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Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding Lifehacker as a preferred source for tech news. If you’re anything like me, you might have moving app icons on your iPhone Home Screen right now. It took me a few days to notice this, but now when I tilt my phone up, down, left, or right, my icons will actually shift in that direction, and the highlights the new Liquid Glass effect added around them will move as well. Technically, this isn’t a new feature. Apple calls it the “parallax effect,” and if you’ve ever played an old 16-bit sidescroller, you’ve probably seen it before. It’s when a background moves at a different speed than the foreground. The parallax effect first got added to iOS way back in iOS 7, but ever since iOS 16, users have been complaining that it’s been broken. I certainly hadn’t seen it over the past couple years, but now that seems to have changed. During the second iOS 26 beta, users reported that the parallax effect was back, and now that iOS 26 is live, it still appears to be working. Finally: It only took Apple three years to fix that bug. The problem? It turns out I don’t actually like the parallax effect on my app icons. I don’t represent everyone here, as plenty of the comments in the threads shared above are cheering its return. But for me, it just kind of makes me feel dizzy, like I’m staring at a hypnotist’s wheel whenever I dare to do anything with my phone other than leave it perfectly still. My friends at Lifehacker are also split on the issue, but hey, at least the writers over at Gizmodo have my back. Luckily, if you’re like me, you can turn the parallax effect off, but it does come with compromises. Turn on Reduce MotionLike turning off Liquid Glass’ transparency, the most effective way to turn off moving icons on your iPhone’s Home Screen involves using the accessibility menu. To do this, you’ll need to navigate to Settings > Accessibility > Motion, and then toggle on Reduce Motion. Bam, your icons will now stay rooted firmly in place on your Home Screen, no matter how you tilt your phone. Even the new highlights that made Dark Mode icons look tilted for some will stay put (that won’t solve the optical illusion, since it has to do more with contrast than where the icons are, but it’s a nice touch). Unfortunately, this does come with a downside, because Reduce Motion doesn’t affect just parallax icons. It also tones down your system level animations. For instance, with this setting enabled, your app windows will no longer slowly minimize into the App Switcher when you swipe up anymore. Instead, you’ll just instantly go from a full-screen view into the App Switcher view. Your mileage may vary on how you feel about that, although I felt like it made my phone less responsive. Apps also don’t slowly expand out from the icon with Reduce Motion on, instead just instantly entering a full-screen view when you tap on them, albeit with a small unfurling animation that plays at the corners. Use a solid or gradient backgroundIf you'd rather keep your system level animations, but still don't want to see the parallax effect, you could adjust your background instead. Because the moving icons need to contrast with something to really become noticeable, using a solid or gradient background should tone them down for you without you needing to turn Reduce Motion on. To do this, long press on your lock screen, then hit the + button on the bottom right. Scroll down to Color and pick a wallpaper you like. You can also make your own gradient and simply save it as a photo, then set it as your wallpaper by tapping on it in the Photos app and scrolling down until you see the Use as Wallpaper button. The downside here, of course, is that you won't be able to use a photo of your pet or a family member as a background. Unacceptable, I say, but some of my colleagues are willing to make that sacrifice. View the full article

Google and Apple’s app stores both have a reputation for being pretty trustworthy these days. It’s easy to assume that if an app is in either the iPhone App Store or the Google Play Store, it’s safe to download. But a new Google crackdown this week reminds us that this isn’t so clear cut. Yesterday, a third-party security report revealed that Google had recently removed 224 malicious apps from the Android Play Store. Dubbed “SlopAds” apps by security company Human, which discovered the apps and wrote the report, these apps evaded Google’s usual security procedures and instead used a clever workaround to secretly install malware on users’ devices, even when downloaded straight from Google’s servers. The way these apps worked was that, if you downloaded them by searching for them through the Google Play Store, they would work as advertised with no malware dragging them down. Generally, these apps were pitched as simple utilities, or attempted to pass themselves off as more popular programs like ChatGPT, to try to trick users into downloading them. Not the best tools, certainly, but if accessed directly through Google, they wouldn’t hurt you. But the trick is that, if you downloaded one of these apps after arriving at the Play Store via one of SlopAds ad campaigns, it would also secretly download an encrypted configuration file that, after a few post-download checks, would install malware on your device. Once a device was infected, the app would then steal its information, and start using it to generate fake ad impressions on sites run by the scammers, maximizing profit. It was a clever way to get around Google’s regular review process, and a good reminder that, even as major companies try to make their app stores safe to use, you should still be vigilant while browsing them. How to avoid installing malware on your deviceWhile SlopAds has been thwarted for now, you should still take a few steps to keep your device safe while downloading new apps, especially since SlopAds isn’t alone in sneaking Malware onto the Play Store. Here are just a few ways to protect your device while browsing for new apps. Download your apps directly from the Play StoreAndroid is different from iOS in that it allows you to sideload apps onto your device. This can be convenient when working with smaller developers, who might not have the resources to get their programs on the Play Store. But downloading an app that hasn’t been verified by Google opens you up to extra risk. Always ensure you trust a developer and the specific APK file you’re using before sideloading an app. Google is currently working to block sideloading unless a developer is verified (which has been controversial, despite the extra security it gives you), although these changes aren’t set to hit most of the world until 2027. Find apps through the Play StoreAs SlopAds proves, navigating to an app through an outside source can flag it to download extra files to your device that you won’t get if you find the app through the Play Store’s own search functionality. Always be cautious about links to apps that you find on suspicious websites, and especially in ads. Using the Play Store to discover new apps instead could save you some headaches down the line, especially as Google’s search is less likely to send you to suspicious apps than it is popular apps that have been verified as safe by other users. Check user reviews and permissionsIf you scroll down before downloading an app through the Play Store, you’ll see which permissions an app needs to do its work on your phone, and you’ll also be able to read user reviews. This can be handy if there are known issues with an app, or the requested permissions seem to be a bit too generous for what the app claims to do. However, this isn’t a catch-all solution—SlopAds did its malicious behavior in the background without needing any sort of permissions, and depending on where a user downloaded a SlopAd app from, it might not have even installed malware on their device. It’s possible apps with good reviews could still have harmful software included on the sly. Turn on Google Play ProtectWhile SlopAds was able to bypass Google Play Protect, it’s still a good idea to turn it on if it isn’t enabled on your device already. This will scan an app for known malware before downloading it, giving you an extra layer of protection. It will also periodically scan apps already installed on your device. To ensure it’s turned on, open the Play Store, click your profile icon in the top right corner, and navigate to Play Protect > Settings. To scan sideloaded apps, you can also turn on the Improve harmful app detection setting, which is in the same spot. Run a Google Security CheckupFinally, you can run a Google Security Checkup on your device via a web browser. This will help you tighten your online security, encouraging you to take security steps like adding a recovery email or phone number to your Google account. It’ll also list recent security activity, and will generally ensure that, even if a malicious app steals your data, you’ll be able to lock it out of your account with the least issue possible. View the full article

Confused about what task to tackle first? Learn how priority levels help PMs rank work by impact and urgency to improve focus, align teams, and avoid decision fatigue. The post How to Build Priority Levels That Actually Work (Step-by-Step Guide) appeared first on The Digital Project Manager. View the full article

Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding my work at Lifehacker as a preferred source. The latest Apple Watches now boast a sleep score, which gives you a number on a scale of 1 to 100 for how well you slept. But that’s not all—you can even get this number without the Series 11 watch, as I discovered this morning while waiting for my new watch to be delivered. To get the new sleep score, just make sure you have iOS 26 and watch OS 26 installed. Where to find the sleep scoreYou can view the sleep score on your iPhone or on your Apple Watch. On the watch (Series 6 or later), go to the Sleep app. The sleep score is the first thing it will show you. On the iPhone, the sleep score gets its own card in the Apple Health app. If you don't see it, tap the search icon and then tap on Sleep. Many devices can give you an Apple sleep score, not just the newest Apple WatchThe sleep score is a data analysis feature that doesn’t require specific Apple Watch hardware, and Apple has said that Apple Watches as old as Series 6 will get it. What’s more, I noticed that my Apple Health app gives me sleep scores for nights I wore other devices to bed, but not an Apple Watch. According to my settings, my Apple Health app receives sleep data from the Coros, Garmin, Zepp (Amazfit), Oura, Ultrahuman, Whoop, and Withings devices I’ve used. I’ve rarely worn an Apple Watch to bed lately, but I’m always wearing something, usually including an Oura ring. I have sleep scores for all of those nights, not just the nights I wore an Apple Watch. Your past sleep scores are calculated retroactivelyThe sleep score is new with iOS 26 and watch OS 26, but the data needed to calculate it was there anytime you wore a supported device to bed. Scrolling back, I can see sleep scores going back to April of 2020. How sleep scores are calculatedApple’s sleep score comes with a breakdown of where your 100 potential points come from. This includes: 50 points for how long you slept 30 points for how consistent your bedtime was with previous nights 20 points for minimizing interruptions My own scores include a lot of “high” and “excellent” ratings, even though I don’t think my sleep has been great. But sleep scores are never totally scientific—even when they’re based on solid data, there’s no such thing as a medical cutoff for what counts as “high” or “excellent” sleep. The World Sleep Society tells us to “focus on trends and patterns, not individual ‘scores.’” If you see your sleep scores trending up (or down), that’s more important than what exactly your number is today. View the full article

