Heres Porsches 2026 PCM setup. | Image: PorschePorsche is upgrading the infotainment in the upcoming 2026 model year Taycan, 911, Panamera, and Cayenne with more responsive software and features such as an Alexa personal assistant.The 2026 Porsche Communication Management (PCM) will get the Porsche App Center introduced in the Macan Electric. It provides direct access to a large number of apps and a wide range of services that can run on the touchscreen. In an email with The Verge, Porsche spokesperson Calvin Kim said these new models run on the MIB3 architecture, first launched in 2022, and not Googles Android Automotive OS like in the Macan Electric.Apples delayed next-generation CarPlay was expected to be introduced on Porsche and Aston Martin vehicles, but Porsche made no mention of it in this announcement. The new system still has the same old CarPlay and Android Auto, though.Porsches in-car apps could reduce the need of phone mirroring services like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Many EV makers like Tesla, Rivian and GM dont even include the ability to mirror your device and require you to subscribe to connectivity services inside the car.Porsche will include 10 years of Porsche Connect service standard in each of these new vehicles to optimize the digital user experience. Part of that experience also includes Amazon Alexa, which in addition to Porsches Voice Pilot, can be used as the drivers digital voice assistant. Alexa can play music and podcasts, open your garage door, edit to-do and shopping lists and more. Porsche doesnt say if this is the revamped AI-powered Alexa Plus that Amazon announced in February.Porsche is also adding Dolby Atmos support with the new PCM system in models with premium audio equipment like Bose that can give occupants an immersive, spatial sound experience. 2026 Porsches can be ordered now and will arrive at US stores in late summer 2025.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has made significant strides in recent years, yet challenges persist in achieving efficient, cost-effective, and high-performance models. Developing large language models (LLMs) often requires substantial computational resources and financial investment, which can be prohibitive for many organizations. Additionally, ensuring that these models possess strong reasoning capabilities and can be deployed effectively on consumer-grade hardware remains a hurdle.DeepSeek AI has addressed these challenges head-on with the release of DeepSeek-V3-0324, a significant upgrade to its V3 large language model. This new model not only enhances performance but also operates at an impressive speed of 20 tokens per second on a Mac Studio, a consumer-grade device. This advancement intensifies the competition with industry leaders like OpenAI, showcasing DeepSeeks commitment to making high-quality AI models more accessible and efficient. DeepSeek-V3-0324 introduces several technical improvements over its predecessor. Notably, it demonstrates significant enhancements in reasoning capabilities, with benchmark scores showing substantial increases:MMLU-Pro: 75.9 81.2 (+5.3)GPQA: 59.1 68.4 (+9.3)AIME: 39.6 59.4 (+19.8)LiveCodeBench: 39.2 49.2 (+10.0)These improvements indicate a more robust understanding and processing of complex tasks. Additionally, the model has enhanced front-end web development skills, producing more executable code and aesthetically pleasing web pages and game interfaces. Its Chinese writing proficiency has also seen advancements, aligning with the R1 writing style and improving the quality of medium-to-long-form content. Furthermore, function calling accuracy has been increased, addressing issues present in previous versions. The release of DeepSeek-V3-0324 under the MIT License underscores DeepSeek AIs dedication to open-source collaboration, allowing developers worldwide to utilize and build upon this technology without restrictive licensing constraints. The models ability to run efficiently on devices like the Mac Studio, achieving 20 tokens per second, exemplifies its practical applicability and efficiency. This performance level not only makes advanced AI more accessible but also reduces the dependency on expensive, specialized hardware, thereby lowering the barrier to entry for many users and organizations. In conclusion, DeepSeek AIs release of DeepSeek-V3-0324 marks a significant milestone in the AI landscape. By addressing key challenges related to performance, cost, and accessibility, DeepSeek has positioned itself as a formidable competitor to established entities like OpenAI. The models technical advancements and open-source availability promise to democratize AI technology further, fostering innovation and broader adoption across various sectors.Check outthe Model on Hugging Face.All credit for this research goes to the researchers of this project. Also,feel free to follow us onTwitterand dont forget to join our85k+ ML SubReddit. Asif RazzaqWebsite| + postsBioAsif Razzaq is the CEO of Marktechpost Media Inc.. As a visionary entrepreneur and engineer, Asif is committed to harnessing the potential of Artificial Intelligence for social good. His most recent endeavor is the launch of an Artificial Intelligence Media Platform, Marktechpost, which stands out for its in-depth coverage of machine learning and deep learning news that is both technically sound and easily understandable by a wide audience. The platform boasts of over 2 million monthly views, illustrating its popularity among audiences.Asif Razzaqhttps://www.marktechpost.com/author/6flvq/Google AI Released Gemini 2.5 Pro Experimental: An Advanced AI Model that Excels in Reasoning, Coding, and Multimodal CapabilitiesAsif Razzaqhttps://www.marktechpost.com/author/6flvq/A Code Implementation for Advanced Human Pose Estimation Using MediaPipe, OpenCV and MatplotlibAsif Razzaqhttps://www.marktechpost.com/author/6flvq/A Coding Implementation of Extracting Structured Data Using LangSmith, Pydantic, LangChain, and Claude 3.7 SonnetAsif Razzaqhttps://www.marktechpost.com/author/6flvq/Meet LocAgent: Graph-Based AI Agents Transforming Code Localization for Scalable Software Maintenance

