Meta has signed an agreement with Sage Geosystems to purchase up to 150 megawatts of geothermal energy to power its US data centers. The first phase of the project is expected to be operational in 2027, according to Reuters. And, according to Meta, it will significantly increase the use of geothermal energy in the United States.
Geothermal energy is renewable energy that uses the heat stored in the earth’s crust, which originates in the earth’s formation and decay of radioactive elements.
The new agreement is part of Meta’s ongoing efforts to meet the increasing demand for energy that has arisen with the company’s major investment in generative AI (genAI) technology, which is very energy-intensive. The financial terms of the agreement were not released.
Apple on Monday confirmed its next big public event will be Sept. 9, when it is expected to introduce the new iPhone 16 range, new Apple Watch models, and AirPods 4, with a focus on artificial intelligence (AI) hinted at by the event slogan, “It’s Glowtime.”
The event will be live-streamed as in past years across YouTube, Apple TV, Apple’s Developer app, and via the company website. The event begins at 10 a.m. PT/ 1 p.m. ET.
Why Glowtime?
When the company introduced Apple Intelligence at WWDC in June, it unveiled an all-new Siri behavior. While for now Siri shows itself to be working on a query by displaying a round pulsing shape on the screen, the new Siri simply glows around the edges of the device. Most Apple commentators believe this is the reference made in the invitation to the event.
While not all of the new Apple Intelligence features are expected to be available when iOS 18 ships, we do anticipate more will arrive later in fall, when new Macs and iPads are also expected to arrive.
What to expect from iPhone 16 range?
As previously discussed, the iPhone 16 range will include the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max. (Recent speculation has claimed a much thinner high-end model, and an entry level iPhone SE upgrade will debut next year.) All the new devices — including the latter — are expected to be capable of running Apple Intelligence, which otherwise requires an iPhone 15 or later.
Big changes in all the iPhones might include a new camera layout, Action and Capture buttons, along with a 5x telephoto zoom on the Pro range. The Pro devices will also get bigger, 6.3- and 6.9-in. displays and improved cameras; there is also talk of the Pro range gaining solid-state buttons, which will make them even more resilient and waterproof.
Apple might also put more memory into the iPhones to provide better support for Apple Intelligence, enabling more complex generative AI (genAI) features to take place on the device. Other tasks will run on Apple’s own secured servers, though users can choose third-party services such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT directly from their iPhone. New colors and a higher 2TB capacity option are also expected.
What’s important is that both the outgoing iPhone 15 range and incoming iPhone 16 models will immediately be the world’s first mass-market AI smartphones, equipped with powerful AI features to help get more work done. Not only that, but up to 25% of the iPhones shipped across the next 12 months might be made in India.
What to expect from the Apple Watch?
The Apple Watch Ultra 3 may once again be the most lusted-after smartwatch. While the internal components will change and the device should become much faster with a new processor, externally it will seem similar, reports claim. It might be available in more colors.
The Apple Watch Series 10 will see more obvious improvements; slimmer, it will also host a bigger display. It is notable that this will be the 10th anniversary of the Apple Watch. Finally, the Apple Watch SE3 could be a lower-cost plastic model available in multiple colors and aimed at younger users, particularly as a way to keep in contact with kids in schools that ban use of smartphones. We could see new heath sensors introduced, but ongoing legal disputes might slow their introduction.
What about AirPods 4?
Though AirPods are not an enterprise product (yet), we know that wherever you have iPhones, you’ll often find AirPods. Now with USB-C charging, the new AirPods will become a range, with both lower-end and mid-range variants, leaving the AirPods Pro as the high-end choice. The AirPods 4 are expected to gain noise cancellation, which will be a great upgrade for many, particularly commuters, travellers, and workers seeking to focus at their desk.
What about iPads?
We’re not expecting iPad Pro news, though there is latespeculation Apple could introduce a new iPad mini and iPad model. These would be good upgrades, as they should host new chips, perhaps even the A17 processor used in the iPhone 15. Inclusion of new Apple processors is essential since the company will want to run Apple Intelligence on these devices.
While AI is the big marketing push, the inclusion of these new processors should make these entry-level iPads significantly more powerful than before. (The current 10th generation iPad runs an A14 Bionic chip.)
There are implications for workplaces deploying iPads across their teams, as the upgraded devices will deliver much more bang per buck, (and computational cycles per watt).
What about Siri?
The Apple invitation’s reference to Siri hints that Apple will reveal even more AI features. That suggests the company hopes to make Siri a far more viable AI assistant than it is at present. Expect more personalization, smarter and more contextual intelligence, and predictive help.
Apple on Monday confirmed its next big public event will be Sept. 9, when it is expected to introduce the new iPhone 16 range, new Apple Watch models, and AirPods 4, with a focus on artificial intelligence (AI) hinted at by the event slogan, “It’s Glowtime.”
The event will be live-streamed as in past years across YouTube, Apple TV, Apple’s Developer app, and via the company website. The event begins at 10 a.m. PT/ 1 p.m. ET.
Why Glowtime?
When the company introduced Apple Intelligence at WWDC in June, it unveiled an all-new Siri behavior. While for now Siri shows itself to be working on a query by displaying a round pulsing shape on the screen, the new Siri simply glows around the edges of the device. Most Apple commentators believe this is the reference made in the invitation to the event.
While not all of the new Apple Intelligence features are expected to be available when iOS 18 ships, we do anticipate more will arrive later in fall, when new Macs and iPads are also expected to arrive.
What to expect from iPhone 16 range?
As previously discussed, the iPhone 16 range will include the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max. (Recent speculation has claimed a much thinner high-end model, and an entry level iPhone SE upgrade will debut next year.) All the new devices — including the latter — are expected to be capable of running Apple Intelligence, which otherwise requires an iPhone 15 or later.
Big changes in all the iPhones might include a new camera layout, Action and Capture buttons, along with a 5x telephoto zoom on the Pro range. The Pro devices will also get bigger, 6.3- and 6.9-in. displays and improved cameras; there is also talk of the Pro range gaining solid-state buttons, which will make them even more resilient and waterproof.
