Gen Z is already tired of endless back-and-forth of work emails.Because Gen Z entered the workforce during the digital work era, many young workers are used to the ease of real-time messaging platforms, like Slack. A 2020 survey by consulting firm Creative Strategies found that Gen Z ranked Gmail fourth on the list of collaboration tools, behind Google Docs, Zoom, and iMessage. Not only do Gen Z workers often prefer these faster forms of communication, but many also have a sense of inbox fatigue.And a recent survey from language-learning platform Babbel found that the majority of Gen Z workers considered the volume of work emails they receive stressful. Whats more, many of these emails might just go unopened. In fact, 36% of Gen Z workers said they have over 1,000 unread emails in their inbox.Now, some Gen Z workers are trying to make email less formal. Young workers will include memes, emojis, slang, and abbreviations in their emailsjust like they would with any other online message. And how Gen Z workers sign-off over email has recently been going viral on TikTok, with young workers sharing examples of ending emails with Bless up, Another day, another slay, and Lukewarm regards.Heres how Gen Z is radically changing how we all email at work.Jokes, memes, and slang are no longer off limitsWhen Liz Giorgi, CEO of e-commerce content creation platform Soona, offered one Gen Z employee a job, their response surprised her.Their response to this email just said, Hey boss, lets fin go, Giorgi says. I would be lying if there wasnt like a moment where I thought, Oh God, should I have hired this person? But in retrospect now, Ive come to realize [Gen Z] wears their emotions on my sleeve, and they were really excited in that moment.A self-proclaimed elder millennial, Giorgi suggests that virtual work tools have increased the volume of communications workers receive each day, and that this influx of messages is impacting Gen Zs email habits. The Slack-ification of work, which is a much more informal kind of communication, has bled into our email style and reduced the intensity, she says.For Gen Z-oriented companies, these informal emails are not only present in internal messaging; they also pervade client briefings and newsletters. Celine Chai helped co-found the Gen Z creative agency NinetyEight, and now serves as their CEO. Given their young client base, audience, and workforce most of her teams emails are kept casual.If you are subscribed to the NinetyEight email, our subject lines 100% have emojis, our body copy 100% has emojis, Chai says. Emojis can say a lot of things that words cant say, especially [because] we work fully remote, so youre trying to convey emotion or a certain tone.That relaxed spirit of email-writing can even drip down to punctuation. I do enjoy getting emails from clients sometimes that have more than one exclamation point, Chai says. Thats such a Gen Z thing to be like, Thank youbut with five exclamation points.How Gen Z can effectively communicate over emailWhile there is nothing inherently wrong about informal emails, some say they sometimes toe the line of unprofessionalism. Are slang-filled emails a youthful boon, or an impediment to serious work? The key, experts say, is tailoring your emoji and slang use to best communicate with your audience. This adaptability, flexibility, and empathy is key to most inter-generational communication at work. You should always assume that anything youre willing to put in a digital space, somebody is going to experience in a physical way, Giorgi says. If you write a nasty email or a cavalier Slack message, theyre going to receive that wherever theyre at in the real world.HR consultant Kate Walker stresses that it is important to consider the primary goal of an email: to effectively communicate. Walker says she was recently sent an email full of short-hand that she couldnt parse through.There is a desire to be efficient and a little more informal. I can appreciate that, says Walker. But you also want to make sure that the reader or the hiring manager can comprehend whats being said.Many firms also use emails as a means of record-keeping. While Slacks and text messages dont disappear after sending, emails may have an especially long staying power.Suppose theres a legal issue and theres a request for documents, Walker says. Youre in the courtroom and youre seeing emojis and abbreviations. I dont know if thats going to be the best look.Still, some workplaces see the value in allowing workers to communicate as their authentic selvesand to cut back on the corporate stuffiness. Many firms began dialing down their dress codes after the boom of Silicon Valley-style workspaces. Now, only 3% of workers report wearing business professional attire to the office, estimates Gallup. The same culture-shift could be coming for emails.Ultimately, Chai says she is a fan of the relaxed workplace. After all, when I interviewed her, she was in her pajamas. For Chai, it comes down to self expression: A lot of Gen Zs really appreciate just coming to work as themselves, and not having to put on a persona.

