Eight toilets to be refurbished across the borough in bid to replicate Victorian civic pride in public sanitationDesigns for a toilet on Victoria EmbankmentWestminster council has appointed Hugh Broughton Architects and artist James Lambert to refurbish eight toilets in the borough as part of celebrations for World Toilet Day.The council said the 12.7m project, part of a wider strategy to rethink the provision of toilets across Westminster, will bring together architecture, engineering and art to deliver a holistic vision for equitable space in the heart of the capital.Toilets at Victoria Embankment, Parliament Street, Piccadilly Circus and Green Park will all receive an extensive refurbishment in 2024 and 2025 with Carnaby Street, Westminster Pier, Covent Garden and Leicester Square due to be upgraded from 2025.Hugh Broughton Architects, the practice behind the refurbishment of Cliffords Tower in York, has been commissioned for the scheme by Westminsters infrastructure partner FM Conway along with Healthmatic and the Contemporary Art Society.Some of Lamberts designsIt aims to use high quality and inclusive design to address issues of maintenance and antisocial behaviour which affect Londons public toilets.Westminster said the project will seek to enshrine as much civic pride as the Victorians displayed when they first started looking at a proper sanitation system for the general public in the 19th century.Artist James LambertThe scheme will employ a shared material palette to maintain design consistency across the eight sites, while allowing the expression of the history and overlooked and previously under-represented aspects of each local area.Some of Lamberts designsThe first toilets to open will be on Victoria Embankment, featuring lines of energy intended to represent Joseph Bazelgettes complex feat of engineering, and an embankment guardian sphinx.There will also be design references to the London Underground and the sights of Victoria Embankment Gardens, along with the Thames as seen in a stylised Tattershall Castle Steamer and abstracted anchors and palm trees echoing the historical importance of the river in shaping global sea trade routes.A proposal for the Piccadilly Circus toiletHugh Broughton Architects founder Hugh Broughton explained: Whilst our designs deliver consistency, James Lamberts engaging art will give each its own character, aligned to local context.Westminster councillor Paul Deimoldenberg added: This is part of the councils ongoing commitment to enhance our public realm and enrich the cultural experience of residents and visitors. And we hope the artwork, which will tell a story of Westminsters diversity and vibrancy, will capture the publics imagination.World Toilet Day, on 19 November, is an officialUnited Nationsinternational observance dayseeking to inspire action to improve sanitation across the world.A design motif to be used on a toilet near the Palace of Westminster

On Monday (18 November), the prime minister bought up the proposed embassy scheme in a face-to-face meeting with Xi Jinping during the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro. It was the first time a UK prime minister has met their Chinese counterpart since Theresa May was in No 10.The proposals which would transform the former Royal Mint site opposite the Tower of London into embassy quarters was resubmitted to Tower Hamlets, the local planning authority, in the immediate aftermath of Julys general election.The planning application for a 2.3ha embassy complex was called in last month by deputy prime minister Angela Rayner. This means Chipperfields scheme will now face a planning inquiry with government ministers making the final decision.AdvertisementVideo of the encounter with Xi Jinping showed Starmer saying: You raised the Chinese embassy building in London when we spoke on the telephone and we have since taken action by calling in that application. Now we have to follow the legal process and timeline.China had criticised the previous government for failing to intervene in an original planning application, which Tower Hamlets councillors refused in December 2022 a decision later upheld by London mayor Sadiq Khan.Tower Hamlets councillors cited the schemes potential harm to surrounding heritage assets such as the Tower of London, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and the impact of the development on residents of the neighbouring Royal Mint Estate. They overturned a recommendation to approve the scheme by council planning officers, who had described the scheme as well-designed.Protesters and local politicians opposed the scheme because of Chinas repression of the predominantly Muslim Uyghur people and David Chipperfield was criticised for accepting the commission. Tower Hamlets has the largest Muslim population of any local authority in England and Wales, at 39.9 per cent.Last month it was alleged that China was blocking proposals by Eric Parry Architects for a new British ambassadors residence in Beijing in response to the delays to its London embassy plansAdvertisementAccording to a report in The Guardian, Chinese officials have resisted the UKs requests to rebuild its embassy complex for at least a year. The AJ understands that plans for the site were first submitted to authorities two years ago.A Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: Applications for a new Chinese embassy in Tower Hamlets have been called in for ministers to decide. A final decision will be made in due course.There is currently no timeline for the inquiry into the Chipperfield scheme.