Apple might also put more memory into the iPhones to provide better support for Apple Intelligence, enabling more complex generative AI (genAI) features to take place on the device. Other tasks will run on Apple’s own secured servers, though users can choose third-party services such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT directly from their iPhone. New colors and a higher 2TB capacity option are also expected.
What’s important is that both the outgoing iPhone 15 range and incoming iPhone 16 models will immediately be the world’s first mass-market AI smartphones, equipped with powerful AI features to help get more work done. Not only that, but up to 25% of the iPhones shipped across the next 12 months might be made in India.
What to expect from the Apple Watch?
The Apple Watch Ultra 3 may once again be the most lusted-after smartwatch. While the internal components will change and the device should become much faster with a new processor, externally it will seem similar, reports claim. It might be available in more colors.
The Apple Watch Series 10 will see more obvious improvements; slimmer, it will also host a bigger display. It is notable that this will be the 10th anniversary of the Apple Watch. Finally, the Apple Watch SE3 could be a lower-cost plastic model available in multiple colors and aimed at younger users, particularly as a way to keep in contact with kids in schools that ban use of smartphones. We could see new heath sensors introduced, but ongoing legal disputes might slow their introduction.
What about AirPods 4?
Though AirPods are not an enterprise product (yet), we know that wherever you have iPhones, you’ll often find AirPods. Now with USB-C charging, the new AirPods will become a range, with both lower-end and mid-range variants, leaving the AirPods Pro as the high-end choice. The AirPods 4 are expected to gain noise cancellation, which will be a great upgrade for many, particularly commuters, travellers, and workers seeking to focus at their desk.
What about iPads?
We’re not expecting iPad Pro news, though there is latespeculation Apple could introduce a new iPad mini and iPad model. These would be good upgrades, as they should host new chips, perhaps even the A17 processor used in the iPhone 15. Inclusion of new Apple processors is essential since the company will want to run Apple Intelligence on these devices.
While AI is the big marketing push, the inclusion of these new processors should make these entry-level iPads significantly more powerful than before. (The current 10th generation iPad runs an A14 Bionic chip.)
There are implications for workplaces deploying iPads across their teams, as the upgraded devices will deliver much more bang per buck, (and computational cycles per watt).
What about Siri?
The Apple invitation’s reference to Siri hints that Apple will reveal even more AI features. That suggests the company hopes to make Siri a far more viable AI assistant than it is at present. Expect more personalization, smarter and more contextual intelligence, and predictive help.
With more than 100 offices and 32,000 employees, Boston Consulting Group leaders knew their decision to roll out several artificial intelligence (AI) platforms over the past two years meant not only deploying the technologies but training the firm’s workforce to use them.
While some organizations have chosen to train up a portion of their employees who might most benefit from using AI, BCG opted to train its entire workforce on using generative AI (genAI) platforms. It believed offering the tech to everyone would allow efficiency and productivity gains to grow organically.
Massive upskilling is essential to delivering broad efficiency gains from genAI. And a program that conveys how fundamental the technology is to employees’ effectiveness and longer-term career growth can be key to winning their hearts and minds.
The investments paid off. BCG execs say employees are more innovative, they’re finding their own efficiencies, and overall are more happier about how they work through the productivity gains of AI.
Foundational to BCG’s AI efforts was its enterprise GPT strategy. Beginning in October 2023, ChatGPT was rolled out internally to every employee. But the technology was kept in house, meaning all data remains under BCG’s control.
BCG allows its consultants to build their own GPTs for specific customer interactions, which has fostered an atmosphere of innovation. To date, more than 6,000 GPTs have been created by BCG’s employees to perform tasks such as summarizing documents and video meetings, and automatically generating email responses to clients.
BCG also developed Gene, a conversational AI chatbot that can interact with humans. Gene was originally used as a co-host for BCG’s “Imagine This” podcast, but it evolved into a client engagement and content creation tool. Gene’s memory banks are stocked with research and insights on genAI from some of BCG’s top analysts.
Alicia Pittman, BCG global people chair, and Scott Wilder, BCG managing director and partner, answered questions from Computerworld about the firm’s AI strategy, what it took to implement, and what the benefits have been. The interview has been lightly edited for clarity.
Boston Consulting Group’s Alicia Pittman, global people chair, and Scott Wilder, managing director and partner
Boston Consulting Group
I understand that BCG rolled out AI tools such as enterprise GPT and Gene to assist your workforce in performing its tasks. Can you explain how those AI tools are being used at BCG?
Alicia Pittman: “Our philosophy around genAI at BCG is ‘early and often.’ We understood from those first days that genAI would be transformational in how we work. And we knew that to help our clients transform in this space, we needed to first transform ourselves. We rolled out best-in-class tools in the market — including ChatGPT Enterprise for all our staff — and also built our own, including a tool called Deckster to help generate slides and a natural language query search for our knowledge base.
“To date, our people have created over 6,000 custom GPTs for various tasks and client work to enhance productivity and simplify administrative duties. And since our global launch of Deckster in March 2024, it has helped us create or edit slides over 450,000 times. We want our people to be ahead of the curve so we can be at the cutting edge as the technology evolves and expands the art of the possible. Being at the forefront is a promise we make to our people and our clients — and we’ve invested accordingly.”
What is a “custom GPT” and what are examples of tasks they can tackle?
Scott Wilder: “A custom GPT is a powerful feature within ChatGPT that allows someone to build a reusable mini genAI application that users define themselves through natural language. This is done through a combination of custom instructions, files you can load (e.g., best examples, or data, etc.), and an ability to program interactions to address specific tasks. Our teams have developed and shared more than 1,000 custom GPTs on everything from how to improve ChatGPT prompts to scheduling meetings across time zones to generating more creative talk tracks for trainings.
