Dragon Age: The Veilguard leads Gayming Awards 2025 nominations BioWare's action RPG nominated for Game of the Year, alongside titles including Dragon's Dogma 2, Fear the Spotlight, and Life is Strange: Double Exposure Image credit: BioWare/Electronic Arts News by Sophie McEvoy Staff Writer Published on April 17, 2025 Nominations for the fifth annual Gayming Awards have been announced, with Dragon Age: The Veilguard picking up three across 12 categories including Game of the Year. Life Is Strange: Double Exposure, Dragon's Dogma 2, The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Fear the Spotlight, and Caravan SandWitch all have two nominations across the categories. Other awards include Best LGBTQ+ Indie Game, Best LGBTQ+ Character Award, LGBTQ+ Voice Actor of the Year Award alongside the Industry Diversity Award and the Community Impact Award. Winners of the Gayming Icon Award and the LGBTQ+ Streamer Rising Star Class award will be revealed in June 2025. The awards ceremony will take place on July 8 on streaming service World of Wonder's WOW Presents Plus. "We have an amazingly diverse roster of nominees for this year's Gayming Awards," said Gayming Magazine & Gaming Awards founder Robin Gray. "From AAA games to impactful LGBTQ+ indie games, there's truly something for everyone to enjoy. "Outside of the games themselves, we have an amazing lineup of companies, people, and community organisations who have all done amazing work over the past year to support, uplift, and champion LGBTQ+ gamers, esports players, and games industry workers." Gray continued: "I'm also thrilled with the nominees we have in our content creator and voice acting categories, these are truly iconic people who add so much to the wonderful world of queer gaming." Here all the full list of nominations: Game of the Year Dragon Age: The Veilguard (BioWare/Electronic Arts) Dragon's Dogma 2 (Capcom) Fear the Spotlight (Cozy Game Pals/Blumhouse Games) Life is Strange: Double Exposure (Deck Nine/Square Enix) Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Intelligent Systems/Nintendo) The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered (Naughty Dog/PlayStation) Best LGBTQ+ Indie Game Award Beloved Rapture (Rapturous Studio/2 Left Thumbs) Caravan SandWitch (Studio Plane Toast/Dear Villagers) Fear the Spotlight Kitsune Tails (Kitsune Games/Midboss) Sorry We're Closed (À la mode Games/Akapura Games) Tavern Talk (Gentle Troll Entertainment) Gayming Magazine Readers' Award Caravan SandWitch Dragon Age: The Veilguard Dragon's Dogma 2 Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth (Square Enix) Life is Strange: Double Exposure The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered Industry Diversity Award Blizzard Entertainment Code Coven Limit Break Rare Community Impact Award – sponsored by Fireshine Games Boston Gaymers Charlotte Gaymers Network NYC Gaymers QueerVox The*gamehers Stream for a Cause Best LGBTQ+ Character Award Bazz – Concord (Firewalk Studios/PlayStation) Micah-10 – Destiny 2: The Final Shape (Bungie/PlayStation) Michelle – Sorry We're Closed Rook – Dragon Age: The Veilguard Venture – Overwatch 2 (Blizzard Entertainment) Vivian – Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door LGBTQ+ Voice Actor of the Year Award Ciarán Strange Erika Ishii JP Karliak Katie Cofield Kieran Regan Mila Jam LGBTQ+ Content Creator of the Year Award ChiChi Ctrlaltquin DataDave GaymerONE1 halfmoonjoe Juice Boxx Negaoryx PearlTeese Best LGBTQ+ Contribution to Esports Award Bailey McCann Queer Women of Esports SonicFox Steve Arhancet LGBTQ+ Geek Entertainment of the Year Award – sponsored by MyNerdLife Agatha All Along (Marvel Studios) Arcane: Season 2 (Netflix) Hazbin Hotel (SpindleHorse Toons/Amazon Studios) Heartstopper (Netflix) Interview with the Vampire: Season 2 (AMC) The Boulet Brothers' Dragula: Dead by Daylight (Shudder)