From the 17th-storey roof terrace of whats commonly called the Paddington Cube, Londons cityscape unspools with leisurely aplomb. To the south, the trees are turning brown in Hyde Park; to the north, the still terraforming Paddington Basin features a jostling cluster of disparate buildings, like over-dressed guests at a cocktail party studiously trying to ignore each other. To the east, the Citys multifarious extrusions of capitalism dominate the horizon presided over by the hypodermic pinnacle of the Shard. Yet, if the Shards developer, Irvine Sellar, had realised his original ambition for Paddington, the Shard would have had a twin: a 72-storey, 254m-high tower that quickly became known as the Paddington Pole, the pair winking conspiratorially at each other across central London.The ensuing saga of how the Pole became the Cube was measured out in the minutiae of planning and legal battles but, from the getgo, there was a torrent of spitting feathers outrage from heritage groups and the local community over its Brobdingnagian scale. An online petition opposing it attracted 1,800 signatures. Where the Shard exuded a swashbuckling swagger in a part of London already in thrall to tall buildings, the Pole seemed like an opportunistic pale imitation, audaciously out of sync with its surroundings, dwarfing Paddington Station and the neighbouring St Marys Hospital and looming over the localitys agreeable Victorian terraces and squares.AdvertisementUltimately, the outrage proved insuperable and Westminster planners rebuffed the scheme. So, just like that, Sellar and his architect, Renzo Piano, went back to the drawing board and lopped off 65 storeys, a volte-face that was a gift to architectural magazine headline writers. Pole-axed, trumpeted Building magazine. The scheme also changed from being residential-led (the views from those literally high-end apartments doubtless commanding huge premiums) to being essentially a shell-and-core office block.Sellar, a man who once said with the Shard, we can kick sand in the face of the Eiffel Tower and whose urge to reshape the London skyline seemingly knew no bounds, was phlegmatic about this reverse ferret, as was Piano. I was a bit surprised by the criticism; but theres a lack of love for towers in England, where theyve long been seen as symbols of power and arrogance, he told the AJ in 2016.Paradoxically, after all the hoo-hah, the Cube does everything it can to blend in. It appears made of a singular material glass and is of a singular colour, a kind of pale, milky grey, as if it had been batch-dipped; practically the same hue as the roof of Paddington Station. Homogenous, crystalline and curiously self-effacing, despite its cubic chonk, its sheer flanks of low-iron glass reflect the mutable London sky. Derived in part from studies of the lace-like station vaults, full-height glazing modules a mere 1.5m wide, held in place by slim structural fins, ripple around its colossal, four-square volume.Apart from its notched corners, where the structure is exposed and expressed with some discreet cross-bracing, the Cube has a glacial, Euclidian perfection. Theres also a scenic exterior lift set within a skeletal tower clamped to its west side, another residual hint of Pianos High-Tech proclivities, that will whizz diners up from the pavement to a penthouse eatery (West Londons highest rooftop restaurant). But this polite and refined ghost building is, perhaps predictably, a very far cry from the batshit exuberance of the Pompidou Centre.The schemes genesis lay in the changing post-industrial patterns of use around Paddington Station, specifically the historic link between rail and mail. The Cube occupies the site of the former Paddington Sorting and Post Office, originally designed by Henry Tanner in 1892, and later extended in 1907 by Jasper Wager. Strategically situated next to the station, it leveraged this infrastructural proximity to convey mail on trains across the west of England. But, as mail volumes declined, it was vacated in 2010 and remained unlisted and unloved. Its subsequent removal paved the way for a major and much-needed redevelopment of the area around Paddington Station. For Sellar and Piano, there were clear parallels with London Bridge and the Shard, in how a station-adjacent showpiece building could intensify and reactivate a languishing part of the city.AdvertisementEmblematic of Victorian engineering puissance, Paddington has assumed a kind of national treasure status. When completed in 1854, Brunels iron and glass tour-de-force could claim to be the largest train shed roof in the world. Yet, for decades, the user experience was unspeakably dismal, with no sense of arrival and no obvious station front door, exacerbated by a chaotic and inhospitable public realm. Passengers were siphoned down a busy vehicle ramp from Praed Street to an underwhelming entrance resembling a giant mousehole, where the stations undulating roofscape telescopes down to a single bay.Where the Cube is rational and repetitive above ground, with its slickly stacked floor plates, where it meets the ground it becomes more subverted and fractured, catalysing