#Performance management software examples

[phiedge]

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[sapphiresaphics]

I recently made a post about Severance that speculated about what Lumon is doing, based on all the evidence we’ve been given so far. And in my theory crafting I posited that the severance procedure is being marketed to the general public as a convenient way for you to bypass unpleasant situations, but in actuality what Lumon is hoping for is to create millions of sleeper agents for their corporate interests. I mean, the OTC proves that you can wake innies up whenever and that the separation isn’t exclusive to the Lumon building. And the shit they’re doing to Gemma indicates that you can have more than one innie.

So imagine my surprise when I found out Ben Stiller published a short story that acts as a companion piece to Severance, and in this short story that theory I came up with is basically confirmed!

The short story follow a different branch of Lumon where a woman working at MDR manages to make contact with her innie through a coded language she had developed as a child and which isn’t detectable by the code detectors. By passing notes between her innie and outtie she learns that when certain MDR files are completed they often correspond to tragic events on the outside. A rival companies proprietary software mysteriously fire bombed hours after a MDR file with a similar name was completed for example. Scared about what this could mean she tries to raise awareness about it, and promptly her innie gets punished by Lumon, and then shortly afterwards the protagonist herself mysteriously dies in a car accident.

This short story heavily implies that whatever the files are that MDR are refining have real world consequences. It implies that severed people might be planted all over the world and Lumon can activate them whenever to perform a certain task (plant a bomb, smuggle information, dispose of a threat, etc) and the outtie would be none the wiser. And if they’re doing that already, imagine how much power and control they’d have if the general population were to buy in to getting the severance procedure.

The short story is called The Lexington Letter by the way, in case anyone is curious.

[exitrowiron]

My DEI Experience

The very public cancelations of DEI programs got me thinking about my experience as the Executive Sponsor of a DEI program at a major global software company a few years ago.

There were several DEI groups (ex. LGBTQ, Pan-Asians, Blacks, etc.) and I was sponsor for the Black group. It was an enlightening experience for me and I'm proud that I helped many members secure interviews for internal positions and several were promoted.

My company's DEI program didn't have any hiring quotas, instead it was more of a networking and training opportunity for DEI members to share their experiences, learn some new skills and get exposure to sr. executives and hopefully secure the executive's support and encouragement.

As the sponsor of the DEI program, I couldn't help but acknowledge the advantages I'd enjoyed throughout my career as a tall white-guy, with similar tall white-guy professionals as family members. When graduating from Indiana University in 1989, I went to work at Price Waterhouse in St. Louis, the same office my Dad worked at when he graduated from college 25 years prior. I met all the hiring criteria (GPA, interviews etc.) and passed the CPA exam, etc. so the decision to hire me wasn't a favor to my Dad, but it certainly didn't hurt that a few of the partners knew my name and if nothing else, I didn't have imposter syndrome. My Dad had done this job and nearly everyone else doing the job looked like me as did almost everyone in sr. mgt.

My second job was with a company that employed my father-in-law. I don't think that influenced the decision to hire me, but it certainly didn't hurt. At this second company I entered the industry where I spent my career, much of it working for a guy who had attended my wedding as a guest of my in-laws. I'm confident that any of my colleagues would agree that I excelled in my various roles, but having those initial personal connections didn't hurt and there were other candidates and colleagues without the benefit of my network by birth and marriage. Through it all, I recognize that I looked like the hiring manager and the last person to have the job I was seeking.

One of the most enriching aspects of my DEI experience was gaining an understanding of how being a minority introduces an entirely new suite of uncertainties. On the rare occasion I received a less than stellar performance review or was passed over for a promotion, I never considered that my race/gender/sexual orientation might be the reason. But the conversations with my DEI colleagues confirmed that this is ALWAYS in the back of their mind, especially working for an overwhelmingly white company. Every colleague could cite examples of overt, incontrovertible racism they'd experienced (not necessarily at the company) which had made them question whether quiet racism was influencing their experience at our company. For example, was their supervisor just generally a jerk, or was the supervisor especially unpleasant to the employee because of her race, gender, etc.? If you've been on the receiving end of maltreatment, it can be difficult to be objective.

My role as the DEI sponsor was pretty straightforward. I did basic things like help critique resumes and provide interview coaching. I encouraged the candidates to overcome their imposter syndrome and apply for aspirational positions. Most importantly, I tried to be the networking resource they lacked. I sent notes and arranged brief phone calls with hiring managers to introduce the candidate. I was very careful not to inadvertently pressure the hiring manager (I know that just receiving an email from me created anxiety). I simply asked that the hiring manager/interviewer give the candidate an interview. I'm proud that my DEI group experienced above-average promotion velocity in the company.

Americans love to celebrate the 'pull yourself up by your bootstraps' story and white males especially want to believe that they are self made men. DEI programs can be challenging for guys like me because it can cause introspection which is humbling. It requires a person to acknowledge that maybe, just maybe you had some help along the way or at a minimum, you didn't face the external and internal obstacles of other candidates who may have been just as smart and capable. It is humbling to admit that at the very least, you benefitted from the fact that you looked like the last person who did the job; that's why I think white males are so intent on dismantling DEI programs.

[mariacallous]

On February 10, employees at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) received an email asking them to list every contract at the bureau and note whether or not it was “critical” to the agency, as well as whether it contained any DEI components. This email was signed by Scott Langmack, who identified himself as a senior adviser to the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Langmack, according to his LinkedIn, already has another job: He’s the chief operating officer of Kukun, a property technology company that is, according to its website, “on a long-term mission to aggregate the hardest to find data.”

As is the case with other DOGE operatives—Tom Krause, for example, is performing the duties of the fiscal assistant secretary at the Treasury while holding down a day job as a software CEO at a company with millions in contracts with the Treasury—this could potentially create a conflict of interest, especially given a specific aspect of his role: According to sources and government documents reviewed by WIRED, Langmack has application-level access to some of the most critical and sensitive systems inside HUD, one of which contains records mapping billions of dollars in expenditures.

Another DOGE operative WIRED has identified is Michael Mirski, who works for TCC Management, a Michigan-based company that owns and operates mobile home parks across the US, and graduated from the Wharton School in 2014. (In a story he wrote for the school’s website, he asserted that the most important thing he learned there was to “Develop the infrastructure to collect data.”) According to the documents, he has write privileges on—meaning he can input overall changes to—a system that controls who has access to HUD systems.

Between them, records reviewed by WIRED show, the DOGE operatives have access to five different HUD systems. According to a HUD source with direct knowledge, this gives the DOGE operatives access to vast troves of data. These range from the individual identities of every single federal public housing voucher holder in the US, along with their financial information, to information on the hospitals, nursing homes, multifamily housing, and senior living facilities that HUD helps finance, as well as data on everything from homelessness rates to environmental and health hazards to federally insured mortgages.

Put together, experts and HUD sources say, all of this could give someone with access unique insight into the US real estate market.

Kukun did not respond to requests for comment about whether Langmack is drawing a salary while working at HUD or how long he will be with the department. A woman who answered the phone at TCC Management headquarters in Michigan but did not identify herself said Mirksi was "on leave until July." In response to a request for comment about Langmack’s access to systems, HUD spokesperson Kasey Lovett said, “DOGE and HUD are working as a team; to insinuate anything else is false. To further illustrate this unified mission, the secretary established a HUD DOGE taskforce.” In response to specific questions about Mirski’s access to systems and background and qualifications, she said, “We have not—and will not—comment on individual personnel. We are focused on serving the American people and working as one team.”

The property technology, or proptech, market covers a wide range of companies offering products and services meant to, for example, automate tenant-landlord interactions, or expedite the home purchasing process. Kukun focuses on helping homeowners and real estate investors assess the return on investment they’d get from renovating their properties and on predictive analytics that model where property values will rise in the future.