Side Quest is now streaming on Apple TV+.Over the course of four seasons (the most recent of which just ended), Mythic Quest has built a fully realized, ripe-for-exploration universe around the sturdy core of a classic workplace sitcom. This is part of the reason why its one of the best, most reliable TV comedies of the streaming era it doesnt hurt that the Apple TV+ series set in the world of video-game development is also extremely funny. Hot on the heels of its fourth-season finale comes Side Quest, an entertaining anthology series that delves further into the lives of the people who make, play, and love Mythic Quests namesake MMORPG. The parent series has wandered down these kinds of one-off detours several times, and almost always found a worthwhile destination most notably the first-season highlight A Dark Quiet Death. Yet, at a mere four episodes, Side Quests expansion pack feels like it ends just as it gets going.Lets get this out of the way: Nothing in Side Quest surpasses or even comes close to A Dark Quiet Deaths level of quality. Its never as substantial as that exceptional piece of television, but the spinoff is still a good elaboration on Mythic Quests themes of community and boundaries. And while its not like Side Quest contains overly complicated links to previous episodes or puzzles to solve, some details will get lost in translation if its your first encounter with the fantastical realms maintained by Ian Grimm, Poppy Li, and company. Of the four episodes, the first, Song and Dance, has the strongest ties to the Mythic Quest office: It follows beleaguered art director Phil (Derek Waters) in his continually thwarted attempts to disconnect for a few days. Having appeared in six episodes across seasons 2 and 3, Phil is enough of a fixture that viewers will immediately recognize his downtrodden aura Ian (Rob McElhenney) has a history of throwing last-minute assignments at him and expecting immediate results. Ian doesnt respect anyone elses free time, and as we see in Song and Dance, that carries over to Phils luxury vacation with his girlfriend Maude, played by Pen15s Anna Konkle.Thirty minutes of Phil having his time off disrupted by calls from Ian would get stale quickly, so Im grateful that Song and Dance is more about digging deeper into his personal life and psyche. This enriches the Mythic Quest universe: All we know about Phil prior to Song and Dance is how put-upon he is, but theres no interior life in a running gag. Weve seen Ian cross work-life boundaries before; it might seem like there isnt any new ground to cover here. But Phils low self-esteem adds an extra dimension to the dilemma. Konkle contributes significantly to that feeling, too, hitting notes that are equal parts frustrated and loving never too smothering, and never too cold, either. Side Quest GalleryThe remaining three episodes distance themselves from Ian and the MQ regulars, which lends some additional novelty to the proceedings. Whereas Mythic Quest has boasted some big-name guest stars in the past Anthony Hopkins, William Hurt, and Joe Manganiello, to just name a few Side Quest avoids stunt casting, which suits the types of stories its telling. Not to say that this is a cast of fresh faces and newcomers, but there also isnt anyone whose established star power or fame pulls focus or feels like an odd fit in such humble surroundings.This also feels in line with the ways Side Quest explores how we form community through art. Games are only one piece of the picture: The second episode, Pull List, takes place in a comic-book store. This blind-box stacking, Magic: The Gathering card-slinging spiritual cousin to High Fidelity (the John Cusack movie and the Zo Kravitz Hulu show) is my favorite of the four episodes, but part of me thinks that picking a favorite is a Rorschach Test for your relationship to Mythic Quest. In this case, it underlines how much the ensemble-focused episodes like season 4s murder mystery, The Villains Feast, tend to stand out and resonate. (Besides: The more I sit with it, the more my Side Quest ranking changes.) Picking a favorite Side Quest episode is a Rorschach Test for your relationship to Mythic Quest.As the staff and clientele of Comics Galore! trade punchy dialogue about whether Superman or Goku would win in a fight and what characters they claim as Black (Elmo: yes, Big Bird: no), Mythic Quest lore blends deeper our pop-culture world. Written by Leann Bowen and Javier Scott, Pull List digs into what makes someone a fan, the pissing matches that sometimes result from trying to prove that fandom, and the growing tension between multiple characters coveting the stores lone copy of the latest Mythic Quest tie-in comic. It also sets itself apart from the rest of the anthology visually, with playful graphics that pull comicbook imagery into the real world.Each episode has its own distinct visual identity, but the overall look is still unmistakably Mythic Quest. Thats especially true of the season finale, The Last Raid, a screenlife story la Unfriended or Searching depicting a milestone raid for a long-running guild. In-game graphics punctuate regular Mythic Quest episodes, and here they take center stage as one group of online friends face their greatest test: the way their IRL relationships are developing (or faltering). Itd make a great double feature with the recently released, staging-a-Shakespearean-tragedy-in-GTA-Online documentary Grand Theft Hamlet: Another sympathetic, nonjudgmental (but still funny) depiction of how video games can be a lifeline for the socially isolated. PlaySide Quests ability to explore so much new terrain through the lens of a single, fictional video game is why I wish it were longer. And while the scope may be there, and all four episodes are engaging and thought-provoking, they ultimately lack the oomph of A Dark Quiet Death or its second-season counterpart, Backstory! It falls plainly on one end of the Goldilocks principle that plagues many streaming series: Not enough episodes to satisfy our hunger for more Mythic Quest; too slight to stick with you after the credits roll. This is no more apparent than in the third episode, which imparts its message early on but lacks a punch to carry it home. Its story of a cellist learning to separate her passion and her profession (with help from the Mythic Quest score) is sweet, but not much else. Still, its a credit to the creative team and performers that I became emotionally invested in all of these characters' lives within the span of 30 minutes. If only there were a few more chances to do so.

