submitted by /u/ControlCAD [link] [comments]

html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd" In China, the world’s largest and most advanced electric vehicle market, Tesla‘s image has shifted from pioneering innovator to conservative player. According to data from the China Passenger Car Association, Tesla’s wholesale sales in China dropped 21.8% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2025, while retail sales remained essentially flat compared to last year. This performance stands in stark contrast to Tesla’s main Chinese competitor, BYD, which achieved an 18.8% growth rate during the same period. Sales staff under unprecedented pressure Tesla salespeople, who interact most directly with consumers, are feeling the mounting pressure. Multiple Tesla sales representatives told reporters they have abandoned mid-week breaks in favor of working seven days a week, with daily shifts running from 9 AM to 10 PM – nearly 13 hours per day. “The days when we didn’t need to work hard to introduce products and orders would ‘automatically’ arrive are gone forever,” said one salesperson who has decided to leave Tesla. According to Tesla sales staff in Beijing, the current performance standard requires closing at least one sale daily, translating to approximately 30 vehicles monthly. However, many salespeople struggle to sell even 3-4 cars weekly, despite continuously tracking potential customer activity and persuasively promoting the vehicles. High turnover and harsh evaluation standards The intense work environment has led to unprecedented turnover rates. At one Beijing store, the entire sales team is replaced approximately every month and a half, compared to every three months previously. New sales recruits face a brutal onboarding process – they must master product knowledge within three days while undergoing daily recitation checks. By day four, they’re expected to close deals or potentially face dismissal. “This system essentially screens through rigorous evaluation – only those capable of quickly closing sales can stay,” explained one insider. Market and product challenges Industry observers attribute Tesla’s struggles in China to a limited and aging product line that has struggled to keep pace with the rapid innovation from Chinese automakers like BYD. The refreshed Model Y introduced earlier this year provided some sales momentum, but failed to return Tesla to its former market-leading position. Recent promotional policies for the refreshed Model Y, including three-year zero-interest financing, reflect the company’s efforts to stimulate demand. A fatal electric vehicle accident in early April has also raised safety concerns among potential customers, with sales staff reporting that “mechanical unlock buttons and battery safety” have become top concerns for shoppers. Strategic response and future outlook Tesla may be preparing a strategic response. According to industry reports, Tesla’s China team is developing a new vehicle – essentially a lower-priced version of the Model Y. If the current refreshed Model Y underperforms, this more affordable variant could launch in the second half of this year. The Chinese market’s importance to Tesla continues to grow. In Q1, Tesla’s retail sales in China reached 134,600 units, representing nearly 40% of its global sales. As Tesla faces challenges in other markets, including a 62.2% sales decline in Germany, securing Chinese consumers’ favor has become increasingly crucial for the company’s global strategy. Source: Jiemian Recommended for you Most important news in your inbox. Weekly.We’ll send you a weekly summary in your e-mail. No spam. Unsubscribe with one click.Thank you! Your submission has been received!Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form. Follow us for ev updates Tesla China

2XKSlow 2XKO concerns spike following the conclusion of its second alpha test due to a worrying discovery: the game is slow Players were overjoyed to play Alpha Lab 2, but the swerve away from aggressive play seems to have had an unexpected side effect. Image credit: Riot Games News by Connor Makar Staff Writer Published on April 22, 2025 The Alpha Lab 2 test for 2XKO is over, leaving plenty of feedback and data for the development team to mull over. They'll be lessons learned regarding the ranked lobbies, Jinx of course, and the two new fuses. But there's been one takeaway from the test that seems especially important going forward: the game seems very slow, especially at a high level. Following changes made to 2XKO's gameplay to make overwhelming agression a little less strong, courtesy of more defensive options as well as shorter combo length, matches of 2XKO absolutely felt longer than they were previously. This, on top of a 2v2 tag game with a default first-to-three format, has led to ample examples of matches ending in timeouts. One every now and again isn't too big a deal, but too many? You've got a pacing problem. To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Perhaps one of the most extreme examples of this in play comes from Tampa Never Sleeps, an esports