Microsoft is allowing PC Game Pass members over the age of 18 to earn rewards by playing PC games, a perk previously available only to console gamers with a Game Pass Ultimate subscription. This update goes into effect on January 7.Subscribers (on PC or console) will earn points by playing any game from the Game Pass catalog for 15 minutes or more. Do that for five days a week, and they'll start a streak that increases a multiplier. A four-week streak results in four times the points. There are additional bonuses for playing four or eight different titles per month, but again, they'll have to meet that 15 minute threshold.While PC players are no longer left out, the points only rack up on Game Pass catalog games games requiring a third-party launcher, including anything through Battle.net, don't count.The PC Weekly bonus will also be available to all Game Pass Rewards members above the age of 18. Additionally, the console weekly bonus and daily PC play are rebalanced to 150 points and 10 points, respectively.As touched on by EuroGamer, Microsoft kneecapped the Game Pass experience in recent memory, as rewards were made more challenging to obtain. It seems like the tech giant is trying to get into the good graces of Game Pass subscribers again.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/xboxs-game-pass-now-rewards-users-for-playing-pc-games-171529965.html?src=rss

At CES 2025, Satechi introduced a new accessory for the Mac Mini that combines a stand with some handy additional ports for the Apple computer. The Mac Mini M4 Stand & Hub with SSD Enclosure will release on February 17 with limited availability; the company expects the product to be widely available in March. It will retail for $100.One of the main selling points of this item is that it makes accessing the petite PC's power button easier. The stand elevates the Mac Mini off your desk, but leaves a concave space so that you can reach the power button on the bottom of its rear side. This awkward location was one of the very few dings we had against the Mac Mini M4 in our review of the computer.On the front of the hub are USB-A 3.2 and 2.0 ports, as well as an SD card reader that promises speeds of "up to 312MB/s" for file transfers. The SSD enclosure allows you to add up to 4TB of NVMe storage for the Mac Mini. The hub has a recessed space at the top to keep from obstructing the Mac Mini's fans, and it comes with its own bottom vents as well.Design-wise, the stand looks like a slightly squatter version of the Mac Mini, boasting a similar finish and profile to the computer. There are a lot of quality USB-C hubs on the market, but customers who favor the Mac Mini for its simplicity and small footprint might appreciate how cleanly this Satechi accessory pairs with the machine.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/accessories/satechi-details-new-mac-mini-m4-stand-at-ces-2025-170038397.html?src=rss

The TV lineup Hisense announced at CES 2025 includes a 116-inch mini-LED TV and its brightest yet ultra short throw projector.

I got to see LG's mid-range C5 OLED TV and to speak to LG about it and I'm glad I did, because up 'til that point, the model hadn't been made official.

Confused about your PC spec and how fast the machine really is? Windows 11 could come to the rescue with new spec cards and a FAQ.

