Powerful Communication Podcast

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 vouchers.

There's also groupon.co.uk which is offering further discounts to new customers - one thing I've noticed on Groupon in particular is a move away from high end luxury experiences to more day to day shopping deals and essentials such as socks, tops and even toilet rolls, so long as you don't mind buying in bulk and storing have somewhere to store them.

As I always say if you live somewhere with space to store 90 toilet rolls I'n not sure you'd need to look for a cheap deal.

Other sites worth a look include VoucherCodes, Wowcher and HotUKDeals.

You'll always save more if you don't mind switching to a less known brand and there are further savings if you make group bookings so if you've a bunch of friends that can all do the same thing together, you'll see some of the best deals.

As always, read the small print or ask so you're clear exactly what you're buying and when it expires.

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 enterprise and EOD which apparently appears a lot in emails and during meetings where work should be completed by the 'end of the day'.

Instagram is adding new tools designed to support young users with their mental health.

There's particular concern around teenagers comparing the way they look and the platform will prompt users who repeatedly look at the same type of content, to try something different.

And this from the US where a medical therapeutics company is using 3D printing technology to develop an artificial exterior ear to help patients who are born with a rare condition which means part of their ear is either missing or hasn't formed correctly.

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 support Explorer so it won't receive software updates and security patches - anyone doing so uses it at their own risk and is liable to viruses and other compatibility issues.

Chrome is now by far the most popular web browser with almost 65 percent of the market, followed by Safari and then Edge.

Facebook's launched a gaming platform similar to Roblox - it's called Crayta.

It allows users to create virtual worlds and play games, crucially - without a PC.

Any device that can run Facebook, can run Crayta.

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 them included.

Whatever your opinion, it does seem we're living through a period of upheaval and just as our personal finances are affected by the economic situation we're living in, so are some of our employers.

LinkedIn can be a very powerful tool if you find yourself looking for a job and developing a profile means you'll be able to take advantage and move quickly if you'r eon the receiving end of bad news.

Facebook is another tech giant adapting to the economic squeeze.

Reports claim the parent company Meta is delaying the launch of its planned augmented reality glasses and a dual camera smartwatch. It's also pulled back on its audio division and move into podcasts.

If I was giving Facebook advise I'd tell them to forget it all and focus on providing customer service to people hacked or locked out of their accounts, or trying to report abusive content.

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 last week by talking about domain names if you're starting a website.

Once you've got one of them you'll need to choose a content management system.

Wordpress, Wix and Weebly are among the most popular but you might also like Squarespace and Shopify if you're intending to sell things.

Most come with free trials so you can get a feel for them before paying anything - all those site builders will try to sell you their own hosting package as well, although you could shop around and choose your own providers.

The Digital Minute will be back tomorrow and send your tech questions to [email protected]

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 the huge variety, the original 4 are still by far the most common and the easiest for audiences to remember.

Domain names can cost as little as £10 a year but premium highly sought after names and some of the new 'extensions' can be hundreds or even thousands of pounds.

They are an important part of our identity online but most of the time, having a domain name doesn't mean your website is any good and it's not a guarantee of getting visitors to your website, although it can help.

So don't get hung up on domain names and shop around to get the best deal if you're buying one.

We'll talk more about getting started with websites next time on the digital minute.

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 Thunderbirds fans are likely to embrace the new technology - but given the series is actually set in the 2060s then I can see why they're giving it a go.

Fake profiles on Twitter could be set to scupper Elon Musk's proposed takeover deal.

He's pushing for more information about fake accounts and bots on the platform - Twitter insists around 5% of accounts are fake, Musk has questioned the figure.

I can't see this deal going through.

And could Artificial Intelligence help reduce the time we spend in traffic jams?

Researchers from Aston University have created a system that scans live video footage and adjusts the lights to compensate, to keep traffic moving.

Inadequate traffic signalling is a major cause of congestion and in tests, the researchers say this new system worked better than anything else.

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 operating system will let users multitask with multiple windows - which you can resize - open at one time.

Apple also announced 2 new products - a revamped MacBook Air and a new MacBook Pro running the new M2 chip.

Etsy is a hugely popular online marketplace, particularly for items like home made gifts, jewellery and up cycled furniture.

It's announced a new purchase protection programme for shoppers which will offer refunds it items arrived damaged, missing or doesn't march the original description.

There's protection for sellers too, they won't be penalised if items go missing in the post, so long as they used a tracking code and follow other terms.

Finally the MG Motor company is the latest big name to go into the meta verse. MG Verse is a virtual space containing a virtual museum, games and a virtual test drive experience.

It's expected to launch this Christmas.

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 part of 'Meet', including the ability to hold video calls with 100 participants and eventually the 'Duo' name will be retired and Google Meet will be the video calling product that Google pushes.

If you're heading overseas on holiday over the next few weeks then wired.com has picked out its favourite language learning apps along with a pocket translator - you can find that @wired on Twitter.

Linkedin has shared some fascinating data regarding the industries with the most 'remote working' job vacancies and how that compares with a year ago.

Tech, IT and Media ranks number 1 with education at 2, followed by Admin and support services.

Get the full story at the LInkedin News page.

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 others using the occasion to highlight the scale of poverty in the UK along with criticism of Britain's colonial past.

If you are interested in following the official events on social media the hashtags #PlatinumJubilee and #HM70 are worth watching.

Twitter seems to be pulling back from new features like audio spaces and newsletters - the company is redeploying some staff away from those new initiatives into other areas of the business.

And listen up photographers - Pinterest has just won a legal case in the US where a photographer complained about pictures he'd taken being used alongside adverts.