From one blocky world to another, a new agreement has been struck between Minecraft and the group behind Peppa Pig World, Alton Towers, and Legoland, Merlin Entertainments

The 10 best and weirdest Nintendo DS games to celebrate the 20th anniversaryMichael BeckwithPublished November 20, 2024 1:00am Remember when Tingle was popular enough to warrant two solo titles? (Nintendo)GameCentral honours the Nintendo DSs 20th birthday by celebrating the most bizarre entries in its extensive catalogue of games.This may shock some younger readers, but the original Nintendo DS was massive when it came out. In fact, it remains one of the best-selling consoles ever made, second only to the PlayStation 2.Its likely itll eventually be overtaken by the Nintendo Switch, but holding onto that position all these years, even as far more powerful hardware has come out, shows just how beloved the DS was.We initially planned to celebrate the consoles 20th anniversary with its all-time best games, like the original Mario & Luigi: Bowsers Inside Story and Ghost Trick,but then we remembered how the DS was home to all manner of delightfully odd releases; plenty of which will likely never get a modern day remaster and are already fading from memory.So, let us toast to the forgotten, weirder entries in the DS library; ones that are still worth experiencing even today.Freshly-Picked Tingles Rosy Rupeeland (2006)It is shocking that Tingle, a recurring side character in The Legend Of Zelda series, got to be the main star in not one but two games, long before Echoes Of Wisdom finally gave Zelda a proper protagonist role (no, the CD-i games dont count).Freshly-Picked Tingles Rosy Rupeeland almost feels like a parody, with the titular Tingle exploring dungeons and selling items to earn enough money to build a tower and reach the paradise that is Rupeeland. It is as unserious as it sounds, with even Tingles health directly tied to your rupee count.It did well enough to warrant a 2009 sequel all about pursuing relationships with different women but that was, perhaps unsurprisingly, a Japanese release only.Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (2009)Despite what you might think, there have been lots of Grand Theft Auto games on Nintendo formats, including the GTA: The Trilogy remasters, but also stretching all the way back to the Game Boy Color. That alone is pretty strange but Rockstar went one step further on the DS, with a big budget touchscreen exclusive.While GTA: Chinatown Wars did see a PlayStation Portable port seven months after launch, the original was marketed solely for the DS and was even part of Nintendos E3 2008 showcase. It was all very un-Nintendo-like, especially when the game caught flak for having a drug-selling mechanic.Perhaps more shocking was that Chinatown Wars was very good, being explicitly designed for the DS capabilities and not just a watered-down port of contemporary GTA 4.Henry Hatsworth In The Puzzling Adventure (2009)With a name like Henry Hatsworth In The Puzzling Adventure, youd be forgiven for assuming this was some sort of Professor Layton rip-off. Especially when you learn the game stars a British gentleman defined by his headgear, whos very good at solving puzzles.However, the Layton similarities end there, as this isnt just a match-three style puzzle game but a 2D action-platformer too. All the platforming takes place on the top screen, with defeated enemies becoming puzzle blocks on the bottom screen. You must then link chains of coloured blocks using the stylus to ensure the enemies dont come back and fill up meters for performing super attacks.Its surprisingly involved and an effective blend of both gameplay styles. It was also a rare but welcome change of pace from EA Tiburon, better known nowadays as EA Orlando, which mostly worked on sports games like EAs Madden NFL series.999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors (2009)Before AI: The Somnium Files, director and writer Kotaro Uchikoshi made a name for himself with the Zero Escape series of visual novels, of which 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors was the first. Nine people find themselves trapped on a sinking ship and must solve escape room puzzles to survive in a deadly game of choice; one where breaking the rules will set off bombs in their stomachs.Initially something of a rarity, thanks to its Japan and US exclusivity, the game soon garnered quite the following thanks to its complex branching storyline, that touches on thought-provoking topics and concepts while also revelling in off-the-wall, sometimes juvenile, humour. It also had a neat gimmick where all the character dialogue took place on the top screen while ongoing narration appeared on the bottom screen.Surprisingly, it fared very well in the West, with poor Japanese sales for both it and its superior sequel, Virtues Last Reward, very nearly killing the series. Fortunately, Uchikoshi would get to wrap up the franchise with a third game, and all three are easily available on modern platforms.Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan (2005)A long-time GameCentral favourite, Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan is a delightfully silly game where you help people in need, be it a students struggling to study or a potter seeking inspiration, by tapping your stylus to the beat of a variety of Japanese pop songs.Aside from satisfying rhythm-action gameplay, the scenarios are increasingly over-the-top and hilarious. The very concept of people calling on a cheerleader squad to rally them through whatever problem they have including an asteroid crashing into the Earth is great fun all on its ownAlthough it never left Japan, it was a popular import title that encouraged the more international friendly follow-up Elite Beat Agents, which was fine but wasnt quite as good. There was another Japan-only sequel in 2007, but that was sadly the last weve seen of the Ouendan series, barring cameos in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.Pokmon Conquest (2012)In a post-Pokmon Smile and Pokmon Sleep world, Pokmon Conquest may still be the strangest spin-off in the franchises history. Not only was it The Pokmon Companys first (and so far, only) stab at the tactical role-playing genre, Pokmon Conquest doubled as a crossover with Koei Tecmos Nobunagas Ambition series.While it was certainly too easy for those who had cut their teeth on something like Advance Wars, Pokmon Conquest remains one of the better Pokmon spin-offs thanks in part to a ludicrous premise that, despite all odds, actually works quite well. As such, it has cultivated its own devoted