A travertine ramp forms the centrepiece of the Vans West End store in London, which was remodelled by architect Andrea Caputo to celebrate skateboarding, music and art.American apparel and accessories brand Vans looked to its skateboarding heritage when developing the concept for its store on London's Oxford Street, which it has occupied since 2019.A travertine skate ramp sits at the centre of the storeCaputo's Milan-based studio oversaw the transformation of the store, which celebrates skateboarding culture through its bold design and direct references to the sport.The main feature that runs the length of the store is a 200-square-metre skate ramp made from travertine stone that was developed with input from Vans' team of skateboarding ambassadors.The ramp has a wall at one end. Photo by Rafal Wojnowski"Designed as a single large block of stone, entirely laid and polished on-site, the ramp will be the beating heart of the store," said Vans, "used for regular skate lessons, demos and events by the Vans skate team and local skate schools."The ramp is divided along its length into different sections that form obstacles for performing tricks. This "multi-transition" configuration resembles an extended half pipe with a dramatic vertical wall at one end.It can be used for seating when it's not being skated. Photo by Rafal WojnowskiWhen not in use for skating, the ramp's modules can be reconfigured to provide seating or merchandising stands.A series of perforated glass panels that function like peg boards can also be added to enhance the retail displays.Read: PlayLab designs "scenically sculpted" Sacr-Cur skatepark to resemble stoneThe modular set-up allows the interior to be easily reconfigured so it can perform its everyday role as a retail space, as well as hosting activities and events such as live music shows or art exhibitions.Other references to skateboarding featured throughout the store include the plywood used for wall panelling and product displays, which recalls the materiality of conventional skate ramps.The Vans store also features carved plywoodThe plywood was carved to create an irregular three-dimensional surface intended to evoke the way skateboarders "grind" the metal parts of their boards along ramps, rails and copings.The rest of the interior has a stripped back, industrial aesthetic, with a concrete floor and exposed ducting contributing to a sense of urban authenticity.Andrea Caputo's studio wanted the store to celebrate skateboardingVans West End will present a wide range of Vans products alongside curated partnerships with brands such as jewellers The Great Frog and creative studio Gomi, which produced a collection of checkered speakers and powerbanks exclusively for the store.Caputo previously designed a store for Vans in Seoul, South Korea, featuring plywood display modules informed by the work of American artists Carl Andre and Donald Judd. Last year, Vans unveiled a temporary skate bowl in front of the Sacr-Cur Basilica in Paris.The photography is by Tom D Morgan unless otherwise stated.The post Vans installs skateable ramp at refurbished central London store appeared first on Dezeen.

The Withings Omnia Health Screening Mirror aims to show you your vitals while you're checking out your reflection.Withings Omnia - Image credit: WithingsWhile keeping track of your health is important, so is understanding what all of the data points mean. With the Omnia, Withings is trying to make it easier to know how healthy you are.The Omnia Health Screening Mirror is a full-height smart mirror that displays your vitals on a reflective surface. Health metrics are shown on the screen, including your overnight heart rate, resting heart rate, vascular age, blood pressure, and irregular heart rhythm notifications. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

For this years lineup, Samsung said that AI will come to life in more ways than just great picture quality. The company is introducing AI-backed experiences to make your day simpler, more dynamic, and just plain better. Announced at CES 2025, these experiences will help usher in a new era for Samsung TVs known as Vision AI. Vision AI will deRead More