“There are a little over 6,000 custom GPTs total. Within this pool of custom GPTs are about 5,000 private ones for individual BCGers and about 1,000 that are shared among BCG teams. Private GPTs can only be accessed by the person that made it (to solve for something specific or niche that only they were dealing with). Shared GPTs mean that the maker can share them with whoever they want, but only within BCG. They can select specific people across case teams or make them ‘public’ within BCG.”
When did BCG begin its internal rollout/deployment of AI? What was the purpose of the rollout?
Wilder: “We started evaluating genAI tools in late January 2023 and, in tandem, assessed the top activities to drive greater efficiency within, when genAI was first taking the world by storm. Our first major release under the rollout was ChatGPT Enterprise in October 2023. At the time, it was ChatGPT 3.5. We also custom-built tools like Deckster around that time to deploy in beta to help save time creating and editing slides.”
In what ways did ChatGPT and other AI tools increase performance and efficiency?
Pittman: “We are seeing a wide range of applications across our business and with our clients — from how we ramp up new team members on complex cases, to accelerating market research, to more rapidly customizing client collateral for higher-impact implementation. For instance, with one client we are equipping the sales force to roll out new methodologies. We might have typically provided one script for each of the 8 to 10 different client segments for the sales team to then customize. With genAI, we can provide 100, 200, or even 500 custom scripts at the customer level.
“Equally, genAI is upping our game in how we develop people. New managers at BCG are using avatars to practice giving high-quality feedback. GenAI also helps our people synthesize multiple types of feedback to sharpen their skills and focus areas. Our teams use a mix of off-the-shelf and custom-built tools.”
Wilder: “Putting all this together, genAI is really improving the quality of our insights as we have more time for more important tasks, improving the breadth and depth of what we can provide to our clients, and accelerating the learning curve, which will have quality benefits for years to come.”
How did BCG measure AI performance/efficiency metrics?
Pittman: “We have three primary KPIs [key performance indicators] when it comes to our genAI transformation: increase productivity, enhance the quality of our work and insights, and increase employee joy by reducing time spent on toil. We are seeing high impact across each of these, which is exciting for our people, for our clients, and therefore for our business. As we ramp up this year, we are also measuring usage and inputs carefully. In particular, we are measuring what features and habits spur stickiness in usage.”
How did BCG go about retraining its workforce to use its new tools?
Pittman: “We started by doing a 360 review to understand the capabilities, desired outcomes, and potential risks of the tools we were experimenting with to ensure the right guardrails were in place before fully rolling them out to our employees. Responsible and ethical use of AI is something we take very seriously, so that was an important early consideration. We have strict data control measures and set up various trainings. We keep those updated on a rolling basis as the technologies evolve.
“Approaching the rollout, we took our own advice and really invested in what we call ‘the 70.’ We have found that successful AI transformations typically dedicate 10% of their AI effort to algorithms, 20% to data and technological backbone, and 70% — the lion’s share — to business and people transformation.
“So, we have had to fundamentally rethink the ways that we work. That looks different for everyone based on the nature of someone’s day-today job and what they are looking to do. Some BCGers find the technology most useful for creative content generation, others for getting new team members up to speed quickly, and others for knowledge gathering. For example, one of our executive assistants (EA) built a tool to automate tasks for himself and other EAs. The underlying need dictates which of our tools they turn to.
“We deployed an ecosystem of training and upskilling that includes everything from our formal required curriculum for BCGers at all levels, to on-demand virtual trainings, to one-on-one reverse mentorship for our superusers to help them coach others. It’s been an intentional mix, recognizing that different people learn in different ways.
“Our work is so team-based, we knew that just working with individuals would not be enough. We have team coaches that help our teams find and develop applications in real time. We also believe that change happens at the rock face, so we have individual and team coaches available to help people on the spot in their day-to-day work.
“And we work to make it fun. Our workforce includes some of the brightest and most innovative talent out there. So, we let that shine. We ran a ‘GenAI Olympics’ to identify the best ideas bubbling up from our teams using these tools at the rock face. We are constantly learning and adapting as we go — in addition to building the big upskilling programs necessary to make the change stick, at all levels of the organization.”
Did you retrain your entire workforce, and how did training differ depending on worker roles?
Pittman: “We made a deliberate decision to make our tools accessible to all roles out of the gate. We then created customized communications and training programs for job types and cohorts — we want these tools to be useful, and similar job cohorts often have more similar needs.
“That said, we also encouraged significant peer-to-peer learning and sharing. We rapidly built a GenAI Enablement Network across various job types that champions local innovation and training. This network is made up of 1,200 BCG employees from around the world who have volunteered to be a part of activating genAI across BCG. They represent each of our offices across 50 countries, as well as each of our businesses and functions. Their activities include mentoring, hosting upskilling sessions, and sharing innovations.
“The Enablement Network is a cadre of passionate genAI users who promote local and global genAI initiatives while driving adoption and transforming our ways of working across the firm. We are all on this journey together, and learning and expertise can come from all directions.”
What were the largest hurdles you experienced in rolling out generative AI at BCG?
Pittman: “BCG has a strong culture of innovation and learning. So, our broader challenge has been to roll out AI and other associated tools fast enough! Broadly speaking, our people are eager to experiment and gain expertise, and that has certainly been the case for genAI as well.
“Two areas that we have put extra focus on within our rollout are responsible AI and ensuring that the adoption of this technology is inclusive. We have an incredible responsible AI team that developed strong guidelines for when and how AI can be used and specific areas where we will not use AI. All new AI use cases for our clients must be reviewed by this team. As we look at how our people are adopting AI, we also track how inclusive the usage is. Our external research shows a gap between women and men at more junior levels when it comes to genAI usage. We see similar trends across various cohorts and are working with our employee affiliation groups to help close any gaps.”
What is the one piece of advice would you offer other organizations piloting or going all in with AI?
Pittman: “Ultimately, transforming with AI should all be in pursuit of delivering value for your stakeholders. Set that as your north star and then build the governance, partnership ecosystem, tools, and new businesses you need to get there.
“Also, this technology is fundamentally exciting and engaging. It’s about bringing more facts and ideas together, spurring creativity, freeing up time from the must-do’s that can be a drag on our time and energy. As we say, ‘less toil, more triumph.’ So, make it fun and use AI as an opportunity to unlock the creative capacity and energy of your people.”
