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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER 30 OCTOBER - 04 NOVEMBER, 2023
Hello and Welcome,
Meeting This Week
2023/11/04 — 13:00-14:00 — November, Sat — Penrith Group
Meeting Next Week
2023/11/07 — 18:00-20:00 — November, Tue — Main Meeting
Schedule of Current & Upcoming Meetings
First Tuesday 18:00-20:00 — Main Meeting
First Saturday 13:00-14:00 — Penrith Group
Second Tuesday 18:00-20:00 — Programming
Third Tuesday 10:00-12:00 — Tuesday Group
Third Saturday 14:00-16:00 — Web Design
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Go to the official Sydney PC Calendar for this month's meeting details.
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Penrith meetings are held every 2nd month on the 1st Saturday from 1-2 pm.
The following meetings are in January, March and May 2024.
ASCCA News:Tech News:
YouTube Overhaul Removes Audio Shocks
See the InfoPackets article by John Lister on October 20, 2023, at 12:10 pm EDT.
YouTube is adding a range of new features and usability tweaks. A stable volume feature is the highlight, promising an end to sudden deafening sound-level changes.
The features have all previously been tested on small groups of Premium account subscribers and are now being rolled out to the general user base. While it's almost certainly a coincidence, it may sweeten the blow for users upset with a recent crackdown on watching YouTube while using ad blockers.
The "stable volume" feature will be switched on by default on mobile devices. That makes sense, as mobile users often listen on headphones and are particularly susceptible to unexpected changes in volume. (Source: androidauthority.com)
In theory, YouTube video creators are not allowed to have sudden changes in volume during a video. However, even if they follow that rule, differences between the volume of different videos (and ads) can be jarring.
Fast Playback Easier
It will now also be easier to switch to 2x playback speed. When watching in full-screen mode (or portrait on the phone), users can press/click and hold to make the switch. However, releasing the click or press will revert the video to normal speed. That means it's only beneficial for searching for a particular part of the video. Users will need to go into settings, as usual, to leave a video playing at double speed, for example, when listening to a video mainly speech without essential visuals.
Another mobile YouTube change is a lock screen option when watching full-screen video on a mobile device. That should stop users from accidentally tapping the screen and interrupting playback.
Navigation Improvements
Most of the other changes involve organization and navigation. For example, the separate pages for a user's account details and library (which includes viewed videos, purchases and playlists) will now be merged into a single "You" tab.
YouTube also says it is "modernizing" the user interface on Smart TVs, including a new menu for accessing information about a video, such as description, comments, chapters and subscribing. (Source: blog.youtube)
What's Your Opinion?
Do any of these changes sound helpful? What other changes would you like to see on YouTube? Do you watch videos or listen to podcasts at anything other than normal speed?
Nokia lays off 14,000 jobs
See the iTWire article by Kenn Anthony Mendoza | Friday, 20 October 2023, at 10:56 am.
Finnish telecoms equipment vendor Nokia plans to lay off 9,000 to 14,000 employees by the end of 2026 to cut costs after the company reported a 20% drop in sales between July and September.
Nokia attributed the sales drop to the slowing demand for 5G equipment in markets like North America. It also added its customers have been cutting spending amidst inflation and high-interest rates.
The job cuts come as cloud computing and AI trends are at an all-time high. Given this opportunity, Nokia said these trends need "significant investments" as they can improve network capabilities, said Nokia chief executive Pekka Lundmark.
The company has 86,000 employees around the world. The expected 9,000 to 14,000 job cuts, or the "reset" as Nokia puts it, would reduce costs by as much as 1.2 billion euros, or roughly US$1.3 billion, according to a report by The New York Times.
"However, given the uncertain timing of the market recovery, we are now taking decisive action," he said.
Nokia refused to disclose where the job cuts would fall.
It admitted the cuts were a "difficult business decision" but were necessary steps to adjust to market uncertainty and protect our long-term profitability and competitiveness."
