You’ve set up your fax machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions, and everything appears to be in order — but how can you be sure it’ll actually work? By sending a test fax. Sending a test fax is the best way to confirm that your device is connected properly and your documents will end up in the right hands. This is really important if you need to fax a check or other sensitive document. Typically, the process requires less than 10 minutes, and you can send a test fax for free. This is true if you are using a fax machine, a computer with a fax modem, or an online fax service. 1 RingCentral RingEx Employees per Company Size Micro (0-49), Small (50-249), Medium (250-999), Large (1,000-4,999), Enterprise (5,000+) Medium (250-999 Employees), Large (1,000-4,999 Employees), Enterprise (5,000+ Employees) Medium, Large, Enterprise Features Hosted PBX, Managed PBX, Remote User Ability, and more 2 Talkroute Employees per Company Size Micro (0-49), Small (50-249), Medium (250-999), Large (1,000-4,999), Enterprise (5,000+) Any Company Size Any Company Size Features Call Management/Monitoring, Call Routing, Mobile Capabilities, and more The easiest way to test fax Like many people, the easiest test fax service I know of is run by Hewlett-Packard (HP). It’s been around for years, and it is a simple, cost-free way to test whether your machine is ready to send and receive messages — and you don’t even need an HP brand machine to use it. As a bit of background, most fax devices are programmed to issue either a printed or digital report that confirms the status of your transmission, and a successful fax usually results in a report that marks the file as “in process” or “sent.” Of course, if your machine encounters trouble, you might see a notification reading “no answer,” “busy,” or “unable to connect.” While these reports are helpful for determining whether or not your fax was sent, they don’t tell you if your machine can receive transmissions. That said, HP’s test fax number, 1-888-HPFaxme (1-888-473-2963 U.S.), provides a great way to make sure that both the outgoing and incoming pathways are open. In fact, this automated system even sends you a response fax to let you know the line is working properly. If your device is connected and programmed correctly, you should receive a response fax in as little as five minutes. A wait longer than 10 minutes may indicate an issue with your line or fax settings. As suggested, you can send your test file using any brand of machine — and as long as you’re located within the United States, it’s completely free. SEE: Learn how to use a fax machine and some simple fixes if it’s not working. What to include in your test fax You don’t need to send an actual document to the test number, as a single cover sheet will suffice. The main idea here is to include your complete and accurate 10-digit fax number in the document header, as this will tell HP where to send its response. Remember, much like a document header, your fax header appears at the very top of every file you send. A fax header must include key contact details, such as your name, company, fax number, and recipient’s fax number, along with the date and time of transmission. This information is programmed directly into the machine before sending your fax. From the main menu of your machine’s control panel, select Setup, Fax Setup, and then Preferences. From there, you should be able to input header specifics through the Fax Header option. As an extra precaution to ensure a successful transmission, HP also recommends that you temporarily suspend any services, such as caller ID or spam blocking. These features can interfere with the fax signal and result in test failure. Your exact machine’s control panel steps may vary. Check with the vendor or their online resources if you have trouble. What to do if the test fax fails If you’re stuck waiting for more than 10 minutes, it’s time to troubleshoot. Clearly, your machine is encountering a problem — but it may not be clear if the failure is on the sending or receiving end of the fax signal. In most cases, the specific issue can be identified and fixed by running through a series of sequential steps, starting with a fax test report. Often, you can get an idea of where the failure occurred by selecting the Run Fax Test or Fax Test Report option from your machine’s Setup or Fax menu and reviewing the diagnostic printout. This may provide guidance as to where the signal went awry. Test fax failed to send Regardless of whether you are using a traditional machine or online service, fax does not take long to send. If it’s been longer than a few minutes and the fax hasn’t been sent, you should start troubleshooting. First, check the fax connection by calling the fax number. If you don’t hear a fax tone, make sure that all cords are plugged into the correct ports according to the manufacturer’s instructions. If the line appears to be connected, you can support a successful transmission by adjusting certain machine settings. Try lowering the machine’s fax speed, typically found in the Advanced Fax Settings menu. You can also turn on Error Connection Mode, which will slow the transmission automatically if it detects that line quality is compromised. Sending your fax in black and white can also simplify the sending process. Note that these adjustments may require more time to transmit. If you’re still experiencing an issue, reconfirm that the machine’s Dial Type is set to Tone rather than Pulse. Today’s phone lines use tone dialing, so any fax device set to detect a pulse signal may not be able to establish a connection. Test fax was not received It’s possible that your fax went through, but your machine was unable to process the response signal from HP. If you suspect this might be the case,

