A collab between former XCOM devs and Respawn.Star Wars will be getting a new single-player turn-based tactics game officially titled Star Wars Zero Company. Although a Nintendo release hasn't been mentioned, there's always a chance with the Switch 2 on the horizon.Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Reshma Saujani, founder of the non-profit Girls Who Code, got straight to the point.  “If I had applied to be the CEO of Girls Who Code, I wouldn’t have gotten the job,” she told Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, on the latest episode of the duchess’ podcast, “Confessions of a Female Founder.” “I didn’t code,” Saujani continued. “I majored in polyscience, speech communications, and the only thing I’d ever built was a failed [congressional] campaign,” she said, referring to when she tried running for Congress and lost. (She was the first Indian-American to run for Congress back in 2010). Saujani’s lack of experience in coding didn’t stop her from launching what has become one of the most well-known coding camps in tech. Girls Who Code says it has helped train more than 670,000 young girls, women, and nonbinary individuals in STEM and, at one point, received support from high-profile names in the tech industry, including Jack Dorsey and Microsoft. (The organization still seems to be kicking, whereas other groups, like Girls in Tech and Women in Code, have faced the reverberating impacts of the anti-DEI sentiment sloshing through Silicon Valley.)   Saujani chatted with Meghan about her early days of building the organization, while touching upon themes of motherhood and life after leaving Girls Who Code. Her interview illustrates the sacrifices many female founders make — and often conceal — while they focus on running a business. The conversation revealed Saujani’s drive as an entrepreneur to remain on the front lines pushing for change.  “This conversation was such a full-circle moment for me,” Saujani told TechCrunch, adding that she first met Meghan when she expanded Girls Who Code to the UK in 2019. “Confessions of a Female Founder” promises to talk to important women and share lessons about building a business. The podcast, which launched last week, has had a successful beginning. It’s currently the No. 1-ranked business podcast on Apple, ahead of Scott Galloway’s “The Prof F Pod.” In a comment given to TechCrunch, Meghan said she hoped the conversation inspired others to “explore a different vertical of being an entrepreneur: social entrepreneurship.”  “My conversations throughout ‘Confessions of a Female Founder’ have each been illuminating in their own way, and with Reshma, we chat about what it looks like for a woman to lead and succeed while also navigating motherhood with grit and grace,” she said.   Saujani’s conversation is at its best when business nuggets are dropped. For instance, the pair discussed the adage that when you go to someone for money, you get advice, but if you go to someone for advice, you will probably get money.  “You’re just going for advice, and then if it makes sense for them, they’ll offer up what they think you might need,” Meghan said.  But there were intimate moments too; Saujani chatted about her struggles running the nonprofit while dealing with miscarriages and an auto-immune disorder. “I was performing in front of these children that I desperately wanted,” she said. “It was eating me up inside.”  One of the main lessons in Saujani’s founder journey is, of course, taking leaps and not giving up. She took her chance in 2012 when she launched Girls Who Code after seeing that young women, especially women of color, were not entering STEM jobs. A child of Indian immigrants, she spoke about how she was bullied as a child and how that impacted her path in life. “I got beat up pretty bad,” she said, adding that she tried hard to assimilate into the white culture she grew up around. “But I also realized I am not white, and I’m never going to be, and I have a responsibility to actually teach people about difference [sic].”  Betting on women another theme — and one worth reiterating.  When Saujani launched her podcast, she thought it was important for young girls to have and understand the tools needed to solve the problems they will inevitably face. As the artificial intelligence revolution kicks off, betting on women has become more important than ever. Women make up just 22% of the global AI talent, with representation dropping as a role becomes more senior. AI is also threatening young women in unprecedented ways, most notably through the rise of shockingly accurate deepfake videos. (Girls Who Code says it has taught more than 8,000 students about AI). Saujani, now a mother, went on to launch Moms First, which advocates better working environments for moms. Meghan, she revealed, was an early supporter of the cause. The lesson there is a simple one.  “I might die with women having less rights than they had when I was born,” she said, adding that she realized she, like other women, were probably put on earth to keep hope alive. “You lose, you lose, you lose, you lose, and then you win.” 

