With plastic disintegrating into microplastic particles, polluting the seas and harming wildlife, scientists are asking: could microalgae be the answer tackling the microplastic problem?

Microplastics 

Ranging from 1 nanometre (nm) to less than 5 micrometres (mm), non-biodegradable microplastic particles are either primary or secondary fragments of plastic pollution that find their way into the sea and other waterways. Primary microplastic particles come from sources such as personal care products, unintended spills, abrasion of synthetic clothes during laundering and suchlike. Secondary microplastic particles come from the breakdown of larger plastics by weathering, wave action, wind abrasion, and UV radiation from the sun.

A 2015 study published in Science Magazine said that by 2025, 00–250 million metric tons of plastic waste could be ending up in the oceans every year, and researchers estimated that by 2050, the amount of plastic waste in landfills and the environment could total 12 billion metric tons!

Damage and Harm To Sea Life 

The huge problem with microplastics is that they have now spread throughout the food chain of the oceans as they are ingested by animals or accidentally or mistaken for food, causing chronic toxicity, sickness, neurological and reproductive toxicity, and death. Microplastic particles have also been detected in our drinking water, beer and food products.

Microalgae … A Possible Remediation Solution? 

With measures such as the United Nations Environmental Programme conducting education and awareness campaigns in 100+ countries, laws being passed about microbeads, and campaigns around the world, the problem is now being better understood. As well as drastically reducing plastic waste production, the remediation of microplastics already in the environment is a major part of the clear-up.

Using microalgae is now thought to be an ecological, scalable way to help biodegrade microplastic particles in the water. Microalgae, also known as phytoplankton, are microscopic organisms found in both seawater and freshwater that use photosynthesis to capture carbon from CO2 and release oxygen as a by-product.

How Can Microalgae Break Down Microplastics? 

Microalgae can attach themselves to the surface of plastic microparticles, produce enzymes which can weaken the bonds of plastic polymers, and convert them into carbon dioxide, water and new biomass. So far, studies indicate that microalgae can be particularly effective at biodegrading polyethylene (used in clothing fibres and plastic bottles), low-density polyethylene or LDPE (used in plastic bags) and bisphenol A or BPA (both chemicals to harden plastic). One 2020 study showed that a consortium of blue-green microalgae used for biodegradation of low-density polyethylene resulted in a 58.9 per cent decrease of carbon composition in the LDPE sample.

The Benefits of Using Microalgae 

Some of the benefits of using microalgae to biodegrade microplastics are:

– Microalgae are a natural solution that can be grown quickly, at low cost, and at scale.

– They can be grown in areas that aren’t fertile, aren’t inhabited, or in man-made ponds or natural lakes, e.g. in ponds on the coast, such as those in Morocco. The large areas of natural freshwater lakes in countries such as Indonesia have also been identified as having great potential for microalgae production.

What Does This Mean For Your Organisation? 

Microalgae appear to be an important likely contributor to effectively tackling the huge environmental and ecological threat posed by microplastics. The fact that they are a natural solution that can be grown at scale, at low cost, are sustainable, and be easily deployed makes them a very promising option not just for degrading microplastics, but also for helping to tackle the problem of global warming. Also, the growing of microalgae at scale could provide jobs and other opportunities as part of a new eco industry. Even though microalgae offer real hope, more research and investment is needed, and microalgae usage should be recognised as part of a wider plan which includes continued education about and improvements in plastic recycling and reusing strategies, regulation and legislation, and more research for additional solutions.

Researchers from the Stanford Internet Observatory have reported finding more than one thousand ‘virtual’ employees on the LinkedIn platform.

