In doing so, Wiggins landed on a subtle color scheme that would dialogue with the houses features, particularly the natural blue-green hue of the grand stone fireplace that dominates the living room. I wanted a simple, tight palette, she says. It needed to be muted, without a huge amount of contrast or saturation. She chose shades in a spectrum of greens and off-whites, as well as natural materials like wood and rattan. The vintage rattan wingback armchair and sofa set were the first purchases of the project, and in a lot of ways, they kicked off the tone, explains Wiggins. I thought, This building would have rattan, right?The designer expanded the concept by sourcing pieces within the same material palette, including a 1970s bamboo coffee table, an early-20th-century wicker bistro chair, and a minimal George Nelson for Herman Miller daybed upholstered in an olive Pierre Frey mohair jacquard. I didnt want to add too many other materials, she adds. The stone is doing so much work.We chose green and off-white for the palette, says Wiggins. We wanted the colors to sit down and be quietto let the incredible stonework be the main event. For the walls, she opted for Benjamin Moores creamy Manchester Tan, which provides a neutral backdrop for the Herman Miller daybed upholstered in Pierre Freys olive-toned Malindi mohair jacquard and the vintage rattan wingback armchairits seat newly swathed in 36 Bourne Streets Satin Stripe in Gold/Chalk.Throughout the house, Wigginswho also runs a vintage home decor shop on the North Fork of Long Islandsays she sought furniture that felt lived-in and cozy. We wanted pieces that came with an authentic patina, which is surprisingly hard to find, she professes. That included a weathered blue chest in the living room she says shes been hoarding for nearly a decade, just waiting for the perfect home. I had never found any place worthy of it, she admits. For the dining room, she sourced a rustic Italian farm table, which she matched with a set of antique dining chairs in an inky shade of dark turquoise. The chairs wavy backrests echo the undulating weave of the antique Tuareg carpet underfoot. I hope it feels like they were casually found, but in reality, they were hunted for, she says. They have a very specific relationship.While Wiggins may have approached the project with the utmost sophistication, she acknowledges the houses ultimate purpose is leisure. Its playfulits not meant to be too serious, reflects the designer. It wants to be good-looking, but you can also walk in a little damp and put up your feet. Thats the intersection I tried hard to achieveand I think we captured it here.

Following in the footsteps of his tech industry peers, Apple CEO Tim Cook has decided to donate a million dollars to Donald Trumps inauguration fund. That news comes from Axios, which reported Friday that the donation represents the culmination of a long, collaborative relationship between Trump and Cook that began years ago and has involved numerous meetings, including a recent dinner at Mar-a-Lago.Of course, Cook is not alone. Last month, it was revealed that Meta had donated $1 million to Trumps inauguration fund, in what was broadly viewed as an effort by the companys CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, to thaw relations with Trump (the two have notably had a rocky history). Cooks donation obviously differs somewhat from that donation, as it is being made by Cook personally. Metas donation ostensibly came from the company itself, not the executive behind the company. OpenAIs CEO Sam Altman has also donated $1 million to the fund, and Amazon has done the same. In general, it seems like the tech industry has lined up to kiss the ring more than usual. That said, it is routine for companies to contribute to the presidents inauguration fund and a whole lot of other companies have also lined up to contribute to do the same this year. Those companies include Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, AT&T, crypto companies Kraken and Coinbase, and others.Cook may be in a better position than most tech executives. The New York Times writes that the Apple executive enjoyed a warm relationship [with the President] during Mr. Trumps first term, and that Cooks standing with the president was better than other competitors. Donations to presidential inaugurations are broadly viewed as an effort to curry favor with incoming presidential administrations. Though the actual presidential inaugurationthe part of the ceremony where the President is sworn inis paid for with public money, many of the celebrations that take place after that initial ceremony are fueled by private donations. A variety of people and organizations can give to the presidents inaugural committee but, more often than not, the biggest donations come from corporations, lobbyists, and political action committees.Trumps last inauguration was considered the most expensive in history, with his inaugural committee raising a whopping $107 million. By comparison, Obamas 2013 inauguration raised about $43 million, while his 2009 inauguration raised $55 million. The companies that were thebiggest spenders for Trumps 2016 inauguration included Lockheed Martin and Boeing, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase, as well as Dow Chemical, Pfizer, Microsoft, Google, and a number of private prison companies. The single biggest contributor was AT&T, with a donation of some $2 million.

