The latest v71 and v72 software updates have been locking users out of their devices over the holidays.

Want more housing market stories from Lance Lamberts ResiClubin your inbox?Subscribeto theResiClubnewsletter.Over the past few years, weve experienced a historic deterioration in housing affordability.The 51% surge in U.S. home prices since March 2020, combined with mortgage rates rising from 3% to 7%, has resulted in the fastest-ever decline in housing affordability. By most measures, the early 1980s housing market (when mortgage rates peaked at 18% in 1981) was slightly more unaffordable overall. However, in terms of housing cycles, the pace of change matterswhich explains why homebuyers and industry professionals are feeling a bit dizzy.Despite strained affordability, this year marked the 13th-consecutive calendar year of rising national home prices, with many areas in the Midwest and Northeast experiencing elevated price growth. However, in some Mountain West and Gulf markets, affordability pressures helped see home prices plateau or even outright decline.Heading into 2024, ResiClub expected significant bifurcation in the housing marketa prediction that still holds for 2025.Housing analyst Nick Gerli, founder and CEO of Reventure Appa real estate analytics platform that lets buyers and sellers forecast market trendsalso anticipated regional bifurcation this year. ResiClub recently spoke with Gerli about his thoughts on the 2025 housing market and whether he expects this trend to continue.During the pandemic housing boom, Floridas housing market was among the hottest in the nation. However, the market has since cooled, with active inventory now back above pre-pandemic levels and falling home prices in areas like Southwest Floridas Punta Gorda and Cape Coral. Additionally, condo prices are down year over year in nearly every Florida market. Whats actually driving this shift, and do you think this trend will continue into 2025?Florida is getting hit by three main headwinds entering 2025: a structural slowdown in inbound migration, excess supply hitting the market from home builders, and an affordability crisis for existing homeowners related to HOA and insurance costs. The combination of these factors is pushing more inventory onto the market and reducing buyer demand.Floridas housing market will likely continue to struggle in 2025 due to these factors, and I wouldnt be surprised if home values in certain markets in Florida drop by as much as 10% next year. Cities such as Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota, Punta Gorda, and Naples are most in the crosshairs of this slowdown.Lets turn to Texas. Housing markets like Austin and San Antonio have been experiencing falling home prices, and even Dallas has cooled significantly. What are the key factors contributing to this recent weakness in Texas, and do you see any signs of stabilization or further declines ahead?Texass housing market was always very affordable, and significantly undervalued before the pandemic. However, from 2020 to 2022, home values spiked so much that many local buyers in Texas could no longer afford to participate in the market. The result was a slowdown in home sales. At the same time, home builders permitted a massive pipeline of new homes and apartments, which started to hit the market in 2024 and will continue in 2025. The result is higher inventory and declining prices.I think Austin will be the first market to bottom. Prices there are already down 20% from the peak, and according to Reventure Apps data, theyre now only 12% overvalued. Dallas is a market that might take longer to correct. Prices there are still very high compared to long-term norms, and theyve only dropped a couple of percentage points to date, indicating a large affordability gap in the market.In contrast to Florida and Texas, the Midwest and Northeast housing markets have shown remarkable resilience. Active inventory remains well below pre-pandemic levels, and home prices are still rising. In Buffalo, New York; Hartford, Connecticut; and Milwaukee, prices are even rising at elevated rates. What factors are supporting this resilience, and do you think these regions can maintain their upward momentum?The true tailwind behind Midwest and Northeast markets is affordability. Home values in Buffalo, Hartford, and Milwaukee are still cheap enough in relative terms for local buyers to afford the prices and mortgage payments. At the same time, there is very little home building in these areas, which suppresses new listings and supply. Reventure App is forecasting continued price growth in 2025 for these regions.In October, U.S. homebuilders reported having 113,000 unsold new homes. While this is still below the 2007 peak of 117,000, its above the pre-pandemic October 2019 level of 77,000, and marks the highest level since 2009. Does this signal that some builders may need to implement discounts to maintain sales momentum in spring 2025? How might this affect the broader housing market?Builders are starting to get a bit desperate to move their inventory, particularly down here in Florida. I just toured a home builder site east of Tampa where the builder offered me a 4.7% mortgage rate for a 30-year term, with the house priced at $150 [per square foot], which is a pretty good deal. Builders are getting this aggressive in Florida and other parts of [the U.S.] because they have a pileup of unsold inventory sitting on their lots. As you pointed out, completed unsold spec inventory is at the highest level since 2009 nationally. And in states like Florida and Texas, the unsold inventory is even higher.Looking ahead to 2025, what is your overall outlook for the U.S. housing market? Are there specific areas of uncertainty or potential headwinds that buyers, sellers, and investors should be paying close attention to?On a national level, we expect home prices to remain flat in 2025, with prices declining in the Southeast, Texas, and Mountain states. Values are expected to continue to increase in the Northeast and Midwest, but by less than they did in 2024. One macro-level trend were tracking with large uncertainty is mortgage defaults and foreclosures. There has been an increase in early-stage mortgage delinquencies in 2024, especially among FHA and VA borrowers. Many of these delinquencies are currently blocked from foreclosure by pandemic-era programs like loss mitigation and forbearance.Will the incoming presidential administration remove these foreclosure protections and return the government mortgage market to pre-pandemic norms? If so, there could be an increase in distressed selling in the housing market in 2025 and higher inventory. On the demand side, we expect a moderate bounce in existing-home sales 10% above their levels in 2024. This will be due to rising wages and falling prices in some markets, thereby improving affordability.