event management company which runs various tournaments for all manner of games. TNS ran a 2XKO tournament during Alpha Lab 2 where players could show off their skills live on Twitch. The grand finales of this tournament, a set between players Inzem and Wade, lasted roughly 47 minutes. Now, that's two best-of-three matches back-to-back, but still an indicator of how long these games can go especially at a competitive level. How did we get here? Well, during the Alpha Lab 1 test, a common experience (especially among those unfamilar with fighting games) was one of struggle. Facing off against those with better fundamental knowledge or pre-existing skills in the genre, and getting wiped out by long, highly damaging combos. In response, the 2XKO team at Riot Games opted to counteract with defensive additions. For example, health recovery on champions on the bench was increased rather drastically. The idea was that, if you can hold your own for a while, you second champion can recover substantial health allowing for a better chance of a comeback. However, it seems as though the pendulum of video game balance may have swung too far in the opposite direction. I would say that the idea of making things less overwhelming was the right call, no one wants new players to get dunked on by some FGC veteran and uninstall the game, but as it stands with Alpha Lab 2, swift defeats have been swapped out for lengthy - dare I say tiresome - matches. It's worth noting that Alpha Lab 2 is, well, a test! This feedback will have been seen by the team, a team that has proven its worth in terms of responding to concerns raised by its early community. With the game set to show up at Evo 2025 later this year, maybe we'll get a peak at further adjustments following Alpha Lab 2. My opinion? Let them cook a little. The game may be due to come out this year, but it's not here yet, which means there's ample time to tweak things a little. What do you think? Let us know below, as well as what changes you'd like to see!

Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube809k After four hours spent playing as many games as they could at the Switch 2 Experience held in London, the beautiful brains over at Digital Foundry have weighed in on a whole bunch of interesting aspects of the upcoming console. You can check out the full article and video over at Eurogamer as it goes into more detail, but the overall impression from the experts is that Nintendo has positioned itself very well, with what DF calls a "future-looking" console. Breaking down the most salient points, DF starts by praising a design that remains as thin as the OG Switch whilst bigger overall, meaning it feels less cumbersome than they had expected. There's also praise for the new LCD screen, although it's not all positives in this regard. Whilst a big upgrade over the Switch 1, compared to an OLED, it's still inferior: "the screen is honestly beautiful, and while it struggles to match the contrast of the Switch OLED, it's very bright and vibrant. Viewing angles are also excellent at even the extremes. For HDR content, such as Cyberpunk's dark areas with vibrant neon signs, HDR is noticeable - but for those hoping for an experience akin to the Steam Deck OLED, Switch 2 does fall short..." Onto the games and, as expected, Nintendo magic surfaces in first-party titles. Mario Kart World sounds every bit the system-seller expected, with much-improved visuals, textures, surfaces, lighting, models and animations. The game also runs at a confirmed 1440p and locked 60fps. Image: Nintendo Digital Foundry notes the event demos will obviously have been cherry-picked to be as impressive as possible in this regard, but there's no reason to assume performance will degrade with the open world or more players. Metroid Prime: Beyond impressed with its 120fps mode, which DF says is locked at 120fps/1080p. Whether people will choose this over a 4K/60fps for normal play on a big TV, it's hard to say (following our hands-on time with the game, we're erring towards the higher resolution), but it's certainly impressive that a slightly better-looking version of the Switch 1 game can run well with such a meaningful increase to FPS. Images: Nintendo In the end, Donkey Kong Bananza was the one Nintendo game that DF seemed less bananas about, overall. With a resolution of 1080p — understandable when you've got a rampaging gorilla on-screen — the game is undoubtedly ambitious in its destructive environs, but as pointed out: "Bananza targets 60 frames per second, but it's not quite consistent - especially on the map view, where performance ping-pongs rapidly between 30fps and 60fps: classic double-buffer v-sync. Also, there seem to be different frame-rates in gameplay. The target is 60fps, but there are noticeable drops." On to third party stuff and, as expected, the picture is more complex here. DF says adjust your expectations for PS4 quality, with some exceptions to the rule, and that what they've played thus far confirms this. Street Fighter 6 is one game we're very excited about on Switch 2, and they come away impressed from