Ceramic fused with aluminium, paired with a healthy dose of design philosophy actually feels amazing.

This 2-in-1 gaming laptop might not have the best performance-to-price ratio, but it delivers a thinner, lighter, quieter, and cooler experience than its peers.

A few carmakers have closed factories, laid off workers or shifted production in response to the auto tariffs that took effect last week.

Macworld If you want the absolute best MacBook money can buy right now, then we’ve got the deal for you—Amazon is selling the 16-inch M4 Max MacBook Pro with a terabyte of storage and 48GB of RAM for $400 off right now, bringing the price down to $3,599, the best we’ve ever seen. That’s a hefty discount for an Apple laptop, especially one with such high-end specs. And considering the recently imposed tariffs, this may very well be the last chance to get your hands on one before the prices go up… way up. This is a 16.2-inch laptop with a gorgeous Liquid Retina XDR display that will make watching any kind of content a great experience, no matter the lighting conditions, particularly thanks to the 1600 nits peak brightness. Equipped with the M4 Max processor and 48GB memory, this is an absolute screamer and the best configuration you can get without going through Apple’s custom configuration store. Throw in the 1TB of storage space and there’s literally nothing this machine can’t handle. There’s never been a better chance to get the best MacBook so place your order for the $400 off MacBook Pro M4 Max at Amazon while you still can. Save big on Apple's best laptopBuy now at Amazon

China has announced immediate export controls on seven more rare earth elements critical to enterprise IT hardware manufacturing, firing a fresh salvo in the ongoing tech trade war. This move could significantly impact tech giants including Dell Technologies, HP, Apple, and IBM, along with semiconductor leaders such as Intel, Samsung, and TSMC. The new controls issued by China’s State Council require export licenses for samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, lutetium, scandium, and yttrium — along with their alloys, oxides, and compounds. These materials are essential components in data center storage systems, networking equipment, and semiconductors.

Earnings for what may be Apple's last quarter without massive tariffs, that saw releases of iPhone 16e, updated Macs, and new iPads will be announced on May 1, followed by a conference call.The second quarter had several new products released. Image credit: AppleApple's first quarter isn't always the most exciting one for the company, as the holiday quarter is tough to follow. However, there may be a mild boost to some categories when compared year-over-year thanks to new product releases.An Investor Relations post from Apple revealed that the earnings for fiscal quarter two would be shared on April. As always, the earnings call will follow shortly after where executives will discuss the earnings and answer analyst questions — and we're expecting a huge amount of questions about how Apple will handle the tariff situation. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