Faces Created By Artificial Intelligence 

Virtual employees in this case are AI-generated photos of employees, the photos of whom don’t belong to any person (living or dead) and are made from mixtures of faces mashed together and featured in 1000+ fake LinkedIn profiles. In this research, it has been alleged that the ‘virtual employees’ have been set up by sales firms to generate more business for themselves. The researchers have suggested that some 70 businesses, listed as the employers of the ‘virtual employees’, may have been using the profiles to send out mass messages without needing to hire more staff or to breach LinkedIn’s messaging protocols. However, despite going against LinkedIn’s policy that every LinkedIn profile must represent a real person, there’s no hard facts that the virtual employee fake profiles have broken any laws.

Problems With Fake Accounts – AI Fakes 

On other platforms in recent times, computer-generated faces in fake accounts have been linked to state campaigns, e.g. to distribute pro-Chinese propaganda to discredit opponents of China’s government, in trolling and the harassing of activists, to exert political influence (e.g. posing as Americans supporting Trump, and spreading pro-Kremlin propaganda on Facebook and Instagram to undermine trust in the Ukrainian government).

Easy or Difficult To Spot? 

In this case, researchers reported discrepancies in the photos that aroused suspicion, e.g. a woman wearing a single earring and strange hair, unusual eye placement, and blurry backgrounds.

However, a recent study (Feb 2022, Sophie Nightingale, Hany Farid) found that AI-synthesised faces can be indistinguishable and more trustworthy than real faces. The study demonstrated that people only have a 50 per cent chance of correctly guessing whether a face has been created by a computer.

Deepfake Threat 

Fake, computer-generated photos are just a part of the wider threat posed by ‘deepfakes’. Deepfake videos, for example, which are banned from Facebook, use deep learning technology and manipulated images of target individuals (found online), often celebrities, politicians, and other well-known people to create very convincing videos of the subjects saying and doing whatever the video-maker wants them to.

Examples of how these have been used recently are the deepfake videos posted online of both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The fake video of President Zelensky talking about surrender had been posted on Meta (Facebook), Instagram, Meta, and its Russian counterpart VKontakte. Meta quickly removed the video from its platform for breaking its rules relating to “manipulated media”. The deepfake video of Putin, posted on Twitter, showed the Russian president announcing the surrender of Russia and asking Russian troops to drop their weapons and go home. A close examination of the video revealed that it had been made using clips from an address delivered by Putin on Feb 21.

What Does This Mean For Your Business? 

Although not illegal, these recently discovered deepfake photos would appear to have been designed to perhaps unfairly gain a competitive advantage and to influence the perceptions of other businesspeople. Businesses should be vigilant, therefore, when contacted by (and when interacting with) other profiles online. Although social media platforms already check for and remove many fake profiles (LinkedIn removed more than 15 million fake accounts in the first six months of 2021), more effort and investment needs to be made to stop many of them from slipping through the net and they also need to develop faster and improved detection and take-down systems. Also, as deepfakes improve in quality and become more difficult to distinguish from the real thing, plus become targeted and weaponised, social media platforms are likely to need their own sophisticated AI systems to stay ahead of fakers, some of whom may be state backed with plenty of resources at their disposal.

In this article, we look at the next phase of Elon Musk’s attempt to control Twitter – a so-called ‘hostile’ takeover.

The Next Stage In The Twitter / Musk Story – Hostile Takeover 

Billionaire Elon Musk recently became Twitter’s largest shareholder after recently acquiring a 9.2 per cent stake in the social media company. Twitter then invited Musk to join its Board. Musk, however, announced that he would not be joining Twitter’s Board. Instead, last week Musk went down the hostile takeover route by offering to make Twitter Inc. private in an unsolicited deal valued at $43 billion. Musk offered to $54.20 per share in cash, which is 38 per cent above the price on April 1, (the last trading day before Musk went public) in the hope of winning-over shareholders.

What Is A Hostile Takeover? 

A hostile takeover happens when one company acquires another without approval for a merger or takeover from the target company’s management, and despite any objections from the Board. Hostile takeovers usually occur after the formal offer has been rejected and tend to apply to larger public companies. The acquirer seeks to achieve at least 51 per cent ownership in the target company’s stock to gain control. Hostile takeovers are legal and may happen for reasons such as:

– The two companies may have failed to reach a merger agreement.

