Daily Archives: March 25, 2021

For the past decade, schools have placed significant emphasis on getting students ready for careers. The problem is that its not clear what kind of jobs will be available in ten or 20 years. So what should that mean for K-12 teaching?

Daniel Susskind, a fellow in economics at Oxford University, tackled that questionand many othersin his recent book, A World Without Work: Technology, Automation, and How We Should Respond. In it, he describes a possible future where liberal arts education would take on increasing importance as people look for meaningful ways to spend their time in a world where machines take on many of the tasks humans do today.

Education Week caught up with Susskind on Zoom for his thoughts on where the world of work is headed. This transcript has been edited for brevity and clarity.

What do you expect the world of work to look like when todays 2nd graders are entering it?

Every day, we hear stories of systems and machines that are taking on tasks and activities that until recently we thought only human beings alone could ever do. Making medical diagnoses and driving cars. Drafting legal contracts and designing buildings. Writing news reports and composing music. What does this mean, not only for the vast majority of us at the moment whose job is our main, if not our only, source of income, but for also all those young people out there who are looking ahead to the future of work? Its important to be clear [that if readers] pick up the book expecting an account of some big technological bang after which theres no work left for human beings to do, the robots have taken all the jobs, theyre going to be bitterly disappointed. Work is going to remain for some time to come.

The argument Im making is a slightly different one, which is that as we move through the 21st century, because of these technological advances, more people might find themselves unable to make the sorts of economic contributions to society that they might have hoped, or indeed, expected to make in the 20th century.

So it sounds like we dont really know what the world of work is going to look like for todays 2nd graders, but machines will probably replace many jobs, or at least a lot of the tasks.

Technologies dont destroy entire jobs in an instant. If you were to ask me what jobs you think are most at risk of automation, I am reluctant to give you a list because that isnt what technology does. What it does is, in a far more bottom-up, gradual way, it displaces people from particular tasks and activities, but it can also make some tasks and activities more valuable and more important for human beings to do.

Theres a sense that what technology does is it takes on the boring stuff and leaves us human beings with the interesting stuff. But, actually, thats not right. And just one example, if you look at many of the tasks and activities that are currently hardest to automate, many of them involve some kind of interpersonal interaction and as a result, many are found in pretty low-paid service roles. Retail assistants. Waitresses. Baristas. Receptionists. Security-guards and so on. So theres not always as comfortable a correlation between how fulfilling we find those tasks and how readily they can be automated. And yet sometimes thats how its talked about.

In your book, you note that policymakers, including former President Barack Obama, called for more people to attain post-secondary education in order to compete with machines. Do you agree that this is our best response at the moment to the idea of technological unemployment?

Its useful to distinguish between two very different worries we might have about the future of work. One is the dramatic one that you often read about in popular commentary, which is where there just arent enough jobs to be done, full stop. And that I call structural technological unemployment.

Theres also another type of technological unemployment, where people dont necessarily have the skills and the capabilities to do [available] jobs. Theres a skills mismatch. Education responds to one of the main frictions in the labor market, which is that people just might not have the right skills and capabilities to do the work that needs to be done.

Another reason that people might not want to be able to do the work that has to be done is place mismatch. People just dont live in the same geographical place that work is being created. [Thats] particularly important for blue collar roles, rather than white collar roles. Many blue collar workers rely on being in a particular place and for that place to be succeeding economically and creating the kind of opportunities that will lead to you finding employment. Its not obvious how more education necessarily engages with that place mismatch.

And then the sort of final mismatch is what I call the identity mismatch. People very often have a very particular conception of themselves and they might be willing to stay unemployed in order to protect the identity. And a good example of this is if you think of men of working age in the United States displaced from traditional manufacturing roles by new technologies. There are some who would say they would rather not work at all than take up so-called pink collar work. Many of the jobs that are hardest to automate and where theres a lot of job growth are disproportionately done by women, whether its social care, whether its nursing, whether its pre-school and kindergarten teaching. So, there is an issue of identity there. There is work available but for various reasons these men dont want to do it. Its not obvious to me how education, traditionally understood, engages with these identity mismatches between your perception of yourself and the work thats available to be done.

Theres also just the more general problem, which is that if we look deeper into the 21st century, and we think its true that the problem might not be that theres enough jobs and people cant do them, but just there arent enough jobs full stop for various reasons. If we take that seriously, then again, its not clear to me that more education is necessarily the best response to that challenge.

But I dont think thats the challenge we currently face. So for now, the challenge is frictional technological unemployment and I think the main source of it is skills mismatch and thats why education is still, to my mind, so important.

If you were advising a high-schooler on the future job market, what careers are fields are a relatively safe bet to escape automation?

Very broadly, theres two strategies. Either you want to become the sort of person who can compete with these systems and machines, who can do the sort of things they cannot do yet. Clearly, there are large domains of human activity that remain out of reach of even the most capable machines. Interpersonal faculties. Creative faculties. Problem-solving faculties. Communication faculties. Even though machines are indeed making inroads on each of these things, by and large, if you look at the labor market, jobs that involve those sorts of faculties are among the hardest to automate.