Break out your neck braces because Wreckfest 2 the hard-ramming, door-slamming second coming of the hit 2018 demolition racer from smash em up specialists Bugbear has officially T-boned Steam early access. With some stunning track design, a rich array of sound refinements, and even better handling than the original, the early signs are extremely promising. Early, however, is the operative word here, and my experience of Wreckfest 2 so far has been a little uneven. While I absolutely adore the driving feel, the throaty roar of overworked engines, and the metal-mashing mayhem, whats currently being sold is very slim in terms of toys to smash together and I have suffered a number of crashes but not the kind I crave in a destruction derby game. PlayOn Steam, early access can mean many things, but most commonly its either a very rough draft version of a game that will evolve in major ways over the course of a long development (a la Assetto Corsa Evo), or a rather polished vertical slice that holds back the remainder of the content for its 1.0 launch (such as the surprisingly hefty early access version of Tokyo Xtreme Racer). Like the original Wreckfests own early access launch before it, Wreckfest 2 arrives as the former. Its just a demo, really; the kind of thing that used to have a video game magazine glued to the back of it. Here we get four cars, three environments with a couple of tracks each, and a virtual map full of enormous jumps and stunt props. Long-time fans of Bugbears games may recognise some of those from the very first technology sneak peek demo for Wreckfest way back in 2013, when it was still under the working title Next Car Game and fighting its way back to life after a failed Kickstarter. Its a cute nod to the origins of the Wreckfest story and good fun to tool around in for a bit, even if the enormous ramps, basketball rings, car crushers, and cannons dont have quite the same novelty in 2025 as they did just over a decade ago.More impressive is the new Scrapyard environment, which is incredibly eye-catching thanks to the sheer amount of interesting salvage strewn all over the place, and its overflowing with destructible objects. Scrapyard is currently home to two circuits that snake their way through huge mountains of loose tyres and stacked car wrecks. These arent just cubes with the texture of a crushed car slapped on it; theyre all individual, stripped-down car shells looming like Jenga towers all over the place. Whats impressive is that there are dozens of them, on top of the two dozen running cars that are already screaming around the course trying to put you into a pole at the first opportunity. Some racing games operate under a strict look-dont-touch philosophy, with invisible walls protecting the carefully crafted trackside props, and pinballing cars away from having any meaningful interaction with anything located off the main racing strip. That was never Wreckfest and it wasnt Bugbears original FlatOut games before it but Wreckfest 2 dials the destruction up several notches. Its a total spectacle, and its quite remarkable how smoothly it runs on my setup (RTX 4080, Intel Core Ultra 9 185H) looking as good as it does. Its a fabulous looking racer, and how Bugbear maintains this massive level of destructibility without major fidelity sacrifices remains a mystery. What We Said About WreckfestPlayWreckfest is the long-overdue return of serious, high-quality destruction racing and, in that admittedly slim niche, its the king of the crop. It lacks a little spark off the track but out in the thick of it its some of the most frantic fun you can have on four wheels. I play plenty of serious racers, but sometimes its nice to toss the rulebook into the back seat and get out in the mud and trade some paint. Luke Reilly, August 24, 2019Score: 9Read the full Wreckfest review.The cars arent exactly in concours condition, but theyre still bursting with detail and character. The sophisticated, location-based damage modelling that puts dents exactly where they should be as a result of your reckless driving is obviously still front-and-centre and it remains what sets Wreckfest 2 apart from its peers. This time around, however, its even more nuanced. HUD warnings will let you know if youve thrown a tyre off a rim, and theyll slowly chart the death of your engine after you cop damage to your radiator. That is, once your coolants gone you can expect your pistons and bearings to go too, along with your head gasket. On track, this appears to translate to your car belching black smoke. I cant detect a major car performance hit when that happens, though, and I havent hit a point yet where my engine packs it in entirely. Broadly, Im wondering whether engine rebuilds after this sort of damage might be a feature in career mode in the final game, but right now its too early to tell, in part because no car or engine tinkering or tuning is currently possible in this initial build. The original Wreckfest features a great upgrade system so its unlikely this will remain absent from Wreckfest 2, but the only thing we can do for now is apply paint.PlayThere is impressive and distinct audio for an aching engine as opposed to a healthy one, and its part of an noticeably improved tapestry of sound overall. I particularly love the crackle of Wreckfest 2s new (and currently unnamed) riff on a third-generation Chevrolet Cavalier (for clarity, it was initially dubbed the 'Striker', but following some fixes its now just called the 'American 1'). I did initially have some early sessions where layers of sound would gradually drop out first the engines, then impacts until I was racing in silence, but I havent been able to reproduce it lately.The AI is suitably belligerent, quick when they extract themselves from the pack, and prone to unpredictability and mistakes.The actual racing, fortunately, is great. The AI is suitably belligerent, quick when they extract themselves from the pack, and prone to unpredictability and mistakes. Traditional racing and destruction derby are the only modes currently available, though. That does wear thin fairly quickly, but I cant wait to see what other modes Bugbear has in tow for the final release. Caravans, please as long as were speaking about towing.The new off-brand Cavalier is actually my favourite of the four available cars to drive, as its front-wheel drive layout makes it quite stable. Its also easier to recover from being turned around by aggressive competitors. By contrast, the pair of muscle cars here are a hoot to drift, but they generally just want to rotate the moment the AI starts harassing you. Of course, that is part of the deal of a high-contact racer like Wreckfest 2. Youre not going to get much sympathy for being crashed into. Unfortunately, the crashing I do have had a minor problem with was Wreckfest 2 itself crashing to my desktop. I havent really been able to pin down whats triggering it, and its been unpredictable. One afternoon I had a whole string of crashes, straight from the middle of races. The next day, not one. Obviously, as an early access project, Bugbear has plenty of scope to iron out such problems but its still a caveat worth considering for those interested in buying Wreckfest 2 immediately in its current (and very much still gestating) form.

