Rise and Shine: Your Dose Of Business Tech Inspiration

Passkeys are being promoted as the future of secure authentication, with Apple, Google, and Microsoft pushing them as superior replacements for passwords. While passkeys do eliminate many security vulnerabilities like phishing and password reuse, they introduce new risks that are rarely discussed openly. Business owners need to understand that increased security comes with reduced control, vendor...

December brings a rush to finish work before the holiday break, and in the chaos, critical technology tasks often get forgotten until something breaks. Every year, business owners make predictable mistakes that could easily be prevented with proper preparation. From untested backups to expired credit cards on subscriptions, these oversights can leave businesses offline, unable to process payments,...

Artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT are becoming less reliable despite continued updates, with users reporting increasingly inaccurate responses delivered with complete confidence. The latest ChatGPT updates have left many users frustrated as the system provides definitively wrong answers without any indication of uncertainty or qualification. Understanding the limitations of AI tools and l...

Artificial intelligence is now being used to detect copyright violations in podcasts and videos, and even creators using royalty-free music are getting flagged incorrectly. Spotify and other platforms have implemented AI systems to protect artists from copyright infringement, but these systems sometimes fail to recognise when content creators have the proper licences and attributions. This creates...

Google is rolling out Gemini AI across Gmail and Google Workspace, and many users are concerned about how their email data is being used to train artificial intelligence. There are concerns about privacy, data protection, and whether Google is using your personal information without adequate transparency. Understanding what Google is actually doing with your data and how you can protect your priva...

When staff members take holiday leave, critical business systems can become inaccessible if proper planning is not in place. A missing login credential, an unchecked inbox, or an unavailable team member on Christmas Eve can stall operations entirely. The solution involves safely sharing access credentials, documenting processes, and building systems that function regardless of who is available at...

Taking time off during the holiday period means returning to an overflowing inbox that creates immediate overwhelm. Everyone tries to squeeze in one last request before Christmas, your inbox fills rapidly, and the temptation to reply when you should be resting undermines your break. Without proper boundaries and systems, you either sacrifice your time off responding to emails or face hundreds of m...

December cash flow becomes problematic when clients shut down early, accounts teams disappear on holiday, and payments stall. Your expenses increase from holiday stock and staffing whilst income slows dramatically between mid-December and late January. Waiting until payment problems occur leaves you scrambling to chase invoices during the busiest time of year. Setting up automated reminders and re...

Heading into the holiday period without confirming your critical systems are working creates unnecessary risk. Discovering your website is down, your payment processor has stopped working, or your contact forms are routing to deleted email addresses whilst you are trying to enjoy time off forces stressful emergency responses. Running systematic tech checks now means you can actually take your brea...

Customers assume your website information is accurate. When your site displays standard operating hours during holiday closures or reduced schedules, you create frustration, damage trust, and risk negative reviews. People arrive at closed shopfronts, encounter unanswered phones, or receive no email responses because they relied on outdated website information. Automating your holiday hours across...

Overwhelmed by tech buzzwords like SAP, AI, or cloud computing? Chris Carter breaks it all down for small business owners in plain English — and even throws in a few jokes about alcohol, travel fails, and cybersecurity nightmares. 📌 In this episode, you’ll learn: ✅ What SAP actually is and why small businesses might need it ✅ How using your own data (and not others’) improves AI performance ✅...

November is the perfect window to audit your website before the holiday chaos begins. Whilst things are still relatively calm, you have time to catch outdated information, test broken features, and ensure your site accurately reflects what your business offers right now rather than six months ago. Waiting until December means customers will encounter incorrect business hours, disconnected contact...

Microsoft has integrated Copilot AI directly into Windows 11 Notepad, transforming what was once the simplest text editor into an AI-powered writing assistant. Whilst this feature can help you rewrite text, generate content, and adjust tone, it fundamentally changes a tool that many people valued specifically because it was fast, simple, and kept everything local on your computer. In this episode,...

