With costly GPUs, building an affordable gaming PC is challenging. Budget gaming chairs are one way to save money when assembling a new setup. While cheaper chairs are often poorly built, the new AndaSeat Novis promises to outlast competitors. The Novis doesn't wow buyers with advanced ergonomics, but it may be versatile enough for most gamers.

Scopely just keeps making Monopoly GO better by adding a ton of new features occasionally. As of the recent update, theyve added the option to create a shareable card in the Tycoon Club that highlights specific stickers. Shareable cards make it easy to find and trade needed stickers. This way, players can quickly identify and exchange stickers to complete their sticker albums. Read on to learn how you can create your own shareable card and streamline your sticker trading in Monopoly GO.

Collaboration between Vodafone, BT, KCOM and Zen Internet hopes to keep business customers and the vulnerable connected even during power outages.

Yes, the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake seems to still be in development.

Hello and welcome to Modern CEO! Im Stephanie Mehta, CEO and chief content officer of Mansueto Ventures. Each week this newsletter explores inclusive approaches to leadership drawn from conversations with executives and entrepreneurs, and from the pages ofInc.andFast Company. If you received this newsletter from a friend, you cansign up to get it yourselfevery Monday morning.Leaders, are you listening to your frontline employees? Two billion people worldwidethats 80% of the global workforcemanufacture products, provide services, or work directly with customers. Theyre often the first to see or hear about problems, and listening to their insights can help avoid headaches. Steven Kramer, CEO of workforce management software company WorkJam, shared an example of a retail client whose salespeople noticed a batch of sweaters that had uneven sleeves. They shared information about the defect with management, and the company was able to pull the item from the stores. They might have sold thousands and thousands of the items, which would have led to bad publicity for the organization and a big return event for the stores, Kramer says. Empowered and well-supported frontlines will lead to better business results.Unfortunately, companies are losing ground when it comes to engaging their frontline workers. Consultancy Mercers annual Inside Employees Minds study finds that two-thirds (66%) of frontline workers in 2024 said they were motivated to go above and beyond what is normally expected of me to make my company successful, down five points from 2023. In contrast, more than three-fourths (76%) of salaried workers said they were motivated to go above and beyond.Clocked in, but tuned outEmployees offer many reasons for their dissatisfaction, including financial strain and barriers to career advancement. Many bear the brunt of customer anger and incivility, which has risen steadily and sharply in the last decade. And some feel their feedback isnt valued.How can CEOs and other executives glean insights from on-the-ground employees? WorkJams Kramer, not surprisingly, advocates using technology platforms to engage in a two-way dialogue with workers. WorkJams clients can offer their employees a mobile app that enables pulse surveys and messaging among workers and managers, allowing frontline employees to flag issues in real time. Management, in turn, can provide updates and information that might normally not reach workers in the field. Employees want to have this digital connectivity, Kramer says. They want to feel connected to their leadership and understand the values and the objectives of the company. (When it comes to artificial intelligence technologies, employees in the field are more skeptical, according to a June 2024 study by BGC, with about 22% expressing anxiety over generative AI, compared with 18% of managers and 15% of leaders.)Start the conversationOf course, the best way to solicit information from frontline workers is to actually talk to them. When leadership expert Bill George was CEO of medical device maker Medtronic, he says he tried to spend 30% of his time with frontline employees. (The remaining 70% of the time was spent with customers, executives, and external employees.) In contrast, the leaders who participated in Michael Porter and Nitin Nohrias oft-cited 2018 study on CEO time management spent just 6% of their time with rank-and-file employees. If they spend 30% of their time with frontline workers, theyll better understand the needs of both customers and employees and will be better able to lead their companies, George wrote in a 2022 article for Harvard Business Review.Scott Salmirs, president and CEO of ABM Industries, which provides infrastructure, maintenance, and facilities services to clients ranging from airports to elementary schools, says he encourages his executives to do time in the field. Adds Salmirs, whose company employs more than 100,000 team members and frontline workers: You have to be out there building relationships, being present and engaged. Its all about connecting with, inspiring, and learning from the field.Are you fostering a culture of communication?ABM also runs a Shark Tank-style event where frontline employees can pitch ideas to leadership. We tell our frontline team, if you come up with innovations, youll be recognized and rewarded, Salmirs says. When youre in the field, you know what the clients want more than somebody sitting in corporate.Such pitch contests have become a hallmark of companies on the Fast Company Best Companies for Innovators list, an annual program that recognizes businesses that empower employees at all levels to improve processes, create new products, or invent new ways of doing business.If your company has an interesting way of enlisting your frontline workers to help you innovate, share your story with me at stephaniemehta@mansueto.com, and consider applying to be a Best Workplace for Innovators. The final deadline is March 28.Read more: Leading from the frontThe 100 Best Workplaces for Innovators4 ways AI and tech tools can help frontline workers progressHow to get your frontline to make your business their businessFeedback from the frontline is every CEOs superpower

