By Matt Novak Published March 28, 2025 | Comments (165) | Elon Musk speaks in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on February 11, 2025. Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is planning to migrate the Social Security Administrations computer systems from the COBOL programming language to something more modern, according to a new report from Wired. And while its not yet clear what Musks band of dipshits plans to do exactly, Wired reports they aim to do it within a few months, a laughably audacious timeline for such a task. Everything from the code that issues Social Security numbers to the payment schedules are written in COBOL, which was created in the 1950s, but the DOGE team seems to believe it can make a snap transition with the help of artificial intelligence, according to Wired. The DOGE team has already been reportedly running highly sensitive government data through AI, as the Washington Post reported last month, so why not use it to cheat-code your way to a more modern programming language? The reason, of course is the risk of cascading failures during any rush-job that might mean missed payments or beneficiary information getting wiped from the system entirely. As Wired notes, the Social Security Administration had actually planned on migrating away from COBOL under a more realistic five-year timespan in the late 2010s, but that effort was derailed by the covid-19 pandemic, which disrupted countless plans in 2020. More than 65 million Americans receive Social Security benefits, and any hiccups would be devastating for people who rely on the program to stay alive. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick recently told the All-In podcast that if Social Security checks didnt go out one month, his mother-in-law wouldnt call and complain. Lutnick claimed, a fraudster makes the loudest noise, suggesting that only people who are fraudulently receiving Social Security would be concerned about payments stopping. BREAKING: Trumps billionaire Commerce Secretary says that seniors wont care if they dont get their Social Security checks and that anyone who does complain is a fraudster. [image or embed] Social Security Works (@socialsecurityworks.org) March 21, 2025 at 11:19 AM Lutnicks logic doesnt hold water, obviously. Millions of people whove paid into Social Security their entire lives have a perfectly reasonable expectation that theyll receive the money they were promised. And Lutnicks mother-in-law hypothetically would get help from her billionaire son-in-law if she didnt get her check any given month. Most Americans who rely on Social Security dont have a hyper-rich relative to bail them out.The Social Security overhaul by DOGE is being led by Steve Davis, according to Wired, who is often described in news reports as the real day-to-day leader of the pseudo-agency. Davis joined SpaceX in 2003 and went on to become the head of Musks Boring Company in 2018 before being brought to Twitter in 2022 and then running Musks political action committee America PAC during the 2024 presidential election. Davis is seen as extremely loyal to Musk, with another top lieutenant of the Musk empire, Jared Birchall, quoted as saying If Elon asked Steve to jump out of a window, he would do it, according to the 2024 book Character Limit. Wireds report doesnt name any of its sources within the Social Security Administration, but the news outlet has been reliably reporting on some of the DOGE teams most galling cuts since Musk started taking a chainsaw to the federal government. Musk, whos previously called Social Security a ponzi scheme, was given enormous power by President Donald Trump to unilaterally cut anything he wants, a nakedly illegal powergrab that continues to this day, despite several court challenges. Congress has yet to properly challenge Musks meddling with their power of the purse, but there are rumblings that some Republicans may finally be growing a spine. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, for example, signed on to a letter Thursday objecting to the Trump regime withholding $2.9 billion of funding allocated by Congress.Musk and several people from DOGE were interviewed on Fox News by Bret Baier on Thursday night in a rather transparent attempt to calm fears over their ongoing destruction of the government. One of the DOGE staff, Joe Gebbia, talked about digitizing the records for retirement in the government, something that makes sense if done responsibly. But the DOGE team seems to think the reason government systems are so antiquated are that nobody ever thought of updating them before. The real reasons are two-fold. First, it takes large sums of money to migrate systems properly without disruption, which brings us to the second reason: Any disruption means millions of people could see critical services upended. The Fox News interview was at times incoherent, as Musk promised that people getting Social Security would get more money after he was done rooting around in the systems. In fact, what were doing will help their benefits, Musk said. Legitimate people, as a result of the work of DOGE, will receive more Social Security, not less. I want to emphasize that. As a result of the work of DOGE, legitimate recipients of Social Security will receive more money, not less money.Musk even said he wanted people to check back on his claim in the future. The claim that people would be getting more money from Social Security in the future simply makes no sense, and its hard to figure out why hed bother saying such a thing. Only Congress can tinker with how much money