1. Is it same with all vendors and what is your experience ? Do we have to pay additional license cost instead of activating Windows with our own license ?
2. If we have to get with DOS and deploy Windows initially what will be the fasted method ? What the methods you use?

1. Mech Engi, but engi department is so short staffed that we do Manufacturing Process Engineering, QA/QC, R&D, RMA, machine support/shop fixes, & Project Engineer positions.
2. Company's starting hourly wage is not competitive @ 25/hr. Thus, high turn over rate.
3. I have been working for a year, and company is already 2 months late on a company wide raise for all.
4. I know historically, the first year, new grads like me get a 5/hr bump.
5. However, I am being laterally (while under same title) moved to a different position that gets commission (1% of custom projects with a cap of 100k, per company policy).
6. I KNOW for a fact that this company will say something along the lines that "since there is now commission, that is considered your 'raise' ".
7. I also know that on Indeed, the newest offers for this Manufacturing Engineer 1 position is 28-32/hr.

1. I have access to an excel spreadsheet that shows turn over rates of all engineers. Somewhere around 2008-2010, the company mentality changed from having career engineers staying at company for 5-20 years to newer grads like me that bounce 6mo-1.5 yr.
2. Company mentality would rather let someone go at X/hr then hire someone at X+Y/hr.
3. I have MSME.
4. Location Fullerton.

1. I also know how much this company up-charges b/c engineering department. I know they can afford the raise.

1. Company prioritizes hiring more sales and marketing over engineering because they can fill open vacancies within 1-2 weeks where engineering takes months.
   1. 9 engineers (4 normal, 2 supervisor, 2 shop, 1 manager).
   2. 2 dedicated R&D engineers.
   3. 1 dedicated electrical engineer.
   4. 16 sales (10 normal, 4 wfh, 1 supervisor, 1 manager).
   5. 10 marketing (8 normal, 1 general manager, 1 manager)

1. Marketing can push new products and other photoshopped ideas to engineering before testing and tell us it has been sold, so engineering needs to think of a way to make it reality.
2. Sales can also sell some custom products which marketing likes and that becomes new products (with no testing).
3. Prototypes & ecr's being all bundled into a custom product to be already sold to client then labeled as 1 work order.
4. Company also does not use PDM. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

1. If it breaks, the transition to a new device will be relatively painless. I won't have to spend several days stressing and trying to find the right international customer support number for a myriad of institutions and services to get into my accounts.
   
2. If it gets stolen and compromised, then there will be enough barriers such that the I'll have enough time to lock down the device and/or my accounts remotely before the thief can get key data or move funds.
   

Requirements

• an iPhone XR, iPhone XS, iPhone 11, iPhone 12, iPhone 13, iPhone SE (2nd generation), and iPhone 14 or newer for eSIM compatibility.
• a US-based carrier with eSIM support + a pay-as-you-go model for international travel (I use Verizon)
• iOS 17 or above (may not be strictly necessary, but I know my setup works with iOS 17.4.1)
• a password manager. I personally use 1Password because it works, is reliable, has cross-device support, and is easy and intuitive. It's also only $3/month.

Dual Sim Setup

Basic Configurations

• Always use the latest version of firmware
• Require a passcode that's unique to that device.
• Use FaceID instead of passcode when possible (a thief can't snipe your passcode from a distance if you unlock your phone with FaceID)
• Set auto-lock to 30 seconds (lowest possible)
• Erase data upon excessive passcode failures note, this is complemented in a later step with daily backups. The odds of you putting in the wrong passcode 10 times is low, but in the event you do and you wipe the device by accident, you should be able to easily load in a back-up from the previous day)
• Turn off "Ask to Join Networks"
• Forget unused networks so that you don't rejoin automatically (airports, hotels, etc.)

Creating Backups

• Set iCloud backups to run automatically every night. This will allow you to load your entire phone as is (contacts, call history, iMessages, apps, even your wallpaper) onto another device during setup. The iCloud backup usually runs at 2am while I'm sleeping.
• You may need to pay for a higher tier in iCloud if you have too much stored on your phone. It's $3/month for 200gb of iCloud storage, and I find it worth it. Though I know some people with tens of thousands of photos for which 200gb might not be enough.

Password Policy

• For any accounts that may contain sensitive data (payments, PII, etc), always generate a unique password with 1Password. Don't reuse passwords. Same goes for PIN codes.
• For core accounts, create a strong but memorable password and then memorize it. The odds of getting locked out of 1Password are low if you're diligent, but for 2 or 3 core accounts (where you access money, your primary recovery email, your iCloud, 1Password), it's worth it to create strong, unique passwords for each core service and memorize them.
• I try not to reuse passwords in general, but I still sometimes am lazy and use one of my handful of typical passwords if there's no sensitive data collected by the service and it's a service I don't use often.