A reader writes: Earlier this month in Ohio, a pair of Republican lawmakers introduced a bill to create a website with lists of people who’ve no showed for interviews. I’ve included a link to Ohio’s Statehouse News Bureau’s reporting information — because truly when I first heard about it, I thought for sure the person was doing a bit. It seems to be specially focused on those receiving unemployment benefits, but it seems it could quickly turn into including everyone. I’m curious about your thoughts in general, but also in application. How on earth could they validate that the person no showed, and what if the person who entered the name into the database is an ex or disgruntled employee? I’ve received unemployment benefits twice in the 30+ years I’ve been in the workforce, so what’s to say my name would ever be dropped from said lists? Would future employers know I’d no-showed to an interview in five years prior? This is a fully bananapants idea. Private employers don’t need the government to track who does and doesn’t show up for interviews; this is not a problem that is in need of a government-level solution. If the government wants to make sure that people who are receiving unemployment benefits are genuinely conducting a good-faith search for work and not cavalierly blowing off interviews, they can do what most states do: require benefits recipients to fill out periodic reporting on their job hunt, with spot checks for accuracy. Is this 100% foolproof? It’s not; people who just want to collect benefits for as long as possible without putting real effort into find a job can lie, or they can deliberately send in applications that won’t get them interviews, or they can target jobs they’re not qualified for, or they can show up for interviews and deliberately bomb. Some people will always look for a way to beat the system, but a database to find out who ghosted their interviewers won’t solve any of that. Moreover, how are they going to guard against inaccuracy? After all, we’ve all heard about interviewers who get their interview scheduling wrong — are they going to report someone for not showing up for a 10 am Tuesday interview when they accidentally told the person Thursday? To deal with that, they’d have to include a way for people to challenge a report — and now we’re talking about significant additional bureaucracy for a problem that didn’t require a solution in the first place. And to be clear, this proposal isn’t confined to people receiving unemployment benefits — they note that would be part of it, but they’re proposing it would cover all job-seekers. Why? Once you take unemployment benefits recipients out of this, what part of it is the government’s business? Then, of course, there’s the obvious elephant in the room, which is that employers ghost candidates far more often than candidates ghost employers. Orders of magnitude more. The numbers of each side are so disproportionately out of whack that, again, you have to ask: how is this a problem that needs a government solution? If they want to do a public service, they’d be helping more people if they tracked employers that mistreated candidates, not the other way around — not something that will ever happen, of course, but come on. (Hmmm, kind of seems like maybe people aren’t who they’re looking to help.) Apparently these two legislators in Ohio feel that they have solved all the other problems in their state and thus have the leisure time to contemplate weird Orwellian measures like this, but they could better serve Ohio by staying out of it. The post Ohio wants to keep track of applicants who skip job interviews appeared first on Ask a Manager. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Last week I ran the D.C. half-marathon alongside nearly 8,000 other runners. While I generally love running with my Garmin Forerunner 165 (which I've previously reviewed), when I strapped the watch on the morning of the race, I had some reservations. This watch has earned a reputation as a barebones beginner device—and I was worried if it would hold up when it really mattered. Would the GPS remain accurate throughout the 13.1 mile run? Would the pacing features actually help me hit my goal time? After crossing the finish line, I'm happy to report that this entry-level watch met my expectations in almost every way. Garmin Forerunner 165 Music, Running Smartwatch, Colorful AMOLED Display, Training Metrics and Recovery Insights, Music on Your Wrist, Whitestone $299.99 at Amazon Shop Now Shop Now $299.99 at Amazon Training with Garmin's built-in plansIn the leadup to race day, I tested Garmin's training plans. It's a simple process: Once you select a plan in Garmin Connect, your watch automatically receives each day's workout, complete with target paces, intervals, and recovery periods. The selling point for me is that Garmin's training plans adapt to your performance over time, adjusting target paces based on recent runs and fitness assessments. For my marathon training, the plan included everything from easy runs and tempo workouts, to speed intervals and long runs (which may not be long enough—but more on that in a moment). As I've previously noted, I particularly love the pacing guidance during tempo runs—the watch beeps and displays alerts when I drifted outside my target pace zone, helping me nail those challenging sustained efforts that are so crucial for race preparation. That said, I'm not convinced Garmin's training philosophy is entirely reliable, particularly over long run distances. I have a sneaking suspicion the device might not suggest long enough peak mileage for some runners, but I'll dive deeper into that analysis after completing a full training cycle. In the meantime, I'm absolutely loving the pacing assistance and structured workouts. Creating a custom race day workoutAhead of race day, I took advantage of one of Garmin's best features: creating a custom workout. To do so, I opened the Garmin Connect app and navigated to Training > Workouts > Create a Workout. From there, I built a step-by-step plan for my race. I created a warm-up mile (at an easy pace), followed by the main event (an 11-mile step with ambitious target pace alerts), and an extra ambitious final mile push. The key was setting up pace alerts that would notify me if I was running too fast or too slow relative to my half-marathon pace goal. Once saved, the workout automatically synced to my Forerunner 165, and I could start it just like any other workout on race morning. Having this structure eliminated the guesswork and helped me stay disciplined during those early miles, when adrenaline and crowd energy make it so tempting to start out too fast. Forerunner 165 GPS accuracyHere's where the Forerunner 165 really impressed me. I was genuinely concerned about GPS accuracy going into the race. Anyone who has ever attended a concert knows how dense crowds disrupt GPS on your phone or watch, and this half-marathon had around 8,000 runners plus who knows how many spectators cheering for us. More advanced Garmin watches offer dual-band GPS for improved accuracy, which the Forerunner 165 lacks. I worried that in a crowded race environment, amid tall buildings and thousands of other runners, the single-band GPS might struggle to maintain precision. My fears were unfounded. Throughout the race, my Garmin's distance measurements matched almost perfectly with the official mile markers set up by the race organizers. Mile after mile, when I reached each marker, my watch showed within 0.1 miles of the expected distance. This consistency gave me confidence in my pacing and eliminated the stress of wondering whether my watch was leading me astray. You can see how close Garmin's tracking is to my official race results in a side-by-side here. Garmin's summary on the left, my official race results on the right. Credit: Meredith Dietz I should note that I'm an extremely relatable runner, in that I'm truly right in the 50th percentile of marathon runners: No faster, no slower. This means my experience is probably representative of what most recreational racers can expect from this watch. How the Forerunner 165 performed on race day During the race itself, the Forerunner 165 delivered exactly what I needed without overwhelming me with unnecessary data. The screen remained easily readable in various lighting conditions, from the pre-dawn start through full daylight. Battery life was never a concern—after two-plus hours of GPS tracking, I still had plenty of juice remaining. The vibration alerts for pace deviations were perfectly calibrated: noticeable enough to get my attention without being jarring or distracting. The auto-lap feature marked each mile clearly, giving me regular checkpoints to assess my progress against my race plan. Advice for racing with the Garmin Forerunner 165Based on my race day experience, here are my top recommendations for getting the most out of your Forerunner 165 during a race: Charge fully the night before. Even though battery life is excellent, there's no reason to risk it. A full charge will easily handle any race distance. Set up your data screens in advance. Customize what information appears on your main screen. I recommend keeping it simple: current pace, average pace, and elapsed time. Too much data can be overwhelming when you're pooped. Practice with your custom workout. Don't let race day be the first time you use a custom workout. Test it during a long training run to make sure the pace alerts and structure work for your preferences. Trust the GPS. My biggest surprise was how accurate the GPS remained throughout the race. Trust your watch's distance and pace readings rather than trying to calculate based on course markers or feel. Use the lap button strategically. While auto-lap is great, manually hitting the lap button at key points (like the halfway mark or when you start your finishing kick) can provide helpful psychological markers. The Garmin Forerunner 165 might be positioned as an entry-level watch, but it did exactly what I needed it to do on race day, with accurate GPS, reliable pacing feedback, and an easy-to-read display. Sometimes, it seems, the most advanced features aren't necessary—sometimes you just need a watch that works when it counts. 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. Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding my work at Lifehacker as a preferred source. Every model in the 2025 lineup of M4 MacBook Air laptops is currently marked down by $200 on Amazon, taking them to record-low prices. Of these, the 13-inch M4 MacBook Air with 16GB unified memory and 256GB SSD storage is arguably the best MacBook Air for most people, and a great buy at $799 (originally $999). 13-inch M4 MacBook Air 16GB Unified Memory, 256GB SSD Storage, 12MP Center Stage Camera, Touch ID $799.00 at Amazon $999.00 Save $200.00 Get Deal Get Deal $799.00 at Amazon $999.00 Save $200.00 Although this is ostensibly the entry-level MacBook Air, it is well-equipped to last you for many years. It comes with 16GB of RAM standard, twice what the previous generation's basic model included. The 13.6-inch "Liquid Retina" display has a resolution of 2,560 by 1,664, a P3 wide color gamut, and a maximum brightness of 500 nits. You'll also get an excellent backlit keyboard with Touch ID, Wi-Fi 6E support, and great speakers and microphones. Apple even decided to bring back MagSafe charging with this laptop. The 12MP camera comes with the Center Stage, which follows your face as you move around the frame during video calls. The two USB-C ports are Thunderbolt 4 means you can extend to up to two 6K external monitors. For a "basic" laptop, the 13-inch M4 MacBook Air offers incredible capabilities and features for the price, and is arguably a much better value than the Pro, according to Lifehacker Senior Tech Editor Jake Peterson. If you take into account the current discount, it really is the best all-around MacBook you can buy. Our Best Editor-Vetted Tech Deals Right Now Apple AirPods Pro 2 Noise Cancelling Wireless Earbuds — $199.00 (List Price $249.00) Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge 256GB Unlocked AI Phone (Titanium JetBlack) — $699.99 (List Price $1,099.99) Apple iPad 11" 128GB A16 WiFi Tablet (Blue, 2025) — $299.00 (List Price $349.00) Roku Streaming Stick Plus — $29.00 (List Price $39.99) Deals are selected by our commerce team View the full article