CW+ Premium Content/Computer Weekly Thank you for joining! Access your Pro+ Content below. 15 April 2025 How will Trump’s tariffs hit tech? In this week’s Computer Weekly, we examine the potential impact of additional US tariffs on the global tech supply chain – and what it means for IT budgets. We look at the key considerations for IT leaders looking to move off VMware as a result of its licensing changes. And we speak to the man in charge of reviewing the controversial loan charge tax policy that affects thousands of IT contractors. Read the issue now. Access this CW+ Content for Free! Already a member? Login here Features in this issue What is the impact of US tariffs on datacentre equipment costs? by  Cliff Saran Moore’s Law predicts that every 18 months, IT buyers can get more for the same outlay. But US tariffs may mean they end up paying a higher price VMware backup: Key decision points if you migrate away from VMware by  Stephen Pritchard VMware’s pricing changes have spurred some organisations to move to new virtualisation environments, but they’ll need backing up. We look at the key points to consider View Computer Weekly Archives Next Issue  More CW+ Content View All E-Zine The desktop is changing

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What just happened? The McMurtry Speirling, an all-electric fan-assisted racecar, has added two more outrageous feats to its resume. Already known for obliterating the Goodwood Hillclimb record (bottom video), the Speirling just broke Top Gear's long-standing test track lap time - and became the first car to maintain sustained upside-down driving. The Speirling is a radically different approach to speed. Unlike most race cars that rely solely on power sent to the wheels, it devotes a chunk of its 1,000 horsepower to twin fans that suck air from beneath the chassis. The vacuum created dramatically increases downforce. The result is F1-level grip at any speed, not just high speed, giving it exceptional control when cornering, accelerating, or braking. The "fan car" idea isn't new. The Chaparral 2J and Brabham BT46B introduced the concept in the 1970s, but racing authorities quickly banned them for their an unfair advantage over racers using traditional aerodynamics. McMurtry's street-legal track weapon revives the idea with modern tech, generating twice its weight in downforce - 2,000kg on a 1,000kg car. That helped the Speirling demolish Top Gear's test track record with a lap time of 55.9 seconds. The previous best time, set by Renault's 2004 F1 car, was 59 seconds. Among street-legal cars, the Aston Martin Valkyrie was quickest at 1:08.3. Even Ford's outrageous electric Supervan 4.2, the fastest EV on the track until now, managed just 1:05.3. Electrek notes that McMurtry followed the lap record with another bold accomplishment: driving upside down, holding its inverted position for ten seconds while accelerating and braking a short distance at low speed. Hot Wheels once pulled off a loop-de-loop stunt with rally cars, but those relied on momentum rather than aerodynamic downforce. The Speirling maintained its inverted position using fan-driven suction, finally proving the long-standing theory that enough downforce can overcome gravity. Granted, the feat was more cautious than cinematic - it took place in a controlled setting, with safety in mind. Still, it's a world first that McMurtry called a "proof of concept." Speirling beating the Goodwood Hill Climb record in just 39.08 seconds. // Related Stories "With a longer inverted track or a suitable tunnel, we may be able to drive even further," McMurtry co-founder Thomas Yates noted. From record-breaking laps to gravity-defying stunts, the Speirling is no longer just a quirky science experiment. It's a real, working glimpse of what the future of racing - and extreme vehicle engineering - could look like.

Table of Contents Table of Contents Why the AquaSense 2 Ultra isn’t just another robot in the pool $618 off? Here’s why that’s kind of a big deal What pool owners love about it How to get yours TL;DR Owning a pool is fantastic, but maintaining it? Not so much. Between random yard debris, birds using it as a bath, and whatever mystery gunk floats on top after a storm, it’s a lot. That’s where Beatbot’s AquaSense 2 Ultra steps in and right now, it’s stepping in with a hefty $618 discount. From April 14 through April 27 you can snag the world’s first AI-powered 5-in-1 robotic pool cleaner or their Amazon store. That’s not a typo, that’s next-level pool tech at a next-level price. This isn’t your average robotic cleaner that aimlessly bounces around like a cheap robot vacuum with no sense of direction. The AquaSense 2 Ultra is smarter. Like “I’ve-got-this-go-enjoy-your-margarita” smart. Related Powered by cutting-edge AI and precision path-planning, it cleans your pool like a seasoned pro: Scrubs your pool floor like it means it. Cleans walls and waterlines (even the gross spots you avoid). Skims the surface so you’re not chasing leaves with a net. Vacuums debris you didn’t even know was there. Clarifies the water for that crystal-clear, resort-worthy finish. Yes, people…a resort! No cords. No micromanaging. Just drop it in, press a button, and let the robot handle the mess. When it comes to premium pool robots, this one sits at the top shelf. A discount this deep — nearly 18% off — is rare. We’re talking complete lunar solar-eclipse-meets-pool-party rare. But the deal has a firm expiration date: April 27. