With the pandemic fuelling job losses, new features from Microsoft’s LinkedIn platform could provide some help to the UK’s 1.7 million unemployed.

The Challenge

Many of LinkedIn’s users may now be facing the considerable challenge of unemployment and/or trying to stand out to present their skills in a market where they may be very capable of fulfilling job roles but may not have all the formal qualifications and experience.

With this in mind, LinkedIn says that the four new tools it is launching are a way for users to bring their professional stories to life and “create a more expressive and inclusive profile”.

Cover Story

The first of the four new features is Cover Story, a feature that allows users to upload a video of themselves so that hiring managers can get a look at the user’s personality, communication skills and career goals. This tool has been introduced in response to figures from research conducted by Censuswide (in the US) on behalf of LinkedIn which showed that 76 percent of hiring managers believe seeing a pre-recorded video of a job seeker would be useful.  Cover Story may also be a useful opportunity for freelancers to talk about their services and attract new clients.

The presence of a Cover Story video on a person’s profile will be indicated by an orange ring around the Profile photo, and the video will auto-play silently within the photo frame until the profile visitor clicks on it.

Service Page

The second of the new tools is the ability for users to create a dedicated ‘Service Page’ directly from their LinkedIn profile. LinkedIn says that this could give users more “reach” to its global community of nearly 740 million members.  In essence, the Service page is another opportunity for LinkedIn members such as Freelancers, SMBs or jobseekers to showcase their skills.

Creator Mode

The new Creator Mode tool in the Profile dashboard allows anyone creating and publishing content via LinkedIn (e.g. posts, videos, articles, or comments) to engage a community and build a following in a similar way to some other social networks. For example, users can hashtag terms for their latest posts which moves their Featured and Activity sections to a prominent position on the top of their Profile and can change their “Connect” button to “Follow”. Also, for those offering live broadcasts on LinkedIn, their Profile background will show when the Live broadcast starts streaming, thereby helping to increase the visibility of the content.

Career Coach

Finally, the LinkedIn-powered Career Coach app for Microsoft Teams has an AI-based skill identifier which helps users (students) to understand their goals, interests, and transferable skills and align their profile with current job market trends accordingly.  It also connects them to mentors and promotes skills, thereby potentially giving users a better chance of being successful in their job applications.

Apprenticeship Connector

Last month, in a partnership with GetMyFirstJob, Microsoft introduced The Microsoft Apprenticeship Connector which is aimed at simplifying the apprenticeship process by listing vacancies across Microsoft’s network of partners and customers. It is thought that this partnership could aid young jobseekers, help bridge the tech skills gap in the UK, and assist small businesses in particular to fill apprenticeship vacancies.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

These new tools from Microsoft are designed to update the LinkedIn platform, which is known for its jobs connection, and align it better with the skills-based jobs market in a rapidly (digitally) transformed environment as countries like the UK start to come out of pandemic restrictions. These features may increase the relevance of the LinkedIn platform to employers and younger job seekers, help the platform move more into content, and help to tie Microsoft more closely within other partnerships and opportunities related to tackling the tech skills gap and promoting its services that can help with this. For users/members of LinkedIn (such as freelancers and small businesses) these features could also provide a way to showcase more of their skills, work and identity in a way that may be engaging enough to bring new opportunities and create a following and wider network that could also bring more business opportunities.

Huge demands on Microsoft’s data centre servers, partly driven by a surge in Microsoft Teams user numbers has led to the tech giant opting for liquid-immersion cooling.

The Challenge

Microsoft has recognised that it has now come up against the slowdown of Moore’s Law as transistor widths have shrunk to atomic scales and are reaching a physical limit, whilst the demand for faster computer processors for high performance applications such as AI has accelerated. This has meant that more electric power is now being put through the small processors used in Microsoft’s data centres, thereby increasing the heat they produce.  According to Microsoft, this means that air cooling is no longer enough to prevent the chips from malfunctioning. The demands of a huge increase in the numbers of Teams users during lockdown and the need to maintain sustainable and energy efficient data centres have also contributed to Microsoft’s decision to try liquid cooling.

Two-Phase Immersion Cooling

Since heat transfer in liquids is more efficient than air, Microsoft’s new system of two-phase immersion cooling involves immersing servers in tanks filled with an engineered fluid (from 3M) which has dielectric properties (i.e. it is an effective insulator), thereby allowing the servers to operate normally while fully immersed in the fluid. The liquid boils at 122 degrees Fahrenheit (90 degrees lower than the boiling point of water) and this boiling effect, generated by the work the servers are doing, takes the heat away from the computer processors whilst the low-temperature boil enables the servers to operate continuously at full power without risk of failure due to overheating.

