#microsoft project management software

[project-management-australia]

GLMS is a Microsoft Gold Partner specialist professional services company that focuses solely on the design, configuration, deployment, training, and support of Project Management solutions in Australia. They work around Microsoft Technologies and deliver digital transformations accordingly. GLMS specializes in consultancy services that leverage business technologies, such as Office 365, Project Online, Microsoft Project Server, and Microsoft SharePoint Server. Their goal is to establish cost-effective solutions tailored to best suit your business needs.

[technologysolutionsworldwide2]

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[douchebagbrainwaves]

I DON'T REALLY BLAME AMAZON FOR APPLYING FOR THE ONE-CLICK PATENT WOULD TURN UP IN THE FIRST JAVA WHITE PAPER THAT JAVA WAS DESIGNED TO FIX SOME PROBLEMS WITH C

In Javascript the example is, again, slightly longer, because Javascript retains the distinction between statements and expressions, so you have to understand how little users understand. I didn't have them. Newspapers and magazines are just as screwed, but they can't design. I do feel pretty certain of is that if you're against software patents, and as a result they've made a lot of users. So here we have two pieces of information that I think are very valuable. All the time I was in college that one ought to vote for Kerry. It makes me spend more time on the Octoparts than I do with most of the preceding three ingredients, but the pain of having this stupid controversy constantly reintroduced as the top one, rather than the writer.1 TV and phones on the way down, grasping at straws. If their startup fails, they'll have to choose founders they can trust.

If you try to decide what to do.2 In Javascript the example is, again, slightly longer, because Javascript retains the distinction between statements and expressions, so you can learn faster what various kinds of work equally, but one is more prestigious, you should not do, I can solve that problem for you: if you already have a large and rapidly growing user base, and if not they focus on the latter. Thanks to Trevor Blackwell and Jessica Livingston for reading drafts of this essay.3 This is often combined with DH2 statements, as in the design of lives, as in the design of lives, as in the design of most other things, you get to work on.4 Y Combinator we didn't worry about Microsoft as competition for the startups we fund could make as good a case as Microsoft could have, will you convince investors? You might get it. In fact, choosing a more selfish project. And isn't popularity to some extent its own justification?

Notes

Most people let them mix pretty promiscuously. Within YC when we say it's ipso facto right to buy you a termsheet, particularly if a bunch of adults had been with us if the potential magnitude of the business for 16,000 per month. A investor has a finite market value. VCs tend to be a constant.

The situation we face here, because you have to give up, and 20 in Paris.

According to the rise of big companies have never been the first person to person depending on how much of a severe-looking little box with a product manager about problems integrating the Korean version of the reason this trick works so well is that it even seemed a lot heavier.

Angels and super-angels gradually to erode.

[filehulk]

ONLYOFFICE

In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, businesses and individuals need versatile tools to manage documents, collaborate efficiently, and enhance productivity. ONLYOFFICE is a robust office suite that caters to these needs, offering a blend of document management, collaboration, and integration capabilities. This article dives into what ONLYOFFICE is, its key features, benefits, and use…

[fusion5aus]

The Future of Project Management Consultancy: Trends to Watch in 2024

Companies are changing to match a world that’s getting more and more intricate. So, Project Management Consultancy has become crucial. Advisors are not just there to help with procedures anymore. They're valuable partners assisting organizations to reach their targets effectively. In 2024, a few important trends are impacting this advice area. The cause of these changes? Technology, our rollercoaster global economy, and shifting business scenes. This is all leading to a new way of overseeing projects across different sectors.

AI and Automation in Project Management: Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automation are changing how project management consultants work. They can't do without AI-powered tools anymore. These tools help analyze project data, find risks, and improve workflows. Also, predictive analytics can foresee project results using past data. This lets consultants make decisions ahead of time.

By 2024, it's expected that consultants will use AI more for a few key tasks. Automated reporting is one such task. AI tools could make real-time progress reports. This way, consultants might concentrate more on big-picture decisions. Next, we have risk management. Consulting teams may use predictive algorithms to spot risks early on during a project. Lastly, for resource optimization, AI might give suggestions on how to best use resources. This can help ensure projects get finished on schedule and under budget.

Rise of Hybrid Project Management Methodologies: Today, businesses are dealing with old-school and modern project needs. They're finding value in using hybrid project management styles. These styles mix agile and waterfall methods, giving them the freedom to act while still having a clear plan in place.

Project management advisors assist firms in three main ways. First, they modify strategies to meet a project's unique demands. Second, they enable the shift to agile, a trending methodology. Simultaneously they merge it with classic methods for projects with strict deadlines or outputs. Lastly, the advisors create elastic strategies. These plans let teams tweak their direction swiftly when necessary.

Increased Focus on Sustainability and ESG Compliance: By 2024, Project Management will see a rise in its relationship with Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles. These considerations will become key in project coordination. This means consultants will guide projects to be greener and meet ESG objectives. 