Right-wing influencers are shilling an app that purportedly lets people earn crypto for reporting sightings of undocumented immigrants. ICERAID, a “GovFi protocol that delegates intelligence gathering tasks to citizens,” has recently been promoted by the likes of conspiracy theorist and Trump confidante Laura Loomer, Proud Boy-turned-media personality Jacob Engels, and disgraced former Rep. Matt Gaetz.“It’s like a citizen’s arrest, but with Wi-Fi,” Gaetz said on a recent episode of his One America News Network show. “Forget driving Uber or DoorDash for extra change. Snap a pic, save the day, and stack some digital cash while you’re doing it.”ICERAID’s website describes it as a “GovFi” — government finance, a term coined by ICERAID founder Jason Meyers — protocol on Solana that “rewards citizens for capturing and uploading images of criminal illegal alien activity.” (To be clear, ICERAID has no connection to the government.) And ICERAID isn’t just soliciting images of suspected immigrants. “You can snap a picture of someone committing animal cruelty or homicide, kidnapping, terrorism — you see someone scraping a Tesla, that’s domestic terrorism,” Meyers said on an April 4th livestream. ICERAID then “gives” this data to law enforcement, according to Meyers.Despite these lofty ambitions, the ICERAID app (which is actually a web form accessed via a crypto wallet) appears to be little more than promotion of a recently released meme coin of the same name — and some early investors tried to get their money back before the coin even launched.Meyers — who was accused of misappropriating funds at an earlier workplace — told The Verge that ICERAID was released in January. ICERAID announced a “bounty” for “suspicious illegal alien activity” in New York City the following month. But the coin ostensibly used to pay out rewards to people who send in tips via the app didn’t drop until April. To access the reporting system, you have to download Phantom, a crypto wallet that carries Solana-based tokens. ICERAID then offers a form where you can upload images of alleged crimes-in-progress: illegal immigration, drug trafficking, kidnapping, “theft/larson,” burglary, homicide, terrorism, animal cruelty, and obstruction of justice. You’re asked whether you witnessed the activity in the image and recognize the location or suspects, and that’s all.In an interview with Gaetz, Meyers said he’s “talking to certain people at DHS, local law enforcement, DEA, and various other police departments” about the app. “We use blockchain to crowdsource law enforcement and criminal and illegal activities,” Meyers said. “You upload a photo — which you have to take on location — and you get paid for each photo you upload.”On ICERAID’s Telegram channel, Meyers clarified that the app gives “API access” to law enforcement. “They ultimately decide if they should respond to the data,” Meyers said in an emailed statement to The Verge. “The goal is cooperation, not official partnerships.”US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) already has a tipline, as does US Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency that oversees legal immigration. ICE also has dozens of official partnerships with law enforcement agencies across the country.Even if law enforcement agencies are accessing ICERAID’s data, it’s unlikely they’ll get anything useful out of it. ICERAID’s incident tracker only shows six entries as of April 16th, five of which have been rejected by ICERAID’s moderators. A week earlier, the map showed 13 entries, just three of which had been approved. The three non-rejected entries were a JD Vance meme, a photo of Elon Musk handing a $1 million check to a Republican voter in Wisconsin, and a photo of Óscar Romero, the archbishop of El Salvador who was assassinated by a right-wing death squad in 1980 over his opposition to the Salvadoran military government. The Vance and Musk “sightings” have since disappeared, but the picture of Romero remains on ICERAID’s map.One of the ‘tips’ submitted to ICERAID.Meyers said via email that ICERAID has received “hundreds” of tips, most of which were “automatically removed because they are determined to be unreliable.” Meyers said ICERAID uses AI to “raise the reliability of the evidence through location verification, gender and age as well as sentiment analysis (happy, sad, angry, etc).” When asked for specifics on ICERAID’s AI, Meyers said the AI “is trained” and “a very limited amount of evidence makes it through validation.”The app also claims to have a “sponsorship program” for “hard working undocumented immigrant[s] with no criminal history.” It claims to offer “a large reward” for people who pursue “a legal status in the United States through self reporting” on the ICERAID app. Given that it’s nearly impossible for most undocumented immigrants to apply for citizenship or otherwise adjust their status, it’s unclear what kind of “legal status” undocumented immigrants would be pursuing through ICERAID. Meyers’ answer was vague. “We have