Nokia was once a global mobile phone market but lagged when the iPhone was released by Apple in 2007. Failing to innovate, Nokia had no choice but to sell its mobile division to Microsoft in 2013.
Since then, it has redirected its strategies and focused on selling infrastructure to wireless companies, cable operators, and other enterprises.
Chrome Address Bar To Get More Useful
See the InfoPackets article by John Lister on October 23, 2023, at 1:10 pm EDT.
Google is overhauling the way searches work in the Chrome address bar. It should mean faster and more valuable results in a range of situations.
The changes are to the Chrome browser's address bar (sometimes called the Omnibox). It's where users can type in the full address of the site they want to visit but also carry out web searches without the need to visit Google.com or another search engine site.
The address bar already has an autocomplete option, showing possible site addresses and search terms even when the user has only typed a few characters. At the moment, addresses only appear in the list if the user has typed the first letters of the full web address — and only if the user has visited the site. Google gives the example of the user typing in the letter "g" into the address bar and Chrome automatically outputting "google.com/travel/flights".
That's changing so that addresses can appear if the user only types in part of the URL. In the example above, typing "flights" could bring the address up as a suggested option because the word "flights" is part of the URL "google.com/travel/flights". (Source: blog.google)
Typos No Problem
Another change is that Google will now try to detect potential typos and offer results based on what the user was most likely typing. For example, typing "youutube" could still bring up the whole, correct YouTube address.
Users will also be able to get suggested results from their bookmarks as well as the web itself. This won't always be useful, as it will only work if the user includes the name of the relevant bookmark folder in the search. In this case, Google's example is "2023 trips new", which would bring up pages about New York and New Zealand bookmarked in a folder named "2023 trips".
Unvisited Sites May Appear
Until now, autocomplete results only cover sites the user has previously visited. With the new changes, users may see suggested "popular" sites they haven't visited. Google says this could be useful when somebody first visits a site recommended by a friend, for example, in a conversation rather than sharing a link. (Source: searchenginejournal.com)
Finally, Google will be tweaking the appearance and the operation of the address bar itself, which it says will make results faster and easier to read.
What's Your Opinion?
Are you generally happy with using the address bar in Chrome? Which of these changes will be most helpful? Would you change anything else about the address bar?
Fun Facts:
Bullies, manipulators and narcissists: Navigating psychopathic behaviours in the workplace
See the ABC NEWS item by Fiona Purcell for Conversations | Posted Wed 18 Oct 2023 at 6:27 am | updated Wed 18 Oct 2023 at 9:21 am.
Kevin Spacey plays a manipulative,
charismatic and power-hungry politician
in House of Cards. (Supplied: Netflix)
Have you ever been charmed by someone at work who turned out to be a bully?
Did they leave you feeling confused or undermined, and your workplace toxic?
They might have been displaying psychopathic traits.
After his workplace encounter with someone with these traits, former lawyer and author David Gillespie did a deep dive into understanding psychopathy.
He spoke to Conversations with Sarah Kanowski about his experience.
When your workplace becomes toxic
Gillespie's team at a former job was collaborative, hardworking and motivated.
"We trusted each other. We loved going to work," he says.
"It was really enjoyable to work there."
And then a new colleague arrived. Gillespie says he was charming at first.
"He looked like he fitted in perfectly. He said all the right things."
"He seemed to have exactly the right attitude."
But slowly, things changed, and Gillespie says there were instances where "the message he was giving didn't match his behaviour".
"He would do things that seemed to hurt the team or individuals in the team or even hurt the interests of the business."
Gillespie says he couldn't make sense of his colleague's verbally abusive behaviour, which often played out publicly.
Over time, trust among Gillespie's team members drained away, and they became cautious about speaking up.
"People started to wonder, 'If I tell that guy that I have reservations about this other fellow, is that going to go back to him? Am I going to be the next guy attacked in a meeting?'" he says.
Gillespie felt like he was walking "on eggshells" in a workplace that was once built on collaboration.
"My overwhelming state of mind was confusion," he says.
