Bottom line: More than four years after Mark Zuckerberg rebranded Facebook as Meta to chase his metaverse vision, the company has poured tens of billions into the effort – with little to show for it. The ongoing losses have raised serious doubts about the strategy and its long-term viability. Insiders say the metaverse project has become a financial sinkhole, consuming $45 billion by early 2025. That's nearly equal to the combined market caps of social media rivals Snap and Pinterest – or the amount Elon Musk paid to acquire Twitter. Worse, Zuckerberg warned in last year's earnings report that losses would continue to "increase meaningfully," whatever that means. Yahoo Finance spoke to over a dozen former high-level Reality Labs employees, who described the wing as dysfunctional and disorganized. Frequent leadership changes and constant reshuffling reportedly sowed chaos, with many managers brought in from other Meta divisions despite lacking AR and VR expertise. One former research employee described the work environment as "chaotic," with "local heroes" from divisions like Instagram promoted to lead virtual reality teams despite lacking relevant experience. Another ex-staffer said Meta recklessly "plays employee bingo," assigning AR and VR roles to people who "don't really understand it." This combination of unqualified leadership and an unclear product strategy has significantly contributed to the division's staggering losses. Financial disclosures show the branch's losses have surged over the last several years – more than $6 billion in 2020, $10 billion in 2021, $13 billion in 2022, and $16 billion in 2023. The division lost another $3.8 billion in just the first quarter of 2024, wiping out its total revenue from 2022 and 2023 combined. Despite rising expenditures, the division's annual revenue has declined steadily since 2021 due to weak sales and continued failure to gain mainstream traction. Wall Street analyst Gene Munster of Deepwater Asset Management told Yahoo Finance that the division is a "financial disaster" dragging down Meta's stock. // Related Stories While some investors have remained patient, betting on the long-term promise of AR and VR, that optimism is starting to fade. Barring rapid mainstream adoption, losing $10-15 billion annually on Zucckerberg's metaverse pipe dream is unsustainable.

In his most recent Power On newsletter, Apple insider Mark Gurman says the Apple Watch won’t be receiving onboard Apple Intelligence, but it will still get useful features that are powered by AI. While the Apple Watch isn’t receiving a major overhaul, Gurman says it will get some new interface elements and give users a “smaller taste of the big shifts underway at Apple.” These upcoming changes will be announced in more detail at Apple’s Worldwide Developer’s Conference (WWDC). Gurman says the two main subjects of the June event will be Apple Intelligence and something called Solarium, the internal name for a new design language Apple plans to implement for iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. Recommended Videos “The watch doesn’t currently have Apple Intelligence, and that isn’t exactly changing with the upcoming watchOS 12 software. But the company is branding a new set features as “powered by Apple Intelligence” (even though the device isn’t actually running the AI models directly)” said Gurman. Andy Boxall / Digital Trends While none of these features have been confirmed, past rumors suggest notification summaries and similar features will come to the wearables. The long-awaited but still-absent Siri overhaul could also come to the phone through an over the air update. Related Gurman also hinted that Apple plans to make hardware changes to the Apple Watch in the “next couple of years,” but didn’t give a more narrow timeframe than that. He suggested AI-enable cameras could come to the Apple Watch (and possibly even Apple AirPods) in that time, following the success of Meta’s glasses. We don’t have a concrete timeframe for when to expect any of these changes, but Apple has kicked research into overdrive to keep up with its competitors. With that in mind, the iPhone giant will likely give details in June at WWDC with the updates rolling out in the months following. Editors’ Recommendations

23andMe is looking for buyers, raising concerns about how the company's trove of genetic data might be leveraged under a new owner. Getty Images; Alyssa Powell/BI 2025-04-13T17:26:44Z Save Saved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? 