In many organizations, the principles of IT Service Management (ITSM) have transformed how IT departments handle requests, manage resources and improve efficiency despite budget and resource challenges. But why stop at IT? The rise of digital transformation has necessitated a new service management approach. Enterprise Service Management (ESM) creates a more holistic, enterprise-wide approach to service management and breaks down the silos of traditional service management. With ESM, IT departments become critical business enablers, working in harmony with departments like HR, facilities, legal, and more. ESM expands the scope of ITSM to streamline operations across the entire organization. By aligning IT services with broader business processes, you get improved service delivery, enhanced collaboration, more visibility, higher customer satisfaction and greater business agility. Key components of ESM Successful ESM execution involves a few key components, including: Process automation: Automating routine tasks like incident management, service requests, and approvals frees up staff to focus on strategic initiatives. Automation also reduces human error and improves response times, especially for cross-departmental collaboration on tasks like onboarding new employees. Shared service delivery models: ESM promotes shared workflows and processes across departments, breaking down silos and encouraging collaboration. This ensures consistency in service delivery and promotes efficient resource utilization for projects and tasks. Finding a no-code ESM platform with automation and integration – like TeamDynamix – can make all the difference. With codeless platforms, you can better enable technical employees in all departments and cut down on the number of IT resources needed to carry out ESM. Avoiding ESM pitfalls One of the biggest challenges organizations face when it comes to implementing ESM is resistance to change. Organizational change can be scary.   Any organization looking to implement ESM should start by encouraging everyone to think about their tasks as part of a service, and their roles as service providers. This perspective can help motivate people to want to innovate. In addition, leadership should communicate the benefits of ESM and provide training and support to employees so they can actually see the benefits and how it will help them manage their work. Pima County, for example, started its culture shift in IT, to demonstrate the success of new technology before rolling it out to the rest of the organization. “The drudgery of working through mundane, repetitive tasks doesn’t exist just in IT,” said Mark Hayes, information technology leader for the county. “The more we can reduce toil within the departments we support, the more people are going to buy in and understand the value of what we’re trying to achieve. There’s nothing like success to breed more success, and once other departments see the benefits, they’re going to want these tools too.” Finding the right ESM platform for success At Casino Arizona and Talking Stick Resort, TeamDynamix is the ESM platform choice. “We looked at a number of systems,” said Program Manager Adam Dunn. “In TeamDynamix, we found the one that was most user-friendly.” The resort’s housekeeping team will use the ESM platform to help with resource capacity planning around events. “We have an event space where we host a variety of different things,” Dunn explained. “We’ll be using [ESM] to get out in front of these and schedule housekeeping for room cleanings before and after these events. All of these housekeeping requests can be scheduled and managed through a ticket. This allows our housekeeping department to see what events are upcoming in order to plan and staff appropriately.” Using TeamDynamix ESM has greatly improved the response times for a variety of services, including security and access approvals, Dunn said.   “We averaged four or five days to obtain proper approvals with our previous system. Now, we’re looking at one or two days,” he said. “We’re talking about a 70-percent decrease. If you need access to an application, waiting four days for all the approvals to take place and get you into the system keeps you from being able to do your job. Getting that down to just a day or two has been critical for us.” Is your company ready to embrace the power of Enterprise Service Management? Explore how adopting ESM can transform your operations and drive business success. source

Accelerating decision making with analytics and AI With CEO Aengus Kelly talking publicly about AerCap being a data company, a big part of Koletzki’s forward planning is around data analytics, finding a way to harvest knowledge hidden in databases that can benefit the business. Last year he was planning to build a data warehouse in Azure when Microsoft Fabric was announced. Ordinarily, Koletzki would be wary of ‘buggy’ new products, but because Fabric reuses existing Microsoft components and makes data analytics available as a service, he was comfortable signing up and becoming the first Fabric customer in Ireland. “Microsoft is very clever in connecting their products together. It meant I didn’t have to build my own architecture,” he says. “I just subscribed to their service.” While there are AI components in Fabric, the wider use of AI by AerCap is still under evaluation. Koletzki has strong views on the hottest topic in tech. “Let’s be very clear, AI has to be controlled,” he says. “Generative AI is a probabilistic, not a deterministic system. For the last 40 years, we’ve been interacting with computers as human beings and been trained into believing that a deterministic answer will be repeated when you ask the same question twice. That’s not the case in AI. It’s a probabilistic system, and it can hallucinate.” source

