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  Published Date: 2020-08-02 

 Now that everyone is working from home recognition is based more on output and quality than on face time with leadership. Working from home is helping women advance their tech careers Watch Now TechRepublic's Karen Roby spoke with Nancy Wang, CEO of Advancing Women in Product (AWIP), a nonprofit organization for women in tech, about how working from home could get more women into tech fields. The following is an edited transcript of their conversation. Nancy Wang: AWIP, or Advancing Women in Product, was started in 2017. The purpose behind AWIP is really to create a community for women who are already in product or engineering roles, targeting mid- to senior-career-level women and other minorities who want to advance to the executive levels, because, especially when you go to college, it's, "Do this, do this, follow this, and you'll get a job in big tech." But as soon as you get there, what is the next step? How do you move up the ladder? I realized that for each woman, the experience is incredibly unique and individual. However, there are certain milestones, there are certain skills that one needs to acquire in order to be eligible for an executive role. That's really what we do, is we provide skills-based workshops, we provide executive coaching and sponsorship through our ambassador community. Then lastly, we take all of those learnings and share them with our corporate sponsors, partners, as well as NGO organizations. SEE: IT job and salary guide: Highest tech salaries, top-paying cities, and compensation-boosting tips (TechRepublic Premium) The really unique thing about AWIP is that we are a collection of over 140 full-time practitioners in the field directly. We give realtime and real-life examples to help our members. For example, full-time, I am a service leader at Amazon Web Services, where I lead an organization of over 50 engineers, product managers, and designers, but AWIP is how I leverage my full-time skills to provide that coaching and learning to our members. Karen Roby: When we talk about working-from-home opportunities, now that so many of us are working from home, talk about how women are impacted and how you see this potentially as a good thing. Nancy Wang: I recently wrote an article about how COVID-19, if not, for example, adjusting the right way could lead to a pink collar recession. Some of those findings are, for example, traditionally women are responsible for taking care of the household, taking care of the children, but what I'm finding actually more and more these days directly from our members is that they are now receiving help from their spouses, from their family members, and all of that is contributing to their ability to give it their all and their work. Part of that then also leads to their ability to move up the career ladder. That's actually a positive outcome that I'm finding out from the COVID-19 period. Karen Roby: For working from home, Nancy, especially when we talk about technical roles, is this something that before you feel like was really difficult for women especially? Explain what that was like for women. Nancy Wang: Working from home and being a manager myself, there are certain things that, for example, when a woman is giving birth or when a woman needs to take care of young children, sometimes that necessitates that she worked from the home during certain periods, I know that a lot of folks in a lot of organizations are working toward more flexible work hours, and I do think that's a good thing, because ultimately, we should be a meritocracy where workers are evaluated based on their output and their achievements rather than face time or what traditional industry calls butts in seats. I'm not a firm believer of that, and I'm glad to see that policies are changing. SEE: Video teleconferencing do's and don'ts (free PDF) (TechRepublic) With that said, however, nothing does replace face time with leadership, so sometimes there could be hallway conversations or many catch-up sessions after large meetings, for example. If you work from home, you're naturally going to be absent from that. What COVID-19 has actually done to my earlier point is really level the playing field, because now everyone's remote. You can no longer have, "Hey, let's go chat two minutes about X before the meeting." That's really where studies show some of the backroom dealings or decisions really get made. Women, in my opinion, now just have an equal chance to make themselves heard and be part of that decision-making process. Karen Roby: Obviously this pandemic was not something any of us could see coming, so things have had to change rapidly and we're in the middle of it still, as companies are shuffling things around and trying to figure out how to best work through this. What do you see just a couple of months from now how things will continue to evolve as companies are changing in light of the pandemic and how will that overall be good for women? Nancy Wang: Speaking to some of the corporate sponsors that AWIP works with, including VMware, and of course, Amazon among other companies, is that we find that companies who have distributed offices are now bringing all of those offices together. Especially, one of the phenomena that's resulting from COVID is, I'm sure you've heard of the gig economy. One of our partners, her name is Jarah Euston, she's a founder and CEO of a partner organization of AWIP's called Wharton Alumnae Founders & Funders. She herself is a founder of an organization called WorkWhile. That's a Khosla [Ventures]-backed [organization] that focuses on the gig economy. Just from talking to her, as well as other founders in this space, what I'm seeing is that women who have specialized skills, whether it's in IT or engineering or design or marketing, are better able to apply those skills, because like I said, COVID has really leveled the playing field that is more about output and achievements rather than face time. Everyone is now assessed more so, and I can speak that from my own perspective, on what the output is. For example, even on my own team, currently, we do have our contract workers. For those contract workers, I assess them the exact same way as I would assess a full-time employee, "How many deliverables have you produced over the last, let's say, evaluation period? What was that quality of that deliverable?" Once you remove the full-time versus contract distinction and lines become blurred, that's where women who traditionally tend to go toward more gig-economy roles, because it allows them that flexibility to take care of household or take care of their family are now given an equal opportunity to advance their career. SEE: Return to work: What the new normal will look like post-pandemic (free PDF) (TechRepublic) Karen Roby: Leveling the playing field, that's a good thing, something I know we've all been hoping for, and certainly you've been working toward. Nancy, we appreciate you being here with us today, and I think it'd be great to check back in with you, say, in a couple of months just to see how things are going and some of the experiences that you have witnessed with some of those that you work with. Even a year from now, what is your hope or vision that you would like to see for this particular sect of women here that we're talking about? What do you hope for them? Nancy Wang: What I hope for them is that they feel supported and feel like they have just as much of an opportunity to advance their careers, whether they are gig economy, whether they are independent contractors or whether they are full time (employees), again, removing that distinction. For the women watching this, I really encourage you to check out our chapters, as well as our online community of over 16,000, where we have resources on how to advance your career and how to gain some of those skills that hiring managers will look for in executive roles. Executive Briefing Newsletter Discover the secrets to IT leadership success with these tips on project management, budgets, and dealing with day-to-day challenges. Delivered Tuesdays and Thursdays Sign up today Also see 