Every generation has a television show that forever changes the pop culture landscape. In the 1980s, it was the feel-good presentation of Cheers; in the 1990s, it was the hilariously mundane atmosphere of Seinfeld. And in the 2000s, it was the tongue-in-cheek narrative depicted in The Office quite possibly the most beloved comedy series of the 21st century thus far.Breaking every sitcom rule in the book, The Office humorously explored the day-to-day operation of an average corporate workplace, accomplishing a feat no other American TV show had yet accomplished: establishing the run-of-mill office as a bold and exciting setting for a mainstream sitcom. Based on Stephen Merchant and Ricky Gervaiss 2001 BBC comedy, the American iteration of The Office soon found a life of its own with the arrival of its second season. Distancing itself from the drier tone of its British predecessor, The Office instead embraced its deadpan comedic style and the obvious eccentricities of its lead characters, from the lovable absentmindedness of branch manager Michael Scott (Steve Carell) to the rural aloofness of veteran salesman Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson).While everyone recognizes the numerous accomplishments prevalent through The Offices nine-season run on NBC, one notable reason for the series success has to do with its mockumentary format first and foremost. Just as the original series helped redefine what TV mockumentaries could look like for modern television, the U.S. version of The Office proved the imminent potential for mockumentaries centered around every block of American life, from small-town politics and inner-city school systems to underfunded hospitals and upper-middle class suburbia.As the series celebrates its historic 20th anniversary, we wanted to take a look at exactly how The Office changed the television medium, not just in terms of its iconic quotes (Thats what she said!) but more specifically in terms of its immediate influence on the TV landscape.How The Office (U.K.) Revitalized the Mockumentary GenreBefore the start of the new millenia, mockumentaries were something of a novelty for mainstream viewers, with few directors (and even fewer TV showrunners) utilizing the format for their overarching narrative structure. Rather, the genre remained synonymous with offbeat directors known for their irreverent comedic background, as seen with filmmakers like Christopher Guest and Rob Reiner and their work on films like Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, and perhaps most famously 1984s This Is Spinal Tap.Traditionally, mockumentaries were often reserved for an off-brand setting or subject matter, focusing on otherwise surreal topics in the course of their main storylines. Throughout the late 20th century, audiences saw mockumentaries specifically centered around cutthroat beauty pageants (Drop Dead Gorgeous), temperamental serial killers (Man Bites Dog), and far-right American politics (Bob Roberts). No matter their differences or specific comedic styles, almost every mockumentary tackled subjects considered otherwise easy targets, with most filmmakers seldom looking to relatable topics for their narrative premise.In 2001, all of that changed with the debut of BBC Twos The Office. Setting the stage for a dramatic resurgence for the mockumentary genre, Merchant and Gervais illustrated mockumentaries clear promise on primetime TV. More than that, though, the two proved you didnt need to focus on outlandish concepts for the sake of a remarkable comedy series. Conversely, you can choose to explore everyday topics people could easily understand and relate to such as the daily lives of low-level office employees.Though a mere two seasons long, The Office captured every facet of life in an average workplace, from the rigid boredom most employees experience throughout the day to the often awkward nature of interoffice relationships. Drawing on the same sense of humor as This Is Spinal Tap or Waiting for Guffman, Gervais and Merchant managed to revolutionize cringe-comedy for the 2000s, thanks in large part to their unflinching look at daily office life, warts and all.When it came time for NBCs remake of The Office, the American showrunners brought that same sense of humor across the Atlantic, changing very little about the series underlying narrative, setting, or characterization. Beginning with season 2, however, the American version of The Office gradually embraced its key differences that separated itself from the original, allowing it to grow, expand, and transform into the cultural juggernaut it eventually became by the end of the decade.How The Office (U.S.) Popularized Mockumentaries For Contemporary AudiencesWith each new season, NBCs The Office seemed to gain more confidence in its comedic timing and subjects, ushering in one of the most influential, well-written, ceaselessly quotable sitcoms of the 2000s. On the surface, one can look to The Offices satirical treatment of its setting (the Scranton-based paper company, Dunder Mifflin) as the primary reason for the series success. But viewers shouldnt ignore how closely tied The Offices success is to the mockumentary format itself.Like the British version of The Office, the American remake ingeniously inverted the basic tropes of the mockumentary, taking an otherwise unassuming setting and presenting it in a comically straightforward manner. By doing so, The Office relied on sharp writing, relatable characters, and altogether approachable episodic storylines, standing in clear contrast to the high-concept plots of most mockumentary films. Through this, the show truly explored every facet of its mockumentary presentation, providing an intensive look at a corporate workplace most Americans had an in-depth knowledge of.Join our mailing listGet the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!While The Office did poke an endless amount of jokes at the frustration, boredom, and tedious nature of life in white-collar establishments, it never did so maliciously as with, say, Office Space. Instead of underscoring the soul-crushing hopelessness of a corporate environment, The Office made a habit of portraying its subject matter as it was, free from any pointed comments or sobering satirical observations. If the end of The Office is any indication, the series excelled at showing the various joys and frustrations that come with an ordinary office environment. As The Office routinely illustrated, yes, characters could run afoul of their employers or grapple with the stress and uncertainty of company-wide layoffs. But they can also establish friendships and relationships with their coworkers that could last a lifetime. (Or, as Scrantons shadiest employee Creed Bratton so poetically put it, No matter how you get there or where you end up, human beings have this miraculous gift of making that place their home.)Its this factor above all else that makes The Office so unique, as well as why its mockumentary presentation is so important. Just as Cheers showed that you didnt necessarily need to base a sitcom around a dysfunctional family like the Bradys or the Bunkers, The Office used its mockumentary approach to explore a relatable part of most peoples existence: e.g., life inside in an innocuous office setting.It was a blessedly simple albeit extraordinarily important lesson that impacted the entire television medium in the years ahead. Throughout the remainder of the decade and well into the 2010s and 20s, numerous showrunners would look to the mockumentary genre as the basis for their own TV series. While each of these series came equipped with a distinct style of comedy, they nevertheless looked to equally understandable aspects of everyday life in modern America. Parks and Recreation, for example, looked to the small-town machinations of local government departments. Likewise, Modern Family offered an introspective look at the changing nature of suburban middle-class households, as seen through the alternating perspectives of same-sex, blended, and traditional nuclear families.While the golden age of mockumentaries may have ended sometime in the 2010s, the format still seems to be going relatively strong with newer series like Abbott Elementary and St. Denis Medical. And while each series certainly possesses its own specific style, characters, and mode of storytelling, each owes an overwhelming debt of gratitude to The Office and the trailblazing presentation of the shows narrative.

