There was something strange going on in Whoville… but what? NBC Dateline’s Keith Morrison investigates and tells the classic tale of a sinister plot to stop Christmas in his own way. At the end — a twist no one saw coming.
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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.
Thanks to the continuing COVID-19 lockdowns and the resulting growth in work from home, Microsoft (MSFT) Teams has been steadily growing its user numbers. The collaboration platform has expanded from 20 million users in November 2019 to 115 million daily active users (DAU). This growth has put Teams among the most popular collaboration platform during these uncertain times.
If you are part of the growing number of project managers working from home using the collaboration software Teams to keep in touch with your project teams – are you an efficient Teams user? It has been estimated that you might be spending 64 hours every year on unnecessary keyboard-to-mouse coordination in Teams and other GUI’s. Here are 10 keyboard shortcuts to increase your Microsoft Teams productivity in 2021.
1 – Zoom In – (Ctrl+Equals sign) – This keyboard shortcut helps find things visually, especially after a long day, when your eyes are tired out from all the blue light fatigue. You can zoom in anywhere across the Windows app to improve its accessibility. . 
2 – Toggle mute – (Ctrl+Shift+M) – Use this keyboard shortcut to cut out noise during calls, quickly chime in without adding to ambient noise, and have more focused conversations.
Bonus tip#1 – Toggle video (Ctrl+Shift+O) but this is available only on the desktop version.
3 – Start an audio call – (Ctrl+Shift+C) – Use this keyboard shortcut from within a chat to start an audio call with chat participants. Bonus tip#2 – Use Ctrl+Shift+U to starting a video call.
4. Go to sharing toolbar – (Ctrl+Shift+Space) – It is called collaboration software for a reason – This keyboard shortcut brings up the toolbar so you can share your screen, give someone else control and start the whiteboard.
5. Blur background – (Ctrl+Shift+P) – If you are WFH with a messy bookshelf or a refrigerator with kid’s drawings right behind you -this keyboard shortcut lets you quickly blur the background and present a professional setting for your video feed.
6. Attach files – (Ctrl+O) – This keyboard shortcut allows you to quickly attach a document or a file when communicating with someone via chat. It will open a pop-up menu where you can choose to add files either from Microsoft OneDrive or from your local storage.
7. Start a new line – (Shift+Enter) – This keyboard combo is useful for when you want to create paragraphs or bulleted lists inside a chat message. It will bring the cursor to a new line, within the message, instead of sending it right away as would happen if you were to press only Enter.
8. Edit a chat message – (Page Up arrow key) – If you have missed out on any information or made a typo, the Page Up button on your keyboard lets you edit your last sent message without having to press the More button.
9. Enter an emoji – (emotion keyword) – Instead of scrolling thru the lists of emojis – type in the keyword within the parentheses. Examples include
(cry),10. Find additional emojis – (:word) – Microsoft Teams works with several third-party players to populate its emoji library, so there may be more emojis to express your feelings. Type in “:” followed by the word, and an autocomplete menu will start suggesting emojis – From Avocado to Zombie
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While MSFT Teams is not designed for project management – there is no built-in way to track tasks, risks, manage resources, or do other PM things. It should be a tool in your toolbox. A report by Forrester on Teams found that:
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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.
Thanks to COVID it is the virtual silly season. No more jamming into malls it is online shopping now. Half of shoppers spend some of their money on pet treats and other supplies this holiday season. If your virtual gift list includes presents for your four-legged buddy – be careful, there are some puppy toys out there that can compromise your privacy while Fido is entertained. Mozilla’s “Privacy Not Included” project analyzed the security of pooch-gifts, and the results are not good for your privacy.
All of these technologies can become part of the Internet of Things (IoT). IoT technology interconnects them. For example, IoT connects the camera in your living room with the smartphone on your desk, allowing you to monitor your pet while you’re at work. IoT enables the collection and interconnectivity of data, which is extremely important when considering your safety and privacy.
Dogness iPet Robot – This doggy toy costs $299.00 and has all the bells and whistles to keep Fido entertained. It moves and chases your pooch. It has an HD video camera with night vision to record your pup, two-way audio to talk to your doggo, a laser to chase, and the ability to toss treats to your buddy with the click of a button in the app. The iPet Robot connects over Wi-Fi so your home network better be secure – otherwise, somebody could take over the rolling spybot and catch your pooch – or you – in a compromising position.
The Dogness iPet Robot also comes with Mozilla’s “*Privacy Not Included” warning. The bot can roll around your house with a night vision camera and microphone while connected to Wi-Fi. Mozilla says that both the Dogness device and app can snoop on you. The researchers report the device doesn’t encrypt your data. Dogness doesn’t state what information is collected from the robot, or what they do with it. Dogness uses artificial intelligence, but the reviewers could not determine how the firm uses AI.
If that is not scary enough, in March 2020, it was reported that Dogness left its Amazon ElasticSearch server exposed, containing the usernames, emails, clear-text passwords, and session cookies of its users. The unprotected information has led to the complete exposure of its production SQL database and application source code and the complete takeover and control of its pet feeding devices and associated accounts.
Mozilla could not determine if the Dogness iPet Robot meets its Minimum Security Standards.
