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April 18, 20256 min readNASA’s Next Major Space Telescope Is Ready to Launch. Trump Wants to Kill It and Other Vital ScienceAmid harsh cuts, the Trump administration has proposed canceling the nearly ready-to-launch Nancy Grace Roman Space TelescopeBy Nadia Drake edited by Dan VerganoThe Nancy Grace Roman Telescope is designed to observe hundreds of millions of galaxies and thousands of supernovas to investigate dark energy and the universe's accelerated expansion. GSFC/SVSTechnicians at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center are nearing the finish line on the space agency’s newest flagship astrophysics mission. Called the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, the eagerly awaited $3.5-billion observatory could solve the secrets of the dark universe, spot untold undiscovered worlds and light the way toward finding alien life. It only awaits final integration and testing, a short hop down to Cape Canaveral, Fla., and a longer journey to a sun-circling orbit near the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). In a triumph for NASA, reliable sources say that Roman could launch as early as the fall of 2026, well ahead of its May 2027 target and potentially under budget.But a leaked draft of the president’s 2026 budget request, which Scientific American has reviewed, instead calls for canceling Roman.“This is nuts. You’ve built it, and you’re not going to do the final step to finish it?” says astrophysicist David Spergel, president of the Simons Foundation and former co-chair of Roman’s science team. “That is such a waste of taxpayers’ money.”On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.Roman isn’t the only casualty in the president’s draft NASA budget, which is still in flux and will ultimately require congressional approval. The proposal cuts heavily into the $25-billion space agency’s science division, home to missions that include JWST, the twin Voyager probes, the Hubble Space Telescope and a fleet of Mars rovers that have colored in our understanding of the cosmos and captured imaginations worldwide for half a century.The draft budget includes an almost 50 percent cut to heliophysics, which studies the sun and space weather, reducing it to $455 million; a more than 50 percent reduction in Earth science funding, which includes climate monitoring, taking it down to roughly $1 billion; and a 30 percent cut to planetary science and solar system exploration, resulting in $1.9 billion. The last cut kills the upcoming DAVINCI (Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging) mission to Venus and NASA’s beleaguered mission to bring rocks back from Mars. Notably, the document also cleaves off two thirds of the funding for NASA’s astrophysics division, which studies stars, galaxies and cosmology, dropping it to $487 million and specifying that “no funding is provided” for telescopes other than JWST and Hubble.Space policy observers expressed dismay at the budget cuts, particularly at the notion of throwing away a flagship space telescope. “This is a wholly unserious budget proposal,” said Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, the ranking member of the spending committee for NASA, in a recent statement.Privately, space policy experts have been even less charitable about the proposal: “It sets back a program that is clearly the leading program in the world—in a historic fashion,” says a former government official, speaking to Scientific American on condition of anonymity because of concerns about retaliation. “You take that program and shoot it through the head.”NASA has refrained from saying much publicly. A spokesperson for the agency has only issued a statement that it has the draft “and has begun the deliberative process.” (The White House has not responded to requests for comment.) The agency received the draft on April 10, one day after Jared Isaacman, President Donald Trump’s nominee for NASA administrator, insisted in his nomination hearing that the U.S. could send humans to the moon and Mars and “do all the other things” with NASA’s current budget. “I do believe the president is looking to usher in the golden age of science and discovery,” Isaacman said. Now observers suggest that instead of ushering in that golden age, the Trump administration simply seems to be trading in the entire universe.“If you want to take the most successful fleet of missions ever built, and the leadership that accompanies that fleet, and throw that all away, this is the budget to do it,” says another senior space scientist, speaking anonymously because of concerns about budgetary retribution from the Trump administration. “This budget is like, ‘Here is a shit sandwich with no side of pickle.’ You don’t even get the plate!”“It’s like 200 Hubbles”This isn’t the first time Trump’s White House has tried to zero out Roman—it’s the fourth. But in each previous instance Congress kept the program alive. Observers are hopeful that lawmakers will again rescue the telescope because space science has traditionally enjoyed bipartisan support.In 2020 NASA named the project, which until then had been called the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST), after Nancy Grace Roman, an astronomer who played a pivotal role in developing Hubble. The Roman telescope has been ranked as a top priority in astrophysics since a National Academy of Sciences review in 2010—a status that was only bolstered two years later, when the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), which builds and operates spy satellites, donated two large, unused mirrors and associated optics to the mission.American astronomer Nancy Grace Roman at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland in the early 1970sNASA/Interim Archives/Getty ImagesDesigned to survey our own planet, the NRO’s 2.4-meter-wide mirrors match Hubble’s in size. But they have a shorter focal length that makes them better suited for doing wide-field imaging surveys that monitor millions of stars and take broad looks at exploding stars, early galaxies and large-scale cosmological structures. “Every Hubble image you see—make it 100 times bigger,” Spergel says. “It’s like 200 Hubbles. We will survey the entire sky, with Hubble-quality images.”The project was initially overbudget, but after a hefty course correction, the team is on track to deliver Roman ahead of its planned 2027 launch—and, if so, below cost. That comes on the heels of repeated criticism from federal and congressional watchdogs over price tags and schedule overruns for large space agency missions in the past two decades.“The team should be given an award, not beat up!” says the former government official. “This is what we want. This is exactly what we want to achieve.”Riddles in the DarkLike JWST, Roman sees the universe in infrared light—which means that it can spot very old, very faraway objects whose light has stretched into longer, redder infrared wavelengths as it has traversed the expanse. One of the mission’s primary scientific goals is to gather the multitude of observations we need to understand dark energy, the mysterious force that is causing the universe to balloon outward.“Roman has the sensitivity we need to understand what’s going on with the 70 percent of the universe that we don’t understand, which is dark energy,” Spergel says.Crucially, recent results from other surveys suggest that this still mysterious dark energy, whose force is seemingly pushing galaxies apart at an accelerating rate, might surprisingly weaken over time. And Roman is designed to be complementary to the European Space Agency’s Euclid telescope, which makes similar observations at visible wavelengths, and the U.S.’s powerful, ground-based Vera C. Rubin Observatory, which is coming online later this year in Chile. “These are not missions that do the same thing,” says Henk Hoekstra, an astronomer at Leiden University in the Netherlands, who studies dark energy. “We have this strange universe—would you trust a single result and build our whole understanding of the universe on just this one measurement?” Another Roman instrument—a starlight-blocking coronagraph—is a key prototype for NASA’s next major astrophysics flagship mission, the Habitable Worlds Observatory. That space telescope will look for signs of life in the atmospheres of faraway, habitable planets. Zeroing out Roman would mean losing all the information we’d get from that tech demo. And observers say the cut would also erode current and future astrophysics. Plus, pulling the plug on Roman would not only erode expertise; it would also damage international collaborations. For those to work, Hoekstra says, international partners need to trust that “people can’t just suddenly turn off the tap and say, ‘We’re not going to do this.’”Many of the budget’s proposed cancellations do exactly that.“Why do we even plan on doing great things if, on a whim, we can just decide ‘nah’?” the senior space scientist says. “These things take a generation to build and enable multiple generations of scientists. They should not be blithely thrown away.”