Executives and managers are traditionally reluctant to express any tender inner feelings from their teams and peers. Yet leaders who are willing to tap into the power of vulnerability are seeing benefits to their ability to connect, motivate, and lead teams.The experience of vulnerability might feel weak to some, but researchers like Bren Brown have reframed the expression of vulnerability as an act of courage, a superpower that can boost psychological safety and foster a culture of innovation and creative risk-taking. Leaders and managers who share experiences of uncertainty can also create personal connections that can help motivate and inspire others.However, expressing tender, sensitive, or risky thoughts and feelings can be trickyhow do you share uncertainty or challenge without undermining the trust and confidence of others?Encouraging vulnerabilityIn my work as a facilitator of the Stanford Graduate School of Businesss popular organizational behavior elective, Interpersonal Dynamics (nicknamed touchy feely) we encourage MBA students to experiment with sharing vulnerability in small groups of peers.Many of these high-achievers come from families and cultures that push away difficult emotions and conceal vulnerability. The curriculum emphasizes emotional self-awareness and intentional self-disclosure as a means to build trusting relationships, grow influence, and resolve conflict.Our small groups provide a learning laboratory in which, despite discomfort, many students take the risk to share (some for the first time ever) their challenges, uncertainties and dreams. Through sharing and listening to others, they build trust and grow their capacity to empathize, connect, and resolve conflict, ending the class with new lifelong friends. But as powerful as this experience is for students, they often wonder how to apply these classroom lessons to the real world.Theyre not wrong to be cautious. Thoughtful expressions of vulnerability can foster authenticity, trust, and innovation. But careless, unregulated, or excessive vulnerability can be costly. Intense vulnerability can create a burden on the team by increasing their anxiety or requiring care-taking, and some might interpret it as weakness or incompetence. The most effective leaders are self-aware, know their triggers, and balance competence and presence with authentic vulnerability. They calibrate and make conscious choices about when, how, and with whom they share vulnerability.If youre seeking ways to bring more of your authentic self to work, below are some helpful key guidelines to follow:Be intentionalLeading with vulnerability isnt about unguarded or careless eruptions of emotion. As with any communication, pause and check that your intent is constructive and generous. You should act in support of your team, rather than reactive and self-serving. Put the needs of the team above your own and always consider your potential impact on your audience. This might mean disclosing a personal challenge to foster a culture of openness, voicing uncertainty about your opinion in order to invite contribution or model risk-taking, or sharing your hopes and dreams to help inspire others.Avoid venting. As much as it can provide momentary relief, it might be costlyto relationships and morale, or burden a colleague. If feel grips of intense emotion, anger, fear, or sadness coming along, take a break, self-regulate, and make a conscious choice about what to communicate.Maintain boundariesBe mindful of oversharing. Drawing appropriate boundaries around what you share protects your team from having to take care of or manage you. Self-regulation and healthy boundaries arent just about protecting others; they also serve to protect you. Women, particularly women of color, and other under-represented groups are subject to greater scrutiny, bias, and criticism when they express vulnerability, uncertainty or anger and may not feel safe or supported when they share.The right level of sharing will depend from person to person. One piece of guidance is to share scars, not wounds, meaning that its generally safer to share something that youveprocessed or healed rather than something youre still working through. Reserve those conversations for your friends, family, or a therapist.ModulateIts also important to modulate the intensity of your communication. Simon Sinek cautions that leaders, especially CEOs, often need to tone down their releases of emotion because a whisper becomes a shout. People might interpret your concern as panic, hear your irritation as fury, or conclude that your musings are a mandate. Pause before sharing and choose your words carefully. Your words will reverberate, so dial it down to avoiding undermining credibility and competence. For example, to acknowledge your own uncertainty and rally the team to collaborate in the face of a challenge, you might say, I dont have all the answers but I am confident that we can work together to identify a path forward.Try positive vulnerability Oftentimes, students enter our class thinking that they must share their most painful storiesexperiences of hardship, loss, and griefbut vulnerability isnt just about pain or uncertainty. Telling a colleague, Meetings always run better when you are there, or Your presentation changed my perspective, might feel awkward, but these sentiments create an opening for connection with little downside.Clients and students sometimes worry that appreciation or words of affirmation can sound cheesy or inauthentic. But true positive sentimentcare, gratitude, or acknowledging someones influence on youcan create connection without negative baggage. Another positive approach is to share learning or crucible momentswhen you faced a challenge, however imperfectly, and came out changed by the experiencewhich demonstrates vulnerability, humility, and growth.Authentic, calibrated expressions ofvulnerable thoughts, feelings, and experiences can improve your effectiveness as a leader. After all, were all human, and tapping into our shared humanity can be a powerful tool to create connection and foster innovation.

