AGI is now on track to arrive in 2025.

General Catalyst's portfolio companies, starting with Aidoc and Commure, will use AWS' services to build new artificial intelligence solutions.

Goodbye Kansas breaks down their Secret Level episode called The Company We Keep.The post Behind the scenes of The Company We Keep appeared first on befores & afters.

Reddit cant stop building shiny new advertising tools. First it was dynamic product ads, then it was AI copy tools. Now, theyre premiering custom Ask Me Anything-themed ads.The changes have accelerated Reddits sales, with most analysts predicting the company reached $1 billion in 2024 ad revenue. That figure has been elusive for Reddit, which only began meaningfully investing in their ad business in 2018. But its also far off from the competition, with companies like LinkedIn, Snapchat, and Pinterest more than doubling their ad load.Reddits advertising innovationsReddit is on an advertiser courting spree. In their Q3 2024 earnings call, COO Jen Wong pointed specifically to advertising revenue as a point of growth, noting that the company brings on thousands of new advertisers every quarter. She called them seeds that are planted for the future, where current smaller investments in Reddit ads beget future, bigger ones. (Reddit declined to comment.)At CES, Reddit debuted two new products for brands, on top of the litany of other 2024 features meant to sweeten the ad deal. One was a fully integrated, customizable Ask Me Anything-type ad. The second was a new Pro Trends tool, where businesses can see rundowns of whats being talked about on Reddits forums. Jeremy Goldman, senior director of client briefings at eMarketer, was most excited about the latter.You get brands to spend more time on the platform, Goldman says. When TikTok launched things that were similar, it helped brands that were on the fence get more comfortable with the platform, and then they started to spend money.The tools have been working; in that Q3 report, Reddit noted 56% year-over-year growth in advertising revenue. EMarkerter reported a growth rate of 50.5% for Reddit last year. This year, that number is projected to tick down to 30.9%. Goldman still finds that demoted rate impressive, and thinks Reddits smaller status could actually be a boon for advertiser growth.Advertisers are getting a little bit wiser to know that they dont necessarily care about, Am I getting the most impressions possible? Goldman says. They want to have a consumer that they can convince to do something. When you have a really strong contextual ad like Reddit has been really focused on, you might get it in front of fewer people, but one of those people is going to take action.Can Reddit catch up to the competition?While Reddits projected $1 billion in ad sales is internally significant, it pales in comparison to its competitors. Pinterest cracked $3 billion in 2023, while LinkedIn neared $4 billion. Snapchat pushes past $4.5 billion annually. Reddit regularly has more monthly active users than all three of these apps, but pulls less than half of their ad revenue.Some of that may have to do with cultural cach. Goldman contends that the platform is niche, and that they struggle to turn infrequent visitors into long-term users. Reddit also has some sustained brand safety worries, with most online forums being stained by the mark of seedier platforms like 4chan. Many remember Reddit as the platform that spurred off the term inceleven if theyve since taken the subreddit down.But most of the advertising gap has to do with timing. For years, Reddits ad programs were entirely self-serve. They only added display ads four years after the companys founding, and added in-app ads two years after the app itself premiered. Relatively speaking, Reddits ad business is still nascent. Youre not going to be able to [grow] 300% year-over-year, no matter how amazing your advertising is, Goldman says.But Reddit needs revenue, both to sustain the company and to keep the stock price up following their 2024 IPO. For this, theyre finding creative ways to bring in additional funds, like a sprawling, $60 million content licensing deal with Google. While Goldberg worries what will happen to Reddits stock price when these AI deals dry up, he recognizes their value. The more they can do that, the less pressure they put on their ad business to grow, he says.

