Please note that all prices are for queen-size bed-in-a-box mattresses. Check retailers for additional price and size information.Best Overall Mattress: Dreamcloud Premier Hybrid MattressDreamCloud Premier Hybrid MattressUpsidesBreathable, minimal motion transfer, several body-contouring foam layersDownsidesNot made of as many earth-friendly materials as other options in our listWho It's Best ForCouplesAll types of sleepers looking for a balance between a plush, yet supportive mattressSpecsMattress type: HybridLayers: Six layers - Four various types of memory foam for contouring cushion, one of foam-encased pocketed micro coils for support, and a hand-tufted cashmere blend coverWarranty365-night sleep trial, lifetime warranty, free shipping and returnsMattress tester: Michael Shome, global visuals directorHow did the delivery go? The delivery was incredibly fast and efficient. Customer service was easy and pleasant. To get the mattress in place, one needs some support. If you live alone, youll definitely need to recruit a friend to help move the mattress in place.What was the setup like? The mattress arrived neatly compressed in a compact box but as expected, it is quite heavy. Two people are required to maneuver the mattress.How firm is the mattress? The mattress is moderately firm, but the plush Euro Top adds an extra layer of coziness and comfort. The DreamCloud Premier King has a super cozy cashmere top and seven decadent layers of adaptive support. There is also a one year trial period for mattress buyers looking for longer term flexibility and assessment. Too often mattresses lose their support after consecutive nights of sleep, which makes the trial period quite valuable.How comfortable was the mattress on a scale of 1 to 10? 8Would you recommend this mattress to a friend? I would certainly recommend this to a friend and have already suggested it to my parents. They often complain about the annoyance of disturbed sleep from transfer movement. The DreamCloud truly minimizes sleep disturbance from your neighbor.Best Cooling Mattress: Cocoon Chill Memory Foam MattressCocoon ChillUpsidesOn the affordable side and often on sale, cooling cover, memory foam layers adjust to sleep positionDownsidesLeans more firm than medium, according to our testerWho Its Best ForHot sleepersStomach sleepersSpecsMattress type: Hybrid or memory foamLayers: Four layers of body-hugging memory foam and a cooling coverFirmness: MediumHeight: 10 inchesWeight: Between 40 - 83 poundsWarrantyFree shipping and returns, 10-year warranty, and a 100-night sleep trialMattress tester: Cade Hiser, contributorHow did the delivery and setup go? The delivery was super simple and fast. The overall setup was even faster! From right out of the box, it rolled out nicely onto the box spring on top of my bed frame. There were no complicated instructions or anything like that. The mattress was ready for sleep that evening.How firm is the mattress? The mattress was honestly a bit firmer than I expected. The Sealy website rates it about a 6/10 on their firm scale, but Id put it closer to an 8. The two foam layers make a difference.How comfortable was the mattress on a scale of 1 to 10? I would give this mattress an 8 out of 10 in terms of overall comfort. It may take some getting used to at first if you are new to firmer mattresses like myself. The memory foam layers adjust to your sleep position, which makes falling asleep easy.How well did you sleep? Ive never slept better. While my previous mattress was on the firmer side, it was not a memory foam or very cool mattress. With the Cocoon Chill Memory Foam mattress, I do not wake up in the middle of the night like I used to, tossing and turning. I also stay sleeping at a comfortable temperature throughout the night.If you could change anything about the mattress what would it be? Im not sure that I would change anything about this mattress. It is exactly what I was looking for.How does this mattress compare to other mattresses youve slept on? I can really tell the difference in my sleep and I wake up feeling refreshed and energized. I used to wake up in the middle of the night and would have so much trouble falling back asleep. With this mattress I wake up significantly less in the middle of the night, and if I do I never have trouble falling back asleep. It really has made sleeping easy!Best Soft Mattress: The Nectar Memory Foam MattressNectar Memory Foam MattressUpsidesSoft to the touch, good motion control, cooling coverDownsidesNot made of organic materials like other mattresses in our listWho Its Best ForSide sleepersBack sleepersSpecsMattress type: Memory foamLayers: Four layers: CertiPUR-US certified quilted gel memory foam, gel memory foam, and adaptive hi core memory foam, with a foam base and a cooling Tencel cover to prevent overheatingFirmness: Medium-firmHeight: 12 inchesWeight: 83 poundsWarranty365-night sleeptrial, lifetime warranty, and free shipping and full refundsMattress tester: Nick Mafi, senior digital features editorHow did the delivery go? The delivery process was very easy. The Nectar mattress appeared in my apartment lobby in a box that seemed far too small to hold a queen-size mattress.What was the setup like? After bringing it up to my apartment and opening the package, I moved the deflated mattress to my bed frame. From there, the mattress (which was packaged in plastic wrapping) quickly expanded to fit my queen-size bed frame. I allowed the mattress 72 hours to fully inflate, per the directions, before sleeping on it.How firm is the mattress? My body sinks into the all-foam mattress a bit more than I had anticipated, but thats likely due to the fact that its been over a decade since Ive had any sort of memory foam mattress.How comfortable was the mattress on a scale of 1 to 10? I would say an 8. The mattress is comfortable, but I wasnt used to the give of a memory foam bed at first.How well did you sleep? To my surprise, I am actually sleeping better on this mattress than I was on my old one.Would you recommend this mattress to a friend? Yes, absolutely. My biggest concern was that I would take the time and energy to get a new mattress and regret my decision, which would mean I would have to go through the whole process again. Luckily, that didnt happen, and Ive been very happy with the mattress.Best Hybrid Mattress: The Burrow Lyric Hybrid MattressLyric Hybrid MattressUpsidesFirm support, soft cover, durable buildDownsidesLeans on the firmer side, according to our testerWho Its Best ForBack sleepersSleepers who like a balance between a soft and firm mattressSpecsMattress type: HybridLayers: 5 layers: Nylon cover and gel-infused, memory foam, pocketed coils, and base foam layersFirmness: Medium-firmHeight: 11.5 inchesWeight: N/AWarranty100-night sleep trial, one-year warranty, $49 shipping fee, return fee is equal to 10% of purchase valueMattress tester: Rachel Davies, contributorHow did the delivery go? The mattress arrived rolled in a box that was about five feet long. Delivery was very straightforward, but the box was heavy to move around so the process was not without strain. Overall, it was manageable to lift with two people and a lot easier than if it was a flat mattress.What was the setup like? I had a friend with me but I think it also would have been fine to set up alone. Getting it out of the box was super simpleonce I had the box in the right spot. It arrived vacuum sealed, so after taking it out of the box and wrapping, I let it rest for a few hours before putting it on the bed frame (I was able to sleep on it that night, and it definitely firmed up more overtime).How firm is the mattress? Its pretty firm, but has a softness to it. I prefer something super plush, so its not perfect for me but its still cozy.How comfortable was the mattress on a scale of 1 to 10? I would say it is an 8. Not the comfiest mattress Ive ever laid on but still quite comfortable! This is definitely a true hybridsoft and cozy on top, but still supportive through the night.How well did you sleep? This mattress has gotten more comfortable as Ive slept on it, but even at peak stiffness it was never really uncomfortable and I could always fall asleep (I think it took about a week or two to fully adjust). Id previously owned an IKEA hybrid mattress for years and the Burrow mattress feels well-made and more comfortable too.

Nvidia will no doubt have the biggest CES 2025. After all, the company has pretty much the biggest everything nowadays. The chip giant is sporting a $3.4+ trillion market cap, due largely to its foundational position in the ongoing AI boom. Companies like OpenAI and Meta have purchased Nvidia processors by the boatload, and thats unlikely to change in the new year.Founder and CEO Jensen Huang will help kick off CES 2025 on January 6 at 6:30 p.m. PT/9:30 p.m. ET, with his trademark leather jacket and an unwavering vision, per Nvidia. The keynote will be livestreamed both on YouTube and via the chipmakers site.Nvidia is expected to make a slew of big announcements at the event, with its RTX 5000series GPU making the biggest waves of the keynote and, likely, the whole show. Huang will no doubt also be using the platform to discuss a wide range of topics touched by Nvidias silicon, from AI and robots to automative and more.