Flush from his victories on the battlefield and in the arena, Maximus negotiates an endorsement deal with a major olive oil producer. Days later, marketing posters sporting his image appeared plastered on walls throughout Rome.Do you remember this subplot in Gladiator? Of course, you dont. But not for the reason you might imagine.Such a scene, apparently, was included in the original script. Surprisinglyto non-historiansthe relatively recent innovation of celebrity athletes selling products is not an innovation at all. Many centuries before Michael Jordan started hawking sneakers, heroes of the Roman Coliseum were lending their names and likenesses to the mass marketing of ancient times.So why was the scene clipped from Russell Crowes cinematic rendition? Simply because no one would have believed it.Herein lies a most irksome paradox. Its not enough for something to be true. It must be believable. This is despite the obvious fact that our collective belief or refusal to believe has absolutely no impact on reality.Imagine reading a Shakespearean-era novel in which the protagonist is anguished over being unfriended. Utterly implausible, you tell yourself. Except that the first recorded use of unfriend traces back to a letter penned in 1659. Okay, thats a little late for Shakespeare, but not by much.The examples are endless.The ancient Persians invented the first air-conditioning system.The ancient Greeks invented central heating.The first vending machine dates back to first-century Alexandria.So what do you call it when you cant tell the truth because no one will believe you? Thats our latest entry into the Ethical Lexicon:The Tiffany EffectThe perception of any historical fact as anachronistic or unrealistic to modern audiences despite its accuracy.Also referred to as the Tiffany Problem, the expression was coined by fantasy author Jo Walton. The name Tiffany dates back as early as the year 1200, traditionally given to girls born on January 6, the Feast of the Epiphany. The Old French spelling Tifinie derives from the Greek Theophaneia, meaning manifestation of god.But none of that matters. Modern readers know that the name Tiffany arrived on the scene with Audrey Hepburn; consequently, they also know that it has no place in Medieval literature. No amount of historical lecturing is going to convince them otherwise.Interestingly, the greatest of artists refused to allow accuracy to get in the way of their art. Michelangelos David is famous for its disproportionate right hand, neck, left shin, and left buttock. (And lets not forget that, in all likelihood, David was wearing clothes when he faced Goliath on the battlefield.) The artist, in his genius, recognized that the combined effect of rippling musculature and imperfect proportionality would somehow coalesce into a breathtaking masterpiece that depicts reality better than reality itself.There are two lessons for leaders here. First, its not enough to speak clearly. Only by anticipating how our words might be misunderstood or misinterpreted can we ensure that our message will be received the way we intend. Communication that fails to take into account the recipient is miscommunication, no matter how certain the communicator is of accurately conveying the message.Second, we need to practice humility. Just because we are 100% certain doesnt mean we cant be wrong. Almost two centuries ago, humorist Josh Billings warned against precisely that when he observed: I honestly believe it is better to know nothing than to know what just aint so.By demonstrating a willingness to admit ignorance and acknowledge they might be wrong, leaders actually build credibility in the eyes of their people while modeling the values that sustain a healthy culture. Sometimes, that means avoiding the appearance of being wrong even when were right.But youll justifiably ask: Dont we have an obligation to speak the truth and to disseminate truth throughout the world? Well, yes and no. Concerning the scriptural obligation to give rebuke for wrongdoing, the sages taught: Just as one is required to speak words that will be accepted, one is prohibited from speaking words that will not be accepted.In other words, we can cause more damage by giving others information they arent willing or able to process than we cause by remaining silent. In such cases, we might be able to modify our message to make it more easily received, even at the expense of perfect accuracy.The Tiffany Effect leads us into an ethical tempest. What is our first and highest priority? To speak literal truth, or to enable others to recognize a deeper truth? Navigating the treacherous waters between honesty and effectiveness presents a daunting challenge in countless relevant situations.Whether were trying to sell clients, consumers, or colleagues, the same principles of ethical marketing apply: How can we make it easier for others to hear and accept our ideas by framing them to be palatable without distortion or misrepresentation? Err too far to one side and you lose your sale. Err too far to the other side and you lose your integrity and, perhaps, your reputation.Tiffany might be an entirely appropriate name for my 13th-century heroine, but if readers refuse to buy into the accuracy of the story because of their own erroneous misconceptions, the writer wisely changes her name to Theophaneia. When we know our people and our audience, we can craft our message to meet them where they are and thereby serve their best interests. The willingness to do just that is the first step toward eliminating the Tiffany Problem altogether.

