How Figmas pricing is anti-product-led growthLast month, I paid for Figma for the firsttime.I wrote about the upgrade experience on Medium and showed that the number of paying teams is a big KPI for Figma right now, as well as the average revenue perteam.I got this sense from seeing a whopping eight prompts to upgrade in a single session and seeing a notable increase in the urgency of their upgrade messaging; now its all last file, 0 left, and youre runningout.The prompt I finally gave intoThis monetisation push shows in their numbers too: Figma hit $600 million in annual revenue last year (up 50% from $400M in 2022) and reported a 150% net dollar retention rate (i.e. every $100 spent results in $150 in the future). Well come back to Figmas tactic that boosts their net dollar later...but the TL;DR is that its darkAF.Thoughtful prompts toupgradeFrom a business perspective, these are incredibly attractive numbers.From a user perspective, I didnt feel annoyed about this persistent push topay.It was contextual and relevant to me. I use Figma for so much, I thought: its about time Ipay.And I was happy to pay - I love(d) thebrand.That was until I came to my first billing period where I almost paid 2X what Id just paid for my annual subscription.I also found 5+ examples of dark UX, bad friction by design and a pricing strategy that penalises Figmas core competitive advantage: the ease of collaboration.Ouch.Well walk through my customer journey map and build a picture of how Figmas payment flow and team management flow have degraded the trust I have in thebrand.How their pricing strategy is inherently anti-product-led growth.And why, now Im genuinely considering moving to Canva for all mydesigns.First up, where it all started: the upgradeflow.Initial red flags in Figmas upgradeflowIn June, I got to my last free FigJam file and was tired of deleting oldones.So, I decided toupgrade.I tapped the upgrade now on the module that told me this is your last free file in my top bar navigation, taking me to the pricingpage.And what a busy pricing page itis.Figmas Choose a plan pricing page is overwhelming for a few keyreasons:Theres 9 features listed, some with different details for eachplanTheres 5 prices on there: Dev mode, FigJam, Figma Design (for professional versus organization)The claustrophobic, boxy UI and small uniformfontsIm getting major choice paralysis and information overload hereWhats more, Im just confused.Is it just me or is it odd that 11/mo for a seat Figma Design in the Professional plan is way cheaper than the 40/mo/seat in Organization?The numbers dont seem toscale.The maths isnt mathsing.And even if the maths does make sense: your customers should not have to do maths on your pricing page. This is the job of the UX writing and UIto help the decision-making process.On the topic of UI, on one hand, I understand that boxy, almost-brutalist designs are popular in UX (think Reddit)brutalist UXis:Characterised by minimalist structures and raw materials, this digital design style emphasises simplicity, boldness, and a raw aesthetic.Angele LenglemetzAnd you can see these themes clearly in Figmas pricing flow: boxy modules, a raw look and simpleshapes.However, a pricing page should draw out the most important parts for you, and minimise the extradetail.With Figmas page, the difference between the information hierarchy is minimal, meaning it all feels like detail after detail: its hard to scan and makes me feel like I have to read every singleline.My least favourite (and most important) point, is that this page is in no way personalised for me. Im a consultant. I have no team. Just clients and their teams. So the messaging on professional alienates me: for your and your team. Org-wide libraries are lost onme.Once Im finished the maths and reading homework Figma has set me on this page, I pick the middle option and get to the Adjust seatspage.Where I have to do yet moremaths.Firstly, Im shocked to have gone from my expectation of 3/mo to 204 per year. I also see multiple math formulas 14 reduced to 11 X 1 seat X 12 mo = 168, but then 22%off6 reduced to 3 x 2 seats x 12 months = 120, but then 40%offNo idea where the 14 has come from or why theres 22% off my design seat in the first formula. It is also unclear if this is pre/post taxes based on the micro copy above theCTA.I also have annual selected, so unsure why the X12mo is in the formula (makes me think Im paying monthly).So. Many. Questions.So. Few.Answers.Moreover, I see that my client has been added to my team (hey Max).Whats odd, is that I have many clients, which leaves me questioning why is just one listed. Whats the logic that adds Max and notMaria?Curious.Anyway, I untick Max, and I untick Figma design to get a better total for 1 FigJam seat (all Ineed).By this point, Imtired.This is too much thinking for theuser.The lack of clarity around the numbers on the pricing page starts to erode my trust in Figmas ability to bill me correctly.A better flow would havebeen:Identify my user persona/cohortRecommend a plan formeSuggest I pay annually as itscheaperVery much like Canva, who personalise your paywall and UX flow to yourcohort:With that, theres one decision to make and I feelseen.Perhaps Figma have tested it and it worksbetter.Perhaps the confusion is bydesign.Who knows. A brief moment of joy as I get to the rightpriceI finally get to the review page, where I see a much better and surprisingly good total of43.20.This is a mini magic moment for me where I think: wow, this is socheap.My motivation trends up on my customer empathymap.I think: Such goodvalueOne year of Figma for ~40 (the cost of a meal out in London).Great. Post-payment another moment ofjoyI pay.Success!I even get a post-purchase experience on home, making me feel welcomed toPro.Its a very attractive module.Until you read it and realise the chronic lack of personalisation persists.The joy quicklydwindlesAs I read the module, I find myself becoming more and more alienated.I already know Figma isnt personalised for me as it hasnt got a tier for me (an individual needing more files). After reading the post-payment pop up, this feelinggrows.The copy lets this module down for two mainreasons:There is no personalisation: I havent paid for dev mode, but its listed here (bug perhaps?). I also dont really care about organising my files. I want to deliver for clients and create great workspecifically collaborate in workshops and in my UX review files. I also want secure files to keep my clients designssafe.The language is internal-speak: Files, projects, Dev mode. Theres little in the way of customer desires and pains written in my language.Whats interesting is that some of the messaging from earlier in the funnel really spoke tome:More control over yourfilesManage file permissions, password protectionReview who hasaccessI feel like either a different team has worked on the start of the flow versus the end, or Figma is in the process of improving the flow and theyre starting at the beginning with entrypoints. A clear email confirmationNext, I get a clear email summarising what Ivebought.At this point, Im clear Ive paid for one seat and for a year. All fine anddandy.Done anddusted.I can now get on with my workright.Right?Wrong.Before long, the maths and confusion resume. Going round in circles to find thesettingsAfter 5 years using Figma I still dont get drafts, files, projects, folders and teams (hmu in the comments if you can explain it tome).Figmas project and team set up confuses me to thisday.So, one morning I had a scare about permissions.I saw one client was part of my team and I was worried theyd have access to all projects in that team (i.e. access to other clientsfiles).So, I went to check my permissions settings for my wholeaccount.Or at least thats what I tried todo.I headed to the top left avatar Rosie and tapped settings in the drop downmenu.I hit a dead endno permissions, no billing settings.Back I go to my Figma home and tap the Professional badge, then view settings.After view settings I see a pop up with two tabs, when I tap members tab theres just me listed as part of theTeam.Which makes me relax alittle.Phew, only me with access to thisteam.In the settings tab, I then try to get to billing and find a hyperlink halfway down the page. Theres also a second route there via admin view