The second phase of this two-phase process refers to the vapour rising from the tanks making contact with a cooled condenser in the tank lid, thereby changing it back to liquid that rains back onto the immersed servers, creating a closed-loop cooling system.

The Result

Microsoft says that the result of it becoming the “first cloud provider that is running two-phase immersion cooling in a production environment” at its datacentre in Quincy should be the ability of the company to:

– Continue the Moore’s Law trend at the datacentre level.

– Reduce power consumption.  For example, Microsoft’s trial of using liquid two-phase immersion for cooling AI showed reduced power consumption for any given server by 5 to 15 per cent.

– Increased flexibility for the efficient management of cloud resources.

– Improved efficiency and sustainability.

– The fact that the system uses a specially developed cooling fluid, and not water, gives Microsoft the ability to meet its commitment to replenish more water than it consumes by the end of the decade.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

If your business uses Microsoft’s cloud-based services, and particularly those which involve AI and/or Teams, this switch to a new cooling technology at datacentre level should mean smooth running services with less risk of potentially costly outages and disruption going forward. For Microsoft, this may give it an advantage over cloud company competitors in terms of capacity, reliability, and sustainability credentials.

We all take lots of photos with our smartphones, so here is a selection of some of the best free places to share (and back up) photos.

– Google Photos. Just having a Gmail account gives access to this service you can share photos with family, friends, or teammates, create albums, and grant access to those who want to share photos.

– Apple Photos. This sorts your photos, displays them in grid format for easier browsing, stores them to iCloud for ease of access from an iOS device or Mac, and automatically tags your photos based on location and content.

– iCloud. This allows photos to be shared as email attachments in Photos on iCloud or using an iCloud Link. To share photos with others via attachments from iCloud email, select the photos, tap Share > Email (attachments larger than 20 MB are replaced with an iCloud Link). See https://www.icloud.com/.

– Dropbox.  This popular cloud-based file-sharing, backup solution allows the creation of shared folders and shared links can be sent by email, social media, or instant message. See https://www.dropbox.com/.

– WeTransfer.  This is a fast, free, free file-sharing platform that requires no registration that allows the user to share photos across all devices provided they are compatible with web-based apps. Users can also choose to pay for a premium plan for password protection, 1TB of storage, and an increased transfer limit (to 20 MB). See https://wetransfer.com/.

– Flickr. This photo-sharing platform is user-friendly and has easy-to-use menus, and photo editing tools. Flickr also offers other features like auto-backups, an ad-free experience, unlimited storage, and photo stats. See https://www.flickr.com/.

– AirDrop.  This platform allows photos to be shared/sent between Apple devices (iPhone, iPad, or Mac).  The service doesn’t require a special account and sharing is particularly easy if both the sender and recipient are on a Wi-Fi network, and both have AirDrop and Bluetooth enabled.

– Instagram. Yes, it’s a social media app but if you often share photos, and your intended recipients already follow you, it’s a good free option.  It also has photo editing options. See https://www.instagram.com/.

– Cluster.  This free, private group photo sharing app can be accessed via a web browser or mobile app, users can make as many albums as they like, and can invite and connect with others. See https://cluster.co/.

Many of us charge phones and laptops overnight but is this good for the battery and is it potentially dangerous, and how can we safely get the most from our device batteries?

Batteries

Smartphone and laptop batteries are Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion). These batteries have high energy density so they can be made small, while their rate of self-discharge is much lower than alternatives (like Ni-Cad for example) which means less charging, they have a high cell voltage, they don’t require priming (for a first charge), and there’s little or no maintenance required.  All these characteristics make them ideal as the power component in our essential, portable electric items.

That said, lithium batteries contain a flammable electrolyte which could be risky in some circumstances (remember the famous Samsung Galaxy Note 7 fires back in 2017?), they need protection (circuitry and special chips) to prevent them from being over-charged and discharged too far, they age (whether in use or not) so require replacing, and they are relatively expensive.

Likes and Dislikes

Knowing how to protect and get the best from the battery in your phone or laptop requires knowing a few basic conditions that batteries like and dislike.  For example:

Your battery generally likes:

– Partial charges that keep the battery between 20 and 80 percent.  This is because a battery degrades at its fastest rate if it is regularly charged past 80 per cent or when it drops below 20 percent. Devices seem to operate best when batteries are around the 50 per cent charge mark.

Your battery generally dislikes:

– Extremes.  This can be extremes of temperature below 32 Fahrenheit (0 Celsius) and above 158 Fahrenheit (70 Celsius) which can degrade the battery, let alone having an adverse effect on the device that the battery may be inside at the time.  This means avoiding leaving phones in warm sunlight (e.g. while sunbathing or sitting outdoors, or leaving the phone in a hot or cold car, perhaps overnight). Avoid the practice of putting phone batteries in fridges or freezers to ‘revive’ them.  Although there are positive accounts of this, it can result in degrading the battery. Charging devices in extreme temperature environments should also be avoided – room temperature is best.