Many wonder what Trumps win means for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). To me, it simply confirmed what I already knew: The fight against discrimination is far from over, and DEI has to evolve for us to meet the challenges to workplace culture ahead.Employers are entering an unprecedented age of instability. Trumps previous policies, and the plans laid out in Project 2025, give us a preview of whats in store. The incoming administration will likely ban DEI language and training in the federal government while undermining the Equal Employment Opportunity Commissions ability to enforce civil rights protections and track minority employment. It will likely try to revoke protections for LGBTQ employees and implement religious exemptions to antidiscrimination laws.Mass deportation, workplace raids, and denaturalization targeting Black and Brown employees could go into effect, while H1-B visas tighten. At the same time, employers need to grapple with other threats to workplace culture, employee morale, and productivityincluding climate disruption, political polarization, and declining mental health.Amid these challenges, DEI is ripe for reinvention. Organizations will need new strategies for creating stable environments, supporting their employees, and maintaining strong cultures.Recalibrate an important set of toolsDEI has been easy to attack partly because theres little agreement on what it actually is. DEI has become a Rorschach test, viewed through the lens of each persons priorities and fears.Its useful to think of DEI as a set of tools designed to achieve clear outcomes: reducing discrimination, mitigating its harmful effects, and creating a workplace culture that set employees up to succeed. By focusing on the intersection of data and culture, leaders can develop new approaches for achieving these goals. They might start by considering these six factors.Consider legal implicationsOrganizations reversing DEI policies under pressure from lawsuits claiming reverse discrimination would be well-advised to consider the risks of incurring lawsuits over traditional discrimination based on race, gender, ethnicity, age, or sexual orientation. While reverse racism claims may capture headlines, traditional discrimination lawsuits are actually on the rise.State-based differences in labor laws are likely to become more extreme as regulatory responsibility shifts toward states. More progressive states may pass new pro-worker legislation, and less progressive states may become increasingly antiunion and anti-worker. Employers with a national presence will have an even harder time navigating these differences and ensuring that organizational policies are fair across the country.Organizations should consider how their DEI programs impacted allegations of discriminationand otherwise enriched the workplace culture. Then they can consider how they might achieve the same results by other means.Measure whether culture brings out the best in workersEmployees who consider their workplace culture good or excellent are nearly eight times more likely to feel satisfied at work, and 85% less likely to be actively looking for a new job, than those who say the culture is poor or terrible.But even within the same company, people can have vastly different experiences. Is your workplace culture resilient? Are fairness and equity embedded in your values? Do certain demographic groups respond differently to aspects of the company culture? Do metrics around employee engagement, satisfaction, and retention look different for women versus men; people of color versus those who are white; or between employees assigned to different team leaders? If so, thats worth examining.Take stock of the dynamic between employees and managersIf you have a toxic dynamic with your boss, it doesnt matter how robust your cultural programming is. One study found that nearly a third of workers in the U.K. left jobs because of a negative relationship with their managers.Are you preparing your managers to navigate this newly volatile environment? Are you giving them the tools and training to create a positive, psychologically safe workplace culture that enables healthy communication? Are training programs aligned with your organizations values and mission? Are accountability mechanisms in place when cultural issues arise?Be perceived as a place of opportunityTodays employees want to grow and thrive within an organization. And that means everyone.As antidiscrimination protections weaken, employees from historically marginalized groups will become more risk-averse. They will be looking for and staying with employers that value them. Across the U.S., Black women earn only 63.7 cents for every dollar earned by white men. Since 2022, promotion rates for Black employees have fallen. If your pay scale or C-suite reflects such disparities, chances are youre not broadly perceived as a place where all talent can thrive.Its also wise to audit your promotions practices regularly. If there are disproportionate levels of turnover within certain demographic groups or in certain corners of the organization, this merits immediate attention.Leverage all available talent poolsUnder the next administration, hiring programs may face even more scrutiny. Organizations that have eliminated internships or job slots targeting talent from underrepresented groups will need to find creative ways to broaden the candidate pool.A skills-based