Got a project that’s too contemporary for your client? Submit your conceptual works, images and ideas for global recognition and print publication in the 2025 Vision Awards, launching this spring! Stay updated by clicking here. From Le Corbusier’s floating cities to Archigram’s walking megastructures, visionary proposals have long shaped the way we think about architecture. Even if these ideas never left the drawing board, they asked questions no one else was asking and, in return, offered strange but exciting answers. Today’s visionary ideas follow in those footsteps. They try to explore and respond to the problems of our time, like rising seas, shrinking land, and growing cities. They explore vertical living, underground museums, floating hotels, and reimagined infrastructure. Some find new uses for old materials. Others push technology into unfamiliar shapes. But one thing is for sure: every project begins as a concept before it becomes real. And every dramatic shift in this industry starts with a bold idea. Some of these projects will reach construction, others will stay on paper (or in this case, the digital sketchbook). But all of them will certainly move the conversation forward. With that in mind, let’s take a look at six visionary concepts that haven’t been built yet, but deserve your attention nevertheless. Ice Cube Hotel By Kalbod Design Studio, Saudi Arabia It’s not hard to guess how this daring project got its name. Designed with transparent cement and stacked in sharp-edged volumes, the Ice Cube Hotel looks like a cluster of frozen blocks suspended in air. The structure hovers 150 feet (46 meters) above the Gulf of Aqaba, stretched between two massive cliffs in Saudi Arabia’s Wadi Tayyib Al Ism. Each unit is positioned to face the dramatic landscape, while the staggered levels create space and privacy. A sheet of water slips across the terraces, flowing downward into a final waterfall that pours back into the sea. Rather than trying to hide from its extreme setting, this hotel embraces it, turning isolation, altitude and exposure into part of the experience. Tension Instrument By Studio Lihan, Prague, Czechia What happens when you translate sound into space? This concert hall explores that question by drawing inspiration from tension — a shared force in both music and architecture. The design begins with a single gesture: a piece of wood bent by a taut string. From that idea, walls, balconies and acoustic panels unfold like parts of a musical composition, each shaped by the same invisible pull. The building rises at the meeting point of Prague’s historic core and modern expansion, where its sculptural form plays off the contrast between eras. Rather than mimic the past or compete with it, the hall introduces a new rhythm to the city — one that’s rooted in movement, vibration and the quiet precision behind every performance. MUSEUM OF UNCERTAINTY By X.C STUDIO, Los Angeles, California Popular Choice Winner, Unbuilt Cultural, 12th Annual A+Awards Set in the historic La Brea Tar Pits, the Museum of Uncertainty turns the idea of excavation into a visitor journey. The project explores what it means to search, discover and preserve, using the mystery of the tar pits as a starting point. Visitors begin at street level and move downward, as if sinking below the surface, before reaching the main gathering space. Three buildings form the museum: one for exhibitions, one for research and one for lectures and events. Along the way, visitors walk through fossil displays, watch real-time excavations and get a closer look at lab work. The museum doesn’t try to give all the answers, instead, it invites people to think about what’s still hidden and what we’re yet to uncover. Nanjing Stone City Site Museum Entrance Design Competition By PILLS, Nanjing, China This proposal transforms an abandoned reservoir into a public park shaped by excavation and reuse. The design cuts through the terrain to expose the underground structure, revealing concrete shells once hidden beneath the hill. Terraces step down toward the reservoir, forming a dramatic sequence of outdoor rooms and sloped green spaces. Above it all, a rooftop pool stretches across the structure like a sheet of still water. It reflects the sky, softens the mass below and turns the roof into a moment of calm contrast. Visitors move through a series of connected spaces like cafés, exhibits, open-air corridors, each revealing a different layer of the site’s past. With sharp geometry and a bold vertical cut, the design turns buried infrastructure into something monumental and alive. Jamsu Bridge Pedestrianization – The Longest Gallery By Arch Mist, Seoul, South Korea This proposal turns Seoul’s Jamsu Bridge into a 2,610-foot-long (795-meter) cultural walkway suspended over the Han River. Once designed for vehicles and floods, the submersible bridge is now imagined as a destination for people, art and public life. A ribbon-like pink path weaves between concrete pillars, carving out places to walk, rest and gather. Above and below, the bridge is reprogrammed with spaces for exhibitions, events and river views. Sculptures hang between levels. Cyclists and pedestrians move through winding lanes, while platforms open to the sky and water. Rather than functioning only as a crossing, the bridge becomes a linear gallery and a civic stage, stretching across the river with color, movement and a new kind of presence. Casa Katana By konstantinos stathopoulos | KRAK. architects, Crete, Greece Jury Winner, Unbuilt Private House (L >3000 sq ft), 12th Annual A+Awards Named after the sweeping motion of a katana sword, this design began with a single curved line drawn across the landscape—sharp, deliberate and responsive to the site. The gesture defines the home’s structure, carving a continuous path through living spaces, courtyards and semi-outdoor rooms. The building appears both buried and exposed, placed just above the rocks for privacy, views and natural cooling. Its surface, a custom concrete mix with local aggregates, mirrors the color and texture of the surrounding terrain. Inside, rooms unfold slowly along the slab, with light and shadow guiding the way. Got a project that’s too contemporary for your client? Submit your conceptual works, images and ideas for global recognition and print publication in the 2025 Vision Awards, launching this spring! Stay updated by clicking here. The post Drawing Outside the Lines: 6 Visionary Projects That Haven’t Broken Ground (Yet) appeared first on Journal.