23andMe filed for bankruptcy amid financial struggles and fallout after a data breach. Now, potential buyers and investors are weighing the value of its DNA database. One of the world's largest troves of genetic information, its sale is raising new privacy concerns. Late last month, genetic testing giant 23andMe filed for bankruptcy.The San Francisco-based company — cofounded in 2006 by former healthcare investor Anne Wojcicki — rose to fame for offering genetic testing services directly to customers.When the company went public in 2021, it was valued at just over $6 billion. Now, it says it had debts of $2.3 billion, about $126 million in cash and cash equivalents, and needs additional liquidity.The company's descent into financial uncertainty wasn't sudden.23andMe had struggled with its business model, failing to turn a profit almost two decades after it began selling direct-to-consumer DNA test kits. Demand for its premiere product — a one-time test — began waning around 2019, and its effort to provide more consumer value through additional services wasn't enough to close the gap.Then,data breach that cost the company $30 million in a later settlement agreement. The breach also made potential new customers nervous about the security of their data and more resistant to purchasing kits.The company's announcement that it was filing for bankruptcy and seeking buyers has now further raised concerns among consumers about the security of 23andMe's database, one of the largest consumer DNA databases in the world.Cybersecurity experts have urged users to delete their data, pointing to a host of risks: Genetic data can be used to further discrimination, enable financial fraud, and develop biological weapons, they say.23andMe has said it will continue operating until a buyer is found. A race to acquire the company — and its data — has begun.Here's everything you need to know about the sale and what might happen to your DNA data.What genetic data does 23andMe even collect?23andMe gathers genetic data using saliva samples. Consumers receive a collection kit and submit about 2 milliliters of saliva. Each kit has a collection tube labeled with a 14-digit barcode."After the sample passes visual inspection, the barcode — which is the only identifying information shared with the laboratory — is scanned and the sample moves to DNA extraction," 23andMe spokesperson Ann Sommerlath told BI by email. "Once a sample is successfully genotyped, the laboratory sends the resulting data back to 23andMe along with the accompanying barcode, at which point we can begin interpreting your data."Genotyping is the process identifying variations in someone's genetic code. These variations influence a person's physical traits, their development, and susceptibility to disease.How does the company handle its genetic data?Aside from sharing individual genetic reports with customers, if they opt-in, 23andMe says it uses anonymized genetic and self-reported information for research."When customers agree to participate in 23andMe Research via our consent document, they give 23andMe permission to share their de-identified, individual-level data with approved, qualified research collaborators outside of 23andMe," Sommerlath told BI. "De-identification (replacing personal information with a random ID) enables researchers to protect the identity of individuals."23andMe shares some of the resulting research in its blog. In a piece from November 2024, for example, the company wrote that many of its users are descendants of Mayflower passengers.23andMe was found to offer the "clearest privacy policy" in a review of 10 popular genetic testing services — including Ancestry, Toolbox Genomics, and Everlywell — that was conducted by the data privacy service Icogni.Does a 23andMe buyer have to comply with its privacy policy?Yes. And then no.In order to make a qualified bid, "potential buyers must, among other requirements, agree to comply with 23andMe's consumer privacy policy and all applicable laws with respect to the treatment of customer data," the company said in a letter posted to its website on March 26.Ron Zayas, CEO of Ironwall, a privacy service offered by Incogni, told Business Insider that the letter is just a guideline and leaves several questions unanswered."For how long is the letter good for? A day after purchase, a year?" Zayas asked. "What if a company like a data broker buys the company? It may change the definition of all the terms in the letter and even the privacy statement."Benjamin Farrow, a partner at Anderson, Williams, & Farrow, said the new owner isn't legally bound to the existing privacy policy after purchase."There is no way a court will say the terms of service can never be changed," he told BI. "It's like buying a car. Once you own it, you can paint it, change the interior, do anything you want with it."Thorin Klosowski, a"It doesn't take very many leaps of logic to think through some of the worst-case scenarios," Klosowski said. "Whether that is an insurance company or a company that would grant easier access for law enforcement."Despite the bid requirements for 23andMe, Klosowski said, "We don't really know how that's going to play out.""We don't know what would happen if an unscrupulous company didn't do that. We don't know how closely they would be monitored," he said.Who wants to buy the company?Wojcicki, for one. She said she resigned as CEO of the company "so I can be in the best position to pursue the company as an independent bidder," in a post on X on March 24 announcing the