  Published Date: 2020-08-02 

 Jack Wallen shares what he likes and dislikes about KDE Plasma and reveals who might be best suited to use the open source desktop. Image: Jack Wallen I have to confess: I don't give KDE a fair shake. It's not because I don't believe it to be a strong take on the Linux desktop, it's just that I prefer a much more minimal desktop. Also, I was never a big fan of the old taskbar/start menu/system tray combo. I leaned more toward the GNOME way of thinking and doing things. Recently, a reader called me out on my lack of KDE coverage, so I thought it was time to offer up my take on where KDE Plasma stands, and who might be best suited to use this open source desktop. Comparing Plasma to my usual GNOME desktop is really quite challenging, given these two desktops are night and day. It's like comparing the works of Clive Barker to that of William Gibson--they're both incredibly good at what they do, they're using the same tools to tell stories, but in very different genres. So instead of doing the usual comparison, I thought I'd take a more creative approach to the task. I'll even lay out my conclusion right here: GNOME is e.e. cummings, whereas KDE is Alfred Lord Tennyson. One uses the minimum amount of "words" to convey the subject at hand, while the other opts to use a flooding flourish of words to great effect. One says: let. .simplicity open. .your. apps. While the other states: With the single tap of the phalange, a world of wonder shall open and display for you the tools with which you might explore new worlds, new ideas, and unheard of possibility. What in the world am I getting at? Let me explain. SEE: TechRepublic Premium editorial calendar: IT policies, checklists, toolkits, and research for download (TechRepublic Premium) GNOME I've gone on and on about GNOME. At this point, there's little to say about the current iteration of GNOME that I haven't already said. In fact, my summation of GNOME in my piece Is GNOME or Unity the desktop for you? is the same statement I'd make today about this particular desktop: GNOME is for users who need a desktop to get out of their way. They want to focus on applications and require as much screen real estate as possible. GNOME users don't care so much about tweaking the desktop--they simply want a desktop that is reliable, predictable, and polished. With that said, let's take a look at the latest release of KDE, by way of the KDE neon project. KDE Plasma Desktop Okay, first let's talk about the name. Is it KDE? Is it KDE Plasma? No. It's just Plasma. The name Plasma was introduced upon the release of KDE SC 4.4. To some, of course, it's still KDE. To others, it's KDE Plasma. I've even seen it referred to as the Plasma Desktop. Name aside, what sets Plasma apart from GNOME? Just about everything. At first blush, one could draw the conclusion that Plasma is what happens when the Windows 7 designers channel the macOS desktop designers to add enough panache to the desktop to create something completely different--and yet not. Why not? Because in the end, Plasma holds on to the tried-and-true desktop metaphor of taskbar/start menu/system tray. There's a good reason for that--in a word: Familiarity. Actually, two words: Familiarity and ease of use. Sorry, Tennyson took hold and turned two words into five. Let's reword that. Familiarity Usability Thing is, there's poetry hidden on the Plasma Desktop, just waiting to be released. You might think the developers and designers stopped at that collaboration between Windows 7 and macOS desktop, but you'd be wrong. Why? Plasma has a few tricks up its sleeve. One trick comes in the way of widgets. But wait, doesn't the macOS desktop have widgets? Fancy that, it does. Desktop widgets are exactly what you think they are--small applications you can add to the desktop that do anything from a simple analog clock, application launchers, menus, calculators, dictionaries, clipboards, device notifiers, and more. This is very familiar territory here--nothing you haven't seen before. That's telling. But alas, there's more, my friends. What are KDE Plasma activities? There's no way to "simply put" what an activity is in Plasma; however, you can think of them as virtual desktops that allow for more fine-tuned control over your experience. That's a bit vague. But seriously, what are activities? Again, virtual desktops with a bit more control. For example, you could create one activity for programming and add a number of developer-related widgets to that desktop. Next, you could pin developer-specific applications to the taskbar. You could also set certain privacy restrictions for different activities. For example, you could create an activity specifically for web browsing and then set that activity to clear the history of that activity after one month (oddly enough, that's the shortest time frame you can set). Thing is, the clearing of activity history doesn't actually dive into browser history. So what does history clearing do? After a quick test, it doesn't clear the history of the KWrite text editor--even after clearing all history of all apps on the current Activity. What gives? Why add a feature if said feature doesn't do what it's supposed to do? Truth be told, Plasma activities are somewhat of a mystery--one that most new (and/or average) users won't ever bother using. This little foray into widgets and activities brings me round to one of the reasons why I decided Plasma wasn't the desktop for me some time ago. It doesn't really know who it is. Is it e.e. cummings or Alfred Lord Tennyson? Barker or Gibson? Is it Windows 7 or macOS? On the surface, Plasma is a fine take on the traditional desktop; it's stable, fast, and incredibly easy to use for anyone who has worked with any sort of desktop interface. Plasma stumbles when it introduces new features but doesn't define them in such a way as to make them stand out as truly useful or unique. Don't get me wrong, I like Plasma. Every once in a while it's nice to install the latest version of Neon to see what the KDE developers have done with the desktop. Sadly enough, however, they haven't done much to refine the features that could set it apart from desktops of the past or present. Plasma is a taskbar/start menu/system tray desktop with a few extra bells and whistles that do little to entice me into making the switch from GNOME. Again, not that Plasma is bad. For anyone who prefers the traditional desktop, you would do well with Plasma. But once you start digging into some of the other features, confusion might set in, and you'll find yourself wondering, "Why is this here?" To go back to my original analogy, Plasma is to desktops what Tennyson is to poetry: There are a lot of beautiful words used to describe something where fewer words would do. Open Source Weekly Newsletter You don't want to miss our tips, tutorials, and commentary on the Linux OS and open source applications. Delivered Tuesdays Sign up today Also see 