its demo as it holds a solid 60fps and, even though visuals have been trimmed in places, there are rumours that textures may be higher than those found on the Xbox Series S version. "It renders at 1080p based on Direct footage (much like PS4 and Series S versions) and with a similar drop in shadow quality as those versions too...Textures may be higher than Series S – based on online murmuring – but this is something we'll have to report back on with direct capture from Switch 2." Meanwhile, Hogwarts Legacy runs at 30fps, even when zooming around on a broom with full draw distances, and Yakuza 0 is a "visual match" for its PS4 counterpart (that's one hell of a good-looking game, then). Images: Capcom, SEGA Overall, then, Digital Foundry has come away impressed. Nintendo Switch 2, they say, is a winning continuation of the Switch formula, a console that's guaranteed top-notch first-party games, whilst dealing well with third-party ports and the "impossible ports" that became a signature of its predecessor. Lastly, there's praise for Nintendo's shrewd alliance with Nvidia, a partnership that DF reckons will bear fruit going forward: "Nintendo has a hardware partner capable of delivering hardware with cutting-edge features - and I get the sense that we're only just beginning to see what the T239 processor is capable of." Everything is looking pretty great so far, then, and we can't wait to see how DF feels once they've had time enough with the console to give us the full technical lowdown. In the meantime, you should make sure to check out our full Switch 2 coverage, which includes guides to every aspect of the console, including those all-new mouse controls and Joy-Con, and lots more info on the screen upgrade. Has Digital Foundry's hands-on got you even more pumped for the Switch 2? Let us know! We'll soon be playing with power Beyond expectations 2 takes [source eurogamer.net] 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 Switch 2's Backwards Compatibility List Provides Updates On Two Titles Here's what you can expect Nintendo Switch 2 US Pre-Orders Start 24th April, System & Launch Game Pricing Unchanged But accessories "experience price adjustments" in the US Feature: "It's Huge For Us" - Devs Talk Switch 2 Reactions, Dev-Kit Disparity, Future Plans What devs make of Switch 2

Image: EA SportsIt has been a long old time since we've seen a Madden game on a Nintendo system (you have to go right back to the Wii U's Madden NFL 13 to find the last one, in fact), but this week, that all could change. As reported by VGC, the rumour mill has started a-churning about this year's entry in the American football series, suggesting that a release date will be revealed this week. Normally, this wouldn't interest us Nintendo fans, but let's not forget that EA has promised the series is heading to Switch 2. Might Madden NFL 26 finally be the entry we see back on Nintendo systems? The rumour comes from Dealabs writer billbil-kun, a known leaker who has reliably shared game information ahead of release dates. The leaker states that Madden NFL 26 will be revealed this week and will come with a 14th August release date — with select editions unlocking sooner via early access bonuses. The reveal and release date add up (Madden games tend to launch in mid-August), but where things become a bit muddy is whether this NFL 26 will be the same Madden game we see on Switch 2. billbil-kun confesses that it's unclear whether Switch 2 will land the yearly series release or a console-specific title, so we'll have to stay tuned for more details there. Honestly, it could go either way for us Switch 2 hopefuls. The upcoming console simply landing the same yearly edition as everywhere else makes the most sense on a surface level, but EA has previously stated that its Switch 2 support includes sports games "built specifically for the new handheld". Whether that means the studio is working closely with the console's specs or if Switch 2 will land something completely different to its contemporaries remains to be seen, but if this latest rumour is to be believed, we shouldn't have to wait too long until we find out. Details thin on the ground, however "We look forward to sharing more soon" What are you hoping for from Madden on Switch 2? Throw it over to the comments and let us know. [source dealabs.com, via videogameschronicle.com] Related Games See Also Share:0 2 Jim came to Nintendo Life in 2022 and, despite his insistence that The Minish Cap is the best Zelda game and his unwavering love for the Star Wars prequels (yes, really), he has continued to write news and features on the site ever since. Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment... Related Articles Paul Rudd Returns In An Awesome SNES-Style Switch 2 Commercial Super together! Nintendo Removes Variable Refresh Rate TV Mention On Switch 2 Websites Updated descriptions in US, Canada, Japan and Europe EA Reveals Price For Split Fiction On Switch 2 Pre-orders opening soon Gallery: These 'Lunar Remastered Collection' Goodies Remind Us Of The Good Old Days When the moon hits your eye...

