Tag Archives: Loans

Apple beefs up Keynote, Pages and Numbers with new features

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Apple is rolling out updates to its iWork suite of Keynote, Pages and Numbers on iPhone, iPad and Mac. The next time you deliver a presentation with Keynote, you'll be able to include live video feeds directly in the slides. You can resize the video feed and change the look with masks, frames, drop shadows and reflections.

With the Mac version of Keynote, you can add feeds from multiple external cameras, and share a connected iPhone or iPad screen, which could prove useful for interactive demos. There are more collaboration features too. A new multi-presenter function lets anyone control a shared slideshow and advance slides remotely using a Mac, iPhone or iPad. This could come in handy for group presentations.

The changes to Pages are largely iPhone-focused. The Screen View feature arranges text, images and other aspects of the document into a single-column view. Apple has increased the text size, while images are sized to fit your phone's screen. You can also view tables by scrolling left and right. Users will still be able to edit documents as usual when Screen View is active. You don't need to do anything to set up the feature, and it works with all word processing documents. Apple says you can toggle off Screen View so you can see the proper layout before you're ready to share or print the document.

As for Numbers, you can now get to grips with pivot tables across Apple devices. You'll be able to summarize, group and rearrange data to spot and study trends and patterns. There are options to visualize the pivot tables with charts and to share pivot data without disclosing the source data. You can also import pivot tables from and export them to Microsoft Excel.

Elsewhere, there's a new chart type called radar charts. Apple says this "makes it easy to visually compare multiple variables with similarities shown as overlapping areas, allowing differences and outliers to really stand out." There are new filters you can use to highlight unique entries or duplicate data.

All three apps now support Apple's new translation tools on iOS 15, iPadOS 15 and macOS Monterey. The latest versions of Keynote, Pages and Numbers are now available on the App Store and Mac App Store.

The translation feature on Apple's Keynote app on macOS Monterey
Apple

Microsoft Teams is getting hybrid meeting features, including CarPlay support

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The COVID-19 pandemic caused a huge shift toward remote working, though many people are still eager to return to the office. As such, the future of work may be a hybrid environment. To help account for that, Microsoft Teams is getting a bunch of features to bolster hybrid meetings.

Among these is the Cameo feature for presentations in PowerPoint Live. You'll be able to add your Teams camera feed to your deck, and you can choose how and where you want to appear in slides. Microsoft plans to roll out this tool early next year.

Microsoft Teams
Microsoft

Also arriving in early 2022 is an AI-powered feature called speaker coach, which listens to your speech and offers tips on your pace and when to check in with the attendees, as well as offering a reminder when you interrupt someone.

Microsoft will add an automatic lighting correction tool in the coming months. In the same timeframe, it will update companion mode in Teams mobile. The latter will let in-person attendees have easy access to features such as chat and live reactions, as well as controls for the meeting and connected devices, such as cameras.

Speaking of which, Microsoft Teams will soon support intelligent cameras from the likes of Jabra, Neat, Poly, and Yealink. AI-powered active speaker tracking will use visual cues as well as audio to help determine who is speaking and focus on them. Multiple video streams will place meeting participants who are in the same physical space into their own video pane. The people recognition tool, meanwhile, can identify meeting participants and display their profile name below their video pane.

Manufacturers will have access to those features in the coming months. Microsoft expects the tools to roll out as updates over the next year. They could play a key role in putting all hybrid meeting participants on a level playing field, whether they're at home or in a conference room.

Elsewhere, an Outlook RSVP feature that'll arrive in early 2022 will let you flag whether you're attending a meeting in person or remotely to help organizers prepare (Google Calendar added a similar feature in July). You'll be able to mark when and where you're working in your working hours too. You may also be able to reserve shared workspaces through Outlook or Teams.

Meanwhile, Apple CarPlay will get audio-only support for Teams starting later this month. So, if you get stuck in traffic when a meeting starts, you can still join in via Siri.

Microsoft Teams on Apple CarPlay
Microsoft

Microsoft Teams is getting hybrid meeting features, including CarPlay support

Posted on by

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a huge shift toward remote working, though many people are still eager to return to the office. As such, the future of work may be a hybrid environment. To help account for that, Microsoft Teams is getting a bunch of features to bolster hybrid meetings.

Among these is the Cameo feature for presentations in PowerPoint Live. You'll be able to add your Teams camera feed to your deck, and you can choose how and where you want to appear in slides. Microsoft plans to roll out this tool early next year.

Microsoft Teams
Microsoft

Also arriving in early 2022 is an AI-powered feature called speaker coach, which listens to your speech and offers tips on your pace and when to check in with the attendees, as well as offering a reminder when you interrupt someone.

Microsoft will add an automatic lighting correction tool in the coming months. In the same timeframe, it will update companion mode in Teams mobile. The latter will let in-person attendees have easy access to features such as chat and live reactions, as well as controls for the meeting and connected devices, such as cameras.

Speaking of which, Microsoft Teams will soon support intelligent cameras from the likes of Jabra, Neat, Poly, and Yealink. AI-powered active speaker tracking will use visual cues as well as audio to help determine who is speaking and focus on them. Multiple video streams will place meeting participants who are in the same physical space into their own video pane. The people recognition tool, meanwhile, can identify meeting participants and display their profile name below their video pane.

Manufacturers will have access to those features in the coming months. Microsoft expects the tools to roll out as updates over the next year. They could play a key role in putting all hybrid meeting participants on a level playing field, whether they're at home or in a conference room.

Elsewhere, an Outlook RSVP feature that'll arrive in early 2022 will let you flag whether you're attending a meeting in person or remotely to help organizers prepare (Google Calendar added a similar feature in July). You'll be able to mark when and where you're working in your working hours too. You may also be able to reserve shared workspaces through Outlook or Teams.

Meanwhile, Apple CarPlay will get audio-only support for Teams starting later this month. So, if you get stuck in traffic when a meeting starts, you can still join in via Siri.

Microsoft Teams on Apple CarPlay
Microsoft

The Magic Keyboard with Touch ID is now available separately for $149

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A few months after it introduced new Touch ID-enabled Magic Keyboards along with M1 Macs, Apple is now selling the peripheral separately. The Magic Keyboard with Touch ID costs $149, while a version with a number pad can be all yours for $179. It's worth noting the Touch ID functions only work on M1-powered Macs.

Along with helping you log in to your Mac without having to punch in a password, you can use Touch ID to verify Apple Pay transactions. For now, the standalone version of the Magic Keyboard is only available in the standard silver and white color scheme. You won’t be able to snag it in one of those funky M1 iMac-inspired designs without shelling out for a new computer. 

Apple Magic Keyboard with Touch ID and Number Pad
Apple

Apple has also refreshed several other Magic accessories. The standard $99 Magic Keyboard now has keys for Spotlight, dictation, do not disturb and emoji, as do the Touch ID-equipped models. The $129 Magic Trackpad, meanwhile, has a tweaked shape to match the Magic Keyboard. 

All of these accessories, as well as the $79 Magic Mouse, now come with a braided USB-C to Lightning cable rather than the old Lightning to USB-A one. Apple says the accessories can run for around a month, if not longer, on a single charge.

Student Loans: Ways to Avoid Loan Consolidation Scams

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If you are having difficulties in meeting the deadline of your student loans payback schedule then debt consolidation schemes may plague you. But these are not all created equal. Most of the student...

Student loans expected to be the next big bailout

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Many in the US weren't happy at all when the federal government had to bail out the bank and automotive industry when things went south. Homeowners have been given many ways during the economic...