As layoffs continue to scar the video game industry, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle proves the value of keeping dev teams together for decades Ancient institutional knowledge is what enables the greatest games ever made. Image credit: Bethesda Feature by Jeremy Peel Contributor Published on April 18, 2025 If MachineGames is to be believed, the basement level of the Vatican is exempt from the strict Catholic doctrine that dominates the jurisdiction of the Holy See above ground. It's down there that you'll find the temples dedicated to faiths that sort of resemble Christianity if you squint a bit and turn your head on your side. And the underground boxing ring set up by Mussolini's plundering soldiers, who'll only let you in if you're wearing one of their infamous black shirts. The latter is an early test of your ability to get to grips with Indiana Jones and the Great Circle's fistfighting system. It's faster than you expect it's going to be, is the thing: both Indy's blows and those in response flying like boulders at terminal velocity. Dodging will get you so far, but don't expect your opponent to keep their arms at their sides while you're pummelling them in the face. To find an advantage, you'll need to block and parry, using both hands rather than sticking to the right trigger, and grabbing hold of your target when they stumble - either to get more hits in, or shove them toward the baying crowd. Baying being the key term. The core Indiana Jones development team first made a name for themselves back in 2004 with The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay. That was a kind of first-person prison drama, about ingratiating yourself with fellow cons, instigating riots and stealing keycards, all in an effort to break yourself out of a triple-max security facility on a barren planet. Guns were a rarity - most of them registered to the DNA of the guard holding them, and so useless to you - and Butcher Bay was celebrated as perhaps the only successful example of hand-to-hand combat in an FPS at the time. In fact, FPS felt like a reductive term for this bold mixture of pugilism, stealth, adventure and conversation. Watch on YouTube The Riddick team went on to make The Darkness, to similar acclaim, and most of its key names either founded MachineGames or joined it later. Their entries in the Wolfenstein canon are notable not only for dual-wielding shootouts, but for the deep characterisation of BJ Blazkowicz and his found family at the Kreisau Circle, as well as the memorable non-combat sequences that brought the player within intimate proximity of detestable villains like Deathshead and Frau Engel. MachineGames perfected a knack for blending b-movie absurdity with real storytelling chops, growing braver with each new project over a decade and a half. Which brings us to Indiana Jones, MachineGames' opus. A game every bit as varied as Butcher Bay, if not more so; which boasts gunplay and action as slick as Wolfenstein's, but doesn't rely on it; that couldn't possibly have been made without the shared trust and creative shorthand that exists between a team who know each other as well as they know themselves. The punch-ups under the Vatican are a microcosmic demonstration of that team's journey: their long commitment to immersive first-person adventure, and the extraordinary ways in which their creative talent has amplified over time. The ideas that once fuelled Butcher Bay are transformed by a level of fidelity and polish that produces thudding impacts, grimacing faces and flying helmets. The sounds of skirmish are cleverly sequenced, signalling subtly to the player whether or not their blows are connecting. This is a Michelin Star standard of pretend punching, enabled by a team which has stayed together and worked wonders as a result. Look at the top-rated games of the last few years, and you'll notice that many of them also benefitted from this kind of rolling snowball of experience. Baldur's Gate 3 couldn't have redefined the western RPG had Larian not been layering its systems over the triumphs of the Divinity: Original Sin games. And Original Sin would never have happened were it not for the stubbornness of Larian boss Swen Vincke and his Belgian veterans. They've been riding out the ups and downs of their genre since before the millennium, and are only now seeing the fruits of that devotion. Would Baldur's Gate 3 have even been possible from a new stuido? | Image credit: Larian But the act of keeping teams together, which has always been a challenge in the volatile tech space, has become almost impossible in today's games industry. Since the soaring player numbers that followed the pandemic, game makers have endured a painful contraction. A common developer mantra of "survive til '25" now looks grimly quaint and naive, as a dry period of investment in video games continues unabated. Thousands of accomplished projects fight for player attention every year, and it's exceedingly common for studios to close after, or even before, the release of their debut games. The margin for error has become invisible to the naked eye, leaving even seasoned teams with little chance to course correct. It's a landscape in which the likes of Arkane Austin can be shut down after a single disappointing game, Redfall, seemingly mangled by a publisher push for multiplayer. The hivemind that produced Prey and Dishonored has been disassembled forever. The impact of that instability hasn't necessarily hit us as players yet. We're currently in the enviable position of cherry-picking from an unprecedented stream of five-star releases. Over time though, if publishers don't start to value institutional knowledge over short-term boosts to their share price, I suspect that top tier of releases - the Indiana Joneses, the Baldur's Gate 3s - will cease to occur. More developers will waste their time establishing new studios, filling out forms, designing logos, and repeating the mistakes of the dead studios before them. Newcomers to the industry won't benefit from the teaching of practiced programming or art or level design teams - because those teams will have been scattered to the winds. Building the kind of momentum that MachineGames has? That will become an impossibility. When Obsidian recently said that it plans to reach its 100th birthday as a studio by staying lean and making sensible bets, the plan sounded strange and radical. But it shouldn't. This is the way we get the greatest games ever made: by supporting studios and publishers who reject zero-sum projects; who do everything in their power to keep their creative staff together and look after one another. The best possible outcome, for developers and players alike, would be a Great Circle of 100-year-old game studios that spans the globe.