and shaping a new public realm. This is how most people will encounter it and its fair to say that the experiential uplift is palpable. The dismal ramp is now a paved piazza, with steps around its edge and new landscaping, part of a network of spaces and routes designed to embed the station more legibly and logically into its wider surroundings.A key move is the creation of a diagonal axis across the footprint of the Cube, which forms a subterranean concourse connecting with a new entrance to the Bakerloo line. This also opens up views through to the main station, so people can see where they going. A familiar gamut of shops and cafs activates the ground plane and specially commissioned artworks, including a serpentine sculpture by American multimedia artist Pae White precipitously suspended over the Bakerloo concourse, add further visual incident. The area is sheltered by a large glass canopy suspended from the base of the Cube. Flaring out like a protective tutu, this also marks the distinction between public and corporate realms. To access the Cube, you ascend an external bank of escalators to the entrance, where a softly lit and softly furnished concourse straight from the playbook of WeWork is contrived to winkle people out of offices for a spot of informal interaction. Lower floors have fugitive, Rear Window-style views of neighbouring buildings, from the hospital campus of St Marys to assorted hotels, while upper levels enjoy master of the universe panoramas.Irvine Sellar died in 2017, as the Cube was making its not uneventful way through the planning system, so he never saw it completed. Yet, though Sellar was denied a second trophy tower, the outcome is still, in its way, a showpiece, albeit more demure in form and scale, the yin to the Shards yang. But beyond the fixed point of the building and its architecture, how it reimagines the public realm and redefines what goes on around it, transforming the day-to-day experience of station users and the wider Paddington populace, is ultimately just as if not more consequential. Perhaps its not always the size of the ship but the size of the waves.Catherine Slessor is a writer and critic and president of The Twentieth Century SocietyProject dataStart on site November 2019Completion December 2022 (offices), September 2024 (public realm)Gross internal floor area 63,000mConstruction cost UndisclosedArchitect Renzo Piano Building WorkshopClient Great Western Development with Sellar Property GroupExecutive architect Adamson Associates ArchitectsInterior designer Universal Design StudioStructural engineer WSP StructuresM&E consultant WSPCost consultant Gardiner & TheobaldProject manager Gardiner & TheobaldPrincipal designer Adamson Associates (International)Approved building inspector Sweco Building ControlAccess consultant David Bonnett AssociatesLighting designer Cosil-Peutz Lighting DesignLandscape designer BDP, Flora FormMain contractor MaceCAD software used RevitAnnual CO2 emissions 149kgCO2/m2

Our Experts Written by David Watsky Our expert, award-winning staff selects the products we cover and rigorously researches and tests our top picks. If you buy through our links, we may get a commission. Reviews ethics statement Why You Can Trust CNET 16171819202122232425+ Years of Experience 14151617181920212223 Hands-on Product Reviewers 6,0007,0008,0009,00010,00011,00012,00013,00014,00015,000 Sq. Feet of Lab Space How we test CNETs expert staff reviews and rates dozens of new products and services each month, building on more than a quarter century of expertise. What to consider Cooking modes and special features Digital displays, niche cooking modes and smart settings are all available for a price. Size and capacity You'll want to square your cooking needs with the amount of counter space you're willing to give up. Cost and value The fanciest air fryer toaster ovens can cost upwards of $500, but you may not need all that oven. Table of Contents Our Picks $187 at Best Buy Best countertop oven and air fryer overall Ninja Foodi View details $187 at Best Buy View details $190 at Best Buy Best looking air fryer and toaster KitchenAid Digital Countertop Oven View details $190 at Best Buy View details $300 at Amazon Best air fryer and toaster to replace your big oven Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro View details $300 at Amazon View details $80 at Walmart Best budget air fryer toaster Cuisinart Compact Airfryer Toaster View details $80 at Walmart View details Table of Contents Do you know what's perfectly fine and acceptable? Having both an air fryer and a toaster oven. Yet, air fryer toaster ovens exist, combining the two into a space-saving device. It's perfect if you have a smaller kitchen or are renting an apartment and can't afford to take up too much space. As a rule of thumb, dual-function appliances help organize your kitchen and save money.Read more: 52 Best Christmas Gifts 2024: Early Ideas to Clear Your Holiday ListAir fryers are typically basket or pot-style kitchen gadgets and can either focus on heating up one thing or can be a two-in-one appliance. Air fryers cook food by circulating hot air, making