approach to hiringin which employees are selected for their capabilities and potential, rather than their degrees or credentialscan broaden and diversify the talent pool. Moreover, a growing body of research shows that skills-based hiring is more predictive of job performance than hiring based on education or work experience.As you broaden your approach to talent, make sure changes to your hiring process dont introduce new biases that undermine your efforts. Without targeted programming, its even more important to mitigate your legal risks through diverse sourcing methods, interviewer training, regular audits, and new hire feedback.DEI, by another nameRegardless of whos president, youd be hard-pressed to find a successful leader whos comfortable presiding over a homogeneous workforce with a low-trust culturewhere certain employees feel marginalized, workers are out of touch with customers, and growth is stifled by a shortage of talent. Its just not good for business.DEI has been one set of tools for solving these problems. But language is also a tool, and the language of DEI may no longer be serving us. So lets find new ways to talk about the outcomes we wantand new approaches to ensuring that our evolving workplaces work for everyone.

A series of interventions by local studio Cooke Fawcett has opened up a cluster of makers' studios in south London to the public and given them a stronger street presence.The studio revamped and expanded a 1960s office building by a railway viaduct in Deptford, which for twenty years has been home to Cockpit a social enterprise providing affordable studio space.Cooke Fawcett has revamped a studio space in south London. Photo by Peter Landers PhotographyWhile the centre hummed with activity inside, its community of jewellers, metalworkers and woodworkers were hidden away from the local community by the building's 3.5-metre-high boundary wall.Alongside greater visibility, Cockpit wanted a "permanent public presence" to help stave off the encroachment of residential development and protect its use as light industry. The charity had already fought off redevelopment in 2015, under the Sun Street site-wide residential masterplan.A boundary wall was removed to increase the site's community presenceTo achieve this, Cooke Fawcett tore down part of its boundary brick wall and replaced it with a new meshed entrance gate. Metal panels punched with "meccano-style" holes were added to the building facade as a nod to the site's light industrial heritage.While the main building's 60 studios on its upper floors were largely left as they were, a more extensive remodelling took place on its ground floor to make space for a cafe, visitor foyer and an education room to allow the charity to run programmes with local schools.An outbuilding hosts a new workshop"The new connection to the street is one of the most successful parts of the project", said studio co-founder Oliver Cooke."The building has been transformed from a previously unwelcoming inaccessible graffitied wall into a open generous series of spaces which encourage passersby to come in to the building, and hopefully feel curious about the activities housed within it."Sebastian Cox designed a craft garden at the front of the building. Photo by Peter Landers PhotographyAn underused front yard has been turned into a craft garden, designed by designer Sebastian Cox with rubble beds made from the dismantled wall, and plants that have practical use in crafting such as willow, used in basketry and madder, used in natural dyes.The design team aimed to draw on the huge body of talent already in situ, commissioning Cockpit-based artist Amber Khokar to create a new mural on the remaining section of the boundary wall.Featuring over 1000 hand-glazed ceramic tiles, it reflects the area's history and "unsung" local heroes.A mural was created on the remaining boundary wall. Photo by Peter Landers PhotographyThe artwork involved the removal of a deteriorating Love Over Gold mural which was painted by the local artist Gary Drostle in 1989 to replace graffiti with the same slogan after it was washed off by the council.Drostle's mural was part-funded by the rock band Dire Straits, which had lived on the next-door Crossfields Estate and performed in front of the wall in an early 1977 gig. Their 1982 album Love Over Gold was inspired by the original graffiti. The studio preserved 60 studios across the site's upper floors[/caption]To future-proof the scheme, an air-source heat pump has been installed in the new wood studios, and passive ventilation throughout to meet energy targets.Oversized radiators were added to facilitate a switch to heat pumps in the main building in a future phase.Cockpit Deptford is located in the Deptford and New Cross Creative Enterprise Zone (CEZ), one of the first areas in London to be designated by the mayor as an area with affordable workspace for artists and creative businesses.A new cafe is hosted on the ground floorCooke Fawcett was founded in 2015 by Cooke and Francis Fawcett, graduates of the University of Cambridge who worked together at architecture practice Herzog & de Meuron, based in Basel and London.The studio previously designed the Peckham Observatory an elevated walkway above a multi-storey car park in south London.The photography is by Max Creasy unless otherwise stated.The post Cooke Fawcett reveals workings of "messy and noisy" Cockpit Deptford studios appeared first on Dezeen.

