platforms that can only be deployed by your IT department. Run a pilot project Before you deploy an integration organization-wide, you’ll want to test it out with a pilot project. You can pick a single team, a specific project, or a small portion of a department as your testing ground. Track the impact of your integration so you can confirm it’s the right choice. Review pilot results After running your pilot project, you’ll want to take the time to review its results. Did it actually save the time you were looking to save? Did any problems pop up? Gather all stakeholders you need to get a full picture of your integration’s performance before you make a decision. If you’ve found that a particular integration doesn’t work for you as well as you thought, you’ll need to start this process over with the next option. Deploy integration Once an integration passes your pilot project, it’s time to deploy it. This step will look different based on what you deploy (e.g. an easy-to-use iSaaS or a BPM tool) and you might need specialized support to get it done. Integrate the right way With software integration, you can close the gaps between essential tools that eat up your team’s time and drown them in manual work. Picking the right platform can be tricky, but as long as you focus on getting something that fits the depth of integration you need, supports the tools you use, and is easy enough for you to deploy as needed, you can’t go wrong. View the full article

Flashes, a photo-sharing app that’s linked to X-alternative Bluesky, launched in beta this week before disappearing from the test store due to what its developer said was technical difficulties. Flashes developer Sebastian Vogelsang said in a Bluesky post that Apple’s engineering team is working on a fix. Apple didn’t immediately respond to Fast Company‘s request for comment. Flashes, which was revealed last month, supports photo posts of up to four images and videos up to one minute long. Items posted on Flashes will also appear on Bluesky. Comments from Bluesky users on the posts will appear back on Flashes. Flashes could be attractive to users who want to veer away from Meta’s social media ecosystem and other Big Tech platforms. A way to do that, many believe, is through open social media ecosystems. That way no one person is mean to control it. Bluesky, which is built on the open source AT Protocol, took off as more and more people seemed to become dismayed with Musk’s shift to the political right. Bluesky has amassed nearly 31 million users so far. Thousands of curious testers flocked to try out the Instagram alternative by Vogelsang. TechCrunch reported that 3,500 users signed up for Flashes within its first hour before it closed off. View the full article

UK central bank has forecast weaker growth, higher inflation and rising unemploymentView the full article

Despite the prevalence of wireless devices, wrangling cords and cables in the home is still a pain point for most people. If you own your home, you might be able to hide your wires inside the walls, but if you rent or simply don’t want to drill into or open up your walls, that isn't ideal. Besides, there are many much easier ways to hide them without needing to learn drywall repair. Behind furnitureOne of the easiest ways to hide your cables is to clip them behind conveniently placed furniture. Adhesive clips like these stick to the legs and backs of tables and consoles and secure all those wires in place. If you’re neat about it, you can magically make those wires invisible without touching your walls, and the clips can be removed any time if you change your layout or move to a new place. You can also leverage a key piece of furniture: Your couch or sofa. Mounting a shallow shelf behind the couch (flush with the top of its back) or buying a narrow console table that fits behind it lets you attach wires underneath for perfectly hidden wiring. Plus, it adds a bit of storage to your space for an extra win. Cable management boxesIf your cables only bother you when they explode into a mess in one spot (like where they have to leap off the floor to connect to your TV or computer), a cable management box is a decorative way to wrangle them without messing around with a large-scale organization project. You can find them in a variety of finishes and looks to match your existing style, and they keep all that cable chaos hidden from view with zero DIY work on your part. Cable coversIf you need to run your wiring a fair distance around the room, paintable, no-drill cable covers will hide the wires and blend them into the background; once painted, these covers won’t be noticeable at all. You can also get “raceway” crown or baseboard molding that will hide your cables in a completely unnoticeable way, though they will require a bit more work to install. If you already have baseboards in the room, you can get quarter-round channels that mount right up against your existing trim for a seamless look. Wall panelsA slightly more involved project doesn’t open up your walls, but does require a bit of DIY skill. You can