Workouts can get stale. The same routines, the same moves, and often, the same lack of space to really go all out. Home gyms promise versatility, but can occupy a world of space. Specialist equipment like the Peloton can feel great too, but whats a Peloton when it isnt being used? An eyesore. Enter Z-ROPE+, a ropeless battle rope system that feels like its been pulled out of some futuristic gym where heavy-duty exercise doesnt need heavy-duty equipment. The future of tech is wireless, so why not the future of gyms, eh??Picture this: youre in your living room, barely enough space to stretch, let alone swing traditional battle ropes. With Z-ROPE+, theres no sprawl, no ear-splitting thwacks against the floorjust smooth, controlled resistance. Its all thanks to a multi-level spring system that adjusts the intensity with a simple swap. Light gray for the beginners dipping their toes into fitness, silver for steady lifters looking for a challenge, and dark gray for the beasts who thrive on pushing their limits.Designer: ZEST UPClick Here to Buy Now: $159 $199 ($40 off) Hurry, Only 15 Days Left!Traditional battle ropes demand spacelots of it. They sprawl across the floor, slap against the ground with every move, and quickly turn your living room into an echo chamber. Z-ROPE+ sidesteps all of that. Its compact, ropeless design eliminates the need for sprawling setups, and the silence it offers feels almost luxurious. Theres no thundering soundtrack to your workout, no irritated neighbors, and no competing for gym floor space. And when you consider that this single system replaces multiple resistance tools and cuts down on gym fees, its clear youre not just saving on clutteryoure saving cash too.Think of Z-ROPE+ as a chameleon for your fitness routine. Its versatility means you can jump from wave motions to slams, engage your core with lateral pulls, or target endurance with alternating waves. Its a total-body workout disguised as simple movements. Each resistance level opens the door to new challenges, whether youre aiming to sculpt your shoulders, strengthen your legs, or put your cardiovascular system through its paces. The weighted springs mimic the effect of a battle rope without the bulk of one. Its silent, sleek, and gets the job done better than existing ropes thats good design by definition.In just 10 seconds of exercise, Z-ROPE+ consistently outpaces both traditional battle ropes and bodyweight movements across every major muscle group. EMG tests reveal staggering numbersdeltoid activation soaring at 360.8 compared to 206.7 from traditional battle ropes, with similar dominance across biceps, pecs, and forearms. It doesnt stop at the upper body; even your lats, hamstrings, and quads are fully engaged, making this a workout that doesnt leave a single muscle behind. Over four times the activation of bodyweight exercise? Thats a flex that speaks for itself.Move outside, the design flexes its versatility. Group workouts become effortlessno heavy gear to lug, no crowding around limited equipment. The intuitive nature of Z-ROPE+ invites creativity, turning any open space into your personal training ground. Its this ease that keeps things fresh, leaving little room for boredom.A gym bag isnt typically where youd expect battle ropes to fit, but this isnt your average setup. Detachable handles and springs shrink the whole system down into something thats easier to carry than a change of clothes. You can stash it in a corner, toss it in the backseat, or bring it to the park for a quick group workout. Traditional ropes could never.For those moments when youre not sure where to start, the Z-ROPE+ app steps in like a personal trainer in your pocket. Packed with guided training videos, it lays out everything from beginner basics to advanced routines. Watching an expert demonstrate the flow of movements helps bridge the gap between uncertainty and confidence, especially if battle ropes are new territory for you. Plus, the apps structured programs ensure your workouts stay effective and intentional, without veering into guesswork.Just like dumbbells come in weight categories, the Z-ROPE+ comes in 3 levels each a carefully calibrated stage of progression/intensity. The light gray level, with its 1 mm coil spacing, invites beginners to explore smooth wave motions without feeling overwhelmed. The silver level steps things up, delivering the classic resistance of the original Z-ROPE with 2 mm spacingperfect for building strength while keeping things manageable. Then theres the dark gray level, a beast with 3 mm spacing, designed to push seasoned athletes to their edge. Crafted with durable materials and finished with eco-friendly REACH-verified dyes, each level isnt just functional but feels purposeful, durable, and distinctly refined.For $159, the Z-ROPE+ offers a single-intensity spring, but for $256, you can grab all three springs to help your equipment level up as you do. The Z-ROPE+ ships to select countries starting March 2025. Click the link below to see if your country is eligible for shipping.Click Here to Buy Now: $159 $199 ($40 off) Hurry, Only 15 Days Left!The post This Ropeless Battle Rope Will Change the Way You Exercise Forever: Meet the Z-ROPE+ first appeared on Yanko Design.

