Tech Tips, Tricks & Trivia

Over the years, I've relied on digital dictionaries like WordWeb  which is great as a desktop app and the hip & modern  Vocabulary.com to look up meanings or the right words. Of late, I've been using and finding the Google online dictionary service through the "define" operator very useful as it provides: pronunciation aids: audio in different accents (British, American and sometimes Indian English), " non-phonemic pronunciation respelling " which literally "respell" words making use of well-known English words and spelling conventions instead of using formal phonetic transcriptions. word origin chart: helps in knowing a little about the background of the word to better remember and pronounce it. I was pleasantly suprised to know that the word "cushy" is derived from the Urdu word kushi and it now makes sense why it is pronounced as such. a chart showing the word's popularity or usage over time  Google licenses English dictionary...

Paraphrased notes from the HBR article " The Elements of Good Judgment " -  Judgment—the ability to combine personal qualities with relevant knowledge and experience to form opinions and make decisions.  6 components that contribute to good judgment & how to improve them:  Learning - Listen attentively, read critically Trust - Seek diversity, not validation from colleagues & advisors Experience - Make it relevant but not narrow. Challenge assumptions. Detachment - Identify and then challenge biases. Understand, clarify, and accept different viewpoints. Options - Question the solution set offered and debate all the options. Delivery - Factor in the feasibility of execution and risk mitigation plans. Leaders with good judgment skills typically have these qualities: They are good listeners and readers—able to hear what other people actually mean, and thus able to see patterns that others do not. They ask questions which are designed...

This Week I Learned -  * Announced at Microsoft Build : All ChatGPT plugins work w/ Bing or Copilot Bing is the default search experience for ChatGPT Azure OpenAI Studio Windows Copilot Microsoft Fabric, a new platform for analytics *  GitHub builds GitHub with GitHub - GitHub builds GitHub using the full range of capabilities from GitHub Copilot to GitHub Projects, from GitHub Codespaces to GitHub CodeQL. * Microsoft Graph enables you to integrate with the best of Microsoft 365, Windows, and Enterprise Mobility + Security services in Microsoft 365, using REST APIs and client libraries.  * Password spraying is an attack that attempts to access a large number of accounts (usernames) with a few commonly used passwords. Traditional brute-force attacks attempt to gain unauthorized access to a single account by guessing the password. * Spear phishing is a specific and targeted attack on one or a select number of victims, while regular phishing attempts to scam masses of peopl...