a network of service providers and experts that deal with these issues and are willing to provide help on a confidential basis,” Meyers said.It’s also not clear whether anyone is making money for the pictures they’re uploading. Meyers stopped responding to The Verge’s emails when asked about previous accusations that he’d misappropriated investors’ funds, and he didn’t respond to follow-up questions about whether and how much people who use the app are getting paid. ICERAID’s big pitch is that it pays people for photos of “illegal immigration” and other crimes. There’s no indication that actually happens.And how much money is changing hands through crypto sales? ICERAID had a token presale in February, during which it claims to have sold “65,007,513 ICERAID tokens.” The coin, currently valued at $0.002026 per token, has just 82 holders as of April 16th.In the weeks leading up to the ICERAID token launch — which was pushed back several times — Meyers spent a considerable amount of time in the ICERAID Telegram channel alternating between posting “beautiful” pictures of Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem and reassuring people who asked him to refund their presale tokens. Other moderators on the channel urged the skeptics to “trust the process.”After one user asked Meyers for an official launch date, Meyers responded, “STOP TERRORIZING US OR YOU’LL GET DEPORTED!”ICERAID isn’t Meyers’ first crypto project. He is also the founder of AuditChain Labs, the parent company that develops both ICERAID and Pacioli.ai, Meyer’s “RegFi” or “regulatory finance” company. He also has a long — and legally contentious — history in the financial world. In 2014, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) permanently banned Meyers from broker-dealer activities, according to the crypto website The Rage. FINRA’s broker database claims that Meyers misappropriated “at least $700,000 of funds raised from 19 investors in a series of private offerings of securities” between 2006 and 2011. According to FINRA, Meyers took “significant portions of the funds raised for his own personal use.” (He neither admitted nor denied the findings).On Telegram, some early investors expressed frustration with what they described as a perpetually delayed launch of the coin. After one user asked Meyers for an official launch date, Meyers responded, “STOP TERRORIZING US OR YOU’LL GET DEPORTED!” Some members of the Telegram channel seemed to believe that the coin was launching on March 25th. Six days later, Meyers announced that he was pushing the rollout again due to “significant resistance” from the public that required him to implement “all possible security measures to safeguard our platform and community during what can only be considered adversarial wartime conditions.” When asked what these threats were, Meyers told The Verge that “additional precautions were taken in anticipation of threats, which have not materialized,” but he did not clarify what the threats were. “There was never a formal launch date,” Meyers said via email.“We are all ready to launch,” Meyers wrote in ICERAID’s Telegram channel three days later, on April 3rd. “The question is do we want to launch today with market conditions the way they are.” The Dow dropped 2,200 points overnight in response to President Donald Trump’s tariffs. ICERAID launched the following day.“We are really trying to have an absolutely smooth launch on this, because we’re going to get such high visibility with the US government entities and other law enforcement groups,” Thomas Herlihy, a crypto personality whose show DYOR Live! hosted the ICERAID launch announcement, said during the livestream. (Herlihy also goes by “Striking Balls.”) “We don’t want it to be seen as a typical crypto project that super-pumps and then doesn’t pump anymore, and then people take their money and leave.” Via email, Meyers emphasized (underlining and bolding the word “emphasized”) that “the point of the app is NOT to ‘pump’ the coin. The point of the app is to experiment, demonstrate and communicate the technical, economic, and social principals of ‘GovFi,’ which will take time.” He was far less restrained in the Telegram channel, at one point claiming the coin would go to $3 billion. Still, Meyers told potential investors that ICERAID was more than a memecoin. “We are going to make an honest woman out of Solana,” Meyers wrote on Telegram. A photo of Salvadoran priest Oscar Romero, who