would be paid out to beneficiaries. But Musks many lies have rarely had any real consequences.IT expert Waldo Jaquith, who used to work for the U.S. governments 18F department (which was recently abolished), wrote on Bluesky that Musks plans for Social Security computer systems were a really bad idea. This is profoundly stupid and will definitely fail, and its just a question of whether our social security system fails along with it, Jaquith wrote. Jaquith went on to explain that there didnt appear to be any real reason for this rushed push away from COBOL, especially if people are getting their Social Security payments reliably and on-time right now, as they have for decades. I cannot think of a single legitimate reason for DOGE to perform such a modernization, especially on such a time scale. A lot of my work is around helping agencies triage how to deal with old systems. If the old system works, *leave it alone*! Start with stuff thats broken! Jaquith continued.Jaquith speculated that the real goal in migrating to a new system was to create a technical chokepoint for the flow of money to allow individuals or groups to be punished extralegally, saying that its all likely just a fig leaf covering the real goal of fascism. Protesters are expected at more than 200 Tesla locations around the world on Saturday as a peaceful show of force against Musks illegal power grab. But not all of the protests against Musk have been peaceful. Federal authorities charged a 36-year-old man in Nevada just yesterday for allegedly setting fire to multiple Tesla vehicles at a Collision Center in Las Vegas. That man has been charged with both state and federal crimes, with no less than Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel weighing in to say that Tesla dealerships will be defended against terrorism by the federal government. As promised, acts of violence and vandalism will not be tolerated, and today law enforcement personnel acted quickly to arrest an individual on charges including arson, Patel said in a statement Thursday. Under Attorney General Bondis leadership, we will continue to pursue these investigations with the full force of law and will bring to justice anyone responsible for these attacks. Daily NewsletterYou May Also Like AJ Dellinger and Matt Novak Published March 29, 2025 By Matt Novak Published March 28, 2025 By Matt Novak Published March 28, 2025 By Kyle Barr Published March 28, 2025 By Matt Novak Published March 27, 2025 By Lucas Ropek Published March 27, 2025

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If you see this update, you are under attack.gettyBeware there is a new threat to worry any Android user with popular banking and shopping apps on their phone. A nasty trojan has been discovered attacking more than 750 legitimate banking and shopping apps, presenting a fake login screen over the real app, stealing your credentials as soon as theyre entered.This new discovery by Cyble comes just days after Google warned Android users that sideloaded apps from third-party stores and direct installs deliver 50times as much malware as apps from Play Store. Ironically, although this new threat is sideloaded, its dropper is disguised as Google Play Services, giving it seeming legitimacy. The attack requires a Play settings update that Google has repeatedly warned can be dangerous.Cyble has dubbed this TsarBot given the likely Russian origins of its developers, and says it can remotely control the screen, executing fraud by simulating user actions such as swiping, tapping, and entering credentials while hiding malicious activities using a black overlay screen. It captures device lock credentials using a fake lock screen to gain full control, [and it can] send stolen data, and dynamically execute on-device fraud.Do not click OK to update this Google Play Services appCybleTsarBot isnt limited to overlay attacks given its remote control capabilities. One of which relates to two-factor authentication (2FA), a necessity for the apps it attacks, through lock-grabbing techniques, keylogging, and intercepting SMS messages.An attack starts with an install from a dangerous phishing website. Cyble observed a fake version of a token trading platform, but it could be any website and attackers will move on to keep ahead of discovery. The phishing site delivers a dropper application that stores the TsarBot APK file, implant.apk, in the res/raw folder. The dropper utilizes a session-based package installer to deploy the TsarBot malware on the device.Example overlay attack screens for popular appsCybleAfter install, the Play Services trick comes into play so to speak. TsarBot conceals itself as the Google Play Service app and does not display a launcher icon. Upon installation, it presents a fake Google Play Service update page, prompting the user to enable Accessibility services. Do not click OK to agree this app update.By abusing Accessibility services and WebSocket communication, Cyble warns, TsarBot underscores the persistent threat posed by banking malware. Users should exercise caution when installing apps, avoid untrusted sources, and remain vigilant against phishing sites distributing such threats.Staying safe is very straightforward. Do not install apps from outside Play Store or other official Android stores. Ensure Play Protect is enabled at all times, and do not be lured into disabling or pausing this for an install unless youre 100% sure its safe and know the source beyond doubt. And dont enable Accessibility Services unless an app categorically requires device controls to function. It opens up significant risks.