A reader writes: A few years ago, I did some logo work for a friend of a professional contact. Every few months since then, this guy has asked for tweaks to the design. Sometimes I charge him and sometimes, if the tweak is small, I do it quickly and send it along. However, it has been about three years since I did the original work, and I’ve moved on from doing graphic design work and no longer have access to design software and have no desire to continue to do design work. I sent him all the files I had, so he can potentially hire someone else. I explained that I no longer have the programs to update them. But he continues to reach out to me. Today he said he can pay for a monthly design program subscription for me to use. I’m tired of this client and want him to move on, so I can move on with my profession and my actual 9-5 career. How do I respond? I don’t want to be rude, but also want to tell him I’m done working for him and he needs to find someone else. I answer this question — and two others — over at Inc. today, where I’m revisiting letters that have been buried in the archives here from years ago (and sometimes updating/expanding my answers to them). You can read it here. Other questions I’m answering there today include: How do I teach someone time management when I’m bad at it myself? Answering questions about family when you’re estranged from them The post a former client won’t stop contacting me for more help appeared first on Ask a Manager. View the full article

This is your map to success. By Jody Padar Radical Pricing – By The Radical CPA Go PRO for members-only access to more Jody Padar. View the full article

This is your map to success. By Jody Padar Radical Pricing – By The Radical CPA Go PRO for members-only access to more Jody Padar. View the full article

Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding Lifehacker as a preferred source for tech news. iOS 26 has been out for a few days now, and with it, a bunch of convenient little tweaks to how you use your phone. Not everything’s a keeper, and I’ve already written about how to disable the new Liquid Glass transparency effects or fix Dark Mode icons that appear tilted. Still, there are things to like about this update, even if you have to go out of your way to turn some of them on. After spending a couple nights tweaking iOS 26 to my preferences, here are my favorite new features in Apple’s latest operating system. Resize the clockThis one works well with my iPhone 15 Pro’s always-on display. As a millennial, I don’t always have old-school clocks conveniently placed around my apartment. Instead, I’ll just carry my phone around with me and plop it down somewhere in my peripheral vision where I can quickly glance at the always-on display to check the time. The problem was, until now, the clock was tiny. With iOS 26, though, you can now resize the lock screen clock (and by extension, the always-on display clock). That makes for less wasted space on my screen, and makes it easier to see at a glance or from a distance. It’s a small change, but it’s probably made the biggest difference in how I actually use my phone. To resize your lock screen clock in iOS 26, simply navigate to your iPhone’s lock screen, then long press. Hit the customize button, and then drag the lower right corner of the clock widget until you’re satisfied with the clock’s size. Note that the resized clock will only work with the first available font. If you don’t see a selection frame around the clock widget’s lower right corner, you’ll first need to tap into it and change the font before you can resize it. Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt Also, as a bonus, depending on your wallpaper, you can trigger a depth effect by clicking the three-dots icon in the lower right corner. This will allow you to place some photo elements in front of the clock, which could hurt legibility but might be worth it to see more of your background, depending on your tastes. For instance, here are my cat’s ears appearing over my lock screen clock. The clock still appears unobstructed on my black always-on display (on the iPhone 14 Pro and up, you can change how your always-on display looks under Settings > Display & Brightness > Always On Display). Call screeningI pretty much never pick up phone calls anymore. As my grandparents used to say “if it’s important, they’ll call back.” That said, sometimes I do worry about missing a chat I really needed to have, or just coming across as rude. That’s where iOS 26’s new Call Screening feature comes in. Credit: Apple When enabled, under Settings > Apps > Phone > Screen Unknown Callers > Ask Reason for Calling, this will have your iPhone pick up calls from numbers you don’t know for you, then ask the caller their reason for calling. As they answer, a transcript of what they’re saying will appear on screen, and you’ll be able to pick up the phone if it seems important. I actually haven’t gotten a spam call since turning it on, so I haven’t personally tested it yet, but it seems like a great way to avoid spam while not worrying about missing something important along the way. And if you want to go nuclear, you could instead toggle on Silence instead of Ask Reason for Calling, which will simply send all calls from unknown numbers straight to voicemail. Note that Call Screening does not work for contacts, so you’ll still have to decide whether it’s worth picking up your long-winded uncle’s calls for yourself. The improved fitness appUntil now, the iPhone’s Fitness app has been useful for getting a summary of your fitness data, or for accessing Apple Fitness+ workout videos, but not for actually tracking workouts while you’re on a run or in the gym. Now, though, that’s changed. Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt Once you’ve updated your phone to iOS 26, open the Fitness app. You’ll see a new Workout tab in the navigation bar towards the bottom. Tap it, and you’ll see a number of workouts that you can start right from your phone. These are all for outdoor exercises, like walking, running, cycling, and hiking. The idea is that, even if you don’t have a health tracker, your phone can use GPS data to estimate metrics for you (tapping on any of these will bring up a screen where your phone asks for location tracking permissions). But that’s not all you can do. If you pair your phone with a heart rate tracker, like the one built into the Apple Watch (although you’re not limited to Apple’s own peripherals for this), you’ll also get access to other workout types, like Indoor Run, Yoga, and High Intensity Interval Training. You’ll just need to wear your tracker while exercising. It doesn’t only work in the background, too. Start any workout, and you’ll see your metrics live on your phone while you’re exercising—no more peeking down at your smartwatch’s tiny screen to see your stats. This will also work for workouts started from your Apple Watch, as they’ll simply mirror to both the Fitness app and a Live Activity on your iPhone’s lock screen. Nice. Hold assistI have a trip coming up next week, and I need to call my pharmacy to get some prescription refills before I head out of town. Unfortunately, they love to leave me on hold for way too long. That’s where Apple’s new Hold Assist feature comes in. Credit: Apple With this, your iPhone will detect when you’ve been put on hold (by listening for cues like hold music), and will offer to hold the call for you so you can step away. Press the “Hold This Call?” button that pops up, and your call will shrink to a small pill towards the top of your screen. Audio will be muted, and you’ll be able to walk away or use your iPhone as usual. When the other line takes you off hold, they’ll get a short message saying Hold Assist is active, and you’ll get a notification along with a ring and/or vibration to let you know you can pick up the call again. You’ll also see a transcription of what the other person said while they waited for you to pick up. Hold Assist should be active for you by default after installing iOS 26, but to double check, simply navigate to Settings > Apps > Phone > Hold Assist Detection and ensure the toggle is enabled. A spam folder for the Messages appFinally, your iPhone will automatically sort away spam messages for you. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been getting so many scam texts as of late, like for unpaid traffic tickets (I don’t drive). Already, the new Spam folder in Messages has done a good job of keeping me from seeing these. Essentially, it works just like the Spam folder in Gmail. Simply open your Messages app, and you’ll probably notice fewer scam texts or solicitations in there. To see where they’ve all gone, click the three-lines icon in the top right corner, then the Spam folder. Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt You’ll see any texts your iPhone has decided to mark as spam, as well as buttons to mark them all as read or simply delete them. Of course, be careful when looking at these messages—you probably don’t want to click any links in them. And that’s it. Note that, just like in Gmail, there is a chance for false positives, so you might want to check this folder if you’re expecting an important text and aren’t seeing it. If you leave a message in the Spam folder for more than 90 days, it will be deleted, but you can click Recover under a message you want to keep to send it back to the main text folder. Like with Hold Assist, spam filtering should be enabled for you by default, but to double check, head over to Settings > Apps > Messages > Unknown Senders and ensure the Filter Spam toggle is on. View the full article

Use what fits your needs, not what’s trendy. By August Aquila MAX: Maximize Productivity, Profitability and Client Retention Go PRO for members-only access to more August J. Aquila. View the full article