In BriefPosted:11:39 AM PST December 23, 2024Image Credits:Jagmeet Singh / TechCrunchAn investigation finds that Google Maps fails users in the West BankA Wired investigation found that Google Maps can be near impossible to use in the West Bank, especially since the start of the war. Users told the publication that the navigation app would direct them into walls, fail to account for time-consuming checkpoints, or steer them onto restricted roads leading to Israeli settlements, which can be dangerous for Palestinian users to drive on.Part of the issue is inevitable in war: In conflict, theres an increase of road checkpoints that can be difficult for any navigation service to keep up with. Additionally, a Google spokesperson told Wired that the company does not distinguish between Israeli and Palestinian roads since that would require knowing the citizenship status of residents. The spokesperson also said that the company is constantly working to improve its West Bank services.However, dozens of employees have reportedly told Google leaders to further improve the map services for Palestinians, and, as a current Google employee told Wired, many people in the West Bank have stopped using Google Maps entirely.Topics

Venture funding into Europe is heading for a flat year, but this may obfuscate the fact that European AI startups are thriving.According to VC firm Balderton Capital and Dealroom, 25% of VC funding into the region approximately $13.7 billion went to AI startups this year, compared to 15% four years ago, resulting in several new unicorns, such as Poolside and Wayve.For Balderton Capital general partner James Wise, the most important takeaway is that you can raise hundreds million euros, even billions euros, as a very early-stage AI company if youve got a breakthrough technology in Europe, just as you can in the U.S.This counters what he sees as a relatively negative narrative around Europe: Collectively, European AI companies have doubled in value in just four years, reaching $508 billion. Per these new figures, this category now represents nearly 15% of the entire tech sector in value, up from 12% three years ago.This means theres funding available to AI startups, whether at early or at later stages, although it may not always come from Europe itself. In addition, American AI companies also see Europe as a talent pool to tap into.Were still probably a derivative of the U.S. market, were still reliant on it, but its not like nothings happening here. Its actually a really buoyant ecosystem, Wise told TechCrunch.This may not be news to TechCrunch readers already familiar with European AI rising stars such as Mistral AI and Photoroom, but also newcomers like Dottxt. Whats less expected, however, is Dealrooms finding that 349,000 people were employed by AI companies in Europe this year, a 168% increase since 2020.This may sound surprising, as many AI teams are on the smaller side; but for Wise, this is in line with the thesis of his recent book, Start-up Century: Why were all becoming entrepreneurs and how to make it work for everyone. Says Wise: Youre going to see a rise in hundreds of small, very productive companies, rather than one large, medium productive company.Theres also a snowball effect, as AI companies make others more productive.In our CTO survey, 93% of the companies we work with have said that generative AI tools have significantly changed their workflow in the last year, Wise said. Among these, some said their engineering teams are now twice as productive, while others see an impact on other functions averaging out to 20% savings in operating costs.All of this leads Wise to think that the adoption of AI will continue to increase. Will this be good news for Europes AI sector? Perhaps, although Wise and his colleagues now think that theres no longer an AI sector. This would potentially make similar data pointless next year.TechCrunch has an AI-focused newsletter!Sign up hereto get it in your inbox every Wednesday.