There is no wiggle room in that date, nor is there any in the intermediate dates for locking of profiles (Jan. 3) and blocking an automatic migration to Azure Front Door (Jan. 6). Microsoft recommended that customers complete their migration off the Azure CDN from Edgio platform by Jan. 7, 2025, to avoid service disruptions. However, it said, “If you have any services running on Azure CDN from Edgio on Jan. 7, 2025 and haven’t informed us of your plans … we’ll attempt to migrate your services over to Azure Front Door on Jan. 7, 2025. We’ll be performing this migration to Azure Front Door on a ‘best effort’ basis, and doing so might cause issues related to the billing, features, availability, and/or performance you’re currently consuming with Azure CDN from Edgio.” In other words, it’s best to do your homework and deal with the migration off Azure CDN from Edgio to another platform yourself to avoid problems. Microsoft has already posted guidance on how to go about it. source

Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More CES 2025 is coming to Las Vegas during the week of January 5, and it will be one of the biggest tech expos in the world again. This year’s show should be big again. Last year’s attendance reached 138,789, according to an audited report by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), the group that puts on the show. Last year at CES 2024, I recorded around 80 press events, interviews, and sessions. I walked 46.78 miles, or 105,407 steps, over six days. My feet hurt and my back were sore. There were more than 4,300 exhibitors and 2.4 million square feet of exhibit space to crawl. And the Goodyear blimp was there. I’ve been attending the Consumer Electronics Show since the 1990s when then-Microsoft CEO Bill Gates gave the opening keynote speeches every year. This time, the biggest speech will come from Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, the graphics chip maker that has become the king of AI hardware with a market value of $3.42 trillion — the most valuable company in the world. He will give a talk at 6:30 p.m. Pacific time at the Michelob Arena at the Mandalay Bay on January 6. Most attendees arrive at the show on January 7 and stay through January 10, when the expos are open. But the press — a few thousand of us — start arriving on January 5 for the afternoon previews and CES Unveiled (press only, in Mandalay Bay), where award-winning exhibitors show their wares at tables. “The CES is an amazing, powerful tech event. I was looking back at what you had written last year about it, before and after,” said Gary Shapiro, CEO of the Consumer Technology Association, in an interview with GamesBeat. “A lot of people go with a very full agenda, but we always say you have to have time for serendipity and discovery. We have a new look, a new feel. We focused the campaign on “Dive in.” We’re inviting attendees to do three things: connect, solve, and discover.” He said the average attendee has about 29 meetings during the show, as face-to-face business is still important. About 75% of attendees say their business is primarily B2B, or both B2B and B2C. Gary Shapiro is CEO of the CTA, creator of CES. My No. 1 tip is to always wear comfortable shoes. I learned that lesson after some blisters during a CES years ago. As for a mask, I wear it on planes and occasionally during big, crowded indoor events. But things have changed since the COVID days when the show was canceled outright in January 2021 and severely restricted in January 2022, with only 45,000 showing up. Much of my advice is not rocket science. But I renew this story every year since there are new people attending the show and many going for the first time. I take no responsibility for bad advice. You can check out the CES app here. Attendance is not quite where it once was. Back in 2019, the show drew 175,212 in 2019 and 171,268 in 2020. CES 2020 had about 4,500 exhibitors across 2.9 million square feet of space. This year, the show is at least a few days after New Year’s and that gives some breathing room for those planning on going. As a bonus, here’s my gaming predictions for 2025. The latest word from the CTA: “CES 2025 will be the world’s most powerful business event, setting the tech agenda for the year. With nearly 140,000 global attendees at CES 2024, we are seeing positive momentum and interest from industry executives, top manufacturers, buyers, retailers, and media for CES 2025. Thousands of startups and companies from around the world will showcase innovation that will solve some of our most pressing challenges.” Should you go? The line to get into the first press event at CES 2024. It’s a big show, and, unlike the gaming industry’s canceled E3 show, it’s still relevant. Last year, there were 5,355 media last year, up from 4,800 media attending CES 2023, up from 3,100 media at CES 2022. Eureka Park at the Venetian’s Sands Expo had more than 1,400 startups. There were 46,000 international visitors, or 40.6% of the total, last year. Some 5,975 were from the Americas outside the U.S., 12,424 were from Europe, 36,017 were from the Middle East and Asia, 229 were from Africa and 552 were from Oceania. About 15,723 were presidents or founders, or 11.7% of overall attendance, and another 12,768, or 9.5%, were C-suite executives. Last year’s top areas of interest were AI, vehicle tech, IoT sensors, smarthomes and appliances, AR/XR/VR, robotics, marketing and advertising, startups, video technologies, 5G, energy/power, cloud computing/data and fitness/wearables. The year before, the top areas of interest were AI, IoT/sensors, vehicle technology, AR/VR/XR, smarthomes and appliances, 5G, robotics, startups, energy/power, fitness and wearables