The second strategy is that instead you become the sort of person who can build these systems and machines, who is capable of designing and operating and understanding how these systems and machines work.

Were not taking seriously enough the challenge of either teaching people to compete or teaching people to build.

You write that schools need to stop teaching algebra in ways that apps like Socrates can do kids homework for them. Can you elaborate what you mean by that?

[With some apps], you can take a photo of quite complex math problems and it will scan it, use character recognition technology, and it just gives you an answer. And it just strikes me that in a world where these sorts of technologies are increasingly available, that ought to be an implication for how we teach math. We shouldnt be teaching math in a way that people can be able to just take a photo of a question and come up with an answer and thats it. We should be pushing math instruction in a way that takes advantage of these technologies, in much the same way that the calculator revolution did the same for the way in which we taught math a few decades ago.

Its not, lets stop teaching math. Its how can we use these technologies to teach math in a different and more useful way, given where the technologies are.

In your book, you are enthusiastic about the potential of technology to personalize learning for students. You write that teaching to the middle ability level is essentially, teaching to no one. But theres still a lot of skepticism among educators about personalized learning. They feel like it overemphasizes technology. They dont necessarily feel like their students are doing any better than they were before using personalized learning approaches. Given that skepticism, why are you a fan?

Im a fan for two big reasons. We know that an average student who receives one-to-one instruction from a human being is going to outperform about 98 percent of ordinary students in a traditional classroom. So we know that one-to-one instruction with a human being is incredibly effective. But of course one-to-one instruction, with a human being, is not affordable or scalable. So what do we do? Well, this is the promise of these technologies, they offer us a glimpse of how we might replicate that one-to-one interaction in a way that is scalable. That promise is what makes me excited.

The technologies we have today are the worst they are ever going to be. Ive seen [problems] that reflect the skepticism that youre describing. But for me, thats not a reason to stop, its a reason to continue to iterate and experiment and try and settle on a model or technology that does better than what we currently have.

Near the end of the book, you argue that we may return to a liberal arts education, to make sure people can still lead meaningful lives. But right now, schools are focusing much more on STEM than the humanities. When and how should a greater emphasis on a more liberal arts education occur?

I suppose I want to avoid there being a discreet switch. I think both of these strategies are going to become increasingly important. In my view, the challenge should be focused more on how can we avoid teaching young people to do all the routine activities that machines already do. I wouldnt want to rule out either of those strategies, in part because there is a huge amount of uncertainty about what skills and abilities are going to be valuable and important.

If you take seriously the idea that we might be approaching a world with less work for people to do, full stop, if you think that that might be a challenge for the 21st century, then there is a kind of bigger challenge for education in thinking whats the purpose of education? At the moment, in large part, its preparing people with the skills and capabilities so they can flourish in the working world. In a world in which there may be less work for people to do, how does an education system prepare people to flourish in that world instead. That, to me, is one of the big and under explored questions.

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What's the Purpose of K-12 Education in the Age of Automation? - Education Week

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Distinct priorities have emerged when it comes to responding to the needs of IT securitys rapid transformation, independent research sponsored by FireMon has found. The survey of 500 cybersecurity leaders across North America and EMEA uncovered the key investments organizations are making, and the rationale behind their decisions.

The study shows that a cocktail of multiplying threats, the proliferation of hybrid and cloud architectures, blended with a pandemic-fueled explosion in distributed and remote work has created a perfect storm for network security teams, said Satin H. Mirchandani, President and CEO of FireMon. Its no wonder that theyre adding new technologies, architectures, and approaches to ensure their networks remain protected.

The survey identified five major areas for network security investment:

From an automation perspective, respondents cited the need to increase security agility and accelerate responsiveness and reduce the mean time to discover and resolve security incidents as the major drivers. This indicates that network security's growing complexity has rendered manual processes insufficient to keep up with accelerating rates of change. Automation is now an imperative.

Based on the survey findings, it is also clear that Zero Trust Architecture will achieve broad adoption to support the transition to cloud architectures and ensure security for an increasingly remote workforce. Both trends were accelerated by COVID-19 and are highly unlikely to be reversed.

As part of this transition to cloud-based architectures, many respondents plan to implement a SASE platform to reduce cost and complexity, and improve security for their distributed and mobile workforce.

However, there is a risk of lack of alignment in a rush to balance the transition to cloud-based environments while still managing legacy infrastructure. This is especially the case when it comes to network security operations and application development and delivery processes. This misalignment causes slower application deployment, increases risk of downtime, and creates friction between security and development teams.

To gain greater alignment among security and development processes, more than 8 out of 10 organizations are looking to better integrate their systems via open APIs. This allows them to inject security capabilities into their preferred workflows, enabling greater flexibility and smoothing collaboration between groups.

"Network security is in the midst of a tectonic shift. New technologies and approaches will rapidly become the norm, forcing security teams to rethink how they manage access policies and ensure compliance in a changing and highly heterogeneous world," concludes Mirchandani.

The full study can be found here.

The research is based on a survey completed in January 2021 by Pulse Media, a research firm with a 27,000-member knowledge community. The survey included 500 directors, vice presidents, and C-Suite executives involved in IT security for organizations with 1,000 employees or more across North America and EMEA. Industries represented included Finance, Banking & Insurance, Retail, Health Care and Social Assistance, Utilities, and Government.