– Some investors may think the management of the company is mismanaging it or is not maximising shareholder value.

– The acquirer wants the target company’s assets or technology and distribution to strengthen its own business.

– Shareholders often benefit initially in hostile takeovers, e.g. in a tender offer, it may mean that the acquirer offers to purchase stock shares from the target’s shareholders at a higher price than the market rate to gain a controlling interest.

Examples of High-Profile Hostile Takeovers 

Some examples of high-profile takeovers include:

– Kraft Foods taking over Cadbury in 2009.

– InBev taking over American beer brewer, Anheuser-Busch in 2008.

Many hostile takeovers are resisted, with around 30 per cent fended off, or are abandoned and fail. For example:

– Xerox Holdings Corp had to abandon its $35 billion hostile cash-and-stock bid for HP in March 2020 following the Covid pandemic creating unfavourable market conditions.

Why Does Musk Want Twitter So Badly? 

Musk, a self-described “free speech absolutist”, has found Twitter a very useful way to build his brand and reputation, speak freely, and instantly reach and conduct polls with 80+ million followers on Twitter. Musk has made suggestions about how he would like to change the platform, e.g. adding an edit button for Tweets, and has expressed his concern that Twitter may not be living up to its free speech principles. It appears that Musk would like to not just control Twitter but also to make it more customised to his own requirements and to his own view of what a social media platform should be. He has also expressed willingness (perhaps if this takeover fails), like Trump, to set up his own social media platform, which may be the ‘Plan B’ that he says he has if the takeover fails. Even though he could afford it (being the richest person in the world with an estimated $264 billion), critics have said that it is unlikely that he would be able to quickly build anywhere near the same following as he could get by purchasing the long-established Twitter.  Musk also wants to use a hostile takeover to turn Twitter to a private rather than a public company. This is likely to be so that Twitter stock would no longer be traded on public exchanges (and most likely wouldn’t be so reactive to his free speech), and shareholders could be offered a fixed price for shares, there wouldn’t be a requirement to disclose financial information to investors every three months, and there may be less scrutiny. In 2018, Musk suggested that he intended to make Tesla private which resulted in a row over possible funding, a lawsuit, a settlement and Musk stepping down as chairman of Tesla’s Board.

Concerns 

Some of the concerns about Musk taking-over Twitter include:

– Worries about financing of the takeover (possibly needing to sell some of Tesla) and regulatory issues.

– Worries about how Musk will be able to balance his time between Tesla, SpaceX, and the Twitter Deal.

– Worries that Musk could have a detrimental effect on the culture within Twitter, which could rub-off on the value of the brand.

– Concerns over what some may see as his impulsiveness and freely speaking his mind possibly having a detrimental effect on the company.

Will Musk’s Hostile Takeover Bid Be Successful? 

Although Musk’s announcement didn’t have a huge effect on the share price and Twitter said it would consider the offer and make any decision based on what’s best for shareholders, the signs are, however, that Twitter aims to resist by adopting a so-called ‘poison pill’ strategy. This is where the target company dilutes an acquirer’s voting shares.

Also, some big Twitter investors, e.g. Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, have commented that Musk’s offer is too low and doesn’t come close to “the intrinsic value of @Twitter given its growth prospects”.

Other commentators have said that it is unlikely that Twitter would accept being controlled by one person.

As things stand now, Twitter looks like resisting and some expert commentators are suggesting that there is a less than 50 per cent chance that the hostile takeover bid will be successful.

What Then? 

If Twitter rejects the offer:

– Twitter could seek another “white knight” buyer.

– Musk may (as he suggested) reconsider his position as a shareholder in the company, thereby driving down the price of Twitter’s stock.