it more straightforward to cook food without the use of oil. On the other hand, air fryer toaster ovens cook food using concentrated heat and are typically useful for cooking things that need to be laid flat, like toast or reheating leftovers. Now imagine combining these two appliances into one, it becomes clear why a toaster oven with dual functions similar to an air fryer would be desirable.We've tested several of these combo machines from top small appliance brands to find the best air fryer toaster ovens to add to your kitchen.What's the best overall air-frying toaster oven?I've tested dozens of toaster ovens and air fryers and now hybrid models that do it all. After hours of baking, browning, broiling, toasting and air-frying with hot air, Ninja's Foodi toaster with its powerful air fryer function tops this list as the best toaster oven and air fryer for 2024.Pod-shaped air fryer ovens mostly do one thing: air fry. You can control the temperature, but you're limited to a single cooking function -- there's no broiling, for instance -- and it's much harder to be precise if you're making something finicky and not simply crisping up fried food, frozen pizza or frozen french fries. They also have smaller capacities in comparison to their overall size so I wouldn't call them good space-budgeters, especially if you want one that'll cook enough for two or more people. If you're a little tight on kitchen space, like this New Yorker here, an air fryer/oven combo will do the work of an air fryer and a toaster and some models, like the flip-up Ninja Foodi Air Fryer Oven, don't take up much counter space at all.Here's how the hybrid air fryer toaster ovens performed and a few of my top picks. Best air fryer toaster ovens of 2024 Pros Powerful air fryer function Cooks precisely and evenly Folds up on a hinge to save space on the counter Cons A short interior makes it difficult to cook bulkier foods Walls of oven get dirty faster than larger models Power 1,800 wattsControls DigitalFunctions Air fry, bake, broil, pizza, toastDimensions 8H 15.3W 10.2DPrice $200 $187 at Best Buy The small yet mighty Ninja Foodi bested all others in my final assessment and placed either first or second in nearly every single test I ran, blending fierce power, consistency and control. The Ninja preheated the fastest (by far) and kept its heat consistent throughout. The air fryer function was also best in show and it broiled a salmon filet nicely. It's also the most compact of these countertop ovens and the only model that flips up via a hinge in the back to rest no more than 7 inches from the wall.One drawback is the Ninja's interior size, but I suspect that's also why it works as well as it does. The Ninja is short -- about 6 inches and half the height of many of the others -- so you're somewhat limited in what you can put inside. It also makes things a bit clumsy when you're loading food in and taking it out and it's harder to see while it's cooking. Photo Gallery 1/1 $190 at Best Buy Best looking air fryer and toaster KitchenAid Digital Countertop Oven $190 at Best Buy $190 at KitchenAid While the KitchenAid didn't run away with many of the test categories, it didn't struggle mightily in any of them either. It sports a serviceable air fry function -- although certainly not the best -- excellent temperature consistency and a very sleek and intuitive control panel (my favorite of the lot). It makes the list because I found it to be a reliable oven that's also an ideal size formostkitchens and its sleek and modern design was my favorite of the bunch.It's a bit of a hybrid between the Ninja and the Breville in that it's compact -- just 17 inches across versus the Breville at more than 21 -- but also has a more traditional cooking capacity so you could get some taller items in there, whereas the Ninja is limited in that department. It also looks great, which always counts for something. Photo Gallery 1/1 $300 at Amazon Best air fryer and toaster to replace your big oven Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro $300 at Amazon

In the last couple of years, what it means to shop Black Friday deals has evolved tremendously. For those of you who weren't fans of waiting in huge lines or shoving your way through massive crowds just to get the holiday gift your loved one is begging for in-store, you don't have to anymore. Retailers like Amazon make it convenient and easy for you to get whatever you have been eyeing right in the comfort of your pajamas at home.Plus, you don't have to wait until Black Friday to shop these deals. The online giant has been offering discounts on a gazillion products leading up to the big sale event. Other retailers such as Apple, Best Buy, Target, Walmartand Kohl's have knocked prices off of TVs, laptops and much more. This story is part of Gift Guide, our year-round collection of the best gift ideas. With all these deals happening at once, it can be quite overwhelming to distinguish between a deal and just the normal price. So to help, first make sure to check out CNET's shopping browsing extension and follow these shopping tips serving as your Amazon Black Friday cheat