From post-apocalyptic Earth to historic cities and other planets, VFX artists created magic in some of the best TV shows of the year.

Make complex animation movements much easier by moving the object along a predefined line

Tasty bakes are easy to make with the help of the latest statement stand mixersas are homemade pretzels, tender pasta, and artisan breads.

7.5 /10 SCORE Our Verdict Our Verdict Best for: Back sleeper Combo sleeper Side sleeper Stomach sleeper Score Breakdown Performance 7 /10 Policies 7 /10 Durability 8 /10 Features 7 /10 Pros and Cons Pros Hybrid mattress for stomach, back or combo sleepers Accommodating neutral feel Affordable price Cons Only comes in one firmness option Nicer options for only slightly more money Table of Contents Competitive pricing and a variety of mattresses make Brooklyn Bedding an attractive online mattress brand. So, if you're shopping on a budget and need something affordable, the Brooklyn Bedding Essential is a hybrid mattress worth checking out.It's cheaper than the Brooklyn Bedding Signature mattress -- one of our all-time favorites that offers terrific value, comfort and versatility. To help you decide if its right for you, our sleep expert put it to the test to evaluate its support level, comfort and value.See more: Best Gifts Available on Amazon: From $10 to $250First impressions of the Brooklyn Essential Jonathan Gomez/CNETUpon first unboxing the Brooklyn Essential, I immediately noticed the design of the cover, which looks nothing like any of the current mattresses available from Brooklyn Bedding -- and they generally look similar across its beds. The cover is unimportant, but it's something I always notice after testing hundreds of beds.Thanks to the Essential's hybrid design, it firmed up quickly out of the box, and it felt comfortable and supportive when I lay down on it for the first time. That isn't always the case: Beds often need 24 to 48 hours to reach their intended firmness level.On Brooklyn Bedding's website, it describes the Essential as a mattress without "bells and whistles" and "just comfort," and that seems to be exactly the case. When we first learned the price of this mattress, I was even more impressed with the bed.Video: Brooklyn Bedding Essential mattress reviewWatch me review the Brooklyn Bedding Essential mattress.Brooklyn Bedding Essential policiesFree shippingThe Brooklyn Bedding essential mattress ships in a box to your door. It comes at no extra cost in the contiguous United States. Unboxing a mattress is a quick and easy process; CNET reviewers have done it hundreds of times, and it's actually fun.I do recommend unboxing it with two people because it can be challenging solo, especially for larger sizes like queen and king.120-night trialBrooklyn Bedding offers a slightly longer than standard in-home sleep trial of 120 nights. So you get roughly four months to really test out the bed and see if it's comfortable and supportive enough for you.Keep in mind that it can take a month or longer for your body to adjust to a new mattress, no matter how well-suited it is to your sleeping preferences.Return PolicyIf, during the 120-night trial period, you decide the Brooklyn Essential isn't for you, you can return it for free and get a refund for any reason. Like most brands, Brooklyn Bedding will ask you to sleep on the bed for at least 30 nights before initiating a return.Returning a mattress is easy. You don't have to ship the mattress back yourself, so don't worry about keeping the box (there's no way you could actually put it back in the box). All you need to do is contact the company, and it will coordinate a pickup of the mattress.WarrantyAll Brooklyn Bedding mattresses, including the Brooklyn Essential, are backed by a standard 10-year warranty. If you buy a mattress online, a 10-year warranty is the minimum you should expect.Construction and feel Jonathan Gomez/CNETThe Brooklyn Bedding Essential mattress is roughly 10 inches thick, and the support layer is an 8-inch layer of pocketed coils. All Brooklyn Bedding mattresses have coils. If you're looking for a foam mattress from Brooklyn Bedding, it has a sub-brand called Dreamfoam with multiple foam mattress options.Having coils is generally a positive for a mattress, because it provides more durability and support over the course of several years and has improved airflow. But plenty of sleepers prefer foam beds as they have less bounce and improved motion isolation, so it really comes down to your personal preference.Above the coils, the Brooklyn Essential has two foam layers: a 3.25-inch thick layer of high-density, responsive foam to help make sure you only feel the bounce and support from the coil layer, not the actual coils and a 1.5-inch layer of quilted comfort foam.The entire construction adds up to give