Local studio HEMAA has completed the narrow, 13-storey Ferrocarril de Cuernavaca 780 with steel, concrete and glass on a skinny, post-industrial lot in Mexico City.Located between a street and the remnants of the Ferrocarril de Cuernavaca Railroad, the 9,465 square metres (101,874 square feet) Ferrocarril de Cuernavaca 780 building was designed as a skinny wedge on an underutilized property in the Polanco neighbourhood.HEMAA has completed the narrow Ferrocarril de Cuernavaca 780 building in Mexico City. Top photo by Rory Gardiner"It required an act of imagination to envision the emergence of a graceful tower that would deftly adapt to the challenging terrain," the HEMAA team said."Comparable to tenacious plants thriving amidst adversity, this tower would unfold, defying expectations."In addition to the site constraints, the narrow form resulted from a reinterpretation of classical architectural elements, incorporating the golden ratio in multiple places and dividing out into a base, shaft and capital through modulations and windows.It sits on a narrow plot next to a former railroadThe use of a black structural steel facade selected as a nod to the area's industrial history that has risen from a peripheral service neighbourhood to a vibrant area accommodates Mexico City's seismic regulations while allowing the floors to be free of columns.Glazing wraps almost entirely around the building, bringing in natural light from every angle and connecting the spaces to their surroundings.The materials reference the industrial history of the area"Depending on the viewer's vantage point and the time of observation, its shape gracefully metamorphoses, offering a myriad of unique interpretations," the team said. "Its unequivocal identity creates an ideal backdrop for the tower to assume a vibrant existence once it becomes inhabited."The skyscraper includes a ground-floor commercial space ideal for a coffee shop on the east corner of the building two glazed entries that create a see-through enfilade between the north and south facades, and a circulation core complete with a glazed robotized pallet system and elevators on the west side of the building.Two glazed entries create a enfilade for the ground floorEmbracing its responsibility toward public space, the design dedicates the southern portion of the site to public space, connects to the adjacent park and encourages interaction with the envisioned ground floor commercial space. This footprint reduction narrows the width of the building even further, rather than maximizing the available land.Below ground, 13 subterranean levels house storage and maintenance spaces while a robotic parking system accommodates 126 parking spaces in two parking cabins.The insides of the structure were left relatively sparseAbove, the typical floors are reduced to include only the essential egress and restroom facilities. The remainder of the glazed space is available for future tenant build-outs.On the 13th floor, the exterior wall steps back to form a roof terrace that offers panoramic views of the Mexico City skyline and Chapultepec Park.Read: Seven narrow New York townhouses making the most of urban spaceThe LEED-certified building includes advanced insulation and HVAC systems, high-efficiency lighting, rainwater harvesting and efficient plumbing fixtures, to ensure optimal energy usage, reduce carbon emissions and conserve water."Indoor environmental quality is a top priority, with ample natural lighting and effective air replacement promoting occupant health and well-being," the team said."The building's design encourages a connection to nature, with large windows, a rooftop garden, and outdoor gathering areas that enhance the overall user experience."It features a rooftop gardenHEMAA recently completed a nuanced steel structure of a lakeside gathering pavilion outside Mexico City, as well as a pair of stone houses in the Jardines del Pedregal neighbourhood and the renovation of a mid-century Augusto H lvarez house in Mexico City.The photography is Csar Bjar unless otherwise noted.Project credits:Architecture: HEMAADesign and construction team: Santiago Hernndez Matos, Alejandra Tornel Cahue, Jos Miguel Fainsod Castro, Jos Pedro Lpez Gonzlez, Alonso Snchez Toscano, Adriana Aguirre Becerra, Andrea Motilla Chvez, Daniela Parra Orozco, Jos Miguel Santivaez Gmez, Juan Octavio Ferreira, Mnica Garca Cruz, Patricio Salgado RodrguezStructural engineer: PESAElectric engineer: DECPlumbing engineer: Garza MaldonadoHVAC engineer: CYVSASpecial engineer:TecnoBuildingsLandscape design: DLC ArchitectsLEED certification comissioning: Alejandro Trillo + Gabriel MoralesArchitectural model: Taller Cuatro CuartosOthers: Omar Sad / Augusto lvarezThe post HEMAA uses black steel for narrow skyscraper in Mexico City appeared first on Dezeen.