and marketing and advertising. I still view CES as a bellwether for the tech economy, as no other event spans the entire tech world like it does. Companies want to create a buzz at CES, which is designed to signal products coming in the next year. I find the show a useful way to stay up to speed on the latest technology. If you find the health risk acceptable, then it can still be a valuable way to stay in touch. Apple doesn’t attend the show, but just about every other tech giant does. It’s where the tech industry will be next week, though it’s not so much of a game event these days. Sony, however, will be showing up and they are expected to show off the Afeela electric car (created with Honda) complete with a PlayStation 5 in the vehicle at the show. Gary Shapiro wore his mask at CES 2022 during the Omicron wave. Since 2020, CES official exhibit venues have been equipped with improved ventilation systems and fresh air flow.  The Las Vegas Convention Center, Mandalay

Overdraft protection is a service for bank accounts that covers transactions when there aren’t enough funds in the main account, preventing costly nonsufficient funds (NSF) fees and returned payments. Overdraft protection can be set up with a backup account, credit line, or credit card. When funds are low, money transfers from this backup source to cover payments. Some banks offer this service at no extra charge, while others might charge a nominal fee. If you are currently looking for a bank that offers overdraft protection, U.S. Bank is a great choice. U.S. Bank lets you link multiple business deposit accounts or credit products to your primary account for overdraft protection. Visit U.S. Bank’s website for more information on their services. How overdraft protection works When you write a check or authorize a payment that exceeds your account balance, an overdraft can happen. With overdraft protection, banks cover these transactions using funds from a designated backup source, such as a savings account, credit card, or small line of credit, sparing you from NSF fees. Depending on the bank, there might be a small fee, which typically falls below $20, for each transaction. This backup transfer can ensure smooth transactions and prevent any disruptions that bounced payments might cause. Pros and cons of overdraft protection Pros Prevents NSF fees: By covering payments when your account lacks funds, overdraft protection helps avoid NSF fees, which can be costly and harm your reputation. This is particularly helpful for those who process frequent transactions or manage several payment accounts. Maintains vendor relations: Overdraft protection ensures payments go through without bouncing, maintaining trust and goodwill with vendors and partners. This reliability is critical for small businesses that depend on prompt payments to build long-term relationships. Provides cash flow flexibility: Businesses with seasonal income or clients on delayed payment terms can benefit from the backup of overdraft protection, helping them navigate cash flow gaps. This added flexibility allows for smoother operations during lean times without interrupting essential payments. Minimizes disruptions: Overdraft protection reduces the risk of payment interruptions, ensuring bills and invoices are paid on time even when cash flow is low. Minimizing such disruptions is crucial for maintaining consistent operations, especially in client-facing businesses. Cons Frequent fees: Overdraft protection often incurs a fee per transaction, which can accumulate quickly if overdraft use becomes frequent. While each individual fee may seem manageable, the total cost over time can eat into profits. Potential for high interest: When overdraft protection is linked to a credit line, interest is charged on any borrowed amount, which can add a significant expense if balances are not promptly repaid. This interest can compound if a business relies too heavily on credit for cash flow. Reliance on credit: Frequent use of overdraft protection may lead to a habit of depending on it, which can reduce budgeting discipline and lead to overspending. Over time, this reliance can create a cycle of dependency, making it harder to manage cash flow independently. Limited effectiveness: If your backup accounts also lack funds or have usage limits, overdraft protection may fail to cover certain transactions. This could result in additional fees or bounced payments, which negates the benefit of having the protection in place. More Banking Coverage Types of overdraft protection plans Linked savings account: A linked savings account can automatically transfer funds to cover overdrafts when the primary checking account falls short. This setup is usually low-cost, though transfers may be limited to a certain number per month. Credit line protection: With this plan, the bank provides a small credit line specifically for overdrafts, charging interest on the amount used until it’s repaid. This option is useful for those who may occasionally need larger sums to cover cash flow gaps, but it comes with interest charges. Credit card backup: Linking a credit card to the account allows the bank to cover overdrafts by charging the credit card, typically with a fee or interest. This option provides flexibility but can become costly if the borrowed amount is not repaid quickly. Overdraft transfer service: This service links multiple bank accounts, automatically transferring funds from one to another to cover shortages in the main account. It’s a flexible option for those with multiple accounts, though each transfer may come with a small fee. Who needs business overdraft protection? Not all businesses require overdraft protection, but for companies with inconsistent cash flow or those in startup phases, it can