Doing this kind of estimation requires the use of what’s called an automated valuation model (AVM), a machine-learning model that predicts the prices or rents of certain properties. In April 2024, Kukun was one of eight companies selected to receive support from REACH, an accelerator run by the venture capital arm of the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Last year NAR agreed to a settlement with Missouri homebuyers, who alleged that realtor fees and certain listing requirements were anticompetitive.

“If you can better predict than others how a certain neighborhood will develop, you can invest in that market,” says Fabian Braesemann, a researcher at the Oxford Internet Institute. Doing so requires data, access to which can make any machine-learning model more accurate and more monetizable. This is the crux of the potential conflict of interest: While it is unclear how Langmack and Mirski are using or interpreting it in their roles at HUD, what is clear is that they have access to a wide range of sensitive data.

According to employees at HUD who spoke to WIRED on the condition of anonymity, there is currently a six-person DOGE team operating within the department. Four members are HUD employees whose tenures predate the current administration and have been assigned to the group; the others are Mirski and Langmack. The records reviewed by WIRED show that Mirski has been given read and write access to three different HUD systems, as well as read-only access to two more, while Langmack has been given read and write access to two of HUD’s core systems.

A positive, from one source’s perspective, is the fact that the DOGE operatives have been given application-level access to the systems, rather than direct access to the databases themselves. In theory, this means that they can only interact with the data through user interfaces, rather than having direct access to the server, which could allow them to execute queries directly on the database or make unrestricted or irreparable changes. However, this source still sees dangers inherent in granting this level of access.

“There are probably a dozen-plus ways that [application-level] read/write access to WASS or LOCCS could be translated into the entire databases being exfiltrated,” they said. There is no specific reason to think that DOGE operatives have inappropriately moved data—but even the possibility cuts against standard security protocols that HUD sources say are typically in place.

LOCCS, or Line of Credit Control System, is the first system to which both DOGE operatives within HUD, according to the records reviewed by WIRED, have both read and write access. Essentially HUD’s banking system, LOCCS “handles disbursement and cash management for the majority of HUD grant programs,” according to a user guide. Billions of dollars flow through the system every year, funding everything from public housing to disaster relief—such as rebuilding from the recent LA wildfires—to food security programs and rent payments.

The current balance in the LOCCS system, according to a record reviewed by WIRED, is over $100 billion—money Congress has approved for HUD projects but which has yet to be drawn down. Much of this money has been earmarked to cover disaster assistance and community development work, a source at the agency says.

Normally, those who have access to LOCCS require additional processing and approvals to access the system, and most only have “read” access, department employees say.

“Read/write is used for executing contracts and grants on the LOCCS side,” says one person. “It normally has strict banking procedures around doing anything with funds. For instance, you usually need at least two people to approve any decisions—same as you would with bank tellers in a physical bank.”

The second system to which documents indicate both DOGE operatives at HUD have both read and write access is the HUD Central Accounting and Program System (HUDCAPS), an “integrated management system for Section 8 programs under the jurisdiction of the Office of Public and Indian Housing,” according to HUD. (Section 8 is a federal program administered through local housing agencies that provides rental assistance, in the form of vouchers, to millions of lower-income families.) This system was a precursor to LOCCS and is currently being phased out, but it is still being used to process the payment of housing vouchers and contains huge amounts of personal information.

There are currently 2.3 million families in receipt of housing vouchers in the US, according to HUD’s own data, but the HUDCAPS database contains information on significantly more individuals because historical data is retained, says a source familiar with the system. People applying for HUD programs like housing vouchers have to submit sensitive personal information, including medical records and personal narratives.

“People entrust these stories to HUD,” the source says. “It’s not data in these systems, it’s operational trust.”

WASS, or the Web Access Security Subsystem, is the third system to which DOGE has both read and write access, though only Mirski has access to this system according to documents reviewed by WIRED. It’s used to grant permissions to other HUD systems. “Most of the functionality in WASS consists of looking up information stored in various tables to tell the security subsystem who you are, where you can go, and what you can do when you get there,” a user manual says.

“WASS is an application for provisioning rights to most if not all other HUD systems,” says a HUD source familiar with the systems who is shocked by Mirski’s level of access, because normally HUD employees don’t have read access, let alone write access. “WASS is the system for setting permissions for all of the other systems.”

In addition to these three systems, documents show that Mirski has read-only access to two others. One, the Integrated Disbursement and Information System (IDIS), is a nationwide database that tracks all HUD programs underway across the country. (“IDIS has confidential data about hidden locations of domestic violence shelters,” a HUD source says, “so even read access in there is horrible.”) The other is the Financial Assessment of Public Housing (FASS-PH), a database designed to “measure the financial condition of public housing agencies and assess their ability to provide safe and decent housing,” according to HUD’s website.

All of this is significant because, in addition to the potential for privacy violations, knowing what is in the records, or even having access to them, presents a serious potential conflict of interest.

“There are often bids to contract any development projects,” says Erin McElroy, an assistant professor at the University of Washington. “I can imagine having insider information definitely benefiting the private market, or those who will move back into the private market,” she alleges.

HUD has an oversight role in the mobile home space, the area on which TCC Management, which appears to have recently wiped its website, focuses. "It’s been a growing area of HUD’s work and focus over the past few decades," says one source there; this includes setting building standards, inspecting factories, and taking in complaints. This presents another potential conflict of interest.

Braesemann says it’s not just the insider access to information and data that could be a potential problem, but that people coming from the private sector may not understand the point of HUD programs. Something like Section 8 housing, he notes, could be perceived as not working in alignment with market forces—“Because there might be higher real estate value, these people should be displaced and go somewhere else”—even though its purpose is specifically to buffer against the market.

Like other government agencies, HUD is facing mass purges of its workforce. NPR has reported that 84 percent of the staff of the Office of Community Planning and Development, which supports homeless people, faces termination, while the president of a union representing HUD workers has estimated that up to half the workforce could be cut The chapter on housing policy in Project 2025—the right-wing playbook to remake the federal government that the Trump administration appears to be following—outlines plans to massively scale back HUD programs like public housing, housing assistance vouchers, and first-time home buyer assistance.

[dingo-ate-my-hot-lettuce-crazy]

given that he grew up a normal life…

also these jobs are general examples, i dont know entirely enough if they are accurate

[commodorez]

What kind of work can be done on a commodore 64 or those other old computers? The tech back then was extremely limited but I keep seeing portable IBMs and such for office guys.

I asked a handful of friends for good examples, and while this isn't an exhaustive list, it should give you a taste.

I'll lean into the Commodore 64 as a baseline for what era to hone in one, let's take a look at 1982 +/-5 years.

A C64 can do home finances, spreadsheets, word processing, some math programming, and all sorts of other other basic productivity work. Games were the big thing you bought a C64 for, but we're not talking about games here -- we're talking about work. I bought one that someone used to write and maintain a local user group newsletter on both a C64C and C128D for years, printing labels and letters with their own home equipment, mailing floppies full of software around, that sorta thing.

IBM PCs eventually became capable of handling computer aided design (CAD) work, along with a bunch of other standard productivity software. The famous AutoCAD was mostly used on this platform, but it began life on S-100 based systems from the 1970s.

Spreadsheets were a really big deal for some platforms. Visicalc was the killer app that the Apple II can credit its initial success with. Many other platforms had clones of Visicalc (and eventually ports) because it was groundbreaking to do that sort of list-based mathematical work so quickly, and so error-free. I can't forget to mention Lotus 1-2-3 on the IBM PC compatibles, a staple of offices for a long time before Microsoft Office dominance.

CP/M machines like Kaypro luggables were an inexpensive way of making a "portable" productivity box, handling some of the lighter tasks mentioned above (as they had no graphics functionality).

