One of the biggest use case proposals for home robots, at least next to cleaning floors, is the care of older members of the family. Whether its reminding them of their medication or delivering the newspaper to their side, these rolling robots are imagined to give much-needed assistance to less ambulant members of the household. But while thats definitely a necessity, it makes the generalization that older people at home are all stuck to their seats most of the day.Many senior citizens, especially those who are just starting their retirement stage, dont have such needs yet. Theyre still able to move on their own and even prefer a bit of independence while they can still physically enjoy it. More often than not, what they do need is some form of companionship, not necessarily from people, and this robot pet concept tries to deliver that kind of emotional support that impersonal delivery robots might not be able to.Designers: Seo hyun Mok, Jeongseok HwangOf course, those robots for seniors being advertised by some companies try to have a friendly face that can theoretically appeal to these people, but the emotional connection ends there. Its the same as having a courier simply delivering your items with a smile. For older people who can simply walk over to the counter on their own, it doesnt add much value to their lives.Careby is more like an emotional support pet than a personal caregiver, designed to offer the kind of companionship older people now seek from flesh and blood animals. Without the hassle of feeding and cleaning, of course. It looks like a cross between a cat and some quadruped critter, except it has wheels for feet instead. And, of course, its supposed to be AI-driven so that it can intelligently respond to voice prompts or react to your facial expressions.Whats a little interesting is that Careby is not supposed to be an obedient robot by design. It will sometimes refuse to obey commands or display a stubborn streak, mimicking the behavior of real-life pets or even children. To some extent, it tries to create a more spontaneous and believable relationship, though its walking on a slipper slope as older people tend to be less patient as years go by.Truth be told, Careby might look like any other home robot toy thats growing in number in the smart home market today, though it might be one of the first to target a very specific niche audience. Most of these will be powered by AI, so its not exactly a unique feature, but it does bring to mind the diverse needs of people at home, especially older members who are still able to take care of themselves but need more than just physical care.The post Cute emotional support robot concept is made for tech-savvy and active seniors first appeared on Yanko Design.

As long as a chair is something I can sit on and Im pretty comfortable, Id take any kind of chair. But of course there are designs and concepts of chairs that bring a different dimension to a functional piece of furniture. Some of those well-designed chairs though can be quite uncomfortable, particularly the backrest.Designers: Gerhardt Kellerman and Ana RelvaoYay is a chair thats part of Gumpos office furniture line that has a pretty unconventional backrest but one that seems to be a comfortable one despite its shape. Its a compact upholstered statement chair with its seat, backseat, and legs, all covered in fabric, presenting a soft, textile unit in one seemingly continuous shape.The backrest is intelligently padded so despite its stick like shape, it is surprisingly comfortable as it molds to your back because of the texture. It is also a proportioned compact chair that can fit into any seating environment, whether its at a table, as a stand-alone chair, a working chair, or wherever you need a comfortable seat.Despite its minimalist look and its muted color, the Yay chair is pretty eye-catching and is marketed as a statement chair. It goes well with Gumpos other chair, the Ohh with the more traditional backrest and the two are meant to compliment each other and the other furniture of the brand.The post Yay statement chair from Gumpo gives a unique but comfortable backrest first appeared on Yanko Design.