The Studio takes imitation is the sincerest form of flattery to a whole new level. Created by legendary comedic collaborators Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg (alongside Peter Huyck, Alex Gregory, Frida Perez), the Apple TV+ comedy series gets so deep into its satire of Hollywood that it simply becomes a major Hollywood production itself.Rogen stars as Matt Remick, the newly-appointed head of the fictional Continental Studios who must keep the company afloat with formulaic action tentpoles (including the studios long-running MKUltra franchise and a proposed Barbie-esque Kool-Aid Man film) while still making room for more artful endeavors. As the show follows Remick and his teams creative trials and tribulations over 10 episodes, it employs the very same stylistic tactics he craves to see onscreen. Long, continuous takes are deployed generously, including for the span of an entire episode fittingly called The Oner. Budget-bursting rights to Rolling Stones songs are secured. Major Hollywood stars are enlisted for blink-and-you-miss-it cameos.The surest sign that The Studio becomes what it sets out to poke fun at, however, is its commitment to practicality. Like any good story set in Southern California, much of the seasons action takes place in liminal automobile spaces as Matt Remick and his partner Sal Saperstein (Ike Barinholtz) commute between sets. This isnt a fake background in front of a stationary vehicle while an actor swings around the steering wheel situation Rogen and Barinholtz are very clearly cruising around Los Angelesmuch to Barinholtz discomfort.It was really, really scary, Barinholtz tells Den of Geek. When you see me in those scenes Im very uncomfortable. Seth drives really fast and these cars were all made like 25 years before I was born.They have no safety features. Your fear was palpable all the time, Rogen adds.I was like Is there a seatbelt? And our transport guy was like eh no, just hold on to the clutch. Every time were driving, Im gripping white knuckles, hoping that this is not how I go, because Im not ready.In true Studio-style, Rogen and Barinholtz continue to get into the weeds of the shows practical car approach. My dad was a driving instructor and for a portion of my childhood, I had one of those cars with two steering wheels and two gas pedals, Rogen says. I am a very capable driver. Especially in The Oner where were driving up the driveway. The resets were very frantic, because if something went wrong, I had to back the car up.Going 40 [mph] backward through the fucking hills! Barinholtz says.Rogen and Barinholtz ultimately survived The Studio but Matt Remicks career as Continental Studios head might not. The series has a good handle on the state of play in Hollywood at the moment, with the balance between art and commerce as precarious as ever. The ever-shifting landscape of the entertainment industry in the streaming era looms large as theme, with Rogens Remick taking over for Patty Leigh, Continentals previous lead who couldnt quite hack it.Leigh is played by Catherine OHara, yet another legendary comedic performer in the shows stable, whose lengthy career has endured through many stable and chaotic Hollywood eras. The Emmy-winning Schitts Creek star has a unique perspective on how the movie business has and hasnt changed. Join our mailing listGet the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!I think of Entertainment Tonight when that came on the air, that was the first time I ever heard of a box office or that your average person was supposed to care about it, OHara says. Theres so much more of that now, and everyone is one-hundred percent educated on it. I dont think we have to teach anybody anything with this show, everybody knows how basically it works.The internet has definitely changed things. Im imagining that, many years ago, [studio execs] would go more on gut feeling. There would be a little more bullshit confidence about whats going to work, whats going to play, and why these people are the best cast. Now they put it all out there and the world has a really strong influence. That must make people in these positions feel crazy.Amid all the commentary, imitation, and satire, The Studio is a love letter to movies above all else. In addition to the shows main cast, the series includes nearly a dozen famous directors (including Martin Scorsese, Sarah Polley, and Ron Howard) playing themselves as they try to get their Continental projects off the ground. For Rogen and company, the studio setting allowed them to get creative with some of their favorite filmmakers.It was a scary part of the show, honestly, because we didnt know how well some of these people would be able to perform and if it would work, Rogen says. Sarah Polley was the first person that we approached with a role in the show right when we came up with the idea. Part of the appeal, for sure, was getting to work with people that I knew or was a fan of. I know Im never going to be put in Martin Scorseses movies so if I want to work with him, I have to cast him on my television show.The first two episodes of The Studio are available to stream on Apple TV+ now. New episodes premiere Wednesdays, culminating with the finale on May 21.