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. If you’ve been eyeing the AquaSense 2 Ultra or just want to stop sacrificing weekends to pool duty, now’s your moment. Beatbot / Beatbot Ridiculously clean results: Think: no more film, no more fuzz, just shimmering blue. Freedom from the daily grind: Go enjoy the sunshine, not the skimmer net. Full-spectrum clean: Top to bottom, surface to deep end. No cords = no stress: It’s fully cordless and fully independent. Whether you’re a tech enthusiast or someone who just wants less hassle and more hammock time, let this bot get to work. Grabbing the AquaSense 2 Ultra at this price is easier than cannonballing into the deep end: No promo code. No hoops. Just click, check out, and get ready to retire your pool brush. World’s first AI-powered 5-in-1 pool cleaner? Check. $618 off? Absolutely. Available until April 27? You bet. Say goodbye to manual cleaning and hello to weekend lounging. The Beatbot AquaSense 2 Ultra is here to clean house (or pool, technically). Get yours today. Editors’ Recommendations

Bend it like a battery Scientists made a stretchable lithium battery you can bend, cut, or stab Its performance isn't great, but its endurance is similar to standard lithium-ion. Jacek Krywko – Apr 14, 2025 3:30 pm | 13 Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only   Learn more The Li-ion batteries that power everything from smartphones to electric cars are usually packed in rigid, sealed enclosures that prevent stresses from damaging their components and keep air from coming into contact with their flammable and toxic electrolytes. It’s hard to use batteries like this in soft robots or wearables, so a team of scientists at the University California, Berkeley built a flexible, non-toxic, jelly-like battery that could survive bending, twisting, and even cutting with a razor. While flexible batteries using hydrogel electrolytes have been achieved before, they came with significant drawbacks. “All such batteries could [only] operate [for] a short time, sometimes a few hours, sometimes a few days,” says Liwei Lin, a mechanical engineering professor at UC Berkeley and senior author of the study. The battery built by his team endured 500 complete charge cycles—about as many as the batteries in most smartphones are designed for. Power in water “Current-day batteries require a rigid package because the electrolyte they use is explosive, and one of the things we wanted to make was a battery that would be safe to operate without this rigid package,” Lin told Ars. Unfortunately, flexible packaging made of polymers or other stretchable materials can be easily penetrated by air or water, which will react with standard electrolytes, generating lots of heat, potentially resulting in fires and explosions. This is why, in 2017, scientists started to experiment with quasi-solid-state hydrogel electrolytes. These hydrogels were made of a polymer net that gave them their shape, crosslinkers like borax or hydrogen bonds that held this net together, a liquid phase made of water, and salt or other electrolyte additives providing ions that moved through the watery gel as the battery charged or discharged. But hydrogels like that had their own fair share of issues. The first was a fairly narrow electrochemical stability window—a safe zone of voltage the battery can be exposed to. “This really limits how much voltage your battery can output,” says Peisheng He, a researcher at UC Berkeley Sensor and Actuator Center and lead author of the study. “Nowadays, batteries usually operate at 3.3 volts, so their stability window must be higher than that, probably four volts, something like that.” Water, which was the basis of these hydrogel electrolytes, typically broke down into hydrogen and oxygen when exposed to around 1.2 volts. That problem was solved by using highly concentrated salt water loaded with highly fluorinated lithium salts, which made it less likely to break down. But this led the researchers straight into safety issues, as fluorinated lithium salts are highly toxic to humans. The challenge Lin, He, and their colleagues set for themselves was making a hydrogel battery with a wide electrochemical window—ideally above 3 volts—that would not cause severe chemical burns when damaged. Water-scarce hydrogels The chemistry of the battery they made started with a polymer that has both positive and negative charges (these are termed “zwitterionic”) as the structural net. Water molecules form hydrogen bonds with any charged parts, while lithium ions are attracted to its negatively charged parts. This way, the zwitterionic polymer could bind water tightly enough to prevent it from splitting at higher voltages while still releasing lithium ions when needed. The team then used acrylic acid as the gel’s crosslinker and an electrolyte with a fluorine-free lithium salt to provide lithium ions. Credit: He et al. The salt also played an additional role: It pulled water from the air. The usual way of getting the “hydro” part into a hydrogel is soaking the crosslinked, hydrophilic polymer in water; it will typically reach 80 percent water content. Lin, He, and their colleagues didn’t want their hydrogel to contain that much water because of the water-splitting issue. So they just left it to absorb water from ambient moisture. The result was a water-scarce hydrogel electrolyte that contained only 19 percent water and remained stable in a normal room humidity of 50 percent or so. Once the electrolyte was ready, the team added electrodes and built a fully functional battery powering a printed circuit with a few LED lights. The battery could work for over a month without sealed