MFA

1. One-time code that renews every 30 seconds. This is device agnostic and can be stored in 1Password. You could also use Microsoft Authenticator, Google Authenticator, Authy or similar, but there's just more overhead to now recover those accounts if your device becomes inaccessible.
2. One-time code to recovery email.
3. One-time code via SMS to my US phone number. On the pay-as-you-go Verizon plan, I only pay 5 cents per text message received. It's worth it to keep one consistent number.
4. List of recovery codes (stored in 1Password as an attached txt file for the given account)
5. Use another app for verification (Google does this a lot).

Lockdown your iCloud security

• Enable MFA.
• Create a strong, unique password.
• Remove any old or unused devices from the iCloud account (old phones, ipods, etc).
• Enable "Find My" for all of your devices.
• In Find My, configure all devices to send the last known location.
• In Find My, enable the configuration to remotely wipe a device.

Final Clean-Up

• Move any compromising photos to the "hidden" folder (which requires FaceID or passcode to unlock)
• Review the Files app for any documents containing sensitive info. If you need these documents to be accessible on mobile, then move them to 1Password and delete them from the Files app.
• Create a shortcut to trigger the lock screen (and thus require FaceID or passcode) when specific apps are opened (banking, email, photos, etc).
• Not sure if this is best practice, but I just keep everything in 1P and turn off apple keychain and the apple built-in password manager. I also don't save passwords in Chrome or Safari.

Extra tips

• Add thorough security measures to iCloud, primary email, and any banking or financial services. Review each account and make sure you have a strong, unique password as well as a unique PIN, MFA configured, login alerts, recovery codes, and an international, 24-hour toll-free phone number stored somewhere to contact the service in the event of a crisis. For banking services, add withdrawal limits, regional restrictions (if you bounce between the same few countries), and SMS notifications for charges over a certain threshold. Open up a second checking account with a separate debit card for trips to the ATM.
• Consolidate and close any unused bank accounts. I realized that on my phone I had Revolut, Venmo, Paypal, Nequi, plus 4 US banking institutions. I took this time to close my Discover account (which is pretty much useless outside the US anyway), close my Revolut account since I'm hardly ever in the UK/EU, and consolidate investment accounts from different institutions into just a handful that's easier to monitor.

My own finances:

• 401K: Currently at $42,000. I haven't always been able to max it out, but always have done at least the company match + a little bit extra. Will max it out this year, so $23,000 + 6% company match ($6750).
• Roth IRA: Currently at $27,000. I max it out every year; I was using my own Roth IRA in Fidelity and had not realized that my company also provides a match for this, so I've stopped my own contributions to the Fidelity for now and am instead doing the 6% for the match. I know the limit for Roth IRAs generally is $7000 per year - I've already contributed $1940 toward this year's limit and plan to get the full match now. How does having two Roth IRAs work? I've tried to research it and am still very confused.
• Brokerage: $76,000, all in ETFs/index funds except for $5700 which I keep in SPAXX. Should I invest the $5700 instead of letting it sit in the MM?
  • I auto transfer $800 per month into brokerage and if my checking account has too much in it, I'll toss a few thousand in.
• Primary HYSA: Emergency fund: $25,000 + Additional rainy day fund: $8,100 @ 5.5% APY
• Secondary HYSA: $1000 14% APY (14% only up to $1000, so once it's over $1000, I re-level it back to $1000 and move the money into my main HYSA)
• Checking account: $4400 to cover off credit card and rent. I use credit cards for everything, but treat them like debit cards. They are paid off every month and have never missed a payment.
• I don't have a HSA as I am still on my parents' insurance, but will move off of this onto my partner's starting next year, so may be able to open one after that move.

• Rent: $1250 (We split, this is my portion)
• Clothes: $500 (My main hobby and in the middle of a wardrobe refresh. A lot of this is deducted from my LLC as the business is event planning related)
• Restaurants: $500 (My main way of hanging out with friends and how my partner and I spend time together)
• Travel: $400
• Groceries: $250
• Entertainment: $250
• Self-care: $200
• Health: $170 (Gym + fitness classes)
• Commute/transport: $125 (pre-tax benefit)
• Utilities: $120
• Uber: $50
• Subscriptions: $25

My partner's finances:

• Build emergency fund: I'm thinking around $25,000 in HYSA?
• Max Roth IRA since he'll be starting in October and his salary will still be below the income threshold (Am I thinking about this correctly?)
• Max 401K
• Set up a brokerage account and start chucking money in there once we get a handle on what his expenses will look like once we've not living the student life.