in the black dropdown.Feels like amaze.And, Im starting to feel this is harder than it should be. Are they hiding my settings from me? Or is this just the results of multiple teams working on one flow? The jury isout.Then, I get to billing page and see a 74 bill waiting for me (almost 2X my annual plan that Ive just paidfor).What?!Mind-boggling. Sneaky seats added to mybillI see that, without notification via email or in the interface, Figma haveadded:3 Designseats5 FigJamseatsAt a total cost of 74 that will be taken in 4 daystime.Despite already confirming its just me in the team (via the first members tab), I head to the second members tab to see 14 peoplelisted.Five of whom Im now payingfor?Im shocked that Figmahas:Hidden the settings in a maze ofUXTold me in one place called members I have 1memberTold me in the second (hidden) place that I have 14membersAdded 5 members to my bill without notifying me via email or in the experienceIm also up against more confusion on this page, where I have to manage their permissions across three areas (team, design and Figjam) and choose between: Full, Viewer, Viewer-restricted (?!).Meaningif we do more mathsI have 42 decisions to make on this page in order to take people off my invoice. If that isnt friction by design I dont know whatis.Not only is this an example of unethical, dark UX, it is also anti-product-led-growth (PLG).One of the core components of PLG is that pricing is self-serve and simple. Its a no brainer to start and continue using the product. Youre also able to seamlessly share with others, who go on to adopt thetool.With Figma, Im charged for sharing and collaborating with others. Im penalised for collaborating.Instead of being rewarded for sharing and demo-ing the tool with 10s of people whove never used Figma before (which happens in my workshops regularly), Im penalised for collaborating withothers.If I have 5 clients each with a team of 10 in my workshops by Figmas logic, I should pay for 50 people. It becomes a very expensive workshop forme.Figmas pricing strategy, whilst adding revenue and resulting in a net revenue retention rate of 150%+, is anti-product led growth as it penalises the very growth-loop that gives Figma its competitive edge: collaboration.So, one-by-one, I meticulously change the 14 peoples access. I have to notify them all to duplicate the workshops, UX reviews and other boards into their files so they canedit.Annoying AF.Also annoying that free users get 3 files that can be collaborated on to an unlimited degree, but this isnt available for paidusers.A quick Google search shows Im not the only one whos experiencing this. According to various threads on Reddit, the dark pricing schemes are impacting not just freelancers, but businesses working with multiple freelancers (i.e. most businesses).one cannot, indeed, collaborate. Reddit threadhereThis is a knownproblem.a shady model indeed zyumbik. Reddit threadhereKnown by some for a while now, at least since this pricing strategy was inplace.And whilst Figma have made it easier to bulk-remove people (select then downgrade), in my eyes it isnt enough. They have also have a setting where you can add people as viewer-restricted bydefault.However a) I only found this out via contacting support and b) thats a poor workshopping experience.The 24hr live sessions also dont help, as I send my work out ahead of time for people to interact with async before our workshops. Which takes over24hrs.Now, each month Im going to have to add check Figma invoice to my admin list before Imbilled.Result?Complete lack of trust inFigmaAnxiety of foretting to un-seatpeopleMonetary cost of forgetting ()Apprehension about workshops with a large number ofpeople= A huge cost of collaboration.Compare this experience to the pricing page ofCanva:Canva is so clear in their seat costs and caps on their paywall. They also give me one decision tomake.Their policies around sharing are also created for the purpose of collaboration. Canva lets you collaborate with guests right away; you share a link that lets anyone edit your design without signing-in.Canvas FAQs aroundsharingIs it more expensive? Yes.Can I run workshops easier with Canva?Yes.Do I trust it more? Hellyes.Whats funny with Figma is that the base cost could just increase (given its so cheap), and instead of paying per collaborator you pay for up to X people, after which people are added. This would reduce anxiety and increase clarity aroundbilling.At the bare minimum be clear about your policies and notify people of invoicechanges.Its sosimple.This is so, so basic, that Im leaning towards the reason being dark UX by design, versus Figmas flow being built by multiple siloedteams.My customer journey in a nutshell Trust takes years to build and minutes to erode. For me, it took 5 years of loving Figma and 30 days of decline into distrust.Heres the customer journey map of how itwent:What have welearned?For me, theres 6 key takeaways from Figmas pricing strategy and monetisation flow:Price in a way that accelerates your value proposition: if collaboration is one of the competitive advantages of your product, price in a way that allows users to do that 10X. Paid users should feel like theyre getting the best deal: i.e. they can collaborate even more. Gating collaboration is a risk to growth, whilst it may bring in short-term revenue.Easy access to settings: as soon as managing users or billing is hidden, distrust rises. You want to show users that you have nothing to hide and you have their interests at heart. Transparency in billing and settings placement within the navigation iskey.Communications around billing: similar to the above point, communication is key. If changes are made to the invoice or subscription, users need to know inadvance.Personalisation: one way to increase retention is to make users feel seen and heard. If Ive paid for a product, only to become alienated with language that doesnt resonate with me, Im more of a churn risk. First understand your users, and then start with small changes to paywall language, payment flow and welcome message to make peoplestick.Expectation management: ensure that prices and numbers you use throughout the payment flow match. If Im promised 3/month and see a 200 bill, Im feel surprised, then confused, then suspicious. We want people to feel confident, assured and clear. So check your promises and manage expectations.UX writing: stop making people do maths throughout your payment flow and instead help them make the right choices. Make the flow feel easy, and calm their fears and anxieties through concise, clear, customer-centric language. Its the simple things that matter themost.Any more? Whatve I missed. Let me know in thecommentsFollow on LinkedIn & Medium for more deep divesFigma and the cost of collaboration was originally published in UX Collective on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The illusion of data as objective conceals that it rarely shows you the whole picture. Making decisions based on the easiest data to gather is a recipe for disaster.Last week, the former CMO of Nike published a rare deep dive into a marketing blunder four years in the making. As a firm believer in taking inspiration from analogous domains, I think there is a great lesson here for Product and UX to takeaway.Why do I think its relevant? Just tell me this doesnt sound familiar:Nike invested billions into something that was less effective but easier to be measured vs something that was more effective but less easy to be measured.On the advice of McKinsey, Nikes new CEO John Donahue decided to pivot to a data-driven approach, reorganizing the company towards digital direct-to-consumer sales and eliminating the former model centered on distinct categories. The allure is easy to recognize, and its the same trap that Boeing and other companies fell into over the preceding years.Coming up with new ideas is difficult and requires specialist knowledge. Moreover, it requires specialist knowledge to understand what those specialists are doing and therefore managethem.Meanwhile, slashing costs works the same way across every industry. And so Nike squared up to eliminate duplicate processes, streamline operations, improve efficiency, and increase productivityall those phrases that are meant to say whatever it is you dodo