– Musk may decide to set up his own platform or use his “Plan B”, which is, as yet, unknown.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

For Twitter and its larger investors who essentially think the offer is not enough and may be concerned that Musk may not provide the best fit with the company and its brand, Musk’s latest move towards a hostile takeover has prompted resistance. Although a high initial price for shares may look appealing to some shareholders, some may worry about what direction the company would go in and how what some see as Musk’s impulsiveness and keenness for free speech (and its potential negative effects) could affect the brand going forward. Also, having just one new person in control of a company he has criticised and said needs big changes may be a frightening prospect. Musk has also indicated that he would pull out as a shareholder and perhaps set up his own social platform if the deal didn’t go his way. This could perhaps have a souring effect anyway and possibly indicate that Twitter itself is not the important thing. The immediate road ahead for Musk and Twitter therefore looks potentially expensive and time consuming as one tries to raise funds while the other tries to resist. It remains to be seen just what will happen next.

In this tech-insight, we look at what Web 3.0 is, together with its main benefits plus some concerns about it.

What Is Web 3.0? 

Web3 / web3 / Web 3.0 (a term coined in 2014 by Ethereum co-founder Gavin Wood) is the next phase in the evolution of the Web. It is based on blockchain technology, the same technology behind cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Web3 incorporates concepts such as decentralisation and token-based economics, for example, “play-to-earn” video games with rewards in the form of crypto tokens, and NFT platforms where users can buy and sell fragments of digital culture (e.g. art). Within the Web3 idea, if for example, a user signs-up to a Web3 social network or trading venue they receive tokens for exchange (which increase in value if the platform becomes more popular) and have a say in the decentralised governance of that platform. Imagining a Web3 version of Facebook (Meta), for example, rather than selling aggregated user data and adverts, the platform’ users could monetise their own data, or even earn crypto-based rewards from other users, e.g. for posting interesting content.

What Were Web 1.0 and Web 2.0? 

Web 1.0 is known as the period from 1991 to 2004 when websites were mostly still static html pages and open protocols such as were HTTP, SMTP and FTP widely used. Most users were consumers rather than content producers.

Following-on from Web 1.0 (starting in 2004) came Web 2.0. This is the period where the Web was viewed more as a “platform” and saw a huge increase in users creating and uploading their own content to forums, social media platforms and networking services, blogs, wikis, and other services.

Benefits of Web3? 

Some have cited the benefits of Web3 as being:

– Creators having more opportunities to monetise their work and activities.

– Rather than just a few big social media companies having all the power and making all the decisions, Web3 platforms could be governed in a more democratic way.

– Users may have greater privacy as there would be fewer advertising-based business models.

Criticism of Web3? 

Not everyone buys into the idea that we have entered a new and distinct phase of the Web. Some of the criticism of the idea of Web3 includes:

– It could simply be an attempt to re-brand cryptocurrencies and escape from some of the bad publicity they’ve had, e.g. volatility, security issues, their usage by scammers and opposition from some countries. Some also believe Web3 is an attempt to push the popularity and wider adoption of blockchains forward.

– Concerns that the Web3 vision is one of a purely commercial pay-to-play Internet where even social interaction is traded.

– Concerns about the idea that people may be given a blockchain-based, permanent online reputation score and record that could be used by others to make decisions about them, e.g. employment.

– Venture capital firms have invested heavily in Web3 projects prompting concerns that rather than being controlled by users, investors and centralised (rather than decentralised) tech platforms will have the power.

Navigating In Web3 

Browsers appear likely to evolve to enable users to better manage their Web3 interactions. For example, Opera’s new iOS version of its Crypto Browser is designed for accessing Web3 and has a non-custodial, built-in crypto wallet.  Users can also access Web3 NFTs and decentralised apps through the browser while being protected by an ad tracker, pop-up blocker, cookie dialogue blocker, and cryptocurrency mining protection.

What Does This Mean For Your Business? 

