10. A Renovated House Gives Nod to 1970s Polish ModernismIn Katowice, Poland, a house from the 1970s has undergone a renovation, by Grzegorz Layer and Aleksander Krajewski of Blomm Architecture. Spread across 2,422 square feet, this terraced house has been redesigned to embrace a contemporary, open-plan layout while paying homage to the classic aesthetics of 1970s Polish modernism.9. A 1930s Ranch Transforms for Southern California Contemporary LivingOnce a dated 1930s ranch in Los Angeles Los Feliz neighborhood has emerged with California contemporary luxury, thanks to a collaboration between Klein Agency and SITU Development. The designers reimagined the homes layout in order to maximize both space and functionality. The footprint was expanded, adding two additional bedrooms, an interior courtyard, and a deck with a pool resulting in sprawling views of the San Gabriel Mountains.8. A Paris Apartment That Blends Parisian Heritage + Modern Australian DesignIn Pariss 4th arrondissement near the historic Place de Bastille, a renovation within the prestigious Hotel de Sagonne was completed by Wood Marsh, who transformed one of the units with a unique reinterpretation, merging the rich history of the building with contemporary design principles. The approach carefully balances the restoration of original details with the removal of mid-20th century alterations, providing a new canvas for contemporary living without erasing the apartments heritage character.7. Suprematism Apartment: A Modern Tribute to Ukrainian Avant-GardeOn the 15th floor with sweeping views of Kyiv, the 452-square-foot Suprematism Apartment is now home to a young couple. Designed by Yevheniia Sytnyk of Dihome, the project draws inspiration from the Ukrainian avant-garde style, particularly the works of Kazimir Malevich, who is considered the founder of the Suprematism Movement.6. Marylands Ginko House: Where History Meets ModernityStepping onto the grounds of this Bethesda, Maryland home, visitors are greeted by the majestic ginkgo trees that frame the entrance. This renovated 1920s center-hall colonial dubbed the Ginko House has undergone a major transformation by Colleen Healey Architecture. The updates include bringing the same open brightness to the original part of the house and to upgrade the finishes throughout to form a more cohesive aesthetic.5. A Playful Gurugram Penthouse Inspired by Soft Fluffy MarshmallowsImagine living in a home where fresh pastel tones blend seamlessly with smooth, curving lines, enveloping you in a serene and happy atmosphere. That is precisely the experience that Marshmallow, a delightful penthouse in Gurugram, India, offers. Designed by Design Doodle Studio, this project redefines modern luxury and comfort with a bit of magic in hopes of making the owners feel like theyre wrapped in a giant marshmallow.4. 10 Modern Homes With Living Trees Growing InsideWhile not for everyone, an unexpected design element like a tree planted inside a house is a clever way to incorporate biophilic design. This approach seeks to incorporate elements of nature into architecture and interior design, aiming to reconnect people with the natural world. We rounded up 10 modern houses where designers have found unique ways to explore this idea with actual trees growing inside the home.3. A Tiny Apartment in Singapore Maximizes Space With a New LoftLocated in Singapore, this apartment underwent renovations by Metre Architects to add a loft structure and to tailor the design to the lifestyle needs of the young professional couple who owns it. The pair requested a loft to be added to the compact 441-square-foot space with a 15-1/2-foot-tall ceiling, which is reached by a sculptural wood box staircase comprising alternating half steps.2. A Small Kyiv Apartment Elevated With a Kaleidoscope of Primary ColorsDuring of the first months of the invasion of Ukraine, the 560-square-foot 2BM Apartment in Kyiv was designed by TOP LAB Interiors as a bold experiment with color and unconventional materials. Their goal was to create a vibrant haven for a client who didnt originally like the green. They decided to trust the process throughout the space, and the result is a happy interior where bright primary colors take center stage.And the top interior design post of 2024 is1. Kelly Behun Reimagines London Department Store into Dreamy Contemporary ApartmentA former department store in London underwent a major transformation for residential and hospitality purposes. The first residence completed was a three-bedroom apartment curated by the renowned New York City-based designer, Kelly Behun. Behuns design philosophy beautifully blends old-world charm with contemporary vibrancy, drawing inspiration from both the buildings rich history and its surroundings. The color palette, featuring rich golds, verdant greens, dusky roses, and lavenders, takes cues from Hyde Parks proximity, creating a warm, modern environment.Check out the rest of Design Milks end of the year coverage here!

