Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition $50 (was $60) at Woot See at Woot See at Best Buy See at Walmart See at Target Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition is discounted to $50 (was $60) at Woot. The new Nintendo Switch exclusive just launched on March 20, but the Amazon-owned discount shop has made a habit of offering $10 discounts on Nintendo games during launch week. This deal has already sold out once, so you'll need to be quick to snag a copy for the reduced price.It's important to note that if you order a Switch game from Woot, you'll often receive an imported copy. All Nintendo Switch games are region-free, so the only difference you'll notice is the ratings board logo. Your copy of Xenoblade Chronicles X will be sealed and fully playable in English, so as long as you don't mind a slightly different box, you might as well save 10 bucks while you can.Woot has a bunch of Nintendo Switch game deals right now, including a number of other recent Nintendo exclusives.Continue Reading at GameSpot

Planning to use the best Naoe skills in Assassin's Creed Shadows? This shinobi of Iga has seen her fair share of tragedies. Now, she wants to exact vengeance on her foes, striking from the dark and waylaying anyone who gets in her way. Our guide has everything you need to know about the ideal perks and abilities for Naoe.Best Naoe skills in Assassin's Creed ShadowsNaoe, compared to Yasuke, is extremely agile, relying on fast movement, quick dodges, and various tools to survive. She has the following skill trees:Main archetype: Shinobi - Focuses on traversal and speedy movement.Main archetype: Assassin - Focuses on instantly killing foes and adrenaline gains.Melee weapons: Katana, Kusarigama, and Tanto - These skill trees will only appear once you've acquired your first weapon of each respective type.Ranged options: Tools - Naoe doesn't really wield ranged weapons, unlike Yasuke, but she does have some nifty options in combat.Note: Don't forget that Mastery Points (i.e. skill points) come from level-ups and objective completions. However, you still need to amass Knowledge Points from optional activities, as these allow you to unlock higher-tier skills and perks. Shinobi: Best skillsAbility: Heighten Senses/Extended Perception/Critical Insight - Slows down time if you get detected, allowing you to reposition for a kill or escape swiftly.Passive: Shinobi Mastery - Increases your maximum health.Passive: Prodigy - This increases the damage dealt by your abilities, so what's not to like?Passive: Igan Roll/Ninja Fall - You'll often find yourself jumping from a great height, so you might as well reduce/negate fall damage. Assassin: Best skillsPassive: Nightcrawler - This provides a decent damage boost when it's nighttime.Passive: Executioner - You deal more damage against vulnerable enemies (i.e. those whose attacks were perfectly parried or dodged).Hidden Blade, Vigor, and Assassination Damage trees - All of the perks here make Naoe a more effective killer. Katana: Best skillsAbility: Guard Breaker/No Quarter/Unstoppable - We feel that Guard Breaker is the more viable katana ability for Naoe, at least when compared to Tidal Wave.Passive: Melee Expert - This increases all damage that you deal with melee weapons.Passive: Counterattack/Swift Step/Hardened - If you prefer wielding a katana, then this is one of the best skills for Naoe in Assassin's Creed Shadows. As long as you get the timing right, you should be able to deflect a lot of hits. Kusarigama: Best skillsPassive: Multi-target Expert - Increases damage dealt when hitting multiple enemies.Passive: Critical Proficiency - Increases critical damage. Tanto: Best skillsAbility: Shadow Barrage/Endless Barrage/Contemplation - This might just be the best Naoe skill in Assassin's Creed Shadows. When active, it causes her to automatically evade up to seven hits or up to 20 seconds (by default). You're essentially invulnerable for 20 seconds, and you're still able to unleash combo chains. This makes Shadow Barrage an amazing ability for boss battles or encounters against larger groups of hostiles.Passive: Gap Seeker - Increases armor-piercing damage.Passive: Critical Thinker - Increases critical hit chance. Tools: Best skillsPassive: Kunai Assassination Damage I/II/III - Since Naoe doesn't use normal ranged weapons, you just have to rely on either kunai or shurikens. We feel that the kunai is better given the higher damage output.Passive: Smoke Bomb/Enduring Haze - The reason why you want to have a smoke bomb handy is because it lets you re-stealth even while you're in the middle of combat. This means you can either escape quickly or go for a sneaky assassination.Passive: Larger Tool Bag I/II/III - Simply increases the maximum capacity of tools that you can have in your pouch at any given time.That does it for our guide on the best skills for Naoe in Assassin's Creed Shadows. If you're keen on learning more about her fellow protagonist, you can visit our best Yasuke skills guide.Do you need more help as you continue your adventure throughout Sengoku Jidai era Japan? We've got you covered, so just take a look at our Assassin's Creed Shadows guides hub.

A Marvel Rivals fan has designed a concept kit that imagines Mysterio as a playable Strategist. Marvel Rivals has 37 characters ranging from well-known heroes to feared villains from the comics. But while the game's cast has proved very popular, there is still a lot of potential for NetEase to explore.