itharder.This kind of strategy was already a punchline in 1997 (Bellwether, ConnieWillis)How well did it work? Well, that depends on what the intent behind the strategy was. If Donahue intended to lose $25B in market cap and tank the stock price 32%, it was a smashing success. For those of us who dont think thats what he meant to do, it bears reflecting on where he wentwrong.The hard limits ofdataIt is wrong to suppose that if you cant measure it, you cant manage ita costly myth.W. EdwardsDemingData isnt worthless. Data is really, really valuable for telling you what has happened in the past. Great expense has gone into producing data that can tell you whats going on in the present. But as the 7- and 8-figure salaries of quantitative analysts at hedge funds show us, using data to extrapolate what will happen in the future is one of the most challenging things you can try to do withit.Typically, the way one would do that is by harvesting whats called warm datathe qualitative data that gives the numbers their meaningand then using that to tell a story about where the numbers aregoing.Unfortunately, thats not what online advertising does. As Phil Bastien calls out here the most common outcome of advertising data is that if you buy a couch, it must mean that you need morecouches.Phils assertion is easy to validatejust turn off Adblock and see if your experience matches that of the 1100 people who agree with user brain.curiosities onThreadsHuman marketers and merchandisers know thisits why you might see paper towels next to the BBQ sauce or buns and hotdogs together at the store. Humans could enrich you are buying bread with the qualitative data point toppings go on bread to create a delightful shopping experience. But getting dataeven data fed to an AIto do this is much harder than youdthink.Nikes decision to eliminate individual product categorieswho could marshal exactly this kind of expertisein favor of a generic one-size-fits-all data model created a problem that you can probably predict. This model performed the equivalent of handing out flyers for your pizza shop in the pizza shops lobby and signaled the business to reorganize from attracting new customers to pumping more money out of the customers they alreadyhad.The data-driven deathspiralMeasuring the wrong things is a fast path to disaster.JaredSpoolOne might propose that the entire profit motive behind the genre of creative work made up by brand, marketing, and design is to drive behavior change. We enable customers to do something newwhether by informing them that an option exists, or making it more attractive and effective to choose that option overothers.And this is where the trouble starts. Nikes incestuous strategy was bringing in data on existing customersthose whose behavior didnt need changing.This is an extremely common mistake in all kinds of industriesthe most vocal, most frequent, loudest participants in your research are the least representative of the total addressable market. The people who dontor cantuse your product barely show up on theradar.Its tempting to reach for the data thats easy to harvest and satisfy yourself with the online shopping data. Thats exactly what Nike did. As a result, their product priorities rapidly diverged from the kind of things ordinary customers buy, while product with mass appeal rotted in warehouses for lack of places to sell it. And the longer Nike chased these fringe customers, the more ordinary shoppers moved on to a competitors product.Letting data drive you is fixed-mindset thinkingA fetish has been made of quantitative methods and whole laboratories have been devoted to solving, with elaborate statistical machinery, problems which had very slight importance.Gregory Bateson,1944With the benefit of time and distance, its easy to condemn Nike for making this mistake. Its even easier to believe that we can avoid itbecause we would simply pick the right data to follow, instead of the wrongdata.Arrested Development: The One Where MichaelLeavesThe fact of the matter is that this mistake was made by experienced, intelligent professionals who also thought that they were doing the right thing. Its not enough to identify that they were wrong; we need to understand why in that moment, the wrong thing seemed like the best wayforward.And its easy to see how it would be. Nike is still one of the worlds most valuable brands, and chasing whales has worked well for many lesser firms. In an environment as risk-laden as 2020 was, it feels good to lean into your strengths and get a practically-guaranteed 10% (or whatever) bump in yourmetrics.Its also very tempting to close your eyes and pretend that the 10% isnt coming at the cost of larger losses elsewhere, because if you speak up it might be your job thats on the line in the next round of layoffs. It takes a lot of courage and conviction to push back against the dominant narrative. It takes research skills to form an informed hypothesis and business sense to convince people with budgets that it ought to betried.Validating what everyone already believes is far easierbut it adds no value. The value of research doesnt come from elevating people who are already shouting. It comes from finding the people who are not being heard, and adding their voices to the conversation.Then you can make a real data-driven decision: a decision driven by all thedata.Otherwise, the best you can do is commodity-grade decision-making.Nikes $25B blunder shows us the limits of data-driven was originally published in UX Collective on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

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Big news on day five of the Olympics: the Seine was declared safe for swimming. In the world of table tennis, one of those "only at the Olympics" moments happened between the athletes of North and South Korea, and the Internet fell in love with the cheese gymnast. The Seine declared safe for swimmersHopefully, the drama over dangerous levels of E. coli in the Seine has ended forever. After a couple of canceled practiced in the morning, Paris's iconic waterway was declared safe for Olympic competition, allowing both the mens and women's triathlons to be held today. Great Britain's Alex Yee won the individual triathlon gold, coming from behind in the last moments of the race to snatch the gold medal from New Zealand's Hayden Wilde. Hometown boy Leo Bergere won bronze. France's Cassandre Beaugrand took home gold in the women's individual triathlon, followed by Switzerland's Julie Derron and Britains Beth Potter.Athletes from North and South Korea pose for photo Credit: Cyrus Janssen/X Olympic level table tennis is ridiculous. It's impossibly fast to watch, let alone play. Today North Koreas mixed double team of Kim Kum-yong and Ri Jong-sik shocked the world by winning silver after being initially ranked 16. South Koreas team of Lim Jong-hoon and Shin Yu-bin took the bronze, losing to Chinas Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha.But the real drama happened on the podium, when the athletes from the warring nations of South and North Korea met and got together to take an iconic, even historic selfie with each other. Cheese-loving gymnast Giorgia Villa wins silver Credit: Giorgia Villa-Instagram At this year's Olympics, Italy won its first medal in team gymnastics in over 100 years. But the internet was more interested in the cheese. Italian gymnast Giorgia Villa is sponsored by a Parmesan cheese company, so there are tons of pictures on Villa's Instagram of the athlete eating pieces of cheese in the gym, eating pieces of cheese while in a track suit, and joyously throwing pieces of cheese in the air. This is strange and mildly delightful, so the internet reacted with an outpouring of admiration and gawking. And isn't admiration and gawking what the Olympics is about?What to watch on day six: Simone Biles's big dayIf you're into big Olympic events, do not miss gymnastics on day six. Simone Biles is looking for a sixth USA gold in the womens all-around. Her main competition is likely to come from Brazilian Rebeca Andrade, and Biles' teammate and defending Olympic champion Suni Lee. The women's all-around final begins at 12:15 pm ET on August 1. Of course, Biles isn't the only show in Paris. Check out NBC's schedule for a look at more Olympic events.

