After 2024's CrowdStrike-induced outage, IT leaders are more worried about when the next outage will be, not if therell be one.

When you think about it, a New Years resolution is actually a pretty drastic step to take in the quest to change your behavior. After all, if there is something you want to do differently, you start by just trying to act differently in the future than you did in the past. You only need a resolution when you have tried to make that change, and it just wont stick.Part of what is likely to make a behavior hard to change is that your personality gets in the way. What psychologists call personality is a reflection of your typical motivation in different situations. The hardest behaviors for you to change tend to be the ones that work against that typical motivation.Lets take a look at a few common personality traits, the kinds of resolutions youre most likely to want to make, and a some suggestions for how to be more successful next year.The largest differences in personality between people are reflected in what are called the Big Five traits. They go by the acronym OCEAN: Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism.Openness to ExperienceOpenness to experience reflects your motivation to engage with new things. People who are high in openness tend to embrace new opportunities, while those who are low in openness often stick with what is familiar. A common resolution for people who are low in openness is that they would like to try more new things in the new year. This often happens, because they feel like they are stuck in a rut.Just committing to this goal is often not enough. You have to recognize that you are motivated to engage with what you know rather than doing new things. That means that you have to be mindful about engaging in new things. It can help to find a friend who is high in openness to introduce you to things you have not tried before. Often, the social pressure can help you to overcome your desire to revert back to what you normally do. Its also useful to remember that the worst case when you try something new is that you dont like it that much, while the best case is that you discover something else to add to your repertoire.ExtroversionExtroverts are motivated to bask in the glow of attention from other people. Introverts dont love the spotlight, but prefer to work behind the scenes. Introverts often feel like they need to spend more time in big social situations than they do, and may resolve to get out more or to network more in business.A happy middle ground for introverts is to work to meet more people in the new year, but to do it in ways that are motivationally comfortable. Rather than going to parties or big networking events, which can feel overwhelming and lead to a desire to run for the hills, stick with small engagements. Email someone you dont know well and grab a cup of coffee with them. Try going to lunch with one or two colleagues a few times a week. Look for an activity that you enjoy and do it more socially. Instead of running alone, for example, join a running group. That way, you achieve the goal of broadening your social circle without having to put yourself in an anxiety-provoking situation.ConscientiousnessConscientiousness reflects your tendency to complete the things you start. People high in conscientiousness also tend to be rule-followers, while those who are lower in conscientiousness treat rules as mere guidelines.If youre high in conscientiousness, you may find yourself getting annoyed at others who do not do things the way youd like to. You may resolve to be less judgmental next year. Thats hard to do, though, because you notice all the lapses in other peoples work. You can help yourself succeed in this task by reminding yourself that not everyone is as motivated to be as attentive to detail as you are. In addition, pay attention to the circumstances that other people are in. Sometimes, they do not follow through on a commitment because they have more significant priorities.If you are low in conscientiousness, then you may find many resolutions hard to stick to. For you, it can be helpful to fill out a journal to support your attempts to change behavior. You might also want to find another person who is good at the behavior youre trying to change and use them as an accountability partner to outsource some of the work you need to do to succeed.AgreeablenessAgreeableness reflects your motivation to be liked by others. Those high in agreeableness prioritize being liked by others. Those low in agreeableness are not strongly motivated to have others like them.A paradox of being high in agreeableness is that you are liked, but you are not always respected, because you often do not stand up for yourself and uphold standards you think are important. Leaders who are high in agreeableness may find it difficult to give constructive criticism or tell employees that they have not met key standards.To become better at giving other people bad news, it can be valuable to develop a script for criticism. Rather than using the infamous (and ineffective) shit sandwich in which you slip the criticism in between two compliments, you can use the XYZ approach. When a direct report does something wrong, you can say, You did X; it caused Y; and in the future I would like you to do Z. This formulation is easy to remember and succeeds, because it is direct, to the point, and focuses on someones actions rather than their motivations.An added advantage of this frame is that people often take it well. One way to improve at delivering critical feedback is to recognize that when you do, its often appreciated by others, so that youre actually solidifying a relationship rather than wrecking it when you coach people through situations in which they did not succeed.NeuroticismFinally, neuroticism reflects the energy flowing through your motivational system. Because people high in neuroticism have a lot of motivational energy, they experience high highs and low lows. In addition, they tend to focus on potential problems and end up feeling a lot of anxiety.Many neurotic individuals will get angry or upset at work when something goes wrong, and that can damage relationships with colleagues. To minimize the damage that can come from a powerful emotional reaction, work on skills to lower your emotional energy when you find yourself becoming frustrated. Take deep breaths. Ask for a little time to disengage from a situation. Respond slowly rather than immediately. These techniques can help to lower the temperature when youre frustrated.If you find yourself consumed by worry about things that are out of your control, then try writing about the situations that concern you. Expressive writing like this helps to get the factors that lead to worry outside of your head, which makes you less likely to engage in a cycle of thoughts that maintain your anxiety.