was killed by a right-wing death squad in 1980, submitted as a tip to ICERAID.Even if ICERAID ends up being little more than a pump-and-dump scheme, some of its recent boosters have an outsized amount of power in Washington. On ICERAID’s Telegram account, Meyers bragged about meeting with Tether founder Brock Pierce. Pierce, a child-star-turned-crypto-mogul, hosted a DOGE appreciation party at his Capitol Hill condo that coincided with the end of the Conservative Political Action Conference.Loomer — who promoted the project to her 1.6 million followers on X — has so much sway over Trump that the president reportedly fired several National Security Council staffers after she suggested they were insufficiently loyal. Notwithstanding ICERAID’s clunky interface and the apparent dearth of tips it’s received so far, the marketing push around it indicates a broader right-wing desire to turn everyday people into immigrant-hunting vigilantes. In January, a Mississippi state representative introduced a bill that would have awarded certified bounty hunters with $1,000 for apprehending immigrants who were in the state without authorization. A similar bill was introduced in the Missouri state Senate. That legislation would have created a fund for bounty hunters and others who turned over information resulting in the arrest of undocumented immigrants. Neither bill became a law.David Gregory, the Missouri state senator who sponsored the bill, disagreed with reporters’ characterization of the bill. “I’m hearing things like, ‘oh, this places a bounty on people.’ No, it doesn’t,” he told CNN. “Just because we’re dispatching bounty hunters after a warrant has been issued is not a bounty. It’s actually a reward system through a hotline.”ICERAID, on the other hand, has no problem with the word “bounty.” But the financial incentives it claims to offer are dependent on a meme coin that, as of this writing, isn’t worth much at all.See More:

We’re not going to pretend there’s one definitive list of the best podcasts. With so many shows out there, including hidden gems still waiting to be discovered and an ever-expanding range of genres and niches unique to podcasting, any “best of” list is inherently subjective. That said, we know what we like, and we’ve done our best to highlight a variety of shows that reflect the diverse interests of our readers. You might spot a favorite podcast below and feel validated in your excellent taste, or maybe you’ll discover something new to queue up on your next walk or commute. Either way, we hope you find something worth hitting play on. And if you’ve got a show you wish more people, feel free to share it in the comments. In the meantime, here are the podcasts that have captured the attention of our editors and staff writers. Join the Party Incredible worlds, daring (and absurd) adventures, and hilarious bits await you on Join the Party, an actual play podcast. Every Tuesday, Game Master Eric Silver and a cast of characters journey through genre-bending storytelling and worlds of their own creation. Marathon their four completed campaigns, including a pirate story set in a world of plant- and bug-folk, a Monster of the Week game set in a weird summer camp, and a modern superhero quest, and stay tuned for their next adventure starting soon. Every month, the roundtable also answers your questions in their talkback Afterparty episode. Whether you’re a longtime table-top player or you’ve never touched a d20 before, you’re invited to Join the Party. Everything Is Alive Everything is Alive is a beautifully strange and surprisingly profound podcast where inanimate objects are interviewed about their lives. Created by Ian Chillag, each episode features an improvisational conversation with an object (a can of soda, a lamppost, a bar of soap) brought to life by a comedian or actor. What starts as a quirky concept quickly becomes something deeper, blending humor, melancholy, and unexpected insight into what it means to exist. It’s whimsical, thoughtful, and unlike anything else in podcasting. Big Game Hunger Looking for the next big video game? Creator, video game expert, and former Polygon reporter, Jenna Stoeber, and her perpetually online friends, like Janet Varney and Chase Carter, craft your next video game obsession on Big Game Hunger. Every Monday, hilarity ensues as they take a random genre, a concept, and a vibe to take a game all the way from pitch to… slightly more developed