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A Jesuit priest says he prefers going to prison than paying a 500-euro ($541) fine for participating in a climate activists’ street blockade in the southern German city of Nuremberg. The Rev. Jörg Alt started serving his nearly month-long prison sentence on Tuesday in Nuremberg. “Today, I am starting my 25-day alternative custodial sentence in Nuremberg prison,” he said before entering the prison. “I don’t like doing this, especially as my health is no longer the best at the age of 63. But I see no alternative, because it’s the last form of protest I have left in this specific case to draw attention to important issues” such as climate change. In November, Alt said that “as a priest, I have no income and no bank account due to my vow of poverty and that I do not want to harm the order and my fellow brothers by paying my fine,” German news agency dpa reported. His remarks came after a Bavarian Higher Regional Court rejected his appeal to a lower court’s decision and confirmed Alt’s conviction for coercion for participating in a sit-in blockade. After the court’s decision, authorities repeatedly asked Alt to pay the 500 euros, before the fine was eventually commuted to the 25-day prison sentence. The court ruling in November was in connection with a street blockade in August 2022, when the Jesuit priest and about 40 other activists blocked traffic in Nuremberg by gluing their hands to a street in front of the city’s train station to draw attention to climate change. Numerous similar protests have taken place across Germany and other countries in recent years, as activists try to draw attention to the urgency of tackling climate change. The public and political response to such road blockades has been mixed. While some Germans have said they support the protesters’ cause, if not their means, activists have also faced violence from enraged motorists and calls for tough punishment from conservative politicians. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has sharply criticized climate activists as “ nutty” for drastic protests such as blocking streets or gluing themselves to famous paintings in museums. Last year, activists belonging to one of the main protest groups, the Last Generation, announced that they would abandon the tactic and move on to holding what they call “disobedient assemblies.” Alt has said that he had also decided to serve the prison sentence instead of paying the fine “in solidarity with those climate activists who are treated similarly by the administration and the judiciary — it may all be lawful, but it is unjust.” It’s not the first time, that Alt was convicted for his activism. In May 2023, a court also convicted him of coercion after he participated in a road blockade in Munich and ordered him to pay a small fine. —Kirsten Grieshaber, Associated Press View the full article

A lot of small business owners feel shame when their company fails because they link who they are so much with their business. This is compounded when they lose money from people they know. What do we do with this shame? On The Small Business Radio show this week, I interviewed Dr. Abbie Maroño who has a new book called “Work in Progress: The Road to Empowerment, The Journey Through Shame” which offers a fresh perspective on the often-overlooked role of shame in personal growth. She explains that shame is a powerful emotion tied to our sense of self. For entrepreneurs, the line between personal identity and business success is often blurred, making failures feel deeply personal. Dr. Marono distinguishes between two types of shame: Healthy Shame: Acts as a motivator for self-improvement and growth. Toxic Shame: Leads to feelings of inadequacy and a diminished sense of self-worth. Recognizing and Addressing Shame To navigate feelings of shame, Dr. Marono suggests the following steps: Acknowledge the Shame: Recognize that feeling shame is a natural response to setbacks. Reflect on the Source: Understand why you feel shame and whether it stems from unrealistic expectations or external pressures. Avoid Distractions: Resist the urge to escape these feelings through overworking or unhealthy habits. Reframe Negative Thoughts: Shift your perspective to see failures as learning opportunities rather than personal shortcomings. The Impact of Social Media Social media can exacerbate feelings of shame by presenting an unrealistic picture of success. Entrepreneurs often compare themselves to others, leading to feelings of inadequacy. Dr. Marono advises: Limit Social Media Use: Be mindful of the time spent on social platforms. Focus on Your Journey: Remember that social media highlights successes, not the struggles behind them. Separating Identity from Business Outcomes Entrepreneurs need to cultivate a sense of self that is independent of their business achievements. Dr. Marono recommends: Explore Personal Values and Interests: Engage in activities outside of work that bring joy and fulfillment. Build a Support Network: Seek support from mentors, friends, and professionals who can provide perspective and encouragement. Practical Steps to Move Forward For those feeling overwhelmed by shame, Dr. Marono suggests: Set a Time Limit for Grieving: Allow yourself to feel the emotions but set a time limit, such as 48 hours, to process them. Take Actionable Steps: Focus on practical steps to move forward, such as developing a new business plan or seeking professional advice. Listen to the entire episode on The Small Business Radio Show. This article, "How to Move Past Shame When Your Small Business Fails" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

A lot of small business owners feel shame when their company fails because they link who they are so much with their business. This is compounded when they lose money from people they know. What do we do with this shame? On The Small Business Radio show this week, I interviewed Dr. Abbie Maroño who has a new book called “Work in Progress: The Road to Empowerment, The Journey Through Shame” which offers a fresh perspective on the often-overlooked role of shame in personal growth. She explains that shame is a powerful emotion tied to our sense of self. For entrepreneurs, the line between personal identity and business success is often blurred, making failures feel deeply personal. Dr. Marono distinguishes between two types of shame: Healthy Shame: Acts as a motivator for self-improvement and growth. Toxic Shame: Leads to feelings of inadequacy and a diminished sense of self-worth. Recognizing and Addressing Shame To navigate feelings of shame, Dr. Marono suggests the following steps: Acknowledge the Shame: Recognize that feeling shame is a natural response to setbacks. Reflect on the Source: Understand why you feel shame and whether it stems from unrealistic expectations or external pressures. Avoid Distractions: Resist the urge to escape these feelings through overworking or unhealthy habits. Reframe Negative Thoughts: Shift your perspective to see failures as learning opportunities rather than personal shortcomings. The Impact of Social Media Social media can exacerbate feelings of shame by presenting an unrealistic picture of success. Entrepreneurs often compare themselves to others, leading to feelings of inadequacy. Dr. Marono advises: Limit Social Media Use: Be mindful of the time spent on social platforms. Focus on Your Journey: Remember that social media highlights successes, not the struggles behind them. Separating Identity from Business Outcomes Entrepreneurs need to cultivate a sense of self that is independent of their business achievements. Dr. Marono recommends: Explore Personal Values and Interests: Engage in activities outside of work that bring joy and fulfillment. Build a Support Network: Seek support from mentors, friends, and professionals who can provide perspective and encouragement. Practical Steps to Move Forward For those feeling overwhelmed by shame, Dr. Marono suggests: Set a Time Limit for Grieving: Allow yourself to feel the emotions but set a time limit, such as 48 hours, to process them. Take Actionable Steps: Focus on practical steps to move forward, such as developing a new business plan or seeking professional advice. Listen to the entire episode on The Small Business Radio Show. This article, "How to Move Past Shame When Your Small Business Fails" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Think you’ve got game? Time to put it to the test with Tinder’s latest launch in collaboration with OpenAI. On Tuesday, Tinder rolled out The Game Game—a new experience designed to help users practice their flirting skills by chatting with an AI voice, powered by OpenAI’s GPT-4o model. Players are dealt a stack of virtual cards, each introducing a different AI persona and a hilariously exaggerated rom-com scenario (think: a luggage mix-up at the airport or accidentally crushing someone’s sunglasses on the beach). Your challenge? Charm your way through it. The bot makes the first move, and users respond in real time—earning feedback on their game as they go. Nail the convo, land a “date,” and you win. But don’t get too cozy with your digital crush: Each session is capped at three minutes, and users are limited to five plays per day—just in case you forget Tinder is still about connecting with real people. While The Game Game’s April 1 launch date might raise eyebrows, it’s no prank—it’s just not that serious. Using speech-to-speech AI, the game delivers absurdly funny scenarios designed to make you laugh more than sweat. “Our Future of Dating report found that 64% of young singles are totally fine with a little cringe if it leads to a real connection,” Hillary Paine, Tinder’s VP of product, growth, and revenue, tells Fast Company. “We didn’t want it to feel overly polished or intense. Instead, we leaned into humor, awkwardness, and low-pressure moments to help users practice flirting in a fun, playful, and judgment-free way.” Tinder has built in safeguards to ensure that conversations stay appropriate and follow community guidelines. And no, they’re not trying to create an AI companion (this isn’t Her). The goal is to blur the line between the digital and the real world—something Tinder has been exploring with events like the Single Summer Series, Chaotic Singles Party, and Swipe Off. According to a Forbes Health survey, 79% of Gen Z reported feeling dating-app burnout in 2023. Tinder is betting that a little fun might just reignite the spark. “Our mission has always been to spark real connections by making dating feel less like a chore and more like something to look forward to,” Paine says. At a launch event hosted at OpenAI’s New York City office, I got to try The Game Game myself. Let’s just say my gym meet-cute didn’t exactly end in a rom-com-style kiss in the rain. Humbling, to say the least. The Game Game is now live for U.S. Tinder users on iOS for a limited time. View the full article