  Published Date: 2020-08-02 

 Users are always searching for ways to make their computing lives better--the Windows 10 PowerToys are made specifically for this purpose. Cheat Sheet: Windows 10 PowerToys Watch Now No matter how many features Microsoft crams into its Windows 10 operating system, there will always be users looking for a faster, better, or at the very least, different way of doing things. The iteration of an operating system (no matter how well it works) is just part of human nature and it cannot be suppressed, so, why not embrace it? Microsoft's acknowledgement of this force of human nature is the Windows 10 PowerToys download. A set of slightly unusual free Windows tools has been a part of the Windows operating system landscape since Windows 95, but their availability has been noticeably absent for Windows 10—at least until September 2019. In 2019, Microsoft, in partnership with development company Janea Systems, released the first two PowerToys for Windows 10, accompanied by a promise of more releases in the near future. This TechRepublic cheat sheet describes each available tool or feature provided by Microsoft's official Windows 10 PowerToys. Note: This article is also available as a download--Cheat sheet: Windows 10 PowerToys (free PDF). SEE: 20 pro tips to make Windows 10 work the way you want (free PDF) (TechRepublic) When was Windows PowerToys first available? The first set of Windows PowerToys were made available for Windows 95. That first set of 15 free utilities were published and endorsed by Microsoft and made available in a free download. From the beginning, PowerToys were designed to be used by "power users" seeking ways to tweak the way the operating system functions. In some cases, a careless change made using a PowerToys utility by an inexperienced user could cause havoc with the Windows operating system, so novice users were encouraged to use caution. For the most part, though, PowerToys would allow users, whether they considered themselves "power" or not, to more easily make tweaks to the look and feel of Windows without a deep dive into configuration screens or the dreaded and dangerous edit of the Windows Registry file. Windows 95 PowerToys included: TweakUI was used for tweaking obscure Windows settings. was used for tweaking obscure Windows settings. CD Autoplay allowed all CDs to autoplay, not just audio CDs. allowed all CDs to autoplay, not just audio CDs. Command Prompt Here opened a command prompt in the current directory. opened a command prompt in the current directory. Explore from Here opened File Explorer in the current directory. opened File Explorer in the current directory. FlexiCD allowed a user to control an audio CD from the Taskbar. allowed a user to control an audio CD from the Taskbar. Xmouse 1.2 allowed a user to change window focus by moving the mouse cursor, no click needed. Through the years and the various Windows versions, individual PowerToys have come and gone. Each new Windows version inspired a new set of tools based on what developers perceived was needed to improve and enhance that version. Windows 10 has inspired a completely new set of PowerToys. Additional resources How can I get Windows 10 PowerToys? Traditionally, each power toy has been offered as a separate executable file, available as a free download from a specific Microsoft website. For Windows 10, Microsoft is taking a slightly different approach: All Windows 10 PowerToys are now included as part of a free downloadable system that users can configure. Figure A shows you what the Windows 10 PowerToys system looks like. Figure A Windows 10 PowerToys Version 0.20.0 is available on GitHub right now. Release v0.20.0 adds a Color Picker to the list of PowerToys utilities. This app allows users to pick a color from their screen and save it to the Windows 10 clipboard. These PowerToys are currently available: FancyZones Windows key Shortcut Guide PowerRename Preview Pane addons for File Explorer Image resizer Window walker PowerToys Run Keyboard Manager Color Picker SEE: All of TechRepublic's cheat sheets and smart person's guides What can Windows 10 PowerToys do? Here is a list of available Windows 10 PowerToys with a brief description of what each toy does. FancyZones FancyZones allows users to manage where and how each separate application window open on a Windows 10 desktop will display. For example, you could use FancyZones to set up a Windows 10 desktop where Outlook always displays on the right-hand side of the desktop, Twitter or other social media always displays on the left-hand side of the desktop, and Word or Excel always displays in the middle between the other two. There would be three distinct and perpetual zones displayed at all times. Figure B shows how you select that configuration. Figure B Figure B Windows key Shortcut Guide The Windows key Shortcut Guide will display all of the available keyboard shortcuts for the current Windows 10 desktop (Figure C). This PowerToy is activated by holding the Windows key down for the length of time specified in the tool's configuration settings. The default is 900ms. Now users won't have to remember all those Windows key-related shortcut combinations. Figure C Figure C PowerRename The PowerRename Windows 10 PowerToy provides users with advanced tools for bulk renaming of file names. The toy extends the Windows Shell Context Menu to add an entry for PowerRename to File Explorer (Figure D). With PowerRename enabled, simple search and replace or more powerful regular expression matching to the bulk renaming process are added to your toolset. A preview area is displayed as you perform search and replace procedures so users can see how file names will change before initiating the action. Figure D Preview Pane addons for File Explorer This Windows 10 PowerToy expands on the Preview Pane feature already available in the standard File Explorer application by adding additional file types. Preview Pane allows users to preview the contents of a file after clicking it in File Explorer without actually opening the file, as shown in Figure E. Version 0.16.0 adds preview support for Scalable Vector Graphics (.svg) and Markdown (.md) files. Additional file types are in development. Figure E Image Resizer The Image Resizer Windows 10 PowerToy adds additional functionality to File Explorer by allowing users to apply bulk image resizing. Users select images in File Explorer and then select the new Resize pictures item on the context menu (Figure F), revealed with a right-click on any image. Figure F Windows Walker The Windows Walker Windows 10 PowerToy is designed to be an alternative to the standard Alt-Tab feature of Windows 10. Users press the CTRL-Windows key combination instead of Alt-Tab to pull up a search box (Figure G). A user enters keywords into the search box to narrow down the currently open apps and screens on their desktop. Figure G PowerToys Run PowerToys Run acts as a quick launcher in Windows 10. It is another extension of the ALT-Tab concept and taps into the Windows 10 file indexing system. To activate the tool, use the keyboard combination ALT-Space and start typing the name of your desired application, as shown in Figure H. PowerToys Run will search the system and start listing possible applications based on your search phrase. When the application you desire appears, click or tap to run. Figure H Keyboard Manager The Keyboard Manager application in Windows 10 PowerToys is a simple keyboard re-mapper. Run the application from the PowerToys menu (Figure I) and either remap a single key on your keyboard or remap a shortcut keyboard combination. Whatever you remap will remain active as long as Keyboard Manager is enabled and PowerToys is running in the background. Figure I Color Picker Color Picker was contributed to the Windows 10 PowerToys project by Martin Chrzan. The utility allows you to identify any color on your screen by either its HEX or RGB code and then save that information to the Windows 10 clipboard for later use (Figure J). It is a simple tool, but it can save time and prevent frustration for developers and content creators working on color design. Figure J New Windows 10 PowerToys will be added to the list of available tools periodically. Additional resources Why are Windows 10 PowerToys important? Windows 10 PowerToys provide tools and features that can make users of the Windows operating system more productive and, by extension, happier. Over the years, many users have come to depend on one or more of these PowerToys for their daily computer productivity. For many power users, PowerToys improve their quality of life. Beyond making users more productive, PowerToys have also provided a glimpse of what features and tools could become an integral part of the Windows operating system in the future. Many of these once separate tools have become just another part of the operating system during its next iteration. Additional resources Microsoft Weekly Newsletter Be your company's Microsoft insider by reading these Windows and Office tips, tricks, and cheat sheets. Delivered Mondays and Wednesdays Sign up today Editor's note: This article was updated to reflect Windows 10 PowerToys version 0.19.0. 

