A team vision is the North Star that guides a design teams collective efforts towards a shared purpose and ultimate goal.Continue reading on UX Collective

If youre looking for the Wordle answer for August 10, 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 10, Wordle #1,148! 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.)There are three common letter from our mnemonic today. The other two are fairly common. Can you give me a hint for todays Wordle?A doctor or EMT, for example. Does todays Wordle have any double or repeated letters?There are no repeated letters today.How many vowels are in todays Wordle?There are two vowels.What letter does todays Wordle start with?Todays word starts with M.What letter does todays Wordle end with?Todays word ends with C.What is the solution to todays Wordle?Ready? Todays word is MEDIC.How I solved todays WordleI started with RAISE and BLUNT, followed by MOPED to eliminate letters common in possible solutions. This left MEDIC as the only answer. Wordle 1,148 4/6Yesterdays Wordle answerYesterdays Wordle was easier. The hint was one sixteenth of a pound and the answer contained four common letters and one fairly common letter. The answer to yesterdays Wordle was OUNCE. 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.

Oxford University scientists may have solved one of the greatest hindrances of expanding access to solar energy. Scientists from the universitys physics department have created an ultra-thin layer of material that can be applied to the exterior of objects with sunlight access in place of bulky silicon-based solar panels.The ultra-thin and flexible film is made by stacking layers of light-absorbing layers of perovskite that are just over one micron thick. The new materials are also 150 times thinner than a traditional silicon wafer and can produce 5 percent more energy efficiency than traditional, single-layer silicon photovoltaics, according to a statement released by Oxford University.Dr. Shauifeng Hu, a postdoctoral fellow at Oxfords physics department, says he believes this approach could enable the photovoltaic devices to achieve far greater efficiencies, exceeding 45 percent.This new approach to solar energy technology could also reduce the cost of solar energy. Due to their thinness and flexibility, they can be applied to almost any surface. This reduces the cost of construction and installation and could increase the number of solar energy farms producing more sustainable energy.This technology, however, is still in the research stage and the university doesnt mention the long-term stability of the newly designed perovskite panels. Going from 6 to 27 percent solar energy efficiency in five years is an impressive feat but stability has always been limited compared to photovoltaic technology, according to the US Department of Energy. A 2016 study in the science journal Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cellsalso noted that perovskite can provide efficient, low-cost energy generation but it also has poor stability due its sensitivity to moisture.Solar energy has also become a cheaper power option just over the last decade. The cost of solar photovoltaic technology has dropped by 90 percent in the last 10 years, according to the Global Change Data Lab.New solar energy farms are popping up all over the world. The US Department of Energy announced earlier this month its turning an 8,000-acre piece of land that once housed parts of the nuclear weapons program known as the Manhattan Project into a solar farm. Last month, Google invested in a Taiwanese solar company to build a 1 gigawatt pipeline in the region.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/oxford-scientists-new-light-absorbing-material-can-turn-everyday-objects-into-solar-panels-200410760.html?src=rss

The Gnomon Workshop just released Introduction to Maya 2025: UV Toolkit.Master UV workflows for games, VFX and motion graphics with this comprehensive beginner's guide to Maya's powerful UV tools.https://www.cgchannel.com/2024/08/the-gnomon-workshop-releases-introduction-to-maya-2025-uv-toolkit/

DJI is rumored to be working on a tiny drone that could be its lightest so far here's everything we know so far.

Contested Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro ordered a 10-day ban on X, cutting off locals' access to the platform after a feud with Elon Musk.