You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games here Star Wars is one of the biggest franchises of all time, which is why it should’ve been a guaranteed success for Ubisoft. However, despite being set in the galaxy far, far away, Star Wars Outlaws was a huge disappointment. Ubisoft have worked a lot to make the game significantly better, and now PS5 gamers can play three hours of Star Wars Outlaws for free ahead of its DLC release. How to play Star Wars Outlaws free on PS5 PS5 gamers can play three hours of Star Wars Outlaws for free on PS5 by downloading the newly added demo from the PSN store, as announced by Ubisoft. According to Insider Gaming, the demo is “approximately 30 GB in size”. If you didn’t play Star Wars Outlaws before due to middling reviews and impressions, then now is the perfect time to give it a shot. Granted, three hours isn’t much when the game can take tens of hours to beat, but it will let you briefly experience the characters and set up to the story, as well as briefly explore the first open-world planet. Ubisoft have also made a lot of improvements to the game’s performance, as well as made changes to the gameplay and required stealth sections since launch. In addition to the demo, Ubisoft has deals available on the PSN store for both the Deluxe and Gold editions. Below are the prices and what each edition contains via PSN store: Deluxe edition – £44.99 (50% off £88.99) – exp. April 24th Sabacc Shark bundle Rogue Infiltrator bundle Digital art book Upcoming cosmetic bundle Gold edition – £52.99 (50% off £104.99) – exp. April 24th Season Pass If you’re going to buy either edition, we’d definitely recommend the Gold so you get the Season Pass. Ubisoft has shown gameplay of the game’s first DLC expansion story, A Pirate’s Fortune, and it is set to come out on May 15th. In other gaming news, PS Plus players claim to be “cancelling” in waves following even more price increases. Related Topics Subscribe to our newsletters! By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime. Share

All products featured on Architectural Digest are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.Putting up walls can be a good thing. That is, if you’re talking about retaining wall ideas in your landscape design. “At the basic level, a retaining wall is a structure that holds or retains soil behind it,” explains Joe Raboine, director of Belgard Residential Hardscapes, an outdoor hardscapes company. “Though retaining walls are most commonly used to create a functional area out of a sloped terrain, they do serve other functions.”You might think that retaining wall ideas are all about function—after all, retaining walls prevent soil erosion and reduce the risk of flooding—but they are not all utility; these structures can enhance an outdoor space by creating levels, evening out a hillside, and even using pavers to produce a pathway. “They can also be used to create topographic interest or create smaller features, such as raised garden beds,” says Collin Koonce, director of landscape architecture and urban planning at BKV Group, a holistic architectural design firm, based in Washington, D.C. These builds can even double as seats or corral all your backyard greenery in a neat landscape.Aesthetically, a retaining wall can turn an unworkable incline on the land into usable, uniformed surfaces, notes Mauricio Lobeira, Monterrey, Mexico–based architect, interior designer and cofounder of Ten Plus Three. “Many retaining walls end up as garden or terrace backdrops,” he adds.What’s more, creating a retaining wall can boost the value of your house. “Flatter and uniformed surfaces are more expensive than steep ones,” Lobeira says. “Steep surfaces almost always have to have some sort of intervention in one way or another.” Retaining wall materials include concrete blocks, bricks, wall stones, railroad ties, or treated timbers, all of which offer plenty of hardscaping options that suit your house. Here, 52 creative retaining wall ideas that are a step above the rest.In this articleNatural rock retaining wall ideas​Natural rock is a popular retaining wall material thanks to its versatility and the easy way it blends into landscapes. Below, ideas for using rock and stone in retaining walls.Use rocks of varying sizes for a natural lookRetaining walls—cottagecore style. Photo: John Elk IIIUse rocks and boulders of various sizes to to create a retaining wall that blends into the natural environment. A woodsy yard with access to nature is a shoe-in for this rustic elevation.Consider sheets of natural stoneNatural stone imperfections give the retaining wall a surrealistic spin. Photo: jorgeantonioNatural stone retaining walls can be a slightly more expensive option compared to other materials like wood, for example, but they’re durable and create a timeless look. “The placement, pattern and repetition of natural stones and bricks can create a contemporary look,” Lobeira says. Stone options like granite and limestone give off a traditional aesthetic.Boulders offer a jagged lookStone by stone: Big boulders give landscaping organic structure. Photo: TimAbramowitzFor a rugged look, consider a retaining wall made from large boulders. In some cases, they can be less expensive compared to other options and complement a more rustic backyard. One of the biggest advantages of boulder walls is that they offer natural drainage.Make steps out of stoneSlate makes for sleek steps. Photo: Beau Lark/Corbis/VCGConsider a retaining wall that incorporates oversized stone steps into the design. Flagstone, bluestone, and fieldstone are all popular choices among homeowners. Premium materials, such as slate or granite, add panache.Create a rock wall gardenYou don’t need to move mountains to have a rock garden. Photo: peng songTraditionally, rock gardens include a hearty collection of rocks (obviously) and alpine plants, which are plants that grow in a mountain climate above tree lines. If you opt for a rock retaining wall, consider including these types of plants in the design to emulate a mountainous garden. Popular alpine plants include Primula, Dianthus, and thyme.Soften harsh edges with greeneryCascading greenery softens the harshness of retaining walls. Photo: Greg ThomasYou can also opt to let both greenery and flowers ‘spill over’ a rock retaining wall for additional visual interest, such as in this stone structure by Eden Garden Design. This will create a cascading effect that adds movement to the overall design and softens the stone’s rugged edges.Dress up the driveway with a retaining wall along the sidesA little retaining wall can go a long way. Photo: SiriGronskarUse a rocky retaining wall along your driveway to help keep your car’s path free from debris and create a formal entryway onto your property.Cacti offer a southwest feel to natural stoneA spiky surprise. Photo: RiverNorthPhotographyConsider planting cacti along a rocky retaining wall for a little southwestern flair. Organ pipe or candelabra cacti make great yard options, although it’s important to keep your region’s weather in mind as these plants generally like warmer climates.Adorn a retaining wall with a flower designJust because you’re using natural rock doesn’t mean you have to stick to purely organic motifs. Photo: Neil Landino Jr.Though this garden retaining wall was necessary for privacy, Janice Parker, founder of Janice Parker Landscape Architects, found ways to spice it up by creating shapes with the rocks, which were inspired by motifs in the surrounding landscape. “Find ways to work these shapes or motifs into your garden—in the surface paving with patterns and shapes, in the furniture, in the gates and fencing—you will find a way to express them,” she says.Carve out a focal pointPhoto: Archetype PhotoCurb appeal doesn’t stop with your front door. Just take this Pennsylvania home designed by Lauren Thomsen Design. Located on top of a hill, it’s visible from a lower vantage point, making the roof overhangs, exposed beams, and the ceiling plane prominent in the design. “The retaining walls counterbalance the top of the home and add structure and importance to the