be invaluable. Small businesses operating on a tight budget or experience payment delays due to client terms, like freelancers or seasonal businesses, might benefit. Businesses lacking dedicated financial management may also find overdraft protection useful as a safeguard against unintentional account shortfalls, providing peace of mind and allowing business owners to focus on growth instead of stressing about potential overdrafts. Steps to avoid account overdrafts In addition to reviewing the policies of a bank when opening a bank account or choosing a bank for your business, there are steps you can take to actively avoid paying account overdraft fees. Monitor balances regularly: Checking your account balance through online banking helps ensure you know your financial status. This practice can prevent unexpected overdrafts by informing you of incoming and outgoing transactions. Set up alerts: Many banks offer low-balance alerts via email or text to notify you when your account dips below a specified threshold. These alerts help you take proactive steps, such as depositing funds, before an overdraft occurs. Budget carefully: Forecasting expenses and creating a detailed budget helps you allocate funds appropriately and anticipate periods when funds may be low. A well-planned budget can serve as a roadmap for managing both regular and unexpected expenses. Maintain a reserve fund: Setting aside a small reserve in a linked savings account can act as a buffer during times of low cash flow. This reserve can cover unforeseen expenses without needing to rely on overdraft protection. Limit authorized users: Restricting account access to only essential team members helps control spending and reduces the likelihood of

A distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack vector attempts to overwhelm a VoIP server with phony user requests. Because this massive volume of traffic is more than your network can handle, it can force your online service or website offline, preventing legitimate user requests from processing. Cybercriminals can use them to disrupt your Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) network services, which form the backbone of most modern business phone services and call center software. VoIP services are highly susceptible to DDoS attacks because attackers don’t have to knock them offline to disrupt communications — a VoIP DDoS attack that ultimately fails may still significantly degrade voice call services. Attackers can crash a business phone system in seconds. Imagine the damage to a popular brand during peak holiday shopping season, or to a power company during a blackout. Let’s walk through how these attacks happen and specific steps you can take to defend against them. 1 RingCentral RingEx Employees per Company Size Micro (0-49), Small (50-249), Medium (250-999), Large (1,000-4,999), Enterprise (5,000+) Medium (250-999 Employees), Large (1,000-4,999 Employees), Enterprise (5,000+ Employees) Medium, Large, Enterprise Features Hosted PBX, Managed PBX, Remote User Ability, and more 2 Talkroute Employees per Company Size Micro (0-49), Small (50-249), Medium (250-999), Large (1,000-4,999), Enterprise (5,000+) Any Company Size Any Company Size Features Call Management/Monitoring, Call Routing, Mobile Capabilities, and more Anatomy of a VoIP DDoS attack Distributed Denial of Service attacks flood a network with enough fake traffic to crash anything online, like a website, app, or phone service. Legitimate users are denied service because the network is busy handling an astronomical number of fake requests. It’s not hard to imagine how a VoIP server that handles a few hundred calls an hour will encounter some serious issues responding to a sudden spike of a few thousand calls per second. Attackers use massive robot networks of interconnected devices — aka botnets — to carry out these attacks. Typically, these are compromised devices including, computers, routers, mobile phones, and IoT devices (smart home and wearable gadgets). Modern criminal botnets are capable of performing a massive number of repetitive actions to further DDoS attacks, spam campaigns, and credential stuffing attacks. In a nutshell, a VoIP DDoS attack is a massive amount of garbage traffic hitting your network that prevents legitimate traffic from being handled. This could cause a disruption in service, crash the network, or escalate into a ransomware attack where a critical business system is down until you pay up. Hackers often target (Session Initiation Protocol), the protocol used to initiate VoIP. They can send a massive volume of SIP call requests that can crash the victim’s VoIP server. This is known as a SIP flood attack. Another common tactic is a SIP reflection attack, where the threat actor sends requests to thousands of random servers, but spoofs the victim’s IP address in the SIP requests. These servers send back responses to the victim, whose VoIP server is now flooded with requests. How to prevent VoIP DDoS attacks Any of the best business phone service providers have already implemented these defenses and a whole lot more. Businesses using those services should talk to their provider about the best way to prepare for VoIP DDoS threats, and the steps the provider is taking to keep the network safe against the latest threats. If you are responsible for the infrastructure, here are seven ways you can defend your network from VoIP DDoS attacks. 