Cheerble Wickedbone Interactive Gaming Toy For Dogs –This $78.99 interactive bone is next on the naughty list. You can control this interactive bone through an app on your phone that connects through Bluetooth. From the app you can make the bone roll around and change colors. When you get bored, a 20-minute interactive mode can entertain your pup without you.
The app requires access to your phone’s GPS location data—why? That’s a good question. Additionally, the reviews could not determine if the firm encrypted your data, required strong passwords, or used AI to make decisions about you. And like most IoT devices, it doesn’t seem to have a way to manage security vulnerabilities. Mozilla says this pet toy does not meet its Minimum Security Standards for these reasons.
Fitbark– I first wrote about Fitbark back in 2013. The Fitbark GPS costs $99.95 + subscription + the costs of Verizon’s LTE-M cellular network coverage. It is a bone-shaped tracking device that goes on your dog’s collar and will track her just about anywhere in the U.S. It also connects to Wi-Fi.
The Fitbark monitors your dog’s activity, sleep habits, scratching habits, and stress 24/7. You can link it to your FitBit, Google Fit, or Apple HealthKit apps and you can stress about your doggo’s health too.
Mozilla reports that Fitbark tracks your dog’s movements and whereabouts with Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and GPS. With all that tracking, an attacker could keep tabs on you or your pup. The app does collect personal data, including name, email, phone number, address, date of birth, profile photo, dog’s health, and biometric data.
The Felik Pet Companion—This mouse-shaped bot costs $129.00. It has a camera and artificial intelligence that tracks your pet, learns from their movements, and reacts to how they hunt so it can simulate real prey. Felik connects to the Wi-Fi in your house and has an app where you can schedule play throughout the day.
Mozilla says the firm seems to take privacy and security seriously. They built security and privacy-aware features into the dog toy, like the ability to toggle Wi-Fi on and off with a physical button, an indicator light when the camera is streaming, and even an on-device firewall.
Since it has a camera and a microphone, it could be sued to snoop on you. The app tracks your location. The product uses AI to analyze your personal data to make decisions about you. However, users can request an explanation about any decisions taken as a result of automated decision-making by contacting Felix.
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The Felik Pet Companion is the only online dog-toy that I would allow in my home.
The Mozilla *Privacy Not Included buyer’s guide investigates the privacy and security of connected toys, gadgets, and smart home products. They flag products they think consumers should think twice about before buying. Mozilla looks at how well they can confirm a product meets a Minimum Security Standard.
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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.
Jotting down everything that happens at your daily meetings can boost your productivity and make your workday better. Handwritten notes are a powerful tool for creating the neurocircuitry through the hand-brain complex supporting the brain’s capacity to retrieve information. Here are a few examples of how taking notes with a pen and paper can make your life better.
1. Make a MillionHow often has a million-dollar idea flashed through your brain and then it’s gone? They can come to you in the shower, at the gym at lunch and if you don’t write them down, you will forget them as soon as you enter the office or sit down at your desk. Carrying a notebook with you can change that. Just scribble your million-dollar idea down and carry on.
Taking notes will help you improve the quality of your work (work and personal). Your notes are your personal external memory storage. Your notebook can be a “refresher course” on all the things you have picked up through life.
Taking notes can make you look good – to your boss. If you’re in a meeting and are seen to be writing all the key factors and ideas down, this is a subtle hint about your character. It shows you have determination, can self-motivate, and are efficient.
3. Check It OffNotes can help you keep your To-Do list up to date. Studies have shown that as soon as you walk out of the room – your brain will automatically forget what was discussed. Writing things down can stop this from happening. So when the inevitable change comes thru you have a base to build your new day (or week).
You have a plan. You need to stick to it. But it is all too easy to get sucked into a whole host of conversations, “busy” activities, and, of course, the ever-addicting world of social media. Taking notes can help you stay on track and do the things you need to do rather than put them off for “tomorrow” (or get sidetracked by the never-ending flow of emails, text messages, and phone calls).
Jotting down as and when you get more requests piling in helps you prioritize them. This allows you to focus on the activities that are really urgent, rather than those you feel are urgent. You don’t have to constantly derail your day because someone thinks their request is the most important thing you’ve heard all day. The world doesn’t work like that, and you shouldn’t either.
After a meeting (or any activity at work) your brain will be cluttered with loose ends, ideas, and just a boatload of information. This isn’t good for your stress levels – having a cluttered mind can feel unsettled. Taking notes is a sure-fire way to regain control of your thoughts.
Studies have shown that stress-free minds are more productive. Being stress-free physically increases your brain’s density in the prefrontal cortex. The prefrontal cortex is responsible for much of our conscious thought and reasoning, and the ability to focus through emotional turmoil.
Controlling stress is extra critical during the COVID pandemic lockdowns. The U.S. Institute of Mental Health says that long-term stress may lead to serious health problems, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and other illnesses, including mental disorders such as depression or anxiety.
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For note-taking – I use a pen and paper notebook. I can take it pretty much everywhere to capture those million-dollar ideas. I know that many like to take their notes on a laptop or tablet because they think it’s easier to edit and organize their notes and tasks. But research (PDF) says using a laptop or tablet may be slowing you down and cluttering your notes with irrelevant information.
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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.