The survival crafting game Lord of the Rings: Return To Moria takes players deeper than ever before into the fabled halls of the Dwarves. The game follows a group of Dwarfs, led by Gimli, voiced by John-Rhys Davis, as they attempt to retake the famous stronghold from orcs, goblins, and ancient evils that lurk in the depths.

Assassins Creed Shadows takes place in Japan circa 1579, near the end of what is known as the Sengoku period 300 years before the advent of the incandescent light bulb. So it stands to reason that once the sun sets, the world that co-protagonists Naoe and Yasuke inhabit is going to get dark.Now, I wouldnt ordinarily be on the side of anybody suggesting that the makers of Assassins Creed pull back from their devotion to the concept of historical accuracy. Its one of my favorite elements of the franchise and its why I would strongly recommend playing Assassins Creed Shadows in immersive mode.But sometimes, historical accuracy should take a back seat to playability.Aside from the very first cutscene, the opening of Assassins Creed Shadows the introductions of both Yasuke and Naoe takes place entirely at night. In the former characters case, the setting makes for a striking scene as the warlord Oda Nobunaga burns Iga Province to the ground. Yasukes face is lit by a massive conflagration as he acknowledges to Nobunaga that the scale of the casualties in this war gives him some pause.The point of view soon shifts to Naoe, who must undertake an important mission because her father is indisposed: retrieving an artifact from a kofun, or tomb. It was at this point that I started wondering if I needed to change the picture settings in the game or on my computer monitor, because as Naoe, I could hardly see who I was fighting or where I was going. Sure, theres the moon at night, but its pale glow is often diffused, if not obscured, by clouds.Its likely that this is what the developers intended. Well, not that they wanted players to have difficulty seeing what theyre doing, but that this lighting design was meant to convey a sense of Naoes character that shes a shinobi who is best suited to sneaking in the shadows. Under cover of darkness, I crawled through tall grass and jumped out to assassinate soldiers in Nobunagas invading force.But unless the moon was fully visible high in the night sky, it didnt seem to provide much illumination for me, even playing in HDR. The first time the game teaches you the controls for parkour, I missed the jump because I couldnt see the pillar in the middle of the gap that Naoe was trying to cross. Above, you can see a couple of (unedited) screenshots of Naoe riding around at night that I captured while playing I sure hope her horse can see better in the dark than humans can!You may be thinking, This is how it should be. After all, this was a time in Japanese history when the only human-made lighting in existence comprised lanterns lit by an oil-burning flame within them (not even candles just yet!). And the makers of Assassins Creed Shadows did make a bit of a historical concession here: Technically, the paper lanterns you see everywhere in the game, andon, didnt enter wide use until the Edo period, which began at the start of the 1600s.Of course, Im not suggesting that Assassins Creed Shadows version of feudal Japan should have been lit by kerosene lamps or LED spotlights. But this is where art direction can make a huge difference. Consider Sucker Punch Productions Ghost of Tsushima, which is set in an even earlier era of Japanese history, the Kamakura period, when the Mongols first invaded the country in the late 13th century.Drawing inspiration from classic Japanese cinema like the works of Akira Kurosawa in a quite literal sense Sucker Punch went with a bold, high-contrast look for Ghost of Tsushima that brought to life the idea of the samurai as it exists in the popular imagination (even if its mostly a myth). Like Assassins Creed Shadows, that game has a full day-night cycle, but the moon might as well be a giant floodlight in the sky; even when a thunderstorm hits at night, the environment isnt pitch black.Again, if the developers of Assassins Creed Shadows made an intentional creative decision here if they wanted players to experience the shinobi fantasy by skulking around in the darkness as Naoe then I respect their, shall we say, vision. The filmmakers behind that infamously dark Game of Thrones episode certainly stuck to their guns when it came to shooting battle scenes lit only by firelight, and they didnt concern themselves with viewers complaints. But game developers striving for various kinds of real-life accuracy often make concessions for playability and fun; just think about the realism of leaping into a hay bale from 10 stories up. As for me, Im nearing my 40s, and my eyesight isnt as good as it used to be, so Im just going to turn up the brightness.