1. Use a reverse proxy Instead of allowing clients and web requests to interact directly with your servers, a reverse proxy sits in front of them, intercepting their messages. Therefore, the reverse proxy shields your servers by handling and filtering requests on their behalf. This is why they are also known as gateway servers. Because reverse proxy servers receive the HTTP endpoint requests meant for origin servers, they can boost security, reliability, and performance. As a result, you can use a reverse proxy to protect your servers from DDoS and foreign attacks. Here are some specific ways a reverse proxy server protects your infrastructure from DDoS attacks: Regulating inbound traffic to ensure only legitimate ones are allowed through. Protecting your critical resource servers (web, application, and database servers). They mask your origin server’s IP address, making it harder for hackers to target. Reducing latency by taking some computational load off your origin server, such as encrypting and decrypting transport layer security (TLS/SSL) communications. They use load balancing and web acceleration to improve user experience. They improve server performance by using rate limiting, content caching, and load balancing. 2. Deploy real-time, adaptive network monitoring The best network monitoring tools can help prevent DDoS attacks through their ability to detect unusual network activity in real time. More than rote network monitoring, it can detect abnormal behavior in your network after establishing a baseline of typical activity as reference points. As a result, your network security defenses are better positioned to adapt to the unusual traffic spikes caused by DDoS and defend endpoint protocols and IP blocks against malicious requests. Along with preventing VoIP DDoS attacks, these real-time network monitoring can help prevent VoIP fraud. 3. Implement rate limiting Once your network monitoring has established a network activity baseline, you can implement rate limiting, which is a strategy for limiting network traffic to forestall malicious bot activity and any other consequence of a DDoS attack, such as system resource exhaustion and overuse. Rate limiting works by delaying or outrightly blocking requests from a single IP address or several traffic sources, especially when their request exceeds a threshold. Rate limits are implemented in several ways to ensure only legitimate traffic is allowed. For example, they ensure a user, agent, or endpoint can’t repeat an action or activity within a certain duration of time, essentially restricting the number of requests that can be made to a resource. The overall effect of rate limiting makes it much more difficult for an attacker to launch a DDoS attack successfully. In general, rate limiting allows

 值此2024歲暮之季，亞洲癌症研究基金會有限公司感謝您成為我們抗癌大家庭中珍貴的一員。 您的支持為基金會推動尖端性科學研究提供了原動力。譬如，AFCR的資助推進了一個獨特的首創分子膠降解劑技術平台，可以消除不可成藥的癌症靶點，並在調節癌症存活率和癌細胞轉移方面展現出巨大潛力。同時，AFCR長期資助的植物藥YIV-906，其IIb期臨床試驗顯示出可觀前景，能夠增強免疫反應，減輕胃腸道副作用，幫助患者耐受一線藥物。 您的善款對我們至關重要。正因為像您這樣的慷慨捐助者，我們才得以為這些科研癒癌提供亟需的資金支持，推動有望顯著改善各類癌症的診斷和治療的研究項目。 懇請您今天就送出一份捐助! As 2024 draws to a close, the Asian Fund for Cancer Research Limited (AFCR) thanks you for being a valued member of our cancer-fighting community. Your support is the driving force that allows AFCR to advance cutting-edge cancer research. For example, new milestones have been reached in first-in-class molecular glue degraders supported by AFCR that can eliminate undruggable cancer targets, with great potential to regulate cancer survival and metastasis. Meanwhile, AFCR-supported botanical drug YIV-906 entered the Phase IIb clinical trial, showing promise to enhance the immune response and alleviate gastrointestinal side effects to help patients tolerate the frontline drug. The gift you give matters most. It’s contributions from loyal donors like you that made such excellent progress in these AFCR-funded research projects possible, which could significantly improve cancer treatment and diagnosis. Please Donate Today!<image001.png>了解我們在2024-2025年期間資助的癌症科研項目Learn more about the research fields we fund during 2024-2025   <image002.jpg> Unit 1503, Tower II, Metroplaza, 223 Hing Fong Road, Kwai Chung, Hong Kong香港葵涌興芳路223號新都會廣場第2座1503室 Phone電話 2156 9684 | [email protected] | www.AFCR.org The Asian Fund for Cancer Research Limited (AFCR) is committed to funding cancer research, especially those cancers prevalent in Asian populations, and promoting global collaborations for high impact to save the lives of cancer patients. 亞洲癌症研究基金會有限公司（AFCR）致力於資助癌症研究，尤其專注於亞洲人口發病率高的癌症，並通過促進具有重大影響的癌症研究國際合作，救助癌症患者生命。 source

It can be a very competitive hiring landscape for many. Fortunately, today’s employers have many options for talent acquisition — and are increasingly able to leverage technology to drive efficiency and better results. However, maximum effectiveness requires a combination of both traditional and technology-driven strategies. Over the years, I’ve seen first-hand how sound recruiting strategies can help organizations compete for talent in even the most competitive industries. 2 PCRecruiter Employees per Company Size Micro (0-49), Small (50-249), Medium (250-999), Large (1,000-4,999), Enterprise (5,000+) Micro (0-49 Employees), Small (50-249 Employees) Micro, Small Features API, Applicant Tracking System, Document Management / Sharing, and more 3 Zoho Recruit Employees per Company Size Micro (0-49), Small (50-249), Medium (250-999), Large (1,000-4,999), Enterprise (5,000+) Any Company Size Any Company Size Features API, Applicant Tracking System, Document Management / Sharing, and more What is a recruitment strategy? A recruitment strategy is a company’s plan on how it will attract, interview, hire, and onboard employees. It includes the tactics and approaches the company, its HR staff, and hiring managers will use in its recruitment practices. Why are hiring strategies important? Hiring strategies provide direction and set the stage for actions designed to find candidates, interest them in the company and specific open positions, and bring them on board. Hiring strategies ensure that everyone is on the same page