Limestone-block walls covered in pinkplaster intersect to form UA House, which Kenyan practice Studio Mehta Architecture has added to a creekside site in Kilifi, Kenya.Positioned among trees along the edge of Takaungu Creek, the home is designed by Studio Mehta Architecture as a blend of contemporary and traditional architectural elements.Studio Mehta Architecture has added a limestone house beside a creek in KenyaIt comprises a network of rectangular courtyards and rooms, formed from the pink-hued walls that intersect at a range of heights.The walls are formed from blocks of salvaged limestone covered with lime plaster mixed with quarry dust, giving a pink hue intended to complement the surrounding landscape.Intersecting walls form a series of equally sized bays"The soft pink hue of the exterior was achieved through numerous tests and compositional mixes," studio principal Amar Mehta told Dezeen."These mixes used aggregates found on the site and the unusable parts of local limestone, combined with a base lime mortar. This method allowed for the creation of a distinctive and regionally resonant colour," he continued.Pink-hued plaster coats the limestone wallsUA House is organised around landscaped courtyards and features several openings to ensure year-round ventilation in the warm Kilifi climate.The intersecting walls create a rhythmic facade divided into equally sized bays, where hidden doors to each room inside are flanked by identical windows set in dark wooden frames.The interior is organised around courtyardsOne of the central bays is bordered by double-height walls intended to offer shade from the sun. It is left as an open courtyard, backed by a blocky pink-hued staircase that leads to a roof terrace."Central to the villa's design is a significant extrusion that serves as a sun-shading device," said Mehta. "This architectural element provides solar relief to the villa's flat slab and the sundowner deck, creating shaded areas that remain cool throughout the day."Read: Peach-coloured walls enliven Goan holiday homes by Jugal Mistri ArchitectsIn front of UA House, a small outdoor pool extends from the central bay, lined by courtyards filled with local planting.The interior is arranged around courtyards to emulate Omani-influenced coastal architecture in Kenya.A pared-back colour palette is used internally"The design draws from the ancient Omani influence on coastal architecture in Kenya, characterised by courtyards and sequential spaces," Mehta continued. "This historical reference provides a framework for creating a sense of openness and connection within the house.""These courtyards not only enhance the aesthetic appeal but also serve functional purposes, such as facilitating natural ventilation and providing serene retreats from the tropical sun," the studio expanded.The interior spaces all look out to the pool and gardenTo one side of the central courtyard are two bedrooms bordered by floor-to-ceiling curtains, while the other side of the homefeatures an open-plan kitchen, living, and dining area.The main bedroom is located next to the living space and features its own bathroom and courtyard.An ancient plastering technique was used to line the wallsUA House's rooms all feature doors that open onto a sheltered porch, with views of the pool and garden. They also have a pared-back colour palette, with a backdrop of plastered off-white walls formed using Neeru the same traditional technique used for the pink exterior."The ancient plastering technique called Neeru was used inside," said Mehta. "Neeru is a burnt lime-based mortar that is carefully sieved, applied, and sealed with beeswax. This technique not only enhances the aesthetic appeal but also pays homage to traditional craftsmanship."The rooms are complete with niches, dark wooden elements and statement furnishings including traditional local artwork.Other Kenyan homes featured on Dezeen include an off-grid home with bedrooms raised above treetops and a block of apartments encased in white lattice screens.The photography is by Iain Olivier.The post Pink plaster cloaks limestone house in Kenya by Studio Mehta Architecture appeared first on Dezeen.

"We need to give the player some solace because, at this point, most people are balling their eyes out."Too soon.

This new MSI laptop is powered by AI CPU technology from Intel and a reliable GPU from Nvidia.

The Epic Games Store continues to give away a free game each week, and this week is another nice find with a price that can't be beaten. Every Thursday at 8 AM PT / 11 AM ET, Epic offers at least one free PC game (and sometimes even as many as two or three). All you need to do to claim the free games is create a free Epic account and enable two-factor authentication. You have a week to add the freebies to your library before the new one(s) take their place. At this point, Epic has given away hundreds of free games, and there's no sign that the program will stop any time soon. We keep this article up to date weekly to highlight both the current free games and next week's offerings.Current free games at EpicDNF Duel and Cygni: All Guns BlazingThis week, you can add DNF Duel to your library--an accessible fighting game developed by Arc System Works and set in the world of Dungeon Fighter Online. You don't need any prior knowledge of that game to play it, and DNF Duel is great for newcomers as it combines approachable gameplay mechanics with a varied roster of characters.You can also grab Cygni: All Guns Blazing, a brand-new arcade shoot-'em-up from Konami. Early reviews for the game have been mostly positive, praising its high-quality graphics, the surprising amount of depth in its gameplay, and its brutally challenging levels full of gorgeous bullet-hell obstacles.Continue Reading at GameSpot