Apple just released iOS 18.4 and macOS 15.4 for the iPhone and Mac, respectively. Once you complete the update, you'll see a prompt informing you that, as part of the update, the company has enabled automatic updates on your device, even if you had previously switched them off. This means that, unless you do something, Apple will start downloading and installing future software updates to your devices on its own. To test this out, I disabled automatic updates on my iPhone and on my Mac, and then began updating to iOS 18.4 and macOS 15.4. Sure enough, once the updates were complete, Apple duly informed me that it had gone ahead and enabled automatic updates on my devices. Now, I generally don't mind having the OS download updates automatically in the background while I go about my day, but enabling automatic installation without explicit consent is the kind of overreach that I absolutely don't want to see. On macOS, once an update is downloaded, you'll see a notification that says the Mac will restart within 60 seconds to complete the update. If you're away from your computer for a bit and miss this, you risk losing unsaved data. On my main work machine, I cannot have that happen. To Apple's credit, you can select Only Download Automatically on the update notification to stop automatic installation (the update's data will download to your machine but won't install), but the button can be a bit hard to notice, and you need to go into your settings to disable getting any future updates altogether. How to disable automatic updates (if you absolutely don't want it)I generally don't recommend disabling automatic downloads for new operating system software, since these updates can also close vulnerabilities, but it's the only option for people who wish to retain total control over their update schedule. This may be useful for those who rely on these devices for critical work, such as app developers, designers, or anyone who doesn't have enough free space on their phone or laptop. To disable automatic updates on your iPhone and Mac, go to Settings > General > Software Update > Automatic Updates. On your iPhone, disable all three checkboxes on this page (or pick and choose for a more granular experience). On macOS, disable Download new updates when available and Install macOS updates (or, again, pick and choose). View the full article

When it comes to chickpeas and aquafaba, the liquid and the legume are two very different residents of the same can. Just because you used garbanzo beans in your salad doesn’t mean that you’re craving these fluffy pancakes on the same day—but you might on Saturday. In the event that you have leftover aquafaba—or really, any time you’re eating chickpeas and find yourself about to drain out the liquid—stop your hand. It freezes incredibly well. How to use aquafaba Aquafaba has gained a lot of traction since it was discovered in 2014 as being a surprisingly effective replacement for making a fluffy and silky meringue (read more about the history here). However, it has more applications than being a pavlova party trick. It’s an excellent vegan ingredient that can thicken soups or replace eggs as a binder or aerating ingredient for baking. Use it as-is in muffins, whip it for fluffy pancakes, or try these other ways. I’m not vegan, and I use eggs in most of my baking, but I do often use aquafaba to thicken soups and sauces. It has some similar components to eggs, like albumins and globulins, and its starches give soup stocks added viscosity. It took some practice for me to stop draining my chickpeas, but I’ve built up a habit of freezing the leftover aquafaba. Whenever my soup could use a little somethin’, now I can easily turn to my freezer. Should you store aquafaba in the fridge or freezer?It's tempting to pop leftovers into the fridge. But if you're like me, containers get pushed to the back and then you discover it three months later and realize you probably should have frozen said item. You can store aquafaba in the fridge, but only for up to five days. After that, the liquid can get a little funky and it's not worth trying to use it. Aquafaba is easy to thaw so the best storage method is almost always going to be freezing it. How to freeze aquafabaAmerica’s Test Kitchen suggests freezing the stuff in ice cube trays, but I usually only freeze one can’s worth at a time, and slightly less than half a cup is not enough to command a whole tray. Instead, I freeze the aquafaba in a small plastic container (approximately a 4-ounce square), and then I tap out the brick into a freezer bag for long-term storage. A quarter cup brick is a great size for adding to soups and sauces. Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann Sometimes I’ll have two or three cubes in there at a time, ready for my next soup or sauce. If you decide to divide it up into an ice cube tray, be sure to whisk or lightly shake the chickpea liquid before pouring. Aquafaba is not naturally homogenous, so this helps to evenly distribute those albumins and globulin particles before freezing. Aquafaba keeps in the freezer for up to four months. If you’re worried about the aquafaba not performing as well after it’s had some time in the ice chest, put your fears to rest. Freezing does not destroy or impair the starches that are responsible for its excellent whipping abilities, and according to America’s Test Kitchen, the frozen and thawed version works just as well as before. How to thaw aquafabaThaw aquafaba by putting the cubes in a bowl, covered, in the fridge overnight. If you need the viscous liquid sooner, simply microwave it for a minute or two, depending on how large the cube is. If you’re using it in a soup or sauce, just throw a frozen slab directly in the pot with everything else. View the full article

NFL games are slow. They’re 11 minutes of actual action, spread across a 3 hour and 12 minute broadcast. You can blame that pace of the game on penalties, injuries, and, of course, commercials. But now, the NFL is teaming up with Sony to fix one of the game’s biggest time sinks: measurements. Beginning in the 2025 NFL season, all 30 teams will switch from human measurements to computer automation. Each stadium will be equipped with six, 8K Sony Hawk-Eye cameras that track the position of the ball on the field. It’s a significant upgrade to century-old technology. Chains have been used to measure the position of the football since they were first introduced in 1898, when rules mandated the ideal tool for measuring progress down the field was “two light poles about six feet in length and connected at the lower ends by a stout cord or chain exactly five yards long.” By 1906, the five-yard standard in football switched to its current ten-yard mandate, and the chain has gone relatively changed since. Now, Sony cameras will replace the chain operators—what can frankly feel like an antiquated tool in the days of slow-motion replays and 3D recreations of the field. While the cameras are installed at stadiums locally, all of the footage will be sent to New York, where digital calls are coordinated by the NFL’s Art McNally GameDay Central Officiating Center. Whereas it took as long as 70 seconds for chains to measure the position of the ball, Sony’s cameras do the job in 30. When that 40 seconds of savings is multiplayed across the 153 average plays in a football game, that’s a wild 102 minutes in savings. The game length appears to be cut in half. Of course, all sorts of other things happen during those lengthy chain measurements. Every NFL broadcast is a masterclass in managing these logistics, juggling elements of the game’s narrative (wait, what penalty just happened?) and commercial cutaways (billionaire owners don’t do this for charity). And so it’s unclear how much time these new automated measurements might actually save you on a Sunday afternoon this year. While we’ve reached out to the NFL to clarify this point, is it too soon to bring up another sore point of fandom? Because in the face of so much amazing automation technology, the MLB is facing its own reckoning with the home plate umpire. This evolution certainly makes sense: I can see those strikes and balls better from my couch than they can from behind the batter! But at the same time, professional sports imbued with automated visual processing will face a tricky balance. While automation may improve the flow and accuracy of calls on the field, robots offer little in terms of suspenseful drama. View the full article

