It’s getting really nasty now between Twitter and Tesla founder Elon Musk - who’s walked away from his offer to buy the social media platform. A 44 billion dollar deal was on the table - Twitter it’s launched legal action to hold him to his obligations. I think this mess means either - someone else - probably a mainstream media company will buy Twitter on the cheap - if a deal can’t be done, I think Twitter has a very uncertain medium to long term future. Here’s a quick Microsoft Word shortcut. ...
Jul 14, 2022•1 min
It’s getting hot, and depending on where you’re listening, possibly very very hot. And IT equipment doesn’t really like intense heat. Most technology will carry warnings about avoiding direct sunlight and keeping them in areas where the temperature is below 25 degrees. If you’re going to be working outdoors, consider backing up essential files before you go and don’t walk from a cool indoor space to a hot outdoor area with the laptop on. Let it adjust to the new temperature before starting it up...
Jul 12, 2022•1 min
Users of Apple’s FaceTime video calling service might have noticed a new feature. It uses artificial intelligence to make it look like you are in fact looking the person right in the eye. Some people think digitally altered eyeballs look fake, you can turn it off by going to into your FaceTime settings and turning off ‘eye contact’. The feature has been around since the launch of IOS 14. Do you use Microsoft Excel and sometimes wonder how it all actually works and what it can do? Well done @iamc...
Jul 11, 2022•1 min
One of the most useful Tweets I’ve seen in a long time was published over thew weekend by @G_S_Bhogal - in 40 Tweets he explained 40 useful concepts he thinks we should know about..and these are amazing. From the laws of science to problem solving, how to handle trolls and beating procrastination and why powerful people lose their grip of reality - it’s an incredible read. Check it out, on the hashtag DigitalMinuteUK. Twitter itself once again faces an uncertain future as Elon Musk’s proposed ta...
Jul 10, 2022•1 min
Social media has been a place of humour and biting sarcasm over the last 48 hours with all the UK political shenanigans. I’m not even going to attempt to keep up to date with what’s going on but there is some great humour on Twitter in particular as well as some really high quality explainer videos and threads helping us keep track of what’s going on - remember all the high profile journalists have their own Twitter accounts where you can get coverage in more detail. If you are after something a...
Jul 08, 2022•2 min
TikTok is hitting back at reports it’s cooling on the idea of live shopping through its app. Widespread reports yesterday quoted an unnamed TikTok source saying sales figures had been disappointing and a planned roll out of the feature was on ice - the company says it never planned to launch in continental Europe in the first half of this year and it remains committed to it’s UK service. Certainly the TikTok website is still encouraging brands and influencers to ‘open a shop’ at shop.tiktok.com ...
Jul 07, 2022•2 min
EA Sports won’t be making any more of the FIFA video game series but they do still hold the rights to Formula 1 video games and the new official F1 2022 is out now and getting great reviews. You can play on Xbox, Playstation and PC. After some serious issues around privacy in its early days TikTok has enjoyed huge growth over the last couple of years but this looks like a rare mis-step from the company. The Financial Times reports TikTok has abandoned plans to launch its own in-app shopping expe...
Jul 06, 2022•1 min
We’re back live with your 60 second tech update. Starting with news for gamers - if you have a Samsung TV you’ll be able to access its new Gaming Hub. This is another move towards gaming without a console - grab a Bluetooth controllers and pair a set of headphones and you’ll be able to play titles from Xbox Cloud Gaming, Google’s Stadia and Nvidia GeForce Now - we’re told Amazon’s Luna platform is coming soon. Snapchat has really been overtaken by the rise of Instagram and TikTok in the last few...
Jul 04, 2022•1 min
One big criticism thrown at Linkedin is that it’s slowly but surely becoming more like Facebook and what was supposed to be a serious business network is becoming, well, another place full of nonsense and ‘here’s a funny cat video’. If that’s you, you won’t like this because a ‘funny’ reaction is being added to Linkedin. The company says it’s one of the most requested features and they’re happy to add it, because they know humour has a place in business. Another search engine worth a mention if ...
Jun 24, 2022•1 min
If you’re into cars you’ll like this. The Ford Motor Company is uploading its entire archive to a dedicated website. The Ford Heritage Vault features amazing images, stories and data from throughout its 119 year history. It includes promotional material and adverts along with memories and statistics about some of the best loved cars from the brand’s history. You can even download the images for your own personal use. It’s an American site and emphasises the classic cars of the 50s and 60s but if...
