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The origins of Black Friday and Cyber Monday
Black Friday is the last Friday in November and marks the start of the Christmas shopping season. It is the day after Thanksgiving in the United States, and that is where it became popular. Now it is a phenomenon all over the English-speaking world and retail sales on that day and the days around it…
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Stay Safe This Black Friday: Cyber Security Tips to Avoid Scams
Black Friday is a prime time for cybercriminals to target shoppers. Here are some essential tips to help you stay safe while hunting for bargains online. 1. Beware of Phishing Emails Phishing emails often look like they come from legitimate retailers. Always double-check the sender’s email address and avoid clicking on links or downloading attachments from…
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Geek Christmas 2024 – This is the Year of Choices
It is that time of year again, my annual list of present ideas for that geeky relation, friend or significant other. Completely gender irrelevant, the only requirement is a certain level of cult obsessiveness, geekiness or nerdism. (I am pretty sure some of those words are made up! ed.) I held out until November 1…
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“We’ve always done it that way”
One of Grace Hopper’s most frequently used utterances was – “The only phrase I’ve ever disliked is, ‘…we’ve always done it that way. ‘ I always tell young people, ‘Go ahead and do it.’” She was a computing pioneer and a Rear Admiral in the United States Navy. Both of these achievements were phenomenal for…
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Katherine Johnson and NASA
Katherine Johnson is another of the people celebrated in the film Hidden Figures (2016). She had a long and illustrious career working for NASA as a computer, when mathematicians were known as computers. She also pioneered the use of computers as we know them today. Born in 1918 as the youngest of four children, Katherine…
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Happy Ada Lovelace Day
What is Ada Lovelace day? I asked Google’s AI for a simple explanation of Ada Lovelace Day, I thought Ada would have appreciated that. “Ada Lovelace Day is an annual event that takes place on the second Tuesday of October to recognise and celebrate women’s contributions to STEM fields. The day is named after Ada Lovelace, a Victorian…
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Dr Gladys West – Developer of GPS
October celebrates Ada Lovelace day by shining a spotlight on women who have made significant contributions in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM for short). Many of these women are uncelebrated, so I will attempt to redress the balance in a small way by dedicating our articles this month to female pioneers…
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Microsoft Planner
Recently we have had requests on how to use Microsoft Planner across different organisations. This isn’t as simple as you might think but if done correctly it works well. Here is a brief insight to what Microsoft Planner is and what benefits it can bring for your organisation. The Benefits of Microsoft Planner Microsoft Planner…
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It’s Your Domain!
I chose the theme for Octagon’s September Newsletter – Microsoft 365. Other members of the team have produced articles looking at some of the tools and features – me I want to look at a fundamental element of Microsoft 365, that is very often overlooked by clients until I undertake an IT and Cyber Security…
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SharePoint Collaboration
SharePoint – A powerful collaboration tool Historically, Microsoft’s suite of Office programs revolved around the basic apps, Word, Excel and such, but now in a ever more connected world, collaboration and team efforts take centre stage in efficient and productive business. What was needed was a central area to exchange information and help people work…
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Microsoft Teams Transcription
Recently, I have been asked how to enable the transcription facility for Microsoft Teams in Microsoft 365. This is a very useful tool that saves businesses a lot of time. Transcription services in Microsoft Teams have revolutionised the way meetings are documented, offering a seamless integration of AI-driven speech-to-text capabilities that ensure no detail is…
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Use AI to check a legal document
As this month’s newsletter theme is AI, I would like to tell you about how I used AI to help me to go through a legal document. I became aware of this document very recently and it is the Master Agreement we have with one of our suppliers. This supplier is a very large company…