On the plus side, Web3 appears to hold the promise of more monetisation and investment opportunities for businesses and individual content creators, other non-advertising-based business models, as well as perhaps facilitating the wider usage (and the benefits that brings) of cryptocurrencies.  Blockchain is already being used by many businesses and looks as though it will be providing the bedrock for the growth phase of Web3. On the minus side, Web3 may create a more complicated and costly business environment where many of the free, enriching aspects of the Web are lost. Some fear that what we are seeing now may simply be a re-branding exercise by cryptocurrencies and a move by venture capitalists to gain more power. Although the Web is constantly evolving and changing at a relatively fast pace and Web3 may hold new opportunities, it takes time for many real-world businesses to learn about, understand, and be willing to take risks with new tech ideas and models, so it remains to be seen how Web3 will evolve.

A survey by IT asset management platform Lansweeper has revealed that 55 per cent of devices are not capable of upgrading to Windows 11.

Survey 

The survey, based on an estimated 30 million Windows devices from 60,000 organisations, has revealed that on average, only 44.4 per cent of workstations are eligible to receive the automatic upgrade.

Was A Concern Last Year 

In June 2021, Microsoft’s Windows 11 announcement showed that its minimum hardware requirements meant that it would only support eighth generation and newer Intel Core processors (as well as Apollo Lake and newer types of Pentium and Celeron processors). This prompted fears that the new OS may simply not be able to run on many older computers.

Also, the required “hard floor” (minimum configuration) for Windows 11 was that a device needs a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) chip (a type of security chip used for things like storing passwords and encryption keys) to run it.  Without this type of chip, Windows 11 couldn’t be run on a device, and even devices that would meet the “soft floor” looked likely to receive a notification that an upgrade to Windows 11 wouldn’t be advisable.

In August 2021, Microsoft also appeared to be saying that although Windows 11 wouldn’t run on some older PC’s, it didn’t plan to stop users from trying.

Eligibility 

Lansweeper has highlighted the fact that although Microsoft has since made changes to allow anyone to manually install Windows 11 regardless of the CPU, an automatic upgrade is only possible if the three critical components of the computer – the CPU, the RAM and the TPM- meet the requirements necessary.

In Lansweeper’s survey, it was discovered that 44.4 per cent of central processing units / CPUs for workstations met the system upgrade requirements, 91 per cent met the RAM requirements, and only half of the workstations tested met the TPM requirements (Trusted Platform Module – an international standard for a secure crypto processor).

Challenge For Virtual Machine Workstations 

The survey also found that most Virtual Machine (VM) workstations will need to be modified to get a vTPM before they can upgrade to Windows 11. This is mainly because only 0.23 per cent of all virtual workstations have TPM 2.0 enabled, i.e. there are almost no TPM-enabled virtual servers. In fact, Lansweeper found that TPMs on physical servers only passed the test 1.49 per cent of the time! The implication is that 98 per cent will fail to upgrade if Microsoft creates a server operating system with similar requirements in the future.

Popularity 

Worries about system requirements may be one of the reasons why, as highlighted in Lansweeper’s survey, the adoption rate of Windows 11 may be as low as only 1.44 per cent. It should be noted, however, that other surveys, such as the AdDuplex survey, puts the Windows 11 adoption rate much higher at 19.4 per cent. The reality may be 10 per cent or less.

What Does This Mean For Your Business? 

Right from the early announcements about the system requirements to upgrade to Windows 11, it has been clear that many older devices may not have the capacity receive the (automatic) upgrade. The Lansweeper survey confirms that the CPU and TPM requirements still represent a challenge. For businesses with dozens, hundreds or even thousands of Windows machines, having to audit them all plus the possibility of many failing to upgrade could mean significant wasted time and additional costs. In addition to worries over system requirements of devices (and worries about having to buy machines that meet those requirements), other reasons for an apparently low adoption rate figure of Windows 11 to date could be the fact that Windows 10 will be supported until 2025 and isn’t perceived to be much different to Windows 11 anyway.  It’s still relatively early days however, but it appears that Windows 11 hasn’t got off to a good start and many businesses may need advice and re-assurance before deciding to commit.