About FireMon

FireMon is the only agile network security policy platform for firewalls and cloud security groups providing the fastest way to streamline network security policy management, which is one of the biggest impediments to IT and enterprise agility. Since creating the first-ever network security policy management solution, FireMon has delivered command and control over complex network security infrastructures for more than 1,700 customers located in nearly 70 countries around the world. For more information, visit http://www.firemon.com.

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IT Security Leaders Prioritize Investments in Automation, Zero Trust and API-based Security to Protect a Rapidly Transforming IT Ecosystem - Business...

during the forecast period. The logistics automation market is gaining traction due digital transformation in the logistics industry, emergence of IoT, exponential growth in the eCommerce industry, advancements in robotics, and growing need to ensure workforce safety.

New York, March 23, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Logistics Automation Market by Component, Function, Organization Size, Vertical And Region - Global Forecast to 2026" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p05400541/?utm_source=GNW

Based on Function, the warehouse and storage management segment is expected to hold a larger market share during the forecast periodThe warehouse and storage management segment is projected to account for larger market share in 2020 to 2026.The rising need to optimize warehouse spaces and distribution centers is fuelling the importance of warehouse and storage management function.

An effective warehouse management system ensures the efficient execution of warehousing operations, such as receiving, slotting, picking, and shipping.This system can process large amounts of data and coordinate movements within the warehouse, which in turn, helps in the efficient management of the supply chain network of a company.

Thus, warehouse operating companies are adopting warehouse and storage management solutions to manage inventory by streamlining storage and distribution operations.

Based on Organization size, the SMEs segment to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast periodSMEs are focused on the deployment of logistics automation solutions to improve competitiveness and reduce operating costs.Despite the high cost involved in automating logistics processes, the adoption of logistics automation solutions provides long-term RoI.

However, due to limited budgets, SMEs are unable to automate logistics processes fully.With advancements in automation technology and intense competition among vendors, the cost of automating warehouses is declining.

This, in turn, will enable SMEs to adopt automation solutions and services in the near future. Furthermore, the adoption of cloud-based logistics automation software is expected to rise in SMEs as they require only necessary functions and features for small-scale warehouse operations.

Asia Pacific (APAC) region to record the highest growth in the logistics automation marketNorth America is expected to hold the largest market share during the forecast period and APAC is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period.APAC is transforming dynamically with respect to the adoption of new technologies across various sectors, especially in China, Japan, India, and ANZ.

These countries have always supported and promoted industrial and technological growth.Also, they possess a developed technological infrastructure, which is promoting the adoption of logistics automation solutions across all industry verticals.

Moreover, the eCommerce companies in the region are investing in improving their supply chain network and logistics processes through the adoption of logistics automation solutions.Global companies are significantly investing in manufacturing, automobile, retail, and healthcare industries in the region.

Further, the expansion of the transportation and logistics industry and the increase in trade agreements are key factors projected to drive the growth of the logistics automation market in APAC. By Company Type: Tier 1 35%, Tier 2 39%, and Tier 3 36% By Designation: C-level 55%, Directors 40%, and Others 5% By Region: North America 30%, Europe 35%, APAC 25%, and Rest of the World (RoW) 10%

This research study outlines the market potential, market dynamics, and major vendors operating in the logistics automation market. Key and innovative vendors in the logistics automation market include 6 River Systems (US), ABB (Switzerland), BEUMER Group (Germany), Blue Yonder (US), Daifuku (Japan), Dematic (US), E&K Automation (Germany), Eyesee (Hardis Group) (France), Falcon Autotech (India), GreyOrange (US), HighJump (Korber) (US), Honeywell Intelligrated (US), Jungheinrich (Germany), Knapp (Austria), Locus Robotics (US), Manhattan Associates (US), Murata Machinery (Japan), Oracle (US), SAP (Germany), SBS Toshiba Logistics (Japan), Seegrid (US), SSI Schaefer (Germany), Swisslog (Switzerland), System Logistics (Italy), TGW Logistics Group (Austria), and Zebra Technologies (US).

Research coverageThe market study covers the logistics automation market across different segments.It aims at estimating the market size and the growth potential of this market across different segments based on component (hardware-integrated systems, software, and services), function, organization size, vertical, and region.

The study also includes an in-depth competitive analysis of the key market players, along with their company profiles, key observations related to product and business offerings, recent developments, and key market strategies.

Key benefits of buying the reportThe report is expected to help the market leaders/new entrants in this market by providing them information on the closest approximations of the revenue numbers for the overall logistics automation market and its segments.This report is also expected to help stakeholders understand the competitive landscape and gain insights to improve the position of their businesses and to plan suitable go-to-market strategies.

The report also aims at helping stakeholders understand the pulse of the market and provide them with information on key market drivers, restraints, challenges, and opportunities.Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05400541/?utm_source=GNW

About ReportlinkerReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.

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The global logistics automation market size is projected to grow from USD 48.4 billion in 2020 to USD 88.9 billion by 2026, at a Compound Annual...