sheet. And if you find a deal that is a Prime-only sale, no worries. Here's how to shop for the deal without committing to buying a membership. Watch this: How to Shop Black Friday Deals Like a Pro 02:36 Tips to win at shopping Black Friday at Amazon EarlyBlack Friday deals are in full swing on Amazon. To get the full experience and the best deals, it's suggested that you sign up for a Prime membership. Unlike Amazon Prime Day, you don't need a Prime membership to shop Amazon's Black Friday sales. However, Prime members get access to exclusive deals on everything from tech and beauty items to home decor. Plus free one- and two-day shipping, same-day delivery on qualifying items and much more.The Prime free shipping benefit helps Black Friday shopping online feel like the traditional way. You get to shop for what you want minus the crowds and have it delivered straight to your home in a timely manner. To make things even better there's a something called Amazon coupons that give you even more deals. James Martin/CNET Amazon Prime: 30-day free trial Prime Day requires an Amazon Prime membership, though you don't have to be apayingmember to get in on the savings. Start your 30-day Prime free trial now and you'll be able to shop the best deals without paying for a subscription -- just remember to cancel before it renews. See at Amazon Amazon shopping hacks for getting the best Black Friday dealsAmazon's Black Friday deals are all live on a dedicated page on the company's site. But if you find perusing hundreds of thousands of sales overwhelming, we have a better option. To make Black Friday shopping easier, we've curated our top picks. Hit the links below to find all the best deals on Amazon devices like Echos, Fire TVs and Ring cameras, as well as sales on everything from AirPods to workout equipment. Amazon Prime members get free one- and two-day shipping right to their door. AmazonHidden Amazon perks you should know Amazon Prime is more than just exclusive deals and free shipping. Members can also score hidden perks like access to Max shows and Thursday night NFL football games without cable. You can even choose to try on clothes and shoes before buying them. Plus, Prime members can save on Grubhub orders, too. Learn more at the link below.For more information on Black Friday and the retailers offering deals, take a look at CNET's live roundup of the best sales happening now. Save Money on Holiday Shopping With These Top Amazon Shopping Hacks See all photos

OpinionNovember 19, 20245 min readBury Me on the MoonPreferably on the Far SideThe far side of the moon offers grounds for compromise between advocates and opponents of lunar developmentBy Rick N. Tumlinson Ana J Crdenas/Getty ImagesI want to be buried on the moon.Why? I am one of Apollos Children, part of the generation that grew up watching as NASAs Apollo astronauts made the giant leap for all humankind with their epochal lunar footfalls. Ive spent most of my life working on this new incredible phase of human history, our breakout into space, always with the moon in mind as a destination. I led return-to-the-moon petition drives in the 1980s, helped start the first mission to look for lunar water in the 1990s and have assisted in laying the groundwork for multiple civil and commercial lunar exploration initiatives.Some of my reasons are admittedly selfish. I think of my daughter and any of my descendants, who, from anywhere on Earth, could always look up at that island in the sky and know Im there.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.But I also want to do this for all the countless others who share my dream of opening space.Death rituals are some of humanitys most important traditions. Choosing a final resting place is often one of the last acts of personal agency in your life. And we usually honor these choices as such. For example, so long as it doesnt impact public safety, having some or all of ones ashes scattered in the ocean or some other place of great personal meaning is a respected practice. Recently, the space firm Celestis has expanded to include placing small symbolic amounts of human ashes on the moon as a beautiful way of honoring ones deceased ancestors.Yet there are those with other equally valid traditions who feel the moon should be off-limits to dreamers like me. Some Native Americans, such as those of the Navajo Nation, hold the Earth-facing side of the moon, as well as the other planets and even the stars, as not just lights in the night sky but as sacred objects of spiritual significance essential to their cosmology and ceremonies. The night sky spoke to their ancestors, and the moons movements and phases were an important source of wisdom and guidance.Such deeply spiritual traditions typically consider proposals for lunar burial as pollution of this important object by crass commercial interests. Then again, anyone honoring the dearly departed with some form of extraterrestrial intermentvia commercial services or otherwisesee such acts as deeply spiritual, too.We should weigh history while pondering these two contrasting perspectives. It must be noted that while calling out a private