The idea of transforming Mars into a world more hospitable to human habitation is a regular feature of science fiction. But could this be done in real life?Scientists are now proposing a new approach to warm up Earths planetary neighbor by pumping engineered particlessimilar in size to commercially available glitter and made of iron or aluminum into the atmosphere as aerosols to trap escaping heat and scatter sunlight toward the Martian surface. The idea would be to augment the natural greenhouse effect on Mars to raise its surface temperature by roughly 50 degrees Fahrenheit over a span of a decade.This alone would not make Mars habitable for people, but the scientists who developed the proposal see it as a potentially doable initial step.Terraforming refers to modifying a planets environment to make it more Earth-like. For Mars, warming the planet is a necessary, but insufficient, first step. Previous concepts have focused on releasing greenhouse gases, but these require large amounts of resources that are scarce on Mars, said University of Chicago planetary scientist Edwin Kite, who helped lead the study published this week in the journal Science Advances.The key elements of our paper are a novel proposal to use engineered nanoparticles to warm Marss atmosphere, and climate modeling that suggests this approach could be much more efficient than previous concepts. This is important because it presents a potentially more feasible method for modifying Marss climate, which could inform future Mars exploration strategies, Kite added.NASA has sent robotic rovers to explore the Martian surface and the InSight Lander to study the planets interior. The U.S. space agencys Artemis program aims to put astronauts in the coming years on the lunar surface for the first time since 1972 in preparation for potential future human missions to Mars.There are numerous challenges to human settlements on Mars: lack of breathable oxygen, harmful ultraviolet radiation due to its thin atmosphere, salty soil hostile to growing crops, dust storms that sometimes cover much of the planet, and more. But its frigid temperatures are a serious impediment.We propose to show that the idea of warming Mars isnt impossible. We hope that our finding encourages the broader scientific community, and the public, to explore this intriguing idea, said study lead author Samaneh Ansari, a doctoral student in the electrical and computer engineering department at Northwestern University in Illinois.The median Martian surface temperature is about minus 85 degrees Fahrenheit. With its tenuous atmosphere, solar heat on the Martian surface readily escapes into space. The proposal would aim to allow liquid water to exist on the surface of Mars, which has water in the form of ice at its polar regions and its subsurface.The scientists proposed continuously releasing tiny rod-shaped particlesnanorodsinto the atmosphere at a rate of about 8 gallons (30 liters) per second for years.The idea is to either ship the material or, better yet, ship the manufacturing tool and make the nanorods on the planet since iron and aluminum are abundant on the surface of Mars, Ansari said.The researchers are mindful of the possibility of unintended consequences in terraforming another world for humankinds benefit. Scientists, for instance, are eager to learn whether Mars has harbored life in the pastor perhaps currently, in the form of subsurface microbes.Although nanoparticles could warm Mars, both the benefits and potential costs of this course of action are currently uncertain. For example, in the unlikely event that Marss soil contains irremediable compounds toxic to all Earth-derived life, then the benefit of warming Mars is nil, Kite said.On the other hand, if a photosynthetic biosphere can be established on the surface of Mars, that might increase the solar systems capacity for human flourishing, Kite added. On the costs side, if Mars has extant life, then study of that life could have great benefits that warrant robust protections for its habitat.By Will Dunham, Reuters