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QSFP Optical Transceiver Market 2021 Competitive Insights Bosch Rexroth AG, ATS Automation, Rockwell Automation KSU | The Sentinel Newspaper - KSU |...

SAN FRANCISCO, March 23, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --FinancialForce, the leading customer-centric ERP and #1 professional services automation (PSA)* business suite, has been named the #1 vendor in G2's Spring 2021 Enterpriseand Mid-Market PSA Grid Reports, marking the ninth consecutive quarter as the top PSA for the enterprise. FinancialForce was also named a leader in Accounting. The rankings are based on hundreds of customer ratings across products and services, and draw from reviews by verified users on G2, the world's leading business solutions review website.

"Everything we do at FinancialForce is focused on helping our customers succeed and drive profitability and growth," said Tony Kender, Chief Revenue Officer, FinancialForce. "We remain deeply committed to delivering the most powerful PSA and ERP solutions that allow services organizations to run their businesses on Salesforce. We thank our customers for sharing their experiences and calling out our product leadership in G2 reviews so that others can learn about the value we bring to businesses."

"FinancialForce PSA is essential to our operations and success in the digital age," said Thom O'Connor, Vice President Services, Elastic. "FinancialForce is our go-to platform for innovation and transformation, enabling us to put the right resources on the right job at the right time, while providing full transparency and allowing us to run our business as efficiently as possible."

"Rankings on G2 reports are based on data provided to us by real users," said Michael Fauscette, Chief Research Officer, G2. "We are excited to share the achievements of the products ranked on our site because they represent the voice of the user and offer terrific insights to potential buyers around the world."

More High Praise from Customers

Highlights from recent FinancialForce PSA customer reviews on G2 include:

You can view the G2 rankings at this link, as well as learn more about Professional Services Automation in the most recent SPI Benchmark report.

About FinancialForce

FinancialForceoffers customer-centric business applications on the leading cloud platform from Salesforce. We accelerate business growth with the only modern ERP suite and the #1 professional services automation (PSA), enabling real-time insights and intelligent decision-making. See your customers in full color with Salesforce and FinancialForce. Founded in 2009 and headquartered in San Francisco, FinancialForce is backed by Advent International, Salesforce Ventures, and Technology Crossover Ventures. For more information, visitwww.financialforce.com.

*Most adopted PSA solution in SPI Research's 2021 PS Maturity Benchmark; most adopted PSA solution by Technology Services Industry Association in 2020; leader in IDC MarketScape for Worldwide SaaS and Cloud-Enabled Midmarket Finance and Accounting Applications, 2020; #1 Enterprise and Mid-Market PSA and leader in Accounting by G2.

SOURCE FinancialForce

https://www.financialforce.com/

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G2 Names FinancialForce the Top Professional Services Automation Software for the Enterprise for Ninth Consecutive Quarter - PRNewswire

Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Tugs and diggers have so far failed to dislodge a massive container ship stuck in the Suez Canal for a third day, increasing the chances of prolonged delays in what is arguably the worlds most important waterway.Work to re-float the Ever Given was suspended until Thursday morning in Egypt, shipping agent Inchcape said, citing the Suez Canal Authority. Dredgers are still trying to loosen the vessel before any attempt to pull it out, the ships manager said.Its taxing to even grasp how big this ship is. About a quarter mile long (400 meters) and weighing in at 200,000 metric tons, its sheer size is overwhelming the efforts to dig it out. A huge yellow excavator, itself about twice as tall as its driver, looked like childs toy parked next to the ships bulking bow.The situation has gotten so desperate that an elite salvage squad is due to arrive Thursday to work on prising the Ever Given from the bank of the canal, where its blocking oceangoing carriers that haul everything from oil to consumer goods.Still, the best chance for freeing the ship may not come until Sunday or Monday, when the tide will reach a peak, according to Nick Sloane, the salvage master responsible for refloating the Costa Concordia, the cruise ship that capsized on the coast of Italy in 2012. Sloane works as the senior salvage master for Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based Resolve Marine Group.About 12% of global trade goes through the canal, making it so strategic that world powers have fought over the waterway since it was completed in 1869. For now, all that traffic is backed up with the Ever Given aground in the southern part of the canal, creating another setback for global supply chains already strained by the e-commerce boom linked to the pandemic.The Suez Canal blockage comes at a particularly unhelpful time, said Greg Knowler, European editor at JOC Group, which is part of IHS Markit Ltd. Even a two-day delay would further add to the supply chain disruption slowing the delivery of cargo to businesses across the U.K. and Europe.A rough estimate shows the blockage is costing about $400 million an hour, based on calculations from Lloyds List that suggest westbound traffic is worth around $5.1 billion a day and eastbound traffic is approximately $4.5 billion. On Wednesday, 185 vessels were waiting to cross the canal, according to shipping data compiled by Bloomberg, while Lloyds estimates theres 165.About 34 container vessels chartered by Maersk and other shipping lines are either stuck in the canal or en route, according to supply-chain tracking company project44. Preliminary reports show 10 crude tankers carrying a total of 13 million barrels could be affected by the disruption, according to Vortexa Senior Freight Analyst Arthur Richier.The incident began on Tuesday when strong winds blasted through the region and kicked up sands along the banks of the 120-mile-long canal, which connects the Mediterranean in the north with the Red Sea in the south. The waterway is narrow -- less than 675 feet wide (205 meters) in some places -- and can be difficult to navigate when theres poor visibility.But Ever Given stayed its course through the canal, on its way to Rotterdam from China. As gusts that reached as high as 46 miles an hour swept up dust around it, the crew lost control of ship and it careened sideways into a sandy embankment, blocking nearly the entirety of the channel. Its still in the same position as when it ran aground, according to Inchcape.Two canal pilots were onboard when the ship went aground at about 5:40 a.m. The ships last known speed was 13.5 knots at about 5:30 a.m.At the heart of all of this is the ships massive scale.Container vessels have nearly doubled in size in the past decade as global trade expanded, making the job of moving such ships much harder when they get stuck.Even while key routes -- including the Suez Canal -- have been widened and deepened over the years to accommodate the mega-sized vessels, the work to dig them out after they get stuck takes enormous power.The struggle to dislodge the ship is now falling to SMIT Salvage, a legendary Dutch firm whose employees parachute themselves from one ship wreckage to the next, saving vessels often during violent storms. This ship is so heavy that the salvors may have to lighten it by removing things like the ballast water, which helps keep ships steady when theyre at sea. Fuel could also be unloaded.How to Dislodge a 200,000-Ton Ship From a Canal WallThe Suez Canal Authority hasnt commented on the work or given any indication of when traffic could resume.The canal is among the most trafficked waterways in the world, used by tankers shipping crude from the Middle East to Europe and North America, as well as in the opposite direction.The blockage highlights a major risk faced by the shipping industry as more and more ships transit maritime choke points including the Suez, Panama Canal, the Strait of Hormuz and Southeast Asias Malacca Strait. Such occurrences could become more common as ships get bigger and waterways get more congested.Every hour, more vessels -- including container ships, oil tankers, RoRo vessels, and bulk carriers -- are being backed up in the Mediterranean to the north and the Red Sea to the south, said p44s chief executive officer, Jett McCandless. Its another big blow to global trade in an already back-logged and battered supply chain year.Oil companies are starting to prepare for the worst. On Wednesday, there was an uptick in interest from oil companies looking to book tankers with options to avoid the canal, according to a broker, and several bid for space on the pipelines that allow bypass of the waterway completely. For now, thats a just-in-case move. Container ships will most likely have to wait it out, as the main alternative is the unattractive option of sailing around the southern tip of Africa.The disruption comes at a time when oil prices were already volatile. Crude surged above $70 a barrel earlier this month on Saudi production cuts, only to slump close to $60 this week due to setbacks in Europes coronavirus vaccine program. Brent crude rose more than 5% on Wednesday.Ever Givens crew are safe and accounted for, and there have been no reports of injuries or pollution, according to the ships manager, Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement. The vessel is also carrying cargo for logistics company Orient Overseas Container Line Ltd., according to Mark Wong, a spokesman for OOCL.(Adds cost estimate in eight paragraph.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.2021 Bloomberg L.P.

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Brooks Automation Stock Is Estimated To Be Significantly Overvalued - Yahoo Finance

Time is something that most of us want more of, and one way to reclaim some of the minutes in the day is enlist your computer to automatically take care of repetitive tasks like renaming files, resizing images, and launching apps. With the right software, this is doable, and were going to introduce you to some of our favorite tools for the job.

Besides the applications weve mentioned below, individual apps themselves often have features for recording automations or macros, which are combinations of actions that can be repeated again and againwhether thats rotating a photo or saving a text document as a PDF. Its worth digging into the software you use most often to see if those programs have some macro recording capabilities of their own.

In Microsoft Word, for example, open up the View tab on the ribbon menu, then choose Macros and Record Macro to get started. In Adobe Photoshop, you can click the Create new action button (a small plus icon in a box) at the bottom of the Actions dialog box (choose Window and then Actions if you cant see it).

Windows doesnt come with its own macro recorder, but Microsoft has now made Power Automate Desktop free for anyone to download and use. Its an in-depth and complex piece of software, and its not necessarily the tool youd turn to first, but its capable of automating a whole host of tasks across the operating system.

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The good news is, theres no coding required, so in that respect at least its suitable for anyone to just dive in and get going. Click New flow to begin building an automation (called a flow here, as you might have noticed), and from there you can go to the flow designer screen. You can drag and drop actions in from the list on the left, as well as just get the application to record your keyboard and mouse inputs.

Scroll through the list of actions in the left-hand pane to see how broad the reach of Power Automate Desktop actually is. You can manipulate files, folders, emails, clipboard contents, system actions, input devices, files on the web, and more. Its not the simplest tool out there, but once youve mastered its ways youll find it very capable (for a more thorough guide from Microsoft, see here).

Of the third-party options out thereof which there are manyRoboTask is one of the most comprehensive and the most polished. For $150 up front (and then $60 to renew every year), its also one of the most expensive, but you can try it for free for 30 days to see if it gives you the sort of functionality that youd be willing to pay that amount for (you might well find its worth it for the time that you save by using the software). Theres also an older, stripped-down, freeware version of RoboTask that might suit you better.