bankruptcy.A handful of other companies have also expressed interest.Nucleus Genomics, founded by 25-year-old University of Pennsylvania dropout Kian Sadeghi, has explored the possibility of purchasing 23andMe. For Nucleus Genomics — a new player on the genetic testing market focused on whole genome testing — there's some value in the data and technology of a company with a 20-year history, Sadeghi said.Crypto nonprofit Sei Foundation has also expressed interest in acquiring 23andMe. "This isn't just another bankruptcy. It's a digital land grab on one of history's most profoundly intimate data sets," the Sei Foundation said in an X post on March 31.Pinnacle, an analytics company, is also apparently interested. In a LinkedIn post addressed to 23andMe's shareholders, Pinnacle cofounder and CEO Ryan Sitton wrote: "We will give you $100 million for 23andMe today."How valuable is its genetic data?There is no formula for quantifying the value of 23andMe's data, so potential buyers and informed speculators are making educated estimates.Kanyi Maqubela, managing partner of venture capital firm Kindred Ventures, which has invested in several healthcare companies, told BI that genetic data is particularly valuable for pharmaceutical research and development because it often includes early disease markers.Pharmaceutical companies are typically "very data hungry, always looking for new data pipelines, and always looking to collect it at scale," he said. So, "even partial genomic sequencing at the individual level is quite valuable."It's even more valuable "if you've got metadata attached to it, so like demographic information, name," he said. By connecting people across geographies and disease levels, health companies can start drawing correlations across the data, which makes it all the more valuable, he added.Incogni's Zayas said that 23andMe's data "is probably worth more than the service they were selling.""If you look at the value of monetized information, a good cellphone can go for $50," he said. "Good buyer information, good credit card information, good demographic information, you can start looking at tens or even hundreds of dollars per individual."23andMe has access to all of that and more, he said. "Just in research for insurance companies, that's got to be worth at least a few hundred dollars per individual."The company says it has over 15 million customers, so by Zayas' calculations the data itself is worth several billions, at least.Jessica Vitak, a professor at the University of Maryland's College of Information who researches data privacy, told BI that 23andMe's data is "fairly unique" and "extremely revealing.""There's a tremendous trove of not just genetic data tied to those accounts, but the majority of people who use the service also completed surveys, so there are other data points that would interest various third parties," Vitak said. "Whether it's advertisers, health researchers, or people selling data to a whole range of entities."Vitak said the depth of information is one reason 23andMe's data is so valuable."It's one thing if I decide to share information about myself, but genetic data isn't just about me," Vitak said. "It's about all my direct family members, too."Sadeghi from Nucleus Genomics, however, said he is not making a bid because he thinks the data is valuable but instead because of another company 23andMe acquired.23andMe only gathers "a small sliver of someone's DNA and the most critical genetic markers are actually completely absent from the data. They're just not there, and that's why it actually doesn't work for drug discovery. That's why it never worked as a clinical test either," he told BI. "The data is worth something, but is it worth anywhere near what people are positing today? Absolutely not."Sadeghi said the real value of 23andMe is in Lemonaid Health — the telehealth company it acquired for $400 million in 2021 — as a way to connect with customers.What can the new owners do with the company — and its genetic data?Sadeghi said he sees the data as one component of a "real-time, consumer-centric, quantified health platform" he wants to build. "There's no reason why you can't bring together someone's blood, genetics, drugs, urinary analysis, full body MRIs, wearables, all together in a single platform that can basically completely revolutionize disease prevention, disease diagnosis, and also disease treatment," he said.Kindred's Maqubela said that "no one roots for a bankruptcy," but 23andMe's data is a "treasure trove" that he thinks could help grow the burgeoning field of multi-omics.Multi-omics combines data from the genome (genes), proteome (proteins), transcriptome (RNA transcripts), epigenome (modifications to DNA), metabolome (molecules produced in metabolism), microbiome (fungi, bacteria, viruses), and more to create a more comprehensive picture of human biology."It's a very young field, mostly stuck right now in pharma R&D, and then in some bench and lab research, and so it hasn't yet broken into scaled provider and end