Consultants have jobs like: 

Taking green measurements: They aid groups in monitoring and quantifying the ecological effects of their plans.

Recommending environment-friendly methods: they steer corporations towards embedding eco-friendly advancements and methodologies in their project completion. 

Guaranteeing adherence to rules: They confirm projects adhere to worldwide and regional ESG criteria and recognitions.

Remote and Hybrid Workforces: In a world changed by the pandemic, remote and mixed work methods are reshaping project management advising. By 2024, advisors will face the task of leading spread-out groups, perfecting smooth chat, and keeping up efficiency over different time zones.

Consultants make a big impact in several fields. They use virtual project management tools like Microsoft Teams, Slack, and Asana to keep remote teams on the same page. They guide companies in managing remote staff efficiently and integrating them into the workflow. They also ensure everyone stays focused. They create strategies to keep scattered teams synchronized with project goals and timelines. And they overcome differences in location and time.

Digital Transformation Projects on the Rise: Transforming to digital is still a main concern for companies everywhere, and project management consultants are at the forefront of this change. They're navigating tasks like automating daily jobs and shifting systems to the cloud. These tech-savvy guides assist businesses in embracing technology, leading to better operations and fresh ideas.

By 2024, consultants have shifted their focus towards several key areas. First, they're in-charge of controlling IT infrastructure projects. This includes complex initiatives such as ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) setup, moving to the cloud, and creating software. They're also helping businesses handle the cultural and operational changes necessary for a successful digital transition. Lastly, they are facilitating the seamless combination of new tech with current systems and processes.

Conclusion:

In 2024, the project management consultancy world will be reshaped. Technology, sustainability, and a changing workforce will drive this change. Consultants are preparing. They use AI, flexible work setups, data analysis, and emotional smarts. Now, they are not just project leaders, but also commercial growth drivers. Watching these trends is important. Why? Because consultants need to offer value. They face strong competition and must stay ahead.

[gauravuk07]

Project Management Course : Dehradun

Introduction

Project management is the discipline of planning, organising, executing, controlling, and closing projects within specific constraints to achieve predetermined goals and objectives. It involves the effective utilization of resources, including time, budget, personnel, and materials, to successfully complete a project while meeting stakeholder expectations. Project management encompasses various methodologies, tools, and techniques to facilitate the efficient and effective management of projects across different industries and sectors. Overall, project management aims to deliver desired outcomes on time, within budget, and to the satisfaction of stakeholders.

Educational degrees required for project manager:

Master of Science in Project Management (MSPM)

Master of Science in Management (MSM)

Master of Science (MS)

Postgraduate Program in Project Engineering and Management (PGP PEM)

Postgraduate Program in Project Management (PGP PM)

MBA in Construction Project Management (MBA CPM)

Post Graduate Certificate in Advanced Project Management

MBA – Project Management (MBA PM) (Distance Learning)

Certificate Program in Project Management 

Project Management Tools:

Financial tools

Cause and effect charts

pert charts

gantt charts

Event Chain Diagrams

RACI diagram

run charts

Project Cycle Optimization (PCO)

List of project management software

Participatory Impact Pathways Analysis

Project Management Course in Cad Center Dehradun

If you are looking for Project Management course from CAD Center in Dehradun, here are some important points that can help you: Course Features and Syllabus Unique Curriculum: The course is tailored specifically for project management, covering various aspects, such as project planning, risk management, command building, and project control. Projects and Case Studies: Students get a chance to face real matters through projects and case studies. This gives them exposure to different types of projects and develops their engineering skills. Study Material: The course offers dedicated study material that helps students gain in-depth understanding of various topics. Practice Program: Through the practice program and exercises provided by the teachers, students get a chance to practice various project management techniques. Syllabus: Project Planning and Establishment: The process of conceptualizing the project, determining goals and objectives, and planning. Project Leadership and Team Building: Team dynamics, command building, and project leadership skills. Risk Management: Assessing, evaluating, and managing the risks of projects. Project Control and Monitoring: Monitoring, controlling, and analyzing project progress. Communication and Communication: Importance of communication, communication skills, and communication techniques in projects.

Keeping all these matters in mind, you can be ready for Project Management Course at CAD Center Dehradun.

[bdccglobal]

Azure DevOps vs. Jira! 🚀💻 Uncover the differences and similarities between these two giants in the world of project management and software development.

Which one will emerge victorious in your toolbox?

[enterlogixcorporation]

Business Intelligence Analytics - Enterlogix Corporation

Enterlogix Corporation offers advanced Business Intelligence Analytics solutions designed to empower businesses with data-driven insights and strategic decision-making capabilities and we help clients unlock the full potential of their data, driving and operational excellence. For more information, visit our website or contact us.