LatestMachine LearningDont Get the Polywobbles Shifting Quartics? Its Simpler With a Designer Ratio! 0 like January 3, 2025Share this postAuthor(s): Greg Oliver Originally published on Towards AI. Simplifying Quartic Shifts using a Designer RatioNow You B Me. Now You Dont!This member-only story is on us. Upgrade to access all of Medium.It can give you the Polywobbles trying to get your head around the fact that moving any Polynomial around the X-Y Grid can change its formula markedly without any change of shape. Most of us are ok with straight up and down moves due to Constant term changes, but lateral shift formula changes are a bit harder to grasp.The Quartic y=Ax+Bx+Cx+Dx+E shown in black in the Header Graph is shifted laterally until its 2 Inflection Points +-Ip(x) equally straddle the Y-Axis. The now Home-based function shown in red, y=Ax+cx+dx+e has no Bx term and different x^n Coefficients and Constant e, but its shape and size have not changed.Many students will be familiar with lateral shifts referred to as Depressing which Cardano adopted to eliminate the Bx term with his Cubic roots solution and Ferrari the Bx term in deriving the Quartic roots solution. I think the term can be a little misleading because there is no change to the functional architecture, it simply has a new address.Furthermore if shifting to random locations, these terms change but are not necessarily eliminated. So while this Read the full blog for free on Medium.Join thousands of data leaders on the AI newsletter. Join over 80,000 subscribers and keep up to date with the latest developments in AI. From research to projects and ideas. If you are building an AI startup, an AI-related product, or a service, we invite you to consider becoming asponsor. Published via Towards AITowards AI - Medium Share this post

Since late 2023, around a dozen artificial intelligence Instagram and Facebook accounts created by their parent company, Meta, quietly existed on the platforms. Originally launched alongside a suite of official celebrity AI characters, the AI-driven personalities posted some AI-generated images and were available for chatting over direct messages.Until Friday, those AI accounts never attracted much attention. When they did, controversy erupted, leading Meta to pull down the accounts and restrict search results for their usernames.In a statement shared with NBC News, a Meta spokesperson said There is confusion over when the controversial accounts were introduced to the platform.On Dec. 27, the Financial Times published a story about Metas plans to further integrate user-generated AI profiles AI profiles that people can create and customize to their liking into its social media platforms. Connor Hayes, Metas VP of product for generative AI, told the FT the AI characters would over time, exist on our platforms, kind of in the same way that accounts do, with bios and profile pictures and the ability to generate and share content powered by AI on the platform. In July 2024, Meta scrapped its celebrity AI characters and launched AI Studio, a way for people to create their own AI characters that can also be accessed by other users through the messaging functions on Metas social media platforms. The noncelebrity AI characters Meta created in 2023 stayed up, but 404 Media reported that most of them stopped posting content.In the wake of the Financial Times article, users resurfaced some of the 2023 AI characters, particularly one called Liv depicting a Proud Black queer momma who solicited messages from human users.When Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah started chatting with Liv, she posted a series of screenshots of its responses that included the AI account writing, My creators admitted they lacked diverse references, the supposed racial and gender makeup of the development team behind the chatbot, which it said didnt include any Black people and what the account claimed to be the name of its developer. Meta has not addressed the authenticity of the AI characters claims. It is unclear if the name provided by the AI account is a real Meta employee or a fictional character.Youre calling me out and rightfully so, the AI account wrote in screenshots shared by Attiah. My existence currently perpetuates harm. Ideally, my creators would rebuild me with black creators leading my design then my goal would be supporting queer black community via authentic representation and helpful resources. Does that redemption arc seem possible?In addition to Attiahs posts about Liv, other posts on X, Bluesky and Metas own platform Threads took issue with the AI character accounts. On Threads, trending topics are summarized in descriptions that are also generated with AI. For the posts about AI profiles, Threads AI description was, Users are criticizing Metas new AI-generated profiles on social media platforms, calling them creepy and unnecessary.In some posts on Threads that reacted to the discovery of the characters, users urged each other to try to report, block or avoid interacting with the characters to prevent Meta from collecting further training data for its AI models.In its statement, Meta said that it removed the AI characters because a bug prevented some people from being able to block them.The accounts referenced are from a test we launched at Connect in 2023. These were managed by humans and were part of an early experiment we did with AI characters, the statement read. We identified the bug that was impacting the ability for people to block those AIs and are removing those accounts to fix the issue.When searching for some of the AI character accounts on Instagram after they were removed, an error message appeared saying Couldnt load search results, meaning that no results appeared for some of the names associated with the AI character accounts.Despite pulling the companys own AI characters, there are still many AI chatbots available on Meta platforms that are generated by users. Some of the most popular ones on Instagram are female girlfriend AI characters.