– Being kept at 100 percent charge for long periods of time e.g., if charging at night.  This is when a battery can degrade the fastest.

– Apps being used while your device is charging. Using apps on your phone, for example, while the phone is still connected to the charger can heat and damage the battery and damage the device.

Overnight Charging

Overnight charging of phones and laptops frequently raises questions about efficiency, and safety.

Efficiency

Overnight is often a very convenient time to charge a phone or laptop but, since it only takes around an hour to charge a device, leaving it connected for 6 or 7 hours is not efficient. This is because phone or laptop batteries degrade fastest if left at 100 per cent for long periods of time (i.e. overnight), and a small ‘trickle charge’ is produced to compensate for any energy lost by the device.  This means that the battery is being unnecessarily used/over-used and switching to the mains power via the cable (when the battery is fully charged), could mean unnecessarily using electricity.

Safety

Although there are plenty of horror stories of phones catching fire while charging overnight, many of these appear to be where a phone has been left in a situation where there has been a lack of airflow and where it has been overheated (e.g. by being left under pillows or clothes). Generally, although not good for devices, overnight charging is relatively safe. Tips for making overnight charging as safe as possible include:

– Placing the device on protective/non-flammable surface, e.g. on a plate/saucer rather than on or under books, clothes, or on sofas.

– If possible and practical, take a phone out of the case when charging overnight.

– If you wake up in the night, unplug the devices to prevent constant trickle-charging or use a smart plug that’s on a schedule to turn off at a certain time when you’re sure the battery will have been charged.

Cables

Using high quality (preferably genuine and device compatible) chargers and cables which have correct safety marks (CE safety mark and output voltage that’s compatible with the device) can reduce the risk of fire and/or damage to the device and battery.

Replacement Batteries

Having a replacement battery fitted by a professional, as is often necessary with many new device models, is another way to avoid operational and safety problems.

Other Ways To Treat Device Batteries Well

– Other ways to maximise battery life, device efficiency and maintain safety include:

– Turn off unnecessary services on the device and use battery savers (often suggested by an on-screen prompt) to make the most of each charge.

– If a laptop must be left on overnight, remove the battery and use the adapter to power the laptop. This will put less of a burden on the battery by sending power directly to the laptop.

– Fully charge laptop batteries at least once a month to help the laptop to calibrate its estimator, i.e. to help it to accurately know how long the battery will last.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

Mobile devices such as smartphones and laptops are now essential business tools. Although they tend to be regularly replaced, some knowledge of how batteries (and devices) perform best and getting into good habits as regards battery care can prevent batteries failing at important times, can improve safety, reduce costs (replacement batteries and electricity), and extend their life. Mobile and remote working has become essential for many businesses over the last year and with a surge in demand for laptops and phones fuelled by the pandemic, it is more important than ever that knowledge of how to maintain the batteries and devices is made available to improve efficiency and to keep remote workers safe as well as productive.

With the world facing a considerable semiconductor microchip shortage, we take a look at the causes and effects of the shortage plus some potential solutions.

Why Is This Important?

Microchips are now included in virtually everything from watches to white goods and crucially in larger, high demand, big industry items such as cars.  Many products have more than one chip and as the IoT market expands, so does demand for more microchips.

Why The Global Shortage?

The global shortage of semiconductor microchips has been caused by a ‘perfect storm’ of many factors.  These include:

– Car companies slimming down manufacturing following a 50 percent slum in car sales, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

– Microchip producers switching to smartphone, laptop, and tablet chips in response to a surge in demand due to remote working because of the pandemic, thereby disrupting chip markets.

– Manufacturers of semiconductor microchips, which require huge investment in plants over many years, tend to operate with low stock levels to minimise costs. The surge in demand for chips (particularly for cars) following the first lockdowns therefore meant there were no backup supplies, chip manufacturers would need time to adapt to switch back to car chips, and manufacturers could not meet demand.

– With most chips being manufactured in Taiwan, the US trade war with China during the Trump administration caused supply problems due to sanctions (e.g. US chip firm Xilinx having to stop supplying to China, and Huawei being put on a trade blacklist).

– Under-investment in 8-inch chip manufacturing plants owned by Asian companies. Also, most of the production in Asia is concentrated into mainly the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC) and Samsung, who manufacture on behalf of hundreds of other different chip companies.