company for placing tiny capsules of human ashes aboard exploration vehicles already flying to the moon, those protesting the idea largely ignore 65 years of lunar littering via government spacecraft from the U.S., Russia and the former U.S.S.R., as well as from India, Japan and China.The current challenges being made against the placement of small amounts of ashes on the moon raise the question: Is it what people do on the moon that critics find so upsetting, or who is doing it? Is this perhaps less about time-honored traditions and more about the current stereotype of American space entrepreneurs plundering and pillaging space? To this I would add a follow-up question: Why is it considered normal for private firms like funeral homes to manage funeral services on Earth, but not in space? Might it be that the opposition is motivated by fear of what is to come, and the perceived need to take a stand against citizen-led lunar development?This all being said, I get it. In the past, confronted with new frontiers, be it empty lands, or places already home to others, those with the power to do so have simply charged forward, taking whatever they wanted and shattering the ecosystems and societies they were invading.Now, as we open what my mentor Gerard K. ONeill called the High Frontier of space, we have the chance to do things differently, showing consideration for the traditions of those we represent as human pioneers and respect for the new places we will go. Perhaps we can evolve this disagreement about a few ashes into a more unifying conversation that transforms how we take our next small steps into the great beyond.Whether my final resting place is or is not on the moon is of minor importance given what else is at stake, a macro-issue we must deal with right now, lest we make mistakes we will never be able to correct. Fortunately, the nature of the moon itself offers a solution. It twirls on its axis once for each orbit it makes of our world, meaning it always turns the same faceits near sidetoward Earth. Its other hemisphere is invisible from our planet, creating an opportunity for both sides in this argument to get their way.Thus I suggest a compromise for the ages that allows us to develop and build communities and preserve the essential nature of the moon as it will be seen by all Earths people for all time to come. The provisional name Ive given this initiative is the Luna Bella Protocols. Its final form will be determined in years to come, but as the nickname suggests, the goal is to keep our moon as beautiful as it is todayforever.I propose that we all agree to ban all permanent lunar development that is visible with the naked eye from Earth. Be it a strip mine gashing the eye of the man in the moon, a scar on an ear of the lunar rabbit, or a hole in the gown of the goddess of the moon, it is not our generations place to condemn all future generations to bear witness to our lack of compassion and frankly, good taste. We dont need to change the moons familiar faceso why not agree to leave it unmarred by any obvious act of humanity, forevermore? Meanwhile, we can let our lunar dreams come into full bloom on the far side, never to be directly seen by wandering eyes here on Earth. Theres plenty to go around, so to speak.Let the forces of cultural and natural preservation join with those expanding civilization to forge a pact encompassing all we do out there, for the visible benefit of everyone down here.As to my burial plans? They can wait for now. Weve got too much to do.This is an opinion and analysis article, and the views expressed by the author or authors are not necessarily those of Scientific American.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 struggles to get off the ground as players battle launch day server woesMirroring predecessor's bumpy takeoff.Image credit: Asobo/Microsoft News by Matt Wales News Reporter Published on Nov. 19, 2024 Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is cleared for takeoff, ready to give aircraft fanciers and digital globetrotters another jaunt across its beautiful world. But in a turn of events almost exactly mirroring the launch day woes seen by its 2020 predecessor, Flight Simulator 2024 is struggling to gt off the ground, with players complaining of lengthy post-install download times, installation freezes, and more as Microsoft's servers buckle under the demand.Already, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 has been tarred with the Overwhelmingly Negative brush on Steam, with players reporting a range of issues - all of which are eerily familiar to those seen back in 2020. Mostly, the finger is once again being pointed toward developer Asobo's insistence that players download the bulk of the game - equalling approximately 50GB - through the in-game interface, utilising Microsoft's servers instead of Steam's. That's traditionally been a languid pursuit at the best of times, but on launch day - when everyone is struggling to get in at once - it's proving even more glacial.Some users are seeing their downloads stall at 97 percent, while others, having successfully cleared that first hurdle, then report