National Labor Relations Board freezes pair of disputes after Crystal Carey nominated as agency’s general counselView the full article

Baby boomers made up the largest share of home purchasers in 2024, as the percentage of millennial buyers declined, the National Association of Realtors found. View the full article

Construction projects are unique. They tend to be long, complex and involve many different subcontractors who all work together. This has led to construction techniques and construction methods specific to the industry. Let’s explore what constitutes the modern method of construction by defining the best innovative construction techniques. We’ll also compare these modern construction methods to traditional construction methods and show how templates and construction project management software help implement them. What Types of Construction Methods Are There? Construction methods and construction techniques refer to the various processes, materials and strategies used to design, plan and execute building projects efficiently. These methods ensure structural integrity, cost-effectiveness and sustainability while meeting project specifications. Construction methods are the approaches used to assemble a structure. This can include traditional construction, such as brick and mortar or wood-framed building, prefabrication, modular construction, steel frame construction and precast concrete construction. Construction techniques focus on the specific practices that improve efficiency and quality. These include framework and shuttering, post-tensioning, green building techniques, 3D printing in construction and tunnel boring. Whatever construction method or construction technique is used, it is improved by construction project management software. ProjectManager is award-winning construction project and portfolio management software that has robust Gantt charts to schedule tasks, resources and costs. But it goes beyond that to link all four types of task dependencies to avoid cost overruns, filters for the critical path to identify essential tasks and slack, plus sets a baseline to track progress in real time. Get started with ProjectManager today for free. /wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Gantt-CTA-2025.jpgLearn more Traditional Construction Methods Traditional construction methods have been used for centuries and are foundational in modern building projects. These techniques rely on well-established materials such as brick, wood, stone and concrete to create durable structures. Each method has unique advantages, making them suitable for various buildings and environments. 1. Brick and Mortar Construction This construction method involves laying bricks systematically and binding them with mortar to create sturdy walls and structures. It’s widely used for residential and commercial buildings due to its durability, fire resistance and cost-effectiveness. 2. Timber Framing Timber framing is a construction technique that utilizes wooden beams and posts to form a structural framework. It is known for its flexibility, aesthetic appeal and ability to withstand seismic activity, making it popular in traditional and modern homes. 3. Stone Masonry Stone masonry involves using naturally occurring or cut stones, bound together with mortar, to construct walls, buildings, monuments and other types of construction projects. This technique is valued for its strength, longevity and resistance to weathering and fire. 4. Cast-in-Place Concrete In this construction method, concrete is poured into molds or formwork on-site, allowing it to harden in place. It provides high structural integrity and is commonly used for foundations, walls and large infrastructure projects like bridges and tunnels. 5. Load-Bearing Wall Construction Load-bearing walls support the structural weight of a building, transferring loads from the roof and upper floors to the foundation. This method is commonly used in masonry and concrete structures, providing stability and reducing the need for additional support beams. Traditional construction methods continue to be essential in the industry, offering time-tested solutions for strong, reliable and aesthetically pleasing structures. Modern Methods of Construction Modern construction methods have revolutionized the building industry by improving efficiency, sustainability and cost-effectiveness. These innovative techniques integrate advanced materials, prefabrication and digital technology to enhance speed and precision in construction. As the industry evolves, these methods are increasingly adopted to meet the demands of complex, sustainable and high-performance buildings. 6. Modular Construction Modular construction involves manufacturing building components or entire sections off-site in a controlled factory environment before assembling them on-site. This method reduces construction time, minimizes waste and improves quality control while allowing for greater design flexibility. 7. Twin Wall Technology Twin wall technology combines precast concrete panels with an in-situ concrete core, creating a robust structural system. It enhances speed, precision and structural strength while reducing labor costs and improving thermal insulation. 8. Flat Slab Construction Flat slab construction eliminates traditional beams by directly supporting reinforced concrete slabs on columns. This method offers increased flexibility in design, faster construction and efficient use of space, making it ideal for high-rise buildings and commercial structures. 9. 3D Printing in Construction 3D printing in construction uses large-scale printers to create building components or entire structures layer by layer with materials like concrete or composites. This cutting-edge construction method significantly reduces labor costs, speeds up the construction phase and allows for innovative, customizable designs. 10. Steel Frame Construction Steel frame construction utilizes a network of steel columns and beams to form the structural skeleton of a building. It is widely used for skyscrapers and industrial buildings due to its strength, durability and ability to withstand seismic activity and extreme weather conditions. 11. Glass Fiber Reinforced Concrete (GFRC) GFRC is a lightweight yet strong composite material made from cement, glass fibers and polymers. It offers superior durability, resistance to cracking and design versatility, making it popular for façades, decorative panels and architectural elements. 12. Self-Healing Concrete Self-healing concrete is an innovative material that contains bacteria or other chemical agents that activate when cracks form, automatically repairing the damage. This technology extends the lifespan of structures, reduces maintenance costs and enhances sustainability in construction. Modern methods of construction continue to reshape the industry by increasing efficiency, reducing waste and promoting sustainability. These advancements are crucial for meeting the growing demand for resilient and eco-friendly infrastructure. /wp-content/uploads/2025/01/2025-construction-ebook-banner-ad.jpg Sustainable Construction Methods Sustainable construction methods focus on minimizing environmental impact, improving energy efficiency and utilizing eco-friendly materials. These techniques aim to reduce carbon footprints, promote resource conservation and create healthier living and working spaces. By incorporating renewable resources, energy-efficient designs and waste reduction strategies, sustainable construction plays a vital role in shaping a greener future for the industry. 13. Green Roofs and Living Walls Green roofs and living walls integrate vegetation into building structures, providing natural insulation, reducing heat absorption and improving air quality. They help manage stormwater runoff, lower energy consumption and enhance urban biodiversity. 14. Passive Solar Building Design Passive solar design optimizes a building’s orientation, materials, site planning, and layout to maximize natural heating, cooling and lighting. This method reduces reliance on mechanical systems, cutting energy costs while improving indoor comfort. 15. Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) CLT is a sustainable wood construction material made by layering timber in perpendicular directions and bonding them together. It offers high strength, thermal efficiency and a lower carbon footprint compared to traditional concrete and steel. 16. Rammed Earth Construction Rammed earth construction involves compressing natural soil, sand and stabilizers into solid walls, creating a durable and thermally efficient structure. This method is environmentally friendly, utilizing abundant and locally available materials. 17. Recycled and Upcycled Materials Sustainable construction incorporates recycled and upcycled materials such as reclaimed wood, recycled steel and repurposed bricks to reduce waste and conserve construction resources. This approach minimizes landfill contributions while maintaining structural integrity. 18. Insulating Concrete Formwork (ICF) ICF consists of interlocking foam blocks filled with reinforced concrete, providing excellent insulation and durability. This method enhances energy efficiency, reduces heating and cooling costs and improves soundproofing. By adopting these sustainable construction methods, the industry moves toward eco-friendly and energy-efficient buildings that align with environmental responsibility and long-term cost savings. Free Construction Project Management Templates As promised, there are free project management templates available to help facilitate these construction methods and construction techniques. Download over 100 free project management templates for Excel and Word from our site. They cover all aspects of managing a project across multiple industries. Here are some free construction templates. Construction Budget Template Download this free construction budget template for Excel to more accurately estimate, track and manage expenses associated with a construction project. It helps project managers, contractors and stakeholders ensure that all costs are accounted for and controlled throughout the project lifecycle. Construction Estimate Template Use this free construction estimate template for Excel to calculate and outline the projected costs of a construction project. It helps contractors, project managers and clients better understand the expenses involved before construction begins and leads to more accurate budget forecasts. Construction Schedule Template A construction schedule template is a pre-designed tool used to plan, organize and track the timeline of a construction project. Download this free construction schedule template for Excel and help project managers, contractors and stakeholders outline key tasks, deadlines, dependencies and milestones to ensure smooth project execution. How to Manage Construction Projects With ProjectManager Again, it doesn’t matter the construction method or construction technique used, project management software is the right tool for the job. Yes, construction templates can manage projects, but they aren’t as effective or efficient. Time and money are key metrics and templates are more likely than software to eat into a schedule or a general contractor’s profit margin. ProjectManager is award-winning construction project management software that avoids those pitfalls by scheduling on Gantt charts, executing on kanban boards and task lists while managing and monitoring costs, resources and more to keep projects delivered on time and meeting quality expectations. Keep Crews Productive By Managing Resources Gantt charts schedule human and nonhuman resources, but before assigning those tasks, the team must be onboarded to the software. When doing this, general contractors can set their availability, including pay rates and skill sets, to ensure the right person is assigned to the right task at the right time. To view resource allocation across all projects, visit the color-coded workload chart. It makes it easy to see who is overallocated or underutilized. Then, balance the team’s workload from that page and keep everyone working at capacity without threatening burnout. The team page gives managers a daily or weekly overview of team activity. It can be filtered by priority or progress and tasks update right from that page. /wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Team-Light-2554x1372-1.png Track Costs, Time and More With Real-time Dashboards and Reports There are more project metrics than just resources to monitor to complete the project as planned. For a high-level overview, use the real-time project or portfolio dashboards. They’re collecting live data automatically and displaying it on easy-to-read graphs and charts that show time, tasks, costs, workload and more. To get more details, use our reports, which can be generated with a keystroke. Reports on project or portfolio status, variance, timesheets, workload and more can be filtered to focus on key data points or more general information that can be shared with stakeholders to keep them updated. Even our secure timesheets help stay on budget by tracking labor costs. /wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Dashboard-light-mode.jpg Related Construction Project Management Content There’s more to construction project management than construction methods and construction techniques. For those interested in further learning about the industry, below are links to recently published articles on the construction progress, phases, documents and more. The Construction Process Explained Step-by-Step 10 Types of Construction Projects with Examples Construction Phases: Documentation, Templates & Steps 32 Construction Documents (Templates Included) Construction Project Delivery Methods with Pros & Cons Construction Management: Process, Key Areas and Roles ProjectManager is online project and portfolio management software that helps construction crews stay connected, whether they’re in the office or on the job site. They can share files, comment at the task level and stay updated with email and in-app notifications. Get started with ProjectManager today for free. The post 18 Construction Methods and Techniques appeared first on ProjectManager. View the full article