For our latestlookbook, we've collected eight homes that make the most of space by using storage units and shelving as room dividers.The examples below show how much-needed storage space can be integrated into a home's design to form partition walls between rooms or create different zones within one space.Many of the designs feature different storage arrangements on either side of a wall to suit the rooms it is functioning, such as kitchen cupboards, hallway shelving, dressing area wardrobes, desks and fold-out tables.This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen's archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring wood-lined kitchens, board-marked concrete living rooms and interiors that pair together red and green colours.Photo by Marcela GrassiLoft in Poblenou, Spain, by NeuronaLabLocal architecture studio NeuronaLab inserted a blue unit with wardrobes into the centre of this renovated Barcelona apartment, separating a bedroom, study, and open-plan kitchen and living area.As well as dividing the ground floor spaces and providing storage, the unit also has built-in stairs leading to a second bedroom on a mezzanine level.Find out more about Loft in Poblenou Photo by Tololo StudioYamaguchicho House, Japan, by SlowA black wood storage unit creates a dividing wall between the living area and the skylit entryway at Yamaguchicho House, which was designed by Japanese practice Slow.The unit was elevated from the ground to help spread natural light through the space, and a television was mounted on its side facing a sofa.Find out more about Yamaguchicho House Photo by Kevin KunstadtSterling Place apartment, US, by Light and Air ArchitectureThis two-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn was transformed by New York studio Light and Air Architecture to have an open-plan layout with ample storage.Custom-built shelving and cupboards made from Baltic birch form opaque and see-through dividers, separating the kitchen, bathroom and living room.Find out more about Sterling Place apartment Photo by Shinzawa IppeiHouse in Nakauchi, Japan, by SnarkArchitecture studioSnark created a timber-framed home in Maebashi, Japan, for a family of four, adding a shared children's room on the first floor.Wooden built-in storage was designed to separate the room into two private spaces, with ladders leading to individual sleeping platforms above.Find out more about House in Nakauchi Studio studio apartment, Australia, by Catseye BayDesigned by local design firm Catseye Bay, wood storage solutions were added to this studio apartment in Sydney to create informal space dividers and replace bulky furniture itemssuch as wardrobes and bookshelves.The largest unit in the home conceals a bed, providing bedside shelving on one side and clothes storage on the dressing area side.Find out more about the Sydney studio apartment Photo by David FoesselLa Tournette, France, by Freaks ArchitectureAn arched storage unit sits at the centre of La Tournette, a Parisian workshop that was converted into an apartment by French studio Freaks Architecture.The mobile unit separates the kitchen and living areas and can be adjusted to accommodate different living arrangements. It has shelving on one side and a fold-out dining table on the other, which can be turned to form an extra kitchen counter.Find out more about La Tournette Photo by Jos HeviaPalma Hideaway, Spain, by Mariana de DelsA diagonal partition wall with shelved storage cuts across the Palma Hideaway apartment in Palma de Mallorca, which was transformed by architectMariana de Dels.The angular shape of the storage wall separates the hall and kitchen on one side from the bedroom on the other, where it features a built-in desk and wardrobes.Find out more about Palma Hideaway Photo by Lisbeth GrosmannFlinders Lane Apartment, Australia, by Clare Cousins ArchitectsLocal studio Clare Cousins Architects aimed to create extra bedrooms without losing living space when renovating the Flinders Lane Apartment in Melbourne.The studio created a hoop-pine plywood platform and storage wall with cupboards and shelves, forming two separate bedrooms boxed offfrom the open-plan living room and kitchen.Find out more about Flinders Lane Apartment This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen's archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring wood-lined kitchens, board-marked concrete living rooms and interiors that pair together red and green colours.The post Eight cleverly organised homes with rooms divided by storage solutions appeared first on Dezeen.

HS Design is an ID consultancy that specializes in user-centered medical design. They were approached by Smart Start, a company that makes ignition interlock devices, to design an unusual new wearable called Orbis. It's essentially an alternative to ankle monitoring devices."ORBIS is a revolutionary new product that redefines the landscape of alcohol and offender monitoring devices. It combines the most advanced transdermal alcohol and GPS monitoring technology in a single, attractive, wrist-wearable device. Aiming to eliminate the stigma associated with its traditional ankle monitoring competitors, ORBIS gives remorseful offenders and everyday individuals a chance to recover from past mistakes. Whether assigned by authorities, or willingly worn, ORBIS provides accurate and real-time monitoring results that consistently outperforms the competitors." Redefining a Product Category"ORBIS is the first alcohol, GPS, and vitals monitoring device with the goal of aiding rehabilitation and empowering individuals to return to their daily lives and a positive societal role. All other competitors and their designs target extreme offender cases, focusing solely on anti-tampering and utilizing their monitors as a form of punishment meant to hinder individuals. By reflecting consumer smartwatch forms, materials, and design cues, ORBIS provides a solution aimed at aiding and supporting individuals looking to improve their lives and move past their mistakes." Cutting Edge Alcohol Sensing"ORBIS continuously monitors for alcohol consumption by using a newly designed transdermal sensor that can detect the concentration of alcohol through ethanol vapor present in a user's perspiration when drinking. This new and patent pending technological approach to transdermal alcohol monitoring has consistently outperformed existing devices and tracks closely to Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC), which is considered the gold standard for measuring alcohol consumption, all while being housed in the smallest, most discreet design on the market." "ORBIS houses cellular technology that makes results available in real-time. It utilizes a number of security features that can discourage and help prevent tampering. If a user is required to wear ORBIS, the watch is permanently fixed to the user via its locking ratchet strap band. ORBIS is tightened against the user's skin to ensure a proper seal for accurate alcohol sensor readings, and all assembly screws and components are on the underside to prevent user access." From Law Enforcement to Consumer Markets"ORBIS supports wellness features including heart rate, steps, and incoming messages that can be used as appointment reminders or accolades of sobriety. By reflecting the current smartwatch landscape in form and design and housing cutting edge sensing technology, ORBIS opens doors to many new markets from consumer to workplace, that otherwise reject the competition." You can see more of HS Design's work here.