+1 832-278-1229

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Microsoft pinky swears that THIS TIME they’ll make security a priority

One June 20, I'm live onstage in LOS ANGELES for a recording of the GO FACT YOURSELF podcast. On June 21, I'm doing an ONLINE READING for the LOCUS AWARDS at 16hPT. On June 22, I'll be in OAKLAND, CA for a panel and a keynote at the LOCUS AWARDS.

As the old saying goes, "When someone tells you who they are and you get fooled again, shame on you." That goes double for Microsoft, especially when it comes to security promises.

Microsoft is, was, always has been, and always will be a rotten company. At every turn, throughout their history, they have learned the wrong lessons, over and over again.

That starts from the very earliest days, when the company was still called "Micro-Soft." Young Bill Gates was given a sweetheart deal to supply the operating system for IBM's PC, thanks to his mother's connection. The nepo-baby enlisted his pal, Paul Allen (whom he'd later rip off for billions) and together, they bought someone else's OS (and took credit for creating it – AKA, the "Musk gambit").

Microsoft then proceeded to make a fortune by monopolizing the OS market through illegal, collusive arrangements with the PC clone industry – an industry that only existed because they could source third-party PC ROMs from Phoenix:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/08/ibm-pc-compatible-how-adversarial-interoperability-saved-pcs-monopolization

Bill Gates didn't become one of the richest people on earth simply by emerging from a lucky orifice; he also owed his success to vigorous antitrust enforcement. The IBM PC was the company's first major initiative after it was targeted by the DOJ for a 12-year antitrust enforcement action. IBM tapped its vast monopoly profits to fight the DOJ, spending more on outside counsel to fight the DOJ antitrust division than the DOJ spent on all its antitrust lawyers, every year, for 12 years.

IBM's delaying tactic paid off. When Reagan took the White House, he let IBM off the hook. But the company was still seriously scarred by its ordeal, and when the PC project kicked off, the company kept the OS separate from the hardware (one of the DOJ's major issues with IBM's previous behavior was its vertical monopoly on hardware and software). IBM didn't hire Gates and Allen to provide it with DOS because it was incapable of writing a PC operating system: they did it to keep the DOJ from kicking down their door again.

The post-antitrust, gunshy IBM kept delivering dividends for Microsoft. When IBM turned a blind eye to the cloned PC-ROM and allowed companies like Compaq, Dell and Gateway to compete directly with Big Blue, this produced a whole cohort of customers for Microsoft – customers Microsoft could play off on each other, ensuring that every PC sold generated income for Microsoft, creating a wide moat around the OS business that kept other OS vendors out of the market. Why invest in making an OS when every hardware company already had an exclusive arrangement with Microsoft?

The IBM PC story teaches us two things: stronger antitrust enforcement spurs innovation and opens markets for scrappy startups to grow to big, important firms; as do weaker IP protections.

Microsoft learned the opposite: monopolies are wildly profitable; expansive IP protects monopolies; you can violate antitrust laws so long as you have enough monopoly profits rolling in to outspend the government until a Republican bootlicker takes the White House (Microsoft's antitrust ordeal ended after GW Bush stole the 2000 election and dropped the charges against them). Microsoft embodies the idea that you either die a rebel hero or live long enough to become the evil emperor you dethroned.

From the first, Microsoft has pursued three goals:

Get too big to fail;

Get too big to jail;

Get too big to care.

It has succeeded on all three counts. Much of Microsoft's enduring power comes from succeeded IBM as the company that mediocre IT managers can safely buy from without being blamed for the poor quality of Microsoft's products: "Nobody ever got fired for buying Microsoft" is 2024's answer to "Nobody ever got fired for buying IBM."

Microsoft's secret sauce is impunity. The PC companies that bundle Windows with their hardware are held blameless for the glaring defects in Windows. The IT managers who buy company-wide Windows licenses are likewise insulated from the rage of the workers who have to use Windows and other Microsoft products.

Microsoft doesn't have to care if you hate it because, for the most part, it's not selling to you. It's selling to a few decision-makers who can be wined and dined and flattered. And since we all have to use its products, developers have to target its platform if they want to sell us their software.

This rarified position has afforded Microsoft enormous freedom to roll out harebrained "features" that made things briefly attractive for some group of developers it was hoping to tempt into its sticky-trap. Remember when it put a Turing-complete scripting environment into Microsoft Office and unleashed a plague of macro viruses that wiped out years worth of work for entire businesses?

https://web.archive.org/web/20060325224147/http://www3.ca.com/securityadvisor/newsinfo/collateral.aspx?cid=33338

It wasn't just Office; Microsoft's operating systems have harbored festering swamps of godawful defects that were weaponized by trolls, script kiddies, and nation-states:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EternalBlue

Microsoft blamed everyone except themselves for these defects, claiming that their poor code quality was no worse than others, insisting that the bulging arsenal of Windows-specific malware was the result of being the juiciest target and thus the subject of the most malicious attention.