Whether a company begins with a proof-of-concept or live deployment, they should start small, test often and build on early successes.Read More

Imitation learning (IL) is one of the methods in robotics where robots are trained to mimic human actions based on expert demonstrations. This method relies on supervised machine learning and requires significant human-generated data to guide the robots behavior. Although effective for complex tasks, imitation learning is limited by the lack of large-scale datasets and challenges in scaling data collection, unlike language and vision models. Learning from human video demonstrations faces big challenges because robots cannot match the sensitivity and flexibility of human hands. These differences make it hard for imitation learning to work effectively or scale up for general robot tasks.Traditional imitation learning (IL) relied on human-operated robots, which were effective but faced significant limitations. These systems are based on teleoperation via gloves, motion capture, and VR devices and rely on complex setups and the low-latency control loop. They also relied on physical robots and special-purpose hardware, which was difficult to scale. Although robots could perform tasks such as inserting batteries or tying shoelaces using expert data collected by these approaches, the need for special equipment made such approaches impractical for large-scale or more general use.To solve this, a group of researchers from Apple and the University of Colorado Boulder proposed the ARMADA system, which integrates the Apple Vision Pro headset with external robot control using a combination of ROS and WebSockets. This setup let communication between the devices, where the system could be plug-and-play and was flexible to many robot platforms, such as Franka and UR5, by only replacing 3D model files and data formatting for the headset. The ARMADA app handled robot visualization, data storage, and a user interface, receiving transformation frames for robot links, capturing image frames from cameras, and tracking human skeleton data for processing. The robot node managed control, data storage, and constraint calculation, transforming skeletal data into robot commands and detecting workspace violations, singularities, and speed issues for real-time feedback.The robots movements were aligned with human wrist and finger positions, tracked through ARKit in vision 2.0, using inverse kinematics to calculate joint positions and control a gripper based on finger spacing. Constraints like singularity, workspace limits, and speed violations were visualized through color changes, virtual boundaries, or on-screen text. Researchers used the ARMADA system to perform three tasks: picking a tissue from a box, placing a toy into a cardboard box, and wiping a table with both hands. Each task had five starting states, and success was based on specific criteria. Wearing Apple Vision Pro with ARMADA software on visionOS 2.0, participants provided 45 demonstrations under three feedback conditions: No Feedback, Feedback, and Post Feedback. Wrist and finger movements were tracked in real-time using ARKit, and robot movements were controlled via inverse kinematics, with joint trajectories recorded for replay.Upon evaluation, the results showed that feedback visualization significantly improved replay success rates for tasks like Pick Tissue, Declutter, and Bimanual Wipe, with gains of up to 85% compared to no feedback. Post-feedback demonstrations also showed improvements but were less effective than real-time feedback. Participants found the feedback intuitive and useful for understanding robot motion, and the system worked well for users with varying experience levels. Common failure modes without feedback included imprecise robot poses and gripper issues. Participants adjusted their behavior during demonstrations, slowing down and changing hand positions, and could visualize feedback after removing it.In summary, the proposed ARMADA system addressed the challenge of scalable data collection for robot imitation learning by using augmented reality for real-time feedback to improve data quality and compatibility with physical robots. The results showed the importance of feedback for aligning robot-free demonstrations with real robot kinematics. While the study focused on simpler tasks, future research can explore more complex ones and refine techniques. This system can serve as a baseline for future robotics research, particularly in training robot control policies through imitation learning with visual observations.Check out the Paper. All credit for this research goes to the researchers of this project. Also,dont forget to follow us onTwitter and join ourTelegram Channel andLinkedIn Group. Dont Forget to join our60k+ ML SubReddit. Divyesh Vitthal Jawkhede+ postsDivyesh is a consulting intern at Marktechpost. He is pursuing a BTech in Agricultural and Food Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. He is a Data Science and Machine learning enthusiast who wants to integrate these leading technologies into the agricultural domain and solve challenges. [Download] Evaluation of Large Language Model Vulnerabilities Report (Promoted)