Retail giant Marks & Spencer has confirmed a cybersecurity incident, as customers report ongoing disruption and outages. The British-headquartered retailer on Tuesday told customers in a notice, which TechCrunch has seen, that the company has been “managing a cyber incident” over the last few days. The notice, signed by chief executive Stuart Machin, said it was necessary to make operational changes “to protect [customers] and the business.” The company said its stores remain open and its website and app are operating normally. It is not immediately clear what the nature of the cyberattack is, or if customer data has been affected. A Marks & Spencer spokesperson did not immediately comment when reached by TechCrunch. In a filing with the London Stock Exchange, Marks & Spencer said it had engaged external cybersecurity experts to investigate the incident, and also notified data protection authorities. One customer told TechCrunch that in-store payment card terminals were not working. Several other customers reported on social media similar outages at various outlets and disruption to order pick-ups. In response to one customer on X, Marks & Spencer said it was “working hard to resolve some technical issues in our stores.” Marks & Spencer claims it serves 32 million customers every year, per its 2024 annual report.

Delta SkyMiles members in the United States can now start earning points when they ride with Uber or order delivery through Uber Eats as part of a recently announced exclusive partnership between the two companies.  The tie-up with Delta is designed to further align the ride-hail giant with airport travel, which has historically been a lucrative segment for Uber. The ride-hailing company also announced plans Tuesday to expand its new affordable Airport Shuttle product to Atlanta after successful launches in New York City.  Uber’s airport plays come at a time when market uncertainty, lower consumer confidence, and increased border scrutiny are leading many Americans to pull back on travel spending this year.  Perhaps such uncertainty means that now, more than ever, price-savvy customers have to find ways to game the system. Uber customers who joined the waitlist will be able to link their accounts starting Tuesday, and everyone else can start Thursday. Here’s how Uber users with Delta SkyMiles memberships can rack up miles once they’ve linked their accounts: Uber Eats: 1 mile per dollar spent on orders above $40. Airport Rides: 1 mile per dollar spent on UberX rides to and from airports.  Premium Rides: 2 miles per dollar spent on Uber Comfort or Uber Black.  Uber Reserve: 3 miles per dollar spent on Ubers booked in advance. Uber riders can’t stack up miles by reserving an airport ride, but an Uber spokesperson said the customer will get SkyMiles from the trip that yields the highest reward. Aside from the ability to rack up miles, Uber and Delta are integrating in other ways. Customers who buy a flight using the Fly Delta app will be able to tack on an Uber Reserve booking so they can reserve their ride to and from the airport. And later this year, SkyMiles Members who log into WiFi on their flights will receive an offer of 30% off to book an Uber for pickup when they land. 