Even if you take them at their word here, that's still no excuse. Microsoft didn't slip and accidentally become an operating system monopolist. They relentlessly, deliberately, illegally pursued the goal of extinguishing every OS except their own. It's completely foreseeable that this dominance would make their products the subject of continuous attacks.

There's an implicit bargain that every monopolist makes: allow me to dominate my market and I will be a benevolent dictator who spends his windfall profits on maintaining product quality and security. Indeed, if we permit "wasteful competition" to erode the margins of operating system vendors, who will have a surplus sufficient to meet the security investment demands of the digital world?

But monopolists always violate this bargain. When faced with the decision to either invest in quality and security, or hand billions of dollars to their shareholders, they'll always take the latter. Why wouldn't they? Once they have a monopoly, they don't have to worry about losing customers to a competitor, so why invest in customer satisfaction? That's how Google can piss away $80b on a stock buyback and fire 12,000 technical employees at the same time as its flagship search product (with a 90% market-share) is turning into an unusable pile of shit:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/21/im-feeling-unlucky/#not-up-to-the-task

Microsoft reneged on this bargain from day one, and they never stopped. When the company moved Office to the cloud, it added an "analytics" suite that lets bosses spy on and stack-rank their employees ("Sorry, fella, Office365 says you're the slowest typist in the company, so you're fired"). Microsoft will also sell you internal data on the Office365 usage of your industry competitors (they'll sell your data to your competitors, too, natch). But most of all, Microsoft harvest, analyzes and sells this data for its own purposes:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/11/25/the-peoples-amazon/#clippys-revenge

Leave aside how creepy, gross and exploitative this is – it's also incredibly reckless. Microsoft is creating a two-way conduit into the majority of the world's businesses that insider threats, security services and hackers can exploit to spy on and wreck Microsoft's customers' business. You don't get more "too big to care" than this.

Or at least, not until now. Microsoft recently announced a product called "Recall" that would record every keystroke, click and screen element, nominally in the name of helping you figure out what you've done and either do it again, or go back and fix it. The problem here is that anyone who gains access to your system – your boss, a spy, a cop, a Microsoft insider, a stalker, an abusive partner or a hacker – now has access to everything, on a platter. Naturally, this system – which Microsoft billed as ultra-secure – was wildly insecure and after a series of blockbuster exploits, the company was forced to hit pause on the rollout:

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/06/microsoft-delays-data-scraping-recall-feature-again-commits-to-public-beta-test/

For years, Microsoft waged a war on the single most important security practice in software development: transparency. This is the company that branded the GPL Free Software license a "virus" and called open source "a cancer." The company argued that allowing public scrutiny of code would be a disaster because bad guys would spot and weaponize defects.

This is "security through obscurity" and it's an idea that was discredited nearly 500 years ago with the advent of the scientific method. The crux of that method: we are so good at bullshiting ourselves into thinking that our experiment was successful that the only way to make sure we know anything is to tell our enemies what we think we've proved so they can try to tear us down.

Or, as Bruce Schneier puts it: "Anyone can design a security system that you yourself can't think of a way of breaking. That doesn't mean it works, it just means that it works against people stupider than you."

And yet, Microsoft – whose made more widely and consequentially exploited software than anyone else in the history of the human race – claimed that free and open code was insecure, and spent millions on deceptive PR campaigns intended to discredit the scientific method in favor of a kind of software alchemy, in which every coder toils in secret, assuring themselves that drinking mercury is the secret to eternal life.

Access to source code isn't sufficient to make software secure – nothing about access to code guarantees that anyone will review that code and repair its defects. Indeed, there've been some high profile examples of "supply chain attacks" in the free/open source software world:

https://www.securityweek.com/supply-chain-attack-major-linux-distributions-impacted-by-xz-utils-backdoor/

But there's no good argument that this code would have been more secure if it had been harder for the good guys to spot its bugs. When it comes to secure code, transparency is an essential, but it's not a sufficency.

The architects of that campaign are genuinely awful people, and yet they're revered as heroes by Microsoft's current leadership. There's Steve "Linux Is Cancer" Ballmer, star of Propublica's IRS Files, where he is shown to be the king of "tax loss harvesting":

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/24/tax-loss-harvesting/#mego

And also the most prominent example of the disgusting tax cheats practiced by rich sports-team owners:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/07/08/tuyul-apps/#economic-substance-doctrine

Microsoft may give lip service to open source these days (mostly through buying, stripmining and enclosing Github) but Ballmer's legacy lives on within the company, through its wildly illegal tax-evasion tactics:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/13/pour-encoragez-les-autres/#micros-tilde-one