pitch. By the end of each episode, they’ll have honed an IP so irresistible, you’ll be ready to risk $25 for it on Steam. Listeners say the creative concepts, interesting guests, LOL-worthy jokes, and thoughtful media analysis keep them coming back each week. Get ready to laugh about games you love, learn about game trends, and yearn for titles that will surely never make their release date. You Must Remember This You Must Remember This is a captivating podcast that dives deep into the forgotten and hidden history of Hollywood’s first century. Hosted by film historian Karina Longworth, each meticulously researched episode peels back the layers of myth and glamour to reveal the scandal, intrigue, and cultural shifts that shaped the entertainment industry. With season-long narratives exploring everything from the lives of dead blondes to the tangled politics of 1980s erotic thrillers, Longworth’s rich storytelling and archival deep dives make this a must-listen for cinephiles, history buffs, and anyone fascinated by the shadowy corners of showbiz. Mission Log Mission Log is Roddenberry’s premier Star Trek podcast.  For over a decade this legacy audio series has taken the ultimate deep-dive into the moral, philosophical, and cultural impact of the Trek franchise. Exploring and examining the over 800 episodes in chronological order, hosts John Champion and Norman Lao analyze the meanings, morals and messages of each Trek series as well as the timeless themes that make Star Trek more than just entertainment. Fans love Mission Log for its thoughtful discussions and its unique insight to Gene Roddenberry’s vision, making it a must-listen for both casual viewers and lifelong Trekkies. This is the podcast that boldly goes where no podcast has gone before—one episode at a time. Unspooled Hosted by film critic Amy Nicholson and comedian Paul Scheer, Unspooled is a thoughtful and entertaining journey through cinema history, examining one great movie at a time. Whether they’re diving into the AFI’s Top 100 list or exploring themed series like sci-fi classics or action blockbusters, the hosts combine deep analysis with a light, engaging tone. It’s a podcast that makes film buffs feel seen, and invites newcomers to fall in love with the magic of movies. How Did This Get Made? This cult-favorite comedy podcast brings together Paul Scheer, June Diane Raphael, and Jason Mantzoukas to hilariously dissect the worst (and weirdest) movies ever made. Each episode of How Did This Get Made? is an energetic blend of baffled commentary, absurd tangents, and unexpected insight, often recorded in front of a live audience. It’s perfect for anyone who loves bad movies or just wants to laugh until it hurts. The Town If you’re looking to stay current on the entertainment biz, The Town offers a smart, insider perspective on Hollywood’s latest moves. Hosted by journalist Matthew Belloni, this podcast breaks down the biggest stories in film, television, and media, from studio power plays to streaming wars. With sharp commentary and high-level access, it’s a must-listen for anyone fascinated by the behind the scenes shenanigans. Does it Fly? Roddenberry Entertainment presents: Does it Fly? – where science fiction meets hard science. Hakeem Oluseyi and pop culture expert Tamara Krinsky put your favorite sci-fi properties, inventions, and conceits to the test. Every Friday, the Does it Fly? team answers burning questions like how Star Trek’s transporter really functions, if we’re getting close to a real life lightsaber from Star Wars, the actual physics behind time travel in Back to the Future, and much more. Every episode examines the science and story logic behind beloved sci-fi, horror, and fantasy properties. And while not everything we love can hold up to scientific scrutiny, there’s always a vibe check for the topics that are just so cool and well-conceived that it doesn’t matter whether they fly or not. Join our mailing list Get the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox! Hardcore History Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History is less a podcast and more a full-scale audio epic. With marathon-length episodes that drop only a few times a year, Carlin takes listeners on deep dives into some of history’s most gripping and complex events, from the fall of ancient empires to the horrors of 20th-century warfare. His intense, dramatic narration makes the past feel urgent and alive, ideal