The contest organised by local urban research platform ONplan lab on behalf of Penta Real Estate seeks compelling proposals for 85,000m of mixed-use development, including new homes, offices, leisure and retail areas.The two UK finalists for the jobs in the capital of the Czech Republic are Studio Egret West and Morris+Company. Studio Egret West is shortlisted for Block B01 a 20,900m gateway office building while Morris+Company is vying for two residential buildings dubbed Block B02 and Block B03 respectively.The competition launched in November 2024 three years after a team including London practice Marko and Placemakers won a high-profile contest to re-masterplan the entire 24ha Florenc area.AdvertisementFlorenc is the largest brownfield site in close contact with Pragues historic city centre. It is shaped by transport infrastructure, including a bus terminal, train station and highway flyover, and represents one of the citys most complex urban challenges.Bjarke Ingels Group won an international contest organised by The City of Prague for a major new 204 million (CZK 6.1 billion) waterfront concert hall close to the Vltavsk metro station in 2022. The City of Prague also announced an international competitive dialogue to rethink a prominent 56ha waterfront site in the same year.Penta Real Estate is one of the largest independent developers in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and has worked on previous schemes by Serie Architects and Studio Fuksas. Fifteen years ago Zaha Hadid Architects won a competition held by the developer for a high-rise Sky Park development in Bratislava.Czech architectural studio ADNS architekti won a contest launched four years ago by Penta Real Estate to design a mixed-use development in Pragues post-industrial Vysoany suburb. In 2023, Studio Egret West and Snhetta working in a 50:50 collaboration alongside local practice Gro Architekti were named overall winners of a Penta Real Estate contest to redevelop Bratislava Southbank.Judges of the latest contest include the German architect Stefan Behnisch, Italian architect Maria Alessandra Segantini, Dutch urbanist Kees Christiaanse and Czech Architecture Prize winner tpn Valouch.AdvertisementUp to eight teams have been shortlisted for each site and invited to participate in the design phase of the competition. The contest features a 700,000 prize fund and the overall winners will be announced in autumn 2025.The shortlistsCompetition block B01Studio Egret WestCHYBIK+KRISTOF/ Atelier Ten/Mfs GroupBarkow Leibinger Gesellschaft von Architektenquerkraft architektur/Jan Proksa ArchitectsKuba & Pila architectsSAS COLDEFY ET ASSOCIES/A69 architectsVietzke & Borstelmann Architekten/Jakub KlkaADEPT/OH BOICompetition block B02Morris+CompanyBaumschlager Eberle LustenauAulk Fier architekti / Machar Teichman / studio reactorA69 architects/ADEPTDe Architekten Cie InternationalVietzke & Borstelmann Architekten/Jakub KlkaLAN/P2PABotticini+Facchinelli/ARW AssociatesCompetition block B03Hasscookzemmrich STUDIO2050AllesWirdGut Architektur/creatura studio/DnD Landschaftsplanung/AED projectMorris+Companyre:architekti/baukuh studio associato/Atelier Kempe Thilledit architects/A69 architekti/NL ArchitectsDe Architekten Cie InternationalStudio Perspektiv/Studio NinedotsIngenhoven associatesCompetition block B04Pelk and partner architects / Thomas Mller Ivan Reimann Gesellschaft von Architekten mbHPavel Hnilika Architects+PlannersBaumschlager Eberle LustenauA69 architects/ADEPTIngenhoven associatesLAN / P2PADe Zwarte Hond Groningen/Apropos Architectsagps architecture/Drig AG/MOBA studio

The landscape of West Hill in Hastings is characterised by the steep transition from the elevated Wealden basin to the coastal seafront. Streets are lined with formal Victorian-era homes while terraced gardens and retaining walls, marked by the coastal weather, descend the slope to the backs of the houses.This terraced condition poses a challenge to building house extensions, notably the potential investment needed to hold back or cut into the slope and the dark, sunken spaces adjacent to the buildings. House on a Hill is as much a reworking of the fabric of the existing Victorian villa as it is an extension. A number of new pavilions to the rear expand the interior and negotiate the challenging conditions, allowing the natural characteristics of the existing landscape to define the structure and atmosphere of this carefully adapted and extended home.The client, a small-scale property developer, hired architect Hugh Strange on the basis of his construction methodology. Stranges work is typified by a humble reaction to site conditions and a resourceful celebration of typically concealed materials. On site, he spoke openly about the projects construction, putting great weight on collaborating closely with a select group of consultants and suppliers.AdvertisementWith the experienced client acting as project manager and the timber frame package priced early on by the subcontractor, the project bypassed a typical RIBA Stage 4 tender, moving quickly from planning consent to assembly packages for construction.Strange comments: Usually we draw 90 per cent CAD drawings and 10 per cent hand sketches on site, but this was more like 60:40, using sketches to resolve issues rather than a fully resolved construction set.This allowed space for adaptations to arise on site, and for collaborative decision-making, less governed by the constraints of a contractual schedule of works.The project began with shoring up the landscape through tie rods with visible cappings and rough cast in-situ concrete mantles atop the retaining walls. Both are practical, low-cost, infrastructural decisions that, despite leaving their mark on the landscape, seem fitting to its rough patina. Next, four new structures were added to the terraces: three laminated veneer lumber (LVL) pavilions and one galvanised steel pergola. Each is designed as an independent structure, stepped in from the boundaries and offset from the others to create small and large courtyards. The pavilions are lined with red grandis (eucalyptus) windows, with hoods of galvanised steel and topped with semi-intensive green roofs. Designing the extension as a series of pavilions allows space