From car companies unveiling new identities as part the shift to electric vehicles to a kitchen-cupboard favourite getting its first new look in more than a century, here are the top seven rebrands and logo redesigns of 2024.JaguarBritish car brandJaguar unveiled a new logo and wordmark as part of the company's shift away from making petrol-powered cars towards electric only.The new branding centres around an uppercase J and lowercase r, both of which feature prominently in the wordmark and logo."New Jaguar is a brand built around exuberant modernism," said Jaguar chief creative officer Gerry McGovern. "It is imaginative, bold and artistic at every touchpoint. It is unique and fearless."The new design attracted significant controversy, and Jaguar's accompanying reveal of a new concept car also divided opinion.Find out more about the Jaguar rebrand Herman MillerNew York design studio Order delivered furniture brand Herman Miller's first rebrand since the 1990s, centring the design around the company's mid-century modern heritage.Order removed the distinct swooping M symbol from a red circle and placed it next to the brand's name, which is rendered in theShne typeface by Klim Type Foundry, "to again celebrate the symbol in its simplest form".Find out more about the Herman Miller rebrand Mountain DewMountain Dew's first rebrand since 2009 aimed to place the "mountain" front and centre, featuring a landscape background, as well as restoring the word "mountain" to the logo.According to PepsiCo, the new identity aims to emphasise the soft drink is "synonymous with adventure" and showcases a calmer, more nature-invoking appearance compared to the energetic green shards of the 2009 iteration.Find out more about the Mountain Dew rebrand LamborghiniItalian automakerLamborghini unveiled a new, flattened logo as part of an overall brand strategy towards sustainability and decarbonisation, including introducing the brand's first fully electrified model.The new logo was simplified into a 2D expression, while its signature bull symbol will exist independently from the surrounding shield across the brand's digital assets for the first time.Find out more about the Lamborghini logo New York JetsThe New York Jets NFL team reintroduced a jet symbol back into its logo as a nod to its origins during the team's New York Sack Exchange era, although the franchise made sure to modernise the branding as well."It's italicised, the plane is moving. So you get this notion of a forward-thinking logo as much as it's something from our history," New York Jets vice president of fan commerce Chris Pierce told Dezeen.Find out more about the New York Jets rebrand Lyle's Golden SyrupLyle's Golden Syrup is confirmed by Guinness World Records as the oldest unchanged brand packaging, but Tate & Lyle Sugars this year updated the logo for the first time since its origins in thelate 19th century.To some pushback from commentators, the company removed the logo's dead lion at its centre and religious tagline, replacing both with a flattened, simplified lion head and its established date.Find out more about the Lyle's Golden Syrup redesign AudiLike Jaguar and Lamborghini, German car maker Audi also unveiled a new visual identity as part of the move towards electrified vehicles.The new logo, rolled out only for the Chinese market, does away with the brand's four-ring logo, opting instead for the brand's Audi wordmark in an uppercase, Tron-style sans serif.Find out more about the Audi logo The post The top rebrands and logo redesigns of 2024 appeared first on Dezeen.

Production director Chuck Byas explains how game art creation is changing.

We saw some wicked designs this year.

By learning lessons from other sectors, public health can ensure it is ready to face future outbreaks in record time.