A vulnerability to an authenticated remote code execution flaw, which could allow attackers to run malicious code in a website has been discovered in the Elementor WordPress website builder plugin. Elementor has over five million active installations. A security patch to fix the issue has now been applied to the new 3.6.3 version of Elementor.

Being able to use gestures on the touch screen or touchpad of your Windows 11 device can help make work faster and easier. Here’s how to set them up:

Gestures that are supported by Windows 11 include tapping, scrolling, zooming, and three and four-finger-finger gestures. Here’s how to enable them on the touch screen of a Windows 11 device.

– Select Start > Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Touch > Three and four-finger touch gestures.

– Make sure it’s turned on.

To enable gestures on the touchpad of a Windows 11 laptop (some will only work on precision touchpads):

– Select Start > Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Touchpad.

Nature-based carbon capture and storage company Brilliant Planet uses ‘microalgae’, grown in open-air natural seawater pond-based, high-tech systems on coastal desert land to remove carbon from the air.

Permanently Capturing And Storing Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide 

The company says that its method of using technology and science-led, pond-based algae-growing systems can deliver an affordable method of permanently and quantifiably sequestering carbon from the atmosphere at the gigaton scale.

How It Works 

Since its beginnings in a three-square-meter experiment on the shores of St Helena, South Africa, and 3 years using the world’s largest algae growth pond (3 hectares) in the coast of Morocco, the system has been developed using natural resources and technology. Like trees, algae sequester carbon dioxide naturally through photosynthesis, thereby taking carbon dioxide from the air, and releasing oxygen. The Brilliant Planet System, therefore, uses vast ponds of seawater, built on otherwise useless coastal desert land to grow huge quantities of micro-algae. The conditions the system is able to create enable the replication of blooms of algae (which are usually seasonal) all year round.

As part of their natural living processes, the algae use the power of the sun to exchange the carbon dioxide from the air for oxygen. Although pumps are needed to move the pond-water around, the system and layout of the ponds uses gravity to feed down through most of the system from one pond into the next, thereby remaining energy-efficient.

30 Times More Carbon Removed Than Rainforests

Brilliant Planet’s Chief Scientist and Co-Founder, Raffael Jovine, has been quoted as saying that “Per unit area this approach sequesters up to 30 times more carbon per year than rainforests”. He has also said that the system also offers the added benefit of de-acidifying the local coastal seawater “back to pre-industrial levels.” 

How Technology Is Used

Brillian Planet says that it uses the latest advances in sensor technologies, high-frequency satellite monitoring and industrial automation to cater to the needs of the algae with unprecedented accuracy. The company also says that it uses machine-learning driven digital twins to provide provides a paradigm shifting level of optimisation and enabling the company to truly harness nature’s potential.

Funding 

Brilliant Planet recently announced the closing of its now oversubscribed $12 million Series A funding co-led by Union Square Ventures and Toyota Ventures.  The company has said that additional and follow-on investors include Future Positive Capital, AiiM Partners, S2G Ventures, Hatch and Pegasus Tech Ventures. The funding is to be used to prepare for construction of a 30-hectare commercial demonstration facility.

What Does This Mean For Your Organisation? 

For all organisations and, indeed, all people, reducing emissions is vital to the survival of the planet. However, the carbon that has been (and will) be released must also be removed from the atmosphere to enable the limiting of global warming to 1.5°c. The beauty of the Brilliant Planet system is that it works with nature. The benefits include using seawater and not fresh water, de-acidifying the water used, and utilising otherwise unused pieces of desert to deliver ‘net new’ productivity. Also, the system is reported to be low cost and scalable. Presumably, this system, after many years of testing and now funding, can be scaled-up and replicated in similar environments elsewhere. As well as helping to reduce global warming, this scaling-up could provide jobs and other opportunities.