  Published Date: 2020-08-02 

 Video: How to add a drop down list to a cell in Microsoft Excel 

  Published Date: 2020-08-02 

 Check out a developer's picks of 10 essential iOS apps, which focus on security, productivity, and more. Over the past 13 years, as iPhones and iPads have become fixtures in more users' lives, the number of apps and the Apple App Store ecosystem have expanded to offer services and apps that iOS users rely on each day. If you're an iPhone or iPad user, chances are, you have pages of apps installed, but which ones are really must-haves? This is my list of essential iOS apps that I use every single day. Some of these apps manage device security, some hold memories, and even more keep me organized, productive, and able to move throughout my day with ease. 1Password Image: 1Password The iCloud Keychain is great for most users to manage passwords and website logins; however, 1Password handles multiple logins, two-factor authentication (2FA), and multiple shared vaults with ease, making it my go-to password management software. The multiple vaults that can be shared with business partners or others is a no-brainer feature that makes the software worth its weight in... well, passwords. This software supports multiple languages and is a 96.8MB download. A free trial is available, with different pricing plans for personal and families. Plans start at $2.99 per month. Apple Day One Image: Day One The Apple Notes app on iOS is great, but what if you want to have multiple journals, the ability to map out entries, everything sorted by date added, and to top it all off, Markdown support? Well, the Day One app has been one of my must-haves for years because of these features and many more. I love that it now has the ability to add videos and unlimited photos, as well as recording audio, to posts. Plus, you can have your favorite journals printed in a real book, and all entries added to a journal can be encrypted. There's even API access available through IFTTT that can automatically add entries to your journals (I have one set up to automatically log every tweet I post to Twitter as backup). This software supports multiple languages, iPad, iPhone, and Mac, and is a 95.1MB download for the iOS version. The software is $34.99 per year for unlimited online storage and syncing. A free trial is available. Apple DEVONthink To Go Image: DEVONthink I love having a paperless office, and DEVONthink is the tool that I use on my Mac and iOS devices to make that happen. I use the Mac version to scan documents and have them automatically transcribed into searchable PDF documents and synced to iCloud; then, I use this iOS version of the app to be able to search, sort, view, and look up information while I'm on the go. You can also add documents and files directly into the iOS version, but only the Mac version supports scanning and OCR-ing documents into searchable PDFs. I love the fact that no matter how much I seem to put into this app, a decade's worth of PDFs containing mail, emails, and more is searchable within seconds on iOS, making it an app that I cannot live without. The software supports multiple languages and iPad and iPhone. It's a 103.8MB app and costs $14.99 with an optional $7.99 Pro Package that supplements the base set of features with even more. Apple Deliveries Image: JuneCloud In today's world, receiving shipments is an everyday occurrence, and managing those deliveries can be a headache--that's where the Deliveries app comes in. What started as a handy OS X Tiger Widget back in the day on the Mac has grown into a must-have app on iOS and macOS. It can sync with either iCloud or "JuneCloud" (the app's own syncing service) to get shipment information between all of your devices. It gives push notifications for up-to-the-minute package tracking, and includes the ability to search all of your past deliveries as well as see current deliveries on a map and scheduled delivery dates without ever having to leave the app. The software supports multiple languages and shipment carriers around the world, as well as iPad and iPhone. The app is a 17.2MB download and costs $4.99 one time. Apple Google Photos Image: Google I use and love iCloud Photo Library, but at the end of the day, I don't trust my photos and precious memories to just a single cloud photo provider--that's why I also use the Google Photos app to automatically back up photos to my Google account as well. I set the app to automatically back up all of my photos from my device whenever new photos are added to the Apple Photos library. As long as you don't force quit the app from your device, it will keep backing up without any intervention. The software supports multiple languages, and iPhone and iPad. The app is a 161.8MB download. Google Photos prices may vary depending on additional storage requirements beyond the free storage from Google. Google Unread Image: Golden Hill Software RSS readers are still a thing, and have made a comeback in recent years as many users' default way to read websites. Unread is a minimalist RSS reading client that can sync with multiple service providers, including Feed Wrangler, Feedly, and more. It downloads the full content of the articles so you don't have to navigate out of the app to another website to read the full text, and it features keyboard and gestures that give prominence to the content over the app's UI. Swiping left will bring up menus that let you share articles, add to Pinboard or Raindrop, or other services that can be configured in the app. The app costs $19.99 per year (after trial) and is a 15.1 MB download from the App Store. Apple Carrot Weather Image: Carrot The iOS weather app isn't the most reliable for every user, leaving many to rush to third-party apps like Dark Sky; but, with the recent acquisition of Dark Sky by Apple, its future is unknown at this point. One of my favorite weather apps, Carrot, uses the Dark Sky API to get weather data, but is infinitely configurable to use many other services, or even your own personal weather stations (like those from Netatmo and WeatherFlow). The app also has a very interesting "personality" that makes me smile every time you check the weather. This, coupled with the ability to use Siri Shortcuts, the Apple Watch app, and customization, makes it well worth the price. Carrot Weather is $4.99 on the App Store, and includes in-app purchase for yearly subscriptions for additional features and services. The app is a 74.8MB download. Apple Stocard Image: Stocard If you're like me, then you hate carrying around loyalty and membership cards. While some stores and memberships have gone digital, some still rely on plastic cards that you have to remember to tote around with you. Enter Stocard, an app that can scan in the barcodes of your cards and organize them digitally. When you go to a store, simply pull out your phone and let the barcode get scanned. You can even store a photo of the front and back of the card if the digitized barcode refuses to work or you need additional proof of your card. This app is a free 102.3 MB download from the App Store. Apple Screens Image: Endova Sometimes it can be important to connect back to your desktop computer to perform a simple task while on the go. With Screens, you can easily start a screen-sharing session from anywhere as long as your Mac or Windows computer is connected to the network and turned on. With the keyboard and mouse support in iPadOS, you can perform even more complex tasks while on the go, thanks to this app. With keyboard shortcuts, curtain mode, and gesture support, this app is a help when you're in a pinch and need to access your desktop computer. The app costs $19.99 one time, and is a 23MB download on iPad and iPhone. Apple 

  Published Date: 2020-08-02 

 Microsoft has provided more information on Dataflex, its new low-code platform for building apps and bots directly within Teams. Image: Microsoft Microsoft has provided new details on Dataflex, its new low-code/no-code platform for building and deploying apps and chatbots directly into Teams. Dataflex was announced at Microsoft's recent Inspire partner conference on July 21st. Built on the Common Data Service – now somewhat confusingly called Microsoft Dataflex Pro - the platform is designed to make it easy for users with little or no coding skills to build new capabilities into Teams using Microsoft Power Apps and Microsoft Power Virtual Agents. SEE: Microsoft Teams: A cheat sheet (free PDF) (TechRepublic) Many businesses have been looking to automate time-consuming manual processes since the coronavirus forced them to divert time and resources away from lengthy development processes. As such, low-code/no-code solutions have enjoyed a surge in popularity by allowing organisations to automate workflows quickly, and with minimal resource investment. As Microsoft explained in its original announcement, Dataflex aims to remove the hassle of back-end tech logistics for creating and deploying new business tools for its enterprise customers. Power Virtual Agents allow users to easily create chatbots using Microsoft's natural language processing and AI smarts, and then integrate these into workflows using Power Automate. Microsoft's Power BI is also included in Dataflex, offering users a unified visualisation hub and searchable repository for data across the organisation. Dataflex assigns access and security roles automatically, based on whether they are an Owner, Member or Guest, though these can be customised by administrators. Because Dataflex is integrated directly into Teams, users don't need to switch applications or connect to additional data sources in order to build and deploy new Teams apps. Instead, organisations can find, filter and sort relational data directly within Teams, and then create scenario specific, custom data tables based on the Common Data Model (CDM). Support for additional CDM-based tables is coming soon, Microsoft said. Image: Microsoft In Dataflex for Teams, data, apps, chatbots and workflows are stored within a single environment that supports backup, point-in-time-restore, and disaster recovery. This means that when a team is deleted, its associated environment is also deleted. Each Team environment features 2GB capacity, capable of storing approximately one million rows of data, according to Microsoft. In addition to building custom bots and applications that can be shared with other users and departments across the organisation, Dataflex also features a gallery of pre-made templates that can be tailored to a business' own requirements. Teams users can then automate workflows with these solutions using Power Automate. SEE: TechRepublic Premium editorial calendar: IT policies, checklists, toolkits, and research for download (TechRepublic Premium) Dataflex will be bundled for no additional charge with every Office 365 and Microsoft 365 subscription that includes a Teams license, which will appear in public preview from August. "In Teams, people collaborate around documents in different ways – some you create yourself, some you create in collaboration with teammates, or others you acquire from trusted sources," said Marc Mercuri, Microsoft's principal product project manager for Dataflex. "Power Platform and Dataflex for Teams bring this same model to building and using apps, chatbots, flows, and data." Microsoft Weekly Newsletter Be your company's Microsoft insider by reading these Windows and Office tips, tricks, and cheat sheets. Delivered Mondays and Wednesdays Sign up today Also see 