• Enhanced trial experience for new partners with a simplified one-step sign-up process. Trial accounts are now provisioned in less than 10 seconds, providing near-immediate access to the management console. A demo environment is also created automatically to familiarize partners with the service functionalities, including a customer tenant with pre-registered workloads. In addition, partner logins have transitioned to an industry-standard email-based approach, replacing auto-generated logins.
• Enhanced protection, monitoring, and remote desktop plan management enables partners to reduce steps and ensure immediate workload protection by applying plans during workload registration. Partially compatible plans are now also enabled, protecting workloads with all supported modules. In addition, partners can set a default plan that is automatically selected during workload registration, elect favorite plans to appear at the top of the list for easy access, and use updated built-in templates to deploy quickly and confidently.
• AI-based resolution in Advanced Email Security accelerates resolution time of ambiguous detection cases to under one minute for 80% of scans that previously required human review. This enhancement accelerates incident response times for complex cases and reduces the need for human intervention.
• Support for five new languages in Advanced Automation includes Japanese, Korean, Malay, Portuguese (Brazil), and Turkish. These languages are available across the product web interface and mobile application.

1. Automated Moving Target Defense integration with Morphisec.
2. SOAR integration with D3 Security.
3. Cloud Storage integration with FishOS Ceph by Sardina.

1. Passive device discovery via Device SenseTM is designed to give partners comprehensive visibility of all devices present in their customers’ networks. With this enhanced visibility, partners can deliver tailored and value-driven services that resonate more deeply with customers' needs. In addition, this feature allows identification of "rogue" devices that could compromise network security and potentially introduce malware.
2. Extended Detection and Response (XDR) builds on Acronis Advanced Security + EDR to offer protection capabilities beyond the endpoint perimeter, including email, identity and M365 collaboration apps. With Acronis XDR partners can better address the complexity of the evolving threat landscape, increase incident detection rates and improve incident response. Acronis XDR opens additional opportunities for MSPs of all sizes targeting SMB and mid-market clients. MSPs get complete protection that is natively integrated, highly efficient, and designed for MSPs to protect multiple customers in a single solution.
3. Inventory Management enables partners using Advanced Automation to enhance their operations with streamlined stock inventory control. With this new functionality MSPs can track stock inventory items, automate quoting, sales, and billing processes, gain insights into inventory details, and effortlessly track profitability and costs.

1. LinkedIn live event "Boosting MSP Revenue by Automating Monthly Billing" with Cloud in the Channel held on the 23rd of April. Watch on-demand.

• Fire Bolt
• Minor Illusion
• Light
• Mage Hand
• Mind Sliver (Psionic)
• Prestidigitation
• Mending

• Absorb Elements
• Mage Armor
• Shield
• Disguise Self (Shadow Touched)
• Dissonant Whispers (Psionic)
• Hex (Psionic)

• Scorching Ray
• Web
• Invisibility (Shadow Touched)
• Tasha’s Mind Whip (Psionic)
• Suggestion (Psionic)

• Fireball
• Fear
• Enemies Abound (Psionic)
• Sending (Psionic)

• Dimension Door
• Polymorph
• Evard’s Black Tentacles (Psionic)
• Summon Aberration (Psionic)

• Wall of Stone
• Synaptic Static
• Modify Memory (Psionic)
• Telekinesis (Psionic)