I've scoured the August releases on Amazon's Prime and FreeVee platforms to find the best new and new-to-streaming, movies and shows, plus a couple of older choices for extra flavor. My must-watch movie of the month is Jackpot!, an Amazon original action-comedy with a an intriguing premise and high-charisma stars John Cena and Awkwafina. I've also got high hopes for season two of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Prime's high-budget, high-fantasy series, and NFL football is back on the menu! (It's pre-season, but we take what we can get.) Jackpot! How's this premise for an action-comedy: California awards a randomly selected person a multi-billion dollar jackpot, but anyone who murders the winner gets to take the money. Now imagine the "lucky" winner is played by Awkwafina and John Cena plays a bodyguard who tries to protect her when the entire city of Los Angeles is trying to knock her off. Does Jackpot! sound good? It sounds good to me. Starts streaming August 15. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,season 2 Internet opinion-havers and fantasy nerds didn't exactly love the first season of Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power, but critics were positive, and a new season means a new chance to tap into that demanding audience's Tolkien-glands. Season 2 of Rings of Powers will have eight episodes that detail Sauron's stab at creating the Rings of Power so he can rule Middle Earth, while heroic underdogs fights to stop himyou know, fantasy shit. Starts streaming August 29.Thursday Night FootballAugust's Thursday Night Football match up between the Indianapolis Colts and Cincinnati Bengals is the opposite of the barn-burner. Both teams had mediocre, 9 and 8 records in 2023 and it's a pre-season game, so it doesn't even count. But on the other hand, it's flipping football! And it's back! (Finally, something to wash the taste of the Olympics out of my mouth.)Starts streaming August 22.One Fast Move Sometimes you want to kick back and watch a rags-to-riches, Rocky-like story about redemption through sport. One Fast Move is that movie. KJ Apa plays Wes Nea, a directionless man who was recently released from prison. With nowhere else to turn, Wes asks his estranged father to help him realize his dream of becoming a professional motorcycle racer.Starts streaming August 8.Batman: Caped Crusader, Season 1 The newest animated iteration of Batman was produced by Matt Reeves, J.J. Abrams, and Bruce Timms, so I have high hopes. Caped Crusader is a family-friendly Batman series, so gather the kids, but that doesn't mean there won't be serious action and thrills as Batman faces off against Clayface, Catwoman, Harley Quinn, and a female version of The Penguin. Starts streaming August 1. Superman 1, 2, 3, 4 and Superman Returns If a new Batman series isn't enough super-heroics for you, in August, Prime is offering the original four Christopher Reeves Superman movies as well as the 2006 series reboot Superman Returns. This is the perfect opportunity to grab some super-popcorn, sit on your super-couch and have an old fashioned super-film festival. Starts streaming August 1.Imitation of Life (1959) Featuring both Lana Turner and Mahalia Jackson, Douglas Sirk's study of the lifelong friendship between a white woman and a black woman is a fearless (for 1959) examination of race, class, alienation, gender and more, told through lush visuals and Sirk's patented ironic-melodrama style. If you haven't seen it, you really should watch Imitation of Life; they really don't make movies like this anymore. Starts streaming August 1. Judy Justice, Season 3 TV judges like Judge Joe Brown, Judge David Young, and Judge Faith come and go, but there's only one Judge Judy Justice, the stalwart queen of grouchy zingers and the ultimate haver of no bullshit. Season 3 of Judy Justice is unlikely to mess with the winning formula, so expect a slew of satisfying (but legally dubious) decisions meted out to the kinds of dipshits you'd expect to see on a daytime courtroom show. Starts streaming on FreeVee August 5.Last month's picksSpace Cadet Remember that episode of The Simpsons where Homer is chosen to fly in a space shuttle mission? Space Cadet is like the training montage made into a fish-out-of-water comedy. It stars Emma Roberts as Tiffany Rex Simpson, a Florida party girl whos always dreamed of being an astronaut. Her background is in bar-hopping instead astrophysics, so she lies on her LinkedIn and gets into NASAs competitive astronaut training program. Surrounded by ambitious PhDs and engineers, Simpson tries to keep up her smart and accomplished ruse long enough to be blasted into space. If you like female-led comedy and jokes about science, Space Cadet might be your favorite movie. Starts streaming July 4.Sausage Party: Foodtopia Based on 2016s CGI feature Sausage Party, Foodtopia details the efforts of sentient hot dogs, bananas, and other foods to create a society where they wont have their heads bitten off just because someone is peckish. Its sure to be packed with the scatological and raunchy humor audiences enjoyed in the original film, so its definitely not for kids. The eight-episode series features the return of voice talent from the original, including Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Michael Cera, David Krumholtz, Edward Norton, Sam Richardson, and Will Forte. If you like your comedy uncut, this might be your new summer show.Tyler Perrys Divorce in Black Prolific writer/director/producer Tyler Perry takes on divorce in this drama starring Meagan Good and Cory Hardrict. Good plays Ava, a bank professional, whose life is upended when her husband (Hardrict) walks out of their home. Shes set on fighting to save her marriage until she uncovers secrets that suggest her husband has a very dark side and sabotaged a past relationship with Avas true soulmate.Starts streaming July 11. The Beekeeper (2024) The Beekeeper should be terrible. The premise makes you picture a slimy producer at a Hollywood development meeting saying, Its John Wickbut with bees! But miraculously, The Beekeeper is not terrible. People like this Jason Statham-led action movie enough that its sitting at 92% audience approval at Rotten Tomatoes. Even finicky critics like The Beekeeper enough for a 71% fresh rating. Its not going to change your life or anything, but it youre looking for a dumb-fun action flick about a British badass who beats everyone up, The Beekeeper is for you.Starts streaming July 2.Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning (2023) In case you haven't heard of him, Tom Cruise is a national treasure and the worlds greatest movie star who does his own stunts even though hes 112 years old. In Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning, Cruise turns his charisma up to 15 million gigawatts in his recurring role of Ethan Hunt, agent of the Impossible Mission Force. The plot has something to do with an evil mastermind trying to take over the world with artificial intelligence or something, but it really doesnt matter. Mission Impossible movies live or die based on the quality and quantity of their over-the-top action set-pieces, and Dead Reckoning over-delivers. It takes action to such ludicrous, even critics like itthe movie has a 96% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.Starts streaming July 25.My Spy The Eternal City (2024) Released in 2020, My Spy is one of a fair number of action/comedies where a tough guy and a little kid become unlikely partners. The sequel explores this rarely-misses formula by reuniting stars Dave Bautista and Chloe Coleman for a feel-good family adventure. It begins with JJ volunteering to chaperone his new daughters choir group on a trip to Rome to perform for the Pope. Things go south when the pair run afoul of International terrorists. Hilarious character actors Ken Jeong and Kristen Schaal return, and are joined by Anna Faris, Craig Robinson, and Flula Borg. Eternal City is full of stars, laughs, and exciting-but-not-distressing actiona perfect summer flick.Starts streaming July 18. Sam Morril: You've Changed Gravel-voiced stand-up Sam Morril takes the stage in a stand-up special where he drops hot takes on everything from the worst person he's ever dated, to the challenges of aging, to the dangers of social media, all delivered in the laid-back style Morril is known for. If you like people making ha-ha jokes at you, Sam Morril: Youve Changed will make you laugh, or at least say heh a few times.Starts streaming July 9. Cirque du Soleil: Without a NetCirque du Soleil, the circus that costs $100, had a rough time during the pandemic lockdownits a cool show and all, but is it worth contracting Covid? Without a Net documents the struggles of Cirque's crew and performers as they dust off the trapeze and harnesses and work toward a grand re-opening in Las Vegas. With that famous the-show-must-go-on ethic driving it, the worlds most high-class circus journeys back from the brink in an inspiring story.Starts streaming July 25Rocky 1-6 If youre looking for a summertime movie binge, consider hitting play on the first five Rocky movies and following the career of the Italian Stallion from his unlikely title fight shot in 1976s Rocky to his brief career as a trainer in 1990s Rocky 5. The Rocky franchise follows an arc as dramatic and erratic as its main characters: It goes from a downbeat beginning about a palooka whose redemption comes through surviving a beating instead of winning a fight, to the over-amped, montage-heavy live-action cartoon Rocky IV, where Rocky KOs Ivan Drago in a battle thats really about America-brand Freedom beating up Communist oppression. Then theres the coda, Rocky V, where Rocky doesnt even box.Starts streaming July 1.Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, and The Good the Bad and the Ugly There are few film franchises better than Sergio Leones Dollars trilogy (Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, The Good the Bad and Ugly), Steely-eyed Clint Eastwood defines cool as a nameless antihero locked in epic struggles against black-hatted adversaries (usually played by Lee Van Cleef) in a mythic version of the The American West. These arent really stories about cowboys as much as legends of Gods from some unfamiliar pantheon. So watch all these movies instead of doing anything else, please.Starts streaming July 1.Evil Dead Rise (2023) 1981s The Evil Dead is one of the best horror movies ever made, but sadly, its only on streaming on AMC+. Prime subscribers get a tasty consolation prize with Evil Dead Rise, a thoroughly enjoyable, suitably bloody, modern addition to the franchise. Evil Dead Rise drops the isolated cabin-in-the-woods location in favor of a deadite invasion in a city. It also features characters that are interesting enough that you might think they exist for reasons other than to be killed and eaten by undead monsters. They dont, of course, because this is an Evil Dead movie. Like all the Evil Dead movies, its a gory, scary, silly, and fun treat for fans of horror mayhem.Starts streaming July 2.