As part of its roll-out of the collaborative working ‘Loop’ app, Microsoft has announced that as part of its ‘365 Roadmap’, self-updating Loop elements can now be included in Outlook emails.

What Is Loop?

In November 2021, Microsoft unveiled its ‘Loop’ collaborative app which it described as “a flexible canvas with portable components” designed for assisting with new hybrid working patterns. The Loop collaborative app can be customised to suit any project with portable components that move freely and stay synchronised across apps, enabling teams to improve how they think, plan, and create.

Loop consists of three elements, which are:

1. Loop pages – scalable, “flexible canvases “which are the shared collaborative spaces into which the components and other relevant elements are dropped for each project.
2. Loop components – “units of productivity” which could be anything from lists, tables, notes, and tasks, to a customer sales opportunity from Microsoft Dynamics 365. These are synchronised interactive objects that can be embedded across Microsoft 365 canvases such as chats and email to provide real-time collaboration, helping a team keep a flow to the work, thereby improving productivity and efficiency. Loop components are also automatically saved to OneDrive.
3. Loop workspaces. These are the shared spaces where teams can see and group together everything that’s important to a project.

Self-Updating Outlook Email – Loop Components  

Microsoft has now announced that Loop components are live. This means that Loop components can be added to emails in Outlook or even messages in Microsoft Teams. Since the components are part of a collaborative app, they can update themselves after being sent, i.e. as collaborators check off items as they complete them in Loop. The self-updating components that can be sent in Microsoft Outlook emails (and Teams messages) include bulleted lists, checklists, numbered lists, paragraphs, tables, task lists, and more. One of the big advantages of having components of a project in emails that update themselves in real-time as tasks are ticked off is that users don’t have to send emails back and forth to one another to find out what’s happening. This saves time and money and increases productivity.

Like Google’s ‘Smart Canvas’  

Loop is a similar idea to Google’s collaborative working ‘Smart Canvas’ tool, announced in May 2021, which uses ‘building blocks’ and ‘smart chips’ to connect and share information between apps such as Docs and Sheets.

All-In-One Document Concept  

The idea of an all-in-one document concept is not new, but it now represents a logical, competitive move for Microsoft. Other examples of all-in-one documents include the Airtable platform, the Notion collaborative app, or the Coda doc.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?  

Microsoft hopes that Loop’s flexible format, coupled with familiar apps, will prove popular with businesses. Microsoft has turned up the competitive heat (for Apple and Google) over the last year with features and services designed to be compatible with new ways of working, e.g. Teams Connect, the 365 cloud PC, and Windows 11 including Android apps. For businesses, Loop may prove to be a useful, compatible, collaborative tool that could help improve productivity. For Microsoft, Loop is a way of meeting the demand for hybrid working solutions and re-imagines how Office programs can be used more flexibly for business customers as part of a system where projects can be customised to maximise workflow.

In this insight, we look at some of the Microsoft Windows features that can be used to minimise distractions and help you to stay focused.

Minimise Interruptions, Stay Focused  

Being able to stay focused during work can help productivity, keep a flow, and can help improve the quality of your output. Finding ways to minimise unnecessary interruptions and help organise your work can help in this respect. Here are some ideas for using existing Microsoft Windows features to make it easier to stay focused among the noise of everyday work life.

– Use Focus Assist. This feature offers users different options for notifications, so only chose to allow priority notifications or alarms. This cuts down on the notifications and distractions during the time the PC is on. To use Focus assist, type ‘Focus Assist’ into the Start menu search.

– Turn off animations. Minimise visual distractions by turning off animations, background images, and more. From the Start menu, select Settings   > Accessibility > Visual effects. From here, turn off the ‘Always show scrollbars switch’, the ‘Transparency effects’ switch, the ‘Animation effects’ switch, and set the ‘Dismiss notifications after this amount of time’ menu to the required amount.

