Diarmuid Early, winner of the 2025 Microsoft Excel World Championship, shares practical Excel advice for office workers, emphasizing the importance of seeking better methods, automating repetitive tasks, and learning functions like SUMIFS to save time and reduce errors. He also highlights the potential of AI to improve Excel skills and warns against manual, error-prone practices.
A year after purchasing the Nelko PM220 Bluetooth thermal label printer, it has proven to be a reliable, durable, and cost-effective tool for a local cafe, handling over 5,000 labels with consistent quality and minimal maintenance, despite its low price and some minor limitations.
HP has announced a 49-inch ultrawide monitor designed for office productivity, featuring a 5120×1440 resolution, versatile virtual split-screen options, multiple input ports, a built-in webcam with Windows Hello support, and adjustable height, priced around $1300. They also introduced a portable 14-inch monitor with a 2560×1600 resolution, lightweight design, and USB-C connectivity, expected to cost about $300.
CEOs of major companies like Meta and Goldman Sachs are ordering employees back to the office most days, citing concerns about productivity. While early studies suggested that working from home had minimal or positive impacts on productivity, more recent studies have found that workers are more distractible at home and experience a decline in productivity. However, experts argue that a full reversion to office work may damage businesses and hinder talent attraction. They advocate for a flexible, hybrid approach to work as the way forward. The concept of productivity itself is subjective and can vary depending on management practices and support for hybrid working. Ultimately, the remote work genie is out of the bottle, and a hybrid work model is likely to become the default in the future.