While the term “Open Source AI” has been used extensively in recent years, exactly what it means has never been clear — until now.
The Open Source Initiative (OSI) has released a proposed definition it hopes the tech world will accept. According to the new definition, it involves AI systems that consist of components that can be examined and studied. It must also be possible to freely modify the systems for any purpose and share them with other users, according to MIT Technology Review.
By that definition, the AI models from Open AI, Anthropic, Google and Meta cannot be classified as “Open Source AI” because users are not allowed to do what they want with them.
In a stark warning to policymakers, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Spotify CEO Daniel Ek have emphasized that Europe could fall behind in the global race for AI leadership due to its fragmented and inconsistent regulatory landscape.
“With more open-source developers than America has, Europe is particularly well placed to make the most of this open-source AI wave,” Zuckerberg and Ek said in a joint statement. “Yet its fragmented regulatory structure, riddled with inconsistent implementation, is hampering innovation and holding back developers.”
According to the two tech leaders, while AI holds the potential to transform industries and drive economic growth worldwide, Europe’s current regulatory environment could impede its ability to innovate and compete on the global stage.
“Instead of clear rules that inform and guide how companies do business across the continent, our industry faces overlapping regulations and inconsistent guidance on how to comply with them. Without urgent changes, European businesses, academics, and others risk missing out on the next wave of technology investment and economic growth opportunities,” the joint statement read
It can be recalled that in June, Meta had to postpone the launch of its Meta AI models in Europe as the Irish privacy regulator, Data Protection Commission (DPC), had asked it to delay harnessing Facebook and Instagram user’s data, to train its models.
“We’re disappointed by the request from the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC), our lead regulator, on behalf of the European DPAs, to delay training our large language models (LLMs) using public content shared by adults on Facebook and Instagram — particularly since we incorporated regulatory feedback and the European DPAs have been informed since March,” Meta said in a statement in June. “This is a step backwards for European innovation, competition in AI development and further delays bringing the benefits of AI to people in Europe.”
The Irish DPC’s move came after NOYB, a Vienna-based digital rights advocacy group, complained to DPAs (data protection authorities) in 11 countries including Austria, Belgium, Spain, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, and Norway, to “immediately stop Meta’s abuse of personal data for AI.”
“Regulating against known harms is necessary, but pre-emptive regulation of theoretical harms for nascent technologies such as open-source AI will stifle innovation. Europe’s risk-averse, complex regulation could prevent it from capitalizing on the big bets that can translate into big rewards,” the joint statement by Meta and Spotify said referring to the Irish regulator’s decision.
Europe’s regulatory challenges and their global impact
Despite Europe’s strong tradition in open-source development, Zuckerberg and Ek argue that the region’s inconsistent regulatory framework is stifling innovation. They cite the uneven application of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) as a prime example of regulatory uncertainty that is hindering progress.
“This landmark directive was meant to harmonize the use and flow of data, but instead EU privacy regulators are creating delays and uncertainty and are unable to agree among themselves on how the law should apply,” the two CEOs said in the statement.
Both the companies are of the opinion that these regulatory challenges are not just a European issue but have global implications. Restrictive policies in Europe could lead to a fragmented AI landscape, where innovations and technologies developed in other regions may not be easily integrated or adopted in Europe.
“Given the current regulatory uncertainty, Meta won’t be able to release upcoming models like Llama multimodal, which has the capability to understand images. That means European organizations won’t be able to get access to the latest open-source technology, and European citizens will be left with AI built for someone else,” Zuckerberg warned in the statement.
“The stark reality is that laws designed to increase European sovereignty and competitiveness are achieving the opposite,” the statement added.
Balancing innovation and regulation
To address these challenges, Zuckerberg and Ek called for a more streamlined and harmonized regulatory approach that balances the need for innovation with the necessity of protecting user rights and privacy. “With the right regulatory environment, combined with the right ambition and some of the world’s top AI talent, the EU would have a real chance of leading the next generation of tech innovation,” Zuckerberg stated.
“In short,” the joint statement pointed out, “Europe needs a new approach with clearer policies and more consistent enforcement. With the right regulatory environment, combined with the right ambition and some of the world’s top AI talent, the EU would have a real chance of leading the next generation of tech innovation.”
Notion is hands-down one of the best and most versatile productivity apps around right now, no matter what platform or type of device you might be using. But it’s also one of the most overwhelming services to wrap your head around — because it’s so versatile and so packed with potential that it’s almost like a blank canvas. And unless you’re already an accomplished painter in this particular domain, that makes it difficult to know where to begin.
That’s where Notion’s rich library of templates comes into play. Templates are exactly what they sound like: a series of starting points and frameworks for all sorts of things you can use the service to do.
And goodness gracious, does Notion have a lot of ’em — hundreds, maybe even thousands, created and shared both by the company itself and by Notion power-users around the world. With pages upon pages of endless-seeming options, it can be impossible to even know where to begin. (Sensing a theme yet?!)
Think of this as your cheat sheet. I’ve sifted through and tested out numerous Notion templates to find the best and most broadly useful choices available for business productivity purposes. The 12 templates below are all clear, simple, and thoughtfully designed. And they can all be imported into your own Notion workspace with a single click — then customized and fleshed out as you see fit.
And while some Notion templates do come at a cost, the ones on this page are all completely free and just waiting to be called into action.
A quick Notion template primer
Before we get into the meat of this efficiency-enhancing sandwich, let’s take a sec to go over some quick logistics about how, exactly, these Notion templates work.
First, as you’d expect, you’ll need to sign into Notion — or create an account with the service, if you aren’t already using it. (Notion itself is free at its base level, with an optional $10-per-user-per-month Pro plan that adds in extra features and a $15-per-user-per-month Business plan for additional team management capabilities.)
Then, once you’ve clicked through on one of the template recommendations from this page, you’ll see a “Get template” button in the upper-right corner of its entry.