patient uses, but it's going to soon," he said. 23andMe's data, he added, could accelerate the development of mult-omics.Maqubela said the recent advances in AI also present new opportunities to use this data. "If you put it in pre-training for a big LLM, what comes out on the other end of that is actually very hard to know and could be very, very, very interesting," he said, referring to large language models like OpenAI's ChatGPT.Vitak said potential buyers could use the data for research. "23andMe partnered with numerous researchers, so there could be buyers that would continue to expand access to that type of data to advance precision medicine or other types of research," she said.Given the breadth, nature, and potential of 23andMe's data, Vitak and Klosowski said the sale is unprecedented."Any organization dealing with data as sensitive as our genetic material has a moral responsibility to take extra care," Vitak said.Are there laws that exist to protect you?Vitak and Klosowski said consumers need more federal protections regarding genetic data privacy.Some states have implemented laws to help protect consumer data, including Montana, where, in 2023, state legislators passed the Genetic Information Privacy Act, which is focused on protecting consumers' genetic data. California has similar protections for genetic data with direct-to-consumer testing companies.The federal government, meanwhile, enforces the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, which bars employers and health insurers from discriminating against individuals based on genetic information.However, Vitak said the United States also needs something like the EU's General Data Protection Regulation, which enforces broader protections for data processing."The data breach and the sale are further making the case for why we need stronger data protection for consumers," Vitak. Recommended video

The Disney and Pixar classics are being positioned as the big draws for the revamped Disney Adventure World in 2026.

  Tony Ware We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn more › Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 It’s a stunningly clear late-February afternoon in Creswell, Ore., as I set out on a voyage of self-discovery that doesn’t require a single step. I’m swaying back and forth in place, a pendulum of insecurities, questioning my every movement. I’m being repeatedly asked how I feel, whether actions provoke a response. I’m being taken out of my comfort zone to learn how to achieve stability. I’m being fitted for a golf club, but it feels like a personality test—and one I’m worried I’m failing. I’m being fitted for a L.A.B. Golf zero-torque putter, specifically, testing combinations within a few feet of the company’s headquarters where I’ve spent a day learning about physics, material science, and myself. It’s an eerily hazy late-February morning in Creswell, Ore., as I set out on a tour of the former Emerald Valley Golf & Resort health club turned R&D facility, factory, distribution center, and corporate offices. L.A.B. Golf thinks different. It’s in the foundation of the company, in the company HQ’s foundations. Unlike the many, many golf companies that have centered themselves around perpetually sunny, 365-day golf season locations like Carlsbad, Calif., and Phoenix, Ariz., L.A.B. is sequestered in the Pacific Northwest, where the sky breathes shades of slate. Unlike many, many golf companies, L.A.B. embraced idiosyncrasies to reduce inconsistencies.  L.A.B. stands for Lie Angle Balance, a proprietary putter system that dares traditionalists to leave behind their artifacts of feel for precisely tuned feedback. It’s an assistive technology built on what science does best: identifying flaws, forming hypotheses, and turning radical concepts into deceivingly straightforward solutions. And that commitment to individually built, painstakingly hand-balanced engineering has seen the independent company grow tremendously over the last decade, particularly post-pandemic. As sports go, golf can be as conservative as it is competitive. It took time, but carbon fiber, 3-D printing, and plenty of aerodynamic IQ have made their way into drivers, irons, and balls on the regular. It felt, however, that putters still had generations to go before modifications manifested true diversity.  Despite spending nearly half their strokes in a love-hate relationship with their favorite flatstick, golfers often seem reluctant to accept the unconventional—even an evolutionary event that could erase the millimeters between triumph and tragedy. So if a company is going to present something that looks different, that feels different, it has to sell more than a physical object. It has to sell the solution to a physical problem. That’s the premise of L.A.B. Golf putters, which presuppose that, despite whatever bad reads and mental blocks you have, the main issue with your putt isn’t even your tempo. It’s torque.  