But Ballmer is an angel compared to his boss, Bill Gates, last seen some paragraphs above, stealing the credit for MS DOS from Tim Paterson and billions of dollars from his co-founder Paul Allen. Gates is an odious creep who made billions through corrupt tech industry practices, then used them to wield influence over the world's politics and policy. The Gates Foundation (and Gates personally) invented vaccine apartheid, helped kill access to AIDS vaccines in Sub-Saharan Africa, then repeated the trick to keep covid vaccines out of reach of the Global South:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/04/13/public-interest-pharma/#gates-foundation

The Gates Foundation wants us to think of it as malaria-fighting heroes, but they're also the leaders of the war against public education, and have been key to the replacement of public schools with charter schools, where the poorest kids in America serve as experimental subjects for the failed pet theories of billionaire dilettantes:

https://www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives/blog/millionaire-driven-education-reform-has-failed-heres-what-works

(On a personal level, Gates is also a serial sexual abuser who harassed multiple subordinates into having sexual affairs with him:)

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/13/technology/microsoft-sexual-harassment-policy-review.html

The management culture of Microsoft started rotten and never improved. It's a company with corruption and monopoly in its blood, a firm that would always rather build market power to insulate itself from the consequences of making defective products than actually make good products. This is true of every division, from cloud computing:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/09/28/other-peoples-computers/#clouded-over

To gaming:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/27/convicted-monopolist/#microsquish

No one should ever trust Microsoft to do anything that benefits anyone except Microsoft. One of the low points in the otherwise wonderful surge of tech worker labor organizing was when the Communications Workers of America endorsed Microsoft's acquisition of Activision because Microsoft promised not to union-bust Activision employees. They lied:

https://80.lv/articles/qa-workers-contracted-by-microsoft-say-they-were-fired-for-trying-to-unionize/

Repeatedly:

https://www.reuters.com/technology/activision-fired-staff-using-strong-language-about-remote-work-policy-union-2023-03-01/

Why wouldn't they lie? They've never faced any consequences for lying in the past. Remember: the secret to Microsoft's billions is impunity.

Which brings me to Solarwinds. Solarwinds is an enterprise management tool that allows IT managers to see, patch and control the computers they oversee. Foreign spies hacked Solarwinds and accessed a variety of US federal agencies, including National Nuclear Security Administration (who oversee nuclear weapons stockpiles), the NIH, and the Treasury Department.

When the Solarwinds story broke, Microsoft strenuously denied that the Solarwinds hack relied on exploiting defects in Microsoft software. They said this to everyone: the press, the Pentagon, and Congress.

This was a lie. As Renee Dudley and Doris Burke reported for Propublica, the Solarwinds attack relied on defects in the SAML authentication system that Microsoft's own senior security staff had identified and repeatedly warned management about. Microsoft's leadership ignored these warnings, buried the research, prohibited anyone from warning Microsoft customers, and sidelined Andrew Harris, the researcher who discovered the defect:

https://www.propublica.org/article/microsoft-solarwinds-golden-saml-data-breach-russian-hackers

The single most consequential cyberattack on the US government was only possible because Microsoft decided not to fix a profound and dangerous bug in its code, and declined to warn anyone who relied on this defective software.

Yesterday, Microsoft president Brad Smith testified about this to Congress, and promised that the company would henceforth prioritize security over gimmicks like AI:

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/06/microsoft-in-damage-control-mode-says-it-will-prioritize-security-over-ai/

Despite all the reasons to mistrust this promise, the company is hoping Congress will believe it. More importantly, it's hoping that the Pentagon will believe it, because the Pentagon is about to award billions in free no-bid military contract profits to Microsoft:

https://www.axios.com/2024/05/17/pentagon-weighs-microsoft-licensing-upgrades

You know what? I bet they'll sell this lie. It won't be the first time they've convinced Serious People in charge of billions of dollars and/or lives to ignore that all-important maxim, "When someone tells you who they are and you get fooled again, shame on you."

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/06/14/patch-tuesday/#fool-me-twice-we-dont-get-fooled-again

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

January 18, 2025

Heather Cox Richardson

Jan 19, 2025

Shortly before midnight last night, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published its initial findings from a study it undertook last July when it asked eight large companies to turn over information about the data they collect about consumers, product sales, and how the surveillance the companies used affected consumer prices. The FTC focused on the middlemen hired by retailers. Those middlemen use algorithms to tweak and target prices to different markets.

The initial findings of the FTC using data from six of the eight companies show that those prices are not static. Middlemen can target prices to individuals using their location, browsing patterns, shopping history, and even the way they move a mouse over a webpage. They can also use that information to show higher-priced products first in web searches. The FTC found that the intermediaries—the middlemen—worked with at least 250 retailers.

“Initial staff findings show that retailers frequently use people’s personal information to set targeted, tailored prices for goods and services—from a person's location and demographics, down to their mouse movements on a webpage,” said FTC chair Lina Khan. “The FTC should continue to investigate surveillance pricing practices because Americans deserve to know how their private data is being used to set the prices they pay and whether firms are charging different people different prices for the same good or service.”