ground plane as well,” says Thomsen. The stone retaining walls create terraced vertical gardens and carve usable space into the hill to form a flat area for a pool—all while adding visual interest at any angle.Cheap retaining wall ideasRetaining walls don’t need to be expensive. The following ideas may work well in a budget-conscious project.Mix retaining wall materialsMix and match to give your outdoor space texture. Photo: valeriysurujiuCan’t decide between retaining wall materials? Use more than one. This also gives you a chance to minimize costs by buying less of an expensive material—like stone—and combining it with more of a budget friendly choice, like concrete.Gabion walls provide quality and affordabilityGabion walls were used as reinforcement for centuries. Photo: hadot“The most affordable way to retain soil might be a gabion wall,” says Arthur Furman, a cofounder of Side Angle Side in Austin. “This is simply a decorative wire mesh cage filled with stones or gravel.” (The name comes from the Italian word gabbione which means “big cage.) This affordable retaining wall idea can be a DIY project or handled by a professional.Use concrete blocksA light palette plays well with greenery. Photo: Nancy C. RossConcrete blocks are among the most affordable option for retaining walls. For a warm and welcoming design idea, such as a patio hugged in greenery, consider a cream-colored block—a nice middle ground between edgy grey concrete and natural stone.Brick retaining walls add classic charmStacked brick and right angles give landscaping order. Photo: grafartBrick is generally considered a mid-level material for a retaining wall—it’s usually priced less than stone but more than concrete. Price aside, a brick retaining wall adds classic charm to both front and backyard landscaping. Choose between traditional red brick (well suited for colonial-style homes) or a natural stone retaining wall that may look good with a craftsman exterior.Small retaining wall ideas​Large retaining walls aren’t the only to incorporate this landscaping feature. You can also use a smaller version to create a raised garden bed, highlight a section of your yard, or create dimension throughout your green space.Vertical sleepers for small retaining wallsBigger isn’t always better: Use vertical sleepers for separation. Photo: Tatiana TerekhinaIf you like the look of wood retaining walls, use vertical sleepers to create a small, fence-like wall—perfect for separating garden areas from the rest of the yard. Play around with different heights to add visual movement to the wall structure.Pair short retaining walls with prairie or native plantsUse the retaining wall as a pedestal for your native plants. Photo: Catto32A short stacked-stone retaining wall is the perfect complement for a prairie or native plant garden. Native plants have a distinctly wild look, so pairing them with natural stone creates more realistic imagery and a low-maintenance design.Steel retaining walls add a rustic lookYou can’t have rustic without rust. Photo: beekeepxA short steel retaining walls offer a distinct look to a project, and the rust color from the materials can add an extra pop to a garden. In some ways, this landscaping idea embodies a farm or agricultural setting where steel barns and tractors are common. For this reason, steel retaining walls may look good if you like farmhouse-style decor.Center a retaining wall around a treeThink of it as a giant tree planter. Photo: Andrija DobrasBuilding retaining walls isn’t necessarily the easiest DIY project, but if you’re eager to make one yourself, consider crafting a small retaining wall around a tree. (See more DIY retaining wall ideas below). Use it to hold soil at the base so you’ve got ample room to plant flowers and greenery.Unify different areas with a retaining wallShort stacks create just the right amount of separation. Photo: Katarzyna BialasiewiczA small retaining wall that encircles different areas of your yard can help unify the space into a coherent whole. In this yard, the open-ended retaining wall distinguishes the shrubs, while spilling into the gravel of the patio for an easy transition.Install a mini retaining wall in a cornerProp it up. Photo: EyeWolfElevation changes, big or small, can make a big difference in your landscape design. Adding a wee retaining wall to a yard that may not technically need one makes a statement and creates visual interest.Keep it minimalA teeny lift creates an impactful facade. Photo: U. J. AlexanderUse a short retaining wall to accent the subtle contours of your lawn in a classy, minimalistic way. Using rocks or other natural materials may help the wall blend seamlessly into the lawn.Transform a forgotten areaMake a natural retaining wall in an overlooked area. Photo: Greg ThomasThat dirt area that currently serves no purpose in your yard could be the perfect base for a short, natural retaining wall. “What was once an unsightly dirt ditch has been transformed into a vibrant habitat for butterflies, significantly enhancing the curb appeal of the property,” says Amy Hovis, partner-owner of Eden Garden Design, a women-led landscape design and build studio. Sedges are known for their resilience in shady, wet environments, making them a good option to strategically drape over a difficult terrain.Conceal the wall with ivyIvy and other similar plants can disguise a retaining wall. Photo: Greg ThomasIf a retaining wall isn’t what you envisioned for your backyard, don’t fret—you can still employ the functional design without sacrificing your desired aesthetic. Eden Garden Design often covers walls with fig ivy as a solution to this common design conundrum, explains Hovis. This works well on small retaining walls, seen here, but could also function on a taller one.Match a small retaining wall to your home’sA painted brick retaining wall mirrors the home’s facade. Photo: Rebecca McAlpin PhotographyAnother way to camouflage a small retaining wall is to match it to the exterior of your home. In this New Jersey home, a retaining wall is essential both to protect from potential storm surges and enhance overall curb appeal. “Instead of a long, steep staircase to elevate the home, tiered retaining walls create a series of elegant, gradual steps, blending purpose with design,” says Stephanie Kraus, principal designer of Stephanie Kraus Designs, adding that the brick wall was painted Dove White. “Beyond its functional role, the wall adds visual interest, curb appeal, and seamlessly integrates with the home’s classic aesthetic,” she says.Frame a flower bedThese retaining walls serve double duty as flower beds too. Photo: Bjorg MagneaSmall retaining walls can also function as planters. In this Sagaponack, New York, home, concrete walls showcase hydrangeas and accentuate the transition between the upper and lower levels of the yard. “This softens the grade change and adds vibrant color to the landscape,” says designer Philip J. Consalvo, principal of PJCArchitecture.Retaining wall ideas for sloped backyard​​Retaining walls are often used in sloped yards to create more functional space. The below ideas will help you make a slanted lawn.Concrete retaining wall with flower bedsLayered flora adds natural texture to soften the stone. Photo: laughingmangoFor a sleek design, look to a concrete retaining wall with built-in flower beds. The juxtaposition of industrial concrete and verdant flora adds a wow factor to a front yard. “Adding ornamental plants to the finished wall also embraces its natural surroundings,” Lobeira, the Monterrey, Mexico–based architect, says.Incorporate steps in the designMosaic stones step up the design. Photo: FotosearchSince retaining walls are often used in sloped areas to transform that part of the yard into usable space, consider adding steps to your retaining wall for easy access to the different levels of your yard.Light up for a glowLine the path with lanterns. Photo: romasetMood lighting is a surefire way to bring in a wow factor to your wall. Not only do lights work as safety mechanisms—especially important in a sloped area—they also add ambiance to your outdoor space. Keep