Last week, the world was shaken by news of a worrisome new coronavirus variant called Omicron. By Monday, President Joe Biden assured Americans, “This variant is a cause for concern, not a cause for panic.” Public health experts say it will take weeks to get the full picture of how this virus mutation is affecting human health, but in the meantime there are steps we can take to mitigate our risk of infection. Since the World Health Organization labeled the Omicron a variant of conc
Lots of people talk about deleting their social media accounts. I actually did it. Deleting Facebook and Instagram made me social media app-less, aside from LinkedIn, which I don’t tend to doomscroll on anyway. I’d been considering the idea for months, and I’m honestly not sure what pushed me to do it. I only intended to try it for a week to see how things went. But here we are, three weeks later, and I still haven’t re-installed either app—and don’t pla
The Fairphone 4 is an Android smartphone that begs to be dismantled. Peel off the back cover with your fingernail, and you’ll find colorful patterns and shapes around the interior along with a slogan: “Yours to open. Yours to keep.” Look closer, and you’ll see that each component is held down with only small Phillips screws, facilitating simple repairs. Fairphone says it will cover those components with a five-year warranty and provide basic software updates through 2
Ah, the underappreciated computer mouse. Even in the age of trackpads and touchscreens, it remains one of the most important tools in your work repertoire. Whether you’re looking for a new mouse to replace your daily driver or something for a more specific function, here’s a shortlist of great options. Some ground rules: I chose wireless mice that are compatible across major operating systems. Some ship with an optional wireless connector that plugs into a USB port, but all of
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey is stepping down, the company announced Monday. The massive vacancy that move creates will be filled by Twitter’s chief technology officer Parag Agrawal. Who? Parag Agrawal. Though his profile hasn’t exactly been high, Agrawal has been a key lieutenant of Dorsey’s for years. Here are a few things to know about Twitter’s new chief.
- He’s a Twitter veteran. Agrawal has spent most of his career at Twitter. He joined the company in 20
With more than 2 million civilian employees, the federal government counts itself as the largest employer of people in the United States. President Biden has issued several executive orders directing his administration to overhaul its hiring practices, procurement, and policies to address systemic racism and inequality. Here, Deloitte Consulting LLP managing director Shrupti Shah, who has advised governments on developing outcome-oriented strategies and the monitoring and managing of performance
When Chad Anglin opened Pigment in San Diego with his wife, Amy Paul, in 2007, they envisioned creating a gallery space for local artists. As the pair added furniture, home goods, and gifts, customers began to flock to their carefully curated shelves and macramé aesthetic. Over time, the couple expanded into a 3,000-square-foot storefront, and then opened two additional locations. Ten years in, Pigment had become a fixture in its community and at the industry trade shows where Anglin and Pa
Remote and hybrid work used to be edge cases. They’re not anymore, and major software is changing to reflect that. Google Calendar, for example, is adding features specific to the transition to remote and hybrid work. The ability to set your work location and split your workday into pieces are both recent changes that reflect the reality of this decade (and the decade to come). When and where you work are more flexible now; Google Calendar is now flexible enough to match that. Here are a
Calendly isn’t particularly hard to use, which is part of why it’s one of the best meeting scheduler apps. That doesn’t mean every feature is obvious, though, and some of Calendly’s best features are just a little too covert. The best way to learn any app is to press all the buttons, but don’t worry if you don’t have the time to do that—I did it for you. Here’s what I found. Give yourself breathing room between appointments Cuttin
There’s no way around it: The holiday shopping season is going to be a mess. From inflation driving up the price of goods to massive disruption in the supply chain causing shortages and delays, the grim forecast that analysts have been warning consumers and retailers about for months is, indeed, nigh. While there’s little that can be done immediately about a total meltdown in logistics and an economy still reeling from the pandemic, there’s another pain point in the online s