"Everyone else in that team probably behaved in a protective fashion, which was: 'Keep my head down, try and stay out of this guy's way, and trust nobody.'"
What are psychopathic traits?
Erika Penney is a clinical psychologist at the University of Technology Sydney with a particular interest in personality.
She explains that "psychopath" and "sociopath" are often misused, and neither are accurate diagnostic labels.
But Dr Penney says people can display psychopathic or sociopathic characteristics that might describe toxic workplace behaviour.
"Typically, psychopathic traits refer to limited or no empathy or morality," she says.
"Sociopathic traits refer to having a sense of morality, but one that's inconsistent with the culture's morals."
Dr Penney says when a person has psychopathic or sociopathic traits and narcissistic and Machiavellian characteristics, psychologists call this the "dark-triad" of personality.
"Machiavellian traits again are not diagnostic, but may refer to an individual who is self-focused and exploitative," she says.
"Individuals can have narcissistic traits, often referring to a grandiose sense of self."
Personality traits or a disorder?
If someone shows a "significant level" of psychopathic traits across many contexts, Dr Penney says they could have Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD).
"[They] typically disregard the rights of others along with behavioural patterns such as impulsivity, aggressiveness, irresponsibility," she says.
"There is typically limited — or no — capacity for empathy or remorse."
Prison and serial killer populations have higher rates of ASPD than the general community.
"[Criminals] can demonstrate such extreme patterns of disinhibition, disregard for others, low empathy and remorse to the point that they commit severe violations of another's rights," she says.
But Dr Penney points out that not all people with ASPD are serial killers, and many don't have urges to commit violent crimes.
"Many individuals with antisocial traits are motivated to live within general social conventions and laws," she says.
"It allows them to pursue their goals for status and power more effectively."
In the workplace, people with psychopathic traits can be drawn to high-status or executive positions, Dr Penney says, and "prioritise their personal rights, status, and power over the rights of others".
"At the end, corporate individuals with antisocial traits might even be leaders or collaborators of large-scale Ponzi schemes, various frauds, or embezzlement," she says.
Dr Penney emphasises that everyone has the right to feel safe at work, at home, and in public, and says antisocial behaviour that infringes on those rights is "never acceptable".
"However, it can be useful to know that people with antisocial or narcissistic traits are not necessarily bad people but have learned unskilful behaviour," she says.
"Children who go on to develop antisocial traits have often experienced complex or interpersonal childhood trauma and may have felt powerless or unsafe as young children."
"To cope with a lack of emotional guidance, appropriate levels of control, or safety, they may have developed complex defence mechanisms — such as putting their needs first, looking out for themselves, and de-prioritising emotions and relationships — coping with those adverse childhood events."
Dr Penney recommends psychological therapy for people with narcissistic or antisocial traits and says it can have a "meaningful" impact.
...
How to survive as the victim
It can be very challenging to address if you find yourself on the receiving end of psychopathic behaviour.
"[They] micromanage others and make sure that those above them in the organisation have an entirely positive view of them," Gillespie says.
"If you go around a psychopath to their manager or HR, the ground will already have been prepared."
"That person will know before you even get into the meeting that you are the problem, not the psychopath."
To support your case when raising the issue, Dr Penney suggests keeping a diary of incidents and collecting evidence such as meeting minutes, emails or text messages.
Dr Penney also suggests setting clear boundaries and limits.
"It can be easy to become reactive in the face of unjust or hurtful behaviour," she says.
"However, this can sometimes escalate the situation into further conflict."
"Instead, respond with a firm but polite response, for example, 'I won't be able to help with that. It is not part of my role', or, 'I don't feel comfortable supporting this decision'."
She also recommends seeking professional support.
"Where things feel unmanageable, it may be useful to talk with either a psychologist who can support the toll it is having on you or a solicitor for independent advice about your rights at work," she says.
Hear more of David Gillespie's experience on the Conversations podcast on the ABC Listen app.
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Bob Backstrom
~ Newsletter Editor ~
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