Breakdown & Showreels M. Son of the Century: VFX Breakdown by EDI Effetti Digitali Italiani By Vincent Frei - 22/04/2025 Behind the scenes of power and propaganda. Italian VFX studio EDI Effetti Digitali Italiani brings history to life in M. Son of the Century, capturing the rise of Mussolini with haunting realism and period-perfect visuals! WANT TO KNOW MORE?EDI Effetti Digitali Italiani: Dedicated page about M. Son of the Century on EDI Effetti Digitali Italiani website. © Vincent Frei – The Art of VFX – 2025

The Walt Disney Concert Hall | © Linda Pomerantz Zhang, Unsplash User The Walt Disney Concert Hall, completed in 2003 and designed by Frank Gehry, is not only a seminal work within the architect’s career but also a pivotal moment in the architectural and cultural evolution of downtown Los Angeles. Situated at the intersection of artistic ambition and civic identity, the building synthesizes formal innovation with technical precision, exemplifying the complex negotiations required in public cultural architecture. Walt Disney Concert Hall Technical Information Architects1-14: Frank Gehry (Gehry Partners, LLP) Location: 111 South Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, California, USA Client: Los Angeles Music Center / Los Angeles Philharmonic Association Area: 27,220 m2 | 293,000 Sq. Ft. Project Year: 1999 – 2003 Photographs: Unsplash Users, See Caption Details I wanted the building to be friendly, to express joy, and to be engaging to the community. – Frank Gehry 15 Walt Disney Concert Hall Photographs © Shiku Wangombe, Unsplash User © Tim Cheung, Unsplash User © Yana Marudova, Unsplash User © Ranjith Alingal, Unsplash User © Linda Pomerantz Zhang, Unsplash User © Venti Views, Unsplash User © Ashim D. Silva, Unsplash User © Sympodius, Flickr User © Tero Saarinen, Flickr User © Michael Muraz, Flickr User © David Chan, Flickr User Contextual Genesis and Urban Insertion The Walt Disney Concert Hall’s genesis lies in the philanthropic gesture of Lillian Disney, who in 1987 donated $50 million toward the creation of a new concert venue for the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Conceived as a civic landmark, the project was intended to reenergize downtown Los Angeles, particularly Bunker Hill, which was then undergoing a slow and fragmented transformation into a cultural corridor. From the outset, the commission was layered with symbolic, functional, and political expectations. Frank Gehry was appointed as lead architect in 1988 following a competition process. His early conceptual models, characterized by abstract sculptural forms and an insistence on spatial fluidity, were met with skepticism by some selection committee members. Gehry’s commitment to design integrity, often perceived as oppositional to donor preferences, led to a protracted design process marked by tension and financial recalibration. Nevertheless, the project persisted through over a decade of delays, when Gehry’s reputation expanded globally, most notably with the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. The siting of the Concert Hall was both strategic and symbolic. Adjacent to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and perched atop Grand Avenue, the project engages with its urban surroundings through ramps, terraces, and gardens that blur the boundary between architecture and public space. Gehry’s approach resisted creating a closed monument, instead fostering permeability through a carefully modulated sequence of exterior and interior experiences. Formal Language and Material Expression The Concert Hall is often identified with the vocabulary of architectural deconstruction. Still, its formal language is more accurately understood as an expression of Gehry’s lifelong interrogation of geometry, movement, and tectonic tension. The building’s massing rejects symmetry and static composition, favoring a constellation of fragmented, curling surfaces that seem to emerge organically from the site. These gestures are not arbitrary; they constitute an intentional choreography of form calibrated to both experiential movement and performative requirements. A pivotal design evolution occurred when Gehry abandoned the originally proposed stone cladding in favor of stainless steel. This shift, influenced by budgetary concerns and the desire for greater sculptural fluidity, catalyzed a digital fabrication process involving CATIA software—a tool adapted from the aerospace industry. The reflective metal skin, composed of hundreds of custom-curved panels, captures and disperses light throughout the day, transforming the building into a dynamic object that responds to its environment. In contrast to the exterior’s