Use what fits your needs, not what’s trendy. By August Aquila MAX: Maximize Productivity, Profitability and Client Retention Go PRO for members-only access to more August J. Aquila. View the full article

A 34-point checklist. By Ed Mendlowitz 77 Ways to Wow! The Checklist Handbook for Advisory Services. Go PRO for members-only access to more Edward Mendlowitz. View the full article

A 34-point checklist. By Ed Mendlowitz 77 Ways to Wow! The Checklist Handbook for Advisory Services. Go PRO for members-only access to more Edward Mendlowitz. View the full article

Recently, we realized our way of calculating MRR and ARR wasn’t giving us the clearest picture of our business. A few months ago, we made the decision to cancel the Buffer subscriptions of 1,361 inactive annual legacy subscriptions. We let those customers know they can always use Buffer for free or sign up for an annual plan again. After sending that email and canceling the annual plans, we braced for a $14,000 monthly recurring revenue (MRR) drop. But the numbers didn’t budge. We knew something was off when we didn’t see the immediate impact of cancelling those subscriptions. Instead, those cancellations were being stretched across the next 12 months, tied to each customer’s renewal date. That didn’t sit right with us. Those customers’ accounts had already been cancelled. Why should their revenue still be counted as if nothing had changed? Here’s how we changed our calculations to get a clearer picture of Buffer’s finances and a faster feedback loop on how customer experience drives growth. The change: recognizing churn immediatelyUntil now, when customers cancelled their Buffer subscription, we continued counting their revenue until the end of their paid period. For example, someone cancelling halfway through an annual plan would remain ‘active’ until the twelve months ended. This method is common in analytics tools, like Chartmogul, because API limitations make it hard to track cancellations immediately. We’ve put in the extra work to overcome that limitation, so our MRR and ARR now reflect cancellations in real time, making our numbers more accurate and responsive. Going forward, we’re recognizing churn the moment it happens, at the exact point a customer churns. By definition, MRR is meant to reflect the future expectation of monthly recurring revenue. If a customer cancels today, they’re gone. The revenue isn’t “recurring” anymore. This shift has an immediate impact: our reported MRR/ARR is lower. To put this into perspective, we reported that our closing numbers for July were $1.93M MRR ($23.1M ARR). Those numbers have now been adjusted to $1.84M MRR and $22M ARR. Today in September, our MRR sits around $1.87M ($22.4M ARR). That’s below some of our recent milestones, like celebrating $23M in ARR and crossing 70,000 paid subscribers. But it’s also a more accurate, real-time reflection of Buffer’s revenue and customer count. Recognizing churn immediately gives us a clearer picture of the business and a faster feedback loop on how customer experience drives growth. When customers leave, we see it right away. And when they stay, that loyalty shows up more clearly, too. We’re still syncing the data, but going forward, you’ll see a dip on August 3rd in our transparent metrics when we cancelled those 1,361 inactive annual Buffer subscriptions. Choosing smaller, more accurate numbers“We’re doing this because we believe having this responsiveness baked into our metrics will serve us in providing a superior experience.” - Joel Gascoigne, Founder CEO of Buffer The decision to recognize churn immediately wasn’t a correction or a fix to a mistake. It was a deliberate choice to move away from the default in favor of what we believe is a higher-quality, more transparent methodology. It’s also a bold choice. Many companies prefer delay recognizing churn until the end of a customer’s paid period. This makes the reported numbers look larger for longer. We’ve chosen the opposite: to reflect cancellations right when they happen. The result is smaller numbers, but ones that feel more accurate, transparent, and true to our customers’ experience. And because we’re independent, we have the freedom to report in the way we believe is most meaningful. For us, this is about being genuinely customer-centric and shaping every aspect of how we operate so that it reflects the real experiences of our customers. What this means going forwardOur MRR and ARR charts will now move more responsively with customer behavior, both growth and churn.Some of our past milestones will look different (we’ll be updating the historical data on our Open page to reflect this methodology).Fluctuations may appear sharper, especially around month-ends or when multiple cancellations happen on the same day. We see this as a feature, not a bug: it gives us even more incentive to reduce friction and improve the product experience.Staying true to transparencyWe know this might feel unusual. It’s not common for SaaS companies to voluntarily adopt a methodology that lowers their headline numbers. But as soon as we realized this would improve how we use the numbers, we wanted to share it with you. We believe it strengthens the accuracy and transparency of our reporting, bringing us closer to our customers, which is ultimately our most important goal. At Buffer, transparency has always been one of our guiding principles. That means sharing not only the highs of our journey, but also the changes we make along the way as we learn and grow, on our way to building the healthiest and most customer-centric company possible. In the long run, we believe this change will make us a stronger, more resilient company. It gives us clearer insight into the impact of our product and customer experience work, and it ensures that when we celebrate future milestones, they’ll be rooted in the most accurate reflection of our business. View the full article

A reader writes: I work in a company with a lot of young employees and a completely optional hybrid working policy. We have an office, but they no longer enforce any in-office mandates. I am basically a middle manager, and there’s no consistent presence of senior leadership in person. The people who come into the office the most are a cohort of junior-level employees right out of college who seem to enjoy the camaraderie of the in-office life. Of this cohort, last week there was one worker in her early 20’s who wore a skirt so short that I could see her butt cheeks. It was shocking, and I almost wondered if her skirt was folded up or if she didn’t realize. It didn’t get corrected all day, and she has at least five peers/friends in the office who could have mentioned it, so I assume it was intentional. Our dress code is explicitly casual, but it also says to take caution with revealing attire. In my opinion, and I think any reasonable person’s, the skirt is in no way appropriate for any work environment. How would you go about approaching this, though? She’s not in my management chain, and her manager does not regularly come into the office. While I don’t have power over her, I fear my talking to her could be taken as a formal or official reprimand. While the attire is distracting, I more want her to know for her own professional career that this is not appropriate. Do you have any relationship with her boss? Ideally you’d give that person a heads-up, paired with a suggestion that they give their team clearer guidance on the dress code. It might seem like a dress code that explicitly prohibits revealing attire should be clear enough, but in reality people can have very different understandings of what that means, particularly recent grads who are new to the work world. It’s far better for dress codes to be specific about exactly what they mean, rather than assuming everyone will have the same implicitly understood frame of reference. You might think, How could someone not know visible butt cheeks aren’t okay? But here’s someone who didn’t, which is evidence that it’s not universally understood … or, more likely, she didn’t realize how revealing the skirt actually was. Regardless, if a manager can see that people on their team are out of sync with their expectations, they need to issue their own clearer guidance about what is and isn’t okay. But when managers and senior leadership are all off off-site, the reality is that they might not know about problems that are occurring on-site — whether it’s visible butt cheeks, someone setting toilet paper in fire in the bathroom, interns tattooing each other in the conference room, a thriving sex club on the premises, or something more mundane, like people routinely making so much noise that others can’t focus — and they need to manage in a way that accounts for that. That can mean making sure they’re checking with their team members often enough (and being approachable enough) that they’ll hear about problems, or it can mean checking in with other teams who have people on-site, or at least building relationships with those teams’ managers to establish channels for hearing about stuff that they’re not seeing firsthand. So I’d rather you give her boss a heads-up and let them decide if/how to address it rather than feeling you have to take it on yourself, unless you’re in a role that makes this squarely your business or unless you have enough of a relationship with the employee that you can do it in a mentoring type way. The post employee came to work with her butt cheeks exposed appeared first on Ask a Manager. View the full article

For most foreigners moving to Argentina with the hope of staying long term, the Argentine Rentista Visa and Pensionado Visas loom as tempting goals that easily lead to permanent residency, Argentine citizenship, and most importantly an amazing life in a Latino European paradise at the end of the world. Unfortunately, while Argentina has taken some ... Read moreView the full article

