Companies may require you to show that you have the necessary equipment at home to work. While a microphone for remote meetings and a space to work on your laptop are necessary, hybrid and fully remote roles also demand one critical component: connectivity. You might already have internet connectivity and a wireless router good enough to support mobile devices, smart home products, and content streaming services like Netflix. However, you may also need to add work-related systems and software to the mix to create a high-end network with minimal dead spots....

The pair were inspired to do so by the apparent success of a four-year, cross-industry trial in Iceland, which led to higher productivity amongst the 2,500 workers involved and lower rates of burnout. Many workers in Iceland have now moved permanently to 35 or 36-hour weeks. “It alleviated our anxieties and gave us the reassurance that this could work for us,” Aharony tells ZDNet, who says the results of Reboot’s trial “have been outstanding so far....

Yet there is irony in that statement. Because as simple as it is to understand – and it is simple – it is very complex to execute against it properly. The reason – in an Alanis Morissette sense of irony (meaning not really ironic) in this case – it is ironic again – is quite simple. Human beings are individuals and what makes them “like” you differs in each case – one at a time....

It’s a small device that attaches to the vertical twisting wand on horizontal blinds, and twists it to tilt open the blinds or close them, all controlled by you from your mobile device or via a voice command to Alexa or Google Home. Your phone communicates with the SwitchBot Blind Tilt via Bluetooth, but it can also connect to Wi-Fi if you add a SwitchBot Hub. The Blind Tilt comes with its own solar panel, which makes it an easy, plug-and-play option....

Here’s the process: You fill up the bottle with water, drop one of the scented pods on top of the bottle snout, and drink from it as usual. Simple, right? You may be wondering then why I didn’t give the Air Up a perfect 10 out of 10. In short, there are some design flaws that proved troublesome during testing (or drinking), especially at a $40 price and a cost of $7....

A few weeks ago I looked at the inCharge X, a portable charging cable with six charging options and support for 100W USB-C power transfer and Apple’s 18W fast charge. This is small enough to clip onto your keyring so you always have a charging cable with you. The inCharge XL builds on this in one small, but very useful way. It comes with longer cable options! inCharge XL cables come in 3 different lengths: 30cm (0,9ft)200cm (6....

You can drop it. It can malfunction. The battery wears out. Battery wear is a problem for laptop owners. Batteries are consumables. And a battery is a built-in component that can determine the lifespan of a laptop. Once upon a time, replacing the battery inside a laptop was easy, but as systems have become thinner and lighter, replacing the battery has become a more involved undertaking. Last year, Apple rolled out a feature in macOS called battery health management, the idea being that by limiting how long the battery is kept at 100% charge, it helps reduce wear on the battery and slows down chemical ageing....

This week, a hacker going under the name “LimitedResults” revealed how smart LIFX lighting bulbs could be compromised to access everything from Wi-Fi credentials to root certificates. LimitedResults used the LIFX mini white as a test product, a $15.99 device which can be controlled via smartphone to change the temperature and dimness levels of lighting at home. After installing the bulb’s accompanying app on an Android device and setting up the Wi-Fi connection, the researcher grabbed a saw to hack his way into the hardware within....

My weapon of choice in the war against waste and sending things to the landfill has been cyanoacrylate adhesive – this stuff goes by many names, such as Crazy Glue, instant glue, power glue, or superglue – and on the whole it’s pretty good stuff. Also: You’re using super glue all wrong But it’s far from perfect. I find the performance of cyanoacrylate adhesives varies a lot. It sticks well to some things, but not so well to other things....

Younger developers are more likely to be actively looking for their next role. The highest percentage of active job seekers is in the 20-24 year-old cohort (27%), with 21% for 25-34 year-olds, 17% for 35-44 year-olds, and only 12% for 45-54 year-olds. Additionally, the percentage of younger developers actively searching for their next role increased nine points year over year, according to the survey of 2,600 developers by StackOverflow. But StackOverflow CEO Prashanth Chandrasekar warned that developers should be looking for companies that have plenty of cash and a chance of profitability....