AI agentsunlike chatbotscan execute complex tasks independently by connecting with other systems ... More and even writing their own code.Adobe StockChatGPT and other large-language chatbots are great and have revolutionized many aspects of work. However, they have one big drawback: they talk the talk but can't walk the walk.The next wave of AI disruption will be different. AI agents are herebuilt on the same large-language model (LLM) technology as generative AI but capable of carrying out complex, multi-step tasks with little human input.They do this by interfacing with other systems examples weve seen include using online shopping and e-commerce sites to make orders and using web design tools to create entire websites.And if they can't find a tool to complete the task themselves, they can create their own by designing, writing and deploying their own computer code.As you can imagine, this has huge implications for the way we work. Those who fear humans will be replaced by machines say it will put even more jobs at risk. Those who think it will give us more free time and help solve important problems say its a big leap forward.So, lets take a look at how AI agents are set to affect our day-to-day jobs and maybe our long-term career prospects, too.Automating Manual, Routine TasksProcessing returns, reviewing invoices and posting updates to field workers are just some of the tasks that Microsoft envisions us delegating to AI agents.While traditional AI tools can tell us what to do, agents will actually do it for us identifying the tools and data it needs and connecting with third-party services to get it done.Microsoft is far from alone. Tech giants including OpenAI, Amazon and Google are all bringing platforms to market aimed at integrating agents into working life.Backing up this plan with billions in investment and huge sales campaigns, they hope well be keen to palm the tedious and mundane elements of our jobs off onto intelligent assistants. This could include things like data entry, reviewing orders and invoices, answering routine support inquiries, or running security procedures.Better Data-Driven Decision-MakingUnderstanding how to work with data to make decisions based on reality has become increasingly important for many professionals. AI agents will give them more power to do this than ever before.When we talk about automated decision-making at work, we mean systems that can raise alerts, spot unexpected happenings, or optimize systems automatically.This means that as well as the routine work we talked about earlier, involving following sets of rules, AI can take on thinking work, like choosing the best course of action.Heres an example. A generative AI can analyze your business and current marketing trends, then create a marketing campaign for you, with all the assets you'll need to market your business, and make decisions about budgeting for SEO, SEM or whatever it thinks youll need.An AI agent will be able to go further in executing the campaign by interfacing with advertising services, social media, and email marketing tools.(In theory, it won't stop there either it will analyze results, follow up with prospects and adjust its strategy to work better next time.)There is an enormous challenge for organizations here when it comes to instilling trust that augmented decision-making leads to better decisions. This means decisions that are ethically better in terms of their impact on people and society, as well as better for the business.Working Alongside AI Co-WorkersWhether we are picking and packing in a distribution center, working in the field or behind an office desk, well become increasingly aware of AIs as entities -working alongside us, watching what we do and influencing our work.Think this sounds creepy? Youre not alone. In 2024, the CEO of an AI HR software firm canceled plans to give AI agents employee records, performance targets and training goals, just like human staff, after receiving widespread backlash.While we might not be ready quite yet to think of AIs as fellow beings, make no mistake - virtual employees are coming. Businesses will be hoping that the creepy feeling wears off when workers find out how useful and empowering they can be.The scope here is huge. Automated agricultural machinery that sows, harvests and manages crops. Technical support assistants learn more about customer problems with every call and develop fixes and solutions autonomously. Or simply managing all of your schedules, inboxes and priorities in a truly intelligent way.High-Value WorkSo this is what makes it all worthwhile. With AI agents taking care of everything else, were free to concentrate on what really gets us out of bed in the morning. The opportunity to do real, meaningful work that makes a positive change.For teachers, this might mean less time marking papers and setting assignments, and more face-to-face time with pupils. Customer service agents no longer need to spend time answering routine