The FTC has asked for public comment on consumers’ experience with surveillance pricing.

FTC commissioner Andrew N. Ferguson, whom Trump has tapped to chair the commission in his incoming administration, dissented from the report.

Matt Stoller of the nonprofit American Economic Liberties Project, which is working “to address today’s crisis of concentrated economic power,” wrote that “[t]he antitrust enforcers (Lina Khan et al) went full Tony Montana on big business this week before Trump people took over.”

Stoller made a list. The FTC sued John Deere “for generating $6 billion by prohibiting farmers from being able to repair their own equipment,” released a report showing that pharmacy benefit managers had “inflated prices for specialty pharmaceuticals by more than $7 billion,” “sued corporate landlord Greystar, which owns 800,000 apartments, for misleading renters on junk fees,” and “forced health care private equity powerhouse Welsh Carson to stop monopolization of the anesthesia market.”

It sued Pepsi for conspiring to give Walmart exclusive discounts that made prices higher at smaller stores, “​​[l]eft a roadmap for parties who are worried about consolidation in AI by big tech by revealing a host of interlinked relationships among Google, Amazon and Microsoft and Anthropic and OpenAI,” said gig workers can’t be sued for antitrust violations when they try to organize, and forced game developer Cognosphere to pay a $20 million fine for marketing loot boxes to teens under 16 that hid the real costs and misled the teens.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau “sued Capital One for cheating consumers out of $2 billion by misleading consumers over savings accounts,” Stoller continued. It “forced Cash App purveyor Block…to give $120 million in refunds for fostering fraud on its platform and then refusing to offer customer support to affected consumers,” “sued Experian for refusing to give consumers a way to correct errors in credit reports,” ordered Equifax to pay $15 million to a victims’ fund for “failing to properly investigate errors on credit reports,” and ordered “Honda Finance to pay $12.8 million for reporting inaccurate information that smeared the credit reports of Honda and Acura drivers.”

The Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice sued “seven giant corporate landlords for rent-fixing, using the software and consulting firm RealPage,” Stoller went on. It “sued $600 billion private equity titan KKR for systemically misleading the government on more than a dozen acquisitions.”

“Honorary mention goes to [Secretary Pete Buttigieg] at the Department of Transportation for suing Southwest and fining Frontier for ‘chronically delayed flights,’” Stoller concluded. He added more results to the list in his newsletter BIG.

Meanwhile, last night, while the leaders in the cryptocurrency industry were at a ball in honor of President-elect Trump’s inauguration, Trump launched his own cryptocurrency. By morning he appeared to have made more than $25 billion, at least on paper. According to Eric Lipton at the New York Times, “ethics experts assailed [the business] as a blatant effort to cash in on the office he is about to occupy again.”

Adav Noti, executive director of the nonprofit Campaign Legal Center, told Lipton: “It is literally cashing in on the presidency—creating a financial instrument so people can transfer money to the president’s family in connection with his office. It is beyond unprecedented.” Cryptocurrency leaders worried that just as their industry seems on the verge of becoming mainstream, Trump’s obvious cashing-in would hurt its reputation. Venture capitalist Nick Tomaino posted: “Trump owning 80 percent and timing launch hours before inauguration is predatory and many will likely get hurt by it.”

Yesterday the European Commission, which is the executive arm of the European Union, asked X, the social media company owned by Trump-adjacent billionaire Elon Musk, to hand over internal documents about the company’s algorithms that give far-right posts and politicians more visibility than other political groups. The European Union has been investigating X since December 2023 out of concerns about how it deals with the spread of disinformation and illegal content. The European Union’s Digital Services Act regulates online platforms to prevent illegal and harmful activities, as well as the spread of disinformation.

Today in Washington, D.C., the National Mall was filled with thousands of people voicing their opposition to President-elect Trump and his policies. Online speculation has been rampant that Trump moved his inauguration indoors to avoid visual comparisons between today’s protesters and inaugural attendees. Brutally cold weather also descended on President Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration, but a sea of attendees nonetheless filled the National Mall.

Trump has always understood the importance of visuals and has worked hard to project an image of an invincible leader. Moving the inauguration indoors takes away that image, though, and people who have spent thousands of dollars to travel to the capital to see his inauguration are now unhappy to discover they will be limited to watching his motorcade drive by them. On social media, one user posted: “MAGA doesn’t realize the symbolism of [Trump] moving the inauguration inside: The billionaires, millionaires and oligarchs will be at his side, while his loyal followers are left outside in the cold. Welcome to the next 4+ years.”

Trump is not as good at governing as he is at performance: his approach to crises is to blame Democrats for them. But he is about to take office with majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate, putting responsibility for governance firmly into his hands.

Right off the bat, he has at least two major problems at hand.