Stellar Blade has proven to be an incredibly generous game when it comes to post-launch updates. In a world where so many games put a price tag on their post-launch content, it's refreshing to see a new IP like Stellar Blade shelling out regular free updates. Because of this, the game has earned a stellar reputation among its fans, and it has even periodically drawn players back in for another round with EVE and her companions in Stellar Blade's post-apocalyptic world. In fact, Stellar Blade's player count shot up 40% after a new limited-time summer update was added to the game, and the developer has no plans to stop providing free updates like that any time soon.

Silicon Valleys Figure has taken the wraps off of its next-generation Figure 02 conversational humanoid robot that taps into NVIDIA Omniverse and NVIDIA GPUs for fully autonomous tasks.Figure said it recently tested Figure 02 for data collection and use-case training at BMW Groups Spartanburg, South Carolina, production line.Figure 02 comes just 10 months after Figure launched the first version of its general-purpose humanoid robot. The company has accelerated its development timeline using NVIDIA Isaac Sim a reference application built on the NVIDIA Omniverse platform to design, train and test AI-based robots using synthetic data, as well as NVIDIA GPUs to train generative AI models.Our rapid progress, marked by advances in speech, vision, dexterity and computational power, brings us closer to delivering humanoid robots to address labor shortages for many industries, said Brett Adcock, CEO of Figure.The company added a second NVIDIA RTX GPU-based module on board Figure 02, which supplies 3x inference gains for handling fully autonomous real-world AI tasks compared with the robots first iteration.Figure aims to commercialize industrial humanoid robots to address labor shortages, and it plans to produce consumer versions.Founded in 2022, the startup is partnered with OpenAI to develop custom AI models, trained on NVIDIA H100 GPUs, that drive the robots conversational AI capabilities. Figure recently raised $675 million in funding from leading technology companies including NVIDIA.Developing autonomous humanoid robots requires the fusion of three computers: NVIDIA DGX for AI training, NVIDIA Omniverse for simulation and NVIDIA Jetson in the robot, said Deepu Talla, vice president of robotics and edge computing at NVIDIA. Leading companies, including Figure, are tapping into the NVIDIA robotics stack, from edge to cloud, to drive innovation in humanoid robotics.Robotic Hands Capable of Handling Real-World TasksNew human-scale hands, six RGB cameras, and perception AI models trained with synthetic data generated in Isaac Sim enable Figure 02 to perform high-precision pick-and-place tasks required for smart manufacturing applications.Figure is among the initial members to join the new NVIDIA Humanoid Robot Developer Program, which provides early access to the latest tools and computing technologies for humanoid robot development. This includes the latest releases of NVIDIA Isaac Sim, Isaac Lab, NIM microservices (RoboCasa and MimicGen), OSMO, Jetson Thor and Project GR00T general-purpose humanoid foundation models.

God of War Ragnark is coming to PC* on September 19. To prepare you for your journey back into the Nine Realms, check out the system requirements below.God of War Ragnark PC system requirementsMINIMUMRECOMMENDEDHIGHPERFORMANCEULTRAGRAPHIC SETTINGS**1080p @ 30 FPS AVGLow Settings1080P @ 60 FPS AVG Medium Settings1440P @ 60 FPS AVG High Settings4K @ 60 FPS AVGHigh Settings4K @ 60 FPS AVG Ultra SettingsGPUNVIDIA GTX 1060AMD RX 5500 XTNVIDIA RTX 2060Super AMD RX 5700NVIDIA RTX 3070AMD RX 6800NVIDIA RTX 3080 TiAMD RX 6900 XTNVIDIA RTX 4070 TiAMD RX 7900 XTCPUIntel i5-4670kAMD Ryzen 3 1200Intel i5-8600AMD Ryzen 5 3600Intel i7-7700KAMD Ryzen 7 2700XIntel i7-7700KAMD Ryzen 7 2700XIntel i5-11600K AMD Ryzen 7 3700XRAM8 GB16 GB16 GB16 GB16 GBOSWindows 10 64-bitWindows 10 64-bitWindows 10 64-bitWindows 10 64-bitWindows 10 64-bitSTORAGE190 GB SSD190 GB SSD190 GB SSD190 GB SSD190 GB SSD**Native Resolution. No upscaling technology was used.Graphics TechnologyWere also happy to confirm that God of War Ragnark on PC supports all major graphics card manufacturer technologies, including:Nvidia DLSS 3.7AMD FSR 3.1Intel XeSS 1.3Frame generation for all technologies utilizing that featureThese technologies will allow you to play at higher resolutions with superior framerates on all types of hardware.Inhabiting the Nine Realms are a vast array of diverse locations and creatures. From the lush jungles of Vanaheim to the snowy mountains of Midgard, a beautiful world awaits you!Pre-purchase God of War Ragnark on PC to get access to the Kratos Risen Snow Armor and Atreus Risen Snow Tunic (cosmetic)******Unlock in-game items via story progression.Head to Steam or the Epic Game Store to secure the Risen Snow set before launch on September 19.*An account for PlayStation Network is required.