Buyers RemorseStarting to regret picking up an Xbox Series X? This new controller will at least let you pretend you're using a PS5 DualSenseThe Competitor enters the arena.Image credit: Hyperkin/ Microsoft News by Oisin Kuhnke Contributor Published on Jan. 6, 2025 As Microsoft brings more and more of its games to other platforms, you might be feeling some buyers remorse, but a new third-party Xbox Series X controller could help.Last November, Xbox launched a new campaign under the slogan "This Is an Xbox", talking about an actual Xbox, your TV, your phone, your laptop. Essentially, it's saying that you can play Xbox games anywhere, even if it's technically not an Xbox. That sort of makes the point of owning the console Xbox a bit moot, so I'd understand if you're starting to feel like you wish you'd picked up a PS5 instead, seeing as Sony don't seem to have any intention to bring its games to anything other than PC, and only two years after the fact. Watch on YouTubeLuckily, you can soon at least help yourself feel like you're not playing an Xbox, even if you will actually be playing an Xbox (could make a drinking game out of all the times I've written Xbox here, I reckon). It's CES 2025 at the moment, one of the biggest techs around, and peripheral maker Hyperkin has just announced a brand new Xbox controller. It's called The Competitor, and in the video above you might notice that it looks just a little bit familiar. To see this content please enable targeting cookies. The controller has obviously been designed to look like the PS5's DualSense, with analogue sticks level next to each other, clear plastic buttons, and a sleek white and black design. If you only took a quick glance at it you'd probably think it was a DualSense! But that Xbox logo button in place of the touchpad gives the game away pretty quickly.You can also use The Competitor (great name, by the way) on PC, so if your Xbox is actually your computer, you're sorted there! Now all we need is an Xbox-themed PlayStation controller and we're set.

Bank 'EmOne of Game Pass Ultimate's best features is finally coming to PC Game Pass, but there's a major catchMicrosoft is giving Game Pass Quests is a big shakeup as it officially brings the long-running feature to PC.Image credit: Microsoft, VG247 News by Sherif Saed Contributing Editor Published on Jan. 6, 2025 Microsoft is kicking off the new year with some news on a big Game Pass Ultimate feature that may have been overshadowed in recent years. Game Pass Quests offers a fairly straightforward way of earning points for checking out Game Pass titles.These points can later be used to buy games and DLC, enter sweepstakes, and unlock other rewards. Until now, however, Quests has only been available on Xbox consoles and not PC. This is finally changing.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Microsoft today announced a few changes to Game Pass Quests, and the points associated with them. To start with, Game Pass Quests, previously available for Ultimate members on consoles, is expanding to PC Game Pass.Game Pass Quests has long been appreciated by dedicated subscribers, because it gives them a reason to download newly-added games, and check out genres they may not otherwise. The more Quests are completed, the more points are earned, which carry real-world monetary value. Granted, the feature is only available in select countries, but theres some good news there, too.Starting tomorrow, January 7, PC Game Pass members will be able to access Quests. This also means that Ultimate (which includes both console and PC) members will have another platform where they can earn Rewards on. Quests launches in Japan on the same day, too.There are, however, a few caveats to keep in mind. First, earning Rewards points will now be limited to players 18 years or older. As a result, children and anyone with a managed account will no longer have access to the Rewards Hub, though they will continue to earn points through parentally approved purchases of eligible items on the Microsoft Store, eligible searches on Microsoft Bing and other non-gameplay activities. Existing point balances wont be touched, so thats good, at least. To see this content please enable targeting cookies.The biggest hurdle for PC Game Pass, however, is that only games that dont require a third-party launcher will count towards your progress, or have Quests associated with them to begin with. That includes all launchers, even Blizzards Battlenet, despite being part of the same company.Microsoft has also made it so Quests will now require a minimum playtime, meaning youll no longer earn points for downloading and launching games. This is part of a larger revamp to the whole system that includes some extra Quests, and a rotating set of daily, weekly, and monthly bonuses. In general, there are more ways to earn, but the quests themselves will require a little more effort.If youve never messed with Quests before, getting started is pretty simple. Youll find them in the Rewards Hub on your Xbox, or within the Xbox app on PC and mobile. The more Quests you complete, the more points you accrue. Once youve collected enough, return to the Rewards Hub to claim them for Xbox gift cards and other rewards.

