According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), U.S. consumers received approximately 2.4 billion robocalls per month in 2016. It feels like I receive a large number of those calls. It has gotten so bad that I don’t answer my phone (cell or office) anymore from a number I don’t recognize.

The FCC is taking steps to try to stem the tide of robocalls and texts. They do provide some helpful information on how to stop unwanted robocalls and texts. An article on the FCC website – Beating Back Unwanted Robocalls – goes into more depth on the problem.

Even with strong enforcement action, it is unlikely these annoying calls will stop.

For several years I have used an app on my phone that helps me identify potential scams, spam, and telemarketing calls. The app is called Hiya. It is available for both Android and iOS smartphones.

It is easy to miss the impact that machine learning is having on our everyday lives. A recent example that caught my attention is the new capability Microsoft has added to the mobile versions of Excel (Android and iOS) that allows you to take a picture of a table of information and convert the picture to data and insert it into a spreadsheet.

This functionality is available in the latest versions of Excel for iPhone and Excel for Android phones and tablets.

The recent spate of severe storms throughout the Midwest is a reminder that spring brings insurance claim challenges for many agencies. Severe weather can affect an insurance agency’s own office and homes as well as their clients. One of the questions often asked by policyholders is, “Did the recent hail damage my roof? And, should I file a claim?”

When we lived in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, severe thunderstorms with hail were a common occurrence. It is often difficult for a homeowner to know if their roof was damaged. Then, the roofing contractor knocks on your door and says your neighbors’ homes were damaged.

Without understanding the potential consequences of filing a claim.

How to effectively manage all passwords for all agency employees continues to be a source of questions. I have written a couple of times over the last ten years about potential solutions.

I think it’s time again to remind everyone of the importance of controlling nefarious access to the wide variety of platforms every agency uses every day.

Managing the plethora of passwords that agency staff has to maintain continues to be challenging. There are several options available to an agency of any size that will help agency management and staff secure and manage password information.

Because I believe (and research confirms) that handwriting notes improves the retention of the information you’re hearing and increases creativity, I am always looking for tools that help support handwriting yet allow me to capture the information digitally. I like a hybrid system.

I last wrote about Livescribe in March 2013. The company has been quiet for the last few years. That changed recently when the company announced the availability of their new Aegir smartpen and the release of their enhanced Livescribe+ apps for mobile (Android and iOS) as well as a desktop app. There is also a new Microsoft Office plug-in that lets users print any document with the Livescribe dot pattern.

The new Aegir pen is smaller in size and can store 1,200 pages of notes before it needs to be connected to the Livescribe+ mobile app and lasts for up to 10 hours. Once synced, the mobile app can digitize handwritten notes as text, PDF, image, or vector.