Incorporating Japanese design principles into your home can transform your living space into a sanctuary of calm and serenity. Rooted in a deep appreciation for nature, simplicity, and balance, Japanese aesthetics prioritize minimalism and functionality, creating spaces that are both beautiful and purposeful.These principles, such as wabi-sabi (finding beauty in imperfection), shizen (naturalness), and ma (space and balance), encourage a deeper connection with the environment and a more mindful way of living. You can integrate these timeless concepts into your home, helping you cultivate an atmosphere of tranquility and peace and enhancing your overall well-being and quality of life.1. Embracing Iki (Elegance & Sophistication)Iki is a quintessential Japanese aesthetic principle that embodies elegance, sophistication, and a sense of refined simplicity. It originates from the Edo period, and it represents a unique blend of stylishness and understatement, where beauty is expressed through subtlety and restraint rather than opulence or extravagance. It values the art of suggestion over direct expression, where beauty lies in what is implied rather than displayed loudly. This principle encourages a tasteful and poised approach to design, focusing on graceful forms and a harmonious balance of elements.Japanese Candle LanternThe Japanese Lantern Candle is a modern reinterpretation of the iconic chouchin lanterns traditionally used in festivals and bars across Japan. This candle holder casts a soothing glow, helping you unwind and center yourself, especially before bedtime. Its minimalist design brings a touch of Japan to any interior, with candles handcrafted by skilled artisans in Kurashiki, Japan.The lanterns unique undulating surface enhances the mesmerizing dance of candlelight. It features a minimalist design that exudes a sense of refined elegance, characteristic of the iki design principle. This principle values understated beauty and sophistication, which the lantern captures through its simple yet impactful aesthetic.Click Here to Buy Now: $69.00What we likeThe lanterns elegant design adds a sophisticated touch to any room, enhancing its visual appeal.Each candle is meticulously crafted by artisans, ensuring high quality and authenticity.What we dislikeWhile it provides a calming ambiance, the lantern may not suffice as a primary light source in larger spaces.2. Mastering BalanceThis principle is about creating equilibrium within a space through the thoughtful placement of objects and the use of different materials or utilizing items that are thoughtfully and meticulously created. Balance can be achieved by distributing visual weight evenly, using symmetry or asymmetry strategically to create a harmonious environment. It ensures that no single element overpowers the others, contributing to a sense of order and calm.Sail Away Tranquility MobileThe Sail Away Tranquility Mobile transforms your home into a serene oasis. Inspired by the gentle rhythm of the sea, this desktop mobile features interlocking triangles crafted from aluminum, polished steel, and walnut wood. The minimalist design and exquisite craftsmanship create a harmonious balance, embodying the Japanese principle of equilibrium.The principle of mastering balance is evident in how the mobiles elements interact with each other and their environment. The gentle sway of the mobiles components as they respond to the airs movement reflects the natural balance found in the world, capturing a sense of tranquility and calm. This dynamic interplay creates a visual rhythm that soothes the observer, transforming the surrounding space into a serene oasis.Click Here to Buy Now: $129.00What we likeThe gentle movement of the mobile fosters a peaceful atmosphere.Adds a touch of elegance and sophistication to any space.What we dislikeNeeds adequate space to hang and move freely.It may require careful setup to maintain balance and prevent damage.3. Embracing Natural ElementsThis Japanese design principle involves incorporating natural materials and elements into home design to foster a connection with the environment. Using materials like wood, stone, and plants enhances the aesthetic appeal and also brings the calming and rejuvenating effects of nature indoors. This approach can create a soothing atmosphere, making a space feel grounded and harmonious.Miniature Bonfire Wood Diffuser SetThe Miniature Bonfire Wood Diffuser Set brings the calming essence of nature indoors. Featuring rust-resistant stainless steel and bundled miniature firewood, this diffuser releases the scent of Mt. Hakusans forests. The design creates a captivating centerpiece, while its functionality as a pocket stove adds versatility. It