While developers Respawn and Bit Reactor are expected to unveil a new turn-based tactics game based on the Star Wars universe at the upcoming Star Wars Celebration event, more rumours and leaks have been popping up, revealing more details about the game. The latest one comes courtesy of Mp1st’s Kurakasis, who believes that the game is expected to be titled Star Wars: Zero Company. Kurakasis has had a pretty good track record with leaks, so the rumoured title seems to be the likely one we’ll see when the game is unveiled on April 19. Behind the scenes, the game has been codenamed Bruno. The leaked title follows on last month’s leaks that gave us some details about the upcoming game. Star Wars: Zero Company is slated to be an isometric turn-based strategy game that has been compared to titles like XCOM: Enemy Unknown. Screenshots were part of the previous leaks, giving us a look at some of the in-development UI for the upcoming title. Much like Firaxis’ XCOM: Enemy Unknown and XCOM 2, Star Wars: Zero Company seemingly has an element of chance to it. One of the leaked screenshots gave us a look at a Stormtrooper being targeted for an attack, with each attack option having different chances at landing. A thermal detonator, for instance, had a 95 percent chance to hit the target. When it comes to minute-to-minute gameplay, Star Wars: Zero Company seemingly uses an isometric camera angle similar to other games in the genre. Players will also have access to a home base similar to games like XCOM. Here, the player will seemingly be able to partake in some of the more management-oriented tasks that a turn-based tactics game demands, such as setting up a squad loadout and researching and acquiring new weapons and other pieces of equipment. Neither Respawn Entertainment nor Bit Reactor have revealed anything about the title aside from the fact that it is being developed in Unreal Engine 5. This fact was discovered through a job listing last year for a Senior Lighting Artist that would be able to work with Unreal Engine 5-based technologies like Lumen. The game was officially unveiled all the way back in January 2022. Alongside Respawn, Bit Reactor is the major studio working on the game. The studio features industry veterans, including XCOM 2 and XCOM: Enemy Unknown developer Greg Foerscth. Bit Reactor has previously also offered assurances that development on the game hadn’t been affected by layoffs that have hit various studios under the Electronic Arts banner. The fact that the game will be unveiled during the upcoming Star Wars Celebration was announced back in March. The announcement came after rumours of it happening back in January. As part of the announcement, Respawn and Bit Reactor are expected to show off a trailer for the game. While no confirmation about platforms have been made so far, Star Wars: Zero Company is expected to come to PC (via Steam and Epic Games Store), Xbox Series X/S and PS5.