packaging and operate at over 3.1 volts without much water splitting—a voltage close to that used by commercial batteries. Despite this success, they started inflicting all sorts of punishment on it. Self-healing soft batteries The soft, jelly-like battery could power the LEDs when it was twisted 180 degrees, bent, punctured with a needle, and cut with a razor. It could even self-heal and get back to 90 percent of its original capacity after the team cut it in half, although this required putting it back together and warming it in an oven. Because the electrolyte reached its equilibrium state in ambient air, it didn’t degrade due to air exposure as other hydrogel electrolytes did and remained functional after 500 complete charge cycles. There were some drawbacks, though. A commercial battery designed for 500 cycles, in principle, should retain 80 percent of its capacity once those 500 cycles are done. Lin and He’s soft battery retained around 60 percent, which leaves lots of room for improvement. Another problem was the energy density. “When you compare this with state-of-the-art batteries we have today, we achieved roughly one-tenth of their capacity,” He says. “So, I think definitely we can try to optimize more towards energy density. Depending on the application, we may sacrifice some properties, like self-healing.” Lin, however, thinks that the relatively low energy density does not tell the full story. “Your smartwatch is powered by a battery, but a band for this watch today performs only the mechanical function,” Lin says. “If you can replace the band with our battery, you have more area, more volume to work with. Instead of needing a recharge once a day, it could perhaps work for, like, a week.” Science Advances, 2025.  DOI: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adu3711 Jacek Krywko Associate Writer Jacek Krywko Associate Writer Jacek Krywko is a freelance science and technology writer who covers space exploration, artificial intelligence research, computer science, and all sorts of engineering wizardry. 13 Comments

During a press conference on Monday, Zhang and Wang denied fighting against Ukraine voluntarily. GENYA SAVILOV/AFP via Getty Images 2025-04-15T08:32:52Z Save Saved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Two Chinese prisoners of war spoke to the press on Monday, describing life under Russian forces. Both Chinese men said they were duped into becoming frontline soldiers for Russia. One of them said it was impossible to escape because he was constantly being watched. A Chinese man who said he was tricked into fighting for Russia's military told reporters on Monday that he was guarded so closely he couldn't go to the bathroom alone.Identified by Ukraine as 34-year-old Wang Guangjun, the man said at a Kyiv press conference that he had entered Russia believing he would be a rehabilitation therapist for Moscow's troops, only to discover he was being deployed on the front lines.Ukraine said on Wednesday that Wang and another Chinese man, 27-year-old Zhang Renbao, were captured in Donetsk. Business Insider could not independently verify statements from the prisoners of war.Both men said they were speaking to the press in hopes that China would notice their situation and negotiate for their release. They also denied fighting against Ukraine voluntarily.Wang described himself as being trapped after reporting for work in Moscow in early 2025, after which he was sent for a few days of training and later to Ukraine's front lines."Escape is impossible. Because from the moment you enter the training camp, if you go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, there will be a guard with a loaded gun following you," said Wang."And during training, your commander will keep a close eye on you. You have totally no opportunity to escape. Anyway, Russia is filled with military police, even if you try to run, there is nowhere to go," he added.Zhang — who said he was previously a rescue worker and firefighter in Shanghai — and Wang told Ukrainian and international reporters that they were promised monthly salaries of up to 280,000 rubles, or about $3,400.But they said they were often left in the dark and couldn't communicate well with their Russian-speaking officers. Wang added that he surrendered his mobile phone and was unsure if he was paid at all."I can very honestly tell everyone that I absolutely don't know the specifics," Wang said. "Because everything that involved us was kept secret."Russia's Defense Ministry did not respond to a request for comment sent outside regular business hours by BI.Wang and Zhang describe their capture Zhang is escorted by a Ukrainian armed guard at a press conference in Kyiv. GENYA SAVILOV/AFP via Getty Images Wang said he was deployed on April 1 in Donetsk with a unit that went by the "7th" — which could be a reference to Russia's 7th Motorized Rifle Brigade. The Chinese man said he could only communicate with his commanders via sounds and hand gestures.He told reporters that on April 4, he and several soldiers were sent to advance on the front lines in northern Donetsk. Wang said that as they neared their destination, a Russian soldier called his name and mimicked the sound of a gun firing, urging him to begin attacking."On the way there, we had gone through many Russian bunkers, so I thought we had arrived at our own friendly position. I thought he was joking," he said. "So I hid to one side."Wang then said that the "sky was filled with countless drones" that killed several of his comrades. The survivors soon surrendered to Ukrainian