Windows 11 Copilot runs automatically on your PC, but what's the real cost? Microsoft's built-in AI assistant affects performance, battery life, and privacy in ways most users don't realise. In this episode, Charly covers: ✅ Resource usage: RAM, battery drain, and background processes 📌 Privacy concerns about what Copilot accesses on your system 🛡️ Performance impact on computers wit...

Setting up auto-replies in M365 sounds easy—until you're on a limited plan like Outlook Online Plan 1. In this episode, Charly shares the surprisingly tricky process he followed to auto-respond only to specific emails (like contact form inquiries), using Power Automate instead of built-in Outlook settings. 📌 You’ll learn: ✅ Why standard M365 plans don’t support filtered auto-replies ✅ How t...

Music By: https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/licenses/ Paradise Found is covered under Creative Commons. "Paradise Found" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/0 If you're using Google Workspace and want to auto-reply to specific emails (like website inquiries) during the holidays, Charly...

Need to let people know you're away over the holidays without replying to every email? In this episode, Charly walks you through how to set up an auto-responder in Zoho Mail — perfect for small teams, community clubs, and businesses winding down for the festive season. 📌 You’ll learn: ✅ How to create filters that trigger auto-responses ✅ What subject lines and sender addresses to use ✅ Tip...

Music: https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/licenses/ Paradise Found is covered under Creative Commons. "Paradise Found" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Scam emails are getting sneakier — especially ones that pretend to be from Microsoft 365. In this episode, Charly breaks down a real ph...

Charly nearly fell for a scam email that looked like it came from Cloudflare — until he took a breath and had a proper look. In this episode, he walks through how he spotted it and what to do if you receive one just like it. 📌 You’ll learn: ✅ The telltale signs of a phishing email (even the sneaky ones) ✅ Why acting too quickly is a trap scammers count on ✅ What you should never click on witho...

Think uploading big, beautiful photos helps your website? It might be slowing it down and killing your SEO. In this episode, Charly dives deep into how compressing and resizing your images can drastically improve your page load speed, boost search rankings, and lower bandwidth use — all without sacrificing quality. 📌 You’ll discover: ✅ The difference between lossy and lossless compression ✅ Why...

Is your website at risk of slowing down — or disappearing — because of bandwidth limits? In this episode, Charly breaks down what bandwidth really means, why unlimited plans aren't truly unlimited, and how to avoid overpaying or getting penalized when traffic spikes. 📌 You’ll learn: ✅ The difference between bandwidth and data transfer ✅ How media size and traffic affect your usage ✅ Real math...

🛡️ Tips to reduce bandwidth usage and avoid surprise bills: Use a CDN like Cloudflare Compress images with TinyPNG or WordPress plugins like Smush Offload videos to platforms like YouTube🔗 Tools: GTMetrix, Pingdom, Smush, TinyPNG Whether you’re just starting out or scaling fast, this guide helps you make smarter hosting choices.

Wondering whether to use a subdomain (like blog.mysite.com) or a subdirectory (like mysite.com/blog) for your blog, store, or support portal? In this episode, Charly explains the difference — and why it matters for SEO, branding, and user trust. He also reveals a clever WordPress setup tip that improves site security and makes updates easier. 📌 In this episode: ✅ When to use subdomains vs. subdi...

Whether you're retiring, selling your business, or just moving on — shutting down your website isn’t as simple as hitting “delete.” In this episode, Charly walks you through the smart, secure, and professional way to close a website without burning digital bridges or losing vital data. 📌 You’ll learn: ✅ Why your domain name and email might still stay active ✅ How to make a full website and...

Deloitte used AI to help produce a government report — and it backfired badly. From fake quotes to non-existent references, this “trusted” report cost them a partial refund and a reputational hit. But this episode isn’t about politics. It’s about what happens when we stop asking, “Does this make sense?” 📌 In this episode, Charly breaks down: ✅ Why AI confidently delivers incorrect info (aka “hal...