On Wednesday, April 2, Nintendo will finally host its first Direct entirely dedicated to Nintendo Switch 2. While we all know what the console looks like by now, there are still plenty of questions left for Nintendo to answer (and I'm expecting answers.) Here's what I'm looking out for, and where you can watch the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct. The truth is, we really don't know what Nintendo is going to share during Wednesday's Direct. What we know for sure is this: The presentation itself is going to run about 60 minutes. That's a long time for a Nintendo Direct. The company's last presentation on March 27, for example, was just under 37 minutes, which means Nintendo must have quite a bit to share about the Switch 2. But aside from that, Nintendo is tight-lipped about the actual content of its upcoming Direct. What we know about the Switch 2 That said, Nintendo has already shown off quite a bit about the Switch 2. In its original announcement earlier this year, the company unveiled the new hardware, revealing a larger display and console, and a redesigned kickstand that offers steeper angles to play in handheld mode. It also sports two USB-C ports instead of one (the new one is on the top of the console), and the dock now sports a "2," so you know you're playing on the latest Switch. The most noticeable change in the announcement video, perhaps, was the Joy-Cons: These Switch 2 controllers are beefier, with larger shoulder buttons and an adjusted shape. In case you didn't notice those adjustments, you could probably tell these Joy-Cons have a different color design than the originals, as these new controllers are mostly black, with color accents under the joysticks and along the rails. (The Switch 1 Joy-Cons, of course, are the opposite: very colorful, with black rails and accents.) These Joy-Cons connect to the Switch 2 magnetically, as opposed to the slide-rail mechanism of the original console. I'm sure Nintendo will show off more about this functionality tomorrow. The video did confirm a rumor that Nintendo would add a new "C" button to the console, but Nintendo did not elaborate further. What does it do? We simply don't know. We also know that Switch 2 will be backwards-compatible with Switch 1, which gives players a lot of flexibility. Of course, Switch 1 players likely won't be able to play Switch 2 games (though you never know), so the new Mario Kart that Nintendo teased in its announcement might just be a new-console exclusive. What we've learned since the announcementWhile Nintendo confirmed many of the leaks and rumors that had been circulating online for some time, there were still many questions left unanswered. While there are still plenty of unknowns here, we have learned more in the months since the official Switch 2 announcement. In February, a Nintendo patent surfaced showing off a feature that lets you use your Joy-Con as a computer mouse. It seems to track with the Switch 2 announcement video, which shows the new Joy-Cons dragging along a surface—like a mouse. While Nintendo hasn't publicly acknowledged this functionality yet, it could open up different kinds of gameplay mechanics. (Perhaps we'll have touchscreen-based DS and 3DS game support on Switch 2.) Then, last month, Nintendo submitted a number of filings with the FCC, which revealed three key things about the Switch 2: The new console supports NFC, Wi-Fi 6, and charging via both USB-C ports. What's left to learnIn all, we know a lot here: We know what the console looks like, many of its features, and that there's at least one new game in the works. But there's still plenty to learn. We don't know, for example, the console's true specs yet, nor do we know how powerful it really is. While analysts think the Switch 2 could be significantly more powerful than the original Switch, it's all speculation until Nintendo demos the games the console can run. Will we finally get a Nintendo console to run at 4K (preferably at 60fps)? Speaking of games, what will we actually be able to play on Nintendo's shiny new console? Rumors suggest third-party developers are planning titles including Assassin's Creed, Halo, and Microsoft Flight Simulator, while previously announced first-party Nintendo titles that haven't released yet, like Pokémon Legends: Z-A and Metroid Prime 4 will likely have a Switch 2 debut. We also don't know about the price. Rumors had suggested a $399 MSRP, which would seem reasonable when compared to the Switch's $299 price tag, but Nintendo hasn't confirmed one way or another. We also don't have an official release date. Hopefully, we will learn all these details tomorrow. I wouldn't be surprised if Nintendo has some wild-card announcements to generate buzz for the Switch 2. Could there be a 3D Zelda announcement? Will the company announce high-performance modes for older Switch titles? It's really a guessing game at this point. But it won't be for long. How to watch the Switch 2 Nintendo Direct Nintendo is going to stream live starting at 9 a.m. ET (6 a.m. PT) on Wednesday, April 2. You can catch the show from Nintendo's official YouTube page. View the full article

Pacific Residential Mortgage discovered the ransomware incident just weeks after the successful completion of its merger with an Ohio-based lender. View the full article

Europe may be lagging in Wi-Fi 7 adoption but MediaTek says European operators are ramping up. The post MediaTek: “Broadband service providers adopting Wi-Fi 7 faster than any previous new standard, including in Europe” appeared first on Wi-Fi NOW Global. View the full article

The deal is composed of 11,547 seasoned performing and reperforming loans that are first and second lien. Loan servicing includes a 180-day chargeoff feature. View the full article