The Real Reason Your Companys AI Isnt Working (Hint: Its Not the Technology) 0 like December 21, 2024Share this postAuthor(s): Tim Urista | Senior Cloud Engineer Originally published on Towards AI. This member-only story is on us. Upgrade to access all of Medium.ai isnt working as you think, time to rethink whyArtificial intelligence (AI) has been promoted as a catalyst for dramatic improvements in workplace productivity, efficiency, and decision-making. Many industry analysts and technology leaders have assured us that AI-driven applications can streamline operations across sectors. Yet, despite the attention AI tools have received, a substantial number of companies have not realized the anticipated benefits. Some organizations remain hesitant to incorporate AI tools into their everyday workflows, while others have introduced these technologies only to find that employees use them sparingly or improperly.The initial assumption might be that AI technology itself is immature or too complex. In reality, commercial AI solutions have advanced considerably and are increasingly accessible. The primary barriers are often organizational culture, structural impediments, and a lack of strategic integration. As a long-time senior software engineer, I have observed that the issue typically does not lie in the algorithms or user interfaces, but in the way companies prepare (or fail to prepare) their teams, leadership, and processes to make the most of these powerful tools.AI has matured to a point where a wide range of products, from natural Read the full blog for free on Medium.Join thousands of data leaders on the AI newsletter. Join over 80,000 subscribers and keep up to date with the latest developments in AI. From research to projects and ideas. If you are building an AI startup, an AI-related product, or a service, we invite you to consider becoming asponsor. Published via Towards AITowards AI - Medium Share this post

Even before I first stepped onto the Disney Treasure, anyone who had already seen The Tale of Moana couldnt wait to tell me how special this ships Broadway-style production of the beloved film was. I was excited, especially because Moana is one of my favorite Disney movies, but I have fallen to the beast known as hype many times before.It wasnt until I spoke to one of my Disney reps that I began to believe The Tale of Moana may not be what I was expecting. She told me she had been talking to Jodi Kimura, the Hawaiian actress behind the productions Gramma Tala, and she asked her why she left Broadway to come aboard the Disney Treasure. The answer was simple - it was the first time she was going to be able to perform with her people.After seeing The Tale of Moana on the Disney Treasure Media Preview Cruise thanks to Disney and speaking to the fantastic team that brought it to life, those words perfectly encapsulated why this show is, in fact, one of the greatest shows Ive seen in a very long time as it is an incredible celebration of the people and culture that make Moana so beloved around the world.I Am MoanaThe Tale of Moana begins in modern-day Motonui and Kimuras Tala serves as the shows narrator who shares the story of Moana with those who now live on the island. From this first scene, you can see the influence of the cultures of the Pacific Islands - from the actors Disney recruited from those same islands to the rendition of An Innocent Warrior with authentic dance moves and a mix of languages including Tuvaluan, Tokelauan, and Samoan. It all just feels so genuine, and this is all before we meet the incredible actress behind Moana, Kaenaonlaniowaianuhea Kekoa.Kekoa is Moana. I cant put it any better than that. She embodies the character the great Aulii Cravalho played so perfectly and commands the stage with pure joy, real emotion, and an unbelievable talent that sailed all the way through the audience into our hearts. Oh, and did I mention this was only her first Disney contract?"I am a girl from an island and I love the sea and my people."I could go on and on about her, but I want you to read her words as they convey my point better than I could ever hope to. I asked Kekoa when she knew she was Moana, and this is what she had to say:It was probably the moment when I'm on the boat with Gramma Tala, right before the song I am Moana and she's sings, I'm a girl who loves my island, and a girl who loves the sea, Kekoa said. That really got to me as I am a girl from an island and I love the sea and my people and being able to share that with the world... that's probably the moment I was like, Oh my gosh, I am this girl but we are all this girl! We all have ancestors whose legacy we have the honor of carrying on and passing down. So I hope that everybody can see that and a piece of Moana in themselves.And for as great as Kekoa was in Moana, the cast and crew around her rose just as high, including co-choreographer Peter Rockford Espiritu.Espiritu is another native Hawaiian who brought his culture and that of those around him to The Tale of Moana.My goal was to represent the Pacific Island cultures all the way around, Espiritu said. I lived in Fiji for almost seven years, I taught at the University of South Pacific, and I've been to all the island countries, so I'm very familiar with the vocabulary and the dance vocabulary of all of these people. So, it was my goal to represent