Don’t get it twisted: Even if you’ve never thought about torque, it’s an invisible par killer. It’s the rotational force that causes an object to twist around an axis. It’s the reason a traditional blade naturally wants to twist open or closed mid-swing as a product of the magnitude of force applied and the distance from the axis of rotation to where it’s applied. It’s the reason golfers must spend so much time practicing micro-compensations. It’s the reason your eyes may be glazing over right now.  The goal, says L.A.B. Golf CEO and self-proclaimed putting psycho Sam Hahn, is not to tell people how to think about putting but to help them have one less friction point to think about while putting. “We’re not offering you a heat-seeking missile; you’ve still got to read the putt, hit at the right speed. Our technology just makes it a little bit easier, lets you take your focus off squaring up the putter face so that you can focus on the other variables and start to tackle them piece by piece.” As a bar owner who worked nights, leaving him plenty of daylight hours to spend at a dog-friendly municipal course with a border collie mix and the mallet of the month, Hahn became obsessed with putters. And if you think it’s likely that someone who played in bands might be a gear obsession and tone tinkerer, just imagine someone who played in bands and ran a pinball machine-filled nightlife establishment, where angles, trajectory, spin, surface interaction, etc., are as imperative as they are on the green. A consistently inconsistent putter, Hahn experimented daily, sometimes hole to hole, always thinking he had the next best thing. Then, he came across the next big thing—in more ways than one. Hahn’s instructor handed him the Reno 2.1, a putter by a company called Directed Force that had a profound impact because it forced Hahn to struggle with how to manipulate and articulate captivating new technology. The Reno 2.1—now called the Directed Force 2.1, or “that cattle brand-looking thing”—was invented in 2014 by former mini-tour player Bill Presse. Traditional putters had an off-axis center of gravity. This misalignment is why they flare the toe. Realizing there were influential forces at work, Presse set out to reverse engineer a new paradigm. He put together a broken crutch and some fishing wire so he could hang and observe how existing equipment flopped during a stroke. Then, he got to prototyping.  Presse started rethinking hosel geometry. He experimented with boring the shaft hole into the head at an angle aligned with the shaft’s lie. He then tinkered with balancing the putter by a series of up to eight high-density weights, ranging in material and placement, till the face stayed square to the path in setup and motion with minimal intervention. Perimeter weighting isn’t new, but the right combination made following your natural arc without conscious counteraction a L.A.B. hallmark. Finally, a Press Grip subtly leaned the shaft forward up to 3 degrees—aligning the hands with the face at address, de-lofting the putter slightly, and putting it on a biomechanical bridge to the ball. (The Press Grip is now just one of multiple options.) At first, some people couldn’t look at the DF 2.1 and keep a straight face. But they couldn’t deny it kept a square face. While it might not win any beauty contests, the DF 2.1 is still in production because it delivers. Sure, it’s giving Starship Enterprise, satellite dish looks, but you won’t fear five-footers once you adjust. And Presse’s tool—now called the Revealer—is still used at every L.A.B. Golf production workstation to verify every putter and remains the best way to visualize how these putters stay in place to earn their place.  So, how did the Reno 2.1—named for where the company was based at the time—end up being refined and rebranded in Oregon? After about a year, Hahn’s putter head fell off and, after he sent it back for repairs, he received an apology call from Presse. That started a conversation, which presented an opportunity. The business was on the verge of shutting down, so Hahn put together funds and partnered with Presse in 2018 to relaunch as L.A.B. Golf. What started as a small shop with 20-some-odd employees has grown into a workforce of 180 shipping 1,000 putters daily. Part of this is due to an active social media presence and online forum proselytizing. Pro tour traction, however, remained elusive. Then came COVID and a boom of socially distanced pastimes, golf being a natural fit both for those maintaining a distance in public and those who preferred using newly freed-up disposable income on more quarantined entertainment, like setting up simulators. On top of putting in pajamas, manufacturing got cheaper as out-of-work aerospace machine shops sold off equipment. And this inflection point, in turn, led to YouTube reviews and direct-to-consumer success. And, finally, validation at PGA and LIV championships like the Masters in the hands of pros such as Lucas Glover, Grayson Murray, Richard Bland, and Adam Scott. Sinking putts = soaring business. Eye rolls turned to work orders.  