The TRS-80 Model 100 was able to do alot of computing (mostly word processing) on nothing but a few AA batteries. They were a staple of field correspondence for newspaper journalists because they had an integrated modem. They're little slabs of computer, but they're awesomely portable, and great for writing on the go. Everyone you hear going nuts over cyberdecks gets that because of the Model 100.

Centurion minicomputers were mostly doing finances and general ledger work for oil companies out of Texas, but were used for all sorts of other comparable work. They were multi-user systems, running several terminals and atleast one printer on one central database. These were not high-performance machines, but entire offices were built around them.

Tandy, Panasonic, Sharp, and other brands of pocket computers were used for things like portable math, credit, loan, etc. calculation for car dealerships. Aircraft calculations, replacing slide rules were one other application available on cassette. These went beyond what a standard pocket calculator could do without a whole lot of extra work.

Even something like the IBM 5340 with an incredibly limited amount of RAM but it could handle tracking a general ledger, accounts receivable, inventory management, storing service orders for your company. Small bank branches uses them because they had peripherals that could handle automatic reading of the magnetic ink used on checks. Boring stuff, but important stuff.

I haven't even mentioned Digital Equipment Corporation, Data General, or a dozen other manufacturers.

I'm curious which portable IBM you were referring to initially.

All of these examples are limited by today's standards, but these were considered standard or even top of the line machines at the time. If you write software to take advantage of the hardware you have, however limited, you can do a surprising amount of work on a computer of that era.

[autolenaphilia]

Currently using Debian 12, with KDE Plasma, which i previously used. But i had problems running plasma last year, with repeated random plasmashell crashes. I could even repeatedly cause plasmashell to crash by removing a second panel/taskbar.

But i returned to plasma to check out running wayland, i've previously used x11-based desktops and even ran plasma on x11. And it turns out plasma is actually more stable on wayland, at least the 5.27 version debian 12 ships with. Which is not something i expected, because all the talk of wayland not being fully there yet, which iirc is why i defaulted to using x11 earlier despite plasma's wayland session. I can still cause plasmashell to crash on x11 by removing a panel, but not on wayland, and the random crashes don't happen either on wayland either. It's a smooth reasonably bugfree experience that lives up to debian's reputation for stability.

I'm running older versions of KDE Plasma and of most things on this OS, because that's the Debian way, but who cares. if the software works I don't care if it's old, and with Debian I don't have to worry about an update breaking my system, and don't have to worry about frequent updates in general, which is a plus in my book (don't judge me, I have Windows update trauma /j).

my current desktop, the theme is Sweet KDE and the wallpaper is from this post by greekie-via-linux

So now finally KDE Plasma works good for me, without all the crashing. And I'm slowly becoming a fan. It's very customizable, KDE provides a traditional desktop layout by default (which i prefer) but so customizable that you can turn it into almost anything you like. It's defaults might borrow from the windows 95 to 7 desktop paradigm, but Windows never gave users this much control.

It's pretty looking, it has all the eye candy effects and animations you want, but not too heavy on the ram useage (the performance is actually comparable to xfce) , and you can turn the effects off thanks to the aforementioned customizability. And it provides all the programs you need for a fully featured desktop environment, everything from basic stuff like a terminal emulator and file browser to a GUI package manager that supports basically all packaging formats. Neither mate or xfce has the latter, for example, when I ran debian with xfce i had to manage my flatpaks through the terminal.

Maybe even too many programs. KDE makes a lot of programs, and i'll probably never switch from mozilla firefox and thunderbird to kmail, falkon or konqueror. Though to be fair, KDE does develop a lot of programs that are first-rate in the linux world, practically without competition. And i personally find KDE connect to be extremely useful. It syncs your android phone with your desktop or laptop computer and it's awesome. Once I learned how to allow it through my firewall, I can see my SMS messages on my computer and type them with an actual keyboard on my computer, it's great. And It works on other desktop environments and even on windows.

[th3-0bjectivist]

Dear listener, I rarely post hip hop, and when I do its usually so deep underground that a brief, intermittent ray from the sun would strike it fuckin’ blind. I like hip hop that is bizarre and experimental and for the last year or so, I’ve been getting increasingly deeper into phonk; a darkly themed and distorted subgenre of trap. The primary reason that I enjoy phonk is because it seems to be a modern worldwide trend for regular people with audio software to create this kind of music from nothing more than disparate samples, which is based on old school Memphis rap and southern hip-hop styles. And while I wish I could tell you a whole lot more about the artist showcased this week, like a lot of other phonk performers, SPYDER550 seems to enjoy his anonymity. Smash play and enjoy GODDD MODE from 2019’s ACID THUG.

As much as I enjoy giving my audience on Tumblr a proper overview of who the artist is, what they stand for, etc… sometimes I can’t dig up anything of substantive value. SPYDER550’s Instagram is here, his SoundCloud is here, his Spotify page is here, and I found a slightly more robust profile that seems legitimate enough here. You, yes you that is reading this, feel free to go ahead and Google this artist for yourself and tell me if you can possibly draw a clearer picture of the person behind the music than I did here. I suppose I should be relieved; generally speaking, there is TOO MUCH information on certain musical acts that I post, and here is a good example of the polar opposite. From what little I was able to ascertain from my research for this post, 550 is very new to the worldwide music scene, having their first album out in 2019. As far as I can tell, they’ve released at least five albums since then, all under 10-tracks at a stretch. I can’t even tell with 100% accuracy where this artist is located on the planet. One profile says they are from Russia, another says they’re based out of Finland, and another says Memphis, Tennessee… which I’ll assume is just a throwback to Memphis rap (i.e. the music his own sounds are based on). I don’t even know if the above picture is really 550, or even what the hell his real name is. But you know what? None of that really matters, because I’ve been bouncing from tune to tune wherever I can find his music online, and I can tell you there’s a lot of noticeable raw talent here. Each individual tune I’ve found by this artist is intriguing, catchy, and thoughtful in its own unique way. His musical arrangements possess a haunting quality that is often repetitive, but repetitive in a good way, all while managing to be enchantingly mesmerizing. Like a lot of phonk artists, you can bet your bottom dollar that 550 ‘chops and screws’ a lot of his tracks together using various samples directly from the internet (including the vocals most likely). Just below is another bizarre banger, Toxic Face from 2021’s SPYDELIC. Enjoy!

I try to put as much research that I can stand into these musical entries, and sometimes, there’s just not a lot of meat on the bone. That said, if you liked the music in this post, click here, and here, and here for more. It’s just about all I can do to fully inform you of this artist’s existence outside of hiring an internet sleuth to ascertain more. Image source: https://www.viberate.com/artist/spyder550/

[sujitchaulagainblogs]

How to Choose the Best CRM Software for Your Business

Choosing the right CRM software for your business is a big decision — and the right one can make a world of difference. Whether you’re running a small startup or managing a growing company, having an effective CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system helps you keep track of customers, boost sales, and improve overall productivity. Let’s walk through how you can choose the best CRM for your business without getting overwhelmed.

Why Your Business Needs a CRM

A CRM isn’t just a tool — it’s your business’s central hub for managing relationships. If you’re still relying on spreadsheets or scattered notes, you’re probably losing time (and leads). A good CRM helps you:

Keep customer data organized in one place

Track leads, sales, and follow-ups

Automate routine tasks

Get insights into sales performance

Improve customer service

The goal is simple: work smarter, not harder. And with an affordable CRM that fits your needs, you’ll see faster growth and smoother processes.

Define Your Business Goals

Before diving into features, figure out what you actually need. Ask yourself:

Are you trying to increase sales or improve customer service?

Do you need better lead tracking or marketing automation?

How big is your team, and how tech-savvy are they?

What’s your budget?

Knowing your goals upfront keeps you from wasting time on CRMs that might be packed with unnecessary features — or worse, missing key ones.