not only my own culture - Hawaii and Samoan - but also all the Pacific Island cultures to bring the authenticity and the vocabulary of what that means to the storytelling so the audience can feel it.I'm also very proud of the ending, Espiritu continued. That whole part was me and I was like, What if we got the drums and just hit it hard and got faster and faster? And the musical team got right behind it and we knew it would bring people to their feet. There's some Fijian, a little Samoan slap dance called Faataupati, and some Haka in there so you can feel that drive and that authenticity at the same time. It's got that Broadway pizazz!The Tale of Moana on the Disney TreasureIt truly did, and that ending that did bring us to our feet for a standing ovation was the perfect follow-up to the stunning final confrontation between Moana, Maui, and Te K. Michael Curry Design, the legendary studio that brought Broadways Lion King to life, designed and built the massive and imposing Te K puppet that moved across the stage. The best trick, however, was how that same puppet transformed into Te Fiti in a moment that had us all in shock and awe.That last bit really sums up how I felt about The Tale of Moana. I was so impressed by every part of this production and, somehow, the story behind the stage is even more wonderful.Beyond the ReefA big question I had going into The Tale of Moana was why it took so long for film to get a stage production. I mean, 2016s Moana was the most-streamed movie of the past five years, and thats not just on Disney+. As it turns out, many in the company wondered the same thing.I think for all of us, from the very first time we saw Moana, we thought, Oh! This would make an incredible stage show.' Honestly, I am shocked that this is the first-ever stage adaptation of it, Jenny Weinbloom, VP of Disney Live Entertainment, said. This is because Moana, just like the classic films Alan Menken and Howard Ashman worked on like Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Little Mermaid, are created as Broadway musicals that just happened to also be animated films.So, it was only natural that they would actually become Broadway musicals someday. And this mirrors Moana with how Lin-Manuel Miranda writes a Disney film. So, we always knew as a larger team that Moana would be part of our future.Even though it took a while, the wait was beyond worth it. All the pieces seemed to be in the right place at the right time for The Tale of Moana, and that goes all the way up to the director, Connor Gallagher, whose credits include Broadway's Beetlejuice and Disney's Beauty and the Beast.I'm a kid from upstate New York, Gallagher said. I'm very clearly not a Pacific Islander. So, at a certain point, the voice of that little devil on my shoulder was saying, What right do you have to be at the center of this thing leading the team? I then expressed that insecurity to our musical and cultural consultant Aaron Sal and co-choreographer Peter Rockford Espiritu, and they stopped me and said, The only thing you need to do is tell this story beautifully. That will be the greatest gift you can bring to this culture and this story. That really stuck with me. It empowered me as an artist to immerse myself in that world and make something worthy of that great gift they gave me.As you can tell from my chats with the cast and crew of The Tale of Moana, that desire to tell this story correctly was taken to heart on every level, and it paid off. My only regret is that the only people who get to see this show are those who voyage on the Disney Treasure. However, the sentiment I got was that Im hardly the only person who feels this version of Moana needs to sail beyond the reef and make its way to Broadway or elsewhere. Its that good. I found myself weeping in the middle of [Beauty and the Beast's] opening number because Belle's little provincial French village looked like Motonui."All that being said, there is something truly incredible about The Tale of Moana starting on a Disney Cruise Line ship and I think its the perfect way to end our story here. "The Tale of Moana is so powerful, but what I also love about what we do at Disney Cruise Line is that our shows are all performed in rep, which is to say this same cast is performing our other big shows on the ship like Beauty and the Beast, Weinbloom said. The first time I saw this cast, who I'd fallen in love in The Tale of Moana, perform Beauty and the Beast, I was struck and I found myself weeping in the middle of that opening number because Belle's little provincial French village looked like Motonui.I just thought, what a beautiful little sense of connection that both of these little villages now have, no matter what the people look like, no matter where our performers may be from, these little villages have so much more in common than we might think. It really is beautiful.For more on the Disney Treasure, which just began its Maiden Voyage on December 21, check out why the Haunted Mansion Parlor is the perfect extension of the beloved Disney Parks Attraction and why the Plaza de Coco dining experience was one of the most emotional I've had in quite some time.Adam Bankhurst is a writer for IGN. You can follow him on X/Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on TikTok.