In 2020, L.A.B. moved to Eugene, living on top of each other in a space on Taylor Street that the company almost immediately outgrew. In 2022, L.A.B. moved about 12 miles and 20 or so minutes south, taking over a portion of its current building—all 65,000 square feet of which the company now occupies with offices carved out of former locker rooms, saunas, and whirlpools and plans in motion to expand every department and compartment from prototyping to proof-of-concept to full production. Supporting that growth is a core team of lifelong golf lovers but not golf industry lifers. Folks into sports, but more importantly, good sports. More of a Rick Rubin directing the vibe than a Nigel Godrich producing the recording, Hahn has gathered a team and told them to play it their way. Don’t buy into the narratives that competitors spit. Don’t be driven by market share reports and price points. And sometimes have the drummer play bass, just to see what happens. For example, Brian Parks, director of research and development, worked in engineering and design on everything from wearables to axles, finding ways to improve performance and resilience. Kevin Martin, the lead senior mechanical engineer, came from more of an automotive background with plenty of hands-on build experience and the same determination to take every variation through dozens of iterations—almost 90 in some cases (that’s where those CNC machines come into play). Take something as “simple” as the “Gimmie Getter” cutout in the DF3—a smaller, less visually polarizing version of L.A.B.’s most-forgiving, “fully automatic” icon the DF 2.1. It’s a hole. It’s also a whole lot of work. The USGA requires golf balls to conform to a minimum 1.68-inch diameter, measured by passing through a metal ring gauge. But different manufacturers sit at different edges of the limit, setting up the challenge of some balls just popping through and tumbling out repeatedly. Conversely, too much resistance would mean frustrated golfers jamming dents into the green trying to capture the ball.  “What I’ve learned in my years of experience designing products that consumers buy is that they’re never going to use the product the way that you designed it to be used,” says Parks. “The way that you have blinders on a function that you’re testing in a lab environment will not happen out there. They’re going to find ways, so you have to find ways to compensate.” Finding the right, tight tolerance required talking all the elements—ball stipulations to the friction of anodizing, placing them in the equation of design, and determining an effective ball pick-up that could be chiseled into the head without influencing the putter’s path. The ultimate solution? A subtle internal hourglass shape. With manufacturing partners up and down the I-5 corridor, plastic becomes prototypes. Preview strokes meet 3D measuring arms, and first impressions become verified measurements. Designs for manufacturability become designs for assembly. Vision turns to volume. It’s not about reinventing the wheel; it’s about not letting anything slow your roll. Parks, Martin, and the rest of the L.A.B. team are free to explore unorthodox form factors and added features because the underlying technology remains unchanged and undeniable. L.A.B. putters transfer energy in one direction—the one you want, straight down the intended line. They allow you to react to the target, not an unruly tool. And that means they remain desirable, even as balanced competitors have proliferated.  “A bike and a car both have wheels, they both touch the ground, but only one has an engine,” says Liam Bedford, director of user experience, smiling. But what’s also undeniable is that L.A.B. putters are time-consuming to produce. Navigating the floor at L.A.B. HQ requires constant vigilance to dodge wooden carts snaking between assembly workstations to QC, filled with new build orders and putters returned for rebalancing. Armed with drills and drivers, scales and stringent checklists, a technician might spend up to 30-40 minutes on the high-density steel and tungsten inserts alone, where every gram has to be precisely where it’s needed to address Lie Angle Balance. (The care instructions clearly say “DON’T MESS WITH THE SCREWS” or modify the grip, and Hahn clearly says not everyone listens.)  