Click that and follow the prompt to select where you want the template to be saved within your Notion workspace — and a moment later, you’ll be staring at your own custom copy of the template, ready for customization and editing!
A freshly imported Notion template creates a sketched-in canvas for you to customize and control. (Click image to enlarge it.)
A freshly imported Notion template creates a sketched-in canvas for you to customize and control. (Click image to enlarge it.)
JR Raphael
A freshly imported Notion template creates a sketched-in canvas for you to customize and control. (Click image to enlarge it.)
JR Raphael
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JR Raphael
From there, working with the template is really no different than working with any other Notion page. You can click on any text, field, or card to edit it — or, if you’d rather blast away all the demo data and give yourself a completely fresh start, you can use your keyboard’s arrows and Shift key to highlight multiple items at once then hit Del to erase them. (You can also right-click on any item and then select “Delete” from the pop-up menu to accomplish the same thing on a case-by-case basis.)
To add a new entry, meanwhile, look for the “+ New” option within any area of a typical Notion template.
Anytime you’re editing an existing entry or creating a new one, you’ll see a side panel show up with all the available fields and options. You can click on any of those fields to edit its contents — either by typing in new text or selecting from a dropdown list of available options, depending on the field type.
You can edit the text or select from a dropdown list of options for any entry within a Notion template.
JR Raphael
You can add your own new properties into the mix, too, by clicking the “+ Add a property” option within a copied-over Notion template. (Depending on the template and how many properties it already has present, you might have to first click an option to expand and display all of the existing properties before you’ll see that.)
Adding new properties takes just a couple quick clicks within any Notion template you’ve selected.
JR Raphael
Beyond that:
To change views — in templates that offer multiple format choices — look for the horizontal list at the top of the template.
To add new columns into tables and boards, scroll all the way over to the right and look for the “+” symbol.
To edit an existing column, click on its name. To edit or move an existing row, hover over it and look for the six-dot icon that appears along its leftmost edge.
Edit an existing row by clicking the six-dot icon alongside it — or move a row by clicking and dragging on that same icon.
JR Raphael
Got it? Good! Now, let’s get to the fun part.
Notion template #1: Projects and tasks tracker
One of Notion’s most potential-packed possibilities is in the area of organization — and at the most basic level, that means keeping track of your work-related projects and tasks, whether personally or across an entire team or department.
The aptly named Projects & Tasks template provides an admirable framework for setting up and starting a system to accomplish exactly that. It gives you carefully crafted tables for both projects and tasks (surprise, surprise!), complete with columns for tracking each item’s status, owner, priority, and completion estimate.
Notion’s Projects and Tasks template provides a ready-to-roll framework for tracking your work-related endeavors.
JR Raphael
All you’ve gotta do is copy the template to your workspace and then start filling in the blanks.
Notion template #2: Product roadmap
When you’re diving deep into a new product or project at work, having a proper place to keep all the progress organized can be the difference between messy confusion and a smoothly executed plan.
The Product Roadmap Notion template is a smart ‘n’ easy way to orchestrate any endeavors you and/or your colleagues are tackling at any given moment. It offers up a timeline-style “Projects” calendar view for mapping out all your in-progress projects and then a Kanban table for breaking down the status of specific tasks within each project.
Organizing work-related projects is painless with the Product Roadmap Notion template. (Click image to enlarge it.)
Organizing work-related projects is painless with the Product Roadmap Notion template. (Click image to enlarge it.)
JR Raphael
Organizing work-related projects is painless with the Product Roadmap Notion template. (Click image to enlarge it.)
JR Raphael
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JR Raphael
You can tweak and customize the setup as needed, but by and large, it should just work right out of the box for most common purposes.
Notion template #3: Product wiki
Once you’ve got a project finished, the Product Wiki template will help you keep its many moving pieces organized and optionally also keep other people on the same page about any procedures and processes around it. It’s your own personal wiki, in other words — for yourself, your company, or maybe even external sharing.
The Product Wiki template acts as a neatly organized home for any project or procedure.
JR Raphael
The specific format may end up varying from one project to the next, but this basic framework will provide a strong starting point for practically any purpose imaginable.
Notion template #4: IT issue tracker
If there’s one type of ongoing project that absolutely requires its own specific space and system, it’s the ever-popular gallery of glitches — a.k.a. the place where you report, store, and track any and all IT-related issues. (Yay, technology!)
The IT Issue Tracker template is all you need to get your hellhelpful home for such matters started. It features a premade board for filing and managing tech troubles of any variety as they move from being observed and submitted to — hopefully, allegedly, theoretically — being fixed.
You may not be able to make tech troubles go away easily, but you can at least keep track of ’em with the handy IT Issue Tracker template.
JR Raphael
I might just suggest adding in one extra field for the reliably relevant measure of “likelihood to cause insanity.”
Notion template #5: Editorial planner
No matter what manner of work you’re doing these days, odds are, you’ve got some sort of capital-C Content to contend with — be it company blogs, editorial articles, or maybe even just meandering social media musings.
The Notion Editorial Calendar template is a terrific place to create an approachable system for keeping track of all such matters.
The Editorial Calendar template can be useful for any type of content you might be crafting — from blogs to articles and short social media posts. (Click image to enlarge it.)
The Editorial Calendar template can be useful for any type of content you might be crafting — from blogs to articles and short social media posts. (Click image to enlarge it.)
JR Raphael
The Editorial Calendar template can be useful for any type of content you might be crafting — from blogs to articles and short social media posts. (Click image to enlarge it.)
JR Raphael
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JR Raphael
Customize the fields and options to match the parameters that make sense to you, and you’ll be up and running in mere minutes.
Notion template #6: People directory
Give everyone on your team an easy way to find and learn about colleagues, clients, or even competitors with the delightfully simple People Directory Notion template.
The template is set up to showcase such details as location, title, and time with the company along with more elaborate contact info within each individual card — but, as with any of these templates, you can take total control and shake things up to meet whatever purposes you might need once you’ve copied this over into your workspace.