When From the World of John Wick: Ballerina hits theaters in June, it will mark the first film entry in the ever-expanding franchise not led by Keanu Reevess titular assassin. Instead Reeves passes the baton (or should we say Glock) to Ana de Armas and her character Eve Macarro, who the team insists is complex and nuanced in her own right and not just a female John Wick clone. De Armas leads a cast of newcomers featuring Norman Reedus and Gabriel Byrne along with returning faces Reeves, Ian McShane, Anjelica Houston, and the late Lance Reddick.On the heels of a wild panel at CCXP last week in So Paulo, Brazil, much of the cast along with director Len Wiseman sat down with IGN to talk about building on the franchises mythology, if de Armas could take Reeves in a fight, and how they made a John Wick movie without John Wick himself as the lead.From the World of John Wick: BallerinaIGN: At the CCXP panel, the fans were really excited to see you all. Ian McShane (Winston Scott): Delicious. It was delicious.IGN: With all that energy, what do you think is going to surprise and excite them about Ballerina?Ana de Armas (Even Macarro): Its (a) new take on this world. It is changing perspectives and a new point of view in the world that we already know and love. But this time (its) through Eve's experience. Well see the connection and the timeline, how it intertwines with John Wick.Len Wiseman (Director): One of the things that was very important early on was that I was not setting out to do a female John Wick, that John Wick is John Wick. This is an entirely different character, kick-ass (in) her own right. (Shes) a new character within the world, not somebody that's replicating what John Wick does. IGN: John Wick shows up in some form in Ballerina Norman Reedus (Daniel Pine): He shows up in human form. In human form. I was not setting out to do a female John Wick. This is a completely different character. Wiseman: Eve is looking to become an assassin. (She) starts up with the Ruska Roma, train(s), and becomes an assassin. John Wick is really essentially trying to get out of the world. So that became the building ground of what really set it apart.McShane: Its new but natural. I mean, don't forget, we've met the character before as a girl, but now we meet her as a grown-up. So my character has been keeping tabs on her throughout all these years. So when she appears, (he tries to) dissuade her from a mission in a certain sense as he always does John. Winston's ever, ever enigmatic. And also it's a natural thing. It's nice to turn around instead of looking at Keanu, I look at this gorgeousDe Armas: Keanu's gorgeous,McShane: Oh, he's gorgeous too.De Armas: Keanu is gorgeous too. We love him.IGN: Norman, was there something specific that made you want to join this franchise?Reedus: Well, I'm a big fan already. I've worked with Len before. I am friends with Keanu. I'm a big fan of Ana's as well, and the whole franchise. I mean, it's a cool world to be a part of, so it was kind of a no-brainer.PlayIGN: Ana, you're no stranger to fight scenes. Can you compare what you've done in Ballerina with what you did with Paloma In No Time To Die? Was there a change in how you approached the action scenes?De Armas: Its a completely different character. I mean, I loved Paloma. I really wish I had more time in the movie andMcShane: No, it was perfect. Everybody wanted her to come back again and she never did. But now you come back as a fully fledged Paloma Two!De Armas: (With) Eve, her motivation behind it all, it's pain. In this case also, I had the time to sink my teeth into the fights and really had time to get better at it. Not just three weeks training. I was training for four or five months. So it was really intense and the stakes (of) the fights and the level of detail and everything. These are very intricate, complicated fights with very imaginative stuff that I have around me to figure out how to defend myself in this male-dominated world. So it's less humor, but also (in) the John Wick universe (theres) this kind of humor or irony in these scenes. And some things are so crazy that you have to laugh at it because it's bananas. Every time you check into a hotel, you're on an airplane, John Wick is playing.IGN: As the series has progressed, the mythology has gotten bigger and more complex. When you're making this movie, how do you balance that with the action scenes the John Wick films have become known for?Wiseman: One of the things that is very special about the franchise is the mythology and the worldbuilding. Thered be a lot of conversations (with Chad Stahelski, director of the four John Wick movies, and Keanu) about that. Wed say what if we developed this section that's new to the world? And so it is a balance. It's fun. I love worldbuilding. So it's challenging, but it's a lot of fun as well.McShane: The mythology behind it has always been steeped into some kind of movie reality. That's why people love them. Lights go down (for) two hours, you go somewhere else, then the lights go up and you should feel you've been somewhere (else), a little deeper each time. Fans get so obsessed by and now social media, they want to know an answer to everything