There are two broad schools of design with pocket knives either make them look so outrageously rugged that they instill fear in their enemies, or design them to be so slick and minimal that their owners treasure them for their collectible-worthy beauty. Its rare to come across a knife that somehow manages both those things, but the Dragon Ridge holds that unique distinction. Being equally formidable-looking and minimalistic, the Dragon Ridge folding knife sports a skeletal handle modeled on the ribcage of a dragon (a hypothetical one of course). The Dragon Ridges handle comes machined from grade 5 titanium, with an M390 martensitic chromium steel blade that has the menacing sharpness of a dragons fangs. The knife balances its bare-bone skeletal design with an intimidating aesthetic rather beautifully, giving you essentially a modern EDC icon thats visually stunning, ergonomically sound, and tactically capable of being your favorite pocket knife.Designer: TIGOClick Here to Buy Now: $205 $279 (27% off) Hurry! Only 14 of 50 units left.The Dragon Ridge has an almost relic-like quality to it thanks to its rather unique design. The handle, which takes all credit for being the knifes most visually exciting element, sports a skeletal design that resembles a spine and ribcage. This effectively gives the handle a unique ergonomic form that naturally allows the fingers to find their grip, while cutouts in the knifes design help reduce material and therefore overall weight. This is only possible thanks to the knifes titanium alloy body, which gives the EDC its durability and strength something you wouldnt be able to achieve if the exact same design was machined out of aluminum, carbon fiber, or G10.The Dragon Ridge measures 4.84 inches when closed (123mm), opening up to a whopper of an 8.2-inch knife when the blades out (210mm for the metric folk). This puts the Dragon Ridge well within the size category of a medium-to-large knife, which means its a lot bigger and badder than most compact micro-knives out there. That large size makes the knife more grippy, more maneuverable, and perfect for all sorts of activities, whether domestic or outdoor.Flip open the knife and youre greeted with a gorgeous 3.4-inch drop-point blade. Made from M390 steel (harder and much more durable than D2 steel seen in most high-end knives), the Dragon Ridge outdoes other knives in its price category handily. The drop-point style blade is a crowd favorite, and is perfect for all sorts of tasks, from cutting vegetables to whittling branches, piercing bark or leather, and even defending yourself in a tactical situation. When times of the essence, the knife opens in under a second, thanks to the flipper on the blade that lets you quick-deploy your EDC. Jimping on top of the blade gives you good thumb-grip too, as you apply pressure while cutting.The knife boasts multiple opening styles, making it fun to operate and just overall hand-candy. A button-lock lets you deploy the blade with a flick of the wrist, while also allowing you to quickly close your blade once youre done using it. Alternatively, the flipper lets you use your index finger to flip open the blade, and if you have nails, the thumb-hole offers a more traditional opening method.The martensitic chromium steel blade works exceptionally well in emergencies too, letting you whittle wood, scrape flint, and even cut paracord or seatbelts. When youre not using the knife, however, it rests comfortably in your pocket, thanks to a deep pocket clip, or even around your wrist or neck, thanks to a lanyard hole on the rear end of the handle.At 143 grams or just above 5 ounces, the Dragon Ridge is fairly light for an all-metal knife. Its still in the ballpark of average knife weight, but your fingers will definitely be pleased once you pick this bad-boy up, realizing its not as heavy as you think it is. Its still well-weighted enough to maneuver deftly, allowing you to go through all sorts of use cases without the feeling of the knife being fragile or not up for the task. Although the maker TIGO doesnt specifically detail out any warranty information, the Dragon Ridge is built reliably enough to last multiple lifetimes. The ball-bearing hinge and button lock should work very smoothly even with regular use, the blade should hold its edge fairly well (and will respond well to sharpening every few months), and that gorgeous bony titanium handle will promise to look exactly the same after decades, almost echoing the everlasting nature of a dragon fossil!Click Here to Buy Now: $205 $279 (27% off) Hurry! Only 14 of 50 units left.The post Dragon-inspired Titanium Pocket Knife has the most breathtaking skeletal handle design first appeared on Yanko Design.