around and in between structures, which avoids overwhelming the site and creates a charged dialogue between the new structure and textured existing landscape.AdvertisementA new gallery replaces a late 20th-century lean-to, extending the kitchen and dining areas into a larger interconnected social space. Carefully adapted openings in the existing wall of the Victorian villa provide diagonal views out to the garden, even from the plans depths. The gallery is lined with a raised bench along its length and tall open sliding windows, and acts as a contemplative resting space. Its layered construction, which uses LVL laminates for both structure and surface, is particularly noticeable in the columns and large downstand beams that, at each end of the gallery, differentiate the lower doorways from the high-level curtain glazing of the courtyard. At right angles to the gallery is a small living area. It is separated by a step up in section, giving the room independence and an oversight of the goings on in the courtyard garden, kitchen and dining space.Both new pavilions open to the courtyard through finely crafted horizontal sliding doors, with the rougher LVL structural columns set back from the perimeter. When these doors are opened, a transformation occurs: the interior opens to the garden leaving the columns standing in open space, evoking the initial construction site condition of timber pergolas. This view out, facing over a deep French drain to the raised existing concrete slab, is reminiscent of sitting on the timber-framed veranda of Kyotos Ents-ji temple, albeit the garden ground is raised above where you sit, rather than lowered. This same gap between the gallery and garden room pavilion allows for an overshoot of the angled galvanised hood. When viewed from the garden room, this almost feels like it is flying inside. This loose fit approach allows each pavilion to feel like a room in a collection of outdoor and indoor territories.Facing the challenge of forming an accessible route stepping up the garden, Strange has added a steel staircase, clipped-on the edge of the retaining wall. This ascends to a home studio where there are views out over the roofs to the sea. A new path extends further up the hill on which a small seat, formed of block and a leftover stair tread, creates a reading space under an existing mulberry tree. At the top level, a steel pergola is more a suggestion of an outdoor room, to be trailed in vines in the future as a place to enjoy the most expansive vista. The project also included the refurbishment of the upper floor, where Stranges scope was more advisory. Its most notable space is a skillfully crafted Japanese meets Bauhaus bathroom.Stranges recent PhD research, Creative Space of the Building Site, emphasises the significance of construction processes in architectural design. He posits that good architecture emerges through construction, allowing for adaptation and innovation during the building process. His thesis references a study on the one-man practice of Walter Segal, who was, in his own words, not prepared to part with any aspect of design or detailing. At House on a Hill, Stranges methodology demonstrates a less rigid and more collaborative approach, emphasising the importance of trust between the architect, client, structural engineer and subcontractors.Stranges frame-first construction methodology sets up a collective spatial and material understanding of the projects aspirations. The subsequent enclosures and linings are carefully sequenced to accommodate and celebrate changes the site throws upThe frame-first construction methodology on show sets up a collective spatial and material understanding of the projects aspirations from the outset. The subsequent enclosures and linings are carefully sequenced to accommodate and celebrate changes the site throws up, allowing creative input from all parties involved. This illustrates a more dynamic and frankly less daunting way to build, with an acceptance that decision-making can be strung out across the project process rather than contractually bundled up at the end of RIBA Stage 4. This more fluid client-architect relationship avoids the limitations of pre-contract decisions.As a young practitioner, visiting the site in person, I came away with an encouragement that the construction process if you take time to understand the way you work, and who with gives the opportunity for playful, honest and unexpected architectural expression.Michael Dillon is director of AOMD (Architectural Office Michael Dillon)Architects viewAbove Hastings town centre, residential areas cling to the hillsides. The steepness of the private gardens had led the clients property, a Victorian detached house with 1980s extension, to turn its back on the outdoor space, while the condition of the gardens concrete terraces had become precarious.The project reorientates the house towards this hillside while piecing together a new route up the rear garden. This interplay of built form and route, along with the central external terrace, now provides the focus of the property.The house has been carefully renovated, and the poorly constructed addition replaced with a gallery space. From this gallery, the kitchen and dining room are now connected, and a few steps up is a new garden room. Further up the hill is a study, accessible only from the outside. Where previously the rooms were disconnected and lacked natural light, there are now multiple routes, and light is brought into the depths of the interior.To reduce embodied carbon, the concrete terraces have been repaired rather than replaced. A series of ground anchors hold steady the retaining walls, identifiable through their distinctive circular caps, while concrete repairs patch cracks.Hugh Strange, director, Hugh Strange ArchitectsEngineers viewThe whole project is predicated on the repair of the existing concrete terraced garden. Previously in very poor condition, the careful anchoring, reinforcing and patching of the undesigned and ad-hoc existing concrete avoided the need for demolition and new retaining walls, with significant savings in embodied carbon. The existing Victorian house was renovated with a number of environmental improvements, including new glazing