Once youve got the program up and running, you can click the Create New Task button up in the top left corner to start building macros. Triggers can be anything from a keyboard shortcut to something pasted to the clipboard, while the associated actions cover file and folder manipulations, registry edits, system functions, and more. For some more inspiration, check out some example tasks.

The aptly named Macro Recorder is another option to consider: Its more straightforward and user-friendly than the two options weve mentioned so far, and while youll need to pay $50 to own the software forever, you can try it out for free. It takes a slightly different approach to macro building by simply recording your mouse and keyboard actions and then repeating themalmost like a tape recorder for your computer.

Click Record a new macro to get started, and you can then map out your actions using the mouse and the keyboard as needed. Automations can be edited after recording, so you can tweak them to do exactly what you need them to do, whether its opening up a bunch of images from a memory card or browsing to the same group of websites on demand.

One more tool that we recommend isFree Macro Recorder, which, as the name suggests, is free in its basic form. It works along similar lines as Macro Recorder: You start the recording, you go through the mouse movements and keyboard inputs that are needed to complete the task you want to automate, and then the program repeats the process whenever you need it to.

You dont get much in the way of editing and configuration options (not without paying anyway), but for creating fast and simple macros, it gets the job done. The program does let you choose how fast your macros are repeated, and you can automatically launch applications at the same time, in case the automations depend on a certain piece of software being open.

When it comes to built-in macOS tools, Automator is the one you want to fire up if you need the same repetitive task done over and over again. It can handle everything from file operations to image editing, and while its not the easiest tool for beginners to learn, theres a lot that you can do with it.

After youve launched Automator, youll be asked to create a new automated task, which is known as a workflow. Youve got several different types to choose from: Workflow is the default option (macros that run from inside Automator), but theres also Application (standalone macros), Folder Action (macros applied as soon as a file is moved to a certain folder), and Calendar Alarm (macros run on a schedule), among others.

While we dont have room here for a full and in-depth guide to Automator, Apple has a reasonably helpful tutorial here. The easiest way to get started is to build an automation from the default actions listed under the Library heading on the left: You can use them to do everything from finding specific songs in your music library to moving particular items in Finder to the Trash.

A quick web search will lead you to a whole host of potential uses for Automator which may give you some inspiration: renaming batches of files, pulling text out of a PDF, quitting all open applications at once, resizing large groups of images, turning the contents of the clipboard into a text file, and so on. Automator does take some time to learn, but you can start off small and work your way up as you get more comfortable with it.

In terms of third-party options, Keyboard Maestro is one of the most popular choices: It will set you back a hefty $36, but there is a free trial available so you can see for yourself whether its going to be worth the investment.

Keyboard Maestro is a little easier to get around than Automator, and the opening tutorial is useful for beginners if youve got no idea where to start. It also includes a manual record option, so if you want you can simply go through the actions of the macro you want to create on your Mac while the program logs every step.

New automations can be created from the little + (plus) icon on the bar at the foot of the interface. Youll then be asked to give your macro a name. Use New Trigger to decide how to launch the macro (with a keyboard shortcut, for example, or by the time of day), and then click New Action to decide what happens as a result. You can do everything from nudge up the system volume to copy a file somewhere.

Click around the lists of triggers and actions to get an idea of whats possible with Keyboard Maestro. You can manage files, images, applications, the system clipboard, text input, music playback, system notifications, the default Safari web browser, and more. The All Actions category gives you everything together in one master list, and if theres something you can do on your Mac, its highly likely that Keyboard Maestro is going to be able to automate it for you.

The Macro Recorder tool that we mentioned in the Windows section above can also be used on macOS, and you can test out a demo version for free to decide if you want to pay the full $50 asking price. Its more straightforward than Automator and Keyboard Maestro, and easier to pick up right from the start, but you can still build some fairly complex macros with the software.

Read more:

How to Automate Every Task on Windows or macOS - Gizmodo

UI-licious co-founders, chief technology officer Eugene Cheah (left) and chief executive officer Shi Ling Tai (right)

UI-licious, a Singapore-based startup that simplifies automated user interface testing for web applications, announced today it has raised $1.5 million in pre-Series A funding. The round was led by Monks Hill Ventures and will be used to grow UI-licious product development and marketing teams.

Founded in 2016 by Shi Ling Tai and Eugene Cheah, UI-licious serves companies of all sizes, and its current clients include Daimler, Jones Lang LaSalle and tech recruitment platform Glints.

Tai, UI-licious chief executive officer, said that about 90% of software teams around the world rely on manual testing, which is both time-consuming and expensive. UI-licious enables users to write test scripts in pseudocode, or a language that is similar to plain English and therefore accessible to people with little programming experience.

A screenshot of UI-licious test reporting feature

Software teams can then schedule how often the tests run. UI-licious proprietary smart targeting test engine supports all browsers and allows the same scripts to be run even if there are changes in a web applications user interface or underlying code. It also produces detailed error reports to reduce the time needed to find and fix a bug.