Messmering AboutElden Ring player self-dubbed the "First Elden Sandwich" is racking up daily no hit beatings of Messmer until Nightreign arrives, because Souls gameYep, everything seems as it should be here. Slay on, Chickensandwich420.Image credit: FromSoftware News by Mark Warren Senior Staff Writer Published on Jan. 6, 2025 Elden Ring Nightreign was one of the big headlines at The Game Awards, and sign-ups for a network test of it are set to open up this week. That's pretty rapid, but clearly it ain't rapid enough for some hardcore Souls heads, with one having decided to set themselves the challenge of dishing out a no hit boss beating every day until it's out.If you somehow missed Nightreign being announced, it's a co-op focussed title that will allow multiple players to take on bosses from the FromSoftverse in collaborative environments. So yup, Elden Ring with your mates in a form that's not just leaving each other cheeky notes.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. As of writing, Nightreign doesn't have a concrete release date as such - it's coming in 2025, but we've got no idea when. That hasn't stopped YouTuber Chickensandwich420, who's the "first Elden sandwich" according to their channel's description, from setting out on a quest to kill the time (thanks, TheGamer).Basically, they've been no hit killing Shadow of the Erdtree fire/snake baddie Messmer every day since December 16, using a different weapon every time, so things don't get stale. I've got no idea where the whole being a sandwich part comes in, but I assume it's helping in some fashion. As of right now, they've just passed day 21, and day 22's kill should be coming today.Watch on YouTubeThe challenge is being done on NG+7 and, as outlined in the decrptioon of its debut video, Chickensandwich420 does seem to have at least thought about contingencies in case the game doesn't arrive early this year. "Originally, [I] was gonna do different Fromsoft bosses from all games (since, yknow, Nightreign is a multiverse game), but I'm lazy [and] it's my last year of uni so I dont want to spend time grinding bosses instead of doing work. If this game doesn't come out by the end of June I'll branch out to other games."They did a similar thing with Maliketh in the run up to Shadow of the Erdetree's release in June last year, so they're clearly capable of taking on boss-killing tasks. Here's hoping they've got plenty of sarnies stashed away in case Nightreign turns out to be a fall release.For more Elden Ring chatter, make sure to check out why our James picked Erdtree as his GOTY despite it being DLC, and our coverage the "strategic capital and business alliance" Sony and Fromsoft parent company Kadokawa established late last year.

Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked)Cutting a bloody swathe through an army of the undead, Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP joins Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered on Switch. Both games complement each other as flawed but enjoyable examples of Grasshopper Studios' beloved catalogue. An idiosyncratic collaboration between Suda 51 and filmmaker James Gunn, Lollipop Chainsaw highlights the unique style of both creators. Its a hyper-stylised, quip-heavy action game that remains a uniquely demented experience. Sadly, content omissions and some choppy performance hamper this remaster, tainting the colourful mayhem.The plot is both a perfect representation of its era and a great opportunity to experience Gunn in a goofy horror mode that was stifled when the MCU beckoned. On the morning of her eighteenth birthday, cheerleader Juliet Starling is inconvenienced by a zombie outbreak in her hometown. Luckily, Juliet comes from a long line of zombie hunters, the undead horde is no match for her skills with a chainsaw and a set of pom poms. Unable to save her boyfriend from a bite, Juliet decapitates him and carries his magically animated head on her belt. Together, they must battle through high school and defeat five musically themed dark lords, summoned by an angry goth kid named Swan to end the world.Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked)There was a time when a story like this wasnt even that strange, such were the beautiful absurdities of the 2010s. Its a relentless onslaught of violence and puerile humour, even more so than the tonally similar No More Heroes. Though, as entertaining as the profanity-filled carnage can be, your mileage may vary.The tone combines the punk rock energy of Suda 51, with the Troma film spirit of Gunns early career. Horror references litter the script while thrashing music and cartoon visuals drive the action. Juliet (played in English by luminary voice actor Tara Strong) is a great protagonist, always acting like a high school cheerleader despite basically being a superhero. The supporting characters are also a blast, particularly Juliets family of hunters and the Dark Purveyors - the demon lords who are each themed around different music genres.This being a Grasshopper brawler, the combat is suitably ridiculous. When your protagonists main weapon is a souped-up chainsaw, subtlety is not the way to go. Juliets main attack loop is to soften up the zombies with cheerleader-fu before decapitating them with a chainsaw swing. Initially limited, new combo chains can be unlocked using currency hoovered up during battles. Finishing a combo with a big swing of your saw will decapitate multiple enemies at once, triggering score multipliers and flashy finishers.Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Undocked)As you mow down the opposition, a special meter will fill that allows Juliet to trigger Star Soul Power, which covers her in a rainbow glow and briefly enhances her abilities. Skill progression is nicely balanced, with a dash and projectile add-on for your main weapon helping to build out offensive options. And, not just a pretty face along for the ride, Nick is used at multiple points to clear a path for Juliet via a QTE event. Tickets can also be collected and used to play Nick roulette, a wheel spin with the chance to land on crowd control powers.While Juliet's skills are visually impressive, enemy targeting has a jarring stiffness to it. Closing distance in a fight feels sluggish, something that isn't as noticeable with zombie trash mobs, but annoying as hell during one-on-one boss encounters. There are multiple ways to home in on enemies, but in the heat of a tough fight, movement feels fiddly. Fortunately, Juliet's growing repertoire quickly compensates for the clunky combat, and RePop does lessen the financial sting of buying upgrades. Even so, RePop feels significantly worse to play than the original release, which wasn't perfect to begin with.Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Undocked)Aside from the streamlined upgrade system, Dragami Games update doesn't add much added to the experience. The titular RePop mode is a sanitised version of the game that, aside from some altered cutscenes, feels oddly similar to the Japanese edit of the original. Swapping out blood and decapitations for colourful effects feels like the old days of Nintendo censorship. The licensed music is now sadly gone, with only The Chordettes 'Lollipop' making the cut. Some of the game's best sequences utilised licensed tracks to make them memorable, and now they just have a generic pop-punk score.What has been added, much to our dismay, is performance issues. Levels are linear pathways with transitions that usually involve Juliet traversing over obstacles. In the original game, this felt dynamic and added to the breakneck pace of the action. Here the system struggles to cope and the frame rate drops considerably between these areas. This goes for large battles and explosion effects as well, which can trigger an unhealthy stutter. It's unfortunate this cleaner, sharper-looking version of the game is hamstrung by shoddy optimisation.The adventures of Juliet, her monster-hunting family and from-the-neck-up boyfriend is still an energetic calling card for a beloved studio. Its an interesting look at the combined creative powers Suda and Gunn, who are both playing to their strengths. Its a shame that RePop is not the best way to experience it.ConclusionLollipop Chainsaw RePop's zombie-killing mayhem is just as childish, stupid and fun as it was in 2012. This remaster brings with it a streamlined experience and decent visual polish. Unfortunately, RePop suffers from poor optimisation, lapsed musical licenses and an extra mode that brings nothing new to the table. If you can, seek out the original.A crazy, funny script from Suda & GunnJuliet is a cool protagonistUpgrade system has been streamlinedPoor performance throughoutCombat is clunky and stiffRePop mode feels pointlessLicensed music tracks are mostly goneAverage 5/10 Please note that some external links on this page are affiliate links, which means if you click them and make a purchase we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Please read our FTC Disclosure for more information.