Each week on Polygon, we round up the most notable new releases to streaming and VOD, highlighting the biggest and best new movies for you to watch at home.This week, Wicked, the critically acclaimed fantasy musical starring Cynthia Erivo (The Outsider) and singer-actress Ariana Grande-Butera (Dont Look Up), lands on Peacock after defying gravity since its theatrical debut late last year. If musicals arent your thing, thats all right; theres plenty of other exciting releases to enjoy on VOD and streaming this weekend! Den of Thieves 2: Pantera comes to Netflix this week alongside Revelations, the new psychological horror thriller from Train to Busan director Yeon Sang-ho.Weve got the Oscar-winning drama Anora on Hulu and the woefully underrated Sing Sing on Max, not to mention Last Breath, Cleaner, and Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League on VOD alongside reduced pricing on recent releases like The Brutalist, Nosferatu, and The Room Next Door!Heres everything new thats available to watch this weekend!New on NetflixDen of Thieves 2: PanteraWhere to watch: Available to stream on NetflixGenre:Heist thrillerRun time:2h 24mDirector:Christian GudegastCast:Gerard Butler, OShea Jackson Jr., Evin AhmadDirtbagHeat is back on the menu. Gerard Butler and OShea Jackson Jr. reprise their roles as scumbag Sheriff Big Nick OBrien and career criminal Donnie Wilson, this time teaming up to pull off a massive heist of the worlds largest diamond exchange in Nice, France. Polygon spoke to director Christian Gudegast about the making of the film, including pulling off theworlds first electric-car chaseandhis future plans.From our review:Unfortunately, this isnt one of those recommendations where I can tell you to skip straight to the second movie because its clearly the direction the franchise is moving in. The good news isDen of Thievesis still pretty great, and watching the series find a totally new action-comedy gear to shift to in the sequel is part ofPanteras charm. In other words, if youve already seenDen of Thieves, then you should jump toPanteraimmediately now that its on Netflix, and if you havent seen either, I have the perfect crew of dirtbags and degenerates for you to spend the next couple of days with.The OutrunWhere to watch: Available to stream on NetflixGenre:DramaRun time:1h 58mDirector:Nora FingscheidtCast:Saoirse Ronan, Paapa Essiedu, Nabil ElouahabiSaoirse Ronan stars as a young woman, fresh out of rehab for alcoholism, who returns home to the distant Orkney Islands in Scotland as she figures out what to do with her life and struggles to connect with others. Eventually, she takes a job with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and finds comfort in biology and birdwatching.The Outrunwas originally a memoir of the same name by one of the movies screenwriters, Amy Liptrot, and premiered at last years Sundance Film Festival.RevelationsWhere to watch: Available to stream on NetflixGenre: Psychological thrillerRun time: 2h 2mDirector: Yeon Sang-hoCast: Shin Min-jae, Ryu Jun-yeol, Shin Hyun-beenDirector Yeon Sang-ho (Train to Busan, Hellbound) has returned with an all-new psychological crime thriller! Revelations centers on a detective and a pastor who are driven to punish the person guilty in a missing-persons case. The former, Lee Yeon-hui (Shin Hyun-been), is haunted by what she believes are visions of her dead sister, while the latter, Sung Min-chan (Ryu Jun-yeol), believes he must carry out justice on Gods behalf.New on HuluAnoraWhere to watch:Available to stream on HuluGenre:Romantic dramaRun time:2h 19mDirector:Sean BakerCast:Mikey Madison, Mark Eydelshteyn, Yura BorisovSean Bakers Oscar-winning comedy-drama stars Mikey Madison (2022sScream) as Anora, a sex worker from Brooklyn who unexpectedly meets and marries Ivan Vanya Zakharov (Mark Eydelshteyn), the son of a wealthy Russian oligarch. As Toros (Karren Karagulian), Vanyas godfather, goes on a mission to have the marriage annulled, Anora is pushed to new extremes.ODessaWhere to watch: Available to stream on HuluGenre: Fantasy musicalRun time: 1h 46mDirector: Geremy JasperCast: Sadie Sink, Murray Bartlett, Regina HallIn this funky post-apocalyptic musical adventure, a farm girl uses the power of music to stand up to an oppressive regime and save her true love. Theres a lot of neon lights in the crumby futuristic city, with a lot of flashy performances. But ODessa holds her own, crooning with her banjo in hand, as she fights for her true loves soul and sticks it to the man. The movie premiered at this years South by Southwest and features 16 brand-new original songs.Exhibiting ForgivenessWhere to watch: Available to stream on HuluGenre:DramaRun time:1h 57mDirector:Titus KapharCast:Andr Holland, John Earl Jelks, Andra DayAndr Holland (Moonlight) stars in painter-filmmaker Titus Kaphars directorial debut as Tarrell, an accomplished painter whose career is rising. After an unexpected visit from his estranged father, LaRon (John Earl Jelks), Tarrell must learn to balance the conflicting emotions between his desire for reconciliation and his resentment toward his absent parent.New on MaxSing SingWhere to watch:Available to stream on MaxGenre:DramaRun time:1h 47mDirector:Greg KwedarCast:Colman Domingo, Clarence Maclin, Sean San JosColman Domingo (Zola) stars in this prison drama as John Divine G Whitfield, a man recently imprisoned at the Sing Sing Correctional Facility for a crime he didnt commit. Acting in a theater group designed to bring incarcerated men in touch with their own feelings, John finds solace and purpose in connecting with his fellow inmates through the transformative power of art.New on Prime VideoTyler Perrys DuplicityWhere to watch: Available to stream on Prime VideoGenre: Drama/mysteryRun time: 1h 49mDirector: Tyler PerryCast: Kat Graham, Meagan Tandy, Tyler LepleyTyler Perrys newest movie follows a high-powered attorney who investigates her best friends husbands murder. Hes seemingly been killed by police officers, but as she dives deeper into the case, she realizes that his death is only one piece of a twisted puzzle. Lies are rampant and the police force might be covering up something even more sinister than just one unjust murder.New on PeacockWickedWhere to watch: Available to stream on PeacockGenre:Fantasy musicalRun time:2h 40mDirector:Jon M. ChuCast:Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande-Butera, Jeff GoldblumAdapted from Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzmans 2003 stage musical of the same name,Wickedfollows the story of Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), the future Wicked Witch of the West from L. Frank BaumsThe Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and her friendship with Galinda (Ariana Grande-Butera), who later becomes Glinda the Good. Upon being invited to the Emerald City at the behest of the Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum), Elphaba and Galindas friendship is put to the test.From ourreview:For the most part, Chu uses the new medium to add meaningful additions to the story. Not all of them land. The movies last big scene, in particular, suffers from this strange sort of start-stop integrated with some superfluous big set pieces that undermine the emotional catharsis of the Big Moment. Such is the nature of extending a nearly three-hour musical into two movies, even with a natural intermission. And overall, adding breathing room to songs and scenes worked for the most part. Itll take more than some extra fluff to bring the movie down.New to rentLast BreathWhere to watch: Available to rent on Amazon, Apple, and VuduGenre: ThrillerRun time: 1h 33mDirector: Alex ParkinsonCast: Woody Harrelson, Simu Liu, Finn ColeDirector Alex Parkinson returns with a survival thriller remake of his 2019 documentary Last Breath. Based on a true story, the film centers on a crew of seasoned deep-sea divers as they race against time to save their teammate after his umbilical cable is severed, leaving him stranded 330 feet below sea level with no light, no heat, and a dwindling amount of oxygen.Riff RaffWhere to watch: Available to rent on Amazon, Apple, and VuduGenre: Crime comedyRun time: 1h 43mDirector: Dito MontielCast: Jennifer Coolidge, Ed Harris, Bill MurrayEx-criminal Vincent (Ed Harris) just wants to live a peaceful life with his new wife. But hes pulled into a chaotic family reunion when his son, Rocco, and ex-wife show up with Roccos pregnant girlfriend in tow. As it turns out, Rocco pissed off an old gangster, whos now after his entire family. Whoops! The black comedy features an ensemble cast of Harris, Bill Murray, Pete Davidson, Jennifer Coolidge, and Gabrielle Union.Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza LeagueWhere to watch: Available to rent on Amazon, Apple, and VuduGenre: Superhero actionRun time: 1h 29mDirectors: Junpei Mizusaki, Shinji TakagiCast: Koichi Yamadera, Daisuke Ono, Rie KugimiyaJunpei Mizusaki and Shinji Takagi return with a sequel to 2018s Batman Ninja! Set immediately following the events of the prior film, Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League centers on Batman and his cohort of allies returning to present-day Gotham, albeit radically different than when they first left.The island of Japan no longer exists, with yakuza-style criminals running rampant throughout the city. Once more, it turns out that these new adversaries are being led by an evil alternate version of the Justice League who dont take kindly to Batman infringing on their turf.CleanerWhere to watch: Available to rent on Amazon, Apple, and VuduGenre: Action thrillerRun time: 1h 37mDirector: Martin CampbellCast: Daisy Ridley, Taz Skylar, Clive OwenDaisy Ridley leads this action thriller as Joey, a dishonorably discharged ex-soldier who currently works as a window cleaner. When a fancy gala is infiltrated by radical activists, who threaten to blow up the building if the police intervene, Joey attempts to save the hostages especially since one of the hostages is her older brother. Joey must prove herself to the whole team of officers working to deescalate the situation.Ridley does some pretty sick stuntsforCleaner.My Dead Friend ZoeWhere to watch: Available to rent on Amazon, Apple, and VuduGenre: Comedy dramaRun time: 1h 41mDirector: Kyle Hausmann-StokesCast: Sonequa Martin-Green, Natalie Morales, Ed HarrisSonequa Martin-Green (Star Trek: Discovery, The Walking Dead) stars in this affecting comedy drama about a U.S. veteran struggling with PTSD in her civilian life. After returning home from Afghanistan, Merit (Martin-Green) is haunted by the presence of Zoe (Natalie Morales), her best friend who died in combat. When her estranged grandfather (Ed Harris) is diagnosed with Alzheimers disease, Merit will have to find a way to mend their relationship and reconcile her grief over the past with the help of her VA counselor (Morgan Freeman).McVeighWhere to watch: Available to rent on Amazon, Apple, and VuduGenre: Biopic thrillerRun time: 1h 30mDirector: Mike OttCast: Alfie Allen, Brett Gelman, Ashley BensonAlfie Allen (Game of Thrones) stars in this biopic on Timothy McVeigh, the infamous domestic terrorist responsible for the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, which remains the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history. Brett Gelman (Stranger Things) co-stars as Terry Nichols, McVeighs co-conspirator, alongside Ashley Benson as Cindy, a young waitress who McVeigh becomes infatuated with.