fanbase.Its a shame it didnt seem to leave much of an impact, since it never saw a follow-up. There have been some other solid spin-offs since then, namely Pokkn Tournament and New Pokmon Snap, but none of them are nearly as odd as this.Slide Adventure MAGKID (2007)Even some of the most diehard Nintendo fans wont have heard of this one. Like Ouendan, this was a Japanese exclusive, but it doesnt seem to have been much of a hit in its home country. Slide Adventure MAGKID is worth remembering, though, if only for its novel motion control gimmick.It came with a special accessory called the Slide Controller, which you plugged into the DS bottom slot. You then had to rest it against a flat surface, and it acted like a computer mouse, allowing you to slide the DS to move the titular Mag Kid and solve puzzles.Theres fun to be had in the sheer novelty of the game but why Nintendo thought it justified its own peripheral, that had to be sold in a larger box than usual, is a mystery. Although its much less perplexing as to why it was never released in the West.Soul Bubbles (2008)Another old school GameCentral favourite, Soul Bubbles puts you in control of a shaman whose mission is to herd spirits through various levels by containing them in bubbles.Using the touchscreen to draw and guide these bubbles sounds simple enough, but where Soul Bubbles excels is in its environmental puzzle-solving. Sometimes your bubble is too big to pass through spaces, so you must divide the spirits into a chain of smaller bubbles. Other times, the bubbles need to be frozen or filled with water, so theres more complexity to it than you may expect.On top of that, the whole game has a relaxing atmosphere and boasts some of the most gorgeous visuals weve seen on the DS. If you ever stumble across a second-hand copy of Soul Bubbles, you owe it to yourself to snap it up and give this long-forgotten gem a chance.Super Princess Peach (2005)When it comes to Super Mario games for the DS, Super Princess Peach is well remembered but not for the right reasons. In some basic role reversal, Mario has been kidnapped by Bowser and Peach must save him. Rather than rely on her own platforming skills, though, Peachs main powers are her own emotions.You activate these powers by tapping the different coloured hearts on the bottom screen. Joy, for example, makes her float through the air, while sadness makes her run fast as she cries a waterfall of tears. The sexist undertones, where Peach is portrayed as an emotionally unstable wreck, are no doubt unintentional but difficult to ignore.More TrendingIf you can look past that, Super Princess Peach is an otherwise solid platformer that isnt just a run-of-the-mill Super Mario Bros. clone, with Peach as the playable character. It certainly offers more of a challenge than the overly simple Princess Peach Showtime, but the definitive Peach solo adventure has yet to emerge.The World Ends With You (2007)Even nearly two decades later, The World Ends With You remains one of the most courageously original role-playing games out there, especially when it comes to the gameplay.Its combat, which demands you pay attention to both screens while controlling two characters simultaneously, can be off-putting and difficult to parse, but figuring out how it all works is worth it. Combined with the stylish art style and music, The World Ends With You stood out amongst its peers of the time for taking full advantage of the DS capabilities.While the Switch remaster and 2021 sequel are certainly more approachable, we honestly miss the risks the original game took. If possible, its worth tracking down a DS copy and experiencing how it was meant to be played because, like many of the games on this list, its so much more fun on its original hardware.Emailgamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below,follow us on Twitter, andsign-up to our newsletter.To submit Inbox letters and Readers Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use ourSubmit Stuff page here.For more stories like this,check our Gaming page.GameCentralExclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content.This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy

The entire industry will be paying attention to GTA 6 (Picture: Rockstar)Its been over a decade since GTA 5 launched in 2013, and after several re-releases and more than $8.5 billion in revenue, Rockstar Games and Take-Two are finally gearing up for the release of GTA 6.At this point, Grand Theft Auto is the biggest traditional (i.e. not Minecraft or Roblox) video game franchise in history, and that makes the new game arguably the most anticipated one of all time. If you want proof just consider the announcement trailer, which garnered more than 50 million views in less than a day.Although the second trailerWith everyone eager for more information, weve compiled all the important information Rockstar has officially confirmed about GTA 6 and all the many rumours that have followedGTA 6 release date: when does the game come out?GTA 6 is currently scheduled to launch in autumn 2025, as confirmed by Take-Two in its most recent financial results.The game may be hit with a delay though, which could push it into December or even 2026.As a reminder, GTA 5 was initially scheduled for spring 2013, but wound up not releasing until that September. Any such delay for GTA 6 likely wont be announced until later next year, as at the moment its probably not clear whether it needs more time or not.GTA 6 formats: what consoles will the game be available for?GTA 6 will be available on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. There are no plans to bring it to last-gen platforms (PlayStation 4 and Xbox One) so, if youve yet to upgrade to either of the current consoles, youll need to if you want to play GTA 6.Theres no mention of when GTA 6 will come to PC, but Rockstar has traditionally always been slow to support the format. In a November 2024 earnings call, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said: I do think PC will continue to be a more and more important part of the console business going forward, and that isnt complicated for us to support at all.GTA 5 didnt arrive on PC until 2015, almost two years after its initial console release, but its widely assumed GTA 6 will be a bit sooner than that.One outside possibility is that GTA 6 could also be released for the Nintendo Switch 2. Rockstar has always had a surprisingly good relationship with Nintendo and the only limiting factor is whether the new console will be powerful enough to run the game. GTA 6 looks poised to take full advantage of current hardware (Picture: Rockstar)GTA 6 story: what is the game about?Exact story details for GTA 6 are incredibly slim, but the reveal trailer did provide a general outline for what to expect. GTA 6s main protagonist is a young woman named Lucia, who commits crimes as part of a Bonnie and Clyde-style duo with a currently unnamed male partner (although hes widely believed to be called Jason).Despite what you may think, GTA 6 wont mark the first time youre able to play as a woman in the series. The original 1997 game, the Game Boy Color version of GTA 2, and GTA Online have had options for playable female characters. These options never impacted the story, though, so GTA 6 is still breaking new ground for the series in that regard. Lucia may not be the series first playable woman, but her status as GTA 6s main character is still a big deal (Picture: Rockstar)GTA 6 setting: where does the game take place?GTA 6 will be set in Leonida, a fictional version of the state of Florida. What makes this particularly exciting for long-time GTA fans is this means Vice City will be making a return.Based on the real-world city of Miami, Vice City was initially a level in the original GTA but is better known for its open-world depiction in GTA: Vice City (2002) and its prequel, GTA: Vice City Stories.Vice City has long been a popular locale with fans, so much so that there have been several fan efforts to recreate the city, such as modding it into GTA 5. It also speaks to the size of GTA 6s map that the setting of a PlayStation 2-era game will only be a portion of it. Expect multiple means of travel (Picture: Rockstar)GTA 6 trailers: when does the next trailer release?So far, theres only one trailer for GTA 6, which doesnt feature any actual gameplay footage. Fans have come up with their own (often bizarre) theories on when a new trailer will drop, but neither Rockstar nor Take-Two have formally confirmed anything.More TrendingA new trailer could wind up debuting at The Game Awards 2024, which takes place on December 13. Its the last major gaming event of the year and has typically hosted major game announcements.However, last years trailer debuted just a few days before The Game Awards 2023, which suggests Rockstar isnt interested in sharing the limelight with anyone else.That means the best guess for when Trailer 2 will be released, if it does happen this year, is sometime between now and the second week of December. How big is GTA 6 going to be? (Picture: Rockstar)Emailgamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below,follow us on Twitter, andsign-up to our newsletter.To submit Inbox letters and Readers Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use ourSubmit Stuff page here.For more stories like this,check our Gaming page.GameCentralExclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content.This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy

You better knock off that awful attempt at a Scottish brogue, mate: A team of researchers has found that people in the northern United Kingdom and Ireland are especially good at telling when youre faking it. The research surveyed nearly 1,000 participants from across the UK and Ireland and found that individuals from Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and northeastern England were better at identifying mimicked native accents than participants from farther south. The teams research is published today in Evolutionary Human Sciences. The new paper focused exclusively on people from the UK and Ireland, but its a fair warning for those of us in North America about attempting those awful accents. We found first that people across groups are better than average when detecting when someone is faking any accent (across the seven accents in the UK and Ireland we evaluated), said Jonathan Goodman, a researcher at the University of Cambridge and corresponding author of the paper, in an email to Gizmodo. Second, we found that some groups of native speakers are better than others at detecting when someone is faking their own accent.The team recorded speakers using accents from northeast England, Belfast, Dublin, Bristol, Glasgow, Essex, and standard British English. The participants were asked to record themselves saying several test sentences, including She kicked the goose hard with her foot, Jenny told him to face up to his weight, Kit strutted across the room, Hold up these two cooked tea bags, and He thought a bath would make him happy. The sentences include words that are particular tells for whether the speakers accent was authentic or spoofed. We worked with the phonetics lab here in Cambridge to develop sentences that teased out accent-specific phonemic differences in pronunciation of specific words, Goodman said. For example, for some people the word bath rhymes with path; for others, with moth. These differences make up what we can call accent-specific signals linked with regions across the UK and Ireland.The participants recordings were played in 2 to 3 second clips for other participants. The team found that participants from Belfast were the best at identifying fake accents, with locals in northeastern England and Dublin being second- and third-best. Listeners from Essex, Bristol, and London were the least accurate. This narrative both predicts better mimicry detection among speakers from places with high-between group tension, such as Belfast, Glasgow and Dublin, and explains why an area like Essex may also have relatively poor mimicry detection, the team wrote in the paper. Specifically, speakers of the Essex accent moved to this area over the past 25 years from Londona strong contrast with speakers living in Belfast, Glasgow and Dublin, whose accents evolved over centuries of cultural tension and violence.Thats one side of the coin. The other side, the team suggested in the paper, is that people in London and Bristol may be less attuned to specific accents because they are surrounded by a more diverse array of accents on the day-to-day. The research brings to mind a baffling medical case described last year, in which a man suffering from metastatic prostate cancer developed an uncontrollable Irish brogue accent despite no Irish background, according to research published in BMJ Case Reports. That team concluded the man suffered from foreign accent syndrome, a real thing that causes listeners to perceive changes in a persons speech as an accent. That work did not indicate how convincing the Irish brogue was.The recent study only surveyed participants from the UK and Ireland, but Americanslets not even pretend we do a decent British or Irish accent. I think wed all be better off not trying.