Image: Rockstar Games Bounty bonuses and more this week in Los Santos Continue reading

Essential for some, better for all. Accessibility has become as buzzworthy a term as sustainability, with many brands attempting to capitalize on the moral arc that bends toward a more egalitarian design scene and consumer market in its slow march forward. But few are as nuanced in the practice as Michael Graves Design. Born from the late architects eponymous firm, it is arguably the most accessible design brand available offering thoughtful solutions to overcome cognitive, financial, physical, and emotional barriers. The studio now adds to that storied history with a fresh collection of home furnishings produced in partnership with digital-first, design-led retailer Pottery Barn. Whats more, the Michael Graves Design x Pottery Barn launch builds upon both parties commitment to subvert the often clunky or clinical aesthetic associated with accessible design objects for a more dignified existence.The term accessible is used in reference to the characteristic that facilities, products, and services can be independently used by people with a variety of abilities. Making with that in mind means adhering to a process within which the needs of differently abled persons are specifically considered not to be confused with the broader concept universal design.In a showcase of three bedroom collections and two complementary armchairs, the entire range prioritizes functionality and safety without sacrificing style. Innovative enhancements are elegantly fused with design details to facilitate near-effortless living that most take for granted. Of particular note and truer to the modernist approach that made Graves iconic is their Cayman Collection comprising the bed with a built-in storage bench, nightstand, six-drawer dresser, and upholstered dresser seat crafted from solid mango wood in a warm finish. Each piece boasts simple geometry, a lovely interplay of solid-void, and clear edge articulation that will delight users when they discover the ways in which form follows function.Seemingly inset surfaces create front grab rails and raised edges to prevent tabletop items from rolling off the dresser or the nightstand, which is also outfitted with an integrated power strip and drawer cutouts to conceal medical devices with flowing tubes and power cords out from inside the drawer. The sleep solution includes subtle armrests with pull and roll side grips for repositioning that not only aid in human balance, but also reconcile the visual weight of the headboard against the substantial built-in bench opposite it. Tubular inset feet on the bed frame reduce the risk of potential falls from tripping and the occasional stubbed toe. Equally as pragmatic is the dressers elevated base and raised bottom drawer to accommodate wheelchair clearance up to 9. And large voids within the furniture provide open storage at an arms length when positioned adjacent to them or seated atop.Caymans corresponding style addition is the Bradford Armchair, whose minimal, tubular legs, flat arms, and oversized cushions experiment with scale while adding touchpoints to the room. Moments of contrast are calls-to-action for mobility and balance when needed. The taller seat, adjustable foot heights, and rear hand rail also bolster support while navigating the chair.Given the context, going mainstream is nothing to balk at. This and other collaborations with big brand retailers proliferates aspirational, nay exemplary, design increasing its potential to inspire a fresh crop of designers who will continue to democratize beauty and design. Years ago, when reviewing student portfolios, everything was about sustainability. Today, we see a lot of focus on accessibility. We love it, says Ben Wintner, CEO of Michael Graves Design. This makes sense, because gaining empathy for the future users of your products is at the core of product design. The design community is ready for accessibility.To learn more about this and other collections available from the broader Michael Graves Design x Pottery Barn launch, visit potterybarn.com.This post contains affiliate links, so if you make a purchase from an affiliate link, we earn a commission. Thanks for supporting Design Milk!