I've pored over Netflix's release schedule to bring you the best movies and TV shows premiering on the service this month. My pick for August's most intriguing new series is Kaos, in which Jeff Goldblum plays Zeus in the modern world. It's such a strange premise, I gotta see how it plays out. I'm already sure that the fourth season of Emily in Paris is going to play excellently. There's also the return of Rob Lowe and his son in season 2 of Unstable, director's cuts of both of Zach Snyder's Rebel Moon movies, and a lot more. Kaos The great Jeff Goldblum leads the cast of Kaos, a strange, dark, comedy series about what might happen if Zeus (Goldblum) and the rest of the Greek pantheon existed in the modern world. If Goldblum playing a track-suited god isn't a big enough reason to give this series a spin, Kaos was created by Charlie Covell, the genius behind The End of the F***ing World.Starts streaming Aug. 29. Emily in Paris, Season 4 Emily Cooper's search for European romance continues for another season of stylish outfits and beautiful scenery. Season four sees Emily traveling from Paris to the majestic French Alps and on to the picturesque piazzas of Rome. That means Emily will have to learn another new language if she hopes to speak to potential Italian suitors. This confection of a series promises just the kind of light entertainment we all need during August's dog days. Starts streaming Aug. 15.Unstable, season 2 Unstable's first season earned fans' loyalty for its mix of family comedy and scathing satire, and now Rob Lowe and his real-life son John Owen Lowe are returning for a second season of workplace comedy. They play fictional father and son Ellis and Jackson Dragon. Ellis is a bio-tech billionaire genius who can't keep his shit together, and his son is the only thing that grounds him, but Jackson just wants to play his flute. If you missed season one, don't sleep on season two. Starts streaming Aug. 2.Rebel Moon Directors Cuts If you can't get enough of Zach Snyders' Rebel Moon movies, the director's cuts might finally slake your endless thirst for Snyder-y space opera. The combined runtime of Rebel Moon Part One: Directors Cut and Rebel Moon Part Two: Directors Cut is six hours and 17 minutesthat's almost two hours of added footage. Expect extra violence, extra sex, and extra-Snyder with these R-rated new edits of the sci-fi epics. Starts streaming Aug. 2.Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie Spongebob Squarepants is an American institution, the pop culture hero we both deserve and need. In this full-length original feature, everyone in Bikini Botton is scooped out of the ocean onto dry land, leaving Spongebob and Sandy Cheeks to travel to Texas to put things to right. Saving Bikini Bottom is the kind of kids' movie that everyone likes, so gather the fam.Starts streaming Aug. 2.Good Girls Guide to Murder This Netflix original series is a modern take on a classic formula: a plucky, precocious teen sets out to solve a mystery. Emma Myers, who you might remember as Wednesday Addams werewolf roommate in Wednesday, plays wannabe detective Pip Fitz-Amobi, a character created by YA novelist Holly Jackson in the book upon which this series is based. If you like Nancy Drew, but feel like it's a little old fashioned, check out A Good Girls Guide to Murder.Starts streaming Aug. 1.Joe Rogan: Burn the Boats Joe Rogan hosts the most popular and influential podcast on earth, a fact that we all have to deal with. But before he hosted podcasts and gross-out reality shows, Rogan was a stand-up, and he's returning to his roots with Burn the Boats, a comedy special that I'm sure lots of people who aren't me will find hilarious. Starts streaming Aug. 3.Secret World of Sound with David Attenborough Sir David Attenborough is 98 years old. The biologist, natural historian, and actual knight's latest joint is a three-episode series that uses cutting edge technology to examine the way animals use sound, whether it's for mating, fighting, feeding, or just chilling out.Starts streaming Aug. 4. The Emoji Movie (2017) While I try to focus on movies that are good (or at least interesting), sometimes you need a little disaster-cinema. Enter, The Emoji Movie. Who thought making a movie about emojis in your smart phone was good idea? How big of a dumptruck full of money did they drive up to convince talented people like T.J. Miller, Patrick Stewart, and Annis Faris to lend their voices to it? Watch and see if you can figure it out. Starts streaming Aug. 8.The Umbrella Academy, season 4 The fourth and final season of Umbrella Academy promises to conclude the story of the Hargreeves siblings battle against the mysterious Keepers. The season begins with our heroes stripped of their powers and separated, leaving each to fend for themselves in a strange new reality. If you're even a little into superheros, don't miss the final season of Umbrella Academy. Starts streaming Aug. 8. Inside the Mind of a Dog Inside the Mind of a Dog is required viewing for all dog parents. Robe Lowe narrates this documentary that asks what's going on inside your dog's head. I'd think the answer would be "literally nothing," but maybe that's just my dog. This documentary features interviews with top canine experts that reveal scientific and emotional insights about our best friends' inner lives.Starts streaming Aug. 9.Matt Rife: Lucid - A Crowd Work Special If you're not familiar with Matt Rife, you haven't been watching viral TikTok videos. Rife has the rare gift of being able to connect directly with his audience to create some of the funniest comedy you've ever heard. Rife is the king of crowd-work and in this special, he's working without a net nothing prepared, just off-the-dome comedy. If you like stand-up at all, don't miss Lucid. Starts streaming Aug. 13.Daughters This Netflix original documentary follows Aubrey, Santana, Raziah, and JaAna, four young girls preparing for a big Daddy Daughter Dance with their incarcerated fathers. The dance is part of an innovative fatherhood program in a Washington, D.C. jail where convicts change from state-issued jumpsuits to semi-formal suits and are given the chance to bond with their children. Starts streaming Aug. 14. Worst Ex Ever This Netflix true crime series was created by the people who brought us Worst Roommate Ever. Like that show, it combines interviews with victims and their loved ones with animated reenactments of terrible domestic situations. If you like "that shit is crazy" style documentary TV, make an appointment with the Worst Ex Ever, but be ready to file a restraining order. Starts streaming Aug. 14.Untold: The Murder of Air McNairOver his 13 seasons in the NFL, Stephen "Air" McNair distinguished himself as one of the great quarterback of all time, even being named MVP in 2003. But soon after his retirement, McNair was gunned down by his girlfriend. This Netflix documentary examines the quarterback's meteoric rise and long career and delves into the troubling questions surrounding his death. Starts streaming Aug.20.Incoming Incoming slaps a new coat of paint on that old cinematic trope of a gaggle of high school nerds trying to be cool and learning something about themselves by going to a rager. But there's a reason these stories keep coming back: They're awesome. Inspired by a real party witnessed by directors Dave and John Chernin, Incoming is packed with up-and-comers like Mason Thames, Ramon Reed, and TikTok star Loren Gray, and it just might be this generation's Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Starts streaming Aug. 23.Terminator Zero, Season 1 This eight-episode anime series based on the classic Terminator franchise features the voices of Timothy Olyphant, Rosario Dawson, Andr Holland, Sonoya Mizuno, and Ann Dowd. Instead of focusing on the characters from the movies, Terminator Zero introduces us to a soldier sent back in time to protect a scientist working on an AI system to combat SkyNet. As you'd probably guess, Skynet's assassin is hot on her heels. Starts streaming Aug. 29.Last month's picksBeverly Hills Cop: Axel F It's been almost 30 years since cop-out-of-water Axel Foley busted bad guys in Beverly Hills, and