The People Directory template can be used for practically any person-organizing purpose.
JR Raphael
Your co-workers have never looked so presentable.
Notion template #7: Company events calendar
In addition to its prowess with charts, tables, and databases, Notion is great at maintaining graphical calendars for event organization.
And the Events Calendar template serves up a simple starting point for creating your own calendar view and then filling it in with whatever significant stuff you’ve got on your agenda.
The Events Calendar template is simultaneously as basic and effective as can be.
JR Raphael
With the ability to switch to a more detailed list- or card-based view and to link each item to its own separate page (like, say, a product roadmap!), this template will fit right into your growing hub for info and organization.
Notion template #8: Job application tracker
Certain tasks deserve their own dedicated spaces, and that’s certainly the case with the complex chore of searching for a new job.
The Notion Job Application Tracker template is perfectly qualified for the role. It’s a simple and effective setup for storing positions you want to apply for and then keeping tabs on your journey as you move further along with each new item, all within a convenient Kanban-board-style, card-centric pipeline.
The Job Application Tracker Notion template makes the job of searching for a new job a little easier to manage.
JR Raphael
With a separate section for action items also already present and waiting, you’ll be ready to find that perfect next gig in no time.
Notion template #9: Read later
My favorite Notion productivity secret is how incredible the service is at acting as an interactive link library and read-it-later service. Honestly, it’s better than any dedicated read-it-later app I’ve ever used.
And the Read Later template is all you need to understand why. Pair it with the Notion Web Clipper browser extension or the standard mobile sharing function from any other app into Notion (on either Android or iOS), and it’ll serve as a warm and inviting home for anything and everything you save.
Notion is surprisingly great at saving links for later reading, and the Read Later template is a top-notch way to get the party started.
JR Raphael
Anything you save into that space will automatically show up as its own card, complete with a title, image, and URL — and, in the most important twist, the entire text of the article waiting inside, optimally formatted and with all ads and other distractions stripped away.
You can read or share the info right then and there and even edit, annotate, or mark it up in any way you want. Whether you’re saving work-related articles for your own future perusal or creating a repository of relevant resources for your entire team — for general purposes or maybe for specific individual projects — it’s an invaluable way to collect important info and keep it readily available for later revisiting.
Notion template #10: Reading list
In addition to organizing online articles, Notion can be supremely effective at helping you organize actual books you intend to read — be they printed editions or e-book equivalents.
That’s what the Reading List template is all about. It’s a meticulously mapped-out structure for storing info on books you want to tackle — for work purposes or even for personal, brain-recharging pleasure — and then having a complete collection of everything you’ve read for future reference as well.
Turn Notion into your own personal reference desk with the free Reading List template.
JR Raphael
With ready-to-fill fields for summaries, categories, and even your current page-turning progress, you’ll never lose track of anything important again.
Notion template #11: Sticky notes
For all of our fancy-schmancy modern organizing systems, sometimes a good old-fashioned Post-it Note is exactly what you need.
The Notion Sticky Notes Board template brings that same analog style into the digital domain with a virtual bulletin board for all manners of on-the-fly notes — organized into different categories with a comfortingly Post-it-like appearance.
The Sticky Notes template adds a simple spot for Post-it-like note-taking into your Notion environment.
JR Raphael
All that’s missing is the adhesive.
Notion template #12: AI text generator
Last but not least in our list of commendable Notion templates is a little somethin’ that ties into our current generative-AI obsession — and that’s an AI text generator for your own articles, memos, emails, and more.
It’s called the AI Blog Post Generator template, and it has spaces to add in a summary of the topic you’re thinking about along with a series of bullets for the main points you want the text to address. Fill in those fields, click the “Generate” button, and boom: Notion’s built-in AI will cough up some custom prose for your purposes.
Create AI-generated text right within Notion with the AI Blog Post Generator template.
JR Raphael
As with any AI-generated creation, the text likely won’t be perfect and is bound to need plenty of finessing to feel interesting, original, and in the right voice for your organization. But if AI generation is in any way appealing to you, it could be a useful way to get something off the ground, at least, and give yourself some ideas for how to get going.
It’s one more tool to keep in your productivity toolbox — and thanks to the template, it’ll be right there within Notion, just waiting to be called into action whenever the right moment arises.
Google has reportedly put Character.ai founder Noam Shazeer in charge of its Gemini AI.
Shazeer worked in software engineering roles at Google for almost 18 years before leaving to found his own company. Now he’s returning to co-lead Google’s Gemini AI efforts alongside Jeff Dean and Orial Vinyals, The Information reported, quoting an internal memo.
The move follows the signing of a deal between Google and Character.ai earlier this month.
Google provided the startup with more funding in return for a non-exclusive license for its current LLM technology.
Shazeer and Daniel De Freitas — with whom he cofounded Character.ai in 2021 — were expected to join Google as part of the deal.
Other Character.ai employees were expected to stay with the company, though, expanding on the startup’s products, with the company’s general counsel, Dominic Perella, stepping in the role of interim CEO.
Shazeer is well respected in the field of AI, and has co-authored several research papers on the topic including important ones on LaMDA, PaLM, and ST-MoE.
Both LaMDA and PaLM have been heavily used by Google in its products and the company further expects to integrate Gemini into its products.
Google is not the only one courting expertise from startups. Rival cloud service providers such as Microsoft and AWS have also signed deals with smaller AI companies to either acquire the team behind their products, or their technology.
One of the biggest examples is Microsoft’s investment into OpenAI, following which Microsoft started integrating GPT-powered Copilots into all its products.
AWS and Oracle, too, have heavily invested into Anthropic and Cohere respectively in order to better their generative AI services on offer.
Google has reportedly put Character.ai founder Noam Shazeer in charge of its Gemini AI.
Shazeer worked in software engineering roles at Google for almost 18 years before leaving to found his own company. Now he’s returning to co-lead Google’s Gemini AI efforts alongside Jeff Dean and Orial Vinyals, The Information reported, quoting an internal memo.
The move follows the signing of a deal between Google and Character.ai earlier this month.