– Weather and other events disrupting supply and worsening the global shortage of semiconductor microchip (e.g. droughts in Taiwan as water is needed in chip production), winter storms in February shutting-down the NXP semiconductor plant in Texas, and a fire at the AKM semiconductor plant in Nobeoka, Miyazaki, Japan last October 20. The AKM factory (owned by Renesas Electronics Corp), for example, accounts for a massive 30 per cent of the global market for the microcontroller units used in cars.

The Impact

Examples of some of the main impacts caused by the global shortage are:

– Massive disruption, damage to profits, and potential job losses in the car industry and in car supply chain businesses.  For example, Ford, Toyota, and VW are partially mothballing factories. Car manufacturers are also producing fewer of their less profitable vehicles.

– Phone manufacturers delaying model releases (e.g. Samsung considering delaying the launch of the latest Galaxy Note).  This, of course, will affect the phone company’s profits and competitiveness and will have a knock-on effect towards phone retail businesses.

– Games console shortages (also compounded by an increase in demand over lockdown).  For example, Microsoft has been facing production challenges with Xbox Series X/S. This may have knock-on effects for games console retailers.

– Knock-on effects into the development of 5G networks (e.g. in the UK and US).

Possible Solutions

The main solution to tackling the global shortage has been for countries implementing the costly and time-consuming measures of setting up their own semiconductor microchip factories to try and guarantee at least some increased level of supply, and to reduce reliance upon countries between whom there may be a difficult relationship. For example, U.S. President Joe Biden is looking for $37 billion for legislation to boost chip manufacturing in the U.S. with a view to setting up four new factories in Arizona and Texas. Also, US sanctions have forced China to start investing heavily in its local tech companies such as Zhaoxin, Huawei, and SMIC to help deal with the shortage.

These developments will take time, and with the majority of 2021’s output already sold, it is anticipated that the shortage and many of its effects may carry on for another year.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

For any businesses that require semiconductor microchips for manufacturing, or for business that supply and sell goods and devices that include these chips, the near future may hold uncertainty and potentially damaging disruption and shortages which could impact upon operational decision-making, hit profits, and have a negative impact across supply chains.

In a move to provide more business intelligence, Amazon is launching a new tool that monitors key performance indicators (KPIs) to detect ‘anomalies’ so it can alert the business to potential problems.

Lookout For Metrics

‘Lookout For Metrics’ is the name of the new service from Amazon Web Services (AWS) which uses machine learning for business analytics to monitor KPI’s such as web page views, mobile app downloads, numbers of active users, and income to detect any anomalies and to inform the business/organisation about those anomalies.

Anomalies

The kinds of anomalies / outliers from the norm in business and operational data that AWS is referring to are spikes, dips, and other unusual patterns detected within the analytics that are outside of normal bounds across business functions.

Automated Alerts

Amazon says that that the Lookout for Metrics tool can be easily connected with event and notification services such as Amazon Simple Notification Service and AWS Lambda to created automated and customised alerts and actions when anomalies are detected, such as filing a trouble ticket.

Why?

AWS says that this kind of monitoring can help businesses to better understand customer issues (e.g. churn rates) and take action to improve customer experiences, optimise digital ad-campaigns and prevent overspends, and take action to optimise user engagement by understanding changes in metrics such as new users, app installs, in-app purchases, or retention rates.  The Lookout For Metrics Tool can, therefore, give businesses critical insights to help them make better decisions and create a more productive and efficient organisation, giving them another way to analyse how to keep up with their competitors, and grow revenues.

AWS also points out that using this tool is a faster and more accurate way than traditional methods for anomaly detection, thereby minimising damage by saving time in finding the root cause of anomalies.  Also, the tool gives businesses a prioritised list of issues, ranked by severity, so that any business can clearly see which issues need immediate attention and which can wait.

Easy To Set Up

Lookout For Metrics requires no specialist machine learning training to start using it and Amazon says that it “connects seamlessly” to popular AWS databases and has pre-built connectors to third-party SaaS applications, thereby enabling the monitoring of metrics and anomaly detection to begin with just a few clicks.

Type of Metrics

The types of popular datasets that Lookout For Metrics can be connected to include Amazon S3, Amazon Redshift, Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS), and third-party SaaS applications, such as Salesforce, ServiceNow, Zendesk, and Marketo.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

Having access to accurate and timely business intelligence can help businesses to optimise their marketing, make better decisions, and make a business more competitive. Being able to easily set up an automated tool that’s compatible with popular datasets makes this a convenient and fast way for businesses to get a better understanding of where faults lie and where value-adding improvements can be made, and which areas to tackle first. This gives many businesses access to the kind of expert insights that would be more difficult, time consuming and costly to obtain by traditional methods.  For AWS, this provides a way to show themselves as a provider of Business Intelligence (BI) as well as many other services.