Intro

Good morning and welcome to the future 👋

The jury is still out as to whether remote working is hampering or enhancing efficacy among information workers. Microsoft has been in the news twice recently regarding home office.

On the one hand, it has co-published a Nature article that shows that overall collaboration efficiency is declining; on the other, the company has announced an indefinite extension to its remote working policy for almost all its staff…

Today’s update is 287 words, 1.4 minutes

Snippets

👓 Smart glasses privacy concerns: Last Friday, we reported the launch of the Facebook/RayBan collaboration on smart glasses. While the news has created quite a buzz in the industry, concerns are also emerging. The Italian authorities have revealed that they are seeking clarification on potential privacy issues. Reuters →

🦹‍♀️ Flawed genius or scheming villain? The latest scandal shaking up Silicon Valley is the trial of Elizabeth Holmes, genius turned villain in the saga of medical-testing company Theranos. Will she emerge as the young, ambitious entrepreneur who simply made human errors or the cold, calculating architect of one of the biggest scams to hit the industry? Stay tuned… Wired →

🏠 Microsoft stays home: The continuing Covid-19 threat has prompted Microsoft to implement an indefinite continuation of its work-from-home (WFH) policy for the majority of its US staff. To improve the remote-working experience for staff and customers alike, the company has also announced enhancements to its Teams communication app. CNBC →

📉 WFH collaboration challenges: Although the extension to the WFH mandate is undoubtedly a responsible and sensible decision, a new report on work patterns and behaviors among Microsoft staff suggests that remote working is having a serious impact on communication and collaboration that could ultimately lead to a decrease in productivity and innovation. Microsoft Blog →

⏱️ Inspiring the right questions: Quality vs. time in product development — the eternal dilemma. But maybe we have simply been asking ourselves the wrong questions. The author of this article certainly thinks so. She challenges the reader to consider taking a very different perspective, sometimes leading to a radical solution… Medium →