Time zones: AEST (UTC +10), ACST (UTC +9:30), ACWST (UTC +8:45)Our Data Engineering Team is comprised of data experts. We build world-class data solutions and applications that power crucial business decisions throughout the organisation. We manage multiple analytical data models and pipelines across Atlassian, covering finance, growth, product analysis, customer analysis, sales and marketing, and so on. We maintain Atlassian's data lake that provide a unified way of analysing our customers, our products, our operations, and the interactions among them.We're hiring a Data Engineer, reporting to the Data Engineering Manager. Here, you'll enable a world-class engineering practice, drive the approach with which we use data, develop backend systems and data models to serve the needs of insights, and help build Atlassian's data-driven culture. You love thinking about the ways the business can consume data and then figuring out how to build it.You'll partner with the data analytics and data scientist team to build the data solutions that allow them to obtain more insights from our data and use that to support important business decisions.You'll work with different stakeholders to understand their needs and architect/build the data models, data acquisition/ingestion processes and data applications to address those requirements.You'll add new sources, code business rules, and produce new metrics that support the product analysts and data scientist.You'll be the data domain expert who understand all the nitty-gritty of our products.You'll own a problem end-to-end. Requirements could be vague, and iterations will be rapidYou'll improve data quality by using & improving internal tools/frameworks to automatically detect DQ issues.A BS in Computer Science or equivalent experience with 3+ years professional experience as a Data Engineer or in a similar role.Strong programming skills using PythonWorking knowledge of relational databases and query authoring (SQL).Experience designing data models for optimal storage and retrieval to meet product and business requirements.Experience building scalable data pipelines using Spark (SparkSQL) with Airflow scheduler/executor framework or similar scheduling tools.Experience working with AWS data services or similar Apache projects (Spark, Flink, Hive, and Kafka).Understanding of Data Engineering tools/frameworks and standards to improve the productivity and quality of output for Data Engineers across the team.Well versed in modern software development practices (Agile, TDD, CICD)Our perks & benefitsAtlassian offers a variety of perks and benefits to support you, your family and to help you engage with your local community. Our offerings include health coverage, paid volunteer days, wellness resources, and so much more. Visit go.atlassian.com/perksandbenefits

The Zaha Hadid Architects chief executive outlines how generative AI tools are reshaping workflows, enhancing creativity, and helping the firm compete in a rapidly evolving industrySource: Zaha Hadid ArchitectsPatrik SchumacherZaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) has embraced generative artificial intelligence (AI) as a core tool in its design processes, aiming to enhance productivity and creativity across its projects, according to its chief executive, Patrik Schumacher.Known for its innovative fluidparametric architectural style, ZHA has been concertedly integrating AI systems into its workflows since early 2022. The firm has now moved from using off-the-shelf tools like MidJourney and Gendo to developing proprietary software tailored to architectural applications.Schumacher told The Times: We started to use AI for ideation in the office to generate ideas and concepts. It was a real creativity boost, so we started to be more systematic about it.ZHAs AI systems are now a standard part of project initiation, generating a wider range of design options in significantly less time. The firm claims that renderings can now be produced in 20% of the time previously required, aiding its ability to meet tight competition deadlines and reducing the need for outsourcing.The practice also reported productivity gains of up to 50% in mid-stage building design preparation, facilitated by tools such as Stable Diffusion and AI-integrated platforms like Rhino.ai. These systems allow the practice to create and refine renderings within minutes, ensuring greater efficiency and adaptability.>> Also read:Zaha Hadid Architects loses court bid to end naming royalties agreementSchumacher highlighted the role of AI in maintaining ZHAs competitive position in a fast-changing industry. In terms of acquiring work, winning work, its a very strong boost, he said. The firms ongoing investment in AI aims to keep it a step ahead of competitors, Schumacher said.In addition to its architectural projects, ZHA is exploring the potential of AI in the metaverse. Its Metrotopia platform, launched in 2023, is described as a hub for the design ecosystem and recently featured at the Venice Architecture Biennale.Schumacher expressed confidence in the metaverses potential, stating: For the metaverse, the AI generation of assets and spaces will be even more important because of the amount of things which will have to be designed.Schumacher also urged transparency in the use of AI, encouraging firms to openly disclose its role in project development. Dont pretend that AI wasnt involved. If anything, the client shouldnt be worried, as it should mean that youve selected from a larger pool of contenders and therefore theirs is more of a winner proposal, he said.The practice has 60 projects in development and projected revenues of 77 million for the financial year.