• Disintegrate

• Teleport

• Careful Spell
• Twinned Spell
• Heightened Spell

How it handled

• Dissonant Whispers is crazy good. It's not great damage on its own, but using it to trigger opportunity attacks and saving allies from damage was clutch in a lot of occasions. It'll even get you out of a grapple which worked out for me a couple of times. I used it almost as often as Shield.
• Tasha's Mind Whip is situational, but that situation comes up a fair amount. It's an easyish to land spell that does ok damage, but can cost certain enemies a turn assuming your allies don't just run up to that particular enemy instead of targeting something else for the round. No, I'm not bitter that that happened repeatedly. Still, it's a good control/blast when you're concentrating on something else and Twinning it was something that happened often.
• Fireball almost feels like it's not worth mentioning, similar to how I won't go into just normally good spells like Web. I'm tossing it out here though because it sometimes gets a bad reputation from optimizers beyond level 8 or so where the damage impact drops off. What I'll say is that while the impact of a single Fireball does drop off, you do get a whole lot more spells slots to drop them with and multiple Fireballs stack up the damage fast. And you can make your allies auto succeed on saving throws. My Shield Master Fighter and Rogue got a lot of Fireballs dropped on their heads that they didn't even have to roll to save on thanks to Careful Spell.
• Dimension Door. OMG Dimension Door. This has officially entered my "If you can take Dimension Door, you take Dimension Door." status. The Warlock and I got into a really bad spot, completely surrounded by big enemies. I was low on initiative, but we survived long enough for my turn to come around and then... everything was just fine. The final fight I popped 3 Dimension Doors that allowed the Druid and I to catch the escaping underwater big bad, get myself eaten by them, retrieve the exploded remains of our digested Warlock from inside of it, and Dimension door back out with an armful of his guts so that we could resurrect him. Our Sun Beaming Giant Octopus Druid caught him because he took the time to eat me and was able to finish him off.
• Evard's Black Tentacles came up a few times, and with that encounter that Dimension Door got the Warlock and I out of a bad situation, I was able to turn around and drop that on the horde of enemies coming back at us. The auto damage adds up over time, the restrained condition is amazing, and it got us through what would otherwise have been a really bad fight as one player didn't show and 2 PC's got chain stunned. It does damage, it locks down enemies, it makes them easier to hit, and makes them have a hard time hitting you. Especially in tighter quarters this was a game changer.
• Summon Aberration was the go-to I-just-need-to-deal-damage-over-multiple-encounters spell. Lasts an hour, can do range, and upcasts amazingly well. A must have.
• Telekinesis was one I almost got rid of when I was mapping out my spell list initially. I am crazy glad I didn't. The key thing is that it's not a Saving Throw for the enemies. It's an ability check. That means that legendary resistances don't mean squat. In one fight against two major bad things, I basically force choked one to the ceiling where it couldn't do anything while the rest of the team worked down the first, then they just ranged down the one that couldn't escape my mind grapple. In the final fight I held one of the big bads stationary inside of a Blade Barrier, and a big part of why the remaining bads ran was because once my turn came again I was going to mentally grapple them and do the same. This is a really big answer to the question of how to deal with Legendary Resistances.

• Fear + Careful Spell is really good... when the opportunity comes up. When it did it changed combats and even straight up ended an encounter with 10 corrupt guards who all failed the saving throw. I was surprised to note that the opportunities weren't as many as you'd think. Having enemies run away isn't always the best thing for you, even if you can freely cast it over your allies. Many times Concentration was used on something else which was just better or more flexible for the situation. I was still glad to have it in my pocket though.
• Enemies Abound, Twin Cast, was awesome when it came up. It's most useful when there are 4-5 biggish enemies in a good enough position to where the two you target will most likely attack the others. Being able to turn 2 against the others is a tide turner that you need Twinned Spell to accomplish. The mid part is that that perfect situation doesn't come up as often as I'd thought it might. It was huge and memorable when it did, and I'd take it again, but I didn't get to use it as much as I'd have thought. I could see it coming up more actually in a campaign that was a little more Role Play heavy.
• Wall of Stone oddly never really came up as the go-to move to separate enemies. Instead I used it to bury a portal to hell under a 5' thick slab of stone and halted the retreat of a bad guy. So utility wise it was amazing as we didn't otherwise have answers to those problems. It was just that the normal use case scenarios didn't really come up or I had better options. Would still absolutely take it again, maybe even over a Force Wall as the utility of being able to make it permanent was clutch.
• Disintegrate I got late so I didn't have a ton of opportunities to use it, but as a Sorcerer I had two things over anyone else using this. In the fight where I force choked one of two big bads to the ceiling, I'd first gone in heavy and Twin Cast Disintegrate on both of them hitting for over 70 damage which was major in that fight. I also had the ability to impose disadvantage on a check against a single target. Lastly, just knowing I had the ability to obliterate a 10' cube (or 20' with Twin) of anything was a comfort even though the situation didn't come up. I originally just looked at it as a damage spell, but having that destructive utility was really nice.

• Hex + Scorching Ray was supposed to be my big boss nova option. Takes a round to set up, but upcasting Scorching Ray for 3d6 extra damage per upcast seemed like a solid option. Unfortunately chunks of the campaign were underwater where fire wasn't great, and when bosses did show up my concentration was generally tied up on other options and they didn't have enough health that it was worth transitioning over to this combo. The couple of times I tried it I missed on some bolts so it wasn't as impactful as I'd hoped. I never really got to showcase this and it took 2 spells selections and would cost a round. I might try it again in a campaign where water didn't make it a bad option, but I could easily see myself looking for a different damage option too.
• I had such dreams around Modify Memory on this build. Free Subtle spell by casting with sorcery points instead of a spell slot, then Heightened Spell to impose disadvantage on the saving throw. Sadly, by the time I got it, the opportunity just never came up. I still think it has amazing potential behind it, but my DM for this campaign is more RP light.