If you're out and about with your laptop, or just in a different room than your charging cable, you want to eke out as much time as possible before the next recharge—and an important part of that is knowing which apps are draining the battery the quickest. Once you know who the worst offenders are as far as battery drain is concerned, you can do something about it. Maybe you can use the programs in question less often, enable any battery-saving features (if they're available), or uninstall them altogether and switch to less power-hungry alternatives. Take Google Chrome, for instance—not a program known for its light touch on system resources. If you find it's putting a lot of stress on your battery, you can turn on the Energy Saver feature, or perhaps just be more careful about how many tabs you've got open at any one time. Here's how to track down the apps using most battery life on Windows and macOS. Tracking apps on WindowsLoad up the Settings screen from the Start menu, then choose System and Power & Battery. If you click Battery Usage, you'll see how your laptop battery level has dropped over the last 24 hours or the last seven days (open the drop-down menu on the right to switch between the two time periods). Underneath the main graph, you should see a list of the programs that have been responsible for the battery drain over the last day or the last week, with the biggest battery hogs listed at the top. If you can't immediately see an app you want to check up on, scroll down the list or use the search box just above the list. If an app doesn't show up, then it hasn't affected the battery level for the chosen time period. Windows will list apps by battery usage. Credit: Lifehacker The drop-down menu under Sort by lets you order the apps by name rather than by battery usage. You can also choose to see programs based on how much battery life they've used up while in use, while running in the background, or both together (which is probably the most useful metric). With certain apps, you can click the three dots next to them and choose Manage background activity to reduce the demands they place on the battery when they're not being used. This feature is mostly available with native Windows applications, including Notepad and Paint, and will take you to the settings for that app. Tracking apps on macOSOver on macOS, you can start your investigations by clicking on the battery icon on the menu bar up in the top right corner of the screen. This will tell you which of the apps that you currently have open are "using significant energy"—so you're most likely going to see your web browser or your video editing software here. Click Battery Settings from the same pop-out dialog and you can see how your MacBook's battery has drained over the last 24 hours or the last 10 days (use the tab switcher just above to change between these two views). You can also turn on Low Power Mode and other battery options (like dimming the screen when on battery power). Head to Activity Monitor on macOS to check battery usage. Credit: Lifehacker What you can't do from this screen is see any more about which apps are using up battery—there's no simple list as there is on Windows. Instead, load up Activity Monitor from Spotlight or the Utilities folder in Finder, then switch to the Energy tab: You get to see which apps are currently using up most battery life, and which have been the most demanding in terms of energy use over the last 12 hours. To limit which apps can run in the background as well as in the foreground on your MacBook—which again can affect battery life—you need to go back to System Settings (via the Apple menu). Open the General tab, then click Login Items & Extensions, and you've got a series of permission toggle switches for all the installed programs that have requested to run in the background. View the full article

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager. A reader writes: How should I respond when someone tells me that I am too sick to be at work and I should be at home? The context here, one of my directs popped her head into my doorway and said, “You should really be at home today.” I am recovering from a cold/flu and have been out of the office for a couple of days because of it. I am feeling much better. I have a lingering cough that comes on periodically. That seems to be the case with most people that have been sick lately. I was a little surprised by their comment and mumbled something about feeling better and just dealing with this cough now. I am in a supervisory position and needed to be on-site as the department manager is off with this flu. They are in worse shape than me. Our site requires that one member of the department’s management team be on-site. I would have been on-site anyway since I am feeling better. I am also much more productive being in the office. I understand that people have varying levels of concern about getting sick. They may be immunocompromised or have a young or elderly family member they are worried about getting sick. But I have been doing my best to isolate myself in my office, washing my hands frequently, etc. to minimize the risk to others. It feels wrong to me that someone thinks they know better about my current state of health than I do. Is there a graceful way to acknowledge their concern and let them know I am taking the necessary precautions required to be at work? First, it’s worth noting that some people will say “you should be at home!” as a way to express care for you, not because they really think it’s outrageous that you’re in the office or are worried about their own health. But some people will say “you should be at home!” because they’re worried about their own health and are annoyed that you’re there. And sometimes they are right to be annoyed. It’s reasonable for people to be upset if they think you’re being reckless with their health and well-being (and there are a whole lot of people who come into work and expose other people to germs when they should have stayed home). You’re right that your employee doesn’t know as much as your current state of health as you do — but it’s because they don’t know as much about your state of health as you do, and because lots of people do come into work when they shouldn’t, that it’s not unreasonable for them to worry, if in fact they were. Try not to be annoyed by that. That said, it’s definitely true that you can have a lingering cough for weeks or even months after some colds. It doesn’t mean you’re contagious or shouldn’t be working. But it’s also true that you can also have a lingering cough because of things that are contagious. So even if something seems like a cold or the flu, at a minimum you should do a Covid test before returning to work out of consideration for your coworkers and their families. Back to your question: is there a graceful way to acknowledge someone’s concern and let them know you are taking the precautions needed to be at work? Yes! Here are a few ways to say it if you do indeed know you’re not contagious — based on actual medical advice, testing, common sense*, etc. — here are a few ways to say it. (* I’m aware it’s risky to include “common sense” on this list, given the amount of variation in people’s risk assessments. But realistically, people aren’t going to consult with a doctor every time they have a cold.) * “I’m not sick anymore, just have a lingering cough. My doctor says I’m not contagious.” (Obviously this needs to be true! Don’t say it if it’s not.) * “I’m over the cold, but I’ll probably have the cough for a while. I did test for Covid and it’s negative.” * “It’s run its course and I don’t think I’m contagious at this point, but I’m staying in my office to be safe.” Also, if there’s any risk you’re still in a contagion period but you’re still at work, please consider wearing a mask — again, out of consideration for your coworkers and their families. Final thought: if you’re required to have one member of the department’s management team on-site at all times and there are only two of you, is there a back-up plan for what happens if you’re both very sick/potentially contagious? If not, there needs to be! View the full article