Last night, Commissioner Tyler Harper of the Georgia Department of Agriculture suspended all “poultry exhibitions, shows, swaps, meets, and sales” until further notice after officials found Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, or bird flu, in a commercial flock. As birds die from the disease or are culled to prevent its spread, the cost of eggs is rising—just as Trump, who vowed to reduce grocery prices, takes office.

There have been 67 confirmed cases of the bird flu in the U.S. among humans who have caught the disease from birds. Most cases in humans are mild, but public health officials are watching the virus with concern because bird flu variants are unpredictable. On Friday, outgoing Health and Human Services secretary Xavier Becerra announced $590 million in funding to Moderna to help speed up production of a vaccine that covers the bird flu. Juliana Kim of NPR explained that this funding comes on top of $176 million that Health and Human Services awarded to Moderna last July.

The second major problem is financial. On Friday, Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen wrote to congressional leaders to warn them that the Treasury would hit the debt ceiling on January 21 and be forced to begin using extraordinary measures in order to pay outstanding obligations and prevent defaulting on the national debt. Those measures mean the Treasury will stop paying into certain federal retirement accounts as required by law, expecting to make up that difference later.

Yellen reminded congressional leaders: “The debt limit does not authorize new spending, but it creates a risk that the federal government might not be able to finance its existing legal obligations that Congresses and Presidents of both parties have made in the past.” She added, “I respectfully urge Congress to act promptly to protect the full faith and credit of the United States.”

Both the avian flu and the limits of the debt ceiling must be managed, and managed quickly, and solutions will require expertise and political skill.

Rather than offering their solutions to these problems, the Trump team leaked that it intended to begin mass deportations on Tuesday morning in Chicago, choosing that city because it has large numbers of immigrants and because Trump’s people have been fighting with Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson, a Democrat. Michelle Hackman, Joe Barrett, and Paul Kiernan of the Wall Street Journal, who broke the story, reported that Trump’s people had prepared to amplify their efforts with the help of right-wing media.

But once the news leaked of the plan and undermined the “shock and awe” the administration wanted, Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan said the team was reconsidering it.

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[icqmuseum24]

📞💔 To our great regret, following in the footsteps of Russia’s VK Group and its quiet farewell to ICQ, Microsoft has now officially shut down Skype — a true legend of the 2000s internet era. What once defined how we connected, called, and chatted across the globe has been silenced… not by users, but by boardroom decisions.

💻 Skype wasn't just software — it was a cultural milestone. It brought faces to voices, bridged continents in seconds, and made "Skyping" a verb in dozens of languages. Its shutdown is not just sad — it's irreplaceable. Another digital monument lost to corporate fatigue.

📉 This only proves one thing: well-paid marketers and project managers have repeatedly failed to breathe new life into legacy platforms. Instead of adapting tradition to modern times, they let icons wither. And for what? Another feature-bloated app with no soul?

🌐 But we haven’t lost hope. If Winamp can rise from the ashes, why not Skype? Why not AIM? Why not ICQ? Maybe, just maybe, it won’t be Microsoft or VK who lead the resurrection — maybe it’ll be an indie developer or a bold startup that understands nostalgia can be modern.

👀 Paging Yahoo Inc. and AOL… We’re waiting.

[kyokosasagawa]

I started writing "4 srs" this month and I like how free and accessible writing is, so I'm recommending free software I've experimented with that might help people who want to get into the hobby!

“Specifically Created for Writing Stories”

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Manuskript – Story organizer / word processor. Has an outliner and index card function, along with distraction free mode. Lets you switch between different templates such as a non-fiction mode or a short story.

Bibisco – Novel writing software that includes writing goals, world-building, distraction free mode, and a timeline.

“I Just Want to Write”

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LibreOffice – Microsoft 365 alternative, but free! LibreOffice Writer is what I wrote this tumblr post in before I posted it. Also if you copy & paste the text into the Rich Text Editor on AO3, it seems that it actually converts it properly. Nice! No need for scripts.

Note-Taking

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Zim Wiki - note taking application that is very, very lightweight (1.1mb). It functions with a tree structure, so I’d personally recommend it for world-building and character bios. There are built-in plugins that also turn it into a good software for task management (it even has a article on how to use it for GTD) and journalling. See also: CherryTree (2mb), which is a more outdated-looking app, but functions similarly.

Obsidian MD – The Big Boy. markdown note editor that has been adopted by personal knowledge management fans---if it doesn’t do something you want it to do, just look in the community plugins to see if someone has already done it. Some unique non-word processing related usages I’ve found is the ability to create a table of contents dashboard, a image gallery for images, embedding youtube videos and timestamping notes, so forth.

Logseq – A bullet point based markdown note editor that also has PDF annotations, Zotero integration, flashcard creation, and whiteboards. Best used for outlining projects due to the bullet point structure.