When asked how UI-licious compares to other automated user interface testing solutions, Tai told TechCrunch, Coded solutions require a trained engineer to inspect the websites code to write the test scripts. The problem is that most software testers are not trained programmers, sometimes they may be the marketing or sales team that owns the project. And while there are other no-code solutions that allow non-programmers to record their actions and replay it, such tests tend to become obsolete quickly as the UI changes.

UI-licious selling point is that it is designed to make it accessible for anyone to automate UI testing and set up error alerts without needing to know how to code, she added. UI-licious also reduces the effort to maintain the tests as the UI code changes with its smart targeting test engine.

In press statement, Monks Hill Ventures partner Justin Nguyen said, Co-founders Shi Ling and Eugene have developed a product to address the quality assurance issues that have plagued the software automation industry for decades, adding that the teams experience as software engineers has equipped them with the technical knowledge and insights to build a simple and robust tool that empowers manual testers to automate testing and detect bugs before users do.

See the article here:

UI-licious gets $1.5M led by Monks Hill Ventures to simplify automated UI testing for web apps - TechCrunch

DUBLIN, March 24, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Micro Motors - Global Market Trajectory & Analytics" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

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The Future of Automation is Smart, Fast & Small. Hanging On to the Big Growth of Small Bots, Micro Motors Market to Reach US$ 35.6 Billion

The global market for Micro Motors is expected to slump by -17.9% in the year 2020 before recovering to reach US$ 35.6 billion by the year 2027, trailing a post COVID-19 CAGR of 4.1%, over the analysis period 2020 through 2027.

With manufacturing being the worst impacted by the pandemic, it's a bleak outlook for micro motors for the year 2020. A rolling disaster, the pandemic has slowed down economic activity and has pushed the global economy into a steep recession. The asphyxiated economy has set into motion a cascading effect of a marked recession which is being felt by businesses and consumers alike. With roots in China, the world's supply chains are facing unprecedented disruption & shutdown.

Interwoven with a demand crisis, the supply chain shocks are exerting a compounded blow to manufacturing companies worldwide. Division of labor, modular manufacturing strategies, outsourcing to reduce costs and increase the efficiency, consistency, and quality of each operations, have made the manufacturing sector most vulnerable amid the lockdown restrictions.

Business investment confidence is tumbling amidst poor demand, falling profits, liquidity crunch and a reeling global economy. The great lockdown of 2020 has crushed the global economy and with it the manufacturing sector. The loss in consumer confidence and erosion of household wealth and discretionary spending will impact virtually every industry and business worldwide. Global merchandize trade is expected to plummet by 15% to 30% in the year 2020 highlighting the magnitude of disruption. Against this backdrop, it requires very little speculation to measure the impact on manufacturing.

Story continues

In the United States alone over 80% of manufacturers are bracing for losses. The impact will mean crunch on capital resources; workforce layoffs/reduction and loss in productivity; supply chain disruptions; difficulties with funding; and increase in cybersecurity risks and fraud.

Unlike IT services where work is being carried out remotely via internet and cloud platforms, for the manufacturing industry, plant activities and production cannot be carried remotely and therefore remains worst affected. The slower economic activity means reduced demand for industrial and consumer goods and lower manufacturing orders. In the midst of this crisis, demand for all non-essential automation and robotics is declining sending knock-on effects into the upstream value chain.

The unique properties of micro motors make it suitable for use in advanced electrical and electronics systems with space constraints and restricted power budgets. In the post COVID-19 period, industrial automation, automotive and 3D printing will witness high growth rate due to rising adoption of automation in order to improve efficiency and reduce turnaround time. The rise in lab automation also bodes well for micro motors market driven by growing need for precision motion control solutions.

Micro motors find application as miniature piezo motors in medical pipette, telemedicine robots, MRI robot, endoscopy surgical precision, robotic biopsy system, infusion pumps, ultrasound transducer, and pharmaceutical dispensing among others. Brushless motors are expected to witness heightened demand in automotive applications, such as in plug-in electric vehicles with electromechanically-driven powertrain and chassis systems.

Key Topics Covered:

I. METHODOLOGY

II. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1. MARKET OVERVIEW

Impact of Covid-19 and a Looming Global Recession

Weak Economic Environment Discourages Market Prospects

Limited Market Opportunities amid Subdued Industrial Activity

A Prelude to Micro Motors

Global Prospects & Outlook for the Micro Motors Market

Competition

WORLD BRANDS

2. FOCUS ON SELECT PLAYERS (Total 70 Featured):

ABB Ltd.

ABShot Tecnics S.L.

Buhler Motor GmbH

Changzhou Fulling Motor Co., Ltd.

Constar Micromotor Co., Ltd.

FAULHABER Group

Johnson Electric Holdings Limited

Mabuchi Motor Co., Ltd.

maxon motor AG

Nidec Corporation

Precision Microdrives Limited

Printed Motor Works Limited

Shinano Kenshi Co., Ltd.