for history fans craving something immersive and thought-provoking. Last Podcast on the Left Equal parts comedy and true crime, Last Podcast on the Left gleefully explores the dark and bizarre corners of human history, from serial killers and cults to cryptids and conspiracies. Hosts Marcus Parks, Henry Zebrowski, and Ed Larson bring a unique mix of thorough research, gallows humor, and unfiltered absurdity to each topic, making it a wild ride for fans of the macabre and the hilarious. Spooked From the creators of the super-popular Snap Judgment, Spooked is a spine-chilling podcast where real people share their encounters with the supernatural. Told with cinematic sound design and rich narration, each story immerses listeners in eerie, often unexplainable experiences that will leave you looking over your shoulder. It’s a seasonal favorite for ghost story lovers, but creepy enough to haunt you year-round. Binge Mode Binge Mode is the ultimate companion podcast for fandoms, featuring deep-dive analysis of beloved pop culture franchises like Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, and Star Wars. Hosted by Mallory Rubin and Jason Concepcion, the show blends sharp literary and thematic breakdowns with infectious enthusiasm and inside jokes. Whether you’re a casual fan or an obsessive re-watcher, this podcast makes revisiting your favorites even more fun, even if the show concluded in 2021. The Ringer-Verse If your love for comics, superheroes, and sci-fi extends across movies, TV shows, and everything in between, The Ringer-Verse is your destination podcast. With rotating hosts and a mix of reactions, theories, and cultural context, it delivers smart, fan-first coverage of everything from the latest MCU release to anime, Star Wars, and beyond. It’s a lively, passionate forum for geeks of all stripes. Fake Doctors, Real Friends Fake Doctors, Real Friends is a heartfelt and hilarious rewatch podcast hosted by Scrubs stars Zach Braff and Donald Faison. As they revisit each episode of the beloved medical comedy, they share behind-the-scenes stories, personal reflections, and plenty of laughs with castmates and fans alike. It’s equal parts nostalgia trip and feel-good hangout, like catching up with old friends who just happen to be TV stars. RedHanded RedHanded is a true crime podcast with a sharp edge, hosted by British duo Suruthi Bala and Hannah Maguire, who bring incisive research, dark humor, and a feminist lens to each episode. From notorious serial killers to little-known cases, the podcast dives into crime, psychology, and society with unflinching honesty. It’s a compelling listen for anyone who wants their true crime thoughtful, well-told, and just a little bit cheeky. Den of Geek Shows (And Friends) X-Ray Vision  Hosted by nerd culture scholars Rosie Knight and Jason Concepcion, X-Ray Vision delves into the films, TV shows, and comics that Den of Geek readers want to experience. Like the x-ray vision glasses promised in comic book back issues for years, the podcast delves into the core of what makes genre stories endure. Whether it’s recapping the Daredevil: Born Again finale or previewing the Nintendo Switch 2, Rosie and Jason keep you up to date. Den of Geek is partnering with X-Ray Vision and iHeart Radio Podcasts to bring some of the best highlights of the show to our social feeds. Stay tuned!  Den of Otaku Den of Geek’s official anime and Japanese pop culture podcast, Den of Otaku is for genre experts and newbies alike. Host Daniel Kurland unpacks the latest news in the anime world while also delving into the medium’s storied history.  Power-Up  Sit back. Plug in. And power up. POWER-UP guides viewers and listeners through the latest and greatest in the gaming industry. Hosted by games journalist and Den of Geek contributor Sam Stone, the series is your gateway into everything from the latest AAA releases to unexpected indie triumphs to nostalgia-soaked trips into the games of yore.  Open Minds Unidentified flying objects have beguiled humanity since before we even produced any objects that could fly. In recent years, however, the study of this phenomenon has taken on great urgency and import with every branch of the U.S. government stepping up its research into Unidentified Aerial Phenomena. With Open Minds, host and UFO researcher and Den of Geek contributor Alejandro Rojas looks into the latest UAP news from an open-minded but skeptical and scientific perspective. 

