We and our partners use cookies to understand how you use our site, improve your experience and serve you personalized content and advertising. Read about how we use cookies and your choices . By continuing to use this site, you accept these cookies.AcceptRejectUpdate ConsentApple can sometimes seem so superior that it barely notices competition. It's an act, of course. Cupertino's only too aware of threats to its self-regarding supremacy. The company doesn't often, though, succumb to the urge of denigrating its competitors. Not now that . I was heartened, therefore, to see Apple sniffily...…We and our partners use cookies to understand how you use our site, improve your experience and serve you personalized content and advertising. Read about how we use cookies and your choices . By continuing to use this site, you accept these cookies.AcceptRejectUpdate ConsentApple can sometimes seem so superior that it barely notices competition. It's an act, of course. Cupertino's only too aware of threats to its self-regarding supremacy. The company doesn't often, though, succumb to the urge of denigrating its competitors. Not now that . I was heartened, therefore, to see Apple sniffily...WW…

We and our partners use cookies to understand how you use our site, improve your experience and serve you personalized content and advertising. Read about how we use cookies and your choices . By continuing to use this site, you accept these cookies.AcceptRejectUpdate ConsentThe announcements from tech CEOs always sound supremely confident.Of course, they confidently declare, employees . Or even beyond. Many CEOs warm to the idea. This might be a way to save a little money here and there. And there are so many , just to make sure they're working.Some tech leaders, though, secretly enjoy a...…We and our partners use cookies to understand how you use our site, improve your experience and serve you personalized content and advertising. Read about how we use cookies and your choices . By continuing to use this site, you accept these cookies.AcceptRejectUpdate ConsentThe announcements from tech CEOs always sound supremely confident.Of course, they confidently declare, employees . Or even beyond. Many CEOs warm to the idea. This might be a way to save a little money here and there. And there are so many , just to make sure they're working.Some tech leaders, though, secretly enjoy a...WW…

 usually looks at the world of business with a skeptical eye and a firmly rooted tongue in cheek. We're all in this together.Such is a popular mantra currently. If your business is going to survive these torrid times of Coronavirus, every hand on deck should be propelling the ship forward.Some business models may be more vulnerable to friction in the bad times.McDonald's has had enormous success with its franchise model. However, as the company got bigger it began to move more slowly. Change was glacial. Which, when you have so many sprightly competitors, allows them to feel...… usually looks at the world of business with a skeptical eye and a firmly rooted tongue in cheek. We're all in this together.Such is a popular mantra currently. If your business is going to survive these torrid times of Coronavirus, every hand on deck should be propelling the ship forward.Some business models may be more vulnerable to friction in the bad times.McDonald's has had enormous success with its franchise model. However, as the company got bigger it began to move more slowly. Change was glacial. Which, when you have so many sprightly competitors, allows them to feel...WW…

/>You think there are limits to what your employer can see you do online? Some new Microsoft updates may make you think a little more about that.I feel sure there are many American workers who have put the whistle in their mouths, like , but been too afraid to blow it. I feel equally sure that, after I tell you what's coming, you'll be more reluctant even to put the whistle in your mouth. It may be that you think your employer is doing evil, unspeakable or merely unpleasant or illegal things. But it may equally be that you're less a whistleblower and more tending toward the unpleasant,...…/>You think there are limits to what your employer can see you do online? Some new Microsoft updates may make you think a little more about that.I feel sure there are many American workers who have put the whistle in their mouths, like , but been too afraid to blow it. I feel equally sure that, after I tell you what's coming, you'll be more reluctant even to put the whistle in your mouth. It may be that you think your employer is doing evil, unspeakable or merely unpleasant or illegal things. But it may equally be that you're less a whistleblower and more tending toward the unpleasant,...WW…

/>The effects of our new forced home-working experiment have been far-reaching. With technology making communication constant, some companies may have gone too far.I'm sorry to return to the subject of . But, in truth, not very sorry. We're at a moment in time when changes in our working methods have encouraged us to consider not only how we work, but how we treat those with whom we work. Last week, I mentioned how Microsoft that while its leaders were thriving merrily, its employees were in abject despair. They feel overworked, overwhelmed, and overly at the mercy of work intruding into...…/>The effects of our new forced home-working experiment have been far-reaching. With technology making communication constant, some companies may have gone too far.I'm sorry to return to the subject of . But, in truth, not very sorry. We're at a moment in time when changes in our working methods have encouraged us to consider not only how we work, but how we treat those with whom we work. Last week, I mentioned how Microsoft that while its leaders were thriving merrily, its employees were in abject despair. They feel overworked, overwhelmed, and overly at the mercy of work intruding into...WW…