add wall panels to hide cables and wiring: Wainscoting. A classic look, installing wainscoting isn’t terribly difficult as long as you’re patient when measuring and cutting. It doesn’t require opening the wall, but it does require some drilling, nailing, and sawing skills. The key here is to bump your wainscoting out about an inch from the wall with some one-inch furring strips to allow room for wires to run behind it, then cap it with some molding to cover the gap. Accent panels. You could also add an accent wall using a wall panel behind the television or your desk. Bump it out an inch from the wall and run your wires behind it for a neat, seamless look that adds some drama to the room. Wall panels can mimic wood, brick, stone, or tile, or simply be a pop of color in an otherwise neutral room. DecorFinally, the easiest, cheapest, and least invasive way to hide your wires and cables is to run them behind stuff you already have. A row of books or potted plants, for example, can provide ample camouflage for a few bundled wires. Anything that can sit on a shelf in a pleasingly curated way can hide some wires, no drilling or furniture re-arranging required. View the full article

Going global has been good business for Max. Since the video streamer’s debut in 39 Latin American and Caribbean countries a year ago, it has expanded to more than 70 markets globally, including Europe and Asia. These new audiences have helped grow its user base. In its most recently reported quarter, Max added 7.2 million global subscribers, bringing its total subscriber count to 110 million. As its audience grows, Max is also focusing on premium content and cracking down on password-sharing. JB Perrette, president and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery global streaming and games, appeared on Fast Company‘s Most Innovative Companies podcast to talk Max’s international expansion, how it leverages existing IP, and how the company is using AI to improve the streaming experience. You’ve said that globalization is the biggest aspect of Max’s growth efforts. Why is that? The media business has always been a global business, but it’s been global as a collection of local or regional players. The advent of streaming has enabled an ability to program and entertain a global audience. We have franchises and intellectual property—like DC characters or Harry Potter—that has global fan bases. Our original content like House of Dragon and Euphoria also has global fan bases. We used to only be able to tap into portions of that base and then we’d sell those content rights to players in local markets. With the advent of streaming, we’re able to do it all ourselves. Long term we’re very bullish on what this means from the consumer standpoint and from a business perspective. Having a business that has all the advantages and the cost leverage of a global scale is an attractive and long-term lucrative business. Given the opportunity for global expansion, why did it take you so long to launch outside the U.S.? This company was born out of a legacy Warner media business and a legacy Discovery company that came together about two and a half years ago. Both companies have been very active globally, but they had been pursuing different strategies. We spent the first 12 to 18 months rebuilding the technology platform and the product itself to deliver [a better] experience, and support live events, high concurrency entertainment, and more features. We started it in May 2023 in the U S. At the beginning of 2024, Max was only available in one market with that new platform and new product. At the end of 2024, we [were] in 74 markets. We’re in Latin America, key markets in Europe, in Asia, and obviously the U.S. Has your international expansion changed your programming? We already have a history of producing great local content around the world– in Europe and Latin America in particular. We then have augmented it over these last few years by producing more local originals just for Max. You’re starting to see the fruits of that and you’re starting to see that content do great numbers in its regional market. We just did a series based on the book and movie Like Water for Chocolate that came out in Mexico. We’re leveraging franchises around the world that we may not necessarily own and we’re starting to see those stories travel better, because while they may be in different languages, they’re universal in themes. What are some of the product improvements you’re trying to make over the next couple of years? Our head of product likes to say that the product journey is a game of inches. So literally the product road map and the feature improvements are hundreds of different small things. We’ve rolled out this back half of this year what we call whole page optimization, which uses algorithms to recommend content based on what you’ve watched. The key art that shows up should also be personalized based on what we think is most appealing to you. You recently rolled out an ad-supported tier. How does that fit in with your strategy? If you exclude markets that