inquiries and can spend time building deeper connections and understanding client requirements. Managers and executives can prioritize long-term strategic planning, team-building, or pursuing new growth opportunities rather than doing routine administrative work.In other words, AI agents allow us to spend more time on tasks that create real value, which could lead to richer and more rewarding working lives for everyone.Human Skills More Valuable Than Ever?With agents increasingly taking on technical tasks, humans with skills that still cant be replicated by machines become significantly more valuable. It will still be some time before AI replaces the ability of good human leaders to inspire and motivate teams, resolve conflicts, and deliver real long-term strategy. Those with highly-tuned emotional intelligence, human insight and authentic creative abilities will be more sought-after than ever, as their aptitudes and skillsets increasingly become a key differentiator. A quick piece of very easy career advice nurture those talents.Understanding AI Ethics Will Be CriticalFor employees during the early days of the agentic AI revolution, this will mean going beyond expecting organizational policies to absolve us of accountability. One 2024 report found that just 21% of workplaces have AI usage policies in place. While this will inevitably increase, the potential for harm to be caused inadvertently by AI and agentic AI in particular - is enormous.Writers and artists, for example, claim their work is already being stolen and used to train AI, without them being compensated. And Fashion retailer Mango received damaging negative publicity due to claims an ad campaign featuring AI-generated models had been devised without concern for the potential implications for jobs. This is only scratching the surface of the potential ethical challenges anyone wanting to integrate agentic AI into their workflows will have to face if they want to protect themselves from potentially very expensive and harmful mistakes.How Do I Get Ready For All This?Because of the potential benefits weve covered here, ignoring the arrival of AI agents simply wont be an option for professionals who want to be at the top of their game.Understanding how it will impact your own working life, career path, and the future of your occupation, profession, or industry is the first step to getting prepared.After that, you can start looking for opportunities to use the tools and platforms being made available by US and Chinese AI developers to put it to work.Its inevitable that AI will lead to job losses, and logic suggests that the more capable AI becomes, the more jobs will be at risk. Those who want to ensure they benefit from the agentic AI revolution rather than be made redundant by it should be taking action on this today.

Reports of AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D failures have been surfacing online, with over 100 documented cases of dead processors, primarily on ASRock motherboards. The issue has been meticulously compiled by a Reddit user, highlighting concerns about compatibility and potential manufacturing defects affecting AMDs latest 3D V-Cache processor.According to the compiled data, the majority of failures occurred within minutes or hours of use, with users reporting sudden shutdowns, instability, and CPUs that no longer function. The issue appears to be more prevalent on ASRock motherboards, though cases have also been reported on boards from other manufacturers. Some users suspect that aggressive voltage settings in BIOS, potentially linked to memory overclocking or EXPO profiles, might be contributing to the problem.Recommended VideosThe Ryzen 7 9800X3D, much like its predecessor, features AMDs 3D V-Cache technology, which enhances gaming performance by stacking additional cache on the CPU die. However, this design also introduces additional thermal and voltage constraints. Unlike standard Ryzen CPUs, the 3D V-Cache models have lower voltage tolerances, making them more sensitive to improper power settings. Users have speculated that BIOS configurations or motherboard firmware could be allowing unsafe voltage levels, leading to premature CPU failures. ASRock has yet to officially respond to these reports, but users have noted that the company has recently released BIOS updates addressing stability issues. Some suspect that these updates may include adjustments to voltage regulation to mitigate further failures. Other motherboard manufacturers, including ASUS, MSI, and Gigabyte, have also released updates to optimize compatibility with the new Ryzen chips.This situation is reminiscent of past issues seen with Intels 13th and 14th-generation Core i7 and i9 processors, which suffered from instability and overheating when paired with high-end motherboards that pushed aggressive power limits. Intel had to work with motherboard manufacturers to release BIOS updates that refined power delivery and voltage settings to prevent long-term damage.With AMD now facing similar concerns, affected users are calling for greater transparency and a possible recall if the failures continue to rise. Until an official statement is made, users are advised to ensure their BIOS is up to date and to avoid excessive voltage settings when configuring their Ryzen 7 9800X3D CPUsEditors Recommendations