MacworldWhile Google and Samsung and other Android phone makers make big proclamations about how long their handsets will receive OS updates, Apple doesnt offer the same guarantees. No mattera new report claims that iOS 19 will support the same phones as iOS 18extending the shelf life of the iPhone XR, XS, and XS Max for an incredible seven years.When iOS 17 dropped support for the iPhone X, it seemed that succeeding models would follow suit. However, iOS 18 kept support for the same phones (XR/XS and later) despite launching the spec-demanding Apple Intelligence. Now a new report claims that iOS 19 will have the same compatibility list, a remarkable two years since the last iPhone model was dropped.The rumor comes from the French-language site iPhoneSoft, which has a solid track record for compatibility predictions. If accurate, it means the iPhone XS/XS/XS Max will gain OS updates until at least August 2025, nearly eight years after it launched in September 2018. Add an extra year of security updates once full support is dropped and youre looking at nearly a decade of updates for a $749 phone.iPhoneSoft also reports that Apple will drop support for the 7th-gen iPad, which was released in 2019. That model runs an A10 Fusion processor, which is two generations older than the A12 Bionic in the iPhone XR. We dont expect Apple Intelligence requirements to change with iOS 19.Apple is expected to preview iOS 19 at WWDC 2025 in June before releasing the update to the public in September.

MacworldWhen you have an apps windows sized just as you want them in macOS, it can be a shock when a slight movement in Sequoia suddenly causes the window to balloon to fill the screen. What changed? Apple added new options in System Settings > Desktop & Dock in the Windows section that can help you manage windows, but theres one you may want to disable.Apple beefed up the Windows section between macOS 14 Sonoma and 15 Sequoia. In 13 Ventura and 14 Sonoma, you had the first three options: Prefer tabs when opening documents, Ask to keep changes when closing documents, and Close windows when quitting an application. Sequoia added a whopping four new ones:Drag windows to screen edges to tileDrag windows to menu bar to fill screenHold [Option] key while dragging windows to tileTiled windows have marginsThese tiling options are superb shortcuts when you need help with simple window organization. You can also hover over the green expand/resize button in the upper-left corner of any window to reveal a dropdown menu with several more options for arranging, filling, and resizing. (Also check out the third-party Moom app for a greater array of controllable tiling options; see our review.)But the culprit among the new choices shown above for unexpected window action is Drag windows to menu bar to fill screen. It doesnt take much of a slip to move the window to the top and have it resize. Unless thats an option you can see yourself employing regularly, I suggest disabling it. This leaves the array of other choices available and lets you avoid an accidental resize.This Mac 911 article is in response to a question submitted by Macworld reader Cynthia.Ask Mac 911Weve compiled a list of the questions we get asked most frequently, along with answers and links to columns:read our super FAQto see if your question is covered. If not, were always looking for new problems to solve! Email yours tomac911@macworld.com, including screen captures as appropriate and whether you want your full name used. Not every question will be answered; we dont reply to emails, and we cannot provide direct troubleshooting advice.

The top Medium stories of 2024 by reads and sharesPublished inThe Medium BlogSent as aNewsletter3 min readJust now-- Its our last issue of 2024. If youve been reading since January, thank you!Issue #238: better meetings + blob peopleThis week, weve shared top highlights, responses, publications, and new writers of the year. But more than anything, Medium is a home for stories so, we dug through our trove of data to bring you a list of 2024s top stories by views and reads. [Please imagine a drumroll here, but instead of drums its the clacking sound of millions of writers tapping furiously on their laptops or mechanical keyboards of choice] The top stories of 2024 areMy Statement on President Bidens Announcement by Former President Barack ObamaCommon side effects of not drinking by cultural anthropologist Karolina Kozmana50 Completely True Things by Palestinian-American creative Mo HusseiniThe secret life of people with high self-control (its easier than you think) by user researcher Riikka IivanainenThe art of disappearing by writer RemiHow an empty S3 bucket can make your AWS bill explode by Senior Software Engineer at Semantive Maciej PocwierzThis must be the place by writer Jennifer PahlkaThe Dramatic Shift of the 2024 Paris Olympic Pictograms by game designer and programmer Elijah CobbWhy I Put Pronouns on my Email Signature (and LinkedIn profile) and You Should Too by trans non-fiction writer Max MasureThe Beauty of Trying by writer thekidultwriterAnd here are the top 10 stories by the number of times they were shared across the internet:Explore more top stories in our end-of-year post.Were taking a break next week, but well see you back here in 2025 with more stories, ideas, and perspectives to deepen understanding. Harris Sockel and the team @ Medium One more story: On remote workIm biased because this story is written by one of my colleagues, Medium Chief of Staff Brittany Jezouit but Brittany really is one of the best Zoom meeting facilitators on Earth. Ive never been in a meeting led by Brittany that didnt feel worth my time. Here are three of her tips, worth keeping in your back pocket for 2025:Implement a no chat rule to help everyone stay focused on the conversation itself (and not on Zooms text chat feature).During meetings, ask your colleagues to close Slack (or Teams, or their inbox).To avoid that who wants to go first? awkwardness, just drop a list of whos talking, in what order, into the chat. And lastlyTaking a page from psychologist Sorina Raluca Bbu: Which blob person are you?Ill go one step further which blob person will you be in 2025?Photo by blobtree.com via Sorina Raluca BbuIll be #8-ing for the next few weeks, but hoping to come roaring back as a #10 in 2025. Tag yourself in the responses, if you like. And happy early New Year, from all of us here at Medium.