With a special focus on "2D action games".2025 is just kicking off and various video game companies and industry figures have been sharing their plans for the year ahead.As for the Japanese developer Inti Creates, it hopes to announce several titles this year. Unsurprisingly a major focus will be placed on its signature style "2D action games". Heres exactly what the CEO and president Takuya Aizu had to say about this in a new year message on social media:Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Microsoft holds quarterly earnings calls to discuss the company's financial performance.In 2024, earnings calls touched on topics like the Activision Blizzard acquisition, AI, and layoffs.Here's what to know about Microsoft's revenues, profits, and more.Information about Microsoft's earnings is released publicly at the end of each quarter of the fiscal year. For Microsoft, this is done during an earnings call usually hosted by CEO Satya Nadella.An earnings call consists of company executives laying out the current state of the company's financial situation and explaining how the company performed over the course of the closing quarter. It also involves projections about upcoming fiscal performance. These calls are closely watched by investors, economists, and regulators.In 2024, some of the major themes on these earnings calls were the advancement of AI tools like Copilot, which was first launched in late 2023, and layoffs at Microsoft, largely in the company's gaming division.Microsoft Q1 earnings 2025Things were going well for Microsoft as of the October 2024 earnings call which covered the first quarter of the 2025 fiscal year calendar. Revenues were just over $65.6 billion, a 16% increase year-over-year.Among the specifics discussed were a 10% increase in revenue for LinkedIn and a 61% increase in revenues for Xbox "content and services."The company reportedly returned $9 billion to shareholders in the form of dividends and stock buybacks. On October 30, Microsoft's stock price was trading at around $432 per share.Microsoft Q4 earnings 2024The July 2024 earnings call was mostly filled with good news. Amy Hood, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Microsoft reported that the quarterly revenue was $64.7 billion, which was up 15% over the previous quarter.Hood also reported that share prices were up $2.95 over the previous quarter. (On July 30, 2024, Microsoft share prices were at $4.22.92 per share at the close of the market.) Q4 was the best quarter of the fiscal year for Microsoft.Not all the news was good, though: revenues for Xbox video game console hardware fell by 42%, and this drop surely helped account for large round of layoffs in Microsoft's gaming division.Microsoft Q3 earnings 2024Microsoft's revenues for the third quarter of the 2024 fiscal year were almost as strong as those of the fourth quarter. In April 2024, the company reported overall revenues of $61.9 billion for the months of January, February, and March of that year, a 17% year-over-year increase.Revenues increased for platforms like LinkedIn and software suites like Office 365, but decreased for some physical device sales. Share prices increased by $2.94 on average. And Xbox "content and services revenue" increased by 62%, this increase coming only a few months after Microsoft's acquisition of the gaming company Activision Blizzard.Microsoft Q2 earnings 2024In the months of October, November, and December of 2023, the second quarter of the 2024 fiscal year, revenue was almost the same as the following Q3. Q2 revenues were $62 billion, a 18% YOY increase.The massive acquisition of Activision Blizzard concluded during the early days of this quarter, with the software company laying out $69 billion to acquire the gaming company. And artificial intelligence was top-of-mind for Nadella, who said in the earnings call that "we've moved from talking about AI to applying AI at scale. By infusing AI across every layer of our tech stack, we're winning new customers and helping drive new benefits and productivity gains across every sector."Microsoft earnings historyLike most major tech companies, Microsoft spent 2024 adjusting to the post-pandemic slump in what some are calling a tech industry recession.At the same time, a fiercely competitive AI arms race has proven challenging, even with Microsoft's 2023 launch of Copilot.In 2020, the peak year of the COVID-19 pandemic, Microsoft's annual revenues were $143 billion. 2021 saw an increase to $168 billion, while 2022 saw another jump to $198 billion in revenues. In 2023, Microsoft revenues were $211 billion, and when you add all those quarters of FY24 up, you'll see its 2024 fiscal year revenues were a healthy $245 billion.

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All the fish in Fisch are divided into bestiaries for each unique location, and while most of them can be completed fairly easily by simply fishing, others offer more serious challenges like Vertigo. This guide will tell you how to complete the Vertigo bestiary in Fisch.

Conventional fishing games and fishing simulators have a very specific dedicated market that prioritizes accuracy and competition above creativity. The same cannot be said of horror games based on fishing. Fishing simulators make great fodder for horror games. The quiet anticipation of fishing juxtaposes beautifully with the intense horror of an ambush from the deep.

Alefgard is the second main area in Dragon Quest 3 Remake, replacing the main overworld after the Hero defeats the Archfiend Baramos. New players will likely be amazed to discover that Baramos is not actually the Hero's main foe. Instead of the credits rolling after the fight, they get a new map, filled with a wide range of locations. The main quest in Alefgard plays like a single massive mission or dungeon, with several key tasks you must complete. This guide will provide a complete Alefgard walkthrough for Dragon Quest 3 Remake.

For example, I have 4 COM pointers, named ptr0 to ptr3, and initialize them in the constructor as follows:Class::Class(){// Real codeptr3 = ...ptr2 = ...ptr0 = ...ptr1 = ...}Are they automatically released in the destructor in the reverse order of their declaration, like this? Like how a class would be destructed in the reverse order of its construction.Class::~Class(){// Not real co