Elon Musk has never been shy about sharing his opinions to his 211 million followers on X. But for those who follow himand those who get his posts pushed into their feeds on the appthe past few weeks have been more unusual than most. Musk, the South Africanborn, United Statesbased tech CEO, has posted a near-nonstop slew of missives targeting European leaders.On Monday, Musk posted a poll asking whether America should liberate the people of Britain from their tyrannical government. This came hours after he turned against Nigel Farage, the leader of Britains right-wing Reform U.K. party and a former ally of Musks. Late last month, Musk also wrote an op-ed for a German newspaper in support of the far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD); Musks piece caused the newspapers opinion editor to quit in protest.For his American audience, the incessant commentary on European matters may be puzzling. For Europeans, its annoyingand European leaders are pushing back.On Monday, U.K. prime minister Sir Keir Starmer singled out Musks comments without mentioning him explicitly by name, criticizing people who were spreading lies and misinformation about the countrys past response to issues with child grooming gangs. Just days earlier, German chancellor Olaf Scholz said in an interview when asked about Musk Dont feed the troll. French President Emmanuel Macron, meanwhile, accused Musk of engaging in unacceptable interference in European democracies, and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stre told public broadcaster NRK that he was worried a man with enormous access to social media and large financial resources is so directly involved in the internal affairs of other countries.Part of European politicians frustration undoubtedly has to do with Musks influence within the Republican Party: Musk has the ear of incoming president Donald Trump, and was named cochair of the new Department of Government Efficiency. One of the broad political reasons why a lot of European leaders would want to push back against him is because I dont think any of them particularly like having their political agendas hijacked by an American-based, South African billionaire with far-right views, says Rob Ford, professor of political science at the University of Manchester.Such outspoken attacks also help drum up interest in Musk and keep him in the public eye, which may go some way to explaining why hes picking a fight with world leaders. Starmer said in a speech that people like Musk are not interested in victimstheyre interested in themselves. Musk has certainly propelled himself into the news agenda in the U.K. The national broadcaster, the BBC, published a push notification over the weekend when Musk posted to his followers that he felt Starmer was unfit to govern. (Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment, sent via the X press office.)Musks businesses rely in large part on cozy government relationships, particularly with the U.S. and China, the latter of which issued a $1.4 billion loan related to Teslas Gigafactory in Shanghai, China, in 2019. (Tesla paid off the loan two years later.) Thats what makes his recent outbursts against political leadership so baffling to some: Musks got a lot to lose by souring relationships with so many American allies. It could be that Musk genuinely believes these things and wants the hard right in power, says Theo Bertram, director of the Social Market Foundation, a U.K. think tank, and a former advisor to prime ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. Or it could be that he anticipates that X may get banned and one way of trying to prevent that is to make a lot of noise about censorship and freedom of speech, so that regulators and politicians are under more intense media and political pressure, and therefore perhaps less likely to move ahead with something as controversial as an outright ban. (While that may seem implausible, Musk has previously squabbled with, and seen X banned temporarily in, Brazil in recent months.)Whatever the case, its clear that the international community has decided enough is enough. And given that Donald Trump will soon be sitting in the White House, that could lead to a number of awkward conversations in the political world as global leaders figure out how to handle Musks idiosyncrasies.

In the aftermath of George Floyds killing in 2020, investor Mellody Hobson recalls frequent calls from directors at Fortune 500 companies for references to diverse candidates for boards. Now, she says, its very sporadic.During the George Floyd days there were dozens and dozens of them, said Hobson, the co-CEO of Ariel Investments who also serves on the boards of JPMorgan and Starbucks. Those requests have dramatically dropped.Over the past year, Reuters and other media have reported that a backlash against diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies by some conservative activists has sapped corporate enthusiasm for them.Interviews with corporate directors and advisers as well as a recent study on corporate boards paint a stark picture of how pronounced the fallout of that backlash has been.Among Russell 3000 companies, the number of new Black directors fell to 12% in 2024 from 26% two years ago, according to the study by business research group the Conference Board and data firm ESGAUGE. At the same time, the number of new white directors bounced back to 69%, up from historic lows of 52% in 2022.Directors and board advisers said conservative backlash through litigation and other means had pushed DEI policies down the priority list for companies, often in subtle waysa trend that some experts said could accelerate under the incoming administration of Donald Trump.It is not a non-issue, its just not THE issue, Hobson said, referring to how companies were now thinking about diversity on their boards. Over the long term, we will continue to move in the right direction, she said.One recruiter, for example, said many companies no longer made diverse candidate slates a top requirement in director searches.A couple of years ago more searches had diversity as number one or two criterion than have it there now, said Richard Fields, head of the board effectiveness practice at search firm Russell Reynolds.DEI policies got a boost after Floyds murder by a white police officer sparked national outcry and energized the Black Lives Matter movement.Investors and their advisory firms used their shareholder power to push companies to include people of different backgrounds in senior roles, and companies hired more diverse board members.The efforts led to more gender and racial diversity among directors of large U.S. companies than ever before. Some 12% of directors on S&P 500 boards are now Black.Diverse board equals better businessThe distribution still lags societal makeup. U.S. Census Bureau data show 14% of working age adults are Black.The gap widens for a broader set of companies. Only 8% of the directors at Russell 3000 companies are Black, according to the Conference Board.DEI proponents worry the pushback could hurt efforts to address longstanding inequities and underrepresentation of diverse communities to the detriment of business interests.It has been repeatedly shown that building a diverse board will ultimately ladder up to better business, said Lisa Davis, a managing director at advisory firm Teneo.The decrease in diverse new hires to corporate boards has a significant correlation with the cultural shift, said Andrew Jones, head of ESG (environmental, social issues, and corporate governance) at the Conference Board.In 2020 there was initial momentum when the death of George Floyd was followed by social unrest and corporate DEI was at its height. Then there was a lot of legal and political scrutiny following the Supreme Court decision last year, Jones said.That decision effectively prohibited policies long used to increase the number of under-represented minorities at American universities.I dont think its overt racism, although it does exist, but perhaps people feeling less of a need, maybe less pressure on this issue, Hobson said.Reflecting on fewer requests for references to diverse board candidates, Hobson said: I think they were responding to the marketplace with the outreach, and the marketplace is not as demanding on these issues right now.Isla Binnie, Reuters