Looking forthe most recentMini Crossword answer?Click here for today's Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands and Connections puzzles.Today's NYT Mini Crossword wasn't too tough, but a leftover Christmas answer (5 Across) threw me for a while, until I filled in more letters. Of course, now it looks obvious, but at the time, I was thinking of a small object, not the Big Red Suited Guy. Need some help with today's Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times' games collection. If you're looking for today's Wordle, Connections and Strands answers, you can visitCNET's NYT puzzle hints page.Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini CrosswordLet's get at those Mini Crossword clues and answers. The completed NYT Mini Crossword puzzle for Jan. 6, 2025. NYT/Screenshot by CNETMini across clues and answers1A clue: ___ notification (alert on a phone screen)Answer: PUSH5A clue: Stocking stuffer?Answer: SANTA6A clue: Hunter with a famous "belt"Answer: ORION7A clue: Gas used to infuse some beer and coffee, for shortAnswer: NITRO8A clue: 18-wheelerAnswer: SEMIMini down clues and answers1D clue: Home of the Notre-Dame cathedralAnswer: PARIS2D clue: Join forcesAnswer: UNITE3D clue: TempestAnswer: STORM4D clue: World capital whose name means "between two rivers" in VietnameseAnswer: HANOI5D clue: Child with a Roman numeral after his name, maybeAnswer: SONHow to play more Mini CrosswordsThe New York Times Games section offers a large number of online games, but only some of them are free for all to play. You can play the current day's Mini Crossword for free, but you'll need a subscription to the Times Games section to play older puzzles from the archives.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer?Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Connections puzzles.If you've ever picked out white paint colors for a room, you'll be able to relate to the answers in today's Strands puzzle. And once you paint a swatch of them all on the wall, good luck choosing one. But I digress. Warning: Today's puzzle is kind of fun. If you need hints and answers, read on.Also, I go into depth about therules for Strands in this story.If you're looking for today's Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visitCNET's NYT puzzle hints page.Read more:NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So FarHint for today's Strands puzzleToday's Strands theme is:In neutral.If that doesn't help you, here's a clue: Color my world.Clue words to unlock in-game hintsYour goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle's theme. If you're stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints, but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:MEAL, GAME, SEAT, SEAM, SEAMER, GATE, TENS, PATE, PATES, SELL, CHIT, CHITS, SHELL, HELL, FELL.Answers for today's Strands puzzleThese are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you've got all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:CREAM, IVORY, LINEN, VANILLA, EGGSHELL, CHAMPAGNE.Today's Strands spangramToday's Strands spangram isOFFWHITESTo find it, start with the O that's four letters down in the far-left column, and wind across. The completed NYT Strands puzzle for Jan. 6, 2025. NYT/Screenshot by CNET