  Published Date: 2020-08-02 

 The Story feature in Tableau can be a useful data visualization tool when you are drilling down on a dataset from general to specific. This tutorial shows you the basics. Image: chendongshan, Getty Images/iStockphoto As modern businesses generate more and more data, it has become increasingly more difficult to draw useful information out of the raw stream. Finding and communicating actionable information requires an effective set of tools designed specifically for that purpose. Highly educated data scientists with training and experience in data visualization techniques are becoming more common in large enterprises, but small businesses do not have the resources to hire such experts. Inexpensive and accessible data visualization tools provided by vendors like Tableau Software are designed to help tell the story of your data without requiring you to have an advanced degree. This how-to tutorial shows you how to create a simple story using basic tools found in Tableau. SEE: Report: SMB's unprepared to tackle data privacy (TechRepublic Premium) Create your first data story in Tableau As we did in the previously published article on data visualizations, we will be using free sample data provided by the resources page of the Tableau Public website. Specifically, the Cat vs. Dog Popularity in the US dataset. You can download the dataset, in the form of an Excel worksheet, to any folder on your computer. SEE: How to create your first Tableau Software data visualization chart (TechRepublic) For our example, we will separate four data points into their own sheets and then use them to create a story that explains the data's importance. Figure A shows what we are working with before we start our new Story. Figure A Click the Story tab on the menu and select New Story from the submenu. As you can see in Figure B, our new story is blank but our four separate sheets highlighting our data points are listed in the left-hand list. Figure B The Story feature in Tableau can be a useful communication tool when you are drilling down on a dataset from general to specific or when going the other way, drilling up from specific to general. This movement through the data helps your audience visualize relationships between and among data points. SEE: 4 tips for using data visualization in a board presentation (TechRepublic) We start off with one blank storyboard, but we know we need three more, so click the Blank button to add them. Drag the first sheet representing an important data point in the story of our data to the first storyboard as shown in Figure C. Of course, we will want to give it a descriptive name. Figure C We will follow up with the three remaining data points. To make our data's story a bit more compelling, let's emphasize that California has the most households with both cats and dogs. We do this by adding a blank sheet in the middle of our story, and then adding a data point and a description box, as shown in Figure D, to highlight this fact. Figure D The next chapter in our data story reveals the significance of percentages in our dataset. When considering the percentage of households owning either a cat or dog in a particular state, the data shows Vermont (Cats) and Arkansas (Dogs) lead the way, as you see in Figure E. Figure E To see what your story looks like when complete, press F7 (function key 7) to change into presentation mode, as shown in Figure F. Readers and presenters can move back and forth through the data by clicking on one of the title cards. Figure F Obviously, this is a simplified example, but you can see the potential of telling your data's story, whatever it may be, using visualization tools. The ability to glean vital, actionable information from the raw data generated by your business could be the key to gaining a competitive advantage. Tableau and other data visualization tools bring these capabilities to small businesses. Data, Analytics and AI Newsletter Learn the latest news and best practices about data science, big data analytics, and artificial intelligence. Delivered Mondays Sign up today Also see 