Name a font well, and dont let someone call the lawyer on you.Continue reading on UX Collective

Not all vibes aregood.Vibe codingImage byAuthorAre you wondering WTF all this vibe coding stuff is thats been sweeping your social feeds? You probably get the gist that its about having a vision of an app or software you want to build and vibing your way into it with the help of an AItool.If youre an old-school coder like me, you might be laughing a bit at the idea that you can just blink software into realityespecially when you think about all the blood, sweat, and tears it traditionally takes to build excellent products. Its like a joke that it can suddenly be soeasy.Well, stop laughing. Vibe coding is real, and in this article, Ill explain it and break down how its changing how we imagine, build, and grow products and companies going forward. Ill also make a case for embracing vibe coding without losing your soul, including four frameworks to optimize your success with the good vibes from creating genuinely helpful, well-crafted software andapps.Same cycle, newvibeVibe coding is also just one more example of what I call the Great Democratization Cycle. Weve seen it in photography as it evolved from darkrooms to digital cameras, which eliminated film processing, to smartphones and Instagram filters, making everyone a high-end photographer. The same goes for publishing (from printing presses to WordPress), video production (from studio equipment to TikTok), and music creation (from recording studios to GarageBand on a laptop and now AI tools like Suno on your smartphone).Each wave democratized image creation while simultaneously changing what it meant to be a professional in thefield.Software development is in no way exempt. Weve come a long way from traditional coding (1970s-2010s), which was expert-driven and hard to get into. From the low-code/no-code movement (2010s) to AI-assisted development (early 2020s; i.e., Github Copilot), the path to easy software development has accelerated to where we find ourselves today: vibe coding. Thanks to platforms like Windsurf, Cursor, LoveableDev, and Replit, anyone can take their app or software idea to execution withinminutes.However, its not that simplenot for the non-technical entrepreneur who feels empowered or the veteran developer who feelsdissed.The seduction of simplicityLet me take you back to my first coding project. As a pimply-faced teen in my parents basement, I spent countless sleepless nights wrestling with syntax errors, debugging mysterious crashes, and finally experiencing that incomparable rush when my creation actually worked. The journey was killer, but it shaped my understanding of how software fundamentally operates.Fast forward to 2025, and were witnessing a revolution called vibe codinga term popularized by AI researcher Andrej Karpathy thats taken the tech world by storm. The premise? Simply describe what you want in natural language, and AI generates the code. No more syntax struggles. No more Stack Overflow deep dives at 2 AM. Justvibes.Its intoxicatingly easy.I recently tested this myself. I prompted CursorAI, an AI-enabled IDE (integrated development environment), and built an app called DaddyTime that helps discover new cool things I can do with my son (hesthree).Within 30 minutes, I had a fully functional progressive web appthat:Image byAuthor.Connected to local events in myareaIntegrated with a weather service (to suggest indoor or outdoor activities)Correlated ideas with localweatherIntegrated with my Google calendar for bookingeventsThe entire process took less than 30 minutesno coding required, just a conversation with anAI.This isnt an exaggerationits our new reality. And thats precisely what worriesme.The craftcrisisThis AI-driven accessibility is undeniably powerful. Designers can prototype without developer dependencies. Domain experts can build tools to solve specific problems without learning Python. Entrepreneurs can validate concepts without hiring engineering teams.But as we embrace this new paradigm, we face a profound question: What happens when we separate makers from their materials?Consider this parallel: Would we celebrate a world where painters never touch paint, sculptors never feel clay, or chefs never taste their ingredients? Would their art, their craft, retain itssoul?When we remove the intimate connection between creator and mediumin this case, between developer and codewe risk losing something essential: the craft. And its not just about producing working software. Itsabout:Understanding systems at a fundamental level, which allows you to solve problems when things inevitably breakCreating elegant, maintainable solutions that stand the test oftimeBuilding mental models that inform higher-level architectural decisionsDeveloping an intuition for performance, security, and edgecasesA Microsoft engineer was brutally honest about AI-generated code, stating that LLMs are not good at maintaining or extending projects over time and often get lost in the requirements and generate a lot of nonsense content.This isnt surprising. AI excels at mimicking patterns but lacks the deeper understanding that comes from years of hands-on experience. It can produce code that works initially but falls apart under pressure.As one tech CTO warned, overreliance on AI can lead to hidden complexitiesquick fixes that become unmanageable during scaling or debugging. The 75% that AI solves quickly often leaves the critical 25%making code production-readya looming challenge.And dont even get me started on the security risks this poses. You could be a few clicks away from leaking all your data by signing up for some cool thing that popped up in your IG feed. Thats not a vibe, isit?Beyond technical debt: creativedebtTheres something even more concerning than technical debt lurking in our AI-coded future: creativedebt.True innovation often emerges from constraints and deep domain knowledge. When you wrestle with a programming languages limitations, youre forced to think creatively within boundaries. This tension produces novel solutions and unexpected breakthroughs.When we remove this friction entirely, we risk homogenizing our solutions. If everyone asks AI for a responsive e-commerce site with product filtering, well get variations on the same themetechnically correct but creatively bankrupt implementations that feel eerilysimilar.The danger isnt just bad code; its boring products and AIslop.The knowledge gapwidensVibe