Must-Have Features to Look For

When comparing CRM options, focus on features that truly matter for your business. Here are some essentials:

Contact Management – Store customer details, interactions, and notes all in one place.

Lead Tracking – Follow leads through the sales funnel and never miss a follow-up.

Sales Pipeline Management – Visualize where your deals stand and what needs attention.

Automation – Save time by automating emails, reminders, and data entry.

Customization – Adjust fields, workflows, and dashboards to match your process.

Third-Party Integrations – Ensure your CRM connects with other software you rely on, like email marketing tools or accounting systems.

Reports & Analytics – Gain insights into sales, performance, and customer behavior.

User-Friendly Interface – If your team finds it clunky or confusing, they won’t use it.

Budget Matters — But Value Matters More

A CRM doesn’t have to cost a fortune. Plenty of affordable CRM options offer robust features without the hefty price tag. The key is balancing cost with value. Don’t just chase the cheapest option — pick a CRM that supports your business growth.

Take LeadHeed, for example. It’s an affordable CRM designed to give businesses the tools they need — like lead management, sales tracking, and automation — without stretching your budget. It’s a smart pick if you want to grow efficiently without overpaying for features you won’t use.

Test Before You Commit

Most CRMs offer a free trial — and you should absolutely use it. A CRM might look great on paper, but it’s a different story when you’re actually using it. During your trial period, focus on:

How easy it is to set up and start using

Whether it integrates with your existing tools

How fast you can access and update customer information

If your team finds it helpful (or frustrating)

A trial gives you a real feel for whether the CRM is a good fit — before you commit to a paid plan.

Think About Long-Term Growth

Your business might be small now, but what about next year? Choose a CRM that grows with you. Look for flexible pricing plans, scalable features, and the ability to add more users or advanced functions down the line.

It’s better to pick a CRM that can expand with your business than to go through the hassle of switching systems later.

Check Customer Support

Even the best software can hit a snag — and when that happens, you’ll want reliable support. Look for a CRM that offers responsive customer service, whether that’s live chat, email, or phone. A system is only as good as the help you get when you need it.

Read Reviews and Compare

Don’t just rely on the CRM’s website. Read reviews from other businesses — especially ones similar to yours. Sites like G2, Capterra, and Trustpilot offer honest insights into what works (and what doesn’t). Comparing multiple CRMs ensures you make a well-rounded decision.

The Bottom Line

Choosing the best CRM software for your business doesn’t have to be complicated. By understanding your goals, focusing on essential features, and keeping scalability and budget in mind, you’ll find a CRM that fits like a glove.

If you’re looking for an affordable CRM Software that checks all the right boxes — without cutting corners — LeadHeed is worth exploring. It’s built to help businesses like yours manage leads, automate tasks, and gain valuable insights while staying within budget.

The right CRM can transform how you run your business. Take the time to find the one that supports your growth, keeps your team organized, and helps you deliver an even better experience to your customers.

[phoenixyfriend]

Ko-Fi prompt from KemiKitty:

id enjoy hearing about concerts and ticket money if you want

Referencing my “how does this make money/how does this lose money” in this post.

Whoo! I actually really enjoy talking about money flow like this. Digging into examples like this helps with understanding the interconnectedness of the economic systems we inhabit, and with why things cost What They Do.

Disclaimer: I have not worked in this industry. I just majored in business, watch a lot of documentaries/video essays, and like to break down business and economic topics. When I got to performances, I try to figure these things out as an observer (dinner theater from watching Lindsey Sterling before she got super famous, more Traditional concerts at Staller Performing Arts center, Broadway shows) and asking questions of tour guides when at places like the Vienna Opera House.

Our Example: A moderately popular performer, in an enclosed performance space with a stage, fixed seating, and food service.

Let us consider a performer of middling popularity. They go on tours, but only in the lower 48 states, not yet internationally. They do single nights at an independent venue, which has either dinner tables or rows of audience seating. Let's say... 350 seats, in a middle-sized city, with $30/ticket on average, with wiggle room depending on seating, VIP passes, and discounts (groupons, senior, military, annual passes, etc).

So, who is getting paid, and who is paying?

Money coming into the venue, tied directly to this one event:

Tickets The people who came to this concert are paying for the tickets. 350 seats, at an average of $30/ticket, that's about $10,500. Most of this money does not go to the venue, but may pass through it, or leave a cut with it. (Depends on the ticketing software; we're saying this is an independent venue, not part of the ticketmaster situation, so it's a maybe.)

Food and drink The venue sells snacks, possibly full meals, if it's a dinner-and-show location. It may sell alcohol. It almost definitely sells drinks, maybe has vending machines if nothing else. If attendees cannot bring their own food and drink, and don't want to leave the building so they don't miss the show, then the venue can mark up the food they sell.

Merchandise Dependent on the type of merch and the venue, this may be a flat fee, where the performer puts down a few hundred dollars up front to set up a table for after the concert, or it might be taking a small cut of whatever is sold that night. They might not charge anything, but we'll include it as a likely avenue of income. I can see some kinder venues waiving the fee for newer, up-and-coming artists, but generally you can assume that the venue will take a cut.

Money flowing out of the venue, tied directly to this one event:

The Performer and their team The ticket costs will go primarily to the performer, their backup dancers/singers/band, their manager, and whatever fund they have for things other than wages, like a tour bus rental fee, the label, the driver, the night's post-concert laundry costs, and so on. The chances of all that money going to a single performer is very low; you can generally assume they have backup, management, additional costs, and someone pulling the strings. There are exceptions, like unaffiliated stand-up comedians or other, genuinely solo acts, but for the type of event I'm outlining, these are all contributing factors. Performers may bring their own lighting/sound techs. The venue also might provide their own. For a larger venue, I'd assume both are involved; one who knows the concert's program, and one who knows the venue's setup.

Venue staff The ushers, lighting/sound technicians, the bar staff, the cook, the janitor, security, and anyone else who is working night-of is getting paid. We can equate their pay to the money coming in from specifically the food and drink sales, along with tips for the waitstaff in particular. By this, I mean that the correlation is such that, should sales fall, the corresponding cut in costs is employee labor (the bar staff and cooks), rather than the performers (whose costs are calculated in relation to the money they bring in relating to the ticket sales).

Food and Drink Raw ingredients for the food, wholesale costs for the liquor, napkins, single-use straws, and so on.

Printed Programs Someone has to print the little booklet that tells you who's performing tonight, who's performing for the next few months, and anything else you need to know. If it's a big-name cultural center, they may even include some interviews! But ink is expensive, and that's a lot of paper.

Money coming into the venue, not connected to the specific event:

Advertising Does the venue have posters around for local businesses? For insurance companies? For upcoming events? Someone is paying them for that. Does the venue intersperse the pre-show music over the speakers with the occasional ad spot? Someone is paying them for that. Does the venue have ads in the program booklet? Someone is paying them for that. For a really, really large venue, the kind with dozens or hundreds of employees and massive lighting/sound setups, they are liable to get most of their income from advertising.

Government Grants and Private Donations Depending on the venue, they may donations or grants. This is more likely to apply to a university/community performing arts center than a for-profit dinner theater, but it's a possibility.

Merchandise The venue may have merch that is unrelated to the performance of the night. A historic or novelty location is most likely to have success with this, selling beer glasses with their logo or a t-shirt with 'home of the [band from several decades ago]' printed across the front.

Money flowing out of the venue, not connected to the specific event:

Administrative/Overhead Employees Management, bookkeeping, legal, marketing, and so on.

Utilities Electricity, water, sewage, gas, telecomm, and so on.

Taxes, Licenses, Fees Sales tax, property tax, liquor license, etc.

Mortgage or lease The venue's business owner is not necessarily the one to own the property outright. They may pay rent to a property owner, or mortgage to the bank.