Zack Nelson, the man behind the popular tech-focused YouTube channel JerryRigEverything, has just subjected the worlds thinnest foldable smartphone to his less-than-friendly durability test.Oppos Find N5 caused quite a stir when it was unveiled in February, with Digital Trends hands-on review claiming that the handset nails every part of this form factor.So, did the Find N5, which is just 8.93mm thick when folded, suffer much in the hands of Nelson? The short answer to that is yes, but then no phone really comes out unscathed during the YouTubers durability tests, which include a good deal of scratching, plenty of scraping, a spot of burning, and, last but not least, some spirited bending.Please enable Javascript to view this contentYou can watch the video (top) to see how the Find N5 dealt with the hardness picks, and how much it enjoyed being scraped up and down by a box cutter. Youll also learn how well it handles a naked flame, and having grit poured over it.But its the bend test that will really catch your attention. Nelson was surprised as well as disappointed to find that the Find N5 suffered internal display damage on the very first bend, administered while the phone was closed.The YouTuber noted that while many of the other foldables currently on the market passed this initial bend test, the Find N5s main display lost pixels in a thin line both horizontally and vertically.The next bend test is always the hardest to watch when it comes to such handsets, as it involves bending the phone in the opposite direction to which it should be. But impressively, as Nelson applies some serious force with his bare hands, Oppos incredibly thin foldable remains in one piece thanks to its strong titanium hinge.But after a few more bends, the interior display is totally cooked. The exterior screen, however, continues to function, giving Find N5 owners some hope that their phone might still work should they accidentally mangle it in some unspeakable way.Tech nerds can enjoy the rest of the video as Nelson completely dismantles the Find N5, revealing its innards while pointing out some interesting design decisions that helped Oppo to achieve the super-slim design.Editors Recommendations

Musk has poured attention on Wisconsin's coming state Supreme Court election, holding a town hall in Green Bay in support of a conservative candidate. ROBIN LEGRAND/AFP via Getty Images 2025-03-31T06:30:17Z SaveSaved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now.Have an account? Elon Musk held a town hall in Wisconsin on Sunday, where he talked about DOGE and America's future.He was there ahead of a state election that he said would affect the "entire destiny of humanity."Meanwhile, he floated the idea of cuts to the Fed, US Postal Service, and school administrators.Million-dollar checks, questions aboutOn Sunday night, Elon Musk spoke for roughly 100 minutes at a town hall in Green Bay, Wisconsin, as he endorsed conservative judge Brad Schimel in the state's upcomingThe session evolved into a freewheeling discussion on Musk's thoughts about the future of the US and the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE,Musk said little about concrete plans for DOGE, but gave Americans a further glimpse at what he thinks should be cut.Here are the top five takeaways from Musk's town hall.Musk gave two attendees $1 million for their support Musk said the checks would be made to "spokespersons" at the event, amid concerns that his $1 million lottery would violate Wisconsin state law. ROBIN LEGRAND/AFP via Getty Images Musk, who started the event wearing a cheesehead hat, kicked off the talk by handing giant $1 million checks to two supporters.These checks have been controversial. Musk had originally offered Wisconsin voters $100 each to sign a petition opposing "activist judges." That would also give them entry to a lottery for $1 million.But this was likely to violate state laws, and Muskwinners to be spokespersons for the event.Wisconsin's Democratic attorney general, Josh Kaul, tried to block the $1 million giveaway, but the state's Supreme Court declined on Sunday to hear his case.The high-profile payouts underscore the attention being heaped on the judicial election, which is set for April 1.Wisconsin's Supreme Court has a 4-3 liberal majority, and one of its left-leaning judges, Ann Walsh Bradley, is set to retire paving the way for a recontest of the state's ideological future. The vote is also being hyped as a litmus test for sentiment on the Trump administration's actions in the last few months.At his Sunday event, Musk said the election would determine