that happens in a movie. De Armas: When we met John Wick, he's already who he is, and we didn't see him becoming that person. We didn't see him in the Ruska Roma. And how was that training and preparation? And we do see that through Eve. What does it mean to be protected by them or be an outsider? What are the consequences? If you break the rules, who can help you? Who can you trust? So for me, it was interesting to explore a little bit more of the origins of becoming an assassin. McShane: I know (writers) Chad (Stahelski) and Michael (Finch) and Shay (Batten), each time kill off every character apart from Keanu. There are many versions until they decide how it should be going forward. The one thing I'll miss if we do another one is my dear friend Lance Reddick, of course. God bless you brother. But this will be a fitting testament to his character. And he was a great human being. He was a lovely man. PlayIGN: Norman, you've been involved in projects before that have had really hardcore dedicated fan bases. Reedus: I think the first time I experienced a rabid fan base was Boondock Saints. That movie, for not coming to theaters, was the most rented Blockbuster DVD ever above Titanic. And we filmed that for like $7 million. It became that successful because of the fan base. (With) The Walking Dead, that fan base is crazy. Death Stranding even has a crazy fan base. Of course, (John Wick) has a crazy fan base. Every time you check into a hotel, you're on an airplane, John Wick is playing. I'm sure this will be the same. So bring on the crazy. It's great.IGN: When you're preparing for a role like this in Ballerina, do you approach it differently than your involvement in something like Death Stranding?Reedus: That's apples and oranges. (Ballerina) is very physical and very mathematically put together as far as action scenes go. There's a lot of people that help put those types of things together and make them safe and make them spectacular. (The) people on a Death Stranding game are behind a computer and the walls are blue and I have a skintight, Lycra body suit on with a camera and balls all over me. And Hideo is going "pick up that baby doll and cry." And I'm like, why? And he's like, look, a whale goes over. They're totally different. There's nothing to hold onto in a Death Stranding game.Keanu is God. He's the Baba Yaga.IGN: Ana has trained so much for this, as Keanu did for all of his movies. Could you pick between Ana and Keanu if they faced off against each other? Who would win?Wiseman: John Wick. John Wick is the Baba Yaga. He has been Eve's character. She's on the rise. She starts to train, so we'll check it in a couple years.Reedus: Theres John Wick, then there's Keanu. If those crossed, maybe she would win because John would be "I can't. You can have it." You know what I mean?IGN: Ana, with all of the training you've done, do you think you could take Keanu if it came to it in a fight?De Armas: No, he's God. Keanu is God. He's the Baba Yaga.This piece was combined from two separate interviews and has been edited for clarity.

Welcome toIndie App Spotlight. This is a weekly 9to5Mac series where we showcase the latest apps in the indie app world. If youre a developer and would like your app featured, getin contact.one sec aims to help people reduce mindless scrolling on social media, requiring users to make a conscious decision on whether or not they want to actually open that app every time. Its very configurable, so you can customize one sec to meet your needs.Top featuresWith one sec, you can configure which apps youd like to use less. Every time you open one of those apps, youll be forced to deal with some sort of intervention, whether that be a breathing exercise or otherwise. By default, you have to take a deep breath but theres other options. The point is, you cant have an unintentional moment where you doom scroll social media.Plus, even once youre in your desired app, you can configure a time limit for an intervention to pop up again. Itll definitely reduce how much time you accidentally waste on your phone. Social media is a key focus here, but you can also use it for other things, such as requiring an intervention with a work app outside of work hours thanks to its schedules feature.one sec also integrates with focus modes on iOS, and has options to completely block apps, rather than just slowing down your usage of them. Theres a feature called Good Morning Countdown, preventing usage of selected apps for more than 15 minutes until youve been awake for at least an hour, using data from Apple Health.Why use one secIn studies (conducted by the Max Planck Institute), one sec reduced social media usage by 57% on average. So far, all of one secs users have saved 1000 years worth of time combined!Obviously, using social media comes with some instant gratification, so its easy to get sucked in to. This app aims to help you change that behavior, and take back your time. Ive personally found it quite effective.one sec is available for free on the App Store, where you can get a feel of its abilities by setting up one app youd like to use less. With one sec pro, you can unlock the apps full set of features, including all of the varying customization options, unlimited apps, and more. Pro has a number of pricing options, including a monthly plan for $2.99/month, annual for $19.99/year, and a lifetime unlock for $49.99. Theres also options with family sharing, which cost $29.99/year or $69 for lifetime.Follow Michael:X/Twitter,Bluesky,InstagramAdd 9to5Mac to your Google News feed. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Youre reading 9to5Mac experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Dont know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Fortnite Winterfest 2024Credit: Epic GamesIts that time of year again. Fortnite has kicked off the holiday season with its annual Winterfest event, and one feature that was missing last year has returned. Players can find a stack of Christmas presents to unwrap in the Winterfest Lodge, a cozy cabin all decked out for the holiday season.Each present contains various cosmetic rewards, free to all players, from Contrails to Pickaxes and even a couple of festive Skins, including the above Snoop Dogg skin. Players can tear off the wrapping paper of one present per day during the Winterfest 2024 event.Theres a lot to unwrap. Lets take a look at whats in each gift, though obviously if youd prefer it to be a surprise, you should avoid reading further. Each of these gifts is from a different Fortnite NPC, such as Sgt. Winter and Guffmas Tree. How sweet of them to think of us this Christmas.Fortnite Winterfest PresentsWell start with the stack of presents on the right side of the couch next to where Snoop Dogg is sitting playing Fortnite.The tall pinkish purple present: Peppermint Paraglider GliderThe tall present with the blue bow: Yule Bag Back BlingThe tall red present: Snow Sparkle ContrailThe square purple present: Thats Cold Jac! Back BlingThe long blue present: Dogg Treat PickaxeHeres a visualization from X/Twitter user @Fecooo_:MORE FOR YOUWinterfest PresentsCredit: Epic / Fecooo_On the left side of Snoop Dogg is another stack of Christmas presents.Tall yellow present on the left: Snoops Holladizzle Bass (Bass Guitar)Tall green present: Yulejacket (Skin)Short rectangular yellow present on the left: Humbug Slicer (Pickaxe)Short light purple present on the left: Tree Keys, Choose Naughty and Crashed Chill (Sprays)Purple present in the middle: Winterfest Guitar (Guitar)Blue present in the front: Llama Lightbulb (Emoticon)Red present on the right: Yulejackets Blaster (Wrap)Flat red present in the front: Run It Up (Jam Track)The final present, a yellow box in the center, is the Snoop Dogg skin. However, you wont be able to find that present until later in the event. You also cant open the Yulejacket skin yetwhen you try it will tell you Save for last!You can also turn the neon Llama sign off and on in the Lodge and warm up by the fire, where you can earn XP passively as well.Winterfest Present GuideCredit: Epic / Fecooo_The Mariah Carey skin, Santa Shaq skin and many other holiday cosmetics are available in the Fortnite Item Shop. Youll have until January 7th to unwrap all these gifts and join in the festivities in the wildly popular Battle Royale game.Call of Duty is running its own Christmas event right now, with a series of free rewards earned by gathering Archies in matches. Many players were accidentally given many thousands of these at the start of the event (I had close to 35,000) making it super easy to unlock everything right away, including a brand new sniper rifle. Maybe thats Activisions way of saying sorry for the rampant cheating thats plagued Warzone lately.

Here's some help with today's Quordle, including hints and the answers.SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty ImagesLooking for Saturdays Quordle hints and answers? You can find them here:Hey, folks! Hints and the answers for todays Quordle words are just ahead.How To Play QuordleFor any newcomers joining us, heres how to play Quordle: Just start typing in words. You have four five-letter words to guess and nine attempts to find them all. The catch is that you play all four words simultaneously.If you get a letter in the right place for any of the four words, it will light up in green. If a word contains a letter from one of your guesses but its in the wrong place, it will appear in yellow. You could always check out the practice games before taking on the daily puzzle.Here are some hints for todays Quordle game, followed by the answers:What Are Todays Quordle Hints?Word 1 (top left) hint No ____, band fronted by Gwen StefaniWord 2 (top right) hint drink something through a straw with a loud sucking noiseWord 3 (bottom left) hint you might do this over some cracksWord 4 (bottom right) hint related to ordinary citizens and their concerns. Also, to be polite and courteousTwo of the words each have a pair of repeated lettersTodays words start with D, S, P and CMORE FOR YOUWhat Are Todays Quordle Answers?Spoiler alert! Dont scroll any further down the page until youre ready to find out todays Quordle answers.This is your final warning!Todays words are...DOUBTSLURPPAPERCIVILThats all there is to it for todays Quordle clues and answers. Be sure to check my blog for hints and the solution for Mondays game if you need them.