Maintenance - Building Codes Any large building is going to need plumbers, glass techs, electricians, roofers, and so on coming by with regularity. (This part, I actually do know; I used to do repairs dispatching, and you'd be amazed how frequently a big box store needs someone to come by about the toilets.)

Maintenance - Venue Codes There are certain things that an entertainment venue needs to do that other businesses... don't. Namely, fire safety. It's a huge deal. Staying up to code can be expensive, especially if you need to get your backstage/wing curtains chemically treated again, which can be anywhere from one to five years, or the next time someone spills water on it. (That's the main reason open containers of liquids aren't allowed backstage.)

Marketing Just like people pay the venue to advertise, the venue pays for others to advertise it. This could be in the local newspaper or online, but if a given performer isn't someone semi-famous on tour that has a following, then something else needs to draw in a regular paying crowd.

Miscellaneous Overhead There is a lot of overhead for any business of moderate size that has its costs spread out over the year. This includes hiring an accountant for tax season, purchasing uniforms for employees, replacing cutlery and plates and furniture as it wears out or gets lost, repainting the walls every few years, office supplies when the printer for the programs wears out, and so on.

Is this everything? Almost definitely not.

But, hopefully, I've untangled a few things that you may not have considered before.

Those tickets and drinks you bought cover a lot more than just the performer!

...unless it's through ticketmaster, in which case it's probably just the monopoly.

----

If you enjoyed this post, please support me on ko-fi! You can also prompt me for a business/econ topic of your choice here.

[khalid-albeshri]

How to manage a company's workflow?

Managing workflow in a company ensures efficiency and productivity. Here are key steps:

1. Define Clear Processes and Procedures

Document Workflows: Outline each step and develop Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

2. Assign Roles and Responsibilities

Role Clarity: Ensure team members understand their roles and tasks.

3. Utilize Workflow Management Tools

Project Management Software: Use tools like Trello or Asana.

Automation: Implement automation for repetitive tasks.

4. Set Clear Goals and Priorities

SMART Goals: Define Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound goals.

Prioritization: Focus on high-priority tasks.

5. Monitor and Measure Performance

KPIs and Metrics: Establish Key Performance Indicators.

Regular Reviews: Conduct performance reviews to identify bottlenecks.

6. Foster Communication and Collaboration

Communication Tools: Use Slack or Microsoft Teams.

Regular Meetings: Hold team meetings for updates and discussions.

7. Continuously Improve Processes

Feedback: Encourage employee feedback.

Optimization: Regularly review and update workflows.

8. Manage Resources Efficiently

Resource Allocation: Allocate resources effectively.

Capacity Planning: Plan resource needs in advance.

9. Ensure Training and Development

Skill Development: Provide ongoing training.

Knowledge Sharing: Encourage knowledge sharing within the team.

10. Address Challenges Proactively

Problem-Solving: Quickly address issues.

Flexibility: Adapt workflows as needed.

Example Workflow Management Approach

Initiation: Identify tasks and assign a leader.

Planning: Break down tasks, assign them, and identify resources.

Execution: Perform tasks and monitor progress.

Monitoring and Controlling: Track progress, hold status meetings, and adjust plans.

Completion: Review tasks, gather feedback, and document lessons learned.

[moose-mousse]

So I made an app for PROTO. Written in Kotlin and runs on Android.

Next, I want to upgrade it with a controller mode. It should work so so I simply plug a wired xbox controller into my phone with a USB OTG adaptor… and bam, the phone does all the complex wireless communication and is a battery. Meaning that besides the controller, you only need the app and… any phone. Which anyone is rather likely to have Done.

Now THAT is convenient!

( Warning, the rest of the post turned into... a few rants. ) Why Android? Well I dislike Android less than IOS

So it is it better to be crawling in front of the alter of "We are making the apocalypse happen" Google than "5 Chinese child workers died while you read this" Apple?

Not much…

I really should which over to a better open source Linux distribution… But I do not have the willpower to research which one... So on Android I stay.

Kotlin is meant to be "Java, but better/more modern/More functional programming style" (Everyone realized a few years back that the 100% Object oriented programming paradigme is stupid as hell. And we already knew that about the functional programming paradigme. The best is a mix of everything, each used when it is the best option.) And for the most part, it succeeds. Java/Kotlin compiles its code down to "bytecode", which is essentially assembler but for the Java virtual machine. The virtual machine then runs the program. Like how javascript have the browser run it instead of compiling it to the specific machine your want it to run on… It makes them easy to port…

Except in the case of Kotlin on Android... there is not a snowflakes chance in hell that you can take your entire codebase and just run it on another linux distribution, Windows or IOS…

So... you do it for the performance right? The upside of compiling directly to the machine is that it does not waste power on middle management layers… This is why C and C++ are so fast!

Except… Android is… Clunky… It relies on design ideas that require EVERY SINGLE PROGRAM AND APP ON YOUR PHONE to behave nicely (Lots of "This system only works if every single app uses it sparingly and do not screw each-other over" paradigms .). And many distributions from Motorola like mine for example comes with software YOUR ARE NOT ALLOWED TO UNINSTALL... meaning that software on your phone is ALWAYS behaving badly. Because not a single person actually owns an Android phone. You own a brick of electronics that is worthless without its OS, and google does not sell that to you or even gift it to you. You are renting it for free, forever. Same with Motorola which added a few extra modifications onto Googles Android and then gave it to me.

That way, google does not have to give any rights to its costumers. So I cannot completely control what my phone does. Because it is not my phone. It is Googles phone.

That I am allowed to use. By the good graces of our corporate god emperors

"Moose stares blankly into space trying to stop being permanently angry at hoe everyone is choosing to run the world"

… Ok that turned dark… Anywho. TLDR There is a better option for 95% of apps (Which is "A GUI that interfaces with a database") "Just write a single HTML document with internal CSS and Javascript" Usually simpler, MUCH easier and smaller… And now your app works on any computer with a browser. Meaning all of them…

I made a GUI for my parents recently that works exactly like that. Soo this post:

It was frankly a mistake of me to learn Kotlin… Even more so since It is a… awful language… Clearly good ideas then ruined by marketing department people yelling "SUPPORT EVERYTHING! AND USE ALL THE BUZZWORD TECHNOLOGY! Like… If your language FORCES you to use exceptions for normal runtime behavior "Stares at CancellationException"... dear god that is horrible...

Made EVEN WORSE by being a really complicated way to re-invent the GOTO expression… You know... The thing every programmer is taught will eat your feet if you ever think about using it because it is SO dangerous, and SO bad form to use it? Yeah. It is that, hidden is a COMPLEATLY WRONG WAY to use exceptions…

goodie… I swear to Christ, every page or two of my Kotlin notes have me ranting how I learned how something works, and that it is terrible... Blaaa. But anyway now that I know it, I try to keep it fresh in my mind and use it from time to time. Might as well. It IS possible to run certain things more effective than a web page, and you can work much more directly with the file system. It is... hard-ish to get a webpage to "load" a file automatically... But believe me, it is good that this is the case.

Anywho. How does the app work and what is the next version going to do?

PROTO is meant to be a platform I test OTHER systems on, so he is optimized for simplicity. So how you control him is sending a HTTP 1.1 message of type Text/Plain… (This is a VERY fancy sounding way of saying "A string" in network speak). The string is 6 comma separated numbers. Linear movement XYZ and angular movement XYZ.

The app is simply 5 buttons that each sends a HTTP PUT request with fixed values. Specifically 0.5/-0.5 meter/second linear (Drive back or forward) 0.2/-0.2 radians/second angular (Turn right or turn left) Or all 0 for stop

(Yes, I just formatted normal text as code to make it more readable... I think I might be more infected by programming so much than I thought...)