coding creates two distinct tracks for engineers:Those who understand the foundations and can wield and direct AI effectivelyThose who depend entirely on AI outputs without comprehending whats happening under thehoodThis bifurcation has serious implications. When problems ariseand they willthe second group will be helplessly dependent on AI to fix issues it may have created in the firstplace.What happens when the AI cant solve the problem? Who do we turn tothen?Image meme viaReddit.As The Guardian aptly observed, Now you dont even need code to be a programmer. But you do still need expertise. This expertise gap will only widen as more people build software without understanding its inner workings.The swiss army knife imperativeRecent headlines confirm a troubling trend: Amazon plans to terminate over 14,000 managerial positions to save $3.5 billion annually. Meta, Microsoft, and countless others are making similar moves. The message is clearoperational efficiency is king, and specialization is becoming aluxury.This streamlining creates a new mandate: everyone must become a Swiss Army knife ofskills.Vibe coding accelerates this transformation. When anyone can generate functional code through conversation, the specialization that once protected technical roles evaporates. The implications ripple through organizations:Product managers cant hide behind documents and wireframestheyll need to generate working prototypesDesigners cant simply hand off mockupstheyll need to implement theirdesignsMarketers cant request custom toolstheyll build their own analytics dashboardsExecutives cant claim technical ignorancetheyll need to understand the systems theyoverseeThis isnt just speculation. Amjad Masad, CEO of Replit, revealed that 75% of Replit customers never write a single line of code already. The future is arriving faster than wethink.In this new landscape, value shifts dramatically from technical implementation to problem identification. As one entrepreneur noted, If you have an idea, youre only a few prompts away from a product. The bottleneck is no longer development speedits knowing which problems are worthsolving.Mental models for the vibe codingeraTo navigate this shift, we need new mental models. Here are four frameworks Im using to make sense of the vibe coding revolution:1. The creation-maintenance divideVibe coding excels at creation but struggles with maintenance. This creates a fundamental split:Creation: Easy, accessible, democraticMaintenance: Complex, requiring deep expertise, increasingly valuableSmart organizations will develop dual skillsetsrapid vibe coding for prototyping and proof-of-concepts, alongside rigorous engineering practices for production systems.2. The three tiers of softwarecreatorsAs coding barriers fall, a new hierarchy emerges:Prompt Engineers: Those who use AI to implement existingpatternsSolution Architects: Those who combine AI capabilities in novelwaysSystem Innovators: Those who create entirely new paradigms AI hasntseenYour value as a software creator will increasingly depend on moving up thisladder.3. Intellectual leverage vs. Execution leverageTraditional software provided execution leverage, automating repetitive tasks. Vibe coding gives us intellectual leverage, automating thinking itself. This means the highest-return activities shift from building things right to building the rightthings.4. The specialization paradoxAs tools become more powerful, success depends less on specialization and more on synthesis. The most valuable person isnt the deep expert in a single domain but the connector who understands multiple domains well enough to identify novel intersections.Finding the balance: augmentation, not replacementIm not suggesting we abandon AI-assisted codingthat would be like rejecting power tools in favor of hand saws. But we need to approach this revolution thoughtfully, preserving craft while embracing innovation.Heres what Ipropose:For individual creators:Learn the fundamentals first. Build a strong foundation in programming concepts before relying heavily on AI. I refuse to hire engineers who cant code without anLLMUse AI as a collaborator, not a replacement. Let it handle boilerplate while you focus on architecture and novel features.Understand what the AI produces. Take time to read and comprehend generated code before implementing it.Challenge AI outputs. Instead of accepting the first solution, ask, Is there a betterway?Develop T-shaped expertise. Deep knowledge in one area, with broad understanding acrossmany.For teams and organizations:Establish robust review processes for AI-generated code. Dont skip quality assurance just because AI wroteit.Create balanced teams with both AI enthusiasts and traditional craftspeople who can provide valuable checks and balances.Invest in education that emphasizes system thinking and architecture, not just prompt engineering and vibecoding.Document diligently. With less human-written code, thorough documentation becomes even morecrucial.Restructure around problem spaces, not technical specializations.For the community:Value and celebrate craftsmanship. Lets not lose sight of the artistry in well-crafted code.Develop ethical frameworks for responsible AI coding that preserves innovation while mitigating risks.Share learning resources that combine AI tools with foundational programming knowledge.Create new certification paths that validate understanding, not just implementation ability.Distribution: the new cheat code and businessmoatWhile we debate craft versus convenience, vibe coding has another dimension that deserves attention: the democratization of distribution.Pieter Levels, the indie hacker behind Nomad List and a dozen other profitable solo ventures, recently dramatically demonstrated this shift. Using vibe coding techniques through CursorAI, he built and launched RemoteOK Jobs 2.0 in just six hours, then shared the entire process on socialmedia.Levelsio twitter profile image fromXI had the idea at breakfast, he posted. By dinner, it was live with 5,000users.This isnt just fast developmentits a fundamental collapse of the creation-to-market timeline. When Levels built his first successful product in 2014, it took him weeks of coding. Now, with AI assistance, hes compressing that cycle to less than a day while reaching audiences in the millions.The implications are profound:The idea-execution gap vanishes. When you can go from concept to working product in hours instead of months, more