And how does this affect the minimum required income for the Argentina Rentista and Pensionado visas? As of late 2025, the Argentine government publishes routine updates on the monthly minimum wage. The government of Argentina regularly updates minimum wage date here. As of August 2025, the minimum monthly salary is 322,000 ARS monthly. – This ... Read moreView the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding Lifehacker as a preferred source for tech news. The Eufy X10 Pro Omni is currently selling for $549.99 on Amazon, a steep drop from its $899.99 list price and the lowest it has gone for, according to price trackers.] Eufy X10 Pro Omni Robot Vacuum and Mop Combo $549.99 at Amazon $899.99 Save $350.00 Get Deal Get Deal $549.99 at Amazon $899.99 Save $350.00 It’s pitched as an all-in-one cleaning machine: it vacuums, mops, empties its own bin, and washes and dries its mop pads. On paper, that’s the dream—drop it in the corner, set a schedule, and let it handle the basics while you do anything else with your day. In practice, the X10 Pro Omni hits some impressive notes while missing others. Navigation is excellent, especially in tricky rooms where many robots get stuck or spin in circles. It hugs walls and edges well, even using a dedicated “edge-hugging” mop feature to clean right up against the wall (something most bots leave untouched). The dual mop pads also wiggle as they move, which does a better job of lifting dirt when you run multiple passes. Rugs and pet hair aren’t a big issue either, as long as the roller brush is clear. Where it stumbles is with larger debris and error recovery. If something small gets caught, it can throw the whole system into a loop of alerts and failed attempts to restart. This Lifehacker review notes that instead of recovering quickly, it sometimes spirals into repeated errors that need manual intervention. That leaves the X10 in an interesting spot. If your home mostly deals with dust, daily dirt, and the occasional hair tumbleweed, it can be a huge help. It’s especially appealing for homes with complicated layouts since its obstacle avoidance and pathfinding are among the best around. But if you’ve got kids dropping food or floors that collect bigger debris, this model may test your patience. At $549.99, you’re getting a feature-rich robot that nails navigation and edge mopping at a lower price than its rivals, but you’ll want to be realistic about what it can and can’t handle. Our Best Editor-Vetted Tech Deals Right Now Apple AirPods Pro 2 Noise Cancelling Wireless Earbuds — $199.00 (List Price $249.00) Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge 256GB Unlocked AI Phone (Titanium JetBlack) — $699.99 (List Price $1,099.99) Apple iPad 11" 128GB A16 WiFi Tablet (Blue, 2025) — $299.00 (List Price $349.00) Roku Streaming Stick Plus — $29.00 (List Price $39.99) Deals are selected by our commerce team View the full article

Everyone says consistency is the key to growth on social media: more likes, more shares, more leads. And they’re right — Buffer’s own data shows that consistent posting can multiply engagement across platforms. What few people talk about is how on earth you actually do it. And more importantly, how do you make it sustainable, so you don’t burn out two weeks in? When I left my role as a marketing manager to go solo as a Notion builder and creator, I knew that showing up regularly would make or break my business. But this time, there was no team, no external deadlines, no boss asking for drafts. I was my own boss. It was just me, my ideas, and the blank page. That meant I needed a way of creating content that didn’t just keep me accountable; it had to feel doable, repeatable, even fun. Otherwise, I knew I’d quietly ghost my audience (and my baby business) the second life got busy (as it inevitably did). The solution turned out to be an editorial workflow combined with a semi-automated Notion system. Based on my six-plus years as a marketing manager, this system is simple enough to run solo and strong enough to carry me to a 28-week posting streak. I’ve used this system to post 11 times a week, double my LinkedIn following, reach 135,000+ people in 6 months, and most importantly, stay sane while doing it. And in this article, I’ll show you exactly how it works. What happened when I finally got consistent When I went solo, I promised myself I’d show up regularly. No “posting when inspiration strikes,” no ghosting my audience for weeks at a time. I knew, from my experience, that consistency was the only way people would actually remember I exist, and, let’s be honest, the only way leads were going to find their way to me. So I tested what would happen if I truly committed. For the past 28 weeks straight (six months and counting), I’ve been posting five times a week on LinkedIn, five times a week on Instagram, and sending one Substack newsletter every Tuesday. Here’s what happened: My LinkedIn following doubled.My content reached more than 135,000 people.One post went properly viral, but more importantly, even the “quieter” ones started pulling steady engagement and conversations.But I think the part that surprised me most is that content feels easy and fun these days. It’s not “effortless”, I’m not going to lie, creating content is still work, but it doesn’t feel as heavy and time-consuming. The system I built turned showing up consistently from something I had to fight every day, into something that’s almost, dare I say, second nature? Instead of: “Ugh, what am I supposed to post today?” It’s: “Cool, I know exactly what’s on deck, let’s knock it out.” The numbers are exciting, sure. But the real win was that it stopped being a fight. Consistency stopped being a motivational pep talk and became my default setting, even when I got sick, even when I moved across France, and even as I’m training for my first marathon. The myth of the magical content calendarNow, if you’re reading this and asking yourself, “Is she just describing a content calendar?”. Well, yes, and no. Content calendars are great. They give you visibility into your upcoming schedule. They also help you plan content around campaigns, holidays, and events, understand where the gaps are, and whether you’re overloading one channel while neglecting another. I’ve built and used plenty of them, and they absolutely make things easier. But, while a calendar tells you what to post and when, but it doesn’t actually help you get it done. That’s the missing piece I ran into. My calendar might say “Tuesday: LinkedIn post on storytelling,” but unless I had a system underneath it (aka a clear way to move that idea from spark → draft → publish → repurpose), the calendar was just a nice-looking plan. If you’ve ever found yourself staring at an overflowing content calendar while your feed stays empty, you know exactly what I mean. Calendars = visibility. System = execution. You need both. For me, the breakthrough wasn’t building a prettier calendar. It was building an editorial system that made sure ideas didn’t die in the backlog; they made it all the way to Buffer, to “scheduled” and then “published.” And often, they lived again on another platform. My editorial workflow and system, step by step When people ask me how I manage to post 11 times a week without burning out, the answer isn’t discipline or endless inspiration. It’s four simple steps that I run through every week, on repeat. I shared my system with a friend, who’s now posting every day of the week, across five platforms, while working a 9-to-5. Long story short: it works, not just for me. Step 1: Capture ideas (daily, 5 minutes max)Ideas don’t show up when it’s convenient. They arrive mid-run, during a client call, or in the middle of making dinner. Instead of trusting my brain to remember (spoiler: it won’t), I log them immediately. Every spark goes straight into a Notion database at the click of a button, with no pressure to act on it yet. It might just be a half-sentence or a messy note, but that’s fine. The goal is to capture, not polish. Tip: Pick one capture spot, Notion, your Notes app, Trello, Buffer’s Create space, ideally something you can access from both laptop and phone. The less friction, the more likely you’ll actually do it. Step 2: Transform ideas and plan content (biweekly, 30 minutes)Every two weeks, I block off half an hour to go through my ideas backlog. This is where I decide: which ideas feel exciting? Which align with my goals right now? Which ones can be split into multiple posts? I transform ideas into posts for each platform (by simply clicking a button, Notion is amazing for that), and if I want to make my life easier when it’s time to create content (Step 3), I add or refine the post’s brief. I transform ideas into posts for each platform by clicking a button I set up in Notion: when I click the button, it automatically generates new posts linked to that idea, ready for me to assign to LinkedIn, Instagram, or my newsletter. It saves me from manually duplicating content or copy-pasting, and gives me a clear starting point for each post. If I want to make my life easier when it’s time to create content (Step 3), I’ll also add or refine the post’s brief at this stage. From there, I drag and drop them into my Notion content calendar and make sure I have a good balance of topics and pillars throughout my week. The key here isn’t perfection, it’s rhythm. Planning should be short, strategic, and repeatable. Tip: Treat this like a recurring meeting with yourself. Put it on your calendar. Don’t rely on “I’ll get around to it.” Step 3: Create (weekly, half-day)Tuesdays are my creative sprint days. I sit down, open Notion, and it tells me exactly what content piece to work on and what to do, no extra decisions required. Some weeks, I’ll batch captions first, then visuals, both in Notion, then scheduling, usually in Buffer. Other times, I just take posts one by one. Either way, the heavy thinking was already done in the planning step, so now it’s just execution. Notion is literally my boss. Tip: Pick your “creative day” and protect it like you would a client call. Even half a day of focused creating will take you further than scattering content tasks across the week. Step 4: Prep for the next week (Fridays, 15 minutes)Before I log off for the weekend, I do a quick reset and planning session. Fifteen minutes to review the content that’s coming up, divide posts into specific, clear, and actionable tasks (by simply clicking a button again), add do dates for each task, and make sure next week is already mapped. That way, my creative Tuesday (Step 3) starts clear instead of chaotic. No morning scramble, just a to-do list that’s ready to go. Tip: Try a 10-minute Friday reset. I’ve found it’s one of the smallest habits with the biggest payoff for growing my online presence. And that’s the whole cycle: capture → plan → create → prep. Simple enough to stick, structured enough to scale. Once it’s in motion, consistency isn’t a grind; it’s just what happens. How you can apply this to your own contentOK, so that’s my workflow. But how do you take these principles and make them work for your own content? Here’s where I’d start: Choose your capture home: Stop scattering ideas across sticky notes, Slack messages to yourself, and three different apps. Pick one central place, Notion, Buffer’s Ideas feature, or even a plain Notes app, and commit to logging everything there. Ideally, it’s a place where you can see which idea you’ve already used and which one you can repurpose.Pick a planning cadence: Weekly or biweekly, block time to review your backlog and decide what’s actually worth publishing. Think of it like meal prepping, but for your content. If it’s not on the calendar, it won’t make it to the table.Batch your creative time: Instead of writing one caption at a time in between other tasks, give yourself a focused block, whether that’s a morning, an afternoon, or even just two hours, and create in batches. You’ll be amazed at how much easier it feels when you’re in flow.Do a quick reset before the week starts: End your week with a 10-minute check-in: What’s coming up next? Do content creation tasks have due dates? Is everything ready to go? That tiny reset saves you from the scramble.The big takeaway: adapt the rhythm, not just the tool. Whether you build it in Notion, Buffer, Trello, or a notebook, the goal is the same: a system that carries your ideas all the way through to “publish” without you muscling through every step. Systems build momentumIf there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this: consistency isn’t about willpower. It’s not about waking up every day with a surge of motivation or holding yourself accountable with sheer grit. That might work for a week or two, but it’s not sustainable. Consistency sticks when you design an environment where showing up is the path of least resistance. Where capturing an idea takes seconds, creating feels focused instead of panicked, and hitting publish is just the natural next step. That’s what an editorial workflow and system gives you. It takes the pressure off discipline and turns consistency into your default setting. View the full article