Total Quality Management (TQM) works to maintain success by doing what is necessary to improve customer satisfaction. Of course, that satisfaction is seeded in employees and business processes—long before any product or service reaches its customer. How does a business or organization make sure that its processes and people are aligned with creating success and customer satisfaction? That’s where total quality management comes in. What Is Total Quality Management (TQM)? Total Quality Management is a management approach that focuses on delivering products and services with the highest quality to maximize customer satisfaction and meet regulatory standards. Total quality management is an organization-wide effort for continuous improvement. That improvement can be defined as an employee’s ability to provide on-demand products and services that are of value to their customers, even as their needs change. That’s the “quality” in total quality management. The “total” indicates that the effort is one that touches every inch of every employee of an organization. As a methodology, however, total quality management has no widely agreed-upon approach. It does, though, draw from other tools and techniques, such as project quality control, quality assurance and testing, and others. To make sure you’re delivering quality to your customers, you need to be able to monitor the processes you’re using to create the product or service you’re making for them. ProjectManager is online work and project management software that tracks real-time data with its live dashboards, which monitor six project metrics automatically. There’s no setup. It’s ready when you are. Get started with ProjectManager for free today. /wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Light-mode-portfolio-dashboard-CTA.pngLearn More! Why Is Total Quality Management Important? Total quality management is important for several reasons. First, it fosters a culture of continuous improvement and customer satisfaction, leading to higher-quality products and services. When customers are satisfied, they’re more likely to be loyal and can help spread positive messages about your company. It also streamlines processes and eliminates waste, helping to reduce errors and increase productivity. Not only does this translate into cost savings, but it also contributes to the idea that preventing problems is usually less expensive than fixing them. Finally, TQM helps organizations gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace. They can deliver high-quality products and services and are better positioned to attract and retain customers. Total Quality Management Principles Just as the definitions of total quality management (TQM) differ, so do its principles. However, we’ve gathered the most important TQM principles for you below. Customer Focused: The definition of quality lies with the customer, and all efforts to achieve success in the organization lead to customer satisfaction. Total Employee Involvement: The effort is not isolated to one department of an organization. To be successful in its objective of customer satisfaction, there must be a common goal for all aspects of business and for each employee. Process Oriented: Process thinking is fundamental to total quality management; the internal steps a company takes directly result in the external output delivered to the customers. Integrated System: Basically, regardless of the size or complexity of the organization, all its distinct parts must work together. Strategic and Systemic Approach: Using strategic planning to create a strategic plan that integrates quality as a core component of the company is a way to structure total quality management into an organization’s mission. Continual Improvement: The mantra for total quality improvement is customer satisfaction, but that is not a one-shot goal: the act of improving quality for the customer is a process without an end. Fact-Based Decision Making: In order to know if an organization is meeting its objectives, there must be data on performance, and those metrics must be collected and analyzed with accuracy and without prejudice. (For more on this, learn how to use data to be a better manager.) Communications: It’s impossible to maintain a successful TQM approach without an effective communication plan. Communication plans make sure that every department is aware of what they and others are responsible for, so they can coordinate operations to achieve their common goal. /wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Quality-control-template.jpg Get your free Quality Control Template Use this free Quality Control Template for Excel to manage your projects better. Download Excel File Total Quality Management Methodologies Being able to deliver total quality management requires methodology. There isn’t just one way to manage quality in your project. There are several approaches you can take. A few of them are listed below. Lean Manufacturing Lean manufacturing is a type of lean projection that comes from Japan, specifically, the car manufacturer Toyota. It’s all about targeting and eliminating what it calls muda or waste, in order to add value and maintain quality. Six Sigma Six Sigma is another quality management methodology that is directed towards improving current processes, products or services. It does this by finding and removing any defects in order to streamline quality control. ISO 9000 ISO 9000 is a set of international standards focused on quality management and quality assurance. It was created to help companies document quality system elements that they needed to maintain an efficient quality system. How to Implement Total Quality Management in 4 Steps Getting started with total quality management requires that the top management learns about the methodology, and then commits to it as one of the organization’s strategies. The organization writ large must then assess its customer satisfaction and quality management systems. One of the easiest methods to implement TQM is called PDCA. PDCA stands for Plan, Do, Check and Act. It’s a four-step management method to control the continuous improvement of processes and products. 1. Plan Planning includes identifying and understanding the problem or opportunity as it relates to TQM. From the information you’ve gathered, come up with ideas and develop the best into an implementation plan. 2. Do With a planned solution, you can now test it and build a pilot program to see if you achieve the quality improvements you expected. Document the results. 3. Check Here you’ll analyze the results of your pilot program against what you expected to achieve. If you’ve met those criteria move on to the next step. However, if you’ve fallen short, then you need to return to step one. 4. Adjust Once you’ve tested and are satisfied with the solution, you can implement it at full scale. This process is a loop, however, with no beginning or end. The success is only the new baseline of which you’ll again test to improve. The need for active management participation is critical to the success of any total quality management plan. This is done by creating steering committees to make sure everyone is working together to improve quality. There is also the formation of ad hoc cross-functional teams that are responsible for addressing the immediate process issues. There are also standing cross-functional teams that have similar responsibilities, only those are over the long term. Total Quality Management Systems & Tools When it comes to analyzing quality-related issues, the U.S. Navy employed the seven basic tools of quality. This is a fixed set of graphical techniques identified as being most helpful in troubleshooting quality-related issues. These tools are often used in Six Sigma as well. The seven tools for TQM are: Check sheet used to collect data in real time Control chart to determine if a process is in a state of control Stratification (or flow or run) chart to sample a group Pareto chart, which is both a bar and line graph that assess the most frequently occurring defects by category Histogram to roughly assess the probability distribution of a given variable by depicting the frequencies of observations occurring in certain ranges of value Cause-and-effect diagram Scatter diagram to display the value for two in a set of data How to Get Your Team to Buy Into Total Quality Management To get your team excited about total quality management, it’s ideal to take a strategic and consistent approach. Rather than solely implementing a set of procedures, aim to foster an underlying culture shift in the organization. For example, senior management needs to lead by example and embrace TQM principles. Actions speak louder than words, so participating in training and recognizing quality efforts can go a long way in getting team buy-in. Education on TQM principles, tools and techniques is another important aspect. Customize training to address the specific needs and roles of team members and offer continuous learning opportunities to reinforce key concepts. History of Total Quality Management The roots of total quality management can be traced back to the economic instability of the late 1970s and into the early 1980s. It was at this time that the dominance of North America and Western Europe was challenged by competition from the East, specifically Japan’s skill at making high-quality inexpensive products. While the origin of the term is not clear, many think it was inspired by the book Total Quality Control by quality control expert and businessman Armand V. Feigenbaum and What Is Total Quality Country? The Japanese Way by the organizational theorist Kaoru Ishikawa. The Role of the U.S. Navy It was the United States Navy that promoted the idea in 1984 when it asked its civilian researchers to offer recommendations on improving its operational effectiveness. The recommendation was to use the teachings of engineer and statistician W. Edwards Deming, which the U.S. Navy called total quality management in 1985. The methodology was employed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s underground storage tanks program in 1985. The private section soon followed as a way to remain competitive against the growing influence of the Japanese. Key Concepts in Total Quality Management The key concepts of total quality management developed by the U.S. Navy include: Quality is defined by what the customers’ requirements are Top-tier management is directly responsible for the improvement in quality It is by systemic analysis and using that data to improve work processes, that an increase in quality occurs The improvement of quality is a continuous effort and is conducted throughout the entire organization The U.S. Navy employed certain techniques and tools to achieve those concepts. For example, there’s the Plan Do Check Act or PDCA cycle, which is a four-step management method to control the continuous improvement of processes and products. Related: How to Implement Business Process Improvement Quality Control Template This quality control template is ideal to document any issues that are found when evaluating the quality of your products or project deliverables. It allows you to describe the quality management issue, who’s responsible for fixing it, its status and the expected date of completion. /wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Quality-control-template-screenshot.png Free Templates to Help with TQM Total quality management is best achieved through the use of project management software, which streamlines processes and helps you capture issues fast and resolve them. However, if you’re not using software or are not ready to upgrade to software, ProjectManager has dozens of free project management templates that can help you maintain the quality your customers expect. Here are a few. Project Dashboard Template Being able to monitor and track activities in your project is how you make sure you’re meeting your quality expectations. While our real-time dashboard will capture live data, the free project dashboard template for Excel is the next best thing. You have to input the data but then you get the charts and graphs you need to see how your project is performing. Gap Analysis Template In order to improve the quality of your product or service, you need to know where you are and where you want to be in the future. This is what a free gap analysis template for Excel can do for you. It captures the current and future stats and then shows the gap percentage you have to close, plus the actions and resources you’ll need to do it. Issue Tracking Template When you find issues that are negatively impacting the quality of your project or service our free issue tracking template for Excel can help you monitor your progress in resolving it. The free template has space for you to describe the issue and its impact, add a priority, date and owner and track its status. Use ProjectManager for Total Quality Management ProjectManager is cloud-based work and project management software that delivers real-time data to help you make more insightful decisions when monitoring the quality of your work. Then you have features to plan, track and report on your quality management to implement total quality management. Control Quality With Task Automation One way to make sure you deliver quality is by removing as much human error as possible. Our workflow automation allows you to create custom workflows that trigger actions to change status, priority, assignee and much more. You can also add task approval settings so only those authorized to close a task can do so, further ensuring you deliver to your quality expectations. /wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Workflow-AUTOMATION-CAR.jpg Plan TQM With Interactive Gantt charts Once you have a total quality management plan, you need to organize all the tasks and get your team assigned. Our online Gantt chart allows you to link task dependencies to avoid delays, set milestones to help with tracking and even filter for the critical path. Then set a baseline so you can measure project variance between what you planned and where you actually are in the schedule to stay on track. /wp-content/uploads/2022/03/pm-gantt-screenshot.png Track Progress and More With One-Click Reports To help you make sure you’re meeting deadlines and not overspending on your QTM plan, we have everything from status reports to reports on workload, time, cost and more. Generate them with a keystroke, and each report can be filtered to show only the data you want to see. They can also be easily shared to help keep stakeholders updated. /wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Reports_Wide_Zoom-150_Project-Status-Report.jpg Our multiple project views allow your team to work how they want, on kanban boards, task lists and more. All data is updated together across the tool so you have a single source of truth to keep everyone working on the same page. Our collaborative platform allows team members to share files, comment and get notified of any updates to let them work more productively—all of which leads to more quality work. As the name says, total quality management is a systemic change to the strategic goals of an organization. It impacts everyone and every department. Therefore, having the right tools to manage and communicate this process throughout an organization is critical. ProjectManager is a cloud-based project management software that gives managers and teams the control to plan, track and report on the progress of this or any methodology. See for yourself by taking this free 30-day trial. The post Total Quality Management (TQM): What Is It, Principles and Systems appeared first on ProjectManager. View the full article