ideas get tested in thewild.Audience trumps technical complexity. Levels success isnt primarily about his coding skillsits about his deep understanding of his audience and distribution channels. He knows exactly who hes building for and how to reachthem.Marketing > Building. As Levels bluntly said: I spent 20% of my time building and 80% telling people about it. That ratio used to be reversed.This hints at a future where technical implementation is so streamlined that distribution becomes the primary differentiator. The winners wont necessarily be those who build the best product in a technical sense but those who make the right product for a specific audience and get it in front of that audiencefastest.For entrepreneurs, this means investments in audience building, community development, and marketing channels may yield higher returns than investments in technical infrastructure.For larger organizations, it means the teams that understand customers and distribution will increasingly drive product development, not the other wayaround.In this brave new world, the greatest advantage goes to the creators whocombine:Deep audience understandingRapid implementation through vibecodingEstablished distribution channelsA willingness to launch fast and iteratepubliclyThats a very different skill set than what created tech success a decade ago, and it favors domain experts, community builders, and audience cultivators over traditional technical specialists.Disrupting the disruptors: no-codes no-future?Perhaps the most fascinating second-order effect of vibe coding is how it threatens to make the no-code/low-code movement obsolete almost overnight.For the past decade, platforms like Webflow, Bubble, and Airtable have carved out a valuable middle ground: visual interfaces that let non-developers build functional software without coding. These platforms found product-market fit by eliminating the need to write code while still requiring users to understand logical structures and workflows.Vibe coding leapfrogs this paradigm entirely. Why learn a proprietary visual interface when you can simply describe what you want in plain language?This disruption of the disruptors creates cascading effects:No-code platforms must evolve or die, likely by integrating AI to become AI-enhanced no-code.Visual programming becomes a transitional technology rather than the end-state many predicted.The value shifts from tools to prompts and patterns, creating new opportunities for prompt marketplaces and pattern libraries.Traditional developers and no-code creators increasingly compete in the samespace.The survivors will be those who recognize that the true value lies not in the implementation method but in a deep understanding of human problems and creative solutions.A call for thoughtful evolutionPeople have always created the most compelling software with vision, empathy, and a deep understanding of human needs. AI can help us execute that vision more efficiently but cant replace the human spark that drives genuinely transformative products.Consider that what separates good products from great ones is rarely technical perfectionits the human touch, the careful consideration of edge cases based on real-world experience, and empathetic design that anticipates userneeds.As Karpathy himself noted, vibe coding isnt about abandoning thoughtits about thinking at a higher level: I just see stuff, say stuff, run stuff, and copy-paste stuff, and it mostly works. The key word is mostly. The gap between mostly works and delights users is where human creativity and craft still reignsupreme.So, the question is: Will we use AI to amplify human creativity, freeing us from drudgery so we can focus on innovation? Or will we surrender our craft entirely, becoming mere prompt engineers orchestrating increasingly generic software?The choice isours.For my part, Im embracing AI as a powerful collaborator while fiercely protecting the craft that drew me to this field. While good vibes might get you a working prototype, its the marriage of human creativity with technological tools that creates truly extraordinary products.Not all vibes are goodbut with intention and care, we can ensure that the products we build in this new era combine the best of both worlds: AI efficiency and human ingenuity.The code of the future shouldnt just run. It shouldsing.Cracking the code of vibe coding was originally published in UX Collective on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.You can think of the Galaxy Buds series as Android's version of the AirPods. The Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 are the open-ear version of the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, both of which came out last summer. Right now, you can get the Galaxy Buds 3 for $99.99 (originally $179.99) directly from the Samsung website when choosing "no" under the Samsung trade-in credit. This is the lowest price these earbuds have been since their recent release, according to price-tracking tools. Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Compatibility Android: Galaxy Wearable app, iOS: Bluetooth, Battery: 24H/30H (ANC off), Water: IP57 $99.99 at Samsung $179.99 Save $80.00 Get Deal Get Deal $99.99 at Samsung $179.99 Save $80.00 The Galaxy Buds 3 are feature-heavy. They have ear-detection sensors, so they automatically pause and resume as you take them on and off. They have 360 audio, which is an immersive sound feature that is similar to a surround-sound effect. The IP57 rating means they can handle sustained streams of water well. If you have a Samsung phone, you'll get automatic pairing and switching from Samsung devices, but the coolest feature is the Galaxy AI-based translation, which can translate spoken words between two parties or videos from your phone.Open earbuds are great for people who don't like sticking buds inside their ears and/or like to be aware of their surroundings even when listening to their media. The tradeoff is weaker bass and more sound bleeding. However, the audio quality on them are still impressive, and the ANC on them performs surprisingly well for ANC earbuds, according to PCMag's review.For under $100, these are a great value for Android or Apple users, but if you're a Samsung user, you get a much better user experience and bang for your buck. But if you want better ANC and don't mind an in-ear design, get the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro for $209.99 (originally $249.99).