adopts the Japanese design philosophy of embracing natural elements by incorporating materials and sensory experiences that evoke the soothing ambiance of nature.This philosophy emphasizes a deep connection with the natural world, using elements that bring the outdoors inside to create a harmonious and calming environment. The diffuser is bundled with miniature firewood, which captures the essence of a traditional bonfire and visually reminds you of nature, while the scents of the mountains and forests create an olfactory connection to nature.Click Here to Buy Now: $99.00What we likeThe diffuser fills your home with soothing, natural fragrances.It can also be used as a pocket stove for an authentic indoor camping experience.What we dislikeRegular upkeep is required to maintain scent potency and cleanliness.It offers a specific scent, which may not suit everyones preference.4. Exploring Ma (Space & Balance)Ma refers to the concept of space and the balance between objects. It involves the thoughtful arrangement of elements to create a sense of rhythm and harmony within a space, showcasing how important space is between different objects and items. This Japanese principle emphasizes the importance of negative space, allowing a room to breathe and providing a tranquil atmosphere.Pop-up Book Vase Edition 4The Pop-Up Book Vase Edition 4 offers a creative and whimsical way to display floral arrangements. Opening the book reveals a 3D vase cutout, providing a dynamic platform for your flowers. It is made from 100% natural pulp, and this vase combines art and functionality, encouraging exploration of space and balance through its varied designs. It explores the Japanese principle of Ma by offering a unique and dynamic approach to floral arrangements.When the book is opened, the pop-up vase emerges, creating a three-dimensional form that innovatively utilizes space. This transformation from a flat, closed book to a fully realized vase exemplifies the concept of Ma, where the interaction between space and objects is thoughtfully orchestrated. Each vase design within the book is carefully crafted to achieve a sense of equilibrium within its structure and in how it complements the flowers it holds.Click Here to Buy Now: $39.00What we likeOffers multiple vase styles in one product, allowing for endless creativity.Made from sustainable resources, aligning with environmentally conscious living.What we dislikeThe paper construction may be delicate and require careful handling.It may not accommodate larger floral arrangements effectively.5. Celebrating Shizen (Naturalness)Shizen is a fundamental concept in Japanese design and aesthetics, and it translates to naturalness or spontaneity. This design philosophy is deeply rooted in the Japanese cultural and spiritual appreciation for nature and the natural world. It encourages the creation of environments and objects that are in harmony with their surroundings, emphasizing a seamless integration with nature and an organic flow in design.Invisible ShoehornThe Invisible Shoehorn combines functionality with aesthetics, seamlessly blending into your homes dcor. Its long, stainless steel body reduces strain on your lower back when putting on shoes, while the smooth, polished surface prevents snags in socks. When paired with its transparent stand, the shoe horn becomes an intriguing decorative piece that embodies naturalness and simplicity.The unique shoehorn is designed to disappear into the background when not in use, thanks to its sleek, minimalist aesthetic and transparent stand. This aligns with the shizen principle, as the shoehorn becomes a natural part of the home environment without drawing unnecessary attention to itself. It is blessed with a functional elegance that reflects shizens emphasis on simplicity and utility, ensuring that the product serves its purpose efficiently while maintaining a natural and unobtrusive presence.Click Here to Buy Now: $299.00What we likeEases strain on the lower back, offering comfort and convenience.The unique design makes it an attractive ornamental piece when not in use.What we dislikeThe minimalist design might lead to misplacement, as it can blend too well into the background.The post Unlock The Secrets Of Japanese Design With These Top 5 Principles To Create Your Peaceful Home Sanctuary first appeared on Yanko Design.

The designer, artist and creative director discusses her work with the Pentawards and the value of celebrating small wins.

Snuggle up under our favorite comforters for every season and every budget.

After testing nearly two dozen mattresses, I have some tips on how you can find the best mattress for you, from firmness and materials to deciphering warranties.