  Published Date: 2020-08-02 

 These tips will help you access Google Meet quickly, improve your image framing, access other apps, and even talk-to-type in chat. 5 tips for using Google Meet on an iPad Watch Now Starting in mid-2020, more people turned to Google Meet than ever before. People who needed to work, teach, or learn from home discovered that Meet delivers a secure and reliable video conferencing service. Google also made Meet available for anyone to use, so that anyone with a Google account could use the service, which had originally been built for G Suite customers. A significant number of people chose to use Google Meet on an iPad. With an excellent camera, display, solid battery life, and an easy-to-carry size, the iPad works well as a highly portable tablet for video conferencing. Of course, it helps that you can use an iPad with a keyboard, touchpad, or a mouse, that Google Meet lets you turn on captions, and that you can present your screen from Meet on an iPad. The following tips assume you have the Google Meet app installed on your iPad, you've signed in, and are familiar with the basics of Google Meet. If you're not familiar, explore Google's own Google Meet guide. These tips may help you refine how you use Google Meet on your iPad. Move Google Meet to the Dock If you use Google Meet often, move it to the iPad Dock for fast access to the app. Tap and hold Meet on a home screen, then drag it down to the Dock. Once it is in the Dock, swipe up from the bottom of your iPad screen any time to bring up the Dock. If you use a keyboard, Option-Command-D also brings up the Dock. Review framing and lighting before you Meet When you tap the Google Meet app, it displays a preview of your video. Use this opportunity to check your positioning and lighting before you start or join a meeting. You may need to do a bit of adjusting to present yourself in the best framing. Typically, I try to frame my head and shoulders in the center of the view--with my eyes about a third of the way from the top of the screen. In most cases, I suggest you use the iPad in landscape orientation, positioned at a 90-degree angle to the ground. Since the camera is on the left side of the iPad when in landscape orientation, this generally means that the iPad needs to be moved a bit to the right, not directly in front of you. A box, a few books, or an adjustable stand can help you get the iPad high enough off the table to provide a level view. Without these, you'll provide a bit of an up-the-nose view if you set your iPad on a table and use a standard cover, Smart Keyboard, Smart Keyboard Folio, or a Magic Keyboard. (Figure A) Figure A Image: Andy Wolber/TechRepublic Also take a moment to check the lighting--avoid bright lights directly behind you (e.g., a window). If you have smart lights, adjust the lighting to fit your taste. If you happen to use Hue Lights, you might try the Concentrate default setting. Long-press to Meet directly If you're confident of your video setup, or just want to start Meet quickly, you may choose to start Meet directly: Tap, hold until options display, then tap either Start A New Meeting or Enter A Meeting Code, and you're in (Figure B). This long-press method skips the preview step and works well when you use your iPad to meet in a familiar place. Figure B Image: Andy Wolber/TechRepublic Try Google Meet in Split View Google Meet supports Split View, which means you may select and drag-and-drop another app to either side of the screen during a meeting. This can be useful if you want to refer to items from Google Drive (e.g., a Google Doc), a website, or any other app when you meet. (Figure C) Figure C When you work with Google Meet in Split View, the app automatically turns your video view off. Video from other viewers continues, as does your audio stream. You may continue to talk, but your webcam will stop while Split View is active. You may re-enable video after you switch Google Meet back to full screen mode. Talk-to-type in chat The chat feature within Google Meet lets you type a comment on the side. It's a great way to share an idea or thought, but not interrupt the person who is speaking. The chat comments may be shared with everyone or, with a mention, directed to a specific person. Since the chat feature works with Apple's keyboard, it is possible to dictate text into chat (Figure D). Before you do this, you need to tap the microphone in Google Meet to mute your microphone--you also will likely want to mute your video. If other meeting participants see you speaking, they may think you're trying to speak to the group. Figure D With both your microphone and video muted, tap the chat icon, then tap in the chat field. Tap the microphone on the on-screen keyboard, then say whatever you want to appear in the chat field. Note: If you have a connected keyboard, the microphone may not be displayed. To access it, tap and hold the downward arrow in the lower-right corner of the iPad screen to bring up the on-screen keyboard. Then, if necessary, tap the emoji icon to cycle through to a keyboard with the microphone available to the left of the space bar. Review the text carefully and make any corrections needed before you tap Send. When finished with chat, re-enable your microphone and video when appropriate and desired. This can be a great way to add a comment in chat without having to type. What's your experience? Which of the above tips do you use most often when you use Google Meet on an iPad? What other Google Meet tips and tricks do you find most helpful? Let me know your thoughts and tips, either in the comments below or on Twitter (@awolber). Google Weekly Newsletter Learn how to get the most out of Google Docs, Google Cloud Platform, Google Apps, Chrome OS, and all the other Google products used in business environments. Delivered Fridays Sign up today Also see 

  Published Date: 2020-08-02 