HMS Beaglesails through the Straits of Magellan Wikimedia CommonsAfter having been twice driven back by heavy southwestern gales, Her Majestys ship Beagle, a ten-gun brig, under the command of Captain Fitz Roy, R.N., sailed from Devonport on the 27th of December, 1831. So begins The Voyage of the Beagle, Charles Darwins account of his trip around the coast of South America, between the islands of the Galpagos, and back to Englanda journey that inspired his theory of evolution by natural selection.Darwin was a young man of 22 at the time, a recent graduate of Christs College, Cambridge, where his intention to become an Anglican priest had morphed into studies in botany, animal biology and geology.In August 1831, Darwin received a letter from his mentor, fellow geologist John Stevens Henslow, explaining that the Beagles new captain Lieutenant Robert Fitzroy was seeking an assistant who could help with collecting, observing, & noting anything worthy to be noted in Natural History on an upcoming voyage.I have stated that I consider you to be the best qualified person I know of who is likely to undertake such a situation, Henslow wrote.Dawins father, however, took a much different view of his sons qualifications and strongly opposed the voyage. His father wanted him to settle down as a clergyman, so Darwin politely declined the offer. If it were up to him, I should I think, certainly most gladly have accepted the opportunity, Darwin wrote back to Henslow.Just a few days later, his fathers mind changed. Darwin hastened to accept the offer to see the watery part of the world and all its thrilling natural features. The expedition would, in Darwins words, complete the survey of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego survey the shores of Chile, Peru and of some islands in the Pacific.As the Beagle left England on December 27, its crew fell into a routine that would last the next five years. While others dedicated themselves to mapping and surveying work, Darwin took the role of a gentleman naturalist, strolling about and making geological and zoological observations.He religiously kept a journal of his detailed notes as not a record of facts but of my thoughts, as he described it in a letter to his sister. He also became an avid reader of the Principles of Geology by Charles Lyell, a prominent geologist. Among other things, Lyells work aimed to show that small, incremental changes could have profound effects over long periods of time.The Beagle reached the Galpagos Islands, a volcanic archipelago in the Pacific Ocean, in September 1835. As the ship hopped between the islands, Darwin industriously collected all the animals, plants, insects & reptiles from each, he noted in his journal.Later, someone aboard the ship pointed out that the tortoises differed from the different islands, and that he could with certainty tell from which islands any one was brought. This gave the scientist the inkling that evolution could take different paths of speciation depending on an islands unique conditions. Perhaps small changes in species over time, branching out from a single ancestor, could result in starkly unique tortoises, Darwin reasoned.Upon the Beagles return to England in October 1836, the idea was still just an inkling. It would take another 23 years, including a friendship with Lyell and a retreat into English country life, until Darwin fully fleshed out his vision of evolution in the groundbreaking On the Origin of Species. Small things, after all, accumulate when given enough time.Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.Filed Under: Charles Darwin, Evolution, On This Day in History, Ships