Siemens AG

Telco Intercontinental Corporation

3. MARKET TRENDS & DRIVERS

As Automation Becomes Part of Growing Industries, Processes and Factories, Demand Rises for Micro Motors

Factory Automation Opens Up Lucrative Opportunities

Growing Use of Robotic Devices Gives Rise to Market Demand

Industry 4.0 and Smart Factories Trends Present Tremendous Potential for Servo Motors and Drives Market

Automotive Industry's Shift towards Advanced and Efficient Automation Technologies Augurs Well for the Market

Recovery in Automotive Industry Post COVID -19 to Support Demand

Rising Prominence of Energy Efficient Electric Vehicles to Spur Demand for Micro Motors

Increase in Lab Automation Bodes Well for Micro Motors

Increasing Demand for Micro Motors from the Healthcare Sector

Role of Micro Motors in Targeted Drug Delivery Systems

Increasing Mechanization of Agricultural Operations Boosts Micro Motors Demand

Increasing Demand for Micro Motors from 3D Printing

Select Innovations and Advancements

Mirmex Motors Develops a Novel Method for High Power Density Micro Motor Windings Production

Research Team Develops Micro Motors that can exploit Biological Environment

New Structural Color Barcode Micro Motors Developed

Bioservo Technologies Develops Ironhand, a Micro Motors-Integrated Robotic Glove

4. GLOBAL MARKET PERSPECTIVE

III. MARKET ANALYSIS

IV. COMPETITION

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/4g1opx

Media Contact:

Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager press@researchandmarkets.com

For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900

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Global Micro Motors Market Report 2021: As Automation Becomes Part of Growing Industries, Processes and Factories, Demand Rises for Micro Motors -...

GRIMSBY, OntarioMarch 23, 2021Cimcorp, a manufacturer and integrator of turnkey robotic order fulfillment and tire handling solutions, announces the successful implementation of a robotic Layer Pick solution to third-party logistics (3PL) provider GEODIS at its warehouse located in Clayton, Indiana. Cimcorp has partnered with systems integrator Advanced Handling Systems (AHS) for the project, in which Cimcorps technology is integrated into an automated distribution solution. As a key solution feature, the Layer Pick system will enable faster order fulfillment and ensure complete picking accuracy.

A global supply chain operator, GEODIS provides logistics, transport and supply chain management services to companies around the world. At the Clayton facility, GEODIS specifically handles warehousing and distribution operations for one of the largest suppliers of over-the-counter health products in North America.

Rob Thyen, SVP Engineering & Facilities, GEODIS, said, Businesses today are looking for a 3PL partner that can keep up with rising consumer demands and solve complex logistical challengesand one of the best ways to do so is through automation. By offering this automated solution, we were able to win the business of a major consumer goods provider, and we feel confident that the solution will deliver the speed and efficiency necessary to best serve our clients needs.

Cimcorps Layer Pick solution will drastically increase throughput for GEODIS, picking a notable 3,000 layers of product a day in just two shiftswith 100-percent accuracy, full product traceability and no need for manual picking.

Derek Rickard, Sales Manager at Cimcorp, said, Our Layer Pick solution is ideal when you need to rapidly and accurately pick orders in layered quantities from a large volume of inventory. The system is also flexible and compact, making it much easier for 3PL providers (like GEODIS) to integrate automation into their existing facilities and operations. Were excited to work together with Advanced Handling Systems and GEODIS, and look forward to a long partnership with both supply chain leaders.

About GEODIS http://www.geodis.comGEODIS is a top-rated, global supply chain operator recognized for its commitment to helping clients overcome their logistical constraints. GEODIS growth-focused offerings (Supply Chain Optimization, Freight Forwarding, Contract Logistics, Distribution & Express, and Road Transport) coupled with the companys truly global reach thanks to a direct presence in 67 countries, and a global network spanning 120 countries, translates in top business rankings, #1 in France, #6 in Europe and #7 worldwide. In 2020, GEODIS accounted for over 41,000 employees globally and generated 8.3 billion in sales.

About Cimcorp Cimcorp Grouppart of Murata Machinery, Ltd. (Muratec)is a leading global supplier of turnkey automation for intralogistics, using advanced robotics, material handling and software technologies. As well as being a manufacturer and integrator of pioneering material handling systems for the tire industry, Cimcorp has developed unique robotic solutions for order fulfillment and storage for the food & beverage, retail, e-commerce, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and postal services sectors. Together with its parent company, Cimcorp boasts a worldwide network of service locations. Designed to reduce operating costs, ensure traceability and improve efficiency, these systems are used within manufacturing and distribution centers in over 40 countries across six continents. For more information, visit http://www.cimcorp.com.

About AHSAHS is a full-service provider of integrated fulfillment and distribution solutions within the supply chain. For more than 45 years, AHS has combined the power of creative design with a strategic selection of equipment and robotic manufacturers to create best-in-class fulfillment and distribution solutions for a wide variety of industries and clients. We are uniquely equipped with AHS' proven 6-step DesignBuild process to understand our customers' Current State. This understanding allows us to provide solutions that streamline and improve employee productivity, order cycle times, and order accuracy supporting what AHS refers to as the Future State. AHS continues to focus on accommodating the ongoing interest and deployment of high-end automation, goods-to-person, and AMRs along with traditional fulfillment solutions for our customers. For more information, visit http://www.ahs1.com

Original post:

Cimcorp Partners with GEODIS to Introduce Automated Layer Picking as Innovative Warehouse Solution - DC Velocity