Two years ago we spotted this gimmicky-looking MagicH chair, an "ultra adaptive support home office chair" by Chinese manufacturer Newtral. People went bonkers for it on Kickstarter; it landed $1.8 million. Now the company's back with a new offering, the Freedom-X, a "multi-position chair" with a built-in desk and cupholder, as well as swing-down armrests. The video gives you a better look at the product, where you can see that the build quality and upholstery stitching isn't exactly Herman Miller quality:Does anyone have any faith that this chair will last? If you read through the comments on the MagicH's campaign page, you'll find some brutal feedback. Let's just say you won't be passing that chair down to your grandkids; multiple buyers report mechanical failure around the six-month mark.That said, the Freedom-X has once again captured the crowdfunding masses. While Newtral was seeking just $10,000 to get this thing going, at press time they were at $780K-plus, with over a month left to pledge. Caveat emptor.

A step-by-step guide to drawing the female form from reference.

The next new thing doesnt have to cost as much as next months paycheck.

MacworldIn the world of sports, its sometimes easier to impress by not playing. When youre in the game, everything you do is judged and all your mistakes happen under a harsh spotlight. But get yourself dropped behind some other poor bloke now getting picked apart for their mistakes, youll find that all is forgiven or, better yet, forgotten. Lets get David Price back in the game, theyll say. Im sure we were wrong about him being physically incompetent and afraid of the ball.I often wonder if some variant of this mindset is what leads Apple to snub trade shows and conferences when it has the resources to attend every event on the planet if it wants. Lots of new tech products made their debut at CES in Las Vegas this month, for example, but there were none at all by the industrys highest-profile brand. And yet, in their absence, Apples products picked up some of the most positive coverage all the same.Take poor old Dell, which at CES announced a major rebranding for its PC lines. Instead of XPS, Inspiron, and Latitude, the companys machines will be branded as Dell, Dell Pro, and Dell Pro Maxterms that are familiar to customers because theyre inspired, shall we charitably say, by the iPhone. The result? Mockery for Dell and a bunch of headlines that plug Apples products and make the Cupertino company sound like a trendsetter.I rather feel for Dell, which clearly got this one wrong and doesnt seem to know how to make it right. Apple has a tendency to do very difficult and complicated things and make them look easy and simple. When rivals follow suit they trip over their shoelaces by adding, in this case, needlessly complicating sub-brands like Plus and Premium. In any case, simplicity isnt about your choice of words, its about the fundamental structure of your product portfolio. (Incidentally, Apple doesnt always get these things right either. But of course, its mistakes are forgotten when someone else is in the spotlight.)Nvidia, meanwhile, was doing its own Apple impersonation elsewhere in Las Vegas: the firms Project Digits supercomputer had barely landed on the CES show floor before it was getting described as a Mac mini clone, and not without good reason. Its far more powerful (and correspondingly far more expensive) than the Mac mini, but the palmtop design is extremely familiar, as is the focus on AI. And it would be hard to imagine that the words Like a Mac mini, except were not uttered at some point in its development cycle.NvidiaEven some of the more positive headlines were marred, for Apples rivals, by invidious comparisons with the absent giant. Asus got pretty much everything right with the Zenbook A14, but suffered the indignity of seeing this heralded as little more than a MacBook Air competitor. The company, in fact, played up to the comparison, joking that it had considered the name Zenbook Air. But I always regard this strategy, which in movies and TV shows is known as lampshading, as cheating. Joking that your design is unoriginal doesnt change the fact that it is.Whether or not theyre prepared to admit it, Apples rivals spent much of CES 2025 trying to copy its moves. Instead of using its absence from the show as an opportunity to present something different, they delivered more of the sameonly with PC chips, worse software, and disastrous branding. Whereas Apple got a bunch of uncritical PR without doing anything.Its often said that Apple doesnt innovate out of thin air. Rather, it bides its time and lets other companies build up a market before swooping in at the crucial moment and grabbing the revenue. I would agree that the company is rarely first to enter a market. But what it often does is create the first iconic product in a market, the one which defines what that market represents in the popular consciousnessand, all too often, in the minds of its competitors too. After the launch of an iPhone or a MacBook Air, rivals struggle to envision an alternative that doesnt begin with Apples offering and then iterate from that.The irony is that if the companies really wanted to be like Apple, the best thing would be not to turn up at CES at all. But when the star player is away, its simply too tempting to rush onto the field and do your best to impress the fans.