issues like Wisconsin's voter ID requirements in the 2026 House elections. He said this would, in turn, help determine who gains control of Congress and "steer the course of Western civilization.""I feel like this is one of those things that may not seem that it's going to affect the entire destiny of humanity, but I think it will," he said of the April 1 vote.The Fed vs a Magic 8 Ball Musk mentioned dissatisfaction with the number of people working for the Federal Reserve, saying he thought a magic eight-ball could do a better job of setting interest rates. Scott Olson/Getty Images Musk began answering questions from supporters, during which he dropped hints about his areas of concern for DOGE."I think there's like 20,000 people working at the Fed? It seems pretty high," he said. The Federal Reserve said it budgeted payroll for 24,553 employees in 2024.Musk questioned the roles of those employees."What do they do? And, you know, sometimes I wonder which one would win for federal interest rates. The Board of the Federal Reserve, or a magic eight-ball?" he said."I think the Magic 8 ball might win, you know, so then I'm like, Magic 8 ball is a lot cheaper," he added. That comparison was the subject of a poll he posted on X in November, in which X users voted overwhelmingly for the magic eight-ball.The billionaire also took aim at schooling, saying the US had too few teachers while having too many administrators. Federal data shows more than 302,000 people were employed as school administrators for kindergarten to high school in May 2023, along with 3.8 million teachers.Antonio Gracias, a private equity executive involved with DOGE, went onstage and led a presentation criticizing the way social services and Medicaid were disbursed to migrants entering the US illegally.One supporter, who said he worked for the US Postal Service, asked Musk if DOGE would look into his employer.The billionaire didn't appear to have much of a plan to share he asked the postal worker for ideas but raised concerns about pricing for industries that rely on large-volume local shipping."Some companies are not being charged the right amount for package delivery, and there's probably more administrative overhead than there should be, would be some safe guesses, I'd bet," Musk said.He likes the government structure of 1776 Musk said that if it were his decision, he would cut the federal government to just a few branches, like the system it had at independence. Sina Salehian/Getty Images Musk said his ideal version of the federal government would be cut down to just the president, attorney general, secretary of state, secretary of defense or war, and the secretary of the treasury like George Washington's cabinet in 1776."If it were entirely up to me, I'd be like: 'Let's make it like that again,'" Musk said to applause from the audience.The hit to Tesla: 'It's costing me a lot to be in this job' A protester at the Tesla Takedown demonstration in Detroit. Nic Antaya for Business Insider Musk acknowledged the slump in his net worth, much of which has come from Tesla's stock price slipping from highs of nearly $480 in December to about $263 now.Musk has lost about $103 billion since the start of 2025, Bloomberg's Billionaire Index shows. He is still $116 billion ahead of Jeff Bezos, who is listed as the world's second-richest man.Musk said he's aware that his time spent with DOGE could be to blame."In fact, it's costing a lot for me to be in this job," he said."You know, my Tesla stock and the stock of everyone who holds Tesla stock went roughly in half," he said, adding that his role in DOGE was a "very expensive job."Musk said he's not qualified to return DOGE's savings to taxpayers Musk said it would be up to the president or Congress to determine if money from DOGE savings would go back to Americans. Win McNamee/Getty Images One young supporter asked Musk if he would consider sending checks to taxpayers out of the savings that DOGE finds, and when he might distribute those checks.His answer: It's up to Congress or President Donald Trump."Well, I guess we would need to be successful at scale," he said. "We've made a lot of progress, but there's still a tremendous amount of work we need to do."Musk said his work at DOGE would benefit American taxpayers in other ways, like reducing inflation or boosting the economy."One way or another, you will effectively be better off," he said.Recommended video