we can’t get into like China, Russia, and India, there’s about 650 million broadband households [that could subscribe to Max]. We still have over close to half the world to get after. With our ad-supported offering, we can attract different customer bases that have different profiles. There are customers around the world who are more price sensitive and are willing to pay, you know, 30, 40, 50% less and still get [access to] our content. As you roll out in more markets around the world that have lower income or GDP per capita, [having an ad-supported tier] is a way to tap into more customers. Netflix was focused on subscriber growth for a long time. Now the company is focused on turning a profit. How do you balance those two factors at Max? As the leader in the space, they have the great advantage of already having reached a lot of scale around the world. Not surprisingly, at some point, you can’t keep growing forever in terms of that scale. I think what they’ve said about no longer reporting subscribers starting in next year is an acknowledgement of the fact that they’re becoming slightly more mature as a business. We’re in a very different position. We’re late to the party. The good news is we still have a lot of growth ahead of us over these next two years. We have opportunities [to acquire] tens of millions of subscribers as we finish our global rollout and demonstrate a better content lineup. That growth continues to be really important for us to report. Nobody has done profit and growth at the same time. I would argue that Max and WBD are the pioneers of that. We need to be able to show that this is a legitimate business and that we can grow it. We talk about streaming consolidation a lot at the office. Ten years from now, are we just going to see one or two dominant services? We’re an IP and storytelling company. If you’re a fan of Batman, you’re not going to get it anywhere else. If you’re a fan of Harry Potter, you’re not going to get it anywhere else. Same for Superman, or 90 Day Fiancé. That’s what makes us unique. So I don’t believe it’s a winner-takes-all situation. I don’t think there’s a monopoly on ideas or great stories. The number of streamers will shrink down, but it won’t just be due to M&A activity. There’ll be some of that, but you’re also going to see creative partnerships, like our Disney bundle. How is AI factoring into your business? Right now AI is used on the operating side, or the process side. It’s helping distill and speed up processes. We were talking earlier about creating more video, interstitials or, trailers or break-in moments to be able to show you clips from the series in the streaming product. For some of the content, we have trailers, but trailers aren’t necessarily always the best selling proposition. We’re leveraging different AI tools to help us take a first cut. A person can prompt AI with “Pick up all the chatter that exists in the internet space about people’s favorite moments from the show, digest that, and give us five different 30-second edits of this series or movie that have the high likelihood of hitting the mark with customers.” Then a human looks at those five cuts and makes a judgment as to the best one. Prior to those AI-enabled tools coming out, we would have had to spend a lot of time and a lot of money and a lot of effort just trying to get to those cuts. We’re also using AI to figure out where to insert ad breaks on our ad-supported tier. We may be able to come up with an ad break methodology that is dynamic rather than one size fits all. We’re also using it for closed-captioning. A lot of great material on Max comes from existing IP. The White Lotus sort of came out of nowhere during the pandemic. Do you think there’s still a future for that kind of non-IP based hit? One hundred percent. Nobody is better in the business when it comes to creating new breakouts. If you think of the track record of HBO, the vast majority of stories they’ve told are not coming from generally known media. The top four series right now for HBO are The Last of Us, Euphoria, The White Lotus, and House of Dragon. Euphoria is a true original, so is The White Lotus. We’re doing more with existing franchises, but we’re not doing that instead of coming up with original ideas. It’s a complement rather than a substitution. View the full article