Jun 23, 2022•1 min
One of the most frustrating things in life is trying to co-ordinate an event involving several people where you have to choose a date that suits everyone. This is the sort of challenge computers were made for, and doodle.com is one of the best known software products that offers easy scheduling. If you’re only going to use it occasionally - there’s a 14 day free trial which might be all you need, after that it’s about 7 pounds a month for the ‘Pro’ plan. It’ll email everyone involved in your mee...
Jun 22, 2022•1 min
If you’re looking for something to do and keen to save money over the summer then today’s quick guide to online deals websites is for you. And we start with ‘itison.com’ which launched in Scotland but has now expanded to other cities throughout the UK. You can browse the listings, search, or join and tell is what you’re interested in and receive personalised deals. There’s everything from afternoon tea to short breaks and hotel stays, concerts, health and beauty treatments and money off shopping...
Jun 21, 2022•1 min
TV shows like ‘The Office’ sometimes poke fun and business jargon and corporate management speak and it seems the internet is the place we turn to try and make sense of it. New research from Preply reveals the 10 most googled business acronyms. Searches for ‘POC’ have increased dramatically - depending on who is saying it the abbreviation can mean ‘proof of concept’ or ‘point of contact’ and even ‘plan of correction’. ‘KPI’ means Key Performance Indicator followed by SME for small - medium enter...
Jun 15, 2022•1 min
Today we say good bye to one of the biggest names in the history of the internet. Microsoft Internet Explorer finally retires today after a 27 year run and of course it was, at one point, the world’s most used web browser. Microsoft has gradually been phasing out support for the software in favour of its new ‘Edge’ browser. Latest figures show just 0.45 percent of internet users access the internet through ‘Explorer’, back in 2002 the figure was around 95%. From today, the company will no longer...
Jun 15, 2022•1 min
An interesting move from buy now pay later app Klarna. The company has been affected by the economic crisis and conflict in Ukraine and announced a 10% reduction in its workforce, about 700 to 750 people. The CEO posted the names of around 560 employees who’re losing their jobs, on Linkedin, and encouraged other companies to consider hiring them. The decision has had a mixed response with some people criticising the announcement although it appears those who’s names were published chose to have ...
Jun 14, 2022•1 min
I’ve spent the weekend playing with the new Mario Strikers Battle League game on the Nintendo Switch. Think of the colour and madness of Mario Kart but on a football pitch with no rules and you’re half way there. Special moves such as Hyper Strikes get you two goals at once and you can take your opponents out of action by throwing items at them. It’s incredibly fast moving and being good at established football games such as FIFA will count for nothing when you start playing this. We wrapped up ...
Jun 12, 2022•1 min
Today we’re looking at getting started with websites. And one of the first things to look at is the domain name, that’s the address people type in to visit your website. So, for example google.com or yourname.co.uk - those are domain names. When the internet began, there were only a few extensions - .com, .net, org., .co and each country had its own, for example . co.uk or .us But now there are hundreds of extensions, so you could have yourname.live or .hotels or .club or .band or .bingo Despite...
Jun 10, 2022•1 min
1960s TV puppet sensation ‘Thunderbirds’ is coming back..and heading straight for digital. The classic Gerry Anderson creation is now owned by ITV Studios, who’ve announced a partnership with a gaming platform due to launch this summer. Thunderbirds International Rescue Club is gearing up for launch and promises immersive ‘Metaverse’ experiences, an online game, digital collectibles including NFTs and more. Despite the enduring popularity of the characters, I’m not sure the traditional Thunderbi...
Jun 08, 2022•1 min
Lots to digest for Apple users after the company held its annual World Wide Developers Conference last night. Among the highlights - you’ll now be able to unsend and edit text messages. There’s a complete reinvention of the ‘Car Play’ in car entertainment system. Users of Apple Maps will be able to put in up to 15 stops for a single route and safety features will help people in abusive relationships revoke other people’s access to their locations, account and passwords. Changes to the iPad opera...