Thoughts on the subclass

• Is there indeed a way to create Interview Confirmation Templates within Workday that could include branding and images etc?
• If so, is there a way to auto-populate the interview information, e.g. date, time, interviewer(s), focus areas etc?
• Is the Opt-In/Opt-Out email requirement mandatory or can this be turned off in settings somewhere? Reason I ask, is a friend recently started at another company and they mentioned that all of their communications came via Workday during the interview process and they never had to opt-in to receive those emails.

1. USE BCC (not in the “To” or “CC” section.
2. REMAIN RESPECTFUL.
3. OPTICS MATTER. Do not make us look bad in any way.

1. I have saved ____ hours on my roundtrip commute per week. This has allowed me to reinvest that time toward _____. [helping my kids with their homework, taking care of elderly relatives ]
2. I have saved $___ on commuting costs, which has helped me better afford ___ for me and my family. This has been especially helpful because high inflation has negatively affected me by _____.
3. By teleworking, I am reducing my environmental impact and contribution to climate change, which is _____
4. I have a physical disability and telework is more accommodating than using public transportation, etc. (Feel free to expand on it)
5. I do not live in an area with access to efficient public transportation, so teleworking helps by _____
6. For childcare during before and after work hours, it would cost me ________.

1. If even 33%, or 73,086 out of the 221,474 State employees use the monthly maximum IRS public transportation benefit,) that would cost the State $276.3 million every single year.
2. State Departments already spend $600 million per year on rent. Many State Departments also simply do not have enough office space for all of their employees currently. There is nowhere near enough quiet conference room space for employees to hold confidential meetings with stakeholders. Will these departments sign new leases for office space?
3. State Departments will be forced to buy many millions of dollars worth of additional office equipment for employees to effectively carry out their jobs including additional webcams, headsets, keyboards, standard office supplies, etc.
4. Pursuant to the reasonable accommodation process for employees with verified medical needs, State Departments will need to purchase other expensive equipment, including but not limited to specialized chairs and stand up desks.
   
   1. It is important to note that many employees have already invested their own money into equipping their own home office that best meets their needs. It is not simply not possible to ask an employee to bring in their own large equipment from home to the office and back, so the State Departments would incur these additional purchases.
5. State Departments will be spending much more in maintenance costs for elevators, bathroom repairs, printer repairs, electricity, water, gas, and other utilities.
   
6. State telework has also eliminated nearly 400,000 metric tons of carbon emissions. Mandating RTO will needlessly cause more carbon emissions, which directly runs counter to the Governor’s own words for his trip to the Vatican: “global temperatures [are] hurtling towards alarming new heights, the stakes could not be higher. There is no greater authority than moral authority — and the Pope’s leadership on the climate crisis inspires us all to push further and faster.”
   

1. The next logical question is, will the state offer these executive-level leaders special exemptions and privileges not available to rank and file staff and risk the hypocrisy that undermines the Governor’s stated policy for more “collaboration?” This creates another “rules for thee, but not for me” situation.
2. Or will the State risk losing these executive-level leaders en masse across numerous departments, undermining policy and program implementation?
3. For Departments considering exempting those who live over 50 miles away, it also destroys employee morale. For example, a 20 year veteran staff member with technical expertise may be forced to commute and come into the office twice a week to train a newer employee over Microsoft Teams or Zoom simply because they live in Los Angeles. This naturally breeds frustration and resentment.
4. For exempted employees who live over 50 miles away, some Departments are creating policies that their 5 day remote status only applies to their currently held position, so these employees are “forever stuck” and cannot promote upward, even if they have the expertise the Department needs.
5. The State is starting to open itself up to lawsuits as some Departments are already denying reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities.
6. Being able to recruit employees from areas other than Sacramento helps ensure Departments get perspectives from different counties all across the State. People from rural, suburban, and urban areas all have different experiences and to best serve ALL Californians, we need a geographically diverse workforce.
7. As previously stated, many Departments already do not have the office space or needed equipment for all of their employees. With RTO, new equipment will be needed and purchasing equipment notoriously takes a long time. These factors, combined with many departments trying to implement a hoteling system, will ultimately result in a extremely chaotic return-to-the-office and tank productivity. Many Departments have held Q&A sessions and time and time again, HR offices have been unable to answer basic questions about RTO logistics.

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the market place; and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing; and he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius. And on receiving it they grumbled at the householder, saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you, and go; I choose to give to this last as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ So the last will be first, and the first last.”