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Is it OK to let my staff fail? My boss intimidates a lot of my staff. I’ve worked on more exposure, getting to the root of the issues, preparing for meetings, common questions, etc. A lot of it is that the boss knows her stuff, and you can’t BS her. My star performers work great with her, with a high level of mutual respect. I’m about to go on leave for an extended period of time. I’m C suite level, with a division of a couple hundred under me. While I’m out, stuff will be reported directly to her. Honestly, more people working directly with her will really help them become more comfortable with her. We’ve got a regular report that has become a beast. I’ve been working with the teams over the report for a couple of months to clean it up and get a better summary in place. Every direction I give gets pushback. Even simple ones like labels of columns so it is in layman’s terms, vs technical ones. At this point, this report is viewed as unhelpful and confusing at best, unreliable data at worst. I’m at my wits end. While I’m out, the report has to be used for some external audiences in a very summarized form. I’ve gone over time and time again what this will look like (including providing examples, editing versions they did) and it isn’t working. I don’t understand the disconnect coming from multiple people in that leadership area. Given the short time frame before I’m out, I’ve fallen back on … well, if my staff won’t get the issue now, they sure will when they are getting the feedback directly from my boss. I don’t want to set up my staff to fail, but I’m not sure where else to go from here. They’ve seen the summary versions I’ve provided before, and I don’t understand how we keep getting stuck in a loop on this. If it happened while I was here, I’d go another four rounds with them cleaning it up. We’re running low on time for me to fix it more. Do you ever let people just fail? I know my patience is thin because of personal things. Can you just provide a template for the report and say they must use the template, or does that not work for the context? But also — this is odd. It sounds like something significant is going on: there’s a major communication disconnect somewhere, or there’s a skills/competence issue on your team, or … something else, who knows what. Getting the report right is important, but it’s also important to figure out where this disconnect is coming from, because something is going on that reflects a bigger problem. As for how to handle this when you’re out: let your team know that it’s going to be a Big Deal with your boss if they don’t get the report right and ask what they need from you to ensure they can do that, and also give your boss a heads-up about what’s going on so she’s not blindsided if it’s a mess again. Really, though, when you’re back from leave, there’s something weird to dig into here. 2. Employee already works too hard and now wants a promotion I lead a team of front line workers and coordinators in the human service field. One of the coordinators has resigned and a number of the front line workers are interested in and qualified for the coordinator position. One of them, Tom, is an obvious frontrunner, but already comes to work early, works late, and sometimes works on weekends. He also sometimes does most of the work available to the team, leaving the rest of the team feeling like they don’t have enough to do. This is in no way required by the job (others in the same role do not do this, the other coordinators do not, and I don’t do this either) and has been addressed with him by the current coordinator in many ways with little change. I am concerned that if Tom takes the promotion, which would include more stress and more work, he will continue this pattern. My manager tells me that working hard is a good thing (and I agree), but I am concerned that he will quickly burn out by working too hard. If he does get the coordinator position, how can I address this and support him through it? Is he exempt or non-exempt? Because a front line worker in human services sounds very much like the job is likely non-exempt — meaning that you’re legally required to pay him overtime for all those extra hours he’s working over 40 in a week. If that’s the case, is he logging those hours and is your company paying the legally required overtime? If not, (a) that’s a problem that needs to be fixed right away and (b) it’s also a problem that Tom is working unauthorized overtime if he’s been told to stop (unless no one has even framed it this way, in which case that needs to happen next). I’m also wondering what the coordinator’s conversation with him was like. Was it “you don’t need to keep doing all this extra work” or was it “you need to stop doing all this extra work because it’s causing problems for others on the team”? If it was the first … well, fine, that’s worded as a suggestion that he can take or leave. But if it was the second, it’s worth looking at Tom’s relationships with colleagues and how he takes feedback more broadly and what the impact on the team is likely to be from promoting him if they’re all frustrated with him (the latter isn’t necessarily a reason not to do it, but you don’t want to be blindsided by that being a problem after the fact, either) … as well as, frankly, the management practices that are allowing him to ignore clear directives. None of which is about burn-out, which is the thing you’re asking about. You can certainly have a conversation with Tom from that angle, but “very high work drive” isn’t a reason not to hire someone (although it might be a reason to talk more explicitly with him about setting boundaries to keep his work sustainable long-term). The other issues above worry me more. 3. Can I ethically ignore that a colleague is being influenced by our toxic boss? My incompetent, insecure boss has decided that I am the root of all problems with our projects (when I’m actually cleaning up their mess). I’m good at my job, I’ve tried to address the behavioral issues through the Correct Channels, I’ve gotten lots of advice and tried to change what I can. But I can’t stay in a toxic environment. I’m actively looking for new roles. I can ignore Boss — they’re unhinged and there’s nothing I can do to change it. But Boss also has a young protege and is training them in the ways of dysfunction. Wee Boss started as an intern and was hired as soon as they graduated from college; this is the only job they’ve ever had. Wee Boss is smart and hard-working but often careless, sometimes in ways that are embarrassing and make our team look unprofessional. I gave Wee Boss some gentle but firm feedback, making it clear that mistakes happen but it would be great if they didn’t happen in the future. I’m now forbidden to give Wee Boss any feedback despite being in project management, because their feelings were hurt by my carefully worded compliment sandwich. In only a year, I’ve seen Wee Boss grow rude, arrogant, and resistant to learning new things. Because I’m on my way out, I’ve stopped trying to change Boss’s behavior. HR doesn’t care, GrandBoss is retiring and also doesn’t care. I could file multiple union grievances but that takes time and effort and won’t change Boss. But then there’s Wee Boss, who will either get fired from their next job because gentle feedback makes them cry, or will end up bullying their coworkers. Maybe both. Wee Boss is just a kid, Boss is setting them up for failure, and it feels unethical not to try to stop that. But also, I’m so done with this job and it’s BS. What do I do? Wash your hands of it and move on. You tried to give feedback and they were upset by it, and this isn’t your employee so you’re not obligated to coach them. You offered some coaching anyway and they rejected it. So: not your problem. It’s not unethical not to force help on someone who has made it clear they don’t want it and isn’t your minor child or otherwise a dependent. 4. My brother was rightfully fired — should he include that job on his resume? My brother was a mechanic for a big supplier of warehouse equipment, where he routinely went on service calls in a company truck that had all of his company tools in it. He was expected to drive this vehicle home at night, then directly to whatever service call was required at start time the next day. He was a non-exempt, hourly employee. He spoofed the GPS on this truck so he could go home while on the clock when he finished projects in under the budgeted amount of time without clocking out. Unsurprisingly, he was unceremoniously ushered out the door upon discovery. He had worked there for about four months, and had the GPS spoofed for a couple weeks. How does he list this on job applications and/or a resume? He had previously worked at a similar company for a couple of years with no negative incidents (that I know of, at least), so I am tempted to recommend to him to just leave this job off, list the actual start and finish dates of his previous jobs, then when asked about the gap, state that he was doing some work to pay the bills, but it didn’t seem extensive or relevant enough to include. Is that ethical? It is technically accurate, but I’m close enough to the situation that I’d like to know if I’m off-base here. If a prospective employer keeps asking for details, I’d advise him to simply tell the truth. I want to give him sound advice that gives him the best chance at getting a new job without crossing any moral or ethical lines. He should absolutely leave the job off his resume. He’s going to have a very hard time getting hired if they find out why he left. A resume isn’t required to be a comprehensive listing of everything he’s ever done; if a job doesn’t strengthen him as a candidate, and definitely if it does more harm than good, he can leave it off. That said, he still may encounter applications that ask if he’s ever been fired from a job, and will likely need to attest that he’s answering that question truthfully. Whether to do so or not is between him and his conscience; realistically, if he erases this last job from his memory, future employers may never find out (particularly if they’re not in the same field) — but if he lies and gets caught, he could lose future jobs over the omission. (Realistically, if it comes out it’s more likely to cause a problem at the hiring stage, meaning he just wouldn’t get that offer, rather than after he’s already been working there a while. But the latter isn’t impossible either.) Related: how do employers know if you’re answering “have you ever been fired” honestly? 5. Does a temporary assignment have a shorter expiration date as resume material? My partner is having a fantastic first experience of people management, in the form of a 10-month maternity leave cover. He’s getting strong feedback from his reports, peers, and skip-level manager (his direct manager is asleep at the wheel — another story). He is sure people management is where he wants to focus his future career if possible. At the end of this cover period, he’ll likely go back to being an individual contributor. Some of his colleagues at the company have done the same and, three or four years after the cover assignment ended, are still individual contributors, having applied for internal management roles and not happening to get them (and in one case getting feedback that cover assignments “aren’t real management experience” — though the company is so huge, it’s hard to say if that’s a cultural view or an individual hiring manager’s opinion). So my question is, does the resume value of a cover role have an unspoken expiration date? If my partner wants to use this experience to support an application for a permanent manager position, will it have more traction if he is applying, say, six months after this role ends, as opposed to three or four years after? Because if so, it may make sense for him to job hunt fairly energetically outside the company in the next year or so, alongside applying for any relevant internal positions. He’s open to the idea if it is the pragmatic choice, though he really likes his company and his colleagues. It’s a hard question to answer, because it will vary from hiring manager to hiring manager. But all else being equal, there’s value in it being recent. It won’t “expire” three years from now, but it’ll likely carry less weight than if it were recent. That doesn’t mean it won’t carry any weight, just that if he job searches now, it might give him a bit more of a bump than if he waits. But I don’t think the difference is significant enough that it should cause him to leave a job he otherwise likes and is happy at. The post is it OK to let my staff fail, coworker is being influenced by our toxic boss, and more appeared first on Ask a Manager. View the full article