Award-winning designer Nicole Nomsa Moyo was chosen this year for the Miami Design Districts 2024 Annual Design Commission, titled Pearl Jam. The collaboration with Design Miamis Curatorial Lab celebrates its 10th year, uplifting and beautifying the streets of the city. This initiative is a great way to support public art and foster interest within people who might not have the time or resources to enjoy art in a gallery or museum. A tribute to the women of the Ndebele tribe of South Africa, Moyo celebrates the bold coloring and pattern work that is integral to their culture, built upon centuries of craft and community.Like blown up necklaces, earrings, and bracelets, Pearl Jam imbues the streets with sculptural art, making one feel much smaller in comparison. The installation features certain beads that double as seats, allowing viewers to become part of the piece, and interact with the elements. Highlighting the high level of craft in the Ndebele tribe, the motifs and colors pay homage to the storied jewelry-making culture.A communal circle resembling a bangle sits delicately on the plaza. Emblazoned with colors that reflect and celebrate the surrounding landscape, the incredible scale of the jewelry creates a sense of wit adornment for a creature magnitudes larger than us, much like our heritage as humans. Moyo shares, Pearl Jam came from within. I reflected on the rich tapestry of my cultural heritage, merging it with contemporary design to create a narrative that both honors and transforms tradition. It is an expression of how deeply personal experiences and historical influences can converge to craft a new, resonant story that bridges past inspirations with present innovation. The Ndebele tribes vibrant aesthetic, with its intricate patterns and bold colors, connects with cultures worldwide, echoing the universal language of creativity and identity. Indeed, Pearl Jam is even more elevated within its accessibility, both physically and conceptually. This gentle reminder of what public art should be is inspiring, and is a shining example of the future of shared cultures in Miami.Round orbs, singular beads, and elegantly plump seating beautifies the playground, adding to the natural beauty that already exists within the space. The magic of these installations is twofold: first, the art is brought outside, democratizing the viewer experience; second, the work is simple to interact with on the surface, yet holds within the depth of the culture of the Ndebele tribe, a rich color and pattern history that shines through so beautifully in the work. It is joyous, tilting the notions of what we might consider public art to be more interactive, colorful, and charming.Handcrafted gems drip down from the trees, each suspended in air. With different viewpoints come more colors, each orb showing specific patterning and stitch structure that makes for a dynamic installment, one that moves slightly with the ebb and flow of wind. They are all unique by nature of human production, hands allowing for a certain amount of tolerance that imbues the spirit of the maker into each piece.One can find Pearl Jam installations at many points within the Design District, adding beauty and interest to any space the rounded spheres inhabit. The Miami Design District is a living, breathing canvas. What excites me is the dialogue between art and the community how a piece can spark curiosity and conversation. By offering avant-garde opportunities to designers, artists, and architects, we open up new possibilities for how people engage with their environment, says Craig Robins, Miami Design District visionary and developer.For more on Pearl Jam, visit miamidesigndistrict.com.To learn more about Nicole Nomsa Moyos work, please visit nnmoyo.com.

The recently published State of UX in 2025 sparked deeper reflectionsnot just on the evolving state of our field, but also on theContinue reading on UX Collective

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.The Sony WF-1000XM line has been an innovative and solid series of headphones and earbuds for many years. Right now, the latest version of the Sony WF-1000XM5 earbuds are $198 (originally $299.99), a new record-low price, according to price-tracking tools. They are also the best earbuds for audio quality that you can get in 2024, especially if you want to use active noise-canceling (ANC). Sony WF-1000XM5 Noise Canceling Yes, Battery Life 8 Hrs, Hands Free Call Yes, Water Resistant IPX4. $198.00 at Amazon $299.99 Save $101.99 Get Deal Get Deal $198.00 at Amazon $299.99 Save $101.99 You can fully customize the sound of these earbuds with various EQ and personalization options in the accompanying app, but they sound balanced and full out of the box. You also get support for the high-end LC3 and LDAC Bluetooth codecs. Their ANC is great, but what makes them special is that, unlike many other ANC earbuds, their audio quality isn't hindered by using ANC, as noted in PCMag's "outstanding" review.You'll get an IPX4 rating, meaning you can use them during workoutsjust don't wear them in the shower. The microphones are very clear, making them suitable for Zoom or work calls. The battery life lasts eight hours with ANC and 16 hours without it. The carrying case gives you up to 24 hours with a full charge. The app comes with many high-end features that earbuds at this price point offer, like Ambient Sound (hear your surroundings), Adaptive Sound Control (switch between ANC and Ambient Sound), Speak-to-Chat (your media stops when you speak), voice assistance from Alexa or Google Assistant, and other features that you can read more about in CNET's review.