The shape of the electric motor and, more importantly, the electric cars that they power may be about to change. At CES 2025, electric motor manufacturer Donut Lab rolled out its second-generation in-wheel drive units. The new motors promise big power and torque with very little in the way of weight and, like the company's namesake, a big ol' hole in the middle. The way EVs are designed inherits a lot from combustion car architecture: There's a motor (sometimes two or three) somewhere in the vehicle's body that's connected to the wheels via a drivetrain. In-wheel electric motors promise to shrink and move those components into the wheel arches, freeing up space in the cabin for people and cargo. However, there's one big problem that Donut thinks it can beat: motors are very big and very heavy. Donut Lab's second-generation donut-motor squeezes into a 21-inch hoop, promising up to 630 kilowatts (845 horsepower) and 4,3000 newton-meters (3,171 pound-feet of torque) per unit. Before you get too excited about that torque figure, consider that "normal" electric motor torque is usually measured at the rotor before it's multiplied by a single-speed gearbox which the donuts don't have. So while the 21-incher's claimed torque output is certainly impressive, it's not quite a quantum leap over, say, a Tesla drive unit. Enlarge Image These chunky loops could be the future of electric motor design. Antuan Goodwin/CNETHowever, where the donut-shaped motor shines is its weight -- the arch nemesis of every EV engineer and designer. The 21-inch unit is said to weigh just 88 pounds (40 kg) or about a third of a traditional rotor-and-stator electric drive unit. Less weight means more range. Of course, you need two motors per "axle" (unless you're building a trike,) but with the additional weight savings from ditching half-shafts, CV joints and other drivetrain components, Donut reckons that its hubless wheels can save hundreds of pounds. Less weight means more range, which is good. Alternatively, more motors for the same or less weight means more precise control and more total power, which is really good! The motor maker also claims its motors are up to 50% less expensive to manufacture, saving around 120 parts along the way. That could make for less expensive cars down the road. Moving the motor into the wheel arches also saves space within the chassis that can be reallocated for cargo, passengers, more batteries or experimental aerodynamics. (Think the Jaguar i-Pace or Polestar 3's front wings, but even wilder.) Donut's design integrates the motor and its cooling hardware into the rim of the wheel, saving weight and freeing up space within the chassis. Antuan Goodwin/CNETOf course, the elephant in the room is that while Donut Lab's wheels are lighter than previous in-wheel motors, they're still heavier than conventionally driven wheels. More importantly, they add pounds to the worst place a car can gain weight: below the suspension. Gaining unsprung mass, as it's known, has a much larger impact on performance and comfort than comparable mass gained in the vehicle's chassis and rotating mass is even harder to wrangle. With 80-plus extra ell-bees per wheel, there's bound to be some impact on braking, handling and ride quality, though it remains to be seen how much. Alongside the 21-inch automotive wheel, Donut Lab also showcased an efficiency-focused semi truck version of the 21-inch wheel boasting a lower operating RPM, 200 kW and 2,212 lb-ft (3,000 Nm) per wheel. The lineup will also include a 12-inch scooter motor (15 kW) and a 120mm drone motor (3 kW). Donut's 150 kW, 17-inch motorcycle motor is already in use on the road for a few boutique electric bikes, so the odds of seeing this tech on a car in the future is better than you might think.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says that the company is currently losing money on its $200-per-month ChatGPT Pro plan because people are using it more than expectedI personally chose the price, Altman wrote in a series of posts on X, and thought we would make some money.OpenAI launched ChatGPT Pro toward the end of last year. In addition to granting access to an upgraded version of OpenAIso1reasoning AI model, o1 pro mode, ChatGPT Pro lifts rate limits on several of the companys other tools, including its Sora video generator. OpenAIisnt profitable, despite having raised around $20 billion since its founding. The company reportedly expected about $5 billion in losseson $3.7 billion in revenue last year. Expenditures like staffing, office rent, and AI training infrastructure are to blame. ChatGPT was at one pointcosting OpenAI an estimated $700,000 per day.Recently, OpenAI admitted it needs more capital than it imagined as it prepares to undergo a corporate restructuring to attract new investments. To reach profitability, OpenAI is said to be considering increasing the price of its various subscription tiers; the company optimistically projects its revenue will reach $100 billion in 2029, matching the current annual sales of Nestl.

At CES 2025, Samsung announced that its bringing a popular feature from the companys phones and tablets to its TVs.Live Translate does what it says on the box, offering users real-time translation for live broadcasts. The feature will work in seven different languages though its not entirely clear which at the time of publication. In its current form, the system works by translating the closed captions on a broadcast, rather than listening to the audio directly.Live Translate was introduced in early 2024 as part of the Galaxy S24 launch. It currently works in 13 different languages on the handset front roughly double what the TV version is launching with.The company is also adding AI-based Voice Removal with Audio Subtitles, a feature it says is focused on the visually impaired community. According to Samsung, the new feature will analyze subtitles, isolate voices and adjust reading speed for a seamless experience.Both of these features are being introduced for the 2025 TV line. No word yet whether Samsung will offer any backward compatibility for older sets. Check out Samsungs CES 2025 press conference at 2 p.m. PT Monday.