 Learning the command line on any system can be daunting, so why not leverage that knowledge against multiple operating systems? Here are some that can help. Image: Claudio Caridi, Getty Images/iStockphoto As an admin, one of the things that irks me after a particularly long day is the switch over, or mental reset that comes with changing gears between Windows, Linux, or macOS. It may seem like a trifling nuisance, but it doesn't get any easier over time when you execute a long string and press enter, only to have the console attempt to process the command and end in failure. It's those lost seconds that lead to minutes, then hours. Even worse is when you're trying to figure something out and can't quite get it, though you're sure the command is right. Only then do you realize that you're attempting to run a command from one shell in another. SEE: TechRepublic Premium editorial calendar: IT policies, checklists, toolkits, and research for download (TechRepublic Premium) Some time ago, as I got more into macOS and Linux, I noticed that some commonly used commands share their usage and syntax across platforms. I began to use these whenever possible. Below you'll find a collection of common, highly utilized commands that will make a useful addition (or replacement) to your knowledge base, especially if tasked with supporting multiple systems. 1. Secure shell (SSH) Secure Shell (SSH) has long been a staple in macOS and Linux distros, however, a few years back Microsoft introduced it as a native component to its Windows line of OSes. It works exactly the same to securely connect to systems remotely, encrypting data transmissions, and generating keys for extra security. It is usually turned off by default but can be enabled either by command line or GUI. 2. Wget Wget is one of those utilities that you might not have a real appreciation for until you use it and see how truly awesome it is. It is used to download data from servers, typically web servers, but can also be used as a tool to synchronize entire directories to a local drive. It has a large set of syntax for filtering data allowing you to copy as much or as little as you'd like or need. It also includes progress monitoring and can resume downloads from where it left off. 3. DD Going back to the early 1970s, the DD command has been used for a number of tasks: Transfer, recovery, and modification of data on a disk are some of the common use cases for employing this command. With many other types of commands to do this faster, why use DD? Apart from it being OS-independent, it also can be used to copy entire chunks of data from one drive to another, using it to make 100%, integrity-verified copies of files, directories, or entire drives to partitions, other disks, ISO files, or optical media. SEE: macOS Big Sur: A cheat sheet (free PDF) (TechRepublic) 4. Ping What ping does cannot be measured in time saved for countless admins throughout the world. The command is ubiquitous among many computer users, even non-IT-personnel, who are aware of what it means and does. While I believe ping to be pretty universal at this point, every few years I do get the "What is ping?" question. For those: It's the command used to determine if a device is communicating online. SEE: 10 more PowerShell cmdlets you can use instead of CMD commands (TechRepublic) 5. Curl Curl works similarly to wget, except that where wget supports HTTP/S and FTP protocols, curl supports those and a whole lot more. Since curl can be used to transfer data bidirectionally and was created to work non-interactively, it's perfectly suited for scripts and other automated tasks. It uses the URL path to get data from or send it to that location and includes a plethora of arguments for fetching secured data, providing credentials, data rate-limiting, proxying requests, the list goes on. 6. Netstat The network statistics command displays network connections and their respective port numbers, how the connections are configured (inbound/outbound), the types of connections they are, and the routing tables for each connection. It can also provide summary information over the total number of data transmitted/received, including parameters detailing loss and over IPv4/6 to name but a few. SEE: How to run multiple Linux commands from one line (TechRepublic) 7. Tail This command has been in use by Linux admins since its inception and continues to be a go-to command for retrieving the last few lines of its standard output. It does this however with a set of syntax that allows admins to filter data based on a specific input or wildcards to further breakdown reporting to just the details that are necessary. macOS has long had this feature as well, and surprisingly so has Windows, albeit through the resource kits made available for free by Microsoft for each version of Windows. The tail utility may be copied over to the System32 folder to provide the same functionality Linux and macOS admins continue to enjoy. SEE: Microsoft's GitHub: Our new 'gh' command-line interface makes you more productive (ZDNet) 8. Cd The cd or Change Directory command should be known to all but maybe the newest of computer users. Whether you're trying to move forward or backward in the directory hierarchy, cd is the way to do it. Since it does not provide any real interaction, it can lend itself easily to be used in scripting and automation. 9. Mkdir When working with data it needs a place to go. Unless you prefer desktops cluttered with files everywhere, the Make Directory command is your only salvation when it comes to organizing data in neat little folders, or nested within subdirectories. It can be used to create a single, one-shot directory, or can be customized (and scripted out) to create an entire directory tree structure. SEE: 16 Terminal commands every user should know (TechRepublic) 10. Sort The oldest command listed here is also, arguably, one of the least used, at least in my experience. The sort command does exactly as its name implies, it sorts the data of the input file into an order of your choosing. Depending on whether the data needs to be sorted by alphabetical, numerical, reversed, or some random or custom order, this is the utility to get it done quickly and efficiently. Innovation Newsletter Be in the know about smart cities, AI, Internet of Things, VR, AR, robotics, drones, autonomous driving, and more of the coolest tech innovations. Delivered Wednesdays and Fridays Sign up today Also see 