in mind it’s easier to run electrical lines at installation as opposed to adding lights later. Talk to your contractor about light design upfront.Highlight the curves in your yardSinuous walls add interest. Photo: beekeepxConsider using retaining walls to create a sculptural element and turn your yard into a modern art piece. Accentuate the curves of your sloped lawn to spice up a basic plot.Create a deliberate contrastDelineate garden sections with a retaining wall. Photo: JenniferPhotographyImaging/Getty ImagesUse retaining walls in a sloped area to delineate different garden sections, suggests Hovis, the Eden Garden Design co-owner. This deliberate contrast highlights the botanical design and can be used to showcase different grasses and flowers. Whimsical accessories such as a birdbath can soften to the overall environment.Integrate a natural environmentPick materials for your retaining wall that will match the aesthetic of your home. Photo: Stock Studios PhotographyA retaining wall can turn an otherwise steep slope into lush usable space. “The retaining walls helped the overall design concept, which was to integrate the house into the natural slope of the site and its wooded environment,” says Consalvo, the principal of PJCArchitecture. To further integrate the environment, use natural materials such as oak and mixed hardwood. “The ties, the siding, and the woods all harmonize together, creating a seamless composition,” Consalvo adds.Use a strong concrete base for taller wallsPhoto: Scott ShigleyThe architecture and landscaping of this three-acre wooded, lakeside residence were designed in unison due to its almost 50-foot grade change. “The goal was to maximize views from the residence into the woodland and toward the water while creating seamless interior-exterior space,” says John Evans, partner at Hoerr Schaudt. A tall wall requires a strong base material such as concrete, while visually interesting stonework can soften its appearance and cascading plants minimize its surface area. “Aesthetics are critical, but make sure the walls are thoughtfully designed from a performance perspective—they need to be not only beautiful, but also functional, of course,” adds Evans.Carve out a new pathConnect different levels with a retaining wall. Photo: Matthew MillmanA retaining wall can also be used to connect terrains of different levels. For example, design meets function in this high-performance LEED Platinum house in Tiburon, California. “Looking for a solution to the problem of entering the house on a steep site, the design team literally bridged the gap between the sloped terrain and the interior of the house [with a concrete retaining wall]—resulting in a suspended outdoor room that gracefully connects the inside and outside,” explains Federico Engel, managing principal at Butler Armsden Architects.Wood retaining wall ideas​​Wood is an inexpensive and easily accessible material for retaining walls. Below, creative ways to put timber to use.Opt for blackClassic black elevates backyard design. Photo: sassy1902An all-black retaining wall recedes into the background, yet looks striking. The sleek hue works wonders for a landscape that benefits from a high-contrast, modern design.Treat wood to extend its longevityA timber retaining wall hugging a flower bed. Photo: John Keeble“Wood is an inexpensive and common choice for a retaining wall,” Raboine, the director of Belgard Residential Hardscapes, says. Since wood is an organic material, expect it to have a shorter lifespan compared to solid options like stone. You can extend the longevity of wood retaining walls by opting for pressure-treated wood and using a wood preservative. However, just be careful with planting too close to the wall as the chemicals in treated wood can harm flowers and greenery.Don’t ditch the white picket fenceA white picket fence and brick: An unexpected pairing that works. Photo: SteveLukerEven if you have a sloped lawn that could benefit from a retaining wall, you don’t necessarily need to compromise your dream of having a white picket fence out front, too. Layering materials is one of those ingenious privacy fence ideas that often gets overlooked. Add a white picket fence—or any wooden fence for that matter—on top of the retaining wall, then plant bright flowers and shrubs for that classic look.Lush greenery in wicker creates a cottage feelWicker retaining walls add indubitable charm. Photo: fotolinchenUse lush greenery, or even plant a lettuce garden, to create a cottage-like feel with wicker-style retaining walls that add to the charm. Other ways to create a fairytale backyard include stacked worn rocks paired with moss and native flowers.Backyard retaining wall ideasThese backyard retaining wall ideas will help you make the most of your outdoor space.Seamlessly blend the indoor and outdoor living areasHarmonious materials between the indoor and outdoor space creates a harmonious connection. Photo: Sharon RisedorphExpand your usable living space with a retaining wall that extends out of your home for a seamless indoor-outdoor area. Choosing the right materials is key, explains says Duan Tran, partner at KAA Design, an architecture and landscape design firm based in California. On this hillside property, poured-in-place board-form concrete walls create an outdoor terrace. “Simultaneously, these same walls permeate and extend into the home as indoor walls that further blur the indoor-outdoor material transitions one would usually see,” he says. “Additionally, other materials including flooring and wood siding also transition seamlessly between both worlds, allowing the home and outdoor elements to feel as one.”Create an entrywayA doorway adds another functional touch. Photo: Cathryn GallacherAnother way to make a retaining wall more functional is to include a doorway in the design. Either carve out an opening or add a rustic door to allow easy access between spaces. Frame the entrance with greenery for an added touch of whimsy in your garden.Include a modern fire pitCircle around a fire pit. Photo: Inti St. ClairTo get the most functionality out of every square foot of your backyard, double up the retaining wall’s purpose with a cozy fire pit. Think of it as a sunken, outside sitting room for year-round entertaining. Los Angeles landscape architect Patricia Benner, principal at Benner Landscape Design, stacked a stone wall that becomes a built-in stone seating area. “It has a nice, organic flow and makes the seating feel integrated with its surroundings,” she says.Add wall seatingInterior designer Mauricio Lobeira knows when fashion meets function: a retaining wall that’s also a concrete bench. Photo: Stephen KarlischIncorporating seating into your retaining wall design gives the structure utility beyond beauty. “The retaining wall’s function is vital,” Lobeira says of this retaining wall that is also a built-in concrete bench. These natural stone seating platforms are particularly welcome in smaller backyards.Flowing design ups the anteCascading water echoes thorough the backyard for a soothing effect. Photo: imagewerksA fountain, or another water feature, makes the retaining wall dynamic. Usually, water flows from a spillway inside the wall into a basin below. It is then recirculated back into the spillway.Stack tiered retaining wallsThink of tiered retaining walls as giant steps. Photo: ArtBoyMBTiered retaining walls are fantastic ways to dress up a hill or slope in your yard and make the space more usable. Walls like these also create greater possibilities for your garden design, opening up plenty of usable space for plantings.Expand patio space with a retaining wallThe retaining wall creates a natural border. Photo: irina88wSimilarly, you can use a retaining wall to reinforce or expand your patio area. Consider adding elements like a fire pit, outdoor kitchen, or Adirondack chairs to maximize the usable space.Create an infinity-edge lawnInfinity edge lawns help divide areas. Photo: Greg ThomasThis steel retaining wall creates an infinity-edge lawn and divides the backyard into two areas, the more formal lawn and the more natural, unmaintained area