being stuck in lengthy log-in queues. Additionally, Flight Simulator's reliance on streaming means plenty of people are having a miserable experience even if they do get in, with reported issues including sluggish world loading and even invisible planes. "I can only marvel at the depth of the simulation," wrote one Steam reviewer, "as it now feels like Boeing was actually involved in building the servers."What you can expect when you eventually get in.Watch on YouTube"I enjoyed the short movie about a man and a plane," added another frustrated user. "However, it seemed quite expensive for its length - around one minute. I would wait until the loading screen is on sale before purchase because it does get quite samey after the 70th loop." As for the Microsoft's Flight Simulator subreddit, it's currently awash in some top class memes.Over on Flight Simulator's support page, Microsoft has acknowledged the issues players are experiencing. "We are aware of user reports of long initial loading times into Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024," it wrote. "With so many users initialising the sim concurrently, we have a large number of server requests. We are working to help resolve the issues as soon as possible.""For users whose initial load is past 90 percent and no longer progressing, we recommend a reboot," it added, immediately eliciting a collective scream from everyone without a high-speed internet connection. "Otherwise we advise waiting to allow the loading to proceed as normal." The Xbox support page, meanwhile, acknowledged "slow download and install times", suggesting players keep an eye on its live status page while it investigates.Some Steam customers have also expressed concern that Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024's lengthy in-game install solution means downloads are eating into the platform's two-hour refund window. Back in 2020, Valve moved to assure customers only actual play time would be counted, but it's not yet confirmed the same applies in 2024.Developer Asobo has, of course, been talking a big game for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 ahead of launch, promising a frankly staggering list of activities, including aerial firefighting, search and rescue, helicopter cargo transport, crop dusting, skydive aviation, hot air balloon tours, and more. It's also teased "literally trillions of trees", even the ability to get out your plane and walk a trail - all of which sounds like it'll be marvellous, as long as Flight Simulator navigates its launch day turbulence on PC, Xbox Series X/S, and Game Pass, and sticks the landing.

You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games here Contents hide The arrival of Omnimovement in Call of Duty is the most significant change to Activisions shooter series in recent years. In multiplayer and Warzone battle royale matches, you have the ability to sprint, slide, and dive in any direction giving you the perfect opportunity to navigate the maps like a Hollywood action hero. Following the systems integration into Warzone alongside the entire weapon arsenal, those dropping into Urzikstan and Area 99 were quick to notice Omnimovement wasnt as smooth as its multiplayer counterpart. Thankfully, the developers have already made adjustments much to the delight of the biggest content creators out there.Warzone movement changes given seal of approvalNestled within the November 19 patch notes for Black Ops 6 multiplayer and Warzone, Treyarch and Raven Software showcased the areas it has improved in order to ensure Omnimovements fluidity is maintained within matches. Adjustments include a reduction to minimum sprint times for performing a dive to prone which is already proving popular. Shortly after the update went live, Warzone content creator Repullze took to social media to express his excitement surrounding the change. Fellas, are things actually gonna be different this year? asks the streamer. These changes apply to both Black Ops 6 and Warzone and should result in more responsive movements with fewer occurences where players attempt to dive to prone or slide and instead crouch. We will continue to assess and identify areas for improved fluditiy with Omnimovement.ActivisionWith players loading into matches to notice the changes, the reaction was overwhelmingly positive. Just played a game. The sprint assist delay is gone finally, says one fan. Plenty of others share the same sentiment and are grateful Raven Software and Treyarch are listening and addressing concerns promptly. Is Warzone back?The integration of Black Ops 6 reverted numerous quality-of-life changes that significantly improved Urzikstan during the Modern Warfare 3 cycle, much to the annoyance of players. After addressing the poor audio in an earlier update, it appears the developers are listening and continuously working to fix any issues that arise. The removal of Rebirth Island due to map-specific problems was another step in the wrong direction for the battle royale but with the Black Ops 6 era in its infancy, theres still plenty of time for Warzone to return to its glory days especially with Verdansk coming back in 2025.Before you drop into your next game, take a look at when the next double XP weekend is taking place so you can rank up as fast as possible.Subscribe to our newsletters!By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime.Share