John Portmans General Motors Renaissance Center has cast shadows over Downtown Detroit for decades. Since 1976, the five towers, replete with quintessential Portmanian atria, stacked atop a gargantuan base have enticed praise, debate, and criticism in Michigans largest city. The full spectrum of public opinion about the complex, and Renaissance Centers design merits more broadly, were well captured in Charles Rices Interior Urbanism: Architecture, John Portman, and Downtown America, but also Jordan Hicks in The Avery Review.A new plan by Genslers Detroit office and Field Operations would tear down two of Renaissance Centers original towers and replace them with three new smaller ones filled with a mix of hospitality and housing, the developers said in a statement. The tear downs would open up large amounts of space on the ground plane for pedestrian-centered uses.Field Operations is revamping 27 acres of waterfront space. (Courtesy Bedrock and Gensler)The two existing 39-story towers would be replaced with housing and an entertainment district designed by Gensler, leaving three existing Renaissance Center towers standing. Field Operations will redesign 27 acres of Downtown Detroits waterfront as part of the comprehensive master plan. The project backers, General Motors and Bedrock, said that removing Tower 500 and Tower 600 will help right size the Renaissance Centers footprint in our post-pandemic economy, where demand for office space has plummeted. Renaissance Centers low-rise base would also be removed, further reducing the amount of office space at the complex.Renderings show the base replaced with a glass curtain wall structure thats much smaller than the original. Meanwhile, the master plan by Field Operations would deliver a new pedestrian promenade that better connects Downtown Detroit to the waterfront, stocked with new signature public spaces.A new promenade designed by Field Operations would expand retail and recreational opportunities near the waterfront. (Courtesy Bedrock and Gensler)Access from downtown to the riverfront will be improved under the master plan. (Courtesy Bedrock and Gensler)The total price tag adds up to $1.6 billion. General Motors has pledged $250 million for the project, and Bedrock will cough up $1 billion. At least $350 million will come from public coffers, however, according to reporting in the Wall Street Journal. Usingpublic tax money for the project by Daniel Gilbert, billionaire developer, has been the source of contentious debate in Detroit. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said the public-private partnership model to deliver the project will be like how Michigan Central Station and American Motors Corporation Headquarters got refurbished. The cost burden for tax payers however has been cause for concern.GM has been headquartered at Renaissance Center since the 1990s. After this master plans completion, the automotive company will move its headquarters to a different, undisclosed location.

All images courtesy of Margot Samel, shared with permissionA Changing Community and Lived Experiences Converge in Leroy Johnsons Mixed-Media HousesDecember 23, 2024ArtKate MothesFrom collaged and painted found materials merged with elements of photography and ceramics, Leroy Johnson (1937-2022) created an eclectic vision of life in his hometown of Philadelphia. Through layered, multi-dimensional portraits of houses, the artist represents loci of family life and community in conceptual assemblages that also confront racism, poverty, and gentrification.In the first exhibition of his work in New York City, Margot Samel presents Leroy Johnson, a collection of the artists house sculptures made with a documentarians eye but a poets gaze, says a gallery statement. His pieces capture a city in transition, peering into its past to underscore the myriad experiences of its present.Spirit House (c. 20052010) mixed media, found object, and collage, 19 1/4 x 20 x 13 1/2 inchesThrough his occupations as a social worker, teacher of disabled youth, rehab counselor, and school administrator, Johnson surveyed the pleasures, hardships, and contradictions within the Philadelphia neighborhoods where he spent his life, Margot Samel says, and he pierced the fabric of collective human experience more deeply than most.Johnsons abstract, mixed-media houses often feature photographs of people and gatherings, graffiti and text, and swishes of paint or residual imagery from found objects. The gallery adds, As an African American artist who witnessed the civil rights movement and the impact of racist policies on communities he loved, Johnson took particular pleasure in depicting the richness of Black life.Leroy Johnson runs from January 10 to February 9 in New York. Learn more and plan your visit on the gallerys website.You Been Had (c. 20002005), mixed media, found object, and collage, 17 x 16 1/2 x 8 inchesHeart of Darkness (c. 19952000), mixed media, found object, and collage, 13 x 11 x 6 inchesNext article

The upcoming Ray-Ban smart glasses will reportedly feature similar 'in-lens' displays as Meta's Orion prototype for augmented reality experiences.

