Powerful Communication Podcast

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.

Heat can do permanent damage to a hard drive.

Be careful about what is going on around your equipment - make sure air outlets are free from any obstruction, keep dust away from air vents and don't put anything on top of computers while they're running.

In hot weather, keep laptops OFF your lap. Lift them up, on a professional stand, a range of suppliers make 'cooling stands' which let air circulate all around the machine, some even have additional fans.

And remember working outside will be a challenge if you can't see what is happening on your screen.

Consider a 'hood' for your laptop or an anti glare screen.

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 @iamclintmurphy on Twitter, he's put together a list of 10 basics everyone should know, find it on the hashtag DigitalMinuteUK.

If you're heading overseas on holiday - remember free mobile phone roaming throughout Europe is no longer guaranteed since the UK left the EU.

Roaming charges have returned for some networks and if you're downloading data that could be costly.

Use WiFi wherever possible and be sure to disable auto downloads when you're not on WiFi. Or download your music and TV shows before you leave home.

Best advice is to check with your network before you travel so you know exactly what you're getting into.

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 takeover deal looks entirely dead.

The 2 sides couldn't come to any sort of agreement about the number of fake accounts on the platform.

My opinion is that Musk's 44 billion dollar takeover was a gross over valuation of what the company is actually worth.

Up until now, anyone using Meta's virtual reality platform had to use it via a Facebook account.

That rule is being ditched from next month, putting some distance between Meta and the Facebook brand.

Amazon is to start using electric vans and e cargo bikes to make deliveries in Central London - the new vehicles will work out a central hub and be used for the final mile of deliveries, eventually this will spread across the UK.

In America the company is moving ahead with its planned Drone deliveries - Prime Air will take to the skies to deliver packages in Lockeford, California later this year.

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 bit lighter, then the Downing Street cat has its own, unofficial, parody Twitter account - find it @number10cat.

The DVLA is warning drivers to bet aware of websites promoting paid for services which you can easily do yourself, for free on the DVLA website.

Tasks such as renewing driving licences for people over 70 and help with V5C registration certificates can all be done yourself, for free at the official DVLA.gov.uk site

Several websites have emerged - where they quite legitimately offer to do it for you - but take a fee - the DVLA wants drivers to know they don't have to go down that paid route.

And some new research just out from the team at Sprout Social looking at the best times to post content on social media.

They suggest you'll get the best result on Facebook posting early in the morning, and content shared on Tuesdays between 10am and 12noon also performs well.

There are insights for Twitter to - the research is based on US time zones and values according to industry sectors but you can get the full report on the Sprout Social website.

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

The Consumer Technology Association has picked dup some new patent filings from Apple which suggest a future range of MacBoooks could offer wireless charging for iPhone and keyboards that can sense multiple inputs. There's also the potential for MacBooks to be made from materials such as ceramics and glass instead of aluminium.

And I think we'll be hearing more about 'lock screen content' in the coming months.

Rather than unlocking your phone, choosing an app and then seeing content, the future might involve giving one app control over your lock screen and having it serve a rotating feed of news headlines, quizzes, games and pictures - think of it as a really clever screensaver - and yes, it'll almost certainly contain ads as well.

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 experience.

'TikTok Shop' launched last year and, similar to QVC featured brands and influencers showcasing products in live videos, which consumers could then click to buy.

It was hailed as the future of shopping but seems to have suffered problems and failed to hit targets.

The FT quotes a source saying the market just isn't there yet.

And as we move through summer you might be on holiday, going away somewhere or just looking to spend time in the garden at night - it's useful to know when it's going to get dark.

The easiest way to find out is to simply type 'when will it get dark' into Google and it'll display an answer for exactly where you are right now.

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 years but it's still hanging around with around 332 million people around the world using it every day.

Now it's trying to persuade them to PAY for additional content.

Snapchat+ features what the company calls 'exclusive, experimental and pre release feature' - it costs 3 dollars 99 a month and the UK is included in the countries getting the new features first.

70s rock stars Crosby Stills and Nash have put their music back on Spotify, 5 months after they quit in protest at podcaster Joe Rogan's comments on COVID.

Neil Young's music remains OFF the platform.

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 you're looking for an alternative to big names like Google.

This one is called 'Brave', find it at search.brave.com - it days it doesn't track you, the phrases you search for or anything you click. It also claims not to collect any data on users - it's independent, private and anonymous and seems to have fewer ads than other search engines.

DuckDuckGo is another alternative to consider.

Finally with school holidays coming up and unpredictable weather you might be looking for something TV shows and movies to watch.

agoodmovietowatch.com is packed with personal recommendations and movies that only receive a 70% review score or higher.

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 you use the search features you'll find the humble 1990 4 door Escort and others like it.

Tell the car lover in your life and visit www.fordheritagevault.com

And social media users fed up being bombarded with posts about bitcoin and cryptocurrency - remember you can mute other people's accounts, particular words or entire topics.

On Instagram choose 'settings - privacy and then hidden words'

On Twitter click 'Privacy and safety - and look in 'content you see' and 'mute and block.

More tomorrow.

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 meeting and ask them to choose dates and times they're available and then tell you the most popular option.

When it's used properly it can cut down on dozens of emails being sent back and forth.

Other products that do similar things include coda.io which is particularly suited to sharing ideas and discussing agenda items, 'whenavailable.com' has a FREE plan but it's limited to 20 guests and there's also Calendly, SimplyMeet.me, and this doesn't look quite so smart and clever but you could set up a shared Google Calendar.

It's nice to remember sometimes what all this technology was actually intended to do - make our lives easier.