Powerful Communication Podcast

Technology shouldn't be causing us stress, but sometimes it does.

There's nothing more frustrating than forgetting a password and having to go through a laborious 'reset' process when you want to access something quickly.

'Password Managers' are designed to make life easier.

'Keeper', 'Zoho', 'LastPass' and '1Password' are some of the well known trusted sites to help with password management.

Some are free, others with more advanced features are paid for.

They'll often sync passwords across your devices and encrypt the password itself - it's a much more reliable solution than picking easy to guess passwords or using the same password across multiple accounts.

Have a look around and find one that suits you.

Facebook's news feed is getting a new look.

'Home' will highlight content from creators that Facebook thinks you'll enjoy - a bit like TikTok's 'for you' page.

Then there's a choice of 'feeds' which will include recent posts from friends and family, people you choose to follow and regularly interact with.

Ultimately, I think this will make it harder for businesses to get their content seen by customers, unless they pay to Boost their posts.

Long before the internet was an entertainment platform, it was almost entirely built around information and learning.

It can still be an extremely powerful educational tool - like an entire reference library wherever you want it.

'Think With Google' is a series of articles focussed on technology, marketing and leadership, designed to provide some thought provoking substance to your daily reading habits.

And now, you can have those articles read out loud to you, with Google's new audio narration feature.

Find out more at thinkwithgoogle.com

Early next year looks like the launch for Netflix's cheaper, advertiser supported subscription plan.

The streaming giant is looking for a new strategy to deal with cancellations and to keep its numbers up - the cheaper plan is likely to be built around Netflix original content and won't have so much of the shows and films made by big studios.

Finally a report in the Wall Street Journal hints at mobile phones getting even thinner with virtual sim cards.

I think this is great news because there's nothing more annoying than trying to remove the SIM from a phone -the report says it would also make it simpler to have 2 numbers running from the same handset.

Listen up Amazon Prime users - you might notice some changes to the look and feel of the platform next time you log in.

A report on TheVerge.com says Amazon is rolling out a brand new look for Prime Video across many of its apps and devices.

The layout should be less cluttered and more intuitive - in fact it looks quite similar to Netflix and crucially, should be easier to find whatever it is you're looking for.

Big changes are on the horizon for Snapchat with the launch of its desktop version.

Up until now you could only use the platform using the mobile app but now, if you're in the UK and using a Chrome browser you'll be able to visit Snapchat For Web, as long as you have a Snapchat Plus subscription which costs around 3 pounds 30 a month.

Log in through web.snapchat.com and you'll be able to start conversations on your phone and finish them on your computer, and vice versa - WhatsApp has had this feature for several years.

Much of our technology would be nothing without Lithium Ion batteries - if you've been on a flight recently you'll know they can be a problem - as they're at higher risk of catching fire.

Now a Swiss manufacturer has developed a new design that it says reduces that risk by 80 percent - this could have a big impact on the technology of the future.

It's getting easier to shop inside YouTube.

The video sharing platform has announced a new partnership with Shopify which will let people running Shopify e-commerce websites integrate their products across their YouTube channel.

This should be good news for lots of retailers but you'll need 1 thousand subscribers on your channel in order to access the new features so now is the time to build up those videos and start making the most of your Youtube channel.

This is also a sign of other players in the tech space coming together to take on the might of Amazon and Facebook and Instagram.

The success of 'Stranger Things' which I've still never seen is a ray of sunshine for Netflix after a very tough quarter.

The streaming giant has announced it lost 1 million subscribers between April and July - I expect that trend to continue as more and more content creators launch their own streaming platforms.

And if you're working from home and using 2 screens for your computer - tell me if you think this is true - researchers at the University of Utah say employees using a 2nd monitor save 2 and a half hours in productivity time every day if they use it for all their tasks.

I certainly find it helps but I'm not sure it's THAT useful.

Remember you can get in touch with the digital minute anytime - just email [email protected]

A friend of mine got a fright the other day when she found an entry in her Google calendar from someone she didn't know.