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ZDNETIn 2023, Ireviewed Ultramarine Linux, which was based on Fedora 39, calling it the "desktop of the year." Since then, the developers have released a new version based on Fedora 40 (which is one release behind the official Fedora distribution). This new release vastly improves the documentation experience, fixes numerous bugs, and polishes the distribution to a gleaming, sparkling shine.As with my original review, I opted for the Flagship version, which uses the Budgie desktop. Out of the box, the layout looks and feels instantly familiar and defaults to a dark theme (a practice that has become quite common with many Linux distributions).When I review a Linux distribution (or even an app) that defaults to a dark theme, the first thing I do is configure it for the lighter side of things -- because dark themes and my eyes do not get along well.Installer changes comingBefore I get into this, I want to point out that the developers are preparing to ditch Fedora's Anaconda installer and go with their in-house-built Readymade. As of now, Readymade is not ready for prime time, so you won't see it in Ultramarine 40. Hopefully, we'll see this new installer in version 41 of the OS.Ultramarine WikiAlso, the developers have really upped their game with the documentation found in theUltramarine Wiki, where you'll find information about installing and using the distribution. The Wiki contains some pretty valuable information on things like installing codecs, NVIDIA drivers, and setting up backups.But what you're really here for is to find out about the Ultramarine Linux distribution itself. Let's dive in.Out of the boxAs I mentioned, Ultramarine opts for a dark theme out of the box, which is done quite well (if you're a fan of dark themes). Personally, I prefer light themes, which are easier on my eyes. Since I don't usually view the desktop at night, it makes sense for me to go the lighter route.The default Budgie layout is fairly straightforward: a panel, start menu, system tray, and desktop icons. It's standard and works well for users of any skill level. However, Budgie is all about customizations, and it took me very little time to configure the desktop to my liking. All I had to do was right-click the desktop, select Budgie Desktop Settings, go to Style, and configure as needed. I also customized the Bottom Dock (switching the panel to Dock Mode) and Desktop (disabling desktop icons). My tweaked Ultramarine Linux desktop. Jack Wallen/ZDNETAfter that, it was just a matter of adding apps to the Dock by right-clicking an open app's icon and clicking the Star button to add it to the Favorites.Windows Shuffler and HotcornersWith Ultramarine's Flagship edition (Budgie), there's a tiling feature enabled by default, as well as the Hotcorners option. The tiling feature (found in Menu > Accessories > Window Shuffler Control) allows you to enable or disable the Shuffler drag-and-drop edge tiling feature and lists the quarter and half tiling keyboard shortcuts (such as Top-left - Ctrl + Alt + 7). You can have both hot corners and tiling working at once. Jack Wallen/ZDNETThe Hotcorners feature is disabled by default. To enable it, open the Budgie Hotcorners Settings app and click the On/Off slider until it's in the On position. Next, click on the hotcorner you want to configure, toggle its associated On/Off slider to the On position, and then select what you want that hotcorner to do when used.Pre-installed appsAs far as pre-installed apps, you get the usual collection: Firefox, LibreOffice, Gedit (text editor), and the Rhythmbox Music Player. You'll also find the Wallstreet wallpaper manager and GNOME Software for installing and managing applications. GNOME Software makes it easy to install the apps you need.Because Ultramarine Linux is based on Fedora, you can bet it includes the Flatpak universal package manager. The developers have also baked Flatpak support into GNOME Files, so you'll find tons of software to install (even proprietary apps like Spotify and Slack). From within GNOME Software, you can upgrade from Ultramarine Linux 40 to 41. Jack Wallen/ZDNETUltramarine Linux includes all the codecs you'll need to play nearly any type of multimedia, which is a departure from Fedora, where those codecs must be installed by the user due to licensing restrictions in the US.UpgradesWhen I opened GNOME Software, the first thing that caught my eye was the update to Ultramarine Linux 41. This was a surprise, as the most recent download was for version 40. Nevertheless, I clicked Download as prompted and waited for it to complete.My only issue with Fedora (and many Fedora-based distributions) is that an update often requires a restart. Unlike many distributions that only require a restart if the kernel is updated, Fedora-based distributions run the update during a restart. So, after the download was completed, I had to click Restart & Update to apply everything. Since this was a distribution upgrade, it took a bit longer than a standard update.Keep in mind, however, that this is Linux, so you don't have to worry about an upgrade requiring a restart going south or taking hours (as Windows upgrades sometimes can). All