China has slammed a decision by the U.S. Treasury to sanction a Beijing-based cybersecurity company for its alleged role in multiple hacking incidents targeting critical U.S. infrastructure, while the Chinese cybersecurity agency complained Monday of attacks on Chinese networks.Asked about the sanctions against Beijing-based Integrity Technology Group, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said the country has cracked down on cyberattacks and that Washington was using the issue to defame and smear China.For some time now, the U.S. side has been playing up so-called Chinese cyberattacks and has even initiated illegal unilateral sanctions against China, Guo said. China firmly opposes this and will take necessary measures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.Integrity Technology Group said the move by Washington had no factual basis.The company firmly opposes the U.S. Treasury Departments unwarranted accusations and Illegal unilateral sanctions on the company, the company, also known as Yongxin Zhicheng Technology Group, said in a statement Monday to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.The China National Cyber Security Information Center said it had discovered attacks from various malicious websites and foreign IP addresses, including some in California and Florida. It also reported attacks from the Netherlands, Singapore, Mexico, Turkey, and Vietnam using Trojan programs, botnets, phishing, theft of intellectual property, and violations of privacy.They pose a major threat to Chinas domestic networked units and internet users and some activities have been suspected of criminal offenses, the center said in a notice on its WeChat social media site.On Friday, the Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control hit Integrity Technology with sanctions that block access to U.S. property and bank accounts and prevent the targeted people and companies from doing business with Americans. It cited alleged multiple hacks against U.S. victims, including incidents attributed to Flax Typhoon, a Chinese state-sponsored campaign that targets U.S. critical infrastructure.The sanctions did not appear to be related to an incident in which the Treasury Department reported that Chinese hackers had remotely accessed several of its workstations and unclassified documents in a major breach of cybersecurity.The Treasury Department said it learned of that problem on Dec. 8, when a third-party software service provider, BeyondTrust, flagged that hackers had stolen a key used by the vendor to secure a cloud-based service used to remotely provide technical support to workers.U.S. officials are grappling with the fallout from a massive Chinese cyber-espionage blitz known as Salt Typhoon that they say gave officials in Beijing access to private texts and phone conversations of an unknown number of Americans.Late last month, officials said at least eight telecommunications companies, as well as dozens of nations, had been affected by Salt Typhoon.Integrity Technology said the sanctions would not adversely affect its business since it does not operate in the U.S. and has no assets there. It added that it abides by all laws and regulations and that it has always adhered to the corporate vision and mission of bringing a sense of security to the world.Elaine Kurtenbach, AP Business Writer