of the property, explains Hovis. “One lesson here is that framing is everything,” she says. “That sweet steel edge frames the lawn perfectly so that everything beyond it can be more alive and natural.”Contrast your retaining wall against a tree lineThe variance between the sharp angles and organic branches create a yin-yang dynamic. Photo: Wade SteelmanCreate contrast between your hardscape elements and the natural elements in your yard by pairing a retaining wall directly in front of a line of lush evergreen trees.Shrubs add a formal lookVariegated shrubs along a retaining wall add interest. Photo: Mark HerreidFans of a well-manicured, formal garden might like planting sculpted shrubs along their retaining walls. They add a welcome texture to the lawn and an air of luxury.Fountains add a peaceful elementThe retaining wall and fountain create a soothing spot. Photo: kasipatUse the retaining wall as an extension for a fountain or a water feature. Contrasting colors bring life to the yard, while the soothing sound of water creates ambiance for a calming outdoor garden.Frame a poolA retaining doesn't only have to support plants. Photo: Joe FletcherIf you have a backyard with different elevations, consider using a retaining wall to hold up a pool, such as in this design by Butler Armsden Architects. Framing your pool with a modern retaining wall will create a contrast between the natural and man-made elements of your yard.Create a property divideA retaining wall adds privacy. Photo: Paul CostelloIf your backyard is actually more of a side yard, a strategically placed retaining wall can maximize your property. This narrow bayfront lot, designed by Marshall Paetzel Landscape Architecture and Kramer + deConciliis Architecture, feels like a hidden oasis thanks to a retaining wall with a board-formed concrete finish and integrated path lights.Enclose an outdoor kitchenA retaining wall with a kitchen is an ideal hosting location. Photo: Niel Landino Jr.A retaining wall designates an outdoor living area, creating space to tuck away an outdoor kitchen or bar. In this backyard, designers Cullman & Kravis fit the bar to the space with storage, a refrigerator, a serving area, and lighting for use at night. “The wall is built with a ‘random rectangular’ pattern, creating interest with variations of color and texture,” adds landscape designer Parker, the founder of Janice Parker Landscape Architects, of the decision to use locally sourced natural fieldstone and granite.Add a modern touch with steelCorten creates a modern vibe. Photo: Chase DanielCorten weathering steel gives a retaining wall a modern look while shrubs blend the landscape and architecture. “The wall is used here as a planter to soften the hardscape and establish the entry courtyard and motor court,” says James LaRue, principal of LaRue Architects. This retaining wall also makes it easier to enter the Austin home, which sits on a sloped terrain.Combine function and style with stuccoStucco contrasts beautifully against Photo: Side Angle SideStucco isn’t just about adding durability, it can also lighten a landscape design and create deliberate contrast amongst greenery. “We used a skim coat, so you can sort of make out the grid of the stacked blocks within, but you could use a three-coat stucco on lathe to achieve an even more uniform, monolithic look,” says Furman, the cofounders of Side Angle Side, who designed this retaining wall with other co-founder Annie Laurie Grabiel. The pair chose a retaining wall design with reinforced CMU blocks, while slightly above-ground pool harmonizes with the walls.Do it yourself retaining wall ideasThese tips, tricks, and ideas will get you started if you plan to build a retaining wall yourself.Pick DIY materials wiselyLarge boulder may be preferable to other DIY materials. Photo: strickke/Getty ImagesWhen DIYing a retaining wall to your landscaping, it important to know what not to do. “I strongly recommend steering clear of rubber landscape edging or off-the-shelf steel edging, as they often detract from the landscape’s aesthetic appeal,” says Hovis. If you’re tackling the project yourself, she says to opt for large landscape boulders instead of smaller ones or wood timbers. “They maintain a higher visual standard,” she adds.Determine height based on the wall’s surroundingsConsider scale when planning a retaining wall. Photo: Sharon RisedorphWhen designing a retaining wall, it’s also crucial to consider height, especially in relation to nearby structures and vegetation. “This ensures that the wall blends harmoniously with its surroundings, maintaining a balanced and visually appealing composition,” says Tran, the partner at KAA Design. “Scaling the wall appropriately also plays a key role in creating a relatable human scale within the space.” A wall that’s too tall can overpower its surrounding environment and distract from its beauty. A successfully scaled retaining wall should enhance a space—not overwhelm it.Line up concrete plantersA series of concrete planters works like a retaining wall. Photo: BespalyiConsider crafting a retaining wall out of concrete planters. Use ridges to trick the eye into thinking that the series of planters is one elongated piece. The mix of natural and artificial elements is sure to make the scene pop.Adorn a retaining wall with a vertical planterHang vibrant bucket planters to dress up an ordinary retaining wall. Photo: diverroyFor an easy retaining wall DIY that doesn’t involve building the wall itself, consider creating a vertical garden. Stacked stone walls or block retaining walls make good choices for vertical gardens as they have plenty of nooks to tuck plants into. If you plan to create a vertical garden retaining wall, consider how much sun you expect the wall to get and be sure to integrate an irrigation system.Add drooping flowersFlowers are a delicate base to any wall. Photo: colimachonFor another simple DIY, plant drooping or “spiller” flowers near the edge of your retaining wall for stunning, cascading imagery. Consider including plants like moss phlox, creeping thyme, or rock cress.Embrace cascading greeneryThink of cascading greenery as a retaining wall accessory. Photo: SantaGigIf you don’t like the bright colors of flowers, you could incorporate cascading greenery instead. Plants like silver fall Dichondra, Delosperma cooperi ‘Ice Plant,’ trailing rosemary, or Lotus berthelotii make a great choice and a vibrant addition to a neutral-colored wall.Choose arid climate plants for low-maintenance greeneryNo fuss plants pair well with pebble-covered retaining walls. Photo: Chipper HatterIf you like the idea of dressing up your retaining wall but aren’t as confident in flower and plant-tending skills, try planting succulents on and around your retaining wall. Succulents like agave, Dudleya, and aloe are some of the best low-maintenance landscaping options.DIY concrete bag retaining wallConcrete bags sound uncouth, but the final retaining wall reveal is stellar. To make concrete, you typically have to mix cement with water and aggregates, put it into a mold, and let it dry and set. Generally, this is an integral step when making retaining wall blocks. However, this retaining wall idea challenges that entire idea. Bags of dry cement are piled together like blocks to build the wall, and then the entire structure is thoroughly sprayed with water from a hose. Once it sets, the bags are either burned or ripped off, leaving you with bag-shaped concrete blocks.Paint a retaining wall muralUnleash your inner artist with a retaining wall mural inspired by your backyard. Photo: BasieB and CrotographyHire a pro artist, or pick up a set of brushes yourself to reinvent a concrete retaining wall by painting a mural on it. Look for concrete paint or