and supportive of the organization’s brand, overall goals, and objectives related to hiring. Effective hiring strategies include: Improve hiring efficiency: Defined hiring strategies create process workflows to help you recruit and hire talent faster for critical roles. Align with the organization’s business objectives: Hiring practices need to support the organization’s direction and goals. New hires will be brought on board to help the organization achieve these goals. Position the organization competitively: In a competitive hiring landscape, companies must ensure that they’re setting themselves apart from other job opportunities candidates may have. Follow legal and regulatory requirements: Organizations must ensure that they comply with a myriad of laws related to hiring. There are numerous recruitment strategies that companies could put into practice — both traditional and those powered by new and continually advancing technology. Traditional recruitment strategies As I’ve consulted with various companies, I’ve found that while technology is crucial these days to streamline hiring processes, there are some traditional, tried-and-true measures that still get results. 1. Ensure and communicate a strong employer brand A strong employer brand, like a strong company or product brand, sets a company apart. The opposite is also true. Some companies have a bad reputation. Your brand must be real — you must be a great place to work! In addition, you also need to take steps to let people know that you’re a great place to work. This can be done through a combination of ongoing and role-specific communications via websites and other channels. It’s important that these messages be consistent across channels and designed to tell a compelling story about your company and its employees. In addition to content developed by communication professionals, user-generated content, in this case, content created by your employees, can be a great way to convey your organization’s culture in a meaningful and impactful way. 2. Develop a robust employee referral program As Mercer tells us: “Referral-based hiring is a popular talent acquisition (TA) practice in today’s job market, primarily because it can save businesses time and money when selecting and recruiting new staff.” The idea behind employee referrals is simple and logical: your current employees aren’t likely to refer someone to work for your organization who they don’t believe will be a good fit and do a good job. After all, the referral reflects on them. In addition, chances are high that good employees will recommend others who are likely to be good employees. A robust employee referral program can take advantage of these benefits, helping you to build a cohesive, brand-supportive workforce while also cutting recruiting costs and boosting time to hire. I’ve implemented referral programs while working in corporate settings and have advised clients on how to do so; their results have been consistently positive not just in terms of access to top candidates but also for engaging existing employees in the process and clearly conveying to them the importance of their role in helping to source and hire great employees. I’ve seen situations where employees are very excited to have their recommendations come on board; they are well-positioned to serve as natural mentors. Referrals can also help to shorten the recruitment process as confidence in these candidates is boosted. 3. Leverage social media Social media channels can be a great way to connect with and engage potential job candidates. While LinkedIn is the obvious go-to platform for recruitment  — it was originally established as a jobs platform, after all — it’s not the only one. Other social media channels may be appropriate for your recruitment marketing efforts depending on the demographics of the types of candidates you’re recruiting for a specific role. For instance, if you’re recruiting for creative positions, TikTok and YouTube may provide you with a rich landscape for finding talented individuals whose creativity is demonstrated via those platforms. 4. Recruit from within According to McKinsey’s “The State of Organizations in 2023” report, only 5% of organizations say they have the capabilities needed to achieve a competitive advantage. Many go outside of their organizations to recruit talent to fill those gaps. However, others are discovering the value of developing that talent internally through reskilling and upskilling and, in the process, turning the table to recruit from within. It’s a win-win. Organizations benefit from readily available talent that is already familiar with the organization and likely a good fit for its culture. Employees benefit, too, from the opportunity to learn and develop new skills — something that many employees point to as a key benefit and a compelling factor in their decision to join and stay with an employer. In fact, 48% of American employees would go to a new job if they