Eddie Murphy returns to the title role with some world-weariness to add to his panache. Old pals Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and Taggart (John Ashton) are on hand, but there's some new blood too: Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Axel's partner, and Taylour Paige plays his daughter, whose life is in danger until Pop F. comes to save the day. The mixture of action, comedy, and Eddie Murphy worked in the 1980s, but will it in 2024? Watch Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F to find out.Starts streaming July 3.Cobra KaiSeason 6, Part 1 Cobra Kai's mix of 1980s nostalgic meta-comedy, teen soap opera cheese, and martial arts shouldn't work so well, but somehow, the charm of its cast and its breezy, "none of this is important in any way" tone make it a must-binge series. This is the first part of the sixth and supposedly final season for the show, and it sees the members of the Miyagi-Do dojo pondering if and how they will compete in the Sekai Taikaithe world championship of karate." So the plot is whatever, but the original cast are all expected to return to their places in the karate-based alternate universe in which they live, which is reason enough to watch.Starts streaming July 18.Too Hot to Handle The hook of Too Hot to Handle is brilliant: the reality-competition show puts a gaggle of extremely attractive and sexed-up 20-somethings together in an exotic location, makes them sleep in pairs, then penalizes them for hooking upthe only way anyone can win the $250,000 prize is through abstinence. It's dumb reality show spectacle, perfect as a mid-summer guilty pleasure, and I promise I won't tell anyone you watched it all. Starts streaming July 19.The Man with 1000 Kids If you're interested in the future of Humanity, check out docu-series The Man with 1000 Kids. It tells the story of Dutch musician Jonathan Meijer who is accused of fathering hundreds, maybe thousands, of children through sperm donation. If the accusations are true, Meijer's DNA will have more influence on succeeding generations than just about anyone else's on Earth, and he's a super-creepy YouTuber who eats raw meat, stares directly at the sun, and makes absolutely terrible music. Good luck, human race!Starts streaming July 3.Exploding Kittens Based on the popular card game, Exploding Kittens is a cartoon-for-adults in which God and the Devil are sent to Earth in the form of house cats. That's not in the game, but it does capture the oh-so-random tone of the source material. Whether it'll work or not remains to be seen, but producers Mike Judge (King of the Hill, Beavis and Butt-Head) and Greg Daniels (The Office) know something about making comedy, so it's a solid bet. Starts streaming July 1Sprint: The World's Fastest Humans Sprint: the World's Fastest Humans takes us into the world of elite sprinters so we can learn what motivates someone to devote their lives to the pursuit of speed. If you're planning to watch the track and field events at the Olympics later in the month, this is a perfect way to get to know some of the top athletes competing.Starts streaming July 2.Receiver Last summer's Quarterback followed three of the NFL's best quarterbacks; in this summer's Receivers, we learn about the dudes they throw to. This Netflix original documentary series details the 2023 seasons, both on and off the field, of Davante Adams, Justin Jefferson, George Kittle, Deebo Samuels, and Amon-ra Saint Brown, five best-of-the-best players that football fans either totally love or begrudgingly admit are awesome, even though they hate them, depending on their team loyalty. Starts streaming July 10.Back to the Future series Back to the Future is a perfect movie, and the other two entries in the series are alright too. If you have a few rainy days this summer, there are a lot worse ways to spend them than gathering the family and basking in the '80s glow of this trilogy. It still works all these years later. Starts streaming July 1.Lost:Seasons 1-6 (series) Lost's ending was so epically terrible, it's easy to forget that its first few seasons were as good as any prestige television that has ever been producedand it was made before "prestige television" even existed. Co-created by J.J. Abrams, and co-written by Damon Lindelof, Lost features a talented cast that includes Evangeline Lilly, Terry O'Quinn, and Dominic Monaghan, and mind-bending plot that ultimately doesn't make much sense, but it's still a fun trip. Starts streaming July 1.The Boy Next Door (2015) Jennifer Lopez stars in good, old-fashioned domestic thriller The Boy Next Door. She's a teacher who has an affair with her much younger new neighbor, but he turns out to be one of her students, and he's a psycho who sets out to destroy her family and her life. You know the drillit's a potboiler, but with the always charismatic J-Lo at its center.Starts streaming July 16.Simone Biles Rising Gymnast Simone Biles grabbed the world's attention when she withdrew from the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. But the shocking move, partly in response to Biles' mental health concerns, didn't end her career. Biles is back for another go at Olympic glory this year, and Simone Biles Rising details her hard road back to potential greatness at the 2024 Olympics. This docuseries is a pre-Olympics must-watch.Starts streaming July 19Star Trek: Prodigy (Season 2) If you've been looking for a first Star Trek series to watch with your children, Star Trek: Prodigy is for you. The CGI-animated series captures the thoughtful adventure-and-exploration vibe that makes Star Trek great, and does it in a kid-friendly way that isn't adult-unfriendly. The first season of the CGI series earned a 94% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes for taking the dusty franchise in unexpected directions; hopefully season two measures up. Starts streaming July 1.Skywalkers: A Love Story If you like white-knuckle cinema, Skywalkers is for you. It chronicles the life and relationship of Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus, a young couple who live to climb the world's tallest buildings. Skywalkers: a Love Story follows the couple's elaborate plans to conquer Malaysias Merdeka 118 super-skyscraper without harnesses, ropes, or permission. It makes me nervous just thinking about it. Starts streaming July 19Dirty Pop: The Boy Band ScamLou Pearlman, the impresario behind The Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, and Britney Spears might not have been a super honest guyshocking, I know. Dirty Pop details how Pearlman changed music while building his personal empire, and doesn't shy away from the dark side of the business of fame, power, and exploiting talented young artists. Starts streaming July 24.The Decameron If you like unconventional comedy, check out The Decameron. Loosely based on Giovanni Boccaccios The Decameron, published in the 14th Century, this Netflix period comedy is set in Florence, Italy, in 1348 among a rag-tag group of nobles and their servants who are camped out in an opulent villa as the plague rages outside. To pass the time, they tell each other stories that range from from touching to ribald, while the social order descends into chaos. Seems relatable. Netflix describes it as "Like Love Island, but Back in the Day," and that's enough for me to give it a watch. Starts streaming July 25.Unsolved Mysteries,Volume 4 The first three seasons of Netflix's revival of Unsolved Mysteries are excellent. Netflix hasn't released a ton of details about volume four yet, but if previous seasons are any indication, it will feature a mixture of unexplained deaths, strange disappearances, paranormal activity, UFOs, and other "what the hell?" content presented in a thorough, thoughtful way. Starts streaming July 31.Tickled (2016) Tickled is one of the strangest documentaries I've ever seen. Journalist David Farrier starts off hunting a quirky story about the "sport" of competitive tickling, but uncovers a strange underworld that's not funny at all. I don't want to spoil any of the twists and turns in this narrative, so I'll just urge you to watch this movie. Starts streaming July 10.