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager. A reader writes: I was working on writing up a job ad today for temporary research assistants for a field biology project, and noticed trends in my ads and in others’. It’s common for early career employees applying to assistant or technician jobs to think that they want to do fieldwork and then quit in the middle of the season because it wasn’t what they expected. There are really fun parts like getting to travel to cool places, camp or backpack, work directly with plants and animals, and meet new people. However, employees are often underpaid (especially at the technician level), work long hours, and must front some transportation or per diem costs before getting reimbursed. They are far from their friends and family camping for long periods of time and without cell service in some cases. Often, these staff are expected to work through bad weather (if it’s safe), hike long distances, do manual labor all day, and deal with biting and stinging insects. This can be compounded if you’re assigned to work with one other person and it turns out that you don’t get along with them. It can be downright miserable! The solution to this seems to be that we become very up-front about the working conditions in the job and write requirements like, “Must be comfortable carrying 30 pounds in high heat and humidity for 13 hours per day off trail on uneven terrain with biting flies and mosquitos while maintaining a positive attitude.” It doesn’t matter who you are, you’re going to have an off day here and there in those conditions — especially if you have been working and living with the same one or two people for three weeks. I think writing like that just comes off … wrong? I am worried that, in an effort to be transparent, we make ourselves sound uninviting and expect that green staff will fail. I think it also emphasizes physical tolerance where emotional intelligence and maturity can make or break a field season. Do you have any advice for striking a balance when hiring for jobs that have inherent challenges? P.S. I make it sound terrible but there are many of us who really love it! The instinct to be very up-front about the working conditions is the right one! The more transparent and realistic you are, and the more you paint a picture of what the work is really like, the more you’ll attract candidates who will do well and the more likely the “wrong” candidates will self-select out. When you’re hiring, truth in advertising about the less appealing parts of the job is a good thing. You want people to have a good understanding of what they’d be getting into. It’s true that you don’t want to cross over into “this job sucks! but you’ll need to keep a smile on your face!” … but you shouldn’t shy away from describing things as accurately as possible. I would also think about what traits and experiences people who do well in the job tend to share, and talk about that as well — “if you’re the person on camping trips who’s always tracking the animal droppings you see and isn’t daunted if it rains, this may be you” or so forth. (These are undoubtedly terrible examples — non-camper here — but you’ll have better ones since you’re familiar with the work and the actual qualities that predict success.) Or, “We’ve found people who thrive in this role generally have ____ (“spent extended time outdoors in various weather conditions,” “a high degree of emotional intelligence and the ability to work in sometimes uncomfortably close quarters with a wide range of people,” or whatever is true). With a job like this, where you get a lot of people who don’t fully understand what they’re signing on for, I might even consider including one or two short testimonials from people who have done the job successfully and liked it — just a short paragraph from a couple people on what the experience was like for them, what was tough, and why they liked it anyway (without any sugarcoating). You could also run the draft of your ad by people who are doing the job currently or did it recently and ask for their feedback — do they think it’s a full and accurate representation? Are there other things they wish they knew before they got hired? But it’s much better to err on the side of too much transparency than not enough. View the full article

It’s the end of an era for surf-and-skate-inspired clothing enthusiasts, as some once-beloved stores close their doors. Liberated Brands, which owns Billabong, Quicksilver, Volcom, Roxy, and other brands, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware this week. As a result, 120 stores across the U.S. owned by the company will close. The company will also close its international offices, and has laid off 1,400 employees. In a declaration filed along with the Chapter 11 petition, CEO Todd Hymel blamed the rise of fast fashion brands, as well as high interest rates and inflation, for the brand’s demise. “The average consumer has shifted their spending away from discretionary products such as those offered by Liberated,” Hymel said in the court filing. “Consumers can cheaply, quickly, and easily order low-quality clothing garments from fast fashion powerhouses and have such goods delivered within days.” Just a few years ago, Liberated was booming. From 2021 to 2022, it more than doubled the number of retail locations it owned, going from 67 stores to 140 locations. It also took on additional brand licenses under New York-based Authentic Brands Group (ABG). But in recent years, inflation and supply chain issues began to hit the company hard. As more people pulled back on discretionary purchases or turned toward budget brands, more Liberated-owned stores began underperforming. In December 2024, ABG withdrew its licenses. In a statement, Liberated said it has “worked tirelessly over the last year