told, the upgrade from Ultramarine Linux 40 to 41 took roughly 20 minutes, and I'm perfectly OK with that.PerformanceGiven how incredible Fedora's performance is, it should come as no surprise that Ultramarine Linux performs like a champ -- it's quite fast. Apps open immediately and run smoothly. Then again, I've found that just about any distribution based on Fedora performs quite well, and Ultramarine Linux is no exception.My overall takeJust like when I reviewed this Linux distribution the first time around, Ultramarine 40 (and then 41) was an absolute delight. I will also add that, upon updating to version 41, I found the desktop as a whole included even more refinement and eked out a bit more performance than version 40. The difference was subtle, but it was there. Considering I ran Ultramarine Linux in a virtual machine with only 3GB of RAM and 2 CPU cores, I found the performance even more impressive.If you like the idea of having a Fedora-based distribution that ships with "sane defaults," so the out-of-box experience is brilliant from the start, Ultramarine Linux does not disappoint. Of course, the Budgie desktop is certainly a thing to behold.For anyone looking to distro hop to a Fedora-based distribution that's ready to go out of the box, you can't go wrong with Ultramarine Linux.Open Source

Artwork of a pair of tyrannosaur dinosaurs surveying a volcanic landscape.gettyAbout 66 million years ago, a meteorite hit Earth near what today is the Yucatn peninsula, causing widespread destruction and death. But almost simultaneously, intense volcanism covered a vast area of the Indian subcontinent with over 2 kilometers thick lava flows. Scientists have long debated if the impact or the volcanic supereruption was behind the extinction of 75 percent of all species living at the time, including non-avian dinosaurs, or a combination of both.Based on a new study, scientists from Utrecht University and the University of Manchester show that while the volcanism caused a temporary climate change, the effects had already worn off thousands of years before the meteorite impacted and most species survived this first cold snap. The scientists therefore conclude that the meteorite impact was the ultimate cause of the mass extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous period.A meteorite impact can result in a thick layer of dust and soot blocking the sun and cooling the surface. Volcanic eruptions release vast amounts of carbon-dioxide, dust, and sulfur, thereby significantly altering the chemistry of the atmosphere and changing Earth's climatebut in different ways and on different timescales to a meteorite impact.By analyzing fossil molecules in sediments deposited around 65 to 66 million years ago in the interior of the North American continent, the scientific team reconstructed air temperatures for the entire time period.The analyzed sediments contain specific molecules produced by bacteria. The structure of these molecules changes depending on the temperature of the environment the bacteria once lived in. By analyzing the composition of these molecules in the sediment layers deposited every year, the scientists were able to reconstruct a climate curve covering both the timing of the volcanic eruptions and the meteorite impact.MORE FOR YOUThe study show that a major volcanic pulse occurred about 30,000 years before the impact, coinciding with at least a 5 degrees cooling of the climate. They also conclude that this cooling was likely the result of volcanic sulfur emissions."These volcanic eruptions and associated carbon-dioxide and sulfur release would have had drastic consequences for life on Earth. But these events happened millennia before the meteorite impact and probably played only a small part in the extinction of dinosaurs," explains study author Lauren O'Connor, a geochemist at Utrecht University.The scientists also discovered that by around 20,000 years before the impact, temperatures on Earth had already stabilized and had climbed back to similar temperatures before the volcanic eruptions started. This fast recovery was likely aided by volcanic emissions acting like greenhouse gases rapidly warming the planet.Graph showing how Earth's mean annual air temperatures (MAAT) dropped during a phase of intense ... [+] volcanism in India but returned normal shortly after the eruption peak. The end-Cretaceous meteorite impact happened 30,000 years after this peak.O Connor et al. 2024/Science AdvancesWith the effects of volcanism practically ruled out, this would leave the Yucatn meteorite impact as the primary cause of the later mass extinction."By comparison, the impact from the asteroid unleashed a chain of disasters, including wildfires, earthquakes, tsunamis, and an 'impact winter' that blocked sunlight and devastated ecosystems. We believe the asteroid that ultimately delivered the fatal blow," concludes Rhodri Jerrett, geologist at the University of Manchester.The study, "Terrestrial evidence for volcanogenic sulfate-driven cooling event ~30 ka before the CretaceousPaleogene mass extinction," was published in the journal Science Advances and can be found online here.Additional material and interviews provided by Utrecht University.