Imagine the possibilities.This past weekend brought us one of the most convincing leaks yet with a pair of photos depicting what appears to be the left Joy-Con from the upcoming 'Switch 2'.At first glance, it looks pretty much how we'd expected: larger yet with a familiar design, and a new magnetic rail that backs up previous reports on the console's upgrades over the current Switch. Upon closer inspection, however, the Joy-Con may also be housing an optical sensor on the side, right next to the 'SL' button.Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Image: Nintendo LifeBalatro was one of our games of 2024 and the vast majority of us at Nintendo Life Towers have poured more hours into its poker roguelike gameplay loop than we care to admit. But what were the games that caught the attention of its developer, LocalThunk? With 2025 finally here, the dev took to Twitter to share some of his indie highlights from the last 12 months and crown his 'Golden Thunk' award winner for 2024.We'll start off with the biggie. The dev named Animal Well his personal game of the year, describing Billy Basso's mystery-filled metroidbrania as "an engrossing experience" and "a true masterpiece" honestly, we'd have to agree on those points.Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube790kWatch on YouTube Basso himself replied to the LocalThunk nod, describing the award win as "the greatest honor of them all".But that's not all! 2024 was a bumper year for indies and the Balatro dev was also keen to highlight some of the other titles that had been vying for his attention. Dungeons and Degenerate Gamblers was first up, another card-based deckbuilder which, the dev noted, "People mistakenly wrote this off as a Balatro clone but this was announced before my game ever was".The dev also flagged the "incredible" Arco, Nova Drift ("a perfect game for the Steam Deck"), physics-based roguelike Ballionaire and the Steam horror game Mouthwashing. Only Arco is available on Switch for the time being, but hey, our fingers are crossed some of these make the jump to 'Switch 2'.Balatro capped off 2024 with an impressive run at The Game Awards, where it picked up wins in three categories including Best Independent Game. Here's the full list of winnersWe fold"No matter what you put in a game, it will get found"What was your favourite indie of 2024? Do you agree with LocalThunk? Let us know in the comments.[source x.com]Related GamesSee AlsoShare:01 Jim came to Nintendo Life in 2022 and, despite his insistence that The Minish Cap is the best Zelda game and his unwavering love for the Star Wars prequels (yes, really), he has continued to write news and features on the site ever since. Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...Related ArticlesNintendo Highlights Multiple Switch Games Launching In 2025It's going to be an action-packed year126 Games You Should Pick Up In The Nintendo Switch eShop Holiday Sale (Europe)Every game we scored 9/10 or higher161 Games You Should Pick Up In Nintendo's 'Hits For The Holidays' eShop Sale (North America)Reminder: It wraps up on SundayHamster Releases Its First Arcade Archives Switch Game Of 2025, Teases A Year Full Of "Surprises""We will be taking on many new challenges"

Bird Buddys smart bird feeders are a perfect confluence of different consumer technologies. Breakthroughs in security cameras, AI, and solar charging have converged into a terrific little product that has captured public imagination.At CES 2025, the startups creators announced an expansion into another wing of the animal kingdom. Wonder is a new sub-brand bringing some of that magic to the world of insects specifically pollinators like butterflies and bees.The brand is launching this year with a pair of products: Petal and Wonder Blocks. The former is in line with existing Bird Buddy products. Its something akin to a trail camera for insects.Bird Buddy/WonderImage Credits:Bird Buddy/WonderPetal seamlessly merges cutting-edge engineering and technology to snap and live stream wildlife direct to your smartphone or smart device of choice, Wonder notes. Using Nature Intelligence, an advanced AI layer, the new camera device interprets the sights and sounds of nature, from birds hatching to the flapping of butterflys wings, a flower blooming and bees pollinating it, bringing a vibrant world to your fingertips.The Petal name derives from the products resemblance to a flower, with a solar panel serving as a leaf on its stem. The stem, meanwhile, is flexible, serving as a stake in the ground or coiling around a tree branch.Wonder describes Blocks as a modular set for building vibrant, biodiverse natural worlds. In essence, its a cylindrical system that contains various elements including a plant pot, seed tray, butterfly feeder, and bee and bug hotels. The Petal can be mounted on top.Given the number the local squirrels have done on my smart bird feeder, I can only imagine the field day theyre going to have with this thing.

For the past several years, the halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center have been lousy with AR/VR/XR smart glasses. While the some of the biggest names in tech, like Apple and Google, have struggled to gain traction in the category, accessible tech remains relatively unexplored.Theres a lot of work to be done in terms of making the space more welcoming for more people. Soliddd is one of a growing number of startups exploring the link between smart glasses and accessibility.This week at CES 2025, the company is showcasing a prototype version of its forthcoming SolidddVision glasses. The Brooklyn-based startup is specifically targeting people with macular degeneration. The degenerative eye disease affects roughly 13% of U.S. residents aged 40 and up, according to figures from the CDC.Image Credits:SolidddThe startup explains the technology like so:The smartglasses use Soliddds unique and proprietary lens arrays, which resemble a flys eye, to project multiple separate images to the areas of the retina that are not damaged. This allows the brain to naturally construct stereopsis (the making of a 3D image in the brain) and a single full-field image with good acuity that feels like normal, in-focus sight.The product is currently in beta and therefore looks a good deal different than the renders Soliddd has provided here. In their final form, they should look and feel more like a standard set of eyeglasses.Theres still a lot of work and testing to be done, but the company optimistically believes that the glasses will ship at some point in 2025. While Soliddd is conducting clinical glasses, it notes that they ultimately wont require FDA approval before hitting the market.