to propel these iconic brands forward, but a volatile global economy, consumer spending changes amid a rising cost of living and inflationary pressures have all taken a heavy toll.” Luckily, fans of the surf-and-skate-inspired clothing won’t have to look too hard to find it after the bankruptcy. The individual brands are already sold at other retailers including Dick’s Sporting Goods, PacSun, and Kohl’s. As Liberated winds down, it will be looking for more wholesale partners to continue selling the products. Meanwhile, the fast fashion industry, which targets young shoppers, is certainly booming. The clothes are cheaply made and affordable, but the industry’s high energy use, toxic chemicals, and the reality of how many briefly worn items end up in landfills all point to how detrimental fast fashion is for the planet. However, 2022 data from ThredUp suggested there’s an addictive nature to fast fashion brands like Shein, Temu, and others, despite the fact that the environmental strain is massive. View the full article

Federal employees have until 11:59 p.m. to decide whether to take a “deferred resignation” offer, which the Trump administration says would allow workers to leave their jobs yet retain pay and benefits through the end of September. The credibility and legality of this unprecedented proposal has since been widely challenged, as the administration hasn’t received budget authorization from Congress for any buyout program. The Wall Street Journal reports that more than 40,000 employees, or about 2% of the federal workforce, have taken the offer as of February 5, a number far below the 5–10% target set by the Trump administration. One worker who just finished a multiyear contract with the Department of Commerce, and whose employment was personally unaffected by the resignation offer, says she worries that this will be the most massive brain-drain in U.S. history, and the result of “employer-led abuse.” (Fast Company has agreed to not use her name due to fear of retaliation, but has verified her identity.) Federal employees describe a workplace of plummeting morale and ratcheting anxiety. Some are still considering whether to take the buyout and alleviate the suspense about potential future layoffs. (Nearly all USAID staffers have been put on leave, following an announcement on February 7, and more than 400 contractors were laid off a week before.) Others say they won’t be swayed, even amid the stress and threats. Bracing for further backlash and retaliation as tonight’s deadline passes, employees are sharing around a private document of resources with the names of legal aid organizations, employment rights groups, attorneys, and Congressional contacts. An employee at the Federal Trade Commission, who also did not want to be named for fear of retaliation, told Fast Company that “a lot of us are terrified of speaking, but we’re bursting at the seams.” Workers are trying to continue on with business as usual, but the threat of losing their jobs is holding up progress. Sources Fast Company spoke with reported updating their résumés or putting in the bare minimum until it’s clear what will happen after 11:59 p.m. tonight. Some say they’re downloading performance evaluation scores, fearing that they may be illicitly edited to provide grounds for dismissal later on. Many of those who are refusing to take the “deferred resignation” say they’re doing so in a spirit of defiance. The top post on the Reddit forum r/fednews is a declaration, which has been upvoted 16,000 times, deeming February 6 “Hold the Line Day,” where “each year we will celebrate the federal employees who have dedicated themselves to holding the line by ignoring and rejecting the markedly illegal and harassing emails from [the Office of Personnel Management].” Commenters write about their resolve in spite of fear and anxiety. “I know it [sic] we’re being pushed down and demoralized right now—but please stay the course,” one poster writes. “It’s so confusing and wrong on so many levels. Don’t quit. You mean a great deal to this country. Your dedication and love for our country will stand the test of time. It’s an extremely sad and confusing time for all of us. No better time than now for all of us to stick together.” In response to the OPM’s “buyout” offer email, whose subject line was “Fork in the Road,” some federal workers are also adopting spoons as a symbol of defiance. Getting a job in the private sector isn’t a worry for the federal employees who spoke to Fast Company. In fact, many are confident they can find jobs in the private sector that pay significantly more. But for many who choose to work for the government, that’s not the point. “People who do this work do it because of the mission,” the former contractor says. The FTC worker says he’s not going to take the buyout because he’s curious to see what it will be like on the other side of the deadline. Moreover, he’s not willing to be intimidated by what he believes are “scare tactics.” “They’re gonna have to shake me off like a tick on a cow’s ass,” he says. View the full article