I had to explain to her that by default, Apple, Google and Microsoft calendars are set up to accept calendar invitations from anyone.

This makes them an easy tactic for spammers and scammers, especially if the calendar invite they send you includes a link.

It's tempting to click it, thinking it might help explain what the invite is all about.

This, of course is what the spammer wants and it could open you up to all sorts of trouble.

So, treat entries in your calendar with the same care you would an unsolicited email or text message.

You can stop this happening at all by going into the settings and under 'add invitations to my calendar' change it from 'from everyone' to 'when I respond to the invitation in an email', and this will keep you safe.

Facebook owner Meta is one step closer to taking full control of GIF giant GIPHY.

A 400 million dollar takeover deal was referred to the Competition and Markets Authority and is now in court, there's a good result for Meta which should smooth the way for the deal to go ahead.

And TV entertainer Michael Barrymore is the latest celebrity to join TikTok - he's quickly growing a following and sharing bloopers and outtakes from some of his TV shows.

Google Maps is to start providing tailored directions depending on what type of vehicle you're driving.

A new software update will take into account hybrid and electric vehicles and offer the most efficient path.

Users will be asked to give details of their vehicle and the experience will be optimised from then on.

On the subject of cars - Amazon Garage is a useful feature if you're using the online shopping giant.

If you're browsing for products but aren't sure they'll fit your vehicle you can enter the registration number and it'll only show products which will be suitable.

I know that other retailers are doing this on their websites - it isn't just Amazon.

The intense heat is going to be the big story through the first half of this week.

As well as the website at metoffice.gov.uk the Met Office has an official weather app and you can stay on top of the latest advice and warnings by checking @metoffice on Twitter.

Other weather providers online include weather.com and accuweather.

Please do stay safe and if you are stuck working in front of a screen remember you might get some relief by plugging a USB desk fan into your computer.

Stay safe and there's more tomorrow.

In this special episode of the Comsteria podcast, Colin Kelly explores the potential of a more immersive internet of the future and share some ideas regarding how we might choose to represent ourselves online.

Want to know more about The Metaverse, NFTs and cryptocurrency?

Join our live, jargon free webinar coming soon. Find out more at the Metaverse page on the Comsteria website.

The cost of living crisis is real and it's probably going to get tougher before it gets better so let's see if our technology can help us.

The first thing to look at is what you're not using.

That could be old phones, laptops and accessories gathering dust in a drawer.

Or DVDs and CDs you never play.

Now, there are many web sites which will buy them for you but they tend not give you much money unless they're extremely rare.

And of course you could list then for sale yourself using sites like eBay and GumTree.

But asking around your friends and family might be even better as you'll avoid the fees associated with some of these sites and might even get more for it.

It's the same with phones and computers - musicmagpie, envirophone and mazuma are among many sites who will buy old tech but think about within your family instead of that relative getting a new phone, maybe you've an old one they could take instead.

And when it comes to billing - sometimes there are savings to be made by going paperless and signing up for email billing.

If you're fortunate enough to be able to pay upfront - phones are often cheaper if you buy the handset outright and then choose a SIM only package - you might find your broadband provider even gives you free mobile sims.

And as I always say, there are millions of pounds sitting right now in unused subscriptions - whether it's online newspapers or streaming services make sure you cancel anything you aren't using - especially free trials that auto renew.

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.

Ever got a document in block caps and you want to change it all to lower case or put capitals at the start of sentences?

Highlight the text you're working with and hold SHIFT while you press F3.

Press it a few times and it'll cycle round serval difference options.

And it's been a while since I mentioned cost of living money saving tech tips.

A big one right now is to threaten to leave whether it's a software subscription or service provider.

I've seen discounts as large as 30% for life - these companies will give up a lot in return for your continued loyalty.

I'd also advise making sure you're not paying for the same thing twice.

For example - the latest version of Final Cut Pro has built in automatic captions, removing the need to pay for another provider.

More money saving tech tips on tomorrow's bulletin.