Sure, certain investments have been invaluable. Going from drilling holes with a single-axis Bridgeport mill to having multiple 5-axis CNC machining centers, moving prototyping in-house and removing developmental delays. Using laser engraving to manifest sight lines and other personalized graphics in under 10 seconds a side, rather than milling and paint-filling finished heads. But this isn’t mass production because every quarter of a degree, every data point counts. Some manufacturers may never see their putters before they get to customers; L.A.B. has eyes and hands on every one, even now that there are far more than one. To shape the future, you have to reshape the past. It was true when the DF 2.1 broke with tradition. It remained true as L.A.B. has introduced new models that offer the same repeatable results in more palatable forms. These include the fanged MEZZ.1, tour-inspired mallet OZ.1, blade-style LINK.1, and 2024’s best-selling DF3. The silhouettes may have softened over time, but the focus on perfect torque neutrality never has. Each L.A.B. Golf putter’s ultimate goal is hardware that amplifies action rather than resists it, but there are many variables to consider while laboring to remove one. One of the most interesting is the part frequency plays in play. While every putter has a stock option, it’s the remote-fitting option and copious customization of alignment aesthetics, radiant finishes, and, most of all, responsive materials that have added to L.A.B.’s cultish charm. Therefore, every component has to be carefully vetted for both precise mechanical tolerances and how it may resonate with customers, literally.  Assembling a putter isn’t just putting together an object; it’s producing a user experience. Everything—from groove spacing on the face to shaft materials—can affect acoustic behavior and, in turn, how players perceive contact. If a drive is your bassline, the thing that keeps you moving, reflects Hahn, putting is the melody. And even the best rhythm will get old if you don’t lay a nice melody over it. So, behind all that subjectivity, you’ll always find more objectivity. “When we talk about EQing the experience, we’re referring to how different materials and geometries transmit energy, specifically acoustic and tactile feedback, through the putter and into the player’s hands,” says Kevin Martin, lead senior mechanical engineer. “This includes everything from shaft wall thickness to head geometry to grip density. Each component interacts as part of a mechanical system.” Go to the forums and you’ll find plentiful pontificating on the vibration frequencies of different parts. A steel shaft, which has a typical ring range of 120-250 Hz, will give off a crisp tick. Carbon fiber, with its excellent torsional stiffness and a typical range of 50-150 Hz, damps harmonics quickly, giving off a more muted thud. Clubhead mass—for example, combining a 6061 aircraft aluminum chassis with a steel impact zone in the Adam Scott collaboration OZ.1i to achieve a desired pop—contributes to what’s transmitted. Grip material can also suppress certain tones, and feedback blurring can undermine outcome.  It’s for this reason, Martin says, that any new material and every possible combination with it goes through frequency simulations before a prototype is ever machined. If those patterns align with the desired feedback profile and the material shows consistency from batch to batch, it can move from the lab to practical testing, validating it in the field. And this is when having an office next door to a golf course sure comes in handy.   This brings us back to my fitting. This brings us back to my feelings. I’m on the grass with the aptly named Calvin Green, head of L.A.B.’s fitting department. We determine my dexterity—my length, lie, lean—then start cycling through various makes and materials. But I keep going back to the industrial footprint of the DF 2.1 with an ACCRA shaft. There’s something about confrontational, asymmetrical shapes that has always captured my imagination—from the psychologically charged paintings of Francis Bacon to conventions-challenging IDM compositions. Yet, for all my love of visceral physicality and brutalist sonic architecture, I find myself drifting away from the sweeter leading edges and quick decay of steel and toward the unhurried ting of high-modulus carbon fiber.  What I discover I like most about the DF 2.1, which is ultimately a testament to L.A.B. Golf’s elemental premise, is that it feels effortless. Am I losing my edge or dialing in more confidence? Maybe I can both it. After the fitting, we do a speed-run scramble through the front nine at Emerald Green, and there is no doubt the putter cuts down on round killers. I may not be on rails, but I’m on track in terms of immediate improvement. My distance control sure needs work, but even my mishits (and there are many) are more toward the cup. I’m thinking a lot about how I’m thinking less. I’m thinking about Sub Pop Records circa 1990 and the advantages of isolation; sometimes the weirdos become successful on their own terms. It’s a surprisingly illuminating afternoon in Creswell, Ore. As for what’s to come in 2025, the plan is to continue to grow organically. After years in a non-competitive environment, there’s no way to deny that outside influences are massing. But, according to Parks, L.A.B. Golf maintains the indie mentality that a creative, collaborative R&D team drives marketing, not the other way around.  “If you want to know what’s coming down the pipeline for us, maybe just read all the comment threads on Facebook and listen to what people are asking for the most,” jokes Hahn. “The beauty of the technology is we can take inspirations and innovate while always allowing athletes to be athletes.” 