forces, he added.Meanwhile, Zhang said he arrived in Moscow as a tourist in December and, after seeking work there, was eventually shipped to Donetsk for a month.He said he and a small Russian squad were sent in late March to advance on foot at the front lines, then spent hours hiding and trying to survive repeated drone attacks."I just ran and ran and ran, until I eventually encountered Ukrainian soldiers," Zhang said.Ukraine says it has evidence that over 150 Chinese people are fighting for Russia, but added that there's no sign their presence is sanctioned by Beijing. On Friday, Reuters cited unnamed US officials saying that Washington believes most Chinese citizens fighting for Russia are mercenaries.China, meanwhile, said it has always told its citizens to stay away from the war."We call on the relevant party to be correct and sober about China's role and refrain from making irresponsible remarks," a spokesperson for Beijing's foreign ministry said on Thursday. Recommended video

Little Birch House / buck&simpleSave this picture!© Tim Pascoe Photographer Architects: buck&simple Area Area of this architecture project Area:  320 m² Year Completion year of this architecture project Year:  2025 Photographs Photographs:Tim Pascoe Photographer Manufacturers Brands with products used in this architecture project Manufacturers:  Fisher & Paykel, Abodo, Autodesk Revit, B-TD, Briggs Veneers, Brightgreen, Brodware, Graham Day Doors, Porters Original Paints, Real Flame, Smeg, TOVO Lighting Lead Architects: Peter Ahern More SpecsLess Specs Save this picture! Text description provided by the architects. Little Birch represents a case study in the bespoke detail. Realising a young family's dream to achieve the day-to-day calm of resort living adjacent to the daily grind. Resort vibes, domestic ease. Located on the traditional lands of the Kameygal people, city and district views abound as this private home descends and expands into its built oasis.Save this picture!The site presented as a compact urban setting with our challenge to conceal, direct, and connect to spaces beyond. The exterior presents to the established streetscape as an intersection of tectonic forms, mass, and planes; the simple geometry provides a counterpoint to the neighbourhood's incoherent mishmash of typologies.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!Descending from the street level, you see glimpses of district views recede before you're enveloped in a garden oasis shared across indoor-outdoor entertaining and lower-ground living spaces. Planar joinery conceals service & private areas of the program, while ribbonlike concrete stairs puncture the double-height void connecting & engaging across the home. The interplay of split-level geometries further belies the compact floor plan and encourages the visual borrowing of space as each level employs key vistas borrowing district views, with custom skylights building connection to the sky and a sense of the infinite.Save this picture!Save this picture!A testament to the consideration of use and celebration of the detail, the home is built for the rigours of family life. Beyond its physicality, Little Birch explores the interplay of light and shadow, structure and stillness, and mass and void. These qualities shape the home's atmosphere, creating a sanctuary of calm within the density of its urban context. The materiality is deliberately restrained, allowing natural textures to guide the experience. Finishes are refined, materials are limited, and form is celebrated through junctions, intersections, and edges that reveal a quiet complexity. Subtle variations in texture catch the light throughout the day, while a restrained palette ensures a rhythmic continuity from one space to the next.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!Every surface has been considered for its haptic quality, engaging the senses through warmth and weight, smoothness and grain. The stairs, a sculptural moment within the void, hover above the floor below, the seemingly missing anchor point in contrast to the home's grounded solidity. Throughout, architectural devices create a measured slowness—a deliberate flow of movement, a quiet rhythm of compression and release. Key viewpoints frame borrowed landscapes, drawing the eye beyond the immediate, connecting the inhabitant to sky, horizon, and distant greenery.Save this picture!Save this picture!Beneath its refined elegance lies a structure designed for longevity, performance, and comfort. Cross ventilation and passive thermal strategies allow for effortless temperature regulation while controlled apertures guide the transition of light through the spaces. The landscape is interwoven throughout, a mediator between architecture and environment, softening thresholds and extending the experience of living into the natural realm. The result is a home that feels effortless yet is deeply considered. A place of balance, where design elevates the everyday, where stillness and movement, light and shade, weight and air find their resolution in a seamless whole. Project gallerySee allShow less About this officebuck&simpleOffice••• Published on April 15, 2025Cite: "Little Birch House / buck&simple" 15 Apr 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1029012/little-birch-house-buck-and-simple&gt ISSN 0719-8884Save世界上最受欢迎的建筑网站现已推出你的母语版本!想浏览ArchDaily中国吗?是否 You've started following your first account!Did you know?You'll now receive updates based on what you follow! Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors, offices and users.Go to my stream