Nintendos big new game reveal was more popular than Switch 2 in JapanGameCentralPublished March 31, 2025 6:00am Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream not as obscure as you might think (Nintendo)The biggest announcement from last weeks Nintendo Direct is not what you might think, but it could have a big influence on the Switch 2.As far as most people in the West are concerned 3DS game Tomodachi Life is an obscure curiosity, amongst the least notable of Nintendos many franchises. But in Japan its one of the biggest.The original game was released on the Nintendo DS in 2009, but only in Japan. And yet it still managed to sell over 3 million copies. The sequel on 3DS was released worldwide and saw sales of around 7 million. It was still most popular in Japan, but it also managed to sell more in France than it did in the US.Different countries like different things but the surprise annoucement of a third game in the series for Nintendo Switch, subtitled Living the Dream, was a cause of such excitement in Japan that its had more likes than the annoucement of the Nintendo Switch 2.As noticed by BoTalksGames, the Japanese tweet for the trailer has been viewed 27.9 million times and has 403,000 likes. By comparison, the Switch 2 annoucement has 57.4 million views but only 385,000 likes.Despite a much larger population, the Nintendo of America tweet has 15.8 million views and 188,000 likes.The Nintendo UK one has had 3.2 million views and 17,000 likes but, strangely, Nintendo France has only 721,000 views and 6,100 likes although it is pinned to the top of the channel, suggesting that they expected more.That may say more about how popular X is in France than anything else, but clearly Tomodachi Life is a very big deal to some people.In that sense its a surprise its taken this long for the franchise to arrive on Switch, especially given its clearly very low budget, but better late than never.What is Tomodachi Life and how does it work?Explaining what Tomodachi Life is like is difficult, because its not really a game and theres relatively little interactivity in it.More TrendingTomodachi means friend in Japanese and the idea, at least in the 3DS game, is that you send your Mii to go live on an island with other Miis ideally those based on people you know, including those imported from a friends 3DS.What gameplay there is involves customising your home and trying to encourage your Mii to make friends with, and romance, other Mii. Its kind of like Animal Crossing but where the game is on autopilot, since you cant control your Mii directly.There are some very simplistic mini-games and some occasionally amusing skits, that appear randomly, but we found ourselves losing interest in the original after only a few days (like Animal Crossing, youre encouraged to play it regularly but never for very long).The people that like it clearly love it though and since Living The Dream isnt due out until 2026 the Switch 2 is going to be well established by then, implying that Mii will still be a core part of Nintendos new console. Its going to be big (Nintendo)Emailgamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below,follow us on Twitter, andsign-up to our newsletter.To submit Inbox letters and Readers Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use ourSubmit Stuff page here.For more stories like this,check our Gaming page.GameCentralSign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content.This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy

River Hearth House / ArckeSave this picture! Christopher Frederick JonesArchitects: ArckeAreaArea of this architecture projectArea:187 mYearCompletion year of this architecture project Year: 2022 PhotographsPhotographs:Christopher Frederick JonesMore SpecsLess SpecsSave this picture!Text description provided by the architects. The riverfront project was conceived as a cluster of intimate permeable fragmented forms, gathered around the original brick fireplace. It serves as a physical and metaphorical hearth and creates a soulful connection to both place and previous occupation. This has provided a crafted counterpoint to the more singular river view.Save this picture!Save this picture!Through a rich understanding of site, context, and considered siting, intriguing and inviting interstitial spaces have been created that harbour life in the form of landscaped courtyards and spaces for congregation. Places for work, life, rest, and play coexist within the nurtured landscape. The house is both a place to live and work.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!One of the owners, an artist and woodcarver, required a studio space that could facilitate creative practice and group workshops. The other required a generous office space to work from home. Both these forms are distinct but in dialogue with each other, simultaneously separate and shared. Their siting and shape define a funnelled procession of entry from the street that opens up into a gradual revealing of courtyard, house, and river. The river in all its moods is omnipresent.Save this picture!Project gallerySee allShow lessAbout this officeArckeOfficePublished on March 31, 2025Cite: "River Hearth House / Arcke" 31 Mar 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1028482/river-hearth-house-arcke&gt ISSN 0719-8884Save!ArchDaily?You've started following your first account!Did you know?You'll now receive updates based on what you follow! Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors, offices and users.Go to my stream