Jun 06, 2022•1 min
Google has announced it’s to tidy up its video calling apps. For the last few years Google Meet has been aimed at business users and Google Duo was like FaceTime for consumers. Neither has really been as widely used as Google would like with Zoom and Microsoft Teams really dominating the whole sector. Part of that was Google’s failure to properly explain what the products were, who they were for and how they worked. Over the next few months, Duo will gain all the additional features which are pa...
Jun 06, 2022•1 min
The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations feature heavily across social media at the moment. The Royal Family has - for a number of years now - embraced social media. The official Instagram account is sharing a mix of behind the scenes preparation for the events taking place this weekend and highlights from the Queen’s 70 year reign. You’ll also find official royal family channels on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. On Twitter there’s an interesting mix between people celebrating the Jubilee and ...
Jun 02, 2022•1 min
One of the most powerful figures in all of digital media is leaving her role at Facebook’s parent company. Sheryl Sandberg joined Facebook in 2008, becoming Chief Operating Officer and was the most senior person in the entire company after founder Mark Zuckerberg. She effectively ran the company during its most successful period and achieved widespread praise for her ‘Lean In’ book, which aimed to encourage women and girls to speak up more in the workplace. Sandberg revealed she was stepping dow...
Jun 01, 2022•1 min
Business website Bloomberg has published fascinating insight into Google’s attempts to battle Amazon for online shopping. The search giant has never really had a a strong e-commerce strategy but now it’s changing direction and trying again. Google wants to make it easier for customers to find what they want to buy - and then buy it - without having to go to 3rd party websites. One to keep an eye on if you run a business or don’t like shopping on Amazon. If you or someone in your family plays vid...
Jun 01, 2022•1 min
Email newsletters still outperform social media when it comes to getting a return on investment for marketing - and that’s why so many businesses send so many emails and they’re so desperate to get you to sign up to join their mailing lists. You probably deal with some companies where you’re very happy to be on their mailing list and get details of new products and sometimes even discounts. But there are others that you maybe didn’t mean to join or you feel they email you too frequently. By law,...
May 31, 2022•1 min
Here’s a new player in the video editing business - it’s called veed.io and it’s an online browser based video editor. There’s nothing to download and a decent free plan as long as you don’t mind restrictions on the duration and quality of the videos. It makes it particularly easy to add captions to videos and then share them to social media. Like CapCut which I mentioned on a previous broadcast, these new and emerging tools are great but it’s always worth checking the level of technical support...
May 29, 2022•1 min
Here’s your 60 second round up of the latest technology news. Could Playstation be planning a ‘pro’ version of its PS5 console? Chinese electronics giant TCL says it expects to see one - and an upgraded Xbox sometime in 2023 and 2024. It’s unclear whether the company has any insider knowledge or if this is an educated guess - Playstation fans have flooded social media with complaints that they’re still not able to get their hands on stock of the standard PS5 many months after it launched. Dyson ...
May 27, 2022•1 min
The online dating market is expected to be worth 3.5 billion dollars by the end of 2025. One of the key elements to consider when choosing one to use is whether you prefer a system that lets you browse and read profiles and then decide who to contact, or something based around an algorithm where you enter information about yourself and the software then suggests ‘matches’, or would you prefer something based around ‘looks’. Tinder is one of the best known sites based around physical attraction, ...
May 25, 2022•2 min
I’ve a few sites to mention today if you’re interesting in taking your video game playing to the next level and perhaps trying to become a video game influencer. Some gamers are growing a fan base and even making money by streaming themselves playing games and to make the most of it, you need a ready supply of games. Research from Affise highlights the platforms gamers should consider. Top of their list is Playstation Plus followed by Playstation Now which lets you play games from previous Plays...
May 25, 2022•1 min
Glassdoor is a bit like TripAdvisor - but for staff. You’ll find it at glassdoor.co.uk and it encourages employees to anonymously review their current or former employer. It can hep you find out how much you should be earning and, according to research is a useful early warning of things that might be wrong with a company. Like any review site, you can’t 100% trust everything you read there but it might be worth a look if you’re in the market for a job or if you’re an employer and want to know w...
May 24, 2022•1 min
Comsteria delivers the UK' smost relevant media relations training. Follow this podcast for regular tips and tricks to get your point across with clarity and personality in TV, radio and newspaper interviews. Visit us online for more. www.comsteria.co.uk
May 23, 2022•3 min