The old Tesla can’t come to the phone right now. Why? Oh, ‘cause she’s dead. Over the past few days, a new trend has emerged on TikTok: people are posting their Tesla trade-ins accompanied by the hashtag “ByeTesla” and soundtracked to Taylor Swift’s “Look What You Made Me Do.” In the videos, the Tesla driver backs out of a driveway as the lyrics play: “I’m sorry, the old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now. Why? Oh, ’cause she’s dead.” Cut to a brand-new Rivian R1S, Porsche Macan Electric, or even a GMC Hummer EV SUV as the song’s chorus plays: “Look what you made me do.” “The best upgrade I’ve seen in this trend,” one person commented on the video posted by the proud owner of a new Porsche Macan Electric, which retails for $75,300. “Talking about an upgrade!!! To go from that cheap built plastic toy car to German engineering is quite the change!! Enjoy!” Another user wrote: “Never skip a Tesla trade-in video.” The new GMC Hummer EV SUV driver—which starts at about $98,845, compared to the Cybertruck’s starting price of about $99,990—wrote in the caption of their trade-in: “Change is GOOD—when your principles/morals are important.” While some called out the car’s depreciating value (the driver confirmed in the comments that it’s a lease), others cheered on his commitment to his morals. “I never thought I’d be cheering for a Hummer purchase, but I have to say ethics make it look great!” one person wrote. “I’ve been saying this whole time imagine having cybertruck money and buying a cybertruck instead of the electric hummer. Approved,” another commented. Those participating in the #ByeTesla trend are part of a growing number of consumers who bought Tesla vehicles before Musk took over the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, and are now looking to sell or trade them in. Others have resorted to anti-Musk bumper stickers to distance themselves from the billionaire. Thousands of anti-Tesla protesters took to the streets on Saturday, March 29, as part of the broader peaceful protest movement, Tesla Takedown, targeting Tesla dealerships and vehicles in opposition to Musk’s role as the head of DOGE. Hoping to hit him where it hurts—his estimated $340 billion fortune—the biggest portion of Musk’s wealth consists of his stock in the electric vehicle company. Musk, however, did not appear concerned about an extended slump in new sales during a recent meeting. Instead, he reassured workers that the company’s Model Y would remain “the best-selling car on Earth again this year.” He also predicted that Tesla will have sold more than 10 million cars worldwide by next year, up from the seven million currently sold. Clearly, he is not taking cues from TikTok. View the full article

Judges ruled that Atlantic Trust and District Lending continuing to send loans to UWM after the controversial amendment equates to accepting the ultimatum. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Garmin announced a new fitness watch today, the Vivoactive 6. Its predecessor, the Vivoactive 5, is my pick for the best smartwatch to replace a Fitbit (beating out the Pixel Watch 3), and, if you ask me, it's the most underrated device in the Garmin lineup. The Vivoactive 6 is poised to be even better, adding a few new features, including a "smart wake" alarm and on-watch coaching for walking and strength training. The Vivoactive 6 will be available for preorder on April 4, with a suggested retail price of $299.99, the same initial price as the Vivoactive 5. (If you’re looking to save money by going with the older model, the Vivoactive 5 is currently on sale for around $219—an excellent deal on what is still a great fitness watch.) What kind of watch is the Vivoactive 6?The Vivoactive 6, like the 5 before it, is best described as a fitness watch. It’s not as sport-specific as something like a Forerunner, which is made specifically for runners, or an Instinct, which is made for people who are out hiking in the woods all the time. The Vivoactive 6 is more of a modern, everyday watch, with an AMOLED (smartphone-like) touchscreen and a lightweight plastic body that strikes a middle ground between sporty and fashionable. It measures 42 millimeters diagonally, which is on the smaller side for smartwatches. It’s roughly the same size as the Venu 3S and the Forerunner 265S, which are the smaller versions of their respective lines. In addition to the touchscreen, the Vivoactive 6 still has two buttons, so you’re not dependent on the touchscreen during activities. (This is a major plus for any fitness or sports watch.) It’s definitely more fitness-focused than a true smartwatch (like an Apple Watch), with its built-in fitness features available just a swipe or button press away from the home screen. What’s new on the Vivoactive 6? The size, shape, and general specs of the Vivoactive 6 are very similar to the Vivoactive 5. Colors have been slightly updated: there are still black and white models, but lavender and navy are out and peach and olive green are in. The new Vivoactive 6 has 8 GB of storage, double what the Vivoactive 5 had. It also has a gyroscope, the better to detect movement. Beyond those changes, there are a few really excellent features that are entirely new to the Vivoactive 6. Here’s a tour. Smart wake alarmInstead of just setting a time you’d like to wake up, the new smart wake alarm feature will let you set a window of time, and the watch will look for “lighter sleep stages” during that window to wake you with a vibration. (The manual for the Vivoactive 6 is not online yet, but that’s how it was described in a press release.) Daily suggested workouts for walkingGarmin’s running watches have long offered “daily suggested workouts” (DSW, we Garmin-heads call them) for running and cycling. The Vivoactive 5 didn’t have any DSW, and the Vivoactive 6 still doesn’t have them for running or cycling—but it does have DSW for walking. Coached running and strength programsThe Vivoactive 6, unlike the 5, gives you access to Garmin Run Coach and Garmin Strength Coach. The running coach is similar to the DSW for running, but they’re viewable on your phone. (I have thoughts on Garmin’s run coaching.) From my experience with the Forerunner watches, you cannot use both a run coach and a strength coach at the same time. The Vivoactive 5 only had run coaching through the “expert” plans (where you choose Coach Amy, Coach Greg, or Coach Jeff). The Vivoactive 6 still has those too. Improved navigationThe Vivoactive 6 can navigate with Beidou and QZSS networks, in addition to the usual GPS/GLONASS/GALILEO. Red shift modeIf you need to use your watch in low-light environments, you can shift the display to a dim red-on-black mode to give your eyes a rest. More activity modesThe new activity modes include (this is not a full list) mobility, track run, trail run, obstacle running, horseback riding, golf, mountaineering, disc golf, archery, gravel biking, cyclocross, kayaking, surfing, snorkeling, motorcycling, ATVing, snowmobiling, ice skating, and inline skating. View the full article