Have Dire Wolves, Which Went Extinct More Than 10,000 Years Ago, Really Been Brought Back to Life? Pioneers in the science of “de-extinction,” an American company has announced the births of three pups whose genes resemble those of a species that hasn’t roamed Earth for millennia Romulus and Remus, pups that the company Colossal Biosciences says are the first dire wolves to roam the planet in several thousand years, are seen at one month old. Colossal Biosciences A researcher holds two snow-white wolf pups as they howl at the top of their adorable little lungs. Their names are Romulus and Remus—in honor of the siblings associated with the mythical founding of ancient Rome—but they’re not any kind of wolf you’ve ever seen. They’re dire wolves… ish. Made popular as the giant pets owned by the Stark children in Game of Thrones, the canine species went extinct more than 10,000 years ago.On Monday, the biotechnology startup Colossal Biosciences—known as the “de-extinction” company—announced the birth of Romulus, Remus and a third dire wolf, a female named Khaleesi (in reference to the Game of Thrones character Daenerys Targaryen). According to the firm’s statement, the dire wolf has just become “the world’s first successfully de-extincted animal.” Given the pups’ genetic similarity to gray wolves, however, some scientists are challenging this claim. Dire wolves roamed the Earth during the Pleistocene, between around 11,700 and 2.6 million years ago. Paleontologists have consistently unearthed their remains in North and South America, and they’re the most common mammal to appear in the La Brea Tar Pits of California. Compared to the modern gray wolf, the species’ closest living relative, dire wolves were larger and had bigger teeth. Since it formed in 2021, Colossal Biosciences has been known for its highly publicized efforts to “resurrect” extinct woolly mammoths, dodos and Tasmanian tigers. But their work with dire wolves had not previously been announced, writes CNN’s Katie Hunt. The First Dire Wolf Howl in Over 10,000 Years Watch on The company plans to “bring back” these species by editing the genomes of their living relatives, creating a creature that closely approximates their target. To birth Romulus, Remus and Khaleesi, researchers at Colossal extracted, sequenced and analyzed the dire wolf genome from a 13,000-year-old dire wolf tooth and a 72,000-year-old dire wolf skull. “Getting the genome was really hard, they didn’t live in cold climates, so the DNA wasn’t as well preserved,” Beth Shapiro, Colossal’s chief science officer and a researcher at the University of California at Santa Cruz, tells Bloomberg’s Josh Saul. They then compared it to the genome of a gray wolf, among other living canids. The comparison revealed 20 differences in 14 genes linked to distinct dire wolf traits, including a larger size, wider head, bigger teeth and white fur. The researchers edited gray wolf genes to match those characteristics, then inserted them into the egg cells of a domesticated dog, with the cells’ own DNA removed. The eggs developed into embryos, which were then transplanted into the wombs of large hound mixes, resulting in the births of Romulus and Remus in October, and Khaleesi in January, all via cesarean section. Another female dire wolf was born in January, but she died ten days later from an intestinal infection that Colossal says was not related to the genetic edits. Now, the modern-day dire wolves reside in a fenced-in ecological preserve certified by the American Humane Society in an undisclosed area of the northern United States. They are essentially “living the Ritz Carlton lifestyle of a wolf,” Shapiro tells the New York Times’ Carl Zimmer. Thanks to cameras and drones, “they can’t get a splinter without us knowing about it.” Dire wolf DNA is 99.5 percent identical to that of gray wolves, Shapiro tells New Scientist’s Michael Le Page. But that 0.5 percent difference could consist of millions of base pairs. This raises the question of whether the pups are really dire wolves or just genetically modified gray wolves. Scientists not connected to the initiative point out that dire wolves might have countless other genetic differences that were not accounted for in the 20 changes made by Colossal’s team. “We have a mostly gray wolf that looks like a dire wolf,” Julie Meachen, a vertebrate paleontologist from Des Moines University who was not involved in the project, says to ABC News. Meachen co-authored a paper on the evolution of dire wolves along with Shapiro in 2021, which found that the species is genetically distinct from gray wolves, having diverged from the wolf lineage nearly six million years ago. As for these new creatures, Meachen adds, “I don’t think they are actually dire wolves.” Shapiro tells Wired’s Emily Mullin and Matt Reynolds that “if we can look at this animal and see what it’s doing, and it looks like a dire wolf and acts like a dire wolf, I’m going to call it a dire wolf. And my colleagues who are taxonomists will disagree with me.” Romulus and Remus, pictured at three months old, can run around outside in their enclosure at an undisclosed location. Colossal Biosciences Other scientists point out that the pups might not know how to act like dire wolves. Romulus, Remus and Khaleesi are unlikely to exhibit behaviors typical of wild dire wolves due to being raised in captivity without a pack structure, says Adam Boyko, a geneticist at Cornell University who was not involved in the project, to the New York Times. He adds that since the dire wolves are not consuming the ancient dire wolf diet, they are also not developing their ancestors’ intestinal microbes. Nevertheless, Colossal CEO Ben Lam maintains that “if we are successful in de-extinction, we’re building technologies that can help human health care and conservation,” as he tells Bloomberg. In this spirit, Colossal also birthed two litters of cloned red wolves—the most endangered wolf species in the world. Just last month, the company announced the birth of “woolly mice”, which they say is a critical step in the de-extinction of woolly mammoths. In October last year, they also claimed to have built the most complete ancient genome to date, belonging to the Tasmanian tiger. But some have raised questions about what the conservation purpose of these dire wolves will be, or how “de-extinct” species could be released into the wild ecosystems of today. “In states like Montana, we are currently having trouble keeping a healthy population of gray wolves on the land in the face of amped up political opposition,” Christopher Preston, an environmental philosopher at the University of Montana, tells CNN. “It is hard to imagine dire wolves ever being released and taking up an ecological role. So, I think it is important to ask what role the new animals will serve.” Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.

Samsung announced that its 2025 gaming monitor lineup  will be available for preorder starting today. Consumers will get up to $300 Samsung credit when they purchase one of the new monitors. It’s not a bad time to launch them, as Nvidia and AMD are both shipping high-end graphics cards for hardcore PC gamers. The new models include: 27” Odyssey 3D: First introduced in CES 2024, this groundbreaking glasses-free display delivers a 3D experience unlike anything currently available on the market. Using innovative light field display technology and eye tracking technology, the Odyssey 3D creates lifelike 3D images from 2D content. The monitor also features a 165Hz refresh rate, 1ms response time and AMD FreeSync Premium. 27” Odyssey OLED G81SF: The new iteration to the award-winning model, the OLED G81SF is the industry’s first 27” 4K OLED gaming monitor, upgraded to include unrivaled picture quality within a 27-inch design. It supports 4K UHD resolution and a 240Hz refresh rate so gamers can expect more detailed and colorful picture quality. Enjoy Samsung Glare Free technology which eliminates reflections so you can game in any environment. 49” Odyssey G91F: Experience complete immersion with the 49-inch display with a 1000R curvature. The curved Dual QHD features an ultra-wide 32:9 screen, equivalent to two side-by-side 16:9 monitors, as well as a 144Hz refresh rate and near-instant 1ms response time (GtG) for ultra-smooth gameplay. GB Daily Stay in the know! Get the latest news in your inbox daily Read our Privacy Policy Thanks for subscribing. Check out more VB newsletters here. An error occured.