the Brooklyn Bedding Essential a flat, neutral-hybrid feel that is generally accommodating for most people. You'll get some nice bounce and responsiveness thanks to the coil layer and plenty of pressure relief from the foams.This type of feel is meant to be not distinctive like memory foam or responsive latex foam, and most people who try beds like this either enjoy them or at least find them decently comfortable.Brooklyn Bedding Essential firmness and sleeper typesThe Brooklyn Bedding Essential is a medium on our firmness scale, or roughly a 4 to 6 out of 10. This means it should be able to accommodate any sleeping position (back, stomach, side and combination) effectively.A medium firmness like this isn't necessarily ideal for everyone, but it usually allows you to sleep in any position pain-free and works especially well for combination sleepers and couples who can't quite agree on a soft or firm mattress.The Brooklyn Bedding Essential only comes in one firmness option, unlike the Brooklyn Bedding Signature mattress, which is available in three for more specialized soft and firm beds.Brooklyn Bedding Essential performance Testing the edge support on the Brooklyn Bedding Essential. Jonathan Gomez/CNETEdge supportThere is no additional edge support reinforcement in the coils like certain higher-end hybrid mattresses, but I observed in testing that the edge support on the Brooklyn Bedding Essential is solid.I didn't feel any roll-off while putting my weight on the edges of the bed, which is great for couples sharing a mattress.Motion isolationThe Brooklyn Bedding Essential is average in terms of its ability to isolate cross-mattress motion. Since it's a hybrid bed that doesn't have dense memory foam, this makes a lot of sense.It does use pocketed coils, though, which have almost entirely replaced traditional innersprings in mattress design. These coils do a much better job at isolating motion, so I don't see this being a deal-breaker for the vast majority of sleepers. If you're a light sleeper who wakes up easily when your partner tosses and turns, however, it could happen more on this bed than others.If that's something you've struggled with in the past, then a bed made of foam layers or uses a lot of memory foam is ideal.Temperature RegulationThanks to the breathable nature of the pocketed coils and the foams used by Brooklyn Bedding, the Essential should sleep temperature neutral. We didn't find any red flags for this mattress retaining lots of body heat, so if you do sleep hot, it will have way more to do with your sleep environment and your bedding than the mattress.If you want a mattress that will actively cool you down, you can check out the Brooklyn Bedding Aurora Luxe mattress, which is one of our favorite cooling beds.Brooklyn Bedding Essential mattress pricing undefined SizeMeasurements (inches)Price Twin 38x75 inches$532Twin XL 38x80 inches$732Full 54x75 inches$799Queen 60x80 inches$932King 76x80 inches$1,132Cal king 72x84 inches$1,132 The price of the Brooklyn Bedding Essential is appealing. We watch mattress pricing constantly at CNET, and this is one of the most affordable hybrid beds that we've tested to this point, coming in below most other hybrids and even some foam beds (hybrids are generally more expensive).And on top of already being affordable, Brooklyn Bedding will run discounts pretty much year round, usually anywhere between 20% off to 30% off any mattress in any size.Brooklyn Bedding also offers veterans and members of the military a 30% discount year round on all of its products.Make sure you check out our mattress deals page for the most up-to-date pricing and discounts on the Brooklyn Bedding Essential or any other bed you're interested in.Who is the Brooklyn Bedding Essential mattress best for? Jonathan Gomez/CNETFinal verdictI think Brooklyn Bedding nailed it with the Essential mattress. It describes it on its website as a bed with no "bells and whistles" and "just comfort," and I agree with that completely. It's comfortable, supportive and affordable.Other beds from Brooklyn Bedding, like the Signature and the Aurora Luxe, are nicer and have more features like firmness options and cooling covers, but they're also more expensive.If you're looking for a no-frills, affordable hybrid mattress, you'll be hard-pressed to find a better option than the Brooklyn Bedding Essential.The only real issue I might have with this mattress is that there are nicer options out there if you're willing to spend a little more money, like the Signature. But having a variety of beds at different prices just means there are more choices for you no matter your budget, so the Essential Mattress is a welcome addition to the Brooklyn Bedding lineup of beds.You might like the Brooklyn Bedding Essential mattress if:You want a mattress