Long before the era of smartphones, there was a time when communication devices were limited to telegram messages. But an emergent technology was on the way that would allow people to send images and documents over telephone lines for the first time in history. While it wasn’t named as such at the time, this was the first iteration of the fax machine. And while many think that fax machines emerged in the past few decades, it’s a much older invention with a surprisingly long history spanning from the 19th century. So here’s everything to know about the modern fax machine, how it evolved into what we know today, and why this technology is so important for laying the groundwork for modern fax servers and business phone services capable of handling millions of faxes each year. 1 RingCentral RingEx Employees per Company Size Micro (0-49), Small (50-249), Medium (250-999), Large (1,000-4,999), Enterprise (5,000+) Medium (250-999 Employees), Large (1,000-4,999 Employees), Enterprise (5,000+ Employees) Medium, Large, Enterprise Features Hosted PBX, Managed PBX, Remote User Ability, and more 2 Talkroute Employees per Company Size Micro (0-49), Small (50-249), Medium (250-999), Large (1,000-4,999), Enterprise (5,000+) Any Company Size Any Company Size Features Call Management/Monitoring, Call Routing, Mobile Capabilities, and more Who first invented the first fax machine? The first version of the fax machine was invented by the Scottish inventor and mechanic Alexander Bain in 1843. He was awarded a patent for advancements in generating and controlling electric currents, as well as enhancements in timekeeping, electric printing, and signal telegraphs. How did Bain’s fax machine work? Bain’s invention was for a “recording electric telegraph” that could send images over long distances. This worked by scanning a metal surface with a stylus attached to a pendulum. The scan detected and translated the image into electrical signals that could then be sent over a telegraph line. The message was replicated at the receiving station using electrochemically sensitive paper infused with a chemical solution akin to the one devised for his chemical telegraph. Alexander Bain was an amateur clockmaker and used parts from his clock mechanisms to alter telegraph machines and create his fax machine. This ingenious combination of his engineering skills and his understanding of electricity led to a new way to share images and documents. A bit about the inventor and academic Alexander Bain Bain became an influential figure in several fields, including education reform, moral philosophy, linguistics, logic, and psychology. He held prestigious positions at the University of Aberdeen and started the analytical philosophy-focused journal “Mind.” But his fax machine invention was perhaps his most significant contribution to technology and emerged from his interests in telegraphy, electromagnetism, and electricity. The patent was filed 33 years before the invention, making it one of the earliest and most influential versions of modern telecommunications. In 2016, he received the prestigious Technology & Engineering Emmy Award posthumously, recognizing his groundbreaking contributions to image transmission. Who invented the first modern fax machine? The global corporation Xerox is credited for inventing the first modern fax machine, the LDX System, on May 5th, 1964. It was constructed in the company’s research center based in Webster, NY.  This facsimile system used a cathode ray tube to generate images, and they also created a variant that could send images to computers for printing. What made the LDX system revolutionary? This technology was a step beyond previous technologies because of its ability to transmit copies between two locations through one of the following methods: A coaxial cable. A microwave channel. A telephone line. This made it possible to send faxes more flexibly and outside of dependent networks. The LDX system also functioned on xerographic technology, which works by creating an electrical charge in the areas of a document that need to be inked onto paper. This combination of technologies allowed for the machine to produce an accurate and detailed reproduction of an electronically transmitted document. How similar is the LDX system to fax machines today? Xerox’s LDX system could transmit regular-sized documents over long distances in about six minutes, marking a revolutionary step in communication technologies. Today’s fax machines may bear similarities to the LDX but have also undergone several improvements. Modern fax machines are much faster, more compact, and offer better image quality overall. They also use digital technology, which allows for data compression and hence quicker transmission times. However, the fundamental purpose of transmitting scanned printed material, both text and images, remains the same between the LDX and modern-day fax machines. Evolution of the fax machine Here’s a chronological timeline of each major advancement that transformed the fax machine from a simple communication tool into the versatile machines we use today: 1843: Alexander Bain created an experimental facsimile machine with synchronized pendulums that could scan information from a metal plate. 1851: Frederick Bakewell further improved Bain’s design with rotating cylinders that resulted in a clearer sharper image. 1865: Giovanni Caselli presented the Pantelegraph in France. This technology used a regulating clock to synchronize the scanning of images for telegraphic transmission. 1924: A picture of Calvin Coolidge was wirelessly sent by Richard H. Ranger from New York to London. This was done with the Photoradiogram, a machine that could transmit signals remotely. 1924: Herbert Ives successfully transmitted the first color facsimile using color separations. 1964: The Xerox Corporation introduced the LDX System, which was the first commercial form of fax machine technology available. It was able to transfer a letter-sized document in about six minutes. 1966: Xerox’s revolutionary Magnafax Telecopier had the capability to connect to any telephone line and transmit a letter-sized document within a mere six minutes. 1974: The transmission time for a single-page fax was reduced to just three minutes. 1980: Japan’s NTT and KDDI developed the ITU G3 Facsimile Standard, leading to a surge in fax technology and establishing fax as one of the first truly universal communication methods. 1985: GammaLink introduced the first computer-based fax board, GammaFax, integrating computers into the global network of fax machines. This paved