You wouldnt know it from the trailers but itll be very obvious once the lights go down. Wicked, which hits theaters this week, is just part one of the story. Its right there in the films title when it begins (the title card says Wicked Part One) and its the last thing youre reminded of at the end (To be continued fills the screen). This has been public knowledge since April of 2022 but it wasnt a big selling point, for obvious reasons. Audiences dont like to know theyre only getting half a movie. Just ask Tom Cruise. Recently io9 spoke to Wicked director Jon M. Chu, who not only defended the decision, he explained how it was one of the key decisions that made the movie possible at all. Read about that, as well as how the second film impacted shooting, below. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Well have more from Chu later this week.Germain Lussier, io9: Were you part of the decision to make Wicked into two films? Jon M. Chu: Yes for sure. [Universal] was dancing back and forth and I think that was part of the problem of getting it started. They kept going Oh its one movie, no its two movies. I had to come and be like, We need to make a choice with this. You cannot make a good one movie or two movies by dancing back and forth. Commit to two movies right now, otherwise, were never making those two movies good. I promise you that. We can always change our minds, but we cannot think about it right now. Thats what we committed to. And once you commit to that, then you can pull this thing apart and find what we need to. The plot holes we need to fill, and the things we need to build to build up to Defying Gravity. So that was a big choice.io9: Knowing you had to make this film satisfying on its own, how did you go about achieving that? Chu: It was really about moving backward from Defying Gravity. What we discovered was the perspective of the movie had to be different than the show. In the show, Galinda comes down on her bubble and shes basically the host of the night. Its sort of vaudevillian. Shes going to bring you into the story. Shes going to take you out of the story. We dont have the other side of that to go with. Eventually we will, but not this one. In a weird way, the audience is with her at the beginning of the theater show because this green girl pops in and shes the outlier. Thats the weird one. Whereas in the movie, the audience has to accept the world that youre building for the first 10 minutes. So theyre singing and dancing, which is still an oddity in a movie. And then the normal green girl walks in and shes like, What the hell did I just walk into? That joke is different. That one-liner joke is very different in this.And when that changes, now were with that girl. Now we get to see her in her youth and be teased. We get to root for her in this musical world. Shes like Why is everyone singing? And then in The Wizard and I you hear the little whisper of her voice and you see Oh she sings as beautifully as any of them and shes going to go for that. Wow. Its in her. So youre using the form of the musical to actually help evoke the story and that helps push it to the next level. Now youre like, What do we want for that girl? And if we follow that path, thats what we did. Okay, then how does she move into a dorm room and meet Galinda? You cant just have another song just to have them at each others throats. What is that awkward thing? What are they discovering about each other? Why do they need each other ultimately? So were discovering a lot of things in that scene. So theres little moments that we just track along the way to help make Defying Gravity the end of this movie. Complete your emotional journey, satisfy choices made, then the second movie is the consequences. Chu and his cast Image: Universal io9: How did you feel about the marketing decision to not put Part One or any singing in the trailers?Chu: I mean, marketing has its own strategy for all those things. I think we were pretty clear that there are two parts from the very beginning. I had a statement, did the whole thing, everyone reacted. I knew that there was going to be a certain reaction. But I also knew that when you actually look at the nuts and bolts of it, it was very clear. There was no question. Either its not Wicked and youre stripping out all these songs or youre changing the story so much that its not going to be the Wicked that you want. I knew we were making the right choice, so we went along with that and marketinghow they do it, I dont know how they do it. But I understood what those choices were. And I felt like everybody knew it was a musical anyway. We had musical trailers and things like that. What people dont think about, and this is difficult, is when youre actually cutting a trailer, when you have music in there and theyre singing, moving their mouths, all the songs are in different keys. And how do you jump from one song to another in an organic, trailer way, where you only have two minutes to do it? Its actually, technically, very difficult. And they were dancing at different rhythms and things. It becomes a mess very quickly. So even the ones we did release, I thought it was impossible to cut all those songs together. And they found certain things and they had to pitch things differently and its not exactly how I would love to do it, but it does connect the songs and you need to do that. But its technically very challenging. Its not just a choice that, Oh, we cant. How do you go from The Wizard and I to Defying Gravity without changing the key? Its very difficult.io9:Tell me a little bit about the filming process for both films and why you decided that. Chu: We shot them at the same time. So it was sort of block shooting, I guess. But locations had to change. Munchkinland is sort of our town square in Back to the Future where its constantly changing. The house is now crashed in there, and the house is not there. Its before the Yellow Brick Road is built there, and then when the Yellow Brick Road is there. So that became a centerpiece. We had to move in and move out of that location according to what part of the movie. We also had different actor times. You know, you get Michelle Yeoh for a certain amount of time. Shes up for an Oscar at that time so youre All right, weve got to shoot all of her stuff right here. So there are logistical reasons for that. But Im really glad we did because I think going out of it and going back in would be very difficult.We had to do that for the strike. We had to come back to do Defying Gravity, which was emotionally difficult for Cynthia [Erivo] and Ari [Grande]. [Erivo] had trained a year to do those stunts and to know where to put her voice. And suddenly for six months shes not doing it. Then she has to come back. For us, it actually really helped in the end because we got to gather our energy again. We had been shooting for 160 days at that point. And I think she dropped in so quickly and easily. And Ari also dropped in really easily. They were these characters and it was not as difficult as I thought it would be. *** Thats just a taste of our full interview with Chu. Check back soon for more on how he got involved with the production, his process, and the fascinating tale behind getting the show-stopping finale, Finding Gravity, just right. Wicked is in theaters Friday. Part Two is out next year. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, whats next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