Here's an overview of the most recent Blender jobs on Blender Artists, ArtStation and 3djobs.xyz: Lead 3D Character Artist - F/M/NB at NOVAQUARK Creative Technical Lead at OceanX 3D Blender Artist at tobspr Games For more jobs, look here.Source

President-elect Donald Trumps pick to lead the Department of Energy is fossil fuel executive Chris Wright who has misleadingly claimed on LinkedIn that there is no climate crisis, and were not in the midst of an energy transition either. Hurricanes, wildfires, droughts, and other disasters exacerbated by climate change are already hitting the US. And renewable energy capacity is on course to more than double globally by the end of the decade.Nevertheless, Wright is a staunch evangelist for fossil fuels who consistently rejects mainstream climate science. While Wright also has ties to the nuclear energy industry, clean energy advocates say that with Trumps cabinet picks, the US is losing ground in the race to deploy renewable energy and fight climate change. Oil and gas companies, meanwhile, are patting themselves on the back. Im one of those people needlessly enriched by [the] bad energy policy environment we live in today.Picking someone like Chris Wright is a clear sign that Trump wants to turn the U.S. into a pariah petrostate, said Jean Su, director of the Center for Biological Diversitys energy justice program, in an emailed statement.Wright is the CEO of Liberty Energy, a major oil and gas service provider that launched during Americas fracking boom more than a decade ago. Around 10 percent of total US primary energy production comes from wells fracked by Liberty, according to the company.In a video posted by the right-wing think tank Heritage Foundation last year, Wright refers to irrationally restrictive policies against the production of oil and natural gas that do nothing to change the demand for oil and natural gas, he claims. Our business today is the most profitable its ever been. As I say, Im one of those people needlessly enriched by [the] bad energy policy environment we live in today. I dont celebrate that. In fact, I adamantly oppose it.RelatedTrump campaigned on a Republican platform that says simply, We will DRILL, BABY, DRILL.Wright will be a key leader, driving innovation [and] cutting red tape, Trump said on Truth Social announcing the appointment, which still needs to be confirmed by the Senate, over the weekend. He also said Wright would join a new Council of National Energy tasked with focusing on INNOVATION over longstanding, but totally unnecessary, regulation.A biography of Wright included with Trumps statement says the prospective Secretary of Energy is a self-described tech nerd turned entrepreneur who embraces all energy sources if they are abundant, affordable, and reliable and has worked in the fossil fuel, nuclear, solar, and geothermal industries. Liberty has invested in the geothermal energy startup Fervo Energy, which is working with Google to provide electricity for data centers in Nevada. Wrights appointment could also be a boon for nuclear energy. He sits on the board of Oklo, a company developing advanced nuclear reactors, with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Tech companies have signed a slew of nuclear energy deals this year to try to satiate growing electricity demand from AI data centers. Trumps Agenda 47says hell support nuclear energy production... by modernizing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, working to keep existing power plants open, and investing in innovative small modular reactors. On a related note, Trumps pick to lead deregulatory efforts at the Environmental Protection Agency, Lee Zeldin, said he wants to make America the AI capital of the world.The fossil fuel industry is still home base for Wright, however. Chris Wright has a special connection as a fellow MIT alum and vocal promoter of the oil and natural gas industry, Kathleen Sgamma, president of the Western Energy Alliance that is made up of oil and gas companies, said in an emailed statement.Wrights sales pitch for methane, marketed by the industry as natural gas, is typically that its an affordable source of energy. My dedication to bettering human lives remains steadfast, with a focus on making American energy more affordable, reliable, and secure, Wright said in a post on X.But tumbling prices for renewable energy infrastructure have made onshore wind and solar farms cheaper sources of electricity than fossil fuels in most of the world. If we turn our back on the cheapest forms of new energy like solar and wind power it will make energy more expensive for American consumers, Environmental Defense Fund executive director Amanda Leland said in a statement. Any nominee, including Chris Wright, who ignores the stakes in this global clean energy race or fails to recognize the urgent challenge of climate change should concern all of us.