with a medium firmness profileYou are shopping for a mattress on a strict budgetYou are not seeking a specialized mattress feelYou are seeking a hybrid mattressYou might not like the Brooklyn Bedding Essential mattress if:You want a noticeably luxurious mattressYou want a firm or soft mattressYou love the feel of memory foamOther mattresses from Brooklyn BeddingBrooklyn Bedding Signature: The Brooklyn Bedding Essential can be thought of as a simplified version of the Signature mattress. The Signature has more layers of foam, three firmness options to choose from and you can spend a little extra to add a "cloud pillow top" that makes the bed a bit more luxurious.Brooklyn Aurora Luxe: This mattress is basically a nicer version of the Brooklyn Bedding Signature, featuring additional foam layers and an active cooling cover that should help you sleep a few degrees cooler at night. The addition of the Essential mattress to the lineup gives Brooklyn Bedding a "good, better, best" trio of beds, which is what we see with several brands.Dreamfoam Hybrid: This bed comes from the Dreamfoam sub-brand of Brooklyn Bedding, and it's similar to the Essential by being an affordable hybrid. The Dreamfoam Hybrid is a bit more affordable than the Essential, and features a cool to the touch cover. However, the coil layer on the Brooklyn Essential is thicker and should provide more bounce, and it will also likely be more durable over a longer period of time.How does the Brooklyn Bedding Essential compare to similar mattresses?Brooklyn Bedding Essential vs. Allswell LuxeThe Allswell Luxe is one of our favorite affordable hybrid beds. It has a similar feel and firmness profile to the Brooklyn Essential, the only difference being it uses a memory foam in its construction, but you won't feel it all that much. The Allswell Luxe is also more affordable by a few hundred dollars.The other big difference is that you have to order The Allswell Luxe through Wal-Mart as opposed to the manufacturer like the Essential, and it doesn't have quite as generous of a trial period.Brooklyn Bedding Essential vs. The DreamCloud HybridAnother one of our favorite affordable hybrid beds, the DreamCloud Hybrid, is noticeably more luxurious than the Brooklyn Bedding Essential. It is quite a bit thicker, and features a tufted cover with a cashmere blend that gives it a more premium look. The firmness and feel between these beds are also very similar, with a medium firmness and a neutral hybrid feel, despite the DreamCloud using memory foam.Before discount, the Brooklyn Bedding Essential is much more affordable than the DreamCloud Hybrid, but after discount, the prices are very comparable.Brooklyn Bedding Essential FAQs Are Brooklyn Bedding mattresses made in the USA? Brooklyn Bedding manufactures its beds out of its production facility in Phoenix, Arizona. However, they may be made with some imported materials. Show more Is the Brooklyn Bedding Essential mattress supportive? Yes, this mattress has an 8-inch layer of coils for support, so you shouldn't experience sagging with this bed. Show more Are Brooklyn Bedding mattresses safe? Yes, all of its beds are Certa-PUR US certified, which means they're free of ozone-depleting chemicals and other chemicals, like formaldehyde, so it's perfectly safe. Show more

After months of hype, the first sets of Apple Intelligence features are here -- but which ones are you actually going to use? I've been running the technology since it first appeared in the iOS betas, and these are the four features I find myself using on a day-to-day basis.You need aniPhone 15 Pro,iPhone 16oriPhone 16 Pro(or their Plus and Max variants) running iOS 18.2 and, crucially, you must request access to Apple Intelligenceto take advantage of these new technologies.Once you're in, here's what you can realistically expect. More features will be added as time goes on -- and keep in mind that Apple Intelligence is still officially beta software -- but this is where Apple is starting its AI age.Summaries bring TL;DR to your correspondenceIn an era when there are so many demands on our attention and seemingly less time to dig into longer topicsSorry, what was I saying?Oh, right: How often have you wanted a "too long; didn't read" version of not just long emails but the fire hose of communication that blasts your way? The ability to summarize notifications, Mail messages and web pages is perhaps the most pervasive and least intrusive feature of Apple Intelligence so far.When a notification arrives, such as a text from a friend or group in Messages, the iPhone creates a short, single-sentence summary. Apple Intelligence summarized two text messages. Screenshot by Jeff Carlson/CNETSometimes summaries are vague, and sometimes they're unintentionally funny, but so far I've found them to be more