Africa Hall Cultural Center / Architectus Conrad GargettSave this picture! Rory GardinerRenovation, Cultural CenterAddis Ababa, EthiopiaArchitects: Conrad GargettAreaArea of this architecture projectArea:5450 mYearCompletion year of this architecture project Year: 2024 PhotographsPhotographs:Rory GardinerSave this picture!Text description provided by the architects. Architectus Conrad Gargett has revitalized the United Nations' historic Africa Hall in a landmark decade-long renovation. The 1961 Arturo Mezzdimi modernist masterpiece in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, has played a key role in shaping modern African history. It now stands as a world-class conference and cultural venue.Save this picture!Africa Hall was gifted by Emperor Haile Selassie I as a meeting place for African nations and headquarters for the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). It was here, in 1963, that the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) was established, a key step in the formation of today's African Union (AU). The ECA initiated the renovation in collaboration with UNESCO, the African Union, and the Ethiopian Government with Architectus Conrad Gargett engaged to lead the design.Save this picture!Save this picture!A holistic renovation - A Conservation Management Strategy guided all aspects of the renovation, ensuring changes respected the building's historical and cultural significance. The design team conducted extensive research into Italian architect Arturo Mezzdimi's original plans to ensure the renovation honored his vision.Key elements were painstakingly restored including the reinforced concrete structure, original mosaic ceramic tiles, and stained-glass artwork by Ethiopian artist Afewerk Tekle. Thirteen million new tiles were fabricated to match the original, and Tekle's famous 150-square-metre stained glass artwork was restored by the grandson of the original maker. The renovation also included the restoration of over 500 bespoke furniture pieces that were custom-designed by Mezzdimi. These iconic pieces were restored and returned to their original configurations and positions within the building.Save this picture!Modernized for the future - Africa Hall's functionality as a world-class contemporary conference center was critical to the renovation. The Assembly Hall, a central space where African Union meetings are held, was reconfigured to accommodate 55 member statesup from the original 32. It now also features new audio-visual systems and a 13-metre-wide LED display. Physical changes are expressed as distinctly contemporary, with a clear respect for Mezzdimi's original design. Services spaces on the rooftop and a new external lift core are clad in zinc shingles in a pattern that is a contemporary reference to the original mosaic tile profile. Safety, accessibility, and sustainability were also at the forefront of the renovation. The project aligned with the UN's "Greening the Blue" initiative and UN Disability Inclusion Strategy.Save this picture!Save this picture!New visitor experience -Africa Hall now also offers an engaging cultural experience for the public. Architectus Conrad Gargett designed a new museum and exhibition space that tells the story of the building's historical significance. The visitor experience is further enhanced with the addition of a caf, separate visitor center, bus drop-off, and car parking. This monumental renovation ensures Africa Hall will continue to be a beacon of African unity and progress for generations to come.Save this picture!Project gallerySee allShow lessProject locationAddress:Addis Ababa, EthiopiaLocation to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.About this officeConrad GargettOfficePublished on November 20, 2024Cite: "Africa Hall Cultural Center / Architectus Conrad Gargett" 19 Nov 2024. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1023551/africa-hall-cultural-center-architectus-conrad-gargett&gt ISSN 0719-8884Save!ArchDaily?You've started following your first account!Did you know?You'll now receive updates based on what you follow! Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors, offices and users.Go to my stream

Tasting Rooms Tasting Rooms Culinary Center / Abruzzo Bodziak ArchitectsSave this picture! Michael VahrenwaldNorwalk, United StatesArchitects: Abruzzo Bodziak ArchitectsAreaArea of this architecture projectArea:15020 mYearCompletion year of this architecture project Year: 2024 PhotographsPhotographs:Michael Vahrenwald, Megan HollowayManufacturersBrands with products used in this architecture project Manufacturers: C.R. Laurence, Hansgrohe, Duravit, Grohe, TON, AYTM, Akdo, Benjamin Moore, Binks Glass, Bobrick, Daltile, Elkay, Farrow and Ball, Jesco Lighting Group, Kohler, Nuvo Lighting, Stuff by Andrew Neyer, TechLighting, Wasco Commercial, White Oak Lead Architects: Emily Abruzzo, Gerald Bodziak More SpecsLess SpecsSave this picture!Text description provided by the architects. Norwalk, CT, USA - Abruzzo Bodziak Architects (ABA) has designed an innovative culinary center that reimagines post-pandemic work and production spaces within an underutilized facility in Norwalk, Connecticut. After taking over a vast kitchen and warehouse originally designed for large-scale food service, ABA's clienta team of cooking and event planning professionals known for innovative cuisine, bespoke presentation techniques, and an award-winning cookbookapproached the Architects with what they described as a "happiness project." Their goal was to attract both current and potential employees back to in-office work post-pandemic by transforming their new space into a welcoming, light-filled workplace for planners and chefs alike, and to craft an immersive experience for their own clients.Save this picture!Save this picture!Tucked away in an industrial complex, the original building lacked light, comfort, and connectivity. A key challenge was introducing natural light into the centrally-located kitchen, the roof above which was fully obstructed by ductwork. Utilizing an adjacent area with minimal rooftop equipment, large rhythmically arranged skylights were added to bring light into a spacious, gallery-like open office. 