– Clear up taskbar clutter. Reducing the number of items in view can make it easier to focus. From the start menu, go to > Settings  > Personalization > Taskbar, and select ‘Taskbar items’ and ‘Taskbar corner icons’ to expand those sections and turn off the switches for the items you don’t want to see on the taskbar. To select which icons can appear in the taskbar corner, select ‘Taskbar corner overflow.’

– Another way to minimise distractions is to simplify the Start menu. To do this, from the Start menu, select Settings   > Personalization > Start, and toggle the ‘Show recently added apps ’, and switch on or off. Also, toggle the ‘Show most used apps’ switch on or off, toggle the ‘Show recently opened items’ in Start, Jump Lists, and File Explorer, switching on or off. Select which folders are shown or hidden in the Start menu next to the power button, by selecting ‘Folders’, and turn on the switches for the folders to remain visible (and off for those to be hidden).

– Minimise interruptions from notifications by using ‘Do not disturb’. This feature allows the user to define which notifications are seen and heard, and when. Other notifications are sent to the notification centre where they can be seen at any time. From the Start menu, select System > Notifications, and adjust the settings and to see and hear fewer notifications. If you’re working late, limit any late-night notifications by choosing when ‘Do not disturb’ turns on, turns off, and how often it repeats. Also, select the types of tasks that will turn on ‘Do not disturb’ automatically. To do this, from the Start menu, go to Settings > System > Notifications, turn on ‘Do not disturb automatically’, and select ‘During these times’.

– Choose which apps display notifications, stop the distracting ones, or fine-tune how they appear. From the Start menu, select Settings  > System > Notifications and select which notifications are required in the ‘Notifications from apps and other senders’ section.

– Minimise reading distractions by using the Microsoft ‘Immersive Reader’ in the Edge browser. This function simplifies the layout of web pages. To use it, open the required web page in Microsoft Edge, then press the function key + F9. Under ‘Text preferences’ modify the background colour using themes or change the font.

– As identified by Microsoft research, workers have “peaks” of work in the morning, afternoon, and a third (lesser peak) at around 10pm. If distractions can be minimised during these times, it may help with focus. Also, having to deal with ‘after hours emails’ can create stress which can impact upon focus. Businesses may improve worker morale an output by setting clear expectations for after-hours emails.

Other ways to stay focused include:

– Unclutter the desktop. To hide desktop icons quickly, press and hold (or right-click) the desktop, select ‘View’ and ‘Show desktop icons’ – this will clear the desktop. To get the desktop icons back, select ‘Show desktop icons.’

– Clear the workspace of all open apps except the one that is being used for the work. To do this, select and hold the window that needs to be kept open. Give the mouse (or finger) a back-and-forth shake.

– Reduce distractions by minimising all windows instantly with the show desktop button. To do this, look at the bottom far right-hand side of the screen, to the right-hand side of the ‘notifications’ icon – a tiny, vertical line. click on the line and all open desktop windows are instantly minimised.

– Use Microsoft 365’s ‘MyAnalytics’ platform to get data-driven insights into work habits to improve productivity. This could show when a user is most focused. To do this, sign into Microsoft 365, select ‘MyAnalytics’ from the app drawer or click on the 9-dot square menu (top left) and select the ‘All Apps’ link and click on the ‘MyAnalytics’ link.

– Use ‘to do’ lists to stay focused in the tasks in hand, e.g. Microsoft To-Do, or Google Tasks (built into Gmail and Google Calendar).

What Does This Mean For Your Business?  

Being able to really focus on tasks without interruptions and distractions (and the stress they can cause) can improve productivity and morale, both of which are good for business. Microsoft Windows already has settings than can be changed to ensure that its own sources of interruptions and distractions can be minimised. It makes sense, therefore, to take a little time to customise those settings and become familiar with ways that can help maintain focus.