helpful than not. Summaries can also be generated from alerts by third-party apps like news or social media apps -- although I suspect that my outdoor security camera is picking up multiple passersby over time and not telling me that 10 people are stacked by the door. Nobody told me there's a party at my house. Screenshot by Jeff Carlson/CNETThat said, Apple Intelligence definitely doesn't understand sarcasm or colloquialisms -- you can turn summaries off if you prefer.You can also generate a longer summary of emails in the Mail app: Tap the Summarize button at the top of a message to view a rundown of the contents in a few dozen words.In Safari, when viewing a page where the Reader feature is available, tap the Page Menu button in the address bar, tap Show Reader and then tap the Summary button at the top of the page. Summarize long articles in Safari in the Reader interface. Screenshot by Jeff Carlson/CNETSiri gets a glow-up and better interactionI was amused during the iOS 18 and the iPhone 16 releases that the main visual indicator of Apple Intelligence -- the full-screen, color-at-the-edges Siri animation -- was noticeably missing. Apple even lit up the edges of the massive glass cube of its Apple Fifth Avenue Store in New York City like a Siri search.Instead, iOS 18 used the same-old Siri sphere.Now, the modern Siri look has arrived as of iOS 18.1, but only on devices that support Apple Intelligence. If you're still tapping your fingers in the Apple Intelligence waitlist queue, you'll also see the Siri sphere for now. Siri under Apple Intelligence looks like a multicolor halo around the edges. James Martin/CNETWith the new look are a few Siri interaction improvements: It's more forgiving if you stumble through a query, like saying the wrong word or interrupting yourself mid-thought. It's also better about listening after delivering results, so you can ask related followup questions.However, the ability to personalize answers based on what Apple Intelligence knows about you is still down the road. What did appear in iOS 18.2 was integration of ChatGPT, which you can now use as an alternate source of information. For some queries, if Siri doesn't have the answer right away, you're asked if you'd like to use ChatGPT instead. You don't need a ChatGPT account to take advantage of this (but if you do, you can sign in).Remove distractions from your pictures using Clean Up in the Photos appUntil iOS 18.1, the Photos app on the iPhone and iPad has lacked a simple retouch feature. Dust on the camera lens? Litter on the ground? Sorry, you need to deal with those and other distractions in the Photos app on MacOS or using a third-party app.Now Apple Intelligence includes Clean Up, an AI-enhanced removal tool, in the Photos app. When you edit an image and tap the Clean Up button, the iPhone analyzes the photo and suggests potential items to remove by highlighting them. Tap one or draw a circle around an area -- the app erases those areas and uses generative AI to fill in plausible pixels. Remove distractions in the Photos app using Clean Up. Screenshot by Jeff Carlson/CNETIn this first incarnation, Clean Up isn't perfect, and you'll often get better results in other dedicated image editors. But for quickly removing annoyances from photos, it's fine.Stay on task with the AI-boosted Reduce Interruptions Focus modeFocus modes on the iPhone can be enormously helpful, such as turning on Do Not Disturb to insulate yourself from outside distractions. You can also create personalized Focus modes. For example, my Podcast Recording mode blocks outside notifications except from a handful of people during scheduled recording times.With Apple Intelligence enabled, a new Reduce Interruptions Focus mode is available. When active, it becomes a smarter filter for what gets past the wall holding back superfluous notifications. Even things that are not specified in your criteria for allowed notifications, such as specific people, might pop up. On my iPhone, for instance, that can include weather alerts or texts from my bank when a large purchase or funds transfer has occurred.To enable it, open Control Center, tap the Focus buttonand choose Reduce Interruptions. The Reduce Interruptions Focus mode (left) intelligently filters possible distractions. Turn it on in Control Center (middle). When something comes in that might need your attention, it shows up as a notification marked Maybe Important (right). Screenshot by Jeff Carlson/CNETFor more on Apple Intelligence features, check out how to create Genmoji, how to use Image Wand and, if you want to scale things back, how to disable select Apple Intelligence features. Watch this: Apple Intelligence Impressions: Don't Expect Radical Change 09:05 11 Essential Accessories Your iPhone Wants for the Holidays See all photos