The OIN is the largest patent non-aggression consortium in existence. It protects Linux and related open-source software and the companies behind them from patent attacks and patent trolls. The OIN recently expanded its scope from core Linux programs and adjacent open-source code by expanding its Linux System Definition, to other patents such as the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) and the Extended File Allocation Table exFAT file system. What does Kuaishou get out of it?...

AI and machine learning are also finding a home in another emerging area of IT: assisting DevOps teams in assuring the viability and quality of the software that is moving at ever-faster speeds through the system and out to users. As found in a recent survey out of GitHub, development and ops teams are turning to AI in a big way to smooth the flow of code through the software review and testing phase, with 31% of teams actively using AI and ML algorithms for code review – more than double last year’s number....

Toyota did not respond to multiple requests for comment but said the outages were the result of a “supplier system failure.” Kojima Industries Corp, one of the car giant’s suppliers, told Reuters that it was suffering from a cyberattack. Air-conditioning, steering wheel components, and other interior and exterior vehicle parts are provided to Toyota by Kojima. The companies did not say how long the outages would last. Nikkei reported that the shut down will stop the production of about 13,000 vehicles, nearly 5% of the company’s output per month in Japan....

Even total novices will only need a few hours to learn Python in “An Easy Introduction to Python”. Instructors Vitthal Srinivasan and Janani Ravi, previously employed at Flipkart and Google, present three hours of engaging lessons that will explain complex concepts in a way you can understand. You’ll get more experience in “Python 2018 for Beginners”, which teaches you the language from scratch in four hours. Both beginners and intermediate level students will have lots of fun getting plenty of practice with “Solve 100 Python Exercises to Boost Your Python Skills”....

The LockBit ransomware group listed Transdev on its leak site next to a timer set to expire at 1:00 on Sunday. But Transdev – which calls itself the “largest private provider of multiple modes of transport in North America” – said the data being hawked by Lockbit was from one of their clients. “We are aware that a cybercriminal group has made a threat to publish data, which they allege belongs to Transdev....

Moving up the career ladder can take years if you only develop new skills while on the job. In the tech industry, it’s easier to acquire new skills on your own, so you can advance at your own pace. Right now, you can turbocharge your budding IT career by specializing in lucrative cybersecurity positions with the skills covered in the Complete 2022 PenTest and Ethical Hacking Bundle. Presented by ITProTV, an online learning destination that offers engaging content in a talk-show format, these courses can teach you the skills cybersecurity professionals use to combat threats every day....

Working from home has, for many, created a situation where, thanks to computers, wifi and Zoom, work has entirely taken over life. Many employers, of course, haven’t minded this at all. Think of all the money they’ve saved on office space. Think of the long hours people are now working as they toil in the confines of their bedrooms, living rooms, or tiny home offices. But have you ever thought about what happens when, say, an accident occurs?...

The graphic below is filled with interesting little takeaways about who is buying solar. Just keep in mind only 200 homeowners were surveyed. UPDATE: In a country where residential solar adoption still stands at less than one percent, we think 200 respondents to the poll is a pretty significant chunk, 1BOG noted in an email to me today. The group added the respondents were “surprisingly how anxious to share as much information as possible about themselves and bust some solar stereotypes....

Salesforce analyzes aggregated retailer data from its Commerce Cloud, Marketing Cloud and Service Cloud products across 54 countries. Data from 24 of the top 30 US digital retailers is included in Salesforce’s calculations alongside other third-party data. As Adobe and other e-commerce trackers have noticed through their own data, spending started at the beginning of November. US consumers spent $136 billion online throughout November this year, an increase of 9% compared to last year....

The deal will require vendors to use a common USB-C charger for 15 types of electronic devices, including smartphones, tablets, laptops, mice, keyboards, video games and other gadgets. “Today we have made the common charger a reality in Europe… Now they will be able to use a single charger for all electronics,” said Alex Agius Saliba, an MEP from Malta and the European Parliament rapporteur on the proposal. “I believe this agreement we reached today is a very important agreement that gives a fairer deal to consumers and a fairer deal to our environment,” he said, adding that device chargers in Europe produce between 13,000 to 15,000 tonnes of electronic waste every year....