visual exuberance, the interiors are defined by a restrained material palette and spatial clarity. The lobby and circulation areas are clad in warm Douglas fir and oak, invoking a sense of intimacy and tactile continuity. This deliberate contrast between exterior and interior further underscores Gehry’s dual commitment to expressive form and functional legibility. Walt Disney Concert Hall Acoustic Design Central to the Concert Hall’s architectural ambition is its acoustic performance. Gehry collaborated closely with Yasuhisa Toyota of Nagata Acoustics, whose expertise in concert hall acoustics shaped the auditory conditions and the spatial organization of the auditorium itself. Adopting a “vineyard” configuration—where seating terraces wrap around the stage—was both an acoustic and democratic gesture, fostering a sense of intimacy between musicians and audience. The main hall is defined by a series of suspended hardwood surfaces and ceiling reflectors that precisely shape the auditory environment. Acoustic panels, constructed from multi-layered Douglas fir, simultaneously diffuse and reflect sound, contributing to a natural reverberation that supports a wide range of orchestral dynamics. The acoustics were not merely applied to the architecture; they were generative of it. In addition to the primary auditorium, the building includes rehearsal spaces and smaller venues with equally rigorous acoustic detailing. These spaces were designed flexibly, accommodating everything from full orchestral rehearsals to community events. Post-occupancy adjustments were made to address minor acoustic challenges, a testament to the building’s ongoing calibration between design intent and real-world performance. Critical Reception and Architectural Legacy Upon opening, the Walt Disney Concert Hall was lauded for its architectural audacity and acoustic excellence. Yet its critical reception extended beyond aesthetics or function—it became a symbol of architectural perseverance and civic reinvention. For Gehry, the project marked a maturation of ideas first explored in earlier residential and institutional works, recontextualized at an urban scale. The building has since been positioned alongside other late-20th-century landmarks—such as the Sydney Opera House and the Pompidou Centre—not only for its formal expressiveness but also for its role in redefining what a cultural institution could look and feel like. Its influence is evident in the wave of performative, sculptural cultural buildings that followed, many of which adopt Gehry’s digital modeling and participatory form-making methods. For contemporary architects, the Walt Disney Concert Hall offers instructive lessons: the importance of sustained dialogue between architect and client; the potential of digital tools to reconcile form and fabrication; and the value of integrating acoustic, material, and spatial strategies from the earliest phases of design. The building remains a case study in architectural authorship—how a singular vision can evolve through resistance, negotiation, and iterative experimentation. Walt Disney Concert Hall Plans Ground Level | © Gehry Partners, LLP Floor Plan | © Gehry Partners, LLP Site Plan | © Gehry Partners, LLP Axonometric View | © Gehry Partners, LLP Walt Disney Concert Hall Image Gallery About Frank Gehry Frank Gehry is a Canadian-American architect renowned for his unconventional and sculptural approach to design, often characterized by fragmented forms, dynamic movement, and innovative material use. A key figure in contemporary architecture, Gehry’s work—from the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao to the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles—challenges traditional notions of structure and aesthetics through his distinctive deconstructivist language and pioneering digital modeling tools. Credits and Additional Notes Lead Architect: Frank Gehry Acoustician: Yasuhisa Toyota, Nagata Acoustics Executive Architect: Gruen Associates (Los Angeles) Structural Engineer: John A. Martin & Associates Mechanical Engineer: Donald F. Dickerson Associates General Contractor: Mortenson Construction Fabrication and Cladding: Zahner Company (metalwork and stainless steel paneling) Software Used: CATIA (adapted from aerospace engineering for digital modeling) Design Initiation: 1988 Construction Period: 1999 – 2003 Inauguration: October 2003 Site Area: Approx. 3.6 acres (14,569 m²) Total Floor Area: Approx. 293,000 sq. ft (27,220 m²) Main Auditorium Capacity: 2,265 seats Cohen, Jean-Louis. Frank Gehry: The Masterpieces. Paris: Cahiers d’Art, 2021. Goldberger, Paul. Building Art: The Life and Work of Frank Gehry. New York: Vintage, 2017.