We may earn a commission from links on this page.The kitchen tends to be the heart of the homeits where we gather to share meals, nibble on snacks, and talk about our day. Its also a pretty dangerous place. Aside from open flames, slippery floors, and flammable gas that is literally pumped into our homes, the innocuous little appliances that crowd our countertops can also represent real dangers.More than 150,000 people head to their local emergency room every year after an accident involving a household appliance of some sort. Small appliances might seem safe enough sitting on your kitchen counters, but they can be extremely dangerous if defective, misused, or placed in the wrong spot. Aside from the danger of hurting yourself, a misplaced countertop appliance can actually damage your home, as well. Heres what you need to think about when youre deciding where to place everything in your kitchen.General rules to keep in mindIf you want your kitchen to be as safe as possible, there are a few basic safety rules that apply to any countertop appliance:Keep stuff away from water. Dont operate any electric appliances near sinks, pot-fillers, or any other sources of running water. This protects against electrical dangers and keeps the dangerous bacteria growing in your average sink from infiltrating your food.Plug into ground-fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs). All your kitchen appliances should be plugged into GFCIs. Before 2023 only appliances located near water sources were required to be plugged into GFCIs, but the National Electrical Code was changed to include any kitchen appliance. These special outlets are designed to cut off to prevent electric shock, and using them reduces the chances that your countertop appliance will hurt you or damage your home.Never use extension cords. Even if the cord is plugged into a GFCI outlet, its a bad idea. Many countertop appliances like air fryers or microwaves pull a lot of juice, and can melt most standard home-use extension cords, leading to serious fire danger.Keep away from the stove. You shouldnt place any countertop appliance near (or, lord help us, on) your stove. The heat and open flames can melt power cords, increasing the risk of a fire or other accident.Keep away from the edge. If your countertop is crowded and something has to sit right on the outer edge, its time for a reorganization. Having any appliance right near the edge of the counter is just an invitation to disaster.While these rules apply to any appliance, there are specific placement considerations for several countertop appliances.Toasters and toaster ovensThe heating element in a toaster oven can reach 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit, and some toaster ovens can heat up to 600 degrees under specific settings. Thats pretty hot, and while even the cheapest toaster has some built-in safety features, placement matters. Never place a toaster or toaster oven on anything flammable, like a towel. If youre concerned about your countertop being damaged from the heat (though most toasters and toaster ovens are designed to be placed safely on standard countertop materials, even wood), you can place it on a nonflammable surface like a silicone mat or even a piece of stone tile.You should also never put anything on top of your toaster oven (or toaster). Yes, its taking up valuable counter space, but whatever you put on top could potentially be damaged from the heat, or even catch fire.Coffee makerYou might think that your humble coffee maker is pretty safe, but it might be doing long-term damage to your kitchen cabinets and walls because of one by-product of the coffee-making process: Steam. That hot, moist stuff drifts up and if it regularly interacts with your cabinets, it can cause a lot of damage, warping and staining wood and discoloring other materials. Since the most affected area will be under the cabinets, you can cause a lot of damage before its easily noticeable.Always place your coffee maker away from the upper cabinets when you use it, and make sure your kitchen always has robust ventilation, especially when using any heat- or moisture-producing appliances.Pressure cookersAside from being a time bomb if misused, pressure cookers pose the same steam threat as coffee makers: As they work, they emit steam, and continuous exposure to that steam can damage your cabinetry and walls. You can try aiming the pressure valve away from the cabinets, and you can buy steam diverters that redirect the steam. But your best bet is to operate the pressure cooker away from your cabinets.Air fryersAir fryers are very popular, and just like the other appliances on this list, they can damage your walls or cabinets with superheated fumes. Aside from the damage that steam can do, they can also scorch walls and cabinets if placed too close or with insufficient ventilation, so always place them with plenty of space around them.Air fryers also get pretty hot, so just like toaster ovens, you shouldnt place them on top of towels or anything else that could conceivably catch fire.Slow cookersSlow cookers pose the same steam dangers as pressure cookers, but can be even more damaging because of the slow part. While occasional use of a pressure cooker or other steamy appliance probably wont destroy a cabinet or stain a wall, occasional use of a slow cooker is more likely to because of the duration of operation.Its best to place your slow cooker away from the walls and cabinets, and never place it on or near anything flammable. And because of the duration of use, you should place your slow cooker on a metal trivet or heat-resistant mat to protect the surface underneath.