If youre looking for the Wordle answer for August 1, 2024 read on. Well share some clues, tips, and strategies, and finally the solution. Todays puzzle is medium difficult; I got it in four. Beware, there are spoilers below for August 1, Wordle #1,139! Keep scrolling if you want some hints (and then the answer) to todays Wordle game.How to play WordleWordle lives here on the New York Times website. A new puzzle goes live every day at midnight, your local time.Start by guessing a five-letter word. The letters of the word will turn green if theyre correct, yellow if you have the right letter in the wrong place, or gray if the letter isnt in the days secret word at all. For more, check out our guide to playing Wordle here, and my strategy guide here for more advanced tips. (We also have more information at the bottom of this post, after the hints and answers.)Ready for the hints? Lets go!Does todays Wordle have any unusual letters?Well define common letters as those that appear in the old typesetters phrase ETAOIN SHRDLU. (Memorize this! Pronounce it Edwin Shirdloo, like a name, and pretend hes a friend of yours.)Three of today's letters are from our mnemonic. One is fairly common, and the other is less common. Can you give me a hint for todays Wordle?This is found in a classroom and used by climbers. Does todays Wordle have any double or repeated letters?There are no repeated letters today.How many vowels are in todays Wordle?There is one vowel. What letter does todays Wordle start with?Todays word starts with C.What letter does todays Wordle end with?Todays word ends with K.What is the solution to todays Wordle?Ready? Todays word is CHALK.How I solved todays WordleI started with RAISE and TOUCH, and from the handful of solutions, thought CHAMP was one of the most common words. CHALK seemed like the next most common. Wordle 1,139 4/6Yesterdays Wordle answerYesterdays Wordle was harder. The hint was a type of pasta and the answer contained four common letters and one fairly common letter. The answer to yesterdays Wordle was PENNE. A primer on Wordle basicsThe idea of Wordle is to guess the days secret word. When you first open the Wordle game, youll see an empty grid of letters. Its up to you to make the first move: type in any five-letter word.Now, you can use the colors that are revealed to get clues about the word:Green means you correctly guessed a letter, and its in the correct position. (For example, if you guess PARTY, and the word is actually PURSE, the P and R will be green.)Yellow means the letter is somewhere in the word, but not in the position you guessed it. (For example, if you guessed PARTY, but the word is actually ROAST, the R, A and T will all be yellow.)Gray means the letter is not in the solution word at all. (If you guessed PARTY and everything is gray, then the solution cannot be PURSE or ROAST.)With all that in mind, guess another word, and then another, trying to land on the correct word before you run out of chances. You get six guesses, and then its game over.The best starter words for WordleWhat should you play for that first guess? The best starters tend to contain common letters, to increase the chances of getting yellow and green squares to guide your guessing. (And if you get all grays when guessing common letters, thats still excellent information to help you rule out possibilities.) There isnt a single best starting word, but the New York Timess Wordle analysis bot has suggested starting with one of these:CRANETRACESLANTCRATECARTEMeanwhile, an MIT analysis found that youll eliminate the most possibilities in the first round by starting with one of these:SALETREASTTRACECRATESLATEOther good picks might be ARISE or ROUND. Words like ADIEU and AUDIO get more vowels in play, but you could argue that its better to start with an emphasis on consonants, using a starter like RENTS or CLAMP. Choose your strategy, and see how it plays out.How to win at WordleWe have a few guides to Wordle strategy, which you might like to read over if youre a serious student of the game. This one covers how to use consonants to your advantage, while this one focuses on a strategy that uses the most common letters. In this advanced guide, we detail a three-pronged approach for fishing for hints while maximizing your chances of winning quickly.The biggest thing that separates Wordle winners from Wordle losers is that winners use their guesses to gather information about what letters are in the word. If you know that the word must end in -OUND, dont waste four guesses on MOUND, ROUND, SOUND, and HOUND; combine those consonants and guess MARSH. If the H lights up in yellow, you know the solution.One more note on strategy: the original Wordle used a list of about 2,300 solution words, but after the game was bought by the NYT, the game now has an editor who hand-picks the solutions. Sometimes they are slightly tricky words that wouldnt have made the original list, and sometimes they are topical. For example, FEAST was the solution one Thanksgiving. So keep in mind that there may be a theme.Wordle alternativesIf you cant get enough of five-letter guessing games and their kin, the best Wordle alternatives, ranked by difficulty, include:Wheeldle, which lets you play one puzzle after anotherDordle and Quordle, which ask you to play two (Dordle) or four (Quordle) puzzles at the same time, with the same guesses. There is also Octordle, with eight puzzles, and Sedecordle, with 16.Waffle, which shows you several five-letter words, scrambled in a grid; you play by swapping the letters around until you solve.Absurdle, which changes the solution after each guess, but needs to stay consistent with its previous feedback. You have to strategically back it into a corner until there is only one possible word left; then you guess it, and win.Squabble, in which you play Wordle against other people with a timer running. You take damage if you spend too much time between guesses; winner is the last one standing.Antiwordle, in which you are trying not to guess the days solution. Youre required to reuse any letters that you (oops) guessed correctly, so the longer it takes you, the better you are at the game.