Wi-Fi Alliance says Matter and Wi-Fi are 'cornerstone technologies driving the next wave of IoT technology.' The post New ‘Wi-Fi for Matter’ certification by Wi-Fi Alliance speeds up time-to-market for Matter-capable APs appeared first on Wi-Fi NOW Global. View the full article

Need to move data between NetSuite and Smartsheet? Maybe you have teams working primarily in Smartsheet, but need to see their work represented in NetSuite? Or is Smartsheet your reporting tool of choice for NetSuite work? In this guide, you’ll find the following four methods for connecting Smartsheet with NetSuite: Manually exporting data between Smartsheet and NetSuite Using Smartsheet Data Shuttle Using automation tools Syncing Smartsheet and NetSuite with Unito First method: Manually exporting data between Smartsheet and NetSuite Both NetSuite and Smartsheet allow users to manually export data from specific parts of their workspace or the entire workspace in various formats. This can be the quickest way to get the data you need out of these tools, but it comes with some limitations. Exporting data from Smartsheet to NetSuite You can export data from Smartsheet to a PDF, a PNG (if it’s in a Gantt chart), an Excel workbook, a Microsoft Project, or a Google Sheets sheet. You can export an entire Smartsheet workspace from the workspace panel by following these steps: Go to the workspace panel. Click the three-dot menu above the workspace name. Click Export. Pick the type of export you need. If you want to export a folder, do the following: Go to the workspace panel. Right-click the folder you want to export. Click Export. Pick the type of export you need. If you just want to export a single sheet or report, you can do it one of two ways: Click File in the top navigation bar, then click Export. Go to the workspace panel, right-click the sheet or report you want to export, then click Export. Exporting data from NetSuite to Smartsheet There are a few ways you can export data from NetSuite to a CSV file, depending on how much data you need to export. If you need a full CSV export of your NetSuite data, follow these steps: Go to Setup. Click Import/Export. Click Export Tasks. Click Full CSV Export. Click Submit. Click Save this file to disk, then OK. You’ll see a Save As window. Give your export a file name ending in “.ZIP” Click Save. Open your ZIP file and find the CSV file for your export. Instead of exporting everything from NetSuite, you can choose to export only the results of a saved search as a CSV, a PDF, or an XLS file. Here’s how: Go to a page with a search bar and search for something. Click Export. Choose whether you want to export your data as a CSV, PDF, or XLS file. You can also export the results of a NetSuite report. Here’s how: Go to the Reports page and click on the name of the report you need. Scroll down to your report’s footer. Click on the export icon you need to export to an Excel file, a PDF, a CSV, or a Word doc. Limitations of this method While these methods are among the fastest ways to export data from Smartsheet or NetSuite, they do have the following limitations: Limited compatibility: The file types you can export from Smartsheet aren’t all compatible with NetSuite, meaning you might have to use a spreadsheet tool (i.e., Excel or Google Sheets) as an intermediary to convert your data. Limited data: The amount of data you can actually export from Smartsheet or NetSuite can be limited, depending on the method you’re using. This can be artificially limiting for some workflows. Clutter: Because these methods all involve exporting data to intermediary files like CSVs or PDFs, your computer will quickly get cluttered with files as your workflows demand up-to-date data. You’ll constantly have to chase down the latest version of these files to keep up. Manual work: Every time you need data from Smartsheet or NetSuite, you need to manually trigger an export in one tool and upload the tool to the other. While each export doesn’t demand much work on its own, it will quickly add up. Second method: Using Smartsheet Data Shuttle Smartsheet’s Data Shuttle is, essentially, a scheduler for data exports and imports. It makes Smartsheet compatible with any platform that can either export or import CSVs and Excel files — like NetSuite. Here’s how you can set this up for your workflows. Step 1: Create a Data Shuttle workflow Log in to Data Shuttle. Click the + in the left navigation bar. Click Upload Data. Step 2: Choose source file Choose the Source Location for your file. You can choose from the following: A Smartsheet Attachment. A OneDrive file. A SharePoint file. A Google Drive file. A Box file. Check the This file has column headers box if your file has column headers. If your data doesn’t start on row 1 or tab 1, fill in the First Row and Tab Number. Click Next. Step 3: Choose target and workflow actions The target is where your data needs to go. Essentially, you’ll pick a sheet where your data should go. From there, you’ll pick actions, which determine how your data will be imported. For example, you could: Replace all rows in your target sheet with the rows from your source file. Merge data into the target sheet. Update dropdowns for specific columns with imported data. Step 4: Add filters Filters allow you to choose the data you want to import. To build a filter, you need to choose: The column your filter should check. The logic your filter will use, such as “equals,” “greater than,” or “is not blank.” The variable your filter will look for, like a specific value. Step 5: Map columns Match the columns in your source file to the columns in your target sheet. You’ll get two columns in Smartsheet with dropdown menus that allow you to pair columns. Step 6: Schedule your workflow If your source file is a Smartsheet attachment, you can choose to Run on attachment, meaning Data Shuttle will export data from it as soon as a new attachment is detected. Run on schedule allows you to choose a regular interval at which your Data Shuttle will import data. You can choose specific days of the week, start times, or a timed frequency (e.g., 30 minutes). If you don’t check either option, you’ll have to run your Data Shuttle export manually. Limitations of this method While Data Shuttle has the major advantage of being built right into Smartsheet, it does come with some limitations: Limited availability: Only Smartsheet’s Enterprise plan includes Data Shuttle. All other plans have to add it to their plan for an additional cost. That can make this method prohibitively expensive for some teams. No data sync: Once you’ve imported or exported data using Data Shuttle, it’s essentially frozen in time. If you make any changes in the original source, those changes aren’t synced over. That means you’ll need regular exports to keep your data somewhat accurate. Limited compatibility: This method will only export or import data from Smartsheet attachments, CSV files, Excel files, or Google Sheets. That means you won’t be able to move data directly out of Smartsheet or into NetSuite; you’ll need to use these files as intermediaries. Smartsheet-only: While this method can definitely help you get data moving between Smartsheet and NetSuite, it won’t help you with any workflows that don’t involve Smartsheet. That can seriously limit its usefulness. Third method: Using automation tools Automation tools like Zapier or Make allow you to set up simple, if-this-then-that automations that move data between tools. For example, you could build an automation that creates NetSuite records to match Smartsheet rows you create manually. Some automations will also update fields in each tool. That simple logic gives automation tools a lot of flexibility. That’s why they typically support connections for thousands of tools. Usually, automation tools allow you to chain multiple automations using this logic, managing the creation, updating, and archiving of work items across your workflows. These chains can be complex to set up and troubleshoot, but when built right, they can supercharge your productivity. While the exact process for connecting Smartsheet with NetSuite will vary depending on the exact tool you use, it follows the same general steps. Step 1: Identify your use case Before you connect your tools, you should spend some time mapping out the workflow you’re trying to automate. Are you trying to export data from regular reports in Smartsheet to NetSuite? Pay special attention to: Your workflow’s trigger: This is the event that kickstarts what you’re looking to automate. Is it a report? An update from a particular team member? Or even just a specific date? The action you want to automate: This is the manual work you’re trying to avoid by using these tools. Usually, it’s the creation of a new work item or the updating of fields like dates and dropdowns. Step 2: Set up your trigger You’ll need to connect Smartsheet and NetSuite to the automation platform you’ve chosen. This usually requires authenticating a specific account in these platforms, and often requires admin permissions. From there, you’ll pick the trigger that will kickstart your automation. Different tools will give you different options. Some experimentation may be needed to get the right trigger for your workflow. Step 3: Pick your action Once you have your trigger, you need to pick the action your tool will automate. Focus on the immediate next step in your workflow that will save you the most effort. Step 4: Test your automation Most automation tools will allow you to run an automation a single time, so you can see its impact with a limited amount of data. From there, you can refine your automation as needed to get it working just right. Step 4: Add more automations Once your first automation is live, you can start to experiment with more automations, chaining them with the first. Over time, this can automate an entire workflow, saving you tons of manual work. Limitations of this method Automation tools like Zapier and Make come with the following limitations: No data sync: Automation tools don’t create relationships between work items, they only automate individual actions. That means any updates made to work items in either tool after an automation has run won’t be carried over. Typically one-way: Automations typically only work in one direction, making them essentially a more advanced data export. If you wanted to automate actions back and forth, you’d have to manually chain multiple automations. Extensive maintenance and troubleshooting: A single automation between two tools doesn’t require much maintenance, and it will rarely break. If you want to automate an entire workflow, however, you can expect significant monthly maintenance. Variable difficulty: Automation tools aren’t all created equal. Some can be set up in minutes with little technical know-how, while others will require significant expertise. Fourth method: Syncing Smartsheet and NetSuite with Unito Unito is an enterprise integration platform with true two-way syncing for some of the most powerful SaaS tools on the market, including Smartsheet, NetSuite, Jira, Asana, and 60+ other connectors. Its no-code interface makes it easy to build your first flow without sacrificing the depth and functionality you need. Here’s why Unito is the best way to connect Smartsheet with NetSuite: Faster deployment: Most Unito users set up their first integration in a few days. Most other integrations solutions demand weeks or months of time to properly deploy. No manual work: Exporting data from Smartsheet and NetSuite or setting up complex chains of automations requires significant manual work. Unito, once it’s deployed, completely eliminates that work. No cleanup: Unito automatically maps fields in Smartsheet and NetSuite, meaning you don’t have to clean up data exports to make them compatible across tools. Automated updates: Once you’ve set up your Unito flow, it will automatically update work items in Smartsheet and NetSuite based on the work happening in either tool. More tool support: Smartsheet and NetSuite’s built-in integrations only support a handful of tools. Unito supports over 60. Want to see Unito’s integration in action? Watch this video tutorial, where a Unito product expert walks you through an example use case for a Smartsheet-NetSuite integration. Here’s a step-by-step guide to connecting Smartsheet and NetSuite with Unito. Step 1: Connect your tools First, connect your tools. In this case, you’ll be connecting a Smartsheet sheet to a NetSuite table. Step 2: Pick flow direction Flow direction determines where Unito creates new work items. If you build a two-way flow, for instance, Unito will automatically create new Smartsheet rows and new NetSuite work items to match what you create manually in each tool. If you build a one-way flow, say from Smartsheet to NetSuite, Unito will automatically create new NetSuite work items to match the rows you create in Smartsheet. It won’t create new Smartsheet records automatically. Step 3: Build rules Unito rules allow you to do two things: Filter out work items you don’t want to sync. Automate certain actions. Creating a Unito rule is as simple as adding the triggers you want the rule to look for and the actions you want it to take. For example, you could have a rule that filters out Smartsheet rows created before a specific date. Step 4: Map your fields Unito supports most fields, including custom fields, meaning you won’t lose any data. Unito can map these automatically in most situations. You can also customize them yourself. And that’s it! Your flow is ready to launch. Smartsheet and NetSuite data will sync back and forth as you work, meaning you’ll never have to copy and paste reports again. Want to see what Unito can do for your workflow? Meet with a Unito product expert for a custom demo. Talk with sales FAQ: Connecting Smartsheet with NetSuite Can I integrate Smartsheet with NetSuite? Yes, you can integrate Smartsheet with NetSuite in one of five ways: Manually exporting data from Smartsheet or NetSuite with CSV-style exports. Scheduling regular data exports between Smartsheet and NetSuite with Smartsheet Data Shuttle. Using automation tools like Zapier or Make. Sync data bidirectionally with a Unito integration. Can I use Bridge by Smartsheet with NetSuite? No. Bridge by Smartsheet only supports three integrations: ServiceNow Sharepoint Google Translate You’ll need to use another integration solution to connect NetSuite with Smartsheet. Is technical expertise required to set up this integration? The amount of technical expertise required depends on the integration solution you use to connect Smartsheet and NetSuite. If you use Data Shuttle, Smartsheet’s built-in data exporter, you won’t need much technical knowledge. If you want to use Smartsheet or NetSuite’s APIs (application programming interfaces), you’ll need at least one software developer, several weeks, and a budget. Two-way sync solutions like Unito give you the best of both worlds: the functionality of a custom integration with the ease of use of a data exporter. How long does it take to implement a Smartsheet-NetSuite integration? The time it takes to deploy a Smartsheet-NetSuite integration depends on the type of integration solution you use. Smartsheet’s built-in data exporter, Data Shuttle, can be deployed in minutes — but it’s more limited in what it can integrate. Meanwhile, a full two-way integration solution like Unito can take days to implement, but it’s much more robust. View the full article

Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding Lifehacker as a preferred source for tech news. iOS 26 is here, and with it, Apple’s “Liquid Glass” design revamp. Yesterday, I covered how to quickly undo most of the harshest changes that come with Liquid Glass, but a complaint users are making today requires an entirely separate fix. Luckily, there is an option that could help you, although it’s not for everyone. Dark Mode icons look a little tilted right nowAs users are posting over on Reddit, it turns out that Dark Mode app icons don’t play nicely with iOS 26’s new Liquid Glass aesthetic. How much this will bother you will vary from person to person, but essentially, some folks online (and on the Lifehacker team) are now complaining that their Dark Mode icons look tilted, as if they’re not perfectly dead center. Personally, I have a hard time seeing this when looking at my home screen as a whole, but after a colleague sent me a more zoomed-in shot, I can see how it would bother him. It’s an optical illusion, as the icon positioning is the same, but it’s there. Credit: Joel Cunningham The problem, it seems, is in new highlights added to certain, but not all, app icon corners while using Dark Mode. The uneven lighting produces an effect that, as reported by Lifehacker sister site Mashable, has some users complaining of dizziness. Worse yet, how prominent the highlights are depends on your background—I can see them more easily over dark parts of my background, but they tend to bleed into lighter parts. Technically, those highlights are also there when using app icons with lighter backgrounds, but they’re less noticeable, since they don’t contrast with them as much. Again, you may not be susceptible to the effect. If I’m not concentrating on it, I do tend to forget about it. But if it is bothering you, what can you do? Reducing transparency does nothingUnfortunately, the one-toggle fix that undoes most of the issues with Liquid Glass, “Reduce Transparency,” doesn’t seem to do anything for your app icons. Here’s my iPhone Home Screen with Reduce Transparency on, and the same screen with it off (please don’t judge my unread mail and unchecked reminders). iPhone Home Screen with Dark Mode app icons and Reduce Transparency off (left) vs. on (right) Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt That’s a shame, since Reduce Transparency is easy to implement: You just turn it on under Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size, and it’ll get rid of most of the see-through elements in Liquid Glass for you. But because the icons are solid anyway, it won’t do anything here. Instead, you’ll need to get creative. Try tinting your app iconsRight now, I unfortunately don’t have a fix for Apple’s Dark Mode app icons. Even custom icons that use Apple’s Dark Mode background color will still have the new highlights. But I do have one piece of advice that will get you close to the same experience. It turns out, setting your app icons to Dark Mode isn’t the only way to get them to use more subdued colors. If Dark Mode looks ugly to you right now, you could try tinting your app icons instead. This gives your app icons a monochrome appearance with white or gray text, and while that does unfortunately mean losing out on app icons with more than two colors, it also means you can swap over to other dark colored backgrounds that might look a bit less tilted to you. The offending highlights will still be there, but with the right tinted background, you might be able to make them less noticeable. To try it out, head to your home screen, then long press until your apps start jiggling. Click Edit in the top left corner, then Customize. In the menu that pops up on the bottom of your screen, pick Tinted. You’ll get two color picker bars, as well as the option to choose Light or Dark icons (this is separate from the general Light and Dark mode app icons, which aren’t monochrome). Think of the top color picker bar as the app’s general color, and the bottom as a way to get more specific within that color zone. Meanwhile, Light will make the app’s text and graphical elements white, while Dark will use a more grayish tone. Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt You can play around here to get an app tint you like best, although Apple does have a few shortcut buttons to help you find the color for you. Personally, I like the leftmost button, under the color picker bars, that takes you to a standard black and white if you’ve selected Light or a more subdued black and dark gray if you’ve selected Dark. If neither of those work for you, there’s also an Apple Intelligence button that will try to pick a tint that goes well with your wallpaper, or an eyedropper that will let you pick a color from your wallpaper. None of this is quite the same as just using Dark Mode icons, but if you’re like me, it might be close enough. Or, wait for an updateIf tinting your app icons doesn’t work for you, though, don’t despair. It’s likely Apple is seeing these complaints and will adjust Liquid Glass accordingly. It already toned it down twice over iOS 26’s beta, so maybe the real solution here is time. View the full article