throughout, added insulation and the installation of an air-source heat pump.The earlier 1980s extension, of poor construction and without insulation, was replaced with a well-insulated extension that encourages cross ventilation and brings natural light deeper within the interiors. All the new construction uses engineered timber (LVL) as a lightweight low-carbon material, and all accommodate green roofs to encourage biodiversity and better manage rainwater.Andy Toohey, partner, Price & MyersClients viewI approached quite a few architects when I first started to plan for my project. Of the architects I spoke to, Hugh Strange really took time to think carefully about what I was asking for.Having said that I knew what I wanted, the design still adapted organically over time, to better meet what I was trying to achieve.My key design criteria was to create a feeling of space and openness and bring more light to the building without settling on a generic glass box (which would sit awkwardly with the original Victorian house).I wondered quite often during the build whether the finished project would be used in the way that I expected. The gallery was a risk it is a space that, on the face of it, has no defined purpose. However, since completion it has clearly become the heart of the extension it encourages me and guests to gather there, move through it from one part of the house to another, and enhances the flow of the house, which was ultimately a key criteria.By opening up the spaces it has helped me break down the distinctions between living, working and dining and gain a space that it totally unique but, equally, highly functional.Simon Basey, clientWorking detailThe new structures, formed of engineered timber (LVL), sit lightly on the repaired concrete. Their construction is precisely articulated, the structural distinguished from the non-structural, and the junctions detailed to allow disassembly and reuse.Critical to the projects architecture, the corner timber junctions articulate the support of beams by posts, and the support of one beam on the notched profile of the adjoining beam.The resulting stepped corner is expressed in the glazing, with sliding doors occupying the higher profile, their large apertures opening on to the central courtyard, and the external metal cladding lifted at these moments to form projecting and protecting metal caps.Hugh Strange, director, Hugh Strange ArchitectsProject dataLocationHastingsStart on siteOctober 2021CompletionJune 2023Gross internal floor area209m2Construction cost600,000Construction cost per m22,870ArchitectHugh Strange ArchitectsClientSimon BaseyStructural engineerPrice & MyersProject managerJethro WarrenPrincipal designerHugh Strange ArchitectsApproved building inspectorJhaiMain contractorN/ACAD software usedVectorworksSustainability dataPercentage of floor area with daylight factor >2%Not suppliedPercentage of floor area with daylight factor >5%Not suppliedOn-site energy generationNot suppliedHeating and hot water loadNot suppliedOperational energyNot suppliedTotal energy load33 kWh/m2/yrCarbon emissionsNot suppliedAnnual mains water consumption110 litres per person per dayAirtightness at 50PaNot suppliedOverall thermal bridging heat transfer coefficient (Y-value)Not suppliedOverall area-weighted U-valueNot suppliedAnnual CO2 emissionsNot suppliedEmbodied carbon93 kgCO2eq/m2Whole-life carbon95 kgCO2eq/m2Predicted design life50 years

Notes for weekly communication of ongoing projects and modules. Blender 4.4 has been released on Tuesday. Check out whats new in the release notes. This is a selection of changes that happened over the last week. For a full overview including fixes, code only changes and more visit projects.blender.org. Add keying set support to Copy Global Transform add-on (commit) - (Sybren A. Stvel) Add import settings popover, move import method into it (commit) - (Julian Eisel) Import settings popover with collection instancing option (commit) - (Julian Eisel) Configurable Line Breaking Behavior (commit) - (Harley Acheson) Add common nodes to compositor (commit) - (Omar Emara) Add Image Info node (commit) - (Omar Emara) Support conversion to and from int2 and float2 (commit) - (Omar Emara) Support Int2 and Float2 types in shader operations (commit) - (Omar Emara) Support all single value types in File Output (commit) - (Omar Emara) Add boolean socket support (commit) - (Omar Emara) Adaptive subdivision no longer doubles up with Blender levels (commit) - (Brecht Van Lommel) Maximise MTLCompiler concurrency when GUI isnt active (commit) - (Michael Jones) Multithread adaptive subdivision dicing (commit) - (Brecht Van Lommel) Add quantized geometric normal for shadow bias (commit) - (Clment Foucault) Move import nodes out of experimental (commit) - (Hans Goudey) Add icon_value property to support using custom icons (commit) - (Jonas Holzman) Drawing API functions to assign/remove vertex group data (commit) - (Pratik Borhade) Draw Tool: Improve random color value and saturation setting results (commit) - (Casey Bianco-Davis) Enable panel toggles in the Compositor (commit) - (Omar Emara) Update bitflag smoothgroup to also consider boundary vertices. (commit) - (Bastien Montagne) Add Gizmo Simple 2D (commit) - (Jonas Holzman) Make area border width decoupled from scale factor (commit) - (Clment Foucault) Add unit to label in Glare (Simple Star) node (commit) - (Pablo Vazquez) Output > FFmpeg Video hide useless parameters for some codecs (commit) - (Martin-Vignali) Typographical and Path Wrapping for Tooltips (commit) - (Harley Acheson) Increase Height of the Left-Size Corner Action Zones (commit) - (Harley Acheson) Use snapping when drag & dropping collections (commit) - (Julian Eisel) Increase Border Edge Drag Width (commit) - (Harley Acheson) Increase Contrast of Area Resize Feedback (commit) - (Harley Acheson) Color Icons for Red, Green, & Blue (commit) - (Harley Acheson) Rename Add File Node operator to Add Image as Node (commit) - (Guillermo Venegas) Eliminate some unintentional VtArray copies (commit) - (Jesse Yurkovich) Swapchain synchronization (commit) - (Jeroen Bakker) Prefer tripple buffering (commit) - (Jeroen Bakker) Allow property changes in the editor to create undo steps (commit) - (Sean Kim)