Google provided the startup with more funding in return for a non-exclusive license for its current LLM technology.
Shazeer and Daniel De Freitas — with whom he cofounded Character.ai in 2021 — were expected to join Google as part of the deal.
Other Character.ai employees were expected to stay with the company, though, expanding on the startup’s products, with the company’s general counsel, Dominic Perella, stepping in the role of interim CEO.
Shazeer is well respected in the field of AI, and has co-authored several research papers on the topic including important ones on LaMDA, PaLM, and ST-MoE.
Both LaMDA and PaLM have been heavily used by Google in its products and the company further expects to integrate Gemini into its products.
Google is not the only one courting expertise from startups. Rival cloud service providers such as Microsoft and AWS have also signed deals with smaller AI companies to either acquire the team behind their products, or their technology.
One of the biggest examples is Microsoft’s investment into OpenAI, following which Microsoft started integrating GPT-powered Copilots into all its products.
AWS and Oracle, too, have heavily invested into Anthropic and Cohere respectively in order to better their generative AI services on offer.
We’ve all been there. You’re working on a document or a spreadsheet, or using email, and BAM! One of your Microsoft Office applications starts acting weird or stops responding.
Please relax, and don’t give in to panic or upset. This sort of thing does occur from time to time, and it is often quite easy to repair.
Common issues with Microsoft Office apps
Whether you have a Microsoft 365 subscription or a perpetual-license version of Office (such as Office 2019 or 2021), these are some typical problems you might encounter that would necessitate a repair operation:
App won’t launch, or hangs shortly after launch (e.g., Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.)
App reports an error after attempting an update, or update won’t work
App runs sluggishly or on-screen updates don’t match keyboard inputs
Styles or formatting doesn’t work properly or can’t be changed
File save (or “Save as…”) doesn’t work
Excel doesn’t provide access to or recognize some/all formulas
Indeed, there are lots of ways Office components can — and sometimes do — go wrong. When such things happen, that’s when repairs can help.
How to repair Microsoft Office
In this story, I’ll take you through a series of progressively aggressive (and more time-consuming) repairs for Windows-based Office apps. At each step in the path, I assume the preceding items in the sequence haven’t worked.
Spoiler alert! The absolute worst case requires running a cleanup tool on the current Office installation, followed by a clean install of a new copy of Office. That has never failed in my experience, any time I’ve had to go that far.
That said, let’s start with Step 1. In many cases, this will be the only step in the sequence. Why? Because it fixes many of the ails and gotchas that can occasionally bedevil Microsoft Office.
Step 1: Close all apps and reboot your PC
This technique usually fixes one of the most common causes for Office issues: updating Office while apps or applications in the suite are open. The installer/updater can get hornswoggled when this happens, and Office instability can result.
If you decide to update Office, the best thing to do is to exit all Office apps or applications first, apply the updates, then reboot the PC when the updates are finished. Then you can be relatively sure that everything will work as it should when you next open Office apps for continuing use. For an illustrative “war story” on this topic, see my July 9, 2024 blog post Word Gets Seriously Weird.
Step 2: Run the Office Quick Repair tool
All Office installations include a built-in repair tool. That’s a good place to go if a simple reboot doesn’t fix what ails Office.
Subscription-based versions of Office may be accessed through Settings > Apps > Installed apps. Find your Microsoft 365 or Office 365 installation in the list. If you click on the ellipsis at its right, as shown in Figure 1, you’ll see two options: Modify and Uninstall.
Figure 1: In the Installed apps list, click the ellipsis to the right of a Microsoft 365 or Office 365 item and select Modify.
Ed Tittel / IDG
Select Modify, and the Microsoft Office repair dialog will open, as shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2: The Office repair dialog offers two options: Quick Repair and Online Repair.
Ed Tittel / IDG
For perpetual-license versions of Office (e.g., Office 2021, 2019, or something older) you’ll need to start in Control Panel > Programs and Features and right-click on any Office component. Then select Modify from the pop-up menu, at which point the same Microsoft Office repair dialog shown in Figure 2 will open.
As you can see, there are two radio buttons in the Office repair tool: Quick Repair and Online Repair. You’ll want to try them in that order. (Online Repair is the subject of the next step in this sequence.)
For the record, Quick Repair uses local files from your PC to attempt its fixes (no download required). As its name suggests, Online Repair downloads known, good, working files from Microsoft servers to do likewise. Online Repair takes longer but uses a guaranteed source that may overcome local file issues that could otherwise stymie repairs.
However you get to the Microsoft Office repair dialog box, you should attempt its Quick Repair first. Select the Quick Repair radio button and then click the Repair button at the bottom right. The tool will ask you to confirm that you’re ready to start, as shown in Figure 3.
Figure 3: You must click Repair one more time to actually start that process.
Ed Tittel / IDG
When permission is explicitly granted, the repair tool grinds through its paces to attempt repairs using local files. While this process is underway, the progress bar shown in Figure 4 will cycle back and forth.
Figure 4: As repairs are underway, you’ll see the blue segment cycle back and forth inside the progress bar at the bottom of the window.
Ed Tittel / IDG
When the Quick Repair tool is finished, a completion notice (or an error message) will appear on your PC. Figure 5 shows a successful completion.
Figure 5: If the repair completes without errors, you’ll see a simple “Done repairing!’ at its conclusion.
Ed Tittel / IDG
Although the status information in Figure 5 says “You can now close this window and use your programs,” you may instead decide to reboot your PC before returning to work inside Office.
If you received an error message or the Quick Repair doesn’t result in a working Office installation, you can re-run the Microsoft Office repair tool using the Online Repair option instead. In that case, proceed to Step 3.
Step 3: Use the Office Online Repair Tool
I won’t go through every step of the Online Repair tool’s progression. Why? Because it’s essentially the same as the Quick Repair sequence shown in Figures 2 through 5.