Aaaaaanywho. That must be enough ranting. Time to make the app

[nunuslab24]

What are AI, AGI, and ASI? And the positive impact of AI

Understanding artificial intelligence (AI) involves more than just recognizing lines of code or scripts; it encompasses developing algorithms and models capable of learning from data and making predictions or decisions based on what they’ve learned. To truly grasp the distinctions between the different types of AI, we must look at their capabilities and potential impact on society.

To simplify, we can categorize these types of AI by assigning a power level from 1 to 3, with 1 being the least powerful and 3 being the most powerful. Let’s explore these categories:

1. Artificial Narrow Intelligence (ANI)

Also known as Narrow AI or Weak AI, ANI is the most common form of AI we encounter today. It is designed to perform a specific task or a narrow range of tasks. Examples include virtual assistants like Siri and Alexa, recommendation systems on Netflix, and image recognition software. ANI operates under a limited set of constraints and can’t perform tasks outside its specific domain. Despite its limitations, ANI has proven to be incredibly useful in automating repetitive tasks, providing insights through data analysis, and enhancing user experiences across various applications.

2. Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)

Referred to as Strong AI, AGI represents the next level of AI development. Unlike ANI, AGI can understand, learn, and apply knowledge across a wide range of tasks, similar to human intelligence. It can reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, and learn from experiences. While AGI remains a theoretical concept as of now, achieving it would mean creating machines capable of performing any intellectual task that a human can. This breakthrough could revolutionize numerous fields, including healthcare, education, and science, by providing more adaptive and comprehensive solutions.

3. Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI)

ASI surpasses human intelligence and capabilities in all aspects. It represents a level of intelligence far beyond our current understanding, where machines could outthink, outperform, and outmaneuver humans. ASI could lead to unprecedented advancements in technology and society. However, it also raises significant ethical and safety concerns. Ensuring ASI is developed and used responsibly is crucial to preventing unintended consequences that could arise from such a powerful form of intelligence.

The Positive Impact of AI

When regulated and guided by ethical principles, AI has the potential to benefit humanity significantly. Here are a few ways AI can help us become better:

• Healthcare: AI can assist in diagnosing diseases, personalizing treatment plans, and even predicting health issues before they become severe. This can lead to improved patient outcomes and more efficient healthcare systems.

• Education: Personalized learning experiences powered by AI can cater to individual student needs, helping them learn at their own pace and in ways that suit their unique styles.

• Environment: AI can play a crucial role in monitoring and managing environmental changes, optimizing energy use, and developing sustainable practices to combat climate change.

• Economy: AI can drive innovation, create new industries, and enhance productivity by automating mundane tasks and providing data-driven insights for better decision-making.

In conclusion, while AI, AGI, and ASI represent different levels of technological advancement, their potential to transform our world is immense. By understanding their distinctions and ensuring proper regulation, we can harness the power of AI to create a brighter future for all.

[wpaffiliatepressplugin]

7 Things to Know Before Creating an Affiliate Program

Building an affiliate program can be a major game-changer for your online business. It’s like assembling a dream team of marketers who work around the clock to push your product while you sit back, sip coffee, and watch the sales roll in. Sounds pretty great, right?

But before you jump into affiliate marketing, there are a few things you absolutely need to know. Creating a successful affiliate program doesn’t just happen overnight; there’s a lot to consider if you want to get it right from the start.

In this post, we’ll walk through some of the essential things to consider before launching your affiliate program. And, just to help you out, we’ll also point out why having the right affiliate software, makes everything run a lot smoother. So, let’s dive into what you need to know before going full throttle with your affiliate program.

What You Must Know Before Starting an Affiliate Program

1. You Need Clear Goals and Expectations

Before launching your affiliate program, the first step is defining what you want to achieve. Do you want to boost traffic to your website? Increase sales? Build brand awareness? Without clear goals in place, you won’t know if your affiliate program is truly successful.

Your affiliate program should have measurable objectives, whether it’s hitting a specific revenue target or gaining a set number of affiliates. Make sure your expectations align with your goals. If you're expecting to make millions in the first month, that might not be realistic. Start with small, attainable goals and scale from there.

Why it matters: Having a clear vision of what success looks like helps you focus on the right strategies and tools.

2. Choose the Right Commission Structure

One of the most important decisions when setting up your affiliate program is how you'll structure commissions. This can make or break your program. There are several ways to approach affiliate commissions:

Percentage of Sale: Affiliates earn a percentage of each sale they refer.

Flat Rate: Affiliates earn a fixed amount per sale.

Pay-Per-Click (PPC): Affiliates earn money every time someone clicks on their referral link (regardless of whether they make a purchase).

The right commission structure depends on your product, your margins, and the types of affiliates you’re targeting. For example, if you’re selling a high-ticket item, you might want to offer a larger percentage. If you sell low-cost products, a flat rate might work better.

Why it matters: Setting up a flexible commission structure is one of the key elements in keeping affiliates motivated and incentivized to promote your products. WordPress affiliate plugin like AffiliatePress allow you to easily customize and manage commission structures, which means you can experiment and find what works best for your business.

3. Make Sure You’re Using the Right Affiliate Platform

Affiliate marketing can be tough to manage manually, especially when you have multiple affiliates, lots of sales to track, and payments to process. This is where using the right affiliate platform comes into play.

An affiliate program requires proper management, and without the right tools, you could easily lose track of commissions, miss out on potential sales, or end up with a confusing system that frustrates affiliates.

Why it matters: Using the right affiliate software ensures smooth operations, which will save you time, reduce errors, and allow your affiliates to focus on driving sales. Plus, automated reporting lets you monitor how your program is performing without having to manually dig through data.

4. Attracting the Right Affiliates Is Key

Okay, so you’ve set your goals and decided on a commission structure. Now it’s time to find affiliates who are a good fit for your brand. Not just anyone will be able to promote your products effectively. You need to find affiliates whose audience aligns with your product and who genuinely care about your brand.

You can either go the organic route (through content creators or influencers) or find affiliate networks where affiliates sign up to promote a range of products. Make sure the affiliates you’re choosing have a genuine following, preferably in your niche, and know how to engage their audience.

Why it matters: Attracting the right affiliates ensures your program will be successful. If you pick affiliates who resonate with your audience, they’ll produce higher-quality content and generate better results.

5. Create Great Affiliate Resources

Affiliates are marketers, but they need help in the form of resources to market your product effectively. Your program’s success is directly tied to how much support you give your affiliates. You should provide them with things like:

Banners: Easy-to-use graphics for their sites.

Landing Pages: Pre-made pages to help convert visitors into customers.

Email Templates: Ready-to-send emails that they can use for outreach.

Product Info: Detailed descriptions and features to help affiliates pitch your product accurately.

A good affiliate program should arm its partners with all the materials they need to succeed. The more you equip your affiliates with marketing tools, the more likely they are to push traffic your way.

Why it matters: Providing your affiliates with high-quality marketing resources increases their chances of making a sale. This saves them time and gives them the tools they need to effectively convert leads.

6. Set Up a Clear Payment System

If there’s one thing that will keep your affiliates happy, it’s getting paid on time. Make sure you have a clear, reliable system in place for paying your affiliates. You need to decide how and when affiliates will get paid:

Payment Methods: Will you pay via PayPal, bank transfer, or checks?

Payment Frequency: Will you pay weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly?

Minimum Payout Threshold: How much do affiliates need to earn before they can cash out?

Why it matters: Clear and timely payments build trust with your affiliates. A smooth payment process is one of the main reasons why affiliates stay loyal to your program. The better the experience, the more likely they are to keep promoting and driving sales.

7. Track Your Performance (Don’t Guess)

Tracking performance is a non-negotiable part of running an affiliate program. You need to know which affiliates are performing well, which products are generating the most sales, and how much money your program is making. Without this information, you’ll be flying blind, and it’ll be difficult to optimize your affiliate strategy.