  Published Date: 2020-08-02 

 The cohort will get help refining their investment pitches as well as access to the group's network of institutional investors. Image: elenabs, Getty Images/iStockphoto Three companies building artificial intelligence products and services have a fast track to funding as the newest members of the ELITE Group. This private business development program developed by the London Stock Exchange and Global Accelerated Ventures provides entrepreneurs with business coaching and access to institutional investors. ELITE announced Friday three new companies that will be in the organization's latest cohort: ModuleQ: An artificial intelligence (AI) platform that analyzes data from calendars, email, and Microsoft Teams to make business recommendations for individuals. Covex 2020: An AI company that combines and analyzes multiple data sets to support decision making. vElement: A service provider that specializes in robotic process automation, data science, and artificial intelligence. Thomas Tyler, global head of ELITE Americas and global head of business development, said that companies in the new cohort first will refine their core strategy and their pitch to investors. The next step is connecting the companies with ELITE's network of institutional investors. "The goal is to get bigger, get bought, or get listed," he said. SEE: Robotic process automation: A cheat sheet (free PDF) (TechRepublic) ELITE has worked with companies in 45 countries and in all sectors that share a common factor of an ambition to grow and the willingness to learn. The focus for this cohort was fintech and healthtech. Companies applied for a spot and had to meet these criteria: Turnover greater than $5 million Operating earnings greater than 5% of turnover Positive net profit Demonstrate historic growth and future potential Convincing projections Credible management Motivation to deal with the cultural, organizational, managerial change required to access long-term financing opportunities Tyler said the ELITE program fills a gap for businesses that are beyond the accelerator phase and just starting to scale and grow. ELITE works with more than 200 partners including lawyers, brokers, and sales and marketing experts to support cohort companies. Tyler said that even in this climate of uncertainty there are opportunities to engage with investors, although entrepreneurs might have to accept slightly lower valuations. "Clearly COVID is going to change some portfolio strategies but our view is that the fundamentals of that process don't change," he said. Companies that are invited to join the organization can work with the coaches and use the funding network for as long as they need to. Tyler said members have been contacting ELITE for advice more frequently since the pandemic started. "COVID has highlighted where they were weaker than they thought and emphasized the need to have the right people on board and the right processes in place," he said. Polishing the investment pitch Tyler offered this advice for entrepreneurs looking for support from investors: Know how to tell your story Know your numbers Explain your governance processes Be able to explain clearly what your ambition is He said one common challenge for entrepreneurs is recognizing the moment when it's time to stop working on day-to-day operations and start working on the strategic plan. Having a comprehensive plan helps companies stand out to investors who hear hundreds of pitches a year. "A company that is unprepared may not necessarily have a tested investment story or a growth story that will withstand the scrutiny of an investment market," he said. Tyler said that ELITE helps companies refine their corporate governance and risk management plans because investors are looking for resilient business models. "Investors want to understand that there are good processes in place to protect the investment," he said. "Companies need a solid five-year strategic growth plan which can sometimes supersede whatever the business opportunity might be." "The process of building a business is one of constant learning and engagement and you have to have that mindset as you move through those processes," he said. Data, Analytics and AI Newsletter Learn the latest news and best practices about data science, big data analytics, and artificial intelligence. Delivered Mondays Sign up today Also see