/>It seems that Samsung and Pixel owners are far more likely to avoid a repeat purchase than, say, iPhone owners.Few change brands with regularity these days, do they? You get involved with one ecosystem or another and -- on -- with a specific brand within the ecosystem. Then, you upgrade to the next, even greater one of those that comes along. I wonder, though, whether those on the Android side are getting, well, a little bored. Please put that spikey implement down, you committed Galaxists and Pixelites, and observe these findings from a survey of 5,000 of your fellow citizens. , this...…/>It seems that Samsung and Pixel owners are far more likely to avoid a repeat purchase than, say, iPhone owners.Few change brands with regularity these days, do they? You get involved with one ecosystem or another and -- on -- with a specific brand within the ecosystem. Then, you upgrade to the next, even greater one of those that comes along. I wonder, though, whether those on the Android side are getting, well, a little bored. Please put that spikey implement down, you committed Galaxists and Pixelites, and observe these findings from a survey of 5,000 of your fellow citizens. , this...WW…

Byfor| February 13, 2021 -- 13:00 GMT (05:00 PST)| Topic:The has been adjusted.The pilots have, it's said, been re-familiarized with its workings. So despite the misgivings and of some, the Boeing 737 Max , without a hint of an incident. Without even word of some mass -- or even tiny -- passenger boycott, either. American Airlines was -- between La Guardia and Miami. United Airlines . , Southwest Airlines is returning it to passenger service in March. Even the Europeans . All, then, is well.  Indeed, the major American airlines are absolutely not hiding the fact that the plane is in...…Byfor| February 13, 2021 -- 13:00 GMT (05:00 PST)| Topic:The has been adjusted.The pilots have, it's said, been re-familiarized with its workings. So despite the misgivings and of some, the Boeing 737 Max , without a hint of an incident. Without even word of some mass -- or even tiny -- passenger boycott, either. American Airlines was -- between La Guardia and Miami. United Airlines . , Southwest Airlines is returning it to passenger service in March. Even the Europeans . All, then, is well.  Indeed, the major American airlines are absolutely not hiding the fact that the plane is in...WW…

/>Microsoft Teams isn't just there to make employees' lives easier. It's also there to give bosses data about so many things.My head is recovering from something of a pivot. You see, a couple of weeks ago Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella declared, , that Teams could soon be a digital platform as important as the internet browser. Yes, Microsoft Teams. This startled me a touch. The world seems to have moved rather quickly of late. I thought of all those employees, real people who have been thrust onto Teams. I wondered if they like it. I also wondered just how much it records what they do. See...…/>Microsoft Teams isn't just there to make employees' lives easier. It's also there to give bosses data about so many things.My head is recovering from something of a pivot. You see, a couple of weeks ago Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella declared, , that Teams could soon be a digital platform as important as the internet browser. Yes, Microsoft Teams. This startled me a touch. The world seems to have moved rather quickly of late. I thought of all those employees, real people who have been thrust onto Teams. I wondered if they like it. I also wondered just how much it records what they do. See...WW…

/>Microsoft president Brad Smith offers a strong statement in favor of a peaceful transition of power in the US. Some remind him of a few salient details.It's one of the quandaries of business that you have to deal with politicians. Yet, as time has drifted the world toward disturbing strains of authoritarian agitprop, companies -- and especially tech companies -- have been dragged further and further toward overtly political statements and action.Whether it be or outgoing President Trump's , tech companies have expressed themselves more fully and forcefully, though not always to...…/>Microsoft president Brad Smith offers a strong statement in favor of a peaceful transition of power in the US. Some remind him of a few salient details.It's one of the quandaries of business that you have to deal with politicians. Yet, as time has drifted the world toward disturbing strains of authoritarian agitprop, companies -- and especially tech companies -- have been dragged further and further toward overtly political statements and action.Whether it be or outgoing President Trump's , tech companies have expressed themselves more fully and forcefully, though not always to...WW…

/>One of the great dangers in tech lies in believing you're a special kind of clever. A Microsoft executive's innocent comment led to some stark revelations about how some people in tech really think.Sometimes nerds can get on your nerves. They don't necessarily mean to, but they can have a particularly unfiltered mind that's connected to particularly unfiltered vocal cords. Which can lead to the odd awkward moment. Here, for example, was a conversation I blundered upon. It involved someone at , someone at and someone who might want to consider his filters. (And may now have.) Naturally,...…/>One of the great dangers in tech lies in believing you're a special kind of clever. A Microsoft executive's innocent comment led to some stark revelations about how some people in tech really think.Sometimes nerds can get on your nerves. They don't necessarily mean to, but they can have a particularly unfiltered mind that's connected to particularly unfiltered vocal cords. Which can lead to the odd awkward moment. Here, for example, was a conversation I blundered upon. It involved someone at , someone at and someone who might want to consider his filters. (And may now have.) Naturally,...WW…