Case involving murder of Brain Thompson has unleashed fraught debates over country’s for-profit healthcareView the full article

2024 was a record year, but not in the way businesses hoped for. Employee engagement plummeted to its lowest point in a decade, with just 31% of employees describing themselves as engaged. Even more concerning is the fact that employers saw record levels of actively disengaged employees, with 17% of employees saying they’ve completely checked The post Want high team engagement and increased profitability? Try customizable goals and alerts. appeared first on RescueTime Blog. View the full article

Google has pushed out a shiny new AI model in the form of Gemini 2.5 Pro, albeit with an experimental label next to it—and it's available for free, so you don't need to subscribe to Gemini Advanced to get it. As with many recent AI model releases, the "reasoning" capabilities of the model are said to be the biggest upgrade here. In artificial intelligence terms, reasoning means answers that are more thoroughly worked through. That should produce fewer mistakes, more logical responses, and a better appreciation of "context and nuance" according to Google. This capability for extra "thought" will now come as standard in future Google models. The Pro (Experimental) release is the first variant of Gemini 2.5 to show up, and while the original blog post didn't mention free users, less than a week later we've got an update saying it's available for everyone—with rate limits applied if you're not a Gemini Advanced subscriber (Google hasn't specified what those rate limits are). The new model is available now through the desktop app, and coming soon to mobile. Gemini 2.5 Pro hits new levels in a variety of AI benchmarks. Credit: Google Google points to several benchmark tests that show the prowess of Gemini 2.5 Pro. At the time of writing it tops the LMArena leaderboard, where users give ratings on responses from dozens of AI chatbots. It also scores 18.8 percent on the Humanity's Last Exam test—which measures human knowledge and reasoning—narrowly edging out rival models from OpenAI and Anthropic. Also of note: the large context window. In simple terms, this is an indicator of how much data the AI model can churn through in one go, and Gemini 2.5 Pro has a context window of one million tokens, with two million "coming soon" according to Google. That compares to a context window of, for example, 200,000 tokens for ChatGPT's o3-mini reasoning model. As tends to be the norm with these AI announcements, there's no mention of copyright infringement as far as training data goes, or increasing energy use. According to MIT researchers, modern-day AI models use a "staggering" amount of electricity and water, and have put us on an "unsustainable path" that needs to change direction quickly. Putting Gemini 2.5 Pro to the testIt can be tricky to quantify improvements from one AI model to the next, which is why benchmarks like LMArena are useful. I lack the expert scientific or programming knowledge needed to really put Gemini 2.5 Pro to the test—though as with the previous model, I was able to create some simple web apps (like an online timer) in minutes. I do know a bit about Charles Dickens' Bleak House, so I set Gemini 2.5 Pro to work on the text. It gave me an accurate summary of the plot, and a clever assessment of the different narrative devices used (which would've really helped me in my study days). It also converted the book into a reasonably well done three-act structure for a movie—evidence of it holding a lot in its "mind" at once. The older Gemini 2.0 Flash was able to answer the same Bleak House prompts accurately too, but the responses from Gemini 2.5 Pro were longer, more detailed, less generic, and smarter—evidence of that extra "reasoning" being put to work. The Gemini 2.0 Flash model also had to split the movie adaptation into three responses, perhaps due to the sheer amount of text it was trying to process. Google has provided its own example of the capabilities of Gemini 2.5 Pro, showing how a simple endless runner game can be produced from a single prompt. While the demo video showing the code output is sped up, the game does appear to work and be pretty well-designed, which is an impressive end result from a single natural language prompt. There's also a neat web demo of digital fish swimming around. Elsewhere on the web, the new AI model is being extensively tested. Software engineer and independent AI researcher Simon Willison ran several tests covering image creation, audio transcription, and code generation, and came away very much liking what Gemini 2.5 Pro had been able to come up with. The frenetic pace of AI development shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon, and we can expect more Gemini 2.5 models to appear in the near future. "As always, we welcome feedback so we can continue to improve Gemini's impressive new abilities at a rapid pace, all with the goal of making our AI more helpful," says Koray Kavukcuoglu, from Google's DeepMind AI lab. View the full article

Roblox unveiled a new immersive video advertising format on its platform and announced a strategic partnership with Google to expand its advertising business reach. Google will roll out these ads across AdMob and Ad Manager, creating significant new revenue opportunities for publishers while giving advertisers contextually relevant ways to reach engaged audiences. Big picture. The gaming giant is introducing rewarded video ads up to 30 seconds long that offer in-game benefits, marking a significant evolution of its business model beyond traditional gaming revenue. These ad formats are designed to blend seamlessly into virtual environments – appearing as billboards in digital cities or on screens during virtual sporting events – creating less disruptive advertising experiences that maintain user engagement. By the numbers: 85.3 million: Daily active users on Roblox. Majority: Users aged 13+. 30 seconds: Maximum length of new video ad format. Between the lines. This move addresses a key challenge in gaming advertising: maintaining user engagement without disrupting gameplay experiences. As Google executive Scott Sheffer noted, “traditional ad formats haven’t always been the right choice” in gaming environments. The Roblox partnership also represents a strategic pivot for Google’s advertising business toward emerging virtual spaces where younger audiences spend significant time, positioning them ahead of industry shifts toward more immersive digital experiences. What Google is saying. Google announced it’s extending Immersive Ads capabilities to more publishers following successful testing, with Roblox becoming a cornerstone partner for the technology. Why we care. This partnership opens access to 85.3 million daily active users, predominantly Gen Z—a notoriously difficult audience to reach effectively. The rewarded video format offers a non-disruptive way to engage with these highly attentive users, creating authentic brand interactions rather than intrusive interruptions. Additionally, integration with Google’s ad platform dramatically simplifies campaign management, allowing advertisers to incorporate Roblox into their broader digital strategies without learning new systems. What’s next. Brands will soon be able to purchase ads directly or through Google Ad Manager, with additional formats like billboards due in the coming months. Partnerships with measurement firms Cint, DoubleVerify, and Nielsen will help track campaign performance View the full article

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager. A reader writes: I recently interviewed for a new job that I was really excited: it’s exactly what I want to be doing next in my career, at a company I’ve heard good things about, and with a salary range that would be a significant boost from what I earn currently. After the second interview, the hiring manager asked me for my references. I sent her contact info for my manager from the two previous jobs before my current one, as well as a senior colleague who I’ve worked closely with. I didn’t offer my current manager since she does not know that I’m looking, and I would rather she not know until I’m ready to move on. I don’t think she would be angry, exactly, and we have a good relationship, but I’ve always heard it’s not wise to tip off your boss that you’re actively working on leaving until you’re ready to actually give notice. If this job doesn’t pan out for some reason, I don’t want her to worry that I have one foot out the door, since I could imagine that could affect what kinds of projects I’m put on and what opportunities she considers me for. However, after I sent my reference list, the hiring manager at this other job came back and asked if she could contact my current boss as well. I explained that my boss doesn’t know I’m interviewing and that I didn’t feel comfortable alerting her until I’d accepted another offer. The hiring manager said that because I’ve been at my current company for the last seven years, she would want to talk with them before making me a formal offer; I guess she felt the references I did provide were not recent enough. I asked if there were any alternatives I could provide instead, like a coworker from my current job (but not my boss) or even a copy of my recent performance evaluation. She said no, and that their policy is always to speak to someone who has managed the candidate in the last three years. I wasn’t comfortable doing this, so I ended up withdrawing from their hiring process. I’ve never encountered this before and always thought it was normal not to use your current boss as a reference. Am I being too cautious or was this an unfair requirement on their part? If I run into this again, is there a better way to navigate it? You can read my answer to this letter at New York Magazine today. Head over there to read it. View the full article