On the day the UK government confirms anAI future for the country (well see how that goes), Apples App Store pricing model has gone on trial in London.Apple is accused of overcharging consumers for software sold via the App Store in a1.5 billion class-action lawsuit bought byRachael Kent-Aitkenon behalf of 20 million UK consumers. (That equates to about $1.8 billion in US dollars.)Shes chasing down Cupertino, claiming it is abusing its market dominance by levying up to a 30% fee on download sales, calling the levy excessive and unfair.The trial began today before the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal. The lawyers atHausfeld represent Kent-Aitken in the case, the costs of which appear to be underwritten (if thats the appropriate word) byVannin Capital.What is Apple accused of?The accusation is that Apple abused its dominant position by:Imposing restrictive terms that require app developers to distribute exclusively via the App Store using Apples payments system.Charging excessive and unfair prices in the form of commission payments, which are ultimately paid by the device users.Apple, of course, calls the claims meritless, pointing to the fact that the vast majority of developers do not pay a 30% levy on software sales, that those who offer apps at no charge (around 80% of all available apps) pay no levy at all, and that the fee is intended to see the costs of running the store borne by those who generate the most cash from selling software through it.In related news, the European Commission has begunfresh scrutinyof the core technology fee Apple charges some developers in Europe inresponse to the Digital Markets Act.Senior Apple leaders head to courtApple appears ready to field an all-star cast of witnesses during the trial with around three days of witness time booked. What is known is that Apple will field some witnesses who will travel from the US, with both Apple Fellow and App Store leader Phil Schiller and Apple Senior Vice President for Software Craig Federighi named in apre-trial note(pages 24/25). Apples newly-appointed Chief Financial Officer Kevan Parekh will also beforced to give evidence.The company will also be told to share unredacted versions of some documents used during the European Commission trial against it; there are three days in which Apple has secured witness time for the case, according to one document, though it is not known if that is definite at this stage. Apple witness statements should begin Wednesday afternoon, though it is not known if the witnesses Apple plans to bring will remain the same.Apple has previously said: We believe this lawsuit is meritless and welcome the opportunity to discuss with the court our unwavering commitment to consumers and the many benefits the App Store has delivered to the UKs innovation economy.Its worth noting that Apple CEO Tim Cookvisited the UKin December. While there he met with Prime Minister Keir Starmer and hosted an event atApples Battersea HQ with King Charles.Apple now supports 550,000 UK jobs through direct employment, its supply chain, and the iOS app economy.Is it all about legality or profitability?In the end, and as Ive pointed out before, even some of the companys critics levy similar fees on sales through their platforms, which means it isnt a matter of fee/no fee, but a question of how much fee is legitimate for Apples storefront, or any storefront, to charge. Even big brick-and-mortar grocery stores charge for shelf placement, after all.The commissions charged by the App Store are very much in the mainstream of those charged by all other digital marketplaces, Apple said when the case began. In fact, 85% of apps on the App Store are free and developers pay Apple nothing. And for the vast majority of developers who do pay Apple a commission because they are selling a digital good or service, they are eligible for a commission rate of 15%.What happens next?The litigant at one pointclaimed Apple made $15 billion in App Store sales on costs of around $100 million, though those costs seem to ignore research and development, OS development, security, payments, and associated investments Apple makes in its ecosystem.Kents lawyer, Hausfeld partner Lesley Hannah, at one point said: Apple has created a captive market where people who own Apple devices are reliant on it for the provision of both apps and payment processing services for digital purchases.Apple will likely argue that the market is larger than just iOS apps (think online services and other mobile platforms) and observe that it is not dominant in the device market. That matters, because it means consumers do have choice and most consumers choose different platforms. (Kent is also involved in similar action against Google.)Right or wrong, its hard to avoid that in general the direction of travel when it comes to App Store encounters in court means the current business model now seems tarnished. Perhaps Apple could introduce a different model in time?Follow me on social media! Join me onBlueSky, LinkedIn,Mastodon, orMeWe.