On my Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme laptop (8th Gen/Coffee Lake CPU, 32 GB RAM, Samsung OEM PCIe Gen3 x4 NVMe SSD, Wi-Fi LAN connection 802.11ax), Quick Repair took between 3 and 4 minutes. On that same machine, Online Repair took nearly 6 minutes. (It took 150 seconds just to get to the “Please stay online…” notification shown in Figure 6.)
Figure 6: The Online Repair tool shows progress during its download process.
Ed Tittel / IDG
When the Online Repair is complete, it shows an “all set” message and flashes a notification that you can return to work using Office apps as well. The former appears in Figure 7.
Figure 7: The Online Repair tool announces successful completion with “You’re all set.”
Ed Tittel / IDG
If running the Online Repair tool doesn’t result in a working Office environment, or if it emits an error message instead of the foregoing status, you’ll need to move onto Step 4. In my experience using the Quick and Online Repair tools, only 1 in 5 or so Office troubleshooting incidents have required another step.
Step 4: Try Microsoft SaRA
Microsoft SaRA is the shorthand name for the Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant. Microsoft itself uses this program for troubleshooting. Indeed, if you call Microsoft Support or engage with them via online chat, they may ask you to run this web-based tool (or run it for you, as circumstances may dictate).
The basic web UI for SaRA for Office appears in Figure 8. As you can see, it also supports tabs for Outlook, Teams, and Advanced Diagnostics as well. If you’re still troubleshooting, you will know which one(s) to explore. There are five Outlook buttons, three Teams buttons, and five Advanced Diagnostics buttons (of which the ROI Full Scan is probably the most helpful) in addition to the seven general Office buttons visible in Figure 8.
Figure 8: The Office tab for SaRA offers options for Excel startup and general Office issues.
Ed Tittel / IDG
Please note: this tool helps only with issues related to Office installation, set-up, removal activation and sign-in, along with more focused checks for Excel, Teams, and Outlook issues on the other tabs. If none of these fit your situation, move along to Step 5.
Otherwise, work your way through the various Office buttons in the SaRA UI shown in Figure 8, and explore the other tabs (Outlook, Teams, and Advanced Diagnostics) as well. If some particular button’s text addresses your specific issue, SaRA can probably help. If not, you’ll need to advance to Step 5.
Step 5: Wax off, wax on (remove and replace Office)
If you have to go this far during actual Office repairs, my condolences. You’re probably feeling pretty frustrated by now. Be of good cheer! We’re going to download and run a tool that completely obliterates your current Office installation. Then you’ll download and install a fresh, new installation from the Microsoft Office download page.
First, a precautionary detour
Whenever you make major changes to a Windows PC — and what we’re about to do surely counts — it’s a good idea to back up your current installation and know how to restore it. That is, unless you already have a current image: I make a fresh one at 9:00 every morning using Macrium Reflect, and I always keep the Macrium Rescue Disk (a bootable flash drive that knows how to find and restore Macrium image files) handy.
Even so, if it were late in the day, I would make a fresh backup myself at this point. On my systems, this typically takes under 15 minutes, so it’s not a huge wait. (It just took 7 minutes on my test PC.) YMMV.
One more thing: if you’re running an older version of Office — namely Office 2016 or older — you’ll need to save a copy of your Office key in case you need it upon reinstallation. WinAero.com has a handy script you can use to retrieve such keys: make sure you get it, write it to a file, and put it on a USB drive before you go any further down the “wax off, wax on” path described here. Then you’ll be able to access it later on, should you need it.
Newer versions (and subscriptions) are registered with Microsoft activation servers online, so those keys can find themselves, as it were.
Download and run OffScrub
First, download Microsoft’s automated tool for Office clean-up from the Support page named Uninstall Office automatically. It’s named SetupProd_OffScrub.exe, so I’m in the habit of calling it “OffScrub.” Once you install and run that file, you’ll see it uses an older, .exe-based incarnation of the SaRA tool to do its specific thing — namely, to remove all traces of any existing Office installations on the PC where it’s run.
The first thing it does is to install a slimmed-down version of SaRA. It asks for permission to install before commencing, then asks again for agreement when the installer gets up and running, as shown in Figure 9.
Figure 9: Before you can run any SaRA tools, you must agree to its license terms.
Ed Tittel / IDG
Click I agree as shown above, after which Windows may request permission to install a supporting DLL. Agree to that if it appears. (It will not if the DLL is already present on the target PC.)
Finally, the SaRA interface for OffScrub appears, as shown in Figure 10. This particular PC is running a subscription version (type = “Click to Run”); perpetual versions will appear as Office 2019 or 2021 (or something older, if that’s what you’ve got). Click the checkbox to remove the corresponding Office installation, then click the Next button (lower right) to proceed, as shown in Figure 10.
Figure 10: Check the Office installation you wish to remove, then click Next to proceed.
Ed Tittel / IDG
When you click Next, OffScrub gets to work. First, it detects the chosen installation (this took under a minute on the X1 Extreme), uninstalls the chosen Office files (10 minutes or so), and cleans up everything related it can find in the registry and in the Windows file system (12+ minutes). Then, finally, your old install of Office is gone, gone, gone.
Once OffScrub has finished, you must then reinstall Office. If you’re running a subscription or current perpetual edition, you can visit the Microsoft support page “Download and install or reinstall Microsoft 365 or Office 2021…” and follow its instructions.
If you’re running an older version of Office, you’ll need to lay hands on the right installer. If you don’t have it, you can use the HeiDoc.net Microsoft Windows and Office ISO Download Tool to grab the version you need. I just checked: it still works for Office versions from 2010 through 2019.
The end of the Office repair road?
If Office still doesn’t work after the “wax off, wax on” maneuver, you’ve got bigger problems than you thought. That means it’s time to think about an in-place upgrade install for the Windows OS itself as your next move. I wrote a step-by-step story on that very topic for Computerworld in 2018: see “How to fix Windows 10 with an in-place upgrade install.”
Here’s hoping this step-by-step guide has helped you solve your Office problems as simply as possible. You don’t want to walk this whole road unless you must. (I know, from bitter experience.) Good luck!
This article was initially published in April 2021 and updated in August 2024.