50-foot-long parallel glazed walls are situated between the office and kitchen to distribute natural light deep into the building and foster connection between planning staff and chefs.Save this picture!As the glass walls inhabit this threshold, they define a third space: a series of rooms designed as the social heart of the project. The tasting rooms, detailed in white oak and illuminated by warm, party-like lighting, create refined spaces that soften the adjacent stainless steel, white tiles, and brightly lit food preparation zone. The wood and glass bar is divided into three areas tailored for in-house hospitality: a cozy room for private tastings, a larger room accommodating twenty people for team meetings or larger tastings, and a secluded nook for private calls, paperwork, or one-on-one discussions. Each space features bespoke stone tables tailored to the architecture. Doors on both sides facilitate easy access and service, while the glass mitigates heat and noise, maintaining visibility into the bustling kitchen.Save this picture!Guests move freely through the open-plan office side, where large custom furniture pieces define areas for collaborative work, casual seating, and office administration. On either side of the large space, private offices and connecting halls are clad in blue-green panels that offset the unfinished trussed ceilings above. The paneling uses color to unify doorways, windows, and kitchenette millwork and to differentiate the semi-back-of-house experience for guests on their way to individual bathrooms. While prioritizing the culinary team's employees and workflows in the renovation's design, the building also warmly welcomes guests with its blend of raw and refined spaces. Its layout of adaptable rooms and seamless visual continuity allows the building to support external events while also serving as a compelling event venue on its own. "Our clients work on everything from no-waste dinners, to teaming with wine producers for intimate tastings, to serving thousands at large public events, so there's no one-fits-all solution," says ABA partner Emily Abruzzo. "To support their activities from testing and experimentation to high-yield production, to seamless and chic on-site hosting, the design provides character while allowing for tremendous flexibility and openness."Save this picture!Project gallerySee allShow lessProject locationAddress:Norwalk, United StatesLocation to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.About this officePublished on November 19, 2024Cite: "Tasting Rooms Tasting Rooms Culinary Center / Abruzzo Bodziak Architects" 19 Nov 2024. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1023650/tasting-rooms-abruzzo-bodziak-architects&gt ISSN 0719-8884Save!ArchDaily?You've started following your first account!Did you know?You'll now receive updates based on what you follow! Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors, offices and users.Go to my stream

IBMs beta release of its Environmental Intelligence (EI) platform offers application developers and data scientists curated environmental insights powered by AI with access to open-source geospatial and satellite data.This cloud-based platform provides a variety of geospatial, weather, and climate APIs, enabling users to create applications that address sustainability, climate change, and regulatory needs.IBM aims for the software to help businesses manage financial risks associated with climate disruptions. Both public and private sectors face climate-related challenges, including operational disruptions, asset damage, and supply chain vulnerabilities. IBM Environmental Intelligence offers geospatial data, advanced models, and AI insights to support organizations in addressing these critical issues.Environmental Intelligence is a new product, but some of its remnants date back several years. We have a very wide IBM research community of sustainability and climate scientists who are investing and working with specific industry type problems, climate type problems that are really forward-thinking, David Blanch, director of product management, ESG, and Environmental Intelligence at IBM, told TechNewsWorld.Versatile API Suite Powers Environmental InsightsIBMs EI solution offers a suite of APIs to help developers and data scientists gather and analyze Earths surface data for predictive insights and proactive decision-making. It simplifies the process of working with public satellite data by processing, normalizing, and organizing it into geospatial layers, making it ready for analysis and visualization.Satellite imagery highlighting biomass data to support environmental monitoring and sustainability initiatives.The APIs and a Python software development kit (SDK) provide access to high-resolution imagery, global weather data, and other valuable datasets to gain insights for quicker action. The EI platform features a foundation model co-developed with NASA for pre-processing and cleansing geospatial data.Other key features include seamless access to environmental and geospatial datasets through easy-to-use APIs for real-time analysis. Geospatial-temporal querying uses an advanced insights engine to analyze geospatial and temporal data and improve application functionality.IBMs Environmental Intelligence platform features data layers, predictive models, and insights to support decision-making and sustainability efforts.On-demand historical weather data provides access to past weather data to inform predictive models and optimize operations across various sectors. Advanced data querying lets users execute complex queries on diverse environmental datasets at customizable spatial and temporal resolutions.APIs automate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions calculations for the internal and supply chain emissions to track and manage carbon footprints.The beta platform is free. IBM will consider future pricing and packaging decisions pending market feedback.Market Trends Show New Uses for Climate DataIBM is targeting a specific audience of technical builders, developers, and data scientist communities because of observed trends in the market. According to Blanch, these targeted users are not necessarily all climate scientists or meteorologists who benefit from accessing the innovative data, putting it behind an API, and applying embeddable use cases across their existing applications.The trends involve how climate change is impacting business operations across various verticals. Research indicates that climate-related disasters are causing significant losses on a macro level. Some of the datasets within environmental intelligence fall into a couple of buckets. One dataset is open-source satellite imagery, offering high-resolution visuals captured by European satellites orbiting the