Image: Nintendo LifeWith the announcement that the Switch 2 requires a new type of microSD card, the microSD Express, it seems that stockists are beginning to have some issues keeping up with Nintendo fan demand. You should have known we were a frenzied bunch of gamers! Yes, as reported by the fine folks over at Tom's Hardware, news from Japan indicates a huge surge in the popularity of this faster variant of SD card. Retailer Hermitage Akihabara announced on its website that it was selling 337 microSD Express cards per hour before running out of stock, as an example of the increase in demand for a card that previously hasn't seen anywhere near these sorts of sales figures. The article says (via Google Translate) that "the next shipment is still undecided, and even if it does arrive, the price will probably be quite high." Indeed, whilst those figures seem pretty crazy, online retailers and stores seem to be keeping up with demand in the main, and purchases being recorded appear to be legit buyers picking up one or two cards for personal use, rather than scalpers purchasing wholesale numbers. Phew! You can also relax, a little at least, if you ordered your Switch 2 in Europe via invite through your official Nintendo account when they dropped emails last week, as you already have a limited-to-one-per-customer 256GB microSD Express available to pre-order at your leisure. Images: Hermitage Akihabara, Nintendo Of course, the Express version isn't a new format, but it is more expensive than regular microSD cards thanks to faster speeds and lower power consumption - a factor that's critical for Switch 2's improved performance. All of this excitement certainly points to a console that's primed to do some serious numbers when it releases, and it's giving us a nice warm feeling inside to know that so many are out there are getting prepped for some next-gen Nintendo magic. Here's hoping it lives up to expectations. Have you nabbed a microSD card yet? What size did you go for? Let us know in the comments! The chosen few Your old Switch cards won't work, it's time for an upgrade [source gdm.or.jp, via tomshardware.com] See Also Share:0 0 PJ is a staff writer across Pure Xbox and Nintendo Life. He's been playing video games pretty much nonstop since the early 1980s, and enjoys boring people with tedious stories about how long ago that really is. Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment... Related Articles Round Up: The First Impressions Of Donkey Kong Bananza Are In He's finally back... Round Up: The First Impressions Of 'Drag x Drive' For Switch 2 Are In "A showcase for dual-mouse mode" Gallery: Here's Switch 2 Compared To (Almost) Every Other Handheld ...including the Steam Deck EA Reveals Price For Split Fiction On Switch 2 Pre-orders opening soon

Netflix is building a new search experience aimed at improving the discovery experience, and it’s going to use AI to do it, the company’s CEO Greg Peters said during its first-quarter results conference call. Peters said Netflix is working on “interactive search that’s based on generative technologies” to help people find different titles. Answering an analyst’s question, Peters said the company’s most popular titles that dominate popular conversation draw 1% of traffic, and because of this trend, improving discovery and recommendation is important to the company. “There is more room to improve the discovery and recommendation experience, and therefore provide more value for members, and therefore find the biggest audiences for our titles,” he said. Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported that Netflix has been testing OpenAI-powered search with select customers in Australia and New Zealand. The company, which also started testing a new home page design on its TV app that brought a new way to display show titles and descriptions, plans to roll it out widely later this year. “This [Homepage redesign] is something that we hadn’t made big structural changes to in over a decade. We believe that this will significantly improve Netflix’s discovery experience. We’ve been polishing and improving that experience based on the input we got from members who used it,” Peters noted. The company said first-quarter revenue rose 12.5% to $10.54 billion from a year earlier.

The legendary director Tsui Hark returns with Legends of the Condor Heroes: The Gallants, a martial arts epic brought to life with stunning visual effects by Dexter Studios in Seoul. Witness the battle for Xiangyang like never before! © Vincent Frei – The Art of VFX – 2025 The post Legends of the Condor Heroes – The Gallants: VFX Breakdown by Dexter Studios appeared first on The Art of VFX.

John Taggart/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesWindows 10 is about to expire.In less than six months, Microsoft's most successful operating system release ever will reach its end-of-support date. Like Monty Python's Norwegian Blue, it will be pushing up the daisies. It will have shuffled off its mortal coil, run down the curtain, and joined the bleedin' choir invisible! Also: How to upgrade your 'incompatible' Windows 10 PC to Windows 11 nowHow is this even possible? It feels like only yesterday, but in fact, Windows 10 was officially released to the public nearly a decade ago, in July 2015. Following on the heels of the ill-fated Windows 8, it became an unqualified success among consumers and business customers alike. And it's continued to be insanely popular more than three years after the release of its successor, Windows 11.That's good news, right? Well, not exactly. Microsoft has a big challenge on its hands in the run-up to that end-of-support date: convincing its enormous installed base to leave their beloved Windows 10 behind and make the move to its successor operating system, Windows 11. To complicate things, they've departed radically from the normal upgrade rules.Also: Microsoft at 50: Its incredible rise, 15 lost years, and stunning comeback - in 4 chartsI wrote the original version of this post in July 2023, when that end date was more than two years in the future, and I've been revisiting the topic regularly to help answer some burning questions. When does Windows 10 support end? Like every version of Windows in the modern era, Windows 10 adheres to a 10-year support lifecycle. That means most Windows 10 editions -- Home, Pro, Pro Workstation, Enterprise, and Education -- will reach their end-of-support date on Oct. 14, 2025. (For the nerdy details on how that date is calculated, see "When will Microsoft end support for your version of Windows or Office?")So, what happens when that day arrives? Nothing. Seriously, absolutely nothing happens on that date. PCs running Windows 10 will continue to work just as they always have, and they will do so indefinitely.Also: Windows 10 PC can't be upgraded? You have 5 options and 6 months to take actionFrom that date forward, however, those PCs will no longer receive security fixes through Windows Update unless their owners pay Microsoft for an Extended Security Updates (ESU) subscription. On Windows 10 PCs without an ESU subscription, any security flaws found from that day forward will remain unpatched, making those PCs increasingly vulnerable to online attacks.There is at least one exception to this cutoff date, which applies to PCs running Windows 10 Enterprise Long Term Servicing editions. In all, Microsoft has released four of these editions. The 2015 Long Term Servicing Branch (LTSB) ends support on Oct. 14, 2025, along with the editions described earlier. The 2016 LTSB release ends support a year later, on Oct. 13, 2026. Beginning in 2019, the name changed to Long Term Servicing Channel (LTSC). For Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2019, the end date is Jan. 9, 2029.Confusingly, Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2021 has only a five-year support lifecycle, which means it ends support on Jan. 12, 2027. Show more How many PCs are running Windows 10 today? If anyone tells you they know the answer to this one, maybe stop listening to them?Microsoft can probably make a solid estimate based on its telemetry, but the rest of us are forced to guess based on fragmentary third-party metrics.Also: There's a quiet PC boom happening - thanks to Windows 10 and the tariffsOne of the sources I have relied on over the years is the US government's Digital Analytics Program (DAP), which has a well-organized repository of information about traffic to official websites run by agencies like the Postal Service, the National Institutes of Health, the National Weather Service, the IRS, and NASA.I've been checking that source regularly over the past few years. When I visited DAP at the beginning of April 2025, I retrieved 90 days' worth of data, covering billions of visits to those websites from people using Windows computers, Macs, and mobile devices from all around the world. Here's what the data told me when I filtered it to show only visits from PCs running Windows 10 and Windows 11: Show more Windows 11 has steadily overtaken Windows 10 in visits to U.S. government websites as the deadline approaches.  