If you recently threw out your black plastic spatula, as several news articles urged us to do (Your favorite spatula could kill you was a real headline), you might want to see if you can dig it back out of the trash. They were based on a study whose most dramatic finding has turned out to be a miscalculation.To be fair, the general idea hasnt been debunked; plastic contains a multitude of chemicals whose potential health effects arent well understood. And the black spatula study did identify a serious issue in plastic manufacturing. But the problem is literally 1/10th as big as the news stories led us to believe.Why black plastic may be a health issueThe original studywhich makes some good points even when the mathematical error is correctedfocused on the use of flame retardants in plastic. Flame retardants are just what they sound like: chemicals that make it harder for materials to catch fire. Electronic components like computers are often made with flame retardants for safety.Flame retardants, especially a family of them called brominated flame retardants, are suspected of causing potential health issues (like cancer) and may accumulate in the environment. If these are being used in manufacturing, they should be kept away from places where people might consume them. And thats where this study comes in.The authors suspected that black plastic from electronics was being recycled into other items, like kitchen utensils. And they found that that is indeed the case.What was wrong about the recent studyAs Canadas National Post reported, chemist Joe Schwarzc took a closer look at the numbers in the study, and found an errorthe kind you probably made a ton of on your grade school science papers. (I know I did.) It relates to the dosage of the chemical BDE-209. The reference dose meansvery roughly, and there is nuance to this definitionthe amount of the chemical thats considered probably safe to consume each day.The authors of the paper looked at the reference dose for BDE-209, which was 7,000 nanograms per kilogram of a persons body weight. They multiplied that out for a 60-kilogram person (132 pounds, the size of a small adult), and then compared that to their findings of 34,700 nanograms per day of exposure from kitchen utensils. Whoa34,700 is really darn close to the reference dose of 42,000 nanograms per day! Thats definitely cause for concern.But that math was missing a zero. The reference dose actually multiplies out to 420,000 nanograms. That makes 34,700 nanograms not 83% of the reference dose, but 8.3%. Potentially still a concern, but not nearly to the same degree. The journal posted a correction, in which the authors say We regret this error and have updated it in our manuscript. This calculation error does not affect the overall conclusion of the paper.That overall conclusion was that when toxic additives are used in plastic, they can significantly contaminate products, made with recycled content, that do not require flame retardancy. The authors also called for more research and regulation to be sure that plastic items are made with safer materials. And those do sound like fair points to make.

Watching videos on the Apple Vision Pro is one of the few use-cases early adopters have found for the VR headset, but Apples produced only a handful of immersive videos to watch on it. Blackmagics new camera could change that. The Blackmagic URSA Cine Immersive is the first camera that can shoot in Apples Immersive Video format, and its available to pre-order now for $29,995 and shipping in late Q1 2025.Blackmagic first announced it was working on hardware and software for producing content for the Vision Pro at WWDC 2024. As promised then, the camera is capable of capturing 3D footage at 90 fps, with a resolution of 8160 x 7200 per eye. Blackmagic says the URSA Cine Immersive uses custom lenses that are designed for URSA Cines large format image sensor with extremely accurate positional data. It also has 8TB of network storage built-in, which the company says records directly to the included Blackmagic Media Module and can be synced live to a DaVinci Resolve media bin for editors to access footage remotely.Blackmagic DesignAlong with the URSA Cine Immersive, Blackmagic is also updating DaVinci Resolve Studio to work with Apples Immersive Video format, and including new tools so editors can pan, tilt, and roll footage while they edit on a 2D monitor or in a Vision Pro.The whole package sounds expensive at nearly $30,000, but youre getting a lot more out of the box than you normally would with one of Blackmagics cameras. A normal 12K URSA Cine camera costs around $15,000, but doesnt include lenses or built-in storage. Those come standard on the URSA Cine Immersive.Apple filmed several short documentaries, sports clips, and at least one short film in its Immersive Video format, but hasnt released a camera of its own for third-party production companies to produce content. And while any iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 16 can capture 3D spatial videos, they cant produce Immersive Video, which has a 180-degree field of view. Blackmagics camera should make it possible for a lot more immersive content to be created for the Vision Pro and other VR headsets. Now Apple just needs to make a Vision product more people are willing to pay for.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cameras/blackmagics-vision-pro-camera-is-available-for-pre-order-and-costs-30000-000053495.html?src=rss

Metas Threads app has now grown to 300 million users, with more than 100 million people using the service each day. Mark Zuckerberg announced the new milestone in a post on Threads, saying Threads strong momentum continues.Zuckerberg has repeatedly speculated that Threads has a good chance of becoming the companys next billion-user app. Though its still pretty far off of that goal, its growth seems to be accelerating. The app hit 100 million users last fall, and reached 275 million in early November. Elsewhere, Apple revealed that Threads was the second-most downloaded app in 2024, behind shopping app Temu, which took the top spot in Apples rankings.The coming weeks could see some major changes for Threads as Meta looks to capitalize on that growth. The company reportedly has plans to begin experimenting with the first ads for threads in early 2025, according to a recent report in The Information.Threads isnt the only app trying to reclaim the public square as some longtime users depart the platform now known as X. Bluesky has also seen significant growth of late. The decentralized service nearly doubled its users base in November, and currently has just over 25 million users. (The company has never revealed how many of its users visit the site daily.) Though still much smaller than Threads, Meta seems to have taken inspiration from some of Blueskys signature features in recent weeks, including its take on starter packs and custom feeds.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/metas-threads-has-grown-to-300-million-users-234138108.html?src=rss

Looking for NYT Strands answers and hints? Here's all you need to know to solve today's game, including the spangram.

Looking for NYT Connections answers and hints? Here's all you need to know to solve today's game, plus my commentary on the puzzles.

The Alphabet-owned company has struck deals with major Japan-based robotaxi operators to begin testing in 2025.