Buying or selling a house has always been a little crazy. The moment you stroll into a Realtors office to inquire about a house or contact a local agent to sell your home, you embark on a roller-coaster ride of emotional and financial pressures. Checks are written. Houses are cleaned. Cookies are baked.But traditionally youve been able to engage an agent to sell your house without a contract, and if you were buying a house you were spared having to come up with your real estate agents commissionthat has almost always been paid by the seller, who coughed up about 6% of the sale price to their agent, who then (usually) split it with the buyers agent. Sure, in a sense the buyer paid that commission because the seller probably padded their homes price to compensate for the cost, but the illusion was there.That all changed recently. In March, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) settled some lawsuits, and as part of that settlement agreed to blow up the whole system. As a result there are two big changes hitting the real estate market starting this month: Buyers will have to start paying their agents directly, and everyone is going to have to sign a contracteven if you just want to look at a house. And until things settle down and become standardized, those contracts are a bit of the Wild Westjust about anything can be in them. Heres what you should look out for if youre buying or selling a house soon.Keeping the splitsThe biggest change hitting the market is in how agent commissions are handled. Instead of the seller paying the whole commission and their agent splitting it with the buyers agent, both agents have to be paid directly by their clientsand the sellers agent is now prohibited from advertising the split on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) (known as an offer of compensation), which was a common practice to attract buyers agents.The idea here is to lower overall costsas a seller, you no longer have to build a 6% hit into your calculations. If commissions stay at the traditional level, youd only need to come up with 3%, which could save you a lot of money. And if you negotiate a lower commission (which you absolutely can), you could save even more.That is, unless the contract you sign with your agent keeps the old system in place by calling it something else. Some draft contracts that agents have circulated maintain the 6% commission split with the buyers agent by calling the commission a bonus. The mechanism of the seller paying a commission that is then split with the buyers agent remains, just in different language. Thats fine if thats what you wantbut dont just blindly agree to pay more than you need to.PenaltiesA big thing to look for in any contract a real estate agent hands you is penalties, especially for withdrawing from a sale. Some draft contracts in the wake of this settlement have built in heavy penalties if a buyer backs out of a sale after making an offersomething youre traditionally able to do, within reason. Sometimes these penalties are worded to award the buyers agent the full commission they would have earned, which could be a substantial sum you have to pay even though youre not actually buying a house. You should never agree to that.You should also watch for penalties attached to terminating your agreement with your real estate agent. If youve worked with an agent for a while and theyve failed to find houses for you, or deals have fallen apart and youre unhappy with their work, you should be free to terminate the agreement at any time, without paying any sort of financial penalty.Fee clarityPart of the settlement the NAR agreed to involves making it very clear a) what your real estate agent will do (what services are provided) and b) what you will pay for these services. This should be clear and transparent in the contract, whether theyre working for an overall commission as a percentage of the sale price or if theyre charging you an hourly or flat fee for specific services.There should also be language that specifies any costs not listed in the contract will come out of the agents commission and not be an add-on fee that you have to pay.ExclusivityAs a home buyer, you retain the right to work with multiple agents if you wantunless you sign an exclusive agreement. Exclusivity clauses have advantagesthe process is more streamlined, and the agent may be more focused and dedicated since they know you wont suddenly announce youve found a home with someone else. But it should be a conscious choice based on your needs, so make sure there is no exclusivity language youre unaware of before you sign.The new rules also require that you sign a Touring Agreement even if all you want to do is view a home. This is a formal agreement with the agent, but its limited to that one property as opposed to hiring the agent to find a property. You should review it carefully to make sure youre not committing to anything more than that, and that theres no exclusivity that locks you in with that agent after youve made a decision on that particular house.ArbitrationFinally, like any contractual agreement, be aware of any clauses that dictate how disagreements are handled. Binding arbitration clauses can prevent you from filing a lawsuit, and may even lock you into using a specific arbitration service instead of allowing you some choice in the matter. Arbitration isnt necessarily a terrible decision, but dont agree to it unless youve decided that the lower costs and faster results are worth some of the disadvantages, including the possibility that your case could be decided by a low-quality arbitrator, and the fact that you often have zero recourse if the decision goes against you. This concern isn't specific to the real estate world, of course, but its always worth keeping an eye on.The new real estate rules are still being figured out, and things are a bit crazy out there. Read those contracts carefully, and be ready to insist on changes if you dont like what you see. One real estate rule hasnt changed: Everything is negotiable.

Boeing has revealed that it has taken another $125 million in losses as a result of its Starliner spacecraft's delayed return from the ISS. As SpaceNews reports, the company has revealed the losses in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, along with more details about its earnings for the second quarter of the year. The company already posted $288 million in losses "primarily as a result of delaying" the Crew Flight Test mission in 2023.The first crewed Starliner flight took off in June with NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams on board. Boeing's spacecraft was only supposed to stay docked to the ISS for eight days before ferrying the astronauts back to Earth, but issues with its hardware prevented the mission from sticking to its original timeline.The company had to examine and find what caused the Starliner's degraded maneuvering thrusters while it was approaching the ISS. In addition, the helium leak that caused several delays to the spacecraft's launch seemed to have worsened, as well. Since June, the company has been putting the spacecraft through a series of tests. Just a few days ago, on July 27, it completed a hot fire test of the Starliner's reaction control system jets and made sure that the vehicle's helium leak rates remain within the acceptable margin. The tests were conducted with Williams and Wilmore onboard, because they're part of the preparations for the spacecraft's flight back home.NASA said the tests' results are still being reviewed. But once Boeing and the agency ensure that the Starliner is ready, they will set a date for the Starliner and the astronauts' return flight.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/boeing-eats-another-125-million-loss-over-starliner-woes-130027376.html?src=rss

After the live experiences, TV shows based on TV shows and a boom in childhood South Korean games and hobbies, Squid Game returns for season two. Almost three years after the bleak, lightly anti-capitalism drama became a massive hit in the US. Season two will hit Netflix December 26, with a final third season coming sometime in 2025.In a letter, series director and writer, Hwang Dong-hyuk, teased the continuation of Seong Gi-huns revenge, facing off against Front Man. Were expecting more death, betrayal and enough delicious Korean food to make me want to take a trip to Seoul. Mat SmithThe biggest stories you might have missedTesla involved in fatal Washington crash was using self-driving modeEtsy just announced a loyalty program thats (sort of) similar to Amazon PrimeAyaneos take on the Game Boy Micro is available to order starting at $190You can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!Reddit CEO wants Microsoft to pay for its contentSteve Huffman called out Microsoft for scraping data from Reddit.Reddit boss Steve Huffman called out Microsoft and other AI search engines, like Anthropic and Perplexity, for not paying for the information their AI models have seemingly scraped from Reddit. Without these agreements, we dont have any say or knowledge of how our data is displayed and what its used for, which has put us in a position now of blocking folks who havent been willing to come to terms with how wed like our data to be used or not used, Huffman said in an interview with The Verge. Reddit said its blocking unauthorized data scraping by updating its Robots Exclusion Protocol (robots.txt), and its already stopped Microsofts Bing from accessing the social sites data.Continue reading.Twelve Souths AirFly Duo Bluetooth dongle drops to $30The best way to listen to your inflight movie with wireless headphones.EngadgetTwelve Souths AirFly Duo is a dongle that connects Bluetooth earbuds and headphones to in-flight entertainment systems. The device is currently on sale for $30, and I swear by it. It plugs into any 3.5mm audio jack, so you can use it with gym equipment, older gaming systems or even TVs. I used it with my Switch before Nintendo finally enabled Bluetooth audio.Continue reading.Senators introduce bill to protect individuals against AI-generated deepfakesOpenAI joined several entertainment industry groups in backing the NO FAKES Act.US senators have introduced a bill to combat the growing threat of AI-generated deepfakes. The legislation would hold online platforms accountable for deepfake content by requiring them to label the material. If it passes, the NO FAKES Act would create an option for people to seek damages when their voice, face or body are recreated by AI. Both individuals and companies would be held liable for producing, hosting or sharing unauthorized digital replicas.It follows the Senates recent passage of the DEFIANCE Act, which would enable victims of sexual deepfakes to sue for damages.Continue reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-squid-game-returns-on-december-26-111550905.html?src=rss