Why it matters: Tracking performance allows you to identify your top affiliates, products, and strategies, helping you optimize for higher earnings. If something’s working, double down on it; if something’s not, change it. Without data, you can’t make informed decisions, and your program won’t grow.

Final Thoughts: Prepare for the Affiliate Journey

Setting up an affiliate program is a major move toward increasing sales and driving passive income, but it requires careful planning. From choosing the right commission structure to picking the best affiliates and providing great marketing resources, each step plays a crucial role in your program's success.

And don’t forget, the right affiliate platform makes managing your program so much easier. Plus, it makes scaling your program a easy.

Remember: an affiliate program isn’t just a side hustle; it’s a business tool. With the right strategies and support, it can become a major revenue stream for your business. So take the time to set it up right, and let your affiliates do the heavy lifting for you.

[mariacallous]

Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency announced this week that it discovered large batches of unused software licenses as it continues to hunt for examples of waste in Washington. On Monday, DOGE alleged that the General Services Administration has 37,000 licenses for the file compression and encryption tool WinZip, even though the agency has only about 13,000 employees. “Fixes are actively in work,” the team wrote on Musk’s social media site X. It later alleged similar overspending at the Department of Labor.

But the purported discrepancies between licenses and employees may not be as problematic as Musk’s government wrecking crew has made them out to be.

Liz Lezius, a spokesperson for the Canadian tech company Alludo, which develops WinZip and was once known as Corel, says licensing for the program is based on the number of devices on which it is installed, not the number of employees with access to the software, though she declined to comment on specific customers. “It is typical that there are more devices than employees in an organization,” Lezius tells WIRED.

In other cases, suppliers may require agencies to buy a bundle of tools to get access to one they really need, according to Ryan Triplette, executive director of the Coalition for Fair Software Licensing, an advocacy group of software developers and private sector purchasers fighting what they view as restrictive terms.

Agencies may also have more licenses than employees to account for budgeting quirks and outside contractors, says a former federal official who worked on tech licensing across multiple presidential administrations. “What you’re seeing with the DOGE stuff is they are doing cursory work with limited knowledge,” says the ex-official, who is barred by their employer from speaking to the media. It “has some salience but is done in a bombastic way to make it seem like they are having more impact.”

GSA acting press secretary Will Powell tells WIRED that in support of the Trump administration’s priorities, the agency is reviewing contracts and resources “to ensure our staff can perform their mission in support of American taxpayers.”

On Thursday, the DOGE account on X posted that the GSA had taken action this week “by deleting 114,163 unused software licenses & 15 underutilized / redundant software products — for a total annual savings of $9.6M.”

Earlier this week, Musk reposted allegations of overspending at the Labor Department and wrote, “Most of these items are mundane and may not seem like much individually, but there are millions of minor savings that add up to billions of dollars cumulatively. Ultimately, there will be a trillion+ dollars of waste and fraud eliminated.”

The Labor Department and White House, where DOGE is located, didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Federal agencies sometimes sign long-term contracts with software vendors, which allows them to lock in discount rates and avoid the need to renegotiate contracts every year. As a result, the number of licenses they budget for may include projected staff increases. “It’s cheaper to buy them all at once than go back and add on 500 at a time,” the former federal official says.

Because agencies sometimes get bulk or government-specific discounts, it can also be more affordable to buy software licenses on behalf of their private contractors. “It’s a very clear way for agencies to manage costs,” the ex-official says.

Every government agency has its own unique structure, including many subagencies or units, each with their own software needs. That could help explain other alleged licensing issues DOGE called out this week, including that GSA has “3 different ticketing systems running in parallel” and multiple tools for running unspecified trainings.

In a separate post this week, DOGE called out the Department of Labor for allegedly licensing five cybersecurity programs, each for more than 20,000 users, despite having only about 15,000 employees. The post also cited the department holding 380 Microsoft 365 productivity software licenses with zero users, installing only 30 out of the 128 Microsoft Teams conference rooms it licensed, and using only 22 out of 129 Photoshop licenses. The post also referenced unused licenses for “VSCode,” the shorthand name for an entirely free Microsoft tool for writing code; the company does sell a paid alternative known as Visual Studio.

Microsoft declined to comment. Adobe, which develops Photoshop, did not respond to a request to comment.

While DOGE may have failed to present a full picture of wasteful spending, it’s true that the federal government has at times struggled to effectively manage its use of software licenses. Numerous watchdog groups inside the government have found instances of wasteful spending on software in the past.

Members of Congress have been trying for years to get agencies to address the issue, the former federal official says. The Strengthening Agency Management and Oversight of Software Assets Act, or SAMOSA Act, which passed the House last year with bipartisan support but stalled in the Senate, would have required agencies to do what DOGE is doing now: Assess existing software contracts, consolidate licenses where possible, and get better deals to keep costs down. The legislation aimed to give agencies more bargaining power over the handful of big tech firms that dominate government software contracting, according to the former official.

“If Elon [Musk] wanted to do this the right way, they would work with Congress to pass the SAMOSA Act,” the official says. “So people who will be there even when DOGE leaves can enter into smarter, less expensive contracts. They should be setting a repeatable process whereby agencies will constantly reevaluate their software needs and get better performance for lower costs.”

Triplette, of the Coalition for Fair Software Licensing, credited DOGE for examining licensing issues. “I know there is a lot of concern about what DOGE is doing, but this is one area that there is hope and possibility,” she says.

Other federal contracting experts and congressional offices have told WIRED that DOGE should not lose sight of bigger targets while scrounging for savings. There were 11 federal contracting programs for information technology that each accounted for over $1 billion in spending during the government’s last fiscal year, which ran from October 2023 through September 2024, according to an analysis for WIRED by Deltek, whose GovWin IQ tool tracks procurement. Contracts are often broken up into smaller pieces, and among those task orders, over $1 billion has been spent on six individual task orders related to IT over the past few years. They are led by a Dell deal with the Department of Veterans Affairs and a Booz Allen Hamilton agreement with the Pentagon.

Booz Allen Hamilton declined to comment. Its CEO, Horacio Rozanski, told Wall Street last month that the company expected the savings created by DOGE to be reinvested in technology. Dell didn’t respond to a request for comment. Earlier this month, CEO Michael Dell reshared a post by Musk on X. “We need DOGE! 🇺🇸” he wrote.

The extent of DOGE’s software purge is difficult to quantify. In searching for the word “license” across the descriptions of 13,800 federal contracts in the government’s central tracking database that have been updated to reflect terminations since Trump’s inauguration, WIRED found that roughly 60 of the canceled agreements appear to be explicitly for software. A couple of those cancellations—data visualization tool Tableau and Microsoft’s LinkedIn Recruiter—generated savings of about $4 million, according to DOGE’s official Wall of Receipts, a “transparent account” of findings and actions. The website has contained some errors, according to several media reports, and WIRED found earlier this week that Tableau and LinkedIn savings were listed as $0.

WinZip standard licenses run about $35 annually per user, though large organizations are offered "special pricing," according to the product's official website. Lezius, the spokesperson for WinZip developer Alludo, declined to address whether the company has heard from DOGE representatives, but she says the company is “always happy to work with DOGE, GSA, and any customer” to meet their needs. And, she adds, WinZip, is “a trusted and highly affordable way for agencies to adhere to data security requirements.”

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

A new and unique fusion reactor comes together due to global research collaboration

Like atoms coming together to release their power, fusion researchers worldwide are joining forces to solve the world's energy crisis. Harnessing the power of fusing plasma as a reliable energy source for the power grid is no easy task, requiring global contributions.

The Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) is leading several efforts on this front, including collaborating on the design and development of a new fusion device at the University of Seville in Spain. The SMall Aspect Ratio Tokamak (SMART) strongly benefits from PPPL computer codes as well as the Lab's expertise in magnetics and sensor systems.