globe every five days. This imagery supports a wide range of applications, from environmental monitoring to regulatory compliance.An organization could access that raw imagery on its own but would encounter a lot of challenge with pre-processing cloud removals, noted Blanch in a key benefit of using the EI platform instead.Another dataset includes meteorological data such as historical records, real-time updates, and short-term weather forecasts. Blanch noted that climate projections for more long-term needs involving climate planning should be added to those scenarios.Thinking in terms of specific business examples, how do you build more resiliency inside your organization regarding natural hazards like floods and wildfires? How do you handle disaster risk planning and risk assessments? How do you calculate your businesss carbon emissions?Visualizing wildfire risk across regions using IBMs Environmental Intelligence platform for disaster planning and resiliency.If you think about how companies are operationalizing sustainability, they have an industrial asset and a methane link to a carbon equivalent in todays workflow. A work order might be issued so that somebody can go perform some maintenance for these different operational groups who are not traditional sustainability-minded people, Blanch suggested.Sustainability Solutions for Diverse IndustriesAccording to Blanch, IBM wants to expand beyond traditional uses to benefit the potential applications in other industries. He referenced use cases already showing EI success in agriculture, such as crop monitoring, yield prediction, and precision farming.For example, easier access to satellite data is helping organizations comply with new environmental regulations from governments. The European Unions deforestation regulation is a case in point.It requires companies to review their supply chains and verify they are not working with suppliers who violate these regulatory requirements involving extensive land use changes.Another example involves how IBMs EI technology can impact animal growth and influence nutrition adjustments based on environmental conditions. Some groups developed a predictive modeling system using weather data to assess mycotoxin levels in their crops. They were able to create a forecasting model using environmental and weather data from the platform to improve their business operations.Temperature distribution map aiding predictive modeling for agriculture and climate-related decision-making.The potential for third-party, remote imaging is tremendous. So you dont need to be meteorologists or climate experts, but you can have access to a pre-processed, curated data set that could be available with easy tutorials, samples, and guides to embed those within your applications, models, or workflows, Blanch said about the goal of IBMs EI software.The OpenStreetMap images in this article were provided to TechNewsWorld courtesy of IBM.

Outdated Risk Management Frameworks Face Growing CriticismBy John P. Mello Jr.November 19, 2024 5:00 AM PT ADVERTISEMENTYour Salesforce Data, Your ResponsibilityLearn best practices to effortlessly protect your Salesforce Data with Rubrik. Find Out How Risk management in many organizations is mired in a framework that cant keep pace with the challenges that most enterprise risk teams face. It needs to be modernized.Thats the verdict that senior analysts Cody Scott and Alla Valente handed down in a recent Forrester Research blog thats critical of the Three Lines of Defense (3LOD) approach, which is widely used to assess organizational risk.Conventional means of managing risk havent kept pace with the demand, velocity, or pressure that most enterprise risk teams face, the analysts wrote.Worse yet, they continued, many governance, risk, and compliance programs hyperfocus on compliance, completely ignore risk, and scramble to stand up governance for every new emerging risk, technology, or threat. The 3LOD model is not built to solve this. They explained that 3LOD was developed as a corporate governance framework to implement segregation of duties requirements under the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX). Then, in 2013, the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) promoted it as a solution to enhance risk management. But as anyone who has tried to implement it as a foundation for enterprise risk management will tell you, the 3LOD is not a model for managing risk, the analysts wrote.Rigid FrameworkThe framework is designed to meet the compliance requirements set by SOX, not deal with business risks, noted Ian Amit, founder and CEO of Gomboc, a provider of automated cloud infrastructure security solutions in New York City.Its not adaptive enough to work for most modern organizations, where reporting lines and hierarchy arent as rigid as they used to be in 2000, he told TechNewsWorld.The 3LOD framework is a fairly old approach that the financial sector used and likely still does, added Brian Betterton, practice director for risk and strategic services at GuidePoint Security, a cybersecurity services provider in Herndon, Va.3LOD is not what I would call a modern approach, but some like it as it creates separation and thus splits risk management across three functions, he told TechNewsWorld. To me, 3LOD is more of an audit approach than a risk one.He also pointed out that because of the audit nature of its controls, it has a point-in-time focus and not the continuous approach found in solutions focusing on business risk.Compliance Trumps RiskMany risk management programs are hyper-focused on compliance over actual risk for a number of reasons.Traditional risk management approaches tend to focus on compliance passing the audit and checking the boxes rather than actual business risk, Amit said. These approaches are often taken by organizations with leadership more concerned with preserving the current status quo than driving revenues or innovation.Often risk management programs focus more on compliance because its tangible and tied to clear goals, added Nicole Sundin, CPO of Axio, a cyber risk management company in New York City.Compliance work is usually linked to a business objective or external requirement, she told TechNewsWorld. In this context, compliance becomes a point-in-time effort aimed at meeting a specific business need, rather than an ongoing process of identifying and mitigating evolving risks.In addition, most risk management programs are driven by compliance goals, added Chandrasekhar Bilugu, CTO of SureShield, a security, compliance, and integrity management software company, in Atlanta. Organizations seldom take up risk management as an independent process disconnected from compliance mandates, as it would lack the necessary executive sponsorship, he told TechNewsWorld. Heath Renfrow, CISO and