Apple released iOS 18.4.1, and in addition to CarPlay bug fixes, the update also patches two security vulnerabilities that Apple says were actively exploited in the wild. The security fixes are also included in macOS Sequoia 15.4.1, tvOS 18.4.1, and visionOS 2.4.1. iOS 18.4.1 security fixes Apple says it is is aware of reports that both of these security vulnerabilities “may have been exploited in an extremely sophisticated attack against specific targeted individuals.” Here are the details on the vulnerabilities: CoreAudio: Impact: Processing an audio stream in a maliciously crafted media file may result in code execution. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been exploited in an extremely sophisticated attack against specific targeted individuals on iOS. Description: A memory corruption issue was addressed with improved bounds checking. CVE-2025-31200: Apple and Google Threat Analysis Group RPAC: Impact: An attacker with arbitrary read and write capability may be able to bypass Pointer Authentication. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been exploited in an extremely sophisticated attack against specific targeted individuals on iOS. Description: This issue was addressed by removing the vulnerable code. CVE-2025-31201: Apple With these important security fixes in mind, we recommend updating your Apple devices to their newest software versions as soon as possible. This includes iOS 18.4.1, iPadOS 18.4.1, tvOS 18.4.1, macOS 15.4.1, and visionOS 2.4.1. As of right now, Apple hasn’t released a new software update for Apple Watch. My favorite iPhone accessories: Follow Chance: Threads, Bluesky, Instagram, and Mastodon.  Add 9to5Mac to your Google News feed.  FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.You’re reading 9to5Mac — experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

We’re the people behind MailerLite, a team of creators dedicated to building outstanding online products and industry-leading email marketing software. We launched MailerSend to provide you with the same experience for transactional emails. After 10+ years of sending huge volumes of emails and experiencing similar challenges you’re facing, we’re now happy to share our solution with you.MailerSend is a cloud-based transactional email service built for developers, but designed so that the entire team, including designers, project managers, and marketing people can use it. We are committed to providing a top-notch solution for transactional communication to our clients worldwide. We understand that behind every successful business is a team of passionate and dedicated individuals.

New owners of long-delayed Vauxhall Square development planning 20-storey height increase Aerial view of the site on the border of Nine Elms and Vauxhall The new owners of the stalled Vauxhall Square site in south London have replaced lead architect Allies & Morrison with Pilbrow & Partners and revealed plans to boost the scheme’s towers to 70 storeys. Development partners Bmor and Cedarstone Capital are working up a fresh planning application for the long-vacant site in Nine Elms which would make the scheme’s towers 20 storeys taller than the existing consent. Source: Vauxhall Square LimitedEarly sketch of how the new plans could look included in a public consultation. A more detailed design proposal will be unveiled later this spring The new scheme, which will be submitted to Lambeth council this summer, would consist of four towers of 16, 19, 41 and 70 storeys containing 1,200 homes, 600 student beds and 1,250 co-living units. It would also contain a 240-room hotel, 2,700 sq m of office space and 5,000 sq m of retail and leisure space with its buildings centred around a new 4,200 sq m landscaped park which is being billed as the “heart of a new centre for Vauxhall”. The development team and its backers Cheyne Capital Management and GFH Partners have already carried out two rounds of consultation with local residents and are preparing to reveal more detailed designs in the coming weeks. A full planning application will be submitted this summer. Under early plans shared with Lambeth council this month, the scheme’s largest building would be by far the tallest in the Nine Elms tower cluster and one of the tallest residential buildings in the country. A spokesperson for Vauxhall Square said: ”This is a significant opportunity to bring investment and new life to a long-vacant site in the heart of London, creating much-needed homes, including affordable housing, improved public green spaces, and a range of amenities for both local people and visitors.” The 1.46ha site, bounded by Parry Street to the north, Wandsworth Road to the west, Bondway to the east and the railway line to the east and south, has been inactive and hoarded for several years after passing through a succession of owners. The scheme’s redesign comes 12 years after Lambeth council approved Allies & Morrison’s original proposals, designed for property developer CLS Holdings, which consisted of a total of nine buildings including two 50-storey towers. Allies & Morrison’s plans for the site, which were approved in 2013 A portion of this site was later sold to student accommodation developer Urbanest, which appointed Glenn Howells Architects, now known as Howells, in 2014 to design a 32-storey tower containing 454 student beds which was completed in 2018. The rest of the site, one of the largest vacant sites in central South London, remained undeveloped with CLS carrying out minor works on the site in order to lawfully maintain its planning consent. The site was later bought by Chinese developer R&F, which sold it to Hong Kong rival Far East Consotrium for £95.7m in 2022. Cedarstone Capital Partners and Bmor purchased the site with financing from Cheyne Capital last year. The project team for the new scheme includes planning consultant DP9, project manager Trigon and transport consultant Velocity. Allies & Morrison has been contacted for comment.