DAP/ZDNETThat's a big improvement over an eight-month period. Last August, visits from PCs running Windows 10 significantly outpaced those from Windows 11. (In case you're curious, other versions of Windows represent a trivial share of visits, being outnumbered by every alternative desktop platform, including ChromeOS.) But if you extrapolate those numbers to the worldwide population of Windows PCs, you can see the problem. Over the past eight months, about 1.6% of Windows 10 PCs have been replaced by Windows 11 PCs each month. At that pace, about 35% of those 1.4 billion devices will still be running Windows 10 when October 2025 rolls around, and many of them have no supported upgrade path. Also: Windows 10 PC can't be upgraded? You have 5 options and 6 months to take actionFor people who are concerned about the security of the internet at large, that thought is -- well, let's call it unnerving. Another widely used measure of web traffic, StatCounter, offers its own estimates of traffic from PCs running Microsoft Windows. If you believe their charts, about 54% of PCs worldwide are still running Windows 10 as of April 2025. Now, I have my issues with StatCounter's metrics, a topic I have recently discussed at length. I think the StatCounter numbers probably overcount the number of Windows 10 PCs, but they do confirm the general conclusion that there will be a large number of unsupported PCs at the end of 2025. How many PCs will be running Windows 10 at the end of 2025? That's the real question, isn't it?Despite predictions of the imminent demise of the PC market, OEMs continue to sell more than 200 million new Windows computers each year. The most optimistic scenario is that every one of those new PCs sold in the next year replaces a Windows 10 device that is then retired, with another 100 million or so older PCs replaced by Chromebooks, iPads, and Macs. Maybe some old PCs are simply put out to pasture and not replaced at all, as consumers decide to use their phones or tablets instead. The prospect of large tariffs on PCs manufactured in China and sold in the US complicates the equation considerably.Also: Can't quit Windows 10? You can pay Microsoft for updates after October, or try these alternativesIf the shift to Windows 11 continues at its current rate, as measured by the DAP data, roughly 35% of PCs will still be running Windows 10 in October 2025. That adds up to more than 500 million PCs that will be running an outdated, unsupported operating system at the end of the year.I suspect that pace will accelerate significantly, especially in enterprise deployments that have been planning for this transition for the past few years and will be executing on those plans before the end of 2025. Even at that accelerated pace, though, it will still mean hundreds of millions of PCs will be running Windows 10 when the end-of-support date rolls around. Yikes.Who owns those PCs?Those who don't qualify for an automatic upgrade. Some people own older hardware that doesn't meet the minimum hardware compatibility standards for Windows 11. Basically, that means any PC that was designed in 2018 or earlier. Note that this category includes many budget PCs that used older designs and unsupported CPUs but were sold as new in 2019 and 2020.Corporate PCs that are standardized on Windows 10. A nontrivial number of enterprise IT managers aren't ready to go through a wholesale Windows 11 migration. Many of them will use the normal upgrade cycle to perform that migration over time, and they have the option to pay for Windows 10 upgrades for up to three years after the end-of-support date.Windows 10 diehards. From my time spent reading support forums, I know there's a large population of longtime Windows users who are unhappy about the changes in Windows 11. Some of them will reluctantly upgrade, but others won't. Show more Will Microsoft extend the support deadline for Windows 10? I know some people are convinced this is a possibility, and there's precedent for it in the experience of Windows XP, which ended support in April 2014, more than 12 years after it was first released. Windows XP users even received emergency security updates well after that official end date, to address the WannaCry vulnerability in 2017 and a similar flaw in 2019. Likewise, Microsoft issued emergency security updates for Windows 7 in 2021 after its support had officially ended.Of course, in both cases, the customers running the soon-to-be-obsolete Windows version had the option to upgrade to a new version. Indeed, that's the recommendation from Microsoft's official Product End of Support page:Once a product reaches the end of support, or a service retires, there will be no new security updates, non-security updates, or assisted support. Customers are encouraged to migrate to the latest version of the product or service.Also: Can you still get a Windows 10 upgrade for free in 2025? Short answer: MaybeFor Windows 10, though, that alternative might not be available. Devices that don't meet the hardware compatibility requirements will have no Microsoft-supported migration path to a newer version. As I pointed out the last time I looked at this issue, the owners of those perfectly functional PCs -- some only five or six years old -- will instead have the following options:Install a non-Microsoft operating system. Maybe 2026 will be the year when desktop Linux finally takes hold, although that's unlikely. ChromeOS Flex might be another option, but it has its own hardware compatibility requirements that probably make it unsuitable for older hardware.Ignore Microsoft's warnings and upgrade to Windows 11 anyway. There are options to install Windows 11 on "incompatible" hardware, but they require a fair amount of technical experience. People who are clinging to old PCs because they can't afford a new one likely don't have those specialized skills and may not even realize that the option is available. I doubt that many businesses would be willing to risk the support issues that come with that approach.Keep running Windows 10 and hope for the best. History suggests that this is the most likely option.Nothing in the company's behavior over the past year suggests they have any plans to extend the support deadline for Windows 10.Microsoft and its OEM partners would prefer that the owners of those devices dump them in a landfill and buy a new PC running Windows 11. However, my experience with PC owners, especially older people on a fixed income, is that they will use those devices until they stop working. Those PCs will be sitting ducks for a cyberattack like WannaCry, which was brutally effective against the large population of Windows 7 PCs that were still in use three years after its support ended.That incident was a PR nightmare for Microsoft, and a repeat would be even more devastating to the company's reputation. That's why Microsoft has offered paid options to extend support for Windows 10 by three years. Customers in enterprise and education deployments are likely to take advantage of those options.Consumers have the option to pay for updates for a year. I predict that few will do so. After that? Well, you're on your own. Show more This article was originally published in July 2023. The most recent update was in April 2025.Get the morning's top stories in your inbox each day with our Tech Today newsletter.Windows

I think we all knew this was coming, but the upcoming summer of Marvel Rivals is arriving with twist. It's resurrected the Marvel Swimsuit Special.