co-founder of Fenix24, a disaster recovery and restoration company in Chattanooga, Tenn., asserted that compliance-driven risk management programs are nothing more than paper drills with no sound way of quantifying the risks for senior executives to make risk-based decisions. You cannot manage risks that you do not understand, he told TechNewsWorld.Betterton noted that in less mature organizations, risk management programs tend to focus on compliance over risk. Less mature organizations are viewing compliance as their main risk and, in turn, missing all of the risks they may have, he said.Meeting compliance requirements is also easier for many organizations than assessing security needs. Compliance means that you are complying with a rule or a regulation that must be followed. There are clear definitions of what must be followed, explained Ira Winkler, CISO at CYE, a cybersecurity optimization company in Tel Aviv, Israel.However, what it means to be secure varies greatly, he told TechNewsWorld. If you have no idea what security means for your organization, while you do have a clear definition of what it means to be compliant, you are obviously first going to achieve compliance because it is hard to be secure when you dont exactly understand what that means.Foundation of Modern Risk ManagementScott and Valente cited three pillars for a modern approach to risk management.The approach must be dynamic and able to deal with risk in three dimensions: systemic risk external to the organization and beyond its control; ecosystem risk external to the organization but within varying degrees of control, such as third-party and supply chain risk; and enterprise risks internal to the organization and directly controllable, such as cybersecurity and financial risk.Further, the approach must be continuous because risks and opportunities evolve over time. Point-in-time, static risk assessments dont reflect reality, the analysts explained. Instead, teams require a continuous process to identify risk context, assess it as plans and objectives develop, make decisions, and monitor the results. The approach must also recognize that cyber risk is business risk. The analysts noted that typically, the chief risk officer selects the risk management model, while the CISO needs to ensure that the model is functional for the organizations cybersecurity needs. Without working in lockstep, security, and risk pros are stuck living in fear from audit to audit while foreseeable, preventable risk events materialize repeatedly.The chief risk officer and chief information security officer need to be on the same page when implementing a risk framework because both are responsible for identifying and addressing different aspects of risk within the organization, Sunlin observed.The CRO typically focuses on overall business and operational risks, while the CISO focuses on cybersecurity risks. However, both roles have overlapping responsibilities when it comes to managing risk, and their teams possess crucial insights that must be shared to effectively address and mitigate risks.Collaboration between the CRO and CISO ensures a holistic approach to risk management, enabling the organization to proactively identify, assess, and resolve potential threats across all domains, she said. When their efforts are aligned, it fosters a unified, comprehensive risk strategy that reduces vulnerabilities and enhances the overall resilience of the business.Forresters ModelScott and Valente also touted Forresters continuous risk management model, which they hailed as a blueprint for holistic risk management.Forresters approach isnt completely new, Amit noted. It mimics how modern organizations manage risk, he said.The introduction of tools that allow an organization to get more frequent data points on its internal controls and processes, as well as external threats, allow for more granular risk management that is more continuous than periodical, he explained.He also pointed out that the audit and compliance requirements force organizations to implement more continuous evidence-gathering and controls, which allow them, in turn, to practice more pronounced risk management on an ongoing basis.Fundamentally, people need to understand what risk management and security are, Winkler advised. The definition of security is being free from risk, and you can never be free of all risk.Security professionals need to understand that their job is essentially risk management, which involves making the best decisions to optimize their spend compared to the amount of the potential loss, he continued. This requires good decision science and mathematical tools to help. This will drive their work from being an art to a science.John P. Mello Jr. has been an ECT News Network reporter since 2003. His areas of focus include cybersecurity, IT issues, privacy, e-commerce, social media, artificial intelligence, big data and consumer electronics. He has written and edited for numerous publications, including the Boston Business Journal, the Boston Phoenix, Megapixel.Net and Government Security News. Email John.Leave a CommentClick here to cancel reply. Please sign in to post or reply to a comment. New users create a free account.More by John P. Mello Jr.view allMore in Security

Top working creatives will share their journeys to success, their best advice, and what keeps them motivated.Subscribe to Adobe Creative Cloud: https://adobe.ly/48Y1QJ1 Learn more about Creative Cloud: https://adobe.ly/3RTndnp About Adobe Creative Cloud:Unlocking creative potential goes beyond tools it's about cultivating inspiration, fostering innovation, and mastering artistic expression. On the Adobe Creative Cloud YouTube channel, discover stories, concepts, and trends that ignite your creativity. We are your hub for creativity, connecting you with Adobe channels for detailed tutorials and product insights. Adobe Creative Cloud brings together everything you need to create your greatest work. One membership gives you access to all Adobe professional creative desktop applications, plus new features as soon as they're available. Cloud storage ensures file access anywhere, even on mobile, streamlining concept sharing. Cloud-based services let you build websites, mobile apps, and content for any medium/device. With Behance integration, you can publish your portfolio on your own URL and plug into the world's largest creative community to get inspired, get feedback, and find new opportunities.Connect with Adobe Creative Cloud:Twitter: https://twitter.com/creativecloud LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/adobe-creative-cloud/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adobecreativecloud Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adobecreativecloud/ #Adobe #AdobeYouTube #AdobeCreativeCloud Video Title Video URL