"The SMART project is a great example of us all working together to solve the challenges presented by fusion and teaching the next generation what we have already learned," said Jack Berkery, PPPL's deputy director of research for the National Spherical Torus Experiment-Upgrade (NSTX-U) and principal investigator for the PPPL collaboration with SMART. "We have to all do this together or it's not going to happen."

Manuel Garcia-Munoz and Eleonora Viezzer, both professors at the Department of Atomic, Molecular and Nuclear Physics of the University of Seville as well as co-leaders of the Plasma Science and Fusion Technology Lab and the SMART tokamak project, said PPPL seemed like the ideal partner for their first tokamak experiment. The next step was deciding what kind of tokamak they should build.

"It needed to be one that a university could afford but also one that could make a unique contribution to the fusion landscape at the university scale," said Garcia-Munoz. "The idea was to put together technologies that were already established: a spherical tokamak and negative triangularity, making SMART the first of its kind. It turns out it was a fantastic idea."

SMART should offer easy-to-manage fusion plasma

Triangularity refers to the shape of the plasma relative to the tokamak. The cross section of the plasma in a tokamak is typically shaped like the capital letter D. When the straight part of the D faces the center of the tokamak, it is said to have positive triangularity. When the curved part of the plasma faces the center, the plasma has negative triangularity.

Garcia-Munoz said negative triangularity should offer enhanced performance because it can suppress instabilities that expel particles and energy from the plasma, preventing damage to the tokamak wall.

"It's a potential game changer with attractive fusion performance and power handling for future compact fusion reactors," he said. "Negative triangularity has a lower level of fluctuations inside the plasma, but it also has a larger divertor area to distribute the heat exhaust."

The spherical shape of SMART should make it better at confining the plasma than it would be if it were doughnut shaped. The shape matters significantly in terms of plasma confinement. That is why NSTX-U, PPPL's main fusion experiment, isn't squat like some other tokamaks: the rounder shape makes it easier to confine the plasma. SMART will be the first spherical tokamak to fully explore the potential of a particular plasma shape known as negative triangularity.

PPPL's expertise in computer codes proves essential

PPPL has a long history of leadership in spherical tokamak research. The University of Seville fusion team first contacted PPPL to implement SMART in TRANSP, a simulation software developed and maintained by the Lab. Dozens of facilities use TRANSP, including private ventures such as Tokamak Energy in England.

"PPPL is a world leader in many, many areas, including fusion simulation; TRANSP is a great example of their success," said Garcia-Munoz.

Mario Podesta, formerly of PPPL, was integral to helping the University of Seville determine the configuration of the neutral beams used for heating the plasma. That work culminated in a paper published in the journal Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion.

Stanley Kaye, director of research for NSTX-U, is now working with Diego Jose Cruz-Zabala, EUROfusion Bernard Bigot Researcher Fellow, from the SMART team, using TRANSP "to determine the shaping coil currents necessary for attaining their design plasma shapes of positive triangularity and negative triangularity at different phases of operation." The first phase, Kaye said, will involve a "very basic" plasma. Phase two will have neutral beams heating the plasma.

Separately, other computer codes were used for assessing the stability of future SMART plasmas by Berkery, former undergraduate intern John Labbate, who is, now a grad student at Columbia University, and former University of Seville graduate student Jesús Domínguez-Palacios, who has now moved to an American company. A new paper in Nuclear Fusion by Domínguez-Palacios discusses this work.

Designing diagnostics for the long haul

The collaboration between SMART and PPPL also extended into and one of the Lab's core areas of expertise: diagnostics, which are devices with sensors to assess the plasma. Several such diagnostics are being designed by PPPL researchers. PPPL Physicists Manjit Kaur and Ahmed Diallo, together with Viezzer, are leading the design of the SMART's Thomson scattering diagnostic, for example.

This diagnostic will precisely measure the plasma electron temperature and density during fusion reactions, as detailed in a new paper published in the journal Review of Scientific Instruments. These measurements will be complemented with ion temperature, rotation and density measurements provided by diagnostics known as the charge exchange recombination spectroscopy suite developed by Alfonso Rodriguez-Gonzalez, graduate student at University of Seville, Cruz-Zabala and Viezzer.

"These diagnostics can run for decades, so when we design the system, we keep that in mind," said Kaur. When developing the designs, it was important the diagnostic can handle temperature ranges SMART might achieve in the next few decades and not just the initial, low values, she said.

Kaur designed the Thomson scattering diagnostic from the start of the project, selecting and procuring its different subparts, including the laser she felt best fits the job. She was thrilled to see how well the laser tests went when Gonzalo Jimenez and Viezzer sent her photos from Spain. The test involved setting up the laser on a bench and shooting it at a piece of special parchment that the researchers call "burn paper." If the laser is designed just right, the burn marks will be circular with relatively smooth edges.

"The initial laser test results were just gorgeous," she said. "Now, we eagerly await receiving other parts to get the diagnostic up and running."

James Clark, a PPPL research engineer whose doctoral thesis focused on Thomson scattering systems, was later brought on to work with Kaur. "I've been designing the laser path and related optics," Clark explained. In addition to working on the engineering side of the project, Clark has also helped with logistics, deciding how and when things should be delivered, installed and calibrated.

PPPL's Head of Advanced Projects Luis Delgado-Aparicio, together with Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellow Joaquin Galdon-Quiroga and University of Seville graduate student Jesus Salas-Barcenas, are leading efforts to add two other kinds of diagnostics to SMART: a multi-energy, soft X-ray (ME-SXR) diagnostic and spectrometers.

The ME-SXR will also measure the plasma's electron temperature and density but using a different approach than the Thomson scattering system. The ME-SXR will use sets of small electronic components called diodes to measure X-rays. Combined, the Thomson scattering diagnostic and the ME-SXR will comprehensively analyze the plasma's electron temperature and density.

By looking at the different frequencies of light inside the tokamak, the spectrometers can provide information about impurities in the plasma, such as oxygen, carbon and nitrogen. "We are using off-the-shelf spectrometers and designing some tools to put them in the machine, incorporating some fiber optics," Delgado-Aparicio said. Another new paper published in the Review of Scientific Instruments discusses the design of this diagnostic.

PPPL Research Physicist Stefano Munaretto worked on the magnetic diagnostic system for SMART with the field work led by University of Seville graduate student Fernando Puentes del Pozo Fernando.

"The diagnostic itself is pretty simple," said Munaretto. "It's just a wire wound around something. Most of the work involves optimizing the sensor's geometry by getting its size, shape and length correct, selecting where it should be located and all the signal conditioning and data analysis involved after that." The design of SMART's magnetics is detailed in a new paper also published in Review of Scientific Instruments.

Munaretto said working on SMART has been very fulfilling, with much of the team working on the magnetic diagnostics made up of young students with little previous experience in the field. "They are eager to learn, and they work a lot. I definitely see a bright future for them."

Delgado-Aparicio agreed. "I enjoyed quite a lot working with Manuel Garcia-Munoz, Eleonora Viezzer and all of the other very seasoned scientists and professors at the University of Seville, but what I enjoyed most was working with the very vibrant pool of students they have there," he said.

"They are brilliant and have helped me quite a bit in understanding the challenges that we have and how to move forward toward obtaining first plasmas."

Researchers at the University of Seville have already run a test in the tokamak, displaying the pink glow of argon when heated with microwaves. This process helps prepare the tokamak's inner walls for a far denser plasma contained at a higher pressure. While technically, that pink glow is from a plasma, it's at such a low pressure that the researchers don't consider it their real first tokamak plasma. Garcia-Munoz says that will likely happen in the fall of 2024.

IMAGE: SMall Aspect Ratio Tokamak (SMART) is being built at the University of Seville in Spain, in collaboration with Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. (Photo credit: University of Seville). Credit: University of SevilleL