American firms Dig Studio and Lake Flato have restored and expanded Scottsdale Civic Plaza in Arizona, adding a series of pavilions and responding directly to existing buildings flanking the outdoor space. Dig Studio carried out a careful evaluation and repositioning of landscape elements in the nine-acre plaza, which connects two blocks in the city's Old Town neighbourhood.Studio Dig and Lake Flato have redesigned Scottsdale Civic PlazaPartly sitting on an overpass that allows pedestrians to bypass a busy street, the plaza provides public space for multiple public and arts institutions, including a public library and the Scottsdale Civic Center both designed by renowned Arizona architect Bennie Gonzales.The landscape elements were designed to be in conversation both with the existing civic structures as well as the architectural pavilions installed by Texas-based Lake Flato, whose founders earned the AIA gold medal in 2024.Shade and water retention were priorities in the designAccording to the studios, they took a "preservation first" approach to see the plaza change into a "multifunctional urban oasis that meets a variety of community needs and serves as a nucleus for social, cultural, and recreational activities".Summer temperatures in Scottsdale have an average high of 107 degrees Fahrenheit (41 Celsius).Dig Studio wanted to preserve the existing trees and features to maintain shade for cooling on the site while taking into account water needs in the arid environment.The plaza connects a variety of cultural buildings in Old Town ScottsdaleDig Studio resized some of the "outdated" water features, limited the lawn space, placed new stormwater systems, and added a fog plaza that drains saving a total of 5.8 million gallons (22,000 cubic metres) of water annually for the plaza."In dense urban areas such as this, environments like Scottsdale Civic Center Park are often the only green spaces available, crucial for mitigating urban heat islands and supporting public health," said the team."Therefore, the goal became not only creating a comfortable refuge in the desert for residents but making sure the landscape would be set up to thrive in an increasingly warming world."The undulating metal pavilions were informed by dancingFor its part, Lake Flato wanted to increase shade, maintain connections to the existing Gonzales buildings, and create usable public spaces for year-round programming.Using a "low-maintenance material palette" Lake Flato created a stage and circular events pavilion on opposing ends of the park, giving both undulating metal roofs supported by thin columns.Read: "Now's the time to shelter all species" say 2024 AIA Gold Medal winnersThe roof of the pavilion was perforated in parts in a pattern informed by the "veining of a turquoise gemstone" and it wraps a grove of trees by 360 degrees, acting as a theatre in the round.According to the team, the undulating roofs of the two performance structures reference the fluid movement of dance.Lake Flato prioritised respect for existing architecture when designing the performance pavilions on the ends of the siteLake Flato also installed several smaller pavilions in the centre of the plaza to provide shade near the water features, as well as a public restroom feature to accommodate the over one million visitors to the plaza annually.Lake Flato has designed a number of similar pavilions in parks for hot climates, including a pavilion in San Antonio with massive concrete "petals" and an education complex in Decatur, Texas.Scottsdale is a city east of Arizona's capital city, Phoenix, and is home to Taliesin West, the winter home and studio of American architect Frank Lloyd Wright.The photography is by Alan Karchmer.Project credits:Architectural design: Lake Flato ArchitectsLandscape architect: Dig StudioCivil engineer: ArdurraStructural engineer: Architectural Engineers CollaborativeMechanical engineer: Affiliated Engineers, Inc.Theater /lighting: Schuler ShookAudio visual: McKay Conant Hoover (MCH)Contractor: Willmeng ConstructionThe post Dig Studio and Lake Flato revamp Scottsdale Civic Plaza for "increasingly warming world" appeared first on Dezeen.

Here's an impressive demonstration of investigating a material, the kind of thing ID students ought be doing in the studio. The unknown craftsperson behind this Bamboo Art YouTube channel has perfectly exploited the properties of bamboo to create this projectile weapon:You can see a lot more of their creations here, though the other designs are not monomaterial, featuring rubber bands, springs and the like. (And yes, for some reason they are all weapons.)