Nature, Published online: 09 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08852-zThe immune-checkpoint molecule TIM-3 regulates microglial homeostasis, and its microglial-specific deletion reduced cognitive impairment in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease.

The Eye of Horus is frequently found in ancient Egyptian burials, particularly on wedjat amulets.

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I'm rendering something wild. Will show it to you really soon.#b3d #blender3d

AI for Content Creators: How Smart Tools Can Double Your Reach with Minimal Effort3 min read·Just now--made with adobe firefly/expressSay Goodbye to Content BurnoutBeing a content creator isn't just about creativity anymore — it's about consistency, visibility, and doing everything all the time. From brainstorming to shooting, editing, publishing, and analyzing — the content hamster wheel is real.But here's the good news: artificial intelligence isn't just a buzzword anymore. It's your backstage team — ready to help you work smarter, not harder. With the right tools, you can seriously boost your output and reach, while putting in less time and effort.No More Creative Blocks: AI Helps You Ideate in SecondsLet’s face it — coming up with fresh, engaging ideas every week is exhausting. AI tools like ChatGPT, Notion AI, and Copy.ai analyze trends, keywords, and your niche to serve up high-converting content ideas in seconds.Here’s how it works:Type in your niche or topic (e.g. “meal prep for busy professionals”).Get 10 trending video ideas, 5 engaging hook lines, and several content formats — instantly.Pick what fits your vibe and start creating.Suddenly, idea generation is no longer the bottleneck — it’s your launchpad.Scriptwriting & Captions? Done in MinutesWriting snappy, attention-grabbing scripts and captions can be surprisingly time-consuming. Tools like Jasper and Sudowrite are designed to mimic your tone and help you draft content in your style — faster.Example:You need a 30-second script for a Reel on healthy snacks. Type in your idea and the AI returns a catchy opening line, three quick snack tips, and a smooth CTA. You just tweak and film.Edit Like a Pro – Without Being OneVideo editing is often the most time-intensive part of content creation. But AI is changing that too.With tools like Descript, Pictory, or Runway ML, you can:Auto-cut silences and filler words (“uhm”, “like”, etc.).Add captions and music automatically.Edit videos by editing the transcript – just like a Word document.You’ll easily save hours per video and still deliver polished, professional-looking results.Schedule & Post on AutopilotManually publishing your content? That’s old news.With tools like Buffer, Later, or Metricool, paired with AI, you can:Adapt your captions to each platform automatically.Identify the best time to post based on engagement history.Plan weeks of content ahead — in one sitting.Bonus tip:Use Zapier or Make to automate a full content flow. For example:> New YouTube video = Generate Instagram preview + Create LinkedIn post + Schedule Tweets.Track Performance Like a Data ProPosting is only half the story. Understanding what works is what grows your audience.Tools like TubeBuddy, VidIQ, and Social Blade track your metrics, but also help you:Discover what content type performs best.Suggest keywords and SEO strategies.Compare your performance to competitors in your niche.And with platforms like Rival IQ, you even get data-driven suggestions on what to do next — no more guessing.Human Creativity + AI = UnstoppableLet’s be clear: AI won’t replace your voice or your unique creativity. What it will do is remove the tedious parts of your process — so you can focus on the fun stuff.It’s not about working less, it’s about working smarter. The future belongs to creators who know how to collaborate with AI — not compete with it.Final Thoughts: A New Era of Content CreationIf you're still doing everything manually, you're already falling behind.With the help of AI, you can:Ideate fasterWrite betterEdit smarterPost consistentlyLearn quickerAll while having more time to actually live your life — or spend time with the stuff you love doing!AI won’t make you a creator. But it can make you an unstoppable one.