The £44 million Mourne Gateway project in Newcastle, County Down, involves building a visitor centre at the disused Thomas Quarry on Slieve Donard, the highest mountain in Northern Ireland.  The proposal, for Newry, Mourne and Down District Council, includes a 1km-long cable car running to Donard Park. London and Belfast-based AJ100 practice TODD Architects is also on the project team, led by Arup and also featuring Gleeds and design consultancy Tandem Design. But in a decision this month, the National Trust, which owns the quarry, said it was suspending its engagement with the proposals because it had not received enough information about its environmental impact, amid concerns over the impact of thousands of visitors to the site.Advertisement The trust said it had ‘consistently stated the need for robust and comprehensive environmental assessments' for the project and that, in the absence of such an assessment, it was 'pausing our engagement at this time’. A National Trust spokesperson argued that the habitat on Mourne Mountain was ‘exceptionally fragile’ and contained internationally scarce dry heath, blanket bog and specialised flora and fauna, which were devastated by wildfire in April 2021. She told the AJ: ‘Our strategy prioritises nature restoration and looking after wildlife, historic places, and landscapes, and, as a conservation charity, we need to prioritise where we use our resources towards our core conservation objectives.’ She added that the organisation remains open to engagement in future and had shared data about its efforts to restore habitats following the 2021 fire with Newry, Mourne and Down District Council. The move follows warnings first aired in 2023 over the environmental impact of the proposed £44 million tourism project, as the AJ reported at the time.Advertisement The council has now said that an environmental impact assessment (EIA) will be ready before the end of the year. A council spokesperson told the AJ that it ‘has shared with the National Trust all the environmental information that we hold, and acknowledge that the environmental concerns they have raised are shared by the council and are being fully considered, and will be addressed as part of the development of the EIA’. The spokesperson continued: ‘This is a considerable piece of work that involves seasonal environmental/ecology surveys and regular engagement with key stakeholders, which is encouraged, including with the National Trust.’ d-on architects was previously engaged to RIBA Stage 2. The project went out for consultation in March 2023 with Newry, Mourne and Down District Council aiming for its completion in 2029. Initial designs for the scheme, also known as the Mournes Gondola, were criticised by some, including a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly, who called it a ‘metal monstrosity’, and a resident who likened it to a ‘Bond villain base’. Nial O Neill of d-on architects called it a ‘modern intervention on the scarred landscape left by the process of industrial quarrying’.

Despite paying $195 more on average than the previous year, most people still experienced speed and reliability issues.

Updated descriptions in US, Canada, Japan, not yet in Europe. Nintendo Switch 2 is sporting all sorts of modern technology and one other addition is variable refresh rate (VRR) support.This has been highlighted on Nintendo's official website alongside all the other upgrades for this new hardware. Nintendo has been nice enough to provide a description about what exactly this technology does:Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Building an app dedicated to helping people aggregate and read news, articles and social media posts in one place is apparently a tough proposition these days. Smashing, an AI-powered app that lets users curate the news and posts they’d like to read, is shutting down, seemingly because of its inability to scale rapidly enough. “We simply didn’t grow fast enough to keep going. We weren’t able to scale it into a sustainable product,” the company said in an email to customers announcing its closure. GoodReads’ founder, Otis Chandler, launched Smashing last June, aiming to use AI and the community to curate news articles, blog posts, podcasts and social media posts from around the web. The app let users follow their interests, submit content, and vote on suggested content to indicate relevance. It also had AI-powered summaries and a bot that could answer questions. The company said in the email that it had seven employees working on the product. Smashing had raised $3.4 million in funding from True Ventures, Blockchange, Offline Ventures, Advancit Capital, Power of N Ventures, and several angel investors. Thankfully, there are plenty of startups working on the problem Smashing set out to address. We have AI-powered news readers like Bulletin and Particle, as well as feed aggregator apps like Feeeed, Tapestry and Reeder — to pick a few. Smashing’s closure comes after Instagram’s co-founders shut down their AI-powered news app Artifact last year and eventually sold the tech to Yahoo.