Joplin – A modern app comparable to Zim Wiki, it’s basically just a note-taking software that uses folders and tags to sort easier. Looks prettier than Zim Wiki and Cherry Tree

Notion – An online-only website that allows usage of different database types. Free for personal use. Note: I dislike the AI updates that have been making the app lag more. I prefer the others on this list.

Mind Maps

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Freeplane – So much goddamn features, including a ton of add-ons. Looks somewhat ugly, but it works for anyone willing to spend a while learning how to use it.

Mermaid – Text-based diagram creator. Can be used in apps like Joplin, Notion, and Obsidian.

Obsidian’s Canvas – A core plugin for Obsidian, it deserves its own mention in that it allows you to create embedded notes of the mindmap nodes. Thus, if you want to create a 20-page long note and have it minimized to the size of a penny on the mindmap, you could.

Other Things That Might Be Of Interest

Syncthing - A free software that allows you to sync between two or more computers. Have a desktop but also laze around on a laptop in bed, coming up with ideas?? This is your buddy if you don't want to use a online software.

[skyovereuropeldkde]

Trap to Enslave Humanity Artificial intelligence - for the benefit of mankind!? The company OpenAI developed its AI software ChatGPT under this objective. But why was a head of espionage of all people appointed to the board? Is ChatGPT really a blessing or possibly even a trap to enslave humanity? (Moderator) Develop artificial intelligence (AI) supposedly for the benefit of humanity! With this in mind, the company OpenAI was founded in 2015 by Sam Altman, Elon Musk and others. Everyone knows its best-known software by now – the free ChatGPT – it formulates texts, carries out Internet searches and will soon be integrated into Apple and Microsoft as standard. In the meantime, however, there is reason to doubt the "charity" proclaimed by the company when it was founded.

Founder Sam Altman is primarily concerned with profits. Although ChatGPT can be used free of charge, it is given access to personal data and deep insights into the user's thoughts and mental life every time it is operated. Data is the gold of the 21st century. Whoever controls it gains enormous power.

But what is particularly striking is the following fact: Four-star general Paul Nakasone, of all people, was appointed to the board of OpenAI in 2024. Previously, Nakasone was head of the US intelligence agency NSA and the United States Cyber Command for electronic warfare. He became known to the Americans when he publicly warned against China and Russia as aggressors. The fact that the NSA has attracted attention in the past for spying on its own people, as well as on friendly countries, seems to have been forgotten. Consequently, a proven cold warrior is joining the management team at OpenAI. [Moderator] It is extremely interesting to note that Nakasone is also a member of the Board's newly formed Safety Committee. This role puts him in a position of great influence, as the recommendations of this committee are likely to shape the future policy of OpenAI. OpenAI may thus be steered in the direction of practices that Nakasone has internalized in the NSA. According to Edward Snowden, there can only be one reason for this personnel decision: "Deliberate, calculated betrayal of the rights of every human being on earth." It is therefore not surprising that OpenAI founder, Sam Altmann, wants to assign to every citizen of the world a "World ID", which is recorded by scanning the iris. Since this ID then contains EVERYTHING you have ever done, bought and undertaken, it is perfect for total surveillance. In conjunction with ChatGPT, it is therefore possible to maintain reliable databases on every citizen in the world. This is how the transparent citizen is created: total control of humanity down to the smallest detail. In the wrong hands, such technology becomes the greatest danger to a free humanity! The UN, the World Bank and the World Economic Forum (WEF) are also driving this digital recording of every citizen of the world. Since all these organizations are foundations and strongholds of the High Degree Freemasons, the World ID is therefore also a designated project of these puppet masters on their way to establishing a One World Government. The fact that Sam Altman wants to push through their plans with the support of General Nakasone and was also a participant at the Bilderberg Conference in 2016, 2022 and 2023 proves that he is a representative of these global strategists, if not a high degree freemason himself. The Bilderberg Group forms a secret shadow government and was founded by the High Degree Freemasons with the aim of creating a new world order. Anyone who has ever been invited to one of their conferences remains associated with the Bilderbergers and, according to the German political scientist and sociologist Claudia von Werlhof, is a future representative of this power!

Since countless people voluntarily disclose their data when using ChatGPT, this could bring the self-appointed would-be world rulers a lot closer to their goal. As Kla.TV founder Ivo Sasek warns in his program "Deadly Ignorance or Worldwide Decision", the world is about to fall into the trap of the big players once again via ChatGPT. So, dear viewers, don't be dazzled by the touted advantages of AI. It is another snare of the High Degree Freemasons who are weaving a huge net to trap all of humanity in it. Say NO to this development!

[ppm-software]

Best Microsoft Project Alternatives & Competitors (Free & Paid Alternatives to MS Project) · 1. Celoxis · 2. Gantt Pro · 3. Proofhub · 4. nTask · 5. ClickUp.